you might enjoy this if you're from beloit


um yeah so anyway. i've been holed up in beloit for the past week or two, and let me tell you i really haven't been doing much of anything, which has been rather nice.

i finally finished reading the fortress of solitude, which i began reading before i left for NYC (so, a while ago). i really enjoyed it, especially after having spent time in brooklyn and being able to mentally identify many of the neighborhood landmarks that the author references. now i feel that it's time to revisit the murakami fever that i had many months ago, starting off with sputnik sweetheart. can't wait.

i've been listening to a lot of hex enduction hour and pink flag, and also tracked down this pixies tribute album on a japanese label featuring mostly japanese artists (minus seafood). it's a curious find, to say the least. some of the new arrangements of those pixies songs are off the sheezy; others are just plain off. it also features two versions of "debaser."

tomorrow rob and i will be heading south to chicago to ring in the new year with fellow chicagoans at the estate of dr. miller, and then on monday i will be flying out of o'hare to finish up interviews in NYC. this means that today i'm doing laundry and trying to figure out how to pack for 3 weeks in winter-time NYC (with interview clothes and dress shoes) and keep it all in one suitcase. i'll allow myself a garment bag as well. but i'm really trying to keep luggage to a minimum here.

kind of a boring post. well, you get what you pay for.

this educational lesson brought to you by dr. j around 3:32 PM |

catching up on flickr

last night was spent catching up with various compatriots and colleagues in madison, at le chateau de ramo. we had high hopes of going out to dinner and then maybe going out to a bar or two or three, but instead we opted for glass nickel and a whole lot of PBR. there also was a camerafight.

since i've been gone (or Since U Been Gone) in NYC and chicago, it's been a few months (at least) since i've hung out with these kids, so it was a lot of fun to rewind and hear about how peoples rotations and interviews are going. to illustrate how far out of the loop i've been, i met for the first time some of my friends' girlfriends that have been girlfriends for, like, YEARS, and one that's even a fiancee now (i totally missed out on the girlfriend years).

more than once we realized that we were all "talking shop" (i.e. babbling about hospital scut work, making fun of andy's brain MRI (it was pointy), talking about talking about the hospital, etc.). yes it's happening. total nerd fest. we're turning into THOSE people....

big up to my main mang p dubs for charging through 50% of law school so far and still managing to fire off a holiday edition of his Law Schmah mixes. the leon redbone/zooey deschanel closer is the big clincher for me.

oh and big up to bono and the gateses for scoring time's personses of the year. can't wait for microsoft windows U2 edition.


p.s. west wash had its annual "list day" a couple days ago, but it's been slow enough over the weekend that if you scroll down you can catch most of it. otherwise, jaxx c kicks things off with his list. just scroll up from there. and please keep those eyes peeled for stv slv's glorious contribution to the david hasslehoff animated GIF collection.

this educational lesson brought to you by dr. j around 11:04 PM |

we don't elect kings

Yesterday, the existence of this secret program was revealed in media reports after being improperly provided to news organizations. As a result, our enemies [THE AMERICAN PEOPLE] have learned information they should not have.
...
I have reauthorized this program more than 30 times since the Sept. 11 attacks and I intend to do so for as long as our nation faces a continuing threat from Al Qaeda and related groups [i.e., FOREVER].
...
The N.S.A.’s activities under this authorization are thoroughly reviewed by the Justice Department and N.S.A.’s top legal officials, including N.S.A.’s general counsel and inspector general.

in case you were worried, the NSA is making sure the NSA is acting properly. check AND balance.

i read that bushie's wiretapping antics are an impeachable offense. i say let's go for it! i mean, we already tried to impeach a president for getting a blowjob, and that was a HUGE national issue that affected EVERYONE IN AMERICA and damaged our own RIGHTS AS CITIZENS. i'd say this is at least (or possibly, POSSIBLY EVEN MORE SO) as impeachable.

someone make me stop watching/reading the news. seriously.

this educational lesson brought to you by dr. j around 4:28 PM |

i had an ACLS elective scheduled at the end of january. one measly credit, one week long, pretty easy (and required for internship, eventually), plus i needed that credit to graduate. seriously, without it, i'd be one credit short (you do the math).

today i received an email that the course would probably be cancelled because there's only one other student signed up for my slot, and that's not enough to run the course, i guess. DAMNIT! i need that credit! so i did a little browsing in the online course catalog, searching in vain for a one credit one week course that i could replace it with. then i remembered the story of the international health elective.

from what i've heard, you pick up some dusty ol books, and read on your own for 2 weeks while filling out a take-home multiple choice exam, and then turn that in on the last day. SOUNDS PERFECT. sign me up. (i signed up)

now, i've got my one final interview in the middle of this course, and it's in NYC. i imagine it will not be any sort of problem whatsoever to do this. but correct me if i'm wrong, o few classmates of mine that are in the know and punish themselves by reading this blog.

anyway, i felt like i was on a roll so i set out to replace my 4 week surgery clerkship at UW with either a 4 week turn at st. mary's (supposedly the cushiest of the cush), or a 4 week stint in "orthopedics for the non-orthopedist" (which essentially sounds like a month of ortho clinic - but also no call, no weekends). of course all slots are full. so begins the campaign to charm the ladies in charge of the medical student education dept in surgery to let me get in on some of that nice n' relaxing surgery action. what it do.

also, and i'm totally NOT joking, but i spent a good portion of the afternoon reading about different rappers on wikipedia. i can't remember how it started but it ended with me reading about the bloods and crips and then getting that aforementioned email, which effectively put a stop to my self-education of 90s gangsta rap and los angeles gang culture.

but i totally feel like i've been studying. why can't you be a rap major in college?

this educational lesson brought to you by dr. j around 5:44 PM |

happy holidays. now go cop that shit


so the "interview etiquette" thing to do, i've learned, is send out a thank you note to everyone you interviewed with. now, this can be a not-so-bad thing because:
1) you may have had a great interview/conversation/discussion, and really do want to thank that person (for a great convo? uhhh)
2) the interviewer in question has had a bigger role than simply interviewer (i.e., advisor, letter-writer, etc), and as such, is deserving of a note.

BUT, this is an immense chore, because:
1) most interviewers say or ask you nothing of note and you can barely remember even having the interview, let alone being so impressed you need to THANK them.
2) the people you usually have the best convos with (residents), usually don't "need" thank you notes, because their input into your selection is fairly limited
3) having multiple interviews at one institution means sending out multiple cards to one place (my high point has been 5)
3a) this means trying to think of different or unique ways of saying the same mundane thing
3b) this means you give up trying to be unique and end up sending out everyone the same thing, minus the name and address on the envelope.
4) you actually DIDN'T EVEN LIKE the interview/interviewer.

the thing is, NOBODY gives a shit. the committees could care less if they received a thank you note from you, it's not going to make you any more selectable. although, if every tom dick and harry sends in a card, and you don't, THEN they might notice. GAAAAHHH THATS LIKE HOW EVERYTHING WORKS DURING THIS GODFORSAKEN INTERVIEW SEASON - it doesnt matter unless you don't do it. then it counts against you.

ifuosbef9owubf40w83nc

NOW, to recommend some excellent thank you note writing music, i'd like to wholeheartedly recommend BLUE EYES MEETS BED-STUY, which is a "mash-up" of sinatra's music underneath biggie's verses. i put mash-up in quotes because the songs are all chopped up and rearranged, making this as much of a mash-up as, say, any black album remix or .... tha 446. (fyi, i consider a mash-up a simple layering of one track over another. the chopping and dropping makes it sampling).

anyway, this is just outstanding. some of this shit sounds fresh as hell. juicy + new york, new york. hypnotize + little green apples. and the beats are really great considering what they were working with. now, paired with my recent acquisition of the "advance" copy of biggie's duets album (plus the duets bootleg), everything's been coming up b.i.g., yfeelsme?

this educational lesson brought to you by dr. j around 7:40 PM |

god i have been really unmotivated to post on this thing lately.

finished with chicago. UIC and UofC are both nice, great programs. medtour leg 3 looms in early 2006. in the interim: send out thank you notes, wrap xmas gifts, sleep, leisure reading, 446 backroom production, looking forward to not really using my brain too much over the next 18 or 19 days or so.

this educational lesson brought to you by dr. j around 4:33 PM |

so i had my first pre-interview dinner tonight. last week i had a post-interview happy hour, which was pretty anticlimactic. only the beer was paid for, everything else we had to pay for. plus there were so many residents there that they kinda hung out amongst themselves, which defeats the point, sort of.

tonight we went to crave restaurant and lounge. there were maybe 20 people there, and the bill was over $1000. nice. i'm sure the waitress LOVES us now. i helped eat some of the calamari, ahi tuna, buffalo wing, and coconut shrimp appetizers, ordered a nice seared ahi tuna steak for entree, and took part in the "indecision" dessert platter, which featured chocolate ice cream, raspberry sherbert, caramel cheesecake, and chocolate suicide cake. INSANITY.

i am so full right now.

tomorrow i interview at UW. should be interesting, since most of the staff knows me and vice versa. then, post-interview, i will pack my bags, stop for dinner with the parentses, and then take off for chicago for the week (you can find me at the lo-zone).

i got that sims record, finally. i've listened to it 3 times today and i give it an A PLUS. it reminds me a lot of the P.O.S. record, but then again, it's all doomtree. so it's all tiger woods y'all.

this educational lesson brought to you by dr. j around 10:32 PM |

actually it's sunny and freezing.

back in madison for a few. this apartment is so un-lived in it kind of disgusts me. it's a sty, to be sure. piles of school papers, books, old mail, cd's, etc. why do i acquire/save/keep so much crap? seriously. granted, i haven't really been home since the end of september. but still. ripening food in the fridge, ripening garbage in the garbage, dust everywhere, a huge crack through my living room window (damn kids!), and a complete lack of motivation to do anything about any of it.

i'll throw out the food. and i'll clean the bathroom a bit. but these piles of junk, strategically placed throughout my living room and bedroom, i think they're staying. they will be purged when i move out.

binge and purge, binge and purge.

this educational lesson brought to you by dr. j around 12:43 PM |

so i got one of them email notices that tells me that "my friendster has updated their blog" or whatever, which is usually an indication that my cousin hae-joo, who now lives in singapore, has entered a new post. except this time it was an old friend from college, bert, who has updated his blog (last post was in april) with some hard-hitting truths and a lot of gibberish (the title of the blog is "bung"). he lives in DC now.

for those that don't remember, bert is the dude that hooked me up with his ID back when i was 19 or 20. he was the 6 foot tall, bleached blonde hair korean kid in my class that i somehow passed for at every single bar in madison that i tried it at, except for the one time (i think at the mango grill) when his old high school buddy was the bouncer, but he waved me in anyway. so technically it worked everywhere.

anywhoo, it's been a while since i've heard from bert, so i clicked over on his friendster profile to see what's new. of course i start with pictures, because pictures are awesome and i was the kind of kid that loved pop-up books anyway. and lo and behold this dude still hangs out (or takes pictures of, anyway) with a bunch of kids from my korean class (1999-2000)!! i don't even remember all their names! and all their faces keep popping up to stare at me (it was on "slideshow view")!! some of them have their own profiles! TWO OF THEM MARRIED EACH OTHER! FRIENDSTER!

some people have their college korean class. others have the WWB.

this educational lesson brought to you by dr. j around 10:17 AM |

went to chicago and came back. i could write a bunch about the interviews i had but i feel that that bit's getting just a tad monotonous. and if i don't write about the interviews i have nothing to write about.

much love to docdayne and stvslv for giving me places to crash on consecutive nights. i'll be back in chicago wednesday night and staying through tuesday, pending available housing. lots of interviews. rumor has it that a certain jewish drummer will be in town that weekend.

oh i took that test in houston. that sucked. now to wait 12 weeks (wtf!) to find out if i passed. you've got to be fucking kidding me.

this post sucks. when something more exciting happens, i'll let you know.

this educational lesson brought to you by dr. j around 10:06 PM |