Congrats to my good friend Phil who matched in Neuro at Baylor! Phil's a smart kid... Here's a pic of him early on... Look how far he's come. Yeah.

I found my car! I probably looked strange shoveling the snow with a small plastic garbage can. Some woman driving by probably felt bad for me because she stopped to let me use her shovel. How nice.

I've created yet another blogger monster... Welcome to our world Emily! We expect many meaningless posts to display your youthful angst!

I'm done early today... and now I just don't know what to do. I'm just sitting here in the student lounge shooting the breeze with fellow med student Nicole... We've both got senioritis really bad... It's terrible. OK, time to go wander aimlessly. Perhaps I should go see if I can find my car under this blanket of snow...

I was a little too cerebral yesterday... Today needs to be simplified... Back to routine... Have a good day everyone.

I'm still thinking about her.

Whenever people ask me who I admire, or who my hero is, I usually don't have much of an answer. Other than Superman or Luke Skywalker, I never could really name any one person - a person who was real anyways. But this all changed not too long ago. I remember watching Beyond Rangoon for the first time about 5 years ago and feeling such awe after watching a scene where Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the pro-democracy movement, walks silently and calmly towards and past soldiers aiming assault rifles at her. I was so inspired by the portrayal of this character that I went and bought a book about her and Burma's struggles. I think of this woman as a modern day Ghandhi or Martin Luther King, Jr - but with a style all her own. Today, she still remains under house arrest in Burma. She is someone I continue to follow. I hope the best for Burma and her people.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, you are my hero. I love what you stand for.

I decided to take some photos on my little trek around downtown. I liked this shot from the CTA stop with this sign saying "you are here." I took the photo, and I missed the first train. Bummer. I caught the next train and got off at the Washington stop where I bumped into Marianne! That was such a nice surprise! She probably thinks I'm photo crazy, though. Her train arrived and we parted ways. As I emerged from the subway, I took this nice picture of the "L" in the loop, then headed for the Chicago Cultural Center to see what exhibits they had on display this month. There was a nice gallery of photos documenting life in the South Side during the 40's and 50's. I walked around some more and found a couple interesting shots of a stained glass Tiffany dome and a big brass cow outside the building. Moo. On my way to the Film Center, I just loved the snowfall and the lighting of the theater district. So pretty.

Speaker panel was great! Nice presentations on a variety of topics. As I was sitting in the audience, I looked over my shoulder at one point, and I believe one of the chancellors was sitting in the row behind me. It shouldn't be a big deal, but a couple of years ago, I wrote a somewhat critical letter addressed to this chancellor, which also made it into the school newspaper. Basically, I commented on the contradiction between the University's self-praise of having one of the most diverse student populations in the country and their lack of serious attention to Asian American student concerns. I wonder if I should have introduced myself to this chancellor... "umm, remember that letter in the paper?? and all the other similar letters you got at that time? that was me..." Well, just to be fair, lots of things have improved over the past couple of years. It could always be better though.

So, now I'm off to hop around downtown, and maybe take some pretty snowfall pictures. I'm looking forward to seeing Beyond Rangoon this evening. What a day it's gonna turn out to be... a little bit of Asian American issues and a little bit of pro-democracy movement. Maybe some more dark chocolates in between. A day in the life of me. How interesting.

I have a day off today! So nice. I think I'm going to attend a lunchtime forum on violence in the Asian American community (domestic violence, asian gangs, hate crimes, etc.). Sounds like they have a nice diverse panel of speakers... Time to trek out into the first real snowfall of the season...

Margaret just told me that the animation I pointed to a couple of days ago actually came from an entire website dedicated to the little dude and his misadventures in love... I only got through about 10 of the 140 comics... Couldn't take the heartbreak anymore... I'm a wimp.

State of the Union. Interesting. Above average. Next on the agenda: Smallville. So that I may discuss the episode more thoughtfully with Margaret. Plus, Lana is cute. Margaret approves.

Just got back from some cafe time... I love sitting in cafes. I don't know why. Maybe just because there are strangers sitting all around, and there's always a constant turnover of those people. Life goes on around me. It's a comforting feeling. Anyways, I just got home, and now I'm thinking to myself... "when did I turn so old?" The first thing I did is turn on the TV so I could watch the State of the Union address... When did this start happening?? I just don't know... In the words of my Asian brothers and sisters... "ai-yah." In the words of my parents... "ai-yo-way-ah."

I'm walking around with this craving for dark chocolate covered marshmallows again. It's killing me.

Beyond Rangoon, the movie about the pro-democracy movement in Burma, is showing at the Gene Siskel Film Center tomorrow! I loved that movie! So inspiring! Time to see it again...

Congrats to Gopal, Julia, and Jennifer in the early Match! Thanks to Nadine for organizing a nice dinner at Scoozi's! I feel like I haven't seen some of my med friends in months... Wow, it's amazing how fast time passes. I remember working with Gopal and meeting Nadine well before med school started. Now, 4 years later, we're all looking forward to finding out where our futures will take us next. I haven't been nervous about all of this, but after hanging out with all of them, I'm starting to worry just a little bit...

Love. It's tough sometimes. Hopefully it all works out in the end. Cute little animation courtesy of Kevan.

frooTpeblz: have you heard the song "Bubble Toes" by Jack Johnson?
HoChie71: bubble teas?
HoChie71: j/k
frooTpeblz: toes
HoChie71: nope
frooTpeblz: lol dork
HoChie71: haha
frooTpeblz: it's really cute

Most of my Cali pics are now posted online at dotphoto. Enjoy.

What a wonderful reunion of our SOTA group this morning! Tom and Cassie were in town, and Liz was kind enough to organize (as always) a gathering in Chinatown. Frank and Angela came out from the burbs too. I haven't seen them in ages it seems. Though we attempted to go someplace new for dim sum, we somehow ended up at Phoenix (like usual). I suppose it's because Rick has "connections" at Phoenix, and that gets us through the lines without waiting... Definitely a nice perk. Anyways, after dim sum, we got some... BUBBLE TEA! It seems Andy is now also a convert to Taro-flavored bubble tea. GO BUBBLE! GO TARO! I really have to quit this bubble tea business for awhile.

I am back at home. I just wanna kiss my computer cuz I've missed it soo much! I didn't realize how fast this sucker was after using a 266 MHz laptop on a 33.3 modem connection for the past 2 weeks. Ethernet forever.

I noticed that the little tapioca bubble from last week is still stuck to the wall. Interesting. Off to the airport...

I woke up early to watch surfers by the pier. It's a nice start to the day when you can savor some dark chocolates with your morning coffee.

I'll be back in Chicago by the evening. Back to reality and routine. I'm ready. Now that my California interview trail is complete, I definitely have a lot to think about regarding my future, where I want to be for the next 3 years, and what's important for me. I have a feeling I know, but I can't say I'm 100% sure. There are always complicating factors, little uncertainties, and twists in life that make me think twice. Plus this whole Match thing introduces a factor of randomness to the entire process. I think I just need to talk it out with somebody to figure it all out. I dunno. Suggestions anyone? Anyways, I hear Tom and Cassie will be in town tomorrow, so that's something to look forward to...

Excerpts from Kim's email regarding my excess consumption of bubble tea:

Hey Hoch,
Did you ever think that you might be getting too much starch from all the tapioca balls in bubble tea? Not having gone to Med school, I wonder what the scientific ramifications are of an excess of bubble tea starch. [...] Okay, wanted to say "HI" and give you my random thought regarding starch. i should really do some work.
talk to ya later!
Kim

Well, since Kim, and I'm sure many of you reading this are wondering the same thing, let me just use this as a teaching opportunity:

Dietary carbohydrates provide a major component of the daily caloric requirements accounting for >50% of calories in a typical US diet. Their complete oxidation to CO2 and H2O yields 4 kcal/g. When there are insufficient amounts of carbohydrates in the diet, such as on a high protein diet (attention those of you on the Atkin's diet), glucose is produced endogenously from amino acids (and that means potential loss of muscle tissue as well as pushing your system into more of a ketogenic state, not good). Dietary polysaccharides are consumed mostly as starch, the storage form for carbohydrates in plants (e.g., potatoes, rice, corn, bubble tea).

So, Kim, thank you sooo much for your concern! I appreciate you thinking about me today. I'm quite touched actually. I'll hopefully chat with you soon! Care to join me for some bubble tea or dark chocolate in the near future?

A couple of days ago, I went out to the local cafe tucked in a surfer shop by the pier to get some coffee, and on my way, I was drawn into a candy store. It had been over 2 weeks since I last had some dark chocolate... and my craving was too much to handle. So, without even thinking, I was at the candy counter looking at the selection of dark chocolates. I just picked out a variety, partly because I couldn't decide. They were so yummy with my coffee. And today, I'm remembering this marshmallowy one covered with dark chocolate that I liked... I can't take it any more... I gotta get me another one... No self-control.

My blogpage is 1 month old today! Happy Birthday little buddy!

Wow, I'm looking back at all my postings for the past month... It's been quite an adventure. I hope people don't think that a typical month in the life of Ho Chie is always that exciting. But, we'll see now, won't we... stay tuned.

And now I am done! I finished all the interviews I wanted to go to. And I am super pooped out! On my way back from the last interview, I stopped at some bubble tea place to celebrate with me and myself... Won't someone please take me out and buy me some bubble tea??

One more interview to go. Then I go home. Finally.

I had a nice day today at the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. Afterwards, I met up with Rebecca and Karin to go to dinner at some Cajun joint near West Hollywood. It's always good to see and talk to them. They're the kind of friends that remind me why I feel so strongly about Asian American issues. I don't know exactly why... maybe it's the way they think, or the work they've done in law school or as lawyers... or just the fact that we shared such a common vision for the APA community down at U of I. A thought occurred to me while we were sitting at dinner: Karin was AAA president the year before I was. Rebecca was AAA president 2 years later. Here we are, still friends after all these years. They inspire me and lift me up in so many ways still.

Right before dinner, though, we made a little pitstop at Barnes and Nobles to hear Wen Ho Lee talk about his book My Country vs. Me co-authored by Helen Zia (who wrote Asian American Dreams). Some of you may also remember Helen Zia as the journalist who worked on the Academy Award nominated documentary film Who Killed Vincent Chin?. Excellent film. But we won't go there today.

It was touching to listen to Dr. Lee talk about his experiences and how unfairly he was treated. He definitely reminded me of the "any-old-Taiwanese American dad" who came to this country to work hard, support his family, and (despite his experiences) remain faithful to the "American Dream." I think back to when this whole thing hit the news, and I wish I had done something more to fight the injustice. I'm guilty for being just an observer on the sideline.

Anyways, I've been trigger happy with my digital camera lately, so here are a couple of pics of Becca and Karin getting their books autographed by Wen Ho Lee and Helen Zia. And a somewhat goofy looking photo-op with the authors. We are so Asian... but hey, we're damn proud of it.

So, I've decided to cancel the rest of my interviews next week in New York. I'm just pooped. And I miss my bed...

HoChie71: i'm cancelling my nyc leg
HoChie71: i wanna go home
OoGuay: whew
OoGuay: go home hochie
OoGuay: you've been gone for a looong time
HoChie71: my adventures must end
OoGuay: yes..as all good tv episodes must
HoChie71: mine was a miniseries
OoGuay: my favorite
HoChie71: hehe

You're welcome Frank!

Classic Taiwanese food: Yu bung. Excellent stuff.

Just got back from Children's Hospital of Orange County. Nice program, nice people. Saw Chris too. Turns out he's dating Millie, sister of Elaine from New York. Small world. Too small. OK, I need some cafe time... off to Main Street...

Just chatted with Maggie on AIM. I think she's so cool - such an artsy romantic. I like her poetry and stuff. Also, she has a little place in my heart because I remember some of those years at TAF when I could only come for the weekend. And when you miss out for the week, it just doesn't feel the same. I just specifically remember her coming up to me soon after I arrived just to greet me. Nothing special to her I'm sure. Meant all the world to me. I always wish her the best.

I've known Jeff for quite some time now. He's probably one of the smartest guys I know, and also the most laid back. So those of you thought I was too chill, here's another person that doesn't seem to know the word stress exists. Jeff was one of my roommates during my last year in college, along with Jesse and Alex. That was probably one of the most fun and memorable times during my college career. Anyways, I don't get to see him too often these days... So, it was definitely a pleasure to just hang with him and his fiancee Rowena. I took a nice sunset silhouette picture of the both of them. I wasn't joking with them when I said I hope it makes it into their wedding slide show (hint hint).

So, Jeff, Ro, Celia, Wayne, and my bro all went out to dinner at a nice Japanese restaurant in La Jolla. Great food! Nice and cozy setting. Afterwards, we went to a bubble tea place near the "asian strip" outside of San Diego. Of course, all the high schoolers were hanging out there... I need one of those bad-ass haircuts too. Anyways, I thought it was cool that the bubble tea had GREEN pearls... I took a pic of Celia's drink cuz it was almost glowing like nuclear waste...

Off to San Diego / La Jolla for the afternoon...

Random thoughts this morning: (1) I am so ready to go back to Chicago. (2) Gotta go see Jeff, Ro, and Celia today. (3) Is Loui in town too? (4) Hungry. (5) I really like reading about Margaret and Frank's daily thoughts. (6) Do people know me differently now that my life is posted online? It's like the Seinfeld episode where "worlds collide." (7) I wanna see a movie. (8) Who is actually reading my blog page? Is this more for me or for others? (9) It's too cold to hit the beach. (10) Gotta call Rebecca, Karin, and Felix. (11) My feet are cold. (12) Kim's explanation for her sn, "Nuprin = little. yellow. different." That's cute. Stuck in my head. (13) I haven't seen any interesting emails from P.W. lately. (14) Still hungry. Time to find food.

I am back! Saw one of my Klingon buddies at the Star Trek Hilton - she was having a bad hair day though. Ummm, let's see what else... I actually did better than OK with my gambling blitz. I won't say how much I won except that my most of my Cali tour and plane tickets are almost all paid for now. Not bad huh? Here's a pic of me standing in the middle of nowhere somewhere between Vegas and LA. I need some sleep now...

Almost forgot... Kim suggested I check out www.melonmoon.com for cool asian candies... Can you say Kiwi Gummies? I remember the good ol' days as a kid and all we had were Botan rice candies... I always thought it was soo neat to be able to eat the "wrappers." My non-Asian friends were always in awe... OK, now I'm off to Vegas...

MADNESS! This is so wild that it's starting to get old... Why you ask? Well, I'm at UCLA-Harbor checking out their program and during our lunch break, I hear my name called out. It's Steve from U of C (doing his Internal Medicine internship) - yet another TAF soul (from old skool days) that I haven't seen for awhile. Now, on Tuesday, I know I'll be seeing Chris from U of C who is doing Pediatrics at Children's Hospital of Orange County. I swear, this TAF thing is going out of control. What happened people? Did you all move away from the Midwest without telling me? I think it's like only me, Liz, Rick, and Dan holding the fort down in Chicago...

After the program visit, I went to chill at a cafe. So, Kimchee (see previous posts) and I are chatting on AIM while I'm slurping up my coffee with boba. She tells me how fun it is to actually use that huge straw to launch one of those little boba buggers commenting on how well they stick to walls and cars and stuff. I think to myself, "interesting."

I caught up with Jenny from Jersey today at USC. We got Korean food and met up with her friend Heiti (a cool and hip Korean Guamanian American) to go to a Juilliard String Quartet performance of Bach's last major unfinished composition, Art of the Fugue. I don't think I've appreciated a classical performance so much before... The last "section," called Contrapunctus XIV, was played through til the last written note. Because it was unfinished, it essentially sounded like the pause button was pushed in the middle of the piece - followed by a chilling silence. It was just a powerful feeling knowing these notes preceded this genius' death.

So, I just got back to my mom's place. Right before I walked in, I decided that I couldn't finish my leftover boba's in my coffee drink. Kimchee was right. Those boba things are awesome projectiles! I hope my mom doesn't see the one that's stuck to the wall outside her door tomorrow morning. Don't try this at home kids. At least, not when mom is watching...

We are off to Vegas for an overnight trip tomorrow... If you see no mention of it in a couple of days, it probably means I've been beamed off earth from the Star Trek Casino. Or that I've lost my life savings. You can use your imagination on that one. Madness...

OK. Promise. Last blog of the day. Out of control. In Frank's words "This IS madness!" I actually just felt the need to post b/c I just realized I lost my thumb ring somewhere between SF and LA. I must get another one, cuz my thumb is feeling really naked right now. Oh, and I finally added a new counter to my page, thanks to Margaret. Now I can verify that I am pretty much talking to only myself in cyberspace. How does one acquire a fan club anyways? Do you have to be famous?

So, here's what Jessica had to say on AIM about my traveling:
spunkster007: damn your ass is just going everywhere these days

My thoughts? I'm in the middle of a great tour to prepare for my future and feeling just super lucky to have friends everywhere. I don't deserve this.

Finally! My cousin Violeta finally has a homepage! Welcome to the new world! (hehe, just kidding!). Anyways, it's cool that we actually IM every once in awhile now! I was just thinking... all the female cousins in our family are pretty cute. I think that's been the general family consensus. But us guys, man, we need some work...

Cousin Violeta. She normally isn't that furry...

Are the stars in some strange alignment or something? So, today, I was picked up by a shuttle to go to the airport, and the last person we picked up coincidentally turned out to be my good friend Cindy. We had been in touch through the past few days, but figured out our schedules weren't gonna allow us to meet up... So, it was just plain lucky that we were both flying out the same morning. She was on her way to NYC, and I was headed back to LA. That was just incredible, and I was so glad I could see her before I left... We both had plenty of time before our flights, so we actually had a chance to get breakfast at the airport. Of course, that early in the morning, we both looked like scum... and the restaurant scenery consisted of airplanes and boarding ramps. Lovely.

So, yesterday, after visiting Stanford, I got a chance to meet up with my cousin Cammy and her husband Bob, as well as some of my old Chicago friends John & Lara. Grace, my Taiwanese American buddy, also joined us. It was just so nice to be able to sit and chat with all of them. Dinner was at Buca di Beppo in downtown Palo Alto, and it was sooo yummy! Afterwards, I was exhausted, so I went back to Jesse's place, but Karisa came by to say hello! It's always so nice to see her. She's my "wonder twin October baby!" It was the kind of day that makes you appreciate all the people that enrich your life just by being a part of it.

Breakfast with Cindy at the airport. And a visit from my wonder twin Karisa!

Dinner with Lara, Cammy, Bob, Grace, and John in Palo Alto!

Nice day today... I saw Lynna (Happy Birthday!) at Kaiser during my interview... It's nice to think that if I ended up at that program, she would be my senior at some time. I also got a chance to have dinner with some nice buddies out on the Oakland side... very nice seeing all of them. I have such sweet and funny friends. Oh, and I couldn't resist getting myself another bubble tea, while walking down Bancroft in Berkeley. I'm supposed to find Kimchee later tonight. But I think I'm way too tired now... and feeling drained from the trip so far. So, we'll see if I pass out in a few minutes or not... Sorry Kimchee. I totally wanted to see you!

Dinner with Berkeley area buddies! Bill, Kasumi, Jen, Elaine, and Eileen

It seems Frank doesn't think spawning salmon is an interesting thing... Boy, if he had a comment/feedback thingy like Margaret, I'd leave a few words for him to ponder over...

What a cool day! Went to UCSF to check out their program. I liked it sooo much. The people were great, and I loved the fact that they have a program driven by defined values and a certain vision. That's all I'll say for now... got so many other factors to consider.

While at UCSF, I coincidentally bumped into another ex-TAFer, Judy (from Michigan). That was just amazing. It has been at least 8 or 9 years since I last saw her, so we met up later for dinner with Jesse & Rochelle and another U of I buddy, Candice. It was so great catching up with them. They haven't changed a bit.

Dinner with Anson, Candice, Rochelle, Jesse, and Michigan Judy!
After dinner, we made a pit stop to see Judy (from Cleveland). Turns out Annie (her sis) is around too, but trekking around town with friends... So, while we're talking with Judy on the street, a car pulls up and it turns out to be Jesse's friend who just relocated from Boston. SF seems like such a small place... all these crazy things are happening to me! It's just too exciting!

With Cleveland Judy outside her apartment
Off to Oakland tomorrow for another interview and dinner with Berkeley area buddies afterwards... When will this madness end?! (Is that a Frank statement or what?).

Today, we went to see salmon spawning. Except, we only saw one. Poor girl. We think she was the last of the fishies. All the others probably passed her up long ago. She's just struggling to get to the finish line - very respectable (Keep splashing girl!) But it's likely all the other ones have already done their thing, laid their eggs, and croaked by now... Sorry. Party's over. Darwin's survival of the fittest in action. I think. Hmm... I'd show a pic of the lone salmon, but, that was kinda boring. Here's a nice picture of Muir Woods instead... I liked the surreal feel of it.

Anyways, SOOO cooool: I heard from Andelle that Kim was in SF now... We luckily got in touch, and we're gonna meet up for coffee later. I haven't seen her in maybe 6 or 7 years. Little Kimchee, all grown up. Dang. I remember calling her that for the first time in 1989 at our dads' medical conference. I wonder if she remembers that's how the nickname started. I am psyched to see her!

Kimchee! I found you!
Okie dokie... off to Chinatown to meet up with Elaine!

Just came back from more Korean BBQ. I'm getting out of control with this Korean BBQ thing... It was a nice farewell dinner for Hubie who is leaving SF for awhile. Now he is one great friend that I don't see often, but I know our friendship will always be there. Tomorrow I get to see Elaine and hopefully a few other friends too - should be fun! Let's see, what else... I think Jesse and Rochelle wanna go see spawning salmon or something... sounds interesting. Those who fail better watch out... salmon roe for dinner! Time for Japanese...

Sunset view from my airplane window. Arriving just in time for a surprise party for Hubie!

State of mind right now: confused, lost, uncertain... I don't know what's important anymore. eeks... Anyways, off to SF now... probably to become even more confused...

Tomorrow, I am off to another interview at UCLA. It's been awhile since I last visited campus - I'm excited about returning since I spent 2 summers there taking Asian American studies courses. Those were experiences that definitely helped to shape some of my beliefs today. Anyways, right after that, I'm rushing off to the airport to fly to San Francisco for 5 days! Hopefully, I'll arrive just in time for dinner with more buddies!

Korean BBQ for dinner tonight... yummy!

Off to the beach again, the sunshine beckons...

Hello! I am a clamshell! Welcome to my beach! I am sitting here waiting for the waves to crush me into itsy bitsy pieces of sand... My life story will become history.

Good morning world! I woke up before sunrise, and went out to the pier again to watch the surfers. Here's a nice pic of a sliver of moon rising just before the sun. That's lifeguard station #1 with some surfers hanging right outside, but you probably can't see them. What a life. Click to enlarge.

I watched an episode of MacGyver this morning. He's still as cool as ever. Loved around the world. I should put together a hero page and put him up there in the top 3. When I'm in trouble, I say to myself "think dammit think... what would Mac do?" Just kidding. I'm not that strange.

I should probably call some of my southern cali buddies to hang out. But I'm being such a lazy butt since I got here. I think it's the weather calling me to bum on the beach instead. Jeff, Celia, Karin, Felix, Jenny, Karen, Becca, Connie, Shanjean, UIC med friends - sorry dudes! I'll be in touch soon!

Some random photos of my walk from mom's place to the pier this evening:


The rest of the photos are here.