Archive for the ‘Main storyline’ Category
This is a sequel of sorts of the previous “happy girl in the snow” post I made (#642).
Medium size after the cut.
Updated mini-version!
Today was a gorgeous, breezy day, so I walked to the public Rose Garden in the Fens and studied for a few hours there, eating lunch as well. It was kind of interesting to study microbial pathogens while practically picnicking in the park, but it worked out nicely. In the process, I ended up taking photos of most of the flowers.
Martha’s Vineyard
Granada
Miss Elsie May
Michelangelo
Heritage
Here are also couple character sketches (personifications of everyday objects). The two on the left are my two current computers, and the one on the right is my jade plant. I’ve always given life to objects because of my belief that the basic element of the soul is present in every atom, thus giving all things an essence of life. The concept is somewhat related to tsukumogami, a subset of Japanese youkai which are household items which have existed for long enough to have a soul.
The names of my three computers are as follows:
Adalheidis (Ada) – old laptop (not drawn here)
Hipparchia (Archia) – desktop (left)
Swapneshwari (Swapna) – new laptop (center)
My jade plants are collectively called “Midori” (green) but don’t currently have individual names.
People who live with their pasts can write memoirs and autobiographies. I only live with the present and the future, the past lingering as a volume of knowledge in the living moment. That’s why I think my equivalent of a memoir is more like a simple present introspection, although the difference is that the introspection is more ‘closed’ from outside characters. When I hear the wash and noise of silence, or when I am sleeping, that is when this inner world is most apparent, and that is what I’m depicting here. Since I am so young, this short and simple diary-style introspection should suffice.
This five-page illustrated diary entry sums up my life, which is on a cycle of obligation and fulfillment. During the obligation segment, a large clump of things I need to do but that I can’t seem to commit to build up, and during the frenzied fulfillment stage, I finish them one by one (or release the ones that have expired). While the obligation stage is full of stress and a looming shadow, it is also a period during which I flit from one thing to another, learning as much as I can. Fulfillment is made possible by the disjoint skills I hone while distracted by other things. It can take months or years for me to understand how something I’ve learned how to do is relevant to fulfilling my promises. But at some point, everything just comes together. I just have to have faith that my instinctive investments will culminate in a grander art in the end.
will be written soon ..
A bunch of us first-year MD/PhD students got together this morning to have brunch. It turned out to be a much more all-out affair than I was expecting, thanks to a rather pervasive (and previously unknown) cooking talent. We had pancakes with tons of fresh blueberries (Sylvan), french toast made from dehydrated challah (Mike), maple flavored bacon and sausages (Yian), mushroom, pepper, onion, and ham omelettes (me), Indian style scrambled eggs (Vineeta), hand-made zucchini chocolate bread and cranberry nut bread (Katie), green tea mochi (Wendy), fresh fruits (Divya), and v. 7 of Wen’s famous cheesecake (with hand-whipped whipped cream and chocolate shavings, and graham crust) to celebrate Mike’s birthday. We ended up unbelievably full to the brim. I also managed to collect a few more “stories” about people which will help with my planned gag caricatures of the class, pending a few more quirks or juicy tidbits.
I made more omelettes today than I had previously made in all my life, I think. I prepared 7 omelettes, totaling 19 eggs and probably two and a half pounds of filling, and I think people enjoyed them. My technique for flipping and folding them has definitely improved, although there’s still a ways to go before I’d consider it perfected.
I have so many exciting things happening right now in my life, with a fresh lab rotation coming up that I am really looking forward to and roots of association and maybe friendship finally sprouting in my new world. I can finally cook satisfactorily and efficiently, and my refrigerator has a good in-out flow going instead of the horrendous buildup of strange creatures that characterized my Burton-Conner kitchen. I’ve gotten to perform for and meet with amazing people, and slowly I think I’m becoming more visible to this world – I never thought I’d have a row of Massachusetts senators and representatives listening to me play, and I never thought I could “cold e-mail” a lab and be filling out paperwork to join before the interview was even over. I’ve also become a lot more confident in my driving ability, and the past year of financial independence has taught me a lot about balancing my life and earning the things I want.
Even though it feels like I’m easing into the adult world at long last, its horrors mitigated by the eager and youthful minds of all ages that surround me every day, there’s one part of the dreams of my future that is still holding its breath anxiously. I don’t want to ever have another trio of seasons so far from you, and so I hope every day that another place won’t come and snap you up and take you away from me. I am so dependent on your companionship and humor and wit and playfulness that even a busy day without you is hard on the heart. Please … stay close to me, always …
I keep these pretty simple.
1. Get to class on time. Last semester’s record was something like 25% … pretty pathologically late. This year so far: on time 6/9 (67%).
2. Floss my teeth at least once a day. Even if it hurts.
3. Blog regularly again. I neglected this blog because of the time it took to write entries and due to low comment volume, but writing is really a good thing and it’s pretty important for keeping my writing ability in check.
4. Practice scales and etudes more often on violin.
5. Try to do things promptly.
6. Publish a scientific paper that I wrote myself.
7. Finish the ‘big project.’
Surgeon general and health matters
I think it would be quite interesting to see Sanjay Gupta as surgeon general – I think he is someone who the general public would be receptive and responsive to, which is critical because the job doesn’t entail very much influence on the law or official policy vs. its potential effects on popular understanding. Although Dr. Gupta has had the rather embarrassing episode with Michael Moore (of all people to make errors about ..), I would hope that he would have a better fact-checking staff as surgeon general. More importantly, he has simultaneously expressed agreement with the idea that healthcare in the U.S. does merit substantial improvement.
Of particular note is Tuft’s rather audacious (in a bad way) bargaining strategy of dropping patients who have BCBS insurance. While it is obviously the insurance company’s sin to treat Tufts as though it were second-rate with low payments, it is irresponsible to use patients’ health as collateral. To me this is no different from taking hostages – you could say that you’re doing it for the good of everyone and that you expect the other side to give in before you terminate the hostages – but would anyone excuse you?
Burris and Blagoyevich
There is very little ethical argument for seating Roland Burris “as is.” I do not believe that Blagoyevich’s nomination disqualifies Burris in any way from being nominated, but Blagoyevich can’t be the one to do the naming. The one thing I do agree with the corrupt governor on is that Illinois does deserve full representation. But that representation shouldn’t be coming via a governor who has betrayed public trust over and over again – that would be the same as a dictator appointing council members – it’s not representation in any way. Instead, it makes more sense to me for the next-in-line (the Lt. Governor, if the office exists), provided he/she is not accused of the same as the governor (which Pat Quinn is not), to make the appointment when there is such obvious controversy surrounding the current governor (even if he is not currently formally guilty of anything). I’m not saying that Blagoyevich shouldn’t have a fair impeachment hearing, but given the circumstances of very important upcoming senate sessions and the prospect of a rather drawn-out impeachment process given judges unwilling to go the quick route, fair and defensible alternatives need to be improvised.
I was waiting at the DFW Airport rental car center’s bus hub, hoping to catch the next shuttle to Terminal D. The bus eventually pulled up, and the driver hopped out to help me load my luggage into the array of luggage shelves. As I took a seat, I noticed him reaching up on tippie-toes to grab something above his driver’s seat, and I watched with curiosity as he emerged with a stack of yellow napkins – Wendy’s, I’d guess – before starting down the center aisle. I wondered to myself why he would need napkins at a time like this, but I soon had my answer as he handed the stack to a woman who was sobbing uncontrollably in her seat, unable to say goodbye to the family she had been visiting.
He was a simple man, but his bus was an enclave of extraordinary heart. He would repeat over the intercom, each time new passengers came on, something that went like this: “Hello, my name is Tyrone Postell, and I welcome you to Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport. Thank you for riding the V-I-P bus to Terminals C and D. We’ll be going to Terminal C first, and make three stops, and then we’ll go to Terminal D and make two stops. Those of you getting off at Terminal D, I thank you for your patience. I wanted to wish you a Happy New Year and to thank you for your gratitude. And remember … you’re all very special people. Thank you for riding the V-I-P bus.” The line varied ever so slightly each time, perhaps to remind us that it wasn’t a prerecorded message. Each time he said it, it took his effort and care, but he didn’t seem to mind repeating himself after each stop because at least one new person who just got on hadn’t yet heard his mix of information and inspiration.
It wasn’t a VIP bus, of course – it was the shuttle from the rental car center to Terminals C and D and back, a microcosm compared to the thousands of buses scampering to and fro; and the passengers were only a dozen of the tens of thousands of airport patrons hoping to catch their flight on time. But for those of you whose hearts are warmed by little videos on YouTube or richprosperity.com, remember to keep an eye and ear out for these microcosms in the real world and find the ones who are already trying their hardest to bring more happiness into your life.