The Search For The Perfect Yakimeshi

Ever since I left the Philippines, I've never had any legit YAKIMESHI yet...yakimeshi is japanese fried rice. It has this unexplainable taste that only authentic and probably geographically proximal restaurants to Japan can make. I've devoured yakimeshi from Tokyo Tokyo, Teriyaki Boy, Saisaki, and Sugi- all in the Philippines- and so far in the United States, nothing has paralleled this gastronomic delight.

One came really close- Tokyo Hibachi. This is in Lakewood, right across Elephant Bar. But still, it didn't afford that quality japanese rice I've been craving!

The search is on!

yasui- a poem in fookien

"Yasui"Wei Fu Ren

yasui
gwa um tsai nia
goon
lam pieng yiu, du pieng yiu...
hao siao. hao lak.
tue pu chu.

tan che- gua ai di

I Got A Questionnaire

I was part of a great pipeline program at Cerritos College: Project HOPE. They sent me a questionnaire asking for advice for the current program people. I thought I'd share my two cents to everyone. Here's the entire answer form:

Answers in bold blue.
Thank you for the communication.

john reinier f. narvaez

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

r e s f i r m a , m i t e s c e r e n e s c i t . . .

--- On Wed, 1/7/09, xxxxxxxxxxx@Cerritos.edu> wrote:

From: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@Cerritos.edu>
Subject: Project HOPE Alumni
To:
Date: Wednesday, January 7, 2009, 4:35 PM

Dear: Project HOPE Alumni

Project HOPE would like to have a moment of your time to answer the following questions, we appreciate your time.

What is your status?(I'm not sure how to approach this question, so...) A college senior planning to take another extra year to finish up my upper-division classes and to complete the medical school application cycle.

What school are you attending or have attended? Cal State Long Beach

What is your major? Biological Sciences-Physiology, Chemistry Minor

What is your current GPA? (I'm not publishing my response to this)

Where are you at this moment in life? At the hardest part of being premed- studying for the MCAT while studying for everything else, doing research, working at a hospital, tutoring science and math classes, and trying to balance all of these with non-academic pursuits.

What are your strengths and weaknesses you have encountered? weakness- overwhelming myself with a lot more than I could handle. strength- being able to prioritize my activities and being able to manage my time

If you have had any difficulties, how where you able to over come them?
By prioritizing, doing risk-benefit analysis on things. Learning to use on-campus resources for academic help when needed, GOING TO OFFICE HOURS, pestering my professors, and thinking long-term: visualizing the dividends that I am going to reap with all the hard, seemingly bitter investments that I am making.

Are you part of a support group?
Yes. I am glad to be part of UCLA-SMDEP. Although we attend different schools, we still take time out to get together and study, call each other for support, party when able, and remind each other of why we are all traversing such a hard path.

If you were to give advice to a Project HOPE student, what would it be?

• GO TO OFFICE HOURS.

• GO GET TUTORING EVEN WHEN YOU DON'T NEED IT.

• READ, READ, READ! I CAN'T STRESS THIS ENOUGH! YOU WON'T BELIEVE HOW MUCH YOU'D GET OUT OF JUST READING YOU TEXTBOOK.

• Join clubs like CCM.
• Hangout with like-minded people. Avoid those who will bring you down.
• YOU are still in a COMMUNITY COLLEGE. HOW DO YOU GET OUT? GET A HIGH GPA! Extracurriculars are great only when you can balance it. You can always do extracurriculars later on, or maybe on an academically tolerable schedule.
• Prioritize!
• There are a LOT of great resources at CERRITOS COLLEGE. PLEASE take advantage of those! Frequent the Project HOPE building. Frequent the math learning center. Frequent your professors (we have a great chemistry department- don't be afraid to abuse Bradbury/Zewail/ Shimazu- in so doing, I ended up tutoring OChem at CSULB- you can do it)
• VISUALIZE YOUR FUTURE when you feel weak and discouraged. You HAVE to get there. Don't quit for dumb reasons.

I hope this helps. I'm glad to have been part of Project HOPE.

Please email me back your responSes, I would kindly appreciate it.

Thank you,

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxx@cerritos.edu

So to my dear JC student-readers...make use of this!

Why You Should Not Drink And Play

"Okay! Second pitcher's on me!"

"Amber bock, please."

This was after a pitcher of newcastle. Our selection was erroneous. We could have settled for budweiser, thus allowing us three for maybe about 4 pitchers of it. The decision was not cost effective. It yielded the same fun nonetheless. After another round, given that I am an occassional drinker, I found myself gulping down from the pitcher, NOT my own glass. And we were playing drunken billiards. After the realization that we were all broke college students, Sam, Tom, and I decided to suspend the fun and decided to walk over to Albertaco's and eat. We ate a lot out in the cold and we suddenly felt the need to pee. The bar was really close, we figured we could go back in and use their clean restrooms. We got up and tried to traverse that 30-second walk. In the middle of the strip mall was a passageway to Target's back wall. Instead of walking straight, we turned right into the pass and we have found refuge in Target's plants. Yay. We decided to sober up for about an hour in Tom's car. I thought I was okay enough to drive. So I took off. The next thing I knew was I was already in my bed about to pass out.

"Hoy gising na! (hey wake up!)"

It was my brother. Holy shit I have a basketball game at 10am! It's 9:50!

I zoomed to Cerritos Regional Park.

My brother, who's really superb at basketball, was telling everyone that I'm "good". Holy cow. How about playing basketball with a hangover?

So there I was. 3 half-court games. One full court. I thought I'd be okay. So far: infinite number of airballs. Costly turnovers. Screen-and-rolls that were never executed, thanks to me stopping at mid-play figuring out where that heck I was standing at. I thought I got better at pull-up jumpers. All of them were nothing but air. I kept sliding down the slippery court.

12pm and I'm done. I hated basketball. I was having a headache. It was from the hangover, the humiliation, and the frustration.

No more drink and play.

Oh Man Not Again!

Is there something wrong with my demeanor? My face? The way I talk? Oh man...People still find me funny in times that I choose not to be. And their reactions can be quite surprising, sometimes involving buccal/oral contents...

The first time it happened was when I was in grade six (that's sixth grade in the Philippine educational system). I was gonna tell my buddy Rafael something. I tapped him on his huge shoulder and he turned around, saw my face at an unlikely time, and he accidentally spit out all the delicious brownie particles in his mouth. And they had a safe landing on my face. All I wanted was to find out something, probably for our homework. Instead, I got brownies from his mouth that I really didn't want.

During my ex's birthday party. Camille was drinking sprite when I told her something random about my sleep habits and my sense of how late I allow myself outside home. Again, this seemed funny to her and I didn't only illicit laughter. I got somethind tangible, this time in liquid form. It was not fun. I had "recycled sprite". Her nasal and oropharynx became uncomfortable from the acidity of sprite.

I thought that was the last episode, until early today...

Eye-riz had to get her car serviced, and I happened to live around the auto mall. We had lunch at one of my favorite places to save her from boredom, and we ordered old-school filipino favorites: bulalo (a variation of beef soup...?) and crispy pata (deep-fried pork leg?). Oh man. I loved the food!

For some reason our conversation decided to get a bit serious. I offered my advice- I was dead serious and I had so much wisdom brewing in my brain, wanting out. In mid-sentence, the inevitable happened.

She thought I was funny (my face? my expression? dammit what is effin wrong with me?). And so, in addition to the garlic rice, meat, and soup I was having...she involuntarily shared hers.

A bowl-ful of apologies followed concurrently with a blushing face and that really charming laughter that I found annoying at that instant.

At least I, I meant literally and physically, made you laugh. Ha. Ha.

Patient/Colleague Feedbacks

If my memory would serve me correctly, here is an account of what people- patients and coworkers- had to say about me in my face. I just thought about this last night at work and I thought it would be a great way to actually think about how I impact people. Probably a good preview when I finally get to practice medicine.

It would be very important to note that, since the comments were very diverse in flavor, I was very ambivalent towards my recollections. This is as accurate as it gets...



"You have a very commanding presence" (Some old guy I was transporting)

"Thank you, doctor" (skater boy with broken arm I just finished splinting)

"Oh." (after I told him that I wasn't a doctor)

"Are you an intern?" (person who didn't realize that our hospital doesn't have residents and interns. She must have been to UC Irvine Medical Center a lot)

"I like your smile" (An old lady with Alzheimer's)

"I admire you, young man. You have aptitude for the sciences" (this UCLA alumni that I was talking to while dressing up his wound. Blood was spurting from the sliced radial artery. I had to change my scrubs after.)

"You needed new scrubs? Why? Did you shart on your scrub pants?" (Linen lady in-charge of the scrubs)

"You're gonna make a great doctor" (old lady with dementia)

"You wanna go to medical school? DON'T DO IT" (ER doctor last night)

"I don't mean to discourage you, but medicine is hard here in the US. You should be a nurse" (my family doctor, Dr. Panganiban)

"You ask too many questions, you smartass" (Dr. Sviland)

"You're a weekender at work, huh. Just like cialis!" (Dr. Zarate)

"You crack me up!" (Dr. Wetzel)

"You crack me up!" (Sarah Nugent, RN)

"This is his first day" (Dr. Ho, when I fumbled and made a mess out of the laceration tray.)

"You're a bio major? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" (Sandra, RN)

"Get to work!" (ER tech)

"You are funny" (EMT student who was following me around and annoying me)

"You're such a fag" (Jack, RN)

"Hey shortbus!" (Secretary)

"You're a big dork" (another nurse)

"GODDAMN YOU! GODDAMN YOU!" (Old man at work. I didn't give him what he wanted- coffee)

"FUCK YOU" (Drunk guy/Heroin addict I was helping out)

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWW! Can't you be more careful?" (Some stupid pussy who was riding a motorbike without a shirt on. Road rash. I had to scrub his CHEST and arms with clorhexidine gluconate and betadine. Understandable.)

"YOU, are an ASS" (She wanted me to work her shift. I didn't return her phone call)

"Are you mexican?" (some white dude)

"Tonto!" (old man who thought I didn't understand spanish)

"Hijo de puta" (same deal, different guy)

"You look too young to be doing this" (some asshole who doubted my competence)

"Don't uncover them, my legs are hairy!"(25-year-old girl who thought she was hot. My response- "I've seen worse")

"HURRY UP, WHAT ARE YOU DOING???" (idiot guy who's saying this and holding my arm restrictively at the same time when I was trying to bring her hypoglycemic mom inside the ER)



Great looking back. Patient care is cool. I could get used to this. Albeit the majority of unpleasant feedbacks.

I Screwed Up

There I was at work, still feeling like a zombie due to the effects of yesterday's workload (which includes lab chores, MCAT studying, and the ER midshift I covered) and the usual lack of sleep. What's worse is that I am not working my regular graveyard shift that I am not certainly accustomed to. The midshift, 1pm to 1am, is certainly a different environment. A busier atmosphere owing to the volume of patients being seen by the morning people and the constant influx of new cases to be seen. Couple that with the morning shifters who are at the top of their game and who are less laid-back than the people I am so used to working with and the unusual energy associated with that entity called "daytime". Man. It's a killer.

"Hey Reinier, they need a wheelchair to the breezeway."

I went to grab a wheelchair and as I was making my way outside the ER, I was contemplating on what the problem this patient may have, and what I am supposed to do. The bread and butter things went through my mind. Breathing problems? Grab the patient right away and get a bed, page respiratory, get O2 sats, and give O2. Chest pain? Go to triage, get an EKG right away. Drunk? Don't even. It's not the night shift yet. Assault? Not the night shift yet, too.

A pulled-over ford taurus was waiting for me. The young lady frantically opened the passenger's side and showed me what was going on. Her co-worker's right foot was wrapped in a thick bloody sheet, with her sock inside soaked entirely in blood. Shiiii-et. How much blood did this lady lose? She's not showing signs of hypoxia. I instructed the victim's er, the patient's friend to register her information in the lobby while I took the poor lady inside the ER.

As with any workplace, there is always that one manager that every person, be it a menial worker bee or a collegial equal has respect for, and that no one dares to fuck with. This is by virtue of that manager's authority, expertise, and unparalleled experience. No one can dispute whatever that person has to say. No one cannot overpower that person. That person is the epitome of workforce dominance. That person in our ER is A.B. (can't reveal true name for fear of being unemployed at an unlikely time and manner).

I brought the lady into bed 6. It so happened that A.B. was on, and she was in close proximity. I told her the patient's history that I've managed to find out- varicose vein got hit by the side of a wheelchair step and it popped, causing the huge bleed.

She went to check it...

What were the things that were going through my head at that instant A.B. was inspecting the patient?

"Shit, I did the right thing because she bled a lot and it seems like a serious thing. What if she goes into shock (highly unlikely, 5L of blood volume versus approximately, I dunno, less than a cup?)? Or what if it were actually an artery that may be spurting blood (you dumbass!!! she said it was a varicose VEIN! listen to the fucking patient!)? Hmmmm (oh no you idiot...this is apparently non-life threatening, and there are patients waiting in th lobby ahead of her with more emergent issues!)..."

After a thoughtful percollation of events, it was clear. I SCREWED UP.

A.B. told me to dress the wound and transfer the patient to the eye chair- where the least emergent cases are seen, if there are no ophthalmology cases. After executing her orders, I knew it was time for my execution.

"Airway, breathing, circulation. You know the prority. Sometimes things are not as worse as they look. This is not threatening...get her vitals now." Her non-yelling demeanor manifested the seriousness of her remark. I knew right away that this was no time to give a life-saving bullshit apology.

As she was saying these, I remembered how a regular slice of bread turns into toast. I was the bread, she was the oven. And I became T-O-A-S-T.

I finished up on her orders and I offered more help. "Anything else, A.B.?"

"YOU have done enough already" plus a jestful whack on my head/back with the patient's chart. Luckily it wasn't attached to the clipboard. I just smiled.

When I got off the hook, I laughed to myself. I sucked. The rest of the workday became even more hilarious- everything I did that caught A.B.'s attention was greeted by a "what the hell" look (of course I know A.B. was kidding, or at least half-kidding.).

Thank God I'm back to working nights.

Here You Go, Miriam!!!

Due to my good friend's persistent request for recognition of her unparalleled devotion to a canine being named Balou, I decided to post a couple pictures of the revered being, one with the rightful owner in it sharing a moment with it.

Miriam and Balou have their own love story. They lived most of their lives together in Seattle, reenacted the movie "Sleepless in Seattle" quite a number of times, they had coffee together (of course.) and they sleep in the same room. Unfortunately, Balou is a chihuahua. And Miriam had to leave Balou for this stupid thing called college. The good thing is, she is away from Balou in a very predictable manner, and they get to reunite everytime the warzone (university) ceases to operate (winter and summer).

As stable as this unity is, there is one big barrier to their relationship (aside the obvious human-canine mating barriers discussed in biology and, perhaps, psychiatry)- Miriam does not know where she would end up for medical school. Lucky if gets in and decides to attend the University of Washington. This is a logistically feasible setup, with only a few miles away from each other and a car/train/bus ride away. But what if she gets in to the prestigious Washington University in St. Louis? at her alma mater USC?

This is indeed a great story to follow. I do hope that everything turns out for the best.

Hung over?

So far, this is the worst hangover for me. After 4 straight nights of hepatic abuse and neurologic compromise, I finally succumbed to the crappiest feeling. The peak enjoyment that Jack Daniels, Coke, Heineken, and XX gave me has resulted in a direct reflection peak across the x-axis. I was, officially, fucked up.

I'm not an avid fan of drinking, only indulging in such a socially conditioned activity on rare, warranted occasions. I actually know my threshold- I can still drive from Long Beach to my Cerritos home safely after 3-4 beers (depending on what kind, too). Last night was really different. It was a bad positive feedback effect, just like sickle-cell anemia. The sickle-shaped RBCs cannot deliver more oxygen. Less oxygen, more hypoxia. More hypoxic tissues, more normal RBCs change conformations to its sickle shape. And the vicious mechanism perpetuates. Same here. More JD's, more ineffective decision making. Ineffective decisions= more alcohol. More alcohol=more alcohol. And so it perpetuates.

The day after:

Strangely woke up early. Thought everything was okay. Decided to go to school/lab to finish up lab chores for the week. Ate. The food comatose didn't help.

Got to the school parking lot. Wasn't successful on opening the door. Cherished the situation that is my ass embedded to the car seat. Realized that I was also having an annoying feeling on my skull's temporal area. And it was bilateral. It was a headache. Good thing Sam was with me. So I happily acquiesced to his decision of staying home and taking a nap.

Knocked out for 2 hours. It felt like 20 hours of sleep.

Now I'm energized with a small trace of a hangover. Thank you to Sam, sleep, gallons of water, and a grande coffee. I am here at starbucks killing time before my work. I just finished studying too.

Ugh.

Check this out. This is D'Sound's song, "People are People". I was on youtube just listening to random songs that I've learned to love when I was in the Philippines. This song has a very catchy, melancholic, and quite a monochromatic feel to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDu29rqasnI&feature=related