In accordance w/recent blog trends..

No man is an island, entire of itself
every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main
if a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were,
as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were
any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind
and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls
it tolls for thee. ~ John Donne
¶ 08:43

New camera to play with !! yipee :) I spent the day playing with my new toy.
Here are some photos: http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeINXDlszcM2Ha ¶ 20:47

Wish List:
2 weeks on a National Geographic Magazine Photo Expedition to Tibet, Greece, or Morocco.... ¶ 13:56

After an agonizing decision btwn the new canon G5 & the olympus C-765 I bought a new camera!! The zoom won out and I bought the olympus :) I'm so excited!! It's due to arrive right after my exam on friday, so even if I'm doomed in pathology I still have a nice new toy to cheer me up. ¶ 11:02

such a lovely evening. Warm weather (finally!!), my hookah, some wine, good company, good food. It was a nice distraction from the last few weeks of stress. ¶ 12:40

I saw the movie "gaza strip" last night with some fellow medical students in the second year class. It was an interesting documentary. In the car on the way home we talked about it and the chief criticism offered by people was that it was too biased and too one-sided. That just didn't sit well with me. Why aren't news and media criticized for the same reason? Is it because they offer a facade of balance in their reporting? They never acknowledge that their reports that we read/see are also biased by their selection of whose voices are heard and whose are silenced by editing. This movie was called GAZA STRIP. It's a palestinian story about their plight. It didn't claim to be a "balanced" perspective of the conflict, it just told a story from a 13 yr old's perspective. We all know from the start that this is the point of view the director has chosen to take. When documentaries are done on less controversial issues, such as the famine in Ethiopia in 1984, no one screams out for "balanced" reporting b/c only the stories of the people starving are shown and the stories of those in political positions of power who stand accused are not portrayed. ¶ 10:00

You know, it's strange. Life still sucks, but you know I've found friends I never thought I had in these last 3 days. Friends at the house and even at the medical school who are actually willing to be there for me. It's been a mixed experience I guess. But thanks so much for your support. I appreciate it. It's been one CRAZY week. ¶ 14:06

boy. life sucks sometimes, doesn't it? The situation in the house has just gone from bad to worse. Started with a plate and escalated to this big mess I seem to be stuck in the middle of. damn. how do i get into these messes? Well, we'll see what this next week brings I suppose. ¶ 12:07

To all my fellow TCK's (third culture kids) or Global Nomads. Excerpt from an article:

Immigration Official: You have a French Passport, which was issued in Indonesia, you were born in Australia, and your J-11 Visa for the US was sent to Venezuala. Is that right?"
Student: Yes
Immigration Official: Your English is amazing, how much time have you spent in the United States?
Student: Approximately 18 minutes. This is my first time.

It's a strangely familiar feeling story, isn't it?

Found an interesting website too: http://www.tckinteract.net/Profile.html#Relations
Scroll down to Development, World View, etc.
Stems from some interesting conversations I had this weekend. I gota print out of this actually my senior year of high school from my advisor. She thought it would help all of us "transition" into our next place if we understand a bit about our quirks and eccentricities that stem from our rather mobile contexts. I thought it was really interesting, and generally very true in terms of my own outlook and relationships- particularly the bit about a rather strong migratory instinct, lack of patriotism, and leave-taking patterns. Good byes are hard and I've had to make plenty of them. Isn't it easier to gradually distance yourself until that critical point comes when you have to snip ties?
One more interesting thing statistic on the site. If you're a tck from asia you're most likely to identify with smells of your environment :) ¶ 18:44