Hyphenated Americans

I don't give a crap what people call me...Asian, oriental, titty sucker, etc. It doesn't matter what you call me. What matters is your intent. Did you intend to offend me? Trash talkin' is one thing, but a genuine intent to offend is another. This brings me down to the hyphenated Americans. You know, Asian-American, African-American, etc. I would like to tell you all a story that backfired on people who insisted on such labels.

My friend Benton has a buddy who applied for an African-American scholarship. Not only was he accepted for it, he ended up getting full tuition, money for books and housing. Problem was, this kid was blonde haired and blue eyed. They were going to deny him the money. However, he was indeed African-American. His family was from South Africa. He was 3rd generation South African. He claimed that he was more "African" than most of the black people on campus. He took them to court and won. The language was clear. People of African descent. He was. I tell this story because I am against political correctness. Respect is NOT given in the form of a word. It's given from within. That's just my opinion.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I can't believe it! It's snowing in Houston!

I woke up this morning to what Zelda calls "Snow flurries". The last time it snowed in Houston to where the snow did not melt upon impact on the ground was about 20 years ago. So, I'm not too keen on the snow terminology. Anyways, I woke up and was excited to see "snow flurries".



Yeah, I know...You can't see anything. But for us, it was quite exciting. We don't see this kind of stuff ever. Anyways, Zelda's family wanted to meet up at church around 6:00. Now, you all know that I'm Buddhist. Honestly, going to Church service does not bother me. It's quite educational to see how others use various teachings to shape their lives. As long as they live a good life, I don't care what religion they are. While in Church, I glanced over at the window. Wow! It was really snowing. More than I have ever seen in my life. Half an hour goes by and it doesn't let up. Whoa! There may actually be snow on the ground. Wouldn't it be cool if we could actually have a "White Christmas"?! When we got out of the service and walked outside, I couldn't believe it. There it was! It looked like someone dumped salt on everything. SNOW!



I was speechless. I automatically let my natural animalistic instincts kicked in. I ran up to where there was a fresh coat of snow, scooped it up with my hands, packed it into a small ball, and propelled it right at Zelda. It caught her right in the back of her coat and exploded into tiny snow chunks! It was so great! My instincts went out of control. Everywhere I could find snow, my hands gathered up as much snow as I could and molded the perfect projectile weapon. A snowball! I flung those snowballs at anything with legs. I couldn't control it.

Finally, the cold snap hit me and I decided to get everyone into the car. I got Gwendolyn into her place and strapped in her seatbelt. Then, I quickly jumped into my side of the car. Zelda got Emma into her car seat and buckled her in. She then opened her door and sat down, buckled in her seatbelt. The next thing I remembered was an ice cold glove right in my face. Snow chunks fell right into my lap. She got me back in her own car. The one place I thought I'd be safe. I didn't think she'd risk getting the inside of her own car wet. I guess vengeance is too great a temptation (Mental note taken for future references). For you ladies and guys who have seen snow before, we probably got equivalent to about 2 centimeters of snow. Don't laugh. It's much more than most of us have ever seen before.

Ciao for now and Merry Christmas!

Realization

As long as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a doctor. I saw how people respected their opinions, how much money they made, and how they can make those who need help feel better. I wondered, how could I choose anything else? I've always heard that the one thing that affects every doctor is how to give someone bad news.

When he was still a student/intern, my Internal Diagnosis professor's first patient was a middle aged woman who was complaining of back pain. After taking a history and physical, he wanted to snap a few X-rays. When the film was developed, there it was: what appeared to be an aggressive lesion that resembled metastasis. This patient previously had breast cancer, had a mastectomy, and was considered "cured" after 5 years. Unfortunately, some time after the 5 years, it came back. It had metastasized to her spine. He had to tell his first patient that she had metastasis. 6 months later, she died.

When I heard this story, I thought to myself that I wouldn't have any problems telling someone bad news. The reason being is because I've seen what people generally want. Usually, they don't want information to be sugar coated. They want to know straight up what's wrong. So, everytime I give someone bad news, I've tried to never start out with "You need to sit down" or something like that.

Zelda got off the phone with a friend of hers from New York. The look on her face told me that she just got bad news. Someone she was close to, named Rebecca, was diagnosed with spinal cancer. This was just a 17 year old girl. She was a friend to Zelda's family. I've met her and her family. They are among the kindest people I have ever met. Zelda told me that this particular family had lost so many relatives already.

Without much detail, Zelda asked me what I thought her chances were. Knowing that she's 17 years old and it involved the spine, my top 2 choices were Osteosarcoma and Ewing's Sarcoma. I told Zelda that Osteosarcoma was the most common malignant bone tumor. I didn't want to tell her about Ewing's Sarcoma because chances of survival was slim if it wasn't localized. Osteosarcoma is nothing to take lightly either, but I knew that Ewing's Sarcoma was notorious for killing kids. It's also the second most common primary malignant bone tumor in kids. Osteosarcoma, however, is rare in the spine. Ewing's Sarcoma is not.

One night, after drinking a bottle of wine with Zelda, we were talking about Rebecca. I thought that one day, I'm going to have information about someone that I have to reveal. I told Zelda that there's a good chance that it wasn't Osteosarcoma and that it may actually be something else. A much more notorious form of pediatric cancer. That's when I told her about Ewing's Sarcoma. Zelda was even more scared. I then told her that I could be wrong. I didn't know enough about the case to really give anything specific.

A few days later, Zelda got the phone call, I was right. They're starting chemo therapy on her right now. It's taking a huge toll on the family. It all made me wonder if I should have told Zelda about it to begin with. I didn't really know if I was right, but it was there in the front of my mind. Since I wasn't sure, I didn't want to worry her. Now, I'm wondering if I should've told her so that she could've had time to prepare. I just wonder what the right move was.

Then, I realized. This part of the job is going to be a lot harder than I expected.

Austin!

As most of you know, I took Zelda and the kids to Austin this weekend. We had an incredible time. I partied hard and paid for it the next morning and the morning after that too.

We had a slow start. Earlier in the day, Zelda told me that we could leave anytime especially since we were going to skip afternoon activities. Around 4:00, she told me that we had to be there by 7:00. I had no idea that we had to be there at a certain time. So, the argument ensued. Once in the car, We had to sit through 45 minutes of traffic just to get 6 miles. After that, it was mostly quiet night time scenery of Texas Flatlands. That seemed to calm us both down a little.

The first night out, one of Zelda's sister, Winnie, took us out for a night on the town while another one of her sisters watched our kids. The one who took us out used to work at a bar on 6th street. Zelda looked absolutely gorgeous as usual. She managed to draw quite a bit of attention with her low cut top. As we walked down the street, I saw 5 guys in different cars passing by jump at the window to get a closer look at her. One guy walked past us and exclaimed to his friend, "God Damn!" Of course Zelda was oblivious to all of this. As for me, I enjoy rubbing it in to others that she's all mine.

We started at an Irish pub called BD Riley's. Zelda eventually got a little drunk and went back to the apartment. I offered to go with her, but she insisted that I go have some fun with her sister. Well, I thought to myself that last time, we were in New York. I had to stay with the kids while she went out. So, why not? It's my turn. Winnie took me to a place called Cuba Libre. She met up with an old friend there who hooked us up with free drinks. Apparently, they were really known for their Mojitos (sp?) These drinks were damn good! Other friends of Winnie came in and I was introduced to them. One was a cute Asian girl who developed quite an interest in me. She wouldn't stop rubbing my dick. Just kidding. Actually, she wouldn't stop talking long enough for me to get in 2 words. She was still nice though. Anyways, the mojitos set in and we decided it was time to leave. When I got home, Zelda was still drunk. She saw me come in and jumped right on me, unzipped my pants and gave me the best blow job. That night, I was THE KING!

When the kids woke us up the next morning, I was still drunk! Zelda had already reached her hangover stage. Not me, I closed my eyes (big mistake) and asked Zelda to grab the trashcan for me. I dry heaved for a few minutes then drank some water to rehydrate myself. That water only put something in my stomach for me to vomit. So, back up it went. After my brief regurgitation session, I felt a little better. Still drunk, but a little better. So, I started my hangover cure. I took a hot shower, drank lots of water, and left for breakfast. We met up with a group of pro democracy, pro freedom advocates. After breakfast, we were told to follow the group to play paintball. They told us to follow the red Ford Mustang. Unfortunately, I only heard Mustang. So, I followed a Mustang....a blue Mustang. I must've followed the wrong car for about 3 miles before I decided to call the group to double check directions. After realizing that we had been following the wrong car, they gave us directions to the paintball field. When I got there, the group had already been given their rental equiptment. I had played lots of paintball years ago and had my own equiptment. Once I got my stuff set up, we played.

Looking back, I should've held back a little because most of these people had played at most once or twice in their lifetime. I eliminated player after player after player. In a few of the games, I was eliminated early, but for the most part, I took out most of the other team throughout the day. Zelda wanted to play, but has a problem with getting hit. So, she sat by the bonfire on a beautiful Saturday afternoon and relaxed with the kids. I've got some nice bruises where I got hit, but I had a blast.

Later that evening, we went out for more of Austin's nightlife. Due to lack of money and killer hangovers, we decided to keep any drinking at a minimum. That was actually a very good idea had we actually kept it. Yep, we failed. I think Zelda had about 5 long island iced teas. I had about 7 or 8. When we got back, we passed out. Next morning, we dragged out of bed to make the 2 and a half hour drive back to Houston.

We didn't get to meet with Trashman and Jack. I was disappointed, but we will have more chances in the future. Austin's not too far of a drive when you're in the mood for a Road trip. I'd like to take pictures for everyone to see, but since Jack is an undercover, we won't. As for Trash, he's probably in a witness protection program of some sort, so unless he's cool with pictures, probably not. We will, however, have stories to tell. Next time guys! Next time!

I'm Done!

Sound the Horns! Ring the Bells! Hell, shoot some Tequila! I am DONE with final exams. 8 exams in 4 days! Some of the exams were broken into several parts. Now comes the long wait to determine if I passed everything. There are only 2 or 3 exams that I don't know about. Everything else...passed! I felt pretty good about the ones I didn't know about, so I think I may get in a little early celebration. Hell, I should just celebrate being done for a few weeks.

Let's play a game. Everyone tell me your favorite shot or drink and I will try it. If you have a mixed drink in mind, let me know what goes into it. Portions will be reduced so as not to kill myself. If you don't drink alcohol, just tell me something non-alcoholic...I could use some rehydration. Other than that, it's party time! Woo Hoo!

On a side note, I would like to thank my dear wife, Zelda for putting up with me these past few weeks. It's been quite stressful and I want to apologize for putting any undeserved stresses that I may have put you through. I love you, baby. I miss you so much eventhough you were in the next room. I know we couldn't do much together because I was so busy, but it's over for now. I'm going to make it up to you....I promise.

To my kids, although they can't quite read well yet, all I can say is daddy's done for now. I'll get to be there for whatever you want. I'll be there to play with you if you want. I'll be there to teach you more things if you want. I'll be there to put up the Christmas tree tonight and help you decorate it. Daddy's actually going to be more available for you.

But first, a little celebration and a nap!

More Brainwashing from the Media

I'm taking a short break because I'm in the eye of the hurricane right now. Starting Monday through Thursday, I've got 8 final exams. I'll post more soon, but as for now, this is all I have time for.

I just saw a segment on MSN about a school that auctioned off a deer rifle as a fund raiser.
Go see it for yourself: http://video.msn.com/video/p.htm?i=ac3bac87-a6e9-481c-800d-84fff1c2b21e,62378dec-21db-4afa-8f76-d68b6de855d6,919edacc-e319-4e0e-9e3c-fe95ad9901c1&m=News&mi=NBC%20News

This media was so obviously biased against the idea. There's nothing wrong with being biased, but when you're THE NEWS, you're supposed to be objective. I had no problem with the questions that the reporter was asking. She obviously needed her ignorance regarding the matter to be explained. What really pissed me off was the fact that they were talking about a deer rifle then showed a clip of UZI's and other guns that the firearm ignorant public don't know a thing about.

If you don't know alot about guns, let me explain a few things. The public has a huge problem with guns that look like the AK-47, M-16, and Uzi's. These are your popular "assault rifles" that they want to ban. The most dangerous part of a gun is not the gun itself, it's the bullet. There are various calibers of deer rifle. I can tell you that most deer rifles use bullets much more powerful than the "assault rifles" that I mentioned above.

Yet, the news chooses to use a clip of guns that you see in movies that are designed to scare you. They must really think you're stupid. Either that or they're just plain dumb and want to drag you into their own stupidity. Such is the case with Michael Moore in his documentary "Bowling for Columbine" Is anyone out there aware that HE STAGED THE SCENE where he walked into a bank and got a gun by opening an account? Here's the truth: There was a bank that offered a free gun if you opened an account with them, BUT it had to be a long term account (so that they know where your ass is), then you had to go to the local gunstore, pass all federal guidelines and background checks, then receive it. Oops, I guess he left that information out on purpose. You see, Michael Moron knows that you believe what you see. He just happens to leave out important details because hey, you're an idiot and he knows better than you. Pisses you off a little doesn't it? Well, that's exactly what the media does to you. Make you see something twisted around to evoke a feeling out of you with no use of logic.

This reporter even said that the auction was putting the guns into the hands of children! The congresswoman had to set her straight. The rifle MUST be turned over to an adult. So, as for the school raffling off a rifle, who the fuck cares? It's not going to end up in the hands of a child unless the adult allows it to be. Common sense needs to rule people, not emotion. There are numerous people who teach their children how to use firearms. Not only that, but they teach them to respect firearms and to handle them only under parental supervision.

Igorance is not always meant to be an insult. There are lots of things that I am ignorant of because I don't know a whole lot about them. However, I'm not going to try to influence people towards an opinion if I don't know a good deal about the subject matter. Why can't today's media follow that example? I don't mind the reporter questioning the congresswoman about the fund raiser, but when you pull the shit that they did, that was inexcusable. That was like saying, "Fuck your logic" look at this!