Self Defense Class

Miami is known for its high crime and homicide rate. There are a lot of drugs out there that make people do really stupid things. There are also a lot of just plain stupid people out there that'll do anything for money or to get a girl...or boy.

Recently, I've heard in the news that a man slit the throats of his wife and four children in his Miami home then fled to Haiti to hide. He still hasn't been found. I also heard that a dead body was found in a forest a little outside of Miami and no one even knows who he is or how he got there. There's all sorts of reasons to be scared of moving to Miami. Even popular shows will exploit the crimes in Miami: CSI Miami, Miami Vice, ... Dave's World!

So, since my Mom learned that I will be going to PA school in Miami, she enrolled us two in a self defense class offered at the local YMCA. Since then, I've learned how to:

• Defend myself from any attackers
• Punch them in the nose/chin with my palm
• Swing heavy men off me in case they attack me from behind
• Kick them in the groin, shin, knee or stomach
• Knock the intruder away in case they're choking me

This is my second week in the class, and I absolutely love it! I've never been attacked before *knock on wood*, but I've imagined being attacked many times and thought about what I would do if I were. I thought that if I planned ahead, my escape and protection would be better. Since taking this class and simulating the attacks, I've learned that no matter how much thought you put into it, it's so hard to respond on the spot when you've got someone surprising you from behind and your life is hanging by a string in someone else's hands. I've also learned how to protect my body in case someone attacks it, and that has boosted my confidence in fighting back a lot.

So, going to Miami could be a scary chapter for this small town girl, but after learning a lot of basic maneuvers, I feel so much more confident stepping out of Valdosta and going south to Miami. If I'm ever attacked, I'm not sure if I'll be shaken up and scared half to death, or proud of myself for being able to protect myself. I'm hoping it's the latter. :)

Btw, the above photo is my Mom attacking my brother as she's practicing some of the moves. Our instructor in the background had a great laugh as the whole entire class beat Michael up. hehe.

Starting a Family

No, I'm not expecting!

This past Saturday, I went to a high school friend's baby shower and realized that she was having her 4th baby's baby shower. Then, I started thinking about how old my mom was when she had me (her 3rd daughter) and it was around my age right now.

You would think that I am feeling late in the game and wondering, "why don't I have a family yet?" On the contrary, I am enjoying my no-kiddies-yet time. Don't get me wrong, I would really love to have my own family now and take them to parks and watch them play with other kids and watch them learn and grow, but I think where I am in my life, I shouldn't complain about what I have or don't have... I am happy that I have my own time to be free and do whatever I want to do without serious obligations. If I had a family, I'd still be happy spending my time with them.

So this exponentially-growing cute family started with two high school sweethearts who got married and started on their family shortly after high school. Mrs. B and I reconnected while working at the clinic, and it was there I grew to adore her children. Her kids say, "yes m'am," "please," and "thank you" with their cutest smiles and pig tails. I told Mrs. B that she must not have any problems finding a babysitter to watch over her three adorable kids because they're so well behaved. When I "grow up" (funny how I'm still saying that!), I definitely want to raise me some well-behaved chirrens!

First Acceptance!

I got my first acceptance letter into a PA program this afternoon through e-mail, and I instantly felt relief! Now I can finally rest at night, go to Jamaica for Kenny and Chen’s wedding and make plans for next August’s move to Miami!

Dear Irene Gung:

Congratulations! We are happy to inform you that you have been provisionally accepted to Barry University’s Graduate Physician Assistant program for the Fall 2010 term at the Miami Shores campus.

We invite you to accept our offer of admission. The next important step is to begin the process of Enrollment. Barry University requires a non-refundable deposit of $1000.00 which will be applied toward your tuition and fees. Payment of the first $500 installment is due within the next 5 business days. The second installment of $500 is due 30 business days after the first deposit.

To secure your spot in the class, which will be guaranteed if we receive your deposit by the deadline and provided all provisions of your acceptance have been met before or by matriculation. Enrollment in Barry University’s Graduate Physician Assistant program is very limited. Once our class has been filled, we cannot guarantee any further seats in the class. The deposit will be returned to you if it is received after our class has reached capacity.

We think you will find, as other students do, that you days here at Barry will be very rewarding. We look forward to having you as a part of our program.

First PA School Interview -- Bary University

My first PA school interview went well! It was at Barry University which is located in sunny Miami, Florida. After our St. Maarten vacation, my mother and I stayed in Miami for the next day interview at Barry University. The interview started at 8AM with a brief introduction to the school’s PA program and their faculty, then proceeded onto the group interview section. It was interesting to learn how others were attracted to the PA profession and some of their experiences that lead them to applying for PA school. Many of them always new they wanted to be in the healthcare profession while others just stumbled across the idea through certain life experiences like me.

In case your curious, here are some of the questions that were asked during our group interview:

1. Share with us a little about where you’re from, where you graduated from, if you have a higher degree than a bachelors, and your clinical experience.
2. “Oh, you’ve volunteered at the free clinic? Name some of the people you’ve worked with. Do you know Dr. X? Do you know Dr. Y? Do you know Dr. Z?” Man, these are some serious put-you-on-the-spot questions!
3. Why do you want to become a PA?
4. What do you want to attend Barry University?

We proceeded onto joining a 3rd semester PA student’s class called Thanatology which is the study of a human’s death. This class was extremely enjoyable to me because it was a different approach to learning bed side manners. The class introduced us to how a patient’s family members may be feeling if they just found out that their loved one is terminally ill and will be dying soon, they had a sudden death or they had a violent death. It allowed me to be more aware of my bed side manners while approaching this subject to others and to be more sensitive to their feelings. Well, obviously I know not to say something like, “Your son is going to live!!! Just kidding!!” – very unprofessional and just down right wrong.

After the class, we were shown the anatomy labs and diagnosis simulators. The rooms replicated a hospital or clinical setting. We were also introduced to some of the other facilities for the students such as the lunch lounge and the administrative part which is located in the upstairs portion of the medical complex. BTW, the PA school shares the newly built $8 million medical complex with the school of podiatry.

We journeyed to the school’s cafeteria and got stuck at the student center for a while because of a small transportation glitch but no worries, we just walked a short distance and we were back at the PA school to proceed onto finishing the day with the last portion which was the individual interviews. For my individual interview, I met with Associate Program Directed, Mr. Moore who interestingly also has a law degree in addition to his Masters in Physician Assistant studies. During our portion of the interview, he asked laid back questions such as:

1. Why do you want to become a PA?
2. Why do you choose Barry?
3. Where do you see yourself in the field of medicine 10 years from now?
4. Out of all the PAs you came in contact with, which one was the happiest? (that was my favorite interview question)
5. If you were accepted into Barry’s PA program, what would be one of your weaknesses?

All great questions and what’s awesome is that he was so laid back and easy to talk to. Best of all was that he did most of the talking about Barry’s program during our interview! Can’t be bad, right?

Overall, I think the interview went well. I got to learn more about the program, check out its facilities, ask their students more questions about the program, meet some other fellow applicants (which seemed well over qualified for the program!) and have a glimpse of what a PA class is like. All wonderful experiences that left me with a great impression of Barry.

What’s more is that as soon as my interview was done, I was told that I could go and enjoy South beach now! hahaha

Happy Birthday!

Time flies by! It seemed like I was turning 21 last year...suddenly, I'm turning 26 this year. I joined my friends in celebrating all three of our birthdays which just happened to all be around the same time. We dined at Charlie Tripper's in Valdosta and had a nice time. Towards the end of dinner, it started raining which only gave us one more reason to stay at the restaurant and catch up and forget that we have school/work the next morning :)

Weekend makeover

Last weekend, I decided to make my place a little more homey and my younger brother Michael helped me out. We painted an accent wall in my kitchen nook area and we made our own paintings on canvases. We got 50% off our canvases at an arts and crafts store called Michaels, used some old paint that was lying around and went to town! Here is our outcome.

St. Maarten / Sint Martin

Yah-mon! My first visit to see Benji in St. Maarten was surely a memorable one. From finding a totally secluded beach to almost burning the hotel down, I can truly say that it was a great trip.

Mom, Benji’s mom, Jason, Justin and I met up in the Miami airport to catch our flight to see Benji. Originally, I thought Benji had class and couldn’t meet us at the airport, but surprisingly he was there waiting for us to exit the customs area and to take us around St. Maarten.

Let me first tell you about landing into St. Maarten. The airport is popular for its particular location. The runway is directly behind a beach where tourists flock to record the impressive airplanes and their landings. The airplanes are so close that it’s frightening. This particular picture of Justin and the plane in the background isn’t as impressive, but the video is.: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMs3g-VgiYY

We stayed at the Royal Palm Beach Resort located near Simpson Bay. It over looks Kim Sha Bay which is absolutely breath taking especially in the mornings. We would lay on the rocks at Kim Sha Bay talking about random things. At this particular location, we had a wonderful view of the stars. In the mornings, we’d draw back the curtain to see this beautiful view. Near the end of our stay, we came across a nice little fire with the stove that left us with not only smoke in our luggage when we came home but a little funny memory too.

Our main reason for the trip was to visit Benji and to support his participation in the White Coat Ceremony. Speeches given were motivational, for the most part, and the students looked extremely sharp, especially Benji . After the ceremony, I got a little teary eyed and was so proud of how far he has come. I also felt a little sorry for Benji and all the hardships he has ahead while in Med school…then my mom reassured me, “Don’t worry, Irene. PA school is going to be hard for you too!” So true!

In my head, I always want to be close to Benji and be by his side, but I know that where I am now is where I’m supposed to be. After this trip, I feel more confident about our futures together despite being countries apart. Hopefully in the near future, I’ll be starting a PA program while Benji is working on completing his med school and we’ll become stronger and wiser people. I just cannot wait until that day when it’s all done and we can finally be together!