1.5 months, 27.5 months to go

It's unbelievable that it's already been a month and a half in Miami studying at Barry's PA program.  On another note, it's only been a month a half?!

The days pass extremely fast only because it seems like there's not enough time in the day to do what you want to do or had planned to do.  I find it a luxury when I have time to go to the grocery store.  It's probably because I need to be better at managing my time, or this may be because I'm not as efficient as I should be when I'm studying.

I took a break from studying this afternoon and walked around my neighborhood.  I had so much excitement while I was walking because I was thinking, "How in the world is it that it has taken me a month and a half to discover what is in my neighborhood?"  I came across a bridge around the back part of my apartment complex, and under the bridge were thousands of huge fish!!  I immediately took a picture of it and sent it to my mother because I knew she would love to see what was in my back yard so that the next time she came to visit, we could have the fishing poles ready.  I was so amazed at how large and hungry they were and it started to make me hungry too.  I went along further and noticed the great Jewish community we have around here.  They walk everywhere and with their kids following them in a nice orderly fashion.  It amazes me at how well behaved the kids are, and makes me want to place my kids in a Jewish daycare one day so they can be well behaved as well. haha...actually, I think I'm serious.  As I was walking further, I approached a marina where million dollar yachts were parked.  I walked further and saw Lamborghinis and Ferraris and other foreign cars that look fast and flat to the ground.  I sat on the dock of the marina for a while admiring the view of the intracoastal and gorgeous houses and pondered about a lot of things...one of them was about Benji and how I wish he could be there with me to see the beautiful view too.  I knew he'd appreciate.  Well, that's the thing about living in Miami while your boyfriend is in St. Martin...it's only a short direct flight away :)

So I've come up with a summary of what has been going on here as a 1st semester PA student at Barry:

1. One of Miami's largest malls is just down the road from our apartment, and it's such a tease because we never get time to go there. 
2. When the AC broke in our classroom, it was actually a blessing in disguise because we were allowed  to wear scrubs everyday to class. (We usually have to dress business casual)
3. We're at the school from 10am until 9pm on Mondays and they are like H-E-double hockey sticks
4. Preparing 10 meals at one time saves a lot of time, but the food gets boring after day #2.  
5. I'm scared to hang out with anyone other than someone in my program in fear of missing a good conversation about class material.  
6. There are itty bitty lizards outside our apartment that are so cute and make my day after a long day of class.  They're like my pets that greet us when we come home.
7. New Yorkers who have moved down to Miami are the worst drivers ever.
8. I've been studying on FIU's campus a lot recently in their library because it's close to our apartment.  I'm beginning to believe that I am now an FIU student.  Also, I've come to realize that all the cool asians hang out at the library.
9. Too much coffee on an empty stomach will make the room spin
10. You know you're a nerd when you think you're a hero to the geiko crawling outside your bedroom window because you study late at night when lights beaming out the window, attracting moths and to it and thus providing food for the geiko.
11. Never have I ever wasted more paper in my life

All I know is that I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving break when I can be with my family again and eat turkey and cranberry sauce with some homemade mashed potatoes in Atlanta.

Allheart.com Coupon

Hello Barry PA classmates,

Enjoy this coupon towards your next order for med supplies.  =D

My roommates

I'm pretty excited about my new roommates and living in an apartment that could be on the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.  I say I'm pretty lucky living here, and I'm looking forward to my first year as a PA student. =D

First Semester Class Schedule

Judging by the list of classes, their times, and days on our registration form, I think this is what our class schedule will look like this Fall semester:

On a side note, packing is so hard!  On top of that, winding down from a job is even harder.  Oh well.  It's gotta be done.  =D

Allheart.com Coupon!

To my fellow Barry c/o 2012 PA classmates, enjoy this coupon when you order your supplies for our upcoming program! =D

Bye-Bye Eye Glasses

Whew!  LASIK procedure was completed a week ago, and it's pretty nice to not have to worry about glasses or contacts anymore.  For those who are interested in having it done too, here's a little bit of information about it.

My first consultation with ophthalmologist Dr. Gonzalez at Eye Associates was June 24th, and it wasn't hard to schedule my procedure in on such short notice.  They ran a bunch of tests on my eyes and confirmed that I was a good candidate for the procedure based on two main things:

1. I had no evidence of a cataract, glaucoma or any other eye diseases
2. My vision has been stable for the past 5 years.  

My prescription strength stayed in the -3.75 to -4.00 range for the past five years.  After the consultation, he told me he would add like a +3.50 prescription strength to both eyes.  My procedure was done four days after the consultation.  

I'd say the hardest part about the entire procedure was having to wear my eye glasses for ten days before the consultation.  I've always worn contacts just because they attach to my eyes easily, and I can just forget about them for the rest of the day.  For glasses, I always had to re-position them or polish them to get marks off of them.  But wearing them for ten days sure paid off.

The actual procedure only took two minutes on each eye.  I was given a Valium 45 mins before the procedure and I think I have a low tolerance to this drug because I was HIGH on LIFE!  Things in my head were so easy to say out loud and I didn't care what I said or what people's reactions were.  Luckily I didn't say anything I shouldn't have...or at least I hope not.  Anyway, after the procedure was done, I was taken back to another room where they gave me these awesome goggles and checked my eyes.  Afterwards, I came back to my home and took a nap.  When I woke, I could feel the cuts on my eye balls where they had to peel back my cornea, but it wasn't discomforting at all.  I just put the medical drops in my eyes as directed and it soothed them.  I immediately noticed that my eye sight was better, but it was still blurry.  Dr. Gonzalez said that it would be normal to have blurry vision like you're under water for the first day.  The next day, vision improved again but still had a little bit of blurry.  

At day 7 after the procedure, my vision improved a lot and is closer to 20/20.  It may take a month, maybe even 6 months, but I have faith it'll get there soon.  

The best part of this procedure was gathering all of my old glasses and eye contact supplies and donating them.  Fortunately, my younger brother Michael's eye sight is also -3.75 so I just gave him all of my old glasses and contact lenses.  If you don't have someone to donate your old supplies to, I noticed that Walmart's Vision center has a bin where you can donate your old glasses where they'll be sent to organizations such as Unite for Sight and they'll help find someone who would really appreciate them.  Here is the awesome early birthday gift I gave to Michael.

If you're also thinking about getting it done and have some questions about it, please feel free to ask and I'll try my best to give you some good answers.  My experience was really great, and a lot of my friends who have also had the procedure done say it is great too.  Good luck!

LASIK Surgery

After much positive influence from my dear friend Jacinta Nguyen, I've made the decision to get LASIK eye surgery.  This Thursday will be my first consultation, and if all goes well, I'll be having the short procedure the following Monday.

I've worn either eye glasses or contact lenses since the 7th grade and anyone else who also wears them would probably share the same thoughts with me that it's such a hassle keeping up with them.  I REALLY hate eye glasses and the way they love to slide off my non-bridge nose and give me headaches.  I loathe having to fork up $80 for an eye exam each year just so I can purchase more contact lenses.  Waking up to a bunch of blurry objects and blindly fishing for my eye glasses on my side desk every morning is such a pain. 

So I did my cost analysis for the procedure, and it looks like I could possibly be saving myself $4,450 if I get to live up to 80 and my eye sight is still good.  The procedure costs $2700 for both eyes and at $130 a year covering eye exams, contact lens purchases, and solutions to maintain my lenses, I would be spending $7150 until age 80.  

It's amazing how a 10 minute procedure can effectively cut a cornea and correct eye vision.

On another happy side note, Happy Father's Day!  I can't wait to thank my daddy for borning me and eat some steak!

Bookbyte.com coupon

After an email exchange with my student mentor, I received advice from her that I should go ahead and order the Mosby's Guide to Physical Examination book and Lab Manual.  I found the best price to be from Bookbytes.com and after completing the order, they gave me a 10% coupon code towards my next order.  In case you are interested in ordering books from this site, hopefully you too can benefit from this coupon.  

Whew, I can't believe it's going to all start in about two more months! 

He's All Grown Up

My little brother is not so little anymore. Reaching nearly 5'10 at age 14, he now towers over me and beats me at races to the park and races to the other side of the swimming pool. He scarfs down a spaghetti meal before I finish my salad, and he loves Chinese food more than anything. Not only that, he can read a book in a day that takes me over a month to finish. I can't believe Michael is going to High School this Fall.


Last week was Michael's 8th grade graduation at St. John Catholic school. Our family decided to place him in a private school because we felt he would do better in an environment with smaller class sizes and more one on one attention with the faculty. We are so glad we made this decision.

During the graduation ceremony, Michael had a monologue he shared that made my Mom so incredibly proud. From each confident glance up to the audience to every perfectly enunciated word, my Mom was gleaming with a look that only said, "Wow, that's my son!" As the reception followed, the faculty put together a slide show that included photos of the students when they were babies, toddlers, and now young adults. It's amazing, really, how fast these kids have grown, blossomed and matured. The slide show was so touching and pretty much left everyone in the room tearing up. My mom and I had enough tears coming out of our eyes to donate to the Valdosta water treatment plant. 

The best part of Michael being a part of St. John school would probably be the friendships he had made.  Surprisingly, in the entire 8th grade, there were only 20 students.  Even more surprising is that 16 of them were girls leaving just Michael and three others the only guys in the entire 8th grade.  Needless to say, those guys were able to develop a lot of bonding since the girls all thought they had cooties and stayed away.

Next year, he'll be going to Valdosta High School where my two sisters and I have gone many years ago.  A lot has changed since we were there, though.  I heard they have a new Freshmen Academy that helps the freshmen get acquainted to high school life.  They have their own wing that is totally separated from the rest of the high schoolers.  Wow, back in the day, we freshmen had to take harassment from the upperclassmen and get stuff into lockers.  jk.  That never happened to me.  

After the reception, my mother and I thanked Michael's teachers for teaching him valuable lessons and helping him get through classes.  Almost all of them noted Michael's charm and sense of humor, which made me think...  Michael has developed a pretty thick skin to be able to still carry on a sense of humor after so much nagging from his mom and three older sisters every single day.  

I'm so thankful to have him as my younger brother.  He's brought the entire family a lot of joy and laughter, and we are so very proud of him.  I have no doubt that he will enjoy High School. 

Alice:  "All he has to do is stick with a lot of sports"

Emily:  "NO!!!  Put him in debate camp!!"

Mom:   "No!  Put him at Garden Villas!"

Dad:  "No, lah.  He can come with me to work."

I think Michael will figure out what he wants to do. =D

My first experience in a medical school

I decided to take a trip to see Benji in Sint Maarten for two weeks because I knew this would most likely be my last time to spend some good quality time with him before I start PA school in August. We traveled and did some sight seeing around the island that made me wonder how a small island could be so filled with exciting and interesting things to do.

• We got our SCUBA certification!
• Visited many beaches in St. Maarten like Orient Beach, Mullet Bay, Red Bay, Pinell Island, and Dawn Beach
• Traveled to Anguilla by ferry and explored the island and it's AWESOME Rendevous salt pond.  
• Hiked in Cul-de-Sac and searched for wild mangos on top of Pic Paradis
• Did the extreme zip lining at Lotterie Farms
• Explored Ft. Louis and Ft. Amsterdam
• Shopped in Marigot market and the area
• Sipped a REAL coconut
• Found and claimed Irene island
• Joined the Carnival parade 
• Dressed up in scrubs and acted as a TA
• Dined at a restaurant that proved that French people really are RUDE.  jk  hehe :)

I think I would have to say that my favorite thing about the island is that it's shared with two totally different countries with totally different cultures: the Dutch and French.  My favorite side is the French because it seems more laid back, clean, and the scenery seems to be a lot more beautiful.  They really try their best to preserve the beauty of St. Martin by placing recycling bins everywhere, providing clean and smooth roads, offering scenic trails along a cliffside overlooking the gorgeous beaches, and also complementing their laid back personality with nude beaches that convince me to believe that the French are free, genuine, and beautiful people.  

During my first visit to Sint Martin with Benji's mom, brothers Justin and Jason and my Mom, we traveled to the French side and dined at a totally random French restaurant in Case Grande.  Their menu was all in French and we just asked the owner for some of his recommendations.  His wife prepared wonderfully delicious plates that were both aesthetically and tastefully pleasing.  During this trip, Benji and I revisited the restaurant and discovered that the restaurant's name must be Cool Heure because it was the only sign we could find on its building.  On its menu that was entirely in French, I thought I saw the word "moutarde" that I thought was mustard, so I ordered it.  The owner explained to me that this was "dinkey."  Dinkey?  I thought he was trying to tell me donkey, so I was thinking, "oh, okay, what an adventurous dish.  I'll take it!"  He asked his wife if she could help translate the word for me.  She didn't know either so she whipped out an invoice with words that read, "kidney."  Benji and I had a really good laugh and we enjoyed our meal once again.  Cool Heure is now my most favorite French restaurant in the entire world!

 

My Dinkey Dish

So, we did all of these things before Benji started his third semester in med school.  Once it started, I joined him in his classes that included pathology I, microbiology II, and physiology II.  All classes were a great glimpse of what Benji goes through in medical school and the immense amount of information they're responsible for retaining for their professional career.  It made me so very proud of him and what he's doing for the future.  It also made me very excited to start my own Physician Assistant program and eager to start learning how to be a great team member in the field.  

While in his class, I not only listened to the professor's lectures, but also did my own thing.  I completed an employee handbook for the Garden Villas, did some work for the office, applied for a student loan, shopped for a stethoscope and apartments in Miami.  I am thinking of purchasing this stethoscope, but I'm not sure if it is good for a PA student.  Any suggestions?

Well, class is done for the day and it's time to hit the beach to go snorkeling!  

Happy Birthday Chris! And thank you so much Benji for your love, honesty, support and great time in St. Maarten!

The world's sourest tangerines!

Sushi

Sushi chef Yan creates some tasty sushi Friday night at Ichiban Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar.

 

The Nine to Five

I'm not too sure what my job title is or even what my job responsibilities are, but I do know that I'm dedicating my break from school towards managing my parents' hotel and getting them on track to become successfully retired. 

I've been GM of the Garden Villas since its open in 2006, and I have a great pile of memories to share from this experience.  From guests, employees, business partners, I have so many stories to tell that at the time made me sad, frustrated, or even wanting-to-wrangle-someone's-neck mad but now I'm able to share the memories and laugh at them. 

When I began managing the hotel, I had no prior real management experience, especially with a business this large and by myself.  Since my parents were already managing three restaurants, I took this project on as my baby and gave it everything I had.  I remember when we first opened, I could never get any sleep because I'd keep myself up thinking about all the things I needed to do the next day for the hotel.  Who should I hire?  What policies do I need to make?   Should I order another inventory of towels?  Where should we put this plant?  Who's my target market and how should I market to them?  On top of that, I started my first semester of business school.  Fortunately for me, it was just right across the street and most of my assignments involved team work which I love so business school was a lot of fun for me. :)  Like starting up most busineses, the hardest part was in the beginning.  After six months, the stress had subsided and the Garden Villas' staff were trained and dedicated enough for me not to worry as much.  It was definitely a relief, and I began to have more opportunity to get to know my staff and guests more.

The Garden Villas is an extended stay hotel, meaning that guests could stay for a day to a month or even a year.  We've had several guests stay with us beyond two years and getting to know them was definitely one of the best parts of my job.  Living at the hotel only made it better.  Because of my extroverted personality, I found great comfort and happiness living around a lot of people and the guests quickly became my friends. 

So, after nearly four years of operating the Garden Villas, we have developed a pretty awesome staff.  We have an assistant manager who pretty much knows all the ins and outs of the hotel and is confident enough to make wise decisions for the hotel without my consent.  In our routine meetings, he fills me in on what's going on with the hotel, guests and staff.  Since he's been doing so well at his job, I have nothing left to do!  With all this free time, I decided to engage in some more businesses with my parents. 

My father is what I like to call an "ambitious dreamer."  I think he really enjoys dreaming about unique businesses to introduce to people just for fun, and if it fails, then he doesn't mind as long as he's created something for others to remember.  We've been working on creating a Thai and Chinese restaurant with delivery called the GARDEN CAFE recently.  Currently, we're in the inspections stage and if all goes well, we'll be introducing a new Thai and Chinese restaurant to Valdosta, GA soon! 

We've also been working on opening an oyster bar and billiard.  Cleverly, with an old Marco Polo sign, we're thinking of naming the billiard, "Mr. Pool."  haha okay maybe not so clever, but it's so funny to me and I hope it goes through.  At the moment, we're still in the build-out stage but it's making great progress.

Lastly, we've been working on creating a 134 lot subdivision called Willow Creek.  The subdivision sits on a gorgeous 100 acre lot that has beautiful old oak trees and a lake.  We've been working with the City of Valdosta a lot to make sure it complies with its ordinances.  So far, it's been a lot of fun, and it's amazing how much fun it is to start something and to make decisions that are significant to its future.

Of course there's room to have lunch with friends :)  Here's a couple of pictures of my friends at VSU having lunch at my parents' Japanese restaurant, Ichiban, and one of Valdosta's best kept secrets, Michael's Deli.

Benji told me a couple of months ago that he fears that once I start helping my parents with their business, I may not want to become a PA.  I'm pretty "Gung-Ho" about PA school, and I'm not going let my opportunity to join Barry's PA Class of 2012 up for anything!  Though it will be sad leaving my family and businesses here, I know that I'll be leaving with experiences I could never get anywhere else, and I'll be able to apply them to my future as a PA.  I'm pretty thrilled about the rest of my life.  :)