A quote for today

Everything of importance has already been seen by somebody who didn't notice it.
-- Alfred North Whitehead

The first week of Chinese Hospital is nearly over. It's been a lot of fun and a great experience in many ways. I've learned some practical skills (digital rectal exam), some rules to work and live by (structure and routine is key, both for yourself and family, be responsible, be honest about what you don't know, try to plan for contingencies), and also about the daily grind of going into one of the most demanding types of jobs. I've learned that having the right shoes will matter a lot (I'm still trudging around in flat-soled dress shoes), as I come home with very sore feet/legs, although I've found that stretching when I get home helps quite a bit. Doctors have been more than willing to let me get into the mix of their work, and the language barrier hasn't been too much of an obstacle yet. I've learned how pervasive sales reps are in the hospital setting, and how difficult it is for one man to go it alone in the big bad world of solo practice. Everything is a matter of perspective -- a doctor getting paid 500K in the boonies probably thinks of him or herself as a bigshot and can get all the referrals, but in the Bay Area, that's just small fry compared to VCs getting paid millions and you're out there against every other doctor who wants to live in the greatest city in the Western US.

More than anything, I am reminded there are only 24 hours in a day... all my dreams, goals, hopes, plans, etc, require condensing and distilling and continuous effort; everybody faces the same ennui against pushing harder, striving for better, living to the edge of the envelope, borrowing from the Right Stuff. How can I master all the clinical material, study for boards, get in good with ortho faculty (if indeed I choose this, I need to prepare early, so the CW goes), be a good husband and father, and still leave room to develop everything else, to make sure life doesn't pass by? Well, it can be done. But it won't be easy.

I like the quote above, not as though it pertains to anything particular I have written here, but that sometimes, the most important things in life are sometimes things we tend to overlook. Why is that? I think it is because, somehow, we all feel we can cheat against life or nature, that maybe sometimes the rules won't apply to us. But everything is connected. Everything has consequences. Because of that, we only have the ability to arrange several variables in our life to our liking. Precious few variables. That is why we must seek, in regular deep reflection, what is it that we wish to strive for, and persevere with it.

There was another beautiful quote I read somewhere recently, but I have misplaced it. Maybe I'll locate it for the next post.

Week in Review

It's been a strange and busy week here in the City. The week has been composed of two stark halves -- the first half (up through July 4th) was very positive. I was awarded a scholarship from the Chinese American Medical Society, got some good responses about my initial work w/Curriculum Ambassadorship, and my second first-author paper was finally published. We also got the following changing table to put into our bathroom. Xiao P and a Cincinnati pig will be using it as their home until October...


On the 4th, we went back to Polly-Ann's, had a Hong Kong-style waffle (Eggette), and toured the hidden gem of inner Sunset, the Moraga Steps (kudos to Stephanie for pointing it out on her blog).



We ended our 4th with a fireworks show in our neighborhood park, amongst a horde of hundreds (perhaps a thousand). Not a bad show, but not as good as the New Year's fireworks.

However, the second half hasn't gone so well. Yu finally received notice from the immigration services that they denied her case, evidently because they say she didn't respond to a letter for a biometrics appointment. She had filed an application to remove the provisional status from her green card (given to all marriage-based PRs), and had been following the case diligently since October. We didn't receive any mailings from the government. Now that we look back on it, it is very possible that they may have sent it to the wrong address, or not sent it at all, or it was not delivered to our box (our postman has a habit of misplacing important mail). A perfect example: today we received a notice from immigration about Yu's request last month for more info -- it was addressed to apt 210 (even though her application clearly states apt 201); there isn't even an apt 210, so our mailman, brilliant person that he is, sticks it outside along with a pile of junk mail. Not like there's only one person with the last name of liu or ho living in the entire building... Yu has written a letter to the California center, I've contacted our Congressman for help and will soon be writing a letter as well. We also made an appointment to talk to the local immigration office. The kicker is that were it not for Yu's constant asking, we would never have found out the case was denied (more than 6 months ago!!!).

In other news, we are struggling with getting the study room ready for Chubby's arrival. I've taken to measuring every bit of furniture in our room, such that I could probably call myself an interior engineer. Take a look...


Most likely, we'll move our little bookshelf out of the room or dismantle it (we've gotten to the point of selling stuff on our big bookshelves to make room for everything on the little bookshelf. Today, I spent nearly the entire day reorganizing our pictures that have accumulated without organization over the past few months.


Other projects come slowly. The video project has taken more time than previously thought. I haven't worked on my Curriculum project for a few days just because we spend so much time in these required front-loaded workshops. I haven't had any time to learn Chinese recently. Sigh. Even working out is pretty tiring recently, although I have to admit I love seeing my weight go down (207 and counting...) And some food for thought when reading "Buddha," by Osamu Tezuka. There's a lot of talk about how life is "cruelly short," and would you want to know the exact date of your death, if in fact fate does exist? Would you want to know what you ended up becoming? I don't think there's a lot of introspection today, surely because no one wants to think of grave matters such as their own demise. But on the other hand, knowing that time is limited, the sword of Damocles ever looming, shouldn't that propel you to set things right, to live the life with the most important things considered at the forefront? We should resolve not to live task by task (so dreary), but live to achieve harmony with nature, with ourselves, and with one another.

I believe tomorrow will turn for the better. In the morning, we'll be heading to Oakland to scout out a deal on a guest bed (but it will be for us initially), then going to see our first A's game of the year (a promotion on Stomper is enough to get Yu up early), and if we have enough time, maybe a trip to New China Tofu? If the chinatown furniture thing doesn't work out though, we may not have enough time to make it back to Mancini's to close a deal on a mattress order there ($599 for mattress, box, frame, free delivery, no sales tax, and free pillow). On Monday, I'll also be setting up an appointment to perhaps shadow a child neurologist, Dr. Yvonne Wu.

Last weekend, Yu and I went around Lake Merced. All around the lake could be heard the sounds of skeet shooting and police officers at their practice range. I was curious to go, but Yu wasn't interested. Do the police officers really go there to train, or just to let off steam? Should ask Uncle Albert that one.

We drove around to the North Side and came across Harding Municipal Golf Course, which is probably the nicest public golf course I've ever seen. They refer to their golf carts as "cars." According to Wiki, it was recently renovated, and just played host to a PGA tour championship a couple years ago.

In our latest SF discovery, we found the source of all the delicious taro and green tea ice cream we had previously bought at the chinese supermarkets. Lo and behold, it was in the outer sunset the whole time. Polly Ann Ice Cream, open since the 1950's, and they boast 400 flavors. Customers unsure of what flavor they could possibly choose as their favorite can resort to a "wheel of fortune." Instead of going bankrupt though, you can get a free cone. Whatever the wheel stops on, though, you have to get. I'll think we'll take Chubby here one day -- he gets a free cone. So do dogs, evidently.

We capped off Sunday by adding to our burgeoning furniture collection. A changing table in the bathroom (after many exercises in dimensioning), and a hurried purchase of a convertible crib. The box was so big, it barely fit into the car. I'll be damned if I'm taking it back. Only if something is broken. The crib is still in the box, but the changing table is built and in the bathroom. Looks pretty good -- a little bit bulky but it will be fine. Our apartment, if nothing else, was blessed with a big bathroom.

That's it for now. No real plans for the 4th yet. We may go up to our favorite hill to watch the fireworks, as long as the fog doesn't roll in and spoil the show. In the meantime, I'll be working on my curriculum project with the school. It seems to be going pretty well for the moment. My mentor Tracy and the tech consultant Christian were pretty excited by my ideas and progress.

Just finished volume 1 of "Buddha," a comic novel by Osamu Tezuka (of "Astro Boy" fame). It's a great read. Educational, funny, very much into Tezuka's comic roots. I'm impressed by the philosophy he tries to instill into his comics. They're much more than drawings to him -- they're an art form and a means of thoughtful expression. And the sheer volume of the work is impressive; I can't believe he drew every panel himself. I'd estimate there are at least 12000-15000 panels!

Calling it a night.