Dateline 1/3/07

It is been a long time since my last entry, this is because I've been so busy the last few months. I successfully finished up the semester by acing medical pathology by getting above the 90 on the last two exams. I've been doing a lot of tutoring of high school students having picked up several students in New Jersey. This is keeping me busy for nights a week but has been helping me keep it positive cash flow. I've also been spending a lot of time with my girlfriend. We went to Vermont and had a great time, and stopped in Lake Champlain on the way back. The foliage was peak at that time and it was beautiful. We also went to Longwood Gardens for the holidays which was a great time as well as going to a hockey game and going to New York City to watch the ball drop for New Year's.

Watching the ball dropped the other day was a lot of fun. It was a hassle to get in because we had had a backpack and they were not allowed, but we dropped it was someone we knew a few blocks down and we managed to get in the 7th Ave by 8 p.m. we were next to Carnegie Hall which is several blocks away, but does have a good view of the ball and the countdown screen. We cannot hear the concerts in Times Square, but we did have a rowdy group of people around them several different countries and we had a lot of fun meeting new people in the meantime. We had been staying at my friend's apartment in Norwalk Connecticut, which is only about an hour train ride on the city. We had gone on a dinner cruise two nights before around Manhattan which was also beautiful and went to a friends birthday party in the east Village. I've been spending the last three days doing all the chores and things I've put off during Christmastime and exams, which is a list of things almost 2 pages long.

Looking ahead, I'm taking my girlfriend on a secret trip (secret in the sense that she does not know where we are growing). This idea came out of the fact that having her participate in the planning stages of going somewhere tended simply complicate the issue. I plan this whole trip by myself and all she has to do is show up, which should facilitate things significantly. He is also performing music and Carnegie Hall the following weekend on Martin Luther King Day so that should be interesting. Another pathology is over I should have a little more time to do other things besides studying but we shall see if that works out...

Dateline 7/5/07

Well the 4th of July was a washout. Me and my girlfriend had gone to the public celebration in Philly, but like everything else in this city, it did not live up to the hype. First of all, there was a noticeable lack of American flags there. I pointed out at the time that they still had every other country's flag up on the parkway, maybe they should replace them with American ones for independence day. The next day in the Metro, the editorials ripped the city for not even putting up a flag on the main stage. Not that I necessarily want any of the crappy acts that played associated with my country, but come on. Did they outsource the planning of this thing?

Well obviously they didn't outsource it to China, because at least the Chinese know how to do a fireworks show. The city said around nine that the fireworks were off as it was pouring rain. Most of the crowd (me and my GF included) got up and left at this point. Problem was, at 11:30 (30 mins. late and without explanation) they shot off all the fireworks anyway. So I got soaked but saw no fireworks. fantastic. At least there was one chinese takeout place open.

Dateline : 12/29/06

This has been a good holidays so far. After a week of exams (which I did well on), I went to my grandparents house in Florida for some R and R. That went great, I got to sleep in, go swimming and play with the dog till lunch, hang around the town and visit random but friendly people…a great vacation. It was the first time in years that I did not have to make all my own food, and my grandparents are about the only people in my family that I can have an intelligent conversation with. In addition, I beat my grandmother in scrabble on Christmas Eve in the closest game I have ever played…

As for Christmas, My real present was the Florida trip, but of course, I still received the random collection of strange gifts that I usually get. And Once again it appears that my mother ignored my gift giving guide, as she got me crap that 1.she got me last year (a voice recorder), 2 I already have and don’t need (headphones), and gifts that she wanted (glasses set). One cool gift I got this year was from my aunt, who gave me a Christmas tree decorated with little rolled up 5-dollar bills. I have to give her credit, which is the most creative way to give money I have ever seen (and it was all decorated by hand…)

In other news, I just looked at my semester grades, and I got 2 A’s and 2 B’s, which is more than enough to keep me on my target GPA for medical school. So far so good…