antwkf's Xanga

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Wed, 30 Aug 2006 18:00:58 GMT

Anthony's Vancouver schedule

Cell: 1-416-723-6466. ring 2x, me call u

Wed Aug 30:
Thu Aug 31: St. Pauls Hospital 5pm-2am
Fri Sep 1:
Sat Sep 2: St. Pauls Hospital 8am-4pm
Sun Sep 3: St. Pauls Hospital 7am-3pm
Mon Sep 4: St. Pauls Hospital 8am-4pm
Tue Sep 5:
Wed Sep 6: St. Pauls Hospital 5pm-2am
Thu Sep 7:
Fri Sep 8:
Sat Sep 9:
Sun Sep 10:
Mon Sep 11: St. Pauls Hospital 3-11pm
Tue Sep 12: St. Pauls Hospital 3-11pm
Wed Sep 13: St. Pauls Hospital 7:30-10am, 11pm-7am
Thu Sep 14: St. Pauls Hospital 11pm-7am
Fri Sep 15:
Sat Sep 16: St. Pauls Hospital 8am-4pm
Sun Sep 17: St. Pauls Hospital 5pm-2am
Mon Sep 18: St. Pauls Hospital 11pm-7am
Tue Sep 19: St. Pauls Hospital 11pm-7am
Wed Sep 20: St. Pauls Hospital 8:30-10am
Thu Sep 21:
Fri Sep 22: St. Pauls Hospital 7am-3pm
Sat Sep 23:
Sun Sep 24:
Mon Sep 25: St. Pauls Hospital 3-11pm
Tue Sep 26: St. Pauls Hospital 3-11pm
Wed Sep 27: St. Pauls Hospital 7:30-10am
Thu Sep 28: St. Pauls Hospital 7am-3pm
Fri Sep 29: 9am depart, 4:30pm arrive Toronto

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Thu, 06 Jul 2006 11:51:46 GMT

Back to the ER. I'm back for another crazy month of emergency medicine in Credit Valley Hospital, Mississauga. For those of you unfamiliar with Toronto, that's a 40min drive from Downtown where me lives. This is such a hardcore educational experience that the first thing that came out of my staff's mouth during yesterday's orientation was, I quote, "Hi Anthony, nice to meet you - what is the differential diagnosis of left lower quadrant abdominal pain in a six year old?" **

Happy Canada Day! Had a great Canada Day weekend - went to the beach twice, once in the morning, once at night, met a ton of new friends, and grilled sausage until the wee hours of the morning.

Bartending classes. I've been taking bartending classes at the Bartending School of Ontario, with hopes of getting a part-time job in one of the many bars in downtown. The class seems pretty cool so far, the best thing is that you study with people who are equally motivated to learn the stuff... I wouldn't have the motivation otherwise probably.

La Oreja de Van Gogh. I can't stop listening to them! This is "Puedes contar conmigo" (You Can Count on Me).

Aagh. I am addicted to this girl. Somebody shoot me. And give me anticootie serum while you're at it too.

http://www.dumpalink.com/media/1151397948/Wonder_Showzen_Cooties

***Edit***

For those of you who really wanted it, the differential diagnosis is:

testicular torsion, ovarian torsion, gastroenteritis, diverticulitis, orchitis, intussusception, cancer, diabetic ketoacidosis, celiac disease, Henoch-Schonlein purpura, trauma, abuse, foreign body, strangulated hernia

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 21:47:51 GMT

Just came back from a six-day trip to Boston and NYC. THANKS to Janey, Esther, and Glad for all the good times. And the neat pics that follow this post.

Recent ideas - I want to do a stint as a traveling bartender backpacking through Europe. This is another reason to learn French, Portuguese, and maybe Italian. Hrm.

Somebody recently called me "undatable." The irony is that I am dating her. The lesson? Never, ever listen to women . They either make no sense at all, or make sense on an intellectual level entirely beyond yours.

Summer's here. Damnit, time to get some muscles.

New music. A group from Spain, La Oreja de Van Gogh (The Ear of Van Gogh) - "La paz de tus ojos" ("The Peace of Your Eyes"). At first this single sounds as trivial as a hackneyed Britney Spears tune, but then picks up and it really grew on me after I listened to it about ten times. The female vocalist is very strong.

Janey found duck eggs on the Charles River.

John Harvard wishes he were in my shoes!

Exclusive access to the Harvard Law library!

Gladwin looking academic in Harvard Law library.

Boston cream pie at Legal Sea Foods

I caught Cheese String Man in NYC!

Yes, Esther, the waiters screwed up all three pictures of us.

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Thu, 18 May 2006 09:13:44 GMT

Did I just save a life? A 70 year old woman whom I've never seen before walks into my family practice office saying she's had an on-and-off "burning" pain lasting five to ten minutes each episode in her upper abdomen radiating to her right flank for the last two weeks. "This is definitely not my angina doctor, and I should know, I've had angina since the 1980's. Maybe it might have something to do with my stomach?" Immediately, random thoughts start coming into my head. Is she having unstable angina? A new heart attack? Bile duct blockage? Pancreatitis? Chicken pox reactivation in the skin? Or just a simple gastritis or peptic ulcer? There are a million things it could be...

The physical exam was completely normal, except for a 5-6 centimetre pulsatile mass in the left side of her belly, which didn't really explain why the pain was radiating to the right flank. My supervisor suggested to send her home. Instead, I sent her to the emergency room with a brief note...

"R/o ACS, r/o AAA." *

The next day I check her status on the computer. It showed she was in vascular surgery after being diagnosed with an ulcerated Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm on CT. This means that her aorta was ready to explode any second, causing a fatal bleed potentially within minutes. Crap, I hope everything turns out well..

* R/o = rule out, ACS = acute coronary syndrome, AAA = abd aortic aneurysm

Friday, April 28, 2006

Fri, 28 Apr 2006 02:10:05 GMT

Had Indian buffet with my friend Alex over the weekend. Out of the hundreds of people I've met in Toronto, he is one of a handful that are truly motivated about life. I get the impression that the vast majority of people are what I call drifting opportunists. These are people that are intelligent, generally want to succeed, and already finished or are in the middle of some kind of undergrad degree.

However, for some odd reason, they give off an air of dissatisfaction and despair. They aren't excited about life anymore, and in a sense are waiting for someone to rescue them or for sheer luck to fall out of a tree and smack them in the head. You know the type.

I'm a believer that life is simple - you figure out what you want, and you get it (or genuinely try, fail, and move on). You figure out what you don't want, and you get rid of it. Yet, so many people are stuck with a job they hate, and shattered dreams. Or more commonly, they're stuck with a job that is "just OK" and no dreams at all.

What's the point of this rant? Well, the point is that it's nasty to be one of these people. If you're one of them you should slap yourself upside the head until you wake up. Goodness knows, nobody will fix your life for you unless you're on top of things. Take this from an intern just finishing a rotation in a Mental Health hospital - if you keep on like this you will go crazy, bitter, or both. Seriously, people kill themselves over being a drifting opportunist for too long.

Rant over.

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Thu, 13 Apr 2006 05:46:11 GMT

Girls' hot tips for getting laid

1. If you want a guy really badly, generally that involves having to talk to him first. Maybe he won't have time to get your digits - so here's a thought - ask for his. Sometimes us guys are too distracted to focus on women, what with all the beer, cars, and bowel habit curiosities that we think about the other 5% of the time. So take initiative and you'll never get rejected. Well, you might if you're asking me.

2. Playing hard-to-get is okay and even expected, but please don't play "impossible-to-get." If you like the guy, why make things harder than they already are by not making time for him? Or by canceling at the last minute to "do your laundry?"

3. Recognize that when a guy is asking you out, he won't always spell it out. Examples include "let's hang out," or "we'll go for dessert" and not so much "let me take you out to a movie and dinner because, yes, I am that boring." I've been on dates where the girl invites 3rd party people without even asking me first - needless to say, those girls get the chewing out they deserve. So clueless it hurts.

4. For goodness sake, look attractive. Even if you think you aren't - girls have a responsibility to be attractive to guys they date, so don't be a slouch in the dressing department.

5. Don't talk about your period on a first date. That's horrible and gross.

6. Never ever talk about taxes, politics, your ex, or other things which don't even interest you. Sure, usually it's the guy's fault for bringing up dumb stuff just to BS, but then again I've had girls offer me stock options on a date. Um, that's just bad.

7. Don't be a greedy poophead. Why should I pay for your dinner if I don't really know you and not even sure if I like you? Think about it - if I did pay for your dinner just to get a chance to sleep with you, doesn't that make you technically a prostitute?

8. Hold your purse in the hand farther away from the guy. I'm generally not shy about these things but holy crap! - I certainly won't snatch your purse away to hold your hand. I'll leave that to petty thieves.

9. Carry condoms with you if you plan on needing them. You have a freakin' purse. Guys have warm sweaty pockets they put change in.

10. Call us the next day. We wouldn't know what to say if we called you anyway.

Sunday, April 02, 2006

Sun, 02 Apr 2006 13:14:51 GMT

Dirty boy! Lately I've been acting like a sixteen year-old boy. Saying things without thinking first, acting largely without caring about consequences. Yesterday I was throwing bathroom jokes around at a lounge... and the day before I somehow got talking about how I'd like "get with a Goth girl" because I'd like to "do the iron maiden, not be inside the iron maiden." You know what I've learned in the last few weeks though? No matter what kind of person you really are, as long as you're truthful and clear about what you are and what you find fun, people will usually be OK with it, even if it is a bit loud or offensive. And for those who aren't OK with your natural personality, doesn't it only make it all the easier to find out which people don't deserve to be around you? I'm tired of holding back my personality to accommodate the politics of work and the niceties of socializing. It's just not worth it, too much effort.

Dancesport. Had my first group dance performance Friday at the U of T "Festival of Dance" to a salsa remix of "Pink Panther." Judging by the fact we didn't screw up majorly, I conclude it must have been amazing for the audience. And that's amazing considering a barely knew the routine - I basically had 2.5 weeks to learn it after I came back from Colombia. Stayin' sexay, Dancesport!

Ricardo Arjona. He sings like a real man - come to think of it, I'm pretty sure he could choke a tiger to submission with his legs alone. Check out his song "Mojado" (Wet).

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Sun, 19 Mar 2006 11:07:20 GMT

A post that appears to be very hippie slippery sloped logic. However it's all true, I promise.

I respect integrity. And most people don't. If you are nice to me and I'm courteous to you, yet you don't keep your word, you're not my friend. You're a "friend," but really I couldn't care less. It's time people stopped thinking about just themselves and focused on how they make others feel when they do stupid things - I learned about being considerate in grade 1, how about you? Just as we never forget how to read or that one and one equal two, I believe common courtesy and social manners should be engrained in our behaviour in the same manner. And that's the standard I set for my friends - is that too snobby?

When I try to see life through the eyes of others, I shudder with electrifying pain and rage. What's happening to the world? I nearly cried when I saw this clip that aired on Al-Jazeera: http://www.wimp.com/opinion/. I didn't cry just for the innocent people who died, but more because this message is so eloquent and true, and yet is being broadcast on deaf ears. I'm not asking anyone to save the world by himself, but it all starts with you and how you treat the people close to you. No, life is not fair. But that doesn't mean you have to be an asshole about it, nor does it mean you should encroach on the rights of others to live as they wish.

Old pic from Taiwan last year. Miss you Susiepoo!

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Thu, 09 Mar 2006 23:33:25 GMT

Carnaval. Went on a three-day vacation to the sunny coastal town of Barranquilla (the birthplace of Shakira) to partake in one of the most disorderly parties known to man - Carnaval! This is a four-day festival that basically consists of four-hour parades, elaborate costumes, and round-the-clock drunkenness. Nobody really goes to work during Carnaval. And everybody is out to indulge in debauchery before Lent. Apparently, the Carnaval of Barranquilla is second only in magnitude to that in Brazil in South America. It's analogous to Mardi Gras in the States. Check out the pics.

Sumo wrestlers?

The Queen of Carnaval (a pageant winner)

Nearby beach

My friend Cilia who showed me around

Spectacular dancing!

Cartagena. Spent one wonderful day in Cartagena, the colonial jewel of Colombia. In Spanish colonial times, this port town was sacked by pirates so many times, the Spanish decided to build a wall around the entire town and turn it into an impregnable fort. Nowadays, it's a a World Heritage site and a city of countless charming alleys, walls, monuments, and cafes.

Pegasus monument in front of city hall

Don Pedro de Heredia and the Square of Slaves (they used to hold a slave market here)

Outdoor cafe

Another more popular outdoor cafe

The Castle of St. Phillip (a fort)

Cafe at night

I miss you guys. Andreas, how was the hangover? Richard, how's life post-Carnaval? Tata, I hope your mouth recovers (yes, from surgery). And Diani, I still say you're an hembra sandunguera, caliente como un fogón. You inspire me, seriously. Oh dear, I left so many friends behind in Colombia... if I had stayed longer I'd probably have never left, so maybe it's better that I had to go so soon. I hate hate hate saying goodbye.

Sunday, February 26, 2006

Sun, 26 Feb 2006 16:04:57 GMT

Presentation. Gave my very first Powerpoint presentation in Spanish Friday morning. At 7:20 in the morning. Yes, and it hurt. Thursday night, I was scrambling to get one of my friends, Diana, to proofread my awfully written work of disaster. Unfortunately, the file she sent back to me with all the corrections was unreadable, so I had to totally wing it. It went OK I guess. Oh, except for the time when instead of saying "the district has weekly sessions for capacity-building" I said (and wrote) "the district has seminal sessions for capacity-building." Oh the irony.

Dance machines. Some fourth year medical students invited me out Friday night for dancing. Being an avid dance machine, I was really excited because not only had I not danced since I left Toronto, I'd just finished the bulk of my work here. What I wasn't expecting was, when Andreas called me at 6pm to meet up and drink, that they were bringing me to a bar near the university... where they drink and dance... from freakin' 6:30pm until 3am! Apparently, clubbing madness here starts so early, and people can stay in the same club up to 6 or 7 hours!

Purchases. Just to give you an idea of how much I'm spending here. I've so far spent $450CAD in cash on miscellanea including gifts, $450 for 30 days of accommodation at my hostel, $200 for a digital camera, and $208 in flights. A thoroughly gorging meal of my favourite soups, ajiaco and mondongo, costs $3. A tamale + hot chocolate for breakfast or lunch costs $1.25. Beer at the bar was $0.70 a pop. I had six that night. Happy happy. I bought a silver pendant with an embedded emerald in the Pre-Colombian style, for $22.50. Internet cafes are on average $1 an hour. This morning I had a cup of orgasmic sliced mango for $0.50. Taking the Transmilenio (an express bus system) costs $0.40. Oh, and the ticket I bought to fly to the coast for vacation this week was $104 either way. All in all, the cost of living here is only marginally cheaper than in Canada.

Ajiaco

Mondongo

Professor Super-O! My favourite program on TV is a cartoon that shows up on the MTV Channel (13) around every 2 hours, called "Professor Super-O!" It's about a latin language professor who gets into a big accident, is in critical condition, and is visited by some deity that brings him back to life as a superhero. Basically, he tours the Spanish-speaking world correcting people's grammar with the goal of decreasing the level of ignorance, shown conveniently by the "Ignorance Meter" which is carried by one of his trusty sidekicks. Ohhh so kickass.

El profesor correcting the word choice of a politician

El Profesor's sidekick