patfei's Xanga

Pencil me in

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 10:51:42 GMT

Times are busy, as usual. I figured I'd throw in some words, a video, some pics here and there just to verify that I'm still alive.

MJ - RIP

paying tribute to the king of pop, michael jackson

PUNTA CANA

a little caribbean sun for a worn-out surgical resident

LIFE IN MUSIC

my latest additions

and much more where that came from. gotta regroup and hit you with some more oodles of my clearly exciting life...

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 23:25:05 GMT

it always seems that the best time to catch up on old forms of procrastination is right before an exam of significance. i find myself here in just that situation. with half of my first year of residency rushing by, i prepare to face the infamous American Board of Surgery In-Training Exam in a little over a turn of the clock. and yet amidst the facts and figures of surgical and basic medical science, i invitingly rummage through the past couple years of memories - enjoying beautiful hawaiian scenery, *almost* getting the delicious taste of hong kong food back to my taste buds, cranking through the initiation of surgical internship, adjusting to life in the city where it all happens.

and i realize that life is good.

[june 2007] damn jj abrams for making Lost so hawaii-prevalent (he's got me glued to the tv)

[spring 2008] who knew such a simple meal could be made to taste soooo good

[august 2008] from the SI ferry

i suppose it would spoil future memories if i don't get back to preparing for the absite, so ta-ta for nows...

The Eagle Has Landed

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 01:56:37 GMT

more to follow.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 02:06:57 GMT

with all the hype for the premier of Bionic Woman tonight, my expectations rose far too high for the final product. granted, it's difficult to create a remake of a popular show without giving it a modern flavor and yet maintain some of its original qualities to keep fans of the first series interested. it just seemed a bit, um, hokey, for lack of a better word. i'm guessing things will pick up as the season progresses, but we all know from movies to music to dating that first impressions can make or break you. Bionic Woman just didn't do it for me. i think i'll stick to House (which, by the way, was a sweet season opener last night - i mean, he was nailing some decent riffs on guitar - not bad for a piano player).

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i know, i know; i'm sure you've ALL been waiting expectantly for my pics of hawaii to get online for your viewing pleasure. i *hate* to disappoint my faithful following, but i haven't quite gotten around to all 1,768 of them yet. (i was kiiiiiind of hoping the panoramics would keep you in awe for a while.) anyway, here's a shot from South Point on the big island; it's reportedly the southernmost point in the United States.

it's a beauty, ain't it?

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in the news: a harvard medical student just won an appeal in which she will be allowed extra time to nurse her baby girl during her board licensing exam. whaaaaaaaa? you already have the standard 45 mins worth of break, PLUS you scored yourself 2 days to take the exam instead of one because of "dyslexia and ADHD," PLUS you got your own private room to do your business already. her argument was that she would develop a devastating mastitis or other debilitating condition that would ruin her ability to make breastmilk ever again. riiiiiiight. someone's afraid their baby won't make it to harvard...

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every so often i turn on rthk, an online radio station broadcasting from Hong Kong, and i hear something i like. this song, whose title translates into "Pet," hit it off with me instantly. i haven't heard music like this coming from the hk industry in far too long. keep it up dudes.

Back Here Baby

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 19:29:18 GMT

hanauma bay, daytime

hanauma bay, dusk

ko'olau mountains

hawai'i kai

south point, big island

kilauea caldera, hawaii volcano national park

halema'uma'u crater

waikiki

more to come...

White Valentine

Thu, 15 Feb 2007 03:58:07 GMT

now we're looking like good ol' beantown in winter. for the price of seasonal correctness though, it took me an extra hour to get to and from the hospital; that's one thing i won't miss when spring rolls around. when i got back to my place, i took out my handy shovel and cleared out my parking spot and the sidewalk. not one second after i put away the shovel, the actual maintenance crew for the apt came out with their shovels - damn, i guess the moral of the story is to be lazy and wait.

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yesterday i was at the 88 in allston picking up some CNY groceries. afterward i stopped by the food court for some grub. typically, the cashier shouts out the order number when that customer's food is ready. it just happened that 2 orders were done at the same time, and so she yelled out, "十五,十六!" a few of us canto speakers got a chuckle out.

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i'm not too worried about being single on valentine's day after observing the less-than-ideal couples that made it a bad one this year. all day today i heard my neighbors in a rather dramatic (well, at least loud) argument that ended in someone storming out the door. i'm also a listener of jon lander (from the morning radio talk show) and his famous nutcracker segment, which essentially involves a prank call that's requested by somebody that the "victim" knows. this particular one was inspired by a girl who had doubts about her boyfriend's loyalties. lander was to call this boyfriend pretending to be from a flower delivery service, offering that the boyfriend was randomly selected to have a free bouquet sent to the person of his choice. when asked for a name, the boyfriend gave his ex-girlfriend's. oh boy, the current girlfriend was furiously cussing when she heard this, then promptly slammed the phone. now that's a rather embarrassing way to have this come out in the open. anyway, yay for the bachelor's life.

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as i've probably complained before, hk cinema just isn't what it used to be. every once in a while, though, someone churns out a decent flick that unfortunately gets minimal publicity and can easily fall by the wayside. i was lucky to stumble across 三分鐘先生, a well-balanced, lighthearted film starring funnyman 鄭中基 and a few other familiar faces. i'll spare you the actual synopsis so that you'll perhaps watch for yourself, but i will say that in the end, i felt like something was stirred up in me. i think it's a good indicator that a movie is successful when it can elicit a change in the viewer. otherwise, 鄭中基 cut down on his antics without sacrificing his sense of humor, which made the movie more palatable than some of his other works. i'm keeping an eye out on him; he's got more talent than i think most people gave him credit for when he first came onto the entertainment scene. stay tuned.

hanging by a thread

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 03:38:16 GMT

yeah, it's like that. every day i'm hanging by a silk strand, getting caught in the wind enough to swing about in all directions, yet secured enough to find myself back to common ground. it's just a matter of time until i find myself nestled into my own sturdy web. in the meantime i have a lot of spinning to do.

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"All your ring fingers are empty. You're all alone."

The physician tries to encourage a science-minded high school dropout to consider taking up a job as a lab intern at his hospital, and the above line is the young boy's response.

i'm referring to tonight's episode of House, MD and a common topic among young (or maybe not so young) medical students. time and again, conversation leads to this dilemma that many of us face. several solid years of academics, board exams, hospital clerkships, residency applications and internship and residency nights that never end bring the future doctor to nearly 30 years of age before the idea of finally getting settled down becomes a reality. and that's not to mention an average quarter million dollars in school loans that need to be coughed up over a multiple decade stretch. most of the unattached ladies fearfully echo: when do we have kids? hell, let's talk about finding a fitting partner in crime first. no, friends; doctors in training do not lead a sweet life of luxury and grandeur. the name of the game is to play 10 steps ahead of the dealer. this is no easy task especially when the game in question involves love, comraderie, soul mates; all concepts that i personally find to be spontaneous processes. the issue here is that there simply isn't enough time in the course of medical training for that kind of spontaneity. if you had a 15 minute window every few days to meet and click with a potential mate, you're either extremely lucky or you've knocked your standards down a few notches. of course, i'm presenting the more pessimistic view of the matter, and perhaps i'm the only one to have such dreary thoughts. but i wouldn't be surprised if more than a couple folks out there share my sentiments. either way, scrubs are hot. hang in there, kiddos.

Seasons are changing...

Sat, 27 Jan 2007 03:11:47 GMT

It's a month into the new year, and I'm back on Xanga track. It's been hella busy, as they say, and blog time is scarce. Here's a picture review of the last few months:

Looking out on Burlington Mall from Lahey Clinic, August 2006

BBQ with the cousins, October 2006; don't mind the crazy man in the white coat

L: New England Medical Center Emergency Room bay; R: Harrison Ave at night

Gotta make do with whatever's edible when you're in Maine

L: Bar Harbor; R: Sand Beach, Acadia National Park at dusk

L: Eastern Maine Medical Center, Bangor ME; R: Looking down on the river from the PICU at night

Acadia

Sand Beach

A dusk shot of the river

A snow shot of the river

Various brews from the Sea Dog and Woodman's Grill, November 2006

Dave during his swim meet/bday weekend in Freeport, December 2006

My hot lady friend

Standing over Mass Pike at night

Holiday cheer with my buds, December 2006

Old geezers on campus, December 2006

Free concert at Pat's place

In the mood

L: Shabu-zen; R: Patty-zen

L: Guitar heaven; R: New Year's Eve hotpot. December 2006

L: Drunken New Year, 2007; R: Assume the samurai position, Liz bday 2007

How's THAT for an update

就快又新年

First Snow... Finally.

Tue, 05 Dec 2006 03:58:07 GMT

Caption: EMMC, for those who haven't been stalking me, is the endearing acronym for Eastern Maine Medical Center. And PATFEI is just reverse for IEFTAP, of course.

It's beginning to look a lot like... Maine! After many doubtful weeks of overcast skies and torrential downpours, Bangor has decided to get with the winter program and dump some modest amounts of snow-matter onto its lovely turf. Seems like we hoped too hard for the dusting to happen; low numbers and many snowflakes dominate the forecast for the coming week.

In the woods

Sat, 02 Dec 2006 21:07:28 GMT

Finally, a real entry... ok, not really. Just wanted to leave a taste of my stay up North.

A view from the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit onto the Penobscot River.

More to come.