Update: Rotations

Ok peoples, some of you have been wondering what's going on with me.  It's like I've disappeared.  I don't talk very much on AIM anymore and I don't even check my e-mail so compulsively like before. . .haha.  Don't worry!  I'm still here and in one piece. 

Things are going pretty well.  So yes, rotations has been fun.  I'll say some interestings things but to write about everything I've been doing would take up too much space.  You can ask me about it in person if you're curious.  I have my hospital rotation first.  It's at a small hospital.  The people I work with are pretty nice and I've been learning a lot.  These past two weeks I got switched to the night shift because I was learning how to make IVs.  The night shift isn't as busy sometimes but it's exciting cuz all the unusual stuff happens at night!  It's a really good opportunity to learn interesting things.  Last night we had a patient who overdosed on her atenolol.  The pharmacist I worked with said he suspected that it was attempted suicide.  We had to figure out how to give the glucagon to reverse it.  Couple nights ago, some patient in the ICU coded 3 or 4 times in one day.  It was pretty chaotic.  I guess the patient had a strong will to live.  Also, since MLK hospital closed, we get a lot of patients from there.  A lot of them are drug abusers.  Last night, the ER was so packed no one could get through.  I heard that some patient got really mad and threatened to come back with a gun.  I sometimes take meds to the ER but thankfully I don't have to go there all the time.  Pray for our safety!     

Church has been neat.  I'm getting to know the people there and it's really awesome because they really make an effort to have me feel at home and part of the group.  Also, you can really tell that these people are serious about God and living out their faith.  What a blessing. 

Wednesday night I went out with some friends from my old church.  I didn't know there's a PinkBerry here.  Apparently there's actually two.  (For those of you who don't know, PinkBerry is a frozen yogurt place where the frozen yogurt actually tastes like yogurt).  So does anyone know why PinkBerry doesn't let you take pictures when you're in there??? 

I love my new apartment!  Sorry, I don't have a picture yet.  Maybe when I get a camera. . .haha. 

Speaking of pictures, I got my scholarship award pics in the mail.  Thankfully, the curler didn't show up!  (Refer to previous entry entitled "What's that green thing?")          

Geisha in Thousand Oaks

Hey peoples,

    For those of you who are ashamed to live in Thousand Oaks cuz it's such a boring place with nothing going on:  I just found out today that part of Memoirs of a Geisha was filmed in Thousand Oaks! 

That's my claim to fame. . .wohoo 

Finally Done

I'm back home now finally.  That was a pretty brutal semester I'd say.  Glad it's over with.  I left Stockton on Friday morning.  Saturday, my dad and I rented a van at 7AM, loaded everything in, and drove down to my new place.  The move-in was very efficient.  In the afternoon on Saturday, I found out some friends from Intervarsity were in town, so we had boba at this place that has games and stuff.  We ended up playing a few rounds of Jenga (did I spell that right?), including one round that lasted for about an hour.  How we kept that thing standing so long is beyond me.  I guess we all had pretty steady hands.  Then, my family had a big turkey dinner that my mom made at my sister's place to celebrate me being done and my sister making partner at Kaiser.  Yay!   

My new apartment is soo nice.  I'm so spoiled.  Thankfully, my loans are covering the rent cuz it's ridiculously high.  I also found out that Verizon offers a thing called the California Lifeline Program where they discount your internet & phone service if you qualify as a low-income household.  Well, when the sales lady asked me how much I make, I said, "uh, I make negative."  So I qualify to get a discount, wohoo! 

On Sunday, my mom, sister, and I drove down to Disneyland Hotel cuz my sister had to turn in some stuff for CE credit from a conference.  That was the first time I'd ever been to Disneyland Hotel.  Haha, I guess there has never been a need for us to stay there.  I went to my sister's church, and the pastor gave a really good message on living under the control of the Spirit, the idea that Paul talks about.  He also talked about how the Bible tells us not to be anxious (Phil 4:6) and by being anxious, it's like you're not really living under the control of the Spirit.  Being anxious is not who we were meant to be.  Not what God wants for us.  That's certainly something I want to work on.  It's such a wonderful thought that God wants to give us peace, not anxiety.       

Yesterday I met up with a friend from high school.  The same one I talked about in a previous entry on how she accepted Christ.  It was neat to catch up with her and see how God is working in her life.  I'm asking for prayer from all of you though, cuz right now is a very critical time for her since she's in the initial stage.  Pray that God lays for her a really strong spiritual foundation and that she doesn't get led astray by weird teachings or whatever cuz it's so easy to absorb whatever she gets taught in this early stage when she's hungering for it.   

Today I went to see Becoming Jane.  Yes, sorry guys, very chick flicky.  I wouldn't expect you to go see it.  I'd say it was definitely worth seeing though.  I dragged my mom with me and surprisingly, she understood most of the movie. . .haha.  As you might have guessed, I'm an avid Jane Austen fan.  This was really neat cuz you could see how she incorporated into her books some of the stuff from her life and quotes that people she knew said.  For the record, she certainly had a very complicated love-life and you can see that she explores those issues in her characters.   

What's That Green Thing?

Today was the pharmacy scholarship ceremony at 3PM.  I woke up at 2:30 from my nap.  Uh oh, time to hurry up and get myself into professional garb and look nice.  Thankfully, I have this speedy hair curling device called lock'n'roll that I had already plugged in.  Hair, make-up, nice dress, 15 minutes, done!

I speed walk over to the pharmacy building pretty proud of my efficiency.  As they call my name to for a scholarship, I eagerly walk up there to get my picture taken, flaunting my curls like an herbal essences commercial (haha. . not really).  As I come down, Pete Weber goes, "Esther, your hair!"  Me:  "What, what's wrong?"  As I reached for my oh-so-fabulous curls, I realized that I had left one of my green curlers in my hair. 

Yes, bright green curler for all to see.

Leave it to Teresa Dai-Zovi:  "Esther, if that thing gets in the picture, I want a copy!"   

Unexpected Phone Call

Last night I was feeling rather tired, discouraged, worn out, etc. (the usual symptoms of this semester) when suddenly, a friend from high school who I haven't talked to in a while called me.  We had classes together in high school and everything, but since college, we haven't really kept in touch.  I remember she wasn't a Christian, and I brought her to church (CCCTO youth group actually) a couple times during senior year of high school but she wasn't really into it.  She came to Bible study but it didn't seem to really affect her.   

We chatted for a few moments on school and basic stuff.  Then, she told me that she had a life-changing experience.  When I asked her about it, she proceeded to tell me that she had recently accepted Christ as her Savior.   

She explained how her family went to church but only during holidays like Christmas and Easter, etc. and that church has never been a big part of her life or the lives of her family members.  However, that church they went to (occasionally) began offering some sort of class about Jesus and an invitation to get to know Jesus better.  She told me how when she and her sister came home from college to visit, they noticed that her parents were really different.  Church was never a big part of their lives but all of a sudden her parents were delving into God's word everyday, and they were full of joy.  They kept encouraging her and her sister to check out this class and see for themselves.

My friend remembers that she didn't take her parents seriously.  She put this in the back of her mind, and did not give it another thought.  She had other things on her mind, like her relationship with her boyfriend.  However, the relationship had serious problems and when it ended, it left her extremely depressed and suicidal.  Her words: "Esther, I really hit rock bottom.  I decided that maybe I should take up this invitation to get to know Jesus."  That she did.  She went to the class and soon after, made Jesus her Lord.  She now feels an incredible sense of peace and joy that she never had before. 

My response to all this? 

Wow.  First of all, her phone call came at a perfect time.  I've been having bad week after bad week, stress, craziness, feeling like I'm on the brink of insanity, and I really needed encouragement.  Her testimony was definitely something I needed to hear.  She even proceeded to share with me some verses that have been uplifting in her life.  Then, she stated her commitment to supporting me and praying for me.  She also shared with me her new perspective that true friends bring each other to Jesus, just like the friends of the paralytic made a hole in the roof to bring him to Jesus.  You know, our friendship was never really that deep.  We were really just casual friends that hung out in high school and really just talked about stuff that wasn't all that important.  This certainly changes everything.  How incredible. 

Before she called me, I was worrying about everything, complaining to myself about how hard everything has been lately.  What she had to say reminded me of the presence of the living God.  Suddenly, what I'm going through doesn't seem all that big anymore. 

So what does this mean?

You never know how God will work.  He's truly amazing.  I may have somehow planted a little seed in her life back in high school, but I guess I didn't expect it to really grow into anything.  Well, it's evident that God was working all along, and He certainly loves her so much.  I would not have guessed that after 4 years, we would be united again, this time as sisters in Christ.