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somekevinguy
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Name: Kevin
Country: United States
State: Massachusetts
Metro: Boston
Birthday: 11/4/1982
Gender: Male
Interests: people, creation, ideas, laughter, writing vague generalities that somehow go beyond "tennis, hiking, reading, hanging out with friends and family, movies, late night ultimate games, food etc"
Occupation: Student
Industry: Medical
Message: message me
Member Since:
2/5/2003
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| So, it's 1:40 am and I sit in the hospital, waiting for this patient that's coming to us from a hospital in central cal. I'm slightly tired but mostly just reflective and contemplative at this point (or at least I think I am...). I dunno, it's kinda peaceful sitting in this place right now, most of the kiddos asleep and not spiking temperatures or vomiting or otherwise causing a raucous. So yeah, mixed feelings really....I feel kinda grown up...I mean, im working on a sunday night, doing pretty grown up things and making grown up decisions. at the same time, I look around and cant help but think perhaps i need to grow up a bit still. hmm..not exactly sure how to put my finger on it but....whatever...sick kid jsut got here..im out | | |
| recent political discourse between a friend (and a friend of a friend) and me.
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| Your dating personality profile:
Big-Hearted - You are a kind and caring person. Your warmth is inviting, and your heart is a wellspring of love.
Liberal - Politics matters to you, and you aren't afraid to share your left-leaning views. You would never be caught voting for a conservative candidate.
Religious - Faith matters to you. It is the foundation that you build your life upon. You trust that God has a plan for you. | Your date match profile:
Practical - You are drawn to people who are sensible and smart. Flashy, materialistic people turn you off. You appreciate the simpler side of living.
Religious - You seek someone who is grounded in faith and who possesses religious values. You believe that a religious person can enhance your life.
Big-Hearted - You want someone compassionate, someone gentle and kind. A loving, nurturing person will fill that hole in your life. | Your Top Ten Traits
1. Big-Hearted
2. Liberal
3. Religious
4. Intellectual
5. Practical
6. Romantic
7. Outgoing
8. Athletic
9. Adventurous
10. Sensual
| Your Top Ten Match Traits
1. Practical
2. Religious
3. Big-Hearted
4. Intellectual
5. Athletic
6. Conservative
7. Romantic
8. Traditional
9. Sensual
10. Adventurous
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Take the Online Dating Profile Quiz at Dating Diversions'
haha...fair enough ken, i was actually just flipping through really old xanga posts and was like..hmm...i wonder if anything has changed, it hasn't. and im a nerd.
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| For some reason, I love politics- the discourse that goes on, the different personalities involved, the very different competing ideas from people, I would like to believe, who have the best for this country at heart.
That being said, I have a hard time understanding how many intelligent, rational people can even question whether to vote for McCain vs. Obama. It seems so ridiculously clear cut in my mind but perhaps I'm just missing something obvious.
I can only speak from my perspective but let's just go through a whole litany of issues....
From a Christian perspective, while so many seem to be fixated on abortion and gay marriage (which sure, are important issues), there are so many other "moral" issues. Is not poverty a moral issue? Is not the fact that 47 million americans are without health insurance and have to choose between taking care of their health or even that of their children and financial ruin a moral issue? Are we not given a mandate to be stewards of our environment, taking care of it so that future generations actually have some of God's creation to enjoy and to sustain them? Is it not a moral obligation to never enter a war unless all other avenues have been exhausted and unless we have actually determined, based on real evidence, that there is no other alternative and that the situation is worthy of putting our brothers/sisters into harm's way? And education.....?
I see only a few reasons why anyone would consider, rationally, voting republican in the upcoming election:
1. You believe in small government and that other entities (ie the church, communities, etc) are sufficient to provide the necessary social safety nets to ensure that Americans get the health care/economic assistance, etc that they need. Well, I would counter that while church organizations and communities are great, they are not sufficient in and of themselves. There is a reason that a country with the most wealth ever known to man ranks so poorly (ie 37th) in the world in terms of overall health system and health outcomes. (http://www.who.int/whr/2000/media_centre/press_release/en/) . Also, aside from healthcare, also see education, transportation, etc.
2. You want a tax break. enough said- you may be disillusioned with the promises/failures of politics and whatever, you want more money in your wallet. to be honest, this to me, is the most honest, and thus also the most respectable reason to be a republican.
3. You believe so fervently that abortion and gay marriage are the defining issues of any election that despite an avalanche of evidence supporting the other side for all other issues, you still go with republicans.
4. your parents voted republican, your grandparents voted republican, and hence, you vote republican (note, this is actually, in my opinion, not a legit reason to vote republican by any means).
Both parties agree: stuff is broken. Now, remind me, who was in the white house the last 8 yrs? oh...wait, and how come we aren't seeing any of the president or his oh so likeable VP during the RNC? Bush has a 60-70% disapproval rating right now....(http://www.pollingreport.com/BushJob.htm).
1.ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY: Ok,McCain has not only missed 8 votes on purpose that would support renewable energy, and his energy plan is essentially DRILL DRILL DRILL ...yeah, sounds like a good way to be energy indpednent and support the environment. Oh btw, sarah palin supports drilling in the arctic national wildlife refuge (which mccain previously was against) AND, this is the kicker, does not belive in global warming...argh.
Also, Mccains previous idea of suspending the gas tax...its basic supply and demand-dec costs=inc demand..ie more gas consumption... Not so hard to figure out really
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/03/opinion/03friedman.html?em
Obviously, eventually we can't always rely on oil and we need to actually invest in other types of renewable energies.
2. The economy: republicans = more inequality and less income growth (under clinton, rise in $7500 in avg income vs -$2000 under GW). http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/31/business/31view.html?em
3. Education
Ok, im gettin tired, and not to be elitist, but it takes some intelligence to be leader of the free world and not to equate elite education with intelligence but c'mon, just listening to these people speak, you can't honestly tell me Obama (both Barack and Michelle) are really intelligent and McCain..whatever, at least it's not GW.
Barack Obama: Columbia, Harvard Law (w/o mentioning he's black on his application btw)
Michelle Obama: Princeton, Harvard Law
John McCain: US Naval academy (which im sure had nothing to do with both his father and gfather being ADMIRALS), rank 844/849- excellent.
Cindy McCain: "Sarah palin has foreign policy experience...Alaska is after all, the closest state to Russia." Honestly, enough said.
Ok, so that was somewhat elitist, but seriously, have you heard B and M Obama's speech's from the DNC- inspiring.
4. VP CHOICE: oh, lets talk about sarah palin. you know when youre brining up the PTA and being mayor of a town of 7500 as "experience" that qualifies you to be president of the us (yes president, since john mccain will be the oldest potential president- age 72, plus 4 bouts of melanoma), youre looking at trouble. throw in a little trooper gate, a little hypocrisy (abstinence only education that sarah palin supports seems to have worked out well for her own daugther), and things don't look good. Then, undermine your whole argument about Obama by putting a woman with a whole 19 months experience a heartbeat away from being president. excellent. is he tryin to help the democrats? "Good thing she's part of the NRA because its gonna be a shotgun wedding."
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| Wow, so I haven't written in a while....there's a lot to cover but Ill try to break it down.
Resident Life (ok fine, intern life)
Being an MD...and an intern. Sometimes I feel like..."why did I go to school 8 yrs if all you want me to do is fill out this paperwork...?" Other times, I feel like..."I only went to school 8 years and you want me to decide what?!" ok not really the second one because there's always backup..but a little. Anyhow, my job is pretty awesome- yes, the hours are terrible (well, not compared to some other folks) but honestly, who gets to play some role in healing kids, play with kids, interact with families, and be a part of a team whose main goal is to heal chlidren AND get paid for it? I have some of the most ridiculously cute kids as patients and their smiles in spite of having to take more meds, get blood draws, be stuck in the hospital etc more than I will probably ever have to is nothing short of inspirational and amazing and a shot of reality/perspective when Im feeling tired from too many hours at work. Its a reminder to that question of why am i working so much..oh yeah, so i can take the best possible care of her and get her back to as normal of a life as possible.
And while sometimes I learn about what paperwork needs to be filled out when, Im also learning about all kinds of interesting diseases as well as how to be a good and compassionate doctor. My coresidents, though Ive only known them for a little- seem to be really cool people with different kinds of backgrounds and experiences- but all very solid and just good folks. Yes, 22 are women and mostly engaged or married, leaving us 4 guys to bond over lakers-celtics games and what not but really, its been pretty good.
LIFE OUTSIDE THE HOSPITAL
General
So, in general, life in the bay area is pretty easy. Life in the mountain view area is even easier. what i mean by this is that everything is so comfortable and nice. my new place is awesome and definiteinyl the nicest place ive lived. we are one block from amazing restaurants and tons of shops and such. i can get pretty much wahtever type of food i want within like 10 minutes. the weather is almost always beautiful, with an occasional "hot" day of 90 here and there. There are ample recreation opportunities. Target, walmart, trader joe's, best buy, whatever you could possibly need to buy is 10-15 min away. boba is literally 30 seconds away from my door. so is pho, or ramen, or thai. there is plentiful parking. seriously, life is just easy here. that being said, it is easy to forget that this is not how the rest of the world lives, that i was not created so i can just wallow in a pool of comfort/luxury/convenience. thats what i appreciated about berkeley- there were the reminders that life isnt this easy for everyone. and so tryin to remember that and not get way too comfortable here is a challenge.
Community
Shout out to Kristen (friend from HS who happens to be in the area) in particular for being so good about getting me plugged in with her group of friends- who really are quite welcoming and seem like really awesome people. ive also checked out a few churches in the area and while they are all very different, have met some cool people through them. its pretty cool meeting new folks and im starting to enjoy it more than i ever have before. it helps when people are so welcoming. i mean its a little ridiculous that ive been here for like 3 weeks and have already gotten pretty plugged in -again, thanks largely to Kristen.
My roomies (fellow peds intern Jon and med school friend/medicine intern jaime) are also cool guys and its been pretty easy living with them. we dont get to see each other a whole lot but hopefully that will change a bit and we'll get tighter as time goes on.
anyhow, this is a relatively quick snapshot into my life these days. to all those that may still read this thing, hope life is treating you well and im thankful for all this technology stuff that allows us to stay however connected despite barriers of distance and time. (wow..that sounds really cheezy and slightly sci fi'y).
until next time
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