i'm back! and merry christmas eve

I will miss them constantly pointing at every shirtless man
and saying, "no shuuuhhtt~~!" It is the cutest and funniest thing ever.

It would've made an epic Youtube video.

(So I thought there'd be wireless at the timeshare we stayed at.)

My trip to Maui overall was.... nice :)
Did my sister and brother-in-law really need me on this trip? I think so.
Enough to pay for all of my expenses? I don't know, but I hope I did my job.
It was super hectic and tiring, yet at the same time it was simple and relaxing. I know it doesn't make sense, but I don't know how else to describe it.

Lesson learned: Don't vacation far away when your kids are younger than 4 years old. You're asking for a possible nightmare.

ANYWAY....

Merry Christmas Eve!
Just a few thoughts on this year's holiday season:

-Why was I genuinely confused like 5 different times as to whether or not Christmas already happened? I don't understand. I'm not old yet....

-I think this is the first year in many many (maybe 10) that I have not prepared any Christmas cards or presents. What gets to me more is the Christmas cards. I always went all out with them.

2008

(Made 40+, including ones sold. Thought, "Never again." I think that Every. Year.)

2010, Korea

(When all the stationery materials were 3x more expensive and

I had to stick with ink and colored pencils.)

Last year when I made 60+, including ones sold.

Used my mom for some manual labor.

Maybe I'll make some later, I don't know. Honestly, I'm broke and unmotivated to think of ideas that cost little time and money. I'll just make next year's crez (crazy).

Sidenote: Making a list of who to make cards for is SO STRESSFUL, especially when it comes to downsizing/eliminating people. Glad I didn't have to do it this year because I have way too many people in mind right now. 

-During the drive to Loma Linda today (to pick up the ONE bracelet I thought wouldn't sell on Etsy... and to shower.....), I reflected back on this past year and came to a conclusion that it was indeed a good year (Thank you Lord). I don't think I've thought that in a while. I'll come back to this later, before the new year hits. 

-Tomorrow is Christmas. (Duh.) And I catch myself envying those who upload instagrams of 1) their immediate and extended families celebrating with decked out christmas trees and crazy-packed dining tables, or 2) them and their significant others on a date at some romantic Christmas-y place with their newly exchanged gifts. How terribly sinful of me. But how relieving it is to know that Christmas is not about alladat. 

Sometimes we end up being so filled up with the holiday spirit and not the Holy Spirit. We end up celebrating "consumeristmas" instead of CHRISTmas. Let us not forget what tomorrow is all about. So thankful for a loving Savior who was born to set us free from the bondage of sin and give us the life we don't deserve. To you be the glory. (Sorry, Santa.)

just 22 more hours!!

So.... FINALS RECAP:

After that one traumatic day when I almost ripped a new one (refer to previous post), the 3 finals I had left seemed like nothing. I had 2 pretty intense finals on Tuesday, but because my body and mind were completely and understandably (at least in my opinion) exhausted, I studied for only one of them for less than 3 hours, and youtubed/pinterested/facebooked/instagrammed for the rest of the night.... and then finally opened my notes for the 2nd Tuesday final after I took my 1st one.

I don't care no mo'. (I kinda do though)
(Seriously, why is the grading scale so freaking unfair in grad school.)

THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK:

Remember Neuro? The class that I wanted to shank if it were a person? Well a month ago, I found out that my grade was at a 79%. That's a C, not a C+. (And I think a 75% is the lowest grade I could get in any class in order to pass and anything below that is failing.) Well after that horrible eye-awakening moment, I decided to step it up a notch and... study. I got perfect scores on all the subsequent quizzes + paper and.........
A 98% on the final!!
And now my grade in the class is a 90% (B+). <-- That's 0.1% away from a B. Thank you God for the +.

ANYWAY:

I'm going to Maui tomorrow morning with my sister and her family. I'm so excited!! It's been almost exactly 10 years since I've vacationed to Hawaii. I'll probably be taking my laptop so maybe I'll blog again when I'm there. Maholla atcho gurrl.

fall qtr final #1: intervention techniques & strategies

I liked this class because it was very hands-on and I learned quite a bit. Now I know what to do (sort of) when I come across patients with arthritis, hemi/quadra/paraplegia, limited ROM, stroke, etc. 

….. But a hands-on class = competency final. 

Freak. 

The format for our final was as follows:

1. 3 stations in the morning and 3 stations in the afternoon at the simulations lab (mock-hospital room setting).

2. We were randomly paired up with a classmate and each had 5 minutes at a station. 

3. At each station, we drew a card that gave us a certain task. 

(Ex. Patient has right hemiplegia. Transfer them from w/c to toilet, mod assist)

4. A professor was at each station, grading us on our performance. 

My experience (in a list): 

1. I was so stressed that my stomach went buckwild and I went to the bathroom 5 times — once before part 1 at 8am and 4 more times before part 2 at 1:30pm. It is now 5:12pm and my stomach is still making noises. My mouth is dry and I’m hungry, but I’m scared to eat dinner. 

2. I almost hyperventilated after finding out my partner for transfers was a male classmate who’s probably almost double my weight and height. My professors had to calm me down and reassure me that I’ll be okay.

3. I literally froze up and stood there for 20 seconds while doing the dressing portion of the final. I apologized to the professor and all she said was, “You have 1 minute left.” I’m surprised my stomach didn’t explode at that very moment. 

4. Overall, I passed. I should be glad, but I’m not. That asian side of me is sulking over a possible B+ in the class. 

Reminders to self:

1. WHO. CARES. No one’s going to see my grades except ME! It isn’t college no mo’! Just pass the freaking boards.  

2. My identity is not in my grades. My identity is not in my future title. It is in Christ.

approaching finals week

I'm getting lazier and lazier to update this thing. I might take a break from blogging. I haven't had much time to reflect on things lately, and even if I do reflect, it's something either not worth talking about on this blog or too personal.

Anyway, my finals are from Monday - Wednesday. I need to remember in the midst of all the repeated moments of I-want-to-strangle-everyone-so-bad-(except-old-people) that an A- is still great. That even a B+ is okay. Okay fine, that even a B is acceptable.

I haven't had proper amount of sleep the past few nights, and by proper I mean my usual 8-8.5 hrs of sleep.... not because I was studying late, but because I was being dumb with my time. I need to work on time management and prioritization, as do most people of this world.

If you haven't watched it yet, I made a video for my "morning moment" (a morning devotional students give in class as a requirement for their grad portfolio). Thank goodness I didn't have to show it in class.

*If you've never watched a youtube makeup tutorial, you might be confused.
click here

and

bloopers here

Enjoy. And be blessed.