Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot, And Never Brought To Mind

(I'm a couple of days late with this - better late than never!)


   Despite what ancient Mayans' calendars may have predicted, 2012 has come and gone (and the world is still here).  This year was one with many changes, full of progress, but with little time for recharge.  When I look back at where I was in the beginning of this year compared to where I am now - mentally, intellectually, romantically, socially - my, how things have changed!

The year I performed at the Wine Auction

The year I passed USMLE Step 1

The year I went to Peru with J

The year  I delivered my first baby (and second!)

The year my friends came up from LA to surprise me for my birthday

The year Yolanda died, and I bought my Volvo

The year we went camping in Oregon... again

The year I fell head-over-heels in love and became attached at the hip after the 3rd date

The year I moved in with my BF

The year my sister graduated high school and started college

The year I discovered HONEY BOO BOO

The year BF turned dirty thirty!

The year I adopted another kitty

The year BF and I got a puppy

The year I went to Connecticut for Christmas

The year I visited high school friends in NYC

   And much, much more.  So here's to 2012!  I'm glad the world didn't end :P ... too much good stuff goin' on!

Gettin' My Sing On

This year, for the annual UC Davis Wine Auction (a benefit for the non-profit student-run clinics), my friend Y and I decided to perform a little set together.  In case you don't know Y, he is one of my favorite study buddies, and he is a genius on the keys.  The two of us practiced every day at lunch for the couple of weeks leading up to the event, and our performance turned out okay, I think!

Practice (Notice the weird-ass sculpture hanging in front of our school in the background)

Funny story about the performances... There were several group performances by med students, and the week before the event, we realized that three different groups were all performing "Someone Like You" - Adele, including us!  It actually happened to be the first song we started practicing, so by the time we heard everyone else was performing it too, we were getting a little sick of it, so we abandoned it for a different song.  We did:

• "Ordinary People" - John Legend
• "Nearness of You" Norah Jones
• "Yellow" - Coldplay
• "At Last" - Etta James

It was so much fun working together.  Also, I just love singing, so I had a blast with the whole thing.  Here are our songs on youtube!

Ordinary People

Nearness of You

Yellow

At Last (the still image for this one is kinda funny...)

So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday

Yesterday was the first day of fall (my favorite season), and although it was still hot here in Sacramento, I could totally feel it.  Traditionally to most people, fall symbolizes dying - whether it's the sparse but colorful trees withering with the loss of each leaf, or mourning the final disappearance of the summer sun. To me, however, fall represents a time of change, and while I'm not entirely sure what changes are in store for me, I have a good feeling about this season.

Lately, I have been learning a lot more about myself and others, and I've started to get a really good grasp on the things I want out of friendships/relationships. I am finally starting to have the courage to refuse settling for less.  I think my yearly horoscope put it in terms that totally make sense:

"You'll no longer be able to give yourself short shrift or buy into co-dependent dynamics that put your needs on an eternal backburner. You're learning the hard way how to love yourself the way you want and deserve to be loved. Relationships must honor, dignify and respect your noble qualities to pass your stringent litmus test. But the good news is that you're learning to stand up and voice your romantic needs. No longer will you fall prey to the trap of giving in hopes of getting -- and that makes all the difference."


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On another note, this morning was the Body Donor Memorial Service for the families of the cadavers we have the privilege of exploring in anatomy.  It was a beautiful ceremony, with touching speeches from my classmates, and moving musical performances.  I sang with some of my classmates in an acapella group we like to call "Acoustic Shadows".  The name is a subtle nerdy med school joke (see what an acoustic shadow is here).  We have been practicing for about a month, (besides our two week fall vacation), and I think the performance turned out really nicely!  It was nice to be able to show a little bit of our appreciation for the donors, and I hope that the families at the service appreciated our song.  

And here is a video of our performance!