A penny for your thoughts

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Yes, Goodbye

Here we are: the end of freshman year. I can't believe it's here already.

Some reflections:
Holy crap. College. I made it. I'm here.

That was the opening sentence of my first blog post as a college student. I was really excited back then, ready to begin a new chapter in my life. 9 months later, I feel like I've learned so much, and that I've been more exposed to real world (then again, compared to the bubble back in Cerritos/Whitney, any exposure is significant). I've cultivated meaningful friendships with some of the greatest people I've ever met, and I've bonded so much with my suite, collectively called "The 3312." (refer to 2 posts ago) So socially, I have definitely grown.

Academically, college has actually made me question my career choice, even if slightly. I've always wanted to be a doctor, but Bio and Chem in college was so much harder than I expected. There was just so much work involved, to the point that some of my friends told me that, in their view, I had disappeared off the face of the Earth. Is pre-med really worth the work involved? We'll see next semester, when I'll have to deal with O-Chem...

As this school year wraps up, I thank all my friends for their contributions to this wonderful experience I've had during my first year at USC. I look forward to seeing you guys again next year. Have an AWESOME summer!

Also noteworthy: Yesterday was my 1-year anniversary of this blog. Thank you, Blogspot, for constantly being there for me, both through my happiest and my saddest moments. Thank you for providing a medium through which I could express my thoughts and emotions. You have been an indispensible part of my life for the past 365 days.

Unfortunately, I believe I have found a better companion for the future: Tumblr. Please forgive me, Blogspot; I know you have been faithful for me, but I feel that Tumblr shall better serve my purposes from now on.

It's not you; it's me :P Goodbye!

Monday, May 11, 2009

Goodbye?

Why must my life constantly be parallel with Scrubs?

I finally got a chance to watch the season finale (DONE WITH FINALS WOOT), and it really made me emotional. Just as Zach Braff is leaving the show, in a few days I will be saying my goodbyes to my friends at USC.

More to come later.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

3312 Pride

Today, I went out with my suite (most of it) for a suite dinner. We decided on Kushi Shabu in Little Tokyo, upon Bryant's recommendation.

I won't retell what happened, because I believe I took enough pictures for that. Still...significant thoughts:
1. Props to Brian for ordering unlimited Shabu for himself, then violating restaurant rules by dishing out the beef to us when the waiters weren't looking.
2. Still can't believe that even after looking at Kevin's and Elton's IDs (we said it was their birthdays), the waitress gave us a $20 bottle of champagne.

Final thoughts (someone a repetition of what I said during one of our toasts): 3312, thank you for making my transition to college such an unforgettable experience. Many people I know complain about their roommates/suitemates, and they ask me if I have "roommate problems," to which I reply, "What's that?" You guys have truly been my closest friends for the past 9 months, and I gratefully appreciate how quickly and closely we have bonded. I will never forget the 3312 experience.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Regurgitation

First off, congrats to the Lakers for a solid Game 3. You're finally beginning to play with more effort rather than relying solely on talent.

From this blog post: http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2009/5/7/867864/making-sense-of-these-lakers?ref=yahoo

I have been waiting for the Lakers to "wake up," as though the realization of their or the shock of a loss that shouldn't have been would instantly motivate them, transforming them overnight into the team they are supposed to be. But that's not going to happen. Like me in high school, they have a particular skill set that allowed them to succeed in the regular season. It wasn't necessarily about playing their best basketball, it was about what it took to get the wins, and for the Lakers, it took less. Like me, that natural talent allowed them to slack off, and they weren't forced to work as hard as other teams to establish good habits and patterns. But in the end, these are things that they are going to need, if they want to attain the highest level of success — an NBA championship. Now, the ease with which they sailed through the regular season threatens to bite them in the ass.

The problem is that they have 82 games worth of bad habits to overcome. Just as it has been so hard for me to become a disciplined person, with well-developed time management skills, after such a long time of getting by without, so too will it be a struggle for the Lakers to find the motivation and self-discipline to play at a high level on both ends of the court. It's not going to happen overnight.

And this is why I'm thankful for the Rockets.

Second...I cannot believe how much Bio I absorbed between 4pm and 2am yesterday for today's Bio final. I'll now regurgitate as much information as I can from what I studied, just because I can.

By the way, this is completely from memory.

Osmoregulation and Excretion
Excretion involves three things: filtration, reabsorption, and secretion. The general formula is "Filtration - Reabsorption + Secretion = Excretion." The functions of the excretory system include regulation of water, regulation of ions, maintenance of osmolarity (these three constitute osmoregulation), maintenance of blood/plasma volume and blood pressure, elimination of toxic wastes, and secretion of the hormones EPO and Renin.
Side note: Urine is yellow is because excretion involves the massive destruction of RBCs; hemoglobin recycled except for the heme group, which is ripped out of the RBCs, after passage through the liver and kidney, the heme group becomes a yellow pigment.
Anatmoy: The afferent arteriole carries blood to the glomerulus. The efferent arteriole carries blood away fom the glomerulus. The vasa recta consists of the capillaries that wrap around the loop of Henle. Blood flow through the vasa recta is opposite of that of the loop of Henle, in a process called countercurrent flow.
Glomerular filtration: The capillaries of the glomerulus is wrapped by podocytes, which are flattened epithelial cells of the Bowman's capsule. Blood leaks through the porous capillaries, through the filtration slits of the podocytes.
Osmotic gradient: Osmotic gradient begins in the proximal tubule at around 300 mosm/L. Osmolarity increases as the filtrate moves deeper ino the kidney. At the bottom the loop of Henle, osmolarity is around 1200 mosm/L. This usually involves the juxtamedullary nephron; the cortical nephron lacks the long loop of Henle.
Reabsorption in proximal tubule: The sodium-potassium pump plays the largest role in reabsorption; it is the only form of active transport here, and powers all the other processes in the epithelial cells. Other mechanisms involved include the potassium channel, sodium dependent cotransporter, and aquaporin channels.
Changes in osmolarity: In the descending limb of the loop of Henle, water diffuses out of the tubule due to a high osmolarity in the interstital fluid. The ascending limb is not permeable to water, but osmolarity still decreases because NaCl is reabsorbed by the vasa recta. The NaCl is used to maintain the high osmolarity of the interstitial fluid that surround the ascending limb.
Regulation of kidney function by ADH: This negative feedback system is stimulated by an increase in plasma osmolarity. This stimulus causes the hypothalamus to secrete Antideuretic Hormone, which increases the permeability of the lower collecting duct, therefore increasing its capacity to reabsorb water. To end the system, the hypothalamus stimulates thirst, which increases blood osmolarity.
Regulation of kidney function by Renin Angiostenin Aldosterone: This is another negative feedback system, and begins with the

Okay screw this -_- Another day.