Infectious Disease

After many, many trips to the pulmonologist and many, many procedures, the results of my last biopsy are inconclusive. I've been referred to an infectious disease specialist... turns out that I will most likely have another full-on VATS biopsy in two weeks. This guy says this will really be the final one and they will take that tissue and fully test and study it so that they can figure out a line of treatment, whether it's antibiotics or something else.

I hope so. I'm sick of going through procedures that just lead to a dead end.

I've Made It!

I've made it! Today is the day. I'm leaving that god-foresaken, horrible, scary rented room... and moving into a beautiful hotel in Princeton for the night!!! I cannot wait for internet connection, tv, a clean shower where I don't have to worry about someone suddenly barging in. I never have to see that awful lady again. I really hope she gives me back my security deposit... but the most important thing right now is... I'VE MADE IT!

*No more worries about other people trying on my undergarments.
*No more noisy kids who scream when it's time to take a bath.
*No more worries that someone will barge into my room in the middle of the night.
*No more weird smells from someone else's cooking.
*No more searchign for parking in a shady parking lot.

I do have a few memories in that room... mostly with the 22 year old... haha... but considering he's long gone too at this point, I can happily say GOODBYE to the rented room fiasco!!!! Well, after I grab the last of my things tonight. :)

WAIVED!

I just found out that I've been waived out of Financial Accounting and Managerial Accounting! So I get to run with the big guys and take Financial Analysis (FIN 513) my first semester at Ross.

It's the Heart that Counts

I just had the weirdest conversation ever with my mother. Weird as in that it was surprising. I was complaining to her about how I have such a hard time finding indian guys that I wan to date long term; a lot of them that I have found just aren't as good to me as I think they should be. In the past when I've told her this, she would tell me to just keep looking, that I just haven't found the right one yet.

Today was different. Today she tells me that I shouldn't lock myself out of the market of dating non-indian guys. Supposedly, now, it's the heart that counts. I wonder if this is a trap she's setting for me? Or, is it that she wants to see her 24 year old daughter get married more than I thought?

I haven't really digested the concept. I'm not sure what to really think about this.

Bridget Jones

One of my commentors told me that my blog is a lot like Bridget Jones's Diary. It's nice to know that I have moved away from the "sex and the city" theme. I have been feeling a lot like Bridget lately, so I don't take any offense to the comment. If only I had a hottie like Colin Firth waiting for me on the other side of this blog! (Hey Colin, if you are out there, my email is mbacutie1@yahoo.com).

I stayed at the Omni Berkshire last night as a special treat to myself for getting through these exciting, yet sometimes painful, years in NYC. The hotel was GORGEOUS. The room was immaculate, and it was the most comfortable bed I had ever slept in. Plus, since I'm a select member, they upgraded me and brought orange juice and botteled water to my room first thing in the morning. Pretty amazing.

I had dinner with a friend, and then we headed over to the bar for my party. The rain really put a damper on things. A lot of people couldn't come, but there were a few surprises (AKA JP guy)! It folded pretty early and I went back to the hotel to watch movies and chill out. Not the best party and I'm really happy for the friends that came out in spite of the rain. I was, however, really disappointed in some people, who I really did hold as friends, but they haven't been supportive at all the past few weeks. It was a good way to do the tail end of spring cleaning.

I think I just got all the reminders I needed, however, of why I am so ready to leave New York and New Jersey. It may be a better place for me a few years down the road, after b-school, when I'm in a different place in my life. But, as of right now, I'm ready to say goodbye to New York, New Jersey, and everything else that came along with it.

It's my PARTY!!

and... I'll cry if I want to!

GOODBYE NYC!!!!

Is this true?!!

Freshly off the Lehman event yesterday... I think I have an interest in banking. I've been trying to talk to people I know in the field.

My friend worked at Jefferies as an analyst for 2 years and then quit. Supposedly,

(1) I'll hate the lifestyle
(2) It makes girls ugly --- literally... he said he worked with some cute girls but after two years they gained 30 pounds and were no longer cute.
(3) I'll be single for the rest of my life
(4) As an analyst, you can escape, as an associate, you're there forever
(5) They only give you good bonuses the first and second years... after that they give you almost nothing or they fire you?

IS THIS TRUE?

I mean, of course I'll hate the lifestyle, who likes working till 2am on almost no sleep -- but isn't the work challenging and interesting? And I will just not eat. I will make sure that I order only salad and be very restrictive and make myself go to the gym every day even if it's at 2am to make sure I won't gain 30 pounds. And what if I meet a boyfrined in b-school? then I dont' have to worry about being single. You can leave as an associate and go into PE or something. I thought bonuses were standard and everyone gets them. RIGHT?

Difficult Years

Recovering from my fourth medical procedure in the course of 12 months has really forced me to take a look and reevaluate my life.

Acheivements:
* Academic prowess: high school valedictorian, attended(ing) top ranked institutions for undergraduate and graduate studies.
* Worked my way into well-paying jobs in sought after .
* Overcame my childhood shyness to enjoy social life in my 20s.
* Worldly -- travelled to many countries, experienced unique things, have made so many diverse friends.

Yet to Acheive:
* A place of my own -- that I OWN.
* Committment to a job function I really love.
* Falling madly in love with someone who is actually good for me to fall madly in love with.
* Having a family -- if that's what I decide I want.

I think I've really grown disenchanted with the dating scene. You really can't depend on it for anything but fun, and sometimes, you can't even depend on it for that. I can't say that any guy I ever dated was particularly helpful during any of the medical troubles I had... eventually, I just became reluctant to even tell anyone I ever met what I was going through. What's the point? It's not as though people who are not related to you, or who are already your super close friends, want to stop their busy activities to help you feel better. I'm guilty of it, too, I'm sure... not being there, not helping someone that needed my help, when they were most likely showing clear signals that they needed it. Plus, it's such a downer to have to tell someone you like and who is starting to like you that you are facing a medical battle. No one wants to deal with that in a new relationship. Even if the battle isn't life threatening, and is most likely temporary... meaning it will be gone once treatment is over and I will be good as new.

I think, for the next year at least, I need to be really careful with dating. After having to go through another surgery, and just feeling down for the past few days, I know that I need to take the time to take care of myself well. And I don't want to let anyone into my life that isn't going to do the same.

I think the past year has been the hardest year in my life... my second year of college just falling slightly short of being the worst. My junior year of high school was pretty dreadful too. In just under 25 years of life, I can look back and see three years I wish I could erase. I don't regret the years, I just can't handle the pain associated with thinking about them. Someone once told me that for my writing to be at its strongest, I should write about what I know. I want to write about some of those times, but the thought of pulling out the key and unlocking those memories of pain still frighten me to the core. I worked so hard to get past those times and looked, reached, and, finally, ran towards the light. I can't go back and revisit them. At least not yet.

Sri Lanka for designer duds...

Hey! I am so much better. Most of the pain is gone... I am going to be OK once I'm diagnosed! :)

So this weekend, I met a girl that married a guy from Sri Lanka. She told me that during her last trip, she was able to buy so many designer clothes for ridiculously dirt cheap. How? Well Ralph Lauren, along with other designers, have their clothes manufactured in Sri Lanka. Sometimes, the workers in these factors will purposely rip a label or cause a deliberate defect to some of the clothing. These defected clothes are then sold in local markets at extreme discount. For example, she said she bought a Ralph Lauren white courdoroy mini skirt for just $1.00, when normal retail price of the same skirt in the US would have been $58 or $78. The label is obviously ripped. Hmmm....

Email Revenge!

As I lay heavily medicated on the road to recovery... I was surfing the internet and came across a "relationship" site that gave some interesting tips on how to get over an ex after a break up. One of them was to take his email ID and register him on every junk mail site you can find. I just could not stop laughing (probably not a good thing, it was painful on my poor lung). That thought had never occurred to me! I really don't have that many ex's that I would consider doing that do but I do have a couple of nasty ex-girlfriends whom I would LOVE to do that to. Interesting, interesting, interesting!

Recovery

I'm sorry that I disappeared for a little while. It turns out that the surgery I had back in February didn't really help with diagnosing what's wrong with my lungs... so they got worse, and then I had to have an emergency CT guided needle biopsy on Friday. Yes, it sucked, and I'm still in some pain, but I should be better soon.

I really miss my family and California. Last night, I stayed in a hotel for initial recovery, trying to avoid my wretched rented room. I'm not allowed to take a bath for 24 hours. I am really trying to keep my spirits up but I guess I'm just feeling down. I'm thinking of cancelling my goodbye party next Saturday. Seems like it's not a good weekend for a lot of people, and I just am so ready to get out of here.. I have nothing really left in NYC or NJ that I need to celebrate. Maybe it's just me feeling down saying this. I dont' know. I'll try to start posting regularly again next week.

Hiatus

I'm sorry, but due to a health issue (please go back to "Surgery" posts for more information), I will have to take a short hiatus from posting. I hope to be back soon.

Thank you.

Worst Allergy Nightmare

It seems like everyone has been coming down with the weirdest allergies lately. I haven't been spared. I took my dry cleaning to a new place and when I put on one of the newly laundered blouses for work, I itched all day long. I come home to discover my whole chest is covered in hives. I had to get everything in that dry cleaning batch re-washed at my old dry cleaners. Thank God for Bennedryl. Although I was knocked out for twelve hours straight, it was much needed sleep.

A friend of mine discovered she has a hidden allergy, but she doesn't know for what. She came back from her trip to St. Louis, bloated, in pain, red, and ten pounds heavier. She's making daily trips to the doctor to make sure that the allergy is dissipating.

But another friend of mine clearly takes the cake for the "Worst Allergy Nightmare". This weekend, she discovered MID-ACT that she is allergic to a particular brand of spermicide. Yes, folks. After intense pain, she relented, went to the emergency room, had to be flushed and medicated. Two excrutiating hours later, she was A-OK. Scary sh!t.

Manifest Destiny & AAA

The trip to Detroit from Central Jersey is long. That's the only way to describe it. It's also pretty barren. I only hit three major cities on the way there: Youngstown, Cleveland and Toledo. (All three are in Ohio.) Yes, that's right... there is about a 400 mile stretch on I-80 through central Pennsylvania where you do not hit a single major city. The closest thing is that at Exit 161, you are about 10 miles away from State College, the home of the infamous Penn State. The drive, although long, was easy, and the further I drove, the more I wanted to drive. The overwhelming desire to reach my destination with the fewest possible number of stops over came me, and I used the rush to help me drive. It took some willpower to pull onto 280 North when the time came, as I wouldn't have minded continuing on to Chicago. The pull of "sea to shining sea" was fairly strong, and I now understand the sentiments of our country's first settlers.

Heading out there was fairly uneventful. I was left without music for about 200 miles in central PA, as I couldn't find a radio station and had grown sick of my CD's. Since the winter weather in these areas is pretty greusome, the summer months are prime construction times, and there were a few delays. I finally got onto I-80 at Stroudsburg around 3:00pm and didn't arrive in Dearborn, MI until about 12:00am on Friday night.

The return trip was exactly the opposite. I set out from Dearborn around 9:30 am and headed towards Toledo. At about 11:15am, I'm in between Toledo and Cleveland and I hear this strange sound. It sounded like a very loud tractor. I figured, since I was in farm country, that must be exactly what it is, and just kept going on my merry way. Then my steering wheel started shaking uncontrollably. Not sure whether it was my car or the road, I began to slow down. Then, I hear a loud *BAM*, my car is suddenly lurching to the right. Something was very, very wrong. I immediately pulled off to the shoulder, get out and take a look to find out what happened. My rear right tire is in PIECES. It's completely shredded. Nothing remains of it except a small ring of rubber that manged to stay around the rim. My mud flap is mangled in rubber. CRAP.

I had absolutely no clue where I was (other than that I was in Sandusky County about 20 to 30 miles east of Toledo). I called AAA and they said it would take a while for them to find me. An Ohio Turpike cop found me and called AAA to let them know I was, get this, 4 miles away from FREMONT, Ohio (oh so ironic that I burst a tire in a town called Fremont). AAA showed up, changed my tire and sent me on my way to the Fremont, Ohio Walmart Tire Center, where they changed my tire. While I was waiting, I headed across the street to this tiny strip mall and was poking around the shops there.

Once my car was fixed, I high-tailed it out of there. I made it across PA in 4 and 1/2 hours. I have no idea how, but I just kept driving and driving, and finally, I was back in NJ. Forty-five minutes later, I was back in my freaky rented room. Just two and a half more weeks and counting.

Twins can have different fathers?

The most random thing ever... I was reading on MSN that it is actually possible for fraternal twins to have two different fathers. It's not something I had ever thought about before, but it is interesting...

"I am pregnant with twins and need to know if my babies can be one day older than the other? Can I have one baby by one dad and the other by another dad?"

Not only is it possible for fraternal twins to have different fathers, it's on the medical record books. This official medical term for this phenomenon is heteropaternal superfecundation.

The classic case was recorded in 1810 by John Archer, the first doctor to receive a medical degree in the U.S. According to Dr. Archer, a white woman who had sex with a black man and a white man within a short time of each other subsequently gave birth to twins -- one white, one mulatto. Other cases have been reported since. And you thought this only happened with puppies?

Sperm cells can live inside a woman's body for four to five days. Once ovulation occurs, the egg remains viable for another 12 to 48 hours before it begins to disintegrate; thus, the fertile period can span five to seven days.

Dr. Lawrence B. Werlin, founder and director of the Coastal Fertility Medical Center in Irvine, Calif., explains, "If the twins are fraternal, where two eggs (ova) are fertilized by two sperm and produce two genetically unique children, then one baby could be slightly older than the other. In addition, if a woman ovulates, releases two eggs and has intercourse with two different men, the eggs could be fertilized by both, resulting in fraternal twins with distinctive fathers."

Historically, superfecundation has been difficult to prove, due to the crudeness of the blood-type testing methods. However, in 1978, Dr. Paul Terasaki of the UCLA School of Medicine reported in the New England Journal of Medicine that he and his colleagues had conclusively established a case of superfecundation using a sophisticated procedure called tissue HLA (or human leukocyte antigen) testing. Potential paternity-suit litigants, take note: This technique can also be applied to more conventional cases.

I'm Still Here!

I'm sorry I've been MIA for the past two days. I was having system issues so I couldn't log onto Blogger. :( Things haven't really improved in the apartment situation. At the moment, I'm avoiding my landlord at all costs. I disappear to my room the second I get home, and I try to hide out as long as possible so that I don't have to see her when I shower or go to the bathroom. Just a few more weeks and then I'm done.

Yesterday afternoon, I packed up as many belongs as I could and stuffed them into my car. I leave for the 9 hour drive to Detroit in about 2 hours. Not really looking forward to it, but not really looking forward to spending more time in that awful room I rented. My dad thinks I've brought this on myself for being thoughtless when looking for a temporary place to stay. He's probably right.

Nothing new to really report. I'm looking forward to attending the Lehman event on June 20th and to my goodbye party! It's nice to have something fun to plan. A few karmatic things are starting to catch up to me, so I'm trying my best to relieve their impacts. I don't know if it will work out. I have a new story to add on to the Online Dating series, so you can look forward to that in the next few days... Have a great weekend!

The Saga Worsens

Last night, I was sitting on my air mattress trying to plan out details for my good bye party in New York City. Around 11:30pm, I decided that that was enough for one day, and then proceed to start getting ready for bed. While I'm changing into my PJs, the door to my room suddenly FLIES open. And there is my landlord, just standing there staring at me, almost stark naked except for my underwear. I start screaming bloody murder, and yelled at her to "GET THE HELL OUT". Which she eventually did after looking around the room for another 30 seconds or so.

I was scared out of my wits. I grabbed my robe, went out into the hallway and called to her. She came out and I said "What the HELL was that about? Why did you not knock?"

She tells me "I heard voices and thought you had someone else in your room. I figured it was better to just come in and apologize to you later if I was wrong." She continued to try to justify her wrongdoing.

I told her, "That is absolutely not acceptable. I have no one here. You violated my privacy. You are NEVER again to come into my room without knocking first. If I ever find you doing this again, I will immediately call the police."

Thank God, only three more weeks and I'm out of there. I'm a little scared, but it's only a little longer.

BRAS ARE NOT THINGS TO BORROW !!!

OK, I live in Hell. I will give the preliminary details of the story tomorrow, but in short.. this is what happened to me.

I was doing my laundry in the basement of the sketchy townhouse where I'm renting a room. I pulled my bras out of the washing machine and hung them up to air dry on the clothes line. I went upstairs to read for a while. I came back down to collect my laundry and I find my shady landlord in the basement. One of my bras is on the floor. Another one, she is TRYING ON. She is TRYING IT ON. MY BRA. I freak out. I ask her "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" and then she notices me.

Without even acting guilty, she starts taking off the bra (ugh, which I had to see... GROSS) and tells me "Oh I thought these were mine. I was trying them on to make sure." WTF???? How do you not recognize your own bras and why would you want to try on someone else's? I took everything I hung up to dry and ran to the laundromat where everything got rewashed. I am never doing laundry in the town house again. I also had to lock up all my panties and bras in a suitcase. It's a sad day when you have to lock up your undergarments. I think this lady is screwed up in the head.

Just three more weeks and counting. I'm moving into a hotel as soon as I can.

Online Dating, Part 3: Dating for Business

Another one of my girlfriends had an interesting experience with friendster as well. She started messaging with a guy who seemed reasonably nice and cute. Things were going well, so they decided to meet in person. Unlike FA's experience, my other friend (let's call her friendster friend, or FF) found Friendster Boy (FB) to be attractive and nice from the get-go. They had a great date, and then met again the following week for another great date. Things kept going so well, they decided to start dating each other more often and exclusively.

So about two months into the relationship, FF realized that she barely knew anything about the type of work that FB did. He was always so secretive, and when she asked him about it, he would say that he owns his own business related to sales. She asked for further explanation, but he would always say that it's too complicated to explain right there and they need to set asside some time to talk about it if she was interested. FF was confused. She said "But what's wrong with right now, we're not doing anything." And he would always say, I need my computer, I want to show you a presentation, etc... Now that was just weird.

So one day, FF "set asside some time" to talk to FB about his business. It turns out that he is part of a multi-level marketing scheme. When FF told him she wasn't interested in joining it, his attitude completely changed. He never called her or talked to her again.

It's a pretty sad dat when someone has to "fake" date you through friendster to get you to join their business. What is that all about?

Swindled

My landlord is crazy... I am a little worried about what to do. My last day in my current living situation is July 17th, and when I started renting the room, I gave the landlord a $825 security deposit to cover last month's rent. (It was $550/ month but security was 1.5 months). We're at the last month, but she wants me to pay her the entire month's rent, and she says we'll work out how I get the money back. NO WAY! She's had money problems and now I bet she spent my security deposit and she needs my rental money.

She also has me pay her in cash every month for rent. So, now, I'm going to just give her 1/2 a month's rent, and tell her that I don't have the money for the full month and she should take it out of the security deposit like she had agreed.

I'm so frustrated. Is there any way she can retaliate on me for this?

Online Dating, Part 2: Date-Ditching, Part 2

Date-Ditching, Part 2

FA was in quite a predicament. She could confront the guy about lying and just leave, or she could give him a chance and hope that his personality didn't match his height. Being the nice girl she is, FA decided to give FG a chance.

After making small talk for about ten minutes, FA climbed into FG's car. He took her to El Dorado (11777 San Vincente Blvd., Los Angeles, 310-207-0150), for dinner and drinks. Later, FA told me that he seemed really stressed out, and just moaned on and on about how busy work kept him, and how tired he was all the time, and about how much money he was going to make when he was done with his residency. Hmm... She tried to talk to him about other things: interests, vacations, his undergrad, but he had almost nothing interesting to say about them. All she could do to get through the torture was to drink as many mojitos as the waitress could bring to the table.

Finally, the dinner was over and she getting ready to walk out the door with FG and say goodbye when out of no where, a friend, his friend and his hot cousin materialize at the front door of El Dorado. FA was ecstatic! She says hi, and of course they ask her what she's doing there. So she explains she's on a date with FG, who, remarkably, these other guys know! The first thing they say is "FA, what the hell are you doing with him?" And of course, in her inebriated state, FA responds "I don't know!"

The guys convince FA to stay and dance with them for a while, while a fuming FG watches from the bar. Finally FG decides to assert his authority and tells FA that he is ready to go. FA assesses the situation, turns to FG and says, "I think I'm going to stay. You go on ahead." FG says some choice phrases to FA and then starts heading for the door. It's that moment that FA accepts and invitation to go for a ride with her friend's hot cousin. She passes FG on her way out the door... as she leaves with another man while on the date that FG paid for...

Coming up, Online Dating, Part 3: The many uses of Friendster