Lots of things have been going on since my last post.  I have completed nearly all (save 1) of my makeup exams, including Fundamentals of Clinical Medicine (FCM), Problem-Based Learning (PBL), Pathology, Pharmacology, and Behavioral Sciences.  On Monday I will take my Genetics final exam (gulp!).  After that, it's the not-so-simple task of catching up on the past week of material I have had to put aside for the sake of exams.  It just doesn't end! On the plus side, this evening Sara is coming in town to spend the weekend at my place.  Due to my upcoming exam and the nature of her visit (Erik's death), I can't promise it will be an eventful weekend, but it's always great to see my favorite South Korean, my roommate in college.

I had so many things I wanted to write about in this post, that I'd been thinking of the past few days, and now that I sit down to write it, nothing comes to mind.  But I do want you to check out and give feedback on the new blog design.  I liked the previous one (all flowers and girlishness) but I felt all the design detracted away from the whole point of this site: my blog posts. So, I selected a template that is both clean and personalized (How can I not change everything to pink? It just wouldn't be me!) and has a lot of cool hidden features.  Firstly, check out the comments page, by clicking on the comments button at the end of this (or any other) entry.  Instead of forcing you to load a new page and scroll you to the bottom of the page for the comments, you can comment directly from this page thanks to AJAX, a special type of code.  Individual post pages (like archives) will still have comments on the same page as the entry, but this will be really useful in commenting on current/recent posts.  So please comment! Ahem.

Additionally, if you're in a rush but you want to show you appreciated the entry you just read, click "Like" at the bottom and, just like Facebook, your vote will be registered.  Speaking of Facebook, you can now click on any of the social-networking icons at the end of any post and Tweet, Facebook, StumbleUpon, Myspace, Yahoo Buzz, or even print or email the post, anywhere!  I'm not suggesting that you tweet every post I make, but if I post a video you like & want to share, by all means, tweet it! Facebook it! I'm all about the sharing of knowledge and information, much to H's dismay at times. :)

One thing I do have to mention, is how grateful I am for the tremendous support that has enveloped me after the tragic loss of my brother earlier this month.  Friends, colleagues, mentors, relatives: all have offered support, condolences, sage advice, a listening ear, open arms, study tips, and encouragement during these past, very difficult weeks.  Case in point: my classmates have collected over $500 to donate in Erik's honor to the HCCS Welding Technology program, where he was attending to become a certified welder. This astonishes me so much. All too often I have convinced myself that I am just a number, or a face in the crowd, but the truth is, you make an impact around you that is so much more widespread than you realize.  I thought I was invisible to most except my friends in the class.  It turns out people I didn't even know on a personal level donated to my brother's fund.  People care, and we are all connected. That is something that I have learned in the aftermath of these last few weeks.

No man is an island.

That phrase has never been truer to me until now.  As a whole, we are a social species; we thrive on connections and support that probably stemmed from needing to survive lions and disease. (Naturally!) In dying, Erik has pulled me out of my downward spiral of med-school-induced antisocial personality traits, and I am renewed with a sense of respect and gratitude for not only close friends and family, but acquaintances and colleagues and strangers and professors alike.

Thank you. So much.