The Freshman Clap (no cephalosporin required)

Let me preface this brief post by saying that, no, I have not recently acquired a gonococcal infection whose euphemististic moniker's origin has been relegated to the pages of obscure history.

Today we had what has become one of my favorite things about AUC, the freshman clap. Every semester, the 2-5th semesters, faculty, and staff (whoever isn't working or in class, that is) gather in the rotunda to set up tables with refreshments and cheer on the first semesters as they emerge from the anatomy lab and their first medical school exam.

This is all a surprise for them of course.

I can remember emerging from Dr. Berisch's first test feeling like I had been hit by a train; so it takes you quite by surprise when you walk into the rotunda feeling tired and defeated and you're suddenly surrounded by a room full of whooping and applause. I think it's one of the few signs of solidarity we have at AUC. Traditions are difficult to maintain when your students only spend a brief 20 month stint in basic sciences, but I'm glad we have it:

Also, look for me at the Red Piano (piano bar) in the near future, we have decided to do a piano rendition of Dr. Dre's "B#tches aint Sh#t." We had a good time there this weekend, perhaps too good on my behalf. I have selectively neglected to post several of the pictures of me interupting my friends and their dates being "that dude," with a wide smile and big thumbs up...

Interesting scraps of info over the weekend

The highlight of this weekend was of course the severe beat down LSU issued to VT this past Saturday. It has many people (albeit many of them are probably LSU fans) saying that we may take over the #1 spot in the AP polls. Mostly this is rabid fan, saber rattling but, they did look good out there, VT was not allowed to score their one and only touchdown until 100 minutes into the game.

Aside from this, I tried to study a bit and covered ground in pharm, but path is certainly going to get some attention this week. The main bulk of Sunday morning was spent on searches on Wiki. Some interesting topics covered: medieval plague doctors, French polynesia (Bora Bora and Tahiti) in the South Pacific, the popular (in Sweden) electronica group "the knife," and the soon to be worlds tallest building in Dubai- Burg Dubai.

I also included a picture of a huge cypress tree I found near Bayou Plaquemine by my house, this thing I would assume is probably 12 -15 feet around or so, I took the moose for a walk in the woods by my house over break and snapped a shot, keep in mind that at the angle the picture is oblique and isn't even taken at its widest part.

Yes, Northerners and Californians, I live within walking distance to a swamp. I also have been ticketed for capturing an alligator. I did not however take a riding lawnmower or canoe to school growing up.

Soon to be the worlds tallest building (by 2009) Burg Dubai, in...well, Dubai; will surpass Taipei 101 and the Sears tower by a wide margin. On the right is a size comparison comparing it to the former WTC and the planned Freedom Tower in NYC.

"Medico Pesta," Latin for 'Creepiest doctor outfit in history.' These guys went around during the plague in Europe, most weren't even real doctors, the real doctors knew that they couldn't fight the disease and often got out of town. The mask's beak was stuffed with herbs that were thought to purify the air (of course we know now that the plaque was transmitted by fleas), on the mask also were crystal eyes, and a stick to poke at plague patients. I think I've found my Halloween costume. (Steal it and you well be smacked on the head with a stick, by a guy in a bird mask.)

On a side note the reason I found this is I was reading about a band I like "the knife," who rarely appear in public, when they do they wear mask, they have no musical training, they are rumored to be siblings, and in 2003 they won every category (yes, that is 6 Grammy's in one year) of the Grammy's in their home country of Sweden... but told them to just blow off. There has been some GREAT music coming out of Sweden the past 5 years: Jens Lekman, Jose' Gonzalez, and The Knife just to name a few.

"The Knife," also pretty creepy.

The Jerk

"And that's it and that's the only thing I need, is this. I don't need this or this. Just this ashtray. And this paddle game, the ashtray and the paddle game and that's all I need. And this remote control. The ashtray, the paddle game, and the remote control, and that's all I need. And these matches. The ashtray, and these matches, and the remote control and the paddle ball. And this lamp. The ashtray, this paddle game and the remote control and the lamp and that's all I need. And that's all I need too. I don't need one other thing, not one - I need this. The paddle game, and the chair, and the remote control, and the matches, for sure. And this. And that's all I need. The ashtray, the remote control, the paddle game, this magazine and the chair. "


A fellow AUC blogger's page has seemed to have a toilet-tropism lately so I feel it neccesarry to add my own story. I walked in to the upstairs bathroom in the rotunda a few weeks back. As we all know, there is an indescribable smell up there sometimes, its not a normal bathroom smell. I honestly think its something like a dead rat in the ceiling, it is absolutely horrid, but only on certain days strangely enough. In any case, being tired during finals and it being midnight or so, you realise you haven't spoken in hours and I tend to sometimes make ridiculous small talk with people I barely even know; I think just to hear myself speak. So I make my way to the smelly 2nd floor bathroom and not thinking about what I was saying, I exclaim to the gentleman washing his hands "GOD! what is that smell huh?!" He looks at me in the mirror, obviously uncomfortable..."uh...I uh, I don't know. You know bathrooms...urine-y smell maybe" I waft towards my nose with a contorted look on my face, "No... No... its not urine....I think it smells.... like a dead animal or something....” Obviously I wasn't thinking that this guy may have just finished a very private moment in there and I was looking like a complete jerk calling him on it. I press on, “I mean really, this is TERRIBLE...Jeeze...It stinks in here....they need to like, decontaminate the ceiling or something....” He quickly shuffles over to the paper towel dispenser pulls two towels out and walks out quickly. I shrug, face the head and think, “what was THAT guy's problem....” As I finish up, it finally occurs to me. I should just keep my mouth shut when I'm going on so little sleep in the future.