Sarah: Maybe you’re not really such a great listener.
Carter: Hmm?
Sarah: Maybe you’re not such a great listener.
Carter: No, that’s not it. I’m a great listener.
– “In the Land of Women”
I’ve always thought of myself as empathic and a good listener, but lately I’ve noticed that there is a difference between nodding and saying platitudes, and being attentive and caring about the other person, and thoughtful about their needs.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. In blogging I spend lots of time in introspection. In gift-buying I tend to know what *I* like, but have less of an idea of what other people like (especially if their interests are different from mine). In my medical humanities class I find it challenging to think from the patient’s perspective, beyond simple stereotypes and into the actual qualities of that person. And when I see how my mom has been caring for and cared for by her friends, I wonder about myself. Do I think about how my friends are doing, or make an effort to see them if they are sick or need help? Do I pay attention when I ask them about their lives, so I remember the details and don’t have to ask again?
I know empathy is difficult, and there are many people like me who do this, and we’re not bad people. Maybe a little self-centered. But we mean well.
So, one of my New Year’s resolutions this year is to genuinely care about other people.
Dunlap: “He’s one of them, whaddaya call em, like, after you used to be gay, but then through the support of your family, and the teachings of the church, and the power of prayer, you’re not gay anymore, what do you call that?”
I hung out with some of my college friends yesterday, and it brought me back to the O.C. (don’t call it that) for some hanging out.
I didn’t realize how nice and empty the beach gets during the winter, even when it’s not all that cold. We all went down to Corona del Mar and saw the sunset, which was beautiful. Apparently there’s also a boat parade you can go to.
It’s kind of “the thing to do” to complain about Orange County, but sometimes it can be pretty nice, too.
I just saw Enchanted with my parents. I had heard some good reviews from people who weren’t seven years old, so I thought it might be a good movie.
I really liked it! It had some of my favorite actors: Amy Adams (*heart*), Patrick Dempsey (who is a lot sexier than when he plays McDreamy), the actually-really-handsome James Marsden (playing his favorite role of the jilted lover), and a cute little girl who ISN’T being played by Abigail Breslin. And a surprise: Dempsey’s S.O. is played by Idina Menzel!! Don’t hold your breath waiting for her to sing, though — she doesn’t. Read the rest of this entry »
I have introduced myself. You have introduced yourself. This is a very good conversation.
– Katsumoto, The Last Samurai
It’s been a while since I’ve been part of a really good conversation. You know, the kind where you’re learning new things, people are sharing information from their areas of expertise, and you’re talking about things that are bigger than simply your own life events. It seems like they were much more common in undergrad, where whole tables would stay for hours at each meal, discussing and debating some topic, from politics to religion to ecology to gender studies.
I recently had the opportunity to be part of one of these, at a holiday party where students from several fields were gathered. We were talking about Asian-American participation in politics, and one of the people there, a Political Science student, mentioned how Asian-Americans are not as cohesive in their opinions and interests as other minority groups. Another student, who was in the Drama program, asked whether the plurality of opinions was more democratic and more representative of the country. The Poli Sci student said that it was a valid point, but since Asian-Americans make up such a small proportion in our country, we really need to act together to get any sort of impact for things that matter only to Asian-Americans.
I’m going to try to get into good conversations from now on, about lots of different topics. It would be fun and a good way to learn from other people’s knowledge, and much more interesting than, “Any plans for the weekend?”
Everyone has to be an expert at (or have an opinion on) something.
I love “Tea, Biscuits & Incest.” It’s unbelievably twisted and the acting is deliciously over-the-top. What it lacks in the tea and biscuits department, it makes up for in incest. Highly recommended.
There is a petition for a presidential debate on science (brought to you by the good folks at ScienceBlogs). Given that so many pressing issues (stem cell research, climate change, public health, evolution) revolve around scientific matter, it’s pretty important to know how well the candidates understand the process and how they view new findings.
Enterococcus is not Enterobacter, which is not quite the same as Enterobacteriaciae. Enterococcus faecalis is not Enterococcus faecium.
Enterococcus, along with Streptococcus and Staphylococcus, are bacteria, but Echinococcus is a worm. And Cryptococcus is a fungus, which, by the way, should not be confused with Cryptosporidium, which is a protozoan.
Typhus is a completely different disease from typhoid. Not even close.
There’s also erythema nodosum, erythema infectosum, erythema migrans, ecthyma gangrenosum (not a misspelling), eczema herpeticum, and eczema vaccinatum.
Trichinosis, trichuriasis, trichomoniasis, and trypanosomiasis are four totally different infestations. One is from undercooked pork, one is from ingesting soil, one of them causes vaginal discharge, another causes African sleeping sickness. Oh, and trichotillomania is a psychological condition. One that I am at risk of developing right now.
Recently the shower in our apartment started to get this salmon-pink scum on the tile and curtain. At first I thought it was something in either my or my roommate’s soap or shampoo, or these cheap apartment showers. But the pink stuff increased its territory, and I thought of some sort of bacterial or fungal growth.
Luckily for my roommate, I’ve seen my share of bacterial and fungal colonies in microbiology lab this year, and I knew that red pigment = Serratia marcescens, a lovely opportunistic pathogen that lives in our urinary and digestive tracts, and causes problems for people in the hospital.
I guess that’s as far as that bit of knowledge took me, because after that I just scrubbed it off with some all-purpose disinfectant. Which I could have done anyway whether or not I knew what it was.
