"We who are clay blended by the Master Potter, come from the kiln of Creation in many hues. How can people say one skin is colored, when each has its own coloration? What should it matter that one bowl is dark and the other pale, if each is of good design and serves its purpose well."

Polingaysi Qoyawayma, Hopi

a whirlwind

Ninth quater is promising to be exciting and challenging. This quarter National Boards are scheduled, so I will have to see how that goes. Week one is almost concluded and I feel dazed and confused though there is a new beginning on the horizon. Only a few more quarters remain....

summer quarter

I am back from Fresno. It had been over 100 F during my entire break. San jose feels like winter compared to Fresno with average between 70-80. A few highs in the 90s but it is still a good break from my "vacation". It is the beginning of 9th quarter......bring it on.

thoughts during a break

It is rarely an easy path when you decide to challenge yourself with standards. The pursuit of self-enrichment requires time and energy, i.e. attention. That pursuit can be riddled with moments of frustration and self-doubt. Can it be that some standards and expectations are a bit absurd? Yes, but that is apart of the challenge. Only the individuals that are willing to push and venture beyond themselves learn the secret. What is that secret? That secret is the gold lining to the entire journey and can only be reveled through blood (body), sweat (mind) and tears (soul).

to our own design

"We who are clay blended by the Master Potter, come from the kiln of Creation in many hues. How can people say one skin is colored, when each has its own coloration? What should it matter that one bowl is dark and the other pale, if each is of good design and serves its purpose well."

Polingaysi Qoyawayma, Hopi

Finals week

I am at the end of my 8th quarter at Palmer West. Life has been interesting to say the least as it continues on with or without me. I signed up for another quarter as AK Club  president. I have my intern cards, inter name tag, intern clinic jacket.....what next? SUMMER BREAK! oh wait but first I think I have to do something first, oh yes they are called finals. well I will get that done first then.

beginning or end

I reflect on the end of my second year at Palmer West....is this the end truly or is it the beginning of something new. Next quarter I will be in Student Clinic taking on new responsibilities and roles. Though I am not finished with this quarter so I must continue to remain focused on the task at hand.

As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world -- that is the myth of the atomic age -- as in being able to remake ourselves.

- Mohandas K. Gandhi

Memorial weekend at an end

I went home to Fresno for the weekend. It had some good down time. Now finals begin.....

order in the house

I value my education here at Palmer more and more as the weeks pass. Just last weekend I attended a graduation party for a good friend of mine from Fresno State. She received a double major of animal science and french. She explained to me that she is applying to vet school in colorado as her first choice, but she is debating applying to Palmer West become a chiropractor and then go to vet school. I told her that was an awesome idea. Later I was talking to her husband and he asked me how school was going for me, how long I had left and what courses I am taking right now. I began to go through the list of my courses when I ended with mentioning I am taking OBGYN. He immediately showed interest and asked if chiropractors believed in natural child birth. I talked to him about what I have learned so far and that DCs used to deliver children. He asked me if I would someday help with his wife, my friend, in giving natural childbirth. I told him I will do everything with in my ability and skills to aid in whatever they need. I wasn't asked to deliver, just asked to help and give recommendations. Later I asked my friend about what her husband mentioned to me and she said yes. She was excited and we talked for a bit. It was a little odd at first, but ultimately I felt so honored to even be considered in such a personal aspect of my friend's life.  I recall conversation earlier in the month and many people were so repulsed or dumbfounded by the thought that a chiropractor would even be allowed to know OBGYN.

Another area that my education has helped me is in the case of my father-in-law and his health. His health has declined dramatically over the past few years with many visits to the ER or a weeks stay in the hospital. Before coming to Palmer I would struggle to understand what was being done to him, what tests, medications and just in general what the doctors and nurses were doing for him and to him. Now, I know exactly what is going on with him internally, I understand the medications and how they interact with him. I can often anticipate what the doctor or nurse will say or do. Even if they will want to keep him over night or not. I am not saying I know how to fix him or what not. Palmer has given me a new mind set and I can now understand the doctor's line of thinking. It makes any hospital visit less of a mystery and do see what is reasonable or not.

another night

another night back at my second home, or maybe it's my third home. lol. My family lives in Fresno, so that my first home. I rent a room in Milpitas, my second home, which is a great place to live in. People are friendly and the neighborhood is quiet. Then there is school which includes the classroom that I live in and the library in which I study all night in. It's a good, clean, quiet and comfortable place to study. I wont lie, it is a challenge and it takes dedication. Though if it was easy and didn't take much to become a chiropractor........I wouldn't do it.  I love it and no matter how challenging each day may present it self, I go to bed every night knowing I made the best choice for my life and the time spent here at Palmer has been well worth it.

8th quarter and it's already 7th week

It has been thrilling, intimidating, and exciting. Many of the classes this quarter really bring together the courses from previous quarters. I subscribe to “honesty is the best policy” which leads me to admit that the beginning of this quarter was very rough for me personally. Life does continue to happen around you no matter what quarter and how focused you remain. Do I regret remaining highly focused my first year, no. I am glad I took the time to go to clubs, guest speakers and seminars early on. It has kept me in the habit and ultimately I feel it has paid off.  Being apart of the learning process is fun and important for skill and knowledge development. First you learn the skill and then you teach the skill. Someone shared his or her time to teach you and the best way to show appreciation is to someday to share the information and teach it. 

new quarter

I welcome myself back to the 8th quarter at Palmer West. Next quarter I will begin to treat in the student clinic. I am excited and nervous but I trust in the process that has been established in order to prepare me to the upcoming challenge. This is also welcome week and that means it is time to greet the new students on campus. 

I have passed the half way point.....YAY!!!

to my wife

forget the frustration, put it out of mind.
keep the right state of mind.
move forward, always, even when we are feeling bad.
i want to be there but I can not be there today,
I want to see you but there is no other way.
I dont want to be all alone, I wish I could keep you by my side.
remember my love you are not alone.
feel my vibration


my take on lyrics by Stick Figure

studying for part 1 national boards

Where to live

Twice this week I have forgotten to set the alarm on my car. So twice this week as I prepared for my day collecting and organizing my items for the day to come I came across my car keys and noticed that the alarm was never set. I first thought, "oh great, I wonder what was stollen or if my car is even there?" My second thought is something has had to happen to my car because I rent a room in a house that is on the corner of a busy street near a park and a school. Then I remember the neighborhood I live in is actually very quite and safe in the general and stereotypical sense. As it ends up each time nothing has happen to my car. 

What is my point? Well I am from Fresno and to be honest, I live in a bad neighborhood and right next area worse than my own. When I was determining where I was going to live when I attend Palmer West, I just really didn't know where. I looked on Craigslist, emailed several ads and after filtering through them I only  called three of the original ads. I only saw one room and decided immediately. It ended up being Milpitas. The area is pleasant, clean and there is an obvious present of local authorities. It is quite and reasonably priced when it comes to the cost of rent.

Monday classes on a Wednesday usually makes for an interesting day.

ghost in a shell

I think to a time before I knew I wanted to be a chiropractor.

Recently I rediscovered something that I used to share with beloved friends and it reminded me of another time, another mind.

"What is Mind? No matter. What is Matter? Nevermind." "Esse est percipi" ("To be is to be perceived") George Berkeley (1685-1753)

Did I really leave friends behind as I journeyed into an unknown future? I believe true friends are always with you in your heart. Nothing can break the bonds of a true friendship. Though, what is a true friendship? If i perceive it to be then it will manifest as such. Life is progression and growing. As we grow we leave a certain amount of experiences with people and places behind us but like a giant sequoia tree it is still apart of what makes us tall and strong.

As I reflect on the past seven quarters at Palmer West I debate on which quarter has been the most difficult? Each quarter has unique challenges but in no way can I truly compare them. I accept that I choose a area of study that I must I am not truly understanding. The human body is unique in all the individual components and a miracle as a whole. To understand chiropractic is to understand how I can use the complexity on my being to aid others in perceiving a balance of existence.

I know I made the right choice.

boards on my mind

I have my first set of national board exams in March, though for some reason I am not stressing over. I don’t know if I should have more of a response to the thought or has Palmer conditioned me to deal with the stress of impending exams. I remember when I first arrived at Palmer West and I was constantly stressed about every exam. I remember when I was fatigued from the thought of 5th quarter CCEP. So far I have passed all those tests. Now that I think about it, I don’t look at exams as an obstacle to my goal and my dream, tests are just that. They are only there not to hold me back, but to discover and analyze what have I learned, retained, and assimilated into my thinking.

behind the times

I am now in the third week of my seventh quarter at Palmer West. I had a three-week break before the quarter started and I never seem to have enough time. I spend my first week of just decompressing and recuperating from finals week. i.e..... lack of sleep and high stress. Then my second week of vacation I start to get back into the groove of being back home in Fresno. I often run out of time to visit everyone on my list to say hi to.