Meeting Up with old friends at USC

Every once and a while I run into a couple of friends from the past. Today was one of those special days. I had the chance to see three of my work mates from UCLA over at the campus at the University of Southern California this morning. Yes, these two institutions are rivals. It just so happens that all of us are now students at USC in the Nurse Anesthesia program.


Mia, Adrienne and Dana are 2nd year anesthesia students at USC and old friends. I was so happy to see them and all at once. Seeing them healthy and happy really made my day.

USC Anesthesia Class of 2006

The class at USC 2006 was wandering around half dazed a bit by all of the new things that have been going on for all of us. We are hanging in there though. Just outside of the book store at the Health Science campus at USC several of us were idle for a moment and got caught by a passing photo bird.




This is the second week of class and after today I think that all of us are feeling a little bit overwhelmed by the amount of work that we are up against. The studying part is really starting to pile up around the edges, especially the Physiology class. The amount of information is quite high. The professor actually apologized today because the lecture was so detailed and had so much material. What a laugh. I have never had a professor do that before. Really, the cell physiology and neuro stuff that has been presented in the past week is a lot.

The goal is to just get through it the way every thing else has been done in the past. First is to just show up and second is to read the text books that everyone else is reading and do the things that all of the other successful students have done in the past. I don't think there is a magic formula. Its back to basics just like the Dali Lama has said, "Before enlightenment you are expected to chop wood and carry water. After enlightenment you are expected to chop wood and carry water." Oh my God! This chopping thing is getting harder and harder beside carrying water too.

No bitching allowed as one of our Professors has said, "Failure is not an option, its just a matter of how successful you are going to be and how much of an impact you are going to make in the world that is important."
Chris Stein, CRNA MS Pain management specialist.

The USC Campus

This last Saturday Jennifer and I were on the USC campus for the graduation party of the Nurse Anesthesia program class of 2004. While we were there we had the chance of wandering around the campus a bit to look at the architecture. Our first stop was to visit "The Trojan". Tommy was pretty impressive especially with Jennifer in the foreground.





Just down from the Trojan statue is a wonderful fountain that is surrounded by benches. If we had more time I would have liked to just sit there and listen to the water splash down on the pavement. There are a couple of these fountains on the USC campus.



Just down from the fountain is an old Bunyan tree, I think that is what it is, that must be older than Methuselah. The roots are coming out of the trunk with some very interesting patterns. The USC campus is a wonderful place to visit if only for a half hour or so that we had to wonder around before the party.



Next time that I get over to the campus I will spend a little time with all of the red brick buildings there on campus. The library is a wonderful building that I did not get a chance to photograph Saturday. There is always next time.

LAC-USC Hospital

This week on the Health Science campus I will be taking some photos. The campus next to the LAC-USC hospital is not the old red brick that I so wonderful to look at but the campus is lively and full of interesting people. There is always something to look forward to you see.

In the morning the entire class is going over to the Big County Hospital for pictures and badges. This will allow us access to the County facilities without going through the security guard station every time we go into the Medical Center. The security there is well let us just say "on the job". I was there in 1994 when they had the shootings in the ER. That was back in the dark ages of security when all of the doors were wide open without any guards at all. Things have changed dramatically since then. More later on this. Have a great week.

USC Nurse Anesthesia Graduating Class of 2004

Yipeeeee a party celebrating the graduating class of of Nurse Anesthesia at the University of Southern California. This is the last class that will be graduating from the now defunct School of Nursing at USC. A new day is coming for the graduating class and for the Anesthesia school. The Keck School of Medicine at USC headed by Dr. Lumb and Dr. Gold is heading up the new program. The entering class that will be graduating in 2006 is the second class to be admitted to the Medical School program.

The party for the graduating students was held today at the Town and Gown on the USC campus. Festivities commenced at 10:00 and went on well into the wee hours of the afternoon. We are a really party group as you will see.



Gollie was honored as the recipient of the Memorial Hodgekins award which she shared with another student. Gollie was one of the students that worked very hard in her clinical settings putting in extra days especially at Arrowhead Medical Center where she is now a new employee.



We had a special guest appearance by Dr. Waugaman to receive special recognition for her contributions to the field of anesthesia. It was a real treat being able to meet the legend. Dr. Waugaman has been past present of the AANA and CANA as well as having received the national outstanding educator award from the AANA. Dr. Waugaman has over 35 years in Nurse Anesthesia practice and has been a leading educator for many of those years. She is pictured here on the left with Chris Stein on the right who is one the outstanding educators at the USC school of Nurse Anesthesia.



Three of the new students from the future graduating class of 2006 were able to be in attendance. From left to right David Godden (author), Karen Embrey, and Anya Bibergal. Don't we look the excited little group. Unfortunately the rest of the class was not able to come to enjoy the festivities.



Tommy Trojan in all his glory this morning was a lonesome monument until we showed up to wake him up. If you want to see what Tommy is up to at any time you can always just check out the web cam that sits on top of the Student Union. The Tommy Cam looks down on his majesty and whoever else is in the vicinity at the moment. I have been meaning to see the movie "The Trojan House" or is it Helen of Troy", I can't recall at the moment but I understand that the cinema photography is pretty outstanding in the film. Seeing the movie will catch me back up with the Iliad classic (or was that The Odyssey, can't remember) which has been sitting on my shelf for so many years.



This afternoon I would like to check out the movie which will leave Sunday free for some serious study time. The graduating class of the USC Nurse Anesthesia Program, I salute you and am following in your steps.

USC Nurse Anesthesia School Web Access

The first week at the University of Southern California School of Nurse Anesthesia in the Keck School of Medicine is completed. That's 5 days down and 495 counting down to graduation August 31, 2006. Meeting all of the faculty and new students, as well as all of my new text books, and getting all of the details worked out for a new campus has taken an adjustment. Currently I am studying full time with work on hold for the foreseeable future. This program is so much fun even if it is very challenging and tons of work.

Noris Library Access

Doing research on line is always a treat. What makes it really wonderful now is the search engines are capable of doing so much work for you from the comfort of your home. The first thing you have to do is to set up a user name, email and computer access. You can do this at the ISD New Student web site. Once you have the entire log in stuff taken care of you are free to roam about the web at USC from the library or from home.

The problem with accessing the library system from home is that access to the secure areas is blocked unless you know the secret! Well it’s not really a secret but a process that takes a little to set up. The idea is that the computer system on campus wants to see if you are from the outside or from a campus server. If you can make your computer look to the system like you are on campus than all is hunky dory and you can get full text searches and down loads of every thing on Ovid.

VPN (virtual Private Network) software is available from Cisco systems that will allow you to log into Noris Library from a distant location as if you were on campus. The problem with the newly issued VPN software is that it is not supported by the tech people on campus and is a little difficult to get working. At least it has been for me. I am still working on the set up of the VPN software at home to see if I can get it to work. The advantage of using VPN is that you can use your current FAST DSL or Cable internet provider to give you quick search and downloads.

Dial Up Solution

Sometimes the newest technology is not the most reliable and the old tried and true "horse" will get you to town. USC has a dial up web access for students that works just fine. The tortoise wins the day. At least in the race that was offered last week for my entertainment. I am currently using the dialup connection into Pasadena with a 626 area code to access the secure network parts of the Ovid search engine at the Noris library. It works just fine even if it is a little slow. Actually it’s not that bad because most of the downloads are text without graphics. I may just keep it this way.

Wireless Future

I have a bright shiny laptop with the Centrino technology and all the trimmings. The IBM screamer is really sweet at the coffee shops working on line with the wireless networks. In order for me to get it to work on campus with the wireless network there is going to require a little bungling and tweaking on my part. More to come on this topic. And now some entertainment.

Tommy Cam

You can see what's going on campus overlooking the famous Tommy Trojan by clicking on the Tommy Cam link.

The First Week at USC Anesthesia School

The first week is almost done. I did some counting of days today like some prisoner stuck in the Castle de If ala the Count of Monte Cristo. I figure that school is 5 days a week including clinical days for 24 months. We get maybe 2 weeks off a year for semester breaks and holidays. That makes it 50 weeks times 5 days will equal 250 days per year times 2 years is now totaling 500 days. Three days down and 497 to go does not seem too bad now does it.

The first three days at USC Anesthesia school have been pretty much what I have expected. So far there is not anything that is way out of the unexpected. The physiology class is pretty intense. The subject matter goes into detail that I have not seen before. This is a good thing. Really, there is so much to learn and it is all so exciting.

I had a little talk with my friend Roberto today. His name is Robert but his email address at USC is roberto which is kinda funny. He was telling me how much fun he has been having this first week. Between us we can't stop smiling. All I can say is Thank God were free at last, free at last to pursue our passion.

In the morning we have Anesthesia practice didactic with the associate director. I am looking forward to this class the most. Between the anatomy, pharmacology and physiology this will be a little break and lots of fun. What a great day to be alive.

First day at USC Nurse anesthesia Program

The day has finally come that school has started. The Anesthesia program at USC in the Keck School of medicine is going to be fantastic I can tell just from the first day. Orientation was given by Dr. Gold until 1:00 running over almost an hour cutting into our lunch. We had to run over to the Mudd building to get to the physiology class which started right at 1:00. Luckily I had an apple in my briefcase otherwise I would be suffering.

The course work is going to be tough but the class room is interesting meeting all of the new students. We total 16 as of today. The students all come from different backgrounds and clinical experiences. This is so interesting and will be amazing to see how this plays out. Right now I can feel the pressure of the first physiology lecture so I have to crack a couple of books to find out what they were talking about today.

Cool Breeze Century Ride - 10th annual

The Cool breeze Century bicycle ride starts in Ventura this year before going to Santa Barbara. Every year for the past 10 years this has been one of the more popular Century rides in the Los Angeles surrounding area.

There is a climb starting at mile 30 which travels up the back side of Cassidas Lake totaling around 850 feet of evavation in 3 miles or so. It is just a steady climb without any switchbacks. The Cool Breeze Century is considered one of the easier rides coming at the end of the riding season. I am really looking forward to it this year.


This is the patch that is given away this year. For a look at previous years patches you can take a look here.

One of the interesting things to do when participating in these Century rides is to collect the jerseys that are available at these events. This years Cool Breeze Jersey looks very "cool" and goes for $65.00 dollars.



I will be posting all of my pictures from the ride probably on Sunday. After this ride and the drive back from Ventura, I will not be in any mood to do too much work on the computer. You can give me that much.

USC Student ID Card and stuff

This is the last weekend of freedom before school starts on Monday and I will be making the most of it. All the little ducks are in a neat row and I am ready for the gauntlet starting this coming week. I had the chance to run over to the USC campus this afternoon to sit for my student photo and ID Card. It even comes with money you can use from the card at most places around the USC campus including the USC cafe's and bookstores. These are the places that I plan on spending money anyway. I just had them bill my student account for a couple of hundred bucks so that I could have "cash" available on the student ID card. Now I am official!

USC Football season is coming and the tickets are at a discount for students. Yipeeeee! I am going to try to get a couple of ticket to the Notre Dame game and maybe the UCLA cross town game. I will be updating the Blog on these happenings.

5963APChanpions.jpeg

For all of my friends back at UCLA. Thank you for your friendship and all that you have taught me about life and the practice of medicine these past many years. When it comes to football, I am sorry but UCLA sucks! And USC is King ranked #1 in the AP plole. Hail to the Champions because the Trojans rule. At least here in Los Angeles. Last year I have to remind you that USC was NATIONAL Champion and had the Hessman trophy winner. This year is a new start and let the chips fall where they will. I plan on enjoying it all. Thanks to you UCLA for the many years of friendship. I will think of you occasionally, especially when USC is kicking butt down the football field. See you later.

USA Finds Gold in Cycling at the Olympics

Hamilton wins Olympic TT; Julich takes bronze
By Jason Sumner
VeloNews associate editor
This report filed August 18, 2004


by AFP

As the sun crept above the horizon, bringing dawn to a new day here in Athens, Tyler Hamilton awoke with a terrible case of nerves.

The afternoon Olympic time trial that awaited him was his last shot to truly erase the disappointment of his failed Tour de France bid a month earlier. Hamilton had said all week he had a good feeling about the 48km race to be contested in the southern suburbs of Greece's capital, but now it was time to deliver.

Half a day later the nice guy of American cycling had seen his premonition come true, besting reigning Olympic TT champion Viatcheslav Ekimov on a breezy and balmy day along the Saronic Gulf. In the moments after Hamilton crossed the line, he dropped his bike and helmet to the ground, then grasped his hands around his head in disbelief.


by Graham Watson

A case of nerves: Hamilton finally relaxed after the finish
"I was incredibly nervous," said Hamilton, who posted a mark of 57:31.74, 18.84 ahead of Ekimov and 26.45 better than U.S. teammate Bobby Julich, who took the bronze. "Cycling has its ups and downs, but if you can't deal with the low moments then you're in the wrong sport. July was terrible, but days like today outweigh all the bad days. Now all that is just a memory in the back of my mind."

Indeed, after coming into the 2004 Tour as one of Lance Armstrong's chief rivals, Hamilton was caught up in a pile-up during stage six and was out of the race 83km into stage 13 with a back injury. From there he returned to his European base in Spain and took a week off the bike. He was hopeful that the body would come around in time to get ready for the Olympics, but there was no guarantee.

"I gave it a week and told myself if I wasn't feeling better I wouldn't race in Athens," said Hamilton, who still had the brusies from the crash when he arrived at the Olympics.

The body did come around, though, and Hamilton spent most of the next month focusing on the Athens time trial, training later in the day to mimic the heat he was sure to face. Come race day the key was to stay calm. Hamilton admitted that he's had a tendency to go out of the gate too fast.

"I was a little excited at first," he said. "But I backed off some. I didn't want to explode."

At the first two splits on the rolling out-and-back course, Hamilton sat third behind the Russian Ekimov and reigning world time trial champion Michael Rogers of Australia. But from there the Massachusetts native twisted the throttle to full. He was the leader on the road 36km into the race, and his scorching final quarter time of 14:08.37 was 14 seconds better than Ekimov.

Rogers, meanwhile, was fading. His final quarter time was only fifth fastest, dropping him to fourth in the final standings. Even more stunning was the performance of pre-race favorite Jan Ullrich. The German never found his rhythm, posting the No. 8 mark at the quarter point, then gaining only once place the rest of the way. Ullrich hung his head as he crossed the line, then disappeared down a side street, with only a single photographer chasing behind him.


by Graham Watson

Julich: Morale played a big part
At the same time Julich was rolling up to the still shocked Hamilton, then embracing his teammate as the pair stood in the middle of the finishing road. Their two medals, plus the silver won by Dede Barry in the women's time trial, capped the greatest day the U.S. cycling has ever had at the Olympics.

Julich's ride completed a startling transformation for the one-time Tour de France runner-up. A year ago the 32-year-old had contemplated quitting the sport, but after signing on with CSC in the offseason, he's enjoyed some of the best form of his career.

"This wasn't my kind of course," said Julich of the track that was all about power, with few twists or turns. "But this just goes to show that morale is such a big part of this sport. After 1998 I was bombarded with all this negative pressure, but the change in teams has really helped change things for me."

Julich's performance was all the more remarkable considering he was riding with a broken right wrist, which also came from a crash at this year's Tour. He said it wasn't bothering him all that much while riding, but in the days leading up to the race a doctor had told him he needed to get a cast on it as soon as possible because it wasn't healing properly.

"I'll probably get that done today or tomorrow," he said. "I'm going to try to get something that I'll be able to mold to my handlebars."

Not to be outdone was Ekimov. At 38 his mere presence on the podium was stunning. The U.S. Postal pro had the fastest opening 12km on his way to a second straight Olympic Games medal.

"It was a good course for me, very straightforward" he said. "On the second lap I just lost some power, especially on the last climb."

But this day clearly belonged to Hamilton. Despite a host of great victories during his career, he has always ridden in the long shadow of Armstrong. But with this storybook ending to what had been such an up and down season, he's steeped out into the sun just a little more.

"Lance put us all on the board," said Hamilton. "But Dede, Bobby and I showed that U.S. cycling has a great future."

Cycling now takes a day off at the Olympics, before six days of track racing commence on Friday. Check back to VeloNews.com then for results and reports everyday.

OLYMPIC ROAD CYCLING MEDAL COUNT
Gold Silver Bronze Total
United States 1 1 1 3
Russia 0 1 1 2
Italy 1 0 0 1
Netherlands 1 0 0 1
Australia 1 0 0 1
Portugal 0 1 0 1
Germany 0 1 0 1
Belgium 0 0 1 1
Switzerland 0 0 1 1

Last Days at UCLA

This is the final week at UCLA for me. After nearly 9 years there are things about this institution that feel familiar and comfortable. I guess that just comes with time spent somewhere. In these past years there have been friendships that I have developed that will be treasured but now a new page is being turned and a challenging opportunity that I must accept. USC here I come.



Good bye UCLA, you have been a friend and educator, challenger and comforter. So its good bye to you for now UCLA. I will never forget you. You have given me a graduate degree and friends and for this I will always love you. Tomorrow is always another day.

Greetings USC

The day that I have worked for has finally arrived. It has been such a long journey these past 15 years or so that I have dreamed of this day. From the very beginning of my career in nursing, the reason I became a nurse, the reason that I went back to school in the first place, was to become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. Its a long story and one that I will tell some day but for now suffice it to say that all of the hard work and effort has finally paid off. Really I am at the beginning of a new day and another life. There have been several of those in my time and this one is certainly one of the most significant.

Starting school again next week at USC in the Nurse Anesthesia program in the Keck school of medicine will be certainly be challenging and I have an excitement about it that has just kept my focus keen. These past weeks I have arranged all of the finances and purchased most of the text books that I will be using. All of the incoming students have each others Email address and a few of us have been in contact with each other. Talk about getting excited, there are some of the students that will be relocating from across the country and one from Hawaii. In a couple of days a new story will begin that I am sure will long in the telling.

The CRNA program is 24 months long with only a few days off. There will be no breaks and the time constraints will increase as the program continues. I have it as a goal to keep this, what ever it is "Blog", going during school. Hopefully, there will not be too patchy updates.



Tommy Trojan my new mascot, I salute you.

Health Insurance for Students

The bill for the Fall semester from graduate school is sitting on my desk collecting dust. Every once and a while I look at it. This past week I have spent most of my time setting up the student loans so that this bill will not strike fear into my wife when she checks. Really I have to confess that she leaves these things to me and does not look and its the other partner in the marriage that has gotten nervous over this USC bill. One of the particulars about the first semester graduate bill that has had me stumped was the Student Health Center fee totaling $197.00 and the Student Health Insurance fee for $217.00.

The medical fees total around $400.00 for this semester. I have medical insurance, thinking to myself, so why do I need to pay another medical insurance bill. Why would I need double coverage? As it turns out I do not.

Contacting the USC Health Center today I got the info that I needed. For those students that are covered with health insurance there is a Waiver Form that you can download from the USC web site and fill out. After downloading the form this afternoon and copying my insurance card, I faxed these documents to the Student Health Center at 323-422-6212. Next week we will see what happens. Maybe I will save myself several hundred dollars so that I can spend more money on books. That sounds like a reasonable proposition doesn't it?

Student Loan Success

Paying for graduate school is always a trial. Mostly the stress is in the worrying and uncertainty that goes with this big endeavor. My first semester's bill is over fifteen thousand dollars. Now that is enough to raise a few eyebrows here and there. The biggest trouble is in navigating the system of loans and procedures. Once you go through this process in the end it all seems easy.

What I did.

Today it all came together. Finally I realized that I did not have to deal with the main financial aid office on the USC campus. Calling to the Health Science Financial Aid office is much easier than dealing with the computer phone system at the main campus. Finding a real live person on the other end of the telephone line is wonderful. Actually talking to someone really helped a lot. I did not realize that I had to MAIL the Master Promisory Note for the Stafford loan to the lender! The people down at the main financial aid office only told me to Fax it to them and they would take care of everything. Or at least that is what I heard them tell me when I finally got hold of a live voice. The person, Nana Porche was who I talked to at the Health Science Financial Aid office, was very helpful and got me all straightened out.

More loans available.

It was Nana at the HSC financial aid office that told me that I could apply for an additional $21,000.00 this year if I wanted. Really! The additional loan would be what they call a Signature Student Loan offered by Salle Mae. These monies would be divided into two semesters this first year. Now that is an idea.

I ran the second loan idea past my wife Jennifer and she just kind of looked sad before she just said no. This is a woman that does not want to get into debt for anything and would rather eat beans for two years than accrue debt. We discussed her prejudices and came up with a compromise. I think that the best thing for these student loans is to borrow only what you need and no more. So I signed up for additional monies from the Signature loan from Salle Mae that would cover the cost of the tuition that will not be paid by the Stafford loan. Originally we wanted to pay for the difference ourselves from savings. I personally would rather keep this money in savings as a reserve. I am not afraid of the student loans like my sweet wife seems to be.

For those that want to know about the Signature Loans, they are based on your credit scores and cost 3% after you graduate. The Salle Mae people tack on an additional 3% when you are done with school and begin paying the loan back. The interest rates are currently very low. This is reasonable I think. We may be able to pay off this Signature loan as a lump sum when I graduate or see if a future employer will pick it up. You never know, I have heard of several instances where employers picked up student loans as a sign on bonus. That sounds like a good plan to me. We will see about that one.

The good news is that now we can keep our money safe in its high yielding CD and only use it for emergencies. Yipeeee!

More Clint Eastwood

After watching "Joe Kid", a Clint Eastwood classic, and searching for the movie posters, I started a broader search for original movie posters just to see what I could find. Hunting around for these posters of old Clint's movies brought back the memories of what was happening in my life when these movies where first being shown.

Its strange the way these things happen. Its like hearing an old melody or song that was popular years ago bringing you right back to the feelings and sentiments that you were living at the time. Amazing the way this works. Sometimes for the good and sometimes with pain. I think we all have experienced this to one degree or another. Clint Eastwood's Pale Rider only holds good memories for me.



The poster of Clint's Pale Rider reminds me of this amazing movie's ghost like quality. He really did some fine work in this film. This is one of my old favorites that I enjoy reviewing every couple of years or so. Maybe for the film snobs these movies are less than art but for me they all carried a message of truth and justice rarely found in modern cynicism.

LiveStrong Armband Give-Away

I just received the LiveStrong Yellow armbands that I ordered from the Lance Armstrong Foundation a month ago. The armbands have been on backorder due to the very high demand for these yellow bands. The Lance Armstrong Foundation was started several years ago to support cancer research and the little yellow armbands have been a way to raise money for the cause.



If any one wants one of these armbands all they have to do is ask me and I will give one to you. Currently I have 9 left. Afterall I can always order more, right?

Speaking of give-aways, I have a couple of the G-mail email accounts if anyone wants to try it out. This is a searchable email account from Google. I have been using it for the past month or so and think its pretty cool. There isn't any need to delete mail or sort them into different holding files. The search engine from Google will find any phrase in any of the mail before you can type it out. Works pretty well. Are there any takers of the free G-mail accounts? They are only to be had from people that have them to distribute in case you think that you will be able just to go and grab one from the Google web site. Eventurally, I believe that anyone will be able to get the Gmail account but for right now there are a limated number of accounts to give away. Still no takers, in that case I will just keep them for myself. But if you really want one just let me know.

"Next Time I'll knock your Dam Head Off"

Old movies hold a fascination for many of us. This is a quote from an old Clint Eastwood movie that was just shown of AMC this evening. I love old Clint Eastwood movie's. Can't remember the western Joe Kid with the Man. The final lines by Eastwood were, "Next Time I'll knock your dam head off."

I would like to make a list of old Clint Eastwood movies like Escape from Alcatraz and the like. all cool movies. I don't really have a favorite. They are all good.

I have to take back that idea that I don't have a favorite. It just might be "Tightrope". Whats your favorite Clint Eastwood movie?

The Stafford Wives

The latest from the Stafford Wives indicates that they are doing well and all of their husbands are well taken care of.

The Stafford Wives have a secret.



What they do not tell you in the movie is that there is a 3% up front charge just for giving you their service. "Explain yourself", you exclaim. It goes like this. Everything of beauty has its price and the price of having a Federally funded Stafford Wife is a 3% service charge for all of the monies that they provide. "I am still at a loss understanding your meaning."

Lets go back to the beginning. Going to graduate school at a private University (USC) is not a trivial undertaking financially, especially when you are not going to be working for two years. Finding the financing for the tuition has been my major goal for the past month. The living expenses I will deal with. The tuition is something that I want to defer in student loans. Seems simple enough. Stafford Wives, excuse me I mean Stafford Loan, to the rescue.

Today was spent fooling around the web fiddling with loan applications and downloading forms for the Federally funded Stafford loan program. I find out today that the funding companies (like B of A and Citi Corp et al.) make it a practice of skimming 3% off the top just because they can. I am entitled to $18,000 this year paid in two payments for the Fall and Spring semesters. What I discovered today was that USC has a Credit Union that will reimbuse back to the student 2% of the monies at the time of funding. This sounds like a better deal. With a 3% off the top and a 2% returned leaves them with 1% initiation fee. Sounds more like a bargain now. The USC Federal Credit Union is a full service organization with all of the banking services we have come to expect from these kinds of organizations.

The secret that I was alluding to earlier is now hidden in the fine print. Actually the secret is not even in the fine print. You have to snoop even further. Frankly, I lucked out and was able to talk to someone who really cared and had the right information. The service desk at the USC Credit Union was really terrific and pointed me in the right direction. There is an affiliate of the USC Credit Union that not only will give back the 2% but upon repayment of the loan will discount the percentage rate. This is not general knowledge. The Education Loan Resources (833930) group to the rescue. This is where you want to look when you are looking for an institution to fund the Federal Stafford loan.

Here is a little blurb from their web site:
"Zero Fee Stafford Loans
When borrowing the Federal Stafford Loan a 3% origination fee must be paid to the federal government. Typically, this fee is deducted from your loan proceeds, but with ELR's ZERO FEE Stafford Loan you get the full amount because we pay the fee for you. You'll receive more money when you need it most - right now!"

I had to download the Master Promissory Note from the ELR's web site and fill it out along with a couple of other forms that I received from USC. These people at the USC Financial Aid office are really difficult to get hold of. They prefer that all of these forms be faxed to them rather than mailed. That's different. Fine with me because it saves me a stamp and I keep the originals.

In the end the Stafford Wives really performed. Now we can get down to the real business and think about anesthesia. Are we excited yet?

My little Piggy Bank

For those of you that were wondering what my piggy bank looks like, here it is. First a little note of analysis. Piggy banks can tell you a lot about their owners. They are a lot like cars in this respect, which one you choose reflects greatly on your values and preferences. These things are like mirrors of the soul.

My wife's piggy bank is pink, cute and very girly. Mine, well take a look. It's rather plan, hand carved out of wood and very utilitarian. There are some old world overtones to this little bank that really appealed to me. This is where I keep all of that annoying change the keeps cropping up. Sometimes I wish every thing that I buy would be rounded to the nearest dollar. Other times I just find a handy donation bucket on the store counter and deposit the change there but mostly it just collects inside my pockets. Who likes to be weighed down with money anyway? I never consider carrying cash in bills to be weighing me down. It's the change that drives me nuts. I am just wondering if there are any others that have this problem.

Now the girls are almost excused from this debate due to the purses that they carry. A couple of quarters and various other change are not going to be noticed in a purse. Pockets are another matter entirely. Who wants anything pulling down on your pants? What I would like to find out is if anyone has this same kind of trouble with these things. Having change in your pocket requires a good belt just to keep the pants on straight. Sometimes I like wearing shorts without a belt and this is a situation where carrying change really becomes difficult. When I go out wearing shorts I always give my change away or worse, it collects in my car.

My car has a little change holder under the center console. It has long since been filled along with what used to be ash trays and the little hand grabs on the side doors. What do I do with all of these coins? Periodically I clean it all out and dump the piggy bank and total it up all of the money. This event occurs usually every six months to a year or so. It takes me a little time to get overloaded with coins to where I have to do something about it. The question now is what to do with all of this extra money. Anyone up for lunch on the Piggy?

How did I get into this discussion anyway? I was just commenting on my piggy bank. Ok, there you have it.

China, the world's next superpower: Part 1

According to NPR radio, "China, considered the next world superpower in the making, has surpassed Japan as Asia's economic dynamo. "

NPR's Rob Gifford, has been NPR's China Correspondent since 1999. Gifford speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese and he has traveled from Tibet to the Muslim Northwest, to the border with North Korea filing news and feature stories for NPR News. Here in a seven part series, Rob covers the famous Route 312, reminiscent of the old U.S. Route 66, in a three thousand mile trip to Western China.

Check out the link to the series from NPR. It is worth watching. Carnak The Magnificent predicts, that China will be THE nation to watch in the 21st century. Look out red necks the New Capitalists are coming.

In my recent trip to Shanghai this spring, I was able to reassess the economic growth of this busy area. Just a few years has made a tremendous difference in the population and industry of the Shanghai district. Its has been really amazing to watch this transformation.




Here is downtown Shanghai flower district outside of a major market which my wife Jennifer and I visited. Notice the motor cycles and scooters. Several years ago all you would see would be bicycles but now its motor city.




The sky line from my families condo in Shanghai tells a story too. The sky line of Shanghai is changing every day. New high rise building are popping up all over the place. Jennifers parents have lived here in Shanghai most of their lives and have seen tremendous changes in the city and their country. To listen to their stories you would think that it could not be possible all of the things that have happened. Here in America we are fed a biased news that condems China and its Communist history while ignoring the potential future developments that are occurring in this great country. I am not here to tell you that there are not problems in China's government. What I am saying is that the future for China is extremely bringht. These are an industrious people that work hard and are very entrepreneurial minded. Turn a Chinese loose with the chance to build a business and watch out world. The contrast with our workers mentality is staggering. I almost pity American future generations because they are doomed to be dwarfed by the coming tide of industrialism in China and the Far East.

How many times have I heard the term, "Deserve" when it comes to services and intitlements here in the good old U.S.A. All that these Chinese want is a chance to work hard and better their futures. There isn't any talk of what they deserve just how can we open up new markets. I challenge you to listen for that word in our advertisments, that word that strips us of our motivation to do better. What we all "Deserve" is nothing but an oportunity to WORK and to better our lot through diligence. The Chinese people understand this and it will be our downfall if we don't get on the ball.




The open markets thrive in Shanghai. Here is an independent market owner, hawking his wares to passers by. These people know how to make money, make no mistake about that.



Downtown Shanghai looks very similar to so many modern cities that we are familiar with. Shanghai is a delight. If you have not been to China, plan a trip to visit this terrific city. You will be amazed and astounded at what is happening here. There are stores that sell the most modern European fashion and cater to the very wealthy while a few blocks away there are open markets that the ordinary people frequent. I absolutely love this City and am looking forward to visiting my inlaws again as soon as possible. Who knows, maybe someday I will live there.

China is changing even if the old regime is hanging on. The capitalist future for China is a monster that has been let out of the cage. Nothing will keep it back. The most conservative of the Chinese government officials agree that all they can do is to hope to slow down the process of industrialization and Westernization. Is democracy in China's future, don't count on it any time soon, but the seeds of capitalism have been sown and these people know how to turn a dollar. If you have any smarts about you I encourage you to invest in China's future. I can't imaging that you will be disappointed.



So long for now. Let me know what you think in the comment section just below. Thanks.

USC Financial Aid and Payments

The time has come to pay to Piper. Dancing the jig always costs in the end and going to graduate school is no different. Completing the application for the Federal Stafford loans took several weeks to process but is now finally completed. The Stafford loans are due to be dispersed sometime this fall, the exact date is unknown to me. However, the due date for payment to USC is August 20th and this is just down the hall from now.

The paperwork that I received indicated that the amount of Federal aid will total $18,000.00 per year to be divided between Fall and Spring semesters. That's good but there is always a catch.

The hook in the salad shows up right away when you look at the financial statement from USC. This semester's tuition and fees total $15,465.00 and some change. Something does not jive (add up to you less cool folks). The nine thousand that I am receiving in loans this semester will not cover the fifteen thousand due and that does not include books. Its time to raid the pink piggy bank cookie jar in the kitchen for the other $6,000.00 plus. The good news about this all is the way that USC schedules the fees.



This is my wife's piggy bank that I am going to raid. How is that for justice! Just kidding. I have been saving for a while now and the initial monies are on hand.

At the at the University of Southern California fees are due according to the didactic (class room) units. The unit cost is a little over $1,000.00. What is fortunate about the nurse anesthesia program at USC is that most of the class room units are front loaded and occur the first year. This means that when most of the clinical units take place in the second year the cost will be much lower due to the decrease in "class" time. So what does this mean for me today. The bottom line is that it will cost me money up front to cover the difference between what the Federal Stafford loans allocate and what USC charges during this first semester. The good news here is that the Feds should be able to cover the rest of the program without any out of pocket money from me after this semester. Cool.

Two more weeks of full time work before a short respite before school starts. I am so much looking forward to this. After so many years of work and dreaming about this day, it is arriving soon. Another great bit of news is that two of my fellow workers from the 4EI Cardiothoracic Unit at UCLA are starting with me. Eliza Ong and Robert Olson are going to part of this and I am so happy about that. More to follow, of course.


Eliza Ong SRNA and classmate.