a lot of action happening this past week.

mom and sister came to visit, and boy did they take care of me. how nice of a feeling when your family comes and cooks you meals, catch up with, etc. now i really know what i missed out on during college... and how spoiled the in-state people really were. we were talking about tim duncan and how he's a wake grad... my mom says, "i like tim duncan! he reminds me of a slow cow." gotta love her.

went to a doctor's office to get my physical done. it made me quite depressed as i was the only one in the office with health insurance... i guess i went to one that was more for low-income families... in any case, it was very depressing watching these adults having to pay the receptionists in cash. one hispanic male was told to see a doctor was 101 dollars, which he had. the total came out to $175 because he had a special procedure done on him for his ear, which boosted the price up. he had to use their phone and call someone to bring the extra cash. there was also a family with a mom who couldn't speak english, so her son who was 6 years old, had to translate everything. the NP was really shocked that i went to berkeley and was in grad school.... she said "man! you must be the smartest person in here! my other patients are usually... well... they're a little dumb... i shouldn't say that... but they're a little on the dumb side..." then she asked what my SAT scores were, what my parents do, what school my sister goes to, who is paying for my education, etc. i guess she was comparing my life to hers, since she said she can only put her daughter through state school, and that state schools are her only option. i dunno, it was kinda depressing... but makes me appreciate aileen's field of study a lot more(public health). i know she can make a difference :)