la vie en rose

Hanako Robot

susanqxu — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 23:52:21 +0000

As an aspiring dentist, this video was pretty interesting. According to this site, the robot allows dental students to get pre-clinic exposure before actually working on a real life patient:

Hanako can open and shut her mouth, wiggle her tongue, salivate, sneeze, and vomit. Using touch sensors to detect the mistakes of practicing students (lol), Hanako rolls her eyes in discomfort, or verbally expresses pain using phrases such as “That hurts!”

I find the robot to be a lil creepy, but its definitely a cool piece of technology. (Japanese people, why are you amazing with technology?). I’m not sure how useful this would be in training dental students though compared to just using regular ol’ manikins. But, I guess this would probably take away some of the stress of working with a live patient for the first time.

susanqxu — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 01:11:30 +0000

Today, I was waiting to leave the parking lot of the Ralph’s in Westwood. For those who don’t know, the parking at this ralph’s is validated, which means you had to have a validated ticket to leave the lot. I was waiting for quite awhile until I started wondering why the line of cars wasn’t moving. I looked to the front of the line and saw a silver toyota corolla whose owner apparently couldn’t get the gate to open. After several minutes of waiting, I (as well as the other people waiting to leave) started to get impatient. A few of the cars in line started obnoxiously honking. I was more passive and didn’t honk, but I thought to myself what a retard the person in the front was for holding up the line. One man got out of his car and started harassing the silver toyota owner. The owner of the silver toyota then got out of his car to go get help, which is when I saw that the owner was a really old man with white hair (and wearing a khaki blazer –cute old man lol). I immediately felt bad for being so angry at him. Surprisingly, people were still honking and I was like “dudeeee guys, it’s an old man! stop honking and being so rude :(” to myself. Then, a young man drove by, saw the situation, and gave the old man his validated ticket. I felt really guilty that I didn’t think of doing that first. That young man’s act reminded me that sometimes we need to stop caring only for ourselves, and be decent human beings. We were getting angry at an old man for goodness sakes, and no one was willing to help him until that young man showed up. I was reminded of that commercial by Liberty Mutual where someone sees someone else do something good, is inspired, and then goes on to do something good which someone else sees and also becomes inspired. It’s so true, seeing that young man’s kind act inspires me. In fact, he inspires me to do more than a single kind act, he inspires me to be a responsible and decent human being.

“One small act of kindness, can make a world of difference”

an ounce of prevention

susanqxu — Sat, 08 May 2010 03:06:11 +0000

It’s funny how people never seem to like doing things that are good for them. its hard to spend that extra 5 minutes putting on sunscreen, or taking that extra 5 minutes to take the stairs instead of the elevator. eventually, people pay big dividends (skin cancer, obesity) because they don’t take the time to do the little things.

anyway, what i really wanna get at is this LIFE SAVING (okay not really life saving) investment that seriously saved me a lot pain and heartache. an amazing ingenius investment called a keyboard protector.

to be honest, i didn’t buy a keyboard protector because it was a smart investment. I just thought it looked pretty with my new macbook. Plus, it made typing more fun since the keys felt softer. However, yesterday I was so so soO thankful for my pretty baby blue keyboard cover when my cup of coffee (which was next to my laptop) tipped over and spilled its contents right onto the keyboard of my macbook. it. was. heartstopping. i let out a audible gasp in the middle of my psychology lecture, got up out of my seat, and carried my baby macbook to the bathroom to cleanup. THANKFULLY, my trusty keyboard cover prevented the coffee from seeping into the cracks of the keys and into my macbook, so it still works! The ten dollars I spent for the cover saved me a lot of money for laptop repairs and heartache (losing my precious lecture notes).

The moral of the story : Buy a keyboard cover. Wear sunscreen. Take the stairs. Eat an apple. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

i am small

susanqxu — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 18:38:28 +0000

it seems that as i get older i get, the more i become aware of my own insignificance. and by insignificant i don’t mean a hopeless, i’m-useless-and-won’t-amount-to-nothing kind of way. instead, i guess i’m becoming aware of how little i really know, how much there is to know, and how i will never learn all of it. i’m also beginning to acknowledge that despite all my humanly efforts, i’m going to meet challenges that are bigger than me…and that sometimes even if i do everything right, there are some things beyond my control that can come and kick me in the butt. but it’s also important to know that a person can control most things about their lives if they’re smart. however, living life requires faith and hope that all your little efforts will lead you somewhere.

culinary bucket list~

susanqxu — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:39:38 +0000

thanks to my fatty roomie i’ve become more obsessed with food~ hehe, and since i deactivated my facebook, i waste most of my time looking at food blogs or recipes. there are sooo many foods i wanna make now haha i’m always like ooooh i wanna make this! or ooooh that looks so deng good. i should make this for somebody. or ooooh i should learn how to make this so i can make it for my future husband hahhaha~~i don’t even want a husband, but these recipes make me want somebody that i can cook for AHAHA. anyway, with so many good recipes, it’s hard to keep track of what i want to make though…so i’m posting this blog mainly for myself so i can remember all the recipes i want to make before i die HAHA. shoot~

entrees

-smoked salmon and eggs benedict

-asian trout with bok choy over jasmine rice

-steak (check- it was too well done though blech~ :[ )

-honey walnut shrimp

-beef noodle soup

-cute bento box for future husband LOL :D

desserts

-crepes

-deconstructed strawberry shortcake

mcdonald’s

susanqxu — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 22:45:57 +0000

mcdonald’s gets a lot of bad press for its unhealthy, bad quality, but oh-so-delicious processed fast food. its been attacked as the reason for the 33% rate of obesity in the united states. there’s even movie, which i’ve never seen and never will see, called supersize me that is dedicated to promoting the artery clogging properties of america’s favorite fast food. the guy in the movie apparently died from eating nothing but mcdonald’s for a month. (seriously??!) basically, when we think of mcdonald’s, we think of some fat guy with man boobs, muffin top, and buttocks drooping from the sides of his stool.

despite all this, i am a fan of mcdonald’s. i think these days, mcdonald’s is really trying to promote a more healthy image by improving the quality of their food. they’ve made changes such as using REAL ALL WHITE MEAT CHICKEN in the chicken nuggets (haha but this makes me wonder what they used before). they’ve also added items to their menu such as the fruit parfait, snack wraps, apple dippers, salads, and more for their weight conscious consumers. i’m also a fan of mcdonald’s DOLLAR MENU<3 iono about you, but when i get a whole meal for 3 dollars (double cheeseburger and fries with sweet tea), i’m a happy camper :]..

but the one thing i LOVE most about mcdonald’s is their coffee. the quality of mcdonald’s coffee is amazing and, in my opinion, even superior to starbuck’s coffee. mcdonald’s coffee has a nice roasted flavor that is strong but not overpowering. i also like mcdonald’s coffee better than starbuck’s because it doesn’t have that strong sour aftertaste that starbuck’s coffee always seems to have. plus, mcdonald’s is coffee is cheaper and reasonably priced when compared to starbuck’s outrageous prices. mcdonalds therefore wins in both quality and quantity in terms of its coffee

some of my other favorite mcdonald menu items are the:

-sweet tea

-chicken nuggets

-chipotle bbq snack wrap with crispy chicken

-fries

-cheeseburger

-oreo mcflurry

gahh making me so hungryyyy~~

leading a small group

susanqxu — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 02:24:30 +0000

i don’t know WHAT i was thinking when i signed up to be a small group leader, but to be honest, i think i seriously guilt tripped myself into taking on the position. (iono why i always guilt trip myself -___-) i am definitely not leader material, or spiritually mature enough to guide my freshmen group. i am really glad and grateful, however, that God gave me this opportunity because i am being challenged and humbled. i’m beginning to re-examine myself as a christian. there are even times when i doubt that i’m a christian. it’s all very confusing, but i know that i am learning a lot. some on the things i’ve learned so far from my experience as a leader are:

1. to take initiative.

i’m the kind of person that waits around for other people to do things and then follows what they do. it’s just something i always did. as a leader, i’m starting to realize that i have to be the one that instigates things. i have to be the one that reaches out, rather then being the one that waits for other people to reach out to me. it’s really hard for me , and i still wait around a lot of the times, but i think it helps now that i KNOW that this is something i have to work on.

2. do things that take me out of my comfort zone.

there are a lot of things that i don’t like doing. i know this is common sense, but i’ve just started to realize that if i want to see any positive change in myself, i’m going to have to do things that i don’t particularly like to do. i’m a super shy person, and i feel that i miss out on a lot of opportunities because i generally don’t like talking to people i don’t know. to help myself grow in this area, i’m exposing myself to situations where i HAVE to talk to people. its definitely nerve wracking but its something i need to do if i want to see myself change

3. making christian values my own values

i’m learning that in order to be a solid christian, i have to make christian values my own personal values. in high school i used to cuss all the time but i stopped when i became a christian. the reason i stopped was because i felt that christians shouldn’t cuss, not because it went against my own personal beliefs. in other words, i stopped doing bad things so i could create this fake christian identity that wasn’t really the true me. i’m beginning to understand that i have to make my own values based on my own experiences. right now, i sorta regret voting yes on prop 8 because i only did it since it was the christian thing to do. but when i think about it now, i don’t see how it’s right to hold back rights from people just because they don’t fit the “norm”. one day, i hope to really stand behind my decision about gay marriage, but right now i regret it…that aside, i’m beginning to see that the knowledge in the bible is really there for our own benefit and i’m beginning to see the wisdom in it. in other words, the bible is something that God gave to us so that we can live our lives to the fullest.

4. be genuine

its important to show people who you really are. i hate it when people are shady. before, i used to get so disappointed when people i know drink. i was dumb and naive. now, i think drinking and/or partying or whatever is fine, but just don’t be shady about it…meaning don’t try to act all innocent when you’re really not. when people find out the stuff you’re hiding (and trust me, people ALWAYS SOMEHOW FIND OUT lol), they’re gonna get really hurt and disappointed.

5. changing my schemas and perceptions

the way we act, behave, and perceive the world is shaped by our schemas and perceptions. i’ve just become recently aware of the problems in my schemas or thought processes of the world, which probably are the result of how my mom raised me. i’m seriously considering getting therapy to fix my maladaptive thinking because i realize it does effect me and my interactions with other people tremendously.

ucla dental students are cute

susanqxu — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 07:37:34 +0000

today i went in for a pre screening for a dental exam and the dental student that was performing the procedure was so frikkn cute. wow, the dental student that works in the radiology department that i now volunteer at is also really cute too. :) plus, they’re really nice and friendly people. cute. nice. smart. AND future dentists?!? i think i’m gonna hunt for my husband here lolzzzzz

picture of the day: i got to keep my xrays. hehe these are my teeth xrays :D

someone be my valentine and buy me this stuff ploxxxx :) hehe

susanqxu — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:44:33 +0000

relationships

susanqxu — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 07:58:32 +0000

i’ve realized that relationships are investments. i’ve heard this before but i sort of let it wash over me. but now, i’m beginning to really understand what it really means. relationships (and not just boyfriend girlfriend relationships) are hard work and require sacrifice. for example, sometimes you have to sacrifice your time for a person whose going through a difficult time, even though you’re friggn busy yourself. in other words, relationships require that you spend your time on someone else instead of spending time on yourself. people make this investment because having a friend/someone you can talk to is better than being all by your lonely self. plus, having no friends = being a loser. :( but recently, i’ve learned though that some people aren’t worth that investment. i read a quote before that said: ”never make someone a priority when all you are to them is an option”. this is so true. when someone considers you as an option, it’s probably wise to just sell your stocks and invest your time elsewhere. time is probably the most precious commodity because 1. its limited and 2. once its gone, you can never earn it back. therefore… it’s really critical that people choose their relationships wisely because, as harsh as this sounds, some people aren’t worth your investment.

that said, i’ve also realized how much i need to improve myself. i have so many areas that i need to grow in so i can be a better person and friend.

and from now, i’m not wasting my time with relationships that aren’t worth it anymore. :(