Attention: Med School Applicants

Strictly speaking, this isn't a "medical blog." But sometimes I feel the need to talk about something medical. It's really not my fault; it's just what I do. If there are any medical school applicants that read this blog, this is for you.

You shouldn't feel the need to try and find "medical relevance" in your non-academic activities and hobbies. Doctors are humans and medical schools want humans to fill the slots in their entering class. Humans have hobbies and interests outside of their jobs. This is one of the main things that separates us from robots, and that's a good thing. Why? Because robots make terrible clinicians. Robots would more than likely make decent surgeons, but that's another topic entirely. The point is, medical school admissions committees know that robots make bad clinicians, so they welcome the chance to learn about your hobbies.

Bottom line: they know that you don't play poker, kayak, or play bingo because you think it'll make you a good anesthesiologist. They know it, I know it, and you know it. But that's OKAY.

San Francisco: If You Were A Robot You'd Be Home

Dim Sum. It's Chinese and translates literally to "pushy waiters bringing you food you don't want to eat because it's a chicken foot." I partook in this "Dim Sum" today while in San Francisco and I must say it was traumatic to say the least. I refuse to think about what I may have unknowingly consumed.

There is this street in the city that is ridiculously crooked. It is probably the worst tourist attraction ever because it was created to be a tourist attraction and the only point of the road is to be a tourist attraction. I can imagine the thought process that led to the creation of this crooked street. Some guy in the San Francisco Bureau of Tourism thought one day, "Hmm, the Golden Gate Bridge is not enough of a reason for people to come to see our city. Perhaps we should create an exaggeratedly crooked street that has absolutely no purpose and is completely impractical and useless." I just don't understand why San Francisco didn't just do what any other self-respecting city would do if they wanted more visitors--bake the world's largest pizza.

In other news, I rode a cable car for the first time ever. I have come to realize that San Francisco is the closest thing this world has to a mechanical city because of the cables that constantly run beneath the streets. This of course, leads to the question of why there aren't that many robots in the city.

And what is the deal with the San Francisco homeless population? First off, I saw maybe three homeless dudes and that's pretty sad. You can't call yourself a real-deal city without an overflowing street-dweller population. And the hobos themselves, Jesus, it's almost as if the city puts actors on the streets who pretend to be homeless people and who make sure to appear happy as not to depress the people driving by. Honest to god, ALL the people on the street had signs that had some variation on the phrase:

Any little bit helps, even a great big smile.

They even drew a smiley face at the bottom. If that doesn't just make you throw up, then there's something seriously wrong with you. Where's the guy with the sign that says:

I'm tricking you into thinking I'll use the money you give me for food and clothing but I really just need to replenish my illicit drug supply and hire a prostitute.

Honesty is important...even when you sleep in a box.