To fall in the void as I fell:

none of you knows what that means. For you, to fall means to plunge perhaps from the twenty-sixth floor of a skyscraper, or from an airplane which breaks down in flight: to fall headlong, grope in the air a moment, and then the Earth is immediately there, and you get a big bump. But I'm talking about the time when there wasn't any Earth underneath or anything else solid, not even a celestial body in the distance capable of attracting you into its orbit. You simply fell, indefinitely, for an indefinite length of time. I went down into the void, to the most absolute bottom conceivable, and once there I saw that the extreme limit must have been much, much farther below, very remote, and I went on falling, to reach it. Since there were no reference points, I had no idea whether my fall was fast or slow. Now that I think about it, there weren't even any proofs that I was really falling: perhaps I had always remained immobile in the same place, or I was moving in an upward direction; since there was no above or below there were only nominal questions and so I might just as well go on thinking I was falling, as I was naturally lead to think.

-Italo Calvino, Cosmicomics "The Form of Space"

...yeah. kind of feel like this right now with my life. no reference points, free fall in space with no sense of direction or anything to grab onto. this post-school space is a strange one. i find myself crying for no reason. i'm not sure what it's about. and i AM excited about the future, but it's also part terrifying and i have no reference point for it, it's all new and different and i can just hope i will make it work.

"...I couldn't get out of the present except to imagine a different present, and none of the rest counted...

done. move. next.

photographic evidence is always nice.

TCM theory: check!

biomed: check!

acupuncture: check!

herbs: check!

well, kids, that's it for the NCCAOM national board exam for acupuncture and herbal medicine. now i just have to wait for a certificate (which i won't get for another month or so til i finish taking my CNT class)

it's kind of weird. i thought i'd be all excited and giddy and all these things. but it's really rather anticlimactic. i guess partially because i can't practice in CA with it anyway, so i have to wait until i move to make use of it :). speaking of moving... i need to get on that figuring out oregon thing...

but before i that i really need to grocery shop, clean my house and go for a run. and if anyone wants to take me to dinner tonight, i wouldn't be opposed :P.

i hate people.

courtesy of

www.angrylittlegirls.com

*kawaii*

quite possible the cutest thing EVER. i want one. NOW! anyway, read about this cute little puma here

Abstract of Judgment

man. long day and it's only 7.30pm. so, what i may have neglected to mention previously about my life is that i am currently doing some temp work. at a law office. and it's pretty mindless, we just have to go through a billion and twelve boxes of files and remove the abstract of judgment and judgment from each file and then scan them...etc. it sounds like hell, but actually wasn't too bad. i went through 5 boxes today and watched an hour and a half video on debt collection (that's what the law office does) and i did learn some interesting things regarding the law and the practice of debt collection, let's hope it doesn't have to come in handy... but ya never know. the other fabulous thing is that cheryl is also temping there, so we get to hang out in the conference room and do the files together, or listen to music. all in all, it could be worse and it pays ok. this being said, i'm glad i'm doing it for only 2 weeks.

so, why this is at all relevant is because i start my day just after 5am, when i get up for boxing, then have to make lunch and snacks for the day, pack my boxing stuff and all my work clothes and get to the gym by 6. box for an hour (today i worked with this girl, and she was a little too hardcore for me, and she had to comment on EVERYTHING i did. i'm all for learning and constructive criticism, and i know i don't know what i'm doing, but she had to say something about EVERYTHING. ugh, i wasn't into it at 6am this morning, i would have preferred bag work by myself.) and then i showered and changed at the gym(the showers there are actually pretty nice) and then off to cheryl's and we carpooled to work. get home at almost 6pm, cook dinner and i just did some data entry work for Amy.

and now it's 7.30 and as sad as it is, i am absolutely ready for my bed. unfortunately, i can't quite make it there yet. i've still got dishes to do, stuff to cook for tomorrow (i definitely didn't have enough snacks today, i was so hungry all the time!), set out clothing for tomorrow and also put away a stack of laundry that's been sitting in my room for days, and clean a bit. i suppose at some point i should study too (have my other NCCAOM tests this weekend) but that may just have to wait for tomorrow. my goal is to be in bed by 9.30. (i know, quite the life i lead) but somehow even 7 hours of sleep doesn't make getting up at 5 any easier.

in other news, i applied for this massage job at a day spa on monday. i'd really actually like to get it, met with the guy for about 30min, the place was BEAUTIFUL. he said to call him back today to set up a time to demonstrate my massage skills and i called and he had no idea who i was. always a good sign. awesome. he said he'd call me back in an hour (he was busy with a client) but so far, no go. will call him again tomorrow...

ok, off i go, if i ever want to actually sleep!

PASS! take II

NCCAOM Acupuncture section: PASS.

Jing Luo

i.e. the channels and collaterals. which, in case you were wondering (and i know you are), integrate the whole body, circulate qi and xue, demonstrate the location of disorders, and transmit qi to diseased areas.

so, in case you hadn't noticed, we're going to have a lesson of the day, since i don't really want to study (my exam is in 5 hours) and so, i figure i'll make the great wide beyond out there learn with me :).

so, back to basics - the jing luo system has various levels, the primary channels are what we all know and think of as acupuncture meridians. however, there are many other levels we can access both more superficially and at depth. the most superficial of the jing luo system are the cutaneous regions, then the minute collaterals, then the sinew channels, the luo (or connecting) channels, then come the primary channels, deep to these are the divergent pathways, the extraordinary vessels and finally the deep pathways.

cutaneous regions: demonstrate the location of disorders in deeper channels (i.e. you may have a rash or some skin condition in a particular region associated with an internal organ disorder), and external pathogens often enter the body at the cutaneous level.

minute/blood collaterals: distribute qi and xue to the body surface (you can thing of these like your capillary system), they also circulate your wei qi (this is your body's defensive qi which protects you again external pathogens...much like the immune system).

sinew/TMM channels: connect muscles, tendons and ligaments to joints, distribute qi and xue to body's surface, protect the bones, link structures of the body together, and facilitate articulation and normal activity.

luo channels: run superficillay along the body, they do not penetrate to the internal organs, they connect internally/externally paired channels.

now that we've covered the Luo... onto the Jing:

primary channels: intergrate the body, circulate qi/xue, demonstrate location of disorders, transmit qi, have their own points including 5-phase, xi, yuan and luo points. these are the points you have all heard of with organ names and numbers (i.e. Stomach 36/ZuSanLi) these are the points your acupuncturist will palpate for and needle. However, while they directly access the primary channels, these points can also be used to access the other levels described here.

divergent pathways: run deep to strengthen internally/externally paired organs and channels, they distribute qi/xue to head, face and interior (allowing yin to reach the head), integrate areas of the body not interconnected by primary channels, explain clinical actions of some commonly used points (i.e. PC 6 to treat nausea).

8 Extraordinary channels: not directly related to primary channels, reservoirs of qi and xue, link the 12 primary channels, protect the body.

so there you have it, an intro (and probably more than you ever wanted to know) to acupuncture meridian theory. but it made me read and rephrase the info, so thanks for helping me study :), but i suppose now i should stop procrastinating and get back to the books. after tonight i will be HALFWAY done with my national board exams... can you believe it?

wish me luck!

PASS!

NCCAOM Chinese Herbology Section: PASS.


*whew* that was the tough one (at least i think so) points tomorrow, then biomed and OM theory and i will have passed Nationals all together :) yay! Can't wait!

LDXGT TX LR/GB DH

if that makes ANY sense to you, you're most likely studying for the herbs section of NCCAOM National exams. *sigh*. i'm SO tired of studying. but that being said, i haven't really even studied. i guess i feel like after 4 years i should pretty much know this. and what *exactly* can i study, anyhow? it's EVERYTHING. so... we'll see. the test is today at 4.30pm and then i'm taking my second section (points) on monday at 5pm.

oddly. i'm really not nervous at all. part of me feels like i should be, because well, this is my future, right? i kind of have 4years and 110,000+ riding on this and it's not like i want to fuck it up. but, at the same time, i have to know enough not to fail. and it's kind of reminding me of my whole SAT ordeal - like i'm going to think the whole thing was just stupid.

wish me luck!