I wouldn't eat the tacos if I were you

Robert and I might have found our next place to live! I owe it all to the fact that one of my roommates is strong with 'the force' and walked calmly into a very cute house one block from the ocean (that is currently a vacation rental) and developed such a rapport with the house's owner that she agreed to rent it on a longer term basis and for far less! That one has a lucky star following her around.

This house has a lovely hot tub and an outdoor shower that rains into a clawfoot bathtub. Talk about style. The outdoor area is my favorite room in the house! I hope it all works out.

School is fabulous! (in that utterly tiring, fascinating, frustrating kind of way) I aced my first anatomy exam by OVER studying for it (seriously, way too much time spent on that subject). But coming to a first exam and finding that you are very, very prepared is far better than the alternative. And there are so many future exams, I may restire the balance of the universe yet. But hopefully someone else in the class will resotre it for me by being a slacker so I can continue to develop anxiety and hypertension disorders. (just kidding- it's not like that yet... the ocean's very calming, chocolate is satisfying, and I've stopped drinking coffee)

And finally. Robert and I have received dinner invitations. 'Bout damn time the Surf City realized how damn cool we are. ha!

They are dredging the harbor next to school so it smells like rotten eggs. When I left class today I actually thought that someone had farted in the anteroom. . . Someone who should seriously think about changing their diet.

Like someone who, say, eats regularly at the taqueria at the end of our street.

They should have a sign over their door, something along the lines of "Despair, all ye who enter here" or "Eat not of the quesadillas lest ye die".

Liz Reads a Lot of Books and Robert eats a lot of Macaroni

Valentine's Day was a blast. Which is not to say that I don't miss the Valentine's Days I have spent carving heart shaped cookies into funny, grotesque pieces in random parking lots with David Hughes. Ahh the joy of stabbing absurd heart cookies with pink frosting- most often with large knives better suited for chopping large melons. Heh. It is a lot of fun to hate Valentine's Day. Just like it's a lot more fun to write (and read) a terrible restaurant review. But alas, V Day was great this year. Brilliant holiday. Not just for 3rd graders and disgusting chalky heart candy that has the nerve to boss you around.

We began the day at the Cabrillo College Saturday farmer's market- very quickly becoming my favorite place to be in the whole world! Nowhere else can you buy an orchid for $8-- in full bloom that comes up to my shoulder (I'm short- but the plant is still prolly 4' tall people) Organic locally grown broccoli is $1 a head, the eggs have brown shells and bright gold yolks, meyer lemons 5 for $1, apples are about 50 cents, rainbow chard is $1.50. . .I could go on but I don't want to depress anyone who hasn't got the luxury of going to the Cabrillo College Saturday farmer's market. It's jammin.

Then we went to look at a room in a house way far up in the mountains- it looked beautiful online. No deal. Bad energy and crazy old guy. Not to mention a driveway that I would NEVER be able to navigate with my poor manual transmission driving skills.

We got back to town for Robert's Valentine's Day extravaganza. Which included two massages that almost killed us (in a baaad way- CA has no licensing requirements for massage therapists and it SHOWS... I don't want to spend anymore time being negative about this) And then we sat in the hot tubs at the Japanese spa, sipping on ginger tea which was fun until we had to get out and I thought I was going to pass out. Yikes that low blood pressure will get you. Tina and I should get smelling salts. Do we have any blue blood in our lineage?

Then we ate sushi dinner at "I Love Sushi"- the best sushi restaurant in Santa Cruz so far. I love "I love sushi"! And not just because every time we leave the little Japanese owner waves to us and says "see you tomorrow!" Aaaah, if only we could.

School Daze

Today was the first class on the first day of the first semester of my first year at Five Branches. Yippee! I only had one class. (it was 3 hours long though so it counts for 2, eh?) Tomorrow will be a little busier.

Robert will be taking the Frog to San Jose to a frame shop servicing classic cars. We took her to a local body shop that actually does frame straightening under normal circumstances. . . but owing to the fact that the CaliFroggy is a rare gem to say the least, the body shop did not have the measurements. So we looked up a specialist and it's all the way in San Jose (an hour from here). So everyone should give Robert a courtesy call tomorrow. Help him pass the time as he waits in San Jose for the Frog to get fixed.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I will be attending clinic theater in which I begin a long series of observation. . . watching the masters at work, as it were. Followed by a qi gong class. Followed again by Chinese language. I'll let you know how it goes. . .

And maybe we'll finally get around to making a video of some of the surfers round about. Fun to watch.

The State of Things in California State

Yesterday was the official Five Branches incoming student orientation day. A day in which an absolutely absurd amount of information is transmitted by kindly school administrative staff speaking as rapidly as is humanly possible for five hours straight. I enjoyed myself. And I am eager.

I also learned that, if you are going to get acupuncture, you had probably better try and find a practitioner from California. In this state, acupuncture is included in many healthcare insurance packages and it is widely considered acceptable to have a Chinese physician as your primary care provider. And I know you may be thinking-- Is this just another random decision by wacky Californian lawmakers? I mean, Arnold Schwarzenegger is at the helm of this ship! Did you know, marijuana is legal for medical use? I admit that it seems strange for herb to be illegal, but is it uneducated to think that marijuana has about as much medical application as a bottle of tequilia? (ok. except for glaucoma. it seems to really help glaucoma)

In fact, the recognition of Chinese medicine as legitimate and its growing niche in the heathcare industry at large is due to the VERY INTENSE, very thorough testing and training of Oriental medicine students here. Most states require that a students take and pass the NCCAOM national licensing exam upon graduation from whatever medical school they attended. California has its own test. And the tests are so far apart in levels of difficuluty and depth of knowledge that students here, at the Five Branches University often take the national test before graduation.

The California exam, however, is a different story.

The fame of the California acupuncture licensing exam (CALE) proceeds it. It's mention is enough to strike fear in the hearts of students and faculty alike... I mean, the damn thing is already difficult. And California already boasts a line-up of Traditional Chinese Medicine's hardest hitters university wise... But the test designers were clever and evil and figured out a way to make the schools compete and to make the standards quite a lot higher.

No matter how brilliant the pool of graduates taking the test, no matter what schools send them, the CALE will only pass 50% of those students taking the exam. Period. They score the test, find the median score, pass all students scoring about the median grade, and fail the rest. Students can take the test again and again. But it is always scored the same way.

Crazy, huh? So all the schools are competing for the most excellent statistics. As in, what percentage of graduates successfully pass the CALE on the first try? Five Branches had the honor of passing 100% of graduates for years... that percentage is down this year to 73... I think, due in part to their acceptance of a greater number of students. The acceptance rate for applicants in the fall is still pretty small (around 30%) but they have added a spring semester start, some extra classrooms, and some certificates of special focus (things not covered by the exam- specialties). But it's totally serious! It makes me happy!

I doubt that my patients will know what California licensure will mean for the efficacy and thoroughness of their care. But I'll know.




Oh, and today we went on a really nice bike ride and Rob bought me a big cookie. You may not understand the significance of this.... I really LOVE cookies (and Rob doesn't) and it was a PEANUTBUTTER cookie (Rob's allergic to peanutbutter).

And check out this crazy late night cookie delivery service! http://www.niteowlcookies.com/
They don't cook them until you call and order... And delivery is free!