NEHA'S OWN

Slumdog Millionare

2008-12-13T13:29:00.000-08:00

Amazing!! Wonderful!! Astonishing!!! Surprising!!! That was of course my reaction to the film but it was more of a reaction to the way the American audience reacted to it.The movie got a standing ovation at the end in a Ritz theater in Philly. It was one of those chilly winter nights which are so common for that part of the world and I had tagged along with my sister and her friend for the movies. I didn't know anything about the movie, not even that it was based in Mumbai so I didn't expect much from the film. From my experience in the past i expected a couple more in the theater beside us.But what I saw was a long line outside the ticket counter similar to the ones we get back home in India for a newly released Shah Rukh movie. That was a sight in itself. It felt like I was actually in India. I have to be honest in saying that I wasn't aware what a rage the movie was creating here.

USA- a revelation

2008-11-24T17:26:00.001-08:00

Detroit needs to catch up in terms of public transport.Only SMART buses are available from the airport as public transport which do not run at frequent intervals.SO had to pay 100$ to and from the Metro Airport to Downtown Detroit.(one way-about 50 bucks)
New york has the Subway and even Philly which I thought lags behind has SEPTA which is a cheap option compared to cabs.I searched the internet a lot but all in vain for reliable public transportation in Detroit.Same was the case with Baltimore-although there I took the Light Rail for part of journey but that was also because I met a very helpful Indian guy at the Greyhound station.
Still to learn a lot more about USA..and it isn't always what it seems from far off.There is good and bad to everything and every place.I will post my views as I go on to encounter different situations.

Bedbugs-In America

2008-10-29T19:48:00.000-07:00

27th oct 2008
Baltimore,Maryland

I went into my room in America's Best Value Inn (ironically owned by an Indian) in Towson, Baltimore. The room felt inviting because it was warm and cozy and outside it was a very chilly and wet night specially by Indian standards.I never would have expected what was to follow. During the night, many times I felt as if I was being bitten by mosquitoes and felt nostalgic but thinking it was America and there was no question of a mosquito I thought maybe I was having tactile hallucinations. I tried to go back to sleep because I had an early day tomorrow. I was supposed to wake up at 5:30 and for a person who has never known what mornings are, that is almost like the middle of the night. Anyway I woke up and brushed my teeth, took a shower, got ready and finally put on my spects and thats when I saw it. A dead army of bed bugs mixed with spots of my blood lay on my white bed sheet which was spotless the night before. That scene itself told the horrid story of the night! Okay, I know I am from India and one would imagine that I would be used to all kinds of bugs but frankly speaking this was the first time I got acquainted with these specific creatures, and I hope it is the last too. I had always heard about Khatiya ke khatmal (bugs of the bed) and wondered what they were like. I have been answered!!!

Interviews,Match 2009 and beyond...

2008-09-21T11:18:00.000-07:00

All for Internal Medicine

Calls-

Greater Baltimore Medical center, Baltimore (Application on 2nd sep, response-19th sep 2008)
Bronx-lebanon hospital center, Bronx, NY (Application on 2nd sep, response-24th sep 2008)
UPMC, Pittsburgh
University of Connecticut(New Britain) Primary care categorical
St. Francis,Evanston,Illinois
New Cook County Hospital,Chicago,Illinois
Crozer Chester Medical Center, Upland,PA
Canton Medical Education,Ohio
Good Samaritan Hospital of Maryland,Baltimore
University of Iowa,Iowa
Wayne State University,Detroit,Michigan
SUNY at Buffalo,NY
Mt Sinai Medical Center, Florida
Rosalind Frankin,Chicago

Rejections-

Lincoln Medical center, New York (Application on 15th sep, response-19th sep 2008)
Danbury Hospital,Connecticut
Abington Memorial Hospital, PA
Bridgeport Hospital
Aurora Health care,Milwaukee
Huron Hospital
Medical College of Wisconsin
Henry Ford, Detroit
University of Illinois,Peoria
Guthrie Robert Packer, PA
Johns Hopkins Bayview
Univ of Arakansas, Little Rock
Saint Joseph Hospital in Chicago, Illinois
Univ of Arizona-Tuscon
Westchester Medical Center
Michigan State University
Northwestern Univ/Feinberg school of medicine
Caritas St. Elizabeth,Boston
UMDNJ-NJMS,Newark
UMDNJ-Robertwood Johnson
UNIV oF Missouri-Columbia
St Lukes Hospital
Univ of Kansas,Witchia
Univ of Alabama,Birmingham
Brookdale univ hospital
Duke Univ
Mayo Clinic-Arizona

Heart beat of Bollywood-My favourite songs of all times

2008-09-16T13:02:00.000-07:00

My all time favourite songs:

Recent ones

Le chale le chale- My brother nikhil
Saathiya- Saathiya
Suraj hua maddham- Kabhi khushi kabhi gham
Tujhe sab hai pata hai na maa- Taare zameen par
In dinon dil mera- Metro
Bol na halke halke-Jhoom Barabar Jhoom
Naina dass lenge-Omkara
Kal ho na ho- Kal ho na ho
Jab se tere naina- Saawariya
Aye ajnabee- Dil se..
Ya rabba dede koi jaan bhi agar- Salaam-e-ishq
Tu jahaan main wahaan- Salaam Namaste
Tumhi dekho na- Kabhi alvida na kehna
Aawarapan Banjaarapan- Jism
Kabhi khushboo- Saaya
O re piya- Aaja nachle
Jaane ye kya ho gaya- Armaan
Roshni se bhare bhare- Asoka
Khuda jaane mai fida- Bachna aye haseeno
Sooni hawa- Hollywood Bollywood
Tu hi re- Bombay
Chup chup ke chori se- Bunty aur bubbly
Maula mere lele meri jaan- Chak de..India
Halka halka sa ye nasha- Chocolate
Tanhaayee- Dil chahta hai

I will keep on adding to the list as and when I remember more of the songs I will always listen to...for all those who haven't heard them, listen to them now..if you happen to differ,do let me know. Let me know if you agree too

Additions-

Ye hawaaein- Bas itna sa khwaab hai
Jhonka hawa ka aj bhi- Hum dil de chuke sanam
Bheegi bheegi si hain raatein- Gangster
Tumse hi- Jab we met
Aaoge jab tum o saajna- Jab we met
Taare zameen par..- Taare zameen par
Hum yahaan tum yahaan- Zakhm
Humko humein se chura lo- Mohabbatein
Nahin saamne ye alag baat hai- Taal
Tum ho to gaata hai dil...-Rock On!!
Mar jaawan- Fashion
Pehli naza mein aisa jadoo kar diya- Race
Ajnabee mujhko itna bataa-Pyaar to hona hi tha
Khaamosh raat,sehmi hawaa,tanha tanha dil apna-Takshak

Old songs ( I don't know the movies for sure so if anyone can contribute I would appreciate)

Koi hota jisko apna
Kya hua tera waada
Waada karo nahin chodoge tum mera saath
Pal pal dil ke paas- Blackmail
Mere mehboob qayamat hogi
Mere saamne wali khidki mein-Padosan
Kuch to log kahenge
Humne dekhi hai un aankhon ki mehekti khushboo -Khamoshi(old)
Ye nayan dare dare
Abhi na jaao chod kar ke dil abhi bhara nahi- Hum dono

Laughter challenge-4 (positive entertainment)

2008-09-15T15:23:00.000-07:00

Why do we see very few female mimicry artists and stand up comedians compared to the flock of male artists..Maybe it is the psychology that females are better off being sophisticated and not acting clown like but my kudos to Sugandha Mishra and Bharti of Laughter Challenge-4 who have certainly proven to add great variety and unmatched talent to the show.And for once I can bet no one can mimic Lata Mangeshkar better than Sugandha.Or maybe there isn't anyone who can mimic her at all.Hats off to Rajbir Kaur too for giving a tough competetion to the bunch of very talented comedians.I have been a fan of the Laughter Challenge all the way and have a feeling that as each season passes by, humor is becoming more and more sophisticated and up-beat,matching the change in the Indian ways of life.I hope this series continues to make us laugh forever and we don't have to search for other stress busters..

And I forgot to add,Navjot Singh siddhu seems to be becoming merrier and jumpier by the day..LOL..

What's so good about Bigg Boss??

2008-09-15T11:41:00.000-07:00

I love Bigg Boss-season 2 and the funny thing is that I never thought I would be so crazy about it. Initially when I saw the promos I recognised only few faces- Rahul Mahajan, Ketaki (ara rara ra), Ehsaan Khuraishi, Debojit, Rakhi (sweety) and Monica Bedi..The thing which keeps me glued to the tv from 10 to 11 at night is the involvement I feel with the housemates..I have started feeling as if I am also living in that house, each day I wait for the clock to strike 10 and there I am feeling for the participants as if they were one of us..Maybe it is a reflection of our own lives in a lot of ways and you know that the show is not scripted, thus making it more believable than the other shows on air. Its true that you can identify with the characters better when you see them doing the same things as you, missing home and family like a lot of us do when we are away for studies or jobs and so on..And more so I feel the fact that these people don't have the escapes like us in the form of a mobile or tv or books, they are bound to confront each other at some point in time whether they like it or not and when that happens a certain amount of bitching is bound to happen coz after all we all are humans..And we all have some basic instincts..
When you are left with other beings of the same species and you know that the rule of the game is "survival of the fittest" you forget relationships and ethics and that is what is evident in the show...
The tussel between Raja and Sambhaawna and later on between Paayal and Sambhaawna promises to be an enticing battle that will surely attract more viewership and shoot up in TRP ratings..lets see what happens next!

Questions I ask myself while watching Bigg Boss:

Is Paayal really "fake" or is she "straight"?
Is Sambhaawna histrionic?
Is Rahul really useless except being a talking parrot?
Is Zulfi diplomatic or naive?

Diana Hayden confesses to have left school after class 8th and also that she lied about her age to make a living,Wow!!....I respect her coz she seems to be a strong and honest person.

SRK-which one is better-with a choti or without it

2008-09-09T13:55:00.000-07:00

I bet SRK learnt quick enough that his pony tail look wasn't suiting him at all and he needed to get rid of it asap.But the funny thing is following in his foot steps his arch rival (as of now) Sallu has started growing his hair as well although he doesn't seem to have much left for it to grow.But it sure is suiting him more than it was SRK.Thank you Shah Rukh for getting back to normal..

step 2cs cleared

2008-08-20T15:44:00.000-07:00

I did the 5 day Kaplan Course and I strongly recommend it to those who are short on confidence in terms of clinical patient encounters and are not short on money. Although it is expensive it makes the real exam seem easier than it would normally seem.The practice of the simulation exam makes you relaxed and confident to face the real deal.But whatever people say the bottom line remains that one has to practice as much as possible because its better to make a mistake when it won't hurt you as much..so shed the embarrassment mask and do as much on your partner as you can.

step 2-slightly different paths tread ......result the same

2008-06-27T09:54:00.000-07:00

let me confess that i had not thought that i would post my experience here again but the only reason for doing it is that i want to tell everyone that everyday isn't the same but if you try and stay alive and breathe sometimes there are miracles that happen by gods' grace.another reason is that i got a good score ;-)although unxpected.just one thing more before i go on,this is not one of those how to study and how to plan essays,infact i will try to give an honest narrative of what i felt about things while preparing and taking the test.a lot of us feel and go through similar situations i guess..

after getting over with step1 it is difficult to keep on going and reading the same things and doing the same whole thing again and again...
and i will be honest in saying that it was exactly same for me..plus the hangover of your score(whatever it maybe)can last a bit longer than you want..i had taken more time off than one usually does after step1 (about 2 months with very little or hardly any studying)i had finished step 1 in end of october and started for step 2 late december..i had planned to take it around april mid..but then with some luck i got to do a fellowship in april in new york and had to leave by march end..so all the planning went down the drain..when i reached here(alone) in nyc, it was a nightmare initially-home sick,jet lagged,lonely and culture shocked..slowly i started getting used to things in usa...i had a Brazilian roommate,who by the way was really nice,so most evenings i would go out for grocery shopping or sight seeing..books seemed not to fit in the picture..tell then i had read kaplan ones and along with that did kaplan qbank qs(free download)and after that tried finishing u world(in one month) before leaving india..i wasn't doing great on uworld but it wasn't awful either...around mid and late 60s..so i was on the borderline of comfort and anxiety..

somewhere in between i also read first aid ones..just skimming..i had thought of giving kaplan another read but i din't even know how time flew by and during the whole month of april(fellowship month) all i did was read usmle secrets..don't ask why coz probably i din't wanna read the same thing from the same books again so instead tried reading the same thing from a different book..(i know a lot of people are raising their eye brows at this moment,but thats what i did)then in 15 days i had my exam so i had to choose between revising uworld and rereading kaplan,i chose the former..that was also hard for me because my flow had been broken..somehow i managed to look at all except about 50 qs(which i couldn't do first time as well)But time was limited..i knew all along that i should read kaplan atleast once more but i couldn't manage..last few days did some nbme qs (downloaded ones and as i had not done those in step1 as well so thought i should atleast take a look)Day before the exam i took kaplan simulated test,though i won't recommend doing the same day before your exam,i had no option...that night also i was worried that the gamble is a big one to take--i am talking about going into the test with only one kaplan read..

i know people will now think that all anxieties were alleviated coz most probably the exam wasn't as bad as i had thought it would be...surprise!! it was worse..i thought i could even flunk it coz a lot of questions seemed wierd and unheard of...or maybe a step ahead of what i had prepared for--for example they won't ask autism but would put in a scenario for u to figure out and ask u the management of it which would be possible if in the first place you could get it was autism...and not straightforward options but some where it was difficult to choose from the two..there were lots like this..i also remember being flustered coz i knew aortic dissection is diagnosed with TEE or maybe first step is to give an anti hypertensive--but there wasnt an option like those there..i think one had to choose between ct scan and angio...wierd to say the least
so as u can guess i couldn't be sure of the answer in half of the ques,and half of them seemed a page long..so i couldn't have spare time in any block..got 2-3 murmurs which i thought would be clear from the scenario if they came up so i didn't listen to them...but then i had to take a guess in the test i think..this was just a flavour of what i saw..and i dare say that the test seemed tougher than u world although uw has a reputation of its own..
all in all i felt sick and ouky after the exam..not sure what i had done but sure that whatever i had done wasn't good...as everyone does i also tried to remember what questions were asked and what i did and was it right or wrong and blah blah..but you can't do much more than that..i read a few experiences all of which seemed good and that made me more nervous..anyway i got distracted a bit as i had to take cs in a month and had gone to newark for kaplan cs course....infact it was my sister who looked up my score and told me as i couldn't access net from there...it was a very pleasant surprise and i mean it that i had scored 99..wasn't expecting one bit..but then maybe its true that they indeed score on difficulty level...i think its becoming a much longer read than can be comfortable so i would wrap up by saying even though you are not in the most comfortable scenarios sometimes,things do work out all right..hope i have given hope to those who have taken the time to read this and would urge them to give a fight no matter what...
i say 'not the most comfortable scenarios' because i had some major personal life emotional crisis kind of a situation in case you are wondering..those who know me a bit more,know what i am talking about...
but the most important thing of all is you ought to want 99 and you will get it.

for those who want to get an idea about the stats-
u world(all except 50 qs)-cumulative,random-abt 68%
kaplan qbank(dnt remember)done alongwth notes-guess abt 70%
kaplan simulated (2004)-80%
kaplan free diagnostic test-10 days before test-82%(not predictive though)
step2 ck score-246/99
step1 score-245/99

p.s-all comments(positive or negative) are more than welcome.in fact i would appreciate feedback a lot.thanks

taare zameen par....bollywood to life......

2007-12-22T10:12:00.000-08:00

wooofff...a movie that would remain as a distinct memory etched into my mind as have all my childhood bittersweet memories..an amazing subject and an even better treatment.i am totally mesmerised and numb...a lot to learn and reflect but would it make people realise that what they are watching isn't merely a film but a reflection of their own minds and life...and they better do something about lest it be too late..when i look back into my childhood i feel i wasnt even one bit similar to eshaan-never being a problem child (if i may)but what struck me was that all my life i was scared of being or becoming one myself and i am sure there would be many who would have quite a similar tale.i know what you people are thinking, that what the child had a medical condition which had a name-dyslexia but what if your child or you have a problem which doesn't have a name yet..

and the truth strangely is that i still am scared to be different (read strange).i dont know if i myself could ever gather the courage to allow myself or even people around me to be different...i hope i do one day and then i would never be scared of failing ..

INDIA TOUR OF AUSTRALIA 2007-08

2007-12-18T06:25:00.001-08:00

THIS PROMISES TO BE A WELL FOUGHT SERIES WITH A LOT OF BREATH TAKING MOMENTS PROVIDED THE INDIAN BATSMEN LIVE UPTO THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE NATIONS CRICKET CRAZY FANS AND THE EVER SO CRITICAL MEDIA WHICH WOULD HAVE A HAWK'S EYE ON THE PROCEEDINGS.EVERYONE WOULD MISS WARNE AND MCGRATH MOST PROBABLY APART FROM THE INDIAN BATSMEN WHO WOULD HAVE TAKEN A BIG SIGH OF RELIEF FOR SURE....

I HOPE THE PLAYERS DON'T DISAPPOINT US AND THEMSELVES...
AND THE MOST IMPORTANT DECIDING FACTOR PERHAPS WOULD BE THE UMPIRING STANDARDS WHICH HAVENT BEEN THE GREATEST IN THE RECENTLY COMMENCED SERIES...

road to 99-usmle step1

2007-12-01T00:50:00.000-08:00

i think getting a 99 in usmle is not that tough if you put your mind to it.frankly i had never even expected to get that score as it always seemed far from reality.i wont consider myself brilliant or overly ambitious either or for that matter hard working...the truth is you must have the right resources to study from and not fiddle too much with that.make a rough plan in your mind and go..

my prep was approx. 6 months and consisted of kaplan notes and dvds(not all were watched)2nd read of kaplan was planned but not finished for all subjects.didn't watch all the dvds(pharmac and physio-bit of awaste of time)patho-goljan is enough although i read kaplan once..
first aid-2 reads are imp which doesnt take much time 2nd time round..

most imp is usmle world-did all qs once,subscribed for 2 months..scored cumulative 70% with mostly random tests,a few subject wise tests in between when i wasnt scoring well n was very disheartened..made lots of notes but couldnt revise them..added few points in my first aid...last week before my exam tried doing as many qs as i could from kaplan q bank(couldnt download it before so couldnt finish it)

so if u dont waste ur time with kaplan patho,physio n pharm dvds,prep can be done more swiftly..

my test wasnt easy by any stretch of imagination..i came out thinking i did badly and would do well even to get about 90 or sumthing...so even if u think u dnt know lots of stuff on the test just keep on going and you never know...

i think so much of clinically oriented stuff is paid attention to that taking the exam before the clinical years of med school would keep one at a major disadvantage so be patient because taking the exam prematurely and ruining it wont be good thinking...

my sister had given the tests and had scored in early nineties(who by the way is doing her residency in pediatrics in philadelphia) and i think her inputs really helped me correct on whatever mistake she had made due to lack of ample exposure..lastly a lot of times one feels as if things are not going according to plan,and that is the time to try and stay positive..

hope my inputs and suggestions can help everyone who is planning on giving step 1 in the future and i might add thats one of the reasons i am posting this blog. i know many people say they went through brs-phys n beh science and high yields but i think those are not needed if getting a good score on the exam is the only concern. ALL THE BEST AND KEEP THE SPIRITS HIGH

any feedback or suggestions are most welcome,I would like everyone who reads to atleast leave a word of advice,suggestions,views or questions...