Update of the various sort

The internship is quickly coming to a close and there's almost an anti-climactic feel to the whole experience. This past week I spent in time in psychiatry which was a rather eyebrow-raising experience. Most of the patients I saw were pretty much people you might meet in the classroom, on the streets, in your homes. The only difference is that society has diagnosed these people as in need of psychiatric help--or at least in need of protection against themselves (in the case suicidal thoughts). Still, when I think about this whole notion of suicide, I think about the lady in the clinic who argued that all of us, at one point or another, entertain some sort of suicidal thoughts--what distinguishes one from the other is whether or not one actually decides to carry it out. Perhaps it is because I find myself of a more somber disposition that I tend to agree with this assumption, or at the very least, I could just as easily find myself in a psychiatric ward arguing with the psychiatrist that despite all the meds he can cram down my throat, he still will never really understand my "psychological state." Aside from having one of the patients hit on me, I was able to talk to the social workers, nurses, and music therapist that worked there. While I can't always see how what they are doing helps, I can at least acknowledge that I myself, at this point in time, wouldn't have the patience to deal with some of the cases that I saw that day.

As part of our community service learning project for this program, we compiled and designed a community health services guide. The cover features a picture that I took of the Rock River. Here are some of the pics that my roommate and I took.




As for the basketball saga at the YMCA, that's still been going. All of the games have been limited to games of 21 and 32 partly because there are usually no more than three of us there at a time. Plus, we're all a disproportionately different levels to even entertain the possibility of a competitive game. Still, it's better than nothing.

Every week I on my way up to Oregon to the clinic, I pass by this farm along the highway. When the sky is clear and the sun is just rising, there's nothing like seeing green crop fields littered with a cluster of farm structures. I haven't gotten a chance to try to capture the sunrise but one of these days, I'm going to have to try to do that. In the meantime, here's what I've gotten so far.