Japanese grocery market in Fresno

I went to the local Japanese grocery store in Fresno, Central Fish Market, and bought some goodies. I bought rice seasoning, hand roll seaweed, freshly made sushi, instant udon, and some poke. I finished my Pediatric Clinical presentation, which I'm glad to have finished. I was able to add lecture classes for next semester. Time is flying by fast. Next semester, my clinical courses will be in Community Health and Critical Care. Sounds like it'll be another intense semester. 

This picture is from the end of my 1st year in undergraduate. I got around to thinking how Korean am I? Fresno doesn't have a large and thriving Korean community whereas cities like Los Angeles and NYC do. That makes living in Fresno a bit more difficult and lonelier. I don't have a community to connect with whereas back in college, it was easy for me to find Koreans anywhere. That's how it was in NYC, too. From the start, my second aunt and her daughter came to find me at my dormitory and dropped off food. I was able to get in contact with old friends who were working and living in the city. I met new faces as time went on, even through the nursing program. Since I left life in the city, I've noticed that life in Fresno is more unique than the city in that there aren't many Koreans in the community. That got me thinking about how reliant I am on the Korean community, and if so, why it's significant and what significance it has? 

I miss these college friends and envy their lives in the city. 

Since my parents are gone traveling in South Korea, I have the house to myself. That means I don't do the dishes until the very last minute or until they pile up. It's absolutely wonderful unlike when my mom is home and commands me to do the dishes right away. Laundry piles up as well. It's nice to have such leisure and flexibility in my life, which is why I wish to live on my own again when I move to a bigger city. The other appeal to Los Angeles and New York City is the convenience of Asian grocery stories and food. There's plenty more food choices that the cities offer that Fresno lacks in. Having said that, it's quite easy to cook up a dish using ingredients sold at the Fresno Asian grocery store RN market. 

Our neighborhood is doing construction on the road. So, I had to park outside of the neighborhood circle. Since I won't want to walk to where the car is parked to go anywhere, I think I'll stay at home all day tomorrow. I typically don't leave the house anyways unless I have to for food, work, class, and clinical. 

Between the two photos of me, there is about a 20 pound weight difference. One was taken at Cal in SF Bay Area and the other was of me with PLee in London. PLee had asked if I wanted to join her on a backpacking trip throughout UK, France, and Italy. Although I enjoyed the change of scenery in Europe, it was absolutely one of the worst trips I had taken because I was so financially broke. Having said that, I enjoyed Paris and London very much and regret not taking advantage of financial aid to study abroad in Europe. I actually wanted to go abroad through the UCEAP study abroad program to London, but I hadn't met the English class requirements to qualify as an exchange student. Living abroad in London, UK and being able to by taking advantage of financial aid would have been quite an experience. 

The reason why I would have rather stayed in NYC for the nursing degrees then returning to Fresno is similar to why I enjoyed Paris and London. NYC is a cosmopolitan city and the financial capital of the US much like Paris and London of Europe. I sometimes wonder how much different my life would have been had I stayed in NYC, albeit having a nursing classmate stalker who followed my whereabouts. Would I have met a genuinely good partner, raised kids with refinement and lived in Manhattan in a fancy apartment? It doesn't hurt to wonder. Jenn Kim and Yoomin Hong are living the NY city life, which makes me see them with envy and
wonder at the same time. 

Here's a photo of me after a year in NYC. 

I enrolled in Fall 2025 semester classes at Fresno State. I'll be doing my rotation at either Tulare, Fresno, or Madera County. It'll be interesting to see what sort of community health cases there are at the County. It

should be a good clinical next semester. For Critical care, I chose Clovis Community as the hospital site.