So like I mentioned in my last blog, I will post a video of my talent show performance. But the people who taped it are still in the process of getting it onto a DVD. Once that's done, I'll see what I can do to get it onto my computer then upload it onto a video site (e.g. YouTube). But for now, here are a couple of pictures from my performance:

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Just a brief update - things are getting very hectic here right now! I have a Retinoscopy Proficiency tonight, then a massive Neurophysiology exam tomorrow. I can't even start to explain how much I've been studying for Neurophys!!! But anyway, sorry for the long break since my last blog, but don't worry, I'm always here to keep you all updated!

And by the way, this Friday is SCCO's annual Talent Show, and I'll be performing! I'll be doing Spoken Word, which is basically performance poetry. Hopefully it will be taped, and if it is I'll try to get it posted for you all.

I lost a lot of weight in the past month...about a total of seven pounds! And that's ridiculous because I'm already a pretty slender guy! The first two weeks of that month involved some painful indigestion for some reason...well at least I think it was indigestion. During that time, I would eat two or three bites of something then I'd feel full right away. Then I'd burp a lot too, and in some cases I'd feel like throwing up. Any doctors out there? But luckily I'm over that now, but I've lost a lot of weight because of it. And the weird thing is, I'm still losing weight. So yesterday for Easter brunch, when I went with my family to Hometown Buffet, I ate tons of food to get fattened up. Then I ate lots of Pad Thai (a delicious Thai noodle dish if you don't know) that evening. And just now for lunch I ate a hot dog and a burger. Greasy goodness, but hopefully if I keep this up I will gain some weight back. It's weird though, because although I am stressed from all these exams every week, I'm not to the point where I'm going crazy or anything like that. So I don't think it's because of stress from school. Hopefully this new "diet" will help me gain some pounds back...

In the last couple of weeks I have been debating whether I should get involved with school next year, particularly with the Student Association (SA) board. I've been asked, on more than one occasion, to run for class president again. Although I would love to run in a leadership position next year, I have a much stronger passion for teaching. That's why I decided to tutor and TA next year. During undergrad I was a writing tutor, Writing Enrichment TA and microbiology lab TA - and I loved doing it. And I will also get paid to do it too! But honestly I would do it for free anyway because I enjoy doing it. It all relates to why I made OptStudent.com in the first place - because I have a passion for helping others. I'm not sure what I will tutor yet because I'm not sure how the assigning works, but we'll see how it goes and I'll keep you all updated on that.

On a side note, I got that Mazda 3 last Friday, and wow it is a great car! I was able to secure an awesome rate (1.8%!!!), well mostly because I put a huge down payment. It's so fun to drive (of course, it is a manual and that's the only way to go!). Much faster than my last car, which was a 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer. And yeah, it's white so it's going to be pretty high maintenance as far as cleaning...oh well, it's worth it because it looks really nice!!!

Anyway, back to studying for my Clinical Methods exam coming up on Monday...

Did you know that of the 12 cranial nerves, 6 are involved with vision (in case you don't know, the cranial nerves are the fundamental nerves coming from the brain, involved with motor and sensory functions all over the body). Also, over half of the brain's function involves the visual system. So how is this important in practical terms? Well first, it's something to show off to your patients (and friends) regarding the eye. But these facts are most relevant to brain lesions (i.e. tumors) and injuries. Basically, if you get a brain lesion or injury, there is a good chance that your vision has been affected since a major part of the brain is involved with vision.

An example is Bitemporal Hemianopsia. In this case, the pituitary gland grows a tumor; since the pituitary is right next to the optic chiasm, vision is affected because the tumor is pushing against the optic chiasm. I won't go over the specific details (it can be pretty complicated to explain) but you'll learn more about this in optometry school.

Here's what a normal visual field looks like:

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And a person with Bitemporal Hemianopsia sees:

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