Spare liver, anyone?

So my bro from work, Rene, has been out of commission for the past months awaiting a liver transplant. His liver is dying on him. So he's basically waiting for a donor (little known fact, there are about 6,000 some odd other people in NY alone waiting for a liver transplant).


ren is second from the right

I talked to him recently about finding a donor and asked 'well doesn't the other person need their liver!?" And here I got the low down on what happens if someone donates their liver (or specifically, a part of their liver):

- they don't lose the liver! they only donate a part of it
- you'll be out of commission for several months while you heal
- you get disability at your job
- if you're of low income (30k'ish), the government will give you a handsome reward of 6k
- you need the same blood type as the liver needer, in this case blood type A

after talking to him I cross-examined what I had gathered with my doctor friend, Thomas. Here's exactly what he told me:

Hey, about the liver and transplants, it comes down to more than just blood type. The thing is that the body has certain antibodies for foreign substances and in implanting a liver, it would be a massive foreign substance and the natural reaction of the body would be to attack it. To have a successful transplant, it would have to have similar antibodies for the body to accept it so it is more difficult for that to happen by chance, which is why family members are usually used, like cousins brothers ect. The cool thing about it though is that if it is implanted, only a portion of it would need to be implanted and then it will grow into a functional liver. Also, to make a transplant successful, they have to suppress your body's immune system so it doesn't attack the liver, even if it is similar to the body's antibodies it won't attack it and for that to be done safely he should be in the hospital for a bit just to make sure that if an infection occurs, he's right there and should be fine. Hope that helped

So it's all very complicated and a bit annoying when there's nobody willing or able to give a slice of their liver for a good cause. I hope it'll get worked out soon though so he can come back to the office and help rock out in Rock Band! yeee haw!

No Pants 2k8

I did it!

finally the guys from Improv Everywhere sent me an email about their latest stunt. It's was the 7th annual No Pants Subway Ride! I couldn't find anyone who would do it with me, but Soojung and my friends Jay and Jen were visiting so I dragged them all to the event. In the end Jay did it with me :)


there we are, getting briefed on the event - picture found from a set here

Basically it broke down like this:

There were almost a thousand people who came so they broke us into three groups to ride on three separate train lines. We got the R train which was familiar for me since I take the yellow line all the time for commuting to work. Then we got broken into smaller groups that got a certain train car to ride in, we were car 2. Then we picked a station that we'd de-pants and get off at, we took the last one which was the 28th st. stop. We were ready to go and the whole mass jay-walked their way to the City Hall station stop.

We all lined up along the platform and when the first R train came we all got in and sat down. Everyone acted like strangers. Someone was picked to de-pants at the next stop so he got up an slowly started to take his pants off on the train. An old couple recognized what he was doing and just stared in disbelief. As he got off at the next stop the woman said, " now I've seen it all !". As the train kept going more people started to de-pants at stops and get off. The couple were going nuts about it. "there goes another one!". They then asked Soojung and Jen who were sitting next to them, "you're not going to take your pants off are you?" They didn't, and got off at one of the stops. At 23rd st. we were one stop away from our stop to get off so we got up and went over to the doors and started to de-pants there. The husband with the woman had taken out his camera so I don't know if they got any pictures. The woman said ' nice tan line ' though I don't think either of us had tan lines on our legs... we got off at 28th st stop and waited.

it was pretty breezy in the station. i spent some time organizing the pants in my bag and got out a magazine to keep me busy on the next train. a N train pulled up but we waited for the next R. A lady who was working the train ( do they have a name? the one thats in the middle controlling the doors and the intercom) yelled out " nice legs ! " as the train left.

Finally an R train pulled in and we got on, people who had gotten off earlier were now on this train, sitting and reading like nothing was going on. I stood until there was a seat where I could sit. People around us were whispering and trying to figure out what was going on. I guess it would be strange to find people at each train station entering without pants. Once at 59t st. we got off and waiting to take a train back downtown. You could over hear people asking other pant-less commuters what was going on, but everyone just had excuses. It was great.

The ride back I had a lady next to me finally ask why I didn't have pants. I just told her "I just forgot them." She smiled and I guess she knew something was up. Of course there had to be a reason. At 14th st we got off and went above ground where everyone was sort of meeting up. There was lots of people walking around without pants. But it was chilly! So Jay and I panted up and we all grabbed some dinner before heading back home for ROCK BAND!

It was great fun and I can't wait for the next No Pants Subway Ride! haha

Delninno's in da' house

So Matteo and Misa visited NYC this weekend. We went to a bar which will probably be the last time I got to a bar since I could never or would never want to afford/pay of so many drinks... Thanks goes out to Bill, the owner of the club, and Johan and Beejohn (sorry I think I just slaughtered your name) for the connection. Somehow in the end we got home... and then the next day...

NYC tour!!!! (well, half a NYC tour! We started down in the financial district and worked our way through the city. Spent a good deal of time in China town looking at cheap perfumes and turtles. Then little Italy for cheese! Then my office to give them a tour of the fine place where I work. Then further up to Times Square ( can't miss times sqaure ) and then even further up to my favorite burger joint.



by then our legs were dead and we hobbled to the nearest subway station to get home and watch a movie.

It was great having you guys up here, both Soojung and I had a blast.

Christmas card 2007!

concept


The scene is modeled to scale of my girlfriend's apartment. I liked the small and seemingly very 'typical new york apartment' feel of it. That's the only room! Wanted to make it feel cozy and filled with as much Christmas spirit as I am capable of. It turned out alright, probably could have been more exaggerated with the color and style. Though I like the photo real effect. I definitely played in a lot of things that I've learned at The7thArt