First Week!

Welcome to the Quest for Quan Yin

I wanted to come up with something clever for the title of this blog. Being a student of acupuncture, I've heard plenty of jokes already about needling, pricking, etc. Everything that immediately came to mind seemed a bit lewd.

For inspiration, I looked around my study area. There is a picture of Dr. Usui, the founder of Reiki, a large painting of Sarasvati, a statue of The Virgin of Guadalupe, a candle representing Erzuli, a statue of Arch Angel Michael, and a picture of Quan Yin. Am I a sancreatic/eclectic witch? Yep.

As a wiccan, I dedicated myself to the Goddess of Compassion, Quan Yin, about 15 years ago. I had no idea at that time that I would eventually become a student of Chinese medicine. So in honor of full circles, beautiful leaps of irony, and the medicine itself, I launch this blog. Welcome!

I intend to record my personal journey of discovery, share my excitement about the medicine, and document the goings-on of my new community at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (OCOM). 

Statue of Quan Yin from the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art

For today's adventure in my studies, I went to visit my general practitioner, Dr. Chang. She's an allopathic (Western) doctor but is very supportive of my studies. I had to get a tuberculosis test and my first shot for the Hepatitis B vaccination.

I stay away from flu shots because vaccines tend to make my MS symptoms flare up. But I figure that catching Hep B would really compromise my immune system so maybe a few days of discomfort from the vaccine won't be such a bad thing.

The shot hurt! But I was brave, y'all!

I rushed home from the doctor's office just in time to walk down to the campus clinic for my acupuncture appointment. Sometimes when I have acupuncture, the needle hits a sensitive spot and I yelp or jump. After getting the Hep B shot, the acupuncture needles barely registered.

I have two more Hep B shots to go--one in a month and another five months after. It feels good to have that marked off my list.

Today, I have my first points class. I'm excited and nervous. I have this underlying fear that I'll be so overwhelmed by all this new information that my brain will just lock down and not retain any of it.

So, I breathe, play with my dog and cat, and I laugh loudly with my friends and boyfriend. It helps.