So excited!

I'm so excited! New Year's plans have come together beautifully. The group of people is going to be really fun and it turns out we'll go to the J Bar at Hotel Salomar. We're reserving a cabana at the rooftop bar. There will be music, dancing, a place to sit, lots of heat lamps- it'll be great. The more we thought about the W, the more it seemed that it might be a little too "scene-y" to have a completely amazing time. I think the JBar will be a little more mellow, but still really fun. And everyone's really excited to meet Mechen.

I'm on call this Christmas weekend so I'm a little wary of getting too excited in case the ER decides to give me lots of extra presents this weekend. I hope not, but they tend to extra generous at the most inopportune times.

I can't wait to talk to family this weekend though. My parents, sister and brother are in Denmark, my grandfather's in Florida and I'll try to figure out how to contact my other brother in Vail. Man, I would love to be in Vail. I loved it this Summer. What a beautiful, amazing place!

New Year's Resolutions 2010

Ok, so these are published a little late and I'm already slightly overdue on #2 but the way I've approached New Year's resolutions in the past is to treat them as guidelines and navigational beacons. Some require a little more strict adherence than others, but I'm pretty excited about my ideas for 2010!

New Year's Resolutions


1. Read one non-fiction book for general edification purposes a month. Categories that do not count are medicine, memoir or how-to-fold-origami. (The last is listed because origami and I will never work out. Cranes spite me.) [Note: On further consideration, this will have to wait until after the inservice exam on 3/6/10. I need to crush that thing so all reading time is devoted to medicine.]


2. Blog once a week


3. Start p90X on 1/10 in order to finish on my birthday weekend. I want to look and feel amazing on my big 3-0!


4. Have an awesome 2 week vacation during my research block to Copenhagen and Zurich with a side trip to visit Mechen during an awesome port call *fingers crossed!*


5. Write a letter once a week (at least!) to Mechen while he's on deployment.



6. Find an organization to volunteer with and perform community service.



7. Go to Church once a week, preferably on Sunday.

8. Work on my Spanish. Practice 15 minutes a day once inservice is over.

9. Continue to study hard in ENT by being more consistent with my reading. At least 15 minutes anatomy and 30 minutes reading Monday-Thursday with 2-3 hours Friday-Sunday. That is bare minimum requirements.

Christmas excitement!

Truthfully, it's a little hard to muster up. I'm not the best at creating a Christmas for one because it doesn't rate super-high on my TTD (things to do) list.

I did wrap my Christmas presents from my parents though. I almost wrapped an issue of "Clinics" since it comes in a box too, but I thought that would be rather pathetic. I'm pretty sure that I am NOT getting the pair of shoes that I asked for since 1. they were expensive and 2. in my mother's eyes, ugly as sin. She hinted heavily towards that effect on the phone, but I will see on Christmas morning!

I am excited about Mechen coming in 9 days! We will have the 30th together, New Year's Eve at the W, then recover for our amazing road trip starting on the 3rd. We're going to travel up the Pacific Coast Highway. It's supposed to be amazingly beautiful and I'm really excited. I'm not sure if Winter is "the" season to go, but I think it might be close since the whales are migrating (I hope I see a pod!).

Our trip is pretty planned out lodging-wise but since most days don't involve too much driving, there will be plenty of time for pulling off and seeing random state parks, beaches and trails. I'm excited about seeing Carmel again, Monteray for the first time, and making it up to San Francisco. A true SF/Napa/Sonoma trip is in the works for another time, but this trip is mostly about the ride up. Coming back, we're just going to shoot down the 5 so we have a relaxed day on Saturday before Mechen leaves.

Vacation Bliss!

The rest of my vacation was awesome. Mechen had Tuesday-Sunday off and we had the best time. I hadn't realized that I felt slightly time-pressured the last two visits because even though he still made as much time as he could, he wasn't on vacation and time always felt too short. This time, we had days on end. While there's still never enough time to be with him, it was much better!

So, we went up to the Maryland Eastern Shore where I met his Dad and Stepmom who were totally delightful and fun. We went to Chincoteague, MD where we had so much fun playing in the surf. We followed that by going to Ocean City, MD where we ate like pigs: Boug's BBQ sandwich, Thrasher's fries, Kohr's ice cream, lemonade, and caramel popcorn. Crazy amounts of food but I was so hungry from playing in the ocean and I think a good portion of the food turned into insta-fuel.

Then we went back to Norfolk for the night. We had dinner at the Green Onion, which may be one of the best meals I've had. We split a nice salad, then I had a maple-balsamic glazed pork chop with pecans while he had a Texas steak with blue cheese. French fries also came with it. The dinner was incredible. It was such a nice, mellow dining experience and I now have a new favorite restaurant!

The we went to Maine for a wedding and had such a fun time. We went to Wells, Maine and had the best lobster roll of the trip. Then we went to a minor league game in Portland. The next day, we went to Two Lights State Park followed by the wedding that afternoon. Dar Williams made a surprise appearance at the cocktail hour and the band was so much fun to dance to during the reception.

The next day, we left (boo!). We went to Manchester, NH to check in for our flights after a fun morning at the B&B. Before flying out, we grabbed one last lobster roll. So that was 3 in 2.5 days, which is an excellent ratio.

Ego check!

Well, even though I took my one week vacation very early in this upcoming three month block, I'm so happy I'm here in Norfolk. Mechen and I had an amazing day yesterday. We had an amazing brunch: a huge dish of mussels in a white wine butter broth followed by french toast, which was the best brunch dessert! We also had two Bloody Mary's and they were so delicious and thick. Yum. It was a close call because we almost got the pitcher of sangria but I think we chose wisely.

Brunch was so funny b/c we were SO hungry and we were going to order the mussels as an appetizer, then split the French Toast and a lobster roll. Our old salt waitress Kathy eyed us very skeptically and said, "Why don't you two think about that." When she came back with the massive amount of mussels and informed us that we could reconsider since she hadn't put the second part of the order yet, Mechen said, "You know what? I think you might know what you're talking about." He said it so charmingly and it was so funny (it doesn't read particularly well).

After brunch, we went to the Harbor Center Mall and after an unsuccessful stop at Banana Republic, we hit jackpot at Nordstroms. I got two beautiful dresses on sale: one bright yellow and the other a deep red. Either will work for the wedding. Mechen got an amazing suit. Holy hotness. He looked phenomenal. Price-wise, eh it's Nordstroms, but we really saved with the Anniversary Sale. I can't wait for the wedding! Wait, it's not ours! It's a really close friend of mine from college. It's this Saturday in Maine. It'll be so much fun and I can't wait to see everyone.

Today has been a pretty good day. I worked out, went to the beach and had Taste Unlimited for lunch. Oh my, their house sauce is terrific. Now I'm in Starbucks waiting for Mechen to finish his one day of work. The ego check referred to in the title is the effect Mechen's job has on me. I mean really, I'm a hotshot doctor, shouldn't my hours be the worst? (I kid). Well, fortunately for me, mine are pretty cush. And Mechen's are terrible. They're starting to get better but the amount he's been working the past several months would definitely violate resident duty hour restrictions!

New find!

I've found a new "comic strip!" It's called "And the Pursuit of Happiness" by Maira Kalman on nytimes.com. The drawings are quirky and full of color. It evokes a childlike pleasure in the power of pictures and texts, the ultimate picture book.

http://kalman.blogs.nytimes.com/

Shoes!

I am not Western. I am (rather) scared of horses. But, I have discovered a new love. Frye. I love the shoes and although I'm still slightly undecided about the boots, I'm pretty sure I'll grow to love them too.




This shoe is cute, but the open toe is a no-go for work. Plus, now that I think about it, I bet I would make that white leather around the toe look super grungy, super fast.



This heel is slightly stocky, but I think in a cute Minnie Mouse shoe type of way. In the very important, I could wear these all day at work type of way except...open toe! Boo!



I like this boot. A lot. But I don't own any boots currently and they're so expensive, I will likely only own one pair in the near future. These? Or more dressy, sleek boots? Dilemma!



Winner! Definitely a get. No open toe, it will work at work. Hooray!


All shoes from thefryecompany.com.

Show!

  Last night was poker night.  I swear, even though I'm in a job where learning new things every day is a huge component and I love it, a new game is so much different.  Maybe because there is no such thing as a game.  Unless you call a fight to the death (or at the very least, the precipice of pride) a game.  But then I will slay you with my fearsome skills.  Such as revealing my awesome-o poker hand right before the final bet because I thought we were done with the round.   Argh!  Opportunity lost.

But when life gives you lemons make lemonade.  Or at least find a video on Youtube that is so hilarious, it makes tears stream down your face.

Manners!

On a scale of 1 to appalling, how bad is it to lick your thumb, press it in the crumbs from a delicious breakfast pastry and lick it, in full view of the general public at the local bakery. Yeah, I thought so. That's why I didn't do it although I really wanted to!

This past weekend, Mechen was out for a visit. It was awesome! I miss him so much and when he's here, I can't even believe that I get through my days without his (physical) presence. We do well with the phone and email, but I cannot wait until the long-distance days are behind us. Although it's still a long ways off!

So, Mechen came in late on Friday. I saw the baseball game, had a hot dog (yay!) and cotton candy (YAY!) and saw a great fireworks show after the game. It was pretty awesome, although there's no way you'd be able to tell by my iPhone photo. Damn shaky hands and smoky haze!

Saturday, Mechen and I went to the Mission for brunch. He ordered Papas Locos, an amazing mix of beans, crispy potatoes, avocado, egg, cheese, salsa. It ends up looking like a mess but it is so good! I got the French Toast, which is way more boring but we were splitting stuff and figured it was good to have a sweet carb-y dish and it was tasty!

We went to Coronado beach that day then went out to Bianco Rosso, a wine bar up the street in Hillcrest. Our waiter had the most RIDICULOUS Italian accent, to the point where we wondered if, really, was he just completely faking the funk. I had made reservations and when we arrived, we asked if we could wait for one of the two outdoor tables. The waiter promptly went outside and Mechen and I shot each other looks saying, "No, there's no way he's..."

He was. He kicked the people out from their table, "They have reeeeessserrrvations!" Granted, the girl had nothing in front of her and the guy had a bone-dry glass but oh.my. We did not see that one coming, except maybe with a sense of vague impending doom.

But it was delicious. And well-priced! We only meant to get appetizers but the portions were huge! The mixed bruschetta was amazing- four large pieces including tomato/pesto, tomato, lightly marinated mozzarella/pesto and fontina/mushroom. The meat and cheese platter was a little less impressive only b/c I wasn't a huge fan of the meats which were all sausage/salami variety, no prosciutto.

The next day, we had the best caramel soaked French Toast that was a combined effort. We made it the night before and Mechen dipped both sides of the bread in the caramel sauce. It totally elevated the dish. The bottom was a deliciously soft syrupy mouthful while the top had a crispy caramel glaze. Amazing! Later that day, we went to South Beach for some awesome-o fish tacos and delicious margaritas. Then we laid out on the beach for a little bit. Tons of SPF, never fear!

Monday, Mechen left in the afternoon...boo! We went to Bread and Cie for some pastries, which prompted the moral dilemma listed above. He made his flight and is now back in Norfolk safely. Happily, I get to see him in 1 and a half short weeks. Hooray for a business trip to DC!

Sport!

Every time I play softball, I always hum the "Put me in coach, I'm ready to play" song. And I just googled it and, in case you cared, the song is song by John Foggarty (really? unfortunately, I don't care enough to verify past the first Google hit).

Fortunately, I play softball rarely enough that I am saved from major nerd alert status. I played this Spring (terribly) and then the time before that was 7th grade. When I was probably getting major nerd alert status for other reasons.

This Friday, I'm going to a Padres game. Hooray! I love baseball games! Especially when I'm sitting in $14 seats for $12 AND I get a free hot dog and soda. Nosebleed seats hooray! Hot dogs, HOORAY!!! I don't normally eat hot dogs. Ever. Except at baseball games when I magically will away gross thoughts along the lines of, "What IS in a hot dog anyway. Especially a really cheap one?"

I haven't been to an American baseball game since the Colorado Rockies game about 2 years ago. The most memorable thing about that game was seeing the mile high demarcation line painted on the appropriate row of nosebleed seats. Seeing this was actually a disheartening experience b/c I thought Denver was the mile-high city, not just the tippy top portion of its stadium. Boo!

Book!

I re-read the most beautiful testament to love last night: On Alice by Calvin Trillin. It's a thin book that almost overflows with all the stories not told but what does shine through is his absolute, complete and beautiful love that he had for his wife Alice.

I love the shared experience of love. Whether it's the love I'm lucky enough to have in my own life or in some way share in another's life, I think it's a pretty awesome, amazing and lucky thing!

Usually love is a pretty positive thing. Assuming it's the real thing unlike, say, listening to Alanis Morisette and willing the phone to ring which may or may not have happened in my life circa 1996.

But positivity! Yes, that! It's a nice mindset and one I'd like to be in when I write in this blog. I feel like the first blog posts are always a little meta, but I hope to celebrate beautiful things, even if that joy encompasses everything from the deepest emotion to the superficiality of enjoying a truly brain-drain magazine like People. Although if you must know, I'm more of an US woman myself. Stars...they're just like US!

Tra-la-la!!!

So, April's come and almost gone. I'm now the oldest! I've! ever! been! after having a lovely birthday. I think it's pretty freaky to have my 20s almost behind me. Yikes! Although I like to think of myself as an adult, I've still retained the little kid notion of, "What? I could never be that old. That stuff is for other people."

But, I'm glad I'm here. I'm having the best time and completely loving life so if getting older comes along with that (and in fact, deepens my appreciation for how awesome life is) well, then, so be it.

I had an amazing time on vacation and then came back to...work. And it stunk. I barely operated this month since I was the juniorest junior on the blue team. There were four residents. Insanity. So I got to do a lot of scut work and got to watch others operate which is a little old since I've been doing that since I was a med student.

I also had a fair number of visitors this month. An awesome friend of mine from internship is coming to the hospital in July to start her cardiology fellowship. I hung out with her and her fiance one night and had the best time. I can't wait for her to come to San Diego, hooray!

Then the ship's surgeon came in last weekend for a conference. I saw her and her boyfriend. And their little dog, too! Pumpkin was very sweet and tres cute.

Three more days until I start my research months. Hooray!!!

Fall back, Spring forward!

Spring, Spring, I love Spring. I'm out on a deck in Suffolk, VA wearing a tee-shirt (and pants! never fear!) and it is the most perfect, beautiful temperature ever. Did you know a temperature could be beautiful? Me neither but once I'm in it, I remember.

Having a week off is such a tonic. I love having nothing to do, especially when I know it's a temporary thing. I do not think I could live the life of a lady of leisure, but it is quite nice to mimic it for a week.


I'm staying at this amazing home in Suffolk, which is owned by two people who are completely redoing it. And it looks like such a huge project. Originally, they wanted to open a B&B in the future, but I think that plan is shelved. But it's amazing to see a huge-scale project and all the effort and talent that goes into making it a success. The kitchen is absolutely beautiful (and done!)- amazing tilework, stone floor, granite counter tops (and not in a cheesy, "let me sell you a condo" type of way, just high quality, beautiful "Food and Wine" type of kitchen.


Tonight, I'm going to go to the Chrysler Museum of Art for Wine and Jazz, as long as Mechen gets off work in time. Well, I'm going to go early and check it out. Then, maybe, if they finish clutching in the port shaft (ha, ha, like I know what that means!), we'll go together.

Hi!

Where have I been? Ooooo, I know, I know! I've been busy with a whole lot of boring!

Yes, shockingly, the life of a junior resident is rather boring, at least on paper. I work a lot, woo-hoo! But things have been going really well and there are interesting stories but a medical blog- eh, that's the whole reason why I write a little bit now and then. To get away from the all-consuming medical-ness of my life.

But, after an insane-o start to the week, things are mellowing out and this weekend, I might even go for a hike. And finish all the little "to-do's" on my list so that my apartment is 100% ready-for-occupancy (read: host a dinner party without being embarrassed by my slob-o-ness). It's hard to get an apartment looking great when the bed is in the living room, but I think this week will be the week.

I'm also going on leave next week! Hooray! It's been a little while so it'll be great to get away. And then I have one more month before research which I can't WAIT for. Finally, I'll get some time to work on papers and still get to leave at an early time.

What would you do?

"AAAUUUUUUGGGGHHHHH, stop bleeding all over my laundromat McBleedy!"

I had just closed the level on a mega-washer that had a nice little niche for a finger until that niche was suddenly obliterated by the lever slamming into place as the door locked. Ow, ow, ow! My fingernail is ripped off almost halfway into the nailbed and I am bleeding. I'm grabbing dark items as I'm trying to make a fake bandage and I cannot believe what a bleedy, needy laundromat patron I've become. What if people think I'm trying to spread dangerous bloodbourne pathogens? I'm so embarrassed!

And I am convinced that somewhere, the owner or attendant is going to come up and start screaming about my ridiculous bleediness.

But instead, all I get is, "Do you want a bandaid?" I also get shown to the sink so I can wash off my bloody hand. Nice.

The laundromat is actually quite nice- clean with awesome-o machines that are super quick. So quick, I can't even write too long of an entry. Next time, I'll write about the awesomeness of receiving my household goods in my new place. It's like Christmas. I even found out that I owned a TV. Crazy!

Arcade Fire!

I am so excited! Arcade Fire is kicking off their Spring tour in San Diego on 26 April! I'm definitely going to see them and thus, heal the raw, vicious wound that has hurt my heart since last year.


You see, I love Arcade Fire. I love quirky bands with lots of instruments and a lot of AF's songs are awesome-o. They were playing in Tokyo last February and I went to see them. I would have been fine going by myself, but I thought it would be fun to go in a group. But two of my friends were late (I found out later they were actually a secret couple for months so I'm guessing they were making out, which I can hardly begrudge them for), which I was fine with because really, do concerts ever start on time?


Yes. They do. In Japan (of course).


So, we only saw TWO songs after a ridiculous trip with many subway switches and one memorable walk along an expressway until we decided that it was definitely not.the.way. I was very sad. And a little mad. Not so much at my friends, but at that completely non-rockability of the whole thing. A concert that starts on time? No opening act? A band that only plays for a hour and a half with a BREAK!?!?!?! (I have been spoiled by Springsteen, a 50+ year old who goes for at least two and a half hours).


But, Arcade Fire, I have forgiveness in my heart and now I'm so EXCITED to see you in San Diego.


And yes, I will be on time. Although it will likely not start on time here. Things are way less prompt here in the States, which is more consistent with my nature. When I first came back though, I would be completely bewildered- "Where's the bus? The timetable says it should be here now and it's NOT." Timeliness is not something to mess around with in Japan and here? Well, maybe it's just a little more mellow in California. But Arcade Fire is Canadian (actually Quebecois if I remember right) so really, all bets are off.


P.S. I finally added photos from my San Francisco trip!

Laryngitis!

I feel like the biggest lame-o. I have laryngitis. I've never lost my voice in my life, although I have to admit I tried my hardest around 6th grade-ish because I thought it would be "cool." On Thursday, I steadily lost my voice until it was gone, with the exception of the occasional squeak. Really now, an ENT resident loses her voice. How ridiculous is that? Shouldn't I have some sort of magical power to fix my ailment? The answer: no.

Things are going well otherwise. The inservice exam is on the 6th so I'm studying hard for that. It's an 8 (eight!) hour standardized test given annually to ENT interns and residents as yet another gauge to see how awesome/terrible a person is. Much scorn or praise given in the next year is based on the exam results. So, yes, I'm studying away.

I'm also finally getting my stuff on the 27th! Hooray! I am so excited. Last week, my place was still a disaster area but I shamed myself into cleaning it up after I brought Jenny in to show her my deck. We had brunch at Hash House a go go that morning and it was delicious! I highly recommend it as a breakfast spot. We split a chocolate macadamia nut pancake (amazing! And 12 inches around and no, we didn't finish it) and a homemade hash that was pretty good- sun dried tomatoes, potatoes and ham. I'm still a total fan of the traditional hash and eggs that my Mom makes though (Hi Mom! Kisses!).

Housing

Where have I been?!?!!? I know! Well, I moved into a new place and I haven't set up internet yet. But really, that's not a good excuse since I can get to Blogger at work too. But let me distract you from my blogging laziness by telling you about my new place!

Well, the University Heights deal completely fell through. Really, it was a slow unravel that was slightly protracted by my real estate agent's unflagging optimism. But my mortgage application was rejected after the HOA documents were received and the complex was, in a word, a mess. No budget, no reserve fund, and half the units were likely going to be placed on firesale since the developers are going bankrupt. So, even though it was a cute place and really well-designed, I think everything worked out for the best.

BUT. I had no place to live for 6 days. I moved out of my old place on the 9th, went to SF until the 11th. Then I had no place to live and I still hadn't heard yes/no. I really felt like a moron. How could I be a gainfully employed working professional and be of no fixed address?

So, I lived in the BOQ for a few days and then cat-sat for the weekend for my co-PGY2 who went up to Monterey with his wife. By cat-sitting, I had a place to live, hooray! But by Friday of that week I was set. Once again, I love Craigslist! I had been perusing the ads all week and Friday morning, found a little text only ad for a basement "in-law" flat with its own separate entrance. Although text only should raise a slight flag, I had a feeling that it may have been from someone not completely technically savvy but still pretty cool. And he was! I am renting a small apartment in the basement of a really nice house on the border of Banker's Hill and Hillcrest. It's completely finished and has a full kitchen. It's beautifully designed so it looks huge. Best of all, I have a private deck that overlooks an undeveloped canyon. I already bought my table, bench and chairs to take advantage of the awesome view.

Now, I just need my stuff delivered! I have an appt Tuesday to arrange for a delivery date, which probably won't be until early March since a portion of my belongings are still in Ft. Belvoir storage. Whatever. I've been without it this long so it's no big deal. It'll be like Christmas when everything is delivered though!

Wonky eye

*Sigh*  I was so proud of myself a few weeks ago when I transformed my car from a broken Pididle (one headlamp out) to a fully functioning, street-legal driving machine.  Yes, that's how I think of my Hyundai Accent, with all 103 ponies racing under that crazy hood.  

Last week, when driving in the fog while trying to find a pizza place where this awesome artist was playing, I realized that my car now has a wonky eye!  I guess you could call it a lazy eye but really, it's pure wonkiness.  Boo!   I was reminded last night after some fog rolled in and the problem was revealed again.  Maybe I should buy my car a pirate eyepatch for those tell-tale nights!

San Francisco

I was delaying this post until I could get my camera cable unpacked from my car (another post), but now that almost two weeks have gone by without an update, I think it's time to talk about my awesome trip to SF last weekend sans pictures. I will post them to FLIKR though, promise.

Last Friday, I went to San Francisco for a facial plating course. The course was awesome and I learned a ton. The nicest thing about the course is that it focused a lot on biomechanical forces and technical considerations in choosing surgical approaches to various fractures. It complemented a course I took earlier in the year at NMCSD that focused more on soft tissue approaches to the fractures (translation: don't jack the person up even more due to your surgical intervention). So if you have any questions about lag screws, load-bearing/load-sharing osteosynthesis, and assorted plates- I'm your girl! Now I just need to get into the OR and actually do it.

But the best perk to the course was that it was in San Francisco and I got an extra day added to the weekend for my "travel day." So, I took the soul-crushing, intensely time-consuming 1.5 hour flight up to SF as early as possible so I could be an uber-tourist. I went to the Embarcado and Mission neighborhood. The Embarcado Farmer's Mart is on Tuesday, but there are some fixed shops that are open all week so I did eat some cheese from Cowgirl Creamery, which I had read about in Food and Wine awhile back. I had two delicious cheeses, one similar to Manchego and the other a semi-soft Italian truffle cheese. Both were great and it was such a treat to be able to have a little gourmet cheese experience. Then I went to the Mission neighborhood and saw a lot of murals painted on various buildings and alleyways. The artistry was pretty amazing, especially having such a high concentration of highly talented street art.

After that, Chris and I met up downtown at the hotel but not before I made a quick stop-in to Fiona's Sweet Shoppe, a lovely closet of a shop specializing in British sweets. I bought grapefruit gummies and anise flavored hard candies. Yum!

Chris and I then took the trolley to Fisherman's Wharf. We were initially seated inside the trolley (boo!), but I talked the conductor into letting us do a quick Chinese firedrill at a light and we got to spend the rest of the time standing on the side plank, holding onto the pole. Awesome-o!

We only spent a few minutes at Fisherman's Wharf, then we wandered into North Beach where we had the best!meatball!sandwich!ever! Chris said it was so good, he didn't think he could tell his Sicilian mother for fear of offending her. Next we went to Coti Tower, followed by a hike up Lombard St. After that, we were pseudo-hungry so we walked to Chinatown and had some (so-so) dim sum. After Hong Kong, I think I may be ruined for any dim sum stateside. (I know, I'm so worldly, it almost pains me). We were cutting it close to our next reservation time, so we took a cab and hightailed it over to Bo urban & Branch, a terrific speak-easy themed bar complete with password! Chris had a delicious old-fashioned, and I had a great Bourbon based specialty drink. Our second round was not as successful as our first but that's ok because at least we were adventurous!

At that point, it was time for bed. My room was lovely, the bed comfy, and I fell asleep in about 2 seconds after required water downing as preventive measures.

The next morning, Chris and I met for a delicious, huge, FREE breakfast spread included with our room plan. Then we were off to the course. On Sunday, we had a little time afterwards and went to the Presidio but we were still a little walked out from Friday, so we were much more chill. Then we made it to the airport (barely) and headed to SD.

Ok, next post topic? My real estate debachle, with a surprise happy twist at the end!

Santa, Unicorns, Shamu

"Um, the question is 'What do not [redacted]?' Alec"

EXACTLY! I don't think there are any impressionable children who read this blog (please, no), but still, I can't type out the question but you KNOW what I mean. Yes, you do.

And how did I find out about this? Well, the first two belong in the land of childhood minor trauma but I felt the same way at age 28 when I realized that Shamu is a STAGEname for all killer whales at SeaWorld and that the original Shamu died in 1971. Unreal! I thought something was up when they were throwing the name Shamu around rather generically with the 3 killer whales were performing tricks. I mean, I know they know their animals but why would Shamu be doing everything while the other two slackers float around and eat fish again? So, I Wikipedia'd it during the show (I know!) and found out the truth. While sitting in the "Splash Zone" because I live on the wild side, yes I do!

Working Out!

My first year of med school, I lived with four guys in an Adams Morgan house. The whole situation emerged from Craigslist.org and emails so I'm lucky that I didn't live with a group of serial killers. Overall, they were nice guys although the condition of the kitchen and general "permanent acquaintance" level of our living arrangement led to tension by the end. I mean, really, just because you can place a piece of trash on a carefully balanced mountain emerging from the full trash can without causing it to fall over, doesn't mean you should say, "Ha! Someone else will have to take out the trash. Sucker. In your face!" Playing Jenga with the kitchen trash is not my idea of a good time.

But anyway, back to the title of the post. One day, my roommate whom I thought looked like a male Olive Oyl because he was so skinny and tall announced he was going to the gym. "Have fun getting buff!" I said.

"Buff-ER," he said, woundedly.

Well, really, I don't think his feelings were hurt until he saw the look that crossed my face at the response. I believe it was an expression of complete incredulity that he would actually be serious in thinking buff applied to him in any way. I didn't MEAN for that expression to cross my face- it just did.

Anyway, my fitness routine has been a little lackadaisical during my time in SD. I never really tried too hard to fit it into my new schedule. I mean, I did workout, just much less frequently than before. Although there's no permanent damage, in the spirit of all that is New Year's, blah, blah, blah, I've resolved to be better about the whole deal. (I'm actually a HUGE New Year's Resolution fan, just not on a blog).

PLUS, I need to start training for the Camp Pendleton Mud Run! I am so excited! I have wanted to do this ever since running a baby Mud Run (still 5 miles) at Little Creek, VA during my internal med rotation as a third year. Today, I went for a run near Sunset Cliffs and Cabrillo National Monument. It was great but WAY hilly. There was a particularly gnarly hill smack in the middle of the run. But I got through it.

At one point though, my heart was beating pretty quickly. It made me laugh because a workout dvd I've been doing recently has one section where the woman states she wants me to work so hard, I should feel like I am "gargling [my] heart." Eeewwwww! I haven't quite gotten to that point anytime in recent memory. Really, the only times may have been high school cross country and during the mud run in 2005. Competition does that to me. Although I never ran so hard that I threw up. I've come close on a few occasions, but that's a line I completely refuse to cross.

Happy New Year!

Yay, January 1st! I love the New Year. I love the opportunity to reflect on things, at least until I get distracted by something. I'm hungry, I'm thirsty, I'm sleeeeeee-py! I like to think about new resolutions and how much potential the New Year has. And I get to do it twice a year: once on 1 Jan and again in August when the new residency year starts.

Last night, I went to a party in downtown San Diego, which is not my normal scene but was an awesome, over-the-top party that felt very "New Year's-ish." I went with the nurse from the clinic and her sister and had so much fun. Champagne in the room, dancing downstairs and best of all, room service breakfast. I think anytime I'm at a hotel for a special occasion, I will order room service breakfast; it is that awesome. It was so decadent and fun. And pretty tasty!

So, today, I've been a little bit lazy. The highlight of my day was talking to my sister on the phone. She's off to Switzerland. So exciting! I think overseas adventures are the best and we decided to continue our tradition of visiting each other in places we live. I saw her in Spain, she came to Japan, and sometime in 2009, I'll head over to Switzerland. I'm not sure when, but it'll happen. For now, the only travel plans I have are San Francisco next weekend for a facial fracture plating course and a trip back East in February. Oh, and Colorado in July for an allergy course. I love my job!