What makes me feel cool...

Maybe it's just me, but sometimes a get a smirky feeling of self-satisfaction when I feel a little bit ahead of the coolness curve.  I think, "Ooo, see!  I am still a little hip and cool!"  Now, using the word "hip" and feeling smirky may seem to be hipster, which I'm pretty sure I'm not.  Or maybe I'm just super meta.

BUT, I would point you to my February post on Revlon Lip Butters.  They seem to be all the rage now- that, or Revlon is excellent at its own form of product placement on various blogs and Twitter.

ANYWAY, things are going pretty well.  I have a bag of toiletries on the Mercy stowed away, which is great since that will save many pounds in my bag.  I feel compelled to point out that these are pretty basic toiletries- body wash, shampoo (maybe even a 2 in 1, I can't remember), toothpaste, etc.  It's just all those liquids and semi-liquids are HEAVY and I will already be loading quite a bit in my bag.  Plus, those products will hopefully be all used up so I don't have to worry about needing room in my bag to bring them back.

I'm really looking forward to the Mercy mission and I'm also looking forward to JazzFest.  I hear it's awesome and I am feeling the need for a vacation!  Following our New Orleans vacation, Mechen and I will head out for a mini-Southern road trip to visit his grandmother.  I hope I can find my "Road Bingo" cards again!

Week 14

This weekend was so much fun! The week ended on a great note because my tympanic membrane perforation healed on its own after some mildly painful manipulation in clinic! Hooray! No surgery for me! So instead of being the patient, I got to operate and watch some really interesting pediatric cases. So, Friday was a pretty banner day. That night, I just chilled out at home while Mechen was on his golfing man date.

Saturday was a pretty awesome day too. It was very me-me-me since I felt very indulgent. I went to SPX, ran 4 miles, had a steam/massage/sauna at Sante Day spa and finished up with a pedi/brows at Noble Nails in Encinitas. The only thing I didn't do was nap although I was pretty close on the massage table a couple of times!

Then, I went to Blue Ribbon to put our names on the list for our couples double date with Cat and Gary. This proved key since our in-person wait was only 5 minutes while the total wait from when I put our names on the list was almost 90 minutes! We all got along really well and the food was awesome. We had the tuna crudo and bruschetta for appetizers. We split three pizzas- the Whole Hog (more pork than you could imagine), the Seasonal special (goat cheese, "nutless pesto" [snicker], prosciutto and mozzarella) and the Signature with arugula. DEEEELICIOUS! We then split a butterscotch pudding four ways which good thing we weren't germaphobes (and that no one had a cold!).

After Blue Ribbon, we went to Encinitas Ale House where we all got taster flights of beer. We all tried a Nitro processed beer, which we all thought was quite smooth. The rest were a smattering of different types but it was really a lot of fun. I had an "eh" Belgian gold, an interesting sour beer and a local porter from Green Flash which was tasty.

Today, we went to Jenny's for brunch which is the third time I've been for her Easter egg-stravaganza (oh ho ho!). The food was awesome. Before brunch, we went to the Presbyterian Church of Solana Beach that both Mechen and I really liked. I definitely think we'll be back!

This afternoon was a very lazy time of watching the Masters, which was excellent and quite exciting. We were both glad Bubba Watson won! Now, I'm off for a run that won't even dent my total caloric intake from chocolate today! We're going to have corned beef and cabbage tonight since weekend nights are the only time that I have to simmer without having dinner at 10 p.m.

I'm also busy planning for the Mercy trip. I'm trying to think of things I liked having on the Hawk and making sure I bring them, within reason. I am SO excited about this Summer!

Mercy!

Woo-hoo! After keeping my fingers crossed, I heard this week that I will be able to go on the USNS Mercy this Summer for 6 weeks. Yay, yay, yay! While I still need to get all of my paperwork in order and there could be a possible unforeseen snag somewhere along the way, it's looking pretty good that I will get to do surgery and run ENT clinic in Indonesia and the Philapines. Maybe I'll even become a shellback! I bought my uniforms last night. I had to buy two pairs of coveralls- I didn't keep mine from the Kitty Hawk- and a pair of NWUs. I'm planning on wearing the coveralls on the ship since I think they're much more comfortable.

While I'll miss a few things that I was looking forward to like Mom and Dad visiting San Diego and my 10th (!) Williams College Reunion, this is an opportunity I do not want to pass up. International work is something that I've always wanted to do and now everything has lined up for this to happen! I can't wait!

Week 13

AKA, my birthday weekend! Actually, I had a small amount of birthday fatigue just before my birthday mostly because I was a little cranky and just needed nap- or at the very least, a good night’s sleep.

The weekend before my birthday, though, was pretty awesome. The aforementioned crankiness only hit on Sunday. Anyway, that Saturday, we went out on a bar crawl through North Park. It was organized by Matt and included a fair number of his MBA classmates. By the end, there were a fair number of Michelle’s friends though- Brooke, Cat, Colleen and her husband Izzy and me and Mechen! We started at URBN (where they hate the letter “A!”) and had pizza and beer. It only got better at West Coast Tavern where there was more beer and even better, an awesome Bloody Mary. We then went to Touranado followed by Ritual Tavern, which was much smaller than I expected. They have special events there that I’ve seen posters for and I just thought it would be bigger. Oh well, wrong! We ended up at El Take It Easy where I had ridiculously overpriced but delicious ramen. Hey, it was fancy ramen! Then Mechen and I split off and went to Extraordinary Desserts. It was a really fun day but I still feel totally beered out. I wasn’t hung over but I just felt so full. I think beer is slightly tough on my stomach even in smaller amounts. But I do like it- not just the taste but also, the ability to hang out and have a beer. I feel that connotes a more laid-back demanor and chill attitude than being a girl who “doesn’t drink beer.” I know this is ridiculous but still, it’s the association I make in my head.

The next day, Mechen and I made the bike ride to Torrey Pines and hiked the trails. It was so much fun! I felt very fit and North County! It was a 10 mile ride one way and the hike was gorgeous. We stopped at The Secret Cafe in Del Mar, a cute place with sidewalk seating that focuses on Brazilian cuisine. It was delicious! We had a pork sandwich and turkey sandwich prepared similarly. We split half-sies and it was so tasty!

The next day was my BIRTHDAY! Any ennui that I felt the night before was gone! I had a great day in the OR and managed to get out the hospital around 4:15. My car was no longer street legal since the registration had expired 3/26 so I went to get an oil change and smog check. Guess who had no oil and a filthy filter? This girl’s car! Whoooo, way to get my money’s worth! Kidding! I know, bad me, just b/c Bluey is rapidly approaching beater status doesn’t mean I should kick it and abuse the poor car. And bonus, my engine doesn’t rattle anymore (that was only going on for a couple of days. really!).

Then, I picked Mechen up at Santa Fe Depot. Oh, the Coaster, you’re the best! We went to Enoteca Devanti which was awesome! At first, we had planned to go to The Pearl so I could get a free entree. I liked the idea of a restaurant rewarding my birthday, yeah! But then I decided I wanted something different and I had heard amazing things about Enoteca so off we went with a pre-dinner stop at Starlite for drinks and happy hour appetizers, which consisted of a white fish salad on rustic bread and beer-battered fried mushrooms. Both were delicious and we drank Kentucky Colonels. Mmmm, I love you Starlite but I wasn’t craving your menu that night so off to Enoteca!

Enoteca was delicious! Jenny and Tawnne had been there and we basically got their recommended dishes. We had ricotta cheese mixed with honeycomb on rustic bread. This dish was awesome! I love the slightly sour taste and charred crustiness of the bread. Although neither of those two characteristics sound like they would be a good thing, OMG. It was so good. We also had a beef carpaccio on greens with cheese that was good but paled in comparison to the other two dishes. Plus, the cheese was so sharp that it overwhelmed the delicate carpaccio. But, still good!

Oh, but the best dish was the mascarpone polenta with the daily ragu, which was pork shoulder that night. A delicious, creamy polenta with a hearty ragu prepared separately then spread out onto a wooden serving board. The polenta was the base layer with the ragu in the middle. It was amazing. We ate almost all of it and were going to take a perfect lunch-sized portion home but someone who was in charge of remembering may have forgotten due to the haze of two birthday Chianti glasses. Oh well, more reason to go back!

When we got home, I saw a beautiful bouquet of flowers with a present underneath! Mechen is the most thoughtful! I loved the flowers with gorgeous, velvety roses, trumpet lillies and star lillies. The present was an owl pillow that I had like in a Solana Beach shop. He topped it all off with the sweetest card. It was an awesome birthday!

Weeks 11 & 12

Whew! I have been loving life recently and not blogging at all! I’m glad I have my calendar to remind me of everything. It’s not that I forget things, but I do forget the order in which they happened.

St. Patrick’s Day weekend was a little bit of a bust since I couldn’t take advantage of SPD being on a Saturday because I was on call. While this sounds unhealthy to acknowledge that I otherwise would have stuffed myself full of Shepards’ Pie and drank my face off, I cannot tell a lie. But I did go to a “Lassie’s St. Patrick’s Day” party which was a lot of fun. I went with a former resident to a VA CRNA’s house and it was a really nice group of people. There was good food, fun people and Michelle and I made up a sweet limerick that won second place (aka, nothing!). That Sunday, Mechen and I went to Blue Ribbon. *Swoon* I will really miss that place when we move. [No move is pending, just residency ending in 15 months, notthatImcounting.]

The next weekend was similarly mellow since I was on call again, but Brady did have a nice farewell lasagna dinner here at the house. A lot of our mutual friends and her book club friends came and it was so much fun. Housekeeping tip of the day: it helps to have regular brunch and dinner parties since it keeps me on my toes to keep the house clean. Not that it would fall into the depths of filth, but still. Company can be a powerful motivator for clean!

That Monday, we went to the Hunger Games. Awesome! The next day, Brady left. Not awesome! But I am so happy for her that I can’t be TOO sad even though I really miss her. It was so much fun to have her here.