Amazing weekend!

What a crazy awesome Thanksgiving 2013!

On Thursday, I had a pretty full day.  I played flag football for about an hour and a half in the morning. It was a lot of fun and I was in a couple of key plays.  Granted, I was playing on the kids team with a few parents so the competition level wasn't high, but it was a lot of fun.  It was also incredibly windy, which sort of cut things off a little sooner than they otherwise would have.

After lunch, I got ready for my first Thanksgiving dinner.  I made a quick stop at AVE and bought pillows for the Etsy covers I bought.  They look awesome on the couch (couch before and after coming soon!).  Then I went over to Doug and Rose's.  I made an awesome Thanksgiving sandwich.  Unfortunately, Doug had gotten called in so I didn't see too much of him.  I hung out for about two hours and then headed out to Shiori for Thanksgivingkuh!

Movember!

Ha, ha.  I cannot grow a mustache.  Thank god.  But even if I could (and again, thank goodness no), I would not participate in the ridiculousness of Movember (Mustache+November).  For many, many, many people, mustaches are not a good look.  Definitely all ladies and lots of men.  Especially men in the Navy that have to follow uniform grooming standards so they have these truncated little mustaches. Blech.

But what, do you ask, has happened in November for me?  Thank you for asking!  Part of my honeymoon extended into November (yay!) and now I'm back, hard at work.  Work, speaking of, has been pretty great.  I had 5 cases on Thursday, was done at 1430 and had really good outcomes for all the patients.  It was a highly satisfying day.  I wish there were more of them but, eh, I'll take what I can get!

This week is, of course, THANKSGIVING!  I love the food and I am going to THREE Thanksgiving dinners- yeah!  Go me!  On Thursday, I will go to Rose and Doug's for linner than Adam and Jen for dupper (supper + dinner).  At Adam and Jen's, I will eat Kosher turkey so maybe being more pure leads to fewer calories?  Here's hoping!

On Friday, I have my nerd alert Thanksgiving potluck that Jenn is throwing and all of our favorite surgeons and sig o's (except SMS *sad face*) will be there.  The texts were flying last week and I suspect that dinner may actually be the best!

I have also organized the apartment a little more.  All of my textbooks are now at work and I disposed of a bag and a half of sentimental memories (read: crap).  It was borderline cathartic to get rid of stuff and the guest room is much cleaner, although still a total bomb.  I'm on track to be done before SMS arrives, which will be nice.  I really want to welcome him to a nice home, not a flat with a decidedly transient air.

Finally, I have read TWO books this weekend!  I'm going on a little fiction binge before reading ENT again in preparation for the oral boards.  I read The Magicians by Lev Grossman and The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling.

The Magicians was described to me as a "Harry Potter in College," which is sort of true.  The Harry Potter-ish parts were cool as I'm a sucker for imaginative stories about magic.  The College part was not- it reminded me a lot of The Marriage Plot by Jeffery Eugenides, which features three insufferable, inwardly myopic early 20-somethings that feel parroting post-Modernist philosophers to be the height of intellectual sophistication.  BTW, this may have been me circa 2000 but med school beat so much of my liberal arts sophistication out of me.  MEMORIZE THE KREBS CYCLE!  NOW!  BETTER YET, YESTERDAY!!!

The Casual Vacancy was quite good.  JK Rowling is a very talented story-teller.  The main plot line sort of flashed to a brilliant, although sad, conclusion at the very end.  It was a bit of a bait-and-switch since there was a seemingly more obvious storyline, but a key event at the end had one storyline jump out, apart from the rest.  But the weird thing is, there is still so much that needs to play out although the book has ended.  It wasn't a cliff-hanger, but so many lives and family dynamics were described that would still continue to play out even after the conclusion of the one plot line.  It's amazing how the families were brought to life.  While I don't need to know exactly what happens, it's fun that characters were so well-developed that I can think about what would happen after the small glimpse that the book allows.  So, while this book is not in the Parthenon of my favorite books, it's well done and I would recommend it.

Great News!!!

Woo-hoo!  I passed my written boards!  This is such awesome news.  I thought I had passed my boards but I've been surprised by exam results in the past so I was relieved when I clicked open the email this morning!

My Dad pointed out that I've done a lot this year and when I think about it, it's true!  In 2013, I've gotten engaged, married, graduated from residency, moved to Japan, started as a staff physician and passed my written boards.  Also, I've gone on tons of awesome vacations.  I definitely have a lot to be thankful for on Thanksgiving (and every day)!

I can't wait for SMS to be here!  Then my happiness will be complete!

Honeymoon- Part 2!

As nice as Kauai was, Waikiki was wonderful.  Yes, it's touristy and built-up but everything is just so easy.  It's like the perfect vacation where nothing has to be thought about but there's still plenty to do apart from lying on the beach, turning into a bored leather bag.  We both loved it and it was such a mellow, awesome time.

We arrived in Oahu and rented a car for $15/day.  Srsly.  I couldn't believe it.  Parking was more expensive or at least it was until SMS got us a military discount!  We got up to our room that had the most amazing view and got ready for dinner.  We went to Marukame Udon for dinner.  It was delicious and nice to walk around Waikiki.  We had tried to go to Duke's (I know, SO touristy) but it was packed so we decided to go the soup route to help SMS get over his cold.

The next day was so much fun!  We met up with Marissa and Blake for an Oahu adventure.  We met at Boots N Kimo for breakfast where SMS and I split macadamia pancakes and a yummy egg dish.  Then we went on a hike that SMS really wanted to do.  It was the Olo'hana hike and the views were awesome.  It was a bit of a scramble at the top and there were some spots that had ropes tied in for assistance.  It was awesome!  Afterwards, we went to the Kalapawai Cafe, which was the cutest cottage cafe.  SMS split a sandwich and we had delicious coffee.  We hung out for a bit then headed towards Waikiki.  We hadn't eaten a lot at lunch because we were saving room for poke at Fresh Catch, which was absolutely delicious.  Then we grabbed mochi ice cream at Bubbies.  We relaxed in Waikiki for a bit before heading out to a late dinner at 12th Ave Grill.  The food was good but there was a lilikoi mochi cake for dessert that was unbelievable.

The next morning, we headed to the Moana Surfrider Hotel to have delicious Kona coffee in a French press at the Honolulu Coffee company.  We also had an acai bowl.  I've had two in my life and this was definitely not my favorite but the coffee was absolutely amazing.  Then we went surfing for an hour and a half.  SMS was really good.  I wasn't as good but I blame my le tired shoulders.  It's a lot of paddling to get out to the Waikiki break!  Then we lay in the sun and napped.  It was awesome.  For lunch and dinner, we went to House Without a Key for both.  The food there is so good and I had my obligatory pina colada!

The next morning, our (Hawaiian) honeymoon was drawing to a close.  We had Kona coffee in the room and then I  dropped SMS off.  I went back to the hotel and took a nap.  Then I went and lay out on the beach- sometimes the draw of turning into a handbag is too strong!  I checked out of the hotel and then had lunch at House Without a Key.  My cheeseburger was delicious!  I went stand-up paddleboarding and then showered at the Hale Koa.  I went to the airport where I had more of the delicious USO cookies before heading off to my flight.  Although I made it one last action-packed day, I really missed SMS!

Honeymoon- part 1!

I was so excited about our honeymoon!  I was unsure whether to call it a "vacation" or a "honeymoon" since it was a few months after our wedding but we were celebrating our marriage so honeymoon it was!

We had the best time.  We initially booked our tickets to/from Honolulu based on SMS' class schedule. Then, once things settled down after boards, we started planning what we wanted to do.  There were definitely a few things we wanted to do on Oahu, but we decided to go inter-island.  Maui was briefly mentioned but ultimately, we decided on Kauai.

I arrived in Honolulu first, several hours ahead of SMS.  So, I went and got my nails done so that my feet looked good in flip-flops!  I took a cab there, a bus back and got to the airport right when SMS got there.  He was waiting in the USO (my favorite place!).  This USO in particular had AMAZING cookies, although I learned that SMS is not a fan of shredded coconut.  Yum, more for me!  We headed over to the local air terminal and caught our flight for Hawaii.

We ate at Mark's Place for lunch that had local plate specials.  The salmon was amazing!

Beautiful Nepali Coast!

We stayed at a great apartment that I found through VRBO.  It was in Hane'a, just a little west of Hanalei.  I had really wanted to stay on the North Shore.  It was beautiful and a short walk from Tunnels Beach.  That night, we went to BARacuda and had a Spanish tapas themed meal.

Our hike.  Top right shows SMS near the death tally sign for people who
drowned at the beach.  He is very attune to safety and things one can die from!

The next day, we walked on Tunnels Beach, had pulled pork for lunch and went to Ke'e Park to watch the sunset over Napali Coast.  It was a very mellow paced day.  We had a totally opposite day the next day when we did an 8 mile hike along the Napali Coast and inland a bit to the gorgeous Hanakap-ai waterfall.  It was a great hike, but we were starting to feel the effects of not enough food by the end!  That night, we had a huge meal at Chicken in the Barrel to make up for it.  Yes, the place is as classy as it sounds but had great BBQ!

The next day, we took a driving tour around Kauai.  We stopped at Old Time Coffee and I had the most delicious maple cinnamon latte.  We saw Waimea canyon.  It's so awesome and beautiful.  SMS said that it does look like a "Little Grand Canyon" as all the Kauai literature says.  We got shave ice in town and then headed to barking sands for some beach time with snacks (very important).  We also went to a coffee farm and chocolate stand.  We got puka dogs for a late lunch (delicious!) and had leftovers for dinner once we got back to the apartment.

SMS was feeling a little under the weather so the next day, we headed to Oahu earlier in the afternoon than we originally planned.  We had a quick beach visit after eating at the Sunrise Cafe for brekkie.  Then I had a second delicious coffee at Old Time coffee and SMS had really good el pescador tacos from a food truck across the street.    Then is was back to Oahu for a Waikiki vacation, coming up in Part II!

Coming attractions!

Ooo, I have so much to report!  It'll be brief tonight because I'm really tired and I want to write good posts.

First, all of our furniture arrived and I am mostly unpacked.  The bad news is that I have delayed so long in posting that the apartment is messy again.  Whah.  Second, SMS and I had an awesome honeymoon.  Hawaii is wonderful and it was so great to see him again.

I also had a fun weekend outing right before the honeymoon that involved Godzilla, a croquet/par 3 golf/putt putt hybrid game and ramen.  Finally, I need to post a before and after of the couch SMS and I got reupholstered.

But for now, I am le tired.  But I will write more soon with pretty pictures.  Yay!