Brunch and planning

Today was such a fun brunch with my friends.  I'm never quite sure what to say so I always half-jokingly refer to my lady-friends/girl friends/totally AWESOME people!  I'm not sure why I need descriptive qualifiers but in any case, I love my San Diego friends.  We've been getting together for the past 2-3 years now and today we had brunch at Cat and Gary's new place.  It's in Hillcrest and Cat made a killer chorizo/kale/egg strata and breakfast potato hash.  She also made French Toast, but I've been trying to keep my carb intake down due to the upcoming wedding with the tight bridesmaid dress.  I mean, I know strata has bread but at least it's a component rather than the main feature as it is in French Toast.

Gary was out-of-town so it was still just ladies.  It was so much fun with good food and great conversation although it was probably one of our weirder and deeper brunch conversation strings.  In no particular order, we covered cancer at a young age, rectal foreign bodies, horribly needy patients, combative autistic children and various relationship updates.  It was pretty medical but since we are all in the field in some form, I guess it makes sense.

Last night, Shelby, Zen, Mechen and I went to Wine Vault.  The food and wine was delicious.  The portions were extremely moderate and high-quality which was great on one hand and on the other...I arrived too hungry!  But we had so much fun and got along so well.  I'm a little sad because one of the main topics of conversation was how Mechen was leaving at the end of September for about 8-9 months.  He'll be back in SD next July or August but by that point, I'll be gone.  It's such a huge batch of mixed emotions because it's a GREAT job and promotion for him and I get to focus more on work and ending my residency on a strong note but it's really sad on a personal level because I never wanted to do long-distance again outside of deployments and now, here we are.  In addition, it's weird being in such a long-term relationship without being married, especially in the Navy where you don't get to stay together duty-station-wise unless you're married and even then, no guarantees.  Marriage has never been my biggest priority but it's becoming more important and there's just so much change in the next year that it's hard to process.  So, one day at a time and a little healthy compartmentalization should get me through.  Stressing about upcoming decisions isn't helpful, especially with such limited information. Things should shape up a little better when I talk to my specialty leader at the meeting in September.  In a change from what I thought prior, I now really do NOT want to go back to Japan so hopefully, that'll work out.  I hope I get Washington or Great Lakes but that remains to be seen.  It's definitely a stress I'm trying to tamp down for now.

Tomorrow is church, Book Club brunch and maybe beach?  I also rented The Dictator and Friends with Kids from Red Box so hopefully we'll watch at least one of them!

Awesome weekend!

The past weekend was so much fun.  Mechen and I totally recharged our batteries and had the most mellow, fun time.

Friday, I went to the Padres game with a group from work.  I brought pizza from BASIC which was well-received although I bought too much!  The game was ok, company better.  Inning 3 was particularly incredible as the Giants scored 8(!) runs.  I've never seen that- so terrible!  Not that I am encyclopedic in my baseball watching or even interest but it was pretty amazing.

Saturday, we got up and were pretty lazy in the morning after sleeping in until 10!  Then we went to Del Mar racetrack to see some of the races followed by Ben Harper.  He did a great cover of "Atlantic City" and had some good songs I wasn't familiar with but I was sad that he didn't play "Forever" or "Steal Your Kisses."  Maybe they bring up bad memories for him but that's really all the Ben Harper I know.  We followed up the Race Track with a trip to Pizza Port, which was much needed grease to absorb some of the beer we drank!

Sunday, we woke up, went to church and then had a delicious brunch!  We made Papas Locos, a dish modified from The Mission.  It is Mechen's specialty.  Breakfast potatoes boiled then sauteed with bacon and onions topped with scrambled eggs, avocado, cheese, Greek yogurt, homemade heirloom tomato salsa fresca (off the hook!) and jalepenos.  Then we took a nap followed by the beach and surfing.  Dinner was lighter but we ate out on the deck which was awesome.

So, basically, the weekend was really chill and North County focussed.  I didn't come down to SD once, which was great to take a break from the car.  Although we're not driving ourselves crazy, we're trying to take advantage of the little North County time we have remaining. 

Catch up, Wrap Up!

Mechen and I just had a great weekend.  We’ve been going to the beach more often.  Yesterday, we played paddle ball and watched the sunset.  We also had ricotta pancakes for dinner, although now that I type this, I realize they were quark-substituted-for-ricotta pancakes and they were delicious!  Brunch was DE preceded by a contemporary worship service.  It was a little too woo-woo for both of us, but I’m glad we’re going to church together.  

This week, I’m off to Ft. Lauderdale for a military medical research conference.  I’m excited to meet other people involved in the research machine- I’m not totally sure if I’ll ever be completely into research but it’s a good opportunity to show off my project, meet new people and get more information.  And all in the awesome location of a beachfront hotel!!!

Summer recap

July and early August has been a lot of fun.  It’s been an adjustment to be on call so frequently.  Not that I’m in the hospital all that much, but I always have to plan for the possible interruption.  In addition, I wish my weekends were a little freer but oh well, it’s what chief year calls for and I’m definitely excited to be a chief.

So far, my cases have been awesome.  I feel like my skills are pretty sharp and I’m honing the finer details.  Even otology cases are going fairly smoothly although I still have a lot work to do.  In addition, I’d like to polish my plastic surgery skills.

In terms of events, “Zedna” had a Bastille Day party that was a lot of fun.  There were some great couples there and it’s so nice to meet new couples and talk to them.  It’s weird- I feel like a lot of childless couples I meet have eclectic interests and topics of conversation which couples with children talk about...their children.  I’m sure that will happen to me if I eventually have kids.  I do agree with one woman that I met though, who said that she wasn’t sure how hard she would try to have kids if trying naturally didn’t work out.  I am leaning more towards that direction- I don’t have a huge interest in fertility drugs, IVF, etc.

I also went to a few concerts in the park in Coronado.  Shelby, Zen and I went to Davanti Enoteca on 8/21 which was delicious!  We had the marscepone polenta and daily ragu, grilled octopus, salad and the ricotta/honeycomb spread.  Delicious!   And Zen and Shelby are so much fun to hang out with.  In addition, I had the recent bonus find of discovering this past weekend that there is a DE in Del Mar Heights!!!  Mechen and I had brunch there and it was SO good!  We split a pork belly hash/poached egg dish and “Italian” Toast.  Yum-o!.  There was also a make-your-own-Bloody-Mary bar which was pretty awesome and reminded me of Cafe A in New Orleans.

Other highlights include surfing a few times, house-sitting at Suzi’s, Laddie coming to visit for the weekend, hanging out with Tawnne (Station, local wine bar) and Cat (Hannah’s Place, yummy bar in Hillcrest), going to Bar Cueva and seeing Step Up Revolution 3D with Tawnne and Colleen (so much fun!).  Afterwards, Tawnne and I went to The Office and danced up a storm!

Family Reunion

 I came home on the 4th of July and Mechen picked me up from the airport.  We went home only to leave the very next day for the Tierney family reunion.  We spent 5-8 July in NJ.  On the 5th, we met up with the family for dinner at Navesink.  The next day, Mechen, Brady, Dad and I went into NYC.  We went to Ground Zero, a sushi restaurant and the Met.  Ground Zero is hard to write about- even on the grounds, it’s difficult to figure out what to say or even what to talk about.  I’m so glad I went but even still, everything I even want to try and say sounds so banal.

At the Met, we mainly focused on the Egyptian wing and the late 18th century painters.  We saw the Temple of Dendur, which was pretty amazing.  It’s a gift to the people of the U.S. and the government decided that the Met was the best place to display the permanent exhibition.  I also recognized it from one of the last scenes in When Harry Met Sally.  The Met guide was funny because there’s a portrait of George Washington, in which he looks like he just smelled a particularly ripe fart.  Brady and I laughed about it a lot.

That evening, we went to the Brothers for dinner and met up with the extended family.  The next day was a beach day followed by a lobster dinner.  Mechen helped my parents set up earlier in the day which was much appreciated/major brownie points.  The next day was a slow start and we had breakfast with the immediate fam (save Joe) and then headed to the airport.  It was a great mini-trip.  I was really happy to get back and make preparations for the beginning of chief year.

Notes from a TDY, Part 4: Homeward Bound

After the Samar working port, we headed to Subic Bay for one evening of fun before heading to Manilla and home.  Melissa and I had organized a DSS happy hour that was awesome.  It was at Pier 1, a large outdoor bar and the food was delicious.  The night was a lot of fun although I had too much to drink and would have been late to the ship if not for my friend Ty who assumed the camp counselor role.  Fortunately, I made it up the next morning and headed out the door, almost forgetting all of my electronics in my sleepy, still intoxicated haze.

Manilla was pretty cool.  We stayed at the Shangri-La in Makati City.  We went to a Dampa to follow in the footsteps of Anthony Bourdain.  We ate a ton of seafood that we picked out in the stalls and then had the restaurant cook it up.  It was so cool!  Picking our seafood and prep methods was a unique experience and I’m so glad we did it.  Then we went shopping across the street at a large emporium of all Phillipino craftwork.  After spending about an hour there, we headed back to the hotel where I had a massage and facial at the hotel spa.  We went out for dinner at a mall with very high outer perimeter security.  The food was delicious and I had another piece of fish, lapu-lapu- a local white fish.  Then we headed back, slept and started homeward the next morning.  The layover in Narita made me miss Japan.  I’m not sure if I’ll ever get stationed there again but I wouldn’t be opposed to it!

Notes from a TDY, Part 3: Philippines Recap

Whoa, time flies.  The Philippines mission port is complete and it was pretty intense.  I participated in two SURGCAPS, one SMEECAP and lots of surgeries.  Overall, the surgeries were really satisfying and we had some great cases.

  

My favorite case was the thyroglossal duct cyst case.  Not only is it a relatively infrequent operation due to the rarity of the condition, it was an awesome story of luck and being able to help a young girl.  I met her and her mother at the second SURGCAP.  She was the second-to-last (penultimate?  too grandiose?) patient of the day.  She was getting an ultrasound and I was waiting around for my last patient.  We had run out of papers and hadn’t even registered anyone for the past hour.  Many of the other providers had already left to go walk the nearby streets for snacks, souvenirs, etc.  The Mom was really distraught when I said that we wouldn’t be able to help.  Not in a histrionic sense but in a tears-welling-in-the eyes/look of defeat that really made me sad.  I decided to take her phone number just in case something opened due to a last minute cancellation. I emphasized that it was extremely unlikely to happen.  

The next day, I was reconciling the patient tracker to the next day surgery schedule when I noticed that a patient wasn’t on board.  I had a LCDR who spoke Tagalog to call the patient and it worked out to have the patient come on board the next day.  I was really worried since she had no i.d. but I had sent a picture of her ashore and the beach det spread the word and it all worked out!  She had surgery that day and was sent home two days later.  The surgery went perfectly and we did an excellent Sistrunk procedure.  The Mom was borderline catatonic- I think because she was so overwhelmed.  Even the last day, when it was clear they were both really happy, their affect was really flat.  I mean, they were appreciative but it was clear that while this was a stroke of fortune, life was really tough for them.  It was a reminder to me that, while the compliments and appreciation that come with the job are nice, the real satisfaction needs to come from within me.  It goes back to childhood when my parents would tell me to “just do your best.”  If I give my best effort in preparing my knowledge base, sharpening my skills and staying engaged in all aspects of patient care, I can be happy knowing that it’s a job well-done.  And I think that’s important given that medicine is imperfect and there will be complications and/or difficult patients and while I’m sure I won’t be in the best mood that day, at least it won’t send my entire self-worth as a physician crumbling down.

Anyway, we also did a few thyroids, parotids and skin lumps and bumps.  We did an awesome lateral neck mass excision which turned out to be a pleomorphic adenoma with carcinoma ex in situ.  So that was life-saving!  Awesome!