Week in Review

The rest of the week was pretty awesome.  On Tuesday, I met up with a few friends (+1 new friend) in La Jolla to celebrate two birthdays.  We met at WHISKNLADLE first for drinks.  I like the bar there but it's not that conducive to groups over three.  We were five and interested in eating but since it was Restaurant Week and WL is pretty popular, we were out of luck there.  I quickly brought up opentable.com on my phone and found that Herringbone had availability.

I was so excited!  I had seen the restaurant after book club and thought it was the cutest place, even though I had no idea what it was.  It looks like a little cottage with trees inside.  I feel like a bit of an idiot admitting this but I love the idea of magical realism.  Trees inside, gothic decor- it just provides the coolest ambience.  And I got to go there shortly after noticing it!  Awesome!

We sat in the back- the restaurant was much bigger than I realized.  We had a great view of the glassed-in kitchen and the bar.  I had the risotto balls (good but nothing crazy special) and an excellent seared albacore with an incredible cauliflower sauté with capers, raisons and just so full of flavor.  It complemented the fish perfectly and I loved it.  Then, Amy and Casey got special birthday treat plates which was cute and a really nice touch.  Happy Birthday was written on the plates with a  hazelnut frosting.  It was a nice way to make the birthday girls feel special.

Wednesday, I slept through the night.  Thursday was a Mercy reunion at Craft & Commerce.  I ended up talking to people at the bar for awhile b/c I thought my friends weren't there but surprise!  They were just hiding behind a wall (there are lots of partitions in the restaurant).  I had a great time catching up- I still feel so awesome that there were such a great group of people out on the Mercy this Summer.  Definitely people I want to continue to stay in touch with.

Last night I felt a little depleted so I stayed in, started organizing my bags of crap I moved into my place and just kind of recharged for the weekend.  I'm on call.  Today, I'm going to Pilates, getting my brows done and getting a mani-pedi with Cat and Edna.  After that mini-spa like morning, I'm going to TRY and finish moving out of the Cardiff home.  At the very least, make a good-size dent so that tomorrow will just consist of a carload or two.  Sunday will be a long run with the book club girls and finish organizing.

I also reserved the rooftop for Greg's and my wetting down Oct 20.  I need to figure out what to do in regards to food b/c I can't cater without paying a fee or using the restaurant downstairs.  Thinking cap...on!

My first hash!

Well, the move is almost complete in terms of moving to my apartment.  Now I need to get the rest of the stuff from the house into the storage unit.  There's more than I thought and I think I'm going to get rid of the full-size bed in order to allow for the kitchen boxes.  I was thinking of getting a bigger unit but I think I'd rather work with the space I have now.  But then again, what if I have a guest bedroom in the future?  Oh, decisions!  Well, I put an ad up on Craigslist and I'll see if there are any offers.

Apart from the fascinating details of my scintillating move, I had such a fun time over the weekend and Monday night.  On Saturday, I moved in and showed off my place to some of my friends before we went to Imperial House for drinks.  The bar is pretty hilarious.  There's a keyboard/synthesizer player Rick Lyon who performs in several sets.  I need a picture at some point because currently, words fail me.  But he did sing "Time After Time" in his raspy voice and that was pretty awesome.  Sunday was pretty restful although full of activity.  I rounded, went to church, went to a friend's pool (I had to jump in and drag a little girl to the side who was starting to get in some serious trouble although she didn't go under) and went to book club that night.  We read "Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese which was incredible.

Monday, though, was the highlight of my week so far.  I went to my first hash run!  I went with a bunch of the book club girls and it was great.  The people were super rowdy and it reminded me a LOT of rugby.  The run was great with a few beer/water stops and I ran really fast.  I talked with a few people while running and sometimes ran on my own.  The brewery was one I hadn't heard of and pretty delicious- Hess brewery in Miramar.  There was a Saison beer with figs that was amazing.    Afterwards, there was singing and points of order.  I was introduced twice and the whole group seems pretty awesome.  I'm definitely going back!

Moving Day!

What better way to celebrate one of the hottest days in San Diego ever than to move!  I am definitely my father's daughter.  For whatever reason, our leases were always up in August so there were three moves with a UHaul in the Washington, DC area heat.  That was terrible!  Fortunately, I have a lot less crap than a family with four kids so it should be a shorter move.  I'm moving a few pieces of furniture into my new apartment/room and then moving some furniture that I want to keep into storage.

I pause when I consider storage.   Would I actually know if I lost the stuff that's in there?  In this particular case, it's warranted because I can store some of my awesome furniture that I got in Japan, my outdoor equipment, my ski stuff and winter gear.  But still, it always seems like an exercise in excess.

Most of the little stuff is moved in to my new place.  Famous last words since crap always accumulates but I think I'm not underestimating too, too badly.

This week was pretty atypical because I was in DC for the AAO-HNS meeting.  I went to a few really good talks and panels, hung out with my brother and saw a co-resident's talk.  I also made a quick visit to Karen in Pittsburgh before the conference started.  It was awesome!  We went for a great run, had a delicious brunch and had dinner at a church converted (ha, ha) into a brewery.  I loved Church Brew Works!  I had a seasonal beer named "Hooch," which was delicious.  On the heavier side with a fairly high alcohol content and the most delicious caramelized notes.  Yum, yum.  I also had a sampler of their standard beers, which overall, was pretty good.  The rotating stout had coconut notes in it, which was awesome.  The Celestial Gold and Pipe Organ pale ale were a little light for my craving that night but still worthwhile.  The Pious Monk Dunkel was great, a little dark but refreshing.  Food-wise, we had a pizza which was fine and the daily pierogies.  The pierogies seemed more like goyza dumplings than others I've had in the past because they were fried rather than baked but they were still really good.

Outside Church Brew Works

Inside

The alter!

I also talked to my specialty leader about possible billets for next year.  While Bremerton is a possibility, he asked me how I felt about Pensacola.  Eh.  I told him it wasn't way up there.  He'll take it into consideration.  Pensacola certainly isn't the worst though.  That would be LeJeune and Okinawa (from my perspective, of course!).

Wedding weekend

This past weekend was awesome!  It got off to an early start thanks to 5th Friday where the residents and staff hung out on Dr. Johnson’s boat at the Kona Kai on Shelter Island.  It was a gorgeous day and so fun to hang out and grill.  I definitely overbought on the food but everyone had the best time.  The med students who were out with us definitely want to do their residency here:o)  Fifth Friday also capped off a pretty mellow week at work where I got out fairly early and was able to get a great haircut and find a good brows place.  

Bridesmaid!

I love my new haircut.  I went for bangs and the texture and look is a huge change but in a great way.  I liked my old hairstyle but wanted to do something really new but I had always thought that meant a drastic length change.  Not with Audrey!  I will not go to anyone else, well at least for the next 10 months while I’m still in San Diego!

Later Friday night, Mechen and I went to the airport to fly to Pensacola for my brother’s wedding.  We arrived Saturday morning and I headed straight to the nail salon for a mani-pedi, courtesy of the bride!  Yay!  I was one of the two bridesmaids and it was such a treat to be included!  Brady was the other bridesmaid and it was so fun to be twinnies with her this past weekend.  We had the same dress, which Nicole had found and it looked really good.  We both got our nails painted red and then headed out to the beach.  Not always the best thing to do after getting nails done, but mine held up and it was way worth it.  Pensacola beach is GORGEOUS, with some of the finest, beautiful sand on wide beaches.  The water was warm and even had waves, likely leftover from Hurricaine Isaac.  

That night, we had the rehersal then dinner at the Oar House, which was awesome.  Peel ‘n’ eat shrimp, hush puppies, fish, beer and wine.  Yum!  The company was great and I loved catching up with my Grandpa and Dusty as well as my aunts and uncles on my Dad’s side.  It is such a fun group and we continued the party at the Pensacola Brew House.  

The next day, we woke up for a delicious, much-needed breakfast and started to get ready.  Everyone looked great even though both the groom and the bride were really late to the wedding (35 minutes, which I think felt WAY longer).  Fortunately, everyone’s spirits were high and the church was air-conditioned so no one was too stressed, apart from the chaplain and Nicole’s Mom.

The wedding was beautiful and the service touching.  Joe and Nicole looked great and then, in what seemed like a blink of an eye, were married!  They went off in a horse and carriage while everyone meandered over the the Brewhouse (across the street from the church, my kind of town planning!).  

The new family

The reception was back at the Lee House.  The food was awesome, company even better and overall, it was just a great party.  We hung out for a while, went to Seville Quarter for about an hour and then called it a night.

Today, we woke up, had brunch and then went to Pensacola beach.  Despite the sunblock, I think I may have gotten a little burned.  When we first got there, we were too cheap for umbrellas but my Dad ponied up (Thanks Dad!) and we had an awesome, relaxing afternoon.  Then we went to the Lee House, showered up and went to the airport. I think we didn’t leave as much time as my brother’s friend would have preferred but everyone made it and now Mechen and I are heading back to San Diego for the work week.

So, that’s the beginning of my September.  I’m a little upset because it’s the last month Mechen and I have together for awhile.  We’re looking at long-distance again while he goes to Newport, RI and New Orleans, LA.  He’ll be back in SD, but probably not until after I PCS.  We’re planning on making it through but I’m really sad that he’s leaving.  I think it won’t set in until after it’s all said and done b/c September is going to be crazy!  I’m going to the Academy meeting in DC, moving to a new place, putting things in storage, cleaning the old place all while still working.    

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!!!