foray to the bay

step 3 is looming in the near future (this week), but no pre-exam weekend would be complete without unabashed playtime/procrastination.

diane & ida are visiting the bay area this weekend (and notably *ahem* NOT sacramento), so i decided to spend a day in SF. first, visited younch's new apartment in SOMA... had lunch at Brainwash Cafe & Laundromat, pictured below with left-most pic stolen from Yelp, then spent some "productive" time at the SF Public Library- which is huge, airy, beautiful, and a popular hangout for the homeless. i sat next to an older vagabond (who by the way would fit RIGHT IN at the treatment center), who was engrossed in a book about some conspiracy theory or another (the beginning of the title: "The REAL Truth about...."), which he held about 2 inches from his face. i most certainly felt like i was IN THE CITY. we convinced suzie to trek in from berkeley, and spent some quality time catching up at Citizen Cupcake... before enjoying dinner with the girls + co. @ Ristorante Milano.

the draw of city life for me should be pretty evident- see highlighted words above. i am SO enthralled by the myriad eating-out options, the opportunity to find tastiness on every corner. i'm a fan of WALKING to places and the subsequent insertion into a whole new milieu of people.
and everytime i go to SF, i bemoan the lack of character in Sacto... but i think it's time i should be honest with myself. i couldn't LIVE in the city- the ample parking spaces, superstores, and general ease of suburban life is even more seductive to me at this point than the urban sprawl. what can i say... i'm weak. and an ah-jum-mah. i'm learning to accept it ;)

foggy beginnings

this is the view from my home's little octagon window that i see every morning before going to work. and no, sadly, that is NOT the sun. it's a streetlamp. but it's pretty all the same.

fog is much preferred to the torrential downpour we experienced in the past few weeks though. it was pretty crazy at work- pun oh-so-truly intended. one day, we lost power in our outpatient psych clinic (also known as "the base" by a bipolar lady i had to calm down over the phone this morning), the same day we were hosting some family-psych applicants... we had morning rounds by candlelight. i walked around all day basically with sopping feet and straggly hair, because the umbrella i brought was useless against the brutal winds. then, one morning, i walked into the clinic thinking that someone had been a little overenthusiastic with popcorn in the breakroom microwave... then i saw the gaping holes in the ceiling. we had an electrical fire, and luckily noone was hurt, but didn't exactly help dispel the vague ambiance of chaos. never a dull day in psychiatry ;)

in terms of social gatherings, andy's schedule has lightened up so we've been able to have some dinners...
here are a few of andy's co-interns... lovely bunch :) we were also able to take pastor joel out to dinner @ todo un poco pizza & bistro, a mexican-italian place in elk grove- there really should be more fusion mexican/italian places out there... chips + salsa + garlic bread is quite, quite tasty. i made it out to a "journal club" meeting at scott's seafood, and rediscovered my love of sampler dessert plates. it's been a good month.

so, my non sequitur for the entry: i'm a total sucker for food advertising/marketing. particularly when it comes to candy and chocolate... not unlike the subjects of the wine study just published where people thought the more expensive wine tasted better than the cheaper wine (of course, it was all the same wine), i tend to prefer the exotic, boutique, and yes... expensive brands. i loove the thrill of the "find"- discovering the perfect truffle, or tastiest gummy bear... anyhoo, it's an illness, but i'm certainly not alone. i happened upon kookaburra liquorice at my local grocery store, and knew i had to have it. after all, the package said LIQUORICE. when i was checking out, my cashier asked me where i had found the candy, like in detail, as in.. which row, where on the shelf, etc... and kept mentioning how he was going to buy some himself, like at his next break, etc... so i opened up the bag and we both had our first taste of some superior red licorice. it's good stuff. and not just because it's imported from australia... ;)