viva las vegas

our vacation tales continue...

i felt compelled to document our "duk bo sam" moment, all the way out in michigan. andy's aunt has never heard of or eaten the "california"-version, but came up with her own recipe, a blend of vietnamese spring rolls with a veritable cornucopia of fresh veggies and tasty organic beef. as you can see, the park men enjoyed it quite a bit (as did everyone else). i was really glad we got a chance to see andy's extended family, especially his adorable little cousins. i grew up blessed with an abundance of awesomely generous older cousins (and aunts and uncles) who took me and my siblings off of my parents' hands on many occasions to babysit, go to the movies, amusement parks, etc... many, many happy childhood memories with special thanks to j., dean, brenda, and my e-mo (as in aunt linda, not the genre ;) ). anyhoo, i've always wanted to return the favor, so to speak. but seriously, i don't know how they did it- i make excuses for myself by telling myself that i don't live close enough to any of the madly cute cousin-spawn to be there for them... *sigh*, all this to say that i hope to be a better older cousin/sibling/relative in general, in the future. so we ended up taking the kids out to a movie- "horton hears a who"- and i think we enjoyed ourselves more than the kiddos ;)

so then we prepared ourselves for VEGAS... but first, we needed to get there. easier said than done.

this is why i cannot live in detroit, or any state that requires "de-icing" of aircraft prior to take-off. i just don't have the patience. on our outbound flight, the plane came in about an hour late, then we boarded and sat on the runway for about an hour, got "de-iced" for 30 minutes, sat for another 20 minutes or so until we were told that the plane "due to mechanical problems" would NOT be taking off that evening. meanwhile, the snow that had NOT been falling all throughout our stay decided to make its way down to earth with a vengeance. after another hour of limbo in the terminal (are we canceled? delayed? catching the next flight? getting another airplane? where's our luggage?), we were given hotel and food vouchers and told to come back early the next morning, with the same boarding passes. by that time the snow was really coming down, so calling andy's parents back out to the airport was not an option. we spent the night, sans luggage, in a dinky room where the bathroom light was broken (andy put one of the bedside lamps by the sink) and returned the next morning only to find out, after waiting in a long security line, that our boarding passes were no longer valid, despite seeing various other people FROM THE SAME FLIGHT entering through the same security lines. long story short: OUR AIRPORTS ARE NOT SECURE, PEOPLE!! the TSA folk were frustratingly unhelpful, not to mention inconsistent with whom they were letting through. i tried another security line after being turned away initially, just to see if our boarding pass would work, and voila-> i was through. andy tried the same line, and was turned away. EH, you say??!! yes. sigh. but now i have spent a great deal of energy on my tale of airline/airport incompetence which is just depressing so ... ON TO VEGAS!! ... one last note. our flight to vegas was also one hour late. with a wailing, inconsolable baby who cried for nearly the entire flight + delays. the system is broken... like so many others in this country. ok. i'm done griping.

ok, so pictures of a decidedly happier time. i had a tough time deciding where to eat out of the myriad possibilities of haute cuisine in vegas- joel robuchon? mario batali? jean georges vongerichten? wolfgang puck? anyone who has ever appeared as a guest judge on top chef has at LEAST one restaurant in vegas- including tom colicchio. it's like a foodie-groupie's dream. i chose the most affordable (used in the loosest, most relative form of the word) yet totally formal of the 2 michelin star restaurants out there- PICASSO. how often does one get to eat with priceless works of art hanging behind one's head??? or, for that matter, how often does one get to EAT pieces of art?

one of the lovely offerings from the pastry chef. i would comment more on the food, but i'm thinking of saving our food reviews for a later post in which i shall unveil our new restaurant rating system- andy and i fancy ourselves to have fairly discerning palates, but more for our sake than anything else we thought it would be fun to have some sort of record of good eats to which we can refer in the future... given that the months of inpatient service as an intern tend to drive out all other peripheral knowledge like, the particular fish dish we loved at that one restaurant. we're debating between "parks" and "forks" and "stars" for the rating scale. ;)

here are some of our more touristy pics of the strip. at this point i should probably mention that hotel-hopping, though fun and informative, is definitely energy-consuming. we stayed at 3 different hotels during our 4 1/2 day trip- the platinum, the bellagio (pictured on left), and the signature @ MGM. all excellent hotels, though our favorite was definitely the signature. LOVED the nonsmoking (non-casino) lobby, in-suite kitchenette complete with cookware/flatware/silverware, and bathroom tv. sadly, no pics of said tv. you'll just have to believe me.

here are a couple of pics that are a continuation of a series i shall refer to as "hubby contemplates menu". our foodie tour included bobby flay's enclave- mesa grill (on left) and daniel boulud's self-named bistro (on right). again, food reviews *may* follow but in brief, i shall say-> thumbs down, and thumbs up. can't beat the restaurant design in vegas, though...

ah, and here- one of the FREE exhibits on the strip-> the MGM lion habitat. i wish i could have captured the scale of the lion vs. andy's head a little bit more clearly on camera, but suffice to say- that's a big cat. after spending a pretty penny (or two or three or thousands) on food, we were pretty loath to part with our cash for the various galleries, aquariums, etc... available on the strip. thus, another example of a FREE tourist attraction :

M&M heaven!

but lest you think we spent our days eating and finding cheesy free tourist traps, we also found a new hobby. cirque hopping.

this pic is from le reve @ the wynn, which was the second of two cirque du soleil shows we watched, back-to-back. the previous evening, we watched O @ bellagio. two gorgeous, brilliant, inspiring and oh-so-entertaining but different shows, despite both being cirque du soleil, created by dragone, with lots of water involved. i was telling andy that i'd love to meet the brain behind these shows- such interesting themes of good/evil, heaven/hell, madness, love, marriage, gender, sexuality... but even without my psych imagination going wild- the shows were amazing, and truly a celebration of the human canvas.

our stint in sin city ended not a minute too soon- we ended up getting sick and spending our last few days sniffling in our room, so we're both quite happy to be finishing up the convalescent period of our colds in the comfort of HOME. i'll be starting MICU, and andy starts his last medicine month as an intern soon, so most likely there will be another long period of silence to follow. but then, after MICU month, i'll have two psych months to go until 1/2 of my internship is finished!! woohoo! i can't believe it- seriously, it seems like just yesterday we were celebrating match day with everyone... and now i'm congratulating the new graduates- and interns to be. time flies. i heard a line the other day on an old episode of ER that i thought was pretty funny- "med students want to be residents, residents want to be attendings, and attendings... just want to be left alone." they got it wrong though... this intern just wants to jump to retirement. ;)

vive le reve!!

i'm dreaming again, big fantastical dreams about tidal waves, dinosaurs, castles, glittering dance routines... so glorious. and why? because... i'm on vacation. YAAAAAY! though my last two weeks of work were hardly strenuous (sports medicine) and thus sort of a pre-vacation, i realize that there really is no substitute for a REAL vacation- when the pager comes off, and i can prance around fancy-free without worrying about patient prescription requests and calls. *sigh* life is good.

we're currently in michigan with andy's folks, eating lots of healthy greenery which has done wonders for my *ahem* intestinal regularity and enjoying what they call a "warm" spell of winter with temps in the 30s and snow still lying unmelted at the sides of the roads. andy took me on a "this is your life" type of tour, including sites like his childhood home, junior high, and of course- high school. we almost passed up the high school, but then andy remembered something...

HIS BRICK!

turns out andy has his name carved on school property for all eternity, thanks to one of his myriad high school accomplishments. talk about overachievers ;)

we've also had a chance to catch up with his michigander friends, including rich and daniel - his two best men! it's been very strange indeed to look back and realize- hey, we've been married for almost a year~ well, 10 months and counting. SO much has changed since then... out of our wedding party, two got engaged with weddings coming up in june (sharon) and july '09 (rich), one's got a baby on the way (eli)... the relentless wheel of time, with new celebrations at every turn. it's beautiful, man.

next up on the vacation itinerary: VEGAS!!! many exuberant photos to come. :)

REAL scutmonkey dreams

scutmonkeys don't dream of rockstardom. or at least, this scutmonkey does not. not on medicine months. no, this past month, i dreamt of scut.

i've been at the VA, caring for our veterans and generally not caring about anything else. it's consuming. i'd wake up before my alarm at ~4:30-5am in a blind panic, having just had a nightmare about an unsigned order or missing a "panic value" in a lab, etc... i'd go to sleep thinking about how early i'd have to get there the next morning and running through all the things that i'd need to check up on, or all the things that may have been happening to my patients. i know they say that most medicine folks have some OCPD traits, but sometimes i wonder HOW that could possibly be a good fit-> it's an anxiety-provoking profession to start with, so is it really a good idea to have anxious people in it??! sigh.

so now, i sit here at a coffee shop and have the time to type away at something other than CPRS. actually, CPRS is also up- typing off service notes. it never ends. ANYWAY- the point is, i'm slowing peeling off the tentacles of the VA, one by one. it's the emotional suckers that will be the hardest to rip off. gosh, but i do really enjoy this population sometimes- the nicest old guys you'll meet. sure, i had my share of mean meth-using alcoholics, but by and large the veterans are very appreciative and, i suspect, particularly nice to me as a young Asian-American woman.. i try not to think of the memories of "native" women-past that i might evoke, but i'm not above using it to develop a rapport of sorts ;) and i have to say, working at a hospital where people know my name is ... kinda nice. i like the community feel, though believe me i cursed it plenty over the weekends when i would give my left foot for an ultrasound tech or MRI or radiologist to read said unobtainable MRIs or ultrasounds. i've had such an array of experiences here, and right now they're jostling about in my head fighting for attention... so i'll just have to let them out one by one over time.

instead, i shall describe one of my proudest non-medicine accomplishments this past month... i got myself a library card. YAY!!! in a moment of shiny optimism, i borrowed a bunch of books on my day off and started reading... i've never finished a book so slowly in my life, but i guess that's what happens when you have to read snatches of a chapter in the brief moments of lucidity before passing out at night. so, i'm 1 of 4 and very hopeful going into my sports medicine rotation that i'll make some good progress with my "must read" list. thinking back, i guess i was inspired by shomir, my "co-intern" for the month who recommended "the kite runner". he tossed me the book one day, and i DEVOURED it. this was earlier this month when the patient census was decent (as opposed to the indecent wreck i left). and then i just had to keep reading, because i missed it so much. now if only i could feel the same away about, say, THE GYM. ;)

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... ;)

christmas time is here... and gone

i'm so sad christmas is over. by the graces of this psych rotation, i got both xmas eve and day off... all the better to prepare for MY FIRST CHRISTMAS DINNER. my family decided to visit us this year, as andy had to work on xmas eve, so i was quite set on creating the perfect holiday dinner table... and the perfect holiday meal. here's my menu + recipe links:

Zuni Cafe Bread Salad with Baby Arugula
Bandera's Cheddar-Jack Cornbread
Baked Acorn Squash with Brown Sugar and Butter

Green Beans with Fresh Herbs & Walnuts

Filet Mignon with Chevre and Balsamic Reduction Sauce
Maple Roasted Turkey Parts with Sage Butter and Turkey Pan Gravy

Chocolate Fondue

here's a pic of my sous chef (hehe)

man... i was pooped, and stuffed at the end of the day. but i think my family enjoyed it, and i KNOW andy did, which is ultimately all that matters ;)

************************

on a totally unrelated note, i must document our first trip to ARCO ARENA.

one of andy's attendings is a huge college women's volleyball fan, and happened to have two free tickets to the NCAA women's volleyball semifinals- where STANFORD beat USC for a spot at the finals. sadly, i was too excited during that match to take pictures, so all i have are pictures of the 2nd match- penn state vs. cal.

it was freakin awesome.
*************************************

2007 was a year of milestones, and i'm so grateful to the family and friends who have shared them with me. getting married, graduating med school, starting a new job and moving to a new town... it's been a crazy, wonderful, fulfilling year.

andy and i will be ringing in the new year ON CALL... so for all our loved ones out there, we'll be celebrating with you in spirit! and please, please... BE SAFE.

here's to a similarly spectacular 2008, hopefully a year of change. it's ELECTION YEAR!!! woohoo! on that note, the Dem candidates on their New Year's resolutions... who's your favorite?? [i haven't decided yet...]

everything changes yet stays the same

it's amazing how quickly things that were once bizarre to the senses can become familiar. for example, when i first came to ucdmc, i was puzzled by the nurses' "vocera" phone system. I guess I should have been used to it, what with microscopic Bluetooth devices rampant in the world, but the thing is... the Bluetooth doesn't talk back. i'd be walking down the hall, or in an elevator with a worthy member of the RN lifeforce of the hospital who had a little plastic box hanging around her/his neck (maybe a pager?)... when suddenly, I'd hear:

[musical chimes... "Would you like to talk to?:

MARY SMITH"]

to which the RN in question would say, "Yes," then proceed to have a conversation with Mary Smith, holding the plastic box up to his/her face.
Or, I'd be in the same elevator, minding my own business, and the person next to me would say, "CALL DAVID JONES." That same robotic voice would reply,

"Did you mean: DANILA JOVOVICH?"

"NO, CALL DAVID JONES." (slightly irked tone)

"Did you mean: DAVID JAMES??"

"NO!?!, CALL DAVID JONES!!!" (really pissed now)

At which point I'd exit the elevator speedily, cuz conversations with these little walkie-talkie Vocera things don't tend to end quickly. The other day though, I passed by someone having a frustratingly one-sided conversation with the Vocera and didn't blink... until I realized how odd this seemed a few months ago.

And then there are the smells... the particular stink of the ED, the components of which I need not enumerate (you KNOW what I'm talking about)... the fetid odors of unwashed ICU patients who have been unconscious for many days and therefore have not been able to tell the staff who give them bedbaths to pay attention to certain nooks and crannies... the unmistakable scent of the hospital, so familiar while at work and so foreign when I pass by my white coat, hanging on the wall at home.

I've always been intrigued by this transition-> from alien to commonplace; perhaps because I haven't moved that much in my life, so each change is sortof a big deal. The first few times I drive to a new house, I muse to myself how familiar these roads will be in time but how scared I'll be of getting lost til that time (given my dearth of navigational sense)... and sure enough, a few months later I'll muse at how I'm able to trace, almost automatically, my way back home.

holiday cheer

i'm back. on psych-ation, and not a minute too soon. i've accumulated lots of sleep debt, but am finally chipping away at it... which is good, so maybe i'll stop making potentially inappropriate comments in my semi-comatose state, like today on psych consult when i asked a psychotic prisoner to "take a stab" at a few questions before realizing, with a start, that i had NO IDEA what he was in prison for. i tell ya, coulda been a BAD choice of words.

so, tis been an eventful month thus far! on one of our days off, andy and i embarked upon a daunting enterprise- to infuse some xmas spirit into our home- we're preparing for my family's arrival. it started out with a half-hearted jaunt to the dollar store for plastic snowflakes... and ended with handmade dove/poinsettia/pinecone centerpieces and a fiberoptic mini-tree. we were struck with decoration madness, what can i say ;) oh, and for the first time in my life, there are xmas lights outside my house. i'm very proud of my hubby- he's started a trend... a few days after putting up our lights (which was "late" by traditional standards, e.g. 2 weeks after thanksgiving), some of the neighbors decided to put up some twinklers. nothing like a little friendly holiday competition to light up a street. ;)

then, it was my bday. the actual day of, not too fun. workday- 14 hours, hubby- postcall, dinner- takeout. but twas certainly brightened by the texts/phone calls/emails- i appreciate you all!! i just didn't have time to reply, just enough to smile, feel a warm fuzzy, and get back to work. is this what grownup birthdays are supposed to be?! sigh... but i can't complain much, cuz i had a fabulous pre-birthday celebration the weekend before.

we ate brunch at tower cafe, and i CANNOT say enough about their famous french toast. it certainly perked up my poor sleep-deprived belly and tastebuds.

not to mention some delicious hot chocolate... as you can see, the hours have taken a toll on my soul, as evidenced by my bleary eyes.




dinner was at the waterboy, which i've been meaning to try since we moved up here... which also has no relation to the adam sandler movie. lovely atmosphere, tasty cuisine, not a shabby bday dinner by any means.

and dessert? sacto's answer to pinkberry... MOCHII!

one of my last bday surprises- from my sister-in-law, who obviously knows me all too well.

well enough foodie nonsense. what is UP with the tv writers' strike?! and why am i SOO not as excited about this season of project runway?? as you can tell, my life has been: work/eat/tv/sleep/work/eat/tv/sleep/work some more for the past month or so (or at least it feels that way). looking forward this month to studying/reading for step III, working out (so help me, i WILL step foot into a 24 hour fitness this month), developing a semblance of a social life, etc...

non sequitur of the entry: just saw Sicko on DVD. i hate, HATE, hate having to discuss financial concerns about medications/tests/procedures with my patients, and i am so ashamed that physicians have not done more to remedy this broken, limping, decrepit system. sigh.
andy and i are now biding our time til we finish residency to relocate ourselves and our families to a country with free universal healthcare... namely, ANY OTHER WESTERN DEVELOPED NATION. new zealand's lookin pretty good. who's with us?!?!

the most wonderful time of the year

ahhhh how i love holiday season!!! can't you tell from our doormat?? ;)

finally i can start listening to christmas carols, which will be on my ipod/radio 24/7 til xmas. it's one of the simple pleasures of my life, to have this seasonal soundtrack.

andy and i spent our first married thanksgiving together dining at the mccarrons' in davis, and i wish i had the presence of mind to take pictures of the bountiful feast put before us... if for no other reason than to provide myself with happy photographic memories of those culinary delights... but in any case, suffice to say, we ate ourselves silly. felt slightly guilty as my only contributions were of the egg/sugar/butter/flour variety- pumpkin cheesecake with a gingersnap/graham/pecan crust, and pumpkin cranberry walnut cookies... feel like i should learn to cook a thanksgiving meal. ah well. someday, i too will roast a turkey. someday...

we had to work today, unfortunately, so we decided last-minute to make a trip down to socal this past weekend. it was, of course, great to see my family and to visit cksda. but awesomeness truly abounded as the llusm ohana converged for jason oh's birthday. in the tradition of korean sda folks, we had to segregate the photos. don't ask me why, it just happens.

sometimes i worry that we're not really giving sacramento a chance to feel like home, since we're so fixated on going back to socal to (in order of priority) our family, friends, and pinkberry. however, today as i walked from my car to the hospital in the cool crisp fall air, i realized that we are putting down roots- tentative though they may be. it was so great to visit this past weekend, but it felt good to come home as well.

non sequitur comment of the entry: hands down, the best new show of the fall season is CHUCK. we're totally hooked.

the family man is on tv right now. i recently asked my hubby if he ever thought about his other self living in an alternate universe- you know, like what would have happened if he had missed a subway train (e.g. sliding doors) which altered the trajectory of his life. i asked, of course, because i often think about this other "me"... which is NOT in fact disloyalty towards my spouse, as i believe we were meant to be and all that other mushy jazz that i will spare y'all- but i think we could have met and lived in a totally different way. i imagine a totally cosmopolitan/metropolitan life- mostly because my imagined wardrobe would be fabulously chic, and our apartment would be fabulously chic with a gorgeous view of the cityscape, and our schedules and budgets would be so much more flexible than they are now because i, at least, would not be in medicine but instead in something presumably less fulfilling but substantially more glamorous. not that i'm not happy where i am, but these are just the dreams of a thoroughly bedraggled occasionally self-pitying intern... of course, he, being much more practical and grounded than me, does not have such imaginings. which is probably best.

autumn festivities

andy and i have been attempting to enjoy our days off by taking advantage of the cool crisp weather. and what better way to spend a lovely fall afternoon than a leisurely bike ride through the Pocket?

safety first!

we're also trying to create new "family traditions". andy and his family used to go apple picking every year back in michigan, and i have vague memories of hay rides and apple cider from my home-school days... so we decided to take a trip to apple hill. it's this amazing stretch of orchards in the mountains, just about an hour's drive away.

we started out at rainbow orchards, for lunch. having no prior knowledge of the area, we pretty much followed the crowds, lemming-style. this place was PACKED.

we soon discovered why.

fresh apple cider (with some unremarkable bbq-fare)...
and
hot, crispy, moist and delicious apple cider doughnuts.
as you can see, i took a few rapturous bites before remembering to take a picture.

we wandered for a bit, researching the different bake shops and U-Pick orchards. sadly, we visited too late in the season, so no fruit for us.

we happened upon a small stretch of a "nature trail" transformed for halloween (see the little hanging ghosts in the back?).

all in all, quite a beautiful afternoon and definitely a tradition we'd like to continue in the future.

and yesterday was andy's birthday. took the hubby to dinner at bandera, one of the hillstone group restaurants (cousin of rutherford's grill, for all the PUC fans).




cornbread!
[insert sound of Homer-esque drooling here]




it was our first "date night" in a long time. our interactions have become so routine with our work schedules... twas very nice to have an evening out to celebrate the man in my life. :)