busy june

it's the end of the academic year, which at this point doesn't excite me the way it did before when it meant several months of vacation time, but this year we did have cause for celebration. this year, i said goodbye to my family medicine classmates and our two FP/Psych graduates. this year, my hubs graduated. i almost can't believe it.

below, alvin and joby get their graduation certificates, then pose with some of the FP/Psych posse.

one last tower cafe brunch for alvin before he goes up to seattle for a PSM fellowship.

the summer heat has been creeping up on us, but one night we got to celebrate andy's co-chief's birthday out on the patio of aioli bodega espanola... so beautiful!

andy's graduation was great, but bittersweet. they put together an amazing presentation/slideshow, which was put together in the wee hours of that very morning. it was sad though to say goodbye to all the staff and faculty and residents who had become like his extended family... made me think about how hard it will be (though i claim to be counting down the days) when i end up leaving after 5 long years of residency.

life up here is going by a lot more quickly than i imagined. i think this month of graduations has reminded me to savor this experience of residency while i can, because who knows what the next two years have in store? i can't wait to find out...

i heart CA

from norcal to the central coast to southern california... i love it all. got a chance to remind myself why with our last vacation week. i do so, so love my state. and vacation.

we started out in SF, for the CAFP battle of the residents. we thought we had a pretty good shot, seeing as we had a team of 3rd years- one categorical, one FP/OB and one FP/psych... we came in tied for second, having been wiped out in final jeopardy. boo. i don't take well to losing. but it did make for an evening in SF with the FP folks, with whom i don't get to spend much time. here's us in chinatown (below). we ate dinner at jeanne d'arc, which was walking distance from the battle.

then, the next day we headed further south to big sur for our first camping adventure in our married lives. just us, a tent, and the wilderness. oh and running water/toilets... that was one of my stipulations because, after all, it is ME we're talking about.

it was beautiful. but unexpectedly dangerous. see the falls above? the picture to the right shows about a 10 foot drop down from the viewing area, which my hubs fell/leaped down in pursuit of our camera. he also scared two fellow hikers, who actually saw him go over the edge and then subsequently were telling themselves, "that was the craziest thing I've ever seen!" luckily a few scrapes were the extent of the damage... or else i would have REALLY had to injure him. ;)

some views from the coast, a grassy spot where we cooked ourselves lunch on the way down to the central coast, and a view from the car when we were driving.

next stop on our vacation- hearst castle and cambria! unfortunately, the drizzle that cut our camping trip short followed us on our tour, but it was still worthwhile. ken burns was right, national parks ARE america's best idea.

cambria itself was also so cute. we spent some time wandering by this seaside trail, watching otters gamboling in the surf and sea lions sunning themselves on the rocks. it was cloudy for the first part of the afternoon, then literally in 30 minutes the wind came and swept the clouds away. i caught a bit of otter reality TV on video- the last part of an otter clapping, then grabbing a quick smooch from his partner.

cambria also happened to have some great food! had a few nice dinners at the black cat bistro, and robin's. also tried the famous ollalieberry pie at linn's. so tasty...

speaking of food, which i tend to do quite a bit on this blog and in life, we made a few tasty stops on the way back down to yorba linda. ate some cajun goodies at the palace grill in santa barbara, and stopped by the brown butter cookie company in cayucos. i've decided that i looooove anything with brown butter. my personal favorites were the honey and original brown butter cookies- not so much a fan of the cocoa or coffee.

so for the 2nd year in a row, we were able to spend our 3rd anniversary with my family, including my parents who were celebrating their birthday as well. dinner was again french, tradition by pascal in newport beach.

then, on our last weekend, a beach vespers trip to laguna beach with yorba linda church. the boys have grown up so much... every time i see them, it's a reminder of how much time is passing up here and how OLD i'm getting ;)

2 more years... just 2 more years...

the dangers of car sleeping

just finished a glorious week of vacation, and now paying the price for indulgently napping on the drive up here. can't sleep! must work tomorrow! gah...

i'm probably the worst driving companion ever, what with my penchants for throwing my feet up on the dashboard and frequent dozing off for hours at a time. i think it stems from my increasingly virulent carsickness- i often used to sleep on buses when going on school trips or tours to fend off the nausea. i think the gentle motion of a running automobile is as soporific to me now as it probably was when i was a baby. it makes matters worse that the hubs claims to be unable to sleep while i'm driving... something about me not being a "defensive driver", or some such nonsense. anyway it makes it so i never contribute to our long driving trips, unless it's through some windy mountain roads and i'm unable to fall asleep. which is probably for the best, because actually, i've been able to admit to myself that i'm really NOT a good driver. in fact, i'm kind of a bad one. which has been difficult to swallow, what with 10+ years of denial behind me. call it a female version of machismo (feminisma?). i really really didn't want to be that stereotype- asian female [BAD] driver. but after multiple incidents of hopping the curbs, lopsided parking, amnestic stretches of distance, and a ticket or two for the "california roll" thru stops, i have to admit... dood, i suck. so i happily pass along the responsibility to the steady, capable hands of my partner, and nap luxuriously. which works out well on most counts, not so much at 1am on a work night.

tis the season!

the hubs and i have been able to travel west a few times in the past few weekends... something that i hope will be happening more frequently now that he's done with inpatient rotations FOREVER. and EVER. maybe.

we started off the wedding season by going back to stanford to witness a traditional Catholic wedding- my friend julie, from my college days of korean drumming, married sam. it was also my first Catholic service ever, and i was fascinated by the ritualistic nature of it all- standing, sitting, chanting. but in the end, twas the same as every other wedding ceremony... it resulted in a happy married couple. ah, tis spring, the time of twitterpated-ness.

julie & sam's wedding @ mem chu

wedding favors- only julie would rummage through countless stores to find hundreds of cute teacups and saucers to give away...

hwimie ladies!

the lovely bride had 3 outfits for the reception- chinese (in honor of her newly minted husband), korean, and the lovely pink dress that her own mother wore at her reception.
so cute.

another trip was to the Cartier exhibit at the legion of honor museum in SF. we picked a gorgeous day to visit, and saw some STUNNING pieces that belonged to the likes of the Vanderbilts, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, and various other very very wealthy people.
ah, to have been born a princess/heiress/actress. below, some pics of the jewels courtesy of nytimes, as they didn't allow photography in the museum.




though i suppose a princess/heiress/actress would not have made a little trip down to burma superstar, a hole-in-the-wall yelp and foodtv phenomenon for their touted dishes- rainbow salad, tea leaf salad and samusa soup. we came, we ate, we were satisfied.
who needs diamonds and fancy things when you've got a full belly? ;)