what goes up...

so it's not a little ironic that the next post after one entitled "happy times" should be about not-so-happy times. but such is life.

the end of 2009 was hard. i'm hoping that 2010 is better.

here's a brief summary of my travails, with a disclaimer that in the grand scheme of things, things could definitely be a lot worse... so please bear with my self-indulgent ranting for a bit.

after 2 straight months of inpatient medicine, plus 2 weeks of jeopardy over the holidays, i was/am about ready to call it a day and find a new calling. i had the worst personnel issues of my life, ran my first and hopefully only code blue ever (i'm still haunted by every single decision i made- he survived, only to be put on comfort care), jeopardized someone for the first time in my life, got jeopardized back to the VA for an overnight call which just cemented my self-diagnosis of PTSD, and decided that one of my academic departments seems to hate any possibility of change and therefore is doomed to mediocrity. i'm a little bitter. just a little. having free weekends and adequate sleep are helping with my recovery, but it's slow going.

but while my work life was imploding, something much more insidious was going on... there was a mass growing in my father-in-law's colon, and it finally decided to burst in the beginning of december. we flew out to michigan in haste, after being informed by my father-in-law's surgeon that he needed emergency surgery for a large colonic mass which has apparently perforated his bowel, such that he now had a large walled-off intraperitoneal abscess. in addition, there was evidence of multiple metastatic appearing lesions in his liver and lung. i think it is truly a miracle that he survived the perforation, given the stoicism/stubbornness that led to him waiting the several days it must have taken to wall that abscess off. we arrived perioperatively, and were able to stay a few days before flying back. i'm happy to say he's now recovering quite well and looking to start chemo in a few weeks. still, we'd appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

the new year has been a great occasion to appreciate all of my many blessings, so i feel very grateful for all that i have and the loved ones in my life... perhaps all the more because it becomes more and more clear that life is very short. my new year's resolution? living life day by day.

happy times

secrets capri riviera cancun
unlimited spa package. book it now, people. book it now.

so we spent a blissful week here in cancun, mostly at the spa. it was muggy and hot, so we made good use of the unlimited virgin pina coladas (see below). i was a little suspicious of the all-inclusive stuff, since the quality of food tends to suffer... but really, how can you argue with unlimited food and ROOM SERVICE 24/7??? more than anything else, it was so relaxing not to worry about planning anything- no reservations needed, no research on restaurants, etc... and the unlimited spa part was ... awesome. so it's not really unlimited, but you can book 4 treatments a day and choose from massages, wraps, facials, hydrotherapy, etc... i think the best part was after our treatments, we'd wander out in our robes and be greeted by attendants with warm neck wraps and blankets, who subsequently tucked us into these chaise lounges by a little waterfall. ahh, i feel more relaxed just thinking about it...

twas lovely, despite the killer mosquitoes that definitely left their marks on my tender extremities. man do i love vacation.
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november is full of birthdays!
alvin had a bday celebration at cattlemen's, and won himself a celebratory picture that will live on in infamy at the restaurant after polishing off a ginormous amount of meat. before and after pics below.

the hubs celebrated the big 3-0 this past week. fittingly, we had 3 bday dinners. below, one of them- a romantic date night out at mulvaney's b&l.

and our bday present to ourselves?

there's just nothing like a musical...

the ecstasy... then the agony

i'm on vacaciones... and boy do i love my time off. the hubs and i spent the first week in cancun- pics and rave reviews of the spa to come... then this weekend flew back to socal, with big plans for meeting up with friends, eating good food, all that jazz. that was before i got a cold, which is kicking my butt right now.

i was talking to a co-resident about this after i heard he was sick during his vacation- he said it was like his immune system would go on vacation as well. i'd love to do a study on this... i wonder if people whose work is subjectively very stressful or tiring, or who can't afford to miss days of work because of whatever reason, get more SICK when they have time off. don't ask how this would be physiologically possible, i'm drugged up with cold and allergy meds. and probably couldn't give you a good answer anyway.

anyhoo, i can't even really complain because i'm at HOME. which means home-cooked meals, and a life of leisure including lounging in a feverish state on the couch all day watching a marathon of "the rachel zoe project". yes i know, hours of my life that i will never, ever get back... but the sheer WASTE of time is like a luxury. i'm luxuriating in brain-numbing Bravo reality tv shows. did i mention that i'm feverish?

i do feel horrible about how this illness is affecting the hubby's vacation as well. makes me realize that "in sickness and in health" was quite a serious vow. though i guess i shoulda known that any vow that ends with "til death do us part" is pretty darn serious. ;)

Victor's Tacos

these are Victor's tacos. he only makes them on the night shift at my hospital cafeteria, and only on special nights. he does this with no discernable predictability, which elevates these very tasty carne asada tacos to a near-mythological status. these tacos have a cult following- any time there's a line of 8+ people at the grill, you can bet that Victor's making the tacos. seriously, people page each other about this in the middle of the night.

while i do love me my tacos, they remind me in many ways of night float... both cause heartburn, both are generally bad for my health, both can hold unexpected bits of piquancy/spicyness... oh what am i saying, night float is nothing like tacos. tacos make me happy, at least transiently, whereas night float certainly does NOT. i have 3 more nights left, and counting down the hours. last night i had an unexpected treat- tara came in to keep my company while her patient was being induced, so i didn't spend too much time bumming around the call room in a lonely funk. not that i've spent much time bumming around anywhere this past week... it's been busy.

blurgh. can't wait to be done. i feel like a big lumbering bear in hibernation mode- when i go home, i'm either eating, sleeping, or slumped on my couch trying to catch up on my recorded shows. at work, i'm a big lumbering bear in survival mode- half-panicked and desperately hoping to go back to my cave and sleep. some people just aren't meant to work at night. i'm one of them.

late summer festivities

so i feel like i've been on OB forever, which is my excuse for not updating more often... or rather, for not going out and having a life, which would prompt more frequent and exciting updates. however, as the summer draws to a close (though you'd think someone would have told the sacramento weather system that it should be getting COOLER), i've definitely been able to spend some time on Park Family Traditions. now that we've lived here for 2+ years, there are at least 2 things we MUST do in August/September-
#1 - go to the fair!! which was dehydrating and artery-clogging as usual, though at least this year they decided to pull the fried White Castle burgers from the menu... i know because the hubby went looking for them. *sigh*

#2 - visit apple hill!

this year we were fortunate enough to have alice, my sister-in-law, around for the trip. we've essentially given up all pretenses of actually picking fruit by this point, and simply drive up to taste the baked goods and fresh apple cider. there's really nothing like fresh apple pie a la mode, or moist apple cider doughnuts hot from the fryer. pleasant discovery of the year- chocolate apple cookies... surprisingly tasty!

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i'm about to start 2 weeks of night float, which is a teensy bit terrifying as i generally dislike not having the comfort of a team around me. it's also the most overwhelming feeling in the world when the pagers start going off like crazy with admissions and triage and laboring patients, and there's just little ole me to take care of it all- i had a call night recently which very nearly provoked me into shedding tears at work, which i just do not do. i save them for the drive home. i had 3 laboring patients (who require q2 notes), 2 of which had crappy looking strips (fetal monitoring), several OB triage pts sprinkled in, phone triages every other hour, and 3 medicine admissions (one of which i blocked by going down and essentially taking a H&P) over a 12 hour call. i really hope i don't have too many nights like that... the upside? andy's on night float these next 2 weeks as well, so i have a chance of actually seeing my husband during the week... also, the light at the end of the tunnel- an all inclusive SPA vacation to cancun after night float concludes... only 14 more days...

random bit

Here's my 15 seconds of fame in Sacramento. A surprising number of people still read the newspaper, y'all.

Overhauling Health Care: Med school grads spurn family practice September 07, 2009 Bobby Caina Calvan
"You can make a lot more money with less pain, suffering and sleep deprivation,'' said Park, a third-year resident in family practice and psychiatry at UC Davis Medical Center...

o happy day

gloria & matt's wedding @ terranea resort, rancho palos verdes





despite a 2 hour wait for our car at the end of the evening (WORST VALET EXPERIENCE EVER), twas a beautiful day and a beautiful wedding... we think the bride was enjoying herself, judging from these glowing photos :)

independence (from work/Sacramento!) day

the hubs and i decided to make a getaway to the bay on july 4th weekend. so we booked a room at hotel palomar, bought some tickets, and drove west. we watched transformers on IMAX, shopped a bit, and ate a fabulous dinner at fifth floor.

what's more American than baseball, i ask you?? so apropos for july 4th. astros vs giants, at AT&T stadium- such a GORGEOUS day for a ball game. shannon and alvin joined us to enjoy the blowout- 9-0.

we spent a lovely afternoon wandering through pac heights/japantown, enjoying the remnants of the fillmore jazz festival. was so happy to meet up with pavithra, who was savoring the end of her vacation week. tried some tasty (and not so tasty) chocolate treats at bittersweet cafe. then, decided to wander down the pier for our fireworks cruise. simple enough, right?

so there are THRONGS and THRONGS of people here, though it's hard to appreciate on this picture. we were about to miss our boat when alvin and shannon suggested that they take our car and park it while we RAN to the dock. so, we hustled, and made it on the boat.

the cruise was great... and the fireworks, spectacular.

then, after the boat docked, we were horrified to find out that our friends had been driving around the ENTIRE TIME, because they couldn't find any parking. this was HOURS. somehow we met up, and then it took another 2 hours to drive about 2 miles away from the pier and back to alvin's home. seriously people, do NOT bring your cars into SF on holidays, it's RIDICULOUS.

despite the ignominious ending to independence day, it was totally great to get away from the sacramento heat and explore the city a bit more. here's to new holiday traditions!!

eep :P

finished my first family wards call tonight. i already hate phone triage (clinic patients calling with random questions) and am obsessively checking over the patients i admitted... though of course one decided to leave against medical advice, which was in itself a trial. it's lonely being on call by myself- there's noone to tell me i'm being stupid, or for that matter that i'm right. where's my senior?? o yah.. i AM the senior- holy crapola.
not that i needed any more confirmation that i shouldn't be an inpatient doctor... but i got it today. man am i gonna be glad when i'm done with all of my calls.

boston getaway

i usually can't stand red-eye flights. i can never sleep on the plane, and just feel grumpy about standing in security lines at the crack of dawn- "waddaya MEAN i have to stand here barefoot as you scan my bags??!!". but i braved TWO red-eyes in the past 4 days (not to mention time away from the hubs), just so i could spend some time in bean town with good friends. this post is going to read like a food journal, but what can i say- my friends share my love for good eats :)
i rolled into boston around noonish on thursday, and was met by jen- one of my best friends from high school. she met me at the airport and eased me into the use of public transportation- which FASCINATES me, btw. i commented on this repeatedly throughout my trip, because i feel so sheltered in sacramento. being thrust into the milieu of humanity on the T was so... invigorating. and occasionally smelly, loud and uncomfortable. all so exciting for a country mouse like me.

my first day involved a verrry relaxing mani-pedi, lunch (omg, best chicken salad sandwich of my life) at sel de la terre, wandering through copley place, rediscovering richart chocolates, and a quick snack (almond pear tart) at l'aroma cafe on newbury st. trekked over to youn's neck of the woods for dinner at redbones bbq in davis square/somerville, yummy ice cream from jp licks, then candle pin bowling.

second day, lunch at chacarero (yummmmmy chilean sandwiches), eaten on the common with jen and youn. went to ICA, then an exceptional "1/2 birthday" dinner at no 9 park, and eventually ended up at clery's.

third and final day- lunch with sonya at cambridge one for "yuppy pizza", finished off with fauxberry yogurt at berry line. afternoon was spent wandering through jfk library- which i highly recommend. and yet another solidly tasty dinner: 4-course tasting menu for $45 at ten tables in cambridge. then, food inc at kendall square theater with the girls & ravi. i'm sure a lot of people will say this after watching this movie, but seriously- it has changed the way i look at all food, and hopefully will seriously change the way i eat.

many, many thanks to my fabulous hostesses- youn and jen, for a very much appreciated whirlwind stay in boston. can't wait to visit again!