Birds of a Feather

Adam's parents live in Zhubei which is part of Hsinchu county in northern Taiwan. For the first few days in the country, we explored the city and got to experience a bit of the day-to-day life. The street markets boasted an array of colors and smells. Still, there were many Asian versions of Western conveniences like Costco.

One of my favorite things about the Taiwan visit was the FOOD (surprised?). On one of our first nights we went to a restaurant that specialized in cooked duck. The duck was chopped up at the table then went into several different dishes including lettuce wraps, stew, a noodle dish and more.

For another dinner, we went to Yakiniku for Japanese-style barbecue. It was fun to sit shoeless at the sunken table and stuff our bellies silly. When we weren't chowing down or stocking the fridge, we played lots of games like Mahjong and watched the entire first season of Modern Family.

On a somewhat rainy day, we went to New Taipei City in the Yingge District, known for its pottery. It was a lot of fun perusing all of the porcelain dishes and clay teapots. If only I had a bigger kitchen!

Christmas in Taiwan

For the holiday break I had the special opportunity to join the Tuttle family in Taiwan. Mark and Cathy have been calling the island nation home for over a year since Mark took a job manufacturing LEDs abroad. Adam and his sister Emily had visited last year, but for her boyfriend Alex and me, this was the first time exploring the country.

Before getting into the nitty gritty of the travel itinerary, I'll share a bit of the seasonal celebrations. Despite the foreign territory, we still kept things classic with some very traditional traditions. We decorated the tree (complete with festive headgear). Cathy made us fashion-forward aprons which we used while frosting sugar cookies.

Since we were traveling on Christmas day, we opened presents a couple days early. Even though I wasn't sure if he would find his way across the Pacific, Santa was very generous and thoughtful. While my own family was scattered around the world, I felt very grateful to be with the Tuttles and sharing in their own annual rituals.

Holiday Cheers

In our second Christmas cooking party (remember last year's Paula Deen affair?), we gathered in the name of Gwyneth Paltrow. Using her GOOP newsletter as inspiration, we whipped up a variety of concoctions to "nourish the inner aspect." I made some tasty individual pumpkin cheesecakes (see recipe).

As my psychiatry rotation ended, I geared up for my final "shelf" exam for a core clerkship. I also got away for a whirlwind 24-hour trip to Denver for a residency interview. I had the chance to meet up with childhood friend, former neighbor, and ob/gyn intern Sarah Chisholm. Back in Houston, Brandi, Peter, and I wrapped up 2011 with the Houston Symphony's A Very Merry Pops. Quite a festive affair!

Enjoying the Ride

 December got off to a great start in Los Angeles as I continued on the interview trail. With stops at USC and Loma Linda, I was able to spend some time with Adam and play hooky from my psychiatry rotation. Both programs have a lot to offer and would be a great place to spend the next three or four years of training.

Adam and I took advantage of the quality time together over a delicious Japanese BBQ dinner at Tsuru Hashi. We also ate brunch one morning at Old Vine Cafe in Costa Mesa. Even though I ordered too much, the food was super tasty. The creamy cheesy grits were sensational. YUM!

 We also spent a day at Knott's Berry Farm, which was a major throwback to my carefree days as a five-year-old. With a donation to Toys for Tots we gained access to the Snoopy Christmas-themed Knott's "Merry" Farm. Starting off with a heart-racing drop on the Supreme Scream, we made our way through the park's rides and attractions. Unfortunately, I soon realized that I no longer have the stomach of a five-year-old. Note to self: bring anti-nausea meds if I return in another 22 years.

Seattle Smiles

After Thanksgiving I flew back to Houston through Seattle to make a very important stop on the interview trail. When I first arrived I paid the Seattle Art Museum a visit, which was cool. Then I headed to the main attraction: University of Washington. Though the emergency medicine residency program is brand new, it was very interesting and exciting to hear what they have planned.

I had a couple awesome dinners with north Idaho friends- Hillary Chisholm (above) and Laura Phillips Jensen (below). Hillary is in her fourth year of medical school at UW and will "expand" to spend another year figuring out what she wants to do for residency. Laura is an ED nurse at Harborview living in a beautiful home with her husband and dogs!

Perfect Fit

Christmas came early this year in the form of a trip to northern Idaho for Thanksgiving. Adam joined me for some family time consisting of amazing food, fun games, and overall bonding + relaxation. It was good to re-introduce the BF to the fam for the first time since Rice graduation. Throughout my time at home, I was reminded of many blessings in my life and reasons to give thanks.

In truth the amazing rendezvous has already been expertly recapped by my dear mother, so my words here will be brief. My stomach and heart could not have been happier nor fuller. We celebrated Mom's birthday a yummy ice cream cake and candles. Lots of candles. Though Mom got her share of gifts, the kids got very special presents, too- first edition, hand-signed copies of the long-awaited family cookbook. Time to start baking!

Try Me

November 10th marked the start of the interview trail for me with a visit to Harbor-UCLA. While in southern California I spent a long weekend with Adam. We ate lots of tasty food, went shopping for guinea pigs (just looking for Adam), and picked up some tasty Taiwanese breads and taro pops.

After my interview and the visit, I returned to Houston and went straight to friend Revathi's birthday party. Her party theme was the ever appropriate Mobster Lobster (see costume below). After the candles were blown out, I took Revathi and Anand with me to Houston's Risotto Festival- all made possible by friend and foodie judge Sarah. Soooo good!

More eating took place in a tiny town between Houston and Galveston; this time with cousin Alison. Temporarily in town for the cruise ship season, Alison was able to break away from work to catch up with me over Mexican food. It was great to connect!

CultureMap Associate Editor Sarah hooked me up yet again with a sneak peek at Nabi, a new restaurant in the Montrose area on Westheimer. They served up sweet saki cocktails and some interesting food like brisket gyozas, pork buns, sushi, and an entire roasted pig. College roommate Teresa and I also found some time to hang out- shopping in the Rice Village!

Sparks Fly

In the beginning of November, I enjoyed some of the Rice homecoming festivities. Though I did not attend the game, it was fun catching up with some visiting alumni and having a picturesque volunteer brunch atop Hotel Zaza.

I must have been on a real brunch kick, because I also joined Sarah and her co-worker Caroline for a late morning meal at Benjy's on Washington. From the chocolate chip bacon waffles to the white peach mojitos, it was a delicious treat!

On Saturday, November 5th, I got a surprise phone call from Brandi inviting me to join her for a Taylor Swift concert. In one of the final stops on her Speak Now tour, she rocked the house and was truly fantastic. I especially got a kick out of trying to decipher the quote inked on her arm. That night's signature lyric came from Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now: "It's love's illusions I recall, I really don't know love at all."

For the latest installment of the Houston Pops 2011-12 season, they presented the music of Paul McCartney. Though the resemblance is a bit striking, the band was only a cover.

One of the highlights of the night was watching the subscriber appreciation video. If you watch closely, I make a guest appearance right around :59. Check it out!

 

Costume Change

Halloween 2011 turned out to be a three-day extravaganza. Baylor celebrates the costumed holiday with a talent show called Coffeehouse. Inspired by a cardboard box, I went as a Rubik's cube. For the night before Halloween, I joined forces with friends for a Montrose pub crawl (and a stop at Yogurtland). Costume #2 was a maid, which paled in comparison to Peter as a nevernude or Teresa and Dane as a glowing Tron.

Finally, Halloween proper involved a laid back trip to 13 Celsius, a favorite wine bar. I threw together some sort of a Ronald McDonald costume- thanks to the help from an old red wig my beloved sister Sarah passed on to me. Despite all of the dressing up, it was back to business as usual for the start of my final core clerkship rotation on psychiatry.

Catching Up

Though I have back-dated this blog, I'm actually posting it a few months after these events transpired. As 2012 kicks off to a start, it's time to get back on track with the blog. Ready, set, go!

Thanks to a Rice wedding, my college buddy Jenn came into town for a visit. We enjoyed catching up over ice cream at Amy's. Robert and Jenn are looking forward to finally living together in the foreseeable future as they couples match in emergency medicine and psychiatry, respectively.

As my sub-internship in the surgical ICU came to a close and my psychiatry core clerkship got underway, I was able to squeeze in some musical theater with friend Sarah. We saw the traveling Broadway show Memphis, which I thought has some fantastic numbers. Very reminiscent of Hairspray, this fun and energetic musical hooked me from the beginning.

My amazing medical school classmate and dear friend Brandi successfully defended her Masters thesis at the end of October. Despite graduating with an English Major from Rice, attending medical school, getting married, having a baby, and publishing countless papers in the field of cardiothoracic surgery, Brandi found time to make waves in the field of bioengineering. Good job!

Trivial Pursuits

Baylor's Emergency Medicine Interest Group held its second annual Trivia Night at Hans' Bier Haus on October 6th. Though my team came in a close second, the night was a lot of fun and a fundraising success. The bonus bucks went directly into the hotel fund for our block of student rooms at the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Annual Conference in San Francisco.

Baylor brought a group of over a dozen students to the meeting this year. Though we didn't have much time to get out and explore the city, we enjoyed views of the city's skyline at the Texas EM mixer. My personal favorite event of the weekend was the residency fair at the med student symposium. I had a chance to visit with several of the programs where I have applied.

Unfortunately, I had to skip out of the conference early Sunday morning to make it back for the highlight of this year's Pops season: Idina Menzel! Her wide selection of songs included: Wicked's I'm Not That Girl, For Good (a capella and amazing!), the quintessential Defying Gravity, Rent's No Day But Today, the Glee version of Gaga's Poker Face, her own song Gorgeous, lullabies for her baby boy Walker, Annie's Tomorrow, and more. Though she didn't stay after the show to sign her CD, she did share a strawberry lozenge with me during the performance! In an attempt to prove she was soothing her sore throat and not popping pills, she passed a candy to me in the front row!

When I wasn't bonding with my new BFF Idina, I hung out with other friends (mostly of the med school variety) during this Oktoberfest month. Robert and Ian held a couple pizza making and beer brewing get-togethers. Inspired by our San Francisco drinks of choice, Revathi hosted folks at her place for some martinis- a little dirty, two olives.

Get Your Kicks

September came to a close with a few fun and educational events. I led a CPR class for some BCM students and got a kick out of showing the American Heart Association's new instructional video for bystander CPR (highly recommended- check it out). My mentor Dr. Fisher had a bunch of emergency medicine groupies out to her house in the Woodlands, which was fun (see above).

With CultureMap foodie friend Sarah, I enjoyed a couple special meals. We savored some succulent selections at Le Mistral's 10th Anniversary Celebration and took in the chimerical courtyard ambiance (obviously I am working the thesaurus here to broaden my vocab). During the day we kicked off our shoes and picnicked in Hermann Park.

Speaking of kicking things off, the month of October got off to a great start with what has become an annual trifecta of events: Race for the Cure, Christ the King's Blessing of the Animals, and Free Night of Theater at the Houston Ballet (see 2010, 2009). Wentworth really wore himself out at church this year and was too tired to maintain his bladder control. I'm still paranoid about any lingering hint of cat pee odor in the Camry. Sigh. Time to get a new car? (kidding!)

Bebop and Rocksteady

On September 16th, the Rice Women's Resource Center celebrated its 15th anniversary! As a two-time student director of the RWRC, I was very excited to see what the center is up to these days. After a nice reception in the Brown Courtyard, I took a sneak peek at the new digs. More photos from the RWRC anniversary can be seen here.

The very next day, I enjoyed a bit of the Museum District Day festivities. I loved stopping by the Contemporary Arts Museum, which had two exhibits on display: The Spectacular of Vernacular and Perspectives 175: Marc Swanson: The Second Story. I joined several hot-glue-gunning children on the lawn outside to make my own art car. Then I paid a brief visit to the John C. Freeman Weather Museum.

That night a group of folks gathered at 13 Celsius to celebrate Amy's birthday. We sipped on wine and ate cupcakes before heading to the gayborhood/midtown club F-bar. Switching gears a few days later, I attended another birthday party-- this time for my classmate and friend Anand. Over beers at Flying Saucer, we toasted Anand and relished in our status as fourth-year medical students.

The Cali Redux

Thinking way back to September 10, I found myself boarding a flight for southern California bound for the Western Regional Emergency Medicine Student Symposium. I spent the day back at USC for lectures, workshops, and a residency fair featuring several California programs. At the end of the day, I fought traffic down to Irvine to meet up with Mr. Tuttle. Adam and I stuffed ourselves silly with Italian food at Mama D's.

We spent our Sunday picnicking and walking the shores of Thousand Steps beach. Nearly living up to its name, 213 stairs allowed us to descend to the picturesque sandy stretch. With delicious cheese and fruit, crossword puzzles, and clear sunny skies, the setting was just about perfect. By the time we packed up our bags and trekked back up the stairs, we were hungry for something substantive.

Juicy burgers fit the bill at 25 Degrees in Huntington Beach. My angus beef was topped with caramelized onions, prosciutto, pesto, and avocado. Mmmm! We split an ice cream cookie sandwich and made our way back to Irvine. On my way to the airport on Monday, I paid a visit to Harbor/UCLA's emergency medicine residency program. I shadowed for a few hours and confirmed my interest in their amazing program!