Turn, Turn, Turn

Friday, June 17th marked the end of my third year of medical school. After taking my final exam in pediatrics, I enjoyed a night of relaxation. I worked on a few projects around the house and popped in on a med school party:There was definitely reason to celebrate: I am officially a fourth year medical student! In the next year I will do rotations in Emergency Medicine in Houston and LA. I will apply to residency programs across the country, travel for interviews, and go through the match process. In March I will really find out what the future holds (especially in the geographic sense), and finally, I will graduate in May!Friday was also a big day of change for my good friends Brandi and Peter as they welcomed their beautiful son, Thomas Michael. I visited the family of three in the hospital, and it was so special to see their lives evolving into something a bit more complete and perfect. Thomas came into this world surrounded by love, overjoyed parents, and doting grandparents. All the little newborn ladies out there better keep an eye on this guy who is destined for greatness, wit, and brilliance.When I heard that Thomas was a whopping NINE+ pound baby, I immediately thought of another great friend and awesome mother, Kami. Back in March, she gave birth to her second son, Logan Briggs. With his older brother as living proof, the Shaws make some handsome little boys, so it will be fun to watch this little guy grow up as well. Though it will be years and years before I will ever be soliciting parenting advice, I look forward to turning to Kami and Brandi when that time does come.Finally, a group of friends bid adieu over brunch to our friend Max, who will be spending the next three months in Mexico. Best of luck as he heads south of the border!

Delighting in the Everyday

As much as I want to mislead you, my life mostly consists of haunting Houston's coffee shops these days. Last weekend and this past week were mostly focused on studying for my pediatric "shelf" exam. I did take a lovely study break on Saturday evening to stop by Robert's place, hang out with classmates, and help transfer crawfish to the boiling pot. Though I couldn't stick around for the feast, I'm sure it was tasty.Instead, I carpooled with Amy and Aaron to the Woodlands for the Food and Wine Week Grand Tasting. As usual, we were lucky to have Sarah hook us up with guest passes to the decadent affair. I really enjoyed the event last year, so it was great to go back and try samples from the best that Houston (and beyond) has to offer. Finally, I want to share the link to my entry for Living Lutheran's video contest- check it out!

Celebratory Cheers

On Thursday, June 2, I joined Sarah for Central Market's 10th Anniversary Celebration. The tented gala was a food lover's delight with ten of Houston's best chefs sharing a signature dish sampler. Big names and highlights included Randy Evans of Haven, Philippe Schmit of Philippe Restaurant, John Sheely of Mockingbird Bistro, Hugo Ortega of Hugo’s, and Claire Smith of Canopy and Shade. After the gala, we went to the Dessert Gallery to help Javier's boyfriend Gus celebrate his 25th birthday. We snacked on decadent cakes and heard about how our dear friend Max (below in pink) will be leaving us for an extended stay in Mexico. Gus and I also exchanged study tips for our upcoming USMLE board exams.On Friday morning I caught an early morning flight to Boston for the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) annual conference. What a blast! We watched residents show their skills in the case simulation battle SimWars. Former Rice EMS friend and Baylor classmate Cameron Decker won a prestigious award for his work with area EMS, police, and even a swat team. Yes, there was a little of this, too:The Medical Student Symposium filled up Saturday with all sorts of helpful tips and pointers as I prepare to apply to Emergency Medicine residency programs in September. The residency fair boasted over 70 programs from around the country! After all the business, we enjoyed a night out in the Boston Commons. Our mighty group of medical students were only outdone by our faculty advisers. :)When I returned to Houston on Sunday, I drove straight to the wedding of my neighbors Missy and Tony. Though I missed the short ceremony, I was able to enjoy the festivities at the reception. We were well fed with fresh fruit, mimosas, and a lunch buffet featuring waffles, fried chicken, roast beef, and mashed potatoes in martini glasses! Instead of cutting cake, they shared delicious cupcakes from Crave. I felt very lucky to be included in the big day.

Baby Blues

Last Sunday started off with church and grieving the loss of Liane Hansen from NPR's Weekend Edition. Then I met up with north Idaho friend Victor McFarland who was in town for research related to his PhD in History at Yale. We grabbed some brunch, walked around, and popped into a couple museums. It sure was fun to catch up with my former Math Counts team member.That afternoon family and friends of expectant mom Brandi gathered at Canopy for her baby shower. After a couple months of planning, I was excited that the day had finally arrived- and that Brandi was still undelivered at 38 weeks. She had quite the bounty of boy-befitting presents.The attendees enjoyed fresh fruit and pastries upon arrival followed by their choice of entree (I loved my tasty quiche). The guests filled out "Wishes for Baby" cards and completed a page in the baby weight/arrival date scrapbook. Photos of Brandi and Peter from their infancy decorated the tables along with a few flowers and a chocolate favor at each place setting. For more event photos, click here.
Brandi, Peter, and I drove downtown directly after the shower for our dinner date at the Lancaster Bistro. We met up with the Executive Director/CEO of the Houston Symphony Mark Hanson and Pops Conductor Michael Krajewski. Lucky us! We gushed about our subscriber love for the Symphony as we look forward to our third season next year. I took the opportunity to put in a request for next season: Shenandoah. I was very happy to hear that the song was already on the docket. Score!This dinner will go down as one of my Houston highlights for sure. It was such a special opportunity for the three of us, and dinner itself was truly fantastic (lamb chops). Afterward, we enjoyed our final show of the season, a Ray Charles tribute featuring Ellis Hall. We took our standard post-show photo with the featured artist. Clearly, this highly anticipated day exceeded expectations!