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!