Wholesome Goodness

Even though I had a lot of fun at Charity Ball in 2009 and 2011, I decided to skip the event and babysit instead. I spent the night hanging out with my mentor/attending’s kids. We played the Game of Life (thanks Sarah and Paul!), ate pizza, read two-minute mysteries, and watched some Kung Fu Panda. I miss my babysitting days!

In another return to the good ol’ days, my friend Sarah threw a 90s dance party. We chased waterfalls, walked in spider webs, found things ironic, and were genies in a bottle. After bringing Backstreet back, I tried to bring my booty back- in shape, that is.

Revathi and I kept up our gym routine and tried to eat healthy. We checked out the new lunch hotspot across the street from the gym and realized with just a couple bites Local Foods was worth the hype. I continued to eat local with a trip to the Rice farmer’s market. The ginger granola is the perfect complement to Greek yogurt.

I must have been on a ginger kick because the Thursday trip to Double Trouble involved spicy, handcrafted drinks like a Normandy Mule and an Angela Lansbury. Mike, Revathi, and Anand helped me celebrate my final day of clinical requirements as a medical student when my stint in the dermatology clinic ended. The celebrating was short-lived because Apex started just a couple days later.

Apex is a 3-week lecture-based class to help all the graduating fourth-years prepare for the start of residency. It was fun to reconnect with all of my classmates who had been scattered around the Texas Medical Center for the last two years. After classes one day we went to happy hour at Black Finn downtown (above). A smaller, highly fashionable contingent went to City Centre for an event at Elaine Turner where they practically gave away amazing new handbags!

Rain on My Parade

Because everyone should experience NOLA Mardi Gras at least once in their lives, some medical school friends and I made a run for the Texas-Louisiana border. Following our Friday clinical obligations, we headed east for a weekend road trip. We crashed at a resident’s house and spent all day Saturday on the streets of The Big Easy.

We started the drizzly day off with breakfast (crab and brie omelet) and cupcakes at Cake Cafe then hit the finest establishments of New Orleans. We waded our way to Frenchmen Street and then slowly made our way down Decatur where they really let anyone belly up to the bar.

Finally, we made it to Canal Street for the parades. Beads were flying everywhere! Thankfully, it was far too cold outside for anyone to “earn” necklaces, so it turned out to be a relatively PG affair. After being hit in the face with stray beads and elbows, we nursed our wounds on Bourbon Street. Though the line was far too long for an official Hurricane, we did detonate some Hand Grenades.

We also did some serious damage on the dance floor before calling it a night (or should I say early morning?). We made it back to Houston on Sunday night- just in time for me to join Sarah for the Rodeo Bites food extravaganza. By the time the real Fat Tuesday rolled around, I was already back to behaving myself and working in the dermatology clinic at the VA.

To Days Gone By

I returned to clinics in February with an anesthesia rotation at the VA. When I wasn't intubating, starting IVs, or learning about narcotics, I tried to keep up appearances with friends and put my gym membership to use. Sarah and I tested out the new contemporary Japanese restaurant and Austin transplant Uchi. The brus­sels sprout kimchee was absolutely phenomenal.

In an effort to beat the winter blues, Brandi and I warmed ourselves with high tea. I threw together tea sandwiches, crackers, fruit, and cheese while Brandi brewed a mean pot of tea. Little Thomas provided entertainment from his high chair and all was right with the world.

With my Valentine roughly 1500 miles to the west, I settled on celebrating the 14th with med school friends Mike, Anand, and Revathi. The four of us comprise the Double Trouble crew with our weekly Thursday get-togethers at our favorite midtown hotspot for coffee and cocktails. For Valentine's Day we headed to Onion Creek in the Heights for chili dogs and chocolate wine.

Hearts and cups were filled again just two days later at Teresa and Dane's engagement party. We congregated at Volcano to celebrate the next big step in my former roomie's rock-solid relationship with her college sweetheart. Congratulations!

Gather Up

As January came to a close and interview season wrapped up, I had a chance to celebrate the coming of the end of med school with friends. We ate tapas at T'afia...

...enjoyed our Symphony tradition with the Pops' "Best of Spielberg and Williams" followed by dessert at the Hard Rock Cafe...

...played cricket/darts at Cecil's and toasted to the fourth and final year of medical school!

Family Ties

One of my favorite parts of interview season was visiting family across the country. For my final interview run, I made a snowy journey up to the Midwest. First stop: Uncle John and Aunt Sherri's place in St. Charles. We ate a wonderful dinner at Francesca’s by the River and shared a relaxing, peaceful night at home. I interviewed at the University of Chicago, which had an amazing emergency medicine program, then drove up to Madison.

I ate dinner with the welcoming residents at the University of Wisconsin then made it to the Brehms. Joe and Sue also made the interview trail a bit more friendly and homey. After my interview at UW, I met up with Uncle Steve for coffee and great conversation. Then I drove to Milwaukee for another resident dinner- this time at Cafe Hollander in Wauwatosa. The day wrapped up with a nice comfy bed in Oconomowoc at Uncle Dave and Aunt Sue's place.

Following my visit to the Medical College of Wisconsin, I sloooowly drove back to Oconomowoc in a snowstorm. Uncle Dave, Aunt Sue, and I ate some fish and chips for dinner. The next day we took a trip to Madison, ate dinner at Dotty Dumplings, and watched a Badgers hockey game. It was also great to catch up with Lizzie, who is finishing up her degree in finance. Before I knew it my Midwest tour was over and I was on a plane bound for the Bay Area.

After arriving at the Stanford campus, I had a bit of free time to visit the Cantor Art Museum. The evening social with the residents at Old Pro Sports Bar was a bit chaotic because the 49ers lost to the Giants in the NFL playoffs. Nonetheless, I had a great interview day at Stanford and loved a lot of things about the program. The best was yet to come as I boarded the train bound for San Francisco. I met up with my cousin Beth at her awesome home. We ate a lovely dinner, exchanged stories over wine, and finished the visit with a mini tour of her neighborhood the next morning.

Taste Tests

January was a month of exploration- investigating new places and new food. My dear sister Sarah sent me a magazine clipping way back when that included a reference to a new local meat market in the Heights called Revival. I enjoyed an awesome pulled pork sandwich with a side of ginger lime slaw.

Interview season continued with another trip to southern California. Adam and I got to see each other again and celebrated with some conveyor belt sushi. Adam gifted me Scene It 2 for my birthday, and we enjoyed playing games and relaxing. Then it was back to business for interviews at UCLA-Olive View and UC-Irvine.

The post-interview dinner at UCLA was one of the highlights of the entire interview trail. The assistant program director (a former writer for the show ER) invited all of the applicants over to his home for a bountiful Mexican dinner including brie and papaya quesadillas, carne asada, roasted corn and poblano pepper salad, and more. The sopapilla cheesecake was incredible.

Next stop: Portland, Oregon. Everything about my stay in the Rose City was super cool. No rental car needed in this easy-to-navigate public-transit-friendly city. I ate a tasty lunch at Blueplate consisting of juicy Northwest sliders and a chai bomb soda float. I'm salivating just reflecting on it! Anyway, I then met up with my gracious host Desiree (Chelsey's friend, a nurse at OHSU).

The pre-interview social happened at McMenamins Bagdad Theater and Pub. I really enjoyed my visit to OHSU, including the scenic trip on the Portland aerial tram. Everyone seemed so happy and healthy in the fun and funky city. Later in the evening I reconnected with a couple interviewees for a night on the town. We crafted ourselves a little pub crawl through Portland's downtown area.

We had spicy Mexican dinner at Santeria that just happened to share a bathroom with another Portland specialty: a strip club. Crazy! Just when I thought the night couldn't get kookier, I stopped by Voodoo Doughnuts for some unique pastries ranging from Double Bubble to Cap'n Crunch to Maple Blazer Blunt. My trip wrapped up with an early morning bus ride sitting next to a pleasant older guy who looked like Ben Franklin... and wore a pink skirt and heels. Amazing.

Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Bowl Birthday

In celebration of my 27th birthday, I invited my friends to a royal bowl at the Palace Lanes. Dressed in strictly Disney attire, my friends showed up and laced up their not-so-glass bowling slippers. Though we were truly novice bowlers in the lanes, we did strike up great conversation in our spare time.

Amy and Aaron brought a fairy tale fabulous cake to complement my Cinderella getup. I enjoyed being princess for an evening and was thrilled to share the day with friends from med school, Rice, and Houston. (Thanks to Diana for the card-turned-crown)

The final head count included three Gastons, two Cruellas, Belle, Ariel, Jasmine, Aladdin, Prince Eric, Scar, Peter Pan, Prince Naveen, Tron, a Mickey Mouse Club member, Snow White, and of course Cinderella. It was a magical way to start off a new year of life!

Discovery Channels

In no time we found ourselves back in the north with the help of a sleek high-speed train. We stuffed ourselves with the most delicious and highly-anticipated dumplings at Din Tai Fung. We also made time for some spicy hot pot. The food in the north was really phenomenal.

The six of us spent a day in Taipei starting with the best Vietnamese food (and coffee!) I've ever had at Yue Yuan Pho (expertly reviewed here). Then we took the metro to the expansive Taipei Zoo. We visited the popular Giant Panda House then checked in on koalas, hippos, flamingos, and several nocturnal species- including a sloth.

Though I may not have made it clear after my visit to the San Diego Zoo, the primates are my favorite beasts of the jungle. After spending a good time monkeying around, we left the zoo for higher ground. Soaring above the zoo on the Maokong Gondola, we rode 2.5 miles and climbed 903 feet to the scenic center of Taipei's tea culture.

At dusk we enjoyed watching our tea being traditionally prepared for us. While resting our weary feet, we sipped the soothing and medicinal herbal blend. We wandered our way through the mountaintop village returned on the gondola to see the glowing cityscape and Taipei 101 at night.

For our final stop on our Taipei adventure, we went to a bustling night market. Adam and I tested our gastronomical limits by trying the tastiest stuff we could find. Ending the busy day with some shaved ice cream was the perfect conclusion to a full day. Before I knew it we were flying back across the Pacific to ring in the New Year stateside. Thank you to the Tuttles for an amazing Taiwan adventure!

Southern Charm

We continued our southward trek by train with our sights set on Kenting. We stayed at a nice beach resort and really took advantage of everything from the sandy walks at sunset to the interactive pool area. Adam, Alex, and I went on a snorkeling excursion and saw all sorts of colorful fish (unbeknownst to me, my siblings were also snorkeling at different spots across the globe).

Despite all being in our mid-twenties, the kids kept busy with arts, crafts, and games. We each made our own surfer bracelets in the hotel's activity room with the help of a sun-tanned, shirtless instructor. In the evenings we played a variety of games including Phase 10 and Scrabble Slam.

I especially enjoyed our walks in the south. At night we frequented the street shops, and during the day we soaked in the scenery. We took a drive out to Cape Eluanbi and walked out to the southernmost point of Taiwan. The remainder of our time in the south was spent sunning ourselves on the windy beach and looking for sea glass.

Gorging Ourselves

After getting our feet wet in the north, we took a train southeast to Hualien. We visited a night market, perused the Engrish t-shirts, ate tasty snacks, and mingled with the locals.

We stayed at Hotel Bayview, which was a nice hotel with with scenic ocean views. Adam and I enjoyed a windy morning stroll and fish museum tour before our van of travelers headed into the main area attraction: the Taroko Gorge.

Upon entering the breathtaking national park, I felt like it was something straight from the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Lush green vegetation covered the dramatic mountains that disappeared into a veil of fog. Absolutely amazing.

We hiked around to see highlights including the Eternal Spring Shrine, the Taroko Bell Tower, the Changuang Temple Zen monastery, and the Cimu Bridge (above). We had lunch in Tianxiang before heading back out of the gorge.

We spent the afternoon cruising the gorgeous coastline. The water was an amazing blue-green. Every once in a while we stopped to stretch our legs along the way and take in the natural beauty.

We made it all the way to a chili pepper museum, which looked like a popular tour bus stop in the middle of nowhere. I enjoyed some chili ice cream and left the hotter, spicier offerings to the men.

For our final night in Hualien we went to another night market. I enjoyed watching the preparation of our tasty milk tea almost as much as I enjoyed slurping it down from a plastic bag.

Emily sated her craving for cong you bing. In an exchange of culture and currency, Alex made some friends who got a big kick out of our whiteness and American accents.