Perfect day!

Noelle got me tickets to the Lakers-Celtics game at the Staples Center. I have not been to a game in years, and it being the NBA Finals rematch, on Christmas day, and with Noelle, made the day that much more fun. We arrived an hour before tip-off, but just had enough time to grab some food and find our seats. We were in the nose-bleed section, but that did not matter. I remember reading about how the true fans are usually up there anyway. It was an exciting game from start to finish. The crowd was into every second of the game, yelling "de-fense," "Let's go LA," and the unforgettable "Boston sucks!" It was a close game up until the last few minutes, and practically everyone stayed for the final buzzer. 92-83 final score. Go Lakers!

I also found out that I have an extra day off, so I'll be staying in Walnut until Sunday. Another surprise. Now I just gotta find out what I'm going to do with my time.

Happy holidays!

I can't believe it's already near the end of the year! It's been a season of a lot of eating and no exercising. So here's some updates. We went to watch Fiddler on the Roof this past weekend at Redondo Beach. It was a very good show considering that it's a smaller theater. I have one of the songs stuck in my head now. I'll be heading back up to Walnut tomorrow on Christmas eve to have dinner with Noelle's family. I get Christmas day off, but have to work on Friday, and then I'll have the weekend off. It'll be a lot of driving, but it's worth it to spend more time at home.

I went to my first nephrology interview at Harbor-UCLA last week. The program was surprisingly very good. I remember visiting Harbor for residency interviews, things are different as a fellow. I'll be heading to Kaiser and UCSF in January. Hopefully, I'll hear back from more programs by then as well. I think Harbor as well as UCLA will be the top programs I'll be considering.

In other news, my brother, Will, went to Hawaii with his girlfriend. Hopefully he'll come home with some cookies. We're also planning a trip to Japan and Taiwan during my next vacation in April. Something to look forward to, since my schedule will start to get a little busier after this.

Interviews

So I finally finished the CCU last week. It was a busy rotation, interspersed with a few days off here and there and getting a chance to see Noelle once in a while. We went to Disneyland for the Christmas decorations. They put up all these lights on the castle, which was really pretty. We also had our residency holiday party, where Noelle got to meet a lot of my co-workers. It was a lot more fun to go with someone as opposed to last year, when I went by myself. In other news, I finally submitted my nephrology fellowship applications. I heard back from 3 programs so far, my first interview being this Friday. I can't believe I'm interviewing again! And I'm not even half way through my residency yet! Hopefully my schedule works out well so that I won't be taking too many days off in one rotation.

CCU

I am done with my vacation and just finished my first call night as a resident in the unit. It was busy, but not as bad as I had imagined. But this doesn't mean that I like it... already counting down the number of calls. It's going to be a busy month, but the good news is that intersperced the calls, I will actually have time for random events, including Christmas tree decorations, go to Disneyland for the Candlelight Precession, and attending our annual Holiday Party. I should also be running to get ready for the half marathon in Feb. I ran 5 miles today, which was good, but it took me a while. It was nice to be outdoors in the sun though, but being post-call, I didn't expect too much.

Heading home

So comes an end to my trip at Philadelphia. The sun finally came out today, which was a little too late for me. It appears as if it's starting to cool down as well. The trip was a good trip, having a chance to visit ,ost of the city. Philadelphia is an old city with a lot of culture. I was surprised that the city felt safer than on first impressions. However, I haved lived far too long on the west coast to want to move out here though. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to visit New York, but hopefully I'll get to go with Noelle in the future. There are many Broadway shows I want to catch. Can't wait to make it back home. Noelle's going to pick me up, and we're getting shaved ice. Only 4 more days until I start the CCU. It's going to be hard to wake up so early again!

Gloomy day in Philadelphia

Today I had a chance to roam about Philadelphia. It was a cloudy day, but soon turned into rain. After registrating for the ASN conference, I headed out to the museum square, going by Franklin Institute, Academy of Natural Sciences, and Philadelphia Museum of Art. The city's architecture is amazing, with all the old historic buildings weaved into the modern building to make up the concrete jungle. There are so many shops and small eateries around, and the Reading Terminal Market reminds me of Taiwan night market. The weather unfortunately did not cooperate and I had to take shelter back at the convention center. I will soon meet up with nephrology program directors for a welcome dinner, which hopefully will be relaxing. I went through the program and there are much more events than is time for me to attend. It'll be a busy day tomorrow with seminars, but I'll plan on visiting Independence Hall on Friday.

The Venetian

Noelle and I stayed at the Venetian on our trip to Las Vegas. Although we got their cheapest room, it was still one of the nicest rooms I have ever stayed. We watched one of the Cirque de Soleil shows, Beatles Love. It was a show to love. I normally don't listen to the Beatles, but I recognized a few of the songs, which made it more fun. The dancing and choreography was simply fantastic. During the stay, I also racked up (from the Jersey Boys) a few personal firsts... no, it's not what you're thinking. It was the first time that I got drunk. I have never drank a lot really fast, so I thought to give it a shot (or many). It's simply not the best feeling in the world, and I hope never to feel that again. I suppose my body is too old now to take such a mild beating. The good from this, though, was that Noelle stuck by my side through my idiocracy, and I knew she was a keeper. We went on the gondala ride at the Venetian. It was romantic to say the least. This was also the first trip with Noelle, one of many I am certain. Unfortunately, we didn't get to go to Tau or watch Jersey Boys, but that gives more reason to visit Sin City once again. The three days wrapped up too fast, and I am now on my flight to Philadelphia for the ASN conference. I can't believe Noelle picked me up at 4:30 this morning to take me to the airport. It was cozy driving through the rain with the heater on. It makes me look forward to winter time, perhaps we might even go somewhere with snow to complete the picture.

End of October

I can't believe it's the end of October! We celebrated Halloween early with clubbing at House of Blues in Anaheim. I looked for a costume, but ended up spending too much time waiting around. I ultimately took my white coat and went as myself, which was lame. Oh well, there's always next year I suppose. Noelle went as the "slutty" nurse costume, or at least that's what her mom called it. It wasn't so bad. Met up with Gar and Karen at the club. I didn't know everyone had such low tolerance for alcohol, but they did pre-party. Few more days before my 2 week vacation! I'm looking forward to my trip to Vegas, and then to Philadelphia.

Random events

I didn't realize it's been so long since I last updated! I finished my 2 week stent in the wards, and am now back on consult. Schedule-wise, it's a lot nicer. I'm planning on hitting the gym more frequently now. I feel so out of shape. Noelle and I signed up for the Huntington Beach half marathon in Feb, so I need to start running! This past weekend a bunch of my high school buddies came out for a mini-reunion. It was a lot of fun! I have not seen a few of them since graduation, and it's interesting to hear about everything that people are doing. It's surprising that many of them are still in the area, which makes these types of events easier to arrange. My grandma is also here in the States. She'll be leaving in early November, so I'll get to spend some more time with her this next weekend. I'll make it back when Will comes down from San Francisco late October for dinner. After that, we'll be heading off to Las Vegas!

In other news, I ordered the HTC G1 Android phone, which arrived today. Unfortunately, it won't be until this weekend when I get to pick it up at Walnut. I'll probably encave myself for a while as well. :)

Disneyland weekend

This past weekend was a weekend of Disneyland fun. It has been years since I've been to Disneyland, so there were a lot of changes. Especially California Adventure, where we went when it first opened and never since. Saturday was Noelle's birthday, and we (she) decided to go to Disneyland to celebrate. She used to work at Disneyland as Mulan on the parade, and I think the gingerbread dude as well. Although she has probably been to Disneyland more times this year than I've been in my life, I'm glad that she was so excited about going. And part of it is probably me, but that's besides the fact. We started off Saturday getting to California Adventure late, but I suppose what's a day off without sleeping in? There was actually a lot more going on at California Adventure than I remember. We took the monorail to grab some dinner before finally heading into Disneyland for the rest of the night. The fireworks at the end of the night felt like a million dreams, hence the name. I have an annual pass now, which means that I am obligated (just kidding) to attend a few more times. Christmas time sounds like will be the perfect season to go again. I don't remember ever attending during any other time than in the summer.

 

My aunt and uncle came to the States on Friday to visit. This is their first visit to the US, and we went to Disneyland on Sunday. It actually turned out okay, since Noelle and I actually did not have too much time to go to many of the rides. I wanted to stay for the fireworks though, but it would have been too late since I had to drive down to San Diego that night. Overall, it was a fun weekend, much more exercise (walking) than I've done in weeks. In other news, my grandmother and apparently another of our relatives will be coming over next week. They'll be visiting me in San Diego next week for dinner, so that should be fun. I think Dumpling Inn will be the perfect place to go.

Almost there!

I stayed up late last night, but I'm finally done. I finished my first draft of my personal statement! It most likely will be close to my final draft, but I figured that I need to give it some time before I look at it again to revise it. So begins my application for nephrology fellowship. I'll have to start getting all the paperwork ready soon, and the deadline is December 1. After that, I think my days will feel a lot easier, at least until interviews start.

 

A lot has happened in the past week, and I feel that there's much in the works for the near future. It has been a long time since I've had plans so far in advance, but it's exciting to think about it. I'm going to meet up with Maria tonight. She's down at Children's in San Diego on an away rotation. I haven't seen her in months now, so it'll be fun to meet up and catch up. I'll be meeting with Kirk and Peter on Friday. Again, it's been a while since I saw them. There might be a bonfire on Friday night as well. But what I'm really looking forward to is seeing Noelle during the weekend. Her birthday is this coming up on Saturday, and we're going to Disneyland to celebrate. Apparently, she is going to take me around, so it'll be a big surprise for me.

 

In the not so distant future, we're going to catch Jason Mraz when he comes down to San Diego and hit Las Vegas for the long weekend. I actually might get Christmas eve/day off, so that's another few days for celebration. My brother, Will, is coming down to LA at the end of Oct, but unfortunately I won't be able to meet up with him. I suppose during the winter holiday season is when we'll get time to catch up and meet up as an entire family.

The time capsule

End of my first month

So tomorrow is the last day of my first month as a ward resident. The month actually went by surprisingly fast. For several weeks, due to multiple reasons, but of course also from the patient load, I was in a slump. However, this past week things have really turned up. Did my first EBM, which went well to my surprise. We got more discharges than admissions for once. Although I have not had a chance to hit the gym or play tennis much, I did manage to go home during each of my days off. And this is why my days seem to be easier. I met up with Noelle several weeks ago for the first time in years, and I was unknowingly drawn back into believing that there is hope at the end of bleak days. She talked about anything and everything with such comfort and confidence, and listened to me as if I were worth listening to. I felt at ease, and the time flew. I could not resist staying away, even though I had to during the past 2 weeks. Thinking back, it had been some time since I've looked forward to talking to someone, or even having someone to talk to. In short, as Eric would say, I'm in deep shit. I think I've involved myself much faster than I should, but I'm okay with that. She came down to visit this past weekend. When I realized that she is finally ready to step out from the past, I was lifted. We went to Universal Hillcrest on Saturday night, and this is where our story begins.

Labor Day!

So goes the last weekend of the summer season, not that I had much of a vacation (well, except the 2 months on research). I have tomorrow off, so I came back to Walnut today. Luckily, I was able to get off work a bit early today to make the drive. Figured the later it was, the more traffic there will be. On my drive, I got to talk to Yao. He's engaged now! Since he lives in Chula Vista, I'll try to meet up with him during the next few weeks, as he'll probably get busier and busier with the wedding planning. Through the musings and such of the high school days, I suddenly realized how much older I've become. I was making the drive back and will meet up with Noelle, whom it has been many years since I've seen or talked to until most recently. There have been many turn of events and several surprises in the past few weeks, and I'm sure in the end something good will come. It appears that everything happens when I least expect, and I suppose that maybe the best thing is to just wait and see.

Miramar Speed Circuit

Today I went to miramar speed circuit to race go karts with my roommate Elan and two of his dermatology buddies Andrew and Gagik. I acutually worked with Gagik last year when he was a prelim at UCSD. It was a lot of anticipation as we waited for the race to begin, watching other people do warm-up laps and trying to talk strategy. However, it's hard to remember anything about when to corner when I (as well as Andrew and Gagik) never drove go-karts before. Man, those little suckers can go, up to 40 mph! It was my first race, and I was surprised how tiring it was. No power steering means that my arms got a pretty good workout. All that headgear equals being drenched when we finished. Unfortunately, we came in 7th (last!!!, but 3 teams got disqualified for too much bumping and other illegal stuff). You can see some pictures here. It was a lot of fun, maybe next time we won't finish last. Gagik got the best lap of 35.076 sec, but the fastest lap was 32.206! My best was 36.06 sec.

http://picasaweb.google.com/flai740/080825MiramarSpeedCircuit

My first race

I just remembered that I ran the 2003 Davis Turkey Trot when I started medical school. My time for the 5K was 29:40 at 9:32 pace, with a rank of 685/1861. I made fairly significant improvement even though I'm now 5 years older. I'll try to run more races, and hopefully I'll steadily get faster. My eventual goal is to hit the 7 minute mark for the mile.

http://www.changeofpace.com/race_times/2003/TT/5kover.txt

Race results

So the results are official, with a time of 1:05:01 and 8:08 pace. If you go down, rank number 286, the guy was 84 years old! We were cheering him on when he crossed the finish line. I would love to be able to still run races at that age.

http://www.sdtc.com/results/2008_bp8n3_results-all.pdf

54th Balboa Park 8 mile run

I just returned from the Balboa Park 8 mile run. I wanted to run America's Finest City half marathon, but it was sold out. Well, 8 miles is a long run regardless. Not sure if I'll be able to finish the half. I got to Balboa Park around 6:45am, which was the earliest I've woken up in the past 2 months. I was actually pretty awake and alert, which helped. After registration, it was time of anticipation as we waited for the start at 7:30. Approximately 290 runners participated in the 8 mile race. There was only one time marker and I was at 3'30" for the first half mile. I was thinking, wow, I'm going at a good pace, but probably will come to haunt me at the end. At the 2 mile mark, I was tired! Half of the race was on dirt, with way too many hills. I kept at a decent pace, and was surprised how many people kept passing me. Around 3.5 miles, we were at the entrance to SD Zoo. This was where runners make a 1 mile loop and come back to the same route. I saw the first place guy, he was already a mile ahead of me! Throughout the run at the park, I realized how many people come just to jog and exercise. The weather was great, overcast day so that it's not hot. Come the 6 mile mark, we had to run up this enormous hill. I didn't remember the hill being so big when we came down! I almost didn't make it to the top. By 7 miles, I was thinking that I've never ran this far in one setting in my life. Everyone started to pick up the pace for the last mile, and I had no other choice but to follow. Finally, I see the finish line. I passed a guy right at the last second. It felt like a photo finish for #104. So... that's my rank. 104. Not great, but not too bad considering that this was my first race and I didn't train. The final time came down to 65'01", which is approximately 8'13" per mile. I think I'll run other races now, get my time faster, and maybe even consider the half marathon again.




Sponsored by SDTC, San Diego Tract Club. So many people are involved in this.




Start of the race, where we looped around the Aerospace Museum


Finally, the finish line!

4th of July

So this day has come and gone, now one year older. It was the first time in 4 years that I was at home for my birthday. Yesterday Eric and Kim made steak for me, which was excellent even though the seasoning was only rubbed in. I didn't even know we had a grill at our apartment complex. Last time I grilled anything was back at Davis with famous Phil's bbq. It was fun to just relax and chat after dinner. On my way back to Walnut today, Andy called me for tennis. We ate shaved ice again, which I think will always be welcomed after a grilling day on the court. We had a family dinner and afterwards went to Andy's sister's July 4th party. This was the first time I played with fireworks. Even the little kids were into it. There was one moment though when one of the firecrackers slid under the wooden patio... We finally came home for some pudding cake. This is probably one of the busiest birthdays that I can remember. To aging like fine wine, cheers!

Finished with intern year!

So the day has finally come. June 23 could not have come soon enough, but it has come (and went). I am officially done with intern year of residency! I had urgent care this afternoon, meaning that I got out at 7pm. Met up with Eric for some much needed gym routine, and went out to dinner party at one of my co-intern's house. It was a great way to end the year. Pretty much everyone had the night off, and no one had to go in the next day. It felt like back in college when you finish your last final. I walked out tonight from urgent care feeling like a heavy weight was lifted from my shoulders. My stride picked up as I got closer to the car, as if I needed to get there before the pager went off. Intern year was not bad, in retrospect. I don't know how I managed to survive it, but I did. I learned a lot, and hopefully this is sufficient to be a resident.

This past weekend, I spent the entire afternoon with Eric at the beach. He and Allie had a graduation party, just finishing up his internal medicine residency and his acceptance into UCSD heme/onc fellowship. It was a hot day, but it was a great day to be outside by the beach. I went out into the waters, but still too scared to go for a swim. Maybe one day, I'll actually venture out beyond the beach. Amanda had a housewarming party that night, where a few of us just sat around and shot the bull for endless hours. It was a nice change of pace to not wake up early the next day. The next day, Doug had his 30th birthday party for dinner and bar afterwards. I felt like this past few days had been busy, and it has! It was a blast to hang out with residents and friends outside of the hospital. But man, I still feel a little woozy from that shot I took tonight.

A lot has happened over the past month or two (yes, it's been that long since I updated my blog). Two of my friends got married during this span. The weddings were great, and I got to see a few long lost friends.

So this brings us to a close to the first year of my residency, although there's still more celebration tomorrow. I hear that next year will be much more relaxed and much more fun. If it's anything like this year, I'm looking forward to it! Now comes the hard part: what will I do for this next week off?

Beach

Today was post-call. I was about to head home when Nick paged me. A few people were heading off to the beach. I was tired, but I haven't been out in a while. The weather was unnaturally hot today, up to the mid 90's. I decided, why not, I might as well take a nap at the beach. It was a odd sensation to be driving out to the beach by myself. I heard the song, New Soul by Yael Naim. It brought some comfort upon arrival. Pacific Beach was crowded. I found the guys, sat down, and instantly fell asleep. I probably went in and out of sleep over the course of the next 2 hours. I realized that this is what people do on days off. How nice it was to lay back, relax, and not have a care in the world. I did not go into the water. Maybe next time. And hopefully I won't burn myself either.

untitled

So it's been a while since I last talked to Helen. I've been thinking about her more often now, whether I made a mistake or not. For a while, I could not envision life without her. She has done everything for me, and still tolerated all of my shortcomings. To see her walking away without looking back. I don't even remember the last words, and her looks are starting to fade. Many times I have wanted to call. My roommate Elan said that it might be something I regret many years down the road when it's too late to change. I suppose only time will tell. Meanwhile, I finally have my golden weekend. This gives me too much downtime.

emptiness

There seems to be an emptiness that has settled into life. My daily routine appears so mundane now, with no goal or purpose. There's something missing, but as of yet it's hard to admit. People say that it's because this is the hardest stretch of intern year, but I know exactly why. I need to get through this, and it will take time, and maybe it won't even work out. Not sure where we're going in these crazy days. I will expound on this later, just more food for thought.

So it's been a week since I finished my ICU rotation. Life is a bit more stable now that I'm not spending every 3 nights in the hospital. 2 more ward months, 3 more months in internship. I'm looking forward to the end of internship, although being a resident is still intimidating.

In other news, my parents and Will went back to Taiwan this past month. My dad recently came back, and my mom and brother should be arriving soon tonight. From the sounds of it, they had a great time. I just realized that it's been about one year since I was last in Taiwan. Maybe it's time to take another trip.

5K

I ran 5 miles around Nobel Athletic Field today. I decided I will try for a 5K at some point in the near future. I ran one in Davis, the turkey trot, and I think my time was something like 25 minutes. I'll need to run faster now though. Today, I managed to keep an easy 8 min mile pace for 4 miles. I tried going fast one mile with PR of 7'4". That was tiring though! I'm going to set a goal of 6 min mile, at least for one mile, and build up from there. Wish me luck!

HS

Today, I met up with Yao. It's been more than a year since we last talked. It was fun to just sit and talk about the old times. Nothing's changed, except that we're getting older. Hopefully it won't be another year before we meet up. It'll be fun to see what's in store over the next few months.

I played basketball today as well. Still suck though, but not as bad as several weeks ago. These once a month basketball sessions are not enough for me to get better. But I have been running a lot more now, and I realized that I was not tired at all, like back in the med school days when I'll tire out after 30 mins.

VICU

Wow, it's been a while since I typed anything significant in here! I just returned from my vacation, and I still feel sluggish. I just took call at the VICU. Although it's not that busy, it's still work. During my vacation, I went to Las Vegas. We took a tour of Hoover Dam. Dude, there were no autobots in there! But it was an interesting ride down to the rotors where they generate electricity. We also watched a few shows. Phantom of the Opera was memorable! Apparently, the Venetian remodeled the theater for the musical, so everything fit. The chandelier was amazing. We also watched Mamma Mia. The songs are uplifting and the comedy was a good change of pace. Finally, we saw Menopause the Musical. Those women! Only one word... Crazy!!!

I also met up with a few high school friends. Everyone seems to be settling down with a career now, and another one is getting married. Man, things change fast. The rest of the break was just a time to relax. But it's back to work. Hopefully this month will go by fast, but I guess the ICU's not as intimidating as I imagined it to be.

Leap year!

It's leap year!

Stop and Stare

Stop and stare

Look what google did

Happy Chinese New Year

It's the year of the rat!

Hope everyone has a wonderful start to the new year.

Cards!

Just finished my 3rd call month in a row! I'm on cards consult next, which I hear is a lot more chill. Knowing my luck, it might not be that way, but we'll see...

Birthdays

Last Wednesday was my dad's birthday. And tomorrow is my brother, Jack's, birthday. My mom said that they got a tiny cake for my dad's birthday and they ate it all already. Wonder what she'll get for my brother. She hasn't gotten it yet, so I hear. Anyway, happy birthday!

Yoga

I went to yoga for the first time today. Man, was it hard! I went to the gym and ran a few miles and lifted weights, and realized that yoga class was beginning. We started out with the hill shaped poses that felt so taxing on my arms and legs. And she counts so slow!! We also tried touching toes and reaching behind our backs and crazy stuff, things I can't even reach. But in the end, it was a good workout. I think I'll try again next week. And I heard Monday's class is a bit easier. We'll see.

Happy New Year!

It's 2008! Happy New Year! I missed it while seeing patients in the ED, but I heard screams and nurses drinking apple cider. At least I get the afternoon off. Time to make those resolutions. I have mine.