DineLA 2013

My winter DineLA experience was leaner this year than the last.  I just closed my eyes and focus on the future macaroon eating instead.

But no worries, deliciousness still happened.  (In fact, some were so delicious that they could not be captured before their disappearance.

May the LA weather help me keep these alive

Just this past week, four of my friends co-adopted an adorable cat.  And because I cannot allow my sense of grandiosity to be affected by such a vicious attack on my social standing (we are in Psychiatry block right now), I also brought home some new lifeforms today.

All from Hashimoto Nursery

Arugula mid-repotting

 

All set in their new home (and ready to be eaten)

The end of the world as we know it

Now that even the Mayans have been proved wrong, it looks like we are just going to have to make our own futures happen without any hope of an end.

To that end, I'm sharing some of what I did to celebrate our continuing lease on life.

Birthday? Birthmonth! (part 1)

Some people celebrate their birthday with a few friends.  Some have a giant party with the police involved.  But you know what all those people are doing incorrectly?  Only celebrating for one day!

Come to LA!!!

Thanks to Darienne, I can finally make a promo post for why people should come visit me.

Comic Con 2012

I attended Comic Con for the first time ever this year.  As I was warned, there were a LOT of lines.  However, getting to catch up with your best friend from college, Mi-chan, made the time fly by.  I only bought tickets for Saturday and Sunday, so my tales will be from the crazy weekenders.

Now I feel like a M2

It hadn't sunk in that I am on to my second year till having dinner with the new MSTP M1s.  There are so few of them next year.  I can only hope that they make friends with each other...

Boston in Summer

The best part of visiting Boston was getting to snuggle with my mom, of which there is no photographic proof (but we both can just close our eyes and see it).  Still, lots of other exciting things also happened.

Farm life is good life

Because of some wonderful friends, I had the opportunity to spend two days on a Vermont farm.  Really, there was so much great company, conversation, and food that I can't even describe the experience properly.  But do enjoy some of the highlights via photos.

Bluer and greener than LA

Spring Break: San Francisco

After finding out that I passed my Block 3 exams, I was able to throw myself whole-heartedly into spring break, which was my first visit to San Francisco.  I also finally got to see Darienne for the first time since we both left the Alt lab.

Very envious of Darienne's sunny afternoon nap spot.

DineLA II part II

I was still going strong at the end of week 1 of Jan 2012 DineLA with only 3 restaurants under my belt, literally.  I started off the second week on a bright note with Sunday dinner at Spago with 2 fellow first year MSTPers.  We got there early enough to start things off on a good note.

The cocktail menu apparently changes once per month.

DineLA II part I

Be prepared for pictures and ranting...and no excuses for how long this took to post (nearly two months!).  And yes, this DineLA round is long enough to warrant two posts.  This is week 1.

CNS innervation of proximal and peripheral muscles

So, we recently had our winter formal.  It was a night of classy and not-so-classy dancing and socializing.  To make my night more fun, I decided that I should mix a little pain with my pleasure.  Cooking and heels are clearly dangerous enough on their own, so I promise to never never mix them.  Good news is that I remembered to test my finger for response to touch, pain, and temperature: No permanent damage noted.  As for my leg, damage did not extend deeper than the upper subepithelium, so yay!

Apparently, chestnuts wiggle when you try to cut them.

Third time is the charm: two harmless episodes of tripping down the stairs while running off to the formal, one not-so-harmless.

Holiday Ski Trip

After a Christmas with minimal flurries only in special parts of Boston, I went on a family trip in search of snow.  There, I played some aggressive cards to make up for the last half of a year.  Some skiing on slushy snow happened followed by skiing on icy snow on day 2 (big dip in temperature).  Of course, few posts of mine are ever complete without mentioning food, so there is the obligatory picture of the delicious hot-pot dinner that we had on day 2.

Some snow on the ground.  Some snow from the sky.

NYC is The City

After a quick stopover in DC to see Grandma, it was time to hit the city, New York City.  This trip was my first time riding Megabus, which gets a plus for free WiFi and a minus for a pretty horrible bathroom.

Upon arrival, my cousin and two of her friends took me to ABC Kitchen, which is interestingly enough part of the ABC furniture store in both a financial and a physical sense.  The decor is has a Gothic theme but is spacious enough that it was not tacky.

Thanksgiving weekend

Thanksgiving week(end) at Auntie's was awesome!

I actually attended our Monday and Tuesday lectures this week as to not have to play podcast catch-up.  It was okay, but I didn't like how I couldn't make flashcards as fast as I wanted due to the lack of a pause/replay button. 

Tea Tasting

Sometimes, a Saturday morning is meant for relaxation and enjoyment of life.  Today, a friend and I went to Valen Dolce in Santa Monica for a tea tasting. 

From left to right: Earl Grey Creme, Jasmine Rose, and Guava Ginger (white tea).

dineLA 2011 summary

The past two weeks have been dineLA, which is the equivalent of Boston's Restaurant Week.  What better time to visit some expensively priced and well known restaurants?  There were three planned outings.  Most of the MSTP year ones attended one event.  However, only myself and one other showed true dedication in attending all three!  Here are the results...

Birthday weekend extravaganza

This was an exciting weekend of fun and family.

First, Mom is finally here in LA to see me, which is the best birthday gift.  We had happy snuggly time all weekend long.  Here is some proof...

multi-programs mixers

Today was the Weyburn Hop.  Essentially, various (biology) PhD students offer to host for a certain amount of time each (in today's case, 4 places of 45 minutes each) as the party moves from one apartment to the next.  Hosts offer a drink of their choice as a social lubricant, and the conversation flows.

It was a lot of fun to meet non-MD and non-MD/PhD students.  Most of the students were first year PhD candidates in some biology related field.  There were also two law students.  I didn't meet any business students.  I definitely enjoyed myself.  I learned more about life as a PhD student or a law student and enjoyed a great sangria.

All in all, a successful and relaxing Friday night prior to a (potentially) all day review extravaganza on Saturday.