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.

Boston Foods

As wonderful as the food is in LA, I have mentally been compiling a list of foods that I missed eating ever since I left Boston.

My first stop was at Japonaise, the French-Japanese patisserie, in Brookline. How I have missed the butter rolls, the custard pudding, and the Japonaise (green tea mousse cake), as clearly evidenced by the inability to resist taking a bite prior to pictures.  The green latte has also been missed, although I do make it for myself many mornings.  However, I use 2% milk at home, so the occasional whole milk version is quite an indulgence (for my taste buds).  I am not sure that my pancreas agrees (more lipase please!), but I just think of it like a challenge.  I am no longer that drawn to the mochi ice cream since I know that I can order them directly from the same factory. 

Do you hear the food angels singing in praise?  If not, maybe you need a Rinne test.

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.

Block 2 Exams

The lead up to these exams were much smoother than Block 1.  I have been studying using flashcards throughout the block.  However, the block exam is, as foretold, much more case-based than Block 1 exams.  I didn't discover this wonder until a week prior to exams, so that was a bit unfortunate.  I think next block, as opposed to reviewing lectures and key physiology in our weekly Friday afternoon group session, taking cases from this book will be more useful.

So much lost time...

MSTP Applicant Recruitment

It's hard to believe, but more than a year has passed since I was in the throes of putting together my applications to MD/PhD programs.  Now, I am experiencing the interview process from the perspective of a first-year student.  In fact, I am helping to organize all of our pre-interview casual get-togethers between the applicants and first years. 

After having successfully hosted three of the five sessions, I have learned a few things about myself.

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. 

Neurology Mixer

Last night, the Neurology and Neurosurgery interest groups hosted a joint mixer for students and UCLA neurologists.  The chair of the neurology department was there briefly at the beginning and seems like a person who loves his job and has personal flair (read: charisma).  The two MD neurologists I talked to were both spending significant time doing research.  One was an ALS specialist and the other worked on neuromuscular disease therapy.  There was a third neurologist who was working part-time that I didn't get a chance to talk to before the evening was over. 

The ALS specialist received her MD training in Germany and then came to the UCLA to do research.  It was through that research project on ALS that she found her niche.  From then out, she did a residency in neurology.  Now, she sees patients about 20% of the time in her ALS clinic and does research on better understanding the range of ALS progression and on therapies to improve prognosis.  The neuromuscular neurologist spent more time in the clinic.  He researches the mechanisims of how Botulinum toxin improves muscular spasms at the neuromuscular junction.  He considered ophthalmology and neurology residencies but settled on neurology after clinical rotations.

The tone of the group was quite different from that of the Geriatics interest group meeting.  The neurologist were more hip.  However, they also seemed much more stressed.  I didn't find this session as helpful since these neurologists were so far removed from where I am in the process of figuring out specialization.  In addition, the neurologists I talked to were both in the neuromuscular subdepartment of neurology, which gave me an idea of what that particular niche is like at UCLA but not much a big picture.

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).