parties...

Yesterday was Jenny's going-away party. She's going to be in the FOREIGN SERVICE!! i'm sad to see her go though i'm super excited for this new opportunity.

I had dinner with Joy beforehand at Devon Seafood which was amazing... I had the cioppino with shrimp, fish, clams, and scallops. Joy had a heavenly dish of scallops and lobster risotto. I'm totally getting that next time. Everything on the menu made my mouth-water. We had this equally great dessert of Ghiradelli chocolate cake with melted warm chocolate on the inside, with ice cream. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I highly recommend this place if you want good seafood. It's apparently the best in the City. and I believe it.

Today, was Kathy and Benji's wedding in Evanston. Talk about a cute couple. I, unfortunately, couldn't get any pictures because I left my camera in the car for the ceremony but here's one of Aran and me. I've known Aran since my pre-pubescent years at Marlborough. I also know her sister well because we were in the same class throughout jr high and high school. But I know Aran better because I was one year ahead in math so I was in the same class as Aran for most of my classes. THEN, we ended up going to the same college. I have such fond memories of both...

Tomorrow is my last free day, before I start the NICU. I'm going to the gym!

birthday weekend

Yesterday, I turned 26. and thus begins my ascent into the late-20s, everday creeping closer to the dreaded 30s. But for now, I still like to pretend that I'm young.

I had a *great* dinner at Blackbird.We started out with the scallops which were perfectly browned on the outside and so soft and juicy on the inside. mmm, I love scallops that are done well and don't tasty all ocean-y. For my entree, I was originally going to order the venison but the person sitting next to me, who was ALSO celebrating his birthday!! got the veal and it looked irresistable. It was good by itself but it also came with these fancy buckwheat crepes and veal sausages and a savory potato salad. At this point, I was stuffed, but who can get away with not ordering dessert, right? So we shared a light fresh raspberry dessert and fancy marshmallow with GRAHAM CRACKER ice cream. For anyone who knows me, I really enjoy graham cracker crust and that's what this was, basically, with ice cream. It was a perfect way to end the dinner.

I got so many calls, e-cards, emails, snail mail cards, and presents on my birthday! I feel loved. :) These are the flowers my parents sent me. For the record, I'm not a huge rose-person. I love tulips and pretty much any wild/exotic flowers, like orchids. Tonight, I'm having dinner with Joy at Devon Seafood Grill which I am equally excited to try. If my stomach doesn't explode in these next couple days, my chinese herbal medicine really must be working! :)

fun with diet coke and mentos

last weekend, we celebrated Liz's birthday with a potluck. one highlight was this amazing birthday cake that dan made. it is the Black Pearl Layer Cake found on epicurious.com here. It's from the person who does Vosges Haus-Chocolat. mmmmmm.

It appears that adding mentos into a 2L bottle of diet coke (has to be room temperature) will result in a huge fountain. This picture was taken with cold diet coke so it didn't shoot up as high as the room temperature diet coke did. There are apparently thousands of youtube videos showing variations on this theme. I've been present for two separate occasions in which we experimented with several different sodas and mentos, varying the temperature, size of the soda bottle, amount of mentos, and even trying to screw the top back on before the explosion just for the heck of it. :) If you're ever bored, now you know what can do in the alley...!

I wash my hands like a maniac

but I still got sick again! I think I might have enterovirus. I'm completely exhausted; I have myalgias, a mild sore throat, and diarrhea. Not my IBS-diarrhea, mind you. This is different.

But what can one do? There are patients to see and things to learn.

Onto less disgusting topics- I love the new Dixie Chicks CD. They're my favorite group. More so after they made their Bush comment in England. I'm glad they stood up for themselves, even when everyone else (or at least the radio stations who refused to play their songs) was being idiotic about it.

John Mayer plays lead electric guitar in this CD. I also heart him.

revelations

1. mac and cheese without butter is disgusting

2. Stanleys Produce store right off the Clark exit from 90/94 is fucking awesome. i got a seedless 25 pound watermelon (heavier than the average 1 year old human) for $6.

3. i don't like outpatient peds that well

4. where do stores get their names?
Banana Republic? like the fruit needs a republic?
J. Crew? is this someone's name?
Gap? does this refer to the annoying space between some people's two front teeth?

5. pans for poaching eggs are EXPENSIVE!

another rotation

It's been a while... I've been unusually busy, doing what, I'm not sure! :)

I finished up my advocacy rotation today with Child Protective Services. It's been a great experience, evaluating children for child abuse or medical neglect. I don't know how anyone would be able to do this for a living because it's intense... There are so many fucked up social situations that you wouldn't even believe could be possible... Here's a link to the Chicago Tribune article about the first case of Shaken Baby that I saw on the rotation. I don't know if the link will work for everyone but basically, a young father shook his baby to death. He's now in jail with a $1 million bail, which is highly unusual for such cases because it's so hard to prove intent.

Tomorrow I start ambulatory which is outpatient general peds clinic for the rest of the month. I'm slowly starting to panic about my loss of freedom, as I approach my first NICU month. EEK.

This past weekend, in addition to helping a friend move and a trip to Ravinia with friends to hear Yo Yo Ma, we saw "Little Miss Sunshine." I loved it!! It's about a dysfunctional family on a road trip to California for this beauty pageant Little Miss Sunshine. I laughed and teared up and totally related to several scenes, especially the ones in CA.