I Said "Knish."

back from new york and had a crazy work week. our last day in nyc was nice. on our way to get breakfast, we stopped by a street vendor coffee and donut shop and shared a glazed huge donut. then we had authentic new york bagels for breakfast (awesome) and then caught up w/ some of the BHE's online musician friends so they could shop at the famous music stores...which happened to be near times square, so i went to roxy's with my cousin's hubby and we had their famous cheesecake (dear Barbara) and a knish- which for all you gentiles out there, is a flaky pastry filled with mashed potatoes or brocolli or other such things. i had never had a knish, and i must say, i am a fan of the knish. and i like saying "knish." then we had thai for lunch. then we went for ice cream for dessert.

so for anyone counting, that was cheesecake, ice cream, donut and real food all before our flight left at 6pm. needless to say, my skinny jeans are now creaking like an old house when i try to squeeze into them. sigh.

we flew in pretty late monday night and so the next day getting up for work was tough. then the whole week was kind of busy and on friday, i worked the floor on a long list of fairly complicated patients. i still get overwhelmed pretty easily when having to do medicine on the floor. there's just so much i'm not comfortable or familiar with. lots to learn. and the list is never comprehensive- there are always add-on patients to see or favors for nurses, etc, etc. so it makes for a long day. but i had some help from my coworkers, and i got through it. and then on saturday i worked for a few hrs admitting new surgical patients and getting acquainted w/ a surgeon who's new to me and can be kind of scary when you're on your own w/ him. so it was a long week.

and then we had some of my coworkers over last night for a wine & cheese party and had a great time. we had joked when putting together the plans for the party that we'd prefer donuts and jello shots to wine and cheese, so i actually made a donut bread putting recipe (but without the fruit cocktail and raisins- sounded too healthy) and pudding shots (amazing!) along with some dips and salads and stuff. it was great. did sleep pretty hard last night, though and am taking it easy today watching college basketball and catching up w/ stuff around the house.

we leave for mexico on wednesday. cannot wait!

Meat Me in New York

so...new york is known for its food, of course. any ethnicity you could possibly want, at any price, at any hour, practically in any neighborhood. but when you're craving a certain culture's fare, you go to the source.

and so, we went to get dim sum in china town this morning. and i've been to china town before, so i knew to expect the chickens and other slain beasts hanging in windows (one "chicken" had 8 legs- we couldn't quite figure that one out), so i was a little worried that the BHE's strict vegetarian diet would be hard to accomodate. (since i eat seafood, i knew i'd be square). but when we got to our chosen destination, the menu was filled with bok choy, green beans, eggplant, and tofu options and when we quietly mentioned to one server that he didn't eat meat, all the wait staff seemed to shout to each other around the restaurant that he wanted only vegetarian food. so we thought we were safe.

we were wrong.

"i don't eat meat" apparently means i don't eat any blatant beef/pork products but i'm totally cool with pork-laced eggplant, shrimp-encrusted tofu, and sausage-stuffed sticky rice. it became a joke. everything he tried had a little golden ticket of carne tucked in it somewhere. he somehow eventually got full, but it was an amusing ordeal for him. i loved it. i enjoyed all the known and mysterious seafood(?) options and thought the whole experience was pretty cool. we shopped around china town for a while afterwards and i got knock-off sunglasses for dirt cheap and my cousin got a wallet. there were fake hand bags all over the place and allegedly there are real bags out of the back of cars and in apartments in the area if you're willing to risk following one of the eager salesmen off the beaten path. i'm too cheap and easily spooked for all that. i'd rather just make do with a "squishy couture" or "harold vuitton" bag, thank you very much.

then we went to battery park and spent the day on the boat tour admiring lady liberty and ellis island.






by the time we were done with that, it was getting late and we were starving...so we took a cab to one of nyc's most famous pizza places, lombardi's. because at this point we all felt a bit bad for my poor veggie husband and because it's the house special, we shared their original (thin crust, tomato sauce, mozzarella in thin slices (not shredded), basil and romano). it was good. the crust was perfect but i thought the sauce/cheese were a big tasteless. i got laughed at for adding a bunch of red pepper and salt and black pepper, but it helped. if i went again i would try their specialty clam pizza, which i hear is delicious.

so then we went to an improv comedy show by the group the "upright citizens brigade," which has apparently been around forever and is pretty well known, but is only $10/ticket for the early show and free for the later show and is really informal and totally fun. it rotates people like amy poehler (SNL) and horatio sanz (SNL) and kate walsh (grey's anatomy/private practice- who knew she was funny?) and other local comediens. it was amazing. the stuff they came up with on the spot was funnier than most scripted television. their creativity, timing, mastery of language, formatting....all incredible. and it was fun to see a few famous people- john lutz (30 rock) and bobby moynihan (SNL) perform with the troupe.

then we went for dessert at a crazy hip place owned by the "it" chef david chang (momofuku). it was muy tasty and really fun. they have weird things like fruity cereal milk flavored soft serve ice cream and green tea bread, etc, etc.

we've been escorted and guided around by my wonderful cousin and her husband. it has made such a difference having locals to show us the non-touristy sights and tastes of the city. plus, they're a ball, so we've had a great time eating and laughing and eating some more with them.

Day 1 in NYC

glorious day. beautiful, sunny, if a bit cold. we woke up early and wandered from our hotel (awesome location, only a few blocks from grand central station) up 5th avenue and over to park avenue window shopping and people watching. we went through the waldorf astoria's opulent lobby and the nbc store and checked out rockefeller center.


when we went to fao shwartz, we happened to get there just as it opened at 10am. and it was awesome! the soldier guys came out to open the doors and welcome us in and then when we walked in, the whole staff was lined up clapping for us! it was joyful. made us feel like 5 year olds as we raced toward the yodo bobbleheads and lifesize lego statues.



then we went to central park where we took a carriage ride from a scottish guy named something like "decron" and his horse named "joey.' we cuddled under the heavy soft blanket and enjoyed the views...so many movies have been filmed there- we saw the "home alone" and "ghostbuster" sites (oh, i forgot to mention above and am too lazy to go back to edit- when we were walking along park ave we saw a bunch of press, police, and film trucks for the angelina jolie movie "salt"...so we're practically famous now). after our ride around, we walked into the park and made our way past the carousal, ice skating rink, dairy store, and enjoyed the views of crazy people running in short shorts in the frigid cold, crazy people selling ice cream sandwiches in the frigid cold, and crazy people making the whoopee on the big rocks in the frigid cold. then we had a lovely and leisurely lunch at 'tavern on the green,' a restaurant i've always walked past but never dined in.



we then made our way to times square and saw the usual mass hysteria there. then we wandered to the museum of modern art and spent a few nice hours there with my cousin.



then we went to catch up w/ her hubby and hung out at their apartment for a while and then ate delicious indian food for dinner followed by nummy cupcakes for dessert.

so it was a long and fantastic day. lots of walking- we estimate about 10 miles, since we got a wee bit misguided through central park at one point when trying to find MOMA (which is no where near central park for anyone keeping score). we'll sleep hard tonight. tomorrow is dim sum in china town and then off to more awesomeness all over the city. tra-la.

Long Weekend in NYC- Does It Get Any Better Than This? Answer: No.

Traveling is an interesting thing. Being this close to so many strangers makes one first notice them, then, if you’re me, make snap judgments (is that not the BLONDEST mullet you’ve ever seen? It’s a force of nature! Take a picture!), then, if you’re still me, chastise yourself for judging. Then you get annoyed because all their bodies together make a crowd and this crowd is in your way and slowing you down. And then you notice the pretty Asian girl 3 rows ahead of your seat who’s wearing a surgical mask like I do when in the OR, but not like me, because when I’m in the OR, I’m wearing the mask to try to prevent dropping innocent germies into open wounds…NOT from spreading SARS to 300 people! Oh God! Stop judging. Stop being a jerk. Maybe she has the king of pop disease and it’s not SARS at all. Hold your breath the whole flight just in case. And the beautiful little Indian baby girl in the stroller making big eyes at you in the security line. How do you know this tiny baby is a girl? Well, there’s the pierced ears and the bracelet. No such ornamentation for her big brother. And I notice how, when the BHE and I travel, we usually check a bag (WHAT A RIPOFF! 15 bucks!) and then each carry a backpack and can maneuver around the terminal with the greatest of ease. Not so much for families with children. Kids are worse than celebrities. They require trunks and fancy transportation and provisions and an entourage. And they’re usually grouching at their keepers. Just like celebrities.

Flight was 1 ½ hrs late to leave our city’s aeropuerto, so we’re getting to NYC late….meaning that instead of walking around a little and getting dinner @ a fun local place, it’s straight to the hotel for us to lie around and watch college basketball! It’s cool. We couldn’t have done that at home, so I’m glad we’re in the most awesome city on the planet where they have TV’s. Neat. I’m not actually bitter. We’ll order in something (pizza pie!) and relax and settle in and then hit the city tomorrow. It’s good to be away from the hospital for a few days. I was starting to feel claustrophobic. You know how it is when you have an impending vacation. You just want to GET THERE! And as I’ve mentioned already, this is the best month ever. This weekend in Manhattan. Two weeks from now in Mexico. I’ve been fake baking in preparation and I’m getting dark enough that people are asking questions. I’m trying to convince them it’s liver failure (jaundice) and not tan vanity. Kind of morbid, I guess. Don’t judge me.

I Feel Like Skinny Oprah

we weighed in today and i lost 14.5 lbs over the last 10 weeks! very excited. weight watchers diet and working out 3-4 days/week does the job. my team won. for 5 people, we lost something like 87 cumulative lbs. very proud indeed.

so, to congratulate myself and to officially let myself off the hook from being so darn good...i partook of the potluck at work most heartily. i took a whiskey cake with green frosting (i used this recipe, but did it w/ real butter and actual eggs and a wee bit of khalua w/ the coffee- woo hoo!) and everyone seemed to like it. in addition to several shots of my cake, i ate 2 pieces of costco cake (w/ their signature crack cocaine frosting) and mac n' cheese, artichoke dip, and a myriad of other fatty delicacies. and THEN. oh, and THEN, folks....for dinner the BHE took me to my new most favorite restaurants which is a, wait for it, all you can eat japanese/sushi buffet! so much goodness. rows after rows of lovely little things i'm pretty sure but can't confirm contain shrimp. yum. serious yum.

but now i feel absolutely disgustingly sick. i will get back on the wagon tomorrow and work out and stop eating frosting out of the tube.

Good Week and Soon Good Eats

strutting around like some sort of a rock star this week as my cases went well and it's all sunny outside and i've been running in it and soaking it up. i did a few more vascular cases early in the week and i love them! and they went well!

but then we got really slow toward the end of the week and were scraping for stuff to do (ie- i was super excited friday to get to do a hemmroidectomy. which is just as yummy as it sounds)...and when business is down job security is rocky, so that's been a little nerve racking. but so far so good.

plus the weight contest is OVER ON MONDAY!!!! aha! then i get to eat. so we'll see how i do over the weekend and what my final weight loss is. i've been up a bit the last few wks, so we'll see. plus, we went out for mexican (so good but SO bad) last night. we're having a huge fatty pile of food potluck for lunch at work on monday to celebrate being done. i'm making an irish whiskey cake. (2 tablespoons for you, cake, 3 for me, two for you....)

plus, i'm really excited as the BHE and i are going to nyc next weekend to visit family and see the city sites. and then in a few weeks we're going to mexico! super excited about that. beach and margaritas and scuba diving and margaritas and good food and good company and tequila with lime juice and salt....

so this dreary winter is winding up and things are good.

I Don't Understand Women, Even Though I Am a Women.

this was said by my littlest sister back when she was about 7 yrs old and we were watching some movie where the woman was storming around and yelling at her man and the man was pulling his hair out exclaiming that he didn't understand women. it was adorable then...claiming in her little squeaky voice that she was "a women."

but i find the sentiment to hold up now. i am feeling very sorry for and angry toward women kind right now. firstly, i did some plastic surgery last week on a woman who had had about 6 previous operations to fix her body. and it was just never going to be good enough for her. she had an image in her mind's eye of a body that wasn't hers. and no matter how much she tried to change it, there was just no way. but she'd keep risking infection, going through painful recovery, and spending the money to try, try, try to be someone else. argh.

THEN one of my coworkers gave me a few back issues of a certain women's magazine (i won't name- you know who you are) that i've always accused of secretly being written by men/for men through women. ie: here are some of the article titles- "what sex feels like for guys," "8 things in your closet that make you look chunky," "new guy? our classic seduction trick will keep him hooked," "how to deal when your man gets moody," etc, etc. and they've got man trap tricks in there (although they don't word them that way- they call the section something like "finding mr. right in new and creative ways" or some crap)...giving helpful examples such as when you're at the grocery store and you spot a cutie behind you in line, drop your earing discretely in your bag and then grab your ear and frantically say you lost your earring and that you need his help to find it. he's supposed to swoop in and save the day and start a conversation that will bloom into love in no time. in reality, you'd slow down the cashier as you foibled around and probably get dirty looks from both the object of your obsession and all the other customers in line for being an idiot and talking to strangers who are just there trying to shop.

THEN i'm reading a book called "wideacre" by philippa gregory (author of "the other boleyn girl") and it's all about how back in the day women had no right to land or inheritence just because they had ovaries instead of testicles. and this particular lead female character is so stunted and frustrated by this injustice that she kills both her parents, shtups her brother and bears his children, mames her lover, and frames her husband. not that her motives can entirely be blamed- but what a wicked, awful depiction of a woman! i think i'm done reading this one. no mas.

THEN, of course, there's the recent celebrity news story- that you will have heard about unless you're living comfortably under a news-free rock- about two beautiful young r & b stars so madly in love that when he very publicly kicks the shit out of her and leaves her for dead on the side of the road, she takes him back. there are lots of rumors circling that she has since married him and/or is having his child. at the very least, it is verified that she is open to contact from him and is not pressing charges. dear God. when are women going to evolve to be bigger than men? when is it our turn to take out all our rage on 'the weaker sex?' obviously humans still resolve conflict with violence, so how do we fix that women always get the raw end of this?(i'm of course generalizing and don't endorse violence from/to anyone...but i'm uber frustrated by the whole thing).

so i'm just disenchanted with what it means to be a woman right now. both past and present, our situations and our selves have caused us to be less than confident, less than respectable, less than admirable. i guess i can just try to define what being my woman means, and hope to help those women around me achieve their most bestest, too...and try to steer them away from paternicide. that doesn't seem the way to go.

but all you men out there- if some lady in front of you at the store "loses her earring" don't buy it! she's out to get you! hide your children!

LAY OFF ME, I'M STARVING!!

i was thinking about pain this week as i continue to gripe about my discomfort on this diet...pain tolerance is an interesting thing. i had a patient the other day who was weeping like a baby after a minor procedure and while on a ridiculous lot of narcotics and then we'll have patients who undergo huge surgeries who basically tide themselves over with a mentos (the freshmaker).

and pain scales are SO subjective. if you've ever been on the patient end of things, you get asked "on a scale from 1 to 10 how bad is the pain?" i try to qualify it with "10 is like pain of child birth" but even then, that only gets so far. like with dudes. and i don't know how you determine your own pain tolerance unless you do crazy shite like this at the eskimo olympics. then you might know where you stand. and how to conquer the pain. RAAAAR!

i've been kind of a crab this week. i was less than awesome in the OR today and i hate that. and the weather is looking like it might get nice soon, but for now is still kind of blah. and my weight is going the wrong direction and all i want to do is eat! i have a constant menu in my head of what i'd like to be eating at any given moment. for example, right now i would like huge portions of the following: broiled eel nigiri, corn on the cob, coleslaw, double stacked mcdonald's fish sandwich, peanut butter chocolate pie, and wine. lots of wine. i didn't say it was reasonable.

don't you judge me.