Relaxing weekend in Palo Alto
Before my mom left California to head back East, we spent a relaxing weekend down in Palo Alto. Most of the time was spent poolside reading the Wall Street Journal and the local paper. The local paper was pretty entertaining actually... the next day, the funniest report was, "a man reported suspicious circumstance"! I nearly fell in the pool laughing.
Today, I sutured!
Things are moving right along this summer. It's amazing how great this summer has been.
Today, I was in the OR with T and J for three different cases. During each surgery I watched over their shoulders and at the end of the third case, T turned to me and said he'd like me to do the rest of the suturing. (YES!) Prior to this moment, my experience with microsurgery began with watching WS in the OR back in 2002. I did no assisting. Only watching. This winter I participated in a study an oph resident at GWU was doing, which gave me the opportunity to suture the cornea of a sheep eye and then use a surgery training simulator for three hours and then suture another sheep cornea to gauge improvement. My next surgical opportunity was another spectator experience. This time I observed dissection of the medial canthus of the eye along with experimental surgery, in which the tilt was enhanced for aesthetics.
This summer I've been working with T, who has been training me in microsurgery technique on rats. Their eyes are of course are much smaller so while the anatomy isn't great for comparison I have been able to practice working with the microscope and trusting my hands for small skilled precise movements. When placing the sutures today I had much greater confidence in my own hands than I would have a year ago. I had a good gauge for the size of the bites and the method of tyeing the knots. T was a great instructor and guided me through each of them. With each one I got faster and it felt simpler. I'm honored to have been given the opportunity and appreciate the trust I've earned through working alongside T. It's been such a great learning experience for me this summer that I kind of don't want it to end. But I've chosen a fellowship to apply for and I'm looking forward to returning here next year! Whew!!!
Epic weekend!
Did I not just mention that everyone's got an iPhone in this town? :) Steph is in love with hers and meticulously wipes away the fingerprints!
This weekend began with a chill movie night with Diana. We watched the Green Mile. It was excellent! Saturday morning Jeremiah gave me a haircut. Do you know that over the last 7 years there have only been 4 haircuts I've gotten that he didn't do himself? Then I attended Imber's baby shower in Oakland and learned to play bocce ball. I met another Audra that day. We played on opposite teams which made it more amusing each time it was "Audra's" turn. Neither of us are accustomed to sharing a name with anybody. It's funny!
That night I had dinner at Alamo Square Grill with my friend Richard who just started participating in a new study at UCLA for sarcoma. It's great to see him because it's been over two years already. He's got a better outlook on life than anybody I know! He claims it may be because he's just not smart enough to give up, but people like him are what make the world go round. Richard and I helped take care of Nala while Daniel was out of town. We took different "walk-shifts" and met for a nice dinner.
Saturday night I got ready to go out to celebrate my friend Julia's birthday. Everyone dressed up as the person they once were, so I came in the only thing I could dig out of my suitcase... I was a bridesmaid. Trav's costume was hilarious. He was a band geek and had the greatest marching band costume you've ever seen. How he dealt with the heat is beyond me! Temple is a new club spot in SF and Julia and Murph got all of their friends in for free. Steph is my new fave wingwoman. She's perfect for going out dancing with! We got home around 4am and then met at Stern Grove the next morning.
After Stern Grove a bunch of us went to a bar in Cole Valley for bloody mary's and ping-pong, followed by dinner at EOS with a ton of red wine. Then I took Nala for a walk and went to bed. Monday I was super tired and went to surgery! I left early to go home, take a nap and then off to the gym for spin class, yoga and a movie. Now I feel like it's Friday all over again! Not a lazy start to the week, that's for sure!
Stern Grove concert in the park
Sunday we went to watch Los Invisibles Amigos and Os Mutantes. Steph and Trina showed early to stake out the turf and I showed with two bottles of Piper Sonoma and some orange-pineapple juice for mimosa's. We danced, picnic'ed and enjoyed an excellent relaxing afternoon in the park.
Yay... movies outside!
Though you can't really see the movie screen in this picture, this was the epic moment where Mister Yiyagi is stepping in to train Daniel-san. Everyone in Dolores Park cheered wildly! How can you help not to?
Karate Kid in Dolores Park
What a perfect Thursday night! Diana and I staked out some turf in Dolores Park to watch the movie Karate Kid. Todd made a fresh baked cherry pie and it was the perfect crowd to share a picnic with the neighbors. We had cheese, crackers, wine and PIE! These are the types of nights in SF that send my heart soaring! Every time Ralph Macchio (actor who plays Daniel) did anything to woo the young audience this film was made for (ie. me and my friends, so many years ago) all the girls swooned out loud. It was funny to share the deja vu with a bunch of strangers. He was such the stud with his karate kid madness... getting all beat up by the high school bully and learning karate to really show him! It's a classic movie. If you haven't seen it since you were eight years old, I recommend adding it to your queue this summer!
Driving Route 1 along the San Andreas Fault
Isn't it unbelievably beautiful? I love this drive. I'm really hoping to get a nice long roadtrip in before the summer is done, so I can get some pictures of all my favorite places. I need some new art for my living room walls.
This is Tomales Bay just north of San Francisco, which is formed by a submerged portion of the San Andreas Fault. The SA Fault is 800 miles long and stretches mostly southward from this regoin. The two plates that are moving past one another, the Pacific and North American, move about 35mm per year. That doesn't sound like a lot, but it sure adds up. That's a roughly meter in 30 years. Since I moved to SF, I haven't felt any quakes. There was only one ever that I felt, and it was during a visit before I moved, over 7-years ago!
Alicia's cake, made by Anca
Isn't it gorgeous? Anca made a few magnificant cakes for the wedding. They were lemony and so, so yummy!
Dinner tables at the wedding
Alicia made these brilliant LED lamps for each dinner table. I sometimes forget just how crafty this woman is. She has made tables, lamps, bookcases, costumes, quilts... you name it, she's made it!
Check out her pink Chucks!
Is she not the coolest chick ever? Who wears pink Chucks under a wedding dress? They are so cute! I love it.
Everybody's got an iPhone
Welcome to San Francisco, where everyone has the latest and greatest handheld technology and hybrid vehicles. Once I return to DC I'm sure I won't see another iPhone for a really long time, or a hybrid car for that matter. That is, unless one of my SF friends comes out for a visit!
Since the phones were released before the 4th of July, lots of peope have them. I must admit that they're pretty slick. I'll have to hold off though. I just got a new smartphone in November and before too long I'll need a Palm for school!
Alicia and Alex on 07-07-07 at 7:07pm
This was another beautiful wedding! There aren't many brides I know who are so cool headed that they'd bring 40 members of their wedding party to go canoeing the morning of the "big day", only to get back three hours before the ceremony began. Alicia is just so! Now, this wasn't tubing down a dinky little river, mind you. This was a full-on 10-mile canoeing expedition, under the hot sun where multiple applications of sunscreen were required. Three days have passed and I still have bruises on my "sit bones". I got back and was ready to collapse for a long nap. It was a good thing I wasn't getting married. But I can see how it would dampen any nerves a bride might have.
The wedding ceremony was beautiful. There were jokes, messages, nostalgia, symbols, and plenty of meaning. I got the biggest chills from the exerpt from The Velveteen Rabbit, about what it is to be "real" and the power of love. I also liked the quote, "the plural of spouse is spice". Granted I believe Alex and Alicia chose to have one spouse only, if you put the two of them together you have your spice!
The location was great. The cabins we stayed in were quaint. The 07-07-07 date worked out well and certainly added a lot of personality to it all. The dinner tables each had one word above each... Mickey, Digits, Layers, Deadly Sins, Virtues, Chakras, Earthly Wonders... I can't recall the rest of them, but it was a fun twist to the theme of seven.
Major props to Alex and Alicia for a killer party and many memories up ahead! Thanks for a splended weekend, guys.
Back into climbing
It's been so nice to be climbing again. Though I'm still weak and I stumble clumsily on climbs I used to grace with ease, I do feel it coming back to me. Oh... if only I had another 6 months to get back into leading again. My body would be so much happier!
Drive from SF to Guerneville
Eddie and I drove up Route 1 to Guerneville for the wedding and avoided traffic on the 101. It was more or less a renagade idea, as we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. I placed a call to d-Todd, who did a little online surveillance to figure out that it wasn't hugely out of the way. WIth the windows rolled down, we drove through a number of olfactory adventures... eucalptus, seashore, grasslands, cow pastures and finally the redwoods of the Russian River. It was a magnificant drive!
4th of July
It was a great 4th of July. Though I did have to go into work for a few hours to inject the new baby rats, it was still lunchtime by the time I finished. I did a little birthday shopping and went to my friend Trav's house for a barbecue. We were having a heat wave, which meant that I took my sweater off and didn't put it back on until around 7pm! Around 9pm or so, Justine and I walked over the Stef's house to watch the fireworks. This was my second 4th of July spend in SF-proper. In previous years I went to the playa and celebrated 4th of Juplaya, which was fun back in the day. In my opinion, the best place to watch fireworks in SF is sitting on the hill of Mission Dolores park. Maybe next year! Or the year following. In fact, here's a little secret.... it occurred to me today that it might be a good idea to take a year off between my 2nd and 3rd year of medical school to do research at UCSF. I'm going to spend some time talking it over with a few advisors and give it some serious thought!
Clear balmy afternoon in San Francisco
The drive back from Napa was delightful. The weather was unbelievable and we stopped up in the Marin Headlands for a view of the bridge. The camera that I borrowed died on this final shot. Luckily it was just the battery and it held out until the very end! Under the south end of the bridge there were kite surfers playing in the wind. You can't see them in this picture but the lens I was using zoomed in closely enough that you could barely watch them. This spot always made me feel like I'm sitting at the top of the world!
Congrats, Amy and Matt!
Doug had been wearing my sunhat since the previous day. Here he is saying good-byes, as the newlyweds hit the road to go collect parents up at the Estate where the wedding took place. I believe the honeymoon is in Vancouver, though I could be mistaken about that.
Poolside at El Bonita in St. Helena
That night we partied until late and went dancing in downtown St. Helena. There was a live jazz band playing and we had a private bus to shuttle us around town. Not that it's a very big town! In the morning MIchael and I got breakfast at GIllmore's and then met everybody down at the pool where we had a send-off gathering for Matt and Amy. It was a super nice day!
Bouquet toss
And of course the bouquet comes flying directly over to me! The best part is that the bouquet divided into four seperate mini bouquets, which were caught by four different girls. Each one had a fortune tied to the green and orange ribbon. So cute!
Maid of Honor, Flowergirl and Ringbearer
WIth no doubt, this was the cutest team I had ever seen. Bo carried the rings in the corsage on his collar. He and I were roommates back when Amy and I lived together. He was my first doggie! What a sweetheart he is, too. Jen is Amy's best friend who introduced the couple while Amy was visiting from Rochester a long time ago. Adrienne is her daughter. Isn't she darling?
Wedding in orange and green!
This is Charlotte signing the guestbook. The colors Amy chose for the wedding are awesome. I love them! Sylvan Lake Estate is the name of the property where the wedding took place. It was nestled up on a hilltop in Napa, with nothing in view but nature. The yard was beautifully manicured and had great touches, like ducks for the flowergirl to chase, lanterns hanging in the trees, and perfect little hedges that I was scolded at by the owner for placing my sunhat atop. Ooops!
Pre-nuptial toast for Matt and Amy
On Friday I took the day off of work and headed up to St. Helena in Napa Valley with a friend of Matt and Amy's. We checked into the Eagle and Rose Hotel and went to the Silverado Brewing Company where the rehearsal dinner was ending so the pre-nuptial cocktail hour could start. It was a gorgeous evening with perfect temperatures. Amy seemed so relaxed and perfectly happy to have everyone together. I was borrowing a brand new camera and had to get used to the settings, so the pictures didn't turn out that great.
