Planeguage
Funny videos about airplane etiquette from Delta.
Middleman
Miracle
Shady Lady
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Just My Luck
Eric says I'm bad luck to fly with because my flights somehow always get delayed or canceled. I thought I was off to a good start yesterday flying home from Atlanta. Good weather. Early morning flight. Plenty of layover time in Dallas to connect to my flight back to SF. Then it started as I was waiting to board my plane home in Dallas.
The incoming plane was delayed for 20 minutes... which was cool deal. I could wait for 20 minutes. Then they announced at the time when our flight was to leave the gate while we were all still waiting to board that they customs had to clear the plane since it came from Canada. After we finally boarded, there was a minor mechanical problem they had to check. When we actually were ready to go, we had lost our spot in line for takeoff from number 3 to who-knows-what-number because the pilot didn't announce that part probably in fear of passengers booing at him. Then he told us that because of some strong wind, they had shutdown 6 of the 8 runways at DFW. So there were a zillion planes ahead of us (and behind us) waiting to use the same runway that incoming planes were also using for landing. Craziness... Yah. My flight was delayed again.
Eric says I'm bad luck to fly with because my flights somehow always get delayed or canceled. I thought I was off to a good start yesterday flying home from Atlanta. Good weather. Early morning flight. Plenty of layover time in Dallas to connect to my flight back to SF. Then it started as I was waiting to board my plane home in Dallas.
The incoming plane was delayed for 20 minutes... which was cool deal. I could wait for 20 minutes. Then they announced at the time when our flight was to leave the gate while we were all still waiting to board that they customs had to clear the plane since it came from Canada. After we finally boarded, there was a minor mechanical problem they had to check. When we actually were ready to go, we had lost our spot in line for takeoff from number 3 to who-knows-what-number because the pilot didn't announce that part probably in fear of passengers booing at him. Then he told us that because of some strong wind, they had shutdown 6 of the 8 runways at DFW. So there were a zillion planes ahead of us (and behind us) waiting to use the same runway that incoming planes were also using for landing. Craziness... Yah. My flight was delayed again.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Language Skills
For some reason, every time we go out to eat at a Chinese restaurant, Eric almost always get spoken to in English. This happens even before he tries to say anything in Mandarin. Maybe he looks like an ABC and I look like a FOB? We would both try to order food in Mandarin, but somehow (even minutes later) waiters/waitresses would speak to me in Mandarin and English to Eric. Hilarious. It cracks us up because he really tries hard to speak Mandarin. Oh well...
For some reason, every time we go out to eat at a Chinese restaurant, Eric almost always get spoken to in English. This happens even before he tries to say anything in Mandarin. Maybe he looks like an ABC and I look like a FOB? We would both try to order food in Mandarin, but somehow (even minutes later) waiters/waitresses would speak to me in Mandarin and English to Eric. Hilarious. It cracks us up because he really tries hard to speak Mandarin. Oh well...
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Tired.
Don't know why I've been working so much in the past few weeks... Eric wants to let the world know that he's not making me work this hard. I guess I'm a workaholic. I have a hard time saying no... even with work. I'm like the energizer bunny. Once I get to work, I don't stop. I just see patients after patients.
Winters tend to be bad in the field of pediatrics. LOTS of sick kids and LOTS of angry crazy mothers. I've lost count of the number of moms who've yelled at me in the past few weeks. It's funny seeing how these women just lose their sense of reasoning when they get mad. Nothing you say gets through to them when they're mad. They just go off yelling. I told Eric and he just kept nodding as if he's experienced it personally (*wink* *wink*). It must have been some crazy women he's met in his past.
Don't know why I've been working so much in the past few weeks... Eric wants to let the world know that he's not making me work this hard. I guess I'm a workaholic. I have a hard time saying no... even with work. I'm like the energizer bunny. Once I get to work, I don't stop. I just see patients after patients.
Winters tend to be bad in the field of pediatrics. LOTS of sick kids and LOTS of angry crazy mothers. I've lost count of the number of moms who've yelled at me in the past few weeks. It's funny seeing how these women just lose their sense of reasoning when they get mad. Nothing you say gets through to them when they're mad. They just go off yelling. I told Eric and he just kept nodding as if he's experienced it personally (*wink* *wink*). It must have been some crazy women he's met in his past.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Published!
Eric published his first MMWR (Mortality Morbidity Weekley Report) today! It's a public health weekly report published by the CDC. His article on rapid HIV testing is on the front page of this week's MMWR.
www.cdc.gov/mmwr
Here's the link to the article:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5647a2.htm
Eric published his first MMWR (Mortality Morbidity Weekley Report) today! It's a public health weekly report published by the CDC. His article on rapid HIV testing is on the front page of this week's MMWR.
www.cdc.gov/mmwr
Here's the link to the article:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5647a2.htm
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
It's starting to feel like the holidays, despite this 70 degree-weather here in Atlanta. Christmas decorations make me feel all warm and fuzzy. Added to that, I got a package in the mail from my mom with lots of goodies (mainly candies and Meiji chocolates) that I love since I won't be home for Thanksgiving. I will be working this evening at the urgent care. Hopefully all the kiddos will stay at home eating turkeys with their families so I can surf on the internet.
It's starting to feel like the holidays, despite this 70 degree-weather here in Atlanta. Christmas decorations make me feel all warm and fuzzy. Added to that, I got a package in the mail from my mom with lots of goodies (mainly candies and Meiji chocolates) that I love since I won't be home for Thanksgiving. I will be working this evening at the urgent care. Hopefully all the kiddos will stay at home eating turkeys with their families so I can surf on the internet.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Football!
We went to a free football game yesterday thanks to our friend Patty. It was Atlanta Falcons vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was a depressing game for the Falcons. Even I thought they were bad. They couldn't even run or pass the ball for more than 10 yards. Some of the college football teams probably play better than they do. I guess it's because they no longer have Vicks. Nevertheless, it was fun being inside the Georgia Dome eating wings and hot dogs and drinking (overpriced) sodas. Too bad it's not an open-air stadium. You'd think that temperature down here is warm enough for them to build an open-air stadium. Oh well.
Speaking of football, I am greatly disappointed at my Bears. Let's hope for a better season next year (which is what I've been saying every year).
We went to a free football game yesterday thanks to our friend Patty. It was Atlanta Falcons vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was a depressing game for the Falcons. Even I thought they were bad. They couldn't even run or pass the ball for more than 10 yards. Some of the college football teams probably play better than they do. I guess it's because they no longer have Vicks. Nevertheless, it was fun being inside the Georgia Dome eating wings and hot dogs and drinking (overpriced) sodas. Too bad it's not an open-air stadium. You'd think that temperature down here is warm enough for them to build an open-air stadium. Oh well.
Speaking of football, I am greatly disappointed at my Bears. Let's hope for a better season next year (which is what I've been saying every year).
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Weekend
I didn't work this past weekend, and it went by very quickly. We went to a baby shower where I noticed that I was one of the very few people there who was not a mom nor a mom-to-be. Actually, I WAS the only one. I thought being married was already the thing to do. Anyway, I learned a lot about which sippy cups and booster seats to buy and also which baby books to read. And NO, I am not expecting.
I was happy to reconnect with an old friend who I haven't contacted in a long time. It's always so encouraging. It's funny how God connects friends at a time when you need them. I can't believe I still keep in touch with them after so many years and live so far away from each other.
I didn't work this past weekend, and it went by very quickly. We went to a baby shower where I noticed that I was one of the very few people there who was not a mom nor a mom-to-be. Actually, I WAS the only one. I thought being married was already the thing to do. Anyway, I learned a lot about which sippy cups and booster seats to buy and also which baby books to read. And NO, I am not expecting.
I was happy to reconnect with an old friend who I haven't contacted in a long time. It's always so encouraging. It's funny how God connects friends at a time when you need them. I can't believe I still keep in touch with them after so many years and live so far away from each other.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Grand Bahama Island
I realized last month that I had to use up my vacation days by the end of this year, otherwise I'd lose them. After some planning, we decided to go to the Bahamas. It was a nice, short get-away. Grand Bahama Island is only 50 miles away from Miami. We got there in no time. Ok, maybe not... I do have a history of bad luck with flight delays and cancellations. Our flight was a little delayed due to weather. Thank goodness the weather was beautiful the entire time we were there. It rained only in the middle of the night and dried up by mornings.
View from our room (the marina view, not ocean view... thank goodness it's not parking lot view)
There wasn't much on the island. Everything was s-l-o-w paced. We went to a Fish Fry Night at this well-known local fish joint (shack) right on the beach. Fried fresh snapper served with peas and rice. Yum.
Eric really wanted to go swimming with dolphins... so we did. It was a blast. At first I thought it was overrated, but it was definitely once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They were really gentle and friendly. We even got to hug them.
In addition to fish fry, we tried a lot of their local food like fish stew, conch fritters, cracked conch. One morning, we ventured out to "downtown" where the locals hangout and eat and had fish stew. It was good...
...until Eric threw this all up all over ME on the boat during our way back from snorkeling out in the ocean. He got really seasick floating/snorkeling in the ocean. No more fish for a LONG LONG time for me. Eww. I refuse to get on another boat unless he takes something for motion-sickness.
We spent most of our time there just doing nothing, sitting out by the infinity pool in front of the ocean reading. It was great. It puts everyone in a good mood :p.
I realized last month that I had to use up my vacation days by the end of this year, otherwise I'd lose them. After some planning, we decided to go to the Bahamas. It was a nice, short get-away. Grand Bahama Island is only 50 miles away from Miami. We got there in no time. Ok, maybe not... I do have a history of bad luck with flight delays and cancellations. Our flight was a little delayed due to weather. Thank goodness the weather was beautiful the entire time we were there. It rained only in the middle of the night and dried up by mornings.
View from our room (the marina view, not ocean view... thank goodness it's not parking lot view)
There wasn't much on the island. Everything was s-l-o-w paced. We went to a Fish Fry Night at this well-known local fish joint (shack) right on the beach. Fried fresh snapper served with peas and rice. Yum.
Eric really wanted to go swimming with dolphins... so we did. It was a blast. At first I thought it was overrated, but it was definitely once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They were really gentle and friendly. We even got to hug them.
In addition to fish fry, we tried a lot of their local food like fish stew, conch fritters, cracked conch. One morning, we ventured out to "downtown" where the locals hangout and eat and had fish stew. It was good...
...until Eric threw this all up all over ME on the boat during our way back from snorkeling out in the ocean. He got really seasick floating/snorkeling in the ocean. No more fish for a LONG LONG time for me. Eww. I refuse to get on another boat unless he takes something for motion-sickness.
We spent most of our time there just doing nothing, sitting out by the infinity pool in front of the ocean reading. It was great. It puts everyone in a good mood :p.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
A Very-Georgia Day Trip
Attempting to catch a glimpse of the fall foliage, we headed up north to Amicaloa Falls this past Saturday with Pat and Patty. It was still a bit early around here. The leaves were still on the green side. Oh well. We got to hike down 500 steps to see Amicaloa Falls. After we were done, we went to Dahlonega... this little town in Northern Georgia. I'm not sure how to describe it, except that it's got a very southern feel to it.
Pat made sure that I got to try hot boiled peanuts (in shells) from the side of the road. I guess it's a southern specialty. It was good!! I love peanuts. Below is the picture of a man selling hot boiled peanuts on the side of the road.
Attempting to catch a glimpse of the fall foliage, we headed up north to Amicaloa Falls this past Saturday with Pat and Patty. It was still a bit early around here. The leaves were still on the green side. Oh well. We got to hike down 500 steps to see Amicaloa Falls. After we were done, we went to Dahlonega... this little town in Northern Georgia. I'm not sure how to describe it, except that it's got a very southern feel to it.
Pat made sure that I got to try hot boiled peanuts (in shells) from the side of the road. I guess it's a southern specialty. It was good!! I love peanuts. Below is the picture of a man selling hot boiled peanuts on the side of the road.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Memories
OMG! So YouTube now has a Berkeley Channel where they show lectures online. I found Professor Diamond's human anatomy lectures on YouTube. I can't believe she's still teaching. She's such a sweet lady. I loved how she used to write on blackboards teaching hundreds of students despite the advances of technology (like Powerpoint or even just projectors with those clear plastic sheets... I don't even know what they're called anymore). I guess she still does write on blackboards! So awesome... I might watch all the lectures again just to refresh anatomy.
OMG! So YouTube now has a Berkeley Channel where they show lectures online. I found Professor Diamond's human anatomy lectures on YouTube. I can't believe she's still teaching. She's such a sweet lady. I loved how she used to write on blackboards teaching hundreds of students despite the advances of technology (like Powerpoint or even just projectors with those clear plastic sheets... I don't even know what they're called anymore). I guess she still does write on blackboards! So awesome... I might watch all the lectures again just to refresh anatomy.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
There's not much going on over here.
Atlanta is in a drought. I'm trying to conserve water by not watering my potted plants on my deck and turning off the faucet when I'm soaping up my dishes. I have not washed my car since... spring, I think? I hope this will help. I don't want them to limit my showers and toilet-flushing.
I've recently quit my job #2 so that I can increase my hours at job #3. Now between job #1 and job #3, I am now working a full week. I miss my days off when everyone else is at work. I'm kind of regretting it... but I went to a benefits orientation for my job #3 yesterday and walked out feeling better. I get benefits (like retirement)!! I guess it's a regular expected thing for most people. I'm so used to working for small businesses where I have to pay bucks for health insurance and get no retirement benefits.
It's still like 80 degrees here and very humid. It totally does not feel like fall. But I'm not complaining. I don't like the cold.
Atlanta is in a drought. I'm trying to conserve water by not watering my potted plants on my deck and turning off the faucet when I'm soaping up my dishes. I have not washed my car since... spring, I think? I hope this will help. I don't want them to limit my showers and toilet-flushing.
I've recently quit my job #2 so that I can increase my hours at job #3. Now between job #1 and job #3, I am now working a full week. I miss my days off when everyone else is at work. I'm kind of regretting it... but I went to a benefits orientation for my job #3 yesterday and walked out feeling better. I get benefits (like retirement)!! I guess it's a regular expected thing for most people. I'm so used to working for small businesses where I have to pay bucks for health insurance and get no retirement benefits.
It's still like 80 degrees here and very humid. It totally does not feel like fall. But I'm not complaining. I don't like the cold.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Another Place I Want to See
I was so inspired today after watching Travel Channel's Samantha Brown's Passport to Europe show on the Amalfi Coast of Italy. We tried to go there from Rome two years ago... but got on the wrong train and ended up in (scary) Naples instead. After watching this episode, I want to see the Amalfi Coast even MORE.
Gosh. I wish I was Samantha Brown or Rick Steves... just travel and see the world for a travel show. I'd be happy to even be a crew member. Ok, maybe it's not that easy to travel and film all the time for work.... but the idea is still very enticing.
I was so inspired today after watching Travel Channel's Samantha Brown's Passport to Europe show on the Amalfi Coast of Italy. We tried to go there from Rome two years ago... but got on the wrong train and ended up in (scary) Naples instead. After watching this episode, I want to see the Amalfi Coast even MORE.
Gosh. I wish I was Samantha Brown or Rick Steves... just travel and see the world for a travel show. I'd be happy to even be a crew member. Ok, maybe it's not that easy to travel and film all the time for work.... but the idea is still very enticing.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Monday, September 10, 2007
Sunday, September 09, 2007
My New Toy
Thanks to my dad, I now have a new toy: Mio Digi Walker C220. Got this in the mail yesterday as a bday present from my dad (it's actually one of his products) and I LOVE IT! It's so easy to use. Now I won't get lost and don't need to print out directions from my computer. You know that GPS comercial where the guy talks to his GPS and tells it "I love you"? Yah.... that's how I feel about my GPS. AND our address is actually in it (it's a fairly new subdivision and not currently on any internet maps).
Thanks to my dad, I now have a new toy: Mio Digi Walker C220. Got this in the mail yesterday as a bday present from my dad (it's actually one of his products) and I LOVE IT! It's so easy to use. Now I won't get lost and don't need to print out directions from my computer. You know that GPS comercial where the guy talks to his GPS and tells it "I love you"? Yah.... that's how I feel about my GPS. AND our address is actually in it (it's a fairly new subdivision and not currently on any internet maps).
Saturday, September 08, 2007
I met a girl for the first time today at the a women's group who:
- is from NorCal
- went to Cal when I was also there
- majored in IB (I was MCB... there were lots of overlapping classes)
- also went to Hopkins for grad school
- lived in Baltimore when I lived there
- moved to Atlanta when we moved here last summer from Baltimore
- works at the CDC with Eric (ok... in the next building)
- has been going to the same church as us for the past year
Weird huh?!
- is from NorCal
- went to Cal when I was also there
- majored in IB (I was MCB... there were lots of overlapping classes)
- also went to Hopkins for grad school
- lived in Baltimore when I lived there
- moved to Atlanta when we moved here last summer from Baltimore
- works at the CDC with Eric (ok... in the next building)
- has been going to the same church as us for the past year
Weird huh?!
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Weddings!
Can't believe it's September already! What happened to the past 8 months?! I feel like I had just gotten used to writing "2007" .
We flew out to attend Wilma & Alvin's wedding in 2 weekends ago. Flying out was disastrous. Can't believe a little short thunderstorm in the area can disrupt flights out of Atlanta for the rest of the evening. We were suppose to depart at 8:25pm, but did not leave Atlanta until 3am... and this was doing standby on another flight out to SF because they had canceled out flight after they kept delaying the flight until about after 1am due to no availability of flight crew. Stinks. This was the second time it had happened to me in a span of three weeks. Delta compensated me with a $100 voucher and 10,000 SkyMiles. But I'm glad we were able to fly out in time for Wilma's wedding. It was a lovely wedding and probably the biggest one I've ever been to.
And again... I had a great time hanging out at home and ate to my heart's desire and to my mother's content.
And then we came back and attended Nora & Leslie's wedding this past Saturday here in Atlanta. It was another lovely wedding. Cheers to another married couple! :)
Can't believe it's September already! What happened to the past 8 months?! I feel like I had just gotten used to writing "2007" .
We flew out to attend Wilma & Alvin's wedding in 2 weekends ago. Flying out was disastrous. Can't believe a little short thunderstorm in the area can disrupt flights out of Atlanta for the rest of the evening. We were suppose to depart at 8:25pm, but did not leave Atlanta until 3am... and this was doing standby on another flight out to SF because they had canceled out flight after they kept delaying the flight until about after 1am due to no availability of flight crew. Stinks. This was the second time it had happened to me in a span of three weeks. Delta compensated me with a $100 voucher and 10,000 SkyMiles. But I'm glad we were able to fly out in time for Wilma's wedding. It was a lovely wedding and probably the biggest one I've ever been to.
And again... I had a great time hanging out at home and ate to my heart's desire and to my mother's content.
And then we came back and attended Nora & Leslie's wedding this past Saturday here in Atlanta. It was another lovely wedding. Cheers to another married couple! :)
Monday, August 20, 2007
Monday Randomness
Dave came down from Baltimore this past weekend. Too bad I had to work half of the weekend. We ate a lot of yummy and greasy food... including Fat Matt's ribs and Pappasito's (tex-mex). I feel like I need to detox this week. I need some steamed vegetables or something. Pappasito's is so good. I can't believe we don't frequent this place more.
I am still shocked that Eric and I finished a whole watermelon in two days. I just cut up another one. We'll see how fast we finish this one. I think we've gone through at least one watermelon a week (of all the weeks we've been in town) since the beginning of June. Craziness.
I've finally joined Facebook. Man. It's addicting.
Dave came down from Baltimore this past weekend. Too bad I had to work half of the weekend. We ate a lot of yummy and greasy food... including Fat Matt's ribs and Pappasito's (tex-mex). I feel like I need to detox this week. I need some steamed vegetables or something. Pappasito's is so good. I can't believe we don't frequent this place more.
I am still shocked that Eric and I finished a whole watermelon in two days. I just cut up another one. We'll see how fast we finish this one. I think we've gone through at least one watermelon a week (of all the weeks we've been in town) since the beginning of June. Craziness.
I've finally joined Facebook. Man. It's addicting.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Continuing On With Our Summer Travels: NYC
Congrats to Steve and Bridget for tying the knot this past weekend in New York City! The weather cleared up on their wedding day. The day before was freezing... like in the 50's or something. I had to swing by the Gap to pick up a jacket. Who would've thought that it'd be freezing in the middle of summer?! The funny thing was that at that particular store, almost everyone there was buying a jacket cuz it was so cold out.
It was truly refreshing to be in the city again. I loved walking around the city. I think one day, I walked like 50 blocks. Another day, I walked from 7st Street to 44th Street. Yah. Crazy. I felt bad for the friends I was with. I somehow convinced them to walk that far. Haha! Food was wonderful and shopping was fun. We also got to meet up with some old friends from Baltimore.
Next stop: SF! But until then, I am working everyday for the next 10 days.
Congrats to Steve and Bridget for tying the knot this past weekend in New York City! The weather cleared up on their wedding day. The day before was freezing... like in the 50's or something. I had to swing by the Gap to pick up a jacket. Who would've thought that it'd be freezing in the middle of summer?! The funny thing was that at that particular store, almost everyone there was buying a jacket cuz it was so cold out.
It was truly refreshing to be in the city again. I loved walking around the city. I think one day, I walked like 50 blocks. Another day, I walked from 7st Street to 44th Street. Yah. Crazy. I felt bad for the friends I was with. I somehow convinced them to walk that far. Haha! Food was wonderful and shopping was fun. We also got to meet up with some old friends from Baltimore.
Next stop: SF! But until then, I am working everyday for the next 10 days.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Back from Seattle
Continuing on with my summer traveling... I was in Seattle for the past few days. Eric is still there for a conference. The last time I was there was when I was in high school during those Canaan music trip days.
As expected, it rained while I was there. It wasn't like pouring rain... just showers. It finally cleared up when I was leaving for the airport to come back to Atlanta. Nevertheless, it was refreshing to get away from the Atlanta heat for a few days. Seattle is a beautiful city. It kind of reminded me of the Bay Area. There's water everywhere. I'd love to live in one of those waterfront houses.
At Kerry Park with a nice view of downtown Seattle and the Space Needle. Did I mention that we have adopted a 3 year-old boy?
Just kidding!! This is Samuel, Eric's friend's son.
I guess this was a must-see when in Seattle- Pike Place Market. The seafood there looked SO fresh and tasted SO fresh. Salmon.... YUM. I have been eating a whole lot of fish.
We spent one day doing those (old-people) tours. You know, those tours where you ride on this bus and there's a tour guide in the front... Yup. We did one. We went to Mount Rainier. Too bad it was too misty to see the peak of Mount Rainier. We were probably one of the younger ones in our tour group. They gave us some time to hike and explore. We tried to hike as far as we could to see the glaciers (since I've never seen them before), but this was the closest thing:
Melting snow/ice. Oh well... maybe next time I'll get to see the glacier up close.
The Shire. Where are the Hobbits? (This was part of the hiking trail we took in our attempted search for glaciers.)
The peak of Mount Rainier is behind the clouds. Pretty, huh?
Continuing on with my summer traveling... I was in Seattle for the past few days. Eric is still there for a conference. The last time I was there was when I was in high school during those Canaan music trip days.
As expected, it rained while I was there. It wasn't like pouring rain... just showers. It finally cleared up when I was leaving for the airport to come back to Atlanta. Nevertheless, it was refreshing to get away from the Atlanta heat for a few days. Seattle is a beautiful city. It kind of reminded me of the Bay Area. There's water everywhere. I'd love to live in one of those waterfront houses.
At Kerry Park with a nice view of downtown Seattle and the Space Needle. Did I mention that we have adopted a 3 year-old boy?
Just kidding!! This is Samuel, Eric's friend's son.
I guess this was a must-see when in Seattle- Pike Place Market. The seafood there looked SO fresh and tasted SO fresh. Salmon.... YUM. I have been eating a whole lot of fish.
We spent one day doing those (old-people) tours. You know, those tours where you ride on this bus and there's a tour guide in the front... Yup. We did one. We went to Mount Rainier. Too bad it was too misty to see the peak of Mount Rainier. We were probably one of the younger ones in our tour group. They gave us some time to hike and explore. We tried to hike as far as we could to see the glaciers (since I've never seen them before), but this was the closest thing:
Melting snow/ice. Oh well... maybe next time I'll get to see the glacier up close.
The Shire. Where are the Hobbits? (This was part of the hiking trail we took in our attempted search for glaciers.)
The peak of Mount Rainier is behind the clouds. Pretty, huh?
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
My Haircut
I've been getting a lot of interesting comments about my hair.
The other day a coworker at the ER said to me, "You remind me of someone who used to work here." I replied, "You mean me?" I told her that I had just chopped off 10-11 inches of my hair off and that I used to tie my hair in a ponytail... and she was like "oh yah! She had long hair that she'd always pull back." Haha!! I was like... um... yah, that was me (cuz there aren't that many Asian female nurses who work there). I guess I don't work in that ER enough to know everyone there and for them to get to know me. That was probably the funniest conversation I've had with this new haircut.
And then yesterday, a stranger told me that I reminded her of one of the Spice Girls...
It's funny how a new hairstyle can bring so many interesting conversations.
I've been getting a lot of interesting comments about my hair.
The other day a coworker at the ER said to me, "You remind me of someone who used to work here." I replied, "You mean me?" I told her that I had just chopped off 10-11 inches of my hair off and that I used to tie my hair in a ponytail... and she was like "oh yah! She had long hair that she'd always pull back." Haha!! I was like... um... yah, that was me (cuz there aren't that many Asian female nurses who work there). I guess I don't work in that ER enough to know everyone there and for them to get to know me. That was probably the funniest conversation I've had with this new haircut.
And then yesterday, a stranger told me that I reminded her of one of the Spice Girls...
It's funny how a new hairstyle can bring so many interesting conversations.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Weekend In Savannah
We spent the last weekend in Savannah, Georgia with Eric's family. For those of you who don't know much about geography outside of California (including me), Savannah is about four hours southeast of Atlanta by car. The weather was very hot and humid, just like Taiwan. I felt like I was in a rainforest Eew.
It's a pretty town... a historical one. According to Veleda, it was found by King George (that's why the state is called Georgia). Unfortunately, that's all I know (remember) about it. There are many many historical squares named after many famous people. Oh! A part of Forrest Gump was filmed in Savannah. I'm told it's some scene where he sat on a bench.
Another noteworthy fact... Paula Deen from the Food Channel is from Savannah. She has a restaurant called Lady and Sons there. They supposedly have some awesome Southern food buffet style. We tried to go there, but the line was WAY too long. They told us to go back at 1:30pm to line up for dinner at 3pm. Maybe it was a good thing we couldn't eat there. I heard their fried chicken is good...
No Paula Deen, but I got ice cream at Leopold's. Bacio... yum.
We also spent a day at a beach in Hilton Head.
Here is Alina doing something in the sand... We're not sure what she's doing. She said she didn't know either. :p Pretty funny.
We spent the last weekend in Savannah, Georgia with Eric's family. For those of you who don't know much about geography outside of California (including me), Savannah is about four hours southeast of Atlanta by car. The weather was very hot and humid, just like Taiwan. I felt like I was in a rainforest Eew.
It's a pretty town... a historical one. According to Veleda, it was found by King George (that's why the state is called Georgia). Unfortunately, that's all I know (remember) about it. There are many many historical squares named after many famous people. Oh! A part of Forrest Gump was filmed in Savannah. I'm told it's some scene where he sat on a bench.
Another noteworthy fact... Paula Deen from the Food Channel is from Savannah. She has a restaurant called Lady and Sons there. They supposedly have some awesome Southern food buffet style. We tried to go there, but the line was WAY too long. They told us to go back at 1:30pm to line up for dinner at 3pm. Maybe it was a good thing we couldn't eat there. I heard their fried chicken is good...
No Paula Deen, but I got ice cream at Leopold's. Bacio... yum.
We also spent a day at a beach in Hilton Head.
Here is Alina doing something in the sand... We're not sure what she's doing. She said she didn't know either. :p Pretty funny.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Back from the Bay Area
Can't believe my time there went by so quickly. My apologies to everyone who I didn't get to see this time. I'll be back in August. As usual, I ate a lot of good food... had a lot of fun with my family and friends and friends' babies. Oh! I also chopped off 10 inches off of my hair which took 11 months to grow. I was bummed, but now my head feels much much lighter.
On Saturday, I went to Angel Island with my parents. The weather was absolutely perfect. We took a ferry from Tiburon in Marin County to Angel Island. We hiked around the island for a little bit. The view of the bay from Angel Island was phenomenal... really... I realized that I didn't really care for Golden Gate Bridge and all of the pretty sights of the bay until I moved away. It truly is gorgeous. There's this one spot on Angel Island where you can see the entire bay from Marin, Golden Gate Bridge, SF, Bay Bridge, Treasure Island, and to Oakland. Absolutely gorgeous!!
View of Golden Gate Bridge from our ferry ride
SF, Alcatraz, and a little bit of Bay Bridge (View from Angel Island)
Got to see a few old friends... but unfortunately not everyone... :(. Maybe in August. Hung out with the girls from Canaan at Fraiche Yogurt in Palo Alto. It was fun to catch up and be together again and feel girly. Awesome yogurt at Fraiche Yogurt... I wish they'd open one up somthing like it in Atlanta. Pinkberry, will you come to Atlanta? Please, please, please....
Everyone except for Reni and Joyce... but in retrospect... I saw both Reni and Joyce back in May in LA. Left to right: Alice, Amy, me, Karen, Jean, Olivia. Good times.
I also got to see J & I who are back in the States for a few months. It was so neat to hear stories about the "motherland" from their perspectives.
I've come to realization that I'm getting old. My friends have kids. It took awhile to get over the fact that they are now moms. It's neat to see them in that role. These kids are growing up so fast. The last time I saw them, they were just sitting in their infant carriers not doing much. Now they're talking (a little bit) and walking. They are WAY too cute!!
Topher drinking Mango-A-Go-Go at Jamba Juice. Did you know that they have these little baby cups with lids and staws for babies?! SOOO cool!
Little Miss Hannah eating cheese (Yum... Just kidding!)
Can't believe my time there went by so quickly. My apologies to everyone who I didn't get to see this time. I'll be back in August. As usual, I ate a lot of good food... had a lot of fun with my family and friends and friends' babies. Oh! I also chopped off 10 inches off of my hair which took 11 months to grow. I was bummed, but now my head feels much much lighter.
On Saturday, I went to Angel Island with my parents. The weather was absolutely perfect. We took a ferry from Tiburon in Marin County to Angel Island. We hiked around the island for a little bit. The view of the bay from Angel Island was phenomenal... really... I realized that I didn't really care for Golden Gate Bridge and all of the pretty sights of the bay until I moved away. It truly is gorgeous. There's this one spot on Angel Island where you can see the entire bay from Marin, Golden Gate Bridge, SF, Bay Bridge, Treasure Island, and to Oakland. Absolutely gorgeous!!
View of Golden Gate Bridge from our ferry ride
SF, Alcatraz, and a little bit of Bay Bridge (View from Angel Island)
Got to see a few old friends... but unfortunately not everyone... :(. Maybe in August. Hung out with the girls from Canaan at Fraiche Yogurt in Palo Alto. It was fun to catch up and be together again and feel girly. Awesome yogurt at Fraiche Yogurt... I wish they'd open one up somthing like it in Atlanta. Pinkberry, will you come to Atlanta? Please, please, please....
Everyone except for Reni and Joyce... but in retrospect... I saw both Reni and Joyce back in May in LA. Left to right: Alice, Amy, me, Karen, Jean, Olivia. Good times.
I also got to see J & I who are back in the States for a few months. It was so neat to hear stories about the "motherland" from their perspectives.
I've come to realization that I'm getting old. My friends have kids. It took awhile to get over the fact that they are now moms. It's neat to see them in that role. These kids are growing up so fast. The last time I saw them, they were just sitting in their infant carriers not doing much. Now they're talking (a little bit) and walking. They are WAY too cute!!
Topher drinking Mango-A-Go-Go at Jamba Juice. Did you know that they have these little baby cups with lids and staws for babies?! SOOO cool!
Little Miss Hannah eating cheese (Yum... Just kidding!)
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Reminiscing
It's funny how it has been exactly one year this week since we relocated from DC/Baltimore area to Atlanta, and exactly one year later, we were there visiting. I got to tag along with Eric to DC for a few days this past weekend. He will be there for a few more weeks for work. We had a great time catching up with old friends, eating Vacarro's gelato, visiting GLC, and just be there again.
The car in the picture above was not a taxi. It was our rental car. For some reason, the rental car company gave us a YELLOW coupe Chevrolet Cobalt. I laughed to myself when they pulled this car up for me. It was almost too embarrassing to drive this car around. I used to want a yellow car in high school. I've changed my mind. I definitely don't want a yellow car now.
I spent one day roaming the streets around Dupont Circle and Georgetown by myself. It was so relaxing. The best part of my day was to sit at an outdoor cafe sipping away my iced Americano coffee and just reflect....
It's funny how it has been exactly one year this week since we relocated from DC/Baltimore area to Atlanta, and exactly one year later, we were there visiting. I got to tag along with Eric to DC for a few days this past weekend. He will be there for a few more weeks for work. We had a great time catching up with old friends, eating Vacarro's gelato, visiting GLC, and just be there again.
The car in the picture above was not a taxi. It was our rental car. For some reason, the rental car company gave us a YELLOW coupe Chevrolet Cobalt. I laughed to myself when they pulled this car up for me. It was almost too embarrassing to drive this car around. I used to want a yellow car in high school. I've changed my mind. I definitely don't want a yellow car now.
I spent one day roaming the streets around Dupont Circle and Georgetown by myself. It was so relaxing. The best part of my day was to sit at an outdoor cafe sipping away my iced Americano coffee and just reflect....
Friday, June 15, 2007
No Voice
I lost my voice. I probably got my laryngitis from some sick kiddo this week. You don't appreciate what you have until you lose it. In my case, it's my voice for now. I went into work this morning because I couldn't talk on the phone to call in sick. Somehow, I ended up staying for the morning to see some patients. By the grace of God (really), almost half didn't show up for their apointments. For the rest of them, I just struggled through each visits by whispering. Kind of pathetic. Having no voice is a disability.
It was funny when kids would respond to my questions by whispering their answers back. I guess it's a reflex. When you hear someone whisper, you whisper back. This one boy thought my voice sounded funny and laughed at me whenever I'd try to talk. Anyway... quite entertaining.
I love how everyone tries to give me remedies to help get my voice back: pineapple juice, honey with lemon tea, throat lozenges, rest. I guess I just need to rest my voice.
I lost my voice. I probably got my laryngitis from some sick kiddo this week. You don't appreciate what you have until you lose it. In my case, it's my voice for now. I went into work this morning because I couldn't talk on the phone to call in sick. Somehow, I ended up staying for the morning to see some patients. By the grace of God (really), almost half didn't show up for their apointments. For the rest of them, I just struggled through each visits by whispering. Kind of pathetic. Having no voice is a disability.
It was funny when kids would respond to my questions by whispering their answers back. I guess it's a reflex. When you hear someone whisper, you whisper back. This one boy thought my voice sounded funny and laughed at me whenever I'd try to talk. Anyway... quite entertaining.
I love how everyone tries to give me remedies to help get my voice back: pineapple juice, honey with lemon tea, throat lozenges, rest. I guess I just need to rest my voice.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Steve and Bridget visited from NYC this past weekend and stayed with us. It was fun hanging out with them and get to know Bridget. Can't wait to see them tie the knot in NYC!! I definitely agree that life here compared to the the northeast is definitely slower paced. Can't believe that I actually miss the northeast!
It was a fun-packed weekend and now I'm back to work. I've agreed to sign on to a third job in addition to my current jobs. Yah... I think I'm crazy, too. It's a long story. We'll see how this one will turn out in terms of juggling my schedule. I don't start this job until July. It should be good.
We'll be in D.C./Baltimore in two weekends!! :) Yay! We get to visit GLC and see old friends. Can't believe it's almost been one year since we moved from there to Atlanta.
It was a fun-packed weekend and now I'm back to work. I've agreed to sign on to a third job in addition to my current jobs. Yah... I think I'm crazy, too. It's a long story. We'll see how this one will turn out in terms of juggling my schedule. I don't start this job until July. It should be good.
We'll be in D.C./Baltimore in two weekends!! :) Yay! We get to visit GLC and see old friends. Can't believe it's almost been one year since we moved from there to Atlanta.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Memorial Day Weekend In L.A.
It was a short but fun-filled trip to LA. My parents flew down from the Bay Area and met us there. It was good seeing them because I haven't seen everyone since we got married two years ago... and of course you don't really get to spend much time with anyone on your wedding day. It was good seeing my grandma again. I got to practice my very broken Taiwanese... *sigh*. She is such a sweet lady with a big heart for God. She loves singing hymns. She led us in a little family worship time where we sang hymns and she led us in a prayer. Afterwards, we all went up to Rose Hills to visit my grandpa's grave. It was exactly six years ago on this past Saturday when he had passed away. The view up there was pretty... except for the smog. I remember on a clear day you can see all of LA... I guess just not this time.
(Left) This past Saturday (smoggy). (Right) Same view Christmas 2001 (you can see downtown LA).
I got to see my two old friends from Canaan: Joyce and Reni. We had a good time hanging out and catching up. I can't believe Reni has two kids now. I've never seen her as a mom until this past weekend. I totally miss old friends. I wish we all live close to each other. There is definitely something about old friends... *Sigh* (I'm so bummed that we forgot to take pictures... Sorry. No pictures to post.)
My brother has become a LA food guru after living there for a few years now. My tummy was very happy. We had dim sum (healthy version, without MSG and too much grease), seven-courses of Vietnamese beef dinner, Chinese formal dinner with relatives, Taiwanese breakfast, and Japanese food. He now got me hooked on this new frozen yogurt fad thing... I am now in withdrawal of this frozen yogurt stuff. I came back and googled frozen yogurt in Atlanta and found out that Ce Fiore is coming to Atlanta!! I was so excited that emailed the company to see when/where they would be. I called up Eric while he was at work to tell him that. He wasn't as excited as I was about it... For this reason, I have started a food blog to talk away about my thing for food so that I don't tire out his ears. Anyway, I love food in LA. Man... I love food in LA. :)
My mom is a passionate house cleaner/chef for her kids. While we all sat around, snacked, and watched TV, she cleaned my brother's apartment, made wontons for him, and even did loads and loads of laundry for him. We had to go to a Chinese supermarket to get stuff for his wontons... and guess what we saw there?!
Yup. Totally disgusting. Never again will I ever dare to eat frogs again. Not that I did in the past willingly... It was either I got tricked into (thinking it was chicken) or out of politeness at some dinner party.
We found this in my brother's closet as part of his last Halloween outfit. Pretty funny! My dad wore this wig out to lunch with my grandma to see if she would notice. We all got a good laugh when she realized that it was a wig. She was like, "When did you get your hair permed?!" (When we had just seen her the day before.) My poor brother (when we were all walking out to the car from his apartment with my dad and his new hairdo on our way to lunch with my grandma) was like, "I live here..." So funny.
It was a short but fun-filled trip to LA. My parents flew down from the Bay Area and met us there. It was good seeing them because I haven't seen everyone since we got married two years ago... and of course you don't really get to spend much time with anyone on your wedding day. It was good seeing my grandma again. I got to practice my very broken Taiwanese... *sigh*. She is such a sweet lady with a big heart for God. She loves singing hymns. She led us in a little family worship time where we sang hymns and she led us in a prayer. Afterwards, we all went up to Rose Hills to visit my grandpa's grave. It was exactly six years ago on this past Saturday when he had passed away. The view up there was pretty... except for the smog. I remember on a clear day you can see all of LA... I guess just not this time.
(Left) This past Saturday (smoggy). (Right) Same view Christmas 2001 (you can see downtown LA).
I got to see my two old friends from Canaan: Joyce and Reni. We had a good time hanging out and catching up. I can't believe Reni has two kids now. I've never seen her as a mom until this past weekend. I totally miss old friends. I wish we all live close to each other. There is definitely something about old friends... *Sigh* (I'm so bummed that we forgot to take pictures... Sorry. No pictures to post.)
My brother has become a LA food guru after living there for a few years now. My tummy was very happy. We had dim sum (healthy version, without MSG and too much grease), seven-courses of Vietnamese beef dinner, Chinese formal dinner with relatives, Taiwanese breakfast, and Japanese food. He now got me hooked on this new frozen yogurt fad thing... I am now in withdrawal of this frozen yogurt stuff. I came back and googled frozen yogurt in Atlanta and found out that Ce Fiore is coming to Atlanta!! I was so excited that emailed the company to see when/where they would be. I called up Eric while he was at work to tell him that. He wasn't as excited as I was about it... For this reason, I have started a food blog to talk away about my thing for food so that I don't tire out his ears. Anyway, I love food in LA. Man... I love food in LA. :)
My mom is a passionate house cleaner/chef for her kids. While we all sat around, snacked, and watched TV, she cleaned my brother's apartment, made wontons for him, and even did loads and loads of laundry for him. We had to go to a Chinese supermarket to get stuff for his wontons... and guess what we saw there?!
Yup. Totally disgusting. Never again will I ever dare to eat frogs again. Not that I did in the past willingly... It was either I got tricked into (thinking it was chicken) or out of politeness at some dinner party.
We found this in my brother's closet as part of his last Halloween outfit. Pretty funny! My dad wore this wig out to lunch with my grandma to see if she would notice. We all got a good laugh when she realized that it was a wig. She was like, "When did you get your hair permed?!" (When we had just seen her the day before.) My poor brother (when we were all walking out to the car from his apartment with my dad and his new hairdo on our way to lunch with my grandma) was like, "I live here..." So funny.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Eric says "we ate really well" this past weekend
We went to McKendric's Steakhouse on Friday night and stuffed ourselves. We happened to be around Buford Highway on Saturday for lunchtime, so we had dimsum. Then for dinner, we had the pleasure of having dinner with a few friends at Leslie's house. He grilled up some delicious sausages and homemade hamburger patties and chicken, while Nora balanced it out with lots and lots of greens. After church on Sunday, we went with some friends to Shayne's Ribshack. Yah... we ate LOTS of meat this weekend.
We went to McKendric's Steakhouse on Friday night and stuffed ourselves. We happened to be around Buford Highway on Saturday for lunchtime, so we had dimsum. Then for dinner, we had the pleasure of having dinner with a few friends at Leslie's house. He grilled up some delicious sausages and homemade hamburger patties and chicken, while Nora balanced it out with lots and lots of greens. After church on Sunday, we went with some friends to Shayne's Ribshack. Yah... we ate LOTS of meat this weekend.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Nurses
Happy Nurses Week (it was last week)! I got this email last week. I think only my fellow nurse friends will get this.. anyway...
Happy Nurses Week (it was last week)! I got this email last week. I think only my fellow nurse friends will get this.. anyway...
You know you're a nurse if:
- Your bladder can expand to the size of a Winnebago's water tank
- You find yourself checking out other customer's veins in grocery waiting lines.
- You avoid unhealthy looking shoppers in the mall for fear that they will drop near you and you'll have to do CPR on your day off.
- You check the caller ID on your day off to see if anyone from the hospital is trying to call and ask you to work.
- You've been telling stories in a restaurant and made someone at another table throw up.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Monday, May 07, 2007
A Weekend of Celebrations
You know you're getting old when you get invited to your friends' kids' birthday parties... It's not just about getting invited to weddings anymore. We celebrated Carmen's birthday party over the weekend. She turned three. Felise (her mom) made her a pretty cake (and yummy too). It was so impressive. Carmen has a lot of food allergies. Felise made these cupcakes (seen on popsicle sticks on top of the sheet cake) that were allergen-free for Carmen. They were made with rice flour and cocoa. The sheet cake was regular chocolate cake.
After the birthday party, we went to Jeff and Nancy's baby shower. Lots of good food... We left with full and happy stomachs. I guess we are in the "transition" period in life... lots of weddings and lots of babies...
You know you're getting old when you get invited to your friends' kids' birthday parties... It's not just about getting invited to weddings anymore. We celebrated Carmen's birthday party over the weekend. She turned three. Felise (her mom) made her a pretty cake (and yummy too). It was so impressive. Carmen has a lot of food allergies. Felise made these cupcakes (seen on popsicle sticks on top of the sheet cake) that were allergen-free for Carmen. They were made with rice flour and cocoa. The sheet cake was regular chocolate cake.
After the birthday party, we went to Jeff and Nancy's baby shower. Lots of good food... We left with full and happy stomachs. I guess we are in the "transition" period in life... lots of weddings and lots of babies...
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
I'm Fifteen
Today a father of one of my patients at the office told me that I look like I'm a fifteen year-old. He dared to ask me for my age. Given that he was a foreigner and may not be familiar with that it's usually not wise asking strangers how hold they are in the American culture, I told him after a moment of hesitation. He was shocked to find out my real age. I guess I'm flattered. I hope this looking like I'm much much much younger than my real age never catch up as I become older.
Today a father of one of my patients at the office told me that I look like I'm a fifteen year-old. He dared to ask me for my age. Given that he was a foreigner and may not be familiar with that it's usually not wise asking strangers how hold they are in the American culture, I told him after a moment of hesitation. He was shocked to find out my real age. I guess I'm flattered. I hope this looking like I'm much much much younger than my real age never catch up as I become older.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Happy
My husband treated me out to lunch at Alon's in Virginia Highlands today. I've been wanting to check this place out since it has received a lot of good reviews. It's a bakery and a specialty market. The smell of freshly baked breads made me a happy girl today. We had smoked peppered turkey sandwich (naturally smoked peppered whole turkey with alfalfa sprouts, avocado, red onion, and sliced tomato) on a freshly baked ciabatta roll, followed by a fruit tart. We sat outside and enjoyed our lunch since the weather was sunny and perfect. It almost felt like I was in Europe again. He gave me a weird and speechless look when I suggested that next time we should go pick up lunch at Alon's then go on a picnic if the weather was this nice again (with a picnic blanket, basket, and the whole shabang). I guess that may be a little bit much for guys (I mean for married guys). Here's a tip for guys who are dating: picnics are great for dates. Anyway, it's a good thing we don't live too close to Alon's. I'd probably go there every other day if we live closeby.
My husband treated me out to lunch at Alon's in Virginia Highlands today. I've been wanting to check this place out since it has received a lot of good reviews. It's a bakery and a specialty market. The smell of freshly baked breads made me a happy girl today. We had smoked peppered turkey sandwich (naturally smoked peppered whole turkey with alfalfa sprouts, avocado, red onion, and sliced tomato) on a freshly baked ciabatta roll, followed by a fruit tart. We sat outside and enjoyed our lunch since the weather was sunny and perfect. It almost felt like I was in Europe again. He gave me a weird and speechless look when I suggested that next time we should go pick up lunch at Alon's then go on a picnic if the weather was this nice again (with a picnic blanket, basket, and the whole shabang). I guess that may be a little bit much for guys (I mean for married guys). Here's a tip for guys who are dating: picnics are great for dates. Anyway, it's a good thing we don't live too close to Alon's. I'd probably go there every other day if we live closeby.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Friday, April 13, 2007
Watching WAY too much TV
Some kid gave me his/her cold this week. It stinks having to go to work with a cold. I am glad it's Friday. I've been resting at home all evenings this week after work watching:
Yes, this is a fob Taiwanese drama with a good-looking girl and a good-looking boy. A friend of mine lent the entire DVD series to me two weeks ago and I've been hooked on this. I am not done with it yet... a few episodes shy of half-way through. Don't spoil it for me if you've seen it. It's a drama that takes place at an academic hospital setting. I guess it's sort of like Gray's Anatomy- Taiwanese style. I highly recommend it.
Watching this drama makes me think about the medical profession... specifically doctors. They are so well-repected in society all over the world with the work they do. I believe and hope that doctors become doctors because they have good intentions for their patients. It stinks that in this profession, when you make a mistake, you are at risk of causing harm to your patient... and sometimes that results in death. I believe that most healthcare professionals do not intend to do harm to their patients... but yet when there are complications with treatment, of if death results for whatever reason while they were in your care (even when you do your best in helping them with the best intention), you become the one to blame... and you'd have to deal with this guilt and this trauma for the rest of your career (if you decide to continue). Anyway... I suppose we live in an unfair world. Ultimately, our health and lives are not in human hands...
Ok... enough deep thoughts from my fob drama.
Some kid gave me his/her cold this week. It stinks having to go to work with a cold. I am glad it's Friday. I've been resting at home all evenings this week after work watching:
Yes, this is a fob Taiwanese drama with a good-looking girl and a good-looking boy. A friend of mine lent the entire DVD series to me two weeks ago and I've been hooked on this. I am not done with it yet... a few episodes shy of half-way through. Don't spoil it for me if you've seen it. It's a drama that takes place at an academic hospital setting. I guess it's sort of like Gray's Anatomy- Taiwanese style. I highly recommend it.
Watching this drama makes me think about the medical profession... specifically doctors. They are so well-repected in society all over the world with the work they do. I believe and hope that doctors become doctors because they have good intentions for their patients. It stinks that in this profession, when you make a mistake, you are at risk of causing harm to your patient... and sometimes that results in death. I believe that most healthcare professionals do not intend to do harm to their patients... but yet when there are complications with treatment, of if death results for whatever reason while they were in your care (even when you do your best in helping them with the best intention), you become the one to blame... and you'd have to deal with this guilt and this trauma for the rest of your career (if you decide to continue). Anyway... I suppose we live in an unfair world. Ultimately, our health and lives are not in human hands...
Ok... enough deep thoughts from my fob drama.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Dobrý Den and Guten Tag!
We celebrated our two year wedding anniversary with a trip to Prague & Vienna. We didn't have many days off from work, so we chose these two cities because they were both relatively small and see-able without much time. Living on the east coast gives us pretty good and fast access to Europe. So we hopped on a plane about two weeks ago and enjoyed ourselves for a few days in these two cities.
Prague had a real old-world European feel to it. The really old buildings were colorful. The river was also pretty. We were impressed by the cost of vacationing there compared to other European cities. It is still relatively inexpensive. You should all go while it's still cheap.
Vienna had a modern European city feel. Everything was nice and clean. We were suprised to see Starbucks there. We heard they're testing the European market. The famous sachertorte at Hotel Sacher was.... amazing. Yum. I can almost taste it in my mouth. It's basically made of two layers of chocolate cake with apriocot jam in the middle, finished with dark chocolate icing.
Here's a picture of it (Courtesy of Wikepedia. We forgot our camera when we ate there.)
Onto some pictures!!
PRAGUE
View of Prague and Vlatava River from hilltop
Old Town Square
Ginormous dog (I don't know what kind) at Old Town Square. Dogs there were SO good. The majority of dogs we saw out with their owners were unleashed. They just walked alongside of their owners even on busy streets. They don't sniff around nor approach other strangers. We even saw this one unleashed dog who just sat right outside of the supermarket entrance (looking inside), faithfully waiting for its owner. I hardly ever see this in the U.S.!
Charles Bridge
One of my favorite vacation thing to do is to sighsee on foot. In fact, if I could, I'd choose to live in a city where I can walk everywhere and take public transportation. I love walking everywhere! Unfortunately, somebody wasn't thrilled about walking everywhere.
VIENNA
We couldn't believe that it actually snowed in Vienna. The white lines in the first photo were snow coming down. You can see accumulated snow behind us at Schonbrunn Palace. It was cold!
St. Stephen's Cathedral in the heart of Vienna. This was where Mozart was married and also where his funeral was held.
Vienna streets
We were lucky that our hotel was literally right across the street from the Vienna Opera House. We were able to catch an opera there on our last night there. We watched Schoenberg's Moses & Aaron. It wasn't the opera that we had hoped to see in that opera house... but we were lucky to be able to have the experience. This particular opera was very modern... not your typical Marriage of Figaro or The Magic Flute operas. This was where Mozart premiered Don Giovanni. I LOVE this about Europe. Everything you learned from textbooks in high school and college classes become alive!
Get it? Haha!
FOOD
Czech food was basically a lot of meat, potatoes, and sauerkraut.
Czech beer was good and also cheaper than water! :) Eric is now in love with Pilsner. This was the Czech version of Budweiser (Budweiser originated in Czech Republic). Czech Budweiser was so much better tasting than the American version.
Greasy sausage from a sausage stand in Vienna.
Boiled beef (Tafelspitz) is a big Austrian thing. We tried it out at Plachutta. You pick out what cut of beef you want, and they boil the meat in this awsome beef and vegetable broth. It reminded me of the meat in pho noodle soup, but much fancier. This place was awesome. Highly recommend it if you're ever in Vienna. This was a bad picture and the only picture I took. I didn't want to seem like a dork taking pictures of all of my food at this nice restaurant.
And of course... desserts and coffee for an afternoon snack at Cafe Aida! After trying out the original sachertorte at Hotel Sacher, this sachertorte was not as good... I guess what you pay is what you get. I wonder if we can get good sachertorte in the States?!
We celebrated our two year wedding anniversary with a trip to Prague & Vienna. We didn't have many days off from work, so we chose these two cities because they were both relatively small and see-able without much time. Living on the east coast gives us pretty good and fast access to Europe. So we hopped on a plane about two weeks ago and enjoyed ourselves for a few days in these two cities.
Prague had a real old-world European feel to it. The really old buildings were colorful. The river was also pretty. We were impressed by the cost of vacationing there compared to other European cities. It is still relatively inexpensive. You should all go while it's still cheap.
Vienna had a modern European city feel. Everything was nice and clean. We were suprised to see Starbucks there. We heard they're testing the European market. The famous sachertorte at Hotel Sacher was.... amazing. Yum. I can almost taste it in my mouth. It's basically made of two layers of chocolate cake with apriocot jam in the middle, finished with dark chocolate icing.
Here's a picture of it (Courtesy of Wikepedia. We forgot our camera when we ate there.)
Onto some pictures!!
PRAGUE
View of Prague and Vlatava River from hilltop
Old Town Square
Ginormous dog (I don't know what kind) at Old Town Square. Dogs there were SO good. The majority of dogs we saw out with their owners were unleashed. They just walked alongside of their owners even on busy streets. They don't sniff around nor approach other strangers. We even saw this one unleashed dog who just sat right outside of the supermarket entrance (looking inside), faithfully waiting for its owner. I hardly ever see this in the U.S.!
Charles Bridge
One of my favorite vacation thing to do is to sighsee on foot. In fact, if I could, I'd choose to live in a city where I can walk everywhere and take public transportation. I love walking everywhere! Unfortunately, somebody wasn't thrilled about walking everywhere.
VIENNA
We couldn't believe that it actually snowed in Vienna. The white lines in the first photo were snow coming down. You can see accumulated snow behind us at Schonbrunn Palace. It was cold!
St. Stephen's Cathedral in the heart of Vienna. This was where Mozart was married and also where his funeral was held.
Vienna streets
We were lucky that our hotel was literally right across the street from the Vienna Opera House. We were able to catch an opera there on our last night there. We watched Schoenberg's Moses & Aaron. It wasn't the opera that we had hoped to see in that opera house... but we were lucky to be able to have the experience. This particular opera was very modern... not your typical Marriage of Figaro or The Magic Flute operas. This was where Mozart premiered Don Giovanni. I LOVE this about Europe. Everything you learned from textbooks in high school and college classes become alive!
Get it? Haha!
FOOD
Czech food was basically a lot of meat, potatoes, and sauerkraut.
Czech beer was good and also cheaper than water! :) Eric is now in love with Pilsner. This was the Czech version of Budweiser (Budweiser originated in Czech Republic). Czech Budweiser was so much better tasting than the American version.
Greasy sausage from a sausage stand in Vienna.
Boiled beef (Tafelspitz) is a big Austrian thing. We tried it out at Plachutta. You pick out what cut of beef you want, and they boil the meat in this awsome beef and vegetable broth. It reminded me of the meat in pho noodle soup, but much fancier. This place was awesome. Highly recommend it if you're ever in Vienna. This was a bad picture and the only picture I took. I didn't want to seem like a dork taking pictures of all of my food at this nice restaurant.
And of course... desserts and coffee for an afternoon snack at Cafe Aida! After trying out the original sachertorte at Hotel Sacher, this sachertorte was not as good... I guess what you pay is what you get. I wonder if we can get good sachertorte in the States?!
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