Scotland and England

My trip of the year ... Scotland and England

The trip started with arrive in London and I was able to spend a couple of hours wandering around in London before meeting up with rest of the group. Then next day, bright and early, started the tour going north into the real England as our tour guide say.  It was really different than the London city itself.  These towns were more the English towns that were described in novels, quaint, friendly and has lots of character.  London itself was more of metropolis, high fashion and finance dominated.

We went all the way north to the Highlands.  The mountains scenery is very different from the Western states.  They definitely got the rolling hills with small towns, random ruins, small bridges interspersed.  You can feel the history with the scenes.  It was absolutely amazing.

Of course, can't miss Liverpool with the Beatles, Edinburgh with the castle and palace, Bath with Roman bath house and Jane Austen and York with the Shambles and haunted ghosts.

It was an amazing trip.  There were definitely places that I want to go back.  London (of course), Edinburgh and Liverpool.  I can dream on right?!

Photos

NYC ... again

For this weekend in NYC, it was a chill relaxing one.  Had no real plans and kind of just playing by ear.  Originally it was more of a girls weekend but 2 of the girls backed out, so it ended up being me and Kirstin.  It seems like every time we plan for something for NYC, it ends up falling through whether it's with other residents from her hospital or other stuff.  Oh well.  It ended well though.

We had our lobster dinner with champagne.  It was a full lobster from head to toe and we totally destroyed it and have pictures to prove it.

Then we went to Cirque de Soli Zarkana.  It was an awesome show.  There are things that they do that seem nearly impossible. Standing on the pole probably 2 times the height of the girl and the pole on top of the guy. Simply amazing with what they can do to their bodies.

Crazy next 6 weeks

This is the start of my crazy 6 weeks where I'll be either out of town or on call for weekends.  We'll see how much havoc it will wreck.  The first 2 weekends will be weekend calls, hopefully they won't be too bad.  After that, I'm going back to LA for the first in 6 years for one of my college roommate's wedding.  I have already missed 2 of their weddings. Then I'll be flying home then flying back for the next 2 weekends.  Finally, going to NYC to see Kirstin before I get a breather.

Whew! I can only imagine how my life during the week will be crazy.  But can't wait.

Grand Cayman

Spent a week on the island.  It was my vacay before the dreary winter starts.  This was the end of the rainy season but before the tourist season.  It was as wonderful as I expected.  There were good and bad days.  The week started off rainy but we got good walks on the beach in, good time just reading and doing nothing but relaxing and getting re-acquainted with each other again.  The sunny days were spent on the beach, island tour and also sting ray city/sandbar with snorkeling.  The nights were spent having yummy food (totaly sabotaged my diet, oh well) and alcholic beverages and hanging out at the beach bar next door.  Mudslides became the drink of choice most of the time and definitely learn that me and Irish Bailey's and whiskey really don't agree, found a Ben Stiller look alike as bartender, getting some creative free drinks. Also participated in a hypnosis show one night, one of those things that I'm not sure I'll do again.  Of course, we went to Hell.  :)

The girls were great, caught up with Kirstin and Krista and got to know Gretchen (Kirstin's childhood friend).  I think by the end of the trip, we agreed that we should totally do something like this again.  I think the talk is somewhere close for next year and possibly Cuba the year after.  So far just talks, we'll see how much of it will come true.

Here's some pics

Mini vacay

 2 days before leaving, I ended up buyin plane ticket for $240, which is now almost unheard of, so I was like what the heck, it'll get me there fast enough without driving and also a day earlier to spend with Kirstin.
And off I go!!

New York

The first night/day I got there was mostly spent just catching up.  We ended up shopping a little for some going out clothes for Kirstin, got her a couple outfits that she can swap the tops and bottoms.  Just very laid back, hanging out.

Atlantic City

We then head out to AC and stayed at the Showboat.  It is still pre-season so the boardwalk was not fully opened yet. We managed to catch some sunset on the boardwalk beach.  The beach was not very pretty but I enjoyed it nonetheless, being that it's ocean, has sun and not Cleveland.



Atlantic City beach on boardwalk

Dinner was at Celine's cafe, a quaint little place that serve sandwiches and full meals.  We had calamari and I had the coconut shrimp.  Talk about yummy and delish.  Anyways, we took a walk down the boardwalk, think walked about 3 miles after the food, then play the slots machine.  I of course didn't win anything, only lost $10.  Kirstin actually won $30 before she was tempted by more slots to play more.  She ended up being even.

We then drove to Brigantine Beach by AC, and it was gorgeous.  The sand was prettier and just got the feel of summer beach vacay.  The beach houses there are cute, the total cape cod beach house style.  We then sort of fell asleep on the beach for about 1hr and definitely got burned.  Lunch was at Nazim's Indian buffet, good, not too Americanized.

Brigatine Beach

Philly

Got to Kirstin and Mike's house in the afternoon, pizza for dinner and pool and hot tub the rest of the night.  Had a little time to catch up with Krista as she just finished her PE. Then met Amy and Guston, Mike's sister and brother-in-law, and their lovely "moose".  We just hung out at the house mostly, going down the real water slide and diving board, hot tub.

New York

My last night on Saturday, we head to rooftop lounge/bar on 230 5th.  It's got great views but definitely a little too high end for regular night out.  It's a great place for special nights outings.  It was fun though, really wished I could have met Frank and Jonathan, Kirstin's NY crazy residents.

Of course, for my flight back, Chicago has thunderstorm and tornado warning and I would have missed my connection even with all the delays, so I opt to stay an extra night with Kirstin.

By the time I left, I just felt lost, I didn't want to come back to Cleveland.  It's almost a dreaded feeling that Cleveland is now my home for a few years.  Definitely not happy here and can't wait til residency is over and I could look foward to move to the coast.

Taiwan / Chinese New Year

Yippee.... My first real vacation since starting residency.

Chinese New Year's Album

Of course, leaving Cleveland about 2-3 days after another snowstorm, hoping to go to DC for my connecting flight.  That did not happened.  Snowstorm is a common occurrence and I know that unless the temp freeze, airports usually keep going.  I got delayed by flight maintenence and have to switch my flight to Chicago then to Tokyo. I don't have a problem with that since international flights usually have more priority in take-offs.  Chicago airport was nice, they even have a sushi bar in the middle of the airport with floor to ceiling windows on one side.  Totally could see the area being gorgeous on good days. Met up with my brother in Tokyo for the final stretch to Taipei.  No delays at all. But it was too long of a flight.  I think the grand total flying to Taipei, it took me 22hrs to land in Taipei and another 1hr to go through customs and get my bags.  We were schedule to arrive at 10:30pm and we didn't come out until 11:30pm.  My poor aunt who was picking us up thought she missed us.  haha.  Originally, my parents would have to wait for us but they ended up being delayed so they didn't wait as long as they thought they would. :)

We got to the condo around 1am then just hang out a bit before getting ready to sleep.  The funny thing was I was exhausted, delirious but still had the energy to play to my 2nd cousin (baby of my cousin).  I even slept through most of my flight.  That shows how exhausted I was on CORS.  Baby Colin was too cute and adorable.  We definitely got lots of pics of him.

Day 1 - had our first of many family meals with my aunts and uncle and cousins and cousin-in-laws. We went to Thai/Vietnamnese buffet. It was yummy.  Totally forgot how much walking there is in Taiwan or the use of subway.  Love it better than US transport.  As you can tell, I don't like driving. Ha.  Then we met up with my mom and brother's friend, Jessica.  They met her at the last year's cultural camp back home.  I got my haircut and they went for coffee.  I just had them trim my hair and pretty much just re-shape it.  SalonBlu totally butchered it a while back.  They are not my fav but much better and cheaped that SalonBlu.  Then we all went to dinner at a Shanghai restaurant.  It was more of my mom and brother chatting with them and my dad and I were just along for the ride.  Good times.

Day 2 - It was a slow day.  We went to Taiwan style dim sum then my parents had to do their official paperwork and whatnot.  Then we went out with Kai's friend to XimenTing and other night market area.  This was the night where my parents and my aunt babysat Colin.  We were joking to see who was more tired, the adults or Colin.  The minute we opened the door, Colin crawled up to Ka-Man and started blubbering, basically complaining to us how awful the adults were to him.  It was hilarious, too bad we weren't able to capture it on camera.  At this point, I was still tired and still could sleep, but there's really not enough time to sleep.

Day 3 - New Year's Eve
We decided to go to the International Flora Expo but first I was determined that I would at least get my Taiwanese breakfast.  We went to the famous area for the soy milk, which happed to be where my mom grew up.  Yummy, definitely better than any in US and much fresher.  Even the fried stick was lighter and crisper.  Then we took the subway to the expo. As from the pics, there were many flowers.  I think I have fallen in love with the Calla lillies, Tulips and Angel in Water (Chinese narcissus or Shui Xian Hua).  The rest of the visit were just some goofy times for us.  Then we went to my oldest uncle's place for the New Year's Eve dinner.  Of course, we've got the adult and kids table, but the food was good too. The shrimps, oh my. And the homemade dumplings, handmade wraps and fillings. The best.  That's always the best of New Year for me, the dumplings.  When we were younger, my grandma would put money inside the dumplings then my mom would put peanuts and dates that would represent certain amount. Oh the fun times.

Day 4 - New Years
We went to MaoKong Gondola, which is a trail up the mountain and able to look at the Taipei from up high.  We chose the car with the clear floor so we can look down but the wait is a bit longer, so we just walked around a bit. There were some cute shops around and lots to play around.  Great for kids, but it definitely made feel stupid. Oh well.  My mom is scared of heights so part of the trip up was interesting with my mom making funny faces once whe realized that there was small window that opens up. Haha.  I think my brother broke every single rule that was posted on the ride, no standing, distribute weight evenly.  After that we went to Taipei 101.  It just basically a mall with increasing expensive shops as you move up the floors.  So went to the basement and got food to eat.  It was yummy.  That night we went to ShiLin night market.  I went before but it was not as packed as that night.  We were all literally front to back tight and just couldn't move.  It was incredible.  We pretty much ate as we walked.  My fav was the stinky tofu. But there were so many different food that we would never have been able to finish if there weren't six of us to share and try.  There was a stand that sold different flavors of squid. Everything was mouthwatering.  I ended up buying earrings, they are cute.

Day 5 - We went to visit my mom's best friend in Touyuan.  Very nice house and they also have an outdoor tub for bath. Interesting.  Overall, it was just a chill time of hanging out and meeting my mom's best friends.

Day 6 - Last Day
We went to Din Tai Fung in Sogo dept store for lunch.  It was yummy, better than the one in LA.  Colin was cracking us up.  He's just always searching for food.  His mouth would open and follow either the chopsticks or the spoon for food.  If you don't feed him fast enough, he would whine.  Too funny.  Always our source of entertainment.  We went shoe shopping in Sogo, I bought a cute sparkly pair of heels, not very high, just very casual.  Then we all just sat around waiting for dinnertime and playing with Colin.  Finally we went for our last family dinner.  Just all having a good time.  So sad to be leaving the next morning and hating packing.  The hi-light of packing was my aunt putting Colin into one of our luggage and him climbing out and trying to climb back in.  HAHAHAHA.  Classic pic.

Day 7- leaving - Chicago fiasco
Got to airport and our flight to Tokyo was delay so I missed my DC flight and have to get on the flight to Chicago.  At that point I knew there was going to be a problem coming back on time.  So no problem until I got to Chicago.  Arrived in Chicago around 2:30pm then found out flight to Cleveland was delayed until 7:30pm.  I was like ok, just going to be about 3 hrs later than expected, so I just took a nap at the airport.  Then we were told, flight is delayed until 8pm because of plane maintenence.  So I just started to watch the Super Bowl with the people on our flight.  It was entertaining cuz the personnel and half of the flight were rooting for the Steelers and the other half of flight was rooting for the Packers.  Of course, our flight was just kept being delayed with excuses of missing crew members, waiting for passengers, waiting for plane from the hangar.  So finally we boarded after the the game around 10pm, then were told that one of the pilot has only 30min left on his duty hours and if we don't take off by then, we would have to de-plane.  Well, guess what, even though we are priority for de-icing and take-off, we turned around and had to de-plane which took another hour since we were not expected to come back.  Then waited for another hour for our voucher for hotel and ticket to get on the next flight back to Cleveland.  By the time got to the room and ready to sleep it was 1am.  I had just enough battery on my phone to text my brother, send email to Debi at work and copy a friend's number to let people know at work.  That'll teach me to pack my charger in my checked bags.  So finally got back to Cleveland around 10am then had to wait to see if my bags came on the first United flight.  If not, then they would have to deliver my bags cuz it would be on the second flight, which they were.  By the time I got home, it was noon.  Time to take a nap and get ready for work the next day.  The total for the return trip was about 32hrs of flying and waiting at the airport.  Really irritated at United for the Chicago fiasco. They had more than enough time to sort it out but this had to happen.  I do believe that this might be my last trip with United if I could help it.

NYC ... New Years Weekend

Of course the day that I'm supposed to drive to NYC, my car skidded on a patch of black ice right outside my garage then I hi the ice and the curb. My steering wheel was then very shaky and pull to the left. It was ok so I drove anyway, but I did call my auto shop and made any appt to go in Monday to get it fixed.

The weekend was fun, spent it with my mistress (Kirstin) again. I got in Thurs night, so I just crashed. This was the weekend after NYC got the crazy amount of snow, about 3ft worth. CNN was reporting how it would take ambulance at least 2 hours to respond due to the fact that the roads weren't plowed. One tragic story was of a woman delivering the baby at home cuz she wasn't able to get to the hospital and the infant died because the ambulance couldn't get to her after delivery. Another tragic story was a father had heart attack and died and it would take ambulance 2.5 hrs to get to the apt and another 2 hrs to get the ER and it was too dangerous for the daughter to drive as well. Tragic stories. Wonder if the city is now more prepared?

Anyways, Friday, we looked up places that don't need too much covers to get in. All the one around Time Square are at least $60 cover just to get in. The no cover ones would probably be way too crowded. We weren't really looking to bar hop since it was just too darn cold. Ended up in Tonic East, only $10. Not bad. We had fun, drinks and dance. Had a couple of guys dancing with us and one of them literally decided to get us drunk, just kept on buying us drinks. I'm glad that I was still coherent enough to watch my drinks. I think I was fairly drunk that night. Definitely couldn't walk straight at all and ended up totally sleeping on the train ride back. haha. Didn't even realize it was midnight until people were screaming "One minute!!" then countdown "10...9...8... 3...2...1" It was fun, enjoyed myself. Now I can officially say, I have done SF and NYC for New Years, 2009 and 2010.

For New Years Day, called home, kind of dozing in and out since my stomach was upset with me because I didn't eat my drunk food after we came back. Kept wanting to throw up but not much ever came up. Oh well. Then we just kind of vegged out, playing Wii and watched movies. Were planning on going again with Kirstin's buddies from work for her B-Day, but no on was really up for it so we just stayed in. Had the best pizza, Joe's. NY pizzas are the best, still couldn't find anyone else that rivals theirs. I was actually craving for NY pizzas. haha.

Decided for Sun, we'll go into Chinatown for dim sum and shopping for what nots. Found Vegetarian Dim Sum House, across the street from Joe's Shanghai. It was actually pretty good. The only thing I didn't like was the shumai. We both acutally like the shrimp/pork shumai. The vegetarian version of it just didn't taste right. Everything else we ordered was pretty good. Totally forgot how cheap the food was in Chinatown. Then we went in search for grocery market. Found Hong Kong Market, a fairly clean and formal one. I bought few fruits to take home with me and introduced Kirstin to various fruits and spices and food. She was in food heaven. Her mom would totally be jealous. Love introducing Chinese food to people who actually likes it and would get a kick out of it. Then we went to bakery, Fay Da. It's ok. Not bad, tolerable for being in US. I still like the one my family goes to in SF. BUT no one can beat the ones in Taiwan and HK. Those are the best. Overall it was a productive Sunday.

I drove back afterwards. The drive was long and boring, especially the Penn stretch.

Got my car checked out on Monday. Yep, tires replaced and rim as well, apparently I bent the rim pretty badly and they couldn't hammer it back out. Oh well.

Post Grad Party

Went to Vegas day after graduation for a couple of days. It's really the first time as a legal adult for me. Went with a couple of the girls and their boyfriend/fiance. Had a wonderful time partying it up and getting the Vegas feel. It's been a great self esteem booster at XS (club we went) and at Carnival Bar, which we randomly stop by. Alcohol definitely seems like free floating since we all pretty much drank more than usual. Definitely some stories are remained to be stories among us girls and will remain in Vegas. The last party before work, work, work.

NYC ... College Gals Weekend

My college small group mate Dung came down this weekend to visit. She's in New Hampshire for nursing school and want to see NYC while on spring break. So we did the touristy things. We hit Chinatown's Joe's Shanghai, Doughnut Plant, WTC, Rockefeller, Times Square. I only spent one day with her and her friend in the city. I'm not a fan of the city and I can only handle so much going into the city. They stayed at my place for the weekend. It was nice see her again and catching up on our news. She's still very much as I remembered. And I felt like I was the one who changed the most once I have left UCLA/GOC. It makes me feel old that now I get think back how college was. ::sigh:: Time just flies.

One of the place we visited in Times Square, M&M store. Couldn't resist.

After Boards Vacay

After all the boards, I flew home to enjoy some family time and SF before going off for my away rotations for the next 4 months. I spent a couple of days at my brother's place in SF and we went to a couple of good Chinese restaurants that my mom found and want to go as family.

We went to this awesome and expensive dim sum place in Daly City. They also sold Dragon's Beard. It's a candy but made it like tons of white threads woven together. Yummy

This was my makeup birthday cake. My brother bought this from a place that he deemed really good. It was yummy too.

In the end, I had plenty of yummy food for a couple of days. I also met my brother's girlfriend and we had lunch with her family after her white coat ceremony. She's nice but I personally don't think they'll last long. She just doesn't really fit with my brother.

Thanksgiving on the East

This is the first Thanksgiving away from home. I'm spent it with Kirstin's family. She is my closest friend in med school. Her family is very much like mine so it was very comfortable. I definitely enjoyed it and had 2 thanksgiving dinners, one at her brother's place and the second one at her home. It was yummy. My favorite was the Pumpkin Gingerbread. I found the recipe that her mom used and I'm going to try it one of these days.

We also did the Black Friday shopping but we did it at 9am. It was all girls, her mom and her sister (Katie), Kirstin and I, so we did the usual stops, NY&Co, Express, Victoria's Secrets and Bath and Body Works, JC Penny. I have bought sweaters, enough to last me for a long while. I was able to buy the gift for the girl I picked from the inner city organization. So all in all, it's been a good couple days of break away from the hospital. The weather was good until I had to drive back from Saugerties. That day started off with flurries, then raining then icy rain. The road wasn't bad at all but the drivers were kind crazy. 3 accidents along the Thruway which took me 3 hours to get back when it should've taken me 1.5-2 hours. Oh well.

I'm just glad that I didn't have to spend Thanksgiving by myself and in Newark. Thank God for giving me a friend in med school when I didn't think I would find a good Christian girlfriend.

Week in Weston, Florida

Back from a week in Florida during a hurricane season with a girlfriend. The week was muggy, warm / hot and wet. It literally rain for a couple of hours 3 days out of the 7 days we were there. The place we stayed, Mizner Place in Vacation Village. The place was gorgeous. We mostly sat around the pool and got sun and read random fiction. very chilled. We gone a yummy Italian restaurant not once but twice. The first time we got their appetizer caprese and it was yummy. The second time we got dessert instead, Italian canoli and Tiramisu. oh boy were they yummy beyond description.

We also went to one of the sports cafe and the bad for you fried seafood. Tried conch fritters which I'm sure I've had before but it was in Chinese soup that my mom made. We also tried one of the one of the more upscale restaurant for their yummy fresh fish. I had the seared halibut. It was done to perfection. We went to one very popular Asian buffet. It was only $11 and they've got sushi and hot foods and green tea ice cream. We have definitely had our share of unbelievable yummy food.

We spent half a day in the famous Everglades. We took the tour of the Everglades via an airboat, like the ones on CSI Miami. Saw bunch of crazy native birds ie vultures. Saw 2 alligators in the swamp. Then we got the alligator show and took pictures of me holding a baby alligator (Liana).


The Airboat Ride in the Everglades


The Gator in the Swamp; Vultures waiting for meat


The Gator Show


Me and Baby Liana; Lovely sign :)


Last nite out

More pics of the resort to come.

First week in New Jersey

The drive to Jersey from Missouri took forever. With all the breaks, it took me 15 hrs or so to get to Harrisburg then another 2.5 hrs to my apartment. It just felt like forever. I don't think I would ever want to do it again. It was cramp driving and not much leg room. Ugh.

Then we sort of unpack a bit then me and my parents took a tour of East Coast for 5 days. It is my second time but their first. It was still fun but my favorite this time is Niagara Falls and the Bostonian atmosphere. Perhaps I might spend some time in my fourth year there. Who knows.


The Brooklyn Bridge

Fake or Real? Wax Museum, NYC


Capitol Hill, White House, Washington D.C.


Hershey's Chocolate World


Niagara Falls


Bostonian Lobster (yummy)


Boston Harbor Boat Ride

Will be going to Florida to enjoy the sun next week. Be a fun boring bum.

CA Update

Back in CA for the week. The weather has been great, in the high 60s. I only need to wear a light shirt with jeans and FLIP FLOPS, my fav. They are so convenient, get in and out of the house fast and my feet getting some sun. What a concept.

All week so far, I've been stuffing my face with yummy Chinese food. My stable food group, can never live without them. And the shopping, what deals that I've found on some really good name brand. I've got a Coach winter knee length peacoat for dirt cheap. I normally don't like shopping, but being cooped up in MO has definitely brought out the shopaholic in me. My BABY brother got himself into a few mess, like he always does whenever I'm home. That's soooo normal of him ;)

But I was a good girl, I did do some Boards studying, just not as much as I've planned. I've got anatomy done and didn't get to pharm like I've planned. Oh, well. Last fun break before major studying. It'll do.

Anyways, I'm turning 24 tomorrow. Then I'm leaving to go back to Misery.

A day in Columbia, MO ....

I've just spent a day in Columbia, MO. It's an hour and a half away and it's the closest city with university area. I spent the day doing lots of shopping, shopped for clothes, Bath and Body Works and food. I have come to really love ethnic food. Now I'm onto Indian food. I went to a Indian grocer and bought some mixes and instant packets and some naan to go with the food that I've bought. I also went to the Oriental grocer and it's owned by Koreans, so lots of korean foods. But I did get some Chinese snacks out of there.

It was fun. Hopefully I'll keeping going with my ethnic food chase. :-)

Summer .... OOO ..... Summer ....

I guess I'm now into monthly updates. But anyway, summer is too nice for school despite the Missouri's misery sweltering heat. I basically didn't want to study the past 3 weeks that we were in school, but now, we are coming up to our finals week. How fast the time past. God has definitely been great to me because even though I don't have much motivation to study, He's been guiding me to study and granting me really great scores. Scores that I know that I normally would never get. But anyways, school is same ole same ole, boring.

I got more exciting news about school but not schoolwork. I don't know if I ever told y'all about being secretary for CMDA and that our class CMDA is low on regular attenders for weekly Bible Study, therefore we didn't have a worship leader for the upcoming year back in May. We've been praying for a worship leader, more men for a men's group and more people from our class will come. We've definitely been praying for the newbies (1st years). God has anwered one prayer already and the 1st years haven't officially started class yet. One of girls that we've met led before and is more than willing to do so for Bible Study. God is awesome and He provides. The men's group is looking up because we do have a couple more men from the 1st year class joining us and a few more from our class that are interested in haing a men's group. So exciting :-) I can't wait for the year to unfold.

This last couple of days I've been busy studying, working on club stuff and figuring out rotation sites and boards review stuff. I can't wait for the year to start. There so many new and amazing things waiting to happen.

Can't wait ... going to NYC over Labor Day weekend and to see Tiff Keng. Yahooo!!!! Going to see Les Miz too. Haven't seen a NYC broadway since 2002. :-)