Vascular Surgery Sucks

**Disclaimer** I apologize to all those who are interested in vascular surgery or currently pursuing it as a career.  This is just my personal opinion.

Sam started vascular at the VA in Long Beach last week and this has been THE WORST week of residency so far.  The hours are brutal, either because the last team left a lot of their clean up work to Sam's team, or because the luck of the draw has given Sam a bunch of really sick patients.  In reality, it's probably a combination of both.  If we're lucky, he's home before 7.  By "before 7" I mean 6:45 was the earliest he got home last week.  Last night he called me at 8pm to say he was leaving- 8pm on Friday night!  After an hour or maybe 2, he hops into bed and gets ready to do it all over again, and wake up at 4.  It doesn't help that a lot of the vascular patients at the VA have diabetes, alcohol, or other systemic issues going on which complicates their treatment.  

So I have been keeping busy.  I came across 3 really neat job's posted online that I would be really excited to get, and I tailored my resume and cover letter to fit their descriptions.  Thursday I interviewed with a company that does document management- they sell copiers, printers, interactive computer screens, etc.  They asked me to come in for a second interview, but honestly, I don't think it would be a good fit for me.  It would definitely be a case of me taking a job just to get by until I found something better, which I don't condone in dating or careers.

I just got back from the gym- good workout this morning!  I didn't push myself as hard on the treadmill but I did stick around and do some circuit training on the machines and with free weights for 30 minutes after my jog.  Before I make the final edits to my cover letters and resumes, I'm headed over to Matt & Emily's place to pick up some of their discarded items (bar stools, DVDs, surround system, etc) before they get the keys to their first house on Monday.  The secret is out of the bag, after closing on their new house, they move in on Wednesday.  Lots of hugs to them in this exciting time!

Lazy Sunday

Life's little pleasures: sleeping in until 8:45 with Sam.  Also, the 49ers beating the Raiders last night, even it was preseason.  And filet mignon.  Oh yeah, filet mignon.  

Yesterday, Sam got home from work and we had a lovely lunch while watching Battle: Los Angeles which was much better than I expected it to be.  Then we met up with Ryan Simarro and Erik at the Hilton Waterfront in Huntington Beach where they were celebrating one of Erik's friend's birthday.  After watching the end of the 9er game at Spark Woodfire Grill- cue the filet, we met up with Seany D, Ryan Quigley, Jen, Steve and Alicia to head to La Cave- an old restaurant/bar in Costa Mesa where the Rat Pack used to have dinner several nights of the week when they were all living in Orange County.  Sam and I have been there for dinner before, but not to have drinks at the bar.  I was DD-ing so I abstained from drinking and made sure all my lovely friends made it home, some in slightly more sober shape than others.  :-)

After making Sam a bowl of pasta and spicy sauce to help him sober up, and giving him a LARGE glass of water, we finally made it to bed at 3am.  I think that was EASILY my latest night in a loooooong time.  

Upside to being up so late?  We got to SLEEP IN!  This never happens thanks to our incredibly prompt internal alarms!  I actually have to draw the shades (we usually have our blinds and windows open at night) so that we can make it past 7:30.  

Now we're laying on the couch, hanging out, watching "Life As We Know It" and seriously enjoying not having to be anywhere or do anything.  So, here's to the little things in life.  :-)

Back On Track

When we got home from Southeast Asia, Sam and I were both shocked to find that we'd lost weight on our epic adventure despite having tried a variety of foods.  Sadly, almost immediately upon our return to the states, we began celebrating- first Sam's graduation from medical school, then with a trip to Northern California to see our families, and finally when we moved into our new apartment and invited our friends over for several non-weight watchers endorsed dinners.  Needless to say, that weight we lost has crept back on.  Side Note: It blows my mind how celebrating usually means eating and drinking, boy would I do better in a society where celebrating meant going for a 2 hour walk or taking a hike!

It's frustrating, because I know the formula for success: exercise and eat healthy!  But it my brain, it's so difficult to avoid the exercise=eating however you want fallacy that I was able to get by on when I was playing competitive water polo in high school and college.  The truth is, if you're trying to lose weight you don't get to eat with abandon just because you're at the gym every morning.  

To get back to my post-vacation weight and lower, I've got a plan.  I recently went through my weight watchers binder in which I organize all my recipes (the favorites and the ones I want to try) and did some mid-summer cleaning.  Almost everything I didn't care for or haven't made yet went into the trash and I printed out a whole new set of interesting meals.  Last night, I made spaghetti squash for the first time ever.  I have to say, it was pretty darn good!  Obviously it's not quite the same as pasta, it's actually pretty crunchy so it's an approximation of al dente noodles, but with some homemade sauce over the top it was delicious.  By the time Sam was finished eating we'd consumed more than half of the squash!  

This morning I was back at it in the gym.  Per my sister and Sam's advice, I didn't pay as much attention to my heart rate zone and I just went for as long and hard as I could.  I've got to say, it wasn't too shabby considering I last worked out on Monday before I flew to Minneapolis.  I also have to say, I think all the Hell's Kitchen episodes Sam and I are watching are pretty detrimental to dieting since they are always making such amazing dishes.  Maybe we'll have to take a break from that for a couple of weeks.  

Here's to sticking to my guns on this and get back into my healthy eating habits and life style.  I'd say raise a glass of champagne, but on second thought, raise an apple!

Lots to Catch Up On

My oh my it's been a busy week!  My trip to Minneapolis was very fun.  We attended a vendor appreciation cocktail hour on Wednesday night where Cleo engaged the marketing director for our client and I had a chance to contribute to their conversation and showcase my strong interpersonal communication skills.  On Thursday, the day of the actual event, myself and the other girl did a great job setting up all three booths while Cleo took a phone call from a vendor.  The event was great- the three products at my booth were all delicious, although the people tasting them liked my least favorite flavor the best.  To celebrate, after we had broken down the three booths, Cleo treated us to dinner at McCormack and Schmick- one of my favorite restaurants.  Sam took me there for my birthday last year, and I had the most amazing stuffed prawns of my life.  They do such great seafood and steaks and while some of their items are expensive, you can also find some reasonably priced salads and chicken dishes on their menu.

Cleo and I landed at LAX and drove back to Orange County around noon on Friday.  After getting up at 2:15 AM PST I was absolutely exhausted!  I tried my best to stay awake so that I could manage my sleep schedule and get my body back on time.  Unfortunately, doing laundry and dishes and cleaning the house only took me 4 hours and by 5pm I found myself nodding off in the easy chair by the sliding glass door.  I remember my mom calling me because my phone was vibrating in my lap and her ringtone was playing, but I was so completely exhausted I didn't even bother to open my eyes, made a mental note to call her later, and went back to sleep.

When I woke up at 7:45, my phone battery had died and it wouldn't charge.  What the heck?!  Sam came home a little after 8 and he drove us to our favorite Mexican take out restaurant, El Torro Bravo.  We settled down to watch some Hell's Kitchen on Hulu (a website that streams TV shows and movies) and enjoy our lovely carnitas, a pork tamale, and a sample of their carne asada. 

Saturday morning, Sam and I slept in and enjoyed his first golden weekend of this rotation.  I had to go into the Apple Store where they replaced my phone for some malfunction, but I was home in time for Carrie's arrival.  She came down from Manhattan Beach to celebrate her birthday with Sam and I per tradition.  We wanted to take her down to Stone Brewery, but the wait was going to be ridiculous and Carrie wasn't sure she'd love the menu.  Sam invited his co-intern Sohrab to meet us at Houston's (a place the three of us all enjoy) to celebrate her birthday.  The four of us had a great time, and everyone appreciated Sohrab's sense of humor and quick wit.  

Happy Birthday, Carrie!

Sunday, we ventured to the beach to meet up with Ryan and spend a few hours lying out in the sun before Carrie had to head back up to Los Angeles.  After walking her out, Sam and I headed to the grocery store to pick up supplies for the week.  In my family, Sunday night was the night for family dinner.  We did a lot of dinners with Nonna and Papa Santi on Sunday nights, which was always a treat, and I miss getting together to discuss the highs and lows of the week with my family.  In honor of all the Hell's Kitchen we've been watching and the contestants' lacking ability to make risotto, I decided to give a Gourmet Mushroom Risotto recipe from All Recipes a chance.  I think in hindsight I wouldn't use 2 pounds of mushrooms, they were a little bit overwhelming for me and I like mushrooms. Also, the color of the risotto was pretty dark compared to the picture.  I think that might have been from all the mushroom liquid incorporated into the risotto at the end.  I plan on going a bit lighter on the juice next time.  

Our awesome Sunday night dinner: risotto & asparagus by Gianna, Chicken by Sam, wine by Ferrari Carano.

And then, even better than our great food, Sam
treated me to a break and he did the dishes!

Business Trip

As of yesterday morning, I was unemployed.  As of this morning, I am going on a business trip to Minnesota this week.  No, this isn't a cute way of saying I'm taking a vacation, I have been hired under contract by my former employer to attend one of their annual trade shows.  

My former company's CEO (I'll call her Cleo) called me yesterday and asked me if I would help her out and fill in for one of the National Sales Managers who was staffing one of 3 booths at her client's annual trade show.  Unfortunately, my former co-worker's husband is in the ICU having heart problems and she cannot attend the show.  Cleo told me that as she was trying to think who she could trust to run a booth, my name was at the top of her head.

Cleo is picking me up at 5:45 tomorrow morning so we can catch our flights out of LAX at 8:30.  We arrive in Minnesota tomorrow afternoon and will be meeting up with the 3rd person (who is flying out of John Wayne on a different airline than Cleo and I).  I'm trying not to read too much into it, but I think it's interesting that Cleo told me she was looking at different carriers for us than for the other person going along, even if we flew out of Orange County instead of LA.  And while I've never had trouble carrying a conversation with Cleo in the office, I am a little bit nervous to spend the better part of 2 full days traveling just she and I.

I understand that no promises have been made, but I'm taking this very seriously- as if it is a multi-day interview.  I know the CEO will be evaluating my performance with the idea that if I do well I might bumped higher on the priority list for positions they need to fill.  So here we go and here's to hoping that something good comes from this!

If nothing else, I will have to figure out a way to put "contract work" on my resume and make it seem as thought I was in business for myself (slow as it might have been) during this period of unemployment in my work history.

Interns

Last night Sam and I hosted dinner for his co-interns.  Unfortunately, Minau, who is the girl intern, couldn't make it.  She was a practicing lawyer before returning to school to obtain her MD, so I am fascinated by her life path and was bummed I didn't get to meet her.  But I did get to meet Duy (pronounced Zoo-ee) and Sohrab.  Duy grew up in Anaheim Hills (he was a UCI undergraduate) so he is living with his parents while he gets acclimated and starts paying back his loans.  Sohrab was born in Sweden and moved to Palo Alto when he was 16.   He graduated from UCSD undergrad and medical school, and he's living near the hospital.  

It's funny, meeting 2 of Sam's co-interns made the whole "Residency" thing real to me.  Until this point, my social interactions have centered on people I know from medical school- either students who've have yet to graduate or alumni who are now UCI residents.  Hearing Sohrab and Duy talk about their surgeries and which attendings they like/dislike was great since I've old had Sam's opinion so far.  I also noticed that I am completely immune to medical conversations. I believe at one point they were talking about gangrenous wounds in the diabetes clinic and suddenly Sohrab turned to me and apologized for the horrible dinner conversation.  I put his concern to rest and assured him that I had once asked Sam to tell my dad & grandpa about his anatomy class dissections during a dinner at the Outback Steakhouse.  Not a great venue for said conversation, let me tell you.

I must say, I really liked both Duy and Sohrab and I'm excited to get to know them better in the next several years.  They obviously won't take the place of the Santa Barbara boys, who are more like brothers to Sam and I than friends, and they certainly can't replace the med school friends we've lost to non-UCI residency programs, but they are definitely solid guys with great senses of humor and hopefully they will find some equally entertaining significant others in the next few years so that I have a new set of girlfriends to hang out with.

The Ladies of LA

Yesterday afternoon I had the pleasure of attending Margaux's White Trash Bash in LA.  She invited her sister, and several girlfriends whom I just LOVED meeting.  I made my Aunt Kathy's version of Grandma Marie's Blue Cheese Ball to bring up to the party, and I picked out a Cranberry Champagne Punch recipe from one of my party drink books.  Both of them were a huge hit!  

We had such a great afternoon.  I had met Ingrid last summer in Laguna Beach when Pete and Margaux invited she and her husband down from LA to spend an afternoon at the beach.  She's a hoot and dressed the "white trash" part for the party- something I hadn't been ballsy enough to do.  :-)  Susan was really sweet and she sat next to me the majority of the afternoon.  I've heard about Sylvia because she was with Margaux the night that Pete gave Margaux his number, so it was great to finally meet her as well.  I couldn't believe how amazing she looks and she told me she's 80 years old!  My goodness she doesn't look a day over 70!  I hadn't seen Corinne, Margaux's sister, since she came up to Northern California several Thanksgivings ago when I was in college.  She looked great, and it was wonderful to catch up with her and hear how her son, Patrick is doing these days.  There were two other ladies there whose names I've forgotten, but they were very nice and it's too bad they had to leave earlier.  

Pete and Margaux left this morning for Mexico City where Pete is attending a conference this week.  She was very kind and cleaned out their fridge with all kinds of great treats for Sam and I to munch on this week.  Needless to say, Sam was very excited to help me unload the car when I got home last night!  

In other exciting news- in 10 weeks Sam and I will be in Chile visiting his brother!  This will be our 6th country this year... quite the world traveling couple, aren't we?  We're meeting Sam's parents in Santiago where Justin's staying and we'll be there for a week (Sam only gets 7 days off at a time this year) after which Sue and Rich are going to spend another week traveling the country. Very cool stuff!