Fish, Flowers, And More Coffee

So on my last day in the Pacific Northwest, Stacy and I grabbed some breakfast at a cafe near the water. Then we headed down to Pike Place Market. It was pretty interesting. Tons of beautiful fresh flowers, mostly tulips, and crazy, crazy fresh seafood. Geez, if I lived in Seattle, all I would do is buy fresh caught fish and drink coffee! There were some vendors selling crafts, pasta, local cheese, and jams. But by far, the fish situation was impressive. Of course I grabbed a couple of cups of coffee, and then before going to the airport we went to an internet cafe where you got a great deal: buy a drink, get a half hour of internet! And what did I eat at the airport? Halibut, of course! So in summary, it was wonderful to see Stacy. We saw each other all the time in vet school, and now we live on opposite sides of the country. But it is good to know that I'd want to visit Seattle and the surrounding area even if I didn't know someone there. The coffee is gorgeous, the food, especially the seafood was spectacular, and the weather was entertaining. Seattle is a very clean city, with friendly people. I'd definitely recommend Seattle as a great place for a long weekend. Oh and I saw that Space Needle building from the beginning of the show "Frasier", but we didn't go in it and do the whole tour (Stacy offered, I declined). Again, if you like coffee and seafood, this is the place for you!

Coffee, Weather, and More Coffee

On Tuesday Stacy and I headed to Seattle for an overnight stay. One thing I instantly noticed about this part of the country were the curious weather patterns. I figured because it was always raining, people would be walking around with umbrellas. But my entire trip I only saw two people with them...the reason? I think it's because in one day, it'll be sunny, then rain a little, then hail a little, and then be sunny again! And this happened while I was there. And coffee joints, I mean GOOD coffee joints were everywhere! It was heavenly. And I have always loathed Starbucks, so I avoided those. But there were plenty of excellent coffee shops. And my theory on that? Well, since Seattle is kinda a sleepy city, in that it's always sort of cloudy with a little rain, you get a little snoozy... and need some coffee! The only place I've been this impressed with the coffee has been Bogota in Colombia. Anyway, we went to this pizza place called Serious Pie. And this was no joke---gourmet pizza all the way. This pizza was so good, I would have to say it's the best pizza I've had here in the U.S. Apparently this place was boasted about on "The Best Thing I Ever Ate", a Food Network show, if that validates if for you...ha ha. God that was good food. The rest of the day we walked around and checked out some shopping. We briefly checked out the shops by Pike Place Market, and passed the original Starbucks. Did you know the original Starbucks lady on their logo is topless? I guess they had to clean it up to go mainstream.

The Pacific Northwest!

I just got back from a short trip to the state of Washington. I went to spend some time with my very close friend Stacy. So as I have done with previous trips, I'll try to best chronicle the day-to-day with a couple of posts! Well, I got there this past Sunday, and Stacy picked me up from the Seattle airport and we headed for Olympia, a suburban town about one hour outside Seattle. There, I got to see Stacy and her husband Casey's home. And I got to meet their two dogs, Charlie and Doji (see the photo)! We headed down to the farmer's market and ate some pretty good food, and got my first taste of the wonderful coffee over there in the Seattle area! It was at Dancing Goats Coffee Bar...yummy! We went to the in-laws house and met a bunch of friends, and took part in a carrot cake tasting event. Nine people baked carrot cakes and we all judged them, prizes and all. The next day we bummed around Olympia, ate some Thai food and of course I got some coffee! That night Stacy, Casey, and I went to this great seafood restaurant called Anthony's and I had some pretty decadent local salmon. After dinner we watched "Breach" at home, and it was a pretty good movie.

Across the River

Today I went to an interview at a hospital in Jersey City. The trek was unexpectedly long! I can see Jersey City from my apartment, so I figured all in all it would take me maybe 45 minutes door to door. Well, it took an hour and a half! Because of the hospital's location in Jersey City, I had to take two New Jersey Transit trains, one of which only runs every 20 minutes when I was heading over there. But I liked what I heard at the interview, so we'll see. A plus: I was in the heart of a Filipino neighborhood, so I grabbed some yummy baked products on my way back to New York. Then, a somewhat surreal and disturbing event unfolded before my eyes: I was back in my hood, and passing the Whole Foods we shop at, down in Tribeca. Then a whorl of flashing cameras was crossing my path into Whole Foods. I took a closer look and it was Jessica Alba trying to act as normal as possible while 6 men with flashing cameras were hounding her. It was really appalling. I guess the price of fame, but really crazy.

Runnin' For the Hills and Chocolate Fun

The other day I went to interview at a veterinary clinic in Brooklyn that will remain unnamed...I had a bad feeling about it even over the phone with the owner, but I wanted to not make any judgments and I didn't want to flake out. So I went in with an open mind, and needless to say multiple incidents and details left me running for cover. I jumped on the L train as fast as possible. Then I met up with Teri, a friend who's moving to Northern California to start up her own veterinary oncology deal. Although I'm sad that she's not going to be around, I'm also excited for her. Our hang outs usually involve walking all over downtown Manhattan and eating. This time we ended up in a pizza joint in Gramercy. Then we seeked chocolate and tried out that Max Brenner restaurant in Union Square. It had a cheesy chain-restaurant vibe, but the thick hot chocolate I had (which was literally like melted milk chocolate) was ridiculously wonderful...and our waiter was excellent. Then we headed home. I hopped on the train and found myself alone in the subway car, which is a rarity!

Copycat

Saturday night Marcus and I headed to the local movie theater to watch the Chris Rock comedy "Death at a Funeral"...it was okay, there were funny moments, but nothing I'd say you have to go out of your way to watch...especially when we found out that this movie is a remake of the British flick by the same name...and when we watched clips of the original on the Internet, we found that tons of lines were ripped off line for line! I'm for remakes when the new version can add something of value to the original story...in this case, I'm not so sure. We're going to rent the original and see. Yesterday Marcus and I headed down to the Wall Street area to eat brunch at a Scandinavian restaurant. It was good, but even better was discovering this little gem of a street (Stone Street): cobblestone, with back to back restaurants. And outdoor tables covered the entire street. It seems like a good spot to find something to eat. I just hope it's not flooded with tourists. But we plan to go back. Then we headed home and I watched "A Clockwork Orange", which I haven't seen in YEARS! I forgot how crazy this flick was!

Boats N' Laboratories

This past Sunday Marcus and I took the Water Taxi to Brooklyn to check out IKEA. Marcus likes to go there every once in a while to stock up on Swedish groceries. It was a scenic ride, and it was free! I also made some homemade French toast, which was pretty good, although I felt like I need to improve it a little next time. Like maybe soak the toast slices shorter than what's suggested in the recipe. Monday I met up with Tina for lunch at Tiffin Wallah. Good, cheap, vegetarian Indian food. Then I met up with Seren and Terry-a. We ended up at Shake Shack. Yesterday was a jam packed day: first I met up with my friend Amy, who's a laboratory animal medicine resident. She took me on a tour of the couple of facilities she works in. So we checked out buildings in Cornell Medical School and in Sloan Kettering. It was really impressive! Huge facilities with all the bells and whistles. I saw tons of mice, and some zebrafish, monkeys, and a dog. Apparently there are some pigs there usually, too. It was great to see Amy and to get a tour since I honestly don't have that much background in terms of laboratory animal medicine. Then I headed to Brooklyn to meet up with Stephen. We hit up Target, then into Victoria's Secret because I was in desperate need of some cotton underwear. And the ones I usually bought elsewhere were no longer available. So I tried to find some in Target, which didn't work out. So I went to Victoria's Secret because I recently found some decent underwear there. Then we went to this cute little tea place off Union Square called The Adore. I'd recommend it. Click below to see "Marcus Goes to IKEA"!

Early Start

Yesterday evening I was part of a panel discussion at NYU for pre-med/vet/dentistry students. So there was me, a veterinarian, a dentist, some medical students, and a doctor. We had to talk about our experiences in school and as a practicing doctor. We all gave them a dose of reality...that we like our professions, but sometimes the stress, long hours, and other stuff can make you feel as though you wish you weren't doing what you're doing. A fellow panelist even said that sometimes he wished he wasn't in medicine, but it's too late because he's hundreds of thousands in debt, and he's invested so much time in becoming a doctor. Anyway, we also answered run of the mill "what should I expect in school" questions...and at the end, in classic NYU style, each panelist was given a Tiffany's porcelain box, of course adorned with NYU graphics...ha ha. This morning, bright and super early, I headed to Westchester to spend some time at my friend Christina's practice. She was doing surgery, and I wanted to have some surgery time myself, so I ended up shadowing her. She works in apparently the oldest small animal veterinary animal hospital in New York State! I enjoyed myself a lot! And it was so nice to breathe in that clean Westchester air!

Pineapple Scraps and Feelings of Summer!

So the weather has been delightful the past few days! I almost forgot it's just April. Last night I met up with my friend Jindallrae. We ate at a Korean restaurant on 18th Street then we sat in Union Square and drank some coffee. It was good seeing her.Well I have been kinda naughty in terms of eating...I've been seeing my trainer religiously and lately I fell off the wagon...into a delicious pool of Nutella and other chocolaty temptations...I want to keep going in terms of weight loss and all that, so I have to buckle down. It's really fascinating that NOT eating chocolate is that hard for me. Damn it's a daily struggle, no joke. I watched Martha Stewart today and she is always raving about this kitchen tool called the Japanese mandoline. It helps you slice things like potatoes at lightening speed. I told Marcus about it; we may purchase one. But apparently you have to be really careful because you can easily cut your hand or fingers using it! Then she talked about making pineappleade from those pieces of pineapple skin that you end up wasting when you cut up pineapple. I think I'm going to try to make that soon...but sans the clover maybe? Not sure about that. But I LOVE pineapple! In my attempt to be healthy, I bought some Brussels sprouts and garlic spinach for lunch. But that's not the problem---I like that stuff. It's just that I want to finish off the meal with half a jar of Nutella...God help me...And yesterday I watched this Brittany Murphy movie called "Love and Other Disasters". It was a light hearted romatic comedy, and I was surprised to find that I actually enjoyed watching it!

Time Has Flown By!

Wow. Already April 1st. And so much has happened in the past couple of weeks! The big news: I put my notice at my job. So I will have to start seriously looking for another job. Recently there was a coyote sighting in Tribeca, so of course that was all over the local news. Stephen and I watched "Hot Tub Time Machine" and it was great, raunchy, shameless fun. Then Marcus and I watched "Shutter Island", which we enjoyed, but it was a really long movie. I also watched it when I was tired, so I really want to give it another try when I'm more awake. But I really loved it visually, and I really liked the dramatic music. Yesterday I met up with a friend of mine and we ate at Savoy in Noho---and I ate a really good burger! Then we ended up in a very strange tea house in the East Village called Podunk. This weekend Marcus and I are heading to my parents' house for Easter. Oh, and we're probably going to buy a Mac computer, which we are both excited about...upgrade! Ya! And do you like the old school photo I took of my living room with my handy dandy iPhone app called Hipstamatic?