San Diego

It has been quite a while. Sorry for faithful blogger readers who visit daily (Jen-sorry) that I haven't been updating as often as I should. We can start with the last trip to visit the family in Phoenix and San Diego. Quite a whirlwind of events. I didn't take many pictures in Phx as SD though.

My best bud, Kim and I at a coffee shop in Phx. What happened to my hair that day?
Squinty eyes in the bright sunshine at Mission Beach, SD.
Best fish tacos in San Diego! South Beach Bar and Grill in Ocean Beach. Sorry I took a bite off of it before the picture. Highly recommended. Will come back!
(A bit cloudy) sunset at Sunset Cliff.
I like this shot.
Hanging with Rani at Lucille's BBQ in Irvine. Thanks for coming out!
We visited the Luus'. It was nice catching up!
Dinner with Quoc's college buddies (mine too) at Gordon Biersch Brewery

Coffee and dessert at Mille Feuille. I would agree with yelpers, I like Extraordinary Desserts better.

Regina and her baby boy Ethan at Carl Strauss

Baby Florence- the latest Huynh, my new niece.
I think I was squishing her.
Ahh.. much better.

There ends the long update with pictures. And that was only one trip. I'll write more tomorrow. Thanks for your patience, waiting for the pictures to load :)

More of Arctic Blast 2008

We have been snowed in for 3 days now, and I've been going to clinic off and on because it has been snowing all week. This phenomenon has not happen in Portland since 1968! I think we have to shovel snow tomorrow and venture out to the grocery store because I'm running out of food, particularly fresh veggies and milk. On Saturday and Sunday, Quoc attempted to drive out with chains on my car but got stuck right outside our driveway. So we haven't made a repeat attempt, perhaps out of fear of being stuck, and/or fear of being cold or just plain laziness. The city of Portland nearly shut down because they don't have enough snow plow to keep up. They're busy with the freeways and our side streets don't get serviced- understandable though, because this doesn't happen very often. Plus, we're appreciative of the extra time spent together. We've been cleaning a bit, doing much needed laundry, and playing lots of video games (just got Rock Band and Sing Star). And I even squeezed in some exercise today :-)
Quoc and I are planning to fly to visit both sides of the family on Saturday. I hope we can get out of the city. Flights have been canceled left and right. It's supposed to get better by the weekend, so we're praying... In the beginning, it was really fun to play in the snow, but now, I think I'm ready for it to warm up now :) Here are some shots that we took around our house and neighborhood.

Small tree in front of the house iced over
Looking down our street
Grasses

I like macros :)
Our backyard. Our bench is on the left- disappeared under the snow!

Artic Blast and New Job!

Merry Christmas! (I made the above wreath- didn't know I was crafty!)

Portland is the middle of snow storms. Once a year, this happens and it's sort of fun. I imagine being a kid here and getting to stay home from school and go outside to sled and have snow fights. What fun! I have to make it over the I-5 bridge to get to Vancouver for work. When snow freezes to ice, it can be treacherous. But as a resident, you have to try, because someone has to see those patients in the hospital! If you can't make it, they'll try to get the firemen to come get you, or you have to lose one of your vacation days. Either way, it's not as fun as the kid missing school to go sledding. But we're gonna try if we're stuck at home (I'm hoping to be stuck at home tomorrow- got my hot chocolate ready) to have fun :) Here are some fun pictures of the storm's first hit. Tomorrow will the be second, and according to the weatherman- Sunday is the third, when I'm supposed to be in the hospital for an overnight OB call. Yikes!

Our garden shoes :)
My poor watering can- looks sad and neglected, doesn't it?
We still have some roses, amazing!

In other (and awesome) news, I signed my first real job contract today! Yay!!! It's official. I, along with 3 of my "classmates" are going to be working for the same system (SWHS). It's a brand new clinic out of a primary care underserved area north of Vancouver, WA. The deal sounds really good, and after much negotiating and reviewing the contract, etc, we signed today! It's a huge sigh of relief for me to know early on where I'll be working. Plus, seems like the light of the end of the tunnel is finally here. High school, college, medical school, wedding, moving to Portland, new house, residency... seems like I haven't stopped. And now, I'm almost... "arrived". We haven't figured out what to do with the sign on bonus yet; it's going in the bank right now, but we're going to Europe before I start. I'm really excited and extremely thankful for my God who provides and is faithful in all things. Below are some pictures of the signing- I had to bring the camera to document!

Everyone signing: John, Anita, Diana and me
Dr. Alden Roberts, VP of the hospital, my new soon-to-be boss, signing his part. It's official!
Contract and sign on bonus :)
VPs and directors and us. We look (and feel) important!
Us with our current boss, residency medical director, Dr. David Ruiz.
I'm the only one in scrubs because I had procedures clinic today, otherwise, I would have tried to look a bit more dressy and professional- for the pictures :)

We did lots over Thanksgiving break- our friends Jason, Tom and Katie came to visit from San Diego, but I didn't take any pictures. And they haven't sent me any, so um.. next time.

Signs that I'm getting older?

So I've been getting a lot of weird ads in my mailbox lately about things like AARP and reverse mortgages. But this last one, I just had to share.

Maybe they know something I dont...

Beach Weekend

Instead of handing out Halloween candies this year, we decided to go to the beach for the weekend, even though it's the end of October and all. We stayed at a condo/resort in Seaside and had a great time relaxing and eating a lot. It rained off and on Saturday, but a huge storm Saturday night. We had fun anyway, walked on the beach at Seaside and Cannon during the sun breaks. Here are some pictures.


Freezing on the beach :) Look, we only have a simple sweatshirt on. Look how far we've come since our first year, coming from SoCal and all.

Quoc being cheesy. He was pointing at nothing, just posing for the camera.

Windy! My friend from medical school Anna and me behind sea grass at Seaside.

Anna surprised us with a kite to fly, but it started to pour right when we got down to the beach. Ah well.. such is Oregon weather. Thanks, anyway, Anna! The idea was nice.

Iconic picture of Cannon Beach

Pak & Yau's Wedding

Last weekend, I was the matron of honor for Yvonne and Andrew's wedding. She looks so beautiful.. and Andrew, y'know... a guy in a tux. Her dress is a form fitting ivory lace with a small train, perfectly fitting with the Arizona Inn as the backdrop. It was fun to catch up with old friends, and it's wonderful to see them finally married and so happy! Here are some pictures that we took.

Long Time No Blog

It's been a while, but we've been busy. Well, mainly me. I was on night float then medicine senior for 2 weeks; therefore, I was very tired when I got home most days.
A few Christian faculty in the hospital are actively mentoring Christian residents in the program now, and it's such a refreshing experience. We get together for dinner once a month, and I'm feeling quite supported. It's not as lonely out there, knowing that there are people who feel the same way about certain things as I do.
Job offers are coming in. I think Quoc and I have pretty much decided that I will work in Vancouver, WA, which means we will have to move across the river some time next year. The hospital put together a recruiting dinner last week, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear about so many different job opportunities around the area! I got a package today and it looks really promising. Still have a few more recruiting dinners to go in the next few weeks. We will pray and see. It's certainly uplifting to see an ending to residency in sight.
Several of our friends and family members recently have pre-term labor or other complications of pregnancy. I've seen a lot of it in my practice, but it certainly takes on a different meaning when it's someone close to you. Makes me think about having a baby sooner than later. But then, I don't feel quite ready yet. Will I ever feel completely ready though? Hmm...
On another note, fall is here. I love fall and its colors. I will have to take some pictures of the leaves in the next few weeks.