Browse Month: October 2009

It’s a zoo in here!!

Team Tiger

Attack!

We’ve always said that working in the hospital sometimes feels like being in a zoo.  So…for the Friday before Halloween, we dressed up as zoo animals.  Teresa and I have always called ourselves Team Tiger so obviously we were bright orange Cheetos with black duct tape stripes.  It was fun working in a sweatsuit but boy was I sweatin’!

The rest of the gang included two zebras, two monkeys, a big cuddly panda, and even a zoo keeper!  We also made ears and a tail for one of our grumpier nurses and he actually strutted around as an honorary tiger all day long.  We got a lot of looks and compliments for the tiger costume and there was certainly no subtly to our outfits.  It was fun but I’m glad we only have to do it once a year.  From ordering and waiting for the sweats to arrive in the mail to cutting a grip of stripes out of duct tape to sewing felt onto headbands, it’s a lot of work.  Maybe I can just wear this costume every year for the next 10 years.

Happy Hour

Afterward, we went out for Happy Hour with Dr. Mai, who was visiting from LA.  We went to Ben and Nick’s and had a great time catching up and being silly just like old times.  Come back soon, Mai!!

Here are the photos!!

Italy Part 4: Milan, Sept 10-12

Ah…Milan…it’s been over a month since we returned but I have so many good memories of that city.  So, heeeeeeeeere we go!

Train to Milan

The trip from Cinque Terre to Milan was quite pleasant.  We got a direct train that stopped a few times but we never had to get off.  We sat in First Class, which wasn’t as fancy as our first trip from Rome to Florence.  We did, however, have a private cabin that we shared witha couple from Colorado.  The view was gorgeous from the window with the ocean all along the first half of the trip.

Stazione Milano

We arrived in Milan in just under 3 hours and the station was so grand.  It was such a change from the sleepy villages of Cinque Terre and the ancient city of Rome.  Everyone was dressed for work and it felt like my first trip to NYC.

Transit Map

We walked to the subway station, bought a ticket, and figured out the transit map.  Our hotel was located just down the street from a station and we were pleasantly surprised by the fanciness of the Sheraton Diana Majestic.  I booked this place with points and we scored a Junior Suite with Jes’ Starwood status.

Grom Gelato

After checking in and getting all cleaned up, we walked down the nearby street that happened to be a busy street lined with shops.  I also found a Grom!!!  I heard this place was like the Pinkberry of gelato and got me a scoop of espresso with a biscotti on top.  It was the best gelato I had so far with a rich coffee taste with a subtle sweetness.  Mmm…I’m drooling just reminiscing about it.

Street Car

We also saw a bunch of these street cars that made me say “Hey, they have the same cars we do in SF!”  Of course, Jes replied with “Uh, dude, SF got their cars from Milan!”  Right…I’m a dummy…I totally forgot that I knew that.

Bocce Game

We also found a cute park that featured a dog park, playground, and a bocce ball area where a bunch of old Italian men and women were playing in a tournament.  It was so much fun to watch!

Vogue

When we first arrived at our hotel, we were informed that the bar would be moved to the mezzanine because they were hosting a party for a Vogue Fashion’s Night Out event.  I thought to myself, “That’s cool but it’s too bad we weren’t invited” but on our way to dinner that evening, we found out that this event was going on all over the city and completely open to the public!!! WOOOOHOOOO!!!

Red Carpet

So we walked along Via Montenapoleone on a red carpet that lined the street gawking at all the glitz and glamour.  I truly felt like a little country mouse trying to find my way among all the lovely gazelles.  All the famous names were along that street from LV to Prada to Ferragamo.  I also bought a special Italian Vogue as a souvenir for the bargain price of 2 Euro that evening.  Unfortunately Jes’ stomach wasn’t having as much fun and we had to reschedule dinner for the next evening and had to take a little break back at the hotel.  Luckily he stuck it out a little longer that night and we were able to get back out there for some late-night window shopping that included sipping prosecco inside the stores.

Hotel Bar

The next day was gorgeous and we found out that the F1 Gran Premio D’Italia was going on that weekend too!  So there were groups of guys checking in and lots of “racing girls” welcoming them to Milan and to the hotel.  We definitely picked a good weekend to be there…so much stuff going on!  This is a photo of “h bar”, which is the hotel bar that is apparently a very popular place to go at night.  We hung out there for drinks one evening and were treated to a complimentary buffet of appetizers and salads with our drink order.

Torino

The Galleria was so beautiful and had a bunch of swanky shops inside.  In the middle are 4 crests that each represent a city in Italy.  The most famous one is of Torino (Turin) that features a bull.  It’s supposedly good luck to spin around on its testicles and so I did.  Heh heh.  It looks really mean but I can use all the luck I can get.

il Duomo

The Duomo in Milan was probably my favorite of all the duomos we’ve visited in Italy.  It’s so ornate and majestic both inside and out.

pigeons

The piazza is also a great place to hang out and people-watch.  At one point a peddler stuff some birdseed into Jes’ hand and he was bombarded by a flock of pigeons.  It was gross but I managed to get a photo of him with the birds all over his arm and then of him wiping his arm off afterward.

Prada shoes

Being in Milan means seeing lots of couture shoes and dresses.  Check out these Prada shoes!  I guess rivets will be in this Fall.

Swiss Alps

On our flight home from Milan to Atlanta, we flew over the Swiss Alps.  It was amazing to see the mountains peeking out of the clouds!!!  Made me wish I could see the Tour de France one day.

ATL

Of course as we landed in Atlanta, I had to give props to ATL.  This photo is for you, Billy!!  On our layover, we had our first meal back in the states and it was fried chicken and mac and cheese.  Ah…

So that’s Milan in a nutshell.  It was a great way to end our 10-day Italian Adventure going from the ancient ruins of Rome to romantic artsy Florence to beachy lazy Cinque Terre to an exciting modern Milan.  What an awesome vacation.

Here are the final 124 photos from Milan.

Project by Project SF Kickoff

Press Club

On Tuesday (10/20), Project by Project SF had their Kickoff Event at Press Club.  It’s a brand-new chapter for the organization and they were hoping to raise some money and gain some awareness. There was a raffle, plenty of wines to taste, and lots of people who had RSVP’d through Facebook.

Susie asked me to be one of their photographers for the evening.  I had the 5:30-7:30 shift, which was much slower than the later shift so my photos are mostly of the venue and people registering…<sarcasm>pretty exciting stuff</sarcasm>.  Having the early shift was actually nice because I got to hang out with friends once they arrived at a timely 8:00 pm.  Press Club was nice enough to give us full roam of the place and it was bumpin’ by 8:30 pm.  I have a feeling they’re usually not this crowded on a Tuesday night.

Here are the rest of the photos from the event.  And here are some cheesy snap shots we took at the end of the night in front of the big PbP banner.

Jimmy & Eleen

Nina & Jesse

Victor and Susie, Directors

The Masayas
Director of Partner Outreach and Director of Volunteer Management

If the turnout for the Kickoff was this big, I can’t imagine how crazy the but Plate by Plate Fundraiser will be like next summer.

Little Mia

Mia_01

Mia_02

Last month when I went home for Brother’s Bday, I stopped by Sandy and Carl’s place to meet their newborn baby girl.  She was born on Jes’ bday and was only a few weeks old that day I visited.  Little Mia was asleep for the whole time I was there but I guess that’s what newborns do best.  It was great to see Sandy and Carl again and they seem to be doing as well as they possibly can at this point in time.  Congratulations, you two!!

Here are some more photos:

Mia_03

Mia_04

Mia_05

Oink Oink!

masks

I went to work this morning with a happy hop in my step.  I had just found my keys last night and it was Friday.  I got to work and our first patient of the morning was doing great.  I stopped by another patient’s room to say “hello” and was stopped at the door.  Apparently he had a fever and vomited all night.  There was a sign on the door and the nurse said that he tested positive for Influenza A.  Blerg.  That’s likely to be H1N1!! Oh great.  I paged Teresa (my PT partner) and the managers were informed.  Since Teresa and I (and my intern) work in such close contact with this guy, we were told to wear a yellow mask for the rest of the day and had to call Employee Health.  *sigh*  I suppose this was a good year for my first flu shot.  My manager was very happy to hear that I actually got it last month.  According to the screening, we’re healthy enough to not be at risk of having complications but the nurse recommended that we take Tamiflu as a prophylactic measure.  If we didn’t take the meds, we’d have to wear a mask at work until next Friday.  Just the thought of that made me nauseous.  With 10 days of pill poppin’, we would be able to return to work on Monday without a mask.

pills

So, I got my free prescription from the pharmacist and I took pill #1.  I read some of the side effects and there’s a small chance for me to have the runs, puke my brains out, and pass out.  Yes!  In solidarity, Teresa and I agreed to give daily updates to each other this weekend.  We were initially hesitant to agree to the pills but it’s done.  I’ll be sure to provide updates here as well.  I feel just fine so far and I’m hoping to have dodged the swine bullet.  It’s going to be a rough winter/flu season and I hope that this is the worst of it for Team Tiger.

Forgetful, not irresponsible.

Elephant Keychain

For the past 2 days I’ve been scouring my brain, my house, my car, and everything else I’ve touched over the last 64 hours. On Tuesday morning as I was heading out for work, I couldn’t find my house keys. I swore that I had them the night before but didn’t have the time to really search as I was hurrying to catch the train.

Yesterday I still didn’t have my keys and had to sit outside of Jes’ office building for an hour as he finished one of his meetings.   I sent him a text message saying “I’m downstairs” but didn’t really know if he had received it.   He finally came down to hand me the keys and that hour of waiting certainly felt like an eternity.   I would suck at being homeless.

I gave myself one more crazy search tonight and went through the trash, the dirty laundry, all the bags I had used within the past two days, and the coats and jackets that I had worn. Nothing. Finally, I had an epiphany. As I was going through the coat closet for the 3rd time, I remembered that I put on my snowboarding jacket on Tuesday morning to walk the dog in the rain. As I was heading out, Jes offered to walk the dog and I gladly hung up my jacket and went to work instead. THAT was the moment when I couldn’t find my keys!!!! I had put the keys in the pocket of the jacket (that I haven’t worn in months) and forgot to take them back out in all the excitement of not having to fight the wind and rain at 6:30 in the morning!!! So when I reached into one of the many jacket pockets and felt the squishy elephant keychain, I thought my heart was going to leap out of my throat and I yelled, “I FOUND IT!!!!!”  Aaaaah…I had the biggest sigh of relief of my life.  I was also confused as to why I didn’t find them the first time or second time I went through the closet.  Oh dear.  Perhaps my brain was trying to make me suffer a little so that I wouldn’t do this again.  I was SO close to calling it quits and Jes was dreading the pain of forking over a bunch of money to get our locks changed.

I really hate myself sometimes.