When my month-long vacation began this May, I had envisioned taking my time to prepare for the wedding and maybe relax a bit. What eventually unfolded was what could only be described as a series of unfortunate events that transpired before our big day. The first week was quiet, but busy. First, there were things we had to make: programs, place cards, menu cards, and a photo slideshow. Then there were stuff we had to get: a wedding license, ribbons for the cake, poster boards for signs, and pens for the guestbook. Meanwhile, there were also other issues to handle: cap & gown for commencement, furniture for Melody’s room, and contractors to repair some water damage. Perhaps there were just one too many things on my mind the week before the wedding when I found myself unable to brake in time to avoid a car that suddenly stopped in front of me. Fortunately, the fender-bender occured at a low speed and neither the retired doctor from the other car nor I were hurt. But even as we were recovering from our poor luck, we were rear-ended by another car just 2 days later – this time, by a nun. When one of my groomsmen arrived from NYC the day before our wedding, I made him drive to avoid the bad karma. But as we left our rehearsal dinner that night, we found his car window smashed to bits and my computer monitor (the one to display my slideshow) stolen right from the back seat. There was nothing we could do but laugh. Of course, all things happen for a reason. Maybe after stressing over all the little details like adjusting fonts and timing songs, we were given some REAL problems to worry about. And maybe after overcoming all the little bumps along the road before the wedding, we could finally learn to appreciate our new life together. To our relief, everything went smoothly on May 12th, and everyone made it on time, including the officiant and my parents who got lost the previous day. Looking back, it was humbling to see so many of our friends and family, many traveling from out of town and even from other countries, to join us in celebration. It was certainly a night to remember. Anyway, send us photos if you came to our wedding so we can post them on our webpage!

A good bachelor party is defined by the quality of the food, women, and company. Clearly, my best man was well aware of this when he took me down to NYC this weekend to hit the town with some of my oldest and closest friends. Our evening began literally right out of work, as I tossed my white coat into my locker and hopped into his car. Traffic was dismal as usual, and we didn’t get into the city until almost 10pm. One of the guys was actually post-call, another had been working all afternoon, and the third.. well, he had been drinking since 4pm. Nevertheless, we resisted our weariness, and satisfied ourselves with large slabs of beef at the Strip House. After my superbly-textured rib-eye, creamed spinach with truffles, and potatoes in goat fat, (which continues to haunt my taste buds to this moment) we went to the Hustler Club, where supposed third-hand accounts claimed to be a mecca of attractive women. We were not disappointed, and enjoyed a few titillating performances for ourselves. We left the club around 3:30am to head back to our hotel suite for our poker marathon. Surrounded by bags of chips and diet coke, we spent nearly 6 hours playing Texas Hold’em, which for me really amounted to a painfully slow way of handing my money to my more-experienced compatriots. By next morning, one of the guys had to run to proctor an SAT exam, and the rest of us tested our spice tolerance with authentic Korean food. With no sleep the previous night, the car ride back to Boston was pretty much a blur. Though steak houses, strip clubs, and poker marathons will no doubt find their ways back into my life in the future, I was happy to be reminded again of genuine friends and good times.

If asked to describe London in one word, I’d probably say “expensive.” A week-long trip to the world’s 2nd most expensive city (after Tokyo) was probably not the best idea given the cost of a certain upcoming event. But it at least gave us a break from thinking about it. We arrived on Sunday and spent the afternoon at the British Museum, which featured not so much British stuff as stuff that Britain took from other countries, including parts of the Parthenon. On Monday, we climbed the winding stairs of St. Paul’s Cathedral, inspected the Crown Jewels at the infamous Tower of London, crossed Tower Bridge, squeezed passed rowdy kids in the HMS Belfast, and toured the authentically-replicated Shakespeare Globe Theater. For dinner, we treated ourselves at Zaika, where the 6-course Indian tasting menu showed our tastebuds a whole new dimension to the use of saffron. On Tuesday, we took a train from Paddington Station (yes, and bought a bear) for the city of Bath, where we sampled foul-tasting spring water from ancient Roman baths. Unfortunately, the Jane Austen Centre was closed and tours to Stonehenge were fully booked, so we returned to the city for the Sherlock Holmes Museum and the London Aquarium. On Wednesday, we awoke early to visit Windsor Castle and watch the changing of the guards. For lunch, we stuffed our faces with delicious fish and chips, and spent the afternoon holding our wobbly bellies as we toured the history of medicine exhibit at the Science Museum, and the endless corridors of the Victoria & Albert Museum. We finished the evening with Agatha Christie’s play, the Mousetrap, and more English pub food for dinner. On Thursday, we walked over famous people buried at Westminster Abbey, struggled past hoards of tourists at Buckingham Palace, watched horses training at the Royal Mews, and got a lesson in English history at the National Portrait Gallery and National Gallery at Trafalgar Square. Friday’s weather was wet and dreary, but was redeemed by a most satisfying full English breakfast (with blood pudding, yum!). We started by touring the Cabinet War Rooms / Churchill Museum, which were surprisingly well done. Afterwards, we took a short cruise down the Thames, checked out Princess Diana’s wardrobe at Kensington Palace, and had afternoon tea at the Orangery. In the evening, we browsed through the eccentric exhibits at the Tate Modern and took a chilly stroll along the river. By the time we got on the plane Saturday, we were both exhausted and I has half-limping on my left knee, which I probably twisted walking to all the places we visited. Looking back, I’m still amazed at how much we covered in one week. I guess we really wanted to get the most out of our London Pass. Now back home, the prospect of leaving the patient-free haven of radiology for my sub-internship at MGH tomorrow is sending chills down my spine.

As my radiology rotation comes to an end, I’ve pretty much concluded that I will not be a radiologist in this lifetime. Perhaps it’s the lack of patient contact, or maybe it’s just my narcoleptoid behavior in dark rooms … but at this point, I’m just glad I passed. Over the past weeks, despite the constant struggle to keep up with wedding plans, it has also been fun as gifts from our registry arrived at our doorsteps on a near-daily basis – almost like an extended Christmas! Even the UPS guy figured out that we were getting married. Our second Wii controller also came in the mail at last, along with Wii Play, so look out for some more mid-air swinging action in the near future!

There comes a point when you need to work really, really hard to step back and appreciate the big picture. Over the past few weeks, we got to meet with all our vendors again to go over the plans for our wedding day. Inevitably, little issues began to arise. First, it was the appetizers that our caterers claimed to have been a typo. Then it was the sea bass for our entree that turned out to be endangered. There were also tons of painful details to hammer out. Do we want tall or short flowers? Cake cutting before or after the dinner? Chivari chairs or chair covers? We were up several nights just choosing songs for each segment of the event. There were also the guestbook and wedding favors which we foolishly decided to make ourselves. Meanwhile, we’re still awaiting responses from delinquents who are still sitting on our invitations. At some point, between all the emails, driving around, phone calls, and more emails, I just had to sit back, take it all in, and remember what the day’s about, and how much I look forward to it.

Welcome to the Year of the Golden Piggy! For Chinese people, the year of the pig brings good luck and prosperity. But babies born in the golden pig year, which happens once in six decades, are believed to be even more lucky. So for those of you who wants a little golden piglet before the year is out, it’s time to get busy! 🙂 Our trip back to New York last weekend brought back memories of the loud noises and crowded streets of Chinatown from last year. Some of our red envelopes were particularly fat because of the upcoming wedding, and the food was delicious as always. But to our dismay, one of the wedding bands we ordered was slightly off, and had to be reordered. Fortunately, the rest of the wedding plans have been proceeding smoothly since the new year, as we hammer out details like flowers, music selection, ceremony wording, wedding favors, and decorations. The Chinese-calendar also gave me an excuse to celebrate my birthday again (on the 2nd day of the lunar new year) with another toy for myself. Unfortunately, my radiology rotation is not looking much like the “radi-holiday” that people has made it out to be. With so many distractions at home, I just hope I can stay awake through the many hours of lectures ahead.

Finally! With the help of a small hint and standing for an hour in the chilly weather, I finally got my belated birthday present. Fortunately for me, my Ophtho rotation has been very relaxing, with no patients to round on, no pager to carry, and no real responsibilities. This will not only give me a chance to try out this ingenious new toy, but also to catch up on wedding stuff like mailing out invitations and getting fitted for my tux. Anyway, my birthday this year was pretty low key. We just went out with a few friends for lunch buffet at Kashmir. But next weekend will be Chinese New Year, so we’ll most likely head down to NYC for some fine dining again … without the norovirus, and hopefully some red envelopes as well. =)

Forever in our hearts…

Howie

8/25/2004 – 1/30/2007

It was my only golden weekend this rotation, and what better way to spend it than to pig out in NYC? Our first stop was the Peking Duck House, a chic little restaurant smack in the middle of dirty, bustling Mott St. in Chinatown. Here, even the fancy decor and stylishly-suited waitors were no match for the artery-bursting flavor of duck skin roasted to a light, almost airy, texture as we sunk our teeth into it. On Saturday, we went to Tomoe Sushi, where we savored the buttery blend of texture and flavor oozing from the eye-popping hunks of fresh sashimi. With the exception of the Bluefin toro, which I must admit was a splurge, the $19 sashimi combo was definitely a steal. Although we were still exhaling salmon when evening rolled around, we returned to the West Village for dinner at the Strip House. For half the price of Peter Luger, the plump, juicy ribeye steaks here, cooked to a true medium-rare perfection, gave our taste buds a titillating experience comparable to what establishments with a similar name may offer. The last stop of our journey took us back to Chinatown. At Super Taste Restaurant, we cramped ourselves into the corridor-like interior of the noodle bar to slurp up hand-pulled noodles in plastic and stainless-steel bowls. The dining etiquette here is not for the faint of heart as we watched old men chucking beef bones straight onto the table. But for 4 bucks a pop, what can you really ask for? Ultimately, our weekend was not without drama. While we were glad to have finally ordered our wedding bands, our return trip was fraught with pain (literally). By evening, Melody had vomited 3 times, and I was shivering under the sheets with a fever of 102. Though it’s hard trying to attribute all this to a single source, or maybe it was just too much meat for one weekend, it was definitely an experience I would not hesitate to relive.

It’s been tough getting back into the groove of things since the new year began, having spent my 2-week holiday vacation doing almost nothing. After spending several days helping out in lab pro bono and also reformatting all my hard-drives, I flew to Portland with Melody to spend Christmas with her family. Besides playing with our baby niece, the bulk of our time there was spent eating, cooking, and planning for the next meal (much like the life of a rat … save the cooking part). I also went back to Brooklyn for a few days to unwind with my folks at home and meet up with old friends. Needless to say, waking up this past Saturday morning and rounding for more than 8 hours post-call on Neurology was more than enough to kick me back into gear with the start of this new year. It also didn’t help that I just came from surgery where we would round on twice as many patients in less than an hour. Luckily, rather than wasting time with scut work, neuro is much more cerebral (pun intended), and should give my brain a good work out in preparation for upcoming rotations.