ohmigosh! nearly a year since i last blogged??? where has time gone!!??

ok, the title states it all. this is quite embarassing! what do i do with all my time? hrm...work, play badminton, eat, and sleep. ok, i'll do a pictorial highlight of the past month first (just got back from trip to riviera maya, mexico!), then another pictorial highlight of random things i've done this past year. as chinese as it gets, "picture's worth a thousand words (though captions help)!" ENJOY!

MEXICO (RIVIERA MAYA) PHOTOS


jumping into cenote, absolutely refreshing!



zipline-ing (reminds me of costa rica)



snorkeling in cenote, fascinating! next time, scuba diving!



our lovely all-inclusive resort, with caribbean beac behind the pool (i actually took this photo, it's not from the resort's webpage)!



kayaking, you can see just how clear the water is. too bad we only got 2 days of kayaking in, hurricane ike created some rougher waters that held back more kayaking.



Hiking up Coba Pyramid



We took a private boat 30 min off of Cozumel island, where water is unbelievably blue and clear. Then we snorkeled for entire day, and I got horribly sunburnt!

This is an UNDERWATER picture of stalagamites (love waterproof camera bag), seen in the cenotes.

Sunset on the beach, doesn't it look like a postcard? =)

Soy mexicana! look how tan i've gotten in 7 days! hasta luego!

yosemite pics!!!

making pb&j lunches for the hike

fresh and ready to hike!

1 mile of walking...and still not at trailhead!

go guys and girls!!! you can do it!

lovely finale---Glacier Point. that same day, someone fell from half dome and died =(. most of the girls went back same way, but shal/bob and radu/me wanted to see more waterfalls and took the scenic 8 mile trek back, barely made it before sundown! well worth it tho!

finally, lunch at the TOP!

must soak sore feet in ice-cold water in Nevada Falls

the next morning, too exhausted to hike anymore but looking good in our "girl room"

big breakfast buffet to end the trip =)


oh i forgot to post yosemite pics!!! this was our latest "group trip" but too bad jody and alice couldn't make it. don't worry....i don't think you guys missed out too much as most of the girls have decided camping/hiking just isn't their thing!! sorry everyone!!! i had fun though!! =)

ok, must post more....

Hrm, what else is new in life after Hawaii??

Work - same old, getting more familiar with everything. Thinking of getting a 2nd job...met up with my PA classmate from midwest who works 70-80h/week and gets 1.5x overtime pay for anything 40+ hours!! Coincidentally today I was asked if I wanted to take overnight call at Redwood City Kaiser for surgical cases, and get paid 50% hourly rate for carrying pager, and full rate if I have to scrub into case. Flexible schedule, from 8pm-8am so even if i don't go in, i get paid several hundreds just for sleeping! =) still...it'll suck to be called at midnight...i'll think about it. and another co-worker offered another part-time job for me to put in PICC lines for $150-$200/line, which takes anywhere from 30 min (for the skilled) to 1-2 hours depending on difficulty! Not bad, but I'll think about it...me so very lazy.....

School - NONE!! first time in nearly 25 years, and it feels soooooo good!!!! (sorry shal) but i'm getting dumber and lazier by the minute! i don't even study at home like i'm supposed to. must go to conferences to keep up to date!

Family - dad is back from Taiwan as of yesterday, which means mom will be more off my back!! she gets so lonely without dad around, and bugs my bro and me incessentally. called my during my bday dimsum with my gfs and made me go home to wash the bathrooms. sigh. i MUST move out!! Goal: end of 2008, buy a house, gain some freedom and independence!

SO - he's starting as head coach of the newest largest badminton gym in the bay area! check it out at : www.baybadminton.com. he even has a webpage on it! great thing is he'll be busy, part of something big. not-so-great is that it is in burlingame 45min from me, and his hours contradict mine, as his job caters towards recreational time (weekdays 3-10pm, all day saturday). at least he gets sun/mon off so we can go places!! =)

Friends - you can read up on all their blogs!! =) no, it's been good, but i realize everyone is so busy and moved on with their life, there is hardly time to "hang out" just one-to-one. i owe many of these....just gotta start scheduling it!! good thing is holidays are coming soon, and we'll all reunite!!

Life - still playing some badminton, even competing in a badminton tournament this weekend! bad thing is i broke TWO rackets in one month (I have broken only one other racket my entire life, but I have broken FOUR other ppl rackets with my until-recently indestructible racket), and now i am using radu's racket. his racket is too light, and string tenson too strong, for me...and i have developed tendonitis of the R elbow/forearm. Hurts to smash or play > 2h. boohoo. hope i can last thru the tourney!

radu and i also trying to get in shape, and we started a separate running regiment. I HATE running, but after doing it for a few weeks now almost every other day, it's really not that bad. even better, i've started going back to the gym to do elliptical, weights, and yoga on my own. my mom even gave me 24h fitness membership on the day of the 5.6 quake (for my bday gift), but the quake caused some computer malfunction and my pass is not working =(. at least i still have right stuff. anyhow, after all this increase in exercise (decrease in badm to just 2x/week instead of 4), i have managed to GAIN 5 lbs!!!! it's horrible!!! i feel strong and more flexible, but i look huge!!! boohooo....radu tells me to keep sticking with it....we'll see.

new passions:
1) cooking, wanna buy food processor, better slow cooker, and maybe mixer too. i don't cook at all, i eat what mom makes or salads/deli meat/lotsa fruit/lotsa dessert! occasionally eat out. i just had "hummingbird cake" at work--it was DELICious!! banana, crushed pineapple, raisin, nut in cake, with cream cheese frosting. YUM!

2) investment....still a weak point, gotta read more on it. 401 and savings acct not enuf...must get into stocks!

3) house shopping--looking mt view or sunnyvale, under 1 million. want a small yard as i hate yardwork, but not those squashed single family homes. no condos either. i wonder how much longer the housing market will continue to suck...

long enuf entry once again. i'm tired. can't wait for turkey day although i'm on-call that wknd, but i'll get thurs/fri off! on xmas and new years are both 4-day vacations!!!! yayay!!! can't wait to snowboard!

oh my goodness, 5 months since last post???? Hawaii pics!

wow, spraypaint talent--he did it all with just spraypaint, stencils, and paper!!! in 15 minutes!!! selling for over $100 each!
lovely sunset North Shore

us with "Hurley" from "Lost"
that's me!! (j/k) so beautiful...
okay, that really is me...unsuspecting..
such long boards, and still i can't surf

surfing waikiki
practicing surfing again....
hanamua bay for snorkeling
polynesian luau (yucky overpriced food)
one of many many beautiful sunsets

this is truly embarassing!! i haven't posted in FIVE months??? okay, time for major catch-up!! actually, nothing really has happened, the highlight so far was my hawaii trip in late Sept, so above are some pics.

FAT foot!

on thurs after badminton, i took a shower at radu's place. as i walked out of apt around 11pm, my right foot was itchy. got progressively more itchy, ended up scratching it all night half awake/half asleep. woke up in am with foot hurting, and still VERY itchy. wore tennis shoes instead of normal work shoes 'cuz foot was sore. at end of work day, i took off shoes to switch into flip-flops, to notice my FAT FOOT!! i could barely walk!! red, warm, swollen, painful...did i have cellulitis??? right before going to LA for memorial wknd? i gave myself some antibiotics...and i'm cured!! actually, i doubt it was infected, as i only took 1 pill...i know i'm bad, breeding antibiotic-resistent organisms in my body! but it was sooo swollen and painful for 2 days, i limped everywhere! good thing i was car-bound for 6h to LA on sat--i couldn't do the usual sports i do on wknds anyways! by sun, it was much better, mild limp--and today, near perfect! time to get back to sports!

bought a car!

it's been over a week, but i bought my new car--identical to the previous one, $3 cheaper! =) too bad AAA is giving me $800 shy, but i guess $800 to "rent" a car for 5 months was worth it! i still love it, haven't really driven it though as i'm still using the rental. as of fri, i'll be driving my new zoom-zoom! no need for pics--you guys have all seen it!

update on car wreck

it's been 2 weeks since MVA (motor vehicle accident), here's the update:
repairs on my care will be about $14,200. yup, you read that right.
current value of car sadly is only $17,000.
salvageable parts is about $6,000 (estimated).
thus, AAA my insurance has deemed my car a total loss. =(
bye bye mazda 3.

good news--got the police report, other party is 100% at fault, cited for 1)improper merge into traffic, 2)no posession of license, and ) no proof of registration/insurance on hand. This means my insurance premium will not go up.

bad news--i am waiting for the cash amount that AAA will offer me, TBD early next week. I'm hoping it's at least 20K, but doubtful. Fortunately, the body shop I brought my car to is a certified Mazda shop, and the owner is good friends with the people at Oaktree and Alamden Mazda, and says he can get me manufacturer price on any Mazda I get. I absolutely LOVE my Mazda--in fact, i traded my first car rental (chevy colbalt) for a Mazda 3 hatchback rental, and i just LOVE it! so i guess we'll find out soon if i get a new car, and what color i should go for now!

only 5 months and less than 5K miles...

yup, my baby mazda 3 got into accident...story goes i was driving straight about 35mph, this huge black dodge ram 4x4 pick-up decides to bust outta his parallel parked position and do a complete U-y and runs right into me. He never looked to see if any cars were around. Very very mad. Other driver was some 20's white boy with 3 fat black girls (sorry, but it's true). Girls smoking cigarettes, had some take out food in car...picture didn't look good for him. Police happened to be right behind me, the officer-in-training witnessed it so hopefully i don't have a pay a penny. Now car is in shop, waiting for cost of damages to see what to do next. so very sad. at least i'm ok.

Mazda wreck =(

no side mirror, fell into my lap
cracked windshield and missing window
smushed passenger side

2 months update

oh boy, i've been bad, no blogging! that's 'cuz my life has become mundane with work...but i'm quite happy with it for the most part! i REALLY like my job (despite one or two bad days which some of you know about) as i'm getting more familiar with things and people. And, the new PA showed up last week so i'm no longer the newbie!! =) now they have someone else to pick on and train! he's 2 years outta PA school, but with no ortho experience so he's having quite a bit of trouble. poor guy. can't believe i was in his shoes just 4 months ago! oh, and i got a raise, yay! i've been in the OR (operating room) less and less, with more and more clinic which means i eat more since i'm sitting at my desk with a HUGE jar of chocolate sitting in front of me! how do you office-desk ppl handle it!?? well, it would help to get rid of that chocolate jar, but it's not mine and it's not on my desk! too bad it's right in my eyesight. i guess i just have to have better self-control...or ask to be in the OR more!

the working world is lovely (shal, don't stay in school too long, it's WAY more stressful) as i come home after 8-12h with absolutely nothing to worry about, giving me a chance to exercise, spend time with family, bf, friends. i've even watched 2 DVDs and read a book!!! now that's amazing for me! as for sports (i was reading up on my last post), i've returned my street surfing board (though i see lotsa kiddies doing it, making me feel old), no more trampolining, met a patient who's on a female ice hockey team who said they offer "try hockey for free" days for women twice a year which i'll do come october, and still haven't tried golf or revisited rock climbing, bikram yoga, or swimming (although i did find a place for $1.50 evening swims on the way home from work). the one new thing--i did take up road biking....my bro introduced me to this 15 mile ride from home to stevens creek reservoir and to monta vista high school and back home...i've done it 3x so far, and cheated every time. there is this INTENSE uphill climb that i just cannot do--my quads give out. even walking the bike up kills my legs!! my goal is to be able to do it one day...but probably after i get a better bike. the one i use is a $59 one from target 3 years ago. =) this saturday, i may try mountain biking if it doesn't rain. kinda scary, but it should be fun! oh, and badminton is fun again!! i found a women's doubles partner and it re-energized the sport and competitive spirit in me! she's a bit older and weaker, but more consistent and a smarter player than me. together we make a pretty strong team, and it's fun to play when you have a set partner you can call up! now i just need a mixed doubles partner...too bad playing with a bf is IMPOSSIBLE. i don't know of any couples who can play together peacefully, heh. oh, and my mom returned from taiwan and FINALLY got what i asked for--badminton shoes and strings! i need another racket too, but i'm rather picky so that'll have to wait.

hrm, nothing else to blog about, sniff. my life is boring. no exciting trips coming up, no ventures, no new news. oh well, at least i'm happy! =)

need new exciting sports!

i mentioned to some friends that (GASP!!) i'm getting a bit bored with badminton (i don't train enough anymore to keep up and little kiddies and old fogies are both beating me!!), so i've tried a few new sports:

1) Air-obics! http://www.jumpskyhigh.com/about.asp
this is aerobics on HUGE trampolines! on yelp.com they said it was a great 40 min workout--i found it fun but not much of cardio. other ppl were sweating, maybe i didnt' do it quite so right. at first i couldn't bounce without flipping and crashing all over the place! no balance whatsoever! finally i got my foot on it, and could leap higher. lotsa kids doing tricks and such. i wanna learn to do a flip or handspring, but i'm a wimp! esp after i had a young adult in my clinic tear his ACL and meniscus after "trampolining"!!! no thank you! i prob won't try it again.

2) Street-surfing! http://www.ripstikusa.com/
this is basically snowboarding with wheels on asphalt! i bought the board for $80, took me 5 min to learn to balance on it (like a bike, you have to keep it rolling not to fall off since it has only 2 rotating wheels), 15 min to stay on it for at least 10 sec on flat surface, and 2 min to take it down a mini-hill and fly right off! i was going too fast and couldn't stop and ended up with my face on asphalt! ok, it wasn't that bad (thank god i wore wrist guards, i have to still protect my badminton wrists), but i scraped up my elbow and knee through sweatshirt and pants!! thank goodness i wasn't in t-shirt and shorts! i quickly got up, made sure nobody saw me, limped back to car, and vowed to return the board immediately (yes, it's still sitting in my car). don't think i'll try it again!

3) Indoor rock climbing http://www.planetgranite.com/
I've done this a few times before, but i'm tempted to take a $99 introductory course (4x/month, 2h each session) to improve my skills. it's on wed--anyone wanna join me? i'd like to make my arms stronger since i get teased about my "smallness" in surgery as i'm surrounded by strong ortho guys. then again, i don't know if i want to spend so much money on belaying equipment!

4) Street/Ice hockey!!
after playing broomball, i was quite inspired. after watching my first live Sharks game, i was even more inspired. decided to go rollerblading a few times, and really really liked it! first i was rusty but then i got better by day 3. i even have a hockey stick that katharine gave me back in high school 'cuz i wanted to try street hockey back then (when rollerbladding was "in")! too bad it's costly and i have no idea where to join! any clues?

5) Mtn bikign
radu is totally into this, i'm a bit wary. i've trailed-biked, but that's nothing compared to rocks and tree trunks and gravel and bumps and curves and bends!! seems like fun mixed with danger...perhaps i should try road biking first! weather is getting warmer!

6) golfing! wii golfing seems fun. hehe. i wanna do driving range first, see if i can even hit that thing! cheaper too! but i doubt i'd get into the sport--not fast or exciting enuf for me.

so that's about it since i began work...i still like badm, still like bikram yoga, but i'm looking for more! i want to get more seriously into tennis as well since it's getting warmer (and it's a cheap sport to play)--anybody want to play or know a league to join?

i also want to find a fun fun fun vacation spot (i.e. lotsa activity besides eating, sightseeing, and shopping) where i can hangglide, roll down a human hamster ball (like in amazing race; australia), sky dive, snorkel, etc etc. Costa Rica is a great example!! =) that's still my fav trip to date! maybe New Zealand 2007 will be like that! i'd love to participate in a small version of amazing race--i wonder if there is a Bay Area one. ok, enuf dreaming!

i'm open to any other ideas of fun in the area!

insane chinese parents!

on wed last week, i had this 30yo asian male in my clinic for a pre-op appt to fix his torn pectoralis major muscle (he tore it bench pressing). the crazy thing is BOTH his parents were at this appt, and they were SOOO overprotective it was quite amusing! his dad was wearing a full business suit, his mom was in her white coat (she's an EKG tech at Kaiser) and introduced herself as "cardiology" clinician. when they saw me, they were like, "hrm, why is this inexperienced girl seeing my precious son?" you could see it on their faces! i asked the son to move his arm, and it was ask if i asked the son to jump off a cliff!! both parents lunged forward to grab the son's arms, and panicked, "DONT MOVE!! YOU'll HURT IT!!" the son was calm and said, "dad, mom, i think she knows what she's asking." the mother kept throwing in information about the son's injury/previous medical history ("no you hurt it 1/18, not 1/19." "no you had appendectomy when you were 12, not 10!"). eons later, i finally got my paperwork done, and the mom requests me to sign a work-release form for HER to take care of her son for 2 weeks!! i was like, "hrm...your son is 30, he's getting an outpatient surgery, i think he can take care of himself..." but i didnt' want to cause family trouble, so i agreed.

anyhow, so fastforward to day of surgery this Fri. the family was sooo indecisive about who should operate (they insisted on the chief of orthopedics, but if they only knew the chief rarely operates anymore as they are so busy with admin stuff, hahahha), and what kinda of anesthesia, and how they DEMAND the son stay overnight at hospital that it took so long to talk to these parents the case was delayed til 5pm (12:30pm was scheduled time)!!! any later and we'd have to cancel the case! the case went fine, couldn't fix it as well as we'd like as he hurt it 3 weeks ago and the tendon was hard to distinguish by now, but we did a good job. (the family delayed the operation for 2 weeks as they were searching for the "best" surgeon!) We finished quickly, went out to speak the family, and the last question the father asked was, "who was your assistant?" Our chief put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Nancy!" once again, the looks on the parents face was one to remember! hahaha, such worrywarts! i am sooo glad i don't have such nutty parents! oh, and i forgot to mention the most crazy part--the son is MARRIED!!! his wife looks very young, perhaps fresh out of college! i have no idea how the allowed his son to be wed off, and how that poor daughter-in-law handles it. oh well, it's not my fam, thank god!!

las vegas trip 2-3 to 2-5

it's only been a week of work and i've already taken vacation time! i left for vegas bright and early sat morn, got there in 1h. jody/heeyup (J/H) and radu/i went to venetian for breakfast buffet--it was pretty good esp the muffin! afterward, we wandered all over the strip for awhile, shopping at the Forum, seeing Mac King Live comedy show at Harrahs (free show with purchase of a drink) which was hilarious and magically entertaining, more walking and shopping all the way to Fashion Show mall. We were EXHAUSTED by 5pm since we we only slept 4h the night before (i was at co-workers bday party and we had early flight from SFO), and waited for J/H to pick us up. We were starving for some real hearty food, so I decided on Italian for pasta. Jody wanted to get reservations for Norma's off the strip, but it was booked 'til 10pm and I was too hungry! fortunately, jody introduced us to Danielle's Snowy Popcorn for a snack, and i devoured that thing! we ended up going to this other fancy italian place at Mandalay Bay, but the menu sucked, and we actually walked out after being seated! hehe, we're bad! Instead, we went right next door to Burger Bar, where believe it or not, they have a $60 burger made with "Kobe beef, sautéed foie gras, shaved truffles, Madeira sauce, on onion bun". No kidding!! Radu and I tried a turkey burger (i know, i know, but i usually love turkey burgers!), Jody had salmon burger, and Heeyup had his usual Kobe beef burger. The only person who was satified fully was Heeyup. Oh well. Good thing was they had Chocolate Swan right next door, so we had a Kahlua cheesecake for dessert! I know we should have tried the Big Daddy Chocolate Eclair, but i wasn't quite in the mood. We saw a couple of Bellagio fountain shows, and were just too tired to stay out any longer. Home to a wonderful house (housing is sooo affordable there!! i'm jealous!), and to bed!

Sun-Superbowl Sunday!! J/H up early to prepare, R/N sleep til 11! =) Jody made us banana panckaes, YUM!! the party was great--so much great home cooking, i'm very very impressed and inspired! time to learn to cook! we had jerk chicken wings, teriyaki chicken wings (all sauces homemade), fresh salsa and guac, fig jam with prosciutto on baguette, creme puffs, cheese and chocolate fondue with fresh brownies, the list goes on forever!!! ate soo much i felt quite ill. =P didnt' really care about the game--but met lotsa J/H friends from vegas. felt we needed to burn some kcals, so borrowed jody's car and went out to the strip again. We wanted to see all the free nighttime shows since it was our last night. We started with Sirens of TI, which was slutty and sucked, then went to Mirage for the even crappier volcano which should be eliminated by now. We passed Ceaser's and Bellagio (still my fav) and got to Excalibur (4 miles walking now), played some Midway games . Then we walked all the way back to Wynn (4 more miles) to see "Lake of Dreams" which was the WORST show EVER!!! We were sooo exhuasted and walking so far to see a dumb frog sing was beyond disappointing. At least our car was only about 1/2 mile away, so we finally drove home at 1am, dead as can be.

Mon-last day! woke up at noon! took taxi to strip as J/H had to work bright and early. we started at circus circus (i love midways!) and lost money playing midway and blackjack. boohoo. we said that if we won at blackjack, we'd take a taxi all the way to bellagio (about 3-4miles) to indulge in the buffet! but unfortunately, we both lost, and with no extra money, had to walk on over. it was a good idea tho 'cuz the weather was a FABULOUS 70's, and we ended up eating SOOOO much that we were thankful we had walked earlier! i never had such tasty prime rib, roasted veggies, jumbo shrimp cocktails, etc. We shared TWELVE desserts! my fav was the tiramisu in a pure chocolate muffin cup. yum!! anyhow, we walked out promising we won't eat for days (but of course we ate again later that night!). jody picked us up, and we went to get some of that Danielle's popcorn that is only in Vegas. Got to airport at 8pm, only to find out our flight was delayed 'cuz we didnt' have pilot. (?) after we were on plane, they said maintence papers needed to be signed, and we were held up again. 30 min later, they said a part was missing on the plane and it needed to be flown in from Phoenix!! so 1.5h later at midnight, we finally re-boarded (thank goodness they let us off plane). we got to SFO at 2pm, home at 3:30am, and bed at 4am....with work starting at 8am the next day!! i was sooo pooped, but what a great trip!! thanks J/H!!! =)