Baller Lunch

In Jeff's words:
"Darren, Jen, and I were in the PBL rooms one weekend practicing the CVS exam and then afterwards got sidetracked and started searching up super nice Michelin star restaurants that we'd want to go to once we were real doctors."

From that conversation stemmed our pact to meet up at some really nice restaurant, perhaps Alinea in Chicago, ten years from now when we're all doctors. We would get the degustation/tasting menu and just splurge. Then, Jeff and Kat got into Canadian med schools (CONGRATS guys!), so we decided to have a baller lunch (cheaper since we're still only students) to celebrate before they left.

After searching online for restaurants, we finally picked Gusto da Gianni in Hamilton which was voted to be the Best Fine Dining Restaurant in Brisbane in 2009.  

The restaurant is really nice as it borders the Brisbane River.  The weather was also really beautiful on Saturday, so all in all, a great day!

We ordered the Peasant Menu, which was served family style.  Overall the food was ok.  The entrees and dessert were amazing, but I have to say that I was not impressed with the mains.  In fact, I'm quite disappointed about the mains.  Here's what we had: 

Entrees: 

Focaccia - this was good...fresh bread always is...

 

Fried Olives with Cheese Stuffing...good but salty.

 

Potato Frittata: YUM-O

 

Roasted, Breaded Fresh Vegetables: Really good!

 

Caprese Salad: Probably my most favorite dish of the day.

 

Antipasto Meat Dish: Tasty!

 

Mains:

Rigatoni: Nothing extraordinary.

 

Pumpkin Risotto: Ally and I pondered whether or not the risotto was fully cooked.

 

Salad: I found a huge ass dead bug/cricket in my serving...

 

Dessert:

Tiramisu: DELICIOUS!

 

The highlights of the meal for me included the potato fritatta, avocadoes with buffalo mozzarella, and tiramisu.  All of our entrees in general were tasty, and the tiramisu was authentic and good, but I was really disappointed with the mains.  I could have made a better tasting rigatoni that than.  And for the price we paid, I expected at least some sort of meat dish.  I probably won't ever go back to this restaurant, but overall, I still had a really good time with some really awesome people! 

Kat and Jeff are now off to New Zealand while the rest of us are studying for exams.  We're definitely note hatin'!  =)  But you guys will most definitely be missed by all of us!  Have a great vacation, and I'll see you guys when you get back!  And to everyone else--good luck with exams!

My Birthday

I’m not a big birthday person.  Most years, I don’t even tell people about it…and it doesn’t help that I turned 28 either.  This year, I decided that I wanted to do something low key and try the fish ‘n chips place close to campus on Hawken Drive, A Salt and Battery.  What a clever name, right? 

So on Friday afternoon, an email was sent out, and it was on…and then came Monday morning…I walked into PBL, and everyone knew it was my birthday via FB.  Ann-Marie bought me a cake, and Jade got me some baking supplies (whoopee! Thanks so much guys!).  Everyone sang to me (majorly embarrassing), but it was really cool.  The chocolate cake was YUMMY too! 

Skip on ahead to the actual dinner—there were 13 of us, and it was SO much fun!  I hadn’t had such an awesome birthday in a really long time.  We had the banquet at A Salt and Battery, and that consisted of chips, calamari, salad, and fish.  You all know how much I love fried food, and even all the cardiovascular lectures couldn’t keep me from digging away at the food.  I have to say that I’ve had better fish, but the chips and calamari were pretty good.  

As we were waiting for our food, Jeff, Darren, and Amy arrived…of course, Amy was carrying this MASSIVE blow up kangaroo that Kat had gotten for me.  It was HILARIOUS!  Seriously, Kev is sitting in the corner of my living room right now, and every time I walk in, I’m still shocked by its presence.  Kev was situated on a table behind ours during dinner, and a family even had to cross the street to take a look at the life-like kangaroo. 

 

After we polished off most of the food, we were all just sitting around having a good time, when all of a sudden, Jeff brought over this amazing chocolate mud cake!  Everyone sang again, and I was at a loss for words.  I didn’t even see Jeff carry in the cake!  But it was amazing and awesome.  So chocolatey!  Hmm…as always before blowing out the candles, I’m supposed to make a wish, right?  Most years, I do, but this year, I couldn’t really think of anything.  I’m completely satisfied with my life, and I’m happy.  I couldn’t ask for a better life.  I just hope that everyone stays safe and healthy.  

Such great memories from that night…and such a great birthday surrounded by friends.  And then of course, there is the online contingent of FB friends and family who all left their well wishes. I miss you all so much!!   Thanks to all for such a wonderful 28^th birthday (though I thank all who say I look a lot younger)! 

Side note:  Two of the first and good friends that I met here in Australia were both accepted into the same Canadian med school this past weekend.  A huge congratulations to the both of them (Kat and Jeff)—you both deserve it!  But you will be missed a lot!  

2.5 weeks until mid-year exams...3 weeks until my parents come...can't wait! 

Happy May!

It's already the second day of May already.  Wow!  Time really does fly.  I love the month of May--spring (or autumn here) is in full bloom, and the weather is just perfect. 

I know that it's been a couple of weeks since I last posted anything, so let me update you on my comings and goings.  Let's see.  This weekend is another long weekend in Australia!  Tomorrow is their Labour Day, so I have an off-day from school.  Yippee!  I love being able to sleep-in for another day of the week.  However, the weekend is a bit dampened by the impending due date of my ethics essay due a week from tomorrow.  I finally have a topic I am happy with, but the writing part has yet to happen.  I started last night and am very slowly progressing through it.  My goal is to finish most of this by this weekend so that during the week, I can revise and do my references section.  Wish me luck! 

Last weekend was another long weekend here in Australia--Anzac Day.  Basically, it's Australia's Memorial and Veterans' Days combined.  I spent last weekend trying to learn about the respiratory system and V/Q ratios.  Not exactly fun, but it's important stuff.  Also, last Friday night was Kat's bday BBQ.  It was really fun, and it's amazing how many people I met from the first year med class.  There are so many of us that I just keep seeing new faces and meeting new people.  But yea, Kat's party was a blast--the most fun I've had in a while!  Then on Sunday, Jeff, Darren, and I watched The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo.  Pretty good movie, though I prefer the book.  Can't wait until my sister lends me the other two books of the trilogy! 

It is here that I must digress a bit and mention my walk to the UQ campus last Sunday.  Usually, when I head to school, I always take the bus, but since it was a holiday weekend, I decided to walk and find out exactly what my route would be.  I didn't get lost (whoo!), and it was during this walk that I finalized my ethics essay topic and knew exactly what I was going to argue.  I love runs and walks! 

This past week, I also got my exam results back.  I did all right--most importantly, I passed.  =)  I did better than I expected, but there's still lots of room for improvement.  But I'm happy since I have had no exposure to any of this anatomy and physiology stuff before.  Not only that, but the last time I actually was in school was 4 years ago...so yea.  And now it's time to start major studying for June exams.  Those will definitely be a lot tougher! 

Coming back to this weekend now, on Friday, I went to watch Iron Man 2 with a whole bunch of classmates.  I didn't really want to watch it as I wasn't a huge fan of the first Iron Man, but I gave in...it turned out to be rather good, this second movie--much better than the first! Yesterday morning, I met up with my mentor assigned to me by the Australian Medical Association.  Dr. Solley is an allergist, and he's really nice!  Hopefully I can shadow him during clinic some time. 

Last bit of news--this week, I found out that I will not be able to complete my elective in the UK. Boohoo.  The school decided two months after the fact that the Ochsner cohort will not be allowed to go abroad and must stay in Australia for our elective.  LAME.  I am particularly upset with this as I have spent a lot of time and effort setting up housing and also looking for doctors/hospitals willing to take me on.  I have friends who have had their electives approved already; some have even paid a deposit to secure their spot!  But what's new?  This whole UQ/Ochsner set-up is not really well organized, and you can never trust what they tell you.  I can deal with all the day to day stuff of attending classes and pracs, going to PBLs, and even taking exams.  I can deal with spending a lot of time reading textbooks and learning things on my own.  However, I'm really fed up with the UQ/Ochsner administrative crap.  We're paying $20K more than all of the other foreign students here--for what, we're not really sure since the SOM can't give us a clear, straight answer.  We were told that we could do our first year elective anywhere since we cannot for our 4th year elective and also must come back Australia for a 4th year rotation.  But two months after everyone's started looking or have confirmed spots, guess what?  They tell us that we're not allowed to go overseas.  It's a whole bunch of BS.  I treasure this opportunity to be able to study medicine in Australia.  I really do.  But UQ/Ochsner really needs to get their act together. 

So yes, after my ranting and raving, I hope you all have a great rest of the weekend and a wonderful week ahead!  6 weeks and counting before I get a two week holiday!! 

Post-Exam Weekend

So, I finally had my first written exam on Friday afternoon.  All I'll say is that it was a fair exam with nothing too ridiculous on it.  Most definitely not the most difficult exam I've ever taken, so yea.  And boy, am I glad it's over! 

Over Easter break, my schedule consisted of waking up daily at around 7-8am, studying, and taking a nap, more studying, and then going to bed at night.  Of course, I ate in between and did some random stuff, but for the most part, it was a pretty strict and regimented study schedule.  Then last week, before the exam, it was more reviewing and then memorizing all the details.  But it's over, and I've been sleeping a LOT this weekend! 

I have a lot to catch you guys up on--let's see. 

1. My parents are coming in June to visit me during my break!  They've booked their flights already, and I'm in the process of planning our itinerary when they get here.  So far, I've booked tickets to Sydney and Melbourne, so we get to travel around Australia!  SO excited!  In the beginning, I was more excited to go to Sydney, but now, I think I'm more looking forward to Melbourne because it's the food capital of Australia!  The Queen Victoria Market looks amazing, and I plan on spending at least 1/2 a day there gorging on ridiculous amounts of good food! Can't wait to see my parents!

2. I've finally started looking for doctors in the UK.  If any of you know any, please let me know.  I found one doctor at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases (I've always wanted to work there), but she doesn't do enough clinical work for me to follow her.  However, she did forward my enquiry to an administrator who deals with students, and he has said that the HTD would love to have me except he needs to check with the management team of doctors before he can promise anything.  At least it's a start, right? 

3. Ethics Essay - I have an ethics essay due in 3 weeks.  Haven't started freaking out yet, but I'm sure that will descend upon me soon.  I'm not so much worried about writing the essay as I am doing the research.  I've always found it hard to find good sources and then extracting the information that I need from them.  But it'll get done. 

4. I've been cooking a lot more.  On the weekends, I usually make something for the rest of the week.  Today, I will be making a vegetable curry!  Yummy!  I always find it fun and stress-relieving to cook, and you'll always find me doing it more during exam times.

5. Thanks to the yarn from Ampy, I have made a koozie for my new water bottle.  I've also started making a crochet hooks holder.  So much fun! 

6. Teamwork in Action - We have this assignment where we have to work with first year students from all the other allied health fields.  Basically, it entails us to pick a charity and then either do a fundraiser or somehow help the charity out.  My TIA group has pretty much been MIA since we met for the first time a while back.  But finally, we had an in-person meeting on Friday after my exam, and we're getting somewhere.  We're thinking of doing a sausage sizzle to raise money...we've picked a foundation, but we still need to get approval first before planning everything else can be underway.  This should be fun!

That's about it, I think.  Back to studying now for A&P, and then it's off to Sunny Bank for dim sum with some friends this afternoon!  It'll be interesting to see how good the food will be...will keep you guys updated!  Hope you guys have a great weekend! 

PBL Fun & Care Package

I knew that this week was going to be long with two assessments--the respiratory physical exam and also an exam on basic life support.  I wasn't worried about these assessments per se, but they are compulsory passes in order for me to move onto second year, so they weren't exactly walks in the park either.  Also, everything was packed into 4 days as Good Friday is a holiday here.  Next week is my Easter break, but it's really called Revision week since I have my first written exam the week after break.  Wish me luck!

But the week wasn't half bad as it is now over, and there were some very pleasant surprises along the way too!

1. Care Package from the VERY awesome people in the PI Dept at BMC.
On Monday, I received an email from the manager of my apartment complex saying that a package was waiting for me in the office.  I wasn't expecting a package nor had anyone told me they were sending me anything, so I was thoroughly intrigued! Only problem--I didn't have any time to pick it up! They were closed by the time I got home on Monday.  I have classes every day starting at 8am, so I'm always gone before the office even opens. Tuesday was a late night with classes and then a medical specialties talk.  The office is closed on Wednesdays. They are also closed Friday-Monday for Easter.  Today was my only chance, but then peer tutorial was scheduled for tonight, so I wouldn't be able to pick it up today either...SO, I made the decision to skip this morning's lecture on Population Health (as they are ridiculously boring--and for those of you who are shaking your heads--I don't make it a habit to skip lectures.  This was only my second one this semester). so that I could pick up the package before my biochem expert tutorial and PBL.  Boy am I glad I did!!!

I walked into the office this morning, but I couldn't find anything with my name on it!  Finally, I spot the LARGEST box (it was wrapped with all this Australia Customs tape) sitting on the chairs, and I recognized Connie's handwriting!  All of my other packages have been either textbooks or meds from home, so this definitely takes the prize.  What an awesome surprise!!  I almost ran up the stairs and back to my apartment so that I could cut all the tape off and see what was inside, but as I was "flying" up the stairs, I noticed the declarations sheet and just read what was inside...I know, I spoiled it.  But I was still very excited to open the box!  After cutting through all the tape, I found 6 skeins of yarn and WHATABURGER ketchup (the best ketchup on earth)!!! YUM!  I also found a Customs pamphlet in there saying that X-Ray detected something that they thought was illegal and so therefore, they had to open and inspect it, but they didn't find anything illegal.  Hilarious.  But yes, some of the ketchup containers did bust open, but it's all good as it didn't leak out of the ziploc bag.  I now also have 3 skeins each of gray and dark pink yarn.  YAY!!

But the best part of it all was the cards inside the box.  I had to take them and run to the bus stop, but while I was waiting for the bus, I read Ampy's card first.  So sweet!  Thanks for the yarn, Ampy! I promise to put it to good use.  I'm sure it'll be useful for me as I study for this exam. But then onto the other card--I honestly was expecting only something from Connie, but low and behold, everybody in the office had written a note!  Seriously, I almost started crying at the bus stop...Thank you guys, and especially Connie, for this wonderful, amazing surprise.

2.  Career Fair - After our basic life support assessment yesterday at the hospital, we had to head back to campus for a Micro Prac at 3pm.  It was only noon, so the 5 of us who headed back decided to try to crash an earlier session.  As we were walking from the bus stop, Ann-Marie and I noticed signs about the UQ Career Fair that was going on.  Obviously, we knew that they wouldn't have anything in store for us there, but we decided to swing by to get some lollies and free stuff.  By 12:45pm, we'd only been around to a couple of the stalls but had gotten a ridiculous amount of lollies...so we decided that we were going to just go to our normal Micro session so that we could walk around the whole UQ Centre and explore all the booths.

After 1.5 hours of pretending that we were first year engineering students, undecided on what we wanted to specialize in (electrical, mechanical, etc), we walked away with some awesome stuff.  Highlights for me include a metal water bottle (I've been meaning to get one), a pair of flip flops, bags of jelly beans, and finally lots and lots of chocolate.  Here is a picture of everything I got:

Ann-Marie and I have decided that this is the best we've ever done at any career fair and plan on going again next year!

3. PBL fun - I belong to a very awesome PBL group. No dominant personalities, everybody's really laid back, and there's no drama.  I was worried at the beginning of the school year that I'd be stuck in a really horrible group, but after my first session, all of these worries eased.  Anyhow, this week, we switched tutors and now, we have this amazing one! It's a refreshing change.

But yes, after PBL today, Ravi organized another pizza get together at the Pizza Cafe on campus.  It was nice to just be able to hang out and know that we don't have classes for the next week.  Jade and I shared the Sophia Loren pizza (spinach, gorgonzola, and olives), and it was really good.

Thanks to everyone for making this week awesome!  And I did pass both of my assessments!  Only peer tutorial left tonight, and then it's 10 days off (study, study, study though).  Hope you all have a great rest of the week!

Cheers,
Jen

March Madness

As many of you know, I am a HUGE fan of college basketball.  March is one of my most favorite months of the year...I've followed college basketball since I was in high school and have filled out brackets since I was in college.  I'm a die-hard fan of the sport, and I love my K-states even more.  So this year, when Kansas was given the overall number 1 spot and then Kentucky also received a number 1 spot, I was ecstatic! But then KU lost last weekend, and today, UK lost.  Devastation.  My bracket is a complete bust (first time in 3 years--I've picked the winning team for the past 2 years), but I'll continue watching since it's the most awesome sport and tournament in the world!

Yesterday, I headed to Chinatown with a couple of friends.  I'd only been once previously but wasn't too impressed since it's only about a block long.  But I've been craving some chow mein for the past week since Ally had some for lunch the other day.  I've never been a huge fan of chinese food, and I very rarely eat it, but there's something about not eating chinese food for a long while that makes me crave it.  So I went grocery shopping for some soy sauce, sugar, and Hokkian noodles yesterday, and here's what I made (vegetarian chow mein since I gave up meat for Lent). 

Not too bad, huh?  It tastes just like Chinese take-out, so I'm happy with the way it turned out!  Now I have enough chow mein for the rest of the week. Whoo!

Hope you all have a great, awesome rest of the weekend! 

Elective in the UK!

So it looks like I might be doing my elective at the end of the year in London!  Obviously, I have a lot to sort out, but the most important thing I first need to do is find a doctor who's willing to take me on.  Hopefully it won't be too difficult because I've already starting planning my month in Europe! 

I've debated for a long time where I should go for this elective, and it came down to either home (San Francisco), a developing country, or London.  Home would be the easiest and most convenient.  A developing country because it's really why I got into medicine in the first place.  London because I love Europe and want to live there some day.  The UK has won out simply because I potentially have free housing there, and from what I hear, the elective will be my last hoo-rah before what I currently know as my life disappears with second year studies, USMLE prep, clerkships, internship, residency, etc. I do have to say, however, that I'm finding first year pretty difficult anyhow since I don't have any of that life sciences background.  But it's cool.  At least I'm having fun, right?

But yes, planning for Europe (again)...oh what joys!  Places I really want to go to again include Angelina's in Paris.  They have the best hot chocolate ever (thanks Connie)! I also want to go back to Rue Mouffetard and visit all of their crepe stands.  YUM.  I also need to ride the London Eye since Cax and I ran out of time in November.  And the West End!  I plan on watching all the musicals and plays that I can!  Exciting. 

Nothing much otherwise.  Just studying planned for this weekend though Darren, Jeff, and I might head to Chinatown for some grocery shopping today since I'm not going to the West End Farmer's Market.  Perhaps some chow mein?  Until next time...