I'm officially 1/8 towards M.D. degree! I can't believe it! It was definitely a hectic semester (and by no means getting easier anytime soon), but just the fact that I got through the "Foundations" part of the curriculum, I feel a HUGE sigh of relief, and am definitely looking forwards to systems! In just a few short months, we went through pretty much all of basic biochemistry, genetics, pharmacology, pathology, immunology, microbiology, and most of gross anatomy. Whew! I think my favorites were definitely microbiology (parasites, viruses, bacteria) and gross anatomy. It's a pretty exhilarating feeling to hold a human heart or a lung in your hand (despite being dead & preserved) and be able to see the incredibly INCREDIBLY complex network of blood vessels and nerves (although for the most part, we weren't all that good at dissecting out any nerves... ) that is inside of your body, and seeing different pathologies and how the body has compensated in order to continue functioning, such as sprouting new access routes between arteries and veins, or enlarging heart wall muscles. Despite its ups and downs, through all of the amazing opportunities I've had to learn from the dedicated faculty, shadow in the ER & labor delivery, learning how to suture, etc, this semester, I'm now convinced I made the right decision to go into medicine :)
On the plus side, I now know how to check blood glucose and take blood pressure, so if I see you over the next few days, I'd be more than happy to take your blood pressure! However, I am unable to offer you any reliable medical advice regarding the number I give you :/
Now onto food reviews! I wrote a lot of these around 7am when we were roadtripping back up to Northern CA yesterday, hah
1) The Edison (Downtown LA): After our exam, a bunch of people in our class went to this bar in downtown called The Edison. The third and fourth years also had their shelf exams (the exam they take after each of their rotation), so they were there to celebrate too. The Edison is a 1920s/speakeasy themed bar, in a building that used to be a factory or a powerplant of some sort. It was actually really cool! They also have “absinthe fairies” – complete with light up wings - pushing around little carts bottles of absinthe. If I didn’t think I would die, I would definitely try it and let you know how it is. Anyways, every hour, they have these faux circus/rope acts, where they hang up a rope or triangle of some sort and have someone do acrobatic tricks on it. It's what I imagine Cirque du Soleil to be like, although one of the girls in my ICM informed me that Circque is "oh my gosh so SO much better than this". But still, it's cool - they're kind of like the male version of the go-go girl dancers at clubs. Unfortunately, it was a little crowded, and we kept getting jostled because they had to clear out space everytime for the acrobatic show, so that was kind of annoying. Also, there is no place to put down your drink after you finish it, and you have to make your way all the way back to the bar. All in all, I really liked it - everyone is well dressed, and the drinks are strong.
2) Au79 Cafe (Downtown Pasadena): As always, new boba place is a must! I checked out this place called Au79 Café in Pasadena. It’s across the street from Pasadena City College, so it’s customers are mostly the students there. I’m a little undecided about how much I like the place. On one hand, the boba is well made, and you can adjust the sugar level in your tea (1/4, 1/2, etc). However, they put all drinks in their blender, and so you end up with this large layer of foam in your cup. Nobody likes foam in their beer, so why would we like it in boba? That was -50 points. But, if you’re a student, they give you 10% off with your student ID, and during their “happy hour”, 8-10pm, all drinks are 15% off.
3) Intelligentsia (Old Town): Another café I studied at for FMS4 is Intelligentsia, which is an (artisan) coffee
shop in Old Town Pasadena. This was my favorite quote on yelp: "Brooklyn in the middle of Old Town Pasadena. New York décor, California-sized space. Exposed brick and casual hanging lights give this space a hipster cool. " The place is a little confusing, as there aren't really any signs when you walk in, but order on the right side of the bar from one of the baristas, and pay in the middle where the cash register is. If you order coffee, it can take awhile because they brew a single cup at a time by pouring hot water directly over the fresh ground coffee. All the bartenders wear vests and suspenders
and newsboy hats, which gives it kind of a vintage/hipster vibe. Also, Abed from
community frequents it a lot (!!), so if you go, I think he goes every Friday afternoon. Another sighting to add to the celebrity list, which is always a plus, so the place gets five stars from me
4) Daikokuya (Little Tokyo): One of my littles came to visit me the week after Thanksgiving, and we went to get ramen in little Tokyo. A bunch of my friends recommended this restaurant called Daikokuya, so we decided to try it out. We ended up waiting an hour and half to be seated, since the restaurant is really small - it only seats about 20-30 people. Be prepared to wait if you go, the lady on the phone said 30 minutes when I called, but boy was she off! I got the Daikokuya ramen (I think there are only 2-3 options on the menu anyways), and it WAS good, but I'm not sure if it was extra flavorful and yummy because I was so deliriously hungry after waiting for so long, or because it was actually good... However, there are also locations in other parts of LA, so I’ll probably try the one in Alhambra next time, which is supposed to have 1/2 price pitchers during happy hour and a much MUCH shorter wait time.
5) Fig & Olive (West Hollywood): I went for brunch with one of my old college roommates, who is also working in LA this year! First of all, the restaurant is beautifully decorated and arranged! I imagine the ambiance is also fantastic when it's dark out, but on a sunny Sunday morning, the high ceilings and windows make you feel like you're in a Mediterranean/Greek area, with plants and olive trees in the dining area. I borrowed some images off of google below:
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| So much olive oil! We were seated right next to it, and you can see the chefs working behind it in the kitchen! |
To start off, each table gets a bread dish with three different types of olive oils. I think we had two different dark ones from Spain, and a lighter one from the US. I think depending on the day, or maybe how the waiter is feeling, you will get different types of olive oil, hence the huge assortment on the wall in the picture above. We both ordered the South of France poached eggs with Salmon. I had kind of been craving Lox earlier in the week, so I figured anything with Salmon for brunch would be good. Although I was completely off and that it had a sauce of a totally different flavor, it was still delicious! Next time I go, I definitely want to try all the crostinis, which I think is what the restaurant is best known for. The restaurant was so well put together in terms of service, presentation, and decor, it definitely gets five stars from me as well!
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