Electric Blue

I ran through Central Park!! I get to check that one off the list of things to do in my lifetime :) Also had a hotdog from a corner cart ($1.5o in case you were wondering) with sauerkraut and mustard -- there was no relish! No relish on a hotdog is outrageous btw...

Left NYC with my running shoes on to head to San Jose. It's a short story but I ended up having to rent a car and then drive to Sacramento for a couple nights rest. Lucky me, Fox Rent-A-Car actually did exist and then I was upgraded from an economy car to a PT Cruiser. I woke up this morning to discover my new wheels are ELECTRIC BLUE! I guess I had no idea when I got into the car in the dark at the airport that it was that bright... I thought it was navy or a dark gray. Silly, fun things. Drive an electric blue PT Cruiser -- CHECK!

Spent a fun day with my family today: making waffles, playing in the fort, reading through the Sunday newspaper ads, going out for burgers, playing RockBand2 on the Wii, and getting some stuffesses done on the computer. It's nice to be back in California. It's crazy to be driving past my college hangouts and old friends' places with a totally new purpose. I hope that if I stay in the Bay Area for residency, that I can make new memories as well as cherish the good ones I once left behind.

Tomorrow I shall make the 2 hr drive back to San Jose for another residents' dinner and interview. It's a good feeling to get through an interview and learn as much as you can about a program. Easy to forget, we medical students must remember that we are interviewing the programs to make sure they are a good fit - and only a little bit are we on trial :p

Of note this evening: There's nothing more special than biker dudes and chicks carrying toys for tots down the freeway.

Black Friday

I would normally like to be bumping elbows and screaming at the mayhem of deal-seekers on the second best shopping holiday of the year (the first is the weekend before Christmas) but instead, I'm sitting in the glorious quiet of the New York Public Library. I needed Wi-Fi to work on my laptop and found the sanctity of the NYPL 3rd floor. The old halls are decorated with portraits of the greats: Washington, Roosevelt, a few madames; and vintage chandeliers hang from the ceiling of intricately carved ivory. I was able to complete some car rental reservations, jot on my blog, and write some postcards...

My mother asked me what I might want for Christmas this year. I cannot think of a single thing. I mean, there are the occasional pair of earrings in the window that I might admire, but I don't think I need anything that my mother could get me for the holidays this year. I think it's all of the spending money traveling that's got my panties in a bunch. I can barely pay for my travel bills and my utilities, so I decided to make gifts this year.

To my followers: How do you feel about giving &/or receiving hand-made gifts at Christmas?

It's hard to keep up with the gift-making because it does take a lot of time and you want it to be something meaningful to the receiver. I don't know if all this talk about making gifts, spending money, or the weather has given me this headache, but I must pause for some Tylenol...

It's also hard to keep up with sending postcards. I will be leaving New York tomorrow for California and I've only sent a couple 'Thank You' postcards to my interviewers. Don't worry, you will all get them - can't promise you will get them by Christmas, but I'll try.

Have a dark shopping holiday :)

file:///Users/SarahRae/Pictures/iPhoto%20Library/Modified/2006/Oct%2030,%202006/CIMG5026.JPG

macy*s day parade

It's been a fun past few days in NYC... Staying at my cousin Erin's place on the upper east side and traveling downtown on the subway and west on foot.

Surprisingly, I was offered another interview in the city - they opened up a personal interview day for me. I definitely felt that another interview made my trip more worthwhile. Wait, what am I talking about? Worthwhile? I got to hang with Megs, go on the Sex & the City tour and get closer to the fabulous ladies I dream about sometimes, I've strolled through Central Park, got to cook and eat Thanksgiving dinner with my cousins Erin and Alyssa, and check out the Macy's Day Parade balloons in real life!!

The trip has been very worthwhile. I would like to thank everyone for putting me up in hotels, their apartments, and giving me rides around the country. There have been some bumps in the road but (hopefully) it's making me a better...traveler.

I will have to figure out how to attach photos to the blog 'cause after Central Park, the Parade, and Thanksgiving dinner I've got some good ones. There were two crazy girls running around the Union Square Farmers Market, the subway, Agata & Valentina market, and the grocery store with miniature shopping carts yesterday... Oh, wait! It was my cousin, Alyssa, and myself! Trying to shop for all we needed for Thanksgiving dinner was fun but tiring by the time we finally got home. [The tiny shopping carts are because NYC is so compact, that their grocery stores are compact, and their shopping carts need to be short, too].

And how about that Parade? We watch it every year on television but for the first time in my life, I got to see the balloons up close! The weather was beautiful, 55 degrees and sunny with no wind, and there were plenty of peeps out with kids on shoulder and strollers to check out the scenes. I secretly wanted to be friends with those hanging out their windows watching it from Central Park West, but kept it to myself when I saw the kiddies sitting on the port-a-potties for a better look.

I'm getting tired from eating too many calories. Hopefully I'll get up for a run through Central Park tomorrow -- last full day in NYC...

Please, pretty please

45-49 degrees yesterday and today here in New York. Ran in the nice hotel gym - the treadmills had televisions on each one! Anyways, met up with Megs at her office (on a Sunday, yes) and tried to make it to Central Park. However, we were too busy eating and shopping!! So far we've walked down through lower east side and through midtown east.

We planned to see a cinema and wound up watching Blind Side - the movie based on the true story of the Raven's NFL linebacker, Michael Oher - in a cute New York theater. The movie was wonderful and it was a great opportunity to feel like a local instead of a tourist. There was a group of 5 elderly Jewish women that I wanted to take a picture of 'cause they were the epitomy of Jewish wealth in the city. [Read: Sex And the City's Charlotte and her Jewish synagogue matchmakers].

Reminding me of England, New York has adorable delis scattered through the city. I was surprised when we walked into what looked like a small, counter-only mart but it turned out there were two buffet-style counters of hot entrees and salads. It was like Whole Foods on a budget!

Waiting to see if Beth Israel Hospital can accommodate an interview this week. They offered it on Friday but the interview dates don't line up with my stay in New York. I guess this is how things work during residency interviews... Please, pretty please can I come and have an interview please.

Can we talk about these Target commercials with the blonde woman in red and pearls. She's hilariously preparing & training for the Target black-Friday sale and I giggle at her every time.

Found out the Rockefeller Christmas tree lighting will be on Dec 2nd after I've already left the city :( I'll go see if the tree is up at least and I can take pics. Megs doesn't have time 'cause of work, Erin's already been, and Alyssa isn't the hugest fan and needs to save money, so I'm going on the Sex And the City tour by myself sometime today or tomorrow. SUPER STOKED!

Empire State of Mind

Now I know how those ladies from Sex And the City were always in good shape... walking! Megs and I walked all over Manhattan yesterday for brunch, a little bit of shopping, & lots of sightseeing. It's neat to see the different neighborhoods of Manhattan (Gramercy, Midtown, Soho, Greenwich) and to catch the subway. There were some really great street performers too which I took video of - but lost it, see below.

There's no such thing as personal space on the subway. Everyone packs in like sardines and getting off is tricky. You gotta move fast, be pushy, and watch your step! We took pics on the subway yesterday, too, but in a frenzy at the club last night ALL the pictures that were on my camera got erased. Sad face. Tear. That's okay 'cause it was only the first couple days of New York that I think I lost... Guess I'll just have to take more pics!

Something this Hawaii girl is not used to in NY: coat checks! Because it's so cold, everyone has to wear their heavy outerwear but then have to carry them around once in the bar/club. Instead, there are coat checks :) However, I didn't want to pay the $2 to check my coat so I found a cozy place for it and went back to it at the end of the night. Neat little place called Irving Mill with a cozy atmosphere and the DJ was ooookay but drinks cost $12. Darn.

Going to take Margaret's advice and step out on Sunday in my yoga pants -- everyone else on the streets are wearing tights!! Plus, my feet hurt from walking yesterday and dancing last night so I wanna wear my running shoes... Agenda for today? Central Park and maybe a movie with Megs.

Wish you were here!!

Paying It Forward

Whew. First interview done. Every single girl there was wearing hose - so, Hawaii ladies, remember to wear your nylons! I won't say more about the program itself but the residents are awesome fun and there are some cool little towns here on Long Island.

Doctor: "Why is everyone wearing black suits today? Is there a black suit sale in town?"

Sarah: "...."

Doctor: "Is there a discount sale at the black suit rental place?"

Sarah: "...."

This was part of my interview today.

Fun Pumpkin Spice Ale served with a cinnamon sugar rim on the glass -- yummy but interesting to drink beer with a sugared rim. A wonderful applicant has offered me a ride back into JFK Airport tomorrow morning... We've realized that us applicants gotta stick together during these tough times of traveling and expense. I'll save about $70 by hitching a ride with her and am eternally grateful. I'm sure I will offer another applicant a ride when I have a car somewhere in NorCal. So here's to PAYING IT FORWARD and that other lucky applicant.

Exercise at your own risk

There are three signs in the hotel gym:

1) Where there is passion and desire, there will always be new horizons.

2) Remember your dreams and aspirations, they are the blueprint of your achievements.

3) Exercise at your own risk.

While I was reading the third one, I tripped on the treadmill (ACL knee) and had to catch myself on the handrails... No one saw. Sorry Bart and Noe (my physical therapists at Fysiotherapie on Waialae) there was no upright bike so...

HNL --> LAX --> BOS --> LGA

Smarte Cartes at the airport are genius. The trick is to wait by the rent-a-car shuttles ‘cause THAT’S where people leave their empty SmarteCartes (from now on they shall be pronounced smart-ay cart-ayz). I refused to pay the $4 for one SmarteCarte but once I had one in my possession, life at LAX was grand! I have 7 hours to kill between flights at LAX today. Sitting on the plane is never the best – and I totally got stuck in the same aisle with the tantrum-throwing-terrible-two-year-old boy. So, my SmarteCarte and I traveled from Terminal 2 to Terminal 7, checked in our luggage ($50 later for two bags) and headed to the International Terminal for some food and to kill some time.

Julie and Julia was the movie playing on the airplane-ride to Los Angeles. I have the voice commentary in my head now – since there’s no one around for me to talk to. Unlike Julie Powell, I am not a writer. However, I think I have some pretty funny things to say sometimes and would like – just as everyone does – to get these thoughts out of my head.

I realize it’s more difficult than you think to travel in the post-911 FFA era - plus all this talk about daylight savings... It’s only 5:15pm in LA but it looks like 10 o’clock with the chilling winds and dark sky. It makes me want to go home to Snuggles already.

Example #1) When to eat? I don’t think I’m hungry - they fed me a little snack on the plane – but now it’s dinner time and getting cold so I think I should eat. I’m about to hop on an overnight flight and will REALLY be screwed up on any kind of eating schedule.

Example #2) Without being able to take water on the flights anymore, you are totally screwed when it comes to hydration. Even if I grab water at one of the restaurants, I’m going to have to dump it at security before I get to my gate. What a waste. I brought my Nalgene in hopes of staving off thirst, but I have already had to dump its contents into a security trash can.

Example #3) Speaking of security: I had to remove my shoes, belt, two jackets, and scarf while taking my laptop out of my purse and placing my gallon Ziploc of fluid containers into a security bin. Talk about feeling exposed!

Anyways, there's tons more to talk about on Sarah's Great Adventure Across America day 1 but I gotta take another nap...

Ciao!