Cat, you're the sweetest! Thanks!

Weekend recap:

Playing at Ocean Beach. Watching over Berkeley.

The Old Teahouse and clear bubbles. With Eleanor outside the Coffee Beanery.

I'm getting more excited by the day... My Seattle trip scheduled for this weekend is starting to take form. I'll get to see multiple friends including: Hannah, who I haven't seen since she was in the TAF JH program and is now starting college; Linn, my friend and not-so-little-anymore ex-TAF JR, neighbor, sister of my college roomie, who is also starting school at U.W.; Vanessa, my cool TAC buddy and fellow JR/JH program counselor years ago; Tina, TAF/TAC friend that I haven't seen in years and sister of blogger buddy Margaret; Andrew, an old college buddy that I had no idea was in Seattle; Judy, my fellow TAFer from way back who just left UCSF to be a resident physician at U.W.

So I also plan to watch the U.S. premiere of the 2nd Generation musical production of The Wedding Banquet in Seattle. And since Welly is still starring in it, I'll once again see him (for the 3rd time within the year). He'll probably think I'm stalking him or something...

The trip is shaping up nicely, and I'm so excited to be able to see all these friends! Maybe I'll discover a few more friends in the area before I actually get up there...

I feel the urge to have a bubble tea.

Rochelle's architecture firm helped to sponsor an elementary school team in a sand sculpture competition today. Their team won "Best Use of Space." What the heck is that?? That sounds just as good as winning the "Use of Best Quality Sand" or "Good Thing It Didn't Fall Apart" awards. Dang.

Eleanor, Jesse, Wei and I went to college together.

Sand humps. Doggy humps.

Eleanor is visiting from Taiwan. This weekend, I will morph into a tourist, go to lots of places, eat out often, and take many pictures. Wait... I already do all that...

In the spirit of Taiwanese culture, after the performance, our group went to hang out at a new bubble tea cafe on campus. The place had comfy and spacious seating surrounded by large flat screen TVs in every direction. Apparently, they play Asian pop videos all day and serve good bubble tea too. I have found a new love. I will be visiting her often.

It should be a good day today. I'll be watching the Taiwanese U Theatre Drummers perform at Berkeley this evening with some TACL people. I'm not sure what a U Drummer is, but as long as it's loud and thunderous, without the harsh clang of cymbals, I think I'll be OK. Happy Friday.

Mmmm... bubble tea and popcorn chicken...

This is my second night in a row at Berkeley Espresso. Laura is studying, and I'm working on my presentation. Like yesterday, the coffee is cold. I feel like I'm in college again.

I'm at a cafe trying to get some work done tonight. My progress is slow, and my coffee is getting cold. I need a swift kick in the butt.

There are so few men in our Pediatrics Residency program that we actually have to plan for a "Boys' Night Out." At first, it was called the "Men's Grill," but we couldn't figure out a convenient place with a grill, nor did anyone suggest purchasing steaks or other meats. Then, we couldn't find one of those sports / video game clubs that wouldn't be too crowded for Monday Night football. So now we are resorting to a local pizza place where we will sit around, drink soda, and hopefully not talk about kids and knitting. We are men. All 12 of us among 78.

The Moment. The Mood.

The Muscles. The Masculinity. The Men.

I'm sitting at the Borders Cafe in downtown Palo Alto and riding the wireless internet waves from the Apple Store across the street. Life is good when things are free.

I go where my laptop goes.
Not the other way around.

I met up with Margaret and Perry today, and we walked through the Farmer's Market in Menlo Park before meeting up with her friends, Joyce and Joan, for lunch. Aside from Margaret, they all happen to be doctors as well... as opposed to yesterday at dinner, where the theme of the evening was professor talk among Cammy, Andy, and Margaret. I had no idea what they were talking about.

Another interesting connection was discovered today: One of Joyce, Joan, and Margaret's very good friends, Nina, is also someone I know. I met her at one of the Texas Taiwanese American conferences a long time ago, and we used to keep in touch during those good ol' high school days. Joan and Margaret went to Harvard with Nina, and Joyce knew her in Houston. And because of the Houston connection, I know that Cammy knows Nina. Small world. Who needs Friendster?

I hope to get in touch with Nina again soon. That would be very cool. We could reminisce about the 80's. Awesome and totally rad.

It's a beautifully lazy Sunday. I've been lounging. It's time to get up and outta here.

My forearms hurt like hell. I can't even turn a doorknob or flush a toilet.

I have the most scrumptious leftover brownies in my possession. I will not share.

I now own the 10-in-1 Atari joystick game console. Asteroids and Missile Command make me happy. Pong aggravates me when it goes too fast. Curse the creator.

I'm headed out to Palo Alto for the rest of the day. I hope I can drive straight.

Potluck dinner with the brother and cousins is planned for 7 pm. I will simply pick up something from a restaurant as my contribution. The forearm pain is a good excuse for not cooking something. In reality, I am lazy.

I think you'll be OK. I know it. Hang in there.

My arms are gonna fall off. Damn. I went rock climbing with Jesse and his friend Brian, and it was quite a workout. Interestingly, Brian thought he had met me somewhere before. It turns out that he was at TAF back in the late 80's when both Jesse and I were there. Brian was originally from Kansas, so I'm sure there are some other small degrees of separation between him and the current KC TAFers. What an evening of strange coincidences. Anyways, I need a serious massage. Damn.

Jesse and Brian in action.

Here I am climbing, and a nice visual of my butt.

I didn't realize that a natural disaster could be so entertaining. Check out Rolla, Frantz, and the kids enjoying hurricane weather on the east coast. The kids are looking as cute as ever.

I should feel guilty. But I don't. I gave myself a 5-minute time-out. And now I've forgiven myself.

I've been eating out quite a bit lately. I tell myself it's because I only have crackers and cheese at home. However, it could very well be that I get to hang out with lots of attractive women. I consider that one of the perks of being in a predominantly female Pediatrics program. I'm a lucky guy. Except when the women start ranting and complaining about guys and occasional male stupidity... which may be every day. And then all I can do is grin and bear it. Hmm. Anyways, off to dinner with Cherie and Sylvia...

Yay! What a fun evening! Thanks to Anny, we got to watch the preview of the Cuba Gooding Jr and Beyonce movie on campus. Tammy, Venny, and June were impressed with the VIP treatment as we walked past the huge line of students and Anny greeted us at the door... Anny is so connected...

I was rejected from my civic duties. I'm not sure how I should take that. *Sniffle*

Oh well, at least I got to have lunch with Kasumi since I was downtown. Plus, it's a good day to play outside here at Lake Merritt and chat with buddies online.

The adventures of Dr. Ho Chie takes you LIVE to the Superior Court of California... where he awaits the conclusion of the jury selection process. Will he or will he not be selected as one of 12 jurors for a month-long trial, the details of which cannot be disclosed? Will it be determined that he is a biased juror given the nature of the case and the type of work he does? Only the judge knows for sure. Stay tuned... as "court recess" comes to a close and the final decision is made...

I have jury duty today. If chosen from the pool of candidates, I think I may be the only juror who might doze off due to fatigue. I don't know how any sane judge could expect someone to think clearly after 24+ hours of being on call in the hospital. I can picture the scene in the courtroom. After being aroused from my slumber, my only answer would be,"Guilty as charged!" Later on, after catching up on much needed sleep, I would ask myself, "What was the case about?"

I have an hour break before my call starts. I am spending that hour at Cafe Strada and prophylaxing myself with a mint mocha to preserve my sanity for the night.

Happy Birthday Sherry and Alex!

I wish I could give my heart to those friends whose hearts are hurting tonight. I wish I could make it all better, make it all go away just like that. Life just doesn't feel fair sometimes.

Armen and I joined Myra, Marlene, Sadie and Tammy for dim sum in Oakland Chinatown this morning. They were post-call and a little tired, but it was still a good time. Afterwards, Armen and I went to the Solano Stroll, a yearly mile-long street fair in nearby Albany / North Berkeley. Just a reminder for next time, if you walk a mile one way, at some point, you gotta turn around and walk back. I'm aching now.

So, apparently, I crossed paths with Margaret in California earlier this year, but not really. She was a speaker at the NATWA conference this past spring. While Karen and I were hanging out and watching Welly's performance that evening, Margaret was elsewhere in the hotel preparing her conference presentation. The little coincidences are mind-boggling.

OK, off to dinner with Lara and John.

Lunch with Margaret today. Surprise birthday party for Lara tonight. Plus, it's a beautifully sunny day today. I'm loving it.

I'm on call in the intensive care nursery with Sayali. She's been great to hang out with this past month. We sit around half the time hoping for a quiet evening. As you can see, I was working hard last night...

Happy Birthday to my bud Staci. Happy Birthday to my good friends Jen and Phil. Happy Sweet 16th to my dear Karena!

Overheard in the hospital cafeteria the other day:

A Chinese kitchen staff person was conversing rather loudly with another Chinese co-worker in Mandarin. Suddenly a Mexican co-worker exclaimed across the room, "Speak in Spanish for goodness' sake! You're living in California! Man!"

I was very amused.

Betsy and I took our little sibs, Tammy and Thomas out to dinner at Le Cheval this evening. Yummy Vietnamese cuisine. It was cash-only, so I now have $2 left in my wallet. No wait, $1... since I just bought a cup of coffee. I'm starting to like this cafe that I'm at right now, Berkeley Espresso... primarily for their free wireless internet access. I am spoiled. And today, I am extra poor. Man, $1. That just sucks.

Happy Birthday Marge. You come from good stock. Excellent jeans. I mean, genes.

Coincidentally, Jesse, Larry, Janey, Wei, and Tony were meeting up at a pool hall nearby, so I joined them for awhile. Wei has got some cool techy toys too. Here's a pic of me and Jesse from his Sidekick, which he took and sent to me immediately on the spot. Fun!

There are some people in your life who you bump into constantly because of similar interests, organizations, career, etc. Today, I met someone new who I wonder why I haven't bumped into before. Tom & Cassie's friend, Margaret, who they know from SOTA - Michigan is out here on sabbatical for a semester. So, we met up for dinner, and apparently she's related to Amy and Ted somehow. She knows Loui, Celia's sister, and probably Tim and Rolla. She's at the University of Michigan, so she probably has crossed paths with other TAFers I'm sure. She has been involved with several Taiwanese American / Canadian organizations and spoken at many more, including the TAF Youth program a couple of years ago. She was involved with TACL and TAYL here in NorCal back in the mid-90's. I feel like this is someone who I should've met a long time ago... I'm amused by the idea that our paths are crossing out here in California.

I hung out with Ivy most of the evening. We attended the TACL meeting downtown at Enoch's office and discovered that he has a nice view of San Francisco from the office conference room. Afterwards, we went grocery shopping, and I could not resist the temptation to buy lots of good cheeses. So Ivy and I enjoyed a nice late night European-themed dinner of various cheeses on baguette and crackers. Oui, c'etait tres bien.

Welcome to the law offices of Ivy and Ivy.

"Salut! Bon appetit!"

Yesterday, I emailed Dongning, who I used to work with in my bioengineering lab over five years ago, and she replied with a super nice email. It brought a big smile to my face! And that's pretty hard to do when I'm post-call after 30 hours on the job...

"It is great fun to read your blog page with all the gorgeous funny pictures. I once looked at myself as a big fan of you. So you can imagine how good it feels to get an email from one of my idols."

Awww. Thanks Dongning! I feel like a movie star!!

*YAWN* followed by *BLANK STARE*

Between October 4-7, I plan on drinking lots of coffee and enjoying the view from the Space Needle.

College life at Duke for Anna after one week.

I have this terrible habit of watching a second movie at the theatres... if you know what I mean. Whale Rider was an excellent film. I couldn't hold back the tears.

Carol asked me to host a pic for her, so I thought I'd post it on my page, too. Here she is with her new college roomies! And here I am with some of my fellow residents and friends at Sabina, an Indian restaurant in Oakland. Taj Mahal Beer. Cheers! I'm sure Carol is drinking grape juice with her friends, though...

Carol and friends. Cheers!

Ho Chie and friends. Cheers!

Seth Yen-Ui Chng, child of Tim & Val, greets the world with a look of awe. "Note the proper arm/chest support and excellent neck tone and head control. I bet he can roll around well and sit up fairly decently. He is advanced at six months of age. Good genes." says Dr. Ho Chie.

I just felt my first earthquake here in Berkeley a few minutes ago. As I sat here at my favorite cafe, a big jolt shook the entire building, and people scrambled up and about pretty fast. Except me. I didn't know any better. I just thought a bus had hit the other side of the cafe. Scary. Maybe next time, I should head out into the open away from large structures like other people do. I guess I have no survival reflexes or something.

On a brighter note, I just had dinner with Cat, my new Berkeley buddy from one of the camps last month. She's cool. I'm convinced of that now. She lives near my favorite cafe.

It seems I have a few free weekends coming up. Maybe I'll visit Seattle... or Michigan, or New York, or Houston... I dunno. I can't decide. Or maybe I should go camping or something... I miss sleeping in the outdoors.

Oh. On a side note, I'm looking for somewhere to go between October 4 - 7 (Saturday through Tuesday). I need another vacation!! Any ideas? Any hosts?

Currently chillin' at some cafe near Stanford... I'm spoiled by my wireless connection through my laptop / cellphone combo. Anyways, I'm just waiting to meet up with my brother Gary who just moved into town and is staying with my cousin Cammy.

Let it be known that Ho Chie can still cook like he used to...

I am post-call, and I am sleepy... I will resist my fatigue so I can hang out with some of the interns at a BBQ this afternoon. And later, I'm expecting the Nguyens over for dinner at my place... But I have no food in my fridge... Panic.