My brothers and cousin Cammy came over today. We had dim sum in Oakland Chinatown, and then we went to watch Love Actually. Excellent movie. I want to be in love now. Anyways, here are a few snapshots of my newly redesigned apartment...

Dining and living room areas.

My classy wet bar and bold red/blacks.

My hallway art gallery featuring my photography.

Gary, Cammy, me, and Ho Chia.

Still awake... and enjoying my morning coffee and croissant as the sun rises...

I'm on call today. But it's the kind of call duty where I sit around at home waiting to see if I get paged and summoned in to transport sick kids to/from hospitals. I must say, I really don't like this type of call. I feel like an animal on an electric leash. I can't go too far away, and if I do, I may get buzzed...

And this morning, I'm magically back in the Bay area...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Run, Turkeys, RUN! It's a trick!

Mom's view of Laguna Beach.

Lookout at Laguna Beach.

Sunset at Hungtington Beach.

Mimi and Margaret. Alice and Alanna.

Rick and Nina.

Dinner at a Japanese Sake House.

Margaret and I are camping out at my mom's friend's condo in Huntington Beach. Apparently, this place is their vacation home, fully furnished, and hardly occupied. I'm in awe of their three flat panel TVs. I really need one of these. May I borrow one? Maybe the one that still has the original stickers on the front?

I have the next three days off, so I'm going to LA for a few days. It's a pre-Thanksgiving vacation for myself. On the five hour ride down, I will alert the turkey populace along the way. "The basters and carvers are coming! Assemble the flock. Attack those damn basters only when you see the whites of their eyes!"

I seriously need to get DSL access at home again. I have the itch. And it's really bad.

Headache. Working hard all day. Missed dinner. Working tomorrow too. (Frown)

Anny is the closest thing I have to a suga momma. A few guests and I get VIP treatment to watch Whale Rider in Berkeley this evening. I believe Tammy, June, Kathy, and Sadie will join me for the movie. I like Anny. She's cool.

Afterwards, I'll hopefully join Cherie, Cindy, and others for their little birthday celebration at some club downtown. I like Cherie and Cindy too. They're so chill.

I need to find some guy friends.

So, yesterday, I went to this Happy Hour event hosted by TACL, and who do I see there? Jean from Chicago, who also went to U of I with me. How funny. And then I found out that Victoria lived in Houston, and my aunt was her Chinese teacher at Bellaire High School. There's a good chance I may have met her in way back then too...

This world is too small. Two degrees of separation for Taiwanese people as Enoch put it. Anyways, off to dinner with Tammy and the gang...

My apartment and hallway art gallery is starting to take shape. Accent lighting, bold colors, and foliage make all the difference. I'm feeling both urban hipster-ish and fully domesticated at the same time.

I really need a new TV and a cable subscription. I'm tired of watching either the WB or the fuzzy Spanish language station...

Mmmm... I'm sitting at Cafe Strada and telling myself how much I deserve this pumpkin cheesecake and egg nog after such a long night in the ER...

Furniture upholsterer by day. Emergency Room pediatrician by night.

It doesn't feel like the weekend since I've been working these overnight shifts. After I got home this morning, I slept 3 hours, and then I went to join Venny, Li, Kyra, Sadie, and Kristen for dim sum this morning. I also made it to most of the TAYL meeting at John's this afternoon. However, now I think I need to sleep some more before heading out to work again. My body is so tired, it doesn't know when or how to sleep anymore...

(/Grumble) I'm having trouble adjusting to this overnight work schedule. (/Grumble)

I hung out with Margaret yesterday during the day and then Ivy in the evening. I encouraged them to help me with manual labor around my apartment. Slowly but surely, the new interior re-design of my place is starting to take shape. It's so hip, that it looks like I was on an episode of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

My fellow residents have been so incredibly supportive this past week. I must say, I work with an amazing group of people. I will just smile and go about my work as best I can.

I'm back at home now. But, just when I thought I would return to some sort of normalcy, I end up straining my back from building furniture by myself. To top it all off, I find out that my car battery has also died. It's gonna be a rough week. I can feel it.

Thanks to Anny and her roomie for helping to save the day.

In loving memory.

Thank you, friends, for expressing your concern and sending your condolences. It is in moments like these when I am reminded of the strength in our network of families and friends.

The past few days have been so emotionally consuming and so surreal. I have asked myself if this is something I should write about in such a public space. And, although I first hesitated, I have decided that I need to, in order to pay tribute to him, share my feelings, and give closure to this episode.

But, how do I write about something that should never have happened? He was young and strong. He was kind with the gentlest of hearts. He had a beautiful family who he loved so much. And he had the brightest future ahead of him.

My dear cousin, Jeff, was hit by a bus earlier this week while walking across an intersection. As a result of the head injury sustained in the accident, he passed away soon thereafter. He may not have known what hit him, and we believe he did not suffer.

But, the world suffers because there is one less person out there that exemplifies human kindness and compassion. He was the kind of person the world needed more of - one that would never hurt a soul. He was respected and loved by the many people that knew him. And that is why this is so unfair.

I am doing OK. I am. My soul cries for his. And my thoughts are consumed over the well-being of his wife and two children, with a third child on the way. They are so beautiful, yet their lives will now be changed forever. My thoughts are also with his brother, sister and their parents. Their family was so close to ours. We had spent so many memorable summers together... on camping or family trips, at our home or theirs, at TAF... Those were undoubtedly some of the best times of my life.

Jeff, you were more than a cousin to me. You were my friend, a brother, and someone I regarded as a role model. I miss you, and I love you. It hurts so deeply to know you are physically gone. But, the memories we made and my respect will never fade.

I promise.

I'm not sure what I'm feeling. Shock. Disbelief. Sadness. Even as a doctor who is surrounded by tragedy everyday, when something like this happens in your own family, how can one not feel helpless and weak? I sense the strength and composure in other family members right now, and that is reassuring. We have a difficult period ahead of us, and I am currently out of town to be with the family during this crisis. That is the least I can do. But I do feel helpless right now. So many thoughts and memories racing...

My blog will be silent for a short period. Take care everyone.

(Sniffle) I'm sick. I'm at work. This sucks. (Sniffle)

I had a super fantabulous day today even though I'm broker than broke.

This morning, Armen and Mike helped me transport lots of new furniture purchases back to the apartment. I'm happy to say that it is slowly taking on a look more reflective of my taste.

Then in the afternoon, I attempted to make it down to Saratoga to catch Margaret's talk on "Growing Up Taiwanese American," but I was late and missed the whole thing. Even so, I had a fun time afterwards while hanging out with our group of Taiwanese American at Verde, a bubble tea cafe in Mountain View. I haven't laughed so much for quite awhile.

I should have brought my camera, but for once, I forgot. Well, if I did, the group photo would include: Margaret, Joan, Ken, Janice, Perry, Charlene, Sandra, Andrew, Dennis, Stephen, and me. Good people. Good times.

I need to spend lots of money that I don't have.