My first post in over a year will be on gardening.  I know it's past the end of the summer gardening season, but I've had lots of family and friends ask how we made our garden.  

Here is a before and after photo: 

The process was a relatively long one, taking up several weekends. Some of the steps were done simultaneously and not necessarily in the order below (i.e. we built boxes and dug up sprinklers pretty much simultaneously, since digging up old sprinkler systems and putting in a new one was rather labor intensive). 

First, we mapped out what we had. When we started following where each of the old sprinkler pipes went and we ended up with this: 

After pulling out all the old pipes, we put in new pipes and system, which looks like this: 

In the pictures above, you can see that we did an "H" formation for our sprinkler pipes.  One main pipe going in between the 4 boxes with an outlet at each box.  We also added two outlets on the outside of two of the boxes, to allow watering of the ground outside the boxes, where we would eventually plant squash, melons, and corn. 

Simultaneous with digging up sprinklers, my handy hubby built the boxes. 

 

All the wood lined up, ready to be assembled. In short, we used this tutorial, with some minimal tweaking. 

We used redwood deck planks, costing about 60 cents per linear foot. 

 

 Assembly line of all the planks.  The longer ones are 8 feet.  The shorter edges are 4 feet. The planks are 6 inches tall (to make boxes that are 8x4x1).

My feet, stabilizing the post for my handy hubby to drill each plank into. 

This box is upside down.

The 4 boxes, lined up and in position.  The posts go into the ground about 12". This may be a bit excessive as the position of the boxes is pretty set once you have soil in them.  

The boxes are 4' x 8'. They are approximately 30" apart from each other. 

Things to keep in mind: 

• Level the boxes before putting soil in them. 
• Make sure that your boxes are equidistant from each other.  You don't want a wonky grid of boxes. 
• Make sure you have enough room on each side of the boxes to navigate wheelbarrows, tools, lawn mower, etc.  We mapped out the locations of each of the boxes on a paper sketch before deciding how many boxes and the final layout. 

Next step is then to fill the boxes w/ soil. We chose to get planting soil delivered to us (which meant dropped on our driveway). The other pile is mulch, to surround the boxes. 

This step took a full day of wheelbarrow-ing. Be prepared and plan your delivery date accordingly. 

Lastly, you pick your vegetables and plant away! 

 Picture of some small plants in the boxes. In this picture, automatic drip system has not been hooked up yet.

This picture shows the box containing peppers (bottom right in the picture above), after a few weeks and with the watering system attached.  We used a drip system with an emitter at each plant. Tomatoes and peppers got more water (higher flow emitters) and other plants were lower. We also used 360 degree emitters on spikes for our lettuce bed. 

After a few months, watch how they grow. 

 Then, be ready to harvest.  We were so successful, we had to give away a lot of stuff.
Among the things we planted our first year (2013):

• Tomatoes (6 plants)
• Snow peas
• Cucumbers
• Watermelon
• Cantaloupe
• Eggplant
• Bell peppers
• Habanero peppers
• Variety of herbs (about 8 types of Vietnamese herbs + traditional herbs of basil, oregano, thyme, sage)
• Eggplant
• Lettuce (3-4 varieties)
• Strawberries (unsuccessfully - they don't like the extreme heat of Sacramento)
• Zucchini

Things we planted our second year (in addition to above)

• Corn (3 varieties - unsuccessfully) 
• Thai chiles
• Delicata squash

Long time, no see

It's been almost 3 years since I have updated this blog. To put it briefly, lots has happened. Here's a quick rundown of interim events:

• I finished residency!
  
  I am now an attending - oh wait, no I'm not. Since residency was so much fun, I decided to do a fellowship. I'm now a maternal fetal medicine fellow at UC___. Another 3 years of fun!  It's definitely not as bad as residency, but definitely tons of work too. Overall, a good experience. 
• I got engaged!
  
  Yes, I found The One. And he's awesome. We are getting married in exactly one month. Let me tell ya, I am very excited for the wedding and to be married. However, the road to a wedding is a tough one and I don't ever want to plan another event. 
• We bought a house! Wow, I feel like a grown up now. The best thing about the house is transforming our backyard from a plot of dirt to a wonderful garden full of herbs, tomatoes, beans, watermelon, strawberries, peppers, squash, and many more things to come. Maybe I'll write a post later on our DIY adventure in that, but til then, here are before/after pics.
     
• I became an aunt! She's adorable, though at times a little monster. But it's hard to hold a grudge.
  

All in all, a good 3 years. Here's to more greatness to come. And to hoping that I keep up this blog... if anyone is still reading it. 

Love and hate

As many of you may (or may not) know, I have been on a series of first
dates in the last two years. Lots of them. Good and bad
(unfortunately more that have been spectacularly bad rather than good).
Today, I was talking to a friend of mine, talking about dating and how
I don't know how I feel about someone I went out with. She asks, "Do
you like him or do you just not hate him?". And to tell you the truth,
I couldn't answer the question.
Looking back on some people I have dated or gone out on dates with,
perhaps I actually didn't like the person (in the sense that I get
thoroughly excited at the prospect of them calling), but rather I
didn't hate them. That just sounds terrible, I know.
What is the reason I sometimes cannot tell how I feel about someone?
Is this normal? Do I sell myslf short by just going out with people I
don't hate instead of waiting and finding someone I genuinely like?
These are questions that I ask myself a lot (I think to myself a lot).
Just thought I would put it out there as food for thought because I
have genuis friends who can cut through niceties and ask though
provoking questions like that at 11 pm when I am post call and throw
me in a tizzy.

Just overheard

Boy: "When I went to India..."
Girl: "I have always wanted to go to India. Did you go to the hotel in
Dubai?"

Someone needs to a good world map.

Drug-food interactions

Is it bad to wash down some Aleve with a swig of beer?  It just seems wrong.  Oh well.

Somewhere out there

For those of you who know me and my habits, you'll know that I love This American Life. Now, this is an old episode, but I was thinking about it a lot in the last few months.  I actually heard this episode last year, but it struck a cord this year, mostly because one of my friends from med school said to me, "Yen, you should listen to last week's episode of This American Life.  I think you'd relate to it."  Now, this is a med school friend that I called to say congratulations on getting engaged and finding that someone out there for you. 

So, alas, I listen to the episode and then start feeling really depressed. 

Basically, here's how it (the first story) goes.  A group of PhD students in Boston, who are girlfriend-less, start thinking about their odds of finding the one.  They start out with the population of Boston and start whittling down the possibilities.  Has to be female.  Has to be between __ and __ years old.  Has a college degree.  And it goes on.  End they end up with very sad odds of finding a girlfriend.  That's not even taking into consideration looks, chemistry, whether they like to wear high heels or sneakers.  But that's not the sad part.  The sad part is when they do the same exercise for one of their professors, a single woman with a PhD... and her odds are nil. 

Seriously, I'm starting to feel like that. That's why I have given up, for the time being.  Don't worry, faithful reader(s).  That doesn't mean I won't have stories (I have a few from the last few months that I've been itching to share). 

Spring has sprung

And the bunches of ranunculus that I bought at the farmer's market make me happier just by being there. 

I am back.  My prolonged absence can be blamed on the hell that is known as second year of residency (I was forewarned by a former chief).  Lots to talk about and hopefully I will be able to post more regularly soon.

Tiny updates:

• Gardening again.  My lemon tree has little lemons, which taste like lemons dipped in sugar.  Yum.  I planted seeds for cilantro, thyme, basil, chives, oregano, cucumbers, sugar snap peas, and zinnia.  The herbs are slow going, but the peas are going like gangbusters. The zinnia, I'm especially excited about to have cut flowers during the summer.
  
• Still dating, but about to give it up and become a nun.  I think I might have better luck finding God than finding a good man. 
  
• I'm still a resident, for better or for worse.  Almost halfway done.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but that tunnel sure is long and dark and that light is really dim.
  
• Made a few new crafts and tried my hand at making a mobile, which turned out really well. 
  
• Took a trip to Hawaii and planning another one to DC.
  
• Healthcare reform passed. Impressive on one hand, not so much on the other hand. 

That's it for now, I suppose.  More later.

I love PBS

Since I depend on an antenna for my television channels (I know, I know, I live in the Stone Age), I have come to love PBS.  I love the Saturday morning cooking shows for hours on end.  I love the Saturday night cinema with classic movies.  I love that I'm watching a documentary on cuttlefish on NOVA and am completely fascinated.  Enthralled. 

No, I'm not sitting at home on a Saturday night just watching public television.... I'm not that sad (yet).  I'm just waiting until the "appropriately late" time to arrive at a bar to get drinks with a friend.

Wanted: recipe

I had brunch at Elite Cafe in San Francisco's Fillmore district over the weekend and I nearly died and went to heaven after tasting the meetinghouse biscuits.

Now, I must have that recipe.  I need it. 

best quote ever

Over a pre-Thanksgiving dinner:

Aunt
Joey, do you know what cousin Yen does for her job?  She delivers babies.

Joey (9 years old)
[looks a little puzzled, cocks his head to the side]
In a box?

Yen
[looks a little puzzled, cocks her head to the side, and bursts out laughing]
Yeah, just like the mailman.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Strange maladies

So, breaking out in hives several times a week for several months now has not been fun.  Let me rephrase that.  It's been hell.  I finally gave in and made an appointment with an allergist, which was both helpful and not. 

The allergist, who was very nice, and her nurse, who was just as nice, both kindly explained to me that I was there to answer a bunch of questions and have some (as in ten tubes full) blood work, and, in the end, they may never find out why I am breaking out in hives and that I will still need my antihistamines.

I guess I should know by now that medicine is not the cure all that everyone thinks it should be.  But I have to admit that I hope that after ten tubes of blood testing for everything from kidney disease to lupus to thyroid dysfunction to allergies to everything from nuts to latex to plums and everything in between, that they would find something.  So far, all they've found is that I'm deficient in Vitamin D.  I could have told you that... no milk + no sun = Vitamin D deficiency.  Duh.  Somehow, I don't think that Vitamin D deficiency --> hives.... unless I slept through that lecture in medical school (which is a good possibility).

Oh well, until the day I can be off of Atarax or Benadryl, I will take my Vitamin D supplements.

Late night projects

Why is it that I decide to reface a clock at midnight?!  And that explains why I'm still up an hour and a half later and why I am so grumpy in the mornings. At least I don't have work tomorrow.  Yay!

Hmm...

I saw pictures of my a cruise trip my aunt and uncle took and my 5 year-old cousin is wearing a surgical mask in all his pictures because he was afraid of catching the flu.  At first, I thought it was hilarious.  After further thought, I think he may be onto something.

Catching up on sleep

So you know, I don't get much sleep.  I was really good my intern year, where I went to bed religiously at around 9, sometimes 10, so that I could at least get 7 hours of sleep.  Now, I'm lucky if I get 7 and it's more like 6 hours.  Granted, I feel like I'm doing well, but it's always bad news when someone tells you that you can't really catch up on sleep.  I mean, am I destined to be cognitively slower for the next 2 years and 8 months AND for however long it takes me to recover from being sleep deprived.  I mean, really, who can "bank" 10 hours of sleep a night? 

This is my favorite quote from the article:
"The scientists found that the "recovery" sleep did not fully reverse declines in performance on a test of reaction times and other psychomotor tasks, especially for subjects who had been forced to sleep only three or five hours a night."

What does that say when you sleep zero hours a night, like last night?

Contagion

I got my H1N1 vaccine last week... really, I was secretly hoping that I would get H1N1 before I got the vaccine because it would mean a mandatory time off until I was asymptomatic.  And yes, residency is bad enough that I would rather have the flu than come into work.  I have dreams of being forced to stay at home and sleep. 

Calling home

Today, I went to the farmer's market and was so excited to be enjoying the beautiful weather and to get there early enough to get some beautiful orchids (albeit, I was post-call, but that's another issue altogether).  However, in the excitement of picking through broccoli rabe or no name pluots, I somehow lost my phone. For a moment, I was delighted because it meant that I could finally get a new phone... then it hit me that I would somehow need to get everyone's phone number again.  EVERYONE'S PHONE NUMBER.  The anxiety hit me and I walked around the farmer's market, asking the vendors from which I had bought produce if they saw a phone.  No luck. 

Long story short, a woman found it and when my friend called my phone for me, she answered and said she would leave it at Starbucks.  I am now reunited with my phone. And delighted. But I will still get a new phone. 

Oatmeal cookies

I love oatmeal cookies.  Love.  I don't even like cookies very much, but I love oatmeal cookies.  Leave it to me to have a favorite cookie that is made of oatmeal, I mean, how old and boring can I get before I reach 30? 

So, I finally gave in and bought oatmeal to make oatmeal cookies (I have never bought oatmeal before - I love oatmeal cookies, but loathe actual oatmeal) and a free issue of Cooks Illustrated came with the recipe for the perfect oatmeal cookies. 

A side note on Cooks Illustrated and America's Test Kitchen.  I'm in love with them.  Love.  If anyone out there wants to get me a birthday, Christmas, or everyday gift, get me a subscription to that magazine.  It's the perfect thing to satisfy the nerd and cook in me.  They test and retest all their recipes until they find the "perfect" whatever-it-may-be. 

Needless to say, I was excited to try their oatmeal cookie recipe.  Alas, I did make some changes to it (they called for lots more chocolate chips than I would like and I omitted the nuts since I thought two additions to my beloved oatmeal cookies would be enough).

Here's the recipe:

Perfect Oatmeal Cookies
(adapted from Cooks Illustrated)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats (I used baby oats, if you can find them)
• 1 cup dried cranberries (their recipe called for sour cherries)
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet or bittersweet (depending on whether you like sweet or not) chocolate chunks (or chips)
• 1 1/2 sticks butter, softened but not soft
• 1 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
   
3. In another medium bowl, mix oats, cranberries, and chocolate
4. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until combined, about a minute.
   
5. Add egg and vanilla, beat on medium-low until combined.
   
6. Add flour mixture a little at a time, mix until combined at low speed.
   
7. Gradually add oat/cranberry/chocolate mixture until incorporated.
   
8. Use a spatula to make sure all flour is incorporated.  Be careful, the mixture will be thick, so use a sturdy spatula (I broke mine in the process of making these cookies).
   
9. Roll the flour into 2 inch balls, press into 1inch thick and place onto cookie sheet. 
   
10. Bake for 12 minutes, then rotate pan front to back to ensure even cooking.  Bake for another 8-10 minutes.
    
11. Cookies are done when the edges are brown and the middle is soft.  They will look undercooked.  Take them out now.  Otherwise, you end up with hard, inedible cookies and no one likes that. 
    

Enjoy!

Birdies

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am obsessed with birds.  Not the actual animal (I actually can't stand birds as pets), but more bird motifs.  My daily bag has birds on it. . My daily necklace has a bird.  There are little birds all over my apartment.  But no real birds allowed.  Alas, no one told that to the bird that decided to pay my apartment a visit and leave its mark on my scrabble box.  I have no idea how long this bird has been in my apartment, all I know is that I just noticed it (and it's possible that it's been there for at least a few hours). 

After screaming little "eeks!" to myself, I gently guided the bird to the door (not without it hitting the mirrored closet doors once or twice, though). 

argh!

So, my neighbor is oh so wonderful and plays World of Warcraft on his computer day and night. I could care less about what my neighbor does in his free time (which apparently is any time of day). However, what I care about deeply is my sleep. And my sleep gets interrupted and delayed because of sounds of grenades and tanks and guns. Ah, yes, the exact sounds I want to hear when I fall asleep.

Being the nice person that I am, I go and knock on his door, thinking I'm going to nicely tell him to keep it down after a certain time at night, you know, like around 10pm - you know, cause I have to be at work at 6am. As I'm standing in the cold night, shivering my ass off in my pajamas, he answers the door, with not a hello, but "If you have a problem, just call the *bleeping* cops" and proceeds to shut it on me.

Now, I'm afraid that I will have to deal with the noise even louder, just to spite me. And he's kind of shocked me into anger, which I don't like feeling.

Alas, this is why I'm looking into buying a house (if I can come down with the down payment). No pesky neighbors playing computer games because they don't have a life.

Forgive me, I just had to vent.

Stressin'

Second year of residency is definitely tougher than first year.  People ask you questions and you're expected to know the answer.  People ask you to do things and you're expected to know how to do it. 

The trade-off is that yeah, I get to do a lot of stuff, which, for the most part, is fun.  (Yeah, I realize that sentence has an overwhelming number of commas.)

However, that trade-off is that when you do a lot of stuff, some stuff is bound to go wrong.  And that's the stressful part.

Now I'm scared to do another c-section.  I'm sure I will get over this.  But either way, it's not a great feeling, to go from doing something that you love so much to being afraid of it.  I understand that this is all a part of the training process, learning to deal with complications and surgeries that don't go as planned, but nonetheless, it adds piles upon piles of stress. 

I just had to get that off my chest.  It's been a tough going, but it will pass soon, I suppose.