Vacation is for...

.... spending time with old friends

Laura and Tony (great friends from college days at Richmond), Abbie (their newest addition -- almost 11 months!), and Laura's parents were out in California visiting family and took the time to drive to Sac to visit for the day on Saturday! I am so happy to have gotten a chance to see them (they came out to visit me in the spring of intern year) and meet (for the first time) Abigail, who was born on Mother's Day last year.

We started the day at the Davis Farmers' Market and then made our way to the UC Davis Arboretum (which I hadn't yet visited) to wander through the groves and have a picnic lunch. Since L and T had visited Sac in 2008 and seen most of the downtown area and Old Town (amidst my hectic intern schedule), we just came back to my place and had yummy desserts from Rick's Dessert Diner (legendary... if you come to Sac, make me take you there!) before they had to head back to the coast. Although a short visit, it was great to catch up! I think that, next time, it is my turn to visit them out in NC.

Some pics from the day (some are stolen from Laura)...

Picnic lunch (Abbie looks quite angry although she really wasn't; I think it is just squinting)


Girl time


Fending off the ducks


Smiles while picking out cake at the Dessert Diner



Comfy in my snuggie -- it's still been cold in CA!!

I am excited to see other friends-- David/Lesley, Kristen/Brandon, Hans/Rachel/Kaia, the Rays, and more (hopefully!) when I head to Rochester later in the week, and then Natasha, Nikola, and their baby at the end of this midwest trip.

...visiting relatives

Early Easter Sunday morning, I flew from Sac to MN to visit my Grandma up in Crookston. The last time I was here was for Thanksgiving about a year and a half ago.

Coming back to this part of MN always makes me a bit nostalgic. While for the most part, I often feel homeless and like a migrant, I spent pretty much every summer of my childhood here in northern Minnesota, and while life goes on, sometimes I remember this area just like I was about 7 years old (complete with gardening at the farm, grandma's baked goods, Lucky Charms cereal, and other treats unique to Minnesota :)). Although I could never live here (something about there being no one around, shoveling snow in April, and air that smells like sugar-beets year round...), it feels more like "home" to me than anywhere else I have lived.

My grandma still lives on her own in an apartment she moved into after my grandfather died 12 years ago. While she has slowed down considerably in the last few years and every time I come, I wonder whether it will be the last time I see her, she still has her stubborn ways and routines and I just smile and go along with things [since I am sleeping on the couch in the living room, I am ecstatic that she has pushed her "normal" waking time from 5 am to 7 am].

Bill and Carol, my sister's godparents, picked me up from the airport and we went to have dinner in Grand Forks (about a 1/2 hour west of here, and considered the "big city" ["Ooh, the traffic!" exclaimed Grandma as we drive into town. Wish she could have seen Manila traffic!!]. Grandma had a hip replacement about 2 months ago and this was her first major outing-- she did great!

Carol and Grandma (decked out in her favorite purple) outside the Golden Corral

Yesterday, my cousins Kristi and Nicole came down from Bemidji for the day, which prompted another trip into town for more lunch and.... shopping!

Now, you must know that I am not a big shopper. I seriously wish I could pay someone to do my grocery shopping for me, or subscribe to some kind of delivery service. While I love garage/yard sales and swap meets (!), I hate wandering through isles picking out things and I hate trying things on. I buy things from catalogues here and there, but haven't considerably changed anything about my wardrobe in recent memory, and the number of shoes I have in my closet is way out of proportion to the amount of style I have. I definitely think that other things are much more worth my time.

My grandma, however, loves, loves, loves to shop. When I was younger, we'd come home from our oversas post to see closets full of frilly dresses to try on; I think my younger (and much more stylish) sister, who, per Grandma, had a very successful shopping mission when she was here visiting in November, always enjoyed this more than I did. But shopping is just "something you do" when you come to visit Grandma. So, into Grand Forks we went. After something like 2 and a half hours of wandering through Walmart (Grandma's gold mine), T.J. Maxx, and J.C. Penney's at Columbia Mall (Kristi and Nicole found some cute shoes and clothes), I came away with a tank top, practical dress skirt, belt, and a new ring (not $1, though :(), which is more than I've probably bought in a year. At least that is done with :)

I am planning on seeing other relatives-- Duane/Marilyn (my great aunt/uncle) tomorrow, Amy/Richard/Jacky/Derek on Thursday in Fargo, and my Kurth cousins in Wisconsin next week.

What a friend- and relative- filled vacation this will end up being! It's great!

...reading

I love vacations for the time it permits me to read for fun. Since I've been doing quite a lot of time-pressured traveling, I haven't done a whole lot of "pleasure" reading this year, but got a few library books checked out and just hope I don't run out before I return back to CA! I guess, in a pinch, I could run across the street to the Crookston Library and camp out ; however, per my dad who was here in February, non-Crookston-residents are not allowed to check out books!

I am currently reading Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs, which is good so far! Please send other book recs my way, as I may have some time when I get back to Sac to do more reading, and I may need to pick up an emergency paperback at the airport!

... watching TV

Watching TV is one of those things I do incrementally more than shopping. Phi always makes fun of me for not being "up" on pop-culture. I invite myself over to friends' houses to watch major sporting events (thanks, Alvin, Kristin and Caesar!) and shows which I hear are worth watching (Tuesdays is IDOL night at Phi or Jeremy's and, soon, will have to be Glee night too!). Back when I lived in Rochester, I was able to get a few basic channels on my TV; however, this somehow doesn't work in Sacramento. I am virtually TV- less and don't really mind it (I don't know how people have time to watch it, anyway!). However, my grandmother has tons of channels! While I know it sounds kind of ridiculous, I always feel kind of guilty "just" watching TV; i.e., I generally feel the need to multitask, whether it be write emails, open mail, do sit-ups (ha! kidding!), while watching. Back in HS, I watched a TON of college basketball while doing homework :) In any case, vacation may be the only time where I have just sat there and watched TV, focused, and guilt-free. Since being here, I have caught some reruns of Friends and The Office (my 2 favorite shows... ever), Dancing with the Stars (which I'd heard a lot about but of which I am not a big fan), specials on the Wedding Channel (very addicting!). And with basketball games like were on last night (poor Butler... but great game!), I could maybe get used to this..... :). I better stop blogging soon because Oprah is coming on! :)

... avoiding internet and work

I am definitely guilty of being a work-a-holic. I tend to worry about my patients long after hours and put in extra time on work-related-activites... even on weekends and vacation. It is a bit unfortunate, actually, that I can get wireless internet on this computer from my Grandma's apartment (who would have thought it possible!) and that I don't have to walk to the library to get it. It is tempting to check EMR and dumb lotus notes (UCD email). It is tempting to blog and blog-stalk, which is certainly a favorite pastime of mine. It is tempting to check g-mail at all hours of the day. But I'm not sure that that is what vacation is about. I should probably sit back and enjoy being a bit "oblivious," letting myself read those novels, catch up on much-needed sleep, and veg in front of the TV, guilt-free. So, with that, I will put this computer away and maybe go watch that Oprah :) So, if cell phones aren't off-limits, call me if you need me or want to catch up!