Still Edible?

While reading a medical magazine recently, I came across the mention of this website, Stilltasty.com, which details the expected fresh times of common foods.

As a food-rescuer, I was very intrigued and visited the site, which is really interesting.

It allows you to search for certain foods and their recommended "shelf life," as well as articles on topics including "Expiration dates: should you pay attention?"

For normal people, this site can be very helpful.

I, however, will likely continue to eat eggs long past their "expiration date" (which, fyi are still good probably for up to 5 weeks past the date of purchase per this site!), leftovers that no one will touch, and condiments as still as they "smell ok."

Check it out for yourself.

Golden Gate Bike Trip

(Kimie, Lynn, Vin, Wendy, Kelvin, me, and Jessica)

This past weekend (well Friday night and Saturday) was spent mostly in San Francisco.

On Friday night, K and I drove to send off his friend, Apurva, who is headed to NC for business school and had a nice dinner in the city.

On Saturday, a group of us went back to celebrate Kimie's birthday with a rather exciting bike ride! Our day started with a yummy French brunch before we tackled biking across (and back) the Golden Gate Bridge which was about 12 miles. Thank you, Wendy and Vin, for taking great photos most of which I stole for this blog :)

Geared up and ready to go!

Starting out: we decided to rent a Tandem bike, which I had never tried riding before!

In action! It was actually quite difficult to steer the thing, as well as change gears on the SF hills, but, despite nearly getting smacked by a turning Chevy SUV, we did okay! Thank goodness for the security of the helmets.

Resting (we took many rest stops, a la Asian-tourist style) on our way to/across the bridge.

Just before the crossing

Action shot! (this is about the third take of this pose...)

Wendy took this great shot of the bridge!

Jessica leading the way across...

Peering over the edge

me looking ahead (K took this as we were riding!)

(This really wasn't the finish, but we thought it would be funny to take a picture by this sign)

We made it back easily (and surprisingly-- we thought the hills would kill us!), and Naoya joined us for a yummy sushi dinner in Oakland.

We then got to watch the sunset and relax in Michelle's lovely hot tub.

It was a great day! I'm not sure I have to do that ride again (we were quite sore), but I very much recommend it as a way to see part of San Francisco.

Fly-killing

In the past month, my apartment has somehow developed a house fly problem. I am not sure where they came from, or how they multiplied, but every day upon coming home from work, 5-10 buzzing flies would greet me in the living room and bedroom. After killing those with a trusty fly-swatter, others would later make an appearance to annoy the heck out of me.

This past week, it definitely got out of control and Kelvin took it upon himself to do something about it. We did some online research through google, or the most comprehensive of research sites, and learned that many other individuals struggled with the same pesky problem.

We read the words of other sympathetic fly-haters whose remedies for either controlling, deterring, or killing flies, included the following:

- Dispose regularly of your trash (in case maggots are hiding in there)- DUH

- Use homemade flypaper: cut a brown paper bag into inch-wide strips; poke a hole in each strip and thread sting through the whole. Soak strips in a mixture of a ½ cup of sweet maple syrup, two tablespoons of brown sugar, and two tablespoons of white sugar for about eight hours. Remove the strips from the mixture, and after they stop dripping, hang them in areas where flies are a problem.

- Apply a mixture of cayenne pepper in a spray water bottle to spray flies and windowsills

- Use a spray water bottle with 1-2 caps of liquid dish soap mixed in

- Hang ziploc baggies with water and pennies outside or between the outside and your inner door (which apparently deter flies because they can see their reflections or because the contraptions resemble spider webs, which flies want to avoid)- doing this sans pennies can also work, apparently

- (For outside flies, and IF you have a garage): "Take a standard pickle or mason glass jar. Fill it 2/3 with water and throw a piece of chicken in it. Poke a hole in the lid a little larger than a pencil. Nothing will happen until the meat rots. Then on hot days (plentiful in Sac!), hundreds of flies a day will climb into the trap and be killed and or drowned. "

For fruit-flies, which have been a problem for me in the past (?due to my fondness for ripe fruit?) but not recently, a very harsh solution posted by one reader included the following "oven trap":

1. Open the door of your oven and place a piece of fruit (banana or kiwi peels) in there overnight.

2. Wake up early the next morning and quietly close the oven door.
3. Turn on the oven to 400ºF/200ºC for about 10-15 minutes and majority of your fruit flies will be gone.
4. Clean the oven thoroughly (I would hope so!!)

Another fruit-fly solution:
Mix 1 cup of water, 1/4 cup of white vinegar, 4 drops of Dawn soap in a jar; poke small holes in the lid, and leave where needed.

Kelvin figured out that my windowsills seemed to be the breeding grounds and thus, in addition to maniacally swatting flies for about 1 hour (he killed at least 30 today with a very evil-sounding laugh!), we decided to go pesticide-style, and sprayed all the windowsills with RAID.




Although we have caught one or two stragglers, I think the flies are gone. It is quite peaceful without all of that buzzing. And, if they come back, we know some ways to make their return a limited trip.

Nighttime Narcolepsy

I may have a serious medical sleep-related illness. I have this total inability to stay awake late at night, particularly when it comes to movie-watching. Now, I know that people have different internal clocks, and that I am much more an early-bird, day person than a night owl. I think my ideal "waking" hours would be somewhere between 7 a.m.and 10 p.m. if I had any say in the matter. This is funny to me as, back in college, waking up for an 815 class was really dreaded but now, 530 a.m. is often a normal "start time".

Anyway, back to the late-night drowsiness. It is actually very irritating and inconvenient. Kelvin and I went to see "Inception" on Saturday night which was (supposedly) a very gripping and exciting film. I can't really comment, though, as I was dozing off within about 10 minutes of the 750 PM start time. As soon as the lights went down in the theater, I knew what was imminent. And there was nothing I could do about it.

Due to the above fact, I rarely go to evening movies at the theater unless it is a matinee. An 8pm start time is virtually impossible (and a waste of money) for me, and I will usually decline and save myself the $10 or whatever movies are nowadays. The only time in the last couple of years I was successful at a night-time movie was when I was coming off night-float and had slept the whole day prior to the movie. In any case, the 750 pm start time for "Inception" was pushing it. Despite being on an outpatient rotation and feeling rather well-rested, it still wasn't good enough, and there went another many bucks down the drain for a movie which I slept through and will have to rent later, as apparently it was pretty good.

We get Netflicks now, which is great; however, I must say that due to my high likelihood of falling asleep watching the films in the evening, sometimes it takes 2-3 evenings to finish one movie.

This frustrates me to no end. The problem did precede residency, if you were wondering if chronic sleep-deprivation has something to do with it.

I really wish I could change things! Some people tell me that I'm just not going to interesting enough movies, although I don't really buy this. It really doesn't matter what the movie is. I've tried coffee and sodas ahead of time. I've tried maintaining an upright position at all times (horizontal or lying down = game over). I try pinching myself. The thing that works the best, truthfully, is having all the lights on; however, this obviously wouldn't fly in a public setting. With the darkness, my eyelids seem to have a mind of their own, and keeping them open really does not seem to be under my voluntary control.

The Epworth Sleepiness Scale is a medical questionnairre which assesses your likelihood of sleeping during the following situations and recommends further workup based on your responses (0 points= no chance of dozing, 1 = slight chance of dozing, 2 = moderate chance of dozing, 3= high chance of dozing)

Sitting and reading	____________
Watching TV	____________
Sitting inactive in a public place (e.g a theater or a meeting)	____________
As a passenger in a car for an hour without a break	____________
Lying down to rest in the afternoon when circumstances permit	____________
Sitting and talking to someone	____________
Sitting quietly after a lunch without alcohol	____________
In a car, while stopped for a few minutes in traffic

My score is a 11 (high in the first few categories, low in the last 3), which per their grid:

9 and up

Seek the advice of a sleep specialist without delay

Maybe I will, if I find some time off from residency, get myself a formal sleep study to check if I have sleep apnea or something.

In the meantime, though, I welcome all suggestions for ways I can treat this "conservatively."

Clear Lake Camping

This past weekend was the annual FP resident camping trip. The idea started with the now-third years (my *new* class), and the tradition is a good one. All residents (even interns, now halfway through their first month of "jail"!) were invited, and we had a pretty good turnout, with about 15 people staying overnight and a few others who just came for the day trip.

The past two years, the camping trip was held at Folsom Lake, which is about 30 min from Sac. However, this year (after having driven by this gorgeous Clear Lake several times on the way back from Hwy 1 north/the Redwoods), we decided to try something new. I believe that Clear Lake is one of, if not the largest, lake in CA [Tahoe doesn't count because it's half in Nevada].

Kelvin did a great job planning. We started the Saturday driving the 2 hours or so out to the town of Kelseyville, where we did some wine tasting. We visited three wineries (Moore Family, Rosa D'Oro, and Wildhurst) and all (as did Mason!) had a great time.

Thanks to Wai Kiu for most of the (stolen) pictures!

Moore Family Winery

At Rosa D'Oro

Mason felt very at home at the wine bar!

with B.T., who (along with Fred, to her left) represented the intern class

We did have some time for yummy tacos and gelato in town

Hanh and Mason

Stuffed and very warm (it was probably 100 degrees out), we then headed to the Campsite in Clear Lake State Park.

Clear Lake and clear skies

Mason, 7 mo., the most chill baby you could ever ask for, relaxin' at the campsite.

Serena, relaxing on the hot day after her not-so-short short-cut through the woods to Clear Lake Beach

Kelvin and me

Making dinner (which was fantastic-- steaks, salmon, corn on the cop, sauteed asparagus and mushrooms, and dinner rolls! - Thanks, Wai Kiu and Hanh)

Joanna, Fred, Brad

(Serena, Tim in the back)

K can never get enough soy sauce or tapatio sauce... This obviously wasn't really "backcountry" camping...

We didn't stay up too terribly late, but did hang out by the fire chatting and eating s'mores, and getting mosquito- bitten. I was relieved there was no "Mafia" to be played.

I actually got a really great night's sleep (for camping) despite the heat.

On Sunday morning, we had more of a yummy feast, with leftovers, as well as eggs, bagels, muffins, and juice.

UCD Crew (they did NOT plan these outfits!) - Wai Kiu, B.T., Tim, and Fred the "morning after"

We caravan-ed the 2 hours back just in time to watch the not very satisfying World Cup Match (See previous post) and enjoy the rest of the beautiful Sunday and weekend.

Here's to a great time camping! Can't wait for the next trip!

Food lessons

I have been doing a lot of cooking this past year-- more than the first two years of residency combined, which was a resolution I made after spending time in Peru in October.

I've also had the opportunity to try some different foods at ethnic restaurants, including both here in Sacramento and in Southern California.

I find that for me, the biggest hurdle is getting to the grocery store for the ingredients. Oh, if only I could find somewhere that delivered groceries, or find someone to shop for me (after a 2 hour frustrating experience for him, I will never send Kelvin to the grocery store again). I have no patience for, and absolutely hate grocery shopping.

Some lessons I've learned in these various adventures:

1. Moroccan food does not come with utensils; apparently you can not easily order a la carte, either. K and tried out a Moroccan place in Sac a few weeks ago, and enjoyed the food and the experience including the set menu and belly dancing, but wished we could have used spoons for the soup and perhaps some forks for the curry. And had had some choice about the quantity of food we were given.

2. Crescent rolls are not acceptable substitutes for phyllo dough

I made veggie samosas last week and, while they tasted ok (how can crescent rolls taste bad?), they certainly weren't as they were supposed to be. I have no idea where one finds phyllo dough in Sacramento-- I could not find it anywhere in the frozen section or refrigerated dough section. Please let me know if you have more insight.

3. Ceviche can marinate too long

I had a great outcome with the ceviche I made in November, soon after returning from Peru. The next time I made it, however, it did not turn out so well. While four hours of marinating the fish is good, 8 hours is not twice as good, but rather twice as bad. It came out really bitter! No longer can I have the "crock pot" mentality with the ceviche-cooking where I stick it in the lime juice before work and hope that, on return, I have the delicious goodness of this specialty, which is certainly one of my favorite foods.

4. There are only so many beets one can eat

I bought a bunch of beets in May for our "Office" party (which were to represent products from Schrute Farms). While I generally like all vegetables and enjoy beets in salads, I haven't actually cooked them before. So while they were originally a decorative prop, my non-food-wasting tendencies did not allow me to get rid of the beets, uneaten. So after they sat in my fridge for about a month (root crops stay good way longer than bananas!), I decided to steam them. And I have been eating them since. I like beets, I really do. But they make your urine and stool red which is mildly disconcerting, and they are not that exciting when you eat them daily. I think I am about done with the beets and might even let the last few slices slide.. gently... into the trash (gasp).

5. Pho- making requires a face mask

I made Pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) on Sunday. It has turned out really well in the past, but requires boiling broth and spices which, for a klutzy person, can be dangerous. I accidentally flicked a spoonful of hot broth in my face and now have a very odd-shaped (kind of like a sail) burn around my nose/lip which I'm hoping heals like a sunburn... Here's to lots of aloe.

World Cup - not my cup o' tea

*** Apologies to all soccer fans!! ***

I am not, nor have ever been, a soccer fan. It was not a sport I played in high school nor had any interest in playing.

I'm not a big fan of running for the sake of running and do so only for the exercise it provides; I'd much rather get exercise playing frisbee or basketball, or "chasing objects" as I might say, with lots of scoring on the other end. I love high-scoring and high-action sports. While I am game to watch any high-scoring sport including football (American football, that is), basketball [except when Lakers win], and tennis, I have a hard time with golf, hockey, baseball, and ... soccer.

Soccer includes both very minimal scoring, and, in my opinion, lots of low-yield and extremely boring running.

I watched the World Cup Final today at Kimie's house. It was not only the first World Cup match I watched this year but actually the first soccer game I have ever watched.

I can always find an arbitrary reason to root for one team over another (regardless of the sport), and since I loved Amsterdam when I was there after college with Laura, I rooted for the Dutch team, which, as you know, lost. So it was kind of a bummer that I even got invested in teams.

But more of a bummer was just watching the game.

I spent 115 minutes watching a bunch of guys run up and down the field, with no result.

There were some good shots at goal by both teams, but no fruit came of them.

There were some really bad calls (in my opinion-- even though I, in my total lack-of-soccer knowledge, had to have someone explain to me what a "yellow card" actually was), lots of "flopping" by players who weren't really fouled, and lots of trash-talking.

And then a lucky goal by a Spaniard in the second overtime (or whatever soccer people call overtime), which basically ended the game.

It seems to me that one goal is a little too few to qualify one country as soccer World Champions, and that it is a shame that the hard work of the other 90-120 minutes of fruitless, low-yield running, may not pay off in any way. Is it fair that one moment of weakness of a goalie can decide the World Cup?

While I suppose it was good to be introduced to world soccer, and since my sister is dating an Italian, I have to pretend to be interested in this "global" sport. However, I must say that I can think of about 120 other, far more interesting things I could spend 90- 120 minutes doing and that, in the absence of some serious persuasion by soccer aficionados, today's World Cup Final might be both the first and last soccer game I watch.

Three (-ish) off for the Fourth

I am so grateful for three-day weekends. Coming back from extended time off (which, in residency, means a three-day weekend) is somewhat depressing as it means one has to go back to every-day work, particularly responding to the never-ending electronic medical record refill authorizations and patient calls, but MAN, time off is glorious.

Holidays always make me jealous of "normal" people-- people for which federal holidays are a regular occurrence (or, for that matter, people who have normal 8-5 jobs and have weekends free from work-related responsibilities on a regular basis). I am pretty burned out. I am regularly questioning why I picked this field that never seems to give you a break for "personal time." I can't wait to get the heck out of residency and at least pretend to have a "life."

My July 4th weekend wasn't even quite a three-day weekend. While I did have Monday (yesterday) off, I was on OB chief call Friday night, getting off Saturday morning. It wasn't actually a bad call night at all-- despite the intern, OB-2, and myself all being new to our new "roles," we figured things out just fine. I successfully located the OB chief call room and even got an hour and a half of shut-eye, which rarely happens on L and D (perhaps this is a perk of being chief? :)).

Kelvin and I had plans to fly down to Southern California for some time with his family for the 4th. After our trafficky drive back from the coast on Memorial Day weekend and with the not-as-long-as-hoped weekend due to Friday call, flying the one hour each way made the most sense. We left Saturday afternoon and surprised his dad for a 60th bday celebration. We had yummy Vietnamese five-course beef for dinner (I was slightly offended when the waiter offered me, and me only, a fork [I feel like a minority down there!]) and then watched a movie as we devoured the delicious truffle cake Katherine bought.

(Maybe we should have also had a "Happy bday, USA" cake...)

With the fam

Sunday (the actual 4th), we headed down to San Diego, where we went to mass at the Mission, which was founded in 1769 and is the oldest in California. Kenn, K's brother, is an awesome photographer, and took some great shots of us in the gardens (you can probably guess which, of the subsequent shots of the trip, were taken with his fancy camera and his great eye).

(and no, we did not try to dress for the fourth nor plan to match! My toenails were red)

I love this one (actually it was a series) of Katherine

The guys (father and sons)

with K's parents

Everyone

We then had dim sum (thankfully, this time, I did not get offered a fork), and drove a bit north to Temecula, which is the main wine-tasting region around SD. The weather was near perfect, as was the wine and baked-brie bread at Maurice Car'rie's and champagne in a chocolate shot glass at Wilson's Creek. Mmmm.

Here are some of Kenn's shots from the wineries:

Picnic outside

South Coast Winery

Vineyard

(I kinda want to steal this one for my blog header-- if I could figure out how!!)

Shots on the steps

Blurring effects (there probably is a fancy photographers' term for this)

Background fountain (oh, and yes, Kat cut and styled my hair on Saturday-- wish she was around to do my hair every day!)

Wilson's Creek champagne-in-a-chocolate-glass... mmm

We then had MORE great Asian food (can you see the trend of what we do down south? I think I put on at least 5 lbs every weekend I spend down there!) for dinner, at a Korean BBQ place K's family loves. The awesome part, too, is that they give you a free serving of frozen yogurt (which, if you ask me, should qualify as a food group) on your way out.

On Monday, K and I met Laura, an old friend of his, in Long Beach for crepes and then hung out with Rosha, a friend of ours from residency who moved down to Redondo Beach. We passed some time around the Venice Beach boardwalk amusing ourselves with the various characters there.

We enjoyed some time with old friends and K's family yesterday evening before returning, via Southwest Airlines (two thumbs up, I must say! Great speed of boarding/disembarking) home on the last flight to Sac.

Phew.

While I am tired, I got some of the best sleep I've had in weeks (in a nice, dark room-- thanks, Theresa).

While I am bummed to be back at work, I am grateful for the days off.

While I am stuffed, I am hungry for more SoCal delicacies.

It's probably a good thing we aren't headed back there for a few months... so my pants have a chance of fitting again :)