Thankful (Marea)

Spaghetti - Fresh-Cut Seminola Pasta, Crab, Santa Barbara Sea Urchin, Basil

Thanksgiving is a time of reflection and appreciation. With the current state of the world -- political unrest, economic instability, etc. -- I am thankful for a bunch of things. I'm thankful for having such a loving and supportive family. I'm thankful for my awesome friends. I'm thankful for my health, happiness, and overall well-being. And, despite all of my bitching and moaning, I'm thankful for the opportunity to attend medical school and to ultimately have the honor of becoming a physician. As the preclinical part of the curriculum winds down, I am experiencing a mixture of excitement and anxiety over the prospect of hitting the wards for clerkships -- excitement because I'll be doing a lot more "doctoring" rather than sitting through lectures, anxiety because I feel unprepared and am scared of screwing up big-time. To the best of my knowledge, killing a patient during clerkships isn't something that residency programs are looking for. Amid all of this upcoming change, one small fact hasn't been lost on me -- namely, the fact that I will no longer be able to take advantage of the fantastic lunch prix fixe deals offered at restaurants throughout the city.

Goodbye, Paris (Le Comptoir du Relais)

Croque Monsieur

Okay, so I'm finally writing about my last meal in Paris from this summer. After spending the better part of the morning and early afternoon at the Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, and Sacré Coeur, I wanted to squeeze in one last proper meal in Paris before boarding my train back to the UK. However, finding a restaurant to eat at on a summer Sunday afternoon is actually quite difficult. Many restaurants -- and other businesses, too, for that matter -- are closed on Sundays. Add to that the fact that many businesses close for several weeks at the end of July and August, and you end up with very few restaurants open for business to many summertime tourists. Passing many shuttered restaurants and cafés, I wandered around a bit aimlessly until I stumbled upon Le Comptoir du Relais, a bustling place that I remembered reading about during the time I was planning out my trip to Paris. Deciding not to chance finding another open restaurant, I opted to eat here in spite of the rather intimidating all-French menu.

Pain (Xi'an Famous Foods)

Liang Pi Cold Skin Noodles

Coach Boone: What is pain?
Team: FRENCH BREAD!

The above, of course, is from the movie Remember the Titans, which is one of my favorite movies. To the five people out there who actually read my blog, forgive me for my lack of content over the past couple of weeks. I've had a lot going on these past couple of weeks, and right now, I'm gouging my eyes out studying for a monstrous 132-question neurology exam on Monday. I found it amusing that some of the lecture topics -- most notably, sleep disorders and pain -- are particularly salient in the lives of medical students.