P90X...

... is going to be a bitch.

Flip Flip Flipadelphia!

I went to Flip [Richard Blais's (from Top Chef) restaurant!] with a friend this past weekend and ordered this insanely delicious ossobuco burger:

Sooo juicy! I practically inhaled it.

He had the Philly:

That's cheese foam on top. American cheese. Yeah, it tastes as weird as it sounds.

We then washed it down with one of their specialty milkshakes:

Nutella + burnt marshmellow. mmmm

The whole experience was pretty nice. I don't know about that cheese foam, but I personally loved my dish, and we had great service. Can't wait to try another Top Chef restaurant.. hopefully I'll get to try Tom Colicchio's Craft (or Craftbar) before it closes next month!

New Year's Resolution?

I don't want to jinx myself like I do every year, but there is one thing I've been wanting to do for a long time.. and don't worry, it has nothing to do with weight loss. I'd really, really like to improve my tennis skills. I'm decent, but I could be a whooole lot better. My serves are dinky and my back-hands are good only half the time. Ugh, don't even get me started on my overheads and volleys! Lucky for me, my family is always down for some tennis--we make sure to sign up for ALTA every season. Even though I've already lost my first three matches this winter, I'm really excited about playing full-time again (was unable to before because of school). I've been placed to play line 1 (toughest spot) lately, which is scary as shit, but definitely the kind of challenge I'll be needing to get better.

I am proud about one thing--my forehands. They can and will eff you up.

Accepted!

I got accepted into the University of Queensland School of Medicine and the Ochsner Health System of the United States!!! Yeah, it's quite a mouthful. It's got two parts to it because it caters to international students who want to do their clinical rotations elsewhere. Basically, I would study in Brisbane, Australia for the first two years, then do my rotations in New Orleans, LA for the next two.

BUUUUT, I won't be going.

I can't tell you how excited I was. I had been having such bad luck with the MCAT and then my professors with their "promises" to write me rec letters... I was so ready to go. But I thought about it some more, and I just have to be realistic. Three weeks was definitely not enough time to prepare. I needed to apply for financial aid, get an AUS visa, health cover, blue card, immunizations, etc. I asked them to defer my enrollment, so when I really am prepared, maybe I'll go Jan 2012.

As sad as I am about passing up this opportunity, I can't help but feel a little more confident about my future. I mean, at least I know I'm wanted SOMEWHERE!

For now, maybe I'll look for a temporary job. Money will restore my happiness.

Macaron's retarded cousin

Okay, so they're not chocolate croissants. Although, maybe if I had made them they would've turned out waay better than these effed up macarons I baked instead...

I found a recipe for chocolate macaroons on another blog and thought I'd give it a go (actually "macarons" not "macaroons", most people, like myself, get the two mixed up).

Macarons gone wrong.

I tested out a few at first, but seeing how they absolutely were NOT doing what they were supposed to, I decided to try and salvage the situation by turning them into more eatable chocolate almond cookies--I guess that's what you could call 'em. I added flour to the dough/batter mixture and they ended up alright, just kinda sticky and weird.

Apparently still a hit though!!

After my little baking disaster, Joan, Max, and I met up with some friends for quite an impromptu adventure. Here are a few pics, unfortunately, they don't show the best parts of the night like everyone actin' a fool at a strip club down south, or better yet, the guys getting frisked at the entrance. Hahahaa, priceless.

Getting extra excited for the night to come.

Pre-gaming, shawty.

Looking up other possible places still open at 2 in the morning. Ended up going home though. Til next time!!

Back like a snack

I may have to delay applying to med schools (and/or DO schools) another year. There are just some things that are out of my control, and all I can do is wait. But instead of constantly feeling anxious and stressed out about it, I've decided to just take it easy and make this break from school worthwhile.

So here's what I've been up to since my last post:

Working at my mom's office. It's not so bad except sometimes I have to work with this really shitty computer.

Baby-sitting my lil' nephew Ralph. Biggest cutie I know.

Volunteering for the Be The Match Foundation (bone marrow donation program). I was a course monitor for their first annual Be The One Run marathon. Despite having to wave around a bright orange flag while wearing a silly reflective vest all morning, I had an alright time. I even got a free t-shirt out of it, and you know how much I looove those.

Spending time with my momma, which includes making stops at ridiculous Vietnamese music/video stores along Buford Hwy. As if the Vietnamese music on full blast in addition to an entire wall of randomly assorted Buddha-related figurines and other tacky Asian decor, mixed with the substantial collection soft-core porno displayed by the sort of "over-the-counter" menopausal drugs wasn't enough, they had to throw in a flashing disco ball? Gotta love Asian Square.

They've got great taste in coffee though, that's for sure. Mr. Brown's are the best!

And of course, lots of baking. Whole wheat biscuits with pumpkin butter. mmm.

(recipe from Atlantis Home)

Ladyfingers! I didn't feel like baking a whole cake out of them, but maybe I'll have them with some coffee tomorrow morning.

Next baking project? I'm thinking chocolate croissants.

That's it for now. But with all my free time, I'll be sure to continue blogging, so see you soon!

MIA

So much for a DAILY dose... I've fallen off the face of the planet. All of my book-readin' and school-learnin' have been keeping me grounded. It's not so bad though, the isolation is allowing me to focus better. In fact, my score jumped like 5 points on a practice test the other day. It was the best I'd ever done and I still have a month to push it even higher. It's great, I feel so much more motivated! Maybe I'll take a break and catch the showing of Jurassic Park at Screen On the Green tonight. I dunno, maybe I shouldn't get off-track. One month isn't really that long...

Who am I kidding, it's Jurassic Park, I'll be there.