On June 3rd, I graduated from OHSU in Portland, OR and received my MD degree. Shortly thereafter, Amara helped me move down to Phoenix, AZ in time for me to start my orientation for my Med/Peds residency on June 11th. My first day of work as a physician was Monday, June 23rd. And since then, it's been busy and lots of learning, but I do feel privileged to learn and practice medicine.
Getting hooded
Shaking the Assistant Dean of the medical school Dr. Keenan's hand
Mike and I all gowned up
The Lai family visiting the International Rose Test Garden in Portland, OR
I have cap 'n gown hair
My parents and I visited the Spruce Goose at the Evergreen Aviation Museum
Here you can get a sense of how big the Spruce Goose really is
Visiting Multnomah Falls
My parents and I at Crown Point (where I proposed to Amara)
"Graduating" from the Christian Medical & Dental Association (CMDA)
CMDA leaders, old and new!
Visiting the Pike Place Market in Seattle, WA
Piggin' out at the Pike Place Market
Amara drummin' it up at the Experience Music Project
Who's taller, me or the Space Needle?
Look at the accuracy of my blind pointing
Riding the ferry to Victoria Island, BC, Canada
In front of the historic Empress Hotel in Victoria
At the Butchart Gardens
Big Chinese food feast
Mimicking totem poles
Parents' meeting for the first time dinner at McCormick&Schmick's Harborside in Portland, OR
Brunch at Three Degrees Restaurant with Amara's parents, my parents, and the Lums (our adoptive parents in Portland)
All packed up and about to embark on our trip to Phoenix, AZ
The car was fully-loaded to the brim!
Gyros lunch rendezvous with Jerm and Niki in Pleasanton, CA
All of my stuff on the floor of my new apartment in Phoenix.. this was packed into my car..
I finally decided to buy a dining table/chairs.. this is from Ikea.. $120 for the set
Thanks to Amara, the bathroom is the best decorated and most coordinated room in my apartment (note the flower arrangement on the left, the stylish candles, the cute little stack of washcloths, the fancy tissue box holder, and the matching decorative bath rugs). My contribution are the non-matching random assortment of bath towels you see hanging on the rack. 4:36 PM Albert
Friday, May 23, 2008
Hike Hike
Last week, I spent some time with Amara out in John Day, a small town in eastern Oregon. She's doing a 5-week rural rotation out there with Dr. Bob Holland, an excellent doctor who was just awarded the honor of being named the Oregon Family Physician of the Year. While there, we got the chance to enjoy the outdoors a bit, including some nice hiking. Last Saturday, after doing a 6.5 mile charity run to support the local Blue Mountain Hospital in the morning, Amara and I embarked on a fun trip out to the John Day Fossil Beds, the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center, and the Blue Basin hiking grounds. It was blazing hot, in the high 90's (I figure it was good preparation for moving out to Phoenix). But we did manage to complete the shorter 1.2 mile inside trail and the 3.25 mile outer loop trail. There were definitely some amazing and beautiful views (and I'm not just talking about Amara):
On the morning of Thursday, April 24th, I sent Amara on a scavenger hunt around campus that eventually ended at the fountain in front of the medical school where we first met 2 1/2 years ago. Then, after she was done with class, we drove out to the Columbia River Gorge where we went on our first hike together exactly 2 years ago before we started officially dating. While the sun was setting in the background, I shared with her how much I loved her, I showed her a photo slideshow I made on my portable dvd player, I read a passage from the Bible in Ephesians chapter 5 about husbands and wives, and then I got down on one knee with the ring in my hand and asked her to marry me. She said yes! After that, we went to a nice dinner at the Portland City Grill, which is a restaurant downtown located on the 30th floor of the BankAmerica building and overlooking the city. Amara called and told her parents about our engagement, and they ended up surprising us by calling ahead to the restaurant and arranging to order/buy a special dessert platter that said, "Congrats from Mom and Dad." It was very nice!
Yesterday was Amara's 24th birthday.. the fun actually started two days ago when I presented her gift to her early. I got her a gift certificate for 5-weeks of beginner Viennese Waltz lessons for two at a local ballroom dance studio. We had a fun time at our first lesson. The class was very small, too, with only 4 students, so it was almost like getting private lessons!
To continue the fun, I helped some of our very kind family friends come to campus yesterday at lunchtime to surprise Amara with balloons and a chocolate cake. Amara was so happy to bring the balloons around and get wished happy birthday all day along. Plus, she was the star of her noontime lectures since she brought a whole cake for everyone to share in.
Last night, a group of us went out to dinner at one of Amara's favorite restaurants, a Lebanese place called Nicholas Restaurant. She loves the spinach pie there.
Matched!
Today is Match Day, the traditional day for all graduating medical students to find out which residency program they will be going for the next step in their career training. This morning, Amara joined me at our Match Day festivities, which included a hearty breakfast, along with the presentation/opening of envelopes containing our future destinations. I got my (our) 1st choice.. I'll be starting up my medicine-pediatrics residency at Banner Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona!
Just before opening the envelope..
Opening it..
It's good news!
Yay, we're going to Phoenix (me first, then her next year)!
To congratulate us, Amara gave Mike and I some chocolates shaped like Guinness beer..
Mike and I both got our #1 choices (he's going to UCLA in med-peds next year). We are triumphant! 12:03 PM Albert
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
With traveling, interviewing, and now back to clinical rotations, it's been a busy couple of months since getting back to the U.S. Consequently, I just finished making a slideshow of our trip to Ghana last week. It was great, because Amara and I were able to share about our experience with it at the Filo House, which is a young adult gathering from our church. It's not all-inclusive, but it certainly does highlight many aspects of our trip!
For the past couple of weeks, I've been traveling for residency program interviews. It's been fun to visit different cities and states, although the process has been tiring and fairly expensive. Here are some pictures from my travels..
The University of Michigan Medical Center:
A locally famous deli with very yummy sandwiches (I had a corned beef reuben, which was delicious):
A Cottage Inn pizza.. something I needed to have as a reminder of when I was a child growing up in Ann Arbor:
A view of the center of downtown Indianapolis (the monumental statue there is actually very tall - 284 ft!) :
A nighttime view of the windy city - Chicago:
The University of Minnesota Medical Center:
The giant cherry on a spoon sculpture at the Sculpture Garden in Minneapolis:
Me taking a bite at the giant cherry:
A night-time view of downtown Louisville:
The Ohio River running right next to downtown Louisville: 4:44 PM Albert
..a life in DUO
