June 2014

During my last overnight call shift in the VA ICU, I found out that my Grandma Thilo was back in the hospital (after a recent admission for pneumonia). Because of her declining health, I took a last-minute flight to Omaha and drove up to Sioux City, Iowa, with my dad.

While we spent most of the time with Grandma in the hospital, we also spent some time cleaning out her apartment. We paid a visit to some relatives' graves including Grandpa Thilo's final resting place.

Grandma was on BIPAP at all times with the exception of meals. When she did pause for food, we had some good conversation and even skyped with her great-grandson Henry. Uncle Dan came into town and it was smiles all around (above- my favorite pic from the whole weekend).

Dad showed me around his old stomping grounds in Sioux City. I found out all sorts of things: Dad's old high school looks a lot like a castle, he was born on Rebecca Street (surely foreshadowing), Correctionville Road makes for a comically long street sign, Iowa scenery can be vibrantly green and beautiful, and La Juanita's makes excellent Mexican food.

We popped into the Woodbury County Courthouse, and I got a kick out of all the neat architectural details and historic decor.

When the whirlwind trip came to a close, Dad drove me back to the airport through quite a bit of weather. While on the highway, we noticed cars parked in underpasses then drove through an eerie stretch of dozens of cars on the side of the road with cracked windshields, blown out windows, and dented hoods. Emergency responders were just arriving on scene to what was either a tornado touchdown or a flash hailstorm.

By the time we arrived in Omaha, the airport was closed, and the rain was coming down in sheets. I checked in at the ticket counter while Dad tended to a flat tire as lightning cascaded around the car.

The whole ordeal was surreal. Thankfully, my flight was delayed and not completely canceled. While waiting at the airport, Dad treated me to burgers and beers. Despite the emotional stress of the weekend and its meteorological obstacles, my heart felt full and my mind at peace just sitting with Dad and sipping on some Stella. I think Bing sang it best, "If you're worried and you can't sleep, just count your blessings instead of sheep."

Back in southern California I returned to work in the Harbor Emergency Department. The following weekend Adam's family came into town for his doctoral graduation festivities.

We ate tasty Italian food at La Taverna in Bixby Knolls. I especially loved the carbonara.

The next day we enjoyed meatball subs at Angelo's Italian Deli in Seal Beach then took a walk down the pier. Then Adam was off to UC-Irvine with his black robe and mortarboard.

Adam's parents, his sister Emily, and I cheered as Adam walked across the stage and his PI Tom hooded him. After the ceremony we congratulated Dr. Adam Tuttle, PhD of Biology. That night we celebrated with steak dinner at Morton's in Santa Ana.

The next morning we ate a nice brunch at The Crema Cafe in Seal Beach. Adam and Emily took the opportunity to honor their international parents with Mother's Day/Father's Day celebration before the two returned to Taiwan.

On the way to the airport, I wanted the Tuttles to experience one of my favorite views in southern California. We visited the Korean Friendship Bell in San Pedro then took in the view from an outlook in Palos Verdes.

During my next break between shifts, I took a fun painting class.

July 12-14 Andrea, Juliana, and I went to Vegas for a fun girls' getaway. First stop on The Strip: dinner at the Bellagio. We had the best seats in the house at Olives overlooking the fountain. While the food left a lot to be desired, the ambiance made up for it in spades.

Using the 2-night stay Andrea had received during an audience stint on The Talk, we stayed at the Tropicana. On our first morning, we ate brunch at  Caesar's Palace. We enjoyed window shopping at the Venetian. Then we spent some time poolside back at the Tropicana.

That night we went to Zarkana for our dose of Cirque du Soleil. Living up to expectations, the show was captivating and amazing and made me feel completely lazy and inflexible. Good thing we made one little nightclub stop in the Aria to loosen up before calling it a night.

Very early the next morning I caught a flight back to Long Beach and drove to Angels Stadium where I met up with Adam's lab mate Julian, his wife Kate, and another post-doc Praveer. 

UC-Irvine's college wide graduation ceremony featured a very special commencement speaker: President Barack Obama. With a message focused on global warming and environmentalism, Obama had impressive presence.

The pomp and circumstance was even more moving with patriotic-infused fly-bys. The graduation celebration continued later that week with Harbor's third-year residents graduating from residency.

Juliana, Andrea, and I enjoyed pre-party fruits and champagne at Ami's.

Silas, Tom, and Manny were also in on the fun.

Then the real festivities were underway at Bluewater Grill in Redondo Beach.

After saying goodbye to our seniors, we said hello to our incoming intern class with a barbeque at Dr. Birnbaumer's scenic place in Palos Verdes.

We wished a happy birthday to new intern D'Ann with some tasty vegan carrot cupcakes.

The final group event was Dr. Smolens' annual barbeque. Again the interns (above) were well-represented.

Dr. Smolens' granddaughter treated us to some karaoke. She sang two of my favorites: Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys and Shenandoah. Apparently Prisca also has a music video!

On June 24th Isis (wife of co-resident Jimmy) and I tried to catch a taping of The Talk. Despite having "guaranteed" tickets we were turned away- something that has apparently never happened in the show's history. Thankfully, we were still given parting gifts and then had time to explore LA a bit.

Crossing an item off my LA bucket list, we ate at Pink's hotdogs. Tasty and sinful, the chili cheese dog was satisfying and helped ease the earlier audience rejection. On a whim, I checked to see if there were other talk show tickets available; we got right in to see Chelsea Lately in her final season with guest Jenna Dewan Tatum.

As June came to a close, it was hard not to reflect on the amazing highs and lows of the month. Above all, I think I will remember and treasure that precious time I spent with Grandma Thilo before she passed away.