friday five: sip, sip, hooray!

It's been a good week.

I'm on a research block right now, which is a month (!) of mostly-protected research time. I still have a few half-days of clinic each week, but compared to the craziness of last month, my clinical volume is ridiculously light. I'm in the thick of two really exciting hematology projects and thoroughly enjoying having time to analyze and interpret data. It's been nice to use a different part of my brain.

Although I'm still putting in quite a few hours, my overall schedule is much, much more flexible. I've been exercising regularly and have a social life for the first time in months.

Like I said-- it's been a good week.

Some highlights:

/hang twenty
Did you know dog surfing competitions are a thing?

Because they are.

A really, really, really cute thing.

Do you know what else they are? A really fantastic way to spend a lazy Saturday morning hanging out with some of my favorite people. Also, research blocks are the best.

/wine time
On Sunday, I headed up (and up and up) to the Santa Cruz mountains to spend the afternoon at a vineyard, hanging out with some of my co-residents. We laughed, we snacked, we told middle-of-the-night hospital horror stories, and we talked about things that have absolutely nothing to do with medicine at all.

happiest hour. 

It was lovely. My co-residents are the best.

/barre3

I've been thinking for a while about starting a new fitness challenge and have considered everything from marathon #3 to learning to rock climb. After some thought, however, I've decided focus on strength training, with a goal of 3 strength sessions per week.

Strength training is pretty new for me, so I've decided to experiment with a few different classes to see if anything clicks. I decided to start with barre3-- I'd never done a barre class before, but Sarah from the shubox whites about it often, and I literally live 5 minutes from a studio. I started with a 3 class pack and went Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings.

Overall? I'd give it a solid B. 

I liked the instructors and lower-body strengthening sets a lot, but wish there had been more upper body work. It was also a little spendy for a resident salary, even with the first-timers discount. There are a lot of fitness studios close to where we live, so I'm going to keep checking places out.

/mochi ice cream
I saw this at the grocery, and had no idea what it was, but it looked super cute and I'm definitely an icecreamaholic*, so I decided to try one.

these look like uncooked cookie dough balls.
they are not.
they are rice balls filled with ice cream, and I give them
a C-. 

I didn't love it. To be honest, I'm not even sure I liked it. But trying new things is fun!

/the big sick. 
bahahahahahaha. that is all.

I have time to see movies right now.
WHAT. 

*Would not be surprised if there's an ICD-10 code for this.