Happy Birthday To Me!

Love this quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again.

#YesAllWomen

#YesAllWomen worry about walking to their cars and homes at night alone. Every single day. Doesn't have to be this way.

— JuliaPederson (@JuliaPederson) May 27, 2014

Thank You Cards You Have Yet to Send

Thank You Cards You Have Yet to Send is a project I helped create at Stanford Med with a few other members of the Gold Humanism Society. It's meant to serve as recognition of all the patients and families we have worked with and learned from during medical school.

Check out the article on the Stanford Med website here: Student project thanks the often-unsung teachers of medical school: the patients. Fellow student Jia Luo put it all together beautifully. Happy to see it's getting some publicity.

The Sunshine between the Showers

Finally getting much needed rain here in the Bay Area! Luckily, the skies cleared for Ab's first high school track meet. Yay! Captured this cool photo of her throwing the discus. 

Afterwards, headed back up to the city and had a wonderful urban hike. We always walk and walk and walk until we're starving! Mel's Diner hit the spot. I think I might be the only person who lives in San Francisco who really enjoys Pier 39. We found a secret walk with this beautiful view of the harbor and Coit Tower. And of course, the tulip festival is still going strong!

SOMA is growing on me, mostly because of this beautiful sparkling Bay Bridge at night!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Spent the day yesterday celebrating my Mom's Birthday. We started off at the De Young Museum in the Golden Gate Park of San Francisco. There was a fabulous traveling exhibit on Georgia O'Keefe. Her love of nature truly comes out in her paintings and her ability to capture colors and contrasts is phenomenal. Of course, no photos allowed in the exhibit, but we snuck a pic right outside.

After a nice museum cafe lunch (always my favorite), we walked next store to the Japanese Tea Garden and we enjoyed our cups of sencha and jasmine green tea. We were lucky enough to have a beautiful day in the city given that it rained the day before and the day after!

From there we picked Abs up from track practice (who made Varsity track what what!), and went to Bistro Vida for dinner!

 Happy Birthday Mom! Hope you enjoyed the day as much as I did!

Bruce

My Grandma Pederson painted a portrait of Bruce Springsteen back in the day, she used to always call him Bruce, hubba hubba!

I am trying to choose a complementary frame. What do you think of this gold one?

Ladies Night!

My local Tea Connection here in Recoleta has a Ladies Night, where they give you a 15% discount AND 5% of the proceeds goes towards women's groups via www.mujeres2000.org.ar.

This was made even sweeter by the fact that there was phad thai* on the menu!!! My first taste of asian food in South America, and while my photos didn't turn out well, the phad thai was delicious! Very unlike phad thai in the US though with corn, peas, and red onions. I also enjoyed a tasty berry iced tea. While ice is a rarity in other parts of BA, this place makes super icy iced tea. Perfect after a hot and humid run.

This might be the best addition to my UWorld QBank studying yet!

I love Argentinian food, but this phad thai was a real treat!

*spelled "phad" thai because that it how it was spelled on the menu :)

Runner's Logic

What is with my cameras not charging? I would have some excellent photos for today...except my camera won't charge. Booooo.

Have you ever gone on a run and literally felt like you were going to fall over because your legs felt weak and heavy? Well, that was my run today. Not fun, but slow and steady right? I made it 20 minutes before I had to walk home. Yikes! I blame it on the combo of the BA heat/humidity and starting to study for my Boards. The one-two punch.

So my days are becoming less blog worthy, as I study more, frequent the same places, and am not as touristy. BUT, I still managed to eat a delicious bife de chorizo sandwich for dinner. I'm sorry I don't have a wonderful photo.

Tomorrow brings another date with USMLE World qbank. I will become a doctor soon, just 2 more big tests and A LOT of practice questions before I get my medical license...

Update:
This is EXACTLY what went through my mind today as I geared up to go running...

El Ateneo

I'm so sad I forgot to bring my camera today!

After a nice walk along Santa Fe, with some window shopping of course, I stopped at El Ateneo. El Ateneo was an old theater where many of BA's greats performed, and now it still has its original bones but has been made into a wonderful bookstore. I had a terrific lunch at the cafe, which is where the stage used to be.  I ate a delicious fugazzetta, that was amazing with some hot tea on this stormy day. Fugazzetta reminds you of Argentina's Italian heritage, with a BA twist. It's a rich cheesy pizza with onions and oregano.

El Ateneo

A replica of the fugazetta I had for lunch

Me in El Ateneo previously

Hoy

I had a wonderful time in Recoleta this morning. Starting with te con leche y tres media lunas en La Biela. It was quite an affair!

 Afterwards I perused the Buenos Aires Design Center and the National Museum of Fine Arts

Just a few blocks from where I am staying, was Evita's home in the city. 

Ciao!

Sarah Préfère La Course

I attended my first film festival this Sunday. The Mill Valley Film Festival showed the American premiere of the Quebec Film "Sarah Préfère La Course", or in English, "Sarah Prefers to Run". The film is about a young woman who goes off to college and is disinterested in pretty much everything except running. My favorite part was the opening scene, starting with a track workout and then showing the competitors at the starting line of the race. It was in French with English subtitles, allowing me the opportunity to practice my French. I only wish they had taught the actress to run better. She kept swinging her arms too high in front of her and landing flat footed. Maybe next time recruit a runner?

After the film, we had the opportunity to meet the film's director, Chloé Robichaud, a demur 25 year old young woman with a strong French accent. I'm going to keep an eye out for the debut of her next film, "Country".  Looking forward to seeing Ben Stiller's premiere next Sunday. 

Sarah doing her thing

A grainy iphone selfie in the Sequoia Theater before the film began

Director Chloé Robichaud answering questions after the film. Photo © Jonathan Shensa

Why I Support the Affordable Care Act

     

Watching another instant classic Jimmy Kimmel clip made me realize that we supporters of the ACA have been failing. Jimmy Kimmel went to talk with people on the street about whether they supported the Affordable Care Act versus Obamacare. The joke was that everyone supported the ACA and no one liked Obamacare, highlighting the fact that most people failed to realize they were the same thing. I want to make sure you know why I support "Obamacare", aka the Affordable Care Act. 

     At a recent town hall meeting with CA Secretary of Health and Human Services Diana Dooley, she highlighted that the Affordable Care Act has three legs to it. The “Affordable” part, aka the delivery and finance reform, the "Prevention and Wellness" leg, and the "Coverage Expansion" leg. This third leg, the expansion of coverage starts this week. Each state runs its own health insurance exchange, ours is “Covered California”, which is basically an online marketplace for health insurance. You can visit the website at https://www.coveredca.com/. From my work with creating websites in the past, I have to give major credit to Secretary Dooley and her office for the user interface and ease of use. Check it out yourself, in one of the 14 languages it's been translated into. Starting now, you can “enroll” in health insurance that will go into effect on January 1st 2014. All insurance providers who enter the exchange are required to cover 10 Essential Benefits. 

      To give you some examples of the coverage rates. If you are single, and make $27,000 a year, your health insurance will cost $175 per month, thanks to a $2460 subsidy by the federal government. Or lets say you are a nurse with a family of 4, earning $88,800 per year, your monthly health insurance will cost $700. Compared to the old individual market, where a family of 4 could cost $2k-3k a month, these are very affordable plans. The rates vary depending on the particulars of the plans you choose of course. 

    As for the other two legs of the ACA, I’ll be brief, you need to know that with the “Affordable” leg the ACA bans discrimination based on pre-existing conditions and bans insurance caps. For us healthy folks, this doesn’t mean a whole lot, but it is a really big deal. The number one cause of bankruptcy in the US is health care costs. Now, because of the ACA, less people will go bankrupt due to hitting their insurance limits while on chemotherapy treatments or living with cystic fibrosis. With regards to the “Prevention” leg, your routine health screenings, vaccines, and birth control will be free. Many of these perks have started to kick-in already. Check out https://www.healthcare.gov/prevention/ for more. 

     Is the ACA really such a big deal? A resounding yes. The insurance reform, focus on prevention, and extension of coverage, are exactly what we need in the health care sector. The ACA will make us healthier as people, communities and as a nation. There will be bumps in the road, the ACA is not perfect (has any legislation been perfect ever?), but it is definitely a big step forward. As Congresswoman Anna Eshoo recently remarked about us Americans, “we love our history once it’s been made, but we seldom embrace the fact that we are making it. As someone who was in the Senate chambers on March 23rd 2010, watching the Senators vote for the passage of the ACA like a Giants fan in game 7 of the World Series,  I knew that I was part of something historic. I will consider it an privilege to serve my country as a doctor under the Affordable Care Act. 

I hope you’ll join me in my support and spread the word yourself. 

Weekly Goods

A good book...
Hilary Rodham Clinton's Living History
Finally finished it. My favorite part of the book was learning more about her younger days, at Wellesly College especially. It was also interesting to hear her opinions on the contrast between her image as First Lady when she tried to take on legislative roles vs advocate for women's rights internationally. Her China speech as Women's Rights being Human Rights is historic, a must watch, and an excellent call to arms. "If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights once and for all". I know that in the development world so many people are advocating for women's rights as a path towards development, and I think Hilary was the one who really set that agenda in action. I'd be proud to support her in 2016 if and when she decides to run. I couldn't think of a better candidate.

A good song...
Let Her Go
By Passenger, this is a beautiful song. I want to learn the guitar so I can play it myself.

A good film...
Miss Representation
A few facts I learned from this film... Cuba, Iraq, China, and Afghanistan have more women in politics than the U.S.... Did you know domestic abuse was acceptable denial of insurance as a "pre-existing condition?" (Thank goodness for Obamacare)...I also didn't know that the US is the only industrialized nation without paid family leave. Jennifer Newsom did a great job.

A good talk...
Stanford Population Health Symposium 
I attended Stanford's kick off conference debuting the new department of Population Health.  The best part was my lunch table conversation with Dr. Jack Rowe, former CEO of Aetna, and Dr. Mads Melbye, head of the Danish National BioBank -to say it was an interesting conversation is an understatement.

A good youtube..
Hitting the Wall
Paula Newby Frasier, one of the epic ironman triathletes in 1995 pushed herself beyond her limits. This is a heartbreaking and inspiring video illustrating her limits. "Totally surreal". It shows how dangerous athletics can be when we are strong enough to push ourselves beyond our limits. You get knocked down, but you get up again. That's the best 4th place finish I've ever seen.

Another good week in the books.

Best 28th Birthday Ever

What an amazing last few days, I am struck by the beauty of Paris, and its sophisticated style. I adore the public gardens and parks interspersed throughout the city; so well groomed, full of birds and ideal for people watching. Thankful for my good pair of walking shoes.

CSA

2013 marks my first foray into the world of community supported agriculture (CSA). Luckily, I live in San Francisco, the mecca of such activities. I thought joining a CSA would be a good idea based on a few reasons. 

One, receiving weekly deliveries of food for the week on my doorstep cuts out a trip to the grocery store. I actually enjoy trips to the grocery store, but decided with my medical school schedule that I like real runs more than grocery store runs. 

Two, the weekly deliveries of food removes a lot of decision-making from my daily life. I don't plan meals based on the infinite amount of ingredients at the store, instead I receive my food supply in the box, with recipes included. Doctors, even those still in training, make hundreds of decisions every day, many very small, but still using the decision-making parts of our brains. Decision fatigue is a real thing. I just became less decision fatigued. 

Three, rutabegas delivered? I cook rutabegas. Doesn't matter that I didn't know what a rutabega looked like until I googled it. I have an easy recipe and 2lbs of rutabegas- it will be done. I like the fact that being part of a CSA forces me to try new things on a regular basis. I consider this a good thing. Change is good, a few years ago I wrote a post about inertia, and how it slowly and steadily overtakes us. I could detail perfectly my Trader Joes run, what I choose in the vegetable area, my route down the isles, and thus my fridge and food stay strikingly similar week to week. Don't get me wrong, I still love my Trader Joes, and will definitely continue to go there as needed. My new weekly CSA delivery is a system that fights against this inertia and builds in change to my week.

Four, my CSA box teaches me what fruits and vegetables grow in different seasons. I've been enjoying Farmer's Markets for several years now, you learn to appreciate the revolving cycle of food during the year. When summer rolls around my excitement grows for the plentiful amounts of zucchini and peaches. As winter nears, my stomach rumbles for sweet potatoes. On a psychological level, I  find there is something good for the soul about the sensory perception of time passing. California doesn't really have seasons, so sometimes you can't really feel the change in time. It's why I put away my summer clothes in the fall, and am happy to bring out my rain boots. I like that my food expresses to me the change in seasons and a CSA helps with this. 

In the end, I sorted through the vast numbers of CSAs in the Bay Area and decided to try LolaBee's Harvest. Lolabee's works as an online store that sends a weekly harvest box, a smorgasbord of fruits and vegetables, and also allows you to add other locally grown items to your order including meats, cheeses, eggs, herbs and other fruits and vegetables as you wish. Keep you posted!

Happy Halloween!

Abbey's costume was so impressive, made from scratch!!!

Waiting for home runs

MLB World Series game 2

Pie eating contest Menlo Park Block Party

Dinner in Sacramento

Under a week to go!

The Final Push! I took a practice test at the test center yesterday, felt pretty good, now just tying up all the loose ends on my 7-weeks of studying. Keep your fingers crossed for me next Wednesday.

In more interesting news, I had a great time Friday night at the Kennedy Center, it was a beautiful evening and the National Symphony Orchestra was wonderful! Saturday was also fun, after a killer run along my favorite trail, we walked along The Mall and even went to the Museum of American History. They have a new exhibit where they feature a particular year in American history, I really enjoyed seeing what 1939 was all about!

And back to work for me!