The Rental Side of the Aqua Tower

My parents bought a condo, but here's a youtube video showing what the rentals are like.



Also, a video on the amenities:

New Home

Congrats to my parents for signing the papers on a new condo in downtown Chicago! The bought a convertible 1br on the 62nd floor of the Aqua Tower, which has already become a historic landmark even though the building isn't finished yet. Chicago has always been known for having fascinating, and oftentimes daring, architecture, and this is a fact that seems to fly under the radar unless you're an architecture-aficionado or you've actually been to Chicago and paid attention to the varying architectural styles. If you have any plans of going to Chicago, then I HIGHLY recommend going on the Architectural River Tour. It's relaxing, you learn a lot, and you get tons of great photo ops. Anyways, not only is this building very modern and striking, but it's also the tallest building in the world that was designed by a woman.


The amenities at this place are insane. It makes me feel like I'm going to be like royalty once I move there. Really nice gym, indoor pool, outdoor pool, cabanas where you can hook up your own tv by the pool, terraces/park, outdoor grills, theater to play your own dvd's, game room, free shuttle to certain places, washer/dryer in every unit, and heated underground tunnels to the Water Tower Place, and not sure where else. I still can't believe the ridiculously low price my parents got this for. YAY for buyer's market and property being so far less than NYC. It's also across from Millennium Park, and we have a view of the lake, which really looks like the ocean. Just saying. I'm 100% certain that the price of the condos in this building are almost 3 TIMES LESS than an average apartment of the same size in NYC...with no amenities, no view, and no special location.

Anyways, I admit I felt like I had to write this disclaimer on the place because I know that once people see pictures on Facebook and my blog, they're gonna be all, "Wtf, who has this kind of money." It's not like that in Chicago. Property is so affordable there, and you get a lot for what you pay for. Well, that's how it is nowadays since it's a buyer's market. No one is buying.

Alright, that is all.

A Dominican 24th Birthday

As many of you know, I never really celebrate my birthday other than dinner with my family and Gabe. And really, it's always just been more of an excuse to go out to eat. I only recall having two birthday parties with friends when I was a little kid - my 8th birthday party at a bowling alley, and my 9th birthday at the ice skating rink where I took classes my whole childhood. And then I had my 21st birthday party in the Meatpacking District in NYC, for the sake of it being my 21st. So yeah, I'm not a big birthday person, and I really had absolutely no intention of even acknowledging it this year with all the craziness of studying and being away from my family, Gabe, and friends in NYC - these are the people who are my blood.

Before I could even remove my birthday from Facebook (so people here wouldn't find out), Ren, one of my closest friends here, basically gave me no choice but to go out to dinner with our circle of friends in celebration of my 24th. It was probably one of the sweetest offers ever, so I couldn't refuse. Really, no one has ever done something like that for me. I think we had at least 20 people who were originally going to come, and that was just my closest friends. It shrunk down to 16 people, but these are 16 people I really do love. I can't thank everyone enough for making me feel so special and taking me out. And I definitely can't thank Ren enough for making this happen. He is so sweet.

I often times feel a little bit sad because I am constantly missing my friends (for life) back in NYC. I've always known and believed that nothing could match up to the dozens of amazing friendships I made in that city. They are people who I will have for the rest of my life, no matter what city, state, or country I move to next. They're people who know me for who I really am.

It's a little different being in med school in Dominica. I feel like we all just mostly know each other in the med school context. We don't talk about much else besides school. And I'm not gonna lie...I'm way more reserved and awkward here than anywhere else. It's almost like I regressed back to my high school days. While I always knew that I made a few good friends here, the birthday dinner that they threw for me showed me that in spite of the rigors of med school and not having much time for socializing, these people have become like family to me. They truly are among the most genuine and thoughtful people I have ever met, and I really can't thank them enough.

With that, here are pictures of me and my friends at Riverside restaurant.


Me and the ladies.


Me and the guys.

Check out my Filipino rapper med student friend

At Ross University's cultural show last night, one of my closest med school friends, Ren, represented Filipino Union (and Chicago!) and gave a rap performance. He's an unsigned rapper out in Chicago, and he's awesome. Check out the video.

Also, here's his Myspace if you're interested: http://www.myspace.com/renwexl

I know I haven't updated in forever. School has been rough on me, and things have just been so busy.

For now, enjoy the vid.

Project AIDS

On Friday, I participated in an AMSA (American Medical Students Association) event with the Project AIDS committee. We went to the CALLS center in Portsmouth, which is a non-profit community center dedicated to providing tutoring and somewhat of an education to teenagers who had dropped out or were kicked out of their local schools for various reasons. We put on an educational play centered around possible ways to contract HIV, and then we had a Q&A session with the teenagers. It was a really good experience for myself because while I've worked with children and the elderly, I've never actually done anything with teenagers. I kind of forgot how troublesome and sometimes uncooperative teenagers can be.

It was quite interesting to be teaching them about HIV, STD's, and practicing safer sex. It seems like they know a pretty good amount, however I was a little perturbed by some of the bizarre sex questions they were asking. I won't repeat any here, but let's just say that our discussion lost its focus and strayed towards the topic of sex, rather than the initial topic at hand. Regardless, I think we got all of our important messages across, and I hope the teens learned and gained something in return. It's sad to hear that some of these teens don't even know basic math nor how to read because they stopped going to school a long time ago, so hopefully all the contributions Ross students have been providing them (with tutoring and events like these) are helping these kids live better lives.

Next Saturday, I'll be visiting the elderly home in Portsmouth, like what I did last semester when we just entertained the old folks who no longer have family left to take care of them. I really do wish I volunteered more in the community in previous semesters, but I'm glad I'm finally contributing more of my time this semester!

Karla&Jonathan's SYTYCD Week 2 Performance

Here's Karla&Jonathan's AMAZING contemporary piece last night. It was choreographed by Stacey Tookey from SYTYCD Canada, and they danced to the song, "Falling Slowly," by The Frames. It always helps to have a great song to dance to. However, regardless of the great music choice, Karla and Jonathan danced BEAUTIFULLY. I take these reality talent shows quite seriously, so I really do try to hold no bias. And with no bias, I firmly believe that these two were probably the best of last night. The choreography, music, dancing, technique, and emotion were all there. Karla's fluidity and lines were flawless, and Jonathan surprised everyone with his ability to hold his own in this number. It was a moving performance, and I think definitely one that will be among the memorable of Season 5.

So with that said, the results show is in a couple of hours, and I REALLY hope Karla&Jonathan are not in the bottom 3 again because they had quite the performance last night.

Batibou Beach

On Saturday, I joined the Korean Students Association's field trip to Batibou Beach. I think there were only 3 Korean students there, with the rest of the crew consisting of other random people, including myself. Batibou Beach is on the north side of the island, halfway between our campus and the airport. Unfortunately, I got very carsick on the way there. So carsick that my legs were shaking as I was getting off the bus. It was rather unpleasant, but I recovered during the 20 minute hike down to the actual beach. Yeah, this beach is so isolated that we have to hike down, and you don't actually see it until you get down there. It's pretty cool.


This is one of the few beaches on the island that has actual sand as opposed to rocks/pebbles/shells. Not only that, but it's also a rather large beach with lots of open space. AND we were the only ones there, which made it even nicer. Actually, there was a random white naked guy reading almost in the bushes, but he wasn't situated that close to us.

One interesting thing of note is that scene(s) from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest were filmed right on that beach. I still have yet to watch all three movies. I really should since they were filmed here. Anyways, I'm really glad I took the morning off to enjoy a real beach in Dominica. It was beautiful, and I'm not sure how often I'll get an entire beach to myself for free!

Coming back from hiatus and other things

As many of you already know, one of my really good friends from college, Karla Garcia, is in the Top 20 of So You Think You Can Dance! Above is her first performance on the SYTYCD stage with her partner, Jonathan, doing the cha-cha. It was hot, so check it out if you missed it last night! This is very exciting for those of us who are friends with her. While I never got a chance to see her when she was in Hot Feet, Wicked, or the Rockette's Christmas Spectacular, I watched a few of her Tisch recitals and another show she part of in NY in the past, and all I can say is that not only has she grown tremendously as a dancer since she started college, but she's absolutely beautiful and amazing on stage.

I know I've really sucked at blogging. 2nd year got crazy pretty quickly. I had my first exam on Monday, and while it was a hard one that I felt unprepared for, I did better than I thought, so hopefully it only gets better from here.

Anyways, tonight is the results show for SYTYCD, so tune in if you can!

Yoga --> Release of Endorphins

The photo above shows where I took a yoga class this morning. It's on campus (that's right), and it's funded by the school. I'm so glad I finally got the effort to get myself to a yoga class here. There are so many classes on that beach deck throughout the week, and I've been meaning to do it since 1st semester, but for some reason, only got the real will to do it now. While part of me regrets not starting yoga classes here earlier, I'm glad I finally got myself to do it.

And now I AM ADDICTED. With the combination of full body use, inner core training, and the serene surroundings overlooking the Caribbean Sea, I had a pretty huge release of endorphins after 1.5hrs of yoga. Originally, I had the intention of doing yoga purely for the exercise. I find going to the gym to be torture but have always enjoyed yoga every time I did it. Somehow, today was more rewarding than all the other times I've done yoga. I had an overall sense of happiness and well-being right after today's session. Two of my friends felt the same way. So it looks like this is going to be an on-going thing.

Especially with the rigors of med school in what can sometimes be a frustrating environment, there are certain things here that all of a sudden bring us back down and make us realize that life can be good while in medical school in Dominica afterall. I'm hoping to take this positivity and overall sense of well-being that I get from yoga to "real life" and hopefully become one of the few optimistic medical students left around here.

Here's a link with info about the teacher and class I took. As much as I would love to do this 3 times a week, along with classes taught by another teacher here, I'm going to have to realistically only do it once a week. At least for those two weeks leading up to each exam. Hopefully, I can do it twice a week for the other weeks.

Anyways, yoga was incredibly rewarding in every sense today - emotionally and physically, so hopefully I can keep this up!

Latest Dinners

Today, I cooked fish sinigang. The idea started when I found out tamarind was in season here in Dominica. I thought I'd go totally authentic and use real tamarind pulp instead of the Mama Sita's or Knorr's tamarind sinigang powder. I brought some of the powder down just in case. Unfortunately, the Shacks didn't have real tamarind today, so I just ended up using the powder anyways. It turned out to be really good, and it's nice to be able to eat some comfort food down here every now and then. I used trout, but I wish I just bought some frozen fish that didn't have skin or bones in it. My veggies consisted of onions, tomatoes, green beans, and spinach. I'm sure that taro root exists down here because I've had it in local food, but they generally don't sell those at the Shacks. I wasn't sure if I really wanted to use it anyways.


Last week, I used the dried chanterelles I bought at Whole Foods and forgot to use while I was at home. Not really knowing what to do with it down here, I just cooked it in spaghetti with garlic and olive oil, and it was great. It was simple, but it allowed me to appreciate the chanterelles more.

I feel so accomplished every time I cook on this island.

Sinigang is On the Agenda

I decided I'll take a stab at making fish sinigang sometime this week using one of Burnt Lumpia's recipes. I went to Roseau yesterday and bought frozen trout as well as lots of vegetables. I would have bought some kind of fresh fish at the market, but I knew we'd be walking around in the heat for awhile, and I didn't want the bus to stink up on the way back to campus. Also, I knew I wouldn't be making it right away and would have to freeze the fish anyways. Sinigang is comfort food for me, and it seems simple enough to make considering the limitations on this island. Tamarind is in season here in Dominica right now, so that's why I figured I'd try to make it too.

Stay tuned for a post after I try to make it!

Yesterday's Outfit

tshirt - Urban Outfitters
draped vest thingy - Express
jeans - Uniqlo
flats - Boutique 9
necklace - Forever 21

Back on the Island

I've been back on the island since Sunday night, and thankfully, it wasn't as much of a rough start as the beginning of 2nd semester when I had a migraine the entire week and had to do a lot of catching up. So far, we've had 8 hours of lectures everyday. I haven't been able to get myself to wake up early enough for 8am classes, so I've just been watching the lectures online - most of them in 1.5x or doublespeed, which is amazing. Hopefully, by this weekend, I can get into real study mode. This semester is going to be tough with a whole new set of classes and busier schedules.

At least it will be more interesting though. Pathology looks like it'll be really interesting. I know I'm going to hate pharmacology though because I'm just not good at stuff like that. It's nice to see that material learned in 1st semester is already coming back to us and being applied in a more clinical manner. 2nd year is when we start learning more clinical things like talking to patients, physical exams, and things like that. Next Monday, I get to go to the community clinic in the morning. I'm pretty excited. Plus, I get to dress in professional clothing, even with my white coat! I know most of you would love to wear flip flops, shorts, and tshirts everyday like we all do here in the Caribbean, but it's nice to be able to wear something nice for a change.

In other news, my Filipino guy friends and I decided to restart the Filipino club here at Ross. I didn't think I'd be into the whole thing because I thought I was so over it after NYU, but I've realized how important it is to have a positive social circle here at Ross. The clubs in med school are not taken half as seriously as clubs in undergrad, especially NYU. In fact, it's almost kind of BS here compared to undergrad. The clubs here are really just a way to get involved in the community, whether it be medically-related or just socially, but it's not very time-consuming whatsoever. I guess it's because we're all in med school, and we all know that studying comes first and foremost.

Time for American Idol Top 3 :)

Doing Nothing in Miami

I'm spending the night in Miami because I couldn't schedule a flight that gets to Dominica in one day. Is it crazy for me to say that I like this airport hotel and wouldn't even mind staying here an extra day if I had to? The pillows are amazing, and the flatscreen tv is huge! Miami is huge, but it would have been cool to go into at least the nice part of it. Not really worth it though, plus I'm waiting for my friend, who's sharing this room with me, to arrive. My sister is actually in Miami now doing Habitat for Humanity, but it'd be too much of a hassle for us to meet up, considering neither of us know Miami at all.

I'll enjoy a nice bed tonight, but after I wake up, I know I'll just want to be back in my Dominica apt so I can unpack and get settled back in again. As crazy as this sounds, I'm actually kind of excited to start 2nd year. I know it's going to be a lot harder, but it'll at least be more interesting. Hopefully, that alone will motivate me more to study well and get better grades. I did better 2nd semester than I did in 1st, so I'm hoping I can continue this upward trend.

I've been slowly but surely updating my food blog, so keep checking back for more and more updates. I still have to continue recapping my awesome visit to NYC last week. It's already overdue, but I'll still do it anyways.

Until then, wish me safe travels back to the rock!

Favorite Outfit That I Wore Last Weekend

Exaggerated Side Tee - Dirty Violet
Footless Tights - Urban Outfitters
Purse - vintage, bought on eBay for $15 (no shipping!)
Belt - Urban Outfitters (probably my favorite belt ever)
Necklace - vintage, gift from Emily
Shoes - Miz Mooz

Here's a close up on the shoes. Pardon my vein-y lower extremities.

O&X

I got a new pair of O&X glasses yesterday. I change my frames every few years, so I figured it was time for a new pair. I was never one for the plastic frames or black rims, but maybe it was time for a change. What I like most about these are the soft seagreen eyeglass stems. I like to keep things simple when it comes to eyewear, but these add some character. Everyone agreed this was the best pair on my face, so I went for it. Since these were expensive and more fashionable than the glasses I'd normally get, I'm going to try wearing my glasses outside of the house more, at last on occasion.

Last Friday was quite busy. I woke up early to visit my old coworkers. I REALLY loved working at NYUSOM's Center for the Study of Asian-American Health. Working there was a very enjoyable and valuable experience for me, and I can only hope that I can continue to contribute in one way or another when I move back to NYC for the rest of med school.

After my morning visit, I quickly met up with Viv who was kind enough to lend Gabe and I her's and Julian's MoMa membership cards so we wouldn't have to pay a ridiculous $25 entrance fee. Before Gabe and I went to the MoMa, we had lunch at The Modern's Bar Room. I still have yet to blog about that, so stay tuned. It was a wonderful lunch, albeit expensive (for us). But the food was delicious, and everything I ordered was light and spring-y.

The MoMa was great fun and made for a nice Friday afternoon Gabe+Trish date. Going to museums was something I didn't really take advantage of while in college, and the MoMa was one I've always wanted to go to. Since Gabe has more of an appreciation for art than I do, it was a field trip we were both equally into. When one is completely engulfed into the world of medicine, it's easy to fall out of the loop when it comes to the arts and culture. I know that when I (hopefully) come back to NYC for clerkships, I'm probably going to be insanely busy, but I really hope I can make the effort to take advantage of all that NYC has to offer. I think I did a pretty good job at this when I lived there before, but there's still so much more to experience and discover.


Back to Friday. Since the rain decided to come down hard, we decided against going to the Union Sq Greenmarket and made a trip to Agata&Valentina instead to find things to cook with. We got ramps and applewood smoked bacon and decided to make spaghetti with that. Before coming to NYC, I had this plan to cook a big 3-course dinner with Gabe, and it didn't happen. There was just so much going on that weekend, and I didn't want to spend too much time prepping in Gabe's tiny apt. So we settled with pasta, but it turned out to be some DAMN good pasta.

After that, we hurried over to Cheryl's 24th 90's-themed birthday party, which involved Bon Chon, liquor, Ssips, goodie bags with ring pops and push pops, all-90's karaoke, and 90's clothes (which I was unable to participate in). It was a good time, and I was fondly reminded of my middle school years - rather appropriate since those were the years I kept up with music so well. Some of us then hopped over to Rohm where Derick and Asa were spinning for IFA's end of the year party. Didn't mean to crash an undergrad party, but I wanted to say hi/bye to Franny who was unable to make it Saturday night and who will be moving back to Virginia after school ends. It was great to see him...sigh, I missed that guy so much.

Friday was an awesome, yet hectic, day - very New York City. It was a day that reminded me of why I love NYC so much. Good food, culture, and good peoples. :)

New York Craziness

Before heading off to NYC for 4 days, I had the idea in my mind that I would update my blog(s) everyday to recap each day, and obviously that did not happen. It was quite the hectic weekend. I almost felt like I could no longer keep up with the pace of NYC. Has Dominica softened me up and slowed me down too much? Gosh, I hope not. My feet were killing me after Day 1 of NYC, even with the super comfy pair of flats I've been wearing most days since semester 2 started. What's even worse is that I felt like I had issues staying up past 1am. Yes, I am in medical school, and I RARELY ever stay up past midnight. Anyways, here's a bulletpoint recap of Day 1 - Thursday:

- got to Gabe's apt around 11am
- started our snacktime with pork belly buns and cookies at Momofuku Bakery & Milk Bar
- walked over to Baoguette Cafe for a classic bahn mi
- did our usual SoHo window-shopping - mine and Gabe's typical Saturday or Sunday afternoon, but this time a Thursday :)
- scoped out Topshop - thought it was a bit expensive for what it was, but overall, good style
- randomly ran into Ayu (one of my good medical school friends) on Broadway and Broome
- got stopped on Elizabeth St. btwn Prince and Houston by whom I assume was a photographer. She thought my red Marc by Marc Jacobs bag was cute and asked to take pictures of it. Should have asked what blog/website she was shooting for. If you see me somewhere on the web, let me know. I've always secretly wanted to be stopped and photographed for streetstyle photo purposes, and it finally happened after my long hiatus from NY haha.
- dinner with some people at Yakitori - crispy kawa and hotate bacon didn't hit the spot as much as it usually does, darnit.
- had planned on a drink date with Gabe at Death&Co, but ended up at a sports bar to catch the long end to the Bulls vs. Celtics Game 6
- Game 6 was RIDICULOUS RIDICULOUS RIDICULOUS
- Gabe and I were on cloud 9 all the way home on the M15 after the Bulls win during 3OT

Great 1st day in NYC. More to come...

Lorac Croc Palette

I've been somewhat on a makeup kick lately, watching beauty tutorials on youtube and what not. I've been in need of new eye shadow forever. I usually only wear eye shadow if it's a special occasion or I'm going out, but I realized that a good everyday shadow can go a long way. I knew I wanted to buy a shadow palette because it's more economical and you don't have to try to figure out what colors go together.

I ended up being woo'ed into buying Lorac's Croc Palette, and this has to be one of my best beauty purchases ever. The photo makes it look more bronze than it really is. In real life, it's has more pinkish undertones. It's a GREAT everyday eye shadow palette that can also be used at night. I still have yet to play around with more looks using this palette, but I think it's pretty versatile. It goes so well with my skin tone, but I think it would suit anyone really well too.

I bought it at Sephora for $36 which isn't too bad at all considering it comes with 4 shadows and a blush. It's very pigmented, so a little goes a long way.

Home Sweet Home

I am finally home in Chicago after endless brutal exams and a long and adventurous trip back home. I have traveled a lot in my lifetime and am used to annoying airport experiences. All I have to say is that Miami's international airport is the worst. If you can avoid it, don't fly through there when you're coming from another country and have a connecting flight with a layover of any less than 2 hours. Again, I've experienced worse, but I just really don't like the airport in Miami.

So the last two weeks were pretty horrible in terms of all these exams, but nothing was more stressful than this past week. It reminded me of 1st semester of junior year at NYU when I had a final every single day for a whole week, and I just got really depressed at the end of it all, thinking that I bombed every single one. This time, I'm finally feeling a bit relaxed aside from the fact that Mini 3 was an awful experience and I can only hope to God I passed 2nd semester. Failure is the harsh reality of med school. You honestly can't go through the journey of becoming a doctor without realizing that failure is possible. It sounds cynical, but it's the truth.

Even though I've only been home for a few days (since last Fri night), I've already had the joy of enjoying good food. So with that said, please stay tuned to updates on my food blog!