Originalitea

I am just full of puns lately, aren't I?

I just had to write about a new found obsession.  

Alice's Tea Cup...or to be specific Alice's Tea Cup III.  A friend of mine wanted to meet for a cup of tea the other night. -Remember me telling you about John? He's spent a lot of time in England and therefore tea is a big deal to him.- Anyway, he wanted to get some tea so I did a quick yelp search on tea and in doing so found said new obsession.  This place had great reviews and boasted a 2 hour wait on weekends,  The pictures showed a small shop that was rather whimsical in decor since it is based on Alice in Wonderland. I had a few hesitations.  I was concerned, for example, that the whim would be overwhelming, and the atmosphere might be a little too 1. girly, 2. snobby, or 3. just not my style.  However, I was wrong.  

The level of whim was appropriate.  The decor was interesting but subdued, and I loved the menu.  This place offers 140 different types of tea, brought out in super cute tea pots with bird figurines on top in different colors.  The dinnerware included mismatched tea cups and saucers (which added to its appeal), and doilies were optional.  There were also little tutus and fairy wings that little girls can wear when dining, which weirded me out at first but I decided was pretty cute by the end. John and I got a combo deal that included a large pot of tea as well as two scones.  He opted for plain buttermilk, and I went for the lemon raspberry.  Wond-er-ful.  The scones were awesome and served with little sides of cream and jam.  The tea was good, and the atmosphere was laid back and perfect.  I felt more relaxed in that place than I have in weeks.  

In fact, I loved this place so much that I met Julie there last night.  This time, I was hungrier and ready to try more of their food.  We opted for the Mad Hatter.  This includes two pots of tea, 3 scones, 2 sandwiches, and a dessert.  It was  a TON of food.  We chose for our scones buttermilk, pumpkin, and espresso chocolate chip.  For our sandwiches, we chose egg salad for Julie and a smoked chicken breast with apples and herbed goat cheese spread for me.  Our dessert was a chocolate mousse with assorted cookies.  The waitress brought it out on a tiered serving dish with scones at the top, sandwiches in the middle, and the dessert at the bottom.  Everything was sooo good.  The pumpkin scone was the star though.  Starbucks' pumpkin scone has NOTHING on this one.  It had a carmel sauce drizzled over the top and was served warm.  Julie and I did not expect to walk into a tea shop and come out so full we might as well have rolled down the street, but we did.  We had to take a few big deep sighs just to get through the meal.  There may have even been a few burps in there, which of course a tea shop is the most appropriate place to let one's burps out.   I might have to start doing some studying there.  I just love it too much. 

The Mad Hatter

  

Speaking of studying, I have got to be super disciplined over the next few weeks.  I've got my dermatology mock board exams coming.  Super nervous.  In fact, I better get back to it right now! Hello, books. 

LOCOmotive

So the Metropolitan Transit Authority has been a regular source of weirdness for me lately.  If you are my Facebook friend, then you may already know a little about this.  I felt like everyday last week took place in the public transportation twilight zone.  

First, I was stuck on a train like a stinking sardine, which always makes me a little anxious.  I literally had my hand on the thigh of some guy whose breath smelled about as good as the molded dishes in my sink.  I could do absolutely nothing about this.  While in this position, some homeless man came barreling through us all trying to make his way to the back door of the train that opens up to the platform between cars.  He couldn't quite get the door open in time so he just peed all over himself and all over the floor.  At the next stop, he barreled through everyone again and ran off the train. 

The next day, a bus driver yelled at me in a very mean way for reasons I can't understand.  The night after that a man on the subway fell asleep on me.  After I pushed him off, he insisted on talking to me despite that fact that I put my earphones in my ears and ignored him.  

A couple of nights following that...while on the 2 train coming back from the hospital in the Bronx...a man with a bass guitar made up a song for me.  It went something like this...

"This is for the white lady with the ponytail and white lady only..."

I got sunshine

On the Number 2 Train

When I look at the white lady

She got a college brain

I guess

You'll say

What can make me feel this way

White lady with the ponytail is...

My girl

Talking bout white laaady"

Then something about my name being Amy and me looking like a Barbie. 

I gave him a dollar.

Of course, there is always the normal stuff.  The 20-something-year-old kid who asked me for $5 and then yelled at me about making a doctor's salary and refusing to share.  The homeless man who told me to go to the ATM the other day after I told him I didn't have money.  The couples who scream at each other in front of everyone.  Oh and then my friend's girlfriend who had a man decide to...ahem..."test out his magic wand" right in front of her and then block her from running.  This stuff never ends.  Everyday I am AMAZED at the sheer amount of crazy people here.  You have not seen crazy until you come to New York.  

On a different note, you should know that there are lots of nice people here too.  Granted, they can't always show they are nice, but they are out there.  Take this for example...

I was standing on the platform waiting for a train the other day when somehow I manage to drop my phone.  Picture this - in slow motion - bounce, bounce, plunk.  Rightover the platform and down onto the subway tracks.  So then I just stared in shock at my phone sitting under the tracks.  I had to go through the scenarios in my head.  I had just checked the schedule so I knew that the next train was in 10 minutes.  "Should I crawl down there and get it? If I did, could I get back up?  Was it worth possibly getting hit by a train for a phone?  Crap! I paid hundreds of dollars for that phone.  But it's RIGHT THEEEEERE." And while I stared at my phone in paralyzing shock, a man came over to me and said "how bad do you need it?" I told him I needed it pretty bad.  And then he crawled down into the tracks and got my phone for me.  

Can you believe that? 

I felt SOOOOO guilty and thankful and shocked all at the same time.  The rest of the conversation went like this...

Me: If I had something to give you, I would give you whatever I had.  But I have nothing.

Him: I'm going to work. 

This was followed by him avoiding my gaze, putting his hands in his pockets, and staring at the floor.  So much for human interaction.  Oh well.   

American Academy of Dermatology = Amazing Awesome Drunk

This past weekend I flew out to NOLA (New Orleans for those wondering) for the annual Mecca of dermatologists.  Every year, thousands (and I mean THOUSANDS) of dermatologists, dermatology residents, dermatology nurses flee to a popular US city for our annual American Academy of Dermatology Conference.  During this conference, there are hundreds of academic sessions featuring the latest treatments, procedures, and research.  There are live patient demonstrations and even a Dermatophatology (aka Nerdpath) Bowl where residents compete for bragging rights.  

But who are we kidding?

While the academic sessions are very interesting, let's not forget what is TRULY interesting.  That would be the parties and free stuff.  Many derm related companies put on great parties throughout the weekend at different hot spots in the city.   Dermpath Diagnostics always throws a good one, and this year was no exception.  Featured at Mardi Gras World (where they keep the floats), this year's party had about 4 open bars, free local-themed food stations everywhere, a jazz band, a pop music band, and a marching band.  Did I mention the open bars?  You would think that a bunch of grown doctors would know better than to have themselves escorted out of the party premises, but nuh-uh.  No way.  I saw people peeing out of doorways and girls dressed up in Oscar-worthy dresses being put into cabs by security.  Woo, lordy! It was a sight.  Kinda embarrassing for us all, but, eh, what can you do? 

Now on to the free stuff...

Every year without question there is always a huge exhibit hall full of hundreds if not thousands of exhibitors all pushing some kind of product.  This means FREE SAMPLES.  I have found many a beauty product that I regularly use now by these means.  I loaded up.  I had to check a bag on my flight to Abilene just to get it all here.  I lined it all up and let the fam start picking and choosing.  I had everything from sunscreen to wrinkle cream to makeup to some weird thermal water spritz stuff that is all the rage.  What's even better is that they scan a card every time they give you something, and it provides your address for them to send even more free stuff.  Yesssss. 

Let's do the time warp again...

Given up on me yet?  I am not sure what the deal is, but I have just not had the motivation to do a blog recently.  Ummm, and by recently, I mean in like over a 2 and a half months  Yikes.  Sooo...how do I make up for the last 2 months?  Hmm...I sat down a couple of times to start some entries and just couldn't finish them because I was trying to tell you guys about everything that has gone on.  I think I have realized that I am just going to have to move it forward.  There is just no way to include it all!

I have been a lot busier lately.  I haven't even been able to keep up with Ellen and Oprah lately.  I have even given thought to canceling my cable because I just don't watch it. Gasp! So anyway, I will just drop a little blurb about the general goings-on.

Uh, can you say snow?
That would be the word of the month (or last couple of months). Since Christmas, it seems like it snows every Tuesday and Wednesday.  I have absolutely no idea why it snows mostly on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but I guess it is just Mother Nature's sense of humor.  Anyway, Christmas brought on our huge blizzard that I am sure you guys all heard about around the country.  As it turns out, I was the  sole resident left in New York to be on call that weekend while my co-workers all went home.  I was originally scheduled to go home for Christmas and work Thanksgiving (which is why my parents came to see me in New York over the Thanksgiving holiday), but plane tickets from New York around Christmas time are notoriously and atrociously expensive.  Since I was going on a cruise with my family the next week, we decided it wasn't worth spending that much money...we are talking somewhere around $700...for two days in Texas right before I would see them again.  So I stayed in New York....

I initially thought some of my friends might be in town and we could all snuggle up while I made dinner, but not so much.  I spent the holiday alone feeling sorry for myself and making my friends into South Park characters online.

Parham the Doctor

Justin the Video Game Guru

Jordan the Butcher

Julie the Stage Production Manager

Farron the Bum

Then came the snow....oh yes, then came the snow.  The storm hit on Sunday of Christmas weekend, which is of course when the millions of NYC residents were trying to get home.  What a disaster.  This was the 6th largest storm in the history of NYC, and Central Park (which is right by my apartment) got something around 20 inches of snow.  Wow.

Being the intelligent young lady I am, I decided to go get something to eat with a friend that night.  When we finally found a Chinese restaurant that was still open, the snow was really starting to come down.  By the time we left the brave little Chinese restaurant, it was crazy outside.  There were buses stuck in the snow everywhere.  People were stuck in the subways (one group got stuck in a train for 6 hours underground!). I was over on the west side trying to make my way to the east side.  I had to travel south on the subway around the periphery of Central Park and travel back north to my stop on the east side.  Normally, I would just take the crosstown bus across the park, but as you can imagine, that wasn't gonna happen.   I finally made it home, but it was nuts! There were literally buses stranded on E 96th street from Madison Avenue to First Avenue.  I bet I saw at least 15 of them.

I watched the snow pile up on my window sill, and when I woke up the next morning this is what I saw....

My street.  This is from my front door step.

This is me standing in knee deep snow while walking to work (pre-galoshes!)

So like I said, I was the sole resident amongst my co-workers that was still in town as everyone else was stranded out of the state.  Therefore, I got to man the clinic on my own that day.  It turned out to not be so bad, but man it could have been a disaster!  I was a little stressed.

Since this was my first snow storm since living in New York, I did have to learn a few things.

1) Those rain boots/galoshes I made fun of in an earlier blog?  Absolutely necessary!  When the snow starts to melt in Manhattan, it turns into a nasty concoction of dirty, icky slush that can get as high as 4 to 6 inches.  Try walking through that in tennis shoes.  Not to mention that I am not the most coordinated person as it is, and the traction on the bottom of those boots is kinda necessary.  So I found a pair.  I really searched far and wide.  I wanted something cheaper but still cute.  I didn't want the plain black, but I didn't want something obnoxious with huge bright flowers or peace signs or something. So I settled on these....

Ok, so these are Jimmy Choos/Hunters, and obviously my salary and Jimmy Choo are not BFF's.  But I found something that looked like these without the brand name.  Of all places, I found them at Academy in Texas when I was visiting last, which means durable, functional, and affordable.  Yesssss! Let me tell you something, I wear these stinking boots pretty much everyday.  They have saved my life.  They smell a little nasty now, but they. are. awesome.  I can walk through and on anything without getting soaked and cold or falling.  Someone asked me the other day if my boots were Armani.  Ha! So I guess I have them fooled. 

2) Do not - and I mean DO NOT -  stand on the corner of the street near the curb after a snow day.  You will get soaked by above mentioned icky slush.  So you are dirty, cold, wet, and mad.  Nice.

3)  Snow can fall sideways just like rain falls sideways.  I feel like I should be doing my own  version of Forrest Gump....ahem...."one day it started snowing, and it didn't quit for four [days]. We been through every kind of snow there is. Little bitty stingin' snow... and big ol' fat snow. Snow that flew in sideways. And sometimes snow even seemed to come straight up from underneath. Shoot, it even snowed at night..."

4) They do not pick up the trash when it snows.  Because the sanitation department is so busy trying to salt the sidewalks and plow the streets, they put the trash service on hold.  It smells great...especially when it starts warming up and melting.  Woo.

5) Ice sucks even worse.  There was one morning when we literally could have ice skated to work.  Even the boots were slipping on this mess.  It was a solid sheet of ice on the sidewalks.  My co-worker had to come down the big hill that slopes from Lexington and Third Avenue down to Second Avenue where our hospital is.  She said everyone was huddled together, holding on to each other, and scooting down the street en masse.  That would probably be one of the only times you see New Yorkers acknowledge each other on the street.

TANGENT: I do want to comment on this.  While to most people in other parts of the country the act of refusing to acknowledge the people around you might seem rude, you begin to understand that it is necessary here in NYC.  People are crazy.  No really.  CRAAAAAZY. For the first few months that I lived here, I would still talk to people and look them in the eye.  Mistake.  Big mistake.  You will get stuck talking to someone who thinks bacon is for wearing or someone who can't even form words and smells like pee.  No joke.  Some of them even look normal.  Just don't do it.

This was hard to get used to since I felt kinda rude.  I was in New Orleans this past weekend where people are super friendly, and I realized that I was still in New York mindset.  I had to remind myself that it was okay to return a "good afternoon" to the people on the street.  It was a pretty notable contrast between the two cities.

So yeah, that's been the norm the last few weeks. Snow on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Nothing like that first blizzard, but snow here and there nonetheless.  Now that I am used to it and properly prepared, it hasn't been that bad.

Oh lordy, I am currently in Texas (where it is colder than New York, mind you), and my mom just gave me a cup of my grandmother's chocolate pie filling.  I love you guys, but I need to focus on the chocolate.

I will try to write some more entries.  In all likelihood, I have lost any readers that I previously had.  My bad.  But I will try to write anyway, even if my mom is the only reader.  Hi Mom!