Valentino’s pugs.  From his documentary, Valentino: The Last Emperor.  

So adorable.

Photo from MyLastBite 

 I want this cutting board.

I can’t wait until this movie comes out.  Shot in the same style and with the same producers as Paris, Je T’aime

I worked at a small clinic in Nha Trang, Vietnam for several weeks during medical school.  Though I use the term “worked” loosely.  More like quietly observed and learned…

We sat in that tiny room for hours on end, seeing multiple patients at once.  There were two assistants who collected the vital signs and drew up meds on one side of the room, and the physician, his brother, who served as both pharmacist and ECG technician, and me on the other.  And outside a long line of patients waiting to be seen.  Most of them came with chronic problems like hypertension, diabetes, and arthritis — typical ailments in any doctor’s office in the US.

The physician must have been in his late sixties, having received his medical training in Vietnam when the French still occupied the country.  He had a cheerful temperment and liked to laugh at my poor Vietnamese grammar, thick American accent, and improper pronunciation of medical jargon.  To my defense, words like blood pressure, lungs, and kidney were not commonly used at home when I was growing up.  But since all I could offer was barely four years of medical school education, I was happy to provide amusement for the day.

“You will touch the hearts of many.”

I believe it’s a sign. It is my destiny to become a cardiologist!

Murakami retrospective opening in Brooklyn this Saturday.  On display: dozens of his oil paintings, wallpaper, sculptures, drawings and an animation feature.  Cannot wait… missed it when it first opened at LA’s MOCA last winter.  

Great NYT article on UCLA’s third consecutive appearance in the Final Four.  It’s nice being in Westwood during this exciting time; will be watching the Memphis game with my Bruin friends this Saturday.  They’re preparing powder-blue and gold Jello (shots) for the occasion.  



I like working out at the Wooden Center while I’m in LA.  There are random quotes posted on the walls to keep the students motivated. 

Related: I really hope the reports that former UCLA coach Steve Lavin is being considered as Cal’s new coach are false.  But thank goodness we finally fired Braun!