Training for 10 miler

Song of the Day: Serenade for Strings in C major, Op.48 - Pezzo in forma di Sonatina - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Quote of the Day: "The first wealth is health." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thought of the Day: The song of the day is one of my favorite classical compositions of all time. A very grand, very emotional offering by P.I.Tchaikovsky. I still remember the feeling I had playing this with the Charlottesville High School orchestra at a competition (we won) in NYC. I remember our performance gave me goosebumps . . . and at that time I really was more into metal and heavy stuff than classical in general so this really said a lot! Today I re-visited the metal roots a little bit during my exercise session. Sweewawa and I have two races coming up -- the Monument 10K March 28th and the Charlottesville 10 miler April 4th. I am now feeling pretty ready for the 10K but still have some work to do before being ready for the 10 miler. Anyway, today I listened to an old favorite that had been gathering dust of late -- Metallica's Master of Puppets, a really great album. It combines, at times, the beauty and raw emotion of Tchaikovsky but also has the power of a sledgehammer.

Cheers, Dr. Kowawa

I'm a lot like you were

Song of the Day: Old Man - Neil Young

Quote of the Day: "I'm gonna give up giving up stuff for Lent." --Dr. Kowawa

Thought of the Day: Song of the day is a wonderful tune by Neil Young, I've loved this chorus for a long time. The pic is an old man I photographed in Lijiang, in the Yunnan Province of China in July 2007. Today had another fulfilling day of exercise and fun. Ran a little more than previously, am gradually working up to 10K and then 10 miles . . . one thought I had again while running -- a little bit of fear at the realization that I am done with all my clinical and book-learning of medical school, i.e. that this is about as much as I'll know when I begin actually functioning as an MD in July! Kind of scary, but I do think I'm up for the task. Cheers, Dr. Kowawa

Spring is here?

Song of the Day: All The Things You Are - Joe Pass

Quote of the Day: "Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand." --Albert Einstein

Thought of the Day: Had another couple of wonderful free days. I have been trying to exercise for 2 hours per day (per Mr. Thomas Jefferson's suggestion), combining running, walking, and lifting. Today Sweewawa and I walked at Richmond's Byrd Park and Maymont Park. The weather is lovely today, with temps in the mid-60's. Feels like spring is on the way, though I'm sure we'll have some cold spells yet. Yesterday I finalized my residency Rank List, which is the ordering of my preference for internship and residency programs. Now I start the agonizing 3 week wait until Match Day (March 19th) when we'll find out where we're going. I wish Match Day were tomorrow!

Happy Mardis Gras

Song of the Day: Work To Do - The Isley Brothers

Quote of the Day: "I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it." --Thomas Jefferson

Thought of the Day: The song of the day today is a tip of the hat to the fact that I do not in fact have lots of work to do . . . for the first time in a long time. The last few months I have been very very busy with completing my interviews for internship and residency and, during Jan-Feb, doing a month of Emergency Medicine. Now I'm done. I have completed my last tough requirements for medical school, and it feels really great. I took my last exam of medical school on Wednesday of last week and my last shift in the ED on Friday. Woohoo!! This weekend Sweewawa and I celebrated by going skiing at Wintergreen resort. Quite fun until Sweewawa got steamrolled by an out-of-control snowboarder yesterday (with minor injuries sustained . . . she's OK now).



Anyway, I'm back home now in Richmond and am enjoying some well-deserved R&R. Wanted to revisit the old blog as I feel it is a really valuable growing experience. I would like to try to keep adding favorite songs, quotes, and thoughts in the coming months. Yesterday I celebrated Mardis Gras by making my own special recipe of Gumbo. Turned out really well, recipe is found in the previous post. Made enough for several days of Gumbolicious enjoyment. I am also enjoying this time off by (a) training for my upcoming footraces -- the Richmond Monument 10 K and the Charlottesville 10 miler (b) learning some jazz guitar -- I plan to work on learning some Joe Pass tunes (c) reading Sweewawa suggested literature and (d) watching movies -- most recently Millenium Actress -- which turned out to be one of our favorite films we've ever seen! Plan to keep posting updates to the blog in the coming days. Cheers, Dr. Kowawa

Favorite Recipes

Appetizers:

Artichoke Dip

I tried this recipe when our old friends Jason & Erin came to visit us from Seattle, it was a hit, I definitely want to make it again.

Makes about 4 cups, can serve in ~2 cup portions baked.

1 14 oz can of artichoke hearts
1 cup of parmesan cheese
1 cup of mayonnaise
ground pepper
splash of white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
a little olive oil
1 cup of finely chopped onion
small amount of bread crumbs

Combine mayonnaise, parmesan cheese, and onion in a bowl. Drain the artichoke hearts really well, pressing out as much liquid as possible. Mince using food processor, and add to bowl. Add pepper and mix in to the point where you can still see it's presence in the large mixture. Add 2-4 tablespoons of white wine based on preference. This mixture can sit in the refrigerator for a while. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and spoon the mixture into a small baking dish (I used a small circular ~2 cup glass dish). Sprinkle enough bread crumbs to just cover the surface. Then add dashes of olive oil on top. Bake for ~25 minutes until bread crumbs are very brown and the entirety of the mixture is bubbling noticeably. Serve with crackers or toast. Enjoy!

Main dishes:

Cuisinart Rustic Tomato Sauce

http://www.cuisinart.com/recipes/sauces/5922.html

Pineapple Steamed Rice

. . . recipe to be added!

Spaghetti a la Carbonara

. . . recipe to be added!

Sweewawa's Flounder Noodles

. . . recipe to be added!

Sweewawa's Japanese-style Salmon

. . . recipe to be added!

Mark's Miso Sea Bass

. . . recipe to be added!

Coq au Vin

. . . recipe to be added!

40 Clove Crockpot Chicken

. . . recipe to be added!

Ribified Soupification

. . . recipe to be added!

Pineapple Fried Rice

. . . recipe to be added!

Pesto

. . . recipe to be added!