surprise evening

September 29, 2010

a welcome guest
yesterday at work was — to use a term i am finding a bit tired at this point — epic. i hate to admit it, but i will: when one of the NICU nurse practitioners called and said she had “several” consults, i nearly blew a gasket. intentions be damned.

oh well. it’s another day today, and therefore another chance to practice mindfulness and find inner peace.

i’m not usually big on surprises or spur-of-the-moment changes in plans. but i couldn’t have been more thrilled when — as i sat there working on mounting piles of paperwork — an email popped up in my in-box. unexpectedly in town and without obligations for the evening, it was our long-lost and much-missed friend (and now blogger!):

martinidad!!!
of course, true to form (and moniker), he enjoyed one of his signature drinks. he even had a gin priority list ready for our waiter:

1. plymouth (i think!? neither josh nor i could remember . . .)
2. bombay sapphire
3. tanqueray no. 10

through dinner and cocktails, the three of us chatted hopes, dreams, and missed memories of the triangle. it was wonderful to catch up and i loved hearing about life with their now 11-month old, miles.

martinidad is actually dr. martinidad, a former emergency room physician, and he also had some great advice regarding my pager woes and work stress. he encouraged me to do something i’ve already started to do — not respond to pages within 0.05 seconds but rather take the time to finish what i am working on (within reason) and then calmly take the call. it was useful to hear someone from the ‘other side’ (ie, as an ER physician he was typically the one paging the specialists) validating this practice. after all, let’s face it: in a life-threatening emergency where literally seconds count, the person to call is generally not going to be the pediatric endocrinologist.

one would hope, anyway.

dinner at weathervane
i fully planned on starting my real simple cooking challenge yesterday! but after receiving this can’t-miss invitation, i had to table yesterday’s dinner in favor of one more night out. (side note: it worked out, because the fish i had left in the refrigerator to thaw was still rock solid when i arrived home, anyway!)

i asked martinidad if he had any triangle restaurant cravings, and he mentioned southern season’s weathervane café, a casual but elegant dining spot. fun fact: we had our rehearsal dinner there, a southern-themed-affair with barbeque, red checkered tablecloths & an alt-country soundtrack. ahh, memories.

since it was his trip (and who am i to turn down a visitor’s cravings for triangle standards?), we ended up at a lovely outdoor table by 8 pm.


it looks empty, but there were actually quite a few people outside, sitting in booths tucked away to the side. it was a breezy 70 degrees and quite comfortable.


i started with a long-awaited glass of pinot noir.

[sorry to disappoint you all, but without going into details we will just say i knew it would be okay for me to drink this last night.]

josh and i shared a field greens salad with blueberries, walnuts, goat cheese, and orange vinaigrette.


but my meal’s highlight were these fantastic scallops i ordered off of the small plates menu:

scrumptious!
complete with a warm roll, this made for a well-rounded but not overly heavy weeknight dinner. i also snapped a shot of martinidad‘s very photogenic entrée:

expertly crafted pork roulade with a side of sautéed greens
it was a lovely evening, although it reminded josh and i of how much we miss mdad and his lovely wife (who goes by the pseudonym margarita mom, of course). hopefully they will come back for a longer visit sometime!

——————————————————————-

9.28.10

workout: nada (derailed by AM chores and then dinner plans)

studying: half of the rheumatology chapter. while my plan is going down in flames, i have a little solace in my back pocket, which is that i will be off of the clinical service beginning on friday. i am hoping to be able to devote a chunk of my days to studying, so i really do believe i will catch up! (and pass the #*$@ test. i hope.)

3 Comments

  • Reply Denise March 10, 2019 at 7:25 pm

    Awww! I was so jealous when Albert told me he was having dinner with you guys! It looks like it was a great evening. We miss you guys too!

  • Reply Michelle @ Chasing Ambulances March 10, 2019 at 7:25 pm

    I forgot to tell you that I started the Real Simple cook through on Monday! I&#39ll be interested to see your notes on the recipes too. I hope the ER doc&#39s advice on pages helps you handle the stress!

  • Reply atilla March 10, 2019 at 7:25 pm

    agree with the chill in answering pages of course within reason

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