Joshua Radin in concert

Ever since hearing Joshua Radin's music on Grey's Anatomy and Scrubs, I have enjoyed his music tremendously. I had actually bought tickets to see him perform live in London on March 19 this year, but I was at the BES conference in Harrogate, and was unable to watch him perform.






Fortunately, he performed in Minneapolis and I wasn't going to forgo it this time round. And he was definitely worth it!

Renaissance Fair

Visited the Minnesota Renaissance Fair this weekend, which is supposedly the largest Renaissance Festival in the United States with an annual attendance of 275,000. It amazes me, it really does, a Renaissance Fair here in Minnesota!

As you enter the festival gates, one is welcomed by roaming street characters with a gracious “Good day my lord and lady”, and slowly immersed with the sounds, smells and sights of an authentic 16th century village.

Greetings galore my fair lady

Fencing - the aim is to burst the balloons on the ears!

As usual, the main attractions are the numerous food available to sample, quite similar to the State Fair actually. And pricey too, which explains the photo below. =)

Lady Visa and Master Card are always welcomed!

U2 in concert!

Am back in Chicago to attend U2 in concert!


Honestly, it was very extravagant of me to fly to Chicago just to attend a concert. However, this is U2! I have always wanted to watch them live when I was back in UK but work always got in the way. I am disappointed to say that I have never set foot in Wembley Arena where all the top artists and musicians perform.

When I heard U2 was performing in Chicago, and during a weekend when I was not working, I couldn't resist. As with all U2 concerts, the tickets were all sold out, thus I had to resort to a third party website. At first, I was initially worried how genuine the website would be and also how high the ticket price would be marketed, since everyone is out to make a profit. Luckily for me, I found a decent seller who sold his USD250 ticket to me for only USD200. I guess because it was a single ticket, he couldn't mark it higher.

And the concert was amazing!

The 36o degree stage

Snow Patrol opening act

Bono!

Electrifying stage!

Cloud Gate at Millenium Park - nicknamed The Bean, a sculpture by Anish Kapoor that reflects and distorts the city's skyline

Trip to Amish and State Fair

Am in Ambulatory Clinic rotation this month, which means I have all my weekends free! I had taken my weekends for granted until I started working here in the US, where the concept of weekends is non-existent. Every day is a working day with a day-off every 6-7 days.

Went to an Amish farm auction. I had heard about the Amish community prior but never knew much about them. A bit of Googling informed me that the Amish community do not permit electricity or telephones in their home, with the aim to keep modern world from intruding into their home lifes. They still live and work much as their forefathers did!

Some of the items on auction - a wagon anyone?

Amish-grown vegetables for sale

After the Amish farm, we went to the Minnesota State Fair, which has been reported to be the largest state fair in the whole US of A. This year, a grand total of 1,790497 people attended, according to their website.

Too many Minnesotans

During the state fair, people come to be entertained, to exhibit their best livestock, to show off their abilities in a variety of fields including singing and dancing (think Miss Minnesota Fair!) and most importantly, to enjoy the many different types of food (some weird and wonderful!) - mostly on a stick!

Deep fried alligator on a stick

Cheesecakes on a stick

And the people's favorite - cheese curds!

Trip to Chicago

Am back from a short 3 days trip to Chicago. And I had a great time!

Chicago skyline

I had purchased a Go Chicago card, which gave me free access to most (if, not all!) of the attractions in Chicago. I went to the Shedd Aquarium, Museum of Science and Industry, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Field Museum, the Hancock Observatory, the Sears Tower and many more. Not only was the card value for money, it was good value for time too, as it allows you to bypass the queue for tickets. Especially important for some attractions which had a very, very long queue!

Sue at the Field Museum

Attractions at Navy Pier

Went sailing on Tall Ship Windy at Navy Pier

Lonely lighthouse

Looks like two ordinary buildings

On closer inspection, it's a car park. According to the tour guide, only valet parking is allowed to prevent people from reversing into the river directly below. And yes, it has happened before!

106 cast iron figures created by Magdalena Abakanowicz

View from the Sears Towers Skydeck

Standing on the Ledge, at the Sears Towers Skydeck, from the 103rd floor, separated by an inch of glass, with unobstructed views straight down

View from the Hancock Observatory

Chicago was indeed fun! And I am coming back again in 2 weeks time to attend U2 in concert!

Eye exam

Went for my eye exam today. Didn't really need one but to get glasses made here, you need a prescription from an ophthalmologist, thus the eye exam.

The ophthalmologist commented that I had a unilateral swollen optic disc, but she wasn't sure. She reassured me that it is probably the way that it was tilted but she couldn't be sure, and is recommending that I see a neuro-ophthalmologist to have this checked out.

Hmmm...

A swollen optic disc usually means an increase in intra-cranial pressure, such as a tumour!!!! Okay, don't scare myself silly. I am sure I would know if I had a tumour growing in my brain. I don't have any other symptoms such as seizure, headaches, focal weakness etc.

I am sure this is nothing to worry about.....

Exhausted

I am plain exhausted.

Am currently rotating in Coronary Care Unit this month, which has been a steep learning curve for me. Half of the time, I have no idea how to manage my patients, and am just bumbling along as I go.

I know I should sit down and study about my patients, but I am just too tired.

I am so looking forward to my short weekend trip to Chicago at the end of this month!