Sakagura - a brief trip to Japan

Being that this is my last week in the city this summer, I met up with my friend and his girlfriend as he heads of to NYU SoM. I've wanted to try Sakagura for a while so we decided to come here pretty last minute. 

Kamo roast - duck wrapped in scallion with basil sauce

Fluke carpaccio - thin slices of fluke sashimi drizzled in olive oil with plum paste, salmon roe, and shiso leaf

maguro tartar - chopped tuna with with flying fish roe steeped in Yuzu and caviar

tatami iwashi - sardin crackers with a spicy mayo dip

chawanmushi - egg custard with thickened Ponzu sauce

some cute spoons

saikoro steak with grated onion and soy sauce

buta kakuni - stewed diced pork belly

chocolate souffle with raspberry sauce

I liked most of the dishes we ordered. The portions were really small though. I would definitely recommend this place if you are a fan of Japanese food or just want to try something new.

The Craze - Dominique Ansel Bakery

So this morning, at the ungodly hour of 5:30AM, two of my friends and I gathered in front of Dominique Ansel Bakery to catch the cronut craze (and the soon to be frozen s'mores craze). There really wasn't much to do on line other than chat, nap a couple of minutes here and there, and get randomly interviewed.

so many cronuts!

Blackberry cronut

The frozen s'more

The inside of the frozen s'more

Now, was the cronut and frozen s'more worth the two and a half hour wait? Guess you'll have to find out for yourself.

How Broken We Are

Over the past month or so, one of my colleagues and I have been accused of murdering mice for our neuroscience research. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, murder is defined as the crime of unlawfully killing, especially with malice. What my colleague and I do is not maliciously sacrifice mice; we sacrifice them in the pursuit of scientific knowledge so that humanity may benefit from it. While others don't want to get their hands dirty, we have taken it upon ourselves to pursue that knowledge. And as a result, we have received unwarranted accusations.

Taking to Facebook to try to convey my disappointment and hurt at receiving these accusations, I encountered insincerity and mockery from others. One person explicitly downplayed the accusations as something done in a "joking manner." When did accusations of murder become a joke? Not only that but other people didn't seem to understand the severity of the situation. Downplaying this incident is not only an insult to us but also to the mice who are sacrificed for humanity's benefit. This moment is one of the most disappointing instances for me as not only a researcher but also as a human being.

I'm still in shock of how somebody can downplay murder as a joke. It just points to how broken we all are.

At What Point...

At what point do you sit down, look at yourself in the mirror and ask, "What are you doing?" At what point do you beg yourself to come back to reality and stop daydreaming in fantasies? At what point...

A year has gone by...far too quickly for my liking. It's strange how vastly different two summers can be - one in which you were my closest companion and one in which you are nothing more than an acquaintance, if even that.

It's funny how you managed to make me experience a roller coaster of emotions, ranging from disappointment and frustration to joy and excitement.But then again, maybe I only have myself to blame. Maybe I never should have let my feelings get the better of me. Maybe I never should have fallen for you.

However, I don't regret confessing my feelings. Because in that moment, what I felt was real. And even if you didn't feel the same way, I know that my feelings were genuine. I guess even today I think about it from time to time, wondering if I did something differently or said something else that perhaps our relationship would have taken a different course, that maybe the promises we made wouldn't have turned into hollow words. 

And I admit that there are a few things I would like to say but I'm choosing not to because I don't know if it's appropriate to anymore. They wouldn't really make a difference, right? 

I don't know if you'll ever read this but there is one thing that I do want to say. And that's...thank you. 

Thank you for taking the time to get to know me. Thank you for asking me about my relationship with God. Thank you for letting me into your life and sharing with me your aspirations, hopes, disappointments, and fears. And lastly, thank you for praying for me.

Would you think I'm crazy or hopeless if I told you I miss you? I wonder if you feel the same or if I'm just stuck in reverse.

I'm not really sure what our relationship will be tomorrow, a month from today, or even twenty years from now. But there's one thing that I do know - I'll be praying.

Molly's Cupcakes

So people have been telling me that Molly's Cupcakes, located on Bleecker Street in the West Village, have these amazing cupcakes. And well, yeah they were pretty amazing. My mom had been asking me to bring her cupcakes to Jersey for the longest time. I think she was jealous that all her friend's daughters always brought sweets back and I never did. I'm not really the type to make the effort to go hunt down sweets and desserts. But I figured I should bring them back for once. And my goodness my entire family loved them. I can't wait to go back
again!

Ron Bennington, Blueberry Cheescake, Peach Cobbler, Crème brûlée

Finance and Christianity

Talking with my roommate, I mentioned how a lot of the Christians I know are in finance. He replied, "I don't understand how as a Christian you would ever go into finance or banking or anything of that sort. How is that supposed to be glorifying to God?"

And honestly I agree with him. A lot of the Sternies I know have said that they are simply interested in markets or find the job itself appealing but I always gave them the same response: "In the end, your entire career will still revolve around only one thing and that's maximizing profit."

How is a career that's based on making the most money you possibly can supposed to be glorifying to God? Are you actually doing anything that God calls upon you to do? I see people at Wall Street slaving away their lives, working for big shot MD's and CEO's. And for what purpose? Let's say it's not about the money. What else is there then? You get promoted and feel good about yourself? You get published in an article and earn fame and recognition? Everything is still about YOU. Sure you can say you're helping other people and companies by providing a service but the main goal is still to maximize profit. And no matter how you view it, the focal point will always be money.

If you ever come to a point where you have to lay someone off, are you going to just because somebody told you to? You might as well throw the poor soul off the Empire State Building. I'm quite disappointed and disgusted at how my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ can enter such a profession.

The reason I chose to go into medicine may seem cliché but I truly want to help others because I believe I can empathize with them. Ever since my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, I've wanted nothing more than to be able to help others who experience similar situations. 

I guess I don't understand how two different professions can be so vastly different.

One Sweet Day

The good times that made us laugh outweigh the bad
And I thought we'd get to see forever
But forever's gone away
It's so hard to say
goodbye to yesterday~

할아버지, 잘지내고 있지?

I can't believe it's been nine years already. Never had I imagined I'd be graduating from college in one semester and heading to medical school. Seems like time just flew by. But it's still so vivid...hiking with you on your favorite trail, sitting at the mountaintop eating the 김밥 you rolled early in the morning, and watching the sunrise.

At the time, my world ended when mom told me you were diagnosed with lung cancer. Even today all I ask is why? I'm still waiting for God to give me an answer. And even though you never proclaimed to accept Jesus as your savior, I choose to believe you're watching down on me from Heaven next to Jesus because he's performed miracles before. I choose to believe that you're still smiling so hard it's hard to distinguish your eyes.

I hope that everything I've done up to this point has been enough. I know how much you have sacrificed so that I have all the opportunities you never did growing up. And before I go, there's just one last thing I want to say:

I won't be afraid
I'll be alright if you help me
I know you're looking down from Heaven
And I won't let you down
I'll be everything you taught me
And all that I know is I'll wait
Patiently to see you in Heaven