i thought long and hard about this before giving up and settling on this.

i'm a synesthete. i'm not sure if i've ever told you that, but if i say that a number "feels" a certain way or if you see me try not to roll my eyes whenever someone mentions seeing people's auras, that's why.

running around our backyard and chasing our chickens around in orinda.

whether this planet can sustain human life given the way that we treat it. whether we'll survive the current presidential administration without any irreparable harm.

i made lemon ricotta pancakes and bacon for breakfast this morning.

um...intentionally? a few months ago, i think. you already know!

take it easy and stop worrying about what people think about you. don't rely on other people to make you happy.

to love, i think. though ultimately i'm not sure that it really makes a difference, which is probably the less-nice way to say that i'm not really sure how to answer this these days.

i wish i had bigger boobs.

yes. probably. i think. depends on the law.

never trying. you can learn from failure and mistakes.

i just want to do good.

a little bit of both? my job relies on thought and logic but a lot of that eventually becomes intuition, too. if it looks like a horse, walks like a horse, and sounds like a horse, it's probably not a zebra...but you should always trust your gut.

cake for breakfast. justin bieber's "love yourself." curly fries for dinner. all of the ridiculous shows that have come out of the real world and road rules.

i started training for a half marathon a few months ago, so that's forced me to change a lot of old habits.

i've lost track of the number of times i've put on lotion and then rubbed my eyes.

dogs, duh.

uh...well, i have a great butt, for starters.

mirror neurons!

a few million dollars to get myself and friends and family out of debt, a workable solution to climate change so that we can sustain this world for a little bit longer, and a cure for cancer.

you know that whole do-over thing? i'd probably go back in time to about two years ago and try to steer myself around making some really questionable decisions.

if i could have a do-over on the past two years, i'd gladly take it.

somewhere warm and sunny, preferably with a hammock on the beach and lots of tropical drinks.

i'd like to think so. i've met plenty of people who support the idea, but i've also met tons of others who disprove this.

he self combusts.

dogs. lots of dogs. probably some cows and chickens, too.

i'm taking a page out of jess day's book.

i feel like an adult at work, for the most part, but when it comes to my home life, all bets are off. deciding to have ice cream for dinner makes me feel like an adult because i can make that decision, but it also makes me feel like a kid, because who else would wanna have ice cream for dinner?

going sledding for the first time on one of our visits to see you and your family.

like warm apple pie, i guess? i haven't really thought about this too much.

does a shred of human decency count as an object?

my stuffed bunny.

i spent years and years hating my name, but i've grown to like it, so i'll keep it. or maybe i'll just change it to princess conseula banana hammock.

olivier giroud.

either my phone or my laptop. luckily, both of those things survived the fire.

introverted.

deadpan humor, puns, and harmless pranks.

intelligence, kindness, drive, communication skills, and a sense of adventure.

michelle obama.

i wouldn't. i don't really like being the center of attention, so this whole fame thing wouldn't suit me very well.

sometimes. if it's an important call, i might write up some notes beforehand so that i don't forget anything.

one where i only work twelve hours, cross off everything on my to-do list, have a real dinner, and get a full eight hours of sleep.

in the shower this morning. earlier today when i was making breakfast and my roommate's puppy was hanging out with me, hoping for some bacon.

i'd take the mind of a 30 year old. i've watched my grandmother's mind and body deteriorate over the past few years, and while the loss of physical ability is difficult, her mental decline has been the hardest for her to deal with and the hardest for me to watch. aging is hard and dementia is cruel.

probably because of a stupid and/or arrogant decision that i've made.

i'm grateful for my friends and family and how supportive they are. i'm less grateful for family members who lie to me, and for other people who've decided that they know what's best for me.

i would've loved to have stayed in one place for an extended period of time. we moved around a lot and that made i hard for me to make and sustain friendships.

a better memory.

i'm not sure that i'd want to know anything unless i could know everything because i have no self-control, but where's the fun in that?

i need a vacation, does that count? i haven't taken one because my schedule doesn't allow for one until early next year.

going to med school and finishing my surgical residency.

honesty, loyalty, trustworthiness, and steadfastness.

i'd work to cross as much as i can off of my bucket list. i'd probably lose some inhibitions, too. if i only have a year left, that's not very much time at all, so i might as well just live it up. in ordinary circumstances, we aren't promised tomorrow, which i guess is a good argument for doing this anyway, but. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

it means having someone else's back. whether that means being someone that they can talk to, someone they can lean on if and when it's needed, someone to bring them a hot meal or make them laugh, then so be it.

there's a lot of different kinds of love in my life, but most of my affection is reserved for puppies and kittens right now.

my parents were pretty warm when i was growing up, at least when i was still living with them. my extended family is pretty close, though i don't see most of them too often even though i live near them. i don't think my childhood was happier than other people's, but i don't think it was all that sad, either.

we usually talk a couple of times a week. she's not really my confidante or anything like that, but we're close enough, i guess. usually. right now our relationship is kind of strained.

in front of my therapist a couple of weeks ago. while i was re-reading all of harry potter, also a few weeks ago.

this is hard for me to answer, since i often joke about things too soon after they've happened. suicide or self-harm, i guess? my coworkers and i laugh at gallows humor with each other all the time, but never within earshot of patients or their families. we see a lot of bad stuff on the job, and no matter how long you've been doing it, it doesn't get any easier. sometimes that's all that we can do to cope.

i wanted to learn how to surf, which i finally did a few summers ago! not well by any means, but at least i stayed standing.

in a young girl's heart? ... anything is possible.

i'm not sure that i would. i have to think about this.

life tends to work itself out, so don't stress too much. that's probably also the worst advice, or at least, the hardest to follow.

"do no harm and take no shit." i'm really, really bad at that last part.

chilaquiles! i looove chilaquiles but i have a hard time finding a place that does them to my liking. i like to think that i'm an adventurous eater and i can't really think of any foods that i really hate, except for maybe tripe. i can't.

anise or licorice. i learned to tolerate pernod well enough, but that's as close as i can get to anise itself.

just one? i'd want to solve this whole climate change and unsustainable earth thing.

josh groban. because i'd love to open my mouth and have josh groban's singing voice come out of it, just for fun.

me, probably.

gloria gaynor, "i will survive." the foundations, "build me up buttercup." britney spears, "hold it against me."

not really. our choices make us land where we do in the end.

let's start with brunch and go from there.

don't forget the chickens and cows!

i had an intern last year who was all sorts of terrible. he had a lot of drive but was arrogant as hell and spent an entire day leading me around the hospital because he also thought i was a clueless intern and not his chief resident. i went along with it until he actually put someone's life at risk and then tore him a new one after that. he's no longer in the program, but that's not my fault.

hopefully settled down and with a family of my own, though i'm not really sure what that looks like. maybe it's me and a partner and some kids, maybe it's me and a farm full of dogs.

i'm not sure how i feel about this whole marriage thing, or this whole celebrity thing, but keeping in theme with the last celebrity question, let's go with thierry henry.

i live under a rock and i'm running out of famous people here...let's go with olivier giroud again.

that i'm resilient and funny, or at least i like to think i am. saddest...i'd rather not say in public.

sour patch kids, glitter, probably some gummy bears, a few unicorns, puppies...basically my collage would look like a lisa frank trapper keeper.

the harry potter series, the spellman files series, and...well, that's way more than three books. when breath becomes air by paul kalanithi was an amazing read, too.

the back to the future series, scott pilgrim vs. the world, and clueless.

friends, the gilmore girls, and suits, but i'm way, way behind on that last one.

match day 2012! the nerves, the excitement, and confirmation of where i'd spend the next five years of my life. it was great.

i was being attacked by a gecko. don't ask me, i can't explain.

i really enjoy science. i love learning and i love problem-solving, and medicine lets me do all of this. i'm constantly amazed at how complicated the human body is, and how fragile it can be while being so durable and adaptable all at once.

i don't think i could be, or at least, it would take me a lot of time and soul-searching and trial and error to figure out. i was recently forced to take a short sabbatical from work, and not being able to do what i do has reinforced that it really is what i want to be doing for the foreseeable future.

100 duck-sized horses. wait, that's not right.

spotify's been spitting tegan and sara's "where does the good go" at me a lot lately and that's my current ear worm, at least.

normally, probably at the hospital at any given time.

they're not!