I think the hurricane has left NC.
It was quite anti-climactic here in the Triangle.
I'm exhausted, because I was on at New State Hospital last night and totally overcaffeineated myself and so now haven't slept since 6:30 yesterday morning. So, I'm going to go to bed. But we are all doing just fine here. Maggie's totally chilled out. Even the motorcycle made it through without blowing over.
I will leave you with this, one final act of rebellion against my "no people on the blog" rule before I go medicate myself into Morpheus' realm - My coffee shop buddy Chris put this together today after watching several hours of totally ludicrous weather-related coverage. I think it sums up the aftermath of the hurricane (here, two and a half hours inland) quite well....
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Perspective (just a little)
One of the radio stations I listen to has this Wednesday feature called, "You've got to be kidding me!" where you call up and discuss things that made you angry. It's mostly little annoyances and kind of reminds me of this site. It's funny and everyone understands that you're not like, oh my God, my life is soooo awful because my nail polish turned out to be matte instead of shiny or because you spent an hour shopping and then the grocery store couldn't take credit cards because the computer was down. Total first world problems.
My 8am patient came, but my 9am canceled, so after I wrote my note, etc, I was reading today's "You've got to be kidding me!" posts on Facebook. And there was one from a female soldier that read, "I woke up this morning and I'm still in Afghanistan."
It kind of gave me pause.
Now, don't get me wrong. I think this is a little bitchy. Not for nothin', but you made the choice to join the military. And, yes, people have many different reasons for doing so, and, true, they don't always let you make the decisions about where you go once you're in, but I'm saying, you knew waking up in a war-torn country that resents out presence there was a distinct possibility. And to post it in a forum like this is a little woe-is-me. Not that she's not entitled to it, but, nonetheless.
Still.
I'm looking out over the rolling green hills and bright blue sky of this hot North Carolina day. I'm seeing patients, I'm in the air conditioning, I have cute shoes and manicured nails. And, yes, I have a lot of things to deal with, and yeah, my job can get pretty taxing. But no one is shooting at me.
Well, I do live in the Dirty D. I guess it could happen. But so far it hasn't. And the gangs aren't real big on IEDs, either (pool noodle incident notwithstanding).
I've been obsessing a lot lately about where I want to be when this year ends. What sort of job, what sort of setting, etc, but also where I want to end up geographically. Raleigh? Chicago? New York? Baltimore? In the end, I suspect, it'll come down to where the best offer turns up. But this morning I'm thinking that it's nice to consider whether I'll be shoveling snow or dealing with traffic instead of if I'm going to run over a land mine today or someone is going to throw a grenade at me while I trudge along with 70 pounds of gear on my back in the desert heat.
I was talking to my supervisor a couple of weeks ago about making the decision to stay in the area or go back home, and I told her, it feels like whichever decision I make, it's going to feel like the wrong one. If I stay in NC, I'm going to wish I was in Chicago. If I go to Chicago, I'm going to miss my people (and weather) in NC. This sucks. And her perspective was, well, you could look at it as, whichever place you decide to go, you've got great things going on and great people to be with (there are fewer people there, but the same thing can be said for NYC or Baltimore).
I still don't know what the hell to do. But I'm trying to hold on to the perspective that it's a win-win. Or at least that it could be a lot worse.
My 8am patient came, but my 9am canceled, so after I wrote my note, etc, I was reading today's "You've got to be kidding me!" posts on Facebook. And there was one from a female soldier that read, "I woke up this morning and I'm still in Afghanistan."
It kind of gave me pause.
Now, don't get me wrong. I think this is a little bitchy. Not for nothin', but you made the choice to join the military. And, yes, people have many different reasons for doing so, and, true, they don't always let you make the decisions about where you go once you're in, but I'm saying, you knew waking up in a war-torn country that resents out presence there was a distinct possibility. And to post it in a forum like this is a little woe-is-me. Not that she's not entitled to it, but, nonetheless.
Still.
I'm looking out over the rolling green hills and bright blue sky of this hot North Carolina day. I'm seeing patients, I'm in the air conditioning, I have cute shoes and manicured nails. And, yes, I have a lot of things to deal with, and yeah, my job can get pretty taxing. But no one is shooting at me.
Well, I do live in the Dirty D. I guess it could happen. But so far it hasn't. And the gangs aren't real big on IEDs, either (pool noodle incident notwithstanding).
I've been obsessing a lot lately about where I want to be when this year ends. What sort of job, what sort of setting, etc, but also where I want to end up geographically. Raleigh? Chicago? New York? Baltimore? In the end, I suspect, it'll come down to where the best offer turns up. But this morning I'm thinking that it's nice to consider whether I'll be shoveling snow or dealing with traffic instead of if I'm going to run over a land mine today or someone is going to throw a grenade at me while I trudge along with 70 pounds of gear on my back in the desert heat.
I was talking to my supervisor a couple of weeks ago about making the decision to stay in the area or go back home, and I told her, it feels like whichever decision I make, it's going to feel like the wrong one. If I stay in NC, I'm going to wish I was in Chicago. If I go to Chicago, I'm going to miss my people (and weather) in NC. This sucks. And her perspective was, well, you could look at it as, whichever place you decide to go, you've got great things going on and great people to be with (there are fewer people there, but the same thing can be said for NYC or Baltimore).
I still don't know what the hell to do. But I'm trying to hold on to the perspective that it's a win-win. Or at least that it could be a lot worse.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Awesomeness
It was a generally good day.
I got up late, but I still managed to get coffee and breakfast and get to my morning meeting on time. I had a really good meeting with my research collaborator, and left with an in-theory-educational DVD about infant development titled "Everybody Loves Babies." I also left with a quest to purchase the book, What Babies Say Before They Can Talk, about infant communication (my research is on mother-infant bonding). Which, I found it on the nook bookstore (the nookstore?) and stopped in the parking lot of the Barnes and Noble near State Hospital to download it onto my electronic reader. I went to SH, at lunch and read the first chapter of What Babies Say, and had a lovely conversation with Peng and Mike and then our newly transplanted junior fellow, Moira. I had a lovely hour of supervision (we talked mostly about what novels we've been reading, since two of my patients are off for the summer and one went to the beach last week instead of coming to therapy). I ran and got more coffee (white mocha, yum). My last patient of the day no-showed (thankfully...) and so I got the rest of yesterday's diagnostic interview typed up. I kibbitzed with Peng and our boss Athena for a while, and finally came home and had dinner with my parents. It was nice.
Oh, also today I printed up a return label for and reboxed the First Aid for the Pediatric Boards from yesterday's post. Because I'm thinking that will be useless on the psychiatry boards I'm taking in two short months. And then I re-ordered the right book. From Barnes and Noble.
And then! I came home, right, and I looked in my mailbox for the first time in several weeks (my mailman hates me). And in my mail I had the most awesomest card from Jer and Ali (and little baby Grace). On the front it says, "I'd totally take a bee for you" (there's a little picture of a bee) and then when you open it, it plays this song:
Which, I looked up on Lyrics Freak, and I think it's a song about a little bluebird nightlight. I....love that so much.
(Thanks, guys!!)
In other news, my parents today attended the memorial service of one of their neighbors at Shady Pines. He was a nice guy. Lived downstairs, next door to the other Greek lady. He was 97, and he finally gave up golfing four years ago. I saw him last week and he was looking pretty good; apparently it was a swift decline, which is a blessing, I'm sure. Still, sad.
But here's the thing.
They came home with balloon animals.
No joke! There was a guy there making balloon animals. We think maybe he was a friend of the deceased. To the best of my knowledge, the guy that died wasn't a clown or anything. Maybe he just really liked balloon animals?
I got up late, but I still managed to get coffee and breakfast and get to my morning meeting on time. I had a really good meeting with my research collaborator, and left with an in-theory-educational DVD about infant development titled "Everybody Loves Babies." I also left with a quest to purchase the book, What Babies Say Before They Can Talk, about infant communication (my research is on mother-infant bonding). Which, I found it on the nook bookstore (the nookstore?) and stopped in the parking lot of the Barnes and Noble near State Hospital to download it onto my electronic reader. I went to SH, at lunch and read the first chapter of What Babies Say, and had a lovely conversation with Peng and Mike and then our newly transplanted junior fellow, Moira. I had a lovely hour of supervision (we talked mostly about what novels we've been reading, since two of my patients are off for the summer and one went to the beach last week instead of coming to therapy). I ran and got more coffee (white mocha, yum). My last patient of the day no-showed (thankfully...) and so I got the rest of yesterday's diagnostic interview typed up. I kibbitzed with Peng and our boss Athena for a while, and finally came home and had dinner with my parents. It was nice.
Oh, also today I printed up a return label for and reboxed the First Aid for the Pediatric Boards from yesterday's post. Because I'm thinking that will be useless on the psychiatry boards I'm taking in two short months. And then I re-ordered the right book. From Barnes and Noble.
And then! I came home, right, and I looked in my mailbox for the first time in several weeks (my mailman hates me). And in my mail I had the most awesomest card from Jer and Ali (and little baby Grace). On the front it says, "I'd totally take a bee for you" (there's a little picture of a bee) and then when you open it, it plays this song:
Which, I looked up on Lyrics Freak, and I think it's a song about a little bluebird nightlight. I....love that so much.
(Thanks, guys!!)
In other news, my parents today attended the memorial service of one of their neighbors at Shady Pines. He was a nice guy. Lived downstairs, next door to the other Greek lady. He was 97, and he finally gave up golfing four years ago. I saw him last week and he was looking pretty good; apparently it was a swift decline, which is a blessing, I'm sure. Still, sad.
But here's the thing.
They came home with balloon animals.
No joke! There was a guy there making balloon animals. We think maybe he was a friend of the deceased. To the best of my knowledge, the guy that died wasn't a clown or anything. Maybe he just really liked balloon animals?
Monday, July 11, 2011
Monday, Monday
So I'm back home.
I have stuff to say, actually, and will try to say some of it in the next couple of days. But I got an hour and a half of sleep Saturday night (first moonlighting shift at New State Hospital) and last night I got home late (Rhonda made me and a couple of friends an awesome home-cooked Sri Lankan dinner), and I really want to go to bed early tonight. So for now, I merely leave you to ponder this:
I have stuff to say, actually, and will try to say some of it in the next couple of days. But I got an hour and a half of sleep Saturday night (first moonlighting shift at New State Hospital) and last night I got home late (Rhonda made me and a couple of friends an awesome home-cooked Sri Lankan dinner), and I really want to go to bed early tonight. So for now, I merely leave you to ponder this:
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Prep
So tomorrow is surgery. My mom is a trooper. She's like, okay, bring it on.
We had a nice day today, the four of us. I took Maggie over this morning and she hung out with my mom while my dad and I went to coffee for Father's Day. We had a nice time at coffee. It was the usual Sunday morning crew and they did not disappoint. Plus there was a cheese danish and a tasty cup of coffee in it for him, not to mention a good time playing Matchbox cars with the owners' two year old son. I took him back home (with an oatmeal raisin cookie the size of a hubcap for my mother) and then hit the gym. My trainer and I had a good workout, which included a lot of time throwing things at him. I picked up lunch for my folks and myself, and we hung out a while. My mom and I cleaned out my car and made a trip to their garage.
I came back home and decided I would finally try and jump start the bike. Which...didn't go so well. At first I couldn't get the seat off (the battery's underneath the seat). So I called Jen, who was awesome and came over to help. While she was on her way I remembered the owner's manual sitting on my dresser, and discovered that getting the seat off a Harley is surprisingly uncomplicated. But it was good that Jen came anyway, because then I couldn't figure out how to get to the battery. The owner's manual was COMPLETELY USELESS for this. We futzed. We poked. I swore a lot. We couldn't make the picture match the scenario in front of us. At which point we invoked my Harley Roadside Assistance, which, it turns out, only tows the bike, no matter what's wrong with it. So we called the Harley dealership in Raleigh and the guy tried to talk us through taking the battery out. We tried and poked and shoved and prodded and I swore some more, but we couldn't get the damn thing out. Which is frustrating, because how am I supposed to get the thing out to charge it in the winter?! We finally gave up. I will probably throw in the towel and tow the bike to the dealership...next weekend. And while I'm there, I'll make them teach me how to take out the damn battery.
I went and got my nails done after Jen left and the guy commented on the grease under my nails. I just smiled and shrugged. I picked a nice shade of breast-cancer-awareness pink and pretty soon the grease was gone. I picked up dinner on the way back to my folks' and we had the best pizza for dinner that Durham has to offer (my folks finally got the sausage pizza they've been unable to find at the grocery store, and I got my very favorite: Chicago-style deep dish - it's not stuffed, but it's a reasonable approximation of Chicago pan pizza - with broccoli, green peppers, and feta cheese. Seriously, it's the best thing ever). My mom and dad added some Texas Toast they had in the freezer and we had a nice little meal. We watched some SVU and played with Maggie. We planned for the morning and Mags and I came on home.
It was a good Sunday.
Will keep y'all posted tomorrow.
We had a nice day today, the four of us. I took Maggie over this morning and she hung out with my mom while my dad and I went to coffee for Father's Day. We had a nice time at coffee. It was the usual Sunday morning crew and they did not disappoint. Plus there was a cheese danish and a tasty cup of coffee in it for him, not to mention a good time playing Matchbox cars with the owners' two year old son. I took him back home (with an oatmeal raisin cookie the size of a hubcap for my mother) and then hit the gym. My trainer and I had a good workout, which included a lot of time throwing things at him. I picked up lunch for my folks and myself, and we hung out a while. My mom and I cleaned out my car and made a trip to their garage.
I came back home and decided I would finally try and jump start the bike. Which...didn't go so well. At first I couldn't get the seat off (the battery's underneath the seat). So I called Jen, who was awesome and came over to help. While she was on her way I remembered the owner's manual sitting on my dresser, and discovered that getting the seat off a Harley is surprisingly uncomplicated. But it was good that Jen came anyway, because then I couldn't figure out how to get to the battery. The owner's manual was COMPLETELY USELESS for this. We futzed. We poked. I swore a lot. We couldn't make the picture match the scenario in front of us. At which point we invoked my Harley Roadside Assistance, which, it turns out, only tows the bike, no matter what's wrong with it. So we called the Harley dealership in Raleigh and the guy tried to talk us through taking the battery out. We tried and poked and shoved and prodded and I swore some more, but we couldn't get the damn thing out. Which is frustrating, because how am I supposed to get the thing out to charge it in the winter?! We finally gave up. I will probably throw in the towel and tow the bike to the dealership...next weekend. And while I'm there, I'll make them teach me how to take out the damn battery.
I went and got my nails done after Jen left and the guy commented on the grease under my nails. I just smiled and shrugged. I picked a nice shade of breast-cancer-awareness pink and pretty soon the grease was gone. I picked up dinner on the way back to my folks' and we had the best pizza for dinner that Durham has to offer (my folks finally got the sausage pizza they've been unable to find at the grocery store, and I got my very favorite: Chicago-style deep dish - it's not stuffed, but it's a reasonable approximation of Chicago pan pizza - with broccoli, green peppers, and feta cheese. Seriously, it's the best thing ever). My mom and dad added some Texas Toast they had in the freezer and we had a nice little meal. We watched some SVU and played with Maggie. We planned for the morning and Mags and I came on home.
It was a good Sunday.
Will keep y'all posted tomorrow.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Suprising...
Olga's been out of the hospital and settled in her new rental place for several weeks now. So today she texted and was like, "how about we take the cat off your hands?"
Reasonable, right? I mean, Gulan *is* her cat.
I had no idea I was going to be so upset when the cat left. It really made me sad.
But I packed up the cat's stuff to take her over to Olga's new place. Gulan knew something was up and hid in the corner of the living room behind the piano and didn't want to come out. I finally bribed her with treats, picked her up and put her in the car. She sat very quietly on the front seat and purred when I petted her at stoplights.
And she was happy to see Olga and her son again. You know, in that cat way. Then she hid in the closet.
I got to spend some quality time with Olga and her little boy and her mom and sister, though. That was a nice cap to a busy day of errands and fussing and running around.
I'm really going to miss that damn cat...
Reasonable, right? I mean, Gulan *is* her cat.
I had no idea I was going to be so upset when the cat left. It really made me sad.
But I packed up the cat's stuff to take her over to Olga's new place. Gulan knew something was up and hid in the corner of the living room behind the piano and didn't want to come out. I finally bribed her with treats, picked her up and put her in the car. She sat very quietly on the front seat and purred when I petted her at stoplights.
And she was happy to see Olga and her son again. You know, in that cat way. Then she hid in the closet.
I got to spend some quality time with Olga and her little boy and her mom and sister, though. That was a nice cap to a busy day of errands and fussing and running around.
I'm really going to miss that damn cat...
Friday, June 17, 2011
TGIF
Made it to Friday. Was supposed to be off today, but Mike got sick and I had to cover for him. So in I went. It didn't totally suck. And there was a really good lunch - tasty and also free, with good company. Can't beat that.
Mom's mastectomy is scheduled for 10:30 on Monday. We have to get her there at 8am. I'll post an update here and on FB afterwards.
I'm a little anxious. She's worried about the surgery, I'm worried about the recovery. Together we've got it covered, I guess.
Going to be a busy weekend getting everything wrapped up before Monday. Plus my cousin is in town this weekend, and I'm going to hang out with her and my aunt and uncle Saturday night. Definitely looking forward to that. And I'm taking my dad to coffee on Sunday for Fathers' Day. Will probably spend of Sunday with them. We'll see how things go...
Mom's mastectomy is scheduled for 10:30 on Monday. We have to get her there at 8am. I'll post an update here and on FB afterwards.
I'm a little anxious. She's worried about the surgery, I'm worried about the recovery. Together we've got it covered, I guess.
Going to be a busy weekend getting everything wrapped up before Monday. Plus my cousin is in town this weekend, and I'm going to hang out with her and my aunt and uncle Saturday night. Definitely looking forward to that. And I'm taking my dad to coffee on Sunday for Fathers' Day. Will probably spend of Sunday with them. We'll see how things go...
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Fair air
The AC is back on.
This morning it was 85 when I got up. Maggie was like a dishrag (until the leash came out) and poor Gulan was melted across the bathroom floor. All three of us are feeling much better, now, however.
One thing I do love about renting, though, is having a maintenance guy...
This morning it was 85 when I got up. Maggie was like a dishrag (until the leash came out) and poor Gulan was melted across the bathroom floor. All three of us are feeling much better, now, however.
One thing I do love about renting, though, is having a maintenance guy...
Monday, June 13, 2011
Hot in Durham
It's hot in my house.
84 degrees, to be precise. Our air conditioner must've gone out today.
Bleh. Hopefully they'll fix it tomorrow. I called and left a "we're so hot!" voicemail on the maintenance line.
Bleh.
In less "bleh" news, I had a great weekend. My uncle and my cousin came in for graduation. Graduation itself was a pretty fun thing. Long, but fun. One of these days I'll write an actual post about the graduation ceremony, but I'm hot and I want to go to bed.
My uncle left Saturday and was definitely not here long enough. It was really good to see him - it's been over a year. I think he was a little anxious about seeing my mom sick, but I think he was pleased with her progress and all and all it was a very positive visit. My cousin stuck around until today. We had a great Sunday - breakfast out, coffee with the Villagers (including Misty's new puppy, who is so cute it might overload your brain), a jaunt around Raleigh, a visit to the State Hospital campus, a trip to the Harley Davidson store, and a stroll around the State Farmer's Market. We hung out with my parents a bit, and then had dinner at a place I'd not tried before, but with which I was really pretty impressed. She came to coffee again this morning to meet the AM crew. It was great to see her. She's been such a huge support for me.
Today was super productive. I got a lot done at work, including 53 minutes of actual psychiatry. But I also replaced my ID badge, did all my little hospital educational crap, got my motorcycle parking pass, re-joined the APA (my membership lapsed), filled out two separate applications for moonlighting, ate a little lunch, did a little therapy....
Not bad for a Monday.
Here's hoping I don't melt before Tuesday....
84 degrees, to be precise. Our air conditioner must've gone out today.
Bleh. Hopefully they'll fix it tomorrow. I called and left a "we're so hot!" voicemail on the maintenance line.
Bleh.
In less "bleh" news, I had a great weekend. My uncle and my cousin came in for graduation. Graduation itself was a pretty fun thing. Long, but fun. One of these days I'll write an actual post about the graduation ceremony, but I'm hot and I want to go to bed.
My uncle left Saturday and was definitely not here long enough. It was really good to see him - it's been over a year. I think he was a little anxious about seeing my mom sick, but I think he was pleased with her progress and all and all it was a very positive visit. My cousin stuck around until today. We had a great Sunday - breakfast out, coffee with the Villagers (including Misty's new puppy, who is so cute it might overload your brain), a jaunt around Raleigh, a visit to the State Hospital campus, a trip to the Harley Davidson store, and a stroll around the State Farmer's Market. We hung out with my parents a bit, and then had dinner at a place I'd not tried before, but with which I was really pretty impressed. She came to coffee again this morning to meet the AM crew. It was great to see her. She's been such a huge support for me.
Today was super productive. I got a lot done at work, including 53 minutes of actual psychiatry. But I also replaced my ID badge, did all my little hospital educational crap, got my motorcycle parking pass, re-joined the APA (my membership lapsed), filled out two separate applications for moonlighting, ate a little lunch, did a little therapy....
Not bad for a Monday.
Here's hoping I don't melt before Tuesday....
Saturday, June 11, 2011
What a great weekend.
Family in town. Graduation last night. Will write more about it soon, but right now just exhausted and happy.
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
Boredom
Today was close to being the most boring day in recorded history.
I'm on Consults, now, right? Just for kids, but of course all of our child consults are filtered through Psychology first, which means we only consult on the kids who need meds (generally). It also means the service is very hit-or-miss.
Today was a miss.
I don't generally complain about not having a ton of work to do. But today started at 6:45am, when I saw my therapy patient. It was really early. I was really tired. There was caffeine, but not enough. So spending the next four hours sitting on my hands wasn't very appealing. I read about old patients and a potential patient. I caught up on some of my friends' blogs. I hacked my way on to Facebook (it's supposed to be blocked at the hospital).
Cleo got me to Starbucks to refuel for the afternoon, and that mocha was worth all the calorie shuffling I had to do to drink it. I had a reasonable clinic planned, but then my new patient cancelled, leaving me another two hours to read CNN and play Solitaire. And my 3pm was 30 minutes late. But at least I saw one patient today (well, two, with the therapy patient).
I still left at like 4:30. Which is awesome.
I think I have a little fourth-year-itis. Not that it means much, really. I'm ready to move on, but I'm moving on to another year of fellowship, so it's not a big transition. Still. It's time for a change....
I'm on Consults, now, right? Just for kids, but of course all of our child consults are filtered through Psychology first, which means we only consult on the kids who need meds (generally). It also means the service is very hit-or-miss.
Today was a miss.
I don't generally complain about not having a ton of work to do. But today started at 6:45am, when I saw my therapy patient. It was really early. I was really tired. There was caffeine, but not enough. So spending the next four hours sitting on my hands wasn't very appealing. I read about old patients and a potential patient. I caught up on some of my friends' blogs. I hacked my way on to Facebook (it's supposed to be blocked at the hospital).
Cleo got me to Starbucks to refuel for the afternoon, and that mocha was worth all the calorie shuffling I had to do to drink it. I had a reasonable clinic planned, but then my new patient cancelled, leaving me another two hours to read CNN and play Solitaire. And my 3pm was 30 minutes late. But at least I saw one patient today (well, two, with the therapy patient).
I still left at like 4:30. Which is awesome.
I think I have a little fourth-year-itis. Not that it means much, really. I'm ready to move on, but I'm moving on to another year of fellowship, so it's not a big transition. Still. It's time for a change....
Saturday, June 04, 2011
Saturday night
Five random things on my mind tonight....
1. It's my mom's birthday. Happy birthday, Mom.
2. About a month ago I backed into some guy's car, and we're trying to settle without involving my insurance. We've spent part of the evening negotiating by email. He got a little snarky. The whole thing is summed up nicely in this quote, courtesy of Claudia (who's also given me some good advice about this): "Good tactical move not calling him an asshat."
3. Wow I'm tired. And I have to be at the gym at 8am to work out and meet my trainer.
4. Tomorrow's going to be another busy day. Graduation party number two, you know, before the actual graduation next week.
5. Today was also Chicken Day. One of the local volunteer fire departments, to which a couple of my friends belong, does this big fundraiser every year where they spend all night cooking barbecue chicken. It's really good. And they rig up a drivethru at the firehouse, which just cracks me up (and is very convenient).
1. It's my mom's birthday. Happy birthday, Mom.
2. About a month ago I backed into some guy's car, and we're trying to settle without involving my insurance. We've spent part of the evening negotiating by email. He got a little snarky. The whole thing is summed up nicely in this quote, courtesy of Claudia (who's also given me some good advice about this): "Good tactical move not calling him an asshat."
3. Wow I'm tired. And I have to be at the gym at 8am to work out and meet my trainer.
4. Tomorrow's going to be another busy day. Graduation party number two, you know, before the actual graduation next week.
5. Today was also Chicken Day. One of the local volunteer fire departments, to which a couple of my friends belong, does this big fundraiser every year where they spend all night cooking barbecue chicken. It's really good. And they rig up a drivethru at the firehouse, which just cracks me up (and is very convenient).
Friday, June 03, 2011
Full circle
Tonight was the first in a series of graduation celebrations. Our chairman had all of us over for dinner, which was exactly how I started residency. It was a good time, full of stories, fond memories, and hearty laughs. I still really like my classmates, although there are personalities to which I gravitate more than others. The Pink Office was reunited. I got to see Sparrow for the first time in a while. And of course we had a lot more kids than the last time.
Funny how much things can change in the course of four short years.
And how many things haven't.
What a nice evening.
Funny how much things can change in the course of four short years.
And how many things haven't.
What a nice evening.
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
June
Okay. I'm back.
That was a somewhat unscheduled break, but clearly I needed one. I'm still not sure I have anything useful today, but I've been assured that's okay.
It's been sort of a stressful month over here. Not sure I can point to any one big thing in particular (except the working two weekends in a row), but there's been a lot of little stuff that keeps cropping up.
June, however, is going to be full of stressors. Graduation is next week, and I'm going to have family in town for that, and then my mom's mastectomy (finally) is on the 20th. Among other things.
So it's probably better if I get back into the blogging habit and resist my urge to hide in the shadows of my life as much as I can.
I'm also going to try not to be all Debbie Downer. We'll see how it goes....
That was a somewhat unscheduled break, but clearly I needed one. I'm still not sure I have anything useful today, but I've been assured that's okay.
It's been sort of a stressful month over here. Not sure I can point to any one big thing in particular (except the working two weekends in a row), but there's been a lot of little stuff that keeps cropping up.
June, however, is going to be full of stressors. Graduation is next week, and I'm going to have family in town for that, and then my mom's mastectomy (finally) is on the 20th. Among other things.
So it's probably better if I get back into the blogging habit and resist my urge to hide in the shadows of my life as much as I can.
I'm also going to try not to be all Debbie Downer. We'll see how it goes....
Sunday, May 08, 2011
Mom's day
It was a nice Sunday today. Took my parents breakfast, then my mom and I went to coffee. She got to meet a little more of the Village and see people she knew and likes and doesn't get to see very often. She reported that she had fun, and I believe her (I did, too). We got to spend some quality mom-and-daughter time while Maggie dad-sat (he and I got some time in over lunch, too, don't worry). In the afternoon I went to a friend's graduation party, which was at this brewery in town which is pretty unique. All they serve is beer, so they actually encourage you to bring food in - so we moved in with our pig-pickin' and potluck (which was originally scheduled to be in a park). And they advertise themselves as a "kid and dog friendly" establishment, which meant I got to bring Maggie. She ate some pork, got lots of love and attention, met some other dogs, and thoroughly wore herself out.
All in all it was a good day, with family, friends, and even some time with my own "baby." Can't beat that...
All in all it was a good day, with family, friends, and even some time with my own "baby." Can't beat that...
Monday, May 02, 2011
Hard to know....
It's an historic day here in America.
When I went to bed last night, I noticed that someone on Facebook commented the president was about to give an address. Weird, I thought. What I should've thought was, weird, I should probably pay attention to that. But I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I just went to bed. I tossed and turned for several hours, and at no point did I think, let's check Facebook. Let's read CNN. Let's turn on the TV. I finally fell asleep after 11.
When my alarm went off at 5, I had a text from Mike saying simply, "Osama is dead."
For real?
That's when I hit Facebook, CNN, and the TV.
I don't know how to feel about this.
I'm glad we made this big gain in the war on terrorism. I do not mourn his passing. I'm glad for the spike that's about to happen in Obama's popularity, what with next year being an election year. I feel compassion for the families of the 9/11 victims who report having closure and feeling like justice has been done.
But at the same time...I cannot celebrate his death. I don't know that we really had a choice, but I believe killing is wrong, whether done in the name of a perverted distortion of a religious text or in the name of vengeance and justice. An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind. And furthermore - there's going to be backlash from the remains of al Qaeda. I'm frightened for the safety of Americans, at home and abroad. And I hate that bin Laden died a martyr.
What impresses me is that we could've easily defiled the body, kept it in a freezer somewhere, cremated it...all a final "fuck you" to the man that gave us a huge national black eye and nationwide PTSD. Instead, we were respectful, handling the body in the Islamic tradition. That's classy, America.
I am somewhat hopeful, too. I do hope that when the dust settles, we'll be able to bring our troops home. That the world will be a more peaceful place. That maybe, ultimately, one day, the world will be a little safer.
And one final feeling...I am, as always, proud of and indebted to the men and women who serve to keep us safe. I may not always support the war, but I always support those that fight it.
It's an amazing thing, this. We'll see how it pans out...
When I went to bed last night, I noticed that someone on Facebook commented the president was about to give an address. Weird, I thought. What I should've thought was, weird, I should probably pay attention to that. But I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I just went to bed. I tossed and turned for several hours, and at no point did I think, let's check Facebook. Let's read CNN. Let's turn on the TV. I finally fell asleep after 11.
When my alarm went off at 5, I had a text from Mike saying simply, "Osama is dead."
For real?
That's when I hit Facebook, CNN, and the TV.
I don't know how to feel about this.
I'm glad we made this big gain in the war on terrorism. I do not mourn his passing. I'm glad for the spike that's about to happen in Obama's popularity, what with next year being an election year. I feel compassion for the families of the 9/11 victims who report having closure and feeling like justice has been done.
But at the same time...I cannot celebrate his death. I don't know that we really had a choice, but I believe killing is wrong, whether done in the name of a perverted distortion of a religious text or in the name of vengeance and justice. An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind. And furthermore - there's going to be backlash from the remains of al Qaeda. I'm frightened for the safety of Americans, at home and abroad. And I hate that bin Laden died a martyr.
What impresses me is that we could've easily defiled the body, kept it in a freezer somewhere, cremated it...all a final "fuck you" to the man that gave us a huge national black eye and nationwide PTSD. Instead, we were respectful, handling the body in the Islamic tradition. That's classy, America.
I am somewhat hopeful, too. I do hope that when the dust settles, we'll be able to bring our troops home. That the world will be a more peaceful place. That maybe, ultimately, one day, the world will be a little safer.
And one final feeling...I am, as always, proud of and indebted to the men and women who serve to keep us safe. I may not always support the war, but I always support those that fight it.
It's an amazing thing, this. We'll see how it pans out...
Sunday, May 01, 2011
More weekend, please.
It's been a nice weekend.
Had a good ride yesterday. Went down to the motorcycle shop nearby looking for a cargo net (they were sold out) and took the looooong way back. I did much better on this ride. I'm definitely doing better than I was, say, 200 miles ago when I bought the bike. And it was really nice. There were a lot of other bikers out on the road, too, which was cool. I need to keep riding. One of my biker friends just sent me a link to a map of a ride they take often, which I need to try out one of these days.
Had a nice visit with Olga last night, too. She's recovering nicely from her pneumonia and her bedsore is healing. It's such a long road for her - it's been 10 weeks since the fire, and although she has a long way to go, she's come so far. She's so awesome and amazing. I'm glad we're friends.
Went for sushi last night with some coffee friends and friends of theirs. Met some fun new people. Hung out with some fun folks I already knew. Ate some really good vegetarian sushi (I love me some good vegetarian sushi). Had a really good time.
Today was a little more laid back. Coffee with the Village, lunch with the girls. Worked out with my trainer. Tried to take a nap (didn't work). Dishes, laundry, blah, blah, blah. Can't complain about today except that it's followed by a Monday.
I start consults tomorrow. I'm definitely looking forward to the lower intensity. It'll be nice to have a little change of pace....
Had a good ride yesterday. Went down to the motorcycle shop nearby looking for a cargo net (they were sold out) and took the looooong way back. I did much better on this ride. I'm definitely doing better than I was, say, 200 miles ago when I bought the bike. And it was really nice. There were a lot of other bikers out on the road, too, which was cool. I need to keep riding. One of my biker friends just sent me a link to a map of a ride they take often, which I need to try out one of these days.
Had a nice visit with Olga last night, too. She's recovering nicely from her pneumonia and her bedsore is healing. It's such a long road for her - it's been 10 weeks since the fire, and although she has a long way to go, she's come so far. She's so awesome and amazing. I'm glad we're friends.
Went for sushi last night with some coffee friends and friends of theirs. Met some fun new people. Hung out with some fun folks I already knew. Ate some really good vegetarian sushi (I love me some good vegetarian sushi). Had a really good time.
Today was a little more laid back. Coffee with the Village, lunch with the girls. Worked out with my trainer. Tried to take a nap (didn't work). Dishes, laundry, blah, blah, blah. Can't complain about today except that it's followed by a Monday.
I start consults tomorrow. I'm definitely looking forward to the lower intensity. It'll be nice to have a little change of pace....
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Easter
What a great day.
Met with my trainer first thing this morning. The gym was so empty! We had a great session, and he even let me throw things at him at the end (always a good day). Was gross and sweaty, but went to coffee anyway. Today was mostly just the Village, which was sort of nice. Had a skinny caramel latte to celebrate the beautiful Spring day. Had a really good time with my friends. Stayed a little too long.
Ran home and showered, made it to Shady Pines before the priest from the local Greek Orthodox church came to do a shut-in visit for my parents. It was actually quite a lovely visit. I hadn't met him before, but he was a really nice man. We sang Christos Anesti, prayed a little, and then he gave them communion, and me too - I told him I felt weird about it - I'm no exactly a shut-in - but he said some very kind and convincing things.
Afterwards we went to the Easter brunch at SP. We sat with two of the friends my parents sit with for dinner most nights. They're adorable. They've been married for 68 years. Sixty-eight! It's amazing, really. I can't even get my head around how you meet someone at 17 and know they're the one you're going to be old with, have kids and a life and cancer with. And they're just totally cute as anything. We should all be half as lucky. She's dealing with breast cancer now, too, and is a few months ahead of my mom in terms of the schedule of things. She's doing so well. She's a great influence for my mom, I think. A good support and a great role model.
After lunch I brought Maggie home and then - for the first time in like six weeks - I went out on the bike. It went pretty well. The ride was beautiful, down by the lake and out in the country. I got a little lost, and ended up at the hospital. I can get home from there in my sleep (and probably have), but it required me to ride on a couple of big roads. Funny, they weren't as scary as I was anticipating. Especially after I'd found myself in a couple of 55 mph zones out in the country. I did a pretty good job, mechanically speaking, too. I only stalled the bike out twice, had one ugly turn and one sketchy downshift. I've got to start getting out on the bike regularly again. After all, there's only one way I'm going to get good at this.
The rest of my day was less exciting - cleaned the kitchen, did the dishes, made lunch salads for the week, etc. But on the whole, it was a very lovely Sunday. And a good Easter.
Met with my trainer first thing this morning. The gym was so empty! We had a great session, and he even let me throw things at him at the end (always a good day). Was gross and sweaty, but went to coffee anyway. Today was mostly just the Village, which was sort of nice. Had a skinny caramel latte to celebrate the beautiful Spring day. Had a really good time with my friends. Stayed a little too long.
Ran home and showered, made it to Shady Pines before the priest from the local Greek Orthodox church came to do a shut-in visit for my parents. It was actually quite a lovely visit. I hadn't met him before, but he was a really nice man. We sang Christos Anesti, prayed a little, and then he gave them communion, and me too - I told him I felt weird about it - I'm no exactly a shut-in - but he said some very kind and convincing things.
Afterwards we went to the Easter brunch at SP. We sat with two of the friends my parents sit with for dinner most nights. They're adorable. They've been married for 68 years. Sixty-eight! It's amazing, really. I can't even get my head around how you meet someone at 17 and know they're the one you're going to be old with, have kids and a life and cancer with. And they're just totally cute as anything. We should all be half as lucky. She's dealing with breast cancer now, too, and is a few months ahead of my mom in terms of the schedule of things. She's doing so well. She's a great influence for my mom, I think. A good support and a great role model.
After lunch I brought Maggie home and then - for the first time in like six weeks - I went out on the bike. It went pretty well. The ride was beautiful, down by the lake and out in the country. I got a little lost, and ended up at the hospital. I can get home from there in my sleep (and probably have), but it required me to ride on a couple of big roads. Funny, they weren't as scary as I was anticipating. Especially after I'd found myself in a couple of 55 mph zones out in the country. I did a pretty good job, mechanically speaking, too. I only stalled the bike out twice, had one ugly turn and one sketchy downshift. I've got to start getting out on the bike regularly again. After all, there's only one way I'm going to get good at this.
The rest of my day was less exciting - cleaned the kitchen, did the dishes, made lunch salads for the week, etc. But on the whole, it was a very lovely Sunday. And a good Easter.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Goodness
So I saw Olga today. She has the breathing tube out and is doing great. She looks awesome. We spent like two hours catching up and chatting - she's definitely back to her old self. Which is just so great.
She reminded me that only 0.3% of adults who go on ECMO (the lung bypass she was on) ever get off. It's incredible. She's still got a long road ahead of her - adjusting to the amputation, and her other foot might need a skin graft - but she's just like, okay, so this is what I have to do.
I'm just so grateful she survived this.
We talked about her son, about coming back to work, about rebuilding the house. She's so forward thinking. Speaking as someone who gets caught up in the drama of the moment so often, it was nice to hear her talking about the future and having goals, etc.
It was such a nice visit. And it was something I needed so badly.
She reminded me that only 0.3% of adults who go on ECMO (the lung bypass she was on) ever get off. It's incredible. She's still got a long road ahead of her - adjusting to the amputation, and her other foot might need a skin graft - but she's just like, okay, so this is what I have to do.
I'm just so grateful she survived this.
We talked about her son, about coming back to work, about rebuilding the house. She's so forward thinking. Speaking as someone who gets caught up in the drama of the moment so often, it was nice to hear her talking about the future and having goals, etc.
It was such a nice visit. And it was something I needed so badly.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Sick day
I woke up this morning with some sort of GI awfulness. Fortunately, Peng was able to cover my patients at work ('cuz she's cool like that). I stayed home slept and drank fluids and ate popsicles and watched a day-long marathon of Law and Order.
I'm a little better. Hopefully, tomorrow will be okay, because I've been off both of the last two Wednesdays and haven't seen my Wednesday patients in three weeks.
Bleh.
(Aren't you glad I started blogging again?)
I'm a little better. Hopefully, tomorrow will be okay, because I've been off both of the last two Wednesdays and haven't seen my Wednesday patients in three weeks.
Bleh.
(Aren't you glad I started blogging again?)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
