Overdue Update

I apologise for my absence. I was on rotation in downtown Detroit and the temporary crash-pad did not have internet (?!). I was on neurology, which is not at the top of my super-interesting-material list, but I did get to spend two weeks in the neuro-ICU and I do so love any kind of ICU. Bring me your super-sick, your actively dying and I will go to work with enthusiasm and diligence.

One of the wonderful things about this new hospital was the white chocolate macadamia cookies. And the Monday schwarma lunches. Yummy. Also interesting was editing my fellow's notes for proper English grammar and spelling (yes, I was called upon for spelling).

There was one very sad case: a patient who had a stroke at the young age of 41. We don't know why. He's now densely hemiplegic (can't move half of his body) and non-verbal. While under our care his wife found out she's pregnant. She's going to have a new baby and a husband in inpatient rehab who also needs her care. While rounding each morning he would start crying; he is cognitively intact and aware of his prognosis: he will likely not get much movement back.

In personal life news (yes, neurology is one of the rotations in which a life is possible), I've taken up P90X, which is quite challenging, but awesome. I finally had a good night out dancing, which I sorely needed. Sometimes there's just nothing like a cocktail and a good song to dance too. I even made some friends in Detroit, so hopefully I'll spend some more time exploring the city. Oh, and I signed up for motorcycle classes... shhh... don't tell my parents. It's going to be awesome when I visit them in May and hop on dad's Ducati! I'm working on signing up for tennis clinic, but it might be full. Boo.

Tomorrow morning is the beginning of Family Medicine... in Toledo. Also, the ramp up for studying for Step 2 (the second board exam, scheduled for June 2nd). Nevertheless, weekends off for another month so hopefully I'll be able to continue this whole "balance" thing.

.... and I'm back

I know it's been a while since I've posted regularly. I can give you all kinds of excuses (medical school is a lot of work, I've been traveling a lot), but honestly it doesn't mean much unless you see me post regularly again... so let's see if I can manage that.

The first year of medical school (to date) has been a little different than expected - there is a lot less patient interaction than I was accustomed to while being in the hospital. It's a lot more social than you think - we work really hard but we go out a lot too. On the other hand, it's also cost me more than I expected and I don't likemy geography at all. I love my school and my classmates, but I don't like living in Michigan (too far from friends/family/big cities). Some notes:

1. I hate anatomy. It takes up a lot of time and it's not that interesting. Apparently this means I am unlikely to become a surgeon.

2. I love video-taped lectures and flex-time quizzes. It gives me autonomy and allows me to pursue activities outside of class.

3. I was in a swing dance performance



4. I am doing clinical research again (on HLHS). I didn't realise how much I would miss it, so it's really nice to be able to work that into my schedule.

5. I am a MedBuddy coordinator - we pair medical and nursing students with children in the hospital for extended stays. The students visit the kids 3-4 times a week. I also have a MedBuddy - cutest little girl ever!

6. Two of the papers I was co-author on have been published!

7. During an a series of alternative medicine lectures I received a massage and had an acupuncture needle put in my hand (it feels weird).











8. I went to the inauguration










9. I went to Rome, Florence and Paris for spring break










Ok - I think that covers some of the cooler tidbits. I will keep you updated!

Comings and Goings

I was up in NYC this weekend and while walking around saw a cage full of kittens waiting to be adopted. I have a huge soft spot for kittens (who doesn't?) and had to stand and coo for the requisite 5 minutes.

Otherwise, my lack of posting can be attributed to finishing up classes (they're done, hallelujah!), working lots (stupid NIH Progress report), major school choice indecision (UPitt vs UMich), and my discovery of Battlestar Gallactica (is it just me or are the cylons obsessed with sex?).

I'm trying to pull together an entertaining summer... starting with a few days in Mexico, then a friend's wedding in NYC, maybe some time in Cali (Northern and Southern) and hopefully a family vacation to Alaska. If anyone wants to go to Istanbul I think I could be convinced to make time for that.

Of course, somewhere in there will be moving to medical school; white coat ceremony Aug 3. For those of you who miss the travel posts, hopefully my summer will provide adequate fodder. Past Aug 3rd though, I think the distinctly medical/academic bent will return.

A month of travel

Someone emailed to remind me I haven't posted in a month. True. And I have no excuse because my hotels had internet access. I was in Pittsburgh, Boston, and Atlanta to interview at medical schools and in Vegas to, well, blow off some steam.

For those of you keeping score, I have 9 interview invites, 2 rejections, and 12 haven't-heard-yets.

Tomorrow I have my neuroanatomy midterm (yikes) for which I am incredibly unprepared. This is partially due to travel and work and partially due to my going to Vegas instead of studying.

Vegas was phenomenal. I gambled (and won - Pai Gow!), first with someone else's money (what better way to learn) and then with my own. I ate (a lot), I sunned by the pools (tan = no, bikini debut = yes), I watched sports and drank beer in the sports book (go Steelers go Rockies), and I went clubbing (VIP, skybox: balcony over the dance floor = awesome). I took a red eye back, went straight to work and ended up in bed by 8:30pm (totally exhausted) for a nice 11.5 hour snooze. Four days of fantastic.

Flash back to now... sore arm from a flu shot, totally unprepared for a midterm, pre-lab to write and more travel to come. Oh, and I'm cold (not a surprise).

The next two weeks: Nov 5-6 Boston, Nov 7 NYC, Nov 12-13 Cleveland, Nov 15-16 Ann Arbour

If I get in somewhere (two letters potentially on their way) - you bet your cute little butt I'm gonna post.

Seen in NYC

"Beware of enterprises requiring new clothes." -Thoreau

Apparently, if you're dressed entirely in white, you can lawn bowl or play croquet on dedicated, manicured lawns in central park. Who knew?

Also seen in NYC this weekend: A man on a drag racing tricycle still living the funk, a dog wearing a pearl necklace collar, and a trumpet & tuba band playing (and wandering) the upper West side at 10:30pm.

Overheard in NYC this weekend:
uncle: I really like our hotel here. The location and service are great.
niece: Do we get HBO on demand?
uncle: I don't know.
niece: I don't like it then.

And to end... a nice bit of procrastination: me. Simpsonized.

Summer sports

Since I'm not taking classes this summer, I've been trying to be more active. I don't have a gym membership, but that's really a good thing as I much prefer excersize that doesn't feel quite so pointless as running in place indoors. Instead, I've been playing lots of tennis and have taken up yoga - the kind done in a 95 degree room.

Tennis has been fantastic since so many people here play and it's super cheap for students. I'm now playing twice a week - one day of clinic and one day of matchplay with friends. I can feel my game getting a little better each time, which is really encouraging and just makes me want to play more. I'm working on learning a backhand slice approach shot and eventually I really need a better second serve.

Yoga has been quite the experience so far... I was incredibly sore all over after the first class, but the second was invigorating. It really is remarkably calming and I don't notice the heat at all. I'm relatively flexible, but I had no idea I was so weak! Well, maybe I had some idea, but this really confirms it!

When I was in Cali visiting my parents, I went rock climbing with a friend, Mike. It was really good fun and I'm hoping we'll go again when I head back there in late August. That's definitely a sport where I need to work on my upper body strength, but it's a great feeling when you get to the top of a route you didn't think you could do. Repelling down is pretty good fun too :)

A real summer

For the last few weeks this little academic turned into a little socialite. There was tennis, bruchetta, wine, rum runners, bread pudding and strolls though the park. I'm hoping the tennis will continue, and I may be adding in yoga too.
I am hopping over to California for the July 4th weekend to see my family, and then hopefully up to NYC for a close friend's birthday.
In the fall my academic side will return with Nervous Systems lab (brain dissection class) and Organic Chemistry lab.
As much as I am loving the time to see my friends and the absence of exams, I am still not entirely sure what to do with myself when there is no homework!

For those of you not familiar with the rum runner:
1 shot dark rum
1/2 shot 151 rum
3/4 shot banana liquor
3/4 shot blackberry brandy
1/2 shot grenadine
3/4 shot lime juice

Drink slowly.

Notes from a long weekend

Borrowing from TWM... a few notes that came to me while (finally) relaxing for a long weekend.

• Shrek 3 is the funniest of the Shrek movies and it deserves kudos for not becoming a 120+ minute epic. Bonus great preview: Ratatouille.
  
• Spiderman 3 had a few thrilling moments, but they were so diluted by the marathon length of the film that ultimately its not worth the $12. If you must, Netflix it.
• A friend of mine was brutally attacked by a classmate last week. You just don't think these things happen to the people you know... but then it does. Get well L____.
• I went to three brain autopsies last week - very cool. I may have to turn this into a full post once I look up some more about kernicterus.
  
• I saw Atul Gwande speak last Tuesday. He is a charismatic man who writes medical stories with the same flair Levitt and Dubner brought to economics. If you need a good book, I highly recommend Complications or Better.
• Grey's Anatomy, much to my dismay, has become the Desperate Housewives of medicine. Remember when they had patients? Remember when there was actually some medicine on the show? On the other hand, I am loving Stanley Tucci on ER.
• Ben & Jerry's recently updated their flavours. I am happy to report strawberry cheesecake is alive and well and I am quite enjoying the new Willie Nelson's peach cobbler.