It’s always an ordeal to leave my sister’s house for any kind of trip.  Whether it’s the grocery store, dinner, school, or daytrips, you have to pack…and not just “pack”…you have to have extra clothes, in addition to milk, diapers, napkins, snacks, baby wipes…the whole shabang basically ready at ALL times.  This weekend’s trip to Palm Springs and Mt. San Jacinto to see the snow was definitely no exception.  Screaming kids, food everywhere, and bathroom stops every 30 minutes–the life right?  It was fun…mainly because family is always fun (and just for clarification: by “always”….i mean sometimes).  Pictures to follow shortly, but here’s one I picked out that pretty much sums up how much control I had over the weekend.

Me:  ”Aaron, don’t eat the snow okay, buddy?”

Aaron:  ”Okay, uncle Sam! … because eating snow is bad for you right?

Me:  ”Right!”

5 minutes later:

Aaron trying to act all innocent

Downtown LA Skyline

Went through a lot this morning to snag this shot.  It’s been raining the past couple of days here in LA, so I figured it’d be a good day to catch the sunrise break through the clouds and onto downtown.  I was in for a little more adventure than I bargained for however…and didn’t even get a chance to catch the sunrise.  I’m a little jealous of those who saw it this morning, cause I’m sure it was spectacular, especially from somewhere high up and secluded (in an office maybe?).  Rays of light shining down, clouds moving…landscape drama at its finest and I missed it.  Note to self…marking down 2/10/10 as “don’t trespass on other people’s property and don’t drive really fast over pot holes” day.

The snuggie advertisement from snuggie.com – “total warmth and comfort”

So the advertisement on the box says:  Snuggie.  The blanket that has sleeps!  Keeps you warm and your hands free!  One size fits all-adults.  Take it Everywhere! Under the picture of that grandma holding the baby (copied from the website and pasted above)…it says “Total Warmth and Comfort”

Well…how’s this for total warmth and comfort!?!  (It came complete with blanket and baby)

Resident by day, comedian by night:

“The Josh” at The Comedy Store

Residents like to complain.  No matter where we are, what we’re doing, what we’re thinking about, if you ever ask about work, there’s a chance that 99% of the time you’ll hear a resident belittle a colleague, “friend”, medical student, attending…it doesn’t matter…WE COMPLAIN!  Part of it in my opinion, is ritualistic.  I mean, the conditions that people have all of us working in is actually a recipe for disaster.  ”Gently” mix together an overworked resident (working 80 hours a week), 2 rectal exams, a nurse who wants to make your life a living hell, and a cafeteria that ISN’T open 24hours a day, and you get a very irritable, angry, and somewhat “frumpY” doctor.  I guess that’s why there needs to be a lot of venting, because if you don’t get all your feelings out by the time you come home, you tend to bring your work home with you (including all the negative feelings).  I’ve been guilty of complaining…sometimes a lot (note the “sometimes), and I think there isn’t a single resident out there that hasn’t complained about something.  Whether its complaining about how hard we have it, or getting mad at colleagues for having to pick up the slack for someone else, or having to do something that someone else forgot (or was too lazy) to do…it just comes out…and sometimes, it’s not so nice.  At the end of the day though, I think everyone tends to forgive each other.  We’re all human…we all make mistakes, and I think that if we were all smart enough to make it through medical school, we’re all smart enough to know that no one intentionally tries to mess up, it just happens.  I think that kind of extends to all aspects of life to be honest.  It’s sometimes easier to teach and send a friendly reminder, rather than yell, belittle, and make cry (and no…I never cry).

Along the same lines, I think that almost everyone in the hospital finds a way to deal with a lot of the burden and the pain of getting dumped on by maintaining a life outside of the hospital.  I’ve met so many talented people this year and throughout medical school that I’ve come to understand that I think a lot of people’s talents are born out of necessity (in addition to an interest of course).  If you don’t do something outside of medicine, you tend to lose yourself in your work.  I think that statement is true for a lot of people…which is why I’ve been fortunate enough to have met former astronauts, designers, musicians, car/racing fanatics, and publishers throughout my training.  Everyone’s got something they love to do…don’t forget to keep it up, especially when your life is crazy busy!!!  It’ll keep you sane. And just a plug for “The Josh” who performed at the comedy store the other night…laughter truly is the best medicine…couldn’t agree with you more.

where you believe it or not, is spent inside the building on the right:

At least there’s a little trail in the back that leads to Barnes Park…the place of 5 minute runs and brisk walks! (too bad there’s no time to enjoy it)

PS:

Thanks for the well wishes everyone!