Useless

Now I know I really don't look forward to getting old.

Case in point, this weekend. Instead of being a good medical student and go to board review class, I decided to do a little self review, which is fine and dandy. Benefits: I could multitask and not have to worry about getting caught nodding off. So I bust out the computer. Lo and behold, the internet doesn't work. After a few hours of fiddling around with the modem and the router to no improvement, I gave up. I figured, "I'll do laundry first, get some subject reading done in the interim, and when the load is done, I'll hightail it to the nearest coffee shop fro some free internet. Just so we're clear, the internet is essential for study because I need to to access Kaplan's question bank...and not to surf or blog...but I digress.
So to the hamper I go. I bend over and pick up the colored pile and before I could straighten out, a sneeze overcame me. That's when I realized that something had gone horribly wrong...

It was over in a second and I was Done, with a capital D, down for the count, literally. That little sneeze had sent my lower back into such horrible spasm, that I actually fell to the ground in pain. Sharp, stabbing pain in my lumbar area. Tears welled up in my eyes and I began cursing up a storm, hoping that I could intimidate my sciatica away. It never abated. So for 15 minutes or so, I was on my back, like a flipped turtle, praying that it would all go away. After much deliberation I managed to crawl my way to the bathroom, to the medicine cabinet, looking for some Tylenol. I can't take anything else because I'm allergic to the other pain killers. Wouldn't you know, only 2 tabs are left. Better than nothing. I took them and began making my trip to my room, one agonizing step at a time. I positioned myself as comfortably as possible and passed out.

I woke up in darkness. I check the blackberry: 9:15. I slept the whole afternoon away. I checked my back. Pain's still there. Crap. I tried getting up. It was doable but with great difficulty. I shuffled my way to the kitchen and somehow managed to make a pb&j sammich. I ate in complete silence.

Phone calls to friends/family would have been made, but it was already night and since I'm not one to bother, wouldn't think of calling unless it's absolutely essential (the word 'cripple' came to mind and I just didn't like it at all). So it was like that the whole night. Slow shuffling to the sink, to the bathroom, to my room. I managed to get my study book out and crawled into bed where I read and crashed, till the next day, when my sister came back from her trip and was able to pick me up some extra Tylenol and Capsaicin (try it on sore muscles and joints...works like a charm!).

And there you have it, folks. Another potentially productive weekend, wasted because of a sneeze. Yet one more reason why growing old sucks.

Song of the day: When I'm 64" - The Beatles

Ok...just follow me on this one...

Step 1: Get up and go.
I started the day out right. Had about 8 hours sleep, decent breakfast, Did my 3 S's and caught a little bit of the world cup goings on, all before 1pm.

Step 2: Errands.
Got some groceries, returned a few dvds from the public library (btw, the circulation desk librarian was looking mighty cute today), and even went to my eye doctor to pay my bill, personally. Pretty good so far.

Step 3: Caffeination.
Went to my school library to do a little Boards studying, but first thing's first: coffee. So I met up with one of my friends who's also studying there as well, and we hiked it over to the hospital next door for some joe. Dun and dun.

Step 4: Down to business.
Back to the library wherein I proceeded to crack open the books and fire up the ol' comp for some online tunage and Kaplan study gudnis (if you can really call it that).

Step 5: Cue distraction.
This step once more proves my original hypothesis back in college: I have ADD. And, being a competent student of science, I must have a null hypothesis which is: I'm a slut. To the point, new students for the med school, the nursing school, PT school, and Graduate school just happened to be in the same library with me. It's tough to keep your focus with all these new faces around.

Step 6: The incident.
So, finally going back to the studying, I decided to bust out my traditional gummy bears (my one study vice) as I slogged through the next round of internal medicine questions. As I chomped down on the first gummy bear, I hear my teeth crunch, loudly. A few things ran through my mind: 1. This gummy bear's stale as hell! 2. Since when did Haribo start putting prizes in their gummy bears? 3. I'm pretty sure gummy bears aren't supposed to have crunchy skeletons. 4. I'm rich! I can sue the gummy bear factory for having glass in their product! 5. Am I bleeding? Nope. No blood. Not yet.

Step 7: The realization.
One of my fillings cracked on the gummy bear. Upper right, 3rd molar from the front. This means, I have to go to the dentist. Some people don't like doctors. Me, I don't like dentists. I'm sure they're nice people, but there's just something sadistic about that bunch. I mean, they lay out all their instruments (of torture) right in front of you and they don't even have the decency to put you to sleep. And what is it with them and asking you questions while they're injecting a horse needle into your gums?

So aside from the cracked tooth and the potential visit to the dentist's, everything else was pretty cool, albeit I was quite distracted today. What's a single guy to do? C'est la vie.

Song of the day: "In The Summertime" - Mungo Jerry

Yesterday

I'm turning a corner. In a few days, I finish out another decade...the big 3-0. And there's a good deal of apprehension with my up and coming birthday. Things like, I aught to be fiscally/residentially independent, 30...that I should be in a long term relationship (hell, I'll take a short one at the moment), 30...that I should be a lot more confident in my skills, 30...well, all of these things are still in the works, but I feel like they should have been done a whiles ago. We all have felt the creep of time on us and unfortunately for me, I'm more aware of its pace more than ever.

Last night, I was hanging with some of my high school friends and they so lovingly pointed out that I'll be a "geezer" in a few days (old inside joke, but regardless, the meaning is none too obscure). Seeing as they're about the same age as me, it's almost like they're mocking their own selves with such quips, nonetheless, I am the first of the group to cross over the threshold. Turning 30...it's like what one of my professors said about growing old...it just sounds so bad, as if we've hit our expiration date...TURNING...I'm older so I'm slower, fatter, smellier, like milk TURNED sour after it passed it's prime. Used to be when I was younger that I reveled in the idea of me and my buddies going out to get wasted. Now, I can barely stand it to see them get blitzed on cheap beer, playing drinking games all night and randomly hooking up with the next blond with big tits. I think that way and I instantly feel old, as if the youth that has sustained me just evaporated in the summer sun. I feel so old, that I dreaded the idea that I'm to take 30 shots in my party. No way in hell I'm doing that. I've never been able to do that, but back then I'd at least give it a solid try, then puke all over the lawn. Now I shrink back with my non-tolerant liver against such a challenge. Granted, being able to hold your liquor is not exactly grounds for bragging in my book (millions of college kids might disagree with me on that one), but it certainly doesn't help with bolstering up the youthful image...bold, brash, invincible.

I feel like panicking. I really do. But that would only serve to make things even more pathetic. And that would just be an ugly site. No, I'll turn 30 with a grin and go through my rite of passage with gusto and hopefully not lose my dinner in the process. And if I don't make it to next Saturday's Boards review session, then look for me in my bed or in the hospital, cuz either I'll be hungover like a muthaf***a or dying, or worse. I pray that gin and vodka better play nice with me at my party.

Song of the day: "Vienna" - Billy Joel

Food for thought

I'm sure everybody knows by now about the BP eco-disaster in the gulf of Mexico. I figured I'd share this little parody clip courtesy of the Upright Citizens Brigade to illustrate how poorly this catastrophe was handled by BP and how ridiculous its actions are in containing the oil spill in the eyes of the public.

"BP Spills Coffee" - Upright Citizens Brigade

On a side note, the guy who cut his hair and threw it at the spill is John Frusciante, a former member of Possible Side Effects, a college long form improv based in Montclair, NJ and was one of my teachers when I took long form improv lessons with them back in the day. And now, he's on TV. =)

So to sum up: BP = F***ed. Very F***ed.

P.S. Run summary for the day...
Date: 06/10/10
Distance: 3.30 miles
Time: 35:47 (30:31 @ mile 3)
Pace: 10'51" per mile
Calories: 371
Weight: ? lbs (did I forget to mention that I don't own a scale?)
Short-term Goal: Advance to 4 miles running.
Long-term Goal: lose 15 lbs.

P.P.S.
Did some random running with my nephew last week too. Not timed, but about 4ish miles. Kept up with him considering he's 14 years old and weigh 20 lbs lighter than me.

Song of the day: "How Come" - Ray LaMontagne

And you are...

Now I'm no overachiever or some shining med student with a "save-the-world" complex that I fill my every waking (and sleeping) hours with numerous altruistic projects. Nor am I a complete slacker (tho some days, I absolutely feel like it and would gladly welcome a slacker lifestyle). I am your average medical student, just getting by, busily and "faithfully" placing my nose to the grindstone, cramming my head with medical minutiae, hoping that in the end, I would understand all of it, that I would be a competent physician and a credit to the medical community, that I was worth investing $180,000/4 years into.
That being said, I always feel so weird trying to get other people to say good things about me. Case in point, my number 1 task this week: collecting letters of recommendation. Some doctors I've asked were easy to approach, especially if I've just finished a rotation with them a few weeks ago. Others, not so much because it was earlier in the year and I didn't get to spend a whole lot of time with them. Now, why, you ask, am I asking these other doctors whom I barely got have face time with? Simple: They're good doctors, and I learned a lot from them. The only problem is that, they are so busy with many other students going through their service that it's difficult for them to keep everybody straight, let alone remember. You either have to suck majorly or be Doogie Howser, MD, or be some sort of Extreme example of something in order to stand out in their minds. Fortunately/Unfortunately I'm neither, hence my dilemma. I've put out requests for LOR, but I fear that some of these docs would write an average paper because they barely remember me. Still, I gotta try.
For now, I'll just go back to hitting the books hard and pray that the next time I'm on rotation, I'll be a much brighter student worthy of remembering. Or I could just get a mohawk, dye it agent orange, and call it a day.

Song of the day: "The Curse" - Josh Ritter


An extraordinary song to cheer up an ordinary med student.

Bring it!

Yesterday was kinda fun. Class in the morning, learning about multiple ways you can get sued or get in trouble with the DEA, then off to the Federal Building for a mock trial (pretty scary). Afterwards, fishing with the boys. Went to a local pond where I caught 4 sunnies...and this is only my second time fishing...ever! Now I'm really thinking about taking on fishing as my new hobby. Whaddaya think?

Today was a wrap up of Medical Jurisprudence class.  Basically, in order not to get sued, you
a.) Practice really good medicine a.k.a. stick to the standard of care (duh!),
2.) Document EVERYTHING!
III.) Don't steal drugs/abuse/overprescribe narcotics. 
D.) NO SEX with your patients (this is a big one)
V.) Come clean if you make a mistake.
6.) Take the time to talk and explain things to your clientele.  Believe it or not, this actually helps to reduce the number of angry patients who might potentially sue.
7.) What happens in the office, stays in the office (HIPAA).

SO, third year is a wrap.  Officially! (Where's the Easy button?)  4th year starts tomorrow, bright and early @ 0730, with a Kaplan course, on a SATURDAY!

Yay.

But as far as today was concerned, I think I got a good deal of crap done today...registered for an ACLS course, studied for a bit @ the library, ran with my nephew...
The boy is 14 years old and taller than me.  Naturally he schooled me in about 1.5 miles worth of warm up.  His jog pace is like my sprint pace.  I was gassed after all that.  Then he wanted to run some more and asked me to start the pace so I could "slow it down" a bit.  We did another 3 miles.  Made it, barely - 35 minutes, about 8-9 songs worth.  I can't wait to shed this excess weight...I hate feeling sluggish when I'm out there hitting the pavement.  But it was good, overall.  Can't really complain seeing as how today was the hardest I've pushed myself running in a good long while.

OK, 50 more USMLE practice questions and it's off to bed.

Song of the day: "Mistletoe" - Jukebox The Ghost


1. Sunfish - http://tiee.ecoed.net/vol/v4/experiments/habitat_shifts/img/sunfish%5BHR%5D.jpg

Much better

Best run I've had in a long while tonight.

Date: 06/01/10
Distance: 3.95 miles
Time: 43:04
Pace: 10'54" per mile
Calories: 445
Weight: 151 lbs
Short-term Goal: Maintain 3 mile run in under 30 minutes for a week. Then advance to 4 miles running.
Long-term Goal: lose 15 lbs.

Personal best record: 3 miles in 27:45

Song of the day: "Hit'Em Up Style" (folk remix) - Carolina Chocolate Drops