Just like that

Just like that,  everything changes.

One day I was an intern, the next a second year!

One day I was a fur parent, the next planning for a baby (maybe).

One day I was a renter, the next a proud house owner.

It has been an eventful month to say the least. Lots of changes and exciting things happening around here.

Life is good. Happy Thursday to you!

and then she was two (pgy-2)

Wow!
Complete.
Done.

After today I will officially be finished with intern year. It is a great feeling.

This year flew by. I had my days and months even when I was tired, anxious, self-doubting but I had many more good days and the months turned into a year and now I'm a big, bad grown up second  year. Resident still, yes. Intern, hell NO!

Anyhow. It has been a journey. But a good one. I finished off on Development and Behavior which is technically a 2nd year rotation (but because I'm Pedi Neuro we get that instead of Pedi Neuro intern year) so I've been done with the intern/team pager and phone, countless progress notes and all that fun intern jazz for awhile now. No complaints here. Today I get to go to daycare, observe different aged kids normal behavior and then go the the ECI office to learn about Early Childhood Intervention in this great state of Texas. And that is all. Then it is Happy Night with my co-no-longer interns to celebrate.

Life is good. Second year is going to rock. Bring it!

Maya, reflecting, poem of the day

First of all I'm reflecting on the recent passing of Mayo Angelo. Poet, author, dancer, feminist and activist. An all around amazing woman. This is one of her earlier poems... it says so much, so well.

Still I Rise

Maya Angelou, 1928-2014

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

--

And it also seems a bit apropos for the end of intern year. Intern year where is seems like many days/weeks/months I was burned out, tired, trampled on and shot with words.  And yes I realize that this is NOT what Maya was writing about but it is a beautiful poem and I think my analogy also works. 

Enjoying my day off surfing the internet, drinking coffee and daydreaming. The weather is rainy and its a nice day to be inside catching up on stuff. Happy Hump Day to you too!

NICU nights and cookies!

I'm on NICU and tonight will be my final night before switching back to days. So far it has been an okay month. It started off kind of slow and I was a wee bit bored but then I switched to nights and like all my other rotations on nights I kind of like it. The autonomy, the ability to talk to parents, the quiet, yada, yada.

I'm NOT loving the being woken to a sound of the pager and having approximately one minute to wake up from dead asleep and sprint to delivery to help with baby resuscitation. Jarring and scary and not fun. But otherwise, NICU is okay. Minus the math.

One more month of intern year. It was hard and not that bad and awful and great - depending upon the day, the moment, the month. But I've made it (well almost) I signed my contract for next year so I would have to really mess up now to NOT be a PGY-2 in just 45 short days. Woo hoo!

That is all I've got. Oh and it is national chocolate chip cookie day so I need to go bake. Recipe lifted from some blog way back in my med school days. I tried quite a few and think this one really is closest to the coveted Doubletree cookies. Enjoy!

1/2 cup rolled oats 
 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 
 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 
 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 
 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened 
 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed 
 3/4 cup granulated sugar 
 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 
 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice 
 2 eggs 
 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips 
 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts 

 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
 2. Grind oats in a food processor or blender until fine. Combine the ground oats with the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl. 
 3. Cream together the butter, sugars, vanilla, and lemon juice in another medium bowl with an electric mixer. Add the eggs and mix until smooth. 
 4. Stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture and blend well. Add the chocolate chips and nuts to the dough and mix by hand until ingredients are well-incorporated. 
 5. Spoon rounded 1/4-cup portions onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Place the scoops about 2 inches apart. You don't need to press the dough flat. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until cookies are light brown and soft in the middle. Store in a sealed container when cool to keep soft. For the best results, chill the dough overnight in the refrigerator before baking the cookies. Makes 20 cookies.

BP MS150 (aka- The 150 mile bike ride over 2 days from Houston to Austin to raise money and awareness for the MS society and those living with multiple sclerosis)

Join me!

Ride.

Donate.

Volunteer.

Spread the word.

I ride to sponsor teens so that they can attend Adventure Camp.

I ride to support the MS Society as they provide many services for those with MS.

I ride because I can.

Please do what you can to help me in my efforts. MS sucks. But by fundraising we are making a difference in the lives of those with MS.

Make my day, sponsor me to ride one of the 150 miles from Houston to Austin. For only $10 you get a mile in your honor (I'll send you a picture from the ride and name the mile for you.)

Just 33 days to go. 

I need your help.

Thank you!

sick

sick. just plain old cough, sore throat, nasal congestion, headache, sick. NOT sick, sick like some of my kiddos in the hospital. but for sure i got sick from one of those kiddos...

anyhow. just reflecting on my month of wards so far. starting on nights is way different. i like nights for the ability to talk to patients and do things at my own pace. i love the autonomy and the time i get to spend with the med students. i hate being tired and falling asleep while trying to write or dictate notes. i hate the groggy feeling of not caring anymore and just wanting to be home in bed already....

daylight savings night was especially hard. i had rode 60 miles that day for MS150 training so i was physically tired and i hadn't slept much the night before so i was running on only 4 hours of sleep in the past 24 hours going into the night and then because of spring ahead (yay, one less hour to work) i had one less hour to get everything done and we were busy. even my "easy" admit wasn't easy...  her mother only spoke Spanish and there were no Spanish staff to be found, the phone interpreter was hard to hear, the consulting service didn't want to be consulted, etc, etc. all night and morning long.  and then is started feeling sick with a scratchy sore throat and a cough but that was back seat to admits and progress notes to write. and my co-intern had the day off so that meant double the notes for the morning.. and before i knew it,  it was time to round and i had not finished a single note. At  10am when they force me to leave (duty hour violations) i was so tired i was falling asleep on my feet so there was NO way i could do notes then. i came home slept for a few hours and then work up to finish my work.  and when i woke up i was full on sick. but at least i have today to sleep and recoup before tonight.

nights are more than half over, just 3 more to go and then it is on to days and crazy, busy, admit, discharge, work.... but it is my last month of wards as an intern! next time i'm on wards i will be the upper, which is crazy to think about. but i'm feeling more confident and i think i'm ready, or will be. so long as i figure out how to function without sleep.

intern year is going to be over in a flash. just nursery, NICU and behavior and development to go. then i'll be a big, bad 2nd year! wow. time flies.

i'm sick. but happy.  i love my job. and that is all i have on this monday morning.

happy first monday after daylight savings to you!

Awash in Memories

Grenada.
The walk at sunset....

Medical school friends that became friends for life. An Island Away. Quiet spots. An early morning kayak.

Life is good. It is. I like being a resident and I like going to work (most days). I'm back on wards and I started on nights so it I have some free daytime to enjoy life while also getting back in the swing of things. Inpatient medicine is fast paced, stressful, full of admissions, notes and sometimes not the fun stuff. Sick patients, stressed parents, tired staff BUT there is also the nightly rounding, patient and parent interactions that happen and don't feel quite so rushed, autonomy, fun with other tired residents and a quietness that is just not possible during the day. So that is good.

But I've been nostalgic lately. Missing Grenanda. Missing San Diego. Missing the past. Not in an heartbreaking awful way just happy memories and reflections on the joy and simplicity that some of the past held.

That is all I have on this Thursday morning. Headed out to pamper myself with a mani/pedi and haircut. Much needed. And then nap. And then work.

Heart Full

Happy belated Valentine's Day! I know it is just a cheesy Hallmark day and that everyone day should be a day of love... but I still enjoy the day. I always enjoyed exchanging Valentines, and I still do.

Also I'm on an amazing month of ambulatory medicine. All clinics. No weekends. No wards. Days off to work on scholarly projects and study for Step 3. Days off to take step 3. Vacation. A good month. Did I mention weekends, off? I've have a ton of free time and Dr. Boyfriend and I have been making good use of it. We went to NOLA for a long weekend, we've gone to brunch and had late nights and lunch dates. A good month.

Also the medicine is good too. I got to go to Pedi Neuro clinic yesterday morning, swoon.... Loved the attending, interesting patients. And then my continuity clinic in the afternoon, which is always good. So all in all a good day.  A good month.

My heart is full. I like where I am. I love my colleagues and Texas is good for us. I am happy to live with Dr. Boyfriend (finally!) and we love Sancho. I have much to be thankful for. And I am.

I hope you had a good day of love dear reader. Happy February and happy Wednesday!

Why I like working nights.... and shameless plug for the MS 150!

1. It is quiet.
2. I get to work on my own schedule.
3. Minimal BS. Skeleton crew and tired staff meaning people work more efficiently in hopes of getting a chance to nap/rest. But there is plenty of time to hang out too!
4. There is time to hold a baby, or 3 babies like I did last night.
5. There is time to talk to a patient's parents for as long as they want and answer as many questions as they want.
6. It is quiet and calm and you have an autonomy that doesn't exist during the day...
7. You get to backwards commute and parking is never an issue.
8. Breakfast with the hubby.
9. Daytime dog walks and trips to the dog park.
10. You get time off during the day to normal people things like shop or go to the post-office.

That's my short list. I'm just finishing a month of wards and then I go to clinic for the month. Life is good. Intern year in more than half way over and all is well over here.

Donate now and sponsor me to ride one or two of the 166 miles from here to Austin on April 12th and 13th.

Only 72 days until the MS 150! And sponsors that donate by the end of the month will have a chance to win a $25 Starbucks card, so what are you waiting on?!?