Island Med Student

Today was cold. I mean seriously cold. It didn’t get above freezing and with the windchill factor, it was close to zero degrees Celsius. The wind gusts were so strong that I was literally swept off my feet. It made for an interesting walk to and from the hospital and doggy walk.

Try walking with three large (and pulling) dogs on leashes in the bitter cold while the wind blows you all over the sidewalk. T’was not easy, but I did it. And I even managed to whip out my trusty iPhone and take some photos (all the ones from this post) during the whole adventure. My poor thumb nearly froze off while navigating my iPhone’s interface.

Tomorrow is my last day of my infectious diseases rotation. I will be giving a presentation tomorrow on vasculitis and Behcet’s disease.

I’m inside my apartment now yet my fingers are still so cold from my walk that it’s difficult to type with the stiffness.

But I’m not complaining. It is fun to battle mother nature. I fought the cold today, and this time I won!

“Yo Brooklyn, Fuhgeddaboudit” Photo Series

I’m back in Brooklyn after visiting Baltimore and Luray, Virginia for the holidays. I had a fabulous time visiting my family and friends. Micah and I are currently dog-sitting for some friends on holiday in Israel, so we are up to 3 dogs and 2 humans in my studio apartment. I will have some great videos and stories to share soon. But in the meantime, please enjoy the photos with this post.

1) My sister Julena feeding her dog Paige and my dogs Scope and Molly.
2) Scope and Molly in the backseat on the trip back to New York in their new Christmas scarves.
3) The three dogs and one human (Micah) chilling after the voyage.

From Brooklyn to Baltimore and now to Luray, Virginia! Merry Christmas everyone!

Over a year ago I went on a photographic escapade with my Diana camera. I had the film developed but had been putting off scanning the film. I finally had some time to work on it today, and I was very pleased with some of the images. I made prints of 6 of the photos and uploaded them and a few more that I liked. I am so excited to be working with film that I plan on going out as soon as possible and buying more film for my Diana and my Holga. I wish I had thought to bring them both on my holiday!

Click here to view the pics

Check out my post on Medscape to read my “fake” new year’s resolutions.

Click Here To View the Entry

I’ve had an absolutely fabulous two days. Yesterday, I went out in the morning and took the doggies to the park illegally, in feet of snow. Later on in the day Micah and I went into Union Square, Manhattan and watched the movie Avatar in 3D.

I have a lot I could say about that, but don’t feel like it right now. The gist is that I was not completely impressed. It was supposed to be this breakthrough movie with amazing special effects. I thought the plot was incredibly thin, the characters were too stereotypical, and the 3D made me slightly nauseated.

This morning, I walked to the hospital for my infectious diseases rotation. I had a blast making my way over a mile through the snow covered sidewalks to the hospital. At one point, I slipped on some ice and came crashing down onto my buttocks. The great thing is that I literally laughed at myself, wiped the snow off my toosh, and continued on my journey.

After I got back from the hospital, I went on my standard run into Manhattan and back WITH the dogs. It was insanely amazing! At first, I tried not to step in the slush and snow and mud, but eventually, I just gave in to the moment. I ran full speed down the sidewalks, with doggies galloping in front of me, splashing in puddles, snow flying, and mud and slush covering my body head to toe! I had this realization that this is one of the reasons being a kid so great (and why I never want to grow up). When I stopped caring if i was going to make a mess or get dirty or wet, I was suddenly completely free. Nothing mattered but laughing and smiling and splashing in the freezing cold wetness! I wouldn’t trade the experience for a million dollars.

Afterwards I came home, took a bubble bath, and am now enjoying some wine and a cheese platter that I created.

I’m terribly excited about the holidays. More greatness to come soon. In the meantime, please enjoy the photos with this post:

1) An empty bird cage in the snow I found on my walk to the hospital (does anyone out there recognize that pink tub?).
2) Me wearing my 3D glasses with 100 pounds of popcorn and Coke Zero waiting in line to see Avatar.
3) Part of my walk to the hospital, near where I fell on my butt this morning.
4) Some cool trash on top of snow.
5) My winter attire, aka “praying mantis” pose.

“Yo Brooklyn, Fuhgeddaboudit” Photo Series

I woke up this morning to a lovely blanket of snow covering the world around me. From what I can guesstimate, it looks like we got about 8-14 inches of snow in the Brooklyn area, which apparently is not much compared to the surrounding areas of Long Island.

I have many fond memories of playing in the snow as a child, and I couldn’t resist the urge to venture out into the frozen tundra with my two doggies. After spending about 20 minutes preparing my feet, head, hands, doggy coats, leashes, toys and recording equipment, I made my way out into the white wonderland.

There is something about inclement weather and natural and unnatural disasters that really brings people together. I enjoyed saying hello to everyone who was shoveling out their driveways and digging out their cars. Even though people were working hard, they all had a smile on their face.

The wind had created snow drifts that reached almost 3 feet in some areas, which means that I literally had to wade through waist-high snow at some points. What would have normally been a 3 minute walk to the park ended up taking me about 20 minutes.

Although the large portion of the park was closed for the winter, the playground area was still open. So, Scope, Molly, Micah and I traversed the glaciers and had a blast playing with rope toys for a good bit.

Eventually we all made our way back home, and are currently de-thawing inside our warm apartment.

Click here to view a few photos of Scope and Molly Playing

I can’t wait to go running in the snow banks!

It’s official. The first blanket of snow in 2009 is coming down upon New York City. Micah and I caught the first bit of it on our way home from the grocery store today. It stopped for about an hour, and then started again in full force. It’s calling for 12-18 inches in our area in Brooklyn. I can’t wait to see how much accumulation we actually get. (I’m hoping for 3 feet!)

A little while ago I took my doggies Scope and Molly for a walk and secret playtime in the park (please don’t tell the park authority). It’s been many months since I’ve seen snowflakes and I had almost forgotten how magical they are. I really, really do love the snow. There is something so wonderful about looking up into the sky and watching the sparkling white flakes coming down. I love the “smell” of the snow, the cold feeling of it against my cheeks, and the sound of the crunching of it under my feet.

As much as I do love warm weather, I don’t think I could live my life without at least the occasional snowfall.

Please enjoy the crappy (sorry, it was dark, and I had two crazy dogs on leashes) video I took about an hour ago on my doggy walk. It surely didn’t capture what I was feeling at the moment, but perhaps you get the idea. Let it snow!!

I am officially halfway finished with my infectious diseases rotation. I’ve learned a lot and saw an interesting case today (but incredibly sad) of a very young man with Behcet’s Sydrome. The case reminded me again how strange it is that the most exciting cases in the hospital are usually also the most tragic.

I went on a 9-mile run today and took a bubble bath when I got home. Apparently that did me in for the day, as I haven’t had the motivation to move very much since then.

It’s calling for quite a bit of snow in NYC tomorrow, and there is a winter storm advisory for the area. My sister was supposed to visit me, but it looks like that won’t be happening, because of the predicted inclement weather.

I don’t have any truly insightful wisdom to share with the world right now, so I’ll leave you with that for now. Enjoy the photos with this post. The first one is of a flock of pigeons huddling together in a parking lot because of the intense cold and the second one is my doggy Molly eviscerating a stuffed pyramid.

• Living My Life With a Med Student
  (tags: blog)