Enjoy my latest, updated video! I might soon be changing the style, but this is what I have so far!

I just realized a few minutes ago that I had know idea what the date was. Life has been a bit of a blur lately. Not that I’m complaining. It’s just that I’ve realized again for the one billionth time that I am horrible at doing nothing. Really, I suck at it.

On Sunday I went to the Mr. Transman 2010 show in Brooklyn. It was SOOOO awesome! I got to see some friends (I love you Filthy, Nate and Jen!) that I hadn’t seen in forever and well, I just had a total blast. I forgot to take photos, but I did take some videos, which I might be uploading in the future.

Yesterday I was a total sloth. I stayed in bed all day long and ate horribly fattening foods and watched reruns on Netflix Instant Play.

My life has become a series of “wake up, drink coffee, run, eat, dance, sleep” on infinite repeat. But it ain’t so bad. Life is pretty darn good, actually.

Enjoy the photos with this post. The top one is me with my sweet new bumper sticker, purchased at the show. The second two were taken yesterday during my walk to pick up pizza. I heart my new hood.

“Yo Brooklyn, Fuhgeddaboudit” Photo Series

What a wonderful Sunday today has been!

I woke up early this morning so that I could take my doggies to the off-leash dog run area in Prospect Park. It turns out that my usual dog run area was closed because of a concert, so Micah and I went to a new, even bigger dog run! There were literally hundreds of dogs + owners running around and having entirely too much fun!

I then ran some errands and replied to a bunch of emails. (My next post will include all about how thankful I am to all of my readers.)

I just received the following comment from my mother (Bob) on my blog:

“Such cute, entertaning and smart kids…who have grown up to be beautiful, talented and brilliant women. Makes me cry and smile at the same time! Always keep in touch with your inner child…and you’ll always enjoy the wonder each day can bring!”

Want to know why I have such an awesome perspective on life? Want to know why I’ve grown up to be such a loud-mouthed, creative, crazy woman? It’s entirely due to my mother. She is so similar to me. I owe so much to her. Her comment above really sums it up!

Then I also got to thinking about how I came to become such an animal lover. I mean, it’s fairly obscene. I love ALL animals. I am one of those very annoying people you see on the street who runs up to other people’s dogs and starts kissing and hugging them and saying (in a really cheesy, child-like voice) “who’s the cuuuutest doggy in the world? huh? who’s the cutest? who wants to give me luvins?” Really, it’s rather ridiculous. If I could have it my way, I’d have hundreds of pet doggies, a herd of goats, and a whole slew of other animals living in my apartment. But, it turns out that the New York City housing authority frowns upon this kind of thing.

So, why am I a crazy animal freak? Again, I have my mom to thank for this. I grew up on a farm, surrounded by hundreds of animals. It’s all I know, really. And this whole “fear of dogs” thing? I don’t get it. You give me the meanest, scariest, mangiest dog, and I will have him/her licking my face in a matter of minutes. ‘Nuff said.

So, then I got to thinking, I saw all these kids playing in the dog run this morning. They also had no fear. They had the hugest grins on their faces, playing with any and every doggy who came up to them (Scope is a major kid lover). And maybe, just maybe, it’s a good thing for kids to learn not to fear animals. And maybe, just maybe, this lack of fear can cross over into the rest of their lives. Maybe they learn not to fear themselves, and also learn to love another creature so much that it brings them to tears. I think it’s certainly worked for me.

And then I got to thinking about how doggies are kind of “slaves” to what Freud would call their “id.” They don’t so much worry about the future, or paying taxes, or what their butt looks like, or whether or not they should have another bite of dog food because it might make their hips become fat. They are stuck in the here and now. And they are passionate. They love deeply.

And then I got to thinking about how it’s not such a bad thing to let your “id” out every once in a while. No, we can’t all go around having sex with anyone who sniffs our butt, and sleeping for 20+ hours a day. But maybe there are some of us that should let our “id” out at least a little more than we usually do.

Our inner child IS our inner dog in many ways. And maybe just maybe we should all unleash our inner dogs more than we tend to do.

I challenge you to all go to the dog park in the morning, and frolic in the grass with all of the doggies and try and be pissed off at the same time. I bet you an oyster you can’t!

I hope you enjoy the video below, which I just made from iPhone photos and FlipHD videos that I took at the dog park. Try and watch it without smiling. I bet you can’t!

My apologies to everyone for my last rant/post about UPS. I actually had a great day today, save for UPS pissing me off (and I don’t piss off easily).

Anyway, let’s get back to the good stuff.

I will be a doctor in less than one day. Today was a very long day of endocrinology. I had to wake up very early in the morning, and I just now got home (it’s now 8 p.m.). Long day for an elective. But guess what? I learned sooo much. And so I am not upset about the hours.

Tomorrow is my last day of endocrinology. It’s also my last day of med school. MY LAST DAY OF MEDICAL SCHOOL! My apologies if I’m too excited. But guess what, I’M EXCITED!! In less than 24 hours I will have fulfilled all of the requirements to become a medical doctor in the USA. Yes, I will not actually receive my diploma for a few weeks. But that is merely a piece of paper. I am almost a doctor.

It’s exciting and scary and wonderful and terrifying, all at the same time. I’ve worked soooo very hard to get where I am now. And it has all been worth it. All the blood, sweat, tears, and money…. But after tomorrow I will be a doctor. And no one can take that away from me. Eat that, UPS! (Okay, I have obviously not gotten over that yet!)

Photos: I took both of them today. The first one was taken very close to my hospital. I parked far away enough to catch this on my walk. (RIP Kendoggz…one of my nicknames, by the way.) Second one was taken out of my car window on the drive home. Turns out you have to get creative if you’re not a “walker.”

“Yo Brooklyn, Fuhgeddaboudit” Photo Series

So, I know you are all sick of hearing this, but documenting my life is one of my most favorite hobbies, and is therapeutic in many ways. Although I’ve used all kinds of expensive and nice cameras to take photos, I’m currently quite obsessed with my iPhone. No, the quality is not nearly as nice as other cameras. But guess what? Even the best camera can’t take a photo if you don’t have it with you. And I carry my iPhone with me pretty much everywhere I go. Because of that, I take many great photos that would have otherwise gone unphotographed. The quality suffers (in some ways, is cooler, though), but the quantity is much higher.

I could tell you all about my wonderful day today, but I lack the energy to do so. I went for a great run this morning and then I went in for my endocrinology rotation at the hospital. Today was a good day. I drove to the hospital, so I don’t have any great photos from my walks today, but I have some cool ones (in this post) that I’ve taken over the past few days in my neighborhood and in Manhattan yesterday. Enjoy. (And thank my iPhone for them!)

Photos:

1) The cool 3-sided painting beside the subway stop outside of my apartment.
2) Pay phones. They still exist?
3) Same painting, with a person passing.
4) Another pay phone. Think it actually works?
5) Same painting as above, sans person.

“Yo Brooklyn, Fuhgeddaboudit” Photo Series

Just got home from my first “real” day of endocrinology. I worked at the endocrinology clinic at my hospital, did one consult, and rounded on all the patients. I just got home around 8:30 p.m. No, I really should not be complaining because I didn’t have to go in until 1:00 p.m., but I think I’m just spoiled from certain electives with “cake” hours. I actually learned a lot, too.

Since I moved 2 weeks ago to be closer to my residency hospital, I am now not within walking distance of the hospital at which I am doing my last rotation. This means that I actually have to DRIVE to the hospital. Drive? What’s that?!

This experience has confirmed for me what I already knew: I am not a driver. In fact, I’m not a commuter, at all. I need to walk to my place of work. Not only is it a perfect way to de-stress, but it’s great exercise. Not only that, but I’ve realized that I take all of my best photos and videos during my walks! Who has time to take photos or videos when you’re zooming (or even not zooming) by all the wonderful things on your path?

Because of this, my daily photos have suffered, and so has my “2010 Video a Day” Project. I will either have to scrap the idea all together, or come up with some sort of creative solution.

Only 8 more days of actual work at the hospital, and then I am “qualified” to be a doctor. Life is very sweet.

Note: Photos are all “trashy” pics taken in Brooklyn a while back. As soon as I’m back to my daily walking again, I will post some trashy photos from my new ‘hood.

“Trash Talkin” Photo Series

Life has been a bit of a blur for me this week. Combine moving to a new apartment with long hours of pediatrics at the hospital, and you get a somewhat overwhelmed Kendra.

According to the Life Stress Scale, moving to a new home gets me 15 points. Actually, if you add up all the other points for me on the scale, you get a not so good number.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy as can be about my new apartment. But moving never comes without stress. And in fact, I’ve had a few stressors thrown my way.

Note: If you don’t want to read my stupid rants about seemingly insignificant stuff, skip the next paragraph, and read on.

So, I’ve had an issue with our new toilet. It kept getting clogged and overflowing and my cheap little toilet plunger just wasn’t doing the job (even with my partner Micah roasting it on the stove). Long story short, I have finally fixed it (bought a SUPER plunger from a hardware store), but it wasn’t without a great deal of pain, (including, shhhhh using my bathtub for unintended purposes for two days). Then there’s the story of my air mattress. Another long story short, we don’t yet have our real bed, so we’ve been sleeping on an air mattress. All was well in bedland until my doggies decided to rip a hole in the side of my air mattress. Last night, I woke up to find myself laying on the cold, hardwood floor, in a deflated pile of plastic. I re-inflated the mattress, and then woke up 2 hours later to do it again. And so the night went, every 2 hours. I have used the mattress patch, and duct tape, and everything else I could think of. I think the original hole has been fixed, but the mattress is still leaking from somewhere. If I can’t figure out from where, it will mean sleeping on a cold, hardwood floor for the next week. I do hope the air mattress fairies come and save me.

I hate to rant, but sometimes it’s the best way to de-stress. I’ve had a bunch of other assorted issues (including trying unsuccessfully to overcome my made in 1924 plaster walls), but I’m sure everything will eventually work out.

Thanks for allowing me to rant. I do feel better now.

Note: First photo is the testing kit for our hospital’s new heplock system (I forgot the name). I had a lot of fun the other night sticking needles into the rubber vein. The second photo is my first “trashy” pic from my new neighborhood. Blew out a flip flop!

“Trash Talkin” Photo Series

Today is Monday. It’s rained almost non-stop for the past 4 days. The streets are flooded and I have zero pairs of dry jeans left. Rain, rain, go away!

I really shouldn’t complain so much, though. At least I’ve been lucky to have the past few days off. I don’t have to go back in to the pediatric ER until tomorrow night.

More importantly, today is MATCH DAY!! I’ve already heard from a few of my friends who have matched (and none so far who haven’t matched). CONGRATS to everyone, whether or not you matched! Either way, you’ve earned the right to be proud of where you are!

I hope you enjoy the photos with this post. I took them all yesterday during a very wet doggy walk. They are also a part of my new photo series, “Trash Talkin: Giving a Voice to the Discarded.” My “Yo Brooklyn, Fuhgeddaboudit” photo series was becoming a little inundated with trash, so I have now gone through and edited that collection a bit. My “Trash Talkin” series will now include only photos of trash, taken anywhere and everywhere, and my “Yo Brooklyn, Fuhgeddaboudit” series will be dedicated to all other Brooklyn related photos. Enjoy!

“Trash Talkin” Photo Series

I just got home from a long day of peds ER. Luckily, our attending let us go a bit early, so I actually have about 8 ounces worth of energy to post a blog entry.

Still loving the kiddies and emergency medicine. Saw about 100,000,000 viral URIs (maybe I exaggerate a little bit) and AGEs. Still getting used to restraining kiddies. It’s strange because as a psych tech, I restrained about a million adults, but for some reason, it seems more tragic and difficult doing it to a child. Holding them down to draw blood or put in an IV line can be challenging! Kids are WAY more strong than I gave them credit for before doing a pediatrics rotation. I’ve also learned the ins and outs of putting on urine bags, which is a new skill for me.

I’ve learned that handling the parents and their concerns is a very important skills in peds. I’ve also gotten a lot better at performing exams on unwilling kiddies. Always auscultate BEFORE you perform an otoscopic or abdominal exam! That way you can listen before they start screaming and crying. I’ve also learned that it’s sometimes easier to examine a baby while you’re holding them (and bouncing up and down) so that they aren’t crying and wiggling away.

The most important that I’ve learned is that the director of the program really hit the nail on the head when she said, “children are not just small adults.” There really is an art to understanding the intricacies of pediatrics. Kids are not just small adults, for sure!

Note: Photos all taken during my walk home from the hospital today. I love my little Bushwick bodegas!

“Yo Brooklyn, Fuhgeddaboudit” Photo Series