Island Med Student

Random video of my sister Bruce and my faux sister Cara “pignapping” a doggy (Piggy) on Saturday. Enjoy!

Oh my little blog, how I have missed you. I am a very strange gal. You probably already knew that. I have had (another!!) cold for the past few days and with the coughing and sniffling and cold meds, I’ve been a little whacked out. One would think that with me having absolutely nothing to do all day long, I’d be mad blogging every day. But it turns out to be quite the opposite. I seem to blog MORE when I am super busy, and less so when I’m bored. Perhaps it’s because I really don’t have much to say. And yes, that’s the case right now.

So, today has been very nice. I went for a long run in the park with my doggies and then came home to find my diploma in the mail! Okay, don’t get too excited…it’s not the REAL one, it’s just a certified copy (I needed it for my residency program…and yes, for those of you detail oriented folks, I graduated with a very high GPA…summa cum laude…aka “with highest honors”). But my real one is in the mail, and according to the USPS website, it should be here tomorrow! I feel like I keep giving you all “almost” photos…me in my graduation garb, but not at graduation…a photo of my diploma, but not the real one. Anyway, the “real” photos are soon to follow. I promise.

After my run I made a smoothie and then took a bubble bath. I then packed up my picnic gear and headed again to the park, and again with my doggies. I basked in the sun (for probably too long) in my bikini and finished the book I’ve been reading (more on that soon) about a doctor’s experiences in her medicine residency.

None of this is very exciting, and I realize that. But I honestly I just don’t have anything else cooler to share with you, world!

In other news, I’ve been trying to come up with fun and creative ways to make money (I am 100% broke), but have so far only managed to make a meager amount. It’s amazing how unemployable I am. I’m overqualified for most things, and underqualified for most things. How lusciously and cruelly ironic! If anyone out there has any recommendations on how to make one million dollars (or $100) in one month’s time, I’d love to hear them!

I’ve only been away from the hospital for a few days, and I already miss it. I am somewhat of a Type A personality. I like to get things accomplished quickly. And as much as I complain sometimes, I do like being busy. The past few days I have been catching up on errands, but I am quickly running out of errands! The funny thing about me though, is that I will just continue to make up things to do once I run out.

Anyway, I forced myself to take three hours off today. It was magical. I went to Prospect Park, and had a picnic with my doggies. I stripped down to my bikini and cracked open a “pleasure book.” It was truly amazing. I just relaxed and cuddled with my doggies and allowed myself to be taken away by the sun and the book. It was just what the doctor ordered.

You’re all going to really become sick of me going on and on about how awesome the park is, but I just can’t help it. It’s my happy place. As I was walking home from my picnic, I found two girls and a guy singing an opera in a tunnel. I saw a man busting out some awesome tai chi under the “Oriental Pavilion.” I watched a man play frisbee with his doggy by the glistening lake.

Now I’m home, eating goat cheese, drinking a glass of wine, and trying to figure out what to do with myself tonight. I think I shall make a yummy dinner first, perhaps a bubble bath afterwards, and then maybe do some more pleasure reading. Yay for being a bum!

Some of you might be sick of hearing me go on and on about how grateful I am to all of my friends, family, and Internet buddies. Well, suck it up, because I’m not finished yet.

Check out the above photo! How cool is that?! That was sent to me by Elizabeth, a wonderful fellow Rossie who took time out of her busy day studying in Dominica to drink a dedicated coconut in my name!

I have received wonderfully thoughtful donations from many folks. I’ve received countless emails and comments from people all over the world. That makes me one lucky gal, indeed!

Anyway, I just wanted to again express my gratitude to all of you! I had to delay my celebratory oysters for a few days, due to lack of funds (takes time to transfer the donations) and my partner Micah being sick. But the transfers have gone through and Micah is feeling much better, so I will hopefully be going out to my favorite oyster bar tonight to enjoy the fruits (oyster meat!) of my four years of labor in medical school.

The second photo was sent to me by my sister. Isn’t that one sexy doggy?!

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 doggies Scope and Molly just had the BEST DAY EVER! We went to the legal off-leash dog run in Prospect Park (legal before 9 a.m. and after 9 p.m.).

I’ve never before seen so many doggies in one place in my life! It was AWESOME! I can’t wait to go back! Prospect Park, I love you!

Click Here to See the Pics

“Fire escape gardens are so 2009. Plantar boxes hung from child safety window guards are the new black.”

- Kendra Campbell

I feel very accomplished right now. I managed to get quite a few things done today. I woke up this morning and wrote an article for Medscape (soon to be published). Then I went for an 8-mile run with the doggies in the park. Even at 10:00 a.m. this morning, it was close to 70 degrees (it got up to 86 today!), and the doggies were panting like freight trains by the time we got home. I then managed to plant my new veggie/herb garden. Since I no longer have a fire escape, I purchased planter boxes, which hang from the child safety guards on my window ledges. I planted tomatoes, lettuce, broccoli, mint and thyme. My local nursery was out of basil, but I hope to add that (and more!) soon as well.

I had a very “Kendra moment” when planting this morning. In order to do the planting, I had to put a ladder outside of my window and climb in and out with bags of soil and such. When I was climbing out of my window, I slipped on the ladder and fell down to the concrete below, crashing onto my knees. As if my knees didn’t have enough to worry about, now they are EVEN MORE bruised than usual.

After about an hour, my knees hurt so badly that I could barely walk. I contemplated calling in sick to my endocrinology rotation, but in the end guilt won out, and I went in to the hospital.

I hobbled around and actually had a great time. My attending is so incredibly awesome. He teaches so well and I very much respect and admire him.

When I got home from the hospital, I took the doggies on a nice walk and picked up some grocery items. My new neighborhood is so very awesome. I’m starting to befriend a lot of my neighbors, and I love how incredibly friendly everyone is.

Tomorrow is going to be a long day at the hospital, so I guess I should go to bed early tonight. I’m starving as well, so it’s time to make some din din.

Enjoy the photos of my new “garden” with this post. I hope to take some better ones in the future. (I was in a hurry today.) I think everything will soon start filling out nicely. Something about having a pseudo-garden in the city is oh so very satisfying to me!

I’m finally about 90% moved in and finished arranging and decorating my new apartment. Today was home improvement day. I potted plants, hung plantar boxes, screwed in curtain posts, staple gunned all the wires on the floor to the trim (turns out staple guns are my new fave thing), and did a bunch of other small home improvement projects. My new apartment is really starting to feel like a home. Once I have a few more items situated, and all of my pictures hung on the walls, I think I’ll really love my new digs. I’ll also post some photos for your viewing pleasure.

Yesterday I went for a long doggy walk in Prospect Park. Today I realized that you can hear the park’s drum circles from my apartment’s windows. I also am getting to know my new, local grocery store. Today I went grocery shopping and they asked me for my ID to use my credit card. I had forgotten to bring it so I used the “I’m new to the neighborhood, but will be shopping here all the time,” line, and the manager agreed to let me buy my groceries on credit.

Tomorrow I will hopefully start a 2-week endocrinology elective rotation. I say “hopefully” because it’s not actually officially on my schedule yet. I will be going to the hospital tomorrow to beg for the elective (and using the “I only need 2 weeks of electives to graduate”) line. We’ll see how it goes.

More good stuff to come!

Photos:
1) View from my window. The Q train in my backyard.
2) Tower of plants. Created today.
3) Curtain post thingy. I heart power tools.
4) My bathroom orchid.

I’ve had this entire past week off from the hospital, thank my lucky stars. I’ve been sick (recovering now, from a cold), and unpacking my life away.

Yesterday I had a fun adventure. For the first time in over 15 years, I needed to use a public laundromat to do my laundry. I overcame my fear and purchased an “old lady cart” at the grocery store. (I’m officially a New Yorker now.) I packed my dirty clothes and headed to the laundromat. It wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought it was going to be.

I then went for a nice, long doggy walk in the park. When I returned, I found my son Tom stalking me from a nearby coffee shop. We put back some brewskies, and had some yummy sushi.

Today I went for a long run in the park with the doggies (and it was warm enough to only wear my shorts and sports bra, yay!), and then had to take another trip to a new (better, and closer) laundromat. I met two awesome kids (brother and sister), who ended up stealing my laptop from me and using stolen McDonalds Internet to watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles videos on YouTube. They also ate all of my french fries. I helped them with their math and spelling. It seemed like a fair deal.

I’m not sure what the purpose of this post was, but I think it had something to do with a fear of laundromats turning into a love for them. Yeah, that was it.

Life has been a blur lately. I drove down to Baltimore on Friday night, incredibly sleep deprived and tired. I woke up Saturday morning, drove to Virginia, rented a Uhaul truck, and with the help of my parents and Micah, loaded up most of my items out of storage on the farm into the truck. Micah and I set sail from the farm around 3:00 p.m., and stopped once in Baltimore. By midnight, we were back in Brooklyn. We unloaded all of our stuff from the truck into our apartment.

Everyone always told me “just wait until you do peds…you’ll get sick!” But I thought I had been incredibly lucky and superhuman. I didn’t get sick one day during my peds rotation. However the day AFTER the last day of my rotation (Saturday), I noticed that I was developing a sore throat and dry cough. By Sunday, it had developed into a full blown cold. I feel like a steaming pile of poo.

I’ve been hopped up on cold meds for several days now. It’s been non-stop raining for several days now. I’ve been unpacking and arranging for several days now.

I just now got to a good stopping point, so I decided to eat some veggie chili. Somehow, the chili, combined with the fact that I’ve quit taking the damn cold meds, has made me feel a lot better. The medication-induced haze is beginning to lift. Now if I could just coax the sun to come out long enough for my doggies to take a poop.

Photo is the beginnings of my new “office space.” It’s so good to finally have a desk again!