Click Here To View the Entry

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

Hours at hospital: 13
Bags of canine poop collected: 4
Patients examined: 8-10
Things learned: too many to count
Babies I made cry: less than usual
Dogs neglected: 2
Stickers given to children: 3
Destruction of apartment when returning home from hospital: more than I had anticipated
Heplocks removed: 2
Regrets: only one…neglecting my doggies
Kids I made smile: 6
Happiness because of being allowed to experience the gift of learning from kiddies: priceless

She awoke in the morning to the sounds of birds chirping outside her window. A quick glance at her clock revealed that it was only 6:00 a.m., too early to arise from bed on her day off from work. But the sounds of her rustling the covers awoke her black and white companion. He launched himself from the sofa onto her bed, under the covers and into her arms. She allowed him to nestle into her as she caressed his soft fur. After a few minutes of this loving interaction she realized that she was now fully awake.

Might as well get out of bed now.

She prepared her morning coffee, as she does every day: using the exact same proportions of coffee grounds to water, and sugar to milk. As she sipped her coffee and stared out the window at the sun rising on the horizon she was exhilarated by the realization that it was going to be a wonderful day away from the hospital.

The weather did not disappoint her. The temperature quickly rose to almost 60 degrees Fahrenheit and the glistening sun filled the cloudless sky.

It was going to be a good day.

After saying farewell to her partner, she looked around at her apartment for something to occupy her now empty hands. Two projects proved to be challenging, but oh so rewarding. Sewing a button onto her gray “work pants” and using needle-nosed pliers to fix a bead imbalance on a pair of earrings served to fulfill her perpetual need for accomplishment.

The day was progressing well, but the need for the warmth of sunlight and external stimulation compelled her. She fastened the leashes onto her energized, furry lovers and made her way out into the city. As she scooped up the warm piles of feces, she commented to herself how happy it made her to take care of animals in need, and she realized how caring for them extrapolated out to including anyone in need.

After a shower and preparations, she again exited her apartment, but this time for purely selfish reasons. As she listened to the melodic sounds of Bob Marley on her iPhone, she couldn’t help but allow the contagious facial muscles on her face to elevate her lips. She thought to herself about how the grin on her face seemed to affect the passersby, and that forced the grin to exaggerate to an obscene level.

All too quickly she arrived at her destination: a dilapidated store on Broadway Avenue, run entirely by Vietnamese immigrants. After “picking a color,” she was seated and proceeded to roll her jeans up to her knees. As she soaked her feet in the warm water and bubbles, her reasons for visiting this establishment were mentally affirmed. A young Vietnamese man wearing a surgical face mask and latex gloves greeted her from below.

She exposed her feet.

As he removed the previous nail polish from her toes she mused about how incredibly ugly her feet were. Large, misshapen, always calloused from compulsive running, and too wide to fit into most “cute” shoes. But it barely phased her. The thoughts were quickly replaced by the waves of relaxation and pleasure brought on by someone else’s pampering. She gave in to his magic, allowing his small, strong hands to massage away all the stress and tension that miles of running had built up in her feet.

She exited the salon in pure ecstasy, ready to take on the world.

Once home, she again leashed up her dogs, loaded film into her Holga camera, carefully placed her headphones and extraordinarily large sized sunglasses around her ears, and made her way out into the city of Brooklyn.

One mile turned into two, and two turned into four. She allowed the pure bliss of the sun caressing her shoulders, music reverberating through her tympanic membrane and sensation of her feet against the sidewalk to carry her into another dimension. She barely noticed the remarks of the people she passed on the street. The construction workers’ catcalls drifted by her like invisible smoke.

And then fate intercepted her journey. A well-Yelped restaurant met her visual field. It had outdoor seating as well. Perfect for today.

After tying her dogs to a pole, she went inside and gave into temptation. A glass of Bordeaux and a plateful of New England mussels would fulfill her wildest palatal desires.

She sat outside on the patio in the warmth of the sun, her black and white furry companion on her lap, and her brown one at her feet. She savored every last drop of the wine and even chewed the raw oysters for the first time, so that she could make the moment last even longer. People walking by were barely visible, as she was blinded by her own ecstasy.

The three mile walk home was an artistic orgasm. She snapped photos on her manual film camera with wild abandon. So what if the film was incredibly expensive, there was art to be made! Photographic opportunity after photographic opportunity filled her path. And she was not shy about capturing every last pixel of it.

Once home she contemplated her day’s journeys. Yes, today WAS a good day. But not because of all the externalities and environmental adventures. She had allowed herself to create a good day.

This weekend was quite pleasurable, and it really got my creative juices a’flowin. My partner Micah is in art school in Baltimore, Maryland (pursuing an MFA at MICA), and he’s been working on his thesis project, which will be installed in the Decker Gallery this month. I’ve been helping him work on the project (more than he gives me credit for…:) ) for the past few weeks. Last weekend we shot some footage in Times Square and Arturo’s restaurant in Manhattan. This past weekend involved a trip to Coney Island, climbing up to my apartment building’s rooftop, and recording footage during my bubble bath.

As you can tell, this is going to be an amazing project! I think I might even be more excited about it than Micah is.

In other news, the weather for the past few days has been AMAZING! Sunny, and in the high 50’s. Yesterday I went for an absolutely lovely run, and today I’m planning on taking the doggies to the park, and maybe spending some time at an outdoor cafe.

Yes, it’s Monday, but I don’t have to be at the hospital today. The next two weeks I will be working in the pediatric emergency room. I only have to do three 12-hour shifts each week, so you’ll likely be hearing a lot more from me. This will be a vacation compared to the 80+ hours I put in last week!

Oh yes, and happy birthday to my little sister Corina today! And belated happy birthday to my daddio yesterday!

Tired. LONG week. Nursery/NICU was awesome. Next is two weeks of pediatrics ER. More to come!

“Yo Brooklyn, Fuhgeddaboudit” Photo Series

Click Here To View the Entry

I feel like lately I have a million ideas/things to write about during the day. But by the time I get home, I have lost the energy to write about them. Please do forgive me. But I am loving working in the nursery/NICU, and I’m learning many things every day.

I was following one newborn in particular, whose story turned quite interesting. I can’t share the details, for privacy sake, but I can say that it involved a psychiatric consult for the mother. Out of all the newborns in the nursery, I happened to have one whose stay involved a psych consult! It was sad for the patient, but incredibly interesting for me. I was able to use my psych knowledge and background to assist in the hospital care. I really was thrilled that I had insight into the case, and it served to further clench my decision to pursue psychiatry. I can say right now that I definitely made the right specialty choice. Psychiatry truly is a perfect fit for me!

My apologies for being too tired to share any more wonderful insights. Please enjoy my photos for now!

1) A tea party gone wrong?
2) People selling drugs on my block?
3) My shopping cart addiction
4) Barbie homicide crime scene
5) Bumper cars

“Yo Brooklyn, Fuhgeddaboudit” Photo Series