Christmas Trip

Well, my Christmas vacation is coming to an end. I got to spend time with my friends and family, especially my adorable niece, Payton. I'll post a picture when I get back home since I didn't bring my card reader with me. Payton got tons of toys but it looks like she has the entire stock of Dora toys at her house. Today we played with her dora playtent and she pretended to hide from me inside it with gramma lynn. When Kevin tried to put it away, she freaked out and screamed, "My Tent!!!"
I didn't cough much while I was here in warm weather but now my coughing is getting bad again. I think my body knows that I'm going back to cold weather. My flight is late tonight so I think I might take a swig of my cough syrup.
Time to finish packing up.

Ho hum

Well, I just finished up my clinic notes. It always seems like I've seen tons of patients when I 'm busy in clinic or working on notes then I see that I only saw 8 patients in each half day and realize that I will be seeing many more pretty soon. Sometimes I do see more patients when I get double booked and they all show up. I think the most I saw was 10 in a half day although 11 had been scheduled (god bless no shows on days like that!). I once had 11 patients scheduled and half of them didn't show up. I guess I have to hit a certain number to graduate so I really shouldn't wish for no shows. Anyway, I guess I'll get some sleep now. Tomorrow is another half day in clinic. I"m seeing one of the babies I delivered. She's already 6 months old!
Nighty night!

I love my computer

Well, I finally am moved over to my new macbook pro. I love it!!! It's fast and fun. It took awhile to get stuff moved over because I wanted to move only the stuff I use often and leave the old stuff off. Plus there's stuff that I can no longer use anyway since they require Classic and the new macs don't have that function. Not to worry though since I bought the new print shop application anyway. I still haven't let it leave my home yet but maybe this weekend...maybe not. I'm too afraid to take it to work and there really isn't any point since I get so busy anyway and can't play.

I also created a new website with my .mac account. It's really slow though so I'll probably get a different site after this year. It was on sale though so not too bad of a deal I suppose. If I get tired of how slow it is, I'll get a site sooner and just store some documents on it that I may need at work.

Time for dinner!

oh boy! oh boy! oh boy!!!!

I just checked the shipping tracker and all 3 shipments (computer, printer, applecare) have all arrived in portland tonight! So if they try to deliver tomorrow afternoon (like after 3 pm), I should be home to get the packages myself! Wowwie!

okay. bedtime

can't wait! can't wait!

Okay, so there are several reasons I can't wait.
1. My niece, Payton, and her parents are coming for thanksgiving! Mom is coming too!
2. My computer is on it's way!

As excited as I am about #1, I sometimes feel more excited about #2. Sad, isn't it. Well, for reasons that are beyond me, it had to go to indiana from alaska and I guess is on it's way back to the west coast. I have already gotten the sleeve for the computer. I'm waiting on the keyboard protector. I'm also still waiting for the printer to move from the same stupid distribution center in california. It's been there since the 10th. I really don't understand why.
I'm not really looking forward to moving stuff over to the new computer but it must be done...
I also bought the new version of print shop since it has an update for it to be intel compatible to run faster on those systems. The old version runs in classic on this powerbook and classic is no longer supported. A few fun games I haven't played in over 2 years will not be available for me to say, "hmmm. I should play that again one of these days."

Well, I'm going to do 1 more clinic note then head to sleep. tomorrow is yet another fun filled day of clinic and didactics. Then at night is the recruitment dinner at Mike's place. In other words, I don't have to make dinner on wednesday until interview season is over. Mike makes really good food too! Only 2 more days at the PPMC ED. Next up is a month of ER at PMH!

Oh and any day now one of my pregnant patients will deliver. If not by monday, then she goes into the hospital anyway so we can get the kid out of her before thanksgiving. It was a mutual decision we made.

tiring vacation

Well, it took me until thursday around noon to finish the painting. I painted 6 rooms - the laundry room and downstairs 1/2 bath are sage green, the 2 bathrooms upstairs are blue, and the 2 bedrooms are ivory. I didn't feel up to painting the office. I probably would still be painting. I also got other decorations. For my room, I'm going to do a simple painting of square canvases...cause we all know I can't paint anything besides simple geometric shapes. I could probably make a square unnoticeable. For the office, I took my cross-stitch old world map in to get framed since I had a coupon. I also reorganized that closet since it was a mess. For the guest room, I took the cross-stitch butterflies in for framing (again, i had a coupon). I got a frame for the 2 smaller geisha cross-stitches I did. I also bought a candle for that room. All I need now is the dresser. The one option at Fred Meyer's is a little taller than I prefer since that means rearranging the 3 pictures on that wall. There is another lingerie dresser that is perfect height but wrong color. I could special order one that will need to be painted the dark color and then varnished. There's another one at Sears.com. I just need to figure out which is cheapest and easiest to obtain. Oh and I got a frame for the Multnomah Falls Print I bought in june. I wanted white but couldn't find it so I bought this silver one instead. It matches the hardware in that bathroom. Well, time to watch the shows I recorded when I was busy painting.

yippeee!

Well, my vacation is gettin busy.
Friday - post call clinic was busy then I just watched tv after finishing my notes. Thankfully I had a fellow R2 on call with me so senior call was uneventful. One patient was being induced but nothing exciting, again, that was a nice thing. Nothing like a complicated labor to get me worried. And only 2 phone calls. And since Long was on with me, he dealt with floor calls. I guess he had an easy night as well since there were no admissions. And since it was an easy night, I got to sleep. It was the exact opposite of the call before that one...I still have PTSD. Although it was nice since my postcall clinic had to be mostly cancelled since I was delivering a baby. Anyway, I wasn't beat after clinic so I could stay up and watch some tv and work on my cross stitch advent calendar.
Later that night a bunch of my fellow residents and I went to the pumpkin patch on Sauvie Island. We were supposed to meet Laura (another R2) and her family at the Haunted Corn Maze but we went to the wrong farm. We bought pumpkins (I got a huge one!) and ate junk food and waited. We finally went to the maze and the guy told us we were at the wrong place. oops. So we head over to the right farm and see Laura. They thought we had already been through since they were running late so they had completed the maze by the time we got there. It was pretty fun! They had people jumping out to scare us and since I'm jumpy, I was startled many times. At one point, one of the ghouls was walking right behind me and I knew it...Julius kept telling me to turn around and I knew it was there so I kept walking. It took us 1.5 hours to get through the whole thing. At the end is a picture of all the mazes they have made in corn, including this year's maze. It's interesting to see where we were when we kept going around in circles.
Saturday - I just laid around the house, went for a walk in the neighborhood, worked on my cross-stitch.
Sunday - I took Lien to the airport then went to Jantzen Beach to get my digital picture frame. I'll have to go back there someday to go shopping. Lots of fun places! Oh and if I want any servicing for my computer, the apple certified compusa is there too. Then I spent the entire afternoon getting annoyed that the memory card I bought for the frame wasn't working.
Monday - got my TSH repeated since they changed my dose. I got bruised but not too bad. Then I bought a new card reader/writer to see if that will solve my problem with my frame. Then I got started on my painting plan. First I went to home depot since it was right there by compusa. Then I went to Lowes to get my paint. Oh and along the way I went to the sports store to buy a swim suit so I can go swimming at the aquatic park (somehow it seems wrong to wear my bikini to a water aerobics class). Then I got home and realized that it was my old cardreader that was the problem and spent 4 hours putting photos on the card for the frame. It works great now! Then I started painting. I chose a light sage for the downstairs bathroom and decided to also paint the laundry room that same color. The lighting is different in both rooms and the green looks different in the laundry room - like a scrubs color. And since I started in that room, I was worried that I chose the wrong color. Then I got started on the bathroom and thankfully it looked more sagey in the room it was originally intended for. Today I have to do the second coat then get started on the bathrooms upstairs and the 2 bedrooms. I'm not painting the office yet. too much furniture to move so I might wait until someone strong comes to help me move the stuff...like Kevin. I've seen his work, he's qualified. Just kidding. I may wait until next year.
Tuesday - more painting today but the most exciting news...the new Macbook Pros are out!!! I've been waiting soooo long! Yippeee!!! I may make a trip to Bridgeport to take a look at them! I have to get a bike rack at the container store anyway...

update

Well...it's been awhile since I posted anything. Been busy with work and whatnot.. Ok, I've been lazy.

I spent a month in Pacific City, Oregon, doing my small community rotation with a family medicine practice there. It was very nice, especially since I only worked 40 hrs/wk and no call shifts. Not to mention spending lots of time on the coast being very relaxing. I went for walks on the beach while I listened to my audio spanish lessons. I would reply out loud but would check every once in awhile to make sure no one was around...didn't want to look like a schizophrenic patient talking to someone who wasn't there. My cousin got married down there as well. My other cousin got married the weekend after that in portland. I bought lots of fun stuff too...like 5 pairs of shoes.

This month I'm on Behavioral health. Many days were incredibly boring and a few were very informative. Clinic on friday was never slow though. I got to miss almost an entire half day of clinic because one of my OB patients delivered in the morning. I would have been happier with the whole thing cancelled but oh well. Tomorrow I'll spend at Cascadia so it will be good to see what goes on there since I send many of my patients there.

Next week is my vacation!!! I'm going to paint the bathrooms and maybe my bedroom. The thought of moving the furniture in my office to paint is nauseating right now since the desk is heavy, the shelves are heavy, the futon is heavy and well, there's no room for me to have all 3 away from the walls at the same time. I think I'll paint the guest room though. Not sure what color but probably an off white since red is too hard to get to look nice. I'm not doing the ceilings in this house. That was too hard in the condo and that way I can avoid the stupid light fixtures (the ones that look like a boob hanging from above).

Oh and I discovered today at our clinic all staff meeting that I'm running the group OB visits that start up in January. I had stated an interest but didn't realize I was the chosen one. Should be fun though.

Okay, time to work on my clinic notes.

Technology Withdrawal Syndrom

Well, I was happily on my way to the beach for my 4 week rotation when my ipod suddenly died on me in the middle of a spanish lesson. I pulled over to administer CPR...okay, the ipod version of it including the version of the sternal thump (that's when you hit your patient's chest as hard as you can to see if it will kick the heart into action)...I hit my ipod. I'm normally against violence to my electronic devices but this was crisis mode. My ipod was apparently dead. So I decided not to get too worked up and that I could further try to revive Otter Pop (his name) once I got to the beach. Once unpacked, I attended to Otter Pop. Still no sign of life. I tried plugging him in...no luck. Then I decided to tackle my internet connection...and that's when my full blown technology withdrawal syndrome symptoms hit.

Netzero sucks. I downloaded their required proprietary software and it didn't have Pacific City on it. Granted, I should have looked into this sooner to allow myself time to find a better company but I didn't so it's partly my fault. At any rate, I get down here to discover that I can't connect to the other numbers listed to update the phone list. So I connect with internet connect program and I get online...except all I can use is the netzero site. So I send them an email telling them that I need help and they send me a file with the updated phone list. So now my hopes are up...only to be dashed because when I restart their precious proprietary crap software, all the access numbers are gone and I get a message saying that I must connect and logon for the list to be updated...um hello losers, if I could connect properly in the first place, would I really need your "help?!?" So i write back telling them about the problem and they again tell me that my problems will be solved if I logon to the network using the proprietry piece of crap software or I can try uninstalling then reinstalling the software. So I do this and the phone list is the old one without the pacific city number. So I write back telling them that I'm right back at the same problem I started with. The response was that they understand my problem and that I should try to logon to the network or reinstall the software. Okay, so Bangalore, India is now the capital of internet help workers...I think the netzero folks chose all the rejects that other companies wouldn't hire. Thankfully today I had high speed internet access at the clinic I'm working at here. So I went online and found that earthlink does not require piece of crap proprietary software for macs to connect to the internet. I got the 1800 number to get a new account. Again, bangalore, india is where my sales agent and tech support guy was. They were better trained...that and earthlink is clearly more superior and costs the same. So I replied to the last netzero tech support email saying that they clearly didn't understand my situation but that's okay because I'm now a happy Earthlink customer and had just cancelled my account with Netzero...that was an ordeal in itself. The woman who was helping me with that kept trying to sell me services so I told her, not to bother offering me anymore of their services because the answer is no.

The lesson - Netzero sucks, I should have done better research.

Dialup is okay but I miss cable internet and my wireless router.

Oh and Otterpop was apparently only in a coma since when I looked at him this afternoon after work, the screen was no longer frozen on that spanish program but was off. So I plugged him in and he was functional again. Not sure what did it but maybe the stereo. As upset as I was with otterpop's apparent death, I was somewhat okay with it cause then that would justify buying a new ipod with video capabilities and radio capabilities...that thought occurred to me on my drive down to lincoln city to get food when I realized that my pathetic car can't pick up any radio stations at all even though other people's cars can.

the saga continues

Well, I called the bank and at first they said the charges weren't even in their system but then they found what I was talking about and since I was trying to do this between seeing patients, I told the teller that I had to call them back and so she said that was fine since they would look into it and have it figured out by the time I was planning on calling back. So I called back but every time I called, she was on the phone or away from her desk . So I left a message for her to page me when she was able to talk and nothing. So i called one last time and I got the machine yet again. I guess I'll call back tomorrow. My balance isn't messed up like it was so maybe they fixed it. Argh! I guess I'll pay with cash or check in the future to avoid such a problem but I probably will forget and use the card again. At least my afternoon clinic wasn't busy. For some bizarre reason I had a full 40 minute open spot plus someone didn't show up so I got to work on my notes from the am clinic patients and just finished my last note 5 minutes ago here at home. Next month I'll be at Pacific City doing clinic there. That will be nice...no call since I didn't get hospital priveleges and I told them that I wanted to be a faster, more efficient clinic doctor. Dinner time

I'll let you know what becomes of the $300 mayhem

Oh and one of our residents had her baby yesterday. I got him an Ugly Doll. They are very cute weird looking stuffed toys that Melissa turned me on to. I may get one for Payton.

The idiot

Well, the person who ran my debit card through for my doctor's visit on friday fucked something up. She was supposed to enter $15.00 but initially entered in $150.00. She then claimed to void it and I do have a receipt showing a void but then she also crumpled up a bunch of other slips and tossed those. I should have asked what those slips are but didn't think about it. Well, today I was balancing my checkbook and online I see 2 charges for $150.00! I don't see any evidence of voiding either and my balance is $300 less than what it should be indicating that that money was deducted from my account! And of course there's no one to talk to until monday when I'm going to be busy in clinic. And I just forsee getting my $300 back being a big hassle. My next half day off is wednesday but I think the moron who made the original mistake isn't going to be able to simply credit my card back, nor do I care to hand her my card again lest she completely wipe my account out. So I guess on monday I'll check my online bank statement and if my fears are confirmed that I was charged $300 more than the $15.00 I actually needed to pay, then I'll start harassing the business office. I want my fucking money back now!!!

2007 Corolla

My future car

So they just announced the 2007 Corolla. I had waited hoping that they would put the MP3 stereo into the new corolla. No such luck. In fact, I don't even see a difference other than the year. Oh well...I guess I could just stick with what I do now although since I don't have long drives anymore, I don't listen to the ipod while driving anymore.

Donation to my car fund can be made at all time. Just email me and I'll give you the address to mail the money too.
Or you can donate to my new laptop fund as well...I'm flexible when it comes to accepting money from strangers

back to finishing my clinic notes...blah!

almost over

Well, my pediatric rotation is almost over. Only 30 hours left. I'm on call tomorrow night and get the weekend off. Yippeee! And to make things even better, I was able to deliver my OB patient today. I was so sad that I would be on my peds rotation and unable to leave but she happened to go into labor today and we usually have didactics on wednesdays so I was able to be there for the end of her labor and delivery. She had a little girl, Isabella, and she was 7 lb 15 oz. She was pretty cute too! My patient was pretty good for a first time mom. She did way better than my last patient who was having her 3rd kid. That woman was nuts! Her mom and all other family members were there and taking pictures throughout the whole thing including pictures of me all dressed up and ready to deliver a baby and me splashed with blood since when her placenta came out, a big ole splash of blood came with it. Dad, are you still conscious? It was a great delivery so I'm happy for her (and myself!).

update on blindness

Well, my vision finally started to get better around 8 pm. Actually, it got to the point where seeing far was blurry but I could see near and actually read without straining. So I took out the temporary contacts and was able to see normally again. My eyes are tired after all the fun today. And now I can see well enough to go to sleep. I don't need a new pair of glasses so I guess I'll stick with the old ones. Or I could get a pair of coach eyeglasses to go along with my new coach handbag. The frames alone cost $224. On the other hand, I found a nice set of frames for $100 too. You know, I can have my silver frames and a pair that's copper colored or maybe pewter colored. Afterall, I only had to pay $10 for my eye appt today. Oh so the contacts I'll be trying out are sort of mismatched because my left eye has the huge astigmatism, which as I described below, accounted for my massive blindness with the dilation. So the left eye will have the acuvue for astigmatism and the right eye will have a normal one that's designed to prevent eye dryness for folks like me that have to wear contacts for longer periods of time. Oh and another reason I'm getting a mismatch is because they didn't have the extra moist one in the strength for my left eye. Apparently it's an odd strength and the moist one doesn't come in that strength. I'll have to look into that. Well, we'll see tomorrow if having the mismatch will work out okay. It may prevent the nausea and disorientation I had with the last set of contacts. I think this time I'll buy a smaller supply since I didn't use anywhere near all the contacts I bought. Time for bed!

Holy Crap! I'm blind!

So I just got back from the eye doctor. Now, my eyes really haven't changed since last year but thanks to dilatig eye drops paralyzing a few eye muscles, my doctor discovered that I have way more asytigmatism than she thought since those muscles apparently do a pretty good job of correcting it. In other words, I am completely blind. It's so bad that she had to give me temporary contacts to wear so I could drive home safely. I really can't see near with them though so if there's spelling errors, I wouldn't know. It should wear off in 4-5 hours. Why, after all these years, haven't they found a dilating solution that only lasts for an hour? My eyes hurt form trying to type so I'm stopping now.

Holy Crap! It's hot!

Okay, so it's only 30 minutes before my self-determined bed time of 10 pm and it's still 85 degrees. I'm very thankful for the box fan that Aunty Debby and Uncle Chuck got me as a new home present last year. It came in handy today and I think I'll use it in my bedroom. It's kind of loud though. It wouldn't be bad if there was a nice breeze like at home but no such luck. Ugh! I never thought I would like being on call in the hospital but yesterday I was in the nice air conditioned hospital and it was nice.

I'm watching Treasure Hunters. I wanted to laugh my ass off at the team named "geniuses" because they were anything but on the first task. I was hoping they would get eliminated because they were treating the other team they were paired with horribly, saying that "it's hard when you have to constantly dumb things down for people of normal intelligence." It was the "genius" team that came up with Mt Theodore Roosevelt when even the hillbillies came up with Mt. Rushmore quickly. The team the geniuses were paired with came up with Mt Rushmore but the Geniuses blew them off and said they weren't right. It was this other team that got eliminated in the end. Okay, so I'm well more involved than I should be but it's kind of funny to watch.

Graduation

Well, today was the Residency Graduation. It was at the zoo. It was a pretty nice little celebration actually. I got in trouble from the food server nazi manning the children's buffet. I didn't like the chicken on the adult buffet so I went over to the kid's line to get the chicken fingers they had and the lady said, somewhat rudely, "this is food for the children and there's chicken in the adult buffet." And so as I was taking chicken fingers, I said, "yeah, I know, but I don't like the chicken for adults." So she then said, "Um, Okay then..." again with a rude tone. Hee hee hee. Another resident also got in trouble for taking fruit from the kid's buffet. Anyway, I got a certificate stating that I successfully completed the PGY-1 year (intern year) and a gag gift bag with stuff an R2 needs from the graduating seniors. It had a whistle to keep the new interns in line, bubbles, a sunglasses clip (since I'll be able to be out in the sun more), and stickers. Oh and a pill box with jelly beans - "medicine" to keep us sane. Then we roasted the seniors. Everyone laughed at my jokes so I was pretty happy with the job I did. Chris did a good job roasting Mark.

Well, I did quite a bit of shopping when Melissa and Tori were here so no more shopping until I pay off that bill. So far our grand total is $3700 (roughly) and that doesn't include Tori's spending total yet and she probably spent the most of the 3 of us so the total may hit $6000. We thought of planning a trip to Mall of America for nonstop shopping in 2007 or 2008 but I may have to start saving now for that one. I'm trying to convince them to go to Canada on our next trip. I would suggest Mexico but I can't imagine Tori enjoying that. She may starve since she's more picky than me when it comes to food. At least Canada is almost like the US. I had lots of fun with them and there's lots of pictures to look through. Melissa was able to recover the corrupted photos on her card so as soon as she sends that, I may give a try at making an iphoto album that Apple can put together.

Ho hum. Tomorrow I'm on call for a 24 hr stretch. I guess I'll figure out which topic to do a presentation on. My newest study routine is to create a powerpoint presentation on the topic I'm studying since it forces me to read slowly and carefully and to clarify any questions I have. I wonder if my pregnant patient who's at 39 wks will come in soon. I go to bed each night wondering if I'll be paged to come in and deliver her. She's really nice so I hope I won't miss her delivery. I'm 0 for 2 for my continuity patients so far and I already know I'll miss one of my teen pregnant patients. I may be able to do her delivery if my schedule on Peds allows it. Well, time for bed

Multnomah Falls

Today I took Tori and Melissa to Multnomah Falls. It was a little rainy (a very light drizzle) but we went ahead and did the hike to the top. The sign said it was only a mile but it felt much longer. My thighs still hurt. We made it to the top and I got the willies from being up that high and looking over the edge of the waterfall. Tori took a picture of the slug on the trail. It was nice though because the trip down was much faster. My legs felt like jell-o and I was a bit worried that they would give way and I would go tumbling down the side of the mountain. At one point, I was passing this guy coming the other direction and I was already at the edge of the trail, the side next to the drop down to death and he kept pushing me closer to the edge because the ass didn't want to duck under 1 measely branch! It's not like there were thorns or spiders or anything dangerous! I bought a 4 pictures of the falls in all 4 seasons for my downstairs bathroom. Then we went to the Vista House at Crown Point. They redid it and it looked nice. I got tons of pictures of the columbia river from different angles until I realized that I'm taking the same damn picture over and over and over again so i stopped and we went down to the gift shop. Nothing good there.

Then we went to Troutdale Shopping Outlet. Not too many stores but I got some new shirts at the Gap and Levi Outlet and snacks from Harry & David. And since Tori and Melissa boughts lots of stuff, we earned free truffles. I bought my usual Mint Chocolate malt balls and a bag of pink grapefruit gummies. So much for getting into shape!

Tomorrow is Tigard shopping day. First we'll hit Washington Square Mall then Bridgeport Village. Friday we're going to ride Max to downtown, meet Robin for lunch, then shop and hang out down there and ride Max back. Saturday is random shopping day where we'll go to random other places. Time for bed!

blech

Well, I'm sick again. Ok, so the only other time I've been sick was back in december but I feel icky. I'm actually on the mend now though. I can breathe through my nose again which makes falling and staying asleep much easier. And so the worst part now is this cough that I have from the post-nasal drip. Some sicko in the hospital gave it to me. Or maybe it was a clinic patient. Damn sick people! I guess my body was too tired to fight it off.

What else, well, I'm still working up the nerve to buy my new computer. I keep reading about all these issues with the computer getting really hot (my current computer gets hot too though and I like it cause it's nice and cozy in my cool home). And then this thing about a whine. Then I listened really close to my computer and it whines too. I wonder what whine people are talking about. Some talk about a computer mooing too. Geez! Well, I went through the same process 4 years ago when I was deciding to buy this computer. I read all the support forums and got freaked out. I eventually bought the computer and everything was fine. I mean, it's still working now. My biggest issues now are
1. Should I get the 100 GB HD 7200 RPM or the 120 GB 5400 RPM drive. I mean, I don't exactly do HD intensive stuff and storage may be more important. It's the same price so cost really isn't an issue
2. Glossy or matte screen. I'm 99% settled on the matte but glossy is nice too.
3. Should I wait to buy the computer when the intel merom chip is put into it. Apparently it's being released in august by intel and according to rumor mills, the macbook pro is supposed to have them by september if not august. Again rumors. And I've already waited since january when these computers were first announced.

Okay, so my decision to purchase was rushed by my screen issues with this computer but now that I've found the cheap solution, it's not so urgent but my inner child keeps throwing a tantrum at not having this new computer. What to do, what to do. Oh and if I buy it now, I'll be able to play with it nonstop once my vacation starts on the 10th of june. Ho hum...

computer

Well, all that I have left to do is receive a credit card with cash back rewards (I went with capital one because the american express card only gives the max cash back after you've already spent more than $6000). Then I can buy my new computer. In the meantime, I found a solution to being unable to close my powerbook. I went to the hardware store and after going down nearly every aisle, I found these cable clips for outside that works as a perfect clamp for the separating edge! I can easily open and close the computer now. Made me very happy. Of course, now I have to decide if I want to wait until august when the merom intel chip is expected. Yes, I realize I've been saying I'm going to buy the computer since january and then the fact that my computer wasn't opening and closing correctly pushed the urge to buy but now I wonder if I should wait longer even though I really, really, really want to buy a new one now. True that since I'm upgrading from a 4 year computer I'll have a much better machine but now I'm just not sure. I read some message boards about the computer and suspected future upgrades and all I feel is jealous that I don't have one yet. And if I buy now, I can work on moving all my files over to the new computer when I have my vacation in june. So many decisions. I need money. Hey, where the hell is my state income tax refund anyway?!?

Costco Funeral

Apparently you can buy caskets from costco now. I don't think you can buy them in bulk though I wouldn't put it past them.

cruel fun

As I was reading more reviews about mac products in the apple store online site, a window for live chat with an apple rep popped up. So i thought, why not, I'll ask a few questions about my poor powerbook's screen issues. So I started off with, "my powerbook's screen is separating. How much electricity will I potentially get zapped with if it shorted while I touched it." Don't worry, Dad, it's not shooting sparks or anything crazy like that.
Anyway, her response was to contact my apple rep or take it into an apple store for repair. yeah, like that's going to be cheap! I priced it when it first happened - I was quoted $1000 for a new screen part or $500 for the hinge area.
So then i followed up with, "But seriously, if I got zapped, would it be enough to cause a fatal arrhythmia?"
She responded that she didn't know but if it was that bad, then I better get it in for repair quickly. Okay, so it doesn't sound funny to you but I thought it was pretty funny. But not funny in the sense that my computer is broken and that I could actually get injured from it. Okay, so perhaps I'm using misplaced humor to deal with the loss of my beloved powerbook and trying to hide the fact that even though I desperately want a new macbook pro, I'm still emotionally invested in this computer.

I wonder if I send this to apple for their recycling program if I can call it a tax deductible donation. Or I can try to sell it on ebay as a crippled yet fully functional computer. I mean, even if I can only get $500 for it, that would be cool. Although you never know how much one would pay for crap on ebay...

poor powerbook

My poor powerbook that suffered initially under my anger over my stupid wireless connection issues in new orleans is now suffering again. The screen is separating further and making it harder to open. I fear that one day it won't open without damaging the screen and perhaps giving me a little (or big) jolt of electricity. Ok, so I've wanted a new laptop since they debuted a while ago but I'd rather get it before it was an emergency. Yes, in my world, lack of a computer is a life threatening emergency.

Oh, so I was look at reviews of the Mighty Mouse that apple makes and this one person who was complaining about the pain in his hand it caused decided to self-diagnose himself. He says he has "tendovaginitis." So let's break this word down. I'm sure he meant "teno" which can refer to tendon. "vaginitis" means inflammation of the vagina. So somehow a man has inflammation of the vaginal tendon. No such tendon exists of course and I'm really just laughing my ass off at the pathetic attempt of someone to diagnose themselves. I'm still laughing my ass off and it's been well over 5 minutes.

Disturbing mental images

Just to update you, I did stop watching the spelling bee shortly after posting the last entry. It was getting incredibly annoying. Anyway, today I was with my surgeon, who yet again didn't have any surgeries today (actually we had 2 yesterday that I got to do some suturing in). So she sent me up to the hospital to hang out with another surgeon. He only had 1 case left - a hemorrhoid case. Yep, he lopped off some external hemorrhoids. I think I'll have nightmares about that one. The case itself wasn't technically difficult or gross but the tool involved - an anal speculum - and the thought of the pain she would have with pooping in the next few days, as well as the cause (pregnancies) was more than I wanted to think about or see at one moment in time. I wonder if teens would be better at contraception if they saw enough deliveries with bad tears or knowing that hemorrhoids could result from their irresponsibility. Or maybe I'm too much of a nerd and it wouldn't work on those more prone to teen pregnancy. I don't even like to think about my own female exam when I'm holding the speculum to do the exact same exam on my patients. And so you can imagine the horrible images that floated through my brain when I saw this anal speculum. I suppose it's no better than when I have to do digital rectal exams but a finger seems so harmless in comparison (sorry for the details dad). And to make things even more horrific, this woman having her hemorrhoids chopped off was awake! Ok, so it was conscious sedation with local anesthesia and she may not remember the details of the surgery but if I should ever need this done to myself, I'm making them put me out. In fact, that goes for any operation, minor or major, I may need in the future. I don't have a problem doing procedures on others but I'm a wimp when it comes to my own body. My assigned surgeon cuts stuff off herself all the time because it's simple enough. Not me. I wouldn't be able to stick the needle in to just anesthesize the area. Hopefully I won't become an insulin dependent diabetic because I'd be screwed.

The moral of the story - pregnancy can really mess your body up and men have no right to complain about a little rectal exam.

And now time to water my flowers.

spelling bee

I don't know why I'm watching the portland spelling bee but I find it incredibly annoying. Some of the words are so freakin easy and then the next word is way harder. And these kids are spelling the easiest words wrong! Ok, so I probably can't talk because I didn't spell very well when I was in the 7th grade. But seriously, these are the words that have been spelled wrong: stupor, census, rosary. And the announcer is a freakin idiot as well with crappy pronunciation. Ok, back to clinic notes

yard work

Well, the yard work fun continued today after a postcall nap. I planted these little plants by the mailbox - you're supposed to be able to walk on them eventually. I'm guessing I should avoid the temptation to step on them only 1 hour after planting them. I also decided to see if I could get the little blue flowers to grow in by the little tree by the stairs to my front door. That only makes sense to the few who have been here. So I pulled out the half dead alysium. Then I planted more alysium in the spots that were dead. yep, pulled out the mostly dead alysium that was previously there. Then I noticed that the type I bought looks different from the one that's already planted. Oh well, they're both white. I also pulled out the moss and other weeds in the rest of the front yard. Then I spread more moss killer and grass seeds stuff and watered the grass a bit. I still have to rake up all the dead leaves and branches that fell on the ground from the fall of 2005. Hey, I've been busy saving lives so back off. Still have to clean out the gutters...they were kind of gross so I left them alone. I'm not quite sure how to get to the ones on the front of the house...perhaps I'll let those leaves decay naturally rather than risk falling off the roof. Then clean off the decks. I think I need to refinish them or at least hire someone to do it. I want to put little grippies on the stairs since they get slippery when wet. And i still have to start the herb garden and other seeds I bought a few months ago. Maybe I'll do that after dinner since they will be started in this cute little greenhouse tray I bought.

And yes, I'm actually going to work too. Last night was busy. First I was 1st assist on an emergency C-section for a baby that was having non-reassuring heart tones on the external monitor. That took a while because the woman kept bleeding. Usually the senior resident does all the OB but he was driving from the SE clinic and they wanted to start right away so I got to do it. I don't mind C-sections since they're usually fast. Then I admitted a patient to the ICU while my senior resident delivered a baby. It took a long time to do it so I need to be faster. But the attending said I did a great job. She actually called back after she had left to tell me that. That was nice of her. Then just as I was getting comfy, we got another admission. The service was completely empty when we started off the night. This second admission closed our service but the attending forgot to tell the ER so just as I was getting settled and comfy again, we had a 3rd unassigned admission (their regular doctors either can't work or choose not to work in the hospital or they don't have a regular doctor). And since she had already accepted the patient, the ER made sure that we wouldn't be up for at least 6 unassigned admissions later. A lot of good that did for me. Anyway, it was an easy admission so it wasn't too bad. Then I presented the case of the postpartum cardiomyopathy (heart failure after delivering a baby). Then I watched tv for an hour in the call room while I hoped my headache would get better (it started after the 3rd admission from lack of sleep). I also ate some breakfast hoping that would help. It didn't. I had already taken excedrin when I woke up from the last 45 minute nap before morning report. So then I rounded with the surgeon and started feeling nauseated, like a hangover or somthing. It continued during surgery clinic. I swear I wanted to barf so bad. It eventually went away as I was walking to my car to go home. Tomorrow we start at 10 am. Yippee! I think I'll get up at 8 and practice some spanish. I still need to work on my stepping stones too. Oh and my presentation on pneumonia needs to be fixed. blah.

Time for dinner.

hard work

Well, since it has finally stopped raining long enough for the ground to harden, I mowed the lawn today. This was after a 3 hour surgery today. At first I thought it would be an easy day. Sure I had to get up early to go to morning report at 7 am but then I studied until noon when I thought I had an ethics consult team meeting. They sent an email at 11 am saying it was cancelled only I didn't get that message. Oh well, I studied more until 2 pm when I was told my surgeon's clinic would start. Turns out she was on ER call and did an emergency appendectomy without me. Oh well...The laparoscopic cases are kind of boring since all I do is hold the trocars and since my depth perception is sucky with laparoscopy, I'm not too bummed I missed it. Anyway, we saw 2 patients in clinic then got a call from the ER about an elderly woman who had a bowel perforation during a barium enema. When we opened her up, there was milky white barium everywhere. It had coated the bowel. In addition to having to find the hole in the bowel, it took forever just to get the adhesions taken down and then try to clean off the entire abdominal cavity of the barium. That stuff was everywhere.

So anyway, I came home and since the sun was still out (it was 7:30 pm but really 6:30 pm because of daylight saving time), I mowed the lawn. The grass was super high so it took forever to get it cut well. Then I sprayed this moss killer and turf booster thing that my mom bought. Since I still have to pull weeds in 2 parts of my yard, I may have to redo the lawn stuff but I'm tired. The rhodedendrons are blooming so that's pretty as well as the alyssium. I bought some plants to plant next to my mailbox. And I think one of the bigger bushes is truely dead, a victim of last september, so I'll try to dig that up this weekend and plant a new bush that does well with drought so I can opt not to water.

I also bought this really cool slipper-shaped stepping stone making kit...it takes a week to make 2 stones (2 moulds in the kit). I'm tempted to buy a second kit just so I can speed up the process of making stepping stones from the front area to the back deck. Apparently you can't even use them until they're completely cured for 28 days! Geez! I also bought a slipper shaped thermometer but I don't think it's correct because it always says it's 80 degrees in my home when it's clearly not that warm at all. Maybe I'll return it.

Oh and then I also installed a new thermostat that allows me to control the temperature at different times every day of the week. For example, i can program my furnace to heat my home to 80 degrees from 4 pm to 5 pm if I so choose. It's nicer looking than the old control and it has a digital readout. It blends into the wall better too.

Yep, I've been busy!

OB fun

Well, today when I was post call, I got home at 8:30 am and had started to relax and nearly fell asleep when I got a page that my first continuity OB pt was in labor. Now, the page came in at 10 am and we thought, the R2 and myself, that surely a person delivering her 4th child would easily pop #4 out in no time so at the most, I would be there for 3 hours. So I went back to the hospital. 3 hours later she was still pregnant and the stubborn kid was refusing to come down into her pelvis. Meanwhile I was now really tired having only slept 2.5 hours on call. I felt bad leaving and also wanted to deliver this baby but I just couldn't stay awake. So I left, had a little nap, then cleaned the house. So I missed my first opportunity to have a continuity delivery. Argh. I wonder when she delivered...well, tomorrow I'm going in to round on mom and baby so I guess I find out then as well as the sex of the baby.

Vacation!

Well, I'm finally on my vacation. I survived the ICU. My last night on was rough. 1 person trying to die, another who decided to try to die, then a third who went psycho. At the end I was so tired all I wanted to do was cry everytime someone came up to me to tell me I did great. It's like boot camp for interns I guess. It either breaks you or you make it through. I think I barely made it. I hated presenting on rounds the most though. Admits didn't bother me so much compared to rounds every morning. But it's over.

So this is what I've been doing this week:
Saturday: I thought my flight home was this day but since I realized it on friday, I slept in. Or rather I tried to sleep in. I cleaned up the house a bit, went to lunch with Christina, then finished cleaning. I was going to work in the yard but decided against it. Oh and I did laundry and packed.
Sunday: Flew home and hung out at home with mom and Jan. It rained really hard and it was hot and humid.
Monday: Went to mom's old school (and mine too) so she could pick up stuff for the school's 50th anniversary. Then we went shopping. I got the microphone to use with my spanish software. I think it must need USB 2 to use the headphones though since the microphone works fine. We also went to the furniture store so mom can look for couches for the playroom and living room. Expensive stuff. I was going to paddling with Melissa and Trisha but Trisha bailed and since Melis only went cause Trisha was going, we decided to not go afterall. Then I worked on my list of tax deductions so dad could do the taxes. That took longer than I expected.
Tuesday: slept in, read my book, read about the new computer I was getting. Dad called to tell me that I didn't spend enough on medical things to get a deduction. Lame. But I'm supposed to get a nice refund this year. It should cover my property taxes this year and house insurance and a new computer. Janine and Sherry came over for dinner. I passed out watching a dvd. I guess I was tired.
Today: Went to lunch with grandma. Got yelled at by Aunty Putt for being pasty white. So i guess I'll go outside and read. Tonight I'm going out with melissa.
Tomorrow: Not sure
The next day: Payton and Jodi get back from florida sometime
Saturday: Play with Payton
Sunday: Go home. Blah. Vacation will be over. double blah.
Monday: work...blah to the infinite power.

ICU

It's day 10 in the ICU...21 to go. Actually a little less since I do get a few days off. At any rate, it's been hectic but good. Today I was a little annoyed because the patients were divided between myself and the intern who had been on call that day at 4 each (no admits overnight, how lucky!). On friday-sunday there's a 3rd year resident who's the ICU float resident who comes in so the interns can have a day off on the weekend. And for some reason, the 3rd year who's always there said that we would divide the 4 patients that the post call intern presented between myself and the float resident. What BS!!! When I was post call, the float did all my patient notes and I had way more than 4 patients! And I actually stood up for myself and made that point. They made me feel somewhat guilty for doing so but that's her flippin job as the float resident on friday! And what annoyed me too was that the plan seemed to be for me to write my 4 notes, possibly 2 of the other intern's notes (we don't write notes post call), and then do all the admits with the senior in the morning! And this is my short call day. I don't know why this friday was being run differently than last week when I was post call because that float person told me his job that day was to write my notes and the other intern told me that's how things happened without controversy. The only thought I had was that this float person is good friends with the senior who's on. It's odd too because the senior had been so good about keeping things fair and equal so far. Yep, I was a bit pissed and you know how that makes me. And it takes me even longer because I have a 4th year med student interrupting my note writing to ask questions. She's really smart but I suppose now i know what I was like to residents as a med student. Sometimes I just want to say, stop bothering me now and we'll discuss later. The nice thing about have the subintern (as 4th year students are called) is that it's one less presentation I have to make on rounds but I still have to write a good note so it doesn't save me any time cause then I have to read her note and cosign it. Blah...

Only 21 more days...

I want to sleep

New Car

Well, today, on a whim, my mom and I went to the Toyota dealership to look at the car I would buy, if I had the funds. Mostly I wanted to look at the 2 colors I was interested in to determine which one I preferred. The cactus mica is my choice. The dealer made me drive the car around the block but first I had to drive through the gauntlet of new cars. I'm sure I had lots of space, as he kept telling me but the last thing I needed to do was ding up a bunch of new expensive cars on a day I had no plans on buying anyway. The car, by the way, is the toyota corolla LE. I'm basically going for the exact same car I have now but newer with fancier things like side and front airbags with ABS, and other stuff I'm sure I would want if I cared that much. I just wanted to see which color I liked best since I had already done my important research online. The car is about $18,500. Or almost half my yearly salary before taxes. So now I must decide which I want first, a new car or a new computer. I really want a new computer (to salivate with me go to apple.com and look at the macbook pro) but this is also probably the best time to put money down on a new car. So my plan is to see what sort of tax refund I get back this year. And if after setting aside money for property taxes and house insurance I have enough money, I may consider a new car or a new computer...or both. Or maybe I need to marry a rich guy so I can easily get both...and yes, even if I were to marry a rich guy, I would still go for the corolla cause then I could get the really fancy accessories for it. I listen to all the specialists at work complain about having to take in their fancy cars for servicing all the time. Just cause I would be rich doesn't mean I'd want to spend my money on car parts and mechanic labor times. Gotta save the imaginary richness for other more important things, like a new ipod, clothes, someone to do the ironing, cooking, and cleaning...oh wait, mom is doing those last 3 things for free. You get the idea. Time to update my pda

New Car

Well, today, on a whim, my mom and I went to the Toyota dealership to look at the car I would buy, if I had the funds. Mostly I wanted to look at the 2 colors I was interested in to determine which one I preferred. The cactus mica is my choice. The dealer made me drive the car around the block but first I had to drive through the gauntlet of new cars. I'm sure I had lots of space, as he kept telling me but the last thing I needed to do was ding up a bunch of new expensive cars on a day I had no plans on buying anyway. The car, by the way, is the toyota corolla LE. I'm basically going for the exact same car I have now but newer with fancier things like side and front airbags with ABS, and other stuff I'm sure I would want if I cared that much. I just wanted to see which color I liked best since I had already done my important research online. The car is about $18,500. Or almost half my yearly salary before taxes. So now I must decide which I want first, a new car or a new computer. I really want a new computer (to salivate with me go to apple.com and look at the macbook pro) but this is also probably the best time to put money down on a new car. So my plan is to see what sort of tax refund I get back this year. And if after setting aside money for property taxes and house insurance I have enough money, I may consider a new car or a new computer...or both. Or maybe I need to marry a rich guy so I can easily get both...and yes, even if I were to marry a rich guy, I would still go for the corolla cause then I could get the really fancy accessories for it. I listen to all the specialists at work complain about having to take in their fancy cars for servicing all the time. Just cause I would be rich doesn't mean I'd want to spend my money on car parts and mechanic labor times. Gotta save the imaginary richness for other more important things, like a new ipod, clothes, someone to do the ironing, cooking, and cleaning...oh wait, mom is doing those last 3 things for free. You get the idea. Time to update my pda

the dream

So I decided to check out the apple rumor site to see what new things have been released and are predicted in the future...the new macbook pro (still hate the name) is now available in even faster speeds! 2.16 ghz! And so now I must be patient to see how good or bad these new computers may be although it's pretty hard to be this patient. My computer still works fine but it's nice to dream...we'll have to see how much of a tax refund I get since my plans for that money are to use it to pay property taxes in november, pay off some of my credit card debt (not too much left), maybe put it in some long term savings thing that earns lots of credit, and lastly, help pay for this new computer. With the Tulane education discount, it's $2929 and without it the computer costs $3199. I suppose at those prices, getting the education discount is somewhat helpful because I can spend the extra money on product extended warranty. Not sure if it's better to get the apple warranty or compusa. The compusa plan is somewhat better since apple sometimes takes forever but still not sure.

Payton Turns 1

Tomorrow my niece will be 1 year old. I'm a little sad about not getting to be there but I sent her present on time (which is a major accomplishment for me). I went to the Build-a-Bear store and made her a monkey, dressed it in the scrubs outfit they sell, put a little pink bow on it's tail (to mark her as a girl monkey doctor), and called her "Bananas, MD." Dorky, I know, but she's a cute little monkey. And when Payton figures out how to press the left arm, Bananas will make her monkey sounds. My mom still hasn't sent me any pictures of my niece since she was about 8 or 9 months old. She told me she'll send me some but I think I'll end up waiting until she comes next month. My brother and sister-in-law aren't too great about sending photos either. Geez! What does a doting aunt have to do to get some pictures of her one and only niece!?! I'll be going home in april for my next vacation so I'll get to spend time with her then. She'll be walking by then, if she hasn't already done that (isn't it sad that I don't get ANY news of my niece? And since only dad reads this, maybe he'll send pictures.

wow

I want to cry...that's how much I'm in love with the new powerbooks...okay, it's called a macbook pro which is the most retarded name for an apple computer to date. So when I finally get the money and the 2nd rev is out, I'll still call it a powerbook. Macbook...I still can't believe that a company known for style would call their newest innovation a "MacBook Pro" Bleh. It's so hard to decide if I should work on my clinic notes or watch the replay of the presentation...choices choices choices.