ACL 2010

So I thought I'd mix it up this year, maybe hit up a different music festival, but as fate would have it, Austin sucked me back in with its yearly Austin City Limits Music Festival! Last year was pretty fantastic, catering to my love of 90's grunge with Pearl Jam headlining. And I (finally) saw Dave Matthews. So... was this year's music better than last? No idea. But it was fun!

For me, Friday's highlights were Spoon and Vampire Weekend. I was actually a little disappointed at the Strokes, but they did make me laugh with their filler between songs. Probably should have seen Phish, since their Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor "Phish Food" is in my freezer just waiting to be eaten. Mmmm.

Saturday was really fun, mostly because of our adventure trying to catch a cab to Kerby Lane after the show. But that's a story for another day! MIA was amazing, I had tickets to see her in LA over the summer but the show got cancelled for some reason. It was worth the wait! She has such a great energy. I also liked the explosions on the screens with 'Paper Planes'. See picture here (thanks RJ!) :)

The XX were really cool, a friend of mine who'd seen them before said she was afraid they were on sedatives. In their defense, their music is really mellow. Beautiful and mellow. I'm not sure you could really rock out to it, but there were definitely people in the crowd having a great time doing that!

More Saturday coolness: Ozomatli (finally saw them!), Silversun Pickups, LCD Soundsystem and Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. At the end of the Grace Potter set, the entire band started playing the same drumset! We caught the very end of Muse, their song from the radio sounded pretty good from halfway across the park.

Sunday I only caught the Flaming Lips and Norah Jones, mostly because I wanted to spend a little time with my family and brother's dog, Keira, who's the prettiest Golden Retriever ever. She also likes to lick ears and hands which makes for some slightly confusing mornings. Sometimes I'd wake up with a ball by my ear and Keira sitting patiently by the bed waiting for me to throw it.

The Flaming Lips were part of the reason I went this year and wanted to catch them before they retire! Really fun show, but I don't think I'd want to be those kids in the audience watching them with their parents! Their opener was kinda awkward, probably a little to explicit for me to mention here. And parents... really? Babies at a Flaming Lips show? Norah Jones took me back to College and Schnucks grocery runs. Awww sunrise... sunrise! :)

Overall, fantastic time. Miss you Austin! :)

“XII If the radiology resident and the BMS [Best Medical School Student] both see a lesion on the chest X ray, there can be no lesion there”

I was reluctant to read the novel, House of God by Samuel Shem (Dr. Steve Bergman) mostly because one day during medical school I opened the cover and read the words “Except for her sunglasses, Berry was naked.” Uh… I’m all for art and free expression but I figured the book held the words of a male chauvinist-surgeon type and I was already annoyed with half of the male population in my medical school class. But as fate would have it, I ended up with a copy a few weeks ago and just finished it today.

It was written in the 70’s, before the ACGME insisted upon humane treatment of residents, when residents took q3 or q2 call without going home at noon post-call. Good Lord, I cannot imagine what that must have been like. It’s bad enough as it is. After having completed an emotionally draining adult neurology year, I can relate. I think everyone can. The calls alone put my pediatrics intern year to shame. And I can’t complain because I know my surgeon friends work even more.

I’m so grateful to all my sane medical and non-medical friends who kept me somewhat normal. Because after reading this book, I saw how easily I could've fallen off the deep end taking care of Neuro ICU patients. I’m already worried that I know residents who have. I mentioned once to a non-medical friend about a recent call I had, when the ER paged me on two patients who arrived with large brain bleeds. I had to tell their families about the imaging results, likely poor outcomes and consoled one of the families with a Spanish translator at 3am which felt wrong somehow. When I told my friend this, maybe I didn't realize how easily I laughed off the coincidence of having not one, but two horribly critical patients roll in the ER, my comment ‘man that really makes you feel helpless every time.' or how quickly I changed the subject afterwards. I don’t think I’ll forget the next question he asked, after a long pause: “Um, did you ever think of therapy?”

We probably all need therapy as residents, and The House of God highlights that. It’s an amazingly honest book about internship year that demanded change from the medical system. And it worked! In fact, there’s a rumor floating around that the 80 hour workweek limit will be shortened to 60 hours and interns will no longer do 24 hour shifts in the hospital. Hallelujah!

For me, my therapy was the ocean, friends and family who remind me that there IS life outside the hospital and it is wonderful. And my patients- those really sweet old ladies who'd tell me stories every morning when I’d check on them. And one ridiculously cute old gentleman with a fisherman’s cap who’d always ask me about Texas and talk about dancing. He wanted to learn how to incorporate his new cane into his dance moves. :)

It's nice to finally get all those House of God references people throw around. I’m also grateful to be a pediatrician again. It’s so much happier here. :)

Here in center frame, here there's only air... and just enough space to fit

Clarity, Jimmy Eat World’s release in 1999 (before they exploded into the pop music scene) is my favorite album of all time. I remember in high school hearing this great song on the radio that went something like “you’re not bigger than this, not better, why can you learn?” and I fell in love! But what was the name? Who was the band? The mystery song made it onto a mixtape I took to college, radio static and all.

Skip forward a few tracks to junior year of college. I remember being at KWUR and popping in an old Jimmy Eat World CD. I thought, “wow, I like their new stuff, I wonder how their old stuff sounds.” The last DJ who reviewed it gave Track 2 the most stars so I cued it up. Just as it started playing I had the most awesome flashback to when I first heard it. That was when I fell in love with Jimmy Eat World, and their album Clarity became timeless to me.

And I’m not alone! Last year Jimmy decided to play Clarity in its entirety at five shows across the country to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its release. Unfortunately, the last show was last March and I realized this last June. Blast. But... yesterday I found out that they recorded that show, and it’s on sale! Since April of last year. I may be the worst die-hard fan of my favorite band ever.

Go here to hear/see/buy it!

And for your listening/dancing pleasure:

One Truth

I just had a week so rough it's almost delicious, the kind of week that if almost anyone around you complains about anything you're perfectly justified to say "I understand, you'll never believe what my week's been like" and then suddenly everyone is silenced. But, not in a bad tearful soul-sucking kind of way... more like "yep, you win the unfortunate contest today" kind of way. (There's also something delicious in how vague I'm being, isn't there?) :)

Here's something lovely that helped reset me that I'd love to share.

And another Enjoy!

Rainbows

Hello world! It has been a while.

To update on last year’s resolutions… lets just say it was not meant to be! I’ve seen lots of bunnies and continue to celebrate their existence. This year has flown by, I’m hoping the next 4 months will continue to fly by. My weekly pediatric neuro clinics feel like getting dunked in the most refreshing pool of water and coming up to sunshine!

True, some of the kids are really sick and some of the moms are (understandably) basketcases but it’s so different from taking care of adults. This year we have to watch so many people slowly die. I have nothing but respect for Adult Neurologists, but man does it tug at the heartstrings. I still get a little weepy when I have to explain to a family that a patient has Parkinson’s, or ALS. Or a giant brainstem stroke where they likely may not recover any function. And I get even more weepy when the 90-something year old patient’s 90-something year old spouse (with a little dementia of their own) says they’ll do everything they can to help the patient through this. This is Love!

What really made me write was this gorgeous scene I saw on my way home from work. It was right after my in-service exam and it had poured all day. A really nice steady rain. It eased up as I drove home, and I saw an opening in the clouds with sun rays lighting a part of the highway about a mile away… the road looked like it was glowing! with a rainbow coming out of it! As I got closer, the water on the road sprayed up from the tires of the cars in front of me, and the water caught the rays so there looked like there were about ten miniature rainbows coming from the tires of the cars. After a lot of googling, I found this pic... it's kind of close:




Of course it was more beautiful being there... picture the above with more cars, a road that looked almost metallic, brighter light, and a bigger rainbow! Where's a camera when you need one!

And finally, This year's Resolutions (it’s never too late!):

1. try not to be so cranky post-call.
2. stay on my surfboard!
3. learn Spanish
4. juego mi guitarra mas (see #3)
5. cook more (things that involve more than two steps)
6. visit the newborn nursery more often. I have just gotten clearance from the nurses that I can feed all the babies I want!

Peace out!

Thanks King George!

Many of you acquainted with me know that I'm a strong supporter of A1 Steak Sauce, and hold that it's the only condiment that can make anything better. It beats out ketchup by a long short, and narrowly passes Salsa. (Salsa is good and yummy too, I wonder if they can be combined to a super-condiment.) I never really questioned the origin of A1, but CNN had a fun story on condiments today.

Isn't that the coolest? My sauce has history! And I have no idea what hollandaise sauce is, but now I kind of want to try it.

Bunny count has been restarted, it's now at 8. The bunnies here in California are different from St. Louis and San Antonio bunnies... they're a lot less poofy. With longer ears.... but they're still cute! Especially when their noses twitch while nibbling grass, and even more when they start hopping around. Next time I'll try to stick a picture in. Yay!

PICU Playa'

I was a little surprised at the pain meds neurosurgery ordered for a kid they admitted to the PICU last night. He had just had his skull opened and grids placed to help figure out the location of his seizures. Our ICU team was consulted to help with pain management overnight. I figured it was probably just me not being used to adult doses—he was 16—so I thought I’d try it out and follow their plan. It was this combination of frequently scheduled Toredol and Valium… and if he still had pain he could have 5mg of Morphine (big adult dose!) or Tylenol with Codeine. Neurosurgery does not mess around!

Turns out, they worked a little too well… I woke him up before examining him and saw him looking at me kind of funny while I was introducing myself. I asked him to follow my light… but instead, he just said “Woah… doc! You’re beautiful!” His mom started laughing pretty hard while I just went on with my exam, but he was like “no really—you’re really beautiful!” Nice. I had to cut back on his meds a bit. The best part was watching the reactions of any female nurse or resident who came out of his room… they all had smiles on their faces!

Countdown to California… 25 days!