elainec's Xanga

loneliness

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 18:28:58 GMT

i am surrounded by amazing people: friends from many walks of life; co-workers; family; a supportive church community. i have close girlfriends to whom i could turn and trust completely if i had any needs. i am dating a great guy. i also have good friends scattered all over the globe! and yet sometimes (like today) i feel very very lonely.

why? i have a few suspicions...

finances

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 17:33:33 GMT

i complain about being broke all the time. and i currently kind of am. checking account dipping uncomfortably low.
considering i just took a 1.5 week trip to paris and a weekend trip to boston, i do not deserve to complain.
being on a call month is very beneficial to the finances: my credit card bill was lower than usual in sept/oct when i was on the GMF and working probably 85 hrs a week (and recording 75). and that was despite a $300 plane ticket to boston, and 2 dinners totaling $150 for which i was mostly paid back. (and yes, i am going through my credit card statement right now, checking all my receipts and loving it!)
once again, my compulsivity of checking credit card statement paid off... got $50 back from a mis-charge at a store in paris!
the night before thanksgiving, i moonlighted (moonlit?). sometimes, i think it should instead be called "getting paid to sleep" or "stealing money because of the two letters after my name" as i saw one patient as soon as i arrived at the hospital and the rest of the night was quiet.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I will give thanks for never going hungry, never being cold at night, having a regular paycheck, and having disposable income to waste (or steward) as I please. For luxuries such as the gym, a computer and the internet, nice dinners out (or in) with my friends, concerts and athletic events, vacations and weekend trips.

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 00:32:19 GMT

a good workout after a crappy day always makes me happier. especially when it is a team sport with fun people :)

Monday, September 17, 2007

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 22:41:12 GMT

i think i killed a squirrel on my way to work today.

i sprained my ankle on friday. not doing anything glamorous, but rather, walking down the hall at work wearing cute heels while writing a txt msg on my cell. note to self: don't try to multi-task while walking!

went to a great concert on saturday night (rilo kiley).

this past month, work has been awesome.... i often wake up at 8 or 9, sit home and watch the Today show for a while, wait for my pager to go off, look up my patients online (awesomest and dorkiest thing ever), then head out to work.

one of my worst hangovers ever last thursday... wednesday night was supposed to be quiet evening, just dinner and a couple of beers. next thing i know, i've pounded 3 beers and 3 caipirinhas (spelling?) and taking weird photos with my friends.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 01:52:32 GMT

air and water show. the air and water show is when they have cool airplanes and stuff that fly around and do tricks; fighter planes, blue angels. they fly over the beachfront all day. yesterday when i was post call, i was just about to close my eyes for my nap when a big fighter plane flew by my window. the past two years, i have been out of town for weddings. (happy anniversary to antung and jder and pkuo btw!) so, i have been looking forward to today for 2 years. but then it rained. and not just a mild drizzle. was planning to head to the beach, but way to wet for that. went to my rooftop and watched one fighter plane loop around a few times, and four red/white/blue planes with cool lights flipped around... and then our jeans started to drip. oh well, there's always next year!

in other news, neurology is almost done. it was rather painful. next month is cards, 4 golden weekends, yay! but pretty busy. just signed up for step 3. bank account dipping painfully low. vacation in october, need to figure out where to go and where the cash is going to come from.

Friday, July 27, 2007

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 03:29:09 GMT

done with the MICU.
tomorrow, i start neuro followed by cards. for 2 months, no more q4 call, no more 80 hour work weeks.
ugh, i'm wiped out... 8 weeks and 14 calls kind of do that.

can i start counting down my overnight calls? 3 more call months + 4 neuro calls = 25 more 30-hr in-house shifts as a resident!

pea arrest

Tue, 03 Jul 2007 02:42:33 GMT

for my medical readers... we have a patient who was transferred to the micu after coding on the general medical floor. she was in PEA, successfully resuscitated, and bronchoscopy was performed the next day to evaluate her respiratory failure. found in her airway was one green lump which did not resemble sputum. it was suctioned out, and was, in fact, a pea. further visualization revealed... chunks of carrots!

in other news, i have a day off on friday... after 18 consecutive days of work. whew! (anyone near me has heard me whine incessantly about that...) big plans to sleep in and go shopping. my last day off was taste of randolph. last week, i took call on wednesday and friday... then sunday was supposed to be my day off, but July 1st was intern start day, no seniors allowed to take the day off. however, after a run by the lake and beer & burgers with my buddies, i feel almost human again as i prepare for call tomorrow. my intern's first call...

Friday, June 22, 2007

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 22:13:12 GMT

doesn't it seem inherently wrong to have both acne AND wrinkles at the same time? and yet, i do.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 16:56:00 GMT

match: and so continues my tenure at rush... at the conclusion of my fellowship, it will have been a whopping TEN YEARS!

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Tue, 19 Jun 2007 04:28:42 GMT

i have insomnia. i think it might be because i am anxious and frustrated. perhaps more likely because i ate half a pint of ben & jerry's vermonty python (coffee with lots of yummy chocolatey chunks) ice cream, and then took a long nap before the caffeine kicked in, then energized myself by going for a nice long bike ride.

my sympathies to those who regularly struggle with insomnia. i had a great weekend, though (or part of one, anyway).