Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Great day!

So...I've had an awesome day. I'm post call from my first call on my subinternship on pediatrics (so, really tired). More on that later...I'm having a great time and at the same time feeling kind of dumb. There is SO much that I don't know!

What really made my day is that, thanks to my roommate and the wonders of Bluetooth, the theme song from "The Office" is now my ringtone on my cell phone. Awesome! Gosh, I'm such a dork.

Even one call on my subinternship during which I did not work nearly as hard as my intern gave me a taste of how hard intern year is going to be. Worth it, absolutely. But it's going to be hard.

Hopefully by the end of this month I'll have some idea of what to do with my patients....

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Rolling Stone 500 Best Songs of All Time

Yeah, this is an old list of songs (from 2004)...but my cool sis clued me into it last night. I really want to broaden my musical horizons and try to become familiar with as many of these songs as I can this year.

Here is the link to the list:

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs

And here is a list of the songs in the top 100. In bold are the ones I still need to learn (or learn better). You will see that I have a lot of catching up to do. My mom didn't like Bob Dylan or Pink Floyd when I was little...so some major holes there.

Note: Many of the bolded songs are familiar to me...but in order to pass the test, I have to be able to sing a portion of the song without looking at the lyrics. :) I was pretty embarrassed that I didn't know a few of the Stones songs so well...

1. Like a Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan
2. Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones
3. Imagine, John Lennon
4. What's Going On, Marvin Gaye
5. Respect, Aretha Franklin
6. Good Vibrations, The Beach Boys
7. Johnny B. Goode, Chuck Berry
8. Hey Jude, The Beatles
9. Smells Like Teen Spirit, Nirvana
10. What'd I Say, Ray Charles
11. My Generation, The Who
12. A Change Is Gonna Come, Sam Cooke
13. Yesterday, The Beatles
14. Blowin' in the Wind, Bob Dylan
15. London Calling, The Clash
16. I Want to Hold Your Hand, The Beatles
17. Purple Haze, Jimi Hendrix
18. Maybellene, Chuck Berry
19. Hound Dog, Elvis Presley
20. Let It Be, The Beatles
21. Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen
22. Be My Baby, The Ronettes
23. In My Life, The Beatles
24. People Get Ready, The Impressions
25. God Only Knows, The Beach Boys
26. A Day in the Life, The Beatles
27. Layla, Derek and the Dominos
28. (Sittin on) the Dock of the Bay, Otis Redding
29. Help!, The Beatles
30. I Walk the Line, Johnny Cash
31. Stairway To Heaven, Led Zeppelin
32. Sympathy for the Devil, The Rolling Stones
33. River Deep - Mountain High, Ike and Tina Turner
34. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', The Righteous Brothers
35. Light My Fire, The Doors
36. One, U2
37. No Woman, No Cry, Bob Marley and the Wailers
38. Gimme Shelter, The Rolling Stones
39. That'll Be the Day, Buddy Holly and the Crickets
40. Dancing in the Street, Martha and the Vandellas
41. The Weight, The Band
42. Waterloo Sunset, The Kinks
43. Tutti-Frutti, Little Richard
44. Georgia on My Mind, Ray Charles
45. Heartbreak Hotel, Elvis Presley
46. Heroes, David Bowie
47. Bridge Over Troubled Water, Simon and Garfunkel
48. All Along the Watchtower, Jimi Hendrix
49. Hotel California, The Eagles
50. The Tracks of My Tears, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
51. The Message, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
52. When Doves Cry, Prince
53. Anarchy in the U.K., The Sex Pistols
54. When a Man Loves a Woman, Percy Sledge
55. Louie Louie, The Kingsmen
56. Long Tall Sally, Little Richard
57. Whiter Shade of Pale, Procol Harum
58. Billie Jean, Michael Jackson
59. The Times They Are A-Changin', Bob Dylan
60. Let's Stay Together, Al Green
61. Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On, Jerry Lee Lewis
62. Bo Diddley, Bo Diddley
63. For What It's Worth, Buffalo Springfield
64. She Loves You, The Beatles
65. Sunshine of Your Love, Cream
66. Redemption Song, Bob Marley and the Wailers
67. Jailhouse Rock, Elvis Presley
68. Tangled Up in Blue, Bob Dylan
69. Crying, Roy Orbison
70. Walk On By, Dionne Warwick
71. California Girls, The Beach Boys
72. Papa's Got a Brand New Bag, James Brown
73. Summertime Blues, Eddie Cochran
74. Superstition, Stevie Wonder
75. Whole Lotta Love, Led Zeppelin
76. Strawberry Fields Forever,The Beatles
77. Mystery Train, Elvis Presley
78. I Got You (I Feel Good), James Brown
79. Mr. Tambourine Man, The Byrds
80. I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Marvin Gaye
81. Blueberry Hill, Fats Domino
82. You Really Got Me, The Kinks
83. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown), The Beatles
84. Every Breath You Take, The Police
85. Crazy, Patsy Cline
86. Thunder Road, Bruce Springsteen
87. Ring of Fire, Johnny Cash
88. My Girl, The Temptations
89. California Dreamin', The Mamas and The Papas
90. In the Still of the Nite, The Five Satins
91. Suspicious Minds, Elvis Presley
92. Blitzkrieg Bop, Ramones
93. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, U2
94. Good Golly, Miss Molly, Little Richard
95. Blue Suede Shoes, Carl Perkins
96. Great Balls of Fire, Jerry Lee Lewis
97. Roll Over Beethoven, Chuck Berry
98. Love and Happiness, Al Green
99. Fortunate Son, Creedence Clearwater Revival
100. You Can't Always Get What You Want, The Rolling Stones

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

HAHAHAHA

Check out some of Zach Braff's earlier work (below). Even awesomer if you happened to be a fan of the Baby Sitters Club books as a kid...and the dorky TV shows. Pay close attention to the ultra emotion-provoking score.

Kinda frustrating day.

I'm at neurology at the VA, which is pretty chill. However, today was a bit disastrous. It was my first presentation to my new attending, and it did NOT go well. I did a thorough history and exam, thought I had all my ducks in a row, and then asked my resident if there was anything else I needed to know. I also went over my plan with my resident, including suggesting a certain type of medication. He said that this medication was not indicated at this time but that otherwise everything was fine.

So...I started presenting, and this resident interrupted me with, "Oh, by the way, I called the patient's roommate and got a completely different story..." WHAT? Way to surprise me on rounds after I go to the trouble of specifically asking you if there is anything else. Then, I get to the plan, and as it turns out, my resident was wrong...the patient did need the type of medication that I had suggested in the first place. So I looked dumb again when I presented the plan. What's worse, my resident not only didn't stick up for me (by saying, oh, she had it right in the first place, I told her wrong), he totally jumped on the bandwagon and said, Oh, yes, he needs that medication. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? My attending is nice, but, man I was mad, and I actually asked my resident to not surprise me on rounds again. Which I don't think he understood...but if a student goes to the trouble to check things out with you before rounds, you should not withhold information.

Oh, and a third year pimped me on rounds. Which also pissed me off but I think amused the attending...he didn't expect me to know the question. And this third year is nice, so I'm not mad anymore. Rule of thumb, third year medical students: Do not pimp each other on rounds. If you are curious about something you can ask later. I'm pretty sure this student, nice as he is, was doing this to look smart to the attending...but that is not the way to be considerate to your teammates.

What a day! Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Random thoughts...

I was talking to my sweet roommate the other day, and she told me that she does not blog because she's kind of perfectionistic about her writing. As in, she doesn't want anything less than stellar out there for the general consumption. Which I totally understand. I like blogging, though. For one thing, I believe that my blog has a readership of five people, so the "general consumption" is awfully small. Also, I don't mind writing about silly things, and I know I have my fair share of mundane entries. It's just fun.

I went shopping the other day at the Gap and bought this sweet knit dress for $9.97. How cool is that? Pair it with my elbow length sweater (that I bought for 97 cents at Old Navy) and I can wear it to church. Which is what I did today. Along with some cute black flats that I scored at Payless....my whole outfit cost less that 20 dollars. And it's not frumpy at all. It's pretty awesome. I love bargain shopping. Save money and look different from everyone else!

Neurology is getting better. The students on my team rock, which always helps. Actually, everyone I've worked with all year has been pretty wonderful. I had an awfully blessed third year. Craziness. Plus, it was really cool to see seizures, since my mom has post brain surgery epilepsy (well controlled, though, and I've actually never seen her have a seizure). I'm going to the VA, next, which means more driving and less study time...but my attending is supposed to be spectacular. I've got to buckle down on the reading, though. I want to finish the year strong!

I can't wait to get back to pediatrics, though. I'm so, so excited about becoming a pediatrician. I had a very encouraging meeting with the department chairman, and he helped me come up with a list of residency programs. Since I don't want to go to the Northeast or Midwest, my options are somewhat limited (Pacific Northwest, Rockies, Southeast mostly). I would like to see mountains...I miss them. But I think I'll be fine. I made a list at the end of first year, which still lives essentially unchanged on my computer. I also have my recommendation letters, my personal statement is done, and my application is almost finished! Yeah! Feels good.

As most of my pals know, I have this newfound sort of obsession with "The Office." Which began with a teeny (ok big) crush on the character Jim, who pretty much sums up my ideal guy (funny, smart, caring, just enough flaws to be interesting). Then, I started watching more and more episodes and fell in love with the whole staff. I can't wait for Season 4. There is actually a song by the band Sweet Diss and the Comebacks (from Washington state) called "Pam Pong." If you watch the show (specifically "Office Olympics") you'll get the title. So cute. Anyway, as my friends Anna and Chaeli kindly pointed out, I have this tendency to become fixated on things...so I might need to abstain from "The Office." One last comment about the show, though...I think that whether a guy prefers Pam or Karen might say quite a bit about him. Seriously. Date screening question? No, I'm not quite that ridiculous. My roommate actually prefers Ryan over Jim, which I think is crazy. But to each his or her own, right?

I'm at Panera right now studying...and I see these ten year old girls with Coach hand bags and dresses that look way more expensive than anything I've ever owned...talking on their cellular phones. Seriously, Highland Park. Do your prepubescent daughters need multihundred-dollar purses? And what could they possibly need to talk about with their friends that couldn't wait until school? When I was their age, I wore whatever ultra-stylish skort/jumper combo my mom decided was appropriate. OK, soon after that I rebelled against the skort. But still, I'm 25 years old, and I just bought my first Coach purse. It was over 2/3 off, and I still agonized a bit over it. Honestly worth it though, and I don't plan on buying another handbag for a long time.

One last thing...my parents are getting divorced, which totally sucks. And sucks more and more all the time. Not remotely relevant to the above post, but somehow it feels good to get it into the "general consumption," small as it may be. See, blogging is good for something, even if that something is self-serving "type-therapy."

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Neurology is not pediatrics.

Well, obviously. Although child neurology is a huge field. What I mean to say is that I'm ending my first week on neurology, and I'm just not enjoying it. I'm on the epilepsy monitoring unit with a great team and a brilliant attending...but it's just not doing it for me. Mostly I'm just watching people not have seizures. However, I only go in for about five hours on most days, which is awesome.

If only I could use my spare time wisely. I could have finished my review book by now...and my application to residency. But instead I've been sleeping a whole lot. Maybe I'm hypothyroid? Not likely. I think this whole "my life is seriously about to change" thing is kind of freaking me out. And I might be a bit lonely.

OK...this will be the most "TMI" blog entry for awhile, I hope.