long time, no blog

It's been quite awhile since I've blogged. Work has been really busy. I did get to go to the Kentucky Derby again this year with several friends from med school. I think it was one of the best weekends I've had this year.
Last Friday night, we had a girls night. All the girl residents barbequed, planted yard gnomes at selected attending doctor's houses, then had a sleepover and watched the cartoon movie "The Last Unicorn".
I'm working nights again right now. I've spent some quality time with Carlton and Will, as "Fresh Prince" is on tv at all hours of the night.
Happy Memorial Day weekend!

revive

A couple weekends ago I was able to meet up with a few of my friends from high school, and my friend Claire happened to be drinking vitamin water. I bought one the other day when I was at Target, just because the label is hilarious. So I'm going to share it with you.

"everyone loves going out, downing cocktails and partying like a b-list celebrity. but, with the glory comes the pain - body aches, cotton mouth and a splitting headache the next morning that would even bring the mighty superman to his knees.

with that said, we loaded this product with b vitamins and potassium to help your body recover. so now you can party like it's 1999 and still wake up feeling like a million bucks... $750K if you woke up on the bathroom floor."

not for those easily offended

One of the patients I admitted to the hospital this weekend had a tatoo on his side of a rib with blood dripping off of it and above this it read: "give me back my rib, bitch."

Coke Black

No, it's not a bomb threat. (that's code black-from Grey's Anatomy after the superbowl!) It's not a drug, although it may be my new addiction. It's the new "carbonated fusion beverage" from Coca-Cola. If you like coffee and diet coke, you'll like this. It's delicious. But don't just take my word for it.

Speaking of coffee, last night I decided to have a cup of decaf around 9pm. Then, as I laid in the call room, wide awake, my heart racing, trying to catch a few hours of sleep while on call, I realized I poured my coffee from the pot with the RED lid, which unfortunately is not decaffeinated.

Livin' on Tulsa Time

For part of last week, I was in Tulsa for an Evidence-Based Medicine conference (yes, it was as boring as it sounds) with Jamie, another resident in my program. Our friend Matt is from Tulsa, and although he couldn't attend the conference, he arranged for his friend Aaron to take us to dinner on Thursday night. We went to Hideaway Pizza, an Oklahoma original, then he took us to see the statue of the praying hands and took us on a small tour. Later that night my friend Jon called to wish me a belated happy birthday and I told him I was in Tulsa and had gone to see the praying hands. He said, "Oh, at Oral Roberts University?" Am I the only one who hadn't heard of this statue?

I love mail

even when it makes me cry. I received two pieces of mail today, both from dear friends of mine. One was from my friend Nicole, who I know from home. I've been friends with Nicole for a long time, and she knows my whole family. The other piece of mail I received was a two-for-one from my friend Chrissy. Our friendship is special because we both lost our moms around the same time and went through a lot of grieving and healing together.
I cried because I miss my mom, especially around this time of year, and haven't really let myself express my feelings lately. But I also cried because I am thankful for my friends, and these expressions of caring and encouragement when I needed them.

Pretty Warm for a Winter Solstice

On Wednesday, my class of first-year residents had our "Winter Solstice", which is the one day per year we get to leave work at lunchtime and just hang out as a class the rest of the day. It was much needed, and it was far from winter weather! We went out for pizza for lunch and then went to the park. We went on a short hike, explored a small cave, and then played a great game of Ultimate Frisbee. After that, we went to Andy's for frozen custard (Springfield's version of Sheridan's) and then briefly separated to shower and change before meeting at Larisa's house for dinner. Her husband grilled steaks and chicken for us, and we played Catch Phrase and Taboo.
It really was "the best solstice ever."