The good:
Friday night was a great night. We went to a fundraiser for Garden State Equality to support anti-bullying and pro-marriage equality. We had dinner with NJ State Senators Lesniak and Gordon then joined some of our Democratic friends at a local pub for drinks, laughs and more food. I also was able to get a lot done for Thanksgiving dinner--made cornbread for the stuffing, made buttermilk bread dough for the monkey bread (first rise now in the refrigerator), readied the brine for the turkey and, most important, the lasagna that will keep me from needing to cook on Wednesday is in the freezer waiting to be devoured. The dogs also started getting some good exercise and puppy interaction at the dog park. Tivo really loves it but Ginger is still a little timid.
The bad:
I was on call for our Peds ID Group and it was a pretty quiet weekend, except...Saturday was the anniversary of our very good friends. We had planned to go to dinner with them but at 4:30 I got paged about a consult. Generally, not a big deal and it usually is something that can wait until the next day. But, it turns out, the order for the consult was put in at 9:15 PM on Friday but no one had notified me. As a result, if I did not see the child before 5 PM on Saturday, I would be considered negligent. I dropped what I was doing and went in to see the child, who wasn't that sick but was complicated enough that I missed dinner with our friends (Bill went and ordered for me expecting I would make it). Turns out, in addition to not being notified about the consult, the physician who was managing the patient was doing some things that were inappropriate (not putting the child at harm, thankfully). Then, to add insult to injury, my input wasn't needed because before I saw the child and put in my two cents, she was getting better. But, getting back to the good stuff, Bill brought me dinner and I pigged out on a great burger and fries.
The Ugly:
One of the patients that I don't really know but have been hearing about for a week went to the OR this morning and ended up loosing part of his intestines. The surgeon, also, was apparently being kind of a prick and proceeded to insult the ID services input on the case.
Is it possible to look forward to a Monday? I know I am looking forward to Tuesday when my dad gets here from India.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Another Week
What a week it's been. My sister had to euthanize one of her cats: she had a cardiomyopathy and a bad viral illness made recovery unlikely. Poor Maggie was misterable her final hours, but I hope she finds a peaceful rest. (Is there a cat heaven full of catnip and balls of yarn?)
My great aunt remains in the hospital. I'm not getting a lot of details (she is on the other coast) but what I hear doesn't sound to encouraging.
For me, my blood pressure is better since I gave up caffeine, but it still isn't normal. So, I yawn a lot and feel foggy longer in the morning. Is it worth it?
On the plus side, I have been to the gym 5 times in the past 7 days. It feels good to be back on a regular excercise schedule. I like the new gym (Retro-Fitness). It is large and clean; it is more crowded than the NYSC was but there's more variety of weight equipment. They could use some variety of cardio machines. Mind you, I'm not complaining. After all, I am saving $60 each month!
The weekend holds some good stuff in store. First, tonight there is a book signing (What's Love Got to Do with It) and Garden State Equality fundraiser. A lot of NJ State Senators and powerful local Democrats and progressives are going to be there. Bill and I donated some of the food (an artisanal cheese plate). After, we are going to schmooz with some of the local Democrat activists. Not certain what is in store, but it will be something fun.
Then, tomorrow, it's "up and atom". Gotta get to the grocery store early to buy some of the stuff needed for the Thanksgiving feast next week. Although I'm on call and will be spending some of the time at the hospital, I will be spending my home time doing advanced prep work, like making the brine for the turkey, the cornbread for the stuffing, the dough for the dinner roles, etc. My dad will be coming back from vacation in India and between him and our good friends (whose anniversary is tomorrow), it should be a fun, sumptious feast. I wish my sister were coming, but it just isn't the right time for her to come out from California.
Just a boring, humdrum life in the suburbs. But I love every minute of it!
My great aunt remains in the hospital. I'm not getting a lot of details (she is on the other coast) but what I hear doesn't sound to encouraging.
For me, my blood pressure is better since I gave up caffeine, but it still isn't normal. So, I yawn a lot and feel foggy longer in the morning. Is it worth it?
On the plus side, I have been to the gym 5 times in the past 7 days. It feels good to be back on a regular excercise schedule. I like the new gym (Retro-Fitness). It is large and clean; it is more crowded than the NYSC was but there's more variety of weight equipment. They could use some variety of cardio machines. Mind you, I'm not complaining. After all, I am saving $60 each month!
The weekend holds some good stuff in store. First, tonight there is a book signing (What's Love Got to Do with It) and Garden State Equality fundraiser. A lot of NJ State Senators and powerful local Democrats and progressives are going to be there. Bill and I donated some of the food (an artisanal cheese plate). After, we are going to schmooz with some of the local Democrat activists. Not certain what is in store, but it will be something fun.
Then, tomorrow, it's "up and atom". Gotta get to the grocery store early to buy some of the stuff needed for the Thanksgiving feast next week. Although I'm on call and will be spending some of the time at the hospital, I will be spending my home time doing advanced prep work, like making the brine for the turkey, the cornbread for the stuffing, the dough for the dinner roles, etc. My dad will be coming back from vacation in India and between him and our good friends (whose anniversary is tomorrow), it should be a fun, sumptious feast. I wish my sister were coming, but it just isn't the right time for her to come out from California.
Just a boring, humdrum life in the suburbs. But I love every minute of it!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
One of the finest Mozart Singers
Helen Donath is far and away one of the finest singers. Beautiful voice and stage presence. Here she is as Mozarrt's Susanna in Florence, 1979. Amazingly, 30 years later, she sounds the same!
Daylight Savings ends, but...
So, Daylight Savings ended overnight which means an extra hour of sleep, right? So totally wrong. Ginger's internal clock went off at 5:30 AM EST because she was getting walked at 6:30 AM EDT. Tried to ignore the whining and crying, but couldn't so got up in the freezing cold to walk Ginger and Tivo.
Since I was too alert to go back to bed, I started working on the sourdough bread. This is my last attempt. It's too much trouble: it takes longer than 18 hours to refresh the starter, form the dough, let it rise, shape the loaves, rise again and finally bake. I love and miss San Francisco sourdough, but I'm not doing my own. This will then leave me in a huge quandary for Thanksgiving. What to do, since homemade sourdough rolls are out of the question. Monkey bread? Traditional dinner roles? Crusty country bread? At least I still have two weeks to think about it.
After making the dough, I went to the gym. My first foray to Retro Fitness in FairLawn. It was busy, but because the place is so huge, it didn't feel crowded. I was happy to finally work out, but won't be able to go tomorrow because I am Epic SuperUser-ing again at 6:00 AM and then I go back to covering the inpatient service.
Looking forward to a relaxing, brisk autumn day with Bill and the puppies. Tonight, for dinner, I'm experimenting with mustard oil.
Hope you all have a great day!
Since I was too alert to go back to bed, I started working on the sourdough bread. This is my last attempt. It's too much trouble: it takes longer than 18 hours to refresh the starter, form the dough, let it rise, shape the loaves, rise again and finally bake. I love and miss San Francisco sourdough, but I'm not doing my own. This will then leave me in a huge quandary for Thanksgiving. What to do, since homemade sourdough rolls are out of the question. Monkey bread? Traditional dinner roles? Crusty country bread? At least I still have two weeks to think about it.
After making the dough, I went to the gym. My first foray to Retro Fitness in FairLawn. It was busy, but because the place is so huge, it didn't feel crowded. I was happy to finally work out, but won't be able to go tomorrow because I am Epic SuperUser-ing again at 6:00 AM and then I go back to covering the inpatient service.
Looking forward to a relaxing, brisk autumn day with Bill and the puppies. Tonight, for dinner, I'm experimenting with mustard oil.
Hope you all have a great day!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Well, here I go...
Never done this before, but I'm willing to give it a try. I will use this blog to post thoughts, impressions, events, cooking successes (and failures), and maybe even some photos. Hope you enjoy it!
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