In lieu of...

I decided not to send out Christmas or New year’s cards this year because anyone reading this would already know what’s been going on via the play-by-play version so I didn’t think you’d want to hear the same info shortened up into a one-pager. And anyone that's not reading this, well - too bad for them. :) Just the same, I have been doing some reflecting on last year, in part prompted by my friend asking me what the best and worst things were of 2007. The answer to that question: Best: There’s a lot of best parts actually – my summer in Ireland with my friend Leigh Anne, living close to my family again, a course I took on Gabriola Island in August, my fantastic little homey apartment ½ block from the hospital, making new friends, planning far-away friend gatherings in 2008, learning a ton of new stuff, getting connected with some cool, open-minded Victoria physicians, and a super-fun New Year’s eve in Seattle to top it all off. Worst: Hmm, I really have to think about this part. Possibly the first week of January following a stupid “Newfoundlanders are dumb” comment made by the emcee at our welcoming Gala making me feel particularly unwelcome & prompting me to have a meltdown the following day momentarily regretting my move to Vic. Pretty tame for a worst moment. Obviously life is pretty damn good. As for school, while I often find it mind-boggling at the minimal amount of information I know compared to what’s out there, I realize that I’ve come a long way in the last year. Med school is maybe a bit like taking 5 university courses in Swahili at one time – you learn a ton of info at the same time as learning a new language. I think I probably look up 10-15 new words in the dictionary a week. Some terms pack a bunch of descriptive info into one word, making it really helpful – like petechiae for instance. But I think some other terms like epistaxis (= nosebleed) and ecchymosis (=bruise) may be part of the “smoke and mirrors” to make doctors look super intelligent in front of patients. Well that and to try to give Latin a reason to exist. It’s kinda like the MBA-speak of “go forward” and “thinking outside the box” and “EBITDA”. I find the most talented communicators never use the fancy words, but use plain English to explain what the heck they’re talking about. And I always find that analogies (and pictures) are best. For instance, I managed to keep in my head what HDL fat was doing by thinking of it as the Robin Hood of lipids (fats) – it’s a good guy that takes from the lipid-rich (bad LDL fat) and gives to the (lipid) poor. Those are the kinds of things that are going on in my head during med school – no high-falutin’ lingo for me. As for my year ahead, my New Year’s resolution is to have more fun. More socializing, more dancing, more laughing, more dating. And no doubt, more school. So it should be an action-packed year. Stay tuned for more details...