Psychiatry Week 1

Psychiatry.

I was actually looking forward to this rotation- mostly because I wanted to be finished with Internal Medicine (also known as Eternal Medicine). Although the first week isn't over until tomorrow, so far so good. The hours are much better, the call schedule is very light and as an added bonus: there is virtually non-stop amusement.

Now before you think ill of me and accuse me of having an over developed Schadenfreude Center in my brain, it's not that I delight in the maladies of others, it's just that... well... they are so damned entertaining sometimes!

This week alone for instance:

• I spoke with a man who has only a passing familiarity with reality and reports having a chip in his tooth (by chip he means "device") that not only hears every thing that is said around him but receives high pitched noise through it. He has tried- unsuccessfully- to remove said chip; but in his defense, I suppose he wants to be as ginger as possible since it is in one of the last 3 teeth he has left.

• I was accosted outside the hospital by an elderly Polish-only speaking woman who was yelling at me through what appeared to be only a triplet of teeth as well (note to self: check Fluoridation policy of NYC) and who was given to wild gesticulating and grabbing at her crotch. Upon further communication it became clear she wanted directions to the subway! (note to self #2: I have GOT to learn Polish, where apparently grabbing at one's LadyBidness translates roughly into: Pardon me goodly sir, canst thou point me to the nearest train depot?)

• And rounding up the pack there are my fellow students. Among the great constants of the universe, it seems that for any collection of medical students, where N>8, there must be at least one among the group who is so full of pathology, so devoid of the slightest remnant of social skills, and so devoid of insight, that it borders on the absurd. This rotation does not fail to disappoint in that regard. Exactly 3 seconds after making initial eye contact with one particular fellow student, I was harangued by this poor soul who obviously hails from a planet country where disclosing your name, rank, serial number, entire academic accomplishments, political views, career aspirations, turn-ons, what you plan on naming your unborn children, favorite color, shoe size, and blood type (in a single breath and delivered within 2 minutes!!) is not only polite, but must be considered charming.
  

Never a dull moment.

Bonus Quote of the Day :

"Men will always be mad, and those who think they can cure them are the maddest of all." -Voltaire

1050 ft. Above 5th Avenue

Since I have been a New Yorker for about 6 months now, the rules state that I must make the pilgrimage to 350 5th Avenue- otherwise known as The Empire State Building. If I did not, I would forfeit my right to use certain New York-Only words like is seen in the (absolutely real) sign below:



Given that steep penalty, I opted to pack the car up with Meagan, Kaitlyn, and Rileigh and head on into Manhattan to make my offering to the gods of Gotham.

The view from the street:



The very Art-Deco lobby:




Views from the Observation Deck (86th floor):












Another 422 feet to the top of the spire:



Full tourist gear:



Forcing a picture out of Kaitlyn:



The wind blowing my hair all around (Rileigh's too):

Tickets for The Empire State Building :
$62.00
Parking :
$26.00
3 (small) drinks at Starbucks:
$ 8.07

Getting to spend the day with
your daughters doing cheesy tourist
things (while they will still let you take them):

PRICELESS!

Halloween 2008

Although this is Rileigh's 2nd halloween, this is the first one she actually got to do the whole trick-or-treat thing. This year she was a bunny:








Venturing out for the candy-gathering:




Little Thumper is headed out:

Doctor Doolittle, I Ain't....

But- I did enjoy conversing with this goat. At the pumpkin patch, they had a petting zoo and this particular goat seemed to speak my language. He started responding to my witty repartee and we got the 3rd time on camera here:

If you have never seen a grown man "talking" to a goat at the petting zoo, well then my friends today is your lucky day....

The Great Pumpkin Patch of 2008

Last week Kathy and I took the girls to Johnson's Farm in Medford, NJ. It is a pretty cool place with lots for kids to do. They had hayrides, pumpkin patches, a petting zoo (without the petting), a playground, and assorted autumnal fun-type stuff. It was a pretty good way to spend a fall afternoon and not at all expensive.


Johnson's Farm:




A sea of Pumpkins:



Rileigh picks her first pumpkin:




And then her second:




Meagan and Kaitlyn displaying their selections:



One of the highlights of the day was this simple slide:





Me and a very friendly (and quite plastic ) cow:




Meagan gets all "artistic" with the camera:

Catching up on Bolg Duties

Once again it seems I have neglected my blog responsibilities and my daughters tell me they are about to disown me for not blogging. So here goes. First some pictures from the girls' homecoming dance:

Kaitlyn and her friend Janie:



Meagan and her friend Katie:



This kid had to buy A LOT of corsages!



Kaitlyn and the girls:

Public Service Announcement

Well, I am certain now that the 4 horsemen of the Apocalypse are not only mounted-up but are trotting around ready to make their final charge...

In a study conducted by a Dr. Matlock at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, it seems that doing CPR while mentally keeping rhythm with ...ahem, the 1977 hit by the Bee Gees "Stayin' Alive" will keep you on track with the recommended 100 compressions per min.

While the irony of a song titled "Stayin' Alive" is not lost on me, any song with about 100 beats/min will do. I used to like sing Culture Club's "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?" in my head while doing CPR (but that is an entire post unto itself I guess...)

Other examples are: Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" (quite fitting, though I suppose a tad pessimistic) and a personal favorite, Warren Zevon's classic, "Werewolves of London".

Pick a song and use it the next time you find yourself doing CPR. It will keep you on track; but whatever you do, do not, I repeat, DO NOT sing out loud!

For those of you who have forgotten the song:




Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, stayin alive, stayin alive


Where the red is your cue to compress.

I predict this song will be stuck in your head for a t least a few hours....You're Welcome ;-)

Subways and Rabbits and Bears..Oh My!

Today we decided to venture into Manhattan to visit the Central Park Zoo. Quite the ambitious undertaking considering we traveled by subway with Rileigh. Imagine trying to contain a small nuclear explosion in your arms. Although she seemed afraid of the noisy train at first, she was soon at home and making friends with the muggers, psychopaths, homeless, and tourists on the subway. Shy she is not.





The Central Park Zoo is not very big at all- as a matter of fact I was surprised how small it was. But at only 8 dollars to get in, it was not a bad deal at all. It works out just fine since they happen to have a children's zoo and her attention span doesn't do so well with a bigger place.

As is usually the case with most kids, the petting zoo was her favorite part.







Also enjoyed were a pair of polar bears:



and one seriously LARGE rabbit:



All in all, a pretty decent way to spend a fall day in New York.



Next week we are headed to Delran, NJ (GO BEARS) where it will be homecoming weekend for Meagan and Kaitlyn. A full weekend's worth of festivities are planned including a parade and football game. Stay Tuned!

Let x=x+1

Apparently, a certain member of the genus Mycteria has sent advance warning that he will be visiting us sometime in April.

For those of you that do not speak geek, Kathy and I are expecting a baby!

Merrily Merrily Merrily....

The Blog Muse hasn't been around these parts much lately. My time has been filled recently with studying and doing some case write-ups (read:worthless busy-work) for this rotation.

After 3 weeks with one attending, we have switched and I am now rotating through the Intensive Care Unit. We will continue to switch every 2 weeks in an apparent effort to avoid any continuity whatsoever. This week hasn't been too bad however. The patients are more complicated and their management is quite more involved. Other than that, the rotation muddles along with the never ending series of lectures and conferences to attend. I cant really complain, things could be a good deal worse I suppose.

On the home-front things are going well. Kathy starts her new job next week, so we will once again be able to afford such luxuries as electricity. Joy! This being poor thing is overrated. I don't recommend it at all.

Rileigh is getting bigger before our very eyes and most days she works on perfecting her imitation of a hurricane- running around the house wreaking her pint-sized brand of havoc and leaving a swath of scorched earth and debris in her wake.

Here she is learning to master her mother's favorite mode of transportation:



(yeah, yeah, I know I'm gonna pay for that joke- but I can't help it. It never gets old ;-) )

And her she is sporting her trademark, "Look Dad, someone scattered my toys all over the living room"