Soap Box

I know that I haven't been great about blogging lately. In all honesty, I have been fairly stressed - I have the Oral portion of my Thoracic boards coming up and I have been busier than usual at work. Greater than normal stress tends to make me grumpy. I recognize this about myself, and try to minimize the collateral damage by sequestering myself. The less external interactions, the less I have to apologize for when my stress levels recede. Boards are over June 11th, so hopefully this latest high tide is almost over.

However, I can't help but to vent a little. I have tried to keep an open mind about life in Miami. My Spanish grows daily and I am truly happy about it. However, I have my limits. I walked into ABP this morning to grab a cup of coffee. As usual, the lady behind the counter greeted me in Spanish and asked what I wanted. Per norm, I responded in English. Usually this is where the person behind the counter fluidly switches to English, and we have no issues. Not so much this morning.

Turns out the person working behind the counter spoke barely enough English to tell me that she couldn't speak English. Seriously? If you choose to live in this country without learning the language - your decision. Who am I to judge? HOWEVER, if you plan to work in this country at a job that requires you to interact with the public (i.e. Americans living in the country of their birth), I don't think it is too much to ask that you speak the language. I'm not asking for Shakespeare, but conversational English should be a prerequisite. If I moved to Germany, I would attempt to learn German before I went to work. Perhaps that is just me. Okay, I will step off my soap box now and go back to studying. Less grumpy me will hopefully show her face again soon.

OCD check

I used to laugh at my friends who cleaned up before the cleaning lady came over. . . now I totally get it. It is not just that you don't want someone to see how much of a slob you can really be when left to your own devices although that is a motivator. Mostly it is just that I want her to dust, mop and clean the showers. She shouldn't be wasting her time picking up my dirty laundry or loading my dishwasher. Those are the easy tasks that I can accomplish.

My behavioral concern is different. While I will now accept that it is "normal" behavior to clean for the cleaning lady, is it normal behavior to spend an hour after she leaves putting everything back where it belongs? I'm not talking about moving heavy pieces of furniture or even trash cans. I mean doing silly things like re-centering the candle on the table, or moving the picture an inch to the right, or re-stacking the magazines because they are no longer stacked exactly the way I had them.

I long ago accepted that I am a little Obsessive Compulsive, but always felt that I stopped short of disorder. Not so sure I still fall short. This can't be good - think I'll go wash my hands again.

La Gripe

The Miami word for cold is La Gripe. I like it. It sounds much more sinister than a common cold, and sinister is definitely what I had. Shortly after my last post, I spent 12 hours in the OR with a lung transplant. The next day I had a scratchy throat, but shrugged it off as no sleep. By Friday, I was officially sick. I had the fever, cough, chest congestion, runny nose whole shebang. There were even three days where I had no voice! As hard as that may be for you to imagine, it was even harder for me to live through.

The worst part was that all of my colleagues were in Toronto at the AATS. I had no choice but to come to work each day and actually work. The last 10 days will definitely not go into my highlight reel of favorite moments, but I survived (as thankfully did my patients). I still have a runny nose and an annoying cough, but I think the worse of La Gripe has past.

Now I have to face the terrible reality of my Thoracic Oral boards being only a month away. Time to buckle down and remember where the heart actually lives. I see a few more sleepless nights in my immediate future.

To all friends in Nashville, my thoughts and prayers have been, and will continue to be with you all.

Things I miss

Things have been a little hectic around here, but crazy in a good way. I did manage to have a great, albeit busy birthday yesterday. I am currently waiting to start a lung transplant. I won't complain because this is the longest I have been able to sit in my office in a couple of weeks.

As I am sitting hear ignoring the mountain of paperwork on my desk, I am reminded that it is spring. . . not so much by the weather here, but by a picture on CNN. Spring has always been my favorite season. I love the flowers, the weather, the promise of new beginnings. Back home, spring was easy to spot. The first sign is usually the daffodils poking up their perky little heads, tulips soon follow and then the azaleas and pear trees. The entire world soon becomes coated in a cheery shade of yellow (my mom doesn't so much love that part). The mornings start off with a bite of cold, but one knows that the sun will be shining by early afternoon. All is as it should be.

Dafodils and tulips don't grow here - it doesn't get cold enough for the bulbs in the winter. Azaleas and pear trees can't take the summers. The mangoes bloom, but not overtly lovely and the pollen can't be seen so much as felt. It never got cold, so you can't celebrate the warm quite the same way. Don't get me wrong, I like the winter, but must admit that I kind of miss the spring.


Since I am not sure when I will have time to blog again, belated birthday wishes to my friend Kris, happy birthday to sweet Grace, and early birthday wishes to my friends Beth and Sapna.

Livin' La Vida Loca

Somedays I think I have been transported to an alternative universe.

While on call this weekend, I went swimming in the Atlantic. I wore expensive sunglasses (something I always argued was a waste of money, and must now reluctantly admit to being useful) while lying on the sand studying for my boards.

I have a trainer and a Pilates instructor. I run - on purpose, and occasionally even well. I have completed two 5Ks, and am training for a half-marathon.

I find myself discussing weekend "getaway" trips to Aruba and Puerto Rico. I now automatically greet people in Spanish, and can hold my own pretty well conversationally.

Is this really an alternative universe, or just having a life? It has been so long since I had a life, I am not sure that I will recognize it when it happens.

Only me

I have spent all of my life until now in high pollen climates. North Georgia (where I spent the first 32 years of my life) is considered one of the worst areas in the country for pollen. I then moved to middle Tennessee - another hot spot. Philly has a shorter pollen season, but makes up for it by a higher number of pollens in the fall.

Did I have allergies while living in any of these places? Of course not. I waited until I moved to South Florida - a place touted as having some of the lowest pollen counts in the country. The place the doctor encourages you to visit in the spring to escape the pollen counts elsewhere. Proof positive that I am so far from normal we don't even share a zip code.

So wish I were kidding

I went home for Easter, and had a fabulous time. Will try to post pictures soon. It was actually quite hard to force myself back on that plane to Miami. Luckily, it has been an incredibly busy week, so no time to sit around feeling sorry for myself.

After a crazy day at work on Tuesday, I headed to the gym to meet my trainer - as I do every Tuesday night. However, this night was a bit different. I walked into the locker room, and it had been taken over by cheerleaders. So not kidding. Everywhere you looked, there was a 20 something year old woman with perfect bodies in some state of undress. While this may be every guy's dream, it is not exactly the dream of any woman I know.

They were at the gym to attend one of the dance classes. So as I am hurriedly trying to change into my gym clothes without exposing a single inch of my less than perfect body, I got to hear what 20 year old cheerleaders talk about in dressing rooms. I watched and listened as one after one, they stood in front of the mirror and pointed out their perceived flaws to each other. This halter makes my arms look big, can you believe how wide my hips are, my legs are huge in these tights, etc. etc. Turns out, they are not so much different than the rest of us.

It did make me wonder - is there a woman a live that is truly happy with her body?