back in the saddle

so it's been a solid 9 months since i've blogged anything. you can gestate a BABY in that time. holy crap. i'm trying to start writing again both for my sanity and reconnection to the world around me. 

even though it's been 9 months, the time has been a blur. after finishing up a rough stretch last fall, i spent a few months getting my bearings as an intern. i finished out strong on one of our grueling ward services and started my 2nd year on vacation. ::sigh of relief:: henry and i didn't do anything epic for vacation, although i did spend a few days in montreal with him on a business trip and we moved to a new apartment. 

my first true rotation of my 2nd year of residency was 5 weeks of oncology. i sent a huge proportion of my patients to either heaven (they died) or the ICU (they tried to die)-- in both cases spending a lot of time crying. i cried both for the patients' lives and their families' grief, but also for the frustration i felt with a system that often forced me to be the one to discuss with the patient their poor prognosis and impending death. 

i just finished 2.5 weeks of night shift at our allen hospital, a small 3-story community hospital in northern manhattan (inwood). i was THE medicine resident in-house overnight, meaning i admitted medicine patients, acted as the arrest resident, and frequently checked on the medicine intern in the ICU. in general, the acuity was less, although i did have several nights in a row with incredibly sick patients requiring ICU care. i had the opportunity to make some really interesting diagnoses. all-in-all, although tiring and annoying to work overnight, the rotation really helped boost my confidence in my ability to function as a resident.

a few things that have changed over the past few months that you can expect to hear more about: living at a new apartment that stretches our creativity in space/function, started working out with a trainer to get in shape, and really starting to enjoy iphone photography. 

additionally, just spent the past weekend at a bed and breakfast in provincetown, cape cod with henry for a post-night-shift getaway. here are a few (iphone) pictures from the trip:

a look down an alley on commerical street to the bay

getting ready to board our whale-watching boat

on the shore

buoys by the bay


















the cape by twilight