Some much-needed downtime. As the whirlwind of the I-trail draws to a close, it's been so nice to enjoy the holidays and spend time with family. The 70+ degree weather hasn't hurt much, either :)
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| christmas eve run in the lowcounty |
Reflecting:
In retrospect, I probably complained too much about the I-trail. Despite the annoyance and expense of traveling across the country, navigating airports and public transit, and spending far to many nights on couches, it's really been a very special time. I've gotten to visit new cities and catch up with old friends. I've gone skiing and hiking and popped into museums. It's been a good journey, and I've been very fortunate.
Some highlights:
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| the BEST museum. |
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| not all flights start from airports. |
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| one of the high points of the i-trail (pun intended). |
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| pacific hills. |
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| santa monica pier. |
Looking forward:
To jumping back into medicine and research. I had intended to be super productive during my interview months-- finishing up some data collection and paper writing, go through all the ASH educational modules, maybe even shadow down in radiology some. While I wasn't completely non-productive (I did finally finish up my data collection!), I wasn't exactly productive, either. For whatever reason, my grand plans of working on airplanes and buses simply didn't pan out.
That being said, I am super excited to jump back in! I was at the ASH annual meeting in early December (more on that later!), and while the size and scope were a bit overwhelming, as a whole it really increased my motivation for research and hematology. Many interview days also have students sit in on rounds or morning report. It's been fun to be back in at least a semi-academic environment and definitely has been excited for more!
Moving:
5 miles on the 23rd chased by 3 on the 24th (I took Christmas day off, partly to enjoy the feast and partly due to a head cold). I'm still a sloooooooow turtle, but it's nice to be running at least somewhat regularly again. Now if only I could do the same with strength training....
Reading:
I'm about 2/3 of the way through Abraham Verghese's My Own Country. The book is a memoir set in Eastern Tennessee, so it's been interesting to see a part of the country I'm fairly familiar with through such a unique lens. Although the book is technically "about" the HIV epidemic, what I'm actually enjoying most is reading about how Verghese balanced (or in some cases, failed to balance) his time with patients, his research, and his time with his family.
Plans for this weekend:
-Catch up on 231823901283021381209381209 emails (this apparently doesn't change.)
-Arrange travel for 2 (only 2!) January trips
-Submit receipts from December travel (clearly, I have a very exciting To Do list)
-Finally figure out what I'm going to do for a January rotation. Ideally I'd do half research/half clinic, but not sure if that's actually feasible....
-Get in at least 2 more lovely (and HOT) lowcountry runs
-Start writing my paper! Finally!
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