Res Ipsa Loquitur 2.0

The past few days I have really been making a lot of progress in my move, which is both good and bad - for me at least.  Like my parents, I am a pack rat, and my condo contained the accumulation of 14 years of possessions since I graduated from high school.  While most of the stuff is from the past 6 years of residency, there was still a great deal that I brought to Indy with me from med school.  For instance, the furniture that I’ve had since starting med school has to go, since there’s no room for it in my Cincinnati apartment.  I feel guilty getting rid of some of it, because mom and I bought the furniture from a naked furniture store and stained it ourselves, which means that we spent a good deal of time on it.  My futon, which was an expensive piece made from oak and served as my bed for 5 of the last 10 years, also had to go.  Thanks to Craigslist, they have found good homes with people who need them more than me - my dresser went to a newlywed couple while the futon went to a home with 4 kids.  Still, it feels weird to sell off part of my life like this.  My old computers and electronic equipment have gone to the Tox Drop for recycling or disposal, including both my college and med school computers which were in good working order, despite their extreme obsolescence.  Lots of detritus is going into the trash.  Sure, it’s a good way to make a new beginning, but it’s tedious and a little sad.  Guess I’ll use this opportunity to start transitioning to a more minimal (but still comfortable) existence.

This past weekend, I was back in Connecticut for business and pleasure. On Thursday and Friday, I participated in a workshop on laparoscopic solid organ surgery held by SAGES, the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons. SAGES holds courses for senior surgery residents (4th and 5th years) to help hone their skills, and requirements for participating include SAGES candidate membership as well as approval from a program director. In fact, I was recently in Cincinnati for a SAGES course on laparoscopic gastric surgery held at Ethicon’s headquarters, and this time the course was held at Covidien’s headquarters in Norwalk, CT. Both courses were good - they had talks by surgeons on indications and techniques, followed by animate labs where we practiced the procedures on pigs. Even better, they turned into mini-reunions for my fellowship interview applicants. Along with my Osler board review course in Boston last month, I seem to have been doing a lot of reunions with friends from the interview trail.

This provides a good segue into reunions in that I also took the opportunity to go to my 10th year Yale reunion! Originally I hadn’t planned on going, but with the Covidien course happening the same week, I was able to make it a long weekend and take the train up to New Haven. Thursday night I skipped the SAGES dinner in favor of a trip to Mory’s, the private club/restaurant that is a tradition at Yale. I met up with fellow ‘98ers and even a few from other classes and got to meet the current dean of Yale College, Peter Salovey (with the mustache) and his wonderful wife Marta. The food was great, the company was even better, and we finished the night with the traditional trophy cup full of alcohol which we shared (it was essentially a mimosa, and very tasty). I enjoyed it tremendously.

So, after the course finished on Friday, I traveled back up to New Haven for the weekend festivities. I met up with lots of familiar faces, snacked on cheese and crackers at the wine tasting, and did a little window shopping. Traci flew in to join me, but as her plane was delayed, we didn’t make the dinner at Mory’s that we had planned on, but at least were able to enjoy dessert and wine there, followed by a tasty pizza at Yorkside (they just don’t make pizza like that out here!). We stayed at the Omni Hotel, basking in 5-star comfort at a 3-star price.

Saturday was the big day. I showed Traci around campus, thoroughly exhausting her and pummeling her feet into bloody stumps while marveling in all the changes and improvements that have changed my alma mater for the better. We hit all the high points - the renovated and stunning new Cross Campus Library (now called the Bass Library), my stomping grounds at Sterling Memorial Library, Old Campus, the “tombs” of Skull and Bones, Scroll and Key, Book and Snake, and Elihu, and even the Grove Street Cemetery. We attended a lecture by Judith Ann Schiff of the Yale Libraries, who gave an entertaining review of Yale’s history, accomplishments, and illustrious alumni. Since I’m a Directed Studies alumnus, we attended the DS alumni reunion and talked to Professor Jane Levin, one of my DS professors who now heads the program and is also married to the President of Yale. Following this, we went to President Richard Levin’s address, which updated us on the announcement of the creation of two more residential colleges, and saw a performance by the singing group alumni, many of whom were coming back for their 50th (or more!) reunions. The day concluded with dinner and mingling on Old Campus. The meals were far better than anything we had as students - lunch was from Yale’s own farms (which didn’t exist 10 years ago), and the dinner was a New York strip with “organic decadence chocolate cake.” Through the day, I reconnected with lots of friends and had a great time, and I think Traci enjoyed it too - despite her legs being turned into swollen tree trunks from walking miles in uncomfortable shoes.

Sunday we joined some of my friends for breakfast and then shopped for Yale merchandise. I got a new baseball cap, polo shirt, and full-zip sweater while Traci got herself a sweater and flip-flops. We left New Haven in the afternoon, briefly shopped at the Kenneth Cole store at Grand Central Terminal while waiting for the shuttle to La Guardia airport, and spent the rest of the day miserably waiting for our flight back to Indy. While the traveling was tedious, I was still very happy to have spent a wonderful weekend seeing my old friends and showing off my old haunts to Traci. And to my great surprise, despite my feelings of awe at the accomplishments of my classmates, they similarly were fascinated by my career path as well, which made me realize that, hey, I’ve got a really good job.

Speaking of which, I have only 10 more days until graduation! Yay!

This week I have been renovating the bathroom of my condo to prepare it for rent or sale. The old bathtub/shower unit was made of the cheapest, thinnest, construction-grade fiberglass I’ve ever seen. When I bought my condo, the old owners had already patched a small crack in the tub near the drain. A couple years ago, while scouring the tub I put my knuckle through the same area and scraped off a chunk of skin which took weeks to heal (I had to use lots of Liquid Skin to be able to scrub in for surgeries, and that stuff hurts!). Given that there were hairline cracks in the floor of the tub as well, I wanted to get the old tub ripped out and a new one installed so I can improve the value of my home a bit.

After choosing a suitable replacement unit (a tub with a 3-piece wall set) from Home Depot, I hired a handyman to do the installation. Replacing the tub is a big job - the old tub had to be cut into small pieces and the drywall around it also had to be cut, since there is a lip of fiberglass behind the drywall which is nailed to the studs. It wasn’t an easy job, and I’m glad I hired someone who knew what he was doing. Interestingly, the old tub had two layers - the eggshell-thin inner layer that cracked, and a thicker fiberglass layer outside which were separated by corrugated cardboard! So despite the cracks, there was no water damage. However, the drain pipe for the tub had to be replaced since the old pipe didn’t fit, and that of course added to the cost of the install. My handyman had to return the next day to finish the drywall spackling, but I had to do final sanding and patching of any imperfections. Waiting for the drywall to cure took another day, but it was ready to prime and paint today. I got everything primed and painted this morning, but not without a few problems. Caulking the tub was initially unsuccessful, as I masked the tub and wall with painter’s tape to give me a straight line, but when I removed the tape, the caulk came with it! The next time I did it, I removed the tape immediately; the caulk stayed on but the tape ripped off areas of new paint, which I then had to touch up.

Also, my tub fixtures are scratched up and need to be replaced. I went on eBay to find new Delta fixtures, but the one I ordered would have required me to hire a plumber and possibly tear out some drywall or fiberglass, and I can’t afford that. All I wanted were trim pieces, so I got some Danco replacements for Delta fixtures at Lowe’s, and not surprisingly they didn’t fit. So it looks like I have to return those fixtures and get genuine Delta parts, which are going to be more expensive. Plus I either have to return the eBay fixtures and eat the shipping costs, or sell them myself.

At any rate, I should be done with tub install today - but then I have to replace the flooring with new vinyl tiles. Oy vey.

Well, I watched the new Knight Rider. Wow. Plotlines big enough to drive K.I.T.T. - nay, Goliath - through. Wooden acting. Dialog that could only have been produced during the writers’ strike. Ridiculous product placement by Ford, wherein every car was made by Ford or one of its subsidiaries (except for the last-generation GMC Suburban that crashed into K.I.T.T. at the end and maybe a brief cameo by a Camry).

Even though K.I.T.T. is now a Mustang, which seems a travesty since the original one was a Pontiac Trans Am, I didn’t mind the new body so much. Actually, the GT500KR is a pretty kick-ass car. However, I miss the original voice of K.I.T.T., and Val Kilmer’s voiceover work lacks the soul that William Daniels brought to the role. The over-the-top Attack Mode K.I.T.T., with all its spoilers and scoops, wasn’t too far removed from the Super Pursuit Mode K.I.T.T. from the 3rd season. And of course, we were all waiting for The Hoff to show up, and weren’t disappointed by that. But as a whole, for this show to survive, it really has to get better writing and less obnoxious product placement.

During the show, I read Autoblog’s live blog, which was hilarious and really made the show bearable. We car guys want a Knight Rider that has smarter writing and is *less* cheesy than the original. You listening, NBC?

Wow - I can’t believe it; it’s finally 2008.  Only 6 months until I’m done with residency, and I’m hoping that this year will bring bigger and better things.  My 2007 was a strange, convoluted year with lots of ups and downs, and I’m glad it’s over.

However, I have to admit the rest of my December was pretty good.  I’ve been on cushy rotations at work where I’ve either had good cases or free time.  I got to go home for my Christmas vacation, where my family was together again and I got a lot of good doggy time.  Unfortunately, I had a nasty cold which I’m only now getting over, but it was still nice to be with my parents, brother, dog, and relatives.  Upon my arrival back to Indy on the 26th, I had a slightly belated Christmas with Traci and her parents, and she even got me a Nintendo Wii!  Did I mention she’s an awesome girlfriend?  Well, she is.

Speaking of which, I not only scored a Wii, but my brother also got me a black Nintendo DS lite with the game “Trauma Center: Under the Knife,” which simulates surgery.  The surgery simulation is about as realistic as Grey’s Anatomy, which is to say not at all, but it’s fun.  When Traci got a hold of it and learned how to play it, she proceeded to eclipse me in progress through the game.  She has graciously offered to help me perform surgery in real life, provided I have a patient with sharks swimming around his heart who needs them blasted with a laser.  She’ll also administer the blue injection if there’s inflammation and the green injection if the patient becomes bradycardic.  It’s good to have help in the O.R.

We ended up spending New Year’s Eve at Adobo Grill where we ate and drank way too much, but the food was really good and the margaritas were tasty!  Now that the holidays are over, we’ll be returning to a more regular schedule at work, and hopefully will get a chance to make it out to Cincinnati to find where I’ll live in just a few months.

I hope all of you out there had a great holiday, and may you have a happy new year as well!