June 2005

June is just about gone. I don't feel like I've accomplished alot, but it has been fairly relaxing.

To start, research has been frustrating. I've been muddling through experiments and am just now getting to do (and understand) some statistically relevant protocols. However, Dr. Jones left for vacation last week with a parting gift of 58 MB of papers for me to read, at least 50 or them. I just finished one today that was a bit disturbing. We should have found and read this one last quarter. They did exactly what I am proposing but with UVA and fibroblasts instead of clinical radiation and endothelial cells. Hopefully we'll be able to leverage their work (protocols and results). Since it was written in 1999, I'm a little afraid of how many more papers I need to read to catch up with what they've done since then.

I've also been job shadowing with Dr. Steinway, a RadOnc here in town, a couple mornings this week while Dr. Jones is on vacation. It has been interesting from a patient standpoint but a little disquieting on the career side. He even suggested I look at Radiology as a field with more opportunity and growth, even in patient treatment. The impression I got was that RadOnc is an expensive therapy of limited value not that genetics and chemotherapy have advanced so much. I need to look into all of this a lot more. I've had Rads (or Inv'l Rads) as a 2nd choice for a long time so that hasn't changed. It even came up Rads as my #1 match on a career questionnaire. But I don't really know that much about what they do and what the future for Rads looks like.

Not sure if I mentioned it, but my dog was finally diagnosed with Valley Fever. The good news is that he doesn't have a chronic joint problem and the treatment is only $33/mos for 6-9 mos vs. the $300/mos it was recently, before the patent ran out. He's doing much better and doesn't have to wear the sling we had him in for weekend, until it chafed his 'underarms' raw.

The boys are doing well and enjoying swimming. They have lessons in the morning and we swim in our pool most evenings. They are definitely improving and Connor is even interested in joining a swim team.

Last weekend I went to the American Medical Association Medical Student Section (AMA-MSS) convention in Chicago. As our school chapter's VP, I went with Jill (Prez) and roomed with Jason (former Prez) and Kohl (classmate). It was a great time. I especially enjoyed working with the UofA students and getting to know them. The meetings went well and DOs were definitely welcomed. Most of the fluff resolutions were struck down and the good ones passed. We got to meet several local physicians at a breakout room for the Arizona Medical Association (ARMA). I think that by getting our faces in front of some oldtimers we are doing a lot to improve perceptions of DOs. The weather in Chicago was incredible. And we got to see Navy Pier and the BodyWorlds show. The latter had plastinated cadavers posed to educate viewers on anatomy and function. I can't believe the show was protested in Germany where it started for desecrating the human body. It beautifully immortalized the human form. I also realized how much anatomy I've forgotten as Jill and I argued over names.

I still haven't finished Rapid Review Biochem but am getting some review in. Now I'm reading a couple pleasure books (e.g. Anatomy of Hope) and catching up on a lot of movies. I'm even close to finishing the one Xbox RPG I wanted to play this summer, Jade Empire.

Still, there's a lot to do this summer. Tucker is coming over tomorrow to help me replace 1/3 of the back porch that is falling apart. The plan is to tear down the weak part and create a list of supplies we need from Home Depot. I hope we can also replace the front brakes on our Accord since Tucker knows what he's doing there too. Hopefully his family and Dan/Miho are joining all of us for dinner tomorrow and some cool off time in the pool.

That's just one item of many on the todo list. We'll see how many I can get done with everything on the plate, such as the drive to San Diego with the family next weekend to see my Dad. Hopefully my new MP3 will get here by then so I can listen USMLE Step 1 lectures in the car.

That's it for now. I seem to be much more consistent on Student Doctor Network than here, but I'll try to improve.

Two weeks gone already?

Jeez! I'm through two of my fourteen week vacation and what do I have to show for it?

Spent a few hundred bucks seeing a veternary surgical specialist for my almost three year golden Retreiver, who has to be one of the most expensive dogs in the world by now. At least we think we found the problem; a tear in his medial shoulder ligament. He's in a sling for the next two weeks which pretty much rules out a trip to the Grand Canyon next weekend. However, I really hope this cures Cedar. He's too young to be lame and suffering this much pain. And selfishly, I want to go running with him again.

The Fellowship is going ok. I am learning a ton and really enjoy working with Dr. Jones when he's available. However, I've had a string of bad electrophoresis experiments. We're going to try another Monday and Friday we'll irradiate some newly glycated samples. I'm really crossing my fingers that this week things will start to turn around. I need to start getting some results. I also started working with cells, so I hope we can finish up the protein work and concentrate on cells soon.

Tomorrow is a combined B-day pool party for the boys. I hope we have a decent turnout. Most of their friends are already traveling and can't make it. They just got out of school yesterday! The noteworthy event there was an assembly where Connor got on the Principal's list for having a 3.75 or higher GPA. They only start tracking GPAs in Third Grade so Colton wasn't eligible for it.

Oh, last weekend, during a Memorial Day sale Becky & I ended up purchasing a Polaroid 26" HDTV, the flat panel LCD kind. It's very cool and we got a great price for it. Since it's wide angle, the picture is about the same size as our 31" CRT that is sitting in the corner now. We also started a free trial on Netflix so we've been watching a ton of movies. I even got around to signing up at the Glendale library. I purchased a couple of used books and borrowed 5 DVDs (the max).

Schoolwise, I'm catching up on Student Doctor Network (SDN) threads and giving a lot of advice to up-and-coming MSIs. I'm about 1/2 through my Biochem review book but presently am sidetracked with a Cancer book I got at the library for a buck. It's on alternative and complementary therapies which will be good information for a DO Oncologist to have.

That's about it. I need to exercise more, get started on home repair projects and make better progress on reviewing didactics from last year. That leaves a lot of room for improvement :-).