There was a great story on NPR this evening that I totally can’t find the link to. To make a long story short, 600 physicians and nurses and ilk get together in rural Virginia one day in the summer to hold a massive free clinic. On this day, coal miners and other locals line up in the wee hours of the morning to be assured of seeing a doctor on this, their only chance to get dental visits and cancer screenings and eye exams.

On the one hand, this is awesomely inspiring; this is why I’m going through these hoops in medical school. I can’t wait to be that doctor making someone’s day, damn I wish I could find the link so everyone else could hear how happy these patients were to be seen.

But then again, lining up at 3:30? Prepping for colonoscopies in Port-o-potties? They don’t even line up for care that early in Senegal. It’s unfathomable to me that normal laborers, too rich to be on Medicaid, but too poor to afford insurance, have to go through these hoops to get their care.

I know that once I’m a doctor there’ll come a point when I think that all I’m doing is plugging holes that just keep leaking… I mustn’t concentrate on that yet, I need my strength to get through this.

Listening to:
The White Stripes- Elephant
(The Hardest Button to Button sounds just like one of the songs off the new album. Extraordinarily like it.)

Since my own personal summer's winding down, and given that I declared this a month ago anyway, I'll go ahead and declare Gimme Fiction the album of the season. I could extoll its virtues, but I would rather point out that when I'm a professional figureskater, my long program will be done to Jonathon Fisk off Kill the Moonlight. That song just makes me want to triple salchow.



Listening to: I Should Coco: Supergrass (though I guess I'll switch over now)

Go Gnats

I’ve been a passive Orioles fan for 15 years of suckitude, ever since I can recall. This year, with the rebirth of the Nationals, I decided to switch my allegiance to the National League. I admit I waffled a bit when the O’s were dominating before the All-Star break. True to form, they’ve crashed magnificently since then given their terrible lack of pitching depth. But now my number 1 team loses the game for control of the NLE in the bottom of the 9th after hitting a batter. Arsenal never gives me this grief.

Listening to:
Patti Smith- Horses

Given that I'm about to begin my second year (how's that for some back story), I've been looking back on the first days of school last year.

During the orientation, talks revolved around how life changing it would all be for us. We were going to be molded into physicians, the noblest profession in the world (I'm reasonably certain something was said about 'second oldest' as well, but let's gloss over that for now). A dean recounted phone calls with his mother, too braindead to be actively engaged, but nodding along to keep the conversation going and in her good graces.

When I saw that everyone else was studying all the time (or at least talking about studying all the time), I allowed that behavior become acceptable. I shut out friends during their crises and excitements. I spaced out on ruminations over cross-country moves and explanations of failing relationships.

Never again.

That's the promise I make to myself.