I just had my first 24 hr call….at around 4am I was basically walking around like a zombie, fighting to keep my eyes open.  All the residents were walking around barely awake.  No wonder the residents are snappy…they’re not jaded, they’re sleep deprived.  But I guess it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be….I survived…but doing it every 4 days??  I better start training.  What genius thought up the bright idea to deprive new clueless doctors of sleep? DON’T get sick in JULY!!! (A little piece of advice from one of the attendings)

I woke up and rode 3 hrs to Wisconsin to see Coldplay…it should have only taken 2 hrs but apparently the 35,000 capacity venue was expecting the majority of the people to arrive by helicopter because they only built a one-lane road leading to the theater.  It definitely looked full capacity….when we left, the scene reminded me of a lemming stampede …follow the leader (anyone see that episode of Duck Tales where all the lemmings jump into the ocean? =P ).  Anyway…the concert was amazing…..even though we couldn’t really see them…we could definitely hear them.

Ok it's been a while, but I am finally in the CITY!!!! And I can  say that I LOVE it!  I see the skyline of the Sears Tower every day I drive home from work, Magnificent Mile is just a 5 min train ride away, Grant park is just out the door.  If it wasn't for the 100 degree summers w/ added humidity and -20 degree winters, I can definitely stick around.
Also, the "book years" are finally over!! Last year, I was seriously reconsidering my career choice.  I was feeling majorly constricted, my only freedom was deciding where I wanted to sit for the next 7 hrs....home, Barnes, Borders....and even though I knew it would be over soon, it was hard to think of anything else at the moment...especially since I felt like I was missing out on life.  But things have been different now that I don't have to have a book stuck to my face.
I just finished my Psychiatry rotation.....the basic consensus is that most of the psychotic patients have a very strong religious preoccupation….interesting.  In my first day at the clinic, I talked to a 21 yo African Amer. schizophrenic who wasn’t taking his medications.  He told me that there was an underground war going on between heaven and hell and that he was a main element in the war.  Apparently God was calling on him to use his super powers to battle against the forces.  He didn’t want to take his medication b/c they were taking away those special powers.  He also said that 4 puppeteers were controlling Bush to take over the world, that Bush didn’t know anything, but these 4 people were using him to do things .…. part of his psychosis?  Maybe not. 

Psychiatry was definitely interesting….(and creepy)…..but not for me….I didn’t even need to carry around my stethoscope.

I started OB/GYN this week….and so far I’ve seen 2 D&Cs (dilation and curettage, where they open up and scrape out the cervix with metal instruments), a mastectomy where they removed a fibrosis ½ the size of a basketball, a C-section w/ tugal ligation, and a vaginal delivery.  I got to cut the cord, drain the fetal blood from it, and deliver the placenta!  The first big surgery I saw was the mastectomy….it seems unreal!  Amazing how you can cut someone open, manipulate the insides, close them up and they can be just fine.  Oh, did I mention that the vaginal delivery was from a 14 yo girl?!!!  Wtf!?! My sis just turned 14 last week!!  Kids having kids…….