Torrey Pines

I went running today at a state reserve about 20 minutes north from where I live, and it was probably the most beautiful, beautiful route I have ever run.

In the July issue of Runner’s World there’s a 2-page photo of someone running along the cliffs at Torrey Pines, and the photo does the park justice.  Sanded trails snake up and down through shrubs and cactuses and trees and from most parts of the trails you are looking out over the dazzling blue Pacific Ocean.  Though I take care to avoid running during afternoons, it’s really not as sweltering as I expected to be, running over dry sand.  When the trail gets really steep I have to slow down for fear of slipping, but I keep my heart rate up by picking up my knees.

The first time I went, I walked up the giant hill from the beach to the first trail, thinking I’d need to build up endurance to run that monster.  But today I figured “why not try?” so I started a slow jog up it, thinking I’d have to give up and walk at some point.  Much to my surprise, I ran all the way up that hill!!  I can count on one hand the biggest hills I’ve ever run:

• Benton street, Iowa City
• That hill in St. Paul, MN (Katie, you know the one!!)
• Mile 24 or 25 of my marathon in Tulsa, OK (maybe it wasn’t a giant hill, but it felt like one)
• and now I can add…. The hill up to Guy Fleming Trail at Torrey Pines!!

So today I’m giving myself a pat on the back for giving a shot at something in which I doubted myself and yet was able to pull through.  My run continued to running the fairly flat Guy Fleming trail, up towards Flat Rock, down to the beach, then all the way down to the wildlife preserve and back.  Amazingly I still had energy so I did some squat-thrups, planks, and tricep work while watching the sunset.

Then I celebrated my awesome workout by having wings at Hooters and a caramel sundae.  Oops 🙂

On the job doktoring

a lot of things just aren’t in textbooks.  an attending will pimp you on the 5 core heart failure meds and all that comes to mind is an array of beta blockers, ace inhibitors, aspirin, and what were the other things?  they didn’t teach me only 5 in pharm, they taught me THIRTY!

plus how to present something just right. ok, fill in the blank: “This is a __ year old male/female with NYHF class ___ due to ____  trending toward (euvolemia) will continue neurohormonal blockade with ____ and diuresis with ____ ”  where is that written in a textbook?!  and yet it’s the most important thing to say to a cardiologist!!

by now the fact that this is on the job training isn’t a surprise.  but wouldn’t it be nice if there was a “how to practice medicine in Real Life”  book?  if i only knew some of these things during third or fourth year, my life would have been so much less stressful.  if the above phrase is one of the key points to understanding the treatment of heart failure, how come i haven’t heard it until standing outside a patient’s room after already receiving my degree?  who cares about all those worthless drugs i memorized second year, i wish i had spent more time on the ones i actually use!!  as much info as there is in textbooks, nothing seems to be as high-yield as writing- verbatim- what your attending wants to hear you say during rounds.  yay buzzwords!  yay attending nuances!  🙂

Surfing

i can’t get my mind off surfing!  i’ve only gone twice, i’m definitely still beginner level, but i can’t wait to get back on the board.  my intructor alisha started me off on a 9-foot foam board, so i’m sticking to that while learning.  i’ve been able to get up a few times, but keep ending up on the brakes…

i think what i’m doing wrong is not jumping enough with my feet to the pop-up position… i kind of end up doing a grasshopper move and can go on my knees if i really need to.  i did check out this youtube video that shows how you can swing your back foot front if you do that, but then i’d be goofy footed!

anyway, i’ll be practicing my pop-ups in my apartment but not today cause my arms are like jelly from kayaking today.  plus i gotta work on my left quad, which atrophied after i had IT band in that knee and limped around for months…and i need it to go from squat to stand.  i will definitely be keeping an eye on the daily surf reports 🙂

Day off

i had totally forgotten i had today off until yesterday afternoon my fellow intern said “so you’re off tomorrow?”  incredulous, all i came up with was a funny-sounding “whaaat?”  it was the closest i’ve come to feeling like someone just announced a snow day since sixth grade!

though i got some stuff done, the #1 accomplishment of my day was surfing for 2 hours.  not that i was a rock star now on my second time out (ok, technically 3rd time ever), but the fact that i got out there and kept getting back on the board!  the waves weren’t as good today and lots of surfers were out, but it was fantastic.  even now if i close my eyes, i can almost feel the sway of the water, the rise and fall of the waves.

to top it off, i came back to my apartment and spent almost an hour in the jacuzzi.  typically i’m not a jacuzzi fan and can spend no more than 10 minutes in them, but there were some cool people i met in our comfy jacuzzi who i just kept on talking to.  living in the midwest, i thought the nicest people lived there, but i have to say that san diegoans are (am i really going to say this?!) almost nicer 🙂

update!

hi so i am super busy and the computer system is down so i can’t do work here in the hospital so instead here is what is new with me….

i moved to san diego!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE IT.  100% IN LOVE.  the people here are awesome, it’s sunny every day but foggy and cool in the mornings when i drive to work at 5:30 AM.  which isn’t so bad considering i’m not a morning person- i’m kinda used to it!

my apartment is all set up and i just got a new laptop this 4th of july weekend when my old dell crashed (because i put new RAM in it… took out the new chips and put in the old ones, and -BAM!- blue screen gone!)

i’m keeping busy with kayaking in mission bay at aqua adventures, though i just heard i can get it cheaper through the navy.  i’m planning on getting a surfing lesson tomorrow after my first solo on-call night tonight!  i’m sooo scared… it’ll be just me!  yeek!  no one (or almost no one) to oversee me write up orders on patients i barely know!

work is awesome.  i’m on medicine wards, which is sooo busy!  i stay at least 10 hours a day, i’ve maxed out at a 15-hour day.  tonight i’m going to break that with my 30-hour shift.  at least i get to wear scrubs overnight instead of the uncomfy khaki uniform.

so that’s all i can think of for now and pretty much all i have time to write at the moment.  basically, things are going super awesome but i wish i had more time to study and exercise… which when i switch to my emergency rotation i might have a bit more time (yay emergency!!!!  the other love of my life!!!) but then it’s back to tough rotations like cardiac care unit and then trauma.  woo hoo!

p.s. hope all you iowans are well… wish i coulda been there to help sandbag but instead i freaked out when i watched CNN… i’m thinking of all of you!!!

Not yet home

It has been too long since I wrote a post… so much has happened!

Puerto Rico and my Caribbean Cruise were fantastic (highlight has to be the bioluminescent bay in PR!) I came back to Chicago for one day to pack, then flew off with Eileen to London to kick off a 3-week european tour…

Loving our luggage 🙂

In London we stayed with some friends of mine, Ryan and Dan, and had a blast riding the metro, pub-hopping while sightseeing, and finally took part in British culture watching the Wombles and Chealsea vs. Man U…
(Tower of London, guillotine site, Covent Garden, watching football!)

From there we went to Amsterdam and were blown away with how beautiful it was! In my opinion one of the most beautiful cities in the world- but also a sad history as you can feel while walking through the Anne Frank House.

Train station, Anne Frank Huis, shots of Absinthe

After a chilled out bike ride in Stockholm, we toured Berlin on bikes (the New Europe Tours are fantastic! If going to europe, take advantage of these, you won’t regret it!) We toured the Sachsenhausen concentration camp… it is still unfathomable to me how this happened. Even while touring the empty camp, death surrounds you. You can’t get away from it… everywhere you turn is a scar representing the suffering and pain.

Stockholm, cafe in Soldermalm area of stockholm, Sachsenhausen gates, Holocaust memorial Berlin

Berlin was a fun city though, and after an all-night bar crawl and a few funny -in retrospect- experiences, we left for Dublin. I Love Dublin! The city has a beauty of its own and was a good place to relax. The Guinness Brewery truly does have the best Guinness is the world, and we volunteered to be whiskey tasters at the Jameson Distillery! But we also hung out with my friend Eleanor and saw some good bands in the local pub. I was pretty sad to leave, but from there we hopped another Ryan Air flight to Prague.

Prague was fun and we met some cool people there. Though we did a walking tour of the city, saw the Mucha Museum and the Old Town Square, it would have been nice to spend an extra day. However, we had our flights already booked and left for Paris.

clock in Prague’s Old Town Square, playing Pictionary at Sir Toby’s Hostel!

The last time I was in Paris, I didn’t like it. Now I Love it!!! The catacombs and the Musee Rodin at night were absolutely incredible! Plus taking obligatory “this is me and the Eiffel tower” photos were fun to do in the rain, and later rainbows appeared all over the city. Here again we did a free New Europe tour, along with a San Diego native named Sean who we dragged to Versailles and who made us laugh all day long 🙂

(catacombs, rodin’s The Age of Bronze (MY FAVORITE SCULPTURE!) rainbows on eiffel tower, versailles, Jim Morrison’s grave)

From Paris we traveled to Venice which left a lot to be desired. The highlight for me was jogging around town before all the tourists clogged up the bridges. Other than that, shopping for glass Murano jewelery (probably fake) and eating so-so gelato were fun. The dampness and the overpriced food and the mosquitos ensured I probably won’t return…

(post-run overlooking tiny streets and green-gray canal, plaza san marco)

All in all, europe was AMAZING. Pricey, but worth it!!! I am typing this from my apartment-hunting trip to San Diego as my belonging back in Chicago sit in moving boxes. So, even after all my travels I can’t quite yet say I’m home (though I’ll probably sign a lease in Mission Bay/Pacific Beach on Tuesday!) It’s all good though, I’m still having fun and living it up while I can, before I graduate and have to answer to being “Dr. Crawford!”

Back to sun, spanish, and warm beaches

Puerto Rico is awesome!!  Today was my first full day hanging out with my navy buddy Nilsa and her boyfriend Manuel.  We woke up kinda early to catch a ferry to the Isla de Culebra and rented a jeep.  Then we drove straight out to Flamenco Beach and drank beers, slathered on SPF 48 waterproof sunscreen (worked pretty well though I am slightly darker) and drank cold Medalla Light.  The sun was shining, the water was warm, and Nilsa’s ipod cranked out authentic PR reggaeton!

We packed up just after lunch and drove around the island checking out the beautiful views.  There was a turtle nesting beach we stopped at and walked around the rocks.  Then it was time to head back and catch the ferry home.

A few things that have enlightened me since I got here is realizing that sunscreen dissolves nailpolish, and even SPF waterproof 48 needs to be reapplied every 2-3 hours, even if the sand gets in and exfoliates your skin.  Also, a rapid change in weather- actually, tons of sun- makes you suuuuper drowsy (i guess I should have already known, but in the Chicago winters you forget that!)  They drive in miles per hour and yet gas is sold by the liter… and signs are posted in kilometers.  And finally, Puerto Ricans use dollars.  Not pesos, dollars.  Don’t make the gringa mistake I did and ask!

I’m Google-able!

Thanks to my brother I have received a huge compliment and have been incredibly flattered: This blog is easy to find on google! Here are your instructions:

Google “Iowa city” and click on Images Search. Pics number #16 and #17 are from my blog “Saturday night in Iowa City,” which is my most-visited blog.

How was this discovered, you might ask? A friend of my brother’s apparently needed to find an image of Iowa City and recognized my brother’s apartment, complete with “The Matrix Reloaded” on t.v. in the background of one of my photos.

My brother looked at the image, said “yep, that’s my apartment and that’s my sister.” And then he told me! It’s weird to think my blog is a sort of internet ambassador for Iowa City!

Visiting Grandparents

This past weekend I drove with my brother and father down to Arkansas to visit my Grandparents and Aunt. The trip was really great, aside from the ride down… I know you’re supposed to be SUPER VIGILANT in those tiny rural towns of Missouri, and yet some cop said I was going 8 over the limit and gave me a $100 ticket. It was one of those speed traps where the posted limit changes every 50 yards so you can’t really drive normally, you’re too busy making sure the speedometer needle is EXACTLY at the posted limit- just be sure you’re in the correct speed limit zone!!! But enough of my bitterness… 🙂

Our visit was pretty low key, basically just catching up with family. My dad is a total nut who knows how to irritate me, which I tell him all the time! That in itself made the 12-hour car ride down even more fun… all I can say is, thank God for “This American Life” podcasts! Here are some photos and a video of visiting with my grandfather. He randomly spouts poetry and sings little songs, hopefully I’m this fun to be around when I’m 88

Grandpa Paul sings from leslie on Vimeo.

Just found the lyrics to Grandpa’s song… I only got the last bit on video, but here they are in their entirety!

The pale moon was rising above the green mountain
The sun was declining beneath the blue sea
When I strayed with my love to the pure crystal fountain
That stands in beautiful vale of Tralee.
She was lovely and fair as the rose of the summer
Yet, 'twas not her beauty alone that won me
Oh no! 'Twas the the truth in her eye ever beaming
That made me love Mary, the Rose of Tralee.
The cool shades of evening their mantle were spreading
And Mary all smiling was listening to me
The moon through the valley her pale rays was shedding
When I won the heart of the Rose of Tralee.
Though lovely and fair as the rose of the summer
Yet, 'twas not her beauty alone that won me
Oh no! 'Twas the the truth in her eye ever beaming
That made me love Mary, the Rose of Tralee.

Shedd Aquarium

Today I went to the Shedd Aquarium for the first time ever as some out of town friends were visiting. It was really cool except for that they couldn’t get into the Oceanarium exhibit since their prepaid tickets didn’t include wristbands. Once we had seen all we could- which included an Amazon exhibit, Great Lakes, Asia and Africa exhibit, plus a whole section dedicated to the Philippines, I went to check out the forbidden wristband-only area.

I strolled around the underground section first and read the displays about the Exxon-Valdez spill, sea otters, and the physiology of dolphins and beluga whales. Then with a half hour to kill, I just went up to the auditorium area and got myself a seat. No one ever approached me to ask for my wrist band.

Anyway, at the Oceanarium the dolphins did their tricks, which included an insane 4-dolphin coordinated multiple jump trick! How they train those guys is genius. If dolphins can learn sign language what else can they learn?? I can’t help but think of Douglas Adams “So long, and thanks for all the fish!” 🙂

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p.s. if you go, be sure to pick up a Right Bite seafood wallet card: Save the Chilean Sea Bass!!

Here’s a quick re-type of the food you need to AVOID: avoid for now as these items are caught or farmed in ways that harm other marine life or the environment:

• Chilean Sea Bass/Toothfish
• Cod (Atlantic)
• Crab: King (imported)
• Flounders, Soles (Atlantic)
• Groupers*
• Halibut (Atlantic)
• Lobster: Spiny (Caribbean imported)
• Lake Trout (Lake Michigan, Lake Huron)*
• Mahi mahi/Dolphinfish (imported)
• Monkfish
• Orange Roughy *
• Rockfish (Pacific)
• Salmon (farmed, including Atlantic)
• Scallops: Sea (Mid-Atlantic)
• Sharks *
• Shrimp (imported farmed or wild)
• Snapper: Red
• Sturgeon*Caviar (imported, wild)
• Swordfish (imported)*
• Tuna: Albacore, Bigeye, Yellowfin (longline)*
• Tuna: Bluefin *
• *= Limit consumption due to concerns about mercury or other contaminants

Feel like you can’t eat anything? Click here to see what you CAN eat: Wallet PDF

www.NMSFocean.org

www.sheddqauarium.org

www.msc.org

www.oceansalive.org/eat.cfm