Starting work and other stuff . . .

I was officially inducted to the hospitalist group at Washington Hospital on the 15th. The other hospitalists assured me that it has been slow and that I would be fine. The day started off easy enough. Then 6pm hit, and the black cloud appeared. I was called to the ED for an admission. On my way down I was called from the OR - a routine C-section baby was born and was not breathing and lost his HR. They all assured me that this happens maybe 3 times a year. Hopefully that was it for me. Then off to the ED for my admission followed by 2 consults. I thought it was over and put my head down for 2 hours before I had another admission at 6am. It was like internship with a sick twist. My other shifts have been fairly busy with newborns during the day which is not too bad, but I have not escaped a night without 1-2 pediatric admissions each time. I think that those nights the others talk about where they sleep undisturbed must be a myth. But, overall I really like it and definitely am enjoying the days off between my shifts. The free time makes it all worth it.

As for other news . . . I am 12 1/2 weeks pregnant!! My due date is February 4th, and we are very excited. After about 1 1/2 months of morning/noon/night sickness, which is finally getting better, it was nice to see a fetus with a strong heartrate and all the correct body parts where they are supposed to be doing flips in my uterus during my screening ultrasound last week.

That's about it. Hope to see you all at the boards if not sooner!

Good luck with the studying,
Rona

Orientation

Orientation is making me a little bit disoriented. Perhaps it's because I am not used to waking up so "early" any more, and perhaps I have become too Meditechized to adjust to the KP system. I found myself reaching for those F9's and magic keys, only to realize that my fingers can no longer dance on the keyboard like they used to at CHO.
Here's a gift basket that I received from Kaiser. My chief also approved my educational leave to take a board review course (paid!). Feel so loved.

Onto something more depressing: the boards.
Got this mug from a friend. I guess I can't use it until I am truly "100% board certified." Maybe it's finally time to start studying, so that I can justify using this mug in a few months.

I just want you all to know...

I have offically launched project six pack. M. Cheng says I need a goal. I've decided to embark on project six pack. Basically I will eat nothing but vitamin supplements and exercise continously until my abdominals swell like little tumors. Today I ran up this enormous hill until I passed out. Forget round bellied funny guy Ted. The new Ted is coming, a toned muscular titan who eats small island countries for breakfast. Also he will not be funny, just very wry. Also for the first time in a very very long time I am officially well rested.

Homeowners

Hello,
So this is also my first time ever posting on a blog..yes I did have to ask Jay how to even post at all after spending 30 minutes trying to figure it out.

Dan and I are currently on our East Coast tour. We were in New York for a day or so then went up to the Berkshires. We are now right outside of Boston visiting Dan's best friend from college and their 4 month old baby and tomorow we head for New Hampshire for a wedding

So...we are officially homeowners and house poor. It is the house we were putting the offer on during our guernville retreat. We found out there is a lot of work that needs to be done so we spent a bunch of time haggling over the final price...so if any of you have any skills in electrical, plumbing, earthquake retrofitting..i'll trade you a free pediatric exam:). Once we move in mid August we will have a housewarming.

Life at Silva clinic is great so far..although now I am scared we will all get fired after all the Children's cuts since apparently they are only finished "for now"

Hope everyone is doing well..
Lisa

The Beautiful Monterey Peninsula

Good to hear how everybody is doing. Thought I should chime in instead of you hearing about my goings on by proxy.

Moved out of my little piece of the world after Guerneville (remember how long it took me to find that place guys!). Was trying to make the deadline for getting out of there on time. Finally on July 1 at 1:30 am I loaded up the last of my stuff and cruised out of Oakland. I thought things were going great until I developed this bittersweet taste in my mouth as I got on the Highway 24 on ramp and drove past the "Childrens Hospital Oakland" neon lights. And then I thought..."Tonight someone is on call...AND IT'S NOT ME!!!!" I quickly revved up those RPM's and within seconds I was at the requisite 80 miles per hour and was out of there like a bat out of hell.

Monterey's been good. I realized that I really like living by myself...Mom: "Tony, can you do this? Can you do that? Please wash the dishes..." Tony: "Mom, I got here 7 hours ago, those were your same dishes from last week, and can't I at least get a hello?"

I forgot what the weather was like here...We are in the 70 degree season with daily afternoon fog. Heat wave? What heat wave? We do have the occasional light rain of ash coming from the Big Sur fires to spice things up though. I'm popping Zyrtec like mad.

Otherwise I pepper my week with walking to Peet's to study, driving up to Palo Alto to study with Leslie, swimming in my mom's pool, and biking on the Monterey Coastal Trail. Boards is scaring me. The implications of being an attending have not hit home yet. I prefer ignorance right now.

I'm about to head off to New York to watch Yankees vs. Oakland at Yankee Stadium and then will head to Philly and DC (any suggestions for things to do in Philly?)

Anyways, I find myself thinking of all you guys often (especially after sifting through tons of pictures and re-editing my contact list). I am hoping for the best for all of you. Keep posting...it keeps CHO close to the heart.

End of Manifesto
-Tony

surviving in thailand

nice to see more people blogging.
congrats on nearing term Marina! Who is the lucky PL-2 to be at your delivery? LOL

Would I be fooling myself to think my fellowship will be as chill as Leslie's and Brian's?

While Tisha is in the hospital for the mornings, I try to read but only about page 200 in "Laughing your way..."

more thoughts from Bangkok:
- did not remember my 1st traditional Thai massage in 2002 to be painful. This trip, I had one for 2 hours long. They start at the feet and legs. In the first hour, I swear my legs were gonna develop compartment syndrome. I wanted to curse at the masseuse but she didn't speak English. Instead I would just yelp in pain followed by laughing (at the ridiculousness of the situation). I swear my CK was elevated and worried about not being able to or having blood in my pee.
- hands down, the street vendors are the best places to eat. I have yet to be disappointed with one or develop diarrhea.
- Tuk-Tuk are not worth it. Tisha and I almost died trying to save some money. The driver was speeding, running redlights, cutting across lanes, going down closed streets. Spend you baht on an air-conditioned taxi.

more pics
http://picasaweb.google.com/jayyeh/2008_Thailand

Kickin it in Paly

Adolescent Fellowship weeks 1 and 2:

Week 1: On inpatient consults at Packard. There are no patients.
Week 2: Still on inpatient consults at Packard. There are still no patients.

Okay, I have really done a lot more than just sit in my office searching the internet. Half the time I am in clinic, which is pretty busy but not quite as crazy as CHO teen clinic. I am also starting on my research and will be participating in an intensive research development course up at UCSF.

Tony and I have delved back into studying for the boards and have attempted to bring Brian into our madness. Not quite sure yet how well Brian is coping.

Had a mini CHO reunion over the past couple of days. Brian and I had lunch with Christin Kuo yesterday. I also ran in to Eloa this morning. It is always good to have some CHO peeps around. Miss all of you though. Come visit!

choose your next sunscreen wisely...

yay for 37wks! fat is good....:) marina has inspired me to blog as this is also my very first time! exactly two weeks ago at this time i was finishing nightfloat, turning in my ID badge, and driving up to guerneville...can't believe it's been two weeks already. Residency already seems like a long time ago.....

it's nice and comfortably warm 85 deg here in SF this week. this is SF's "heat wave." i'm excited to finally be able to dig out my fun summer tanks, skirts, capris from the closet! as much as i complain about SF's eternal foggy misty windy springy days, living in the city has unfortunately turned me into a total wimp when it comes to heat....

so karen H and i are almost done with our first week of bootcamp! 5 more to go.....it's so nice to have an exercise buddy :) i'm totally getting my butts kicked. ian noticed that i was walking funny after the first couple classes and by the 3rd morning i could barely get out of bed...but i m glad for the endorphins.

okay, so i've spent way too much time on emails and browsing the internet these days. but this is interesting and certainly good to know next time when you buy sunscreen if you haven't yet heard about it:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/10/BU6M11L7AG.DTL

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/special/sunscreens2008/summary.php 

Time Off...

Hello everyone! Well, this is officially my first time placing a post. I log in every now and then to read what is new, but I have never actually written anything.
Sorry to hear about all the layoffs, but glad to hear that for the most part everyone else is doing well (whether you're hard at work or not).
I can't say I have been doing much myself. However, I have moved out of the Bay and have returned to the scorching heat in the Central Valley - the reason I missed out on Guerneville. We have also been working on the baby's room, which is all decked out now as we await the arrival of our baby. Tomorrow is 37 weeks!!! Baby is just putting on fat at this point and making it harder for me to deliver. That's ok though 'cause I am asking for an epidural from the start.
I'll make sure to keep you all posted. Until then.....

Fellowship

Well my first week was only a 3-day week, but here's how it went.
July 1st - Show up at 7am for the tuesday physiology lecture. They forget that I'm starting today, so I chill by myself for 45 minutes. Could have slept in. I'm on anesthesia, so later I intubate a kid and put in an IV. I remind everyone I'm not a 2nd year resident, however much I may look like one. Fill out more forms.
July 2nd - Show up to clinic, supposedly to "observe" my first AM. My first patient arrives and I realize I'm not just observing. But hemoptysis is cool.
July 3rd - More anesthesia. I'm in an LMA room. Sort of boring, but I hear lots of gossip about the hospital and the layoffs. I almost nod off in the OR after 3 consecutive mornings of getting to work at 0700. I leave work at 5:30 even though this is a light month and I'm supposed to get off at 3:30, because others are running late to review PFT's with me.
July 4th - I actually have off!!! I feel grateful. Hope you all enjoyed it as well!

Bangkok (days 1-4)

finally got into bangkok after >24hrs of travel

just some random thoughts:
- new BKK airport sorta looks like CDG with glass/cement tubular structures
- the weather right now borders between hot&humid and raining cats and dogs...
- speaking of which, not as many dogs in the streets as I remembered in 2002
- food is just as cheap (and as good) as I remembered. (wait a minute, maybe that wasn't the best observation following the previous one)
- iPhone is popular here as well. The iPod knockoffs are really obvious.
- why is it that asian people love pens and pencils? I dunno but I got my 0.4mm blue and black gel ink pens!
- Samijevit Hospital (where Tisha is "working") = opulent. There are marble floors, spiral staircases, expansive waiting areas with new chairs and couches, free bottled water. It even has a Starbucks and Au Bon Pain inside. Valets parking the BMWs and Benzes. This hospital is of course a private hospital and caters to affluent Thais and a lot of Japanese nationals. I wonder if the quality of medical care matches the ridiculously nice appearance.

photos (work in progress)
http://picasaweb.google.com/jayyeh/2008_Thailand

jay

Fellowship Update...

As expected, I'm getting worked as a fellow from the get-go. Here's how my first week went:
7/1 - Met with my program director. Discussed my summer goals, which includes starting a reflection journal. Saw one patient with her. Applied pressure therapy (strong hugs and squeezes) for the first time. It worked...until it got too overwhelming for the patient, in which he signaled by spitting on my attending. Went home in the afternoon and napped.
7/2 - Fellows orientation in the am. Got my new email address. Bicycled around campus. Got my ID badge. Kicked it with the child psych fellows at their bbq lunch (BTW, Sornya's hubby, Dan, is a 1st year fellow there so it looks like I'll be playing fantasy football next season). Listened to a lecture on how to interview adolescents. Took the CalTrain home in the afternoon and napped.
7/3 - Woke up at 9am. Checked email and did some errands. Went in the afternoon and discussed research ideas with my research adviser. Thursdays are my designated "research" days.
7/4 - Played with fireworks. Lovely fireworks.

So, I don't know what Renee's complaining about. She's got it easy. So jealous of you guys who have time off before starting bank-rolling jobs.

On a serious note: Bummer to hear about the layoffs. Hope morale's not too low. Still, I have major CHO withdrawal. Its lonely being the only fellow, and everything is so pristine and manicured here! I miss playing Frogger on MLK.

LA is too Hot!

Dude LA is too hot, I've been unpacking in 95 degree weather. And tomorrow I'll be going to Vegas were it will be 110 !!! 110 doesn't water boil at that temp. I will vaporize instantly! My mom told me I got really fat and she poked at my belly and told me to palpate for masses- I imagine she thinks I have a wilm's. All in all moving home is going as expected.
I long for the East Bay and it's eternally cool mists.
84 people fired WTF. CHO is going insane. Also juicy juice I heard the chiefs to be are Rajeev, Kensho and Vivian!
Well you all better keep blogging to facebooking or else I'll not know what goes on in Oaktown.
Muchas Smoochas
Ted
Also my brother thought it would be funny to shave the cat is the whole world going crazy!

CHO cuts 84 jobs

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/06/30/daily29.html
This is so sad; HEAL, rheum, and BERT have been cut. I wonder who/what else is being affected.

On a positive note, I am enjoying my vacation and I love sleeping in. I still need to unpack all the boxes and make my room more livable.

Just want to take a poll on what is everyone planning for the summer? I am going to be busy meeting up with all the friends whom I have neglected in the last 3 years, planning my Vegas trip/attending my brother's wedding, and fulfilling my bridesmaid duties in my friend's wedding. It is starting to feel like 5 weeks of vacation is not enough!