Simmering in Sacramento

Well, the Comcast guy has gone and I finally have internet access and can say "Hello from Sacramento!" Things are going well up here. Believe it our not I was able to defy all the doubters and find a place to live before I started my new job (Sure it was the Friday before, but I'll take what I can get).

Still working on furnishing the new place, but living in Midtown is great. I wanted to find a place with the feel of Oakland and Midtown definitely fits the bill. I am, again, a five minute walk from Safeway, but will miss having the Longs on steroids across the street as well. I'll settle for Rite Aid on my block though. The other trade off is now I have a Peet's in addition to a Starbucks. Anywho, I spend my days at home jacking up the A/C to get the temps down to the 70's which I had become acclimated to from staying in Monterey.

First day of work was just like residency. I felt like a 5 year old on his first day of kindergarten. I was scared, excited, confused...a little bit of everything. Going through the HR stuff was a bore, but since I'm a seasoned worker I was able to sign away my life faster than Michael Phelps can finish the 100 m freestyle. I, like Karen, received a nice little gift basket of all-things Sacramento...some Jelly Belly's, a nice calendar, Java City coffee beans...a nice gesture. The next 2 days was computer training and my brain was "saturated" as they say with all the information that they threw at us.

I actually started seeing patients on my 3rd day there. The first kid/teen no-showed. The second kid was an adorable 2 week old who's mother started asking me about preservatives in vaccines. I was like...um...yeah, we need those preservatives **cough** **cough** package and shipping **cough** **cough** safety...etc, etc. I muddled through it and realized that 6 weeks of vaca left me pretty dumb, not that I was that bright to begin with.

Thus far I have 3 patients per half day so that I can get used to the computer system. I must say that it is weird to have EVERYBODY calling me doctor, to have my very own MA who I am responsible for making sure she does a good job, and to have my very own huge patient panel. Visits have been a lot of fun, but I have that empty feeling at the end because there is nobody to say, "Yes, Tony I agree with your plan." Thus far I've met 6 kids on my patient panel consisting of 3 well newborns, a newborn with critical PS, a toddler with NF1, and your typical teen.

I must say that I do miss Children's some. It's amazing that so many people hold the hospital in high regard. All my colleagues think that I was very lucky to train there. Some of my parents have already asked if they could be referred there.

Anyways, I'm starting to ramble. If you're ever in the area give me a call. I'll make my way out to the Bay Area as much as possible. And keep an eye out for the occasional blog because I'll keep ya'll updated.