River City Stories

Dare I try again?

2008-04-14T22:57:00.001-04:00

Well this blog has been sitting idle for over a year now and it may seem a little silly to just pick up where I left off. But, I think that's exactly what I'm going to do. This was always a space for me to share what I was thinking as I'm on life's path and I can see no reason to change that.

Perhaps it's because I've been in a more reflective mood of late that I've wanted to write things down. I've found myself journaling more. My e-mails and conversations with my friends have been longer and of more substance than usual. So, we'll give it a try - at one time I had a pretty regular routine going on this blog and I'll see if I can't match that again. We're getting into the spring and summer times, which are my favorite of the year. We've got a sad anniversary, travel for work and play, family milestones, and newsworthy events all in store in the next few months. Let's see how it goes!

Best in Show

2006-10-01T23:08:00.000-04:00

I've been watching most of the new TV series over the past two weeks (thanks mostly to my TiVo). While there have been some good shows, I think my favorite so far is Brothers and Sisters (Sundays at 10PM, ABC). I'm not a Calista Flockhart fan, but combined with Sally Field, Rachel Griffiths and the rest of the talented cast - you quickly forget her Ally McBeal character. The show - at least so far - is all about the relationships between family members. I'm sure we can all relate to familial disfunction and this show hits the nail on the head. It's not just a feel-good show, which is what draws me to it. They are real people with real problems and for the most part, they have no clue on how to deal with those problems. There's only been two episodes, so hopefully ABC won't turn this into some melodrama and ruin the genuiness of the characters...

So yeah - check it out, Sunday at 10pm. My other picks so far - Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (although, Aaron Sorkin - you could have at least made the show look different than The West Wing) and Jerico. Still on the Fence: The Class, Smith, Kidnapped. Haven't gotten around to watching yet: Shark, Ugly Betty, Men in Trees. On it's way out: Six Degrees (Friday Night Lights, The Nine and 30 Rock still to premiere)

Something to look forward to

2006-09-13T23:14:00.000-04:00

I'm very excited about the new addition to my home entertainment system that should arrive tomorrow. It came to my attention recently that you don't need a phone line to have a TiVo unit, but can use an internet connection instead. Even better, you can get a WiFi adapter, so you don't have to run any cables. So once I found out about the WiFi option (and realized TiVo was still cheaper than getting Digital Cable and DVR), I signed right up. I'm really excited about the opportunity to digitally record all of my favorite shows and to record "live" TV. It should get a workout with the College Football season in full swing and the new season of shows starting next week. Stay tuned, I'm sure you'll hear more about it in the next few weeks.

How to Dissuade Yourself from Becoming a Blogger

2006-09-13T19:23:00.000-04:00

Alright, this is a bit different for me. And it's ironic that I'm placing this material on my blog. Today, I noticed a unqiue link on my Google homepage. Under my "How To" section, there was a link to "How to Dissuade Yourself from Becoming a Blogger." So I checked it out - it was humorous (and sadly, mostly true). So, I thought I'd give the folks at wikiHow some exposure...

What a buzz all the bloggers are making these days! It seems like just about everybody is pouring their musings into a text box. Are you feeling tempted to start a blog of your own? Here are some ways to bypass the trend.
Steps

STEPS

1. Find five completely random blogs, and read them daily for a month. After thirty days, you will absolutely dread your self-imposed requirement to read all that dreck. Any blog you create will most likely be on par with what you've been reading. Don't put anyone through that.

2. Consider that your voice, even if it is truly a good one, is a tiny peep against the massive wave of tripe out there. The odds of anyone you don't already know finding your blog are low.

3. Write on a regular basis in Wordpad instead. If that doesn't satisfy your urge, and you feel that you must post your blog online, then you might just be craving attention and validation--which you'll never truly find in a blog. If you give up on your Wordpad journal after about three days, you'll do the same with a blog that just takes up server space.

4. Ask yourself if you really have the time to commit to a blog. What about that treehouse you wanted to build? Or the book you wanted to write? Or the car you wanted to fix up? Or the restaurant you wanted to take your wife to? Or the new career you wanted to pursue? Instead of writing about pretty much nothing, or whining about all the things you wish you were doing instead, start doing something that'd actually be worth writing about. And if it's really worth writing about, you'll be having too much fun doing it to tear yourself away from it.

TIPS

* If attention and validation are what you're looking for, know that you will get neither from blogging. As above, very few people will ever know that your blog (or you, by proxy) exists. The remainder of comments posted to your blog will be sappy treacle, which you won't trust as being sincere anyway.

* Consider writing on a wiki instead. Unlike most blogs, wikis like Wikipedia and wikiHow are read by millions of people each month. Several wikiHow authors receive "fan mail" messages every day from appreciative readers. In addition, many authors discover that they enjoy the wiki collaborative writing process more than writing in solitude.

WARNINGS

* The information you post on the Internet is likely to linger for years and years to come, as web pages are archived by "snapshot" services like the Wayback Machine. Once it's out there, you can't take it back. An employer running a Google search on your name years down the line might be turned off by your now documented obsession with your cat.

You can link to the article here

Where were you?

2006-09-11T20:54:00.000-04:00

It was one of those moments in history. One of those moments that people everywhere - across this nation and this world - remember where they were when they heard. September 11, 2001 changed us, changed me. As I was reflecting on that terrible day that happened just 5 years ago, I have a crisp memory of my day - well most of it. I remember waking up that morning in my apartment on Northview Drive. I was running late as usual - I had O-Chem lab in Davidson Hall at 9:00 AM. I remember watching a bit of the Today show before I hurried my way to my white neon (which had yet to be nicknamed "Love Wheels") and scurried off on the 2 mile drive to Virginia Tech. I remember parking and noticing that I had 7 minutes to get to class - yes, it was 8:53 AM when I got out of my car and I didn't have a clue about what had happened already. I would be in basement of Davidson Hall for 3 hours without any knowledge of the horrors that had happened to our country. I clearly remember when I first heard anything about what had happened. My friend Jessica and I were walking across the drillfield on a bright and sunny day. We were off to meet some friends at the Hokie Grill for lunch as we did every Tuesday. Almost exactly halfway across the drillfield, another friend, Tiffany stopped us and asked if we had heard about the bombing of the World Trade Center. She didn't have much information and we still had no idea of the gravity of the day. It wasn't until we made it inside the dining center when we saw the smoke and devastation on the big screen television that I realized what had happened. I had class pretty soon so I walked across campus to McBryde 123 for Econ. I quickly found that classes had been cancelled. I made my way to my office in the ISE department, right across the parking lot. The staff had found a television and was glued to the coverage. I remember sitting in the conference room and watching Tom Brokaw try to explain what had happened. I didn't stay long. I needed to be alone to process everything that was happening. I made it back to my apartment on Northview Drive just after 1pm. After that, I don't really remember the rest of my day. It was just me and the NBC news team for I don't know how long. I know at some point I was finally able to get in touch with my family to make sure my cousins weren't in Manhattan that morning (they weren't).

The point is that I would wager that my experience is typical of many others'. You can remember the point up to which you learned about the tragedy. But what about after that point? Yes, I remember the images and some things on the news broadcasts, but I can't tell you how long I watched or if I did anything that day.

I said that I know that 9/11 changed me. Yet, the one question that I find most difficult to answer is "How did 9/11 change me?" I'm not sure that I will ever be able to articulate an answer to that question. I know that it did - but I can't put into words what that change is. When I think about it, I'm pretty sure that any changes started in those blurred hours that I can't remember. As I learned about the mass destruction, the incredible bravery displayed by so many, and the hate that caused the tragedy - I was changed. My perception of the world changed. I was 19 years old and realized my life would never be the same.

For 9/11/06 - 5 years from now, I hope that my memory of that morning is as vivid as it is today.

One good thing about the end of summer...

2006-09-02T15:16:00.000-04:00

It's not a secret that summer is my favorite time of year. I revel in the heat and the sun (ok, I could deal without the humidity, but oh well). I love all the activities that come with summertime - time at the river, the lake, or the beach among the ones I enjoy the most.

However, fall is not without it's highlights. Probably the one that sticks out most in my mind is that it marks the start of the College Football Season. Ahh, just thinking about all those games makes me smile. Of course, I'll be pretty worthless on Saturdays for the next 3-4 months. Oh well, that's the price you pay. What amazes me is how many games you can see/hear over one weekend. For instance, today - I'm watching the Michigan/Vanderbilt Game on my television (and I could have flipped over to 2 other games) AND I'm watching my Virginia Tech Hokies romp Northeastern on ESPN360 on my computer. So in honor of the start of the CFB season, I'll tip my hat to my team:

Hokie, Hokie, Hokie, Hi
Tech, Tech, VPI
Sola-rex, Sola-rah
Polytechs Virginia
Rae, Ri, VPI
Team, Team, Team!

New Feature

2006-09-01T18:24:00.000-04:00

Quick note - Since I am quite the healthcare nerd, I decided I would put some links to my favorite healthcare-related blogs over in the sidebar to the right. If you get a chance, check some of them out. For those of you not in the field - Surgeonsblog and Emergiblog have some good perspective on the clinical side. And Grand Rounds highlights the best posts of the week from all over the blogosphere...

The "other" side of my job...

2006-08-23T20:48:00.000-04:00

One of the things that I think is great about the Health Administration program at VCU is that they really try to expose us to the actual medical side of medicine. Too often, health administration programs - and sadly, many hospital administrators - forget that medicine actually happens in hospitals.

A blog post by Dr. Schwab over at Surgeonsblog really moved me the other day. Physicians are given a bad rap with healthcare administrators because they are usually mad at us for not giving them something (which typically would help our patients) or we are mad at them because they won't change to help us. That's really not the M.O. of most physcians, it's just that administrators are exposed to that most often. I'd bet that even those of you not in the healthcare field forget what it takes to be a physician most days. For some really interesting reading, I'd recommend you check out the book Complications. I'm sure you'll be surprised.

But for now, just check out Dr. Schawb's post. The most telling part of the whole thing:

There's something completely wrong about a tiny baby on a big table in a huge OR. I could cover the entire person with my two hands. All the machinery, the tools, the drapes, the surrounding team seem terrifyingly outsized. It's like a joke. We're playing dolls. Except it's real and the stakes are high.

Can you hear me now?

2006-08-09T22:51:00.000-04:00

On my drive home from Blacksburg this weekend, I took advantage of the 3+ hours I had in the car to catch up on some phone calls. In fact, I had planned to do this before I even left Richmond - there were about 4 or 5 calls that I wanted to make. What I found was that I was only able to fit in 3 calls because each call lasted a long time. It was actually great though, I enjoyed talking to each of these people as I hadn't talked them in quite some time. I'm not sure why that is. Every time I finally catch up with someone, the last thing we usually say on the phone is something to the effect of "lets talk more frequently." It rarely happens.

I think this is a common occurrence among others. I don't know why many of us go months without talking to some of the people we call our closest friends. I obviously have my own excuses - "I'm so tired when I get home from work" or "I forgot" or "I didn't want to bother them." I'm not sure about all of you, but I really have to make a conscious effort to keep up with my friends. I often put the phone calls on my calendar, just to remind me to do them. I certainly hope that I can do better at keeping in touch over the next few weeks.

Well, I spoke too soon

2006-07-24T21:06:00.000-04:00

Just a quick note tonight. You'll notice that a few days ago, I posted a story about a failed leveraged buyout of HCA Healthcare, the country's largest investor-owned hospital chain. Well, this morning, it was announced that a deal had been reached with the group of investors for $21B and some change plus the $11-or-so Billion in debt. The story is far from over and it will be interesting to see what Dr. Thomas Frist, Jr., the son of the original founder of HCA has in mind for the company. So for all you non-healthcare people, consider yourself caught up!

We are one...

2006-07-22T23:34:00.000-04:00

Last night Switchfoot was in Richmond to play an Innsbrook After Hours concert. We had a great time! I actually haven't seen Switchfoot live before, but I've been a big fan of their music for a number of years. (It's probably worth noting that I haven't been to very many concerts, so it's not like I was just ignoring their concerts) The concert was great - and the thunderstorm that rolled through (it was an outdoor concert) only added to the experience. Actually, at one time - the show was stopped because of all the lightning around us. Of course nobody left, so Jon Foreman came out into the middle of the crowd with his acoustic and sang the song 24 as loud as he could. The crowd helped out a bit, expecially with the chorus.

All in all, it was a great night. The band was great and it was awesome to be in a venue as small as Innsbrook so that you really could get close. I'll close this post with some lyrics from a song off Nothing is Sound, their latest album. The song is called We are One.

I don't want to lose it, coming down
With the whole world upside-down
I don't have a soul to trust in now
With the whole world upside-down

We are one, tonight!
And we're singing it out!
We are one, tonight!
And we're dreaming out loud!

Excuse the Shop Talk

2006-07-20T23:24:00.000-04:00

I try to keep a well balanced blog and cover some different topics then just what I've been up to lately. As a member of the healthcare administration industry, I read a lot of news and get wind of a number of rumors throughout the week. Just like any other industry, you need to know what's happening in the market. Well there were three overwhelmingly big stories that came out of this week:

1) HCA is almost bought out by investors
This is huge. For those of you who aren't in the field, HCA is the largest investor-owned hospital system (70% of hospitals in the US are not-for-profit). Not only are they the largest, but they are powerful. If the deal would have gone, it would have been one of the biggest in history and really would have been interesting. But buying a company with $11 billion in debt would make me think twice too.

2) CVS buys MinuteClinic
This one was just odd in my opinion. I saw a health system buying MinuteClinic before a retail pharmacy would. If the retail pharmacies wanted to get into the business, I figured it would be easy enough to setup internally. Oh, and for those grounded in market reality - CVS reportedly paid $170 Million for a company that has yet to turn a profit.

3) Physician and 2 Nurses arrested for Katrina-related deaths
This is probably the most controversial of them all. Basically, the Louisiana AG pressed charges against these individuals for purposefully administering too much pain medication which caused the deaths of chronically and severely ill patients during the Katrina catastophe. There are people on both sides of the fence on this one and the debate rests along the sacred lines around physician-assisted suicide. You can see some discussion of the issue at The Health Care Blog.

Well, there's my first healthcare news update for the blog. I hope those of you who read the blog take a minute to check out some of the links. This is the side of medicine that most people don't think about - but its one that I have to think about!

My New Passion

2006-07-16T22:48:00.000-04:00

It might not be a "passion" yet, but kayaking has certainly become a favorite activity of mine in the past month. I bought a Dagger Zydeco, which is a 9' and very lightweight boat. I've had it out on the Swift Creek Reservoir, the Rappahannock River, and the James River. The James is probably my favorite spot at the moment because I can take a really nice paddle upriver through some flat water and then you reach a dam where you can play a little in some rapids.

Anyway, I'm enjoying the exercise and I really like the relaxation it provides. Being out on the river early in the morning or before dusk is great. You can really hear the birds chirping, watch the fish jump, see the turtles out on their rocks, and notice even a small lizard swimming across the rover. I do like the peaceful areas of the river, but I'm looking forward to getting into some minor whitewater in the near future.

Where's Your Spot?

2006-06-26T23:04:00.000-04:00

I was in Blacksburg this past weekend to see one of my previous roommates get married. The wedding was great as was the time I got to spend with a number of friends I don't get to see very often. But as much fun as I had with that, there was something else that stuck out to me. On Sunday morning, I woke up somewhat early - at least before all the other guys in my old place were awake - so I decided to walk downtown and get a cup of coffee at Bollo's and then walk around a little. I looked around downtown to see what stores have come and gone and then walked through campus and I ended up at War Memorial Chapel. War Memorial was one of my favorite spots on campus when I was at Virginia Tech. I loved to sit on top of the Memorial against the pylons looking out across the drillfield. I remember many of times just sitting there for hours watching thousands of students walk to and from campus and thinking about the potential of each person I saw. It's pretty awe inspiring actually. You sit on top looking out at the future in the students, but at the same time, you are immersed in the past as you look across the many names etched in the stone pylons around you. Those names, of course, are those of alums who have died while serving our country.

I then ventured to the lower level and spent some time in the chapel itself. The chapel isn't anything great - but it's quiet and peaceful. And of course, there is that grand piano that sits to the left of the alter. I was thankful the chapel was empty on this particular Sunday morning as I played a few songs that I used to enjoy singing in that very space.

War Memorial Chapel was very much one of "my spots" on campus. These spots were the places I would go when I needed to be alone or if I wanted to reflect on life or just pray. I reflect on this because I haven't found "my spot" here in Richmond yet. I've gone to a few different places, but I'm still looking for that place of peace to calm my soul now and again.

I'm here to entertain

2006-06-21T20:45:00.000-04:00

So a friend and I went out to the driving range for the first time this year. Now, I should qualify this post. I do not consider myself to be a golfer. Nor do I pretend that I can even play golf. I do, however, like to get out to the driving range once in a while with the hope that someday I might actually be able to hit the ball without injuring someone around me. So today, we went out to The First Tee Richmond to knock around a few balls. I have no doubt that I provided entertainment to the other 20 people who were there - including the pro who was trying to teach a guy how to hit with a pitching wedge. I am proud to say that everything I hit did go forward - even if it was only 1 yard. I actually had about 2 1/2 really good hits out of 55. So, at that rate - I'll be ready to go in about 5 years. I think I'm going to shell out some money soon to actually take a few lessons and then get out to the range a least once a week. But then again, I said that last summer.

Joy

2006-06-15T23:02:00.000-04:00

Joy in Blue Originally Uploaded by Your Guide

Joy is always something that I can never really put my finger on - yet it is something that I've always longed for. I have always wanted to live a joyous life, but I'm been thinking about what that really means. What constitutes a life full of joy?

Like any good blogger, I did a Google Search on joy and came up with some things:

- Happiness, pleasure or joy is the emotional state of being happy. The definition of happiness is one of the greatest philosophical quandaries. Proposed definitions include freedom from want and distress, consciousness of the good order of things, assurance of one's place in the universe or society, inner peace, and so forth.

- the emotion of great happiness

It's obvious that joy is a complex concept. I think we typically think about joy in small doses. For instance, one finds joy in exercising each day. Someone else finds joy in a nice Italian restaurant. And believe it or not, some people find joy in their work. I find I tend to compartmentalize my joy - I can be happy at certain times because I'm supposed to be happy. Likewise, there are times when I'm not "supposed: to be in a joyful mood. As my good friend Sara would say - Hogwash!

When you start recognizing that each part of your life can indeed by joyful, I think you start to change your perception of the world around you and can find joy in those small or tedious things. As with most things, if we just took the time to look around, we'd find what we were looking for.

Good thing I had that vacation...

2006-06-07T23:04:00.000-04:00

As I've mentioned before, I started a new position within a different entity with the company I've been at for the past year. Instead of being on the hospital side, I am now on the physician practice and outpatient side. It's quite a change for me and I'm still trying to feel my way through the new organization. The first few days have been light as I'm learning. Today though, it was a marathon day - over 16 hours straight. I haven't done a day like this in quite a while! While it was exhausting, I really enjoyed getting to learn about some of the different aspects of my new organization and meeting a (seemingly endless) amount of people. I can see that these next few months will be a challenge, but I really think the experience will be invaluable.

Good for the Mind, Good for the Soul

2006-06-05T23:38:00.000-04:00

Yes, I've cursed it many a time, especially in regards to anything related to academia. But I'm also secretly in love with it too. Yes Virginia, I'm a complex person. Actually, I don't think I'm all that complex - I'm talking about reading. Over the past few weeks, I've taken the time to pick up reading again. I really do love to read - of course, I like to read things that I'm interested in. While I do like a good fast-paced thriller from the likes of John Grisham, I've also been catching up on the pile of Newsweeks that have been hiding dust on my coffee table. I've dabbled in a Leadership book and have worked on some spirituality as well.

In times of high stress, the last thing I want to do when I'm at home is to really use my brain. I, like many other Americans, dutifully sit down on the couch, flip on the TV and veg. Don't get me wrong, I like TV. I'm addicted to many shows. Thankfully, we have this time called summer and these lovely things called reruns. It makes it so easy to turn off the TV and sit in the recliner and read.

So, give it a try. Find a book that really intrigues you at first. Read during that primetime of the evening usually reserved for television. Sit outside on your porch or maybe at a local park. The point is to expand your reading time outside of the 30 minutes before bed. I've really enjoyed taking the quiet time lately and letting my imagination act out the authors' words. I think you will too.

Where Have I Been?

2006-06-05T00:03:00.000-04:00

Well it isn't that unusual for me to go 2 weeks or so without updating my blog, but this time it was actually intentional. That may seem odd at first, but for the first time in quite a while, I was on vacation! Yes, a bonafide vacation - no school, no work. And to make it even better - I did absolutely nothing over the past week. I slept in late, sat outside, read some FUN books, and caught up on watching some movies. It was awesome - I hadn't simply relaxed that much in quite some time. As many of you know, relaxation can be somewhat challenging for me, but I was really able to take advantage of this time off for once. In addition to my lack of activity, I was able to travel to Charlotte to visit some good friends for a few days as well.

So the vacation was nice, but now it's off to work. Tomorrow, I start my residency, which for those of you who don't know, is a full time job that is affiliated with my graduate program. I'm pretty excited because I'm starting at a whole new office and I'll be doing many new things that I haven't experienced at the hospital over the past year. It should be a good experience.

On a side note - there have been a lot of things that have happened over the past two weeks, but I'll touch on some of those in later posts.

MISSING: Chip Ellis

2006-05-24T17:43:00.000-04:00

The son of one of my boss' family friends has gone missing from the Midlothian area. I wanted to help get the news around, so thus the focus of this entry. You may have seen the story on the Richmond-area news stations, but just in case, here is the info you need to know:

Chip was last seen at the Midlothian Public Library on Monday, May 22nd around 8:45 PM. He was last seen in a bronze 2005 Nissan Sentra, VA License Plate JZP-1562. He is 18 years old, approximately 5' 11", and 130 pounds. If you have any information that could be helpful, please contact the Chesterfield County Police Department at (804) 356-9622.

In addition, if you could help get the word out, that would be great. I have a flyer I can send you if you'd like one.

Vote Like Yamin It...

2006-05-12T23:10:00.000-04:00

If you live anywhere near Richmond, you know that Elliot Yamin, one of the final 3 American Idol contestants returned home for a day. It was pretty crazy, actually. He started with a television interview at 6:45 AM, did a small concert around noon (which close to 5,000 people attended), and made an appearance at the Richmond Braves game. Before the game, however, there was a parade down the Boulevard. Since it was right by my apartment, I ventured out to take a look at what was going on. I'm sure you won't believe me, but Elliot Yamin's motorcade was larger than what the President of the United States travels in. Oh well, it may be over-the-top, but I'm glad to see the city excited about something.

Does art imitate life or does.... oh, who cares

2006-05-12T21:56:00.000-04:00

This is probably a bit random, but I wonder if everyone has one actor or actress that he/she "relates" to in most of the characters that the person plays. The only reason I pose the question is that I feel that just about every character that Topher Grace plays has a strong correlation with my own life. Maybe it is just that I notice the similarities more in his movies and that they exist in others. Anyway, I won't go into all the details about why I think Topher is my on-screen double, but I wanted to share the thought.

I'm Done!

2006-05-09T21:35:00.000-04:00

Well, it's official. I am completely finished with my classes. I had one take-home final, which was turned in slightly before 5 PM today. So now, it's off to work for a few weeks, which will be followed by a nice vacation, and then I start my residency the first week in June.

The next few weeks will be spent getting some R&R and spending time with good friends who are about to move away.

Classes Coming to an End

2006-05-03T13:16:00.000-04:00

I'm sitting in my 3rd to last class right now and I'm just thinking about how odd it will be come tomorrow when I'm finished with formal classes for good. I've been in school for so long - 19 years straight if anyone is counting - that it is going to be pretty odd not to have to be going to a classroom each day.

Eventhough it's a bit scary - I'm beginning to feel that I'm ready to step out of academia. I've been spending considerable more time at work anyway recently, and I can see how I'm really ready to make a transition from "school life" to "real life". Of course, my situation is a little different since I'm going into a residency situation, but I think this transition will be a bigger step than next year when I transition from my residency to a job.

It'll be hard to say goodbye to all of my friends. I've made some great friends over the past 2 years and I'll miss not seeing them everyday. Thankfully, most of them will only be within a 2-hour drive - although 2 of them will be well over 15 hour drives (tampa and denver). I look forward to a nice trip to Denver in the winter for some good skiing and one to Tampa for some beach time. :-)

Crazy Weather

2006-04-25T22:21:00.000-04:00

The past few days have been wonderful, weather-wise. It's actually been a little on the hot side, but I'd much rather have a little warm than a little cold. Tomorrow, the high temperature is expected to be over 20 degrees below what it was today. 20 degrees! It's ridiculous.

Since I'm on a weather post, I should mention that I'm thankful for the recent and upcoming rain. Typically, I'm not a fan of the April Showers, but we've had no rain hardly at all. Pollen levels have gone crazy and my nice new car almost always has a nice tint of lime green to it from all of the pollen.

On a positive note - I only have 5 days of classes left. I'm completely done with my classes as of next Thursday (no classes on Fridays or Mondays). I will be sooooo glad to get a break from the classroom. It's been a rough 2 weeks working on all of these end of the year projects. I'm almost to the end - I can see the light!

Tax Day!

2006-04-16T23:50:00.000-04:00

Don't let the exclamation point in the title fool you - I am NOT excited about this year's tax day. This is the first year that I've had to pay the governments (yes, both the state and the feds). Not only am I having to stoke two checks, but this year's taxes took far too much of my time.

I've always been proud that I could do my own taxes - in reality, mine have been relatively simple for the past few years. I can say this - The 2005 Tax Returns are the last ones that I do on my own. Next year, I'm calling the pros and I have no shame. These tax laws are way to complex. Sure, I could figure it out, but it is not worth my time or brainpower.

On a more positive note, Easter Weekend was nice - despite the fact that I spent about 10 hours working on a paper for my health law class. I cannot express how excited I am that I will be offically done with classes for good in less than three weeks. These last few weeks won't be fun, but at least I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Blogging from a Widget

2006-04-12T22:28:00.000-04:00

I'm a big fan of my Powerbook G4, but I often don't have time to search for all the bells and whistles that just add value to it. Today, during some time this afternoon when I should have been doing some school work, I started searching Apple's website for some new widgets to use. One that I found was a Blogger Widget that allows me to post to my blog directly from a little window on my desktop. I think it'll be pretty cool and "hopefully" will encourage me to blog more often.

Where Have All The Bloggers Gone?

2006-04-08T23:19:00.000-04:00

Ok, so when I say "all the bloggers" I really mean just me. It's been a few weeks since I've posted last and I hope I can make up for it in the next month or so. I've been pretty busy in the past two weeks, so to recap for you:

ACHE Congress in Chicago, IL
I spent the last week in March in Chi-town for ACHE's annual Congress on Healthcare Leadership. This conference attracts healthcare executives from all over the country along with a large group of students like myself. Congress this year was ok - I had a lot of fun networking with my peers and meeting new people, but the special "student" sessions we were forced to attend left much to be desired in my opinion. Being less than two months to my residency, I'm ready for some solid educational sessions that are going to really help me in my job. Many of the student lessons were "what to expect" and "how to get a job." They just didn't relate to us. But it wasn't that much of a problem because Chicago is a fun town. It wasn't nearly as frigid as it was last year, so being out and about with friends was great. Besides, it is hard to beat Chicago food! Next year, Congress moves to New Orleans, LA. Stayed tuned!

Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K
I came back from Chicago and ran in my 2nd Ukrop's Monument Ave 10K. I did beat my time from last year by over two minutes, but I wasn't able to come in under my time goal of 55 minutes (I ran 55:41). Even though I missed my goal, I had a great time. This particular race is a great course and the fans that lined the entire race course were awesome. I especially appreciated those neighbors who had brought out their garden hoses to offer runners a quick cool down. Quite a few of my friends also ran in the race and I had two classmates finish in the top 75 (out of 20,100). In addition, Jenna and Barbara Bush participated in the race, which is a nice sidebar. Next year, I'm going to actually train for the race - I want a sub 50-minute race!

Family Day 2006
The past week was quite a stressful week. I'm getting ready for a very large project at work that took up quite a bit of my time this week. In addition to all that, I was in charge of planning the annual Family Day for my school. Family Day, which was held today, is a day that we invite all of our students and their families to come to the building where we go to class and they get to see what we do day in and day out. I have to say that today was a great success and the team that I worked with pulled off quite an event that has raised the bar for the next year's committee.

This coming week should be much less stressful. It's hard to believe that April is already almost half over. Time is just flying by! Anyway, we have some birthdays coming up this week, so before I forget: Happy Bday Sara and Lindsay!

One Week til Chicago

2006-03-19T23:04:00.000-05:00

A week from today, I'm flying out of Richmond to spend 4 days in Chicago. I'll be attending the annual ACHE Congress on Healthcare Leadership. It should be a good conference and I really enjoyed myself when I went last year. It'll be a great time to learn some new things, enjoy the city, and meet up with friends I met last year (including some that I saw recently at HIMSS). Of course, going away for a week means that I'll have to get some work done this week so I'm not really behind when I get back. It shouldn't be too bad since there isn't a lot going on with school at the moment.

This past week was much busier than I could have imagined. Work was pretty intense this week, which is bittersweet: on one hand, I get exposed to a lot of operational issues and have a chance to get involved in what's going on at the hospital; on the other, I was really tired and didn't get much time to "just rest." Oh well, this will be my life for the next few years, so I should get used to it.

I'm continuing to enjoy my new Jeep. I even got to drive over some curbs this past week! BTW, Chris - you overshot the mileage estimate (you actually overshot by almost exactly one week). Last week I had 1225 miles on the Jeep. When I got home this evening, it was up to 1532.

A Bonus Trivia Question

2006-03-10T23:13:00.000-05:00

So on Saturday, I will have had my Jeep for exactly 14 days. Anyone want to guess how many miles it has on it now? It had exactly 20 miles on it when I drove it off the lot.

If Only My Spring Break was a Break

2006-03-10T22:39:00.000-05:00

It has been a long two weeks. In the past 14 days I have bought a car, made a roundtrip visit to New Jersey in 30 hours for an uncle's funeral, celebrated my nephew's 6th birthday, traveled to and from Norfolk for a class, wrote two extensive law briefs for class, studied for and took an exam, worked approximately 60 hours between two jobs, went to church 3 times (twice last weekend), and I still have a large group project that is due on Monday. My guess would be that I've averaged less than 6 hours of sleep per night during this timeframe - so you can guess that I'm tired.

It seems like a perfect time for spring break, right? Well - I would agree with you. However, my spring break will not be spent on some sunny beach. It'll be spent sitting in my office at the hospital knocking out a lot of work. I know it seems lame, but I need to get caught up at work and it's not like I couldn't use the money now that I have these car payments.

I do hope that I get some rest over this next week. Hopefully by working at the hospital all week, my evenings will come earlier and there will be less to do at night. I'm not holding my breath.

Big Decision Today

2006-02-26T00:14:00.000-05:00

So, if you remember, I've been thinking about buying a car for quite some time now. It's been something that I've always wanted to do (and thought that I could afford), but somehow always talked myself out of it. Besides, even though my car has given me some problems, it still had some life in it, so I couldn't justify spending money when I didn't need to.

Well, that all changed today. This morning I bought my first car. I bought it because the dealerships were offering 0% financing and I could get a new car for effectively the same price I would spend on a used car. Anyway, I got the car that I've wanted for about 8 years now - a Jeep Grand Cherokee. It's quite a step for me and I was a nervous wreck for the past 24 hours while I was making the decision. It's not easy signing your name to documents that commit you to that many thousands of dollars. I have no idea how I'll ever be ready to buy a house! I do love the Jeep - it rides so nice and it has just enough room for me. I think it's going to be a great fit. Anyway, I haven't gotten any pictures of my Jeep, but here's one from the Jeep website that looks just like mine!

Exciting News In the Future

2006-02-25T10:26:00.000-05:00

I may have some exciting news to report later today. Actually, I'm pretty sure of it. Stay tuned...

2 Star Speakers

2006-02-16T20:21:00.000-05:00

The 2006 HIMSS Annual Conference and Exhibition concluded today with three keynote addresses. The morning session brought Dr. Craig Barrett, Chairman of the Board of Intel Corp. The 2nd speaker was Gov. Mark R. Warner, the Commonwealth's former governor. Most people were relatively surprised by the knowledge Gov. Warner held about healthcare information technology. While he is well known around the beltway and in Virginia, Mark Warner is still gaining name recognition in other areas of the country. It wasn't his best performance that I've seen, but I think he affirmed his position on how technology can help to improve healthcare. As a bonus, he highlighted many of Virginia's efforts - including many of our Medicaid programs. My school even got a shout-out during the speech.

The conference ended with a spectacular performance by Dana Carvey. I had no idea how funny Dana Carvey actually was - I'd seen his performances on SNL and of course, in Wayne's World, but hadn't really seen much of his standup. He was perfect for the crowd and got great responses everytime he intentionally mispronounced HIMSS. I didn't know this either, but Carvey underwent a very unfortunate series of events when doctors discovered he had severe arterial blockages. So anyway, he was able to put on a terrific performance while still being able to relate to the healthcare industry.

ABBA Lives within each of us

2006-02-16T20:11:00.000-05:00

Last night, HIMSS held a party on the USS Midway for a little over 2000 of the attendees of the conference. As staff members, we were able to go and I think we can say we all had a great time. The band Bjorn Again, which is a world-class ABBA cover band was the main act. It took a while for people to get warmed up, but by the end of the night, the whole boat was rocking to the tunes of "Momma Mia" and "Dancing Queen".

You have to love good 70s/80s music. No matter how "hip" you may be, when one of those classic songs come on the radio or over the sound system, it's like there's a chemical reaction starts and we're forced to at least tap our feet - and usually ends up with us out on the dance floor letting loose. Anyway, I think everyone had a great time and the band was just great. HIMSS definitely one-upped the Tanya Tucker performance of last year!

HIMSS 2006

2006-02-14T20:45:00.000-05:00

Today marks the mid-conference point of the HIMSS Annual Conference and Exhibition. For those of you not caught up on your conference knowledge, the HIMSS conference brings together the best and the brightest in healthcare information technology. We see a wide range of roles, from hospital executives, vendors, academics, and politicians. In fact, our opening session this year featured Dr. David Brailer, the National Coordinator for Healthcare Information Technology (NCHIT) and 3 congressmen.

Healthcare IT is a booming field right now. Most people know - or have heard - that healthcare is severely antiquated in terms of technology use and are grossly inefficient because of it. These people at this conference have a vision to get our healthcare facilities into the 20th (notice I didn't say 21st) century so that our doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals can care for their patients better. It's a tough spot because you want the bring these hospitals and doctors offices up to par, but you can't just throw technology at a problem and expect it to solve the inherent inefficient processes or just increase quality. It has to be a systems approach.

While the education is nice, the Exhibit Hall is what some 28,000 attendees come to see. This year, there are over 800 vendors that have setup shop in the San Diego Convention Center. They are here to demo their products and to convince those that make the IT decisions that the product they are selling is the right fit for the person's organization. These vendors spend exorbitant amounts of money in this endeavor. Many of the booths and bigger - and nicer - than my apartment. A few are bigger than most of your parent's houses (McKesson's booth boasts 11,000+ square feet). In addition to these complex booths, most of the larger vendors also "host" evening "events" - (read: they throw insane parties) at the most upscale places in town. Yesterday, I personally visited the McKesson "event" at the House of Blues and followed with Microsoft's at the exclusive JBar. Tomorrow evening, HIMSS throws a conference-wide party on the deck of the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum.

It's been a good week so far, but my feet hurt from walking miles each day and I'm tired (I have to be up at 5AM every day). Look for a conference wrap up on Friday or Saturday. Gov. Mark Warner and Dana Carvey are slated to speak on Thursday - I'm sure I'll have some good stories after those talks!

A Week in SoCal

2006-02-11T12:14:00.000-05:00

I get to take a bit of a break this week as I'm in San Diego at a conference. The conference, of the Health Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS), is taking place at the San Diego convention center this year. The location is very exciting, especially given that the East Coast is about to get 4-5 inches of snow! It should be near 70 degrees every day here.

I'm looking forward to the week for a couple of reasons, but mainly, this is like a "mini-vacation" for me. I will be working at the conference (that's how I get them to pay for pretty much everything), but they treat the student volunteers very well here and I'm sure I'll have plenty of stories for the blog. (Last year, I got to ride in a stretch Hummer limo to dinner one night!)

"Not Too Bad"

2006-02-07T00:00:00.000-05:00

Don't you love when you have a really good day? Today was one of those days for me. It wasn't that anything spectacular happened (or that anything catastrophic didn't happen), but I just had a good day. I'm not sure we appreciate these types of days very often. I think that unless something grand happens, we shrug off these days as "the norm." I wish I could appreciate all the good that happens in a day. Even on our bad days - I think it'd be a safe bet that on most bad days, there is probably more good that happened than bad (we just remember the bad stuff so easily).

I've been trying to change something to help out with this. When people ask me how my day is, or how my weekend was, my typical response is "not too bad." It's not that I mean I didn't have a fine weekend, it's just the language I've adopted over the years. Anyway, my boss pointed out the negativity of this statement a while back and I agreed with her point. If you've fallen prey to this phrase too, then try what I'm doing and banish it for a week. See if it makes any difference. I'll let you know how I'm doing.

Groundhog Day

2006-02-02T23:15:00.000-05:00

Rise and shine campers! Don't forget your booties because it's cold out there today!

You know, we have some strange traditions here in the United States. Where else in the world do people wake up on some random day and wait to see what an animal does when he comes out of his den - this is even more ridiculous with the staged show that goes on up in Gobbler's Knob. I mean come on, how would we ever know what Phil's reaction is with all those people holding him up for the cameras? Anyway, I just find it an odd tradition - but at we got a movie out of it that's pretty quotable. And let's be honest, that's what's really important here.

I'm a bit skeptical of Phil's forecast this year. We just concluded the 10th warmest January in Richmond's history. So if we're going to have more winter, does it mean a mean ice storm is on it's way, or does it mean that more 60-degree days are in our future? Oh well, the mild winter is nice, but I'm looking forward to being in San Diego in about a week where it'll be close to 70 each day!

When good days turn bad

2006-01-24T00:21:00.000-05:00

So I woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning thanks to my restful weekend (ok, so maybe not too bright eyed - and pretty much everyone who knows me is aware that I lack a rear end, so I guess the bushy-tailed bit is out too - you get my point though). I woke up and was ready for the day - unfortunately the day let me down.

I left work at 1pm to make a quick run to Staples for some supplies I needed for a project I was working on. I thought this was going to be a quick 30 minute trip, but it turned into a day-long ordeal.

Anyone who knows me very long - especially if you know me from my Virginia Tech days - is aware of my car - a 1997 Dodge Neon that was affectionally dubbed "Love Wheels." Not only would you be aware of Love Wheels - but you'd be quite familiar with the odd problems she causes. Anyway, long story short - she broke down on me again while I was at Staples. A co-worker had to leave work to come "rescue" me and then my sister came and got me after work and we were able to jump start the car so I could drive it to my parents. Well, turns out that tonight is the one night in 5 years that I remember my dad having to work really late because of a deadline. So, while I was pretty sure I had fixed the problem (cleaned the battery terminals, put the battery on the charger, etc), I wanted to get the OK from Dad before going home. Well anyway, Dad finally got home and gave me his blessing to take the car again.

Oh well, such is life with an older car. Hopefully, I'll be getting something newer relatively soon. I've been saving up for some time now and am ready to spend! It's a little scary comitting myself to that much money, but you gotta go out on those limbs once in a while.

Restful Weekend

2006-01-22T23:28:00.000-05:00

How many times on a Monday are you asked "How was your weekend?" I'd bet it's close to 10 - maybe more. I rarely have a good answer to this question. I usually respond with something like "not bad" or "eh, I didn't really do much." It's not that I'm discontented with my weekend - but I wasn't overly excited about it either.

A few weeks ago I talked about getting more rest. Well, rest was what my weekend was all about - and it was glorious. I barely did anything productive, but I took some time for myself to get away and to relax. I wasn't checking my e-mail constantly and I wasn't furiously doing school work (thankfully there isn't any homework yet). It was great. I do forget how much I need to rest. As I'm typing this, I'm thinking about getting in bed in just a few minutes and waking up in the morning. I don't dread Monday mornings when I take the time to really relax over the weekend. Yes, I'm ready for this week - let it come.

Movie Night

2006-01-20T23:56:00.000-05:00

It's been a long week. I've started my final "academic" semester this week and it's been pretty crazy at work as well. I've had a tough time going back to the classroom for a couple of reasons. First, I find it difficult to sit and focus on one topic for 3-4 horus. Second, I've gotten so engrained into the hospital that I work at, that my mind is always on what's going on at work instead of focusing on the lecture I'm sitting in. I think my boss has caught on to this - she asked me something about it today. Anyway - this post isn't about my conflict between academic and professional. This all was to just talk about me having a long week.

So tonight I decided to just veg and make it a movie night. I got a lot of movies for Christmas that I haven't watched yet. My two selections tonight, Garden State and Orange County, in that order. I hadn't seen Garden State before and had seen Orange County a number of times. I expected Garden State to be funny (I was expected a character like JD from Scrubs) but was pleasantly surprised to see something a little deeper. I enjoyed the movie - it moved a little slow, but there were a number of great moments that really stayed in my mind. Orange County is a perenial favorite of mine. Ever since I first saw it with one of my best friends a number of years ago, I thought it was very clever and very funny. Colin Hanks reminds me a lot of Will in his mannerisms and the movie just has a ton of great quotes:

"Shaun, the house is a mess and Bob is bleeding"

============

"Now, when I say Romeo and Juliet, who comes to mind? Dana?"

"Claire Danes"

"That's right. Claire Danes. Who else?"

"Leonardo DiCaprio"

"Right. Who else? Someone else was involved in that movie who in some ways is as famous as Leonardo DiCaprio. And his name's William Shakespeare. And some great movies are based on his plays. "Hamlet", "West Side Story", "The Talented Mr Ripley", "Waterworld"... ..."Gladiator", "Chocolat".

============

"Do you want me to call Public Safety?"

"Do you want me to get naked and start the revolution? I'll take that as a maybe"

============

"That lady, Mona, said that you two were in the building when the fire started."

"Yeah. She's a liar 'cause I don't know her, so whatever she says is a lie, so..."

"So you weren't in the building with her?"

"No, not I. All right. She started it. Because she was like, "I hate my job, I'm going to burn this mother down." And I said, "You better not. You better not."

Anyway, the movies were both enjoyable, but I found a common theme. Both movies had main characters that underwent a transformation that showed that what they were really looking for was right in front of them the entire time. In Garden State, Andrew comes home, meets Sam, but still spends the whole 4 days wondering what his life is going to be like once he leaves New Jersey and heads back to LA. We see him "let go" down by the quarry, but this isn't when he gets it. It isn't until he gets on the plane, crowded back into the fast-paced lifestyle that has taken him from place to place on a whim that he realizes that what really makes him happy is being with Sam. Sitting and talking and just enjoying her company.

Similarly, Shaun is dead set on going to Stanford. He thinks that the only way for him to realize his dream of a writer is to get out of Orange County. His journey to get in shines the light on his situation - eventhough his family is dysfunctional, his friends, stoners, and his girlfriend a ecoactivist; he finds that they are exactly what he needs AND wants.

I know these movies aren't revolutionary and the theme has been done many times before. The message though is so relevant. We spend so much time - I spend so much time pondering about what else I need to do to succeed, or to be happy. I think that most often, if we stop and look around, we'll see that what's right in front of us is exactly what's right for us. We are who we are because of the influences around us. Our families, our friends, our coworkers - our God - are our inspiration.

So take a look around you. What can you appreciate about the person sitting in the next room? How does your sibling make you a better person? What is it about that one guy at the coffee shop that tries to remember your regular drink, but always gets it wrong, that adds a little humor to your life?

Doubting Myself

2006-01-13T00:10:00.000-05:00

I've had a problem with doubting my abilities in the past few weeks. Now, I already can hear what some of my friends are saying about that first sentence. "What do you mean, I've seen you do this or that a million times." And I guess I should clarify what I'm talking about. I have no issues with my technical skills. I can work on the computer just fine and can run a sound system just as before.

This may be a pre-I-can't-believe-I'm-about-to-go-into-the-real-world kind of thing that everyone goes through. But until recently, I've been sitting at my desk or in a meeting at work thinking "what in the world have I gotten myself into?" There is no way that I can lead part of a hospital, let alone the whole thing. My boss/mentor likes case studies. When something is going on in the hospital, she likes to run down the situation for me and then she asks what I would do. I'd say nine time out of ten I offer back a blank stare and say something to the effect of "I have no earthly idea." Not necessarily an answer that exudes confidence if you ask me.

However, the last two weeks have helped me get over these fears somewhat. I worked on two projects that were semi-important. And it wasn't just that I understood what I was doing, it was the finished product that meant something. In the first project I was analyzing some numbers and realized that we were all looking at the numbers incorrectly, and I actually found a new way to get the data so that it was useful. I chalked that up to my vast statistic experience in college. This week, I was undertaking a massive project that involved every department in the hospital. While the graphs I made and the notes I jotted down for my boss' meeting looked very nice, it was an evening conversation with one of our managers where I taught her what the project meant and how she could use my analysis. And then this morning, one of our VPs came into my office and thanked me for the work and noted that it was extremely helpful in the meeting and she was going to post the results up on each of the units.

It was a good moment and something that I needed. I don't post this to boost my ego as I know that I have much to learn still. (I'm perfectly fine with - in fact would rather if the public postings of this analysis doesn't have my name on it. It's a team effort and I just contribute) I post this because it's easy for us all to get lost in the mundane work and forget that what we do CAN make a difference. It doesn't have to be at work per se, but when we apply ourselves and do our very best - we see results. I have no doubt that I will forget this moment 2 months from now when I'm struggling with these same feelings. However, I hope that I can look around and see that I'm doing exactly as I ought and that I'm right where I'm supposed to be.

And we have a bonus thought as well. Don't forget to thank people for what they do or to let someone know how much you appreciated something they did. Maybe it's exactly what they needed.

Happy New Year Richmond

2006-01-02T00:14:00.000-05:00

New Year's Day is all about new beginnings to most people. It's a time when we all can take a step back, reflect on the past 12 months and then decide what we want the next 12 to be about. More often than not (like my previous posts) these new beginnings center around getting rid of bad habits or starting good ones. These are great, I agree - but why can't it be something more? Why won't we stand up and say - "This is the year that I start living for something" or "Right here, right now - my life is not just about me, it's about helping people, it's about living my life to God's pleasing and never looking back?"

I love a transformation story. We hear a lot of them around the holidays and you hear THE transformation story around Easter. But in between, there are very few of these stories. For Richmond to become the city I dream it can be, we need many, many more transformation stories. Today, I was able to walk around the city taking some picture with some good friends of mine. It was great because I got to see the city in a very quiet and peaceful state. Most of the businesses were closed because of the holiday so there were very few people out. As we were walking around and I was looking through my viewfinder, I could sense excitement. It's like the buildings and the streets are ready for change.

It's coming - Richmond is on the verge. It's going to take effort for all of us - yes, politicians included. But as we see our own transformations over the next few years, I do believe we will be amazed by the transformation of our city as well. Happy New Year Richmond!

More Resolutions

2005-12-29T23:35:00.000-05:00

My first resolution for 2006 - watch more of The Cosby Show. Ok, so maybe that's not a serious resolution, but with all the repeats on TV this past week - I've ended up watching the Cosby Show more and more. You don't find good comedy like that on television anymore. If you haven't seen an episode of the show in a while, I recommend flipping over to Nick at Nite and catching one.

On a serious note though, a resolution that's is a frequenter on many people's list will grace mine (yet again) in 2006. It's exercising. I just got an e-mail reminding me to register for the Monument Avenue 10k. Those that know me are used to me running. I wouldn't call myself good, nor dedicated. What I know is that when I'm in a training routine leading up to a race, I usually feel so much better. I sleep better at night, tend to eat better (see resolution below), and have higher self esteem. Getting into an exercise routine gives me a sense of accomplishment that I don't find in school work or work. Last year I did relatively well - I even ran a 5k in Chicago when it was 20 degrees outside - but that ended around July/August when it got super hot outside.

My other resolution is nutrition. Anyone who knows me knows that I eat horribly. It's probably the worst part of my lifestyle. I'm fortunate to not have to watch what I eat in order to maintain my weight. Unfortunately, this induces a very lax attitude when it comes to eating. Because I don't "need" to eat right, I'm less inclined to do so. What I'm now realizing is that I do need to eat right - not for weight control, but in order to prevent myself from dying of a heart attack when I'm 30. We have a wellness program at work - and on my profile, nutrition came in with very low scores. Now the thing told me that I am healthy - my "effective" age is 23/24 - right on target. It said however, if I fixed a couple of things, especially in regards to my diet - I'd have the effective age of a 16 year old. I'm not sure I'd ever want to be 16 again, but I think anytime you age in the reverse direction, its gotta be better than going in the forward direction.

I think it's important to lead healthy lifestyles. It's important because it makes us feel good about ourselves and I think it shows some sense of responsibility. We need to be responsible for what we do to our bodies. We're given them by God and we should be thoughtful and purposeful for how we treat them. I confess that I also have an alternate reason - I work in and advocate for the healthcare industry. I want people to lead healthy lives - moreso, I want to help my community, the city I live in, be healthy. In order to do that, I need to get on the right path first - be "taking the plank out of my own eye" - before I start trying to change the people of Richmond.

Anyway - these are two more of my resolutions. Be sure to ask me how they are going come May (well, knowing me, you'd better ask January 15th!)

Merry Christmas (belated that is)

2005-12-26T23:52:00.000-05:00

Well, Christmas has officially come and gone. We're now in the post-holiday shopping craze once again. I happily contributed to the retail madness by staying in my apartment almost all day and watching movies.

I have today and tomorrow off, and combined with last week and the weekend, that's 5 1/2 days that I've been completely off from work and school. That may not seem like a lot, but its been a very long time since I've taken this much time to just rest. I've found that I really do need these breaks even though I don't take advantage of them like I should. I'm trying to really use my breaks to the fullest though. For instance, over the Christmas break, I've pledged to turn off my pager (it's ok, I'm not on call) and I'm not checking my work e-mail or voicemail. Maybe some of you don't struggle with this "over-working" problem, but it's something that's really tough for me most of the time.

It's important for us all to get rest. Without rest, we tend to get lost in the day-to-day hustle and bustle of this world. We forget about family, friends, and the things in our lives that really matter. Without rest, I think we tend to get bitter, depressed, and disconnected. I often wonder why there aren't 26 or 30 hours in a day - I am always thinking that I could use a few extra hours in the day. But then I realized that if days were 30 hours long, I'd just take the extra 6 hours to do work, and not to rest. I think most of us would do that.

Throughout college, I worked hard at the concept of sabbath. Taking one day a week to not work and just to rest and reflect. It was one of the hardest things I did in my 4 years at Tech. I was lucky to have a couple of good friends who pushed me on it (and happened to be in positions to help me stay true to my sabbath when I otherwise would be needed). I need people like that now - we all need people like that. It's hard to do these things on our own strength.

So, 2006 is on its way. Looks like I've got a good start on resolutions. I'll be posting some more on my 2006 resolutions the rest of this week. Maybe if they are out in public online, I'll have some luck in keeping them.

What's in a Christmas Present

2005-12-22T00:20:00.000-05:00

I found myself searching for the appropriate gifts to give my coworkers last night. I went through the normal ideas: candy, candles, gift cards, etc. I ended up in Barnes and Noble thinking I could find some humorous Dilbert books or something that might bring a few chuckles to the office. I scoured the humor section and the Management sections, but I couldn't find anything that stood out to me. I figured my gift searching would take me all night.

As I turned a corner, I stumbled upon the Christian Inspiration section. This is a section that I used to frequent, but haven't paid much attention to these books in quite some time. Since starting grad school, most of my reading has been focused around management (Good to Great, the Leadership Challenge, etc) and healthcare (Complications). I haven't found much time to read books from some of these great Christian authors. As I started looking through the section, I found book after book that would work great as gifts. Some were focused on healthcare, some on leadership, some were books of prayers.

Anyway, I ended up getting almost everyone in my office one of these books, and they were a big hit. The gifts were great because I also got a gift - I rediscovered many books and authors that I'd forgotten about. Plus, I'm learning how to incorporate my faith and values in the organizations I'll work in - and for me, that's one of the best gifts I can get right now. I've always felt called to be in the workforce, healthcare in particular, but I never understood exactly how I could make a difference. Learning to bring in these values and these practices is something that I think will really set me apart and equip me to make the differences that are needed.

PS: If you're still looking to get me something (or something for a person in any leadership role), this would be nice.

Alive again

2005-12-19T20:13:00.000-05:00

If I have any dedicated readers (which I doubt) who may have wondered where I've been the past few months, well I'm happy to report nothing bad has happened to me. This semester has been pretty tough and balancing time between work and the enormous amount of school work, even more challenging.

However, the semester is over and things are falling into place. I'm exactly halfway through my Masters Degree, so it's all downhill from here. I've been fortunate enough to be placed at a great hospital for my residency, working with two great healthcare executives in Richmond.

Christmas time is upon us now, but I don't have my typical holiday cheer for some reason. I've thought alot about why that may be - yet, I don't find many answers. Doubt comes to mind. Doubting my abilities, my gifts, my friends, my career choice, my faith - that's all happened this year. Lonliness? I miss my time and my friends from my VT years. The future? I've been anxious many times this past semester about my future.

I'm not sure that it is any one thing, probably a combination of many things. What I struggle with the most though, is recognizing all the good in my life right now. I've got a great job that I love. I've got a great residency location at that hospital which is going to be great and open up many career opportunities for me. I'm almost done with my Masters. I get to see my family quite a bit. I helped start a church revitalization and have seen it grow 600% in 6 months. I'm truly financially independant for the first time in my life. All of these things are great aspects of my life - but I still find myself not being content.

I think its really just uncertainty. My time back in Richmond has really not gone the way I "planned" it would. It hasn't gone drastically bad, but just different. God's thrown some curveballs my way when I was expecting a simple fastball. I think the important part though, is recognizing the game is changing in the first place. Articulating what I feel is not what I would call one of my strengths. In Blacksburg, I had a number of people who would just draw them out of me. Here in Richmond, I can hide them all I want - and that's not healthy or helpful.

So, for now - I'm gonna smile and try to get back into the Christmas spirit. You might not see me singing "The Twelve Days of Christmas" anytime soon, but I think I'll be happy remembering what the season really is all about.

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices
O night divine, the night when Christ was born
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!

The Car Saga

2005-07-12T23:34:00.000-04:00

Alright, so I've never been the most fortunate when it came to cars and this week has been no exception. For those of you who don't already know, my "trusty" (but not so much as of late) Dodge Neon broke down on the side of a very busy intersection yesterday right as rush hour was starting on a 90+ degree afternoon. Turns out the timing belt busted and took out a water pump and who knows what else. We're looking at a total of $600 (more when the towing bill is included) to have it fixed. Now, onto the dilemma...

I had planned on buying a nice, new car this coming May once I started my residency b/c they pay us pretty decent (for a student at least) and I didn't really have a big need for the extra inflow of cash. I've had my heart set on a Jeep Grand Cherokee since I was 15, so I thought the time would be then. I could get a new, or 1 year-old program car with all the options I wanted.

However, I can't afford that right now - but I do need reliable transportation since I travel alot and live in the city. So, we decided tonight that the neon shall be put to rest. (Well, I think dad's going to see if he can fix it and maybe sell it or keep it as a backup, but no rush on that). What that means is that I have to find a car that I can afford. So far, in the running we have:

Dodge Stratus

Its a step up from the neon, and you can get relatively sporty models for cheap. I might be able to find one with a sunroof, etc.

Dodge Intrepid

Mom has one of these and I do like the way they drive. Tad bit more pricey than a used stratus, but they look nice and you can get things like a sunroof or Autostick.

Chevy Impala

Not my favorite, but they ride nice and I might look like an unmarked police officer.

Honda Accord

Ok, I really like to stick to domestics, but this classic can't be ignored in the present situation.

Chevy Blazer

I only want the 4-door model, and will probably have to get one with alot of miles to get into my price range.

and finally...

Jeep Grand Cherokee

I could just go into some serious debt and get a older and less souped up version of the Cherokee. Of course, its gas mileage isn't that grand.

So, let me know what you think I should pick. Feel free to offer other alternatives. I can tell you that Rav4s and CRVs are out of the question - I don't like em.

The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons

2005-06-29T23:18:00.000-04:00

So, in the time between I last blogged and now, I read both of these novels by Dan Brown. I have to say that Dan Brown is a brilliant writer - the story lines in both of these books along with the details and facts presented are astonishing. Almost every chapter had something in it that made me want to jump on the Internet to find out if it really was true.

IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOKS, BEWARE - SPOILERS ARE INCLUDED BELOW.

Although, I know that the books are fiction - they were kind of intriguing. Focusing more on A&D now, there were some spiritual overtones throughout the book. Yeah, yeah - the guy who was supposed to be leading the church deceived the world and committed grave acts of violence. I'm not focusing on that. The descriptions of some of the places - such as the grottoes where the popes tombs lie, St. Peter's Basilica, even the Vatican archives - you can sense the reverence each place carries. Of course good prevailed in the end. The compassion that Cardinal Mortati showed to the camerlengo when it was revealed that he indeed was the killer. Yes, he was outraged, but his voice and his actions sense of sorrow for the young priest. Anyway - it was a good book. And I'll be a bit boastful and say that I figured out that the camerlengo was behind the Illuminati killings when he gave his speech to the conclave while having it televised. Yes, I did doubt my guess when Koler arrived, but when he handed a videotape to Langdon, I was pretty sure I was right.

Anyone read these two books? Any thoughts?

HOT HOT HOT

2005-06-14T23:59:00.000-04:00

No, the subject line is not a description of myself. It's plain HOT here in Richmond. Today's high was 97 and it should be about the same tomorrow. The Heat Indicies are over 100. It's midnight and is still about 85. While I do have A/C in my apartment, it's just a small window unit that's in my bedroom. So, I can either keep my bedroom really cool (and the rest of the apartment really hot), or I can have my entire apartment be a little cooler - but still hot. Today's heat was no match for my A/C as it's currently about 82 in here. Woohoo.

I've gotten back into a running routine, doing at least 2 miles a day. On the cooler days, it's easier to go 3 and 4. But at least I'm getting out there. I'm slowly getting a tan, but with the temperatures being so high, I'm usually running after the sun goes down.

Work is going well. I'm working about 30 hours/week at the hospital and 15 hours/week at school. It's a bit tiresome, but since I don't have things like homework, its really not that bad. It has been slow at the hospital, but its starting to pick up now.

Back in Richmond

2005-05-30T23:46:00.000-04:00

My 2+ week stint in Blacksburg is now over. I'm back in Richmond ready to get back to my normal day to day routine. Although, now that I think about it, I'm not really sure what that routine is because I left immediately after school was done, so I haven't been around much other than when school is in session.

I was offered a full-time position at the hospital I've been working at, so I'm sure that will be taking up most of my days, but I'm not yet sure of the details of the job (i.e. when I actually start being full time). So for now, I'll just play it by ear. It seems sad that my first day back to work after a two-week vacation has to be my birthday, but I guess I can't complain too much since we had today off.

For those of you wondering, my time in Blacksburg was great. I got to spend some time with some people that really mean quite a bit to me. Even though I do love Richmond, being away from some of these friends has been really tough, so the past few weeks were truley a blessing. In addition, I saw a number of people graduate and two couples get married - so the time was jam packed with important occasions. I'll have to post some pictures eventually, but in the wedding this past weekend (which I was a groomsman), I was decked out in a tux consisting of black pants, pink vest, pink bow tie, and white coat. Yes, if you put me into the 1950s, I would have easily fit in some barbershop quartet!

Live From Blacksburg

2005-05-15T23:25:00.000-04:00

Yeah, so that title would have been more appropriate last night, but hey - I can't be perfect, right?

For those of you out of the loop, I'm "vacationing" in Blacksburg for the next two weeks. I was here this past weekend to watch a good number of my friends graduate and will be staying because of a wedding this coming weekend and one the following weekend. It should be a good time - I haven't gotten to spend much time with many of the people here in quite some time. Some of the people here are my closest friends and it's great to be back to see them all. Of course, some won't be here because they left for the summer, but I'll take what I can get.

I'm looking forward to sleeping in for the next week or so too. I'm pretty behind on my sleep, so I hope to catch up. I also hope to get back into my running schedule which has been on hiatus due to group projects, work, and exams. Today I went out on a short 2.5 miler on the Huckleberry Trail and was wonderful. Richmond has spoiled me - Monument Avenue is pretty flat - I definitely got more of a workout than I anticipated!

Losing Motivation

2005-05-09T01:34:00.000-04:00

I haven't been this unmotivated since this time last year when I was about to graduate. I have absolutely ZERO motivation to study for these finals I have this week. Tomorrow, I have my Final in Corporate Finance of Healthcare Organizations and I seriously spent maybe an hour and a half on it. I'm busy working on a presentation I have to give tomorrow and worrying about my impending travel to Blacksburg this weekend! Oh well, I'm usually pretty decent with numbers, so hopefully I'll be able to pull this one out tomorrow.

It's late, so I'm heading to bed. I'll try to update tomorrow with some more substance. But for now, I'll be in Blacksburg in 4 days, 10 Hours, and 26 Minutes and I can't wait!

Nearing the End

2005-05-05T00:06:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow will be my last day of class! I'm very excited about this if you couldn't already tell. Tomorrow is also our one "casual" day in a year. If you don't know, I have to wear at LEAST business casual to school everyday, so being able to dress casual is going to be nice. I originally vowed to wear shorts even if it was 50 degrees outside. Well, I didn't really think it would be 50 degrees - so I think I'm going to wimp out and wear jeans tomorrow. Bummer.

Tomorrow gets even better because I get to go to a FREE dinner at the Jefferson Hotel to hear the Undersecretary for Veterans Affairs speak. Yeah, yeah - I'm a healthcare dork. But still, free + dinner + Jefferson = not bad.

I am also happy to report that I got my car back last night. Everything seems to be working fine (knocking on wood as I type). I think God may have been teaching me a lesson in being grateful for what you have. I was soooo ready to be done with the neon, but after driving an 85 Grand Am for about a month, I'm embracing the neon all over again. Oh, and that CD player is a big plus too. :-)

Last Week of Classes

2005-05-03T00:22:00.000-04:00

Today marked the last week of classes of my first year of graduate school. Needless to say, I'm estatic. However, this week - well last Wednesday to this Wednesday - is probably the busiest I've been for school in quite some time. I'm actually looking forward to finals as I think they will be easier than all of these projects!

If you haven't been keeping up on the continuing saga on my car, let me catch you up. So about a month ago, someone broke my window and stole my stereo. It took a little over a week to get the insurance company to get everything right (which they never really did anyway). So I got the car back just in time for my scheduled business (yeah, that's right - business) trip to Blacksburg. So, the night before I go up there, I get a brand new stereo put in. Skipping all the details, my trip was cancelled at the last minute. So, I did some stuff in Richmond the rest of that week. When I went to go to church that Sunday, my car wouldn't start. So my dad has been trying to troubleshoot the problem at my apartment for the past few weeks to avoid a towing bill and a large repair bill. Well yesterday we finally made some progress and I think we've found the culprit - a faulty Ignition Switch. So, we had to order that part and I hope that I will have my car back sometime this weekend. :-)

And the Countdown to Blacksburg is on. I'm "vacationing" in Blackburg after the semester ends for 2 weeks! I'm pumped. So, at Midnight Tuesday, there are only 11 days left!

Spending a Friday Night at Home

2005-04-30T00:01:00.000-04:00

I spent this Friday night in my apartment working on some school work. Yes - I am that lame. I have a presentation on Monday, another one on Tuesday, a problem set due on Wednesday, and then I start studying for finals. Needless to say, I am really busy! The end of the semester is getting much closer and I'll be happy to rest up throughout the summer.

I got some more CDs today:

Norah Jones: Come Away With Me

Caedmon's Call: Long Line of Leavers

Jeremy Camp: Restored

MercyMe: Undone

I haven't gotten to listen to them all yet, but I know a lot of the songs on the CDs, so it shouldn't be anything too surprising. I think my CD acquisition phase is going to cease for a while. My birthday is coming up, so maybe I'll get some movies to balance it out.

In tech news, Apple released Tiger (OS 10.4) today. We got our copies at work, so this weekend I'm going to install it and see what all the new features do.

2 days in a row...

2005-04-26T23:27:00.000-04:00

So I managed to blog two days in a row. Looking at my calendar, I'm not sure how long this is going to last. I have a ton of stuff to do for school. It's certainly going to be a race to the finish.

Speaking of racing, I thought I'd report that I ran my first 10k this month. It went pretty well and I beat my expectation by running it in under an hour. I won't say that I'm "hooked" yet, but I am looking for some more races to run in this year and thinking that I might run a half marathon by next year. We'll see how long I stay motivated to do that. Oh, and for all of you who are trying to picture me running in the midst of your laughter, here you go:

So I joined BMG Music this year and have gotten a ton of CDs so far. I just received my latest shipment today. While I have 4 more CDs on their way (backordered or something), I got:

Good Charlotte: The Chronicles of Life and Death

The Killers: Hot Fuss

Keane: Hopes and Fears

Casting Crowns: Casting Crowns

Yellowcard: Ocean Avenue

While I'm still listening to all of the songs, I have to say that I was really surprised by Keane. I'd only heard like two songs, but I really like the entire CD. The rest of them are just as good, but I already know most of their songs so I wasn't as excited.

Oh, and back to the running thing once again. I'm not sure if you've heard about the new adidas_1 shoes, but they are running shoes that have a computer chip in them which automatically adjusts the cushioning to your running conditions. I'm not sure how much they'd help me, but I'd love to try out a pair. Unfortunately they are $250, so I'll be waiting quite a while I'd guess. Here's a picture:

Well, I wanted to be in bed by 11:30 PM tonight. It is now 11:35, so I've missed my target - almost exclusively because I decided to blog. See everyone, I'm sacrificing for YOU!

Still Alive, but barely

2005-04-25T00:25:00.000-04:00

Hello world,

I was reminded by three people today that I've been delinquent in updating my blog. So, here I am, apologizing to you all. I'm sure your lives were negatively impacted by my lack of a blog - some of you may have been fretting with worry that something had happened to me. To all of you, I offer my sincerest apologies. :-)

Seriously though, I've just been very busy. The end of the semester is coming up in two weeks now and I just finished a huge project at work last week. There hasn't been anything really significant to report, as I've pretty much been resigned to being either at school, at work, or at home doing school work. Grad school is pretty intense - especially at the end of the semester when all your projects are due.

Some good news to report is that I should do fairly well academically again this semester, so I am happy about that. The hospital also seems very pleased with the work I did on my last project and are looking to find something more permenant for me.

And for the fun stuff: The Apprentice is down the final 4. It should be very interesting. I'm hoping that it comes down to Tana and Alex. Craig should have been fired a couple of episodes ago, but he's just gotten lucky because his team keeps winning (no thanks to him). I think Tana is really the only one that has consistently performed well and if I was betting money, I'd put it on her to win it all (especially since the last two winners were male). So, I guess we'll see!

What a week, and its only Tuesday

2005-03-23T00:01:00.000-05:00

There is much to report tonight, but I'll try to keep it short. The news of the week is that yesterday, upon returning to my car after my morning classes I found that my passenger side window had been smashed to pieces and someone had stolen my stereo. I wasn't as much devastated as annoyed - you see I drive a crappy car and the head unit i had in there was over 3 years old itself. So, it wasn't to get something very valuable - just did it because they could. So I waited 2 1/2 for Richmond's finest to take the police report and then began the dark trek through the Nationwide Insurance Claims system. Basically, I was transferred to 3 different adjusters, none of which could really help me. So today, finally we made some headway and scheduled to have my window fixed and they arranged for a rental car - which ended up being a PT Cruiser, so not bad. We'll see how it goes from here.

In other news - A classmate and friend of mine had major surgery today. She's doing very well in recovery, but if you are praying in the next few days - add Elizabeth to your thoughts.

And I'll close on a lighter note. I found two links today that I greatly enjoy. I hope you do as well.
I need to get me one of these
I wonder if I can get these options on my next car

I'm back

2005-03-21T00:18:00.000-05:00

So I made it back from Chicago (and subsequently New Jersey as well). I had a good time in Chicago and had some really good food. I met a number of interesting people while I was there and I think I'm starting to get comfortable with networking with these super duper hospital executives I've never met. That's not being completely comfortable - but starting to get that way! :-)

I ran my first 5k while I was up there. It was 6AM and 20 degrees outside, but it was beautiful. They didn't time us unfortunately and I didn't bring my watch so I don't know my exact time, but I know I ran it well under 30 minutes, so I felt good about that. Even though it was cold, there wasn't much wind and the sky was so clear. It was an absolutely beautiful morning as the sun rose and illuminated the Chicago downtown skyline and Lake Michigan. A few of my classmates were going to get up with me and take some pictures, but they never made it. So sorry, no pictures. :-( Anyway, I have the 10k coming up in a few weeks now and am pumped about that.

On an unrelated note - this is by far the worst year I've had with my NCAA Tourney bracket. The Wake, GT, and UConn losses really killed me. BC and Syracuse's losses also did some damage. Oh well, as of now - I still have 2 of my final four teams and my tourney champion. If it gets worst - hey - there's always next year. :-)

Chicago

2005-03-14T17:33:00.000-05:00

I have no idea if anyone is really checking this anymore, but I thought I'd give a quick update. I'm in Chicago for a Healthcare Executive's conference. It's my first time to Chicago, so I'm excited to be here and eating good food! :-) Not a whole lot to report though - its cold and windy, but really - that's not news. Anyway, I'm running a 5k on Wednesday morning, so that should be fun (and cold!) So, that's about all for now, I might get a chance to update some more. For all my Hokies - hope you enjoyed your spring break and cheer for me at the NIT game tomorrow night. :-)

This is a first

2005-03-07T11:53:00.000-05:00

So, I'm blogging at 11:50 AM. This is definitely a first for me. I just finished my Economics of Healthcare midterm a little early and am waiting for some classmates to finish so we can head to a meeting.

Big news of the week is definitely basketball. We're at championship week and you can feel March Madness heating up. The Hokies are begging for a chance to Dance and hopefully, with a win or two in the ACC Tourney, we'll be able to go. The VCU Rams are up for a bid again - and with a win tonight in the CAA tourney championship, they'll be on their way.

Anyway, this week of exams continues and I'm also getting ready for my trip to Chicago. I hope also to get some more sleep in the meantime. We'll see how everything goes.

Shame on Me

2005-03-06T00:41:00.000-05:00

It seems if I have been a bit remiss in blogging recently. As I browse through the blogs of many of my friends, I see the same pattern. Perhaps its the moon's position or something, but it seems like everyone has fallen off the blogging train. I'd like to make this bold claim and state that I'm going to get back to blogging every night, but I don't realistically see that happening. This coming week is one that is full of midterms and assignments. The following week is our spring break, for which I'll be in Chicago. But throughout all of that, I am going to try and be better about blogging. Now onto the song...

Oh, its called "On the Way Down" and its by Ryan Cabrera if you hadn't figured that out. My sister got the CD for Christmas and I was listening to it a couple of weeks ago and this song caught my attention because I finally figured out what the lyrics were. I have no idea what he was writing this song about, but I think the words are fascinating. The first verse is almost exactly what I feel sometimes. "Trippin over myself, going nowhere." Yeah, that's me sometimes - ok, a lot of times. Luckily we're aren't in this world alone and someone is out there ready to hold on to us when we take our dive.

Take a Dive

2005-02-28T00:38:00.000-05:00

Tonight I leave you with a song. As usual, I'll just post some lyrics and I'll blog about it tomorrow night.

Sick and Tired of this world
There's no more air
Trippin' over myself
Goin' nowhere
Waiting
Suffocating
No direction
And I took a dive

And on the way down
I saw you
And you saved me
From myself
And I won't forget
The way you loved me
On the way down
I almost fell right through
But I held onto you

I've been wondering why
It's only me
Have you always been inside
Waiting to breathe
It's alright
Sunlight
On my face
I wake up and yeah, I'm alive

'cause on the way down
I saw you
And you saved me
From myself
And I won't forget
The way you loved me
On the way down
I almost fell right through
But I held onto you

Momma always said...

2005-02-26T22:59:00.000-05:00

Tonight as I should have been studying for my Finance exam, I watched Forrest Gump because it happened to be on tv. I almost didn't watch it because I knew it would have been significantly edited in order to be shown on TV. But, I'm glad I decided to watch it since it had been a while since I saw it last. I'm not sure I could appreciate the movie when it came out over 10 years ago. Yes folks, that movie is 10 years old - my how time passes.

Anyway, the movie is still very good and some of the things in the movie are very profound. One thing that hit me was this line at the end of the movie. Jenny had just died and he was speaking to her at her well kept gravesite.

"I don't know if momma was right or Lieutenant Dan, whether we each have a destiny or we are all floating around on a breeze, but I have a feeling that its a little of both... at the same time..."

How true does that feel? I'm sure everyone has considered this question in one way or another. I, like Forrest, believe that it's a little of both at the same time. Sometimes the breeze takes us to where we're going a little faster, a little more direct. Often it takes us in another direction, but I don't think life wouldn't be life without those little detours. And don't forget, sometimes we think we're on a detour, that we've been taken off our destined path - only to find we were going the wrong way all along.

Nap Good, Alarm Clock Bad

2005-02-26T01:57:00.000-05:00

So I've been going on little sleep this week for no apparent reason. I'm usually ready to get to bed at a decent hour, but it never happened. Anyway, so I got up this morning earlier than usual so I could help my class deliver doughnuts to a local hospital nursing unit before 7 AM. Needless to say, I was a bit tired tonight, so I took a nice 2 hour nap right when I got home. I set my alarm clock on my phone to wake me up before Joan of Arcadia came on. (Yes, I watch the show and think it's really good, so there).

Anyway, the nap was wonderful. I might try doing that a couple time a week to see if it helps the sleeping at all.

On a completely unrelated note - Jay Leno had this guy who calls himself the King of Texas on the show tonight. This guy, whose name is Dick Tips, gets dressed up in some hideous red 17th century military-like getup and travels with a police escort and a mariachi band. I tried to find a picture of this guy on the internet, but was unsuccessful. (Word to the pure and wise - don't do a google search on "Dick Tips" if you hadn't already figured that out). So alas, I can't share the joy of the King of Texas on my blog, but I'll work on finding a screenshot of tonight's show.

I'm going to bed now and plan to sleep for a good long time.

Snow, Birthdays, and Personalities

2005-02-24T00:06:00.000-05:00

I couldn't really decide what to blog about tonight, so I came up with a few goings on. We're supposed to get a large weather system in the Richmond area tomorrow. Originally, this was supposed to be the largest snow storm for the area in a couple of years. It now looks like we'll get the same mix of snow, rain, and sleet. I'm hoping it doesn't hinder my class' fundraiser tomorrow night.

My brother turned 34 today. We'll be celebrating on Sunday though as his birthday starts the week of birthdays in his family. Within 8 days, we have his birthday, my sister-in-law's birthday, and my nephew's birthday. It should rightfully be noted that he's the oldest out of that group (and much older than his youthful brother and sister). :-) [Yes, I know - I will be old one day and this will all come back to haunt me, but it is fun for now]

Finally, in my "group therapy" class tonight (For those of you unfamiliar, it isn't group therapy, but the nickname my classmates have given this class), we talked Myers-Briggs. I've taken it a couple times before and again, typed out as ISTJ. It seems to fit me pretty well. (For those of you unfamilar, you can check out some of the links below). For those who know me, what do you think?

Links

Personality Pathways

The Personality Page

Some random site

Networking

2005-02-23T00:01:00.000-05:00

I went to a networking dinner tonight. Anyone in a professional or business-related field (or field of study) should be pretty familiar with the term networking. It is usually stressed from day one of classes. Of course, being in a healthcare executive masters program, it's stressed as much or more than one would suspect. I know how important it is, but I've just never been that good at it. I feel so stupid going up to complete strangers at "networking" events - especially these big executives. I'm always thinking something like "Why would he/she have any desire to take away from their time to catch up with their friends to talk to some lowly student."

Anyway, recognizing this fault of mine, I've tried to purposefully make myself go up and talk to people in these "networking" situations. In addition, I'm trying to make my goal to meet someone new and establish a contact with them each month. The point of it all is to make myself practice. And I have to say it is kind of working. I still feel stupid as all get out (is it one word, "getout" in that context???), I'm doing it and am being somewhat successful. I've also found that I'm beginning to get more comfortable with doing it. So maybe by next year, I'll have it down pat.

The Digital World is Grand

2005-02-22T00:42:00.000-05:00

So I'm really digging this iPod I won last week. Now, it is only an iPod Shuffle, but still - free iPod, pretty cool. And before the digital music revolution, in what other context could you be listening to "Bright Lights" by Matchbox 20 and the next song is "Living on a Prayer"???? I'm not sure there is even a radio station that could have that line up. Ah, song switched - I've now got "Right Now" by SR-71. Good stuff.

(In the time it has taken me to figure out what I am going to write next, the song changed again - "Bus Driver" by Caedmon's Call.)

Other than my normal school stuff, I don't have too much going on. Just going through my daily routine. Oh - and there is some bug going around town. In the past 2 weeks, I think almost half (maybe a little more) of my classmates have been or currently are sick. Hopefully it's all the same thing so we all don't get sick twice! So stock up on the Vitamin C because the cold and flu are coming your way.

Not quite ready

2005-02-21T01:03:00.000-05:00

The last three days have flown by. Getting back into my school routine has been tough. I've been trying to get my apartment clean again, but I haven't made much progress. I did manage to get my homework done, but the catchup phase is always the hardest. I am glad to be getting back to see everyone though. After spending day after day with these 26 other people - you come to miss them when you don't see them for a week!

I'd like to atone for something quickly. Since resuming my blog, I have yet to mention the impressive performance from my Virginia Tech Hokies! I'm not sure if you were able to see the game where we beat (then) #7 Duke. I wasn't able to see it because I was on a plane back to Richmond. But when I landed, I had a few messages on my cell phone alerting me to the good news. I will be sure to enjoy this victory for a while. And to make things better, less than 48 hours later, Tech creamed Miami 71-58. These boys are on a roll and are here to stay in the ACC.

A week feels like a month

2005-02-20T00:31:00.000-05:00

It's always amazing how when you get home from a "vacation" where you miss work and school, you feel like you've fallen a month or so behind. I'm in catch-up mode now trying to get all my work caught up since I didn't have the time to do it while I was in Texas. I had fully planned on reading and getting some work done last week, but the rigorous schedule prohibited that. So tomorrow will be devoted to getting my apartment clean once again and catching up on all the work I missed.

In other Dallas-related news, my sleep schedule seems to have been altered. I was in bed by 10 (CST) every night and up at 5 every morning. I have been very sleepy since I've been home and have not been able to stay in bed past 10 AM - which is VERY odd for me. I usually can sleep well past noon on a day when I have nothing disturbing my slumber. Oh well, it is probably for the good.

I'm back

2005-02-18T23:55:00.000-05:00

Well I made it back from Dallas. I thought I'd have time to blog from the conference, but they kept us sooo busy I only got time to check my e-mail every other day! There are a ton of stories from the trip, but I won't bore the world with them here. Some highlights consisted of me winning an iPod Shuffle and riding to dinner at this Mexican restaurant in a stretch Hummer limo. The downside is that I got sick Wednesday night and am just recovering now. So, hopefully by tomorrow night I'll get some pictures up for you.

I met many cool people down in Texas and overall, it was a good experience. I got to see Barbara Bush speak. I wouldn't have guessed it, but she was most delightful and very witty and funny. She was a bit out of place at a healthcare informatics conference, but she handled it well.

Alright, well I'm gonna get some more sleep and hope to fully recover tomorrow when I wake up!

Very Short For Now

2005-02-11T00:34:00.000-05:00

AHHHH! I still have so much to do before I leave tomorrow. It's insane. Anyway, I did want to post before I went to bed tonight. Don't have a lot to talk about because my mind is in a thousand different places right now. I found out that I might be going on a ski trip soon, so that could be fun. We'll have to see what schedule my boss gives me when he (and I) get back from "vacation."

On another note, the low-riding pants bill was tabled in the General Assembly today. So it looks like I won't go to jail this summer. :-) If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out this post from the other night. Nonetheless, the bill has gained national attention - Jay Leno made a joke about it tonight (although he mentioned that the bill passed, which it has not - and pretty much will not). So go sag all you want.

"I'm on no sleep" or "oh, I'm stressed"

2005-02-09T23:12:00.000-05:00

Hope you got the Seinfeld references from the title. But yes, I'm operating on a minimum amount of sleep as I'm trying to get everything done so I can leave for Dallas on Friday. Today was a long day - I have two classes in the morning, then go to work for a few hours, then I have another class from 5-7pm. So it takes a lot of time out of my nights. Anyway, I'm slowly getting all my work done that has to be turned in before I leave.

So most of you know that I'm a West Wing junkie. Nothing too exciting to talk about as far as the content of the episode, but one of the guest stars took me aback tonight. Christopher Lloyd guest starred as a professor who is an expert in consitutional law. His role was to help Belarus develop their new constitution. Anyway, where has Chris Lloyd been? I'm sure he's been in some movies since "Angels in the Outfield" but I can't think of one. (Ok, so I checked IMDB and see he's done some stuff) Maybe he should have retired after Back to the Future. ;-)

Great weather

2005-02-09T01:43:00.000-05:00

Ah, it was 70 degrees today. Yes, its the beginning of February and it's 70 degrees. While I am still quite too busy to enjoy the weather fully, I was able to drive to and from work with the windows down and the shades on. So, those 10 minute drives were enjoyable.

Don't you love a productive day? I didn't feel that productive in school, but I got a lot accomplished at work today and then got a lot of my homework done tonight. In fact, I stayed up late working on some assignments that aren't due for a while just because I was in that productive mode. I'm sure most people can relate to that feeling somehow.

So, have you heard about this group called The 5 Browns? These guys are amazing. They consist of 2 brothers and 3 sisters, all of whom play the piano - and play it really well. They decided to put their talents to use at the same time. Just having 5 siblings that can play the piano that well is amazing. But for them to keep tempo and compliment each other at all at the same time, that's pretty darn amazing. I mean you try to play "Flight of the Bumblebee" by yourself. Imagine playing it and having to keep time with 4 other people. Anyway, I don't think they're going to make millions, but I do think it's pretty unique.

Getting ahead, but missing out

2005-02-07T23:01:00.000-05:00

So I'm leaving for Dallas, TX on Friday to go to a conference next week. Since I'm going to be missing a week of school and work, I'm trying to get as far ahead as I possibly can before I leave. What this means in the here and now is that I'm missing out on the pleasant weather we're having. It's supposed to be around 60 the next few days, but I'm not spending much time outdoors because of the work I'm trying to get done. I suppose its for the better, and I'll have the spring and summer to enjoy. I also suppose I'd be more bummed if my knee would let me run. :-)

Ok, so I'm watching the news and this is a story I think is great. Virginia General Assembly Delegate Algie Howell (D-Norfolk) has introduced HR-1981 which makes it illegal to intentionally wear one's pants below the waistline, thus exposing the person's underwear. The Richmond Times-Dispatch has a story on the bill. Anyway, I think this is quite humorous - I'm not so sure it elicits the same reaction from most people I talk to. I just have the vision of these police officers chasing around teenagers yelling at them (in a voice that resembles the stereotypical grandparent) to "pull up those britches." It'd also be interesting come summertime when practically any male between the ages of 10 and 30 walking around without a shirt would technically be guilty of this crime. I know I would at least. So Virginia, I apologize - I didn't realize that reading the "American Eagle Outfitters" on the waistband of my boxers was so offensive.

Superbowl

2005-02-06T23:32:00.000-05:00

Well it turned out a bit better than I thought. I didn't think the Eagles would have enough to even make it interesting, but they tried. Philly was just too slow getting set pretty much the whole 4th quarter and McNabb made a few poor throwing decisions. Oh well, "real" football starts again in August as NCAA teams start fall practice. Until then, College BBall will hold me over as much as it can. April-July have no hope!

I was pretty disappointed with the ads this year. They weren't bad, but very, very few were above average. Nothing was over the top, nothing made me laugh hysterically. I think its partly because half of the ads were for cars or movies.

On another note, my knee is still being a huge pain. To bring everyone up to speed - I started running a little over a year ago. I'd usually do 2-3 miles 4 to 5 times a week, no problem. This summer, my knee gave out on me one day during a run. Ever since, i can only run about 1 mile before my knee says no more. Anyway, some runners I know suggested that I get some really good shoes to help out. I did that, with the hope of running a 10K later this year. Well, this weekend I gave it another try - but to no avail. I'm beinning to think that it might be something physically wrong. I'm going to get a compression brace and try that. If that doesn't work - I'm heading to the doctor.

Late Night TV

2005-02-06T01:29:00.000-05:00

One of the little known treasures of Saturday night (well Sunday morning, I suppose) is the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air marathon that comes on after SNL on Nick at Night. I stay up way to late watching these episodes, but they are funny. Some of them are funny simply because it's the first season or two and the thought of superstar Will Smith sporting parachute pants and horendous clothing is humorous. The current episode is one that I hadn't seen before. It features Carlton finding out that he's the father of this kid. Good times.

From the PowerBook tonight...

2005-02-05T01:11:00.000-05:00

I think I've forgotten to mention my split personalities. Not so much from an emotional standpoint (although, I could make a case for that), but from a computing standpoint. Yes, I am going to exhibit my nerdness for a bit here. I was given an Apple PowerBook G4 for work this year and it's great. I still like my PC, but I use them both quite a bit.

I am tired and will be (hopefully) sleeping in tomorrow. I also feel a touch of some bug coming on too. I'm going to be taking a preemptive attack on the sickness because I have zero time to be sick.

The superbowl's on Sunday - who do people think is going to win?

Purpose

2005-02-03T23:15:00.000-05:00

Today, I've been reflecting a lot on purpose. Perhaps it was because my day started off with learning about organizational missions, visions, and values. Purpose is often something I struggle with. What am I here for? What am I about?

This was compounded at work today. My past jobs - while good experiences - never created a sense of purpose in me. I never felt like what I was doing was ever really that important to anyone. Sure, I helped people get jobs (very indirectly), I helped entertain people, I furthered the cause of academia, and threw a lot of good parties. Sure, these things had purpose to them, but I didn't feel as if it was a purpose worth devoting my life to.

I attended a lunch seminar today about doctor-administrative relations. Anyone in healthcare can tell you that the relationship between the physicians and the administrators is very rarely positive and productive. This hospital CEO told us that we have to be reminded that the physicians purpose is the take care of that one patient at that specific time. Administrators' purpose is to focus on the community and be sure that the help is available. So that got my brain cranking a bit.

Anyway, I go into work today as always. My boss was out of the office, so I was working by myself for a significant amount of time anyway - which really gets my brain juices going. But then, I ended up having to explain why the project I was working on was important to the hospital a couple of times. Without going into the details about the project, what it's all about is patients! Yes, I am working on something that could potentially help save a person's life - or at the very least, prevent something from interfering with a physicians attempts to treat a patient. I think I like the healthcare industry because one's purpose is clear - no matter what position you hold - your purpose is to help provide the best patient care. It's a tie that bonds us all together. It's something everyone understands.

I often wonder what I should be learning through all of this. I question what God is doing very often. I still do not understand what He wants my purpose to be. I'm not sure that I ever will. But I am comforted - almost excited even - that I am beginning to take hold of some purpose in my life.

Oops

2005-02-03T01:58:00.000-05:00

I realized that I had made a bit of an error today. As I was driving home, I drove by my realtor's office and noticed a person coming out of the door. It struck me that I have yet to pay my rent for this month and most likely would have completely forgotten. My landlord wants all checks in on the 1st, no exception, so I usually have them in a day or so early - just so I won't forget. But, I guess the new job and school starting up fried my brain. Anyway, I'll take care of that tomorrow, so do not fear - I will still have a place of residence.

In other news, tonight was the President's State of the Union address. First, I hope that you knew/realized that the speech was tonight. Second, I hope you watched it. I'm not saying that you had to agree with what the president said, but as citizens of this country, it is important to know what issues are being bounced around Washington that might affect you. Obviously, the big issue of President Bush's 2nd term is revamping Social Security. Attentional all 20/30-somethings --> this is important to you! You really should be paying attention to the plans being offered and letting your reps and senators know how you feel about the issue. If Bush gets legislation to move on Social Security, it may be one of the most radical domestic change in quite some time. Plus - I'm sure you'll want to know where your bimonthly checks will be starting on your 65th birthday.

Ok, enough political ranting. The other major news item today - it's (well it was) Groundhog Day. Good ol' Phil saw his shadow, so the cold continues. Yippee.

Uninspiring

2005-02-01T23:45:00.000-05:00

Tonight doesn't bring anything to start a major debate or inspire anyone. Just a quick entry before I head to bed. I was busy getting some other stuff done before I was able to get on the computer to blog, so it will get negleted.

Today was pretty decent. It seems to be getting warmer out. I think that this is really because everyone is just getting desensitized to the cooler temperatures. Oh well, whatever makes me feel warmer I suppose.

Lastly, tonight at MANGROUP (my new LifeGroup at church), it was game night to celebrate the end of their (what I can only assume to be) 3 month study on the book of Hebrews. Anyway, someone brought this game called Acquisition. I'd never seen it before (granted, it was made in the 1960s or 70s). Anyway, it was a pretty decent game. It's a strategy game where you have to balance cash flow and investing in order to be the richest at the end of the game. Unfortunately, I setup this deal that was pretty risky - and had it worked out, I would have been fine - but didn't materalize, so I came in last. Anyway, if you see it, give it a go. It's kind of like Monopoly, but without the luck.

Memories

2005-01-31T23:57:00.000-05:00

I talked about reflecting the other night. I seemed to be really tapping into this wierd period I find myself in. The last couple of days have been really reflective. I've talked to a number of friends about the past and have had an urge to tell people what they've meant to me. It's been good - you don't really realize what people mean to you in the present, so looking back and remembering situations in which someone really helped you out, or maybe called you on something can give you a whole new perspective.

I had a great day at work today. Things are really starting to come together and I felt like I know what I'm doing and my boss told me that he thought I did very well in a meeting I was running. It's great to get feedback like that. I'll do another one tomorrow and we'll see what I can build on, but this field is definitely where I belong. It feels so natural to walk around the hospital. Anyway, more to come on that later.

So, onto the song. It's by Switchfoot if you didn't know. I can write a whole eassy on why I like Switchfoot, but I'll just sum it up and say that they are awesome. This song, On Fire, is one of my all time favorites (partly because I can play the piano part). I could also talk about this song forever too...but two parts tonight:

Cause everything inside looks like

Everything I hate

You are the hope I have for change

You are the only chance I'll take

This is the cry of my heart so often. There are time when I like who I am. But there are many times that I look inside and everything I see is where I've fallen short of my calling and fallen short of God's glory. But that last line "You are the only chance I'll take" gets me every time. When I'm feeling down, I know where to turn.

The other part that fascinates me is the bridge in the song:

I'm standing on the edge of me,
I'm standing on the edge of me,
I'm standing on the edge of me,
I'm standing on the edge

I've often wondered what that was all about. What does standing on the edge of oneself really mean. I'm still figuring it out, but I think what the song is getting at is that our lives are no walk in the park. It's not a fairy tale for us to live out. Instead, it is an adventure that we are on. One that will force us to stand on the edge of ourselves - always wondering what we will do and what will come our way next. I want to stand on the edge of me, but I'm nowhere near there yet. What do you think about it?

Yeah, so Duke sucks

2005-01-30T23:24:00.000-05:00

First of all - I just have to say that it's incredible that Virginia Tech is excited about it's basketball program. The students and alumni are cheering this team on and are really vested in their success. That being said, tonight was one of the worst displays of a game I've ever seen. I've heard the stories about Duke, but hadn't experienced any of it first hand. All I have to say is that Cassell will be rocking come Feb 17th when Duke travels to the burg.

The weekend went by so fast! I can't believe tomorrow is Monday already. It's insane. Oh well, I guess it happens. I think I'll leave you with another song. I'll comment on it tomorrow night.

Tell you where you need to go

Tell you when you'll need to leave

Tell you what you need to know

Tell you who you need to be



But everything inside you knows

Says more than what you've heard

So much more than empty conversations

Filled with empty words



And you're on fire

When He's near you

You're on fire

When He speaks

You're on fire

Burning at these mysteries



Give me one more time around

Give me one more chance to see

Give me everything You are

Give me one more chance to be... (near You)



Cause everything inside looks like

Everything I hate

You are the hope I have for change

You are the only chance I'll take



When I'm on fire

When You're near me

I'm on fire

When You speak

And I'm on fire

Burning at these mysteries

these mysteries...



I'm standing on the edge of me [x3]

I'm standing on the edge



And I'm on fire

When You're near you

I'm on fire

When You speak

(Yea) I'm on fire

Burning at these mysteries...

Really late...

2005-01-30T03:24:00.000-05:00

Ok, so this is officially the latest I've been up in a couple of months. If tomorrow was a school/work day I'd be getting up in 3 1/2 hours. Luckily it's not, so I'll be sleeping until noon or so.

It's really great to reminisce and reflect on the past. I've been up with a special friend tonight just remembering things about my past. The good times, the bad times. All of it. I think that most people forget to do this once in a while - myself included. I've never been very good at journaling my personal life, so I don't revist the past very often. I do think however, that much can be learned - especially about how we change - from doing so.

Job Report

2005-01-28T23:28:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd post an update about my new job. It's going pretty well. Everyone's first week is always akward because you don't know what you should be doing and everyone else doesn't know what to tell you to do. You don't want to seem too dependant on your boss (all the while having no clue about what's going on) and your boss doesn't wants to give you independance. I'm not sure if anyone will ever solve the "first week" paradox.

But things are coming together now. I have a ton of meetings next week. Most of them I'll be "tagging" along, but by the end of next week I'll be setting up meetings on my own. I also get to go to this corporate meeting which should be a good experience.

The good thing is that I feel very comfortable in the hospital. The more I explore the career I've chosen, the more I know that I'm doing the right thing. It's pretty cool actually.

Go Hokies!

2005-01-27T23:47:00.000-05:00

I think my body is slowly reverting back to its high-school time clock. In high school I consistently functioned on about 6 hours of sleep. Once I hit college, I could barely get by with8 hours. While I have been tired at night, I'm finding that I'm getting to bed later and later, yet getting up at the same time. Ah, who knows - I'll probably crash tomorrow night and not wake up until Dinner time on Saturday. :-)

I don't have a lot to report tonight. Really, there is just one major thing (in my mind that happened) - the HOKIES beat UVa tonight. I wish I could have been in Cassell tonight because that place was rocking. The UPN affiliate in Richmond had some satellite issues so we didn't get the first half, but we got to see the 2nd which was great. It is so cool that our basketball team is seeing some success and that people are excited about bball in Blacksburg again! Yeah, yeah - I am aware that there were many other notable news items that happened today, but I'm pretty biased.

Lets see, I received a record number of comments on my last post. Not really because of its content, but because of people - namely my good friend Ryan - have put links to my blog on theirs. I'm going to get around to doing that too.

Ok, and for the serious stuff for one to ponder...I sort of posted that Casting Crowns song the other day and didn't comment on it. So here goes. That song is just awesome in my opinion. It constantly reminds me of what I'm doing and - here's the corny side of me - really who i am. While my profession may be in healthcare (at least hopefully), that's not who I am. Yes, my birthdate designates me as a twentysomething, and I happen to be a single male living in a city. But that's not who I am. Who I am, is very simply a child of God. The rest of it, well that's what He wants me to be. And that, my friends, is very cool.

Ok, so back to sex

2005-01-26T23:38:00.000-05:00

I mentioned the other night about a promo I saw for this Katie Couric special Teens and Sex. Well, tonight as I was perusing my Medical Terminology book so I can sound intelligent in class tomorrow, I had the program on in the background. Let me just say that I was amazed at what some of the kids on the show were saying. There were a couple of 13 year olds in the group that had no problem engaging in intelligent debate about the sexual trends of their generation. It was astounding. I wasn't naive at that age to say the least, but I wasn't "trading tips" with the guys during lunch either. Anyway, don't want to write a whole thesis on the sexual habits of young teens here, but all I can really say is wow.

Other than that, I'm still pretty tired so I'm heading to bed. Those of you who know me well should most definitely call and ask me about my new class. It was quite an experience and I'm sure I will have many stories to tell. :-) (And if you are a classmate - two words summed up that class for me - "boyish charm")

[P.S. for those of you not in my class, please do not assume the boyish charm comment has anything to do with me. I think I have proven that I have no charm whatsoever. None.] ;-)

Short one tonight

2005-01-25T22:59:00.000-05:00

This getting up early bit doesn't sit well with me. So, it's 11 pm and I'm spralled out on my couch falling asleep. So, I'm gonna head to bed early.

I leave you some lyrics from a Casting Crowns song:

Who am I?

That the Lord of all the earth,

Would care to know my name,

Would care to feel my hurt,

Who am I?

That the Bright and Morning Star,

Would choose to light the way,

For my ever wandering heart,



Not because of who I am,

But because of what You've done,

Not because of what I've done,

But because of who You are,



I am a flower quickly fading,

Here today and gone tomorrow,

A wave tossed in the ocean (ocean),

A vapor in the wind,

Still You hear me when I'm calling,

Lord, You catch me when I'm falling,

And You've told me who I am..

I am Yours.

A tropical heatwave

2005-01-25T01:11:00.000-05:00

The big story - it's supposed to be in the 40s tomorrow! This is wonderful news to me. This morning, it took me about 10 minutes to chip the ice off my car doors so I could get into my car and to defrost the windshield enough so I could clear it. I was almost late to class because of the inch of ice the engulfed my car.

Something I forgot to mention the other day. It's really great that Viktor Yushchenko has been offically inaugurated in the Ukraine. It was quite encouraging watching the people of Ukraine stand up and fight for the freedom they had been granted. It is something like that which can remind us all of our very precious freedom. Republican, Democrat, Green- whatever party - we can all agree that our right to vote and our right to live a free life is a wonderful thing.

Ok, so I needed to get a little political rant in my blog eventually! :-)

And then there were two...

2005-01-23T22:54:00.000-05:00

Well, we now await the superbowl. Today was great, just relaxing some and watching the championship games all afternoon and evening. Turns out I predicted correctly, but since I wasn't predicting anything too crazy, I don't put much weight into it. :-)

Tomorrow morning marks the beginning of my crazy weeks. Everyone knows my lack of excitement for waking up early, so we'll see how it goes. I also start my new job, and am excited about that.

Ok, well while I'm sitting here typing this, a commercial just came on about Katie Couric's report on Teens and Sex. Evidently a poll was recently conducted that shows that almost 1/3 of young teens (under 16) are sexually active. I also read in one of my economics textbooks today that the invention and proliferation of the different contraceptives has decreased the "cost" of sex and induces more to engage in it. It makes me sad to see many of these youngsters (wow, I feel old using that term) finding themselves in a position to have a child before they even have a chance to graduate high school. Without getting into a sex debate, I think that most would find the trend for more and younger kids being sexually active slightly disturbing.

Oh - and Johnny Carson died today. I didn't really watch the Tonight Show when he was the host, but was definitely aware of his contribution to late night television. Alright - well that's probably quite enough for one night.

Saturday Night Live

2005-01-23T01:04:00.000-05:00

As a longtime SNL fan, I have to say that I've thoroughly enjoyed this season's "Weekend Update" sketches. Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon did a great job the past few years, but they were sort of hit and miss. Tina and Amy Poehler, however, have been hilarious every episode I've seen. This new Angelina Jolie bit is most excellent. Anyway, I just thought I'd mention that.

Lets see, today was pretty quiet. We didn't get as much snow/ice/etc as predicted, but it was nasty enough that I didn't care to venture out anywhere. So, I stayed in and did some reading for my classes next week. I've never been big into reading for class, but I feel very proactive when I do. So, I felt like I accomplished something today.

Oh, and lest I forget to mention this - I also was fortunate enough to watch my VT Hokies take care of business in Atlanta, GA as they beat Georgia Tech on the hardwood. While I know the team is still young, Seth Greenberg has really done a tremendous job at turning the program around and I think that VT Basketball will be something to watch for quite some time to come. Oh yeah, and how great is it to be in the ACC??? :-)

On another sports note, there is another big VT sports connection on Sunday. That is of course Michael Vick and the Falcons in the NFL playoffs. The NFC and AFC championship games are tomorrow. My superbowl prediction? I'm gonna have to go with the Patriots and the Eagles. I'd love to pick the Falcons, but I don't see them getting it done - especially in the horrid conditions that are predicted for tomorrow.

Growing Old

2005-01-22T00:29:00.000-05:00

Something I've found over the past few months is that I'm starting to feel old. I don't mean aching muscles and a lapsing memory. It's just the exhaustion. At the end of a day, I am exhausted - I have sucked up every amount of energy I had during the day. Perhaps that's a good thing. Perhaps it means that I'm not wasting my time. On the other hand, is it too much? Should we fall asleep watching the 10 PM drama on TV? Well, I guess I am getting older, so I should get used to it.

One of the things I did tonight was put all of my assignments and readings for class in my calendar. Added to my classes, meetings, trips, and work this semester is going to be tough. I typically pride myself in my ability to manage my time, but I can see that it is going to be a challenge. Anyway, I'm sure I'll be blogging about my lack of time quite frequently in the coming months.

Well, we're supposed to get snowed/iced/freezing rained in this weekend. Looks like snow on top of freezing rain on top of sleet and ice on top of snow. Looks like a recipe for disaster. So, tomorrow I will wake up, get into some sweat pants drink some coffee, and then begin knocking out some school work!

Over-achiever

2005-01-21T01:15:00.000-05:00

So, maybe I'm an over-acheiver, but I had some more revelations after I posted earlier tonight. It's kind of funny how these blogs can really free someone's thoughts and challenge our ideas about things. It's a neat phenomenon. (This aside was not my revelation).

After I posted tonight, I started reading a couple of blogs that belong to some friends of mine - friends that don't live near me and some of which I haven't seen in months. I found that what they are saying, what they are going through is still very relevant to my life. Eventhough they live 200 miles away from me, it's almost as if we're still living just a mile or two apart - even just down the hallway.

I'm bad at keeping in touch with people. I don't know why, really. I usually have some time free during any given day, but I'm just bad at calling someone or stalking them on IM. I would like to get better at this. Being genuinely interested in someone's life should mean taking an active role in communicating with that person.

Well, the snow has stopped falling for the time being. This is the latest I've been awake in quite a while, so I think I'm going to go to bed just in case I do have to go to work (old job still) in the morning. I'm not sure that many people if anybody really knows about this blog yet, but that's alright with me.

My First "Real" One

2005-01-20T23:33:00.000-05:00

So, here we go. Today was a good day. I got through my first week of classes (however, one class was cancelled thanks to yesterday's snow-induced traffic nightmare). I also got a new job. My new job is not all that glamorous, but it should be some really good experience for me and should look pretty good on a resume when I try to get that residency next year.

On a seperate note, I'd just like to say how much I love being in Richmond. Yes, it seems lonely sometimes because the city is so big and people are spread all around. However, the River City is great and I'm glad I'm here. Grad school is grand. My apartment is awesome. Oh yeah, and my church here, Exile, rocks too!

I'm a slacker

2005-01-03T23:15:00.000-05:00

Yeah, so I only really created this blog to try something out, so I haven't really "blogged" at all. Perhaps in the near future though...