Escape from LA

Sunday I coordinated with Anthony to go to Reality together. His rotation schedule had him going to the 5pm service and I was alternating between 9am and noon services. Thankfully, he didn't have to work Sunday so I was able to join him and his brother, Ross, for the 9am service. We arrived a bit late and it was packed. We had to wait at the back of the sanctuary for 10 minutes until ushers could get people to shift in the rows to make space. Always nice to see a full church, especially one as nice as this. We meet at Helen Bernstein High School, which always looked familiar to me but I couldn't figure out why. It wasn't until this last Sunday while we were walking through the courtyard that I realized I recognized this place because this was where they filmed some scenes from Glee. Yes, I used to watch Glee because I freaking love musicals and Lea Michele is from the original cast of Spring Awakening, one of my favourite modern Broadway musicals (2nd to Next to Normal). Anyways, it was nice to have that resolution in my mind. We headed to El Coyote for a solid Mexican lunch. Then the boys drove me home and we said our goodbyes. I'll see Anthony when I'm in Chicago, where we'll have an RCF reunion with Diane (of the sneak hug competition and I do intend to get her back). 

The beginning of this week was full of Shakespeare and audition tape clips as Eddie crammed for his Julliard audition. Aliethea has been coaching him and much like any dynamic between mother and 18 year old son, it proved a bit tense so I stayed in my room with earbuds in. One day after I got home from work, they asked me to look at Eddie's demo reel just to evaluate the background music and sound effects for a few scenes. I gave my opinion and they actually acted on it. They got in touch with the sound editor and asked for the adjustments I suggested. I really hope they were good suggestions because I don't want to be responsible for any negative attention on anyone's audition material. In case you didn't know, Julliard is in New York City. In case you live under a rock, New York City was due to get slammed by a blizzard this week, particularly around the day Eddie was to fly to New York. Thankfully, the blizzard didn't hit too hard and he was able to make it to the big city ok. Hope he kills his audition. He told me there's multiple stages and he just hopes to get past the first stage. I hope he goes all the way. Good kid, that one.

While on the topic of acting and performing arts, Parenthood ended on Thursday and I was fortunate enough to have the place to myself (and Loki) such that I could sob and sniffle in privacy as I watched one of the most beautiful and satisfying series finales ever. Last year was an unsatisfying year in terms of series finales with both Dexter and then How I Met Your Mother. So having Parenthood, a show I care about for more than the previous two shows, end on such great notes was a relief. It was a proper goodbye. The only shows I've seen get proper send offs are Scrubs and Friends. Scrubs still wins out despite Parenthood ending in a similar fashion (music montage of future glimpses). Jackie and I are still going to miss the show and we'll always wish more people caught on to it when it first came out, but we can take pride in knowing we backed it from the beginning and it never failed to deliver great acting and drive home the message about family and unconditional persistent love throughout hardship. With the beauty of DVDs and Netflix, you can dig into the show at your leisure, and in case it wasn't obvious, I highly recommend you do. The show has a reputation for making you cry every episode, but it's not because it's sad, but because you find yourself relating to the emotion so well. If you're scared of emotionally connecting to a TV show, call me and we'll watch it together.

Work was nice. This group has really gotten along well together and I'm so thankful for it. Thursday was the NP's birthday. She's like me and tried to get away with it, but the staff knew and had planned a surprise for her (cake and a giant card). A bunch of us ordered pizza for everyone and pizza always makes the day better. 

The rotation really flew by and Friday snuck up on us. It didn't help that Friday was insanely busy with all but two patients showing up for their appointments (remember the double booking ridiculousness that they do here). We were seeing patient after patient unable to make a dent in any of the notes. One of my last patients was an Asian woman around my mom's age. She spoke English but also Cantonese and her first question to me was where were my parents from. She was pleased to hear Hong Kong. Less pleased to hear that I didn't speak Cantonese or any Chinese dialect. The 4th generation Canadian card eased the scrutiny, but then she started asking about health care systems and we had an honest conversation about pros and cons of Canadian vs. American health care. I really do try to be objective, despite my nationality, but Canada still comes out on top. For instance, halfway through an interview on Friday with a different patient, the receptionist came in and brought up the fact that the patient's insurance had changed in the new year and that she was no longer covered to see us without getting a prior-authorization through her PCP first. I felt awful as I watched my patient be escorted out of the room and into the lobby. The sentiment was basically "If we don't get paid, you're wasting our time." It's not a reflection of the receptionist, but of the system. Anyways, after chatting with my Asian hyperthyroid patient, I carried on with the rest of the interview and she really liked me. When I brought the doctor in to see her after I presented her to him, she raved about me, almost as if I bribed her. Then after we finished, I directed her to sit in the lobby and wait for her name to be called so that we could book her next appointment and provide her lab requisition forms and her prescription. She thank me and then I went back to my spot to get back to work. As I was finally making a dent in the notes, a couple colleagues said "Uhhh Kirsten, there's a lady at the window waving at you". One of the walls in the lobby is a large window that looks into the doctors' workspace where we're all working when we're not with patients. My back was towards her so I didn't know. I turned and there she was waving, mouthing "Goodbye" and "Thank you". It was cute. My girl Friday.

Since it was such a busy day, it made the goodbyes a little awkward as the endocrinologist left well before we did. Almost felt a bit unfair given that it was our last day, but oh well. Handshakes and hugs were exchanged with our superiors and that was that. Us students finished our work one by one and did the goodbyes with each other wishing each other good luck with the Match for them and with Step 2 CK for me. 

I hurried home so that I'd still have sunlight to enjoy in my trips between home and the laundromat. How fitting that as soon as I got home, we had a thunder-lightning storm. Thankfully, they don't last too long and 30 minutes later I was walking with my first load. The sun showed up shortly after. Again, the beauty of laundromats, multiple loads going at the same time and multiple driers to fit your settings. So convenient. My donut place with my smiley Asian clerk just a block away, that's convenient and comforting. Headed home with my clean clothes and linens, packed it into the suitcase, started cleaning the room, then I headed out for my last LA supper to my favourite taco joint, The Best Fish Taco in Ensenada. It's not an original name, but it holds up. Though I enjoy the shrimp tacos much more than the fish tacos. The salsas make all the difference though. After that, I walked to House of Pies to grab a slice of fresh strawberry, and took a leisurely roundabout walk home. 

While it's still a filthy and polluted city, I love that I can comfortably walk around and enjoy the commute to and from work. I like that I've been able to get a minimum of 30 minutes of walking every day. It's made what little sleep I get restful. The sun and warmth are nice bonuses. The people are the best part. The drivers are so polite and give you plenty of space when you cross the street. Again, I think it's a West Coast thing because Oregon and Washington are wonderful too.

And now I am back in Vancouver to study up for Step 2 CK (Feb 20th) and the MCCEE (Mar 4th). Much like any time I'm home on break or studying, I take a break from the blog. I'll be back in New York City early March for Pediatrics. So I will get back to you then. 

Thanks for the continued love and support :)