Earth Shaking…

Ok…I experienced my first earthquake ever here in New Zealand a few months ago. I hesitate to even talk about it because my mom is the worrying type, and if she finds out, she’ll be pulling her hair out by the roots.
But anyway…I’m in bed early morning (more sleep than awake), and I hear Kim, my wife, calling my name. No big deal, I’m pretty much a professional at faking sleep in the mornings to eek out those extra few minutes of rest. So I lay there motionless…then the bed starts shaking, and I’d had enough. The jig is up, and annoyed at the situation I yell out “you ain’t gotta shake the bed Kim, I’m right here!” (followed by my favorite expletives).
At that very moment, I realized that Kim was in the hallway, and I was in the bedroom alone, and the bed, along with the the rest of the house, and the earth for that matter, was doing the Harlem Shake!
I’m talking a good 2-3 minutes straight! I didn’t get under a door frame, didn’t find refuge under sturdy furniture, no earthquake training or preparedness…I was discombobulated!
Since then…you should see me if a semi truck rolls through or if there’s some construction in the area…I’m shell shocked!

A Few Words…

This article was published in New Zealand Doctor.

Day #1, New Zealand

There’s nothing like waking up for the first time in a different country. Eager to get back to my routine after 19 hours of flights (which crossed the equator and the international date line), I was met with a few surprises.
#1. The hot and cold water knobs are opposite over here. Imagine my surprise when stepping into what I thought was going to be a hot shower. No big deal though…I needed a jolt to help me deal with the jet lag.
#2. Time to pull out the liners and clean up my face. I plug in my international adaptor and surge protector, and go to work. I immediately notice that the liners are loud and seem to be moving faster than ever before. Then I notice this weird smell and see a little smoke. By this time, I’ve already finished half of my left face. It was too late to turn back. Then it happened…a loud pop, a puff of smoke, then nothing. The liners didn’t survive. So I’m stuck with half of my face lined and shaved, and the other half…not!
#3. Driving…in New Zealand, the steering wheel is on the right, and you drive on the left side of the street. This takes some getting used to. At one point, I realized that I was driving on the right side for a very brief moment. Lucky for me, there was no oncoming traffic.
All in all, I had a fun day!

Changes…

According to the Bhagavad-Gita, change is the law of the universe (correct me if I’m wrong, but that reference makes me sound like a well read and intelligent individual). Accordingly, I must submit to the universe and dive head-first into a location change that promises to bring excitement and adventure for the next 12 months.
I am super excited about going to New Zealand, which promises to be a picturesque place, packed with fun on the other side of the globe.
Not only will I get to see what it’s like to practice medicine in a different healthcare delivery system and experience a different culture first-hand, for the 1st time in my life I’ll get to have a summer birthday in January!!!

Falling…

Ok…I guess I was at the point where I needed a little adventure. I needed to get my heart rate up and see if my body was still cranking out the adrenaline like the good ole days. It’s been a while since I’ve been to an amusement park (and for the record, Cedar Point is the greatest amusement park on the planet!). I did, however, roller blade at break-neck speeds down a hill through an intersection a few weeks ago (it sounds harmless, but I couldn’t slow down enough and was very relieved that no cars were coming at the time).
So…I decided to skip the morning coffee, bypass the slew of assorted energy drinks, and go skydiving. I’m thinking, THIS IS GONNA BE FUN…or a quick and painless transition to the afterlife. 14,000 feet…a little higher than any roller coaster that I’ve ever been on. But hey, I had an experienced jumper strapped to my back, and he seemed pretty confident that the parachute would actually open. He gave me some advice…he said “there’s nothing out there but air…have some fun.” Simple but true.
So from 14,000 feet…I fell from a plane…experienced the pure effects of gravity, 9.8 m/s2 (like Sir Isaac Newton and other scientists have calculated and theorized)…falling…falling…falling…IT WAS GREAT!
The best roller coaster that I have ever encountered!
I highly suggest skydiving to anyone who wants to skip the morning coffee, skip the energy drinks, and get the heart pumping and adrenaline flowing.

My Crazy Obsession

Let me start by stating that I don’t actually have a crazy obsession…or at least I don’t have any obsessions that I consider crazy (and of coarse, crazy is so subjective). However, The Learning Channel has a show called My Crazy Obsession where people readily admit and explore their crazy obsessions (you gotta admit…it takes a brave person to tell a TV camera their deepest darkest). Instead of divulging my idiosyncrasies, I was able to put on my white coat like any other day, evaluate a patient who was more than willing to talk about her most embarrassing obsession, and give my professional opinion.
I had a great time filming for the show.
I guess that I can officially say that I am a doctor, AND I play one on TV!

Hello World!

So many people identify their doctor by the white coat, the stethoscope, or the letters behind their name. People may not realize that while medicine is a passion, docs have a life outside of medicine. In this blog, I would like to share aspects of my life, both inside and outside of medicine.