Below are my recent decoration additions and two collages:

Collage #1: My new "PET"

Collage #2: Detroit Tigers Game

Copacabana Beach, Rio De Janerio. Photo by me 2/05
Photo in Livingroom

Angra Des Reis, Brazil. Photo by me 2/05
Photo in Kitchen

My new "pet". I bought a 25 year old Japanese Maple Bonzai tree. I call it my pet because it requires daily care and has to be taken outside 3-4 days per week. It rocks though, because it does not shed, releases no allergens, and does nothing but look beautiful. Awe, the ideal pet in my book.

Last weekend at Comerica Park: Detroit Tigers Game

I am already in my finally week of my first rotation. Life is a whirlwind, and I am enjoying every moment. My first weekend was quite memorable, as the attending and I stayed busy covering for three other surgeons. On Saturday I was in on a good case, where a gentlemen came into the E.R. with acute abdominal pain. After a thorough work up and reviewing of films it was decided that the patient needed to be taken to the O.R. for an exploratory surgery to rule out necrotic (dead) bowel secondary to ischemia (lack of blood supply), and/or small bowel obstruction. We found that the patient had an internal hernia, which in this case meant his bowel had slipped through a hole in his omentum (fat apron over bowels), causing the bowel to be strangulated and on its way to dying. We were able to free up the bowel, and it was early enough that the bowel regained its blood supply and recovered. This was one of those cases that causes you to go home feeling that you have made a good decision about being in medicine. It is a great feeling to know that the procedure performed saved a life. The patient returned home 6 days later, with a fully functioning bowel, and a 8 inch scar down his belly.

Other than medicine....
I had this past weekend off, so I got up early on Saturday and washed all the windows to my house, then cleaned my garage out, before attending a pig roast that afternoon. I got selected to be the carver of the full size pig that was roasted on a spicket. I figured it was a good opportunity to pick up a useful "life-skill" of carving the meat for the feast. That evening I went to the Detroit Tigers game and watched the Minnesota Twins beat us. I have hardly been to a pro-baseball game since high school, so it was fun to be back in a park. However, I was surprised at how boring a game is when you don't know any of the players. Back in high school there was hardly a player I didn't know, now I don't know anyone on the field. It was quick reminder that 10 years have gone by.

This is my home in Michigan. I am saving the landscaping for the fall or next spring, so all the work thus far has been done on the inside. Below are photos showing the results of my past month of painting, laying flooring, decorating, and building IKEA furniture. The home has an In-law suite in it, so there are two kitchens, two baths, two livingrooms, and three bed rooms. The in-law suite is fully attached, but has a private entrance, and can be closed off from the rest of the house, therefore I intend to rent out that portion as an apartment.

Kitchen with IKEA table and chairs. Painted it yellow, otherwise unchanged from when purchased.

Living room and entrance to kitchen. Painted the one wall orange and framed it in with white molding. Bookshelves from IKEA.

Kitchen and part of living room in rental portion of house with new maple wood laminate flooring from Costco

Living room with sofas from garage sale and shelving from IKEA

Trekking

Gujjers

Nephew

Gujjer Teenage (Shepherd)

Sister (Cool Hippie)

Hazharbat Mosque, Shrinagar, Kashmir

Niece

Nephew/Bro-in-law

Dal Lake

"Child's Life-Line"

Brother in Sonamarg

Me and Bro in Himalayas (Mt. Kolahoi)

Trekking in India

Hello,

I figured it was time I start a blog, because I know all too well that physicians fall behind in the world of technology and computer skills as the years of training and practice go by.

My first blog:

I have been in Michigan now for a little over one month, and my life has been anything but dull since graduation on May 15th. On May 18th I flew to India for 3 weeks. It was a phenomenal trip. I got to visit family while there as well as enjoy the Himalayas and surrounding beauty. If you love to hike/trek, then you must make it a goal to travel to the himalayas for a trek. It is absolutely awesome!
To give you an idea about how I like to schedule my life...
On June 8th I left northern India, arrived in Chicago around noon on June 9th, bought a bus ticket to Rockford, Illinois, arrived there around 4pm, picked up my car, got a flat tire fixed, slept for 5 hours, and then drove throughout the night so I could be in Detroit the following morning and attend the appointment to close on the purchase of my house. All went well, and by the evening of the 10th I had the keys to my home, and began the process of cleaning and fixing up my place. The following 2 weeks, were spent painting the kitchen, livingroom, 3 bedrooms, and installing laminate wood flooring throughout much of the home. I really wanted to buy furniture from IKEA, so I made a 10 hour round trip drive to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania one thursday and bought my livingroom entertainment center/bookshelves, a bed, a dining table+chairs, and of course many small IKEA commodities. :o) Believe it or not, it all fit in my VW Jetta Wagon. I gotta give props to both IKEA's packaging and VW's cargo space.
After a week of orientation and re-certifications of cardiac life support, I began my internship year with my favorite area of medicine, surgery. I am feeling very blessed and happy to be where I am at. I am training at the same hospital that I spent my third year of medical school at, so it is like being with friends and family. Many people have loaned me a plethora of tools for all of my home projects, and given me necessities, such as a lawn mower. My lawn mower is one of those non-motorized grass clippers that is just two wheels with spinning blades between them. My neighbors think I am crazy to use it, but I like the fact that it is good exercise and completely free! The weather in Detroit is less than desirable, but it really isn't too bad. Having spent last summer in Texas and Mississippi, I find the humidity here quite bearable. However, all the michiganders are dying in the heat, and running up there electric bills with a/c running 24/7.

Now that I am settled in my home, and busy at the hospital, I'm finding less time for other things, but my non-call weekends are filling up with activities. I have been invited to a pig roast in a couple of weeks, and at the end of the month I will be attending a morning conference at the Detroit Ritz Carlton Hotel to learn about a new class of antibiotics hitting the world of medicine. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?! Man, I am probably a true academic nerd by now. I can't be totally nerdy though, because the real reason I am going is for the free food from the Ritz!

Later everyone