I’ve Got No Strings

Where to begin...

1. Atlantic City: Wow! What an interesting city. A little bit trashy, but I can check it off the list. I took the train to AC Friday night and stayed at the Tropicana. It was a really nice casino and right on the boardwalk. I didn't gamble, but walked the boardwalk and then went shopping in the outlets. I had seen pretty much all there was to see by Saturday afternoon, so I headed back into the city. That's about all there is to say about Atlantic City.

2. Mom came to Philly this past weekend. It was so good to see her and we went to so many different places I hadn't been to yet. Friday we went to Manayunk. It's a small neighborhood in the northwest. Sort of an artsy area with cute shops and restaurants. That night we went to the Phillies/Red Sox game. I just love Phillies games. They have such a great stadium and the weather was perfect. I also had my very first Philly cheesesteak. Not bad, not bad.

Saturday we got up and walked around the city for a bit, had lunch then headed to Longwood Gardens. Gorgeous! It's about an hour outside of the city. Amazing flowers! We came back to Philly a different route. We drove through Valley Forge (after getting lost a few times) and then went to the King of Prussia mall. Just a quick trip though.

Sunday we drove to Deleware to Winterthur, the DuPont estate. Absolutely stunning. We took a tour of the grounds and then walked through their house. Amazing that Mr. DuPont did most of the decorating and planning.

Monday we drove the opposite direction to the Amish Country. It was interesting to see how the Amish go about their lives just as they always have, even though towns have grown around them. Their farms are beautiful! We took a ride in a horse and buggy with an Amish man and were able to learn a little more about the Amish.

The Flyers are in the playoffs and it's been fun to cheer them on. The Philly fans are just a different breed. They are PASSIONATE! So, Monday night, we went to Fox & Hound to watch the game. We left early because I needed to go to Barnes and Noble. As we were walking home, we saw all of these police on Broad Street. It took me a minute to figure out that they were there to prevent a crazy riot. The fans here apparently go wild in the streets when their teams win. Well, the Flyers won and the town went crazy. We stood on the corner for about an hour just watching everything. We also talked with one of the cops and he told me all about the city. Not only did I get to experience the rowdiness, but got an education as well.

I was able to take Friday and Monday off to spend time with my mom. Needless to say, when Tuesday rolled around, I was not ready to go back to work. Four day week last week, four day week this week, and four day week next week. Not too shabby. And this weekend, I head to New York!

Wouldn't It Be Nice

Can I just go one week without something crazy going on here in Philly? So a few weeks ago, I had to run all over town to find someone to give me a TB test. I had to go through Thomas Jefferson's Family Medicine (read: The Parkland of Philadelphia) clinic as a new patient. What a beating. But at least the doctor that I saw was cool and just did my PPD and sent me on my way. I even told him thanks, it's been a pleasure meeting you, but I hope to never see you again. That weekend I went to Dallas, so while I was visiting friends at TSRH, I had the employee health nurse read it for me. Negative. Perfect. Except that she wanted everyone to get a chest x-ray to make sure there wasn't anything residual. So, I had that done at the hospital and never heard anything of it again. Until this past Friday. She sent me an email that said she wanted to review my results and that I needed to call her. If you got that in an email Friday evening, wouldn't you start worrying? I did and couldn't call her until Monday morning. I waited all weekend wondering what could have been the problem. Did I really have TB? Come to find out...no. But apparently they found an area of one of my lungs that was "hazy" and might be a sign of atelectasis. Meaning a partially collapsed lung. WHAT?! How on earth could I have run 10 miles last weekend in crazy heat and have a partially collapsed lung. So, I had to get another chest x-ray. How on earth am I going to do that? Well, I asked one of the fellows I work with if he would order it and he would except he couldn't read it for me. I needed to follow up with someone who normally read them. He would feel bad if he missed something. If it were a knee, he could do it, but not a chest x-ray. (Did I mention he's an orthopedic hand surgeon?). So, thank goodness I did see that doctor because I just called his office. He called me back Tuesday morning, put in the order and I could get it done. So, I trekked back to TJU, sat for about an hour and got yet another chest x-ray. When I was waiting to make sure they came out right, the tech asked me if I had any questions. Yep, just one. Does it look normal? I know she's not authorized to say, but still, come on. So we looked at it together and didn't see a whole lot of anything. But now I have to wait until the doctor calls me with the results. Except that I got one of the other fellows, who have access to the TJU system, pull up my x-rays and result. The report basically said it couldn't get more normal than that. Oh, and according to the ortho hand surgeon, my bones look good. That was about the extent of his comment on my x-ray.

This weekend I'm going to Atlantic City, so I just pray that everything goes smooth. I don't have a very good track record with traveling as of late.

Truth No. 2

So I had a rough day (or couple of days) and I had a case of diarrhea of the mouth on Friday. Between dealing with crazy patients and trying to please everyone, I sort of let all of my frustrations fly out of my mouth. It was actually good to get everything out and my co-worker/supervisor totally understood, but I know nothing will change. I have two months left and I'll just suck it up and treat my patients.

I had another great adventure today. I haven't had my hair cut in about 10 months or so. I never plan to get it cut, I just wake up one morning and want it cut. Right then! So, I started looking online for an Aveda salon. After my incidence in Baltimore, I'm sticking with Aveda salons. I actually found an Aveda institute where I could get my hair cut for cheap. Only it's done by students. Oh well. It will grow if they really mess up. I trekked over to University City and found the salon. When I checked in, I had to sign a waiver that stated that I understood that a student would be cutting my hair, not a licensed professional, and that I could be injured while getting my hair cut. WHAT?! Injured?! Wow. If patients had to sign something like that when a student was providing medical care, would anyone really want to be taken care of? Well, I signed my life away and proceeded to get my hair cut. There were some sketchy students there too. Luckily for me, a girl that looked like she fit in at an Aveda salon would be cutting my hair. I was basically getting a trim, so how bad could it really be? Not bad at all. And for $16, I'd go back. I didn't lose an eye either.

Gonna Fly Now

Broad Street Run...check!

This morning I ran the Blue Cross Broad Street 10 Mile Run. I was there along with 29, 999 other people. It was a very well organized run. The weather though was crazy! I felt like I was back in Texas it was so hot. The race organizers did do a very good job of having plenty of water and Gatorade on the course and they city even had fire hydrants spraying water.

Philly has a couple of great organizations that come out for this run. One is the Students Run Philly Style. Students from the Philadelphia school district train for several months and have mentors working with them. They train specifically for the Broad St. Run. It was very encouraging to see these students and their parents/supporters holding signs on the sidewalk. Many of the signs had a student's name on them and what they were able to accomplish having joined this group. The other group is called Back on My Feet. From what I understand it's a group for the homeless of Philadelphia. They meet during the week and run, with the goal of completing Broad St. as well. Another very encouraging group.

This won't be my only race in Philadelphia either. At the expo on Saturday I signed up to run the Rock and Roll Half Marathon here in September. I also signed up for Rock and Roll Half Marathon in San Antonio. So I guess I'm committed. I'm excited to be back in Dallas to train with my RunOn group though! Lanie, want to make a come-back with me? :)

The Best Is Yet To Come

I have 9 weeks left in Philadelphia before I move back to Texas. I still have quite a bit left on my "Philadelphia Bucket List" but I've also been doing a lot of planning. I promised my list, so here it is:

My Philadelphia Bucket List

(completed)

1. 76ers game
2. Phillies game
3. Flyers game
4. Constitution Center
5. Liberty Bell
6. Independence Hall
7. Betsy Ross House
8. Elfreth’s Alley
9. City Hall Tour
10. Philadelphia Museum of Art
11. Rodin Museum
12. Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts
13. The Barnes Foundation
14. Franklin Institute
15. Museum of Natural Science
16. U Penn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
17. The Ben Franklin Museum
18. Mutter Museum
19. Pennsylvania Hospital
20. Eastern State Penitentiary
21. Kimmel Center for Performing Arts
22. Academy of Music: The Lion King
23. Walnut Street Theatre
24. Broad Street Run
25. Skiing/Snowboarding in the Poconos
26. Go Vertical
27. Ice Skating at Penn’s Landing
28. Aberdeen Dad Boat Regatta
29. Morris Arboretum
30. Longwood Gardens
31. Winterthur
32. Philadelphia Magic Garden
33. Rittenhouse Spring Festival
34. Philadelphia Flower Show
35. Manayunk Art Festival
36. King of Prussia Mall
37. Reading Terminal Market
38. The Italian Market
39. Cheesesteak
40. Monk’s Café
41. 4^th Street Deli
42. Morimoto
43. Continental
44. Café Victor
45. La Locanda del Ghittoni
46. Jersey Shore
47. Atlantic City
48. Manayunk
49. New York City
50. Washington, DC
51. Baltimore
52. Hershey
53. Valley Forge
54. Amish Country

So as you can see, I've got quite a bit to do before I move back to Texas. But, this is what I've got planned so far...

May 15-16: Atlantic City

May 20-15: Mom's in town and we plan on going to Wintethur, Longwood Gardens, Valley Forge and the Amish country

May 28-30: Possible trip to New York

June 12-13: Hershey, Pennsylvania

June 18-20: Cape May, New Jersey (the Jersey Shore)

July 2: Back to Dallas