Apologies

I started blogging about this time last year. I know I have slacked dramatically the last five months but everything has been crazy. New job, new apartment, an income, and all the stresses of the real world. Things are finally starting to settle down a little and so I think its probably time I start writing regularly again. Recently watched Babel and Casino Royale, both were very good. Oz just got me a digital camera (black) for my birthday and I am way too excited to continue writing. Time for me to play with my new toy!

Slow going

I have moved, but my brother is dragging his feet a little, and rightfully so. I started work a couple of weeks ago and it is going great. Once Oz gets moved and settled in, the place will look a lot better. I am starting to get in more of a routine. My next goal is to start updating more frequently and to insert myself into a few professional and social circles. I am guessing that oz will be moved in about a week and a half, dsl should be active soon after. I didn't expect this life transition to take this long, but i'm certainly okay with it. Over the last 18 months I have learned to sit back, relax and just take everything in. More to come...

Transition

It has been too long since I last posted. I have been living a very odd existence for the last three weeks. I moved out of my old apartment on the 28th of June. I couldn't find a nice apartment until recently so I have been living at home with Mom since last we spoke. I finally found a nice apartment and will be signing the lease tomorrow and moving in on Thursday. I made a makeshift closet in the garage from dowel rods, hooks, and old lumber laying around since my college days. It actually looks pretty good. All of my worldly belongings are also in the garage melting away as we speak. I walked in the garaged today and my couch was sweating! I have been sleeping on a twin size bed which has been causing me to wake up with a stiff and sore back everyday. Good times. My mom still lives a simple life therefore we don't have the luxuries that most people living in the 21st century are accustomed to. I have been using Mom's dial-up internet to check my e-mail and naturally we don't have cable either, so it's pretty boring. Our DVD player has been acting up, so yesterday I watched Braveheart on VHS. I hate living in transition. I am transitioning into a new job (in contract negotiations as we speak), new apartment, new gym, new friends, new haircut (the mid-length gentleman's cut aka the Senator's cut just doesn't suit me, I'm going back to the buzz. It will definitely show my thinning spots, but I would rather that than cover them up.) I hate the fact that I haven't been able to work out. At least I have been playing tennis and/or running on a daily basis. Well, I will update/complain more when I am finally settled in my new place, sleeping on my full size bed, surfing the internet via cable modem, and watching PBS with 200 stations on standby.

End of an Era

I put some pictures of the graduation party up but my computer has been acting weird and it won't let me load the graduation and wedding pictures. As soon as I can figure it out, they will be posted. I am moving on Sunday (wipes single tear from cheek). I have lived in this apartment for four years! This is the longest I have lived anywhere apart from the apartment complex that I grew up in. It is very sad when you have to leave a place that you have spent such a significant part of your life in. It just wouldn't be the same without school or my friends anyway. BG has already started his program at UCLA, JB is back in Wisconsin, JC is still looking in Seattle, MJ is looking in South Carolina and Oregon, and others are spread out from Arizona to Florida. I suppose for the near future I will head back to Louisville. I'm still not sure exactly what I want, but a nice opportunity is available back in the Ville. The next time I write will be from a new apartment in a new place.

Party

Slow and MP at the grad party

Suma, JB, Slow, JC, BG, Wes, and Chad at the graduation party

I'm back

Well, it has been a month since I last posted, but I am back. I never really left, just convinced myself that I had more important things to do other than post. I am now Dr. Slowmar, but I insist that you still call me Slowmar, or just Slow. I will be taking my Jurisprudence exam in two weeks and that will be the last hurdle before I am given my license to kill/practice dentistry in Indiana. I will also take the Jurisprudence exam for Kentucky as well within the next couple of months. I went to BG's wedding in Santa Barbara last month and it was a great time (he honeymooned in Thailand, Maldives and briefly in Singapore). I also went to Chicago for Memorial Day weekend and have spent quite a few days in Louisville as well. I am in the process of packing everything in my apartment for the move. Where am I moving you ask? I have no idea. My lease expires on June 30th and I have submitted my move out day as the 28th. I'm sure I will decide in the next couple of weeks where to move. I have narrowed it down to Indianapolis and L.A. (Louiville Area). I am still very confused and conflicted with what to do both personally and professionally. I won't bore anyone with that mess though. I will finally be posting some pictures from the graduation party (April 22), graduation (May 14) and BG's wedding (May 20th).

Pictures

Another view from our Villa.
Our pool and view from the pool area
Marina during early morning. Really nice view of Pedgral, our place was on the left side of the mountain.
Not ours, but impressive, 14 feet, 820 lbs!
Wes fighting a marlin, lost it about 40 feet from boat. That's Luis (our captain) helping
Wes.

Taking a Break

Well, all my requirements are complete. I will turn in my school mailbox key on monday as well as my computer. Apparently they have to delete eveything from my computer and then reinstall any operating system and software that I provide. Although I am essentially done, I would guess that by wednesday the paperwork will be official and I will be cleared to graduate. A week from today I will be graduating. The school will have my computer for the next few days and I will be busy cleaning and preparing for graduation. I will then be retaking the operative portion of my board exam on the 19th and then head to Santa Barbara for BG's wedding. That being said, this will probably be my last post for a couple of weeks. I am putting up some pictures from Cabo but will put more up when they get sent to me. I am still waiting for my graduation party pictures and hopefully I will have some Santa Barbara pics as well.

Villa de Blase

I got back from Cabo monday night and I'm finally rested up and back to normal. The Golden Dome was rented so we stayed at Villa de Blase in Pedregal. I don't have a digital camera yet but once I get pictures from all the guys I will post some. I will also put pictures from my graduation party up when I get them from my friends. Pedregal is really nice, it's considered the Beverly Hills of Cabo. It is a completely private community of Villas and mansions. Apparently Madonna has a place there, as well as Stallone, Micheal Jackson, and Steven Segal. I don't really know if Steven Segal having a place is a selling point but oh well. I went deep sea fishing for striped marlin and tuna on friday. We got some box lunches and breakfast from a neat little shop on the marina called Senor Sweets. Fishing was great except that I got sea sick three times. This was certainly better one of my buddies that got sick nine times! We hooked one marlin but it broke the line about 40 feet from the boat and got away. We spent a lot of time on the beach as well. Also, at a place further down the beach called the Office. At night we hit some of the usual spots: Cabo Wabo, El Squid Roe, and Passions. I had a ton of fun on Saturday during the day when we all went ATV riding. Sunday night was a great dinner at Nick San sushi restaraunt. It was all really fun, but ridiculously expensive. The only cheap thing was lunch every day from this cool little place called La Guardinas which had 1.50 fish tacos!

Graduation Party

This past weekend we had our graduation party at the Indiana Historical Society. It was a lot nicer than I expected. I didn't recognize half of the people there since they weren't in scrubs. Dinner was nice, the slideshow was excellent, and less people than I thought annoyed me. After dinner and the slideshow the event moved downstairs to the canal. I had a really good time. I wore my tux, but had to wear a straight tie because I still can't tie a bow tie. I will put a couple of pictures up when I get some. Graduation is now only two and a half weeks away. I can't believe who they are letting get doctoral degrees these days (case in point, me). I still have two small requirements left to complete. One next tuesday morning and one next friday afternoon. After that I should be officially cleared for graduation (barring any unforeseen hitches). I will also soon have to start the arduous process of cleaning my apartment in anticipation of the family's arrival for graduation weekend. Graduation for me is completing my requirements, getting my liscense, and finding a job. I suppose the formal ceremony is more for the family. Well I better start the clean-up process now.

Indiana Weather

The weekend was pretty laid back. I went to a get together at somone's place on Friday with BG. She had a chocolate fountain there! Everyone was quietly standing around socializing, and then we walked in. I made my way straight to the food which was at this point still untouched. My lack of manners apparently started a chain reaction and everyone began eating soon afterwards. The quiet gathering once again turned into the Slow and BG comedy hour once we started our routine (witty banter feeding off of each others comments). It was a pretty good time except the crazy weather we encountered on our drive up there. The rain was coming upwards! It hailed for about 20 minutes and at one point in time we were the only car on the road (everyone else was pulled into a gas station or under an overpass). Thank goodness we were in the Green Dragon and not in Sunny. Saturday was a lazy day of TV watching and so far sunday has been much of the same. Four weeks of school left, crazy!

Mr. and Mrs. Gunnar

Congratulations again to LB and Gunnar! The weekend was a fun and hectic time for all. It was good to see all the fam and meet new friends. LB's old boss talked to me for at least an hour on Saturday and sought me ought at least twice at the wedding. Uncle Jerry loves Oz solely because he was familiar with the Big Dig. I bro'd out with LB's co-worker's husband (i'll refer to him as the Greek). It was a good time. Baby bro forwarded me an article written about his article. Apparently the IDS has never run an op/ed on the front page of its newspaper and so they printed a follow-up as to why they chose to do so in the first place. I was also forwarded this article that proves baby bro is a fob and cares way too much about his hair. Before you go and think that the IDS is a paper run by all of baby bro's friends, here is a little info. It is one of the nations largest student newspapers, it is almost entirely student run, published daily, and it is financially self-sustaining. Well, fat boy has to lose 10 more pounds before the end of the month. Must drop bag of potato chips clinched in right hand...must stop eating double cheeseburgers at every eatery in greater indianapolis...must run more...must stop ordering off the menu at Bourbon Street...too late (opens mouth, inserts handful of mesquite bbq chips).

First Dentist

I just read this today and found it really interesting. Maybe I was desitined to become a dentist. Maybe I am even a descendant of this early Pakistani dentist (even though he/she was from Balochistan and not the Punjab).

Final Four

Indianapolis was packed this last weekend. The NCAA Final Four took place downtown and it was pretty cool. I went out with a bunch of friends on Friday and every place downtown had a line about 50 people deep to get in. It was nice to see downtown so alive. Usually the only place with a line downtown is Have A Nice Day Cafe, affectionately referred to as the HAND (if you are a female you will find more than one on your backside during the course of an evening). Lines are generally reserved for Broadripple (college bars and clubs). Anyway, on Saturday we went to Jillians and watched the semifinal games on any one of the twenty big screens downstairs. The line was too long initially to get in so we had to settle for watching the first half of the Florida game in a giant tent that was set up next door. This quickly became a nuisance because it was cold outside and I was tired of seeing drunk 21 year old girls with flip flops falling on their rears. I noticed also that all of my friends are ex college athletes. I wish I would have gone to a smaller school and played college sports (I had Division II and III offers for baseball and football<---tooting own horn!). BG played volleyball at UCLA, JB and JC were swimmers at Luther College, and JP played football at Wyoming. I played intramural Euchere at IU, just not the same. After UCLA won, BG was determined to get tickets for the championship game. He came through and we were able to go to the Championship on Monday night. Florida fans outnumbered UCLA fans at least 3 to 1. It was a boring game but still fun to be there and experience it all. Last night I ate a Bourbon Street Burger (with cajun spices) at my favorite hangout. I am now fatter and more unhealthy, but certainly more content.

Parkour

So my latest obsession is with this style of street 'jumping' called Parkour. I remember it was featured on a Nike commercial some time ago and that it was of french origin. I have been looking up tons of clips and recently came across a movie on a blog. The movie is called Banlieue 13 (District 13). Anyway, I think that this parkour stuff is amazing and just wanted to share it.

Simpsons

I just came across this earlier today and had to share with those who hadn't seen it yet.

Two Weeks

I am not a hardcore blogger but I have gotten very used to writing poorly on the events that take place in my life. I don't really know what I've been doing that has kept me so busy. I don't think that I have really been doing anything. I think that I am just very scared and unsure of what will happen in my life the next couple of months. I am still waiting for a sign from above to tell me what to do, still nothing. I guess I will keep waiting and praying. I do believe that everything happens for a reason and as long as I continue to believe that, everything will be okay. My fridge is bare again, more so than last time! Seven weeks of school left! Cabo awaits!

Virus v. Bacteria

I have been a little sick as of late. I was fine until thursday morning. I went to Patachou for breakfast/brunch and immediately after started feeling nauseous. I have heard that a few people in my class had a stomach virus, but I don't feel that it is viral because I fought it off in a couple of days. I suppose is could be bacterial, but I think I might have overexerted myself this week. I worked out a lot this week, played ball monday and wednesday, volleyball on thursday, and really didn't eat a lot. I didn't sleep much and I think my body is just a little upset at me, nothing a Big Ten from Pizza Express won't clear up. Only a half week in clinic this next week and then I will head home for a few days to hang with the fam. BG left for Mexico this morning, JC is studying for Step 2, so I will probably head to JB's and play Halo on Xbox live.

Great Clip!

Never mind that I feel that high school football is microcosm of everything that is wrong with America. Never mind that parents love to force their children to play sports and live vicariously through them. Never mind that golf, soccer, and tennis will always be sports that the rich and bratty will excel in. This is what makes sports great. It warms my heart everytime I watch it. Note the jubilation of his teammates and the fans.

Critical Deficiency

Well, I have finally regrouped after this weekend. I took my licensing exam this weekend and I did not pass one part of it. I was really upset on Saturday during the day, but after some words of encouragement from my family, friends, and almost everyone in my class, I feel a lot better. I know everyone in my class but am only close to a handful of them. After hearing what happenned to me on Saturday, the support and concern that has been expressed by almost everyone I have talked to has been surreal. Without going into details that non denties (as my med school friends like to call us) wouldn't understand, I got screwed over by a classmate. After I got screwed, I couldn't pull it together and perform at the level necessary to pass. The examiners decided that I had a critical deficiency in one of my cavity preparations (greater than 2mm from ideal) and I failed that one portion of my exam and will have to retake it in either late April or mid-May. No big deal, I hadn't planned on practicing until July anyway. I am very disappointed because not only did this person screw me over, but the way they decided to tell me was extremely unprofessional, tactless, and lacked the class I would expect from a fellow student. Anyway, like Oz said, "you can't control the situation, but you can control the way to react to it". So I am moving on and making the most of the cards I have been dealt. In all honesty I have had a relatively easy last couple of years. I haven't really encountered any obstacles or tough times. I suppose this is just another test that I have to prepare for and work harder to overcome.

The Early Man

I don't have cable, a home phone, and I steal wireless from someone in my building. So with my rabbit ears I only get about 6 channels, one being mtv2. I am obsessed with this channel. It has tons of videos and the shows on here are hilarious. The two shows that I watch the most are Team Sanchez and Wildboyz. The fact that I love the sophmoric humor in these shows just proves that I am the most adolescent of my brothers and probably always will be. Another site that I happened upon by watching a commercial on mtv2 was gamekillers. This site had me and oz laughing for quite a while. I am currently or have struggled against all of these characters. I'm hesitant to comment on which one or combination of these gamekillers I am.

Cabo!

Apartment is now clean, fridge is full (with water, juice, and condiments), clothes are folded and put away, and patients are in line for boards. My life has some relative order restored to it. I can't wait until Saturday is over with. I just got the official e-mail from BG's best man regarding the 'gathering' in Cabo. Among those invited are Will Forte (from SNL, BG's fraternity brother from UCLA), Taylor (UCLA volleyball buddy and former AVP player), Argent (Head of Marketing, Red Bull USA), JC, JB, myself (dental school friends), and a number of others that will make this trip a great time. One of the names on the list was a gentlemen by the name of Beavers. Beavers lives in Indy now but is from North Carolina originally. He is known in every pub in indy with a capacity of under 50 people. He has two personal cab drivers, Uncle Tom and Eddie! I have employed the services of Uncle Tom numerous times, but honestly, who has two cabbies? Here is my favorite picture of Oz, baby bro, and myself.

I don't see too well, is that Bill Shakespeare over there!

Baby bro wrote an article for the IDS, IU's newspaper, not bad brother.

Better Late Than Never

State house was pretty lame. Nice building, which is to be expected, but nothing special. I checked my school mailbox and found a nice surprise. I made the Dean's list this semester. I actually got a 4.0! I will be expecting another envelope stating that the school made a mistake any day now. It's a nice feeling to say that I made it. I have never been a great student nor pretended to be one, but I have matured a little and worked very hard this year. I know both of my brothers are way more mature than me but I just don't feel like growing up. I like partying like a rock star on the weekends! Anyway, I had better finish cleaning.

Cool

I have to go to the Statehouse tomorrow to meet with legislators. What the heck am I going to talk about? This reminds me of a story from my freshman year of undergrad. I was 17 years old and decided to declare Biochemistry as my major. I was then instructed to meet with a faculty member within the department who would serve as my advisor during my undergrad career. I went to his office and it was all downhill from there. He had more books and binders (with course numbers like C700, C825) than I had ever seen or will see in my life. He began talking about biology, chemistry, blah, blah, blah. All I could think about was waffles and coke for breakfast. I nodded politely and daydreamed for a while. As the meeting drew to a close we walked down the halls of the chemistry building. We stopped at a display on the wall where he began talking about this protein strain that he developed and how he presented it at a symposium in Chicago. After a few minutes of rambling he turned to me anticipating a well thought out question or remark on this matter. I stood there completely dumbfounded with a perplexed look on my face. I opened my mouth and all that came out was the word 'Cool'. He shook my hand, I left the building, walked to the academic affairs office and promptly changed my major to Biology. The point of the story is that I'm an idiot and if put in a situation I know nothing about (biochem, state legislation) I will resort to fragmented sentences and high school diction. Sweet law! I'm totally amped about being here Senator! That speech you gave was of the chains!

Naptown Ballers

This week has been insanely busy. The next two weeks don't look any better. I am trying to get all my patients in order for boards next Saturday. Baby bro has a small cavity that is ideal for the boards so I get to save the 75 bribe that I would have ordinarily paid to my patient. Let me just give you an idea of what I've had to pay (Oz, stop reading, I'm about to get quanitative). I had to fork over 1600 for the NERB exam (three parts, the clinical portion being the one on March 4th). Three hundo for my assistant to sit and help, 75 for my other filling patient, and 50 for my perio patient. That's right, two g's for this exam total. Now, god forbid I fail or one of my patients doesn't show up (hence the bribe), I fork out another 700 for the retake at Ohio State. On top of that I would have to pay an assistant again, three patients, lodging (for everyone) and food for the group. I hope I pass. Also, I am still trying to finish up my grad requirements. I played basketball tonight and we got trounced by the 'Naptown Ballers'. They had a fellow by the name of 'Gambles' who during warm-ups stood beneath the rim, pump faked twice, proceeded to jump straight in the air and dunk two handed. We have a fellow by the name of 'Slowmar' who with a full court running start, 30 minutes of stretching, 2 days worth of ice on the shins, gets excited when he can grab the rim with one hand. I felt really old. It probably didn't help that I had high tops with velcro, two knee braces, rec specs, and shorts exposing 4 inches of thigh (not really, but I might as well have).

Weekend Update

I had a relatively uneventful week and weekend. I am starting to stress out a little (okay, a lot) about the clinical portion of my licensing exam. I still need to find a couple of patients before March 4th. I drove down south early Saturday for a short weekend with the family. Saturday night I stopped by to visit the cardiologist, the fellow storyteller, the admiral, and the writer with an infectious laugh. Within two minutes of the conversation starting, the writer commented on how my hair was thinning just like my dad, pretty funny (and unfortunately true). The cardiologist was busy watching the heating repair man sit in his truck and talk on the phone, all the while commenting on how he's been sitting out there for seven minutes and he should be in the house fixing the upstairs heat. Storyteller then told us about the time LB's dorm room was so cold that she couldn't type her papers and needed to buy a space heater for her room. Oh, storyteller also commented that I look just like i do on my blog. I was very surprised that she saw my blog. The fact that she knows what a blog is and how to check one makes her exponentially more computer savvy than my mom. Although she did lose a little street cred when she said that the sound wasn't working on the computer. At first I thought I might have to reinstall a sound card or check the drivers. Upon further examination I saw that the volume was on mute. Case solved. I also watched the third season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, I really liked it and will have to rent all the available seasons when I have time. I played basketball thursday night and we beat the third years. Soccer tonight and another victory. Good to be back on the winning track. I just checked my schedule and I only have 12 more weeks of school. It will be a very busy three months though. Boards on March 3rd. Gathering in Nashville on March 11th. BG informed me that my presence is requested in Cabo for the weekend of April 29th. Class graduation party on April 22nd. LB's weekend on April 9th. Graduation May 14th, BG's wedding in Santa Barbara on May 20th.

5280 Feet

I did do laundry, didn't grocery shop, and read one journal. I also watched 'The Green Mile' on TV tonight. Apparently it is really dusty in my apartment and this was irritating my contacts lenses because my eyes were watering occasionally during the movie. I don't think my apartment is as dusty as the movie theatre that I watched 'Forrest Gump' in (especially the part where he is standing by the tree talking to Jenny's grave and pauses and says "he's so smart", I pretty much lose it everytime). A similar reaction can be elicited by Oz when watching 'Batteries Not Included", haha, sorry I had to bust you out brother.

Fire Mike Davis

I had a really good week at school, but now I have lab work that I must catch up on. Sushi last night was outstanding, as usual. The restaraunt is Korean owned but is still a great place to eat. I particularly like the traditional Korean noodles and vegetables (Japchae). This is preceded by a small salad with garlic/ginger dressing and followed by Miso soup. After eating at Hisago weekly for a year, we have narrowed our choice of rolls to the 'perfect five'. Spicy salmon, ebi tempura, new york roll, hoosier roll, and oshizushi roll. Friday and Saturday nights also provide us with the occasional poorly sung version of James Brown's 'I Feel Good' echoing from the back room of the restaraunt where Karaoke is taking place. I have been laying around all day watching college basketball. IU lost again, I fear that we may not make the NCAA tournament, yet alone make the final four (as I predicted three months ago). Mike Davis is a great recruiter but absolutely cannot coach. We have to start winning on the road if we stand any chance at all of making the tournament. I have nothing in my fridge (see picture), sorry for the poor quality, it was taken with my phone. As you can see, I have water, milk, condiments, and the biggest tub of butter available for consumer purchase. I think I will grocery shop today, finish laundry, and read some nerdy dental journals/magazines. I will also try and rent Curb Your Enthusiasm, per Oz's request. One more thing, I rented 'Constant Gardner' two nights ago. I really enjoyed it, as I do most of John LeCarre's movies and books.

Two Step!

I passed National Step II!!!

Breaking News....New Diet Guaranteed to Work!

Another week of school down only 14 more to go! I was at Cottage Corner clinic all week. It is a nice facility that addresses the medical and dental needs of the underserved population in Indianapolis (mostly eastsiders). I really enjoyed the rotation, I had a lot of freedom in decision making and got a chance to see multiple patients. Pretty boring week. Unfortunately, due to circumstance, I can only set short term goals right now. I want to pass National Step II (I should find out in about two weeks), next I want to get my patients ready for clinical portion of NERBs, and finally I have to still complete my graduation requirements. I suppose after achieving these goals I will aggressively start looking for a job. I have a meeting with the Heartland recruiter on the 16th and am also in contact with a friend of a friend who practices in Sydney, Australia about possible opportunities there. I really don't have a single preference on where to practice. I suppose Louisville/Southern Indiana is always an option but Oz has three years of med school left (and endless years of residency left) and baby bro has a year of undergrad and three years of law school before they decide where they want to live. I will probably just end up associating for a few years and hopefully find a place to practice within the next five years.
Well, in early December I reported that I weighed in at a husky 198. Eight weeks later, with a little hard work, a little bit of heartbreak, and some dieting, I weighed in at 190 even! I am pretty excited, only 12 more pounds to go until my goal is reached. After reading the South Beach Diet, studying Atkins, researching the Caveman, cabbage soup, liquid, and Hollywood diets, I found one that works. Eat less and exercise more! I am doing something aerobic five times a week and eating about half as much as I normally do. I go to bed hungry every night, but it's worth it. Time to undo all that hard work, the weekend is here!

Rounds

I spent most of my spare time this weekend working on my final rounds presentation. I am so unmotivated these days and just finished putting together the worst presentation ever. I would like to think that in the past I have taken quite a bit of pride in my rounds presentations. I presented on 'Meth Mouth' before a lot of published articles were available (should have published my research, but I'm obviously way too lazy). I also presented on 'Treatment and Management of Medically Compromised Patients. As you can see, these at least sound like good presentations. Now, let me wow you with my most recent one. I will be presenting an antibiotic cheat sheet for dentists, an anesthetic cheat sheet, and a denture fabrication cheat sheet. Anyway, on friday I went to a local watering hole called 'The Working Man's Friend' (proud to say that I've eaten at 4 of the top 6 on this link). This place really is a hole in the wall, not to be confused with another establishment around town actually called 'A Hole in the Wall'. I still maintain that 'The Friend' has the best cheeseburger around. They also have great cheese sticks and battered mushrooms. I really haven't slept well in about two weeks. I am very stressed out with my impending graduation, not knowing where to practice, and quite frankly what to do in my personal life. I guess I will just do what I did last year when my life was in disarray; spend all my time at the gym. On wednesday I played basketball (and lost by about 30 points), thursday I played volleyball, friday was basketball again, saturday was a very intense workout and today is indoor soccer. I suppose if I keep myself busy enough my problems will either go away or I will be so involved with other things that I just won't worry about them as much anymore.

Nashville

I took an impromptu trip to Nashville with a couple of friends yesterday. I had a haunting suspicion that Nashville was a little country, but it was really country. We went to quite a few places on Broadway, 2nd Avenue, and Printer's Alley. We started at a place called Tootsies. From what I can gather, Tootsies is to the Nashville country music scene as CBGB was/is to the punk rock scene. Next we went to a bar/club called The Stage. This place was pretty big and had, as you might imagine, a really big stage. The sound system was insanely loud as evidenced by the arrythmia that I now suffer from. I recieved a phone call from a buddy of mine that left us some tickets for a show that he was opening for at a venue called the Wild Horse Saloon. This place was enormous, three levels, giant dance floor (for line dancing and other such activities), and tons of really attractive girls. We felt really cool because there was a ton of people wanting to get into this sold out show and we just walked up to the door and said we were with the band and got in. Okay, it may not have happened exactly like that, but we still had an in. Nashville was really cool in that every single place had live music (including street performers). Also, it seemed as though there was no place that wasn't at least 3/4 capacity. Tootsie's and the Stage were incredibly packed. The people that were out are also worth commenting on. There were college type people (from Vanderbilt I'm guessing), hicks, old (over 40), and young. I was rubbing elbows with hot girls with pointy shoes, expensive clothes, and designer perfume and mingling with guys in wrangler jeans, heavy starched shirts, cowboy boots, and brut cologne. By the end of the night I found myself watching the rodeo on TV and commenting "at boy kuh ride". For those of you that are unfamiliar with Nashville speak, it translates roughly to "that gentlemen is quite capable and adept at maintaining balance upon that unusually large, ill-tempered bovine". Needless to say, I had a great time and am looking forward to doing it again.

Hi Five

I had a very stressfull week at the emergency clinic. My brother now laughs at me because a stressfull week for me usually involves working at the hospital from 8-5:30, standing the entire time, taking med histories, and doing oral surgery all day. I had the worst patient on friday morning. She was HIV+ and didn't know her T-Cell count. She also didn't know what meds she was taking and what she was taking them for. Every 10 minutes she told me a new condition. Oh, I have neuropathy, and thrush, and I had alcohol poisoning two weeks ago, and depression. I could go on, but I'll stop and spare anyone reading this the agony. She has been positive for 11 years but when I asked her what her T-Cell count was, she promptly stated "18" (full blown AIDS is anything under 4oo, she obviously didn't know and was making up random numbers). Finally, I could tell that she was getting frustrated with the fact that a dentist was asking all these questions. As I occasionally walked out of the room to talk to the doctor I noticed that she would talk to the wall, her purse, and the x-ray hanging in the view box. When I walked back in with the doc, she cursed at both of us and stormed out. Good times.
Satisfied the usual friday sushi craving last night and then met BG and his fiance, JC and his lady, and MJ at Olives (the bar in the Omni). Right now I'm listening to Thievery Corporation and Kenny Chesney. I don't really know anyone else who has those together on a playlist. Quite frankly I'm not sure why I do either. I really like this picture. Pakistan may be the only place on earth where you could find a family of 8 on a 100cc motorcycle.

Yee Haw!

I had a pretty exciting weekend. I went to sushi at Wasabi on the north side on friday. After dinner we met up with about twenty other people for a friend of mine from IU who had a surprise 30th birthday party thrown for him. It was good to see some of the old crew from IU. They drove from Chicago, Nashville, and Columbus, it was a good time. On saturday a group of fourteen of us went to the rodeo. It was a lot of fun, but the highlight of the night had to be Whiplash, the cowboy monkey. They had a monkey in a cowboy hat, riding around on a sheepdog, herding cattle. It was the funniest thing I have seen in a long time. Although it did also remind me a little of the monkey I saw in Pakistan that smoked, did push-ups, sat with his legs crossed in a chair, kneaded mock dough, and aimed a miniature rifle at you. After the rodeo we all went out to the usual dive. Sunday started out as one of my laziest days on record. I refused to anwer the phone until 4 o'clock as it sat ringing 18 inches from my head all afternoon. I finally got up to play soccer (we won 6-0 and I scored, but for some reason Real Madrid hasn't come calling yet), went for a run afterwards, and then tried unsuccessfully to do TaeBo with MP. I took it seriously, but she kept laughing at me and I kicked her dog twice accidentally. I'll stick to weights and sports. I am at Regenstrief Emergency clinic all this week. So I will be stuck with the unenviable task of trying to discern drug seekers from those who are in legitimate pain. I also have to start studying for my Jurisprudence exam on wednesday. Instead of listing all 1000 songs in the nano, I will just quote a line from a random song:
"To the extreme I rock the mic like a vandal, light up the stage and wax a chump like a candle"
Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby

Resolutions

My patient cancelled this morning, therefore allowing me time to write a few lines. I think I would enjoy blogging a lot more if it was like the medical profession. I wish I could sit with a tape recorder dictating and then have the tape outsourced to south asia and posted to this page. I recently took the North East Regional Board Exam (NERB). I felt a lot better about this test than National Step II. If I pass both of these exams, I may never have to take another written test ever again (at least none of any significant value). I partied with some friends on the 31st and have watched my fair share of college football this last week. I am very depressed in that I have to go to school again and deal with all of that nonsense. Now for resolutions:

1. Lose 20 pounds by early April (i'd be happy with 15)
2. Graduate on time (by Mother's Day weekend)
3. Figure out where I want to live
4. Find a job
5. Become more active (aerobic activity daily)
6. Drink more water (pretty lame, but I do need to)
7. Throw away all loose papers dated prior to August 2000
8. Give away all clothes that haven't been worn in over one year
9. Learn to ride (and buy) a motorcycle (Yamaha FZ6 or Suzuki SV650S)
10. Don't eat after 10pm

I think that is all the resolutions I came up with. I feel that I can and should accomplish at least 8 of the 10. Those were my reasonable resolutions. Here is my unreasonable resolution/wish list:

1. Travel to Spain, France, England, Italy, and Greece (includes sailing the Mediterranean in a chartered yacht)
2. Own 100 acres of land somewhere in the Carribean where I will eventually build a house and retire
3. Become the dentist to the stars, have my own show, get asked to star in movie along side one of my patients, become an international phenomenon (okay, this is just ridiculous, I'll stop now)
4. Get asked to be a consultant for Ferrari's F1 team (this wish also includes dating a model/actress which is a customary perk of the job)

Let me get back to my reality of travelling to the gym, owning a half acre in southern Indiana, becoming a dentist to the underprivelaged, and being a consultant for my soccer/volleyball team.