It seems my department hadn't really thought through how they were going to pay for my first two years of PhD coursework when they accepted me 3.5 years ago. Though I have been repeatedly assured that paying for me won't be a problem since, "They made a commitment to me," I have my concerns since these promises are often followed by admonishments that, "You really need to get your own grant next year."
See, most of the pre-doctoral grants a) are not in my field, and b) require that you're done with your PhD coursework in order to be eligible. The upshot of this is that I'm going to have to get creative with my project.
The plus side: This is probably good training for "the real world" of research because.... let's face it. All researchers have to whore themselves out and compromise on research topic in order to get money. Yay! Practice!
Oh why couldn't I just have been interested in running randomized control trials or curing cancer, obesity, or aging?
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Tuesdays
Tuesdays are always insane. I have class from 9-7 with not much in the way of breaks in between. And then someone always tries to fit in some meeting that overlaps, so I wind up running my little butt off all over campus.
As my busiest day, I typically make it my prerogative to wear jeans and a t-shirt. Today was my Quicksilver t-shirt with skulls on it. And since I was especially harried my purple fleece which I didn't notice had toothpaste stains all over the front.
Sexy.
Anyhow. At 2:30 after one class ended, thankfully on time, I rushed over to a meeting on the main campus and managed to catch the tail end. Phew!
But then at the end of the meeting, the hotshot of the X department who happened to be present (which I had totally forgotten about this morning) decided that I absolutely HAD to meet this other faculty member about my research project. Right then and there. The good news was that he didn't seem to notice the toothpaste stains on my fleece at all.
So I and my tousled attire went to meet this guy. And the meeting seemed to go well! Yay! At the end as I was walking out the door I apologized for my attire. He laughed. He told me he didn't notice these kinds of things anymore and not to worry about it. What was a little toothpaste compared to blood, afterall!
It reminded me how badass I felt when I went home after being sprayed with bloody bone dust in the OR (safely protected behind a visor of course). These are my kind of people.
As my busiest day, I typically make it my prerogative to wear jeans and a t-shirt. Today was my Quicksilver t-shirt with skulls on it. And since I was especially harried my purple fleece which I didn't notice had toothpaste stains all over the front.
Sexy.
Anyhow. At 2:30 after one class ended, thankfully on time, I rushed over to a meeting on the main campus and managed to catch the tail end. Phew!
But then at the end of the meeting, the hotshot of the X department who happened to be present (which I had totally forgotten about this morning) decided that I absolutely HAD to meet this other faculty member about my research project. Right then and there. The good news was that he didn't seem to notice the toothpaste stains on my fleece at all.
So I and my tousled attire went to meet this guy. And the meeting seemed to go well! Yay! At the end as I was walking out the door I apologized for my attire. He laughed. He told me he didn't notice these kinds of things anymore and not to worry about it. What was a little toothpaste compared to blood, afterall!
It reminded me how badass I felt when I went home after being sprayed with bloody bone dust in the OR (safely protected behind a visor of course). These are my kind of people.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Stood Up
I had a meeting today scheduled to meet with a potential committee member at 11. He never showed up, and then his secretary told me that he was out for Yom Kippur.
Funny, he had suggested the date and time to me. I suppose he must have forgotten that it was a holiday, and then not remembered to cancel once he realized he wouldn't be in. Or maybe he never put me on his schedule in the first place. That's happened before with other prospective mentors.
Anyway, I doubt it was malicious. Maybe just a tad careless?
At least I brought a journal article to read while I waited.....
A few months back while I was waiting in the hallway on MLK day for a different prospective mentor to show up (he eventually did 15 minutes late, which really isn't bad compared to some other people), wondering whether he wasn't going to come in at all, I had the opportunity to talk with a very nice collaborator of the guy about career paths and how one ends up doing what one ends up doing.
He told me a story about how his daughter one day happened to have a conversation with some person who did absolutely amazing (she thought) research in a particular area. And how that single 15 minute interaction determined the trajectory of her career for the next 10 years. And how sometimes choosing a mentor is as simple as finding someone who you click with. Who takes an interest in you.
It's funny to think that I've chosen my mentor not only based on his research area of interest (which is amazingly cool), but also based on the fact that he shows up on time for meetings. Or shows up at all.
I guess things just work out that way sometimes.
Funny, he had suggested the date and time to me. I suppose he must have forgotten that it was a holiday, and then not remembered to cancel once he realized he wouldn't be in. Or maybe he never put me on his schedule in the first place. That's happened before with other prospective mentors.
Anyway, I doubt it was malicious. Maybe just a tad careless?
At least I brought a journal article to read while I waited.....
A few months back while I was waiting in the hallway on MLK day for a different prospective mentor to show up (he eventually did 15 minutes late, which really isn't bad compared to some other people), wondering whether he wasn't going to come in at all, I had the opportunity to talk with a very nice collaborator of the guy about career paths and how one ends up doing what one ends up doing.
He told me a story about how his daughter one day happened to have a conversation with some person who did absolutely amazing (she thought) research in a particular area. And how that single 15 minute interaction determined the trajectory of her career for the next 10 years. And how sometimes choosing a mentor is as simple as finding someone who you click with. Who takes an interest in you.
It's funny to think that I've chosen my mentor not only based on his research area of interest (which is amazingly cool), but also based on the fact that he shows up on time for meetings. Or shows up at all.
I guess things just work out that way sometimes.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Walk
Today I made cookies with a friend (which were awesome chocolaty decadence, btw), and then Luca and I went for a walk.
It was cool and breezy and absolutely lovely. We ran into a couple we knew and their daughter and chatted for a while. Then we checked out the gardens and the decoratively painted houses in our neighborhood, and contemplated whether we would ever use a deck if we had one built on the back of our house.
So relaxing.
I love our new neighborhood!
And then we came home and the Bears had actually won!
What a nice afternoon.
It was cool and breezy and absolutely lovely. We ran into a couple we knew and their daughter and chatted for a while. Then we checked out the gardens and the decoratively painted houses in our neighborhood, and contemplated whether we would ever use a deck if we had one built on the back of our house.
So relaxing.
I love our new neighborhood!
And then we came home and the Bears had actually won!
What a nice afternoon.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Fluffernutter
All* Italians hate peanut butter. Luca has been in this country for almost 10 years now, and it took marrying me for him to even try the stuff.
He hated it. He said it was one of those tastes that Italians just don't understand. Like barbecue sauce. (Though he got past THAT particular aversion remarkably quickly.)
As an American born and raised here, I believe it would actually be illegal for me not to like peanut butter. I kept some in the house and would periodically make a PB&J sandwich. Every now and then, Luca might have a nibble.
And then he would ask me to please make him a sandwich with jelly only. Or Nutella. Did we have any of that?
So you can imagine my surprise when I discovered a few weeks ago that Luca had started keeping jar of peanut butter in his office to make sandwiches when he got hungry at work.
He prefers crunchy.
So today, I decided that I would see how he liked a fluffernutter sandwich. You know, peanut butter with marshmallow fluff. An American classic.
And he liked it.
Congratulations sweetie! You are officially an American.
*By "all" I mean "my husband."
He hated it. He said it was one of those tastes that Italians just don't understand. Like barbecue sauce. (Though he got past THAT particular aversion remarkably quickly.)
As an American born and raised here, I believe it would actually be illegal for me not to like peanut butter. I kept some in the house and would periodically make a PB&J sandwich. Every now and then, Luca might have a nibble.
And then he would ask me to please make him a sandwich with jelly only. Or Nutella. Did we have any of that?
So you can imagine my surprise when I discovered a few weeks ago that Luca had started keeping jar of peanut butter in his office to make sandwiches when he got hungry at work.
He prefers crunchy.
So today, I decided that I would see how he liked a fluffernutter sandwich. You know, peanut butter with marshmallow fluff. An American classic.
And he liked it.
Congratulations sweetie! You are officially an American.
*By "all" I mean "my husband."
Friday, September 25, 2009
Bellissima
This pic was in the Corriere today. You can just imagine the conversation that is happening.
Berlusconi: Mrs. Obama you are so beautiful! The way your dress clings so seductively to your body! It makes me want to lick you all over like a giant chocolate popcicle!*
Michelle: Hahaha! Well thank you Mr. Berlusconi, I'm glad you like my outfit.
Barack: Keep your hands off my wife, you nasty old letch.
*Try not to take offense. I was trying to come up with something that Berlusconi would actually say. He often makes inappropriate comments about skin color.
Public Health Failures
#1 - I was scheduled to donate blood this week.
It got canceled because people saw cockroaches scurrying around the donation area. That's right. ROACHES.
(I think this was a sign....)
#2 - I was scheduled to get my seasonal (not H1N1) flu shot on Wednesday.
It got canceled because the vaccine shipment did not arrive. And then I was told that since I was doing research I should let people who see patients get their shots first.
Except that I do see patients since I do clinical research. I don't work with mice or pipettes, I work with people. In fact if you look at our institution's rules, as a clinical researcher I'm actually required to get both the seasonal flu shot and the H1N1 vaccine since it is required of anyone who has patient contact.
Isn't the usual problem that people refuse to do things like give blood and get vaccinated? I'm trying my darndest to do both, and can't seem to be able to get either done!
Ridiculous. Gah!
It got canceled because people saw cockroaches scurrying around the donation area. That's right. ROACHES.
(I think this was a sign....)
#2 - I was scheduled to get my seasonal (not H1N1) flu shot on Wednesday.
It got canceled because the vaccine shipment did not arrive. And then I was told that since I was doing research I should let people who see patients get their shots first.
Except that I do see patients since I do clinical research. I don't work with mice or pipettes, I work with people. In fact if you look at our institution's rules, as a clinical researcher I'm actually required to get both the seasonal flu shot and the H1N1 vaccine since it is required of anyone who has patient contact.
Isn't the usual problem that people refuse to do things like give blood and get vaccinated? I'm trying my darndest to do both, and can't seem to be able to get either done!
Ridiculous. Gah!
The dumb one
I'm taking this class on cost-effectiveness analysis in health care over at the business school. And though it is my least favorite class this block, it's still ok.
My main problem with the class though, is that the professor spends most of his time telling anecdotes that he thinks are funny (and expecting us to laugh), and then glosses over the slides with important terms or examples, saying things like, "Oh yes this is obvious," when maybe it's not. And the examples are what we need to be able to understand!
If this were to happen in med school, I'd go and look up the answer and figure it out on my own. It's different here, because I don't know where I can do this. And unfortunately, the slides he provides only have the questions. Not the answers, much less an explanation.
The thing is, I know I'm not the only person in the class who doesn't get everything he says, but so far nobody has been willing to raise a hand and say, "Can you please explain X again?" I think it's because people are afraid of looking stupid. I know I am.
So yesterday during break, I finally asked a question. And yes, I got the answer, but it seemed pretty clear to me that the question was not appreciated. Or at least that he thought I should have gotten it the first time. I mean, he didn't say, "You didn't understand THAT? That's so EASY!" as one of my Physics TAs did back in the day, but yeah, it sort of seemed like that's what he thought.
When I got home I pointed out to Luca that perhaps part of the problem with economics was not just that they try to put a dollar value on life, but that economists act like jerks. Like everything they think is so self evident that they shouldn't even have to utter it aloud once, let alone twice.
God. I'm there to learn something. From now on I vow to question away. Too bad for him if he thinks I'm stupid. It's not my home department anyway.
My main problem with the class though, is that the professor spends most of his time telling anecdotes that he thinks are funny (and expecting us to laugh), and then glosses over the slides with important terms or examples, saying things like, "Oh yes this is obvious," when maybe it's not. And the examples are what we need to be able to understand!
If this were to happen in med school, I'd go and look up the answer and figure it out on my own. It's different here, because I don't know where I can do this. And unfortunately, the slides he provides only have the questions. Not the answers, much less an explanation.
The thing is, I know I'm not the only person in the class who doesn't get everything he says, but so far nobody has been willing to raise a hand and say, "Can you please explain X again?" I think it's because people are afraid of looking stupid. I know I am.
So yesterday during break, I finally asked a question. And yes, I got the answer, but it seemed pretty clear to me that the question was not appreciated. Or at least that he thought I should have gotten it the first time. I mean, he didn't say, "You didn't understand THAT? That's so EASY!" as one of my Physics TAs did back in the day, but yeah, it sort of seemed like that's what he thought.
When I got home I pointed out to Luca that perhaps part of the problem with economics was not just that they try to put a dollar value on life, but that economists act like jerks. Like everything they think is so self evident that they shouldn't even have to utter it aloud once, let alone twice.
God. I'm there to learn something. From now on I vow to question away. Too bad for him if he thinks I'm stupid. It's not my home department anyway.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
500+
Yesterday my blog had over 500 hits. That's a lot for me. It immediately made me neurotic about my post. Were people fishing for ideas to research? Was I going to get scooped?
Ultimately I decided my research question as posted was pretty vague and that I was being neurotic.
And then I came across this article in JAMA. (Thank you classmate for pointing this out -- I had seen it mentioned in the news, but hadn't actually read it yet.) I wondered if the article could have been responsible for the spike.
I think this article can be filed under the heading: Ah yes, professionalism.
It was about internet use among med students. Blogs. Facebook. The like.
Mostly they were concerned with profanity (I wonder if writing F*** counts...), sexual content, intoxication or substance use, threats to patient confidentiality, and negative stories about med school / faculty members / courses that name names, conflicts of interest (seriously? med students have these?), saying things that make doctors in general look bad.
Seriously? It's considered "unprofessional" to post a photograph of yourself holding an alcoholic beverage? I have to assume they are thinking more along the lines of the frat party / drunken keg stand and less along the lines of the Christmas toast at the in-laws. But who knows? It's not like I have any faith that the people who enforce these types of rules do so with their brains plugged in.
Sigh!
Anyhow, this will probably prompt a neurotic perusal of my blog looking foranything remotely interesting unprofessional content. Again. Plus a request for my husband to do so, since he is much more objective than I am.
This is not the first time I've heard about this topic. In fact, one of my prospective committee members was involved with a paper on this subject. I knew this before I met with him, but I was kind of surprised when he brought it up during our meeting. Not my blog, but that he was an author on such an article.
In a moment of paranoia (as in: the tv is sending special messages intended only for me) I considered that maybe he was telling me this for a REASON. OMG WHAT IF HE HAD LOOKED AT MY BLOG WHILE DOING THE RESEARCH FOR THIS STUDY!!!
But then I realized that there was no way he would have ever been the person to have done the actual work of reading all those blogs, and I was being paranoid. He was just trying to give me an example of the cool and varied research he was part of.
Oh yes, to answer your burning question -- nobody in any administrative form has ever said anything to me about my blog. At this point. Hopefully it will stay that way, because up until now overall? I have really liked med school.
And yes I know I can kiss my career in politics goodbye.
:-)
Ultimately I decided my research question as posted was pretty vague and that I was being neurotic.
And then I came across this article in JAMA. (Thank you classmate for pointing this out -- I had seen it mentioned in the news, but hadn't actually read it yet.) I wondered if the article could have been responsible for the spike.
I think this article can be filed under the heading: Ah yes, professionalism.
It was about internet use among med students. Blogs. Facebook. The like.
Mostly they were concerned with profanity (I wonder if writing F*** counts...), sexual content, intoxication or substance use, threats to patient confidentiality, and negative stories about med school / faculty members / courses that name names, conflicts of interest (seriously? med students have these?), saying things that make doctors in general look bad.
Seriously? It's considered "unprofessional" to post a photograph of yourself holding an alcoholic beverage? I have to assume they are thinking more along the lines of the frat party / drunken keg stand and less along the lines of the Christmas toast at the in-laws. But who knows? It's not like I have any faith that the people who enforce these types of rules do so with their brains plugged in.
Sigh!
Anyhow, this will probably prompt a neurotic perusal of my blog looking for
This is not the first time I've heard about this topic. In fact, one of my prospective committee members was involved with a paper on this subject. I knew this before I met with him, but I was kind of surprised when he brought it up during our meeting. Not my blog, but that he was an author on such an article.
In a moment of paranoia (as in: the tv is sending special messages intended only for me) I considered that maybe he was telling me this for a REASON. OMG WHAT IF HE HAD LOOKED AT MY BLOG WHILE DOING THE RESEARCH FOR THIS STUDY!!!
But then I realized that there was no way he would have ever been the person to have done the actual work of reading all those blogs, and I was being paranoid. He was just trying to give me an example of the cool and varied research he was part of.
Oh yes, to answer your burning question -- nobody in any administrative form has ever said anything to me about my blog. At this point. Hopefully it will stay that way, because up until now overall? I have really liked med school.
And yes I know I can kiss my career in politics goodbye.
:-)
Old
I was having a conversation with one of the fellows a few days back. I guess she was taking genetics with the 1st year med students or something to give her background information on genetics for her research project.
Anyway, she wouldn't stop talking about how OLD she was. And how much OLDER than everyone else in the class she was. And how all the med students in the class looked at her funny and asked her why such an OLD PERSON like her was taking genetics with them.
Folks? Girl can't be older than 32 or 33 (she's not, I googled her). Seriously. Old?
Puhleeze.
I said I could relate, but in the end age really doesn't matter that much. It's all in how good a job you do and whether your thoughts are intelligent. And also that a 10 year difference wasn't as uncommon as she thought. (wink wink, nudge nudge)
I don't think this was the response she was looking for, since she basically just walked away.
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! I guess I'm not the most sympathetic person with respect to complaints about being "old." :-)
Maybe I should start referring to her as grandma.
Anyway, she wouldn't stop talking about how OLD she was. And how much OLDER than everyone else in the class she was. And how all the med students in the class looked at her funny and asked her why such an OLD PERSON like her was taking genetics with them.
Folks? Girl can't be older than 32 or 33 (she's not, I googled her). Seriously. Old?
Puhleeze.
I said I could relate, but in the end age really doesn't matter that much. It's all in how good a job you do and whether your thoughts are intelligent. And also that a 10 year difference wasn't as uncommon as she thought. (wink wink, nudge nudge)
I don't think this was the response she was looking for, since she basically just walked away.
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! I guess I'm not the most sympathetic person with respect to complaints about being "old." :-)
Maybe I should start referring to her as grandma.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Topic
Drum roll please:
I am going to be studying decision making regarding ICU bed allocation. On several dimensions.
Unless it turns out I can't for some data availability / feasibility reason, but it's so far looking like that's not going to happen. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Sorry if you find this boring. I don't. I think it's totally awesome.
That is all.
I am going to be studying decision making regarding ICU bed allocation. On several dimensions.
Unless it turns out I can't for some data availability / feasibility reason, but it's so far looking like that's not going to happen. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Sorry if you find this boring. I don't. I think it's totally awesome.
That is all.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Thiamine v. Folate
One of the patients I took care of in the past year came in actively withdrawing from alcohol. He was a self admitted heavy drinker, malnourished, with non-healing infected ulcers on his feet.
In addition to giving him a banana bag and standing benzos, I had also ordered thiamine for him. This was a confused guy with ataxia and nystagmus, understand? But I kept noticing that another day had gone by without the thiamine being checked as given in the med rec report on our online system.
I wasn't sure to make of this, since often medications are given and not recorded in the system. And as a lowly medical student I didn't want to come across as a nag to his nurses, especially since it isn't particularly uncommon for medications to be given but not checked off in the system. She might not have known whether the nurse on the shift before her had given it anyway if her signout hadn't included that information. On the other hand, it was pretty important that he receive this medication. I wasn't sure what to do.
The second day he got a new nurse, and bless her heart, she called me to tell me that he was refusing his thiamine shot. Could she just give him folate instead? And you know? Although I was mildly horrified that she didn't know the difference between thiamine and folate (Is this something nurses learn? I don't know.), I was incredibly relieved that she asked me.
So, I thanked her. Then I went into the patients room and he agreed to let her give him his shot. And then I wondered whether this had happened with his nurse the day before, and she hadn't told me? Or if she just hadn't given him the medication.
This patient ended up doing ok in the end. Still, I wonder how often stuff like this happens?
In addition to giving him a banana bag and standing benzos, I had also ordered thiamine for him. This was a confused guy with ataxia and nystagmus, understand? But I kept noticing that another day had gone by without the thiamine being checked as given in the med rec report on our online system.
I wasn't sure to make of this, since often medications are given and not recorded in the system. And as a lowly medical student I didn't want to come across as a nag to his nurses, especially since it isn't particularly uncommon for medications to be given but not checked off in the system. She might not have known whether the nurse on the shift before her had given it anyway if her signout hadn't included that information. On the other hand, it was pretty important that he receive this medication. I wasn't sure what to do.
The second day he got a new nurse, and bless her heart, she called me to tell me that he was refusing his thiamine shot. Could she just give him folate instead? And you know? Although I was mildly horrified that she didn't know the difference between thiamine and folate (Is this something nurses learn? I don't know.), I was incredibly relieved that she asked me.
So, I thanked her. Then I went into the patients room and he agreed to let her give him his shot. And then I wondered whether this had happened with his nurse the day before, and she hadn't told me? Or if she just hadn't given him the medication.
This patient ended up doing ok in the end. Still, I wonder how often stuff like this happens?
Friday, September 18, 2009
Pink Sweater
I'm not a superstitious person, but I've noticed that whenever I wear hot pink -- specifically when I wear this J. Crew cardigan I bought a year and a half ago -- my meetings with faculty members seem to go well.
This cardigan. Except with 3/4 length sleeves.
Now, I don't want to a) wear the sweater out or b) wear it too often to meet with the same faculty person, so I have to pick and choose when I wear it. Today I had three such meetings though, so it was a no-brainer.
And I had three good meetings! Very productive day. My goal for the day was to figure out what my next steps were in terms of picking my mentor and working my my research project (Did I mention? I have a project now), and boy was I ever successful. Too successful.
As in, hold crap-ola I have a lot of reading to do!
Which is a good thing. Really.
But the good news is that I am getting all set up to learn all these cool cross-disciplinary social science methods and have a series of really interesting problems to apply them to. The Goal. Yippee!
Better stop procrastinating so much I suppose....
Still, I was thinking the other day how long the day was and how hard I had worked. I had gotten up at 6AM, gone swimming, and then was in class from 9 - 6 pretty much constantly. I collapsed on the couch when I got home, very proud of myself for my hard day of work.
And then I started thinking about what my typical med school day was like. Say on my..... medicine rotation.
Then I'd get up at 6 (or 5:30 if I had a lot of patients), and then I'd be at the hospital until 5 or so. And then I'd come home and study until I went to bed, for at least an hour. Oh sure, I took about an hour off to eat/talk with my husband. But then I would repeat the next day. And again x 365 days or however long last year was. :-P
And working out? Wait, what was that again?
Anyway, this got me to wondering how it was that I felt so tired and behind the other day when I was doing easily 4 hours less of work in a day now compared to what I did during med school.
My conclusion was that the soft shell crabs and excessive quantities of wine, pastries, and gelato that I consumed over vacation must have made me soft.
And I will get used to it all over again.
This cardigan. Except with 3/4 length sleeves.
Now, I don't want to a) wear the sweater out or b) wear it too often to meet with the same faculty person, so I have to pick and choose when I wear it. Today I had three such meetings though, so it was a no-brainer.
And I had three good meetings! Very productive day. My goal for the day was to figure out what my next steps were in terms of picking my mentor and working my my research project (Did I mention? I have a project now), and boy was I ever successful. Too successful.
As in, hold crap-ola I have a lot of reading to do!
Which is a good thing. Really.
But the good news is that I am getting all set up to learn all these cool cross-disciplinary social science methods and have a series of really interesting problems to apply them to. The Goal. Yippee!
Better stop procrastinating so much I suppose....
Still, I was thinking the other day how long the day was and how hard I had worked. I had gotten up at 6AM, gone swimming, and then was in class from 9 - 6 pretty much constantly. I collapsed on the couch when I got home, very proud of myself for my hard day of work.
And then I started thinking about what my typical med school day was like. Say on my..... medicine rotation.
Then I'd get up at 6 (or 5:30 if I had a lot of patients), and then I'd be at the hospital until 5 or so. And then I'd come home and study until I went to bed, for at least an hour. Oh sure, I took about an hour off to eat/talk with my husband. But then I would repeat the next day. And again x 365 days or however long last year was. :-P
And working out? Wait, what was that again?
Anyway, this got me to wondering how it was that I felt so tired and behind the other day when I was doing easily 4 hours less of work in a day now compared to what I did during med school.
My conclusion was that the soft shell crabs and excessive quantities of wine, pastries, and gelato that I consumed over vacation must have made me soft.
And I will get used to it all over again.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Mug
While my parents were visiting, they brought me this coffee mug as a gift. I thought it was pretty apropos.
Well technically, my mug is purple.
Here's to being a giant pain in the A**! Thank you Mom and Dad!
Well technically, my mug is purple.
Here's to being a giant pain in the A**! Thank you Mom and Dad!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
I am a total dork
My computer's hard drive just got reimaged, and the first program I reloaded? STATA. And I got version 11. So exciting!
I am a total dork.
Also, I find Measurement class completely fascinating. It has the reputation for being the most heinously dry and boring class in the entire curriculum.
I am a total dork.
I find myself getting excited about how much work I am going to get accomplished on my research projects this fall via all the work they're making us do for our other Epi classes.
I am a total dork.
I like being a dork. At least I like what I do!
I am a total dork.
Also, I find Measurement class completely fascinating. It has the reputation for being the most heinously dry and boring class in the entire curriculum.
I am a total dork.
I find myself getting excited about how much work I am going to get accomplished on my research projects this fall via all the work they're making us do for our other Epi classes.
I am a total dork.
I like being a dork. At least I like what I do!
Snow
Luca told me that the Falzarego pass got a foot of snow the other day. We were there 2 weeks ago and it was 80 degrees! Crazy mountain weather.
*****
Today is my marathon Tuesday where I have class from 9 AM until 7:30 PM. I am not excited about this, especially since my computer just broke and is in the shop, and I need it for class. :-P
But otherwise things are ok. Still getting my mind around this whole "being a grad student" thing. It turns out I have to write a 10 page paper this semester. I haven't done that in 10 years!
*****
And it turns out that the paper that I was working so hard to finish before vacation..... the paper that my adviser berated me about NOT finishing two years ago..... it can't even get submitted until the lead paper on the study is accepted for publication.
Might have been nice to know that before now.....
On the other hand it is getting close to being done, so at least that is a weight off of my shoulders.
*****
One thing this semester.... all the professors are asking us to print out our own slides for class because "nobody really uses them anyway, right?" Oh, also in the name of environmentalism.
I think the reality is that the University is trying to save money. Why can't they just say that instead of waving this green flag of morality over our heads?
And well? I print on their dime anyway.
*****
My parents were in town this weekend. First visit since we bought the house. It seems they approve.
We went to Marigold for dinner on Saturday night. TOTALLY recommend. The food was amazing. The ambiance was amazing. And it is 8 blocks from my house. Who can beat that?
*****
Le Sigh. Time for a run.
*****
Today is my marathon Tuesday where I have class from 9 AM until 7:30 PM. I am not excited about this, especially since my computer just broke and is in the shop, and I need it for class. :-P
But otherwise things are ok. Still getting my mind around this whole "being a grad student" thing. It turns out I have to write a 10 page paper this semester. I haven't done that in 10 years!
*****
And it turns out that the paper that I was working so hard to finish before vacation..... the paper that my adviser berated me about NOT finishing two years ago..... it can't even get submitted until the lead paper on the study is accepted for publication.
Might have been nice to know that before now.....
On the other hand it is getting close to being done, so at least that is a weight off of my shoulders.
*****
One thing this semester.... all the professors are asking us to print out our own slides for class because "nobody really uses them anyway, right?" Oh, also in the name of environmentalism.
I think the reality is that the University is trying to save money. Why can't they just say that instead of waving this green flag of morality over our heads?
And well? I print on their dime anyway.
*****
My parents were in town this weekend. First visit since we bought the house. It seems they approve.
We went to Marigold for dinner on Saturday night. TOTALLY recommend. The food was amazing. The ambiance was amazing. And it is 8 blocks from my house. Who can beat that?
*****
Le Sigh. Time for a run.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Fellows
Yesterday I was having coffee with one of the PhD-onlies in my department, i.e. one of the students who is getting the PhD withOUT the MD. I was trying to explain to him what it was like.
Taking classes with fellows, I mean. As a medical student.
It's weird.
In medicine, a "fellow" is not just a charming lad, but a person who has completed medical school and completed residency, who is pursuing additional training in a sub-specialty of choice.
And in case you were curious, there is a hierarchy in medicine. A very clearly defined, almost military hierarchy. The attendings are superior to the fellows who are superior to the residents who are superior to the interns who are superior to the 4th year med students who are superior to the 3rd year med students. As a medical student, the sooner you learn this the better off you'll be.
I alluded to this in my most recent post, but a lot of residents see medical students as shit. Stupid. A time suck. Annoying. Grade grubbing. Know it all. Dangerous. Medical students in the hospital occupy a place of explicitly stated inferiority (in all respects) to residents, fellows, and attendings. Also to nurses, medical assistants, and janitors. Most people in the hospital don't abuse us too badly, but as I alluded to in my last post, some residents and fellows are toxic to medical students.
Case in point of how fellows view those of lower status, one of the second year fellows in my department was loudly complaining today in the elevator about all of the "stupid" phone calls she received as consults from the (implied) stupid interns and residents during the past week. GIANT EYE ROLL. OMG CAN YOU BELIEVE WHAT THIS (stupid) INTERN ASKED ME?*
And even if they don't actually say it, many of them act like they think it much of the time.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that when I go to class, I am surrounded by people who are used to being superior to me. To being my "boss." To being able to order me around. To knowing more than I do. To being entitled to these things.
And suddenly they don't know more than I do anymore. Sometimes they know less. Many of them have never done research before. I've done it for three years as a full time job.
The thing is, most of them don't realize this, and continue to behave as they would in the hospital. Some of them have actually approached me to try to get me to do the shit work portions of their research projects for them (because that's what medical students DO in the hospital). If they acknowledge me at all, I am a little buzzing mosquito who doesn't really know anything.
Negotiating this shift in status is daunting. At least it has been for me and the other medical student who completed the Doris Duke program last year. I don't feel like I fit anywhere.
Of course, things ultimately will change as the fellows get to know me a little better. A few of the fellows now say hi and even more will make eye contact than did just a few weeks prior. I still don't feel welcome in their conversations though, even when they are just talking about their research projects. I will probably remain an outsider in many respects as I try to navigate this program.
But I'm sure it will get better at some point, and I will probably forge some new relationships as well. It's all time will tell.
*I wonder what she would have thought had she caught me in a conversation about the condescending asshole fellow I had to deal with the previous weekend.....
Taking classes with fellows, I mean. As a medical student.
It's weird.
In medicine, a "fellow" is not just a charming lad, but a person who has completed medical school and completed residency, who is pursuing additional training in a sub-specialty of choice.
And in case you were curious, there is a hierarchy in medicine. A very clearly defined, almost military hierarchy. The attendings are superior to the fellows who are superior to the residents who are superior to the interns who are superior to the 4th year med students who are superior to the 3rd year med students. As a medical student, the sooner you learn this the better off you'll be.
I alluded to this in my most recent post, but a lot of residents see medical students as shit. Stupid. A time suck. Annoying. Grade grubbing. Know it all. Dangerous. Medical students in the hospital occupy a place of explicitly stated inferiority (in all respects) to residents, fellows, and attendings. Also to nurses, medical assistants, and janitors. Most people in the hospital don't abuse us too badly, but as I alluded to in my last post, some residents and fellows are toxic to medical students.
Case in point of how fellows view those of lower status, one of the second year fellows in my department was loudly complaining today in the elevator about all of the "stupid" phone calls she received as consults from the (implied) stupid interns and residents during the past week. GIANT EYE ROLL. OMG CAN YOU BELIEVE WHAT THIS (stupid) INTERN ASKED ME?*
And even if they don't actually say it, many of them act like they think it much of the time.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that when I go to class, I am surrounded by people who are used to being superior to me. To being my "boss." To being able to order me around. To knowing more than I do. To being entitled to these things.
And suddenly they don't know more than I do anymore. Sometimes they know less. Many of them have never done research before. I've done it for three years as a full time job.
The thing is, most of them don't realize this, and continue to behave as they would in the hospital. Some of them have actually approached me to try to get me to do the shit work portions of their research projects for them (because that's what medical students DO in the hospital). If they acknowledge me at all, I am a little buzzing mosquito who doesn't really know anything.
Negotiating this shift in status is daunting. At least it has been for me and the other medical student who completed the Doris Duke program last year. I don't feel like I fit anywhere.
Of course, things ultimately will change as the fellows get to know me a little better. A few of the fellows now say hi and even more will make eye contact than did just a few weeks prior. I still don't feel welcome in their conversations though, even when they are just talking about their research projects. I will probably remain an outsider in many respects as I try to navigate this program.
But I'm sure it will get better at some point, and I will probably forge some new relationships as well. It's all time will tell.
*I wonder what she would have thought had she caught me in a conversation about the condescending asshole fellow I had to deal with the previous weekend.....
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Good Residents
A lot of med student blogs write about how terribly the residents treat them. Though I am not one to go back and reread old posts -- TOO EMBARRASSING!!! -- I am sure I did this too.
This is probably because while the good residents will make your rotation, the bad ones make you want to throw yourself in front of a bus when you finally leave the hospital after 15 hours of nightfloat. (Not that this ever happened to me.... AHEM.... OB/Gyn.... AHEM!!!)
And true enough, I had my fair share of sucky ones. There were a few on OB/Gyn who were positively demonic, though an equal number of pretty awesome ones as well. Peds similarly had matched ratios of passive aggressive bitches to incredibly awesome people to work with, with the vast majority in the middle somewhere.
I suppose these ratios are actually in line with what happens in The Real WorldTM. You know, that one that exists outside of the hospital. And the best part about it is that unlike in The Real WorldTM, residents can't fire you. They can only give you bad grades.
(Though I suppose many a medical student might imagine that the "Pass" they received on Peds would really truly feel like getting fired. Because grades are that important. However, I can assure you that it does not.)
What makes a good resident? Well, a good resident from a medical student's standpoint? Heck who am I kidding -- from MY standpoint?
1. They remember your name.
2. They don't scoff at questions.
3. When you ask if you can help, they give you actual real work to do that has some value.
4. They occasionally teach you something.
5. They make you feel like a person -- a person who is part of the team -- rather than a steaming pile of dog feces.
6. If you smile, they smile back.
7. Genuine enthusiasm / interest does not visibly irritate them.
8. They remember that they were stupid once too.
9. They do not keep a running mental tally in their heads of all your mistakes, which they can be seen to mentally add to when you make one.
10. When you ask for feedback, you get actionable, useful comments. Not comments on the appropriateness of your facial expression when you present the HPI.
I'm sure there are other things that make a resident good. Please! Feel free to add your thoughts! This is, I am sure, an incomplete list.
For the rest of this post, I would like to send a shout out to all of my awesome residents from the last year and a half. When I grow up, I want to be just like you!
JG, SS, and SA on Ob/Gyn; TS on Psych; PT on Neurology; LSH, EW, DC, on Medicine; RT and KLS on Emergency Medicine; CH and NT on Surgery, My entire Neuro team on my externship this spring, and SK on my sub-i.
This is probably because while the good residents will make your rotation, the bad ones make you want to throw yourself in front of a bus when you finally leave the hospital after 15 hours of nightfloat. (Not that this ever happened to me.... AHEM.... OB/Gyn.... AHEM!!!)
And true enough, I had my fair share of sucky ones. There were a few on OB/Gyn who were positively demonic, though an equal number of pretty awesome ones as well. Peds similarly had matched ratios of passive aggressive bitches to incredibly awesome people to work with, with the vast majority in the middle somewhere.
I suppose these ratios are actually in line with what happens in The Real WorldTM. You know, that one that exists outside of the hospital. And the best part about it is that unlike in The Real WorldTM, residents can't fire you. They can only give you bad grades.
(Though I suppose many a medical student might imagine that the "Pass" they received on Peds would really truly feel like getting fired. Because grades are that important. However, I can assure you that it does not.)
What makes a good resident? Well, a good resident from a medical student's standpoint? Heck who am I kidding -- from MY standpoint?
1. They remember your name.
2. They don't scoff at questions.
3. When you ask if you can help, they give you actual real work to do that has some value.
4. They occasionally teach you something.
5. They make you feel like a person -- a person who is part of the team -- rather than a steaming pile of dog feces.
6. If you smile, they smile back.
7. Genuine enthusiasm / interest does not visibly irritate them.
8. They remember that they were stupid once too.
9. They do not keep a running mental tally in their heads of all your mistakes, which they can be seen to mentally add to when you make one.
10. When you ask for feedback, you get actionable, useful comments. Not comments on the appropriateness of your facial expression when you present the HPI.
I'm sure there are other things that make a resident good. Please! Feel free to add your thoughts! This is, I am sure, an incomplete list.
For the rest of this post, I would like to send a shout out to all of my awesome residents from the last year and a half. When I grow up, I want to be just like you!
JG, SS, and SA on Ob/Gyn; TS on Psych; PT on Neurology; LSH, EW, DC, on Medicine; RT and KLS on Emergency Medicine; CH and NT on Surgery, My entire Neuro team on my externship this spring, and SK on my sub-i.
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Vacation over
So sad.
A few days ago, Luca and his parents and I hiked up the Corno d'Aquillo again -- except this time we went around the long way. Luca and I did another 1 hr or so than his parents to get to the top, but still we were very impressed with their form. 1.5h straight up and then back down again is no joke. When I retire, I want to be just like them.
This was all in an effort to burn off all the seafood we ate in Chioggia the day before.
Here is a plate of the crabs I mentioned before.
Apparently to cook them, they take the live crabs that have freshly molted their old shells, and allow them to run around in egg batter. Then they fry them.
SIZZLE!!!
They were amazing. Soft and slightly sweet with a crisp on the outside. They were really quite amazing actually. In this picture they look a little bit like spiders. I wonder if spider would taste just as good....
So now, I'm back.
I guess technically I don't start class until tomorrow, but still. Today I have to clean the house, get groceries, and basically ready myself for school tomorrow.
It's going to be a slog on Thursdays starting with a research seminar at 9 in the morning, and ending with a cost-effectiveness class in the PM at 5:30 or so. Yay, Biostats and Measurement!
I have to say, though while I enjoy actually doing Epi research, the classes themselves leave a fair amount to be desired in the interesting-ness department. Measurement? Come on now. And in case you were curious, I've heard it is as dull as it sounds. Hopefully it will at least be useful.
Waaaaahhhhh!!!!!!
This was the most relaxing vacation I've had in years. The only one I can think of that rivals it was the one Luca and I took in Hawaii when he had a job interview out there back in 2006. It was only 5 days though. The last time we went to Italy a year and a half ago, right before my clerkships started, was lovely too. I was just pretty keyed up with the prospect of starting them, and a little bit anxious.
This time, since I am in a transition state between MD and PhD, I had little on my plate to worry about. It was fantastic.
Sigh.
Sucks to be back, but I think I'll get over it.
A few days ago, Luca and his parents and I hiked up the Corno d'Aquillo again -- except this time we went around the long way. Luca and I did another 1 hr or so than his parents to get to the top, but still we were very impressed with their form. 1.5h straight up and then back down again is no joke. When I retire, I want to be just like them.
This was all in an effort to burn off all the seafood we ate in Chioggia the day before.
Here is a plate of the crabs I mentioned before.
Apparently to cook them, they take the live crabs that have freshly molted their old shells, and allow them to run around in egg batter. Then they fry them.
SIZZLE!!!
They were amazing. Soft and slightly sweet with a crisp on the outside. They were really quite amazing actually. In this picture they look a little bit like spiders. I wonder if spider would taste just as good....
So now, I'm back.
I guess technically I don't start class until tomorrow, but still. Today I have to clean the house, get groceries, and basically ready myself for school tomorrow.
It's going to be a slog on Thursdays starting with a research seminar at 9 in the morning, and ending with a cost-effectiveness class in the PM at 5:30 or so. Yay, Biostats and Measurement!
I have to say, though while I enjoy actually doing Epi research, the classes themselves leave a fair amount to be desired in the interesting-ness department. Measurement? Come on now. And in case you were curious, I've heard it is as dull as it sounds. Hopefully it will at least be useful.
Waaaaahhhhh!!!!!!
This was the most relaxing vacation I've had in years. The only one I can think of that rivals it was the one Luca and I took in Hawaii when he had a job interview out there back in 2006. It was only 5 days though. The last time we went to Italy a year and a half ago, right before my clerkships started, was lovely too. I was just pretty keyed up with the prospect of starting them, and a little bit anxious.
This time, since I am in a transition state between MD and PhD, I had little on my plate to worry about. It was fantastic.
Sigh.
Sucks to be back, but I think I'll get over it.
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Italian Town Hall
Yesterday Luca and I went to the town hall to straighten out some things on our wedding registration forms. It seems that the address they had was three years old -- it was the Chicago one! -- and they couldn't understand why our address now said Philadelphia.
It was interesting listening to Luca explain that in fact the Philadelphia address they had on file now was still 2.5 years old. And that they would be receiving notification from the consulate in the upcoming months updating our address not one, but two times.
"You moved THREE TIMES in three years?" The man at the town hall asked my husband with disbelief. "How is that even possible?"
Luca pointed out to me later that we were lucky that he didn't find the situation suspicious and decline to register our wedding.
The kicker is that he actually received our application -- it is four pages long -- in February, and he just got around to calling Luca's mom about the confusion three days ago. His excuse: He had to enter the information into the computer!
Really, it's understandable though. He only works 10-12:30 in the morning, and 2:30-5:00 in the afternoon, so he probably genuinely didn't have the time.....
On the plus side, Luca and I found out that I can file my application for Italian citizenship in November. We decided that we probably ought to get that underway as soon as I am eligible because of a) the aforementioned buearocracy issues, and b) because Berlusconi might change the law again to prohibit Italians from marrying non-Italians or some such ridiculousness.
(They really hate immigrants here. You think it's bad in the US? Ha.)
Anyway, so that's that. Issues resolved for now (though our wedding registration application still needs to be finished being entered into the computer....), and we are otherwise good to go.
Today we're getting crabs pulled freshly out of the Adriatic in Chioggia (it's near Venice). Apparently they are molting this weekend, and this is a big deal.
It was interesting listening to Luca explain that in fact the Philadelphia address they had on file now was still 2.5 years old. And that they would be receiving notification from the consulate in the upcoming months updating our address not one, but two times.
"You moved THREE TIMES in three years?" The man at the town hall asked my husband with disbelief. "How is that even possible?"
Luca pointed out to me later that we were lucky that he didn't find the situation suspicious and decline to register our wedding.
The kicker is that he actually received our application -- it is four pages long -- in February, and he just got around to calling Luca's mom about the confusion three days ago. His excuse: He had to enter the information into the computer!
Really, it's understandable though. He only works 10-12:30 in the morning, and 2:30-5:00 in the afternoon, so he probably genuinely didn't have the time.....
On the plus side, Luca and I found out that I can file my application for Italian citizenship in November. We decided that we probably ought to get that underway as soon as I am eligible because of a) the aforementioned buearocracy issues, and b) because Berlusconi might change the law again to prohibit Italians from marrying non-Italians or some such ridiculousness.
(They really hate immigrants here. You think it's bad in the US? Ha.)
Anyway, so that's that. Issues resolved for now (though our wedding registration application still needs to be finished being entered into the computer....), and we are otherwise good to go.
Today we're getting crabs pulled freshly out of the Adriatic in Chioggia (it's near Venice). Apparently they are molting this weekend, and this is a big deal.
Friday, September 04, 2009
Cortina
After spending 5 days in Cortina in perfect 65-75 degree weather (sunny with a light breeze), Luca and I decided to return to Pedemonte before the snow came. Today.
The trip was great though. I'd never been RV-ing before, and I can say that if I can avoid sleeping in a tent on the cold, hard, wet ground for the rest of my life, I will.
The pictures look much better if you click on them and view them at full size.
Day 1
The first day we went for a hike around the Sorapis from the Tre Croci. About two hours in, and huffing and puffing up every small incline we encountered, we decided to turn around. All I can say is that I am glad I didn't decide to donate blood before we left for this trip. Ooops! Luca and I had fogotten that we were at about 2000m. Not terribly high, but definitely more than we were used to.
Things improved rapidly after that. It was a nice walk anyway.
Day 2
The second day, we decided to take the seggiovia up to the Cinque Torri area and hiked around from there. We hiked up to the Rifugio Nouvolau and had some canederli and speck at the top.
The rifugio is at about 2600m, and there is actually an iron path* that you can take to go up the face of it, rather than the easy gravel path we took up the sloping end. You can actually see the rifugio if you look closely.
And here is a view from the top, looking out over the side. Hello vertigo!
Anyway, then we made our way down and tried to hike around the Averau, but quickly decided against it because it was a) too exposed for me that early on, and b) the way to Falzarego Pass, which was the opposite direction from where we wanted to go.
This is a picture of the Averau from the base. Luca had originally wanted to scramble over the gravel, climb the chimney, and then look at the view from the 3000m top. A lot of people did this, in fact. Cool idea. It would have been a bit much for me this trip, I'm afraid.
Then we went to look around the Cinque torri, which is basically a giant sport climbing gym. There were about 20 climbers doing various routes that day. Some went up to the top of the big tower! It made me want to climb again.
We scrambled around in between the 5 towers until the fear of being hit on the head by a falling rock began to outweigh the coolness of being inside. As a side note, I fully expect the following conversation to happen when I go back to the US.
Me: Luca and I took the ski lift to the top of the Cinque Torri area and walked up to the Rifugio on top of the Nuvolau and watched the rock climbers.
Person: There aren't any rock climbers in the Cinque Terre area. I remember there being lots of cafés and gelato places, and very glamourous people walking around. It was near the sea. You obviously don't know what you're talking about, or anything about Italy.
Me: Yeah. You went to the Cinque TERRE. I'm talking about the Cinque Torri.
Anyway.
Next we went to explore the World War 1 museum that is up at the top. The Dolomites are full of these barracks that people used to fight in year round. Try to imagine what it would be like living up there in 1916 in the middle of the winter, shooting at Austrians who were trying to take the mountain back from you.
Shortly after we went back to the campsite for dinner. Here is a picture of the sunset on the Sorapis and the Antelao taken right outside the RV.
Day 3
The next day we went back to the Tre Cime area that we hiked up to two winters ago. This time, there were a lot more people though, and we made it all the way around. The Tre Cime look very different from the back than the front, and the walk was quite pleasant. It only took 4 hours or so, and it was mostly flat, which we needed after all the climbing we had done the day before.
Here I am!
And here is another picture.
We got A LOT of sun up there that day, even with copious amounts of SPF 30 slathered on. On the side of the mountain with the big road, there were a ton of people. It was a bit like Disneyworld, except instead of hoards of small children, we had hoards of tanleather sacks Italians and some very pink Germans. We were happy to get to the less often visited other side of the mountain.
Here Luca is taking a pisolino in the grass at the end of the hike. You can see the Monte Piana and the Croda Rossa in the background.
Back at the campsite later that night we took some more pictures at sunset. This is the Punta Fiames of the Pomagagnon.
Day 4
On the 4th day, we decided to climb up the Col de Bois. I wanted to walk all the way around the mountain, but it was supposed to rain starting at about 1 or 2 that afternoon, and we didn't know how long it would take, so we opted not to do it this time. It still took about 4 hours to go up and back.
From these pictures, we are only at about 2300m. In this picture of the Tofana de Rozes we could see people walking on the iron path in the middle of the mountain. The path goes up to the Rifugio on TOP of the mountain at over 3000m. It looked scary, but awesome.
Valley from the top.
As you can see, I am over my vertigo.
Across the gorge you can see the clouds start to roll in over the Cinque Torri and the Nuvolau.
It POURED that afternoon and evening.
Day 5
Day 5 was yesterday. Luca's parents drove up to help up pack up the RV and drive us back. We wanted to go trout fishing in the lake near the campsite, but sadly, it is closed on Thursdays, which is so very Italian. We had risotto instead that his mom brought.
Before they came, Luca and I decided to take a run up 2.5k and 500m up to the second lake. It only took us about 30 minutes. The air was so crisp and clear! It felt great. We walked back. The road was too steep to run down.
There are so many other places to go hike in that area! Next time we go back, I'd like to go up the the Croda da Lago, maybe do the path around the Cristallo that overlooks Cortina, the Marmolada... the list goes on. Maybe I will actually grow the balls to do an iron path (haha not likely). It's not like it matters, since all the other paths are spectacular too.
Ah, what a great vacation.
*An iron path is a path with an iron rope bolted into the side of the mountain that you clip onto via the harness you are wearing so you do not fall off the mountain.
The trip was great though. I'd never been RV-ing before, and I can say that if I can avoid sleeping in a tent on the cold, hard, wet ground for the rest of my life, I will.
The pictures look much better if you click on them and view them at full size.
Day 1
The first day we went for a hike around the Sorapis from the Tre Croci. About two hours in, and huffing and puffing up every small incline we encountered, we decided to turn around. All I can say is that I am glad I didn't decide to donate blood before we left for this trip. Ooops! Luca and I had fogotten that we were at about 2000m. Not terribly high, but definitely more than we were used to.
Things improved rapidly after that. It was a nice walk anyway.
Day 2
The second day, we decided to take the seggiovia up to the Cinque Torri area and hiked around from there. We hiked up to the Rifugio Nouvolau and had some canederli and speck at the top.
The rifugio is at about 2600m, and there is actually an iron path* that you can take to go up the face of it, rather than the easy gravel path we took up the sloping end. You can actually see the rifugio if you look closely.
And here is a view from the top, looking out over the side. Hello vertigo!
Anyway, then we made our way down and tried to hike around the Averau, but quickly decided against it because it was a) too exposed for me that early on, and b) the way to Falzarego Pass, which was the opposite direction from where we wanted to go.
This is a picture of the Averau from the base. Luca had originally wanted to scramble over the gravel, climb the chimney, and then look at the view from the 3000m top. A lot of people did this, in fact. Cool idea. It would have been a bit much for me this trip, I'm afraid.
Then we went to look around the Cinque torri, which is basically a giant sport climbing gym. There were about 20 climbers doing various routes that day. Some went up to the top of the big tower! It made me want to climb again.
We scrambled around in between the 5 towers until the fear of being hit on the head by a falling rock began to outweigh the coolness of being inside. As a side note, I fully expect the following conversation to happen when I go back to the US.
Me: Luca and I took the ski lift to the top of the Cinque Torri area and walked up to the Rifugio on top of the Nuvolau and watched the rock climbers.
Person: There aren't any rock climbers in the Cinque Terre area. I remember there being lots of cafés and gelato places, and very glamourous people walking around. It was near the sea. You obviously don't know what you're talking about, or anything about Italy.
Me: Yeah. You went to the Cinque TERRE. I'm talking about the Cinque Torri.
Anyway.
Next we went to explore the World War 1 museum that is up at the top. The Dolomites are full of these barracks that people used to fight in year round. Try to imagine what it would be like living up there in 1916 in the middle of the winter, shooting at Austrians who were trying to take the mountain back from you.
Shortly after we went back to the campsite for dinner. Here is a picture of the sunset on the Sorapis and the Antelao taken right outside the RV.
Day 3
The next day we went back to the Tre Cime area that we hiked up to two winters ago. This time, there were a lot more people though, and we made it all the way around. The Tre Cime look very different from the back than the front, and the walk was quite pleasant. It only took 4 hours or so, and it was mostly flat, which we needed after all the climbing we had done the day before.
Here I am!
And here is another picture.
We got A LOT of sun up there that day, even with copious amounts of SPF 30 slathered on. On the side of the mountain with the big road, there were a ton of people. It was a bit like Disneyworld, except instead of hoards of small children, we had hoards of tan
Here Luca is taking a pisolino in the grass at the end of the hike. You can see the Monte Piana and the Croda Rossa in the background.
Back at the campsite later that night we took some more pictures at sunset. This is the Punta Fiames of the Pomagagnon.
Day 4
On the 4th day, we decided to climb up the Col de Bois. I wanted to walk all the way around the mountain, but it was supposed to rain starting at about 1 or 2 that afternoon, and we didn't know how long it would take, so we opted not to do it this time. It still took about 4 hours to go up and back.
From these pictures, we are only at about 2300m. In this picture of the Tofana de Rozes we could see people walking on the iron path in the middle of the mountain. The path goes up to the Rifugio on TOP of the mountain at over 3000m. It looked scary, but awesome.
Valley from the top.
As you can see, I am over my vertigo.
Across the gorge you can see the clouds start to roll in over the Cinque Torri and the Nuvolau.
It POURED that afternoon and evening.
Day 5
Day 5 was yesterday. Luca's parents drove up to help up pack up the RV and drive us back. We wanted to go trout fishing in the lake near the campsite, but sadly, it is closed on Thursdays, which is so very Italian. We had risotto instead that his mom brought.
Before they came, Luca and I decided to take a run up 2.5k and 500m up to the second lake. It only took us about 30 minutes. The air was so crisp and clear! It felt great. We walked back. The road was too steep to run down.
There are so many other places to go hike in that area! Next time we go back, I'd like to go up the the Croda da Lago, maybe do the path around the Cristallo that overlooks Cortina, the Marmolada... the list goes on. Maybe I will actually grow the balls to do an iron path (haha not likely). It's not like it matters, since all the other paths are spectacular too.
Ah, what a great vacation.
*An iron path is a path with an iron rope bolted into the side of the mountain that you clip onto via the harness you are wearing so you do not fall off the mountain.
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