christmas...

geepers-creepers it has been a while since i have updated this blog. good intentions do not always produce results, however glorified they can be portrayed in ones head. well, i would love to wish everyone a very merry christmas and a soon-to-be happy new year. if i get my lazy keister in gear hopefully i will get some more updates before this glorious wind-down of 2006 occurs.

last stop on the interview trail was orlando, fl... which i loved. the program, residents, et cetera... but the trip included a spontaneous visit to the magic kingdom which leaves a lasting impression in my mind. it was wonderfully exciting and the child inside had a chance to poke its silly little head out again... something that some may say occurs on a regular basis; yet, nevertheless put that 'itch' at bay for a little while anyway. i wasn't sure if the gingerbread house behind me in the picture was actually real, so, being the guy garry that i am, i reached and touched it and 'accidently' broke off a little bit... whoops! it was then that i saw the sign of the ingredients that went into the house. way to go smart one, i told myself... boy that has happened a lot lately given in a sarcastic tone.

so i have taken many christmas pictures of the hanlin-martin christmas extravaganza, but do not have any uploaded onto my computer as of yet. that falls under the category of 'more to come'. thus, i will save some of the juicy details until then. however, i will say that it was amazingly wonderful to have the whole family together for a christmas that truly celebrated the meaning of what this holiday is about... the gift of life, love and family from christ to all of us. my sister april and her husband rory did an exceptional job this year of bringing everyone together and planning out what came to be my 'Bible Of The Holiday Event Reorganizer'...'BOTHER' for short... the itinerary adorned from above [by above i mean the printer in april's upstairs] in colors pleasing to the eyes, written in such a way the dictated events that were to come to pass [in a sequential manner] giving order to the potential chaos of two families uniting as one. the itinerary lit the path of activity for which all were to abide by... and when and if any argument were to arise about what to do next... the itinerary was consulted. yes, the BOTHER was a force to be reckoned with as it had the final say on what was to be done with each iota of time, bringing order were there was not before. thus, grateful am i for the family and the BOTHER that made this weekend very memorable indeed. thank you april and rory for all time and effort... i only hope that holiday seasons to come will be as heart-fillingly fruitful.

love,
gar

no phee...

still not a phil in sight! i went out [after a most wonderful dinner and desert with the residents] with a couple of students [one from NY and the other from Dublin] to a local pub [Kathy's]. it was nice to sit down and talk with them over a beer or two to see what they thought. the residents here are vey family oriented and as of tonight i just don't fit in... we'll see... maybe tomorrow i will be blown away out of my freakin' mind and won't even know what hit me. however, on a sad note, the program director's grandmother died and will thus not be able to be there for interviews, so i will not be able to meet her!!! crummy because i have been basing a fraction of my decision on how i interact with the program director.
anywho, off off off to bed sometime soon... if i can come down from this freakin sugar rush from the german chocolate cake and apple streussel that i downed like a champ!
gloriously stated,
g

Who's seen Phil Tran?

Well, I am currently sitting at a Starbucks here in the heart of Rochester, MN; expecting to find one whom I have not seen in a long time, aforementioned in the title. Yep, the coffee is good. That I can say. I can also tell you that I am surrounded by blocks of hospitals and clinics and research buildings. Hell, Mayo isn't in Rochester... if freakin' is Rochester. In fact, I bet I could find one of these clinic buildings that probably house residents, attendings, janitors, police and everyone else who keeps things running. Also, this town is like one giant building. When looking at all the various connections between the towering structures in this concrete jungle, I am reminded of the grove of trees in California that is the world's largest living organism. They are all connected through roots underground and have formed a living forest. That is how this place feels with blocks and blocks of building connected my multitudes of skywalks. In fact, I am staring at a skywalk that is a 5-story complex right now. I do not have to leave the hotel to go to Starbucks or to head into the hospital. In fact, I bet there is probably an indoor connection to a local bar or pub... and if there isn't there should be. I mean, with so much effort taken, why suddenly draw the line there. What else are Minnesotan's going to do in the cold weather? Alas, this is something that I cannot complain about though as it was definately warm enough today for a run in a t-shirt and shorts around town and not even come close to getting cold. It was rather enjoyable and I was reminded of when my family and I came here for AAU nationals when I was 11 years old... I remember going to the Red Lobster with the Deckers... I wonder where that is? Anywho, most cities that I have been to actually have a 'classic' breakfast and beer place that is frequented by the ER physicians... which actually makes sense considering the ER guys will do night shifts and after work will go out for a drink... however since that sometimes happens to be at 7 or 8 in the a.m., not too many places accomadate such needs. Well, i'll have to see if Rochester is the same. Anywho, still sitting here at Starbucks without a P.T. [Phil Tran] in sight. I have called him upwards of a dozen times in the past 2 weeks, including a few today, but he is not here. Have you seen P.T.? Where's P.T.? I don't know, but if is is in Rochester, he's not returning my calls... I hope he's ok whereever he is and whatever he is doing.
Well, off to get some din-din with the residents. We'll probably go to some fancy place 20 miles away and never leave the confines of this freakin building.
Cheers and Peace,
Gar

late night addition...

This is a picture of downtown Fresno, CA from atop of the new critical care tower where UCSF, Fresno now host residents for their ER program. It was a beautiful view during a beautiful day. However, I was unaware at the time that Fresno's nickname [at least to those familiar with Fresno] is 'The Armpit of California'. Well, sounding all-to-familiar to me was this tune... as I too live in an armpit... the armpit of the south [or at least South Carolina as what some call it] that is Columbia. Hence let the introductions commence... Columbia of the West, meet Fresno of the East. Alike and yet different in so many ways, but good times nonetheless to be had by all; ahhhhhhh
and now it is bedtime.
-g

p.s. www.americanparkour.com/
try making that move... from the critical care tower to the 'roundhouse'... ha

new england...

So, as I write this little monologue I find myself in Philly... the city of brotherly love... or the setting for the new Rocky? I am a little hesitatnt to see OLD Sly in such a movie and am afraid that it will kind of ruin the series of the Rocky movies. Alas, who am I to say what will or will not work... I guess that I will just have to see and find out
After that little digression, I find myself still in the Philly airport. Although I have said I woudl 'ketsup' [which i love] on the past week and a hlaf or so, I find that it woudl be nice to at least put a little blurb on what i am doing currently.
Off to New Haven for the night... which to be honest, I don't know how I feel about, but then to Baltimore which I am really looking forward to. I think that it will be a good trip to both places [or why go right?]. Maybe at a later time I can throw in some input on my trip out to Cali or to Chicago, which were both very cool. Oter than that, the rotation that I have been on has been 'good times'. However, this alternation of traveling and working has wreaked havoc on my social life... of which there is virtually none as of late. I really have not had much time for anything else other than the occasional movie, which I have seen more of in the past month that the past 3 years. Go figure. Crossfit has also been kicking my bum... as well as Yocum. He put together a doozy of a workout yesterday... after which I had hoped to do 'Murph' today, but did not find the time this morning. I will hopefully do it once I get back as it looks amazingly beautificious [what the hell does that mean?]
www.crossfit.com
Well, off to catch my connecting flight... attached is a pic of me in Las Vegas from my trip to Fresno.
peace out,
g

trip to FATville

Well, It sure has been some time since I have updated this blog. Go figure, with being out of town and all. For those of you who are not privy to my work schedult at this point, for every day I am not interviewing up until December 15th, I shall be working at some point on some shift. The last time that I updated this blog, I had just gotten back from a trip to the abode of she whom is 'fat chunk'. I had an absolute blast at Luigi's with April and Rory, Will and Erika and all the accoutriments that was 'Pasta Purses'. Such purses that contained rich cheesy goodness inside, a treasure to be desired ignited by the pavlovian response of even hearing those two words joined in holy WORDimony: Pasta and Purses.
After dinner... the new Bond movie was the Bomb. I thoroughly enjoyed the Parkour [for those interested: http://www.americanparkour.com/ is the web address of a pretty good site]. Daniel Craig did a splendid job as the new Bond and the movie did not dissapoint [at least me]. The only thing was that the 'girl' in the movie did not seem like the typical 'Bond girl'. However, it was brought to my attention that this may be a good thing in the sense that since it was a movie about how is got to be the way that he is, then maybe the girl that initiated his whole womanizing persona was seomething different, someone other than the cookie cutter mold of Bond femininity. A type of girl that caused him to deny feeling and enter in stoic romanticism for something his love was not. Either way... good flippin movie. It was one of the rarer ones that I wold not be opposed to giong to the theatres to see again.
BTW... Rufus is soooooo precious and yet viscious at the same time. Attached is a picture of hims-cute-little-self that is Rufus.
I am trying to break this up in catching up with some things that have gone down recently, especially interviews... and so, alas, I cut this short.
-Garry