2019 has come and gone. It was the first year I was employed full-time throughout, and correspondingly the days, weeks, and months flew by when most I had to say about it were boring medical adventures and revelations that aren’t really blog-worthy. Still, I do want to maintain my tradition of public reflections, so off I go!
Medicine
From July 2018 to June 2019, I was an intern in Internal Medicine. I know, I was a “prelim” and by design I’m supposed to be disinterested in internal medicine and stereotypically should have tried to skate by with minimal involvement, but quite honestly I kind of enjoyed my time! I miss the motley crew of doctors and residents, the wonderful nurses, and the beautiful hospital and grounds. I quietly published my actual blog post (Intern year in Retrospect), which you can read with the code gh.
At the end of the year, I was nominated by the nurses for the annual “Partner in Care Award” for physicians for “going above and beyond their duty” to contribute to the community. Obviously I didn’t and shouldn’t’ve won because I was an intern and that would’ve been a farce, but still, I’m so honored and I’ll cherish it forever. Oh, also, to those who told me during medical school that I’d be unsuitable for medicine because I was uncommitted to patient care, I consider this having proven you wrong!
Radiology
I love radiology. We radiologists have such a cool job. Now 1/8th into my radiology residency, I’m no longer completely useless with a dictaphone.
I got really into workflow optimization (given the constraints of our outdated system) and by extension also into programmable computer mouses (mice!?), even though I don’t even play computer games.
Backgammon
Katie and I started entering some of the club’s backgammon events and did surprisingly well! Between the two of us, we have a branded doubling cube (casual Friday tournament win by me), a branded tumbler glass (casual bracket win by Katie), and an engraved silver gravy boat thing (annual Doubles tournament runners-up) as the spoils of our victories.
Check out my ode to the game. Backgammon is an underrated game; give it a try! But it’s also a game inextricably entwined with gambling, so that may limit my future in any competitive circuit.
Others
Photos: Katie and I went on some solid trips this year, including mini trips up the Hudson Valley, a trek to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania, and an epic road trip through southern Utah. And of course, always a privilege to bring my camera to weddings.
Cooking: Documentation for cooking projects is lackluster on my part these days. However, more memorable dishes include braised short rib, barbacoa tacos, a whole load of vegetables for Friendsgiving, and many roasted chickens.
Running: This is the least I’ve run ever since I started running: fewer than 300 miles for 2019, down from the 1200+ I used to run… Oh well.
Piano: I bought a digital piano! It’s high-quality Yamaha Clavinova that feels just like a real piano, even if it doesn’t sound like one. It’s helped me retain at least some of the touch that I built up from playing Ravel for a couple of years.
Violin/Viola: I haven’t played either since mid 2018. Uhhhhhh
Moving: I moved three times this summer: once into temporary housing downstairs to give the incoming interns my room; again down to a sublet in New York City because Sinai was being difficult about giving my room in time; and once more into my current apartment in East Harlem. I like my space! It’s spacious, has a fully functional kitchen, and contains a piano.
Also I’m metaphorically moving, forward, onward. 2019 had its share of scary moments. Also, the 2010s are concluding in a hellscape of political firestorms, sociopolitical upheaval, and an actual upheaval of climate firestorms.
Read a few scans, hope for the best… seems like a safe strategy for the 2020s, right?