MUST STOP AND REST

One of the most important steps in making sure you grow (maybe the most important) is to stop and reflect. Well, I didn't really do that at the end of the semester. I took my last final, went to the beach, went to Four Seasons, lazed around the next day, moved into my apartment the day after, helped a friend move the day after that, then went home. After my day-long journey back, I got a burger and slept well. Then woke up and worked out, then went to Dallas to see a friend, and the next day I was sick.

Why?

Because I didn't stop doing things.

My train of thought was "I only have so much time to see so many people. I need to make the most of it." When I started to get sick, I thought "Better to be sick in good company than well on the island." This was a terrible way to think, because I drove to Arkansas, where my sore throat worsened, then left for home early 'cause I felt so tired from sick. That night, I had diarrhea multiple times, then woke up feeling nauseated. I learned that your body will make you stop. I just had a cold, a wee sore throat, but the real issue is that I needed to rest. So I had to cancel all plans (hot tub, beer, smash brothers, church, all day with best friends) and be sick for awhile. And it was kinda sad, but once I gave in, it was obviously what I needed.

I still recovered enough after the weekend to get lunch with my residency director friend from church, who reassured me that I can become licensed in any state regardless of what Caribbean school I went to so long as I can pass state licensing exams. So that's a relief. I also had drinks (mine was a hot toddy, a warm whiskey lemon drink for my sore throat) with my friend Stewart who's a year ahead of me in med school. We exchanged banter as usual, but he also told me of a residency in Arkansas near where I went for undergrad, a place I still love dearly, and said that we should do residency there together. So #duh. Having a friend in the residency you want can (apparently) help you a lot. They can tell the attending physician that you're awesome, and it can push you ahead.

Unfortunately, a lot of my current world is all about networking. Though I appreciate people, most of how I spend my time is strongly influenced by how I can use those people. I hate that that's what my world revolves around, but it most definitely is. I mean, it's helpful and I enjoy meeting with people who are doing the same work as me, but still.

Oh, one huge thing that happened during the break was before having lunch with that residency director. He invited me an hour earlier to see a rep do a demonstration with what was essentially a fallopian tube fire saw. But he introduced me to the rep as "Dr. Smith" and I was overwhelmed. This is one of the guys who trains doctors to actually be the doctors that their degrees say they are. And he casually bestowed the title upon me during this meeting. And then we proceeded to slice and dice a raw egg and raw chicken breast.

More later unless I'm an idiot again.