Phoenix Rising?

Aloha all!

I should preface this post by saying I'm a little toasty at the moment.  As in, drinking some cheap wine with a Lean Cuisine frozen dinner because I didn't feel like hydrating myself with water.

*grin*

I called this post "Phoenix Rising" not because I am in Phoenix, AZ, but because it's my first post in over 2 years.  You could say the blog has risen from its own ashes, as it were.  Or maybe "Hibernating Bear Awakening" might be more appropriate. 

*belly rumble*

So what's happened to me in the 2 1/2 years since I last visited this dusty corner of the Internet?  More than the average bear.  In October 2010, I was 2nd year emergency medicine resident, still getting used to my place in the food chain.  There was a new crew of newbies in the house about to get their souls crushed in the gauntlet of medicine.  Exciting new rotations awaited me at exotic locations like Portland's Legacy Emmanuel Medical Center and Seattle's Harborview Neurosurgical ICU.  Things were on the level.

I entered the sunset of my residency with that weird mix of fear and eagerness that precedes a major life change.  Sort of like a pound of lead in bottom of your belly.  As a senior resident, you were expected to walk onto shift exuding confidence and never showing weakness.  I was frequently the last to leave after the melee of our work day was over - though that might have been due to my under-developed time management skills.  Then again, I never could pack up before poking my head into that trauma patient that showed up 10 minutes after my shift had ended. 

My last year in Tacoma was highlighted by fear and eagerness for another reason: I met the love of my life.  My first date with Kari was a 5 hour affair, most of it spent outside in front of the Parkway Tavern on I Street.  It was a balmy August evening and by the time it had turned into a chilly August night, I found myself hoping this pretty lady would tolerate me a few more times.

A few times turned into a few dozen and before I knew it, I was suiting up for my residency graduation with orders in my hand to report to that most feared of assignments - Hawaii.

*wink*

After an all too brief crash course at Ft. Sam Houston with my mates, I found myself once again on a rough steep learning curve as I adjusted to my new role as the Brigade Surgeon for a Stryker infantry unit.  To make things even more complicated, we were scheduled to be in Afghanistan one year from my arrival.  Long distance relationships aren't supposed to be easy and I can vouch for that.  Juggling a new job with that might have spelled failure, but we were sure of what we wanted and over holiday leave I proposed and she accepted!

So without revealing too many details of my personal life to the world at large, that brings us up to 2013 quite neatly.  Add in liberal dashes of Top Gear and sunburns, and you'll have the whole picture. 

Though this wknd has been nothing but non-stop rain.  Go figure.