Buon giorno...

Hey everybody, just got back from a fantastic trip to Italy! I know these pictures will make Kara really jealous, but we had an incredible time and I wanted to post a link to the pictures for your browsing pleasure :)

If you haven't been yet, Italy is truly an incredible country full of history, art, culture, and great food!

The photo album:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/unwritten/sets/72157605074356504/

The slideshow:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/unwritten/sets/72157605074356504/show/

Stay in touch, Dick

Amalee

Hey guys

I dont know if you've heard the news, but Amalee's mother passed away last night. Amalee's gone through A LOT since graduation. She also lost her father and grandmother, both around Easter. I havent been able to talk to her, phone tag and all, so I dont know how she's been dealing with the previous two losses. I know she was very close to her mother and I cant even begin to imagine what would be going through my head if I were to lose mine. And on top of that, a couple days before Mother's day. I've tried texting and calling, but havent been able to get ahold of her. She's been dealt with some major blows lately. I just ask that you guys keep her in your prayers.

Tammy

hey from MS

well, guys, hope this works. never blogged before. i finally got my local email hooked up so i havent been able to keep up with everyone. i went back and read the past posts to catch up.

i have been working in cv surgery since 7 jan with direct supervision from the 65 yo pa who is supposed to retire in july. i work for one surgeon at one hospital so i am on call 24/7 but hardly ever get called out. most of our cases i know at least a day ahead of time. i am lucky because i only work in surgery. the doc has an np that does all his clinic preop and postop. i have already forgotten all my h&p skills. amazing how quickly you lose stuff.

i am starting to get a little frustrated because the 65 yo pa is not relinquishing control. now he is talking about only partly retiring. i have no need and no niche. i love everyone i work with except the surgeon. he's weird. just started making eye contact ever so slightly with me a few weeks ago and just said my name for the first time today. unfortunately i will have to have a closed door meeting with him on monday about the whole situation with the old pa. they need to let me work, pa needs to step out, doc needs to start communicating with me or he needs to let me find some other area to work before i get too deep in this. the whole situation has made me a little disillusioned about my profession and choice to go back to school so late in life.

sorry to be bitchin but i guess i need to vent to people who might understand. everything will be alright i am sure. all else is great. ross is still flying with the air guard. spent to whole month of feb in guam and glad to have him back. bo just turned 3. going on 15. all of a sudden he has started getting sassy but he is still so much fun. we are remodeling our lake house one room at a time and should have everything complete in month. the rest of the house is in shambles but ross and i share the same bed every night which is much better than the last 2 1/2 years.

so glad everyone else is doing well. take care.

belated happy birthday wishes!

So it has been a while since I had a chance to post anything, but I wanted to say a belated (for some, a very belated) "Happy Birthday" to...

Amy (February 1st), Kathy (March 14th), Kristian (April Fool's Day, how appropriate), Amanda (April 22nd) and Lauren "Murdock" Aseron (April 24th)!

Kris (February 11th) and Jody (March 4th) had birthdays too, but I am not wishing them happy ones, they can suck it...

Anyway, happy birthday to all of y'all and I hope new careers and cities and relationships are going better than you could have imagined :)

Love, Dick

You Betcha

So... I would've posted much sooner, but surprise surprise, I couldn't figure out how to post something! Well, I moved into my new house last Thursday. I am now a homeowner in the 'Icebox of the country' a.k.a Minnesota. I am living in Rochester, MN, which is just south of Minneapolis. I start officially working next Monday at the Mayo Clinic in neurosurgery, and am pretty much nervous! I have a great schedule, working 3-4 days a week, and no call OR weekends...I hope it is as good as it sounds...In the meantime I am still putting stuff away and painting. I love my house so far, but I've already had to shovel my driveway twice. For those of you who have never done so, be glad!

I enjoy hearing what everyone is up to, I miss the south a lot, and miss all of you! I hope to see you all in the future, maybe at some conferences?? ha, well in the meantime, take care everyone!

Kari

Howdy!

Obviously the email thing is not working like we hoped, so I guess we will have to settle for just checking the blog every so often, which I just did for the first time in a couple of weeks...

Glad to hear everybody is doing so well, especially those of us who are so far away from the godd ol' South! The job at UAB in the Trauma ICU has been going pretty well, we have four PAs so we all only work about 13 shifts a month and get paid a full-time salary, which is very nice! I am not doing much surgery unless I sneak down to the OR or get called down (which hasn't happened much) but the PAs do several procedures on the ICU like central lines, etc. in addition to helping the residents manage the patients on a day-to-day basis. I am actually working on a couple of opportunities to for a second part-time job to possibly do some surgery or work in an ER (gotta make up for those years of school without a paycheck!). The attendings are great to work with and most of the residents have been pretty cool, too. All in all, not a bad first gig and who knows what the future holds, right?

I hope everyone else is doing well and hope to see some posting!

Much love,
Richard

breaker breaker 1-9; this is a radio check.

Have we all been so busy in our little rat race that we no longer have time to communicate? Lets get this blog rolling folks...
Lets see. I am almost compltely moved out of my apartment. I am now at the stage where the remaining pieces of apartment fodder are those that never really played an important role in day to day life. It makes their immediate removal from the barren living room space of lesser importance.
I have taken a break from x box. I am not sad nor do I feel proud of the mind numbing hours I spent chasing down the german army in Call of Duty. I may play for a few minutes tomorrow.
I have become completely obsessed with cooking, more specifically grilling. I have also learned that I make a mean mango salsa.
I drove to Mobile and back last week for dinner. It was definitely worth it. Although, I am not 100% that Whitney's choice of restaurant for the lot of us was "the best" in Mobile.
I am the proud owner of a part time job at Highland Park Golf course. I am far from ashamed at the minimum wage compensation. I am playing golf for free; andI got a free hat and shirt. Sweet.
Looking forward to hearing about everyone else; If tomorrow brings an exciting anectdote, I will gladly keep you up to date. Tomorrow I am going to tackle the driving range in an armored club cart. It doesnt get any better than this baby.
Cheers.