The Year that Was

Pausing to reflect on the year that was before looking ahead.

Some of the highlights of the past year:

Homemade bhelpuri: The first winter in 5 years not spent in India. The polar vortex visited and after the 15th snowfall, I regretted not going there. This consoled me. 2015 will remedy this homesick feeling. 

Fire Island Pines: This is why our book club is better than yours. Can't ask for a better way to spend an afternoon with a group of friends and more often catch up on our lives, and then talk about the book. My favorite book club pick this year: Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried." The first chapter can stand alone as a masterful short story. The woman in the wine store talked to me about it when I was picking up my contribution to bring to the gathering. 

Closure: My fellow nurses / co-workers ate our feelings. It was the first time I attended a patient's memorial service. It seemed fitting to be one of the first persons to provide him care and see him at the end. I reflected on how much his death affected me. To see his family and friends recognize me after months of not being in the oncology unit anymore felt so gratifying. If I have doubts about how much difference I make in the patients I see, I just think of this day.

Difficult to top this one. All productions I see at the Metropolitan Opera House will be measured against this. 

Waded my feet for the first time at the Jersey Shore. A brief summer jaunt, serenaded by Johnny Mathis. 

My combat gear. This is how I start my day before I leave my desk. 2014 saw me complete my first year as a full fledged nurse practitioner. Lots of ups and downs. Different kinds of stress than before. These are my essentials. When I have them all on me, I'm ready to go.

Just when I thought my day was going bad, a former patient's family member sees me and gifts me a bottle of champagne on the spot as a thank you for his father's care. I live for surprises like these. Hoping for more of these in 2015.

The penultimate ride from Disneyland before heading home to New York. (The last one was from Big Thunder Mountain, of course.) May all my days be full of adventure and joy like this. 

Incredible Indian Roads

On my fourth trip to Incredible India. The first few days are periods of re-acclimation to ways that I consider uniquely Indian. Walking around the neighborhood, I remind myself that the sidewalk's not for walking. Better to ambulate on the street to avoid dog poop and sidewalk disrepair.

The Indian road is a marvel. Crossing the street (be it the highway, city, residential, or rural) is like playing Frogger in real life.

And while driving on Indian roads, let me count the obstacles: cars, trucks, motorbikes, auto-rickshaws, bicycles, pedestrians (walking alongside the road or crossing), speed bumps, make-shift toll gates with bamboo bars, lazy cows, wandering cows, dogs, monkeys, and deer. You may count moving vehicles twice when you consider that you're dodging oncoming traffic as well. And tractors! Almost forgot the tractors, which are often more sluggish than wandering cows.

Away

Packing

A lesson learned from the Italy trip:
Not all pharmacies resemble Duane Reade.
On this trip,
I'm bringing my dolls,
A pharma-cornucopia in a Ziploc bag:
antimalarial
antibiotic
antidiarrhea
antiemetic
NSAID.

Hmm, maybe I need an antihistamine.

Prophylaxis

Like a pin cushion,
An intramuscular shot on each arm.
Administered expertly - like mosquito bites.
And for malaria chemoprophylaxis:
The first of seven mefloquine tablets,
whose side effects include:
"anxiety, vivid dreams, visual disturbances,seizures, depression, and psychosis."

Rarin' to go.

Visa

Whilst applying for an Indian visa,
had on hand a book entitled “Transforming Presence”;
whilst waiting to pick it up, I was reading “Health as Expanding Consciousness.”
Please do not liken me to travelers who seek enlightenment in Vishnu land -
No connection between me and the lady in line with a Yoga book in hand.

Swirl

Under The Bean.

Daumier

At the Barnes Foundation in wealthy suburban Merion, PA. The above painting grabbed my attention amid the sublime Matisses, Renoirs, and Cezannes in the main vestibule.
Some new names I discovered today: Soutine and Pippin (purple has never been so royal than in his Christ and woman of Samaria); and a new appreciation for Modigliani.
Googling for other works I found intriguing in the museum, but yielded little or no results. The Foundation keeps a tight leash on their collection it seems.

(In keeping with the Foundation's displays, no title will be given for the above.)

Independence Hall

In Philly today freezing my buns off and visited Independence Hall. Wish it were sweltering and boisterous like in "1776." I found myself humming this song all along.