Throwing Out the Alarm Clock

Ahhh… I am officially on vacation! Phew… This is not my first vacation this year, but it has been by far my most-needed one to date. Over the last three months , I have rotated through the Surgical ICU, Medical ICU, OB Days, and now Gyn Surgery – with tons of call in between. Boy, have I been beat.

I hopped on a plane home last night right after coming off a 24 hour shift (gotta make each non-work hour count!). I slept on the plane, landed, and went out for some dinner and dancing to celebrate the birthday of a dear friend. By the time I got home, I was so sleep deprived that I fell face first into my childhood bed and into REM sleep. It was a lovely 10 straight hours of snoozing. Once I mustered myself out of my bed and onto the couch, I snuggled up to another dear friend: My parents’ big screen HD TV.

Yes, I am one of those self-righteous liberals who brags about not having television. “It helps me to be more productive!” I often gloat. The secret is that we are the ones who salivate over TV the most. Hotels, friends’ houses, my parents’ home – what do these things have in common? Cable TV! And boy did I get my fill today. I learned all about Extreme Cake Decorating, The Fabulous Lives of Heiresses, Mystery Diagnoses, and being 16 and Pregnant (though I think my work teaches me more about this last one than MTV could).

my aspiration for this vacation is simple!

Of course, now that I am recharged, the Type A personality in me is already thinking of ways to make my vacation week productive… I should kick up my running schedule, hit up my old yoga studio, hit up the beach, learn some of my mom’s recipes for home cooking, do some non-medical reading, see my college friends, see my med school friends...

…sigh…

Or maybe I can just lie on this couch here for the next seven days.