Long overdue

It's safe to say that my postings have been lacking.  What can I say, I'm a busy guy.  However, I am enjoying my last day of vacation before I start on the Medicine Ward service at LBJ.

So where to start.  It's been a busy summer.  I am now a fully licensed physician and hoping to be able to start moonlighting in September.

I think Facebook may well be THE greatest invention since sliced bread.  I have been able to reconnect with many friends from high school and college.  Most recently, I have found a dear friend of mine from middle school and high school.  Courtney Hailey!

Courtney and I met in middle school choir.  We were fortunate enough to be able to go to Vienna, Austria with our high school choir when we were freshman.  That's really where the friendship took off.  Her mom also went on the trip and made sure that we got the full experience.

I lost contact with Courtney sometime right after my freshman year of college.  So it's been AT LEAST 10 years since we've talked.  I tried to find her when Beth and I got married, but to no avail.

Anyway, another friend from Cooper H.S., Tim, found me on Facebook.  We started talking and I asked him with whom he had kept in contact.  As it turns out, Courtney was one of those people!!!  After some delay, we finally talked this past week.  It was SO GOOD to talk to her.  I actually talked to her mom first.  Then, got her cell phone number and sent her a text message.

I made her play 20 questions to guess who I was!!!  It was CLASSIC!  She tried to call me after asking like 2 questions b/c it was driving her crazy.  The great thing about that is, since I got the new iPhone, I hadn't set up my voicemail.  The message was still the generic, "You have reached 713-xxx-xxxx. The person you are trying to reach..." SO SHE STILL HAD NO IDEA WHO I WAS!

Since I didn't give in and answer, she HAD to play!  It took her 9 questions to figure out it was me!  She asked very good questions.  Her last question was, "Is this Jeremiah Brown? (that's what she called me)  Instead of answering her with a text, I called.

It was GREAT!!   The reason behind this little scheme goes back to the 7th grade.  According to those around me, I think I threw THE party of the 7th grade.  I was Captain Oblivious back then (still am, really) so I had no idea at the time.

Anyway, Courtney was invited. Duh! and she kept talking about her friend "Vera" that she was bringing to the party.  We didn't go to school with anyone named "Vera" and IT DROVE ME CRAZY for WEEKS!!!  I had NO CLUE who was going to show up to this party with my "friend" Courtney.

The night of the party came and Courtney showed up.  Turns out her "friend" Vera was...

wait for it 

are you ready for this...?

an ALOE VERA PLANT!!!   Absolutely HILARIOUS!!!  I don't remember when I've laughed so hard as that night.

Unfortunately, Vera met an untimely end when the family moved to Tyler.  Someone dropped her and broke her roots and she died.  But I never forgot the TORTURE that Courtney inflicted on me over than plant.

So the 20 questions was a little payback.  Yes, that was 19.5 years ago (MAN am I getting old!), but well worth the wait!

I may have said this before, but my personality is one that makes friends easily, and for life.  It can be a bit of a curse, but I cherish friendship more than just about anything in this life.  Case-in-point: I still know and talk to my 3rd grade teacher.  I sang at her wedding and she and her family drove from Abilene to Guthrie for my wedding.  I just remembered, I drew a picture of her in the 5th grade when she was pregnant with Sarah.  What possessed me???  Only God knows.  I still keep up with Eric...my first and best friend in Abilene.  There are MANY others over the course of the past 22 years (that's when we moved to Abilene) that I still keep up with.

It's who I am.

I have been blessed richly.

One of my favorite movies is "The Shawshank Redemption."  In it, Morgan Freeman it talking about the time after Tim Robbins breaks out of the prison.  He says,

" I guess I just miss my friend."

Courtney, I have missed you and I am glad that we are reconnected.  You and your mom helped shape who I am (as have many others).  Get yourself an email address and stay in touch.  That's an order!  Michelle, it was an absolute joy to hear your voice again.  You guys call when you go to Abilene...we'll see what we can do to meet you.

OK:  Beth and I are going to see John Mayer tonight and I need to get some things done.

Thanks for reading.

It's done...

...and it only took me 31 YEARS!  I received word from the Texas Medical Board yesterday (Friday the 13th) that my application for my medical license is complete and will be voted on my the Texas Medical Board during their June 26-27th meeting.  I guess that means I can finally do what I've always wanted to do; practice medicine.

Now just to refresh:  I am a doctor.  I have been since I graduated medical school in May 2005.  I started my residency June 24, 2005 in Internal Medicine/Pediatrics (explained in earlier blogs) and will finish June 30, 2009 and be board eligible in both Internal Medicine AND Pediatrics.  This latest milestone means that I can now apply for a DPS and DEA number and on months that I'm NOT on call (which is VERY few) this next year, I can moonlight and make $50-60/hr instead of the $9.00/hr I make as a resident (remember, I work 80 hours a week...the math's not pretty)

It also means that for my 4th year of residency that starts July 1, I will be practicing medicine under my own license and not the "Physician-in-training Permit" that I have used for the past 3 years.

Even though we already had last night planned before I found out about my license, Beth and I celebrated the occasion with some dear friends at Cova (with some REALLY great wine) and then some good music at "The Mucky Duck".  It was David and Sarah's 21st Wedding Anniversary and we had a really nice time.

Some other updates since my frequency of blogging (as if this surprises anyone) is not what my adoring fans would like it to be (can you hear the hysterical laughing in the background?)

-Beth and I have completed Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University.  We're on Baby Step 2.  It has really changed how we manage our household and is forming our goals and attitudes as we prepare to move to Lubbock next year.  Dave likes to say, "Live like no one else, so that later you can LIVE like no one else."  You will now find us paying cash when we go out (like we did last night).  We have delayed some of the things we want (a new car, a flat screen TV) until we can pay cash for them.  No more charging, anything really, to the credit cards, and when we get the cards paid off...we're cutting them up.  And next month when the new iPhone (I'm so excited I can't stand it) comes out, I'm paying CASH!!!  I've been saving my mad money since we started Dave's class.

-Beth has a birthday coming up in 2 weeks and I still haven't bought her present(?s).  My mom and her step-mother will both be here.  We're are looking forward to their visit.

-We will be going to Southern Illinois at the end of July to see family and to pick up family heirlooms that belonged to Beth's parents.

-Our dear, dear friends the Daltons are leaving us (only temporarily) for Lubbock at the end of this month.  We were all going to move to Lubbock together next year when Vanessa and I finished residency, but they have the opportunity to move now and let Vanessa finish in Lubbock closer to family.  This is great because Talitha can be near her grandparents, aunts and uncles.  We will miss them A LOT in the next 12 months, but we will be there soon.

-Tomorrow is Father's Day, so I have to give a shout out to my dad.  Thank you for always pushing me to be the very best that I can.  For teaching me that it's never ok to do something half-way.  Thanks for being my sounding board when I don't know how to fix something, or move something.  Thanks, Dad.  I love you. 

A GREAT quote

I just remembered this quote that I in the past tagged onto the bottom of my emails.  Don't be surprised if it shows up there again very soon.

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; 

to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; 

to appreciate beauty;

to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; 

to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. 

THIS is to have succeeded."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

2 words

David Archuleta

Help the chilren of my hospital--PLEASE VOTE

Colgate is offering to build a fun room for one of the pre-selected children's hospitals based on who gets the most number of votes. My hospital, Memorial Hermann Children's Hospital is in the running. We're in third place as I type this post.

So PLEASE!!!! go there and vote. You can vote once a day, everyday, until Feb. 29th.

The link is:

http://www.colgate.com/app/Colgate/US/Corp/CommunityPrograms/show-the-love.cvsp

Click on the city of Houston and then select Memorial Hermann Children's Hospital.

THANKS!!!!

Happy 60th birthday Mom.

So tomorrow is my mother's birthday. As the title of this blog implies, it's her 60th. We just returned from a weekend in Lubbock at my sister's that served 2 purposes. First, it was to meet the newest addition to the family, Alyxandria Kay or "Xan" or "Alyx" or "Aly" or "Isabelle" as Tori is wanting to call her. She was born on January 2nd, 6 days before her Mommy and Daddy were expecting.  She is ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE and looks just like her Big Sister Tori did when she was born...all I can say is that my sister sure knows how to grow 'em.

 

We also spent the weekend celebrating the fact that tomorrow my mother turns 60. First of all, let me just say, that she is living proof that 60 is the new 50. I'm fairly sure it was me who convinced her to stop dying her hair some 5 or more years ago. If she were to dye it again today, you would swear she's 45. Mom was quite adamant that she didn't was anything new to dust.  We thought for a long time about what we wanted to get her.  We decided that I would make her a Powerpoint presentation of family pictures and that Kristina would write her a poem.  Having a 2 week old in the house doesn't lend one time to being creative...so Kristina has until our April family vacation.  Tori has also promised us a musical rendition of something worthy of Broadway.  Beth is also going to put together a Scrapbook of pictures from this weekend and give it to Mom.  Mom doesn't know about any of these other than the Powerpoint presentation...so HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!

                                       

Lastly, I will apologize for my absence.  I know it's been too long since I last blogged.  Things here are going really well.  I am working in a Med/Peds clinic in Pearland that has been a GREAT experience in showing me what a true private practice is like.  Beth and I are doing well and hope that 2008 is the year of the baby, more specifically, our baby.  We're trying, ok.  There.  It's said.  In Public.  Now you all know.  And yes, we realize that January 6th was our 7 year anniversary.  But James and Shelly waited 15 years before they had Echo, so we're not THAT far behind.  But the offer has been long standing.  We were happy to have children at anytime before now so long as someone was willing to move in with us and offer to take care of our baby for free.  It's amazing...no one is 7 yrs even hinted that they were willing to do that.  Anyway, I digress.  I am studying for the last part of my U.S. Medical Licensing Exam: the USMLE Step 3.  I take it on February 13th and 14th.  Then I can apply for my state license and look for moonlighting opportunities.  But I still won't write you a prescription for Vicodin or Percocet...so don't ask.

Lastly, this weekend was the first time that my luggage has managed to NOT make it to my destination with me.  Long story short.  Delayed 2 hours in Houston.  Original flight from Philly diverted to Dallas.  New plane to fly from Houston to Dallas.  Changed planes in Dallas to original plane from Philly that was waiting on us.  The 25 of us from Houston to Lubbock managed to make the plane change.  Our luggage did not.  We arrived in Lubbock at 11:45, 2 hours later than expected.  Our luggage arrived at 10:00 a.m. the next morning accompanied with a $50.00 travel voucher.  Gotta LUV Southwest!

We have less than 18 months left in Houston, so if you're going to come see us, the clock is ticking.

When Worlds Collide

So last night 2 of my worlds collided. It was good. Real good. But that doesn't make it any less strange.

Beth and I came to Austin this weekend for several reasons. First of all, she's been like 4 times in the last 3 years without me because I am working all the time. Secondly, our dear friends Kalyse and Jackie live here. Thridly, one of my oldest friends from Abilene just moved back here from Florida. Now, she was supposed to stop on her way back to Austin from Florida in Houston and have dinner with us, but she got stuck in traffic in Baton Rouge and it was 9:00 p.m. before she got to Houston and she thought she just HAD TO GET TO AUSTIN so she didn't stop...but, whatever!! (I kid, I kid)

So last night Becky came over and we all went to the Capitol Building to sing Christmas carols and watch the lighting of the Christmas Tree. Then, we went to Matt's Mexican Food and ate some muy bueno food. Followed that with some Scattergories and laughing non-stop and a good time was had by all.

I have known Becky since the 1988-89 6th grade school year at Jefferson Middle School. Sadly, it's been 9 and one-half years since I last saw her. It better not be anouther (that's misspelled for you Becky) 9.5 yrs before I see her again or she's in trouble. We had your typical middle school and high school drama about who liked who or who was going to take who to what dance and meaningless stuff like that. But through it all, the friendship has remained. For that I am forever grateful.

Kaylse enters the picture during college. There's a whole 14 blogs to talk about all of Kalyse and mine's drama over the past 12 years...especially when it comes to her past roommates (think psycho on steroids and you might get close). Jackie comes into the picture because of Kalyse and Beth and I are thrilled to have gotten to know her. And Beth and JAckie can eat all the Sushi they want, while Kalyse and I laugh at them, make vomiting noises, and secretly wonder how they can eat that stuff and not get food poisoning.

And of course there's my Schmoopie, Beth. Next month is our 7 year wedding annivesary. Here's to 70 more!

So several of my worlds collided last night. It's always a little strange, but it's always good.

Beth and I have been blessed with dear friends in our life, both before we knew each other and since. We also got to see Jason and Sarah yesterday...they live in San Marcos, 30 minutes from Kalyse and Jackie. They looked really good and seemed happy and even though we didn't talk about Lily, their baby that died during childbirth about 4 months ago, I hope that they are finding some peace and know that we love them dearly. And they better get themselves to Houston during baseball season so we can go to a game. You have 19 months...so get yourselves there! You hear?!?

As we are in the throws of Christmas, I pray that you remember that Christ was born into this world in a manger and lived and died so that wouldn't have to die, at least not spiritually, and so that you can live with Him forever.

To friends: old, new, dear, forever, and those unknown.

Peace and Love.