day in the life [right now]

November 20, 2013
today: 11.19.2013
[on-call week, day #1/7]
4:40am [yes really]: up before alarm.  [bedtime the night before was something ridiculous like 8:45 pm. what can i say?].  read emails + few blogs on phone while mustering the energy to get up.


5:00am drink water, eat 2 pineapple chunks [i always want SOMETHING, even if it’s tiny, before a morning workout!].  run/walk 3 miles on the treadmill in 40 minutes using pattern of jog 4 minutes / walk 2.  enjoy real simple + some of arcade fire’s reflektor.  which, by the way, i like so far.
5:45am shower.  
6:10am find josh and a very awake and happy annabel downstairs.  he got her just before 6 — at her insistence.  join them for breakfast of toaster waffles, sunflower seed butter, and strawberries.  
6:30am clean up and play with a. while josh showers.  
7:10am straighten hair, put on makeup, brush teeth, get dressed.  this has become a strategic post-breakfast move because a. can be quite a mess.
my ensemble in the mirror at work.
i dressed EXTRA prego today, i feel.
7:30am g. — our nanny — arrives.   josh heads to work, forgetting his lunch [oops].  i leave 10 minutes later.
7:40am commute while listening to NPR music podcast.  

8:15am arrive in office!  starting with virtual rounds, i make a [PAPER] rounding list and check the labs of all of my inpatients [consults + kids on our service].  then i head to the hospital to check off a lot of boxes: PICU, floor, discharges, etc.  finish notes and discharge summaries.  call other physicians to discuss patients [i have to say, this part is SOOOO much nicer not having to go up and down the chain of residents/interns/fellows/etc.]

11:00am see one outpatient.  nothing crazy.  write more notes and do patient phone calls.

12:30pm go to lunch.  eat salad, mozzarella, pita, chickpeas, etc.  discuss a mutual patient with one of the hem/onc drs.

1:15pm see outpatients.  write more notes.  make more phone calls.  take a quick break + browse a few favorite blogs when one doesn’t show.

4:00pm consult in the ED.  well, 1.5 consults really.  see patient, make recommendations, write note.  amaze self at being able to do all of that in an hour 🙂

5:10pm leave!  listen to freakonomics podcast on commute home.  [current new fave.]



5:45pm arrive home to an energetic muffin!  [disclaimer: this pic is from last week, but you get the idea].  g. has already given annabel her dinner AND a bath, so little for me to do except soak up the cuteness.  we play [first pretend ‘grocery store’ and then a’s favorite game:  repeating “night night.  pillow. a-bel tired” while rolling around on couch] and read.

7:00 pm brush a’s teeth, change her diaper, and enjoy a particularly sweet goodnight song with annabel’s cheek against mine the whole time.  put her into bed without a peep of protest [this does not always happen.]

7:10 pm eat leftover tofu tikka masala that g. made yesterday [with rice and sauteed kale.  i picked out the recipe for her.  i realize i am hideously spoiled].  chill in front of computer, reading interesting blog posts and facebook.

8:00 pm josh gets home.  watch duke game on couch with him for 5 minutes before getting up to write this post.

8:30 pm ???

———

admittedly, the rest of the evening is a black box!  i know i will have at least one patient discussion tonight [newly discharged patient who will call to follow up] and could be paged anywhere from 0 to infinity times overnight 🙂  i do have to check labs, and then i may read some of my book [reading history of love now, thanks to your recs!].  bedtime will be 9ish — or really any time after the anticipated follow up phone call.

observations:

– i really like my job.  today went fast.

– i actually feel like i have a reasonable work/life balance, whatever that means.  clearly, it’s not 50/50, but i feel fulfilled on both fronts.

– i am extremely lucky right now when it comes to cooking and household maintenance.  and admittedly, i am a million times happier than i was before we had g. to help.

– my life is not very glamorous or ‘big’ but it is pretty lovely from day to day.
 
– i am in SO MUCH of a better mood when i work out.

No Comments

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.