countdown

let's see if i can put together a few sentences before i get bored with writing, find myself uninspiring, and leave this post trailing like so many others before.

i've been perusing the world wide web for first day surgical intern advice. so far i've come across a few pretty basic, but pretty much repeated across the board, lists of advice. they start with things like, be nice to support staff, and say you don't know or forgot to check instead of making things about exam findings/lab values/etc.

another site lists 101 tips
http://www.generalsurgerynews.com/ViewArticle.aspx?d=Opinions+%26+Letters&d_id=77&i=August2012&i_id=875&a_id=21432

this was a good thread from our good ol' urologymatch website
http://www.urologymatch.com/node/1104

to be perfectly honest, i have no idea what i am doing. i vaguely remember being a good student as a 3rd and 4th year medical student, good reports in the morning, enthusiastic about getting work done, always trying to help out. however, it has been over a year since i have been in the clinical setting and i feel like the only thing i know is that blood glucose should definitely not be over 1000. forget about drug names and interactions, managing medical problems, normal lab values, whatever.

so here is my list of to do's as i mentally prepare for my first day on urology

- ask questions, ask lots of questions.
i've always been a bit afraid to speak up, esp with attendings. it's just this thing i have with people in positions of authority. when i was growing up, my dad would give me lectures, hours and hours long lectures, and i would stand there nodding. if i asked any question, the lecture would just continue on for longer, because it generally meant that i had asked a stupid question or made an invalid argument that needed to be corrected. i learned not to say anything and just pretend like i was absorbing whatever was being taught. i don't know how well that worked, since i don't really live life how my dad would want me to these days, and i'm sure if he knew the details, i would be in for another 3 hour long lecture.
in my medical school years, i tried hard to correct this trait. i learned that when students asked questions, residents and attendings would get the idea that they were interested in learning. i was definitely interested in learning, and i had to get that idea across in order to be taught. slowly i started asking questions, giving answers, became more ok with asking questions that seemed stupid and giving answers that turned out wrong. it was a part of learning.
this is something i am still working on though, so asking questions and seeking answers is definitely still at the top of my list.

- fight to work hard.
i don't think i'll have to fight too hard, but i hope that i live up to the standards of hard work in this environment. i want to be proactive and i want to volunteer my time and efforts.

- be nice, be kind, smile.
just a reminder to myself that a smile and a hello can go a long way.

- be a team player.
i would like to act with the thought of, how can i make my resident's day easier.

- read.
this was not something that i was good at in medical school. definitely have to pick up the slack here.

well that's as inspired as i am for now. i have 5 more days until i start, 3 more days of orientation and 2 days filled of lake side fun. and then, it's trial by fire.

happy new year!

happy 2013! i can't believe we made it through another year. this year felt like it was a stop in time for me. everything was sort of in limbo, mostly because my future was in limbo. in two and a half weeks, i find out what i'll be doing and where i will be for the next 5 or 6 years of my life. i have a good idea about where i'll be, but i'm not gonna jinx it! whee so excited!!

anyway, holidays were a bit rough this year but there was definitely lots of fun and food involved. as always, i love making hor d'oeuvres, even though i don't know how to say that word or how to spell it (yup, had to look that up right there). if it were up to me, it'd be spelled "er dervers" with all syllables pronounced and the accent at the front like in the word "covers" (also similar in pronunciation to ermergerd).

anyway! the first thing i wanted to do was play with some puff pastry! i had been looking at puff pastry recipes and they seemed really simple and tasty looking. i also had had my eye on one of my friend's recipes for pinwheels. don't they look delicious?! so far in my cooking and baking experience, i have not gone all in to making dough. yeah yeah yeah, it's quick and easy, but hey it's not that quick with all the waiting around and i don't have a kitchenaid mixer and not enough arm muscle these days, so meh! puff pastry was just as delicious anyway :) so here's my version!

Caprese Pinwheels
Ingredients
Flour, for work surface
1 sheet frozen puff pastry
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
10 oz mozzarella cheese
1 cup tomatoes, roma or grape tomatoes
Handful of whole spinach leafs
Fresh chopped basil

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a floured surface, roll the puff pastry into a 16-by-10-inch rectangle. Trim uneven edges. Place pastry on a baking sheet. Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork, and brush the pastry sheet with the egg mixture. 

2. To prepare the filling, dice the tomatoes and place them into a medium mixing bowl. For best results, try to remove as much liquid from tomatoes as possible. Dice the mozzarella, or put it through a food processor until it is crumbly, and mix in with tomatoes along with chopped basil. Add olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and mix evenly.

3. Top puff pastry with the tomato and cheese mixture evenly and add a layer of spinach leave on top, staying about half an inch away from all 4 edges. Starting at a short side, roll up like a jelly roll. Cut into about 20 (1/2-inch) slices. Place the slices, cut-side down, onto 2 baking sheets. Brush the slices with the egg mixture.

4. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown. Remove the pastries from the baking sheets and let cool on wire racks for 10 minutes.

these pinwheels are not only delicious, but also super easy to make! (i also made some flat pizza like puff pastry snacks, which are the bottom in the last pic.) the best part is you can substitute in any number of ingredients that you like for a different flavor. my next ones are going to be spinach and parmesan.

so cheers to a new year, to happiness, to love, and to delicious food!