Jimmy

i'm back

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 05:23:50 GMT

dear god how long has it been since i've written in this thing?

in new haven, doing residency - more to come i suppose...

hope all is well with everyone =)

Welcome Back

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 19:02:18 GMT

Well, Livejournal tells me that I have not updated since 60 weeks ago... I wish I could say nothing significant has been going on, but that would be anything but true.

Right now, I am in Boston's airport, waiting to head home. It's finally that time of year for 4th year medical students to spend money that we don't have to travel all across the country interviewing for residency positions. A lot has been going on the past couple of years with school - a true growing experience. My social life has basically become non-existent, and about the most exciting things I do these days is heading down to the local movie theater to catch a movie. Quite a change from the days I was shaking it on stage half-naked as a go-go boy.

At least through these past couple of years I've finally come to find an area of medicine that both excites me, and that is a field I can see myself in as a life-time career; pulmonary medicine and critical care. I love working in the ICU. It's basically medicine on crack, taking care of the sickest of the sick. The fact that a majority of the patients are on ventilators is appealing, as sometimes having to talk with patients can be a time-consuming downside to a busy hospital job. It's a hardcore field, but I love it.

Anyway, so here I am on the interview trail. November through January is the time when the 4th years get to fly all over the country - and sometimes even the world to sell ourselves as candidates for their programs. So far, here's a little diary of the interviews I've been invited to, and where I'm considering possibly doing my residency training:

Johns Hopkins University - Baltimore, MD
New York University - New York, NY
Boston University Medical Center - Boston, MA
Scripps Mercy Hospital - San Diego, CA
Scripps Clinic/ Green Hospital - San Diego, CA
Yale University Hospital - New Haven, CT
University of California, Irvine - Orange, CA
University of California, Los Angeles - Los Angeles, CA
Cedars Sinai Hospital - Los Angeles, CA
Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital - Santa Barbara, CA
Albert Einstein Univ. Hospital - Bronx, NY

I'm stressed, tired of traveling, and wishing that 4th year was over yesterday. On March 17th, I simply open an envelope that will tell me where I'll be going, based on a rank/ match list...not very comforting, but it's the way it goes.

So, I say HELLO to all my old friends on here that I have not talked to in ages, and if you're one of those few who reads this, hit me up so we can catch up.

AIM: xopusmagnumx

wind it up.

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 03:08:17 GMT

started my surgery rotation - trauma.

4am - 4pm six days a week for the next eight weeks.

i never was a morning person. this is going to be interesting...

speachless...

Fri, 04 Aug 2006 15:10:18 GMT

my grandfather died after his long bout of lung cancer last wednesday, july 26th. i just returned from the funeral in texas, which was absolutely breathtaking. my grandfather had touched so many lives - over a 30-car prossession to a military funeral at fort bliss...with the marines firing vollies of gunshots and a funeral fitting for one of the best dog-fighters the marines have ever had fly with them. such an amazing pilot actually, that he was honored in the Aviation Hall of Fame.

my grandad was a true hero. we were always close since i can remember. he introduced me to the world of aviation and over the years helped me become an avid pilot. he was the president and CEO of the Phelps Dodge Copper Corp...which, in terms of textiles, is a pretty amazing accomplishment. in texas he taught me how to ride western almost as good as my mom...from calf roping to training. he was an amazing father; as i lucked out with having such an amazing mother. he was an amazing grandfather who always inspired me and kept me looking forward, helping me substantially through college and medical school. i wanted more than anything for him to see me graduate from medical school. but alas, he is no longer suffering from the intractable pain, and will see me graduate from up above, where i can only hope he really is watching over us.

it's been a hard week...especially this past weekend in rainy El Paso with my all my family...everyone is a little bit in shock and disbelief, but it helps to see his old scrapbooks, flight logs, and talk of the memories. our family will never be the same...

i did well on my board exams, and now spend 12-16 hours a day at either UCI med cen or the long beach veterans hospital slaving away for my clerkships. i was stuck starting off in probably the most difficult rotation - internal medicine. i'm doin what i can though, and just trying to learn every step of the way. it's like drinking out of firehose, but only 3 weeks left in this rotation...and then i switch...to a little less-stressful clerkship in outpatient medicine. hopefully, no more of this working 11 days in a row with no break. isn't that illegal?

this month and the last have just been tumultuous in so many ways...adjustment is never easy, especially when you're in a new city and honestly don't know what you can physically handle with your friends or relationships...i feel bad having to pull back and assess so many different things, but that's life. right now i just want my family...to see them more, and to tell them i love them every day. we've been so distant lately, and it's sad that it took the passing of one of the greatest men on this earth to bring us together again.

we'll miss ya papa...

2003, my last flying lession with the greatest pilot i knew, Jack S. Bell

Thu, 30 Mar 2006 04:48:17 GMT

i'm so sad.

my grandad is on his way out of this world. fuck all this bullshit. it just all happened so fast. not more than a year ago, he's up and around, healthier than a 21 year old and still flying planes. it's so sad to see him now...in what seems like no time at all the cancer just went all over and didn't respond to the first round of chemo. now he's on a 'last-resort', fresh out of phase-III trial, cancer drug that i think is doing more harm than good. i think his oncologist is a tool, but that doesn't change the fact the cancer is in his lungs, brain, and adrenal glands. swell, right? and fuckin school. fuckin board exams. i have no time to be out there with him, where i should be...and my grandma who's also taken a shitty turn when she suffered a stroke not more than a week ago. my mom. my poor fucking mother. she's in tx taking care of the both of them. how fucking depressing is that? going to see both your parents, who are not well, and to see your dad slowly fading, and pretty much giving in to the cancer. it's fucking rediculous. i'm so sad. i talk with my mom and i cry. i wanted more than anything for my grandfather to see me graduate from medical school...he was probably one of the biggest reasons for gettin' into it anyway. he has helped me in school. he always pushed me to excell and follow my dreams. i'm just rambling now...but i'm fuckin out of it. i've been putting in a good eight or ten hours a day studying for the past few months. subject board exams. course exam. clinical exams...and still have the the national boards in june.

ok just a rant.

i must say it's interesting to actually sit back and realize that i can now speak spanish pretty fluently...well, with all the clinical and pro-bono work for us in southern cali, i find that if you can't speak spanish, you can't communicate with 66.6% of your patients. ok, so maybe a bit extreme, but not by much. welcome to so. ca, right? lol

2nd year is almost done. book work as i know it is about to be completed...from here on in just all clinical. i can't wait. i have literally studied my testicles off.

longing...

Fri, 13 Jan 2006 03:22:46 GMT

i really wish i could re-kindle some long lost friendships, and mend the ties of those i left on ambiguous terms...

just came across some old letters and things tonight i haven't seen forever. just havin some flashbacks.

no, not from acid.

popping the cherry.

Sun, 06 Nov 2005 08:56:05 GMT

yesterday in class a professor made a harsh, but very true description of how each and every one of us will experience that feeling when we pop that first death cherry. losing that first patient and telling the family. it's a really melodramatic subject i suppose, but i'm not one to pile it on deeper. whatever the case, it's just ganna suck. i mean, i've seen dead people while working in the medical field since i was 18, but even the ones we lost in the rear of an ambulance had the responsibility shuffled to the receiving physician. and that'll suck. having to take the blame if anyone fucks up; paramedics, nurses, techs...anyone. our prof made it clear that it all comes to us; and that when a patient dies, his family will hold it on the shoulders of the physician and nobody else...not even the hospital.

anyway, i've been in LA the last few days.. after bearing witness to the birth of lily rimoldi in san diego. it was fantastic. oy. uncle vince. well, every kid needs that "gay uncle", and i guess for lily, he's it! =)

another moment of zen...

Sat, 15 Oct 2005 00:09:53 GMT

...as adrenaline fondles my ass like a catholic school girl.

i rocked my first exam in pharmacology. sweet. i still have yet to do my critical appraisal of the clinical trials of Lovastat, another 'wonderful' Merk experiment where it seems to have a few monetary-political aces up its sleave. hmmmmmmmmmmmm, this drug causes a net 4% reduction in overall cardiac "events", and its mortality prevention was found to be a big 0%. Yet, Merk being Merk, and in true pharmaceutical company savoy...somehow they managed to slap on their study a whopping 34% relative risk of reduction. and to think, doc's still prescribe this stuff like candy for people who's HDLs are a liittttllleee up. hell, that includes all of us i think. mcdonalds, anyone?

my next selective is cardiology and then cardio-thoracic surgery. ortho was fun, but not my favorite. let me just tell you how much i admire my ortho preceptor. wow. he's like me, and has the philosophy, "pull all the medi-care strings you can to get your patient whatever you want", even if it might seem unethical - from the insurance provider's eyes. a sweet woman came in with a fractured fibula, and she was a little up there in age, and the doc wasn't sure being on her own OFF the ankle for 3 weeks (what she needed) were instructions the patient was likely to follow. she needed nursing care. however, medicare will not authorize transfer to a nursing home unless the patient has been admitted to a hospital for three days. so, the doc called over to the hospital across the street, talked to one of his friends in internal med, and requested she be admitted for "probable deep vein thrombosis secondary to distal fibula fracture, requiring three days close observation". and, like that, she gets the care she needed so she can stay off the ankle, and on top of it, medicare covers it and is not the wiser! ha! that doc rocks! so yeah, my little story of applause.

btw. can i just say how wet the new soundtrack to the motion picture rent makes me? holy god. can't wait for it to hit the screen.

who wants to be sober anyway?

Wed, 28 Sep 2005 01:13:50 GMT

how much fun. a red carpet party for weho's magazine launch with vince, anna, and alex... i think the family guy and taco-bell run afterwards was just as fun though...

some publicist, anna, alex, vince, and me

...fuuuuuuucked up.

anyway, really excited about tomorrow. i'm scrubbin in to observe my first laparoscopic surgery. i admit, i wasn't too keen on the idea of an orthopedics selective, but i gatta say it's pretty damn interesting so far. i especially loved it when a 50-year old woman (very obese) came into the clinic today complaining of constant knee pain ever since her last surgery...and she wanted TWO full knee replacements. the doc wasn't too fond of that idea and just simply looked at her and said, "first thing's first. you need to lose weight. a lot of weight. surgery isn't going to fix you this time, r******". awesome delievery...yet how embarrassing.

anyway...now here's your moment of zen...

xoxoxox

Thu, 08 Sep 2005 19:04:27 GMT

started school again this week...usually i'd write some long, meaningful entry about my classes or school...but, nah. my friend and i were joking the other day at the gym about how in only 2 years and 8 months, we will have the capacity to write prescriptions. ha!

maybe that explains all the free CRAP i keep getting from the drug companies... a pen decorated with bladder control medication. a notepad with ambien scribbled on each page. pocket lights with the label pfizer. key chains with coxII inhibitor medication. i don't like any of this really; but i would gladly drive a new car...even if it had LASIX or some other diuretic written on the door.

i love my new place. my roommate rocks. we're both huge fans of ab fab, and you can hear it blasting almost 24/7 lately. i have new goldfish. i like goldfish. i've never had them before, but i have the exotic ones, with the two tails...and although they kind of just flop around to swim, they do it with suprising grace.

anyhoo, they're giving us pizza free today. so, i'm going to go get some and meet all the new first years.

i just want the pizza.

xoxoxoxo,
jimmy g

yeeeeeeeeeee hawwwwwwwwwww!

Wed, 17 Aug 2005 19:08:47 GMT

this friday. VEGAS, baby.

jesus-holy-mary-fucking-christ i can't wait.

new place!

Mon, 08 Aug 2005 19:29:00 GMT

so the move to my new place went smooth. i love it. it is so much bigger than the last. my mom took me and sean-baun out for lunch after all the heavy lifting. there wasn't NEARLY as much stuff to move as there was to take out of santa barbara. i'm so happy. i'm dancing thursday and friday so you biotches all better come out and say 'hullo'!

cheers,
jimmy

Sat, 09 Jul 2005 10:48:11 GMT

gentlemen, start your engines...

Wed, 06 Jul 2005 02:06:20 GMT

this summer has stepped off on the right foot. i can't remember ever having so much fun in my life. i'm out of school, and did great the past year; i have the best friends i could ask for; i'm working at jobs i absolutely love; and i just got my new place!!!

it appears my mom has another son, CJ (aka cameron, aka john, aka...well, whatever). well, not really, but with as much as he is over here, he might as well be adopted. we have such an incredible time...going to the beach practically every day...shopping...and just enjoying our summer. we dance together all the time at a couple clubs in LA and one in Long Beach, so we're always carpooling together - CJ insisting of course that I drive because my car has "low mileage"...duh, it's new! but i don't mind. what's even better...cj is just too smart for his own good, and i don't think he knows it. man, the conversations we have. we are planning some exciting summer trips...granted we can get off work. john (hetero john) and i are still attached at the hip, as always. he has such a wonderful girlfriend now, katie, who lives in santa barbara. so, on the weekends when john goes up there, i'm more than happy to make a quick pit stop...see john and katie...and of course...the love of my fucking life, becca.

mr. angel benton pulled me out of my shell and took me to some circuit party at Avalon on sunday night. WOW. that's all i can say. thank god angel was there. i was beyond anna-nichole fuuuuuuuuuuckkkkkkkkeeeeeed up. period. angel just laughed. but it was hot. like, 1000's of hot boys dancing shirtless. charlie and the chocolate factory anyone? hahaha. angel and i want to make it a sunday night tradition...granted i don't work every sunday night at rage.

kevin comes back saturday, and hopefully i can have my portion of the place in irvine up and running. i was strolling around ikea today with CJ and we were just having a blast buying all sorts of useless, indulgent items such as candles, little stick figure statues, and lights that dangle from all weird parts of the ceiling. we made our stand at Ruby's dinner today when we sat down, waited for SOMEONE to come take our order...FOREVER...so, CJ stands up, I follow, and yell "fuck this!", and i thought that would be the end of it to make our point that we're not negro, and this isn't denny's. but CJ strolled up to the manager, muttered something profound, and we left. that's hot.

random ER moment... so, i got to do my first foreign body extraction on a 7-year old with a micromachine mini stuck in his left ear. i'm like, 'they made these when i was a kid, where the hell did he get this?!' apparently, handed down from the older brother, or something...but needless to say, it was cool i got to do it.

-cheers-

fin and coda...SUMMER.

Sun, 26 Jun 2005 20:48:42 GMT

so friday marked the last day of my first year in medical school. quiet a relief. i walked away this year managing to honor in three courses. so many of my friends have already left for the summer, and that really sucks...but they'll be back soon. more importantly, i've got my place in irvine, and move out in the first week of july to stay with my buddy kevin. i like that arrangement...it will be good to live with another med student.

this summer, i am doing an internship in plastic surgery with three different surgeons in beverly hills; and i'm doing another internship in emergency medicine. right now (and i'm sure it will change a few times) most of my interest is in ER and plastic surgery. the plastics residency is almost 6 years though (sometimes 5), while an ER residency is only about 3 to 4. but it really doesn't matter...i mean, we get paid during our residency and all...but still. a lot of my friends are thinkin about moving out of state for the residency years, and i have to say...i really agree. i've felt for a while that my love and interest in california is gone...and i know it is. besides school and some of my closest friends, there really isn't that much here that i'm too wild about. i really want to start out my years as a physician somewhere on the east coast...maybe new york...since all of you know that's where i originally wanted to go (and should have gone). it's scary starting a life all over again in another state, but i can't tell you how much i'm looking forward to it. i'm even trying to get my clerkship (years 3 and 4) in new york city. hopefully that will come through.

so this summer is going to be a busy one...which sucks considering it is the last summer i will ever have. aside from the internships, i am also teaching 4 different courses with the princeton review given my 'apparent' seniority in the company now (such a joke). along with the MCAT courses, i'm also teaching OAT and DAT courses (optometry and dentistry bullshit). oh, and another bit of exciting news: i am officially published!!! all that slavery-intern-crap research i did in virology as an undergrad finally paid off, and the research is published. pretty cool. although, i really don't remember all what that research involved anymore. oh well.

but it feels so good that summer is here. i'm looking forward to a fun, friend-filled summer with nothing to tie me down. i can't believe how well things have gone for me these past few months...but it is a lot of fun, and it will only get better through the summer. although, i can't tell you how nice it'd be to get plastered on cheap vodka on the beaches of catalina island...but those things are few and far between. =/

but on the flipside, i can't remember a year when i've been so busy...and although the summer is going to make me a busy bee...i am going to live it up. life's too short for the shoulda-coulda-woulda's. i think it's about time to smooth things over with some people, and to just speak my mind. i mean, what if i died in a car crash tomorrow, you know? and didn't get out to some people what i wanted...it'd suck for both of us. especially some friends i haven't been the 'best' of a friend too...and god bless them for understanding while i was in school...but now, i think it's time i put in the effort, and stop waiting for them to put their foot over the line.

well here's to a fantastic summer. -cheers-

Sat, 03 Jul 2004 05:41:13 GMT

boo.