Just past 5 p.m., I was in the garage painting a shelf for our bedroom—the last uncompleted “must complete today” task on my list. If successfully finished, this would mark the first day since our move where I got everything I’d wanted done, done. My mental health was on the line. I rolled the dusky … Continue reading Newsletter #134: Nothing Left on the Line
Tag: how to change careers
Newsletter #118: The Sweaty Road to Responsibility
This time last Friday, I was following blood sugars like I used to track meme stocks. By the second. As if my life depended on it. The sugars in question weren't my own; they belonged to a cabin of fourteen and fifteen year olds, all of which were my responsibility. My week on diabetes camp … Continue reading Newsletter #118: The Sweaty Road to Responsibility
Newsletter #115: 1st Class Feats of Unnecessary Athleticism
My co-working space is serviceable. I can work, mostly in peace, and the coffee bar deals a rotation of single-origins. Come Friday afternoon, juicy IPAs await in the shared fridge, and overall, the vibes are pleasant. I've also made a friend, someone else who works in the space for a few hours each morning. Her … Continue reading Newsletter #115: 1st Class Feats of Unnecessary Athleticism
Newsletter #114: Nowhere to Hide, At Last
The drive to Children's Hospital was fifteen minutes, just enough time to forge 90 days of blood sugar readings. Pen in hand, riding in the backseat of my parents' car, I'd scribble fabrications into my logbook. 132. 289. 71. 320. 97. 120. 62. 205. 110. When my parents would ask their ten-year-old what he was … Continue reading Newsletter #114: Nowhere to Hide, At Last
Newsletter #111: Turn Off the Lights
While in medicine, I lived—and hunted—across an Alaskan summer. Day or night, I tracked illuminated targets. Guesswork eliminated, I shot well. And ate well. "Why's that so bad?" you might ask. "Isn't success what matters? Why not enjoy the sun? Get a nice tan?" If Where The Red Fern Grows—a book representing 100% of my … Continue reading Newsletter #111: Turn Off the Lights
Newsletter #107: One Day You’ll Feel Better
First year of medical school, we were forced to take one humanities course. I chose Medicine and Literature. Our teacher was a retired Dean of Medicine. Bald as a basketball, round spectacled, and perpetually bow-tied, he could enter the room and own your respect without saying a word. Still cycling, he was spryer than us … Continue reading Newsletter #107: One Day You’ll Feel Better
Newsletter #102: Where Capability Meets Its Death
Up to a certain point, cans are more valuable than our cannots. An important can from my early adulthood: learning I can be a teacher. I'd never taught anything, but I learned how. From then on, I knew I could do something I'd never done before. This has been a valuable understanding. Though, past a … Continue reading Newsletter #102: Where Capability Meets Its Death
Newsletter #80: Where Dreams Go to Die
As I watched the month, day, and year flow from my pen's tip, the date's significance clicked. Interrupting my wife as she journaled next to me in bed, I said, "It's been two years since I left medicine." "Wow," she deadpanned, writing on without pause. That's how I felt too: indifferent. My new life isn't … Continue reading Newsletter #80: Where Dreams Go to Die
