Public opinion sees chewing on fingernails as slovenly. Something an unkempt person would do. As one of the unfortunates to be afflicted with this chronic behavior, I disagree. I chew my cuticles and nails down because I cannot tolerate the disorder. If one cuticle so much as thinks about lifting away from its nailbed, my … Continue reading Newsletter #43: I Cannot Be Trusted
Tag: Medicine
Newsletter #41: Even Better Than Hampton Inn’s Breakfast
This week I worked from Tampa Bay. Or St. Petersburg. Or Clearwater. Or Largo. Somewhere in the more tropical, more relaxed, still sprawling east coast that mirrors the sprawling west coast I know well. Allegiant offered a $117, round-trip chance to accompany my wife to her conference, and I said, "Bye winter." On our last … Continue reading Newsletter #41: Even Better Than Hampton Inn’s Breakfast
My Reckoning With a Lost Decade
Don’t worry about me, I have no strip clubbing to purge from my system, no “legs and eggs” brunches calling my name; but I do own another desire, one I neglected a decade ago, that I reckon with now.
Newsletter #40: Where We Must Never Compromise
I love The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham, especially the book's introduction. The passage opens with a quote: The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise say the path to Salvation is hard. - from the Katha Upanishad Maugham, a prominent novelist of the 1900s (and interestingly, a … Continue reading Newsletter #40: Where We Must Never Compromise
Two Sides of the Same Delusion
Seriously, you’re trying to make $50 off a coffee table? You have $200,000 in student loans! Wake the hell up! This isn’t going anywhere!
One Night of Karaoke Deliverance
My wife and I flew back to Oklahoma City for Thanksgiving, getting in Wednesday afternoon. And four hours after our arrival, we went to a karaoke bar. Not my first choice, but we were with my in-laws. They love music. And I could love it for a night.
Life in the Land of Consequence
On this new brink, it seems I can’t go a day without making a trade. No matter what choice I make, I have to sacrifice something I want. It wasn’t always this way, but again with the flip of a switch, things are consequential.
Newsletter #37: Close Out Your Tab
Agreeability has been my modus operandi in interpersonal relationships. Get on with it Ryan. It'll be fine. It's not a big deal anyway. These rationalizations serve to soothe over my compromise until it seems I never transgressed at all, and even more, at least for a while, it seems everything will be fine. But every … Continue reading Newsletter #37: Close Out Your Tab
How Can I Live If I’m Not “Good At Everything”?
Some days, I can bear myself with grace. Other days, I crucify myself for not being good enough, wondering if I should pull the pin and get back to something I’m better at. How I live out this question, in this season, will determine if I can the avoid the familiar trap of “being good at everything” for the rest of my life.
Newsletter #36: Desperation Is Our Salvation
In our tale of self-becoming, desperation is demanded. It's how we show the powers that be that we care, that we're willing to do anything and sacrifice everything, to earn back union with ourselves. Six months from residency graduation—the true summit of the medical education, not to be confused with the false summit of medical … Continue reading Newsletter #36: Desperation Is Our Salvation