We have great news!!! Through CSTV we can watch live video feed of Auburn Football. As the Internet Cafe that is fast in Valera is not open when the games are on, Coop and I are going to come early Monday morning to watch the games. So, we will not check email or anything from when the game starts Saturday night, until Monday morning. Hopefully on Monday we can watch the game ¨live¨ for us.
Until then, War Eagle!
This entry is dedicated to my cousin Merrill, who helped up sign up for the service.
Map of the Americas
We are using this map to find our way home. We will be marking where we are in big fat red marker like Indiana Jones. (map idea courtesy of Blake Golden)
Friday, August 31, 2007
Pictures at Last!!!
Hey yall,
Cooper and I traveled an hour this morning to the big town Valera. We are currently using really fast internet, like really fast internet, and it´s freakin awesome!!!! So I put a ton of pictures on picassa on Google. Just go to this website to view them. http://picasaweb.google.com/stewhill. Oh and Cooper has pictures up too. So go to http://picasaweb.google.com/cooperbennett also. Anyway, not really going to say much today, just put up pictures. Now that I know I can put them up in the future I´m planning on taking a lot more pics. Hopefully I can come here every two weeks or so and put pics up!
take care,
stewart
Monday, August 27, 2007
Blog Points
So when you are in a place that is very different than the place you are accustomed to, little things can happen that seem very funny to you. These little things may be totally normal for the people who are accustomed to them, but being an outsider these things may be hilarious. For example, when more “cultured” people from up north come to the Supper Club (a redneck bar in Auburn) and see the shot bus, they think it’s comical. (For those that don’t know, the shot bus was the old bus that would give people from the bar a ride home in the seventies if they were too drunk. One day the bus broke down and as a good redneck Alabama bar should, the Supper Club left the bus in the backyard of the bar and converted it into a place where people can now go take shots.) Well people from different places may look at this bus and their jaw will drop open and they make take pictures. This is especially true for people not accustomed to seeing vehicles in yards. Anyway, people from Auburn just know it as the shot bus.
The same is true for my encounters in Venezuela. Seeing how this country couldn’t be more different than what I was used to, my jaw seems to drop open nearly everyday here in Venezuela. Cooper and I have deemed these moments “blog points”. They just happen, and we look at each other and just wish to tell everyone at home about these occurrences. Also included in blog points are things that are funny to Cooper and I and could only happen here. So, I hope to start adding a couple of “blog points” to the end of all of my blogs. But for this one, I’ll just write about several of them.
1. I bought a 2-liter coke the other day from the store in the town. The very nice man, Juan, grabs the coke out of the refrigerator then places it on the counter. He then proceeds to twist the cap only a little bit as to release a bit of gas and show me that it is very fresh. He looks at me as if in need of approval. I nod my head to reassure him and want to say, “yes, this wine is fine.”
2. So obviously I am not good at Spanish yet. The people here are very helpful in trying to teach me because they are very compassionate and because they want to talk to me. Anyway, if you ask a question in Spanish and it is not correct they will help me reword it for the conversation. But sometimes I can ask a question and it’s very incorrect, and they will tell me to just try again, or just look at me and say huh? And then there are silent questions. Silent questions are when I ask a question out loud in a crowd and no one responds. My theory on silent questions and that I am so incorrect in my Spanish that they think I am talking English out loud to myself.
3. Being taller than everyone is nothing but awesome. I feel like my really tall brother pretty much all the time down here. I think I’ve seen like three people taller than me.
4. I’ve noticed it’s real easy to be funny down here as well. All you need to do is be white and make complete sentences.
5. The other day I was on the computer and saw an ad that caught my eye. It was one of those real flashy ads on the side of the screen that in America may say, teenage girls want to talk to you now! But only it said in flashing green letters, “50,000 people will win a lifetime green card to the USA!!!”
6. I think people love mayonnaise down here. The other day I was eating later than everyone else so I was heating up my spaghetti and the sauce when Julianna gave me the mayonnaise jar with no expression on her face. To her, it seemed obvious that I knew what I was supposed to do with the mayonnaise jar. I just stood there aghast, until she laughed and told me to put it on my noodles. I did. I should have been on better guard because a few days earlier I noticed that in this Chinese grocery store, where you can literally buy any grocery you need, half of one of their only ten rows (five aisles) was stocked with mayonnaise. I’ve never seen anything like it. (For those that know JD Lloyd, he probably would have thrown up on the spot.)
7. I got duped by a five year old the other day. You know when you have trash in your hand, and you want to give it to someone else to throw away, so you quickly say “hold on to this,” and then they are stuck with it. Well this kid took his time. I couldn’t understand him, but I could understand he wanted me to straighten my arm. So I did. Then he put trash in the elbow and bent my arm. I was stuck with the trash, and all the older people around laughed. Point being, never trust a five year old Venezuelan, even if you think the child has innocence.
8. A ten year old put on a DVD of a cock fight the other day for me to watch. It was pretty terrible.
9. Apparently being a man and wearing a hot pink poncho villa blanket with your collar popped and wearing ray-bans is in style down here. I forgot to pack mine.
10. I saw an eight-year-old today galloping on a horse down the street. A good trivia question would be, “Was he on a Western or and English saddle?” Neither. All he had was a rope.
Anyhow. Sorry this blog was so long. Expect more blogs very soon! Thanks for reading them!
stew
The same is true for my encounters in Venezuela. Seeing how this country couldn’t be more different than what I was used to, my jaw seems to drop open nearly everyday here in Venezuela. Cooper and I have deemed these moments “blog points”. They just happen, and we look at each other and just wish to tell everyone at home about these occurrences. Also included in blog points are things that are funny to Cooper and I and could only happen here. So, I hope to start adding a couple of “blog points” to the end of all of my blogs. But for this one, I’ll just write about several of them.
1. I bought a 2-liter coke the other day from the store in the town. The very nice man, Juan, grabs the coke out of the refrigerator then places it on the counter. He then proceeds to twist the cap only a little bit as to release a bit of gas and show me that it is very fresh. He looks at me as if in need of approval. I nod my head to reassure him and want to say, “yes, this wine is fine.”
2. So obviously I am not good at Spanish yet. The people here are very helpful in trying to teach me because they are very compassionate and because they want to talk to me. Anyway, if you ask a question in Spanish and it is not correct they will help me reword it for the conversation. But sometimes I can ask a question and it’s very incorrect, and they will tell me to just try again, or just look at me and say huh? And then there are silent questions. Silent questions are when I ask a question out loud in a crowd and no one responds. My theory on silent questions and that I am so incorrect in my Spanish that they think I am talking English out loud to myself.
3. Being taller than everyone is nothing but awesome. I feel like my really tall brother pretty much all the time down here. I think I’ve seen like three people taller than me.
4. I’ve noticed it’s real easy to be funny down here as well. All you need to do is be white and make complete sentences.
5. The other day I was on the computer and saw an ad that caught my eye. It was one of those real flashy ads on the side of the screen that in America may say, teenage girls want to talk to you now! But only it said in flashing green letters, “50,000 people will win a lifetime green card to the USA!!!”
6. I think people love mayonnaise down here. The other day I was eating later than everyone else so I was heating up my spaghetti and the sauce when Julianna gave me the mayonnaise jar with no expression on her face. To her, it seemed obvious that I knew what I was supposed to do with the mayonnaise jar. I just stood there aghast, until she laughed and told me to put it on my noodles. I did. I should have been on better guard because a few days earlier I noticed that in this Chinese grocery store, where you can literally buy any grocery you need, half of one of their only ten rows (five aisles) was stocked with mayonnaise. I’ve never seen anything like it. (For those that know JD Lloyd, he probably would have thrown up on the spot.)
7. I got duped by a five year old the other day. You know when you have trash in your hand, and you want to give it to someone else to throw away, so you quickly say “hold on to this,” and then they are stuck with it. Well this kid took his time. I couldn’t understand him, but I could understand he wanted me to straighten my arm. So I did. Then he put trash in the elbow and bent my arm. I was stuck with the trash, and all the older people around laughed. Point being, never trust a five year old Venezuelan, even if you think the child has innocence.
8. A ten year old put on a DVD of a cock fight the other day for me to watch. It was pretty terrible.
9. Apparently being a man and wearing a hot pink poncho villa blanket with your collar popped and wearing ray-bans is in style down here. I forgot to pack mine.
10. I saw an eight-year-old today galloping on a horse down the street. A good trivia question would be, “Was he on a Western or and English saddle?” Neither. All he had was a rope.
Anyhow. Sorry this blog was so long. Expect more blogs very soon! Thanks for reading them!
stew
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
San Pedro Clinic
So I tried to upload a picture and it just didn´t work. It was real close, and I thought it was going to work, but it didn´t. Sorry.
I want to describe the differences between what I experienced at Friday’s clinic in San Pedro and what I know to be a clinic at UAB.
So to start, in Birmingham I hop in my Toyota Tacoma, put on some Lucero, Drive by Truckers, or some other band and casually breeze down 280 into UAB. I park in a designated parking spot and walk to the Kirklin Clinic, probably wearing some nice pants, button down shirt with tie, and my white coat. On the contrary, on Friday I walk to the street carrying a trunk full of medicine. It is slightly raining when the transport vehicle shows up. I talk with him in Spanish, and he decides to strap the trunk full of medicine to the front bumper of his Toyota Landcruiser Jeep. That way he can still fit 8 people in the back to carry down the mountain. On the way down he has to use four wheel drive because the rain has picked up and the roads are muddy. I’m wearing my boots, jeans, Oskar’s t-shirt, and my Auburn hat turned backwards.
After arriving to the Kirklin clinic I find my way to the clinic I am supposed to be at and pick up a patient’s chart that I need to talk with. The clinic is full of doctors, nurses, receptionists, private rooms, beds to lay the patient on, computers, an in house pharmacy, everything you could dream about. When I arrive in San Pedro, I go to what we would say is a shack, but is actually a “nice” house in this slum. (Keep in mind that it is not nice for Venezuela, only for this slum.) The house is made up of two rooms with a curtain separating them. We get stationed in the kitchen, which is about 12 feet by 10 feet. There is Mary Alison there to translate, a student from South Carolina that is living with us for the year, a trunk full of medicine, me, a fourth year medical student, and as many kitchen supplies as you would ever need in a doctor’s office. No charts, no doctors, no private rooms. Just one crowded kitchen.
Then whether I am in Birmingham or San Pedro, I get to sit down with the patient, talk about what is going wrong, do a physical exam and diagnose the problem. That is about the only thing that is similar between the two different clinics.
When I finish with a patient in Birmingham, I may have a couple of minutes or so to myself before I head into the next patient room because there are private doors. In San Pedro as soon as one patient stands up, another one sits down in the chair across from me. This is because there are like ten people in the kitchen, people waiting outside the kitchen, and no appointments. The clinic ran non-stop from 3:00 to 8:00. I just can’t describe how much I enjoyed it. The good news is that we are now planning on having clinics there every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at the same time. The reason we do it in the afternoon/evening is so people can come after work.
One last thing. In Birmingham, I walk back to my Tacoma and drive home feeling good about a day’s work. However, here my friend Catirre came and picked Mary Alison and I up in another Toyota Landcruiser, only this one had the back end similar to a jeep not a wagon. There are only two seats, so obviously Catirre and Mary Alison got the seats. I got to stand in the back, holding on the bar that rises over the top of the jeep, looking out over the front of the jeep. It was slightly misty, as we drove back to the house. The wind coupled with the mist hitting my face felt perfect, while smelling that developing country smell that you know if you’ve ever been to one. Smells like gasoline but is somehow refreshing. All the while we are climbing a mountain in the Andes and I can look below and see the city of La Puerta and look above and see thousands of stars. Then I felt the stethoscope around my neck and just thought of how different this was than the States, but something about it was just so right. That drive was easily my favorite moment thus far in Venezuela.
I want to describe the differences between what I experienced at Friday’s clinic in San Pedro and what I know to be a clinic at UAB.
So to start, in Birmingham I hop in my Toyota Tacoma, put on some Lucero, Drive by Truckers, or some other band and casually breeze down 280 into UAB. I park in a designated parking spot and walk to the Kirklin Clinic, probably wearing some nice pants, button down shirt with tie, and my white coat. On the contrary, on Friday I walk to the street carrying a trunk full of medicine. It is slightly raining when the transport vehicle shows up. I talk with him in Spanish, and he decides to strap the trunk full of medicine to the front bumper of his Toyota Landcruiser Jeep. That way he can still fit 8 people in the back to carry down the mountain. On the way down he has to use four wheel drive because the rain has picked up and the roads are muddy. I’m wearing my boots, jeans, Oskar’s t-shirt, and my Auburn hat turned backwards.
After arriving to the Kirklin clinic I find my way to the clinic I am supposed to be at and pick up a patient’s chart that I need to talk with. The clinic is full of doctors, nurses, receptionists, private rooms, beds to lay the patient on, computers, an in house pharmacy, everything you could dream about. When I arrive in San Pedro, I go to what we would say is a shack, but is actually a “nice” house in this slum. (Keep in mind that it is not nice for Venezuela, only for this slum.) The house is made up of two rooms with a curtain separating them. We get stationed in the kitchen, which is about 12 feet by 10 feet. There is Mary Alison there to translate, a student from South Carolina that is living with us for the year, a trunk full of medicine, me, a fourth year medical student, and as many kitchen supplies as you would ever need in a doctor’s office. No charts, no doctors, no private rooms. Just one crowded kitchen.
Then whether I am in Birmingham or San Pedro, I get to sit down with the patient, talk about what is going wrong, do a physical exam and diagnose the problem. That is about the only thing that is similar between the two different clinics.
When I finish with a patient in Birmingham, I may have a couple of minutes or so to myself before I head into the next patient room because there are private doors. In San Pedro as soon as one patient stands up, another one sits down in the chair across from me. This is because there are like ten people in the kitchen, people waiting outside the kitchen, and no appointments. The clinic ran non-stop from 3:00 to 8:00. I just can’t describe how much I enjoyed it. The good news is that we are now planning on having clinics there every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at the same time. The reason we do it in the afternoon/evening is so people can come after work.
One last thing. In Birmingham, I walk back to my Tacoma and drive home feeling good about a day’s work. However, here my friend Catirre came and picked Mary Alison and I up in another Toyota Landcruiser, only this one had the back end similar to a jeep not a wagon. There are only two seats, so obviously Catirre and Mary Alison got the seats. I got to stand in the back, holding on the bar that rises over the top of the jeep, looking out over the front of the jeep. It was slightly misty, as we drove back to the house. The wind coupled with the mist hitting my face felt perfect, while smelling that developing country smell that you know if you’ve ever been to one. Smells like gasoline but is somehow refreshing. All the while we are climbing a mountain in the Andes and I can look below and see the city of La Puerta and look above and see thousands of stars. Then I felt the stethoscope around my neck and just thought of how different this was than the States, but something about it was just so right. That drive was easily my favorite moment thus far in Venezuela.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Lo siento, todovía no fotas
Sorry I haven’t written in several days. I was hoping to wait until my friend Cooper got here and then use his flash drive to upload pictures. Anyhow, that didn’t work because the Internet here is slower than me running a 60 yard touchdown at John Carroll in the ninth grade. (Contact Mike Baker if you want to see the video.) Anyhow, Adonys, a nurse that lives with us, is supposedly the web guru of the house and is going to show me the best way to upload pictures. So next time, I promise some pictures!!! Anyway, I just wanted to share a few things that have happened to me over the past couple of days that just bring a smile to my face:
The other day I felt very international because I was reading the French Les Miserables in English while smoking a Cuban cigar in Venezuela.
We were in a taxi the other day driving the wrong way on a one way for like four blocks, meanwhile, the Ghost soundtrack is blaring in the background.
This morning Cooper and I went to an Internet café in the tourist town of La Puerta at the base of our mountain. We spent 17 minutes on the Internet, and Cooper got to the Google homepage. I didn’t get to a webpage.
I played baseball in the clouds with some of my local friends here. Keep in mind I live 30 minutes from Johann Santanna’s hometown.
Hearing a five year old try to sing the words to Lil’ John’s Get Low in a thick Spanish accent.
Anyway, I haven’t worked in San Pedro yet. We were supposed to have a clinic there today, but it didn’t work out. We are hoping to have one tomorrow or the next day. Then hopefully we will have a clinic in San Pedro three-four times a week after that. We spoke to a local of San Pedro today, and they seemed very welcoming and offered their ramshackle house to hold the clinic. So that’s exciting. It’s weird not having a doctor above me to support my decisions. I’m a little nervous about it, but it’s better than them having nothing.
So, sorry no pics, but I promise there will be a picture (hopefully many) on this website by Monday! So come back Tuesday morning. Oh, and I really appreciate all the comments. Really, they mean a lot, and are funny. Keep them coming.
The other day I felt very international because I was reading the French Les Miserables in English while smoking a Cuban cigar in Venezuela.
We were in a taxi the other day driving the wrong way on a one way for like four blocks, meanwhile, the Ghost soundtrack is blaring in the background.
This morning Cooper and I went to an Internet café in the tourist town of La Puerta at the base of our mountain. We spent 17 minutes on the Internet, and Cooper got to the Google homepage. I didn’t get to a webpage.
I played baseball in the clouds with some of my local friends here. Keep in mind I live 30 minutes from Johann Santanna’s hometown.
Hearing a five year old try to sing the words to Lil’ John’s Get Low in a thick Spanish accent.
Anyway, I haven’t worked in San Pedro yet. We were supposed to have a clinic there today, but it didn’t work out. We are hoping to have one tomorrow or the next day. Then hopefully we will have a clinic in San Pedro three-four times a week after that. We spoke to a local of San Pedro today, and they seemed very welcoming and offered their ramshackle house to hold the clinic. So that’s exciting. It’s weird not having a doctor above me to support my decisions. I’m a little nervous about it, but it’s better than them having nothing.
So, sorry no pics, but I promise there will be a picture (hopefully many) on this website by Monday! So come back Tuesday morning. Oh, and I really appreciate all the comments. Really, they mean a lot, and are funny. Keep them coming.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Venezuela at Last!
So I have arrived in Venezuela, and all is well. In fact, I do not believe things can be much better. Last night we celebrated a family member´s therteenth birthday, and it almost brought tears to my eyes. After we had finished supper, all the lights were turned off except for the sole candle lighting Andres´s birthday cake. Our family was crowded around him and everyone sand the Spanish version of Happy Birthday. The song had many verses and then closed in verses with a similar tune of the Happy Birthday song we all know. I looked around and Francisco(the head of the house) and Andres´s mother had shed a couple of tears, as well as Andres himself. I believe the song showed everyone in the room how much family means to each other. Maybe I am reading into this too much, but I have never seen anyone cry before while singing Happy Birthday. It was pretty damn moving.
Anyway, enough of the sappy stuff...I was excited today because I got to see my first three patients!!! One patient had carpal tunnel syndrome, and I gave her a brace that should alleviate the problem. Another patient came in with her 5 month old baby, which I believe has the beginning of croup. It was exciting to giver her advice about when to go to the hospital, and why the child was coughing. The mom also has a history of anemia and has been extremely tired recently, so I got to order all the blood work needed to diagnose what type of anemia she may or may not have. She is coming back in a week or two to discuss the test results, and hopefully I will not have to use a translator when she returns.
I also got to see what I am going to be working with for the next year. There is a slum at the base of the mountain called San Pedro. We are not yet sure what the needs of the town are, but we know the families have poor medical care and terrible sanitation. The slum has a manageable population. We walked around the area, and I estimate there are probably 100'200 families that live in San Pedro. Being the eternal optimist, i believe the sky is the limit with respect to what we can accomplish. HOpefully we can raise enough funds to buiild a medical clinic and setup a primary health care program. There is a very sturdy barn in San Pddro that could easily be converted into a medical clinic, pharmacy, school, and whatever else we need. It is very large, but would need a lot of work. Hopefully we can setup a good medical clinic by the end of the year, and if it sees enough patients, the government will hire a doctor to run the clinic permanently. All these are dreams right now, but Francisco and I both believe the dreams are attainable. He has worked for twenty years with the poor in Venezuela, so if he thinks the dreams are achievable, then I should not doubt him. We are not going to make any plans for the San Pedro Project until Cooper, my friend from Birmingham, arrives in Carorita on Tuesday. Then hopefully we can start the planning. Anyway, I am very excited because Francisco and I are going to hold a clinic in San Pedro on Thursday. I am sure I will have much to write about on Friday concerning San Pedro.
All right, this blog is long enough right now. I must say, I apologize for not putting pictures on the blog yet!!! I swear an Apple IIgs could produce faster Internet than the computer I am using. After Cooper brings a flash drive, pictures will come. So wait until next week.
To close with something funny, I was out last night with my friend and roomate Emilio, and I went to meet some of his friends. We had a great time last night, but at one point he introduced me to one of his friends, and his friend said his name pretty fast, and I didn´t quite catch it. I tried repeating what he said in order to learn his name, but apparently instead of repeating his name, I said the a word for the female genitalia. All the boys starting laughing, and Emilio told me what I had done. It was pretty darn funny.
stew
p.s. In case you have not gone to Jason´s blog, I recommend it. Gonzowilson.blogspot.com It is also pretty darn funny!
Anyway, enough of the sappy stuff...I was excited today because I got to see my first three patients!!! One patient had carpal tunnel syndrome, and I gave her a brace that should alleviate the problem. Another patient came in with her 5 month old baby, which I believe has the beginning of croup. It was exciting to giver her advice about when to go to the hospital, and why the child was coughing. The mom also has a history of anemia and has been extremely tired recently, so I got to order all the blood work needed to diagnose what type of anemia she may or may not have. She is coming back in a week or two to discuss the test results, and hopefully I will not have to use a translator when she returns.
I also got to see what I am going to be working with for the next year. There is a slum at the base of the mountain called San Pedro. We are not yet sure what the needs of the town are, but we know the families have poor medical care and terrible sanitation. The slum has a manageable population. We walked around the area, and I estimate there are probably 100'200 families that live in San Pedro. Being the eternal optimist, i believe the sky is the limit with respect to what we can accomplish. HOpefully we can raise enough funds to buiild a medical clinic and setup a primary health care program. There is a very sturdy barn in San Pddro that could easily be converted into a medical clinic, pharmacy, school, and whatever else we need. It is very large, but would need a lot of work. Hopefully we can setup a good medical clinic by the end of the year, and if it sees enough patients, the government will hire a doctor to run the clinic permanently. All these are dreams right now, but Francisco and I both believe the dreams are attainable. He has worked for twenty years with the poor in Venezuela, so if he thinks the dreams are achievable, then I should not doubt him. We are not going to make any plans for the San Pedro Project until Cooper, my friend from Birmingham, arrives in Carorita on Tuesday. Then hopefully we can start the planning. Anyway, I am very excited because Francisco and I are going to hold a clinic in San Pedro on Thursday. I am sure I will have much to write about on Friday concerning San Pedro.
All right, this blog is long enough right now. I must say, I apologize for not putting pictures on the blog yet!!! I swear an Apple IIgs could produce faster Internet than the computer I am using. After Cooper brings a flash drive, pictures will come. So wait until next week.
To close with something funny, I was out last night with my friend and roomate Emilio, and I went to meet some of his friends. We had a great time last night, but at one point he introduced me to one of his friends, and his friend said his name pretty fast, and I didn´t quite catch it. I tried repeating what he said in order to learn his name, but apparently instead of repeating his name, I said the a word for the female genitalia. All the boys starting laughing, and Emilio told me what I had done. It was pretty darn funny.
stew
p.s. In case you have not gone to Jason´s blog, I recommend it. Gonzowilson.blogspot.com It is also pretty darn funny!
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Birmingham International Airport
I'm sitting at the Birmingham Airport about to get on my flight to Houston. From Houston I fly to Panama, not PCB, then to Maracaibo Venezuela. Needless to say, having the plane tickets in my back pocket gives me that same traveler's high that I always enjoy.
I can't express how much this past week meant to me. After finishing my board exams I got to hang out with a bunch of med school friends, then I went to Scott Crawford's wedding where we celebrated Courtney and Scott. Scott and I were listening for the best "line" of the weekend, and I believe the award goes to Nikki, Scott's mom. At one point all the groomsmen were booty dancing around Nikki. She had like five or six guys grinding up on her, just having a hell of a time. Later in the night, I spoke to Nikki about the dance and she said, "No offense to Steven (her husband), but I haven't been that excited in years!" It was a gas!!! (I feel older for just using that word.)
Then Sunday night my sister and great friends Libby, Andrew, Craig, and JD put together a surprise going away party at my house. It was so thoughtful for all of yall to come! It just really meant a lot! I had such a great time, and I know yall did as well because Charlie (Andrew's dog looking thing) was there. Bert cooked his legendary Boston Butt BBQ which of course hit the spot. I'll always remember that party.
Then Monday night we went Davenport's and Trivia with Reed. After JD finished an entire large pizza, Blake and I played darts, where he beat me with a double bulls eye on the final throw. We of course lost because we didn't have Conor, our Dark Lord of Trivia. It was fun as always, and I got an apron that preaches my motto "Never cook bacon naked!"
Last night after an always delicious meal at Judy's Pumphouse Diner, Trey, my brother, and Billy, my cousin hung out and went to watch The Bourne Ultimatum. Bad Ass. I mean, go see that movie if you haven't. It was so great to see Billy!
I guess the reason I bring all this up is to say that I have so much in Birmingham. One significant reason I'm off for a year is to see what it is like living away from friends and family. I want to see if I could work abroad for years at a time, if I could leave friends and family for that amount of time. Last week certainly showed me what I would be leaving. I am so fortunate to call each one of yall my friends. Yall are great and I love yall!
Anyhow, I have to get on the plane in a few minutes, so I'd better run. Can't wait to get to Venezuela!!! I'll post a bunch of pictures next time!
p.s. I believe you can subscribe to this blog if you want. I believe what happens is that when I edit the blog it notifies you through your bookmark or through your google or yahoo homepage. I don't yet know a way to get on a listserv or anything if I put new stuff on the blog. Anyhow, just letting yall know.
I can't express how much this past week meant to me. After finishing my board exams I got to hang out with a bunch of med school friends, then I went to Scott Crawford's wedding where we celebrated Courtney and Scott. Scott and I were listening for the best "line" of the weekend, and I believe the award goes to Nikki, Scott's mom. At one point all the groomsmen were booty dancing around Nikki. She had like five or six guys grinding up on her, just having a hell of a time. Later in the night, I spoke to Nikki about the dance and she said, "No offense to Steven (her husband), but I haven't been that excited in years!" It was a gas!!! (I feel older for just using that word.)
Then Sunday night my sister and great friends Libby, Andrew, Craig, and JD put together a surprise going away party at my house. It was so thoughtful for all of yall to come! It just really meant a lot! I had such a great time, and I know yall did as well because Charlie (Andrew's dog looking thing) was there. Bert cooked his legendary Boston Butt BBQ which of course hit the spot. I'll always remember that party.
Then Monday night we went Davenport's and Trivia with Reed. After JD finished an entire large pizza, Blake and I played darts, where he beat me with a double bulls eye on the final throw. We of course lost because we didn't have Conor, our Dark Lord of Trivia. It was fun as always, and I got an apron that preaches my motto "Never cook bacon naked!"
Last night after an always delicious meal at Judy's Pumphouse Diner, Trey, my brother, and Billy, my cousin hung out and went to watch The Bourne Ultimatum. Bad Ass. I mean, go see that movie if you haven't. It was so great to see Billy!
I guess the reason I bring all this up is to say that I have so much in Birmingham. One significant reason I'm off for a year is to see what it is like living away from friends and family. I want to see if I could work abroad for years at a time, if I could leave friends and family for that amount of time. Last week certainly showed me what I would be leaving. I am so fortunate to call each one of yall my friends. Yall are great and I love yall!
Anyhow, I have to get on the plane in a few minutes, so I'd better run. Can't wait to get to Venezuela!!! I'll post a bunch of pictures next time!
p.s. I believe you can subscribe to this blog if you want. I believe what happens is that when I edit the blog it notifies you through your bookmark or through your google or yahoo homepage. I don't yet know a way to get on a listserv or anything if I put new stuff on the blog. Anyhow, just letting yall know.
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