Falling

I love fall. The smells of pumpkin and leaves and that cold, crisp air that makes you want to stay outside forever and hurry inside for cider or cocoa at the same time. Giant leaves curled on the sidewalk, making you guess which step will make the biggest crunch. Time to pull the hoodies and the hats out again, to snuggle under the electric blanket, to hold the coffee mug with both hands. The first falling flakes of snow, swirling in a silver sky. It makes me want to share it with someone.

Code Blue

"Attention: Code Blue, Outpatient Pavilion, 2nd floor, hallway G. Attention: Code Blue, Outpatient Pavilion, 2nd..." By this time we were out the door and running. No time to stop and ask if we were supposed to come along or what we were to do when we got there. Our team of four was joined by another team by the time we reached the stairwell. No telling how long the elevators would take, so we took the six flights as quickly as we could, picking up a few more responders along the way. It felt like a TV show, the way we dropped everything and started running the second we heard the word "Blue," the way you imagine a fire department responding with a call in the middle of the night. The way we jogged through the hallways, drawing curious glances and easily clearing the path in front of us by our calm urgency. We were on our way to save someone. Don't get in the way. It didn't matter that I had no idea what I would do when we got there. Or that the thought of someone actually needing a code called terrified me. Or that of course the ED and the PICU teams were much closer and already had the situation under control by the time we had traversed what seemed like the entire hospital. I've always thought that I couldn't do critical care because I don't like not knowing what's coming through the door, but my first code thrilled me. Experience will teach me the way to respond-the right drugs to use, the correct techniques for intubation and starting an IV, the protocol of a code. But the emergency itself was exciting. I found myself wishing we could do it every day, which makees me excited to do the ED and our critical care rotations. Either way, I'm in the coolest career field ever.

WPS showdown

Okay, Michelle made her picks (see her blog) so I had to make mine. Granted, she follows this much more closely than I do, but I, too, have some thoughts about the final rankings of the first WPS season, based solely on the recent allocation.

1. Sky Blue FC: Rampone, O'Reilly, Kai--You have experience and leadership in the backfield and pure fun up front...my pick to win (Michelle's pick: 1)
2. Chicago Red Stars: Lloyd, Markgraf, Tarpley--you have Rampone's counterpart in the backfield in Markgraf, as well as my new hero, Carli Lloyd...I think they'll make a run for the top (Michelle's pick: 3)
3. Los Angeles: Boxx, Cox, Wagner--Boxxy is who could knock this team to the front if she is on her game. I'm giving them the tie-breaker over Washington, but it's close (Michelle's pick: 4).
4. Washington Freedom: Krieger, Wambach, Whitehill--don't know much about Krieger, but Abby will make this fun (ironically, Freedom STILL gets THE face of women's soccer)...I'm torn on this one, but they barely fall behind LA (Michelle's pick: 2)
   
5. Boston Breakers: Hucles, Lilly, Mitts--yay for Kristine Lilly making a post-baby comeback. Heather Mitts should give them experience in the back, but not much speed. Hucles played well in the Games, so if they get good additions from other sources, they could be a better contender (Michelle's pick: 5).
6. St. Louis: Solo, Chalupny, Ellertson--I like Lori Chalupny, and with Solo anchoring here, St. Louis might be able to surprise, but it might be too little to work with compared to the other teams (Michelle's pick: 6).
7. Bay Area: Barnhart, Buehler, Osborne--"a fairly definitive last place". Agreed. Bay Area maybe got the shaft...or maybe they have given these players a chance to shine. But still last. (Michelle's pick: 7)

So there you have it. We're not much different, but this is me putting it in writing so we can fight about it in a year when the season ends. Loser has to buy the winner a new jersey. Just kidding. Maybe an ice cream.

The latest rant

Last week I was in the nursery at the U. It was the well nursery, so nothing exciting going on except healthy babies and a handful of circumcisions (which, FYI, is the same word in Spanish, just with an accent). However, it was so fun to get to play with the babies and just hold them, because we were in no rush. We had one tiny girl whose mom had probably the least maternal instinct of anybody ever. "How long do I have to give her this milk stuff?" You mean the formula? Um, about a year. Did you think babies came out eating philly cheese steak and salad? Anyways, we made up for mom's absence by loving the heck out of that little girl. She was like our little nursery mascot, ready to be a Broadway singer when she grew up (you had to be there). Here's hoping little J does okay.

I was at the Fox and Hound for the Nebraska season opener on Saturday. Husker fans are hysterical. Several hundred red shirts crammed into one bar, "Go! Big! Red!" filling the room every few minutes, and total pandemonium if we scored. They even played the fight song over the speaker system. It was almost like being there. Maybe I did miss out by not having a college football team. But I'm more than happy to fall on the wagon now, given that all my friends are Husker fans, and so too me by default.

I'm in outpatient peds this week. My accomplishment for the day is successfully recognizing two ear infections and a middle ear effusion. Trust me, this is a lot harder than it sounds. You try looking through a 2 mm hole into a squirming kid's ear and trying to discern what color the fluid behind the ear drum is. I feel very proud of myself, thank you very much.

10 minutes was enough to get me hooked on "Chuck." You know, the "He's the Secret. She's the Agent" NBC show. Came home from the Husker game and Kelly had it on. I was like, "Oh, this does look cute." Well, over the next two days, we watched 11 episodes online. Exxxxcellent. And the Bones season premiere is on tomorrow. And The Office in like 3 more weeks. Woohoo!!!! I've never been into so many shows at once. What am I going to do?

Also, my dad just corrected me while quoting "13 Going On 30." Sad.

Golden Girls

The US Women's soccer team just did what ABK Girls have never done--back 2 back titles--2 Gold medals! When Carli Lloyd's ball beat Brazil's keeper far post in overtime, at least 3 people in our class visibly jumped, focused more on the live feed than on the lecture. The next 17 odd minutes were some of the longest of my life. I'd said going into this match that even a silver would be an accomplishment given our young team, a new style of play, and the absence of our most dominant scorer, especially given that I knew this team could beat Brazil after our lead-up "friendlies." However, watching the game, I realized how much I can't stand Brazil and wanted to just pound their faces into the dirt. I don't like how negative I am towards such talented players, but it can't be helped when Cristiane ruins a good scoring chance by faking an injury just to catch her breath. And what's with the first name thing. It was fine with Pele. Even Ronaldo. But every player? They're not ALL good enough to just be one name.

But props to a great Brazilian team for a good game. They truly are talented. But make no mistake. They are second best. Pia pulled out the best in this team, utilizing our speed, experience, leadership, and talent like Greg Ryan never had to. Seven different players scored goals in this tournament, proving that this truly was a team effort and that Abby Wambach was a leader, but not our only weapon. For such a young team, this shows great promise. And it was what the new Women's Professional Soccer league could have only dreamed of the year before exhibition.

If I weren't sitting in class, if I could vocalize the crazy soundtrack in my head, it would be something along the lines of, "HECK YES TAKE THAT BRAZIL AND GREG RYAN WE ARE THE BEST IN THE WORLD CARLI LLOYD IS MY HERO AND LORI CHALUPNY AND REAL SOCCER MOMS LIKE MARKGRAF AND RAMPONE AND POOR LIL WHO MISSED THIS AND TAKE THAT WHOEVER BROKE ABBY WAMBACH'S LEG WE WON WITHOUT HER YAY PIA FOR TAKING A RISK WOOOOOOHOOOOO!"

But I'm in class, and I have to pay attention now. USA USA USA!

Hey batter batter

Tonight I donned my cleats and glove for the first time in...it's been too long when I can't even remember the last time I really played softball. And it's probably been 6 years since I've been on the mound even though I can't believe it's really been that long. I love that feeling of being in control, making sure the infield is ready, yelling "2 outs, play's at 1st", taking a breath, releasing the ball...I'm totally in my element. Even in a group of strangers, like tonight, I become like a different person, it's hard to explain. We talked a while ago about how, for athletes, playing sports is the ultimate ice breaker. You don't need small talk or awkward conversations. You really don't even need to know people's names. But you can encourage each other and celebrate and create memories all the same. Of course, for those for whom sports are a dreaded nightmare of embarrassment, it's not such a pleasant situation. But for me, it's where I can shine. It's not even that I'm fantastic, because I never made it to the varsity level in any sport, but I just feel at home on the field, any field (well, not the tennis court). Still...I badly need a trip to the batting cages. Six years is TOO LONG.

Speaking of sports, how freaking awesome are the Olympics!!! I love watching all of it (okay maybe not watching the Chinese take 8 diving golds and both team gymnastic golds). It's such sportsmanship and glory and sheer talent and determination that you only get to see every 4 years. It's beautiful. And Michael Phelps looks like a boat gliding through the water when he does freestyle. He didn't even have to try to win his heat in the IM prelims. And even though they've cost me a lot of good sleep...USA USA USA (I LOVE SOCCER!!!!!!!!) I won't attempt a full blog on that very worthy topic (maybe at some future date...perhaps after a gold medal...), but I will say that I woke up my whole house with a "YES!" when Carli Lloyd knocked in the goal against Japan, and seeing us crush New Zealand was fantastic, even though I managed to miss the setup of 3 of the 4 goals. I have such bad timing for getting coffee, flipping pancakes, etc. But my play-by-play was about a minute ahead of the video feed, so I was prepared for the 4th goal (of course it took me until the 4th goal to figure that out...naturally). Anyways, here's to a rockin' game on Friday.

Tradition...

It's amazing how different I feel after 3 days off work. Technically 5 days since I've had to be at the hospital. I told my classmates, "I miss being a normal person." If I had written any time in the last 4 weeks (and I considered it many times, even drafted one), it would have been depressingly negative. Not that expressing my true feelings isn't important, but you'd rather not hear about that, right? Right.

I am realizing as I get older how much I love and value traditions. Sometimes stupid little things, sometimes great moments of marking times in our lives as monumental.

My dad and I tackled Mt. Elbert today, tallest peak in Colorado. My legs won't thank me tomorrow, but it makes for an impressive addition to my list. When my dad and I climb 14ers, we go to the store the day before to get food for the hike, make our sandwiches, pack our CamelBaks and print out the maps and directions. We get up early and usually have egg sandwiches and coffee, eaten in the car. When we get to the top, we usually start with a picture, a handful of gummi bears (affectionately called "Summit Bears" when hiking), then eat lunch, sign the log, and head back down. The drive back usually involves a stop for coffee (today it was ice cream). It's nice to be able to count on things.

I miss the traditions at Christmas from my grandma's house. Mini pizzas and little sausages, making gross faces at the thought of oyster stew, running around in our church clothes trying not to get them dirty. Trying to stuff about 20 of us in one pew at St. Louis for Christmas Eve Mass. Coming back for ham sandwiches and cheesy potatoes, sneaking some of Aunt Lori's fudge before dessert started, and then scoring a huge piece of mayonnaise cake before the presents were opened, always in order from youngest to oldest. I miss that. In fact, I miss everything about my grandma's house...Pippi Longstocking and the ceiling fan and baseball in the back yard, and the bear in the shed, and Grandpa's grape juice, and Rainbo drinks and too many snacks before bed, and being "punchy." At least I still have those memories to treasure.

I hope I can stay on top of it enough to start my own traditions as life goes on.

For now, Summit Bears will have to do.