Month: June 2020

June 30, 2020

by drplastipicker

It’s June 30, 2020. Things were a bit off yesterday. The great benefit about blogging is that it enables me to sort out my emotions. I mentioned to Mr. Plastic Picker that I was off yesterday because the world is off right now as the COVID-19 pandemic is rising. I think we forget, even Dr. Plastic Picker, the historic nature and god awfulness of this entire thing. Many of us, especially anti-maskers, are in a state of denial. Then my mother-in-law went to the ED, thankfully for a minor illness. My mother was upset at my father for an upcoming business trip to Arizona, where they are becoming another hot spot. But he’s cancelled it now. I had a slight headache and I could not figure out why. But it’s during these early morning blogging sessions that I find forgiveness and understanding and know that I am stressed like everyone else.

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June 28, 2020

by drplasticpicker

My name is Dr. Plastic Picker and I am so mad at the world right now. I am mad at anti-maskers. I am mad at our national leadership. I am mad at every adult on Facebook that shared COVID-19 conspiracy theories. Yes, this is America and you have free speech. But you are also an adult, and as an adult you have to watch what you say as your words have consequences. All those words and Facebook memes have sowed doubt into our country and has fueled the spread of COVID-19. We are entering another wave of this pandemic.

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June 28, 2020

by drplasticpicker

Good morning pediatric climate activist! The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Chapter 3 San Diego Imperial County (CA3) Climate Change and Health Committee is alive and well. I just paid $755.17 to renew my personal AAP national membership ($676), CH Chapter 3 Membership ($66.67) and Council on Environmental Health (COEH) Fellow Package ($12.50). Although I am usually very frugal, the $755.17 is well worth it and it lends our work credibility to work within the auspices of a larger organization. Plus, now I can consistently put FAAP (Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics) – Fellow COEH (Committee of Environmental Health) in my emails. So much of life is just about showing up. Just updated my Who Is Dr. Plastic Picker Page with these credentials https://drplasticpicker.com/about-me/. Go me.

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June 27, 2020

by drplasticpicker

Dr. Plastic Picker is quite pleased with myself this morning. My friend Dr. Jill Gustafson had commented after I posted on my personal facebook page about Virtual Meeting Fatigue, that we should make up a meeting lingo bingo game. At one of my virtual vaccine meetings someone said the word “STAKE HOLDER” and that put me over the edge. I muted the meeting and started taking selfies of myself, and then took a nap. When I woke up and unmuted the mic, and the meeting was still ongoing and the lingo was continuing – although I did not hear the word STAKE HOLDER again.

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I recently had a 25 day blogging streak. I wasn’t sure if I would just edit the site versus write another blog, but I found a recent gift from my friend Dr. Jill Gustafson inspiring https://drplasticpicker.com/dr-jill-gustafson-environmentally-minded-pediatrician-4/ so I decided to continue my streak. I’ve had many happy moments that I was thinking of sharing as a blog post. But the beauty of yesterday was almost too much so I will give you just glimpses of our day yesterday.

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June 25, 2020

by drplasticpicker

There is a classic medical traininig American book called the “House of God” by an author who wrote under the pseudonym Samuel Shem. Published in 1978, it is a fictionalized rendition of a group of interns as they go through their dehumanizing medical intern year. If you are considering medical school, I highly recommend it. You need to know the history of our profession. In some sad ways it is still very accurate. I forgot now how much that book struck me, and that likely much of the way I name things on this blog is influenced by that novel. That book is set at Beth Israel Deaconness Hospital, one of the teaching hospital systems within the Harvard system. I trained at another Harvard teaching hospital that I call Mans Greatest Hospital, and all of us who trained there still harbour that belief.

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June 24, 2020

by drplasticpicker

Above is a screenshot of an instagram account by an environmental advocate in Nepal. Harish Joshi was interviewed on our blog several months ago https://drplasticpicker.com/introducing-harish-joshi-thursday-trash-reflections-from-nepal/. He is busy with his environmental advocacy and I find his account inspiring, as I find many teen environmental activist. This image he created reminded me that those everyday voluntary actions on behalf of a greater good, whether it be the environment or another cause, are incredibly powerful. I have written before about the power of agency and free will, and that although I believe society needs to systemically change and enact laws that benefit the environment – right now we also can help determine our future https://drplasticpicker.com/you-have-agency-you-have-free-will-you-are-your-own-determinant/. And this Hopeful Wednesday post is a voluntary act of gratitude and hope. I have a great sense of wellbeing this morning, that as a small person in a chaotic world – I am helping to calm the winds and reduce the heat and suck up more carbon than I am producing. By refusing a plastic bag at the store, this is a powerful first step to combating global warming.

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June 23, 2020

by dr plasticpicker

It was good to be back at work yesterday. My mask and faceshield were on. I realize I probably talk too much as my Faceshield was fogging up with my extensive counseling yesterday. I talked with families about a need for a less plastic filled life and more real food and fiber for the world. I emphasized that we all needed connections with nature. A parent told me about their family’s new gardening project. We talked about the possibility of new drive-through vaccines, which will be more efficient and safer. A mother told me she was focused on teaching her daughter kindness. And I ate lunch with Dr. Dear Friend and tried to physically distance in the lunch room. We split her yummy salad which she seasoning with Pico de Gallo and Rice Vinegar which complimented the fresh avocados, cucumbers and tomatoes. I did contribute some of my homemade hummus and pita bread. We found some crisp fried corn tortillas in the lunch room. And then we walked over to the grocery store Vons that has a Starbucks, and we left our large HMO compound and walked across a busy freeway onramp and over the overpass and found some coffee. They are not letting us use reusable coffee mugs, but Dr. Dear Friend and I needed the caffeine and the activity. I tried her favorite drink yesterday for the first time and I’m a convert – Grande Soy Latte.

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June 21, 2020

by drplasticpicker

Yesterday it was Teenage TikTok Users and Kpop fans versus Trump, and the Teenagers won! Teenagers were partially the reason why the Tulsa Trump Rally tanked. Dr. Plastic Picker, your local plastic picking pediatrician, is your biggest fan (the teenagers and not Trump). It is Sunday, June 21, 2020 and a brief newstory made it online and now I can’t find it. I did take a screenshot of the story.

It just goes to show the mainstream media is missing the cultural shifts that are happening on the ground. I mentioned to Mr. Plastic Picker last night that I thought CNN was projecting a completely different world that I see as a litter picker around the neighborhood. But the tweens and teenagers, they know what is going on. If you are a teenager, you will unlikely read this. But I wanted this seared into the blogsphere virtual pages that you have my utmost admiration and support. Most of the blog and Facebook readers are your parents, and they need to know how wonderful you all are. Teenage TikTok Users torpedoed Trump – this is the headline that CNN missed.

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June 20, 2020

by drplasticpicker

I definitely dodged a financial bullet the last few weeks. Not a financial bullet meant for me, but for this blog’s readership. I was chatting with my property manager yesterday and catching up on the little details of two of our newer rentals. There were some minor issues about a window and a fridge, and since we are expecting them to be long-term tenants I told him to go ahead and fix those things for them with the higher end options. But then one of the tenants was being somewhat demanding and unreasonable, and I said no to something else. Tenants are not that different than patients, but with tenants I don’t have to worry about tenant satisfaction scores. I just deal with them how I think I should ethically and legally but also being fiscally responsible. They can move on if they are not happy. Most if not all our tenants are long term and reliable, so I think I’m doing the right thing. Here is my blogpost on real estate investing advice for MDs https://drplasticpicker.com/dr-plastic-picker-shares-real-estate-investing-advice-for-mds/. I’ve stated in the past that usually we buy single family homes and nice condos as rental properties, and mostly increase our networth through property appreciation and equity. We are not looking to replace our Two Assistant Boss Two MD income with real estate, but rather to diversify and build our net worth.

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