Not bad! My mother-in-law trimmed my hair. I probably need to go somewhere to get it layered. Oh well.
August 4, 2021
by drplasticpicker
I’m pretty pleased with myself this morning. I made our local AAP newsletter, the local news outlets, and also likely it will be publicized on the HMO internal news. I played the generic pediatrician accepting the plaque for California HPV Vaccine Week. The entire process was serendipitous and fun. I stood really still in the background and smiled, and I pretended I was on a TV show. Which I kind of was. I knew my place and my role. Really it was for the politician to shine. I was happy and smiling, and shook hands. I said my piece, I think well, but in a generic way. I was the generic pediatrician and I had a great time playing that role!
Beautiful photo of the farm. It’s because of the wildfires in the distance.
August 3, 2021
by drplasticpicker
When you love someone or some place, you take a risk. You take a risk that that person or place – can be hurt or can be lost. Oregon is burning, and there are wildfires near the farm. My family member is up there and so far things are contained, but they are ready to leave if need be. We have insurance. We have money. We can rebuild if need be. But the threat of the forest fires caused by lightening strikes, is a stark reminder that no where is safe. We’ve lived through many wildfires in Southern California. And the Oregon farm, seeing pictures of the forest fires in the distance is numbingly familiar.
My walk home across the East Village after dinner.
August 1, 2021
by drplasticpicker
I love this town so fiercely it hurts. It’s the city that accepted a family of Vietnamese political refugees, and allowed a little girl who did not speak any English until kindergarten to attend Crimson University. It’s a town that is tolerant, diverse and open. It’s a town that is my home. It’s a town that has values, deep down military and family values to our core. I had to leave San Diego for over 15 years to fully appreciate the warmth of our climate and our people. The innate goodness of us. Especially the south bay, there is something special about the south bay.
Life has been absolutely crazy with the delta variant. My meager career as a middle-manager keeps on keeping on. Likely more from inertia from the organization than anything. I’m still here, doing my job but doing it in a more sustainable way. I’m able to weed through the HMO nonsense still, and focus on the core issues that should be addressed. It’s another COVID surge due to the delta variant, and it’s really all hands on deck right now. I worked this morning in our weekend clinic, and it was not as bad as I expected. Mostly because phenomenol nurses and MDs the day before pulled together and leaned in and blasted through messages.
The culture of taking care of each other, and watching out for each other – has 100% to do with just the people who work. Those of us who see patients, put in IVs, triage messages. It has nothing to do with middle-management or upper-management. Those that grab the glory, they are very rarely the cause of said glory. Just talking-heads, many of them.
I haven’t been blogging as much as life has been full and beautiful, and also worrisome with the delta variant. But I did have dinner with a good high school friend who I hadn’t seen in over 27 years. It was a lovely dinner with her family, and well behaved children. We went to a old downtown place that I’ve wanted to return to for decades, but wasn’t able to. But we ate there together and we all caught up on life.
But the best part of the evening was walking through the seeing our town. I remember when downtown was run down and dangerous. I hardly ever dared to drive in downtown during highschool except once to attend an opera at the Civic Center, the one-way streets were so intimidating. But now, I pulled into East Village via the 94W and glided into a parking spot that I own. Yes I own a piece of downtown, as I invested in a condo over a decade ago when the real estate market had dropped. The condo has two parking spots. I marveled that parking as there was a Padres game was $33! I parked for free. And I walks from the parking spot across the revelers, pass the stadium and all the beautiful people having fun. We had a wonderful dinner, and then I walked back. And every step and every sight was lovely.
Parked for free! I have a Ford and a downtown condo.
