Month: July 2024

July 23, 2024

by Dr. Plastic Picker

Yes, I am on social media. I’ve learned a lot from social media, and I admit I need to be off it a bit more. But it’s a thing and it’s here to stay. The most important part is that it is fundamentally connecting a lot of us that need to be connected to address the climate crisis. I know I may be living in my own echoing chamber, but honestly I don’t think I am. Social media is like going to the mall or grocery store, you see people and meet people. But you can tell a lot about them by the images they share, their captions and the general “vibe” of their account.

It’s a scary and dangerous thing as well, because there is a lot of darkness out there. There is glorification and self objectification. It’s taught me to be wary of some people, and some paths I thought were possible. But it’s also shown me some beautiful hearts and minds. Yes, we can all be manipulated but we can be manipulated in real life as well.

I think for me social media is helpful when it is the accounts of actual people I know and I will be working with in our region. I have no need to have more followers /friends than I have now. There are tricks to the social media game, when people “buy followers.” Yes, it is a thing. This occurs when that account or person is trying to usually make money off you, or trying to exert influence that they don’t have. I’m just a pediatrician who is trying to help stop the climate crisis. I’m a real person.

And my daughter is real too, and I saw this on my ceramic teacher’s instagram story. It’s fine and appropriate, but at least I know what is going on because I am where the youth are – on social media.

Isn’t her ceramics cool????!!!! I’m so proud of her. She’s actually not on social media that much. She’s very much in the real world making amazing things with her own hands and skills. It’s been a busy and quieter summer than she expected. She’s 16 and pretty, and rather than growing in her social relationships – she’s actually unexpectedly grown in her art quite a bit. I don’t think she’ll fully realize how important this summer will be to her development artistically and professionally until years down the line. I am so grateful to social media because I learned about many of these opportunities for her because I was looking around and curious about the world in general.

Today I have to continue to move the climate work forward mostly through being connecting with folks. I need to talk to my mentor Bruce Bekkar about something, I’m not sure. I need to talk to Dr. Christine James about 3 projects. I need to talk to Dr. Mel Fiorella about a different project. I need to talk to Angela Kim from UC Berkeley about PHAC OC/LA. I need to talk to Aneesah Grayson also about PHAC OC/LA. I need to talk to several people about H3SD Summit. I basically need to talk to a lot of people. And I’m hoping to have some time to talk to my daughter when she has time for me. She’s really busy creating art.

She’s really pretty! But she’s older now and has her own social media and controlling her own image. But every time I see her, I only have one thought. She’s pretty. That’s pretty much it. I’m kind of superficial in that way.

Hope you are all well! My charts are actually miraculously almost all closed and I’m starting this morning fresh and energized for clinic! Being happy makes a huge difference with doctoring.

July 19, 2024

by Dr. Plastic Picker

It’s 6:09am and I have a full day of clinic ahead of me. I’m at peace with the world. What I’m most proud of these days is that three days ago, I came home after morning clinic and there were about 50 flies milling around the beautiful glass doors that look into our backyard garden. The reason the flies are there are probably many, but some of them is that it’s the summer and there are always flies in Pacific Beach and I think indeed the world. But a lot of it, is that my parents-in-law are out of town and I think my father-in-law was not around to do his daily fly-swatting duty and the flies likely just multiplied. Where, I don’t even want to know. But we are having a house-cleaner coming soon (which is actually rare for us to outsource this task) to come to do a deep clean. But I was so proud of myself, because one by one – I killed all the flies. And this morning, after the next few days just making sure to swat at them as I existed in my own home – the fly infestation is done. I texted my children, “there was a fly massacre and I was the evil villain!” The kids thought it was funny on the family text stream. Indeed, Mr. Plastic Picker the radiologist and I are a great fly swatting team. Our children were both gone living their wonderful lives, and husband and I finished off the flies. Then we went out to eat sushi and had a great time.

Mr. Plastic Picker and I are a great team. He’s still Assistant Chief of his department and it’s stressful these days. We were walking along the beach last night, meandering and chatting as millennials were spending money they didn’t have – and I commiserated with him about the absolute ridiculous nature of middle management. I had been in middle management two years ago for a total of 5 years, but actually even before that was head of our clinic for some reasons. Honestly, it seems so long ago. Just like a different life. But it’s helpful to have done it. I better understand what my husband is going through and often offer words of comfort.

Are you in the same department as me? Did you go to the last meeting? It was so interesting. I think most people were so upset and revved up because it had to do with money. For me, I don’t really think about money much these days other than trying to be effective in how I spend the money I donate towards the earth. For me that meeting, was like an out of body experience. Folks were upset (and rightly so), but I was just observing and thinking this entire meeting was so interesting. That the upper management person who was called out for a mistake was also the one that is is my fossil fuel “enemy” (in my make believe world) in my internal fight for fossil fuel divestment, did not upset me. I thought to myself, wow – that upper management person made a big mistake. It’s karma coming back at him, because he was mean to me about trying to get our pension divested from fossil fuels during a committee meeting. I just show at up the meeting. I believe in karma 100%!

Our kids are doing great. Our 16 year old is super adorable and learning so much at her arts camp. I can’t share all the wonderful work she is creating. She’ll post on her ceramics instagram account soon. And our son rode a bike all around Mission Bay yesterday, and had the best day the day before with his friends at an e-sports tournament. I told my daughter in our nightly chat that while she is gone, I’m working with San Diego Audubon and going to talk to one of my eccentric UCSD professor friends about trying to pressure Sea World to switch to drone shows. I showed up at city council yesterday after the massacre of elegant terns from the July 4th fireworks display in Mission Bay. A lot of endangered shore birds died due to Sea World going overboard on the fireworks. It makes sense, they imprison orcas and dolphins. I don’t think they care about a native endangered shore bird species. But they have to care about the local law and ordinances, so I’m going to make a lot of noise with my UCSD professor friend. It’s really going to rile a lot of people up!

Okay. I have to write a letter of recommendation right now for someone special! And come to the H3SD San Diego’s Heat and Human Health Summit if you can! It’s going to be a lot of fun! Plus I think I’m paying for most of it. Literally. That’s a strange story too, but I’m a partner at our physician group and it’s my job to try to avert the worse effects of heat and human health and I have some money from working extra shifts these days. Plus we didn’t given Elon Musk any of our money. There are a lot of pediatricians driving Teslas? Just observing. I’m still driving my CMAX but our Prius 2012 needs to be upgraded soon so we are thinking about electric cars as well. But not a Tesla for various political reasons.

July 4, 2024

by Dr. Plastic Picker

I swear I’m getting better! I’m not posting pictures of our daughter as much on social media and she reprimanded me recently. My excuse is that I worked a lot when she was younger and now I’m enjoying so many of the “firsts” that I want to remember each moment. I wasn’t there when she rolled for the first time, or when walked. And even if I was there, she was a sickly enough kid and I was a stressed out young pediatrician mother that the joy was overshadowed by worry and stress.

But it’s great being a bit past 45, and not yet in menopause and having a daughter that has such an interesting life. She is so sassy and sweet, but it’s her life and I’m taking the backseat on her narrative. It’s her likeness and her image, and social media is different for the teens. They have to be careful what they post and who likes it, because there is a whole social milieu that does not involve parents. So today, just pictures of her crocheted basket and blueberries!

Happy July 4th everyone! I can write about it here because not many folks read my blog anyone. THANK GOODNESS! It’s a particularly special July 4th because my brother-in-law is finally home after a 9 month deployment from the Navy. The state of the world is complicated, the War in gaza, climate crisis, and upcoming election. I actually don’t try to think about much other than the climate crisis and environmental pollution (and oh my day job of actually clinically taking care of children), but I know that it’s related so much of it. I couldn’t post on Instagram because I was getting hateful comments about the military since I’m mostly in the climate world on Instagram. But here, I can say it. My brother-in-law is a hero and he’s home. He kept the Houthi’s out of the conflict and saw more combat that anyone since world war 2. We still need our military. There is Russia, North Korea and China. If you don’t think you need the military, look around your house and think to yourself – you don’t think someone wants it? Our lives are pretty nice in the United States of America (yes for very complicated exploitive and colonial reasons) but we aren’t solving things overnight and we still need our military to protect us. Because other countries also have a military. So he’s a hero and he’s been awarded a bronze star, and he’s home and safe and I’m so so grateful.

And today I’m going to try to go for a jog and keep my heart rate up for at least 30 minutes. Had some big climate wins yesterday and a lot of legislative movements, but today I really just wanted to remember the crocheted blueberries and the basket she made me. And that my brother-in-law is home with his two children and his wife (my sister). And that I went for a jog, and spent the day with my children.

Sometimes life is that simple. She is my climatewhy, so thank you for listening about her. I really want grandchildren which is why it bothers me so much that there is global heating and an existential threat to humanity. I hope you have a relatively low carbon holiday. And all of us (including you) should really fly less. It’s really unfair. We’ve definitely reducing our travel.