Category: Mr. Plastic Picker (My Real Life Romance)

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.

June 2, 2024

by Dr. Plastic Picker

I loved seeing all my classmates’ Harvard 25th reunion pictures! I know many of them had not seen each other in years and it was good to live vicariously with them as they transversed the campus and took pictures of spots that I hadn’t seen in a long time. I felt like I was drinking with them at the Hong Kong, despite having only been there once in college and not actually having drunk there at all. I am so glad to see Harvard through their eyes and lenses. I was sleeping next to my Harvard, as Mr. Plastic Picker and I were both alumni – so I told him that between the both of us that was Harvard enough.

I was planning on going to the Harvard 25th reunion but my body was really tired, and it had been more of an emotionally taxing time than I let myself realize. Earth Month and all the speaking engagements were taking their toll. For some reason I ended up in Tuscon AZ speaking at a conference, and it went well and I was meant to be there – but I was away from my family and alone and had to travel. I prepared a new talk, and met all these great people – but for an introvert it is fundamentally draining. There were more speaking engagements. Then the premedical students need advising, and they are wonderful – but they sometimes ask too much of me. As I advise them voluntarily, I have to set limits and let them know what is appropriate to ask for and what is inappropriate. And some of the requests were inappropriate. It’s okay for them to ask, but I have to say no and teach them why I have to say no. That is part of the mentoring. The newsletter for our group came out, and we were busy doing the good deeds that need to be done. But for all those reasons, and my mother-in-law having a stroke, my son has alternate travel plans, and I’m trying to save vacation days for other important things – I decided not to travel and I’m glad I stayed home.

It was such a wonderful weekend honestly. I’m trying to re-boost the composter to start hot composting again. I got some coffee grounds from Vons/Starbucks and I’m hopeful that will do the trick. I need to add more water to the composter as I think it’s kind of dried out. I am deep cleaning the house and making multiple runs to Goodwill and donating things at the library. It feels really good. I am at the point that I don’t think anyone is going to read my collection of the Black Stallion books! So it’s been given back into the free circular economy so that hopefully we all start to consume less. I got stuck behind the Goodwill truck in an alleyway, and was just thinking of alleyways and that I’m not sure if the AlleyWay project that one of the UCSD professors is doing makes much sense. People get kind of possessive of their alleyways. I helped my son make a graduation card for a party, and we wondered if he would come home versus spend the night at a friend’s house. He came home last night, and I saw him in his bed and I was so happy. I am going to wash his curtains today because they are so dusty.

And most importantly I got to be here this weekend, with my family. We had dinner at my brother’s house and I saw all our boys that are so tall and growing into good men and handsome – get ready for their cousins trip with their cool uncle to Japan. We laughed so much that night, and I made jokes and we had memories together as an extended family that are so important. And our nieces from New York are coming in August. They asked to come for the week, and of course they are welcome to home into our home. I told them last summer that our home is their home, and that they can visit anytime. I’m so grateful for that.

If I had gone to the reunion, we would never had found our new sushi place. So I missed you all that were at the 25th reunion, but it was kind of like missing the classmates when they would go out on the weekends and I would stay home and study. I was always more of an introvert anyway. I have a lot of climate homework and family homework to do. If that makes any sense.

October 9, 2023

by Dr. Plastic Picker

It’s hard not to have radical hope when you are me these days. I have so much hope in different domains in our family’s life. I have hope for our planet. I have hope for our society. I have hope for my future grandchildren. Life is so inordinately interesting when you have radical hope, but seek to earn that hope through action.

So today I am doing a lot of action because I’m refreshed mentally after coming back from UC Berkeley with our family. We had such a wonderful time with our son, and seeing glimpses of his life up there. We had some adventures that I detailed on Instagram, and many that are quieter or more private that I left out of Instagram. Fundamentally we got to know ourselves better. We are a close family for sure, but every day we change as people – and honestly we became reacquainted with our new selves. I was telling Mr. Plastic Picker that I had an epiphany about love this weekend. He had some mini-man tantrums (which he is totally allowed!!!) and was going through the process of his feelings of being annoyed at our daughter and myself. It made me slightly annoyed as well. But ultimately everything really evened out and we love each other more when we mend those bonds. My epiphany is that the expression of love for me now, is that I’m infinitely curious about him. I’m curious about why he does certain things. Curious about his emotional, spiritual and physical form. I’m curious about his day. And I’m curious about how his life will turn out, knowing well that I’m integral to that ending. But I’m most curious about his journey.

That’s it. I have radical hope and I’m so curious about him and the world and certain story lines in my head. But I will do certain things to nudge the storyline to the endings I prefer. Just nudging, with my climate action.

And I know he loves me because he’s always curious what I’m doing. I sometimes baffle him, but he finds me very interesting for sure.

Okay. Here I go. I have a tons of climate and environmental health projects to do. Letting my curiosity translate into some action!

January 1, 2023

by Dr. Plastic Picker

Yesterday was an epic day. There are two doctors in our household, although I’m the only Dr. Plastic Picker, and one of those doctors had diarrhea and it wasn’t me. The reason it was an epic day, was because the diarrheal illness for that other doctor in our house, started off with excruciating generalized abdominal pain. This particular doctor has been through back surgery so I know this doctor has a high pain tolerance, but he called 911 without his Dr. Plastic Picker wife knowing during that early morning bout of abdominal pain.

What ensued was . . . memorable. One ambulance and one firetruck arrived to our house in the Pacific Beach area. The lights were flashing but thank goodness the sirens were silent. I had done a quick assessment of him when I saw him laying jesus-like in the foyer in his San Diego-style sleep-wear, moaning in his pain. It was generalized and a bit left sided, and his appendix was fine. Despite his prostrate position and my deep love for Mr. Plastic Picker, I told him “I can’t believe you called them! I can drive you to the ED. It’s 100% infectious and likely gastro.” He then at some point ran to the bathroom, and nature took it’s course. But by then the four tall good-looking EMT/fire-fighter people were nearly at our doorstep. Thank goodness I had the where-with-all to have put on foundation and drawn in my eyebrows (that had disappeared sometime in the 90s). My husband at some point returned to his prone position, but he confessed later that he was already feeling better. I helped him to the ambulance and the EMTs with training less than the 20 years we have been practicing medicine, reassured the still very handsome Assistant Boss of a specialty department that he had the best vitals that night. Outside the ambulance, the very imposing firetruck was also parked in front of our house with very good-looking young firefighters. I told them in my exasperated middle-aged Asian wife voice, “He’s fine. I checked his appendix. He has a very high pain tolerance and I think he was just scared of the pain. It’s probably gastro. He’s the chief of radiology!” Which is not true because he’s the Assistant Boss. But I was having fun playing my outraged role. Maybe in the back of my mind I knew I would be recounting this at some point.

In the end, the firetruck with the two handsome firefighters drove away. The ambulance with the equally handsome but slightly shorter EMTs let the doctor with diarrhea out of the ambulance, and his wife (Dr. Plastic Picker) walked him back into his house with the 15 year mortgage and low interest rate. His wife then ran back and gave the two young EMTs random unopened chocolate gifts and wished them a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and sheepishly apologized to them. They were gracious and said, “it happens all the time ma’am.” And smiled very nicely and respectfully toward me.

The doctor that had diarrhea continued to have a few more bouts of diarrhea through the day. He still went to work to his solitary office, but likely spreading his diarrhea germs everywhere. At some point, he texted me and said he walked himself and his diarrhea germs to the emergency room to visit his ED friends and get himself an IV and some labwork. Said labwork made no difference in his clinical course, but it made him feel better.

And then at some point, he came home to greet his parents who had to take an Uber from the airport with his niece from New York. The niece is visiting from New York and that makes our children very happy to have some of that new york vibes soaking into our San Diego home. Plus she’s a cool college Sophomore. But as we were sitting and having dinner, the doctor with diarrhea was sitting in a slightly raised chair about 2 feet away from the main table and wearing a mask. Why he was wearing a mask, I’m actually not sure. He should be wearing a big diaper instead. LOL.

The doctor with diarrhea is my dear Mr. Plastic Picker and he was a big baby yesterday. But at some point after the ambulance left and before he went to work to spread his diarrhea germs, he recounted his lived experience as a doctor with diarrhea and his perspective as the patient who had panicked due to the pain – laying prostrate on the ground. And we laughed and we laughed. And in the back of my mind I thought, I hope this laughing doesn’t increase his intraabdominal pressure and a little bit of diarrhea comes out and makes me sick.

LOL. LOL. LOL.

August 1, 2022

by Dr. Plastic Picker

I’m still trying to process it all. It was such a beautiful day yesterday. Michael Tran who was our leader back in our undergraduate days was the Co-President of the Harvard Vietnamese Association and Director of RYSE, Refugee Youth Summer Enrichment. Mr. Plastic Picker and I had been involved with BRYE, Boston Refugee Youth Enrichment. Both had largely served the Boston Vietnamese refugee community back then. Dr. Michael Tran organized a reunion for Harvard Vietnamese Association alumni in California. A lot of people came. I mean A LOT!

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July 16, 2022

by Dr. Plastic Picker

I never knew Mr. Plastic Picker’s surname has a Chinese and Vietnamese equivalent. Per Wikipedia “It derives from the Chinese character 尹 also used for the Chinese surname Yǐn and Doãn in Vietnam.” My surname is the most common surname in Vietnam. I’m attached to it and did not change it. But it doesn’t carry the gravitas and responsibility that my husband has for his surname. My husband is the only son of the only son. Therefore our eldest son is the only son of the only son of the only son – in a family and culture that is still patriarchal.

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June 8, 2022

by Dr. Plastic Picker

Savings the earth and picking up plastic is my hobby. I don’t get paid to plog (picking up plastic and jogging), and I don’t get paid to be a climate and health advocate. I get paid to take care of patients in clinic, and that is it. This blog is non-monetized and purposefully so. I remember back when this all started and Mr. Money Mustache’s blog people approached me about monetizing things, and I stuck with my origianl purpose. I’m an environmental hobbyist and I’m totally into it.

But like most hobbies, it cost money but I want to make sure it doesn’t break the bank. I try to mostly donate money to other environmental organizations like Rainforest Trust, Eden Projects, EDF and want to make it cost effective. The blog cost $25 a year for the domain name. Blogging is fun for me. It’s my environmental journal. But now my silliness is under brute force attack. Not sure what they are looking for on the blog? But it is, and I hadn’t realized it’s sometimes 800K attacks a day. There is an option for $110 a year to install a plug-in to protect this site. I’m not sure how much protection it will provide. I’m going to ask around, but it just brought up the issue of finances.

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March 11, 2022

by Dr. Plastic Picker

March 11, 2022

by Dr. Plastic Picker

This is Dr. Plastic Picker at about 1 or 2 years of age. I could not believe it! San Diego is still a small town, and especially if you are Vietnamese – it’s a small community. A patient family I have had for over ten years, out of the blue said “our families know eachother from Vietnam! My mom has a picture of you from my brother’s birthday party.” And indeed dear readers, a picture was sent and it was me! I was so shocked! That’s me in clairemont at my first boyfriend’s birthday party. (kidding of course to his I’m sure beautiful wife). He clearly was distinguished back then, but neglected to give me cake or a share of his presents. I don’t remember the occassion but I do know my own emotions, and I am clearly upset that I was not the center of attention and I’m sure was not offered cake soon enough!

I thought Mr. Plastic Picker was my first boyfriend who I met at 18 and started dated at 19. I always told him that I waited for him, and that when my Crimson University Freshman Formal date leaned in for a kiss – I panicked! I didn’t want my first kiss to be from this particular Crimson University Vietnamese boy. He was nice but he wasn’t the one. As an immature 18 year old, I literally ran away from the poor boy who had so nicely taken me to a sushi restaurant and danced with me all night. But kisses are important, especially to young romantic 18 year old me.

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January 31, 2022

by drplasticpicker

It’s been 6-8 weeks of Korean-drama binge watching on Netflix and the “Asian Crush” app. Yes, I have been in Korean-drama land. The Korean dramas I watched just to name a few were “Crash Landing on You,” “Hometown Cha Cha Cha,” “K2” (that one is so good but there is a scene I would be a little bit embarassed to watch with my kids), “Revolutionary Love,” just to name a few. I honestly know for me this binge-watching was not unlike my previous periods where I was really into an author and binge read certain genres. There was my George Eliot period when I read Middlemarch almost in one sitting in 8th grade. I then proceeded to read everything she wrote. There was the more whimsical Jane Austen period, which I went through at the same time with one of my high school friends. I think Pride and Prejudice back then was $1 on the scholastic book order form? And then was the Clan of the Cave Bear series, where again I would read the new release and then I remember not eating for almost a day and almost passed out when I finally stood up after reading one of the novels. These were thick tombs over 600 pages long.

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December 27, 2021

by drplasticpicker

I’ve been in a cultural, linguistic and time warp. Lets just say I was in an alternate universe that was absolutely beautiful. But I’m back. Mr. Plastic Picker really loves me and really loves that I loved the K-dramas. My conversational Korean is definitely much better after so many hours of Korean-TV. I realized that as a young immigrant to this country, Mr. Plastic Picker is so Korean, and I’m definitely more what we call a 1.5 generation. He used to do and still does so many of the things that the characters in the K-dramas do. The way we used to sit on the floor of our medical storm to eat dinner with a small table. I thought it was so odd that my Korean boyfriend/fiance had these multiple containers of pickled dishes and go-chu-chang. But now I realize that so many of those things that he did and still does (like all the side dishes we have in the frdige) are indications of how rooted he is in his culture and traditions. I knew those traditions and we mostly follow them, but because I’m not Korean – I thought some of them were quirks of his family. I have always adored my husband but now he’s my living Korean-drama boyfriend!

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