The Oscars

This month, I've decided I am going to watch all the best picture Oscar nominees.  I've certainly never done this on purpose before!  Most of the time, I might have seen one or two before the big night.  I suppose this means I'll actually need to watch the Oscars this year.  :)

There's something to be said for creating goals ... even regarding trivial things.  Rather than just ho humming my way through TV shows on a Saturday morning, I've made a concerted effort to watch these movies.  It gives my free time purpose and that is a great feeling.

Speaking of concerted efforts, I have done so much these past few months to live a life that I'm proud of.  For far too long, my life was too run of the mill ... too simple.  I wasn't putting myself out there.  I am so enjoying taking advantage of all my moments of free time to live an exceptional life ... one I'm thrilled to document and one that lets me answer the question "What have you been up to?" with something besides "Oh you know, work."  I'm finishing up a month of infectious disease at Stanford.  It has been an amazing experience in and of itself.  Sometime soon, once the month is actually truly over, I'll let you know all about my many experiences both in and out of the hospital.

But, back to the movies, the point of this post!  Here's my thoughts so far ...

Amour
I haven't seen this and I'm not entirely sure I'll be able to.  It doesn't seem to be playing anywhere in Tulsa.  It is playing in a theater near me right now ... and depending on how tomorrow goes, I might try to squeeze it in after work.

Argo ★★★★☆
This is seriously one of the best movies I've seen.  It is such a cool story ... and the actors look so much like the real people it is almost a bit scary.  Even though I knew the ending throughout, I was on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen.  It was truly a great story!

Beasts of the Southern Wild ★★★
A pretty good movie.  The acting done by the little girl was truly amazing for someone so young.  I'm not entirely sure it is oscar worthy as best picture though.

Django
I am not a Tarantino fan and I'm not looking forward to this.  Maybe my mind will be changed ... but I'm not expecting it.

Les Miserables ★★★★☆
The first 15 minutes was tough to get through ... simply because I had to adjust to the singing.  After that, it was incredible.  The costumes, the singing, all of it.  I think this is my top choice to win right now.  If you haven't seen it, run to a theater because I think seeing it on the big screen with surround sound would blow away the couch and the TV.

Life of Pi
I had a hard time getting through the book ... but I'm mildly excited about seeing this in 3D next weekish.  I just hope its more riveting than the Tom Crews volleyball friend movie.

Lincoln ★
Not worthy of best picture.  Not worth seeing it on the big screen.  I might have enjoyed it more had I watched it at home with a few intermissions.  It was long.  Really long.

Silver Linings ★★★★
Wow.  This movie did such an amazing job of portraying mental illness in a legitimate way.  Such an eye opener.  It was moving, exciting, and sweet.  I highly recommend it.

Zero Dark Thirty ★★★
Really good seat of your pants thriller type movie.  It wasn't exactly what I was expecting and it was a little long.  Just so so.

A New Look

Welcome to the new year ... and the new look for Becoming Dr Jane!  What do y'all think?  Isn't the design just wonderful!  Thank you very much to my wonderful fantabulous friend, Jessica, for putting this together!

In addition to working for the CFF, having two adorable little girls, and taking care of her very nice husband, Jess does design work.  If you need anything ... head over to Diamond Doll Designs to get your own work done!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  As we all know, 2012 was not my all time favorite year for a couple reasons.  However, it still was a pretty amazing year full of many amazing memories.  My family was able to spend lots of quality time together and we were blessed to see the outpouring of love and kindness and generosity of so many others.  I almost didn't even mention 2012 ... but it was such a life altering year that it deserved a few lines.  :)

here

How in the world did that happen?  I remember 1999 and wondering how we were going to describe the coming years.  Would it be twenty oh one or two thousand and one?  Funny how something that seemed like such a big deal turned out to be very minor.  Everyone gets to call it want they want.  Two thousand something isn't as rough to say as one thousand nine hundred ninety nine.  I'm not sure why we didn't realize that FOURTEEN years ago.  If you did realize that, then keep your mouth shut smarty pants.

As always, new years are full of the hope of changes and resolutions for most.  Last year was the first year I ever had quantifiable goals for the new year and it made it so easy.  This year, I'm following suit, for the most part.  I have 9 quantifiable goals and 4 more generalized goals.  That's right ...

13 GOALS FOR 2013!!!!

I'm sure you are all dying to know what each of the 13 are ... but like last year, I'll share most of them with you at the end of the year.  Some people believe that publicly stating your goals makes you more likely to achieve them.  I believe that keeping them to myself makes it easier for me to stumble and then keep going without feeling like ... damn, I messed up and everyone knows it so why keep going.  

However, I will let you in on the general theme.  This year, I'm going to do what I want to do.  I'm going to take care of Jane emotionally, physically, spiritually, and any other ally that may come along.  This is the year I graduate from medical school.  The first half of the year will be immensely easier than the second half.  I'm going to take advantage of the first half to help me get ready for the second half.

And ... as my first example ... my current trip from Tulsa to Stanford.  I began on Christmas Eve and I'll arrive on January 3.  or 4.  I haven't completely decided.  I've driven through pouring rain (seriously Oklahoma ... it hasn't rained in basically years and it pours when I'm driving?), dense fog, snow, and a bit of sleet.  I've been to Albuquerque where I ate some interesting food and saw a beautiful sunset and sunrise.  I stopped at the Meteor Crater ... which is the most expensive $16 I've ever spent to see a big hole in the ground.  I sure hope that the next time something comes barreling into earth at 26,500 mph it hits someplace equally desolate!  I visited the Grand Canyon ... which is the single most majestic and amazing thing I have ever seen in my life.  I thought I'd see it and be done with it forever.  Now, I just want to go back and spend a week navigating the Colorado River.  Or maybe I should start with two days.  :)  I spent an afternoon in Flagstaff and had an amazing meal of enchiladas de camaron at Salsa Fresca (I think).  Today, I'm headed to Vegas for a little bit of eating and sightseeing!  Hopefully, it will be as much fun as the last two days have been!

Time

Time, as defined by a google search of define: time, is the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole.

Time is something I always have too much of yet never have enough of at the exact same ... time.  It blows my mind how that works.

Over the course of a day, it frequently seems that time is achingly slow.  However when it comes time to go to sleep, I always have so much left to accomplish.  When it comes time to wake up, it rarely feels as if I have spent enough time asleep.

Where am I going with this?  I'm not sure.  I want to be writing about the Christmas season and my feelings regarding the current state of the world ... but all of those posts seem to take an inordinate amount of time to formulate and put into words.  

This year, I am on track to complete my New Year's Resolutions, which took an inordinately large amount of time.  In 2012, I will have completed every single USAToday crossword puzzle.  In 2012, I will have read 52 novels (I'll actually probably pass it by about 3 or 4 if I finish everything I'm currently reading).  Hopefully, later I'll give a more complete rundown of my favorites, but for now, I'll simply list them below.  Completing these has given me the chutzpah to come up with some very lofty goals for the new year.  I'll reveal those in due time, but rest assured, they involve time.

(books listed in reverse order, Dec - Jan)

Currently Reading:

My Antonia by Willa Cather

The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid

The Gunslinger by Stephen King

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien

The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal

King of Hearts by Wayne G Miller

Micro by Michael Crichton

Finished:

National Security by Marc Cameron

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

Artic Fire by Stephen Frey

Placebo by Steven James

Reached by Ally Condie

A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

Death Benefit by Robin Cook

12.21 by Dustin Thomason

The Racketeer by John Grisham

Winter of the World by Ken Follett

Sphere by Michael Crichton

Congo by Michael Crichton

The Third Gate by Lincoln Child

Fifty Shades of Gray by E L James

Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris

Black List by Brad Thor

Crossed by Ally Condie

Fifty Shades Freed by E L James

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

House Rules by Jodi Picoult

Wheat Belly by William Davis

The Innocent by David Baldacci

Kill Decision by Daniel Suarez

Tempted by PC Cast

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Fifty Shades Darker by E L James

The Viral Storm by Nathan Wolfe

Burned by PC Cast

Intern by Sandeep Jauhar

Awakened by PC Cast

The Exile by Andrew Britton

Every Patient Tells a Story by Lisa Sanders

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

The Boleyn Inheritance by Phillippa Gregory

The Emperor of all Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee

The Kommandant's Girl by Pam Jenoff

The Violets of March by Sarah Jio

Hoodwinked by John Perkins

Matched by Ally Condie

11/22/63 by Stephen King

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks

The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Destined by PC Cast

County by David Ansell

On Voting

Today, I'm thankful to be able to cast a ballot for Barack Obama.  I'm thankful I live in a country where I can do this without fear of reprisal.  I'm thankful for all the people who have bravely fought and shed blood and tears and life for my right to do this.  I'm thankful for each of you who have the guts to go to your polling place and make a decision between the candidates.  There is never going to be a perfect choice and all men are flawed but if you choose to not exercise your right to vote then, IMHO, you lose your right to complain.

Please, if you disagree with my choice of candidate, then tell me by exercising your right to vote at the polls and not via the internet.

We need to become a country once again bonded together and not divided.  We need to think about what it is like to be in someone else's shoes and not just our own. We cannot assume we know what it is like to not be able to put food on the table for our family or go to the doctor if we truly have never been in that situation.  Most of us truly haven't.  Many of us might think we have, but in reality, haven't.

We need to pick candidates based on the overall sum of their values and their ability to get things done and not simply on their party.  Be brave.  Be bold.  Don't let a single TV station tell you how to think.  Do your own research.  Watch two conflicting stations and find a medium ground.  Form your own opinions.  Do not allow yourself to become a lemming.

Let's find people and put them in office who are willing to cross party lines and get things done.  Let's pick people who are willing to make sacrifices and find middle ground on the big issues.  Let's elect people who will save our country and make it a better place for our children and grandchildren.

Today is the end of an election cycle.  Today we elect a president for the next four years.  Today begins the time when we need to be looking for the best candidate for the next election.  We need to find people who meet my above criteria.  Keep your eyes open ... maybe if we all try, we will be able to find a perfect, unflawed choice.

Go forth and vote.

On Patience

Supposedly it is a virtue. However, I think it's mostly just a thorn in my side. I'm not naturally a patient person. When I decide I want something, I tend to want it now. However, once I decide I want something, I don't tend to give up easily.  Ask my family.  Ask my friends.  Or rather, don't.  You might find out just how impatient I actually am.  :)

I hate learning patience. I'm jealous of those for whom it's a natural gift ... Those for whom being patient is as simple as being impulsive is for me. I'll try to continue to learn to be patient, but I'm pretty sure I'll struggle with it for the rest of my life. If anyone has great advice on how to teach yourself to be comfortable with patience, please let me know.  Please.  For the sake of the whole wide world!

There are so many things in my life forcing me to be patient right now.  I have to be patient to find out where I will get to interview and then to find out where I will match and spend the next four years of my life.  I have to be patient to find out what I'll get for Christmas.  I have to be patient to find out so many things right now.  Its driving me crazy!

This past weekend, I stopped being patient and bit the bullet and I took a mini-getaway to VaB. It was wonderful. For the most part, it was an incredibly calm weekend. One not so calm night was spent with old friends and the others were spent with family.  Some time was spent at the beach ... once at the playground watching my cousin's kids play and once on a long walk with a dear friend.  There is something about friends with whom you're able to pick up exactly where you left off ... however long ago it was.  I'm so lucky to have so many friends like this.  I'll always treasure this particular friendship for countless reasons and I wish that we weren't separated by so many miles.  This weekend was all I expected and nothing I expected.  It was perfect.  There was lots of crab dip.  How can a weekend full of crab dip not be perfect?

This month has been an incredibly busy month!  I have so many posts rolling around in my head but they deserve a significant amount of time and effort before they are published.  Hopefully, in the next few days I'll get something out about my feelings on the voting process.  Its gonna be a good one!

Passed

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After one billion years of school, I have officially completed all required medical school tests.

I still have one billion more sets of boards during residency and to become board certified ... but the school tests ... they are FINITO!

Thank you for your support!  :)