So I have finished my time at Auburn University and have moved from academia to true clinical practice. My last few days as an Auburn employee went by very quickly. I had so much to finish up and transition to other people. If I am honest with myself (and you my faithful readers) I am sad to leave. I am going to miss the students most of all. While I'll still have some interaction with the students on their clinical rotations, I won't have the level of interaction with the underclassmen. I do feel like I have made an impact on the students and hopefully they learned something from me (even if it's how they don't want to be!), but I guess you'd have to ask them. I could be delusional about my teaching ability. I am going to miss my colleagues and friends there as well, but I learned a lot. Not only about academia, but about myself as a clinician and educator. Also, it's the only job I've ever had in my professional career (not counting moonlighting and residency).
While I am sad to leave, I am hopeful for my future career with my clinic. I think I'll be able to make more of an impact on patient care in psychiatry and on pharmacy practice in the state. I guess I am trading my influence/impact on the students for more of a global influence/impact. I know this is the right move for because I got into psychiatric pharmacy to help patients and do the clinical work, not to teach. Teaching was just something that I enjoyed (and thought I was fairly good at, but you'd have to ask my students about that one.) I'll still be doing the clinical education, which is what I truly enjoy. I am excited to start my "new" job and see how I can excel there.
In other news, as I mentioned in my last blog post, a fallen tree destroyed a section of our fence. This time a tree fell in the woods and I may not have heard it, but I saw the damage. Anyone know a good fence repair person in my area? In addition, our air conditioning is fixed, but not fully so they are coming back to fix that as well.
We went to the Auburn game last weekend and it was a great game. I was glad I was there to witness it. I wasn't glad I got sunburned. Apparently, sunscreen was really needed. But now I have a nice tan going on, albeit a ridiculous farmers tan. Jen and I got to go because the in-laws watched the kids for us. It was a nice trip and we're doing it again in a week for the FAU game. I gotta use these faculty tix while I can still get them!
An update about the kids: Beka is loving school and she has started there full time. She now goes to school all week and there doesn't seem to be any end to how much she can learn. I guess this is a good thing, right? She is also in dance which she absolutely loves. She goes to Little Gym dance which is a little bit of dance and a little bit of gymnastics. If she likes the dance portion (which she seems to) we'll probably enroll her in a real dance class. Raymond is also growing more every day. He is so close to walking I think he can taste it. At least that's what I tell myself when he is trying to eat the furniture, toys, and people. More than likely he is teething, but I like to think he is just itching to walk and using his mouth for balance. I know it makes no sense, but whatever. He is also in the Little Gym, but he hasn't caught on yet that he can go away from mommy and daddy to play. He is still adjusting to be able to crawl around and play with anything in sight. Maybe he is overwhelmed, but I don't think so. Raymond is also eating a lot more real food. Well, he's always eaten real food; it's not like we've been feeding him pretend food, but I guess I mean people food. Not baby food. He seems to really like sweets, which I guess is no different from his daddy.
Anyway, I guess that's enough for the updates for now. Hopefully I'll have some more for you soon. I'll end with a question I was asked in clinic by a colleague: how many refills do you want on this Vyvanse prescription? My answer: well, just for this month, we'll won't give him any, just so we're in compliance with the law....
Friday, September 16, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Vacation? Part two
Saturday
Saturday was the wedding day so we didn't really do much in the morning except get ourselves ready for the wedding. We did have some real New York pizza, grease and all, for lunch before the wedding, so I was happy with that. The only thing I didn't like was that they used the little pepperonis and not the regular size ones. I don't know why it matters, but it does.
After hours of getting ready for the wedding (remember, Jen, Beka, and I are in the wedding and Raymond was wearing a "cute" little suit), we finally leave to meet up with the rest of the wedding party. We did need to drop the rental off at the reception sire because we get to ride in the limos to the wedding. How cool is that! The groomsmen all got into one limo at the best man's house to ride to the church. Unfortunately, my nightmare was realized: I am in a tuxedo, there is no air conditioning in the church, and it's quite possibly the hottest day ever in the history of time in western New York. So thankfully I came prepared with a handkerchief to mop off the profuse amounts of sweat pouring off my forehead, neck, etc. The ceremony was great and very beautiful. Beka did so well as a flower girl and I was so proud of her. Raymond even did well with someone other than Mommy, Daddy, or Grandma holding him (Thanks Fran!). But he seemed to be as hot as I was! Eventually, the wedding was over and it was picture time. After about 2 hours of pictures not only at the church, but at various other places across Rochester, we arrived at the reception site.
The reception was a lot of fun and we were able to eat, dance, and be merry. They even had a photo booth where you could take funny pictures. Of course, Beka, Jen, and I had to partake. The food was good, but the dessert table was awesome. Candy and cookies galore. It was enough to keep me awake after a long day. Beka had a great time with her cousins and Jen and I were able to catch up with some of our favorite relatives. We partied into the late night, which for us was about 9 PM or so and drove back home to the hotel where we promptly put the kids to bed and passed out.
Sunday
On Sunday, we took our time getting up in the morning, after our big evening the night before. We got to meet some good friends for breakfast at Cracker Barrel who we don't get to see very often. It is always a fun time when we get together with one of my old college roommates, his wife, and their son. I am glad we have such a connection with them, even though we don't visit frequently. The late breakfast was great, not because of the food (which was great) or because of the service (which was awful), but because of the company. We made plans to get together the next day, since Monday was the only day we didn't really have a ton of things to do. The original plan was to go to the pool at the hotel, but as you'll see that didn't really work out.
After breakfast, we met my mother-in-law to drive together to Syracuse for a baby shower for one of Jen's cousins. I was thrilled to be going (not). Apparently, the shower was at 3 and Jen thought it was at 2. So we got there more than a little early. We did get to set up though. I thought about going to one of my uncles' house, but decided against it since I wanted to play video games at an arcade like I hadn't in years. As Jen says, "it's a waste of money", but you could say the same about any hobby really. While at the arcade, I had a couple tweens challenge me to some motorcycle racing game, since I was continuously winning and getting free games at it. I warned them not to bother and really waste their money. There was no way they could actually beat me at since I'd been playing for a good while and hadn't lost, even though I was playing at the hard level. Needless to say, I beat them handily and then they finally left me alone. So after spending a couple house wasting money, I headed back to the shower. Jen had texted me telling me when the other husbands would be back. I get back to the house where the shower is and no one but the wives are there. So, I turned on the TV and watched some football. After everyone else showed up, I got to talk with some of Jen's relatives and catch up some more with them. It ended up being a good day all in all.
Monday
Monday started off with us taking our time in the morning and getting a message from our friends that their son was being a little fussy and they didn't really want to take him out that morning. This was cool so we just went to the pool with the kids ourselves. The pool wasn't heated and I was cold in the water so I didn't last very long. Raymond was also cold (as evidenced by his blue lips) so I took him back to the room and put him down for nap. Eventually, Jen and Beka come back and we decide to hit up the Strong Museum of Play, a literal museum of things that you play with. I probably don't have to tell you Beka was in her glory. She couldn't get enough: running around, playing, yelling, etc. They even had a mock grocery store where she could shop, ring up her purchases, and bag them herself. There was even a small section for Raymond-size babies. Insanity. So, a few hours later (we planned on being there maybe an hour) we get into the car and head over to out friends house for some dinner and good conversation. We didn't want to leave, but our flight was taking off very early and we needed to get back to the hotel and pack.
Tuesday
So we get up so early on Tuesday morning I can't even call it the crack of dawn because it was even earlier than that. We get the kids all ready to go, check out, get to the airport, turn in our rental car, and make our way to the check in counter at Delta. Lo and behold, our flight was cancelled due to weather and changed to that afternoon. Yeah, after having been up at 3:45 am, that's what I want to hear. So we sort through our options and decide on trying to get the rental car back (since the place wasn't even open yet and we still had a whole day) and hanging out in Rochester for an extra day. Doing what, you might ask. We didn't know either. We were all hungry for breakfast so we got the rental car back once the place opened up at 6 am. We couldn't even get through security because our flight was more than 6 hours away and we can't get boarding passes. Also, we only had enough baby formula for half a day since we were supposed to be home by mid-day. So for breakfast we head to Denny's. This was a HUGE mistake. We ordered food, but didn't really eat much of it since it wasn't good at all. But Beka ate, so that was good. Jen and I then went to Dunkin Donuts to actually eat. It was after 7:30 am by this point so we had the idea to see if our friends were home. Thankfully, even though my old roommate was at work, his wife was going to be home most of the morning so we could have a place to hang out. This was a life saver for sure. We're so grateful to have such good friends.
After being there for a few hours, we drove back to the airport and boarded our flight home. The flight home was fairly uneventful, actually, but we wanted to be home already. Our poor dogs had to stay at the doggy hotel for an extra day because we didn't get home soon enough to pick them up. The perfect end to the trip: finding out that the tropical storm that we had here actually knocked over a tree in our yard and destroyed a section of our fence. Fun!
Saturday was the wedding day so we didn't really do much in the morning except get ourselves ready for the wedding. We did have some real New York pizza, grease and all, for lunch before the wedding, so I was happy with that. The only thing I didn't like was that they used the little pepperonis and not the regular size ones. I don't know why it matters, but it does.
After hours of getting ready for the wedding (remember, Jen, Beka, and I are in the wedding and Raymond was wearing a "cute" little suit), we finally leave to meet up with the rest of the wedding party. We did need to drop the rental off at the reception sire because we get to ride in the limos to the wedding. How cool is that! The groomsmen all got into one limo at the best man's house to ride to the church. Unfortunately, my nightmare was realized: I am in a tuxedo, there is no air conditioning in the church, and it's quite possibly the hottest day ever in the history of time in western New York. So thankfully I came prepared with a handkerchief to mop off the profuse amounts of sweat pouring off my forehead, neck, etc. The ceremony was great and very beautiful. Beka did so well as a flower girl and I was so proud of her. Raymond even did well with someone other than Mommy, Daddy, or Grandma holding him (Thanks Fran!). But he seemed to be as hot as I was! Eventually, the wedding was over and it was picture time. After about 2 hours of pictures not only at the church, but at various other places across Rochester, we arrived at the reception site.
The reception was a lot of fun and we were able to eat, dance, and be merry. They even had a photo booth where you could take funny pictures. Of course, Beka, Jen, and I had to partake. The food was good, but the dessert table was awesome. Candy and cookies galore. It was enough to keep me awake after a long day. Beka had a great time with her cousins and Jen and I were able to catch up with some of our favorite relatives. We partied into the late night, which for us was about 9 PM or so and drove back home to the hotel where we promptly put the kids to bed and passed out.
Sunday
On Sunday, we took our time getting up in the morning, after our big evening the night before. We got to meet some good friends for breakfast at Cracker Barrel who we don't get to see very often. It is always a fun time when we get together with one of my old college roommates, his wife, and their son. I am glad we have such a connection with them, even though we don't visit frequently. The late breakfast was great, not because of the food (which was great) or because of the service (which was awful), but because of the company. We made plans to get together the next day, since Monday was the only day we didn't really have a ton of things to do. The original plan was to go to the pool at the hotel, but as you'll see that didn't really work out.
After breakfast, we met my mother-in-law to drive together to Syracuse for a baby shower for one of Jen's cousins. I was thrilled to be going (not). Apparently, the shower was at 3 and Jen thought it was at 2. So we got there more than a little early. We did get to set up though. I thought about going to one of my uncles' house, but decided against it since I wanted to play video games at an arcade like I hadn't in years. As Jen says, "it's a waste of money", but you could say the same about any hobby really. While at the arcade, I had a couple tweens challenge me to some motorcycle racing game, since I was continuously winning and getting free games at it. I warned them not to bother and really waste their money. There was no way they could actually beat me at since I'd been playing for a good while and hadn't lost, even though I was playing at the hard level. Needless to say, I beat them handily and then they finally left me alone. So after spending a couple house wasting money, I headed back to the shower. Jen had texted me telling me when the other husbands would be back. I get back to the house where the shower is and no one but the wives are there. So, I turned on the TV and watched some football. After everyone else showed up, I got to talk with some of Jen's relatives and catch up some more with them. It ended up being a good day all in all.
Monday
Monday started off with us taking our time in the morning and getting a message from our friends that their son was being a little fussy and they didn't really want to take him out that morning. This was cool so we just went to the pool with the kids ourselves. The pool wasn't heated and I was cold in the water so I didn't last very long. Raymond was also cold (as evidenced by his blue lips) so I took him back to the room and put him down for nap. Eventually, Jen and Beka come back and we decide to hit up the Strong Museum of Play, a literal museum of things that you play with. I probably don't have to tell you Beka was in her glory. She couldn't get enough: running around, playing, yelling, etc. They even had a mock grocery store where she could shop, ring up her purchases, and bag them herself. There was even a small section for Raymond-size babies. Insanity. So, a few hours later (we planned on being there maybe an hour) we get into the car and head over to out friends house for some dinner and good conversation. We didn't want to leave, but our flight was taking off very early and we needed to get back to the hotel and pack.
Tuesday
So we get up so early on Tuesday morning I can't even call it the crack of dawn because it was even earlier than that. We get the kids all ready to go, check out, get to the airport, turn in our rental car, and make our way to the check in counter at Delta. Lo and behold, our flight was cancelled due to weather and changed to that afternoon. Yeah, after having been up at 3:45 am, that's what I want to hear. So we sort through our options and decide on trying to get the rental car back (since the place wasn't even open yet and we still had a whole day) and hanging out in Rochester for an extra day. Doing what, you might ask. We didn't know either. We were all hungry for breakfast so we got the rental car back once the place opened up at 6 am. We couldn't even get through security because our flight was more than 6 hours away and we can't get boarding passes. Also, we only had enough baby formula for half a day since we were supposed to be home by mid-day. So for breakfast we head to Denny's. This was a HUGE mistake. We ordered food, but didn't really eat much of it since it wasn't good at all. But Beka ate, so that was good. Jen and I then went to Dunkin Donuts to actually eat. It was after 7:30 am by this point so we had the idea to see if our friends were home. Thankfully, even though my old roommate was at work, his wife was going to be home most of the morning so we could have a place to hang out. This was a life saver for sure. We're so grateful to have such good friends.
After being there for a few hours, we drove back to the airport and boarded our flight home. The flight home was fairly uneventful, actually, but we wanted to be home already. Our poor dogs had to stay at the doggy hotel for an extra day because we didn't get home soon enough to pick them up. The perfect end to the trip: finding out that the tropical storm that we had here actually knocked over a tree in our yard and destroyed a section of our fence. Fun!
Friday, September 9, 2011
Vacation? Part one
So we packed up the family and went to upstate NY for Jen’s brother’s wedding. But naturally, we took some extra time to visit with family and friends. Our adventures follow organized by day. Just a fair warning: I am exceptionally long winded and this is going to be a monster post, so I have divided it into 2 separate posts. Here is part one:
Thursday
We were required to get up so early in the morning it doesn’t even qualify as the crack of dawn, because the sun didn’t come up for hours after we were at the airport. We wanted to have enough time to get through security with 2 kids and the various accoutrements that come with 2 children (stroller, 3 backpacks, etc.) so we didn’t have to rush and miss our flight. It was funny that even though we got there so early, after checking in, going through security, and having breakfast we were right on time to board the plane. The kids did really well on the plane rides. They were tired (me too!) and Raymond slept on the plane a little while Beka watched her princess and Dora videos on the portable DVD player. The only time Raymond got a little fussy was when we were landing in Rochester because his ears must have been bothering him. Jen was a trooper as well since she was a little under the weather with a cold and cough. I love traveling with her since she is so organized and laid back (usually…). After we arrived in Rochester we got our rented car with XM radio (I can’t be without my satellite radio after all) and checked into the hotel. Interesting side note- just because the company website says there is a pull out couch in all the suites, doesn’t really mean there really is. Thankfully, I complained and got a rollaway cot for free! It would have been tough to have Beka in the bed with us since she is a fairly violent sleeper and likes to move around a lot more than I am used to.
After we checked in, we then got immediately back on the road to head to the wedding rehearsal. At the church I realized my first issue- there was no air conditioning and the expected high for the wedding day was 92. I was preemptively sweating just thinking about it. The rehearsal went well and even though we started late, we got done fairly quickly. Then came the rehearsal dinner (great, I’m starved!), but first I needed to go try on my tux for wedding since I was a groomsman. Now I had tried to go try it on before the rehearsal (since I was told it would be ready by 4 PM), but alas, it wasn’t ready (“oh no, we wouldn’t have told you 4, it’s always after 6” but that’s not what I was told….). Another interesting side note- just because you send in your measurements, doesn’t mean the tux shop will actually have your size. The tux they provided me to try on was for a man much, much smaller than me. The only thing that fit was the shoes. Why would they think a guy who wears a size 14 shoe would fit into a size 30 waist pant? Seriously, what did they think I was, a clown? Needless to say, they ordered me a new tux which I was supposed to try on the next day. Then I was able to get to the dinner, which was mostly finished and actually eat some food. I scarfed down the BBQ my in-laws had gotten and then proceeded to be eaten alive by mosquitos. Shortly thereafter, I got a gift: a new Miami Dolphins cap embroidered with my name. The hat is made out of wool and is dry clean only. Maybe not so practical for south Alabama, but still awesome. Then we retired to the hotel for some sleep (finally).
Friday
This day started with us getting up with the kids and getting ready to go to the NY state fair. I have been to the fair only once before, right before we moved away, but I had enjoyed it. I knew Beka was going to really enjoy the rides, animals, shows, etc. We got up and drove from Rochester to Syracuse to meet at Jen’s aunt’s house and get our tickets which we bought ahead of time. When we got there we got to see some of Jen’s aunts, uncles, and cousins who I really like and get along with very well. Then we took a shuttle bus to the fair. Beka was in her glory. She loved everything about the fair from the chocolate milk and ice cream to the rides and the circus. In fact, I was so proud of her because she rode a roller coaster all by herself. Now, it was a kiddie roller coaster, but I am no less proud because she was probably the youngest on the ride. They actually had to stop it to let an older kid off who was crying uncontrollably. She also got to ride a camel with Jen. Beka’s appraisal: “it was bumpy Daddy.” Raymond was just along for the ride really. He did very well with napping and not being fussy, but the fair wasn’t really his cup of tea. We ended up staying there much longer than I thought we would, but my in laws were really helpful with the kids so it didn’t really seem like a very long day. I was actually starving on the drive home, but I was so tired I couldn’t eat. That should tell you how tired I actually was. But unfortunately I still had to go to the tux place and pick up my tux for the wedding. They just handed it to me to take, but after my earlier experience I wanted to try it on to make sure it actually fit. It did, albeit the pants were a little long and didn’t have buttons for suspenders, which I like to wear with tuxes and suits.
Stay tuned for part 2!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
