Power to the Pedals!

Returning from a recent trip to Portland, OR, I reflect on the differences in lifestyle there vs here. Apart from the enormous prevalence of coffee shops, I note that portlanders seem to embrace the concept of self-propelled transportation (indirectly fueled by the caffeine, I'm sure)-- specifically bicycling. I find this so inspiring and impressive not just because it is so obviously the way to go, but because the portland mantra: "It rains a lot here" at first encounter might make one think that doing the bike-to-work thing might be unusually UN-appealing. Not so! More people ride here than in Sunshiney Colorado where I live, and they do it rain (the rule) or shine (the exception). Testaments to the veracity of this truth are found everywhere: waterproof messenger bags, rain ponchos available in grocery checkout lines, BIKE LANES everywhere, bike chain-ups everywhere, and sadly, the occasional Ghost Bike conspicuously placed on tragic street corners and intersections about town, reminding us that cyclists [were] people, too.

Since I've been home again, I've tried to be more diligent about using my bike to commute around town, for whatever reason I go out. Coffee shop, grocery store, gym, dinner out. Of course...it's great! I am noticeably happier when I ride my bike. Seriously! Why? Who cares! But I am.
Another unexpected bonus despite the hot weather is not climbing into a mobile steaming oven after an errand. Just hop on the bike and start pedaling, and whoa-no stifling heat, no scorching steering wheel or seat, no need to ventilate the car for 5 minutes before driving off. Fabulous!

I wish I could ride to both my places of work instead of only one, but one is a good 64 miles away by highway--a highway I am frightened to drive on, let alone ride. But it's ok.
I feel good for doing a small part to protect the globe from warming, pollution and parking lots; to de-plaquify my arteries and to keep my mind clear and body less fat; and to set an example for my patients and fellow grand junct-ians, all of whom I will tell should be doing the same.


Time to hop on and head home. ciao!

I'd Like To Be...Under The Sea

Researching options for dive medicine training. So many great opportunities!
I recently got my PADI Open Water Certifcation; one of those things I have been
thinking of doing since college, but just never got around to. Wow! I am so glad I finally did it!
It's an amazing experience that gets better every time you do it.

Of course, I had a little hesitation early on with relaxing into the acceptance that
you are relying on mechanical equipment to basically SUPPORT YOUR LIFE under water. That
one can do such a thing at all is kind of counter to what your brain tells you (rightly so).
But after the first few dives, I got used to the idea, stopped feeling out of place and just started looking around and enjoying it. I think the part during training where you have to remove your regulator second stage from your mouth for a few seconds underwater, and then put it back after clearing it--and it works!-- is what finally convinced the unscientific side of my brain that it can be done (by me).

There is nothing like settling down just above the ocean floor and little by little, seeing all the activity is going on around you down there. I was in Belize off the Turneffe Atoll, where there are lively reefs and lots of stingrays and sea turtles bopping around in the water.
Not a bad beginning!

So, plans are in the making now to learn more about diving medicine and physiology. That's also part of how I get more comfortable at something completely foreign (in addition to just doing it)-learn how it works. Decompression stops, dive limits, on and off-gassing (in a socially acceptable way), etc. It's quite a lot you are doing to your body when you dive. I'll feel better when I know what I'm getting myself into, physiologicaly speaking. And it will make me a better doctor, hopefully.

new business card!

Fully Immersed in the InterWeb

July 31, 2008: First Facebook, now a Blog...Goodness Gracious, I am so modern! Probably should've been the other way around, but I am not known for choosing the most direct route.

Here I am. I actually signed up so I could comment on another person's blog! But maybe this will be the slightly less ephemeral audience (say, than an email addressed to no one or a blank MS Word document) I need in order to focus my stream of thought.

That is not to say I am promising 'focus' in my thoughts!

Location: Main Street, Grand Junction, CO . aka The Western Slope. aka Home.
Status: Setting up new office, distracted by Internet
Plan: Quality, not Quantity of work in medical consulting
Next Destination: Portland, Oregon next week
Previous Destination: Blackbird Caye, Belize--super diving!


Shout out: My dear friend Tiffany Brainerd, for whom I started this blog in order to comment on her upcoming challenge at Mount Rainer w/Mountain and Marine Medicine. Take that, Mountain!