Epic Day

May 21, 2011.


BBC said the world was supposed to end and Jesus return. Ooops.

Instead of floating into the air with millions of other people whitney and I had the best day I've had in a while. It was a majorly belated birthday celebration that started with coffee and the best lemon strawberry scone you've ever laid your tastebuds on...

Then we drove the scenic and beautiful roads out to Rocks State Park, Maryland. Rock climbing!!!

A friend of mine let me borrow his 30lb pack of climbing gear and we hoofed it up to the ledge. The sun was shining, whit was getting a tan and I decided that I should be a professional rock climber... again.

This was our view all morning long. About 70 feet up and overlooking a small valley.

Correct. I DO have the coolest wife ever. 

After sweating our butts off climbing a perfect flaky crack with a small overhang. We headed north through some more beautiful country scape that reminded us or northern maine or pennsylvania. Who knew Maryland could be so gorgeous.

We popped the boat into the water at the Charlestown, MD boat ramp and quickly proceeded to get her running. Once out away from the dock, Josh gave it some throttle and we.... didn't go very fast.  BUMMER.

We certainly weren't gonna be able to wakeboard going 5 mph. So we brought the boat back into the dock and the mechanical engineer Josh started tearing the engine apart, found a water hose that was loose, adjusted the throttle and idle cables, fixed a spark plug and 1 hour later we were screaming across the water at closer to 40 mph. It was sunny, hot and a beautiful day.

Here is a short video of me loving Josh's boat!

We drove back to annapolis, met Whit's parents for dinner at a super fun and laid back place called Sly Fox. Then we buzzed over to the movie theater to finish off our night with Fast Five.

A truly fun day with a truly awesome girl.

I am a blessed man.

The Struggle of Time

A close friend of many years recently chuckled after I explained my desire to become a doctor.

FRIEND: "Didn't you decide about 7 years ago that you didn't want to be a doctor because it would take you 7 years to do it?"

ME:  (awkward thinking smile) "I know, it's crazy isn't it. I can barely believe it myself."


Time is a funny thing and despite all our dependency on the consistency of time, it seems to change... or perhaps our perception of time changes. Either way, time can be a struggle.

My friend was right. I did indeed view the medical pipeline with fear and the encroaching thought --  "dang, I would miss so many great surf sessions being in school for so long." So, I must ask myself this question, "What has changed?"

One thing is for sure, my perspective on time has changed dramatically.

As a young dude of 16, I doubted that I would survive the age of 21. In my mind I would have either drowned after attempting some wildly stupid surfing feat or I'd be martyred in some third world village for preaching the gospel. Seriously, this was my thought process. Doesn't leave much room for a 7 year medical program. Besides, I only wanted to be a doctor so that I could get into closed countries like Saudi Arabia or North Korea.

Today I see time differently. I am a happily married man, which also means that I get to make love to my wife (something I'll never miss a chance to thank God for publicly... I waited a long time:). There is often a by-product of this happily married love making industrial complex and those are babies.


In comes a new paradigm for my short sighted, 'I'll be dead tomorrow' surfer outlook.

POSTERITY

All you socially and culturally advanced people may see all this as silliness. You probably planned your life at age 10... well, not me. It has taken me many years to come to a point where the lives of my children's children inspire me and inform my desires for today and the future.

With posterity in mind, I have come to the conclusion that medicine, but more specifically health and healing are worthwhile investments into the future. I want to be the grandpa that put away funds for my granddaughters education. I want to be the grandpa doc that still takes calls on sundays and will get up late at night to help a neighbor in need. I want to begin a legacy for our posterity that says, "serving people is the most valuable thing I can do with the privilege of life."

 I chuckle about my wandering circuitous path back to medicine. But I wouldn't change a thing, my struggle with time has left me doing a balancing act between long-term investment and living every day as if it were one's last mark on the earth.

They say that the true adventure is in the journey. Well, I'm glad I like adventure because my journey into medicine is going to be a long one.

Republicans for Voldemort? wuh..

On our way home from breakfast at a local spot in Annapolis, a bumper sticker caught whitney's eye.

Thought i'd share.

Has anybody seen this??   What are they trying to say??

What specialty should I pursue?? Help me decide.

Last night I was perusing various websites that described what each medical specialty focused on and the type of person it seemed to attract. I stumbled onto these two schematic things and thought it'd be interesting to get other peoples thoughts on what I ought to pursue.

Read through the schematics and answer each descriptor as you see me, then let me know where I end up...

Enjoy.

Pt means patient.

this is a funny schematic.

Risk Calculations

abby sunderland...one of my heroes

Tonight at dinner we had a wonderful conversation about Abby Sunderland, the 16-yr-old California girl who attempted to circumnavigate the globe and was capsized by a rogue wave in the Southern Indian Ocean.



The question is simple. What is too risky? Why would we ever allow our youngsters to attempt such dangerous things?


The argument was thrust forth that kids of these ages lack the life experience to evaluate and examine the risk of such a feat. They lack caution and wisdom and the 'I'm Invincible' syndrome would likely lead to an unnecessary death.

Well... I disagree. 

Life is a gift. It is at times very fragile and at others amazingly resilient. At the end of the day, we fool ourselves in thinking we control our safety. So here the course bifurcates: do we become wildly irresponsible and reckless because tomorrow we die or do we hole up into a padded room and ponder the many dangers and terrors of life. I'd rather walk the line.

Here is my example. 

At age 14 one of my best friends and role models died in a motorcycle accident likely caused by his own reckless driving. It rocked my world. He was the quintessence of the invincible spirit. Full of life, full of adventure, at times full of rebellion. Nonetheless, he was one of my heroes. It was a devastating loss.


So is that it? Do I walk out and vow to never ride a motorcycle? Do I let fear rule this small area of my life? No, I buy a motorcycle and teach my self to be the best dang rider out there.

But why?

Because life is not about what you can hide from or what you can avoid. Life is about what you look dead in the eyes and say, "Here I am, I'm not moving." It's about the day you walk through the woods in the pitch black and conquer the darkness. It's about staring at the crowd of 5,000 and giving your speech with passion. It's about sailing through a gale on 4 hours of sleep.

Great people...who change the world... aren't great because they made sure their seatbelts were on every time they turned the key. They were great because they assessed the risks, calculated that they had a chance and pulled the trigger on life. 



One day I will be a father. I will tell you now that you won't want your kids to hang out at jd's house. I probably won't have liability insurance and I will most likely have a difficult and awesome rock climbing wall. I don't want to be a parent who chastises my kids for every semi-dangerous thing they do. I want to be the one who challenges them to climb higher, harder, better.

Here is my reasoning. I would rather take an active role in the dangerous desires of youth and be a guide to intentional thought processes and wisdom, than say "that's dangerous!" and have them do it anyway with their buddies. I am no fan of outright stupidity. But calculated risk is a gauntlet that reaps a reward won by no other means. It is the treasure of knowing oneself in the midst of real danger and real risk. It is at this point one gains this elusive 'experience' of life.

"To live is to risk, to live well is to risk wisely."     - me
                                          
                              

So, to end this late night rambling. Let me leave you with a wonderfully inspiring story.

Click here to see more of the story and a book promo for Abby Sunderland.

A Hiatus to Make You Chuckle

 if you haven't seen this story yet. it's worth the couple minutes.

perhaps my favorite song right now.

i love these guys. check em out.  http://www.youtube.com/user/schmoyoho

german cars

Following a gin and tonic with our new dock friends from the distressed sailboat; Sebastian, the Brit (read thick british accent and all the 'proper' sayings) and his wife Liz got up to leave for the night. They were heading up to Baltimore from Annapolis.



Rebecca: "Ok. Take care and drive safely tonight."

Sebastian: "Oh, don't worry I've got a German car."

(semi-confused look on everybody's face. what is this guy talking about?)

Sebastian: "Yes, the only problem is that whenever you open the bloody thing it starts chatting and telling you, 'Invade Poland Now.'"


word for word. i swear.