IM-PCP – Page 47 – Physician In Numbers

The Stories We Tell Ourselves

This week, I was supposed to be attending WCICON20 in Las Vegas. I have been looking forward to going for months.

I wanted to attend the first meeting, in Park City, but couldn’t arrange the time off. Many people posted how much they enjoyed it, and I was looking forward to meeting people who want to talk about finances, education, and even wellness. More, I was looking forward to meeting people who aren’t all internists. Maybe I even had some fan-girl interest in meeting the people behind the blogs I read (or podcasts I listen to) each week.

Not to mention, I was looking forward to 1 week away from the office, away from the EMR, and possibly in some sun.

However, in the past weeks, we have had to deal with the arrival of the novel coronavirus in our country, and the prospect of quarantine (or self-quarantine).

Fitness Log #72

Just because I am a doctor, and encourage patients every day to exercise, doesn’t mean that I don’t have my own issues with getting sufficient exercise. Long hours, tiring days, family obligations, illness: they are all stumbling blocks, no matter what your occupation.

I have been recording my exercise weekly, mostly to keep myself accountable for reaching my goal (sometimes this works, sometimes I miss). If anyone reads this, I hope they will take this as encouragement to keep going, acknowledgement that it isn’t always easy.

Wednesday Woolgathering, Procrastination Edition

Yesterday was a long day, and the post I was planning just didn’t get done. I’m putting it off to another day, and instead have some short snippets and updates, mostly about procrastination. Fitting, since I am publishing this late in the day.

My Goals Versus COVID-19

The weather is wintry, but the lengthening days tell my hind-brain that Spring is coming. And in my home, Spring means Spring Cleaning. Tidying. Emptying the kitchen cabinets and all the closets of old, unusable items.

On the other hand, this year we have the novel coronavirus, the cause of COVID-19, making its way across the globe. There are currently only a few known cases in the USA, but very likely there will be many more soon.

It has been 11 years since the swine flu outbreak, but I do recall hospital policy: you were not to come to work if febrile. If you had proven swine flu, you were to stay home for quite some time, until you were unlikely to spread your infection to patients and other staff.

My husband is very concerned about the possibility of having to self-quarantine. In addition to the possibility that we might get stuck in our home for a while, he also has to worry about his 2 elderly parents, who live just a few miles away. He worries about possible food shortages and how they will get supplies if this virus hits our city hard.

Fitness Log #71

Springing Hope

Last week I complained about the grey days of winter.

This weekend I felt some hopeful stirrings, with hints of spring.

Here are 5 things that made me happy last week.

A Money Date Interview

When my father became very ill last spring, I realized that my mom didn’t really know everything she needed to in order to manage the household bills.

I started thinking about my own household: I have been taking care of the bills ever since we got married. Most of our discussion about the bills has gone something like this:

Me: I’m going to pay the bills this morning.

Him: Thank you for taking care of this.

Me (sometimes): Can you believe this water bill?

Him: I don’t know what to do about this, I do a lot of cleaning.

Clearly, we haven’t been communicating well about our expenses. I wasn’t really sure that my husband would be able to manage things if I were incapacitated.

Before our last vacation (which conveniently fell over the first of the month), I asked him if he would pay the bills that month. Of course, I would help him.

This would be our first real money date. I asked him if I could interview him afterwards, to see what he thought about it.

I note that my husband has a strong internal censor.

Fitness Log #70

Grey Winter Days

I am trying to work on a positive attitude, but I confess this is my least favorite time of year. It’s cold, and grey, and the sun goes down too early.

The holidays are over: no more lights, decorations, parties.

Walking home is less likely (see above), so I get less fresh air and exercise.

Since it is dark and cold, evenings are spent indoors, usually watching TV or movies. No outings for me, as I am a responsible worker who has early office hours.

Buying My Own Bling

It’s a funny thing, jewelry.

If you think about it rationally, you’ll have to agree that it is expensive and a poor investment. Like a car, the price of almost any piece you might buy drops as soon as you take it home.

On the other hand, jewelry has been coveted and valuable for thousands of years. It can help dress up an outfit, start a conversation, or just straight up signal wealth and status. If you like a piece, it can work for you for many decades, unlike a car or cell phone, which is unlikely to last more than one or two.

I have to confess, I was able to accumulate plenty of jewelry over the years as gifts. My mother (who loves this stuff) has given me plenty of lovely pieces, especially for special birthdays (16, 18) and graduations.

Gold earrings, 4th–early 3rd century B.C., Etruscan. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Earrings are easy presents for birthdays/holiday/souvenirs. I have given and received a number from girlfriends and relatives.

Of course, who can forget the tradition of the engagement ring and wedding ring. I suppose I decided on my wedding ring, but my fiance picked out the engagement ring; we looked at rings together, but he made the final choice himself and surprised me.

It was therefore an odd event for me, last year, when I decided I was going to buy something expensive for myself.