Earn Thy Shower!

   On track with my health improvement goals, I’ve been getting up at 5am to exercise (it’s the only cool time of the day!).  I brought a jump rope, and on Wednesday I jumped rope for 10 long minutes (it got really boring), and then I filled the rest of my time with sit-ups, squats, push-ups, etc.  I won’t be able to run a 10K on June 6^th if I sit around all day!

  The morning Jake Glover (a friend whom I met on my last trip) and I went for a short run.  Now, he’s run marathons, and I’m a little past 5K land, so he was kind enough to slow down a bit for me.  We ran for a steady 10 minutes, paused to walk at the top of a hill, and quickly learned that we were lost.  We walked for another 20 minutes or so, and ultimately found some nice Haitians to guide us back.  All-in-all, it was great to get out, I got in almost a mile at a good clip (faster than I generally run, and it was fun! Thanks Jake!), we got a close-up view of some of the neighborhoods, and we met some nice people.  There were no cars on the roads, only a few people out, and all was calm.  Not too shabby.

   I should note, I did promise my dad not to go out running alone, and I will keep that promise.  But, that said, I felt quite safe, and I wouldn’t hesitate to go out running again if and when I have a willing running buddy… and hopefully this time it’ll be for more than 10 minutes!

   Regardless, I have a new morning mantra.  I intend to earn my showers!  My nice cold, military-style (in, out, soap up, rinse off) showers.  J

South Beach, Miami- Mini-vacation

I could do it. I could bleach my hair, eat salads all day, buy a pair of high-maintenance-girl sunglasses that would cover half my face, and move down here to join the South Beach crowd of gorgeous waify blondes.... But then what would I do with my time? Talk about who wore what to what party? Spend all day sunbathing and shopping with my rich man-of-the-month's credit card?

I might be able to pull it off, and it might be more fun than 30-hour hospital shifts, but I think I'd get bored. I think I'd rather go running and get all sweaty and gross. Riding on a fire truck after a parade, or commuting in the back of a pick-up truck in a third-world country sounds like much more fun. So, I'm a little different. While finishing my residency in family medicine, I've started running, eating better, living better, and trying to be a better person, while meanwhile trying to set up a program where I can improve access to health care in Haiti.

And this is my first attempt at a blog... let me get started a little, then let me know what you think.