Hello everyone, new rotation, new blog update. I start my dreaded surgery rotation tomorrow, which after my wretched month of Internal Medicine, is actually looking up. At least I'll be doing something all day. IM passed with little to comment on, aside from feeling pretty much useless to pretty much everyone. I personally find it hard to show up somewhere everyday where people could really care less if you were there. Aside from my patients, that is. I feel that in some ways, patients at teaching hospitals do benefit from visiting with students because they do end up having an advocate during their stay. I may not have done a ton for their physical health, but I feel I probably did some good for their mental health. Overall, the hospital is not for me, and I can't wait to get back to a clinic setting.

I turned the big 2-5 at the beginning of the month. I had a lot of fun going out in the city for my birthday, starting out with a good dinner and conversation and finished the night out dancing. I wish I could post photos of that, but we all look so intoxicated, I think I would be doing some members of my family a disservice by releasing them to the general public.

This past weekend was beautiful here in PA, so the whole gang loaded up in the car and headed down South to go to Longwood Gardens, a large botanical garden in Southwest PA. We had a lot of fun getting away from the city and seeing some greenery and being able to be outside. We hit the Chad's Ford Winery on the way home and sampled some local wine. I wasn't that impressed, but the 'girlier' members of our group bought a couple of bottles of dessert wine.

Hopefully Feb. will allow for some more adventures, even though I anticipate being pretty tired from my surgery rotation. I'm planning on heading to Panama City, Fla. for a weekend to see Blair while he is down there for work, and maybe up to NYC for another weekend to see Nicole. There might even be a weekend in the Poconos in there (and I'll ski if it ever gets cold enough, not that I'm complaining).

Hope everyone everywhere is doing well!