My feet are getting itchy.

I have been stable for a bit too long. This leads to discontent and the desire to try something new.

In times past this lead to a gathering of essentials and resources, charting a new course and radically changing my life. I all times save one, this has lead to improvements. Sometimes vastly so.

Currently, however, my circumstances are different. I am a husband and a father now. My responsibilities, willfully taken, have expanded beyond myself. This makes the gathering of forces significantly more difficult.

I've been thinking of medical school. That's not feasible currently.

Oddly, my wife has made similar statements (yet more proof that she is the best decision I've ever made). I understand that Alaska is nice this time of century.

Hrm.

Also, a number of people I know, including some masons I recently met, are going or have gone to Burning Man. Sounds like fun, but my wife can't reasonably go and my son is too young. I've found that when I'm off having a really good time I get a little despondant when I can't share it with my wife. However, Burning Man might be a bit too outre for her.

One day, perhaps.

Tags: burning man, wa
Current Mood: discontent

I recieve numerous calls from the community late at night. In many ways I'm the face of the hospital, if you call, you're likely to get me. I received a call tonight that makes me wonder.

"Hi. Can a guy who's 22 without a GED be a doctor? Or even a surgeon?"

"Well, sure. You gotta get a GED, and then it's 10 years of hard work after that. You gotta want it, and bad. But, sure, you can do it."

"Okay. Thanks, that's all the encouragement I need."

And I thought that was an interesting call, and went about my work. About 15 minutes later...

"Hey, Baron, phone for you, asking by name."

"Huh. I wonder who that is."

"Hey, my name's Corbin and we talked earlier. I'm sorry to take up your time, but how do I do it? I really want to be a surgeon. What grades do I need?"

"You want to be a surgeon?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, here's what you do. Get your GED. That's first. Then, get into a college for pre-med. That's going to take four years. Then there is med school, four more. Then a residency. That's two or so, I'm not sure how long, exactly. Grades? You want As. If all you can get are Cs, that isn't going to cut it. But, As and Bs will serve you well. Once you get into a pre-med program, what happened before doesn't really matter. If you get all As, you have a better shot at the better and more prestigous med schools. As and Bs, less prestigous and cheaper schools. But as long as you can hack it and get through you can usually get into a med school.

This part is key. You have got to want it, bad. It has to be the most important thing in your life. You will work harder than you ever have before."

"You mean, like, a job?"

"Maybe a part time job, as well. The school work is hard, but you have to pay for it too. That may mean getting a job to help out, or loans, or whatever. I don't know what your situation is. But, it needs to be your first priority and it will take a long time. There are plenty of people to help you, who want you to succeed. Go to your community college and tell them what you want and ask them what you have to do to get there. You need to cut out your distractions too. Rotten girlfriend? Ditch her. Smoking pot? Stop. Friends holding you back? Drop 'em. You have a long hard road ahead and if you have a problem, resolve it."

"Wow. Thanks a lot, I really appreciate you talking to me! Thanks."

*   *   *   *   *

Hopefully, my words inspired him to make good choices. I'll never know.

Bright future...

Current Mood: contemplative

Another stretch done.

One day as I was getting ready for work my son came up to me and said "have fun making people better!" He gave me a hug and went back to his games. That put me in a great mood. It was a crappy day; things went awry with astonishing regularity, I felt like I was hip-deep in sand. I felt really beat up by the time I went home, there was a lot of frustration and anger. It was a very late night. I walked in the door and was quiet so I didn't disturb anyone. I saw the toy laying forgotten on the floor and my son's words came back to me, and I relaxed and I smiled.

We live not for ourselves, but for our children. And, we work towards a bright future that we will never see.

Current Mood: contemplative

 About 11-12 years ago I went to a party and met an amazing woman who would later become my wife. The hostess of that party, "Heff", passed away yesterday. She was 41. She died from liver failure secondary to the chemotherapy for her metastatic breast cancer.

I remember talking with Heff a couple of weeks after I met my one day bride-to-be. She mentioned that she put a good word in for me and that "the fix was in". Surprised, as I am far better acquainted with her sister, MarJai, than herself, I thanked her and asker her why she went out of her way. She said "I like you; you're a nice guy and you'll be really good for her."

Thanks, Heff. Thanks for your nudging and for coming to our wedding.

I'll miss you.

 

Current Mood: sad

Well, I exist.

Not an astounding revelation to those who know me, but to the fine citizens of LiveJournal, a first.

I imagine this will be primarily a source of bemusement to the community at large when I, ever so rarely, post a comment here concerning gaming or pharmaceuticals.

Current Mood: amused