#18 - Almost Got to Keep This Unit

When I donate blood, I am still struggling to find the right balance between not enough pre-hydration, which in the past meant my veins would be too flat to puncture, and too much pre-hydration, which has meant that I had to pee really bad. This time I was almost too close to flat veins, but they found one they could work with at the last minute. One more to go.

#50 - The Terror

When I planned to read books on things I didn't know about, I assumed that this would mean non-fiction books. One of my patients was reading "The Terror" by Dan Simmons and encouraged me to do the same. One one hand it is a novel about a group of 19th-century British explorers who are trying to find the fabled Northwest Passage over Canada who face an overwhelming combination of weather, poisonous rations, mechanical failures, incompetent leadership, and, oh yeah, a 10-foot Yeti-like creature stalks them through the frozen landscape. On the other hand it is a well-researched compendium of the state of Arctic exploration in the 1800's, from the politics of launching a mission to the day-to-day details of running an icebreaker. While the narrative was intensely engaging, I left the book with a level of knowledge about that world that I never expected. The HMS Terror was a real ship from that era that was lost during an attempt to find the Northwest Passage, so Dan Simmons took what was known about the ship and its crew and spun this detailed narrative that I was very satisfied to explore.

#98 - Exploring Old HBO Shows

I've been enjoying watching old shows that I own on DVD from the beginning - X-Files, Star Trek, Buffy, Lost, the new Battlestar Galactica among others. I watch them while I exercise on a treadmill in the basement. I'll watch one disc from one show, then start the next disc from another show, until I cycle back around. I realized I could employ the same method to test out TV shows available on DVD that I've never seen. I subscribe to Blockbuster Online Rentals which sends us 3 discs at a time through the mail, including individual discs from TV shows. I keep them as long as I want, then trade them in at the Blockbuster store down the road for another free rental. They mail them back for me and then send me the next mail order disc on my list. Using this method, I am working my way through the Sopranos, Six Feet Under, and Deadwood - all award winning shows that I've heard about, but never seen because they aired on HBO. I really enjoy what I've seen so far and I look forward to trying this with other shows too - The West Wing, The 4400. Plus, it keeps me going back to the treadmill.

#7 - Christmas Letter in January

I added writing a yearly Christmas letter to my list because I have a bad habit of procrastinating this to the point of skipping it, and I've been averaging about every other year. I wrote our letter this year before Christmas, but life caught up to me and I got too busy to send it before Christmas. They all went out today, edited as more of a "Happy New Year" letter. Next year, I'll try to get it out in December.

#90 - Consolidating the Office

I've been in my current job for over 7 years and I have accumulated a lot of clutter in my office. Because of some rearranging in our suite, I had to move my office to a smaller one down the hall. This gave me the perfect excuse to get rid of a lot of the stuff I had not touched in years. I still need to clean out some files - it is very easy to file papers into obscurity. I know that 2/3 of my file drawer could be shredded and never missed. My goal now is to actively work to prevent recluttering of my more efficient workspace.

#38 - My Disaster Kit blog

I began preparing for disasters in preparation for the Y2K scare. The 9/11 attack, anthrax scare, Indonesian tsunami, and Hurricane Katrina devastation just reinforced my desire to prepare for unexpected disasters. I've put together small kits for short-term personal use, "bug-out" bags designed to keep us going for 72 hours outside the home, car kits to provide basic needs if we got stuck in the vehicles with help late in coming, shelter-in-place gear in case we get stuck in our house for a few weeks, and enough camping gear bundled up in one spot that I could grab if we needed to get way out of town for a little while. At least in theory I have. I have done lots of research and made lots of lists about what I want and need in these kits. They are not all complete though. I wonder if they'll ever be complete enough.

The problem with preparing for the unexpected future is that you are always trying to estimate the odds of certain scenarios (stuck in the house during a blizzard vs. stuck in the car during a multi-car pileup vs. terrorist attack) and your mind can quickly come up with worse scenarios that you aren't prepared for. This almost got the best of me during the Y2K scare. I almost quit an internship (that would have been devastating for my career) to move into a farm and prepare to raise our own food off the grid. Thankfully, that was too difficult to contemplate, so we stockpiled some food and water, found an alternate heat source that we never needed and hoped for the best. I panicked last year when I was trying to figure out how to seal off a room in our house per the Dept. of Homeland Security's Shelter-in-Place instructions in case of a chemical or airborne biological terrorist attack. I added this item to my 101 list to give myself another reason to complete these preparations to an acceptable level.

My brother and his 3 kids had to leave their home when an ice storm knocked out their power this winter. They were fine, but I sent him a few of the links to resources I had used for my preparations. I realized that a blog might help me organize my thoughts (like it has for this 101 in 1001 list) and get me motivated to complete my kits. I started posting to My Disaster Kit (http://mydisasterkit.blogspot.com/) recently and I plan to keep up with it to raise awareness about disaster preparedness and to help me get my own act together. Please check it out and comment on the posts I've got so far. I'd rather have a conversation than preach.

#66 - Arbor Mist Strawberry Zinfandel

My forrays into finding a wine that I like are amatuer at best. Wine is one of those beverages that everyone talks about like it is a normal part of good meals and being an adult. I just don't get it. Since I was a kid I have loved the subtle depth of flavor that grape juice provides, but its sweetness has likely positioned my palate to expect that same sweetness from wine, which of course it is not. Even the "dry" sweet wines I have tried come across as tart. I have also never been a big fan of the fermented alcohol taste that come with beer and wine. I've come across a few mixed drinks I like, but these are usualy highly sweetened and flavored with other, typically fruity, ingredients (daiquiris, mojitos, etc). This has left me feeling like I am missing out on the wine experience. I am especially interested in wine's purported ability to make other food taste better, to complement my meal as they say.

I know that to do what i have set out to do, I will need to find someone who knows wine well enough to know what they are doing and guide me through it. This will involve trying a lot of wine. It is something that i think i have neither the time or the money for. In the meantime, I couldn't help but pick up a strawberry-flavored wine - Arbor Mist Strawberry Zinfandel - because of the promise of the extra fruity flavoring. I thought it was quite good. I tried it with meals and it lost some of its appeal, but cold and by itself, it was quite refreshing. I prefered the small bottles because I didn't want the remaninder of a full bottle to spoil if I only wanted a glass of wine. I know that this is the beginning of my quest and not the end, but at least I've started on the path.

#60 - Jason the Jedi

30 years ago I saw Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope in a drive-in theater with my parents and baby brother. I barely remember it, but I knew I had to see it again, and again. For the first 3 movies I identified with the young desert moisture farmer, Luke Skywalker, who found out that he was the heir to a great legacy of powerful knights. He found out that his father was the greatest Jedi Knight but that he turned to darker powers to try to save his mother who died in childbirth. Luke became a Jedi himself and defeated the evil Emperor by drawing out the good that was still in his father. I loved the adventure and the themes of the movies and the philosophical insights of the Jedi. In the next 3 movies we get to go back and see the transformation of his father from good to evil and learn of his close relationship with his mentor, Obi-wan Kenobi. Now that I'm older I identify more with the older, wiser Jedi Knight. I decided several years ago to start assembling a Jedi costume and this year my mother-in-law and my wife collaborated to make it happen for me. I've got to say that I have not felt such joy in a long time as when I put on the costume for the first time. It took me back 30 years and brought out the kid in me. I wore it to work on Halloween and chaperoned my sons in the costume while they were trick-or-treating. Nobody messed with us - either because they respected the uniform, or they thought I was crazy. Now I've got to resist the urge to wear it for fun, like right now.

#18 - Blood for Blood

My sister-in-law Melinda needed over 80 units of blood products to help her survive 3 weeks before she died in August. I was a blood donor before that and frequent blood donation made this list. Now however it feels very different. Many people had to donate their blood to keep her alive. I was thinking about that today when I was donating another unit. I know that this blood will help keep someone else alive, maybe to save their life, maybe to allow them to say goodbye. They'll let me try to repay this debt again on 12/22/07.

#71 - MacQueen's Apple Orchard

I didn't get to any true farmer's markets this summer like I intended, but I kicked off this fall with an annual tradition. Today we went to the MacQueen's Apple Orchard for their annual Apple Butter Stir and Festival. Part of the morning's festivities included a chance for us to pick our own apples straight from the trees. We filled a half bushel bag full of the tastiest, crispest red delicious, golden delicious, and honey crisp apples - better than anything shipped in from Washington. Those apples are bred for shape and transportability, but not for flavor. I dread getting to the bottom of the bag.

#19 - Funds for a Cure

Through the generous support of friends, family, colleagues, and patients, we were able to raise $1770 for the Northwest Ohio Race for the Cure, sponsoring breast cancer education and research. The total on the NWO Komen website is over $131,000 raised in donations, plus registration fees for all the runners. I am overwhelmed. I thought it would take all 1001 days to get to my goal of $1000. I realize now I set my goal too low. We're not stopping here. We have to find a cure.

#20 - Race for the Cure 2007

My second 5K since starting this list (4th overall) took on special meaning this year. My sister-in-law, Melinda, died a few weeks ago from breast cancer. She was 31, left behind 3 young kids, and we'll never be the same. Her oldest is a nearly 7 year old daughter with genetic risks for breast cancer from both sides of the family (our mom's mom and sister died from this disease also). It really set the clock ticking - early screening didn't save Melinda -we've got to find a cure. I was already training for it, but this really lit a fire under me and blasted away any excuses from my dates with the treadmill. I even put in some road miles in the morning on the weekends. This year's Race was amazing. We got a lot of people from my office to join in, as well as several friends. There were over 16,000 registered runners. The morning was a bit chilly, but with the great sunshine we had today, I was overdressed with 3 layers of shirts. I got a stitch in my side the 1st mile, but it faded and my left foot went a little numb the last mile, but I defintiely tolerated the race physicially a little better this year. This allowed my to push a little harder and I shaved 2 minutes off my 5K time with a final timing chip time of 40:34. Should be easy to get under the 40 minute mark for my next race, but I've got to keep training.

#89 - Passed My Boards

Seven years ago I took a 2 day, 12 hour, ~600 question test from the American Board of Family Practice to become a Board Certified Family Physician. The test attempts to cover the breadth of knowledge covered in the 3 year Family Practice residency I had just completed. The Board has changed its name slightly to the American Board of Family Medicine and required re-certification every 7 years. Last time I had to travel to a large testing center in Cincinnati for the paper test. This time the test was in a computerized format which I surprisingly preferred, especially since it allowed me to drive 20 minutes to a testing center here in the Toledo area for the 1 day test. I got my scores this week and I did well, and thankfully, passed the test. I did better in areas I didn't expect (OB) and poorer in areas that surprised me (Psych). They've recenlty started a Maintenance of Certification program which will require me to complete educational modules along the way, but will allow me to take the next big test 10 years from now instead of 7.

#77 - Secor Metropark

We took the boys to Secor Metropark, west of town. It had a picnic area that we took advantage of before we took to the playground equipment. We ran across an enormous praying mantis and got some pictures. The section we were at had an enormous meadow surrounded by huge trees. We used the meadow for tag, cartwheel practice, and bike practice. The thought was that if Alex fell, it wouldn't hurt as much, so he might be bolder to let me let go of his bike - great idea, but we couldn't build up enough speed in the grass to remain stable. There is also a great nature photography center there, open on the weekends. I picked up an entry form for a photo contest that we may enter.

#96 - Reynolds Corner

I picked Alex up from school today and ran into construction on my chosen path home. A detour to save us time brought us to Reynolds Corner Branch of the library. It wasn't very remarkable, but it was clean and modern. It's most striking feature was one of Toledo's many frog sculptures from a competition held a few years ago to honor "Frogtown". This one was covered in a mosaic of mirror pieces and had a green recycling symbol embedded in its chest and back in green glass, which also highlighted its eyes. Alex checked out a Magic Schoolbus book that took the class under the see to go along with the oceans unit they are covering in school.

#100 - So Close, With Feeling

Buffy the Sing-Along Musical stage show is airing at midnight tonight in Ann Arbor, an hour away. I just found out yesterday, and it is just too short of a notice to make it. The only person I know that would enjoy going with me to a Sing-Along showing of "Once More, With Feeling" the musical episode from the sixth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is my wife. But we've got no one that can watch the kids at midnight on short notice.
Yes, I'm a 36 year old physician and father of 2 sons, lamenting that I can't get out to a Buffy musical.
I watch way more TV than I should, but I am a big fan of well done narratives that have a supernatural twist. I guess it started with the X-Files, then Buffy and its spin-off Angel, now Lost. When these are well-written and shot in a style that looks like a big-budget movie, there's nothing else like it. I am a Star Wars fan, but that story was told over 20+ years, in 12 hours of screen time. It was enough to build a rich world, but it felt like we barely explored it. In the 7 years that Buffy was on the air, we explored that world in over 107 hours of story-telling. It lets you get deep into story and character and keeps you coming back for more. Buffy used the metaphor of "high school as hell" to explore how horrible life can be and that it takes bravery, sacrifice, and some good friends to overcome it all. The musical episode took 5 1/2 seasons of build-up and splayed out the characters' souls in song (a demon made them do it, naturally). The songs were actually pretty good and I quickly memorized them. They weren't all appropriate for our young children, so I couldn't belt them out at home. When the soundtrack came out, I sang them in my car. A fan in New York started airing the episode at late night theaters in the vein of the "Rocky Horror Picture Show". I like the camaraderie of Rocky Horror, but I've never really cared for the movie - so this Sing-Along version seen with other fans of the show who like to sing along with this episode seemed perfect. But not tonight. Maybe they'll be back. Maybe I can get them to come to Toledo.

#11 - The Potty Train Has Left the Station

We took a little different approach with potty training my younger son, Aaron. We used a basic reward system for our oldest, Alex, by placing a sticker chart on the wall near the potty. When he filled it with reward stickers, we'd give him a small toy. With Aaron, we used the "be a big boy" approach which was appealing to him for a short while, but when he was being weaned away from his pullups, he decided that he liked being a little boy. He's very articulate for his age and explained to us that "You can just change me." His preschool that he is starting this fall doesn't do diapers, so we've been holding that over his head. That has been a little more inspiring - he'll jump off the potty and shout "Now I can go to school!" He still had trouble going in public bathrooms. We were (mildly) panicking as the start of school approached. Then we stumbled on his key - Tic Tacs! His Papa would dole out Orange Tic Tacs when he saw the grandkids and they were immensely popular, but still small and relatively low in sugar. He bugged us about them, so we found ourselves saying, "If you go on the potty, you can have one." It worked. We rubbed our Diaper Genie one last time and wished its stinking self out of our lives and home.

#62 - Hitting the Beach

I almost wrote this post 2 weeks ago when we went to a beach adjacent to Saginaw Bay on the eastern coast of Michigan. The beach was nice, the water was fine, but the shore was disgusting with several feet of E.coli laden muck as a kind of barrier to the water. We could get to the water from a small pier, but it wasn't very enjoyable. This weekend we went to the western shore of Michigan near Grand Haven and played all day at the P.J. Hoffmaster Park beach. The water was beautiful, but a little cold. The sand was fun to seek shells and build forts with. It's not the same as the ocean, but a Great lake is as close as we're likely to get for a while. Getting to Disney World is on my list, so we may need to take a side trip to the Pacific again.

#18 - One More Red Bag

I donated another unit today, my second since starting this list. I'm doing a little better balancing the need to be very well hydrated and going to the bathroom. This time I was able to go right before and after, but I need to drink a little less the next time. I'm eligible next on 9/24/07, but this is the week before the Race for the Cure here, so I'll try to get it done in October.

#69 - Lebanese Shish Tawook

I made this from a recipe that was published in the local paper, but originally came from The Arab Table, by May Bsisu (William Morrow). I've modified it only slightly with more convenient pre-prepared garlic and lemon juice.

Combine 5 tsp jarred minced garlic, 1/2 c. bottled lemon juice, 1/3 c. olive oil, 2 Tbsp plain yogurt, 1/2 tsp ground cardamom, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. white pepper in a large bowl and thoroughly mix with a fork or whisk. Cut 2-3 lbs of bone/skin-less chicken breasts into 1 inch chunks and place them in a gallon Ziploc bag. Pour the mixture in on top and seal tightly, forcing out the excess air. Put that bag in another bag and park it in the fridge for 2-8 hours.

Soak a bundle of wooden skewers or find your metal ones.

Meanwhile blend 10 tsp of the minced garlic, 1/2 tsp. of salt, and 2 tsp of the plain yogurt in a blender or small food processor. With it running, trickle 1/3 c. of the olive oil into the mix until incorporated, then do the same with 1 tsp. of the lemon juice until a paste is formed. Stick it in a plastic, lidded container in the fridge until you're ready to cook.With a grill hot and ready, skewer the chicken and then grill it over medium high heat for about 6-8 minutes until cooked through. Before taking it off of the grill, brush it with the garlic paste and serve over rice. I made six cups of saffron rice using chicken stock and 1/4 tsp saffron.