30! I've recently turned thirty, and now that I've pulled out all my gray hairs and taped them on the mirror as a reminder of my limited youth, I'm coping well.
I was on-call in the medical ICU when midnight struck. I was in the middle of the 2nd of 4 procedures, and admitting 5 new critically ill patients. I confess that I had help from my stellar intern, Chris, and my enthusiastic 4th medical student, Ilan. They mainly helped with cross-cover issues and admitted 2 patients. Strong work from our team.
Overall, it was a busy night. After signing out to the on-coming team, I left the hospital feeling fatigued, but knowing it was my 30th birthday. I was determined not to let this event pass without celebration.
Together with some other friends, we had planned a fun day, starting with a pool party at Erin's. The weather outside was warm, and the water was brisk, but the cool shiver was just what I needed to stay awake. We hung out at pool side sipping lime smoothies. So as evening approached, we all got ready for dinner. We went to Burger Continental on Lake Ave in Pasadena. I have been there before on Monday nights when they have a burger special for $2, and free karoke, but this was not Monday. Dinner was good, but on the weekends, they have a greek band and a belly dancer. It was rather funny. My friends jeered and they announced that it was my birthday, and that's when I got encouraged to stand up and do my own belly dance with her. It was fun, and thankfully short (about 15-30 seconds), but my friends managed to get a few pictures...(how embarrassing)....I guess I'll publish them here, although I fear my dancing will scare the small kids.
For all those who feel inclined to read on after such shocking photos, we went back to my friend Tamar's house after dinner. We ate cake and ice cream, they insisted on singing, and then we sat on despair rollercoaster of BYU football as this year's team managed to lose to Tulsa.I confess that I had difficulty staying awake towards the end of the party. It's the usual fatigue that settles in after 41 straight hours of wakefulness. Predictably, I slept very well that night, and as a token of good fortune, the following day was my day off from work.
