Tuesday in a flash

Date: Tuesday, January 5, 2010

7 AM - Got out of bed, having had 4 hours of sleep. I couldn't get adjusted to being back at work.

9 AM - Arrived at the VA (That's DC slang for the Veterans Affairs Medical Center). It's an incredibly nice hospital in NW, located on Irving St. I test patients for HIV using oral swabs. I got 5 customers that morning and enough aphorisms from ex-soldiers to last a lifetime.

I enjoy assisting Dr. Kan with her research and observing her interactions with patients. I've learned a lot about what I will and won't do as a physician. Being friendly definitely makes things easier, but that's probably true of any profession.

11:30 AM - As I awaited the bus's arrival, I witnessed a tickling exchange between a woman blocking the bus's pathway with her vehicle. An old vet called her a bitch and screamed at her to move. I laughed.

12:00 PM - Went to Silver Spring to pay rent. A part of me dies each time.

12:40 PM - Kayte put me to work as soon as I arrived at the office. We made lesson plans and brushed up on the female anatomy. I now know something about the vagina. I'd be lost (or fired) without Kayte. She is truly the backbone of our success.

3:30 PM - Walked to Francis-Stevens for my aftercare duty (aka, America Reads Parte Deux). I work with first-graders who vacillate between cute and disgusting.

7 PM - Got home after some grocery shopping at the local Giant.

11 PM - Bed, after a double dosage of Nyquil.