I'm liquid cold, she's murder gray.
Autumn is a demanding lover. My body shivers in protest to her icy fingers, my alarm clamoring its presence. I retreat to my only refuge in an empty house, the smell of steam reminding me that warmth still exists in this pre-dawn world. I let the heated water course over my head, an anointing of life in this frigid morning. As the chills of night melt and swirl down that blessed drain, I say a prayer. With a mind still as fogged as the mirrors are becoming, it is a prayer of desperation, of primordial thought and need instead of pre-conceived cordiality. A prayer for focus and a prayer for you.
I increase the heat, to just the short end of scalding, the water now biting and lashing pleasantly. I think of Alaskan crab, skittering across arctic floors before blushing crimson in a steady boil. Unlike them, I enjoy my fate. Before long the heat could no longer meet my outrageous requests, and I mournfully stem its flow, stepping out into a misty haze. How the tiles could have maintained their frozen natures throughout such a sultry escapade, I’d never understand. I quickly flee to the soft comfort of the rug, dressing quickly in hopes to seal the reverie of glowing heat inside a thermal hoodie.
I cuddle into a warm corner of the clingy night, listening to the old songs until dawn paints Autumn’s face into far more pleasing colors.
I think a true writers exercise is transforming the mundane into something worth reading. Life truly in motion. One of the favorite quotes I've found is in On Doctoring saying "I do not know a better training for a writer than to spend some years in the medical profession" I've decided I'll be a secret author moonlighting as a physician.
My current read has actually been The House of God by Samuel Shem, which if you know me, is probably not what you are thinking. It is actually a 70's novel, akin to Catch-22 only with hospital internships. It's raw, raunchy and would be depressing if it wasn't so hilarious.
THE LAWS OF THE HOUSE OF GOD:
1. GOMERS DON’T DIE.
2. GOMERS GO TO GROUND.
3. AT A CARDIAC ARREST, THE FIRST PROCEDURE IS TO TAKE YOUR OWN PULSE.
4. THE PATIENT IS THE ONE WITH THE DISEASE.
5. PLACEMENT COMES FIRST.
6. THERE IS NO BODY CAVITY THAT CANNOT BE REACHED WITH A #14 NEEDLE AND A GOOD STRONG ARM.
7. AGE + BUN = LASIX DOSE.
8. THEY CAN ALWAYS HURT YOU MORE.
9. THE ONLY GOOD ADMISSION IS A DEAD ADMISSION.
10. IF YOU DON’T TAKE A TEMPERATURE, YOU CAN’T FIND A FEVER.
11. SHOW ME A BMS WHO ONLY TRIPLES MY WORK AND I WILL KISS HIS FEET.
12. IF THE RADIOLOGY RESIDENT AND THE MEDICAL STUDENT BOTH SEE A LESION ON THE CHEST X-RAY, THERE CAN BE NO LESION THERE.
13. THE DELIVERY OF GOOD MEDICAL CARE IS TO DO AS MUCH NOTHING AS POSSIBLE.
I'm fighting, as usual, the inevitability of massive doses of studying today. Still, it's therapeutic to get some writing in before the grind.