So... the next chapter has officially started: The degrees have been conferred, the Champagne has been popped, and the moving trucks have been loaded... This blog update is coming to you directly from my new home on the Tennessee river. After a whirlwind of fourth year electives, months of travel, obligatory graduation ceremonies, celebratory shindigs, and family reunion-cum-fishing tournaments, I find myself here on the sailboat, newly (and officially, so as not to piss off Poseidon) dubbed Miss Lizzie. Tomorrow begins my year as an Emergency Medicine intern here at Erlanger, and I'm looking forward to getting to work. I'll be pretty steady until November, when I've scheduled a week off in order to support a certain young lady in her ambitions of pounding Manhattan's asphalt jungle...Lizzo, MD - NYC marathon - 11/7/10... you want to be there.
Thanks to my folks for being awesome and helping move my ass up here... I know the boat trailer was a pain but I can't describe how happy I am to have this rig back in the water... and looking good by the way. After a long winter on cinder blocks, one helluva wash, a new coat of paint, and a new name, my home on the water has some of the local salty dogs envious... I plan to live aboard for awhile, as an exercise in both frugality and minimalism... After the past few months living and camping out west, then traveling through India, I actually feel a bit spoiled floating here on the river with my mini fridge full of Coors and my AC blasting... I have a backyard full of bass, a driveway that leads out to the river, and some really cool fellow pirates as neighbors...
As the dust settles from the craziness of the past year, and I begin the next phase of training here in Chattanooga, I have a feeling that things will work out just fine... The department here is young and dynamic, a new wilderness medicine guy is starting up a fellowship here this year, and the town seems to have a ton of outdoor opportunities... I'm disappointed that Elizabeth and I couldn't stay in the same zip code, but ecstatic that we are in the same time zone... My lady and my mutt are only a short (and beautiful) motorcycle ride away...
Thanks to everyone who helped out over the past several months... I especially want to thank EJH for enriching this whole experience with your love, my awesome family for the support and for all the help with the move, Matt Fitzsimmons and family for the delicious grub, and Stephanie Jane for your organizational acumen and tireless work in putting the graduation party together... You guys are incredible and I truly appreciate each and every one of you.
