"The truth is contageous and I haven't washed my hands in days" - Stephen Colbert
I'm that guy who you always see at Starbucks...no really, that was me...sadly, out of the last 7 years, I've spent 20.8% sleeping, 33.3% working/school, 16.7% at Starbucks, 12.5% programming, 8.3% at the gym, 8.3% eating, and the rest doing other stuff. Luckily I'm no good at math - oh wait, that was spealing and gramer. I was probably myspace's top dork - being a biology, math, computer science, physics, and chemistry major - but I never finished physics and chemistry, so hopefully, I've been eclipsed.
Did I mention that I love sports? My "moment" (everyone always has one, right? Like Al Bundy scoring 3 touchdowns in a game) was in H.S. volleyball, when we beat the defending 3 time state champs, with a 50+ game winning streak, for the first time - I think it was the first time ever that a NJ gym actually shook during a volleyball game (I think some people were making out under the bleechers or something). My sports low moment? Probably a tie between losing the State Volleyball Semifinals my senior year and having a 53 game losing streak in soccer (it's not often that you become captain of the team as a sophomore - either (a) you are Pele reincarnated (not me) or (b) your team is capable of losing 53 games in a row).
Did I mention that I love music? I play a mean Bohemian Rhapsody and some assorted classical tunes (oh, the chicks love that). Also strum the guitar (oh, the chicks love that too). And I sing...oh, wait...you know the sound that chalk makes on a blackboard that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand? - when I sing, people flock to the nearest blackboard. I guess 2 out of 3 ain't bad (isn't that a MeatLoaf song?) (Did I just reference meatLoaf?) I love good music - which I define as (a) people playing instruments (drum machine and a computer are not instruments) and (b) someone singing better than me (unless it's classical/jazz/etc where there are no lyrics). I've been to more than 200 concerts, but surprisingly I think my 2 favorites were The Pixies in Boca in 2003 (I was amazed that anyone knew them, let alone rocked out to them) and Nirvana in 1992 in NYC (I seriously got the shit beaten out of me that concert). And yes, as a straight man, I can admit that my favorite 3 artists are 10,000 Maniacs, Ani Difranco, and the Indigo Girls.
Did I mention that I love to read? I used to be a real snob about my books, being raised on the classics. It wasn't until I was 20 or so that I actually read something written in the 20th century on purpose (books for classes and Cliff Notes don't count). I think the combination of Hemingway and the Beats, particularly Jack Kerouac, really opened up a new world for me. I've since devoured everything by Maya Angelou (my Muse), Toni Morrison, and a host of others. Dan Brown has been a fun recent read. Just finished One Hundred Years of Solitude, Life of Pi, God of Small Things, and Vernon God Little which I recommend strongly (Life of Pi gets a minor recommendation). Reading Brick Lane right now, along with Chain of Command (go Sy Hersh - get that Bush!) and the MKSAP 13th Edition (that one is my real pleasure book).
Did I mention that I am a pediatrician? Well, half a pediatrician. My heart is in peds, but my brain is in medicine, so I decided to split the two and do a med/peds residency. As a matter of fact, the only reason I'm writing this is because I'm on call and am bored to death and can't fall asleep (the beds are so uncomfortable and you always keep your ears half open (is that even possible?), so the quality of sleep is horrible anyway). Heading eventually into Rheumatology - don't know what that is? Don't worry neither do doctors - basically it's your body attacking itself - and while we can control it a bit with medications, we have no idea why it's happening (where I hope to come in)
Anything else? nope, that's it. My life boiled down to 600 words (601 with that one). Is that really it? hmm, I guess there must be more...damn, out of material...is this thing on? oh wait, I've lived in Argentina, Brazil, Israel, Peru, Russia, South Africa, and the US (in alphabetical order) all by the age of 10 (my father was an alcohol bootlegger and my mother was caught in the run) (oh wait, prohibition was lifted in the '20's...err, my father was a drug smuggler - yeah, that's sexier and explains the South American (drugs), South African (diamonds), Israeli (slaves, oh wait, that was in Biblical times, right?), Russian (mob, oh wait, this was in the '70's, before capitalism made the made men), and the American ($$$$ - isn't that really the only thing we really do here) connection. Ok, time to stop - where is that damn medication (Zyprexa? Thorazine? Prozac? Valium? hmm, Haldol, is there anything it can not do? (said in a Homer Simpson voice lamenting donuts). Oh wait, I'm also politically active and extremely to the left (YES, I AM A LIBERAL AND PROUD OF IT!) - when did caring for your fellow human being and wanting society to improve become a bad thing? (check out www.thenation.com and www.progressive.org for REAL news - and keep Air America growing! www.airamericaradio.com )
