Some Time Away

I've been off about a week now, primarily to attend the Endocrine Society Annual Meeting in San Francisco followed by a respite in wine country and an intended viewing of Yosemite which did not happen for having underestimated the distance in my planning.  There were a lot of side projects to be attended from my estate planning to semi-annual project planning to computer upgrades for work to some writing that also did not happen, underestimating my stamina during the conference and my tolerance for wine afterward.  The synagogue annual meeting came and went in my absence, passing by my intent to transform from participant to observer.  But I'm rested and ready to return, though perhaps in a different form from when I left.

Travel probably reveals more about me to me than I learn about the place I visit.  I find myself generally more tolerant of glitches than I am at home.  Perhaps if I were a geek, San Francisco would be a permanent destination, easy to absorb into the technical world.  While there I passed by stores know for their exclusivity.  I am not a person who seeks exclusivity or indulgence, much the opposite.  New things intrigue me.  I never get tired of Chinatown and as I diverted my path toward the Golden Gate Bridge, I got to see if not experience some of the neighborhoods.  And across the bridge I encountered extraordinary scenery and eventually viticulture on a scale not imaginable in the East set amid the usual collection of fast food places and chain motels only a short car stop away.

At the convention I encountered research on how medicine is practiced and how things that I experience randomly can be quantitated.  My pet peeve of inadequate resident supervision has an outcome measurement that somebody did and discussed with me.  My interest in core science was a lot less than that, though a necessary component of understanding what I do professionally.  And it was reassuring to know that the grand professors had the same prescription plan impediments that I do.  Moreover I have the same skepticism of the role of leadership of the Endocrine Society that carries over to my Jewish world and my medical world.

So in a few days I return to usual activities and some catchup.  While will again have a $10 bottle price limit even though I can now tell the difference from the premium stuff I got to taste at the vineyards.  My interest in acquiring stuff has been blunted by the rejection of overabundant premium stuff which infused San Francisco.  I am a little more committed now to carving out some time each week to set the patients aside in order to focus on the more creative observations of medicine.

And there will be the next half years projects outlined.