Before I continue, make sure you go see the excellent current edition at Canadian Medicine, featuring last week’s content.  If you submitted a piece that wasn’t included in Dr. Solomon’s edition, re-send to me for consideration.

Please have all articles submitted to me no later than 18:00CST/17:00EST Sunday, November 30th (00:00UTC Monday December 1st) for inclusion by sending an email to enrico -[at]- mexicomedstudent.com. Please put “Grand Rounds” in the subject, and in the body text include the URL and a sentence or two of summary. That summary is important because not everyone’s URL is descriptive, and when I have a table of URLs, etc. when planning the edition, a blurb really helps. 

I do have a tentative theme in mind but don’t want to reveal too much (and want some flexibility to change it ) but these words should be applicable: renewal, metamorphosis, change, transformation. That should be enigmatic enough for everyone.  Do not feel constrained by these, however. There is no judgment about whether to include or not based on any theme; each article is reviewed on its own merit. 

Thank you for your cooperation, and I look forward to reading everyone’s entries!  Good health to all, and for those traveling here in the US this holiday season, be safe.

Happy Thankgiving to all of you. The above sums up perfectly what my TDay is all about: moving and that which will help me get through it. hehe

Moving sucks, period. As I get older (of which I’ll be even more reminded next week), moving becomes less of a chore and more of a kind of pathology. With all the stress, a toddler now, adding to the extra complexities of being in Mexico, there are times I feel outright paralyzed. The younger me took all the drugery in stride, looking forward to a new start. The older me takes the “new start” with more than a grain of salt. Unfortunately, I’ll have at least one international move to NY and a probably interstate move once stateside after my 5th pathway year. Both those events will be more of a production than this one, so I have to learn how to deal, or else.

I have discovered through this process that I’m a bit OCD. I am on the floor, clearing cables, dusty from months of stasis on a tile floor, and I intend to simply wipe them quickly through a dustrag before coiling them into a box. I look at a large surge protector with stains on it, probably from some spilled coffee or diet Coke, and think, “This simply won’t do.” I take a wet-wipe and remove the stains; after all, when else would I have taken the time to do this? Except that in doing so, I see that the whole cord is filthy. I don’t want to pack something grimy in a box destined for a new house, now would I? So I take an extra minute or two to go over the cord with the wet-wipe to at least restore its original, nondescript beige splendor. Repeat for everything else. With each notice of a new imperfection, my radar becomes more and more attenuated to fixing what’s wrong. Thankfully, I do catch myself before I’m trying to dust individual computer fan blades with a cloth-covered toothbrush, but my tendency to head down this path all the time is a bit of a concern. I don’t think it’s to the point of being a problem, just an obstacle to efficient, “get it done” time management–something that’s so sorely needed right now.

I had a nice dream of us going to a school-sponsored catered affair at a local country club tonight. Of all the annual school-sponsored events, Thanksgiving dinner is the one that’s done right. The wine, conversation, and cheer flows freely, professors mingle with students, and a good time is always had by all. Of course, since the movers arrive tomorrow morning, going meant that we would have been done early. *peal of laughter* I did think it would be nice, since we now have a babysitter, to take time amidst all the craziness just to have a nice few hours for us and just simply be, but last night it was clear going would be logistically impossible. Claudia and I committed to celebrating on our birthdays next week, in our new house–a moment I very much look forward to.

Today is about giving thanks. I am thankful for my family, for being in a position to be able to move into a better home, and even for being healthy enough to gripe about the process. I am thankful for my friends, in person and online, and for many new opportunities that have opened up for me in spite of being on hiatus from school. I am most thankful for my wife and daughter, who each in their own way challenge my patience in seemingly never-ending new ways, but in doing so make me a better person and remind me what all this is for.