veeganmd

Work

2012-01-30T22:07:00.001-05:00

Crazy work -- saw 22 patients head spinning

Holidays come and gone

2011-12-26T23:49:00.001-05:00

Sometimes a little goes a long way. I am happy to say that very little packaging accompanied our holiday giving and receiving, with nearly no exceptions.

I planted about 100 hawthorn tree seeds this evening, and spent over 30 minutes practicing with my new guitar lesson book.

We had a quiet little holiday week mainly at home and enjoyed our dogs and the relative quiet.

Possible resurgence

2011-11-19T01:22:00.003-05:00

We are not amused.

Well, I am, at least. I am thinking of resuming my so-called blog.

One of the best things about marriage is making up. There have been so many ways I needed to improve myself. My lovely wife is just wonderful about helping me brush myself off and pick myself up and moving forward. I am so grateful for this.

My work is a good thing overall, yet leaves me unsatisfied in a few respects. I am hoping to reach out more to friends and spend more time developing new local friendships. During this effort, I expect to make some blunders as well as some gaffs. This is part of life I just have to accept. I think part of my delay in doing this when we first arrived was fear that I would make mistakes I have made before all over again. That I would have to check my enthusiasm and keep my boundaries cooly intact. I am glad for the chance to start anew, but miss my old friends in Western New York. I hope to be able to find likewise kindred spirits.

I am looking for a creative outlet. My parents gave me a guitar a couple of years back, but I haven't done it justice. My grandmother left me her piano back in 1991, and it sounds gorgeous. I still would like to do some blacksmithing with my forge, which I brought from our old home but haven't used since about two years ago.

Overall, I have been too immersed in work and adjusting to the "new" circumstances (new = January 2010) to set up a new support network, keep in shape, and get involved with something creatively. I am hoping to grab the bull by the horns and make it all happen now. Gradually...

Non-Celebrity Roast

2009-12-21T22:02:00.002-05:00

I will be roasted at WORK! I can't believe this!! On 12/29/2009, I will be enduring an inglorious and ignominious rendering of comically sadistic affection. Oh my goodness...

Lessons in Adversity and Humility from Mary Verdon

2008-12-11T00:24:00.001-05:00

I was a co-participant in a teacher-student challenge during my residency in which a gifted teacher (Mary Verdon) asked me to participate in a mini triathlon (called a "sprint"). I was 20-something and she was about 40, and beat the socks off me (not literally). Her mother had had a very minor event categorized then as a stroke in her late forties or early fifties, which was for unknown reasons, but I of course wasn't aware of it.

We often swam with the same pair of fast-swimming guys at the Y early in the mornings. One day I came to work to hear she'd been behind them about a lap and as they came back they saw her thrashing near the bottom of the relatively shallow lane. It was determined to be a stroke, and the community hospital (1997 or so) had just implemented a stroke protocol. Miraculously she was left-brain (rationally and intellectually) completely intact. Thus, she was in on the decision to get tPA (tissue plasminogen activase which was an early clot buster still in use now) but had such a large stroke that she developed cerebral edema (brain swelling). After weighing uptons she ended up deciding with her husband not to go for neurosurgery, not wishing to live with the very likely major compromises to her (obviously) active lifestyle.

That event really affected me and I knew she was proud of defeating me in the triathlon. I sheepishly avoided coming to her bedside (giving her privacy and dignity I thought) assuming her pride would be hurt to be seen that way. She was the sort to really try and help us less-humble sorts (I admit it) to get away from all that by being taken down a notch in a very good-humored way. I think I was very afraid of how humbling such an event could be and identified with her intellect, health, and youth too much to maturely handle it. I think it was self-preservation. My awareness of this developed too little too late to be there as a support, but I believe the lesson I learned was a good one. I now try hard to face death and dying issues very head-on, and talk about the feelings. I will readily admit (when appropriate even to the suffering person) that childish parts of me want to get away from the trauma, but that it meets my greater needs, to help out and overcome adversity, to be in the midst of it.

(C) 2008 Christoph A. Sahar

Winter Coming

2008-12-01T23:31:00.004-05:00

Leaves drop, grasses brown, skins dry, birds fly,
Snows swirl, winds howl, lights fade, temps down;
Plants droop, skies grey, minds numb, coats fray,
Fires warm, friends come, patterns race, hopes churn.

Colors run, fades the sun, shadows lurk, greys murk,
Noses sting, sleighbells ring, voices sing, newborn king;
Shovelers earn, Yules burn, fields turn, souls yearn,
Sun's flight, lengthy night, nature's might, sleep tight.

(C) Christoph Sahar

Thanksgiving Joke (NOT!)

2008-11-27T12:18:00.003-05:00

Nicole sent me out shopping at Wegmans to get a large bag of Purina for our Viszla "Rusty" and Beagle "Biscuit" and was in line to check out.
A woman behind me asked if I had a dog.
On impulse, I told her that no, I was starting The Purina Diet again, although I probably shouldn't because I'd ended up in the hospital last time, but that I'd lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care ward with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IVs in both arms.
I told her that it was essentially a perfect diet and that the way that it works is to load your pants pockets with Purina nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry & that the food is nutritionally complete so I was going to try it again.
I have to mention here that practically everyone in the line was by now enthralled with my story, particularly a tall guy behind her.
Horrified, she asked if I'd been poisoned and was that why I was in the hospital.
I said no.....I'd been sitting in the street licking my balls and a car hit me.

Misunderstandings - life altering ideas - nonviolent communication

2008-11-12T20:50:00.003-05:00

We all get misunderstood. But do the poeople misunderstanding us always know we're misunderstood? And can it be put to right?

"Forgive them, for they know not what they do..." is also know as "famous last words."

Conflict resolution, both personal and professional, requires perceptions to be understood, and when necessary, corrected.

We all play a game of "Who's Right?" but the world needs more "How can we make life more wonderful."

Read Marshall D. Rosenberg's "Nonviolent Communication" for further details that have been life-altering for me.

This work

2008-11-11T00:50:00.004-05:00

This work is harsh, repetitive, noisy, tiring, aching, turning, cold, windy, muddy, beautiful, natural, groundbreaking, connecting, bright, exacting, tight, stretching, pounding, numbing, unending, and unfinished.

Ram the pole into the soft, muddy ground, pull up a chair, climb it, and then with the four pound Thor-like hammer, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, switch to the left for ten more taps, then right for ten more taps, then drop the hammer onto the chair where its red and black handle slips between the curved iron chair--back poles, and then take the leaning sledge up, sledging bam bam bam bam bam on the right, then bam bam bam bam bam on the left, then five more on the right, then five more on the left, and the post is in the ground up to the green splaying wings.

As the arms ache, I pace four paces with the sledge, mark the ground, go back for the chair, small hammer, and cart, which now only holds twenty-four more posts, and drag it into the new position, where I lift a six foot green post out of it, and,

ram the pole into the soft, muddy ground again.

This for a total of twenty five posts.

Then, bring the orange heavy snow fence roll and cable-tie it up to the first post, unroll some more, stretching and yanking and pulling until the top of the plastic fence is taught between the first two posts, then hook the fence onto the top spoke jutting from the post, and so on down to the bottom, keeping tension so the wintery winds cannot push it down or carry it off. Then three cable ties with numbing fingers and aching arms, and then,

bring the orange heavy snow fence roll to the next post and repeat a

total of twenty five posts down the line. Only not enough snow fence remains because I spread the fence longer this year than last. Oh, and Lowes, Lawn & Tractor Supply, and Walmart have none.

The snow comes. But not yet. It is coming soon, however. The snow whips the bedroom with howling noises at times, all night long, pulling loose the plastic siding if not secured well.

The wind bites and robs of heat the very heat which keeps us alive.

The wind picks things up.

Last winter it took an eight foot glass lawn table and carried it fifty feet, to be deposited with a crash splintering the table into thousands of sharp bits, only to be discovered when bloody paw prints were left on the tile floor in the spring.

What a mystery, bloody paw prints were. Oh, we found glass and the dogs didn't suffer... we just had to figure out where the glass came from. Lo, and behold the glass lawn table shattered to bits fifty feet from where it had been. Oh, that's right! We DID have a glass lawn table! How strange it got to the other side of the yard!

The wind should be harvested, but that may be too expensive to contemplate.

Something to think about.

Pax et amor;
Xtoph

Exercise in futility

2008-11-07T16:10:00.002-05:00

Work piles up, you work it down, then it piles up again.

One thing doesn't pile up, and that's appreciation for work well done.

Today, employees told me they had something to look forward to when they came to work... me! can you imagine?

We have to give them something less ephemeral than my wit and wisdom to look forward to, but morale has improved even among those who say their pay is "a slap in the face". At least something is going right for them...

I'll stop rambling now.

Oh, and anyone who knows anyone from Scholastic should tell them I know a really good writer/creative type/managing editor who really hates writing about guns.

P & A;
xtoph

Oh geez, another resurrection story

2008-11-07T16:08:00.003-05:00

This blog will be resurrected as a thanks to Obama.

The prophet has spoken.

All hail Obama.

Patient: "I Hate Borderline Personality Disorder - That's me to a tee!"

2007-12-28T23:06:00.000-05:00

"Doctor, I am so done with BPD. I hate Borderline Personality Disorder. It makes me really angry. I've been reading all about it on the internet and I just can't stand it. Of course, aside from promiscuity and substance abuse, I am so certifiably borderline myself."

- said the patient to me today. Did I mention she was kicked out of her partial hospitalization program, and wants to get back into it again... and that she stopped the one med that helps distorted thoughts?

Does anybody else get reminded of the absurdist humor in The Onion?

Phew, what a day. And that was only one of my 22 patients from 8-5:20 without a break.

Pax et amor;
xtoph

A Y-switch that train enthusiasts don't see too often!

2007-12-28T22:23:00.000-05:00

Yes folks, it is a real image from a real train track and it shows the wye-switch (named for the letter) division into two lines from one line, in a rack railway to the highest point in Germany, called die Zugspitze, which we visited in Germany September the 21st, 2007. Note that here, the teeth of the Strub rack are free, pointing upward, which allows the switch without difficulty.

Below, see how in the station, where passengers have to be able to cross tracks on the platform, the older, Riggenbach rack system is used.

Gingerbread Dogs

2007-12-20T19:52:00.000-05:00

(To the tune of Santa Claus is coming to town refrain)

They know what you've been gluing
And what fell off the plate
They know it's really not their food
But they'll take what they can take.

Oh, you'd better not pout,
They've got a good snout,
You better watch out
Or it'll be a real rout,

Gingerbread dogs are snooping a-round!

New Goals

2007-12-15T17:04:00.001-05:00

I am to post one time per week, or more often, for the new year. We'll see how it goes, as they say.

New habit: daily gym attendance.

Evidence: two 1000+ calorie workouts:

Outcome: I can see a few ribs without too much inhaling and posturing.

Hope: Six pack by next summer vacation!

Pax et amor; Xtoph

Best Language Teacher in the World

2007-10-01T02:11:00.000-04:00

All right. I now can say I am very close to speaking Spanish, nearly halfway fluently. All thanks to Michel Thomas. You must see this testamonial about his teaching unwanted South Central LA kids just after the Watts riots/rebellion (depending who you talk to, both terms apply), and motivating them to become fluent French speakers within two weeks... a class of twenty-four.

Xtoph

Hofbräuhaus Bier

2007-09-17T14:14:00.000-04:00

Hallo Ihr Alle! (Hello y'all)

I drank my first liter of Hofbräuhaus Bier today and it was yummy. Reversal of y's and z's is certainly not helping me to post after the beer, but oh well. The have a four piece brass and accordion band and lots of people. At least 30 Japanese tourists at a few tables, all men. Fun fun fun!

xtoph

(burp)

music, vacation, network

2007-09-13T23:22:00.000-04:00

I'm so glad I got my first iPod, a birthday gift from my great parents. I'm now listening to my favorite music (my brother's). Get the MP3's if you want: http://www.andreassahar.com/ They're awesome!

Going to Munich for 10 days on vaca. Plan to hike & bike and love the scenery, see museums & castles, eat good food, enjoy the beer, and if possible, see some family.

You all should be on LinkedIn.Com http://www.linkedin.com. LinkedIn is formalized networking, transparent enough for people to traverse like a map, to learn how people are connected, in terms of employers/employees, colleagues, etc. It forms a who’s who. It allows one to list one’s interests, and learn of others with same. You can say, for instance, you went to Swarthmore, and then do a search of other listed grads. It allows one to search for people, and ask introductions to be made should there be someone to whom one wishes to be introduced. You have total control over whom can send you mail, and can filter. I have used it to find former high school, college, and med school classmates, former business relations, employees, and professors.

the plunge

2007-09-10T16:36:00.000-04:00

He takes the plunge.

There will be horror, and love, and beauty, and conflict.

Massively differing signs on what's what... Generals and ambassadors, 9/11 on the verge. Gas zooms. Housing jobs fall. Dragons tear the American psyche to shreds, but they are of our own imagining.

Music to let your hearts beat to... try wrur.org.

Bike somewhere. Run somewhere. Swim somewhere.

Look at art. Understand children, be a child again. Death in perspective. Make music.

Zen balances all,
Yet our strivings exhaust us,
Death does not exist.

pax et amor;
xoph

2007-09-06T23:56:00.000-04:00

The new theme of this blog will be whodunnit/dada/subtexts. It will be up to the readers to decide what veiled statements are real, and which are farce. Some statements may be both, despite the unlikelihood of union between fact and fiction.

There will be drama. Drama, drama, drama as my fairer relatives are so keen to say.

Much of the drama will take the form of fictional interactions between fictional personas, or sound like pure nonsense. It will be up to the reader to dedide whether true truths are hidden therein. These may or may not have correlational counterparts connecting correlaries cum codependents courting catastrophes. Forgive the constant consonance. Christoph courageously, capitulatingly, and cantankerously concedes cohabitant's corrections codifying communications completely without condemnation. Truth will out, but not baldly, to put it plainly. Keep food on the table, walk quietly, and carry a big eraser.

'nuff said
xoph

Recall notice / declaration of creature-guardianship incompetence

2007-05-24T20:26:00.000-04:00

Pugs recalled...

meanwhile, sad news affects our home...

Perhaps in view of the pug recall we should adopt one...

Why I love where I live

2007-05-16T21:34:00.000-04:00

A friend who resides in central NJ asked what’s new and exciting in upstate New York:

It would be hard to relate the differences to anyone who hasn’t lived in a more “country” setting than NJ, but I think your experience of other places even within NJ or on vacations elsewhere would make it abundantly clear.

Paradigm shift:
No ambulance, police, or truck sounds.
Deer, fox, rabbits, coyote, red-tailed hawks.
“Highways” have 2 lanes each direction, or rarely 3 or 4 near big cities.
The mall is 12 miles away, but still only twenty minutes.
No one locks doors.
Stars are bright.
Jog or bike to work and pass perhaps 5-7 cars (going the opposite way) the whole way, over a 6 mile stretch.
My yard is big… 10 acres. Fish in a stream, wetlands over 1/3 of it. Lawn can’t even be mowed in a day on a riding mower unless you take most of a weekend day.
30 acres across the street (1 property in front and to each side) have no houses, and I see a forest beyond, about a 20 minute walk away.
I jog my street from intersection to intersection, which is 1 mile in each direction. Between 7 and 8 p.m. I may pass 2 or 3 cars.
The people here stop to let pedestrians cross. They don’t pass you if you’re doing 45 in a 50. I’ve seen 1 police car pass in front of my house, and it was a county sheriff checking out the property one half mile down the street, which he bought on my recommendation.
Five minutes from here is the center of town. An old 2-cinema theatre. Two coffee shops. The Lift Bridge Book Store (2 stories of books and games). SUNY Brockport. Several restaurants. A super Wal-mart (despite petitions). Three liquor stores, six bars (college town), three pizza parlors, a bowling alley, 2 laundries, a tailor, two lawyers, a small community hospital rated very well in the state overall.
Really nice people everywhere.

We have: SUNY Brockport 4 miles from us. Roberts-Wesleyan college 10 miles from us (rate 3rd best value in nation for private colleges), Rochester Institute of Technology, Eastman School of music and the nationally known Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, a nationally known annual jazz festival (had Woody Allen last year, Wynton Marsalis this year etc.), an art-house theatre, the GEVA live theatre, several multiplex cinemas, enough Starbucks, Talbots, Macy’s for any latte-sipping shopper, and an international airport.

No traffic.
No jerks on the road.
No lines at the stores or gas stations.
People are relaxed, not in a rush.
We don’t get honked at if we take a second to go at the light.
Neighbors aren’t snooty about the grass being green enough.
No one ever seems rude to a stranger.

I’ve been here for nearly 4 years (8/26/03) and have never wanted to go back.
I miss it more than I ever did central NJ.
I miss the pace of life whenever I’m away.

Christoph

veeganmd

2006-09-27T22:51:00.000-04:00

see me at veeganmd.livejournal.com