the underwear drawer

november already?

So the logical question this morning is, "so what did you do for Halloween?"

Fair enough. I went to work during the day. However, being a Pediatrician, I have license to have some fun with the holiday without getting laughed at, so I went to work in subtle costume, the requisite black and orange. The only orange article of clothing I have, though, are these orange paratrooper-type cargo pants that can zip off into shorts, so they were a tad casual for clinic. But hey, I was hanging with teens all day anyway, what's the damage? Also, I strapped on these little white horns that Joe got for me a few months ago at Ye Olde Renaissance Faire. (Not that he's the type to habitually go to Renaissance Fairs, eating giant turkey drumsticks and quaffing mead while robed in olden timey clothes. He just went with his sister and her kids while in Baltimore.) Joe wore his horns at work too, but he said that he had to take them off by the end of the morning, because they were itching him. He may have felt a little self-conscious, though, because on adult medicine, people were acting like Halloween didn't exist at all. (Oh, Richard, in case I don't get around to answering your e-mail, because I just never do, Joe's going into ophthalmology, but he's doing a preliminary year in Medicine as an intern.) And Coop, of course, was already dressed up. Here are some pictures. In the third picture, Joe is the one on the right. The bald guy is one of his co-interns. And yes, my face is just that round. I'm like a Cabbage Patch Kid. But also, I think that the camera on my Sidekick give you a wall-eyed view.

So can I interject here for just a moment and tell you how much I am in love with my new cell-phone-internet-email-geek-device? I am. In love. I think its great for medical residents, especially those who never see their families, because you can be in constant communication without having to be by a phone or at a desk with a computer. Waiting for your bus? Send an e-mail! Need to ask a quick question? Instant message! Want to read the Times? Read it online! And of course, its a regular cell phone too. The only bad thing is that (and I don't know if any of you with new cell phones will agree with this), there are no normal cell phone rings anymore. They're either songs, like, "Theme from Titanic," or really annoying chirps and bleeps, like there's some robot in your pocket trying to get out. I picked the least offensive and strident ring for my phone, but that's not saying much, because the ring is called "Hip Cat" or something ridiculous, and it sounds like bow-chicka-wow-wow, 70's porn background music. Luckily, since the number is fairly new and I just gave it out, it hasn't gone off in the hospital yet. But I fear the day that I don't have it on vibrate and it goes off during Grand Rounds or something.

Anyway, by the time we got home, it was pretty late. We had made tentative plans to go out with Kal and Andy to Brooklyn, but turns out that Kal was on "short call" (some ridiculous bullshit they have at [Upper East Side Hospital] related to night-float) and didn't get out until 9pm. Which might be fine for normal people, but for medical interns, which all of us are (well, except for Andy, I guess, but he's doing doctor-things too) that's just one hour from bedtime. So Joe and I left out some treats for the trick or treaters (always a dangerous proposition--all it takes is one pack of surly teens to empty out your bowl, so we left a chastising sign for people considering doing just that) and went out for Thai. Good Thai restaurant in our neighborhood, but bad service. And they don't give you chopsticks unless you ask. What kind of freaky Thai restaurant is that, without chopsticks at the table? (And don't say, "A Thai restaurant for white people," because the place is packed with Thais. Thailanders? People of Thai descent? Whatever.)

Then we figured, fuck it, we're domestic, let's go to Blockbuster and rent a movie. Thank you again, unlimited movie pass. We returned the Woody Allen I rented before and got "28 Days Later," which is not to be confused with "28 Days" (starring Sandra Bullock) or "40 Days and 40 Nights" (starring the incomprehensibly famous Josh Hartnett) in that "28 Days Later" is actually supposed to be good. And scary. Fitting for Halloween, no? Except what happened was that we got home, took a phone call, lay down in bed, and both fell asleep. For the rest of the night.

Oh, and our candy bowl was empty by the time we got home. I thought it would have been funny if it were steaming and rocking back and forth, like in the cartoons. Happy Halloween, people! Hope our lame intern-lives made you feel less so!