The Vineyahd

In my 35 years, I've never been to Martha's Vineyard. Nantucket...sure, many times. But never the elusive Vine-yahd.

Well, about 10 days ago, I packed up the Subie with 4 bikes (see below) and Jason, Amy (friends from Bates and living in VT) and Mel and I drove south Friday afternoon.

Locked and loaded:

We had to make a quick stop for a MTB tube as I exploded one as we were loading up (i thought you could pump 'em up to 40psi?). Here's a shot of the shady deal for the tube, as the shop had closed at 6pm and we begged this guy at 6:02pm to sell us a tube for the weekend of riding around the Vineyard. It worked...well, sort of. The Schraeder Valve was a bit too thick and left Jason with a thick hitch in his Giddy-yup on the MTB.


No car + Cabin Camping = big packs on bikes.



Jason was able to complete the 1st Annual IronGrip 3 Miler from the parking lot to the ferry (and then an additional 2 miles on the island) complete with weekend backpack and Guitar!

We arrived at Woods Hole early enough to sit for 30 minutes and enjoy a beer. The weekend was kicked off right!


The ferry ride...I could go into the long story about a ferry ride during which I was sea-sick, with JRADness and his advice to sit in a car below deck with the heat on, then eat a full bowl of clam chowder...but I learnt my lesson and stayed up top and even enjoyed some Guacamole chips.



Some excitement before the show:

The biggest reason we went to the Vineyard was to see Jackopierce (caution: link starts playing music - hit pause at the top of the web page if you are at work). This is an acoustic duo I was introduced to by JRADness in 1994 after my first year at Bates College (thanks JRad!). I've seen them no fewer than 15-20 times. They even "retired" for 5 years. I've flown across the country to go with my sister to see them - twice. These guys are much fun and quite talented.

And what would a trip be without a visit to the island of Chappaquiddick?

Here's the walkway thru the dunes to East Beach. It was pristine.


The Ferry ride back to Wood's Hole gave us this addition to failblog with a door 12 feet off the deck:


And of course, back in Wood's Hole, we had to load up the bikes...in the rain... before the trip home:

An outstanding weekend. Makes me appreciate good friends, summer and the beach.

FNU = Summer

FNU: 5 North.

Ever seen Animal House? If you need a refresher, click here:

Otter: Steve
Boon: Jimmy
Bluto: Guzzy
Hoover: Stan
Stork: Craig

If you know these guys and know the movie, you'll adamantly agree with how similar these characters line up.

These guys lived the Toga parties, basement socials, weekend trips to Vermont, fast cars/motorcycles, and of course plenty of "athletic endeavors". The groups more impressive feat (aside from actually graduating college) stems from the fact that for every year since they finished college except one, they have gotten together in some form.

1968 - 2010: 42 years.

FNU used to gather every July at the parents home of Steve (T + Pop-Pop's). The parents quickly became the Zoo Keepers, and a weekend full of debauchery was had. Strip poker, breakfast at the diner at 3am, pool games (jump-r-dive), the Saturday evening board meeting and of course the annual FNU Golf tournament on Monday.

Now during the weekends, Steve and Jimmy could always be found in or near the pool. Stan was constantly making and stirring his world-famous "Vette's" . Guzzy was always off in the woods somewhere, and Craig was ALWAYS sleeping.

This happened with astounding regularity until about 2002, at which point the guys began gathering in exotic places: Vegas, Scottsdale, and just two weeks ago, South Hadley Mass.

South Hadley.

The guys invited me along, as I've grown up with them, and they are family. I was honored to be able to make it. Steve, Guzzy, Jimmy and I played a round of golf (where Jimmy and I won $13 each), followed by a board meeting that night over dinner.

Now, if you recall last spring, the FNU took a huge hit with the loss of Stan. His memory was well served the entire weekend. The other member of FNU, Craig, was preparing for an operation, which I am VERY glad to report was successful and all is well.

The weekends accommodations were provided by The Plantation and the weekend ended with breakfast at the Old Route 66 Diner and a quick trip to 5 North Chatham Street, the home of 5 North. It was an outstanding weekend.

So, here are some photos.

It was a blast.

The eyes have deteriorated to the point of needing binoculars to see the hole:
WHEW! That was a tough hole.





Guzzy working on his puts:
I think there's a hole out there somewhere!!


The Plantation, a 5 star resort (in 1972):
Breakfast at the diner:


Guzzy got his Grits:

Where's my $13?

Together (missing Craig and Stan) at 5 North:

I love you guys!

Anesthetize

Ether.

That's where the word comes from An-ether-esia: An ether induced state. Never knew that.

Also didn't know the properties of Propofol (you know, the Michael Jackson Drug?). Do now.

Funny thing: although everyone in anesthesia is in a good mood all the time, I'm not sure I could do it. Not because I don't like being in a good mood, but rather I find myself peering over the drape to see what the surgeons are doing. It feels to me like that is where the action is. Maybe its a good thing I'm applying into Orthopaedics.

The last month has flown by. I got some great riding in on the Ducati and some great riding in on the road bike. I enjoyed Cape Cod with Gardie, and got to golf in Holyoke Mass with my father and "uncles". Fun had by all, AND I won $13!! (Thanks Uncle Jimmy!)

This weekend, I'm headed to the vine-YAHD, for this. I'm super stoked, as it'll be a weekend full of the beach, music, and good friends.

I'm off to Dartmouth for September. I'll be doing a rotation in Ortho there. Hopefully I'll find a place. Anybody know someone who lives in Hanover or Lebanon who can swing a room for 4 weeks? I'll not likely be there very much. I must admit, 4th year is a little tricky like this: find a rotation, get that set up, then scramble to get there on the right dates and have a safe place to sleep when you're not on call...It's less learning and more organizational hell than one would realize. I get the feeling it doesn't stop with 4th year.

I'll be in Maine in two weeks for T's memorial service. The next update will have some photos from the Vineyahd and Maine, I promise. I might even edit this post and add some photos from golf this past weekend....maybe if people say please.

Bout time...

Needed to post an update as it's been quite a while. The 30 posts in 30 days from this past spring was inspiring, but the 100 hours in a week with work kinda holds all inspiration down.

New Mexico ended last month. I'm back in Vermont enjoying summer. This month my schedule is fairly relaxed, so I'm able to get out on the bike (people STILL aren't waving here!!), into the gym (hockey season's coming up!!), or perhaps to the lake for a swim. I continue to stand by my claim the Vermont is the nicest place in the world....when it's nice out. That last part makes it tough sometimes, but so far this month's been purdy.

Got to hang with J-Rad and Anna on the Cape for a day. Turfed it good while trying to skimboard. Yeah, hard. My ass is still sore and it was over a week ago. Think about this: run a top speed with a mini surfboard, set board on the thin layer of water from waves crashing, ride for fun!! Simple right? Well, I got a ride or two in, only to jump onto the board and have it squib out from under my feet at a dead run. Oh, and remember there's only a thin layer of water? Yeah, that means there's only sand, pebbles and shells to turf it onto...Either way, the lobstah roll that night was outstanding, catching up with the good ol' HLP, and finally seeing Anna after almost 3 years made the time on the Cape perfect.

So, now I'm home until September. Still awaiting word from a couple of programs for that month, so not sure where I'm headed yet.

Missed the AB Crit, but Turbo has a good write up over at his place. Its good that the winners in its 5 years remain me, Gardie, Turbo and Dustin. I like to think we're keeping it in the family.

Enjoying summer. You should do the same.

I'm ridin...

Not the bike per se, but the leather seat in my car.

Headed north today from ABQ to Telluride. Earned a bit of a break after a great 4 weeks here in central New Mexico.

Working out has taken a back seat to work/education. I've ridden my bike 90 minutes so fat this month. I've run 3 miles on 5 occasions. That's it. I've got to be better a bout practicing what I preach. 30 minutes a day. Preferably an hour...I mean everyone should aspire for at least that, right?

Sure it hurts
Sure it takes forever to see results
Sure it hurts
Sure you'd rather sit in front of the Interwebs or television
Sure it hurts

But it is so worth it. Don't trust me? Visit the ER in any town in this country and you'll see why.

COPD, Heart failure, Diabetes. These three issues alone have AWFUL consequences. Not liking your right leg currently? No worries, an amputation for a simple foot ulcer is a piece of cake.

Can't breath from years of smoking? No problem there either: a simple incision in your neck to your windpipe and you're permanently intubated!!

No thanks. I think I'll enjoy the hurt of a simple 30-60 minutes of exercise daily.

Using common sense

My recent frustration with medicine is over. I'll figure it out someday.

I've decided to enjoy my time outside. Usually this weekend I've been racing in Evanston, Wyoming, home of the world's greatest post-race awards ceremony and one damn fine race. Even in 2005 when I was in school full time, I did this race.

That's what one needs to enjoy. Finding the special time in life and maximizing it. Be it a bike race or a night on call, there's some pretty cool shit happening in life, if you know how to look at it.

Some folks got really worried that I was bummed. Sure, I was, don't we all get that way sometimes? I am typically a very cheerful person. Life's too damn short to be grumpy all the time. Being in a bad mood gets tiring. It sucks. So, a little refresher of exercise, a good night's sleep and a 31 hour ortho shift can put life back into perspective. One thing's for certain, we all have our little ups and downs, some folks just show them more than others.

Thankfully I'm up again, and really looking forward to summer. This season just plain-ol'-kicks-ass.

Good luck to the Get-High-Uintas riders. Keep the rubber side down.

Sorry I won't be coming to Utah for an ortho rotation next month as originally planned. I had it all set up only to have it pointed out to me that I'm not the most competitive candidate on paper. Of course...if they only knew me maybe they'd change their mind right? Nope, not very likely. To add insult to injury, my appearance on paper didn't improve as I had hoped, so the issue a few days ago was all about whether or not I'll get to follow my passion of orthopaedics. Not sure if I'll get to now, but that doesn't mean I won't keep pushing in that direction.

If I don't? Their loss. I guess they'd rather have a desk jockey with the personality and bed side manner of cardboard, simply because they look pretty on paper.

Hey, not everyone has common sense, so you can't really blame 'em.

Which one do you like the best? I think the first is the most appropriate for my career choice that I may not get to do...

oh boy...

last day of studying for USMLE Step II. This had better work. I've been killing it for a month. Lite day tomorrow, then test on the 28th. I start my drive west for a couple of months that day. New Mexico, then hopefully Utah.

Keep your fingers crossed for SO many reasons.

My 30 days

Nope, I'm not taking part of the 30 days of continual blogging (here and here and here), although it has made for some amazing reading. Turbo is answering questions, as is The Mop. Firestorm is playing the role of the perfect mom/superhero mix.

Me? I'm in the final week or so of my 30 days strait of 8 hour study days. Just finished the big, thick book we use, now its time to do nothing but questions until next Friday. Then I've got a bit of a drive ahead of me. I'll update as to where and when at a time when it is more appropriate. But I just might be back in Utah for July if all goes well...that would be sweet.

Having some fun on the Duc recently. Feels good to just get out and ride in the cool evenings. The bicycle has suffered this week, which means I'll really suffer when I finally do climb back on it. Oh well. I'm no racer anymore. The good news: I promised myself I'd stay below 150lbs when I started med school.

This morning? 148. Sure I've been up in the upper 150's, but my solid winter of one-hour a day has me settled into my former "off season", "end of National-Fat-Kid-Month" weight. I'll take it.

Cheers everyone!