A Pirate Looks at 34

That just doesn't have the same ring as "A Pirate Looks at 40," does it?

I turned 34 earlier this week, which means I made it through the Jesus year. I have always associated the age of 33 with Jesus, because that's the age most Christians suppose Jesus was when he died.

On my birthday, I worked for 8 hours, then stayed up until about 3 a.m. writing a paper on lung cancer for class.

I've started yet another clinical rotation. We change every 5 weeks, which means that just as we are getting settled into one spot, we start somewhere else. It's literally like starting a new job every 5 weeks, and have to go into a new, unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar people, and learn all new protocols and processes and office procedures. It's really a drag for an introvert like me. I hate unfamiliarity and always have trouble adjusting when I start in a new place, although my my weekly evaluation this week was okay.

I'm in an orthopedic clinic that has 2 X-ray rooms but doesn't do a whole lot of X-rays, compared to most places. I did a total of maybe 10 exams this week. They are also still using film, which is sort of like a business that still uses DOS-based computer software. It's hard to go from a place that has state-of-the-art 21st century digital equipment - which is where I was last week - to a place that is still in the mid-1980's technology-wise.

As for other stuff, we've seen a nice illustration of the effects of global warming here in Kentucky over the last few weeks. In mid-January, we were having pretty typical January weather, although we had not had much snow (which, in recent years, is not unusual). Then, in late January, we had a sudden ice storm, and although Lexington wasn't hit as hard as it was in the 2003 ice storm, state-wide it has been one of the worst storms in Kentucky history. Still, schools - including my college - were called off for the week, and we were basically iced into the house for four days.

The following week, it warmed up into the 50's and everything melted off. But then, on Wednesday of that week, it snowed again, and we ended up with our biggest snowfall of the year - 4 or 5 inches. Two days later, it was up in the 60's, and we ended up setting record highs over the weekend and into the start of this week. Then, yesterday, we had a major wind storm, and schools were called off again because of power outages and such.

As I understand it, it's these sorts of extremes in weather patterns that really demonstrate the environmental changes wrought by global warming.

M and I are still looking at possibly moving up to Northern Kentucky (Cincy area) later this year. Since I will be finishing school in December - in the middle of the school year - M would like to go ahead and get a job up there this summer. It would, of course, mean a long commute for my last 6 months of school, but that's okay. We are excited about moving closer to family and friends in the Cincy area. We'll probably either live with her parents or rent an apartment to start out. That will really suck after 9 years in houses, but it's what we'll have to do for a little while. And frankly, our current house is so small, we could get an apartment with similar square footage.

I am presently applying for part-time X-ray tech jobs. I'm far enough into the program now that I can work as a student tech and get paid. I've interviewed already for two jobs at local hospitals, but unfortunately I did not get either of them.

Apparently having 12 years of professional experience, a bachelor's degree, a 4.0 in my current program, and a winning personality (ha) aren't enough for this sad sam 34-year old fat guy.