Lessons

I haven't written in a long time. The first year of private practice really chewed me up. I routinely saw patients from 9 to 7 and then would finish charting on weekends. I learned a lot, but here's the ugly part: I'm not doing it any more. At the end of my year, I told my collaborating physician that it was time to renegotiate my contract. He tried to stall me, said that he wanted to do it about a month later. Nope, I said, let's do it as we planned. A really bad sign. And it didn't get any better. We couldn't reach an agreement, and so I walked. There were other friction points with this doctor that made it easier to leave. It was awful leaving my patients, especially the eating disorder ones that followed me from Cedar Springs. But I did it. And I learned a huge lesson: Get it all in writing, up front.

I'm working in geropsych now because my contract included a non-compete clause (which I'll never sign again) and I can't do that same work for 6 months. But you know what? I really like the geriatric work. The patients are happy to see me, I can help them, and the visits are quick. I set my own schedule and everyone caters to me - when I show up, it's time to do it. I am completely untethered to a schedule. The other cool part is that my doc doesn't just do nursing homes and assisted living, he also is medical director at a new psychiatric hospital north of town. It has all ages, including adolescents, so there's a wide variety. (And baby, I know some stuff about psychiatric hospitals - as an RN, I worked in a few.) I was recently granted practice privileges at the hospital and I am there about 2 days a week. This is generally some of the most interesting work in psych, you can see people in acute crisis. It's exciting and feels like you're really making a difference in their lives. Not a bad deal, huh? And here's the sweetest part - it pays better. I could whine about having to learn another electronic charting system all over again and lots of complicated office scheduling things, but I won't. I am learning lots about geriatric-specific medications, like Alzheimer's drugs, and I enjoy that. Oh, and I need to mention this, my doctor is a genuinely good guy and he respects me and treats me like a colleague.

So another new thing starts. The rest of my life is fine and interesting, I'm still at the gym every day, my enthusiasm hasn't diminished a bit, and my kids and husband are healthy. Austin is still the most fun to be had on earth, the sunny days are long and luscious. I went to ACL and saw Spoon amongst many other terrific bands, Carnaval was big fun, Art Erotica is coming up in 2 weeks. I'm doing my volunteering at AIDS Services again.

It's easy to write about my little travails, but there's a lot going on culturally. The change in acceptance and legality for sexual orientation and gender fluidity is quite interesting to watch. Yes, I live in this little patch of tolerance in Texas and the rest of the state is stuck in the 1950's but things are definitely going "our" way in the United States. The cultural discussion about campus rape is happening. And police shootings. It seems to be a time where people are tired of the "same old". We are restless. There's this human tendency to move things along -- I see it in my patients so much -- we resist change, in almost any form. I think we are witnessing a tipping point. Minds open to one thing, and the questioning remains.

Did you know there's a podcast revolution going on? I think it started with Serial for many people, I got into it when I discovered Dan Savage (my hero), and I listen to his Savage Lovecast every Tuesday which schools me on all things sexual so that when my patient tells me they are a non-binary-gendered polyamorous into furry, my mouth doesn't hang open and I don't need to drill them with questions. Serial was this investigative reporter's looking into a cold case of a high school kid convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend. It was great. I listen to a bunch of them now, Ben Greenfield's Fitness podcast, Invisibilia, This American Life (yes, the NPR show), Runner Academy, The Heart, Bret Easton Ellis (wicked smart guy), and Death, Sex and Money. It's part of my morning routine, as I put on makeup and sip coffee, my brain is getting all fired up with ideas. Ideas. Ah. Love them.

And best of all in this life, funny things keep happening. Like Saturday in spin, the guy in front of me had butt crack showing about 2" long (really). Like, dude -- center front row with that?

I'm going to close with a pic from Carnaval. There was no butt crack involved. Well, on my costume there wasn't, actually there was quite a bit of butt crack elsewhere, boob crack...what else is there? It was all there, on display. Such fun. Oh, plus a terrific picture of Spoon from ACL. And one of Nile after he got his Black Belt. Yes, he had to have knee surgery a week later. It's better now. I'll stop. But one more thing...follow me on Twitter. It's a good time. @LuvMyYoga, that's me.