“Oh, you’re the caramel Americano with whip girl,” the barista said to me with a wink as he wrote my request onto the red cup. “One of my co-workers has a crush on you.” My face turned the color of the cup, and then I must have floated out of Starbucks, clapping my feet in […]
For the last few weeks, I’ve been enacting an early New Year’s resolution to climb stairs, as a rule, alternative to using elevators. This started when on my first day of the public health block, the classes for which perch up on the 18th floor of the Mayo Building, when I arrived, the wait for […]
It must have been singing at the Department of Surgery Holiday Party last night that got me in the mood at breakfast to make incisions. This morning was an exciting operation on the loaf of whole wheat Italian bread I made after I got home from the gig—into which I sewed Brie cheese implants. Then […]
Today I galloped out of my medical school lecture hall, unable to quiet Kelly Clarkson singing Under the Christmas Tree, the Play button for which I accidentally tapped on my iPhone. I may also have been squealing Sorryeeeeeee against the cacophony of my classmates’ laughs and professors’ growls as I ran the many yards between my […]
I made my bucket list today while sitting through a class on palliative care. I’m not sure what this says about me, but half of the activities I included on the list were things that could be accomplished within an hour or two of leaving class. And so I did. Just in case. Making this […]
If you have been having a hard time cutting Big Macs out of your life, consider trying to fake yourself out with one of these… The resemblance is uncanny. The taste is beyond compare. Trust me—I am not a health nut—several months ago I wouldn’t go near an eggplant because I thought they looked more […]
I’m in the mood to create a Minnesota version of Pennies From Heaven. Every time it snows, it snows pennies from heaven. This song has always been able to put me into a shimmering state of mind. You’ll find your fortune falling all over town/ Be sure that your umbrella is upside down! Trade them […]
It feels like Christmas. The tree is up with gifts underneath for our Calvary film club event next week. Holiday cards are rolling in. Lights and holly are hung high. Kenny G (I admit without shame) is intermittently taking a spin through the CD player. And my Saturday mornings are free, gloriously free, for writing […]
Winter is about attitude. If Minnesota has taught me anything, it’s that. I was showering to Sheryl Crow this morning (not routine), and she sang a truth that prompted me to visit my refrigerator with fresh eyes, and with a towel, of course. See, I had been under the impression we had nothing to eat. […]
A sign that I have been a student too long: after the Lessons and Carols advent service tonight at Calvary, a woman approaches me at the refreshments table where I have proudly placed a tray of gingerbread tree cookies, and asks, “Where did you get the recipe for these?” and I say without missing a […]