elyse + residency
I had the pleasure of cohosting my attending Dr. Evan Rieder's "Doctor radio" show on Sirium XM with my wonderful coresident Joyce Parks, MD from www.teawithmd.com. I was shocked by how nervous/shy/not great I was! Public speaking is one of my strengths, but I'm also very paranoid about my speaking pattern on an everyday basis (I have a weird "valley girl" accent and pretty much pronounce everything wrong - medical and non-medical - all the time). Being on the radio definitely increased my paranoia of "wait - how do you actually pronounce that? Am I saying it right? Can they understand me?" I guess in normal presentations I have power points and an audience to get me out of my head. Despite all of that, it was SO MUCH FUN! I've thought about doing a podcast for awhile and the experience makes me want to start one even more, but unfortunately I just don't have the time right now. Do you guys listen to podcasts? If so, leave me your favorite ones in the comment section. That way if I ever start, I'll already know what you're into!
A few interesting cases from this January 2017 (non-medical people, let me know if you find this at all interesting. If so, I'll go into more detail. It's written for my medical readers currently):
- new onset bullous pemphigoid - I've seen bullous pemphigold quite a few times in clinic. In fact, blistering diseases have become one of my favorite conditions to treat. Usually, i'm seeing a patient with a previous diagnosis and previous successful and failed treatments, but this case was the first time I did the biopsy and made the diagnosis myself!
- One of my chronic venous ulcer patients just wasn't getting better, so we used apilgraf. He's shown significant improvement with two applications.
- One of my weekly ulcer patients with a history of poorly controlled chronic pain complained of new increased pain from his "ankle to his knee" and had new onset calf tenderness to palpation. I sent him to ultrasound for a duplex scan and it was positive for a deep vein thrombosis!
- I see quite a few patients for chemotherapy side effects in clinic. Adenocarcinoma of the lungs definetly keeps me up at night, both personally and professionally, because there seems to be little relationship to smoking and all of the stories I've heard of are of young, active females. This week, I saw a female in her late 30s with metastatic adenocarcinoma of the lungs who was following with me for EGFR induced acneiform eruption.
elyse + culture
Well, this month was eventful for a number of reasons.
- obama's last day in office
- trump's first day in office
- MLK day
- The wedding of two of my dear friends
For me, it all collided into this very confusing feeling of pride in our country and pride in the progress we have made since Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's assassination and at the same time, sorrow for what we have become and fear of what's to come next. This election has effected me in deeper ways than I ever imagined.
Netflix:
- THE BIG SHORT is on Netflix now! The Big Short tells the story of the 2007 housing market collapse and specifically the story of 5 people who predicted it YEARS in advance. Seriously, one of the best "based on a true story" movies I've seen. Informative and funny.. although admittedly less funny in our current political climate. There's also Ryan Gosling.
- Tom Ford's "The Lonely Man" is almost excellent. Either way, I recommend it. It's beautiful.
- I've started watching "The West Wing" and "Friends" because in my mind I live in the 90s. Rachel's mini skirts and Monica's mom jeans are everything. Also, the sweatshirt collection is on point.
- I've also started rewatching "Hart of Dixie." Such a gem of what the South can and probably will be in a decade or so.
- My TV watching has really increased since getting a new tv..
elyse + style
You know that scene in Sex and the City where Carrie hasn’t done any clothing shopping because she’s been home shopping. That’s my life.. this is where ALLLLL of my money went this month. slowly but surely this place is starting to become a functional place to live. However, I did buy these faux leather pants and denim mini skirt in December that I am OBSESSED with. Aritzia is my current favorite store right now. Can't wait until spring (temperatures. The spring collection is already out, and I'm actively avoiding it because I can not spend money in February).
elyse + home
Home is now getting its own section because in an unexpected turn of events, I have decided to be domestic. To be more specific, I attempted to follow the tone-it-up 6 week meal challenge. I bought a fridge of groceries and went to make the first meal only to realize I didn't have one pot to cook it with (this actually happened. Chopped veggies and all.). After polling pretty much all of my friends (furnishing my apartment has made me realize how paralyzingly indecisive I am) and then of course only taking the advice of my fancy friends who actually cook all the damn time, I decided to splurge* on the 7-piece all-clad series. I highly recommend Macy's for all kitchenware. They have exclusives and really great deals. For example, they are the only retailer that carries the 7 piece All-clad system which is everything I need without anything I don't need (opposed to the 5-piece and 10-piece sold at higher end retailers).
* Elliot of themdchef found me an amazing half off deal at Macy's. Follow his blog instagram if you're a foodie. Also, read his career profile if you want to be inspired, especially if you're a neurotic pre-med. DO YOU GUYS WANT THE CAREER PROFILES TO COME BACK IN THE SPRING? I miss them. They're just so much work. You gotta tell me you love them.
You'll notice from the items below that I am still buying the most basic of items (laundry basic, really??) for my apartment that I've lived in for 6 months now. I truly, truly do not believe in rushing and I have a policy that I do not bring anything into my home that I don't absolutely love. Soooo, I've been storing my dirty laundry in a cardboard box for 6 months, but now I have two super chic laundry basics that were in my price range (yo - nice laundry baskets are expensive. EVERYTHING is expensive.).
I still have quite a few items to buy if you have recommendations. My feel is minimum but high quality. My color scheme is neutral as fuck (aka I could use a pop of color).
- more lighting for my living room
- side tables for my bedroom
- coffee table
- living room rug
- standing mirror
- artwork
- at home bar.
BTW, if you guys are wondering how I afford all of this, I lived at home during intern year and pretty much spent all of my money on student loans or saved it. I've been spending like crazy this past 6 months and really want to slow it down in February, but it's so hard in New York. The culture is to blow through money here, and when in Rome..
elyse + beauty
STEP 1 of my winter skin routine is live and STEP 2 will drop next week.
My three favorite make-up products this month:
- Nars orgasm (blush) + laguna (bronzer) was MY JAM in medical school. Orgrasm was the only blush I wore. I recently started using it again and remembered why. It provides a natural glow/highlight for any skin tone. I've been wearing in non-stop for quite a few nights out (I don't wear make-up to work).
- I saw the Neutrogena Moisture Smooth Lipstick in plum on Kerri Washington on her last Instyle cover. I immediately stopped by CVS to pick it up on the way to the gym. I loved it, but then I lost it. A testament to how much I loved it, I couldn't stop thinking about it and eventually repurchased it. It works well for day or night, but you can layer it over MAC's diva for a little extra va va voom at night (great way to wear a dark lip without worrying about that dry, cracked lip that happens in the winter).
- Laura Mercier is hands down one of my FAVORITE make up brands. They sent me a ton of their products after I raved about their secret concealer and oil-free tinted moisturizer in my intothegloss interview and I'm still making my way through it. This brow gel is my current go to product. I wear it every. single. day. for a well groomed but natural brow look.
elyse + fitness
I am unofficially training for a half-marathon and the NYC 2018 full marathon. I have no idea why I'm doing this other than I want to be able to say I ran the NYC marathon. Also, I'll be able to say "I've ran a couple of marathons" instead of "I've ran one marathon before." Okay.. there may also be a cute boy involved. Sue me.
Anyway - I'm following this half-marathon training schedule if you want to get in half-marathon shape for the Spring. DO ITTTTTT.
