It is difficult to find time to relax while in residency. For the ophthalmology resident, the time consumption of residency can be overwhelming, especially if your non-call days run from 7am-7pm (Sometimes 9:30pm). Many of our hobbies and pastimes are neglected in favor of more career-oriented activities.

I spoke with Drew Mays, an ophthalmologist at UAB, about the stresses of residency and a career. Drew won the Van Cliburn Amateur piano competition a few years ago while being program director of the UAB residency. He is tangible evidence that you can allocate time for your hobbies. To those of you who are unfamiliar with this venue, it consists of a gathering of would-be classical pianists who decided to pursue a career outside of music. Drew assured me that there will be a time after my training where I will find sufficient time to pursue my hobbies. He tells me that during residency, we have to prioritize our options to create the maximal ‘amount’ of happiness.

Not too profound advice, but it is indeed a fact that we lose sight of (no pun intended). The next time you feel lost in the midst of your training, think about Drew’s reassurance. It can help get you through the day.

misc hobbies, inspiration, life

I whipped up another dry run on the first variation of Schubert’s Impromptu Op. 142, No. 3. It’s amazing how many subtle imperfections you can notice from a recording. It makes me appreciate the professionals so much more, seeing how difficult it is to perfect even the simplest pieces.

misc hobbies

Occasionally I dabble on the piano. One of my ambitions is to advance my limited piano abilities, although over the past few years (and next decade) it’s become difficult to fit the piano in my schedule. Those of you who are musicians will probably agree that after a certain level, the time commitment required to improve becomes exponential (unless you’re a wunderkind). Today I recorded the theme to Schubert’s Impromptu in Bb, Opus 142, No. 3. The work is written in a theme and variation format. It is a melodic piece with limited/no virtuoso runs, suitable for my digital piano. Recorded on a Casio CDP-100 using a pass-through cable to my IBM Thinkpad T42 laptop. Software recording with Audacity, and mp3 encoded using LAME. No editing involved.

misc hobbies, life

Ophthalmologists love gadgets, and fortunately for us, there is no shortage of neat toys to collect. Topping my list of equipment to collect was a new digital camera–I had been carrying around a Canon A60, which was arguably Canon’s seventh-ever point-and-shoot digital camera. At six years old my Canon was simply the victim of Moore’s law, which states that computing power doubled approximately 18 months. Given that digital cameras are relatively inexpensive nowadays, I decided to replace my Canon.

What camera is suitable for the medical professional?

If I wanted a quality enthusiast camera, I’d have gone with a DSLR. For about $1000, you can have a hobbyist set, with maybe even two lenses. I don’t need that for everyday use. For the average medical professional (or resident), a point-and-shoot camera needs to meet these three criteria: 1) portability 2) functionality 3) price.

I wanted a point-and-shoot camera that I could easily carry around the hospital. One with manual controls would be nice, but is not necessary. This would be a camera that I could use to photograph clinical pathology in the hospital and to use for recreation. If you’re in the market for a new camera, read on. Read more…

computing hobbies, photos, tech

I took this photo right off the campus of the University of Delaware the day after a rainstorm. Nice fluffy clouds with accompanying grain silo. For some reason I am always surprised to see silos outside of Kansas.

misc hobbies, photos