Something so pleasant about that place

Psychiatry isn't the field for me, but that doesn't mean I'm not enjoying the spit out of this rotation. The patients are fascinating, albeit exhausting. More than anything, this last rotation reminds me of the first one. It's a novel way of thinking akin to--if not nearly as drastic as--the transition between preclinical and clinical med school. And because the patients I'm working with are so profoundly ill, I feel the same novel twinges of  pity and empathy as I did for the first n heart failure patients I encountered on medicine. It's not that I'm so jaded that the sight of someone medically suffering doesn't affect me, but it's certainly less jarring than it used to be. Psychiatric illness... not so much.

Just prior to starting the rotation, a classmate asked me to cat-sit while she was out of town. In recompense--totally unnecessary recompense for the not-so-laborious care of the cutest, snuggliest kitty in the world--she gave me a gift card to Eataly. I had two options: buy tasty paninis and pasta dishes from the restaurants or chip away at it by buying fancy raw ingredients to cook with. Guess which one I went with.

These are some seriously quality seared scallops with rounds of melon, topped with chopped almonds and basil and a little drizzle of the upscale olive oil I splurged on, served over watercress salad. My only regret: cooking food with such subtle flavors might not have been the best idea when Andy and I are both hosting some sort of rhinovirus.

When I wasn't cooking today, I was strolling around Four Freedoms Park and the Roosevelt Island Cherry Blossom Festival and the front grounds of the one, the only Coler freaking Goldwater with a couple friends. Papers to write? Studying to do? Pish tosh. Look for more fancified dishes to come thanks to Eataly and Nameless Classmate X!