Weekend Reflections: 8/19/2018

Weekend Reflections: 8/19/2018

Some of you may be wondering what happened to the 8/12/2018 Weekend Reflection post.

Long story short, I was just too busy with work and life to catch up on news, current events, and blogs. Nothing I read or did that week really inspired me to write anything.

Simply put, I didn’t want to force the issue. So I didn’t write anything 🙂.

This past week was a little bit more interesting.

Let’s take a look at some of the things that happened over the week…

8/12: Another Sunday at Work

It was a fairly chill and relaxed day. Nothing too exciting, which is great. As an anesthesiologist, you never want “exciting” days. I’m a natural Type B person, so I’m perfectly fine with uneventful boring days at work.

In general, I have an excellent reputation for being a “white cloud”. In med talk, what that means is that the sickest patients who are nearly half dead never seem to show up when I’m on call. Nothing terrible seems to happen on my watch. I’m totally cool with that.

I prefer most of the excitement to occur at home after work.

Just like a puppy, my daughter is always excited when I come home as she greets me with a broad smile and kicking legs.

She’s not crawling yet, but she makes valiant efforts to crawl as she kicks her legs in frustration while on her belly. Judging from her progress, I’m guessing that she will be crawling some time soon, probably within the next month.

8/13: Your Perfect Work

While at work on this fine Monday I come across this article about Your Perfect Work on Carl’s blog 1500 Days.

In the article, he states that ideal work is meaningful, worthwhile, and done with your own rules and whenever you want.

So naturally, I began to reflect on my own work as an anesthesiologist.

I do find my work meaningful and worthwhile. After all, I do help patients get through a very frightening time in their life (surgery can be scary). I also get paid very well for doing it.

However, I still have to wake up early and answer to other people. Maybe when I achieve full financial freedom, I will be able to work on my own terms and on my own time.

For now, I still have to work nights. And tonight is one of them.

8/14: Life is Borrowed Time

Last night wasn’t all that bad (remember: I’m a white cloud). I was able to get a good amount of sleep in the call room. I even read a few blog posts.

One of them was Your Whole Life is Borrowed Time by David Cain of Raptitude.com.

To summarize his post would not do it justice. You have to read it yourself for the exceptional story-telling.

In the story, he talks about a man who experiences something extraordinary that gives him the awareness that he was never truly entitled to be alive; he just happened to be, and still is.

David, the author, also experiences something similar after attending an event for entrepreneurs in Toronto. Two week later, in the same area of the city, a deranged man shot fourteen people at random then shot himself. The incident gave him a vital new perspective.

“I happen to be alive, and there’s no cosmic law entitling me to that status. Being alive is just happenstance, and not one more day of it is guaranteed.”

This article struck a chord with me because it hit so close to home. I have experienced something eerily similar too.

In early December 2016, my wife and I were vacationing in Berlin, Germany. We stayed at the Waldorf Astoria*, which was near the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Breitscheidplatz. Germany is known for their wonderful Christmas markets and a good one was located in Breitscheidplatz. So we walked there and enjoyed the shops, decorations, and the gluehwein. It was everything you would imagine a Christmas market to be.

Two weeks later, after returning home to California, I heard the breaking news. A terrorist attack had occurred at the same Christmas market in Berlin that we had visited. A driver deliberately drove a truck into the Christmas market right into a crowd in front of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, killing 12 people and leaving 56 people severely injured.

I was horrified and felt immediate sympathy for the victims and their families.

I also had a renewed sense of gratitude for being alive.

8/15: Deep Life

Speaking of life, Lily of the The Frugal Gene posted an interesting article about deep life goals. We only have one life, so we should make the most of it and live it with intention and purpose.

Basically, Lily’s definition of “Deep Life” is self-actualization based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It is the top of the pyramid that only few people achieve.

Just for fun, I asked my wife if she knows anybody who has achieved self-actualization.

She immediately responded by saying: “Yeah, Jim Carrey”.

I thought: Seriously? Jim Carrey? Dumb and Dumber Jim Carrey???

Apparently I haven’t kept up with him. I Googled him to see what he’s been up to recently. I also saw some interestingly bizarre videos on YouTube. Yeah… nowadays, Jim Carrey appears to be a bearded philosopher who says whatever he wants, does whatever he wants, and he DGAF.

I don’t know if he is plain crazy or profoundly “woke”. Maybe he has actualized himself. Who the heck knows. 🙂

8/16: Free Tuition

Big news today.

NYU School of Medicine announced that it would cover the tuition of all its students, regardless of merit or need, citing concerns about the “overwhelming financial debt” facing graduates. The plan, effective immediately, covers all current and future students.

I think this is a great move. The cost of medical school is indeed high as many med school grads end up with more than $200,000 in student loan debt.

However, I do have some unanswered questions. Will other schools follow suit? What about other students like dental and law students?

And doesn’t it kind of suck for recent graduates who just missed the boat on free tuition?

8/17: Follow Friday Love

I woke up and saw multiple notifications on Twitter today. It was due to a mention in a Follow Friday by Andrea of Saving Joyfully. I appreciate the love!

It also gives me a chance to check out some new blogs.

One title that caught my eye was The Top 5 Scientific Reasons Why You Should Travel by Midlife Milestones. I like science and I like travel. So I was compelled to check it out.

To summarize the article, you should travel because traveling:

• Makes you smarter
• Increases your creativity
• Helps reduce stress
• Helps improve confidence and self-esteem
• Increases your happiness and satisfaction with life

I would agree with all of the reasons above. Those are some of the reasons why I love to travel too. The fact that traveling can increase your intelligence and creativity reminds me of my article on how having side hustles can increase your fluid intelligence.

Speaking of side hustles and travel… I always thought that it would be cool to incorporate traveling into a side hustle. Sometimes I imagine myself as a part time travel consultant, agent, tour guide, and travel blogging social medial influencer.

8/18: What is Our Ideal Job and Life?

All this these articles throughout the week make me wonder what my ideal life and work would look like.

I asked my wife to describe her ideal work. To refresh your memory, she’s currently a full time mom on an extended maternity leave. Let me tell you, being a mom is tough It’s like having two full time jobs without getting a break. My life, on the other hand, is quite a bit easier. I get a nice break by going to work.

Anyways, back to the question. My wife answered by saying that Sadia from Pick Up Limes has what she considers an ideal job and life. She likes Sadia’s positive outlook on life and she admires her work in promoting a healthy lifestyle through well-made, informative YouTube videos.

When my wife asked me the same question, I thought about Garrett Gee of The Bucket List Family. This guy seems to be able to do everything. He was the captain of the BYU soccer team, developed a popular scanning app, went on Shark Tank, then sold his app to SnapChat for $54 million. Shortly after, he sold everything that they own and used the money to fund their travels. Since then, he and his beautiful family have been traveling the world while spreading philanthropy along the way. According to Garrett, he hasn’t had to tap into the millions that he earned by selling his app.

Now that’s what I call financial freedom and living an interesting life the fullest and on your own terms!

How was your week?