Liberation is at hand! Yesterday I officially freed myself from the beatdown that is SprintPCS. I've been waiting months to give them the ax (as I had a 15-year contract I needed to fulfill), but now it's all done. I've been sick of their customer service since 1999 when I joined. The last straw was in October when my bill was $165. $165! And it was for 800-numbers I never heard of. So I called the fraud department, and they told me I'm full of shit. So I waited until May when my contract expired and canned them. And for a split second, I almost let the operator sweet talk me into staying. But then I thought of the 100 other calls with Sprint "customer service specialists" I experienced and snapped back into reality. I should have threatened to leave them when I was arguing the bill in the first place. Oh well, it's all over now thank goodness. I signed up with Verizon Wireless and got a cool Motorola Razr phone. The thing is like half an inch wide. It's the coolest thing I've ever seen. Plus Verizon is king up here in Mass., so I think the coverage will be superior here. Another plus, I get to call everyone else with Verizon for free (as opposed to Sprint who charges $5 a month for that privilege). So it's a good day!

(except for the trauma that just came in...little kid riding his bike, hit by car, broke his leg, will need OR fixation)

Tonight was the series finale to "The West Wing". And although it's a shell of its former self now that Aaron Sorkin has been gone for so long, it sort of made me think about how long ago that show began and what I was doing when it started.

When the series started, I was beginning my senior year of college at Texas A&M University. The Bonfire fell just before that Thanksgiving. The Dallas Stars won their first Stanley Cup that summer. I had recently been introduced to "Sports Night" thanks to Travis Fluitt and was absolutely prepared for the genius of what was to come. Actually, did I watch the show from the get go, or did I get into it later? I don't remember. I do remember watching several episodes that Travis had taped...but what season and when I guess I'll never know. Anyway, it's been a long, long time since the fall of 1999. Since then, everything has changed. I graduated college, graduated medical school, became a doctor, and have almost finished my first year of surgical residency. Many of my friends got married, many got jobs, some got fired, some were rehired, and many went back to school. I've lived in College Station, Dallas, Houston, and Springfield, MA since then. I've purchased a house and started mowing the lawn again. I got a dog. My grandfather died. So did Johnny Carson, Chris Farley, Phil Hartman, and countless others. Terrorists flew jet airplanes into the World Trade Center. I visited NYC for the first time in my life 5 years later. I've turned off the machines that kept people alive in the ICU. My sister graduated and is making twice what I make. George Bush was elected President twice. My dad survived prostate cancer, quit smoking, and started again. My mom had the same car through all of this, even though Carolyn got two, I got two, and Dad got two. I finally made it to Vegas...and didn't lose any money. I saw Lake Tahoe for the first time. I drove from Texas to Massachusetts and a bunch of states in between. I saw Dean Chris Berman at Bradley International Airport (in Hartford CT, near Bristol CT). I've seen U2 twice, Coldplay, The Blue Man Group, Dennis Miller, Cirque de Soleil, and saw the entire New York Museum of Modern Art...while it was in Houston. I haven't even begun to see anything.

I fell in love for the very first time and got engaged. I've never been happier.

A lot has happened. Much continues each day. The journey will continue...

Call night #2, Trauma month #1, PGY 1

It's 6:20 AM. I'm here in X-ray waiting for some left arm films for a drunk, bipolar kid who was pushed off a train bridge. He claims to be the President's son...yep George Bush's son. I didn't know Mr. President had a son, and it's certainly bizarre that he lives in Springfield, Mass. Oh well. Boy does he have a mouth on him. F this and F that. F you, F me, F all yous guys, F F F F. Really makes me feel all warm and cuddly inside.

This is the second trauma since 4 AM. It sort of pisses me off, because I wanted to start rounding at 5 AM so I could get out of here at a reasonable hour. However, I won't start rounding until 6:45, then there's an OR case at 7:30 that I'm doing. So I might just be here until 5 or so. It's a wonderful life. Traumarama!