Camping in Zion

Even though most of you who voted in the most recent blog poll said we should stay home this weekend and work on our rap album, we decided to go down to Zion National Park for the weekend. The rap album can wait. We left on Friday morning and got back this afternoon.

We wanted to stay at a campsite inside the park, but when we got there all of the tent sites were full. We found a nice little BLM campsite about 9 miles outside of the South entrance to the park, and it was right on the Virgin River (the same river that runs through Zion Canyon). After we set up our tent, we waded out into the river and enjoyed the view...

After spending the night listening to running water and subsequently having to pee all night long, we got up the next morning and went into the park to go on a hike. Saturday ended up being National Public Lands Day, so we got into the park for free! It normally costs $25. We decided to go on the "Angel's Landing" trail, which according to the trail guide was "strenous." It also said it was not for those with fear of heights, which is interesting because I definitely have a fear of heights. Here is the view of the peak we would summit from the bottom of the canyon:

We got started on the hike, and we were thinking that it wasn't that bad. Where were all the "steep drop-offs" and "poop your pants views" that the trail guide was talking about? Anna was feeling pretty confident at that point...

Then we got to an interesting point on the trail...on one side was a nice lookout and relatively honorable stopping point, and on the other side was a trail that led up to the "Angel's Landing" that the trail was named after (first picture below...the one with the death-defying drop-offs on both sides). Note the subtle warning sign.

Anna decided that there was no way she was going beyond the sign with the stick man falling to his untimely death, so we decided to stop there for lunch and enjoy the view.

But, with the newfound courage that tuna and crackers often bestow, we decided to go for it. It also didn't hurt that we kept seeing people coming back down from the trail that made us say "well if they can do it..." Forgive us that there aren't any pictures from that part of the trail, but it's hard to take pictures when you're sobbing, praying, and crawling up a rock on your belly. Here are the pictures from when we made it to the top and cleaned up my face to pretend I wasn't crying...

See the tiny little road down in the canyon by my right arm? It's a long way down...

Here is the view of a particularly scary part of the trail (taken from a nice safe flat spot). I don't know who the girl is, but I had to include her in the photo for perspective. If you are that girl and you are reading this blog, sorry for taking your picture without permission.

Apparently I have unfinished business left on this earth, because we made it all the way back down to solid ground without a scratch. After the long hike (4-5 hours), we made our way back to the campsite, enjoyed the river some more, and then made our way back home a little later.

UAB ER video

I found this video today on YouTube. It was apparently made by ER nurses at UAB, and I post it in honor of my current ER rotation and in honor of my friend Allen Moseley, who is currently a medicine intern at UAB. By the way, guess who "the intern with the KY jelly" is? Yep, yours truly.

Sorry...

...for the lack of blog posts in the last week or so. We've been told by someone (not naming names but his initials are A-L-I) that if we don't post often then we risk becoming boring. We would hate to bore you.

I'm really enjoying my ER rotation. I ripped a toenail off today...on purpose. Then someone in the next room coughed and her guts popped out of her belly (of course it was a hard cough, and she recently had abdominal surgery). That was a little gross. Sorry if anyone reading this was inadvertently snacking while reading the Morshedi Update and has now vomited. You probably shouldn't eat while reading this blog, as a general rule.

Anna has started her four 10-hour days this week. Thanks to the 7 of you that voted in the blog poll. 71% of you thought she should work 4 days a week, and she thought she'd give it a shot. I think she's enjoying it so far. Today, though, she works the night shift at Ann Taylor Loft after she gets off her 10-hour day; if there aren't any blog updates in a few days it's probably because I'm still recovering from the verbal and physical abuse I'll suffer when she gets home tonight and realizes that she worked all day and night and I've been eating Cheetos and playing on the internet. Wish me luck.

Last week, we went to a Matisyahu concert on the University undergraduate campus. He was playing at some sort of festival, and the tickets were only $6. We thought it would be fun; we had seen Matisyahu perform at ACL Music Festival last year (or the year before...can't really remember) and we enjoyed it then. I guess the reduced price was because we had to first sit and listen to Brother Ali (not confused with dad Ali). In hindsight, Brother Ali wasn't all that bad, but at the time it was funny to watch a bunch of Mormon and otherwise homogeneous (white) college kids watch a white rapper rap about his hard life growing up in Minneapolis. Seriously, Minnesota? How many gangsters grew up in Minnesota? Anna and I are working on an album right now..."Straight Outta SLC." It's going to be about our rough life on 500 East aka the Sugarhood. She's actually a pretty good rapper. Watch out.

The day after the concert, Anna's Uncle Scott and Aunt Pam came for a visit. They live in Arizona, and decided they would visit Utah for a few days.

Here's a photo of Scott, Anna, and Pam as seen from my seat at dinner on Friday night.

We had a lot of fun while they were here. The next day, we went on a hike on a trail in Millcreek Canyon that ended up at Salt Lake Overlook. A couple of photos from the end of the trail...



And, as promised earlier on this blog, here is another short Morshedi video clip:



Now I'm off and don't have to work again until next Monday night, and Anna only has to work tomorrow and then she has a 3-day weekend. We're trying to decide what to do. Next weekend, we're going to Las Vegas (she has a work conference, and I have blackjack to lose and free whiskey to drink), but this weekend we're thinking about doing something outside since it's supposed to be nice. Any suggestions from blog readers? We have about a 5-7 hour radius that we don't mind driving, so get on your Google Maps and find out where we should spend this weekend! Just let us know whether or not we'll be camping so I can get all the stuff together. And, just so you know, Anna doesn't do well camping in the cold so you should probably look up weather forecasts too. Thanks for the help.

25%

25%--that's how much of my intern year I've completed. And it feels pretty good. This last month (inpatient general medicine at VA hospital) wasn't as bad as the first, but still took a toll on me. There's something about VA hospitals that tends to depress me. I'm not sure if it's the rampant tobacco, alcohol, and drug abuse that usually follows veterans around, or if it's just the monotony of one old man after another coming onto my service. Maybe it's the smell of poop, which is definitely the predominant aroma in most hallways in that hospital. In fact, it might have been the poop that was actively filling one of my patients' beds while he was nonchalantly chatting with me about some of his inventions. Perhaps it was the sad fact that one of the patients on our team was convinced somebody had come into his room in the middle of the night and pooped in his bed. How little faith would you have in the state of the world at that point, if you sincerely believed that other people were capable of an act as heinous and vile as pooping in your bed while you slept? Another factor contributing to my depression may be the fact that I saw more than my fair share of death and debility this last month. On my last two post-call mornings I had to participate in "the talk" with some of my patient's families and almost completely lost it each time. It's pretty clear that I'm not cut out for that. Whatever it is or was that got into my head this month, I'm glad it's over.

There were several days this last month that I'd be on call, and as I walked down the long hallway to the stairway at the end that led down to the emergency room I would stop at the end to look out the window that faced west and overlooked the entire valley. I was lucky enough to pass by that window on 2 or 3 occasions while the sun was setting over the mountains, and something about each of those moments made me really miss not working 80 hours a week. I was also lucky enough to be at the hospital on my birthday. Even though I had a great day before my birthday (see "My birthday" post), the actual day itself was pretty awful. I had the misfortune of listening to some stupid sad song on the radio on the way to the hospital that morning, and I spent the rest of the day having a really tough time missing all my family and friends. It was probably the toughest day that I've had since we moved here, and it had nothing to do with work or being on call. I don't think I've turned on the radio since then.

It took me one good night of sleep (last night) to get into a completely better mood. I woke up this morning and realized my VA rotation was over and then went right back to sleep. My rotation for this next month will be in the ER at the University Hospital. It looks like I'll be working a whopping 30 hours a week or so. The hours are kinda screwy, though; I go in tonight and tomorrow at midnight, but then have to switch and work day and evening shifts later this week. I think I'm going to enjoy this rotation. I didn't get to do an ER rotation in medical school, so this will be fun for me. And I'll have about 50 hours per week to enjoy not being on a tough rotation. Maybe now that I have time to actually see Anna (tell her Hi for me if you see her....I see that she was on this blog earlier), I will pop out of whatever funk I've been in for the last few weeks. And before I know it December will be here, and we'll be back home to visit.


p.s. Please don't send me brownies laced with Prozac or send the police to my house or anything like that. After reading the post above I realized it sounds kinda pitiful. I promise this self-pity was due to an unfortunate series of events that have since resolved. Seriously, I'm ok now. Today I played Rock Band, drank a beer in the garage while changing my oil, and ate a calzone for lunch. Things are looking up.

Climbing the corporate ladder

View from the CEO's corner office.

View from Anna's cubicle.

My birthday

So tomorrow is my actual birthday, but since I will be celebrating tomorrow with delusional veterans Anna decided to treat me to a fun day today. First we went to brunch at a restaurant that is supposedly kinda nice. About a month ago, I won a gift certificate for brunch for two at this restaurant (La Caille), which is right in the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon. The food was good, but I was constantly afraid that the peacocks and chickens walking around our table would jump up and either eat my breakfast or peck my eyes out.

This is the view from our table. Nice, huh? Can't see the chickens from here.

Now here is the peacock that was eyeballin' my eggs benedict. We almost had words...

After the meal we walked a few yards over to the driving range they had on the grounds. There weren't any balls left but Anna made me pose for a picture anyway. Good thing there weren't any balls left, 'cause I would've hit them over the mountain anyway.

Then we walked around the grounds some more. There were some pretty little ponds and streams. Lots of ducks, chickens, swans, etc. Somebody liked poultry.

Later that day, we went to the Greek Food Festival downtown. Here I am, eating my delicious gyro sandwich and drinking some local brew while watching the Greek dancers.

Then we got home, I found my birthday present: Rock Band for the Wii !! This is a picture of me failing miserably on the drum set.

All in all, it was a good day. I'm glad Anna and I were off together, and we had fun pretending it was my birthday.

And now, for all the faithful blog readers, here is the first installment of what might become a semi-regular new blog feature....short Morshedi video clips!!! We'll see if this works...it is an annoyingly loud video clip of us at the Greek food festival (video taken with our point-and-shoot digital camera, so sorry for the poor quality).

SelectHealth building

A picture of my office building.

Wonderful visit with Mom

My mom came to visit over Labor Day weekend and boy did we have a ball. It was a joy to have her here and show off our new city. We had a packed schedule that included a trip to Park City, hearing the tabernacle choir perform, Oktoberfest at a ski resort, the farmer's market, the planetarium, lots of shopping, watching movies, cooking, and pedicures of course. (Grant did not participate in the last item.)

We had family friends visit the weekend before, so we have really been able to explore more of the city. Grant and I are seasoned tour guides now!

Grant had to work most of the weekend so it was more of a mother daughter trip. Yesterday, we woke up early and I took mom to the airport. After that it was off to work. My first day went very smoothly. I sure was tired afterwards. I crashed on the couch and fell into a deep sleep around 8:30 p.m. Now I have to remember how to do this whole work thing again.

Tabernacle Choir

Storm rolling in

Oktoberfest at Snowbird

Grant's b-day dinner from mom

Grant's b-day card from mom...it even had strings!