Blog killer...

I'm figuring out that the best way to kill anything is to just not feed it. This can be the case with your favorite pet, your favorite friendship, your favorite sin, and yes... even inannimate objects like your blog.
I think I killed my blog by not blogging.
I'm going to try to resuscitate it with some pictorial and written inspiration.

This picture is of a piece of paper that used to be the back of the Switchfoot CD - "A New Way to be Human." Yesterday it was magically transformed into a piece of paper that has JOHN FOREMAN'S SIGNATURE!!! :) Thing is... it would look a lot more dramatic if I'd offered him more than just a fine-point sharpie, and if he'd written more than just "john." Oh well... you can see it for yourself if you don't believe me. Actually I didn't even meet him, I just have to thank my mom for it.
In other news... my nose has abandoned me and is currently running like crazy. The last few days have been less than fun at least in terms of that. Started some antibiotics today but after learning about antibiotic resistance mechanisms in microbiology it makes me scared to take them for fear of creating some kind of mutant bacteria that is going to infect the rest of the human race.. . not cool.

I feel like I've pretty much adjusted to post summer-in-Africa living. Honestly, I felt like because of the way things ended in Uganda, that it was easier leaving than I'd expected. In the last week I was there I had gotten what looked like malaria. On top of that, my last patient in Uganda died on the table and it really hit me hard, especially considering the way that it all went down. It made me realize that medicine is a good thing, but it can't fix everyone; and even if it can fix people - it's only a temporary thing.

Finished the first test block - wow. This year is like riding a 7 hill rollercoaster... with the last hill being the biggest (USMLE Step 1.. the big test). Every six weeks consists of five weeks of class followed by a week of tests. More or less. In one sense, it gives us more freedom to do things at our own pace in the first few weeks, BUT the last few weeks of the block feel like lockdown. It's just wearisome and then you just hope your effort paid off in the ways you had hoped. During those couple of weeks at the end, it's easy to lose perspective of what's important when everyone is dropping everything to get hours in the books. Sleep, friends, relationships, exercise, and anything else at the time that seems superfluous. It's during these times that you see what is truly important to you. Do I "have to read" my Bible? Or is it that I won't make it through the day if I don't? I have to admit, I've felt both ways - depending on my self-reliance at the time.

Well, this post is a good start. Hopefully I'll get back to blogging more often soon.
-Roberdeau

Africa Presentation

Hey guys,

I don't think I've e-mailed since returning to the States... So if you weren't sure, let this be confirmation to you that I am alive. School has started back and it has taken me a few weeks to get to where I can actually organize my thoughts and pictures from the summer.

I wanted to let you know that I'll be presenting about my trip this past summer to East Africa on THIS Wednesday after Wednesday night church at Highlands Presbyterian. By all means, feel free to come whether you go to Highlands or not - I just figured it would be a time and place that was somewhat convenient and would hold a decent number of people.
I'll be telling a few stories as well as sharing some of the things I learned. I'm hoping not to spend too much time flipping through a bunch of random pictures (i.e. here is a giraffe, here is a person, here is a building, here is a tree, etc...).

Details:

Where: Highlands Presbyterian Church (1160 Highland Colony Parkway) (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH: Highland Colony Baptist, Highland Chapel, or Church of the Highlands...)
Drive to the back of the church and there is a Youth building called "The U" that we'll be hosting it in.
When: 7:40pm, Wednesday, September 15, 2010
For whom: Anybody! This is not a closed invite.
And the most important question... HOW LONG? 15-20 minutes.

Thank you for all your prayers this summer. It was very encouraging to know that the Body of Christ was praying on my behalf.

Roberdeau

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your parnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:3-6