Rain rain go away...

I'm seriously beginning to wonder why it rains every day that I have off... Trying to make it the most of it though and without rain I guess there wouldn't be any rainbows!

Its a pretty cool museum of Maori history, natural science and wartime museum to top it all off. They had original carved Maori houses and a huge war canoe which was pretty neat.

The winter gardens were my favorite parts though.
Back to CSF diversion in the morning!

All work and no play...

11 straight days, 3 overnight calls, a couple day calls and I'm wiped out... TGIF!

The peds neurosurgery service is insane, but I guess it's just a taste of reality...and reality bites. You know when you just keep thinking to yourself, if I can just make it to this weekend things will be fine? Ummm...I think this is the rest of my life. Luckily I love it :-)

My favorite moment this week: I told a 5 year old boy that he could choose whether or not he wanted a patch of hair shaved or his whole head shaved. He looked at me and said "well, I haven't seen your work." I pointed to the child across the hallway and he turned back to me and said "maybe I should just go to a good hairdresser." Smart boy.

I have a whole weekend off and don't know what to do with myself (except sleep)...hopefully I'll be posting on some new adventures soon.

A Tale of Two Cities...and my first night on call...

So, my first day of work was Tuesday and coincidentally, that was my first call day. It was insane, obscene, and "bloody awful" to use a proper English phrase. I did my two assigned elective cases (nice craniosynostoses cases if you're interested), then two emergent cases until about midnight, then an emergent drain in the ICU around 4 am...about 16 consults, too many admissions to count, and the neverending phone calls, then my regular Wednesday started with clinic, and OR until 8 pm that night. I also found out that registrars are limited to a 40 hour work week...and that was just my first shift!

I think the hardest part was not the fact that I hadn't slept, eaten (nothing is open to buy food at from 7 pm on), or jet lagged...it was the disparity between healthcare in the US and New Zealand. I knew what the right thing to do for the patients in Charlottesville was. The question was what is the right was to treat them in Auckland. The answers? Over 70 with a neurosurgical problem, not a chance. Over 50 with another disease state, nope. A one year old with a open head wound, leaking CSF, visible brain at 3 am? I got asked whether waiting 5 hours until 8 am was really going to make a difference. Then I was told no. The kid went on a waiting list and wasn't done until 10 pm that night. WOW!

There aren't pagers here which is rather nice. Instead you get a hospital cell phone. I was gifted the pediatric neurosurgery call phone for my duration here...24/7. Ummm...yeah... Endless phone calls and text messages...It's swell.

One of the really interesting things is also the free staff cafeteria. Anything you want is free...off of the three entree options. However, only sugar free beverages are available, throughout the hospital. In other words, we trust you to make live altering decisions on patients, but not to make appropriate dietary choices. Let us make them for you. No more coke :-( (And trust me, I need it).

Speaking of missing items... There is no Benedryl here! No, seriously, none whatsoever. Do you know how many patients can complain about itching in a single night? What is the treatment here? Phenergan! Drug reaction? Phenergan! Can't sleep? Phenergan! Maybe next call night I will take my own bottle in and dispense it...

But that sounds like a lot of negativity, and I really don't want it to be that way. I really should see it in a more positive light...it's an introduction to Obamacare! I'm way ahead of the curve back home in the US!

Have to sleep now...more cases tomorrow!

A very merry unbirthday! To who? To the Queen!

After a rainy Sunday, where I couldn't even see the skytower from the apartment and spent my day watching some really bad Kiwi TV, I was happy to wake up to better conditions today. It is the Queen's birthday celebration day, even though her real birthday is in April. I think she's on to something...if I was Queen I would celebrate my birthday multiple times a year as well. Bottom line is that it is a national holiday and who am I to knock that.

So, I headed out to Auckland's Eastern Beaches. They stretch from Cockle Bay to Howick Beach. to Mellon's Bay and Eastern Beach all the way to Musick point which is the northernmost section. I inadvertantly started at Musick point right when the sun began to peak through the clouds.

Headed south to Eastern Beach.

Then to Cockle Bay where I was delighted to see this beautiful rainbow.

And pretty sandstone cliffs throughout.

Then drove back up North to Musick point, just in time for the sunset.

Another great day...off to work tomorrow to earn my keep!

Let's go exploring!

Despite the looming clouds I decided to be adventuresome on my first Saturday off (no Saturday morning conference here...fathom that one...) and packed a picnic lunch and headed to Auckland's North Shore. Now I must confess, I do appreciate how the weather service here tells you how many layers to wear... But I'm wearing at least 1-2 more layers than advised and I'm wondering what I'm going to do in July and August!

I started at Takapuna Beach and headed North along the rocky pathway to Milford Beach. There were some great views along the hour walk and I didn't get too wet (even though I managed to get there at high tide).

Then I headed down to the town of Devonport which is directly across from Auckland's harbor. It was colder and even windier here!

After wandering around the town and grabbing a snack at a cafe I drove over to North Head, an old volcano turned military fort (that was never used) and hiked up to the top. The views were spectacular!

Fun day. Would've been more fun if the grocery store let me buy wine, but apparently you have to have a passport to buy wine (whereas my driver's license suffices to drive here). Go figure.

More adventures to come over this holiday weekend! The rest of my photos are posted on Facebook if you are interested...

Everything I needed to know...

Remember how as kids we were taught to look both ways before crossing the street? And then as adults we learned which way to look so that rule kind of fell apart... Well, I have returned to that golden rule as I have absolutely no idea where the cars are coming from in this pedestrian city!

I found something else to love about my car, "el cheapo"...it beeps when I put it in reverse, just like a tractor or something. Fabulous. I hope it encourages people to get out of my way!

Today has been very busy and productive... I secured a phone (+6421664000 for anyone who is wondering), with a whopping total of 30 anytime minutes (night and weekend minutes are a foreign concept) and 600 text messages for $30. For an extra $12 I added on the best mates plan so that Lauren, Chip, Brett and I can talk as much as we want to each other. There is going to be a problem if I get anymore friends though. I might have to vote people off the bestmates list. This could get interesting... I also rented an apartment (3 bedrooms for anyone who's interested) which actually comes with a flatmate (hey, she hasn't killed anybody yet...).

So, in short, I think it has been a successful day, so I'm ending it with a glass of wine. Cheers to my friends back home...with a 3 bedroom apartment here, you are welcome anytime!