Winning Run's Fist vs. the Mouth of a Teenager with Braces*

*The following story has been invented to add intrigue to the details surrounding Winning Run's accident.  It is not true.  For the true story, you'll need to hear it from Winning Run herself.

The other night on the bus back from the Picasso exhibit, some rough looking teenager on the bus kept mouthing of at us.  Really harassing us.  We moved seats a few times to get away but the kid just kept it up.  After an eternity, we reached our stop.  As we were exiting the bus, the punk reached at Winning Run's bag.  Naturally, she jerked away and the punk started swinging at her.  She clocked the idiot in the mouth but the punk's braces cut her hand.

We made a quick to the ER and got her stitched up.  Meeting with a hand specialist later today to ensure that no tendon damage occurred.  Personally, I don't think it did.

And now, some action shots from the hospital...

 Pre-stitches.

 Irrigating the wound.

 

Post-stitches. Yum.

Seven

I'm so much luckier than anyone has a right to be.

"Like melted gold."

Thanks, Winning Run, for taking this crazy ride with me and being the pillar that holds me up.  I absolutely, positively could not do this without your support.  I'm thrilled to be part of the pack.  

Thanks for seven amazing years; I look forward to many more on our adventure together.

Week 12 : Done

The weeks continue to roll on by and the end of the semester looms ominously. Week 19 will be here before too long.

Anatomy: Still the Winner
Just wrapped up the thorax. Again, the dissection was incredible. I held a human heart in my hands. (!?!) The prof wasn't so thrilled when I reenacted "Temple of Doom."

Wearing the costume to class might
have been a little over the top.

I Am Amusing, Insensitive
So, the H1N1 flu has made the rounds at school. It seems to have abated now but a couple of weeks ago, tons of people were out. I didn't see one of my classmates for several days and just assumed that he had the swine flu (la gripa porcina). When he finally made it back to class, I we had the following brief conversation:

"So, man, are you back from the dead?," I asked innocently enough.
His face twisted in a funny sort of way that immediately made me feel a pit in my stomach. His was an expression that foretold that this conversation wouldn't end well for me.
"I'm not dead ... my wife's grandmother is the one who's dead. I was at the funeral," he tells me.
"I. Am. So. Sorry," I offer. "My condolences. I thought you were out with the flu."
"No, we were at the funeral."
"But I thought you had the flu...that's why I said...," I spoke, trailing off into awkward silence.

We nodded at each other and went our separate ways.

Next Week: 5 Tests!
So, my Halloween plans have been replaced. Instead of rocking the Charlie from "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" costume, I'll be attending a party at my desk and dressing as an overstressed 1st year medical student with five tests next week. In true dedication to the costume, I'll keep my stinking face in a stinking book.

Next Friday at about 12:05pm PST, however, I'll be dressed as a guy with a thirst for beer who's ready to ride the wings of the dragon through the cosmos.

Happy Birthday to Winning Run
Wish my sweetness was here. Or that I was there.

Love is a dress that you made
Long to hide your knees
Love to say this to your face
I love you only
For your days and excitement
What will you keep for to wear?
Someday drawing you different
May I be weaved in your hair

Love and some verses you hear
Say what you can say
Love to say this in your ear
I'll love you that way
From your changing contentment
What will you choose for to share?
Someday drawing you different
May I be weaved in your hair

"Love and Some Verses" - Iron & Wine

Winning Run, For the Win

Last week, I joined Winning Run in Pittsburgh because I'll be unable to attend the opening of her building at Carnegie Mellon University, courtesy of being in class on the other side of the country. For the record, I knew that she the firm she's at does incredible work as evidenced by the Wang Student Center at Wellesley College. This building, for which she's the architect managing the project, is unbelievably impressive: around 210,000 square-feet of well-designed, inspiring architecture. My photos do not do it justice; I'm sure that professional photog with the widest of lenses would have trouble. Here are a few of my feeble attempts.

A panoramic view created from composite images.
The building does not curve; it's just how the images are stitched together.

Another panoramic image I stitched together.
Again, no curvature on the building; it's only the image.

One of my favorite views of the building.
The bridge that leads to the building in memory of Randy Pausch,
a CMU professor and author of "The Last Lecture."

For more on the building, go here.

I'm nothing short of awed by the building and having nothing to adequately describe how proud I am of Winning Run and her work on this behemoth.

More from the rest of the week to come.