What's another couple hundred....?

My advice to people trying to save money is to NEVER get into road cycling. It is an incredibly addictive sport which is ridiculously fun and expensive. The following photo was captioned as "The Best-Looking Lemond Ever Made." I have to agree.

One of the dangers of making a salary and not paying rent is that you think you can afford things you really can't. I found a pristine 2001 Lemond Tourmalet with Selle Italia seat, Reynolds steel tubing, and Shimano tiagra components going for $350. I really shouldn't purchase it, but man is that a good deal. Someone help me.

Misgivings

It is not uncommon to feel anxiety when undertaking a huge task that involves a lot of time, effort, and money. Medical school is one of those things. People say that if you have not seriously considered quitting or choosing a different career, then you are probably crazy.

I think there is something to that.

There was an article in the NYT today entitled "Eyes Bloodshot, Doctors Vent Their Discontent" about physicians growing more and more dissatisfied with their careers. In the past, autonomy and real patient care could sustain the brutal working hours demanded by the profession, but nowadays, decreasing insurance reimbursement, increasing legal liabilities, and general exhaustion are driving doctors toward different careers--or even worse, depression.

Stories like that worry me a lot. It isn't enough for admissions officers to make sure that their students have "outside interests" to relieve stress. Yes, everyone needs a hobby. No, people do not need to be run into the ground. Do you want your doctor running on 3 hours of sleep to be making critical decisions about your health? Not reading your complete chart because it takes too much time and they only get paid based on volume?

I can see the rationale in overworking doctors. It's what the system has become. We're long past the days when you visited one primary care physician throughout your life. Now we have an arsenal of specialists with their newfangled instruments designed to milk insurance companies for all they're worth. After all, an MRI scan is more easily justifiable than "talking to patient about weight-loss strategies." It's always boggled me that lawyers can be paid to talk--even pick up the phone--while doctors don't. Both dispense advice, so why the discrepancy?

But of course, there is little sympathy to be had. Doctors, after all, make an amazing salary. Is it all that amazing though, to go through nearly 11 years of training (including undergrad classes and MCATs) and brutal residency to make some money to pay off $200,000-300,000 worth of loans? Most corporation CEOs do less than that and make a heck of a lot more. I consider the compensation just dues for such a difficult task. Maybe I'm expecting too much.

Or maybe I shouldn't do this at all. I like being able to take a ride along the Potomac River after work, meet up with friends, relax, have fun. I wonder if giving all of that up makes me crazy. When once I joked around about being a masochist, now I wonder if I really am.

Cycling Bliss

One of the great things about working is that I finally have time to take up the hobbies/interests/fetishes that I've always wanted to do as a student. For example, I wanted to go sculling, scuba diving, kite surfing, and real rock climbing in college. What I actually did was splash around in the tub, watch people fly kites, and climb knobby walls. Maybe I was just lazy, but actually, it was probably because I had no money.

So, now that I'm earning income and don't pay any rent, I can spend, SPEND SPEND!!! To prove my point, I just bought a new bike (see previous post).

However, this is not just ANY bike. It's a cool one. I can remember my early days on a bike. I was small, slow, and it wasn't a lot of fun. I think I rode it twice and for the rest of its dumpy life it sat outside, rusting. Suffice it to say, I didn't have much of an interest in bikes after that, but my Fuji is FAST (like all unbelievably awesome things in life; e.g., race cars, jet planes, a terrible date...).

It's awesomeness isn't only that it's light and quick, but it also gets me to school! In fact, there is a trail that takes me right to med school. I tested it today and it takes about 30 min, the parking is free, I don't have to pay for the metro, I'm not polluting the environment, AND I get exercise (goodness knows I'm not going to get any otherwise)! The bicycle is an amazing machine. Simple, perhaps, but some of the best things in life are...simple.

(On a related note, I almost got run over by a car when I lightly bumped some lady's bag and swerved into the road on my way home. The perils of green transportation! Never again will I touch a Gucci bag. Those things are killer. Literally).

I'm in Love...

People who don't believe in love at first sight have truly been deprived of a decent touring bike. After weeks of tirelessly refreshing the bicycle want ads on Craigslist, I finally stumbled upon this beauty:


It's a Fuji Del Ray--an awesome 19inch/48cm lightweight touring bike made in Japan. Its frame is Feather Si35 Triple-butted CroMo Ishiwata tubing with chrome fork and equipped with Shimano 105 Exage/Sport/Action components. It was made in the 1990's, but compared to the $800 Specialized and $300 Giant OCR 3s I've tried, the Fuji DR rides like a dream.

There are times in life when things just feel right. This test ride was one of them. Once I got on, I didn't want to stop. Weird for me, actually. The original seat was a bit uncomfortable, but after the seller offered to swap it for a Terry women's saddle, it rode like butter. So soft and smooth.

I shall call this beast Dr. Fuji in honor of its future role in transporting me to and from school. Everyday. Possibly in scrubs (^.^)

Another Lovely Poem

Despite the byline of my blog, I just noticed that there is virtually nothing related to medicine in my last few posts. Thus, in the spirit of my future career, I have provided some literary diversion:

Roses are red, violets are blue,
My medical education is going to be expensive,
So your co-pay will be too.

HOLY MOLY, YES!!!

This may come as a surprise to many of you (no, I am not going on vacation again), but I am a compulsive reader. Nary a day goes by that I don't have some sort of tome in my hand, be it a masterpiece fiction or erudite encyclopedia. However, as much as I enjoy reading, very rarely do I come across things that truly blow my mind.

I can think of a few authors--Woolf, Joyce, Kidder, Clavell--who have written works so engrossing and pithy as to make me anticipate when I'll read the next page. To be absolutely honest, much of my reading is driven by this desire to get high through discovering these gems. Nerd, you say? Hardly. A true nerd wears pocket protectors. Clearly, I have more fashion sense than that.

But the real reason for this post is that I have discovered such another worthy book. Quite by accident. One might even say as a result of destiny, which is ironic considering the subject of the book. It's called Yes Man by Danny Wallace, a BBC television producer who at first glance looks nothing like a serious writer. The story documents his decision to say "yes" to any and all questions for several months. No exceptions.

I really can't explain in one blog post why this book affected me so much. You'll just have to read it. And believe it. Open yourself up. However, I will say that even if you don't like it, you'll probably find it incredibly funny and entertaining. Either that or you're just a terribly dull person. But truly, it contains everything you could ever want in a book--humor, sarcasm, sensitivity, verbosity, puns, dogs, and of course, a real bona-fide meaning. A lesson. A "take-home message" my rambling, tangential college English professors would say but refused to come right out and tell you for fear of being too obvious.

Wallace isn't too circuitous, but he does take one on an adventure. Anyway, I can't help but think that maybe that's the whole point. As the saying goes, "life is a journey, not a destination." Yes Man is certainly proof of that.

It Doesn't Pay to be Cheap

As I prepare to descend into the bowels of destitute studenthood, I thought it prudent to read a few finance books about being thrifty (read: cheap). After all, I'd need all the help I could get given that I am part of that widely detested and spat upon Middle Class--that socioeconomic group which receives virtually no help from the government and even less from multi-million dollar franchises like McDonalds. Tragic, I know.

So, what do all these personal wealth gurus suggest as a means of becoming rich? Why yes, it is to SAVE MONEY! Basically, one should try to skim wherever one can, even if it means cutting a corner or two. Being somewhat lazy, I thought I might manage to put this wisdom into practice in my own life!

I might've mentioned how enamored I was with how people got around in Asia--namely, by foot or bike. Since the subway system around my house is pretty limited, I decided that I would start riding my bike more. The first thing I thought about was getting a trunk rack like that pictured above. That was the rational option. However, being influenced by trashy self-help literature, I opted not to spend the $90 and came up instead with this brilliant idea: "why don't I just try to cram my 21-speed mountain bike into the backseat of my car??!!!"

Yup. It was a frugal epiphany.

In fact, last weekend (before my car died for other unrelated reasons), I shoved my bike into the backseat and drove off to the trails like a proud soccer mom. Granted, it took me 15 whole minutes to maneuver the bike into my car and out again, but hey, so far so good.

That is, until the return trip.

I had stuffed my bike into my car butt first, handlebars last. When I arrived home, I took it out the same way, not realizing that the handlebars would get caught on my low-ceilinged sedan and rip the top to shreds. As I tried to manhandle my bike out of the car, the front wheel and handlebars got stuck on the frame while the rest of the bike hung out of the car rather pitifully. It was so sad that my neighbor who had been smoking and watching me for quite sometime eventually asked, "you need some help with that?" I hope he was entertained by my half-hour struggle.

Fortunately, I got the bike out, but not without scratching up my car and detaching the front wheel unnecessarily. After that experience, I learned a very good lesson: never take life lessons from a financial adviser. If you need to transport a bike, then BUY A TRUNK RACK. Trust me, you'll thank me one day.

But you can thank me now by sending me $1 to laginnad@gmail.com. Thanks!