with murakami in mind

July 10, 2009

eye of the tiger!
today’s mascot. from pbase.com.

or perhaps more appropriate: the pediatrics version. from gotpetsonline.com.

cue the ferocious animals and 80s pump-up music, it’s call day #3! i feel oddly disconnected from my team because of clinic on wednesday afternoon and a day off yesterday, but no matter. katz 1 (that’s my team name . . . don’t ask, the system is random and complex) is going to be full of spunk and awesomeness today.

i am determined to take my anti-complaining project to the next level and work on my overall positivity in addition to curtailing my audible wailing. my mantra for the day (and perhaps for life?) comes from my favorite author, haruki murakami:

pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

he was talking about running (in his aptly named book) , but as an anonymous reader commented several days ago, a lot of tough situations can be likened to a hard, long run. i’ve often drawn parallels between call nights and marathons, with each hour corresponding to approximately one mile. just as with running a marathon, towards the end it gets very arduous — perhaps downright painful — and keeping a positive attitude is extremely difficult.

but while the pain may be real, it’s one’s choice (or “option”, as murakami puts it) to suffer. i will try to remember that tonight.

goodbye, beautiful

this gorgeous bag came in the mail yesterday! i love it, but it is going back. while the aesthetics are beyond perfect, i didn’t realize the bag was going to be so big. it is more work-bag sized than handbag, and i am not about to lug something this lovely around the grimy and MRSA-filled hospital.

i will be sad to see her go but josh has reassured me that the search for a perfect purse will continue. i will be patient.

—————————————————————————–

7.9.9

workout: 40 minutes of stationery biking + 30 minutes gentle hatha yoga. it was a nice leisurely workout for my day off.

doin’ time: for the first time in a while, i actually succeeded in making all the recipes i had planned for the week! keeping the number and time-requirement of the dishes realistic as i planned out the week definitely helped.

last night’s meal was an extremely easy one as many pasta dishes are. basically, it was just rigatoni + goat cheese + parmesan, accented with sundried tomatoes, olives, walnuts, and basil. an easy weeknight meal, but not without flavor or fun.
accompanied by a simple spinach salad with improvised balsamic vinaigrette. i typically use whole wheat pastas but for this i felt like reverting to white. it just seemed like it would be better with the goat cheese! refined carbs may not be the ideal choice for every day, but they aren’t evil incarnate, either. and this was goooood.

6 Comments

  • Reply Anonymous March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    That&#39s disappointing about the bag. A few years ago I was super excited about this bag that my mom ordered me for my birthday. When it came, it looked more like a dog carrier than a purse.

  • Reply Anonymous March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    sorry about the purse! but when you find *the one* it&#39ll be perfect. wicked cute baby tiger pic!

  • Reply Cindy March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    i love the murakami quote. i need to remember that one on my next call night as well!

  • Reply rebecca March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    freud disagrees with murakami; he writes: The task of avoiding suffering pushes that of obtaining pleaure into the background.

  • Reply atilla March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    loved the bag…too bad

  • Reply Jess March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    Noooo! I&#39m so sad that you&#39re sending the bag back!

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