Wow. That Neal guy is so tough.

Honestly - window framing, caulking, climbing mountains, bursting through extra-large shirts by flexing his bulging muscles...is there anything this guy can't do?

On the other hand, Drew is quite pansy-fied.

Andrew King throws up his hands in surrender to the angry shrubbage choking a Chapel Hill garden. That's right - Drew couldn't even handle garden shears. On November 16th he'll be arranging flowers for the wedding while the rest of us build three entire houses in one day.

Drew also sleeps like a burrito.

Team Bayview

Avi, Mark, Sammy, Sarah, Ravi, and I are in the last day of a 9-week surgery rotation at Bayview Hospital, one of the Johns Hopkins system hospitals. There's nothing quite like several hundred hours of incising and draining abscesses, putting in bladder catheters, and pulling out vaccuum drains to bring a group of six folks together. We've had loads of fun and even learned some neat tricks, to boot. For instance: a 14-gauge needle is honkin' big in order to draw up lidocaine quickly from a bottle, NOT in order to deliver said lidocaine more quickly into the forehead of a guy with a head laceration (I won't name the culprit). Thanks, folks...it's been great working with you!

And this was before the wedding...

Streeter Lecka and Jason Norris got in a little nap before we all joined to celebrate the marriage of Nate Maust and Beth Froelke. True to form, these guys made sure that the nights before and after the ceremony were just as memorable as the big night itself. By the time we got out of there, Oxford, Ohio didn't know what had hit it. (N.B. I was the one who took this picture, meaning: I was awake; I was standing; they were the life of the party.)

With three days off between a trip to New Orleans for an engagement party and a trip to Ohio for my college roommate's wedding, I rounded up two friends (and one energetic Weimeraner) from my med class for a 3-day hike in the Shenandoah Mts. of Virginia. We covered about 24 miles over those days, but the miles flew by as we paid more attention to deer, birds, lizards, rabbits, and icicles (yes! it was freezing!) than we did to our footsteps. We shivered through our first night of camp so painfully that one of us (I won't say who) decided to hike all the way back to the car the next day, covering 14 miles between 7am and 7pm in order to avoid spending another sleepless night in the frigid March air. The sights and (lack of) sounds were well worth it, though, as was the camaraderie and vigorous exercise. Pictured are Mike George and Seth Goldstein along with me. We are so manly and tough.

Hot Summer in Baltimore

Well conditioned air is perhaps the sole redeeming feature of a desk job. When the temperature outside tops 100, though, it's redemption enough to make me happy that I'm sitting here. For six weeks now I've been working on a research project with Kennedy Krieger Institute, the massive pediatric division of Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. The research work is interesting, but flexible enough to leave me a couple days a week to work with preceptors in the neurodevelopmental disabilities clinic here. Clinic has been at least as overwhelming as it has fascinating - so far I've had the privilege to work with families whose kids suffer rare debilitating maladies like ataxia telangiectasia, Fragile X syndrome, hypospadius, Opitz syndrome, autism, Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba syndrome, Cri-du-chat, and a couple others. I have a hard enough time remembering all the names, much less coming up with anything substantive to offer the families (lucky for them I'm not in charge yet:)). Summer's been great, though: lots of cycling, some running in the mornings when it's not yet scorching-hot, a trip to the Catskill mountains in New York, a couple jaunts to D.C., and an upcoming trip to NYC to hang out with William. I'll be around New Orleans for a week in August, so I'll see many of you then.

A Busy Weekend

Whew! After a busy, active weekend over which I slept little, I'm finally decompressing in the fine company of pulmonary physiology. Friday afternoon found me in northern Maryland, a few miles from the Delaware line, attending the kickoff retreat for the Baltimore Albert Schweitzer Fellows Program, a public service fellowship of which I've recently become a part. The retreat took place on the University of Maryland-owned Donaldson Brown Estate, a vast expanse overlooking the Susquehanna River from on top a 100-foot cliff. The pictures included were taken around sunset Friday evening. Once the retreat ended Saturday afternoon, I drove down to D.C. to spend an evening with some of my great friends from UNC - Nate Maust, Jason Norris, Streeter Lecka, Rolf Graning, and Holly Graning (Rolf's wife). Today, as I mentioned at the outset, has been decidedly less social. Enjoy the pics - I've got more if you're interested.

Long Time no Post

After nearly four months of failing to post either information or pictures of goings-on in Baltimore, New Orleans, and Mexico, I'm planning to start up again. Now that spring has arrived in Baltimore, I've emerged from hibernation to marvel at the thousands of others who, like me, seem to be rediscovering warmth, sunshine, flowers, and fresh air. Classes march on: somehow I find myself in the final block of my first year, looking forward to a comparatively relaxed summer full of research, reading, softball leagues, and Lisa! She returns from Mexico in a few short weeks after almost ten months' worth of mostly online communication...I have to keep reminding myself not to will away all the gorgeous days between now and then! The Orioles have started up again, and, like last year, have done surprisingly well for the first stretch. Here's to hoping the pattern holds...go O's! I'm excited to have much of my family and Lisa's up here at the same time Memorial Day weekend - lots of fun on the horizon to balance the piles of work I've yet to get through. Looking forward to seeing many of you soon... Happy 80th birthday to Hela!

New Orleans in December, Part 2

After a brief - but intense - return to Baltimore for a final exam in anatomy, I returned to New Orleans on December 23rd to spend Christmas with my family and await Lisa's arrival from Monterrey, MX via Chicago. The holiday provided all the relaxation, fun, and great food I needed, plus some very thoughtful gifts that I've been enjoying. What I enjoyed most, though, was the quality time with family and friends. It's not often that so many of us are assembled in the same place with sufficient time for the conversations and meals that we all like to share - this past holiday season was one of those times. Lisa's weeklong visit, half in New Orleans and half in Baltimore, was certainly the major highlight for me. I've included a couple pictures - one is of my cousin Claude and me, the other of my family on Christmas eve. Happy New Year!

New Orleans in December, Part 1

Congratulations to Joy and Justin on the celebration of their marriage! This past Saturday, December 17, my cousin Justin married Joy Bonaguro, a fellow Tulane alum, in New Orleans. I flew into New Orleans for the wedding along with lots of cousins and friends. The trip was a quick one, but densely packed - it was great to share the celebration with so many members of the Elstrott diaspora. Among the notables: all the Kelly and Cathy Elstrotts flew in from Eugene, OR (except cousin Sara) for the festivities; Jason even flew in from Costa Rica, where he's been working in real estate. I'm back in Baltimore now, studying for my TAPP (thorax, abdomen, pelvis, and perineum) exam in Anatomy...come Friday, though, it's holiday time! As the below picture attests, a notable someone in my life has already begun her vacation...that's Lisa enjoying the beach in Tulum, MX. She's hosting some family members in Mexico through Christmas day, then heading to Chicago for a few days to be with others, and finally returning to New Orleans on December 29! I'm excited to spend a week or so with her after such a long semester spent mostly apart. Congrats again to Justin and Joy - I've included some pictures from the rehearsal dinner. Happy holidays!