Busy weekends

Update on Harry Potter! I finished the book in about 13 hours and it was very good. I was very satisfied with it with a few exceptions. I won't give away any spoilers for those of you out there who are still reading it but you'll have to check back and see for yourself how many of my predictions were right. It's kind of sad now though that there will never be another Harry Potter book. It really is a unique phenomenon being able to read a series of books as its being written and be there for the last one.

This past week, the Indianapolis Tennis Championships have been going on which were formally known as the RCA Championships. (apparently RCA stopped giving enough money or something) It's one of those tennis championships that I used to watch on ESPN when I was in highschool. It's pretty cool to now actually be able to go and watch the professional players in person. The big names at the championship this year were James Blake and Andy Roddick, both of whom I saw play this week. Unfortuantely, they both lost in the semi finals. I wasn't able to get a great picture personally so just had to make due with this one from the internet :) The weather was beautiful during the week, pretty much perfect for playing tennis and then got a little hot on the weekend.

Today, I went for a 2.5 hour bike ride on this path that I hadn't ridden on before. It's a path that starts in the middle of the city and sort of goes south west all the way to the Indianapolis Museum of Art. It's a really nice path, sort of less known than the most popular one in the city. It's gravel and runs along a canal the entire way and also provides a fair amount of shade. For several miles along the path, it's completely surrounded by trees and you can't even tell you're in the middle of the city which is really nice. At the Museum of Art, there's a beautiful garden so we stopped and wandered around there for awhile before coming back. I've been a little burned out on running since running the half marathon so it's fun to discover other ways to keep up my exercise.

Oh yeah, and I still have to work. I'm on to a new rotation, Cardiology, tomorrow so wish me luck.

Book 7

As many of you know I'm a huge Harry Potter fan and can't even begin to explain how excited I am that the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book comes out in 4 hours and 10 minutes ... of course I'm on call tonight and will not be able to get it until at least 9 am tomorrow (when Barnes and Noble re opens after the midnight opening). My best friend Eileen is also a huge fan and I think we're both hurrying to read it this weekend so we can discuss ASAP. I'm going to take a page out of her book and post some of my OWN predictions for the book on this blog while I'm eagerly awaiting the release (and for my call to be over).


1. Voldemort will die ... it says in book 5 that Voldemort thinks there is nothing worse than death and therefore that only seems to make sense.

2. Harry will live. I just cannnot, will not see him dying. I don't think J.K. Rowling will do that to this great character when there are better ways to end this series. (This is all despite the fact that she was reported to be sobbing when she wrote the end of the book. I think that's just being emotional at the series, not Harry being done for)

3. Dumbledore is dead. I do not think that in any way shape or form that Dumbledore is still alive but I don't think we've heard the last from him. In some way, he will be a part of this last book.

4. Snape is good. Throughout the whole series, Dumbledore has always insisted that he trusts Snape and I trust Dumbledore. 'Nuff said. (yes, Snape actually killed Dumbledore (see prediction #3 but I believe it was all part of a greater plan)

5. R.A.B. is Sirius's presumed dead brother who is not actually dead and will play a role in this book.

6. A Weasley is done for ... there are just too many of those red-headed do gooders running around and really they are a pretty easy target being so involved in the Order of the Phoenix etc. I sincerely hope Harry and Ginny end up together forever but given her daring personality and spunk, she's going to be in the middle of things in this book and just may get caught in the crossfire. Otherwise, I'm afraid any of them could get it but I guarantee it won't be Percy. (That would just be too satisfying)

Alright, that's it! We'll see in 48 hours if I'm right!

E.T.

My friend Jen and I were requested to take over posts as Social chairs for the residency this year. Maybe it's because we're both a tad social :) It's a position that basically means coordinating extracurricular social events for everybody in the residency. We have a fair sum of money with which we can buy tickets to things and generally fund anything that seems like it might be fun and well, social. It's also a fun way to explore stuff to do in Indianapolis. I know it doesn't sound like the most exciting and glamorous city in the world (other than if you're a football fan) but it turns out there are some enjoyable things if you know where to look. We're doing about two events a month, one paid for by the program, one not. This month we sponsored tickets to something called Symphony on the Prairie which is where the Indianapolis Symphony plays concerts weekly in an outdoor amphitheater. Everyone breaks out picnic baskets, bottles of wine and camping chairs and has an enjoyable evening outside. (I always wondered when people used those fancy fabric lined picnic baskets that you see at department stores). So anyway, last week the symphony played a tribute to John Williams so it was great to hear the movie themes from Star Wars, Jaws, Harry Potter among others. Tonight I just got back from the Indianapolis Museum of Art which hosts movies outside on its terrace once a week. A group of us watched E.T. the Extraterrestrial which I don't think I've seen since I was 5. It's a lot less scary now ... Incidentally, John Williams also wrote the score to that! All in all, a pretty nice evening.

Hmmmm

Hmmmm. I can't even comment on this in an appropriate manner so I'll just let you guys think what you will ...

So this state park is in Northern Kentucky very near Cincinnati which we saw on our way back from Hilton Head. It was a long drive with a lot of traffic jams but we made it back to Indy late last night. The trip was great. We rented a condo which was very affordable and about two blocks from the beach. There was also a pool right outside our balcony so most of our days went like this: Wake up when we feel like it, go to the pool, eat lunch, head to the beach. Our evenings were split between eating out or making something in our kitchen at the condo. we went out dancing one night, sat at a Tiki bar on the beach another night as well as staying in and playing games making our own frozen drinks. It was VERY hot. (perfect for sitting at the beach) I couldn't help but compare this to the last beach vacation I took (which was to Cancun) last year. The sand wasn't quite as white and the ocean wasn't quite as green, however there was a wonderful breeze coming off the ocean which made sitting on the beach very comfortable. The water was also very clean, not a lot of algae or debris in it. Every day the tide came in a distance of probably about 50 yards throughout the afternoon so we always ended up pulling our towels back. The tide packed the sand down pretty firmly which made the beach great for biking on but sometimes not so comfortable to lay on. I spent most of my time in the ocean but if I ever go back, would definitley invest in a plastic beach chair and an umbrella which would make it pretty much perfect. Some of my friends rented bikes one day and I rode one a little bit. There are a lot of trails around the island which are really nice.

Having never been to that part of the country before, I was amazed how lush and green everything is. Even in the populated and landscaped areas there are trees and undergrowth everywhere. Looking at the dense plant life reminded me what it must have been like when settlers first arrived to that area of the country and how overgrown it must have been. It's kind of like loooking back in time if you ignore all those shops and stores.

Overall, it was great to get away and very hard to come back. I didn't end up having to work today, fortunately but will be back in the swing of things starting tomorrow. I do, however, feel pretty refreshed and energized today which is I guess the whole point of going on vacation, right?