Social Media Relaunch

I am in the process of relaunching myself. I am taking a hard look at what I am doing in various aspects of my life, so I can find ways to move myself out of a status-quo. Over the last few years, I have envisioned myself "living full-time in many worlds," and I started this blog as a forum while I was in grad school. It felt like I was stretched thin, juggling 80% time at work, 75% time at school, and full time at home. I felt tired. I felt stressed. But I felt alive. When school ended a year ago, I enjoyed the feeling of only living in two worlds, work and school. I enjoyed the work/life balance. I had less stress, but I was complacent.

It is time to move forward! As I look at my life, I am relaunching myself in social media to express myself creatively, to process my progress in evaluating my life, and to share my journey. The initial phase will focus on four platforms (links in the sidebar):

1. YouTube - vlog covering my journey and sharing my geeky interests in life, design, and health.
2. In Many Worlds - blog to discuss topics related to what I am covering on my YouTube channel.
3. Google+ - sharing content relevant to topics from YouTube and my blog.
4. Twitter - sharing what I'm doing and links I'm enjoying.
5. Instagram - sharing what I'm digging visually.

I may progress to other venues, but these will allow me a good start. To pull things together, I am trying to consolidate everything with one brand. The In Many Worlds (#IMW) title will be seen across the different platforms, as will variations of the logo and banner, shown below.

I am excited to start this new journey and can't wait to share it with you.

Please look for my first YouTube video on Friday. I look forward to your feedback!

Join my journey - subscribe to this blog by clicking the button in the sidebar.

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Running State of Mind

I started running in 2001. At first I didn't really enjoy it, but the trainer I was using was also a tri-coach and he insisted that I run. After a few months, I started getting into it and even did a few races here and there.

The Chicago Marathon in 2005 was both the peak of running career and the downfall. Prior to doing that race, I had always assumed that the race was the hard part. Not so. The preparation was grueling. I always felt like I was preparing for my long runs, doing my long runs, or recovering from my long runs. If I was on call on the weekend, I would have to get up at 3am to do my long run so that I wouldn't have to run in the afternoon heat in August. The race went well. I decided to take a few week break, and that stretched into six years. I did try a few times to resume running, but it just never took.

In 2011, I finally resumed. I had lost some weight, so the running wasn't as physically uncomfortable. I made a pledge to myself to run at least three times per week for 4-6 weeks. It was so tough at first. I remembered how running had previously been almost effortless and meditative. When I was starting up again, it was painful and exhausting. The message "I'm going to die" kept cycling through my brain. However, after a few weeks, that message started to subside.

Now, I'm not running quite the marathon prep distances I used to, but I am running however long and far I want. It is not unusual for me to find that I ran far longer than I planned. My mind just drifts.  sometimes I solve the problems of the world; other times my mind is blank. I used to always run with music; now I vary it up. Most importantly, I am feeling much better, both physically and mentally.

7 Lessons From the Death of a Friend

My friend Omar Ahmad passed away Tuesday. We were roommates at the Florida Foundation for Future Scientists program at the University of Florida back when we were in high school. We became fast friends and he kept me motivated as we competed in various science fairs the following year. We won spots as the delegates from Florida to the National Youth Science Fair. After college, our contact was regrettably spotty, but we started getting back in touch in the last few years via Facebook. We had a chance to sit down last year when he was in Chicago. I so looked forward to the continuing renewal of our friendship. Who could have imagined that we wouldn't have time?


In his 46 years, Omar lived more than most people do in twice that time. His accomplishments and impact are beautifully summarized in this piece in the Huffington Post.


I am still trying to process this loss. I cried myself dry by the end of Wednesday. I have been numb most of the week, but I can now smile when I remember him. Even in death he brings people together. I have been in contact this week with people I haven't seen for decades. His memory truly is a blessing.


Omar's passing has been very challenging to me. Aside from the incomprehensible loss, it also forces me to look inward. I strongly believe that every sad thing, every loss, every tragedy comes with a lesson. Sometimes you have to look hard to find the lessons. However, as always, Omar is a great teacher....sadly, what I need to learn is right there in front of me.

1. When was the last time you saw a health provider for routine health maintenance? Omar passed away at 46 from a heart attack. I have no idea how well he looked after his health. For a physician, I take reasonable care of myself. I actually have a primary care physician, and I allow him to direct my care. I routinely see my dentist. However, given my family history of colon cancer, I am overdue for my repeat colonoscopy. I also need a routine skin survey from my dermatologist. I probably should stop ignoring the pain in my neck and back.
2. What do you do on a routine basis to care for yourself? I probably do best in the physical realm. I eat a well-balanced diet. I exercise 4-6 times per week, though I really need to do more cardio. My brain is well stimulated by school. I do miss reading for pleasure, but I hope that will return when I am done with school. I need to nurture myself more spiritually. I grew apart from organized religion years ago. I still consider myself Jewish and spiritual, but I don't really dedicate any effort to developing that dimension of my life.
3. How often do you say "I love you" to the people you love? I am very diligent about this. If any interaction with someone I love could potentially be my last (which clearly is true), I'd like to know that the last thing they heard from me is "I love you."
4. How much do you live for today as opposed to tomorrow? Years of striving to get into medicine taught me all about delayed gratification. Years of practicing Rehabilitation Medicine has taught me that life can change in an instant. I struggle with this. When I try to live well now, I feel guilty about not saving for the future. When I deny myself to prepare for retirement, I worry about not living in the present. I constantly work on this balance.
5. How are you impacting the world and the life of others? As a physician, I have always had the satisfaction of impacting the lives of others. However, at the end of the day, I feel that all I have to give has been drained from me. I marvel about how some of my colleagues are able to go one step further with volunteer work. I am conscious about how that is going to change as I transition into my next career. I actually look forward to the opportunity to explore the different ways I can contribute to this world.
6. What will be your legacy? I don't have kids, and I don't see kids in my future. So what will be my gift to the future? I see some of that in all of the students I have taught as a physician. I love teaching and I hope that I will be able to return to teaching once I have established myself in design. What else can I leave? I think about this. I worry about this. One possibility Rob and I have discussed is helping out gay youth. There are agencies which place gay teens that have been thrown out by their families with stable gay couples. Is that right for us?
7. Are you sure that your regrets cannot be done/redone/undone? This is probably the question that stings most sharply. I will never have the opportunity to rebuild my friendship with Omar. Another friend, Bridget Phillips, was murdered when she was in grad school. Clearly, tragedies such as these can make a regret permanent. How many more, ones that seem so fixed, really could be addressed. There are a few friendships that I have thought permanently damaged that I am considering revisiting. I have also always wanted to live abroad, but figured that the opportunity may have passed, being locked into my current career. While it might create a massive disruption to our lives, might it actually be a real possibility. I know that so many obstacles in our lives are placed there by our own minds. I need to start challenging those barriers.

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Starting Again (perhaps a little wiser)

Last night, Rob noted that we have been doing great lately. Things weren't bad, but I agree that the last few weeks have been wonderful. My initial reaction was that it corresponded to my break from school. This may or may not be the reason (or at least the entire reason), but it must be considered. I know that school had taken a toll on us individually and as a couple. The new semester starts this evening. While I don't think it will ber a bad one, I don't want things to regress at home. I like how much fun we've been having and plan to make a conscious effort to keep things going.

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Still Not Breathing

School is over for the semester, but I don't really feel less stressed. I am starting to look ahead to graduation, which is not that far off. I am trying to set up time to shadow at a design firm. I also need to put together a portfolio. While I have some work ready to be included, some of it needs major rework. Work still is soul numbing. Also, the computer needs some attention. I updated all the drivers and did a complete backup...but I desperately need to go through all my school files and purge the unnecessary files. So much for having time to breathe...

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Digging through "The Pile"

I went digging through "the pile" on the kitchen counter. You know the one. As mail comes in, you throw some stuff away. Some things, like bills, you put near the computer to handle in the near future. However, some stuff goes into "the pile." It needs to be dealt with, but you just don't feel like it now.

Wow. I clearly have been putting off too much for too long. Among the surprises, I found:

• renewal info for Rob's drivers license
• renewal info for my drivers license
• emission testing notification for the car
• renewal info for the car tags
• paperwork from the accountant for taxes
• all of the miscellaneous forms for the taxes

Needless to say, it has been a busy morning plodding through "the pile" and getting stuff done. I've made huge progress, but my to-do list for the next few days just filled up!

Mega Weekend

Wow, what was I thinking? This weekend, everything so to come together. I had a thesis committee meeting on Friday; I have to prepare for two midterms (Monday & Tuesday); I had opera on Saturday night; I am on call; and at the last moment, Michael decided to come visit for the weekend.


I have gotten better at looking ahead to try to prevent freak-outs. One of my partners agreed to take one of the call days. I also arranged to take off take off Thursday, Friday, and Monday. So not only have I been able to get a lot of work done, I have done it a non-frenetic pace...and I've been able to enjoy myself as well!

Slow Start

The new semester has started, but I am getting off to a slow start.  I am having problems summoning up motivation.  I'm not quite sure why.  I am actually pretty interested in the coursework.  I should be able to make significant headway towards my thesis.  I will be learning new and buffing up old computer skills.  In addition, I should start making some progress towards building my portfolio.  All good.  Maybe I've been dealing with this whole work/school/life balance for too long....two years can be draining.

Back to Full Time Everything

Tomorrow, I start back to school.  Part of me is excited.  I start fleshing out what my graduate thesis will be.  I get to learn some new computer skills.  I'm growing in new directions.  I'm making progress towards graduation...and towards my new career.


However.....there is a big however.  I'm two years into graduate school.  I am so tired from balancing 80% at work and 70-100% time at school.  That doesn't even take into account trying to have a proper home life.  It is simply exhausting.  The break was rejuvenating, but it will take a few days to erase all that.  I know I can hang on through this year.  I don't really consider failure an option, but I feel that I am pushing my limits.

.....and breathe!

Things seem to be looking up.  Mom's surgery went fine.  I had a major rendering snafu on Tuesday night, but I recovered and became super-productive on Wednesday.  I got the banner done a little late, but the print center confirmed that they can get it done in time.  I had a little panic last when I noticed a mistake....but I got a corrected banner to the printer in time.


Today I have a few minor assignments to wrap up.  I want to get a haircut and a massage today so I can get back to looking and feeling human.

What a difference a GREAT massage makes!

Last week I suffered through a thoroughly craptastic massage experience.  While I was not thrilled about paying for another massage quite so soon, I clearly need it.  My muscles were no longer quite so rock-hard and burning, but the brain was still frazzled.  Fortunately, Chicago has many options for massage.....which is great because I'm certainly NOT going back to Kiva.


I decided to return back to Sir Spa.  It had been years since I had been there, but two different people had brought it up in the last week.  Even though I called this morning, they were able to fit me in at the time I wanted.  Unlike Kiva, the place still looks brand new.  They are putting forth the effort and money to keep it maintained.  I wish I had gotten there about fifteen minutes earlier to get a proper steam in prior to the massage....oh well!  My therapist, Bill, was outstanding.  He was not chatty, and when he did talk he used a very soothing tone of voice.  He was very accommodating regarding positioning.  I had suggested minimizing the amount of time face-down, even if it meant less work on the back.  He recommended that I rotate a few times during the massage so that we could give everything its proper due while keeping me comfortable.  I took his suggestion and it worked brilliantly.


I left with loose muscles but barely able to string a sentence together.  I can't remember the last time I felt so relaxed....both mind and spirit.


Thank you Sir Spa for confirming that massage can be such a wonderful experience.

...and DONE!

The marathon of the last week is through. Not the actual Chicago Marathon...that would have left me with a sense of satisfaction. All three classes had major deliverables this week...complicated by being on call over the weekend. I did a fine job on everything, but nothing spectacular. Everything was completed with no time to spare. I am simply drained. I have blocked out time before the rest of assignments this semester. I hope that will be sufficient. I can't keep wearing myself out like this.

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Need One More Day This Weekend

I think I just comprehended how much is due next week. I'm doomed. Any chance that an extra day will be added to the weekend? I could probably handle it all if I weren't on call.

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Competing Priorities: Yesterday's Winner Was Social Media

It is amazing that when I have so many things that I HAVE to do, I seem to spend the most time on the optional. I am not super busy at work, but I do have a lot due for school in the next week.  However, recently I have been very focused on developing a social media presence.  I have thrown myself into Twitter (@argilbert66) and have developed some great contacts from around the world.  I have also been focused on getting my blogs into shape and developing some new ones.  I have developed a strategy of how to use them, and I am pleased with the preliminary results.  That being said, I have spent WAY too much time on these activities and not near enough time on my upcoming deadlines.  I was up until 2am this morning getting the blogs structured.

Blogging Reboot

While I have been dabbling with blogging for a while, I don't feel that I had any particular direction.  The entries were more of a chore or simply for cataloging.  I certainly haven't had much coherence in entries.  Recently, I have been experimenting on different platforms and came to realize that perhaps I wasn't thinking of blogging correctly.  I was trying to figure out how to have one blog fit all my needs.  There was no way to make that work.

I will be keeping four blogs in some fashion or another moving forward:

In Many Worlds - will be my personal blog.  I want to explore how I maintain balance as I maintain my responsibilities at work, in school, and in life.  I will be including some reflective pieces as well as more current musings.

Daydreaming About Space - will serve as a log for my school work.  I want to catch my process and my drafts, as well as thoughts about my education.

reVisioned - will be used to report what is capturing my interest.  I foresee posting links and media, sometimes with short commentary.  This blog will feed into Twitter, and some of the posts will make their way into my other blogs.

Designing Wellness - is going to be my more 'professional' blog.  I have set up my own domain to self-host this blog.  I want to explore and share my insights on healthcare design, the intersections of hospitality and healthcare, and evidence-based design.  I am particularly impact on the affect of design on clinical outcomes, experience of stakeholders, and healthcare systems.

I am sure there will be evolution of all these blogs as time goes on.  Honestly, I hope I haven't taken on more than I can handle.  Regardless, the experience will be rewarding.

Glorious Day

Yesterday was such a beautiful day! Since starting school a year and a half ago I have been taking off work on Thursdays. Initially this was to accommodate afternoon classes. Now even though I don't have classes on Thursday,I have kept the day open for homework and to recover from juggling school and work. I love being home with the dogs!

Holiday

Ah.....the 3 day weekend.....what a great institution! I will be so nice to chill at home and to do things with friends. I don't even mind that I have some homework I need to do for school; most of the assignments are actually kind of fun. My big chore will be to block out any thoughts or worries about work. For these three days, the hospital must cease to exist!

Unnecessary Complexities

It always seems that when I am handling things reasonably well, I add something in (often completely frivolous) to make my juggling act that much more difficult.

Work and school are busy, but they are actually quite manageable right now. At least in theory. For some reason I have felt the need to a new computer game to my life. I do love games....especially the fantasy/role-playing sorts. It is so easy for it to become an obsession and time-suck. It is not killing me yet in terms of time management, but I am sure that will come.

In Many Worlds

I grew up reading science fiction and fantasy. I loved being transported to different worlds and learning about strange and unique cultures. I particularly enjoyed reading stories about alien planets and alternate dimensions. I wished I would have the chance to bounce between these different realities.

Jumping ahead a few decades, I have certainly had a healthy dose of reality. I think everyone lives in multiple worlds.....work, home, extended family, friends, etc. The distinctness of these many worlds has been very pronounced for me over the last year and a half as I have tried to balance my home life and relationship, my medical practice, and the master's program in interior design. I try to juggle everything with aplomb, but I think I often don't do justice to everything that I have committed.