Tapping into the hunger for change at World Domination Summit 2013
Debbie Weil: WDS 2013 main stage talk If you can’t see the video above, click here. It’s hard to sum up the impact of attending the World Domination Summit. Days after getting back to the East Coast I still felt bathed in the glow of connection I felt with the other 2,799 attendees. You can see some […]
Finding my voice at World Domination Summit 2013
I tend to do what I’m told (for example, Bollywood dancing at the closing party) so when Chris Guillebeau advised World Domination Summit 2013 attendees to go to a breakout session on a topic that might be uncomfortable or new, I took his word. I decided to go to the Improv Workshop with Portland legend Gary […]
From the desk of Dr. Harrington: “The bubble over my head”
One of the most irritating expressions a patient can use is… “I am supposed to…” It is usually verbalized just after a diagnosis is made and a treatment plan is being considered. For example: “Mr. Smith, your CT scan shows extensive diverticulitis; and, although no abscess is demonstrated your abdomen is very tender; I recommend […]
Q. & A. with Debbie and Sam on “collaboration”
Debbie: Is this really our first collaboration? What about our three children? Sam: That was different. Debbie: You’re right; it was. Sam: This is doing creative work together. Debbie: And you don’t mind me being your editor? It’s not that easy. Sam: You mean because of our different approach to quotation marks and periods and […]
Heading to the World Domination Summit… as a travel-hacking, old-age blogger
The first month of my Gap Year is over. Eleven months to go. I have had two business discussions about potential future endeavors but remain committed to holding off on serious talks until I have really separated from my practice by several months. Over the weekend a patient called. She is one of the few […]
For now, you can call me Plain Mr. Harrington (S.)
It has been three weeks since I stepped into the void. Taking that step means I gave up one of the most responsible jobs in the workforce, making decisions for patients that had life or death consequences. Did I expect that change to make me feel small, reduced, insignificant? I think I did, and for a […]
My first Nats game and a revelation about baseball’s “perfect game”
I went to my first Nats game this week. I had never been to a game in DC’s gleaming new stadium. It was a perfect night for baseball. Warm but not humid. Not a cloud in the sky. And on June 21, 2013, the longest day of the year. Our seats were spectacular (thank you […]
Enough touchy-feely; let’s get to my peeves about resistance to government intervention
Ok, no touchy-feely comments about my state of mind as I enter the third week of my Gap Year, keeping in mind that in 40 years of medical education, training, and practice three straight weeks is the most vacation time I have ever had and this on less than five occasions. Let’s get to some […]
Unmoored and learning to drift
Now this is a bit of a surprise. Sam is two weeks into our Gap Year and apparently enjoying his freedom. He has the normal worries (logistics of packing and travel) but he doesn’t seem particularly anxious about his yet-to-be-made-up future. I, on the other hand, am feeling confused and discombobulated, set adrift. I seem […]
Puncturing a lampshade and crossing the Rubicon
After leaving Milwaukee I returned to DC. I needed to clear my desk and I had a medical check up scheduled. Getting close to the action created temporary feelings of inadequacy and purposelessness. But being a patient at the overly technological office visit reminded me of the outrage I feel at the complexity medical care […]