Renu's Week

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Report of 20 April 2013

Hello from the library at Carmel, Indiana!

Hello to the folks at Standard Chartered, who appear to follow my blog.  How are you folks?!

Life is good.  I wrapped up my last week at the B, and went to Madurai for my father's b'day.  That was interesting.  The department of plastic surgery at the Government Rajaji Hospital, where my father used to work, had organised an oration and much sycophancy on his b'day; so, my father's time for his family was limited, and my sister took us out for lunch while my father did oration duties.  That was fun.  It is nice to get together with family, I tell you.

I left India for Indiana (hoo hoo!), was picked up by Navin at the airport, and we met Naren for dinner.  We went to the warm home of the Tabers, and I was delighted to see young Melinda Taber, as well.  The next day, I left for San Francisco, and was picked up by my college friend, Mala, and her daughter, Shweta.  We spent a memorable day and a half together, meeting up later with Narayan and Shilpa, and visiting other college friend, Kausalya and her father, a friend of both my parents and me.  We had a rollicking good time, then I caught a bus from the airport to my hotel. 

The conference of the American College of Physicians was excellent, and I was privileged to meet up with true intellectual glitterati such as Faith Fitzgerald, and see former colleagues.  Rob Hansen, a friend from med school, kindly took me out for dinner; that was nice, as always.  The sessions at ACP were truly enlightening.  Scott came down a day before the conference ended, and we did touristy things after hours.  After the conference ended, my school friend (from when we were 3 years old!), Maya, and her husband, Tim, got us and we met another friend, Mohan, for dinner.  Reminiscing about school days was grand fun, and we got updates on friends; some news we had not known about, but collectively shared.  Maya's kids were a treat, too, as was her lovely home.

Maya dropped us at the airport the next day, and I flew to Indy while Scott flew to Seattle.  Both our sons got me, and I sat in the back seat listening to chatter; it was fun, fun!  We dropped Navin at Rose-Hulman, showed Naren the campus, and Naren and I came back to Indy.  This week, I have rounded with Dr. Robert Love, eminent clinician and revered mentor, and that has been a blast.  I have also signed paperwork to work as a hospitalist at Community North, and look forward to it.

Among the joys of the U.S. - movies.  I have seen "42," "The place beyond the pines," and "Olympus has fallen."  The message in the last flick (though the flick itself was "What the heck?") is particularly relevant in the aftermath of the Boston attack: the U.S. certainly is stronger and I am heartened to see that.  How strong the propaganda must have been to sway someone my son's age into killing people - hmmm.  I must give thanks for our sons' very independent minds and robust insight. 

Unw -

R