My Thoughtful Spot

project runway 5: week 1

My secret TV shame is Project Runway. I have religiously watched the last four seasons and couldn't wait for this one to start. I'm not sure why I like it so much, but there are some really talented people out there. Mostly I think I enjoy watching them create art while they mix in a little drama -- as only artists can.

Based on only one show where they have to focus on 16 designers, it's hard to get a handle on their personalities, especially when they are trying to make garments out of things you buy at a grocery store. But there are most definitely some people I can talk about already.

This is Blayne. Blayne is a total douche. He is annoying as hell, but not in a Christian or Jeffrey interesting way of being annoying. He thinks he is God's gift to fashion and has an overinflated view of his body. Oh, yes, he obsessivley tans and I think my arms are bigger than his. So when he gets melanoma in 20-30 years, I hope he doesn't come to me to cure him. So let's move onto his piece for the challenge. I say "piece" because I'm not really sure what it is besides hideous.

He called it "girlicious." I think she's got a diaper to cover her crotch. I'm not entirely sure. ::shudder::

This is Jerell and I got a pretty good feeling from him. Doesn't seem to have a super huge ego and is talented, as evidenced by his design. He also hates Blayne, so that got him extra points with me.

Now onto who got cut. There were two scary designs and I think they chose the wrong one.

 #1     #2

Let's talk about #1. It's made of garbage bags that have not been completely opened up and the edges stitched together. She could have done so much more with this, even if it didn't involve color. What about metallics? If you're going for something hard and edgy, what about nails?

On to #2. Looks kinda like the bride from the murderer in I Know What you Did Last Summer. Yeah, scary. The trench needed a lot more shaping and he needed to ax the hood. But underneath was a dress that was cute and almost ethereal. This was designed by Jerry and they kicked him off. I think they made the wrong decision. What do you think?

Photos courtesy of BravoTV.

good day

"There's this person in my head. She is brilliant, capable. She can do chest tubes and craniotomies. She can run a code without freaking out. She's a really good surgeon. Maybe even a great surgeon. She's me... only so much better.

It was a good day. Maybe even a great day. I was a good doctor. Even when it was hard. I was the me in my head. There was a moment when I thought, 'I can't do this. I can't do this alone.' But I closed my eyes and imagined myself doing it. And I did. I blocked out the fear and I did it."

--Meredith Gray, from Grey's Anatomy

seared onto my brain like it's been branded

All of the tv's in the hospital are connected to the same set of channels. It's like an expanded basic cable. No premium channels. No way. Sh*t, even the vets get HBO at the VA. Some of the cable channels include AMC and TCM, which I usually end up watching, ESPN, Discovery, ABC Family, and several Spanish stations.

In the middle of all these are the Newborn Channels; one in English and one in Spanish. These are sort of like public service announcements that are made by the hospital for the patients who have just given birth and talk about things like car seat safety and how to give a baby a bath. Good idea, no?

I was flipping around, looking desparately for something decent to watch, when I came onto the Newborn Channel. Right there, magnified, in the middle of the screen, was a mom who had just given birth to twins and had one hanging off each boob. I usually think it's a very beautiful thing. Furthermore, I completely support breastfeeding when at all possible because it's better for the baby's immune system. But that was not an image I was prepared to see when I was looking for South Park or Family Guy reruns. And now when I close my eyes, I see a giant boob with a baby on it. I would try to take a picture of it with my phone the next time the loop of programming starts again, but now I'm afraid of what else I might see.

I think my ovaries are hiding behind my pancreas now.

it's still good tv

A few days ago, I was able to sit down and watch an episode of Grey's Anatomy. I haven't seen an episode in almost a whole year, but I've missed it very much. In every show, there was some exchange of words, some theme, or some situation that I could really relate to as a female, a surgeon, and a resident. This one was no exception. I found it interesting that I saw this show before my unexpected night of hell in the hospital where I cried "uncle." Here are some quotes that really struck me this time:

"Surgeons don't need to ask for help. Because they're tougher... Surgeons are cowboys; rough around the edges. Hardcore. At least, that's what they want you to think." -- Meredith

"What? He fell 12,000 ft. without a parachute? Thank you!" -- Christina, who was bored at the time

"He's an intern. It's like half my job torturing interns." -- McSteamy

"Dude, your job kinda sucks, huh?" -- fiance of patient

"Being aware of your crap and overcoming your crap are two very different things." -- Christina

"I'm not hardcore. I'm not hardcore enough for this." -- Izzy

"Deep down, everyone wants to believe they can be hardcore. But being hardcore isn't just about being tough. It's about acceptance. Sometimes you have to give yourself permission not to be hardcore for once. You don't have to be tough every minute of every day. It's okay to let down your guard. In fact, there are moments when it's the best thing you could possibly do. As long as you choose your moments wisely." -- Meredith

::giggle::

Wait til I tell everyone about this! Then I'll feel important with*out* drinking. That'll be weird. -- Homer Simpson, in the one where Ned temporarily moves out of Springfield

thank you, come again!

In the marketing frenzie that accompanies every major movie release, the creators of The Simpsons have yet again revealed their genius by taking it to a new level. They have contracted with 7-11 and converted twelve stores across the country into real Kwik-E-Marts. Being the Simpsons fanatics we are, we made a trek to the one closest to us in Los Angeles. Hey, it only took us an hour to get there...

As we were approaching the off ramp, we saw some spotlights swirling around in the darkness. No, that can't be for the Kwik-E-Mart. It just can't. Must be a neaby car dealership or something. Oh, but it was. Drawing more and more people into the line that was reached the sidewalk outside this particular Kwik-E-Mart. The funny thing was that almost everyone else in line was saying the same thing about those damn spotlights. Who knew so many other people in Los Angeles had nothing else better to do on a Saturday night?

  See? Spotlights.

One of the movie artists drew a picture for the store! Cool!

And just in case you were unclear on the rules...

We each got a Squishee and a pink donut. Well, some of us got more than one pink donut, but after eating one decided to save it for later. I tried to cut the sweetness of my donut with my Squishee. That really didn't work too well. But we were already out of the store, so I couldn't go back and buy water! Next door was a seedy liquor store (you know, the kind kept open by the alcoholics). They had water hidden in the back. The scary thing is that Daniel is already josing for another donut and more Woo Hoo! Blue Vanilla Squishee...

P.S. More pictures to come!

target audience?

I was watching a re-run of South Park tonight. It was the one where Korn plays at the Halloween festival and they are haunted by pirate ghosts. At one of the commercial breaks was an extended ad for praise music, as in call now to receive these CDs. "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High" and "Awesome God" were just a couple of the featured songs.

At the end of the commercial it dawned on me that they played this on a break for South Park. Just what kind of person watches South Park and listens to praise music? Or were they trying to convert the sinners?? I wonder how many orders that spot generated...

grey's musings -- the one where we meet george's dad

Another rerun of Grey's last night. This is one of my favorite episodes this year because it was pretty funny. The whole thing with Izzy and Alex referring to themselves in the third person still made me laugh.

• "You're probably not going to want to be friends with me because the sheer intensity of my happiness is going to make your teeth hurt." -- Meredith
• "Ah! Excellent! My invaluable intern. Is it bring a hot blonde to work day? No one told me..." -- McSteamy
• "Why are you being modest? Modest looks weird on you." -- George to Christina
• "What the hell is going on with the men in this hospital?" -- Addison
• "People in high powered careers. I get that. But they should think twice before having kids." --Meredith
• "Why bother having a kid if you're just going to see it on evenings and weekends. Why not just get a cat?" -- Meredith
• "Last week Izzy was digging through crap, this week Izzy is fondling man boobs." -- Izzy

In this episode one of the side plots was following a little girl who got hit by a car. She had "internal bleeding" from her liver or some other solid organ. Then they took her straight to the OR, do not pass go, do not collect $200. That is how this situation would have been handled about 15 years ago. Nonoperative management of these kinds of injuries actually originated in pediatric patients. They get closely monitored in the ICU for any signs of continued bleeding. They may get transfused two units or so if they need it, but if it's any more, then they go to the OR. Would not have happened that way.

And the scene where George's dad was getting an "endoscopy" made me laugh. They weren't using an endoscope; it's about the diameter of a marker. The Chief was holding a bronchoscope... for looking at the airways and down into the lungs. Silly props department...

The best news of all came at the end of the episode. We get a new one next week!!! :-)

musings on grey's -- meeting Denny

The folks at ABC are kind enough to replay the Thursday episode of Grey's on Fridays. I missed the first part of Thursday's episode, so I erased it from the DVR and recorded Friday's instead from the beginning. Except it wasn't the same episode! It's an episode from last January; from a time when I wasn't watching the show. I have, of course, caught up on the story line since then, but it's good to see "new" old ones. We're back when Alex is still mainly a jerk, Christina is dealing with her now-ended pregnancy, Miranda is pregnant, we don't like Addison, and Meredith and Derek are trying to get over each other.

I think that because of March Madness (gag, gag!) they will be showing re-runs for a while. If I haven't said anything about them, I'll go ahead and put up my two cents here. This particular episode had a lot of good quotes, so get out your coin purse!

• "I don't have an answer. I'm not being Christina, I just don't have an answer." -- Christina
• "I gotta hand it to the guy... trying to get some action when he's practically a corpse." -- Alex
• "I ate my novel, okay? Every last piece of that unmitigated crap." -- Mauer (patient)
• "There is a land called Passive Aggressiva, and you are their queen." -- McDreamy
• "But I'm sweating like, like, like... Nixon. President Richard Milhouse Nixon. That guy could sweat." -- Mauer
• "In high school I was the secretary and treasurer of the... Dungeons and Dragons Club."  -- George
• "I'll hold my breath, which will stop my heart, killing me. You're right here. You'll be charged with murder. Lifetime in prison being loved by a big ol' girl named Hildy." -- Denny
• "I poured my heart and soul into that book and now it's stuck up my ass. I want that on my tombstone. On my tombstone!" -- Mauer
• My point is we all have setbacks, Mauer. But I'm a doctor and you're a writer. We don't have a Plan B. -- Alex
• "You can't work the way we work. You can't want the kind of careers that we want and not take... pause." -- Miranda, referring to her pregnancy
• "I sat up one night. Middle of the night and I knew that I could do this. I still don't know how I'm going to do this, but I knew I could do it. You just have to know. And when you don't know, then no one can fault you for it. You do what you can, when you can, why you can. When you can't, you can't." -- Miranda, again, talking about her baby.
• "Who gets to determine when the old ends and the new begins? It's not a day on a calendar, not a birthday, not a new year. It's an event. Big or small. Something that changes us. Ideally, something that gives us hope. A new way of living and looking at the world. Letting go of old habits, old memories... What's important is that we never stop believing we can have a new beginning. But it's also important to remember, that amid all the crap, are a few things really worth holding on to." -- Meredith

Patient Mauer had what is called a bezoar -- a collection of inanimate things that have congealed together and caused a blockage. I took one out of a four year old once. It completely filled her stomach and had distended her stomach from the usual four year old size to a larger than adult size. Man, that was nasty.

And what Miranda said about pregnancy? She's totally right. People all around me say, "Oh, you can do it if you want, lots of people do." It refers to getting pregnant, carrying it to term, giving birth and then starting the long task of raising it... all while working 80 hours a week. I hate to tell them that it's just not that simple. And this... this whole career and family thing... it is harder for women. And I just can't. Not yet.

greys coming up

Last night was a rerun of Grey's Anatomy. The one where the guys go camping. Since it wasn't new, I had absolutely no incentive to stay up and watch it to the end. (Gimme a break; I'm on the road to work before the sun is up.) So when I get home, I'll watch it and put up my thoughts, since I don't think I've commented on this particular episode.

Even though it's a rerun, I still love that show. :-)