coffee and surgery

Those of you who know me know that coffee easily ranks in my top 10 things I love in life. You'll find most places have instant coffee, which will do in a pinch. Here, 10 AM signals tea time. Most things grind to a halt for a half an hour or so, while people consume tea and some form of cookie AKA "biscuit" (said with an English accent). We have no coffee maker here in the guest house, where we live and instant coffee can only satisfy a man for so long. Imagine my joy when our new friends, the Everswicks, lent us their french press last weekend. For those of you who don't know what a french press is, see the photo above. It's not my french press, but it is a french press. and my coffee cups aren't that fancy. definitely no saucer. But, you'll get the idea.

Just as an aside, and this whole post is pretty much an aside, we've been listening to sermons by a guy named Matt Chandler recently. He's a pastor at the Village Church near Dallas, TX. The website for his church with his sermons can be found at:

http://fm.thevillagechurch.net/sermons

My favorites of those sermons are those on Ecclesiastes. I went ahead and linked them below. Do yourself a favor and listen to them, I think they changed my life. You might even just make yourself a cup of coffee and then listen to one. Who knows, the possibilities are endless. just click on the little green file and listen to it or if your computer savvy (AKA under the age of 30) you can just put it on your itunes. I find that his sermons are immensely practical. He approaches the things that plague today's church with a great deal of honesty and practicality. He just works through Biblical texts and draws out very applicable lessons. Just check them out. You won't be disappointed.

7.09.06The Sixth SenseEcclesiastes (Part 1)Matt Chandler7.16.06QuenchedEcclesiastes (Part 2)Matt Chandler

7.30.06The GiftEcclesiastes (Part 3)Matt Chandler

8.06.06IngredientsEcclesiastes (Part 4)Matt Chandler

8.20.06Out of BreathEcclesiastes (Part 5)Matt Chandler

8.27.06Communal LessonsEcclesiastes (Part 6)Matt Chandler

9.03.06Approaching the DivineEcclesiastes (Part 7)Matt Chandler

9.10.06Searching for SatisfactionEcclesiastes (Part 8)Josh Patterson

9.17.06Coffee with Granddaddy IEcclesiastes (Part 9)Matt Chandler

9.24.06Coffee with Grandaddy IIEcclesiastes (Part 10)Matt Chandler

10.08.06Love InterruptsEcclesiastes (Part 11)Matt Chandler10.15.06ReconciliationEcclesiastes (Part 12)Matt Chandler

10.22.06Occupied TerritoryEcclesiastes (Part 13)Matt Chandler

12.03.06Daily ContactEcclesiastes (Part 14)Matt Chandler

12.10.06A Life Lived WellEcclesiastes (Part 15)Matt Chandler

2.17.06To the Young and the OldEcclesiastes (Part 16)Mat Chandler

On a medical note, I'm currently reading through selected entries of this book:

much of the text can be found here, though I believe without the great illustrations:

It's an excellent text and has a second and third volume in the set. Those are on the topics of the surgery of trauma (largely orthopedics) and that of anesthesia. We are progressively being allowed to do more in the operating room. We see lots of urgent cases in the OR but surprisingly few acute abdomens. I'm starting to enjoy the outpatient medicine that we do on a daily basis much more. In fact, the situation here is such that the people we see in the outpatient department with surgical needs are sent (more or less) straight to the OR and seen by whichever one of us is not in the outpatient department that day. We get some pretty quick feedback on how the patient did and just what was done for them. So, it's a good way to learn. Additionally, we're becoming much more comfortable with Malaria, HIV, and TB- which seem to be the "bread and butter" of ambulatory care here.

BTW...Abbi got her hair did by one of the nursing students. check it out.

and when the braids came out...