Harmonic convergence

Next month comes a true harmonic convergence: Ned-Bob and I have two weeks vacation -- at the same time! The question is, what to do with this rare and valuable commodity? Our original plan was to go to Cairo, but right now probably isn't the best time. (Plus, the friend we were going to visit left during the protests.) Then I had a great idea for a backup plan: go see the Roman ruins in Egypt's quiet neighbor, Libya. Once again, turns out to be probably not the best timing.

So we're going to turn left instead of right over Germany and go to Scandinavia. One of Ned-Bob's best friends is a prima ballerina in Gothenburg, Sweden, so we're going to go hang out at ballet rehearsals there. We're also going to spend some time in Copenhagen (where we've been tasked with leaving a secret note for Ned-Bob's cousin, who's following us there a few weeks after). Sandwiched in between we're hoping to get some quality outdoor time in the Norwegian fjords.

On the other hand, considering my recent track record, Stockholm will probably be in flames by next Tuesday.

On-call liveblogging: An unusual ICU problem

I'm on call in the intensive care unit tonight. Several of the rooms in the unit are temporarily closed for maintenance reasons, so I've got some time to sit down. In fact, I thought I'd get ahead of the sleep curve by heading over to the call room to lie down for a nap. (After all, who knows what's waiting out there later in the night?) But I have a problem I've never had on call before: I can't sleep. It's hard to even imagine it. Being on call every fourth night there's never a time when I don't feel like sleeping, but here I am, sharing my insomnia with everyone in a blog post.