The Top Ten Things I've Learned in NYC

Hey family,
I'm back in Atlanta ! The land of 2chainz, purple afros and great sweet potato pancakes!! Amen. I was thinking, NYC kinda beat me up a lil bit... but I survived. So I began to reflect ...

 

The Top ten things I've learned about NYC

10. MOVE!!!!! If you don't move fast and with purpose you will miss everything!
-- You will miss your train, your chance to order food, your chance to cross the street, your chance to get in the door and even your chance to succeed.

9. THERE ARE WAAAAY TOO MANY SMELLS!
- This doesnt need explanation but if the scent of a gyro, mixed with Racoon toe has hit you while walking in NYC you know what I mean.

8. SUBWAY ENTERTAINMENT IS EDUCATIONAL
--I have learned that psychosis is just a state of mind... the guy who was staring at me but talking to NO ONE next to him , because NO ONE was next to him was completely harmless. I was the only clutching my purse!

--couples counseling occurs late Saturday night. Alcohol and an emotional woman who feels her relationship hasn't moved on to marriage just yet are the perfect mix for a healthier relationship!
Oh yeah , especially when she yelling to the top of her lungs and he tries to become invisible.

7. NO ONE HAS TIME TO HEAR YOUR SOB STORY
-- I was lost and just needed direction on my 6 block walk to work. So I go an explain that i was lost to a guy that saw my frustration but with 3 words too many he lost interest and kept walking! SMH

6. BODEGAS ARE AN EXCUSE NOT TO HAVE A REAL GROCERY STORE WITHIN A DECENT DISTANCE!!!!
--I was sooooo hungry some nights. The bodega that sold butter crunch cookies, Now&Laters and canned food ...oh and one banana is supposed to be nurishment for a neighborhood?? I was in Harlem and Tradewr Joes was on the Upper West side !!

5. NO ONE IS REALLY BIG ON SAYING EXCUSE ME
-- I found myself bumping into everyone but I was the only one to say excuse me... I got over it in a week. the next thing I know I was walking faster and they were in my way! Bwahahaha

4. SOME PEOPLE WILL CALL BAD FASHION EXPRESSION
--I'm just saying yall! Combat boots, daisy dukes, an old Bill Cosby sweater with the leather patches and thick frames glasses...SMH... I can't tell a brother what to wear.

3.THE FOOD TRUCK IS KING!!!!!!!!!!!

I had to hug my food truck dudes for my falafel wraps... they got me through some hungry times at ABC news.

2. BRUNCH IS A SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE
--Brunch is the to do everywhere but I have no words on how a whole city will find a way to be out to brunch at the same time.

1. BIG BIRD CAN HIDE OUT IN NYC AND FEEL SAFE
--After the debate... I got ya back Big Bird... you will blend-in in NYC.

I think I miss my pager... Nahh

     Being the new kid is never easy. However, if you want to do great things, you just might have to do something different. So I've packed it up and landed in Manhattan at ABC NEWS on 47 W 66th Street. I must admit, Atlanta has grown on me and I miss my beloved Highland Bakery. (Sweet potato diabetes pancakes!!)Despite my living in the NYC before, I have been lost!!! I've been walking in the wrong direction, taking the wrong train and ended up on Broadway!! (check out the pic) However, I made it to work in one piece.

 

      The ABC NEWS building is huge, the people are laid back, and the news guy Sam Champion is in jeans... chilling!! Where is Diane Sawyer?? One of my bosses who happens to be one of the senior producers for the medical unit, is a tall and brutally honest gent. "So.. you are Khaalisha?? Did you read my Residents Guide? (All 38 pages?? um..)  Yes? Okay, lets get you a desk so you can get to work." Gulp...  Many people wonder what in the world am I doing at ABC? Well, every month the Medical News Unit hosts a group of 4-6 residents from any discipline to come in and assess new medical journal articles before release to public and help decide if these new findings are applicable to the world audience. I'm not in front of a camera. Thank goodness! I probably would forget what a teleprompter even is!! My history of performing poetry would not help. My job? I simply vet articles for stories and if they are approved ... write some up and others might go to T.V.  Not so fabulous? Well for a nerd like me ?? Super fab! Too bad pre-released articles come to my email every two minutes all day!!! I am working with 4 other residents from Mt. Sinai , UIC , Univ of Arizona and University of Minnesota. One member of the team was even an attending. An all girl crew! And we are all fab, grateful and driven. 

 

      Sometimes I feel as a physician, that while on this rotation I am one of the gate keepers for public knowledge and safety. While I don't control public knowledge, I am proud to help to keep dissemination responsible ! Thank goodness for journal club because my job at ABC is like journal club on steroids!!  Dr. Harris, of Morehouse Cardiology, taught some great lessons in her journal club that I still keep with me! (Thank you!!)  Sometimes, articles that we all may read in the New England Journal of Medicine, and alike, will excite the press and consequently excites our patients. They will google a topic or see it on the nightly news and then come to our clinic and request a test that won't change the current standard of care! Sometimes the test has a risk of being unnecessary or harmful. However , they saw it, so they want it! It's about being informed and educating others about there health, responsibly!  

I am falling in love with NYC all over again!

I'm exhausted but excited! Today, I will get to visit the Good Morning America and World News set! Its also fashion week and my friends are here. This weekend belongs to me!

 

I will leave with a question? When was the last time you were the new kid and it took some getting used to ??