I recently performed a career assessment in an earlier entry, but I am not exactly sure what, if any conclusion was reached. Also, there is nothing like sitting down over a couple of beers with a doctor who recently returned from working in Ghana to make you feel insignificant. That's my friend R. Of course, he did not mean to make me feel insignificant, but here are the facts: While he was in London getting a masters in health care policy, I was in law school mastering the socratic method; While he was in Panama, his home country, training rural doctors, I was reviewing expert reports about a furnace motor, explaining why the "wicking" theory was the only explanation to the motor failure, which caused the furnace to shut down, which caused the pipes to freeze and burst, which caused flooding and significant property damage throughout the home; While R was traveling across South America - I am not exactly sure what he was doing on this trip, but I am sure it was not a vacation (see, vacation is coming soon in the form of a road trip to Montana for camping and exploration - BY HIMSELF! - I have promised to periodically call the cell phone to made sure the grizzlies and mountain lions have not found him), so, while R was in S.A., I was finishing up an appeal brief on behalf of a country club that was sued by a woman for wrongful termination of her membership and sexual discrimination, which was based partly on the fact that she could not get the snack cart to add hard-boiled eggs to the menu; and today, while I was mindlessly reviewing documents regarding a construction project gone wrong, R was in surgery. Surgery! I simply cannot get over the fact that I have a friend talented enough to cut someone open and not kill them. I am truly in awe and astonished. (As I am my friend S, a former ER nurse, and my other friend S, who brings babies into this world). I sat and listened to R's stories with my mouth open for half of the night. Of course, this was after the portion of the happy (three) hour(s) which involved me telling my lame stories about how I managed to get a third-party complaint dismissed and won a motion for defense costs. However, I did manage to score a couple of points for my profession as a defense attorney - while I am sure he never will accidentally kill someone, or permanently injure someone with that mighty scalpel, or take out the wrong body part, I am sure somebody someday will accuse him of that and then he will need ME!
As some point, R asked, "Dre, (I can disclose this because he chooses to call me by a name I never otherwise answer to) wouldn't you like to do something that really matters, something that leaves your heart pounding and makes you just a little nervous, like defending the leader of a gorilla tribe in some remote country who is misunderstand and wrongly persecuted because he/she is just fighting for the human rights of his/her people?" What? Is this a question? Of course! Why do you think I went to law school? The problem(s) - I don't know who to contact about this position. I am definitely not qualified for it, if it exists. The job does not provide enough guidance or structure. I have a family, a home, and a different job that pays the mortgage and day care. After my original laughter at the ridiculousness of this question, I realized he was serious. Then, I realized the secret to his success is he truly believes he can do great things in this life. He wholly believes in himself. This is why at the age of 30, father to a 12 year-old, and immigrant from Panama, can say that being a surgeon is only the beginning.
I feel insignificant. I still don't know what the conclusion is.
