The fourth of july was rainy in Philadelphia, but the fireworks were amazing. Loud, but amazing. Largely hidden behind smoke, but still amazing. That says a lot, I think! It only make ssense that Philly would have a good show on the 4th, it being the Place of the Signing and all... I’d love to hear if anybody did anything exciting for the holiday weekend. Anybody? Anybody? Beuller?

Ahem. Sorry ‘bout that. Right. Onward!!

So, I realize that I haen’t said a whole lot in my recent posts about how CPE itself is going, as opposed to my various adventures. That changes... now!

CPE is hard, it’s tiring, I’m learning a lot, and I’m almost halfway done! Whoo.. four things about cpe in one sentence... I’m whupped.

No, really, it’s going well. It is totally exhausting. As most of you know, I’m an introvert-type, and so having intense interaction with el publico day in and day out for eight hours per day (in or out, it makes no matter) is enough to leave me good for little more than last night’s Daily Show and some snoozing. Piled on top of that is the fact that most of that interaction falls into one of two categories: talking with patients (often about less than happy things) and intense self-examination with the group.

This is a part of the CPE process that I’ve spoken very little about. A good deal of our “classtime” is spent in what really amounts to group therapy + professional development, as we analyze interactions we’ve had, and all of the psychology that went into our decisions. I’m learning a lot in these “clinicals” about what makes me tick, and how I react to stressful situations. And in this sense, CPE is proving invaluable. In learning how I respond to a variety of intense interpersonal situations, I am learning how best to deal with them when they do crop up. There’s nothing like on-the-job training…

A lot of the patient interactions are very rewarding, and there’s a lot to learn simply from them. It’s always nice to hear that they or their family have appreciated my being with them, and it’s even better to see them go home healthy.

Even while they’re still in the hospital, they can provide some entertainment value at times. One paitent who had been at Thomas Jefferson for some weeks had had frequent visits from his lady friend, and his nurses could tell just exactly how much fun they were having of a night by the readings on the remote heartrate monitors. Telemetry porn. Only in a hospital…

Dear readers, please let me offer my sincerest apologies for depriving you of my words of comfort and succor from El Ciudad del Amor de Hermanos. Comfor. Succor. There. I hope you’re happy. With luck, I will be writing twice a week starting next week: Mondays and Thursdays I hope. With that: Happy In-Dependence Day. This’ll blow your mind: what if we called it Inter-Dependence Day? Wouldn’t that totally change the world? No? Fine. Be that way.

Last weekend, I took the exciting and reportedly dangerous Chinatown Bus from Philadelphia to New York. For those of you who don’t know, the Chinese crminal syndicates use the cover of a cheap busline to traffick heroin, tiny shoes, and the latest prophecies fresh in from China, authorized by Beijing’s Ministry for Lying to Americans, for use in fortune cookies. For the mere price of twenty dollars roundtrip, and the sure knowledge that you are participating in a criminal endeavor, you can get almost anywhere on the eastern seabord in approximately two hours. Word on the street is that J. K. Rowling researched the Chinatwon buses for her transparent ripoff, the Knightbus.

My stay in New York was too short, but a lot of good times were packed into those few days. Friday afternoon Harry Huberty and I tromped merrily around the Metripolitan Museum of Art. We refrained from holding hands and skipping merrily, but it was a close thing. In order to prove to all you skeptics out there that I did indeed visit the museum which is called Met, I present Photo-Magical Imagery!

This is some kind of pagan idol from the Eurpoean Dark ages. No one is quite sure of its significance, or what kind of practices it inspired, but it sure is lovely.

This is another pagan idol, though it dates much later, to the Rennaisance. It is a representation of the dark Goddess Kaphé, imported from the New World. See how her twin tails stand ready to dispense scalding black nectar and delicately foamed milk? Other theories suggest it is a depiction of a siren from Greco-Roman mythology, but this has yet to be proven by science.

This is a picture of Mary Magdalene, recovered from the chapterhouse of a Christian worker’s guild from the middle ages. These societies helped thier dead members by paying for services to be said for them after their deaths. In this case, the society’s patron saint was Mary of Magdala, and so their prayers are addressed through her. No, this is true. Really. Why are you lookign at me like that?

In typical fashion, European colonial powers not only enslaved the inhabitants of this island paradise, but they crystalized its panoramic views and took them back to their dreary and icy homes in the European Wastlands. This is an example of such a stolen vista.

After our sojourn amongst the beautiful art, Harry and I made our way to meet Master Dan Chamberlin of the New York Chamberlins, and then made haste to the Tambasco household, where we played an excellent roleplaying game called Dogs in the Vineyard. We learned how dangerous wine can be. (It apparently can lead people to try to summon demons. Who knew?)

The next day, after settling the island of Catan, The native New Yorkers helped Harry and me find our way to a rain-soaked barbecue in Brooklyn.

Finally, I went to church at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (which is HUGE), then spent a couple of hours in the surprisingly disappointing Strand bookstore in Union Square, then jumped my bus back to Philadelphia. All-in-all, an excellent long weekend. You should try it sometime.

For those of you keeping up with my reading, know that I am slowly making my way through Pillars of the Earth. It’s good, but getting a little bit predictable/repetitive. I must know what happens to Tom Builder, though! Damn you Ken Folleeeeeeet!!!!

Salutations, friends! There is not much news to report from the CPE front, except to say that CPE is engaging, rewarding, important, and amazingly exhausting. For those of you who know me well, you know also that I am of the introverted persuasion. This means that prolonged social interaction has a way of leaving me drained. CPE is nothing if not socially interactive. And so, at the end of the day, I am nothing if not drained. I’m learning a lot, and am very glad to be here, but nevertheless, I’m looking forward to being able to rest for real when it’s all over!

That said, here are some more magical photo-graphs. These are from a stained glass window in the Museum of Art. It’s in one of the aforementioned “reconstructed rooms,” and is a very nice, and peaceful place to sit. I think it’s made up of pieces of broken windows, put together into a new one.

Without further wei:

I like the way that the face looks like it is just leaving the picture, as if it has somewhere to be.

See how the way the glass on the left is cut so it looks like an angel wing for the figure on the right? I’m not sure if it was done on purpose, but it sure looks excellent.

I’m sure this is for St Mark the Evangleist. Medieval pictures of African animals are so funny. You can tell the guy who painted it had never actually seen a lion. I love the human ears.

The brick walls in the pieces on the right and left look strangely modern; they almost remind me of World War II imagery, like concentration camps or something. Kind of dark next to the bright yellow shield.

A nice abstract piece.

Ooooh… something interesting is going on over there! What’s going on over there?

I like how the little plant sprout is glowing…

So, there it is: more delicious photo-graphery! The horizontal pictures also make very nice desktop wallpaper, if I do say so meself.

Through the magic of the sorcerously ingenious French invention, the camerà digitàl, I was able this past weekend to capture images of what the natives call La Ciudad del Amor de Hermanos. Behold the magic!

These are the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. According to local lore, running up and down them repeatedly transforms you into a speech-impeded, but willfully determined pugilist. Perhaps it is part of some charming local custom or folk-ritual.

The museum itself is quite excellent. Their collection of works is impressive and varied. What I enjoyed most about the place the first time I visited was the collection of little rooms hidden away between the galleries. Each is setup using recovered artifacts and art from a particular period, sometimes going so far as to include actual wall panelling, ceiling decorations, and even fireplaces. They help to give an impression of what the art might have looked like in it’s “natural habitat.”

This is the body of the first man to attempt the pugilist metamorphosis. Following his death, the city had him bronzed, and placed next to the stairs that so changed his life.

The city seems dedicated to this Rocky Balboa man. Perhaps one day they will sell out to Hollywood and make a film about him. Typical.

This is the city of Philadelphia from the top of the Metamorphic Steps. The tower directly down the long drive is topped by a statue (or bronzed corpse of?) William Penn, the founder and one-time beneolent tyrant of this state. There was once a law on the book stating that no building in the city could be taller than his head. Eventually, the red-hot steam engine of capitalism and progress trampled that law into the dirt, but at least they had the decency to put those buildings behind Penn’s back.

Well, these are all of the photo-graphs that I have to share at this point. If you click them gently with your cursor, they will reveal obcenely large versions of themselves, in vivid and garish color!

I am halfway through Lavinia, but am unsure what is to follow. Perhaps Pillars of the Earth, perhaps the next Mary Russell mystery. Boy howdy but they’re good!

Ok, most of a day.

I must say, the Philadelphia Museum of Art is amazing. Beside the excellent collection of painitngs, scattered througout the museum there are little rooms tucked away set up, furnieshed, and panelled according to a particular period’s decor. So there’s a room that was moved out of a 16th century English house, and one taken from a 17th century Italian villa, and several more. It’s really quite excellent. You get to see the pieces of art in their “natural habitat” as it were.

I only made a cursory sweep through the mueseum, though, because I know that I’ll be back again, and soon, too.

So last night I got to follow a fellow-shaplain around the hospital to see what he does of an evening. So far, it seems like what we do is walk! Walk walk walk! The hospital is spread out over several buildings, and so there is a great distance to be covered if one is called to the Neurology building from the CPE office.

As it turns out, last night the two most important things going on were happening in the same room. Two hispanic males with very large families were being taken off life support, and it wasn't until they were moved from the one room into separate rooms that anyone outside the families could keep them all straight.

This was my first look into hospital life, inasmuch as one sees great sadness. The families were very, very distraught, and to see such pain is to know that there is nothing anyone can do. As the chaplains, there was even less we could do, since the families were really large enough to take care of themselves. So, we just stayed around, being available.

So, there's nothing for it but to head on in. I'll probably have my first on-call this week, which means staying at the hospital from 4:45pm to 7:45am. More details on that when it happens.

Today, however, I'm going into town to do some sightseeing. I think I'll hit up the Philadelphia Museum of Art since it's supposed to rain.