A VERY SPECIAL DAY, March 6, 2001:
Feeling : Hopeful, and a little lost.
Hat-less Bald Man Index : 21 (+1).
Congratulations to : Payada!
Another half-Asian coming right up.
HALF-DRAGON, JEALOUS AMY
AMY : "Guess who I saw in the O.R. today?"
(Amy sits in on O.R. cases for various cancer surgery protocols. She collects data and makes sure the proper protocol is followed.)
ME : "Who?"
AMY : "Your girlfriend!"
ME : "Which one? Hahaha!!" (If you really knew me, this would be really funny.)
AMY : "Yeah, that’s right, which one. The surgeon one, Artemisia."
Amy teases me about this particular female senior surgical resident.
I’ve only had about three conversations with her in the five years we’ve been at the Empire. Once, when we were both interns, we argued over a urinalysis test result.
But I have written about her a couple of times in the past few years too. For some reason, Amy was jealous because of those entries.
Just about all of the medicine and surgical residents alike adore her. With all the medicine-surgery conflicts that arise, that speaks highly of her personality AND ability. (She’s quite easy on the eyes as well. ... Okay, am I that obvious?)
AMY : "Yeah, I saw her in the elevator and she asked if I was related to you."
ME : "Oh yeah?"
AMY : "I said you’re MY HUSBAND, but I tell people we could be brother and sister. We look alike."
ME : "You did not say that! Hahhaa!"
AMY : "I did. Then she’s like – ‘waitaminute! Is Scott half-Asian?’"
ME : "I KNEW IT!! She’s half too, isn’t she? I told you I thought she was!!"
AMY : "Yeah, whatever. Guess what she is though."
ME : "Chinese." (I had no idea but Korean would have been a bit much.)
AMY : "Half Japanese, on her mother’s side. Of course."
ME : "I KNEW SHE WAS HALF!!! Wow!! Didn’t I tell you that a long time ago? I should have asked her."
Amy is so rarely jealous. Sure, she’ll occasionally make a comment on some online femme I’m drawing and say, "I’m better looking than her" but that’s about the extent of it (she says this about ALL of my drawings too, so no one in particular).
I usually answer with, "Of course you are, who was questioning it?"
Then she’ll kiss me and meander away, ego intact, with her whiskers and tail in the air.
AMY : "So, did you feel a kinship with her because she’s half too?"
ME : "I didn’t even know she was half. I started to wonder though. But yeah, that’s pretty cool."
AMY : "I bet if something ever happened to me, you’d start going after her. Yeah ... you would."
ME : "What?? Please. If anything ever happened to you, what are you talking about, baby?"
AMY : "I’m just saying. If it wasn’t for me, you’d be going after her."
ME : "Just because she’s half-Asian (and smart, and pretty, and …)? You have nothing to worry about, baby
.… Now if she were half-Korean, that would be a different story. Hahahahah!!!"
AMY : (most evil STINK eye glare) "Pshsshh!!"
ME : "I’m just kidding baby! Come on! Hahaha!"
Amy is so cute when she’s jealous.
SHINOBI AMBUSH
Next morning at work.
I ran into Artemisia in her surgical scrubs on her way to rounds or the O.R.
ME : "HEY! My wife told me you – "
ARTEMISIA : "I had no idea you were half-Asian! That’s so funny, I always thought I could tell another half when I saw one."ME : "I started to suspect you might be. But how do you ask someone like that?"
We talked a little. Certainly more animatedly than the previous three conversations.
I looked at her carefully for subtle Asian clues. Her straight dark hair was one, along with her very fair skin and a petite frame, but those are hardly exclusive features. Her eyes and eyelids though were very subtle. No obvious semi-lunar folds, but half-Asian eyelids are always a little different than either of their heritages.
ME : "So, can you speak Japanese?"
ARTEMISIA : "Only a few catch-phrases like Hello, Bye, Turn Left, Turn Right (those are catch-phrases?). I took some private lessons but Japanese is really difficult to learn."
ME : "Wow. Yeah, I bet it is."
I almost started going into how the Korean language is so much more easier to learn because of its practical design and phonetics, but I didn’t want to start into any Japanese-Korean comparisons. It’s not like this was a kung fu movie or anything (or karate v. tae kwon do, more accurately). Or even the more common Sir Jury (surgery) versus Medea Sin (medicine) conflict.
I was impressed and heartened that she obviously took a serious interest in that side of herself. It was a feeling of curiosity and unrest that I certainly could relate to.
I had a whole slew of questions to ask her about the issues I've been dealing with lately but we both had places to go and people to carve/save. Same old story.
When she was half-way down the hall, she turned and yelled back,
"I loved working with Amy in the O.R. too. She’s really great."
I told you she was nice.
(Am I going to get my medical license taken away for that comment?)
And a surgeon. Imagine that.
(License reinstated.)
ESCAPE FROM THE EMPIRE
At work, this past Saturday morning :
ME (on phone) : "Did you page me? I'm rounding with my team now."
AMY : "Yeah, do you know what day it is?"
ME (thinking) : oh shit! what day is it!? our anniversary??!! waitaminute....
ME (on phone) : "It's Saturday. What day do YOU think it is?"
AMY : "It's our anniversary!!! I can't believe you forg--"
ME : "Um, no. Our anniversary is in 3 days, baby. March 6, 1999. Hmmph ... do you even remember who you married?"
AMY : "Oh ... yeah ... you're right. Get home soon, baby."
I only remembered because our wedding day was in multiples of three : 3 / 6 / 99.
And I probably would have forgotten about it this week if she hadn't called too.
Two years of marriage. We didn't do anything special today to celebrate though. Just a hug and a kiss. We're saving the celebration for our second honeymoon next April in Seoul, Korea again. It will be much better this time around, since I won't have to worry about studying for that damned Board Certification test when I come back (like I did two years ago). Just me and my baby and my Seoul.
No angry families.
No bean counters.
No work-hour time sheets (give me a fucking break).
No ridiculous new Empire policies.
No more "customer relations" (would you like fries with that angioplasty?).
No politics (read my lips: "Kiss my ass").
No power trips.
No more crushing new job "responsibilities."
Funny how none of the above has anything to do with medicine, yet they're the most annoying parts of my job.
In April, it will be just beautiful beautiful people and land. It will be a second honeymoon in more ways than one.
If I never come back, you'll know Amy finally said,
"Yes, we can stay this time."
(I'll write all of you, though.)
(I think I'll start my own K-pop band too. I shall call it "Seven Naked Girls with Swords" or just Seven N.G.S.)
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