COLLEGE PLANNING

Tonight when I was giving Nicholas a bath, we talked about how we liked to take trips together. I told him I looked forward one day to taking a trip to look at colleges with him. Mind you, this kid has had a 529 plan since day 3 of life; we opened a T Rowe Price account for him when we were living in Baltimore. If your state does not have a 529 plan with tax deductions, I highly recommend this plan, although I have shuddered recently whenever I opened statements, given the financial meltdown.

Anyway, I mentioned visiting Washington, D.C. (read Georgetown), where our neighbors went to school, Connecticut (Yale), Amit's old stomping grounds, "Boston" (people who went to Harvard always initially describe their college in terms of, "I went to school in Boston," which begs you to ask the question, "Harvard?," but I like to ask, "BU?"), where Chris and Robert went to school, and New Hampshire. Nicholas was most intrigued by the latter. He shared with me that a classmate of his from school brought a toy stuffed bunny for "sharing" today, which she got from "New Hamster." I guess Dartmouth it is! Go Big Green!

OVERHEARD IN MY CAR TODAY

KATHLEEN: Nicholas, you were a very good boy this morning.
NICHOLAS: Am I usually not good?
KATHLEEN: Um... No, No, No. You are usually very good, but this morning you were very, very good!

Nice comeback son ...and mom.

THE GOOD OLD DAYS/I LEFT MY HEART IN PORTLAND

I traveled to San Fran today for a business trip. There were no mandatory scheduled events today, so I decided to just explore the city. My hotel, the W, which stands for wonderful, was in the SoMA area, so I decided to set forth on foot. I first got my coffee fix at a great local place called "The Blue Bottle"- stumptown-worthy (lower case s). Then, I went on a trek to find Nicholas a surprise. When I had mentioned I was going on a business trip to San Fran, to which he had accompanied me on a business trip last year, he became a little upset and said he wanted to come. I explained that it would not work out this time but that I would get him a surprise. He said he loved animals and puzzles (Hint. Hint.) but that he would love whatever I brought him. Needless to say I got the kid an animal and a puzzle.

With the rest of the afternoon, I wandered around SF MoMA and then had a great work-out on a treadmill with a built-in fan. W equals wonderful. Then, I did one of my favorite things, which I have not been able to do as much post-children- I went to the movies and saw Frost/Nixon. Frank Langella was so good that I wanted to impeach him. My travel companion from work joined me (he is a big cinemaphile, too), and then we had a great dinner of Thai food at a restaurant called Osha.

I am now back in my room and have just listened to voice mails on my phone. On one of the messages, a tucked-in Nicholas calls in to say he loves me. I had a fun day, a great day reminiscent of before children days, and one needs this kind of day every now and then. Despite that (and with a partially re-charged battery), I cannot wait to get home to see the family and go back to the good new days.

THE MELTDOWN

It is hard to believe the depths to which our economy has sunk. I was reminded of this by conversations with friends who are being forced to cut their employees, my own employer, which is cutting 10% of its workforce, and my recent Fidelity statement, which showed 50% declines in my investments in 2008. More telling, however, is the difficulty which some of my very well-trained physician friends are having finding jobs. These are folks who trained at Vande and Hopkins, whose prospective employers have told them that hiring freezes are in effect at their institutions (like my own) and that they are too expensive.

All of this is not a plea for "woe is me." Medicine is supposed to be recession-proof and when one hears stories like these, the poor state of our economy really hits home. I continue to invest, save, and hope for the best. I feel fortunate to have a job and hope my friends and family make it through the next few months (and not years) while our latest financial meltdown sorts itself out. We will all have to make some tough choices in the coming months, but saving the maximum amount possible seems like a no-brainer. No more Americano at Starbuck's- mine are better at home anyway. Less New Seasons grocery (think Whole Foods) and more Fred Meyer (think Kroger or HEB). Less restaurants and more home-cooked meals. While this meltdown is a big change, it has the potential to transform the way we live our lives and how we spend our money for the better. I continue to be hopeful... what else can I be?