Yet again, my continuously dwindling circle of friends and family who are stubborn enough to try to keep in touch with me wonder: where has he gone?

Look no further than the end of that TV remote control in your hand.

For the past couple weeks and the ensuing several, camera bearers from New York have been collecting footage for The Learning Channel's series, "Trauma: Life in the ER." As a member of the trauma surgery team, there have been several occasions when my attempt to determine rectal sphincter tone in a patient with a traumatic spinal cord injury was captured for posterity.

It was actually kind of annoying at times to have a huge camera in your face when you're trying to save a patient that has been assaulted by "some dude" or "that bitch."

The camerapersons, however, were really cool people and I had a blast getting to know both them and their gear. During downtime, they would try to capture what life as a surgical resident was kind of like. Hating how the camera adds 10 lbs. (which probably wasn't so bad given that I lost 10 lbs. on this current rotation just from not eating enough), I tried to stay on the operator side of the camera.

Consequently, though, I was unable to achieve one of my life goals: to flagrantly pass gas on national TV.

The camerapeople did offer me $50 to streak through the ER naked while the cameras were rolling.

I politely passed on their offer.

It was also interesting to see how people (doctors) change when they're on TV. All of a sudden, their level of compassion and their ability to empathize skyrocket and they become these amazingly nice people who want nothing more in life than to save lives. I tried to stay mute whenever the cameras were rolling, since any spoken word from me would have probably detracted from the audience's enjoyment of the show.

Look for it in the fall. I've never been on TV before and I hope I never will, but it'll be interesting to see what footage they choose for their two episodes.

And now a rare peek into the 80% of my life that never makes it onto this public forum (mostly because I really have nothing interesting to say).

Lisa Fagan, soon to be MD, MPH, stopped by in Portland to say hello before starting her residency in neurological surgery at the prestigious and world-renowned Duke University. A fellow connoisseur of raw fish on rice, we dropped by Yoshi Zone to have dinner and trade war stories.

Best of luck to Dean Sasek who will be heading to Orlando, after landing his top pick in emergency medicine residencies. A stud and a funny man, his DJ career is about to take off in Portland and I suspect in Florida, too. Keep a close eye on him.

And finally, cheers to Keri, my contact in Seattle. You kick ass!

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