What Is Going On Inside My Head Right Now

Ever wonder how "good it must feel" when healthy (when you're sick)? Myself, I never really celebrate being healthy, and so when I am sick, I often contemplate how NICE it would be to not be sick. I am currently thinking this. Yes, I am not well. Ugh.

We are all not well actually. This past weekend, my entire family got sick and we are still slowly recovering. Thankfully, it has been really dreary and drizzly. I say 'thankfully' because normally this type of weather is associated with slightly warmer temps. And I for one would take a bit of wetness over freezing cold conditions any day. But I must admit the umbrella-wrestling between getting in and out of the car and a place of refuge (from the elements) is getting old.

Kelly is 35 weeks now! (and one day). That is one more day than Ethan was able to do. :-) I wonder if Kelly will make it to her baby shower (Friday Jan 02, '09) at work or if baby girl will come early. How much more for due date of Jan 14th. I hope everything will be ok.

Baby room plans have hit an all time lull. We've bought furniture that needs assembling, but a large dresser needs to come out first (and moved downstairs). It has been slow going to say the least, but perhaps this weekend I can snap my magic fingers and everything will fall in place perfectly! Yes, that is what will happen.

Hmmm.. what to eat for dinner? The past two nights we've had some kind of 10-minute meals (that is preparation time) and both have been surprisingly good! First night was some asian noodle with beef strips, and last night was "Berrrtoli" (like the commercials you know?) pasta rotini (?) stuffed with spinach and cheese and in a creamy tomatoey sauce. Mmmmmmm-mmm! Darn right!

I hope my sister and family are making their way safely to Orlando. We were not able to meet up due to us being sick and I didn't want my nieces to catch anything (they are on vacation after all). Hope to see you guys soon!

Yup, all of that is going on in my mind. Right now.

CRCP

I attended a conference in DC/Virginia last week for four days. The conference was for clinical research professionals - investigator sites, sponsors, CROs, and everyone else in between.

Having been "on the job" now for 7 months, it was SUCH a great learning experience. I would even go so far as to say it was the most enjoyable conference I have ever attended (granted all other conferences I have been to were academic by/in nature and enjoyable for other reasons).

I learned the ins and outs of the clinical research profession - specifically about contracting agreements/budgets for clinical trials research. The conference was set up in "tracks" with parallel sessions covering different topics: Track A - budgets, Track B - regulatory, Track C - etc .. There were many great sessions that I had wanted to attend, but they were being offered at the same time, and so I had to be very selective.

On the last day of the conference, I took a qualification exam to be a Clinical Research Contracts Professional. I just received notification that I passed my exam. The exam must have been graded on a curve, since I answered all of 8 questions (out of 20!) Actually, I answered most questions, but had to rush answering 12 of the last questions in 5 minutes. So much for pacing. It clearly showed just how much exam-writing skills I have lost since my days as a student.

Time to put all that learning to practice and build a successful (and profitable) research program.

Out Of Sorts

What a day. So crippling when technology lets you down. With the exception of a few important exchange of emails on prospective study opportunities, little else was accomplished today. Sigh. I guess I should leave work now and pick Ethan up and go home. I miss my friends and family. I miss playing sports. I miss so much of my earlier life. And THAT my friends is precisely how I feel and the product of putting thoughts to keyboard when at an end to an otherwise totally unproductive and underwhelming day. What the heck am I doing?

Fat Or Fiction

Growing up I was always the "skinny kid" - more accurate actually I was always the SHORT and skinny kid in school. And puberty hit and I grew a foot! Quite literally: I was 4'6" in 1992 (grade 8) and 5'6" in 1994 (grade 10). Since then, I have maybe grown 2 inches to my current lofty height of 5'8" (with a fully spiked hair and some tennis shoes on). But, I was still light-set, and this bothered me.

Boy have times changed!

In highschool I was active and played sports virtually every day of the week (weekends included). Following graduation, and all throughout university, I maintained my frequent dose of sports through the intramurals program and working out at the gym (where I also worked part-time).

Life was good, body image was healthy, I looked more stalky (not fat), no complaints.

Fast forward several years of fast food (and marriage and a baby) and I am a robust dude. Or should I say rotund, round, and not just in the face, but a full-on belly. Hey, I hope you all find this amusing, because I have no issues about telling it like it is.

I am fat(ter) and need to get back in shape. So much for New Year resolutions, it is now February and my treadmill just arrived.

That's correct. Nothing was working out. Mountain terrain is hardly a place to go "jogging with my iPod". Someone has to look after Nooms. Can't leave Kelly alone (and Kelly's not interested in exercise). Can't go to the gym when you have to juggle work and Ethan and preschool? Bike to work? Geez. And, yes, the EXCUSES are longer than ... well, just long, ok?

And I was getting tired of doing nothing, so I did what I do best and that's spend money.

I bought this Gold's Gym MAXX 650 treadmill that I have yet to break in (it arrived on Wednesday). I hope to unpack and assemble it this weekend and run everday thereafter. (and I'd better get some regular motivation from my readers to "keep up with the exercise, Max!")

I want to be fit for our trip to BC in June when I hope to hang out with my bro and all of my buddies and for them to meet Ethan (many/most for the first time).

Running With Research

River Birch Research is picking up the pace!

So far in 2008, we have 5 active studies - already equal more than half the total (n = 8) of 2007 - and we are only a week into February. We have a COPD study, as well as a rheumatoid arthritis, anemia, stroke/atrial fibrillation and osteoarthritis of the knee. Due to confidentiality agreements we've signed, this is all I will say for that. But I am getting very excited about where we are going.

I have interviewed an applicant (Deb) for a study coordinator position, who we hope to hire very soon. With another full-time coordinator, and several other studies in the pipeline, and a stylish and clean new look to our website (www.riverbirchresearch.com) things are slowly coming together.

We have brought in a few providers and staff members to our research team. In just this past week, Dr. Leski (sport's medicine), Dr. Sabreen (nephrology and hypertension), Dr. Issa (internal medicine and pulmonology) and Cami (women's and perinatal nurse practitioner) have joined our team at River Birch!

Next week, I am meeting with Dr. Mannino (cardiology), Dr. Whaley (oncology) and Deb (coordinator applicant).

Unlike basic science research, I can actually see immediate results to things I implement. And I realized something about myself -- that I need this steady supply of rather "instant gratification" to keep motivated (something that happens all too infrequently in academic research).

I truly enjoy directing our whole program. Far from knowing for sure if the changes I am introducing will translate to financial gains, I am still hopeful we can meet and exceed "2003" - our last respectable fiscal year revenue-wise.

Another goal and personal challenge: a satellite branch for RBRA in Atlanta, GA.

Chamber Of Commerce Banquet

On Saturday, Kelly and I attended the annual banquet hosted by our very own Fannin County Chamber of Commerce.

Considered by many who live and work in the region to be THE most anticipated event of the calendar, this year's event was held at the ultra-posh Brasstown Valley Resort in Young Harris, GA.

Our place of employment (Riverstone MD, PC) is a corporate sponsor of the event, and so we had a table for eight reserved for our group. For dinner, I enjoyed prime rib with roasted asparagus and a ball of mashed potato, while Kelly had the pecan stuffed grouper (fish) with wild rice and grilled vegetables.

Jody Davis, who is the chief financial officer (CFO) of Riverstone, was elected as Member of the Board of the Chamber of Commerce for 2008. It was nice to see a member of our group achieve the position, and Jody was clearly the most junior of the inductees -- he is only 29 or 30 years old. Congratulations, Jody!

Many awards were given out during the evening, and since Kelly and I are new to the community, we only recognized a couple of names. One (name) that markedly stood out to us was that of the Mercier family. The late Mr. Mercier (passed away this summer) and his wife, Mrs. Mercier, were awarded a Lifetime Honorary Member of the COC for their family's contribution to tourism and general support for community life in Fannin County. The Mercier family own the largest (and oldest) apple orchard in Blue Ridge - some 200 acres and thousands of apple trees - and for generations have been a huge attraction to the region. Our family has made a couple visits to the Mercier (store) just outside the orchards and especially love the deep friend apple pies! Yum!

The evening nevertheless was short for us. We essentially ate dinner and left while the live band hired for the evening played their first song. It is not that we were being antisocial, rather, with a 40 minute drive back to Blue Ridge, and Ethan being in Linda's care for the evening, we had to make good time to bring Ethan back home.

Linda Gray and husband Jimmie (?) are just lovely folks, and very caring. Our family will likely return to Brasstown Valley Resort to celebrate Kelly and my third year wedding anniversary, and we will be sure to bring Ethan to enjoy the sights.

A-P-P-R-O-V-E-D !!

YES!!! I was just informed by my immigration attorney that my H-1B visa has been APPROVED!! Two weeks ago we heard the great news that my petition was one of the randomly selected by computer-generated lottery, but that only ensured processing. Now, it's official! I am just over the moon :-)

THANK YOU for your absolute professionalism, Aronson & Associates, PA, especially, our immigration attorney, Ms. Sarah Peterson-Stensrud and leagal assistant, Mr. Bryan Bradford. Thank you!!!

With such odds to overcome I was really down-hearted and worried about my chances. I already had my "back up" plan to do an MBA at Emory, though I may still do this down the road. If my H-1B were not approved, I would have had to file for a different visa status (e.g. TN-1) to enable myself to work in the country. If not, I could legally stay in the country as Kelly's dependent (H-4 status), but this latter status is a non-work one, hence my alternate plan to go to school if that were the case.

Now, I can look forward to begin my position as Chief Research Officer for RiverBirch Research Alliance!!! Not sure if I have announced this job on my blog yet, since I was so worried, though I was offered the job, that my visa paperwork would not come through.

I am keen to explore this CRO position and grateful for this opportunity since it will be my first job outside basic science research (academic research). And for the first time I will have responsibilities in management/business/finance and overseeing good clinical research practices and hopefully growing this small company. Surely a lot of learning will go on before any tangible effects of my work will manifest, but knowing me, I will soon have things moving forward. (God willing!)

My first-year roommate from UBC, Doug, who is completing his MBA at INSEAD in Singapore/France will surely be thrilled to hear this news. And I will be sure to pick his business brain in times to come.

1 of 65,000 H-1Bs. Cool.

:-)

Pics, Pics, Pics

Some pics of Ethan and mom and dad from the past couple of days. Just kinda random. Enjoy!

2006: The Year Of Ethan

Without a doubt, the highlight of 2006 for us was the birth of our son, Ethan Koay Yong-Ren Eblaghie.

And the pregnancy. (you can't exactly forget that) :-D

When Kelly and I found out we were going to be parents, way back in early February some time, my first reaction was: "how accurate are these pregnancy kits anyways?" A couple extra trips to the local grocery store to purchase additional kits confirmed it - the 'blue plus sign' was certainly in no doubt.

Our lives would no longer be the same.

We could hardly hold our excitement. We told our families immediately, and only our dear housemate (at the time), Amani. But it took only a few days thereafter for the entire world of the Koay and Eblaghie families to know. (parents who are soon to be grandparents are the worst at keeping pregnancy secrets). Being first-time parents (to be), we were naturally worried about announcing the news too early. After all, it is very common to have miscarriages or have the pregnancy fail for some reason or another in the very early weeks of pregnancy.

The anxious moments of those early weeks, and Kelly being completely nauseated were not fun. But God, as He always does, takes care of things, and if you only truly put your whole trust in Him, you'd just carry on and enjoy lifes twists and turns, and not worry so darn much. We've learned - not that we won't worry in the future. Argh. Trust already!

So the pregnancy was in full force, and in early April we had our first ultrasound scan of 'baby' (we still had not decided on a name, and Kelly's dream where we had a boy named "Ethan" did not happen until later on). 'Baby' was all of 2.2 cms and looked like a kidney bean. In fact, we all debated which end (of the scan) was the head, and which end was the bum.

Still, every doctor's visit, and every time we heard that strong heartbeat, our faith was confirmed - our Baby was going to be OK.

The next ultrasound though provided some scares, as well as some comforting images. It was the first time we could actually see all of (Ethan's) facial structures. His nose was particularly really prominent, oh, and his Willie Wonka confirmed it - we were having a baby boy.

Oh the excitement. Call the fams again. Let them know the great news.

The worry was, there was this 'bright spot' detected in the ultrasound in Ethan's heart. The radiologist called it an "intracardial echogenic focus" - literally translated means "in heart bright spot". This bright spot is sometimes a "marker" for Down's Syndrome. And Asians tend to have higher frequency/susceptibility for this disorder (I think?). So this all worried us. And we prayed, and prayed. Of course, all the other anatomical indicators of DS were negative - only this one tiny bright spot on the ultrasound of our baby's heart. And how a tiny echogenic focus make parents worry.

Few too many 30-hour ("on call") hosptial shifts, no rest, and one early September evening later, the unexpected happened. Kelly's water broke! :-D (oh... and y'all know... on TV when you see the dad-to-be panic like crazy and pretty much has to be the one on the wheel chair upon arriving at the hosptial instead of his pregnant spouse... yea... that's the one... that was me). I was kinda loopy. Kelly had to calm me and keep me focused.

Kelly: "Max, make sure we have a receiving blanket in our diaper bag."

Max: (running around like a loony bin)

Kelly: "Max, are you sure you put a change of clothes, some baby lotion, water bottles, etc.. etc.. in our bag?"

Max: "Why didn't we pack all this sooner!!!!!" (again, freaking out like a loony bin)

Kelly: "Sorry I couldn't hold it in a little longer for ya... errr..." (ok so I am making this line up)

It was hectic. We rushed to the hospital. Kelly was hooked up to monitors, and lo and behold, she was indeed having contractions. Tiny as they were, they were still regular and easily visible on the monitor as peaks and valleys. The doctor did a quick scan to check on Ethan's position and progression down the birth canal. He was still quite high up (i.e. not progressed much at all).. and... here's the kicker... he was breech (feet down, instead of head down).

So C-section it was.

One hour later we were parents.

Yup, just like that. We had a living, breathing, warm and tightly bundled in blankets, ointment in his eyes. tiny human in our care.

Oh the cries... how sweet... Ethan's first few cries were so weak and vulnerable. He was so cute, and all he wanted to do was be kept warm and sleep. No food. That would be for later. He just wanted some rest.

Well anyways, this blog entry is supposed to be a sort of recollection of 2006 and we have not yet left the hospital with Ethan.

I had my 28th birthday two days after Ethan was born.

Krishelle and Jessica ordered in Singaporean food from Merlion and a cake from Madhatter's. I was in scrubs, Kelly was in her post-operation dressing gown, Ethan was under photo-therapy lights, and we celebrated in this small hospital room.

OK, little else in 2006 quite compares, no? I can't even begin to type the rest, when what I have already put to the keyboard has come out so effortlessly.

Definitely. For us, 2006 has been the year of Ethan.

Daddy & Ethan

My Ecological Footprint

Oh how depressing :-( Apparently it would take nearly 11 Earths if the entire human population were to live the way I do. Everything from what I eat, how much I drive each year, what type of energy we use at home and how "energy friendly" our appliances are, was taken into account in this calculation. Calculate your Eco Footprint :-D

In order for me to be more ecologically friendly, I would need to drive a car with better mileage, use public transportation more often than driving, or if I do drive, take a few people with me or carpool with others. I would need to be a vegetarian or vegan or at the very least use less meat and dairy in my diet. I would need to buy more of my food items from local sources like Farmer's Markets and in-season items, since most of what I currently eat are packaged and transported nationally if not internationally. Ugh! Or better yet, just have a huge vegetable garden patch in my backyard like I used to!

And to think I have a tiny car and I seldom eat out and I rarely use A/C and the dishwasher and oven. I am sure I use far less energy than the average American, but obviously this is just not enough.

I think I can implement buying locally grown, in-season fruits and vegetables, and work on the others as I am able.

Baby Stripes

Firebirds Rocky Mountain Grill

Kelly and I celebrated our 2-year wedding anniversary with dinner for two at Firebirds at Southpoint. And what an evening to be outdoors at all. It is storming. Wind. Rain. Chill. Brrrrrrrrrrr....

We tried to park as close to the restaurant as possible, but the parking lots were surprisingly full for a Tuesday, stormy evening. So, it was inevitable that we brave the elements at least for a little way. Somewhat wet, but very cold, we made it inside the cozy mountain cabin ambience of Firebirds.

This was Kelly and my second time at the Rocky Mountain dining place. The first time was nearly three years ago when we were both new to the area. I can still vaguely remember, it was dinner with Fariba, Carmel and Vipul. Yea, I can remember confiding in Vipul my guilty indulgence in buying a ginormous TV. Oh the good times.

Our host was an Asian. It was nice to have a bunch of young, diverse hosts and hostesses at this fine joint. Kelly ordered an herb baked half chicken that came with mashed potatoes and green beans and garnished with rosemary. I ordered a 14oz. ribeye, medium-rare, that came with sauteed veggies. The steak was very woody and peppered. It was ok. I would have appreciated it more if I had a bigger appetite. I was sort of full already before dinner.

Well HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, Honey!