Commuting in Miami

As of next month, I will reach the milestone of having been working as a medical writer for 2 years.  Coming back to the 9 to 5 workforce was not an easy decision after being accustomed to setting my own schedule for almost 9 years of entrepreneurship and travel.  Now I’m expected to be at an office every day and to tell someone if I’m taking off the few vacation days for the year.  It takes some getting used to. 

Even though it may sound as if I’m complaining, don’t take me too seriously because work has brought a new sense of meaning and impact to my life.  After a while every job becomes just a job, but scientific writing has added a new dimension to my life.  Every day I write about cancer.  And every day I count the blessings of having to deal with it from this side of the fence. 

What we do to those poor souls in the name of medicine is almost inhumane.  In the hopes of destroying the cancer, we ask patients to destroy themselves trusting their bodies survive the train wreck.  Most clinical studies I work on will see only patients that have exhausted all other possible therapies and at that point, they are just hoping and praying for a few extra months of life, even if the extra time could include terrible side effects.

For me writing about cancer is difficult when I keep thinking on the patients, but I try to stay focused on the science and with the thought that what we learn in the process will help future patients and maybe eventually eradicate the disease.

Some of the perks from work are all the technology I have at my fingertips.  When I get a new assignment, I usually spend a few days reading and learning about the disease and the proposed therapy.  For someone enamored with reading and learning, this is a dream job.  After that I can spend a few weeks or months writing, editing and consulting with all the experts in the different areas needed to conduct the clinical trial.  So even though writing is usually perceived as a lonesome job, I consult and seek input from so many people that it would be difficult to do as good a job in isolation.

Just when I thought the job couldn’t get any better, two months ago I manage to do just that.  I added bicycling to my mix and now I could stay here until the cows come home.  My commute is less than 3 miles from home to work but not having to deal with the stress of driving makes it all worthwhile.  When I used to park my car at the University’s parking deck, I would find myself racing with others to the spot closest to the elevators and then racing out of the building after 5pm as if someone had announced a fire emergency.  Now, I pick up my bicycle in a bike cage to one side of my building and wave goodbye to all the maniacs cuing to exit the parking decks on their way to the highways and byways.

When a friend asked me what is my motivation for bicycling, I had to think about it a bit.  It is not for health reasons as 2 miles does not even break a sweat.  It could be environmental somewhat, after all, I live in Miami, the ground zero for sea-level rising.  But the real reason turned out to be mental peace and joy of living.   Being able to bicycle has truly made such a difference to my daily experience that instead of regretting it, I look forward to Mondays -as long as the weather continues to cooperate-.    Looking forward to many rides in 2018!