Svikki MD
The last week of January was less eventful than the one before. There wasn’t so much unsolved mystery surrounding my patients. I did end up having to transfer one of the patients out to a higher level of care hospital in the middle of the night though. We had hit the point where we were no longer able to escalate our care in our facility.
Beyond that though, I was preparing my patient panel to be handed off while I take a week off. I was supposed to be going to Brazil for two weeks for a friend’s wedding but,… you know…. the pandemic. So instead of taking two weeks off, I just decided to take off one to visit my family back in Ohio for a few days and increase my Vitamin D level in Miami for a few days. As always, I try to do everything (short of not going) to reduce my risk of exposure during a pandemic. I try to be as diligent as I am in the hospital out in the real world. That means wearing my N95 during the entire duration of the flight, sanitizing high-touch surfaces, frequent hand washing and sanitizing, and distancing myself as much as I can from others around me.
Brrrr…it’s cold out here
I thought my winter in South Dakota would be heavier than winters in Ohio. Thus far, that hasn’t really been the case. Ohio winters are unfortunately very grey. One of the first things I looked up when I was considering South Dakota as an assignment was the days of sun during the winter. Lucky for me, I found that they averaged more than they did in Wisconsin (a winter location I tend to enjoy) and way more sun than Ohio. I arrived in Ohio shortly before the snow began to come down. Nothing close to what Chicago and the North East were dealing with but it laid a pretty nice blanket over the area. I certainly got my share of winter feeling in during the few days there.
While in Ohio, I stopped by my residency to say hello. It’s crazy to me that graduation was already 5 months ago. It sort of feels like I’ve just been on an away rotation. It felt so good seeing my residency family again; the front desk ladies, the MA’s, the residents, and the attendings. I’m really fortunate that my residency is such a lovely place to return to. I know many people do not have enjoyable residency experiences. The crew in Boardman, Ohio is definitely a special group of people.
Hello Sunshine
I have visited Miami countless times. These trips started during medical school when a German friend and I would fly to Miami and stay with one of my friends in Miami. Some of those trips were pretty wild and served up almost all the components of a good rap song. My Miami Friend has become one of my best friends over the years. I can’t thank her enough for her hospitality, kindness and generosity over the years. We have met up in several places around the world and I can always count on her to be down to travel somewhere. More on her in a bit.
Miami is open
In terms of the pandemic, Miami felt quite different from the places I have been spending my time at over the last several months. People are out in clubs, restaurants and bars like the pandemic doesn’t exist. To their credit, most people I saw walking around in public places were wearing a face mask. Miami also has the advantage of the weather and outdoor venues which are safer in regards to viral transmission than being indoors at a restaurant in say, South Dakota.
However, I still avoided the masses. My friend and I were mainly at her place. We spent an early morning on the beach when there was hardly anyone else around. The Rubell Contemporary Art Museum that we visited had limited visitors. If we ate at a restaurant, it was outdoors and well spaced from other guests. The days of going to the big clubs packed like sardines has been over for us for a while now, so I didn’t really miss that former staple of a Miami visit.
It was nice to spend a few days with family and close friends after not having much of any social interactions in South Dakota over the past several months. At the same time, I look forward to returning to work tomorrow in Deadwood. I’ve only got 7.5 weeks left of my assignment in South Dakota and I am sure they will fly by.
The Web
I often like to reflect on my life thus far and the experiences I’ve been fortunate to have. This often happens when I am on trips. It’s fun for me to run through the sequence of events that led me to that particular moment, that connection with someone, or the opportunity that presented itself.
Let’s take my Miami Friend as an example. Because of her, I have had amazing life experiences, met fabulous people I now call my friends and opportunities that I would not have had without her. But what needed to happen for me to meet her?
The Origin Story
Well, when I was about 14-15 years old, my younger sister and I did a photoshoot at home for fun. I showed the pictures to my father who suggested I research local modeling agencies to see if that would be something I could pursue. The Rock Agency in Madison Wisconsin is what I found. I called them and set up an appointment with their New Faces Director. After a short introduction of the agency for all people present at the New Faces Open Call, I met with the New Faces director individually. She saw potential and had me set up my first photoshoot. [The agency owner is one of my best friends now and she has created a whole web of connections and experiences in my life as well.]
My first photoshoot was a blast. I ended up befriending the photographer and make up artist and my family’s home was used as the location for a modeling shoot a few years later. Following the first, I had another photoshoot to build up my portfolio. Then, I was invited to attend a modeling convention in New York City that summer called IMTA. It’s a huge convention with hopeful models and actors from around the United States that participate in various competitions that are judged by model and acting agents from around the world. This lead to my first modeling contract in Milan. [I met one of my other best friends on this first contract in Milan, so our friendship’s origin story is the same up to this point.]
Ciao Milano
Two years later in 2008, I was back in Milan for my second contract. I was originally put into an apartment with a bunch of girls. However, I quickly befriended one of the other models from the agency who was living in a 2 model apartment in China Town. This model was my now best friend from Miami. We orchestrated a switch between her roommate and myself so that we could live together (the agency wasn’t very happy with us when they found out we did this without telling them…oops.) We would cook together, shop together and travel to other Italian cities. After our contract, she went back to Miami and I returned to Wisconsin. The only connection we continued to have back in that era was being friends on Facebook.
This is easily where our story could’ve ended and my life would be completely different if it had. Seriously, I could draw up a whole web of how many of the major experiences in my life and opportunities that I have had would never have happened the way they did if it wasn’t for having met her in Milan.
The Reconnection
Luckily, it didn’t end there. It was several years later, in 2013 while I was in medical school and wanting to do a bit of modeling on the side, that I had to fill out a form listing agencies I’ve worked with. I couldn’t remember the one we were with however, so I facebook messaged her. We briefly caught up on what the other one has been doing over the past several years. In this conversation, she recommended I come visit Miami if I ever needed a vacation from medical school. In 2014, I took her up on that offer. A German friend and I visited her for a week.
Welcome to Miami
My Miami Friend had worked in nightlife for years. At the time, she was working in the hottest club there was, LIV in the Fontainebleau Hotel. You know, one of the only clubs you will find multiple rap/hip-hop songs referencing? The club that gave the world LIV on Sunday which was THE place to be seen as a rapper or hip-hop artist. Depending on the night and who was performing, the admission rate to the club for general admission was upwards of $300. The amount of money spent on bottles of champagne or just thrown in the air to make it rain was insane. Yes, she worked there.
She introduced my German friend and I to the best nights of our lives. We were introduced to all of her friends who worked at LIV as well. Having worked in nightlife for so long, she had vetted her friends so the ones I ended up meeting and becoming friends with were all awesome, kind and genuine. (Kind and genuine is not always easy to find in a setting like Miami, so I was fortunate that she had done the weeding out beforehand).
The Miami Crew
This group of amazing people not only made sure my German friend and I had nights we will never forget, but they also kept us safe. We were only ever introduced to other good people. The bottle girls, bartenders, security guards, managers, promoters and bus boys I was introduced to became my second Miami family and LIV became my second Miami home. I could walk into a full lobby of people waiting to get into the club, bypass them all and be greeted by my name by the bouncer and let in. It felt unreal.
All thanks to my Miami Friend. And it didn’t stop at LIV, the people who worked there were wildly connected to other people working in Miami which led to great nights at other clubs, comps at restaurants, sporting events and concerts. I was given the opportunity to experience Miami totally different than your average Miami tourist. I can’t even list all the artists I saw perform live at LIV of Sunday but to name a few; Drake, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, 2 Chainz, Fabolous, DJ Khalid, Trey Songz and so many more. Thanks to the girls, I always had VIP access and drank the yummiest champagne. I’ve partied at the same table as Lil Wayne. I’m telling you, Miami was a different world back then and I am so grateful I was invited into it by my Miami Friend.
Beyond the party
It wasn’t only partying that she made possible for me, through meeting her friends and becoming friends with them myself, many experiences and opportunities started to branch off of me knowing her. After graduating from medical school, I took a year off before starting residency. My goal of that year was to work in a job that made good money so that I could travel around the world for about 4 months prior to starting residency.
Where else in the world would I go but Miami for this?! I knew the greatest people who knew the right people. With the help of my Miami crew, I secured an interview and subsequently job at the second place I worked and ultimately exclusively worked at, Hyde Beach Miami. I’ll share more about that year in particular at a later time but that year created a multitude of new connections, friendships and opportunities for me. For instance, because one of my friends in Miami invited me out to dinner one night with some of her friends, I met my now friend who helped me plan my one-of-a-kind 3 week trip to India! One of the greatest trips of my life! The web is big, my friends.
Moving on
Over the past several years, I often visited Miami as a little get away from residency. As my Miami Friend transitioned from night life to becoming a manager of an Art Gallery, my visits transitioned to a more feasible wake/sleep schedule. Many of our friends also transitioned out of night life into other careers. So instead of spending our nights in the clubs and sleeping all morning, we were meeting up with friends for brunch, visiting museums and traveling to other parts of the country and the world.
My Miami Friend was the first one to visit me in South Dakota. We met up in New Mexico for New Years last month. I’ve celebrated my last three birthdays with her; three years ago in Miami, last year in Tulum and this year, a bit belated, in Miami again. We are already contemplating when we will see each other again and look forward to the world being safe again for international travel. We have quite the extensive bucket list to work on.
There are so many stories in between that saga that I didn’t even mention. But for me, I trace all of those experiences in my life back to the moment my parents encouraged me to look into finding a modeling agency. You just never know what an experience in life will bring you, so don’t miss an opportunity to do something new, you have no idea how many wonderful consequences can emerge from it!
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