To honor my final overnight shift of medical school last week, some Cleveland citizens tried to steal my car. At 4:30 am I walked out to the parking lot, only to find a shattered window and busted up steering wheel column (i.e. lacking in ignition capacity). Two police reports and a tow truck later, it's still hanging out at the body shop waiting for one final part. Awesome. Also, the criminals left a pack of gum in the car when they fled. Yeah, I'm not chewing it. To say I am done with Cleveland is putting it lightly. I want to live and work without being worried about my safety or the safety of my belongings (i.e. my car...I don't require an environment where I can leave my wallet lying around without risk). I realize that that is a privilege many (most) don't have. But. I want it.
I started a rotation at the ritzy, private, academic hospital we rotate at on Monday. Man, it is nice. After working in the ED at the county hospital, the contrast is significant. At county, patients can't afford their medications, you have to get alcohol wipes out of the Pyxis (locked, tracked vending machine type things for meds and supplies) because the hospital is so in the red, and, clearly, security is not ideal. Honestly, whenever I left at night, I considered calling for a police escort. I probably should have. At fancy-pants hospital, classical music is piped through the hallways, there is a yoga class on the observatory floor of the new building, and I have lunch at Au Bon Pain. Oh, yeah, and the patients are all clean and can afford their meds (but that doesn't necessarily mean they take them). Is my work perhaps more meaningful at county? Sure. Absolutely. That doesn't mean that when I end up with a few perks I don't enjoy them. Sometimes it's nice to focus on the medicine and the science instead of the social issues. Ideally, there would be a balance, but that's hard to get in one hospital.
Also, oh, yeah...getting married in Less Than Three Months. We picked out wedding bands last weekend. We thought we ordered invitations, but it turns out that their online ordering system is a big mess and let us type in more words than they can print for the text. But now we're way into the words we came up with. So we need an invitation that can handle our verbosity. Uncheck.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Realization
This conversation just happened.
Me: Ooo...Eunny Jang is on Facebook. I totally want to friend her.
Brandon: (amused chuckle)
Me: Wait, does that laugh mean you know who Eunny Jang is?
Him: Um, yeah. (facial expression that looks surprised I would think he could possibly not know who she is)
Apparently my obsession runneth over.
Me: Ooo...Eunny Jang is on Facebook. I totally want to friend her.
Brandon: (amused chuckle)
Me: Wait, does that laugh mean you know who Eunny Jang is?
Him: Um, yeah. (facial expression that looks surprised I would think he could possibly not know who she is)
Apparently my obsession runneth over.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Winter wonderland?
Apparently, it was time to snow. And snow it did. About a foot and a half. It took me an hour to drive 2 miles to my dental appointment yesterday. And then, when I drove home, I got stuck trying to turn around in a neighbor's driveway. Brilliant.
After an hour of shoveling my car out, a man drove by and asked if I wanted him to snow blow my driveway for $40. Okay, yeah, $40 is a lot. But...it honestly would have taken maybe 6 hours to shovel my driveway, and the thought of that made me want to cry. So I paid the man. And it was sooooo worth it. Also, when he gave me his card, it became very clear that he was newly unemployed. So I felt good about it.
Here's Brandon taking a sledge hammer to the layer of ice under the snow post-snow blowing. See the area to the right? It's a ditch. It's FULL of snow. A lot of snow.
Also, knitting! The Tangled Yoke is on hold while I wait for a US 0 circular to arrive from KnitPicks. In the meantime, I made Pecan Pie from Knitty.
The little teal bit at the bottom edge is a hem I knit out of Malabrigo so that I have soft yarn against my skin instead of Noro or whatever that gray yarn is (I don't remember - bought it freshman year of college). Also, on Ravelry, the edge looked like it curled a lot, and I didn't like that. I still have to sew in the ends and block it something fierce. But I like it! It's my first adventure in Noro and my first beret/tam.
Also, don't ask me how much ricotta I've eaten in the past few days...it's too embarrassing. I blame Costco.
After an hour of shoveling my car out, a man drove by and asked if I wanted him to snow blow my driveway for $40. Okay, yeah, $40 is a lot. But...it honestly would have taken maybe 6 hours to shovel my driveway, and the thought of that made me want to cry. So I paid the man. And it was sooooo worth it. Also, when he gave me his card, it became very clear that he was newly unemployed. So I felt good about it.
Here's Brandon taking a sledge hammer to the layer of ice under the snow post-snow blowing. See the area to the right? It's a ditch. It's FULL of snow. A lot of snow.
Also, knitting! The Tangled Yoke is on hold while I wait for a US 0 circular to arrive from KnitPicks. In the meantime, I made Pecan Pie from Knitty.
The little teal bit at the bottom edge is a hem I knit out of Malabrigo so that I have soft yarn against my skin instead of Noro or whatever that gray yarn is (I don't remember - bought it freshman year of college). Also, on Ravelry, the edge looked like it curled a lot, and I didn't like that. I still have to sew in the ends and block it something fierce. But I like it! It's my first adventure in Noro and my first beret/tam.
Also, don't ask me how much ricotta I've eaten in the past few days...it's too embarrassing. I blame Costco.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Progress?
In less than four months, I will be a doctor. Sure, people call me "Doctor" already (usually followed by, "You gotta help me...the pain" since I'm in the ED), but it isn't true. Soon, it will be. That's....weird.
There are things that I do now, kind of without thinking about it, that I would never have dreamed of doing four years ago. Things that even one year ago, my hands would have been shaking as I reached to do them. In one ED shift, I performed a pelvic exam on a woman who was in a lot of pain, did rectals on multiple constipated infants (sorry, babies!), helped splint a guy's broken hand (after he punched it through a window - brilliant), and threw all my strength into chest compressions on a man who I watched die moments later. When the old, substance-dependent guys thought that telling me I was pretty would help them get more pain meds, I was more firm, more confident with them than I used to be. I wasn't scared.
I fully expect to be terrified on my first day of internship. They say you should walk in on your first day ready to do a Cesarean section start to finish. Right now, I think I could. I've first assisted - found the fascial planes with my fingers, reached into the uterus and found a small head. But I don't know. I think I'm ready to be a doctor. I know that, with time, I'm going to be a great doctor. But right now, it's kind of scary.
There are things that I do now, kind of without thinking about it, that I would never have dreamed of doing four years ago. Things that even one year ago, my hands would have been shaking as I reached to do them. In one ED shift, I performed a pelvic exam on a woman who was in a lot of pain, did rectals on multiple constipated infants (sorry, babies!), helped splint a guy's broken hand (after he punched it through a window - brilliant), and threw all my strength into chest compressions on a man who I watched die moments later. When the old, substance-dependent guys thought that telling me I was pretty would help them get more pain meds, I was more firm, more confident with them than I used to be. I wasn't scared.
I fully expect to be terrified on my first day of internship. They say you should walk in on your first day ready to do a Cesarean section start to finish. Right now, I think I could. I've first assisted - found the fascial planes with my fingers, reached into the uterus and found a small head. But I don't know. I think I'm ready to be a doctor. I know that, with time, I'm going to be a great doctor. But right now, it's kind of scary.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Frozen inertia
Um...I'm done? Brandon is still on the east coast, and he had one more to go, so I'm not quite to the celebrating part yet. But I think it feels good. Now, it's time to do what I do best: go crazy neurotic with the organization of data and opinions of each program. Because it is time to rank (aka judge). Somewhere, they are all ranking (judging) me, but I get to rank them as well. Ahhh....
If only there weren't dishes to do and ER lecture to go to tomorrow morning...
If only there weren't dishes to do and ER lecture to go to tomorrow morning...
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Back to reality?
Apparently, I only have one interview left. And it's here in Cleveland. Yeah, that means I'm done traveling. Done. The suitcase goes back into storage!
However, it also means I have to start doing that whole working-in-the-hospital thing starting tomorrow. I'll be on Emergency Medicine for the next four weeks. I picked the hardest hospital to do that rotation at, mostly because I want to have an appreciation for what B will be going through next year. Yeah, they're limited to 60 hours per week (we're 80), but the random shifts seem draining. We'll see.
Also surprising: we're getting married in less than four months. What? When did that happen? Apparently, I need to start figuring some of those details out, at least if I want people to, you know, be invited or eat cake. Whatever.
However, it also means I have to start doing that whole working-in-the-hospital thing starting tomorrow. I'll be on Emergency Medicine for the next four weeks. I picked the hardest hospital to do that rotation at, mostly because I want to have an appreciation for what B will be going through next year. Yeah, they're limited to 60 hours per week (we're 80), but the random shifts seem draining. We'll see.
Also surprising: we're getting married in less than four months. What? When did that happen? Apparently, I need to start figuring some of those details out, at least if I want people to, you know, be invited or eat cake. Whatever.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Take that, flight industry
As of today, I am officially done with flying for interviews.
I still have three more, but two are in Cleveland and one is driving distance. Score.
Of course, I couldn't have the last flight be uneventful. So, I booked a flight that would be canceled upon my arrival to the airport. And then, US Airways booked me on a (better! direct!) Continental flight...that left in 30 minutes. I jogged down to the Continental ticket stand, got my boarding pass, jogged back to security (rolling suitcase and giant interview "purse" in tow, still in my suit and heels), and proceeded to learn that I got to have extra security since I had technically just bought my ticket. And then, the TSA guy thought that flirting with me would make the situation better ("Why the extra security? Apparently Continental thinks you're special...but I think you're beautiful." Wink). He was wrong. He also kept insisting that my Tangled Yoke was crocheting. I may have overly firmly explained the one hook vs. two needles issue. I kind of took all of my interview season/flight frustration and focused it on him as those minutes ticked by. Luckily, Rochester's airport is pretty tiny, so I was able to run to my gate and make my flight. And be home by 4:00pm!
Ooo! Two big wedding things have been figured out! We now have an officiant and a honeymoon! Both are awesome. I'm giving our officiant a chance to tell people before I announce it publicly, and, apparently you're supposed to keep your honeymoon secret? So, I guess I'm not telling you. At least here. If I actually know you and you want to know, I'll tell you. Because I'm bad at secrets. And I've already told a lot of people. I'm too excited. Here's a hint. Can you guess (and no fair telling if you you know)?
I still have three more, but two are in Cleveland and one is driving distance. Score.
Of course, I couldn't have the last flight be uneventful. So, I booked a flight that would be canceled upon my arrival to the airport. And then, US Airways booked me on a (better! direct!) Continental flight...that left in 30 minutes. I jogged down to the Continental ticket stand, got my boarding pass, jogged back to security (rolling suitcase and giant interview "purse" in tow, still in my suit and heels), and proceeded to learn that I got to have extra security since I had technically just bought my ticket. And then, the TSA guy thought that flirting with me would make the situation better ("Why the extra security? Apparently Continental thinks you're special...but I think you're beautiful." Wink). He was wrong. He also kept insisting that my Tangled Yoke was crocheting. I may have overly firmly explained the one hook vs. two needles issue. I kind of took all of my interview season/flight frustration and focused it on him as those minutes ticked by. Luckily, Rochester's airport is pretty tiny, so I was able to run to my gate and make my flight. And be home by 4:00pm!
Ooo! Two big wedding things have been figured out! We now have an officiant and a honeymoon! Both are awesome. I'm giving our officiant a chance to tell people before I announce it publicly, and, apparently you're supposed to keep your honeymoon secret? So, I guess I'm not telling you. At least here. If I actually know you and you want to know, I'll tell you. Because I'm bad at secrets. And I've already told a lot of people. I'm too excited. Here's a hint. Can you guess (and no fair telling if you you know)?
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