Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
neglected!
oh man this blog has been so so neglected!! it if were a plant it'd be droopy and brown, if it were a dog, it'd be dead, if it were a baby, it would so be dead. anyway..the reason being i've been ON THE GO like no other for the past 5 days. and it has sped by. i can't believe it!! i'm over half way done with interviews and done with my step 2 cs- no more board exams till next year!
i don't even know where to begin. besides that i'm loving loving california- i love the weather, i love the vibe, and love the programs that i've interviewed at. a lot of my high school friends are here, the ocean is right there and people are cool as hell. it's going to be THE toughest decision of my life to make this rank list- aka wheter or not i want to leave hawaii. i'll cross that bridge when i get there.
this trip has been about connecting and reconnecting. i've reconnected with college friends- and not just any ole friends, but friends i was really close to in college and that saw me through lots of growth, good friends that i haven't seen due to distnace and ocean. i've reconnected with childhood/school friends, friends that saw me through everything from snotty nosed days, to awkward middle school days, to adolescence....i am so so lucky!! i've connected with new friends- friends i've made along this interview trail- people in my exact shoes but across the country, whom i've connected with for one reason or another. i've connected with friends i met up at davis who are also on the interview trail. to some extent, as corny as this sounds, i've reconnected with myself, forced to talk about myself and think about and express who i am and what i believe in at every single interview. it's sorta crazy...
i really connected with one guy. his name is nate. out of fear that someone will read this or that i will share this with people i'd rather not share this with, i won't go into all the gory details, but i do know i've made a friend with good peeps and i see us being friends for a while. there's mutual respect and mutual understanding and pure vibing. i get excited when i think about him.
my interview at santa barbara was fucking unreal. i fell in love with the place and could see myself there. my interview at kaiser was aiiight. i could work there but i don't think i'll rank it high. i really really liked loma linda, which i did today, and will also rank it high. i've had some tough questions asked of me along this interview trail including:
Tell me about an interesting case.
What book did you last read?
What's the most exciting thing that ever happened to you?
Let's say....[insert ethical questions/scenario]....what would you do?
What would you correct about yourself between now and July 1st when you start your intern year?
And of course..
Why surgery?
Why our program?
What would you bring to the program?
What's your weakness?
What are you looking for in a program?
and i'm SO GLAD i haven't gotten the following questions:
Take me through a whipple operation, skin to skin.
Teach me something
What was your last presentation? Now re-enact it for me.
At these interviews, they're looking for the delivery and your reaction and less what you have to say. you are under scrutiny constantly. i feel like a lab animal in some sense.
i've realized that an OR is an OR, an ICU is an ICU, and an ER is an ER, whereever you may be. the reason for the tour of the hospital is to make sure it isn't absolute shambles. so far i've been blessed with gorgeous hospitals. including the newest and best county hospitals in the nation, which also happen to be in the most violent counties in the state. hospitals by the beach. big hospitals. small busy hospitals. VA hospitals. private hospitals. ..it's been a journey...
anyway, so here i am. i'm going to meet up with my girlfriends julie and shanithin from high school for dinner. i have all day tomorrow to play in LA, then fly out to denver on sunday for my last interview before the holiday- i'll be there for 2 days, then head to hawaii via newark. i unfortunately have to overnight in newark but that's okay.
i do miss hawaii tons. i want to surf as soon as i get there. i want to catch up with friends and my life in hawaii. i want to reflect on this experience and really decide what i want for the next crucial 5 years of my life. i can't wait to see my family.
i don't even know where to begin. besides that i'm loving loving california- i love the weather, i love the vibe, and love the programs that i've interviewed at. a lot of my high school friends are here, the ocean is right there and people are cool as hell. it's going to be THE toughest decision of my life to make this rank list- aka wheter or not i want to leave hawaii. i'll cross that bridge when i get there.
this trip has been about connecting and reconnecting. i've reconnected with college friends- and not just any ole friends, but friends i was really close to in college and that saw me through lots of growth, good friends that i haven't seen due to distnace and ocean. i've reconnected with childhood/school friends, friends that saw me through everything from snotty nosed days, to awkward middle school days, to adolescence....i am so so lucky!! i've connected with new friends- friends i've made along this interview trail- people in my exact shoes but across the country, whom i've connected with for one reason or another. i've connected with friends i met up at davis who are also on the interview trail. to some extent, as corny as this sounds, i've reconnected with myself, forced to talk about myself and think about and express who i am and what i believe in at every single interview. it's sorta crazy...
i really connected with one guy. his name is nate. out of fear that someone will read this or that i will share this with people i'd rather not share this with, i won't go into all the gory details, but i do know i've made a friend with good peeps and i see us being friends for a while. there's mutual respect and mutual understanding and pure vibing. i get excited when i think about him.
my interview at santa barbara was fucking unreal. i fell in love with the place and could see myself there. my interview at kaiser was aiiight. i could work there but i don't think i'll rank it high. i really really liked loma linda, which i did today, and will also rank it high. i've had some tough questions asked of me along this interview trail including:
Tell me about an interesting case.
What book did you last read?
What's the most exciting thing that ever happened to you?
Let's say....[insert ethical questions/scenario]....what would you do?
What would you correct about yourself between now and July 1st when you start your intern year?
And of course..
Why surgery?
Why our program?
What would you bring to the program?
What's your weakness?
What are you looking for in a program?
and i'm SO GLAD i haven't gotten the following questions:
Take me through a whipple operation, skin to skin.
Teach me something
What was your last presentation? Now re-enact it for me.
At these interviews, they're looking for the delivery and your reaction and less what you have to say. you are under scrutiny constantly. i feel like a lab animal in some sense.
i've realized that an OR is an OR, an ICU is an ICU, and an ER is an ER, whereever you may be. the reason for the tour of the hospital is to make sure it isn't absolute shambles. so far i've been blessed with gorgeous hospitals. including the newest and best county hospitals in the nation, which also happen to be in the most violent counties in the state. hospitals by the beach. big hospitals. small busy hospitals. VA hospitals. private hospitals. ..it's been a journey...
anyway, so here i am. i'm going to meet up with my girlfriends julie and shanithin from high school for dinner. i have all day tomorrow to play in LA, then fly out to denver on sunday for my last interview before the holiday- i'll be there for 2 days, then head to hawaii via newark. i unfortunately have to overnight in newark but that's okay.
i do miss hawaii tons. i want to surf as soon as i get there. i want to catch up with friends and my life in hawaii. i want to reflect on this experience and really decide what i want for the next crucial 5 years of my life. i can't wait to see my family.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
speeding through
this week has been absolutely crazy. that's why i haven't written. it's going to calm down in a little bit.
i flew into LAX on sunday morning at 9:30 am, rented a car, - a comfortable toyota camry look alike- it's a kia optima- and made my way north. i can't believe how happy i was to see the SUN, to wear slippers...and to see the ocean. the drive to santa barbara is absolutely gorgeous. there were surfers at a couple spots along the way and i so wanted to hop in!! it seemed like a prototypical cali day- sun, palm trees, surfers. i felt instant happiness just being here! i guess i am not meant to be an east coast person...
i drove to santa barbara, met aunt billie, and wanted to lay down for a second, and realized my dinner was soon. dinner was at bucatinis on state street in sb. i'll explain more details later about the dinner- but my gut feeling was that i could see myself there in sb!! the interview the next day confirmed that gut feeling. i'll explain later...
i drove that night- after the interview- down to LA, and made it just in time for my dinner in Hollywood for my Kaiser interview. After dinner i made it to my high school friend Shanthini's house in Santa Monica, caught up- so good to see her!- and slept like a baby. seriously. woke up, made it to my interview...i had a couple hours, so i headed to the gym in Santa Monica after the interview, and came back to Shanthini's place and tried to relax, but ended up catching up on emails and stuff- i hadn't been to a computer in a couple days. my plan was to review for my practical board exam- step 2 cs- so i leafed through the review book for a while. when shanthini got off of work, we decided to eat yummy indian food so headed down the street. ....once again i slept like a baby, and here i am. it's almost 6 am on wednesday, and i'm still jet lagged...so i decided to leaf through my review book, as today is my board exam. sheesh! nonstop. i can't wait for today to be done...tomorrow i have a day to CHILL (and make it to my loma linda dinner in san bernadino!).
i haven't really had time to return phone calls or emails even! when i'm in the car, i'm using my phone for GPS so i can't even catch up then! even with my ear piece (you're not allowed to talk on the phone while driving in California unless you have an ear piece). i started to jot down notes into my google spreadsheet about all these interviews, just so i can do it while my impressions are fresh, but didn't have time or focus to completely do it. anyway...i will just breathe and try to relax for my test today:)
i flew into LAX on sunday morning at 9:30 am, rented a car, - a comfortable toyota camry look alike- it's a kia optima- and made my way north. i can't believe how happy i was to see the SUN, to wear slippers...and to see the ocean. the drive to santa barbara is absolutely gorgeous. there were surfers at a couple spots along the way and i so wanted to hop in!! it seemed like a prototypical cali day- sun, palm trees, surfers. i felt instant happiness just being here! i guess i am not meant to be an east coast person...
i drove to santa barbara, met aunt billie, and wanted to lay down for a second, and realized my dinner was soon. dinner was at bucatinis on state street in sb. i'll explain more details later about the dinner- but my gut feeling was that i could see myself there in sb!! the interview the next day confirmed that gut feeling. i'll explain later...
i drove that night- after the interview- down to LA, and made it just in time for my dinner in Hollywood for my Kaiser interview. After dinner i made it to my high school friend Shanthini's house in Santa Monica, caught up- so good to see her!- and slept like a baby. seriously. woke up, made it to my interview...i had a couple hours, so i headed to the gym in Santa Monica after the interview, and came back to Shanthini's place and tried to relax, but ended up catching up on emails and stuff- i hadn't been to a computer in a couple days. my plan was to review for my practical board exam- step 2 cs- so i leafed through the review book for a while. when shanthini got off of work, we decided to eat yummy indian food so headed down the street. ....once again i slept like a baby, and here i am. it's almost 6 am on wednesday, and i'm still jet lagged...so i decided to leaf through my review book, as today is my board exam. sheesh! nonstop. i can't wait for today to be done...tomorrow i have a day to CHILL (and make it to my loma linda dinner in san bernadino!).
i haven't really had time to return phone calls or emails even! when i'm in the car, i'm using my phone for GPS so i can't even catch up then! even with my ear piece (you're not allowed to talk on the phone while driving in California unless you have an ear piece). i started to jot down notes into my google spreadsheet about all these interviews, just so i can do it while my impressions are fresh, but didn't have time or focus to completely do it. anyway...i will just breathe and try to relax for my test today:)
Sunday, December 7, 2008
island in the sun
...err, well kind of. i'm off to warmth!! ohmygosh i'm so excited. i'm at the airport, it's 6 in the morning, about to catch a flight from Chicago to LA. woohoo! althought it's going to be crazy when i get there, at least i'll want to be outside.
i left the house yesterday to go to my interview and there were blankets of snow on every horizontal surface- it had snowed the night before and it was absolutely gorgeous and peaceful. my friend miriam admitted that it was gorgeous- the first snow, no wind, no city nastiness all mixed up in it. i almost left the house without socks because i figured 'eh, i was just going from the car to the hospital' but my friend made me wear socks- i'm so glad she did! my toes still managed to become little frozen sausages.
the interview was a mix. i don't think the program is for me, but the interview itself was excellent. sinai is on the border between the neightborhoods poorest hispanics and the poorest blacks in chicago. it's essentially a county hospital and serves the indigent. this isn't the reason it's not for me though. basically, the night before, at the dinner, the residents came by and that was cool. there was a girl from hawaii and i got all excited and introduced myself 'hi i'm haane! i go to UH' and she gave me absolutely NO LOVE. i could have said 'fuck you, you fucking fuck' and her response probably could have been the same. eeww! then the whole time she and the other couple residents were complaining about their work, then they'd have all these inside stories, and the whole time, me and the other 5 candidates had to do that fake smiley thing like we were really interested. everytime i'd ask questions, they'd evade them- i have tons of questions! i mean, this is 5 years of my life!! so...that was that. then this one residents shows up with his sister (who's not even in the program or affiliated) and tells me i'm crazy for coming to chicago from hawaii (which i get ALL THE FUCKING TIME- 'why ARE you here??!- which mabye is a sign that i shouldn't be here??), and she not only tells me i'm crazy like affectionately, but tells me as if i'm really crazy!! anyway...so i got home kinda with a bad feeling in my mouth, go to bed, and miriam, who is so great, wakes up early to drive me through snow and traffic to the hospital. we get there, and the standard introductions happen. the program director talks to us, and he's wierd. he says, in his weirdness, 'i'm not here to sell you the program', and when i ask questions, like standard, valid questions 'what are your board pass rates?'- super improtant!- he doesn't know the answer and essentially says 'it's not a reflection of the program, it's a reflection of the individual' and gets all defensive. holy shit. anyway...then we sit around, which is standard, while we wait for our interviewers, and apparently...2 interviewers had 'forgotten' about today. i mean, wtf??!?!?! i was upset but figured, hey just roll with it. so she finds 'backup' interviewers- the woman in charge is so so nice by the way, and working her ass off- and my interviewer comes and takes me to the room. so the whole time, he's falling asleep!!! terrible form.
i do have to admit, though, the questions were the best questions yet. they gave us scenarios and asked us real questions. such as 'what would you do if... you didn't agree with your chief resident about the management of the patietn you were about to take to surgery and he hands you the scalpel?' or 'what are you reading now and teach me about it', or 'tell me story about yourself that best exemplifies you as a person' or 'tell me a story that shows a time when you were out of your normal character'. TOUGH questions but i appreciate the challenge to really think on my feet. the assistant program director has a masters in educaton or something so is into these standardized questions. anyway...
one more thing. during the intro, the program director kept on saying 'it's very important that you talk to the residents- that's the most important part about this interview- so you can tell if it's a match for you'...except at lunch, there were 1 or 2 residents there only, AND the whole time they were talking to the attnedings, not even available to us or iterested in what we had to ask or say or offer.
terrible.
the good news is that the interview day ended at 12:20pm. the good news is that by knowing what i don't want, now i know what i want. there's other small but significant things about the program too- like they don't give you time or funding for conferences, the hospital is really old- like asbestos old....the area is dangerous. anyway.
with all that said and done, i had the whole afternoon and evening. miriam and i ended up chillin at her house in the afternoon, then bundling up and heading to a craft fair. when she said we're going to one, my initial impression was 'uh...okay' and i envisioned like felt cut out christmas ornaments and old ladies with knit hats. but just rolled with it. the craft fair was AWESOME!! creative, hip jewelry and clothing, stationary, bags. very very HIP and cool. i loved it. i snacked on tandori chicken and rice and miriam and i spaced out and wandered.
we then met beany, another wonderful college girlfriend of mine, at 'spoon', this excellent thai restaurant. it was so so good to see her! i hadn't seen her since graduation and it still felt like no time had passed. she and her husband of two months were so fucking cute.
so yeah! i was exhausted at this point! not sure why- i had slept the whole day prior and had only half a day of interviews. i seriously think i have seasonal affective disorder. i'm not depressed, but i do think i rely heavily on the sun for energy. plus i hadn't exercised for a couple days, and i usually do SOMETHING every day. it's just that the cold and snow make me want to not do anything or go anywhere!
so..i'm stoked to go to LA. i'll be there for a week. a week of madness.
today 9:30 am: arrive LAX
drive to Santa Barbara
arrive at Aunt Billie's house- 10 miles fr Santa Barbara
get ready to go to dinner
Drive to Santa Barbara, have dinner with the residents
tomorrow, Mon: interview at SB
Mon afternoon: drive to LA
Mon night: dinner with Kaiser residents
Tues: Kaiser interview on Sunset Blvd
Wed: Board exam! Step 2 CS.
Thurs: drive to Riverside (2 hours)
Thurs night: dinner with Loma Linda Residents
Fri: Loma Linda interview
Sat: break!
Sun: fly to Colorado
Sun night: dinner w/ colorado residents
Mon: Colorado interview
Mon night: fly to Hawaii!! (via newark....)
phew!
i left the house yesterday to go to my interview and there were blankets of snow on every horizontal surface- it had snowed the night before and it was absolutely gorgeous and peaceful. my friend miriam admitted that it was gorgeous- the first snow, no wind, no city nastiness all mixed up in it. i almost left the house without socks because i figured 'eh, i was just going from the car to the hospital' but my friend made me wear socks- i'm so glad she did! my toes still managed to become little frozen sausages.
the interview was a mix. i don't think the program is for me, but the interview itself was excellent. sinai is on the border between the neightborhoods poorest hispanics and the poorest blacks in chicago. it's essentially a county hospital and serves the indigent. this isn't the reason it's not for me though. basically, the night before, at the dinner, the residents came by and that was cool. there was a girl from hawaii and i got all excited and introduced myself 'hi i'm haane! i go to UH' and she gave me absolutely NO LOVE. i could have said 'fuck you, you fucking fuck' and her response probably could have been the same. eeww! then the whole time she and the other couple residents were complaining about their work, then they'd have all these inside stories, and the whole time, me and the other 5 candidates had to do that fake smiley thing like we were really interested. everytime i'd ask questions, they'd evade them- i have tons of questions! i mean, this is 5 years of my life!! so...that was that. then this one residents shows up with his sister (who's not even in the program or affiliated) and tells me i'm crazy for coming to chicago from hawaii (which i get ALL THE FUCKING TIME- 'why ARE you here??!- which mabye is a sign that i shouldn't be here??), and she not only tells me i'm crazy like affectionately, but tells me as if i'm really crazy!! anyway...so i got home kinda with a bad feeling in my mouth, go to bed, and miriam, who is so great, wakes up early to drive me through snow and traffic to the hospital. we get there, and the standard introductions happen. the program director talks to us, and he's wierd. he says, in his weirdness, 'i'm not here to sell you the program', and when i ask questions, like standard, valid questions 'what are your board pass rates?'- super improtant!- he doesn't know the answer and essentially says 'it's not a reflection of the program, it's a reflection of the individual' and gets all defensive. holy shit. anyway...then we sit around, which is standard, while we wait for our interviewers, and apparently...2 interviewers had 'forgotten' about today. i mean, wtf??!?!?! i was upset but figured, hey just roll with it. so she finds 'backup' interviewers- the woman in charge is so so nice by the way, and working her ass off- and my interviewer comes and takes me to the room. so the whole time, he's falling asleep!!! terrible form.
i do have to admit, though, the questions were the best questions yet. they gave us scenarios and asked us real questions. such as 'what would you do if... you didn't agree with your chief resident about the management of the patietn you were about to take to surgery and he hands you the scalpel?' or 'what are you reading now and teach me about it', or 'tell me story about yourself that best exemplifies you as a person' or 'tell me a story that shows a time when you were out of your normal character'. TOUGH questions but i appreciate the challenge to really think on my feet. the assistant program director has a masters in educaton or something so is into these standardized questions. anyway...
one more thing. during the intro, the program director kept on saying 'it's very important that you talk to the residents- that's the most important part about this interview- so you can tell if it's a match for you'...except at lunch, there were 1 or 2 residents there only, AND the whole time they were talking to the attnedings, not even available to us or iterested in what we had to ask or say or offer.
terrible.
the good news is that the interview day ended at 12:20pm. the good news is that by knowing what i don't want, now i know what i want. there's other small but significant things about the program too- like they don't give you time or funding for conferences, the hospital is really old- like asbestos old....the area is dangerous. anyway.
with all that said and done, i had the whole afternoon and evening. miriam and i ended up chillin at her house in the afternoon, then bundling up and heading to a craft fair. when she said we're going to one, my initial impression was 'uh...okay' and i envisioned like felt cut out christmas ornaments and old ladies with knit hats. but just rolled with it. the craft fair was AWESOME!! creative, hip jewelry and clothing, stationary, bags. very very HIP and cool. i loved it. i snacked on tandori chicken and rice and miriam and i spaced out and wandered.
we then met beany, another wonderful college girlfriend of mine, at 'spoon', this excellent thai restaurant. it was so so good to see her! i hadn't seen her since graduation and it still felt like no time had passed. she and her husband of two months were so fucking cute.
so yeah! i was exhausted at this point! not sure why- i had slept the whole day prior and had only half a day of interviews. i seriously think i have seasonal affective disorder. i'm not depressed, but i do think i rely heavily on the sun for energy. plus i hadn't exercised for a couple days, and i usually do SOMETHING every day. it's just that the cold and snow make me want to not do anything or go anywhere!
so..i'm stoked to go to LA. i'll be there for a week. a week of madness.
today 9:30 am: arrive LAX
drive to Santa Barbara
arrive at Aunt Billie's house- 10 miles fr Santa Barbara
get ready to go to dinner
Drive to Santa Barbara, have dinner with the residents
tomorrow, Mon: interview at SB
Mon afternoon: drive to LA
Mon night: dinner with Kaiser residents
Tues: Kaiser interview on Sunset Blvd
Wed: Board exam! Step 2 CS.
Thurs: drive to Riverside (2 hours)
Thurs night: dinner with Loma Linda Residents
Fri: Loma Linda interview
Sat: break!
Sun: fly to Colorado
Sun night: dinner w/ colorado residents
Mon: Colorado interview
Mon night: fly to Hawaii!! (via newark....)
phew!
Friday, December 5, 2008
comfort
i am feeling laaaaazy! i think it's just because it's literally 15 degrees outside and i am scared of the cold. i'm sitting in miriam's apartment, next to her cute loving/lovable dog izzie, who's napping, and google-mapping all the places i have to be in california next week. such a freakazoid.
last night, i heard miriam come up the steps and opened the door wide and i couldn't believe it was her! i haven't seen her in 6 or 7 yrs. it was so so good to see her! and it's like no time has passed since i've seen her- i love that about friendships- real friendships at least. after we stopped yelping and saying 'ohmygod' because we were seeing each other, we got ready to brave the cold, and i borrowed her huge north face puffy jacket, and we walked a couple blocks to this yummy organic restaurant called lulas. so good- we had this cheesy risotto and this butternut squash dish, chai teas and caught up on everything. we walked back on the ice, i mean sidewalk, to her car, and were going to drive to the grocery store. she gave me a mini tour of downtown chicago- the chicago skyline is goregous!!! she showed me the financial district, the 'magnificant mile' of shopping in chicago, and pointed out a few more things...we drove through to lincoln park, which is where she grew up and she pointed out where she used to ride her bike and go to high school, and then impuslively decided to stop at the house where she grew up. we surprised her parents and she gave me the tour. i love seeing where friends spent their childhood years!
we went to the grocery store, dominicks, which looks exactly like safeway, so we could get some food for the house...she asked me what i wanted to do- i could take her car today, i could stay home, she could drop me off somewhere while she was at work. and to be honest, all i wanted to do was stay indoors- which is very rare for me! i think it's a combination of the cold, of having been going for 3 wks in nyc, and in anticipation of preparing for 4 interviews, a board exam, a flight to LA, a drive to santa barbara and back- all in 6 days. everyone says not to worry about the board exam, but i'm still worried of course! it's supposed to be a test of your english, supposedly, but the last thing i want to do is blow it off and fail. so i'm going to prepare. my classmates will laugh if they read this, but it's okay. plus, i'm trying to keep all my interview locations and locations of the dinner the night before straight, as well as reading about what makes each program unique or special. anyway!
so today i'm staying indoors. i slept a solid 8 hours last night - so so nice! miriam is going to try to get off early so we can hang out- otherwise i have dinner at 8 pm with the residents at a place called Hawkeye's Bar and Grill near University of Illinois-Chicago. when i woke up this morning, Miriam and Izzie were out going for a run. Miriam came back and no joke- she had icicles of sweat on her brow. she didn't wear long johns so her thighs were mottled. she, a chicago native, told me to not go outside because it's so cold. it's deceiving because it's sunny though.
a part of me wants to explore and see chicago- such a rare opportunity, but my inkling is to take it easy and take care of stuff.
anyway! i will take pictures of her cute apartment and of izzie her dog and of miriam. there won't be many 'chicago' specific pictures but oh well.
yay to relaxing!
last night, i heard miriam come up the steps and opened the door wide and i couldn't believe it was her! i haven't seen her in 6 or 7 yrs. it was so so good to see her! and it's like no time has passed since i've seen her- i love that about friendships- real friendships at least. after we stopped yelping and saying 'ohmygod' because we were seeing each other, we got ready to brave the cold, and i borrowed her huge north face puffy jacket, and we walked a couple blocks to this yummy organic restaurant called lulas. so good- we had this cheesy risotto and this butternut squash dish, chai teas and caught up on everything. we walked back on the ice, i mean sidewalk, to her car, and were going to drive to the grocery store. she gave me a mini tour of downtown chicago- the chicago skyline is goregous!!! she showed me the financial district, the 'magnificant mile' of shopping in chicago, and pointed out a few more things...we drove through to lincoln park, which is where she grew up and she pointed out where she used to ride her bike and go to high school, and then impuslively decided to stop at the house where she grew up. we surprised her parents and she gave me the tour. i love seeing where friends spent their childhood years!
we went to the grocery store, dominicks, which looks exactly like safeway, so we could get some food for the house...she asked me what i wanted to do- i could take her car today, i could stay home, she could drop me off somewhere while she was at work. and to be honest, all i wanted to do was stay indoors- which is very rare for me! i think it's a combination of the cold, of having been going for 3 wks in nyc, and in anticipation of preparing for 4 interviews, a board exam, a flight to LA, a drive to santa barbara and back- all in 6 days. everyone says not to worry about the board exam, but i'm still worried of course! it's supposed to be a test of your english, supposedly, but the last thing i want to do is blow it off and fail. so i'm going to prepare. my classmates will laugh if they read this, but it's okay. plus, i'm trying to keep all my interview locations and locations of the dinner the night before straight, as well as reading about what makes each program unique or special. anyway!
so today i'm staying indoors. i slept a solid 8 hours last night - so so nice! miriam is going to try to get off early so we can hang out- otherwise i have dinner at 8 pm with the residents at a place called Hawkeye's Bar and Grill near University of Illinois-Chicago. when i woke up this morning, Miriam and Izzie were out going for a run. Miriam came back and no joke- she had icicles of sweat on her brow. she didn't wear long johns so her thighs were mottled. she, a chicago native, told me to not go outside because it's so cold. it's deceiving because it's sunny though.
a part of me wants to explore and see chicago- such a rare opportunity, but my inkling is to take it easy and take care of stuff.
anyway! i will take pictures of her cute apartment and of izzie her dog and of miriam. there won't be many 'chicago' specific pictures but oh well.
yay to relaxing!
Thursday, December 4, 2008
chi town
i woke up this morning and it was snowing outside my window. holy shit. it was actually kind of pretty, but much prettier from the inside. i lounged around in the king sized bed, rallied to get out of bed and went down to get breakfast. mmmm! such a great melow lazy morning...i ordered an eggwhite omelette w/ peppers, onions and mushrooms. so yummy! i sat and watched the snow and thought about what it would be like to live there. grand rapids is a small town, but the second largest city in michigan. after new york city, i guess any town will seem small.
i couldn't imagine not wanting to go outside at all- i guess as an intern though, i won't have that option of going outside...at the same time, even if i don't have the option as an intern, i'll have more opportunities later in my residency. anyway, maybe i'm thinking about it too much, or thinking about it without having the full picture (aka- i haven't done all of my interviews yet, so it's hard to see what options i have next year).
anyway.
today i thought about chris (surprise surprise). i didn't call him or text him. i don't know what really to say to him in my head, i'm saying lots of things to him, asking lots of questions, maybe i'm crying maybe i'm yelling. either way, i'm going to wean myself off of him because i think he's toxic to me. i thought it would easier to wean myself from him since i'm physically away from him, but it's actually harder than i though.
i also thought about nathan, my new friend. now that made me smile:)
anyway, so my friend miriam, who i'm staying with in chicago is at work right now. i took a cab from the airport to her house and let myself in. i'm so so excited to see her!!! she was one of my bestest friends in college! her apartment is really really cute, very organized (in full miriam fashion), her dog izzy is really cute and playful, and she got samosas for me from trader joes, and chocolate too. her couch is really comfortable and she has a big flat screen TV. i am so excited to see her!!
tomorrow night i have dinner with the residents of the University of Illinois- Chicago (Sinai) program, then I interview on Saturday. i did my research about the program and apparently they serve an underserved population at the main teaching hospital, but then rotate at all the other Chicago hospitals. the program is small- three or four residents a year, with a few off for research during the year. i'm excited to see what the program is like.
man i'm missing the ocean!!! and my bed:)
anyway, i'm excited to be in chicago w/ friends from chicago. very fortunate! i'll keep by blog updated on adventures!
i couldn't imagine not wanting to go outside at all- i guess as an intern though, i won't have that option of going outside...at the same time, even if i don't have the option as an intern, i'll have more opportunities later in my residency. anyway, maybe i'm thinking about it too much, or thinking about it without having the full picture (aka- i haven't done all of my interviews yet, so it's hard to see what options i have next year).
anyway.
today i thought about chris (surprise surprise). i didn't call him or text him. i don't know what really to say to him in my head, i'm saying lots of things to him, asking lots of questions, maybe i'm crying maybe i'm yelling. either way, i'm going to wean myself off of him because i think he's toxic to me. i thought it would easier to wean myself from him since i'm physically away from him, but it's actually harder than i though.
i also thought about nathan, my new friend. now that made me smile:)
anyway, so my friend miriam, who i'm staying with in chicago is at work right now. i took a cab from the airport to her house and let myself in. i'm so so excited to see her!!! she was one of my bestest friends in college! her apartment is really really cute, very organized (in full miriam fashion), her dog izzy is really cute and playful, and she got samosas for me from trader joes, and chocolate too. her couch is really comfortable and she has a big flat screen TV. i am so excited to see her!!
tomorrow night i have dinner with the residents of the University of Illinois- Chicago (Sinai) program, then I interview on Saturday. i did my research about the program and apparently they serve an underserved population at the main teaching hospital, but then rotate at all the other Chicago hospitals. the program is small- three or four residents a year, with a few off for research during the year. i'm excited to see what the program is like.
man i'm missing the ocean!!! and my bed:)
anyway, i'm excited to be in chicago w/ friends from chicago. very fortunate! i'll keep by blog updated on adventures!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
downtime, timedown
downtime is great....i hadn't realized this until i actually STOPPED- stopped thinking, stopped doing, stopped planning, stopped going, stopped moving. being here in grand rapids, michigan, in this hotel room- gorgeous (and free- i'll explain in a bit!), king sized bed, warm, flat screen tv, internet connection. i'm not much of a princcess and am honestly fine with a bed to crash in, a place to shower, and place to move my body, and some food in my belly. but after being in a minimalist apartment, this feels like heaven.
so i get to grand rapids yesterday, wake up from my groggy nap on the 30 minute flight from chicago to gerald ford airport in michigan, gather my 98 lbs of shit, and call the number on the cab voucher mailed to me by the program at which i'm interviewing. they come in about 20 minutes, 20 minutes too long for my warm-blooded island ass to stand in the 20 degree weather. let me rewind- there is SNOW everywhere, the runway is white, the tree are bare and i can't believe it. i did not expect this, but hey this trip is about the unexpected. after the available, nice cabs in nyc- okay okay i know i'm sounding liked a spoiled brat- having to wait for a cab and then getting into a ghetto cab was a surprise. my cabdriver was straight out of the early 80s- like the rock of ages musical i had just seen. funny as hell.
we drive through fields of white, to downtwon grand rapids. it's a typical downtown, some tall buildings with banks, post office, courthouse, police headquarters, and the courtyard marriott. i pile out of the ghetto ride, give the cab driver my voucher(so nice!), and check in. apparently i had two reservations- one made by myself, the other made by the program- they cancelled my reservation, and then hand me a key with the beautiful words "all costs are covered by the program- have a nice stay and welcome to grand rapids". holy shit! they program is paying for my hotel room for two nights! i make it to my room and it's fucking heaven. a king sized bed, ...etc etc....i move in like i'm staying for ever, go for a quick run on the treadmill (and check out the indoor pool on the way), then get ready to go to the dinner. i had made a reservation for the cab for the dinner (learning from my experience in rhode island taht cabs do not just roll by normally like in nyc at smaller towns), get in the cab, and LITERALLY go 2 blocks before the cab driver drops me off. i felt so silly!! i could have walked but according to google maps the restaurant was 0.5 miles way- too cold of a walk for me. i guess it meant 0.5 feet.
the dinner was a typical dinner for a pre-interview dinner with residents. the restaurant was a tapas restaurant, and the residents were really nice. there were only 8 or us interviewing- much more intimate than the prior interviews with 20+ interviewees. everyone is really diverse and from all over- the south, cali, midwest. dinner was good, conversation was good. i met a super cool guy, nathan, and we had a mutual friend back in hawaii. a cool asian girl who i found out i would be interviewing with again in chicago this weekend. ...the dinner ended early, which i appreciated 'cause i was exhausted.
as i walk out, i find myself chatting with nathan. he invited me to go out for drinks with him and his buddies, which i honestly wanted to but was tired and my nose was stuffy. i thanked him and walked home...on the icy sidewalks!! holy shit this was a new experience for me. i was suprisingly warm in my coat.
i get home and crash out...
the interview wss great. i won't go into the crazy details, but basically, the program is very nonmalignant, you operate a ton, the attendings are approachable, the hospital is goregeous, and the benefits are good. i love everything about the program, (the cold is so hard though!!), so we'll see where i rank it.
i chat with the applicants, the residents throughout the day. i'm exhausted again by the end of the day- once again it's only 2 pm and i'm tired for some reason! nathan ends up walking me to the front door and we chat. very cool guy. invites me to coffee and i say yes, we wander downtown, and in search of a coffee shop, both of us unfamiliar with the town but at least he has a better sense of north/south/east/west than i do. we find a coffee shop....and it happens to be the same place we had had dinner last night. we end up ordering a big pot of cofee, chocolate yumminess dessert, and 3 hours late we're still chatting. this guy is dope! we make plans to hang out in LA next week, as he's from LA and will be down there when i am. he has to drive to detroit tonight, and i'm getting sleepy so we go out separate ways after a long hug and i feel warm and fuzzy. cool cool guy.
anyway, i walk back to the hotel, work out quickly, eat some food at the hotel restaurant downstairs, do my laundry, and now here i am. i think i'll put my impressions of the program into my google spreadsheet- my objective method of analyzing all the programs at which i'm interviewing so i can decide what's right for me, then i think i'll read for fun in my big king sized bed:) off to chicago tomorrow...going to stay with my college friend miriam! who i haven't seen in 6 yrs- since graduation! so so excited.
so i get to grand rapids yesterday, wake up from my groggy nap on the 30 minute flight from chicago to gerald ford airport in michigan, gather my 98 lbs of shit, and call the number on the cab voucher mailed to me by the program at which i'm interviewing. they come in about 20 minutes, 20 minutes too long for my warm-blooded island ass to stand in the 20 degree weather. let me rewind- there is SNOW everywhere, the runway is white, the tree are bare and i can't believe it. i did not expect this, but hey this trip is about the unexpected. after the available, nice cabs in nyc- okay okay i know i'm sounding liked a spoiled brat- having to wait for a cab and then getting into a ghetto cab was a surprise. my cabdriver was straight out of the early 80s- like the rock of ages musical i had just seen. funny as hell.
we drive through fields of white, to downtwon grand rapids. it's a typical downtown, some tall buildings with banks, post office, courthouse, police headquarters, and the courtyard marriott. i pile out of the ghetto ride, give the cab driver my voucher(so nice!), and check in. apparently i had two reservations- one made by myself, the other made by the program- they cancelled my reservation, and then hand me a key with the beautiful words "all costs are covered by the program- have a nice stay and welcome to grand rapids". holy shit! they program is paying for my hotel room for two nights! i make it to my room and it's fucking heaven. a king sized bed, ...etc etc....i move in like i'm staying for ever, go for a quick run on the treadmill (and check out the indoor pool on the way), then get ready to go to the dinner. i had made a reservation for the cab for the dinner (learning from my experience in rhode island taht cabs do not just roll by normally like in nyc at smaller towns), get in the cab, and LITERALLY go 2 blocks before the cab driver drops me off. i felt so silly!! i could have walked but according to google maps the restaurant was 0.5 miles way- too cold of a walk for me. i guess it meant 0.5 feet.
the dinner was a typical dinner for a pre-interview dinner with residents. the restaurant was a tapas restaurant, and the residents were really nice. there were only 8 or us interviewing- much more intimate than the prior interviews with 20+ interviewees. everyone is really diverse and from all over- the south, cali, midwest. dinner was good, conversation was good. i met a super cool guy, nathan, and we had a mutual friend back in hawaii. a cool asian girl who i found out i would be interviewing with again in chicago this weekend. ...the dinner ended early, which i appreciated 'cause i was exhausted.
as i walk out, i find myself chatting with nathan. he invited me to go out for drinks with him and his buddies, which i honestly wanted to but was tired and my nose was stuffy. i thanked him and walked home...on the icy sidewalks!! holy shit this was a new experience for me. i was suprisingly warm in my coat.
i get home and crash out...
the interview wss great. i won't go into the crazy details, but basically, the program is very nonmalignant, you operate a ton, the attendings are approachable, the hospital is goregeous, and the benefits are good. i love everything about the program, (the cold is so hard though!!), so we'll see where i rank it.
i chat with the applicants, the residents throughout the day. i'm exhausted again by the end of the day- once again it's only 2 pm and i'm tired for some reason! nathan ends up walking me to the front door and we chat. very cool guy. invites me to coffee and i say yes, we wander downtown, and in search of a coffee shop, both of us unfamiliar with the town but at least he has a better sense of north/south/east/west than i do. we find a coffee shop....and it happens to be the same place we had had dinner last night. we end up ordering a big pot of cofee, chocolate yumminess dessert, and 3 hours late we're still chatting. this guy is dope! we make plans to hang out in LA next week, as he's from LA and will be down there when i am. he has to drive to detroit tonight, and i'm getting sleepy so we go out separate ways after a long hug and i feel warm and fuzzy. cool cool guy.
anyway, i walk back to the hotel, work out quickly, eat some food at the hotel restaurant downstairs, do my laundry, and now here i am. i think i'll put my impressions of the program into my google spreadsheet- my objective method of analyzing all the programs at which i'm interviewing so i can decide what's right for me, then i think i'll read for fun in my big king sized bed:) off to chicago tomorrow...going to stay with my college friend miriam! who i haven't seen in 6 yrs- since graduation! so so excited.
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