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.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
whirlwind ending
so right now i'm in my hotel room at the courtyard marriott in grand rapids, michigan, and i already miss the view of central park and the easy walk to the subway to go anywhere you want in the city and the constant entertainment, and even the dunkin donuts down the street....and down every street, next to the starbucks down every half block. haha. so yes, i left new york! i'm missing it already.
as malia said, i think i did new york right- if you don't come home exhausted, you didn't do it right, just like vegas. i caught some kind of viral upper respiratory airway shit because i have major rhinorrhea and sinus headache. at least the malaise has passed and the sore throat has mostly passed. i think i just have to hydrate like hell and sleep well tonight. so yes! that being said, i did new york right!
my last few days of new york were a blast, a whirlwind, ups and downs, comforting and crazy, you'll see why in a bit.
i left my empty apartment on 5th ave in the upper east side two days before i actually left new york, packed up my stuff- all 100 lbs of it- and took a cab over the pulaski bridge to brooklyn, to stay with wendy. wendy is fabulous! her apartment is cute as ever, clean, coordinated and one of the ones you see out of a movie or magazine and you strive to make it that way, but somehow it never really works out. it's like how you always want to eat someone elses food before yours. we chatted over cheese and yummy salami and bread, curled up under big blankets, drank tea and watched sex and the city, season 5, disc 1. and of course i fall asleep for alot of it. haha. this was exactly what i needed, after the last few days of going going crazy going. i was feeling stuffy then too, so the ginger green tea was great. we got up again to eat thanksgiving leftovers, mmmm...i didn't actually have turkey on thanksgiving so this was great. stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy. so so yummy.....
i fell asleep and felt like i was at home- just what i needed. thank you wendy;)
we woke up the next morning, and while she got ready to go to work, i got ready to spend my last full day in nyc. i had one thing planned and was going to squeeze stuff in around it- an 11 am sex and the city tour! hell yeah. i did the commute w/ wendy which was really nice, a 6 block walk to the L train, then 4 or 5 stops later, we were at union square. very easy...i cruised around union square, dropped some stuff in the mail - now i'm down to 98 lbs of stuff- browsed through the famous bookstore- the strand- then caught the subway to 5th ave, at the plaza hotel, between 58th and 59th street, where the tour was going to start at 11. i was half an hour early, so walked down 5th ave and gawked at the high fashion (aka high priced) stores- louis vitton, armani, etc. i walked by a couple of really nice hotels with really dressed up doormen- just out of the movies!. then made my way back to the fountain in front of the plaza hotel and notice the 'paris' theater- i had JUST seen that episdoe of sex and the city the night before!!! crazy.
the tour was FABULOUS. basically it was a tourbus load- a really nice tourbus- of 20-50something yr old women and the few reluctant brave men, and one or two eager gay or metro or openminded men. hehe. our tourguide was really funny, cute, a standup comedian/actress. she had us say 'fuck' all together and then warned us how much profanity would be used in the tour- much like the show. very funny. the tour consisted of her pointing out spots from the show and the movie, then playing the clips on a tv, w/ three stops- at the pleasure chest, a sex shop; at magnolia bakery in the village; and at onieals, which is actually aden's bar scout for a cosmopolatin. we'd have 20 or so minutes at each spot, and time to cruise the area- i loooove the village! 'fresh', the makeup store who does all the makeup for SATC was there, as was bleeker park- a park for kids, where miranda runs into steve with his new girlfriend and we see a flash of her granny panties. i was one of the few women doing the tour solo, but i met this woman from montreal, and she sat next to me and we took each other's pictures and stuff. i ate a yummy ass cupcake at magnolia- mmmm!! i saw so much of the city!! the new york public libary, where carrie get's left at the altar in the movie- i actually went back after the tour to cruise, the sushi place where samantah says 'dirty martini, dirty bastard' to the guy who she caught eating someone else's 'sushi', big and carrie's apartment from the movie, ...i can't even explain how awesome it all was! there were >40 spots that they showed us! i highly recommend it to anyone who goes to NYC.
the tour ended at 2:30 pm, and i went back to urban outfitters ( i love that store), and browsed the sale section- the only part i can afford. haha....there was a subway hold up on the red line - the 1,2, and 3, so it took a while to get anywhere. i had been in touch with chan to meet up around 4 pm, so i started to make my way to meet him at penn station, and after discovering the train hold up, i decided to walk on braodway from 42nd to 34th....this was the worst walk of my life, the most stressful, the most agonzing, the most frustrating...because at one point i texted someone, reached down to put my phone in my coat pocket....and unbeknownst, i missed my pocket, and my phone fell to the ground. i didn't discover this until 1 minute later when i reached down to grab the honey cashews in my pocket, and this was 1 minute too late...i walked back, freaked out, and my phone was no where to be seen. oh my fucking god i lost my shit. i didn't know where anything was, i was supposed to meet chan in 15 minutes, knew no one. ohmygod. i went back to the vietnamese woman who sold me my cashews and she knew no english but could read my frantic face as i asked her to use her phone. i called my phone a million times and there was no ring or vibration in my coat, or bag. fuck. fuck fuck. i had just gotten my blackberry before my trip. i got it because it was my safety harness. i got it to keep in touch. it had everything in there. maps, phone numbers. these connectoins were even more important in these huge ass city. anyway. i stopped, and breathed like 10 deep breaths.....and remembered there was an AT&T nearby. i had seen it a few days ago. i walked in there...and got a new phone. i had insurance, but to use the insurance, you had to call a number and they'd mail you a phone. at this point, i had no home base, as i was flying to michigan the next day. i had no choice but to buy the phone, which i can return in 30 days, and will call AT&T and explain the situation to them. And pray they can help me. so...i have a phone now. i had synced my phone to my computer before my trrip, so i had all my numbers except the ones acquired on the trip. i have no way of getting in touch with my scrub tech friend ryan, i realized, but luckily had email access to all other friends made along the way...i am so so lucky. it wasn't my wallet at least, right?! so that was that...
i met up with chan who helped to calm me down, as we grabbed some food and drinks at a nearby pub. except i was kinda sick so alcohol sounded gross to me..the food and company was all i needed. we walked through mini korea on 32nd and 7th (i think). ....
wendy had texted me right before the fiasco about meeting her and sean at momofuku this premier noodle bar in the east village, so i hugged chan a huge hug good bye and took a cab to meet wendy and sean. so so fabulous!! wendy and i had ginger scallion ramen, we had chicken buns, and sean had kim chee stew. very yummy:) we then walked around the corner after our feast to veniero's, an italian bakery...mmm...
anyway, i can't write much more now- i gotta get ready for this dinner tonight with the michigan state residents, iron my shirt,and all that, maybe get a work out in at the gym in this phatty hotel. will write more later!!
as malia said, i think i did new york right- if you don't come home exhausted, you didn't do it right, just like vegas. i caught some kind of viral upper respiratory airway shit because i have major rhinorrhea and sinus headache. at least the malaise has passed and the sore throat has mostly passed. i think i just have to hydrate like hell and sleep well tonight. so yes! that being said, i did new york right!
my last few days of new york were a blast, a whirlwind, ups and downs, comforting and crazy, you'll see why in a bit.
i left my empty apartment on 5th ave in the upper east side two days before i actually left new york, packed up my stuff- all 100 lbs of it- and took a cab over the pulaski bridge to brooklyn, to stay with wendy. wendy is fabulous! her apartment is cute as ever, clean, coordinated and one of the ones you see out of a movie or magazine and you strive to make it that way, but somehow it never really works out. it's like how you always want to eat someone elses food before yours. we chatted over cheese and yummy salami and bread, curled up under big blankets, drank tea and watched sex and the city, season 5, disc 1. and of course i fall asleep for alot of it. haha. this was exactly what i needed, after the last few days of going going crazy going. i was feeling stuffy then too, so the ginger green tea was great. we got up again to eat thanksgiving leftovers, mmmm...i didn't actually have turkey on thanksgiving so this was great. stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy. so so yummy.....
i fell asleep and felt like i was at home- just what i needed. thank you wendy;)
we woke up the next morning, and while she got ready to go to work, i got ready to spend my last full day in nyc. i had one thing planned and was going to squeeze stuff in around it- an 11 am sex and the city tour! hell yeah. i did the commute w/ wendy which was really nice, a 6 block walk to the L train, then 4 or 5 stops later, we were at union square. very easy...i cruised around union square, dropped some stuff in the mail - now i'm down to 98 lbs of stuff- browsed through the famous bookstore- the strand- then caught the subway to 5th ave, at the plaza hotel, between 58th and 59th street, where the tour was going to start at 11. i was half an hour early, so walked down 5th ave and gawked at the high fashion (aka high priced) stores- louis vitton, armani, etc. i walked by a couple of really nice hotels with really dressed up doormen- just out of the movies!. then made my way back to the fountain in front of the plaza hotel and notice the 'paris' theater- i had JUST seen that episdoe of sex and the city the night before!!! crazy.
the tour was FABULOUS. basically it was a tourbus load- a really nice tourbus- of 20-50something yr old women and the few reluctant brave men, and one or two eager gay or metro or openminded men. hehe. our tourguide was really funny, cute, a standup comedian/actress. she had us say 'fuck' all together and then warned us how much profanity would be used in the tour- much like the show. very funny. the tour consisted of her pointing out spots from the show and the movie, then playing the clips on a tv, w/ three stops- at the pleasure chest, a sex shop; at magnolia bakery in the village; and at onieals, which is actually aden's bar scout for a cosmopolatin. we'd have 20 or so minutes at each spot, and time to cruise the area- i loooove the village! 'fresh', the makeup store who does all the makeup for SATC was there, as was bleeker park- a park for kids, where miranda runs into steve with his new girlfriend and we see a flash of her granny panties. i was one of the few women doing the tour solo, but i met this woman from montreal, and she sat next to me and we took each other's pictures and stuff. i ate a yummy ass cupcake at magnolia- mmmm!! i saw so much of the city!! the new york public libary, where carrie get's left at the altar in the movie- i actually went back after the tour to cruise, the sushi place where samantah says 'dirty martini, dirty bastard' to the guy who she caught eating someone else's 'sushi', big and carrie's apartment from the movie, ...i can't even explain how awesome it all was! there were >40 spots that they showed us! i highly recommend it to anyone who goes to NYC.
the tour ended at 2:30 pm, and i went back to urban outfitters ( i love that store), and browsed the sale section- the only part i can afford. haha....there was a subway hold up on the red line - the 1,2, and 3, so it took a while to get anywhere. i had been in touch with chan to meet up around 4 pm, so i started to make my way to meet him at penn station, and after discovering the train hold up, i decided to walk on braodway from 42nd to 34th....this was the worst walk of my life, the most stressful, the most agonzing, the most frustrating...because at one point i texted someone, reached down to put my phone in my coat pocket....and unbeknownst, i missed my pocket, and my phone fell to the ground. i didn't discover this until 1 minute later when i reached down to grab the honey cashews in my pocket, and this was 1 minute too late...i walked back, freaked out, and my phone was no where to be seen. oh my fucking god i lost my shit. i didn't know where anything was, i was supposed to meet chan in 15 minutes, knew no one. ohmygod. i went back to the vietnamese woman who sold me my cashews and she knew no english but could read my frantic face as i asked her to use her phone. i called my phone a million times and there was no ring or vibration in my coat, or bag. fuck. fuck fuck. i had just gotten my blackberry before my trip. i got it because it was my safety harness. i got it to keep in touch. it had everything in there. maps, phone numbers. these connectoins were even more important in these huge ass city. anyway. i stopped, and breathed like 10 deep breaths.....and remembered there was an AT&T nearby. i had seen it a few days ago. i walked in there...and got a new phone. i had insurance, but to use the insurance, you had to call a number and they'd mail you a phone. at this point, i had no home base, as i was flying to michigan the next day. i had no choice but to buy the phone, which i can return in 30 days, and will call AT&T and explain the situation to them. And pray they can help me. so...i have a phone now. i had synced my phone to my computer before my trrip, so i had all my numbers except the ones acquired on the trip. i have no way of getting in touch with my scrub tech friend ryan, i realized, but luckily had email access to all other friends made along the way...i am so so lucky. it wasn't my wallet at least, right?! so that was that...
i met up with chan who helped to calm me down, as we grabbed some food and drinks at a nearby pub. except i was kinda sick so alcohol sounded gross to me..the food and company was all i needed. we walked through mini korea on 32nd and 7th (i think). ....
wendy had texted me right before the fiasco about meeting her and sean at momofuku this premier noodle bar in the east village, so i hugged chan a huge hug good bye and took a cab to meet wendy and sean. so so fabulous!! wendy and i had ginger scallion ramen, we had chicken buns, and sean had kim chee stew. very yummy:) we then walked around the corner after our feast to veniero's, an italian bakery...mmm...
anyway, i can't write much more now- i gotta get ready for this dinner tonight with the michigan state residents, iron my shirt,and all that, maybe get a work out in at the gym in this phatty hotel. will write more later!!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
entertainment
these last few days have been nothing but entertainment....it's as if my nyc experience has been fast forwarded, packed with a whirlwind of activities. it's perfect for the adhd-ness(is that word?) in me. i don't even know where to begin or how to begin describing the people/sights/things/sounds/colors/dancing/performing/wierdos that i've come across...
firstly, on friday night- well, i guess it was only 4:00 pm , but it gets dark so early here- i caught the subway to times square to meet up with chan and teresa. i almost forgot it was black friday- why is it called that?- then i was quickly reminded by the swarm of tourists, people selling tickets on the street, cameras, new york guidebooks in the middle of the times square. times square is so big and crazy that although i technically arrived at the times square station, i still had to walk 6 or 7 blocks before meeting them in times square, at the tkts booth. next to tkts is a set of red stairs....to...nowhere. yup. only in new york city can there be stairs to nowhere- that are red- and it's totally normal. oh yeah, also only in nyc will you see a pink plaid stretch limo, and a guy in a suit in the subway...wearing tabbies for shoes. yup. tabbies! i mean, it was wet out side today, but that's just hilarious!. anyway, so i meet up with chan and teresa and the line is actually moving quickly. our top three choices for shows to see are 1)rock of ages 2) spamalot and 3)boeing boeing. we ended up with rock of ages, once again, an 80s rock themed musical. we were the most asian/brown people there. the theater was full of old school older 80s rockers and new school 80s rockers. the story is about a girl from kansas who comes to LA to come to the city to live the dream. very standard story but incredible dancing and music. hit songs include journey's don't stop believing, foreigner's i wanna know what love is, and bon jovi's dead or alive, to name a few. the best part is they passed out fake lighters so we can all wave them in the air. the show was hilarious, not at all pretentious, and a blast! i highly recommed it to anyone who just wants to belt out great rock songs and be totally entertained.
after that we met dave, and a girl who graduated from JABSOm last year and is doing her residency on long island, at ps 450, a small bar. very chill, very fun.
i woke up the next day and wished i hadn't drank! sheesh! it's all good. we had a full day ahead- we wanted to go to ellis island, statue of liberty, shop in soho, ice skate at the rockfeller center, go to the museum of natural history, eat good food, see the graffiti art in harlem...i call teresa and she had gotten us tickets to the new york city ballet nutcracker that night!
one of the interns i worked with had forgotten her wallet at the hospital, so i had brought it with me on the shuttle back to save her a drive back to new jersey, so she came by and picked it up. she also gave me a cd full of surgery lectures! yippee! such a nerd. so exciting. we were gonna take the bus across the park to the west side, where the museum is, until she offered us a ride. sweet! it was weird to be in a normal, non-taxi car in new york city. her car looked exactly like every other med student/resident car i've been in- basically lived in. even across the ocean and nation! haha.
we crossed the park and went downtown a little bit to 81st, then realized we were really hungry and hadn't eat breakfast. i busted out my not for tourist book, as every time i've eaten at a restaurant from that book, i've been completely satisfied. first we wanted to go to garlic bob's...to find it no longer existed...then we wanted to go to another italian restaurant...to find out it was only open for dinner. we were STARVING and ninja by now, so went into the first restaurant we found open, which happened to be a large bumping italian style restaurant called carmines. mmmmm! two huge plates of pasta- one with clams and white sauce, the other with sausage, broccoli garlic and olive oil. so so good! and way too much food. in new york it's hard to take a box home because you're on the subway or you're usually not going straight home.
our inner hungry demons were satsified and off we cruised through the upper west side to the museum.
the museum was incredible. it has the normal exhibitions, separated by geographic location and era in history - such as 'african mammals' or 'the deap ocean' or 'pacific peoples', plus special exhibitions such as 'cosmic collisons', 'sea monsters', 'climate change' and 'horses'...the special exhbitions had certain show times, so we both chose cosmic collisons, and i chose 'sea monsters' while she chose 'lizards and snakes'. i'm so drawn to the ocean! while waiting for our 'cosmic collisions' show to watch she wandered off to the dinosaur section and i wandered to 'the deep ocean' section. it was dfinitely cool..but lots of the animals were fake and it's definitely more for 8 yr olds on their science field trip or 5 yr olds who love to soak up knowledge. cosmic collisions was awesome! it's a theater, but the theater is circular, and the seats all face the middle and are slightly reclined. the 'film' is the dome- shaped theater. it felt like you were floating through space and i learned about asteroids and the formation of the moon and earth and milky way. very cool.
it was great to see something bigger than me out there. i know it's cliche but it's so true that we (i) get caught up in my little world. i forget there's an entire earth and universe out there. even other states.
we then cruised through the museum shop- sometimes these are cooler than the museum themselves!- and i bought a book in the bargain section called 'why we love- the science and chemistry of romantic love', and 'spook', by roach, who also wrote stiff. of cousre i buy books:) such a nerd!
hungry again, (it's dinner time!- it's dark after all:), we pick a 'classic nyc pizza joint'- according to not for tourists, in the east village, ride the subway there , and walked through the village. so so cute. smaller streets and stores, more hip, a small theater, a puerto rican coffee shop, very cute. arturo's pizza was great, it has a jazz piano player, it's small warm and the staff is really nice. and of course the pizza was great!
off to the nyc ballet. i'm exhausted by this point but still excited. our seats were on teh first ring, basically a balcony, but to the immedate right of the stage, and our view was amazing! i could't take pics during the show but i took some before the show to show you the view we had. i've never ever ever seen the nutcracker, had no idea what the story was about, didn't know that tchiacovsky did the music to it. no wi know. the dancers were fucking ripped, danced on their toes, wore the tightest of all tights and still looked fabulous...the decoratoins and costumes were of course breathtaking- i couldn't decide what i like more- the dancing or the decorations/costumes.
anyway...i was so tired after the show i immediately went home and slept. i'm tired now..will write more later:)
firstly, on friday night- well, i guess it was only 4:00 pm , but it gets dark so early here- i caught the subway to times square to meet up with chan and teresa. i almost forgot it was black friday- why is it called that?- then i was quickly reminded by the swarm of tourists, people selling tickets on the street, cameras, new york guidebooks in the middle of the times square. times square is so big and crazy that although i technically arrived at the times square station, i still had to walk 6 or 7 blocks before meeting them in times square, at the tkts booth. next to tkts is a set of red stairs....to...nowhere. yup. only in new york city can there be stairs to nowhere- that are red- and it's totally normal. oh yeah, also only in nyc will you see a pink plaid stretch limo, and a guy in a suit in the subway...wearing tabbies for shoes. yup. tabbies! i mean, it was wet out side today, but that's just hilarious!. anyway, so i meet up with chan and teresa and the line is actually moving quickly. our top three choices for shows to see are 1)rock of ages 2) spamalot and 3)boeing boeing. we ended up with rock of ages, once again, an 80s rock themed musical. we were the most asian/brown people there. the theater was full of old school older 80s rockers and new school 80s rockers. the story is about a girl from kansas who comes to LA to come to the city to live the dream. very standard story but incredible dancing and music. hit songs include journey's don't stop believing, foreigner's i wanna know what love is, and bon jovi's dead or alive, to name a few. the best part is they passed out fake lighters so we can all wave them in the air. the show was hilarious, not at all pretentious, and a blast! i highly recommed it to anyone who just wants to belt out great rock songs and be totally entertained.
after that we met dave, and a girl who graduated from JABSOm last year and is doing her residency on long island, at ps 450, a small bar. very chill, very fun.
i woke up the next day and wished i hadn't drank! sheesh! it's all good. we had a full day ahead- we wanted to go to ellis island, statue of liberty, shop in soho, ice skate at the rockfeller center, go to the museum of natural history, eat good food, see the graffiti art in harlem...i call teresa and she had gotten us tickets to the new york city ballet nutcracker that night!
one of the interns i worked with had forgotten her wallet at the hospital, so i had brought it with me on the shuttle back to save her a drive back to new jersey, so she came by and picked it up. she also gave me a cd full of surgery lectures! yippee! such a nerd. so exciting. we were gonna take the bus across the park to the west side, where the museum is, until she offered us a ride. sweet! it was weird to be in a normal, non-taxi car in new york city. her car looked exactly like every other med student/resident car i've been in- basically lived in. even across the ocean and nation! haha.
we crossed the park and went downtown a little bit to 81st, then realized we were really hungry and hadn't eat breakfast. i busted out my not for tourist book, as every time i've eaten at a restaurant from that book, i've been completely satisfied. first we wanted to go to garlic bob's...to find it no longer existed...then we wanted to go to another italian restaurant...to find out it was only open for dinner. we were STARVING and ninja by now, so went into the first restaurant we found open, which happened to be a large bumping italian style restaurant called carmines. mmmmm! two huge plates of pasta- one with clams and white sauce, the other with sausage, broccoli garlic and olive oil. so so good! and way too much food. in new york it's hard to take a box home because you're on the subway or you're usually not going straight home.
our inner hungry demons were satsified and off we cruised through the upper west side to the museum.
the museum was incredible. it has the normal exhibitions, separated by geographic location and era in history - such as 'african mammals' or 'the deap ocean' or 'pacific peoples', plus special exhibitions such as 'cosmic collisons', 'sea monsters', 'climate change' and 'horses'...the special exhbitions had certain show times, so we both chose cosmic collisons, and i chose 'sea monsters' while she chose 'lizards and snakes'. i'm so drawn to the ocean! while waiting for our 'cosmic collisions' show to watch she wandered off to the dinosaur section and i wandered to 'the deep ocean' section. it was dfinitely cool..but lots of the animals were fake and it's definitely more for 8 yr olds on their science field trip or 5 yr olds who love to soak up knowledge. cosmic collisions was awesome! it's a theater, but the theater is circular, and the seats all face the middle and are slightly reclined. the 'film' is the dome- shaped theater. it felt like you were floating through space and i learned about asteroids and the formation of the moon and earth and milky way. very cool.
it was great to see something bigger than me out there. i know it's cliche but it's so true that we (i) get caught up in my little world. i forget there's an entire earth and universe out there. even other states.
we then cruised through the museum shop- sometimes these are cooler than the museum themselves!- and i bought a book in the bargain section called 'why we love- the science and chemistry of romantic love', and 'spook', by roach, who also wrote stiff. of cousre i buy books:) such a nerd!
hungry again, (it's dinner time!- it's dark after all:), we pick a 'classic nyc pizza joint'- according to not for tourists, in the east village, ride the subway there , and walked through the village. so so cute. smaller streets and stores, more hip, a small theater, a puerto rican coffee shop, very cute. arturo's pizza was great, it has a jazz piano player, it's small warm and the staff is really nice. and of course the pizza was great!
off to the nyc ballet. i'm exhausted by this point but still excited. our seats were on teh first ring, basically a balcony, but to the immedate right of the stage, and our view was amazing! i could't take pics during the show but i took some before the show to show you the view we had. i've never ever ever seen the nutcracker, had no idea what the story was about, didn't know that tchiacovsky did the music to it. no wi know. the dancers were fucking ripped, danced on their toes, wore the tightest of all tights and still looked fabulous...the decoratoins and costumes were of course breathtaking- i couldn't decide what i like more- the dancing or the decorations/costumes.
anyway...i was so tired after the show i immediately went home and slept. i'm tired now..will write more later:)
last few days
it's my last few days in nyc! holy shit it's gone by quickly. i don't have time to write so much now, but i will update in a little bit. since thanksgiving yumminess, i've been to rock of ages, a broadway musical, basically, 'what momma mia did for abba, rock of ages did for 80s rock'- it was an amazing hilarious show set to the soundtrack of music like bon jovi, reo speedwagon, whitesnake. fricken amazing! chan, teresa and i stood in line at tkts in times square and got great seats. after that we cruised to a midtown bar called ps 450, met up with dave then went home...
yesterday teresa and i had our cultural excursion, eating family style italian at carmines in the upper west side, going to the museum of natural history, eating new york pizza at arturo's in the village, then going to watch the new york ballet's version of nutcracker. holy shit amazing day! i'll tell you the details later.
today's my last day in my place, then i head to wendy's in brooklyn today. yay to chilltime with wendy. tomorrow, my last full day in nyc, i booked the 'sex and the city' tour- thank you malia for the idea! i thought it would be a great way to end my nyc experience. anyway, today i'm going to grand central station to check out the architecture and to macy's to gawk at the window displays...it's a rainy rainy day in nyc. yay!
yesterday teresa and i had our cultural excursion, eating family style italian at carmines in the upper west side, going to the museum of natural history, eating new york pizza at arturo's in the village, then going to watch the new york ballet's version of nutcracker. holy shit amazing day! i'll tell you the details later.
today's my last day in my place, then i head to wendy's in brooklyn today. yay to chilltime with wendy. tomorrow, my last full day in nyc, i booked the 'sex and the city' tour- thank you malia for the idea! i thought it would be a great way to end my nyc experience. anyway, today i'm going to grand central station to check out the architecture and to macy's to gawk at the window displays...it's a rainy rainy day in nyc. yay!
Friday, November 28, 2008
uptown, downtown
so everyone in new york has a dog it seems. maybe it's just because i live right by the park, but it surprises me that you can still have a dog in a big city with little space for them to run. most of them are small dogs. i wonder if new york city dogs think about different things than dogs in hawaii or guam. do dogs notice that there are so many people in the city or do they only know and see the concrete beneath their feet? and would new york dogs know how to swim?
wednesday was my last full day at the hospital. i really really like my team, and i did see come cool surgeries while i was here. honestly though, whether it's because i have senioritis, or possibly there's so much distraction in nyc, or maybe it's because i have some hesitations with interacting with some of the harsh surgeons here (i've also met cool surgeons too, don't get me wrong)- but forever reason i wasn't balls to the wall with this general surgery rotation. and i'm okay with that. i will have tons of time- haha- and i laugh because intern year is going to be intense- to get my game face on. anyway.
anyway, so i had a great thanksgiving. firstly, on wednesday night, my friend teresa flew in from LA to hang out for the weekend. she got a hotel room at paramount hotel on 46th and 8th, right by times square. she got the 'petite room', the smallest and most affordable room- affordable by new york standards, and representative of what it's like to have an apartment in the city- small. but it does the job for the weekend. so i navigated my way by subway to get her, then we met wendy at katz deli - a classic ny experience- for dinner. mmmmmm! it's very low key, with a huge deli counter, and they give you samples of meat while you're waiting. when you first walk in, they give you a ticket and you have to give the ticket back when you leave. since the sandwhiches are HUGE, we ordered a pastrami and a corned beef sandwhich. they also give you a plate of different types of pickles. these pickles are essentially whole cucumbers that taste like pickles with a different twist. i usually don't eat meat, but i had to make an exception for this experience. we almos ordered potato pancakes with apple sauce and sourcream too, but there was way too much food. the sandwhiches were basically plates of meat with some bread for decoration. we then cruised our way to this small spanish bar and we all got different kinds of drinks- i got one with horchata, rum and cinammon, teresa got one with mango juice and vodka, and wendy got a yummy limey-tequila drink. very very strong! after one drink we headed out. wendy, headed back across the river to brooklyn, and teresa and i went to my friend dave's house to hang out. i'm always a little nervous mixing my circles of friends but teresa is great and social and can take care of herself. awesome.
dave his friends and ourselves ended up going to this cool club called the green room. it was SO FRICKEN cold waiting to get it. holy shit. and a limo full of girls pulled up in just their little dresses, no coats, no stockings, nothing! i was in a skirt with sweater tights, boots, my big coat, a warm hat and gloves and i was still cold. making it in the club never felt so good. the music was really good and we danced all night, which is something i wanted to do in new york. very fun.
i've heard new yorkers say this before but they can all tell when a club or bar is filled with jersey folks. i guess people from the surrounding states come into the city on the weekends to shop and eat and go out- i personally can't tell the difference, but new yorkers know who isn't a new yorker. i guess it's equivalent to someone mistaking a chinese person for korean when you're in hawaii. it's what you're used to.
i woke up on thanksgiving day, made my way to the gym quickly, then got ready to head out. i took the subway to times square area, and it was crazy! the macy's day parade was going on. i hoped to catch a bit of it. on my subway ride i saw this group of litereally 50 or 100 girls dressed in bright orange abd pink dancy/gynmanstics outfits. definitely stood out amongst the dark coats and the dark subway. it was way to crazy, and teresa and i were STARVING, so we went to chinatown, and found a yummy dim sum place. we were both zoning out partly because we needed food badly and partly because there was so much to watch. we thought we stood out like tourists, even with my small black 'not for tourist' book, but there were way more obvious tourists. i don't know why i'm so uncomfortable with looking like a tourist- i think it's a safety thing. sometimes though i'm people watching on the subway and get caught staring so i quickly look away and hope they didn't notice.
we ate dim sum at this place on mott street- i think it's called ping's. all i know is it was packed, there were tons of chinese people, and there was a 'zagat' sign on the door - zagat is a guide to great restaurants in nyc. the kicker was that we saw tons of chinese people eating there. we got our table early, led downstairs to a hidden section of the restaurant. the waiters and waitresses with plates of yumminess came by trying to convince us to eat their plate of food. we ended up getting mostly plates of steamed dumblings, shumai, this yummy noodle dish- they were giant fried noodles- almost like donuts- wrapped in steamed noodles. we ended our meal with sesame mochi yumminess. we were way happier!
we also had bubble tea. it was freezing cold out but we had to get bubble tea while we were in china town. we wandered down canal street, through the tourist stores full of scarves, hats, ny paraphenalia, past the vendors with chestnuts, fruit, bok choy, seafood, flowers. we acquiesced to the cold and found refuge in the subway, taking a couple different trains to dave's place.
ohmygod we ate like queens! dave and aileen made red rice, chicken kelaguen, bbq chicken, steak, beef kelaquen, shrimp in coconut milk, daigo/cucumber salad, and latiya for dessert. it was a classic chamorro meal- about 9 or 10 folks from guam and their significnat others were there. also classic in the nappage that went on. so so great!
i got home at about 10 pm last night, and slept so happily:) so so thankful!
now i'm sitting at a coffeeshop , waiting to catch the 9 am shuttle to the hospital, where i'll basically just turn in my pager and scrubs, say my goodbyes. i'll take the noon shuttle back and this afternoon i'll make a run to the post office to mail some stuff back to hawaii to ligthen my load up. today is black friday, so i will avoid shopping like the plague. it's gonna be crazy as hell, as if new york wasn't crazy enough. teresa and i have plans to hang out with our friend chan from hawaii who's visiting his family in queen's.
only a few more days in nyc! it's gone by quickly. there's still so much i want to do, but i think i did most of them. just gonna soak up what's left...
wednesday was my last full day at the hospital. i really really like my team, and i did see come cool surgeries while i was here. honestly though, whether it's because i have senioritis, or possibly there's so much distraction in nyc, or maybe it's because i have some hesitations with interacting with some of the harsh surgeons here (i've also met cool surgeons too, don't get me wrong)- but forever reason i wasn't balls to the wall with this general surgery rotation. and i'm okay with that. i will have tons of time- haha- and i laugh because intern year is going to be intense- to get my game face on. anyway.
anyway, so i had a great thanksgiving. firstly, on wednesday night, my friend teresa flew in from LA to hang out for the weekend. she got a hotel room at paramount hotel on 46th and 8th, right by times square. she got the 'petite room', the smallest and most affordable room- affordable by new york standards, and representative of what it's like to have an apartment in the city- small. but it does the job for the weekend. so i navigated my way by subway to get her, then we met wendy at katz deli - a classic ny experience- for dinner. mmmmmm! it's very low key, with a huge deli counter, and they give you samples of meat while you're waiting. when you first walk in, they give you a ticket and you have to give the ticket back when you leave. since the sandwhiches are HUGE, we ordered a pastrami and a corned beef sandwhich. they also give you a plate of different types of pickles. these pickles are essentially whole cucumbers that taste like pickles with a different twist. i usually don't eat meat, but i had to make an exception for this experience. we almos ordered potato pancakes with apple sauce and sourcream too, but there was way too much food. the sandwhiches were basically plates of meat with some bread for decoration. we then cruised our way to this small spanish bar and we all got different kinds of drinks- i got one with horchata, rum and cinammon, teresa got one with mango juice and vodka, and wendy got a yummy limey-tequila drink. very very strong! after one drink we headed out. wendy, headed back across the river to brooklyn, and teresa and i went to my friend dave's house to hang out. i'm always a little nervous mixing my circles of friends but teresa is great and social and can take care of herself. awesome.
dave his friends and ourselves ended up going to this cool club called the green room. it was SO FRICKEN cold waiting to get it. holy shit. and a limo full of girls pulled up in just their little dresses, no coats, no stockings, nothing! i was in a skirt with sweater tights, boots, my big coat, a warm hat and gloves and i was still cold. making it in the club never felt so good. the music was really good and we danced all night, which is something i wanted to do in new york. very fun.
i've heard new yorkers say this before but they can all tell when a club or bar is filled with jersey folks. i guess people from the surrounding states come into the city on the weekends to shop and eat and go out- i personally can't tell the difference, but new yorkers know who isn't a new yorker. i guess it's equivalent to someone mistaking a chinese person for korean when you're in hawaii. it's what you're used to.
i woke up on thanksgiving day, made my way to the gym quickly, then got ready to head out. i took the subway to times square area, and it was crazy! the macy's day parade was going on. i hoped to catch a bit of it. on my subway ride i saw this group of litereally 50 or 100 girls dressed in bright orange abd pink dancy/gynmanstics outfits. definitely stood out amongst the dark coats and the dark subway. it was way to crazy, and teresa and i were STARVING, so we went to chinatown, and found a yummy dim sum place. we were both zoning out partly because we needed food badly and partly because there was so much to watch. we thought we stood out like tourists, even with my small black 'not for tourist' book, but there were way more obvious tourists. i don't know why i'm so uncomfortable with looking like a tourist- i think it's a safety thing. sometimes though i'm people watching on the subway and get caught staring so i quickly look away and hope they didn't notice.
we ate dim sum at this place on mott street- i think it's called ping's. all i know is it was packed, there were tons of chinese people, and there was a 'zagat' sign on the door - zagat is a guide to great restaurants in nyc. the kicker was that we saw tons of chinese people eating there. we got our table early, led downstairs to a hidden section of the restaurant. the waiters and waitresses with plates of yumminess came by trying to convince us to eat their plate of food. we ended up getting mostly plates of steamed dumblings, shumai, this yummy noodle dish- they were giant fried noodles- almost like donuts- wrapped in steamed noodles. we ended our meal with sesame mochi yumminess. we were way happier!
we also had bubble tea. it was freezing cold out but we had to get bubble tea while we were in china town. we wandered down canal street, through the tourist stores full of scarves, hats, ny paraphenalia, past the vendors with chestnuts, fruit, bok choy, seafood, flowers. we acquiesced to the cold and found refuge in the subway, taking a couple different trains to dave's place.
ohmygod we ate like queens! dave and aileen made red rice, chicken kelaguen, bbq chicken, steak, beef kelaquen, shrimp in coconut milk, daigo/cucumber salad, and latiya for dessert. it was a classic chamorro meal- about 9 or 10 folks from guam and their significnat others were there. also classic in the nappage that went on. so so great!
i got home at about 10 pm last night, and slept so happily:) so so thankful!
now i'm sitting at a coffeeshop , waiting to catch the 9 am shuttle to the hospital, where i'll basically just turn in my pager and scrubs, say my goodbyes. i'll take the noon shuttle back and this afternoon i'll make a run to the post office to mail some stuff back to hawaii to ligthen my load up. today is black friday, so i will avoid shopping like the plague. it's gonna be crazy as hell, as if new york wasn't crazy enough. teresa and i have plans to hang out with our friend chan from hawaii who's visiting his family in queen's.
only a few more days in nyc! it's gone by quickly. there's still so much i want to do, but i think i did most of them. just gonna soak up what's left...
Monday, November 24, 2008
brown brown
i'm sitting here at the airport in Providence, Rhode Island, and just had my Brown interview. The interview was fine, and I actually really like the program. The residents seem happy, you get kick ass, broad training, the hospital is gorgeous, the faculty love to teach and it's very academic...the only thing is that Providence seems to SUCK. There's nothing really to do- Boston is an hour away and NYC is 3 hours away, but the town is so so small and cold...I met an Ortho resident and his plastic surgery resident girlfriend who surf, they actually know my friend Joe, an Ortho resident in hawaii, who i've been surfing with. they said surf around here is 40 minutes away...mostly point breaks, but COLD. so anyway, i'll have to sit down and do my spreadsheet analysis on the program- my gut feeling is that while i can't see myself living here, if i ended up here i would be a kick ass surgeon. ahhh! such decisions.
last night i called a cab to take me to union state brewery in downtown providence for the resident social dinner thing, and the cab driver just happened to be picking up another girl who was staying at the comfort inn and interviewing. well first of all, i called one cab company and they didnt have an available cab so i had to call another one- that wouldn't happen in nyc! anyway, so the other girl who was interiviweing was cool, from philly, and we ended up splitting all cab fairs, catching shuttles and everything, together, and our flights even left at the same time. very nice to have a buddy. at the interview i also ran into two people i had interviewed with at georgetown. the folks you meet along the 'interview trail', as it's called...
so back to NYC. i fly into la guardia tonight, will chill tonight, or if i motivate, go to the gym. i have a couple days at the hospital, thursday off, then friday's my last day. wow it went so quickly!! i don't leave nyc till tuesday, so i have a few days to enjoy nyc....
i'm tired as hell! i've spent many call nights up for 30 hours straight and feel more tired now, after a night of socializing and a half day of interviewing. i think the difference is that at these social events and interviews, you're always 'on', talking to everyone, coming up with intelligent relevant questions, talking about yourself, selling yourself, analyzing residents and faculty...this whole process is much like speed dating. everyone applies to 20-40 programs, and each program gets 1000s of applicants, and interview about 50-75. the program figures out if they want you to work there, and oyu figure out if you could see yourself there. then the program makes a rank list of who they want, number candidates from 1-75 or whatever, applicants make their rank list, and this vortex of a computer program analyzes it and makes the best match for everyone.
anyway...i'm feeling lots of things right now.
1)anxiety- about this whole process. i have 9 more interviews! anxiety about how i'm gonna analyze everything and where i'll end up
2)excitement- everyday in nyc and the cities to follow bring a new set of adventures and people
3)longing- i miss the guy who i recently fell for in hawaii. i think about him tons and i hate it because i doubt he's thinking about me. i let him take the initiative on calling me when i left hawaii, since i had basically told him how i felt wiht no reciprocation or explanation. he took the initiative - a lot- for the first week. then i stopped hearing from him. he's going to be in nyc and today i got a text 'how's nyc? in d.c. still. heading up for tgiving'. for some reason i was really upset. that's all i get?! not a 'i miss you!' or 'let's hang out!' or 'can't wait to see you!'. why did i expect that? so i got mad! mad at him because i really like(d?) him at one point. now all the time we spent, conversations and interactions seem like a total joke, fake, and waste of time. aahhh...
4)wanted- i went out with my friend from the hospital on saturday and he calls and text me all the time. very endearing...almost too eager! now i feel like a guy- you want what you can't have and now that he's obvoiusly missing me...i'm pulling back. don't know where these feelings/actions come from but it's just how i am right now.
5)antcipation and comfort- for spending time with friends in nyc. my friend teresa comes in on wednesday, i'm gonna spend thanksgiving with my friend from guam, and then stay with wendy from sunday thru tuesday, when i leave.
6)stoked- on doing more nyc things!
7)homesickness- i miss the ocean and surf and friends and warmth and familiarity! i know it'll be back soon enough and for now i will enjoy this experience.:)
off to grab coffee before my flight boards:)
last night i called a cab to take me to union state brewery in downtown providence for the resident social dinner thing, and the cab driver just happened to be picking up another girl who was staying at the comfort inn and interviewing. well first of all, i called one cab company and they didnt have an available cab so i had to call another one- that wouldn't happen in nyc! anyway, so the other girl who was interiviweing was cool, from philly, and we ended up splitting all cab fairs, catching shuttles and everything, together, and our flights even left at the same time. very nice to have a buddy. at the interview i also ran into two people i had interviewed with at georgetown. the folks you meet along the 'interview trail', as it's called...
so back to NYC. i fly into la guardia tonight, will chill tonight, or if i motivate, go to the gym. i have a couple days at the hospital, thursday off, then friday's my last day. wow it went so quickly!! i don't leave nyc till tuesday, so i have a few days to enjoy nyc....
i'm tired as hell! i've spent many call nights up for 30 hours straight and feel more tired now, after a night of socializing and a half day of interviewing. i think the difference is that at these social events and interviews, you're always 'on', talking to everyone, coming up with intelligent relevant questions, talking about yourself, selling yourself, analyzing residents and faculty...this whole process is much like speed dating. everyone applies to 20-40 programs, and each program gets 1000s of applicants, and interview about 50-75. the program figures out if they want you to work there, and oyu figure out if you could see yourself there. then the program makes a rank list of who they want, number candidates from 1-75 or whatever, applicants make their rank list, and this vortex of a computer program analyzes it and makes the best match for everyone.
anyway...i'm feeling lots of things right now.
1)anxiety- about this whole process. i have 9 more interviews! anxiety about how i'm gonna analyze everything and where i'll end up
2)excitement- everyday in nyc and the cities to follow bring a new set of adventures and people
3)longing- i miss the guy who i recently fell for in hawaii. i think about him tons and i hate it because i doubt he's thinking about me. i let him take the initiative on calling me when i left hawaii, since i had basically told him how i felt wiht no reciprocation or explanation. he took the initiative - a lot- for the first week. then i stopped hearing from him. he's going to be in nyc and today i got a text 'how's nyc? in d.c. still. heading up for tgiving'. for some reason i was really upset. that's all i get?! not a 'i miss you!' or 'let's hang out!' or 'can't wait to see you!'. why did i expect that? so i got mad! mad at him because i really like(d?) him at one point. now all the time we spent, conversations and interactions seem like a total joke, fake, and waste of time. aahhh...
4)wanted- i went out with my friend from the hospital on saturday and he calls and text me all the time. very endearing...almost too eager! now i feel like a guy- you want what you can't have and now that he's obvoiusly missing me...i'm pulling back. don't know where these feelings/actions come from but it's just how i am right now.
5)antcipation and comfort- for spending time with friends in nyc. my friend teresa comes in on wednesday, i'm gonna spend thanksgiving with my friend from guam, and then stay with wendy from sunday thru tuesday, when i leave.
6)stoked- on doing more nyc things!
7)homesickness- i miss the ocean and surf and friends and warmth and familiarity! i know it'll be back soon enough and for now i will enjoy this experience.:)
off to grab coffee before my flight boards:)
Sunday, November 23, 2008
it's wicked cold
so i'm sitting at a coffee shop at a big table, and right now this kid, he's about 9 years old, fat jewish looking kid, runs to my table, makes a sliding stop and plops down at the chair across from me, with his apple juice box and i think he has adhd or something or maybe MR. he's kinda making funny robot or goat noises and doing the worm dance sitting down. funniest shit ever!! his mom is across the coffee shop saying 'chris...' over and over in that tone that you always know as 'be good or else'. anyway.
so what a great weekend! friday was a good day at the hospital, oh mygosh. i really wanted to write about it then but i didn't have time to make it to a computer. i thought it was gonna be a hernia friday- was going to scrub into 3 hernia cases. which i was excited about. after the first case, i'm at the elevator, starving and running to grab something to eat, when my chief comes by and says 'haane, come with me. we have a patient with a rigid abdomen'. which in surgery land, means straight to the OR for an expoloratory laparatomy (ex lap- open up the belly and look for what's going on.) he takes me to the peds ward. the patient is 16 years old, and i knew very little about her at his point, but later learned. so apparantely, this 16 yr old girl who had had a lap appendectomy at 10 years old, came in 10 days ago with 3 days of belly pain, 7/10, diffuse, and never vomitted but had really bad nausea. they worked her up and told her she had gastroenteritis (infection). sooo...she's taking prevacid, and her pain goes away, then slowly starts to come back for 10 days, get's really bad so comes back to the ER. she gets admitted, and she looked fine, then overnight...she got really really sick. vomitted, nausea, became pale, hypotensive, belly was rigid in the morning. she had tons of other clinically worrying stuff going on, but i won't go into it. on top of all of this, her mom is affiliated with the hospital and is very difficult to work with, refusing xrays and cat scans (very essential to diagnosis). she also didn't like the first surgeon so she requested a second surgeon. which is totally her perogative, but her daughter is also really really sick. and time is of essence right now. anyway...she ends up going to the OR after her mom agreed to a CAT scan and ends up she only has 90 cm of small intestine that's viable (normal people have about 300 cm) . the rest is dead. apparently there was a fibrous band from one of the ports of her appendectomy that strangulated her bowel. basically she's going to eventually need a small bowel transplant (you need a small bowel to live). and she's only 16! i feel so bad for her and her family...
anyway, so i ended up finding a kick ass deal on tickets to the broadway musical Wicked that night, and caught the shuttle home, bundled up (it's like 20 - 30 degrees- holy shit), and met my exboyfriend bill at the gershwin theater on broadway near times square. i'm so excited to be there at this point! it was good to see him, we hadn't really seen each other since college (when we dated), except for a split second of time two years ago after i took my step 1 board exams and i was a lunatic, so we caught up on everything. we go into the theater and our seats are 5 rows from the front, on the right side! we're so close! it was awesome. the show was incredible, from the set to the costumes to the dancing, the performers themselves, and being so close up, i couldn't help but look at all the detail- the costumes, the makeup, the setting. the story is about the life of the wicked witch of the west from the wizard of oz. i won't say more but i highly recommed it if anyone is in a city or goes to s city where it's showing. totally worth it. basically our seats were worth $200 each and i got them for $66 each!
i'm pretty hungry at this point so we go to this restaurant near nyu and washington square, called Otto Enoteca Pizzeria, where the chef is Mario Balati-one of the chef's on food network. it was 11:30 at night and this place was happening! new york really doesn't sleep. we ordered yummy pizza with mushrooms and good old margherita. but this shit is good! it's not classic new york pizza, by far, but it's excellent. we finished the night with milk chocolate chip gelato. mmmmm!
i was going to head home at this point, ready to have a full day ahead then get a text from dave my friend from guam and ended up freezing my way, i mean, making my way to meet him and his friends at a bar near his house in union square. then i went home. the bar was kind of a blast from the past, it was basically an old beauty salon, so they still had the chairs with the old school hair dryers over them, and behind the bar were the mirrors and chairs lined up. in the back there was a dance floor with wierd projected checkerboard pattern lights on the walls and they were playing 80s pop. the only thing is that it smelled like as and it was really crowded...so we left and went to this much more open bar playing good hip hop, with more room and a better crowd.
i woke up the next morning (saturday), headed to the gym quickly, then came back and got ready for the day. my friend from the hospital was gonna pick me up at noonish for lunch and shopping in soho. on the way back from the subway after going to the gym, i stopped into this hair salon, because i badly needed a hair cut especially since my interviews were going to be piling up, and the sign said 'cut and shampoo- $23'. which isn't bad- i pay $14 to 16 in hawaii at supercuts, so it wasn't that muchmore. i stop in and my columbian hair stylist spends 20 minutes talking to me about my hair, what he wants to do, why he wants to do it. he loves, LOVES, his job. i get my shampoo- aaah...so nice- hot water, head massage, especially in the cold, and get my hair cut. the hair cut itself took 15 minutes then he spent 20 styling it. he had such attention to detail, i couldn't believe it. i almost got ansy but then calmed down realizing that hair and fashion are one of NYC's claims to fame. i guess. anyway so i walked out of salon with a very styled hair cut. natural and flowy stil, thank God, but i felt so 'hip' especially in my gym clothes. ...
anyway, so i get ready and ryan picks me up and takes me to this malaysian place in chinatown. now driving in the city is CRAZY! i seriously thought he was gonna pick me up- he drove from new jersey- then was gonna park his car so we could take the subway around the city. anyway, we drove downtown- from 100th street at my place to around 9th street in chinatown/soho, parked and went to noynya, this yummy malaysian food place. we had shrimp puffs- shrimp wrapped in bacon, pad thai, coconut rice, ginger tofu, mango shrimp and thai iced teas. the food is a mix between thai and chinese, but different. i can't explain it. i was so glad i went to the gym- i go to the gym (or have been) so i can eat my way through new york. haha. anyway, we wandered to soho, cruised through urban outfitters, steve madden, this great shoe place called michael k- awesome old school nikes and pumas. there are tons of stores like this in soho- and it now makes sense why everyone in new york is wearing old school nikes (and boots on that same note). ended up stopping for coffee and sitting down to hide from the cold, then back to the car. the sign said '$10.14/half hour, and i was scared to hear the grand total. we were there for a few hours!. endedup being $30 for the few hours, which is still a lot, but not like $80 which is what i expected. anyway, ryan had been a gentleman, cool cat, this whole time and paying for everything, but i still felt bad!
he drops me home last night and i'm exhausted. i have my interview tonight/tomorrow, so i did laundry, packed, and just chilled, went to bed early and here i am at the coffee shop. my flight to providence leaves from la guardia at 1 pm, so i'll be getting a cab around 10:15, 10:30 (it's about 8:30 now). when i get to providence, it'll be around 2:30, i'll go to the hotel, then go to the dinner with the residents around 7pm. i was gonna try to do something this morning- walk through central park or something- i haven't done that yet!!. oh well...
great weekend:)
oh and my friend teresa is going to be visiting!
so what a great weekend! friday was a good day at the hospital, oh mygosh. i really wanted to write about it then but i didn't have time to make it to a computer. i thought it was gonna be a hernia friday- was going to scrub into 3 hernia cases. which i was excited about. after the first case, i'm at the elevator, starving and running to grab something to eat, when my chief comes by and says 'haane, come with me. we have a patient with a rigid abdomen'. which in surgery land, means straight to the OR for an expoloratory laparatomy (ex lap- open up the belly and look for what's going on.) he takes me to the peds ward. the patient is 16 years old, and i knew very little about her at his point, but later learned. so apparantely, this 16 yr old girl who had had a lap appendectomy at 10 years old, came in 10 days ago with 3 days of belly pain, 7/10, diffuse, and never vomitted but had really bad nausea. they worked her up and told her she had gastroenteritis (infection). sooo...she's taking prevacid, and her pain goes away, then slowly starts to come back for 10 days, get's really bad so comes back to the ER. she gets admitted, and she looked fine, then overnight...she got really really sick. vomitted, nausea, became pale, hypotensive, belly was rigid in the morning. she had tons of other clinically worrying stuff going on, but i won't go into it. on top of all of this, her mom is affiliated with the hospital and is very difficult to work with, refusing xrays and cat scans (very essential to diagnosis). she also didn't like the first surgeon so she requested a second surgeon. which is totally her perogative, but her daughter is also really really sick. and time is of essence right now. anyway...she ends up going to the OR after her mom agreed to a CAT scan and ends up she only has 90 cm of small intestine that's viable (normal people have about 300 cm) . the rest is dead. apparently there was a fibrous band from one of the ports of her appendectomy that strangulated her bowel. basically she's going to eventually need a small bowel transplant (you need a small bowel to live). and she's only 16! i feel so bad for her and her family...
anyway, so i ended up finding a kick ass deal on tickets to the broadway musical Wicked that night, and caught the shuttle home, bundled up (it's like 20 - 30 degrees- holy shit), and met my exboyfriend bill at the gershwin theater on broadway near times square. i'm so excited to be there at this point! it was good to see him, we hadn't really seen each other since college (when we dated), except for a split second of time two years ago after i took my step 1 board exams and i was a lunatic, so we caught up on everything. we go into the theater and our seats are 5 rows from the front, on the right side! we're so close! it was awesome. the show was incredible, from the set to the costumes to the dancing, the performers themselves, and being so close up, i couldn't help but look at all the detail- the costumes, the makeup, the setting. the story is about the life of the wicked witch of the west from the wizard of oz. i won't say more but i highly recommed it if anyone is in a city or goes to s city where it's showing. totally worth it. basically our seats were worth $200 each and i got them for $66 each!
i'm pretty hungry at this point so we go to this restaurant near nyu and washington square, called Otto Enoteca Pizzeria, where the chef is Mario Balati-one of the chef's on food network. it was 11:30 at night and this place was happening! new york really doesn't sleep. we ordered yummy pizza with mushrooms and good old margherita. but this shit is good! it's not classic new york pizza, by far, but it's excellent. we finished the night with milk chocolate chip gelato. mmmmm!
i was going to head home at this point, ready to have a full day ahead then get a text from dave my friend from guam and ended up freezing my way, i mean, making my way to meet him and his friends at a bar near his house in union square. then i went home. the bar was kind of a blast from the past, it was basically an old beauty salon, so they still had the chairs with the old school hair dryers over them, and behind the bar were the mirrors and chairs lined up. in the back there was a dance floor with wierd projected checkerboard pattern lights on the walls and they were playing 80s pop. the only thing is that it smelled like as and it was really crowded...so we left and went to this much more open bar playing good hip hop, with more room and a better crowd.
i woke up the next morning (saturday), headed to the gym quickly, then came back and got ready for the day. my friend from the hospital was gonna pick me up at noonish for lunch and shopping in soho. on the way back from the subway after going to the gym, i stopped into this hair salon, because i badly needed a hair cut especially since my interviews were going to be piling up, and the sign said 'cut and shampoo- $23'. which isn't bad- i pay $14 to 16 in hawaii at supercuts, so it wasn't that muchmore. i stop in and my columbian hair stylist spends 20 minutes talking to me about my hair, what he wants to do, why he wants to do it. he loves, LOVES, his job. i get my shampoo- aaah...so nice- hot water, head massage, especially in the cold, and get my hair cut. the hair cut itself took 15 minutes then he spent 20 styling it. he had such attention to detail, i couldn't believe it. i almost got ansy but then calmed down realizing that hair and fashion are one of NYC's claims to fame. i guess. anyway so i walked out of salon with a very styled hair cut. natural and flowy stil, thank God, but i felt so 'hip' especially in my gym clothes. ...
anyway, so i get ready and ryan picks me up and takes me to this malaysian place in chinatown. now driving in the city is CRAZY! i seriously thought he was gonna pick me up- he drove from new jersey- then was gonna park his car so we could take the subway around the city. anyway, we drove downtown- from 100th street at my place to around 9th street in chinatown/soho, parked and went to noynya, this yummy malaysian food place. we had shrimp puffs- shrimp wrapped in bacon, pad thai, coconut rice, ginger tofu, mango shrimp and thai iced teas. the food is a mix between thai and chinese, but different. i can't explain it. i was so glad i went to the gym- i go to the gym (or have been) so i can eat my way through new york. haha. anyway, we wandered to soho, cruised through urban outfitters, steve madden, this great shoe place called michael k- awesome old school nikes and pumas. there are tons of stores like this in soho- and it now makes sense why everyone in new york is wearing old school nikes (and boots on that same note). ended up stopping for coffee and sitting down to hide from the cold, then back to the car. the sign said '$10.14/half hour, and i was scared to hear the grand total. we were there for a few hours!. endedup being $30 for the few hours, which is still a lot, but not like $80 which is what i expected. anyway, ryan had been a gentleman, cool cat, this whole time and paying for everything, but i still felt bad!
he drops me home last night and i'm exhausted. i have my interview tonight/tomorrow, so i did laundry, packed, and just chilled, went to bed early and here i am at the coffee shop. my flight to providence leaves from la guardia at 1 pm, so i'll be getting a cab around 10:15, 10:30 (it's about 8:30 now). when i get to providence, it'll be around 2:30, i'll go to the hotel, then go to the dinner with the residents around 7pm. i was gonna try to do something this morning- walk through central park or something- i haven't done that yet!!. oh well...
great weekend:)
oh and my friend teresa is going to be visiting!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
artsy fartsy, ansy dancy, kicky my assy
okey dokey artichokey
...
today i had a half day at the hospital. well, first off, i got to sleep till 6 am (sleeping in!), then headed to basic science lecture clutching my coffee w/ cream and sugar from the street cart, met up with my team, then caught the 9 am shuttle...there were awesome cases going on! i'm so bummed that we were late, and that i had to leave at noon. there were big cases, lots of them.:(
i have this thing where i can't scrub into cases late, or i can't leave early. i need to be there for the whole thing, from meeting the patient to reading the chart to scrubbing in to following the patient to PACU. the residents told me i can just leave early if i have to, but i feel disrespectful you know? it's like starting a song you really love and not listening to the whole thing, reading a chapter and not finishing it, just kissing a boy and not ...hahah. j/k. not really. it's like learning a language but only learning nouns. i don't know- you get the point: i'm all or nothing. so i spent the morning reading sabiston (sabiston is a big surgery test book), caught the noon shuttle back and met with the program director. i did some errands, like dropped a box in the mail- my luggage was 65 lbs, and since i'll be travellling tons on the way back, i need to drop 15 lbs at least so i dont 'get charged everytime i board a flight, which'll be like 6 flights at least. my plan is to mail back my danskos (heavy ass clogs) and clinic stuff as soon as i finish. anyway...it was sooo sooo nice to be outside during the day! in the sunlight! and today there was sunlight- it felt so good- sunny but crisp. supposedly there were snow flurries this morning. yowsers. supposed to get to 20 degrees just outside of nyc and 30 degrees in manhattan tonight. shit that's fucking cold.
anyway..did my errands, then found my way to the MoMA. i took some pictures and i'll post them later. I like that you can take photos in the museum. i put on my killers albums and wandered through the sculptures, the architecture, the photograph areas. stopped at the cafe and ate yummy creamy polenta w/ walnuts and fontina w/ sparking water as i read my 'rough guide to nyc' book...wandered through the MoMA design store, then to rockfeller center and nbc studios. they were filming something right outside of nbc studios and they were really hardcore about not letting people pass by. wandered past radio city music hall, through h&m, then back to the subway...i had some time to kill before my 'cardio video dance class', so went back to the 96 station to my korean nail salon and got a pedicure. my feet were killing me so it felt nice. too bad i couldn't wear slippers afterwards, but at least i know my toes are pretty.
i went to this cardio video dance class- it was hard! but really really fun. i hope i can remember the routine. the teacher was this girl, she's probably betwteen 25 adn 35 but was PETITE as hell, wearing knee high socks, baggy basketball shorts, and old school nike dunks, and an italian soccer (futbol) jersey. spunky as hell and a fucking kick ass dancer! the first 30 minutes was spent warming up, freestyling, then the last 30 minutes we learned the routine. i love this shit. i can't wait to go out dancing now!
i decided to stay for the pre-season sports conditioning class, and now, after 2 hours of working out i am sore as fucking hell. but it feels good.
anyway, the other day in the OR, this guy comes in to relieve the scrub tech, and he's cute as ever. filipino w/ really nice eyes. i can't help but stare at him- well i guess only his eyes, since we were all wearing masks and hats. he knew my chief, who was in on the surgery, and we all started talking, talked somemore in the OR lounge over lunch. he's so cute! found out he's a filipino boy from jersey. he recommened things to do in NYC and where i should go out...the other day i was grabbing lunch and he came down and sat next to me, and after chatting, we exchanged numbers and he asked me to hang out. very cool guy. we're gonna hang out on saturday. i'm stoked. he's very cool, into hip hop, an ex-dj, and just seems like a cool cat. i told him he has to convince me that new york city is a way better city to live in than honolulu:)
so...tomorrow' friday. i have plans to hang out with bill, my ex-boyfriend from college and hopefully we can see wicked on broadway. i'd love to see it. i'm gonna try to scout tickets out at TKTS in times square or just go to the venue and see if anyone is selling cheap ticktes. otherwise they're like easily $100. pray for me!!
sweet...another nyc weekend coming up. i'm leaving to providence, rhode island, on sunday afternoon for an interview. will be back on monday night. cool.
okay, off to eat my dinner! i'm STARVING!
...
today i had a half day at the hospital. well, first off, i got to sleep till 6 am (sleeping in!), then headed to basic science lecture clutching my coffee w/ cream and sugar from the street cart, met up with my team, then caught the 9 am shuttle...there were awesome cases going on! i'm so bummed that we were late, and that i had to leave at noon. there were big cases, lots of them.:(
i have this thing where i can't scrub into cases late, or i can't leave early. i need to be there for the whole thing, from meeting the patient to reading the chart to scrubbing in to following the patient to PACU. the residents told me i can just leave early if i have to, but i feel disrespectful you know? it's like starting a song you really love and not listening to the whole thing, reading a chapter and not finishing it, just kissing a boy and not ...hahah. j/k. not really. it's like learning a language but only learning nouns. i don't know- you get the point: i'm all or nothing. so i spent the morning reading sabiston (sabiston is a big surgery test book), caught the noon shuttle back and met with the program director. i did some errands, like dropped a box in the mail- my luggage was 65 lbs, and since i'll be travellling tons on the way back, i need to drop 15 lbs at least so i dont 'get charged everytime i board a flight, which'll be like 6 flights at least. my plan is to mail back my danskos (heavy ass clogs) and clinic stuff as soon as i finish. anyway...it was sooo sooo nice to be outside during the day! in the sunlight! and today there was sunlight- it felt so good- sunny but crisp. supposedly there were snow flurries this morning. yowsers. supposed to get to 20 degrees just outside of nyc and 30 degrees in manhattan tonight. shit that's fucking cold.
anyway..did my errands, then found my way to the MoMA. i took some pictures and i'll post them later. I like that you can take photos in the museum. i put on my killers albums and wandered through the sculptures, the architecture, the photograph areas. stopped at the cafe and ate yummy creamy polenta w/ walnuts and fontina w/ sparking water as i read my 'rough guide to nyc' book...wandered through the MoMA design store, then to rockfeller center and nbc studios. they were filming something right outside of nbc studios and they were really hardcore about not letting people pass by. wandered past radio city music hall, through h&m, then back to the subway...i had some time to kill before my 'cardio video dance class', so went back to the 96 station to my korean nail salon and got a pedicure. my feet were killing me so it felt nice. too bad i couldn't wear slippers afterwards, but at least i know my toes are pretty.
i went to this cardio video dance class- it was hard! but really really fun. i hope i can remember the routine. the teacher was this girl, she's probably betwteen 25 adn 35 but was PETITE as hell, wearing knee high socks, baggy basketball shorts, and old school nike dunks, and an italian soccer (futbol) jersey. spunky as hell and a fucking kick ass dancer! the first 30 minutes was spent warming up, freestyling, then the last 30 minutes we learned the routine. i love this shit. i can't wait to go out dancing now!
i decided to stay for the pre-season sports conditioning class, and now, after 2 hours of working out i am sore as fucking hell. but it feels good.
anyway, the other day in the OR, this guy comes in to relieve the scrub tech, and he's cute as ever. filipino w/ really nice eyes. i can't help but stare at him- well i guess only his eyes, since we were all wearing masks and hats. he knew my chief, who was in on the surgery, and we all started talking, talked somemore in the OR lounge over lunch. he's so cute! found out he's a filipino boy from jersey. he recommened things to do in NYC and where i should go out...the other day i was grabbing lunch and he came down and sat next to me, and after chatting, we exchanged numbers and he asked me to hang out. very cool guy. we're gonna hang out on saturday. i'm stoked. he's very cool, into hip hop, an ex-dj, and just seems like a cool cat. i told him he has to convince me that new york city is a way better city to live in than honolulu:)
so...tomorrow' friday. i have plans to hang out with bill, my ex-boyfriend from college and hopefully we can see wicked on broadway. i'd love to see it. i'm gonna try to scout tickets out at TKTS in times square or just go to the venue and see if anyone is selling cheap ticktes. otherwise they're like easily $100. pray for me!!
sweet...another nyc weekend coming up. i'm leaving to providence, rhode island, on sunday afternoon for an interview. will be back on monday night. cool.
okay, off to eat my dinner! i'm STARVING!
quickie
...quick update! so i finally discovered the main mount sinai campus and the wonderful libary, coffee shop and sitting area, all under this beautiful atrium- basically a huge lobby where the roof and walls are all glass so you feel like you're outside. i think i'm part plant, because i really need sunlight i've realized. i need it during the day to sleep at night, and also just to feel normal. i feel like a vampire or a night hawk, since i leave my apartment and it's dark and leave the hospital and it's dark. i guess this is what residecny is going to be like no matter where i go.
anyway, yesterday...i woke up late again!!! my alarm clock went off at 5:45 am, and i really could NOT be late this time, since we had grand rounds. i literally threw some clothes on, threw my bag together, brushed my teeth, skipped the makeup and forgot my watch, threw on the coat and sprinted to the shuttle, my lungs burned with the ice cold air. and fuck i'm so glad i made it. i realized i had turned down the volume of my phone the other day to avoid having it talk to me - 'your cell phone now had coverage'- in the middle of the OR. embarassing as hell.
i scrubbed into the coolest case yesterday! it was a laparascopic low anterior resection for benign polyps in the rectosigmoid- aka putting a few small holes in the belly, and taking out part of the intestine using small instruments with long handles, then reconnecting the intestine through both the ass and a bit larger hole in the belly. and it was for a non-cancerous stalk of tissue, which had the potential to lead to cancer but wasn't yet cancer. all the sewing of the bowel was done with instruments- gone are the days of hand sewn stitches apparently. anyway, the beginning of the case was tough for me- as the camera holder and as the med student, i had to fight to 1) stay awake and 2) not retaliate against the constant commentary about how my camera holding was NEVER correct. after that part, the case was great. since i've had a track record of not being able to do anything in these cases, including closing, i figured i'd ask if i could close- nothing to lose, right?all they can say is no. and yup they let me close. at least i was doing something! dont' get me wrong, i'm learning tons by watching but also learning how to stay awake by watching. i stay awake by doing. anyway...
last night i took the 6 train to 33rd and met my high school friend, eun ju, for yummy haole style bbq. buffalo wings and corn on the cob!! mmm... it was good to catch up with her and reminisce about care-free, problem-free high school days. traded updates on everyone in our class...she then walked me back to the subway, and we got off at 59th, where i headed to urban outfitters and wandered. dope (but expensive) store. i saw tons of things i wanted to give as gifts, but since the store was closing, i decided to think about it, make a list and go back later.
i got back to my apartment and called one of my mentors back in Hawaii to chat about my interview trail. it was good to talk to him. it's easy to get one-track minded on this whole process of deciding where to go for residency, so i appreciated his perspective.
anyway! can't write much now. will write more later;) haane
anyway, yesterday...i woke up late again!!! my alarm clock went off at 5:45 am, and i really could NOT be late this time, since we had grand rounds. i literally threw some clothes on, threw my bag together, brushed my teeth, skipped the makeup and forgot my watch, threw on the coat and sprinted to the shuttle, my lungs burned with the ice cold air. and fuck i'm so glad i made it. i realized i had turned down the volume of my phone the other day to avoid having it talk to me - 'your cell phone now had coverage'- in the middle of the OR. embarassing as hell.
i scrubbed into the coolest case yesterday! it was a laparascopic low anterior resection for benign polyps in the rectosigmoid- aka putting a few small holes in the belly, and taking out part of the intestine using small instruments with long handles, then reconnecting the intestine through both the ass and a bit larger hole in the belly. and it was for a non-cancerous stalk of tissue, which had the potential to lead to cancer but wasn't yet cancer. all the sewing of the bowel was done with instruments- gone are the days of hand sewn stitches apparently. anyway, the beginning of the case was tough for me- as the camera holder and as the med student, i had to fight to 1) stay awake and 2) not retaliate against the constant commentary about how my camera holding was NEVER correct. after that part, the case was great. since i've had a track record of not being able to do anything in these cases, including closing, i figured i'd ask if i could close- nothing to lose, right?all they can say is no. and yup they let me close. at least i was doing something! dont' get me wrong, i'm learning tons by watching but also learning how to stay awake by watching. i stay awake by doing. anyway...
last night i took the 6 train to 33rd and met my high school friend, eun ju, for yummy haole style bbq. buffalo wings and corn on the cob!! mmm... it was good to catch up with her and reminisce about care-free, problem-free high school days. traded updates on everyone in our class...she then walked me back to the subway, and we got off at 59th, where i headed to urban outfitters and wandered. dope (but expensive) store. i saw tons of things i wanted to give as gifts, but since the store was closing, i decided to think about it, make a list and go back later.
i got back to my apartment and called one of my mentors back in Hawaii to chat about my interview trail. it was good to talk to him. it's easy to get one-track minded on this whole process of deciding where to go for residency, so i appreciated his perspective.
anyway! can't write much now. will write more later;) haane
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
i love my team
my team rocks. my chief, this chill ecuadorian guy is funny as hell, uses fuck like every other word, is 28 and married the girl he's been dating since he was 18, and just a good guy. the intern from jamaica is sassy, smart, loves to eat good food and listens to reggae. we are all fascinated by each other. we're all from different places and have totally different upbringings. the intern from jamaica is 23 siblings- yup! she's one of 4 on her mom's side and one of 19 or something on her dad's side. she goes to dance class and gave me the name of the place she goes in manhattan, called the alvin ailey dance school. i definitely gotta make it to one of the classes- there's one called 'absolute beginning hip hop' and another 'snap pop and lock' class. hell yeah! this morning we all caught the shuttle at 6 am as usual, and this time it was only us three in the shuttle- usually there's a couple other randoms, including a very sour anesthesia dude and a couple bubbly 3rd yr med students. our driver, julian, who i talked to today for the first time is from columbia and has the cutest baby face. he took us to a columbian bakery right by the hospital on the way and i ate a bunuelo (similar to ones on guam!). mmmm!! so fricken good. i'm eating my way through new york city i think.
the day in the OR kinda sucked to be honest. i rounded with one asshole, pompous attending who said he doesn't think 'indigent people in America should be fed or get health care'- WTF?!?!?! i almost puked in my mouth and then almost punched him but kept it to myself. this was as he squeezed the hell our of an abcess on the gastrocnemius of a 10 yr old boy without warning him or making him feel comfortable. i know what kind of surgeon i don't want to be!
the next couple cases were lap choles. i like them because i want to be good at the, and the best way to learn right now is to see as many as possible. except this attending was rushing the resident, impatient, saying 'you're killing me!' over and over, and wouldn't let me do ANYTHING. only yell at me no matter how i held the camera and then pimp me- but in a way that was mocking me, like asking trick questions and stuff. fuck that. i'm over being a med student. he wouldn't even let me close skin. i know i sound like i'm ranting and raving and possibly entitled to do whatever i want, but at the same time, he has no reason to be an asshole. i basically felt like a monkey in a clown show or something. i skpped the third case- an inguinal hernia and opted to read for the afternoon. i'm trying to read sabiston.
i also got another interview!! yippee! at kaiser permanente LA. sweeet....also scheduled an interview at Brown University in Rhode Island for Monday, and made travel plans.
got home, made plans for dinner with a high school buddy for dinner tomorrow night. did laundry. went to a 'pre-season sports conditioning' class. this class was an hour long of PE class. remember PE, and having to run a certain amount of laps, having to get in line and do drills and getting in small groups to do stuff? it also reminded me of volleyball practice. it made me feel competitive again, which i liked! i miss team sports. it brought back high school memories of PE teachers such as Mr. Capule and Mr. Linkenhelt. I was pretty athletic in high school and pretty competitive, but never really the best at what i did. I think i was lucky and persistent, and that's why i was able to play volleyball as much as i did. much like medicine- i've been lucky and persistent. plus i loved volleyball so much, also much like medicine. i will work my ass off as long as i love it and if i set a goal, but i'm not a 'natural' at anything, you know?
anyway, haven't gottten to explore too much these past few days...still some thing son my list:
MoMA
the Village
Urban Outfitters/Macy's
take a Dance class
go to a Broadway show
find good underground hip hop music
walk around Central Park
Eat good Korean Food
Chinatown
Try different New York bagels
if possible, see a sporting event
Find the grafitti wall on 106th street in Harlem/ Harlem during the day
See the statue of liberty from battery park
see the rockfeller tree lighting
go out dancing on a friday or saturday night
maybe buy boots!
the sex and the city your
people watch in the bronx
my time is running out!! especially since i'll be heading to providence for the day and night on sunday afternoon. it's almost work to do everything on ths list. i can't complain though.
...okay today i missed hawaii. a lot. the weather got fucking cold. i love the islands. a lot. so i listened to reggae music on my ipod today;)
i know it'll pass. and realize i'm really really lucky to be where i am right now! the opportunity to spend a few weeks in nyc and to see different cities in the U.S...pretty dope.
the day in the OR kinda sucked to be honest. i rounded with one asshole, pompous attending who said he doesn't think 'indigent people in America should be fed or get health care'- WTF?!?!?! i almost puked in my mouth and then almost punched him but kept it to myself. this was as he squeezed the hell our of an abcess on the gastrocnemius of a 10 yr old boy without warning him or making him feel comfortable. i know what kind of surgeon i don't want to be!
the next couple cases were lap choles. i like them because i want to be good at the, and the best way to learn right now is to see as many as possible. except this attending was rushing the resident, impatient, saying 'you're killing me!' over and over, and wouldn't let me do ANYTHING. only yell at me no matter how i held the camera and then pimp me- but in a way that was mocking me, like asking trick questions and stuff. fuck that. i'm over being a med student. he wouldn't even let me close skin. i know i sound like i'm ranting and raving and possibly entitled to do whatever i want, but at the same time, he has no reason to be an asshole. i basically felt like a monkey in a clown show or something. i skpped the third case- an inguinal hernia and opted to read for the afternoon. i'm trying to read sabiston.
i also got another interview!! yippee! at kaiser permanente LA. sweeet....also scheduled an interview at Brown University in Rhode Island for Monday, and made travel plans.
got home, made plans for dinner with a high school buddy for dinner tomorrow night. did laundry. went to a 'pre-season sports conditioning' class. this class was an hour long of PE class. remember PE, and having to run a certain amount of laps, having to get in line and do drills and getting in small groups to do stuff? it also reminded me of volleyball practice. it made me feel competitive again, which i liked! i miss team sports. it brought back high school memories of PE teachers such as Mr. Capule and Mr. Linkenhelt. I was pretty athletic in high school and pretty competitive, but never really the best at what i did. I think i was lucky and persistent, and that's why i was able to play volleyball as much as i did. much like medicine- i've been lucky and persistent. plus i loved volleyball so much, also much like medicine. i will work my ass off as long as i love it and if i set a goal, but i'm not a 'natural' at anything, you know?
anyway, haven't gottten to explore too much these past few days...still some thing son my list:
MoMA
the Village
Urban Outfitters/Macy's
take a Dance class
go to a Broadway show
find good underground hip hop music
walk around Central Park
Eat good Korean Food
Chinatown
Try different New York bagels
if possible, see a sporting event
Find the grafitti wall on 106th street in Harlem/ Harlem during the day
See the statue of liberty from battery park
see the rockfeller tree lighting
go out dancing on a friday or saturday night
maybe buy boots!
the sex and the city your
people watch in the bronx
my time is running out!! especially since i'll be heading to providence for the day and night on sunday afternoon. it's almost work to do everything on ths list. i can't complain though.
...okay today i missed hawaii. a lot. the weather got fucking cold. i love the islands. a lot. so i listened to reggae music on my ipod today;)
i know it'll pass. and realize i'm really really lucky to be where i am right now! the opportunity to spend a few weeks in nyc and to see different cities in the U.S...pretty dope.
Monday, November 17, 2008
divaliscious....you know what i'm sayin' right?
so i just took the 6 train uptown to 103rd street, one stop away from 96th, where i catch the subway, but it feels like a whole other world. uptown from my place is spanish harlem (east harlem) then harlem harlem. it has tons of african american and hispanic history, but also known for being a rougher part of town. i've been wanting to try puerto rican food so chose this spot called 'la isla' on 103rd and 3rd, recommended by both the director of my program and the not for tourists guidebook. i had my ipod playing 'single' by ne-yo, my new favorite jam, but i can hear this middle aged african woman saying 'divalicious', using it in a sentence over and over, talking to an adolescent hispanic girl sitting down. everytime she said divaliscious, she threw her hands across her body and did this worm thing with her torso. a couple people around her started smiling and she said 'see, i made you smile!' and i couldn't help but smile...see in new york city, i noticed, no one smiles. it's wierd. i want to smile sometimes at shit i see or things i'm thinking but i have to stop myself. it's wierd that i smile. anyway...i smiled at this one...
so i get off the subway, an walk the 2 blocks to the restaurant...there's one african-american young guy with a doo-rag working at the counter, an older puerto rican gentleman in a chef's outfit sitting at one of the booths, an adolescent, like 12 ish, puerto rican guy eating a mcdonalds hamburger waiting in line, and a 20 something african american couple eating at the bar stools. there's a hot line of soupy food and rice, and a line up of various fried foods, whole chickens and sausage in the window. it actually looked like a chamorro buffett, which is kinda cool considering guam and puerto rico are both territories and have hispanic roots. as i'm waiting the guy at the counter says 'hold up chica, i'll be right with you', in between his spanish conversation with the boy in front of me. as the boy is leaving, the guy at the counter says 'now go to school okay. you must go to school, okay?'. the boy nods his head and i look up at him and he's smilng (someone is smiling!!!) so i smile back at him. i get the counter and not really sure what to get, hadn't really thought about it and decided to just be honest. i asked him to put together a good puerto rican dinner for me, chicken, rice and whatever. i ask him to explain what everything is in the window, and i pick a few things. he starts flirting with me, asking if i had gone to the gym, (which i just had) , because 'damn you obviously do'. he asks who's making me go to the gym, because 'girl you don't have to go if you look like that'. he asks what i do and i say 'i work in a hospital', and he says 'what you do? you a nurse?' and i simply say 'i work in a hospital' and he says...'you gotta be nurse.' then starts singing 'night nurse' by gregory isaacs and i can't help but smile....he asks how long i've lived in new york and i say 'i'm here for a month' and he asks where i'm from and i say hawaii and he says 'ohio' and i say louder 'hawaii'...and he says, 'wow you're the first person i've met from hawaii. good looking people'...he asks if i 'have someone to show me around the city, ..you know...like SHOW you AROUND the city...you know waht i'm sayin right girl? like a relationship?' and i tell a white lie and say 'yeah, i actually do'...and he goes 'okay girl. just making sure you're taken care of'...he rings me up as he puts my food together, which i can't help but notice is enough for 1 small family or one large man, and says 'damn i don't want to charge you too much but i gotta keep my job' and i say 'hey do whatcha gotta do, k?' and he laughs. it comes out to $8.25 (staying true to the not for tourist book which had one dollar sign next to the restaurant)....i thank him and walk out wiht my feast in a brown bag, covered by a black plastic bag. oh yeah, every time i've ordered food to go, they always put it in a brown paper bag then a plastic bag....
i walk back to the subway station and it's obviously different than the 86th upper east side station. this station has a few african american and puerto rican peeps, with a small group of asians and haoles in their northface and gap clothing- they stood out. on lexington and 86th, almost everyone is white or asian. interesting.
my bag of yummy puerto rican food is sitting next to me at starbucks right now as i blog away. yumminess awaits me for dinner!
so yeah!
today i accidentally slept it. damn. i woke up at 6:15am, and had set my alarm for 5:10 so i can catch the 6 am shuttle. i immediately call my chief and let him know i'll be catching the 7 am shuttle. the morning is a blur- i swear my body is not used to this schedule yet or maybe it's the cold and dark that's making it tough for me to get going in the morning.
i get to the hospital and meet up with my team. they said they almost told me not to come because there's almost no cases. i'm kinda relieved because i don't feel so bad for being late, but also bummed because it means NO CASES. i wanted to be in the OR today. we meet for 'breakfast rounds', then head upstairs to our call rooom/kitchen to wait for the first case at 11:15. the dope jamaican intern, the other intern, who i found out is from haiti and i start chatting about 'what would you do if your boyfriend/girlfriend because paralyzed from the neck down?'. oh man..what a topic to discuss. themes of being a romantic, of sexual needs, of true love, of cultural values...which turned into a 'what's your ideal relationship?' and we all went around and talked about it. one of the interns at one point said 'we're all from the islands, let's talk about what it's like on our different islands'. dope as shit!
i end up scrubbing with this little surgeon into an inguinal hernia repair and an ivc filter placement. he's a great teacher, it's just he and i (no resident), so he tuaght me quite a bit and let me do a lot. i'm loving hernias right now. they're the bread and butter of general surgery and i'll be doing tons of them next year so i'm stoked to review them. as a student up to now, i've been scrubbing into the 'bigger', 'cooler' cases, which is great, but now maybe i should start seeing the bread and butter of cases so i can get used to them.
i was really tired after the cases, so i took a nap, then after an hour or so of reading sabiston online, one of the interns and i caught the shuttle back to manhattan. i quickly got ready for the gym, and made it to the 7 pm cardio kickboxing class. i couldn't decide between that class or the boxing class. i loved the boxing class, but wanted to try something new. this one kicked my ass in a different way! this class was more combos and agility and flexibility, whereas the boxing class was more strength and circuit training. i think i like the boxing class better. it was much more athletic and less 'dance-y'.
so from there i went on my puerto rican food search...and here i am!
i think i'll go home and eat:)
oh yeah! i got one more interview- at loma linda in LA. yay! i also got two rejections:( one of them being UCSF. that's okay. i'm pretty happy. i have 13 interview offers, 10 or 11 of which i'm taking. which i hope is more than enough to make a decent match list. i'm starting to see the light. i just have to make it through these interviews!
so i get off the subway, an walk the 2 blocks to the restaurant...there's one african-american young guy with a doo-rag working at the counter, an older puerto rican gentleman in a chef's outfit sitting at one of the booths, an adolescent, like 12 ish, puerto rican guy eating a mcdonalds hamburger waiting in line, and a 20 something african american couple eating at the bar stools. there's a hot line of soupy food and rice, and a line up of various fried foods, whole chickens and sausage in the window. it actually looked like a chamorro buffett, which is kinda cool considering guam and puerto rico are both territories and have hispanic roots. as i'm waiting the guy at the counter says 'hold up chica, i'll be right with you', in between his spanish conversation with the boy in front of me. as the boy is leaving, the guy at the counter says 'now go to school okay. you must go to school, okay?'. the boy nods his head and i look up at him and he's smilng (someone is smiling!!!) so i smile back at him. i get the counter and not really sure what to get, hadn't really thought about it and decided to just be honest. i asked him to put together a good puerto rican dinner for me, chicken, rice and whatever. i ask him to explain what everything is in the window, and i pick a few things. he starts flirting with me, asking if i had gone to the gym, (which i just had) , because 'damn you obviously do'. he asks who's making me go to the gym, because 'girl you don't have to go if you look like that'. he asks what i do and i say 'i work in a hospital', and he says 'what you do? you a nurse?' and i simply say 'i work in a hospital' and he says...'you gotta be nurse.' then starts singing 'night nurse' by gregory isaacs and i can't help but smile....he asks how long i've lived in new york and i say 'i'm here for a month' and he asks where i'm from and i say hawaii and he says 'ohio' and i say louder 'hawaii'...and he says, 'wow you're the first person i've met from hawaii. good looking people'...he asks if i 'have someone to show me around the city, ..you know...like SHOW you AROUND the city...you know waht i'm sayin right girl? like a relationship?' and i tell a white lie and say 'yeah, i actually do'...and he goes 'okay girl. just making sure you're taken care of'...he rings me up as he puts my food together, which i can't help but notice is enough for 1 small family or one large man, and says 'damn i don't want to charge you too much but i gotta keep my job' and i say 'hey do whatcha gotta do, k?' and he laughs. it comes out to $8.25 (staying true to the not for tourist book which had one dollar sign next to the restaurant)....i thank him and walk out wiht my feast in a brown bag, covered by a black plastic bag. oh yeah, every time i've ordered food to go, they always put it in a brown paper bag then a plastic bag....
i walk back to the subway station and it's obviously different than the 86th upper east side station. this station has a few african american and puerto rican peeps, with a small group of asians and haoles in their northface and gap clothing- they stood out. on lexington and 86th, almost everyone is white or asian. interesting.
my bag of yummy puerto rican food is sitting next to me at starbucks right now as i blog away. yumminess awaits me for dinner!
so yeah!
today i accidentally slept it. damn. i woke up at 6:15am, and had set my alarm for 5:10 so i can catch the 6 am shuttle. i immediately call my chief and let him know i'll be catching the 7 am shuttle. the morning is a blur- i swear my body is not used to this schedule yet or maybe it's the cold and dark that's making it tough for me to get going in the morning.
i get to the hospital and meet up with my team. they said they almost told me not to come because there's almost no cases. i'm kinda relieved because i don't feel so bad for being late, but also bummed because it means NO CASES. i wanted to be in the OR today. we meet for 'breakfast rounds', then head upstairs to our call rooom/kitchen to wait for the first case at 11:15. the dope jamaican intern, the other intern, who i found out is from haiti and i start chatting about 'what would you do if your boyfriend/girlfriend because paralyzed from the neck down?'. oh man..what a topic to discuss. themes of being a romantic, of sexual needs, of true love, of cultural values...which turned into a 'what's your ideal relationship?' and we all went around and talked about it. one of the interns at one point said 'we're all from the islands, let's talk about what it's like on our different islands'. dope as shit!
i end up scrubbing with this little surgeon into an inguinal hernia repair and an ivc filter placement. he's a great teacher, it's just he and i (no resident), so he tuaght me quite a bit and let me do a lot. i'm loving hernias right now. they're the bread and butter of general surgery and i'll be doing tons of them next year so i'm stoked to review them. as a student up to now, i've been scrubbing into the 'bigger', 'cooler' cases, which is great, but now maybe i should start seeing the bread and butter of cases so i can get used to them.
i was really tired after the cases, so i took a nap, then after an hour or so of reading sabiston online, one of the interns and i caught the shuttle back to manhattan. i quickly got ready for the gym, and made it to the 7 pm cardio kickboxing class. i couldn't decide between that class or the boxing class. i loved the boxing class, but wanted to try something new. this one kicked my ass in a different way! this class was more combos and agility and flexibility, whereas the boxing class was more strength and circuit training. i think i like the boxing class better. it was much more athletic and less 'dance-y'.
so from there i went on my puerto rican food search...and here i am!
i think i'll go home and eat:)
oh yeah! i got one more interview- at loma linda in LA. yay! i also got two rejections:( one of them being UCSF. that's okay. i'm pretty happy. i have 13 interview offers, 10 or 11 of which i'm taking. which i hope is more than enough to make a decent match list. i'm starting to see the light. i just have to make it through these interviews!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
blustery day in manhattan
it was coooold today! it was 45 degrees!
another day of adventures today. i once again woke up overwhelmed with the possibilities of how to spend my day in nyc. it's almost stressful. seriously! i decided that i should do more 'outdoors' stuff today that required sunlight, since ill be at the hospital all week, and i can do some of the 'indoor' stuff during my evenings- indoor stuff being window shopping, museums and eating.
oh my god before i forget, today in little italy, this fire engine comes rushing down the crowded street and of course the sirens are blasting....then i hear a dog bark! i thought it was a dog on the street that was freaking out....then i see the fire engine and there's a dog on the fire engine! i dalmation- the fire dog! hilarious.
anyway, so i grabbed coffee and breakfast at my new favorite coffee house down the street. i take the 6 train the the last downtown stop- city hall and brooklyn. today i wanted to walk across the brooklyn bridge then eat pizza in brooklyn at grimaldi's and coffee at henry's. the walk across the bridge is pretty phenomenal. the bridge itself is gorgeous, with wood planks at your feet and of course tons of tourists. there's a walking lane and a biking lane. my goal was to walk across the bridge and resist the temptation to look back at the manhattan skyline until i got to the halfway point. i did it! from the bridge you can see the statue of liberty/ellis island in the distance, the manhattan bridge and of course the manhattan skyline of skysrapers. i make it to brooklyn and am pretty hungry by this time, and on a mission to find grimaldi's. i had the address so i typed it into my google maps and followed the directions. except...of course i got lost. i couldn't find it! i could see it on the map but my path wasn't lining up! i was by far the miniority in the area, with 80% of the people being african american. on my walk i stopped and watched a lacrosse team practice and passed by the nyc technical college. brooklyn itself is not that pretty or remarkable, but i was on a mission to find grimaldi's. after an hour of walking essentially in cirles, i aborted my mission and walked back to manhattan. i think i had put in 4 or 5 miles of walking by this point! as i get back to manhattan over the bridge, i see this couple who had just gotten married. very very cool. the couple was older too- i'll post pictures. the husband was holding up her dress as she walked so it didn't drag. very cute..there were two photograhers snapping away, plus to gorgeous wedding-goers in long black dresses and black coats that almost touched the ground.
i catch the 6 train uptown to canal street and wander through china town a little bit, but still on my mission to eat good italian food....i find little italy, and wander down mulberry street past italian restaurants and cafes, italian people with heavy italian accents, tourists, italian stores and everything is green, red and white, even the fire hydrants and parking meters. i pass st patrick's, the cathedral in the center, and i pass a street vendor selling italian goodies- including bsicotti- by the pound. i choose a couple options for italian food in my books and one of them is closed for lunch and and the other is actually about a mile away, which is too far, so i come back on mulberry street and stop into this pizza joint- i chose it because there were locals there. or at least local looking folks with new york accents. i order yummy pizza and am happy! at some point i'd like an italian pasta dish, but i had to get new york pizza!...i save the rest for dinner. i see shirst that say 'hug me i'm half italian' plus all the touristy 'i heart new york shirts', etc. i almost bought this key chain, it was of a boxing glove, which was black, red and green and had 'italia' written on it. i opt for the postcards instead...as much as i wanted gelato and an italian espresso, it was way too cold and i had way too much coffee already.
i take the train home, stop into gourmet garage, this chain health food store, pick up some breakfast items and snacks, make it home and i'm so happy to be home! and here i am a few hours later at the coffee shop blogging away...
another day of adventures today. i once again woke up overwhelmed with the possibilities of how to spend my day in nyc. it's almost stressful. seriously! i decided that i should do more 'outdoors' stuff today that required sunlight, since ill be at the hospital all week, and i can do some of the 'indoor' stuff during my evenings- indoor stuff being window shopping, museums and eating.
oh my god before i forget, today in little italy, this fire engine comes rushing down the crowded street and of course the sirens are blasting....then i hear a dog bark! i thought it was a dog on the street that was freaking out....then i see the fire engine and there's a dog on the fire engine! i dalmation- the fire dog! hilarious.
anyway, so i grabbed coffee and breakfast at my new favorite coffee house down the street. i take the 6 train the the last downtown stop- city hall and brooklyn. today i wanted to walk across the brooklyn bridge then eat pizza in brooklyn at grimaldi's and coffee at henry's. the walk across the bridge is pretty phenomenal. the bridge itself is gorgeous, with wood planks at your feet and of course tons of tourists. there's a walking lane and a biking lane. my goal was to walk across the bridge and resist the temptation to look back at the manhattan skyline until i got to the halfway point. i did it! from the bridge you can see the statue of liberty/ellis island in the distance, the manhattan bridge and of course the manhattan skyline of skysrapers. i make it to brooklyn and am pretty hungry by this time, and on a mission to find grimaldi's. i had the address so i typed it into my google maps and followed the directions. except...of course i got lost. i couldn't find it! i could see it on the map but my path wasn't lining up! i was by far the miniority in the area, with 80% of the people being african american. on my walk i stopped and watched a lacrosse team practice and passed by the nyc technical college. brooklyn itself is not that pretty or remarkable, but i was on a mission to find grimaldi's. after an hour of walking essentially in cirles, i aborted my mission and walked back to manhattan. i think i had put in 4 or 5 miles of walking by this point! as i get back to manhattan over the bridge, i see this couple who had just gotten married. very very cool. the couple was older too- i'll post pictures. the husband was holding up her dress as she walked so it didn't drag. very cute..there were two photograhers snapping away, plus to gorgeous wedding-goers in long black dresses and black coats that almost touched the ground.
i catch the 6 train uptown to canal street and wander through china town a little bit, but still on my mission to eat good italian food....i find little italy, and wander down mulberry street past italian restaurants and cafes, italian people with heavy italian accents, tourists, italian stores and everything is green, red and white, even the fire hydrants and parking meters. i pass st patrick's, the cathedral in the center, and i pass a street vendor selling italian goodies- including bsicotti- by the pound. i choose a couple options for italian food in my books and one of them is closed for lunch and and the other is actually about a mile away, which is too far, so i come back on mulberry street and stop into this pizza joint- i chose it because there were locals there. or at least local looking folks with new york accents. i order yummy pizza and am happy! at some point i'd like an italian pasta dish, but i had to get new york pizza!...i save the rest for dinner. i see shirst that say 'hug me i'm half italian' plus all the touristy 'i heart new york shirts', etc. i almost bought this key chain, it was of a boxing glove, which was black, red and green and had 'italia' written on it. i opt for the postcards instead...as much as i wanted gelato and an italian espresso, it was way too cold and i had way too much coffee already.
i take the train home, stop into gourmet garage, this chain health food store, pick up some breakfast items and snacks, make it home and i'm so happy to be home! and here i am a few hours later at the coffee shop blogging away...
damn not having internet but that's okay
yeah! i haven't been able to make it a coffee shop in a couple days. my mom even called me 'cause she was worried. i posted a blog about friday day just now.
hot and cold. that's how the weekend weather. yesterday was 60 degrees. i had my big ole coat with really warm wool lining and sweat my butt off all day. anyway!
so ...friday night i took the 6 train downtown to union square/14th and met a friend from guam at his apartment. i wasn't sure what to expect. we went to the same high school but he's a few years older so we never really cruised, but know each other from summers and christmases of going home and hanging out with everyone. he lives close to nyu, in this beautiful apartment that he bought (he's in finance). after a few moments of catching up, the festivities begun! all kinds of people were at his party. some new lawyers, a couple of undergrads, people he works with in finance, friends he met spending his summers at a timeshare in the hamptons....we hung out, had some drinks, with nba playing on in his big screen tv, then all migrated outside, took a few cabs about 10 blocks down the street to this smallish bar. i don't remember what it was called. we were early, and it was 11 pm by now! damn people in ny party late! the music was dope, and a few other people from guam rolled in! it was so good to see them. one was in my class in high school, another i played volleyball with, and a couple more i hadn't seen....anyway, i spent the night people watching, talking story, meeting different people. i met this little asian guy from LA, i think his name is hartman, and talked to him for a long time, as i watched this catfight drama play out. so...my friend is incredibly good looking, and single but has some 'go to' girls or whatever you want to call it, and they were all there. haha. dangerous. they both looked very different- one was about 22, half black-half white, and just loud and social, dressed to kill in her high heels and little dress. the other was this more alternative-ish (i'm probably not even describing it correctly), but bascially she and short brown hair and bangs, very straight bangs that almost covered her eyes, and dressed in this svelt short dress and high belt and boots, and the whole night they would take turns pissing on their territory on him, and it was pretty funny. his guy friends and i were watching it and laughing about it the whole night. his friends are good people, i just had that feeling. we ended up closing the bar down, then at 'blue burger', an open all night in'n'out wanna be- SOOOOO good. i have some pictures, i'll post them. caught a cab home and passed out at 5 am.....
and here i had big plans to spend ALL day exploring! it's all good!
i rolled out of bed at 10 am - late for me- very very late- i'm usually up at 7 am at the latest, no matter what, but it's so dark here, so i can sleep in. i went to the gym quickly to get the alcohol out of my system, clutching a warm cup of coffee on my way back to my apartment, then got ready for my day...i realized i hadn't sat down yet to have a GOOD new york meal! that was one goal for my day.
i took the 6 downtown train first to time square, via grand central station and the 7 train. time square is the center of adhd-ness, billboards, big stores, flocks of toursists, peeps trying to sell you tickets to comedy shows on the street, with the smell of honey roasted nuts wafting in the air, nypd on horses, in buses and in cars, mtv, people dressed in costume, and fucking madness. of course...the first store i find myself wanding into is roxy. haha. there's surfboards and surf dvds playing so of course i'm drawn to it. this 17 or 23 year old asian girl with lots of energy greets me 'welcome to roxy!. oh mygod i looove your coat. you got that at the gap right? i looove it. ...are you half asian? sorry to ask but you are so pretty. your eyes, and your hair...you're pretty!'... she's cute and bubbly and i thank her for her compliments. as i'm paying for my 'roxy new york' tshirt i ask the guy if there's surf around her. he said there's surf in long island, on the jersey shore and at rockaway. i have no ideas where these places are. i almost got excited and thought about making a day trip to surf in new york, but then i stopped when he said it's way toooo cold right now. i'm spoiled by hawaii surf!!
anyway...so after wandering through the hurrican of commericialism and tourism of times square...i take the train to soho.
i have surgery lectures on my ipod- they're great to listen to on the subway. i also have black star, which i've been really addicted to for some reason. it's like the soundtrack to my trip so far. soho is this hip artsy neighborhood, quiet streets alternate with high end fashion, small artsy fashion hipster clothing, some run of the mill brand name boutiques like quickilver and old navy, smaller streets, (i have pics)...it's fun to wander and windowshop. lots of artists in the neighborhood which is really dope. i have this set of index card-like things called 'city walks' which takes you on walks of all parts of the city, all about an hour long, explaining sights along the way and making suggestions for restaurants. i found this AWESOME store called evolution, basically a mix of art and science, with everything from wall posters of human anatomy, to crystalized bugs, to stones, to books about anatomy through the centures, to life sized skeletons. fucking cool. i found this '3d human torso puzzle'- fucking awesome. it's a human torso, with detachable organs, 22 pieces, and made for kids to learn the anatomy of the belly and chest. they had one for the muscles of the human body and the eye ball. but the belly is by far the dopest. you basically take out the liver, spleen, intestins, lungs, heart, etc of this torso then put it back together....i'm a dork.
after couple hours of wanding, i'm hungry but it's pushing 4 or 5 and i'm meeting leah for dinner (my best friend from college). since little italy is 5 minutes away, i wander in that direction.
let me just say, i'm terrible with directions. if i can't see the ocean or mountains, i'm fucked. i even have my google maps and gps on my blackberry and i still can't find things. i even have real maps and i still get lost. i just don't have it in me to follow directions!
essentailly i never found little italy because i went the wrong way and didn't realize it. i gps my way back to the subway, and i'm starving at this point. i'm torn between wanting to find a good place to eat in my guidebooks and just grabbing anything i can get my hands on. i end up sucking it up and waiting till i got back to my neighborhood, where i can grab something i know is good.
i make it home and have a couple hours before meeting up with leah. i'm exhausted!
after rejuvinating, i cab it across the park (i'm on the upper east side of the park) to the upper west side to this wonderful restaurant called cafe A- a byob french-caribbean restaurant, small and intimate and everyone is really really nice. i'm wearing my most new york outfit that i have- i had the tights on! everyone here wears tights or leggings under a skirt or sweater dress, with boots and a long coat. it's pretty sexy and i'm tempted to get boots but dont' know if i'll wear them again after this trip. but i did find myself some tights. the last time i wore tights was when i was forced to take ballet at the age of 4. my tights always had runs and snags in them. typical, huH? it fit me because i was also the most clumsy.
anyway, so as i'm waiting for leah, this homeless guy comes up to me and asks me for a dollar, telling me he has hiv, etc etc. yes i feel bad for him, but i also can't help everyone who asks for help, so i have a policy to not help any one who asks for money on the street. i tell him i can't help him and he tries to talk me into helping him. i tell him my policy and he still tries to convince me and ...then leah and her boyfriend come up just at the right time. it's so good to see her!!
we had the best dinner. i pass on the wine because i never want to see alcohol again. we order family style- this squash stuffed with edamame, garbonzo beans and yumminess, the baked pear with soy cheese, meatless meatloaf with rice, and this sausage dish...mmmm! the table next to us is a celebration of some sort. it's the most eclectic group of people ever. and the music at this place is fucking awesome! everything from depeche mode to duran duran and madonna to hall and oates. excellent...
it was leah's friend dale's bday last night- dale, leah and i worked at stanford sierra camp together in college. we hang out for a little bit at the party- right down the street, before i checked out and got a cab home. i was exhausted!!
was a good day:)
hot and cold. that's how the weekend weather. yesterday was 60 degrees. i had my big ole coat with really warm wool lining and sweat my butt off all day. anyway!
so ...friday night i took the 6 train downtown to union square/14th and met a friend from guam at his apartment. i wasn't sure what to expect. we went to the same high school but he's a few years older so we never really cruised, but know each other from summers and christmases of going home and hanging out with everyone. he lives close to nyu, in this beautiful apartment that he bought (he's in finance). after a few moments of catching up, the festivities begun! all kinds of people were at his party. some new lawyers, a couple of undergrads, people he works with in finance, friends he met spending his summers at a timeshare in the hamptons....we hung out, had some drinks, with nba playing on in his big screen tv, then all migrated outside, took a few cabs about 10 blocks down the street to this smallish bar. i don't remember what it was called. we were early, and it was 11 pm by now! damn people in ny party late! the music was dope, and a few other people from guam rolled in! it was so good to see them. one was in my class in high school, another i played volleyball with, and a couple more i hadn't seen....anyway, i spent the night people watching, talking story, meeting different people. i met this little asian guy from LA, i think his name is hartman, and talked to him for a long time, as i watched this catfight drama play out. so...my friend is incredibly good looking, and single but has some 'go to' girls or whatever you want to call it, and they were all there. haha. dangerous. they both looked very different- one was about 22, half black-half white, and just loud and social, dressed to kill in her high heels and little dress. the other was this more alternative-ish (i'm probably not even describing it correctly), but bascially she and short brown hair and bangs, very straight bangs that almost covered her eyes, and dressed in this svelt short dress and high belt and boots, and the whole night they would take turns pissing on their territory on him, and it was pretty funny. his guy friends and i were watching it and laughing about it the whole night. his friends are good people, i just had that feeling. we ended up closing the bar down, then at 'blue burger', an open all night in'n'out wanna be- SOOOOO good. i have some pictures, i'll post them. caught a cab home and passed out at 5 am.....
and here i had big plans to spend ALL day exploring! it's all good!
i rolled out of bed at 10 am - late for me- very very late- i'm usually up at 7 am at the latest, no matter what, but it's so dark here, so i can sleep in. i went to the gym quickly to get the alcohol out of my system, clutching a warm cup of coffee on my way back to my apartment, then got ready for my day...i realized i hadn't sat down yet to have a GOOD new york meal! that was one goal for my day.
i took the 6 downtown train first to time square, via grand central station and the 7 train. time square is the center of adhd-ness, billboards, big stores, flocks of toursists, peeps trying to sell you tickets to comedy shows on the street, with the smell of honey roasted nuts wafting in the air, nypd on horses, in buses and in cars, mtv, people dressed in costume, and fucking madness. of course...the first store i find myself wanding into is roxy. haha. there's surfboards and surf dvds playing so of course i'm drawn to it. this 17 or 23 year old asian girl with lots of energy greets me 'welcome to roxy!. oh mygod i looove your coat. you got that at the gap right? i looove it. ...are you half asian? sorry to ask but you are so pretty. your eyes, and your hair...you're pretty!'... she's cute and bubbly and i thank her for her compliments. as i'm paying for my 'roxy new york' tshirt i ask the guy if there's surf around her. he said there's surf in long island, on the jersey shore and at rockaway. i have no ideas where these places are. i almost got excited and thought about making a day trip to surf in new york, but then i stopped when he said it's way toooo cold right now. i'm spoiled by hawaii surf!!
anyway...so after wandering through the hurrican of commericialism and tourism of times square...i take the train to soho.
i have surgery lectures on my ipod- they're great to listen to on the subway. i also have black star, which i've been really addicted to for some reason. it's like the soundtrack to my trip so far. soho is this hip artsy neighborhood, quiet streets alternate with high end fashion, small artsy fashion hipster clothing, some run of the mill brand name boutiques like quickilver and old navy, smaller streets, (i have pics)...it's fun to wander and windowshop. lots of artists in the neighborhood which is really dope. i have this set of index card-like things called 'city walks' which takes you on walks of all parts of the city, all about an hour long, explaining sights along the way and making suggestions for restaurants. i found this AWESOME store called evolution, basically a mix of art and science, with everything from wall posters of human anatomy, to crystalized bugs, to stones, to books about anatomy through the centures, to life sized skeletons. fucking cool. i found this '3d human torso puzzle'- fucking awesome. it's a human torso, with detachable organs, 22 pieces, and made for kids to learn the anatomy of the belly and chest. they had one for the muscles of the human body and the eye ball. but the belly is by far the dopest. you basically take out the liver, spleen, intestins, lungs, heart, etc of this torso then put it back together....i'm a dork.
after couple hours of wanding, i'm hungry but it's pushing 4 or 5 and i'm meeting leah for dinner (my best friend from college). since little italy is 5 minutes away, i wander in that direction.
let me just say, i'm terrible with directions. if i can't see the ocean or mountains, i'm fucked. i even have my google maps and gps on my blackberry and i still can't find things. i even have real maps and i still get lost. i just don't have it in me to follow directions!
essentailly i never found little italy because i went the wrong way and didn't realize it. i gps my way back to the subway, and i'm starving at this point. i'm torn between wanting to find a good place to eat in my guidebooks and just grabbing anything i can get my hands on. i end up sucking it up and waiting till i got back to my neighborhood, where i can grab something i know is good.
i make it home and have a couple hours before meeting up with leah. i'm exhausted!
after rejuvinating, i cab it across the park (i'm on the upper east side of the park) to the upper west side to this wonderful restaurant called cafe A- a byob french-caribbean restaurant, small and intimate and everyone is really really nice. i'm wearing my most new york outfit that i have- i had the tights on! everyone here wears tights or leggings under a skirt or sweater dress, with boots and a long coat. it's pretty sexy and i'm tempted to get boots but dont' know if i'll wear them again after this trip. but i did find myself some tights. the last time i wore tights was when i was forced to take ballet at the age of 4. my tights always had runs and snags in them. typical, huH? it fit me because i was also the most clumsy.
anyway, so as i'm waiting for leah, this homeless guy comes up to me and asks me for a dollar, telling me he has hiv, etc etc. yes i feel bad for him, but i also can't help everyone who asks for help, so i have a policy to not help any one who asks for money on the street. i tell him i can't help him and he tries to talk me into helping him. i tell him my policy and he still tries to convince me and ...then leah and her boyfriend come up just at the right time. it's so good to see her!!
we had the best dinner. i pass on the wine because i never want to see alcohol again. we order family style- this squash stuffed with edamame, garbonzo beans and yumminess, the baked pear with soy cheese, meatless meatloaf with rice, and this sausage dish...mmmm! the table next to us is a celebration of some sort. it's the most eclectic group of people ever. and the music at this place is fucking awesome! everything from depeche mode to duran duran and madonna to hall and oates. excellent...
it was leah's friend dale's bday last night- dale, leah and i worked at stanford sierra camp together in college. we hang out for a little bit at the party- right down the street, before i checked out and got a cab home. i was exhausted!!
was a good day:)
friiiiday
11/14/08
It’s Friday! I have all of NYC to myself this weekend!
today I rolled out of bed at 5:10 am- still trying to adjust to the time difference, got the 6 am shuttle, fell asleep on the way listening to my Osler’s lecture on vascular surgery on my ipod on the way, met with my team. I like my team. one girl is from Jamaica, she’s an intern who went to tufts. really smart girl. once in a while she’ll bust out her accent which I absolutely love. the chief is from Ecuador. if you close your eyes, he sounds like owen Wilson. if you look at him really closely, he even looks like him. or maybe if you just squint your eyes and imagine him with blonde hair. we rounded on a couple patients, one of whom was a 22 yr old girl, really pretty girl, with crohn’s disease who had just had part of her intestine taken out. she now has a connection from one end of her intestine to the skin on her stomach- it’s called a stoma or an ostomy. eventually we’ll reconnect her. the other one was an old guy who had diverticulitis- it happens in lots of people, especially older people, when you get a weakness in the wall of your large intestine, so you get small outpouchings in the wall of your intestine. sometimes they get inflamed, and you get tons of pain. and you get small holes in your intestine, which is bad. it’s like someone took a dump in your abdominal cavity.
I saw my first open heart surgery today since I was an MS1!! so fricken cool. It was an aortic valve replacement. the whole surgery is so orchestrated with tons of essential teammembers- the perfusionists running the bypass machine, the anesthesiologist and two anesthesia nurses, the circulating nurse, the surgeon of course and his assistant surgeon, the scrub tech in charge of the buffet table of sterile surgical instruments. the patient was a jehovah’s witness, so she doesn’t believe in receiving blood products. which is hard as a surgeon, b/c you always expect some bleeding, and especially with a major surgery. so what they did was take out some of her own blood before the surgery, give her tons of saline, so she has the same volume of fluid circulating in her body, but when she bleeds, she’s losing more fluid than blood cells, then at the end of the case, they give her back her blood. cool, huh? the surgeon cuts open her chest, saws through her sternum (breast bone), cuts through the thin sac that covers the heart, puts two tubes into two different chambers of her heart, circulates her blood through the bypass machine (which basically is an artificial heart, lungs, and set of kidneys- aka her lifesource), stops her heart, opens up her heart and operates. the whole time her heart is cooled down to ice cold. after the valve is replaced, the body is warmed back up, and the heart starts to beat on its own. so fucking cool!
I then scrubbed into a hernia repair. bread and butter of general surgery. the guy was a Chinese gentleman who was mountain climbing in china, and noticed the bump on his lower right belly, pushed it back in, but then it started to hurt him so he came to the hospital.
I had the option of scrubbing into a lap Nissen, a lap chole or another hernia,…I was so tired!! I would fall asleep on any of the laps, so I thought I’d go and lay down for 10 minutes then scrub into the hernia. an hour later…and I missed the surgeries. I felt kinda bad, but at the same time, this is my last year of being able to do this. next year I will have no choice but to keep going…so I’m just gonna be honest with myself and realize I’m here to learn what I want and not necessarily to work my ass off. I have no problems with working my ass off when the time comes. for now, I will be good to myself. maybe I’m just rationalizing, but whatever.
caught the 5 a clock shuttle, and debated about whether to head to the gym. considering my entire back and legs are sore to the point where sometimes I feel like I’m walking like I need to use the bathroom or maybe I got smacked on the ass really bad, I thought I’d rest. did my laundry in the basement of my building, chatted on the phone, made plans with leah to meet for dinner tomorrow night- she’s on the bus from boston right now, got ideas from malia about how to spend my whole weekend, and made plans for tonight to meet up with a friend from guam at 3rd ave and 13th street for his birthday party….woohoo!
ooh! I got another interview! at brown university in providence, rhode island. it’s while I’m here in nyc, so it’s 3 hours by bus or an hour by plane. never been to rhode island, -it’s the smallest state I think? whatever.
today I felt the calmest I have since I’ve come here. whether it’s the fact that I’m in nyc, or that I’m in a new city, or that I’m interviewing and it’s stressful to figure out where I’ll be for the next 5 years, or that it’s cold, or that I do miss the ocean and familiarity, I’ve felt like a hurricane inside. I expected this, because I felt the same way my first week up at uc davis. I wonder if I’ll ever learn to calm the fuck down when I travel or go to new places. it’s a fine line between excitement and anxiety, you know? there’s also that always looming possibility of feeling totally alone, which I haven’t felt yet, thanks to email/blackberry/phone/distraction of the city. I know it’s bound to happen, but hopefully I’ll know how to deal with it- call someone! I’m terrible at reaching out to my friends when I really need them, out of fear of ‘bothering them’. I know it’s ridiculous but it’s the only child/stubborn independent person in me. there’s also the upcoming thanksgiving holiday which I’m hoping to find someone to spend it with.
despite this underlying current of anxiety, I’m mostly trying to make the very best of being here. I know I am already. gonna keep on keeping on! off to get ready for the night!
It’s Friday! I have all of NYC to myself this weekend!
today I rolled out of bed at 5:10 am- still trying to adjust to the time difference, got the 6 am shuttle, fell asleep on the way listening to my Osler’s lecture on vascular surgery on my ipod on the way, met with my team. I like my team. one girl is from Jamaica, she’s an intern who went to tufts. really smart girl. once in a while she’ll bust out her accent which I absolutely love. the chief is from Ecuador. if you close your eyes, he sounds like owen Wilson. if you look at him really closely, he even looks like him. or maybe if you just squint your eyes and imagine him with blonde hair. we rounded on a couple patients, one of whom was a 22 yr old girl, really pretty girl, with crohn’s disease who had just had part of her intestine taken out. she now has a connection from one end of her intestine to the skin on her stomach- it’s called a stoma or an ostomy. eventually we’ll reconnect her. the other one was an old guy who had diverticulitis- it happens in lots of people, especially older people, when you get a weakness in the wall of your large intestine, so you get small outpouchings in the wall of your intestine. sometimes they get inflamed, and you get tons of pain. and you get small holes in your intestine, which is bad. it’s like someone took a dump in your abdominal cavity.
I saw my first open heart surgery today since I was an MS1!! so fricken cool. It was an aortic valve replacement. the whole surgery is so orchestrated with tons of essential teammembers- the perfusionists running the bypass machine, the anesthesiologist and two anesthesia nurses, the circulating nurse, the surgeon of course and his assistant surgeon, the scrub tech in charge of the buffet table of sterile surgical instruments. the patient was a jehovah’s witness, so she doesn’t believe in receiving blood products. which is hard as a surgeon, b/c you always expect some bleeding, and especially with a major surgery. so what they did was take out some of her own blood before the surgery, give her tons of saline, so she has the same volume of fluid circulating in her body, but when she bleeds, she’s losing more fluid than blood cells, then at the end of the case, they give her back her blood. cool, huh? the surgeon cuts open her chest, saws through her sternum (breast bone), cuts through the thin sac that covers the heart, puts two tubes into two different chambers of her heart, circulates her blood through the bypass machine (which basically is an artificial heart, lungs, and set of kidneys- aka her lifesource), stops her heart, opens up her heart and operates. the whole time her heart is cooled down to ice cold. after the valve is replaced, the body is warmed back up, and the heart starts to beat on its own. so fucking cool!
I then scrubbed into a hernia repair. bread and butter of general surgery. the guy was a Chinese gentleman who was mountain climbing in china, and noticed the bump on his lower right belly, pushed it back in, but then it started to hurt him so he came to the hospital.
I had the option of scrubbing into a lap Nissen, a lap chole or another hernia,…I was so tired!! I would fall asleep on any of the laps, so I thought I’d go and lay down for 10 minutes then scrub into the hernia. an hour later…and I missed the surgeries. I felt kinda bad, but at the same time, this is my last year of being able to do this. next year I will have no choice but to keep going…so I’m just gonna be honest with myself and realize I’m here to learn what I want and not necessarily to work my ass off. I have no problems with working my ass off when the time comes. for now, I will be good to myself. maybe I’m just rationalizing, but whatever.
caught the 5 a clock shuttle, and debated about whether to head to the gym. considering my entire back and legs are sore to the point where sometimes I feel like I’m walking like I need to use the bathroom or maybe I got smacked on the ass really bad, I thought I’d rest. did my laundry in the basement of my building, chatted on the phone, made plans with leah to meet for dinner tomorrow night- she’s on the bus from boston right now, got ideas from malia about how to spend my whole weekend, and made plans for tonight to meet up with a friend from guam at 3rd ave and 13th street for his birthday party….woohoo!
ooh! I got another interview! at brown university in providence, rhode island. it’s while I’m here in nyc, so it’s 3 hours by bus or an hour by plane. never been to rhode island, -it’s the smallest state I think? whatever.
today I felt the calmest I have since I’ve come here. whether it’s the fact that I’m in nyc, or that I’m in a new city, or that I’m interviewing and it’s stressful to figure out where I’ll be for the next 5 years, or that it’s cold, or that I do miss the ocean and familiarity, I’ve felt like a hurricane inside. I expected this, because I felt the same way my first week up at uc davis. I wonder if I’ll ever learn to calm the fuck down when I travel or go to new places. it’s a fine line between excitement and anxiety, you know? there’s also that always looming possibility of feeling totally alone, which I haven’t felt yet, thanks to email/blackberry/phone/distraction of the city. I know it’s bound to happen, but hopefully I’ll know how to deal with it- call someone! I’m terrible at reaching out to my friends when I really need them, out of fear of ‘bothering them’. I know it’s ridiculous but it’s the only child/stubborn independent person in me. there’s also the upcoming thanksgiving holiday which I’m hoping to find someone to spend it with.
despite this underlying current of anxiety, I’m mostly trying to make the very best of being here. I know I am already. gonna keep on keeping on! off to get ready for the night!
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