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.