Austin, TX

This month's rotation is in the pediatric ER at Dell Children's Hospital in Austin, TX.  It's so nice to be back here after a few years away, I'm just sad that it's not for longer.  My work hours are very sporadic, but that gives me lots of down time for my favorite things in Austin - food, yoga and the Lake!

Happy New Year!!

Welcome to 2013!!

It's going to be another big year for me, and while I'm sure it will be stressful, it will also be one of amazing opportunities!  I become a full-fledged doctor this year!!!  

Still in Worcester...

This is my view on clear nights during my drive back to Worcester from Fitchburg.  The town itself isn't much to see, but this view is worth it!

Leaving Worcester for 3 interviews in 3 states in 3 days on Tuesday.  So excited for Christmas!!

Exhausting...but fun!

So I set about last week to make a map of where I've been since starting this journey (blue dots) and where I still have to go before graduation in May (red dots).  There's a few errors, omissions (Italy didn't fit), a few unknowns (I'm not sure how I'll fit Hawaii on the map if it works out that I should go there) and a few overlaps, but all in all it's a pretty good representation of the whirlwind journey I've been on.  But I can't complain one bit.  I've had the opportunity to see great friends and family across the country and all without paying $1 in real rent (I've bought lots of gifts, and paid the mortgage on my own condo, but no real rent)...

I'm currently in Worcester, MA and am staying with a friend who is a 3rd year medical student at UMass.  I spent the weekend in Boston and caught up with some old friends and had a wonderful interview at Boston Medical Center!  But man is it cold here!  I guess 10-ish years in the South has really made me weak!  But it's a great excuse to wear lots of scarves!  And to cozy up inside with a mug of tea and watch TV and knit...

Book Club

The second installment in my Book Club series is this quick read by Ann Patchett, State of Wonder.  Years ago I read her book, Bel Canto and fell in love!  She writes these interesting stories, in exotic settings, with great characters, and it all comes together to make a very memorable read.

This one was no different.  While I was in New York, I need a book to read on the subway, so I hopped on over to Greenlight Books, this adorable, independent bookstore in Ft. Greene, Brooklyn.  This one was featured as a "new in paperback" and I didn't hesitate to pick it up.

I read it in a matter of a week on my train trips, and just devoured it!  It's the story of a pharmaceutical researcher who is dispatched to go to South America to follow-up the recent death of a colleague there.  The research that is being done in South America is on a native community who maintains fertility into their 60s and 70s (so suspend disbelief for a moment).  The drug company would, of course, like to figure out how to synthesize this ability and sell it to 40-something women at top dollar.  But of course ethical dilemmas, and personal development ensue, and maybe, just maybe the colleague isn't dead...

I highly recommend it!

Next up....Anna Karenina, so it might be a few months!

Albuquerque

Well, so it begins.... The "interview trail" as 4th year medical students call it.  The time of year when we pick up after work one day, travel to a new city, and are back to work the day after!  All in the name of "matching" into a residency!

The Sandia Mountains from the hospital conference room

So it was in this fashion that I traveled to New Mexico the other day.  Sunday morning I flew to Albuquerque, drove around, got the lay of the land, went to dinner with current residents, slept in a weird hotel, toured the hospital and interviewed with attending physicians, drove to Santa Fe, had dinner, drove back to ABQ, and hopped back on a plane to Charlotte!  Phew... needless to say I was exhausted!

The plaza in Santa Fe

But I'm glad to say that I got to check another state off my list.  And I really loved the program at the University of New Mexico!  The people were very nice.  There's a lot of focus on academics and educations and they take care of lots of sick kids from around the southwest US and lots of those have really rare and weird diseases.  BUT it was freezing and so, so dry that my skin was cracking and my nose was bleeding by the time I left.  So if I end up matching there, please send gallons of lotion and a humidifier!!

Santa Fe

Central Park

I'm back in Charlotte on a radiology rotation, but still have lots of photos from NYC to share.  A few days before I left I stayed with a very wonderful friend on the Upper West Side.  My schedule was such that I never even saw her while I was there (working 3pm-11pm with at least an hour commute).  But I was able to use that morning time for some exploration.  I needed to go for a run, so I took that opportunity to run through Central Park.  It was a disjointed run to say the least, because I kept stopping to take pictures!  It was a gloomy, fall day but the weather was perfect for a run.  I'm always so surprised by how in the middle of the city you can feel like you're in the woods in Central Park.  But then you look up and there are amazing tall buildings and historic picturesque shots!