Alright, so basically the circus of figuring out where I will spend the next 3 years goes like this.
Step 1. Spend weeks putting together a list of all of your accomplishments, which will be the sole basis on which your merits are judged. Except for that pesky personal statement, which is like trying to sum yourself up in 3 paragraphs. No wait, that's exactly what it is.
Step 2. Hit the "submit" button and pray like mad you didn't have any typos.
Step 3. Compulsively check your email every hour for the next 2 months waiting for a subject line of "Invitation to Interview."
Step 4. Schedule first interview in Milwaukee (technically Wauwatosa. Go ahead, say it..."It's amazing how exotic Wisconsin...isn't." There, I feel better).
Step 5. Try to imagine how I'm going to fit in all these interviews, resident dinners, plane trips, and hotel stays...Do I try to string a bunch together without knowing if I'll even get interviews in nearby states? How close do I cut it when scheduling flights? We are talking about snow season here. Should I rent a car and try to see the city or just stick to the hotel shuttle? Which interviews do I schedule for later because I'm pretty sure I'll be canceling them anyways?
Step 6. Iowa, Utah, Michigan State, New Mexico...
Step 7. To be continued...in a city near you.
So, pray for me, pray for sanity and on-time flights and people to put me up on their couch and for my frequent flier miles to add up quickly and for wrinkle-free shirts and not sticking my foot in my mouth and trying not to let this consume my whole life, because after all, interviews don't even start for another month and a half. Yikes!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
I'm Awesome
I would just like to say that, although the Red Stars had a tough second half and missed the playoffs, and although St. Louis surprised me, and even though LA Sol led the whole season and Sky Blue had to pull off some upsets, I totally called it!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
More than a mere aversion
The DSM IV defines a specific phobia as a
A. Marked and persistent fear that is excessive or unreasonable.
B. Exposure to the phobic stimulus almost invariably provokes an immediate anxiety response.
C. The person recognizes that the fear is excessive or unreasonable.
D. The phobic situation(s) is avoided or else is endured with intense anxiety or distress.
E. The avoidance, anxious anticipation, or distress in the feared situation(s) interferes significantly with the person's normal functioning.
F. In individuals under age 18 years, the duration is at least 6 months.
...and as with all DSM IV disorders...
G. The anxiety, Panic Attacks, or phobic avoidance associated with the specific object or situation are not better accounted for by another mental disorder.
I just want to make it clear for the following story that according to bonafide scientific definition, I have clinical arachnophobia, as I think you will see. And I kind of take offense when people are like "Oh, yeah, I'm arachnophobic" and then can sit calmly with a spider in the same city block. I'm sorry, friends, but you mock the dysfuction of us true phobics by pretending.
Now, I'm going to but mention the actual spider, because it will give me nightmares (again), but I'm pretty sure you will enjoy the retelling of our reaction to it.
Last night, we were wishing Hilary off after watching Kyle Orton self destruct, I was returning something to the basement, and on my way up the stairs, I saw a HUGE spider on the stairs. Now, I realize that I tend to exaggerate when it comes to this specific subject, usually on the order of ten-fold, but this one really was HUGE. I'm pretty sure I had taken three stairs in one giant leap by the time an inhuman "Uh-wah-uhhhhhh-ahhhhh" made it out of my mouth. Michelle, a fellow arachnophobe, understood immediately, and goes, "You have to KILL it!" with the unspoken (actually, later she did speak it) assumption that if left alive, the spider would stalk her to her bedroom, kill, and eat her in the middle of the night. And I'm like, "Oh, okay, did that 'uh-wah-uhhhhhh-ahhhh' SOUND like someone who is going to go BACK THERE, ANYWHERE NEAR that thing? Didn't THINK so." So she's like, "Well, then get someone to kill it." So, grown-up, mature, nearly doctor that I am, I screamed, "MOMMY!!!!!!"
Unfortunately, running away crying like a baby means that said spider has the chance to hide by the time my valiant pajama-clad mother got down there with three papertowels ("Um, you might need the whole roll") and the can of Raid. So we looked for a while, covered basically the whole doorway and Michelle's bathroom (in case it DID come stalking her) in the sweet scent of Raid, and went back to....
"Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!" Um, yeah. IT. CAME. BACK. Now about 5 stairs closer to MY BEDROOM. NOT OKAY. This time, we were smart enough to leave one of us cowering in the stairwell so it couldn't escape again (not me, I was the one on the other side of the house grasping handfuls of my shorts to keep myself from going through the wall) while my mom recovered her weapons. Unfortunately, she didn't have her glasses on, so Michelle had to get a flashlight to shine on the spider. Which meant she actually had to LOOK at it. See where this is going? Not what I'd call an effective spotlight. Nonetheless, my mom triumphed against her menacing foe, turning towards us with the papertowel wad, saying, "Let's see if I got him." "NOOOOOOO!!!!" More running away grabbing my shorts.
Wish I could say this was the end of the story, but apparently Michelle wasn't quite liberal enough with the Raid, because there were two more waiting for her when she went to brush her teeth. "MOM!!!! WE NEED YOU AGAIN!" Thank God for understanding parents. I'll even accept the ridicule that comes along with it, as long as they kill the devil monsters. After all, I KNOW it's a perfectly irrational fear (see A and C above) and that going out of my way to avoid spiders (D) interferes with normal function (E) and I'm not exactly PROUD of the girlish screams that accompany my severe anxiety (B) but I CAN'T HELP IT.
I'm just glad that it provides so much amusement for everyone else.
And let's just pray I end up with a VERY understanding husband.
A. Marked and persistent fear that is excessive or unreasonable.
B. Exposure to the phobic stimulus almost invariably provokes an immediate anxiety response.
C. The person recognizes that the fear is excessive or unreasonable.
D. The phobic situation(s) is avoided or else is endured with intense anxiety or distress.
E. The avoidance, anxious anticipation, or distress in the feared situation(s) interferes significantly with the person's normal functioning.
F. In individuals under age 18 years, the duration is at least 6 months.
...and as with all DSM IV disorders...
G. The anxiety, Panic Attacks, or phobic avoidance associated with the specific object or situation are not better accounted for by another mental disorder.
I just want to make it clear for the following story that according to bonafide scientific definition, I have clinical arachnophobia, as I think you will see. And I kind of take offense when people are like "Oh, yeah, I'm arachnophobic" and then can sit calmly with a spider in the same city block. I'm sorry, friends, but you mock the dysfuction of us true phobics by pretending.
Now, I'm going to but mention the actual spider, because it will give me nightmares (again), but I'm pretty sure you will enjoy the retelling of our reaction to it.
Last night, we were wishing Hilary off after watching Kyle Orton self destruct, I was returning something to the basement, and on my way up the stairs, I saw a HUGE spider on the stairs. Now, I realize that I tend to exaggerate when it comes to this specific subject, usually on the order of ten-fold, but this one really was HUGE. I'm pretty sure I had taken three stairs in one giant leap by the time an inhuman "Uh-wah-uhhhhhh-ahhhhh" made it out of my mouth. Michelle, a fellow arachnophobe, understood immediately, and goes, "You have to KILL it!" with the unspoken (actually, later she did speak it) assumption that if left alive, the spider would stalk her to her bedroom, kill, and eat her in the middle of the night. And I'm like, "Oh, okay, did that 'uh-wah-uhhhhhh-ahhhh' SOUND like someone who is going to go BACK THERE, ANYWHERE NEAR that thing? Didn't THINK so." So she's like, "Well, then get someone to kill it." So, grown-up, mature, nearly doctor that I am, I screamed, "MOMMY!!!!!!"
Unfortunately, running away crying like a baby means that said spider has the chance to hide by the time my valiant pajama-clad mother got down there with three papertowels ("Um, you might need the whole roll") and the can of Raid. So we looked for a while, covered basically the whole doorway and Michelle's bathroom (in case it DID come stalking her) in the sweet scent of Raid, and went back to....
"Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!" Um, yeah. IT. CAME. BACK. Now about 5 stairs closer to MY BEDROOM. NOT OKAY. This time, we were smart enough to leave one of us cowering in the stairwell so it couldn't escape again (not me, I was the one on the other side of the house grasping handfuls of my shorts to keep myself from going through the wall) while my mom recovered her weapons. Unfortunately, she didn't have her glasses on, so Michelle had to get a flashlight to shine on the spider. Which meant she actually had to LOOK at it. See where this is going? Not what I'd call an effective spotlight. Nonetheless, my mom triumphed against her menacing foe, turning towards us with the papertowel wad, saying, "Let's see if I got him." "NOOOOOOO!!!!" More running away grabbing my shorts.
Wish I could say this was the end of the story, but apparently Michelle wasn't quite liberal enough with the Raid, because there were two more waiting for her when she went to brush her teeth. "MOM!!!! WE NEED YOU AGAIN!" Thank God for understanding parents. I'll even accept the ridicule that comes along with it, as long as they kill the devil monsters. After all, I KNOW it's a perfectly irrational fear (see A and C above) and that going out of my way to avoid spiders (D) interferes with normal function (E) and I'm not exactly PROUD of the girlish screams that accompany my severe anxiety (B) but I CAN'T HELP IT.
I'm just glad that it provides so much amusement for everyone else.
And let's just pray I end up with a VERY understanding husband.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
I make my husband put down his job, so I don't have to tell them I work at Children's
If you want to be encouraged about your kids turning out okay, are pregnant, or really ever planning to have kids, NEVER have a neonatologist tell you stories. They will ALL sound like horror stories to the uninitiated (read: non-medical professionals). To us, they are hilarious.
Like your son getting bitten by a pit viper and sucked on by a leech in the span of 24 hours. "He says the snake bit him and THEN he threw a metal stick at it...but anyone who knows Kieran knows it was probably the other way around. I tried calling poison control, and the operator was like, 'Oh, they're closed.'"
Or delivering a baby and having him turn blue and start snorting within minutes. "I just said, 'He's fine, he just needs to acclimate a little bit.'" "And they LISTENED to you?" "Well, she didn't take a lot of convincing. And I knew they were just going to whisk him away to the NICU and poke him and put him on CPAP, and at the time, it sounded like a good idea. I don't know, I was so drugged up I couldn't stay awake."
Or any number of things that land you on a first name basis with the urgent care docs and the overpowering desire to hide the fact that you are a DOCTOR to the nurses in the emergency room. "My husband made me bring her in. Next time, he's putting HIS job on there, cause you know as soon as you leave, they're talking about you."
And those are just the neonatologists' kids.
Also what I've learned is that if someone codes (heart stops beating or they stop breathing), the phones and overhead pages may or MAY NOT tell you what is going on and might lead to a slight delay in qualified people responding; but if a parent brings in Scotcharoos to the break room, it only takes 37.4 seconds for everyone on the floor to know that they're there. Same thing with free ice cream day. Priorities, people.
Like your son getting bitten by a pit viper and sucked on by a leech in the span of 24 hours. "He says the snake bit him and THEN he threw a metal stick at it...but anyone who knows Kieran knows it was probably the other way around. I tried calling poison control, and the operator was like, 'Oh, they're closed.'"
Or delivering a baby and having him turn blue and start snorting within minutes. "I just said, 'He's fine, he just needs to acclimate a little bit.'" "And they LISTENED to you?" "Well, she didn't take a lot of convincing. And I knew they were just going to whisk him away to the NICU and poke him and put him on CPAP, and at the time, it sounded like a good idea. I don't know, I was so drugged up I couldn't stay awake."
Or any number of things that land you on a first name basis with the urgent care docs and the overpowering desire to hide the fact that you are a DOCTOR to the nurses in the emergency room. "My husband made me bring her in. Next time, he's putting HIS job on there, cause you know as soon as you leave, they're talking about you."
And those are just the neonatologists' kids.
Also what I've learned is that if someone codes (heart stops beating or they stop breathing), the phones and overhead pages may or MAY NOT tell you what is going on and might lead to a slight delay in qualified people responding; but if a parent brings in Scotcharoos to the break room, it only takes 37.4 seconds for everyone on the floor to know that they're there. Same thing with free ice cream day. Priorities, people.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
The Big City
Just got back from 5 days in Chicago, to take my boards, but mostly to take a vacation. It was my first real foray into public transportation (World Youth Day in Toronto didn't really count, because there were 60 of us and it was free with registration, so we were just herded around and tried to always be with an adult) and except for one brief episode of wandering Saturday night, we successfully navigated the El, the buses, and even hailed our first taxi. Laura and Hilary, plus one. Although, I have to say, getting back into my own car, on familiar roads, without the incessant honking and hundreds of pedestrians was a welcome change.
Cubs fans are awesome. We went to the game on Saturday and got to experience the whole of Wrigley Field, Chicago dogs, and Cubs mania. I told Hilary that I never even stood up and cheered that much at a Rockies game. It must be infectious. And with thousands of people sticking around after the game to sing "Go Cubs go-o-o", how can it not be? As we tried to take a self-portrait of us with the field behind us, we had multiple people grab the camera and offer to take the picture for us. And all afternoon/evening/night, people saw our Cubs gear and stopped us on the street: "Cubs win?" "Go Cubs" and the occasional instigating "Go Sox." Even at Mass, during the sign of peace, Hilary got a "God bless you. Go Cubs." On our way out of the stadium, we passed Mullen's Bar and went in to see if they had t-shirts. Not only did they, but the bartender bought Hilary a beer as she pointed out her last name on the credit card. Hooray.
We got to see a heck of a lot of Chicago. Magnificent Mile, Navy Pier, Millenium Park, Buckingham Fountain, Soldier Field, Hyde Park, Lake Michigan, the River Walk. Danced to one of the saxophone players on the street, hit up a White Castle, and one of the dozens of Baskin Robbins for late night ice cream, chatted with cops and bus drivers and random people on the street, and got to watch Abby Wambach score two goals against the Red Stars.
I maintain the fact that I don't think I could live in Chicago, what with the commuting and the amount of people, but it's a great place to visit.
Cubs fans are awesome. We went to the game on Saturday and got to experience the whole of Wrigley Field, Chicago dogs, and Cubs mania. I told Hilary that I never even stood up and cheered that much at a Rockies game. It must be infectious. And with thousands of people sticking around after the game to sing "Go Cubs go-o-o", how can it not be? As we tried to take a self-portrait of us with the field behind us, we had multiple people grab the camera and offer to take the picture for us. And all afternoon/evening/night, people saw our Cubs gear and stopped us on the street: "Cubs win?" "Go Cubs" and the occasional instigating "Go Sox." Even at Mass, during the sign of peace, Hilary got a "God bless you. Go Cubs." On our way out of the stadium, we passed Mullen's Bar and went in to see if they had t-shirts. Not only did they, but the bartender bought Hilary a beer as she pointed out her last name on the credit card. Hooray.
We got to see a heck of a lot of Chicago. Magnificent Mile, Navy Pier, Millenium Park, Buckingham Fountain, Soldier Field, Hyde Park, Lake Michigan, the River Walk. Danced to one of the saxophone players on the street, hit up a White Castle, and one of the dozens of Baskin Robbins for late night ice cream, chatted with cops and bus drivers and random people on the street, and got to watch Abby Wambach score two goals against the Red Stars.
I maintain the fact that I don't think I could live in Chicago, what with the commuting and the amount of people, but it's a great place to visit.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Milestones
Congrats to Abby Wambach for her 100th career international goal (And Heather Mitts for her 100th cap), joining the ranks of Mia Hamm (who, incidentally also scored her 100th in Rochester), Kristine Lilly, Michelle Akers, and Tiffany Milbrett. Supported by family and friends in her hometown, she had multiple chances throughout the match, as her teammates did their best to help her knock one in. "I don't think they were passing it to anyone else."
Although I actually missed seeing the goal, being the lone member of my family able to cheer on the youngest Zapapi in softball greatness this afternoon, I did enjoy screaming my way through the first half, enjoying the chance to shout "HAO", watch Julie Foudy be the only respectable women commentator on ESPN, or at all for that matter, and see Abby muscle her way through the box. I told my friend Lisa, "You remind me of Abby Wambach, if you were 5'11" and a beast." She wasn't quite sure if it was a compliment or not. It was. Or at least neutral; they just look alike. Also got me REAL excited to see all the stars in person in a week. Prepare for some major yelling.
And watch the next friendly, Wednesday 8 pm EST, on Fox Soccer Channel (or via Match Tracker on ussoccer.com)
Monday, July 13, 2009
God Lives Here
Reasons I love Colorado (in no particular order, and by no means comprehensive, especially since I really need to get back to studying):
-view from the top of the mountain--there is absolutely nothing like this in the world
-best state flower. Hands down.
-coffee shops with signs on the door saying "please take your crampons off before coming inside"
-people in the parades throw dog biscuits in addition to candy
-the "Hey Baby" song at the Rockies games
-all the parks, and the people who use them
-It goes without saying, but 300 days of sunshine...please.
-Fittest state in the nation, many years running
-a large percentage of my favorite people live here
-Bonnie Brae ice cream
-our patron is St. Francis of Assisi
-KYGO
-The Children's Hospital (I mean, seriously, if I didn't have high hopes of staying here for residency and loving it, it would put a serious damper on things)
-apparently home of the best "Small Town in America" (Louisville)
-home of Chipotle.
-Breckenridge Brewery, New Belgium, Boulder Beer, Great Divide--most breweries per capita of any state--means you can always find a good microbrew on tap
feel free to add your own...
-view from the top of the mountain--there is absolutely nothing like this in the world-best state flower. Hands down.
-coffee shops with signs on the door saying "please take your crampons off before coming inside"
-people in the parades throw dog biscuits in addition to candy
-the "Hey Baby" song at the Rockies games
-all the parks, and the people who use them
-It goes without saying, but 300 days of sunshine...please.
-Fittest state in the nation, many years running
-a large percentage of my favorite people live here
-Bonnie Brae ice cream
-our patron is St. Francis of Assisi
-KYGO
-The Children's Hospital (I mean, seriously, if I didn't have high hopes of staying here for residency and loving it, it would put a serious damper on things)
-apparently home of the best "Small Town in America" (Louisville)
-home of Chipotle.
-Breckenridge Brewery, New Belgium, Boulder Beer, Great Divide--most breweries per capita of any state--means you can always find a good microbrew on tap
feel free to add your own...
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