Back to NY

Last post in February?  Look at me posting every month.  It's like I have nothing else to do. 

(I may actually have nothing else to do)

So since last post, I finished anesthesiology, spent four weeks of misery at DMU doing family medicine, and have done a week of PICU.  Family med was INCREDIBLY disappointing, especially since it was put on by my home institution.  I expected to have a solid learning experience.  I learned nada, and spent about 20 hours serving as a free TA to the physical diagnosis lab.  Grumblegrumblegrumble.  PICU has been a good learning experience, although they are expecting some effort out of me that I'm not super excited to give.  I want to be lazy these last few weeks of 4th year.  Grumblegrumblegrumble.

Speaking of end of 4th year, I'm ALMOST DONE.  Graduation is two months from today, and I have 5 weeks of rotations left!  I am so over being a med stud.  Not that intern year is going to be a walk in the park, but I'm ready to burn hang up the short white coat and be granted some responsibility. 

In even bigger news, last week was Match Week.  It sucked big time, but the outcome is fun:  we're moving to Long Island!  We'll be in the greatest city on earth, and no more than a half hour drive from the beach at any one time, and close to family we rarely get to visit, but I think we're most excited about the opportunity to 1) go see SNL and 2) go see Jimmy Fallon.  ANY TIME WE WANT.  Super exciting. 

Aaron and I have joined CrossFit at the end of February.  For the first week, we couldn't walk.  The next week, we couldn't raise our arms.  We've kind of alternated back and forth between these two extremes since then; we're still weak and the soreness isn't much improved.  But it's way fun and I think we'll stick with it. 

I've been doing a lot of reading.  Don't be too impressed; it's not medical reading where I learn the things I ought to know.  It's reading what I want to read, as well as some books on those lists of books you have to read in your lifetime (alistofbooks.com).  I read a few Malcolm Gladwell books, which were great, and now I'm working on James Joyce's Ulysses.  It.  Is.  The.  Worst.  WORST.  It's 800 pages of free association, verbal diarrhea, and most of it I don't understand because it's in fancy-pants English.  I'm going to suffer through it, because I'm not one to quit a book once I've started it, but here's a disclaimer to my future self:  do not ever revisit this text.  Blech. 

That's all for updates.  Until next time!

Indian Food

Last night my preceptor (the fast talking Indian) invited Aaron and I over for dinner.  Despite being a challenge to understand, he's super nice and is a great teacher.  Anyway, his wife cooked an authentic Indian meal, and she was kind enough to tame down the spicy for what she referred to as our "American palate".  The food was great and the company was even better.  Our hosts were incredibly gracious and we left super full and a little liquored up. 

This weekend we're making a quick visit to Missouri to see family and go to Jenn H's baby shower (so exciting!).  If some car shopping occurs while we are there I can't complain; I was hoping the little car would make it through med school but I'm a little doubtful.  Right now it makes a growling noise that is pretty suspicious, and at one point Aaron couldn't get it out of park.  Not good.  I'd like to just sell it immediately and not risk finding out what is wrong with it (and subsequently paying for it), but I couldn't do that to someone.  Even if I really want to...

In the Healer's Art class I took last year we talked about 3 specific daily journal prompts that can make your writing a little more...inspired?  Deep?  That doesn't sound like me, but it sounds like a good idea for giving a little structure to my ramblings.  Unfortunately, I can't think of them, so until I get home and have a chance to look them up it's going to be continued random topics.

Dilemma

Osteopathic Match Day was yesterday, and while I had no intention of participating, it has managed cause me some anxiety that I had not planned on battling.  After being assigned to a transitional or preliminary year by the Air Force, I decided that was a perfect opportunity to try to stay in Des Moines, for a number of reasons.  There are 2 TY programs in DSM, I interviewed at both, and had made up my mind that either of those programs were my goal.  Well, then yesterday happened.  Because I submitted a sort of 'dummy' AOA rank list (because I'm a dummy and didn't withdraw it), not only do I have the opportunity to view all of the unfilled AOA positions, but I'm actually being pursued by some of them.  It's killing me.  I could express interest and likely secure an offer this week, or I can take a chance, wait until March 17 to find out if I match, and hope to match in Des Moines.  It's brutal.  I'm trying to resist making an impulsive decision, but it is freaking hard. 

In other news...well, really, there isn't any news.  Starting this blogging endeavor has illustrated to me that the Elys lead rather bland lives.  This week I complete my anesthesia rotation.  So far the biggest challenge has been not the subject material, but understanding what in the world my preceptor is saying.  He has a heavy Indian accent, speaks faster than any native English-speaker I know, speaks under his mask in the OR, and tries to speak over the bone saw.  I do a lot of nodding and mmmhmmming, but I've definitely learned a lot about how to improve my intubation technique, as well as a variety of regional blocks, which I love.

If Aaron would log on here and write a post you'd know what he was up to (hint hint wink wink), but he doesn't, so I'll do my best.  He is a teaching rockstar, and got some positive feedback last week after his classroom observation.  Other than that, he spends most of his time spoiling me and being pretty much awesome.

That's all for now.  Hopefully things pick up so that I have something to write about next time.

2014

Alright, perhaps I forgot about my blogging commitment for a few weeks months, but I'm back again.  And I'm going to get caught up (again), so that hopefully instead of writing in the past tense I can record the present.  And maybe muse about some other topics that deserve some musing. 

So...back to November. 

As positive as my Einstein interview experience might have been, I super-duper, without a doubt, did not like Philadelphia.  Part of it was the rotation; I spent entirely too much time with snarky attendings & senior residents that didn't want to teach.  But mostly it was the city.  It was dirty, the public transportation was terrible, and I felt like I needed to look over my shoulder.  Constantly.  I thought I was imagining things at first, but after hearing gunfire and seeing a crowd scatter one afternoon in front of the hospital, my concerns were validated.  I was so ready to leave the city that I felt both dread and relief as I took the train to my last shift, an overnight.  I got off at my stop and went to walk up the steps, and realized the man in front of me had stopped to urinate in the public stairwell.  I was disgusted and irritated, but felt like that incident was pretty symbolic of my whole Philadelphia experience. 

I survived the shift and was THRILLED to pack up my crap the next morning, take a cab to the train station, and take the Amtrak to NYC.  I find New York to be beautiful and amazing compared to the turd that is Philly.  This probably, in part, has something to do with the kindness and generosity my family has shown me during my time there.  They took me in and pampered me (again), and I was able to spend some time with my grandmother as well.  Early in the week of Thanksgiving I interviewed at Maimonides, and then took a train to Baltimore to interview at U of Maryland (which was AWESOME).  On Wednesday we went upstate to a country house, where we celebrated the holiday.  Aaron flew in on Thanksgiving Day, and ended up on the same train upstate with Jackson.  We had a great time, ate way too much, played some great games, but it was a little sad not being with my parents and Ashley on Thanksgiving.  I'm sure I've missed holidays before because of work, but usually we celebrated a few days later.  This might have been the first we missed completely.  I wish they could have been there too. 

Aaron and I left early Saturday morning so that he could go to a rehearsal before his Sunday barbershop concert at CARNEGIE HALL.  Awesome, no?  The concert was hilarious, and the venue was impressive.  I'm so glad he was able to take advantage of this opportunity--even though we were (are) poor, it was worth it. 

We flew back on Tuesday on different airlines.  Aaron got stuck at O'Hare due to fog, so I thought I'd go hang out with him during my layover--until I realized I was actually at Midway, and that wasn't going to work. Oops.  My flight took off as planned, and Aaron missed a day of school he hadn't planned to.  Oops again. 

I spent 2 weeks doing plastic surgery, which was...weird...and then started FP/UC.  Being at home, seeing Aaron every day, and sleeping in my own bed, was FABULOUS.  Somewhere in that time I found out that I was found FIT for duty and my scholarship was reinstated.  We rejoiced, but then on Dec 18 the military match assigned me to a civilian transitional year.  I was bummed, but more concerned than anything since I hadn't received any interviews for TY programs.  I resolved not to worry about it until after the holidays. We spent an entire week with our families for Christmas, and again ate too much.  Mom, Aaron, Ashley, Meme and I went to a movie that week, and I think we played Monopoly at least twice.  Aaron put together some Minute to Win It games for his family, and we had a great time overall.  I always hate leaving. 

We were extremely boring on New Years Eve, with just the 2 of us drinking champagne and going to bed at approximately 12:01am.  I did some frantic emailing and managed to drum up 2 transitional year program interviews, both in Des Moines.  I completed the FP/UC rotation, and then did 2 weeks with the State Medical Examiner, which was pretty fascinating.  It was a great anatomy review, and pretty eye opening as far as the things people do to themselves.  People with suicide pacts, being able to see fatty liver disease and coronary artery disease with my own eyes--it made me want to go work out right then.

Currently, I'm about halfway done with a 2 week rotation in anesthesia.  I don't have a lot of motivation now as my 4th year is winding down, but my preceptor seems to think I should work at least a little.  Bleh.  So that brings us to the present day.  I'll end here, but here's some pictures of the adventures the Ely's have had since my last post.  I can't find any of Aaron's Carnegie pictures on my laptop, so that will have to come next time!

The "Country House"

Ready for Thanksgiving Dinner

Yogi and Hunter resting near the fire

Rockefeller tree.  We left the day before it was lit.

I guess Meggin missed me?

Interview

Today was my interview at Einstein.  To be honest, I was dreading it, because my experience here has been less than positive.  I was pretty pleasantly surprised.  As not exciting as it is to be a student here, I think the resident training program is actually pretty good.  And for the first time, I was almost a little excited to do a 4 year instead of 3 year program.  I'll probably still go for a 3 year program, but I'll be a little sad to miss out on the off-service learning experiences that an extra year allows.  All of the faculty I talked with today were great.  I think I've just had the bad luck of working with attendings that were not so interested in teaching.  While this place may not be #1 on my list, it has definitely moved up to...on the list somewhere.

Yesterday was the last shift of a four-day stretch.  I was a little discouraged by my interactions thus far, but was trying really hard to be invested and enthusiastic.  The senior resident was great, but the attending was a pretty sarcastic and didn't especially seem to want to be there, so I wasn't sure how to approach him.  At the end of the shift I asked for some feedback, as I usually do.  He proceeded to tell me I suck.  Really, really, suck.  At first I was confident that he was kidding and smiled.  Then he continued to tell me that I super sucked, more than the usual med student.  I became a little concerned, but kept smiling.  When told me that I sucked so much that he was going to go home and write a song about it, I'm pretty sure I let out a huge sigh of relief as it became obvious that he was kidding.  He concluded by grinning and saying that I had done a great job, and that he was impressed.  It was a much needed boost for my morale, and I left with a much better attitude. 

After work, I met my good friend Christina at a theater in the old city to see The Book Thief.  The movie was fantastic, almost as good as the book.  I wish I had re-read it more recently, but the movie was great either way.  On the way there I happened to walk past Independence Square, and I'm maybe a little sad that I haven't spent more of my time here exploring the history of the city.  I had planned to see visit the Liberty Bell and whatever other historical must-see sites are nearby.  Instead, I've just watched a lot of TV.  Don't judge me.

I have 2 more shifts and an interview before I pack up and leave.  I've booked my train ticket to NYC for Friday, and even though things are going better, I am so glad it's almost over.  Even though I'm very much the introvert and have never minded being by myself, I think I need some social interaction.  I look forward to seeing Meme and spending the weekend with family before interviews resume next Monday. 

That's all for now.  Until next time!

One More Week

Here's a public service announcement:  "hurted" and "worser" are not words.  I do not care what dialect of English you are speaking, when you say those words you do not sound tough-guy gangsta, you sound straight-up ridiculous. 

In somewhat related news, I had my first "run from the gunfire" experience in front of Einstein as I walked to the subway yesterday.  I had just left the side doors of the building when I heard two "pops."  The Midwesterner in me initially thought it was firecrackers; the Midwesterner transplanted to inner city Philly soon considered it was quite possibly not firecrackers.  Moments later a flood of teenagers just out of school for the day went running down the cross street about 200 feet in front of me, and I decided if they thought it was gunfire, I should assume it was too.  I stopped on the side street and just waited.  In less than a minute a handful of officers were running toward the chaos.  About that time I decided I would rather continue up the street, toward the fleeing crowd, and get the heck out of there than stand around and wonder what actually happen.  I walked briskly toward the crowd and across the street to the subway entrance.  This incident pretty much finalized my decision to avoid a residency at Einstein.

Other than random gun violence, things are perhaps getting a little better.  My shift today was a pretty positive experience.  I think I'm just traveled-out and need to hug Aaron, pet my dog, and sleep in my own bed.  I'm exhausted. 

On that note, goodnight!

Philly

I left Las Vegas on a Friday morning, and I was never so happy to see Des Moines.  Aaron greeted me again at the airport, because he. is. awesome.

We had an awesome week.  I did a lot of nothing.  Watched TV.  Read books.  Watched more TV.  Don't judge me.  Somewhere in there we sprinkled in a Halloween party or two.  I'm not much of a costume person, but Aaron had the brilliant idea to go as Sheldon Cooper and Amy Farrah Fowler (from The Big Bang Theory, for those of you living under a rock), and it was easy enough. Most people figured it out, and we got a lot of laughs.

Shamy

 

That week of vacation was not long enough.  We watched some movies, lounged around...maybe I lounged around while Aaron worked.  Anyway, I wasn't ready to leave.  At all.  So perhaps that has something to do with my poor attitude toward my time in Philadelphia.  My time here has been...mediocre at best.  Einstein is not in a great neighborhood, and the feeling of being hyper-aware all the time is exhausting.  Some of the attendings have no interest in teaching.  There are a ton of med studs rotating with no interest in EM, and make their disdain very obvious.  The pods are way overstaffed with interns and med studs, so it's a challenge even to get a patient--let alone have the opportunity to shine.  In short, it's not been a great experience so far.  The highlight of the month has been taking the train to NYC to cheer Aidan on in the NY Marathon.  Lots of fun energy there, and always great to see family. 

 

So, that brings us to present day.  Never thought I'd be done playing catch up with this blog, but I've finally made it!  Until next time, I'll leave you with the only bit of sight-seeing I've done since being in PA:

 

The tree has been up for a day or two.  If you look closely, you can see where it already has some graffiti.  Pretty representative of my time in Philly.



Las Vegas

Leaving NY was bittersweet; I had a fantastic time with family, but I was definitely ready to spend some time with Aaron.  In true Aaron fashion, this is what was waiting for me when I arrived to the airport:

We had less that 2 days to spend together, but we made the most of it.  I got home late Friday, so Saturday we spent the day at the World Food & Music Fest downtown.  We ate gyros, Israeli hot dogs (is that a real thing?) and the most fabulous Nutella crepes that ever existed.    Here's some photo documentation of the fun we had.

Best.  Crepes.  Ever.

 

 

Afterward we roamed around Downtown Des Moines, stopped for coffee, and went to church.  Sunday morning came way too soon, and we were back at the airport. 

 

Las Vegas was even more ridiculous than I imagined.  Literally slot machines everywhere.  In the airport. in gas stations, restaurants, everywhere.  I gathered my rental car, picked up keys to the house, and was surprised to find I was staying in a house with minimal furnishings.  No soap, no toilet paper, no bed linens, no living room furniture, and worst of all--no internet.  Blah.  The rotations at Nellis & UNLV were...okay.  Not really anything super exciting.  I'm definitely glad I ranked SAMMC #1 on my military rank list.  I think the best thing that came out of the rotation was a great roommate and new friend who is also rotating at Einstein ER after LV.  It was also great seeing Josh & Charity Baker while they were in town for the AOFP conference.  We went for dinner and ice cream, and afterward I accidently drove down the strip, fulfilling my obligatory LV Strip experience. 

 

Overall, the views in the desert were beautiful, and the weather was nice, but I missed actual grass and the ER experience was just pretty good. 

 

Next post:  Vacation & Philadelphia!

New York

It's been a few weeks, but I'm still feeling determined about keeping this blog going.  I looked through the pictures on my phone today, and realized that there are tons of experiences from the last few years that I barely remember.  I'm hoping documenting them as they happen will help keep them at least a little closer to the surface. 

After a glorious vacation, I flew to New York for a rotation in Emergency Ultrasound at Maimonides Medical Center.  Maimo is located in a predominantly Hasidic neighborhood, and the patient population is extremely diverse--English-speaking patients are the minority.  There are about 70 curtained-off patient rooms, and they are all full, all the time.  There are patients in the hallways, double parked in front of other patient curtains, and just everywhere in general.  Pure craziness.  It made it hard to maneuver the US machine next to patients needing scanned, but we managed and I learned a lot.  The people were great and it seems like a program where I could learn a great deal, but I'm going to have to get past the fact that no one has their own space to work (or breathe). 

Without question the best part of this rotation block was spending so much time with my family.  I stayed with Joyce, Mike, & Jackson, and was able to spend my ample downtime with them as well as Jeannette and family.  Even without the pampering it was great to spend time with them, but there was definitely some spoiling going on (show tickets, mani/pedi, shopping).  I look forward to visiting while I'm in Philly (my current location), and I definitely wouldn't mind ending up in a program in the area.  Having some connection to a new city is nice, plus I love the fact that you NEVER HAVE TO DRIVE!

I was able to experience September 11, 2013 in  New York City.  The day has a lot of meaning wherever you are in the nation, but it's quite powerful to stand across the river, looking toward Manhattan at the skyline where the towers once stood.  I actually spent most of the day at West Point, receiving a personal tour from my cousin Robert, who made the tour even more impressive with his understanding of the history surrounding the area.  A few days after 9/11, I worked a clinical (non-US) shift in the ER, and cared for a man in his 50s with pneumonia.  He was a paramedic, and responded to the destruction on 9/11.  Since then, he's had recurrent respiratory illnesses, as well as PTSD.  It was another one of those wake-up moments that I had while at BAMC; these are real people with very real scars.  I didn't realize how detached I was until meeting someone intimately involved.  In the same vein, I cared for a Hungarian woman who had survived the horrors of Auschwitz.  Her memory was not good, and she was a little difficult to assess, but she was incredibly sweet and had an inspiring story to tell.  These are the kinds of experiences that slip away over time, but hopefully I can hold on to them by writing it down.

Tribute in Lights, NYC 2013

Boards

I find the government's priorities completely out of order.  On the eve of a likely government shut down, just thinking about the hypocrisy of approving a budget that will be blatantly ignored makes me a little crazy.  But on to more pleasant things.

After my stint in Texas, I spent a glorious 2 weeks in Des Moines, slept in my own bed, and spent every possible minute with Aaron.  I was even glad to see Meggin (the cantankerous dog).  It wasn't all fun and games though; I worked at MMCC least one day, and spent the rest studying for COMLEX PE and CE.  I flew to Philly for less than a day to take the (stupid) practical exam, and the next week I rocked the multiple choice portion.  When I wasn't studying I was working on residency applications and dragging my feet about writing a personal statement, which I find to be the most painful task on the planet.  It's all a bit of a blur, but I'm sure we did a few fun things (I hope?), something beyond my much anticipated daily walk to the mailbox & garden (thrilling).  Unfortunately I can't think of anything at the moment, which is terrible. 

So, in retrospect, it might not been exciting enough a time period to be post-worthy, but to me it was fantastic and just what I needed.  NYC memories next time!