Three for three

Drew got accepted to his third Sub-I rotation! We are very excited! Although I know it is going to be ridiculously time consuming and labor intense for Drew to do three straight months (well technically 12 out of 13 straight weeks) of away rotations, it will be a great opportunity for him. He will get some great experience and hopefully get a taste of what his next 6-8 years will be like. It will also give him the opportunity to make a good impression at these institutions and possibly make a name/reputation for himself.
I am a bit worried about the crazy long hours that he will be subjected to, but I also know that it is silly to worry because this is only for twelve weeks... and realistically he will have long and intense hours for many years to come. So he might as well get used to it now because he will have to adjust sooner or later! After all he wants to be a surgeon, and along with that comes a rigorous work schedule and long hours.
So tonight I am praising God for another piece of good news - and also praying that the next 10 months are filled with more answered prayers!

Absurd

Since I am still a relatively new attorney and am still learning I still submit everything (big/important) to a partner for their review/feedback before I file it in court. Recently I have realized just how far I have come in the last year because most of my pleadings/briefs come back with only a few (if any) modifications and suggestions.
So last week I was working on one of my favorite cases and after the partner reviewed it he told me that I needed to omit the word "absurd." I had said something along the lines of "Respondent's argument is absurd." (And it is). Earl told me that I couldn't leave that in because it was a personal attack, and that I shouldn't stoop to the level of the other lawyer (he had earlier written something about my "in artful pleading." He did say that I could use illogical and contradictory - but absurd, was crossing the line. I omitted that adjective and didn't think about it again... until the next day, when I got opposing counsel's brief. After skimming through his brief I quickly noticed that he stated that my argument was "patently absurd." I had to laugh - and tell Earl - he insists that I am the better lawyer for being above it all. I have to agree that it is not my argument, but his argument that is absurd...but we'll let the Judge decide.

Laughable...

So I was checking my email this morning when I found a very random email in my inbox. It was not my work email account but the email account I use associated with this blog - and this blog alone. And for those of you who use gmail you know that you get very little spam... so I can only assume that this person found my email through my blog. So I open this email from an unfamiliar person and the contents of the email were as follows:

Hi Marissa,
My name is Jane Doe. I am contacting you because it is likely you may need the services that my new personal assistant firm offers. Company Name is a local venture and we're launching this month! We can provide almost anything you can imagine, including:

• Errand Running
• Personal Shopping
• Appointment Setting
• Travel Arrangements
• Booking Reservations
• Event Planning
• Household Management
• Bookkeeping

Please visit our website for more information. www.somewebsite.com. Thank you for taking the time to read this email, I am certain you are very busy. We hope to hear from you and thank you for supporting our local business.
Jane Doe*

Sure I am busy. Sure I'd love a personal assistant. But come on. Ha ha! Seriously? I can barely afford to pay my rent, do you really think I'd be able to pay for someone to do my grocery shopping. Ha ha! I'm sorry but I find this particularly laughable. I checked out the business website for the heck of it and the business is certainly not local to me. So I could be wrong but I assume that the person who sent it did so because a) I am a lawyer and/or b) because I am married to a medical student. It so aggravates me when people assume we have money because of these things. The only thing we have are loans, and more loans. Lots of them. And although I am an attorney, I make an extremely modest salary which is enough to pay the rent, insurance, grocery bills and medical bills, and therefore it is enough (especially in this economy). Anyways, the email made me laugh...anyone else get a similar email?
*Names and information omitted because I refuse to promote a business that randomly emailed me

Being an adult

There are certain things about being an adult that are uncomfortable, awkward or just not fun. For example wakes and funerals. Tonight I went to a wake (visitation) for one of my bosses' father-in-law. Death is always a hard thing but when your an adult you are forced to deal with it more often. As a child you don't have to really go to wakes or funerals unless it is someone your related to. When your an adult you are expected to go to these things for people you never knew. I totally understand that it is for the people that are left behind more than anything else, but it still doesn't make it an easy thing to do. Tonight I went solo and it was not something I was looking forward to - but it was something that I knew was "appropriate," and I wanted to do it to show support for my boss and his wonderful wife.

Going alone I had no one one to talk to or to ask what the proper thing to do was. For example I didn't know if I was supposed to go through the whole line or skip straight to my boss? And I had no idea what to say? I tried not to show my awkwardness and act normal as I introduced myself to about 10 family members before I finally got to my boss. And it's so hard, I am so new to "adult" things like this - I didn't know what to say other than "I'm Marissa, I work for Ed, I am so sorry for your family's loss..." It would have been nice to have Drew along, as it always is easier to do difficult or new things when he is by my side, but he wasn't able to join me. I guess I need to start getting used to doing some difficult things by myself as he isn't going to always be around (particularly in residency). And I know that doing things alone will only make me a stronger and better woman.

Residency Match

So my main experience with being married to a medical spouse is that for the most part, I had no idea what I was in for. Year by year it seems like I don't know whats going on until we get there. And as a planner, I hate not knowing what is going on. I spend much of my time trying to find out what happens next. For that reason I want to explain the whole "Match Process" for any of you MS1 or MS2 spouses out there who are curious as to how it works. I know I was always curious as to the process and my husbands answer was always, "just wait" or "we'll know when we have to do anything." I have also found that most people (who aren't married or related to a medical student) have no idea about the whole process that is involved in "matching" to your residency program. Therefore I am going to take this opportunity to describe the process (based on my understanding).*
The match process begins in July of a medical student's fourth and final year of school. This is when a fourth year gets a password to log-in to the match website. At this time medical students can start entering information into their application. Then in August (the 15th) a students applications can officially be sent to schools. The match website (www.NRMP.org is the main site but some programs use www.sfmatch.org, or www.auanet.org) sends or submits the applications out to the different programs (selected by the applicant). Then usually in October and November the programs send out invitations for interviews. Programs are selective in granting interviews and therefore if an applicant doesn't get an interview they are out of the running for a spot. Medical students can choose to accept or deny these interviews but if they deny an interview, it takes them out of the running. Interviews usually take place in November, December and early January. Interviews usually last at least one day. Often times they are two days; the first evening is a reception and the second day will include a tour and the actual interview. (Some programs invite spouses to the reception - which is a nice opportunity for them to visit the city and learn more about the program). The next step in the process is the rank list.
Starting in January every student will rank the programs they interviewed with. This is another step where an applicant can eliminate a program by not ranking them. At the end of February (the 24th at midnight next year) the rank lists are officially due and must be submitted. All programs will also submit a list ranking their candidates by order of preference. The match process is weighed in favor of the applicants in the sense that the match system will look at a student's list and look to their first pick, if their first pick has them ranked number one they match (or if their program takes six and they are ranked in the top six then they will match there). If a program has a student ranked number one but that student has them ranked five, the match process will first see if that student matches with their top four. This is why it is necessary for all applicants to make sure they rank their programs in order of their preference. All of the matching is done electronically or by computer and it tries to match students to their highest (or lowest if you are referring to numbers) ranked program. Hypothetically the more places a student ranks should increase their chances of matching. Many students will apply to programs across the country. Between the cost of applications, travel and hotels, many students will spend several thousands of dollars on this process. Usually your financial aid office can help you take out special loans to cover the additional expenses.
Then the third Monday in March (the 15th of 2010) students will receive an email informing them of whether or not that matched. Then that afternoon the match program will release what programs still have openings so that the students who did not initially match can "scramble match." This scrambling process happens in a matter of days and results in people matching at programs that they didn't apply to, interview with, or rank. Then later that week, on the third Thursday in March (the 18th of 2010) most schools will host a match day reception where all the students will gather with friends and family. At the reception all students will be handed an envelope which contains their future. They have no idea what it is going to say, it could include any of the umteen (however many) programs they rank. And that's it... nine months of applying, interviewing and worrying and you find out where you are going in an instant.

Residency Match Resources
For those of you who want to know more about residency programs, here is a great website: Freida Online Search . Here is another link of deadlines and dates for this years upcoming match.
*This is just my basic, informal, and lay-person's understanding of the process - do not rely on my statements or representations. Also the process will vary for medical students in the military and those applying for certain specialties such a urology.

Fun weekend

This weekend was a lot of play and very little productiveness. On Friday I went out on the town to celebrate my friend Shannon’s thirtieth birthday. Although we’ve lived in Springfield for over a year and a half and I had yet to go out downtown. I found out that Springfield actually has quite the nightlife. We went to several bars each of which were unique and entertaining. I had more than my share of shots and martinis and definitely had a good time! Shannon is also the mother to a one-month-old incredibly adorable baby boy and her husband is currently serving in Afghanistan. Drew spent the night babysitting and hanging out with Shannon's little guy. This was the sight we came home to…
Drew and I stayed the night so that we (and I mean Drew) could get up with the baby during the night so that Shannon could actually sleep after a night of drinking. How great is my husband?
Saturday morning we headed to Peoria for a wedding of Drew’s college friend. It was another beautiful and fun wedding, and we spent another evening dancing the night away.
Then today we got to go to my favorite place ever… the Ice Cream Shack! It is a little place, kind of in the ghetto of Peoria, but it the best soft serve ice cream and blizzard combinations (smores, banana cookie, strawberry shortcake and more). I absolutely LOVE soft serve ice cream! When I went to school in Peoria I seriously went there multiple times a week even though it was at the complete opposite side of town as campus. And although I am a bit embarrassed to admit it, I often bought two treats... one for now and one to freeze for later!Today I was able to enjoy one of my favorites – a strawberry shortcake wizard! Mmmm!
Also, I know I haven't posted much on medical school lately I just haven't gotten around to it - I want to post about loans during residency and about the residency match process. So hopefully I can get to those this week.

Acceptance #2

Drew got his second acceptance to do a sub-I rotation! We are really excited because this is the one he applied to way back in March and we have been nervously waiting on a response! He will now have 2 differen four week sub-I/away rotations this fall. We are still waiting on a third program but they just started reviewing applications last week so we aren't getting nervous quite yet... and now that he has gotten accepted into two programs there is a little less pressure. I've been doing a little dance in my head all day because at work I don't think anyone really cares about these things...who thought I would get so excited to be apart from my husband?!

It feels like yesterday

But its been two years of married bliss... I love being married to Drew. And my wedding was probably the happiest day of my life (so far) and being that I love pictures I am going to take this opportunity to share a few from our special day - June 2, 2007.

My handsome groom getting ready

My wonderful parents, I couldn't be more blessed!

A few of my favorite girls

And a few more of my best girls

Seeing each other for the first time

Outside the church (it was a beautiful day with just a single rain storm in the morning)

Julia and Jillian

The ceremony

Bridal party exiting
Leaving the church as a married couple

Happily Ever After

Relaxing, productive weekend

This weekend was totally unusual in the fact that I had nothing scheduled. Nothing. Drew was out of town for a bachelor party (which he planned), and although I missed him I must say it was a quiet and relaxing weekend. I was able to get a lot of stuff done. A lot of stuff that I have simply neglected the past several months due to the busyness of our travel schedule.
I am embarrassed to admit but my desk has become one enormous pile. It is a rather big desk but you can not see the surface of it at all. It is at least six inches high filled with mail, papers, envelopes, bills, cards, coupons, gift certificates, notes, and anything else you can think of. While I was not able to accomplish the task of cleaning of my desk I was able to put a dent in it by starting to sort through some of the papers. I still have to sort through the rest and file all the important stuff, but at least I have the task started. I also got laundry done, dishes, read magazines, clipped coupons, took two long bike rides, laid out in the sun and did lots of bargain shopping.
Speaking of bargain shopping it has recently become kind of a game or challenge to me. I like to see how cheap I can get my grocery bill to be. I like to see how much I can get for as little as possible. I clip coupons from local mailers, coupons.com and allyou magazine, follow Consumer Queen, read the local online ads and try to match up all the deals. Personally when I shop at Meijer or County Market I only buy the sale items or items that I cannot find at Wal-mart (and milk and salad because oddly enough they are cheaper there). But for all my odds and ends (or things that aren't on sale at the other two stores) I shop at Wal-Mart. I also tend to stock up on our favorite non-parishable items when they are on sale. This weekend I was particularly proud of my coupon use... I got a $35.00 item at Bed Bath and Beyond for $1.49. Then at Old Navy I got dress pants, a sweater, a yoga top, a tank top, a t-shirt, shorts for Drew, two baby onsies, and a baby sweater all for under $40.00! Even though I work, we still take out loans for Drew's school so I work very hard to pinch pennies.
Although I wouldn't want to spend all of my weekends like this (alone and without plans) it was a nice treat to be able to relax, and catch-up on things around here.

Today...

Well last week (Wed) I called opposing counsel and requested that they send me an electronic copy of their discovery requests. I wanted the document in electronic format so that I could type the answers in the document rather than having to retype the entire document. First of all when I called to make this request the attorney was out so I left a message with his support staff asking for someone to email it to me. Ya know, email, figuring that would be the easiest way to send me the document. So after I didn't get a call back for two days (Fri) I called again. So the assistant answering the phone sounded annoyed and was like "well I gave him the message." I was extremely nice and explained that we were closing in on a deadline and asked her if she could tell him I called again. Twenty minutes later I get a call back, same assistant. This time she tells me that the attorney is dictating (transcribing) a letter to me. Confused I try to explain that I was requesting an electronic version of the request but before I could get it out the woman interrupted me saying "I know what you requested! And I am telling you that he is dictating a letter." Surprised at this response I didn't know what to say so I just said, okay and thanked her for the message and hung up. A few minutes later I realized that if the attorney had to send me a letter to respond to my request I at least needed the letter faxed to me because if it was put in the mail I wouldn't get it till next week (today). So I decided to call back, knowing that I was going to further annoy the less than patient assistant. When I called back before I could even make my request she told me that the letter the attorney was dictating was just stating that he would be making me a disk with the document on it. Although I knew I'd have to wait for the disk to come in the mail I didn't feel like pushing it and just gave up on the idea of getting it emailed to me. So today in the mail came my disk. . . .

(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)
A three inch floppy disk! I was shocked. The attorney seriously sent me a document on a three inch hard floppy disk. Seriously? I mean computers don't even come with floppy disk drives anymore! I have to use a special attachment in order to read the freakin' thing because none of our office computers have a floppy disk drives! I've heard of attorneys not being in this century as far technology but seriously don't drag me into your timewarp!

Also today we found out that Drew got accepted to do a Sub-Internship for the program he applied to for October! We got the medical information to the the August program I talked about last week but still haven't heard anything from them or from the September program.
Last week Drew finished up Pediatrics and this week has marked the start of Family Medicine. It is his FINAL clerkship/rotation of third year! Only six more weeks and he will officially be a fourth year medical student!

Busy Memorial Day Weekend

So surprise, it was another very busy weekend of traveling! Friday we made the trip back to my parents place in Crystal Lake. With the holiday traffic and cops running radar everywhere we went the speed limit and made it back in four hours. Thank goodness we left in the afternoon because the ride was long. We got there in time to take a bike ride around the lake and then have dinner with my parents.
Saturday we had an early lunch with my J-Pops, it was great to see them. The kids were pretty quiet but it was still good to see their smiling faces. It was also particularly wonderful to see Jilly-bean (see prayer requests) doing so well. The little angel suffers from Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. And while she is a little fighter and does her best to keep up with the other kids, sometimes the disease still drags her down. One of the most noticeable symptoms are her swollen knees and joints. Due to a modification in her meds little Jilly's joints were noticeably smaller - it was wonderful to see such a visible difference; just a little miracle in her progress. I can only hope that continued to prayers will allow her to one day grow out of her JRA.
Saturday evening we headed to Lake Zurich for my law school friend's wedding. It was beautiful, Pam was a stunning bride, I got to see Celia and Joe, and Drew and I did quite a bit of drinking and dancing. It was a pretty fun group considering we crammed twenty people in hotel's van by piling in and sitting on laps. (The newlyweds below).
Sunday morning Drew and I headed back to CL so that I could head to St. Charles for my cousin's baby shower. She is expecting little Connor Jacob in July. I had lots of fun holding and playing with my all of my cousin's little babies. (Below is Jacob)
Then once again Sunday morning Drew and I got in car to take my Mom to airport and then headed to Marseilles to spend the day with Drew's parents. After lunch we took his Grandma home by driving through Streator and also stopping at his Grandpa's grave (he was a WWII veteran) on the way. Then finally, we made it home to Springfield last night.
Although busy it was definitely a great weekend. And even though I don't enjoy all the traveling and driving I am still very thankful that we have so many wonderful people in our lives.

Thankful Thursday

It's been a while since I've posted a thankful Thursday, but I am particularly grumpy tonight so I figure it will be a good (hopefully mood changing) exercise. I could write a lengthy post of my frustrations, irritations, hurt feelings and whatever else, but that wouldn't be very constructive. Instead...

• I am thankful that with the use of a budget we are able to make ends meet;
• I am thankful that I have so many wonderful family and friends that keep us so busy traveling to see them;
• I am thankful for the health of my family and friends;
• I am thankful that tomorrow is a new day, a Friday, and will have three days filled with family and friends that love and support us.

Safe travels to everyone this Memorial Day weekend!

Dear Hotmail,

I really do not like your advertisements pertaining to losing weight in your belly or anywhere else for that matter. I am sick of seeing them every time I check my email. Is it really necessary to show fake "before" and "after" pictures of women in thongs? Seriously, it is quite disgusting and disturbing. And do you really think that consumers think that the two bodies ("before" and "after") are really the same people? I know you need advertising, but come on, these ads are quite absurd and repulsive!

Very truly yours,
Marissa Nicole

Poster Print Givaway!

From the narrows is hosting a 16x12 poster give-away between now and Sunday. Two lucky people will win a poster print from Uprinting.com. Check out her blog for entry details!

The weekend and other updates

Drew and I had a great weekend - it was fantastic to finally be in town, we were traveling the last three weekends and will be doing so again this weekend for a wedding and a baby shower! We got quite a bit done around the apartment - it needed a lot of cleaning, and we had lots of laundry to do since we have been too busy to get around to these things. I also had a chance to get some errands done. Saturday we even had time to take a bike ride on a local bike path down the the next little town (it was only three miles each way) and although it was quite chilly, we still had a nice ride. Sunday night Drew got a call from one of his med school buddies that they were one man short for their softball league and asked if he could sub. Although I was disappointed that I couldn't spend the evening with him I encouraged him to go because I know he won't have many opportunities to play softball this summer. His friend ended up pulling his shoulder out of his socket and Drew ended up getting hit not once, not twice but three times ... once in the arm and twice in the exact same spot on the side of his knee. Below is a picture of his knee when he came home last night - if you look closely you can see the marks from the stitching on the softball(s).

And here you can see how swollen it is here . . .
And here is a picture of his knee tonight... the swelling has gone down but now he has quite a bit of discoloration!

(Now that I have thoroughly grossed you out)

Drew is in his last week of peds, which means that he has a tests on Thursday and Friday. Next week he will start family medicine (his last clerkship/rotation of third year!) He also has three applications in to three different hospitals hoping to get away rotations or Sub-I's there. One of them emailed him last week to say that they were missing medical information but NOT to call them. He has emailed them twice with no response - this is extremely frustrating because the program is competitive so we want to get them the necessary information so that they can review his application as soon as possible! We're trying to be patient, but that is not particularly my strongsuit.

Also tonight Drew and I got to attend a reception honoring contributors to the innocence project at the governor's mansion. To briefly sum it up the mansion was amazing and the event was truly inspiring - they had two men there who had been wrongly convicted and had spent years incarcerated (and on death row) but were eventually exonerated by the work done by the various innocence project volunteers. I am quite proud to work for a firm that is so concerned with helping such noble causes (and is not just focused on making a dollar but also contributing to society).

More Cub's fan quirks...

So recently I was in the car and listening to the radio when Journey's Don't Stop Believing came on. I turned it up and realized that I hadn't listened to this song in a long time. And then it occurred to me that it was because Drew refuses to listen to this song - so much so that it was on the "do not play list" at our wedding. For those of you who aren't from Chicago, that song is the "theme song" for Chicago White Sox and their 2005 World Series win (they came back from behind hence the "don't stop believing." So because my husband is a ridiculously bitter Cubs fan who hasn't seen his team win the World Series we cannot listen to the song of another Chicago team which has.

I've also mentioned Drew's insistence on purchasing Old Style beer during baseball season (since it is served at Wrigley) . . . well a few weeks ago we were listening to a game on the radio when Drew realized that he hadn't yet purchased his Old Style Beer. And since the Cubs were losing the game he had to go out and purchase some Old Style . . .

(The green on the can is supposed to be Wrigley's ivy).
And speaking of baseball does anyone else find it odd that baseball is the only sport in which the coaches (managers) wear the team uniform? And does anyone else find it odd? I just think it is totally weird to see a 60 year oldman in a baseball jersey with the pants, socks and all... In every other sport the coaches wear different outfits (basketball, hockey, football). And think of how silly it would look if those coaches wore the uniforms!

Pediatrics

The first three weeks (of six total) of Peds were outpatient, which started at roughly eight or nine in the morning and ended as early as one or as late as five. Needless to say it was a pretty easy schedule and overall Drew enjoyed it. Right now Drew is in inpatient peds. Inpatient starts a 6:30 a.m. and usually goes to five p.m. The hours aren't bad but so far Drew has severely disliked this part of the rotation. This is because it has been very quiet so he spends the majority of his day in the student lounge. And since there are multiple medical students on this rotation they all have to alternate when a patient comes in. This means during the day he only gets every fourth patient or so. It also doesn't help that sometimes the residents forget to page them when a patient comes in. Drew has tried to still be somewhat productive by studying or doing something else during this time but it still provides for very long days since they go by so slowly.

New Attorney Training

Thanks to a relatively new Illinois Supreme Court Rule, all new attorneys are required to take a 16 hour course in "basic skills" within 12 months of becoming licensed. So being that I was sworn in last May this last weekend was my last opportunity to attend this mandatory class. Thursday night I traveled to Chicago so that I could attend Friday and Saturday's day long classes. The highlights of my two days in Chicago were the great restaurants and the nice hotel.

We stayed at hotel Monaco, and I had a beautiful view from my room.

Thursday night we went to Catch 35 for fish and Friday we went to Gene and Georgetti's for pasta and steak.

Friday and Saturday were painfully long. Eight hours of various subjects most which of were redundant of each other or of law school classes. People texted, emailed and flat out slept through the program. And then there were others that took word for word notes. Personally I think the ones that took elaborate notes were the ones that have opened up solo practice due to the terrible economy. Also at the class I ran into about ten of my law school classmates. Only about five or six of them had employment the the legal field. So while the program was painfully long and boring it did make me realize that I am so lucky to a) have a job and b) have a job I enjoy and c) have a job where I am learning a lot. The fact that I have learned a lot and the fact that I have good mentors in my firm was another reason I found the lectures so boring.... I knew most of the material and the stuff that was new to me wasn't particularly interesting or useful (it was in areas I am not practicing in right now). I think that the program was probably more useful to new lawyers that are the solo practice (that I already mentioned) or to those that don't have other attorneys they can go to with questions. I also figure that the information that I knew from law school, for those who didn't already know this stuff (from not learning it in law school) they aren't going to learn/understand it now from a two hour lecture on the subject.

This "New Attorney Training Program" is a perfect example of something that sounds good in theory or on paper (like much legislation). I mean it sounds like a good idea to give new attorneys classes in basic skills to help them as they start their careers. But in all practicality there are other elements that come into play that make it less than ideal. For example the ISBA that was putting on this program is trying to cut down on costs, and in order to do so the majority of the program was on video - which takes away some of the usefulness of the program. I mean lets be honest, it is easier to pay attention to live speakers for eight hours in one day then it is to watch eight hours of video tape. And then there are also those other elements that I already spoke about, like if people didn't learn it in law school they aren't going to learn it now.... Needless to say I want those sixteen hours of my life back. And seriously I think that if the members of the Supreme Court had to sit through 16 hours of lectures I think they might change their mind on this mandatory program...

Northwestern Residency Showcase

(Written by Marissa; edited by the medical student)
This past Saturday Northwestern hosted a "Residency Showcase" or informational about their residency program. I found the information online several weeks ago and had Drew RSVP because we figured it would be a good experience. Drew took the train into Chicago and then walked 1.7 miles along the lake to Northwestern's campus. The invitation said the dress code was "business casual" so Drew decided to wear a dress shirt and bring a tie. When he arrived he noticed most people were in ties so he ducked into a bathroom before he was spotted and put on his tie. Most of the other male students erred on the side of caution and had ties on and some even wore suits. The faculty however was a little closer to the dress code, Drew described an attending as wearing jeans with a sport coat.
The first forty-five minutes they broke up into two groups (of about 75) with two different panels. One was a panel of faculty and the other was a panel of residents. It was a question and answer session. Then the two groups switched and attended the other panel. After this there was a lunch or refreshments and all the programs were set up by table. Rather that getting something to eat right away Drew went straight to talk to staff. He met the chief resident and an attending. Drew said he found both of them to be very down to earth and easy to relate to. The attending even mentioned that he was looking forward to getting something to eat because he had been running around chasing his kids all day. They also talked about their hobbies and interests. I think Drew found this encouraging because it meant that while their jobs were a huge part of their lives it wasn't all of their lives - something that is important to us because while we know medicine is going to be a priority we still want to have a family. One of the two even mentioned that they have "no divorces," while I am sure he meant it somewhat jokingly it is actually somewhat comforting. One of them even spoke about how the road is tough and that there will even come a day where you want to flush your pager and throw in the towel, but he said that everyone goes through this and you get through it. I liked hearing this because I thought it was nice that they weren't negative but they also didn't sugar coat anything. Drew also observed that none of the residents or staff looked ragged or miserable. Although I am sure they work ridiculously long hours he said that they still seemed genuinely happy. This is something important because I think it can be an indication of the program. Residency is going to be hard anywhere but I think that some programs are going to make it more bearable.

Baby fever

This weekend was another baby shower, this time for one of my best friends from elementary school (who also happens to be married to one of my best friends from college - I introduced them). Me and one of her other best friends and her mother hosted the shower, but living so far away I felt like I wasn't able to help much with the planning... so I demanded that I be in charge of making desserts. With the help of my Mom we were able to make quite the dessert spread. I think my favorite were the chocolate covered strawberries...

The decor was beautiful (but I can take no credit for it)

I made the usual baby shower pacifier candies....

And I had a lot of fun making this diaper cake (it was the first one I've made but I may make a how-to post next time I make one)

And my friend got lots of presents - she is all ready - all she needs now is little Olivia!
While I was at the shower Drew was at an informational meeting about Northwestern's residency program - I'll try and about that post tomorrow.