Wow

So, if anyone has not heard yet, I have matched in general surgery at the University of Texas Medical Branch, in Galveston, Texas. This was my #8 choice, so, needless to say, I was very disappointed.

It was a difficult situation to be in, at this stupid match day ceremony. Everyone gets their envelope and then there's an airhorn blown and everyone opens their envelopes at the same time. I was a little slower than most at opening mine, and my sister was yelling at me to go faster.

Everyone around me was cheering and screaming and hugging and taking pictures. As soon as I saw the name of the program, I immediately (and I mean, immediately) broke down and started sobbing. I cannot express in words the immediate sadness and dread that I felt. After sitting there for a while, I put my sunglasses on and went outside with my family.

After doing some research and digging up my stuff from my interview at UTMB, I am feeling a little bit better. It's just so far away (1200 miles, 19 hours by car, and approximately $900 for UHaul truck rental alone (not including gas, that is)). And it's five long years.

The benefits of living in Galveston include:

1. The beach! The weather averages 57 degrees in winter months and 81 degrees in summer months. Maybe I will be tan year-round, eh?

2. Solid program. Really, it is. In Texas it's known as "trauma-rama" and they get all the prisoners from the entire state of Texas (I love prisoner patients!).

3. Family in Austin and Fort Worth.

4. Two other OSU grads are going to UTMB--one in anesthesia and one in plastics--so I'll be working with them quite a bit, which should be fun.

5. No Texas state income tax.

6. Affordable, good housing close to medical center.

I will keep telling myself these things. I will also continue to tell myself that it's not permanent. I can always come back up here for my fellowship or an attending position. And who knows, maybe I'll meet some Texas hunk and become a lifer??

Counting Down the Minutes.....

So, feeling the anxiety of the upcoming match day celebration, my roommate and I planned several activities for today to take our minds of the suspense/possible agony:

Turbo Jam (ok, I did this, and she watched)
Full-body massages (my first ever--awesomeness)
Delicious dinner
$1 movie (Alvin and the Chipmunks--also awesomeness)
American Idol (finally, Amanda got kicked off)
Jenga (Nerves + wobbly table=Casey going 0/3 in this game)
Dominoes
Baking (gluten-free cupcakes and a delicious post-match Funfetti cake to be consumed tomorrow)
Movie (Radio)

Now I will attempt some sleep.

Tomorrow is the match ceremony, where we all file in at 11:30am, where they make us sit for 30 minutes while they drone on about statistics concerning where and in what OSU students matched. Then at exactly 12:00pm EST all fourth year medical students across the country will open their envelopes (insert screaming or crying here).

Afterwards, I have organized a tasty celebratory dinner at my fave restaurant (Max and Erma's, of course), for my families. I'm really excited about tortilla soup and a southern chicken salad, no tomatoes, ranch dressing on the side. Not that I've been there before or anything.

Will update again soon! I have also composed a mass email, so hopefully everyone who reads this should be on there. Thanks for the support!

9 hours
29 minutes

No Scrambling for me! :)

So, today was the day that we (meaning us med4s across the country) found out if we matched or not--we didn't find out where, just if we matched or not.

Indeed, I have matched! I do not have to scramble, which is awesome. Now the suspense and waiting begin (or continue?) as to where I shall be come July....

71 hours
20 minutes

Henry the Hexapus--for your enjoyment

Xrays from a Supernova

So, I feel like I'm just full of random useless facts today.

1. Patrick Swayze and his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer--I do feel bad about this. I've heard some conflicting reports regarding his prognosis, but in reality, pancreatic cancer is never good. I hope he had the time of his life! (is it mean to say that?)

2. Henry the Hexapus--so apparently there was this octopus in an aquarium in London, which nobody thought was anything but the ordinary. Until one day he put himself up against the glass, and the passersby counted not 8, not 7, but only 6 tentacles! Apparently when octopi lose their limbs, they grow back, but it seems that Henry had a birth defect instead. The aquarium he is at started calling him Henry due to 1. the alliteration, and 2. the fact that Henry VIII should have had eight wives, but in actuality only had six.

I am seriously considering going to London to see said hexapus. My dad said I should just look at an octopus and cover up two of the tentacles, but seriously, it's not like Henry can reproduce and make more hexapi. If there were such an animal in existence that was the only one of it's kind and would never exist again, wouldn't you want to be able to say you saw it? I would. I think this is what fourth year of medical school is all about--travelling across the world to see mystical creatures of the deep.

3. Xrays from a Supernova--My dad told me yesterday about a supernova that was discovered 8,000 light years away that is emitting xray beams. The supernova is spiral shaped and it emits these beams from the center. The issue is, no one knows when the xray beams were emitted--today, or 8,000 light years ago? Apparently as soon as they hit Earth it'll be fried. Personally, I think it would be worth it to die by XRay beams from a supernova.