I don't really have much to say except today was, what I'm calling, a "bad Galveston Day," probably one of many more to come, I'm sorry to say. I'm not really sure what triggered it, except for a frustration with the length and cost of the moving process, which is really starting to freak me out.
I am also still frustrated with matching at a program that was so far down on my list. I know, I know, surgery was competitive this year, blah blah blah, but that doesn't make me feel any better. I know that in my head, but my heart still thinks it very unfair that literally everyone else I know got their #1 choice, and I, as we all know, did not.
My mom and I are going down next week to find a place and do some exploring. I hope this trip will push me toward the "excited" end of the spectrum, but I am fearful that it will go the other way and I'll come back dreading it even more.
On a more positive note, I met a transitional medicine resident at Riverside who is also heading down to UTMB for a radiation oncology residency. So atleast that will be one more person I know there (still doesn't make me feel that much better).
Sorry for the sour attitude. :( I wish I didn't feel like this, and tonight my dad said I needed to "get over it." But I think it's going to take me a while to adjust. I just feel like I've been mandated to live somewhere for 5 years that I really really really don't want to go. I know I should have faith that this is what God wants for me, but at this point I am feeling farther from Him than ever before.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Bombs and Galveston
So, today I had my medic ride-along for my ER rotation. It is days like today that I tend to think that I DO in fact have a pretty interesting life. The steps of my day:
1. I head to the medic station (get lost of course), and meet up with the medics that I'll be with today. They are all awesome.
2. Instead of doing runs in the morning, we head down to a quarry where the bomb squad needs to do some training. They set up a huge bomb/explosive thing and attach it to a truck full of barrels. We are told to get 1000 feet back, because the "danger zone of impact" (or something equally foreboding) is calculated at 850 feet.
3. The bomb squad supervisor asks me if I want to blow up the truck. Of course I give an enthusiastic, "uh, yeah!" That's right, folks, I got to yell "fire in the hole!" and push that little red button that leads to the detonation of the bomb, and therefore, the truck. It was such a weird phenomenon--seeing the truck blow up, then hearing the kaboom and feeling the rush of air. Sweet. Yes, they are emailing me a picture.
4. Eat lunch with firefighters and medics.
5. Apparently I was working with the "busiest fire station in the nation," but since I'm such a white cloud, we had no runs until 5 pm (seriously, they said they were making history it was so light), when we visited a diabetic woman. Oh yeah, I forgot to add in there that we ate lots more, watched 2 movies, and took naps in the medic lounge.
6. Eat dinner with firefighters and medics.
7. Go on another call to visit an inmate (my favorite patient population) who has lupus. Interesting!
8. Oh yeah, I also forgot to mention that while we were signing the release forms for the bomb explosion and putting on our hard hats and souvenir safety glasses, I ran into one of the bomb squad members who happened to be the bag pipe player from our Anatomy Memorial Service 3 years ago. Random. Even more randomly, he happened to have the song "Galveston" on his phone, so we all jammed to it in our hard hats and glasses. Awesome.
9. As I was leaving today, the head-honcho Bomb Squad Supervisor gave me a souvenir Bomb Squad tshirt! I am ridiculously pumped about this. I'm sure I'll wear it and get a picture soon.
Wow, what a day. But it's a good thing that I don't work at the fire station, otherwise I'd be super fat. And speaking of that, I'd better go to the gym. :)
1. I head to the medic station (get lost of course), and meet up with the medics that I'll be with today. They are all awesome.
2. Instead of doing runs in the morning, we head down to a quarry where the bomb squad needs to do some training. They set up a huge bomb/explosive thing and attach it to a truck full of barrels. We are told to get 1000 feet back, because the "danger zone of impact" (or something equally foreboding) is calculated at 850 feet.
3. The bomb squad supervisor asks me if I want to blow up the truck. Of course I give an enthusiastic, "uh, yeah!" That's right, folks, I got to yell "fire in the hole!" and push that little red button that leads to the detonation of the bomb, and therefore, the truck. It was such a weird phenomenon--seeing the truck blow up, then hearing the kaboom and feeling the rush of air. Sweet. Yes, they are emailing me a picture.
4. Eat lunch with firefighters and medics.
5. Apparently I was working with the "busiest fire station in the nation," but since I'm such a white cloud, we had no runs until 5 pm (seriously, they said they were making history it was so light), when we visited a diabetic woman. Oh yeah, I forgot to add in there that we ate lots more, watched 2 movies, and took naps in the medic lounge.
6. Eat dinner with firefighters and medics.
7. Go on another call to visit an inmate (my favorite patient population) who has lupus. Interesting!
8. Oh yeah, I also forgot to mention that while we were signing the release forms for the bomb explosion and putting on our hard hats and souvenir safety glasses, I ran into one of the bomb squad members who happened to be the bag pipe player from our Anatomy Memorial Service 3 years ago. Random. Even more randomly, he happened to have the song "Galveston" on his phone, so we all jammed to it in our hard hats and glasses. Awesome.
9. As I was leaving today, the head-honcho Bomb Squad Supervisor gave me a souvenir Bomb Squad tshirt! I am ridiculously pumped about this. I'm sure I'll wear it and get a picture soon.
Wow, what a day. But it's a good thing that I don't work at the fire station, otherwise I'd be super fat. And speaking of that, I'd better go to the gym. :)
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Headin' South
Ok, so I know I haven't posted in a while, so I figured I'd better type something. A humongous thanks to everyone who has written and called me recently in efforts to cheer me up about Galveston. It means more than you know! You guys have really come through in the clutch.
My mom and I are heading down to Galveston May 1-4 to check out apartments. It seems that it's pretty affordable down there, and I have several options picked out, including several with balconies and within 1 block of both the hospital and the beach. Cha-ching. I'm also considering getting a two-bedroom apartment due to the (hopefully) high frequency of visitors I'll have. :)
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