Africa- week one!

So Wendi and I are both typing away using the spotty internet access in the apartment downstairs. We haven't had much electricity, much less any running water (or luggage yet...), so this is a treat! :) I tried to upload some pics, but the service is too slow. You may have to wait until we send out some snapfish albums on our return.

We've been doing well. Since leaving Abuja, we drove to Jos and then toured the Faith Alive clinic. About 50% of the patients here are HIV positive (since Nigeria is a very populous country, the numbers of HIV positive patients, with the overall country rate around 10%, are quite staggering). Wednesday, Ajit, John, and I watched some surgery to remove tumorous growths from one man's elbows... the OR conditions were quite unlike Mayo's! We were wearing flip flops in the ORs, barely any pain medication was used, and there was no eyewear (among other things, such as the anesthesiologist's phone going off repeatedly, playing 'One Love' :)).

On Wednesday, we headed to Kafanchan, a village a couple of hours away, to do some rural outreach. John, Ajit, and I were thrown in to "consulting," each of us running basically our own outpatient practice. There were hordes and hordes of people waiting, some sleeping outside the hospital facilities, to be seen by us (for free). There were some pretty horrendous things-- like huge goiters, a uterus about 20 weeks' size full of fibroids, and then (earlier in the day), a man with huge Kaposi's sarcomas growths on his leg (pictures say much more! Sorry!). Wendi is less objective than I about this stuff- I think it's my medical detachment really. But there were also very common things-- lots of heartburn, ulcers, and aches and pains. There was a pretty good range of medications we could prescribe, but too many patients to see them all. I think Dr. Chris estimated that we may have seen about 1000 patients total in our day and a half there! Unfortunately, there was a lot of hold-up and red tape in getting the surgical facilities, so Dr. Aquaras wasn't able to do any of the repairs and minor procedures he had promised patients the day before, but it was still a productive time for us. I loved feeling like a true missionary doctor. The patients were so grateful.

We returned to Jos today, after visiting proposed Faith Alive sites in Bakin Kogi and a typical government school. We heard some testimonies from some HIV positive patients that have formed a Faith Alive support group and then rested some this afternoon.

It is amazing being here. The people are so, so friendly. It's so funny-- the kids run around shouting 'oyibo,' meaning "white person." Dr. Aquaras says that even Ajit is an oyibo. There are so many beautiful women, Wendi keeps remarking. People are very happy. Their faith is extremely important. Here in the Plateau state, about 90% are Christian (although the northern part of the country is over half Muslim; the country as a whole is about 60% Christian).

Some things are a bit strange-- getting stopped on the road all the time by people with guns (don't want to make them mad!), changing money by "black market dealers" at a fruit stand (Dr. Chris says it's better because then you don't have to go through all the hassle of filling out forms at the bank, having them verify that your bills are authentic, etc....), and only taking bucket baths, but we've adapted really well! No one has gotten sick. We hand wash the few clothes we do have every couple of days, because our luggage still hasn't reached us here (we hear it's at the airport, though!). Dr. Isichei (= Dr. Chris) has taken such good care of us. Papa, the cook, has been making us amazing meals. We are learning so much about the people, culture, health, and country. Still have a few weeks to go!

I hope we'll be able to post another update next week sometime!

We made it to Nigeria!!!

We're safe!! After two long flights (one from MSP which we boarded at the "last boarding" call [we were taking our time at dinner after meeting up with Kelsey] and the other leaving Amsterdam where we had to go straight to the gate after deplaning ["we didn't see much of the Netherlands," said the Dutch-heritaged Wendi]), and minus toothpaste, sunscreen (confiscated), a box with a $60,000 ultrasound assigned to me (John's idea, even with my traveling luck), and three of our suitcases (Kelsey's, mine, one of the Kits'-- Ajit is the only one with toiletries and all of his stuff!), we are in Nigeria. We overnighted in a guest house in Abuja last night and just stopped at this office building to briefly use the internet (Dr. Isichei wanted to check messages too-- it's not so we could blog!) before we make the few hour drive to Jos. The weather is great! Now if I only had some clothes (we hear we might get our bags by Thursday :)).

I thought I'd share some of JB's stated rules for our trip:

• No one is allowed to say, "What happens in Africa, stays in Africa."
• No lamenting failed past relationships (or crying, being cranky, etc.)
• Everyone takes their meds

It should be a fun time if we can keep to those! I'm not sure when the next time will be when Wendi or I will have a chance to post, but stay tuned :) We love and miss you all.

Good times (and last post!) before we leave

Friday night was a fun time! Ryan (Katie's fiancee) was in town, and so they, Summer, EVB, Nicole, and I spent the evening consuming things, chatting, and laughing at Outback. EVB and I got our 2-for-1 Wallaby Darneds and Margaritas during happy hour. We then made it an appetizers-and-desserts kind of night (I substituted a salad for dessert as it is still Lent!), but I came away really full. We kept asking our waiter for more bread, and, at one point, he showed up with four loaves to shut us up (but we didn't get around to eating them so I took them home!). We talked about relationships, including Summer's recent engagement, school, money, and Erin's favorite topic (those of you who know her know exactly what this is), among other things, and had a great time overall. I think we were there for almost 5 hours! Anyway, here are a few pics from the night.

Katie gasping at Summer's rock :)

Me, Erin, and Nicole

The amazing dessert I had to watch eaten before my very eyes. I was soooo tempted!

Today, a bunch of us (mostly fourth years!) got together at Soldier's Field and played frisbee just like old times. It was Hans, Sean, Deepan, Jason, Carling, Nicole, Kate, and Jake vs. Ajit, Nick, Philip, Katy, Eric, Kenny, and myself. I think it's been at least a year since I've played although I'm not sure. We used to go out almost every weekend first year! The weather was amazing-- it was about 65 and I was burning up! I took some hits, but at least the ground was soft (i.e. muddy) from all that snow we had which has since melted. I think my team (go dark shirts) won 15-14. Quite a battle.

I finished packing and then went over to the Rays' house for something of a going-away party that Lesley organized. Our leftovers potluck generated only more leftovers, as Lesley made some things from scratch (!), including her famous salsa and barbeque chicken pizza. It was just a fun time to socialize with friends as we head our separate ways for a bit-- until we're reunited at graduation! Christo and Melissa (plus Karuna, Luke, and Melissa's Mom), Antonio and Latova, Kristen and Brandon, Sujit and Tracy, Ajit and Kate, Les and Dave, Ebby and Ronnie (plus Hunter and Cole), John and Wendi, and Nicole were all there. It was not a night heavy on the picture-taking-- sorry. Nor did I get to play Guitar Hero. But we were happy to watch UCLA beat Kansas in the NCAA tournament ("Go Bruins!" says the alumna, Lesley). I have to root for Cali teams now!

Here is some of the crew: (from left): Sujit, Nicole, me, Les, Brandon (with David in front)

Ebby hates being in pictures, but Ronnie posed for me and hid his wife :)

Anyway, JB, Wendi, Ajit, and I (and Kelsey, who is flying from Colorado to meet up with us in the cities) are off tomorrow for our big trip. I'm not sure how the e-mail access and/or blogging are going to go while we are there. I am bringing my laptop and have been told we may have wireless access (as long as we have power :)), but we'll see. Despite being compulsive e-mailers and loving being in touch with friends, I think Wendi and I are both going to try to cut ties with the technology and fully immerse ourselves in where we are and what we are doing, but we may surprise you with something once in a while (so check her link on the right if you don't see anything here). We will be in Nigeria until about April 18th and then go to South Africa, returning to the states May 5th. It will be quite an adventure! I can't wait!

Happy Highlights

I am in a great mood. There is much to be happy for today.

• We are done with our didactic block. No more sitting on our butts in class while in medical school!
• We took our LAST TEST of medical school today (Clinical Pharmacology). What a relief (for those of us who have taken step2 of the boards...)
• Ask Hans who finished the test first-- he or I. This was definitely a first for me while in medical school.
• We had yummy Greek food while listening to an international health seminar over lunch today (Tia spoke about her experience in Belize in Jan-Feb.)
• My ipod is fixed! No more frowny faces. Somehow, just by touching it and plugging it in, JB managed to fix it yesterday.
• Wendi's tooth feels better.
• Summer is engaged-- Billy finally proposed on Wednesday night. This is SUCH great news!!!
• I think spring might have finally hit Minnesota. It is beautiful today-- the current temperature is 58!!!!!
• We might play frisbee tomorrow, as a result of the warm weather.
• We leave for Africa on Sunday!!!! I think my excitement about this trip has, so far, been blunted by all the anxiety and things surrounding match. But now that that is behind us, I am so thrilled to have this next adventure to look forward to.
• My cupboards and fridge are next-to-bare. I've been eating some extremely weird meals lately (the year-old-frozen asparagus last night was not very tolerable), but have been quite successful in getting rid of my food stores.
• Erin, Katie, Summer, Nicole, and I are going to get together for happy hour at Outback tonight to celebrate being done!
• Lesley is organizing a "send-off" party at the Rays' tomorrow night to get together one last time before our trip. I can't wait to try some Guitar Hero :)

Take a deep breath and smile

If you check Wendi's blog, you'll see that most of us are a little frazzled currently. We leave for Nigeria for Sunday. Us students have these group projects and brochures due for our Public Health class. We have Ethics take-home assignments. We have a Clinical Pharmacology Final Friday that I have to study for. My current "to do" list is about a bazillion things long-- and growing every day. It's not things that I have to do for the Africa trip-- that isn't frazzling me. It's everything else that will have to be on hold for about 6 weeks and that I'll have to get to afterwards that I'm trying to take care of. I'm getting e-mails from UC Davis about orientation/ACLS. I'm making housing and travel arrangements for a conference in San Francisco for the day after our return from abroad. I'm planning a trip and car rental to Sacramento to look for housing immediately following. I'm paying rents and doing moving notices. I'm paying bills and getting my bank accounts in order. I'm working out my mail forwarding. I'm making arrangements to stay and travel to Erin's wedding. I'm renting a Uhaul for the drive to Cali. I'm getting health insurance reimbursements and coverage taken care of. I'm thinking about what I'm going to do with things-I'm-not-bringing-to-California (couch, dresser, bike, coat, suits, etc...). I'm trying to coordinate graduation activities. I'm planning summertime visits. I have to go to the library. I am trying to finish this good book, Maggie (Charles Martin-- Rachel initially recommended this author to me and he's great!), before I have to go to the library. I have to sync my PDA. I have to figure out why my ipod is giving me the ipod-frowny-face when I try to turn it on. I'm currently procrastinating with doing all of these things by spending time on blogging :).

John, Wendi, Ajit, and I had dinner and socialized at the Fischers' house tonight-- Dr. Fischer is a pediatrician here who spent many years as a missionary doctor in the Congo and his wife, Juli, cooked us an amazing meal! We also met Dr. Thacher, a prolific publisher who has been a Family Practitioner working in Nigeria for 19 years and who will be coming on staff at Mayo. We'll get to spend some time with him while we're in Africa, as he returns the same day we fly there. It was a wonderful evening-- we were there for about 3 and a half hours just chatting-- but I am behind. So I am feeling a bit overwhelmed (Fischers, if you read this, though, believe me that it was worth it!!).

I tend to stress quite a bit about little things (my Dad says I'm "high strung") so I have to remember to breathe. And to remember that everything will turn out ok! I can't take myself so seriously and have to remember to take time to relax and smile. Erin forwarded me some funny pictures from her crazy Aunt Raoul that I also thought I'd share to lighten the mood. Some of them were omitted because they are not G-rated, but these included here should be pretty clean :) . Enjoy!

Adding insult to injuryHow to handle a problem neighbor
Boy genius!
Tattoo of the year

SMILE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Shortage of Family-Medicine Doctors!!!

I thought I'd pass along an article found by the husband of one of my fellow classmates, Marla (who is also going into Family Medicine), and which was forwarded to me. I'm not sure exactly where it was published-- sorry.
Why don't other people want to go into such a fabulous field? :) At least I can have some sense of job security if there are too few primary care practitioners to treat everybody.

Slump in Family-Medicine Residencies Raises Concern as Medical Students Get Match Day Assignments

By KATHERINE MANGAN
In medical schools across the country, thousands of students tore open envelopes on Thursday to find out where they will spend the next several years training to be doctors. General surgery and obstetrics and gynecology were hot; family medicine was not, and that has educators worried.

For the ninth year in a row, the number of family-medicine residency positions offered through the match dropped. And even though the percentage of slots that were filled was up slightly this year, fewer than half of them were taken by seniors in American medical schools. The rest went to graduates of foreign and osteopathic schools and other applicants.

The continued slump has medical educators concerned that there won't be enough physicians to treat an aging population with a higher prevalence of chronic diseases (The Chronicle, January 12).

"Family physicians are the nexus of the U.S. health-care safety net," Rick Kellerman, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, said in a written statement on Thursday.
"Unless purposeful steps are taken now, the continuing low proportion of medical students choosing family medicine will mean an increasingly fragmented, overspecialized, inefficient system. This spells problems for all generations of people in all communities, from urban and suburban to rural and frontier America."

In an interview, Dr. Kellerman said the nation will need 40,000 more family physicians by the year 2020, "and we can't do that when fewer than 8 percent of U.S. medical-school graduates go into family medicine." Medical-school graduates with debts of $100,000 or more are increasingly drawn to higher-paying specialties, especially when those positions require fewer hours on the job.

"Our medical-school graduation rates are going one way, and the needs of society are going the other way," Dr. Kellerman said.

The number of family-medicine residency positions offered -- 2,603 this year -- has dropped each year since 1998, when 3,292 positions were available, according to figures provided by the National Resident Matching Program. In some cases, hospitals that have had trouble filling residency programs have had to drop them.

The residency program is sponsored by several medical groups, including the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association, and the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Other primary-care specialties also took a hit this year. Just 15 percent of this year's applicants for residency positions selected clearly identified primary-care programs in pediatrics, internal medicine or family medicine.

Over all, a record number of students (27,944) applied for a record number of residency positions (21,845) this year. (See chart.) Of those students, 15,206 were seniors in American allopathic medical schools. (Allopathic schools offer M.D. degrees; osteopathic schools, which describe themselves as emphasizing holistic treatment, offer D.O. degrees.)

The pool also included 6,992 graduates of foreign medical schools, a 9 percent jump over last year.

Most applicants walked away happy. Ninety-three percent of the seniors who applied for residency positions were matched, and 84 percent of the matched students ended up in one of their top three choices.

Participants in the match choose a specialty and submit their top choices for residency programs within that specialty, ranked in order of preference. Meanwhile, residency-program directors and their committees decide which applicants they'd like to have in their programs and submit a rank order of those applicants. The match uses a computer algorithm to align the preferences of the applicants with those of the residency programs.

Across the country, it has been a nail-biting week for medical students, who found out on Monday whether they had been matched, and, on Thursday, which programs they had matched with.

Julia Wilkinson is a fifth-generation Louisianan who was thrilled to end up in a general-surgery residency program at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center -- her top choice and the same place where she's attending medical school. She and her classmates crowded into a gymnasium on Thursday and opened their envelopes, as the names of the students and their residency programs flashed on a large screen in front of the room.

"I opened my envelope with my mom and dad and younger brother, and there were high-fives all around," she said. "I'm really excited about remaining here and being part of the rebuilding."
The New Orleans-based health-care program fared well in the match. "We had been very concerned about the match because of the conditions in New Orleans, and the condition of the hospitals," said Larry H. Hollier, chancellor of the Health Sciences Center and dean of medicine at LSU (The Chronicle, October 27, 2006).

Despite those concerns, "we did extremely well," Dr. Hollier said. Ninety-three percent of the center's residency positions were filled in the initial match, and 100 percent were filled by the next day, when unmatched residents scrambled to fill unmatched residency slots.

The University of Toledo, however, is worried that its medical students aren't sticking around. Only 12 of its 150 medical seniors matched with residency programs in northwestern Ohio. That, combined with the region's aging physician work force, could lead to a physician shortage "of crisis proportions" unless area residency programs are beefed up, a blue-ribbon panel has concluded.

Proud of these Purchases

I'm not a big fan of spending money, particularly on things like clothes and such. I've done most of my clothes shopping in Rochester at Savers, this place in town that sells used clothing. I've found a bunch of cute tops for about $3-5 and even some nice pairs of pants. So it did sort of pain me that I invested in a couple of new clothing purchases. But I think they are worth it!

The first is a pair of Marcelle Danskos that I bought on ebay. I am a big fan of ebay :) The bidding wars do get a bit intense, however. I paid about 3 times what I usually spend on shoes for this pair, but I love, love, love them. I used to think that the people that walked around the hospital in their Danskos and scrubs were being a bit pretentious. However, I've totally changed my opinion. These shoes are the most comfortable things I think I have ever worn. I wear them almost every day now. I like them because they look a bit "dressier" than the regular Danskos and I can wear them with skirts; however, I think they might look a bit funny with scrubs. What do you think? I want to wear them all through residency!

This weekend, I was shopping at Target for odds and ends for the Africa trip, and I happened to wander through the clothes section, where some swimsuits caught my eye. Now, I am definitely not a fan of swimsuit-wearing. I am really self-conscious. My family never took beach vacations or hung out around water. However, given that I am moving to California, two of my favorite people will be in Fla., and there is much warm weather to be had, I thought that a two-piece swimsuit that I actually liked wearing wouldn't be such a bad investment. So here it is. I love the halter top and butterflies. The bottom consists of a bikini bottom with overlying skirt, to hide better the "junk in my trunk," (an expression I recently learned) :)I'm sure you're wondering what I look like in this. Well, keep wondering :) No racy pictures of me in the suit will appear on this blog until I actually wear it. ;)

Weekend update

This has been a fun weekend! Since many of our classmates had family in town, we were successful in lobbying for Friday off from "classes." I started the day off with running with Lisa for 11 miles-- again, another record for me. It was really windy and quite cold when we ran, but I thawed out when we were done. Her half-marathon is next weekend, so this was her last long run before the big day.

I then went to the dentist (I was nervous, but it fortunately gave me only good news!) and then filled the rest of my day with lots of sleeping-- I currently am battling my first cold in about 2 years! I really was a zombie on Friday. I slept for about 2 hours on Nicole's couch, then came home and slept, and then ended up falling asleep on the Kits' couch as they, Nicole, and Ajit engaged in some interesting conversation Friday night. No one woke me up and I ended up spending the entire night on their couch! :) Here are some photos from the evening before I conked out. David's sister Lori, her husband Victor, and new baby were visiting the Joneses on their way to Montana and they brought her down for a bit. Here's Nicole holding adorable baby Victoria (who likes to be held on her stomach!).The Philips were also over at Lesley and David's for dinner and they brought down Luke and Karuna. Here's Les with "Lukie" :)Nicole took this picture of Karuna, who apparently got hot and so was stripped. She is tiny and her diaper had this little pooched-out part at the bottom which Nicole tried to capture :)Saturday was a nice day. Wendi and I worked out and then I got some trip organizing done around the house. We then went and got pedicures at City Looks at the mall, figuring that we would be showing off our feet in the warm weather of Africa! This was my second one ever, but I can definitely see the appeal. The foot massage feels fantastic. I was bold and tried out some gold polish. Unfortunately, I am not quite "with it" with the whole post-pedicure care, so I ended up having to leave the place in bare feet (didn't bring flip flops), although Wendi picked me up at the door, and smudging the work a bit because I wore boots later. I still think it looks okay, though.

Last night was "Mixed Bag," a variety show that the medical school puts on every year. I always enjoy going! There were some musical acts, a second year who did an awesome juggling and comedy routine, a couple of videos (including one that Jeff made a couple of years ago that was replayed because half the school wasn't around yet!), some funny "awards," and more. I had a great time. As it was Tia's 26th birthday, a few of us went back and hung out at her place. We didn't do anything crazy for St. Patrick's Day, but just enjoyed eachother's company. I'm just glad I remembered to wear my Shamrock socks (sometimes I miss it and then have to wait another year...).

So sad that we have to go back to "class" tomorrow. At least it's only for one more week.

More on Match Day

Yesterday was quite a day! After so much anticipation, I think I'm still a bit stunned at the fact that there is no more waiting!! We are going to residency-- and we know where! I am thrilled to be going to UC Davis in Sacramento :)

We had--get this-- class from 8-10 to start out the day. I felt a bit bad for the speakers, for all of our minds were on anything other than public health and politics!

We then headed over at 11 to the Foundation House, a historic Rochester building of the Mayo brothers which few people ever get to see the inside of, for the match day festivities. We had a "social hour" (really just anticipatory anxiety-filled for me) first. I'm glad the Van Brussels (Erin's Mom was my "date") and I got there a bit late. Here is Wendi and me at the countdown-- one of the pics I stole from her!

We then moved upstairs for the actual ceremony in the lunch room at 12 p.m. sharp (my friend Alanna, who goes to med school at UVA and who matched in Omaha for peds, pointed out to me that we should have started at 11, as the 12 p.m. "disclosure" time is EST!). In any case, our Student Dean, Dr. Barrier, called us one by one, in alphabetical order, to receive our envelopes listing our fates! I was second (so glad I'm an A, not a V-- Erin [Van Brussel] was last!) and sat down between Erin and Tia, shaking, to read my destination. I was already pretty emotional, but burst into more tears once I read the words "Family Practice/OB-- UC Davis Med Ctr- Sac-CA." I think people were worried that I didn't like where I matched because I was bawling so much, but they were tears of relief and joy! I'm just glad there wasn't a "stage" to walk across (we'd heard rumors about this!). I had to read the letter a few times to make sure I wasn't hallucinating!

It was then fun to relax and find out where everyone else is going!

Erin matched at Stanford for peds (YAY!) and will be living in Palo Alto with TJ after their wedding in May. They will be my neighbors (a couple of hours away)! :). I am halfway between them and Lake Tahoe, so I better see them a lot!

Tia is going to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston for Internal Medicine. Here are those lovely ladies below.

Here are my wonderful friends, Wendi and Lesley. I will miss these girls soooo much. Even though JB found out months ago that he'd be doing his Family Med residency at Eglin Air Force Base in Destin, Florida, Wendi and John came to support all of us! Lesley and David matched at their first choice and are staying HERE for Pediatrics and Orthopedics, respectively. I didn't myself count but heard that 13 people (or approximately 1/3 of our class!) are staying here at Mayo for residency training.


Here are nerdy maps that had flags for all of our locations. There are a few of us in Cali, but, as you can see, there are a lot of people sticking around the midwest or going out east. Although I didn't include Florida in this picture, Wendi pointed out that my "flag" is the farthest of anyone from where she and John will be. Kind of a bummer. But at least we will both be warm and I will definitely want to come visit them!

In other results...

Natasha is going to the Cleveland Clinic for Derm (which is SUPER competitive-- she told me only 30% of derm applicants even matched!). I'm so proud of her!

Nicole is going to Hopkins for her prelim year and then onto Temple for PM&R (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation).

Hans (and Becky too!) is going to La Crosse, WI (an hour east of here) for Transitional Year and then returning to Mayo for Anesthesiology. Travis is going to La Crosse for General Surgery. Jason is going to Charlotte, NC for Ortho.

Summer is staying here at Mayo for FM (we are sooooo happy for her!) and was featured on our local evening newscast! You can see the video of match day here, which is really neat but I'm not sure how long it will be up (thanks, Rachel)! Apparently, there's one other site that reported on it (Wendi found this one).

Well, after a wonderful lunch and congratulating everyone, we all headed home. After talking a bit on the phone, though, I felt that we needed to still be celebrating (or at least I didn't want to sit at home alone!). So I joined Natasha and Nikola at City Cafe for some drinks. Here are my favorite Macedonians! I don't think I've ever had martinis at 3 p.m., but here I am (with their good friend, Fu). I tried a Cinnamon Appletini first, which was great! I am a bit wary of this blue drink (anyone remember my 21st birthday??), but it, too, was quite tasty :)

I joined the Joneses, John, Hans, Rachel, and Kim at BW3's, where we watched a bit of basketball, hung out, and ate some yummy 45-cent wings :) I went to bible study and then, after some time at the Kits', I headed home, fully exhausted. I did get a call from the UC Davis Program Director, as well as the other FP/OB residents as their shift changed and got to talk to Kyla, Sarah, and Aline. This is all so exciting!

I think I am still a bit stunned but will soon enough get my act together and start planning moving, looking for an apartment, etc. (my Dad has told me to just make sure it's above the flood plain! How does he think of this stuff? :)). Wow. I start around the 15th or 18th of June with orientation stuff and then June 25th is my internship start date. I'm sure this time is going to go quickly!

Anyway, thank you all for your comments and support! This is a very exciting time for me as my life takes a totally new direction and I'm thrilled to be sharing it will all of you :) I will miss everyone here terribly, but please know that I always love to visit people and to have visitors too.

Sacramento!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just got back from the match day festivities at the Foundation House. More on Match Day later, but I wanted to just post quickly to announce that I am really, really excited to be moving to Sacramento to start my Family Practice/OB residency at UC Davis come June!!!!

The unnecessary and unexpected....

Another random short post before the big day. Thought the next one you read would be the big news, eh? Think again! :) Thank you so much to all of you for your kind thoughts and prayers as tomorrow approaches. I have been very jittery for much of today and trying to find things to occupy the hours as they tick down to the Ides of March, or MATCH DAY.

Lesley was kind and patient enough to accompany me to and kill a few hours at the mall, where I didn't find the khaki dress pants I was looking for but did find a very nice burgundy dress and pair of lei jeans (my favorite) on sale. I didn't really need them, but I sort of had a feeling today that going to the mall with a specific aim in mind was only going to bring disappointment.

I was very inefficient in going to the gym mid-afternoon and taking another shower, but hey. Was I really going to get anything done today? I don't think so.

I made my way to Tia's, where we just hung out and laughed a ton. It was just what I needed. As far as unnecessariness: I went through her pile of stuff-to-get-rid-of. Not that I needed any more stuff-- I've been trying to get rid of my own junk! But one woman's trash is definitely another's treasure... I love trash! Although I ended up forgetting my bag-o-junk at her place, I nabbed a few really cute shirts and lots of lotion bottles :) She taught me a fun card game, and then............... we watched Sanjaya survive another week on Idol! Wow!!!! Tell me about the unexpected.

Anyway, I'm headed to bed soon to try to get some shut-eye before the surprise for tomorrow. I can't wait to find out!

Boring post

I don't know why I'm even writing this post. I don't have much to say. Big news is coming Thursday. But here are some mini-updates.

Currently reading (Lesley does this on her blog, which I think is cool!): Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen. It was recommended by Vanessa. Kind of weird-- it is about this lady who gets thrown overboard by her husband in a murder attempt but survives and tries to make him pay for it.... I also recently read Kane and Abel, by Jeffrey Archer, which Cathleen recommended-- it was pretty good.

Currently watching: Sixteen Candles. I can't believe I haven't seen this movie, which came out in 1984! I like it so far!

Current temperature in Rochester: 47 degrees Farenheit. Despite that it's in the 80s in the Carolinas (Thanks, Laura :)), this is beautiful.

Current anxiety level about match day: HIGH.

Current feeling about all-morning classes: They are OLD.

Our class rocks!

At approximately 11 this morning, during our "break" from Clinical Pharmacology, all of us present in class rushed down to the computers in the micro computer lab or LRC to check our e-mail. Someone mentioned that, today at 11 a.m., we would get an e-mail about whether we did or did not match (the latter creating havoc and creating the need to "scramble" to contact unfilled programs). Luckily, no one had to do this! Per the Dean, ALL OF US MATCHED!!!! This is in contrast to the past few years, when there were people who had to scramble into unfilled residencies or research programs. There was talk of "celebration," but I thought noon was a bit early to hit the pubs :) I'm sure there will be celebrating on Thursday, though! Our class is awesome :) I can't wait to hear where everyone is going! Less than 72 hours to go...

Facts that start with F

Firstly, blogger is currently missing the "bullet" option in its toolbar. I wanted this to be a bulleted post, but I can't do it. Wendi? Kristen? Are you experiencing this problem?

Friday Fondue: Tia, Nicole, Natasha, Summer, and I congregated on Friday night at Erin's place to try out the new fondue set she got as a gift at the bridal shower/bachelorette party last weekend. It was a success! We had cheese fondue made with apple juice, cheddar and swiss cheeses, flour (substituted for corn starch), and pepper, with veggies, yummy Great Harvest cheddar garlic bread, apples, and baby wieners to dip. We also made a chocolate one with semisweet dark and white chocolate chips, cream, vanilla, and marshmallow creme, with fruit, marshmallows, angel food cake, and pretzels to dip. Too bad I couldn't partake in the chocolate one because I gave up desserts for Lent, but everyone said it was awesome! The cheese one surely was.

Far run: Saturday morning, Lisa and I joined a pack of runners in the marathon training class at the RAC (Rochester Athletic Club) to go for a long run. She's going to be running in a half-marathon in New York in a couple weeks and is working up the mileage. I just like running with people :) It was a beautiful morning to run-- fairly warm (i.e. 30) and sunny. However, it was super icy. I wiped out twice and we had to switch to streets for most of the run, which got us a few dirty looks from drivers. But it was successful-- we did about 9.5 miles, which is the longest I've ever done! We are planning to go again Friday for around 10 miles.

Forties: This weekend's weather (starting Friday) has been FANTASTIC!!!! It has gotten up into the forties each day, which is unbelievable. I have been able to go around with just a fleece (no coat!) and not dying without gloves. I hope it stays warm for the remainder of the time I'm here!

Fortunately: I remembered Daylight Savings Time last night! Although it is a bit shocking to have to "spring forward" so early in the spring, I didn't forget this time! At bible study this morning, someone walked in at 10:00 on the dot (it starts at 9), which I'm sure was a result of his forgetting, but he played it cool :)

File cabinet: This is the LAST PART of my apartment I plan to "go through" to get rid of stuff. I have been steadily working my way through my place, cleaning out corners at a time so that I don't have to do massive dumping sessions when it is actually time to move. Erin has basically cleaned out her place, selling her bed and planning to mail most of her stuff to Cali this week! I'm not there yet, but I feel like I've done a decent job so far. We'll see how going through all my bank statements and junk goes this afternoon.

(Wishing I could) Fast Forward time: Match Day is Thursday. I have a feeling this week is going to go by SLOWLY. I really wish I could speed these hours up. I have been having a lot of anxiety and trouble sleeping (nightmares too), which I hope will go away soon, once my next home city is decided. It's hard to believe that after so much planning and worrying, in 4 days, we will FINALLY KNOW!

Don't get drunk and fall asleep in the jungle...

...was the title of an e-mail I just got from Patty, my friend and director of the Amazon Promise group I spent time with in 2005. Considering we spent time in the jungle of northeastern Peru, these photos are very scary to me. I am quite terrified by large spiders such as the tarantulas we saw there, but I have to say that BIG SNAKES are much scarier! Check out these horrendous photos she forwarded to me:

Anaconda

Up close

Snake killed but with villagers peering at it... big belly, eh? What did it eat? Can you see it?
A suffocated villager.

YIKES!!!! How's that for helping you sleep at night (in the jungle) :) Did I make any more insomniacs out there? Glad there aren't any of those in southern Minnesota! There may be some drinking going on tonight at EVB's house for fondue, but no falling asleep where snakes can get us :)

Class/life update

My Dad's age today: 59 (Happy Birthday, Dad!)
Time (a.m.) after which I was awake, for good, today: 2
Days till match: 7
Hours per day in class: 6

It is hard being in class again! After nearly two years working almost exclusively in the hospital/clinic setting, it is really difficult to sit for so many consecutive hours per day. Our school feels the need to, before we graduate, educate us on a variety of topics "not covered elsewhere" in our four-year curriculum so, peri-match, we have this 3-week didactic block. This week, we have been having lectures and small groups in preventative/public health, clinical pharmacology (they figure we need a refresher on what we learned 2nd year!), and medical jurisprudence. Entering a primary care field, I am naturally very interested in preventative medicine; however, until today (when we had a great lecture on childhood injury prevention), these lectures have been a little "fluffy." I do like the clinical pharm, which is case-based-- yesterday, I had to lead the discussion on management of meningitis. But the post-lunch 2 hour block of legal talk is really hard to sit through. We do cover important topics, such as the distinctions between advance directives and living wills, HIPAA and privacy, as well as malpractice reporting, but the pace is at times painfully slow and by that time in the afternoon, we just want to go home and sleep (some people, ahem Nicole and Ajit, just leave and sleep!). I still find it hard to believe that I willingly and faithfully endured 8-5 class for first year and part of second year! My attention span has noticeable shrunken since that time!

On a positive note (Wendi tells me I am too negative!), it is nice to be reunited with our close-knit class of 40. While we are on clinic and hospital rotations, it is easy to go months without seeing some of the people we spent so much time with first and second years unless you specifically make a point to hang out. And, since I really like all of them, it has been great to reconnect and find out where everyone wants to/thinks they might be headed next year. Another great thing is that we get to wear normal clothes!!! While, as sad as it is, we do get used to the Mayo suit-wear, I am (and I would venture to say all of my classmates are) much more comfortable in jeans. It is actually weird to have to actually pick out an actual outfit every day again, instead of just throwing on a suit or scrubs!

In another quick news update, MATCH DAY IS ONE WEEK AWAY. In exactly seven days from now (in fact, around 12 p.m. on Thursday, March 15), my classmates and I will find out where we are all going for residency (or, as people have said, we will all have our entire future paths determined! Yikes!). As much as I can't wait to just "know," this is very scary to me. The other night (despite the free, great food!), I avoided a "Residency Dinner" geared towards informing underclassmen about this whole process because I just can't and don't really want to talk about residency anymore. It is starting to make me sad and I think next Thursday will be a hard, emotional day for me as the reality will set in that I will be leaving everyone and this place that I have called "home" for four years.

Thirdly, is insomnia contagious??!?!? Never in my whole life have I had trouble with insomnia, unlike my good friend Wendi. I am usually asleep within 2 minutes of my head hitting the pillow, and I rarely ever wake up during the night. I even slept through a 7.4 earthquake in San Diego one year. But I have had major sleep issues lately. I think some of it is anxiety-related due to personal issues and the upcoming match, move, etc. But I have also been sleeping a lot on my living room couch recently. Some of it is aversion because it's a lot colder in my bedroom than it is in the living area, which makes it harder to get up in the morning, particularly when I try to go work out. But mostly it's because I've been often falling asleep on the couch, watching TV or reading, and waking up periodically with the lights on, knowing I should move to my bed. But I just can't make myself do it. Last night, I again slept on my couch. I woke up at 2 a.m. and could not get back to sleep. I lay there for about 45 minutes hoping I would doze off again. I listened to soothing classical music. I read some. When 4:30 rolled around and I was still awake, I decided I would just stick it out and go to the gym at 5, when it opened, and then just stay up. I do not know what the deal was. But the good news (I'm being positive!) is that, undoubtedly, I will sleep solidly tonight because I'm so sleep-deprived. I somehow made it through class today, but a little nap may be in store for me...

Travel Buddy

Alex gave me the link to this Travel Buddy site where you can click on the states/countries you've visited and it maps it out for you! I should have used this before! And it allowed me to remember that I have been to the country of Monaco! I've visited 18% of the world's countries as of today :). Thanks, Alex!

Counting countries

It has finally hit me that our Africa trip is quickly approaching! While John and Wendi are really on the ball, I've been dragging my feet a bit. We leave on Sunday, March 25, which is less than 3 weeks away. While I was a bit exhausted from traveling so much for interviews over December and January, I am rejuvenated and ready to again escape the Minnesota winter. But I am a bit behind in the planning. I have just started thinking of "things I need to pack" and doing the things I need to get done before the trip, as graduation is imminent upon our return.

The fact that, in several weeks, I will be hitting a new country reminds me of something I've been meaning to "get down" for a while. Various people have asked me, at different times in the recent past, how many countries I have been to. So the other day I sat down and counted. I also counted U.S. states and have actually been to one fewer state than I have countries! While I did a lot of traveling this past year, there are lots of the parts of the U.S. I haven't seen! Maybe I can use this summer break to see some more of them. I am wondering how I compare, number-wise, to my parents and sister (count, please!). I am not even close in number to my godparents, the world's traveling experts!

In any case, here are the 35 countries I have visited. I don't think I forgot any, but I'm not 100% certain. I hope I didn't make up any countries. The criteria are that you have to set foot in the place (airports don't count):

United States, Canada, Mexico, Peru, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, Portugal, Spain,
Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy, Vatican City, Czech Republic, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Greece, Turkey, Thailand, Nepal, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Egypt.
I hope to add four (Nigeria, South Africa, Lesotho, and maybe Swaziland) to this list by May of this year!

I have only been to 34 states. Here are the ones I still need to hit:

Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah.
I'm open to suggestions of how to visit these (i.e. anyone living here..... ?).
:)

Cross-country skiing!

It was a beautiful sunny day yesterday and, blessed (!) with having gotten over two feet of snow in the preceeding week, it was perfect for a group of us to go snowshoeing/cross-country skiing. I'd been cross-country skiing one time before, a couple of years ago when I went up to the shores of Lake Superior. However, this was my first time going to Quarry Hill Nature Park here in Rochester. Enjoy the photos of a fun-filled afternoon (some I stole from Wendi and Lesley's blogs)!

Les, Nicole, and me preparing to go out into the cold (courtesy of Wendi)

Wendi and JB- newbies but goodies
The Joneses-- all stars!
Action photo of Lesley and me (thanks, David!)There was a lot of falling going on. Here is Nicole trying to jump off a ledge in snowshoes :)
John, who claims he would fall when he'd start "looking at stuff" (i.e. nice scenery and birds, etc.), down.
Ajit wins for most falls (photo courtesy of David and Lesley). But before you start thinking I'm exempt from falling... (this was a steep hill!). David had fun while he stayed up and took pics of us falling.Nope. Not a fall. Annaka (Martin and Dorothy's daughter) is on the ground intentionally, making a snow-angel.
Al fin. Anni wanted to surprise the photo-taker!

This was definitely some good exercise! I'm a bit sore today. Not sure if it's from the skiing or the falling...

Girls' night out!!!!

Yesterday, we had a Bridal Shower/Bachelorette party at Whistle Binkie's for three amazing girls in my class, Katie, Tia, and Erin. Summer organized most of it, particularly the decorations and food, and it was a fantastic success! I think the girls had a great time, catching up with our classmates and other friends made through our years here. We had a fun time hearing stories and input that their fiancees, Ryan, Rob, and TJ, had e-mailed me and celebrating (in advance) their upcoming weddings (Katie starts it off on April 20, followed by Tia on April 21 and Erin on May 26). We had cake, they opened some gifts, and then we went onto some late-night bar craziness (see below). Here are some photos from the night!

The lovely brides-to-be (from left: Katie, Tia, and Erin [please tell Erin she looks hot. She'll appreciate it.])Ellie blowing up a "pecker whacker" balloon. This was really difficult. I blacked out trying to do it when we were setting up!Posters that Amanda put together for each of the girls. Erin was mad that she didn't win with the most number of photos:)
Sexy girls in black: Ellie, Natasha, and Molly
Does EVB look flushed to anyone else? I think it was a combination of a little sunburn from an afternoon of cross-country skiing, a couple of her 'chocolatey' drinks, and lots of excitement!
Opening gifts. Erin says "I can barely read this I'm so drunk." Katie: "Wow! A salad spinner!" (the gifts were off their registries). Tia: "You guys have to feel these towels!!" Tia, me, Nicole (why am I the only one still wearing a nametag?)The "Dare" Game. Summer brought this deck of cards with bachelorette dares, which was extremely entertaining. Here are Katie and Tia getting piggyback rides from random guys in the bar.Erin had to get a blonde guy to buy her a shot. This is her talking to "Greg."This is Katie going in for a smooch. Erin was just jealous she didn't pull this card. We met a big group of IBMers. Tia asked this guy if she could write her name in lipstick on him. "My name is short," she said with a smile. It didn't take too much for him to consent:)
And here was perhaps the most amusing part of all. Erin was instructed to "swap an item of clothing" with someone. So here is her (and her maid-of-honor, Liz, looking incredulous that Erin was, in fact, going to do this) holding the shirt of Jeff (who, she kept remarking for the rest of the night, was "HOT"!!!)
The swap in the works... If you're worried that Erin would not want this picture on the internet, think again. She loves this stuff. She'd want you to say her stomach looked hot. Jeff was looking the other way, to be polite:) Helping to dress him because, obviously, he couldn't put her Victoria's Secret top on by himself.

More...

And the night ended with a few of us left, sitting around the fire and just chatting. I have not had this much fun in a loooooooooooong time. I wish someone else was getting married soon so we'd have an excuse for another party! Oh, and Erin does have Jeff's e-mail address in case any single ladies want it...