Pre-Match Bad Dreams

I have never had a dream where I am in class naked, or unprepared for an exam, but this weekend I had my first match-day nightmare.

In my dream, I showed up at the auditorium (which is not even where match takes place) and Sam had already sat down with his friends without saving me a spot.  How rude!  So I am forced to go across the auditorium and sit with some random girls from his class who shall remain nameless on this blog.  Not fun.

When it came time for Sam to get up and read his match, he said, "Cox Williams" and I was filled with dread because in my dream this program was located in Ohio.  Now, let me say this, Cox Williams is a completely fictitious name, there is no such program. However, there is a Case Western in Cleveland which Sam did apply to.  So is this my subconscious trying to prepare me for the possibility that Sam will match to my least favorite of all his possible cities?  Also, why the subconscious hatred for Case Western?  I haven't ever been to Cleveland, thus I shouldn't have any negativity!

Beer, Beer, & More Beer!

Sam made three of these full of carnitas!

It was yet another busy weekend for Sam and me.  We had 12 of our friends over for shabbat dinner, which we hadn't done since Sam left for Chicago in August.  Sam made carnitas in the slow cooker all day and browned the meat in the oven before we ate.  Yummy!  But we did notice that things were pretty out of line with kosher standards- serving pork shoulder and omitting the prayers being our most offensive actions.  Sam has recently been concerned that we don't belong to a community outside of work/school.  He thinks it would be beneficial to join a temple congregation so that we have a sense of community and place.  Personally, I grew up in a family that belonged to a church, but didn't regularly attend mass because Sunday we watched football and recovered from the athletic and academic endeavors of the week.  I'm not trying to

The lovely ladies at shabbat

knock organized religion, but for me, it's more important to be spiritual than to be religious.  I appreciate the shabbat dinners because they remind me of our Family Dinners on Sunday nights in high school we got together with my dad's parents and spent time as a family.  I said I would definitely give temple a shot, but it's not something I am going to do long term unless I want to.  I see Sam's point about wanting a community, and I would love to hear some opinions as to what other people do to feel included in their communities.  Maybe we will find a few options we can try out.

In the Stone Brewery Beer Garden

On Saturday we drove down to San Diego to meet up with my very dear friend Lindsay and her boyfriend Josh.  All four of us went to the Stone Brewery and enjoyed a break in the wet weather and shared a glass of wine/beer in their beautiful beer garden.  There was no planned coordination, however Lindsay and I did a great job of matching.  We took a  tour of the brewery, which included a quick brewing 101 lesson from our tour guide and a tasting of Stone's Pale Ale, IPA, Levitation, and Arrogant Bastard.  It was very cool, but I realized that most of the Stone beers are a little too bitter for my personal taste.  Josh took us to dinner in San Diego at Karl Strauss, 

In the Stone brewhouse with the kegs

another SoCal brewery.  Man, was their food delicious.  Linds had a steak topped with gruyere cheese and roasted garlic cloves: ah-mazing!  Josh had the traditional mac 'n cheese and I tried the Tree Hugger Mac (with broccoli and roasted peppers), and Sam had a jalepeno cheeseburger with garlic fries.  I seriously have not been that impressed with mac 'n cheese since my birthday dinner at The Neighborhood in San Diego.

Today we get a surprise visit from Nate, which is great, and I can't wait to hear how things up at USC's dental school have been going.  And then the Oscars are on later tonight- woohoo!  I just have to read three chapters, make Sam's yearbook page, hit the gym, and do my laundry before I can sit down with a bowl of Kettle Corn and watch the show.  LOL.

All I do is win win win no matter what!

Wow, in three weeks the destination of Sam's future (aka our future) will be known.  I would be flipping out right now if not for loads of homework and other activities keeping my mind occupied... oh yeah, and work.

Tonight's fun adventures were my Thursday night spin class (my favorite exercise class of the week), and Sam's playoff soccer game.  Sam has been playing intramural soccer all four years of medical school.  Prior to me taking classes with the UCI extensions program I would cut oranges and bring juice boxes for the boys, not so much this year.  In fact, my class conflicts with Sam's weekly game (yes my class is at fault, that is how I roll) so this was my first game of the season.

Luckily I had some company on the sidelines, and after a TOUGH game, the medical students were victorious.  It was a little strange though, some of the boys on Sam's team looked like they were in high school.  Turns out they are first year medical students... wow how the time has flown.  I still remember how old the fourth years seemed to me when Sam was a first year.  

Just for fun, here's a photo from tonight of the guys who started  in the fall of '07 and played all the way through together.

In the Hands of the Ortho Gods

Sam certified his residency program Rank List today.  This means his ranked order of orthopedics programs has been submitted to the 2011 Match, and his fate is in the hands of the orthopedic surgery Gods.  Of course, it's really my fate is too, but I like to remove myself from the equation for the sake of my sanity.

I have tried very hard to remain neutral during the whole medical school process- I feel I am incredibly unqualified to make decisions which will hugely affect Sam's career- but I have always been honest about wanting to stay in California where we are closer to our family and friends.  Aside from those selfish feelings, I firmly believe Sam should rank programs according to where he wants to go and what is best for him.  My thinking  is based on easy math, people:

The happier Sam is at work = the happier Sam is at home = the easier Sam is to live with.

Luckily for me, after all Sam's thinking, his top 3 residency programs are all in California!  Hopefully we will match to one of the top two. Fingers crossed! If not, life will go on, possibly with a whole new wardrobe fit for cold, snowy winters.

The Beginning of the End

I have gotten really interested in blogs lately.  I like to read blogs from people I know as well as strangers.  I enjoy hearing about and seeing photos from my friend's vacations as they trek through Southeast Asia and live abroad in New Zealand, or move across the country as newlyweds.


I never thought I would blog myself, because what do I have to say that is of importance?  I definitely believe my generation is very much self-obsessed and absorbed.  But I also wanted to keep in touch with family and friends through this very exciting (read: stressful) residency match process, as well as while on vacation in May, and during the process of moving to a location TBD after Sam's graduation in June.


My girlfriend who blogged her Southeast Asian vacation also told me that blogging is a great way of keeping record of what you've done.  It's fun to go back and re-read your posts and see the comments your friends posted.  As an obsessive scrap booker and journal writer, this really appeals to me.  I can share my thoughts and experiences with all those people who care to read them easily and quickly while making a record for myself to enjoy years from now when I'm more calm and collected and removed from the whirlwind that will be the next 4 months.


Getting ready to find out where Sam has matched for residency (aka where we are moving in June) the lyrics, "I need a change from this burn out scene, another time, another town, another everything," keep running through my head.  I've realized that when it comes to major life changes I only have senioritis for so long before I get into planning mode.  Unfortunately Sam is a chronic sufferer of senioritis and he will probably be feeling it well after he has transitioned into his residency.  Right now, I'm starting to panic and want to secure housing, employment, a social network, etc.  I'm trying to remind myself to live in the here and now, but it's easy to get overwhelmed by the thought of possibly buying a house, and a new car, and not having a secure job.


Most of the time, I feel like I'm finally ready to face the world and whatever it may bring me.  Other times, not knowing where we are going to be is killing me.