lard straight from the can Here's an interesting article from the Sunday New York Times Magazine about the validity of these high protein and fat diets for losing weight and improving your health in general. Apprarently, this obesity epidemic in the United States correlates almost exactly with the low-fat movement of the late 70's and early 80's, replacing the fat and protein in our Eisenhower-era diets with the possibly even more deleterious addition of refined sugars and carbohydrates. The article even goes as far to say that eating steak for dinner or lard straight from the actually improves your cardiovascular profile, because while it may elevate your LDL (bad cholesterol) levels, it also proportionately increases the serum levels of HDL (good cholesterol). It's interesting to think about, and I even have to conceded that there's a lot of validity to what they say from a physiologic and evolutionary standpoint. But I can't help it--when I think about sitting down to eat a big breakfast of sausage and eggs, a pat of butter melting next to my plate, I don't care what anyone says, I can feel my arteries sclerosing. |
playing the game Coming as a most unwelcome surprise, I realize that I have to start thinking about residency applications, not "later," or "soon," but now. Ideally, I would like to have my personal statement done and most of my letters of recommendation solicited (but not necessarily written) by mid-August, not because that's when these items are due, but because I'm neurotic and figure the earlier I get these things in, the earlier I can get my interview set up and schedule my year. This is the rationale. The problem is, I'm clearly insanely busy right now, and I'm having some problems finding time to do even the most simple daily errands, let alone set aside hours to sit in front of my computer and compose some milquetoast essay on "Why I Want to be Kiddie Doctor." Also, part of me is still exhausted from the med school application process from four years ago, and looking through all the application steps and requirements on the ERAS site and reviewing lists and lists of institutions that I may be applying to, I'm feeling a little bit like, "didn't I just do this?" I guess I need to get a new suit. In my perfect, imaginary universe, I would limit my applications only to New York City, preferably even limited only to the island of Manhattan, because there's really no other place that I would rather be. Partially because I have a long and well-documented love affair with this city, and also (maybe mostly) because I'm a creature of habit who abhors change. However, since Joe is applying in Ophthalmology, a more competitive field than Pediatrics, with fewer programs and fewer positions therein, we have to expand our field a little bit. So for now, we've decided to extend our program search to include Boston, Philly, Chicago, and possibly the Baltimore/DC area, if these two can be considered in the same general region. These are places that fit the criteria that we have set, being large and fairly metropolitan (an absolute stipulation of mine), and each having enough hospitals to have several programs each in either field. San Francisco is nice and all, and we've discussed casting our net out there, but it's pretty far away from The Families, and also exceedingly difficult to match in--that is, unless you've geared your entire application towards heading west, doing "audition" rotations at their hospitals and other things like that. The other complicating matter is that the match process for Ophtho and Peds are run through two separate systems. In most cases, two med students who are partnered with each other should be able to get residency positions in the same city via the "couples match," meaning that your applications are tied together and positions are assigned in tandem. However, this only works if you and your partner are using the same match system. Ophtho, along with Ortho, Neuro, Neurosurg, and Uro, are all so-called "early matches," meaning that they both submit and hear from their programs a good three months earlier than the rest of us. Which really means this: Joe and I will apply to programs in the same cities, and go visit whatever schools grant us interviews. In January, Joe will submit his match list, which is basically a list of all the programs that he would consider attending in ranked order. A week later, he will hear from the program in which he placed. And then, probably a few weeks after that, I will submit my rank list. But despite the fact that I may have interviewed in a number of different programs in a number of different cities, my rank list can only include the programs in the city in which Joe matched. So if the situation is that Joe matches in Philly, and I only applied to two Philly programs, then those are the only two programs that I can rank. It's a little more risky. And I have to admit that the feminist side of me rebels internally at the thought of having to limit my choices like that. But that's the way the game is played. So that's just what we're going to have to do. And it could really just as easily be that I might have been the one choosing an early match field, and Joe would have had to been the one following me. So in sum, hopefully Joe will match in a great program in New York, and everything will work out just fine. And if Joe doesn't match in New York, then...things will work out just fine. Right? xo Michelle |
Monday . July 8 . 2002 . 6:50pm |
playing the game Coming as a most unwelcome surprise, I realize that I have to start thinking about residency applications, not "later," or "soon," but now. Ideally, I would like to have my personal statement done and most of my letters of recommendation solicited (but not necessarily written) by mid-August, not because that's when these items are due, but because I'm neurotic and figure the earlier I get these things in, the earlier I can get my interview set up and schedule my year. This is the rationale. The problem is, I'm clearly insanely busy right now, and I'm having some problems finding time to do even the most simple daily errands, let alone set aside hours to sit in front of my computer and compose some milquetoast essay on "Why I Want to be Kiddie Doctor." Also, part of me is still exhausted from the med school application process from four years ago, and looking through all the application steps and requirements on the ERAS site and reviewing lists and lists of institutions that I may be applying to, I'm feeling a little bit like, "didn't I just do this?" I guess I need to get a new suit. In my perfect, imaginary universe, I would limit my applications only to New York City, preferably even limited only to the island of Manhattan, because there's really no other place that I would rather be. Partially because I have a long and well-documented love affair with this city, and also (maybe mostly) because I'm a creature of habit who abhors change. However, since Joe is applying in Ophthalmology, a more competitive field than Pediatrics, with fewer programs and fewer positions therein, we have to expand our field a little bit. So for now, we've decided to extend our program search to include Boston, Philly, Chicago, and possibly the Baltimore/DC area, if these two can be considered in the same general region. These are places that fit the criteria that we have set, being large and fairly metropolitan (an absolute stipulation of mine), and each having enough hospitals to have several programs each in either field. San Francisco is nice and all, and we've discussed casting our net out there, but it's pretty far away from The Families, and also exceedingly difficult to match in--that is, unless you've geared your entire application towards heading west, doing "audition" rotations at their hospitals and other things like that. The other complicating matter is that the match process for Ophtho and Peds are run through two separate systems. In most cases, two med students who are partnered with each other should be able to get residency positions in the same city via the "couples match," meaning that your applications are tied together and positions are assigned in tandem. However, this only works if you and your partner are using the same match system. Ophtho, along with Ortho, Neuro, Neurosurg, and Uro, are all so-called "early matches," meaning that they both submit and hear from their programs a good three months earlier than the rest of us. Which really means this: Joe and I will apply to programs in the same cities, and go visit whatever schools grant us interviews. In January, Joe will submit his match list, which is basically a list of all the programs that he would consider attending in ranked order. A week later, he will hear from the program in which he placed. And then, probably a few weeks after that, I will submit my rank list. But despite the fact that I may have interviewed in a number of different programs in a number of different cities, my rank list can only include the programs in the city in which Joe matched. So if the situation is that Joe matches in Philly, and I only applied to two Philly programs, then those are the only two programs that I can rank. It's a little more risky. And I have to admit that the feminist side of me rebels internally at the thought of having to limit my choices like that. But that's the way the game is played. So that's just what we're going to have to do. And it could really just as easily be that I might have been the one choosing an early match field, and Joe would have had to been the one following me. So in sum, hopefully Joe will match in a great program in New York, and everything will work out just fine. And if Joe doesn't match in New York, then...things will work out just fine. Right? xo Michelle |
Bikini Briefs |
lard straight from the can Here's an interesting article from the Sunday New York Times Magazine about the validity of these high protein and fat diets for losing weight and improving your health in general. Apprarently, this obesity epidemic in the United States correlates almost exactly with the low-fat movement of the late 70's and early 80's, replacing the fat and protein in our Eisenhower-era diets with the possibly even more deleterious addition of refined sugars and carbohydrates. The article even goes as far to say that eating steak for dinner or lard straight from the actually improves your cardiovascular profile, because while it may elevate your LDL (bad cholesterol) levels, it also proportionately increases the serum levels of HDL (good cholesterol). It's interesting to think about, and I even have to conceded that there's a lot of validity to what they say from a physiologic and evolutionary standpoint. But I can't help it--when I think about sitting down to eat a big breakfast of sausage and eggs, a pat of butter melting next to my plate, I don't care what anyone says, I can feel my arteries sclerosing. |
