Friday . November 1 . 2002 . 11:36pm |
check your candy So first, some Halloween pictures. Above: Me in my costume. I was a tennis player. See, white clothes, tennis racket. It's not a very imaginative costume, but at least I got to wear clothes that I already owned. I did have to buy the tennis skirt (surprisingly expensive for a skimpy little Band-Aid of fabric), but don't worry, I taped the sales tag in so that I can return it later this week. Above: Joe in costume. He was a wrestler. Is it just me, or does it seem like they make wrestling "onesies" specifically to showcase the nipples? Above: We have a tripod and a camera with a timer. Above: Catsup, Mustard, and Jason-Wearing-Hawaiian- Shirt-in-Lieu-of-Any-Better-Costume-Idea. Above: Guillem's costume was "Swam the English Channel." So yeah, we had a good Halloween. We hosted some Trick-or-Treaters (parenthetically, it should be noted that half of our T.O.T.-ers were over the age of twelve--there was one fat teen boy who practically emptied our candy bowl of everything but Dum-Dums), had friends over for dinner, and went to a newly opened club in the area for a Halloween party. The only painful part of it was having to wake up and go to work this morning. I'm spending this next month in the ER. We went in for our first day today, but all we really did was eat leftover Halloween candy and duke it out for our shift schedule. I think I've already explained that he elective requires 15 ten-hour shifts over the course of the month, with a minimum of one full weekend and three overnight shifts in the mix. Throw in the fact that I'm interviewing all this month and I can't work Thanksgiving, and you have some tight maneuvering. Next week, I'll be working eight days in a row straight, with overnights Saturday and Sunday, and an ambulance ride-along Saturday morning before my overnight. After this long stretch, I've given myself one day off before my next residency interview the middle of that third week. Taking so many shifts in a row decompresses the latter half of my month, but since I'll be interviewing practically every day that I'm not working in the ER, it's not exactly looking like the free and easy month I had originally envisioned. Dammit, I can't even slack right. My first residency interview on Thursday went well, and even though I'm not quite sure how to think about this program (it's very different from the hospital where I currently work, but I have to get it into my brain that "different" doesn't mean "wrong"), had a good time and got a free lunch out of it to boot. Plus, the residents were really nice, and I got to hear some of their war stories, which both amused and frightened me in turn. I wasn't expecting this, but it seems that a lot of the time during the day was spent actually selling the program to me, as opposed to me selling myself to the program. I talked a lot less during my interview than I thought I would. And the last half hour of the day I spent in the Chairman's office, as he sat me down and gave me "the sell," basically telling me all the reasons I should want to match at their program. It seems like it might be too early in the interview season for this to happen, but I actually had a really hard time paying attention to what he was saying. CHAIRMAN Our program boasts a number of unique benefits for housestaff, including... MICHELLE'S INNER MONOLOGUE Wow, this office sure is big. I wonder how he has time to sit down and give this speech to every applicant. Doesn't he have any other work to do? CHAIRMAN Blah blah diversity...blah blah research opportunities abound for those interested... MICHELLE'S INNER MONOLOGUE I hope he stops talking soon. I need to run uptown to my parent's house to pick up my tennis racket for my Halloween costume. Man, what a lame-ass costume I have. Ooh, he paused and now looks serious, seems like an appropriate time to nod. MICHELLE (Nods) CHAIRMAN And I can see that you understand that. Also, we have blah blah...unique strengths of our teaching...blah blah faculty...blah blah blah... MICHELLE'S INNER MONOLOGUE Man, am I sleepy. Maybe because I ate too much at that free lunch. Mmmm, baked ziti. I wish I had one of those cookies right now, though. I love those cookies with the jam in the middle. CHAIRMAN ...and that's such a vital factor, don't you think? MICHELLE Absolutely. So important. CHAIRMAN And that's exactly what I'm talking about. The emphasis on children's needs...blah blah blah...serving the underserved...blah blah fellowship opportunities blah... MICHELLE'S INNER MONLOGUE Sigh. I can't believe I have to do this four more times. I wish I could have taped this interview for the people at the dog pound, though. Maybe then they would believe that I'm a responsible, decent kind of person. I wonder when we're going back to the pound? I wonder if they'll still have some Labrador puppies around? CHAIRMAN ...and we would love to have you here on or team. Do you have any questions for me before we adjourn? MICHELLE'S INNER MONOLOGUE Why wouldn't those dog pound people just let us adopt that puppy the first time?! MICHELLE No, not for right now. (Smiles winningly) But thank you so much of your time, this has been really helpful for my decision making. Four more interviews to go. xo Michelle |
