Lord, I was born a ramblin' man
Tryin' to make a livin' and doin' the best I can
And when it's time for leavin', I hope you'll understand
That I was born a ramblin' man
--The Allman Brothers Band
I don’t blog that often, mostly because Lauren is a much better writer but also because I just don’t have that much to say in a blog post. My thoughts are usually only deep enough to warrant 140 characters or less. Nevertheless, here I am today writing to inform y’all of my life for the past few months.
Since late October, I have been traveling around the state interviewing for residency positions at various programs. I must admit that it was very exciting at first – traveling to different cities, staying in swanky hotels (for free!), dining at fancy restaurants (for free!), wearing my new suit, and getting swag-bags full of coffee mugs, flash drives, candy, key chains, etc. But then a few weeks ago I woke up at 2:45am and couldn’t remember what city I was in (the blaring horn from a tanker in the harbor reminded me that I was in Galveston); that was the moment it became un-fun.
Another less-than-enjoyable part of the whole process has been the driving. I got the oil in my truck changed on November 18th, and by December 6th it was due to be changed again. Also, you can only cycle through your CDs and iPod playlists so many times before you get tired of your music. (By the way, you know you’re traveling a lot when you see the same 18-wheeler headed down I-10 one week and I-30 the next. How do I know it was the same truck, you ask? Let’s just say he had a very suggestive pair of mud flaps and a mildly racist bumper sticker.) Here is a quick recap of my travels:
Oct. 20-23
San Antonio to Lubbock - 388.2 miles
Lubbock to Abilene - 163.4 miles
Abilene to San Antonio - 245.8 miles
Nov. 6-7
San Antonio to Houston - 197.3 miles
Houston to San Antonio - 197.3 miles
Nov. 18-22
San Antonio to Longview - 347.0 miles
Longview to Oklahoma City - 330.6 miles
OKC to Austin - 388.5 miles
Austin to San Antonio - 80.6 miles
Nov. 23-25 (Thanksgiving)
San Antonio to Rogers - 146.2 miles
Rogers to San Antonio - 146.2 miles
Nov. 27 - Dec. 3
San Antonio to Galveston - 250.5 miles
Galveston to Temple - 221.4 miles
Temple to Dallas - 132.7 miles
Dallas to San Antonio - 278.1 miles
Dec. 4-6
San Antonio to Houston - 197.3 miles
Houston to San Antonio - 197.3 miles
Dec. 11-13
San Antonio to Ft. Worth - 265.3 miles
Ft. Worth to Memphis (TN) - 485.7 miles
Memphis to Ft. Worth - 485.7 miles
Ft. Worth to San Antonio - 265.3 miles
TOTAL MILEAGE: 5410.4 miles
I still have some interviews in January so that total will continue to increase in the New Year. It may sound like I’m complaining (because I am a little bit), but I do feel extremely blessed to have received so many interview invitations. It’s a good problem to have, I suppose. And someday soon it will all be worth it when I finally get a job.
On the upside, all those hours in the car have allowed me to practice and perfect my ability to mimic the guitar talk-box à la Peter Frampton, Joe Walsh, and Bon Jovi. I also now know all the hot spots for excellent truck stop dining along the major Texas highways, as well as which locations have either clean or highly-questionable bathroom facilities. So next time you’re in Texarkana, make sure and stop at The Roadrunner for a clean toilet, a cup of coffee, and the Jumbo BBQ Burger – tell ‘em Jeffrey sent ya!
Friday, December 16, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Pick a Card
Merry Christmas, everyone!
The last year has really flown by. As it says on our Christmas card, we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel as far as school is concerned. Here’s a little look back at this year…
Jeffrey and I both finished up the Spring semester of our 3rd year, but not at the same time. Jeffrey’s last rotation extended through the end of June, meaning that his 3rd year was a marathon of 12 months working in the hospital with very few holidays, many mornings that started in the wee hours, and even one icy day that required him to walk to the hospital when a storm turned the roads into slip’n’slides. My semester ended in the middle of May, but my Fall semester started again the first week of July, so we only got to enjoy 5 days of summer freedom together. Apparently we have finally transitioned into the grown up world where summer is just another day that you go to work, only hotter.
Speaking of hot, we managed to float the river during our week-long reprieve. We traveled to the Comal with a group of friends from college, tied together 12 rafts, and enjoyed a summer day on the water. In keeping with San Antonio tradition, we drove straight from the river to the Gristmill in Gruene for some fried onion rings, fried chicken, and French fries. (We’re still working off those calories 5 months later.)
Both of us had another round of National Board exams to take this year, Jeffrey’s in the summer and mine just a couple of weeks ago. It’s strangely dissatisfying to spend thousands of dollars for the privilege of taking a 500 question test, but at this point we’ll pay anything to get those magic initials behind our names.
My brother got married in November to a girl named Courtney Yoder. She’s cute and smart and fun to be around, so we’re pretty sure that Greg tricked her into marrying him. We tried desperately to convince her that instead of taking his name, she should do the modern thing and combine their last names. We felt that ‘Courtney Yoglesby’ had a nice ring to it, but she decided to go with plain old Oglesby. They are now living happily ever after in a love shack in Abilene owned by the rental home tycoon, Robert Oglesby.
At some point this year, Jeffrey decided that he would become an Internist. What’s an Internist, you ask? Simply put, an Internist is a doctor for adults who does not do surgery. So if you’re an adult and you saved that buy one, get one free prostate exam coupon we sent as our Christmas card in 2009, feel free to cash in!
So what’s next? Jeffrey is interviewing through January at various programs for a residency position in Internal Medicine. Most of the interviews are in Texas, but a few are out of state. We’re trying to keep an open mind about where to go next (and our parents are praying daily that our minds are closed to every program except the ones closest to them). Once all the interviews are done, students rank programs, and programs rank students, and then the Wizard of Oz matches the two lists. Then one fine day in March, we will find out where we’ll spend the next 3 years of our lives.
Both of us are graduating on May 27th, but I don’t have to complete a residency, so I’ll be job-hunting starting in March, and hopefully I’ll be drillin’ and fillin’ by June. I feel ready to branch out on my own at this point. After all, I have spent the last four years learning how to scare the spit (literally) out of my patients, and now I’m ready to have a go at it unsupervised.
It's been a busy but great year, and we can't wait to see what 2012 has in store. We hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Monday, December 12, 2011
TB or not TB? That is the question.
For those of you who aren't dorks, let me explain that TB tests are done by using a syringe to place some tuberculin bacteria just below the skin and then evaluating the area within 48 hours. A huge swelling indicates that you have been exposed to TB.
Unfortunately, last year the goober who gave me my skin test shoved the needle so deeply into my arm that it bled and bruised for several days after. (I know that none of you feel sorry for me, a dental student who gives people shots every day, but you should!)
Understandably, this year I was not excited about going in to get my annual subcutaneous/deep vein TB test. I was also less than enthused about the prospect of trying to even find a time to go in. Last year I got one half day off each week to take care of obnoxious errands such as this, but this year I have my Implant Selective on my half day off, so it becomes quite a chore to find time during business hours to go in.
Luckily, today the selective got finished early, so I ran over to the health clinic to get my test done.
It did not go well.
I walked into the clinic and was pleased to find that there were no other students waiting to be seen, so I assumed I could quickly get the test. I approached the glass window and watched as the receptionist attempted a smile (one that more closely resembled a grimace), then partially slid open the window.
Receptionist: Can I help you?
Me: Hi, I'm here to get my TB test.
Receptionist: Do you have an appointment? Because there's another patient here now.
Me: (Wondering how the clinic could be completely overrun by a single patient and a student here to get a TB test that quite literally takes 1 minute to perform) No, I don't. I don't have any time off during the day, but today I finished early so I hurried over to see if you had time to see me.
Receptionist: Let me check with the nurse. (She slides the glass window closed again, as if I might pull a John Q and take the clinic hostage and demand my skin test if not properly barred from entry)
Lo and behold, they decided that the 15-person staff could handle seeing 2 patients at once, so the receptionist returned.
She asked me my full name, my cell phone number, my street address, my social security number, my UTHSCSA badge number, and my shoe size. (Kidding on that last one.) She diligently typed each answer into my computer file. Then she handed me a stack of forms to fill out. Guess what I needed to fill out on the forms? You guessed it...my full name, my cell phone number, my street address, my social security number, my UTHSCSA badge number, and my favorite color. (Kidding again on the last one.)
Why, oh why could she not just fill out the computer form off the paper forms? Or why could they not just ask if there were any changes since I filled out these exact same forms last year? Questions without answers.
When I handed back my stack of redundant papers, the receptionist motioned to a nurse who had been (busily?) sitting in a chair and the nurse came to get me.
Nurse: So today is your only time off?
Me: Well, I technically don't have time off during business hours. I just happened to get done early today.
Nurse: Well, we're open now until 7 pm on Mondays, so you could have made an appointment.
Me: (Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the stethescope today) Oh, I didn't realize you stayed open so late.
Nurse: It's new. (But she said this in a tone of voice that sounded like she felt I should've known better)
Me: Umm...well, thanks for seeing me anyway.
I must say, Nurse Ratched did a very nice job with my TB test. She angled the needle barely beneath the skin and I didn't even bleed.
I quickly left so as not to monopolize any more time away from the other patient (who was apparently hiding somewhere since I saw no one else in the office with no doors on the examining rooms).
The receptionist must have been busy staring at the wall when I left because she forgot to say goodbye.
One flew east
One flew west
One had to fight for her TB test
Comet and Cupid and Donner and...Dixie?
We had our 4th annual Christmas party two weekends ago and it was a blast. Even though it was a little bit of a last minute party, we had a good group of friends there to celebrate with us.
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| Adam and Lacie. (Adam is smiling bigger than Lacie because he's already graduated from dental school, and Lacie's still finishing up the year with me. Someday we'll all smile again, Lacie. Probably the day we get our first paycheck in 4 years! |
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| Alexandra and Matthew/American Gothic (Our parties are very artistic.) |
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| Meet Dixie the Reindog! She does NOT like antlers. |
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| But she LOVES Clayton. |
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| Kathrine, Blake, and Carly |
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| Alli and Jeff |
Santa Claus is coming to town soon, but don't expect to see his special reindog. She doesn't want to wear her antlers anymore.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Four Letter Word
I have a new favorite four letter word...
PASS.
I got a letter today that said in bold, capital letters that I passed my National Board Exam.
For those of you wondering, my previous favorite four letter word was "iota," as in, now that I've passed my National Boards, I don't care one iota about studying anymore.
(Kidding!)
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