Failed

No, not life or medical school. I failed all 5 people who read this. Sigh. Getting back up the wagon.

Since I last wrote, I have had 2 title changes. First, I became a Mrs. on April 30th; then, on May 14th, I dropped that title and became a Dr!!!!! First thing first

The wedding went amazingly well. The week was not very stressful at all with special thanks to my oh so wonderful mother. She was amazing. It was great to have so much time to be home and get everything straight. I will skip to the good stuff. Thursday night was the bachelorette party, which, for a group of girls all seriously attached in their mid 20s involved drinking while painting pottery, cheap sushi, and a cool bar where we got to sit down and listen to the band. I love sitting down. Friday was a little crazier. The girls all had mani's and pedi's (with pizza and PBR of course) after which was the rehearsal and dinner (mmmmm BBQ). We met up with a few people for a couple of drinks after that. We went to Pacific Ave Pizza Co in Spokane. Matt and I had our first date there, so we thought it was fitting. They also have Iron Horse High Five Hefe on tap. Turns out it is only my immediate family that likes that as much as we do. Everyone else's loss. Saturday was great. I got to workout, which was great. My mom, sister, and I got our hair and make up done after that followed by going home for a quick lunch with the girls. They all looked great (pics coming later). Finally off the the chapel...pictures....awesomeness. It was a little chilly and overcast, but I hear that makes for great pictures. About 1 minute before we were about to start heading down the aisle, we notice the lights in the hall way go out then come back on. Weird. Bobbo (maybe?) then came in to say the power was out and they were all setting up candles. Surprise!! Candle light ceremony!!! Apparently a trampoline hit a transformer causing 10,000 customers to be without power. Awesome! No really, it was great. The chapel windows came alive with color; Matt & I looked extra attractive in the lighting. The other great part was that I couldn't see the emotions on anyone's face except Matt's. If I had been able to see my parents' faces or all my friends/family, I would have been crying like a baby. This way I only cried a little bit.

The ceremony seemed to fly by, and before we knew it, Matt & I were kissing. Whoop! Off we went. It was slightly raining, but we made it to the limo safely. We had to leave Matt's brothers behind because they had to carry their grandma down the stairs (power was still out). The reception went wonderfully. Food & cake was awesome; dancing was great; and we got to talk to all our friends and family. It was great. Bloomsday was the next day, and my mom & dad hosted a nice little brunch. Matt & I left back for Omaha on Monday then.

Graduation involved hoards of food...and the zoo. Turns out that they let me graduate, so....now I have a diploma! Woohoo! My family all left on Sunday the 15th, and I then flew to Spokane on the 19th for a friend's wedding. I was really very spoiled this past month. I got to see my parents 3 times in 4 weeks. Amazing. Not good for the waistline but great for the soul. That was cheesy.

It is just about 4 weeks now until orientation starts. Eeeeeek!!!!! I will update later. Adios

Look at me go!

Yep. It's me. Posting again. That is twice in 1 month. Amazing. I know.

Yesterday marked my official last day of medical school!!! Tada! Who would have thought I would survive 4 years to make it here? I was reading some of those posts from M1 year. Man am I glad not to be back there. The idea of going to class from 8am to 3pm doesn't sound like fun to me.

I have started getting a lot of paperwork for intern year - all sorts of HR forms, coat sizing, parking, etc. It is all a little overwhelming, mostly because I am getting married...in 8 days!! Crazy. Pants. Things are going smoothly still. I look forward to yet dread doing the seating arrangements. Some people are passionately against assigning tables. Others love it. I fall into the latter. You say "open seating" to me, and my heart begins to race a little faster. I hate open seating simply because all I do until I get my seat is worry about where I am going to sit. Ergo...everyone will be assigned a table at our wedding.

I am also very excited to start baking again...and eating baked goods. I have been very good about not making cookies. I LOVE making cookies. I don't know what it is, but it brings me pure joy. Plus it is nice because Matt can take the extras to work. I haven't made cookies in over 2 months. That is a long time people. Come May 1st though, watch out. Cookies everywhere.

This weekend is Easter. For the first time Matt will be in Omaha for it, so we are having some peeps over. I am trying to think of what to make for 6 people, one of whom doesn't like ham and another of whom doesn't eat much other than red meat (and maybe a roll or two). We will see what I come up with. Alright. Off to be lazy!!!

My vow

My vow to you (the internet basically as I am sure few people read this still) is that I update more often. Bam. Done

Turns out we are getting married in 15 days. Ahhhhh! I am not feeling too overwhelmed or anything...mostly because my mom has been a gigantic awesome amazing help with everything. I. Love. Her. Nuff said.

This month I am on Geriatric Psychiatry. I will be honest and say that I took it for the free food at Immanual Med Center and because the hours aren't bad. There is no real rounding and no weekends. What else could a 4th year med student ask for (other than no rotation, which some of my friends were able to pull off somehow). I watch a lot of electroconvulsion therapy (ECT). No, it isn't like it was in the 60s and 70s. All the patients are fully sedated and have a heavy muscle relaxant on board. We treat patients of all ages (haven't seen any adolescent though) with a variety of diagnoses from major depression to bipolar to schizoaffective. The theory is that while medication work pre-synaptically (on the neuron that releases the chemicals), ECT works post-synaptically (on the neuron receiving the signals). Most patients receiving it start with a course of about 6 given every other day. After that the treatments can be spread apart depending on the subjective feeling of the patient. It is great to be there for 4 weeks because I get to see people who actually significantly improve by the end of my time.

What else have I been doing? Not much. Matt and I went up to Spokane a few weekends ago to get our marriage license. Apparently Spokane County thinks it is okay that we get married. Yay! I also got to try my dress on again and do a hair & makeup trial. It is always weird seeing me in makeup, because my normal routine consists of mascara and blush...maybe. I also was lucky enough to have a loving aunt who threw me a bridal shower. I was flying on Southwest, so at least I could put some gifts in my checked bag and get them back to Omaha. It is tough knowing we will be moving in a year and what to do with gifts we have been receiving. They are all boxed so nicely right now, and I don't want to ruin that. Things like the coffee pot, however, will be unpacked. And used. A lot.

I made these last night. Added mushrooms and cheese. Baked them. Could have used some sauce in there, but the dough is really good and versatile. I have sooooo many yummy things I want to cook, but I do have to fit in a wedding dress. After that, all bets are off.

HERE WE GO!!!

We are going to Virginia Mason!!! I will do my preliminary year of medicine here at Creighton, then off to the great northwest!!!! This was our #1 choice (exact combo and all). I just still can't believe that someone liked me!

The run-down

Last Monday, the 14th, we all received emails from the matching program saying whether or not we matched. Everyone gets the email at about noon eastern time. Read here for how the match works. I am currently on my rheumatology rotation. My classmate and I were super anxious all morning. I think we were making the patients all nervous. Both of us got good emails (she got her's 2 minutes before me, which made me go crazy). The rest of the day we both felt light as air. She is going into orthopedic surgery - usually a very hard thing to get into. You need a stellar resume for that. She obviously has it.

The next few days drag by for obvious reasons. We had a fake match party in which everyone had to try to react with their happy face even with a bottom pick. Needless to say my sleep suffered this past week.

Thursday morning rolls around bringing with it the perfect storm of drinking - St Patrick's Day, the Match, and NCAA basketball. The weather was great. Little overcast but in the low 60s. Matt and I start the day stopping at a bar his friend owns...at 745AM. I passed on the drink; Matt had one. We then hit up a greasy spoon dinner for breakfast. Hashed browns and an omlette. Awesome start. Then to the bar on school for an early morning happy hour. We were all up in the ballroom ready to get the show on the road at 1030AM.

Technically we can't start opening envelopes til noon easter, so we wasted time with some logistics etc. We are called up randomly on stage, in front of friends, family, and all the world wide web. (Here is the video recording, you can skip ahead a few minutes til after we pray, but don't go too far). Everyone brings a dollar so that the last person called up at least gets something for having to wait nervously. Until you open your envelope, you have no clue where you are going. No. Clue. I was assuming, knowing my luck, that I wouldn't be called til late in the hour making my family and friends wait online. Little to my surprise though....I get called up 2nd!!!! (that's why you don't want to go too far on the video). I am pretty sure this is the point at which I black out from nerves. Oh. My. Goodness. Sweaty palms.

Matt and I go onstage. Envelope now in hand. Nervous. Opening. Two things circled. Creighton preliminary. Virginia Mason anesthesia. AHHHHHHHHH. Give Matt a kiss. Shake some hands. Proceed to cry a little. Black out from excitement. I honestly don't remember what the next 20 or so of my classmates said up on stage. Too many texts and tears.

If you couldn't tell, we are excited. This gives us plenty of time to find Matt a job and a place to live up in Seattle. The idea of moving in June this year didn't seem fun. And now I can go back to planning the wedding. Which is going fine. Thanks for asking.

OMG

OMG Match Day is tomorrow. OMG. I found out on Monday that I matched, now I just have to wait about 18 hours to find out where. You all will get a big update on Friday!!

I'm back!

I feel that I say that every 2 months or so. Maybe this time it is for good? Maybe? Hopefully. The fall has FLOWN by. Between November and...well...now, I have been traveling at least once a week for interviews. I did a stretch of 13 days with 7 interviews. Ri. Dic. U. Lous. I have been to: SUNY Upstate, U of Rochester, UMass, UConn, Yale, Penn St, Maine Medical, U of MN, Mayo, Nebraska, Oregon, Virginia Mason, and U Chicago. Oh my goodness. I have seen a lot of places. A lot of airports. A lot of hotels...both the good and the bad. And the sketchy...

(side note, I started this post 2 weeks ago...then my computer broke on me. I finally will finish it)

I leave for my last interview on Thursday. Up to UW. Where mom and dad will join me so that we can have some family bonding time with addressing wedding invites. Woohoo?! Actually, all the wedding stuff is going great. My mom has been awesomely helpful. We have decided quite a few things, but I, being the indecisive person that I am, am always seconding guessing myself. Thank goodness Matt was there to do the tuxes with me. He just went: bam, bam, bam. And now I am going to go change it all ;) Okay, not all of it. Just some of it. He is also growing his beard out just to spite me.

Over Christmas we got a lot of wedding things done. And by done, I mean we did things without actually making decisions. Best part was the cake tasting. OMG I love cake. I just want to eat all the cake at my wedding. Still haven't actually decided on flavors. At all. But I love the flavors that I am thinking of. MMMMMMMMM cake.

Since updating last I have done the following rotations: CT surgery, pulmonary medicine at the VA, and prenatal diagnosis. Today I started my pain rotation. Pain is a sub-specialty that can be entered through anesthesia (as well as PM&R...and maybe something else). Hopefully I will get a better understanding of all those pain meds out there. Here's to hoping. 4th year does an awful thing to your motivation.

I swear I will update again. Woohoo!

oops

double post