home sweet (non freezing) home
i flew back to socal on thursday night tired and sore from the week of driving/smiling/touring. here’s what i remember of my time up north:
sunday afternoon i arrived in sacramento, hopped into my saturn ion, got lost on the way to fairfield, drove past genentech in vacaville, saw some cows, and had dinner will william and his folks.
monday morning i woke up at 430am and left the house at 515 for my 2.5 hour trek along poorly lit highways to my first interview. the interview was relaxed, with the obligatory tour of the hospital and a chat with the program director. i liked the residents, the program, the pretty trees… too bad it’s so boonie. i may vacation up there sometime soon to check out the vineyards and all the redwoods. the drive back to fairfield was traffic-free and easy. i met up with william and mark at the winery nearby and sampled wine after wine after wine. i left with a jar of chocolate hazelnut merlot fudge. mmm. dinner was steak and green beans with homemade kimchee. after dinner, william and his dad left for the airport while his mom and i chatted for a couple hours about careers, family, and how william needs a wife. :)
tuesday morning i woke up much much later for a much happier drive south to my next interview. the hospital is new and shiny and the program looks impressive– lots of surgical experience, lots of procedures, lots of autonomy. the residents seem tired but happy… although i fear that some may be working over the 80 hour limit. after the interview, i drove across a very impressive looking bridge into san francisco. luckily, i found my hotel without any problems. i gave my car to the valet, and checked in to my happily upgraded room with a king sized bed.
around 5ish i went next door to Brick, a bar/restaurant that served small plates of floofy foods. i tried the hamachi sashimi with garlic dust and ponzu, followed by some seasoned fries and chocolate mouse cake with a cauliflower icy creamy something. later that night, after writing my thank you notes and surfing the net on my PDA in front of the hotel fireplace, i headed into Saha for some Arabic fusion cuisine. yes, my friends, i had TWO dinners that night. it started with fresh baked moroccan bread and an olive oil/sesame seed dipping sauce… but then the waiter brought hummus and a red pepper smush for me to try. so good! then… the entree came: grilled duck marinated with honey, sage, and mustard served with roasted (but still crunchy) pears, slightly sweet mashed potatoes, and a cinnamon orange reduction. i happily sipped my “evolution” wine and ate away the evening.
wednesday morning drove down to my third interview of the week, a mere 3 miles from my hotel, but a gigantic pain as i had to park in a structure and trudge in the rain across the hospital campus to the (majorly grimey) interview building. bah! breakfast was tea and brie– very cute. after a short presentation about the program by a bitchy resident, we spoke to the program director (who was nice) about all the great things this program has to offer. then, i had an hour of down time (very unusual) before my interview. my first interview was from a faculty member who was extremely welcoming and honest about the program. too bad they had given him the wrong personal statement (the only thing he was allowed to see from my file). we chatted for the entire hour and came to the conclusion that this was probably not the best place for me. few procedures, poor surgical experience, lots and lots of phone calls and footwork trying to get patients in touch with resources in the community. apparently they don’t have enough social workers on staff. boo. a resident said, “if you’re looking for a happy practice, this isn’t it”. ’nuff said. after lunch, another tour of the hospital, and paying ELEVEN DOLLARS for parking, i was out of my misery and on to happier things… at the ferry building. i picked up some bread, salty caramel chocolate goodness and macaroons to bring home, and then sampled crab and shrimp croquettes at the japanese bistro, won ton soup at the funky vietnamese fusion place, but not the gelato… because no one was there to celebrate it with me. boo. i braved the traffic back to fairfield, where i was greeted at the door by william’s parents. we ate cookies and watched an oprah rerun where middle aged women ran around in their bras. surreal.
thursday morning i woke up 30 mins late and ran off to my 4th and final interview of the week. it was a happy, laid back place… it reminded me of my first choice program… just without the sunny skies and ocean breezes. by the end of the day i was exhausted, though, and fell asleep on the bus tour around the city. then… airport, flight, airport, chick-fil-a milkshakes, heidar baba –> home!
friday morning i went to the gym, had din tai fung with william, and then proceeded to get my surg-on. hahahaha. i picked up trauma center: second opinion for the wii. it’s a very poorly written game– but that makes it funny. except… for the fact that you play the part of a fresh-out-of-residency hack little boy surgeon who keeps getting insulted and smacked around by angry nurses who are apparently smarter than you and provide your “training”. suuuuuuuure. hopefully they’ll leave me alone to “drain the cytoplasm” and inject mysterious green fluid into the “pancreas” to keep the vitals from dropping. does anyone else have a problem with the funk-tunky rhythm strip up top? where’s my anesthesiologist and why isn’t she monitoring the vitals?
whew. this post is getting long. time to go do something more productive with my time.