Friday, March 23, 2012

Dodging Stress Bullets

I had one of those forgotten-class-stress-dream moments today.

You know the one I'm talking about. You're just going along in your dream, minding your own dreamy business, when the dream-version of a kid you haven't seen since like seventh grade is all, "Man, are you ready for this calculus final today?" and you're like, "Wait, I'm in a calculus class?!" and they're like "Yeah, you've been enrolled this whole time... I was wondering why you haven't been going to class!" and then you're like (1) thanks a lot, jerk, for reminding me about this now, and (2) I have to go take this freaking final right now! And you're super stressed out and you don't even consider the possibility that you could just drop the dang class because you're just going to be a liberal arts major anyway.

And then you wake up and you're like, whew, dodged that derivative bullet.  Relief.

I had a similar experience today, except without the dreaming. I just got this overwhelming sense that there was all this stuff that I should have already done--finishing classwork in the degree program that I'm wrapping up, finding myself a job in California, figuring out where we're going to live--and I froze for a second and thought to myself, what have I been doing with my time?!

And then I realized it's only been a week since we found out we'll be moving. Breathe, self. Chillax.

Dr. D has a job. I've already applied to one of my own, and there are other prospects on the horizon. There is no shortage of places to live, for crying out loud. It's a major city. And once I write a few more papers, I'll be done with my Masters.

Yes, there's a lot to do over the next couple of months, but we will get through it.

Sometimes you just have to smack yourself awake and put things into perspective.  And something tells me I'm going to have to do that quite a bit before we move.

To those of you in a similar situation, what are some things you do to keep things in perspective?

Friday, March 16, 2012

To the future!

{many thanks to Dr. P for this artistic interpretation of our future}

Monday, March 12, 2012

Yes Day

Let me see if I still remember how to do this:

Wassaaaaaaaaap?!

(too 1999?)

Oh, hello there.

(too nonchalant?)

I've been a bad, bad blogger.

(a bit self-deprecating and trite, but that about sums it up.)

Hmm... how to explain this in a succinct way without boring you to tears? There's really no better way to describe the past five months---holy heck, five?!---other than to say the following:
  • Applying to residencies is an arduous process for all parties involved.
  • It's also a life-consuming process.
  • It's also very personal.
  • We made it through.
As much as I wanted to take to the blog and agonize about every significant and insignificant detail of the residency application and the interviews and the travel and the debt (oh my word, the debt), I just couldn't do it.  Not only to protect Dr. D's privacy, but for my own sanity.  And believe me, I think I saved you from some incredibly repetitious and anxiety-ridden prose.

What's that?  I could have blogged about other things, you say?  To be sure, that might have been an option.  But to omit such a large part of what was happening in our lives would have felt entirely inauthentic to me, and I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

But here I am, ready to take another crack at this blogging thing, as Dr. D and I find ourselves on the cusp of transition once again.  I know I would kick myself down the line if I didn't document this pivotal time, so here we go.

That, and I realized the internet has been entirely Jdog-deficient as of late.  So here's to that:


Okay, moving on.

Today, dear Internet, was "Yes or No Day" (hereafter referred to as YON Day---just roll with it) in the world of fourth year medical students.  Today was the day that fourth years were informed whether or not they have successfully matched into a residency program.  Mind you, this is not Match Day.  As you can see by the rapidly dwindling countdown, Match Day is this Friday.  YON Day (roll with it, I say!) is kind of like your mean older sibling who would find an awesome toy on the taller shelf in the store and then would say "WANNA SEE IT?!" as they held it juuuust out of your reach while evoking the technicality that you were, in actuality, seeing it and would lord it over you until Mom eventually made them hand it to you.

Match Day is Mom.  YON Day is your jerk of a sibling.

In the spirit of positivity, Dr. D and I had taken to calling YON Day just straight-up "Yes Day."  It worked, because he matched!  And also he's awesome, so that might have been a contributing factor.

So, on to Friday.  On to mimosas and elation and tears and bittersweetness and celebration.  On to our future.