how I feel by the end of the day...
so another year has come and gone. I know it probably feels that way for the millions of people with whom I promised I would keep in touch. I truly apologize that for many of you, this sad, sad blog is your only source of information. anyway, thank you to everyone that wished me long-distance birthday happiness. I feel like I've been somewhat melancholy the last few days. I suspect that it is mostly due to coming down from what was one of the greatest months of my life, but also the stark realization of the gravity of the upcoming weeks. so, I guess I should start with the good news first and work my way towards my ridiculous return to Arizona.
so when I last wrote, Ben and I were just leaving Tempe. the trip out to Pittsburgh was rather uneventful and both of us spent most of the plane ride asleep. we arrived in Pittsburgh to a glorious sunny day complete with cool breeze and fresh air. the weather paired with the overwhelming amount of plant life and greenery was nothing short of awesome. as always, Ben's parents whipped up amazing meals and were the most gracious of hosts for our two-day stop. unfortunately, the weather rapidly shifted to an impressive downpour which prevented us from watching Ben play baseball with his team. even so, we managed to sneak in a quick nine holes of golf the next day before seeing Ben's dad's band play a show at Carhops in Pittsburgh that evening. needless to say, it was a good night and I once again learned that left-handers can drink just as much as right-hander - a theory that may need further investigation in the future.
benny's boys out on the prowl
so after an all-too-short stint in Pittsburgh, we headed out to Cleveland to visit our good friend, Jake. the drive out to Ohio was a fairly easy prelude to our trip to Peoria, and it shaved off two hours of driving on Sunday. also, we had the good fortune of finding Santosh in the area. we walked around downtown Cleveland, were accosted by a strange man who had apparently abandoned his daughter in a homeless shelter to panhandle and sell Streetwise (by the way, never, ever trust a man who's idea of a really good burger is McDonald's), and eventually made our way to a nice steakhouse. the wait was somewhat unbearable, but it all worked out since Santosh felt the overwhelming urge to walk an extra sixteen blocks. after dinner, we headed over to some of the local establishments and managed to find none other than Frankie Muniz at one of the bars - he looks a lot scummier and less Malcolm-y in real life. the night concluded with a trip to Howl at the Moon. there, we witnessed such amazing feats including "Tony the guy that drinks the beer," beautiful women completely disinhibited on their last night of single living, and an amazing tower of empty 64oz beer bottles.
after many loud sing-a-longs with the pianos, we parted ways with Santosh and managed to make our way back to Jake's apartment. the next morning, we set out for the promised land of Peoria. the drive was relatively uneventful and clearly easier for me to say that since Ben did all the driving. outside of driving straight through Raper Country, the trip - as with most trips through the Midwest - was fairly uneventful. we managed to get into Peoria around 7pm and met with one of the residents that escorted us to our dorm. much to our dismay, we quickly learned that the dorm had very few luxuries and only a handful of amenities. to note, there really wasn't much in the way of unrestricted internet access. even so, with room and board provided, we realized that at least we would be comfortable.
at this time, we were fairly hungry and were elated to discover a Bennigan's nearby. now, ordinarily this wouldn't be such a huge discovery, but for the past few months, we had been trying to locate a Bennigan's in the Phoenix area, but most had closed down and there would be no place for me to spend my gift card. so, we proceeded toward the Bennigan's with great caution as I attempted to command a manual transmission truck for the first time since high school. after minimal whiplash and an amazing 0% stall rate, we arrived at the restaurant only to find that they had closed earlier than their posted hours. realizing our journey was for naught, we were given directions to a local pub/tavern, Hoops. we were greeted by a diverse array of locals as well as a plastic lawn goose. already, we could feel that this would be a good month. after partaking of the local wares, we attempted to make the room a bit homier by furnishing it with random items from the nearby Wal-Mart; a carton of strawberry malt whoppers, a gigantic tub of sour gummy ropes, and a random assortment of toiletries. much to our chagrin, we noticed the gumball machine filled with Homies placed strategically at the exit and obviously, nothing makes a room homier than an army of Homies! again, the stars seemed to be lining up and the month was only just beginning. shortly after our adventure at Wal-Mart, we returned to the room and settled in before an early morning.
the next morning, we awoke to the sounds of the alarm clock signaling the arrival of 6am. we quickly made ourselves presentable and headed down to the Emergency Department for our first day and orientation. the day went relatively quickly and we had the pleasure of making new friends. Sherly and Lindsay are students from the University of Illinois and we also worked with Sarah, my friend from undergrad. especially meaningful for me was working with my friends Fletch and Mark, whom I haven't seen since undergrad. Fletch is now a third-year resident and Mark a second-year.
the days went by and our time in Peoria were over faster than I could have imagined. the first days seemed so long and arduous as I tried to find my place and get into a rhythm with a highly functioning department. what I first noticed was that despite my bumbling and general intrusion into the department, the attendings, residents, and staff were so forgiving and even interested in helping me progress through the rotation. this was overlaying an already established feeling of hospitality extended by the residency office. anyway, long story short, the month was well spent and I will always have great memories from this rotation.
after many loud sing-a-longs with the pianos, we parted ways with Santosh and managed to make our way back to Jake's apartment. the next morning, we set out for the promised land of Peoria. the drive was relatively uneventful and clearly easier for me to say that since Ben did all the driving. outside of driving straight through Raper Country, the trip - as with most trips through the Midwest - was fairly uneventful. we managed to get into Peoria around 7pm and met with one of the residents that escorted us to our dorm. much to our dismay, we quickly learned that the dorm had very few luxuries and only a handful of amenities. to note, there really wasn't much in the way of unrestricted internet access. even so, with room and board provided, we realized that at least we would be comfortable.
at this time, we were fairly hungry and were elated to discover a Bennigan's nearby. now, ordinarily this wouldn't be such a huge discovery, but for the past few months, we had been trying to locate a Bennigan's in the Phoenix area, but most had closed down and there would be no place for me to spend my gift card. so, we proceeded toward the Bennigan's with great caution as I attempted to command a manual transmission truck for the first time since high school. after minimal whiplash and an amazing 0% stall rate, we arrived at the restaurant only to find that they had closed earlier than their posted hours. realizing our journey was for naught, we were given directions to a local pub/tavern, Hoops. we were greeted by a diverse array of locals as well as a plastic lawn goose. already, we could feel that this would be a good month. after partaking of the local wares, we attempted to make the room a bit homier by furnishing it with random items from the nearby Wal-Mart; a carton of strawberry malt whoppers, a gigantic tub of sour gummy ropes, and a random assortment of toiletries. much to our chagrin, we noticed the gumball machine filled with Homies placed strategically at the exit and obviously, nothing makes a room homier than an army of Homies! again, the stars seemed to be lining up and the month was only just beginning. shortly after our adventure at Wal-Mart, we returned to the room and settled in before an early morning.
the next morning, we awoke to the sounds of the alarm clock signaling the arrival of 6am. we quickly made ourselves presentable and headed down to the Emergency Department for our first day and orientation. the day went relatively quickly and we had the pleasure of making new friends. Sherly and Lindsay are students from the University of Illinois and we also worked with Sarah, my friend from undergrad. especially meaningful for me was working with my friends Fletch and Mark, whom I haven't seen since undergrad. Fletch is now a third-year resident and Mark a second-year.
the days went by and our time in Peoria were over faster than I could have imagined. the first days seemed so long and arduous as I tried to find my place and get into a rhythm with a highly functioning department. what I first noticed was that despite my bumbling and general intrusion into the department, the attendings, residents, and staff were so forgiving and even interested in helping me progress through the rotation. this was overlaying an already established feeling of hospitality extended by the residency office. anyway, long story short, the month was well spent and I will always have great memories from this rotation.
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12:26 AM
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