Prep for Interview 1

Once upon a time (June, to be exact), all of our umbrellas broke. All were over a year old, a fair lifespan for an umbrella in NYC, most even older. So, Mr. decided he would buy a new umbrella, a really nice one. Still, when I came home, I was surprised to find he had spent $70 on a really nice big umbrella that is roughly 3' tall folded. While I remarked how nice it is, I also balked a little at how impractical it is. Personally I was just thinking of city use. I always carry my umbrella in my purse so that I'm always ready. Obviously a big umbrella won't fit. It also won't fit in a backpack or briefcase, which means Mr. has to plan to carry it when it might rain. He has to carry it in his hand - one whole hand, that's 50% of his holding capability! In a city where people don't drive, the ability to carry things is vital.
Mr. also bought me an umbrella on his trip - a basic black folded umbrella that fit in my purse. While nowhere near $70, the cost was still significantly more than drug-store or street umbrellas, so I expected it to be high quality and was glad to have something reliable in my purse.
June 2009 was a very rainy month in New York, and it rained the night before Mr. left for his away rotations. I remember because I had left my black umbrella open to dry by our front door (so I wouldn't forget to put it back in my purse). However, two days later as I waited for the M60 bus to LaGuardia (I was off to visit a friend for the 4th), it started to sprinkle. When I reached in my purse, extra stuffed with my laptop and my quart-size bag filled with 3 oz liquids, I discovered that my umbrella was not in there. It then started to pour. I tried to stand under a tree, which worked well when the rain was light but was little help when the sprinkle became a downpour. I was drenched. Once on the bus, I texted Mr. to lament how I'd forgotten my umbrella. As it turns out, he had taken it with him on his away rotations. "It was out". Yes, out, drying out where I'd have to trip on it before forgetting to put it back in my purse. Mr. had been afraid he wouldn't be able to take his big umbrella with him on the plane, so he took mine instead. As you can guess, I bought another umbrella while visiting my friend, one that fits in my purse, so I wouldn't have to go two months without.
Now Mr. is flying out today, and it is yet again rainy in New York. My new umbrella is safely tucked away in my purse and very girly. The black umbrella is in less than perfect condition but still, in my opinion, perfectly usable, particularly if it's just going to be used to and from a car as it would be on this trip. Mr. disagrees, so his first mission last night was to find out if he could take it with him. He'll have a suitcase, a briefcase and a large umbrella, all to carry-on. I imagine they'll let him through, but I'm still a little nervous he's risking losing a $70 umbrella to the TSA. We'll see how this goes.

Mr.'s second mission was figuring out what to wear. While on one hand I can appreciate fretting over such a thing, on the other, I have little sympathy for a man in this situation. I mean, nice shoes, suit, button-down shirt, tie. If this were me, the question would be dress, skirt suit, or pantsuit with a million different ways to accessorize each style. But I digress.
His favorite suit is a dark-grey pinstripe (pictured left), and his other is solid navy. He's wearing the pinstripe. Now for the shirt and tie. Somehow this turned into a process, but he ultimately decided on a white shirt and a patterned tie. It looks nice. I suppose the big debate was whether or not to wear a different colored shirt (he has a dark purple one from Express that looks amazing), but at least for the first few (assuming he gets more than this one, haha), he should play it safe with the white. If other people are having more fun with it, he can switch it up.
Hmm... I hope he knows about the sometimes, always, never rule of buttoning his suit jacket. I'll remind him.

Interview prep isn't all umbrellas and suits, though. Mr. has to do his research on the program as well. What's it known for, who the program director is, etc. etc. I printed off the program's AMA Freida profile, and I'm hoping he found the rest on the program's website and Google news.
Enough typing; time to send my MD-in-training off to his first residency interview!

140 Days until the match!

Another Item to Check Off the List!

Mr.'s dean's letter has been uploaded to ERAS! Though programs won't be able to access it until November 1 (or will it be November 2 because of the weekend? or does the entire field of medicine simply ignore weekends?), it's such a relief to know that it is up.

These last couple months have been kind of crazy. Mr. completed his residency application and submitted it to 52 orthopedic surgery programs and was also invited to become a member of AOA. He finished a radiology elective, took Step II CK, and is now doing an Ambulatory rotation while working on his Independent Study Project. I thought 4th year was supposed to be light?

Of those 52 programs, we've heard from 1 so far (more on that later). Very nerve-wracking as friends going into other specialties have nearly their entire winter set up. However, I understand it's common for orthopedic programs to wait until the dean's letter is up before offering interviews.

Mr. was given the opportunity to proof his dean's letter before it was submitted, and he seemed very happy at the kind words from his letter-writer. The letter also included the information about AOA and hopefully (though Mr. couldn't remember) the award he and one other student in his class won first year. Here's hoping the offers start rolling in next week!

As for the one program we have heard from thus far, he will be going there Friday! I'm excited to hear how it goes. I will not be joining him, but I'll be sure to get a full report to share.

141 days until Match Day.