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.

Specialty

Since I have the palate of a child and I imagine a number of you who read this blog may have children, I feel it only fair to share recipes for meals that I like.

This is a recipe I learned from my uncle who's from Minnesota where I'm told they have things like "dishes" and "bars". This, I believe, would be considered a dish. It's my uncle's specialty, so we just call it "specialty". Real creative with the name, I know.


Here's what you need:

• Approximately 10 oz Pasta (I prefer rotini or elbow macaroni)
• 5 oz can of Chicken
• 1 can (10 3/4 oz) Cream of Chicken condensed soup
• 1 can of equal size of chicken broth
• 8 oz slice Mozzarella Cheese
• Poultry seasoning

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Cook pasta
3. While the pasta is cooking, mix soup and broth in medium saucepan. Add enough poultry seasoning to give mixture slightly green hue.
4. Drain chicken and place in 9x9 glass dish.
5. When the pasta is done, add pasta and soup mixture to the dish. (Note: you may not need all of the soup mixture)
6. Stir so that all components are mixed together.
   
7. Place slices of mozzarella on top, covering the other ingredients.
8. Bake in oven 15-20 minutes or until cheese is brown.

Serves 5-6.

I tried mixing vegetables in once. It was not a success. Serve veggies on the side; I'd recommend preparing them while waiting for the dish to bake.

Ways to make it less unhealthy:

• Whole wheat pasta
• Low-fat and/or low-sodium soup
• Skim mozzarella
• ...If you're a health-nut, you probably already know! :)

I hope you enjoy!

Tips for 4th Year Part I

Mr. submitted ERAS yesterday! We're still early in the process, but here are some of my tips for those who will go through this in the future...

1. Prepare to spend an extra $10k or so for fourth year interviews, particularly if applying for a competitive specialty. Many do this with loans (as we are), but if you can avoid the loans, awesome!
2. Prepare to spend an additional $2k per away rotation for rent and additional food. You'll probably spend less, but if you plan for $2k per month, you should be safe. Note: if your med student is going away in the summer, this will likely be before fourth year loans come in. If you have an income, start saving. If you live entirely on loans, request a little extra for third year.
3. Make a list of programs to apply to in spring of third year. Find out what specific requirements they have. They won't all be the same. Look for:
1. Who they want letters from. Clinical faculty only? Someone not in the specialty? The head of the department? You can submit up to four letters, but as the different programs want letters from different people, you may need 5 or more letters.
2. Additional forms for letter writers. Some programs have their own cover-letter for letters of recommendation, so you need to have that before asking for letters.
3. Any additional exams.
4. Program-specific personal statements.
5. MCAT scores, SAT scores, and/or your undergraduate transcript.
6. Anything else they might think of to request...
   

That's it for now, but I'm sure I'll think of more later. Good luck, everyone!!

197 days until Match Day.

ERAS

Last night, Mr. got home from two months of away rotations. I kept myself very busy these past two months... apparently too busy to blog. :)

When Mr. came home last night, after a hug and a kiss, the first thing we did was sit down and take another look at the list of programs he'll apply to. We got rid of programs that would require those who wrote his recommendation to fill out a special form or were strictly 6-year programs. Since I'm thinking I might go back to school during residency (apparently I like to collect degrees), we also struck some of the more rural programs and added some from Boston, Detroit and Philly. I think we're at 53 programs and hope to whittle down to 50.

Tonight is the night to finish compiling everything as the first day to submit to ERAS is tomorrow.

We have to go through each program and make sure we're fulfilling special requests, such as undergraduate transcript or a program-specific personal statement. Then we'll carefully check the preferences for each program on ERAS to make sure everything is going to the correct place.

I know I always get a little nervous before sending an email at work to a large distribution group, even if it's just the attorney training department (with whom I often correspond). It's only more nerve-racking to send to attorneys, particularly partners. The more power a person has over your future, the more important it is to not screw up. And who could have more power of peoples' futures than the committees who review residency applications? With 50+ programs to comb through, I imagine tonight will be a lonnnnnng night...

199 days until Match Day.

Living Less on Loans

For the majority of medical students, living off of student loans while in medical school is inevitable. Most families in the US can't afford to pay roughly $50k/year in tuition, fees, room & board. Medical students have little opportunity to earn income in the first two classroom years and no opportunities in the last two clinical years. Meanwhile, banks happily approve the loans knowing that US medical students are a good bet.

Some medical students support their entire family (spouse & kids) on loans. For some, this is the best and/or most cost-effective arrangement. However, childless young couples like us live a different way. I work.

It's easy to think of extra expenditures in medical training that require extra loans (such as the additional $11k we're taking out for the residency application process) as simply "drops in the bucket" of the 6-figure student loan debt. However, smaller expenditures add up, particularly when they accrue interest.

The point of this post is not to make our hair turn prematurely grey, but rather to explore the benefits of living less on loans.
In our case, we use my salary to pay for room & board, books, test fees, travel, all discretionary spending, all of my expenses, and away rotation expenses. Focusing on only the necessary medical school related expenses that we've incurred or will incur in years 2-4 (as we were married and merged finances in the summer between years 1 and 2), it breaks down roughly as follows:

Room: $575/month x 36 months = $20,700
Board: $250/month x 36 months = $9,000
Books: $1000/year x 3 years = $3,000
USMLE Test Fees: $2150
Visiting Rotation flights: $300
Visiting Rotation rent: $1600
--------------------------------------------
Total: $36,750

Now, just to be fair, let's assume that Mr. gets a nice offer right out of residency and pays off his loans within the first 6 months. Not likely, I realize, but at the bare minimum, that means that the loans will accrue interest for 5 years. Mr. has a number of different loans at various rates, but to keep a fair estimate, let's look at what that extra $36,750 would happen with 6% interest rate over 5 years.
Annually compounded over 5 years at 6% interest, that $36,750 would become ~$49,180. That's an additional $12,430 in interest.
Taking the full 20 years compounded annually at 6% interest, that extra $36,750 becomes ~$117,860, or an additional $81,110 in interest.

Now, I imagine there are a number of factors I'm missing. Perhaps you can get a better rate, pay more effectively, etc. The point is, paying for the little stuff now helps a lot in the long term. Few couples can pay for everything out of pocket, and not all additional loans are unavoidable. As I stated above, we're taking out extra loans to pay for the interview process. However, by learning to live less on loans and pay for what we can now, we will save a lot in the long run.

Writing the Essay

No, my fellow fighting violets, I'm not talking about the required writing seminar at NYU that all freshman must take in some form or another. I'm referring to a little step in the residency application process known as the Personal Statement.

Though he's been talking about writing his first draft for the past few weeks, Mr. finally sat down last night and hammered out what turned out to be a nearly 800 word piece on how he came to choose orthopedic surgery. While I'm not sure if there is a specific word count, my cousin's statement (which received high praise) was just about 600 words long. Better too long for a first draft, so I feel this is a good start. Of course, after the edits I made to it this morning, it is now 2 words longer. Oops!

If I were the applicant, I think the personal statement would be one of my favorite elements. For one, I'd get to talk about myself, but more importantly I'd really use the opportunity to make those who read them see me as an individual and not merely a list of accomplishments. Mr., on the other hand, finds this element particularly stressful. It's rare for the personal statement to help you, but it can very easily hurt you. As an otherwise highly competitive candidate, Mr. primarily aims to "do no harm" with his statement but is nervous because he's not necessarily a strong writer...or so he thinks.

Upon listening to what Mr. tells me what he wants to say and then reading what he actually puts down on paper, it seems that he was taught ridiculous writing rules that are decent guidelines when first learning how to organize one's thoughts but very restricting parameters when attempting to be eloquent and eye-catching. As a result, my favorite phrases from his statement arose when he told me something and I responded, "write that down, just like you said it" and continued to insist despite his concerns that it wasn't the proper essay structure.

At this point, I imagine some of you are probably thinking, "Come on now, M. Your writing isn't exactly brilliant; where do you get off giving writing advice?" And that is certainly a fair point. My writing is not brilliant, but my reading is. At some point in almost all my jobs and internships, I have been assigned the task to read or proof things, not just for grammatical errors but for content and style as well. I once went through a pile of film scripts and was asked to discard any that weren't interesting after the first 10 pages or so. Another time I reworded descriptions of corporate event planning offerings in client presentations. As a legal secretary, I was often given the task of drafting correspondence to our clients or fixing the correspondence written by associates. Though I had many weaknesses as a producer, I'd like to think one of my strengths (as evidenced by the reviews and my other small successes) is piece selection. I know good work when I see it whether its intent is to entertain, to sell, or to simply just communicate. And though I often lack the talent to create good work from scratch, I truly enjoy tweaking rough drafts to help turn them into final, polished products.

So, this morning I took a look at Mr.'s first draft. I printed a copy and went to town with my pen. Then, I opened the Word doc, set the page to "track changes" and created a redline. After saving and printing the redline, I accepted all changes to give Mr. a clean draft with my edits. I'm sure there will be many more incarnations of Mr.'s personal statement. I don't even know if he'll accept any of my advice, but at the very least it's certainly fun to witness this creative work.

Photo by CPSutcliffe

Away Rotation Update

As mentioned earlier, Mr. applied for two visiting student clerkships ("away rotations") in orthopedic surgery in the midwest. They're both strong programs. One is at a very good hospital affiliated with a top-notch university in an extremely popular city. Let's call that Program A. The other is a strong program with seemingly very happy residents in a city that is far less exciting to most but is halfway between our families and thus very desirable for us. We'll call it Program B.

The application for Program A required listing up to 2 alternative courses and 3 alternative dates. They also needed his Step 1 scores, a letter of recommendation, and his transcript in addition to all of the other usual administrative things. So, he applied for Ortho, Peds Ortho, and Trauma for July, September, and October.
The application for Program B required listing up to 4 alternative combinations of elective + date. So that he wouldn't be scheduling any conflicts, he listed a number of different ortho electives all in the month of August.

As STM's hubby heard back from the many programs he applied to, Mr. and I became antsy. We thought he'd be fine, but we wanted to know something. I would bug him every night when I got home, asking if he'd heard any news, and he would remind me that he would let me know as soon as he heard.

Then, today as I walked back to my office after lunch, typing a text to my friend in the Navy to see if he's in town for Fleet Week, my iphone vibrated. At first I thought I had a new email - a google news alert about the Schumer governance bill or something. However, for once today I had no new emails. Then I saw the little number by my SMS icon. New text message. From Mr.:
"I have been accepted to rotate at [Program A] in July for orthopedics."
I called him as fast as I could hit the speed dial on the touch screen. I can't remember our brief conversation, but I couldn't contain my excitement. Not only is this a great opportunity for him, but it also means that so far, things are going as planned. I'm very much looking forward to getting home tonight and reading his acceptance e-mail. Then we'll tell his Program A city friends that he'll be staying with them and figure out how much we'll pay them. I'll also start looking for flights to visit him.

Are wives normally this excited upon learning their husband will be gone for a month? :)

Minor Vent

So, Mr. is a bit of a neat-freak. I often drive his little OCD-lite self nutty when it takes me two weeks to unpack or if I place a used shirt next to the hamper instead of in it. If I had my druthers, I'd keep up my slightly sloppy ways, but I try to be better about things for the sake of Mr.'s sanity.

Of course, when he then falls short, I get frustrated. For example, he always seems to forget to place a new trash bag in the kitchen trash can after he takes out the trash. Now taking out the trash is great! And in my former life, I would have just been happy about him taking out the trash. Except, if I were the one to forget to put in a new bag, he would point it out in a "you know better than this" type of tone. And because of that, I get annoyed. However, I don't want to nit-pick, so instead I point it out and say, "if I did this, you would get mad". Or "guess what you forgot again!" in a cheery tone. He takes it well...but still always forgets the darn bag!

Then there's the bed making. I don't like to make the bed when nobody is going to see it. In fact, making the bed every day may actually be unhealthy. But, again, it's something Mr. is picky about, so we do it. The deal is the last person out of bed makes the bed. That's usually Mr. so it works out for me. However, last night I put new sheets on the bed late at night...right before bed... When I was finished, Mr. noted my sloppy execution ...not in a mean way, it was kinda cute, but still, it was right before bed. You know, when we were going to mess up the sheets anyway?
It didn't affect me at the time, but it did irk me a little when I discovered this morning that Mr. (who wakes up after me but leaves before me this rotation) didn't make the bed. Normally I would leave it, but we have house guests coming today who are getting in while Mr. and I are both at work. Oy. Vey. Really??

So, I rushed to make the bed and then subsequently missed my bus. Luckily I wasn't late, but I cut it very close!

Ah well. No harm, no foul...

American Fried Rice

First year of medical school, Mr. lived with two of his classmates. Both really chill, nice guys, they are also both Chinese-American. Why does that matter? Because they taught Mr. how to cook Fried Rice. Toward the end of first year as I was about to move in, all three boys made dinner, and I - one of the pickiest eaters ever - tried fried rice for the first time. It was fine and probably made wonderfully, but when it came my turn to make it, I put my own (bland Americana) twist on it.

I call it American Fried Rice.


It's a pretty balanced dish and really inexpensive to make, so here's what you need:

• Vegetable Oil (or whatever oil you prefer)
• 3 cups of rice (day-old works best, but you can make it fresh as well)
• 3 hot dogs, cut into 1/2" cubes
• 1/2 cup? (I eyeball it...) of frozen peas
• 1/2 cup (again, eyeball) of frozen corn
• (any other veggies you want to include)
• 3 eggs
• Salt/pepper and any other seasoning you'd like
  

Here's how you do it:

1. If not using day-old rice, cook rice.
2. Scramble eggs with salt and pepper in separate bowl and set aside.
3. Chop hot dogs into 1/2" cubes (or smaller)
4. Pour a little bit of oil in a large pan over medium heat and move pan to coat with a thin layer of oil.
5. Cook hot dogs
6. Add corn, peas & any other veggies to the pan to cook for roughly 5 minutes.
7. Add rice to the pan, and stir all ingredients together.
8. Add eggs to the pan and stir so that everything is mixed well
9. Continue to fry until the egg mixture is coating all of the rice and is no longer raw.
10. Turn off heat and serve!

As a main dish, this makes about 4 servings. As a side dish, I imagine it makes about 8 servings.

If you have picky kids, this recipe might be worth a shot! :) I do, after all, have the palate of a 5 year-old...

Being Kiki

My sorority little once read a celebrity magazine article where some female superstar mentioned her personal assistant/best friend. I think her name was Cocoa or something like that, because we then joked about me being my little's Kiki (also the name of the Julia Roberts character in America's Sweethearts). While I suppose some might be offended at the implication that they would be an assistant to their friend, I found it both flattering and fitting.

The last few years it has become clear that I love doing stuff for my friends. Most recently, I found sublets for my friend's friend who's moving here for a month with her sister starting next week as well as one for my friend who's moving here indefinitely in a month. It actually worked out that by doing so, I was able to help out two different sorority sisters unload their apartments for short periods of time.

I also made a google map for my friend who's moving here, mapping out neighborhood gyms, grocery stores, and landmarks in the area where she'll be working. For my little, I helped her to find a venue for a play her mother is producing as well as shared employment contracts I had used as a producer for her mother and her to work off of.

Let's not forget my spreadsheets that I've made for Mr., either. I actually have spreadsheets for Ophtho, ENT, and Ortho, but I only really update the ortho one any more.

Anyway, the point is I love this stuff. I love researching and organizing life. I like creating systems and playing an active role in transactions. I love this stuff so much that I'll spend my time working on this stuff instead of on studying during finals week.

And well, because of this, I think I'm really going to enjoy being a doctor's wife. From scheduling residency interviews to keeping track of the household budget while Mr. spends 80+ hours in the hospital, I will always have a project.

...and when that's not enough, I'm sure my friends will keep me plenty busy as well. And if that fails, I suppose I could become a professional life assistant... I think I'll go by "Kiki". ;)

For Fellow Future Ortho Widows...

...And even moreso their ortho spouses,

I thought I'd share this resource Mr. is slightly obsessed with:

Orthogate

It has, I think, just about everything you want to know about orthopedic surgery in the US. I haven't spent too much time perusing it just yet, but I suspect it may come in handy in these upcoming months.

The Joys of Campus Living

I lived in campus housing all four years of undergrad. Of course, I went to a college with very little campus and had a 30-minute commute from my junior and senior year dorm to the classroom buildings, but nevertheless, I loved campus living. In sorority housing, I had 9 suitemates my sophomore year and 4 my junior and senior years. There was always someone nearby, and on sunny days, it was great to sit out in the park, doing some homework. (Actually, I was once pictured in the NY Sun reading in Union Square Park on an unusually warm February 29... I remember the date because I called a friend of mine, a current MS3, actually, whose birthday it was.)

I spent one year between undergrad and moving to the med school, and one thing I looked forward to was living on campus again! It hasn't disappointed. We have friends who live nearby which makes impromptu plans easy to make, and I'll often run into a familiar face in the lobby or at the bus stop. This past weekend, I spent much of both days lounging in the courtyard, getting more of a tan 2 days in New York than I did during my week in India!

However, while I enjoy the perks of a student, I'm still not one myself. I'm sure more people know who I am than the other way around. I've been introduced to most of Mr.'s class by now, but, as hard as I try, I don't remember them unless I've actually spent time with them. So, when I'm lounging in the courtyard by myself, knowing my actions or inaction might reflect on my husband, I often opt to act and be oblivious. I bury my head in my book and/or wear my headphones. While I always love to run into people I know, I don't want to inadvertently ignore someone I should have said hello to. Luckily, those people who know me well will approach me even when oblivious, so it all works out. :)

Meritocracy

Yesterday afternoon, I saw my boss get a call from the HR manager. A little while later she asked me to stop by her office. Our firm recently laid off a number of support staffers, so I was a little nervous as I made the 30 second walk to her office.

Turns out I was right and wrong. I was right in that her calling me into her office was related to the call she received from HR, but wrong to be worried. It was time for my review, and my boss gave me a lot of positive feedback.

No raises are being offered this year, but they are still awarding merit bonuses. The bonuses are smaller than they've been in the past, but that's to be expected in this economic climate. My boss, happy with the work I've been doing, secured the top bonus for me and seemed apologetic that it couldn't be more.

Here's how I feel about it, though - I'm glad I have a job. I'm especially glad I have a job where my work is appreciated and my efforts rewarded. I understand the budget is tight, so I don't mind the amount. What matters to me is working for an employer that tries to encourage hard work by offering merit-based rewards.
Last year I worked at one of those "too big to fail" banks. After all of the reviews were submitted and evaluated, my boss called me into her office. Everyone on support staff was getting a 2% raise. Everyone. ...Okay, so it doesn't matter that these people gave far more to the company and far out performed those people? The only reward is the self-satisfaction of a job well done? I mean, don't get me wrong, that self-satisfaction can be pretty rewarding, but I was annoyed with the message this was sending us. To me, this says that the company doesn't respect what the support staff does enough to recognize top performers. It then, in essence, encourages laziness and "just getting by". Which in turn makes the entire company run poorly.
That is one of many reasons I lost respect for my former employer and opted to return to my current one.
My bonus this year is only 1/3 the amount of my annual raise at the bank, but the latter felt like a slap in the face whereas this one feels like a generous reward. The difference is the reason for them.

I think it's awful that layoffs are taking place here, but I truly see them as a reflection of the time. Bonuses aside, this firm is well run with priorities in the right places. I'm proud to work in a meritocracy. And if there's any confusion, I'd still be proud even if I hadn't earned the top bonus. If American companies hope to survive this recession, they need to focus more on rewarding good work. A little incentive will go a long way.

Shameless Request

I hastily made a survey! About hot dogs!

It's for my advertising class, and I'd love if anyone who swings by here might take a peak at it and fill it out.

Click here to take the survey.

Thanks!

Susan Boyle & The Match

Like many Americans & Brits, I have watched - and been moved by - Susan Boyle's performance on Britain's Got Talent. The song she sang, "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables, has been in my repertoire since I was 15 and saw that episode of Dawson's Creek where Katie Holmes' character sings it in a beauty pageant.
While not the most challenging song ever written, it does provide a number of challenges. The range required spans the break many female singers have between their chest and head voice, so you have to use your mix voice for the higher notes so as to not sound like two different people. While trained singers tend to bridge their break rather seamlessly, I've found it an issue for amateurs and pop stars alike (Shakira is the worst about it!).
Also, a lower-tempo song, the phrases are sometimes on the longer side, requiring good breath support. Personally, I always tend to have breath support issues which are only made worse when I'm nervous. Now, I've been singing in public my whole life. I don't really get nervous performing. I don't really care if audience members don't love me; I just enjoy being up there. However, I'm a ball of nerves whenever I audition because if the casting directors don't like what I do enough, I don't get the opportunity to do something I want. Ironically, this tends to hurt my audition. The nerves make breathing even more difficult, making my voice crack and my phrases trail off far too early. I hate auditions, but they're necessary in order for me to do what I love.

Similarly, Mr. is having a rough time with anxiety over this upcoming year. Is he choosing the right day for Step 2 CK? Will he stand out at his away rotations? Will he get enough interviews? And finally, will he match? After reassuring him that he will match but if by some fluke he doesn't it still won't be the end of the world, I gently reminded him that a career in orthopedic surgery doesn't stop being stressful.
He replied, "I know, but then I'll be doing what I want to be doing. I'll be learning about and then practicing surgery."
And that's when I realized that, like me, Mr. gets nervous for auditions despite his confidence when he performs.

Part of what I found so inspiring about Susan Boyle was her ability to perform despite her obvious nerves. I listened carefully at the bridge, waiting for her to crack or take an obvious breath in the middle of a phrase, and yet she powered through. Though Mr. is nervous about all that is ahead of him, I'm confident it won't show during his extended audition for residency. Still, the countdown for the match has begun. 10 months, 3 weeks, 5 days.

Back from India!

I just returned back from a whirlwind trip of a lifetime earlier this week. Two friends of mine from high school (one who lives in Chicago and another who lives in Mumbai) and I traveled around India, visiting Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur and Mumbai.

It was a great experience on many fronts, but between the 26/11 attacks and it being the hot season, tourism was incredibly low. At our hotel in Udaipur, it felt as though we had our whole hallway to ourselves.

My favorite leg of the trip was Jaipur because of the people, the sights, the experiences, and the shopping. Here's a picture of us at Amber Fort:


I have too many stories to post, but I just wanted to stop by!

Come Fly with Me...

I hate abandoning the blog, but I'm off to India!

See you after Easter.

Too Funny (and True!) to Not Post

How to Date a Med Student

Remembering Boredom

I am stressed. out.

I just took a midterm tonight, finished the first part of a group project over the weekend, and have 3 more projects in my lap. I have class 3 nights a week, an online class, church obligations, and sorority paperwork.

A year ago, I came home every night unless I had social plans. I'd get to make dinner and watch TV. I was really bored and felt directionless.

While I'm glad to be learning new skills and to have some direction, it's hard to remember what was so bad about not having stuff I had to do at night.

I wish my pride could handle being a law firm support staffer in the long term. I could work 35 hour weeks, have great pay and benefits, and spend my paycheck on travel and designer shoes. Sadly, I do want a career of some sort. Le sigh.

At least as a student I get spring break - 8 days until take-off!