Zoo

I am on vacation this week, but Matt is not, so we are just sticking around and enjoying the city. Yesterday I had a very luxurious brunch with my old friend Kellie at the Clinton Street Bakery (I had a salmon scramble with greens and toast with jam...it was all absolutely delicious, and definitely the best place I have been to for brunch in the city, though I can only really compare it to three other places, all in our neighborhood), then walked around Nolita, cleaned a tiny bit and picked Naomi up from daycare after her nap to go to the library and playground with her beloved Samuel. Today I took Naomi to daycare again so I could clean the apartment and get some other things done around here, then went to the zoo after naptime.Can you tell she enjoyed herself? Oddly we got in free because the woman in the booth wouldn't sell us a ticket although it was only 3:30 (they are not supposed to stop selling tickets until 4).Naomi was a tiny bit afraid of the sheep this time.Is Central Park beautiful or what?When the zoo closed at 4:30, we walked up to the playground with the giant slide, where we ran into some friends, and eventually made it home around 6:30. It was a very, very beautiful day.

Now I am back to watching Gossip Girl (I'd never seen it before, but watched an episode while folding laundry earlier) while "studying" from my "First Aid for the USMLE Step 1" book--we will see if I actually get past page 5.

No more running

Yesterday afternoon I went for a run after studying all day. For a couple weeks prior to that I had not really been exercising at all (aside from the biking Matt and I did in Bermuda, which definitely counts--we biked a lot)...or showering a heck of a lot....or...you get the picture. Lack of time was becoming a serious issue. I've really had a hard time with my pharm class, for which our LAST TEST ended Thursday night. I had a panic attack after the test and was sure I had failed. Especially because the test was HARD, everyone thought it was the hardest yet...and I was worried that the mean would be particularly high (I was partly right on that, but possibly not to the extent that I expected). I didn't fail, I got about double the score I thought I would (literally), and while I still felt irritated afterward with the annoying people in my class who are on a big kick right now of trying to one-up each-other on how little they study or know in comparison to how well they score on tests...I was hugely relieved. So I went for a run to put an end to the imbalance that has dominated my life the past week and a half or so as far as studying goes. It was so fun! The only problem is, since then I have been in *extreme* pain. The baseline pain level is ok, but it is absolutely agonizing to try to roll over, sit down or get up from standing, twist to pick Naomi up, or lift a leg (eg, to get in the tire swing at the park). Walking also hurts, but I can do it. Rolling over is the worst. Anyway. This has happened before during this pregnancy, this is just the worst exacerbation yet. I think I have damaged my pubic symphysis--not torn it or fractured anything--but it is getting to the point where I should probably swear of running since this definitely appears to be a major contributing factor, and it really, really hurts. So. I'm a little disappointed--I like feeling like I am a tough person who can work through some pain to get what I want in life. On the other hand, I don't want to permanently screw up pelvis, because EVERYTHING KILLS, and I don't want that to be my norm for the rest of my life. Oh well. At least it is finally starting to look like Winter is ending; maybe I can turn to more biking instead.

Bermuda

Matt and I took a long weekend trip by ourselves to Bermuda the weekend before last. As you can see, the beach was a little crowded, hectic, and dirty, but we survived.Ha, ha. Seriously, though. This picture is not retouched, this is just how incredibly gorgeous and peaceful our surroundings really were! We felt like we had the entire country to ourselves. Apparently this was partly because we went a little before the main tourist season (some places were closed for "winter", which we thought was hilarious since it was about 70 degrees outside with bright blue cloudless skies and endless sunshine). I admit I never entirely got into the water, but I did spend a lot of time just relaxing and drinking everything in. It was perfect. Things have been a little crazy since we've been back in ways both good and difficult, but I would not trade our time away for anything. It was great. And life is good. I don't have any time to write now, but my spring break begins on Monday, so I will write some more then about everything else (including more specifics about our trip). Until then, more pictures will have to suffice.

Another trip to the Natural History Museum. I know I am a little obsessed with taking pictures of these two, but I really don't think there is anything cuter in life than happy two year-olds holding hands and taking such utter delight in each other's company. I mean really. Is there? Don't these pictures just make you think the world is a better place in general?

Last Sunday and Monday it snowed, with highs around 20. But toward the end of the week it really started to feel like Spring. Saturday and Sunday, the high was literally near 70 (note the short-sleeved shirt!)We're back to highs in the 40s this week with rain. But the warm weather over the weekend was absolutely WONDERFUL. As was daylight savings. True, "springing forward" is a pain for the first day you have to wake up a little earlier, but I love having an extra hour of sunlight in the evening.So anyway, we're all doing well. Matt and I are going to Bermuda for four days by ourselves this Thursday while Naomi spends four days with her Brice grandparents and cousins in Canandaigua. We are very excited!

I won the lottery!

We found out our third year schedule today (decided by lottery). I locked into my first four weeks outside of the lottery system because I am having a baby in June (another student in my class whose wife is due in August was also given the same option), but the rest of my schedule was lottery-based along with everyone else, so I have been significantly worried that I would end up with a terrible schedule.

Instead, it is perfect. I am THRILLED with my schedule! Almost everything is exactly what I had hoped for--even the details that we were not given the option of voting one way or the other on (for instance, the order of Peds and Ob within the Peds/Ob rotation).

My schedule:
8/31-9/25--Ambulatory Care (Private Practice)
9/28-11/6--Pediatrics (Sinai)
11/9-12/18--Ob/Gyn (Elmhurst...I actually requested Elmhurst over Sinai though it is a bit farther away because it is the best site for "catching a lot of babies"...fun, eh?)
1/4-3/26--Medicine (Geriatrics@Sinai&BronxVA, then medicine outpatient @ Englewood, then In-patient @ Sinai)
4/5-5/28--Surgery (I don't know the order within surgery, but half is at Sinai and half is at Elmhurst)
5/28-6/18--Elective
6/21-6/28--Anesthesia
Psych and neuro (deferred to fourth year).

March through May of next year will be tough (Inpatient Medicine at Sinai is notoriously unpredictable and exhausting, as is surgery), and there will be about six weeks of exhaustion in November-midDecember (followed by vacation, though--terrific!), but I am SO, SO happy that none of the rotations with the most demanding schedules are in the very beginning, and that the most stressful two are put off until the new baby will be 9-12 months old. YES, a 9-12 month old is WAY, WAY more interesting and enjoyable to spend time with than an infant (no offense to infants, they are great too....for blobs), but I also feel like a long day at daycare is much less problematic for a 9 month old than for a three month-old. Everyone has different feelings about different ages and when it is most important to be around more, but the bottom line is, for a vast number of reasons this is a situation I am very, very happy about. With a sigh of relief, I can officially look forward now to third year without anxiety. We are all going to be fine. I am excited!!