Post-Boards Recap

So the Step 1 exam obviously came and went. The scores came out and I passed. And that's all we'll ever speak of the dreaded test again. My post-test trip to NYC with my dad and sister was lovely. Though I didn't even come close to completing my list, I saw many good friends and had really relaxing days with family for about a week. Then the day I got home, I went up north to a friend's cabin to spend the last days before my orientations started. It was the perfect 10-day summer vacation. Here are some pictures!

Mid-Tuesday in Bryant Park. Does anyone work here?

Debbie and her dogs Toby and Lucy. So cute!

The sweetest details at Debbie and Chris' Harlem apartment

My cousin's apartment building rooftop terrace

Tiffany, Big Brother Connor and my aunt

Tiffany holding cute and wriggling things: Lucy on the left, Baby Landon on the right

Sunset view of New Jersey from the Battery Park Boardwalk a block away from my cousin's building

Korean seafood hotpot. The lobster was moving!

After...

Big Bear Lake

Big Bear Lake at sunset

Daddy harvesting some peas

Hard at work

Splendor in the Grass

Since all this, I've spent the month of July on my first clinical rotation in Neurology at the Detroit VA. It deserves another post, but for now, suffice to say, I loved it. Mostly because of the doctors, residents, and patients I've worked with. But more on that next time.

Sunday Seven

I'm always a day late, but I've been making the most of my weekends. This is my last week of work before I take 1 week off in my last summer vacation forever. This past week was very full, in the lazy and decadent way that is so indicative of summer.

Sunday Seven

When the times are tough, I really should be the most diligent about finding the good in my days. Though the weather was gorgeous, these past few days have been a little turbulent, for reasons here and there.

Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana: Intermezzo

I first performed in my cousin's wedding when I was 12 years old. Later, I became a wedding musician for hire through high school and college. Now I only do it occasionally for my very favorite people. I had thought by now, I'd heard or played nearly all of the good wedding music. However, for her candle lighting, Care requested this piece - one I had never heard of before. I'm seriously obsessed, listening to it on repeat even as I type this. Not only is it just so tender and beautiful (Italian opera will always get you!), but I reflexively think of Care and Rus' equally tender and beautiful ceremony. For me, this piece will forever carry the poignant weight of such happiness.

Something Blue

Feeling a little blue tonight after all of this weekend's excitement. Where I thought I'd be coasting on a high from all the fun and laughs I had, I'm mostly just nostalgic for when 515 and high school friends were all together. In true Dramatic Dorothy form, I was even moved to tears during a moment of ennui this afternoon... It really hit me then how rare and difficult it is for us to all get together now, and how it will only get more difficult. But of course, I know that these fleeting moments of longing are but a small price to pay for such funny, moving, beautiful, and true friendships. After all, we are but only a few key strokes away...


(photo of dusk from my neighborhood)

Sunday Seven

The "perfect weekend" version of a Sunday Seven:

The Royal Sons

I obviously first heard about The Royal Sons from Debbie. She sent me a casual email that said she thought I'd like their music. She was so right. I did and, now, less than a year later, I got to play with Landon at her wedding, and he will soon be marrying her gorgeous sister-in-law! How lucky!

Moments from our dress rehearsal right before Debbie married Chris :)

Give The Royal Sons a listen!

"Got Heart" Ring

This is my first piece of "everyday wear" jewelery that I actually wear all the time. I bought this Got Heart ring on sale from a little East Village jewelery boutique, on kind of a whim during my winter break. Of course, only Helen could bring me to a place as quintessentially New York as Verameat. She, along with my sister, were integral in my decision. Having worn this ring daily for a few months now, I feel like it was a worthy purchase. This buying nice jewelery for oneself - perhaps a physically small item, but significant in a young woman's life. At least for me, it is a daily reminder of what I'm capable of, my independence to find my own happiness, and the recognition of my own self-worth.

Happy Monday to all.

Wedding State of Mind

I've had three friends get engaged within the last couple weeks. One was just yesterday! I'm back to having weddings on my mind, dabbling in reading wedding blogs and perusing wedding photos. I'm such a fan of not only the dresses, flowers, and food, but all of the people. It's actually a little intimidating how attractive they are. Of course I know my own friends will far surpass any of these photos in beauty as they get married, but in the meantime, I play this game with myself sometimes where I try to guess if the couples are models or real people. Play with me:

Continue on for the answers.

Indian Summer

I always love the last of summer. To me, it's always the most magical time: sunny and warming days, leaves just beginning their fall tinge, crisp mornings melting into lingering twilights. I think the promise of summer is not yet gone and I'm still invigorated (and not jaded) by the unexplored horizons of a new school year and all the possibilities that it carries.

I was also lucky enough to see a bunch of old friends last weekend: Smurf and R pictured above at Eastern Market. Yes, I'm in shorts! And the next day, I went apple picking by Ann Arbor with A and a friend doing a Rad-Onc rotation who I haven't seen since high school. I might have to conjecture that October in Michigan is unbeatable...

You, the girl who reads

"She insists that her narratives are rich, her supporting cast colorful, and her typeface bold.... You will accept nothing less than passion, and perfection, and a life worthy of being storied."

from You should date an illiterate girl

Sent to me from my (beloved) Yunbear. She said this made her think of me and there are few compliments higher than that.

Thanks Yunbear!

PS. Throwbacks to my English Literature past-life: Syntax? Rich vocabulary? Plot? Yes, please.
PPS. The rebuttal (also from Y): You should date an illiterate boy

Hilarity Vol. III

This would be subtitled as "the WTF Edition" mostly featuring Debbie. Your news turned me around! Congratulations on your engagement! You've come a long way. And I lurve you. Again, click on the photos to enlarge.

Classy J

Scribbled on the back of a draft of my college entrance essay - bad student award to me!

(Previous volumes: 1 and 2.)

2011 Season Opener: A Time Course Study

So I survived (and passed!) my first unit of exams. I took a much needed half-week plus long-weekend to decompress. It was filled with meeting up with many old friends (like H, JJB, and a big part of 1313/1315 S. State), an unexpectedly raucous post-exam party, girls' night out, Polomba/Grenier tailgating, and Michigan Football. As you may have heard, the game was rather interesting and here are my captures of its progressions:

Sunny and HOT tailgating and game opening

Things getting weird and dark

Then, evacuation #1 (which the majority of us ignored) - see the new jumbo screen?

And then evacuation #2 (which we were not allowed to ignore)

 

In rain and shine, a good time was had by all. I hope everyone had an equally exciting Labor Day Weekend. Happy last weekend of summer!

Stage Fright

I really have nothing to say during the closing hours on the eve of my first day of classes. I'm calm but tired, nervous but hopeful, ready but so not ready. I remember reading Connie's poignant thoughts as she was about to embark on her own journey to law school and I recall being so moved at her fear, longing, and hope. These are emotions that I too now know.

It is so crazy to think that these were her feelings from only about 11 months ago. In less than a year, my little bear has changed so much and, to put it lightly, she has kicked absolute ass (top of her class, Law Review, etc., etc.). If I am but a fraction of the woman she is, I will be living a dream.

"Tomorrow is the beginning of an odyssey that will change my life, and I am feeling very small indeed."

Conmonster

Hilarity Vol. II

It's funny how Jenny and I became (Jenny: heavily, me: haphazardly) involved in science research. Obviously I now assume it's because we were together when we first got started. This is what Alice's card from yesterday is referring to: lots of corruption going on in 5th hour GBE. Also, I cannot take any credit for this artwork; it was all Jenny.

How come NEJM and Nature haven't embraced this?

Hilarity Vol. I

So I'm cleaning out my room in preparation for the onslaught of studying that will hopefully take place soon. Since I've started, I've discovered that being both extremely sentimental and a mild hoarder is not a good mix. I'm mostly unearthing junk that should have been thrown out years ago. However, some things I've come across are just... gold. Please click on all the photos to enlarge the hilarity.

best part: "Offer not valid when upset or mad at you" from Debbie

Jessie, when can I collect this IOU?

This one is a mess. But how little has changed in 10 years!

My favorite so far:

envelope: go gain some weight

card: the loss of the little intelligence you possess.

High-larious.

Sometimes

This past weekend has left me humbled and awestruck at the power of a casual weekend away, the generosity of others, and the true and endless depth of friendship. I actually sent this in an email, but I want everyone to know: since that weekend, I've reacquainted myself with convictions that there is more out there for me than the monotony of my current life, that my friends are fucking hilarious, gorgeous, and just such inspiring women, and that hopefully one day soon, I'll be able to be as cool as the rest of them.

Life is sometimes just so filled with joy, no?


(photo source unknown)

Quotability

"...But, in the long run, in the great battle of life, no brilliancy of intellect, no perfection of bodily development, will count when weighed in the balance against that assemblage of virtues, active and passive, of moral qualities, which we group together under the name of character; and if between any two contestants, even in college sport or in college work, the difference in character on the right side is as great as the difference of intellect or strength the other way, it is the character side that will win."

Theodore Roosevelt

Happy Birthday to Jenny, one who overflows with intellect, strength, and character.

(photo of Natalie Wood in NYC by William Claxton, 1961)