Intern Year Survival Guide: Staying Active

If you're a resident in nearly any specialty, you've probably sat through at least one of those lectures where they told you how important it was to take care of your own health while working 80 hour weeks and learning all the medicine you didn't learn in med school. They say this like it's SO easy, but no one tells you how to do it.

You work 14 hours and then you're expected to come home, do the adult things you have to do like eat dinner, do dishes, and get ready for the next day AND read about medicine AND spend time with loved ones AND somehow fit exercise in that mix?

Seriously?

As people in medicine we're often really busy taking care of everyone else and the thing that always falls off the bottom of our to-do list is taking care of ourselves. We're not a priority. It's hard to put something like exercise high enough up on your list, especially when you're already tired.

Now, this isn't one of those things where I tell you "no matter how busy you are, there's always time to exercise". I think that statement is crap. That statement is for people who work normal 40 hour work weeks. Trust me, sometimes I work so many hours in one day that by the time I get home the only thing I have time to do is eat and fall right into bed.

Instead of giving you platitudes, I'm here to tell you the truth about taking care of yourself in the craziness of PGY1 year. The reality is that intern year you probably won't have the free time to train for a marathon, you won't be able to achieve your goal of going from benching the bar to bench pressing 300 pounds. The truth is that setting a solid goal to work out every day for an hour or two is probably not going to be doable.

The reality of intern year is that no matter how well intentioned you are at the beginning of the week you'll get stuck at work for an extra two hours you weren't counting on dealing with an urgent patient issue or you'll end up getting home too exhausted to even think about going out out for a run or hitting the gym.

But, there is time to do enough to keep yourself healthy! And instead of giving you encouraging motivational statements overlaid on pictures of girls with perfect makeup wearing running clothes, I'm going to give you real advice about how to fit a couple workouts a week into your 80-100 hour work weeks.

1. Set a reasonable goal. I aim to workout for half an hour three times a week. Even when I get home late I can tell myself that it's only 30 minutes. I can take 30 minutes before I shower and go to bed. I can make that happen. If you tell yourself that your workout would take two hours, when you're tired there's no way you'll put off sleep for two hours to workout. 
2. If you're busy, add activity during your normal daily flow to help you stay active! I bike to work. It's not far, but it adds a couple extra minutes of activity to my normal day. If you can bike or walk to work. this can easily become a whole or part of your workout for the day.
3. Add fun activities on your day off that are active. Sometimes it can be as simple as going for a walk with your dog or heading to the park or downtown with your significant other for a walk! These sorts of things make it easy to get your activity in and have fun on your day off instead of staying inside watching Netflix. Trust me, the lure of the couch is real on your days off, but you'll feel better if you get out and do something when you're not at the hospital. 
4. Use a tracker -- I have an apple watch and it's been great for reminding me of the days when I've been stuck in front of a computer all day working on patient issues. I feel like having something reminding you to get your steps in can be a good way to make me take the stairs when I'm walking between the floor and the OR. 
5. Be kind to yourself. When you've had a really hard day, feel free to go home and skip your planned workout when you really just can't face it and need some downtime instead. Things can wait. 
6. 10 minutes is better than 0. Even if all I do is get on my treadmill and run one mile, that's one extra mile that I hadn't done before. 
7. Cut out travel time. I've always found that the thing that annoyed me about working out was the fact that sometimes I had to spend a bunch of time going to and from the gym to workout. It felt like wasted time. I've found it's much easier to convince myself to workout if all I have to do is start. I have a treadmill or run outside to get my runs in. It saves me the 10 minutes it would take to get in my car and drive to the gym. Bodyweight exercises or yoga can easily be performed in your bedroom! The 20 minutes it would take me in transit can be 20 minutes spent actually on the workout. Every second counts when you only have a couple hours at home. 
8. Reward yourself. Often if I get to the end of the week and I made my workout goals for the week, on my day off I'll do something fun for me as a little treat, even if it's just walking to get a starbucks or picking up a pair of $2 fun socks when I was at target because I did something good for me. :) 
9. Find the time that works for you. I get up at (or before) 4am most days to get to the hospital on time. There is no way I'm going to workout in the morning. Nope. So my goal is often to workout after I get home at the end of the day. I often try to do it right when I get home before I can get comfy on my couch and end up skipping. 
10. Use it as "you" time. Seriously. I use workout time as time that I am NOT doing medicine. It's the time I watch trashy Netflix and no one can make me feel guilty about it. Seriously. I watch the stupidest television I can find while I workout and never have to feel guilty about it being a waste of time. 

I can't tell you the number of times I think about how I'd love to workout more, how I miss the days when I could workout 5-6 times a week for an hour. I miss those days. But the truth is, doing that while a resident (especially a surgical resident) is just not going to happen!! Sometimes sleep or studying or adulting need to take priority in your time off. 

So if there's any platitude included in this it's: do what you can and call it a win. :)

Intern Year Survival Guide: Meal Prep

Intern Year Survival Guide: Meal Prep 

Despite the moments in the early seasons of Grey's Anatomy when the interns seem to have time to throw crazy parties and go on ridiculous dates outside the hospital, the truth about intern year as a surgical resident is that there are days when the only thing there's time for is work and sleep.

On those days, there's nothing that can replace the joy of coming home to a homemade meal instead of microwaving a burrito.

I am a big fan of the cook once and eat for days strategy. If you're going to bother to pull out all the pots and pans, why not make 12 meals instead of just 1?

I've found that there are a lot of secrets to a good meal prep session that will get you through a whole week (or two) of crazy shifts. The good news is that with some practice and only a couple hours you can put together enough food to last you days and days.

WHAT YOU NEED 
The key to any good meal prep is having lots of containers that fit single serving sizes. If you have to take the meals to work, the containers should be well-sealed.
I always use glass containers because I think that plastic often stains or collects weird smells. ALSO if you use glass containers, when I come home and want to just pop a dinner in the oven, I don't have to get anymore dishes dirty, I just throw the whole thing in the oven and then eat right out of it. Fewer things to clean = more time to sleep!

My meal prep requirements for packing
>> Lots of mason jars (I like the wide mouthed pint jars for salads and fruit and I use the mini sized mason jars for dressing, hummus, granola, etc).
>> Good quality single, serving size glass containers -- I'm using pyrex snapware containers at home. No spillage, easy to clean, highly recommend.
>> Ziplock bags for single serving snacks
>> Additional tupperware for meals prepped in large quantities that can be eaten at home.

THE MENU
The first step to any successful meal prep is the menu.
This may take some trial and error on your part to find recipes that easily can be made in advance. You'll find things you like that keep well and are easy to portion.
Some of my favorites
>> Quinoa salads -- excellent lunches, just toss quinoa with your favorite veggies and protein (my favorites: chickpeas, tofu, lentils) and make a bunch of dressing (or use store bought dressing) to package on the side
>> Pasta dishes -- lasagnas can be made in rolls, packaged individually and baked day of eating, meat or veggie pasta sauces can be made and pasta boiled separately and reheated day of
>> Tacos -- make all the taco filling and just reheat and toss in some taco shells the day of dinner
>> Premade salads -- just put the dressing on the side
>>Things cooked in sauce -- this is a really broad category I use for when you cook any protein in a sauce that you can reheat and toss on veggies or rice (like chickpeas cooked in curry sauce you toss on reheated rice!)

I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START
If you have no idea where to start on meal prep, try just making these things
> 1 or 2 grains premade (precook your quinoa and boil some pasta ahead of time)
> A big batch of sauteed or roasted vegetables (as a side for your main dish or tossed into a salad). Just pick whatever you like or is in season!
> Prepped proteins (bake your tofu, roast your chickpeas, boil your black beans, bake your chicken, etc).
> Chopped up fruit (perfect side dish for breakfasts)
> Fresh veggies cut in bags for snacks
> Small packages of nuts/dried fruit for snacks (alternately use granola bars, or your other favorite high protein snack)

WAIT... BUT HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE 
Generally, I spend about 2-3 hours on a day off doing meal prep to get meals for a whole week (some of this time includes cleaning and baking so it's more downtime). I also use my meal prep time as my time to watch Netflix, make phone calls, or listen to podcasts. It's a relaxing part of my weekend (but I like cooking...).
I've been doing meal prep for some time so I have it down to a science, don't be surprised if the first time you do it takes you a little longer. You'll learn how to do multitasking that will make it end up going much quicker!

HOW DO I MAKE IT GO FASTER
Easy, do things that need to take the longest time first!
I toss the rice into my rice cooker first thing so it's cooking while I do other things. I work on the dish that needs an hour to bake first so it goes right in the oven.
If you're pressed for time, use short cuts!! If I know I'm really going to only have an hour or two to do meal prep, I buy precooked frozen quinoa from trader joes or will spend a little extra money to buy presliced veggies to save myself a couple extra minutes.

BUT... IS IT EXPENSIVE?
Up front, your grocery bill may seem a bit steep... but remember that if you don't end up picking up take out you save a bunch of money!

OKAY, I'M ON BOARD, BUT I NEED AN EXAMPLE 
Right now, since Sweetheart isn't here, I'm just cooking for one person. That means I only cook about 3 meals a week and eat those three things for lunch and dinner and then have breakfasts.
Lunch and dinner (2 meals per day x 7 days a week = 14 meals = 3 meals with 4-5 servings per meal).
Simple?

So here's what I made last week as an example:
Disclaimer before I start -- I don't follow any specific diet plan/count calories/etc -- I just eat what makes me feel good. I use a lot of plant based protein sources with very little meat/dairy. It's just what I find to be easy, cheap, and stores well!

Breakfasts:
1) Homemade chia pudding with cooked fruit
--For the chia pudding: Mix 1 can of coconut milk with chia seeds and chill until thickened (total prep time 2 minutes)
--For the cooked fruit: open bags of frozen raspberries, strawberries, and cherries and cook with a small amount of water until a thin, jam type substance forms (total prep time 2 minutes, total cook time 30 minutes)
2) Coconut milk yogurts with fruit and granola: Package individual servings of granola and fruit (total prep time 5-10 minutes depending on whether or not your fruit requires cutting)

Lunches:
1) Quinoa salad: Cook quinoa, mix with a can of precooked lentils, chop scallions, zucchini, herbs, and dried cherries. Mix up homemade balsamic dressing. (total prep time 15 minutes, total cook time 45 minutes) -- start your quinoa at the beginning of the cook prep
2)  Leftovers from dinners

Dinners:
1) Raw veggie panzanella: Slice up bread into cubes, toast with olive oil and salt, dice up fresh cherry tomatoes, corn, and cucumber. Roast chickpeas. (total prep time 20 minutes, total cook time 30 minutes). Add fresh mozarella balls if desired. Use the same dressing you used for the quinoa salad.
2) Veggie and black bean enchiladas: Saute up remainder of random vegetables in your fridge (zucchini, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, etc)  and mix with canned black beans. Layer between corn tortillas with enchillada sauce and bake in large pan or layer or in individual dishes. (total prep time 30 minutes, total cook time 1 hour) -- make this first so it can bake while you make the rest of the meals

Snacks:
1) Packs of nuts
2) Bags with fresh snap peas

With some quick planning, you see how all this could be mixed up in a couple hours and baked off while packaging other meals or doing dishes.

WHAT ARE THE SECRETS?
1) Having a good plan before you go shopping -- figure out what you might need so you don't have to make 18 trips to the store
2) Reuse -- once I know I'm going to make a quick dressing for one meal, I'll plan two meals that can use the same salad dressing
3) Plan a couple of meals that can use precooked ingredients for speed (like yogurts for lunch or using a premade pasta sauce to go with the roasted veggie pasta).
4) Start the things that take the longest first -- the worst thing is to get to the end of your meal prep and realize that you haven't put in the dish that takes an hour to cook. Do those things first.
5) Practice. The first time you do a meal prep it will take you a little longer than you'd like. Don't give up, you'll get faster and faster every time you do this and the delayed gratification of having a meal to come home to every night is amazing!!

MASTER LEVEL PREP
If I have some extra time here are some fun things I like to add to my meal prep
1) Homemade iced tea packaged in single serving bottles to make my lunch more exciting
2) Something special for breakfast -- muffins/breakfast burritos/etc
3) Prep a special dessert for yourself -- add a batch of brownies or cookies to your prep
4) Do a "half-prep" -- prep all the ingredients for a sandwich and spend the additional 2 minutes in the morning to put it all together before you go to work. This can make your meals a little more exciting if you can't make something because it would get ruined by siting premade for 5-7 days.

Despite the work of doing all the cooking up front, I save so much time the rest of the week by just being able to grab my meals and walk out the door every day or toss something in the oven to reheat while I workout or take a quick shower after I get ready.

This meal prep can easily be adapted for more than one person. It might involve some extra time to make more than one meal or the same amount of time if you just make your meals in a larger batch. OR you can always include the other people eating your meals in the prep and make it go faster!!

Intern year is ridiculously hard, make it easier on yourself by having ready made meals for those nights when you're too tired to cook!

Happy eating!

Weekly Update June 12 - 18

The Week in Review 

Hard to believe that by this time tomorrow I will have already been at work for 10 hours and will still have about 20 hours left in the shift. How in the world am I going to get through that first day?? I have every intention to keep some notes (if I have a chance to breathe in  between the bouts of craziness) to write up something about my first ever day as a real doctor. I think that would be something that would be interesting to read at the end of this.

As part of our orientation to residency, we got the chance to watch the graduation of the finishing chiefs. It was strange to watch someone at the end when I'm still here at the beginning. It's easy to forget about the finish line when you're still trying to lace up your shoes at the start of the marathon.

There are a lot of miles ahead of me -- good ones and bad ones. I don't know what all those miles will hold or how things will be different this time next year or this time in seven years. But I'm excited for the race ahead.

The Week in Snapshots 

meal prep / last day of slow mornings / sunset on chief's dinner / the last time I look fancy for a bit / the ducks of summer

Reading
I realized that Carry On is the pseudo-sequel to Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl, and so I put Carry On aside for a second to read them in the right order. I'm kind of neurotic about reading books that are connected in ORDER

Listening 
So I came across this cute little podcast called Sawbones that every week talks about a medical history. It's really funny and not hyper-technical so they explain all the medical words. But I definitely think some of the history included in it about how we used to treat diseases is really cool!

3 Things

• I went to target like three times this week. I kept forgetting one or another thing I needed -- but now I have lots of snacks all stocked in my locker. 
• I have new supposedly long lasting foundation/eyeliner/etc. We'll see if it lasts through an all night call shift. 
• My new long white coats don't have inside pockets. That's unacceptable. I'm going to have to sow some pockets in there. 

Loving from Around the Internet 

MASON JAR SALADS -- I made a whole bunch of these to get me through the weeks lunches at work. Hopefully they're yummy because if they suck I have like 5 of them to eat.... 

Weekly Update June 5 - 11

The Week in Review 

One week into residency and already a day late getting this written -- at least you guys know what to expect.

Before I delve into talking about my week this week, I wanted to take a second to talk about the incredible tragedy that happened in Orlando a few days ago. I've spent a long time trying to get together the words to talk about how I feel -- but I just don't have them. There are no words for the incredible loss each and every one of those 50 families must be feeling right now. There are no words for the loss of a friend, child, spouse.

I cannot find the words because they do not exist.

I cannot find the words to say to my friends and loved ones who are members of the LGBTQ community. There are no words for the fear that someone could take your life out of hatred. There are no words to realize that for every step forward there are still steps back.

My heart breaks for the families and friends who will never get to hold the person they love again. I have watched people die in the ER from gunshot wounds. I have seen young people bleed out as doctors and nurses fought to save their lives. I have seen families fall to the floor as the news is given to them of life cut short too soon.

I have no words for the loss any family must feel for a loved one lost to violence.

I do not have words to say to those families. And one day, it may be me, in the ER giving the news to a family who will bury a loved one lost to violence -- I hope on that day I do have something to say. But even more than that -- I hope I never have to have something to say -- I hope the violence stops.

~~

This was my first week as an official resident physician. I have a long white coat and a badge hanging next to my door. But none of it feels real. I know that I am less than 7 days away from my first shift and that thought terrifies me.

I've met so many new people in the last week that it will take me weeks to sort out all the names and faces. For someone who's not particularly good at meeting new people and not adept at social interaction, the endless social events and small talk has been tiring! I'm trying really hard to be more outgoing and social, but it's always a relief at the end of the day to come home and be relieved of the need to be extraverted for hours!! I am much better at talking to people in professional situations -- social situations are much harder for me. Is there a secret I could learn? No. Just practice. Fine.

We're two weeks away from Sweetheart being here for his away rotation! I am already planning a couple of fun things for us to do on days off, but mostly we're looking at just being excited to share five minutes together at the end of the day when we're both exhausted from work. Being a two doctor household means that "couple time" has a whole different meaning!! Haha.

The Week in Photos 

flower delivery from Sweetheart / long white coat / brunch with new lady interns / hair bow / reading about vascular surgery 

Reading 

Mostly I'm reading about ATLS right now.... but I'm still reading a couple pages of Carry On by Rainbow Rowell every night. It's an excellent fun book very reminiscent of Harry Potter. 

Listening 

I've been listening to a lot of spotify playlists that are for "focus". I haven't identified anything particular that I can recommend because mostly it's just playing in the background! 

3 Things

• Programable coffee makers are a MUST for anyone starting residency. Nothing like hearing the coffee brewing when you're waking up. 
• There was an incredible rain and lightning storm for the last couple hours, but now it's clearing and the clouds are perfect purple and pink. I tried to take a picture... but the colors just aren't turning out right, so you'll have to take my word for it. 
• I found kale pesto hummus at whole foods yesterday and have eaten almost the whole container in 24 hours... this is dangerous

Loving from Around the Internet 

Since I've been so obsessed with make ahead meals the last two weeks, I've been thinking about trying this Blueberry Coconut Baked Oatmeal for a quick breakfast! Anyone tried baked oatmeal before? 

Weekly Update May 29 - June 4

The Week in Review 

Where do we start? This time last week I was in Europe and now I am sitting in a completely unpacked apartment in new ResidencyCity. It's hard to wrap my mind around all the things that happened in the last week from a trans-atlantic flight, to a two day car trip, to unpacking a thousand boxes and moving dozens of pieces of furniture.

And now, it's just me. Just me alone in this new and strange city with only two days left until I'm supposed to go be a resident. I thought that orientation was supposed to start tomorrow, but luckily realized that I had misread the calendar and I actually start on Wednesday, so I had a couple of extra days to get used to being here.

Sweetheart and I have managed the first couple weeks of this new long distance thing, but it's hard when I wake up in the morning and want to roll over to see him or fall asleep at night and miss snuggling. Skype and cell phones can replace a lot, but they can't replace just being in the same room as someone. I used to be really good at living alone, the silence didn't bother me, but I've become much less used to the quiet and the loneliness.

The new apartment is absolutely beautiful and came together so well. I'm so happy to feel like it's an excellent, comfortable, and functional space that will serve me well in the next year. It would be nice if it would stay as clean and organized as it is now through all of intern year -- but I know that will never happen! Ha.

I'm planning on doing a video or photo walk through when I get the chance -- but since everything really JUST finished getting unpacked it might take me a day or two. But I'd love to show you all around while it's still beautiful!

The Week in Photos

cute little duck not too far from the hospital / brand new apartment kitchen / bed in progress / amazing granola from a new favorite brunch place / heartland sky

Reading 
I just finished reading Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald which was a really interesting semi-historical piece! I fell in love with Great Gatsby in high school and this was an excellent piece about the lives of the Fitzgeralds, the prohibition era, and dysfunctional relationships.

Listening 
Everyone needs some upbeat music when they're moving and unpacking and working, and I found myself again and again flipping through to listen to this incredibly old album by Regina Specktor that I hadn't heard since college

3 Things

• I really like IKEA but I am also really glad that I won't have to go back to it for a long time (I hope). 
• I am not handy the way the love of my life is, when I had a fuse blow the other day I had to have Sweetheart walk me through how to fix it on the phone. Good to make him feel needed. (I did get it fixed though with direction!)
• I cooked the first meal in the new apartment today (red lentil dal with cilantro brown basmati rice) -- then I had a glass of wine with dinner to celebrate. All about the small things. 

Loving from Around the Internet 

I am completely loving this recipe I made for dinner tonight from Oh She Glows -- a super healthy and delicious meal you can make in a huge batch and have plenty leftover for later in the week! My new favorite recipes will all make extra so I can cook once and eat three or four times! 

Weekly Update May 22 - 28

The Week in Review 

Everything I own is currently sitting on a truck headed to my new home for the next seven years. Meanwhile, I'm sitting on a train streaking through the English countryside. The entire experience of coming to Europe is always a bit surreal for me, but never as surreal as being in the UK. Everyone here speaks the same language and walking down the street I can spot many of the same chains I'm accustomed to at home, but there are constant reminders that this is the world I'm used to only turned slightly sideways. My accent, foreign, my proclivity to always look the wrong direction first when checking which way to cross the road, stupid, and my requirement to always take a second longer to count unfamiliar change out to a cashier, silly.

London has changed a lot in the ten years since I was last here. No offense, Londoners, but the entire town is much more reminiscent of New York City than it was before. Although, my ability to get a decent cup of tea at any restaurant I walk into definitely means it edges out NYC in my list of favorite places. My idea of travel involves lots of wandering, I manage to do a lot of the touristy destinations when I go somewhere (Buckingham palace, Westminister, etc) but always try to do them at off hours and leave the rest of the day for simply wandering. I, however, will happily spend hours instead of any history or science museum in existence. Probably my favorite part of travel is spending time in the climate controlled halls of museums filled with pieces of a place I will never visit. Just my own strange fascination with museums -- probably makes me a less than exciting travel companion. To be honest though, I think anyone who thinks they couldn't spend three days inside the British Museum alone is a complete liar. We also made our way down to see a play at the Globe Theater -- a moment that satisfied the theater nerd still living inside of me.

The weather in London held out for us, allowing us to do lots of walking and wandering, easily hoping on and off the Underground. We scored some perfect afternoon tea and scones in a small cafe and managed to get a couple of excellent beers in dark, crowded pubs. I feel like we definitely had the London experience.

We picked up a train at King's Cross, snagging photos at Platform 9 3/4 before heading to Edinburgh. Edinburgh, being the original place where my mother's side of the family hails from, felt strangely familiar though I'd never been there before. It was raining and rather cold when we arrived, and hauling luggage to the hotel was quite an ordeal. I wouldn't recommend anyone come to Edinburgh who is not in good enough shape to carry their bag up hundreds of stairs. The next morning offered us more rain, which allowed us to see Edinburgh Castle in an entirely Scottish experience. Luckily, the next day, the sun managed to escape for a bit to demonstrate Scotland in all its glory. We sampled the local delicacy (scotch of course!) and made more time for tea and scones (what else). Only a few days there afforded us not enough time to really see everything we would have liked, but I think we could have found months worth of amusement in the city.

We've returned to London, though only for a few hours before we'll be back at Heathrow and headed back stateside. I'll be arriving there, only to leave in a matter of hours on a long, long, long road trip to my new residency home. Only one more of these weekly updates left before I'll be writing them from in the middle of residency.

Cheers from the UK my dears

The Week in Snapshots 

British museum / the globe / the queen?? (Jk) / platform 9 3/4 / proper tea and scones / sunny Edinburgh

Reading
I had a lovely read of Nick Hornby's About a Boy on the train to and from Edinburgh. I'm firmly of the opinion that Hornby's books should only be consumed on planes, trains, or in the backs of cars on long road trips. Anytime I come across a new one in a used bookshop, I pick it up and set it aside for just this reason.

Listening
I have to confess to you all that I haven't really listened to much music on this trip, walking around so much with my brother means I haven't been sitting around working and listening to anything. So no new recommendations for the week -- though I was able to hear some impressively loud music from the bar near our hotel last night -- who knew you could play traditionally Scottish music with a dub step beat.

3 Things
> I've decided that it's entirely unreasonable that I can't have cookies and tea every day at 3 o'clock. Once I start residency I'm going to file an official petition for mandatory resident tea time.
> Sweetheart and I are officially through the first week of the start of our year of long distance relationship. Luckily, we'll be seeing each other again in only three weeks. I miss him already. <3 I know so many people who do at least a year of long distance in medical relationships -- but just because it's the norm doesn't make it easier to miss someone!
> I am not in the least bit excited for the next week of unpacking, trying to go to the DMV,  doing residency paperwork, figuring out a new city, and being slightly jet lagged on top of all of it. If you have the means to mail me a cup of coffee -- please do so now!!!!

Loving from Around the Internet
Spotty wifi and limited cellular data means I've been quite behind on my internet reading as well. So I'll spare you all from reading something else this week.

Weekly Update May 15 - 21

The Week in Review

As part of this week, I had the opportunity to do a couple of poster presentations for research I had worked on as a third and fourth year medical student. I was able to see several of the surgeons that I had worked with over the last couple of years, all of whom very gleefully walked up and addressed me as "Doctor".

My father also happens to be a doctor -- a PhD doctor -- but still hearing the word Dr in front of my last name makes me turn around and look for him instead of assuming that someone is addressing me. How long in my life will it be before I'll stop looking for my dad when I hear that?

Strangely, this was also the last week I will spend at home for a very long time. I'm waiting in the airport right now to get on a plane to go to London with my brother (a trip we've been wanting to make for about 5 years or so...). But immediately on flying back from the UK, I'll be heading directly to ResidencyCity to start my life there. It was incredibly hard to say goodbye to all the people and places that I love in my Hometown.

The hardest part of it was saying goodbye to Sweetheart who will be staying behind to finish his last year in medical school. He'll be in ResidencyCity for part of the next year to visit, do an away rotation, etc -- but it's going to be very hard to be apart for a whole year.

In some ways, I think it won't be too much different than if we were living in the same place when I will be a surgery intern -- we may actually get to see each other more living in different cities than we would in the same city with me at work all the time. Haha. I'm glad to live in an era where Skype and airplanes exist and we'll be able to get through this year quickly.

The Week in Photos

I have photos for this week I just can't figure out how to get them into this post on mobile right now... Grr... I will continue to work on it.

EDIT: I got it

Bags packed / date night / brunch / everything I own in boxes / goodbye brunch with the girls / London packing
  Reading
In honor of us heading to London for the week, I quickly read Bill Bryson's Notes from a Small Island. For anyone who is a fan of books about travel, Bill Bryson's books are witty, quick, and make you feel like you've actually been along for the ride.

Listening
Bad Blood by Bastille has been my album of the week for it's lead singer's unique voice.

3 Things

• Having been a doctor for a whole week now, it still does not feel any more real than it did last week, I'm thinking somewhere around the middle of the week that first week of residency it might START to sink in. 

•  Had an interesting conversation with a surgeon I worked with as a third year about the importance of fear in making us good doctors. I'm mostly mentioning it here as a note to self to write more about this in some form at a later date. 

•  I should have some internet access while out of the country, so I'm hoping for Instagram pictures (@ladykay4477) and a weekly update next week, but forgive me if it's delayed a day or two until I'm back in the US.

Loving from Around the Internet

 I recently discovered that people have made playlists themed to each of the Harry Potter houses. I've listened to about a thousand of these while I was working on packing. Many of them really do capture the feeling of Hogwarts houses. It was excellent.