You want me to talk about it?

As the first month of my program comes to a close I realize that despite the chaos, the logistical nightmare of starting at a hospital, the new challenges and the heat…oh yes the heat…I am still standing. The lack of air-conditioning in my apartment has led to what feels like interior temperatures of at least 150F/55C…leading me to scoff at those who complain about Bikram Yoga…try Bikram Living. I have found some comfort in trips to the beach, and am starting to feel more at home here in New Haven. Work is going well ~ I have completed my crash course in neuroanatomy and have started testing patients….pretty interesting stuff and should be a smooth four months.

The only slightly disturbing aspect of our induction to Yale and the hospital has been our ‘group therapy’ sessions…not for patients…but for ourselves. Apparently there were a group of residents who nearly killed each other ten years ago and they had to bring in a group facilitator to settle everyone down. They figured it was such a good idea now every incoming class has group ‘meetings’ for the first few months of the training year. To provide a small insight into the content of these meetings…and perhaps provide some insight into why I tried to put a fork in my eye in the first session…here is the transcript:

Facilitator: ‘So to introduce yourselves I want to go around the room and I want you to say your name and why you decided to go into psychology.’

Group Members: ‘Standard interview response….being sure to use phrases such as ‘passion’ and ‘desire to help others’.

Facilitator: ‘Ok…so now we are going to go around the group again and for those who are brave enough….I want you tell me why you REALLY went into psychology”

Group Members: Various sounds of commotion…some vomiting into trash cans…others attempting to punch themselves in the face…

Six months of this….plenty of time to root out all that trauma from childhood….

Onward….!

Pictured: Yale’s Dining Hall and Library

Pretentious, moi??

So it has been just over a week since I arrived in New Haven and I have successfully navigated my first week as a new fellow at Yale. By no means does this imply I know what I am doing, just that I am still in possession of a working ID card and will apparently still be paid at the end of the month. It has been good so far, people are nice, and navigating the hospital and clinics seems manageable. My first rotation is in the neuropsych/neurosurgery department ~ which specializes in incurable cases of epilepsy. It is pretty interesting stuff, with my first morning taking me to the operating room to observe a patient have half of his brain anesthetized and then his memory tested.  I will be in this clinic for the next few months before rotating through to transplant and oncology.

At the end of each day I am trying to examine whether I have become more pretentious ~ whether there are lingering thoughts of my general superiority, a strange urge to ‘pop my collar’, a tendency to speak with an ‘academic pause’ (an excruciatingly annoying habit of pausing frequently to let the listener fully ‘appreciate’ the ‘gravity’ of your words…if I ever do this…slap me…hard), a growing fascination with boat shoes, or mounting frustration at the sheer lunacy of not being able to purchase toilet paper with the word ‘Yale’ inscribed on it.  So far I think I am ok, although I know ‘Ivy Leaugitis’ (or as Jen puts it…’Pretentious Pocket”) is an insidious disease and I must stay vigilant (although it does wonders for one’s posture).

My 4^th of July was spent in a forest owned by Yale (of course they do) with some friends from the forestry graduate program. It was very relaxing – and a nice way to prepare for the suffocating 100F/40C degree weather that descended upon us the next day. Now it is time to get to work and make the most of this year on the east coast. With emails and phone calls maintaining our relationship ~ which is always tough ~ especially after spending 300 hours locked in a car together (I swear…there is no sarcasm here) I am adapting to an apartment to myself ~ a new city and university ~ and just like your first day of kindergarten…the need to make new friends…the adventure…as always…continues.

Pictures: Yale’s main library and college streets, my apartment, and new digs…Ikea calls this the ‘prison cell’ look.

The Final Leg...AY

There is nothing quite like the sunshine of Los Angeles ~ granted it’s expensive sunshine ~ but wonderful nonetheless. We had just a few short days here…enough for Jen to go shopping and for us to recover before the casual 16-hour straight shot to Portland on Monday morning. The time here is always too short...and as we packed the car for our 5am departure…Gus looked about as unimpressed as a dog can at the prospect of climbing into a car once more. The final leg of our trip was smooth and we arrived in Portland to collect the keys to Jen’s new place and with 24 hours to prepare for the Herrera invasion of Portland.  Of course there is no better way to help someone move into their new place than to get a stomach bug and end up in a cold sweat and a fetal position on the floor….but that’s just the sort of dedicated partner that I am. With Jen moved in to a great new place, we spent the week with the family who had arrived from Los Angeles to celebrate the wedding of Lucas and Kirsten.

We knew the day was coming, but after an incredible summer traveling together, including 25 states and two Canadian provinces in three weeks, we chose to live in denial of the fact I would return to the east coast to start my residency training. With a final weekend together we decided to climb back in the car and head towards America’s New Zealand…Canada (minus the sheep and Velcro gloves...). It was an incredible weekend ~ we ventured through Vancouver for a day or two…taking in the beaches, the parks, fish and chips and Chinese gardens, before it was off to a friend’s cabin by the lake a few hours east. Here, despite neither of us being seaworthy, managed to take a small boat out on the lake – and return to shore without any major events. Then we swam and looked around some national parks nearby before heading back to the US.

Now with Jen all set for another year in Portland, I will climb on a plane back to the east coast to start the final leg of the academic adventure they call graduate school. 

Pics: Jen’s new digs, an unimpressed Gus, Vancouver, Chinese Garden, Vegemite icecream and the lake.

Grand Views

Although I had visited before, the views that the Grand Canyon provides can take your breath away, regardless of how often you have been fortunate to visit. We took in the sun setting and then rising over the majestic canyon, which no photo can do justice to, before packing up and moving on again. The next day took us to Phoenix and then onto our final stop before Los Angeles ~ a place that no road trip is complete without paying homage to…Los Vegas. With friends arriving in Vegas to help celebrate in style we finished our trip across the country in style. After a quick stop in LA it will be onto Portland for Jen to start school and to allow our poor car to rest after our cross-country (x2) summer adventure.

Pictured: The Canyon in all its glory.

Southern Trippin

From Canada it was on the road again south to Kentucky and some friends in Louisville, where we indulged in some excellent food and drink before making our way to Tennessee. We moved through Nashville and onto Memphis where we attempted to check off all the necessities ~ a catfish sandwich from the famous Marlowes, the blues clubs and of course, the 70’s ‘splendor’ of Elvis’s Graceland. Managing the humidity of the south we now turned west towards Oklahoma and onto Santa Fe and New Mexico. Santa Fe was a welcome surprise ~ the dry heat replaced the humidity and this relaxed city provided the ideal location to explore some of the natural wonders nearby. The caves of an ancient Indian tribe carved into the wall of canyon, an immense crater provided and the birthplace of the atomic bomb provided plenty to do for the day before returning to town to explore the city center and eat our body weight in Mexican food. Then it was on the road again to Arizona and the very aptly named Grand Canyon.

Pictured: Lynns, Graceland, the caves and the crater, and Gus indicating that he too might be over the drive at this point.

Falling into Canada

Our three-week trip this summer would take us through 23 states and one Canadian province…with our first stop being Ontario to see Niagara Falls. We spent the evening with a friend just across the border and then with Gus in tow we headed to the falls. As most know, there is both an American and a Canadian side of the falls…with the Canadian side generally considered to be more superior. This rare Canadian win over the US (granted with a little help from nature) was not lost on the crowd of school children…who took great pride in regularly stating that ‘their side was better than the American side’. The falls were amazing and well worth the detour, but then we were back in the car and heading south through New York State to our next stop in Kentucky. Jen provided considerable entertainment at border control, becoming extremely nervous under the ‘interrogating’ questioning of the guard. When asked how we knew each other (i.e. wanting to know if we were a couple, friends etc.) Jen nervously launched into the story of how we met at UCLA…the fact I was an exchange student…the guard did his best to maintain a level of professionalism as he stopped her mid-sentence to clarify. Needless to say, Jen is no longer considering a career as an international spy.

Pictured: The Falls and Gus helping with the drive.

Moving...Slowly....Very Slowly.

So we as we arrived in South Bend we considered the extensive list of loose ends to tie up in the coming five days before we departed in a moving truck for New Haven and Connecticut. Moving is a horrendous task, and we now fully appreciate exactly why movers can charge whatever prices they like. As we moved through the list we made the most of seeing some friends for the last time for awhile, sharing good food and some drinks and contemplating how quickly the past four years has gone in many ways.

As the moving day neared it was time to pick up the truck and begin to pack our lives into the 12 by 10 foot space sitting on four wheels. In the midst of 95 degree weather and high humidity we began to load everything in such a way that a 15 hour journey would not shift it at all….this of course would have been easier with ropes for instance…or boxes….or really any actual packing material. Drenched in sweat the truck began to fill, the illusion of being a minimalist quickly disappearing (it’s all Jen’s stuff of course). With a final wave we were off though – having successfully loaded our lives and the dog into a truck and off on the road for the 16 hour drive to New Haven.

With wonderful irony it was 95 degrees and just as humid in New Haven as began to madly unload the truck into the my third floor apartment, with the added thrill of impending thunderstorms coming in the afternoon. As the apartment began to fill, with Gus tied to the truck greeting passers by, and Jen and I quickly nearing a level of dehydration that would require medical attention – we finally reached the end…carrying the final piece of furniture into the foyer as the heavens opened.

With two days to spend in New Haven we made our way around the Yale campus, marveling at the myriad of ways in which a person can appear pretentious, and then out to dinner with some friends to sample the famous/infamous mashed potato pizza (actually damn good). Then we locked the apartment, threw Gus in the back of the car and set our sights on Canada and Niagara Falls…on the road again for the next few weeks as we make our way back across the country.

Pictured: Minimilist eh?, Gus continues his travels, Gus after a long day of moving, my new home for the coming year, and my new home for the coming year.

National Park Nuttiness

So what to do with a weekend? Head out for a drink with friends…take care of some work…drive 36 hours across the country on a tour of American National Parks? Done and done.

We packed up Jen’s apartment into storage…packed up the dog and his deadly breath into the back seat…put Jen and the snacks in the front seat….and we were on our way to Yellowstone. The park is incredible….bison walking down the road as you drive in (Jen wet herself)…amazing views of waterfalls and snow-capped mountains…and half the worlds geysers/hot springs apparently. Despite the snow, sub-zero temperatures and the fact I was wearing shorts – the scenery was breathtaking.

A nights rest and then it was off in the car again ~ this time heading for South Dakota. A quick stop at Mount Rushmore for Jen provided another opportunity for Gus to be pictured with a famous landmark and then it was onto a reservation to stay with a new friend. Another very quick nights rest and we were on the 80 heading east – retracing our steps from four years ago when we moved to Indiana. No trip through Iowa is complete as far as Jen is concerned without a ‘cake shake’ from Des Moines…it is accurately named…as it is a shake with a cake churned up in it…damn good.

As the time ticked over to the early hours of the morning we pulled into South Bend for the final time. The next week will be spent packing and taking care of loose ends…after four years here there will be some nostalgia…but much excitement as we move onto the next chapter together…well apart actually…but you get the idea.

Pictured: Yellowstone…waterfalls, bison traffic and old faithful…also Gus about to attack a bison…posing for inclusion at Mt Rushmore….and riding dirty.

Summer 2010: You did what?

So it has been a good year since I last updated this blog ~ but now as my work at Notre Dame comes to an end and I embark on a few months of US road tripping before relocating to Connecticut ~ it was worth jumping back on. After tying up some loose ends in the Bend it was off east for my first stop ~ NYC. A few weeks of work and catching up with friends in the big apple was great and gave me time to also head to Connecticut and find an apartment for next year. Then it was off to Boston for a few appointments and to pick up some old friends who flew in from London.
It takes ‘rare’ individuals to consider the idea to drive from Boston to San Francisco in three days to be a good one ~ but that is Alex and Matt. And sure enough ~ as the three of us piled into a car to drive across the country – there was a sense of excitement in the air at the sheer lunacy of this undertaking – ignorance is indeed bliss. After our first 14 hours driving we were feeling pretty good ~ and figured we could maybe tack on a side trip to Las Vegas on the way – just to make it a bit more challenging. Of course, then we checked the map and realized that in order to make it to SF on time for the wedding rehearsal we were going to need to drive 27 hours straight on the last day…maybe no Vegas this trip. After checking out Chicago in 45 minutes, a quick visit to Mt. Rushmore, and a few sneaky beers in wonderfully ‘unique’ Midwestern bars…we set off on our 27 hour straight shot to Sacramento airport to pick up Jen. Amazingly, after at times a miserable night driving – injecting caffeine into our veins – and smelling pretty horrible all round – we arrived at the airport within three minutes of Jen touching down…not bad. We stopped in SF long enough for me to officiate the wedding of some great friends ~ and celebrate their big day ~ before jumping back on the road with Jen to Portland.

We are in Portland for three days ~ then it is off to Yellowstone National Park. We are going to spend the next month criss-crossing the country – ticking off national parks, cities and states that we are yet to see. So it is indeed...on the road again….
Pictured: My soon-to-be-home: New Haven Connecticut, Badlands National Park, Mt. Rushmore and wedding officiant...a terrifying experience. Oh and our driving route....