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.