The Vacation of a Lifetime

     Just one week after Match Day, I finished medical school! Holy crap, it still hasn't hit me that I'm done.  And after moving all of our worldly possessions into storage and my parents house in the course of one weekend, we immediately took off halfway around the world.  We went to the north island of New Zealand and to the kingdom of Tonga, and both were AMAZING.  Luckily, I have a lot of family in New Zealand, so BF and I just went from city to city visiting everyone and exploring.  Oh yeah, and something pretty big happened....    Here are some pictures capturing the adventures:

Family in Auckland

My Grandma when she was young eating a chicken wing. I see where I get it...

Hahei, NZ

Hahei, NZ

Hahei, NZ

Hahei, NZ

Cathedral Cove, NZ

Cathedral Cove, NZ

Cathedral Cove, NZ

Cathedral Cove, NZ

Cathedral Cove, NZ

Purangi Winery

Purangi Winery

Hot Water Beach, NZ

Hot Water Beach, NZ

Hot Water Beach, NZ

Hot Water Beach, NZ

Hot Water Beach, NZ

Hot Water Beach, NZ

Hot Water Beach, NZ

Hot Water Beach, NZ

Hahei Beach, NZ

Hahei Beach, NZ

Hahei Beach, NZ

Hahei Beach, NZ

Hahei Beach, NZ

Hahei Beach, NZ

Hahei Beach, NZ

Crescent moon - I can't help myself!

Hahei Beach, NZ

Family in Gisborne, NZ

Family in Gisborne, NZ

Awesome winery that does everything based on the lunar calendar

Our cute little hut in Tonga

View when you walked out of our hut

Ha'atafu Beach, Tonga

HE PROPOSED! WE'RE ENGAGED!!!!!!!!! :D

Ha'atafu Beach, Tonga

Pangaimotu, Tonga

Pangaimotu, Tonga

Pangaimotu, Tonga

Pangaimotu, Tonga

Silly dog on the beach

Pangaimotu, Tonga

Auckland, NZ

Auckland, NZ

Auckland, NZ

Mario and Princess Peach

Auckland, NZ

Auckland, NZ

Waiheke Island, NZ

Waiheke Island, NZ

Waiheke Island, NZ

Waiheke Island, NZ

Waiheke Island, NZ

I'm a natural! Must run in my blood - my grandma was into archery!

   So in case you didn't catch it in the photos above... BF PROPOSED!!!!! We're engaged, y'all!!!! I am beyond excited, and sooo happy!  I mean, I knew it would happen eventually, but I thought it wouldn't be until intern year or so.  We're engaged!!! EEEEEeeeee!!!!!! :D

Back To Where It All Started

    Before I talk about our moving adventures, I think I'm just gonna go ahead and spill the beans about where we ended up matching.  I'm always hesitant to disclose any information that is too identifying on this blog, for fear that it may be held against me professionally.  However, I think there are enough programs in our city that you wouldn't even be able to guess which program we're at.

     Here goes: We're going to Philadelphia, y'all!!!  Okay, now I'm going to carry on.

Moving day donuts

     So just a measly 7 days after Match Day, BF and I packed up our lives and moved everything over the span of two days.  Luckily, we had friends and family to help us.  We put most of our possessions into a storage unit for the time being, and we are living with my parents nearby for the next fews months before we officially move across the country.  As you can imagine, scrambling to find a place to live 3,000 miles away in two months is less than ideal.  Unfortunately, that's the name of the game with the Match.  There is absolutely no way to prepare ahead of time and look at places, because you have no idea where you're gonna end up.

     On the bright side, it has actually been pretty nice living with my parents.  No bills, no buying food, good company.  It's pretty sweet.  It's also nice to be spending time with my parents before we move so far away :(

     Though I'm very anxious to find a place to live in time, I'm actually getting really excited because we are going to buy a house!  Holy crap - I'm going to own (co-own) a house!  I never would have thought I could afford to own a house at this stage in my life, but BF showed me the numbers, and the housing market in Philadelphia is very buyer friendly.  So this weekend, we're heading to Philly to go house hunting, and I can't wait!  Wish us luck!  We're gonna need some if we want to find a home in one weekend, and to close in time before we start working.

Match

     I know this post is very late, and I didnt mean to leave y'all hanging, but a LOT has happened in the past month. Match day finally came, and as promised, it brought surprise, excitement, and tears.  

   My friends and I rode the shuttle to school so that we could have some cocktails before and after to ease the nerves without anyone having to be designated driver, which in retrospect, was an excellent idea.  I can't even describe the amount of tension and palpable anxiety we had in the room.  Everyone was so on edge.  And then the moment came.  We picked up our envelopes, and when the clock struck 9:00 AM, it was time.

   BF and I barely even started opening our envelopes when we heard commotion and screams all over the room.  But we weren't paying much attention to that.  Going into the match, I wasn't that nervous about not matching together, but about 20 minutes before we got our envelopes, the fear hit me all at once.  What if we ended up on opposite coasts?!  We finally got our envelopes open, looked at them, and breathed a sigh of relief that we ended up together in the same city.  Then we breathed another sigh of relief that we both ended up at programs we really liked.  But HOLY CRAP WE'RE MOVING ACROSS THE COUNTRY!  Then every single person in that crowded room proceeded to bombard us with questions.  It was absolutely overwhelming.

   It's only after the fact that I truly appreciate how absurd the entire tradition of match day is.  We put our lives on hold for months, having no idea where we will end up for the next chapter of our lives, so we're not able to plan ANYTHING (which is completely terrifying for a typical type-A med student).  Then in the span of 30 seconds, our entire life changes right before our eyes, and we don't have a single second to process what just happened before we have to celebrate with everyone.  

   The reality really didn't sink in until a few days later.  But once we had a few moments to really let it sink in, we became very excited. We're going to a whole new city that neither of us has ever lived in before, so it's gonna be an adventure.  And we're really excited to explore and try something new.  I've lived in California my whole life, and now I'm moving to the East Coast.  I'm gonna have to buy some real winter clothes!  Haha.  Most importantly, we ended up at hospitals in the same city (a few blocks from each other even).  And we are both at programs we loved.  So here's to new adventures! Yippeeeeeeee!!!!!

Radio Silence

  It's always during the most busy, action-packed times that I don't find time to blog.  I haven't blogged for over a month, and let me tell you, this last month has been the biggest whirlwind I've ever experienced.  So many life-changing things have happened in the past month (don't worry - all good things), and I haven't blogged about a single one of them.  Unfortunately, the whirlwind continues... and I won't really have time to sit down and give the next few posts the proper time they deserve until next week.  But, for now I will update anyone who cares that: Yes! BF and I matched together! :D YAY! And we're really excited about where we matched.  And things are amazing right now... just extremely busy!

   Look out for some posts next week.  I'm gonna cover a LOT, because a lot has happened.  Hold on to your panties, y'all!

Match Monday

     It's official y'all - I have a job!!! Today MS4s across the country found out whether or not they matched.  I matched!!! And so did BF! Now we just have to wait till Friday to find out if we matched together, and to see where we're gonna end up.  Luckily only 2 out of about 96 people in our class had to SOAP (formerly known as the "scramble"), which is less than previous years, so people generally did OK.  Whoever those two people are, and for all those who had to SOAP, I wish them luck, and I hope it all works out.

 

Mirth Control

     If you've been reading my blog for some time, you'll probably remember me mentioning Mirth Control before, but if you're new to my blog, I'll explain.  Mirth Control is an annual event at my med school where each class puts on a comedic video or skit roasting the medical school experience.  Its a wonderful tradition which allows medical students to take a step back from studying or working, and just laugh about how ridiculous this whole process is.  For all four years, I have co-directed our class' skits.  While at times it was a stressful, frustrating job, there were so many other times it was so much fun to do.  This year, as MS4s, we were in charge of hosting the whole event, which was quite a task, but I think we threw a pretty good show.  :)  I'm really proud of everything we did over the four years, and especially what we did this year.  I'm really glad the show went well, but I have to say I'm even more glad its over, so I can start working on moving out.  Even though all of the work I put into co-directing this each year had absolutely no bearing on my resume, I'm still really glad I did it.

Class of 2014 

     Well, if you are in need for some laughs, or if you'd just like to see what the heck "Mirth Control" is all about, one of my class mates was kind enough to put together a Youtube playlist of a lot of the clips from this year's show.  Our class skit was a spin-off of the Hunger Games, but instead it was the "Match Games."  Enjoy!

Here is one of my favorite clips - its the different "districts" 

of the medical school training for the "Match Games"

One week

    It so close I can taste it.  Everything I've been working for has lead me to this point. One week left! It also helps that this week is super busy. Tomorrow is Mirth Control, the annual school roast event that I've been working on for months. I'll be sure to post some of the videos on YouTube afterwards.

      I'm really glad I'm ending the year on Family Planning.  Though I actually do have to do some work, it has been so fun actually doing things I care about, learning a lot, and hanging out with people I love and respect.  

     I actually started getting all sentimental today.  After tomorrow, no more Mirths.  In one week, I'm gonna know exactly where I'm going, and I'm gonna have to deal with it, for better or worse.  No more mystery or intrigue.  On the flip side, I can at least move forward after that.  Start planning my next step.  So here's to all the other MS4s out there.  Enjoy these last moments of medical school.  And my the match be ever in your favor!