July Newsletter

I know, I'm late. No excuse. July was designated by my school as a study month to prepare for our next round of boards, which I thought was a universal concept. Apparently*, other schools don't waste... I mean, utilize the month in this way. I'm over the bitterness; it's not like I was chomping at the bit to go straight through the year on a rigid schedule anyway. In any case, since July was just a study month, I don't have any exciting clinical stories to share, but there was some excitement in the form of getting my motorcycle license and buying a motorcycle. The following conversation always ensues when I tell people I bought one: What did you get? It's a Kawasaki KZ750 LTD. Oh, so it's a crotch rocket? No, it's not a crotch rocket. So, what kind of motorcycle is it? A cruiser. Which is what exactly? The stereotypical around-town and cross-country bike.

If you have further questions, the internet is infinitely more knowledgeable than I and your favorite internet browser would love to guide you to the answers. More details of my entrance into the world of motorized bicycle riding are here.

In more academic/medical news, I'm getting a crash course (no intended reference to the afore-mentioned motorcycle riding) in applying to residencies. Becoming a doctor is a long, arduous process of gracefully navigating a series of applications. I'm pretty sure the rest is just details. The latest installment will decide where I will spend what are purported to be the most difficult consecutive five years of my life. No biggie. Here are more details on applications.

Right now, I am halfway through the second week of my first audition rotation, which happens to be in Las Vegas (WHOO VEGAS!!). The "audition" modifier refers to the fact that I'm trying to impress the director and anyone else involved with deciding who gets into the ortho program here. So far, I have no idea how I'm doing. Again, no biggie. It's just the rest of my life. Speaking of the rest of my life, I learned a valuable lesson on the Vegas (WHOO VEGAS!!) strip. I lost what I consider a profane amount of money in a casino after initially doubling my starting amount of $20. My compulsive side kicked in and I kept thinking I just needed to hold out for the big win and I could get back the increasingly large amount I had lost. Thankfully, I finally snapped out of it and left, my deflated ego and the damning atm receipts trailing behind me (yes, Sister, I kept the receipts). I was just talking with a friend who pointed out that I could think of my losses as having sacrificed a vacation to, say, Arkansas. Not a devastating loss, but if I keep it up, I'll lose Hawaii, then Europe, etc. Actually, I need to save up so I can make a trip to Scotland with my mom and sister next year. Ramen noodles for me, I guess.

Back to studying.

Scott

*My little cousin (cousin's daughter) didn't know what "apparently" means, so my Granddad and I explained it to her and I now think of her every time I use this word. She and her siblings are cuties; I thought only women were supposed to have biological clocks.