The Story...

Well, here's the story from my life over the past couple weeks. Presented, of course, in the best format possible... a numbered list.

(1) I graduated. I thought that this might happen someday, and turns out that day was May 28, 2006. It was hard to leave good ol' GAC... along with all my former roommates, friends, classmates, mentors, etc. Found out there's a GAC alumni chapter in St. Louis so I'll probably get into that in the coming months. Overall it's not a bad place, not a bad place at all.

(2) I saw Movin' Out. Back in freshman year I told my mom I wanted to go to Broadway to see a musical for my graduation present. But when I heard that Movin' Out was out, and it was coming to Madison, WI, a few days after my graduation, I changed my mind. The musical is basically all music and dance with no dialogue and exclusively Billy Joel music (27 songs including a few of his new classical pieces from Fantasies & Delusions). When I found out there was no dialogue I got kind of scared, but the tickets had already been bought -- so, I went with my parents and grandparents in tow. All of us loved it. My dad and I loved the music most of all. My mom and grandma loved the story and ballet-meets-swing dance moves. My grandpa just nodded general approval and commented on the lights and special effects. I can't imagine that the Broadway cast (only one actress/dancer on tour was from the Broadway performance) could have done much better than these guys, mostly understudies. I also liked the music better than that recorded on Broadway (I bought the CD). Overall, the performance was a winner.

(3) I moved to St. Louis. I only recently realized the coincidence in seeing "Movin' Out" literally hours before I moved into my room at the dorm in St. Louis. Now I'm pretty settled here. I've got some groceries, got my computer running, and I've found the nearest Walmart -- all the essentials. Now I have to start looking for an apartment in the Central West End, the neighborhood the med school is in. Rent's pretty reasonable here, about $500-$750 for a one-bedroom w/o utilities. The one I'm really interested in is about $600 with the student discount plus $50-$75 for utilities each month, including basic cable and probably ~$50 for parking. The on-line info looks pretty good, and I'm going to set up a tour pretty soon. And, of course, it's right across the street from Forest Park, which I guess is the 2nd largest city park in the US next to Central Park in NYC. My friend Nick down here biked 50 miles just in the park itself.

I also am going to look at a place that's right next to the Botanical Gardens. Mom said I'm not supposed to, b/c she thinks I need AC. That, and it's about 5 miles from the med school... nothing a bike or bus can't cure, as far as I'm concerned. She's probably right, but it costs quite a bit less ($590) for a 2 bedroom, 1400 square foot apartment with hardwood floors and a yard, and it's the only apartment in that building so I wouldn't have to deal with loud neighbors, etc.

Needless to say I have some calling and touring to do before I find my new home.

(4) I started working. I guess you could call this a downside. But, it really hasn't been so far. It's only been a couple days, but I'm really happy with how this summer is shaping up. Don't get me wrong, CITI (human research subjects training) and HIPAA (medical security and privacy training) were a bitch. Probably about 6 hours for CITI and 2 hours for HIPAA. But, the two doctors that I've worked with so far have been really down-to-earth, laid-back people, which makes me think that this summer will be a lot of fun. I have some background reading in statistics and arthroscopy (a surgical technique) to do tomorrow, and after that I start contacting patients for the study itself. I should get a manuscript out of it in the fall, and maybe another one if I choose to take on another project this summer. I also will get to shadow Dr. Wright and some of the other ortho surgeons in the OR and clinic. I'm really excited for that.

Well, time for bed. More news later.