On the Interview Trail

It has been an absolutely crazy 2 months. In addition to my regular work schedule I have gone on 4 fellowship interviews, flying from Milwaukee to Memphis, Nashville, and Durham trying to find our next home. It has been an interesting experience, the hematology-oncology programs that I have visited are so different! So here's the recap.

I started off the adventure at Vanderbilt... it their children's hospital that is pictured to the left. I had a very frustrating lay-over/delay in Cincinnati so I didn't get to my hotel room until 1am the night before the interview and the program director picked me up for breakfast at 7:30am! Though I was feeling a bit sleepy and also had a bizarre case of vertigo, I very much enjoyed my day. Fellowship interviews, I have learned, are grueling days. I started with the director and then had a series of 8 interviews with a break in the middle to have lunch with the current fellows. When I was finally finished, my medical school roommate and her husband picked me up. They live in Lexington, KY so we planned a whole weekend together and Ari flew in that night. Nashville is such a fun town! We ate at tons of great restaurants, spent some time shopping, and mostly enjoyed catching up with our old friends who are actually also considering moving to the area.

Next stop, Memphis to interview at St. Jude. I have a special tie to this hospital because of the 3 months I spent doing research their in medical school. It is an amazing place to be if you are a hematologist-oncologist because they do cutting edge research, they even have a Nobel prize winner, and they treat all children despite their ability to pay for the care... which is not cheap! I enjoyed revisiting the city... my first stop was Rendezvous which has the best BBQ in the city. Then it was another full day of interviews. It was nice to actually know some of the people there.

My third interview was here in Milwaukee. This was the strangest day because I already know all of the staff and they know me. It was a lot of learning about their research interests and hearing about the fellowship intracacies. Though I have had a great experience here in residency, I think it is time to move on.

A couple of days ago I returned from Duke. This was a surprising day. I actually did not think that I was going to enjoy the program, but I actually loved it. The staff was warm and friendly... and surprisingly young. They do great research and Durham is beautiful! I spent an extra day down there just because I had never been to the city. The Duke campus is amazing and the area is very interesting because of the four universities in the area. The weather was perfect, too.

So now I just have one interview left in Cincinnati. I am not so excited about the city but their children's hospital is one of the best in the country. After I am finished I will have to make my rank list and wait for May 9th which is match day... cross your fingers for me!

Congratulations Kristen!!

Today Kristen's fledgling company, Vine Journeys International, was noted in the Chicago Sun Times! If you keep up with the blog, you will know that her company focuses on bringing wines from emerging wineries in Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa to the public both by hosting local events in Chicago and in the future taking wine enthusiasts to the wineries themselves. She is preparing for her third local event this month and so far has been hugely successful. Click on the title of this post to be linked to the article. If you look to the sidebar there is a link to her website and information about her events. Well done Kristen!

Our Last Day in San Francisco

Just when you thought I was done blogging about San Francisco, I have one last post about the end of journey! On our last full day, we headed back to Chinatown for a pre-New Year celebration. A street fair was in full swing. Although the internet said there would be a mini parade, this turned out to be not true. We were, however, dazzled by the performers. We then made our way to the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie factory. It was definitely not what I had expected. The factory/shop was tucked away in an alley and so small. It actually reminded me of a little sweat shop. We did get to sample the cookies and they were delicious! From there we walked to the Ferry Building Market Place which is a wonderland of specialty foods and other gourmet treats. I got a sushi mat so I can try my hand at rolling my own (that has actually been put off since I had some bad sushi when we got back and I can't even think about sushi without getting nauseated). The best part, though, was Ari and his mom got to try gelato for the first time. I knew they would love it. I coaxed Ari into getting the Dulce de Lece and it was awesome! Afterward, we walked back to Fisherman's wharf for some last minute shopping and then waited to catch the Hyde Street cable car which takes the most scenic route of all the trolleys. It was a blast going up and down the steep hills. Our engineer (I have no idea if that is what they are really called!) was hilarious. He would stop the trolley in the middle of a hill and get out to flirt with girls he knew! He also let everyone ride for free. We got off and trekked through Nob Hill to get back to our hotel. That night we ate at the gourmet vegetarian restaurant in our hotel and had awesome meals, though not photo worthy. Ari and I had a good laugh because the guy waiting on us looked just like my brother in-law Larry. The next day Ari's parents headed out early and Ari and I killed some time before our plane by window shopping in Union Square. The End... I promise!