South Africa

Just had a dream last night that I went on a safari. Then I woke up and thought, hey this is really going to come true!
Maybe I will get an awesome pic like this:


I leave tomorrow morning for Johanneburg, South Africa. It is 80 degrees and sunny there right now, by the way. I a kind of freaking out. How do you pack for a whole month of unknown adventure? I know I am a) working in a hospital doing Ob/Gyn b) living in a house with 4 other med students and 4 PT and nursing students somewhere and b) that it is not really that safe there and you should not go out after dark. But there are a lot of unknowns such as a) How are we getting anywhere transportation wise (we are all working at different hospitals) b) HIV is very common there and do I need to bring my own gloves and eye wear as well as a tuberculosis mask? c) Will I have connection to home (ie internet, phone, etc).
I guess we will see...

Hopefully I will have internet access and be able to keep you all updated over the month. Don't worry I will try and take tones of pictures! See you all soon.

Assaulted!

This morning as I was walking into the hospital entrance for work I was approached by this black man in a panic. He talked exactly like Antoine Dobson by the way. Anyways he asked me to help his sister get a job at the hospital. He called everyone there "bitches". I said, "I am sorry sir" as he grabbed my arm, but I am just a med student, so I have no idea. He is like please and repeats everything again and puts his arm around my shoulders and proceeds to lead me into the building. I look at him and say, "please do not touch me. I am sorry I cannot help you right now I am JUST a medical student." Next thing I know he is say "F*** You....B*tch!" Over and over again in my face. Ahhhh!
Freaky. I a pretty sure he was on "something" or having a manic bipolar episode.
Luckily there was a man that works for the staning by the front desk on the phone and I say, "are you calling security?" Uh yeah please get them there ASAP so the next unsuspecting victim is not assaulted.
Good Sunday morning!

On a better note, I am DONE with interviews. I finished my last interview yesterday at Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio.
I ran into another girl interviewing for Ob/gyn there from Iowa. Her name is Mandy and I was in South America for over a month with her and several other Iowa people a couple years ago. Our flights didn't leave until late last night, so her, another Ob/Gyn applicant from California, and I sat and drank at the airport bar for a couple hours celebrating being done with interviews. It was actually a really good time.

Next step? Ranking all the programs and waiting to hear where we will be going on March 17th- St. Patty's Day! Then leave for South Africa this Friday. I am freaking out.

Holiday Road! (with the Seacats)

Lucky there were no great aunt deaths, car accidents, or arrests at Wally World this trip, but it was still a great adventure.

After renting a lovely white minivan, Brian and I drove to Dodge City a couple days before Christmas to start our Christmas vacation. Brian's brother, Garret, made it home on Christmas Eve and then early Christmas morning we were off!

Day #1: We started the drive from snow to Flagstaff, Arizona where we ran into even more snow unfortunately. Movie after movie and constantly eating snacks made up the majority of the ride. I also read Water for Elephants. Great book by the way.

Day #2: Off the Grand Canyon for the first time for all of us. It was a little cloudy and snowy, but the scenery was still breath taking (maybe because it was cold too). Sheila and I both agreed that seeing it on a sunny day would be even better so you could see all the colors.

Pretty awesome!

(left to right): Garret, me, Brian, Sheila, and Derek
Engagement pic

Derek holding on to Sheila for dear life near the edge
The "penis" rock picture
Little bits of sun peaked through the cloudsNext we drove to Vegas, where we met up with the littlest, yet tallest Seacat, Matt. That night we opened our Christmas gifts and then the brothers and I headed out for a night on the town. A little gambling and a little drinking made for a fun night. Garret came across the Wizard of Oz penny slot machine, and of course had to play. It was more like a video game then a slot machine, but I highly recommend playing it. Maybe you will get a chance to go tripping (must play the game to know what I am talking about).
Pre-going out
A little sake shot to start off the night VIP
The Seacat brother finally all back together after a couple years.
(Brian, Matt, Garret) A little beer pong at O'Shea's


We are soo cool
I won!

I lost!

What Brian and I came back to the room to...

Day #3: Still in Vegas. We got Brian's parents Blue Man Group tickets for Christmas and Brian also surprised me with some. We had awesome seats in the 5th row! Funny, strange, amusing, very entertaining, and awesome! The Seacats minus Courtney (I was taking a looonnggg, much needed nap) also went to the Pawn Stars store. I have not really watched the show before, but apparently it is pretty entertaining. It follows this famous Pawn store in Vegas. They liked it, not sure how much I would have given up my precious nap for it though.

Sitting in the 5th row requires ponchos due to the potential to get splashed with paint and other items.

How close we were to the stage

The required picture after the show
Pawn stars
Day #4: Finally off to San Diego. Stopped by Matt's Marine base in 29 Palms briefly. The drive out there looked something like this.

Lots of desert and these Joshua trees , which were like cactus trees. Pretty depressing area with a lot of empty deserted homes.
Then, we made it to San Diego. We went to Old Town and had a Mexican dinner. It is great area with lots of Mexican restaurants and home made tortillas made fresh on the streets. It was a great time though, even though it rained the next day we were there. The last night I was there, Sheila, Matt and I went and did a tour of the famous Whaley Haunted House in Old Town. Everyone else was too scared. Ehh hemm, Brian... Anyways, the tour was great and it was really cool to see this old home with a lot of history. No personal ghost encounters, but in one room where a little girl ghost was said to be often, Matt got this little purple light in all his pictures that would move around the room. I will have to get those from him and put them up. You all know me and ghost stories...it was pretty awesome. Here are some pics of the house. We did the tour at night, so it was even a little freakier.

Ghost or lens dust? You decide.

I left the next day for KC for the VanZandt wedding and the Seacats continued there trip and even visited SeaWorld. They drove home the next day and made it all in one piece. I had a great time and have lots of great memories. So happy to be part of this family!

Vacation with the Seacats

Dodge city, Grand Canyon, Vegas, Blue Man Group Show, 29 Palm Military Base, feeding the homeless along the drive with bottled water and sandwiches, San Diego, Birthday, fish tacos, Haunted House tour, and hanging out with the Seacat family....all to come soon.

Also...engagements and a baby on the way (not me).

Freaky

Brian, my mom, and I are sitting in the living room watching TV. Just as I comment to my mom that one of the characters on the show looks like Dad/Hap, the lamp in the room sparks and burns out. Freaky? A little, but in a good way. It is always nice to feel his presence one way or another.

Psychic?

Ever have weird premonitions? This happened on a daily basis for me. Ashley and I always jokingly say we are psychic, but now I am starting to wonder. Actually, I don't really believe that someone can be psych per se, but I think some people have stronger senses of premonition. Almost daily, I get in my car and think of a song or have been thinking of a random song, and it is on the radio. Now this may not be very weird since radio stations play the same songs over and over again, but I usually listen to oldies. Ok, not convinced?
The other day I was driving above the speed limit, as usually, and just had a voice in my head say, there is a cop right around the corner. Sure as s***! Good thing I slowed down.
The weirdest thing of all is both Ash and I had dreams and a feeling that my dad would not be around much longer before he died. Very strange.
I think probably everyone has weird coincidences or premonitions in their life. Maybe there is a way to work on that subconscious and make it stronger.

I am going to go buy a crystal ball now!

Trains, Planes, and Automobiles

Over the past two weeks Brian and I have traveled all over the midwest, south, and east coast to interview for residencies. It has been I big pain planning all of these interviews and pretty expensive (good thing I live at home right now). One thing I have learned is a sense of independence. I was really nervous to fly into Pensacola, rent a car, drive to Panama City (for Brian and Chris's Ironman), drive back to Pensacola, and fly to Lexington (for an interview), then fly back to KC. I have never done that on my own, especially rent a car. It is so easy though! Renting a car is very affordable and the quickest, easiest process.
When this whole process of interviews started, I thought Brian and I would just go to all ours together. Wrong! Out of 20 some interviews scheduled, only 1 was together. We both had our interview at Wash U in STL yesterday. We decided to take a train there. It was awesome. $50 round trip, lots of leg room, no security, you can pack whatever you want, walk around the different cars, eat at the cafe car, hang out on the back of the train and watch the tracks fly by, lay across a whole row to yourself to sleep. I highly recommend this form of transportation. It took about 5.5 hours to get there, so longer than driving, but it didn't matter.
All together, interviews are going well. I have done 5 now. KU, Kentucky (Lexington), Houston, MU, and now Wash U. It is getting tiring and I am not even half way done. I think Brian and I decided on doing 15-17 maximum. We are doing the "couples match" so we are supposed to apply to more places. Most people ask what is this match process. I myself am still a little confused, but I see it similar to college rush.
1) Send out applications
2) Interview at the places that liked your application
3) Make a rank list from 1 to whatever number you interviewed at
4) The schools rank you
5) They put it all in a computer and match you up
6) If you are a couple, they put you through the system first to make sure you are in the same city, if not the same hospital.
7) Match day- Open an envelope of where you matched onstage in front of your whole class. Oh by the way, it is on St. Patricks Day!
8) Celebrate!

Can't wait to see what the future holds for Brian and I. Scary, but exciting. Have a great Thanksgiving everyone. I will be in KC so hopefully see most of you!


-Blog post to come on Brian and Chris's Ironman. It was awesome.