Well, I'm 3 days into my orientation for residency, and so much has happened already.
First day was a bunch of short talks from all sorts of people on varied topics. The other two days have been computer training, getting our schedules, talks about research in residency, etc.
The first evening, there was an informal meet and greet with all the new internal medicine residents (and families - there were about 4 3-year olds running around, including mine!) and a few older residents and staff physicians (they call them "consultants" instead of "attendings" here). The program here is so large (71 interns this year!), they intentionally have us in groups, each with a physician mentor.
So that night I met my group's mentor - turns out he's a very skilled classically-trained pianist who still plays a lot. He knew that I played a lot, too, and we got to talking. He said he would put me in touch with another resident who is a serious violinist. Apparently he has been looking for a pianist to play with...
...so today I had the afternoon free, and I get this call from the violinist resident. Turns out he is also doing the "research-track" residency/fellowship in Heme-Onc like I am doing! He was planning on meeting his cellist friend this evening to read through a bunch of music. Would I like to join them? Would I ever!
We played for 2.5 hours together in the Mayo lobby (the Bosendorfer piano!). The entire Mendelssohn C Minor (Op. 66) trio and the slow movement of the D minor (Op. 49), as well as the entire Schubert Bb Major (D. 898) trio and the slow movement of the Eb Major (D. 929). This was such an enjoyable experience! All three of us really felt privileged to be playing together. What a blessing! I believe this collaboration will continue...
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Vacation Day 9 - Arriving in Rochester!
Day 9: Chamberlain, SD to Rochester, MN
Estimated Mileage: 370 miles
Estimated Driving Time: 5.4 hours
There wasn't that much interesting about this day. Just driving through farm country. We stopped at "Perkins" (a nice family restaurant) for lunch near Sioux Falls, SD. Then we booked it through to Rochester with a couple of bathroom stops.
We arrived at our house around dinner time and cooked up some spaghetti using our camping utensils on our house stove. We tried to unpack as much stuff as possible from our van and spent the night in the house on the floor with our sleeping bags. It was nice to be "home" finally!
The next day, our moving trailer arrived with all of our stuff and we hired a couple of movers to unload it with us.
Our moving trailer.
All of our stuff.
Me hard at work.
Katie worked with Rebekah on her back, and then she fell asleep - how precious!
Most of our stuff was fine, except for a couple bookcases and entertainment center (all broken during the move - we chucked them), and possibly some of our china dishes (see picture). In spite of us writing "fragile" on the box, the movers put this box at the bottom of a heavy stack. We still haven't opened it up to see if it's OK...
Also, unfortunately, our queen boxspring would not fit upstairs into our bedroom. The mattress fit, but only because we squeezed the sides as we went up. We had to buy a split boxspring, and we're trying to sell this one on craigslist!
Since we moved in on June 3rd, we've had some time to unpack most everything, buy furniture, etc., and try to get ourselves settled. It's quite a job. Here's some pictures of the progress we've made:
Our bedroom is quite a bit larger than our previous one. We don't know what to do with all the room!
We drove up to Minneapolis a few days ago and went to IKEA, where we bought Rachel a bed. It can be turned upside down and made into a bunk bed later when she and Rebekah will share a room. She loves it!
Here is the family room/music room. Our piano made it safe and sound. We kept our couches in this room because they wouldn't fit downstairs in our basement (the original intended location).
Rebekah loves to roam around our new house and have fun. Here she is playing a duet with me. I was playing Debussy's Etude in 4ths, which is quite modern sounding. Most of the notes she hit fit in pretty well!
Rachel has also been very busy playing with all her toys and making up interesting imaginative games.
The largest room in our basement will be the movie/entertainment room. The furniture seen here is largely supplied from the Goodwill: Sofa - $20, Easychair - $10, entertainment center - $50, coffee table - $5. Can't beat those prices!
Another room in the basement is Katie's laundry room - already in full swing!
Here's another one of the kitchen.
And here's one of the office/guest room.
I also mowed our lawn yesterday.
We first had to purchase a lawn mower (nice big garage, huh?). Originally Katie was anticipating doing the mowing, since I'd be so busy in residency. She was quite apprehensive about it, though, as she's never mowed a lawn in her life. I don't blame her. While unpacking/assembling the mower, there were so many warnings about death and dismemberment in the instruction packet, I was even slightly concerned myself and made sure to read all the directions before operating it. I decided I'll do all the mowing, even if I'm busy.
I also bought a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee off of Craiglist from another Mayo employee. It has a lot of miles (~129,000), but it seems like it runs great. This is ideal car for the snow, I've heard.
Well, that's all about our California to Minnesota trip. Hope you've enjoyed the pictures and stories.
Estimated Mileage: 370 miles
Estimated Driving Time: 5.4 hours
There wasn't that much interesting about this day. Just driving through farm country. We stopped at "Perkins" (a nice family restaurant) for lunch near Sioux Falls, SD. Then we booked it through to Rochester with a couple of bathroom stops.
We arrived at our house around dinner time and cooked up some spaghetti using our camping utensils on our house stove. We tried to unpack as much stuff as possible from our van and spent the night in the house on the floor with our sleeping bags. It was nice to be "home" finally!
The next day, our moving trailer arrived with all of our stuff and we hired a couple of movers to unload it with us.
Our moving trailer.
All of our stuff.
Me hard at work.
Katie worked with Rebekah on her back, and then she fell asleep - how precious!
Most of our stuff was fine, except for a couple bookcases and entertainment center (all broken during the move - we chucked them), and possibly some of our china dishes (see picture). In spite of us writing "fragile" on the box, the movers put this box at the bottom of a heavy stack. We still haven't opened it up to see if it's OK...
Also, unfortunately, our queen boxspring would not fit upstairs into our bedroom. The mattress fit, but only because we squeezed the sides as we went up. We had to buy a split boxspring, and we're trying to sell this one on craigslist!
Since we moved in on June 3rd, we've had some time to unpack most everything, buy furniture, etc., and try to get ourselves settled. It's quite a job. Here's some pictures of the progress we've made:
Our bedroom is quite a bit larger than our previous one. We don't know what to do with all the room!
We drove up to Minneapolis a few days ago and went to IKEA, where we bought Rachel a bed. It can be turned upside down and made into a bunk bed later when she and Rebekah will share a room. She loves it!
Here is the family room/music room. Our piano made it safe and sound. We kept our couches in this room because they wouldn't fit downstairs in our basement (the original intended location).
Rebekah loves to roam around our new house and have fun. Here she is playing a duet with me. I was playing Debussy's Etude in 4ths, which is quite modern sounding. Most of the notes she hit fit in pretty well!
Rachel has also been very busy playing with all her toys and making up interesting imaginative games.
The largest room in our basement will be the movie/entertainment room. The furniture seen here is largely supplied from the Goodwill: Sofa - $20, Easychair - $10, entertainment center - $50, coffee table - $5. Can't beat those prices!
Another room in the basement is Katie's laundry room - already in full swing!
Here's another one of the kitchen.
And here's one of the office/guest room.
I also mowed our lawn yesterday.
We first had to purchase a lawn mower (nice big garage, huh?). Originally Katie was anticipating doing the mowing, since I'd be so busy in residency. She was quite apprehensive about it, though, as she's never mowed a lawn in her life. I don't blame her. While unpacking/assembling the mower, there were so many warnings about death and dismemberment in the instruction packet, I was even slightly concerned myself and made sure to read all the directions before operating it. I decided I'll do all the mowing, even if I'm busy.
I also bought a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee off of Craiglist from another Mayo employee. It has a lot of miles (~129,000), but it seems like it runs great. This is ideal car for the snow, I've heard.
Well, that's all about our California to Minnesota trip. Hope you've enjoyed the pictures and stories.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Vacation Day 8
Day 8: Devil's Tower National Monument, WY to Chamberlain, SD (via Mt. Rushmore)
Estimated Mileage: 356 miles
Estimated Driving Time: 6.5 hours
We originally intended to camp that night in Badlands National Park near Interior, SD, but we got caught in a heavy rain storm (with lots of thunder and lightning - whee!) as we crossed the WY-SD border while on the 16. Camping didn't seem too desirable after that. So we drove as far as we could and stayed in a Motel on the Missouri River in Chamberlain, SD.
From Devil's Tower, we took the 14 to the 585 to the 16 before entering South Dakota and getting rained on. We tried stopping at the Crazy Horse Memorial, but it was raining too hard and the admission fee was rather high, so we were content to glimpse the unfinished statue in the mountain from afar. Below is a picture from the web (we couldn't get a good shot of it):
By the time we reached Mt. Rushmore, the rain died down a little bit and we decided to spend some time there. It was quite a nice memorial, with lots of stone pillars and flags from all 50 states.
The front of the memorial.
Rachel and I in front of the mountain. Somehow the lighting from the clouds and the way we took these pictures kind of obscures the monument.
We ducked into an ice cream shop within the memorial and Rebekah had her first taste of ice cream.
Needless to say, she liked it.
After finishing our treats, it cleared up a little bit.
One last picture before we headed out...
We got hungry in the middle of South Dakota, so we stopped at "Wall Drug", a big conglomeration of stores along a street in the city of Wall. It was advertised on the freeway with interesting billboards for hundreds of miles, starting sometime in Wyoming. It seems like most of the stores were expensive trinkets, and all we cared about was food, so the novelty was lost on us!
Rachel was certainly happy to stop!
We got into Chamberlain after 10 pm, and took this picture of the Missouri River the next day as we left.
And one more picture of the Missouri River... it sure is wide - probably over a mile!
Estimated Mileage: 356 miles
Estimated Driving Time: 6.5 hours
We originally intended to camp that night in Badlands National Park near Interior, SD, but we got caught in a heavy rain storm (with lots of thunder and lightning - whee!) as we crossed the WY-SD border while on the 16. Camping didn't seem too desirable after that. So we drove as far as we could and stayed in a Motel on the Missouri River in Chamberlain, SD.
From Devil's Tower, we took the 14 to the 585 to the 16 before entering South Dakota and getting rained on. We tried stopping at the Crazy Horse Memorial, but it was raining too hard and the admission fee was rather high, so we were content to glimpse the unfinished statue in the mountain from afar. Below is a picture from the web (we couldn't get a good shot of it):
By the time we reached Mt. Rushmore, the rain died down a little bit and we decided to spend some time there. It was quite a nice memorial, with lots of stone pillars and flags from all 50 states.
The front of the memorial.
Rachel and I in front of the mountain. Somehow the lighting from the clouds and the way we took these pictures kind of obscures the monument.
We ducked into an ice cream shop within the memorial and Rebekah had her first taste of ice cream.
Needless to say, she liked it.
After finishing our treats, it cleared up a little bit.
One last picture before we headed out...
We got hungry in the middle of South Dakota, so we stopped at "Wall Drug", a big conglomeration of stores along a street in the city of Wall. It was advertised on the freeway with interesting billboards for hundreds of miles, starting sometime in Wyoming. It seems like most of the stores were expensive trinkets, and all we cared about was food, so the novelty was lost on us!
Rachel was certainly happy to stop!
We got into Chamberlain after 10 pm, and took this picture of the Missouri River the next day as we left.
And one more picture of the Missouri River... it sure is wide - probably over a mile!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Vacation Day 7
Day 7: Cody, WY to Devil's Tower National Monument
Estimated Mileage: 311 miles
Estimated Driving Time: 5.2 hours
Originally we intended to camp at Keyhole State Park and visit Devil's Tower the next day. However, we decided to go see Devil's Tower that evening instead... and we found a neat little campsite right next to the rock - pretty cool!
Devil's Tower may have been my favorite spot during the whole trip. There's just something really fascinating and grandiose about this 1000-foot high tower of hexagon-shaped rock-columns. And camping less than 2 miles from it was just really neat. It's the same type of hexagon-shaped rock-columns as Devil's Postpile near Mammoth, CA, except the hexagons are more like 10 feet in diameter instead of 10 inches.
Perhaps I was also intrigued by it because the first time I ever saw it was in the great 70's Spielberg sci-fi movie, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".
The campground was really simple. Just off the road, very small, connected to a store and restaurant. We were the only ones there that evening - very peaceful. I guessed from the 30+ beer-bottles in the restroom waste-basket that we came just after a large group of rowdy bikers had left...
Here are some pictures:
An example of northern Wyoming beauty, as we drive...
The family of four as we approach Devil's Tower.
Zoom view
Our campsite
Our tents, with the rock just over the hill.
View of the rock from the outside of the restaurant at our campsite.
Our campsite the following morning (around 6 am).
View of Devil's Tower in the morning from the same position.
Zoom view (can you tell I like Devil's Tower?).
That morning, we drove up to Devil's Tower visitor's center...
... and walked just a couple-hundred feet up to the boulder field, where only those who have climbing licenses are allowed to go any further.
Here it is from a different angle.
And one more shot as we left the area. Interesting place!
Estimated Mileage: 311 miles
Estimated Driving Time: 5.2 hours
Originally we intended to camp at Keyhole State Park and visit Devil's Tower the next day. However, we decided to go see Devil's Tower that evening instead... and we found a neat little campsite right next to the rock - pretty cool!
Devil's Tower may have been my favorite spot during the whole trip. There's just something really fascinating and grandiose about this 1000-foot high tower of hexagon-shaped rock-columns. And camping less than 2 miles from it was just really neat. It's the same type of hexagon-shaped rock-columns as Devil's Postpile near Mammoth, CA, except the hexagons are more like 10 feet in diameter instead of 10 inches.
Perhaps I was also intrigued by it because the first time I ever saw it was in the great 70's Spielberg sci-fi movie, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".
The campground was really simple. Just off the road, very small, connected to a store and restaurant. We were the only ones there that evening - very peaceful. I guessed from the 30+ beer-bottles in the restroom waste-basket that we came just after a large group of rowdy bikers had left...
Here are some pictures:
An example of northern Wyoming beauty, as we drive...
The family of four as we approach Devil's Tower.
Zoom view
Our campsite
Our tents, with the rock just over the hill.
View of the rock from the outside of the restaurant at our campsite.
Our campsite the following morning (around 6 am).
View of Devil's Tower in the morning from the same position.
Zoom view (can you tell I like Devil's Tower?).
That morning, we drove up to Devil's Tower visitor's center...
... and walked just a couple-hundred feet up to the boulder field, where only those who have climbing licenses are allowed to go any further.
Here it is from a different angle.
And one more shot as we left the area. Interesting place!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Vacation Day
Day 6: Driggs, ID to Cody, WY (via Grand Tetons and Yellowstone)
Estimated Mileage: 308 miles
Estimated Driving Time: 6.1 hours
I had originally planned on driving through Jackson Hole, Grand Teton National Park, and doing the entire Yellowstone National Park loop, thus the long hours in spite of not going very many miles as the crow flies.
We got a late start, so we ended up just stopping briefly at each place. To me, the Tetons were the most impressive. Teton Valley was so beautiful and impressive, I could have spent all my time there. We stopped to take a few pictures (below), and went up to Old Faithful Geyser, after which we just booked through Yellowstone along the lake and on to Cody. Yellowstone Lake was really beautiful, too, with many beautiful mountains surrounding it from all directions. This was a gorgeous trip!
Here are some pictures:
Me and Rachel at the mountain pass between the Idaho side and the Wyoming side of the Tetons. We were at approximately 9000 feet elevation.
Tommy, Katie, and Rebekah
Quite a view into Teton Valley!
Rachel with the Tetons in the background. We were driving right next to the Snake River.
Some buffalo sacked out on the side of the road.
Tetons and the northern end of Jackson Lake.
Now on to Yellowstone... Old Faithful.
An anxious crowd awaits the geyser... it was cold, wet, and raining.
The rain conveniently allowed us to give Rebekah a new, hip hairstyle.
Yay! Old Faithful!... and only ~10 minutes behind schedule (apparently it can vary quite a bit).
OK, time to get the baby warm and move on!
Driving next to Yellowstone Lake. Beautiful mountains all around this place!
Apparently the lake isn't the most safe place to walk around on the beach. At one point, we saw steaming (boiling) water from geothermal activity just a few feet away from an iced-over portion of the lake near the shore. This is what I call Nature's Triple-Point! (actually, courtesy of Katie, the chemistry nerd)
A young grizzly bear by the side of the road to bid us adieu as we left Yellowstone.
Estimated Mileage: 308 miles
Estimated Driving Time: 6.1 hours
I had originally planned on driving through Jackson Hole, Grand Teton National Park, and doing the entire Yellowstone National Park loop, thus the long hours in spite of not going very many miles as the crow flies.
We got a late start, so we ended up just stopping briefly at each place. To me, the Tetons were the most impressive. Teton Valley was so beautiful and impressive, I could have spent all my time there. We stopped to take a few pictures (below), and went up to Old Faithful Geyser, after which we just booked through Yellowstone along the lake and on to Cody. Yellowstone Lake was really beautiful, too, with many beautiful mountains surrounding it from all directions. This was a gorgeous trip!
Here are some pictures:
Me and Rachel at the mountain pass between the Idaho side and the Wyoming side of the Tetons. We were at approximately 9000 feet elevation.
Tommy, Katie, and Rebekah
Quite a view into Teton Valley!
Rachel with the Tetons in the background. We were driving right next to the Snake River.
Some buffalo sacked out on the side of the road.
Tetons and the northern end of Jackson Lake.
Now on to Yellowstone... Old Faithful.
An anxious crowd awaits the geyser... it was cold, wet, and raining.
The rain conveniently allowed us to give Rebekah a new, hip hairstyle.
Yay! Old Faithful!... and only ~10 minutes behind schedule (apparently it can vary quite a bit).
OK, time to get the baby warm and move on!
Driving next to Yellowstone Lake. Beautiful mountains all around this place!
Apparently the lake isn't the most safe place to walk around on the beach. At one point, we saw steaming (boiling) water from geothermal activity just a few feet away from an iced-over portion of the lake near the shore. This is what I call Nature's Triple-Point! (actually, courtesy of Katie, the chemistry nerd)
A young grizzly bear by the side of the road to bid us adieu as we left Yellowstone.
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