The Eagle Has Landed

Yay! Brian arrived safe and sound in Oak Park, IL ... our new hometown. I could hear the echo of his voice over the cell phone, as it bounced and resonated off the empty floors and walls in our very new apartment. Even before he finished saying the word hello, that echoing sound told me he was there. Amazing! Just a few more days and I too will be there.

I think I am getting more excited about moving now, even though pangs of sorrow are still resonate -- disallowing me to forget what I am leaving behind.

-Kelly

BSC Phones Home

A call from Brian revealed that after driving 550 miles today, he has reached Toledo, Ohio. He hopes to arrive in Chicago sometime tomorrow.

-Kelly

On the Road Again

Well, its been a while since I've posted. I flew down to Tampa in early June to take the boards. Boy was it hot and humid. It made me thankful that I live up north. The test was exhausting, but I assume I passed. The official results will come out in August. After the exam, we went to the hotel bar, and I had my first alcoholic drink in over a year, a really strong martini. Unfortunately, I also had to catch my flight back to Boston an hour later, and I forgot that alcohol plus air travel leads to major dehydration (ie: hangover). When I got back to Boston, I was not a happy camper. I think its entirely appropriate that this whole standardized testing episode ended with a massive headache.

Since the boards, we've been really busy with moving preparations. The movers came yesterday and took all our stuff away. I left Boston today and should get to Chicago in three days. Kelly will be flying out later this week to meet me. A new chapter in our life begins...

-Brian

Moving Day

My house is packed up tightly in lots of boxes, with packing tape, scissors and various magic markers to label everything strewn about. Our movers surprised us (to put it lightly) last night by calling to inform us that they are coming on Saturday instead of Sunday! Thus our 48 hours to pack turned into less than a 24! More later...

-Kelly

The Riddle

While sitting round the dinner table telling stories tonight, my cousin relayed an intriguing one. Now I should mention that this week marks the celebration of yet another family member (my cousin) who along with his girlfriend, is graduating from Harvard University. It was at my aunt’s house in honor of this special occasion, and in the presence of my immediate and extended family, my cousin’s girlfriend and her family that this story transpired.

When my cousin's girlfriend was in the 5th grade, she came upon an extra credit question, a riddle actually, that she could not solve. This was it:

10 P on Z in S

For the last 15 years since that fateful day in elementary school when she first tackled the riddle, this problem has remained her own personal unsolved mystery. Quite miraculously, and seeminly out of the clear blue, she recently she awoke in the middle of the night – the answer had come to her!

This evening, my cousin relayed what the riddle was, and his father (my uncle) puzzled over it and within 3 hours he too had solved it. Now it is your turn, and I will pose a challenge to all who read this and give you a chance to solve it too. Please post, or email your answer.

-Kelly

Hiding Under a Standardized Rock

I haven't posted anything for a while because I've been spending all my time cramming reviewing for my upcoming Pathology Boards examination. Being in the medical profession, you get used to the idea of jumping through hoops, many of them being of the standardized test variety. In college, we study to get high MCAT scores so we can get into the dream medical school. Then once in medical school, you have step I and step II of the USMLEs (United States Medical Licensing Exam), followed by step III in residency.

Now, in under a week, I'll have the pleasure of experiencing the next hoop, a gold-plated, three thousand dollar hoop that, in a way, is the culmination of five years of residency and four years of medical school. Assuming I pass, I can consider myself "certified" to practice medicine as a fully-trained pathologist. Obviously, a test of this great importance demands a great deal of preparation. Thus the hours, days, and weeks spent in solitude devoted to reviewing rare tumors, genetic syndromes, sub-specialties previously overlooked (i.e. forensics), and just plain useless trivia in hopes of anticipating the obscure minutiae that will be thrown our way. All this in addition to the regular work of being a pathology resident, an entirely unrelated task.

It make sense to test all doctors to make sure they have some minimal level of competency. And since this is America, the way we do it is through standardized testing. (If its good enough for elementary school kids, its good enough for physicians.) Too bad that standardized testing is such an inferior way to test the quality of a physician. What it tests well is one's ability to take a standardized test. Luckily, I've always been adept at multiple-choice standardized exams, so perhaps I shouldn't complain too much. Good test taking skills will get you far in life.

If I had time to think about it some more, maybe instead of just complaining I could suggest a better way to take the measure of a good pathologist. Unfortunately, I kinda have this big exam next week to prepare for, so back under my rock I go.

-Brian