Expectations

As you may know, Lady M and I are sharing quarters with a fellow expatriate Iowan and newly-minted Pediatrics resident, tentatively dubbed the J-Bomb (although it's a little unclear whether this moniker refers to him or his car).

In any case, his incoming intern class got an inspirational talk today from a doctor who told them that it was important to lower their expectations. For example, she said, when she wants to leave the hospital at 5 pm but is disappointed not to leave until 5:30, she just thinks "well, I might not have left until 6." Reasonable enough, thought the J-Bomb. So she went on to say that since the residents won't be going home at all, they should simply give up all of their expectations, and then not going home won't bother them. No expectations, except of course that they should have the highest expectations for their work.

Our man in Peds reports that he and his fellow interns were left uninspired.

Iowa connection

The disastrous flooding in Iowa has cast a sad shadow on the recent move, but Iowa continues to loom large in a happier way now that residency activities have started. One of my EM classmates went to college at Grinnell, and one of the Internal Medicine interns is from...Ridgeway!

Oriented

The first day of orientation for new interns was today. We received our long white coats and a lot of information. The thing I remember most clearly was a slide from the presentation by the hospital's safety officer showing a model of the hospital in flames and overrun by dinosaurs. Should be an exciting year.

First look

Finally found the cable for my camera so here are some pictures from the move. First of all, an action shot of Usagi in the truck:


This is our new street:


Unloading on a hill like this presented some problems.


Yours truly standing straight up in the back of the truck:


Orientation starts tomorrow. I'll try to get some more pictures up as soon as I can.

Thinking of Iowa City

The recent severe flooding in eastern Iowa has added a bittersweet quality to our move. The three of us are thrilled to be living in and exploring our new city. Eastern Iowa is struggling, however -- every day we get e-mails via our still-active U of Iowa accounts requesting volunteers for sandbagging, help accommodating hospital workers who can't get home, and advice on shutting down offices that may be evacuated and inaccessible for weeks. In many ways we feel like we should be there, helping with sandbags and in the hospital. Last night we stayed up late, helplessly looking at photos and reading news stories of the damage and disruptions. Although we can't do anything from where we are now, our thoughts are with everyone who's fighting the rising waters in Iowa.

Settling in

The new place is strewn with half-unpacked boxes, but we're making progress. Usagi has recovered from the trip and already acts like she owns the place. Did I mention that the tops of the towers of the Golden Gate bridge are visible from our balcony?

I've got pictures of the move and the new apartment, but you might not be too surprised to hear that the connector I need is buried somewhere in the post-move mess. As soon as the necessary equipment surfaces I'll get some photos posted here.

First post from my new home

Last night was my first night in the new apartment. Finished the move despite storms (sandbagging was starting along the Iowa River as I was leaving), high winds, a sick rabbit, and the start of the summer heat and humidity.

What I learned on this trip: while changing the rabbit litter in a truck stop parking lot in Winnemucca, look around to see if any dust devils are about to sweep over you.

I'll try to post some pictures soon.