Hey look, down time!

I wrapped up week three at Duke North last Friday, which was also the day our summer portfolio was due. It was strange to go over the list of specimens I've grossed... the number of complex specimens really adds up over even just a few short weeks at a busy tertiary treatment center.

Anyway, it was good and I liked surg path but I am looking forward to heading back to autopsy next week. My first stint was a quiet week for the department so I feel a little behind in autopsy (not to say that we didn't have any at all, just that I haven't had the chance to do any evisceration personally. Observing is useful, but I'm a hands on learner.).

We're off this week which is nice. I think I prefer the shorter summer break and more scattered breaks throughout this year. It gives us a chance to recharge... and having gone through each of the major rotations sites to have some time for introspection. I continue on in my belief that second year is so much more satisfying than first year (classroom lectures cannot begin to compare to clinical rotations... although I do acknowledge the usefulness of the foundation of medical knowledge laid down in that first year!).

My husband and I spent a long weekend in Atlanta meeting up with friends from all over the country. I actually ran into both a histotech that works here at Duke and a lady I went to a biotech summer camp with in 1995, which was weird but amazing that we still recognized each other! It was a fantastic (if exhausting!) time. My husband and I used the car ride back to pick up our children from my parents to write a wishlist of things we'd like for wherever it is we end up moving after I take a job. We also ruled out which states we are definitely not considering as a future home (sorry Alaska! You are a beautiful state but are just too far away from the continental US), and which ones top the list (NC and MN, with CO up there too for some reason. Some places we know nothing about, we just like the idea of them!).

Today is my birthday, and since there's nothing to study for (unlike last year!) I have spent it cooking Filipino food. Round one is finished and delivered to the autopsy folks and Duke surg path. Round two will start up again shortly but I'm taking a little bit of a break first. That batch of lumpia and pancit will be fed to local friends who have been awesome enough to make me chocolate cake and macarons.