New Addition

Spencer and I are expecting....new iPhones! I had you going there for a second, right? Well,  I guess we're not expecting any more since mine showed up Monday and his showed up today. We had been coveting them for some time, but didn't want to switch to AT&T from T-Mobile. Our deal there is just too good. Plus, who in the world wants to pay that much AND have limited data? It's crazy!

Things I like about it so far:
1. The data plan. I can get Internet anywhere which I originally resisted, but now love.
2. The camera. So, I've always had a camera on my phones, but never one that was that easy to use.
3. The apps. Angry Birds, anyone?
4. The speed. My iTouch was fast, but this is just so much faster.
5. The screen. It's so dang clear. I've never been hung up on the whole HD thing, but dang. This thing is nice.
6. The fact that I only have to carry one thing....which also means I only have to plug in one thing.
7. The ability to sync with outlook. Especially since I plan my life in outlook.
8. Uploading pics to facebook without having to find the connecty-thing.
9. The battery life is so much better than the stupid Droid phone I had for less that a day.
10. I already know how to use it since I've been using the iPod touch for about a year.

Things I don't like:
1. If I drop it, it will most likely break. This would be OK, except I have the tendency to drop my phone.
2. I have to charge it nightly. Sure, the battery life is great and this is not a significant change from the iPod, but I really hate having to remember to plug my phone in every night.
3. I'm really, really, really worried about losing it or hurting it somehow since it was so expensive.

Well, the pros are outweighing the cons so far. I don't really know if I will come across too many additional cons to add to the list, but I think I could turn the ones that are on it into pros if I tried hard enough. Now to go sell some more stuff to pay for them....

5 More Months

I meant to have this post up yesterday since March 17th is match day, but I guess the day after is just as good. In just 5 short months, the match will finally be here and we will finally know where we are going to live for the next four years. With interview season fast approaching, the options are already narrowing down, but some sort of confirmation that Spencer is actually going to study anesthesiology and be licensed to practice it and actually get to go out and do so in the very distant future is a nice thought. So far the choices are as follows:

Loma Linda, CA
Milwaukee, WI
Rochester, NY

With three interviews scheduled and one plane ticket purchased (one way to CA) we are both crossing our fingers for more. Because more is better, or something like that. Among my top choices for additional interviews would have to be the University of Virgina, the University of Utah, Oregon Health Sciences University, or perhaps UC San Diego (but only because it's getting cold and I'm craving sunshine and beaches).

In other news, I'm currently in the throws of my midterm paper for researcher ethics and increasingly feeling the pressure to at least get something drafted for my final project since it's due in 10 weeks.

Speak Softly and Carry a Big....

STICK!

I found our pictures from our camping trip last May to Rock Island, WI. It's on Lake Michigan up near Green Bay, and you have to take 2 different ferries to get there. You drive your car across to Washington Island, then take a passenger only ferry to Rock Island. They don't even let bicycles across.

The lake was really cold. This was as deep as I could go in without freezing to death even though it looks like a beautiful, warm beach.

Our camp site was just down the way from the beach. Doesn't it look nice?

Spencer, however, got all the way in. Boy does he love water.

Look how far out he got! Crazy! That water was only about 50 degree (or less).

So Rock Island was owned by a guy that decided to build a Scandinavian-style hotel/recreation resort on the island for all of his friends. He never, finished it, but you can see the boathouse in the back. There was also a lighthouse on the island that is one of the oldest in Wisconsin, but we didn't take any pictures for some reason.

This is the interior of the boathouse. There was incredible detail in all the furniture and construction.

Here is a close up of the mantel with the Norse saying cared over it. No clue what it says. 

We sure have enjoyed camping all over Wisconsin. They have some pretty cool places. I will say, though, I can't fathom why people wanted to live on that island. It was so excluded and out of the way, not to mention chilly!

Exciting!

Interview #2 request is in!! So far we're interviewing here (Medical College of Wisconsin) and Loma Linda, CA. So, now we could be either living in Wisconsin or in California next year. I gotta say, I'm pretty torn between the two options. On the one hand, Wisconsin is cold and snowy and I am feeling ready for a change. On the other hand, California is hot and crowed, expensive and polluted. I already have a job in Wisconsin, a nice place to live (crazy landlord excluded), and we don't need to buy a second car because I can walk to work. Oh, and California has the beach!! Who has 2 thumbs and loves the beach? This gal.

Here's hoping for more interview requests soon!

The Window of Death

There is a window at work that often has several dead birds littering the ground under it. It's more of a whole wall of windows, really. I like to call it the Window of Death. I'm not sure what it is about that particular side of the building that makes it such a hazard for birds. I mean, it's not like the rest of the building has bird carcasses around it. The weirdest part, though, is that they just sit there for days. In fact, I've seen a few bird skeletons sitting around. I'm not sure who to tell, but it's getting to be a real problem. And I find it somewhat ironic that an institution that's supposed to preserve life is actually killing it.

October?!? When did THAT happen?

Well, it would seem we're squarely into October now. Conference has come and gone. The weather finally decided to turn colder. The trees are turning colors and I can no longer complain about it because now is the time of year that it looks and feels right. Apples were picked, pies baked and eaten, and kids have been back in school for over a month. Wow. And I am now 2.5 months from being officially done with formal schooling. At least for a little while. I'll never say I'm completely done because I've said that before and holy cow now I've almost mastered something.

Spencer has an easy month this time around. He is doing blood bank medicine because of his love of all things anesthesia. It's great because the hours are so short which means he can study for the boards (step 2), which he will take next Tuesday. This is his last rotation of 2010. His first day was technically last Friday, but they decided to be nice and give him the day off. Monday he didn't start until 10am and got done at 2pm, which is sooo much better than it was before (10+ hours a day). However, I am now jealous. I still have to work. Today he went in at 8:30 even though his adviser wouldn't be there until much, much later because his advisor said something along the lines of "medical students shouldn't get to come in so late." He was done by 11:30. Yay! and Boo! because again, great for him but I am still stuck at work. Not that I don't have massive amounts of work to do or anything, but more because I would so much rather be at home with him than here working. Double boo.

So there you go. October, you snuck up on me and for that I'm kinda irritated. You could have at least warned me September was coming to a close before just showing up like you did. But I will forgive you, because you are delightfully chilly with just enough sunshine at lunch to make the weather less unbearable.