Happy St. Patrick's Day

Hope you're wearing your green.

We are.

Blaise and me at St. Patrick's Party

Blaise, getting his green on

A huge pile of shamrock cookies

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Now playing: Dropkick Murphys - For Boston
via FoxyTunes

Just a little info

Well, I matched!!

Now I just have to wait until Thursday.

Then we find out where we are going.

I think I'm more nervous now.

Just a little nervous (the real nerves come later this week)

Tomorrow I get an e-mail to tell me if I matched or not. Not where. Just yes or no.

If yes, my nerves will settle down just a little. If no...well, if no, I plan on just crawling back into bed and crying and maybe or maybe not plan on rejoining the world in the future.

Actually, I won't get to. Because I will be very busy being involved with the infamous "Scramble."

Where poor fourth year medical students who didn't get a residency position fight it out for any remaining open slots across the country. A two day process involving a lot of phone calls, waiting, and further hits on your self esteem.

I really hope that doesn't happen. How terrible to work this hard for this many years and not get a residency position. And possibly end up somewhere you've never heard of and don't know anything about.

Or worse, end up in a different specialty all together. To not be an anesthesiologist, but a family medicine doc or an internist.

Here's to hoping for the best.

One Week Left

I'm sure that some of you may have noticed the countdown on the side bar of my blog. The one that has "The Match" above it.

I guess I should explain what "The Match" is. (And yes, it is always said like that. You can hear the capitals when people say it.) Since I have been promising to explain it, and now it is only one week away.

The Match is the process that determines where fourth year medical students will go to for residency. Basically, it is a complicated computer process that determines the rest of our lives.

It's not quite as random as that. We do have a little say. After a fourth year decides what specialty they want to go into, they then apply to interview at programs they think will suit them. I applied to programs that I felt were in livable cities, had dental schools in the same area, and I felt has some reputation of being a good program. Then, you interview. Which is long and costly.

After interviewing, you decide where you would like to go. So you make a list. Ranking your first choice at number one, all the way down.

The programs also make lists. Ranking their top candidate number one, and all the way down.

Then the computer goes to work.

We'll use me as an example to show how this might work. Say that I am candidate number 1358 that the computer looks at. The computer looks at my first choice (Iowa). The system pulls up Iowa's list to see if Iowa ranked me at all. If they did, and there is still room at the program, the computer "matches" me there. But say that all the positions at Iowa are full. The computer looks at the positions those people have on Iowa's list. If one of those people is ranked below me (Say I'm number 8 on Iowa's list, and one of the positions is filled by someone ranked 15.) The person ranked lower is removed and I'm placed in Iowa. If all the positions at Iowa are filled by people ranked higher than myself, the system looks at my second choice (Oregon). And this process continues and continues until, theoretically, all the medical students are "matched" into residencies.

(Of course, this doesn't always happen and then something terrible happens - "The Scramble.")

So yeah, it's just that simple. Ha.

Supposedly this system gives the applicants the most control, but does it really sound like we have any control. Take an entire population of type A personalities and take all their control away and then say, "Now, go and be happy."

With The Match being only one week away, I have so many emotions and so many thoughts.

But I think that's enough for now.

Go Utes!

It is very possible that the Utah vs TCU men's basketball game that we went to on Saturday may be the last Utah sports event that we ever go to.

Which is very sad. But no matter where we end up at, we will always be Ute fans at heart.

My very favorite Utes fan

It was the first Utah game of any type that Blaise has been to. He spent less time being interested in the game and more time worrying about the location of the Utes mascot, Swoop. Or as Blaise called him, "the big man bird."


Roman, like always, was darling, and quickly caught onto the chants, songs, and cheers, throwing up his "U" with each free-throw.

Proud to be a Ute!

Teach them while they're young!

A whole family of Utes!

(And, of course, the Utes won. 68-49. Go Utes!)

Tea Party

Friday was another combined birthday party. This time, for Grace and Spring.

Grace, who is now 6

Spring, now 4 years old

Grace and Spring, ages 6 and 4, are my youngest siblings. They are the babies of the family. And the princesses. So what better than a fairy princess tea party?

Two cute little girls with their two cute little cakes

Along with some very rowdy little kid party games.

Happy Birthday, little girls!

Spring, Mom, and Grace

Well, Almost

I'm glad that the boys and I took advantage of the beautiful day we had earlier this week.

Overnight, the beautiful spring rain turned to snow.


Well, I guess a Utah March wouldn't be complete without it. I just hope I'm not saying the same thing in April.