Minicia

Heh heh, its been a while, no?  I've got good excuses.  Trying to plan when and where and how to have my wedding (a week after I graduate medical schoo, in the church where my parents got married, reception in a lovely garden...), trying and suceeding to apply to residency programs (interviews scheduled at 9/10 places that I applied to!), trying to shine like a star during my BUSY but AMAZING month with the Family Practice Hospitalist service.  Turns out Family Medicine inpatient floors are WAY better than regular Medicine floors, or at least at my hospital they are!!

Anyhow, I've been busy, but knitting.  I'll do pictures later, but now I feel compelled to steal from Sarah, one of my maids-to-be and someone that I wish were closer to tell me how to do this whole wedding thing...Anyway, I always loved these things when they were emails, and couldn't resist sending them on.

48 Things You Could Care Less About

1. FIRST NAME? Mia

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Mia means "mine" in Italian (and Spanish, but my parents didn't know that), and my dad is Italian.  I was NOT named after Mia Farrow.

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY?  Uh...Saturday when I realized I had bounced my rent check.  I hate being stupid and irresponsible!

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? When I try it is pretty neat and legible, which is more than I can say for most doctors, and I'm determined to keep it that way, so yes.  I do like my handwriting. 

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? I like Tofurkey deli slices.  Yes, that is tofu that tastes a bit like turkey, but really is good just because it makes a more filling and tasty sandwich.  Tofurkey is the best of the veggie deli meat brands, the others tend to be slimy and not too flavorful.  I also highly recommend Tofurkey for Christmas and Thanksgiving.  It is SOOO good. 

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?  I hope so.  Some of my friends are a lot like me, so I THINK so. 

7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL?  No.  I have some old ones, but sometimes I find them and rip up the stupid pages.  I know that is counterproductive to keeping one in the first place, but that's the way I am.  Sometimes the past embarrases me. 

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yeah.  Despite having so much strep that I eventually got rheumatic fever in first grade, I do indeed have my tonsils. 

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No.  I have a gut crushing fear of jumping from high places, and would be paralyzed with fear.  Also, I have a bad neck/upper back from a run-in with a canoe and I don't need it to bother me any more than it already does. 

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? I go through cereal phases.  But if nutritional value were not an issue, I would have to say Golden Grahams, although I NEVER eat it because it is JUNK. 

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Most of the shoes I wear daily (Dansko clogs) don't have laces.  But sneaker and running shoes...nope, I just slide them off.  Unlike Sarah, I have silly little feet. 

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? In some ways yes.  Like in the hospital doing mediciny things.  But in some ways I'm a big wimp, just ask my fiancee. 

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Ice cream I don't eat.  But sorbet, I do.  And favorite flavor?  Ben and Jerry's Chocolate, or Emack and Bolio's Passionfruit.  Also, in Italy they are kind enough to have soy gelato, and that I'll take in any flavor.  Chocolate, pistachio, hazelnut...hmmm.  I need soy gelato. 

14. SHOE SIZE? 7.5. 

15. RED OR PINK? Pink looks better on me, although for years I HATED it.  Now I like it.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?  Although overall I'm organized, I occasionally royally screw up (see the part above about bounced checks), and although I keep the kitchen in our house clean, I tend to be a bit of a clutter bug in other areas of the house (my desk...). 

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?  Right now, planning my wedding, I wish so much that my Nana was going to be there.  She would have danced the Irish jig.  I also really miss my college friends, you know who you are, because we were like PB&J for 4 years, and now I hardly see them, and there are some things that only they understand. 

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Eh.  I want to see it on more blogs...

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Shoes: Dansko "Cordovan" color-a reddish maroon.  Shirt: white with pink stitching down front button placket.  Pants: Grey with white and pink pinstripes. 

20. LAST THING YOU ATE? An apple. 

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Disco Inferno by 50 Cent.  I have a strange fondness for bad hip-hop.  

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? A green one, not too yellow-green, more blue green. 

23. FAVORITE SMELL? Garlic in olive oil on the stove, Christmas dinner smells, wool with lanolin, Cape Cod beaches, my finace after he gets out of the shower, ginger.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My dad. 

25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Eyes.  Eyes.  Eyes. 

26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from?  I adore Sarah.   I miss Sarah. 

27. FAVORITE DRINK?  Water, Odwalla Limeade, apple cider, recently Red Rose Tea.

28. FAVORITE SPORT? To watch: Baseball and then football, and college basketball but only if it is Indiana or Umass.  To play: field hockey on a crisp fall day. 

29. EYE COLOR? Blue. 

30. HAT SIZE? Huge.  I don't know mine, but it is huge.  Huge. 

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yes.

32. FAVORITE FOOD? Tofu, black beans, guacamole, my mom's stuffing, crusty bread, potato anything, brussels sprouts, broccoli, asparagus.  Scallion pancakes.  Pancakes.  Chocolate soy milk from Trader Joe's.   Can't chose just one.  I love food. 

33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? I personally like happy endings, and a good romantic movie always gets me teary eyed.  However, my honey likes the scary movies, and I have to say that watching them with him is pretty fun, because he will simultaneously be very snuggly and protective, but also try to scare the crap out of me by startling me.  Never gets old.  

34. SENSE OR SENSIBILITY? I'm Elinor too, like Sarah. 

35. SUMMER OR WINTER?  Both please.  I do hate when it is super hot and humid in the summer, unless I'm near the ocean, in which case I'm in heaven.  Winter is fun, although this year I'm guessing that my 40 minute commute will make life less fun than usual...

36. HUGS OR KISSES? Hmm.  Hugs from friends, kisses from my fiance.  But I like his hugs a whole lot, too. 

37. FAVORITE DESSERT?  A nice fruit sorbet, or a piece of good chocolate. 

38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Oh, let’s skip these next two. It doesn’t matter.

39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?

40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING?  The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair.  A book on EKG interpretations.  

41. WHAT’S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? I had one from my mom that was vases from Taipei.  She got it while in Taiwan at a conference in her honor. 

42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Last night was laundry night. TONIGHT we will watch Jericho, which we don't much like but are kinda hooked on, and LOST, which we adore and can't live without.  

43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Baby noises.  The voices of my family. The click of
the needles.  Regular heart beats!  When dogs "talk" to you.  A fan at night to sleep with.  Church bells around Christmas time.  Christmas songs around Christmas time.  When I make my fiance REALLY laugh.  Waves.  Thunder.  Running water.  Guinea pig squeaks. 

44. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles. 

45. THE FURTHEST YOU’VE BEEN FROM HOME? Italy.  Junior year. 

46. WHAT’S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT?  Knitting?  Cooking random stuff that somehow turns out good?  I don't know.  

47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Chicago, Illinois.  My poor little mom was in labor with me for 36 freaking hours. 

48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?  Sarahkins. 

Wanted to do a quick post to announce my exciting news that I'm an engaged lady now!  This picture was taken only moments before the question was asked, on Pfeiffer State Beach in Big Sur California at the end of a wonderful 10-day vacation.  I guess my mad skillz with a tent and Coleman stove really impressed him!

I couldn't be happier, and my fiancee has really taken to his new role as well.  We seem to have permanent smiles on our faces, and can't believe our good fortune.  We are now already in a scramble to set a date, because I start my residency in July and want to be married before then.  Fortunately, we've been dating for almost 5 years, so it doesn't feel like we are rushing the issue!  Since I have one of the world's most HUGENORMOUS families, we are hoping to keep things fun and low key in order to afford having adorable little cousins running everywhere during the reception. 

As for a ring, my sweetie wanted me to pick one that I really love, so for now I have a silly cubic zirconia one from Tar-jay, oh la la.  Today I'm off to check out some other options, but what really matters is asking the question and getting the right answer!

Wanted to do a quick post to announce my exciting news that I'm an engaged lady now!  This picture was taken only moments before the question was asked, on Pfeiffer State Beach in Big Sur California at the end of a wonderful 10-day vacation.  I guess my mad skillz with a tent and Coleman stove really impressed him!

I couldn't be happier, and my fiancee has really taken to his new role as well.  We seem to have permanent smiles on our faces, and can't believe our good fortune.  We are now already in a scramble to set a date, because I start my residency in July and want to be married before then.  Fortunately, we've been dating for almost 5 years, so it doesn't feel like we are rushing the issue!  Since I have one of the world's most HUGENORMOUS families, we are hoping to keep things fun and low key in order to afford having adorable little cousins running everywhere during the reception. 

As for a ring, my sweetie wanted me to pick one that I really love, so for now I have a silly cubic zirconia one from Tar-jay, oh la la.  Today I'm off to check out some other options, but what really matters is asking the question and getting the right answer!

I know I'm the last person in knitland to make this pattern, but boy is it fun!  I'm using Lorna's Laces "Carol Green Stripe," which Sarah got for me last year during my Surgery Rotation.  Remember those good old days?  Yeah, I didn't knit for about 2 months, which was the longest I've gone in several years!  When I really need to sleep, and the decision is to sleep or knit, I choose sleep.  

Anyway, this yarn is custom-dyed for Purl in NYC, and man do I LOVE it.  The pattern is super cute, and the yarn is also super cute, and together they are making a blindingly cute Jaywalker.  The stripes are almost perfect, with a tiny bit of color overlap that I'm really liking.  The folks at Purl have this concept in a plethora of colors, and I think I may be buying some more someday.  I brought the sock with me to a meeting at the Homeless Outreach and Advocacy Program (get it, HOAP...pronounced "Hope") and I got lots of compliments, plus found out that several of the folks there are knitters as well. 

I'm using my new Knitpicks Options DPNs, which I really like.  There's been a lot written about them already, so I'll just say a few things.  They are pointy, they are a little bit heavy, but I like that, and although these are labeled as "1", they are actually a tiny bit bigger than 1s, but smaller than 2s.  I also bought the interchangeable set, and was afraid that they would all be wrong, but the sizing for those is spot on.  My other DPNs from Knitpicks (0 and 2) are also a teeny bit big.  So now I have 0 1/2, 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 along with the regular sizes!  

So who out there has heard of the movie "A Scanner Darkly?"  I went to see it on Friday night with my boyfriend and his friends, and I found that it was one of the most profoundly depressing movies I've ever seen.  The rest of the group thought it was funny, and I think that most of it was SUPPOSED to be funny.  But I'm on of those people who experiences movies (and books, too I guess) in a very personalized way.  I internalize too much instead of just taking it at face value.  Like the book Bridges of Madison County, which I will forever hate because of a bad association with an ex.  Or, the movie The English Patient, which I hate deeply because of more bad associations with a different ex.  Sarahkins remembers how much I hate that one, I think!

Add a new one to my liste, but this one I don't hate, I just don't want it to exist.  A Scanner Darkly is a movie about drug addiction in the future.  The movie focuses on a group of friends and their use of the drug "Substance D," which has the unfortunate effect of destroying your brain when you use too heavily. 

Maybe if I were not currently doing an elective in which on a daily basis I interact with Worcester's most down-and-out heroin users, I would have thought the movie was funny. 

Maybe if I didn't see real people who lose their houses, their wives, their jobs, their lives because of addiction, I would have liked the scene in the movie where they are all high and can't figure out how many gears are on their new bike.  Is it 6 gears plus 3 equals 9?  ha ha ha.  It was a funny scene, but it made me want to cry. 

Maybe if I didn't pretty strongly believe in the power of methadone and suboxone (the new and improved pill form of methadone), I would have thought the ending twist of the movie (I won't give it away) was interesting and compelling.  Instead, I found it annoying and again, depressing. 

So if you go see this movie, take a step back from the gut reaction to laugh at the antics of people who are high, and to get caught up in the witty dialogues.  Just think about what it would be like to LIVE that movie. 

The pictures, by the way, are of where my yarn stash and sewing machine now live.  The bookcase needs a little work...

I needed a new knitting project like I need a hole in the head, but then I bought Mason Dixon Knitting and was instantly hooked on the idea of the Log Cabin blanket. I hate sewing, so I'm making one BIIIG square, and I'm using up my random Lamb's Pride stash, plus two skeins that I bought to supplement. I don't know how far that will get me, but I'm enjoying the project so far. My boyfriend has given his blessing to me stashing the project in that nice wicker basket in the TV room. He said, "Hey, are you going to keep your yarn there? It looks really nice!"  Awww! 

We are almost all the way moved in, with really just a few boxes of random stuff (his) in the middle upstairs room that need going through.  However, since it is 95 degrees and wicked humid here in Boston, I don't think we'll be getting around to those tonight!  Yeck. 

I'm happily adjusting to my new digs in Beantown, and adjusting to the commute to Worcester every day.  I'm doing a great elective right now, "Health Care For the Homeless."  I am really enjoying my time there, the doctor who is supervising me is wonderful and one of the few people I know who is truly not shocked by anything.  I think this quality is of utmost importance in a population marked by severe drug abuse, poor reliability and lots of mental illness.  Worcester is not a fun place to be homeless and addicted to drugs, let me tell you.  Fortunately, those folks have this doctor as a very powerful advocate.  Right now things are super interesting and very tiring while I'm there, but pretty sweet in terms of total hourage per week. 

This makes the whole commuting thing not bad at all, and coming home to a clean happy house inhabited by the man I love is SOOOOOOO worth it!!!  I am one of those drivers who likes to try out new routes and figure which one is the most time and distance efficient.  It's an inherited condition that I get from my dad.  So far I've come up with a new route home from Worcester that is pretty good. 

Ok, I'm off to try to take a practice board block of 50 questions, but I might chicken out because it is sooooo hot.  Hm. 

So, I've been busy. My boyfriend and I are moving in together, and we have spent the last bazillion weekends or so looking for a place to live that suits us both. FINALLY we found a great one that is hugenormous with almost hilarious ammounts of storage. Good thing, too, because the other night I organized ALL my yarn (even the stuff lurking in corners) and found that I have a LOT. Here is the picture of my closet. The brightly colored buckets (orange, pink, turquoise and purple in the upper right corner) are all yarn. Then there are two small clear ones that are yarn and equipment (needles, etc). Beneath those are two large clear buckets that are yet more yarn. The darker purple and green bins on the right are NOT yarn. The bag that says "thanks" is an almost finished Lace Leaf Sweater that I think I'll finish tonight. I have as much yarn as some small stores that I have been to. Next year, NO NEW YARN. Yeah, right.

Honey, if you are looking at this web page, just remember that our new place has 3 bedrooms and YOU PROMISED I COULD USE ONE FOR YARN.

Another thing that was a big deal around here was the youngest sibling in my family graduating from college! Congratulations Baby Brother. As you can see, Baby Brother is, not unlike my new apartment, hugenormous. He is such a loveable guy, and he got the biggest cheer during graduation of anyone in his class. It was great.

I'm almost done with my 12 week internal medicine rotation, THANK GOD. I'm almost done with Third Year, which is also a nice thing to think about. I'm tired. This has been a long year. Medicine was exhausting and hard, but ultimately very rewarding. I'm ready for fourth year, which everyone says is very, very fun.

Before I started, I was concerned that I actually hated adult medicine and only cared about pregnant ladies and kiddos as patients. But I was wrong. What I've learned about myself is that I really love almost every patient that I've had. Sure, there are some nutcases, like the lady whose husband wanted us to give her all her pain medication in pill form to take home...I think he was selling it on the street. And then there was the middle aged guy who did nothing but lay in bed at his parent's house and drink vodka. Let me tell you, your liver is not happy when that is all you do. But for the most part my patients have been amazing, and I have learned far more than I thought possible simply by showing up every day and talking to the attending physicians. I also did lots of reading, of course, but the learning that has happened has mostly been on the go, which is the kind that really sticks with me.

I'm working on some things, and will update the sidebar with pictures soon. Sorry about my epic absence. I missed the comments that I get, even though I don't really get that many!

I should have put somewhere in that last post that my boyfriend does NOT agree in any way with the ways animals are treated by the meat industry. He's also always been REALLY supportive of my veganish-ism, and when his family takes us out to dinner he always checks the menu before to make sure I'll be able to eat something.

Someone sent me a comment and said that he was wrong about rights being only a human construction. I'm not going to outline the details of our discussion, and besides, he's the philosophy major, not me. But I have to say that I agree with my BF on this one. I believe that humans ought to treat animals well becuase it is the correct thing to do. Anyway.

Here is something I'm working on very sporadically, and this picture was taken before I ripped it out and started over on size 2 instead of size 1. But these are the Northern Lights Mittens, in my own interpretation of the colors. Green, more green, purples and some red. I haven't gotten too far on the new version because I've not had much time for knitting this past week. Tonight I will, and will have to decide what to work on. I am a bit obsessed with colorwork right now.

On Friday, while I was on stupid call in the hospital, the only person that I love as much as my immediate family turned 30! I MISSED his birthday because of medical school, and that is how life works. But, it was okay, because on Saturday night we went out to the Four Seasons in Boston with his family, and then we spent the whole day together yesterday! He's been so busy lately, that I hadn't seen him in 4 weeks. Needless to say, I'm a much nicer and happier person now that I've spent some time with my guy.

I can't say enough wonderful things about him, he's the smartest person that I've ever met, and he always makes me laugh, even if I don't WANT to laugh--like when he makes fun of me (in a nice way), and I try to pretend to be angry, but it is so funny or so true, and I just end up laughing.

The day after his birthday also happened to be our 4.5 year anniversary, a date that I think deserves recognition, but he thinks anniversaries are only for whole year dates. Whatever. I remember exactly when I knew that I was really hooked on this guy. We were at dinner on our second real date, after having spent the day at the Boston Aquarium. I was telling him about why I'm a vegetarian/mostly vegan. Most people don't know what to say when I tell them that, or they say something stupid like, "If you were in a desert and a cow died in front of you, and you were starving, would you eat it?" Well, my boyfriend asked why I was a veg, and I said, "Well, lots of reasons, but it started with my being interested in animal rights." And HE said, "I don't believe in animal rights, because rights are a human construction." Hmmmm. I was hooked from that moment onwards, and later I kissed him in the subway station so that he would miss his train. Who knew I was such a sucker for philosophy.

Anyway, Happy Belated birthday honey!

So I made this kick-ass sweater for my boyfriend's 30th birthday, and of COURSE, I was so stressed out about starting my Medicine rotation, and about whether the sweater would fit him, that I don't have a single picture of it!!  I have this picture of the yarn, Bartlett 2-ply color Bronze, but not even one shot of it knitted up.  

Fortunately, my bf's mom took a picture of him wearing it, I'll have to get her to email it to me. It fits PERFECTLY (after an aggressive blocking to stretch what were originally too short sleeves), it looks really nice, and best of all he loves it.  He said that it was amazing, very warm, and taht he was very impressed with my skills.