1. I will be hopefully moving into my apartment tomorrow (Sunday). Latest is Monday. They are replacing the carpeting in my bedroom and finishing redoing the sheet rock and paint on the walls. The place is awesome. And it is only about five blocks away from the hospital or the train or, most importantly, a Target!
2. I love the subways in NYC. I can get anywhere, anytime without worrying. I love it. Granted, on weekends and late nights, all bets are off about how long it will take to get to a destination. But during the week, the MTA has got your covered. Now if there was only an efficient train to get your from Brooklyn to Queens. As it stands, you must go through Manhattan because all trains are basically oriented to get people into the city.
3. I love going to St. Vartan Cathedral in Manhattan. It is a bit sad that there are not many parishioners, since most Armenians no longer live in the area. But alas, the Church stands as a beautiful testament to our faith as Armenians and our struggle to make the Church relevant to our daily lives.
4. I have been able to see SOOOO many old friends! From Fresno, from my days teaching in Baltimore City, and from med school in St. Martin. I also plan on seeing some of my friends who found me on Facebook that I went to school with back in 2nd grade in NYC. Amazing!
5. I found out about two weeks ago that the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing had denied my application for a credential because my letter of recommendation was from an Assistant Principal instead of HR, stating that I had worked competently for two years. Apparently, the letter must be from HR. I told the Commission that they would be waiting for around 2.8 years before they ever got a call returned from BCPSS. Well, alas, it sure doesn't matter anymore at this point, as I continue my studies - but it was sure looking critical a few weeks ago before I found out my exam results!
6. I finished my first week of a two week rotation in Radiology. My schedule in a typical day went like this:
6am: Wake up and get ready
7am: Leave the house and take subway
815am: Arrive to hospital
815-845am: Eat breakfast in cafeteria
9am: Check in for rotation and find a Doctor willing to accept students, but not already filled with 10 or more of them.
1030 or 1130am: Doctor says "that's enough for today, have a great day!" and dismisses
In other words, most days my commute time took longer than the actual teaching time. I'm learning quite quickly that the current system of teaching and education of Doctors in America is quite flawed and lacking in substance. No wonder that although we are one of the three true "professions" in society, meaning we should be allowed to self-govern, other segments of society (like politicians) are demanding more and more oversight. And why shouldn't they - in a field that absolutely demands sharing of resources and teaching younger Docs, we see minimal, if any, quality teaching. Sad.
7. To end on a happy note, HAPPY HALLOWEEN! My first Halloween in NYC (as an adult) went by with tons of fun. We saw a parade of various costumes, some very creative, and just had a jolly time together enjoying NYC.
8. One more thing: I love the subways in NYC!!!!!
OMG HOVIG, I was just skimming through to see which specialty you're going to be in when I'm there and happened to see that you live near a Target. I LOVE TARGET, that is my favourite store!!!!! Every time that someone makes a comment about something I own, I bust out with the fact that I bought it at Target and the price that I paid, haha.
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