As I mentioned in my last post, I was going to try to post a few more things from the month of June that I never got around to posting. So, this entry is all about my trip to LA for my birthday! ...I mean for Step 2 of my boards exams :).
I flew down a few days before the test and we got to spend a little time outdoors mixed in with all of my study time. The first day I was there we hiked up the hills that are basically in Tom's backyard. Look mom-bear grass! :) Just kidding (that's an inside family joke that maybe only me and my sister will get...maybe mom will too).
We found ourselves at a beautiful little waterfall. I, for one, was amazed that there was still running water in California considering the significant drought!
After hiking, then studying we had a perfect night in on the patio with some pizza from a local joint just down the road. Tom got something curry and I got something called the "loud mouth" because it was loaded with garlic :).
Monday, the day before my exam (also, my birthday) rolled around and I studied while Tom was at work. I spent my time studying in the LA public library which was beautiful and HUGE. I was shocked to see that there were people waiting for it to open its doors on Monday morning in the summer time.
It took me quite a while to find my study zone in there because it was so big with all sorts of levels to explore.
Finally I came across what I had been looking for: some private study cubbies just like I have back home.
I hunkered down for the day and when 5 o'clock finally came around I was ready to be done studying and on to something else! Well, I got my wish! We went out to celebrate my birthday to one of the best restaurants we had been to in a while. I had some amazing halibut and Tom had their prime rib.
And the craziest thing about it? We searched on Yelp for a restaurant within 5 miles from home with patio seating and we ended up finding this gem that just happened to be doing a promotional that night--buy one entree get the other free! AND they gave me free dessert for my birthday (plus this restaurant has free cookies by the front door that people just grab as they please while waiting for tables...amazing).
We walked around the neighborhood of the restaurant and came across this historical landmark that is currently a bunch of condos that I think my parents ought to take over and turn into a B&B. It used to be a hotel. It's on the a victorian historical registry and signs around it say it has been renovated on the inside to its original glory.
We ended the evening with a short jaunt up one of the smaller hills by Tom's apartment to catch the sunset.
The next day it was off to the testing center in this giant building. I was sweetly serenaded "happy birthday yesterday" by the check-in person, so obviously the day was going to go well :)
I won't hear back until Mid July about my grade but it's pass/fail and UW has a 99% passing rate, so if I fail....well, let's just say I'll be devastated. So 9 hours from start time we were off to celebrate (yes, we splurged again to celebrate but when you only see each other for a few weekends in June and July you have to make up for the date nights you would have had in May and August right?). We walked on the pier in Santa Monica
Took in the scenic view from the nearby campus of Pepperdine University
And enjoyed an ocean side dinner at a restaurant called Moon Shadows.
The following morning I flew out of LA at 7 AM and it was back to the grind to study for the computerized test of step 2.
So, that's some of the events of June that I failed to post. I won't forget the view from this hill top (yes, if you're wondering, it's the same view I posted from the 4th of July viewing in "catch up part 1")
And, if I get around to it, I'll post catch-up part 3 about our weekend in Port Townsend for John and Bri's beautiful wedding!
For now, it's off to bed before another week on the Neurology service. I'm on the consult team right now which means that anyone in the hospital that starts having a neurological problem that the primary team taking care of the patient doesn't know how to manage--they call us. It's been a lot of very interesting and complicated cases as well as a bunch of very sobering cases. It turns out that the consult service at Harborview is often consulted to help determine a prognosis of a patient in a coma after a cardiac arrest. In other words, we are asked to do our best to predict whether or not someone is going to wake up. Talk about a heavy load for a work week! We've had a large number of patients on our service that are in a coma after cardiac arrest and we lost one of them this week. It's not an easy thing to see each day, but it's safe to say I'm learning a lot from it in both academic and social ways. And, once again, I am learning that Harborview really is a special place. We work hard here but everyone truly loves what they do, they care about their patients and their colleagues and it's just a working environment that I hope that I get to have one day.
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