Snow, snow, snow!!
First, I have to tell a funny Finnie story. I just found her long lost pink baby doll, and she’s SO excited about it. She’s been toting it around singing “rock-a-bye-baby,” reading books to it, etc. Meanwhile, she’s also developed this obsession for the little clay Baby Jesus that came with this manger scene we bought in Peru a few years ago. It’s the coolest manger scene ever, btw, with a Quechua Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, and llamas and an ox as the barn animals. So the funny part is that Finley decided to name her pink baby doll “Baby Jesus.” She now walks around referring to her doll as “Baby Jesus,” so all we hear all day is “Baby Jesus farted. Baby Jesus is hungry. Baby Jesus did caca. Baby Jesus is doing nonnie (sleep).” It’s freakin HILARIOUS.
Anyway, it’s a winter wonderland here all the sudden! It started snowing last night, and isn’t supposed to stop for 2 or 3 days! I’m SO glad I got a few runs in with my friend, Ashriel, who has been kicking me a$$ into shape (she’s a super fast marathoner who pushes my pace, and as soon as I’m done dry heaving after our runs, I LOVE her for it!). On Friday, we saw 2 coyotes very close up on the trail in our neighborhood. Ash started to haul ass and nearly left me in her dust when I pulled the “we’re not supposed to run or turn our back on coyotes!!” TOTALLY an excuse to let me catch my breath;) Hahaha, thanks for that 30 seconds of recovery, coyotes! Too bad they got my heart pumping almost as fast as Ash did. This is Ashriel with her husband, who’s an anesthesia resident, and their cutie pie (her little girl is just days younger than my Finmonster):
This weekend was absolutely awesome. Friday was cold as hell, but we were determined NOT to miss Blossom of Lights this year at the Botanical Gardens, one of my favorite Denver spots, so we bundled the munchkins in snowsuits and braved the very cold. TOTALLY worth it, especially since we came home with all 100 digits intact (yeah mathletes, you liked that one huh?! jk.)
Jack turns into a love-machine when he gets excited. It’s so cute. Doesn’t Shane look grateful to be the recipient of Jack’s enthusiasm, love, and affection?!
On other exciting news…I GOT ANOTHER INTERVIEW!!! I’m SO beyond psyched. Guess where? I’ll give you a few clues, since I know a little about this place. Ok, there are more body piercings per square block than probably any other college campus / medical center; there’s a place called Thayer St. with the most phenomenal food that leaves people STILL craving it years after visiting; you could get stoned for wearing a Palin hat; there’s an abundance of interesting smart people doing fascinating things (with a small scattering of students who just smoked a little too much pot to do anything productive with their idealism); it’s in a city run by the mob (actually, I’m serious); it is home to a lot of great memories for me.
Anyway, getting this interview was SHOCKING, but it also threw all of our travel plans into disarray. I was planning on flying to Wisconsin, then back to CO, then to FL with Trav and the kids for Christmas. However, I was not given any choice of interview dates. It was pretty much “ok, if you want a shot, be here at this time on this day for an interview!” And interview day happened to be the exact day we were supposed to fly from CO to FL. So now I have interviews on back-to-back days and have to fly from 1 straight to the other. Problem is, Travis can’t fly alone with the 3 kids (he’s superman, but that would be asking something even beyond the realm of superhero powers.) So we’ve decided that I’ll fly to FL with him and the kids early (as in, next weekend), turn around and fly to Wisconsin, then to my surprise interview, then back to FL. GREAT problem to have, don’t get me wrong. But HOLY. COMPLICATED. Travel plans!
It’s funny how things have worked out so far with interviews – got them from completely random places that I am SO pleasantly surprised about, and not from the places I was thinking I had a decent shot. There are a number of programs that still have not sent out rejections or interviews to anyone, so I’m holding out hope that there just might be 1 more in there for me. But if not, the number I am currently holding has FAR exceeded the number I thought I might get. According to match stats, my odds are now somewhere around 60%, which means there’s a real chance it could happen!! Hopefully my interview days will go well and I’ll boost my chances, but we’ll see. I’m feeling a little rusty on the interview front! I’m trying to prepare for all those out-of-left-field questions, so Travis and I have had some pretty amusing talks the last few nights. Things like: what 3 people, dead or alive, we’d like to have dinner with, por ejemplo. Obviously my top 2 people would be my boys’ birth moms, but Travis told me not to go there in a residency interview (I’m trying to play down the “I’m a mommy doctor” image! I guess I’m supposed to have a more academic-sounding answer). Likewise, I’m trying to plow through a couple “smart” books so I have a response for the “what was the last book you read” question, other than Parenting with Love and Logic! It’s not that I’m not proud of being a mommy, but in such a competitive field, I need to play up my academic accolades and play down the “I-nursed-my-kid-till-she-was-almost-2” accomplishments (even if that is one of my proudest).
Anyway, I’ll leave you with a frequently asked interview question, in case any of you have an interesting suggestion / idea for me: if you could have dinner with any 3 people, who would they be and why? A few top choices Trav and I came up with so far include: Dr. Seuss, Larry David, Dr. Kavorkian (although from what I saw on his most recent TV interview, he’s not nearly as interesting as I always thought he’d be; he’s just a whack-job. I have always been supportive of a person’s right to die, but I don’t think he’s a good poster person for the cause, actually), Adam Smith, Muhammad Ali, Che Guevara, Paul Farmer, Fidel Castro, Robert F. Kennedy, and Aung San Suu Kyi. I’d like to add Helen Keller to the list, but I’m afraid our conversation over dinner might be a little boring. I guess it might be exciting if, in this stupid hypothetical question, I caught her in her younger years when she used to just run around the dinner table snatching food off peoples’ plates. Hmm. Anyone else think of any women in history or present time to add to this list (note: if you say Sarah Palin, I’ll throw a stone at my computer;)?
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26 comments
so are you still able to run the marathon?
also, I am going to come up with some great women for you to mention, consider it my mission for Monday….
BTW- I think it is super fabulous that Fin’s baby girl is Jesus
No pirates on your list? I’m surprised Black Beard wasn’t Travis’ first suggestion. I think Greg Mortenson would be a cool one to have on your list, not sure if you read that book or not. If you haven’t you should check it out, it’s called Three Cups of Tea. If your looking for a woman, how about Mother Theresa, Rosa Parks, Marie Antoinette, Marie Curie (appealing to the nerds), Pocahontas, or Mary Magdellan? Nothing really comes to mind when it comes to women who are actually alive now though… Maybe Oprah… that’s all I got right now.
my choices, Sarah Palin, Ann Coulter, Glenn Beck…
JUST KIDDING. I hope the computer’s okay, because I know you can’t afford to replace your computer yet.
I just want to chime in to congratulate you on another interview and more chaos in your life. Have a great holiday season!
You can’t go wrong with Nelson Mandela!! (and he may be old but he’s still alive, and still just as amazing a person as ever). As for a woman, here’s a derm related one that might score you some points - there is a South African woman, called Annique Theron (pronounced Aneek). She discovered the health benefits of Rooibos tea. Rooibos tea is only grown in a small area (not far from where I live actually) in the Cedarberg region of the Western Cape (south africa). It cures any number of ills from baby colic to SKIN AILMENTS, and in fact when our son was in hospital with rota virus, they used it to stop his buttinsky from getting nappy rash (from all the diahorrea). She then went on to develop a rooibos tea range of skin products with everything from baby products to hand soap to moisturizer you name it. The interesting thing is that she is 84 years old, and completed a medical degree when she was 72!! You will NOT believe how amazing this woman’s skin is either, she looks like a 60 something woman, who’s had NO sun exposure whatsoever. Anyhoo, let me know if you want any samples of stuff sent over since we get oodles of her stuff around here. She’s just *really* interesting to me, I mean who studies medicine at 72!? Anyway, and I thought the derm angle might work for you. You can just google her name for information (try our local google using the .co.za instead of .com extension) there’s plenty of info/images of her.
Thayer Street is the best! We live 30 miles from there. The creperie and falafel place are our favorites, and there’s some decent pho now too. Good luck with all the interviews, and I’ll be watching to see if you end up in our neck of the woods. As for my dinner companion….it’s a “careful what you wish for,” but I would have to say my daughter’s birth mom, or any close relative of hers, assuming we could speak a common language. I have this insatiable dream of knowing more about the person/people who created this incredible human being.
I think Mother Theresa was an amazing lady. But I hear she was a bit cranky as far as socializing…….not one for putting up with much I guess.
I also like to check Mia Farrow’s blog. I think she is a wonderful person.
http://www.miafarrow.org
Jane Auston, Louisa May Alcott?
I actually would love to have dinner with Dorothy Parker. Julia Child looks like she would be a lot of fun too.
ok, Mother Teresa, Maya Angelou, Willa Cather, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Jane Austen, Sojourner Truth, Queen Rania of Jordan, Benazir Bhutto, Chien Shiung Wu
Mother Theresa is on my top list. She realy is amazing. I got to hear her speak once. I was really young but still was impressed by her presence. Her message for ending world hunger….”love your neighbor”. The other one would be Audrey Hepburn, not for the movie star that she is but for the humanitarian work that she did. So jealous of the snowfall there. Wish it was like that when we were up there. I think Finley’s baby Jesus is sweet.
Antigone. She was fierce and determined, and principled.
Your baby Jesus story reminds me of a smiliar one with Ashlyn - we have this tiny icon that opens on a hinge and is supposed to sit in, like, a kitchen window, or something. Well- she found it a few months ago, and is OBSESSED with the thing. I mean, she is always looting thru her toy bag for the car or park or whatever, frantically asking “where Baby Jesus is?” (yes, we are also working on grammar, and avoiding raising a kid who speaks ebonics). And she also thinks all iconic-appearing objects have the Baby Jesus in them, even if it’s just, for instance, Mary or one of the Saints. It’s quite sacriligeous (sp?). I’ll have to get back to you on the 3 people to dinner question, a good one!
Hey Laurie! Mother Theresa is a good choice. Gandhi is another. Jesus would be at the top of my list (but then again, to do that, I could always just talk to Finley’s doll!) I have to speak up here, though. You know I love you and your blog but Fidel Castro? Che Guevara? My parents and grandparents are Cuban and though I was born in the U.S., I grew up hearing all the crap my family endured when Castro took over. My great-grandparents owned a school and forces stormed into the school in the middle of the school day, kicked out all the little kids onto the street and took it over to use as army barracks. My grandfather was imprisoned for printing anti-Castro propaganda. Hello? Where’s the freedom? I can go on and on about this and I’m all for differing political views but Cuba hits a little too close to home for me and there’s a lot of misconceptions about what Castro really did and (didn’t do) for the Cuban people and what his great propaganda would have the world believe. But if you’re going to sit down with Fidel Castro to ask him what he was thinking, I’m cool with that! ;o)
hmmmm….3 women I would like to meet & have dinner with: My great grandmother. She’s not famous, but everyone in my family has always told such wonderful stories about her; I would have loved to meet her! Mary, the mother of Jesus for sure. Wow! How amazing would that be!!! And just to be an All American Girl, I would love to meet Julia Roberts. I just loved all of her movies growing up…I wonder if she acts anything like her characters. So, that’s my list of 3! Kinda weird…but the truth.
A lot of really great women have already been mentioned. What about Barbara Walters? After all she has interviewed so many people in so many different fields: politicians, entertainers, heros, people who have made history, everyday ordinary folks, etc. Having dinner with her would be like getting a glimpse at a wide variety of people and I think very fascinating indeed. Good luck with the interviews and the crazy travel schedule.
eeek!! congratulations on the interview! I’m so excited for you! (is that weird?)
Paul Farmer, paul farmer…that might be overplayed, but Paul Farmer. Also the Dalai Lama, which is probably also overplayed. Nicholas kristof would probably be my first (have you read half the sky? I’m reading it now), and also maybe…well, I like public health people. But I can tell you some names that I thought would be just AWESOME to have lunch with and they were very very very VERY boring.
Actually, you know who is interesting? That woman who won the Nobel Prize who was a fraud. She was from Guatemala. I don’t think you should say that, though…but she would be really interesting.
Do they have to be alive? I guess if you’re thinking HK, probably not?
I really like to read, so for me it would be Astrid Lindgren (the famous childrens book author from Sweden), who I owe so many happy childhood memories and my love of books to. She is already dead, though. Or Isabell Allende, whose books I love as well. I have never been to Chile, but love her books that often play there.
See, I knew there would be more interviews for you! I still guess theres at least one more coming…
marie stopes, marie curie, florence nightingale ??
if it were me, really it would be princess diana, but probably for an interview that would be a little naff x
I like Annie Oakley - she was a compassionate and honorable woman, trying to make it in a very male-dominated field. Good luck with your interviews; it’s always exciting to hear your about your chances getting higher
Providence?! That’s awesome, Laurs!! I’m rooting for you-
Best of luck with your upcoming flurry of interviews.
…Off to plan my dinner with Jon Stewart, Barack Obama and Paul Auster.
Sandra Day O’Conner, first women on the Supreme Court. When she came out of law school no law firm would hire her because she was a woman, even with all of her law school accomplishments. She was offered the position of a legal secretary but turned it down because she wanted to be a lawyer. Anyway, she overcame a lot, and was the only woman on the court for a long time. Check out Wikipedia for a quick background on her. This is always been my go to person for interview questions like this.
Your question is impossible! I think I need a table for a few hundred
1) Eleanor Roosevelt - I have so much admiration for this woman. She championed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights among many accomplishments.
2) Jacques Cousteau - I have looked up to him since I was about 5. He is the first person to tap my natural interest in nature and science.
3) Not a particular person, but some person living at the bottom, so to speak. Who knows who exactly, maybe a homeless family in the US, a street kid in Cambodia, a cast-off in India. I find that those who find themselves at the bottom of our collective society are often those with the most important things to say or ideas to get across.
Hi Laurie,
I know it’s been a long time since I commented, but I have finally reemerged now that baby is born. Sweet relief.
Congratulations on your interviews. That’s wonderful news. I hope that they go as well as you would hope. I always laugh at these potential interview questions, because really they are so random, and how well they tell you someone can actually competently practice medicine is anyone’s guess. But, if you’re looking for some great pointers on important female figures in American history, there is a great book entitled “Women Making America” by Heidi Hemming and Julie Hemming Savage. You’ll be amazed at some of the information in there. Great material.
Other than that, I’ve always found Queen Elizabeth to be a fascinating figure, as well as Joan of Arc and Cleopatra.
Good luck with all your endeavors, and especially the additional efforts with children and travel this Christmas. Make the force be with you and Travis.
I just wanted to wish you the best of luck and hope you guys have a wonderful and safe Christmas and Happy New Year! You’ve got a crazy flight schedule and I hope it ends in an offer!
I picked you for a Kreativ Blog Award. Read my latest entry for more info.
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