I Heart Pittsburgh

Christian and I came back a day early from our little trip up to Pittsburgh to let David and Emily study and work. We had a really good time. On the drive up, however, Christian's thermostat on his car decided not to work as we left NIH - that is, the little thermometer that denotes when one's engine has warmed up stayed in the "cold" position the entire time. This also meant that no hot air would come out of the vents (it was a little lukewarm, actually). This would have been okay, had it not been cold and snowing! It was fine while the sun was up; by the time we were about halfway through the Pennsylvania Turnpike, through the summit of the mountains, snow flurrying around us, it got pretty cold in the car. Fortunately we made it to Pittsburgh in one piece, and Emily treated us all out to a good Middle Eastern dinner.

My interview day was pretty long. It started around 4am when I thought the sun was coming up, so I was trying to ready my body to wake up, only to find that my cell phone clock read 3:59. It was difficult to fall asleep after that; I guess I was a little nervous for the day, given Pitt is my top choice. 8am meeting for a long day even before the interviews. People were falling asleep during the curriculum discussion. The tour was great; simulation center was pretty neat, lots of hospitals to get training, Areas of Concentration to specialize while getting the MD, lecture halls and PBL rooms were pretty standard, but the anatomy lab has its own little museum in the back! It reminded me of Body Worlds and I asked a guy from LA in the group if he'd seen it; nope! I told him he needed to check it out.

Lunch was standard, a 2nd year came and sat with us; I didn't like how i had all this food around my teeth right before the interview. I felt like I wanted to brush my teeth but i couldn't! I had a 1st year as a student interviewer, a girl from CA as well. I think it went well, but it could've gone better - I totally forgot to mention any research to her! I was talking all about my clinical experiences so the research portion of my undergrad kinda went by the wayside. ohwell! I made sure to talk about it with my faculty interviewer, who was one of the nicest, energetic people i've ever met. She was soooo friendly and interested in my application and getting to know me, AND she complimented me on my smile, to which she said would make any patient more comfortable when talking to me. In that sense, I kinda prefer somewhat open file interviews so I can explain things more, instead of rehashing things like a secondary essay.

Anyway, throughout the entire day it was flurrying (and not sticking), it was so beautiful walking outside and collecting snowflakes on my peacoat. I love looking at them up close.

Christian got his car fixed during the day, so we wouldn't have to worry about heat issues. He went shopping for business clothes for his interview next week and got a good deal at a Bennetton sale. (It's even cooler because PA has no sales tax on clothes!) We met up with an old high school friend of his and they talked a lot; he hasn't seen him in over 8 years and he found him on Friendster. isn't that cool!? Today we slept in to find that the water wasn't working; DWP was working on something so it wasn't available in the morning. We had lunch in Shadyside and went back to Bennetton; he got another thing (a nice coat) and i got a cool rose-colored jacket. The ladies working the store knew their stuff; they easily called Christian's size as well as mine.

David had been having problems sleeping and had a lot of pain in his face/head due to some undiagnosable condition thus far; he was expressing his frustration at the doctors because they couldn't pinpoint what was going on with him. The point of doctors is to find out what's wrong, explain it to us so we understand, and treat it! I know this is part of the art of medicine, taking in all these symptoms and figuring out what's the matter, but it's frustrating that so many doctors can't do it. So he's going to a couple of neurologists later this week and hopefully sort it all out. With this and the work he and emily had to do, we decided to go home this afternoon instead of tomorrow. It wasn't snowing anymore, but it was a cool, beautiful day to drive.

Why Pittsburgh is cool (because I can hear everyone think, what the hell is she thinking?!):
-SUPER LOW cost of living (as low as $300/month! $500/mo can get you a good sized efficiency, $700/mo can get you a niiiice apt to split with someone) and no tax on clothes!
-It's got the highlights of a big city (tours/etc stop here, good sports teams, performing arts, shops, etc) but the feel of a small town (with different neighborhoods, etc)
-the school has a great reputation and a really strong program for both the education and clinical training
-strong research focus (they have an area of concentration in Neuro, scholarly projects, good faculty)

Sigh, I really really hope i get in!

Well, i'll be back on Monday or Tuesday to get more sappy.
Happy Valentine's Day weekend!