Reflections on Portland and the Residency Dance

Anika and I are departing Portland on Tuesday, bound for Denver. We'll spend a week and a half there, and then travel on to New York. Our adventure is by no means coming to an end, however. We'll only be home for a day before getting into a car to go visit hospitals in New Hampshire, Maine and Boston.

Life in Portland has been good to us. The fall foliage is stunning, our temporary home is beautiful, and it's been wonderful to spend time with family and friends (most of whom we hadn't seen since our wedding). Andrew has enjoyed his rotation up at OHSU, and just this week began the residency interview process. He interviewed at Legacy Emanuel on Wednesday, and is up interviewing at OHSU today.

Last night all three of us went to a reception for OHSU interviewees at a restaurant downtown. It was interesting for me to see these people hob nob; Anika impressed everyone with her crowd-induced coma trick. Andrew was familiar with a few of the residents and one of the chief residents said that he thought Andrew would 'do well' there. Apparently Andrew has earned a reputation for giving the answers during lectures and such (a reputation he's had elsewhere). So, my sense is that a position here is quite possible if Andrew wants it.

This choosing a place to live and work thing is so hard; in some ways I'm grateful that we ultimately don't have full control. Hearing some of these residents talk has persuaded me into deemphasizing rank somewhat and focusing more on quality of life. The residents we talked to own homes and have recreational pursuits (which is unsurprising given their choice to live here). We're envious.

We're not unhappy in New York, but Andrew did comment a few weeks ago that he didn't want to wake up to discover he's 40 and he still hasn't left the city. This struck a chord with me. It's not a bad place to be young, but we don't aspire to live out our adult lives in a shoebox. And if we did stay, we'd probably downsize and move into Manhattan to be closer to the hospitals Andrew wants (Mt. Sinai and Weill-Cornell). Plus, despite the amazing cultural opportunities, I don't really want Anika to be swept up in the hustle. We'd like for her to have a bit of dirt and a room all her own--a space to play and reflect, where she can invite the world in not beg it to stay out.

That all said, we're tremendously grateful that the opportunities we're considering are good--very good--ones. Just this morning we discussed eliminating more of the interviews because as it stands Andrew's got something like 18 scheduled during the next two months. We're a little worried that he'll just end up burnt out.

And now for something completely different. Watch Anika's first flirtation with jumping on the bed (it's her first guaranteed laugh inducing activity):

Departing SF, Early Days in Portland, New Tricks

Just in case Anika ever doubts that her parents were ever hip, Dad wanted this photo as proof. Note Emdrew's stylish peacoat and far-away look. I think she's ready for her first album cover.


Here's evidence of Anika's first play. During these past few weeks, she's demonstrated her ability to reach for/grab things and explore objects with her hands and mouth.


Here she is perusing a book, while Dad learns to make pasta from Great Uncle James.


Not unlike her studious parents, however, she's got a real knack for nodding off in the middle of a book.


Our entire first week here in Portland was spent out in Gresham with Great Uncle James and Great Aunt Margie. As usual, they were bowled over by Anika's charms. Here they are cuddling with the guest of honor.


During the past week or two, Anika has grown into an extremely social little person. She has a broad smile and an occasional laugh for everyone she meets. Plus, she's slept 6-7 hours at a time three times in the past five nights. Her parents, of course, think this is wonderful.

In other news, we visited an ophthalmologist last week to have Anika's eyes checked. In spite of the hemangioma on her eyelid, her eyesight seems fine. We have an ointment we're putting on her twice a week to prevent the hemangioma from growing larger, but it seems as though it shouldn't cause her any problems (and, as I've previously stated, the hemangioma should go away on its own by the time she's 5-7 years old). We're going back for another eye exam in two weeks just to be sure.

We're very much enjoying our time in Portland. After one week out in Gresham with James and Margie, we've begun housesitting for a couple in the Irvington neighborhood. The house is beautiful and very large. The owners have a large collection of cookbooks and a well-stocked kitchen, so we're looking forward to preparing some nice meals for friends and family in the coming weeks.

Andrew's enjoying his clerkship in Endocrinology at Oregon Health Sciences University thus far, despite the fact that it's a little slow, and preparing for his first residency interviews. He'll be interviewing at Legacy Emanual and OHSU here in Portland next week.