<p>Moda - IMO, realtors generally like to come in and “boss” you around, telling you to do all sorts of things that will “help sell the house.” Do what you’re OK with, and don’t do the other stuff. In the last house we sold our realtor was all about how the floor in the master bath (tile) was outdated and we should re-do it. Uh, no, we’re not spending the money to rip up perfectly good tile. There was no way a potential buyer would not make an offer simply because of the tile on the master bath floor. I mean, H & I, who are very picky about houses, never even looked twice at that floor when we were house shopping.</p>
<p>Came down with something on Friday. Spent the weekend by myself as we were supposed to go to MILs so H went alone. Still feel rotten and took the day off to try to get better. Sat. I slept like all day. I think I over did it yesterday and that is why I still feel bad today but the house was a disaster and I needed to clean it up asa it was driving me nuts. I had my flu shot but I do think it’s the flu. Hopefully I’m getting better. Just emailed my pilates instructor and said that there is no way I can go tomorrow. Just feel terrible to miss it but I can’t go and infect everyone else.</p>
<p>RM, hope you feel better soon!</p>
<p>Woody and Moda, congrats on the kids’ job offers.</p>
<p>We watched the Golden Globes. I guess Jacqueline Bissett showed us what you look like on TV if you do your own hair and makeup. It was awfully early for her to be very drunk but she certainly wasn’t making sense.</p>
<p>Older D and I watched a lot of figure skating, too. Some great young talent coming up. </p>
<p>Poor younger D…It is often so sad to see people living with the consequences of their own actions. Today was the day to sign up for roommates for a school trip. Once at school, she found out that the girl with whom she had planned to room had made other plans. This was the girl who she lied about being with on New Years Eve…I don’t know if it was the girl or her mother who nixed the roommate thing, but I certainly don’t blame them. Just sad to see D feeling hurt.</p>
<p>How much is too much dark chocolate?</p>
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<p>woody, one of my colleagues just wrote a book for recent graduates called How to Negotiate your First Job: [How</a> To Negotiate Your First Job: 8 Steps that will create value for you and your new employer: Paul F Levy, Farzana S Mohamed: 9780991271412: Amazon.com: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/How-Negotiate-Your-First-Job/dp/0991271416]How”>http://www.amazon.com/How-Negotiate-Your-First-Job/dp/0991271416).</p>
<p>ShawWife caught the plague – fever/cold/fluish symptoms. She’s supposed to fly 24+ hours to meet me in two and a half days. I hope she’ll be able to come. The fever is gone, but cough symptoms and lack of energy would not make flying fun even if she is no longer contagious (and I don’t know if that is true).</p>
<p>shaw - I bought the book. </p>
<p>So here’s a new wrinkle. S got an interview for a firm in NY that is involved in the healthcare industry but more of the business side. He is very interested, but now how do you get the one offer to hold on for a sec. I see he is conflicted, and mostly we are just encouraging him to ask questions, but whereas one is very much aware of med school aspirations. Not sure he could even mention this to the other. And how does that work when/if it comes to med school interviews?</p>
<p>Up early to work on the meal that I will take to our neighbors tonight. And of course, in the grand timing of the universe, I also have a fasting blood draw this morning, so my morning coffee fix with flavored creamer is not to be.</p>
<p>Son’s 23rd birthday is today. We keep pushing the celebration later and later in the week, so everyone will be at home. (He has a night class tonight, so he started the delay.)</p>
<p>Happy birthday to missy-s! Moda, feast or famine, eh? Kudos nonetheless.</p>
<p>Shaw, I hope shawwife bounces back quickly and can make the trip since I’m living vicariously through y’all while slaving away on the studio and move logistics :)</p>
<p>A gf just invited me to a writers workshop in ICELAND this spring. Ummm, how should I put it…NO THANK YOU…have had enough snow and ice to last me a good while :)</p>
<p>RM, sending you the healing mojo!</p>
<p>Back at work today. Still tired but I think the fever is finally gone. Not sure what this was but it packed a whollop. S’s birthday was yesteday. We won’t celebrate with him until the weekend with work etc.</p>
<p>H went to his mother’s without me. He arrived about 12:15 (he said he would be there around lunch time). He got in was told that he was late and that there was work to do. No wonder we don’t want to go there! The “work” was to put away Christmas decorations that took him all of 20 minutes. 
He was there a half hour before she even noticed that I wasn’t with him. Guess I know where I rate – well really I’ve always known it with her. 
Hoping to get caught up enough at work to make my Alaska reservations today. Still debating on the suite vs. balcony. Just not sure that it is worth the money to upgrade. Guess I need to run the numbers one more time and make a decision.</p>
<p>Shaw - hope your wife gets over her plague quickly. If it is anything like what I had/have I really understand!</p>
<p>Moda, the job offer your S has in hand is specifically geared toward med school aspirants, offering training and exposure that is considered highly useful to future doctors and a big boost to med school acceptance rates. The job would probably have plenty of takers at no salary. Since this position has lacked appeal to your S from the beginning, it sounds like he isn’t sure he wants to be a doctor or at least isn’t thrilled about the prospect of continuing to live the life of a poor student for the foreseeable future. If he does pursue the NYC opportunity and loses the offer in hand, I wouldnt stress over it. He seems to be getting a better feel for what excites him and can keep looking for similar opportunities in business.</p>
<p>I hope RM and ShawWife both feel better soon.</p>
<p>Happy birthday to missypies S.</p>
<p>kmc, Iceland isnt all that cold. Greenland is the cold place. Before you say no, you might want to look at some of the tourist brochures. Iceland is hands down my favorite country. Although I havent been back recently, my memories remain more vivid than anything I have seen in Europe, Africa, or South America. I think you have the personality to particularly appreciate that countrys unique landscapes. The drive from the airport feels like you are crossing a lunar landscape and the hot springs everywhere feel like you have gone back to living in the time of the dinosaurs.</p>
<p>Moda… your S won’t have any problems getting another scribe position if he wants to pursue the other opportunity. There is always a need for them either in the hospitals or at surgery centers. I have a friend whose D is currently a scribe at a very large Orthopedic center close to where you live and she wasn’t as good a student as your S. If your S has any doubts what so ever re med school he should NOT start. Healthcare is really changing.</p>
<p>Sending get well wishes for those who need them.</p>
<p>Happy Birthday to All! :)</p>
<p>The job as a scribe holds a lot of interest, it’s the pay at $8 an hour that makes it harder to swallow. They require either a two-year commitment at part time or a year at full time. And I can see how it would be very appealing for someone as an undergrad as I also noticed they do a fair amt of recruiting at local college pre-med clubs etc. And yes, he recognizes it to be the traditional route of obtaining acceptance into med school. However, when he had lunch with a doc friend in the fall, it was his advice to consider something a little different - that it would be something slightly different to set him apart and that it would be hard, once starting med school and working in a hospital, to do anything outside that box again.</p>
<p>This other job is with a smaller but expanding start up that is part venture capitalist and part search firm for the health care industry, including private practice, technology etc. In some ways knowing the business side of the changing face of health care would be very helpful to a future career and its being a small firm with a team approach allows for lots of networking etc. In any event, he’s going to have a phone interview at some point today. But I did ask him last night if a job having nothing really to do with patient care/actual science, would it be following a passion or chasing a paycheck.</p>
<p>As for money… Doing if for free is certainly not an option. Money is a necessary evil in this world and the truth is, it would be beneficial if he could actually save some money before going back to school. But bottom line is, even without an official offer on the table, it is clear he is torn right now, but Med School is definitely still the ultimate goal.</p>
<p>TheAnalyst…I suspect you are correct in that I WOULD enjoy Iceland. I just can’t muster any enthusiasm about travel right now that doesn’t involve sunshine, tropical weather and drinks involving rum ;)</p>
<p>It also strikes me as a working holiday, which for me right now, wouldn’t be worth the lost revenue here. The move is distracting enough. Any other year, I would go…but if I have to decide this month to hold the spot, I think I’m out.</p>
<p>NMn- i must have cross posted with you. And yes, that is the general consensus both from reading what this start up does in terms of VC, but also what I gathered during all the lectures on health care at the nook this summer. Health care - it’s delivery and the system itself is changing. But I also think it used to be more the case that you could come out of med school with debt and be pretty confident about your income stream. I don’t think that’s even close to how it’s guaranteed to go nowadays. But I suspect you’re right about the scribe opportunity because they called him to offer him the job while he was driving home from the interview and also told him that he could wait a month or so for the openings in a different region of the city - which would include level 1 trauma. This is specficially for an ER Scribe so a lot more exposure to various docs, consults etc.</p>
<p>Back fro Palm Springs (actually Indian Wells). OMG, there was sun! I am not a desert person at all but simply loved being there and this is the first trip I remember that I was sad to come back to the PNW. I wish we played tennis or golf and wonder what we would do there if we went for months to get out of this gloom. That said, we are going to look into a two weeks stay next winter and see if we can make it so S and family and D could come for a long weekend. </p>
<p>S went to urgency care yesterday and landed in the ER with another chest tube. This is the second week of classes:(. This is also the first big thing H and I have had happen to a kid where they were not home and first for S and DIL. They were great about calling and keeping us informed. S actually called before DIL got to the hospital which told us he was frightened. H did the doctor stuff and I did the mothering (will come, bring you here, stay in a hotel, etc.). I hope he is OK and they will see the specialist in a day or two. I also hope he makes it to his final quarter but am also resigned that he may need to take a medical leave and graduate in June.</p>
<p>Mod, I had not picked up that your S is wavering about school but is unsure how to spend his time this year. D worked 2 part time research positions both dealing with abortion and medicine trials. She was present for many. It was a huge experience for her. She also worked as a nanny for a family that paid well as often as her schedule allowed, including weekends. Not sure that she saved any money. She had been living in a shared house but moved back home when she began her serious MCAT studies (did on-line and would advise a class) and her interviews while still working. She paid for everything minus one hotel room and one outfit. She is going to be deeply indebt when she finishes and also at least 36 years old. This does weigh on her. Many end up going into specialties as they pay is so much higher and there is so much debt. This is really hurting our healthcare and quite frankly ridiculous that there is not real aid available.</p>
<p>Iceland! This is on my travel list. H is very unsure but I am totally interested. He wants a safari and I am not so sure. I simply hate humidity and that cuts most of the world of travel out. I will go but I will suffer.</p>
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<p>That is a sentiment I can understand. We are headed to Myrtle Beach this Friday for a week, which will be an easy drive and quiet so basically just a change of scenery. In contrast, H is meeting up with S1 for the World Cup in June, which is the kind of trip I try to avoid. They will see games in three different cities, so lots of intra-country flying and I’m sure there will be serious crowds everywhere. The good news is H is using up his vacation time, so I won’t be expected to go to Australia in 2014 after all.</p>
<p>Moda, good luck to your S on his phone interview today.</p>
<p>oregon101, how scary for your S. I hope he is OK.</p>
<p>Oregon - how totally scary! Glad you and H can fulfill the roles, and glad you S has his wife to look after him here.</p>
<p>He takes he MCAT in 10 days… he’s been hugely studying and while we offered to pay for a class, online or otherwise, he has done it all on his own. I am HUGELY impressed with his study habits in that he doesn’t just cram it in, but likes to truly understand. H has given him an office where he can do some work for him while also having a clean space to study. He’s been taking all kinds of practice tests that he pays for (like $35 a test) and has consistently been scoring between 36-40, so he feels pretty good about that even though physics is likely to be his least favorite. :)</p>
<p>PS My inlaws spend 3 months living in Indian Wells. They rent their place in the mountains and it pays for their rent in the desert. I love it. I don’t like sand or wind, so the climate is perfect for me. My SiL is visiing now. Of course, they pay for her to visit, as well as my H’s other siblings. We pay for ourselves. go figure.</p>
<p>oregon…oh,my! Sending your S lots of healing thoughts and prayers! I hope they get this figured out for him and his health improves so he can graduate but no big deal if it is delayed. Stay strong!</p>
<p>I would love to get away right now! H and I are driving to Chicago this weekend to meet with friends who are coming in from Ohio. I’d rather be someplace warm and tropical but it will be good for H and I to be away from D1 for a few days.</p>
<p>D1 is starting to look at apartments. That is putting the cart before the horse! Anyway she is going to have a difficult time finding an apartment that will take a large dog. We looked at a cool urban setting yesterday but they only take dogs up to 35 lbs. Her chocolate lab is 72! </p>
<p>D2 is loving her training sessions in Chicago. Apparently the resort/hotel has fabulous healthy dining options and she is eating very well. She feels she is on top of the corporate info they are going over. She also likes the big fancy room she was given. I will remind her of her happiness when she is in the middle of tax season chaos! ;)</p>
<p>Shaw hope you wife is better soon, and Oregon your son as well.
its a tough road to be a doc these days.
I got mad at mine yesterday, I left after waiting over an hour.
I am cranky as I am trying to wean off of caffeine and sugar doing a 28 day cleanse.
Families continue to have too much drama. H’s brother cant understand why his mom doesnt recognize his children. well he never had much to do with her so they didn’t either and she has alzheimers. My brother is dating his ex wifes sister…</p>