Ever Closer

Lots of things are so close to now. My birthday is tomorrow, but I've hardly even noticed. It's not like being a kid anymore when we looked forward to our birthdays for a month ahead of time. I did, anyway. Kyle is throwing the "bachelor/birthday" party this Sunday. I'm not sure what he's planning, but Rahcel knows all about it. There are only two things I can think of for people to do Sunday morning at 10:00 (if they're even awake to begin with); 1) Go to church, and 2) Go to Grandma's house after church if they went to the early service. The only strip club open at that time will be the one 500 feet south of a small baptist church off highway 530, all of which are otherwise in the middle of nowhere (I found this quite amusing the first time I saw it; I imagine the reverend owns and operates the club). Nobody serves alcoholic beverages at such a time here in Arkansas. So, needless to say, I'm as lost as a midget in a corn maze on this one.

One thing I'm not as lost on is ultimate. While my performance Thursday was pretty piss poor, Tuesday went fairly well. I have improved a lot over the last few weeks, but I have a lot to learn. The summer league starts next week and I have never been so excited to lose. I may have to quit playing with the good guys though, since my first rotation will require working until six or seven most days (so I'm told). That's another thing I'm excited to start: rotations. A month from now, I'll be taking care of real patients. No more fake ones who were trained to simply say, "No, you're doing it wrong. Touch me here."

Rachel's birthday is also approaching. What will I do about it? I have no idea. I'm sure we'll go the birthday suit route in some form or fashion.

Step 1 is still approaching. With barely more than one subject left to study, am I getting more nervous? No, not yet. I don't usually get nervous about stuff like that. My preparation the night before - drink a beer or two to put me in a relaxed mood, and then go to bed when appropriate. Nonetheless, more rides on this test than rides on the next two Step exams since ophthalmology is an early match residency. (More on this when the time comes, in a year and a half or so.) Scores, amazingly, don't take but a few weeks to return, depending on what time table the test is taken. Luckily, I have the honeymoon to mellow out between the test and the arrival of my fate on paper.

Finally, the wedding is still coming. There's not much else to plan at this point. The minor details will fall into place in the days before hand and some even later than that. My attendants' gifts are ordered, tux measurements taken, etc. Not anywhere near as many people are showing up as we originally projected, but that's OK. It will all be a good time without them.

That is all for now.