Happy Thanksgiving

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Happy Thankgiving to all of you. The above sums up perfectly what my TDay is all about: moving and that which will help me get through it. hehe

Moving sucks, period. As I get older (of which I’ll be even more reminded next week), moving becomes less of a chore and more of a kind of pathology. With all the stress, a toddler now, adding to the extra complexities of being in Mexico, there are times I feel outright paralyzed. The younger me took all the drugery in stride, looking forward to a new start. The older me takes the “new start” with more than a grain of salt. Unfortunately, I’ll have at least one international move to NY and a probably interstate move once stateside after my 5th pathway year. Both those events will be more of a production than this one, so I have to learn how to deal, or else.

I have discovered through this process that I’m a bit OCD. I am on the floor, clearing cables, dusty from months of stasis on a tile floor, and I intend to simply wipe them quickly through a dustrag before coiling them into a box. I look at a large surge protector with stains on it, probably from some spilled coffee or diet Coke, and think, “This simply won’t do.” I take a wet-wipe and remove the stains; after all, when else would I have taken the time to do this? Except that in doing so, I see that the whole cord is filthy. I don’t want to pack something grimy in a box destined for a new house, now would I? So I take an extra minute or two to go over the cord with the wet-wipe to at least restore its original, nondescript beige splendor. Repeat for everything else. With each notice of a new imperfection, my radar becomes more and more attenuated to fixing what’s wrong. Thankfully, I do catch myself before I’m trying to dust individual computer fan blades with a cloth-covered toothbrush, but my tendency to head down this path all the time is a bit of a concern. I don’t think it’s to the point of being a problem, just an obstacle to efficient, “get it done” time management–something that’s so sorely needed right now.

I had a nice dream of us going to a school-sponsored catered affair at a local country club tonight. Of all the annual school-sponsored events, Thanksgiving dinner is the one that’s done right. The wine, conversation, and cheer flows freely, professors mingle with students, and a good time is always had by all. Of course, since the movers arrive tomorrow morning, going meant that we would have been done early. *peal of laughter* I did think it would be nice, since we now have a babysitter, to take time amidst all the craziness just to have a nice few hours for us and just simply be, but last night it was clear going would be logistically impossible. Claudia and I committed to celebrating on our birthdays next week, in our new house–a moment I very much look forward to.

Today is about giving thanks. I am thankful for my family, for being in a position to be able to move into a better home, and even for being healthy enough to gripe about the process. I am thankful for my friends, in person and online, and for many new opportunities that have opened up for me in spite of being on hiatus from school. I am most thankful for my wife and daughter, who each in their own way challenge my patience in seemingly never-ending new ways, but in doing so make me a better person and remind me what all this is for.

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  By Punchberry, November 22, 2007 @ 11:31 am

  Happy Thanksgiving Enrico!

  I detest moving, so I feel your pain, but at least you are upgrading.

  I never understand how Fifth Pathway works. Are you skipping your fourth year and enrolling in this instead or is this an extra year? Does everyone at your program do this?
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  By Vijay, November 22, 2007 @ 12:52 pm

  Happy Thanksgiving Enrico. Hope you stashed away some of the Stoli to enjoy after the stress of moving.
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  By Zac, November 22, 2007 @ 4:05 pm

  Ah, Rico, I feel your pain. I do the same thing with cables… I even wrap them in perfect coiled loops with electrical tape. OCD traits, my friend.
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  By smalltowndoc, November 24, 2007 @ 8:26 pm

  i hope you have a nice time in the new house, when you will realise all the pain you took moving is worthwhile. Advanced birthday wishes.
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  By Deb, November 25, 2007 @ 3:44 pm

  Hope you and your family had a good Thanksgiving. And moving *is* just an awful experience. Almost like root canal, imo.
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  By Roy from Shrink Rap, November 27, 2007 @ 8:19 am

  Good luck on your move. I suspect that some of the piddly cleaning also serves as a way to forestall the more overwhelming task of getting packed and moved. At least, that’s how it works for me.
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  By Celeste, November 27, 2007 @ 12:44 pm

  I always insist on the cleaning. Psychologically it makes for a fresh start in every way possible. How much nicer to unpack when everything you touch is nice and clean, too!
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  By enrico, November 27, 2007 @ 8:36 pm

  Punchberry: 5th pathway, I admit is a bit frustrating to research, not the least of which because they took down their website (I think they incorporated it into AMAs site somewhere for now…remind me via email and I’ll look it up for you). Basically, it’s an extra year from the POV of an American student who does his intern/PGY-1 year right away and matches as an MS4. From the POV of a foreign student who has more years to go (in Mexico, it’s 6 total), it’s a year less than staying and coming to the US as a “true” FMG. You come to the US for your “5th” year, where you’re really in limbo. You are NOT a true intern, and you are, if that’s possible to imagine, like an MS5. The intent of this year is to re-orient you to US ways of doing things, charting, legalities, etc. and also (from the student POV) give an opportunity to show your stuff. Several excellent 5PW students get picked up outside the match because of their “special” status. This works if you want to stay in the NY area; if you want to go elsewhere, eh, not really relevant. One matches during this year under normal circumstances, as well as takes Step2CS taking advantage of being stateside (Step2CK, while not an absolute req. helps a LOT in showing quality of student). Ok, enough of that for now…this is just a reply to a comment after all.
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  By enrico, November 27, 2007 @ 8:42 pm

  Vijay: I actually did have some spirits the first move night and thought of your sage advice.
  Zac: Electrical tape? No, that’s not acceptable; one must have color-coded plastic zip-ties. Red ties are for networking cables, green ties are for USB and FW cables, yellow ties are for electric cords…. hehe
  All: Being on the flip side, it’s already getting better, thanks.

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