I had been procrastinating writing this post because I didn’t know where to begin and how to best describe the experiences I had this summer. However due to the friendly reminder from some of our readers and my wife, I have decided that it’s probably good for me to reflect back on the memories that I’ve made during this refreshing and much needed break.
When you tell others that you are a rising second year medical student on summer break, the response is usually the same: “make the most of it, it’s your last summer”. While I have taken this advice to heart, it has also come with the added pressure of making each day count because it is the most free time that I will have for the next extended period of my life. Let me be clear, I am working on clinical research this summer but in comparison to the time requirements of the school year, it is a breath of fresh air.
During the beginning of summer, I was able go to a Milwaukee Brewer’s game, experience Chicago for Quess’ bachelor party, and go home to visit my family and friends. Soon after, I was able to witness two of my college roommates and one of my medical school classmates get married this summer. Each wedding has its own unique flair. At Quess and Kristen’s wedding, I had the honor of being a groomsmen and riding in on the back of my friend Dion to the battle song of Lord of The Rings. Josh and Emily’s wedding was characterized by both the beautiful vows as well as the fun dancing in the city afterwards. Matthew and Sharon’s wedding had delicious food and a beautiful backdrop to the ceremony.
The most unique part of summer has definitely been pursuing my interests outside of school. When Michelle and I decided that we were going to move to Wisconsin, I had actually planned on getting a fat tire bike and biking to school everyday. This was before I learned about dry ice during my orientation week. I decided that it wasn’t the best idea to ride all four seasons and I had also grown accustomed to getting dropped off. However, during the summer I was able to pick up two secondhand bikes off Letgo for a good price. It has been a lot of fun riding my bike to go to work and explore other areas of Wauwatosa.
Michelle and I have also been trying to decorate our home to make it feel more personal. Given that neither of us are willing to spend lots of money on art, I decided to try my hand at painting (Don’t be too impressed. Michelle actually made a stencil for me basically to trace and then paint in). I had seen an apron at Museum of Chinese America that had the wise adage “Keep Calm and 吃飯”. For those of you that can’t read Mandarin, the direct translation is “keep calm and eat food”. Since food is a big part of our lives and has an amazing ability to lift our moods, we decided to hang our mantra in our dining room.
I have also always been fascinated by the process of building furniture but never had the time or tools to start on my own. This summer, I decided to try my hand at woodworking. My first project was an end table to place at the side of our sofa to hold drinks. To be honest, this project did not turn out as well as I had hoped. Not having access to power tools, I had used a hand saw provided at home depot in an attempt to make precision cuts. As I was drilling in the legs of the end table on the floor of my patio I quickly realized that the wood wasn’t cut flush enough and that it would be very difficult to get the pieces to stick together with just the wood screws. I also realized that Titebond wood glue can cover a multitude of mistakes, including imprecise cuts. While I was disappointed in the project, Michelle actually encouraged me to give it another try since I had identified what went wrong this first time.
I decided to give it another try and naturally decided to pursue a more difficult project than the first. I decided to make an entryway bench for our apartment. I had always thought that it would be nice for our guests to have a place to place their belongings as they came in or sit down when they were putting on their shoes. Fortunately, I was able to work with one of my classmates’ brother, who does fine wood-working for a living. He was kind enough to allow me to make my cuts at his shop and give me advice for my project. Needless to say, the product turned out great with his help and we now have a place for you to sit to remove your shoes!
This summer I’ve also had the chance to cook up new dishes in the kitchen. During the school year, we often resort to what is easy and what makes a lot of food at once to sustain us for multiples meals. I’ve enjoyed trying my hand at making certain dishes that I’ve always enjoyed but never attempted because of the amount of time and skill that it takes to make. When making these dishes, I wasn’t sure if they would succeed. They each ventured into an area of cooking that I wasn’t as familiar with. Until I made Brioche buns, I’ve never baked my own bread. Until I made ravioli, I’ve never made any pasta from scratch (Admittedly, Michelle and Mit wrapped every single one… I guess I still haven’t really made ravioli.). Until I attempted to make dan dan noodles, I’ve never made my own chili oil. Finally I’ve never made a broth, refrigerated it, and placed the aspic cubes into individual dumplings (I was also not very good at wrapping these so Michelle and our friends covered me). While most of these dishes did not have perfect results, I was very happy with the way they turned out and knew how I wanted to improve them next time.
Between smoking meat with my friends, playing beach volleyball with classmates, and even just sitting at home reading a good book, this summer’s been all that I could have asked for. I’ve had the opportunity to witness my friends make a lifelong marriage commitments to each other, pursue my hobbies, and just decompress. Yet, I feel a little bit uneasy because I know that it won’t and shouldn’t last forever. While I am wary of the challenges that come with preparing for board exams, I am looking forward to learning more about medicine this next year. When times get tough, I want to make sure to remember on the fun memories and lessons of this summer.
grablifebythehorngs 