The Thoughts of Carol and I from January 2006

Hello everyone from Henry (primary writer) and Carol (red comments),

SHORT VERSION: We are alive and well in a splendid apartment in Radio City (also referred to as Hell’s Kitchen/ Clinton/ Times Square/ Theater District) situated in Midtown Manhattan within New York City. Happy New Years and a satisfying 2006!

For those of you who are more curious or just have more time on their hands, we have been inspired to write about ourselves probably more than we should have.

LONG VERSION: In regards to 2005 - this was a long, twisted year full of surprises and transformations. The first half of the year must have contained certain important moments, certain things we can share for you, yet they are lost beneath the importance of the time of our wedding in June and the events afterwards.

Wedding
Carol and I got married on June 18. The marriage in itself only reiterated our love as I knew she was The One in Santiago, Chile, during our conversation at the Mapocho the summer after I met her. At Audubon Park, she looked stunning in her Brazilian tailored wedding gown. We really did do it our way with a Justice of the Peace, a scavenger hunt, Carol’s green dress with Henry’s matching green tie, our vows which were written for one another, and our international guest list. After the wedding and about a week of entertaining family and friends in New Orleans, we left for our honeymoon in Thailand.

Honeymoon
Our trip brought us to three very different destinations – Bangkok, capital and bustling metropolis; Ko Samui, the new tourist paradise replacing Phuket after the Tsunami; and Chiang Mai, the older cultural center for the Thai. Our wonderful experiences convinced me that we will one day choose to live in Bangkok, which along with Tokyo, has the potential to become our gateway to the Orient (although, of course, there are also several interesting cities in China to consider).

Unfortunately our wedding at Audubon Park in New Orleans and honeymoon in Thailand, which we believed could not be topped in significance this year, were overshadowed by the life changing experience of Hurricane Katrina.

Our experience of this horrible disaster was very different from many of the other members of my class who were in Louisiana at the time. We saw everything as outsiders on television like the rest of the world. It was unimaginable that the dreaded disaster had finally hit New Orleans. We, however, as many others, experienced a sinking (pun intended?) feeling of uncertainty about the future.

Katrina
During this time period, I was already in New York City, having finished one medical school away rotation in August and ready for the second away rotation in September. We had originally planned to move to New York City in the summer of 2006, and this was expedited to September 2005. Carol was with me in the city on vacation with most of her belongings. Most of my belongings were in the city and I was familiar with the landscape and already felt very assimilated. In addition we were in a sublet in the Upper West which meant we didn’t have to go apartment shopping right away. The medical schools in NYC were very understanding and accommodating, so I was able to find rotations to finish my year with reasonable effort.

We chose to return briefly to New Orleans to pick up our belongings and see with our own eyes the post Katrina state of affairs. We flew on the first JetBlue flight back and rented a minivan to transport our valuables from the dorm. The place was a wasted image of what had once been a lively city. The smell of garbage and feces dominated the senses. The traffic lights and other necessary infrastructure components were in varied states of operation (most non-existent). The water marks left on the buildings were striking. There were many groups of workers in decontamination suits scattered throughout the cityscape. Nothing seemed normal. We cleared out our 2 bedroom at the dorms (with four people in five hours, without air condition, elevator or lights) and our last sight of the musty smelling yet thankfully dry apartment was our open refrigerator door revealing maggots who had taken up residence in what we had once called home.

This was such a degeneration from the New Orleans we knew; the New Orleans which contained certain fond ‘spots’ such as Hana’s sushi, strolls in City Park, rollerblading in Audubon park, the “cuddle” seats at the Clearview movie theater and listening to live music at the Spotted Cat on Frenchmen Street. We hope that in the future others will be able to appreciate this city and find their spots.

The roadtrip back to NYC with all of our rescued valuables in the back of the minivan was like riding through a tunnel with darkness behind you and light ahead. We had said our goodbyes to some of our best friends in Louisiana and we had cleaned out our old residence. We left behind furniture and every means of transportation that we used in New Orleans: Henry’s old red pick-up truck, our bikes, our rollerblades, all of which drowned in the flood-waters of Lake Ponchatrain. It was time for a true move. It was time to really move into NYC.New York City

Upon our return, the major order of business was finding an apartment. The experience must be seen with one’s own eyes to appreciate the overpriced understate of repair on the NYC rental circuit. Time after time we left another viewing with a queasy feeling in our stomach, wondering whether we would ever find a fit for us, a place we would choose together to finally call home. Then one magical place caught our eye and we actually made a bid to pay $200 less per month in rent, which was accepted. After our move-in, we were driven; as a squirrel stores his nuts for the winter, so did we diligently work to beautify our apartment, creating a home within this welcoming city.

Job-Hunting
During 2005, I have kept true and steadfast to my trajectory toward an emergency medicine residency in New York City. I rotated at two residency programs in the city and have scheduled interviews at 16 programs. The decision will be difficult. Fortunately each interview brings more clarity to that which I seek. My hope is that by the end of the last interview I will know exactly what I want for my residency and why. My hope is that the place I choose also sees something special in me. It is comforting that during this time Carol is also going through the same learning process during her job hunt. (I must say that I don’t find any comfort in the fact that I’m going through a similar process as Henry. The experience is helping me to realize what I want and where I want to be; however, at this stage in my career, unlike Henry, I do not have the luxury of choosing an employer – the employer chooses me. Hopefully it will be in the area of my choice, but as to the company, I can’t afford to be selective). Carol continues her job hunt. She has embarked upon a difficult mission – to break entry into a new field, to transition from Market Research to Account Planning (in the advertising industry). As the game is spun, it is incredibly difficult to find a job without current experience doing the job for at least five years and it is incredibly difficult to gain current experience doing a job if you can’t find a job. So is the ‘unfair’ circle of incest which dominates the job hunting market. Yet Carol is diligent and determined. She will make her way from Point A to Point B even if it might be necessary to go through an at first unintended Point C.

Living in Manhattan
From a quality of life standpoint, New York City is the perfect place for Carol and I at this point in our lives. (Not sure about perfect…but Henry’s usually easier to please than I). We live in an international arena populated by some of the most interesting people in the world. Most of the people we meet are not from this city and are just as apt to make friends as we are after the long journey to NYC. In terms of education, street smarts and wisdom, we are growing and developing full blast, by an eager student attitude to learn. There are endless museums, shows and neighborhoods with which to familiarize ourselves. We have joined the New York Sports Club and are getting into great shape and enjoying their classes like power dancing and yoga.

Below is a passage about New York City written by Glyn Maxwell which touched me:
"If life begins with dreams and ends with memories, perhaps there comes a point in the middle where the two impulses are somehow balanced and neutralized, where the past is a manageable parade, and the future has been fed enough of our daylight to be sated for a while. One is confronted, faced, nailed, by the urgency of the present. These are the moments when we are doing what we dreamed of, or what we know we’ll remember always, yet they are moments with no time for looking forward or back."
"Something very young in me – or do I mean old? – always wanted to spend the present with people from everywhere, at a great meeting place in the center of the world."

We are energized by the “urgency of the present” and the joy to meet so many exciting personalities at the “great meeting place in the center of the world.” We desire to experience the present until we quiver with overwhelm. This is the first time in so long where I have been totally satiated by the present. We have discovered a land in which we belong.

The Future
The future is as always in flux and unknown. Ideally, Carol will find her dream job in Account Planning and I will match at a residency program which will be the best fit for me. We will strive to continue to partake of the limitless array of cultural offerings, continue to meet new souls while cultivating our previous friendships, and continue to explore the other offerings of our new home. This is the closest thing we have to a resolution for 2006, although it is really a resolution for our entire time in NYC.

MARCH 25, 2006 addendum:
We are still living in the same place and still enjoying our new home. I have matched into Mt. Sinai for my emergency medicine residency and Carol has begun work at Seiden as an Account Executive. We still fully partake in the many things that the present offers and we continue to make good friends in the city.