Dr. Kildare

Happy Memorial Day weekend! We went apartment hunting in Brooklyn on Saturday and think we may have found the one. We’re waiting for our application to be processed. It’s a 1.5 bedroom (the ".5" bedroom is just the size of a queen sized bed), 1 bath that has a lot of great light, nice dog-loving owners in the building, and it's in a convenient, safe location. Move mode, commence!

Yesterday we tackled one of our biggest pre-move projects - cleaning out our main closet. It’s the place in our apartment where things we never use but can’t get rid of end up. We consolidated Christmas decorations (we haven’t decorated in two years), games (that we never play), paint (that Home Depot advised us to buy way too much of), and other junk that Goodwill shoppers could happily use. Both Jen and I have the day off so we made a list of productive things to do— like going to Goodwill and taking things that we can’t throw away to the UPS Store to be mailed to my parents, without permission— but forgot that nothing would be open today. I’m sure Mom and Dad won’t mind getting a few holiday items delivered to their doorstep, mid-year, when their garage is already packed tighter than the Clampett’s car on Beverly Hillbillies. No big.

My new job is going well. I’m learning a lot, mostly about insurance and paperwork, the least fun part of what I do. My patients, as challenging, pessimistic, and stubborn as they can be, keep me laughing and entertained all day. I was told recently that I looked like Dr. Kildare from the 60’s TV show. I was like, “who’s that?!” thinking that it sounded like a Kevorkian-type murderer. A nurse looked at me and said, “I have no idea.” Ha. I Googled it at home later and found out. The haircut, the lab coat… maybe a little. I’m also asked about my nationality pretty often. Polish? Swedish? German-Nazi? I guess my Aryan kind is pretty rare here in NYC. I also had a patient ask, “Hey, are those all your teeth on the top there in the front?” “Uh, yep, they sure are.” Hers are not, FYI.

Last week went by really quickly and I got my first paycheck, which are good things. Thankfully, not as much tax was taken out of my paycheck as I predicted. And, thanks to Memorial Day, this coming week will be a short one… I’m already thinking like a 9-to-5er.