The New Year

I know this blog is a little late in coming, it is March afterall, but Im a firm believer of the saying "better now than never". The past couple of months have brought about some important changes in our lives. I left my job at Macys to possibly pursue a Masters degree. Once I realized that getting a Masters in Teaching in New Jersey is very different and difficult than I thought it would be, another job seemed the logical choice. The university near our home (Monmouth University) decided that some of my courses from my under grad were not good enough, so naturally I had to appeal that decision. But all of that paperwork, transcripts and emailing takes time. Getting a Masters degree is something that is personally very important to me, so whether I pursue this dream now or later (once we know for sure where Kamron will be doing residency) is not that pertinent.

In the meantime, I had gotten a callback from a bank that I had applied to when we first moved here, almost 6 months ago. I had a friend who had worked in a bank back in California and I had heard that bank jobs are reliable, good paying and offer good benefits. The bank I had applied to as a teller is PNC. Unfortunately, for all you West coasters out there, you probably have never heard of this bank. PNC is located in various states along the East Coast as well as in the North East (Chicago, Ohio, etc). I ended up getting hired for a teller position part-time. This company not only offered an incredible wage, and benefits if I so chose, but the position is only 20 hrs a week, which is very beneficial to me as I enjoy being a housewive also...hehe. I started a week ago and am still learning and being mentored. I enjoy it and I think it is a good job to keep whether we move for residency or not.

About this same time we also learned that it is possible for Kamron to do one of his rotations back in California, near our hometown. We also learned that Kamron CAN apply to residency programs in California, even in Fresno. We were very excited for this, as we had previously thought that going back to California would be an impossibility until after residency. The rotation wouldnt be until next January and it would be a good chance for both of us to spend some quality time in our home state and with our family and friends. Until then, going back to visit is going to be difficult, not only because of my job but also because of Kamron's busy schedule with Step 2 of his board exams coming up.

The life of a medical student and his family (wives, children, parents, etc) is a very uncertain and difficult one. Moving around a lot and not knowing where you will be next or what the future holds is a very stressful thing. We dont know where we are going next, where we will start our family. Because of this I dont know if I should go back for my degree now, or when we are settled. Do we want to start all over again in a new place? Is it worth it?  Starting all over again with a new home, new furniture, new friends and new jobs/roles is never easy. To say that we underestimated the difficulty of the med school journey would be a severe understatement. But at the same time, isn't it these uncertainties, this sense of adventure and achievement that makes life interesting and gives us the experiences that make us who we are. To say that I have not had an interesting and exciting experience through this all would be a lie. Through all the difficulty and emotional suffering (not being surrounded by any friends or family), it has been one amazing, exciting and beneficial journey. I would not take back one second of it, not one, all of our time in Grenada included. Because when I am old, grey and predictable, I know I will look back at this time in our life and think, "that was so great. That was the best time of my life and because of that I am who I am today." 

Happy New Year!!!!

New Years Eve on the East Coast was cold, windy and snowy!!!! We woke up to a couple of inches of snow in the morning and by that night it had turned to an icy mix. Kamron's 28th birthday was also on New Years Eve so we decided to go out for a little while to celebrate. We ended up going to dinner at teppenyaki-Kamrons favorite, followed by drinks and hitting the wine bar!!! Here is to 2010! Hope everyone has a great year filled with happiness, good health, new opportunities and luck! We miss all of our great family and friends and look forward to having some visitors this year :)

Getting ready for the Arctic cold to go out

                                                            At dinner

More snow pictures from the blizzard.... The day after, or what I like to call the aftermath......

Let It Snow!!!

Our first real snow experience and we got blizzard like conditions!!! It didnt look that bad early in the day..... I thought "for sure we can drive in this so I can go to work......"

Throughout the day it got progressively worse though.......And Jenna decided to hide under the Christmas tree

And then it was way too bad to drive anywhere. We tried and failed. We only made it down the street until we deemed it was too treachero. Sorry Macy's

Christmas at the Torbati's

Thanksgiving, Crazy People and Sick Days

This holiday season being away from our family and friends we decided to branch out and make new memories with new people instead of sitting at home. For Thanksgvivng we were actually invited to a co-worker of mines home with her family and friends. Her name is Farrah and she is a Persian woman I work with at Macys. At first I was understandably hesitant to accept. I felt that I hardly knew her and I was afraid that Kamron and I would be the outsiders and would feel isolated since we would know no one except for her and one other co-coworker. But I figured it could also be our chance to find surrogate friends to share the holidays with, Farrah is sweet and I wouldnt have to cook. So I accepted..... I was so thankful I did too. Not only did we have a great time sharing food with about 15 other strangers we also shared stories about our various experiences and backgrounds and made memories and friends that will stay with us hopefully throughout our stay here in the East. Farrah even suprised me with a birthday cake and birthday song (my bday was the next day). I was so touched that this woman I hardly knew remembered that my birthday was the next day and went so far as to organize a celebration. I believe that things and experiences like this are exactly what Thanksgiving are all about. Making new friends (even if you dont speak the same language), sharing stories and good food. It was the best Thanksgiving we have had since Kamron started his med-school journey......

Unfortunately the next day, Black Friday, also my 25th birthday, I had to work at 4 am. Waking up at 2:30 am to go to work is not only one of the hardest things I have ever done but very unnatural. I of course tried to go to bed early but with no luck..... It is now my belief that no one should ever have to wake up in the middle of the night to get ready for work. There were crazzzzzzyyyy a@# people waiting in a line at the mall to get in when I got there. And when Macys opened at 5am there was a mad rush......... That is the moment I realized that whoever wakes up voluntarily at this unholy hour to go shopping must be very crazy and irrational. If you happen to be one of those who fall into this category I am sorry. I am sorry that you woke up that early to really only save 20$, I am sorry that you are able to wake up that early, and finally because I believe you are crazy.

All of this waking up sooooo early and working long hours finally took a toll on me.... The next day I was exhausted and sick. I had been battling a cold for the past week and so I think that day my body finally said N-O!!!! I woke up for another early shift and my head felt like it was going to explode, I felt nauseous and my nose was running like a faucet. I tried to function at work but within the hour my boss took mercy on me and sent me home. I spent the next 7 hrs sleeping and laying around. The next day I felt so much better and I was able to move on with life. The holidays are a crazy time that can be stressful and exciting all at once. It is important to take care of yourself and others during these next few months!

Interesting People and Places

So being from California and living here on the East Coast, I find myself constantly analyzing and comparing the differences between the two. Today, I really had an interesting insight into the differences in attitudes and personalities of people who live here. I went to go get my nails done today for the first time since I got married. I missed having them done and now that Im working, I figured why not treat myself. So naturally I didnt know where to go since Im not from here, so I ended up going to the closest one that I could find from my house. Of course, it looks like so many other nail salons all over the country. It reminded me of several places I have gone to before in Fresno.

Although I was shocked at the price (55$) to start, I decided to go ahead anyways. Other customers arrived and started chatting with each other (even though they were complete strangers), and one girl with severe psychological issues sat there and talked on and on the whole time with some other girl/customer the whole time. I know her whole life now, what psychological problems she suffers from without even knowing her. Now In Fresno, in any nail salon, you would never see something like this. Getting your nails done in Fresno in comparison to other strangers is like sitting on a train, bus or subway. No one looks or talks to eachother, let alone discloses their whole life to a complete stranger. Here, this seems to not be the case at all, actually the polar opposite.

In addition, working at macys I have met many interesting friendly people. A couple of the women I work with are persian so I get along with them really well since Kamron is persian too. Lo and behold we have been invited to one of the ladies house for a Thanksgiving dinner! I dont know her that well, so I was initially a little nervous about accepting. But I know that the awkwardness of going there and meeting people I have never met would pass in a matter of minutes. It is a chance for Kamron and I to spend Thanksgiving with other people than ourselves (like we have been doing for the past three years) and a chance to meet new people. We have done much more extreme and adventurous things (ie, moving to Grenada) so this should be a piece of cake! Trying new things and taking a risk is what makes life memorable and exciting!

Fall on the East Coast

I was driving to the grocery store the other day with kamron and realized how beautiful fall can be over here. There are actually seasons here! The leaves on all the trees are turning all the wonderful colors of fall. It is especially scenic because there are so many quaint tree-lined streets. The air is starting to get a little crisp and the days are getting shorter.

Another thing I have noticed is that Halloween is more of a big deal on this side of the U.S. In Cali, Halloween has been relegated to costume parties and a reason to decorate your house. Here, kids still actually go trick or treating, the costume parties are much more extravagant and the decorated houses are out of this world! This is evidenced by the great abundance of Halloween superstores on almost every other block. I think I seriously live within 5 miles of like 6 stores. Unfortunately, I have to work until 8:00 on Halloween, and we dont know anyone here yet, so Halloween at least for us will be quiet. Maybe next year.

I am officially working 40 hrs a week and it is killing me! I have a new appreciation for everyone that must stand on their feet for eight hours a day. But I will finally be able to finish getting things for our new home with my paychecks. Kamron will be done with his ob/gyn rotations soon and will have to take an exam. Thankfully I will be working a lot so he will have plenty of time and quiet to study at home. After that he will start his pediatrics rotation which is reputed to be substantially easier with fewer hours. We miss all of our family and friends back home at this time of year and look forward to maybe having some visitors during the holidays....