I'm Back!

Hi!

I'm back! Ok, I mean yes another post after basically a year (happy 2024 >.> ), but more importantly, I'm back in Chicago!

Seriously, the excitement is at like 1000% - I'm overflowing with excitement, I just spent 40 minutes walking to a pie shop yesterday afternoon... in 35F icy rain weather... I mean yes, weather has been shitty, but I'm thriving even in that, excess energy to spare somehow when I'm out of the house. I truly have missed city life - especially the city life that requires no driving to get around. It's putting it mildly the joy I'm getting from being spontaneous on my way home, walking outside, even enjoying the winter weather.

I'm in a slightly new location, in a different atmosphere as a M4 medical student (no shelf exams, low pressure rotations - both in time commitment and pressure to excel), and in a great mood to explore and mingle (weather be damned). And I'm oddly free about spending money on eating out... might have to do with me relocating for a short period of time and not bringing crazy amounts of kitchen supplies or home food with me (love my mom's food - no question... but we agreed it did not make sense too - who knows how much actual space I'd have?). And I have the go ahead from my "financial backers" to buy food ready to eat as I need - cuz I'm in Chicago, and I clearly won't starve with all the food options available ^_^.

The theme of this week is definitely exploring cafes nearby. I'm excited to stop back into a Turkish coffee place that I went into on accident - thought it was a Dark Matter coffee shop half a block further down... Oops? But that's just the tip of the agenda. In my time away, I've been tracking IG reels on cafes, bars, food joints, etc. that I want to check out. I'm more than fairly certain that I will not be able to see everything I've saved, but I see a planning excel sheet in my future... and I'll be sure to hit up everything I can, especially since I foresee having actual days OFF.

Ok, so I'm not actually on vacation or anything crazy like that just yet. I'm working towards taking boards in May (no small venture), I have residency application submissions in late fall, there are other rotations left to apply/schedule, and I have to start reaching out to make plans for research once rotations have been completed. 

So yeah, lots of work to get cracking on. But will some of that work facilitate exploring cafes/locations to do work? Hehehe....

On the docket now? Getting organized, reaching out to prior Chicago connections, getting my groove on, finishing some pending yarn crafts, walking as much as I can to get around before I have to barricade myself in the weeks before my exam.

Here's to the next couple months, and remembering to wear my face mask outside the hospital... O.o