Fall Leaves . . . Winter Snows

Today Spencer asked me why he couldn't jump in the leaves any more. I explained to him that the leaves had all fallen off the trees so there were no more to jump in. He was disheartened by this, letting me know that "Leaves were his favorite thing to play in".

Trying to cheer him up I reminded him that it won't be long before the snow comes and he could play in that. He responded by stating "Oh Ya, acutally, snow is my favorite thing to play in" He also added that mabye once it snowed he and daddy can build a snow family like they did last year. So Daddy better gear up for another 2 hours in the snow building the second Corry snow family.

(The extra snow person on the end was Grandma as she was visiting us at the time.)

This one's for Doug

Sorry it has taken so long to get some deer hunt pictures up Doug. Here they are.













As you can see Bob really got into his fire making.

Back home for a few days

We made it back from our whirlwind trip to Ogden. I interviewed at the McKay-Dee family practice residency yesterday and I'm very happy to be back home in good old Cedar City. It was by far the strangest (worst) interview I have had this year. I was initially very impressed with the facility and the curriculum, but as the day wore on I became more and more disinterested in them. I think they became more and more disinterested in me as well. I felt like I was being interviewed because the program is feeling pressure from the state to train rural docs and I fit that profile, but they really weren't too interested in me as a resident. I was also somewhat disappointed with the residents as none of them even seemed to want to put on a happy face and the welcome we got from the hospital (there were 10 applicants there yesterday) was less than warm. In the end I still think McKay-Dee is a great residency and trains great docs, but it is definitely not a good fit for me (or my family). Here's hoping next week goes better at St. Marks and the University of Utah.

Turkey Day

We had a very fun and busy week. The week started out on a plane from Chicago to SLC, but when we finally returned to Cedar City we tried our best to get things back to normal.

The first half of the week was somewhat hectic as I was on call. Taking hospital admissions for all of the family practitioners in Cedar isn't as easy as I had once believed. We were very busy spending close to 3 hours rounding on patients each morning. I'm not complaining because at this stage of my career I love hospital patients because they are interesting (you don't ever want to be an interesting patient). Melissa and the kids saw very little of me Monday-Wednesday.

We left for the Powell household in West Valley (a beautiful suburb of SLC) Wednesday evening arriving just in time to put the kids to bed and get some much needed sleep bef0re the big day. Melissa spent the morning of Thanksgiving helping her mother in the kitchen while I slept, ate, and watched the new Die Hard. It's not hunting rabbits or playing in a turkey bowl, but I enjoyed myself nonetheless. You may think it was a bit unfair that I was able to relax so much while Melissa slaved in the kitchen. You would be right if you are thinking that. She's a good woman (and somewhat of an enabler for me). Ironically I happened to be sitting at the bar on the day after Thanksgiving for lunch and commented to Spencer (sitting next to me) that I was just like him being served lunch by mom. He responded by saying, "That's because we're the men, dad".

As always we had enormous amounts of food, and enough pies to satisfy everyone. Not only did I not watch any football this year, I didn't even care that I didn't watch any football. I am completely apathetic toward the NFL this year. I'm not sure how long that will last, but it may be due to the fact that my favorite team is in the race for the worst team ever and my most hated team is in the race for the best team ever. It's gotten so bad that I'm almost hoping for injuries to the Patriots (I said almost).

We are now safely back in Cedar City and looking forward to putting up our Christmas decorations this evening. I have an interview in Ogden on Tuesday but otherwise this should be a more normal week.

I'm excited for another bad year for the BCS should Hawaii win their bowl game. What a year when the one undefeated team in DIV-I football not only isn't the national champion, but isn't even given a chance to compete for that title. We desperately need a tournament.

4th and 18

Another year another new catch. I can't wait to spend the next 12 months watching replays of the new version of Ute ineptitude. I think its a great plan to cover everybody except the number 1 Cougar receiver and to not only let him slip through the defense, but to allow him to pick up 49 yards. 4th and 18!! I don't even blame the refs for donning their Blue and White during the rest of the final BYU possession. If the Utes can't stop the Cougs on 4th and 18 they deserve to be called for phantom penalties.

4th and 18 what a joke.

The "Cold" Season

I always look forward to the Cold Season as it brings snow, hot chocolate, and christmas music. However, I always dread it as the cold season normally brings with it Colds. This year has proved to be no exception. We returned from Indiana to three kids with nasty coughs and runny noses. (Poor Grandma got more than she signed up for)

Spencer and Jessi haven't gotten much worse but poor Kristian is feeling pretty awful. The only silver lining in it is that he likes to snuggle a lot, which normally he refuses to do as there is so much to see and do all the time.

I have also found myself waking up with a sore throat and runny nose the last two days. I am hoping this is short lived as I have to sing my first solo ever on the 29th of this month. I am scared to death and being sick isn't helping to calm my nerves at all. I guess it is time to stock up on Vitamin C.

Tales from South Bend

Having been a Utah and BYU fan all my life (yes I was a BYU fan as a poorly informed youth) I was completely unprepared for the experience of Notre Dame Football. It was nothing short of awesome. Taking into consideration the record of the team this year I can only imagine what things are like during a BCS year.

We started yesterday by walking up to the stadium parking lot at 10 AM. The walk took about 30 minutes and less than a quarter of the way there the neighborhoods were charging $10 for parking. That price increased as we got closer to the stadium. When we arrived at the Notre Dame campus we were shocked by the sheer number of tailgaters (apparently what we saw was less than 1/3 of last year’s festivities). We socialized with the residents and attending physicians at the St Joe’s tailgate party. Melissa tells me the food was good, having eaten out the 6 previous meals I was very full and not hungry.

After a while we walked across campus to watch the band play on the steps of a building that has some kind of significance unknown to me. We then walked through the basilica and Melissa became my tour guide. She enlightened me as to the differences between fired glass and pieced stain glass as well as elaborating on the symbolism of the various aspects within the cathedral. From there things got interesting. Before each game the Notre Dame marching band walks across campus through a throng of fans on a 12 foot sidewalk. We followed the band to the stadium and entered at the D entrance.

For those of you who don’t know, the shots of Rudy outside the stadium were filmed just before the stadium renovation, however, not wanting Knute to roll over in his grave the golden Domers built the newer portion around the existing structure so the original exterior wall is still standing and very visible when one enters the ticket gates. That wall is now adorned with plaques of the various coaches, national championships and heisman trophy winners. As you can imagine I became the tour guide when we entered the stadium.

When we did finally get through the tunnel to the stadium I felt like Rudy’s dad when he said: “This is the most beautiful site these eyes have beheld” (or something like that). It was really cool. The stadium slowly filled up and it got colder and colder. You all know (or should know) the results of the game so I won’t go into that. After sitting through the game (and the rest of the day) I am sure of two things; Rudy is the greatest sports movie ever, and Rudy wouldn’t be such an inspirational story in this day because I’m pretty sure he could start for the Irish this year.

If we are lucky enough to match at one of the South Bend programs and come back here for the next 3 years I will surely cement my status as a Notre Dame fan and hopefully take a vow to attend every ND-BYU game within the next 40 years (be it in Provo or South Bend) wearing the Irish blue and gold.

The rest of the week pales in comparison to the game, but it was really great as well. I guess I hadn’t realized how much I like the residents and faculty in South Bend because it was really neat to see them again at the interviews and at dinner later that night, and it’s always nice to know that people like you.

I had a very good interview with the Directors of both programs. I must have felt very comfortable because during one of the interviews I actually brought up the topic of my grades and board scores (the weakest portion of my application by far). I think he was somewhat surprised at how open and honest the interview was. I hope that is a good thing, guess we’ll find out in March.

South Bend

With 5 interviews down and 3 to go I think it will be hard to beat South Bend. While we still have the three interviews in the Salt Lake area in a couple of weeks we have really liked it here. The tough decision now becomes chosing between the two programs. Both programs here have everything we want. The community is great for Melissa and the kids, and the extra $15000 per year over the Utah programs isn't chump change. I get along great with the residents in both programs and both programs seem to have an interest in me (it helps to bring Melissa to the interviews as she does a very good job of making me look better than I am). Over the next few months I'm sure we'll be making a lot of comparisons and hopefully we will come up with the right decision, though I don't think we could go wrong with either program. We'll be sure to make our decision before the Superbowl so we can officially cement ourselves on the Colts bandwagon should the need arise.

Hopefully Notre Dame can pull out a win against Duke tomorrow. Be sure to watch us on NBC, I'll be the guy in the Florida sweatshirt (courtesy of Steve and Barrys yesterday).

And of course go Michigan! (or more appropriately beat Ohio State)

I Have To Blog Now??

Each time I think I am pretty secure with my computer knowledge, Jacob throws a new curve ball at me. I have spent the last hour figuring out how to add a family picture to our blog. (It was that or clean the bathroom). I think my blog learning curve is starting to improve though so hopefully it won't take an hour in the future to add one picture.

We are leaving to Salt Lake tomorrow where Jacob and I will fly to South Bend for the week for Interviews and even get in a Notre Dame football game. Here is hoping they can pull out a Win for us. The kids will be enjoying the week with their Grandma and Grandpa Powell. Spencer seems to be very excited about this and the other two don't understand at all but I am sure they will enjoy themselves. I guess that means I better stop procrasting the bathroom and go get cleaning and packing.

A week in the life...

I'm working with a local family practice physician this month. It has been a welcome change from pediatrics. I very much prefer hypertensives and diabetics to the monotony of 20 well child checks per day. It has also been nice to feel known. In one week I have treated a classmate of my bigger-younger brother, a ward member of my engineer brother (he actually asked me if I have a brother who is an engineer), numerous people who know mother, and the girlfriend of a young man who was named after my father (that one came with a story that neither my mother or father had heard). One of the best parts is that I have a log-in on the EMR (electronic medical records) system so I can actually open and close all of my charts. When I started my rotations I was very hesitant to be sent into rooms on my own, but now the autonomy that comes with being able to keep my own charts is very liberating and those times where I have to "shadow" the physician are somewhat boring.

Church has become consistently more difficult as of late. Jessi is the epitome of a terrible two year old. She has hit her head on the pews (in an attempt to show her disgust with our decision to say no to her) in church so many times we have come to expect it. Lately she has taken to throwing things within her reach. Apparently she knows better than to throw objects across the room, but when she gets mad she looks for anything nearby, picks it up and promptly throws it back down on the ground. This action is always preceded and followed by a furious stare and usually accompanied by a squeal, sometimes low sometimes loud. Luckily for us Grandma and Grandpa get her most of this week.

You may have noticed that the Dolphins found a way to lose again, and once again they did it without the help of their rookie quarterback. I sure hope they don’t waste the top pick in next years draft without knowing how good Beck is. Maybe they can pick up another undersized wide receiver with very little upside and use him on special teams. Wait a minute I think that already happened. I guess it’s time to start cheering for the Dodgers and their bid in the ARod sweepstakes (it’s kind of like a reverse lottery).

Why the Dolphins will always have a place in history

Much has been said about the Patriots current season and the impending undefeated season they may achieve. If the Patriots were to go undefeated they would eclipse the mark set by my beloved Dolphins back in 72.

While the Patriots may have an undefeated regular season they will not win the Super Bowl and thus will fall short of the 72 Dolphins. The reason for this is nothing short of arrogance. Consider that the Patiots will clinch their division in a few short weeks (courtesy of the other 3 teams in the division having a combined 5 wins). The Colts will lose again allowing the Patriots to clinch homefield advantage with two games left to play in the regular season. Not only will Bill Bellicheat not rest his starters he will play them in the 4th quarters of those games to secure the win (apparently a 3 touchdown lead with under 8 minutes to play is no longer secure). As a result of this poor sportsmanship the Patriots defense will be decimated by injuries and will not be able to contain the Colts in the post season.

If by some crazy chance the Patriots do win the Super Bowl unblemished at least the Dolphins are well on their way to having the first winless season, and that is something to be proud of.

The Interview Trail

I have decided to pursue a residency in family practice and spent last week interviewing at three of the programs Melissa and I are interested in. At the moment we have (or have had) 8 interviews set-up. Most of the interviews are located in the mountain west with the exception of two in South Bend, IN this coming week. The month I did in South Bend was great and I am certainly excited to take Melissa back there.

I'll review a little information for those of you who may not be familiar with the process of medical education. I am currently in my 4th year of medical school. As I am at a DO school without an affiliated hospital I spent my 3rd year in Yakima, WA doing the required 3rd year rotations at the hospitals there. My 4th year is filled with mostly electives so we have moved the family to Cedar City where I am doing most of my elective rotations. Towards the end of the 3rd year I filled out my residency application (a national service) and submitted it to 13 family practice programs. Since that time I have veen offered various interviews and decided to set up times for 8 of the programs. Apparently I'm not good enough for the Idaho programs as all three in that blessed state told me they are not interested in offering me an interview. Following my interviews I will create a list ranking my order of preference for residency. At this same time the programs will create a list ranking their preference for students. The "match" takes place in March and at that time Melissa and I will know where we will be moving for the next 3 years.

As I stated we are heading for South Bend this coming week. We interviewed in Grand Junction, Colorado as well as Casper, and Cheyenne, Wyoming last week. The three programs last week had their good and bad of course, but overall we were impressed. We have decided to avoid any firm decisions as to where we want to go until we have interviewed at all of the programs. Apparently we are attempting to keep our minds open to future programs.