My first month as a free woman
This is a particularly hard blog entry to compose. No, there's no bad news to share. It's just that after three years of waiting for this freedom I feel like there's a lot of pressure for the first month after residency to be about how relaxed, rested and happy I am.
Not that I'm not, I assure you, but it's really only been in the last two or three days that I have had time to read a book or take a run (two things that have been on my "things I can do with reckless abandon when residency is over" list).
The month has been busy. Sive and I moved, that was certainly a feat. My family was all in town, no simple thing either. Then, as soon as family left and all my stuff was in piles of boxes around Karin's (and now my) apartment, I left for nearly a week in Boston, not just for fun like last year, but for a slew of LGBT health meetings. When I returned the unpacking fairy (a.k.a. Karin) had tackled many of the boxes but there were still weeks worth to go through, too much furniture and not enough room for everything. At the same time there was the ABFM board exam - a day-long multiple choice test that I had to prepare for and take. And I can't forget the band gigs, local transgender health meetings, local community drama, all which absorbed free time and energy like thirsty sponges.
Karin and I updated our closet, remodeled our bathroom, filled trash bags and attics and basements. Sive, like Rapunzel, has been locked in the loft, high above all the activity of the rest of the house and safe from the Scary-Barking-Chase-Monster. I climb up there, careful to close the protective gate behind me, for visits at least once a day and to provide her with her yummy new wet-food diet. Her only two experiences down from The Tower have been too eventful and scary for her. One was an accident where she fell dramatically from the loft into the living room, bounced off the coffee table and landed on the floor where she righted herself, crouched low, poofed her tail, and hissed as a confused Lucy came up to her wondering why cats where falling from the sky! Both animals survived the event without injury and are still living in their separate areas. At the advice of a well-respected animal trainer, we are trying to clicker-train Sive so we can introduce the pets in a controlled and pleasant way. It's not easy. Lucy already has dibs on the actual clicker sound so we have resorted to the cumbersome alternative of a baby rattle for Sive - it's also not as loud and less scary for her. No progress has been made as of yet, but I'll sure keep everyone posted. I'm hopeful the two beasts will live in peace. Sive has coexisted with dogs in the past, but Lucy appears to be somehow more frightening than she can quite manage.
In sum, the first weeks free from the clutches of residency have not been quite what I anticipated. There's no backpacking in exotic lands or horseback riding every day. In fact, a large part of my days have been spent doing housework: dishes, laundry, cleaning, sorting, shopping and cooking (with various levels of success). But it is amazing how much residency took from me that those simple household activities suddenly seem like a luxury. The fact that I can do 6 loads of laundry and two sinkfulls of dishes in one day is like a dream come true! It will be curious to see how the next few weeks develop. They are also pretty packed. Half of August will be dedicated to entertaining Karin's 11-year old niece and I'm heading up to Vancouver, BC for a few days to visit my good pal, Lisa, from Australia. But maybe I'll also find a horse to ride and rekindle my relationship with exercise and self-care. Let my real life begin...
Not that I'm not, I assure you, but it's really only been in the last two or three days that I have had time to read a book or take a run (two things that have been on my "things I can do with reckless abandon when residency is over" list).
The month has been busy. Sive and I moved, that was certainly a feat. My family was all in town, no simple thing either. Then, as soon as family left and all my stuff was in piles of boxes around Karin's (and now my) apartment, I left for nearly a week in Boston, not just for fun like last year, but for a slew of LGBT health meetings. When I returned the unpacking fairy (a.k.a. Karin) had tackled many of the boxes but there were still weeks worth to go through, too much furniture and not enough room for everything. At the same time there was the ABFM board exam - a day-long multiple choice test that I had to prepare for and take. And I can't forget the band gigs, local transgender health meetings, local community drama, all which absorbed free time and energy like thirsty sponges.
Karin and I updated our closet, remodeled our bathroom, filled trash bags and attics and basements. Sive, like Rapunzel, has been locked in the loft, high above all the activity of the rest of the house and safe from the Scary-Barking-Chase-Monster. I climb up there, careful to close the protective gate behind me, for visits at least once a day and to provide her with her yummy new wet-food diet. Her only two experiences down from The Tower have been too eventful and scary for her. One was an accident where she fell dramatically from the loft into the living room, bounced off the coffee table and landed on the floor where she righted herself, crouched low, poofed her tail, and hissed as a confused Lucy came up to her wondering why cats where falling from the sky! Both animals survived the event without injury and are still living in their separate areas. At the advice of a well-respected animal trainer, we are trying to clicker-train Sive so we can introduce the pets in a controlled and pleasant way. It's not easy. Lucy already has dibs on the actual clicker sound so we have resorted to the cumbersome alternative of a baby rattle for Sive - it's also not as loud and less scary for her. No progress has been made as of yet, but I'll sure keep everyone posted. I'm hopeful the two beasts will live in peace. Sive has coexisted with dogs in the past, but Lucy appears to be somehow more frightening than she can quite manage.
In sum, the first weeks free from the clutches of residency have not been quite what I anticipated. There's no backpacking in exotic lands or horseback riding every day. In fact, a large part of my days have been spent doing housework: dishes, laundry, cleaning, sorting, shopping and cooking (with various levels of success). But it is amazing how much residency took from me that those simple household activities suddenly seem like a luxury. The fact that I can do 6 loads of laundry and two sinkfulls of dishes in one day is like a dream come true! It will be curious to see how the next few weeks develop. They are also pretty packed. Half of August will be dedicated to entertaining Karin's 11-year old niece and I'm heading up to Vancouver, BC for a few days to visit my good pal, Lisa, from Australia. But maybe I'll also find a horse to ride and rekindle my relationship with exercise and self-care. Let my real life begin...
posted by Beta at 11:26 AM
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