Saturday, June 30, 2012

Halfway

June 30th has always been an important day for me. It’s the day all (or at least half) of your coupons expire. And it is my twin sister Amber’s birthday!

This year it seems very significant. This morning at 8 am I finished my last night on call as a second year oral surgery resident (or my third out of five years if you remember my intern year). It seems fitting that a nurse made my cry yesterday when asking me to come do a procedure after a meth lab explosion, but that’s another story. Hopefully as a senior resident I will have the thick skin and the coping skills to not let that sort of thing happen. I am feeling more mature already.

And now I am ready to celebrate Amber’s Birthday! by doing whatever I want to do today (which may include laundry or cleaning the bathroom).

But despite the great feeling I have, I do feel some dread. Because after this nice day of milestones (both in my career and my age) there is a new milestones very fast approaching: July 1.

July 1 is the day our life changes (life being singular meaning the life Abe and I have made together). Or at least that is what I am expecting. It is the day that Abraham starts his five year residency. He will be starting tomorrow on the Neurosurgery team, one of the busiest rotations with the longest hours. While we have both been busy, Abe has usually been the (slightly) less busy one and has shouldered a huge part of the day to day responsibilities such as making us lunches and doing the laundry. I hope I can step up to the supportive role to be helpful to him like he has been to me. And I really probably will hire someone to help with cleaning (any takers?). I think we are both excited for him to begin this new step after such a long process getting here, but we are certainly nervous and unsure exactly how this will change things, particularly in our ability to run our household and most importantly, to see each other.

I also start a new rotation tomorrow in the surgical intensive care unit. I am a little intimidated (new rotations always make me nervous). I always feel like a dental imposter in a physician’s world. But I keep muddling through some how.

 

So, I’m going to try to enjoy today as much as possible and not worry about tomorrow (which starts bright and early at 4 am – at least for Abraham).

And thanks to all of your support everyone (including my stealthy readers). I have had a number of people lately tell me that they enjoy reading and to keep writing. I’m glad I’m not just writing to empty space. Feel free to leave a comment every once and awhile! I promise I wont think you are a stalker. Even if you are. Promise. No really. I try not to judge stalkers to harshly. http://www.erinsheffield.blogspot.com/2012/06/my-husband-is-japanese-celebrity.html

 

And a few pics for your viewing enjoyment

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This is as close as I had to the first important June 30 in my life

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A little later, probably 25 years ago today

 

Happy Birthday Amber!

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Can you tell “which is which?” That’s what people always say, but shouldn’t it be “Who (or whom?) is who (or whom)?”

Sunday, June 24, 2012

I’m a Mormon


We’ve been talking at work about how “Mormon-y” people are. In my program, 7 out of 11 residents this past year were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or LDS as we prefer to be called). This brings up a lot of questions and discussion.
Here is my take on it. If you had to put people on a spectrum of 1-10 of Mormon-y-ness (making up new words as we go here), 1 would be what you call a “Jack Mormon” and 10 would be a “Peter Priesthood” or his wife “Molly Mormon.”
Are you confused yet?
Essentially Jack is the smoking, drinking, coffee- loving friend you never knew was Mormon. But he probably has some deep Mormon roots that he can’t quite shake. And Peter and Molly are probably the nicest people you ever met. Their favorite movie would probably be “Up” or “The Lion King” and probably can be found using phrases like “Oh Diggily” instead of your common swear. He is the Mr. Flanders (of Simpson’s fame) of the Mormon world.
Of course I am making generalizations here and I’m sure every Mormon would have alterations to their scale but this is my blog so this is my take.
Where do I fit in? There is another clarification of the scale and that has to do with cultural Mormon-y-ness and spiritual Mormon-y-ness. As far as my spirituality goes, I feel very strongly Mormon. Culturally I’d say I am lower down the scale. Here is why:

Did you ever wonder how Mormon’s seem to have a sixth sense about others who are also Mormon? Have you wondered how they know?
There are definitely clues. If you’ve been around them enough, maybe you’ve started to pick up on them yourself. But there are definitely hooks you can send out without pulling the blatant (and sometimes offensive if you are wrong) “Are you a Mormon?” question. 
Here are some of the top clues you are talking to a Mormon:
--They are from Utah, Idaho, Nevada, or Arizona; they “lived” somewhere for “2 years” (hint LDS mission); they went to school “in Utah” or you know you are probably in if they say “BYU;” they seem very young and are married and may or may not have multiple children; they are becoming a dentist or physician (ok not really but this seems really common!); “Oh no, I don’t drink…coffee, tea, alcohol (or sometimes coke);” long shorts and sleeved shirts during the summer on women or especially if you have a sleeved, backed, knee length dress (maybe awkward use of a shawl or undershirt) at a formal event. Another dead give-away would be a “CTR” ring which stands for “Choose The Right.” They seem to have an unusual number of contacts in a new place (it’s a very small world when you are Mormon).
Other give-aways could be as simple as the name. Hyrum, Brigham, Ammon, McKay, Heber. All good Mormon names you don’t hear much otherwise.
And this is why I feel I am more like a 4-5. I go under the radar. Perhaps the biggest reason I am undetectable is because I am a woman close to the age of 30 without kids, pursuing a demanding career.
I also sometimes find pleasure in swearing (although only a few that I’d call “gateway swears,” nothing too “hardcore”). I don’t always enjoy church. I would like to dye my hair bright cherry red. I don’t think reading the scriptures is fun (although it can be uplifting). And I can’t name every rated R movie I’ve seen on one hand (maybe two?).
How strong is your Mormon Radar? Any clues I missed? By the way, this list doesn't include the "Utah Mormon" traits which are something more to talk about. Maybe another day?

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

My husband is a Japanese Celebrity

Remember my last post…(of course you do since it was so unforgettable!)? I promised to give some follow up on Abe’ Japanese stalker.

Maybe stalker is a little harsh. Maybe admirer would be a better word choice. But as a wife this seemed a little strange. This is my interpretation at least…

 

Abe was in a store at the airport after checking in for his flight home. He was greeted by a cute Japanese woman in an airline uniform. “Are you Mr. Abraham?”

Abe said yes, thinking maybe they were asking him to go to the gate early since he’d been selected for a pre-board screening.

“Do you remember me?” Abe said he was puzzled, wondering if maybe he knew her from before when he lived in Japan. And then he realized, no.

“Yes, you checked me in when we arrived at the airport.”

She confirmed this, then asked for his picture, if she could add him as a facebook friend and then gave his brother her card to give to Abe.

I’m not sure her motives but as a jealous wife it seemed a little stalkerish to me.

 

 

And here is where I admit I know a little about stalking myself. Not only have I seen a large number of crime dramas on TV (where stalking is a hot topic), but I was also a desperate teenage girl once with stalker tendencies. (Hopefully I’m not the only!) Luckily, I was able to use these skills to good use by using the wonders of Facebook and its total lack of privacy to find this picture.

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I feel a little crooked posting this but I think when she added Abe as a friend I got permission to do some stalking myself. And I think she looks really sweet and nice. So maybe she isn’t a stalker, after all.

And I can’t blame her for wanting to be friends with Abe. It seems most people do.

But I may continue to do a little stalking myself, just to be sure…

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Konnichiwa

Abe went to Japan with his brothers for a graduation trip. I had to work. I was very jealous of some of the cool things they got to experience in Japan…

Japanese temples

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Japanese cartoon characters

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Japanese food

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Bullet trains

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Feeling like celebrities (being asked for autographs and to take pictures with strangers)

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Real Japanese Futons (they really do sleep on the floor)

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Japanese baseball fans (Hiroshima Carp)

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But there were a few things I wasn’t quite so sure about…

I might get lost looking for the bathroom (and this makes me feel a little bad as a woman—do we really look like that?)

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(Or wish I had)

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Abe’s Japanese stalker

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Raw horse meat (can’t knock it until you try it, I guess though)

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Tsunami devastation

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Public baths (glad it was men only and that Abe’s stalker hadn’t found him yet)

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Japanese dessert

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But mostly just this…

 

I’m glad he’s home, I was so glad to say Konnichiwa after 10 longs days without him.