the ups and downs, and portland

Hello again,  I have been drowning with work lately and have had little time for any other activity.  Twelve hour shifts three days a week sounds like a pretty good deal most of the time, but sometimes it spaces out wrong and you end up working six twelves in eight days and you want to fall asleep on the floor without even taking off your nasty scrubs.  Lucky for me I have crossed that off my calender and have four cloudy stormy days spread out before me with no obligations except spin classes with Renae and whipping up a few new recipes.  Now that's how life should be! I am nearing the end of my time at the hospital, and as my sister reminded me, I only have nine more shifts to work for the next two years!  Scary and exciting to think about!  Let's get those financial aid checks in the mail please and set me on the road to piles of debt!  I am hoping to secure a rather competitive scholarship if I can.  The odds are long, as with most things involved in the entire PA school process, but you can't get there if you never try.  The scholarship is from the National Health Service Corps, and awards the recipient with full tuition for two years as well as a monthly living stipend while in school.  In exchange, you are obligated to practice medicine for two years in a medically under served area or population.  This would work out perfectly for me, as I want to work in those areas already!  Clearly this opportunity is the holy grail of financial options, but even if I don't get the scholarship they have a loan repayment option after graduating that is pretty similar and would be extremely beneficial as well.  In fact, my dad knows the benefits all too well as he had his loans repaid while working his first and only position as a PA at Min No Aya Win Human Services with Native Americans in the Fond du Lac tribe.  I have high hopes of following the great examples my dad has shown me in his practices!  In any case, mulling over financial possibilities and looking for apartments are the things I have been squeezing into my day, and probably doesn't make for the most entertaining post.  I was looking for a picture of the dogs to send to a rental management place in Portland (who require a dog interview in person.. or in dog I guess? either way it's weird to me), and I realized I still have pictures from our p-town trip in January to share!  So here you go, you can join me in my all-portland-all-the-time mentality for a few moments:

 JP and I before heading out to the meet and greet the night before the interview.  Props go to Renae for helping me figure out my outfit, Joe for loaning JP a shirt at the last minute and Em for her fancy grown up jacket!

 I kind of look like a bug in this picture, but this is me in my fancy suit right after the interview, pre-mimosa time/ lobster roll eating/ napping celebration!

Shots of the amazingly amazing pulled pork that Emily made us.  Ohhhh my word it was so good.  I even had some the next morning for breakfast before heading to the ice rink!

JP getting in the the cooking action, making some shrimp as a side to the pulled pork.  Yes, we Walshes sure know how to take down (or as Joe would day, "house") a good meal.  With our limited time in the state, we basically made everything we were craving, and jammed them into meals that might not make the most sense.. but were delicious!

And what sort of Walsh gathering would it be without games?  We played some ping-pong at a local dive bar to end the night. Can't wait to move there!