Match! prequel part II

So I am back to tell the tale of the events leading up to the match.

My third away or "audition" rotation was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. This is truly a remarkable institution. I was in awe when I first set foot inside its walls. There is an overwhelming sense of healing and you feel just being inside will help. They have enormous statues of Hippocrates and other early healers inside the building, and other impressive art work and architecture. There was a grand piano with a brilliant musician playing the most beautiful notes in the foyer, its music echoing majestically through the halls. I had a strong impression on the first day that if things could somehow work out for me to be here, it would be amazing! As you know, Mayo Clinic is very respected and ULTRA competitive to get into. I knew I'd have to perform my best everyday to have a shot at getting a position for residency. So you can understand that I was thrilled when they offered me an interview. I was even more encouraged after I finished the rotation and a couple of doctors I worked with made comments on my evaluation saying they should RECRUIT me as a resident. I left Rochester with a very good taste in my mouth and it no doubt was going to be ranked number #1 on my list. Now I must say that the city of Rochester is really not that exciting. Makenna and I were not looking forward to living in -35 degree weather and 8 months winter. But we were willing to overlook it because of the type of experience I felt I would have and the doors and opportunities having graduated from Mayo Clinic would open. I also met a lot of great people and church members up there I felt would be fun to get to know. There are several members in Rochester. The closest Temple is in Minneapolis, about 90 minutes away.

Makenna met me in Chicago two weeks into the rotation (a 6 hr drive for both of us) and we enjoyed an incredibly fun (and romatic) weekend in the windy city. We toured the Willis tower(formerly Sears tower), window shopped on Michigan avenue(the Magnificent Mile), explored an old gothic graveyard and Millenium park, drove by the United Airlines center(where the chicago bulls play), devoured a delicious greek dinner in greek town, and finished the evening walking along the navy pier while enjoying ice cream. We stayed at a Fairfield Marriot that ended up being nearly across the street from the Chicago Temple. On Sunday, we went to a sacrament meeting in Glenview before saying goodbye again for two more weeks. I need to thank Makenna and admire her courage for being so brave staying alone in Columbus where she had no family and only a few friends for 3 months while I did these audition rotations.

Makenna flew back to Rochester after I finished the rotation and I took her on a tour of the clinic(it really is tour worthy), the town, and introduced her to the Hursts(another PM&R resident at Mayo) before driving to Milwaukee to spend the night with my brother Brad. He was a great host and we enjoyed going to a tasty Indian restaurant and watching toy story 3 with him that night and then had delicious breakfast in the morning before driving back to Columbus all day Sunday.