We'll leave the light on for you

I've been staying in Motel 6's all across the county and I've got to say that they're all remarkably similar. They all have the cheesy motel6 comforters, thin carpets and lack of any amenities. The only variations that I have seen are the showers (some are tubs, while others are corner showers with showerheads that come out of the middle room and face the corner of the backroom). After staying in motel 6's for the greater part of the month, I must confess that it's become an oddly comforting site. Despite the new locale and the hordes of blond applicants, some things have stayed constant throughout my travels. Thanks motel 6.


Thoughts on Michigan. Once again, Ann Arbor is an awesome place. I was a little annoyed when I walked into a sports bar and they kept calling me sir and didn't check my ID. Anyhow, it was amusing being indoctrinated into the religion of Michigan football. We talked about finding a new coach for 5+ hours. It was madness. Otherwise, the program is hands down the best program in the midwest, possibly the nation. They have a urology powerhouse in terms of faculty, research, patients, etc. It was actually kind of intimidating to see all of the tools at their disposal. I really couldn't find any weaknesses in the program. BLUE, GOLD. sorry, it's catchy.

Next I flew out to San Diego for a Friday interview. Ironically, of all the places I've been to - rochester, michigan, iowa, etc. San Diego had the worst weather. It was pouring all over the place, the wind was out of control. All of the applicants got completely drenched and my hair was crazy when I interviewed. They didn't have a room set aside for the applicants as we waited, so we all huddled under an open shelter outside. We all smelled like wet dogs because of our wet suits. Aside from the weather though, it was a good day. Met a lot of cool/fun people. I felt sorry for the 1 girl there, because it was completely a dude fest - 16 guys, 1 girl. Urology tends to be a little bit like that. UCSD is definitely an up and coming program because of the new chairman and the young vibrant faculty. It's hard not to see oneself being happy in "sunny San Diego." haha.

Anyhow, ma girl flew down for the weekend and we had fun hanging out with her older sister and her boyfriend. We did the sea world thing on Saturday. We had a blast, but it was a really bad idea to go on a ride where you get soaked early in the day. We never dried up and it was unbelievably cold, but I had a blast. It was worth it to see ma girl smile when she fed the dolphins. There was a lot of food involved too. Got some great pho, lots of fish tacos, extraordinary desserts and some spicy ass thai food. I got to cheer for the chargers (football) to boot. The sister/boyfriend are hard-core charger fans - they have season tickets and make us dress up for the games. Next time we're gonna get lighting bolts painted on our foreheads like harry potter for the game.

Time to start studying for the boards, again. Next stop Irvine, then chicago. Gonna go get me some deep dish pizza and some portillo's hot dogs.

-bender