After a couple of weeks of traveling, Louise and I only have a few more days left until we start our respective new assignments. There is some good news for me in all the new beginnings. While we were driving into Denver on I-70, I got a phone call from an person named Joseph who was interested in having me come and take over his position at a surgical center. He is a surgical tech at a center in West Plains Missouri.
I had applied for this job about 2 weeks ago, so I was excited to see what would come of it. Yesterday, I received a call from the Owner and Chief Opthamalogist of the surgical center. He interviewed me and told me about what I would do as his assistant. Those duties include working with him in eye surgeries (the scalpal and suture kind), take dictation, remove stitches, take eye pressure measurements, and other patient pre-operation work as well as many other jobs.
West Plains is a town of 11,000 people. It is also on the outskirts of Mark Twain National Forest. The doctor I will be working with is the only Opthamalogist within 100 miles, so if there is an eye trauma case that comes in during the middle of the night, I may have to get out of bed to assist.
Louise, meanwhile, will be down in Ruston, LA (about 350 miles away), and will be in the center until she joins me in West Plains. I will have time to visit on weekends every other week (as the doctor works 4 day weeks every other week). We are both very excited about the prospects of personal growth that is in store for us this comming year. I will have some time to really train for a marathon, as well as have plenty of time to interview for Med-school, and work in a fabulous job that will prepare me to become a doctor.
In other news, we are visiting Alyson here in Kansas and having a good time visiting KU, going to the Zoo, and eating really good BBQ. Alyson has been a wonderful hostess.
(1) Wed Jul 27 22:31:41 MST Falling into place:
Today is our last day here at Aly and Dave's. Tonight Alyson made a wonderful pasta dish and Louise was in heaven (I thought it was very good, but for Louise it was ecstacy). Today we spent some time swimming and going to the Arcade to spend Atticus's "reward" money.
Monday I will be headed off to Missouri to start my new job and find a place to stay. It is so increadibly cheap to live there that it seems that I will have no problem getting a good place. We are looking at a 2 bedroom house for about $285/month, or a fully furnished 2 bed apartment for about $375 (including utilities, save electricity). I think of what I paid in California (1200 split between four people) for a small 2 bedroom apartment near Pasadena. We will see how Missouri compares to California though.
(2) Fri Jul 29 20:44:46 MST Leaving Kansas:
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