Since my last entry, I

attended the Mets game, though I didn’t stay for the entire event as I wanted to be rested for my interview today. I attended the game for free because I was the guest of the doctor for the people attending the game. (Emergency residents at one of the teaching hospitals in New York City can volunteer—well, actually, they get paid in educational funds—to attend the game to triage medical problems: Should the unwell person stay or should s/he go?) Thus, in addition to getting free food and sitting in great seats (behind home plate on a lower deck), I got to see him work (which actually isn’t that exciting for me, but still interesting in a “I’m proud of you” sort of way). He did get pulled from the game (at least) twice (when the Nationals gained six runs over the Mets…), much to his dismay.

Quite possibly the most interesting thing about the game was observing New York customs and practices… and listening to these people talk. Most of us on the West Coast say “hot dogs” like “hought dogs”. In Queens, people say “hoo-ought do-awgs”. They too-aulk about coo-aw-fee and bee-eer lu-ike such. It sounds wonderful. In fact, my own West Coast accent now sounds particularly out of place, since I’m not adding inflections to my consonants and lengthening my vowels. I’m sure a linguist could explain this better.

dreamed about lindy hop. I have come down with something (or maybe it’s just allergic rhinitis; I don’t know) and could probably benefit from sleeping more. I hope to go swing dancing on Thursday night, though I don’t know if my health will permit this (which really means “I don’t know if I want to go dancing when I’m doing a lot of mouth breathing and snorting”).

ate a cheap breakfast. I bought one banana and one bagel for a total of $0.85. This is the cheapest meal I’ve had all year. It was a good bagel, too.

attended my third interview. “Fit” is an interesting thing. It’s like chemistry. I had a lot of time to think about my perceptions of “fit” on the subway. An analogy: Your friend suggests that you and another friend would make a great couple and suggests that you two go out. You do, and though you find this other person smart, nice, funny, etc. etc. etc., there just isn’t anything there. Friendship, indeed, but nothing more.

That’s what happened today. It’s a great program with a strong dedication to and many opportunities for education… but I just wasn’t feeling it. I just didn’t feel comfortable—and not in a “bad” way; it just didn’t seem like the program for me. (In an era of “evidence-based medicine”, I am trying to apply objective measures to this decision. This is easier said than done. I’d like to think that one cannot completely ignore The Gut, either.) There are other aspects of the program that also make me less inclined to go there, which, of course, may be contributing to my lack of enthusiasm for this program.

Before I left, they told me that they like me and, if another program offered me a position, to let them know so they could “woo” (their word, not mine) me. It’s nice to be wanted.

One of the things that my friends here in New York City have consistently said is that this city attracts hedonists and, as a corollary to that, is remarkably fluid in its social network. People indulge in “sex, drugs, and rock and roll” in transient relationships that can last for only a few hours.

“People here are more sexually curious than they are intellectually curious,” one friend remarked. “I’ve found that disappointing.” Another friend agreed with this assessment when I presented this idea independently.

Perhaps the beauty of New York is that it has the ability to be anything you want it to be. When I think about my (potential) future in New York, I think about running through Central Park, lindy hopping at a ballroom (or is it a club?), visiting museums, eating at a lot of “hole in the wall” restaurants, wandering the different neighborhoods with friends, participating in ethnic and social justice activities, attending readings and other bookish sort of pursuits, and exploring the region for underrated gems. Other similar opportunities will certainly present themselves and though unknown to me now, I am eager to see what they are and how I may learn from them.

The city is still overwhelming. And now I’m halfway through my interviews.