And so it ends ...

... for now. I'm ready for it to end, at least. Heard back from the rest of the schools, and no big surprises -- accepted at UCLA, waitlisted at Penn.

Ahhhhh ... (big sigh)

I had a great time in New York City on Sunday. First went to visit Jason at his church in Harlem (New Songs Presbyterian Church), then met up with John for lunch and a tour of Columbia. Very nice all around. John has an amazing view of the Hudson from his room in Bard Tower. I think he felt his experience there had been worth it. Ups: met--and learned to deal with--people very different from himself, made great lifelong friends, loved taking advantage of all the cultural opportunities in NYC. Downs: inconvenience of public transportation (his single biggest complaint), less time to take electives than at other schools that have an extra semester of clinicals.

I rode the A train back down to midtown around 4 pm & met up w/Jason and friends from Brown at his friend Gloria's apartment. There's a world of difference between girls' and guys' apartments. Gloria, I believe, lives in the vicinity of my sister's friend WIll's old apartment, which moiji & I visited 2 summers ago. Similar size/style apartments, but what a world of difference between the two. I still remember the dust kitties lurking in the corner of Will's kitchen (which he *claimed* to have cleaned). Gloria's apartment was extremely comfy & cozy, with 2 sleep-inducing oversized couches in the living room. The bathroom, too, was well-coordinated. She (or one of her roommates) even had a little panda face magnet on the mirror that held her toothbrush in its mouth (so cute!). Gloria gave me a big bowl of mint-M&M-chocolate chip ice cream while Jason & I decided what to do to kill time until dinner. We settled on the newly-opened Trader Joe's in Union Square. It was just like the NYTimes article said -- long lines to get into the store and check out. But the line moved quickly, and we got to pick up some goodies. Oh, and our cashier was a Mena Suvari lookalike.

Then Jason got on the phone w/Grace, who was supposed to meet us for dinner. To get out of the cold, we stepped into a store--the Virgin megastore, of all places. Great place to have a conversation -- music was pulsating from the speakers -- but I wasn't surprised. You just know you're going to end up in some slightly ridiculous situation like that when hanging out w/Jason. It's inevitable, really. ::rolls eyes:: Anyway, Grace got stuck at work, so we (after some deliberation, involving Jason going over the endless possibilities in his mind) went to a little Israeli joint by his office in Soho, where we got the Egyptian HooMoos (NOT hummus) with fresh toasty pitas, falafel, and eggplant salad/baba ganoush. It was muy yum.

I missed the 8 o'clock NJ Transit, so we headed to Grace's place, who was home by that time, to wait for the 9 o'clock. By the time I got on the train, I was exhausted from a long--but fun--day. Who says New Yorkers aren't friendly?

I might be looking at more days like it. Though it could definitely change, my current rank list of schools:

1. Columbia (so long as their fin aid package doesn't leave too much to be desired)
2. UCLA (a close second -- however, the average age of my classmates will be 22, vs. 24 at Columbia. Also, do I want to be in California for the foreseeable future?)
3. Baylor (Texas?)

Last Thursday was also Match Day, the 3rd Thursday in March when 4th-year med students find out where they're going for residency next year. You can (roughly) tell where a school's students tend to end up, geographically & program-wise, from its match list. All 3 schools I'm considering have great match lists, but predictably, the New Yorkers gravitate to the Northeast, the Bruins to California, and the Texans to Texas (duh). I dunno.

With the end of a quest that began almost a year ago, I felt kind of empty when I came home tonight. That and the fact that I was starving -- like ravenous w/hunger. I settled that part by consuming a bag of chips, orange juice, and a brownie. But in terms of the greater existentialist hunger, I felt a bit like the line in Nick Lachey's new song "What's Left of Me":

"Now I'm broken / And I'm faded / I'm half the man I thought I would be."

Okay, I've been listening to way too much Top 40 lately.

All I know is that, in 4 years, I hope I can say more than that I matched into such-and-such a residency, however great it may be. The sky's the limit, really, but to have touched another life, and gained some greater insight into the human condition along the way -- can you really ask for more?