Moving

Tammy Said:
Up, Out, Forward
As my husband and I drove through the long interstate from Massachusetts, I gazed at the beautiful green mountains of Vermont and I couldn't help but feel butterflies in my stomach.

In our ten years and eight months of being together, Timmy and I have planted our tents in various places. Manila, Newton, Malden, Medford, then our present house here in Arlington (all in the greater Boston area), have been "homes" to us. But, after three (for Timmy) and 2 (for me) years of living in Boston, Timmy and I are moving to Vermont.

The reason for this move (of which I am quite proud of) is that after finishing his residency in Internal Medicine here in Boston, Timmy has been accepted as a Nephrology Fellow at the Fletcher Allen Medical Center - University of Vermont. I am so proud of my husband as this is a very prestigious program and he, at 28, will probably be one of the youngest fellows in the department or even the hospital. He is starting his program on July 1 which means that in approximately two months, we will be moving out of our home and live in the mountains of Burlington, Vt.

The move will be quite a change for both of us. We will be leaving our house, our (few :D) friends, and as for myself, my job. Burlington is a very laid-back city compared to Boston, which is like a mini-NY, but cleaner, and should I say, more "refined?" It is smaller, less populated, and less modern in terms of lifestyle. The "scenes" are mostly concentrated along a short strip called Church Street which is about three blocks of quaint stores and cafes. Although it is a university town, it pales in comparison to the "busyness" of Cambridge. Even how people dress is so different from Boston. Timmy and I probably stood out with our neat and preppy polos and jeans against the sneakers, shirts, and shorts that most of the Vermonters had on.

Burlington, however, can be breathtaking. Strolling along the Lake Champlain boardwalk, you can't help but feel so much peace and serenity seeing the calm waters and the lovely sunset. Don't get me wrong, Arlington has its own Mystic Lake, which is a lovely lake near our house. But there's something different about Lake Champlain that tugs particularly at my heart. Everywhere, you see couples of all ages walking hand-in-hand, pet-owners walking their (very healthy) dogs, and families just lying on the grass and playing with their kids. Seeing all these erased all the uncertainties that I felt about the move. Indeed, Burlington couldn't have come at a better time. Timmy and I will be new parents soon. We are expecting our little bundle of joy at the end of June. At the same time, Timmy and I have recently rediscovered ourselves and are brimming with newfound love and happiness in our lives. This is just the right time for a fresh start.

I once read that moves can only be joy-filled if only we realize that they point toward something. For Timmy and I, this move definitely points towards something, and for us, it's something better.

Timmy Said:
First off, I would like to point out that this was Tammy’s idea. The thought of airing out your feelings and ideas to the world does not appeal to me. Some things should just be kept to yourself. But this is another thing I could do and share with my wife, and that’s something you always have to be excited about. So lets give this “Bloh-ging” (as Ron Burgundy would pronounce “jogging”) a try.

The past three days have been one of the most awesome experiences for me, myself, and our little baby girl. Shockingly, it was the first time Tammy and I had a long drive by our selves. And no, going to Tagaytay does not count. Maybe it was because both of us were brought up by really conservative parents, so we couldn’t really do the things couples do all the time now back home. (On a side note, what’s happening to the Philippines? That’s a whole different topic, to be discussed another day. But for the record, I’m blaming Cosmo, Sex and the City, for all the casual sex going on). Anyway, our trip - Boston to Burlington, VT, 498 miles (800 kilometers), traveled in two days. Compare that to the 250km from Manila to Baguio. The missus and I were debating how much better Vermont was to Baguio, and we decided it was probably Baguio in the 80s-90s times five. I thought it was times ten. Its definitely the Green Mountain State. The whole trip, we listened to and memorized 24 songs, 2 CDs, but it was the conversations that made this probably the shortest and most enjoyable trip I’ve made going to Burlington. I still remember the time I had my interview there, sometime in January 2006. I had call in the Cardiac Care Unit the night before, and woke up at 3AM the next day to drive for an 8 o’clock interview. I was half-asleep the whole drive, and just couldn’t take it anymore, and I slept for an hour in the first rest stop when I passed the NH-VT border. I did well, and I was their first choice. I was actually the first one in our batch to get a fellowship.

Contrary to what Tammy thinks, I think I could have done better. I could blame a lot of things, my being a foreign grad, my being non-white, my not being a US citizen. True, those things made it much more difficult for me to get a fellowship, but the bottom line is I underachieved in my residency program. But that’s not going to happen now in fellowship. It took me more than half a year just to adjust to the culture here. Medical knowledge-wise, it was not a problem. But you have to assert yourself, voice out your opinion, be confident at all times. That’s difficult to do, if you were just trained to get vital signs Q1 (nurse work) and pump ambu-bags (because patients can’t afford mechanical vents) for hours in your fourth year. If you’re quiet here, you’re labeled as stupid. It’s the exact opposite back home, where you’re supposed to be quiet or face the wrath of your senior resident. After breezing through med school at the top of your class, it’s a huge blow to one’s ego to get 2/5 in your evaluations and get laughed at by your attendings for asking stupid questions. Good thing they paid us enough to make it all worth it. Don’t get me wrong, an Internal Medicine residency back home probably is 10 times as worse as this one, with 20 times less the pay. And that’s the main reason I’m here anyway (and why everyone wants to come here also). The system back home is too screwed up. Too many patients, too few doctors, too much work, too little pay, too much seniority, too many attendings full of themselves. That would just be too much for someone forced into being a doctor.

It’s been three years since I’ve left home. It wasn’t as difficult as I’d imagined, since I was roommates with one of the VI-pacs (my high school barkada) for the first two years and with my girl and sister last year. I’ve moved every year I’ve been here though, and it has been really tiring. I’ve actually developed a hernia with all the heavy lifting (I’m having surgery this coming Wednesday). This is where all my farm boys would be helpful, since we’ll be moving again this June. But this is by far the most exciting move, even more exciting than the move to our house last year. Because this time, I’ll be moving with my own family. My wife and our baby girl, into this (hopefully it gets approved) wonderful, brand new luxury apartment in South Burlington, walking distance to the shops and just right beside the gym. It was a really difficult decision not getting one of the other apartments, the loft with a magnificent view of the Winooski River, 26-foot ceiling, huge windows, since it would have fulfilled one of my dreams. But the savings will be going to our baby, so priorities, priorities, priorities. It’s basically the same thing when I decided to get a Corolla instead of an Acura RSX three years ago to help out others (I’ve been trying to get rid of my car since I got it though). I guess both of us are just “realists” instead of “hedonists” (more on that topic in the future).



This morning, after mass, we decided to watch Spider Man 3. In typical Timmy and Tammy fashion, we watched before noon, so the ticket would just be $5 each (usually $7-9). It was just a great date on Mother’s day with the only person I’d like to be the mom of my children. Like I said, it has been one of the greatest, if not the greatest, 3 day spans of my life…our life. In the next few weeks, our little girl will be joining us…and I just can’t imagine her coming at a better time.