workin' 9 to 5

You know it's been ridiculously hot when you look on weather.com and feel overjoyed to see that the temperature will be 88 degrees...it's been super hot here, but today we got a slight break. Yesterday I was able to finally get my MSKCC ID, and since there's a shuttle from the main hospital at 68th (where I got my ID) to the Rockefeller Outpatient Center at 53rd (and the Counseling Center is at 54th), I decided to take the shuttle to work. Bad idea. We were informed there was no a/c on the shuttle, and it ended up taking a half an hour to go 15 blocks, since it was morning rush hour. It was excruciating, let me tell you. I met with my supervisor, and any nerves I had about being at MSKCC were alleviated, because our meeting was wonderful. We talked about all the research she's doing, funding disparities among types of cancer, fertility and cancer, plans for next year, and various people in the cancer advocacy community we both knew (the world of cancer tends to be small, as I am finding out!). I am working on several studies, and will have the opportunity to speak with patients about their cancer experience. Basically, anything I can think of, is most likely possible here. I feel like the resources are unlimited and the opportunities are endless. I'm like a kid in a candy store, and can't wait to dive in. 

Right now I'm doing a literature review on psychosexual issues among survivors of childhood cancer, and though I spent hours reading and researching today and my brain is spent, I am incredibly happy with what I'm doing. There's just so much to learn, and still so much more to be explored. 

Living on the Upper East Side is pretty good. My neighborhood is cute, relatively calm compared to downtown, and my living situation is pretty much like a dorm. My roommate, Jessica, is a college senior who is interning as a wedding planner, and she's incredibly nice. She's originally from TX, and Regina - she loves Paula Deen! In some ways, I feel like I've regressed back to my undergrad years - think about your college dorm experience, and that's how this is, complete with communal bathrooms and shower cubicles, etc. I haven't lived in a dorm since 2000, so this is a fun little flashback for me. Everyone on my floor seems pretty nice, although people pretty much stay to themselves. 

Being back in NY is good, and although I was apprehensive about returning after being in Chapel Hill for a year, where people actually have manners and thank you for holding the door for them and strike up conversations with you in line, I've found that many people here are very responsive to kindness. They might not initially smile at you or start a conversation, but if you hold the door for them or wish them a good day, you'll get a smile and a "thank you" in return, and they somehow open up a little more. It makes the city a little less robotic and a little more personal. 

"Although the world is very full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it." - Helen Keller