Last Test at School!

I have been remiss in writing a blog post, but I’m happy to say that finally our last test at WVU is over and finished! It’s good to know that the only remaining test is the ASCP certification exam. I’m still registered to take it back in Fresno, California six days after the last day of our rotation. I’m feeling confident that I can pass it right now if I were to take it.

This latest test has been good in reminding me certain areas that I should be focusing more time on. I did very well, but I have been neglecting studying forensic pathology and histology/stains. It’s not uncommon for people in this field to focus on one subject to the exclusion of all else. My pathology and anatomy are down pretty well pat.

Still I haven’t heard any word from USCIS and our application for the K-1 visa. It has been over 7 months now which is very unusual to say it lightly. I have called, but the only answer that I get is that the processing center is still very busy and has yet to reach our application. It’s a big kink in our future plans, but I have only one option and that is to wait.

The days in Pittsburgh have been growing colder and colder and for a person who is ill-adjusted to cold weather, many of my conversations with those around me at work are about the harrowing adventures trying to get to work. The weather and the road conditions can play a surprisingly large role in your mood for the rest of the day. In the morning, if the roads are really clogged, then we’ll know that our specimen load is going to be really heavy. Likewise, if there’s little traffic, then the workload for the day will more than likely be lighter. It’s got to be more than just a coincidence.

With only two more weeks to go it has come time to pack up some of our belongings and get organized for our last big move of the year. We are giving away or throwing out furniture that we will no longer need. I plan on going to Goodwill and seeing how much from us that they will take.

I’ll try and get some good pictures of our graduation ceremony and convocation brunch for your viewing pleasure. It’s all coming to a finale!

One Year Ago

I can still remember how life was just one year ago. Finals were coming up and I was studying furiously while trying to juggle future living arrangements for Pittsburgh. Stress levels were high and I couldn’t wait to put down the books for once and use my hands. So how does life during the first year compare with this year?

   

I can say on behalf of all my classmates that not having three tests every week was a very welcome change. Whereas before I would spend a number of hours every day studying, this year I study according to my own schedule. For self-motivated students, being able to study when you want provides convenience and comfort. I can remember last year before many tests I would try and find a good studying spot. Many times that meant that I had to get bundled up in heavy winter clothes and brave the elements by walking to school or hopping onto the PRT to get to the library. This was all while freezing rain or snow was pelting my umbrella and body. I had to keep myself moving before the biting winds of the arctic tundra froze me in place. Now, our once monthly tests feel like a divine respite. With fewer tests we are at our leisure to study an hour here and there for the first and second weeks and then we ramp up our studying as the test date nears. It feels like a steady jog rather than an all-out long distance sprint. Stress from tests has definitely decreased during this second year compared to our first.

There are some other stresses that fill the stress meter, but they generally aren’t to the same degree as last year. There are times where work can be stressful such as when you are bombarded with specimens and you are rushing to complete them all on time before they have to go on the processors. But, generally, the stresses encountered at work can be left behind at work. At home, it is great to not have to worry about what may happen the next day until the next day actually arrives. Like in my first year, when I had one test coming up on Thursday and another test coming up on Friday, there was no way to truly relax from Monday to Wednesday, even at home.

This year, moving around from town to town was admittedly a bit of a pain, but after one day of packing and one day of settling in life would resume as normal. This year I moved a total of seven times between Morgantown, Pittsburgh and Charleston. That was more moves than all of my previous life. But, as I said before, once you have your place of stay all planned out, the moving step itself is not too troublesome. I knew that I’d be moving a lot so I purposefully packed light and all of my possessions can fit into two suitcases and a backpack.

Speaking of moving, one of the more stressful parts of last year was trying to find a place to stay in Pittsburgh. Each location has their own strengths and weaknesses whether they are related to price, distance from rotation sites, local crime, access to supermarkets and so forth. I was fortunate to be able to move together with a classmate to share the burden of rent and utilities. We decided on a place just outside of the downtown area and just west of the river. Our apartment complex has a couple of good things going for it. The price is relatively cheap compared to living downtown ($695 rent + utilities with free heating), there are supermarkets located nearby and the neighborhood is low crime. Commuting is a bit difficult for getting to Shadyside, but the other rotation sites are accessible. As I’ve mentioned earlier, I don’t drive in Pittsburgh so I carpool with my classmate and we save money by paying half and half for gas.

As the year has gone on, I have admittedly been feeling the pinch of tightening money supply. Debt only builds up the longer that one is in this program, so by the end, I have found myself doing silly things to save money. If there is free food offered at a conference for example I will fill my plate up as much as possible to save money on dinner. The bus system in Pittsburgh is unfortunately very expensive and so I don’t take trips to downtown, even though I would like to explore it. There is a great supermarket called Aldi’s where I go to buy groceries, even though it is farther away than the more convenient Giant Eagle. Admittedly, I do go to the occasional restaurant, but only for cheap buffets where I can eat a whole day’s worth of food in one meal. When new clothes are needed, Gabriel Brothers and sometimes K-Mart  are cheap places to go and shop. It’s necessary to micromanage your finances to alleviate the cost of living as the year progresses.

The amount of free time for relaxation and recreation that I’ve had this year has varied depending on each rotation site. On average, I would come home at around 5:00 PM and have the rest of the evening to do as I please. During the first year, classes may have sometimes finished by 2:00 PM or 3:00 PM, but with the amount of studying done after school the amount of time for relaxing was actually less than this year. This year, on some of my longer rotation sites when I came home at 6:30 PM or so I’d be too tired to do much so I would just make dinner, take a shower and head to bed. Still, in general I’ve had more time to relax and take life easier this year than last year.

Compared to last year, of course, I’ve become much more competent as a future pathologists’ assistant. The movements of grossing have almost become second nature, now. One interesting thing that I’ve noticed is that I’ve become much more ambidextrous than at any other time in my life. For example, I used to only be comfortable holding a scalpel and forceps in my left hand, but now, it’s just more convenient to work with a scalpel in my left and forceps in my right. Sometimes I even work with a scalpel in my right and forceps in my left. There has been a kind of rewiring in my brain such that the tools that I use are becoming extensions of my fingers. I’m sure that everyone else in my cohort is experiencing something similar.

A lot has happened this past year, but with good planning everything has gone relatively well without any major problems. Enjoying the second year in PA school isn’t hard to do. All it takes is to try your best at work, learn as much as you can from your PA mentors, don’t bring home with you stress from work and do some logistical planning in finding living arrangements. One year ago things were looking up, and I’m happy to say that things are still looking up.

Bureaucracy...

...if studying for the final fate-defining ASCP certification exam wasn't stressful enough, you can always count on our love for bureaucracy to make sure those catecholamines stay pumping. Lately, I've been stressed, not so much from studying, but because of my frustrations with paperwork and how sluggish some administrations are.

As many of you long time readers may know, for the past year, I have been in the process of getting Hanako's K1 visa requirements and forms completed. The K1 visa is required so that we can finally live together and marry after having been separated for more than 2 years. My forms from my initial application are currently being looked over by the Vermont Service Center. In fact, they've been looking them over for more than 6 months. While they look over the forms they perform a number of other different things such as background checks and if further forms are required then they will notify you. The average processing time for this form (I129F) at their facility is 5.6 months, so already our application is taking longer than average. It is frustrating to check on their website everyday only to see that our status is still stuck in the ever unchanging stasis of "Initial Review". I had incorrectly assumed that our application would be completed close to the average time and thus had already bought a plane ticket to go to Japan in December. Our plan was to then come back together on the same flight in mid January while using the K1 visa for her to enter into the US. Then our lives would be grand and you could stamp "happily ever after" at the end of our passports. Returning back together to the US at the same time is important because at the immigration window they are going to be very aggressive (speaking in brusk English) in asking her why she's coming to the US, who she's staying with, where she's staying and so forth. Previously, they were so rude that they brought her to tears. I won't let that happen again if there's anything I can do about it.

It looks like since I can't control how fast the USCIS processes our application, I'm going to have to return to the US in mid January alone and leave her in Japan until they get up to speed. When the application is finally complete, I'll have to fly back to Japan to meet her and then we can come back together as it should be. On top of it all, I get to pay thousands of dollars that I don't have for the pleasure of processing these forms. However, the responsibility is ultimately mine. I was naive to think that an organization of this size would be able to stick to their projected completion times that they publish. A part of me wishes that we could go back to the immigration efficiency once seen at places like Ellis Island.

In an unrelated but similar example of why I can't understand some aspects of bureaucracy is actually one of the requirements of the Pearson Vue testing center. Today, I was glad to receive a letter in the mail from the ASCP saying that I am now eligible to register a date on which I will take the PA certification exam. But, one of the strange things is that the testing center requires that when you go to the exam you must bring with you two IDs, both of which must contain your signature. Most people will use their driver's license for the first, but some people will have a hard time coming up with the second. How many people out there actually have two forms of ID with signatures on them? It makes me wonder if the testing center has had problems in the past with people faking driver's licenses so now they require two forms of identification. Perhaps one state derived ID is insufficient after all. I am fortunate in that I have a passport, but most Americans actually don't have passports. I'm curious as to what other forms of ID have signatures on them.

I had originally planned on taking the ASCP PA Certification Exam here in Pittsburgh before I returned home, but since my passport is back in California I have decided that it would be safer to wait until I got back. I can't risk mailing my passport to here because even if in the remotest chance that it got lost my life would be turned upside down. I certainly wouldn't be able to make it to Japan in time to meet Hanako and her family after all this time and anticipation. "It would be a disappointment" is a very big understatement. Taking the exam in Fresno, CA is no problem for me. It's just that there is a feeling of helplessness in not being able to follow through with the plans that you've already made. So many things are out of our control and we can't decide for ourselves when and where and how to plan for the future. I'm the type of person who avoids problems down the road by planning ahead of time. If there's something that can be done now, then I complete it and get it done. Unfortunately, it seems that no matter how well one plans, life has other plans for you.

That is perhaps the moral lesson of this all. You can't plan for the unexpected. Stay as flexible as possible and don't stress over the wrenches. Stressing never solved any problem. Stepping back I can see how silly this all is, now. I need to stop being so serious.