Our final week in Boston was a whirlwind of trying to divide our worldly possessions in preparation for moving to opposite ends of the country. Having lived in Boston for 12 years, we had packed our tiny apartment to the brink, yielding more than 100 boxes at final count. Fortunately, the sturdy, foldable boxes used in the operating suites at work were the perfect size, although it was exhausting smuggling these babies home each day aboard the shuttle bus. Perhaps the most important accomplishment this week, however, was coordinating the final closing for our home loan refinance, ending a 6 month struggle amidst countless administrative red tape and paperwork snafus with both Wells Fargo and Washington Trust. We got the lawyer to meet us at Melody’s office in the middle of clinic Friday afternoon a week before we left. Yesterday, my moving pod was delivered, and between me, my wife, and a few good friends, we loaded all my stuff into an 8ft x 7ft x 6ft box. We celebrated the accomplishment at Zaftig’s, where we dined on grilled reuben and beef tongue sandwiches with a quart of cold beet borscht. Despite the mental and physical drain of moving, we still managed to finish yet another of Drake’s cinematic adventures, and begin embarking on the final chapter of the Mass Effect trilogy. Playing as a female Shepard this time, we found ourselves trying harder to prove ourselves, choosing harsher dialogue options and making tougher decisions. The superior voice-acting was refreshing, not to mention getting to kindle a lesbian relationship aboard the Normandy. As we prepare for the reaper invasion and impending departure from Boston in 2 days, we wave goodbye to old friends and prepare for the storm ahead.

My final vacation week of residency, probably my last vacation for the next 2 years, was spent at home as a “staycation.” Although intended initially to tackle the pile of errands I had accumulated while traveling in India, much of my time ended up being devoted to creating the senior skit – which I once again was suckered into doing. Compared with our junior skit 2 years ago, the endeavor was more challenging this time as most of my co-residents were out of town. But alas, my compulsive personality trumped my better judgment, and I spent yet another 50+ hours editing the video to split-second perfection. Our theme this year was an instructional video for senior rotations like the Togus VA and India blocks. Fortunately, my week off gave me plenty of time to have the video ready for graduation on Friday. Although it was somewhat anti-climactic to have commencement 4 weeks before the actual end of residency, it was nice to have my wife and parents by my side to enjoy our video masterpiece, meet my attendings, and dine in style at the Fairmont Copley. Despite the busy week, I did manage to unload a bunch of stuff in the apartment on Ebay and Craigslist, as well as finally finding some tenants for our apartment. Having already mentally checked-out of work, I plan to spend the rest of the month playing Uncharted 3 and, more importantly, preparing for our big move from Boston.