Sailing With Destiny

Intern

Whoever came up with the phrase that time flew when you had fun should've added that it went by even quicker when you were busy. The day after I got back from Orlando, I barely had a moment to catch my breath. 

My intern year approached quicker than I liked and I felt nowhere close to getting anything done. I never considered myself as very picky but I certainly felt that way when I couldn't settle on an apartment. 

At the end of the month, I was to start my life as a first-year medical resident in neurology at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical center. The academic hospital was one of the best and situated in the New York metropolitan area. 

I still wasn't keen on driving, I tried but was nowhere near confident enough behind the wheel. With the never-ending traffic and my hesitance to drive, I wanted a place that wasn't too far from the hospital. Since I would work night shifts, Dad and Mitchell insisted I get a place in a good, safe neighborhood but I had a budget to stick to. 

After weeks of visiting different apartments and condos, I finally met the standards of the two over-protective men in my life and signed the lease for a two-bedroom apartment in the Upper Eastside. The rent was over my budget but I'd grown tired of looking around and being lectured about my safety. The main reason I set on it was that the apartment building was only a mere ten-minute drive away from the hospital.

The apartment was certainly an upgrade from the one in Boston. The two-bedroom, two-bathroom residence had stunning open city and river views from the floor-to-ceiling windows. The open-planned, windowed kitchen featured white oak cabinetry and marble countertops with bespoke appliances. The master bedroom faced east with a partial view of the river directly opposite my bed, the room included a walk-in closet that I needed for all my stuff and marble fitted ensuite bathroom. The entire apartment was fitted with Brazilian Afromosia flooring, completed with central air conditioning and heating. 

It took me about three weeks to get the place furnished to my taste and the finishing touches kept me very busy. I had a lot more stuff than I thought because even though I was about to shift in, the spare room still had a lot of my things in boxes. I kept the décor modern and delicate with a feminine touch. 

I hadn't seen Mitchell since my birthday but we spoke daily, I missed him a lot but we were both so busy and caught up with our life that we understood why it was hard to see each other. There were times we argued because of a silly misunderstanding that was just an excuse for us missing each other way too much.

Summer was in full swing and the days were so hot that I missed the colder months. By the time the last week of June arrived, it was time for me to start my residency. The night before, I had dinner at Dad's place but couldn't eat much because of how nervous I was. Dad assured me that I would excel in my chosen field and that he was excited for this new chapter of my life, Carly even called to wish me well for my first day and said she was always available if I ever needed anything. 

I ended the night back at my place with a short call with Mitchell, he was so exhausted that he fell asleep while on the line. I let him be because his days were long and to calm my nerves, I left the phone on speaker and allowed his soft breathing to fill the quiet space. I missed my family and the silence of living alone was something I hadn't grown accustomed to as yet. 

I offered the second bedroom to Wang but he already found a place that was closer to Columbia University where he was about to begin his internship in radiation oncology. I was glad that Wang was nearby because we could've seen each other often but still missed having Faith around. 

Two weeks before my first day at Wein Cornell I attended orientation and it was during that time, I was assigned my team and got to know the ropes of the hospital. Since it was my first year, I was referred to as an intern. The medical residency structure operated on rotations that lasted anywhere between one and eight months. As an intern, my first eight months would be spent in internal medicine inpatient rotations.