Fruitless

This is a hard topic to write about. Mostly because after 10 years, we still don't have a job.

About a year ago, I started hounding my husband, asking him over and over when we were supposed to start looking for a job. He talked to a few people in Milwaukee, who all said we should start looking after we start fellowship. So, in August, I started checking radiology job boards 2 or 3 times a day, looking for interventional radiology jobs in areas we would like to live. Pretty much, we want to live in the West...Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Wyoming. We would even consider Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. And if desperate, Nevada and California. We haven't been too interested in being farther east, since we love the mountains and would like to be closer to family.

I even spent about 2 weeks cold-calling radiology groups in those states, asking if they knew about their upcoming radiology needs. Pretty much everyone said they didn't plan to hire.

So I searched the job boards harder. We applied in Hawaii, Arizona, Oregon, and Colorado, and got a few phone interviews. But with no result. They either haven't gotten back with us, or we realized they wouldn't be a good fit.

Paul wants to spend 60-70% of his time doing interventional radiology (IR), which is a completely different beast from general diagnostic radiology. And some of the places he talked with could only promise about 30% IR. Maybe some day he will want to tone his work-load down and do more diagnostic work, but not his first year out of fellowship. These first few years are really the time in which he will hone his IR skills, so he wants to do as much as possible.

Then over Christmas, the perfect job came on the market. Kalispell, Montana. I know that may not sound like heaven to everyone out there, but image living at the base of Glacier National Park. (I was going to insert some pictures of Kalispell, but there were too many good ones to choose from, so google it.)  The town is small, yet because of its remoteness and proximity to Glacier, it surprisingly has lots of amenities. Paul had a great phone interview, 90 minutes long. The job was perfect. Just what he was looking for, twice the vacation time everyone else offers, and more pay than we had expected. We hoped and prayed that no one else wanted to live in paradise.

Two weeks passed, and nothing. Finally we emailed, just to see if they were even still considering him. Gratefully, he is 1 of 5 that they are considering, but they are giving preference to doctors with a little more experience and who have ties to the area. So...we are probably 5th on that list.

To say the least, we have been deflated. To have had the perfect job in our grasp and to lose it. Technically, they might still contact us, but who would ever pass up such a perfect spot?

So now, I continue to trudge through the job boards daily, now applying pretty much anywhere in the country because we are at the point that we just need a stinking job! Even after spending an evening with friends who were telling us all about their great radiology experience with a group in Tulsa that they loved, it was hard to be excited about it, knowing it can never quite match Kalispell in sheer awesomeness.

We have realized that we will likely have to settle for something not-so-awesome. I'm sure we will learn to love any place, like Lubbock and Milwaukee. But now that we finally have a say in where we get to live, I wanted to actually WANT to live there.

At least he has in-person interviews set-up in Tulsa, OK and Richmond, VA...both okay places, but not ideal.

I'm still trying to figure out what I've learned, if anything, from all of this.

I wish we would have started looking 6 months earlier.

I wish we would have contacted groups in cities we were interested in sooner, and 'courted' them a little.

I wish more people needed to hire interventionalists this year.

I wish we had a job.

An extraordinary man

Last night I picked Paul up from the airport after a 3-day Y-90 seminar in San Diego. We went to a new (delicious) Indian restaurant, and I asked how the seminar went - if he felt it helpful, how he would be able to apply it to his work, etc. He started to explain to me what Y-90 actually is, how it works, and how he uses it to help people with liver cancer and other ailments. As he excitedly explained it to me, and showed me a new app that helps him properly determine dosage for his patients, I was suddenly reminded of how smart my husband is. He has spent the last 10 years of his life attaining a very specific skill set of knowledge. He actually understands the science behind radiation treatments, MRI technology, the inner workings of the human body, and can look at white/gray/black images and tell you what is the matter with somebody.

I was reminded of when I met him at BYU, back in 2004. I remember one of the first times talking with him, I told him I was a humanities major with an English emphasis. He opened a discussion on classic literature, and I quickly realized that the astrophysics major, math minor, pre-med guy in front of me was more well-read than I was! It was intimidating at first, but I soon fell in love with him and admired his great brain.

That admiration came rushing back to me last night as he sat across the table, attempting to explain a very complicated topic to his not-so-scientifically-minded-wife. I realized that through this decade-long medical journey we have been taking, he really has become expert at something. I sometimes forget, in the busy-ness that is my life of homeschooling, housework, and kids, that he almost lives another life at the hospital. For Hippa reasons, I never am able to see him at work, so it is sometimes even hard for me to imagine how he actually spends 60 hours every week. I sat there in awe of this extraordinary man who has worked so hard to learn something he loves.

Now, I don't write all this to brag about him, although I do think he's pretty great. I write to remind myself, and anyone else who might be reading, to stop for a minute. Take a look around at the people closest to you. At the people who you see day in and out, who you are with so much that you aren't able to see the changes happening in them. At those who you may take for granted. At someone you might not even take into consideration. At yourself. Take a second look at them and see something extraordinary in them. What makes them stand out to you? What makes them special? I know you’ll find something. I know it will be there. It is in all of us.

California vacation!

Ever since Paul started residency, we have been saving up vacation. He has 15 days vacation during the year, and in the first 6 months, he only took 4 days off. Then we learned that he would also get paternity leave when the baby come...which in the end, meant that in January, February, and March we needed to take 9 days vacation or else he would lose it. 

So one night while tossing and turning in my uncomfortable, pregnant state, I got the idea to surprise Paul with a trip - by ourselves. I knew I couldn't completely surprise him...he would have to know we were going somewhere since I would be asking him to take 5 days off in a row. But I could surprise him with where we were going. At 3 am I planned out a good chunk of the trip, and almost even got out of bed to impulsively buy the plane tickets. But then I remembered that it was 3 am, and, although my idea was good, I had better wait til morning, and make sure that Paul really could get 5 days off in January. 

I picked to go to L.A. This was a little risky - Paul does NOT like huge cities and REALLY hates driving in huge cities. I knew that in order for it to work, I would have to plan things pretty well, and steer clear of bad traffic and super crazy parts of town.

It ended up the perfect vacation...if I do say so myself. We drove to Iowa to drop the kids off at Laura's house, flew out of Des Moines, and off to LA. I kept the destination a secret from him for months - and he only found out while we were were in Iowa when my brother-in-law spilled the beans. At least that gave him time to adjust to the idea of being in Southern California.

We stayed near the 3rd St. Promenade. We tried to get a nice picture, but it was too bright. With jet lag, we woke up really early (even though we slept in according to Wisconsin standards) so we wandered around lots of mornings looking for places to see. We found a shop with hundreds of old Singers as decoration.

And we stayed at a funky art deco hotel right across from the Santa Monica Pier. Yes, we were loving the 55 degree weather and wearing shorts.

We at a lot of good food...we ate way too much on this trip and I'm sure you'll get tired of looking at food pictures. But it really was amazing. This was the best Italian meal of my life.

We went to the Getty Museum, something that has been on my bucket list ever since I was at BYU. It was such an amazing museum. We went one afternoon and spent two hours in one building, and realized we'd have to come back the next day to see the rest. I'm glad my husband loves art too! He was usually moving at a slower pace than me!

View of LA

After our first day at the Getty, we drove through Hollywood (just to say we had been there) and Beverly Hills, to arrive at the Griffith Observatory. It was cool...but Paul being an astronomy undergrad, I think we had higher expectations. The didn't have any of the big telescopes open, so frankly it wasn't that interesting for us, since we had seen a lot of that stuff at BYU. The view of the city was great, we saw Saturn, and could make out the outline of the Hollywood sign - the dang lights were broken so we couldn't really see it.

The next morning, again we woke up before anything was open, so we wandered down the Santa Monica Pier. Too bad I was 6 months pregnant...I would have loved a roller coaster ride or something more exciting than a lot of walking. But we were still happy to be out of the cold Wisconsin winter...we loved checking that the temps were always below 20 degrees while we were gone.

And then back to the Getty...

From there, we left LA, and took the scenic route along the Pacific Coast Highway to Santa Barbara.

Again, amazing Mexican food.

Again, waking up early, so we walked out on the wharf. We loved Santa Barbara. Paul was convinced that we should move there someday, and immediately started looking online at real estate...and immediately got discouraged. So Cal is an expensive place!

We were limited as to what we could do because of my belly, and because SB is pretty laid back, so we took a drive farther up the coast, and then looped around to drive through the hills around SB. We stopped in Solvang...the quirkiest town I've ever seen. It's a little slice of Denmark nestled in the hills. There is even a fountain to the Little Mermaid.

But the Danishes were amazing.

The clouds finally lifted when we got back to Santa Barbara...we checked out the mission...

...and then the courthouse. Awesome views of the city, ocean, and hills. We really were just thinking about Shawn and Gus the whole time, and how none of the show was actually shot in SB. But it was still fun.

On our last morning we went on a very leisurely bike ride up the Cabrillo Bike path. Weird being on a bike that brakes by pedaling backwards...it's been years and it took a while adapting.

And we stopped for a burger, just to say we did. All in all, a relaxing, delicious, much needed trip, which would only have been better if we had another week, and if I weren't pregnant. It's always refreshing to spend so much time with Paul one-on-one. I really believe getaways are the best for marriages!

The girls, meanwhile, had a party with their cousins, which was topped off by Hattie losing her first tooth. We missed it by about 10 hours. There are plenty of more teeth to come!

If you send Paul to Wal-Mart

If you send Paul to Wal-Mart to pick up some pictures, he'll walk past the bananas. Thinking of Niels, he'll gets some.

While in produce he'll see the guacamole. Seeing the guacamole, he will think of chips.

When he sees the chips, they will remind him of white salsa con queso dip. He'll probably grab some. 

After wandering to the chip aisle, he'll spot some Oreos..."For the girls," he'll justify.

Being halfway into the store, he will figure he might as well go all the way to the back to get some yogurt. 

On the way, he'll see some bay leaves...and some fennel seeds too. 

When he picks up the fennel, he'll see a crazy Wal-Mart shopper that he should take a picture of. 

Thinking of pictures will remind him of his original assignment. 

And chances are, when he leaves the stores, he'll won't get celery, which we actually needed.

Our recent adventures: Graduation

Once we returned to Lubbock from Virginia, we quickly packed up the rest of our house. We had slowly been packing over the last two months so that the task was a little less overwhelming. We barely squeezed all our belongings into the 28 foot UHaul, with the help of a local moving company. We could not have done it without them. Paul said, "I can't play Tetris like these guys - they are good!" Just a few hours after we loaded the truck, Paul took off for Dallas where he picked up his dad, and they headed north on the 20-hour drive to Wisconsin. In the meantime the kids and I hung out at our empty house. With only 10 toys to play with, and no furniture except our camping chairs and air mattresses, we tried to get out of the house every day for a bit, spending lots of time at the park and with our friends.

Lots of my friends have had babies recently...Here's Easton at 6 weeks, Niels at three months, and Tanner at 4 weeks. Yup, Niels looks like a monster in comparison.

Anna LOVED her camp chair. She even insisted on napping in it.

Of course the girls enjoyed playing everywhere that they usually weren't allowed.

After unloading our belongs in Milwaukee, Paul and his dad flew back to Texas just in time to attend his hooding ceremony on Saturday. This picture is just after he received his hood - the fabric that is draped around his neck and hanging down his back.

Three generations of Iversons

The girls were really excited for Dad, besides the fact that the ceremony lasted 2 hours. They keep calling him Daddy Doctor. And I can now officially refer them to him any time they whine and complain about something hurting them. I let him deal with all those complaints.

The kids all wanted a turn with Paul's graduation cap

Sunday was the commencement ceremony for the entire Health Sciences Center. So after watching Paul receive his diploma, we watched hundreds of nurses, pharmacists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, etc also receive their degrees. After 3+ hours, we were very glad we had taken the girls to friends house for the afternoon.

Gratefully Niels behaved quite well

On a totally different note, we have always driven past this church in Lubbock and were always amused by their sign. We are still trying to determine what church without religion would be like.

Then of course it was time to leave Lubbock. My friend Cassie threw a goodbye party for us, complete with lots of Blue Bell Ice Cream. I loved Lubbock so much - not because of the wind or the dust or the less-than-beautiful landscape - but I found so many friends there. I was always overwhelmed by people's willingness to love and accept everyone, to welcome each other into their circle of friends. I have never lived in such a friendly place. I was blessed to serve in a wonderful Young Women's presidency for the last two years, making even more friendships and being blessed in so many ways. I am so glad that Lubbock was our home for the last four years and I will truly miss being a Texan.

Me with Tammie Stoker

September birthdays

We missed Paul a lot in September. He would go to El Paso during the week and drive home for the weekends. Anna, being a total Daddy's girl, missed him plenty.

We celebrated Paul's 31st birthday when he was home one weekend. Of course the girls were more excited than anyone.

Hattie gave him a new cycling jersey, which she picked out all by herself. Paul was shocked at the color...not his typical style. But Hattie loves it and at least the cars will see him.

Books and games always make my husband happy.

And just 6 days later is Hattie's birthday. I can't believe she's four.

These little animals from Grandma were an instant favorite.

And, oddly enough, Hattie had been asking for a magnifying glass for months.

And what 4 year old girl will complain about a Strawberry Shortcake remote controlled car?

We had a party with friends to celebrate...Her buddy Juliet has a birthday just a few days later so the party was for both of them.

It was a rainbow/unicorn party.

Giving each kid their own helium balloon was the best idea ever...they loved them.

We made unicorn bags to take their treats home in.

 

Anna needed a little extra help pinning the horn on the unicorn.

And the pinata was certainly a highlight. Not surprisingly, the only 5 year old invited was the one to bust it open.

Anna could only lift the bat by holding it backwards.

And what party is complete without cake!

I love my little Hattie who is growing up so fast. She loves to play with friends. Every day she asks who is coming over to play. And she could spend hours every day at her desk coloring, coloring, gluing, and taping. She is always making books for family and friends. She has also decided that she will be doing her hair from now on, much to my dismay, especially since she does nothing to it and refuses to let me touch it. She is a very good sister to Anna, and is always telling me how she is going to help me with baby brother...changing diapers, giving bottles, and playing with him. She always is singing and making up songs. I think she will have a very beautiful voice as she grows up. She really is growing into a wonderful little girl. Love you Hattie!