#and i have finished it on my last night of funemployment

[withabackpackandcamera]

Scratching Our Travel Itch During A Global Pandemic - To Alaska We Go in September 2020!

Training in the medical field lasts forever. You go through college and take pre-med courses. Then, you submit applications for and interview for medical schools. After that, you go through four difficult years of learning, studying, memorizing, and practicing medical knowledge and skills. During that last year, you submit another round of applications and go through another round of interviews, after which you land in residency. For me, that was three years of tough work, long hours, and schedule inflexibility. 

Longer-than-normal periods of free time were limited. Three-day weekends weren’t guaranteed. Holidays weren’t guaranteed. Oh, and weekends weren’t guaranteed either. For the most part, my free time was guaranteed to be four weeks a year. I had four weeks of vacation a year. And with a constant itch to get out and see the world, I knew that my two 2-week blocks of vacation time would be my chance to travel during residency. After I finished each pre-vacation hospital rotation, I would go home, pack my black travel backpack and camera bag, hang up my travel outfit on the back of the bedroom door, and do some rough, last minute research before boarding my red-eye or morning flight. I’d fly out, spend 10 to 14 days in some foreign place and then fly back at the very last second so that I could maximize my time abroad. The nights that I would arrive home were always late, short, and tiring, and the next morning would always be a jet-lagged one at work. 

And that is residency travel-itch-scratching in a nutshell. 

As the last year of residency rolled by, I began to slowly work on figuring out my life and job situation post-residency. As I thought through things and looked through different options, I started to latch onto the idea of taking some much-needed time off before starting my life as a boss doctor (i.e. an attending physician). I knew residency would end on June 23rd, 2020, and I knew I needed some dedicated studying time for my ABIM board certification exam. After both were done, I wanted to take my time and just enjoy my freedom before starting work. And luckily, Cynthia was on the same page (and in the same situation: in-between jobs). I threw around the idea of studying abroad (I got this idea from a colleague at work who lived abroad for a couple months last year and while abroad, studied for her exam in the morning and explored and partied in the evenings) but didn’t think I could hold myself accountable to studying while in a foreign place with so much to see and do. So the only alternative was to travel after studying was done. 

Then, the next thought was… where to? I actually never finalized those plans. And good thing I didn’t… because COVID-19 hit. And 2020 was turned upside down. People were sick everywhere. You could no longer visit with close friends and family without second guessing your and their health, let alone board a plane and feel safe flying out to some foreign place across the ocean during a pandemic. Travel was banned throughout the world. Hand sanitizer and toilet paper became best-sellers everywhere. And social distancing became the most popular phrase on the streets. 

Thanks COVID. Thanks. 

With all this happening, my grand plans to travel the world with Cynthia for a month before starting work were crushed in an instant (as were my plans to do an international medical rotation in Uganda in April 2020). There would be no Indonesia. No Bhutan. No Europe. No Central America. Of course this had to happen, right when I had just regained my personal freedom without any lingering responsibilities (i.e. funemployment). 

But we didn’t give up. Our travel itch was that bad. We thought to ourselves… in this COVID-ravaged world, what options did we have? Travel outside of the country was a no-no. Even if we could sneak out of the country with the appropriate COVID testing and precautions, coming back home would be an issue. So, why not travel domestically? The United States is huge and there are so many places we haven’t seen or traveled to. The issue with domestic travel was the restricted experience that we would likely have in the cities we wanted to travel to. No dine-in restaurants, no open museums, no attractions, etc. 

I thought of possibly doing a national parks/natural road trip to have a socially distant and less restrictive experience and hung onto that idea for a little. But then, in comes an Alaska Airlines ad on Facebook. BOGO flights. “Buy One, Get One Free” flights on Alaska Airlines. We’d never been to Alaska before and this deal sounded pretty good and flights could be booked during our free month! We did a quick bit of research into the idea in the 48 hours that the deal lasted and talked to our friend Jackie (who actually was already planning on going to Alaska) and thought to ourselves, why not Alaska?

So we booked our 10-day trip to Alaska! We did some more research, did some planning, and figured out how to get COVID tests in time for our arrival in Alaska given their strict travel protocols and lightly planned a whole trip. We were stoked! The trip was going to be exciting! Not only was I excited to experience the raw nature and fall colors of Alaska, I was also excited to just get out and get away from it all with my partner in crime. Alaska, though part of the United States, was far enough and foreign enough to me that I felt like I was taking a pseudo-international trip. And this option was likely the best we could safely do during a pandemic. 

And just like that, Alaska was on the itinerary. That travel itch would indeed be scratched. And before we knew it, we were on our way to the last frontier!

#huyphan8990 #withabackpackandcamera #travelblog #travel #blog #pandemic #COVID #2020 #Fall #September #Alaska #LastFrontier #Funemployment #medicalprofessionals #pretripthoughts #United States

[racingtoaredlight]

Butters the Greek - Super Bowl LI

After busting out in week, I dunno, four I retreated back into gambling retirement and lived a happier life for a few months. But the desire to be miserable was always calling and there’s nothing a lost wager or nine can do to add any more malaise to things than the new government is already providing. So I tossed a clean $100 into the Bovada account and am ready to get down and dirty once again. For those thinking of following these wagers I’ll just remind you of last year’s carnage and the tragedy that was Super Bowl XLIX.

A quick recap of my last decade of Super Bowl betting going back to when I cashed in a Colts (-6) ticket against the Bears:

Super Bowl XLII: Pats (-14) over the Giants. Never happier to lose a wager, never felt dumber after so completely dismissing the 3 point game the teams had played a month earlier.

Super Bowl XLIII: No wager but would have thrown in on Steelers (-6.5) so bullet dodged.

Super Bowl XLIV: Colts (-7). Was feeling pretty, pretty good at Indy 10-0 but then Pierre Garcon dropped a pass, Hank Baskett dropped an onside kick and Terry Porter did not drop a TAINT.

Super Bowl XLV: Didn’t place an official wager but now that I’m thinking back did win I think $50 from a Steelers fan friend so maybe the losing streak isn’t as pronounced as once thought.

Super Bowl XLVI: This game was played during my funemployment phase and tossing funds into a betting account at the time didn’t seem wise but I loved the Giants in that game and was full of regret when they won.

Super Bowl XLVII: 49ers (-5). I wish they had just kept getting blown out instead of getting my hopes up with their post-blackout comeback.

Super Bowl XLVIII: Thought the Seahawks getting points was money in the bank but somehow convinced myself to just enjoy the game and pull for the Broncos. Rough night all around.

And the links above tell the sad story of the last two years.

So here we are, nearly ten years to the day after my last Super Bowl win and hope is in the air. Of course, this is the year I hope I’m wrong.

Feels like they show his ass all the time during a game making awkward high fives after TDs and sporting his favorite Bill Lumbergh shirt.

Not to speak ill of a former Badger great but it feels like they’ve settled more into a backfield tandem of LeGarrette Blount and Dion Lewis (this is probably where I should have looked up Patriots snap counts to verify this thought, but it’s only $5 and I’m bad at gambling). He’s come under this number in both playoff games and I’m guessing the Falcons defense will be giving up enough open wideouts to remove the necessity for dumpoffs.

I love the first TD bet even though I’ve never come close to hitting it. Let’s get it Martysaurus.

RUN ON MARTELLUS BENNETT. The Falcons aren’t great at covering TEs (or anyone really), I like this one to get covered in two receptions.

Speaking of LeGarrette Blount, I’m picturing one of those games where the Pats just throw and throw and throw so rush attempts should be low. And even so, picking a bruiser to only have bruising runs isn’t exactly going out on a limb. The odds of this being a loser after he picks up 7 yards after being hit by two guys remains high however.

This is more betting against the Pats running the ball a lot and maybe 50 yards being enough to win this one.

However I will bank on the Pats to stiffen inside the red zone and force Matt Ryan to throw TDs on them. This is the longest odds bet I feel the best about. Kinda surprised in 2017 that a pro football team not rushing for a TD is still considered this much of a rarity.

Sticking to the rushing games, this is the one I’m most excited to follow. I really hope it’s one of Brady’s stupid sneaks that win this one 2-1 or something.

Matt Ryan was the favorite in this race which surprised me since they’re the better rushing team and he’s going against the better defense. There’s always the possibility of a New England surge that gives Ryan catchup time stats but this game should be like shooting fish in a barrel for Brady.

The odds on Brady aren’t very good tough so I went with a longer shot for MVP, hopefully there’s a passing TD or some shit from Edelman in this one to cement the trophy should he win it. And good luck to him not finishing this game with brown brain like the last time out.

I’m not happy about it either. The way I see it though if the Falcons win I won’t care about lost funds, there’s always more to be made in the world. Of course a New England win by 1 or 2 points and I’ll enter a state of despair that might not break until Memorial Day. Still though, Patriots just seem better.

#nfl #super bowl #butters the greek #new england patriots #atlanta falcons