Emerging from the Library

The Step 2 CK exam was yesterday. It was a long, grueling nine hours, and by the time it was over, I was so brain-dead that I have no idea whether I made it or not.  It felt terrible to leave the testing center thinking that I might have done badly after studying so hard. I did feel like I was catching up during my studying, but still. Not a great feeling. And there is quite a lot riding on this exam. It is sickening not to know if my career goals will come to pass. After imagining out every possible scenario and moping around for a bit, I decided that regardless of the outcome, it's going to be weeks until I find out. And regardless of the outcome, I did what I could in the time that I had. It is now in greater hands than mine. So in the meantime, I'll write a bit about what's going on now that the board exams are (for the moment) over.

The grass is greener on the other side.

Catfish the Siamese is home, after spending a little vacation at my parents' so that I could actually get some sleep (she enjoys parading across the bed and meowing for food at 5 am every morning). I went over to my parents' place to collect her right after the exam, and was able to spend a good long time with the family. B came with me, and my brother even stopped by. It was so nice to have an impromptu family gathering.  The weather has been trending towards chilly rain with a generous helping of clear, bright days.

This morning we went to the farmer's market -- there will be just one more next Sunday and then the harvest season will be over. Guess what has come into season whilst I was studying? Fuyu persimmons! We also found fresh cauliflower, tomatoes, onions, and apples. They were selling apple cider but we decided to pass this time around. It doesn't last as long in our house as the apples do! We sliced up our bell peppers onto whole wheat toast (B's home-baked bread) with mozzarella and tomato puree -- our marinara open-face sandwiches were delicious.

B making bread dough.

A golden loaf, fresh out of the oven.

The end product!

We also took a short journey to Golden Gate Park this afternoon to enjoy the November sunshine. There were so many families out walking or boating, and any number of ducks, seagulls, and flowers still in bloom.

A bright yellow blossom seems to say, "Cheer up, cheer up! Life is worth living!"

The moss, trees, bridges -- everything felt fresh and interesting. It was lovely to be outdoors instead of studying. The animals at the lake are used to people and will let you get pretty close, hoping to be fed.

Contented ducks.

The Canada geese were quite docile.

Sleek geese getting nervous before Thanksgiving.

We made friends with an elderly gentleman who was feeding the seagulls -- I was able to catch their excitement as they flew up to catch the breadcrumbs!

Free meals draw crowds.

Whee!

As we drove home, we were treated to a beautiful early sunset against the autumn clouds.

It didn't seem real to us, either.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, I saw an article in the September Education issue of the NY Times Magazine discussing the differencing between raising overachievers and raising children with "true grit" -- the strength of character to succeed in the face of adversity. It really spoke to what I've been thinking about lately and what my boss and I have discussed -- that life is not an IQ test, and that your drive, optimism, gratitude, social skills, curiosity, and sheer gumption will get you a lot farther in life than just intelligence ever could. It's called "What if the Secret to Success is Failure?" I think the title is misleading, though; it's more about whether character can be taught than whether failure is needed for success.

For someone in my particular position (that is, trying to learn a set of skills, earn a degree, and begin a profession), it was a very hopeful read. It's been a more difficult road than I anticipated, for a whole host of reasons, so it was nice to hear that continuing to strive for the goal is worth something in itself.

A red-eared slider at the lake. Slow and steady wins the race.