anna in med school

–Kevin Bacon’s reaction to the illegality of dancing in Footloose.  Not a concern at PennMed Prom 2011, where there was no lack of dancing.  A few points of interest:

• I woke up on Saturday still in my formal dress.  My eyes were pretty crusty after sleeping with my contacts, and the balls of my feet felt like I had run a marathon in stilettos.  All signs of a successful prom.
• With the exception of possibly the husband–and that’s just personal preference–Erica is, without question, the best date ever.  I don’t know that I’ve ever met anyone with a comparable social IQ, who can meet an onslaught of MS1s while being effortlessly gregarious and charming, and the best damn dancer this side of the Mason-Dixon line.  And her interest in getting to know my classmates actually gave me this fun opportunity to kind of rediscover how I met and got to know each of them, to articulate what I appreciated about the individuals and our relationships.  (Ivor, for example, I sat next to on the housing tour at Penn Preview.  My thoughts at the time: Oh, thank God!  Someone who doesn’t take himself so damn seriously!)  Awkward/Awesome moment: today one of my classmates told me that my husband and I looked so adorable on the dance floor together.  Um, if by husband, you mean that saucy minx in the gold dress (or Sara in the slinky teal number?), then yes, we are quite something… In all seriousness, thanks so much, Erica, for a wonderful visit!

• As I mentioned last week, it was a tough transition back to school.  Therefore, immediately after checking coats, we took the shortest path to the bar.  Me: “So, I’m not sure what liquor you have.  Do you make Manhattans?”  Bartender #1 (of many), deadpan: “We make everything.”  Good answer.
• One of the best parts of prom was meeting the significant others–such a privilege to start to get to know the people who mean so much to new friends and colleagues…or at least put faces to the names I’ve been hearing repeatedly in conversations since August.  If we talked too much about boring med school stuff, please forgive us…my last med prom, I went as the girlfriend of a med student, and I was certainly not as understanding/tolerant of the lack of variety in conversation as the VSOs I met on Friday (belated apologies UVA Med 2008 :/).  Thank you for joining us.
• Joe, a fellow learning team member and one of my favorite people, said that he didn’t recognize me at first.  I’m thrilled that, after five months of glasses and sloppy French braids, I’ve created such low expectations of my presentation that all I need to do to fly under the radar is pop in some contacts and straighten my hair.
• Having missed dessert in lieu of dancing, I might have enjoyed the leftovers of my dinner companions.  Classy, no?  I can’t believe I’m admitting this online.
• Despite the freakin’ freezing weather, a dear friend insisted on walking us home, and then he might have consoled my beloved neighbor after a trying day while I, in true Anna-fashion, proceeded to demonstrate my support by falling asleep on her shoulder.  Eric, you are a better man than I.

Oh man, did anyone read this post all the way through?  Today was a tough reality to which to return, as Bugsy Malone and I noted on parallel treadmills, a vain attempt to work off our alcohol guts.