Library

It’s been really nice having Mark work from home this week. We’ve eaten lunch together every day, he’s had more time to play with Menininho, and we’ve been able to make a quick trip here or there as a family. Yesterday, our trip was to the Milpitas library!

I’ve been craving some non-baby related reading as of late, and Mark being home to help with Menininho was the perfect opportunity to check out the library. You see, I know at some point I am going to be rejoining the work force, and part of me is afraid that when I do, I will not only have lost all connection to my field (public health) but also the ability to carry on an adult conversation. So, thanks to a conversation on healthcare reform with my friend Fi over Facebook, I decided to start reading the New York Times Healthcare section to Menininho.

(I know you are wondering what this has to do with the library, but bare with me.)

Last week was also Match Day, when all the 4th year med students find out where they will be spending their residency. Having just left a ward full of med students, I was very excited to hear where everyone was matched to. The NYT also did a big piece on Match Day, and it was in the main article that I read about the book Match Day by Brian Eule. I decided I had to read it because the whole idea of the Match Process and the psychological implications of it are interesting to me.

Anyway, I needed to go to the library to get a card so I could put out a request for the book. Since this was Menininho’s first trip to a library, I felt the need to bring along the camera.

From the outside, the library is so large it looks like it could *almost* rival Columbus Metropolitan Library. In fact, they even have a firetruck on display.

Inside however…well…there is a lot of empty space. I’m hoping this means they are planning on adding to their collections.  There was an OK sized healthcare section. I checked out The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures, by Anne Fadiman, and Ana’s Story, by Jenna Bush (the latter of which I’ve already finished and have to say I was not particularly impressed by, though it wasn’t bad).

Anyway, we had a great time at the library and can’t wait to go back and get more books! I hope that we can instill in Menininho a love of reading, too.

Mail Order Bride

I’m happy to report that 1 Daddy Mark, 1 Mommy Maya, 1 Baby Menininho, and 1 Oliver the Cat arrived safely in California yesterday afternoon. The event was commemorated by 1 outing to In and Out Burger.

The weather was a little drizzly and overcast, but in the mid to upper 50s. Everything is green…it looks like spring. Outside our apartment we have the “hills” (I’d call them mountains, but Mark says the mountains are bigger and behind the hills, so whatever) where I guess there are cows…? I have yet to see said cows, but Mark assures me they are there.

I have to say though, I did feel a bit like a mail order bride yesterday. I mean, Mark flew to Ohio to bring me to where he lives across the country. I came into an apartment that was already (albeit sparsely) furnished. I’m a stranger here, but Mark isn’t. The neighbors know him; he can drive from Point A to Point B with ease. It was a very odd feeling coming “home” and I’m still in a state of shock. So, although I’ve been excited about the move (and even more excited that we’re all actually living together in the same place!), I know it’s going to take me a little while to adjust to being here.

One already obvious perk though? When I’m up early feeding Menininho (or trying to feed Menininho, who would rather sleep all night than eat…but that’s another topic entirely) I can call and talk to my brother or mom because they are 3 and 2 hours ahead of me!

Now though, it’s time for me to eat. I’m starving and we’ve got errands to run soon, which I am going to drive to because I want to get used to getting around here right away. 🙂