It's been a while since I've posted (which, of course, was intentional), but I thought I'd type up an update. I've got a lot to tell you about, and I've been so crazy that I haven't had time to post them on the board, so it's all piled up into enough stuff to post about.

Most of you have probably already read that I passed my comps. They were not nearly as bad as I'd been led to believe by all the hype that has accumulated since I started the program. (And BTW, Bob, in my program, they're all written - you have to take an oral exam only if you fail one of the questions.) So all I have left to do before I graduate is write two papers and do a debate on managed care. I expect to cry a lot in the next two weeks as I try to get it all done and wish that it were all over. ButŠas usual, it will all get done, somehow or other.

The other piece of good news is that I found out yesterday that I got the Boston job. I'm very excited! I'm due in Boston on the 20th of August, and we have a week-long retreat starting on the 26th. The downside is that I won't be able to attend Burning Man, yet again, dammit, because the retreat ends the day after the Burn. Oh well. If anyone knows someone who wants to buy my ticket (and I got a cheap one!) please do pass my email on to them. I should know where I'll be working in a few more weeks, but all of the sites in which the fellows will be working next year sound fabulous, so I'm sure I'll be happy no matter where I'm placed.

Since I now know where I'm going and when I have to be there, I also bought my plane ticket to Europe yesterday. Like I did the last time I added letters to the end of my name, I'm going to spend two months in Europe. I'm actually leaving on the same day I did that time (June 13th) and I'm flying back to New York on August 13th (which gives me one more day than I did the last time). That also gives me not much time to get back to Memphis, pack up all my stuff, and haul it up to Boston, but I think I'll manage somehow or other. After all the craziness of the end of the semester is over, I'll try to throw a post up with my itinerary.

There's been lots of good news, but there is some bad news. Remember when I told you all that my dad got diagnosed with prostate cancer? Everyone told me not to worry, they always catch it early and it's very treatable. Unfortunately, my dad's doctors were incompetent. He went to Johns Hopkins for a second opinion, and the doctors there told him that he's probably had prostate cancer for years. He's not a candidate for surgery because it is too advanced, so he's currently taking hormones to shrink his prostate and then in a month or two he'll have radiation. He's also working on a big ol' malpractice suit. Basically, his PCP and oncologist have been looking at the CT scans he's been having regularly for at least the last two years and saying, "Yep, your prostate's getting bigger" with no follow-up or additional tests. It should have been caught ages ago.

Grr. I'm awfully glad I'm going to be closer to home soon.