Bigs News = Big Move

I've been resisting the possibility for of this happening for 3 years but it looks the inevitable is about to happen. Let's start from the beginning so everyone is on the same page.

I've always had the opportunity to interview for a job in Boston straight out of dental school. I felt that while my training was great, I still needed more so I decided to do 1-year residency. When that first year was over, the program liked me so much that they offered me to be the 2nd-year chief resident and gain even more experience. I didn't accept at first and weighed my all options. Eventually I decided that I could put off working for another year because the extra year of residency would be worth it in the long run.

After graduating from my residency I had to consider all the possible opportunities again. Some of you have surprised me already by remembering a previous post where I debated staying in New York, going to Boston, or even moving out to Las Vegas.  I decided to stay in New York because I was approached by two friends about opening up a new practice together. The idea intrigued me and I became really excited about creating something like a new office.

It's been almost a year later and things just haven't been working out. My friends and I haven't found a good location to start building a new office. We thought we found a great place in Nassau County but the landlord was an ass and wouldn't negotiate on the major issues. It was his way or the Long Island Expressway (a reference to Meet the Parents).

We had also secured a bank loan and gotten approved. We didn't sign the paperwork yet because we couldn't start construction without a site. With the current state of the economy, our loan was dismissed because the bank decided to allocate their funds to other projects. I'm sure we can easily get another loan approved but it's just another hassle and another red light.

My current employer in private practice also wanted to cut down one of my days. So I had to start looking for another job. The ones in New York weren't so great but the opportunity in Boston came up again. I had three interviews lined up yesterday. I went in for the first one and it went well. It went so well that I canceled the other two because I was accepted on the spot. It was an offer I would have been a fool to turn down. 

This morning at work, just an hour ago, one of the dental assistants asked me how it went and I told her I'm leaving in a month. She started crying and asked if it was because she was a bad assistant. I couldn't believe her reaction. So I did what a typical guy does. I gave her the "It's not you, it's me" speech. Essentially it's true, I just hate to use that kind of analogy.

As I'm writing this I feel really sad. The commitment to Boston is just a 1-year contract for now. But if things work out well and the numbers they told me of how much I could make do materialize then there's a chance I could be staying there. I've been thinking about how this could be my last month in New York.

I hate to leave on such negative terms. The dental practice I was supposed to help build didn't even have a chance to get built. I had some bad dates. I'm never going to have a chance to ask out that girl I've wanted to ask out.

I'm also leaving on other missed opportunities. I'm not going to be able to advance at the hospital. I was hoping to not be known as the lowest-lowel Attending, although that's what I called myself and the residents never thought of me as such. My newfound interest in ballroom dancing will have to come to and end until I find a new dance studio. After living in Astoria for so long I just got accepted by the Greek community and they even want to give me a Greek name. And other than the girl I wanted to ask out (from the previous paragraph), I've been meeting new people and one girl I met is a huge Mets and Giants fan. (sigh) Timing is everything I guess.

Now when I meet up with my friends I have to say goodbye. I've already starting telling some the news. I'm glad everyone has said they now have a reason to go to Boston and want to visit me. If you do, the Chinatown bus has new competition:

New low-cost NY-Boston bus

As for life in Boston, I can say I'm never going to be a Red Sox fan or Patriots fan. I'll go to their games but I can't support the new Evil Empire or cheaters. The Celtics, on the other hand, are my new basketball team. I can thank Isiah Thomas for that.

Goodbye New York. It's not you, it's me.

Back to ballroom dancing

I know I keep saying I'm going to start blogging and then my page is usually blank for months. I think I was able to post so often back in dental school was because I was writing for my friends as a way to keep up with what was going on in my life. Most of my experiences dealt with people who didn't read my blog so in a way I was able to stay anonymous.

Now that I've been back in New York for the past 3 years I can't write about what happens with me because my posts would be about my friends who also have access to my blog. So the purpose is somewhat defeated. I'll try though. It might come easier after Wednesday. I might have a big announcement to make soon.

----------

I've really enjoyed ballroom dancing again. I had a lot of fun dancing back in high school but never really had the chance to do so again until coming back to New York. I went to Lincoln Center's Midsummer Night Swing once in a while but the short lesson was unfulfilling and made me want to learn more.

I love the dance studio I've been going to. All the instructors are great and they each have their own unique style of teaching. It's funny how I was even introduced to the studio. I found out from a girl I met during speed-dating. So while my experiences with the girls have been absolute disasters during speed-dating, at least something good came out from it. Now I've even been able to get some friends to join me and we all have a great time. I've been trying to learn both smooth ballroom (foxtrot, waltz, tango) and Latin dances (salsa and merengue).

My dance partner made a really good point about why we have so much fun. It's a great escape from the real world. We dance in the moment but still dance thinking about the future because the guy has to think about what to do for the next move and the girl has to be able to follow. Each is challenging in its own way.

I enjoy ballroom dancing too because it's structured. I have no rhythm so I was never good at dancing in clubs. It's probably really mean for me to say so but it kind of makes me feel good when I'm able to nail a move, and then see some guys really struggle. Just this past weekend, one girl got so angry with her boyfriend because he really had no clue what was going on. She was yelling at him and even hit his leg to try to go in the right direction. The dance instructor had to come over and tell her not to get so fustrated. (sigh) The things white guys do for Asian girls.

I also like to think I'm a decent leader. We usually rotate partners during each class so every guy has a chance to dance with every girl. Another reason is because there's usually an uneven number of guys:girls. Sometimes before we rotate, my partner (at that moment) will thank me. This is usually just etiquette but sometimes I think it's because we performed the routine without any problems and they've had trouble with the other guys.

Today during my salsa lesson we were rehearsing a particular move. My middle-aged partner told me that I must have missed a move because she's never messed up like that before. I apologized because I thought I really screwed up. But I didn't think I could have been that off because we were practicing that same move the previous week. I didn't change what I was doing though, partly because I still didn't know what I was doing wrong. My next 4 partners all thanked me and one even told me that I was the first guy who got it right so far. I guess the middle-aged woman thought I was doing it wrong because the guys ahead of me were butchering the move. Vindication is sweet.