Match Day

After weeks of stress and sleepless nights, Match Day finally came! For those who may be unfamiliar with the process, Match Day (where 4th year medical students around the country find out where they will be completing their residencies) goes a little like this:

• 3-4 days before the big day, find out if you matched - not WHERE you matched... only IF you matched somewhere at all


• the next few days are spent feeling nauseous and light-headed while you frantically search out potential housing options in all 14 places where you might end up


• the night before Match Day, you attempt to sleep, but fail miserably and instead flop around in your bed and pop your head up every half hour to peek at the clock


• Match Day finally arrives, but the ceremony isn't until 11 am, so you spend the morning trying not to poop yourself


• the letter-opening begins - students are picked randomly one by one, asked to come to the stage, open their letter, and announce where they will be going in front of their whole class and family and friends who are in attendance or watching the live stream


• celebrate! (or not, in some cases)


• crash because your adrenaline store is depleted, not to mention the fact that you haven't slept for a couple months


• go home and rest because you have zero energy left in your body


• celebrate some more! (or not...)


• start to feel anxious again because now you have to find a place to live in a place you know close to nothing about!

This may not be everyone's experience, but that's how it went for us. Not stressful at all, right? Thankfully, it turned out to be a GREAT day for us after all was said and done. Ryan got his first choice for residency, so we are off to OHSU in Portland, OR after Ryan graduates in May! We couldn't be happier :)

Here's us hanging out at the Blue Jay Grill with Ryan's classmates before the start of the ceremony. Doesn't Ryan look awesome with his big green beard?? He was the talk of the match.

Here we are on stage, about to open Ryan's letter!

After the Match Day ceremony, the school provided drinks and heavy appetizers at Upstream for the class and their guests. Our neighbors and good friends Chris and Angela are going to OHSU as well. We are SO excited to be going there together!

Between the ceremony and snacks at Upstream, Ryan decided he couldn't take the itchy (not to mention messy) green beard anymore, so he shaved it off and must not have noticed the small rodent camping out on his upper lip. Gross.

Later in the evening, we went to another celebration at the Old Mattress Factory where we spent time chatting it up with Ryan's classmates and dancing our lil hearts out. Fun, fun, fun!! Can you believe I actually got Ryan to party hardy with me 'til 2 am??? Usually he's in bed by 10, so it was a bloomin' miracle! He loved it :)

And that was Match Day!

I love you, baby cakes, and I am SO proud of you!! OHSU... #1... WOOT, WOOT!!!

Oh, by the way, Ryan and his glorious green beard made the local news. Click here to see!