New Orleans in December, Part 1

Congratulations to Joy and Justin on the celebration of their marriage! This past Saturday, December 17, my cousin Justin married Joy Bonaguro, a fellow Tulane alum, in New Orleans. I flew into New Orleans for the wedding along with lots of cousins and friends. The trip was a quick one, but densely packed - it was great to share the celebration with so many members of the Elstrott diaspora. Among the notables: all the Kelly and Cathy Elstrotts flew in from Eugene, OR (except cousin Sara) for the festivities; Jason even flew in from Costa Rica, where he's been working in real estate. I'm back in Baltimore now, studying for my TAPP (thorax, abdomen, pelvis, and perineum) exam in Anatomy...come Friday, though, it's holiday time! As the below picture attests, a notable someone in my life has already begun her vacation...that's Lisa enjoying the beach in Tulum, MX. She's hosting some family members in Mexico through Christmas day, then heading to Chicago for a few days to be with others, and finally returning to New Orleans on December 29! I'm excited to spend a week or so with her after such a long semester spent mostly apart. Congrats again to Justin and Joy - I've included some pictures from the rehearsal dinner. Happy holidays!

The First Snow in Baltimore

I got my first snow in Baltimore this past week - not once, but twice! While Lisa's been sunning herself on the beaches of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, I've been bundled up against snow, ice, and temperatures in the teens and twenties. The truly extraordinary part of this past week, though, was that Ryan and William saw so much snow and ice in Texas! Fortunately for the three of us (and Lisa, if we can lure her away from the beach), we're converging on New Orleans within a few more weeks to celebrate the holidays together and relax in what we hope will be a slightly warmer climate. I'm looking forward to seeing many of you over the holidays, and for those whom I won't see, I look forward to seeing you in the new year! Happy early holidays, everybody....

A Weekend Full of Food, Friends, and Thoracic Anatomy

So we're in the midst of an anatomy crash-course here at Hopkins: 5 hours a day in lab, 5 days a week. Those 25 weekly hours around a metal table mean a few things... 1. I often smell of formalin and phenol. 2. I'm more tired in the evenings. 3. I'm studying an additional 2-3 hours a day on top of what I'd been doing before. This weekend, then, was welcome not only for its bulk of uninterrupted study time, but also for the chance to take a few deep breaths and decompress with friends in the area. Friday night I attended the Wizards basketball game in D.C. with three of my new best friends, Jeremy (classmate) and his daughter and son, 7-year-old Izaia and 2-year-old Indigo. Saturday was mostly a study day until dinner, when I drove south to Columbia, MD for dinner and discussion with classmates Nathan, Seth, and Courtney and significant others Katie, Lee, and Jesse. Sunday was much the same - studying morning through early evening, then dinner (which I cooked!) at my apartment with Ravi and Priya. No adventuresome travels through Pennsylvania or hikes with Lisa in Monterrey this weekend, but lots of good food, new friends, memorized body parts, laughs, and even a little snow! Now we're in a three-week countdown the holidays....