Something New Every Day

I think the trick to settling down here (besides making friends) is to do something new everyday -- just expand your mental map of everything around you.

Food.

Like I said, I wanted to travel as light as possible, I'm not very picky, and I'm not allergic to anything. I didn't ship any barrels. (I figure the people who do go with shipping barrels are either bringing a lot of beddings, extra appliances, and/or food.) I didn't need any of that.

But.

This also means that I intentionally only came down with enough food to last me a couple meals, just long enough to get settled in and find out which were the good/bad restaurants and grocery stores. I only brought with me 2 cans of Stagg Chili, a can of Planters Mixed Nuts, and a handful of granola bars. That's it. (All high in calorie content and small to fit in my luggage.)

It's my third day on the island and I figure I should try something new every day.

It's about a 20 minute walk from my apartment to the far end of campus (maybe 15 minutes away from the close end). On my way, every day for the past 2 days there's a guy selling fresh fruit out of the back of his truck. After talking to him a little, he also runs a taxi/sight seeing service. (You'll soon find that lots of people will start handing you business cards. "First semester?")

I got 3 grape fruits for dirt cheap.

The conversion of ECs (Eastern Caribbean Dollars) to US dollars is 2.67:1 and I got them for about a quarter each. Everyone always said that there was an abundance of fresh fruit and chicken on the island. I'll probably pick up some passion fruit from him later on. Besides, I can't just be eating take-out food all day long. I still need my vitamins. I pass him every day and he'll be getting my business.

I picked up a cheeseburger from a burger & sandwich truck (Shwarma Burger) for $12.5EC (compared to the $31 plate of Chinese food the other day). And I found out that my apartment is a couple houses down from one of the better grocery stores around campus (Tina's).

My point is, even though I've only been here for 3 days, I can already tell life on the island is all about trial and error -- hopefully more trial than error.

End of Day 2

The end of Day 2 and the first rain I've seen:

(The view from my apartment.)

Okay... maybe not the first rain. There were light sprinkles here and there before and this rain only lasted about 10 minutes.

The tropical birds are going crazy.

I have blisters on the balls of my feet (I've never walked around this much in flip flops) and I've completely lost my appetite (this isn't due to the Dominica food... I haven't been eating right since my first flight).

I still have to set up my Dominica bank account, get my laptop configured with IT, and a bunch of other "new to Ross" stuff. Friends and family are no where in sight and I still wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

I'm exactly where I want to be.

"I'm a Ross student going into 6th Semester."

phlrae12 writes:

I'm a Ross student going into 6th Semester. The island will be rough, so I have 3 advices for you:

1. Never forget why you want to be a doctor.
2. Find good friends (they will make the experience memorable)
3. Don't loose your Faith

Good Luck..and oh..bring a bug spray..OFF! for mosquitoes :) Ciao!

Hi phlrae12,

Too late! I already forgot my bug spray.

1. Moving to a new place (and culture) is rough. You said it... and I agree. But you know what's a little comforting? Even on the flight over, you kind of get those little doubts bubbling to the surface. It's comforting to know that when I consciously think about why I'm here, what I'm doing, and what I want to do in the future, every one of those doubts completely disappear. In other words, I kind of have my own self-confirmation that "being a doctor" is exactly what I want to do and not just for show.

2. It's still just the 2nd day on the island for me, but I've noticed it's kind of hard to not make friends. Everyone that I've met so far is really friendly. (I think most people are in survival mode and trying to make as many friends as possible... which isn't a bad thing. Got to stick together to make it out here.)

3. We'll see about this one. Remind me about my faith again, when finals roll around.

(4. So... what are the good places to eat and avoid? Inquiring minds want to know.)

Good luck on your rotations!

Congratulations for getting that far.

"To the editor" by President Thomas Shepherd DHA from www.thedominican.net

In response to "The Tampa Bay Article", President of Ross University, Thomas Shepherd writes:

To the Editor:

In response to your Dec. 27 posting, “US Congress told Ross University may be shortchanging taxpayers and students” PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS NOT NOW, NOR HAS THERE EVER BEEN any “evidence presented to Congress suggesting Ross Medical School on Dominica may be shortchanging U.S. taxpayers and students” as your posting suggests. The newspaper article, from which you draw these conclusions, presented a one-sided, negative point of view of Ross University that did not take into account the thousands of successful doctors who have graduated from our University over the past 31 years.

Ross University has a proven record of providing outstanding education to all of our students. Our results speak for themselves:

• A first-time, United States Medical Licensing Exam Step 1 exam pass rate of 93.3 percent, comparable with the 94 percent at U.S.-based medical schools.
• Nearly two-thirds of our students enter primary care, filling an enormous unmet need in the U.S.
• Ross University places more graduates into U.S. residencies than any other medical school in the world.

There were also many mischaracterizations in the article, including:

• Students who attend international schools are not doing so because they are unqualified to enter U.S-based medical schools; there are 42,000 applicants for 19,000 seats in U.S. medical schools. The people who attend Ross are talented students who just miss entrance into U.S. schools, not because of their ability, but rather by the shortage of seats at U.S. medical schools.
• Only 80 percent of Ross students gain residencies; this does not take into account that international students have an advantage over their U.S. peers in the ability to “pre-Match” for their residency. Ross students can, and often do, sign a contract for a residency prior to the residency Match, something unavailable to students at U.S. medical schools. When Ross combines pre-Match students with our residency Match students, OUR RESIDENCY PLACEMENT RATES ARE ON PAR WITH U.S MEDICAL SCHOOLS.
• Ross students’ debt; it is comparing apples to oranges to compare total debt for students who attend U.S. public colleges with students who attend private or market-funded schools like Ross University. While our students will generally have more debt than students who have attended an in-state, U.S. public school, Ross students do not graduate with more debt than their peers at private or public out-of-state medical schools.
• Student loan repayment; the United States Department of Education’s most recent report shows that 0.2% -- just 1 out of every 400 Ross graduates -- default on their federally-subsidized student loans.

We are proud of our students, our residents, and of our graduates. The more than 7,000 Ross alumni across the United States are serving their communities and healing tens-of -thousands of patients on a yearly basis. We should celebrate the success of these physicians who are providing the medical care our towns, cities, states, and country so desperately need.


Sincerely,

Thomas Shepherd, DHA
President
Ross University
630 US Highway 1
North Brunswick, NJ 08902
Phone: 732-509-4600

Mostly on the money.

I'm surprised he left out the bit where the original story stated "$30,000+ per year." Well... duh. Ross is on a trimester system. Of course it's going to be more than $30,000 a year. (It costs me about $14,000 for tuition.)

I still think Ross is spinning their numbers when they talk about the 93%+ USMLE pass rates. This is only because of their strict drop out policy and the COMP as a required test (where in other schools it's optional). Of course, you could say that this isn't a bad thing. Maybe all of the people who couldn't make it shouldn't have been in medical school in the first place and it's a good thing they weren't given the title of "medical doctor" (especially for the patients they would have been treating). On the other hand, this article was focusing on the students themselves and not the patients. From this point of view, many of this students would be financially ruined for the rest of their lives, regardless of strict flunk out policies or high USMLE pass rates.

The First 36 Hours

It's currently Day 2 on Dominica and I just got my internet working.

When I woke up at my parent's house at 3:30am, getting ready for my 9:30am flight from SFO, I wouldn't sleep until 9:30pm the following day. Here's the first 36 hours on the way to Dominica.

From SFO to Dallas / Fort Worth, from Dallas to San Juan, Puerto Rico went well. No lost baggage the entire trip and found all the places I needed to go. But in San Juan I had 14 hours 'til my next flight to Mellville Hall Airport on Dominica. With no idea where to go, at the baggage claim I spot an Egyptian guy from San Antonio who was on the same flight. I started talking to him and we ended up hanging out at the airport, laying across all the seats until the next day.

He's passed out on top of his bags (he made a bed out of bags) and a couple hours later, some other people drop some sleeping bags a couple of rows over. Random airport personal tour the area regularly.

The next day comes and we find the Ross University Help Desk past the security check point. You get some schwag, some instructions, and the immigration form to fill out.

Random shot of a random island.

Once you get to the island, you first go through one of the smallest airports I've ever seen. A few rooms, a few desks, and not much more. Once you're through customs, you're taken on a hour long bus ride from Mellville Hall to Ross University Housing.


*video of bus ride deleted*

(Waited 3 hours to upload it. It's 2 minutes long so I figured it would take a long time to upload, but not this long. I'll try again later in another post.)


Long story short: In the first 36 hours, I stayed 14 hours over night in an airport, met my landlord and dropped off my luggage. Later, one of the people on the welcome committee took us to one of the Chinese restaurants (forget the name). From there I decided to walk back to with a couple to my apartment. From our conversation at dinner, it sounded like our places might be close together... big mistake.

They take a left turn early, it's approaching 7:00 at night and the sun's already gone. I'm walking through the main road, looking for an apartment that I've only seen briefly. The farther I walk, the less lights there are. I take one more look at the next street, and decide to go back. (It's about 15 minutes in the opposite direction.) Back at the Ross University Housing, all the lights are out. In the time it took me to walk down, turn around, and walk back, everyone already found their ways home and the welcome committee people were already gone. I look again and there's a single security lady sitting at one of the gate entrances. She ends up calling a taxi for me and I end up getting lucky with the ride and bitten by about 10 mosquitoes while I waited.

That was the only time I was bitten by a mosquito this entire time. Apparently, they like small security shacks at around 7:00pm at night.

(I'd post more videos, but it takes so long to upload to blogspot.)

"Investigators want to know if the quality of offshore medical schools justifies the cost" from www.tampabay.com

If any of this news is new to you, I think you need to do a little more research on Ross. This will be a reality check. (This falls under the category of "Make sure you know what you're getting yourself into." This is something I saw to anyone asking me questions about deciding to go to Ross.)

Many Ross students don't make it that far. Even after six years, only 66 percent of entering students graduate.

Some students bail within days of arriving on Dominica, where there is little shopping and few restaurants. Others spend extra time on the remote island, repeating failed courses and running up debt. Ashley Sullivan, who had a 4.0 GPA during her two years at Ross, said one classmate was allowed to repeat three semesters he had failed. "He's a dear friend, but I'm not sure I'd want him taking care of me," she said.

Sullivan lost faith in her physician-educators at Ross after they misdiagnosed her swollen arm as an allergic reaction. Returning home to Houston, doctors there discovered she had a massive blood clot. Once recovered, Sullivan returned to Dominica only to learn that Ross was reneging on a promise that she could do her clinical rotation in a Houston hospital not officially affiliated with Ross.

"My confidence in Ross had been obliterated and so I left," she said.

You can read the full article HERE.

It's a sobering article and I suggest you read the rest.

So if I knew most of this information already, why am I choosing to go to Ross? My decision has less to do with "becoming a doctor by any means necessary" and more to do with "if you never try you'll never know."

I want to be a doctor. I've said this before, but seven years after making my initial decision to pursue medicine, I haven't been more sure about anything else in my life. I've also screwed up in the past. There's a reason why I'm going to Ross and it's not because of the beaches. I consider it a second chance school and I'm approaching everything "Ross" as such.

I also know what failure feels like. It's not a good feeling and pushing against that feeling, I've used that thought to propel myself forward in what I do for some time now. But more than that, there's something much worse that follows right behind "failure" and it's called apathy. For everyone else who's completely failed at something knows that's not the end -- the act of failing isn't the bottom. But it sends you into a bad place where life goes on with or without you. More likely than not, considering everything you've recently been through, you're going to be left behind no matter how hard you try. This is because all of your efforts are directionless, not focused, and the energy you spend fails to find any meaningful friction.

This is something that I want and I'd rather try and fail than to go through life not knowing if it was possible. For some people, a $250,000 price tag with no promise of success is a tough pill to swallow. For me, this is just the path I've set for myself.

My Caribbean Medical School Packing List

I've already posted other students packing lists. It's nice to read lists in theory, but here's what I'm actually bringing:

• Laptop
  
• Mouse Pad
  
• USB Mouse
  
• Noise Canceling Ear Buds
  
• Extension Cords
  
• Flip Mino HD
  
• USB Extension Cord
  
• Post-its
  
• Index Cards
  
• Notebooks
  
• Folders
  
• Pens
  
• Pencils
  
• Hightlighters
  
• Sharpies
  
• Dry Erase Markers
  
• Small Dry Erase Board
  
• Stapler
  
• Frying Pans
  
• Slow Cooker
  
• Can Opener
  
• Kitchen Knives
  
• Sponges
  
• Dishwashing Soap
  
• Hand Towels
  
• Lots of Tupperware
  
• Brita Water Pitcher
  
• BPA Free Water Bottle
  
• Small Fan
  
• Padlock
  
• Scissors
  
• 2010 Day Planner
  
• Rohen's Anatomy Flash Cards
  
• Med School Confidential: For Students, By Students
  
• The Student Doctor Network Caribbean Medical School Primer
  
• Blood Pressure Cuff
  
• Stethescope
  
• First Aid Kit
  
• Hair Clippers
  
• Electronic Shaver
  
• Maglite Flashlight
  
• Deoderant
  
• Toothpaste
  
• Toothbrush
  
• Floss
  
• Nail Cutters
  
• Toilet Paper
  
• Natural Sleep Medication
  
• Hydrocortison (Anti-Itch)
  
• Flip Flops
  
• T-shirts
  
• Tank Tops
  
• Shorts
  
• Underwear
  
• Wind Breaker
  
• Running Shoes
  
• Socks
  
• Weight Lifting Gloves
  
• Towel
  
• Bed Sheets
  
• Dress Shirt, Slacks, & Tie
  
• Prescription Sunglasses
  
• Passport
  
• Multiple Copies of Passport
  
• Copies of Medical Documents
  
• Copy of Apartment Lease

Looking at all this (and fitting it all in 2 carry-ons, my backpack, and laptop case, following the American Airlines Carry-on Regulations) I wonder how much else everyone else is shipping to the island. I imagine people are just shipping blankets, pillows, and a lot of food.

Things I'm not bringing: Nintendo DS, games, and/or DVD movies.

Most of the things I'm bringing are self-explanatory, but there are other things like a single roll of toilet paper that's just a habit for me. Anyone who's ever gone camping knows how valuable toilet paper is. You just don't realize it until you don't have it. You never know. The apartment might not have any and it might be a little while before I can go to the store.

Most everything else I plan on buying from the local stores once I get there, but after talking to a lot of students who are there already, you hear things like:

• Pots and pans are of very low quality.
  
• The price they sell Dry Erase Markers is a crime.
  
• You better bring your own fan, otherwise you'll have to pawn one off of one of the 4th semester students who are leaving the island.
  
• You'll need to have your own padlock if you want to use one of the on-campus lockers.
  
• Put a copy of your passport in each bag you bring.
  
• "I just throw things in my slow cooker, go to class, come back, and the food's done."

Things like that. I'm sure I forgot something. If I did, I guess I'm screwed.

Links to a lot of stuff I bought off Amazon in the last couple weeks:

I kept on going back and forth on the books -- whether or not to buy some others like First Aid, BRS Physiology, or Rohen's Anatomy. In the end, I decided to just go with the flashcards for now and buy the rest if I feel I need it (at a higher price on the island).

I've had Med School Confidential for forever and I still recommend it. I'll be going back and flipping through it as the semesters go on. I've reviewed The Student Doctor Network Caribbean Medical School Primer in the past and I still say the title's a little misleading. Caribbean medical schools very wildly and it really should only be bought by students of the Big 4 Caribbean school -- especially Ross since the author is a Ross graduate. I just went through and re-read most of it to refresh my memory.

I always say learning from other doctors and current students is the best way to learn and what I'm going through now is no different.

Apartment Lease Signed

The apartment search is finally over and I think I got a little lucky. A lot of other students (who procrastinated) are still having trouble finding places. The only reason I found it was because I got off the Housing Search on the Ross website and started going asking around on forums. I eventually got in touch with one of the landlords through Facebook. Two weeks later, after proper confirmation by Ross that the apartment was legit, the lease is signed at $650 for a 1 bed / 1 bath, with kitchen and living room.

Despite all my pessimism, waiting for something to go wrong and for all of this to be over before it starts, it looks like it might be happening after all.

Who knew?

(It looks like the last of my pre-Ross headaches has subsiding. Five more days before my flight and I still have some last minute shopping to do.)

Ross University School of Medicine Expands Core Clinical Rotations at Several Prominent Hospitals

From www.rossu.edu:

North Brunswick, NJ–December 18, 2009—Ross University School of Medicine is pleased to announce it has added several new core clinical rotations in hospitals located in New York, Massachusetts, and Puerto Rico.

These rotations will allow students to complete their entire 48 weeks of third year core rotations in surgery, internal medicine, family medicine, obstetrics & gynecology, and pediatrics.

The hospitals where these new spots will be offered are New York Downtown Hospital, New York, NY; St. Joseph’s Hospital, Syracuse, NY; St. Vincent Hospital, Worcester, MA; and four hospitals in Puerto Rico: Ponce School of Medicine, San Jorge Children’s Hospital, Manati Medical Center, and Concepcion Hospital.

“All of these hospitals enjoy an excellent reputation for graduate medical education and healthcare delivery,” said Dr. Enrique S. Fernandez, senior associate dean for clinical sciences at Ross University School of Medicine. “We are happy to provide our students with additional rotation opportunities and look forward to adding more hospital affiliations in 2010.”

With over 5,000 opportunities available at nearly 70 teaching hospitals nationwide, Ross University offers more clinical rotation spots in the United States than any other medical school in the world.

Healthy Body, Healthy Mind (Part III)

Two and a half months ago I said I'd start going to the gym at least 5 times a week, every week until school started. At the time, I also said I was out of shape and weighed more than I ever had before. (I also blamed this on the stress of school, but there really isn't any excuse.)

My goal was to lose at least 20 pounds by January. I lost 18 pounds so far and I have 10 days to lose the rest.

I share this now because more than anything, I think it's a good sign that my head's in the right place -- I actually followed through with what I said I was going to do. (a.k.a. "I said I was going to do it, so I did.") I beat myself up all the time when it comes to school work. I know I could have done better in high school and undergrad if I really wanted to. The truth is that school is easy. It gets harder the higher up the education ladder you go, but it's all about baby steps. Just a little a day, every day.

It's about goal setting with realistic expectations and meeting those goals through small these small steps. I'm about to meet this goal. I'm in a good head space right now and I have no doubt that if I stay in this head space I'll graduate from med school on schedule, four years from now.

...then again, keeping your focus is the tricky part, isn't it?

(Time to go to the gym.)

SA 2909 (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act)

A copy of the letter sent by the AAMC about this issue:

December 7, 2009

Dear Senator,

On behalf of the nation's 131 medical schools and nearly 400 teaching hospitals, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) strongly urges you to cosponsor SA 2909, a health care reform amendment that will address the currently growing physician shortage. Without it, there will not be enough physicians to care for newly insured individuals. Additionally, the nation's medical schools and teaching hospitals signed a July 2 letter to Senate Finance Chairman, Max Baucus (D-MT), urging the expansion of Medicare-supported graduate medical education (GME) training slots.

Filed December 4 by Majority Leader Reid (D-NV), along with Sens. Nelson (D-FL), Schumer (D-NY), Kerry (D-MA), Stabenow (D-MI), and Leahy (D-VT), SA 2909 will assure an adequate supply of physicians for our aging population, as well as the millions of Americans who will gain health care access under the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act." It will do so by expanding Medicare's support for GME. The amendment adds 15,000 new training slots, which would produce 40,000 new doctors over the next 10 years.

Why is this amendment so important?

Even without health care reform, the nation faces a shortage of at least 125,000 physicians by 2025.

Expanded access under health care reform will increase that shortage by as much as 25 percent.

Since it takes as many as 10 years to educate and train a doctor, we must act now to assure an adequate supply of physicians in the future.

Mounting evidence indicates a shortage among both primary care and many specialties.

Over one-third of our physicians are over age 55 and are likely to retire within the next two decades.

As the nation ages and develops complex and multiple illnesses, the demand for physician services will grow.

Please cosponsor SA 2909 to assure physician access for all Americans now and in the future.

I just sent my own letter to my own senators (Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein) a few minutes ago. Senator Boxer's mailbox was full and I'll try to resend later. Senator Feinstein had an online form I just filled out with the same information.

Here's a copy of my short letter:

Hello,

My name is Jonathan ******** and I'll begin my first year of medical school at Ross University in two weeks time. Please support the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" (SA 2909). The shortage of primary care physicians is well known, but as a student -- especially as an off-shore medical student -- the shortage of residency positions that are available is equally troubling. As a student, it's almost sad to think that there may not be enough positions at teaching hospitals to train me once I graduate four years from now. There is little point in the extensive education process for myself as a future physician if I'll never have the opportunity to practice what I'll be learning. My goal is to specialize in Emergency Medicine and practice back here in California.

I suggest you do the same. You can find your senator's contact information HERE.

Visa Application Approved

From Ross (New Student Coordinator):

Hi Jonathan.

I have received your Visa Application. All requirements have been fulfilled and your Student Visa is complete. Your documents will be sent down to the Island of Dominica where further processing will take place.

NOTE: You will not receive your visa application until a few weeks into the semester. Please be advised to travel with your original passport and a copy of your acceptance letter.

Thank you!

One less thing to stress about. I submitted my visa application to the New Jersey Office weeks ago and I finally got an official email from Ross. This is including all of the medical documentation, police background check, passport information, photographs, etc. You never know with this stuff. There was so much to be included in the package, I could have easily overlooked something. And with only 13 days until my flight to the island, I'd have to pull some last minute magic to get it settled, but now I don't have to. Good to know. (I have other things to worry about.)

I'm still having problems landing an apartment (and from the sounds of other students, they're all having similar problems).

Apartment Search Continues

anastacialrodriguez writes:

There are a lot of good places to live...I actually stayed in New Avies. It was really really nice, but not worth it. I was hardly ever there! I know it sounds crazy, but Campus housing isn't that bad--you are NEVER in your room to study--it's too hot & electricity is too expensive to be using the AC all the time. So I would suggest staying in campus housing until you get there--you can always move somewhere else once you see how everything is. Also, you might want to join the facebook groups (if you haven't already) to find housing. Everyone is really helpful. I have several friends that are there right now. Happy Searching! :)

I'm a little confused about the new student housing situation myself. From the sounds of you (and a few other students), there is a new policy when it comes to student housing. From the Housing Supervisor:

We wish to remind you that ALL students MUST secure housing PRIOR to arrival on Dominica, since we no longer have overnight facilities for accommodating students without housing. In any event the housing department no longer conducts housing tours, since everyone is expected to select housing from our website/database for Ross recommended accommodations. The Lease Agreement for these accommodations is for one semester only and you are free to continue or seek alternative accommodation at the end of any semester.

It's pretty clear that all students have to have their housing situations settled before they ever set foot on the island. Looks like there won't be an opportunity to get to the island first, then go house hunting.

Another problem is that the Student Housing section on the Ross website is out of date. I have the "available" box checked on the housing search, I keep attempting to reserve different apartments, and keep getting emails from the school saying, "unfortunately, that location isn't available" or something like that. How hard can it be to find a 1 bedroom / 1 bath apartment?

Questionable Apartments

The apartment search continues.

Kind of hard to search for an apartment 3000 (?) miles away. Sure, Ross has the Student Housing section on their website and a listing of available apartments, but it's hard to tell what's what when you can't see it in person for yourself. I think for the most part, things are fine if you keep your expectations realistic. But there are too many horror stories to take something like this for granted.

I recently was on one of the popular Caribbean med school forums, asking around for recommendations. A few days later I got a private message telling me of this fantastic, beach front apartment that was a little on the pricey side... but it sounded great. I sent a message back, asking where I could search for it on the Ross website. They got back to me and dodged the "Ross website" question.

Eh? They weren't even a student. My guess is, there were somehow affiliated with the apartment complex. A little digging later and they didn't even post that often on the forum. I didn't bother following up.

I call shinanigans.

The search continues.

Laptop Requirements

This was kind of an impulse buy. I never had a laptop before (never needed one) but it's a school requirement so I went ahead and got one on Black Friday.

Tired of asking for people's contradictory advice on "Which laptop would you buy if you bought a new one right now? For school?" I literally just bought the first laptop I saw on sale that had a huge hard drive and large screen. The bigger, the better. (I would've bought a netbook, but I can't stand the small screens. I guess it's useful if you're mobile all the time, but if I'm going to be staring at a computer monitor for the next 4 years, it might as well be something I'm comfortable with.)

The only downside that I can see is no Blue Tooth. (Maybe that's why it's on sale?) Looks like everything in the accessory hardware market for PCs and laptops is going Blue Tooth. But I just need something that's functional.

Pre-Ross Update: It looks like everything is set -- even the student loan situation that I hate dealing with. The only thing that's missing is to grab an apartment so I'm not homeless and to go shopping for a bunch of clothes suitable for a tropical climate (so I'm not naked). Time to go shopping.