The 2010 Yearbook
The 2010 Yearbook is done. Another 60 or so hours of work in the layouts over the course of the year (again, this year, I tried to do them as we went). This is a monumental undertaking, but the final product has always been worth it.
This years edition clocks in at 98 pages – largely because once Tiffany left her PhD program we both started doing things on our own. Since 80 pages is the limit allowed by PhotoWorks, we had to look for a place that would allow us more pages. And we found Viovio.
You can browse the pages below.
The Yearbook Accounts of the year in words is below:
Tiff’s Take:
We started off the year knowing that once I went back to medical school, our days of frequent hiking, traveling and adventures would be put on hold. While it did decrease the amount of things we did together, it ended up doubling the things we did apart and vastly expanding this yearbook.
January, February, and part of March, I was still in my PhD so things were still flexible. We skied a lot. Never having skied before, I was nervous about purchasing season passes. We ended up getting about our money’s worth skiing at Whitetail and Liberty several times a piece. I feel I really improved over the months and graduated from bunny hill to green circles and even did my first blue square before the season ended. When I was in control, skiing was a blast. However, when I was not in control, it was one of the most terrifying things I have ever done. Overall though, I enjoyed it, although I’m not in any rush to leave my green circles.
February brought one of the biggest snow storms the east coast had seen in a long while: 52 inches over 3-4 days. I’ve decided snow is quite fun, as long as you don’t have to drive in it. J
One of the best things that happened this year was the adoption of our very first KITTEN! Jed has been wonderful about getting allergy shots and finally, we were able to get a kitten. Her name is Calypso, she was rescued from Montana, and is more people loving than any cat has a right to be. She is the second biggest love of my life (love you more honey J ). I frequently find myself congratulating her on her level of cuteness and kitteniness. She is the biggest lap cat, even sprawling across Jed’s lap and purring. He tried to resist at first, but his resistance was futile. She is my precious little girl and I can’t imagine how we ever got along without her.
The other awesome thing that happened this year was I finished up my PhD and went back to Medical school. Our program coordinator said that my thesis talk was the best she had ever seen (and she had seen a lot). The return to the wards was slightly less triumphant.
I started with Ob-Gyn in a whole new med class. They were all so young and had just learned all the material I had forgotten over the last 3.5 years. It was a rough transition for me, but it got better over time. I stopped feeling quite so stupid and useless. During Ob-Gyn, my very first day in labor and delivery (my birthday) I got to deliver 4 babies! That was amazing.
My next rotation was Pediatrics and I adored every minute of it. I had forgotten that in my original personal statement to medical school, I had planned on being a pediatrician and this rotation made me remember why. Where else are you going to get patients that try to lick your stethoscope?
Medicine was a humbling experience and I got to meet many first rate physicians and learn what it truly means to be a Hopkins doctor and the kind of care that implies.
On Dermatology, I renewed my love of Derm. Pediatric derm really spoke to me and married my favorite population with my favorite subject. Chronic care and disability took me by surprise.
It was basically Geriatrics, but I really loved working with the elderly and the disabled. Truly gratifying work, with truly excellent physicians.
I am now on Surgery and my life sucks, but there is something to be said about actually fixing a problem instead of just temporizing it. I’ll write more about surgery in the next year book.
Montana was gorgeous as ever. We bagged our first peak in MT, Comet peak, which was an awesome climb. The prettiest hike-to-date was highline trail in glacier national park. Each view was more stunning than the last, tons of adorable wild-life and we saw our first grizzlies!
The first of our friends welcomed their new son, Nicholas Sebastian Bushey. If he’s anything like Mike and Jen, the kid’s gonna be awesome. So excited for them!
Christmas was a bit unusual this year in that my mom’s entire family was there: Uncle Ash, Aunt Linda, cousin Josh and his girlfriend, cousin Glen and his whole family, my mom, Kev , and Savannah. I hadn’t seen them in many years so it was a great experience. Savi is growing up so fast and I can’t believe she is already almost 16 months. She’s running around, babbling, and getting in to everything. I hate not being there to see her grow up, but thank God for Skype. We also got to me my dad’s new fiancé Sue and see my sister Monique and my niece and nephew Katie and Tanner. I love my family and forgot how nice it is to have everyone in one place.
Jed’s Take
2010 was all about the weather.
The year rolled in with Tiffany and I taking full advantage of the winter weather for the first time with season passes to three local ski areas – Liberty, Roundtop and our favorite, Whitetail. Tiffany had only skied once before and it had not been the most pleasant experience, but she was willing to learn, so we bought ski equipment and hit the slopes. Skiing is a skill that takes years of practice, and she progressed tremendously over the course of the winter. She’s a great sport!
In February, a series of major snow storms slammed the east coast and the Baltimore-Washington area. Columbia got 33.8 inches of snow the first day. It was Snowmageddon! Bad roads trapped us at home for several days, although when we ventured out to dig out our cars, we met our neighbors and made some great friends. A few days later, we got hit with a second major storm and another 20 inches.
Fortunately, Snowmageddon melted just in time for Tiff and I to hop on a jet for an all-inclusive week in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. What a change of weather! A week of relaxing was just right for Tiffany –but I was pretty bored, and not a fan of all the people and nothing to do. But since Tiffany was willing to ski, I can’t complain about a vacation that forces me to relax.
When we got back, there was a pretty substantial change in the climate of our lives on two fronts.
First, the day after we returned from Mexico, we picked up our new cat – Calypso – who had arrived from a shelter in Montana. Tiffany’s search for a cat had been rather manic since we decided my allergy shots had progressed enough and we were ready – Merry Christmas, baby! Calypso and Tiffany share a mutual fondness of physical affection or “cuddling”. They were made for each other.
Second, Tiffany finished her PhD and transferred back to the medical school wards. Tiffany’s research was heralded – she was published in Nature Immunology and given an award for the best PhD Research at Johns Hopkins! But our relaxed laissez faire schedule was no longer possible once she returned to med-school. Tiffany’s weeks and weekends became inflexible with medical rotations and studying.
So as the summer rolled in, I started doing a lot of weekend activities without her. Mostly, that meant taking advantage of the summer weather with excursions with the Capitol Hill Tubing Society. Over the course of the summer, I went on at least nine tubing trips – some with Tiffany, but most without her. The most memorable was once again defined by extreme weather: a thunder storm with hurricane force winds that broke over our heads while we were lounging on the Andy Bopp Memorial Rock.
We had pretty standard trips to both Montana (in August) and California (in December), both accentuated by cool, cloudy weather. When we found time, we went hiking or camping or day trips to local attractions. Unfortunately, as often as not, Tiffany was stuck at work or studying for a test so she couldn’t make it. It was never as fun not being able to share these experiences with her.
2010 was a sunny year photographically. On January 1, I launched Project 365. The plan is to take a picture every day for the entire year in order to force yourself to get better – and to always carry a camera. This lead to several photo-field trips, and I even got paid to professionally shoot three weddings (as a backup, not the main guy). As the project progressed, I developed as a photographer even more than I had hoped. I learned to shoot in RAW, and how to control and manipulate the exposure triangle (aperture, shutter speed, ISO). Photos became something to make, not just something to take.
At my day job, I spent another year as the Communications Director for Montana’s only Congressman, Denny Rehberg. It was an election year, so in late October I joined a bus tour around Montana to help deliver another resounding victory for my boss. The political winds changed direction in 2010. After 2 years of arrogant leadership from Democrats in the House, Senate and White House – including a chain of bailouts, a $1 trillion stimulus and the controversial Obamacare health care reform, the Republican Party re-took the House of Representatives (picking up 63 seats!), picked up 20 state legislatures and made huge gains in the Senate. I was around when the shoe was on the other foot in 2006 and 2008, so the vindication was sweet.
Since I always include a USC update, I have to again this year. Even though I’d rather not as the storm clouds gathered and broke. After the 2009 season, Pete Carroll announced he was leaving to go to the NFL. Shortly after, the NCAA announced sanctions relating to Reggie Bush – loss of scholarships, no bowls for two years. I think the punishment was excessive, but it is what it is. USC went 8-5, losing 3 home games including to Notre Dame for the first time in 9 years.
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