A review of the clothes I bought in 2019

The first half of this year was taken up by clinical rotations largely spent in a small capsule wardrobe of all the wards-appropriate clothes I own. June to November were spent in scrubs: one month of anesthesiology elective and four of orthopedic surgery rotations. Other than that, I've been schlepping around my apartment in loungewear and wearing the same three outfits to friends gatherings and dates just for fun. So, not much new added to the wardrobe this calendar year, but some key items like my black leather boots.

January to June

1. Frye black leather ankle boots - $112 - after years and years of thinking about buying black leather ankle boots, I finally did, and it was worth it. Is there more to say?
2. Red crop top - gift from roommate - birthday present from my roommate, who also wears crop tops in our mid-20s. It's pretty loud and bright for my skin tone, but I've found occasions to wear it out.
3. Black and white striped dress - secondhand, from roommate - cute little dress that I wore to many a summertime date. It was too short for my tall roommate, so she passed it along to me, and it fits me just right.

July to December

1. Leather saddle bag - vintage - $25 - I bought this purely on impulse when I was wandering around downtown Charlottesville. There is an abundance of cute vintage stores and could imagine myself living a cute life in that cute town. I even tried on a few dresses from the 1940s just for fun, chatted with the people working there, and definitely felt like I needed to buy something. So I did, and it barely fits my phone, wallet, keys, and small miscellany. But I got a lot of use out of this little bag and I'm glad I did buy it, even on impulse.
2. Asics running shoes - $60 - my old ones were wearing out badly, and I found a colorway I liked on discount on Amazon.
3. Muji green merino wool turtleneck sweater - $55 - actually, this was an impulse purchase, on sale. I've wanted a green turtleneck knit for a long time, and tried on all the ones offered by Uniqlo and Muji one day (they are very close to each other in Boston) and bought my favorite. I actually do feel guilty about this one because it was not well-planned.
4. ExOfficio underwear, 3 pairs - $28 - Black Friday deal. Am phasing out my shabby underwear and wanted to get some that were high quality, lightweight, and designed for handwashing and drying quickly.

Total 9 items

Total $280

My post-mortem of my 2019 purchases is that despite the relatively small number of items, some were poor decisions. The green sweater was an impulse purchase that stemmed directly from me wanting to dress my fantasy self, a more put-together, poised person than I actually am. The color drew me in! I tried on four different sweaters in that color at MUJI, but really, I don't think I needed it. The green blouse doesn't suit me at all, and now that I'll be mostly in scrubs, I don't need to have more blouses at all. I feel like I'm aging out of some of my clothes, and that I do need to reassess my wardrobe, but the unhealthy thought patterns and impulses are still there. I'll need to work on that.

I'm actually staying at my home program for residency, and staying in my apartment. I was kind of expecting to have to leave, and undergo a massive decluttering and cleanout of my belongings. Despite my staying put, that's a worthy endeavor and I'll use this quarantine time to do that.

By the way: I'm patting myself on the back for the underwear purchase since I now know I have another year of handwashing ahead of me!

A one-bag minimalist sprint for interview season

First of all, the itinerary:

• 1/9 AM - travel to NYC from by bus
• 1/9 PM - interview social for Hospital #1
• 1/10 PM - interview at Hospital #1
• 1/10 PM - travel to Boston by bus, sleep at home
• 1/11 AM - interview at Hospital #2
• 1/11 PM - interview social for Hospital #2, sleep at home
• 1/12 AM - travel to California by plane
• 1/12 PM - interview social for Hospital #3
• 1/13 AM - interview at Hospital #3
• 1/13 PM - travel to parents' house by car, sleep at home
• 1/14-15 - sleep at home
• 1/16 PM - travel to LA by plane
• 1/17 - Hospital #4 interview and interview social
• 1/18 AM - travel to NYC by plane
• 1/18 PM - interview social at Hospital #5
• 1/19 PM - interview at Hospital #5
• 1/20 AM - travel to ABQ by plane
• 1/21 PM - interview social for Hospital #6
• 1/22 AM - interview at Hospital #6
• 1/23 - sleep all day in ABQ
• 1/24 AM - travel to PHX by plane
• 1/24 PM - interview social for Hospital #7
• 1/25 AM - interview at Hospital #7
• 1/25 PM - red eye flight back to Boston

And now, what I packed:

• Suit
• Blouse
• Grey dress
• Black wool shirt
• Grey Uniqlo heat-tech shirt
• Grey t-shirt
• Black gym shorts
• Black tights
• Nude tights
• Heels
• Black ankle boots
• Navy blue Uniqlo ultra-light puffy jacket
• Watch
• Black Fossil handbag

...and necessaries like underwear, computer, Kindle, chargers, toiletries, chocolate. Surprisingly everything fit comfortably and the bag was always accepted for United Basic Economy, whose luggage restrictions are one single item that can fit under the seat in front. I am very proud of being able to make the trip with such lean, lightweight luggage. In fact, I think such a trip would have been bearable only with such little burden.

Why did I do this to begin with? Mostly to save money and save the hassle of keeping track of all my stuff, at the cost of having a perpetually wrinkled suit. Some of it was a challenge in seeing if I could do it, kind of prideful, I admit. The bottom line: I did it, and it was convenient. And now it's done. This two weeks of travel coincided with a nasty upper (eventually lower) respiratory infection for the same duration, complicated by sore throat and very diminished voice in the beginning.

And now it's done, and I get to rest and agonize over my future.

I wrote this post in February and it stewed in my drafts for all this time. I matched into orthopedic surgery! I'm going to be an orthopedic surgeon! I'll find out where on Friday, but for now, I'm just happy happy happy that I've fulfilled a dream of almost eight years. More coming soon!