It's About Time

Today I received the beloved email “Congratulations, you have matched.”  Phew.  And YEEHAW!  Somebody wants me, I’m going to have a job, and best of all, I’m going to be a doctor at an academic institution.  The killer part of this whole process is that I don’t find out until Thursday WHERE I matched.  While there are only 72 hours until I will know, I am positive that these three days will feel like an eternity.  Every second my watch seems stuck, with barely enough inertia to move forward, and then, if by force and luck, it ticks again. 

How can these three days, when they have the exact same amount of hours and minutes, feel so different than an average three days during a regular week?  The perception of time is so dependendent on the anticipation of things to come and awareness of the clock.  Think about when you put a stick of butter in the microwave for 30 seconds and watch the fat molecules liquefy while the digital clock ticks down second by second.  The 30 seconds feel like a year.  You want melted butter, and you will have to wait.

Time is a crucial variable in medicine.  Because perception of time is so tinged by emotion and adrenaline, this explains why parents when witnessing a seizure of their child will say it lasted for five minutes, when truly the event was probably much shorter (you know, I really can’t find a source for this.  I looked and looked for a study but I heard an ER doc say it once.  This might not be true, but I like to think it is.  Evidence based medicine, I’m sorry).  This is also why it is important to time contractions of labor with a clock.  We experience time constantly, but we are almost incapable of understanding and interpreting it without the aid of the sun or technology. 

To have the clock be your friend, this is a dinner that you can whip up fast.  I know a lot of the recipes I’ve been posting lately have been complicated and pretty unhealthy.  I think it’s the moment to leave you with something quick and light.  That way, you can enjoy your time with your food in front of you, and not watch it slowly roasting in the oven.  It will give you a few more minutes to obsess about your future and to worry about your past.  No regrets!  You did the best you could, and if you didn’t, then you have a lifetime to do better.

In a jiffy-springtime pasta (sorry the picture is really boring and horrible today.  I was honestly in a hurry to get to the bar and celebrate and I let it slide.  I will do better next time)

½ lb whole wheat linguine

2 tbsp olive oil

1 shallot diced finely

2 cloves garlic diced

1 bunch asparagus with tips trimmed, cut into ½ inch pieces

¼ cup pine nuts

¼ chopped parsley

1 tsp fresh rosemary

1/3 cup grated parmesan

Zest from 1 lemon

Juice from lemon

1 cup grape tomatoes

Boil pasta in salted water as directed.  Reserve 1 cup of pasta water when cooked.  In skillet, heat 2 tbsp olive oil and sauté shallot until transluscent.  Add garlic, asparagus, and rosemary until asparagus becomes bright and tender, about 5 minutes.  Add parsley, pine nuts, lemon zest and let parsley wilt about 1 minute.  Add grape tomatoes and cook for one more minute.  Add pasta with reserved water, parmesan cheese and lemon juice, mix to combine and serve.