Love, Chicago
Sorry for the dearth of posting lately; I’ve been busily hitting city after city on the interview trail–and the residencies, unfortunately, continue to be great (making my ranking decision next to impossible).
Two quick bits: Thanks to the LA Times for the mention about the placebo study (and very cool that the reporter found me via my blog).
And thank you to Chicago, where I’ve been interviewing as of late. After 11 years driving without a single parking ticket, thank you, Chicago, for welcoming your forgotten son (I went to undergrad in the area) back with open arms. Two tickets and my car towed today for a tow away zone sign that was crumpled and gnarled away. I missed you too.
(I’m really not that happy about it. I swear.)
Only two? You must not have been here long enough.
haha, ouch. It’s almost like you never left SF.
Law enforcement officers taking advantage of unreadable or confusing signs seems to be a tradition throughout America greatly cherished by city revenue departments as well as the officers themselves. My one and only parking ticket (in Downtown Los Angeles) was the result of an incorrect guess as to which of two contradictory signs applied. The officer apparently had privileged knowledge of the correct answer, “both.”
When I called the city parking enforcement office to complain, the clerk immediately cut me off and put me on hold to find the person whose job it was to deal with such concerns. After a lengthy wait, a Black woman with a booming voice shouted, “Wat yo’ problem!?” A few seconds after I started to explain, she cut me off with “You know des’ signs? Deys bring in five t’ousand dollars a year! Dey shooooo is beautiful! Any mo’ questions?”
Yes, I had the pleasure of being expertly abused by a true master. She did a most excellent job of putting me in my place, and of teaching me just how the City of Los Angeles views the relationship between itself and the citizens who exist solely to keep legions of petty tyrants like herself employed in appropriate style.
I’m sure your crumpled sign has been crumpled for quite a while, and will remain so indefinitely. And the officer who issued the tickets and called the tow truck frequently admires their beauty for more than merely aesthetic reasons. You’ve been caught, digested, and excreted by a spectacularly successful predator, so you might as well just pay the ticket quickly and consider it part of the cost of your medical training. It’s better than getting upset over it.
Just read your Boobies post. Full disclosure: I’m a she. And if you think girls are weird, you have no idea how freakin’ weird we think BOYS are. I loved this post. It was fresh and funny and genuine. I’ll be back to read more!
Chicago, itself may crap on you Graham, but we Chicagoans still love you. Wait unitl it snows more than 2″ and street parking is prohibited.
For those of us who came to your site late, what residency are you applying for?
-Jeff
I’m applying in Emergency Medicine, DermDoc.
As a lifelong Chicago resident (except for six years in the Army)I can assure you, this is business as usual.
The city is desperate for cash, and has declared “open season” on motorist.
There was an article in the Trib recently, where a person was found guilty, and had to pay the resultant fine, even though the sign was missing.
The judge reasoned that there used to be a sign there, so…..
lol.
why not primary care? i heard there is a shortage of primary care docs.
[...] the officer was with the Dept. of Revenue. (Aren’t they all?) At least Graham won this battle of “who can give all of their money away to the Chicago Police Department [...]