Optometry School Graduate

On May 15th 2010, I went from Whitney Coleman to Whitney Coleman, OD!! It was a very exciting day and I am so thankful to all of my family members who traveled to St. Louis to share my big day with me!

Being Hooded

Mom & Dad

Makenzie & Hayden

Grandpa Dave & Grandma Beth

Jayne & Gary

Aubrey

The whole group dining at Maggiano's

New, Temporary "Home"

We moved out of our house over the weekend of May 7-10th.

• Friday 7th: Gary came to St. Louis and helped us load a 26 ft moving truck full of stuff--thank god Gary knew better than us and insisted on coming down to help; what fools we were thinking we didn't need help!! THANK YOU GARY!!!!
• Sat 8th: Brian drove the moving truck to KS where all of our non-essential-for-daily-living belongs were put into Coleman's extra garage to store. Meanwhile, I packed up the rest of our stuff in St. Louis. That night Brian went to his buddy's bachelor party in KC (not the best pre-moving routine, but somehow we managed the next day).
• Sunday 9th: Brian flew back to STL, but was delayed 2 hrs :( Around 4 pm the two of us loaded up at 16-ft truck of stuff to take to our new place. The two of us unloaded everything, then returned the rental truck, went back to the old house to get some clothes and stuff we had left behind and finally got to bed around 11pm.
• In the following two days we made subsequent trips to clean the house and get the remaining items left behind.

Our new location is an apartment very close to Brian's school more in the center of STL, MO (versus north STL where we were before). We are subleasing the apartment through the end of August which is when Brian will be finished with his MBA.

New Address:
7321 Pershing Ave, Apt 1W

University City, MO 63130

On Friday May 14th, we officially closed and were no longer homeowners.

The plan is.....well we don't know for sure yet. We both need to secure jobs in KS before we can make plans on exactly where we will be living, what we can afford, etc. Until then we are just enjoying not having to mow the lawn :)

Happy Easter

We had a wonderful Easter as we got to relax with family. The weather was beautiful so after our delicious meal, we hunted for eggs outside (and then hid them again, hunted, hid them again, hunted, etc) and then sat outside and chatted until it was time to hit I-70 east back to St. Louis.

Aubrey with one of her Easter baskets.

Bunny Love.

Butterfly kisses with Aunt Makenzie (who was in her Easter dress).

Mommy & Aubrey

A little Easter plumbers crack :)

BUBBLES with Uncle Brian!!!

I need some Aunt Whitney time

Last week was my final spring break. (Only 35 days until graduation and I am a student no more!). For spring break I went back to KS to hang out with the family. Got to spend a lot of time with everyone which was a wonderful change of pace. Aubrey and I took advantage of the beautiful weather and spent a day together in Topeka. We went to the zoo, McDonald's, and gage park--it was a blast! Wish we got to do things like this more often! Here are some pics from our fun day!

Aubrey & Aunt Whitney at the zoo, there are giraffes behind us if you look closely.

Thumbs Up because I am not afraid of birds!

Or of strangle little mini-deer in the turtle's home

Or of my barnyard friends!

However, gorillas, orangutans and elephants were another story so I have not pictures with them.

Don't worry Mom, we had milk instead of pop.

WEEEEEE!!!

I'm in the giant shoe!

Train engineer.

What a fun day, but man was I tired.

For Sale!

After weeks of hard work getting this place ready, our house is officially on the market!!! There was a lot of painting, cleaning, organizing and decluttering to get to this point.

You can see our listing here.

And the hunt begins

Starting the job hunt. It's a slow process in the Optometry world. Optometrists in private practice rarely post job opportunities, which makes the jobs very hard to find when they are essentially a secret. We ARE returning to Kansas (or KC, MO)....that is a FACT. I have sent my "resume" (we actually use a CV, curriculum vitaes) to the local spectacle lab and a few contact lens representatives in the area. We are told these are some of the best people to talk to because they are constantly in contact with offices in their respective areas so they will know the first ones that will be looking to hire. I have also emailed all the Optometrists that I have met over the years back in KS letting them know what my plans are and asked if they know of anyone looking. Now I am at a bit of a lull, hoping to hear something...sooner than later. I have yet to hear of one private practice even looking to hire.

Next step, just start sending resumes to practices in the areas I am looking to go to hoping to catch someones attention. Also, I am going to a big regional conference in KC over Valentine's Day weekend where both the sales reps and numerous doctors will be. Hopefully, some networking will take place and I get a lead. Until then.....I wait.

It is ALL about connections.

HELP!! Next time you see your doctor ask if they are looking to hire, you never know, you might be the one to help me find my dream job!!

Two Down, One To Go!!!

I just received the results of my second set of National Boards which I took right after Thanksgiving....and I passed!!! So number one and two are done and over with one more remaining.

The third and last National Boards is scheduled for May 1-2...again keeping me in STL on Aubrey's birthday, but this will be the last time I have to miss her birthday b/c of school!

Part 3 is a clinical skills test that is comprised of multiple stations where we have to perform various clinical skills on a real patient while a preceptor evaluates us. This will be easier for two major reasons: 1. I have been actively working in the clinic for the last year so I am getting a lot of practice; and 2. They is an outline for every station so we know exactly what is expected of us and what they are looking for get our points. The only real downside is to have someone standing over your shoulder evaluating your every move, but I think I will survive.