the wait

It's 40 minutes before my Neuro OSCE. As you can tell, I'm studying very hard at the moment ;)
Oh, it's going to be so good once it's over. HOLIDAYS! woo hoo, I'm excited.

My classmate, not to mention anyone in particular Nick Laing says "this is a typical ASIAN blog". Apparently because of the enthusiasm?! does this mean that whities and darkies are boring and subdued?? I think that he's just silly.

Meanwhile on the topic of silliness, another classmate has just asked me if this is my case report...

So, what are my plans for the holidays? Well, tecnically I don't start my holidays til Saturady since I've got an ambulance run on Saturday night. I'm going to be sewing and hanging out with friends and family. Might go snowboarding again if I get the chance. Oh... there's a very expensive french reataurant that is looking for an experience part time waitress. As a spare of the moment thing, I walked in and enquired. They want to try me out on Monday night. I have mixed feelings about taking the job just that I'm leaving the country in about 2 months. Buut, I've got just over a year to work as a waitress (or other non-doctor positions). After that, it'd be inappropriate for me to do that. WOuldn't be too good if a customer came in and thought "hey, that waitress looks like Dad's doctor at the hospital" lol.

Although it'll probably be a lot of fun, it'll also be time consuming too. Soo... Monday night will be both trial for me as well as a trial for the restaurant.

now...back to the present. I'm in the computer room now where some of my classmates are walking in and out either waiting to examine a patient or has just finished examing a patient. Hmm, interesting times. Better head off now. Wish me luck!

Perspective

I was having a bit of a downer last week. I wasn't too happy or thankful for much. I did not really a good attitude at all until I went to a MAPP meeting on Thursday. What's MAPP?Hmmm, one day I'll explain it properly but til then; tt's this group where med students meet to talk and plan ways to take medical aid to developing nations. Sorta save the world with doing what we can, one human at a time kinda stuff. sounds cheesy (partly cos I've made it sound that way), but it was just the kick in the backside that I needed to remind me of why I'm where I am. Made me realise just how blessed I am to be in my situation.

I've learnt that the little, tiny annoeying things don't really matter. Oooh, I've thought of an analogy. This analogy is pretty much for everyone that it capable of reading this blog. 1- you can read! 2- you have internet access. And besides, I'm sure that there are more wonderful things in your life than this. Anyway... it's like we've been given a silver plater with a selection of over 1000 different delicately hand crafted appetizers. All beautifully created. We try the first few and they're just so delicious. Then after a countless number of treats, we come to one that looks promising, it's just as beautiful as the previous ones we've eaten. We place it in our mouths expectantly. Shocked, we find that it's actually a disguisting morsal that contains a nasty ingredient (e.g. goat cheese - I hate goat cheese!). Now, we can pull a tantrum and through the silver plater away or actually just grab another piece. Surely, it can't get any worse. Chances are, the new peice will wash away that disguisting taste. What I'm trying to say is, embrass life and all it has to offer. Don't throw it away because crap happens. If anything, be thankful for the unpleasant things, makes you appreciate the pleasant more. Stops you from taking good things for granted.

So, how am I doing? I'm very well thanks. Life is great. I'm really enjoying geriactric medicine. Old people (in general) are endearing. They sometimes require a lot of patience but most are absolutely lovely. I'm finding this rotation to be very rewarding. Not to say that I'm going to become a geriatrition but I'm not ruling it out. I guess it's a bonus that I'm enjoying what I'm doing at present.

fun in the snow

I went to Mt Hutt today with Fi and Nick. I'm very sore now, haven't played "count the bruises" yet but the day was definitely worth the aches and pains. It was such a beautiful day. Warm -with a minimal breeze, the sun was out AAND there was fresh powder! I don't know if it can get much better than that!
My snowboarding has improved lots since this morning. It wasn't very good to start off with anyway but it's great to be able to notice an improvement after only 1 day :)
Went out for dinner to an Italian restaurant with a few friends tonight. Good food, great company. So all in all it's been a great day!

All is well - Red wine makes everything better ;)

Hmmm, so apparently there is still a reader out there in blog land - not to mention any names Abbey ;)
I guess that I was a little lonely and a little frustrated during the last blog. But I realise that it's not a good mind set to keep dwelling on. Partly because that's not the attitude to have if i'm to DEVELOP close relationships with ppl. Also, life's too short to be unhappy for too long. It's been an interesting week. Don't know if I've been asking more stupid questions than usual or I'm just noticing it more this week. Oh well, i guess that it's just all part of growing up. I've got to have a few minor imperfections otherwise I'd be just too perfect ;)
It's Simon's birthday today. Who's simon? He's a dear friend of mine since HS. we're all going out, listening to some jazz and just hanging. He's 24 now. Oh my goodness! hmmm, don't know if I'm ready to turn 24.
I'm off to Mt Hutt tomorrow. I've hired a board and boots aaand managed to get some wrist guards thrown in too. The rental dude was nice. it's good to be a girl :D I'm looking forward to a fun filled day on the slopes. Woo hoo!

Thinking out loud

Now that nobody really reads my blog, I feel a since of freedom. I guess partly cos I'm at the bottom and everything else is a bonus. But also, I can write whatever I like and not have to worry about being incredibly boring or negative or whatever.

To be perfectly honest, I've been feeling pretty crappy. I've spent a significant part of my day being annoed! I read the bible briefly before and that helped lots but then I got distracted. (Brief break to read my daily reading). Ok, my mind's a little clearer. It's times like this that I grow in God so I guess that I should be thankful. Hmmm, my negative mindset isn't exactly honoring God but I'm not going to pretend to be happy.

I'm having issues about putting certain ppl in their place. God has blessed me with some wonderful friends. The kind that are loyal, honest, loving, caring and will be there for me come what may. THEN there are others that are my more distant friends. I define close friends as those that have the virtues that I've discribed plus a few more. Some people haven't been blessed with some many dear friends as me. Their standard for close friendship is different. I guess I should stop complaining, show a bit of grace and be more thankful.

Ha! This blog has ended a lot more positively than I had anticipated :)

This is apparently ME!

I took a quiz and this is what I got.

You fit in with: Cool Jock, etc. You fit into the Cool Jock sort of stereotype. You're not only popular, but you also probably have a bunch of good friends who you can see eye-to-eye with.

'What highschool stereotype do you fit in with?' at QuizGalaxy.com

This is somewhat surprising. A part of me likes to think that the test is VERY silly and I really belong with the intellectuals :D

half the year is over

During a ward round this Saturady morning, there was myself, a fellow student, a trainee intern, 2 house surgeons, 2 registras and a consultant (lots of doctors). We were all gathered around a patient's bed. The patient was a little old lady who was very delighted to see me. I got called a "lovely little girl" by this very patient! A little girl??! I'm a grown woman that will be graduating as a a doctor in 2.5 years time. She was completely clueless as to how terrible her comment was. I was mortified and embarrassed :(

I'm half way through 2007. It's gone by so quickly. Apparently I've learnt half the things that I should have for 4rd year. Hmm, here's hoping.

Life has been interesting and challenging at times.

I'm on holiday at the mo. I've got quite a few things to do though
-ethics assignment
-Maori health assignment
-Pathology abstract
plus I'll be welcomed back to school with a couple of tests.

Now, the logical thing for me to do is get some of this out of the way during my holiday. The problem is... Can I be bothered?

I'm off to Wellington next Monday. That's going to be fun. I'm looking forward to catching up with people. I might be a bit of shopping while I'm there. Might.

I'm leaving for Shang hai in 4.5 months from now. I'll be there for just over 3 weeks, then I'll be in hong kong followed by Sydney. I'm be back home by Dec 17th.

I'm still got the whole of January free. I'm thinking of europe. This is my last big opportunity to travel for a month without any strings. After this, i'll still have my 3month elective which is part of our course. I can shoose to go virtually anyway in the world. One of my classmate's in planning on going to Antartica (at Scott base). As much as I'm looking forward to my elective, there'll be responsibilities while I'm away. It won't be all fun and games since I'll be at a hospital for most of the time. Like I said, this summer proper summer break.