most of you may remember my obgyn saga. three times is more than enough to whet anyone's appetite.. and then some. i've only been back at the hospital for three days and has had something cringe-worthy happen each day. first was waving to a complete stranger with lotsa gusto - i thought he was my friend's little brother. should've seen the look on the guy's face... pure wtf?! splashed all over it. can't remember whatever made me cringe yesterday but it's ok. today tops them all.
first day of the rotation proper, for yesterday was only orientation. 8am start at the theaters. i saunter in, change into those familiar blue scrubs and grab my list. of all the lists on for the morning, of all the surgeons operating.. guess who's list i was on? completely forget the fact that i'd be attached to the anesthesiologists and not the actual surgeon... that's besides the point! of all the people operating this morning, i had to sit in on the obgyn prof's list. should've gone out and bought a lottery ticket. could've gotten any ol' obgyn list with another consultant, but to have the luck of the draw and be in his... man. yes, he came over to say hi. yes, he asked me for the umpteenth time what i was doing this year. yes, i had to list all my rotations out for him yet again. only saving graces were that the anesthesiologists and the nurses were saints.. and so was the med student attached to the obgyn prof. - knew him well enough to feel comfy around =)
that aside, first proper day back was an awful reminder of what life is supposed to be like. a very rude shock from my carefree days over summer in general. 8 cherries were my breakfast. a stick of gum in the car that i only spat out when i got home at 6.30pm today because i had no time to eat all day. gross as it may be, i was very unwilling to spit out the only vague resemblance of food i had access to, you see... came home tired and famished, brain fully saturated in a dulled but nice way. i feel like i could've gained a brain cell or two today so all's well. *groans at tomorrow*
1.30.2007
1.23.2007
dude!!
so after all that, they are brave enough to ask me to come back and persuade other students to take the same path as me. the general consensus was a snort of disbelief and lotsa snickering - hit the reply button and just type "No." suggested one friend. fighting back the urge to do so was tough. there was also the devilish thought of agreeing, just to go and tell them all the horrible things these new students should look forward to. maybe even spill some exam questions or something. i fought back all 'em devil horns and put away my pitchfork and pointy tail to churn out a tame reply.. i think.
today, i got a reply to my reply. it's the day after the frickin talk for goodness sakes. this is why the obgyn dept over here shits me.
dude!! (for some reason, i've taken to exclaiming "dude!!" a lot lately.. yes, complete with the double exclamations. it's much more versatile - it could mean anything from "idiot!!" to "bitch!!" to "asshole!" and so on.) anyway. dude!! really.. i understand that you need to ask more people than you need for something with such short notice so that you'll have at least one person show up but was it really necessary to tell me that you didn't need me to go? a non-reply would've been perfect. had you contracted a case of itchy fingers and had the need to reply, a simple thank you for your reply would've been fine.. my eyes thank you, o ditzy one, for their long roll to the end of the world and back.
1.19.2007
blurry teeter totter
the first few weeks of january have always been a time of fearful excitement. thta same butterflies in the tummy feeling you get as you ascend the highest roller coaster slope and get to the top. the few days right before school starts is akin to those few moments when your roller coaster car is tottering at the peak of the hill and you know that you're going to be pretty much freefalling towards an unknown track full of surprise loops, twists and turns.
the parents have come and gone.. hence my lack of blogging. hence, the lack of online presence in general actually. this was a good trip for them apparently - it was their only break from hospital duty. they had a neverending roster with both sets of grandparents still alive but running into mishaps. one grampa's got parkinson's and needs constant attention re: meds and outpatient appointments. one gramma decided she wanted to join in the fun and went and fractured her pelvis. the other granpa decided he wanted to move to a new place with an elevator so my parents took him househunting. the other gramma's starting to lose her balance. and on it goes.
so in the midst of the little tantrums and squabbles amongst the three of us in my family, a little niggly feeling squirmed through to distract me on sunday night. it got worse on monday. wallowing in one's self pity isn't very fun. here i was, a kiddo stuck in a hotel room in sydney with her two overprotective fussy parents bored out of my mind while my friends started a new chapter in their lives. their first day at work, their first day as interns.. as doctors.
it's hard to reconcile the mishmash of thoughts at this point - the excitement of tackling something new, of something that isn't obgyn, the anxiety stemming from exams, the checklist of legal issues and steps to do with immigration and visa for that transition between student and intern, the anticipation of preference results and signing the work contract, the relief of settling into a new place with my own space, the envious but proud feeling of seeing my friends tackle their new lives...
not quite sure what i'm trying to get at. just airing my thoughts so i can clear some space to tackle the rest of this year's rotations. gonna try reformatting my computer tonight as part of the cleaning process to start afresh and anew. if i go missing for a while, you can be safe to assume that i screwed up the reformatting process and can't set things up right *grin*
the parents have come and gone.. hence my lack of blogging. hence, the lack of online presence in general actually. this was a good trip for them apparently - it was their only break from hospital duty. they had a neverending roster with both sets of grandparents still alive but running into mishaps. one grampa's got parkinson's and needs constant attention re: meds and outpatient appointments. one gramma decided she wanted to join in the fun and went and fractured her pelvis. the other granpa decided he wanted to move to a new place with an elevator so my parents took him househunting. the other gramma's starting to lose her balance. and on it goes.
so in the midst of the little tantrums and squabbles amongst the three of us in my family, a little niggly feeling squirmed through to distract me on sunday night. it got worse on monday. wallowing in one's self pity isn't very fun. here i was, a kiddo stuck in a hotel room in sydney with her two overprotective fussy parents bored out of my mind while my friends started a new chapter in their lives. their first day at work, their first day as interns.. as doctors.
it's hard to reconcile the mishmash of thoughts at this point - the excitement of tackling something new, of something that isn't obgyn, the anxiety stemming from exams, the checklist of legal issues and steps to do with immigration and visa for that transition between student and intern, the anticipation of preference results and signing the work contract, the relief of settling into a new place with my own space, the envious but proud feeling of seeing my friends tackle their new lives...
not quite sure what i'm trying to get at. just airing my thoughts so i can clear some space to tackle the rest of this year's rotations. gonna try reformatting my computer tonight as part of the cleaning process to start afresh and anew. if i go missing for a while, you can be safe to assume that i screwed up the reformatting process and can't set things up right *grin*
1.07.2007
wayward backwards
one'd think that one would have sorted out old stuff and left that in last year. one'd think that one would start the new year with freshly baked ideas and a large sprinkle of gusto, excitement and anticipation at what the new year will bring. one would think so, if you define one as me. instead, i spent the start of the new year reminiscing. techinically, it was limited to just today as i was trying to sort out the mess that's my study.
old letters, old photos, old notes and old knick knacks opened the floodgates for a whole lot of good, bad and bittersweet memories. i came across the scrapbook i started during my 6-month stint of nothingness after my A-levels. It starts out with baby photos and progresses up to my first couple of months in newie. i never made it past that due to lack of time and lack of pictures. i think that's when i embraced the digital age and got a digicam.
may i be as bold to say that i was one cute kid? *grins* well i think i was, heh. the question then becomes... what the hell happened? maybe that was a tad harsh, but really.. i'm quite perturbed that i'm envious of my former self. yes, i was ol' four eyes with those horribly enormous glasses that nearly reached my chin but aside from that, i think that i had more accomplishments both academic and extra-cirricular than i have now. i also think i was a hella lot better looking back then. i mean, that was the time before zits and oily skin entered my dictionary! why wouldn't i be envious?
all in all, there were more warm fuzzies than stomach churning gained from the cleanup and rearranging. still needing a few things.. wouldn't mind a ton more that i don't absolutely need. like this pair of fishbowl bookends or these nifty storage boxes.
with a few more weeks til uni starts up again, it's also time to brush up on some cooking and bento ideas... sporks would be good but
knorks would be just as good for packed lunches. i guess i wouldn't need it at all if i stuck to sandwiches like these tho i already use sporks like in the picture anyway. for those feeling less hungry, there's a BLT ring one could wear on one's finger rather than around one's waist.
also something in time for uni.. well, for those who need to sit for the SATs that are finding themselves short of time to study or would like to do some last minute cramming, you could try ordering a couple of these shower curtains.
i noe that january is traditionally the month when the post-holiday bills hit and everyone's a bit tighter in finances than usual (but hey, for those that celebrate chinese new year, there is always the incentive of red packets to look forward to soon to pay off some of those credit card bills!). still, that's no deterrent whatsoever to my online shopping habit... i can only take comfort in the fact that for now, it's all just window shopping =)the question is.. is it the same case for you? =P
old letters, old photos, old notes and old knick knacks opened the floodgates for a whole lot of good, bad and bittersweet memories. i came across the scrapbook i started during my 6-month stint of nothingness after my A-levels. It starts out with baby photos and progresses up to my first couple of months in newie. i never made it past that due to lack of time and lack of pictures. i think that's when i embraced the digital age and got a digicam.
may i be as bold to say that i was one cute kid? *grins* well i think i was, heh. the question then becomes... what the hell happened? maybe that was a tad harsh, but really.. i'm quite perturbed that i'm envious of my former self. yes, i was ol' four eyes with those horribly enormous glasses that nearly reached my chin but aside from that, i think that i had more accomplishments both academic and extra-cirricular than i have now. i also think i was a hella lot better looking back then. i mean, that was the time before zits and oily skin entered my dictionary! why wouldn't i be envious?
all in all, there were more warm fuzzies than stomach churning gained from the cleanup and rearranging. still needing a few things.. wouldn't mind a ton more that i don't absolutely need. like this pair of fishbowl bookends or these nifty storage boxes.with a few more weeks til uni starts up again, it's also time to brush up on some cooking and bento ideas... sporks would be good but
knorks would be just as good for packed lunches. i guess i wouldn't need it at all if i stuck to sandwiches like these tho i already use sporks like in the picture anyway. for those feeling less hungry, there's a BLT ring one could wear on one's finger rather than around one's waist.also something in time for uni.. well, for those who need to sit for the SATs that are finding themselves short of time to study or would like to do some last minute cramming, you could try ordering a couple of these shower curtains.i noe that january is traditionally the month when the post-holiday bills hit and everyone's a bit tighter in finances than usual (but hey, for those that celebrate chinese new year, there is always the incentive of red packets to look forward to soon to pay off some of those credit card bills!). still, that's no deterrent whatsoever to my online shopping habit... i can only take comfort in the fact that for now, it's all just window shopping =)the question is.. is it the same case for you? =P
1.04.2007
much ado about nothing
happy 2007! new year's resolutions anyone? i cheat. i never make any so that i'll never break any either. kinda like how certain doctors boast a 100% success rate for particular procedures because they select their patients beforehand and reject any whom they think the procedure will fail in.
anyway, it's been nearly a month after signing the lease to this new pad of mine and it's still in a deplorable state in terms of being visitor ready. nevertheless, enough people have witnessed the shocking mess that i'm capable of creating. that being said, what they saw was a mess already half cleaned up.
i might propose a tease with possibilities of pictures of my new apartment once everything's been put in their places.. the same ones they'll be residing in for the next 18 months or more. that's half the problem - finding a "place" for everything, somewhere where they'll "belong" and it's harder than it sounds. the art of belonging in general is hard.
not very sure why i've been running around like a headless chook since the move. each day whizzing by, nearly something or someone popping up so that as much as i enjoy their company, i find nightfall creeping up on me at the end of it all. minor hiccups have already happened. the most inane one of all would be about the parking spaces. the Saga of the Spaces. finally got it settled once and for all in writing today. gist of the saga is that someone else was also promised two car spaces just like i was. the problem was that we were both promised space 37. would've been easily rectified - i wanted some sort of official document clarifying the conflicting statements of my tenancy agreement contract. one page said i was entitled to one car space, another clearly stated that i had two car spaces. both were part of the contract and the real estate agent said to go by the strata document that said two car spaces. the other dude was in the exact opposite situation as me - his contract entitled him to two spaces, the strata had assigned him one. he thought i was parking in his space, i thought he was parking in my space. the stupid part was that we both had one car each so technically, we didn't need space 37. i would've been fine with one car space and him having space 37 - my only condition was that i wanted something official resolving the conflicting information in my contract and the agent didn't seem too interested in changing it. had to call the department of fair trading and ask for advice to get the ball rolling. of course, the holiday season and the numerous days of vacation didn't help speed up resolution. thankfully, all's well. inane, right? bleah.
parents will be here next week. that'll translate to me being m.i.a. again for another couple of weeks. somehow, i have a feeling that there will be plenty of teeth-gnashing tales to be told soon afterwards...
anyway, it's been nearly a month after signing the lease to this new pad of mine and it's still in a deplorable state in terms of being visitor ready. nevertheless, enough people have witnessed the shocking mess that i'm capable of creating. that being said, what they saw was a mess already half cleaned up.
i might propose a tease with possibilities of pictures of my new apartment once everything's been put in their places.. the same ones they'll be residing in for the next 18 months or more. that's half the problem - finding a "place" for everything, somewhere where they'll "belong" and it's harder than it sounds. the art of belonging in general is hard.
not very sure why i've been running around like a headless chook since the move. each day whizzing by, nearly something or someone popping up so that as much as i enjoy their company, i find nightfall creeping up on me at the end of it all. minor hiccups have already happened. the most inane one of all would be about the parking spaces. the Saga of the Spaces. finally got it settled once and for all in writing today. gist of the saga is that someone else was also promised two car spaces just like i was. the problem was that we were both promised space 37. would've been easily rectified - i wanted some sort of official document clarifying the conflicting statements of my tenancy agreement contract. one page said i was entitled to one car space, another clearly stated that i had two car spaces. both were part of the contract and the real estate agent said to go by the strata document that said two car spaces. the other dude was in the exact opposite situation as me - his contract entitled him to two spaces, the strata had assigned him one. he thought i was parking in his space, i thought he was parking in my space. the stupid part was that we both had one car each so technically, we didn't need space 37. i would've been fine with one car space and him having space 37 - my only condition was that i wanted something official resolving the conflicting information in my contract and the agent didn't seem too interested in changing it. had to call the department of fair trading and ask for advice to get the ball rolling. of course, the holiday season and the numerous days of vacation didn't help speed up resolution. thankfully, all's well. inane, right? bleah.
parents will be here next week. that'll translate to me being m.i.a. again for another couple of weeks. somehow, i have a feeling that there will be plenty of teeth-gnashing tales to be told soon afterwards...
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