The Da Vinci Code (and all that jazz)

I get my allowance on a Wednesday and it has to last me the entire week.
I now have £2.81 left. I can see this being a very long and lonely couple of days.

Why am I so short of money??
Well, my social life has emerged. I partied this week and went to the cinema today to see the Da Vinci Code. The verdict: Visually stunning, and almost exactly true to the book. Would reccommend.

Random thought: Is it wrong to want to procreate with an albino monk called Silas??

Puppies

Further to confuse people, I'm going to explain the definition of 'puppies' where I come from.
When I was a teenager and going out to a party or 'disco', my father would invariably veto the outfit. You see, I'm a daddy's girl, and my father is a respected member of the community. It wouldn't do for me to go out dressed, well, scantily.
My father's classic expression if he felt I was showing too much cleavage (and he still uses it):
'If you're drowning them puppies love, I'll have t'one on t'left with t'pink nose'

At which point I would go and get changed.

How many times do I have to say it?

I cannot 'free pour' spirits because the measure would not be accurate.
I have to use a pourer because that's what we're licensed for. We serve in 25ml measures or multiples thereof. If you have a problem with this, then go elsewhere.

Hollywood has a lot to answer for.

In other bar related news, I made my first Black Russian tonight (after having a quick 'team meeting' to decide what was actually in it) : outcome, happy customer, bemused Merys.

Supposed intelligent conversation

Having just wandered across campus in the rain, I over heard some of our finest students having an educated conversation. It went something like this:
"What would you rather be, a puppy or a kitten?"

Dear god in heaven. These are supposed to be the top 10% of the population.
Although they did provide me with a way to blog about Puppies (for Rob)

Clarification

Let me make something abundantly clear;
I will not stand for abusive comments being left on my blog. I am all for free speech, but not at an offensive, rude and aggressive level.
The comments have been deleted, and further action has been taken.
Merys

New Links

I thought I'd take some time to update the sidebar (red: procrastinating from the dissertation), and the point out the new ones that have caught my eye:

I Like Curry - the work blog of John Robertson working as a trainee ambulance technician after being a students. Beautiful writing style to say he's a scientist by nature!

Deidamia - Lauren's blog as a final year medical student. Letting me know what I (hopefully) have to look forward to.

NHS Blog Doc - The unstoppable Dr Crippen. Need I say more!

The Hippocratic Oaf - Medical student at Oxford, showing me how much I will probably hate it when I get there.

Walking the Streets - The wonderful Bill Stickers who is still keeping motorists in line. I smile every time I read his blog.

Restaurant Girl - Because I've been there. I used to love being a waitress, despite the hard work and the rude customers.

A little extra protein

I have a sore throat and am feeling miserable (no surprise there then).
I'd been sulking around all day until I found an open packet of supermarket's own Honey and Lemon Throat Lozenges.
Now when I ate the first one it was a bit soggy - but I thought nowt of it. It helped a bit.
So I spent all night not really paying any attention to them, but eating them nevertheless.
If you look very carefully at the picture on the left you will see a clump of lozenges and some small brown spots. These spots are dead pharoah ants which commonly inhabit halls of residence.
They also commonly inhabit throat lozenges, and now my GI tract.
I really need to pay attention to what I put in my mouth (rude jokes aside), but I reckon the Atkins Diet would allow it - after all, it's just a little extra protein!

Animal Testing part 2

http://animalrightsblog.blogspot.com/2006/05/guinea-pigs-animal-rights-and-digging.html

This is a link to a site which I was left in the comments section of my previous animal testing post.

It has some interesting views. Some which are valid, and some which I strongly disagree with. To quote:

"The useless, ingrained animal abuse of these wasteful experiments done by perverted, potentially mentally ill scientists worldwide is more absurd than anything I can think of. Yes, that includes digging up a grandmother’s dead body."

I don't really feel the need to add my two'penneth into this one. My views are clear and stand from the previous post. Thank you to Anonymous for pointing this out to me, but you are unlikely to alter my opinions. As part of the vivisection part of my education, I had to write an essay for both sides of the argument. I scored good marks for it. It was clear and balanced and showed opinions for and against vivisection.

Unfortunately, without drugs as they are today, we would not be living as long as we currently are. People would be dying earlier of diseases that can be cured or managed. Diseases like asthma and diabetes.

As someone who takes prescription medications, I know how painful life is without them. I live a happier life courtesy of useful drugs, and while I appreciate that animals have died so that I can be (almost) pain free, I will not be ashamed because of it.

Ask the audience

Ok. I'm on call tonight. I'm bored and praying that the bat phone doesn't ring. I'm trying (unsuccessfully) to get on with my dissertation, but after 2 glasses of wine and the majority of a 500ml tub of Chocolate Brownie flavoured Ben and Jerry's, I'm feeling a bit sluggish.
So I felt it was time to ask you guys (the few) what you think I should blog about.
Free choice, seriously.
Go nuts

Happy Happy Joy Joy

Apparently the answer to all my problems lies with anti-depressants. Namely, fluoxetine (you may know is better by the brand name prozac).

Now, I'm not a doctor - but I do know I'm not depressed. Occasionally stressed and frequently pissed off, but I wouldn't say I have depression.
Needless to say I refused the prescription. I like my life and I don't want to take mood altering medications. Especially when I only went to the GP for back pains.
My problem lies with communication. I get upset because I feel ignored. This has been going on for 4 years and I've had a barrage of investigations; x-rays, blood tests, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, rheumatology appointments. All have come back negative, so no-one seems especially bothered - except me. I'm bothered. I'm grumpy when I'm in pain, and I get upset. So sue me. After a bit of a poke and a prod (which hurt) it was decided that I could be referred to either acupunture or remedial massage (but not both). Interestingly, my GP told me over 12 months ago that she would refer me to acupuncture and osteopathy. When I queried this yesterday, I'd never been referred. Great - just great.

So, given my current track record, either I won't have been referred at all, or the appointment will come through when I move to my next university.