A quarter of a century

Today is my 25th birthday.

Quarter of a century and I'm still at university not yet trained to do anything in particular.

Another 2.75 years and I will hopefully be a doctor, but for the time being I'm happy just being a 25 year old medical student.

:)

The most wonderful place in the world

I'm in a place with smiles abundant. In fact I can't help but smile myself. Happy people everywhere, it's just so damn infectious... If only I could have a baby of my own right now!

Finally relaxing

I've headed to Yorkshire for the weekend and for the first time in over a week I feel a lot better.

Ironically I had to miss some time from Uni. I mean I really did drag my ass in when I wasn't feeling quite right, but on a couple of days I literally couldn't do it!

My GP signed me off and told me adamantly to not go in. So I didn't. Consequently the medical school have asked me to see one of the senior advisors to discuss my recent absence.

Given the fact that I have been genuinely unwell and I've seen many many people in my medical school skip things that aren't compulsory and literally never turn up, I do feel a tad concerned.

I'm worried that my missing 3 and a half day is gonna come back and kick me in the arse.

For the time being, I'm spending my birthday money before my birthday (26th October) and chilling with the parents.

Grinning and bearing it

For the last 7 days I have been unwell.

Nothing too serious, but two trips to the GP and 3 days off placement later and I'm still not feeling particular cheery.

I was ordered yesterday to take a clean 24 hours rest. So I started yesterday lunchtime and tonight I have a bar shift. Back to placement tomorrow for more grilling and playing 'follow a doc' and then some sport in the afternoon.

Problem is, I don't do 'ill' very well. I just can't slow down!

Canoe

OK so I mentioned that I joined the canoe club.

I also mentioned that I'm shit scared of water, boats, drowning and falling out of boats etc.

So, you know, not one of my better ideas. But I had a theory....

... all fears are there to be conquered (except one, and that shall never be conquered cos it's just too scary).

Therefore, I trekked down to where I was supposed to meet, with my swimwear on under my clothes and a towel and some warm clothing.

Found the person holding a paddle in the middle of the students union building and followed them. What follows was something I am slightly embarrassed by, but yet stripping off in front of a load of other people of both genders is much less embarrassing when you have swimwear on already. And Jeez, apparently getting into a full length wetsuit is difficult whatever your gender.

So, wetsuit, kag, buoyancy aid helmet and boots on and I was ready to go.

And go we did. Slight lesson first on how to hold a paddle, and we were literally thrown into the water in the boats.

First important step, could I get out of my canoe if I went under....

Well, apparently yes I can. And even with a splash deck on too.

An hour later, cold, very wet and bedraggled I headed home to a hot shower.

Verdict: I love it, can't wait to go again!

Question

If I have 3 cans of diet Pepsi unfinished and in different levels of fullness (i.e. mostly full) on my desk, does that make me an addict?!

Dear Blog

Dear Blog,

it would appear I have abandoned you of late.

The problem is third year. I'm on placement and the hospital is swallowing my life. 

Between spending most of the week following a doctor around like a flock of sheep, some of us also spend our weekends there trying to earn money. 

Personally, I reckon I'm a one-person MRSA stash!

Anyway, dear blog, I thought I would tell you how 4 medical students single handedly made the whole nurse's station cackle. 

Picture the scene, 4 medical students standing on the ward waiting for unknown doctor to appear and do something (our timetable is very vague) when a random distinguished gentleman appears and starts barking questions at us. He seems to know his stuff, so we all presume he's our guy, but as he isn't wearing any ID, just a stethoscope, we're none the wiser to who he actually is.

So we follow him around for over an hour, none the wiser until I quickly spy my opportunity to ask a nurse. Sadly, nurse in question is sat with 3 others, and once they realise our predicament barely stop laughing to tell us that he's the top consultant.

As we ran after him around the corner I could feel their eyes on our backs as their shrieking laughter rang around the ward. Cheers guys.

Hope it gets better from here on it...

WHY?!

I set myself the challenge of starting something new come the start of the academic year.

So why, for the love of all things holy did I decide to take up a sport involving water?!

(And no, not anything seedy before you comment you filthy minded bunch!)

I am shit scared of deep water. I hate it, I'm not an amazingly confident swimmer, and going underwater scares the crap out of me.

Yet I decided it would be fun to give myself a new challenge.

Yes ladies and gentlemen, I am now a paid up member of the canoeing club... and bricking it.

Stress, headaches and financial gain

Blimey, third year has certainly started with a bang!

I feel totally bogged down already, and it's only the second week.
The work has built up, but financially, I feel more stable already.

As well as a bar pay rise, I discovered through chance that I'm due a payrise from the staff bank. Meaning I go from £6.22 an hour to £6.90 an hour plus antisocial allowances. And, they backdate it from June.

I also got a tax rebate, although I'm sure they've messed up somewhere. Apparently I earned £1800 from my old university bar job in the past academic year. Considering I haven't worked there since Summer 2006, I fail to see how they've worked this out. I mean, I don't mind being taxed on it if I've earned it in the first place you know?!

A fresh start

The usual apologies for absences apply.

The new academic year has started with a bang, and things are going fine so far.

We've had the usual teething problems with the new start - lecturers forgetting to turn up for their relevant seminars and the students applying the usual 'if he's not here by quarter past we're doing a runner' rule*

Otherwise it's all cool. I like my PBL group, my GP surgery placement and my tutors.

On the plus side, I've also had a promotion in my bar job, and have been made a bar supervisor. It means more pay, more guaranteed hours and more CV enhancing skills.

Even better, it pays weekly.

On the whole, everything is going a lot better this year than this time last year. But I'm sure I will have just gone and jinxed that one now...

 

*Does this apply to other students at other universities too?