I'm in situ at Warwick Medical School and have been told, along with my coursemates, that we are now proto-professions. So that means I've got to behave and act like a pillar of the community. That is hard seeings as I thought I had another few years of not acting like a pillar of the community.
I am quite concerned about the fact that I have so far completed only 3 days of med school and am already exhausted. I'm hoping it's due to the fact that I haven't stopped since moving in on Sunday. For a few days before I moved down here I wasn't sleeping well. I think this was due to nerves about such a huge impending change.
I arrived at the Halls of Residence at about 3pm on Sunday and started to unpack. There was stuff everywhere and I didn't really know what to do with any of it. It is kind of sorted now except for the wok which is room sharing with me due to a bit of a lack of space issue in the kitchen. I guess with a bit of lateral thinking it will join it's other cooking implement friends in due course.
After I'd strewn my belongings around the flat it was time to head to the welcome BBQ for this year's cohort. Only, as it wasn't BBQ weather, it was more of a case of some microwaved sausages in a sports pavillion. It was nice though, the atmosphere was great and everyone was quickly talking and laughing with each other. Not quickly talking, as talking quickly, but quickly getting on with each other I mean. Kind of thing. Later on we headed onto the pub on the campus to meet our second year 'Mums and Dads' who are going to be our mentors for a while and occasionally cook for us and buy us drinks. The important things like that. All in all it was a fun evening and great to meet new friends.
Monday and Tuesday were packed with the usual admin type lectures. You know, the IT services lecture conducted in obligatory monotone amongst other delights.
Last night there was a pub quiz and although we should have won we didn't. So that was the end of that really.
Our lectures today were more of the sort of thing we are going to expect over the next 18 months and included intros to anatomy, histo (supposedly my forte, having impressed the lecturing pathologist on my answer on why we do frozen sections) and communication skills.
Today was the first proper go we had at working in our study groups and it went pretty well. It was a bit daunting at first but it's nice to be able to mix lectures with active discussion and tasks.
The rest of the week is going to be in pretty much the same form. The pace really is hectic I think I'm really going to have to have my finger on the pulse (boom tish) to keep up,as is everyone. I'm pretty sure there's going to be some great laughs along the way though and the staff and facilities are excellent so I think we are all in for a great time here.
Tomorrow night's tomfoolery is a night out on the tiles called Dr and Nurses Night. This involves cross dressing (mainly lots of guys dressing as nurses) and hitting a nightclub in Coventry. It all sounds a little surreal. It always worries me also when an establishment has some deviant spelling going on in the name as it's never usually the sign of a prestigious establishment. Anyway, I'm sure it'll all be very funny.
Looking forward to popping back up north to spend some time at home. This week has been a bit full on but next week I should be able to get into some routine and get things a bit more sorted.
Over and out
NLO
Wednesday, 10 September 2008
Saturday, 6 September 2008
Here I go again on my own
Just a quick post today. I spent most of the day thinking about packing, procrastinating, making a tentative attempt at packing, then being distracted. I think I finally got most of it done about an hour ago. Hmph. I hate packing.
Well, this time tomorrow I will be in situ at University of Warwick. I'm heading down around 11.30am and moving into Halls before then meeting my new coursemates at a welcome BBQ and going to the local pub to meet our 'Mums and Dads'. This confuses me, I'm pretty sure I've known mine for nearly 26 years. What it is, we get assigned to someone in the 2nd year who will be a point of contact for us for a while. I'm hoping mine will tell me how to pass the exams. And they allegedly cook a meal for us. Sounds good to me :o)
I'm pretty tired now. I'm feeling kind of nervous at the moment about the move and everything but excited aswell. I'll try to update the blog during the week as and when I get time. This week is full of lectures (as it will be from hereonin) and there's a lot of stuff that's been organised by the Med Soc, with pub quizes, pub crawls and other various forms of pub based recreation happening through the week. I've been informed that the highlight of the week is going to be Dr and Nurses Night on Thursday which involves lots of men cross-dressing as nurses.
More about that later.
Over and out
NLO
Well, this time tomorrow I will be in situ at University of Warwick. I'm heading down around 11.30am and moving into Halls before then meeting my new coursemates at a welcome BBQ and going to the local pub to meet our 'Mums and Dads'. This confuses me, I'm pretty sure I've known mine for nearly 26 years. What it is, we get assigned to someone in the 2nd year who will be a point of contact for us for a while. I'm hoping mine will tell me how to pass the exams. And they allegedly cook a meal for us. Sounds good to me :o)
I'm pretty tired now. I'm feeling kind of nervous at the moment about the move and everything but excited aswell. I'll try to update the blog during the week as and when I get time. This week is full of lectures (as it will be from hereonin) and there's a lot of stuff that's been organised by the Med Soc, with pub quizes, pub crawls and other various forms of pub based recreation happening through the week. I've been informed that the highlight of the week is going to be Dr and Nurses Night on Thursday which involves lots of men cross-dressing as nurses.
More about that later.
Over and out
NLO
Friday, 5 September 2008
Play that funky mu-zak... on second thoughts, don't.
Today I'm going to talk about the music that we have to endure when being put on hold.
Yesterday I had to phone up the council with a query regarding my council tax. I don't like having to make phone calls at the best of times but this was one call I was dreading. It was just a straight forward question I had, nothing too complicated to sort out so that wasn't why I'd developed a nervous twitch. It was down to this reason alone - I knew the torture that the council had lined up for me for having the audacity to trouble them.
The fact is this. Being put on hold is bad enough. Frustrating - check. Boring - check. No scratch that, I mean mindnumbing - check. Nowadays I usually make sure I'm logged onto the internet when I know I have to make a call like that so at least I can do something useful, for example, blog about how bored I am being put on hold. However, the first time I ever phoned up the council I didn't expect the racket that they put on for me to listen to, presumably to keep me entertained. I think it can only be described as being sort of an emsemble of reception class age children trying (and failing) to sing and clap both harmoniously and in time and thus achieving neither. I can sort of see how this could be considered endearing but not when a 'genuine' brass section, courtesy of a Casio keyboard from the 80s accompanies it. And just incase you don't appreciate it the first time, they have it on a loop. So your hopes of the song changing to something more tolerable in a little while are dashed.
I am pretty sure that the council tax phone lines can't always happen to be engaged for around 10 minutes each time someone phones, but it certainly seems to be the case in this instance. This leads me to wonder if the staff know how bad the hold music is and, for their amusement, keep you hanging on for a token length of time. Then by the time they respond you either - a) forget why you have phoned in the first place b) are covering your ears to block out the music but don't hear the person talking to you on the other end of the phone who then hangs up on you or c) have lapsed into some sort of coma. My other theory is that they just pick something awful for you to listen to with the hope it's going to put you off phoning in the first place.
This all leads me to the important question - where the hell do they find this tosh to inflict on us in the first place? Do they employ some kind of 'hold music scout' to seek out the most dreadful noise to delight us all with? Are there special recording studio facilities where people who are desperate to get their big break go to in the meantime to earn a crust by deafening the poor unsuspecting consumer? Answers on a postcard to the usual address please.
Over and out
NLO
PS - Very soon you will be getting some actual, genuine , real-life insight into what life as a medical student is like. That's right folks, on Sunday I'm moving down to Warwick and Monday will be my first day on the long path to finally becoming a doctor. Help us all.
Yesterday I had to phone up the council with a query regarding my council tax. I don't like having to make phone calls at the best of times but this was one call I was dreading. It was just a straight forward question I had, nothing too complicated to sort out so that wasn't why I'd developed a nervous twitch. It was down to this reason alone - I knew the torture that the council had lined up for me for having the audacity to trouble them.
The fact is this. Being put on hold is bad enough. Frustrating - check. Boring - check. No scratch that, I mean mindnumbing - check. Nowadays I usually make sure I'm logged onto the internet when I know I have to make a call like that so at least I can do something useful, for example, blog about how bored I am being put on hold. However, the first time I ever phoned up the council I didn't expect the racket that they put on for me to listen to, presumably to keep me entertained. I think it can only be described as being sort of an emsemble of reception class age children trying (and failing) to sing and clap both harmoniously and in time and thus achieving neither. I can sort of see how this could be considered endearing but not when a 'genuine' brass section, courtesy of a Casio keyboard from the 80s accompanies it. And just incase you don't appreciate it the first time, they have it on a loop. So your hopes of the song changing to something more tolerable in a little while are dashed.
I am pretty sure that the council tax phone lines can't always happen to be engaged for around 10 minutes each time someone phones, but it certainly seems to be the case in this instance. This leads me to wonder if the staff know how bad the hold music is and, for their amusement, keep you hanging on for a token length of time. Then by the time they respond you either - a) forget why you have phoned in the first place b) are covering your ears to block out the music but don't hear the person talking to you on the other end of the phone who then hangs up on you or c) have lapsed into some sort of coma. My other theory is that they just pick something awful for you to listen to with the hope it's going to put you off phoning in the first place.
This all leads me to the important question - where the hell do they find this tosh to inflict on us in the first place? Do they employ some kind of 'hold music scout' to seek out the most dreadful noise to delight us all with? Are there special recording studio facilities where people who are desperate to get their big break go to in the meantime to earn a crust by deafening the poor unsuspecting consumer? Answers on a postcard to the usual address please.
Over and out
NLO
PS - Very soon you will be getting some actual, genuine , real-life insight into what life as a medical student is like. That's right folks, on Sunday I'm moving down to Warwick and Monday will be my first day on the long path to finally becoming a doctor. Help us all.
Saturday, 5 July 2008
Gutter-ball and other stuff
Going ten-pin bowling never fails to provide me with some choice inspiration for comedic annecdotes.
I went the other day. Well, one day a few months ago. There was a whole range of talent on display on this particular occasion, especially in terms of bowling style.
It occurred to me that no matter how rubbish at bowling you think you are, just taking a minute out to witness what's going on around you can be a quick way to restore your self confidence.
For example, those people in the lane next to you. The gutter-barriers have been deployed for ages and they still manage to miss the pins totally. So then one of those ramp things appears. You know, the ones where you just put the ball on the top and let it go. The things that are used by tiny kids. Although, in this instance, it's a group of increasing desperate adults that are using it. After several minutes of careful lining up of the ramp and much discussion, the ball is finally released. With baited breath, the ball is observed as it makes it's painfully slow progression down the lane at approximately 0.0000000001 MPH. When those concerned realise that the outcome of this line of attack is not going to be known for at least another 45 minutes they head off to the bar to get some more drinks in and return to see the ball make contact with the pins... successfully knocking one down.
Then there's the party that go all out. This strategy involves ricocheting the ball against the gutter-barriers at full-pelt. This technique does seem to be quite successful, although the onlooker wonders whether those who use this method and get a strike are fully justified in celebrating by punching the air, almost in awe at their obvious skill at bowling.
Next time you go bowling, take a good look at how people run up to the line and deploy the ball. Variations include:
The Waddle: No reliance on the use of speed here, the concentration is purely on trying to achieve accuracey. Usually includes a pause at the line to size up the situation before bowling the ball straight into the gutter.
Banana-arm: Sadly I seem to have this affliction. No matter how much care is taken to bowl straight, ultimately at the last second the arm seems to lock fully and be wonky, causing the ball to be deposited into the gutter almost instantly.
The Catapult: The clues in the name here; the bowler swings the ball forward so much that it takes flight and finally makes contact with the floor about half way down the alley. This is actually quite a good technique to use, as the less time the ball is on the alley, the less chance it has of veering off into the gutter. Best not to use it if alley staff are in the vicinity as it probably dents the lane. I've had good results employing this. Apart for the time I combined it with Banana-am and the ball ended up in the lane next door but one to mine.
The Reverse-Catapult: Same as above, except the ball is deployed backwards into the group of innocent bystanders. Risk of injury.
The Human Cannon Ball: A technique I discovered. It involves running up to the line, slipping onto knees and sliding down lane towards pins. Incurs a penalty: only to be used if all else fails.
At one of my local bowling joints, they decide that bowling obviously isn't hard enough and turn the lights out at certain times, only leaving tiny lights on down the lanes. It's like some wierd ninja-bowling thing. I went to complain to the staff and they pointed out it was actually past closing time.
Now that I've probably made you all paranoid about how you bowl, I'm going to move on to some other things.
It's been a busy few months for me, with lots of stuff going on so I'm going to quickly sum things up so you're all in the know.
>>> The situation when I last posted was that I was waiting to see if my application to study medicine had been successful. I'm stoked to tell you all that in mid April I received and accepted an unconditional offer from University of Warwick. So I'll be starting on 8th September! Very, very excited and busy sorting stuff out!
>>> After my initial good start to training for the Great Yorkshire Run (which happens to be on Sept 7th, so day before I start at Warwick!! Eek!) I was a bit slack and the training trailed off but I'm now putting effort in and been doing a fair bit of training the past couple of weeks. It's been going OK, I don't think I'll be breaking any records for the run, but it'll be my first 10K, and it'll give me a good base to build on for future events. I'm having a few days rest at the 'mo, got an ankle twinge and an old knee injury is playing up- oa injury on each leg so not even limping as it's all evened out! Hoping to put my running shoes back on come Monday at the latest.
>>> There seems to be some wierd religious cult thing that has obviously taken a likely to my blog name and pinched it for their website. Please remember that my address is http:// and not just www. I've tried to see about changing my blog address but I can't do it without starting from scratch and losing my archived work. This issue was brought up when someone clicked the link to my blog from my JustGiving page and ended up on the cult website but I think I may have sorted it now.
That's all for now folks!
Over and out
NLO
I went the other day. Well, one day a few months ago. There was a whole range of talent on display on this particular occasion, especially in terms of bowling style.
It occurred to me that no matter how rubbish at bowling you think you are, just taking a minute out to witness what's going on around you can be a quick way to restore your self confidence.
For example, those people in the lane next to you. The gutter-barriers have been deployed for ages and they still manage to miss the pins totally. So then one of those ramp things appears. You know, the ones where you just put the ball on the top and let it go. The things that are used by tiny kids. Although, in this instance, it's a group of increasing desperate adults that are using it. After several minutes of careful lining up of the ramp and much discussion, the ball is finally released. With baited breath, the ball is observed as it makes it's painfully slow progression down the lane at approximately 0.0000000001 MPH. When those concerned realise that the outcome of this line of attack is not going to be known for at least another 45 minutes they head off to the bar to get some more drinks in and return to see the ball make contact with the pins... successfully knocking one down.
Then there's the party that go all out. This strategy involves ricocheting the ball against the gutter-barriers at full-pelt. This technique does seem to be quite successful, although the onlooker wonders whether those who use this method and get a strike are fully justified in celebrating by punching the air, almost in awe at their obvious skill at bowling.
Next time you go bowling, take a good look at how people run up to the line and deploy the ball. Variations include:
The Waddle: No reliance on the use of speed here, the concentration is purely on trying to achieve accuracey. Usually includes a pause at the line to size up the situation before bowling the ball straight into the gutter.
Banana-arm: Sadly I seem to have this affliction. No matter how much care is taken to bowl straight, ultimately at the last second the arm seems to lock fully and be wonky, causing the ball to be deposited into the gutter almost instantly.
The Catapult: The clues in the name here; the bowler swings the ball forward so much that it takes flight and finally makes contact with the floor about half way down the alley. This is actually quite a good technique to use, as the less time the ball is on the alley, the less chance it has of veering off into the gutter. Best not to use it if alley staff are in the vicinity as it probably dents the lane. I've had good results employing this. Apart for the time I combined it with Banana-am and the ball ended up in the lane next door but one to mine.
The Reverse-Catapult: Same as above, except the ball is deployed backwards into the group of innocent bystanders. Risk of injury.
The Human Cannon Ball: A technique I discovered. It involves running up to the line, slipping onto knees and sliding down lane towards pins. Incurs a penalty: only to be used if all else fails.
At one of my local bowling joints, they decide that bowling obviously isn't hard enough and turn the lights out at certain times, only leaving tiny lights on down the lanes. It's like some wierd ninja-bowling thing. I went to complain to the staff and they pointed out it was actually past closing time.
Now that I've probably made you all paranoid about how you bowl, I'm going to move on to some other things.
It's been a busy few months for me, with lots of stuff going on so I'm going to quickly sum things up so you're all in the know.
>>> The situation when I last posted was that I was waiting to see if my application to study medicine had been successful. I'm stoked to tell you all that in mid April I received and accepted an unconditional offer from University of Warwick. So I'll be starting on 8th September! Very, very excited and busy sorting stuff out!
>>> After my initial good start to training for the Great Yorkshire Run (which happens to be on Sept 7th, so day before I start at Warwick!! Eek!) I was a bit slack and the training trailed off but I'm now putting effort in and been doing a fair bit of training the past couple of weeks. It's been going OK, I don't think I'll be breaking any records for the run, but it'll be my first 10K, and it'll give me a good base to build on for future events. I'm having a few days rest at the 'mo, got an ankle twinge and an old knee injury is playing up- oa injury on each leg so not even limping as it's all evened out! Hoping to put my running shoes back on come Monday at the latest.
>>> There seems to be some wierd religious cult thing that has obviously taken a likely to my blog name and pinched it for their website. Please remember that my address is http:// and not just www. I've tried to see about changing my blog address but I can't do it without starting from scratch and losing my archived work. This issue was brought up when someone clicked the link to my blog from my JustGiving page and ended up on the cult website but I think I may have sorted it now.
That's all for now folks!
Over and out
NLO
Sunday, 13 April 2008
What's in a name?
Did you watch the Grand National last weekend?
I've never really understood why people get so excited by it but I decided to try and get into the spirit of it by putting a few bets down.
I decided to go for a very scientific approach and pick ones with names that I liked.
The first one that stood out for me was Mr Pointment. Very good, that. I think fate was surely telling me something. No matter how hard I try, I always end up being late for things, no matter how early I set off. As I'd managed to miss my opticians appointment that morning I thought Lady Luck was smiling down on me. So I backed Mr Pointment, a few quid each way, I think it was about 25/1. Then I saw a horse called Simon. No stupid, poncey name that most racehorses have. Just Simon. So I had to back him, again, couple of quid each way, can't remember the odds. And Slim Pickings, I recognised the name and knew it had done OK in previous years.
I settled down to watch the race. All my horses got off to a decent start. As the race went on, Mr Pointment got closer to the front and then into the lead. Several fences to go, still in the lead, with Slim Pickings 4th, I was very nearly getting excited and planning what to spend my winnings on. Stupid that. Mr Pointment by name, Mr Pointment by nature. About 3 fences from the end, he obviously decided he was doing far too well and running the risk of making his appointment of being 1st over the finish line. So he slowed down. And slowed down. And slowed down a bit more. Just enough for about 7 horses to overtake. Neigh neigh. I got a few quid back from Slim Pickings finishing 4th.
A horse called Comply Or Die won. Thinking about it, I should really have backed that. It would have been told to win the race or else and if it didn't comply, well, it would have been curtains for it. Obviously. Maybe I shouldn't think too much. I'm confusing myself.
I'll leave you to ponder the point of this post.
Over and out
NLO
Sunday, 6 April 2008
Only dead fish go with the flow
Just what is it about kids and swimming pools?
In a moment of what I can only admit was pure stupidity I decided to go for a swim last Sunday morning. Yup, Sunday morning. Possibly one of the times when most kid-congestion occurs in a public swimming pool.
I should have known what was going to await me and certainly viewing the unravelling scene of chaos through the windows should have been enough to change my mind. It nearly did. For a second. But then I figured that I'd made the effort and walked to the sports centre and so I'd jolly well go in. I couldn't let myself be scared off by some children. I'm bigger than them, after all. Well, maybe slightly.
So I parted with an inexplicably large amount of cash in order to face this ordeal and entered the changing village. Changing village. That's a joke in itself. It sort of conjures up images of civilised transition of the wearing of outdoor aparrel to something more suitable for swimming (i.e. swim suit). Let me tell you, there's nothing civilised about it. There's no village green for a start off. What's a village without a village green? The changing village in this particular context is this - a unisex free-for-all with changing cubicles that have not one but two doors. If you're lucky, when you lock one door, the other will also lock. If you're not so lucky and are happily in the throes of derobing safe in the (incorrect) knowledge that no one will see you, there is a pretty high chance that in fact only one of the two doors will have locked and you will soon be accompanied by a complete stranger who thinks that the cubicle is vacant. And then there's the lockers. Most of them are out of order. When you find one which is working and isn't occupied you have to claim it by holding this metal bit on the wrist band that you are given on to it. Your next task is to put your stuff in the locker. Not easy if you have loads of stuff. There's no way of wedging the locker door open. You put your shoes in, turn to get your bag.... the door slams shut and you have to unlock it. Repeat this sequence several times until all your clobber is safely stowed.
If, like me, you are optically challenged, you have to find your way to the pool without glasses or contact lenses. I once ignored the warning not to wear contacts in a pool and then spent the next 2 hours trying to remove them as they had welded to my eyes due to the humidity. Finding your way to the pool is made somewhat harder by the likes of unattended and disorientated toddlers and unattended and disorientated parents. They form an assault course of bodies skating across the wet floor. The toddlers, in particular, seem to made a beeline for your knees and walk repeatedly into them until their course is altered.
So then I made it to the pool. It seemed more chaotic and hell-like from poolside than it did as an on-looker. After locating a section of pool about 30cm square, I entered the water and attempted to swim. Looking around it was becoming quite clear that this was not entirely possible. Too many obsticles. More disorientated kids and parents. They sort of hang around the shallow end in clusters, looking harmless. So you try to swim. The clusters suddenly burst into life, arms and legs flailing about and seemingly follow you around the pool. So you try to swim faster to avoid being swallowed by the resulting tsunami. Then a two-pronged attack occurs. More clusters appear infront of you and split to let you swim past. Only your briefly reinstated faith in humanity fades when you realise that the kids have separated in order to splash each other. And yes, they spot the perfect time to do this is when you are in line with them. From nowhere you get a an eyeful of water. If, like me, you can't see, this can be a disaster. Your already limited sight has been further diminished by about half until the stinging stops and you get the use of both eyes back.
This was all getting too much so I decided to stick to swimming widths in the relative quiet of the deep end. Only some parents decided it was a great idea to teach their offspring how to dive. It seems to me, it doesn't matter where abouts you swim, there is always some sort of hazard. In the deep end, its the risk of being bombed. Like the whole splashing thing, kids seem to wait until someone is in close vicinity before jumping on top of them.
And if you survive all that, there's still no guarantee that you've made it. On Monday I started coming down with 'flu.
I can't wait 'til I get my own pool.
Over and out
NLO
In a moment of what I can only admit was pure stupidity I decided to go for a swim last Sunday morning. Yup, Sunday morning. Possibly one of the times when most kid-congestion occurs in a public swimming pool.
I should have known what was going to await me and certainly viewing the unravelling scene of chaos through the windows should have been enough to change my mind. It nearly did. For a second. But then I figured that I'd made the effort and walked to the sports centre and so I'd jolly well go in. I couldn't let myself be scared off by some children. I'm bigger than them, after all. Well, maybe slightly.
So I parted with an inexplicably large amount of cash in order to face this ordeal and entered the changing village. Changing village. That's a joke in itself. It sort of conjures up images of civilised transition of the wearing of outdoor aparrel to something more suitable for swimming (i.e. swim suit). Let me tell you, there's nothing civilised about it. There's no village green for a start off. What's a village without a village green? The changing village in this particular context is this - a unisex free-for-all with changing cubicles that have not one but two doors. If you're lucky, when you lock one door, the other will also lock. If you're not so lucky and are happily in the throes of derobing safe in the (incorrect) knowledge that no one will see you, there is a pretty high chance that in fact only one of the two doors will have locked and you will soon be accompanied by a complete stranger who thinks that the cubicle is vacant. And then there's the lockers. Most of them are out of order. When you find one which is working and isn't occupied you have to claim it by holding this metal bit on the wrist band that you are given on to it. Your next task is to put your stuff in the locker. Not easy if you have loads of stuff. There's no way of wedging the locker door open. You put your shoes in, turn to get your bag.... the door slams shut and you have to unlock it. Repeat this sequence several times until all your clobber is safely stowed.
If, like me, you are optically challenged, you have to find your way to the pool without glasses or contact lenses. I once ignored the warning not to wear contacts in a pool and then spent the next 2 hours trying to remove them as they had welded to my eyes due to the humidity. Finding your way to the pool is made somewhat harder by the likes of unattended and disorientated toddlers and unattended and disorientated parents. They form an assault course of bodies skating across the wet floor. The toddlers, in particular, seem to made a beeline for your knees and walk repeatedly into them until their course is altered.
So then I made it to the pool. It seemed more chaotic and hell-like from poolside than it did as an on-looker. After locating a section of pool about 30cm square, I entered the water and attempted to swim. Looking around it was becoming quite clear that this was not entirely possible. Too many obsticles. More disorientated kids and parents. They sort of hang around the shallow end in clusters, looking harmless. So you try to swim. The clusters suddenly burst into life, arms and legs flailing about and seemingly follow you around the pool. So you try to swim faster to avoid being swallowed by the resulting tsunami. Then a two-pronged attack occurs. More clusters appear infront of you and split to let you swim past. Only your briefly reinstated faith in humanity fades when you realise that the kids have separated in order to splash each other. And yes, they spot the perfect time to do this is when you are in line with them. From nowhere you get a an eyeful of water. If, like me, you can't see, this can be a disaster. Your already limited sight has been further diminished by about half until the stinging stops and you get the use of both eyes back.
This was all getting too much so I decided to stick to swimming widths in the relative quiet of the deep end. Only some parents decided it was a great idea to teach their offspring how to dive. It seems to me, it doesn't matter where abouts you swim, there is always some sort of hazard. In the deep end, its the risk of being bombed. Like the whole splashing thing, kids seem to wait until someone is in close vicinity before jumping on top of them.
And if you survive all that, there's still no guarantee that you've made it. On Monday I started coming down with 'flu.
I can't wait 'til I get my own pool.
Over and out
NLO
Friday, 4 April 2008
I've got a backache, I've got a neckache, I've got a toothache and I need a break but I somehow gotta get out of the door
Hey y'all, how you doing?
I'm having a day off today and I think I need it. I feel k-nackered. I thought exercise was supposed to make you feel good? I just feel broken! I've been pretty good with the training malarky for the run, at this stage I'm mainly working on my general fitness - going to the gym, jogging, weights and swimming. I even went to aqua aerobics with Claire and Catherine this week and I just about survived, although I'm suffering a bit now.
I'm still waiting to hear if my med school interview was successful. I think this waiting is the worst bit. After the selection day I felt quite confident about my chances but now I keep thinking, although I try my best not to, of the things I should have said/maybe shouldn't have said. I think it's going to be at least another 2 weeks before I hear anything though :o(
Can't think of anything else to talk about just yet, I'm going to go and mull things over while I eat Mexican food.
Over and out
NLO
I'm having a day off today and I think I need it. I feel k-nackered. I thought exercise was supposed to make you feel good? I just feel broken! I've been pretty good with the training malarky for the run, at this stage I'm mainly working on my general fitness - going to the gym, jogging, weights and swimming. I even went to aqua aerobics with Claire and Catherine this week and I just about survived, although I'm suffering a bit now.
I'm still waiting to hear if my med school interview was successful. I think this waiting is the worst bit. After the selection day I felt quite confident about my chances but now I keep thinking, although I try my best not to, of the things I should have said/maybe shouldn't have said. I think it's going to be at least another 2 weeks before I hear anything though :o(
Can't think of anything else to talk about just yet, I'm going to go and mull things over while I eat Mexican food.
Over and out
NLO
Sunday, 23 March 2008
I had a dream we went away, left this city for a day, you took me southwards on a plane and showed me Spain or somewhere
Boomchikawaawaa!
Happy Easter all, and if you don't celebrate Easter, Happy Holidays!
Why is it that insurance companies/banks etc etc have these advertising campaigns where they obviously spend loads of money getting flyers put in magazines and then in a final act of desperation try to tempt you to sign up or find out more info by offering a free pen? It is always a Parker pen, usually a Vector model, biro, blue and silver, usually inscribed with Acme Insurance inc, with blue ink. "Oh no, I'm not interested in any insurance, I'm sorted. What?!?!?! A free Parker pen! Now that changes everything!! Sign me up right away! In fact, sign my whole street up, I just know they're desperate for a pen, they've been scratching around for one for a week now!" Good Lord. You can get one from WH Smith for £2.99! Don't be fooled! Or why not pick a biro up for free at your local bookies or Argos store. Come on people! A free carriage clock, I hear you cry! Yes.... great... but who actually wants one?!?!? Don't do it!
These same companies always use an ageing celebrity to endorse their service too. For example, today an advert fell out of TV Quick for an insurance company that shall remain nameless (it was one I'd never heard of). But 'TV's Annette Crosbie' no less was emblazeoned on the front. Gosh, if it's good enough for her, then it's certainly good enough for me. Oh wait though. I'm not aged between 55 and 80. Bummer. I loved the way that it was worded TV's Annette Crosbie, as though the TV actually owns her. You see similar things on adverts for hearing aids and such like. "I was deaf but now I can hear!" exclaims June Whitfield. "Apply today for our revolutionary hearing aid and you get a free MP3 player or Parker pen!" Talk about irrelevent free gifts.
Annnnnnnyway. Just had to get that off my chest.
Over and out
NLO
PS. The video is of Sonic. She used to like to run between all the people in the room to get her head tickled.
Saturday, 22 March 2008
Candidate 80, come in candidate 80!
I'm back! Did you miss me, did ya, did ya? I hope I didn't cause too much concern with my absence. I know my last post was from Coventry so I hope you guys weren't panicking that I hadn't made it back from that delightful place. I survived. Just about! And the great thing is, I've got capital letters back! Woo!
I think the selection centre at the med school went OK. I didn't leave thinking I'd majorly screwed up on anything (apart from writing my hotel room number instead of my candidate number on the written exam), so I guess that's got to be a good sign. It was pretty intense though, not far off 5 hours of continuous assessments and such like. The whole set up kind of reminded me of a medical version of Pop Idol or X Factor. I actually said to some candidates that it felt like we were at 'Med Idol' and sure enough when we went into the group task assessment, we had to line up and state our candidate numbers as though we were in an audition. In the few seconds before our challenge was revealed to us, I was looking around the room to see if there was a mannequin lyng around that we'd have to demonstrate some dramatic CPR on. Or some scene of a car crash with ketchup everywhere where we'd have to don stethoscopes in some professional manor and try and stop some fiction haemorrhage. Alas, we actually had to get a ball bearing to negotiate a course in 15 seiconds exactly. Gutting.
Anyway, I've got a good month or so until I learn my fate so I guess I should really consider what plan B may be just in case.
I haven't really got much else to report, so to fill the blog up today I give you my spoof version of Ellen DeGeneres and Robert DeNiro's AmEx poster campaigns. To see a couple of the TV ads click here
My name is........Nina Owen.........
Childhood Ambition....To be an astronaut....
Fondest Memory........I can't remember......
Soundtrack.....Chicago........
Wildest dream... Professional Oreo taster or funny person.....
Proudest moment...... Aceing my degree was pretty sweet.....
Biggest challenge....Getting up when my alarm goes off.....
Alarm clock.....Pain in the neck......
Perfect day.......Shredding down a mountain and watching Liverpool thrash Chelsea......
First job.....Washing cars.......
Indulgence........ Doing nothing except eating Oreos........
Last purchase........Chinese takeaway........
Favourite movie........The Lion King..........
Inspiration...........Anyone who makes me laugh..........
My life..........Is often random..........
My blog.............. A great way to procrastinate.............
Oh by the way, I have finally set up my JustGiving page, you can find it at www.justgiving.com/ninaowen.
OK, I'm gonna sign off. The kids playing in the playground thing just by my house are making far too much noise and are, quite frankly, doing my head in.
Be good all, and if you can't be good, be safe.
Over and out
NLO
Sunday, 16 March 2008
if i had myself a flying giraffe, you'd have one in a box with a window
here i am in coventry. costa del coventry, possibly the 2nd most depressing place i've ever been to.
for whatever reason, coventry doesn't like capital letters. i've spent a good 10 minutes looking for the caps lock on the keyboard for the internet in my hotel room but alas it was not to be.
so far i am impressed by the chocolate bourbon creams but unimpressed by the lack of hot chocolate.
nothing is ever straight forward in my life. when i got to dewsbury station at 8am, i found out there were no trains. not good for a train station. so i ended up on a skanky replacement coach, which was really a sauna that they'd stuck some wheels to. luckily i made the connection at leeds after i duly went to platform 11b ('cos the departure board told me to) and joined the masses of confused travellers who were wondering if the train waiting there was going to winchester as it was supposed to, or bournemouth instead (as it was telling everyone). anyway, i got here, the journey somewhat lost in a haze of being hemmed in against the window by some woman who was snotting everywhere and spilling popcorn over the seats. bloody people. why is it i want to be a doctor again? if anyone knows, could you please tell me before my interview at 12.15 tomorrow.
ok, i'm going to get ready for the selection day tomorrow and see if i can't do myself some good blagging.
remember kids - procrastination isn't the problem, it's the solution. so procrastinate now, don't put it off. too true, ellen degeneres, too true.
over and ouuuuuuut
nlo
for whatever reason, coventry doesn't like capital letters. i've spent a good 10 minutes looking for the caps lock on the keyboard for the internet in my hotel room but alas it was not to be.
so far i am impressed by the chocolate bourbon creams but unimpressed by the lack of hot chocolate.
nothing is ever straight forward in my life. when i got to dewsbury station at 8am, i found out there were no trains. not good for a train station. so i ended up on a skanky replacement coach, which was really a sauna that they'd stuck some wheels to. luckily i made the connection at leeds after i duly went to platform 11b ('cos the departure board told me to) and joined the masses of confused travellers who were wondering if the train waiting there was going to winchester as it was supposed to, or bournemouth instead (as it was telling everyone). anyway, i got here, the journey somewhat lost in a haze of being hemmed in against the window by some woman who was snotting everywhere and spilling popcorn over the seats. bloody people. why is it i want to be a doctor again? if anyone knows, could you please tell me before my interview at 12.15 tomorrow.
ok, i'm going to get ready for the selection day tomorrow and see if i can't do myself some good blagging.
remember kids - procrastination isn't the problem, it's the solution. so procrastinate now, don't put it off. too true, ellen degeneres, too true.
over and ouuuuuuut
nlo
Saturday, 8 March 2008
Stay positive.
I've somewhat neglected my blog this week on account of not having that much to say and generally being too fed up but I thought I'd better drop in on the off chance that someone may be reading this and waiting for some updates.
We buried Sonic last Sunday under the hedge in the garden. She loved sitting there and keeping cool in the summer. I think she started sitting under there when this little bird decided to keep dive bombing her a few years ago every summer. One minute Sonic would be sat in the garden or under the tree minding her own business then all of a sudden there would be a really distinctive tweeting and this bird would swoop down and try to peck at her. She must have realised that the hedge was the best place to hide. So that's where she is. I think she'd approve. We'll probably put some flowers and a little memorial thing there for her.
I went swimming on Monday with Claire and it all went smoothly until I decided to leave. Dewsbury swimming pool has a 'changing village' which is basically a unisex changing room with loads of cubicles with two doors. The lockers are th one side of the changing rooms and the enterance to the pool is at the other side. Instead of walking around the cubicles, it is faster just to walk straight through the vacant ones until you get to the other side. Well. I'd got showered and dressed and was ready to leave and in order to get to the exit, I decided to cut through the cubicles. This plan of action went well until I entered a cubicle that claimed to be vacant with it's little green thing on the door but when I walked in, I found that there was actually a half-dressed occupant yelling. I don't think she was too pleased. The moral of this story.... make sure both doors of the cubicle are locked people!
On the fitness front, I also went to to gym for the first time in ages on Thursday. I didn't do too much, just a couple of miles on the new treadmills and some weights. I must admit, I did get distracted by the pile of magazines on the windowsill and stopped to read them for a bit... but hey, when the gym's empty you can get away with anything. I was in pain yesterday, I think my body had gone into shock. Going to go in a bit to do some more, so no doubt on my next blog entry I'll be moaning again!
Over and out
NLO
We buried Sonic last Sunday under the hedge in the garden. She loved sitting there and keeping cool in the summer. I think she started sitting under there when this little bird decided to keep dive bombing her a few years ago every summer. One minute Sonic would be sat in the garden or under the tree minding her own business then all of a sudden there would be a really distinctive tweeting and this bird would swoop down and try to peck at her. She must have realised that the hedge was the best place to hide. So that's where she is. I think she'd approve. We'll probably put some flowers and a little memorial thing there for her.
I went swimming on Monday with Claire and it all went smoothly until I decided to leave. Dewsbury swimming pool has a 'changing village' which is basically a unisex changing room with loads of cubicles with two doors. The lockers are th one side of the changing rooms and the enterance to the pool is at the other side. Instead of walking around the cubicles, it is faster just to walk straight through the vacant ones until you get to the other side. Well. I'd got showered and dressed and was ready to leave and in order to get to the exit, I decided to cut through the cubicles. This plan of action went well until I entered a cubicle that claimed to be vacant with it's little green thing on the door but when I walked in, I found that there was actually a half-dressed occupant yelling. I don't think she was too pleased. The moral of this story.... make sure both doors of the cubicle are locked people!
On the fitness front, I also went to to gym for the first time in ages on Thursday. I didn't do too much, just a couple of miles on the new treadmills and some weights. I must admit, I did get distracted by the pile of magazines on the windowsill and stopped to read them for a bit... but hey, when the gym's empty you can get away with anything. I was in pain yesterday, I think my body had gone into shock. Going to go in a bit to do some more, so no doubt on my next blog entry I'll be moaning again!
Over and out
NLO
Saturday, 1 March 2008
In freefall
Sonic died today.
My parents safely arrived home from their holiday on Wednesday and were quickly updated with the previous week's event. Sonic was delivered home and went for a sleep on their bed but according to dad she didn't look right.
Yesterday I went over to see mum and Sonic. The old girl still seemed really weak and hadn't been eating or drinking much at all. We spent the afternoon talking about the holiday and generally fussing over Sonic, giving her lots of cuddles. I had to admit that she didn't seem herself.
This afternoon I had nipped into Leeds to get some new trainers for my running training. Let's just say I don't think JJB has ever made an easier sale. While I was waiting for the assistant to bring out the trainers for me to try on, I got a call from Liz, who asked me if dad had been in touch about Sonic. He hadn't, so I tried to phone him up but my phone had no credit. I get free texts though so sent him a message asking him to phone me up. He did. In tears. Sonic had collapsed late this morning and they had rushed her to the vets where they were told she was in renal failure. They had little option but to have her put to sleep. At this moment, the assistant arrived with the trainers for me to try. I just stuck my feet in them, didn't bother tying them and just said they were fine. In the queue to pay for them I broke down in tears and the harder I tried to fight it, the worse it was. I paid for the trainers and left. Once outside JJB, I lost the feeling of my legs and had to prop myself up on some railings. Dad said he'd come and collect me from Leeds and take me home to say goodbye to Sonic.
When we got home, I went into the lounge to see Sonic's bed in the middle of the floor, on the rug. I walked up to it, and in a fleecy blanket was a furry bundle. My girl. She looked like she was asleep. The rest of the afternoon I sat with her, stroking her, crying, saying my goodbyes, laughing at the funny things she used to do.
I still feel in shock. If I'm honest, I knew this has been coming for a long time, but this isn't quite how I imagined it would be. I thought her health would deteriorate more steadily but even though she had been ill, this all happened so quickly. It's probably for the best. We couldn't have had her suffering. I don't know. I just kind of thought she'd gradually get worse until we called the vet to the house to have her put to sleep in her own surroundings. I didn't really want her to die in the vets because over her life she was hardly ever been there, in fact, in her whole life, she'd only spent about 3 nights away at the vets. I also thought I'd be there with her, holding her at the end. She has always been there for me when I needed her, and I always vowed that I'd be there for her right 'til the end. At least my parents were with her and they said she was very calm.
I don't really know what else to say right now, going to cry again.
Thank you Sonic for being part of our family for 15 fantastic years. You've been an amazing pal, a funny, clever and gentle girl. You will always be in our hearts, words can't convey how much we love you (and we always will) and we'll never, ever forget you. Sleep sweetly my baby one xxxx
NLO
Monday, 25 February 2008
Sing when you're winning
Little Sonic is back home from the vets and is doing well. She was on a drip until this afternoon but she's started eating and drinking properly so thats great news. She seems to be getting back to normal. I hope she doesn't pull another stunt like that. It's made for an extremely stressful week.
I signed up for the Great Yorkshire run today. I've no idea what possessed me to do that at all but the damage has been done now so I'll have to get on with it. I shouldn't moan really, it's *only* 10K so hopefully I will actually be able to do it. I don't want to just about make it round though, no, I want to do it in some style so I'm going to be putting in a fair few miles training. I've got 'til September anyway. Famous last words! It'll get to the big day and no doubt I'll have done sod all in the way of preparation resulting in me taking 10 hours to get around and stopping every 10 feet to use my inhaler. No, that must not happen, I can't let it! I've decided that I'm going to run on behalf of Martin House children's hospice in Wetherby. It's hard to decide on a charity to support. I've done stuff in the past for bigger charities like Cancer Research UK and MS Society but I thought it would be nice to support a smaller, local charity. To read about Martin House and the great work they do, take a look at their website -http://www.martinhouse.org.uk/ 
I'm going to see up a JustGiving page in the next day or two, so there'll be no excuse not to dig deep for this excellent cause. I was originally going to do the Run For All in Leeds, the event that was set up by the amazing Jane Tomlinson but the day clashes with other commitments. Looking forward to doing it next year though!
Nothing much else to report, so I'm going to go and put my feet up before the onslaught begins.
Over and out
NLO
Sunday, 24 February 2008
Escapology
First thing this am I went to collect Sonic and take her to the emergency vets. What a sorry sight she was. All skinny and depressed and her meow was really weak. She must have been stuck/locked in somewhere and not had any food or water for all the time she'd been away. It was obvious she was very dehydrated. Despite being so weak, she still put up some resistence when I tried to get her in the pet carrier... that's more like the old girl I know!
So off we scooted. She got checked over and despite being dehydrated and having lost weight there luckily didn't seem to be any injuries. The vet gave me the option of her having some fluids administered then and taking her home or letting them keep her in overnight so she could get fully rehydrated and have some antibiotics. I chose the latter, figuring that they could give her all the medical care she may need to get her back on her paws. She was very brave and didn't make a fuss about all the poking and prodding, but then she's so placid anyway. I've got to ring in the morning to see if she's perked up enough to come home. Poor little soul, she's had a horrible few days :o(
Other than that, it's been a quiet day. Went to see Be Kind Rewind which was mental in parts, quite enjoyed it. It was good to have a laugh after the trauma of the last week!
I'm really tired so that's it for now.
Over and out
NLO
So off we scooted. She got checked over and despite being dehydrated and having lost weight there luckily didn't seem to be any injuries. The vet gave me the option of her having some fluids administered then and taking her home or letting them keep her in overnight so she could get fully rehydrated and have some antibiotics. I chose the latter, figuring that they could give her all the medical care she may need to get her back on her paws. She was very brave and didn't make a fuss about all the poking and prodding, but then she's so placid anyway. I've got to ring in the morning to see if she's perked up enough to come home. Poor little soul, she's had a horrible few days :o(
Other than that, it's been a quiet day. Went to see Be Kind Rewind which was mental in parts, quite enjoyed it. It was good to have a laugh after the trauma of the last week!
I'm really tired so that's it for now.
Over and out
NLO
Saturday, 23 February 2008
Put the Champagne on ice / You Make Me Feel So Young
Well, some good news, finally.My old girl Sonic turned up this evening, very thin and weak and with a somewhat diminished meow. But she's back and safe and sound, resting at her second home. None of us have any idea where she's been, but after several days, given her age, we were beginning to lose hope. So relieved she's back. At the moment she hasn't eaten anything, but I'm going to take her to the vets first thing tomorrow to get her checked over and fingers crossed she'll make a recovery from her mystery ordeal.
I went into Huddersfield today to do a spot of shopping and was in an art store buying some, well, arty stuff. When I went to pay, the woman on the till asked me if I had a student ID card (not that the place is a licenced premises but on account that they give a student discount). On telling her that I didn't, she then proceeded to ask me what school I go to. Thinking she was joking, I laughed and said, "I'm 25", which I am, but I thought she was taking the p**s. The highly embarrassed look on her face that greeted me on this revelation told me that no, in fact she hadn't been joking. When I told her I was flattered (not that I should be, I can't think of anything worse than being mistaken for a teenage schoolkid) and that I'd definately shop there again I could almost hear her thinking, "God, please don't." With hindsight, I'd slipped up majorly. If I'd have only known she was being serious, I could have told her the school I used to go to and made the most of the 10% discount. Maybe I'll leave it a while, long enough for her to forget me, and then I'll go back and see if I can get away with it.
Before I sign out, I just read something that amused me on the BBC website. In preparation for 2012 Olympics, the Borough of Westminster has come up with.... you guessed it. A text service that will tell you, if you sent TOILET to the appropriate number, the location of the nearest loos and hours of operation. So there you go. If you see this.....
....there's loo need to panic.
Over and out
NLO
Friday, 22 February 2008
Want to cry
When I said on Wednesday that I hoped that Thursday would be more interesting, this isn't quite what I hoped for.
I got a rejection letter from the final med school I was waiting to hear from. To be honest, I wasn't all that surprised but nevertheless it did still feel like a kick in the head.
I've got one interview to 'look forward to'. But I'm feeling so low in confidence that I am almost tempted to email and cancel and let someoneelse have the chance. I guess I've just got to pick myself up and give it the best shot.
My frame of mind probably is mostly down to the fact that my cat, Sonic, has been missing for 2 days and I'm desperately worried about her. When I moved away from home, I left her with my parents because it didn't seem fair to uproot her from the home she's always known. She's an old girl, nearly 15 and was recently diagnosed with hyperthyroidism which she was taking medication for. Anyways, my parents have gone on holiday and their neighbours have been looking after Sonic, which they always do. She is as much a part of their family as she is ours. I got a call yesterday from them saying that they were worried as they hadn't seen Sonic since Wednesday morning. So I went over and spent not far off 2 hours looking everywhere for her but to no avail. I'm about to go over again for another search. I feel really sick and can't eat, I just can't stand the thought of her being missing or in pain somewhere. I can't really remember a time before we got Sonic. She's a brilliant pet, so friendly and placid and everyone loves her.
Right, I'm going to go and look for her again.
Over and out
NLO
I got a rejection letter from the final med school I was waiting to hear from. To be honest, I wasn't all that surprised but nevertheless it did still feel like a kick in the head.
I've got one interview to 'look forward to'. But I'm feeling so low in confidence that I am almost tempted to email and cancel and let someoneelse have the chance. I guess I've just got to pick myself up and give it the best shot.
My frame of mind probably is mostly down to the fact that my cat, Sonic, has been missing for 2 days and I'm desperately worried about her. When I moved away from home, I left her with my parents because it didn't seem fair to uproot her from the home she's always known. She's an old girl, nearly 15 and was recently diagnosed with hyperthyroidism which she was taking medication for. Anyways, my parents have gone on holiday and their neighbours have been looking after Sonic, which they always do. She is as much a part of their family as she is ours. I got a call yesterday from them saying that they were worried as they hadn't seen Sonic since Wednesday morning. So I went over and spent not far off 2 hours looking everywhere for her but to no avail. I'm about to go over again for another search. I feel really sick and can't eat, I just can't stand the thought of her being missing or in pain somewhere. I can't really remember a time before we got Sonic. She's a brilliant pet, so friendly and placid and everyone loves her.
Right, I'm going to go and look for her again.
Over and out
NLO
Wednesday, 20 February 2008
This is the time, this is the place
Hello and welcome to my blog and my first posting. If I had the option of putting a virtual red ribbon on here to virtually cut I would do but I can't so that's that really.
So I guess you all want to know what I've been doing today. Well, I could lie and say I've had a productive day and all that but that's not my style. I've basically done sod all. I've pretty much done some washing up and fed the cat and that sums it up. To the uninitiated, I do have a job but I'm semi-incapacitated at the moment and am off work due to having surgery recently . That's a long story though, so I won't bore you with that. Oh, go, on then, if I must, you've twisted my arm. I broke my wrist snowboarding in September and had to have it put back together with a metal plate and a range of screws which look suspiciously similar to ones that I remember being in my set of Meccano when I was a kid. The plan initially was to keep these bits of shrapnel in situ but they were proving troublesome so 3 weeks ago I went back under the knife to have them removed. Now safely housed in a sterile specimen pot, their new purpose is to amaze/disgust/intrigue friends and family. So consequently, I am extrememly bored at home on my own all day.
Oh, I've just remembered, I have done something else. I keep obsessively checking my emails and every morning I rush to see what post I've got. I'm waiting for a reply from the last med school I've yet to hear from. So far I've had 2 rejections without interview and 1 invitation to interview in March. I'm desperate to hear from this last place though. It's horrible to be waiting like this, it's pretty late in the day to still be waiting for a reply. In fact, I think they should interview me... it would be just too mean to keep me holding on like this for nada. I've given up trying to second guess what's going to happen though and I've resigned myself to the fact that it's going to be at least another 6 weeks 'til I learn my fate :oS
I'm hoping something at least slightly funny/entertaining will happen tomorrow so I'll have something to write about otherwise this blog idea is going to turn out to be very misguided.
Over and out
NLO
So I guess you all want to know what I've been doing today. Well, I could lie and say I've had a productive day and all that but that's not my style. I've basically done sod all. I've pretty much done some washing up and fed the cat and that sums it up. To the uninitiated, I do have a job but I'm semi-incapacitated at the moment and am off work due to having surgery recently . That's a long story though, so I won't bore you with that. Oh, go, on then, if I must, you've twisted my arm. I broke my wrist snowboarding in September and had to have it put back together with a metal plate and a range of screws which look suspiciously similar to ones that I remember being in my set of Meccano when I was a kid. The plan initially was to keep these bits of shrapnel in situ but they were proving troublesome so 3 weeks ago I went back under the knife to have them removed. Now safely housed in a sterile specimen pot, their new purpose is to amaze/disgust/intrigue friends and family. So consequently, I am extrememly bored at home on my own all day.
Oh, I've just remembered, I have done something else. I keep obsessively checking my emails and every morning I rush to see what post I've got. I'm waiting for a reply from the last med school I've yet to hear from. So far I've had 2 rejections without interview and 1 invitation to interview in March. I'm desperate to hear from this last place though. It's horrible to be waiting like this, it's pretty late in the day to still be waiting for a reply. In fact, I think they should interview me... it would be just too mean to keep me holding on like this for nada. I've given up trying to second guess what's going to happen though and I've resigned myself to the fact that it's going to be at least another 6 weeks 'til I learn my fate :oS
I'm hoping something at least slightly funny/entertaining will happen tomorrow so I'll have something to write about otherwise this blog idea is going to turn out to be very misguided.
Over and out
NLO
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