Cinderfella

Well, it is the day after the ball, and I am looking for signs of a pumpkin, scattering mice, and some ragged clothing strewn about. Instead, I see my suit hung in closet, the tie rolled up nice, shoes put into place, my contacts in their cases. Did I really go to the Ball last night? [Veevek looks up hoping that this large booming voice from the skies will give a loud resounding "YES"]

The May Ball was fantastic! There is something about seeing people dressed up and how people flirt about like peacocks during the rainy season that puts a smile on my face. (note: my mask was made out of peacock feathers, which probably used an entire peacock in its creation, and oddly enough it matched the suit/tie combination that I wore). At one point in the evening, I was approached by this woman (immaculately dressed) and she slipped me a business card. The card was regarding MedCouture. Apparently, I met the standards of the fashionistas that were out and about looking for people that would be able to carry on the tradition of scarificing pain for the goal of looking beautiful. I know of another girl that got one (Pam R.) for she was wearing a green/silver sari with all the jewellery to match. Tu jeez badi hain mast mast! :)

I didn't take my camera to the ball because it is quite a large camera. However, Lou was gracious enough to let me borrow the camera that she brought. I was camera happy! Once I get the photos uploaded from her, I'll be sure to send them out to those of you that are interested.

The food was awful, well at least the vegetarian meal was awful. It was raw tofu with mango coulis (a thick sauce made out of puréed fruit). Ick. But apparently, the chicken and steak weren't that good either (this is from what a few people had said). I was so hungry at one point, Lou jokingly offered me a piece of chicken and I ate it. It was NASTY! Seriously, I had to wash it down with two glasses of wine (which didn't make it any better). Pffft...no one goes to the ball for its food. They go for the drinks! Beer, wine and champagne wearing being consumed in vast quantities (not because it was high quality because it was all that they were serving) that at one point they ran out of glasses. So, they only served people that had glasses (fair enough). Some people were scavenging for glasses (new/used) just so that they can get all liquored up before the after party.

The after party was held at the Port Office - a favourite for the med students. They play good music, drinks are pretty good but the bouncers are extreme hard asses when it comes to letting people in. Dave didn't get in because he left his wallet, and ID, at home. However, at the ball, we were all given entrance tickets to the PO. I didn't have any problems, as I just showed them the silver ticket. He was pretty slick - he quickly jumped the from the line into the outside foyer of the club. He walked in and, since he is a social butterfly, he started talking to someone near the front. The bouncer caught him and he was kindly escorted out. Meanwhile, those of us that were allowed in, it was a blast! There was great fun to be had - great music, good conversations (well, whatever I could remember), good drinks and the general feeling of being merry. At some point in the night, I wasn't feeling very good. In the words of an acquaintance, "I didn't drink too much, I just drank too fast". :)

I got home this morning around 3:30am and I don't really remember anything from the time I got out of the taxi to when I went to bed (which must have been a 30 minute window). When I got up this morning, I realised (to my surprise) that my suit/shirt/tie/shoes/mask were put away properly, my contact lens were taken out and placed in its correct container, I drank a litre of water and ate a couple of vanilla wafers.

The only thing that I had to do today was go to the footy game. I thought that I probably should have skipped it but it's the best way of spending 40 minutes on a late Sunday afternoon. The footy game was great - we won! Well, we won because the other team had to forfeit because not enough of their players should up. Regardless, we had a friendly match of footy (which was great). However, after finishing last week's case on asthma, I've realised that my managment plan is really shitty. I reckon that I need to go and do some research on what needs to be done about it. It's a good thing that asthma is taken very seriously here, as Australia has the highest rate of incidence of asthma in the world (approximately 10% of the adult population).

I talked to my mum today (as it is Mother's Day). My parents had come home from a late night of playing cards at one of their friend's house. I saw my mum online and then called her. My dad answered the phone and he was so tired that he wasn't making any sense on the phone. It was one of the sort of conversations where you want it to be over so fast so that you can go back to bed. My mum had waited up because she knew that I'd be home around that time. Wow...mums really do know their kids even if they are 10000 km away. Normally, my parents aren't really interested in my friends (they are interested only if my friends are doing something to 'oooh' and 'ahhh' about). But lately, my mum has been asking me about my friends and what they do and if I have photos of them for her to see. I guess this is her way of being in touch with my life here in Brisbane.

Alright, speaking of life here in Brisbane, I need to bustamove. I should get going and do some work on cystic fibrosis and asthma. Or, I could just go to bed now (it's 7:30pm) and get up early in the morning. Hmm...knowing me, I reckon that I should do most of the work now and try to be in bed before midnight.