Today was an interesting day. Besides it being the day after Sports Day (that will have to be another posting for tomorrow), I witnessed something that drives me to a point of rage and it leaves me wondering about how the world is in an urgent need to rid itself of ignorance, intolerant and cruelty.
This evening, I went to see Bride and Prejudice with my mates Kate and Maie. The movie was great - a bollywood film in English. Afterwards, we made our way to our friend's Renee and Phil's condominium complex. After having an ice cream cone, I decided that I should be heading home. I walked down to the train station (Taringa) and waited for the train to come. While I was walking to the station (which is less than 250m outside of Renee and Phil's complex), I noticed that there was a man who had a physical disability (I would guess that it would be cerebral palsy but I am not certain). He was also heading in the same direction as me. There were a few guys (I would say they were from the ages of 18 - 21 years old) and they were taking the piss out of this guy. They were calling him extremely vulgar and rude names and making gestures at him. Other people on the platform were looking at what was happening and no one intervened. Well, not no one...I did. I told those guys to lay off and that what they were doing was completely childish and utterly assinine. I could feel my blood boiling. Why on God's green earth are there people like that in this world? Why is it such that people with physical and intellectual disabilities (including socio-economic differences) face such hardships from members of their own society? I could feel myself shaking with anger. I know that if I were the only one on the platform, then I would have placed myself in danger by confronting those guys but I didn't care. I noticed that some people were smiling and making comments after I told those guys off. In fact, the gentleman that those assholes were making fun of, came up to me on the stop that we got off on (Toowong) and thanked me. It was hard to understand him at first but I have had experiences with having long and complicated conversations with people with cerebral palsy (an acquaintance of mine in Calgary - Mike - him and I went to the same high school and university. He has severe cerebral palsy and he is doing a PhD in political science). From what I could make from the short conversation, he told me that no one has stuck up for him in a public place such as a train platform. Most of the time he ignores it and continues what he is doing. We shook hands and I scurried up the stairs and out of the station. It was the first time that I have cried since leaving Calgary.
Sunday, February 27, 2005
Monday, February 21, 2005
Back to you...
Yes, back to you my friend. I am listening to John Mayer's CD, which I have recently acquired from my friend Kate. It's great - good for studying, good for getting lost in your thoughts, and great for putting a huge ass smile on my face.
Today has been a first. Mr. Thankey put together a bbq (with the help of Peder - a Norweigan MBBS I)! Won't my parents be proud! HAHAHAHAHA. Actually, I can hear my parents say (in the fake, albeit fantastic, Indian accent that I do), "oh my goodness, what have you done? Are you starting to eat meat? I don't like this one bit. You come home now." HAHAHAHAHA. Just kidding. It was one of those moments where I wished that I had an IKEA-style instructions booklet. De acuerde, ese es la vida.
The barbie this arvo was hosted by Graeme (for those of you that are new to the blog, Graeme is the IronMan triathlete, which means he is absolutely cut and ripped - I mean you could get the grill marks on steaks if you laid them on his abs). It was nice to sit around have a few veggie sausages and talk about pretty much nothing for an afternoon. It's nice to know that the friends I have can be hardcore during the week - keeping their noses in the books, pracs, slides, and notes. On the weekend, however, they can be effervescent (like moi), uplifting and just down right kickass! On that note, it's Sunday evening (18h00) and I am in my PBL room with Dave learning about the structures and functions of the skin, hair and nails. Yes, it's hardcore. But as I have said before and I will say it again, GO HARD OR GO HOME. And I am here to go hard. Well, right now we are learning about sweat glands (eccrine and apocrine - who would have known that there were different types? From my dad, I would have thought that there would have just been one and that would have been the apocrine aka Thankey's Trademark).
Okay, I gotta bust a move. The skin is calling to me...(well it's actually St. Patrick's Day on the JM cd).
Today has been a first. Mr. Thankey put together a bbq (with the help of Peder - a Norweigan MBBS I)! Won't my parents be proud! HAHAHAHAHA. Actually, I can hear my parents say (in the fake, albeit fantastic, Indian accent that I do), "oh my goodness, what have you done? Are you starting to eat meat? I don't like this one bit. You come home now." HAHAHAHAHA. Just kidding. It was one of those moments where I wished that I had an IKEA-style instructions booklet. De acuerde, ese es la vida.
The barbie this arvo was hosted by Graeme (for those of you that are new to the blog, Graeme is the IronMan triathlete, which means he is absolutely cut and ripped - I mean you could get the grill marks on steaks if you laid them on his abs). It was nice to sit around have a few veggie sausages and talk about pretty much nothing for an afternoon. It's nice to know that the friends I have can be hardcore during the week - keeping their noses in the books, pracs, slides, and notes. On the weekend, however, they can be effervescent (like moi), uplifting and just down right kickass! On that note, it's Sunday evening (18h00) and I am in my PBL room with Dave learning about the structures and functions of the skin, hair and nails. Yes, it's hardcore. But as I have said before and I will say it again, GO HARD OR GO HOME. And I am here to go hard. Well, right now we are learning about sweat glands (eccrine and apocrine - who would have known that there were different types? From my dad, I would have thought that there would have just been one and that would have been the apocrine aka Thankey's Trademark).
Okay, I gotta bust a move. The skin is calling to me...(well it's actually St. Patrick's Day on the JM cd).
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Trying to open from within…
This entry will mark the 1st month that I have been a medical student (and it’s long…so, I would set aside about 10 minutes to read this). Amazing how fast time goes. Friday is a day that every student looks forward to. It’s the gateway to the weekend, it’s the sigh of relief from all the work that was done (or should have been done) over the past week. For me, Friday is a day where I don’t have many classes (suggesting that I should be in the library, at home, or any place that I can finish my weekly learning objectives), however, this past Friday was an absolute GONG SHOW. There was only one lecture scheduled, which was from 9 to 11am. It was a lecture on Student Directed Learning. All week, some people (like my friend Dave) had been mocking the lecture. All this negative build up of thought probably led me to believe that this lecture was going to be good. How wrong could I have been! The lecture was given by a very nice Polish woman, with a very dense Polish accent. Looking around the room, I would say that probably 1/5th of the class decided to come to the lecture. I got the room and realised that it was going to be a waste of time, I pulled out my mobile and sent as many texts as I could (my phone lets me do 5 at a time) telling my friends, “do not come”. Now, don’t get me wrong. I completely understand and appreciate the importance of student directed learning but this seemed to be the most illogical time to do it. Our biweekly PBL sessions would have been the perfect forum for such discussions, or even the first week of uni would have been good.
Regardless, after this awful lecture was over, and those that were remaining in the theatre after an hour, I went to the library to work on the previous week’s learning objective. Yes, I know that I am a week behind. I am hoping that I will be all caught up by Sunday night – yes, that is extremely ambitious but I reckon that I can do it. I waited until about 12:30pm when I met up with Dave to go to Princess Alexandria Hospital to visit our fellow classmate who is in the hospital. Our classmate was taken into emergency last week for severe pain in his abdomen. It turned out he had a massive obstruction of the transverse large intestines. He had to get it surgically removed, leaving him with a very long scar. We stayed with him for about 1.5 hours, getting him all caught up on the weekly gossip and finding out more about his operation and things like that. We were all laughing and at those points during the conversation, I felt as if I finally understood a point that Patch Adams was trying to make – that health is an intimate combination of wellness and the environment, and that laughter can bring so much hope to people. While we were there, we tried this drink called Enlive Plus (don’t ever try it, even if you are in the hospital). We were so blessed to have it as being “Peach Flavour”. The first few ingredients were water, maltose dextrin and whey protein isolate – thinking of that combination almost activates my gag reflex! Regardless, Dave and I managed to drink one box (which left this awful film in our mouths not to mention an aftertaste that just kicks you in the mouth!).
After leaving our friend to have his rest, Dave and I were on another mission. The mission was, since we chose to accept it, was to ‘acquire’ scrubs. Every year, the UQMS hosts an event called Sports Day. It begins when MBBS IV assembles outside the School of Medicine at Herston. The torch is lit and the Hippocratic Oath is recited by the Patron of the Society. The torch then travels on foot through Fortitude Valley where it is warmly received by MBBS III at Tom Dooley's Public Watering Hole. After cordial greetings are exchanged, the upperclassmen set off to recruit MBBS I & II at an array of other time-honoured pit-stops. Finally, after assembly at The Regatta Hotel, the flame is held aloft for a final push the rest of the way to the University of Queensland St Lucia Campus. The arrival of the mob with the Sports Day Torch paves the way for battles of strength, endurance, and gastrointestinal mucosal integrity. There are different events such as the Tug O’War, Iron-Man & Iron-Maiden competitions, and the infamous Boat Races (which I will be participating in as my time and I will be upholding our title from our orientation week barbeque).
(That was a major digression…sorry). The purpose of acquiring scrubs for that day is that everyone participating in Sports Day should be wearing scrubs (or patient gowns for those that want to leave their asses hanging out from the back). Now, scrubs are not easy to come by, especially for MBBS I students like myself. So, with our recently minted hospital ID cards, Dave and I set off to find ourselves a few sets of scrubs. We kindly asked different ward nurses who told us that they don’t have any scrubs on this floor and that we should check another one. Thinking that that might be the response we’d get, Dave did his homework. He talked to a third year student who gave him the 411 on how to get scrubs. It involved getting yourself past security doors (we don’t have access to those doors on our hospital ID cards), finding the change rooms (making sure that no one is in there), and taking what scrubs you can find. So, Dave and I waited patiently outside the Anaesthesiology department because we didn’t have access to get in. These two ladies swiped their cards and we pounced on the opportunity. We told them that we were medical students and we needed access in. They checked our cards and were let in. Okay, the first hurdle was a successful jump. I felt my heart racing a little faster. Moreover, I felt as if I were a young child thinking that he is stealing candy from a convenient store or something. We managed to found the common area that had loads of booties and caps (which at the time we didn’t take any). The entrance to the change room was via the common room. We ducked into the room to find scrubs were everywhere! There was a huge linen basket but we didn’t want to get caught rifling through there. After the first initial awkward looks and glances, we both grabbed a pile of scrubs that were on a bench, stuffed them in our bags and walked fast until we got out of the hospital. Upon our exit, Dave and I were laughing so hard! What a rush! When we examined our goods, we were pleasantly surprised that we both managed to get two complete sets of scrubs (shirt and trousers). SCORE!
After our hospital adventures, we headed off to the City because I had to go and pick up one of my hearing aids that I had sent in to get repaired. The apparent reason why is wasn’t working is due to moisture damage. I asked the lady what could I do to prevent it and she didn’t give me anything except, “if you think it’s getting moist, then just take it out and put it aside for it to dry”. Hmmm…yeah, sure, thanks. I need to get my hands on silica gel (you know those little sachets you get when you buy a new pair of leather shoes). Those little beads help absorb moisture that maybe trapped within the air surrounding the product in order to prevent water damage. The lady will get back to me on that. Afterwards, we go eat a very light snack at Govinda’s Vegetarian Restaurant. It was a Hare Krishna place. I will leave that discussion for another day outside of this blog. :)
After a fun day at the hospital and in the city, Dave and I head back to our respective homes to get ready for a party at my mates’ Kate and Matt’s place. On the way home, I was so excited because I would be able to wear my other hearing aid (remember, a deaf Veevek is not a happy Veevek). I put on the mould and insert a new battery. I turn it on…nothing. Yes, nothing. It was like reading an intense book and when you come upon the climax, it turns out to be some sick joke by the author. It’s not a big deal, I have gone almost 4 weeks without it and I am doing fine.
So, I met up with some friends at 19h15 so that we can all go to Kate and Matt’s place (it wasn’t along any major bus or train line and none of my friends had been, while I had been there numerous times over the past week as I was studying with them in the evenings). We get ourselves to their place, and Dave and Marlene (aka Lenny) were there. It was nice to party at someone’s place as opposed to a bar or club where it’s difficult to talk to people and you have no control over what people you interact with. Kate and Matt were a little worried about how many people would come because they didn’t tell many people. Little did they realise that I put my social butterfly suit on and got to work. During the week, I was telling all those around me about the party. So, instead of 10 people showing up, there were (at one point) 32 people. For a medium sized flat, that’s a decent size. So, as with any party, people start boozing it up and having a great time (I am always amazed how potent alcohol is as a social lubricant…incredible!). At one point during the evening, Graeme and Michael propositioned Lenny, in that if all the men in the room took off their shirts, then she would too. Good god…I don’t remember playing games like that when I was 20. All the men in the room, for the exception of me, took off their shirts. See, this is what happens when too much testosterone builds up in a room. (Side story – there is a guy in my class named Shaggy Shawn, as his hair is quite shaggy. Before last night, there were rumours that he had 4 nipples. Yes, 4. And last night, he took off his shirt and exposed the 4 nipples for the entire flat to see. I tell you, there is nothing worse that seeing a guy use 4 fingers to get his nipples hard…nothing.) I didn’t take my shirt off because a part of me knew (or at least I was thinking that at the time) that Lenny didn’t want to take her shirt off (she was wearing a bra underneath). She did a little show which caused a huge uproar and people went back to praying to Dionysus and other gods of wine and drunkenness. So, Kate and Matt’s party was intended to be a pre-drinks party, whereby we would be going to the Royal Exchange Hotel afterwards to meet up with the others. So, after a healthy buzz, people were getting geared up to leave. Now, if you are still reading this (good for you), then you will also remember that the title of this post is “Trying to open from within…” People tried to open the front door and couldn’t. At first I thought that some people might have just had a little too much to drink and their ability to open a door has been impaired. I walked over there and tried. Nothing. I used my credit card (as people do in the movies) and that didn’t work. That was the beginning of the end of the night, folks! Tool boxes were brought out, people were trying to unscrew the door’s latching mechanisms out of the door, they were trying to unscrew the hinges from the sides and the top. At one point, Dave and Matt jumped off the balcony (good thing that the flat was on the first floor – NOTE: they have ground floor, then first floor, etc). They went to go and open the door from the front, which didn’t work. Dave, who lives down the street from them, went home to bring a tool box kit (not quite sure about this part but I reckon that it is true). The joke that I came up with is “how many medical students does it take change a door?” Any answers on that one because I am still trying to figure it out. It seemed that almost everyone had an opinion on how the door should be opened. Kate ended up calling a locksmith, who was able to get the door open. His reason why the door closed on itself and locked from the outside was from general wear and tear. General wear and tear my ass! That was a very dangerous situation as if there was a fire or something else that required everyone to evacuate the flat, it would have been impossible because the door was jammed. People were starting to jump off the balcony (which was an incredibly stupid idea as some of these people were a bit tipsy and the probability of breaking or damaging something is quite high). I stayed inside nursing someone (I would normally write the person’s name but I am sure that this person would be harassed for quite some time if everyone knew) as they had WAAAAAY to much to drink. It’s a nice role to be in, helping a friend in a time of need such that you ensure that they are drinking water (which is a hard task to get some people to do), not going to vomit all over themselves or getting hurt by attempting to use the toilet, etc.
Afterwards, a bunch of us headed off the RE to meet up with some friends. After 4 weeks, I am still amazed at my friends. You learn things about them when different situations come up. It’s like opening a present that has so many layers of wrapping paper.
Wow…this has been the longest posting. I should get going and learn this past week’s learning objectives.
Regardless, after this awful lecture was over, and those that were remaining in the theatre after an hour, I went to the library to work on the previous week’s learning objective. Yes, I know that I am a week behind. I am hoping that I will be all caught up by Sunday night – yes, that is extremely ambitious but I reckon that I can do it. I waited until about 12:30pm when I met up with Dave to go to Princess Alexandria Hospital to visit our fellow classmate who is in the hospital. Our classmate was taken into emergency last week for severe pain in his abdomen. It turned out he had a massive obstruction of the transverse large intestines. He had to get it surgically removed, leaving him with a very long scar. We stayed with him for about 1.5 hours, getting him all caught up on the weekly gossip and finding out more about his operation and things like that. We were all laughing and at those points during the conversation, I felt as if I finally understood a point that Patch Adams was trying to make – that health is an intimate combination of wellness and the environment, and that laughter can bring so much hope to people. While we were there, we tried this drink called Enlive Plus (don’t ever try it, even if you are in the hospital). We were so blessed to have it as being “Peach Flavour”. The first few ingredients were water, maltose dextrin and whey protein isolate – thinking of that combination almost activates my gag reflex! Regardless, Dave and I managed to drink one box (which left this awful film in our mouths not to mention an aftertaste that just kicks you in the mouth!).
After leaving our friend to have his rest, Dave and I were on another mission. The mission was, since we chose to accept it, was to ‘acquire’ scrubs. Every year, the UQMS hosts an event called Sports Day. It begins when MBBS IV assembles outside the School of Medicine at Herston. The torch is lit and the Hippocratic Oath is recited by the Patron of the Society. The torch then travels on foot through Fortitude Valley where it is warmly received by MBBS III at Tom Dooley's Public Watering Hole. After cordial greetings are exchanged, the upperclassmen set off to recruit MBBS I & II at an array of other time-honoured pit-stops. Finally, after assembly at The Regatta Hotel, the flame is held aloft for a final push the rest of the way to the University of Queensland St Lucia Campus. The arrival of the mob with the Sports Day Torch paves the way for battles of strength, endurance, and gastrointestinal mucosal integrity. There are different events such as the Tug O’War, Iron-Man & Iron-Maiden competitions, and the infamous Boat Races (which I will be participating in as my time and I will be upholding our title from our orientation week barbeque).
(That was a major digression…sorry). The purpose of acquiring scrubs for that day is that everyone participating in Sports Day should be wearing scrubs (or patient gowns for those that want to leave their asses hanging out from the back). Now, scrubs are not easy to come by, especially for MBBS I students like myself. So, with our recently minted hospital ID cards, Dave and I set off to find ourselves a few sets of scrubs. We kindly asked different ward nurses who told us that they don’t have any scrubs on this floor and that we should check another one. Thinking that that might be the response we’d get, Dave did his homework. He talked to a third year student who gave him the 411 on how to get scrubs. It involved getting yourself past security doors (we don’t have access to those doors on our hospital ID cards), finding the change rooms (making sure that no one is in there), and taking what scrubs you can find. So, Dave and I waited patiently outside the Anaesthesiology department because we didn’t have access to get in. These two ladies swiped their cards and we pounced on the opportunity. We told them that we were medical students and we needed access in. They checked our cards and were let in. Okay, the first hurdle was a successful jump. I felt my heart racing a little faster. Moreover, I felt as if I were a young child thinking that he is stealing candy from a convenient store or something. We managed to found the common area that had loads of booties and caps (which at the time we didn’t take any). The entrance to the change room was via the common room. We ducked into the room to find scrubs were everywhere! There was a huge linen basket but we didn’t want to get caught rifling through there. After the first initial awkward looks and glances, we both grabbed a pile of scrubs that were on a bench, stuffed them in our bags and walked fast until we got out of the hospital. Upon our exit, Dave and I were laughing so hard! What a rush! When we examined our goods, we were pleasantly surprised that we both managed to get two complete sets of scrubs (shirt and trousers). SCORE!
After our hospital adventures, we headed off to the City because I had to go and pick up one of my hearing aids that I had sent in to get repaired. The apparent reason why is wasn’t working is due to moisture damage. I asked the lady what could I do to prevent it and she didn’t give me anything except, “if you think it’s getting moist, then just take it out and put it aside for it to dry”. Hmmm…yeah, sure, thanks. I need to get my hands on silica gel (you know those little sachets you get when you buy a new pair of leather shoes). Those little beads help absorb moisture that maybe trapped within the air surrounding the product in order to prevent water damage. The lady will get back to me on that. Afterwards, we go eat a very light snack at Govinda’s Vegetarian Restaurant. It was a Hare Krishna place. I will leave that discussion for another day outside of this blog. :)
After a fun day at the hospital and in the city, Dave and I head back to our respective homes to get ready for a party at my mates’ Kate and Matt’s place. On the way home, I was so excited because I would be able to wear my other hearing aid (remember, a deaf Veevek is not a happy Veevek). I put on the mould and insert a new battery. I turn it on…nothing. Yes, nothing. It was like reading an intense book and when you come upon the climax, it turns out to be some sick joke by the author. It’s not a big deal, I have gone almost 4 weeks without it and I am doing fine.
So, I met up with some friends at 19h15 so that we can all go to Kate and Matt’s place (it wasn’t along any major bus or train line and none of my friends had been, while I had been there numerous times over the past week as I was studying with them in the evenings). We get ourselves to their place, and Dave and Marlene (aka Lenny) were there. It was nice to party at someone’s place as opposed to a bar or club where it’s difficult to talk to people and you have no control over what people you interact with. Kate and Matt were a little worried about how many people would come because they didn’t tell many people. Little did they realise that I put my social butterfly suit on and got to work. During the week, I was telling all those around me about the party. So, instead of 10 people showing up, there were (at one point) 32 people. For a medium sized flat, that’s a decent size. So, as with any party, people start boozing it up and having a great time (I am always amazed how potent alcohol is as a social lubricant…incredible!). At one point during the evening, Graeme and Michael propositioned Lenny, in that if all the men in the room took off their shirts, then she would too. Good god…I don’t remember playing games like that when I was 20. All the men in the room, for the exception of me, took off their shirts. See, this is what happens when too much testosterone builds up in a room. (Side story – there is a guy in my class named Shaggy Shawn, as his hair is quite shaggy. Before last night, there were rumours that he had 4 nipples. Yes, 4. And last night, he took off his shirt and exposed the 4 nipples for the entire flat to see. I tell you, there is nothing worse that seeing a guy use 4 fingers to get his nipples hard…nothing.) I didn’t take my shirt off because a part of me knew (or at least I was thinking that at the time) that Lenny didn’t want to take her shirt off (she was wearing a bra underneath). She did a little show which caused a huge uproar and people went back to praying to Dionysus and other gods of wine and drunkenness. So, Kate and Matt’s party was intended to be a pre-drinks party, whereby we would be going to the Royal Exchange Hotel afterwards to meet up with the others. So, after a healthy buzz, people were getting geared up to leave. Now, if you are still reading this (good for you), then you will also remember that the title of this post is “Trying to open from within…” People tried to open the front door and couldn’t. At first I thought that some people might have just had a little too much to drink and their ability to open a door has been impaired. I walked over there and tried. Nothing. I used my credit card (as people do in the movies) and that didn’t work. That was the beginning of the end of the night, folks! Tool boxes were brought out, people were trying to unscrew the door’s latching mechanisms out of the door, they were trying to unscrew the hinges from the sides and the top. At one point, Dave and Matt jumped off the balcony (good thing that the flat was on the first floor – NOTE: they have ground floor, then first floor, etc). They went to go and open the door from the front, which didn’t work. Dave, who lives down the street from them, went home to bring a tool box kit (not quite sure about this part but I reckon that it is true). The joke that I came up with is “how many medical students does it take change a door?” Any answers on that one because I am still trying to figure it out. It seemed that almost everyone had an opinion on how the door should be opened. Kate ended up calling a locksmith, who was able to get the door open. His reason why the door closed on itself and locked from the outside was from general wear and tear. General wear and tear my ass! That was a very dangerous situation as if there was a fire or something else that required everyone to evacuate the flat, it would have been impossible because the door was jammed. People were starting to jump off the balcony (which was an incredibly stupid idea as some of these people were a bit tipsy and the probability of breaking or damaging something is quite high). I stayed inside nursing someone (I would normally write the person’s name but I am sure that this person would be harassed for quite some time if everyone knew) as they had WAAAAAY to much to drink. It’s a nice role to be in, helping a friend in a time of need such that you ensure that they are drinking water (which is a hard task to get some people to do), not going to vomit all over themselves or getting hurt by attempting to use the toilet, etc.
Afterwards, a bunch of us headed off the RE to meet up with some friends. After 4 weeks, I am still amazed at my friends. You learn things about them when different situations come up. It’s like opening a present that has so many layers of wrapping paper.
Wow…this has been the longest posting. I should get going and learn this past week’s learning objectives.
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Wednesday...I love Wednesdays. I have heard it being called the most productive day of the week. And how productive have I been today? Well, believe-you-me, it's been a productive day. :) I had a histology practical today (which was quite informative and, honestly, I have learnt more at this practical than any of the others ones) and now (well after I finish this blog) I am going over my lympathic system and immunology notes from last week.
This week's problem-based learning stuff is the skin and acne. FUN FUN! I can tell you that dermatology isn't for those people that have weak stomachs. The pictures I have seen in the past few days have been quite gross...yes, gross. You wonder how people could have left an infection for that long before a person thought, "hmm...perhaps I should get that photographed and use it for a medical journal or something."
Alright, this posting was just to kill some time (then again, I don't need computers to kill time, it seems that most corners I turn, I see someone that I recognise from the class and I have a small chit chat with them, which is great! The social butterfly is back again - but not without sacrificing my studies, which is of utmost importance :))
This week's problem-based learning stuff is the skin and acne. FUN FUN! I can tell you that dermatology isn't for those people that have weak stomachs. The pictures I have seen in the past few days have been quite gross...yes, gross. You wonder how people could have left an infection for that long before a person thought, "hmm...perhaps I should get that photographed and use it for a medical journal or something."
Alright, this posting was just to kill some time (then again, I don't need computers to kill time, it seems that most corners I turn, I see someone that I recognise from the class and I have a small chit chat with them, which is great! The social butterfly is back again - but not without sacrificing my studies, which is of utmost importance :))
Monday, February 14, 2005
Monday!
It's going to be Monday tomorrow and I am so stoked!
Most people would be grumbling around 22h00 on Sunday night, thinking about all the work that they have to do the next day and how the week will be hard to get through. I am sitting here with a few friends studying immunology and cardiovascular system and I am smiling because I know that I will be going to uni tomorrow to see my friends and learn about things that I want to learn about. Good god I love it! From time to time, I have to pinch myself to determine whether this is all real or if I am in the best dream of my life. It seems that for the time being, it is a bit of both.
For the most part, medical school has been great and the friends that I have met and will continue to meet and develop into lasting friendships keep me going. I don't know how to explain it. Now, those of my friends that I love (you know who and where you are), I know the distance sucks, yet our friendships are based on such strong pillars that not even Atlas can hold up and shake.
Okay, I am going to stop this mushy melodrama and get back to learning how to play like a doctor. :)
Most people would be grumbling around 22h00 on Sunday night, thinking about all the work that they have to do the next day and how the week will be hard to get through. I am sitting here with a few friends studying immunology and cardiovascular system and I am smiling because I know that I will be going to uni tomorrow to see my friends and learn about things that I want to learn about. Good god I love it! From time to time, I have to pinch myself to determine whether this is all real or if I am in the best dream of my life. It seems that for the time being, it is a bit of both.
For the most part, medical school has been great and the friends that I have met and will continue to meet and develop into lasting friendships keep me going. I don't know how to explain it. Now, those of my friends that I love (you know who and where you are), I know the distance sucks, yet our friendships are based on such strong pillars that not even Atlas can hold up and shake.
Okay, I am going to stop this mushy melodrama and get back to learning how to play like a doctor. :)
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Paging Dr. James*....
(* names have been changed)
I had my first clinical communications observation at Princess Alexandria Hospital on Friday. Another person from my PBL group, Ryan, and I went down together as we were supposed to go in pairs. Our session was at 1pm and uni finished at 11:30 (the morning was quite the gong show with a clinical immunology lecture at the Education Centre at the Royal Brisbane Hospital and then we had 30 minutes to get back to UQ campus and have the next lecture - that might be a reasonable amount of you time you reckon...but it wasn't. If you were to take the bus it would take you 45 minutes (and that's matching up the connection times and everything). I was fortunate that I got a ride on the way back.
Ryan and I got to the hospital and finally found the doctor that we were going to be observing (not after having some issues with finding which outpatient centre we had to go to). He split us up - Ryan was shadowing a registrar (that's similar to a resident in the Canadian world of medicine). I was with Dr. James* (names have been changed). Now, Dr. James* was 40 minutes late. Apparently, he didn't start the day until 1:40pm. Does the medical school now about this? Why were we (the students) made aware of this. At times, it feels as if we (medical students) are the bottom of the totem pole for everything - and I mean everything. I do believe that in a hospital setting, patient care overrides everything else, including medical education. However, if a doctor is supposed to be somewhere (and Dr. Scott had approved of this observation well in advance) and has no other commitments, that scheduling time should be honoured. Regardless, he came late and started the show (of course without no apologies to Ryan or myself).
The very first patient of the afternoon was a 50+ year old woman, who seemed a bit mentally slow (almost as if she was a 7-year old in a older body - her mannerisms and the way she was speaking). She was experiencing bouts of spontaneous DVT (deep vein thrombosis...oh look at me, already using medical acronyms! Schmecktyo) and required a mammogram and pelvic ultrasound. The doctor turned on the xray light box and placed her mammogram on it. Even though I haven't done radiology/oncology yet, I knew what I was seeing - Mrs. Smith* had a tumour in her left breast. The doctor was quite somber and told her that this does not mean anything yet as a biopsy would be required to make any diagnoses. Mrs. Smith started to cry and I mean CRY. Dr. James* had no tissues for the patient (which is an absolute no-no, a physician should have those sort of things available for her/his patients). She was almost unconsolable - then again, I would be too if I just found out that there I have a tumour growing inside me. As for the reason why she was there (spontaneous DVT), the doctor ordered more tests. So, he gave her some forms that had to be taken to Pathology/Radiology/and Haematology. Now, as in any hospital getting to point A to point B is never as simple as anyone makes it to be. Dr. James* gave Mrs. Smith* verbal directions on how to get to Radiology from his outpatient clinic. She seemed really confused on how to get there and asked the doctor if he would draw her a map or at least write down the corridor names. He told her that that was not necessary and that finding it is an extremely easy task. My jaw almost dropped to the floor! I was thinking, "as her doctor, why not help her in such a simple task that puts her mind to ease. She just found out that she may have cancerous growth in her breast." Instead of placating her, he sends her off just having discovered something that may inevitably change her entire life.
All the rest of the patients that afternoon (the session lasted a little less than 2 hours) were 60+, except one man who was in his early 50s and had serious hepatic (liver) infections and jaundice. His reason - binge drinker for past 4 years. Mr. Scott* is now retired (not by choice) but when he was working, he would often set aside one day to drink. Yes, he would spend the entire day drinking. His exilir of choice was vodka. From his reports, Dr. James* told me that he would drink 2 - 3 bottles (and in one case 4) on the binge day. Good god. There were several public health issues that were raised - family history of alcoholism, depression, and the increasing hardships that people face today. Mr. Scott* had not consumed any alcohol since his last visit (which was October 2004) and this was verified by regular testing. However, Dr. James* questioned him as if he just had a drink last week. Mr. Scott* brought his younger brother along to verify the story that no alcohol had been consumed. Dr. James* sent Mr. Scott to blood services to have his blood check. During all of this, I realised that this isn't the type of doctor that I want to become - a doctor that has become disillusioned and jaded by their patients and the system that they work within. I know that I am a newly minted medical student but upholding the dignity and respect of your patients should be of paramount importance.
After finishing up the observations, I headed home and then went to a friend's place to meet up with some more friends (Kate, Maie, Phil, and Renee) to study. I have noticed that I quite like to sit down with a group of people (albeit a small group) and study (yet, there are the intermittent conversations but they become more and more related to the topic at hand as the session progresses - I like to call it "nerd talk"). I finished up the rest of immunology ending it with T-cell immunity and cell-mediated immune responses. The study session lasted for about 5 hours and then I headed off to the Regatta to meet up with Dave, Suzanne, Yvette, Dan, and a whole bunch of other people from class. I like being able to reward myself after a long day's worth of work. And at the moment, the best reward is being able to spend time with friends in an environment outside of medicine.
I had my first clinical communications observation at Princess Alexandria Hospital on Friday. Another person from my PBL group, Ryan, and I went down together as we were supposed to go in pairs. Our session was at 1pm and uni finished at 11:30 (the morning was quite the gong show with a clinical immunology lecture at the Education Centre at the Royal Brisbane Hospital and then we had 30 minutes to get back to UQ campus and have the next lecture - that might be a reasonable amount of you time you reckon...but it wasn't. If you were to take the bus it would take you 45 minutes (and that's matching up the connection times and everything). I was fortunate that I got a ride on the way back.
Ryan and I got to the hospital and finally found the doctor that we were going to be observing (not after having some issues with finding which outpatient centre we had to go to). He split us up - Ryan was shadowing a registrar (that's similar to a resident in the Canadian world of medicine). I was with Dr. James* (names have been changed). Now, Dr. James* was 40 minutes late. Apparently, he didn't start the day until 1:40pm. Does the medical school now about this? Why were we (the students) made aware of this. At times, it feels as if we (medical students) are the bottom of the totem pole for everything - and I mean everything. I do believe that in a hospital setting, patient care overrides everything else, including medical education. However, if a doctor is supposed to be somewhere (and Dr. Scott had approved of this observation well in advance) and has no other commitments, that scheduling time should be honoured. Regardless, he came late and started the show (of course without no apologies to Ryan or myself).
The very first patient of the afternoon was a 50+ year old woman, who seemed a bit mentally slow (almost as if she was a 7-year old in a older body - her mannerisms and the way she was speaking). She was experiencing bouts of spontaneous DVT (deep vein thrombosis...oh look at me, already using medical acronyms! Schmecktyo) and required a mammogram and pelvic ultrasound. The doctor turned on the xray light box and placed her mammogram on it. Even though I haven't done radiology/oncology yet, I knew what I was seeing - Mrs. Smith* had a tumour in her left breast. The doctor was quite somber and told her that this does not mean anything yet as a biopsy would be required to make any diagnoses. Mrs. Smith started to cry and I mean CRY. Dr. James* had no tissues for the patient (which is an absolute no-no, a physician should have those sort of things available for her/his patients). She was almost unconsolable - then again, I would be too if I just found out that there I have a tumour growing inside me. As for the reason why she was there (spontaneous DVT), the doctor ordered more tests. So, he gave her some forms that had to be taken to Pathology/Radiology/and Haematology. Now, as in any hospital getting to point A to point B is never as simple as anyone makes it to be. Dr. James* gave Mrs. Smith* verbal directions on how to get to Radiology from his outpatient clinic. She seemed really confused on how to get there and asked the doctor if he would draw her a map or at least write down the corridor names. He told her that that was not necessary and that finding it is an extremely easy task. My jaw almost dropped to the floor! I was thinking, "as her doctor, why not help her in such a simple task that puts her mind to ease. She just found out that she may have cancerous growth in her breast." Instead of placating her, he sends her off just having discovered something that may inevitably change her entire life.
All the rest of the patients that afternoon (the session lasted a little less than 2 hours) were 60+, except one man who was in his early 50s and had serious hepatic (liver) infections and jaundice. His reason - binge drinker for past 4 years. Mr. Scott* is now retired (not by choice) but when he was working, he would often set aside one day to drink. Yes, he would spend the entire day drinking. His exilir of choice was vodka. From his reports, Dr. James* told me that he would drink 2 - 3 bottles (and in one case 4) on the binge day. Good god. There were several public health issues that were raised - family history of alcoholism, depression, and the increasing hardships that people face today. Mr. Scott* had not consumed any alcohol since his last visit (which was October 2004) and this was verified by regular testing. However, Dr. James* questioned him as if he just had a drink last week. Mr. Scott* brought his younger brother along to verify the story that no alcohol had been consumed. Dr. James* sent Mr. Scott to blood services to have his blood check. During all of this, I realised that this isn't the type of doctor that I want to become - a doctor that has become disillusioned and jaded by their patients and the system that they work within. I know that I am a newly minted medical student but upholding the dignity and respect of your patients should be of paramount importance.
After finishing up the observations, I headed home and then went to a friend's place to meet up with some more friends (Kate, Maie, Phil, and Renee) to study. I have noticed that I quite like to sit down with a group of people (albeit a small group) and study (yet, there are the intermittent conversations but they become more and more related to the topic at hand as the session progresses - I like to call it "nerd talk"). I finished up the rest of immunology ending it with T-cell immunity and cell-mediated immune responses. The study session lasted for about 5 hours and then I headed off to the Regatta to meet up with Dave, Suzanne, Yvette, Dan, and a whole bunch of other people from class. I like being able to reward myself after a long day's worth of work. And at the moment, the best reward is being able to spend time with friends in an environment outside of medicine.
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Medical School and I
This is Week 3 of uni and I am getting my ass kicked! An expression that is used in Canada and the US with regards to medical school is "it is like trying to drink water from a fire hydrant." This is exactly how it is. Since Monday's PBL (a huge case about an infant boy who has Severe Combined Immune Deficiency), I have been trying to keep my head above the pages upon pages of immunology. I am quite cognizant that I don't have to know/learn all of this stuff in a week; the learning objectives provide an outline of what we need to know from this week (which is certainly doable - if there were 35 hours in a day). It's just a bit daunting knowing that there is so much that you don't know, and that the more you know, the more you don't you. Good god.
I had one lecture this morning and then a microbiology laboratory. I attended half a lecture on how to secure evidence-based medicine articles and sources onlines using PubMED, Medline, and other online medical sources. I sat down in the biological sciences library at 12:00 and left at 5:30pm. This has been the longest day of revision for me thus far, considering that I don't have an exam tomorrow. :) I know that this is going to be a regular occurance, which is something to look forward to as it prescribes some level of routine.
I came home at 5:30 and quickly made dinner before rushing off to a study group session with Dan, Dave, Dave, Meliene, and Pete (All Aussies, except for Dan, whose a Kiwi). We went over the issues from last week's PBL (cardiovascular) and the formative assessment questions. I realized that I don't know as much CV as I thought. God damn. I had a few moments of "HOLY SHOOT, I need to get out of here and start examining all the holes in my knowledge and learn what I don't know." The group worked well together (at least that's what I thought) - we got through all the objectives (and then some), had our nerdy medical conversations, and watched a new episode of The Simpsons. I felt as if I didn't contribute enough to the group (definitely a first time for that one to happen); the learning curve is huge and I respect that. I know that for the next meeting, I need to get my ass into gear (which I have been doing since the group study session) and maximise my studying time.
Speaking of maximising time, Graeme (IronMan) and I have decided to help each other out. I am going to teach Graeme the basics of cooking and he will train me into a leaner and meaner Veevek. :) I am going to keep up playing squash with Dave (and rumour has it that others have come out of the squash closet and want to play as well), and try to run with Graeme 3 to 4 times a week. I will go over all the basics of shopping for groceries, preparation, and cooking with Graeme. This is his first time from living away from home; due to the fact that he was either in school or training, a lot of his domestic skills are underdeveloped. This combination of me teaching him to cook and him helping me get back into a peak physical condition is quite exciting! By allocating time to excercise, I reckon that that will put take out the extraneous time for other things that would be 'useless' (note: I am using that word in it's loosest sense).
Alright, it's a little past midnight. What does that mean? It's means that my dress will become rags and my coach will turn into a pumpkin. No, I haven't been wishing I was Cinderella. However, the moral from this is very similar to the tale of Cinderella. See, Cinderella's fairy godmother told her that she was able to go to the ball, in all her finery, if and only if she would return by the last stroke of midnight. Okay, how does this fairy tale apply to me? Well, first off, I wish that I could be the princess at the ball...hahahaha...just kidding. Seriously though, on a uni night, midnight is the time that I want to bring things to a close and get to bed. I get up early (6:15am or so) and want to make sure that I can get enough hours of sleep without sacrificing study time (I haven't decided if this will be the case for the weekends, but I have been getting relatively early on the weekends - between 8:30 and 9:30am). On that note, I am signing off.
I had one lecture this morning and then a microbiology laboratory. I attended half a lecture on how to secure evidence-based medicine articles and sources onlines using PubMED, Medline, and other online medical sources. I sat down in the biological sciences library at 12:00 and left at 5:30pm. This has been the longest day of revision for me thus far, considering that I don't have an exam tomorrow. :) I know that this is going to be a regular occurance, which is something to look forward to as it prescribes some level of routine.
I came home at 5:30 and quickly made dinner before rushing off to a study group session with Dan, Dave, Dave, Meliene, and Pete (All Aussies, except for Dan, whose a Kiwi). We went over the issues from last week's PBL (cardiovascular) and the formative assessment questions. I realized that I don't know as much CV as I thought. God damn. I had a few moments of "HOLY SHOOT, I need to get out of here and start examining all the holes in my knowledge and learn what I don't know." The group worked well together (at least that's what I thought) - we got through all the objectives (and then some), had our nerdy medical conversations, and watched a new episode of The Simpsons. I felt as if I didn't contribute enough to the group (definitely a first time for that one to happen); the learning curve is huge and I respect that. I know that for the next meeting, I need to get my ass into gear (which I have been doing since the group study session) and maximise my studying time.
Speaking of maximising time, Graeme (IronMan) and I have decided to help each other out. I am going to teach Graeme the basics of cooking and he will train me into a leaner and meaner Veevek. :) I am going to keep up playing squash with Dave (and rumour has it that others have come out of the squash closet and want to play as well), and try to run with Graeme 3 to 4 times a week. I will go over all the basics of shopping for groceries, preparation, and cooking with Graeme. This is his first time from living away from home; due to the fact that he was either in school or training, a lot of his domestic skills are underdeveloped. This combination of me teaching him to cook and him helping me get back into a peak physical condition is quite exciting! By allocating time to excercise, I reckon that that will put take out the extraneous time for other things that would be 'useless' (note: I am using that word in it's loosest sense).
Alright, it's a little past midnight. What does that mean? It's means that my dress will become rags and my coach will turn into a pumpkin. No, I haven't been wishing I was Cinderella. However, the moral from this is very similar to the tale of Cinderella. See, Cinderella's fairy godmother told her that she was able to go to the ball, in all her finery, if and only if she would return by the last stroke of midnight. Okay, how does this fairy tale apply to me? Well, first off, I wish that I could be the princess at the ball...hahahaha...just kidding. Seriously though, on a uni night, midnight is the time that I want to bring things to a close and get to bed. I get up early (6:15am or so) and want to make sure that I can get enough hours of sleep without sacrificing study time (I haven't decided if this will be the case for the weekends, but I have been getting relatively early on the weekends - between 8:30 and 9:30am). On that note, I am signing off.
Friday, February 04, 2005
Could you step aside...
…this seemed to be the theme for Saturday night. Perhaps, I should start from the very beginning.
Friday night’s debauchery was indeed foreshadowing as to what will come. Saturday morning I was awoken by the dancing sunlight that shone through my window and landed upon my bed. It was indeed a great way to be woken up, as opposed to someone switching on the lights (when it is pitch black outside) and tearing off the thick warm duvets off your body (this method was used by my dad when I slept through my alarm – this was during high school, which was many years ago). Regardless, I had a wonderful morning, which was spent over a good breakfast and the local newspaper. Around 11am, I got a call from a friend (we will call him Dave). PseudoDave (this is not Dave) was having a bbq at his place and they wanted me to come over. I tell you, these Aussies are hardcore! I arrived there and everyone looked quite lethargic but the atmosphere was awesome. We all shared some good laughs about the night before. Normally, there is alcohol at barbeques, but this time, water was the beverage of choice.
The bbq lasted for a couple of hours and I headed back to my place, hoping to sort out the remaining unpacking fiasco. I have a huge desk with no drawers or other compartments. At the moment, all my textbooks, leisure books and knick knacks are placed on the left side, while photos are on the right. My laptop sits in the middle. This means that I have no room to open my huge ass Moore’s Anatomy or Sherwood’s Human Physiology textbooks. Spatial arrangement was something that I will have to master, along with cardiovascular anatomy and physiology (edit: the desk has been cleared and organized in a fashion that Martha Stewart would have approved).
Oh, back to the story. So, Saturday afternoon was spent getting the room organized and doing laundry. On Friday night, a bunch of us made plans to go to a club, in the Valley, called Family. It was voted the 2004 Australian’s Best Bar/Club. We met up at Family. Some of the group went in early as they had their own transportation to the place. Myself and 3 other people took Brisbane’s wonderful public transportation system (seriously, it is really good) to Brunswick St. After making our way to Family, we queued up and presented our Australian ID/foreign passports. Two other people and I were able to get in but one of my friends wasn’t able to. Okay, for those of you that are living in Calgary will know that Calgary is anal about IDs and that sort of thing. You haven’t seen anything yet until you come to Brisbane! HOLY SHOOT! Seriously. Most clubs/bars require Australian ID – driver’s license/birth certificate/18+ card – or passports (NOTE: foreign driver’s licences are a useless piece of ID down here). Now, I don’t know about y’all but I don’t want to be carrying around my passport to the bars. Also, most bars/clubs have signs that say “Managements has the right to refuse entry”, which basically means that if you aren’t who they are looking for, then you don’t get to go in. So, the bouncer and the girl that was checking people’s IDs and style told us that our one friend couldn’t get in. He was dressed in a white collared shirt, jeans and tan shoes. You’d think that that would be okay. No. In the beginning, they said that his shirt and shoes weren’t good enough. We were a bit taken aback. The bouncer told us that we should come back in about 30 minutes and he will see what he can do. In the meantime, the group that came with this friend decided to go to another place (RG Hotel), while the group that was in Family went back inside. At RG, each one of us shouted a round and 5 rounds later, we decided to try our chances at Family. We got back to Family and were told that the one guy still wouldn’t be able to get in. I called a friend inside the club and she brought down one of my friend’s shirt (he was already inside the club). He changed his shirt (and now he looked more dressy than I did) and the girl who was checking the ID told him, “Could you step aside?” He was so frustrated and rightfully so. After talking to the bouncer, who wouldn’t let him in because he still didn’t have the right shoes, I asked him if there was anything else besides the shoes. The bouncer said no and he said that even if he did change the shoes, he still wouldn’t be able to let him in because his sense of style didn’t match the club’s. MOTHER OF GOD! I would have felt humiliated and quite pissed off. We gathered the rest of the crew that was inside the club and headed off to a few other places in the Valley. Nevertheless, the night was a lot of fun. I made new friends, saw and experienced a different part of Brisbane’s nightlife.
Sunday morning, however, was a different story. I have never had a hangover – never. I mean my mouth might be dry but I have never felt the after shocks of a night of drinking (I can say that with confidence because I had to do a presentation in my Problem-Based Learning group about how alcohol is metabolised and it’s effect on the body). But, the when I pressed down on the area of the liver, it was tender! I have never had that feeling before – ever. Good god. I was indeed a sign that I should lay off some of the alcohol for a bit (well, at least until the next huge party, which is a Keg Party that the University of Queensland Medical Society is hosting on Friday). Sunday was a chill day – I realized that the first week of uni has gone by and that I was one week closer to becoming Dr. Veevek Thankey. (oh my god, if that wasn’t melodrama, then I don’t know what is!)
Alright, I have spent enough time not doing work - I need to get on my cardiovascular anatomy and physiology.
Monday, January 31, 2005
V-MAN!
Yes, that is the new nickname that has been given to me by a sizeable group of Aussies in my class. Well, let me go back and talk about the rest of the first week of uni.
Well, Monday was the first day of medical school and it was great! I met heaps of people and the stuff that we are learning in the lectures, expert tutorials, and the practical sessions are basic/clinical sciences. Normally, I would be groaning about what the point of studying all of that would be (I did groan a lot during my undergraduate degree). However, the basic information is made relevant to the study of medicine.
Tuesday was off to an interesting start as the first lecture was on celebrating life and confronting death. We learned about how the gross anatomy labs will be set up. We also learned about how we get the bodies; that being said, there is a Thanksgiving Service for those people and their families that have donated their bodies for our studies. The next lecture was on occupational health and safety, more specifically, in the labs and practicals that we will have over the course of the next two years. After that, we had our first lecture in anatomy. Even though it was an introduction, I realized that anatomy will be a course that will require some painstaking attention. The most fun lecture of the day was the medical communications course. All the information is common sense, for example, if you are in a patient’s hospital room and there is no chair, then you must ask the patient’s permission to sit on their bed. Also, we watched videos on the don’ts and do’s of medical communication. The video was made by a Canadian doctor, with a very dense British accent, who is the leading expert on medical communication.
That evening was going to be a good one because the next day was Australia Day. Some of my new friends (a healthy mixture of Australians and internationals [Canadians and Singaporeans]) and I headed to the medical students’ watering hole (it is by no means an exclusive place for us), called the Regatta Hotel (commonly known as the Regatta). Most bars (not clubs) in Brisbane have the word ‘hotel’ in it’s name, for example, Exchange Hotel, Victory Hotel, Royal Exchange Hotel, and Regatta Hotel. I asked a few local students why that is the case, still waiting for an answer to that question. Several drinks and laughs later, I knew that Australia Day would be a very low key one.
Wednesday arrived and I woke up at 12:30pm, while many other people I know went to see the cockroach races and other things in Brisbane. Cam and I stayed inside the entire day and watched two great matches played at the Australian Open (Davenport vs Molik and Hewitt vs some Argentine bloke) and Australia vs West Indies in a cricket match. The weather was real crap, so spending it inside wasn’t a bad option (NOTE: I am sure that people are going to flame me on not having gone out on that day and experiencing things around the city. In my defense, many Australians have told me that watching cricket and tennis are very Australian things to do).
Thursday was all about the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) that UQ (and all other graduate entry medicine courses) uses to teach its students. We have only 5 lectures (each lecture is 1 hour and we may have more depending on the week; each week we have a different schedule) in a week, which is the only didactic learning we will be doing. The remainder of the time will be spent on PBL groups, self-directed learning, practicals, and expert tutorials. We were told that the minimum amount of time that we will be in classes, PBL sessions, practicals and self study will be at least 50 hours a week.
Friday was a day that I don’t think that I will be able to forget. It started with a lecture on the duty of care and the legal and ethical questions surrounding the issue. We also had a lecture on homeostasis (the maintenance of relatively stable internal physiological conditions), which was followed by a two-hour session by the University of Queensland Medical Society. They talked about what sort of things the UQMS do and what benefits we would have. After having an arse numbing experience (we didn’t have any breaks, thus no getting up from our seats, until the end which was 5 hours), the UQMS held a barbeque for the first years. It was held near the lakes that are on campus. A miniature beer garden was set up. The heat mixed with copious amounts of beer/wine made everyone quite ‘happy’. (At the time I didn't know him) Dave came up behind me and screamed “V-MAN! I was told that you are the person that knows everyone!” I was like, “what the hell?” Apparently, there is a large following of V-MAN supporters in the back of theatre. At first, I reckoned that they were taking the piss out on me but it seems that these people really think that I am the person that people should get to know. My friend Dave (a Sydneysider) introduce me to a huge crew of people as V-MAN and that is what I am known as in a few circles. HAHAHAHAHAHA…V-MAN…oh god. Okay, back to the story. I participated in boat races against the upper years. Myself, this Canadian girl named Renee, and 6 Aussie guys (Dave was one of them) were unbeatable! For those of you that don’t know what boat racing is, it is a very popular drinking game. The object of the game is to have your team skull (the Australian term for ‘chugging”) their beer the fastest. You have to place both of your thumbs and your chin on the table before the game starts. The referee will let the first two people know when they can start. Once the first person finishes skulling their beer (and placing the glass upside down on their head – this means that you have to finish everything in your glass or else you will have beer running down your hair, face and neck), then the next person skulls, so and so forth. I didn’t think that I would be able to do it. In doing so, I made a number of friends. I met a number of Daves (there were 5 and it reminded me of the song, “these are the Daves I know I know, these are the Daves I know by Kids in the Hall), and they invited me to play touch footy (touch rugby). I have never played, so they were trying to teach me how to throw the ball (which is much harder than most people would reckon). It was great; so great, that I am thinking of joining the UQ Med Rugby team, which is sanctioned by the state of Queensland as a official team (as opposed to being only sanctioned by the uni). The beer gardens were shut down just before 6pm. I made myself back to Claire’s flat and waited for her. She was going to drive the rest of my belongings to my new place. After getting dropped off and having all my belongings all over the place, I quickly unpacked and leaving all others things off to the side. Now, all I have had to eat today was a bowl of yoghurt and granola for breakfast and a veggie burger for lunch. I knew that I had to make dinner or else I will be brutalised by the end of the night. I made noodles/spaghetti. It wasn't too bad, considering that I don't have my spices and things set up.
Regardless, I had to get ready and meet up with the first years at…yes…the Regatta. Upon my entrance to the place, I can hear this cacophony of “V-MAN”. I had quite a difficult time staying in one place – it’s not always a good thing to be a social butterfly. Nonetheless, I met some new people (Aussies) and danced some good Indian style dancing even though there was no Indian beats being played. HAHAHAHA. People got a great kick out of it. My reward for this awkward display was that a number of people come up to me and told me that I had a great sense of dancing style. A couple of girls came up to me afterwards and asked if my hair was naturally curly – they ran their fingers through my hair…so good. :) The night, unfortunately, had to come to end. I walked home with Graeme, a Sydneysider, who is also a competitor for the Iron Man Triathlon. This is the great thing about being in this sort of class – everyone is from a different background and most of the fun will be getting to know these people and what sort of strengths they have brought to the Class of 2008.
Then Saturday came...and that will have to be another update as it requires my full attention. At the moment, I need to finish up my presention to my PBL group on the legalities and ethics of Duty of Care.
Well, Monday was the first day of medical school and it was great! I met heaps of people and the stuff that we are learning in the lectures, expert tutorials, and the practical sessions are basic/clinical sciences. Normally, I would be groaning about what the point of studying all of that would be (I did groan a lot during my undergraduate degree). However, the basic information is made relevant to the study of medicine.
Tuesday was off to an interesting start as the first lecture was on celebrating life and confronting death. We learned about how the gross anatomy labs will be set up. We also learned about how we get the bodies; that being said, there is a Thanksgiving Service for those people and their families that have donated their bodies for our studies. The next lecture was on occupational health and safety, more specifically, in the labs and practicals that we will have over the course of the next two years. After that, we had our first lecture in anatomy. Even though it was an introduction, I realized that anatomy will be a course that will require some painstaking attention. The most fun lecture of the day was the medical communications course. All the information is common sense, for example, if you are in a patient’s hospital room and there is no chair, then you must ask the patient’s permission to sit on their bed. Also, we watched videos on the don’ts and do’s of medical communication. The video was made by a Canadian doctor, with a very dense British accent, who is the leading expert on medical communication.
That evening was going to be a good one because the next day was Australia Day. Some of my new friends (a healthy mixture of Australians and internationals [Canadians and Singaporeans]) and I headed to the medical students’ watering hole (it is by no means an exclusive place for us), called the Regatta Hotel (commonly known as the Regatta). Most bars (not clubs) in Brisbane have the word ‘hotel’ in it’s name, for example, Exchange Hotel, Victory Hotel, Royal Exchange Hotel, and Regatta Hotel. I asked a few local students why that is the case, still waiting for an answer to that question. Several drinks and laughs later, I knew that Australia Day would be a very low key one.
Wednesday arrived and I woke up at 12:30pm, while many other people I know went to see the cockroach races and other things in Brisbane. Cam and I stayed inside the entire day and watched two great matches played at the Australian Open (Davenport vs Molik and Hewitt vs some Argentine bloke) and Australia vs West Indies in a cricket match. The weather was real crap, so spending it inside wasn’t a bad option (NOTE: I am sure that people are going to flame me on not having gone out on that day and experiencing things around the city. In my defense, many Australians have told me that watching cricket and tennis are very Australian things to do).
Thursday was all about the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) that UQ (and all other graduate entry medicine courses) uses to teach its students. We have only 5 lectures (each lecture is 1 hour and we may have more depending on the week; each week we have a different schedule) in a week, which is the only didactic learning we will be doing. The remainder of the time will be spent on PBL groups, self-directed learning, practicals, and expert tutorials. We were told that the minimum amount of time that we will be in classes, PBL sessions, practicals and self study will be at least 50 hours a week.
Friday was a day that I don’t think that I will be able to forget. It started with a lecture on the duty of care and the legal and ethical questions surrounding the issue. We also had a lecture on homeostasis (the maintenance of relatively stable internal physiological conditions), which was followed by a two-hour session by the University of Queensland Medical Society. They talked about what sort of things the UQMS do and what benefits we would have. After having an arse numbing experience (we didn’t have any breaks, thus no getting up from our seats, until the end which was 5 hours), the UQMS held a barbeque for the first years. It was held near the lakes that are on campus. A miniature beer garden was set up. The heat mixed with copious amounts of beer/wine made everyone quite ‘happy’. (At the time I didn't know him) Dave came up behind me and screamed “V-MAN! I was told that you are the person that knows everyone!” I was like, “what the hell?” Apparently, there is a large following of V-MAN supporters in the back of theatre. At first, I reckoned that they were taking the piss out on me but it seems that these people really think that I am the person that people should get to know. My friend Dave (a Sydneysider) introduce me to a huge crew of people as V-MAN and that is what I am known as in a few circles. HAHAHAHAHAHA…V-MAN…oh god. Okay, back to the story. I participated in boat races against the upper years. Myself, this Canadian girl named Renee, and 6 Aussie guys (Dave was one of them) were unbeatable! For those of you that don’t know what boat racing is, it is a very popular drinking game. The object of the game is to have your team skull (the Australian term for ‘chugging”) their beer the fastest. You have to place both of your thumbs and your chin on the table before the game starts. The referee will let the first two people know when they can start. Once the first person finishes skulling their beer (and placing the glass upside down on their head – this means that you have to finish everything in your glass or else you will have beer running down your hair, face and neck), then the next person skulls, so and so forth. I didn’t think that I would be able to do it. In doing so, I made a number of friends. I met a number of Daves (there were 5 and it reminded me of the song, “these are the Daves I know I know, these are the Daves I know by Kids in the Hall), and they invited me to play touch footy (touch rugby). I have never played, so they were trying to teach me how to throw the ball (which is much harder than most people would reckon). It was great; so great, that I am thinking of joining the UQ Med Rugby team, which is sanctioned by the state of Queensland as a official team (as opposed to being only sanctioned by the uni). The beer gardens were shut down just before 6pm. I made myself back to Claire’s flat and waited for her. She was going to drive the rest of my belongings to my new place. After getting dropped off and having all my belongings all over the place, I quickly unpacked and leaving all others things off to the side. Now, all I have had to eat today was a bowl of yoghurt and granola for breakfast and a veggie burger for lunch. I knew that I had to make dinner or else I will be brutalised by the end of the night. I made noodles/spaghetti. It wasn't too bad, considering that I don't have my spices and things set up.
Regardless, I had to get ready and meet up with the first years at…yes…the Regatta. Upon my entrance to the place, I can hear this cacophony of “V-MAN”. I had quite a difficult time staying in one place – it’s not always a good thing to be a social butterfly. Nonetheless, I met some new people (Aussies) and danced some good Indian style dancing even though there was no Indian beats being played. HAHAHAHA. People got a great kick out of it. My reward for this awkward display was that a number of people come up to me and told me that I had a great sense of dancing style. A couple of girls came up to me afterwards and asked if my hair was naturally curly – they ran their fingers through my hair…so good. :) The night, unfortunately, had to come to end. I walked home with Graeme, a Sydneysider, who is also a competitor for the Iron Man Triathlon. This is the great thing about being in this sort of class – everyone is from a different background and most of the fun will be getting to know these people and what sort of strengths they have brought to the Class of 2008.
Then Saturday came...and that will have to be another update as it requires my full attention. At the moment, I need to finish up my presention to my PBL group on the legalities and ethics of Duty of Care.
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Once again, congratulations!
That was the theme for the first day of medical school. Almost every presenter was congratulating the class on passing the rigors of the GAMSAT (Graduate Australian Medical School Admissions Test) and the interviews. We were reminded of the roles and responsibilities that we have chosen to undertake over the next four years and beyond. Congratulations, congratulations and congratulations.
Last night, I didn't get much sleep as I was waking up every hour on the hour - I didn't want to miss the first session. Regardless, I made it 30 minutes before the day-long session started. I met some really nice people (in the beginning they are all very nice) and listened to presenters talk about certain programmes.
The very first presenter was the Dean of the School of Medicine. He was quite serious whilst telling us to enjoy the next four years of becoming a doctor. He said that there were 310 students in the class and of that, 300 will graduate and continue to do post-graduate medical training. We were becoming apprentices of this noble profession, we should be proud of where we have come and where we will be going. Furthermore, we should be prepared to undertake a very vigorous and demanding programme, while learning more about our learning styles and integrating the knowledge that we will be learning.
There were sessions on the bonded medical programme and rural medical scholarships (both of which are only meant for Australian/New Zealander citizens and premanent residents). The highlight of the day was having the introduction to Population and Preventive Health domain (we have four domains in which the course is being presented: Basic and Clinical Sciences; Interpersonal and Clinical Skills, Clinical Reasoning and Practice; Population and Preventive Health; and Ethics, Personal and Professional Development). We had our first lecture in the Population and Preventive Health domain and it was quite informative. The lecture was on how to assess, epidemiologically, the health needs of a community. It was quite basic but it was indeed a foreshadowing of something great that is still to come.
Of the 310 students, there are a number of international students. Half of them are Canadian students, the remainder (of those that I have met) come from the USA, Brunei, and Singapore.
Wow...I cannot believe that I have started medical school.
On that note of medical school, one of my best friends, Ruth, told me something that deeply resonatated within me (and there are some things that I will be adding to this). She said that the biggest piece needs to be placed first. I reckon that some of you are scratching your heads and thinking, "what the hell does that mean?" Well, it's quite simple actually. Your life needs to be viewed as if it were a glass jar. The biggest piece (let's say a large rock) represents the most important thing in your life right now. For me, it is my performace and commitment to medical school (for some people it might be a combination of medical school and their relationship with a significant other, etc). Then, the littlier pieces of rocks are to be placed. These rocks symbolise the extra-curricular/other social things that are important to you. For me, it is NMUN (which will be finished by the end of March - thank God), the Nuclear Weapons Inheritance Programme , and keeping healthy and active. Then, you place in the sand (which can represent different things for different people). In my case, it is all the other things (for the exception of my relationships) such as maintaining my home, social outings and functions and the like. The last thing that is filled is water. Water fills all the remaining holes and prevents the other items in the jar to 'hurt' the other things. For me, water represents my relationship with friends and family. They are the people that keep me afloat, they affirm my reasons for being the type of person that I am, and they will be the source of never ending support. The reason why this conversation came up between Ruth and I was that I know that I (and people like myself) have the tendencies of taking on too many extra-curriculars and making it more important than other things. Quite frankly, that has to stop here. I have arrived in Australia and my focus in on my medical education. That being said, I am going to New York for the NMUN conference in March, there is a possibility that I might be doing a medically related trip to South Asia in August, a 4-week international elective in November, and then I will be going to Calgary for the Christmas holidays. Yes, all this travelling is fun but I have to remember that I am here to embark on this journey of becoming something that I have always wanted to become. My extra-curriculars are important but they should not be more important than the reason why I am came to Australia.
Okay...wow. That was more intense than I wanted it to seem but I thought that it was necessary.
Alright, it's almost 5pm and I reckon that I should get going. I am still waiting to hear back from one lessor about the amazing flat. If I hear back tonight, then I will be able to set up tonight and realign my focus.
Last night, I didn't get much sleep as I was waking up every hour on the hour - I didn't want to miss the first session. Regardless, I made it 30 minutes before the day-long session started. I met some really nice people (in the beginning they are all very nice) and listened to presenters talk about certain programmes.
The very first presenter was the Dean of the School of Medicine. He was quite serious whilst telling us to enjoy the next four years of becoming a doctor. He said that there were 310 students in the class and of that, 300 will graduate and continue to do post-graduate medical training. We were becoming apprentices of this noble profession, we should be proud of where we have come and where we will be going. Furthermore, we should be prepared to undertake a very vigorous and demanding programme, while learning more about our learning styles and integrating the knowledge that we will be learning.
There were sessions on the bonded medical programme and rural medical scholarships (both of which are only meant for Australian/New Zealander citizens and premanent residents). The highlight of the day was having the introduction to Population and Preventive Health domain (we have four domains in which the course is being presented: Basic and Clinical Sciences; Interpersonal and Clinical Skills, Clinical Reasoning and Practice; Population and Preventive Health; and Ethics, Personal and Professional Development). We had our first lecture in the Population and Preventive Health domain and it was quite informative. The lecture was on how to assess, epidemiologically, the health needs of a community. It was quite basic but it was indeed a foreshadowing of something great that is still to come.
Of the 310 students, there are a number of international students. Half of them are Canadian students, the remainder (of those that I have met) come from the USA, Brunei, and Singapore.
Wow...I cannot believe that I have started medical school.
On that note of medical school, one of my best friends, Ruth, told me something that deeply resonatated within me (and there are some things that I will be adding to this). She said that the biggest piece needs to be placed first. I reckon that some of you are scratching your heads and thinking, "what the hell does that mean?" Well, it's quite simple actually. Your life needs to be viewed as if it were a glass jar. The biggest piece (let's say a large rock) represents the most important thing in your life right now. For me, it is my performace and commitment to medical school (for some people it might be a combination of medical school and their relationship with a significant other, etc). Then, the littlier pieces of rocks are to be placed. These rocks symbolise the extra-curricular/other social things that are important to you. For me, it is NMUN (which will be finished by the end of March - thank God), the Nuclear Weapons Inheritance Programme , and keeping healthy and active. Then, you place in the sand (which can represent different things for different people). In my case, it is all the other things (for the exception of my relationships) such as maintaining my home, social outings and functions and the like. The last thing that is filled is water. Water fills all the remaining holes and prevents the other items in the jar to 'hurt' the other things. For me, water represents my relationship with friends and family. They are the people that keep me afloat, they affirm my reasons for being the type of person that I am, and they will be the source of never ending support. The reason why this conversation came up between Ruth and I was that I know that I (and people like myself) have the tendencies of taking on too many extra-curriculars and making it more important than other things. Quite frankly, that has to stop here. I have arrived in Australia and my focus in on my medical education. That being said, I am going to New York for the NMUN conference in March, there is a possibility that I might be doing a medically related trip to South Asia in August, a 4-week international elective in November, and then I will be going to Calgary for the Christmas holidays. Yes, all this travelling is fun but I have to remember that I am here to embark on this journey of becoming something that I have always wanted to become. My extra-curriculars are important but they should not be more important than the reason why I am came to Australia.
Okay...wow. That was more intense than I wanted it to seem but I thought that it was necessary.
Alright, it's almost 5pm and I reckon that I should get going. I am still waiting to hear back from one lessor about the amazing flat. If I hear back tonight, then I will be able to set up tonight and realign my focus.
Sunday, January 23, 2005
House hunting...
sucks. But after seeing the one house that I saw yesterday evening, my faith in the University of Queensland Accommodations Database has been restored. I saw a lovely Queenslander (this is a type of house that is built up off the ground - very much like a house built on stilts), which had hard wood polished floors, good lighting, close to a shopping centre and a major train stop. The room that I would be renting is quite nice and bright, 12 ft ceilings and two big windows. So, you must be thinking, "well, that's all nice Veevek but what did you manage to pick out that was so wrong?" The kitchen. The kitchen looked as if it should belong in a cabin, as it was so rustic. The sink is smaller than my mum's chai tepalu (pot for those non-gujju folk)! I know that I won't be able to do as much cooking now but I would like to have the option of having a potentially well-stocked kitchen. The stove was extremely small - look as if it were a heavy paper weight.
The next day, I looked at another flat, which was pretty much across the way from uni. It was a two bedroom and two bathroom place. The kitchen was much better and the person that I would be living with was a 21 year old woman that was finishing up her degree in environmental science. Her father was there to help set up her desk. My room was spacious and the wardrobe (aka closet) was huge! I would have no problem fitting all my stuff in there. It was a little far, but definitely within walking distance, to Coles (one of the two major grocery chains here, the other being Woolworth's). If I were to choose between this one and the queenslander, I reckon that I would have to choose this one as it would be close to uni.
This day was probably the hottest day since I have been in Brisbane. It was hovering around 34 degrees Centigrade. I was sweating bullets - I mean all the water that I drank ended up pouring out of my pores. I have a sunburn on my nose and my pasty brown skin colour has started to transform into this 'honey-wheatish' complexion. :) wheatish complexion = awesome biodata report! I can see my mum say, "oh Veevek, you have come back so thin and black. I will make you some food and make sure you scrub your face hard with the Fair & Lovely soap that I have placed in your bathroom." HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Seriously.
Okay, back to the house hunting saga...
That same day, I also looked at another place that was in the same apartment complex as Claire's. I knew that it would be good because Claire's flat is quite nice - all modern amenities (except the showerhead must have been ordered from Hell's Catalogue of Household Furnishings). The place indeed had all the modern amenities but the bedroom that was being rented out was actually the study! It was a windowless room that had no storage space whatsoever. I was quite disappointed - oh well. My eyes were set on the two bedroom/two bathroom flat that was close to uni.
By this time, I was getting a bit frantic. Uni starts on Monday and I don't have a place to live yet. I reckon that most of the med students (well, the ones that I have talked to) have all found places and will have finished setting up by the time Monday rolls around. I had two more places to check out and both were looking promising.
On Saturday morning, I saw a place that was absolutely AMASING (yes, that's how amazing is spelt in Australia)! It was a three bedroom flat that overlooked the Brisbane River and had a great view of the CBD. I was shown my bedroom, which had an ensuite bathroom. It was everything that I was looking for in a place (well, the carpet was a bit grungy but that can be easily overlooked in this situation)! It had several windows (none of which faced the afternoon sun, which is good or else the flat would have its very own tandoori oven), a queen size bed, good lighting and a large enough wardrobe to fit most of the clothes that I would need on a regular basis. The flat was 100m from the bus stop to uni, 100m to the major train stop, 200m to the RE (Royal Exchange - a very popular student bar) and Toowong Square (a major suburb shopping centre). The two other people living there were older than me - late 20s. The bloke was a Kiwi and he does IT work at a local newspaper and the sheila was a Aussie, who just finished a degree in applied science and education and is teaching science courses at a local school and coaching a couple of sports (I don't know which ones). They will let me know by Monday/Tuesday. Now that I have seen this place, I don't want to look any more but I have this feeling that I won't be getting the room. I have one more place to check out tomorrow morning at 9am. Fun fun.
The next day, I looked at another flat, which was pretty much across the way from uni. It was a two bedroom and two bathroom place. The kitchen was much better and the person that I would be living with was a 21 year old woman that was finishing up her degree in environmental science. Her father was there to help set up her desk. My room was spacious and the wardrobe (aka closet) was huge! I would have no problem fitting all my stuff in there. It was a little far, but definitely within walking distance, to Coles (one of the two major grocery chains here, the other being Woolworth's). If I were to choose between this one and the queenslander, I reckon that I would have to choose this one as it would be close to uni.
This day was probably the hottest day since I have been in Brisbane. It was hovering around 34 degrees Centigrade. I was sweating bullets - I mean all the water that I drank ended up pouring out of my pores. I have a sunburn on my nose and my pasty brown skin colour has started to transform into this 'honey-wheatish' complexion. :) wheatish complexion = awesome biodata report! I can see my mum say, "oh Veevek, you have come back so thin and black. I will make you some food and make sure you scrub your face hard with the Fair & Lovely soap that I have placed in your bathroom." HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Seriously.
Okay, back to the house hunting saga...
That same day, I also looked at another place that was in the same apartment complex as Claire's. I knew that it would be good because Claire's flat is quite nice - all modern amenities (except the showerhead must have been ordered from Hell's Catalogue of Household Furnishings). The place indeed had all the modern amenities but the bedroom that was being rented out was actually the study! It was a windowless room that had no storage space whatsoever. I was quite disappointed - oh well. My eyes were set on the two bedroom/two bathroom flat that was close to uni.
By this time, I was getting a bit frantic. Uni starts on Monday and I don't have a place to live yet. I reckon that most of the med students (well, the ones that I have talked to) have all found places and will have finished setting up by the time Monday rolls around. I had two more places to check out and both were looking promising.
On Saturday morning, I saw a place that was absolutely AMASING (yes, that's how amazing is spelt in Australia)! It was a three bedroom flat that overlooked the Brisbane River and had a great view of the CBD. I was shown my bedroom, which had an ensuite bathroom. It was everything that I was looking for in a place (well, the carpet was a bit grungy but that can be easily overlooked in this situation)! It had several windows (none of which faced the afternoon sun, which is good or else the flat would have its very own tandoori oven), a queen size bed, good lighting and a large enough wardrobe to fit most of the clothes that I would need on a regular basis. The flat was 100m from the bus stop to uni, 100m to the major train stop, 200m to the RE (Royal Exchange - a very popular student bar) and Toowong Square (a major suburb shopping centre). The two other people living there were older than me - late 20s. The bloke was a Kiwi and he does IT work at a local newspaper and the sheila was a Aussie, who just finished a degree in applied science and education and is teaching science courses at a local school and coaching a couple of sports (I don't know which ones). They will let me know by Monday/Tuesday. Now that I have seen this place, I don't want to look any more but I have this feeling that I won't be getting the room. I have one more place to check out tomorrow morning at 9am. Fun fun.
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
How right was this!
So, it has been a few days since I have arrived in Brisbane and I can’t imagine myself anywhere else in the world. :)
I arrived to Brisbane on Saturday night after an 8 hour flight. I sat beside a young and very friendly Australian, who was coming back from an 8-week holiday to Canada and Europe. We were the types of passengers that other people hate – the ones that are laughing, enjoying the meals (and the great Australian wine, rum & coke, and bailey's with coffee) and watching the funniest/scariest movies that were offered.
Australian immigration was quite an ordeal…ohmigod. My flight arrived in Brisbane at 7pm, along with two other flights – one from London and the other from Jakarta. Needless to say, Australian Immigration would be processing many people. There were three people processing “All Other Passports” and three people processing “Australian Passport Holders and their families”. The queue was long and the waiting time wasn’t so good either. I got my passport stamped and right away, this immigration official, with a very thick Eastern European accent, started questioning me for several minutes. She asked everything from where I was born, how my parents met, why Canada, what I was doing in the United Arab Emirates, why do I have a work visa for Kenya, and what I was doing in Australia. After trying to answer her questions without sounding the least bit sarcastic (or else, she might have had me kicked out the country at my expense), I was escorted by this gentlemen to a room on the side. I had ticked off on my immigration card that I had goods to declare (medicines, food items and articles made of wood). The declaration of medicines is in the same category as prohibited goods such as weapons, ammunitions, and illicit drugs. Now, do I look like a drug smuggler? (don't answer that) A few officials were looking at my passport and some other documents that I had to show. They poked and prodded the biggest suitcase I had (which was 39 kilos…good god). I opened it and showed them all the declared items. While I was packing, I made sure to have all my declared items in one suitcase (this is a great tip for those people that are, one day, coming to Australia). After approving my goods, I went out and met my friend Claire who had waiting, very patiently, for almost an hour. It was great to see her again! Oh, before I forget, the point of this little immigration story is that Australian immigration officials don’t mess around – they mean business…hardcore.
Claire is brilliant…right now. HAHAHAHA (She is sitting in front of me as I am typing this). I am staying with my friend Claire. She came to Calgary for one semester in the beginning of 2003 (She really is a brilliant, sexy, fun, did I mention brilliant, always smiling – except when she is at work). We have been in touch ever since and now I am staying with her for the next few days until I get adjusted to my surroundings. When I arrived, I went back to Claire’s place – freshened up and then we went to one of her co-worker’s party (Barbara – she has quite a funky personality, not a bad looker but was utterly trashed at the party). On the way to Barbara’s place, Claire and I stopped at a…get this…a drive thru liquor store! This concept would make millions in Canada. So, we get to this party and people have been drinking for a number of hours (we arrived around 11pm and the party started around 8ish). I realized that Australians, both men and women, are quite image conscience even when they are pissed drunk! Perhaps this feeling of being conscience about one’s appearance is not necessarily a bad thing since I reckon that that will get me into shape faster. We only stayed an hour because we were just too good for that place – seriously. We came back to the flat and ordered…get this…a barbeque sauce based vegetarian pizza from Domino’s! What a novel concept – if we can put this sauce on meat for the barbeque, then why not for pizza. It was schmecktyo (good). We talked for a few hours and then went to bed…in separate places of course. The next morning, we got up, had some breakfast and then went out to get my SIM card for my mobile phone. The one thing that Brisbane has that Calgary doesn’t…is the heat and the humidity! Oh mother of Mary! I don’t remember a time when I ever got pit stains from being in the heat. My hair has never been so frizzy – it looks like a steel wool scouring pad.
Apart from that, I have been actively looking for a decent place to live. I saw a couple of places to rent. Claire was so disgusted by one of them, that she had to disinfect herself in the shower! It was like being environmentally raped…it was brutal. NASTY. Some of the other places haven't been too bad. I am being really picky about what I want and rightfully so. I don't want to settle for a place due to time constraints. I want to make sure that I can find the best place for the budget that I have set out for myself.
Okay, on that note, I am actually heading out to see another place. I will definitely let you know how it turns out!
Cheers :)
So, it has been a few days since I have arrived in Brisbane and I can’t imagine myself anywhere else in the world. :)
I arrived to Brisbane on Saturday night after an 8 hour flight. I sat beside a young and very friendly Australian, who was coming back from an 8-week holiday to Canada and Europe. We were the types of passengers that other people hate – the ones that are laughing, enjoying the meals (and the great Australian wine, rum & coke, and bailey's with coffee) and watching the funniest/scariest movies that were offered.
Australian immigration was quite an ordeal…ohmigod. My flight arrived in Brisbane at 7pm, along with two other flights – one from London and the other from Jakarta. Needless to say, Australian Immigration would be processing many people. There were three people processing “All Other Passports” and three people processing “Australian Passport Holders and their families”. The queue was long and the waiting time wasn’t so good either. I got my passport stamped and right away, this immigration official, with a very thick Eastern European accent, started questioning me for several minutes. She asked everything from where I was born, how my parents met, why Canada, what I was doing in the United Arab Emirates, why do I have a work visa for Kenya, and what I was doing in Australia. After trying to answer her questions without sounding the least bit sarcastic (or else, she might have had me kicked out the country at my expense), I was escorted by this gentlemen to a room on the side. I had ticked off on my immigration card that I had goods to declare (medicines, food items and articles made of wood). The declaration of medicines is in the same category as prohibited goods such as weapons, ammunitions, and illicit drugs. Now, do I look like a drug smuggler? (don't answer that) A few officials were looking at my passport and some other documents that I had to show. They poked and prodded the biggest suitcase I had (which was 39 kilos…good god). I opened it and showed them all the declared items. While I was packing, I made sure to have all my declared items in one suitcase (this is a great tip for those people that are, one day, coming to Australia). After approving my goods, I went out and met my friend Claire who had waiting, very patiently, for almost an hour. It was great to see her again! Oh, before I forget, the point of this little immigration story is that Australian immigration officials don’t mess around – they mean business…hardcore.
Claire is brilliant…right now. HAHAHAHA (She is sitting in front of me as I am typing this). I am staying with my friend Claire. She came to Calgary for one semester in the beginning of 2003 (She really is a brilliant, sexy, fun, did I mention brilliant, always smiling – except when she is at work). We have been in touch ever since and now I am staying with her for the next few days until I get adjusted to my surroundings. When I arrived, I went back to Claire’s place – freshened up and then we went to one of her co-worker’s party (Barbara – she has quite a funky personality, not a bad looker but was utterly trashed at the party). On the way to Barbara’s place, Claire and I stopped at a…get this…a drive thru liquor store! This concept would make millions in Canada. So, we get to this party and people have been drinking for a number of hours (we arrived around 11pm and the party started around 8ish). I realized that Australians, both men and women, are quite image conscience even when they are pissed drunk! Perhaps this feeling of being conscience about one’s appearance is not necessarily a bad thing since I reckon that that will get me into shape faster. We only stayed an hour because we were just too good for that place – seriously. We came back to the flat and ordered…get this…a barbeque sauce based vegetarian pizza from Domino’s! What a novel concept – if we can put this sauce on meat for the barbeque, then why not for pizza. It was schmecktyo (good). We talked for a few hours and then went to bed…in separate places of course. The next morning, we got up, had some breakfast and then went out to get my SIM card for my mobile phone. The one thing that Brisbane has that Calgary doesn’t…is the heat and the humidity! Oh mother of Mary! I don’t remember a time when I ever got pit stains from being in the heat. My hair has never been so frizzy – it looks like a steel wool scouring pad.
Apart from that, I have been actively looking for a decent place to live. I saw a couple of places to rent. Claire was so disgusted by one of them, that she had to disinfect herself in the shower! It was like being environmentally raped…it was brutal. NASTY. Some of the other places haven't been too bad. I am being really picky about what I want and rightfully so. I don't want to settle for a place due to time constraints. I want to make sure that I can find the best place for the budget that I have set out for myself.
Okay, on that note, I am actually heading out to see another place. I will definitely let you know how it turns out!
Cheers :)
Sunday, January 16, 2005
When in Singapore...
...You have to use the free Internet that is provided at Changi International Airport! The last couple of days has been an incredible rollarcoaster ride! I left Calgary on Wednesday afternoon and it was one of the hardest things I have done in a long time. My friends Ruth and Tim came out to see me off. Bhavisha, Vinay, and my aunt and uncle dropped me off at the airport. We waited in the queue for the Air Canada flights to the US. The lady at the counter (Merilee) was a bit confused about all the luggage that I had (3 big ass pieces of luggage: 20, 36 and 39 kilos). I paid the $175 for the extra piece of luggage and totally fibbed the weight of them (I told her that they were all 30 kilos or less...opps). Before going into US Customs, I gave everyone a hug and when it came to hugging Vinay and Bhavisha, I cried. I couldn't do anything but. Bhavisha gave me a letter that I had to open on the plane. I couldn't stop crying - I am going to miss V & B so much. US Customs was a breeze and I boarded my flight without any problems. En route to LA, I read Bhavisha's letter and a card given to me by my friend, Trisha. The card and the 4-page letter with pictures were enough to bring me to tears for almost the entire flight! The person beside me was quite worried (perhaps shocked as well) at the level of duress that I was under. He asked if he should move and I said yes. Even the two stewardess were quite worried that I was going to pass out or something. Needless to say, I was well-attended to on the YYC- LAX flight.
In LA, I met up with Sara, a friend and colleague from the National Model United Nations Conference. It was nice to see a familiar face. Now, a word of caution: the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX is a whole new world. I mean, I felt as if I were in South East Asia or Chattarapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai. There was this smell and feel of 'ethnicity' (that is how Sara put it). I am not claustophobic but this place would turn me into one! While I was getting my boarding pass for the flight from LAX to Singapore, I asked the steward how long the layover was going to be in Tokyo. He gave me this quizzical look and said, "This flight does not go to Japan. It will be stopping in Taipei." I almost jumped in glee! (Good god...I used the word 'glee') Good thing I didn't make concrete plans to meet Rakhee in Tokyo or else she would have been pissed off. The flight from LAX to Taipei was the LONGEST flight I have ever been on - 14 hours. And in terms of life experiences, I can say that I have never seen to experience nor enjoy January 13th, 2o05. I am sure that I would have won the lottery or something like that on that day...how I am shaking my fist! Okay, back to the story...You can only watch so many movies and solve Super Mario Brothers 2. :) The seat beside me was empty and the one beside that was occupied by a younger Singaporean lady, whose family lives in Taipei and she commutes between LAX and Singapore. We arrived in Taipei and what would a person do for 3 hours? Most people would have stayed in the airport waiting to board for the next flight. I was invited by the lady that sat beside me (Thindart was her name) to come over to her family's house and have something to eat/drink and shower before heading off to Singapore. It was great! My experiences in South East/East Asian are practically nill - so this was a great way to broaden my horizons in a part of the world that I have not been to. So, after eating, drinking and making merry, Thindart and I were dropped off at the airport and we left for Singapore.
Singapore...wow. It was 29 degrees (36 with the humidity) when I arrived at 11am. I was taken away to my hotel (Hotel Royal), which is the middle of nowhere. Now, for those of you that are aware of your Singaporean geography - Singapore is a city-state and an island; it takes 45 minutes to drive from one end to the other. But this hotel was near nothing! I spent more money on the transit fares than anything else. Regardless, Singapore was a beautiful city that has all the amenities that we would find in New York City (shopping, nightlife, leisure & tourism, and diverse population). I saw all the main highlights of the city - Little India, ChinaTown, Arab Street, Marina/Habour Front, Sentosa Island, and the Parliament buildings. I missed having afternoon tea at Raffles Hotel but I will leave that for when I return to Singapore, en route to Calgary, in December. Alright, I should be off as my flight to Brisbane is boarding now! See you all in Australia!
In LA, I met up with Sara, a friend and colleague from the National Model United Nations Conference. It was nice to see a familiar face. Now, a word of caution: the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX is a whole new world. I mean, I felt as if I were in South East Asia or Chattarapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai. There was this smell and feel of 'ethnicity' (that is how Sara put it). I am not claustophobic but this place would turn me into one! While I was getting my boarding pass for the flight from LAX to Singapore, I asked the steward how long the layover was going to be in Tokyo. He gave me this quizzical look and said, "This flight does not go to Japan. It will be stopping in Taipei." I almost jumped in glee! (Good god...I used the word 'glee') Good thing I didn't make concrete plans to meet Rakhee in Tokyo or else she would have been pissed off. The flight from LAX to Taipei was the LONGEST flight I have ever been on - 14 hours. And in terms of life experiences, I can say that I have never seen to experience nor enjoy January 13th, 2o05. I am sure that I would have won the lottery or something like that on that day...how I am shaking my fist! Okay, back to the story...You can only watch so many movies and solve Super Mario Brothers 2. :) The seat beside me was empty and the one beside that was occupied by a younger Singaporean lady, whose family lives in Taipei and she commutes between LAX and Singapore. We arrived in Taipei and what would a person do for 3 hours? Most people would have stayed in the airport waiting to board for the next flight. I was invited by the lady that sat beside me (Thindart was her name) to come over to her family's house and have something to eat/drink and shower before heading off to Singapore. It was great! My experiences in South East/East Asian are practically nill - so this was a great way to broaden my horizons in a part of the world that I have not been to. So, after eating, drinking and making merry, Thindart and I were dropped off at the airport and we left for Singapore.
Singapore...wow. It was 29 degrees (36 with the humidity) when I arrived at 11am. I was taken away to my hotel (Hotel Royal), which is the middle of nowhere. Now, for those of you that are aware of your Singaporean geography - Singapore is a city-state and an island; it takes 45 minutes to drive from one end to the other. But this hotel was near nothing! I spent more money on the transit fares than anything else. Regardless, Singapore was a beautiful city that has all the amenities that we would find in New York City (shopping, nightlife, leisure & tourism, and diverse population). I saw all the main highlights of the city - Little India, ChinaTown, Arab Street, Marina/Habour Front, Sentosa Island, and the Parliament buildings. I missed having afternoon tea at Raffles Hotel but I will leave that for when I return to Singapore, en route to Calgary, in December. Alright, I should be off as my flight to Brisbane is boarding now! See you all in Australia!
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
And then there were none...
It is the early morning of January 12th, 2005. This is a day that I have waited for so long, yet there are quite a bit of butterflies and other things going through my stomach and mind, respectively.
I spent most of Tuesday with friends and my cousins. It was a hard day, knowing that my friends and I are going through another trial to test the bounds of friendship. I hope that they will stay strong, and for most of them, I know that they will. I guess the one thing that I am not looking forward to about Brisbane is having to build the history that comes with friendships. More specifically, the friends that I have, I don't have to go back into the history books and tell them about a part of my life. These were things that were found out/told long ago. In Brisbane, I will have to rebuild my history with new people (hmm...repetition isn't always a good thing). On the other hand, there are potentially 19 million (of who I know 4) people that I can be friends with!
The house is so empty - no one is here. And after I leave, it truly will be like something out of Ten Little Indians (however, there were only 4 here to begin with, 5 if you count Gopal). :)
Wow...I cannot believe that my room is the cleanest that it has been since this house was built! I didn't think that I would get everything done in time. I guess the notion of having my parents come back home and seeing that things aren't left they way they expect it is something that is inspiring me to make it as spic-n-span as possible.
Alright, I am done for the night. My head is starting to make weird noises - I reckon that it's telling me that I should be off to bed.
It's odd - I really do feel as if I am moving to the end of the Earth. I know that for my friends that live in Europe and other parts of the world outside of Canada, my move to Australia will be nothing different (except for the fact that I am anywhere between 1o to 18 hours time difference depending on where they are living). Sure, they will have to come to know new numbers and contact information, but the distance will still be there. However, with some of my friends in Calgary, it seems a bit hard to leave behind such a good crew. I guess we all have to leave behind a bit of ourselves in order to find another part of ourselves elsewhere.
I reckon this Calgary chapter of Veevek's life is coming to a close. Fortunately, the characters keep moving from one chapter to the next. :)
I spent most of Tuesday with friends and my cousins. It was a hard day, knowing that my friends and I are going through another trial to test the bounds of friendship. I hope that they will stay strong, and for most of them, I know that they will. I guess the one thing that I am not looking forward to about Brisbane is having to build the history that comes with friendships. More specifically, the friends that I have, I don't have to go back into the history books and tell them about a part of my life. These were things that were found out/told long ago. In Brisbane, I will have to rebuild my history with new people (hmm...repetition isn't always a good thing). On the other hand, there are potentially 19 million (of who I know 4) people that I can be friends with!
The house is so empty - no one is here. And after I leave, it truly will be like something out of Ten Little Indians (however, there were only 4 here to begin with, 5 if you count Gopal). :)
Wow...I cannot believe that my room is the cleanest that it has been since this house was built! I didn't think that I would get everything done in time. I guess the notion of having my parents come back home and seeing that things aren't left they way they expect it is something that is inspiring me to make it as spic-n-span as possible.
Alright, I am done for the night. My head is starting to make weird noises - I reckon that it's telling me that I should be off to bed.
It's odd - I really do feel as if I am moving to the end of the Earth. I know that for my friends that live in Europe and other parts of the world outside of Canada, my move to Australia will be nothing different (except for the fact that I am anywhere between 1o to 18 hours time difference depending on where they are living). Sure, they will have to come to know new numbers and contact information, but the distance will still be there. However, with some of my friends in Calgary, it seems a bit hard to leave behind such a good crew. I guess we all have to leave behind a bit of ourselves in order to find another part of ourselves elsewhere.
I reckon this Calgary chapter of Veevek's life is coming to a close. Fortunately, the characters keep moving from one chapter to the next. :)
Monday, January 10, 2005
Raghav
...yes, this post is about Raghav - the new Indo-Canadian sensation that has been breaking the charts in Asian influenced music in the UK and around the world. (Thanks Anita for bringing me out of the 'Raghav' closet - I am definitely going to need your support)
Raghav Mathur, otherwise known as Raghav in the music world, is someone that I knew when I was much younger. My cousin, Neha, and I used to sing bhajans (devotional songs) at the Calgary Hindu Mandir. Raghav used to sing there as well. In fact, there were a number of competitions where Raghav and I competed side-by-side. I remember reciting the Gayatri Mantra and Shanti Path. Raghav came in first for the Gayatri Mantra (I came in second) and I came in first for Shanti Path (he came in second). We also had the same Indian classical music guru, Nishi Kant Bali. I never really thought that I would make a career out of classical music (or in Raghav's case, music in general). I still see his parents' at the Mandir - very simple people. Everytime I see his video on B4U or some other desi channel or BBC UK music, I think of how much work he has done to get where he is now. That aside, he needs to work on his dancing - he has the same move over and over again. Then again, he isn't getting the big bucks to dance. My good friend, Rabia, sent me Raghav's CD "Storyteller". It's a pretty good album - my favourite song on it is "Ain't Nobody". It has this definite gujju beat which is always a good thing. Yes, I am a part of the "che-che" linguistic group - are you happy Anita?
Raghav Mathur, otherwise known as Raghav in the music world, is someone that I knew when I was much younger. My cousin, Neha, and I used to sing bhajans (devotional songs) at the Calgary Hindu Mandir. Raghav used to sing there as well. In fact, there were a number of competitions where Raghav and I competed side-by-side. I remember reciting the Gayatri Mantra and Shanti Path. Raghav came in first for the Gayatri Mantra (I came in second) and I came in first for Shanti Path (he came in second). We also had the same Indian classical music guru, Nishi Kant Bali. I never really thought that I would make a career out of classical music (or in Raghav's case, music in general). I still see his parents' at the Mandir - very simple people. Everytime I see his video on B4U or some other desi channel or BBC UK music, I think of how much work he has done to get where he is now. That aside, he needs to work on his dancing - he has the same move over and over again. Then again, he isn't getting the big bucks to dance. My good friend, Rabia, sent me Raghav's CD "Storyteller". It's a pretty good album - my favourite song on it is "Ain't Nobody". It has this definite gujju beat which is always a good thing. Yes, I am a part of the "che-che" linguistic group - are you happy Anita?
Sunday, January 09, 2005
Why does it snow?
I am looking out my window and it seems as if the gods are shaking their heads and all dandruff is falling towards to the ground (ewww). It's absolutely miserable outside - I guess it means that staying inside (which isn't a bad thing) is the next best thing. I ask myself, "why does it snow?" Well, Veevek, snow falls from clouds that contain enough cloud droplets and ice crystals for precipitation to form. In order for snow to reach the ground without melting, the wet bulb temperature of the air near the ground must be below freezing. The wet bulb temperature is the temperature measured by a thermometer that has a little wet sock covering the bulb before it is swung in a circle in the air. Thus, you can have snow fall reaching the ground even when the air temperature is slightly above freezing. Yes, thanks Veevek. Now I can see why people think thta I drone on about things that really don't matter or things that just so insignificant. The next "fun fact" will be about how vacuum cleaners work.
Okay, I am stepping away slowly from the previous line of thought. Hopefully, it will jilt my brain into a more coherent thought process.
The house has been feeling full for the past couple of days because of Hasit's presence. It's great to have everyone back under one roof, even though it is only for a few days. When I picked up Hasit, it was great to see his big smile again. His presence is something that really picks me up. We have spent the morning listening to music, catching up on each other lives', and planning what sort of trouble we will be making this weekend. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
Seriously, my brother's arrival is a Swan's Song, so to speak. His arrival means that the entire family is back together under one roof; the sad thing is that it will be a very long time till the 4 of us are back together. The arrival of this weekend has always been in my head - thinking of what will happen, will the tension in the house go away, or will it increase as there are a bit of unsaid emotions and things to be said and discussed. But for the time being, I am trying to enjoy what little time remains, as Hasit leaves for Ottawa tomorrow morning at 10:10am.
God damn...I hate winter. Hmm, let me clarify. I hate the ugly side of winter - the brown snow accumulating on the roads, the intensified levels of road rage, the inability for a relatively new car to stay heated, and how I seem to be the only shoveling the snow from the driveway and sidewalk. On the other hand, winter has its good points - skiing (which I wasn't able to do last year as I was living in Kenya, and this year because I wasn't able to manage my time wisely between the things that I wanted to do on the weekends), warm beverages, great foods that are high in carbohydrates and fats, and wearing clothes that just feel oh-so gooooooood!
Okay, I am stepping away slowly from the previous line of thought. Hopefully, it will jilt my brain into a more coherent thought process.
The house has been feeling full for the past couple of days because of Hasit's presence. It's great to have everyone back under one roof, even though it is only for a few days. When I picked up Hasit, it was great to see his big smile again. His presence is something that really picks me up. We have spent the morning listening to music, catching up on each other lives', and planning what sort of trouble we will be making this weekend. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
Seriously, my brother's arrival is a Swan's Song, so to speak. His arrival means that the entire family is back together under one roof; the sad thing is that it will be a very long time till the 4 of us are back together. The arrival of this weekend has always been in my head - thinking of what will happen, will the tension in the house go away, or will it increase as there are a bit of unsaid emotions and things to be said and discussed. But for the time being, I am trying to enjoy what little time remains, as Hasit leaves for Ottawa tomorrow morning at 10:10am.
God damn...I hate winter. Hmm, let me clarify. I hate the ugly side of winter - the brown snow accumulating on the roads, the intensified levels of road rage, the inability for a relatively new car to stay heated, and how I seem to be the only shoveling the snow from the driveway and sidewalk. On the other hand, winter has its good points - skiing (which I wasn't able to do last year as I was living in Kenya, and this year because I wasn't able to manage my time wisely between the things that I wanted to do on the weekends), warm beverages, great foods that are high in carbohydrates and fats, and wearing clothes that just feel oh-so gooooooood!
Thursday, January 06, 2005
'Twas a week before leaving, when all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even Gopal...
It's 11:28pm and I finally decided to put up that blog that I have been meaning to do for such a long time. I guess there is no time like the present. I have also just awoken from a three-hour nap, something which I won't be able to do much of pretty soon. I have all this energy (not to mention that my eyes are so itchy due to allergies that are acting up), so why not spend it on something as productive as writing my first post, right (which will attempt to take my mind off the idea of gouging my eyes out with something dull and then dousing them with a soothing liquid)?
This upcoming week, up until January 12th, is going to be one of the most hectic that I have had in quite some time. My brother, Hasit, comes tomorrow at 9:25am from Ottawa. He will be here in Calgary until Sunday morning. A whirlwind of a trip for him. It will be nice to see him again, as I don't know when I will be seeing him again (why is that the case? Read on a bit...). My parents are leaving on a 2-month sojourn that will take them to the United Arab Emirates, East Africa, and India. And I am moving to Brisbane, Australia on January 12th!
This is the final week of spending time with my close friends and family. God, I am going to miss my two younger cousins, Vinay and Bhavisha. I remember when I was growing up, my brother and I didn't have anyone else but each other. I know the importance of having an older sibling - and I don't want those two kids to miss out on that. I don't even know how I am going to be able to say goodbye. As for my friends that are still in the city, they have come to expect that I will never be quite satisfied by staying in one location. That being said, I guess I would be considered having commitment issues towards residing in one location (I am sure that Freud would have a field day with that one!). My friendships with these people are incredible. They are the sort of relationships that can be left unattended for long periods of time and when you do see each other, it's as if you haven't spent a single day apart. As for the family, I realized that I have too many. :) To say the least, these next few days will be a very tight balancing act between spending time with close friends and family. Oh...by the way, Gopal is the family pet. He is an African Grey Parrot - is too smart for his own good. :)
The past few days (and the couple of weeks leading up to this one) have been filled with running errands (got my international driver's license today, among other things), packing up my entire life in boxes so that my room can forever be a reminder of what it once was (oh god...why am I writing such melodrama?), and trying to sane during the process. Moreover, my parents are having a difficult time with my departure (fair enough, their youngest child is moving half way around the world). Since I am leaving after they are, their (this is to read as my dad's) level of stress is just a little more higher than it should be. As a result, there are times when the air in the house is filled with tension.
Not only that, but I am trying to get my head around why I am moving to Australia. Ever since I was 15, I have wanted to be a doctor. After having an interesting undergraduate university education and a couple of years of attempting to enter the Canadian medical school system - I am almost gave up hope...almost. I had realized (during my trip to Europe in August of 2003) that giving up on something that is such a big part of who am I really means giving up on myself...and I was not going to let that happen. After realizing what it most important to me in terms of a medical education and how I see myself within the field of medicine , I applied to universities in Australia. And now, it is no longer a matter of if but when. I am one of 250+ students at the University of Queensland School of Medicine for the 2005 intake. I am leaving on January 12th, and, by way of Los Angeles, Tokyo and Singapore, I will be in Brisbane on the 15th (may I just say that Singapore Airlines kicks ass!). I am scheduled to return back to Canada (as my ticket is a one year open ticket) on October 8th but I will have to change that to December.
Hmm...this seems to be quite a lot for a first post. Perhaps I should quit while I am ahead. Besides, I need to clean up the bathroom, put out the garbage, and packed up some more things in my room. What else is a person to do at 12:21am?
This upcoming week, up until January 12th, is going to be one of the most hectic that I have had in quite some time. My brother, Hasit, comes tomorrow at 9:25am from Ottawa. He will be here in Calgary until Sunday morning. A whirlwind of a trip for him. It will be nice to see him again, as I don't know when I will be seeing him again (why is that the case? Read on a bit...). My parents are leaving on a 2-month sojourn that will take them to the United Arab Emirates, East Africa, and India. And I am moving to Brisbane, Australia on January 12th!
This is the final week of spending time with my close friends and family. God, I am going to miss my two younger cousins, Vinay and Bhavisha. I remember when I was growing up, my brother and I didn't have anyone else but each other. I know the importance of having an older sibling - and I don't want those two kids to miss out on that. I don't even know how I am going to be able to say goodbye. As for my friends that are still in the city, they have come to expect that I will never be quite satisfied by staying in one location. That being said, I guess I would be considered having commitment issues towards residing in one location (I am sure that Freud would have a field day with that one!). My friendships with these people are incredible. They are the sort of relationships that can be left unattended for long periods of time and when you do see each other, it's as if you haven't spent a single day apart. As for the family, I realized that I have too many. :) To say the least, these next few days will be a very tight balancing act between spending time with close friends and family. Oh...by the way, Gopal is the family pet. He is an African Grey Parrot - is too smart for his own good. :)
The past few days (and the couple of weeks leading up to this one) have been filled with running errands (got my international driver's license today, among other things), packing up my entire life in boxes so that my room can forever be a reminder of what it once was (oh god...why am I writing such melodrama?), and trying to sane during the process. Moreover, my parents are having a difficult time with my departure (fair enough, their youngest child is moving half way around the world). Since I am leaving after they are, their (this is to read as my dad's) level of stress is just a little more higher than it should be. As a result, there are times when the air in the house is filled with tension.
Not only that, but I am trying to get my head around why I am moving to Australia. Ever since I was 15, I have wanted to be a doctor. After having an interesting undergraduate university education and a couple of years of attempting to enter the Canadian medical school system - I am almost gave up hope...almost. I had realized (during my trip to Europe in August of 2003) that giving up on something that is such a big part of who am I really means giving up on myself...and I was not going to let that happen. After realizing what it most important to me in terms of a medical education and how I see myself within the field of medicine , I applied to universities in Australia. And now, it is no longer a matter of if but when. I am one of 250+ students at the University of Queensland School of Medicine for the 2005 intake. I am leaving on January 12th, and, by way of Los Angeles, Tokyo and Singapore, I will be in Brisbane on the 15th (may I just say that Singapore Airlines kicks ass!). I am scheduled to return back to Canada (as my ticket is a one year open ticket) on October 8th but I will have to change that to December.
Hmm...this seems to be quite a lot for a first post. Perhaps I should quit while I am ahead. Besides, I need to clean up the bathroom, put out the garbage, and packed up some more things in my room. What else is a person to do at 12:21am?
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