I do have good news. In amidst of a busy summer studentship schedule, I managed to find myself some time to wind down from the stressful runs. My supervisor, understanding as ever, gave me four weeks (not two weeks like last year) to spend time with my family. God I miss them! The three research projects have managed reasonable progress, progress made particularly on the days when my stomach is overwhelmed with disconcerting, guilt-filled muck. And then summer hols ended and now only one has been submitted, one lacks a discussion, and one is just a stagnant mess.
Currently I am blogging on a sunny afternoon in Oamaru. Also noticing over the past week, I'm subconsciously pretending to be a British bloke. I'm living in a small 3-bedroom cottage in the countryside and enjoying budget sweet cakes over a cup of Twinnings (with a spot of milk). So by the time my five-week Oamaru placement ends , I may have named myself Oliver and greet you with a top hat, moustache and walking stick to match my horrible teeth.
The real reason I'm in Oamaru though is to consider General Practice as my future career. I'm shadowing an English GP (obviously), who has been kind enough to let me conduct my own consultations and mess with his notes. As much as I've enjoyed the experience, acute medicine and surgery still appeals most to me. Call me crazy but I've enjoyed the late nights, the challenging questions and the thrill of meeting new patients with interesting presentations. Getting thank-you's (and oddly, hugs) from patients whom I've met and cared for even though I've done nothing but learn from them. Those things are just not present in GP. Yet I fear that my opinions would change once I plan on settling down. GP appeals to me because their job consists of a healthy balance of medicine and minor surgery, plus an option to specialize. They earn an above average salary and live a comparatively balanced lifestyle. But should I sacrifice my passion for a better lifestyle? Gah, give me another challenging question.
On another note, my younger brother is half a year into his medical school. Our Facebook conversations have been interesting. Just yesterday, he sent me a chest X-ray and asked me where the heart was. Which was sort of amusing, because that person had cardiomegaly (enlarged heart) and lower lobe pneumonia. I also remember when he asked me a question about acute arterial occlusion and leg ulcers and I casually gave him a half-hour lecture on Skype which ended with a why-dont-you-know-this look. Since he's been all "omg how do you know all this and why are you so smart". Smart sure, if you call "coincidentally studying for a surgical test tomorrow" smart.
Other than that, my life hasn't been that interesting this week. Though yesterday I did return to Dunedin to find our Broadband username has been changed to "Veritas" by Joanne, a Smallville fan whom I have a Batman-Superman feud with. "Veritas" I believe pays reference to a cult sworn to bring down Superman, which kind of works for the both of us I guess. I've read Batman comics since the age of dial-up internet and Batman is easily my favorite childhood hero. A dark knight who would rather remain anonymous, fighting crime to save Gotham city and foiling the plans of evil masterminds. A billionaire yet chooses to spend his fortune on improving his crime-fighting skills and his awesome awesome utility belt (compare his utility belt from Batman Origins to Batman: Streets of Gotham). And yes, he has a thing for bad girls (Selina Kyle, Andrea Beaumont) but I think the Batmobile easily makes up for it :D
p.s. I had to rely on GOOGLE for information about whether Batman or Superman killed anybody and apparently both did (1). which ruins my childhood to find out that Batman broke his oath to never use firearms :(
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