Withdrawal symptoms

Our flat's broadband internet has been down for 4 days. During this time I realised how much I take the internet for granted. Checking emails, writing blogs, doing anything apart from revision. The curse of eBay-I joined a year and a half ago and sold quite a few items and never bid on anything until recently. It's very addictive I end up disappointed when someone outbids me in the last 3 seconds. I've advanced in my bidding technique, it was so obvious I should have thought of it earlier. I just enter the maximum amount I want to bid for an item and watch the amateurs scrambling to outbid each other. This only works if you have shares in an oil company otherwise because the max bid is so low, the bidding gets out of control before you've noticed you're out of the game. The cheek of some people, not everyone wants to buy their 30 year old jeans which are in 'good condition' or carrier bags from Burberry (or do they?). eBay can also be very dangerous with stories of buyers getting defrauded by sellers offering fake designer goods. Sometimes I think if someone is that desperate for the Chloe motorcycle bag they should just buy it from Chloe as its not worth the risk however the lure of bargain prices is very tempting.

As you can gather I'm in the midst of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (or Geneology as someone once said) revision. Six days to go till the exams Its all going very well apart from the fear that everyone knows more than you. Medicine is so competitive with everyone blurting out random facts they read in 'some textbook'. I just have to console myself with the realisation that I have made it this far so I do have some grasp of revision techniques and I will get through this.

After the exams, various attempts will be made to avoid mass medic gatherings. Why you ask? As our year is so big, there are people you know by appearance only. Attempts are made to have interesting and meaningful conversations without making it obvious 1. You don't know their name (or knew it and can't remember it) 2. You don't actually know when or where you met them. Then there are the awkward silences as you rack your brain for any topics of coversation that may enable you to bond. If that fails a quick exit can be made, 'I see Chris... over there, it was nice seeing you again'. Some people don't like medics because they think we are arrogant and don't integrate with non-medics. I can understand why people believe that, judging by the behaviour of a minority of my peers. However most medics I know are friendly and do have non-medic friends.

Everytime I go to dinner in mixed company people always say 'My second cousin on my mother's side/aunty/brother is a medic'. Apparently there's a network of all the medics in the world and I have Dr. Xavier-esque powers so I know all of them, can read their minds using cerbro and we all join together to save the world. I actually like the idea of this in theory anyway. Another popular question is , 'You're going to be doctor?'. The classic one is people int he hospital calling me nurse when I have the dreaded white coat on plus my name badge. Its bad enough that you have to wear the starched items in 3rd year making you the object of ridicule and amusement for the hospital staff. Strangers in bars, public places describe this headache/backache they have been getting wanting a diagnosis. Hypochondriacs become your best friend hoping you can cure their ailments. I realise not everyone gets into medicine but many people have the impression your whole life revolves around the library chained to the desk. We have lives sometimes..

I am not qualified to deliver babies unsupervised so all the people putting their names down on my waiting list, I am extremely flattered but you'll have to wait a while longer.