Thursday, December 29, 2005

Christmas & New Year

I thoroughly enjoyed my Christmas. Endless yummy food, family and no stress. The new year brings lots of demands. Elective planning, paeds and psych finals, end of year exams and probably others which I cannot remember.

Tonight I met up with some old school friends and we saw King Kong. Naomi Watts finally joins the Hollywood big girls club and deservedly so (see 21 grams if you need any proof). The CGI and special effects were awesome, particularly of note is King Kong himself. The scene where the skull islanders sacrifice Naomi Watts' character to King Kong is reminiscent of the Lava scene with Obi and Luke in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith whilst the dinosaur fight scenes brought memories of Jurassic Park. I found Jack Black's character very irritating, especially his cliched facial expressions during moments of tension. Adrian Brody was alright but his character didn't have many lines, not surprising for an action flick. We caught the late showing and the three hour length began to take its toll. I thought the ice skating scene on the lake would mark the end but another 20 minutes of action ensued. The heroine Anna was a tad gutsy, a refreshing change from the plastic side kicks we have come to expect in so many action films.

I am literarily having palpitations at the thought of seeing Memoirs of a Geisha. It will be awesome. Munich also looks good. Spielberg is back, maybe we can forgive him for War of the Worlds.

Cough and sore throat. That's what you get being cooped up with relatives for the holidays. The incessant wind and rain don't help matters either. I was awoken from a Lemsip-induced haze by the door bell. Our neighbours from the flat next door invited us to their New Year's eve party. It would be a good chance to actually meet them however it is highly likely I will keep to the yearly tradition of spending the occasion with my family. Happy new year!



and then I climb into bed before 1 a.m . I am interested in all your christmas and new year tales, post a comment.

Thursday, December 15, 2005

Santa Claus is coming

I am really enjoying Paediatrics. The children are so friendly and regressing to childhood is part of the clinical examination. All the staff at the Hospital have been so welcoming, eager to teach and the parents happy to help us learn. It feels like 'proper medicine' and the last few rotations( bar GP) I have done are potential career options.


I made a Christmas list so I can brainstorm present ideas for all the members of my family. My week off next week and I am looking forward to some rest and relaxation after six straight months of lectures and clinical rotations. I dread the Christmas rush as Londoners search for gifts so most of my shopping or browsing has been done online. The positives of the holidays: eating too many courses, chocolates and desserts, sleeping, watching rubbish TV or dvds and having lie-ins. Bliss.............................. Oh and of course spending quality time with my family.

Negatives : I get a bit cranky being cooped up for a long period with rubbish TV. The endless visits or phone calls from distant relatives you haven't seen since you were 2, who still think you are 2.

Friday, December 09, 2005

Another storm brews


Today marks the end of a week of lectures. Some of them were very interesting and the majority were comm skills airy fairy ones. I went to a mate's gig in North London yesterday and the band were very good. I was a groupie for the first time and it is interesting seeing things from the other side of the fence as it were. The urge to learn bass guitar and start my own band has never been greater. One of the lectures today was cancelled and as a result we were left idle for almost 2 hours which was fun after getting out of bed early.

Check out the new ipod rival from
Creative Labs. Summary of the specs:


  • capacity: 30 gb
  • Weight:163 g
  • 262,144 colours display
  • Up 10 15,000 songs and 120 hours of video
  • up to 14 hours battery life
  • Supported: JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF for photos and MP3, WAV and WMA for audio
  • 32 Preset radio stations
  • Voice recording capability

I fear this will be another 'iRiver H10 20gb' scenario where they don't release the product in the U.K till 3 months later. I am dreading the next few weeks in the build up to paeds finals, reminscent of Obs & Gynae. The tortue will ensue and somehow I must remain sane.

Photos http://www.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=213&subcategory=214&product=14331&nav=artwork

Monday, December 05, 2005

Sick Humour?

You all have to check out this blog I found online. The piece on Blu Cantrell is interesting to say the least.

Mini adults?

Today marked the beginning of my paediatrics rotation. Cue introductory talks whilst I was still half asleep, a nice rendez vous with most of my group and subway for lunch (meatball marinara is the only sandwich, come on). The waitress put olives in and I literally recoiled in horror. It was like watching a silent horror movie. Olives are just tasteless grapes. Anyway we practiced cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for children under 18 months. It was interesting and I am looking forward to paeds, apart from the exam at the end.

I spent the rest of the evening searching various branches of Zara for a black dress. In a moment of temporary insanity and an attempt to pretend I am a really cool medic, I agreed to attend the med school Christmas ball. I can hear the tuts of disapproval and I blame the festive spirit.





















Music I am loving at the moment:
  1. Mary J Blige Be without you. I eagerly await Mary's 7th LP The Breakthrough.
  2. Chris Brown Gimme That. Scott Storch has done it again.
  3. Boyz II Men feat. LL Cool J Hey Lover. I've gone a little old school.
  4. The Game The Documentary. East coast rapper + Dr.Dre = hot album.
  5. Damien Marley Welcome to Jamrock
  6. Keyshia Cole You've changed & Superstar
  7. Lyfe Jennings 268-192
  8. Leela James A Change is Gonna Come
  9. Toni Braxton Take this Ring. The sample and production is 'off the chain'.
  10. Don Omar Otra noche. I caught the reggaeton bug.
  11. Shakira Oral Fixation Volume 2
  12. Alicia Keys Alicia Keys Unplugged
  13. Lucie Silvas Breathe in
  14. Ray J One wish (Remix feat Jermaine Dupri and Bow Wow)

Jermaine Dupri is everywhere, maybe he felt Kanye eclipsed him. He is the new president of Virgin Records' urban division. I have to acknowledge he has produced great music including Kriss Kross, TLC's Crazysexycool, Mariah's Daydream, Da Brat, Usher, Xscape, Total and Aaliyah. If he's not on Bow wow or Mariah Carey's record, he's producing Jagged Edge, Donnell Jones et al. The term superproducer comes to mind.



Images:
http://shakira.web4000.net/uploads/images/foto%20de%20inicio.jpg

http://www.texassummermusicconference.com/images/recap/featured/chris%20brown.jpg
http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/photos/dupri_jermaine_cp_5660397.jpg
http://www.musicomh.com/singles2/mary-j-blige.jpg
http://www.musicomh.com/interviews/lucie-silvas.jpg

Saturday, December 03, 2005

Start of the Christmas Season

The AIDs vigil provided a good opportunity to reflect and remember the millions of adults and families living with HIV and AIDS around the world. I like many, was ignorant of the facts but I have made an effort to educate myself on the issues surrounding HIV including stigma, orphans living in child headed households, anti-retroviral treatment and the eco-political implications. There is so much to be done and the first step is for governments of affected areas to accept HIV causes AIDs, a fact taken for granted in the West.

I attended my flatmate's carol service after the vigil. She sang like an angel and choir wore robed gowns. The cookies, wine and carols made it a very festive evening. Met other friends at pub in central London for the worst comedy night I have ever experienced. It is official, embarrassment is palpable. Thou shalt not go out the night before their end-of-attachment -presentation. Thou shalt not stay up till 2 a.m on the day of their presentation. One is advised to read the presentation thoroughly before giving it so that one does not confuse one's self in the middle.

Friend's birthday at bar in West London, very chilled and relaxed evening. BMJ Careers fair on Saturday afternoon. I breezed in for long enough to raid the Royal College of Physicians, Surgeons, Obstetricians & Gynaecologists, Medecins sans Frontieres and Medecin du Monde stands. I felt a bit out of place, mostly pre-registration (sorry F1 to be politically correct) house officers and SHOs (F2). I noticed how mush medics love freebies- pens, sweets, pads of paper, anything. I wonder why Pfizer had a stand? It's not like they need the publicity. Probably trying to schmooze some consultants.



Thursday, December 01, 2005