Where have I been...?

Wow..it seems like I have been gone forever. To be honest, I did not realize the length of my tardiness until an old friend had reminded me. Has the time come for me to come back to the blogging world? Am I ready? We shall see...



So..what has happened to me in the last two years that I must update you on.



1. I have completed 2 years of medical school successfully. [Passed the board exams and am in clinical clerkships now. Yes, it is a shock to me as it is to you.] I have started my third year where I actually SEE patients and talk to them and also be insulted by my superiors. :) Love it. One day, I shall be the one humiliating the low-life medical students who look so lost and are in the verge of tears because they don't seem to know much of ANYTHING regardless of the FINE basic sciences education of 2 years.



2. I've grown old and wrinkly. I passed the quarter century last month and don't feel a day older than 14. Umm...I'm not in denial. This is my way of embracing the old age. :D



3. I have gotten married and am pregnant with twins. Just kidding.....[about the marriage AND the pregnancy]. I still don't have room for the word 'wedding' in my dictionary of life.



4. Pardon me if I come across as conceited, but I feel more confident, beautiful, and loved than I did 2 years ago. It may be the people in my life or it may be the environment, or it may just be that I've grown to love and accept the persona that I am. Either way, I feel as though I'm a stronger person.



Now..on to some other things.



I was having a conversation with a fellow medical student who was about to start her clinical clerkship. She was so melodramatic about her new clerkship. Apparently, the day after she was to see an HIV+ patient and do physical examination on him/her. She did not want to touch the patient nor did she want to be so near him/her. Now, I understand being concerned about contracting HIV, if YOU ARE WALKING AROUND WITH A DAMN NEEDLE WITH HIV+ BLOOD. You are NOT going to be HIV+ by touching that patient. I was baffled by her reaction. I can understand the ignorant, uneducated, and biased among the general population having a 'concern' like this. But she is a medical student who has studied human body for 2 whole years and her actions were unacceptable. I have had students in my class who did not even touch the cadavers that we used to dissect in the 1st year, because they were so 'yuck'!!



If she thinks she can get away with this kind of disregard for a patient, she has it coming. Guess who gets to do all the DRE (Digital Rectal Exam)? Yup..you guessed. They make the medical students do all the DIRTY [literally AND figuratively] stuff. Oh yes, my dear... guess what the D in DRE stand for... uhhhuh...your FINGERS!!



I am in pediatrics rotation now. Those kids carry around all kind of germs, and they are FILTHY. And guess who they drool on? Yup..me! Guess what they grab with the same hands that they put in their nose? Yup..my stethoscope. Guess where they vomit? Yup...my shoes! Guess who has to check their diapers as part of routine examination? Uhhuh..that's right, ME! I am certain that the first diaper that I'm going to change IS NOT going to be my child's [if I ever get around to having a child, that is]. But..at the end of the day, it is not about how filthy they are or how their shriek gives you a headache. It is about what you have learned and also what you take away from that patient. Is it really about getting that extra one point on your board exam because you learned that the 'satellite lesions' are associated with 'Candida infection' or is it about you make it a note to tell your next patient that it is not safe to smoke INSIDE the house with your 5 day old child because it will lead her to have asthma and other complications?



We have all had difficult times in our lives, some more than others. But I think we all will appreciate our parents and our childhood when we across a 1 year old child who lives with his mother and grandmother because his father left him, and is in a coma today because his mentally retarded mother used him as a punch bag?

Happy New Year, people!

Looking back..

Have you ever looked back at your past and thought 'Man..I AM SO GLAD that..that particular thing did not work out?'

:) Ah!!!! Now you realize that you have better things going on and life can't get better!!!

YEAH, BITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Jan. 06, 2009

Jan. 06, 2009
Medical school is not easy. The amount of information that the lecturers bombard the students with at one time is so extensive that it is quite common to see confused faces all around. For example, in an hour and a half time period, our teacher had gone through so many different topics that I just gave up on listening or even understanding the old Indian male teacher. When the class was over, I was aghast – we went through 87 slides in a span of an hour and a half. Having my laptop in front of me SURELY did not help because I was on orkut, facebook, ValueMD, and other horribly distracting yet essential to live websites. Oh. Today (Jan. 6th) was just the first day of classes. I had already studied for about 3 hours already. I plan to study for another 2 hours. That’s about 5 hours of studying A NIGHT. I had NEVER done that even before the day/week before the finals…EVER.

I was fortunate today because I did not have Anatomy lab. Thus, I was able to start studying earlier (around 4pm). Lab (starting tomorrow) will last until 5pm. We’ll be having some person to cadaver quality time. That will force me to take a (or even multiple) long shower for the rest of the semester. May be it will cure me from gluttony. Whatever the case. I may not be able to start studying until 7pm. If I must study for 5 hours every night, that means that I am looking to sleep around 1am.

Well. That might not be so bad. I have been lying down to sleep around 10pm every night for the past few days. After the donkey’s cries, paranoia from rattling noises, barking of the dogs that apparently have some kind of batteries in them to give them energy to bark all night, loud music…I usually slept around 12am. Oh, before I forget let me just tell you that roosters are just plain evil. The blessed rooster next to my house crows from 3:30 EVERY FREAKING MORNING on a 15 minute interval and it won’t stop crowing even after I leave for college. Coelho said that the whole world conspires to help you achieve your dream. Hell, that surely ain’t happening at this point!

But I am content. I feel like I have finally realized what I want to do with my life. My family is great. I am so thankful to have someone who cares so much about me and loves me that I often wonder if I’m living a dream. He alone has made me realize that not all men are spineless and cowards.

Life is a journey. In that journey, we will have to face many obstacles. As we overcome those obstacles, we become better and stronger persons. I hope to come out of this experience as a better person. When I do find myself discouraged, I know that there are those who actually care enough about me to motivate me and encourage me.

That darn thing.....

Have you ever had something so delicious to eat, but had its residue left between your teeth? It's usually like that tiny itty bitty strand of chicken or beef that usually finds a nice little spot to hide in between your molars. Annoying, isn't it? So, if you are waiting for dessert...you try your best to get that thing out of your teeth so that I can enjoy the oh-so-awaited (supposedly) delicious food. You may excuse yourself to go to the restroom to get rid of the little bastard and may not have much luck with it. You try your best and it's still there...flipping you off. As though, it has established its throne there. Prayers, bribes, etc. do not work, unfortunately.

Then the dessert comes.

Of course, you are obviously annoyed by that thing between your teeth. You want to enjoy your dessert. But CAN'T. Why not? Because it is bothering you. You curse the auntie who made that delicious tandoori chicken. It does not matter to you that the chicken WAS DELICIOUS. What matters IS the residue that's left. So..now...you hate the chicken that you had and can't make your poor soul to enjoy the dessert regardless of the savor that everyone's talking about.

So NOW..let me work my creative mind here...and compare the above 'ejjaamble' to relationships. Ah..you people knew that was coming, didn't you? No? OK! Read along, then!

You may be going through a bitter time. A good time may have come to a halt. Yet, the emotional baggage may still bother you. When someone else comes along, you may find it difficult to let go of the past. You may still be bitter, annoyed, or even irritated at that baggage or even the past.

Do understand this. When you were relishing that tandoori chicken, you enjoyed it. You loved it and you even complemented the auntie, the cook. It was only after it was over that you started having the negative thoughts. It's the same with a relationship. When you were in that particular relationship, you enjoyed it to the fullest. You can't look back, once it's over, and start cursing the persons that were involved in there. It is very hypocritical. Cherish the good times. Know that all good times do come to an end. Learn something from your past. You can thank your past for molding today's you. The experience, the people, the locations, etc. all came together to make you...YOU!

Don't let your past (mis)guide you. That strand of chicken can be removed by a toothbrush or a floss. You might have to pick at it for a while before it decides to come out. But it will. Same with any emotional burden in your life. Give it time. Be around good company. Be positive. There is always that good thing waiting for you...ready to knock on your door. Or may be already knocking. You may not be hearing it because you are too busy talking aloud and cursing.

At times, it takes someone very special to show you how much you are worth.

Don't ever sell yourself short. :D

Ciao!

Century

Interesting milestone, I should say. 100th post. Never thought that I would keep this blog long enough to write the 100th post. I don't know WHAT kept me here; probably the knowledge that there are people who read my nonsense.


Must say, I got a couple of good friends from this blog world. :D Very thankful for that.

A lot of things (good and bad) have happened since my first post here. A toast to those experiences. Hopefully I learned a lot from them. :D

If you are a random reader and I don't know of/about you, I thank you for stopping by. Continue to be nosy. :D Something interesting might be on the way.

Last..but definitely not least...and may be the most important, even...

I would like to dedicate this blog and this particular post to ICHU! :D Thank You! :D