I'm tired, exhausted and feel like all the salmon and tuna i've been eating recently is no longer giving me energy and brain food like all the ads say. Damn omega 3.
In fact, I think I'd find (if I was awake to notice) that all it was really doing for me was giving tuna-smelling wee. No, not infection wee, but literally tuna (possibly with sun-dried tomato flavouring). It seems that stuff goes literally RIGHT through you.
I've almost finished my first run-through of studying. That's my aim by 10pm tonight, when I leave uni and head home for a nice big nap.
Today is a sad day for me and I really just feel like lying at home and watching Bones and not thinking about what happened a year ago.
Tomorrow I'm driving back to Brisbane and buying flowers at the Markets for my mum (who's birthday it is).
I hate the reproductive system. And I hate palm cards. And the chips I had for lunch have made me sleepy. Drat.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
a week off...
As usual, I pick up this blog in a similar fashion to how I left it - stressed, late at night and procrastinating from either sleeping or studying. There are probably three important things I should do throughout swat vac, all of which you would expect to come pretty easily, but are in fact easy to not do:
1. Studying
2. Sleeping
3. Eating
The first one, I'm pretty good at, but I tend to get pretty easily distracted at home and usually have to spend most of study week locked in a tutorial room at uni to avoid being distracted by my housemates who enjoy wandering into my room and having half-hour chats. I also have to quit facebook and MSN, or risk being distracted there as well.
The second one, is something that I have no problem doing but can't ever seem to do it at the right times. Don't get me wrong - there's no insomnia on this front - it's just, when I'm studying I always want to sleep and when I'm going to bed I always find something else to do. Like right now, it's 12.20am and I should be fast asleep - but I'm writing this blog.
The third one, well that's the procrastinating tool of geniuses. See, one has to eat, so if one really wants to procrastinate but appear to not be, they just go out and cook an elaborate meal under the guise of 'starvation'.
Tomorrow i'm heading up to the uni at 8am and studying there till 10pm. God I can't wait for this week and a half to be over.
Music I'm enjoying currently:
Friendly Fires
One Silver Astronaut
Sia
Frou Frou/Imogen Heap
Phoenix.
1. Studying
2. Sleeping
3. Eating
The first one, I'm pretty good at, but I tend to get pretty easily distracted at home and usually have to spend most of study week locked in a tutorial room at uni to avoid being distracted by my housemates who enjoy wandering into my room and having half-hour chats. I also have to quit facebook and MSN, or risk being distracted there as well.
The second one, is something that I have no problem doing but can't ever seem to do it at the right times. Don't get me wrong - there's no insomnia on this front - it's just, when I'm studying I always want to sleep and when I'm going to bed I always find something else to do. Like right now, it's 12.20am and I should be fast asleep - but I'm writing this blog.
The third one, well that's the procrastinating tool of geniuses. See, one has to eat, so if one really wants to procrastinate but appear to not be, they just go out and cook an elaborate meal under the guise of 'starvation'.
Tomorrow i'm heading up to the uni at 8am and studying there till 10pm. God I can't wait for this week and a half to be over.
Music I'm enjoying currently:
Friendly Fires
One Silver Astronaut
Sia
Frou Frou/Imogen Heap
Phoenix.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
First of many.
I have my first of four exams tomorrow morning.
It's a three hour exam on the cardiovascular and respiratory system. You'd think - that'd be like:
Heart pumps blood to keep us alive, heart stops pumping blood, we die = bad.
Lungs breath in air, air keeps us alive, so if lungs stop working, we die = bad.
I wish it was really that simple.
There's embryology, physiology, histology, pathology and pathophysiology.
There's an ABCD (and sometimes E) mnemonic which applies to post MI management, hypertension management. I'm pretty sure it could also apply to congestive heart failure, angina treatment and Aboriginal Health Care.
EEEE no longer reminds me of someone going down a really scary water ride, but instead reminds me of the way of dealing with confrontational parents.
And finally, parents that don't vaccinate their kids are stupid.
Herd immunity doesn't work if all the parents think the other parents will immunise their kids.
You can't expect other parents to vaccinate their kids, and take those risks, just so you don't have to with your kids.
I need to sleep now. This time in 3 days, I should be very drunk at one of the many pubs, bars, clubs in the gold coast and thinking merry thoughts about shopping trips later this week and the ideal place to vomit.
It's a three hour exam on the cardiovascular and respiratory system. You'd think - that'd be like:
Heart pumps blood to keep us alive, heart stops pumping blood, we die = bad.
Lungs breath in air, air keeps us alive, so if lungs stop working, we die = bad.
I wish it was really that simple.
There's embryology, physiology, histology, pathology and pathophysiology.
There's an ABCD (and sometimes E) mnemonic which applies to post MI management, hypertension management. I'm pretty sure it could also apply to congestive heart failure, angina treatment and Aboriginal Health Care.
EEEE no longer reminds me of someone going down a really scary water ride, but instead reminds me of the way of dealing with confrontational parents.
And finally, parents that don't vaccinate their kids are stupid.
Herd immunity doesn't work if all the parents think the other parents will immunise their kids.
You can't expect other parents to vaccinate their kids, and take those risks, just so you don't have to with your kids.
I need to sleep now. This time in 3 days, I should be very drunk at one of the many pubs, bars, clubs in the gold coast and thinking merry thoughts about shopping trips later this week and the ideal place to vomit.
Friday, October 31, 2008
a haiku on tuna
tuna is good for lunch.
I wasn't a fan till med.
now i eat too much.
Med has taught me the value of several food groups.
Firstly - canned food. There are many foods that come in a can that you can basically eat as they come.
Tuna is one I've recently begun to eat a lot of, but only in the last couple of weeks. When I started medicine I noticed that so many people would bring tiny little cans of this smelly fish and mix it with various other food groups - crackers, salads, rice, macaroni cheese, etc. And I didn't understand it because a - it was smelly, and b - I'd never liked it in the first place.
Now I have a pantry shelf filled with various flavours. Are you aware that you can get nearly any flavoured tuna? I wouldn't be surprised if during one of my future shopping trips I stumble across a bubble-gum flavour or potato flavour. Not that I'd probably enjoy either of those, but I'm just saying that there would be little surprise.
Rice is another food group I took for granted until now. This past week I've probably had close to eight meals that contain it, and right now - I've mixed it with tuna. I can imagine a pathologist looking at my blood and being confused by what he sees.
PATHOLOGIST 1: *looks at blood* what the...
PATHOLOGIST 2: What is it?
PATHOLOGIST 1: Have a look because I wouldn't have a clue...
PATHOLOGIST 2: It looks like she's one quarter blood, three-quarters rice.
That's right, ladies and gentlemen, would you like some rice with that meal - because I've got plenty. Not to mention rice now comes in microwavable packages. What will people think of next?!
I wasn't a fan till med.
now i eat too much.
Med has taught me the value of several food groups.
Firstly - canned food. There are many foods that come in a can that you can basically eat as they come.
Tuna is one I've recently begun to eat a lot of, but only in the last couple of weeks. When I started medicine I noticed that so many people would bring tiny little cans of this smelly fish and mix it with various other food groups - crackers, salads, rice, macaroni cheese, etc. And I didn't understand it because a - it was smelly, and b - I'd never liked it in the first place.
Now I have a pantry shelf filled with various flavours. Are you aware that you can get nearly any flavoured tuna? I wouldn't be surprised if during one of my future shopping trips I stumble across a bubble-gum flavour or potato flavour. Not that I'd probably enjoy either of those, but I'm just saying that there would be little surprise.
Rice is another food group I took for granted until now. This past week I've probably had close to eight meals that contain it, and right now - I've mixed it with tuna. I can imagine a pathologist looking at my blood and being confused by what he sees.
PATHOLOGIST 1: *looks at blood* what the...
PATHOLOGIST 2: What is it?
PATHOLOGIST 1: Have a look because I wouldn't have a clue...
PATHOLOGIST 2: It looks like she's one quarter blood, three-quarters rice.
That's right, ladies and gentlemen, would you like some rice with that meal - because I've got plenty. Not to mention rice now comes in microwavable packages. What will people think of next?!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
bermuda triangle
So today we were learning about acute renal failure. During PBL (weekly tute groups) we establish a list of learning issues which we go away, form answers for and then return the following PBL to educate each other with. Talking about the different types of renal failure fell on my fellow PBL Q-er, Joe today.
JOE: So Acute Renal Failure can be classified into 3 different causes: Prerenal, Intrinsic or Post-renal.
*He draws a little flow chart*
JOE: Pre-renal causes consist of...
*he adds to the flow chart*
JOE: Intrinsic consists of...
*adds more*
JOE: And finally post renal causes are...
*adds*
JOE: Essentially, I read that Pre-renal and Intrinsic consist of 75% of all cases of Acute Renal Failure, which you would assume meant that post-renal makes up the other 25%... It doesn't.
Shock horror that it turns out that medical researchers can't add.
JOE: Post renal failure does in fact account for only 5% of cases... which leaves some kind of bermuda triangle.
*Draws a triangle outline as an offshoot from the flow chart*
ME (thinking): Is this going to be on the exam?
JOE: So Acute Renal Failure can be classified into 3 different causes: Prerenal, Intrinsic or Post-renal.
*He draws a little flow chart*
JOE: Pre-renal causes consist of...
*he adds to the flow chart*
JOE: Intrinsic consists of...
*adds more*
JOE: And finally post renal causes are...
*adds*
JOE: Essentially, I read that Pre-renal and Intrinsic consist of 75% of all cases of Acute Renal Failure, which you would assume meant that post-renal makes up the other 25%... It doesn't.
Shock horror that it turns out that medical researchers can't add.
JOE: Post renal failure does in fact account for only 5% of cases... which leaves some kind of bermuda triangle.
*Draws a triangle outline as an offshoot from the flow chart*
ME (thinking): Is this going to be on the exam?
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Things that you should avoid saying out loud.
I was sitting in the group study areas of the library today, trying to email myself some work to print off later when a girl and a boy sat down at a table beside mine.
They were doing a group assignment and were randomly chatting most of the time but every now and then the girl would complain about itchy legs.
GIRL: God... my legs are itchy!
BOY: Keep them away from me.
Girl gets up to print off something and then races back.
GIRL: Can't forget those shoes.
BOY: Yeah, don't spread your fungus anywhere else!
Later.
GIRL: My legs are still really itchy!
BOY: Maybe it's an atypical presentation of an STD.
BOY2 (who's sitting behind me) laughs out loud.
BOY1: Oh, did I say that out loud.
I smirked a lot throughout this conversation.
They were doing a group assignment and were randomly chatting most of the time but every now and then the girl would complain about itchy legs.
GIRL: God... my legs are itchy!
BOY: Keep them away from me.
Girl gets up to print off something and then races back.
GIRL: Can't forget those shoes.
BOY: Yeah, don't spread your fungus anywhere else!
Later.
GIRL: My legs are still really itchy!
BOY: Maybe it's an atypical presentation of an STD.
BOY2 (who's sitting behind me) laughs out loud.
BOY1: Oh, did I say that out loud.
I smirked a lot throughout this conversation.
Monday, October 6, 2008
I spend a lot of time at uni studying late into the night.
My uni has around two dozen tutorial rooms which are filled with the following items for individual and group study:
- A sink
- Tea cups
- Milo/Tea/Coffee
- A kettle
- Sugar
- Whiteboards
- Large tables
They also occasionally contain food, which is not meant for general consumption, since it is usually left there by the groups which study there routinely every week but whatever.
These study rooms are lit by movement-sensory lights, which means that if you sit in the same position for too long the lights begin to dim. Imagine the following two versions of a scenario:
Girl and boy are studying quietly in a room.
No movement for some time
... Lights begin to dim.
*boy thinks: oh yeah, mood lighting too.*
Flight of the Concord's 'Business Time' starts to play.
Boy and Girl get it on.
Girl quits med school.
OR
Girl studies quietly and without movement in the room.
... Lights begin to dim.
Girl: ARGH! SOMEONE IS OUT TO GET ME! KILL EVERYONE...
Security carts girl off to the hospital psych ward across the road where she leaves med school and is begun on an anti-psychotic.
This is perhaps a third option, which is probably more amusing to an onlooker who stands outside.
Girl studies quietly and without movement in the room.
... Lights begin to dim.
Girl: Oh crap.
*Girl begins to frantically move her arms as if possessed and calling on some demon cult to grant her wish*
Insert: which would be to pass medicine, if she (read: me) chose to undertake such a task.
Other med student walks past the room and sees bizarre spectacle: WTF?!
There is a guy in med called... Stan and we call him Creepy Stan because he is, to state the obvious - creepy. And Creepy Stan used to have a terrible haircut which only added to his creepiness. I was met today by a friend in the hallway, I will call her Agrabah.
Agrabah: Crazy Stan got a haircut!!
Caitie: Crazy Stan? Who's Crazy Stan?
Agrabah: It's Crazy Stan... you know, crazy stan. Stan?
Caitie: Oh! You mean Creepy Stan!!
Agrabah: Crazy, creepy, whatever. I must show you... it's odd.
We don't get far before we realise that walking along the hallway only to peer in tutorial rooms, will appear a little odd.
... Later.
Caitie passes the room containing Creep Stan and sees the new haircut.
Caitie: I saw Creepy Stan's haircut. I've got to say it definitely is an improvement on his last haircut. It makes him look less...
Agrabah: Creepy, I know, doesn't it.
Caitie: But still crazy.
Agrabah: Definitely crazy.
Currently I am surrounded by masses of paper in various piles which I'm sure at one stage were organised but now I can't be so sure. They're meant to be divided into various topics - tute papers, lecture notes, assignment notes, clinical skills notes. They're not - in fact, such organisation could not be further from the truth. My current organisation consists of a green environmental bag that contains all my university work and that all my cardiovascular and respiratory notes are bound. That is the extent of it.
I think I should be more worried about this complete and utter lack of organisation but currently I can't seem to think of anything other than the fact that exams are in five weeks. I always considered the pressure on me in the few months leading up to getting accepted into med school was horrendous but I've recently decided that maintaining this position and being proud of the work that I complete during med school is so much greater. I enjoy my time in this degree and the things that I learn so much more than anything else I've ever studied; obviously I get bored sometimes but for some reason I find myself smiling about the things I learnt in a lecture or a tute, and that is something I've never experienced.
- A sink
- Tea cups
- Milo/Tea/Coffee
- A kettle
- Sugar
- Whiteboards
- Large tables
They also occasionally contain food, which is not meant for general consumption, since it is usually left there by the groups which study there routinely every week but whatever.
These study rooms are lit by movement-sensory lights, which means that if you sit in the same position for too long the lights begin to dim. Imagine the following two versions of a scenario:
Girl and boy are studying quietly in a room.
No movement for some time
... Lights begin to dim.
*boy thinks: oh yeah, mood lighting too.*
Flight of the Concord's 'Business Time' starts to play.
Boy and Girl get it on.
Girl quits med school.
OR
Girl studies quietly and without movement in the room.
... Lights begin to dim.
Girl: ARGH! SOMEONE IS OUT TO GET ME! KILL EVERYONE...
Security carts girl off to the hospital psych ward across the road where she leaves med school and is begun on an anti-psychotic.
This is perhaps a third option, which is probably more amusing to an onlooker who stands outside.
Girl studies quietly and without movement in the room.
... Lights begin to dim.
Girl: Oh crap.
*Girl begins to frantically move her arms as if possessed and calling on some demon cult to grant her wish*
Insert: which would be to pass medicine, if she (read: me) chose to undertake such a task.
Other med student walks past the room and sees bizarre spectacle: WTF?!
There is a guy in med called... Stan and we call him Creepy Stan because he is, to state the obvious - creepy. And Creepy Stan used to have a terrible haircut which only added to his creepiness. I was met today by a friend in the hallway, I will call her Agrabah.
Agrabah: Crazy Stan got a haircut!!
Caitie: Crazy Stan? Who's Crazy Stan?
Agrabah: It's Crazy Stan... you know, crazy stan. Stan?
Caitie: Oh! You mean Creepy Stan!!
Agrabah: Crazy, creepy, whatever. I must show you... it's odd.
We don't get far before we realise that walking along the hallway only to peer in tutorial rooms, will appear a little odd.
... Later.
Caitie passes the room containing Creep Stan and sees the new haircut.
Caitie: I saw Creepy Stan's haircut. I've got to say it definitely is an improvement on his last haircut. It makes him look less...
Agrabah: Creepy, I know, doesn't it.
Caitie: But still crazy.
Agrabah: Definitely crazy.
Currently I am surrounded by masses of paper in various piles which I'm sure at one stage were organised but now I can't be so sure. They're meant to be divided into various topics - tute papers, lecture notes, assignment notes, clinical skills notes. They're not - in fact, such organisation could not be further from the truth. My current organisation consists of a green environmental bag that contains all my university work and that all my cardiovascular and respiratory notes are bound. That is the extent of it.
I think I should be more worried about this complete and utter lack of organisation but currently I can't seem to think of anything other than the fact that exams are in five weeks. I always considered the pressure on me in the few months leading up to getting accepted into med school was horrendous but I've recently decided that maintaining this position and being proud of the work that I complete during med school is so much greater. I enjoy my time in this degree and the things that I learn so much more than anything else I've ever studied; obviously I get bored sometimes but for some reason I find myself smiling about the things I learnt in a lecture or a tute, and that is something I've never experienced.
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