the GOOD.
starting around thursday night, we got 15cm of snow. it was a white out! we're expecting another storm starting tonight at midnight. yay!
the GOOD.
toronto police are now the best paid in the province. by 2010 a first-class constable will earn $81,249. good for them. in my opinion, they put their lives on the line day in and day out and are deserving of every penny. if david miller wants to talk about not having enough money in the budget, we can start looking at cutting his $163,040 salary.
the GOOD.
last night went to go see toronto symphony orchestra's rendition of Handel's Messiah. i enjoyed it very much. it was made sweeter by the fact that through tsoundcheck i got $79 tickets for $24 each!
the GOOD.
after the concert, i drove my date home. the roads were a mess, but that just meant that i had an excuse to drive slowly. :) just as we got to her place, the car in front of me got stuck on the mini off-ramp. so i grabbed my shovel and gave him a hand. he was stuck pretty good, but while we were digging out, 2 other cars stopped to give a hand. it wasn't even their exit, just good samaritans that stopped to help out.
the BAD.
besides the 2 cars that stopped to help out, another guy in a black gmc jimmy (i should've taken a mental note of his license plate) stopped and offered to pull out the stuck driver... for $40. come on! what a jackass. if you want to help someone out of the goodness of your heart, that's great. if not, just keep driving. just keep driving man.
Showing posts with label rant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rant. Show all posts
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
new pet peeve.
students that leave their stuff to "save" their spot and disappear for extended periods of time.
so today i'm at robarts, just to switch things up a little. i came in just before 1pm after working out with my brother. being exam time and all, the library is pretty busy. the slackers tend to show up 2 weeks before exam period.
:p
but what i really want to rant about is how everyone dumps their stuff on chairs and desks and then LEAVES! no lies here, 1/3 of the seats in the reading rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floor have jackets/notes/umbrellas/power adapters/highlighters, but NO BODIES!!!
i mean if you're going out for 2 minutes to use the toilets or even 5 minutes to answer a phone call that's cool. but don't leave your stuff here then go off for a 45 minute chat session with your girlfriends. don't leave your stuff here and then head out for your 3 hour lecture. and yes the hot dog vendor/chinese food truck is JUST outside, but don't leave your stuff here to go out for a meal.
case in point, the table next to me has 2 power adapters, 3 jackets, 1 backpack and a whole pile of notes. the girls that are/were sitting there haven't returned since i got here - which was 90+ minutes ago!!!
if everyone actually took their stuff with them when they left there'd be plenty of space for everyone when people actually need it!!!
i wish the library could police this. but it's near impossible to do so. aside from the lack of man power, how would they know how long these people are gone for - although to a trained eye, that can be pretty obvious:
if there is no jacket and just some loose sheets of paper with a few pens, chances are they've left for lecture or a long meal. no jacket means they have LEFT the building. definite grounds for a boot in the butt.
if there IS a jacket, well chances are they are in the cafeteria yakking it up.
maybe we could do what parking enforcement does. a librarian comes by once or twice an hour and chalks the desk/back of seat or whatever. if you've been chalked but you're not back by the time the librarian comes around again, your stuff gets taken to the front desk where you have to go and re-claim your stuff. you could add a $25 fine for good measure.
an even better idea would be to increase the amount of theft that occurs at these libraries. if we could only get these theives to steal not just laptops, cell phones and wallets but also textbooks, handwritten notes, pencil cases and coffee mugs. :)
so today i'm at robarts, just to switch things up a little. i came in just before 1pm after working out with my brother. being exam time and all, the library is pretty busy. the slackers tend to show up 2 weeks before exam period.
:p
but what i really want to rant about is how everyone dumps their stuff on chairs and desks and then LEAVES! no lies here, 1/3 of the seats in the reading rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floor have jackets/notes/umbrellas/power adapters/highlighters, but NO BODIES!!!
i mean if you're going out for 2 minutes to use the toilets or even 5 minutes to answer a phone call that's cool. but don't leave your stuff here then go off for a 45 minute chat session with your girlfriends. don't leave your stuff here and then head out for your 3 hour lecture. and yes the hot dog vendor/chinese food truck is JUST outside, but don't leave your stuff here to go out for a meal.
case in point, the table next to me has 2 power adapters, 3 jackets, 1 backpack and a whole pile of notes. the girls that are/were sitting there haven't returned since i got here - which was 90+ minutes ago!!!
if everyone actually took their stuff with them when they left there'd be plenty of space for everyone when people actually need it!!!
i wish the library could police this. but it's near impossible to do so. aside from the lack of man power, how would they know how long these people are gone for - although to a trained eye, that can be pretty obvious:
if there is no jacket and just some loose sheets of paper with a few pens, chances are they've left for lecture or a long meal. no jacket means they have LEFT the building. definite grounds for a boot in the butt.
if there IS a jacket, well chances are they are in the cafeteria yakking it up.
maybe we could do what parking enforcement does. a librarian comes by once or twice an hour and chalks the desk/back of seat or whatever. if you've been chalked but you're not back by the time the librarian comes around again, your stuff gets taken to the front desk where you have to go and re-claim your stuff. you could add a $25 fine for good measure.
an even better idea would be to increase the amount of theft that occurs at these libraries. if we could only get these theives to steal not just laptops, cell phones and wallets but also textbooks, handwritten notes, pencil cases and coffee mugs. :)
Friday, October 10, 2008
canadian politics.
can't really say i've been keeping up with the canadian election.
as a matter of fact, i decided i couldn't be bothered to photocopy my passport/visa/photo ID or whatever was required of me to vote via snail mail. but this caught my eye today...
the question doesn't actually make grammatical sense though... the interviewer asks: "if you were prime minister now, what would you have done about the economy and this crisis that prime minister harper has not done?"
if i was prime minister NOW, what would i have DONE? the tenses don't match up.
does he mean if i was prime minister NOW, what would i DO? or does he mean if i was prime minister 2.5 years ago or 6 months ago or even YESTERDAY, what would i have DONE (differently)? maybe i've been spending too much time with aussies who don't use proper grammar, but i think the question was worded poorly.
speaking of aussie english... this guy Bruce Moore from ANU suggests that the distinctive (read: annoying) australian twang may be on its way out. really? is there anything i can do to speed this process?
:)
(scroll down to the bottom of the article and the writer has a handful of aussie slang, my favorite of this bunch is: shark biscuit which is slang for someone new to surfing. kekeke.)
as a matter of fact, i decided i couldn't be bothered to photocopy my passport/visa/photo ID or whatever was required of me to vote via snail mail. but this caught my eye today...
the question doesn't actually make grammatical sense though... the interviewer asks: "if you were prime minister now, what would you have done about the economy and this crisis that prime minister harper has not done?"
if i was prime minister NOW, what would i have DONE? the tenses don't match up.
does he mean if i was prime minister NOW, what would i DO? or does he mean if i was prime minister 2.5 years ago or 6 months ago or even YESTERDAY, what would i have DONE (differently)? maybe i've been spending too much time with aussies who don't use proper grammar, but i think the question was worded poorly.
speaking of aussie english... this guy Bruce Moore from ANU suggests that the distinctive (read: annoying) australian twang may be on its way out. really? is there anything i can do to speed this process?
:)
(scroll down to the bottom of the article and the writer has a handful of aussie slang, my favorite of this bunch is: shark biscuit which is slang for someone new to surfing. kekeke.)
Thursday, October 9, 2008
what's up with the canadian dollar?
you have got to be kidding me.
don't know whether its the canadian dollar rising or the australian dollar falling but the canadian dollar is stronger than it's been in quite a while.
as of this afternoon... $1 CDN was valued at $1.336 AUD. $1.34!!! for crying out loud!!! when i paid my 2nd term tuition back in august it was down at about $1.05! what the flip man!!!
i know this is something that's pretty much completely out of my control and getting my knickers into a knot really doesn't do much but... GRRR!!!
don't know whether its the canadian dollar rising or the australian dollar falling but the canadian dollar is stronger than it's been in quite a while.
as of this afternoon... $1 CDN was valued at $1.336 AUD. $1.34!!! for crying out loud!!! when i paid my 2nd term tuition back in august it was down at about $1.05! what the flip man!!!
i know this is something that's pretty much completely out of my control and getting my knickers into a knot really doesn't do much but... GRRR!!!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
this is too funny.
so sarah palin's unmarried 17-year-old daughter Bristol, is 5 months pregnant.
i assure you that there is no judgement on my part on Bristol. you know what, sh*t happens. but what i really find amusing is the republicans and the christian right-wingers, dismissing this as a "private matter". which granted it is. but i wonder... if obama or biden had a 17-year-old daughter that was unmarried and 5 months pregnant, would the republicans say the same?
politics sure is entertaining no? should be a good couple of months of mud-slinging.
i assure you that there is no judgement on my part on Bristol. you know what, sh*t happens. but what i really find amusing is the republicans and the christian right-wingers, dismissing this as a "private matter". which granted it is. but i wonder... if obama or biden had a 17-year-old daughter that was unmarried and 5 months pregnant, would the republicans say the same?
politics sure is entertaining no? should be a good couple of months of mud-slinging.
Friday, August 8, 2008
shooting my own foot.
last night we had a CaRMS information seminar put on by the SOM. our speaker was Sandra Banner who is the executive director and CEO of CaRMS. she basically talked about the process of matching and going back to canada once we're done, and what our chances were according to the stats.
i found it to be quite useful.
between this and the international students night a few weeks back, i'm feeling the love from UQ. it actually seems like they care!
now i know i shouldn't be complaining but... sandra had mentioned that the results on the MCCEE (medical council of canada evaluating exam) - the exam that all doctors who studied outside of canada have to write, is not always indicative of getting a residency spot. as a matter of fact, canadians studying abroad (CSA), tend to do worse on the MCCEE than say foreign doctors looking to immigrate to canada. however CSA, statistically speaking tend to have a better chance at matching. off the record, sandra went as far as to suggest that there may be some bias in favour of CSAs. yes. this is a good thing for me. BUT, if we're going to use the MCCEE as a measuring stick, shouldn't we stick by it?
there could be other legitimate reasons as to why CSAs have a better chance. these might be less quantifiable. for example, perhaps (in general) our english is better. perhaps we're younger & less likely to have families and hence have more flexibility in terms of where we go and what we do. or maybe we're able to connect with the interviewers better through common topics like... how much the leafs suck, how bloody cold it is in january or how there's nothing to do in the prairies (yes. that includes alberta). ;p
overall, the seminar was informative and fairly positive.
the only sore spot on the night was this complete tool that was sitting in the back asking questions. it wasn't the questions that he asked, but the way he asked them. he was bordering on belligerent. i thought sandra gave us a great talk and was incredibly helpful. he was just being ultra aggressive and unnecessarily defensive. i blame his faults on his parents. tsk tsk. it's unfortunate because it's idiots like him that are the most vocal and in the end he's a reflection of the canadians at UQ. worse part is that he introduces himself as being from toronto when he's actually from BRAMPTON. for all of you aussies out there, i assure you that he is not representative of canadians. nor of torontonians. he MAY be a correct reflection of bramptonians. i'm afraid i don't know enough people from brampton to confidently comment though. ;)
*****
slightly related, i have a friend in 4th year from toronto who has decided that he's going to stay here. he's been offered an internship spot in wollongong in new south wales (about an hour outside of sydney). this doesn't seem like such a bad option. although his circumstances are slightly different from mine, i can see where he's coming from.
*****
let's bash on surgeons some more. my third year peer tutor told me these two:
how do you hide $50 from an orthopedic surgeon?
you put it in the patient's chart.
how do you hide $50 from a plastic surgeon?
you can't.
i found it to be quite useful.
between this and the international students night a few weeks back, i'm feeling the love from UQ. it actually seems like they care!
now i know i shouldn't be complaining but... sandra had mentioned that the results on the MCCEE (medical council of canada evaluating exam) - the exam that all doctors who studied outside of canada have to write, is not always indicative of getting a residency spot. as a matter of fact, canadians studying abroad (CSA), tend to do worse on the MCCEE than say foreign doctors looking to immigrate to canada. however CSA, statistically speaking tend to have a better chance at matching. off the record, sandra went as far as to suggest that there may be some bias in favour of CSAs. yes. this is a good thing for me. BUT, if we're going to use the MCCEE as a measuring stick, shouldn't we stick by it?
there could be other legitimate reasons as to why CSAs have a better chance. these might be less quantifiable. for example, perhaps (in general) our english is better. perhaps we're younger & less likely to have families and hence have more flexibility in terms of where we go and what we do. or maybe we're able to connect with the interviewers better through common topics like... how much the leafs suck, how bloody cold it is in january or how there's nothing to do in the prairies (yes. that includes alberta). ;p
overall, the seminar was informative and fairly positive.
the only sore spot on the night was this complete tool that was sitting in the back asking questions. it wasn't the questions that he asked, but the way he asked them. he was bordering on belligerent. i thought sandra gave us a great talk and was incredibly helpful. he was just being ultra aggressive and unnecessarily defensive. i blame his faults on his parents. tsk tsk. it's unfortunate because it's idiots like him that are the most vocal and in the end he's a reflection of the canadians at UQ. worse part is that he introduces himself as being from toronto when he's actually from BRAMPTON. for all of you aussies out there, i assure you that he is not representative of canadians. nor of torontonians. he MAY be a correct reflection of bramptonians. i'm afraid i don't know enough people from brampton to confidently comment though. ;)
*****
slightly related, i have a friend in 4th year from toronto who has decided that he's going to stay here. he's been offered an internship spot in wollongong in new south wales (about an hour outside of sydney). this doesn't seem like such a bad option. although his circumstances are slightly different from mine, i can see where he's coming from.
*****
let's bash on surgeons some more. my third year peer tutor told me these two:
how do you hide $50 from an orthopedic surgeon?
you put it in the patient's chart.
how do you hide $50 from a plastic surgeon?
you can't.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
oh jenny, jenny, jenny.
in our PBL discussions today, the "vaccines cause autism" statement came up. it seems like the most recent celebrity to take up this cause is jenny mccarthy.
*****
dearest jenn,
i think it's fantastic that you've "cured" your son of autism. kudos to you. really. i'm glad you've done your research and showed your child the motherly love that so many of our generation are missing.
however, i strongly urge you to reconsider your stance on vaccines causing autism - in particular the MMR vaccine. it's just simply not true. several scientific studies have shown that there is NO relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism. unfortunately the first signs of autism often appear around the same time children receive the vaccine. it's just unfortunately coincidence. it's not a causal relationship.
the 1998 study that you seem to be referring to has been debunked. you see, that study had a very small sample size of 12 children. 12 is much too small to derive any big generalizations from. much bigger studies (498 children) have found no link. furthermore, in 2004, 10 of the 13 original authors retracted the study's interpretation. they said that the data was insufficient to establish a causal link between the vaccine and autism.
all of this info and more can be found on the website for: centers of disease control and prevention.
sincerely,
44darts.
*****
ok seriously. what is wrong with this world?!? how can someone like jenny mccarthy have such a huge effect? ok. she's a celebrity. i get that. but a B-lister at best. she's known for playing the ditzy, raunchy cheerleader role. she's a playboy centerfold for crying out loud! check that, she's 1994's playmate of the year (& props for that).
i'm not saying take my word over hers. after all, i'm just a measly 2nd year med student. but i am saying take the word of the CDC, the word of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the word of the Institute of Medicine. come on people.
*****
dearest jenn,
i think it's fantastic that you've "cured" your son of autism. kudos to you. really. i'm glad you've done your research and showed your child the motherly love that so many of our generation are missing.
however, i strongly urge you to reconsider your stance on vaccines causing autism - in particular the MMR vaccine. it's just simply not true. several scientific studies have shown that there is NO relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism. unfortunately the first signs of autism often appear around the same time children receive the vaccine. it's just unfortunately coincidence. it's not a causal relationship.
the 1998 study that you seem to be referring to has been debunked. you see, that study had a very small sample size of 12 children. 12 is much too small to derive any big generalizations from. much bigger studies (498 children) have found no link. furthermore, in 2004, 10 of the 13 original authors retracted the study's interpretation. they said that the data was insufficient to establish a causal link between the vaccine and autism.
all of this info and more can be found on the website for: centers of disease control and prevention.
sincerely,
44darts.
*****
ok seriously. what is wrong with this world?!? how can someone like jenny mccarthy have such a huge effect? ok. she's a celebrity. i get that. but a B-lister at best. she's known for playing the ditzy, raunchy cheerleader role. she's a playboy centerfold for crying out loud! check that, she's 1994's playmate of the year (& props for that).
i'm not saying take my word over hers. after all, i'm just a measly 2nd year med student. but i am saying take the word of the CDC, the word of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the word of the Institute of Medicine. come on people.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
what's on your desktop?
if you didn't already know, med students are a little bit OCD and well... sometimes just straight up crazy.
one of my personal OCD things is that i don't like clutter on my desktop screen. my desktop usually has no more than 3 or 4 icons at any given time. an icon for my hard drive, one for my folder of "scrubs season 4" episodes, one titled "my notes 2008" (which has all of my notes for the year) and one last folder of Kaplan videos. that's it. as an extension to this, my trash bin on my computer is always empty. i don't like it full. i don't like seeing my trash bin with the crumpled "paper" inside. i am constantly emptying my trash.
i secretly think that your desktop is a reflection of your character. (in my books, the cleanliness of your room, your car - how well it runs & how clean it is, and your teeth are also reflections of your character).
so when a prof/lecturer comes in & connects his laptop to the projector and you see the whole screen LITTERED with different icons, i immediately lose a little respect for him/her. i know. it's sad and it's bad. but i can't help it. i'm particularly disappointed if he/she is using a mac. the dock on your mac makes it SO easy to keep things organized. there is no need for mess. i don't expect much from vista users so i'm less disappointed. ;p (my roommates are going to roast me for this post).
so the next time your desktop is up and i'm peering over your shoulder... yes. i am judging you. and i'm sorry.
one of my personal OCD things is that i don't like clutter on my desktop screen. my desktop usually has no more than 3 or 4 icons at any given time. an icon for my hard drive, one for my folder of "scrubs season 4" episodes, one titled "my notes 2008" (which has all of my notes for the year) and one last folder of Kaplan videos. that's it. as an extension to this, my trash bin on my computer is always empty. i don't like it full. i don't like seeing my trash bin with the crumpled "paper" inside. i am constantly emptying my trash.
i secretly think that your desktop is a reflection of your character. (in my books, the cleanliness of your room, your car - how well it runs & how clean it is, and your teeth are also reflections of your character).
so when a prof/lecturer comes in & connects his laptop to the projector and you see the whole screen LITTERED with different icons, i immediately lose a little respect for him/her. i know. it's sad and it's bad. but i can't help it. i'm particularly disappointed if he/she is using a mac. the dock on your mac makes it SO easy to keep things organized. there is no need for mess. i don't expect much from vista users so i'm less disappointed. ;p (my roommates are going to roast me for this post).
so the next time your desktop is up and i'm peering over your shoulder... yes. i am judging you. and i'm sorry.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
give me my money!
i finally got my OSAP for the school year. in case you didn't know i started in january. JANUARY! that was 6 months ago! goodness gracious. silly government.
did you know... that the provincial government of alberta provides it's students upwards of $30,000/year in student loans. compare that with OSAP which gives you a measly $8400. pft!
did you know... that the provincial government of alberta provides it's students upwards of $30,000/year in student loans. compare that with OSAP which gives you a measly $8400. pft!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
gas prices are killing me!
last year i flew home during the x'mas holidays for about $2300. if you recall it wasn't the safest airline and it wasn't the most direct route (i flew brisbane to taipei, taipei to vancouver and finally vancouver to toronto). however it wasn't that bad. service was good, no major delays and no baggage lost.
but this year i thought i'd pay the extra few hundred dollars and fly home directly (e.g. Brisbane-L.A.-Toronto) to avoid the ridiculously long stopovers. i might have to rethink this option though. that direct flight is going to cost me a cool $3400. the flight route i took last year will cost me an extra $600 - so $2900 this year.
man. that's brutal. maybe i should just stay in brisbane...
thoughts???
but this year i thought i'd pay the extra few hundred dollars and fly home directly (e.g. Brisbane-L.A.-Toronto) to avoid the ridiculously long stopovers. i might have to rethink this option though. that direct flight is going to cost me a cool $3400. the flight route i took last year will cost me an extra $600 - so $2900 this year.
man. that's brutal. maybe i should just stay in brisbane...
thoughts???
Monday, June 23, 2008
take that america!
we're number one!
we're number one!
we're number one!
australia is now the fattest country in the world. pft... and the yankees thought they were number one at everything.
*****
just got home from the airport. had a GREAT weekend in adelaide. will tell you all about it later with pictures and all. let's just say there was a lot of giggling and TRUCK loads of food. if we were to keep that up, we'd definitely be contributing to the aussie obesity epidemic.
we're number one!
we're number one!
australia is now the fattest country in the world. pft... and the yankees thought they were number one at everything.
*****
just got home from the airport. had a GREAT weekend in adelaide. will tell you all about it later with pictures and all. let's just say there was a lot of giggling and TRUCK loads of food. if we were to keep that up, we'd definitely be contributing to the aussie obesity epidemic.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
stop eating shark fin soup! STOP!
if you haven't seen this documentary yet, you have to watch it. it's a film called "sharkwater" by rob steward (no not ROD steward - rob). and he's canadian too!
it's about sharks and how they are misrepresented by the media as bloodthirsty, human hunting monsters. it hints at how sharks are a vital part of not only the underwater ecosystem of the world but of the very ecosystem in which we live & depend on. it then focuses on the billion dollar business of shark finning. there is some gruesome footage of fishermen catching sharks for their fins, cutting them off and then discarding the now-finless-but-still-alive sharks back into the water to die.
i've never had shark fin soup before. never really wanted to. but this definitely turns me off to it. and plus, i'm told it has no real taste to it. it's usually served in a chicken or beef broth! people eat it for its "texture" and their completely misplaced beliefs of health benefits. and of course don't forget the status that comes with being able to afford it.
stop. watch the movie. and if you're feeling like some soup, go eat some pho instead.
*****
managed to get in 30 hours of study this week. didn't make my goal.
should've got in much more. was not very efficient.
current gear: stuck in 5th.
*****
forgot to mention: i'm going down to adelaide during my week off in june! yay! i'm going to fly down with my brother to see my cousins stella and clara - yes clara! she's flying down from sydney. it'll be a mini family reunion. harri? justin? wanna join us?
it's about sharks and how they are misrepresented by the media as bloodthirsty, human hunting monsters. it hints at how sharks are a vital part of not only the underwater ecosystem of the world but of the very ecosystem in which we live & depend on. it then focuses on the billion dollar business of shark finning. there is some gruesome footage of fishermen catching sharks for their fins, cutting them off and then discarding the now-finless-but-still-alive sharks back into the water to die.
i've never had shark fin soup before. never really wanted to. but this definitely turns me off to it. and plus, i'm told it has no real taste to it. it's usually served in a chicken or beef broth! people eat it for its "texture" and their completely misplaced beliefs of health benefits. and of course don't forget the status that comes with being able to afford it.
stop. watch the movie. and if you're feeling like some soup, go eat some pho instead.
*****
managed to get in 30 hours of study this week. didn't make my goal.
should've got in much more. was not very efficient.
current gear: stuck in 5th.
*****
forgot to mention: i'm going down to adelaide during my week off in june! yay! i'm going to fly down with my brother to see my cousins stella and clara - yes clara! she's flying down from sydney. it'll be a mini family reunion. harri? justin? wanna join us?
Sunday, May 4, 2008
stupid public transport...
I LOVE brisbane transport!
now if your sarcasm-o-meter isn't working today, let me just tell you that the last sentence was about a 12.4 on a 10 point scale.
so i left the house at 8am to catch the 8:07 bus. it never came. fortunately i had left myself enough time to make it to work on time. that wasn't so bad. it happens.
but on my way back home... what would've been a 30 minute car ride and should've been nothing longer than a 50 minute bus ride, took me an hour and 45 minutes. for those of you that are counting, that's 105 minutes. grr... i won't drag you through why it took me so bloody long to get home. let's just say it was a mix of bad luck and useless bus times. mostly the latter.
on a brighter note, work was pretty cool today. the event was a huge hot rod show. i wish i had taken my camera cause there were some seriously spiffy cars.
actually had some visitors too! one guy had twisted his ankle, another scraped his arm while riding a go-kart with his son and a little kid had a minor burn from one of the display spotlights.
now if your sarcasm-o-meter isn't working today, let me just tell you that the last sentence was about a 12.4 on a 10 point scale.
so i left the house at 8am to catch the 8:07 bus. it never came. fortunately i had left myself enough time to make it to work on time. that wasn't so bad. it happens.
but on my way back home... what would've been a 30 minute car ride and should've been nothing longer than a 50 minute bus ride, took me an hour and 45 minutes. for those of you that are counting, that's 105 minutes. grr... i won't drag you through why it took me so bloody long to get home. let's just say it was a mix of bad luck and useless bus times. mostly the latter.
on a brighter note, work was pretty cool today. the event was a huge hot rod show. i wish i had taken my camera cause there were some seriously spiffy cars.
actually had some visitors too! one guy had twisted his ankle, another scraped his arm while riding a go-kart with his son and a little kid had a minor burn from one of the display spotlights.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
F*CK!
ok. breathe.
one down. one more to go.
i'm sitting here trying to "study" for my next exam. but my thoughts just kind of drift off to the exam that i just wrote a few hours ago. trying to analyze and breakdown every question that was asked and every answer that i wrote.
and the more i think about it, the more i feel like i made a bunch of stupid little mistakes. i think that's worse than not knowing the right answer at all. when you KNOW the RIGHT answer, but you've WRITTEN the WRONG one. that's when it just kills you.
AHHH!!! i've got to let it go.
one down. one more to go.
i'm sitting here trying to "study" for my next exam. but my thoughts just kind of drift off to the exam that i just wrote a few hours ago. trying to analyze and breakdown every question that was asked and every answer that i wrote.
and the more i think about it, the more i feel like i made a bunch of stupid little mistakes. i think that's worse than not knowing the right answer at all. when you KNOW the RIGHT answer, but you've WRITTEN the WRONG one. that's when it just kills you.
AHHH!!! i've got to let it go.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
ethics, shmethics!
just got home from the first of my final assessments for the year.
today i had my MSATs (multiple station assessement tests). how can i describe this... basically it's a big bell-ringer exam where you jump from station to station (without breaks inbetween) completing the required task. each station is only 9 minutes long. you get 9 minutes of perusal time at the beginning and 1 "rest station". but if you're unlucky - like me - then your rest station comes at the end and is basically useless. so you have to be on the ball.
so for example, station 1 & 2 were history taking stations. i had to take a full history from a patient who had abdominal pain and then from one that had breathlessness & tightness of chest upon exertion. these were pretty easy. went through my NILDOCARRFIA (nature of pain, intensity, location, duration... etc) then knocked through some past medical history, some family history, social history/lifestyle, etc. all the while trying to build rapport.
station 3 was a clinical physical exam. this too was not too difficult. i had to check for all the pulses in the upper and lower limbs, note rate/rhythm/character. then i had to take the patient's blood pressure. also a piece of cake. but the proctor was a huge grump! he rushed me through everything, and just generally seemed unhappy about something.
station 4 was an ethics station. probably the hardest one. it went something like this:
ok. so it wasn't actually THAT. it was more like... "you are a GP. leanne a 15 year old has recently been by for an appointment. during this consultation, she had mentioned binge eating and purging on one occassion. you were unable to elicit more information about this behavior. today leanne's father comes in to discuss leanne." basically you're not supposed to tell the father that she was here. you're supposed to respect her confidentiality and her right to autonomy as a mature minor.
i botched this one.
i did tell him that she was here. but let me tell you why. the father had mentioned that...
1. he smelled vomit in the house bathroom
2. leanne's friend marlene's mother called the father to say that marlene saw leanne throwing up at a party
3. the father found a brochure on anorexia nervosa and bulimia with MY contact details in leanne's room.
so basically he knew she was here and bingin' and purgin'.
PLUS, from the trigger i wasn't too sure if i could deem her to be "competent". you see, for a minor to be competent they need to have sufficient understanding and intelligence to understand fully what is being proposed. however, anorexia is now considered a mental illness. if you have a mental illness, then you're no longer deemed competent. and ZIP, there goes your right (as a minor) to confidentiality.
AHHHHH! oh well.
station 5 was probably the easiest.
basically, find an unconscious patient & perform CPR. run through using an AED and inserting an oropharyngeal. not being cocky. but after all those lifeguarding inservices, i probably could've done this one in my sleep.
today i had my MSATs (multiple station assessement tests). how can i describe this... basically it's a big bell-ringer exam where you jump from station to station (without breaks inbetween) completing the required task. each station is only 9 minutes long. you get 9 minutes of perusal time at the beginning and 1 "rest station". but if you're unlucky - like me - then your rest station comes at the end and is basically useless. so you have to be on the ball.
so for example, station 1 & 2 were history taking stations. i had to take a full history from a patient who had abdominal pain and then from one that had breathlessness & tightness of chest upon exertion. these were pretty easy. went through my NILDOCARRFIA (nature of pain, intensity, location, duration... etc) then knocked through some past medical history, some family history, social history/lifestyle, etc. all the while trying to build rapport.
station 3 was a clinical physical exam. this too was not too difficult. i had to check for all the pulses in the upper and lower limbs, note rate/rhythm/character. then i had to take the patient's blood pressure. also a piece of cake. but the proctor was a huge grump! he rushed me through everything, and just generally seemed unhappy about something.
station 4 was an ethics station. probably the hardest one. it went something like this:
ok. so it wasn't actually THAT. it was more like... "you are a GP. leanne a 15 year old has recently been by for an appointment. during this consultation, she had mentioned binge eating and purging on one occassion. you were unable to elicit more information about this behavior. today leanne's father comes in to discuss leanne." basically you're not supposed to tell the father that she was here. you're supposed to respect her confidentiality and her right to autonomy as a mature minor.
i botched this one.
i did tell him that she was here. but let me tell you why. the father had mentioned that...
1. he smelled vomit in the house bathroom
2. leanne's friend marlene's mother called the father to say that marlene saw leanne throwing up at a party
3. the father found a brochure on anorexia nervosa and bulimia with MY contact details in leanne's room.
so basically he knew she was here and bingin' and purgin'.
PLUS, from the trigger i wasn't too sure if i could deem her to be "competent". you see, for a minor to be competent they need to have sufficient understanding and intelligence to understand fully what is being proposed. however, anorexia is now considered a mental illness. if you have a mental illness, then you're no longer deemed competent. and ZIP, there goes your right (as a minor) to confidentiality.
AHHHHH! oh well.
station 5 was probably the easiest.
basically, find an unconscious patient & perform CPR. run through using an AED and inserting an oropharyngeal. not being cocky. but after all those lifeguarding inservices, i probably could've done this one in my sleep.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
don't you hate it...
when they cancel morning lectures without any notice?
i got up this morning at 6:30am to get to an 8 o'clock lecture. i braved the frigid cold (it was like 15°C in the morning! my toes were cold!) and when i got there, i was told that the lecturer was not coming due to an emergency appendectomy.
oh well. *sigh*
the funny thing is that when i was in undergrad, i used to LOVE cancelled lectures. they would bring a smile to my face.
i wish i could say that now that i'm older and more mature, i have a greater appreciation for my education, value every educational experience and yada yada. but something tells me that's just not the case.
on second thought, maybe i'm on the right track. maybe i HAVE matured. and i DO have a greater appreciation. not necessarily a greater appreciation of my educational experience but a greater appreciation of the bottom line! HEY! i paid up-front for that lecture! i want it! GIVE ME MY LECTURE!!!
i got up this morning at 6:30am to get to an 8 o'clock lecture. i braved the frigid cold (it was like 15°C in the morning! my toes were cold!) and when i got there, i was told that the lecturer was not coming due to an emergency appendectomy.
oh well. *sigh*
the funny thing is that when i was in undergrad, i used to LOVE cancelled lectures. they would bring a smile to my face.
i wish i could say that now that i'm older and more mature, i have a greater appreciation for my education, value every educational experience and yada yada. but something tells me that's just not the case.
on second thought, maybe i'm on the right track. maybe i HAVE matured. and i DO have a greater appreciation. not necessarily a greater appreciation of my educational experience but a greater appreciation of the bottom line! HEY! i paid up-front for that lecture! i want it! GIVE ME MY LECTURE!!!
Friday, April 20, 2007
words from the grapevine
So the rumours are true.
For the last few weeks, if not months, there have been whispers that the school of medicine (SOM) will be ridding the second year program of REAL lectures and replacing them with on-line resources instead - mostly in the form of voice-over powerpoint presentations.
Some people are clearly unhappy and upset about this decision.
Some people are content.
Some don’t really care much.
Me? I’m not really sure how I feel about it all.
First let me give you some background information.
it seems as though the biggest push to go electronic is because of our class size. To make a really long story short, in previous years there have been a much larger clinical component to the course in second year. Simply put, there is no place to house 400 students for lectures in our clinical locations.
We’re assured that it will just be the lectures that go all “e-” on us. We will still have our clinical workshops, clinical communication skill sessions, PBL groups and our smaller clinical coaching sessions.
I like the idea of being able to access lectures when I want or need to. Having the power to stop and rewind the lecturer at the touch of a button is appealing. I’ve done a course back in undergrad over the internet and I didn’t mind it too much. I don’t think it really will change much. Those that regularly attend lectures will regularly download and watch lectures. Those that don’t, simply won’t.
You obviously can’t ask your computer screen questions as they come up (well, you could... doesn’t mean it’ll answer you though!) but that can be (and WILL be) alleviated by forums, e-mails and other means.
There is the whole social aspect. Seeing friends… interacting with other people… all very important.
But I think at this point what bothers me the most is the (imminent) stigma. There is already some stigma attached to our cohort for being the biggest class in all of Australia. Questions about the quality of education have already been raised. But now, we’ll have to deal with the stigma of getting our med degrees through the internet. Of course that’s not how it is, but surely that’s the way it’ll be portrayed in the media and that’s how the layperson will take it to be. how will this affect us when we're trying to match for competitive residency programs?
And how will this REALLY affect the quality of our education? I guess we’ll just have to see in 4 years right?
One student brought up a good point. This is not something that was hatched overnight. We should’ve known about this earlier. As a matter of fact we should’ve known about this before we accepted our offers. I can’t help but agree. and if I DID know of this before, would I be here?
For the last few weeks, if not months, there have been whispers that the school of medicine (SOM) will be ridding the second year program of REAL lectures and replacing them with on-line resources instead - mostly in the form of voice-over powerpoint presentations.
Some people are clearly unhappy and upset about this decision.
Some people are content.
Some don’t really care much.
Me? I’m not really sure how I feel about it all.
First let me give you some background information.
it seems as though the biggest push to go electronic is because of our class size. To make a really long story short, in previous years there have been a much larger clinical component to the course in second year. Simply put, there is no place to house 400 students for lectures in our clinical locations.
We’re assured that it will just be the lectures that go all “e-” on us. We will still have our clinical workshops, clinical communication skill sessions, PBL groups and our smaller clinical coaching sessions.
I like the idea of being able to access lectures when I want or need to. Having the power to stop and rewind the lecturer at the touch of a button is appealing. I’ve done a course back in undergrad over the internet and I didn’t mind it too much. I don’t think it really will change much. Those that regularly attend lectures will regularly download and watch lectures. Those that don’t, simply won’t.
You obviously can’t ask your computer screen questions as they come up (well, you could... doesn’t mean it’ll answer you though!) but that can be (and WILL be) alleviated by forums, e-mails and other means.
There is the whole social aspect. Seeing friends… interacting with other people… all very important.
But I think at this point what bothers me the most is the (imminent) stigma. There is already some stigma attached to our cohort for being the biggest class in all of Australia. Questions about the quality of education have already been raised. But now, we’ll have to deal with the stigma of getting our med degrees through the internet. Of course that’s not how it is, but surely that’s the way it’ll be portrayed in the media and that’s how the layperson will take it to be. how will this affect us when we're trying to match for competitive residency programs?
And how will this REALLY affect the quality of our education? I guess we’ll just have to see in 4 years right?
One student brought up a good point. This is not something that was hatched overnight. We should’ve known about this earlier. As a matter of fact we should’ve known about this before we accepted our offers. I can’t help but agree. and if I DID know of this before, would I be here?
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