i'm back from blackwater! my 2 months of country work have finally wrapped themselves up - self-bound and gagged. blackwater was different to all the other country places i had been. surrounded by five massive coal mines, coal mine employees (or their families) accounted for almost 80% of patients seen. that meant a much younger and juicier demographic, and a switch from chronic illnesses to minor trauma and injury. i was MASSIVELY less busy than i had been in the
previous month (but was still contractually obliged to be within 10 minutes of the hospital at all times), so whereas my last rotations were a bit like being tied to a stake in the ground and forced to run around and around and around, blackwater was only like being tied to a stake in the ground and given the occasional shove (ie lots of time to ponder my incarceration). more than anything, the nurses in blackwater were just wonderful - fresh and open and uber-cynical and hilarious (and might be reading this so i can't exactly give a damning inditement as threatened)...and that really made a difference :)brisbane is predictably wonderful. hot and beautiful. i felt like i was 
on a different planet in the queen street mall crush, and got to visit the just-opened gallery of modern art - highly recommended. largest collection of modern art in australia in a funky new building on the banks of the glorious brisbane river. yarra what? makes melbourne look like it's built on the banks of an old wet fart. (don't listen to these anguished put-downs of a jilted ex-lover...i'm still in love with you melbs)
on a different planet in the queen street mall crush, and got to visit the just-opened gallery of modern art - highly recommended. largest collection of modern art in australia in a funky new building on the banks of the glorious brisbane river. yarra what? makes melbourne look like it's built on the banks of an old wet fart. (don't listen to these anguished put-downs of a jilted ex-lover...i'm still in love with you melbs)my hip is acting up - better in some ways, worse in others. i'm not sure if i'm moving forwards or backwards (ok, back to the hip...) phuong - hallowed future travel partner and brother in arms - was typically no-nonsense when he told me (in one of his sympathetic moods) that it was basically 'all in my mind' and that i had to 'shutup and get over it'. so...i've been seeking alternate therapies. i visited an acupuncturist last thursday. the session was good, though he referred to beautiful women and repetitive ejac
ulation too much for my liking. i didn't want to tell him that i was homosensational in case he saw that as a condition needing attention, and surreptitiously treated me for it: sticking a pin in some hard-to-reach spot and frying my brain so that i would wake up the following day craving something unsavoury. to be perfectly honest i felt a bit bored during the session and wanted to leave. i kept thinking of a cartoon i once saw in which a character screams "i want to relax better and faster! i want to be at the cutting edge of relaxation!"
ulation too much for my liking. i didn't want to tell him that i was homosensational in case he saw that as a condition needing attention, and surreptitiously treated me for it: sticking a pin in some hard-to-reach spot and frying my brain so that i would wake up the following day craving something unsavoury. to be perfectly honest i felt a bit bored during the session and wanted to leave. i kept thinking of a cartoon i once saw in which a character screams "i want to relax better and faster! i want to be at the cutting edge of relaxation!"the following morning i literally leapt out of bed and ran down to the local fishmongers to buy some fresh catch. just kidding.
given that my life is for rent, to balance things out i've now put up my house f
or sale. well...not the studio itself, but the contents thereof. i've stuck a sign up on the community message board, and have a website with photos. you can check out the site by clicking here, or following the link to crazy bargains on the right :) tell your friends who live in brisbane! and please tell me if there's anything i can do to the site to make the things more sale-able. would you pay that much? (etc)
or sale. well...not the studio itself, but the contents thereof. i've stuck a sign up on the community message board, and have a website with photos. you can check out the site by clicking here, or following the link to crazy bargains on the right :) tell your friends who live in brisbane! and please tell me if there's anything i can do to the site to make the things more sale-able. would you pay that much? (etc).
i start cardiology at the prince charles hospital on monday. i'm working on christmas and new years d
ay for the extra cash - the bank account has less than a month to finish feeding before the numbers start sky-diving towards zero again during the 2007 adventures. apparently no-one else wanted to work those days so i got the shifts easily (which is one of the advantages of being an unsentimental money-hungry mole with no friends).
ay for the extra cash - the bank account has less than a month to finish feeding before the numbers start sky-diving towards zero again during the 2007 adventures. apparently no-one else wanted to work those days so i got the shifts easily (which is one of the advantages of being an unsentimental money-hungry mole with no friends). speaking of adventure - preparations are almost complete for africa and i leave in just over 4 weeks! very exciting. i'm starting on a new exercise programme to get myself fit again, but the realisation of how much reserve i've lost hit home today when i went on a bikeride with my pseudo brother-in-law: 
whilst he pedalled gracefully around the river and hills of brisbane, i sat hunched over my handlebars in a contorted display of human agony, and can only describe the latter half of the ride as a protracted near-death experience. lots of work to do before the 5895 metres of kilimanjaro's uhuru peak becomes a sure thing.
whilst he pedalled gracefully around the river and hills of brisbane, i sat hunched over my handlebars in a contorted display of human agony, and can only describe the latter half of the ride as a protracted near-death experience. lots of work to do before the 5895 metres of kilimanjaro's uhuru peak becomes a sure thing..
check back in 4 weeks for brisbane part two!
1 comment:
Damn it! I was meant to flaunt my sunday best at the opening of that gallery!!Good food, wine and snobbery. schmou.
As for your hip. Call Victoria!! Besides, she's the resident gaylord of brisvegas and if anything she'll emphasise your homosense. (not that you need an add on, but it would be a laugh:)
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