Murakami

When I got home from the hospital today, the latest English translation of a Haruki Murakami novel was waiting in my mailbox: 'After Dark'. The first few pages are great; too bad I have to study! :(

Hmm, Amazon says that it isn't out for another week! :)

Come Together

Things have been slack at school for the past week, but I've been pretty tired nevertheless. Things should get busier again tomorrow, but I am not sure... it looks like my next two weeks won't be what I'd hoped, since my preceptors are out of town for most of it. :(

Anyways, yesterday, Rococo, Magic Pants, and I got together for a late breakfast at Nellie's, with Rococo constantly watching her pager, as she was on call. Our pagers have become central to our lives. Today was almost a repetition of yesterday, as we once again went for breakfast at Nellie's, this time with a bigger crowd of classmates and their spouses. We're kinda starved for contact these days...

I took my motorbike out for a ride this evening. It's been around five months since I last rode... a very long time. It was chilly out; lucky I'm still wearing my winter clothes these days, with my scarf at the ready.

The World is My Oyster

I survived my last elective, and it was not easy. I'm tired out of my brain, and considering going to bed for the night just after 8 p.m.!

But, I find myself suddenly very excited again about the future. Neurology or neurosurgery, two incredible fields. Ah, what to do? Everything else has been forgotten.

Neuro Calling

I just finished my first night of call ever, in neurosurgery. I ended up being there for 35 hours. It started and ended well. Yesterday, I saw a live cauda equina for the first time, sitting there in its dural sack; I was assisting in a laminectomy. I was feeling a mixture of elation and awe as I suctioned and retracted away. This afternoon, I scrubbed into a craniotomy, and saw a live brain for the first time. It looked a bit sad at first, but by the end of the procedure was pulsating away happily in its skull. Wow. That's a living skull. That's a living dura. That's a living brain. That's a living person.

I also attended an interesting clinic in the morning. Overnight, though, between 5 p.m. and 6:30 a.m., all I did was write up an admit note and history for one patient. I was expecting to be pushing myself a bit harder...

Well, at the moment I am preparing part of a talk for Friday morning rounds. Fun! :) Suddenly, though, I am missing having a lab to play around in... maybe I should ask someone in neuro here for a project I can work on.

Unexpected Vacation

Yesterday afternoon, I found out that today would be a holiday... not a bad surprise.

Things started well. I had a comic book and a new CD waiting for me in the mail when I got home. However, I was so tired that I ended up going to bed sometime around 9. So, this morning, I got up bright and early at 4:15.

That's right, it's a holiday, and I slept in until 4:15 a.m..

I guess I should do some neuroanatomy studying... I've already gotten in a full day's worth of wasting time.