Disorientation

Winter has arrived early to London. Last Wednesday was the first snow, compared to last years first snow in December. The temperature hasn't gone above 5degrees for a while, and the sky goes dark at 5pm. It's amazingly difficult to get any work done at all, what with the abberant light conditions, and the fact that my room heater only has one setting! So I'm either too cold or too hot. Bah.

I've also been hit by a virus, possibly from the hospital. The whole past week has been one long blur. On the bright side though, I've been watching a lot of Scrubs. I finished it once, so I started at the beginning!

6 more weeks to Christmas!

Deux Jour de Soleil

I have to start off by apologising to Gina and QH: I have finally witnessed the fact that the Eiffel Tower does INDEED change color at night. Whoopee! It changed my life, suffice to say.

Twas a great weekend, an awesome break from the grind of school, something that I've come to look forward to madly. But having said that, coming down from the high of being able to spend two fabulous days in the sun away from gloomy London, and with my family no less...it's going to be hell trying to adjust to the mundanity of London life again.


I went trigger happy on this trip, snapping many many many many pictures at every turn. Mostly of food I must say, since as a student I generally don't eat too well. It's taking aaaages to get them uploaded here though, so I'll probably just load them onto facebook sometime. Sometime. But my word, the pan-seared foie gras, milk-fed lamb, Chateaubriand, and ridiculous desserts that accompanied the weekend...truly an experience.

Peace out!

O Fortuna

The last grasp of a very cold summer has released into a balmy autumn. In London, happiness is very much dependant on the weather, and sunshine has abounded lately :) So much so that I've been propelled toward yet another pretentious entry in this cursed record of misdemeanour and misguided optimism.

See what I meant about pretention?

But yes...just a little rosebush which greeted me very morning on the way toward the training centre for Alexander Technique that has occupied my days for the past 4 weeks; 4 weeks which have past startlingly fast! I've learnt so much, many things which are soooo applicable to my life. Of course, I've also been given a lot of time to ruminate on what I want to _do_ with said life...but I've naturally pissed all that time away by indulging myself in an mindless orgy of Scrubs and Heroes.

Aaaanyway, I've got two really good things going on for me in my life right now. That photo on the right really summarises them all :) This is my first week on wards, and is also the fourth week since I've finally joined the Choir I've always talked about joining.

First about work; I have been in 2 days, more fulfilled than I've felt in the past 2 years. It's scary to realise how little I know, how much more there IS to know and such, but I love the challenge so much. I've been really fortunate to come across really great mentors who've been really patient and lovely, as well as really great patients who have submitted themselves to my inexperienced hands. I'm looking forward to the four more weeks I have left in this firm, and how much more I can get out of it.

And of course the Choir...I was talking to the baritone next to me during the break. Our conversation went somewhat like this.

Me: So how long have you been in this choir?
Him: Not very long. I'm a relative spring chicken compared to most of the guys.
Me: So how long is that?
Him: Mmm...about 14 years? But some of these guys have been here since 1960!

Its just so inspiring to be surrounded by people who are obviously so passionate about what they do. It's very hard as well to avoid drawing comparisons against what I have at home. So far, I've spent about a 100 quid to pay for registration, as well as a buncha scores that will tide me through the 4-5 concerts leading up to Christmas. Where do these people get their energy and dedication from? It's certainly not the driving force of youth, for sure. Why is it so difficult to inspire the same sort of enthusiasm and willingness to invest both time AND money back home?

Just random thoughts really. Perhaps its something that comes with age as well! (seeing how I'm actually really 50 years old inside.) But this Choir has really sparked my love affair with classical music all over again. From sight-reading the entire Carmina Burana in a single sitting (helped immensely by the chorus who've sung it annually for the past x years), to struggling through the quiet and introspective Rachmaninoff Vespers (acapella!), I feel my appreciation of choral music has moved up a notch.

I can't wait for concert!

Love London

Since this seems to be the genuinely overseas-student thing to do, I shall indulge! It's fantastic coming back to London...finding cheap student eats (hence satisfying the cheapo in me) in the midst of Piccadilly Circus no less, and then being able to stroll home past Trafalgar...the feeling is just indescribable. I'd like to thank my housemates for lugging me out the door after all.

And of course, the incredibly fast download speeds. I've downloaded at least 9 movies over two nights! Haha...who needs TV?

Then of course, the fact that I get to doll up my own room. I've since been to Ikea to buy myself a crossbar for some shelves I bought last year (and couldn't set up without the crossbar, doh), as well as the loveliest plant in the world! In honor of Richard Hammond (and because I've been watching Top Gear), I shall name it Oliver. So I was sitting at Mitcham Junction Train Station with YZ (housemate), after having insisted we should buy two massively bulky barstools because they were on discount, and poor YZ had to carry them back because....well, I suck. So anyway I was sitting at the station, holding a glass bowl, metal sticks and a plant, feeling for all the world like the head of the beggar sect. Predictably, at the tired haziness that 10 hours of school brings, YZ and I found that ridiculously funny, and probably scared a great deal of the local fauna from the crazy asian people.

Oh well...school's started, and we've hit the ground running. From Monday to Friday, I've had gruelling 10 hour days, which most people will know is culture shock for me. Then from next week, we're on rotations everyday (postings to hospitals). In addition to a huuuge A4 sized book of nothing but...learning objectives. From cursory multiplication, I estimate that book contains about...5-6 THOUSAND learning objectives. Wee!

Don't do medicine, kids.

New beginnings...again!

Aha, I've finally summoned up the necessary dose of shame to summarily eradicate the previous string of posts on my blog, and go back to writing my regular rubbish. Well, not regular in any sense of the word I suppose.

Its always so strange to look back on what you've written, and think about how it was in that crystal moment when you were possessed to write bilge, and compare it to the bilge you currently pen. It makes you giggle. Or cringe. But whichever response it invokes, its always interesting, and to a certain degree enlightening.

The recent tour was really amazing. I always feel blessed to be able to be part of such a wonderful group of people. In a really curious way, the sheer wholesomeness of the entire experience really sparked this ridiculous longing for home within me. I've often spoken about how the longer I'm away from home, the less compulsion I have to return to it? Whatever connection I may have felt to London is now wiped, helped along no doubt by my speedy change of accommodation, or lack thereof.

The horror of it all is; the constant longing for home makes my mind skip away every few minutes or so, which makes it completely impossible for me to properly concentrate on my upcoming exams in 1.5 weeks. Every possible distraction (like writing in this blog) is promptly seized and devoured eagerly. The need for me to finish this exam properly is very real: expectations abound after all, mostly from myself.

But really, I just want to go home.