Tuesday's at Miss Courage

Things I adore

1. Being able to be there for my parents

2. A registrar who thinks beyond her specialty

3. Sensible consultants who inspire you to strive for excellence

4. Dinner spent with two of my favourite people in the world

Things I abhor

1. My favourite real-life couple of all time breaking up. These were my Romeo and Juliet who came together despite having every single odd stacked up against them, who were brilliantly perfect together who are both now ridiculously sad at not being able to be with one another. I hope they get back together

2. 3x missed calls in a row from a stranger

A long overdue list

- Things I am grateful for;

1. A new job in the best hospital in the country for the area of medicine I am in at the moment
2. Getting to be part of the most intimate and important part of a person's life
3. Books that make you laugh, books that make you cry, books that make you wonder, books that make you excited. Books, books, books.
4. A holiday exploring the olden world a mere months away
5. Yoga classes and the inner peace that they bring with them - even though I skipped class today out of laziness
6. Building stronger bonds with lifelong friends

- Things that I wish I could change

1. The fact that I have that Sunday night feeling on a Friday night because I am working the weekend and won't have a day off until Wednesday
2. All the books on my nightstand that will get neglected in favour of work and sleep
3. Not doing any of the study that I promised myself that I would do
   

And so it comes to an end

In roughly 24 hours I'll be graduating from medical school - a place that seemed so distant only a number of years ago. There have been highlights, and lowlights, but mainly highlights that are bulleted below;


Year One

• A new city, a new home, a new challenge
• Little Miss Pushkin - an awesome, life long friend, made in the 7th week of first semester
• Topping the first exam - yeah, I still got it
• Falling in love with a little city called Venice and other European adventures
• Russian boy - and all the wonderwalls he brought my way
• Anatomy lessons and anatomy lessons spent at the favourite coffee shop
• Myer Melbourne - the job begins
• What's the story, morning glory?
• Getting drunk and not going out
• Desperately missing the old city, the old home, the old challenge, old friends
• The year of Optus Free Time

Year Two

• Where it finally felt like I was studying medicine
• Falling in love with Guyton - best medicine book to date
• When the Italian coffee shop stole all my hard earned money
• More time at Myer - 14 hour shifts in boxing day
• Little Miss Challah - with her amazing house, her quick wit and warmth
• Becoming even closer to the best buddy
• British Boy - part the good
• Jack Johnson, Xavier Rudd, Donovan Frankenreiter, Ben Harper
• Sandy
  
• The year of group projects - some good, mostly bad
• Study sessions on my bed room floor
• Kicking booty in the osce - thanks to little Miss Pushkin's father
• The wedding, to end all weddings, not mine
  
• Incubus

Year Three

• British Boy - part the bad
• Evil surgeon in the evil hospital - who endlessly made me question why I was doing this, whether I wanted to do this and almost had me quit. Almost.
• The biggest mistake of my life - choosing to do something when every fibre of my being screamed at me to turn and run the other way. I finally did, and am so thankful.
• Realising that I was so much better than the slag and the doormat
• Being completely cluless at hospital, not realising how much I didn't know and losing motivation
• Returning to the home city for Little Miss Lawyer's milestone birthday and craving so badly to just stay there
• Walking around a circular paradise with my first, uncomplicated love and realising just how far I had strayed
• Searching, desperately searching, for me
• Meeting MIB in the last days, realising that the mistake needed to be ended

Year Four

• Realising how amazing medicine could actually be - spending 20 hours at hospital to watch a baby being born, going home and returning 4 hours later to do it all again and never resenting it
• Meeting a doctor who truly made me believe that I had potential and who could make a difference
• The MIB saga - good and the bad
• Worring over exams, electives and other things beginning with e
• Endless conversations about eternity
• Several trips to home city, with friends who truly are home
• Death cab, Elbow, Kings, Jason, Colin, Wallflowers - the endless soundtrack to my life
• The wedding to end all weddings x3
• Gossip Girl - best show ever.
  
• India - majestic India - feeling my roots like never before
• Finding my self and throwing out the rubbish at the same time

Year Five

• Going rural and loving it. Encounters with Little Miss Sunshine and World's best resident
• Finding a new love - working under pressure in the Emergency Room
• Adventures in the true Asia - funny times, good people, great hits
• The birthday to end all birthdays and the return of MIB
• A cold winter in Melbourne, the warm arms of MIB and saying a sorrow/sweet goodbye/maybe sometime later to MIB
• Jason Mraz - best concert ever. Falling in love. Meeting my co-wife.
  
• England, baby!
• The Cambridge adventures - memories to be treasured for life, photos that are to be destroyed ASAP
• The girls of Cambridge - and making friends with the most unlikely of people
  
• Yale Boy - and truly realising just how unfair life can be sometime. Having faith and hoping for a better ending whilst carrying out life in as pragmatic a way as possible. Being even more puzzled by the universe
  
• The cheeky one with whom I may have had too much fun with. Cherishing phone conversations re: eye make up removal, sorting out one's life and realising just how awesome one is. Awesome.
• The West Wing - best show ever.
  
• Honours, baby!

So many more adventures, so many more lessons not outlined here. But this young woman is not the same as the bright eyed, naive 17 year old student who entered medical school hoping it would be something like the show Scrubs.

Not cool dude

If there's something that makes my blood boil on an otherwise pleasant Saturday brunch on my favourite road with the boy and his mates is one of his loudmouthed friends boasting about how much he drank last night.

Look, we get it, you have small penis.

Things I adore, Things I abhor (ed 2)

Things I adore

1. Impromptu Sunday afternoon serenades
Especially when they include; "Oh kiss me with your eyelashes tonight, or Eskimo your nose real close to mine. But you don't fold, you don't fade, you've got everything you need. Especially for me, sister you've got it all" and are sung by your very own boy.

2. Pretending to be at the Coldplay concert with your girls
Especially when the strangers sitting next to you get into the same groove

3. Counting down to many an adventures that lay ahead
Especially when it is only 2 weeks away

4. Raffaello
Especially when raffaelo un bello

5. Nurses at the red cross donating centre
Especially when they make you seem like a saint when really all your doing is your duty

Things I abhor

1. Boys who don't take rejection well
Especially when they lash out due to the rejection. Honestly, there's no use in wishing me ill or hoping I have a horrible life. The best way to get under my skin is to hot up, get a gorgeous girlfriend and show me what I'm missing out on. Although, a warning, I'm probably not going to feel like I'm missing out on much if things keep going the way they are

Things I adore, Things I abhor (ed. 1)

A weekly summary of the ups and downs....

Things I adore

1. Books on travel
Especially when planning an exotic adventure through the united kingdon, spain and portugal

2. Old friends calling out of the blue
Especially when he offers you free tickets to see Coldplay in Belgium in early October

3. Cute surgical residents
Especially when they are named Charlie

4. A cold winter's afternoon lying on the couch
Especially if your DVD of Amelie is playing and you have someone playing with your legs

5. Dinners
Especially when magically surprised by a friend you never knew you had

6. Just being
Especially when it is with the apple of my current adoration

Things I abhor

1. Lazy surgical nurses
Especially if they spend the entire surgery, sitting down and reading, and when politely asked
by the lovely scrub nurse to pick up something grunt and make it seem like they are doing the
world's biggest favour. It's your job.

2. Slow readers
Especially if you are reading a book called "Mr Darcy takes a wife". There is a reason why
Jane Austen herself didn't write a sequel.

3. Tools
Especially during medical interviews when they say wanky things like "I have been fortunate
enough to carry out a number of elective terms in my time, one with Professor XYZ from
which I have two papers - currently in press". Argh.

4. Time flying far too fast
Especially when having a good time

5. Boys who think they can get me
Especially when they are not willing to put any effort (ie chase) into it.