Radiology for the Lazy?

Radiology is one of those rare branches you take up, if your rank in the PG Entrance exam is in the top 10. It is a branch that boasts of seats filling up before you manage to complete 'Radio' out of the whole word.
Right now, when I write this entry, I only do so out of pure exasperation. I am hunting down the net for a site that will help ease my tension related to ENT X-Rays; a site out of my dreams which will appear in front of my eyes like Fairy Godmother did before Cinderella (I hope I'm right....medicine really pushes fairytales out of your mind) and say to me, "Here I am...and I shall take care of you, my dear." - basically a site that tells me the basics of all those stupid views listed in that horrid chapter "Radiology in ENT", in Dhingra.
Considering that I am writing this entry, obviously, I haven't been able to find any such Godmother site. It has just been a picture here and a picture there. The worst feeling of this desperation erupts when there's a Radiology site and they have no pictures!! Just paragraphs of information, information, information!
For dumbos (in interpreting xrays and stuff) like me, I need pictures. Pictures that describe every single detail of what is to be seen. It is a well-known phenomenon in our life, as students of medicine, that teachers take patients' xrays out of our hands and say, " Know what is normal first, then we'll discuss the abnormality here."
I am moving away from my topic of interest here. Yes, what I was saying is, Radiology is taken by the intelligent, because they manage to get those top-10 ranks. And they sure must be a little lazy, because life in Radiology is quite good...no emergencies, no lives to save by on-the-spot-decisions, no 2 am calls...and a decent pay...
Why in the world can they not make sites to help people like me then?? We literally rub our noses to those sheets of plastic throughout our lives as students, to identify those weird structures shown. It would really make life a little more interesting and fun, if I knew there was a site that was helping me do that.
It is a pain in the ass, these x-rays. You either know or you don't know. There isn't any real brain involved. But, god, to reach the stage where there is no brain involved, you need to use your brain to find a path.
Help!!! Hope I find a site. It'll give me a good night sleep, knowing at least I can identify the normal structures.   

Remember Me??

Yes, it has been a while...a long long 'while'..and no matter how long a post I write, it just won't make up for the time I haven't written anything.
But, today, I got a very special request from a friend of mine. She is my greatest friend in college, and we somehow end up doing the same kind of things. We also like the same kind of things too. She told me yesterday that she was going to start a blog, and read up a few entries from here, today. She messaged me, " Continue writing. Please :-)''
I felt so NICE. Its just the word to describe the feeling. It isn't I-want-to-dance joy, and definitely not i-want-to-scream-to-the-world happiness. Its that calm positive feeling you get when somebody pats you on your shoulder and says, "Good work"...when you look at that beautiful morning and know you're happy to be alive...when that dark starry sky tells you time can stop and you can stare at it :-)
There you go, now i so feel like writing. So many things that I want to write about- college, PSM (it will always have that very 'special place in my life :-p), books I've read, thoughts that keep haunting me in between my study time, friends, life events...so much!!
But, I don't have that kind of time, and I still want to honour my friend's request, so I'll just say a big thank you to 2011.

Dear 2011,
Yes, you haven't been an easy year. As is always the case, you haven't been an easy ride full of smiles. There have been tears- of joy, of sadness, of anger, of hatred. But, you have made me think for myself and given me a treasure-trove of experiences that make me the person that I am today. And, yes, I am a better person than I was a year back.  
Professionally, I did a lot things this year, and I am so proud of having done each and every one of them. They gave me a sense of achievement and a self-confidence in my abilities. I know I haven't been able to match up to my expectations when it came down to studying from the exam point of view. But, I do know that I have enjoyed learning new things this year, and that will always be there for me, wherever and whenever  I need it.
Personally, I still feel like the same person. I think I have grown a little more mature, but I will never ever let the kid in me go away. It is nice when you know that you have this little kid to fall back on, to give you tiny microscopic moments of happiness :-) I think I have grown to control my temper a little. I may still be short-tempered, but the temper doesn't reach the peak it used to. And I have been able to place excellent arguments for my temper, so that means my minds works great even when I'm angry (which is an achievement :-P).
There are times when you have been very harsh, 2011. Times when I didn't know why things were happening the way they were. Times when I wondered what had suddenly gone wrong in the planetary system that I was facing such situations. But, you pulled me out of them. I stand here today, with my back to them. Memories live, but, hey, you did a pretty good job of pulling me out.
Thank you 2011. For being a normal year. For giving me love and hatred...for giving me joy and unhappiness..for making me feel special and small...for giving me success and failure...most importantly, for bringing me closer to some very special people in my life. I don't know what I'll do without you guys...you guys are my solid rock - this is to my whole family and all my friends..love you guys :-)
You are a dear year to me. I have learnt to appreciate every single moment in my life. And I shall always look back at you and hope that every time you shall say to me, "REMEMBER ME??"

Love,
Jill

Wow, that sounds like a thank-you speech you get to hear at a life-time achievement award ceremony!! :-P Unlike you, my dear Jill :-)
Any way, this post is obviously dedicated to my friend and her kind request. There you go, girl. You better read this :-)
p.s. It is so nice to feel the desire to write again!! I was starting to feel so lost. After all, words are my strength. Without them, life is meaningless. And its good to be back!! :-) 

From The Topper's Desk

So the 2nd yr University results are out. AND I HAVE TOPPED MY COLLEGE!!!!!!!!!! By a whole 8 marks!!! I got a 74% (407/550), with distinction in two subjects :-) I remember having written that I simply love Microbiology and my aim is to get a distinction in that subject. Well, I achieved my aim and more - I got a distinction in Micro and in Patho. Hurray!!
The D-Day had long been prolonged and fought over. The usual rumours were in full swing every single day from last week. If any of those had been true, we'd have had 10 different results by now. The official date till yesterday afternoon was 24th February ( i.e. yesterday :-p), 5pm. Yesterday afternoon it was changed to 25th February (i.e. today), 6 pm. I was more involved in wanting to watch the ICC Cricket World Cup than being nervous about a result I had lost all excitement for!! And, in the middle of watching it, I get a phone call from a friend, " Congratulations!!! You've topped!!!", and he sounded SO happy!! I was confused, I was a little shocked, and yeah, basically CONFUSED. I said I'd go back and check it up on the net. When I did, there it was: 407/550. And the distinctions. It was really scary to start with. I mean, ME??!! Topper!! Impossible! If I've got 407, there has to be someone else who has got 408 or more. I'm just not of the kind that comes first. I come second. I come third, but never first. That 'first' is this ungettable, faraway, dreamy place that one can only fantasise about. Honestly, through  my entire second year, I never ventured to fantasise about it. It was too costly a dream.
So, you have to believe, when I heard there was a chance that I had topped, I didn't want to believe it. It was just like those morning dreams. Somebody was going to pinch me hard and burst my balloon of happiness (i'm still feeling like that. Guess, this what the unheralded Oscar Winner or that shocked Wimbledon Champion feels...and then people wonder why you don't sound as happy as they expect you to be!).
There's always a first time for everything, and this is my time. I want a few days to pass. A few days after which it will become a 100% fact : Pranjali Sharma, Topper, 2nd yr, BJMC, Pune.
I am still praying to God: Just let this be. I deserve this. Don't take it away from me, not after having given it to me, let me have a feel of it and given me a chance to feel what those people feel; those toppers feel...
So, what's it like to become a topper? Dammit, scary!!! Those Gold Medallists in the Olympics will probably have an idea about this. So you get to wear the medal, hold the bouquet, take the pictures, have the National Anthem sung.....and then you wait....for those dope test results...knowing you haven't done anything wrong, but still praying, hoping, wishing it all comes clean...yeah, that's what I'm feeling right now. I know I have done all the hard work, haven't anything wrong, but till somebody (in authority) can tell me for sure that there's no change in my results or anyone else's results, I am going to be scared and nervous about this.
Ok, so that is it. No more thinking about the bad stuff. I turn to my ultimate love : Cricket. I am going to have a lot of fun, watch the entire WC with as much dedication as last time, and have an immensely delightful and exciting time :-) :-) :-)
p.s. my next posts could well end up being a recap of the World Cup. So non-cricket-fan-readers, beware!!!

College Grind

College has begun in some sort of full flow now. We finished with our 15-day Ophthalmology posting and I realized that I really enjoy it!! Now that’s a first. I was really interested in attending all the 15 days, which, by my standards, means I simply loved it all.

Now we have ENT. This should get over on 16^th Feb. Every day I have to push myself to go there because I find it uninteresting. Maybe my opinion will change as we attend lectures, but I am not assuming that is really going to happen.

There’s a difference in the teaching in IIIrd year and that of IInd year. You could point out the better and the interesting teachers in IInd year; you know, the teachers who took an effort to make the topic worth reading , worth attending a lecture for. In IIIrd year, lectures themselves are interesting. So the teacher doesn’t matter. If he or she turns out to be good at the task, it is an added bonus. Till now, we haven’t had downright boring lectures. Guess that’s the advantage of a clinical side teaching. They add practical knowledge to the theoretical, and that makes it quite an awesome combination.  Preventive medicine however, begs to differ. Some topics are really interesting. However, the practice of the Department to make presentations by copy-pasting straight lines from Park (the textbook for PSM), makes the subject duller than a Monday morning after a long weekend! I wish they could change their method of teaching. Even students will start taking active interest, thereby, cutting the vicious cycle of bored and frustrated teachers making students more bored and frustrated.

Our Co-operative Store Book Exhibition is being held over this weekend. I was so excited yesterday to go there and buy books. I took my dad along for the cash and for an extra brain at work as well as a helping hand. We came back, loaded with books. The experience was so different. You walked around through the many sections, looking at the many textbooks on the subject, choosing whatever you want to, having fun…J My friend looked at the many Gynaecology and Obstretics books there, read some and made an instant decision that she would become a Gynaecologist. She already loves the subject, and going to the Exhibition made her resolve even stronger! That’s the strength of putting thousands of books together!

So, as compared to last year, college this year is both, boring and interesting. We have more time on our hands (obviously meant to be utilized in studying, but the mood is yet to come :-P). that gets boring at times. We have tutorials in the afternoon instead of Practicals like last year. Yesterday, we had a Medicine tutorial and I enjoyed it. Overall, I am glad I came into third year, and I know it’s only going to get better. We’re still waiting for our IInd yr examination results though. The tentative date is 28^th Feb. Usually, results get out before the stipulated date. There’s a rumour going around amongst our seniors about their results coming out anytime now. So ours would be declared around the same time. I am excited about them, but am not getting my hopes too high up. You never know how badly you might end up getting hurt in the process!!  

Australian Open 2011

Yes, it is finally here!! At last, I can get up in the morning and switch on the television, knowing there's something meaningful to watch.

This time, I am excited because Rafa is on the verge of a 'Rafa-slam' ( I love the term! You really shouldn't much by my opinion because I love anything Rafa :-)), and because, Justine Henin is back after that 6-month injury lay-off. I am hoping that she will be able to emulate last year's performance and reach the final. As far as Rafa is concerned, I want him to win obviously. However, with the illness and all, I think I am betting more on Justine than Rafa.
Yesterday's first round match - Justine Henin vs Sania Mirza, was always going to be tough. But, I really did not expect breaks from the first game itself. That first set was scary. As usual, however, Mirza finally lost stamina, and went down quite meekly in the third set. The third set was more close to what I had expected to be the case through out the match. Point is, Justine's through to the second and I heave one big sigh of relief :-)
Rafa's match today got over in 47 mins. With an injured opponent playing against you, you can't expect it to go on for long. It is good, coz that means Rafa remains pretty fresh, and it is a little bad, because it got over before I even woke up!
I am delighted to be watching the first week. A friend of mine and I are big fans of tennis. The Grand Slams are treats we always wait for. We always argue about the excitement of the first week. Nothing really happens. All the paisa-vasool matches really come in the second week. But, my argument is that the first week is full of tennis. Something or the other is going on, on some court somewhere. Unlike the second, when the matches are few and just get fewer.
The first Grand Slam of the year looks to excite all tennis fans, and we can't expect to have anything less!!

My Experiments With Cooking

I am not the world's greatest cook. In fact, I don't think you could even count me among the numbers of cooks in this world. Yeah, I can cook to survive; I can cook to ensure I won't go hungry for days. But, I would be running to the other end of the earth if you asked me to cook for somebody else.
It is because I've never tried my hand at cooking. I can make great stuff out of the ready-to-cook packages- noodles, pasta, dosa mix, uttapa mix, soups....but, you give me the core ingredients and tell me to conjure up the same yummy dish out of them, you are talking absolute rubbish! So, yesterday when my mother requested me to cook a vegetable because she was going to get late, yeah, I spent a moment doubting my skills.
I did not really have a choice, and I wanted to give it a shot. So I tried any way. This is not one of those stories where the underdog goes on to beat the world champion, alright. I put in way too many spices, and try as much as I could, I couldn't match the taste with the salt. End Result: Melon with a hot spicy taste, which made want to resort to water every single time, and I had a hard time trying to figure out when the vegetable showed signs of having gotten cooked properly. Oh yeah, and in between I also had to battle the demons of burning, because I took a thin-based pan, and I don't have a very good idea about the intensity of our stove.
My brother declared before hand that he did not 'want to take the risk of tasting the food you cook'. Wow! That's some encouragement right?! My poor dad was the unfortunate 'guinea pig' (my brother's term) to taste my not very well made vegetable. As is the case with good parents, he told it was good. He did not take another helping, and, even if he had, I would personally have made him put it all back.
Today's attempt was much better. For one, I was better prepared with the procedure of doing things. And I got all my spices content right. I did end up putting a little water ( and cabbage doesn't need any water to get cooked, as my mother explained later) because of which the dish became a little soggy. But, today I was happy with the the end result. My mom did not tell my brother that I'd made the vegetable. And he liked it! Its not just the words, he finished half of it. Phew! If he thought that my mom had made that, then it's a huge compliment to me :-) We're planning to tell him after dinner that the maker is none other than his sister. Hahaha!!!
Deciding to make the vegetable today was a just a small attempt at making my mom feel relaxed on her birthday. I think it kinda worked :-)
Happy Birthday Mom! I wish I could make everything easy for you every single day...Have a long and wonderful life...Thank you for being there always :-) :-) :-)

The Art Of Leisure

When was the last time I sat down with a bowl of popcorn in front of the laptop and watched movies one after the other? I don’t remember doing it at all, because, well, I haven’t. On Saturday, I watched movies one after the other…all my old favourites obviously. I can’t remember another instance when I enjoyed myself more. The joy of not keeping a tab on the time spent, the joy of knowing that after the movie finishes, there’s another movie to watch, not a text book to read. I wish I could have more of such breaks. I’m sure I’ll do justice to them, as I never have to any other.


Today, I read ‘Pigs have Wings’ by P.G. Wodehouse. I love his stories! There’s a humor that is so hard to neglect, so had to not enjoy…..simple plots that make you just wonder at the pure genius of the author…My ultimate favourite P.G.Wodehouse stories are the schoolboy stories. It is probably because whenever I read them, I am reminded of my school and the feeling of childhood creeps back, bringing with it, memories that are etched in gold forever.

Another favourite of mine is Jane Austen. Firstly, because she writes love stories. Secondly, because she writes love stories like no other. There is humor, there is sarcasm, there is romance, there is an element of character…..and all her heroines are headstrong women; women with personality, women with a definite take on the world, women who have a place in a man’s world. My ultimate favourite is Pride and Prejudice. The contrasting characters of Elizabeth and Darcy are from the start so designed to make the reader understand that they are meant to be. I love the regal, uptight Darcy, who is capable of falling for a girl as badly as he does! Frankly, Jane Austen has taught me to hope and wish that Darcys exist in the real world too :-)

Meeting up with some old friends is on the agenda now. I hope they manage to take time out to come meet me…till then, happy holidays!!!!

New Year Rings In

Happy New Year to one and all!!!

2011 brings in a lot of new ideas, new choices, new opportunities and another lease of a beautiful, beautiful life! I wish every person gets to walk the path he wants to, and be the person he wants to be, and make a difference to the world in his own special way.

I have also decided that 2011 onwards, my blog isn't just going to be a report of my life as a medical student. It'll be my take on everything that I experience in life; as a student and as a person. I've always wanted to write, put my thoughts down into words because, frankly, I have way too many of them (kinda feel like Dumbledore here...so yeah, this is my Pensieve). And I decided that writing about what I do every day as a student isn't getting me what I really want - the joy of writing everything that I want, about anything that I want. So, here goes, from now on, 'Eh, Wat's Up Doc?' will be my online journal, a collection of my thoughts penned down from whatever touches my heart in that special place.

Lets get over with the round up of the biggest news of the latter part of 2010. M.U.H.S. University Examinations, Second Year, M.B;B.S:

I think they were good. I went through a lot of stress and a few stupid and non-me moments when I doubted myself, and wondered why I was doing what I was, but it all worked out great in the end. Here I am today, having finished the one-month long exam saga, waiting to enjoy a week of holidays before we get back to work again.

I don't want to know what marks I am going to score. For the moment, I am great with the knowledge that I have given it my best shot, and I have done everything I could, to make it all work. If the marks turn out low, well, it's my luck!

I have been watching some favourite movies of mine, the last couple of days. Romantic Comedies....totally relaxing .