Finally, after a lot of hassling the ISP and a lot of things going wrong at every single step, we have lift-off! The internet finally got up and running on monday night. Oh the amount of hassles we had with setting up a wireless network in the new place!! First of all, I called the ISP, only to be told that it would take 3 working weeks to create an account for us. THREE WEEKS!! To do what? Re-create the internet from scratch??!! Three weeks was insane! So I decided to give them a week tops, and then call them and hassle them until they gave into my demands. I figured, that if they could inconvenience me for three weeks without internet, then I could inconvenience them until they stopped inconveniencing me.

So, a week later, as per my plan, I called them up. And demanded to know what was happening with my connection. So then they told me that my connection was already up and running. All I now had to do was wait for them to send me the modem so that I could actually use the internet. And apparently, they do not send out modems until they have established the connection. Now, to me that doesnt make sense. It just creates a further delay. Anyways, so then I decided to wait 2 more days for the modem.

Two days later, I ring them again. And am told that they put an order with their distributor, and now I just got to wait for the distributor to send me the modem at his leisure. So of course, I ask to speak to the distributor. But no, thats not possible, something about privacy laws!! I didnt know companies had privacy!! Anyways, they gave me the number of the courier company that the distributor used, coz that wasnt covered by privacy laws. So I rang the  courier, but the receptionist had no idea where my modem currently was, or even if they had the modem or not! I even offered to go to the courier’s office to pick it up myself, I just wanted my damn modem! But no, apparently they are not allowed to do that. Finally, they located the modem, and delivered it to me.

I was so happy then! So then, I unpacked the modem, and the router, and the line splitters, and all other paraphernalia, so begin establishing a wireless network in our house. Only to find that the stupid modem that the ISP had sent me didnt work with the router anyways. Coz modem only had a USB outlet, and the router, which I had paid a small fortune for, only had an ethernet input. Fabulous.

So then, in the end, I had to go buy a brand new modem as well. Now, I have a perfectly good USB modem just sitting at home, doing nothing. Anyways, I am just glad my internet is working now. And its great having a wireless network. Now I can actually use my laptop as a laptop instead of just at my desk….Yay!! Life is good, despite all the hassles you have to encounter.

TI year starts today.

Its suposed to be a bit scary.

Its supposed to be a bit daunting.

And its supposed to be amazing.

Everyone tells me that TI year was their best year as a med student. Perhaps. Coz I just finished day 1, and so far its not scary or daunting. I had a moment though, when Dr Coneglen came and launched into his spiel about us not being medical students anymore, that we were now HEALTH PROFESSIONALS!! GASP!! But then, the panic settled and I think I am now ready to start my ward rounds tomorrow morning at 7.30. Inhuman as it may be…

Hopefully, the challenges this year wont induce a fit of acopia in me, as Vidya likes to call it. Hopefully, the expectations from me this year wont be too unreal. And above all, hopefully, I wont let myself down in my first year as a HEALTH PROFESSIONAL.

The excitement begins today.

TIME….Its so abstract. I mean, its not something that one can touch, or feel, or see, or hear, or taste. None of the senses can detect it. Yet, it is the most important thing in our lives. Time, or in some cases, the lack of it, is the fine difference between winning and losing.

TIME….I once read somewhere that time is the fourth dimension. Yet, time itself is not uni-dimensional. Within that one dimension, lay multiple layers. Multiple other sub-dimensions. If that makes any sense. There are so many different levels to time. So many different meanings of time. The most obvious one is time as an object. Like the time difference between here and Chicago. Its something real, something concrete. But then there is the less concrete form of time, which you need to manage efficiently in order to get things done. Like the time I should have spent getting my things packed, but decided to spend on sleep. In this case, time is money like they say. You have to budget it, you have to spend it wisely, and when you dont spend it wisely, you almost always end up regretting that.

But there is yet another less concrete form of time. And perhaps the most important one. Time as an investment. And i guess that sort of ties in with the concept of time as money. But its not the same. When you dont invest the time, the repercussions of it can be felt years down the track. And just like with money, sometimes it is hard to decide how much time to spend and how much time to invest. And lately, I have been spending far too much time, and not investing as much as I should be. And thats what i realised today. Sometimes, you tend to take aspects of your life for granted, and dont invest enough time on those aspects. Its not something we do consciously, its quite a sub-conscious process going on.

But then, one day, it hits you like a ton of bricks that you have been making a mistake. You know, its surprising how good I am when it comes to organising other people. Plan a surprise party in a week. No probs. Organise my friend’s love life: anytime. Do groundwork for moving to Hamilton: yeah sure. But I am a total disaster when it comes to organising my own life, my own room, my own notes, you name it, its a mess. Coz when it comes to me, I cant manage the time in an efficient way. I guess I have been luckier than most people, in that I am surrounded by people who are willing to give me second chances. People who are willing to stand by my side when I am making mistakes that I cannot see, or will not see, and yet, not be angry with me for that. And even though they suffer because of my mistakes, they never falter in standing beside me. Instead when i realise my mistakes, and feel like an idiot for making them, I am lucky enough to have people who are there to insist that my mistakes didnt hurt them, even when we both know that they were hurt. All for the want of a little more efficient time management!

First of all, I got to say a big thank you to my dear Niral for setting up this site and the blog and all other cool features for me.

Now I dont know the first thing about setting up a site, but Niral has done all the hard work for me, right from coming up with the idea of setting up a site for me, to actually coming up with the finished product. So gotta thank him for that.

Right….So, now that the blog is actually up and running, I guess I will have to start posting on it….LOL!

But for now, Thanks Niral, I forgive you now for forgetting my birthday

Well….

This is the beginning….But it is also the end….

I just finished my fifth year exams yesterday. And I thought I would be happy. I thought I would be jumping for joy that the menace was finally over. But I am not.

I have never had a worse exam than I did yesterday. Its unbelievable. I am numb from the shock. I just cant feel anything. I think if i do allow myself to feel anything, its all going to come crashing down on me. I dont wana talk about the OSCE. I dont even wana hear about it. This is something unbelievable. I am not used to doing badly in exams.

I have never felt this emptiness inside me. I dont feel happy on seeing my loved ones as I normally do. I got Robin Cook’s Coma out from the library to read it….something that i have wanted to do for ages. But I just cant focus on it. I want to plan for the future, but I cant even think about tomorrow. Even shopping didnt cheer me up. Nor did two scoops of Caffe Mocha icecream at Movenpick. TWO scoops!!

I am not supposed to feel this bad. Surely I cant have done that badly in the OSCE. But I think I have. And its not just me. Everyone. Vidya, Michael, Henry. That fact, strangely enough, gives me some comfort. Maybe the examiners will realise they were too hard on us.

Maybe. And on top of everything else, neuro lady had equivocal plantars!!! Story of my bloody life!