Not yet forgotten

About this photo: Dug this one up from some of my old shots. This was clicked with my first camera, a film SLR, Nikon F55. Clicked in a tiny village in Punjab, about three years back, this little girl was staring sullenly at us, while we roamed around like the quintessential city tourists who seemed to have landed up in the village by mistake. :)

Now I wish I had spoken to her at that time. I wonder what was her name, and what was her story? Guess I will never know.

THE LIST

I am finally making a list of things to do before I die. Because I woke up today morning feeling like I am wasting my life away.

Image Source: here.

 1. Publish a book.
2. Write fiction.
3. Become rich enough to afford a bad-ass camera and lenses.
4. Become a great derdermatologist.   

5. Travel a lot. (The exact guidelines for this item on the list are yet to be made)
6. Run a famous blog with an anonymous identity.
7. Have a pet.
8. Change atleast one person's life.
9. Become an  excellent teacher. 

10. Start a charity.

11. Build a hospital.
12. Watch every awesome movie ever made by mankind.
13. Attend a live music concert by an international artist I love.
14. Get in shape. As in, get fit. (I am not overweight at all, don't think like that! I just want to force myself to exercise :P)
15. Don't lose any more friends.
16. *
17. Read every book written by Judith McNaught.
18. Become a good doctor.
19. Look down (err...up?) a telescope

20. Save a life.

21. Win a poetry prize.
22.. Visit Disneyland.
23. Master the art of cooking.
24. Simulate a fairy tale at some ipoint in life

25. Send parents on vacation.
26. Design my own beautiful house.
27. Buy own car and finally be a confident driver. 

28. Visit Greece, Galapagos and the Amazon valley.

29. Read this list often. Atleast it will remind me of what could have been.

This list could go on and on. I am ending it for now and going to pursue some of my more immediate goals. But this list is an ongoing dynamic process.

This is definitely not the last you are hearing of it.

Have a blessed Sunday :)

Looking back on June

A list of some of the things I enjoyed a lot this month.


Song of the month:
Someone like you - Adele.
I don't think I will ever get enough of this song. 


Book of the month:
Something Wonderful - Judith McNaught.
I recently discovered this romance author, all thanks to my friend Nikshi, and her books are by far the best I have read in a long, long time. Not at all like the superficial, fluffy, romances we get to read everywhere these days. She creates such strong characters and tells such beautiful stories it is difficult to not be moved every time you read her books. The one I have picked here has a story which I am unlikely to forget, ever.

Quotes from Something Wonderful:
1. "What are you looking at?" Jordan demanded finally, watching her.
"A dragon." When he looked bewildered she lifted her arm and pointed to the sky in the southeast. "Right there—that cloud—what do you see when you look at it?"
"A fat cloud."
Alexandra rolled her eyes at him. "What else do you see?"
He was quiet for a moment studying the sky. "Five more fat clouds and three thin ones."

2. "Conventionality is the refuge of a stagnant mind" - Alexandra Townsend.

3. "A lie is an affront to the soul, as well as an insult to the intelligence of the person to whom one lies."

4. "Think of my immortal soul, sweetheart. It's black and,without you here to make me mend my ways, I'll undoubtedly slip back into my old habits." - Jordan.



Movie of the month:
Hotel for Dogs.

You don't have to be a dog lover to enjoy this movie. But all dog lovers should definitely catch this movie. One of those uncomplicated, feel-good, entertaining movies that comes along once in a while. A lot of furry love, animal jokes, goofy humour, weird kids, and melt your heart moments. Sometimes it just feels good to shut down your brain and act like you're a 15-year-old with no worries in life. With this movie, I could achieve that.


Blog of the month:
In and Out of Love

Movie review - Transformers : Dark of the moon

 Let me just say this first. Ohmygosh....that was SO-DAMN-AMAZING!

If you were smart, you would just stop reading this and go watch the movie right now.

If you still want to continue reading, here goes.

When the first Transformers movie released, I was in love. It was brilliant, out of this world (I had never heard of the Transformers before this), and introduced some very lovable mean machines. I was sold. I have since watched the first movie five times, and enjoyed it just as much everytime. The relationship between Bumblebee and Sam has always been the best part about the movie for me, and always will be.(No guys, I did not forget to consider Megan Fox when I said that).

Then the second movie came along. The entire thing was just a forced attempt to make a fancy sequel and introduce meaner machines, without any real story. In plain words, it was a let-down, but not such a huge one so as to end my love affair.

And then, today, the third movie released - Transformers: Dark of the moon. From the trailers, I knew I was going to watch it, but I didn't expect anything too different or anything too fabulous. However, the movie did deliver 'too different' and 'too fabulous'. And how.

The initial story and the way the movie starts is ingenious. The humans' first expedition to the moon is shown to actually have been a super-secret mission to investigate a UFO landing observed on the moon. Only 35 people knew the truth about that mission, and they are all dying suddenly. All the videos and the footage to make this story believable have been shot fabulously. So that was an engrossing start.

Then we meet our hero, Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) who is now job-less, and BumbleBee-less (temporarily, while Bee works at saving the world). He has a brand new hot, rich GF. No explanations about the changes in his relationship status are given or asked for. Somewhere along the movie, she is shown to be "the one" for our hero, and they share an undying, legendary, and totally difficult-to-believe love affair, complete with the cheesiest lines and the corniest background score.

So this movie has no Megan Fox. But the replacement is pretty much similar. I don't know her name and don't care to find out. One thing I do appreciate is that her character gets an opportunity to actually use her brain, in the climax of the movie. That, and the ability to tear off the foot of a soft-toy bunny, just like that, in one swipe.Those are her most important contributions to the movie.

The kid's parents make their appearance and say their lines, evoking a chuckle or two in the process. Two very notable and very hilarious appearances by Ken Jeong (of Hangover fame) and John Malkovich, had me laughing my ass off. John Turturro as Lennox was everything one would want him to be.Very lovable, I must say.

As the story progresses, it stays quite interesting, and we're treated to some absolutely stunning visuals and action sequences. Beautiful stuff. The 3D is very good, and being the impartial 3D lover that I am (I love all 3D, be it good, bad, ugly, or headache-inducing), I have absolutely no complaints. Unlike the second movie, where the last half an hour was just a mass of moving, crashing metal, here it's very easy to see what's going on, and who's killing whom, and how. And they make it all look gorgeous. Enough to induce a Sci-Fi-gasm in all you Sci-Fi lovers out there.

We meet new Autobots (the good robots), we meet new Decepticons (the bad robots), and we meet Lennox's love interest. Shockwave the Decepticon is awe-inducing. Patrick Dempsey makes a sumptuous villain. As a Grey's Anatomy fan, it was good to see him play a negative role.:)

The last hour of the movie is a stunning climax where we're treated to breathtaking visuals of Chicago city, tons of people die with a poof, their only remains being vapor and broken bones, no soft tissue. Many acts of bravery are committed, and the Autobots and the US soldiers get to shine in all their glory. The limelight, however, is all on Optimus Prime, and he does not disappoint. I found myself searching for him in all the scenes, and waiting for him to enter any ongoing action sequence, just so things got more interesting. He gets to mouth some very cheesy, yet very memorable dialogues in the movie. Of course, your heart can't not go out to BumbleBee, and you can't not want to hug him, as always.


You can't help but feel the American patriotic undertones during the last hour, as the battle is fought, and many a brave soldier risks his life, and dies. Adds to the entire good feeling you get at the end of the movie, I guess, though I may not have connected too much, being a non-American.

The soundtrack of the movie is lovely, the background score though, was too patriotic and war-movie like, got on my nerves at times.

I wish there were a female Autobot though. Optimus Prime totally needs a love interest. Maybe next time?

Overall, the movie was fabulous, very entertaining, and I already can't wait to watch it again. It will make you glad you ever watched the first part of this installment, and even more glad that you stuck through the second part. Go watch it, you are in for a treat.:)

My rating: 8.5/10.

Dreams

"It's only me who wants to wrap around your dreams

And have you any dreams you'd like to sell?"

- Fleetwood Mac, Dreams. 

P.S. Also check out my guest photo post here.

The Glorious Things Interns Do

1. Clean cupboards.
2. Bring tea, coffee, food for the senior docs.
3. Take senior doctors' family members to the dentist.
4. Basically, make senior doctors' family members feel important, show them around, do their work for them, so that your senior looks good.
5. Go to the bank and finish your seniors' work for them.
6. Fill forms. Tons and tons. Since seniors are too high and mighty to fill theirs themselves.
7. Accompany patients everywhere. Since they will otherwise get lost and some time will be wasted. An intern's time on the other hand is obviously worthless.
8. Beg all the time. For X-rays to be done, USGs to be done, investigations to be done, reports to be given, appointments to be given. Beg for syringes, needles, bulbs, gloves. Beg, haggle, fight, steal, scream, weep. Whatever it takes to get the job done quickly. (Though of course, all this should actually be getting done all by itself, as a basic requirement for any hospital to function).
9. Suck up to everyone, from the mama to the sweeper to the nurse to the resident doctors to the HOUs to the Dean.
10. Put up with flirting and ogling housies (exclusive to female interns).
11. Arrange for alcohol etc. for your residents (exclusive to male interns).
12. Trace reports. Although they should never require tracing in a fully functional hospital. 
13. Make phone calls from your cellphone for your seniors' work.
14. Scan books and textbooks for your seniors.
15. Check and tally the department's accounts for your seniors.
16. Find the X-rays or files or reports your seniors lost. 
17. Never learn a thing.
18. Never treat a patient.
19. Never question your seniors.
20. Put up with the sisters being mean to you all the time (I confess there have been occasions when they've left me close to tears with their unnecessary and uncalled for meanness).

From mkk:
21. Shoot and develop X-rays.
22. Forge prescriptions under some other Dept HOD's name.
23. Find pillow for the lecturer to rest on.
24. Help the medical instruments supplier extract money from BMC so that they get few thousand rupees of commission.
25. Take night ward rounds and write CM notes as the housemen are too busy (read lazy) to take themselves.
26. Get the tube lights fixed!
27. Renewal of medical registration.

From Tangled up...:
28. Pick up the housie's laundry and deposit it in her room.
29. Count the number of functioning and non-functioning ventilators in the ICU and write down the names of the companies as well as who donated the money needed to buy them.
30. Go to the new hospital building from the old to call the registrar because the intercom wasn't working (God forbid, they actually have to use their mobile phones!)
31. Count the number of tables and chairs in three wards.
32. Pick up lunch order from a restaurant because the restaurant had no one to deliver it.
33. Spread a bed sheet on the bed in the doctor's room in the Emergency so the lecturer can sleep on it.

All this donkey work we do isn't going to help us in any way as a doctor, or as an individual. Our seniors aren't even going to thank us for it, or acknowledge our existence once we've finished doing their work. It's just going to be time we wasted in our life. Zero benefit. The only way it helps is that they HAVE to give us the sign on the log book at the end of your posting. Since we did all their donkey work. Interns just want the sign, seniors just want their work done. So no one complains.

Some people seem to think that the PG doctors are so overworked, it's no crime if they shed some of their workload onto the interns. But I beg to differ. As PG students, they worked hard, got admission into college, and are now going to spend the next three years becoming doctors. This is a part of their deal. They're getting paid for this. It's part of their job profiles, and it will help their patients. (Yes, the very ones they actually get to treat). Their seniors will teach them, and help them in their careers, if they do their jobs well. And they better do it well! But is it really a part of an intern's job profile to do their seniors' donkey work?

As medical interns in a government hospital, we're supposed to get a hands-on experience in treating patients, and improving our medical knowledge, we're supposed to be developing skills, not doing our seniors' work for them so that their lives are easier (while they never give a thought to our lives).

Frankly, dear seniors, we don't even mind doing your donkey work, since we are the junior most in the hierarchy, but at least we should be taught something once in a while. Don't look at us like hungry leeches, with the only thought in your head when you see an intern being how to extract the most from them and get the highest amount of dumb work done from them. We've finished medical school, the least you can do is treat us with some respect. Like, maybe remember we are now your colleagues? Ever heard of the words 'please', and 'thank you'? If you're asking us to do your personal work, at least ask politely! Ever thought that you should maybe do your job once in a while which includes teaching us something? Rather than just thinking hard and inventing work for the intern every time you see one sitting ideal? Hope you get the message someday. Till then I'll just go back to living the frustrating life of an intern.

P.S. My ongoing orthopedics rotation is turning out to be a nightmare. Though this post may seem a bit extreme to some, I swear all of it is true, especially as far as this one rotation is concerned.

P.P.S. Feel free to add to my list of 'The Glorious Things Interns Do'. I will be updating the list as your comments come in.

I didn't die.

"Turn around, bright eyes"

- Total eclipse of the heart, Glee Cast.

P.S. This post is just to let you know that I didn't die and fall off the universe or anything, while I rack my brains regarding what to write about next. 

Any suggestions? Any questions? Any gaalis? Anything?