On the road...

United States of America, land of freedom and weird choices...
And so it was for Richard Jordan... This guy with a good job, good life, big house and cute girlfriend decided to move the relationship forward and bought an even bigger house (the one his other half sooo wanted but he hated!!!) and a shining diamond ring for the cute girlfriend...
Too bad she kindly declined the proposal and moved on leaving poor Richard with a house he detested and "girlfriendless"

After a blow like that someone would certainly just accept the fact and move on... Plenty of fish in the sea after all... or maybe not?

Well, Richard decided that for a while his heart would belong to the two passions which would never let him down: adventure and sports cars.
So here's what he did: he sold the much hated house, bought a Lamborghini Gallardo and set off for a 3-year adventure on USA roads with no exact destination (but carrying two guns) ...oh well!!!

When he almost ran out of money he had to decide what to do...
The beloved Lamborghini certainly wasn't to be sold, its value now way more than money could buy...
So Richard opened a motorbike shop in Dallas, put the Lamborghini in the centre of the new office so that people can admire it, got a new batchelor pad, a new cute girlfriend and told her that when he'll be ready to move into a house for 2 people he'll let her know... I'm sure, seen the circumstances, that she'll understand!!!

The bionic cat

I'm finally back in Edinburgh after a good visit to friends and family in Italy.

While I was away I have been pondering what to tackle in my new posts as so many things got my attention... after all I have changed the name of my blog to "a life and medical journey" so now I can talk about pretty much anything that takes my fancy.

So here is what I read about recently, joining two of my biggest passions: cats and medicine.

Meet Oscar, the bionic cat!!!





Oscar is a very lucky pet... while napping in a field, completely unaware of a combine harvester heading his direction, the poor kitty got his back paws chopped off by the machine...

Had these been other times he would have been put to sleep, but in this day and age there is hope, even for a cat!

So, during an ingenious world-first operation and state-of-the-art bioengineering procedure, his little paws were reattached... well, not exactly reattached but rather more rebuilt!


A neuro-orthopaedic veterinary surgeon created new kitten heels for Oscar which mimic the way in which deer antler bone grows through skin. These prosthetic parts are called ITAPs (Intraosseous transcutaneous amputation prosthetics) and are like pegs which get attached to the bones and covered in hydroxyapatite, a substance which encourages bone cells to regrow.
I have actually learnt about this during my 1st year as med-student and was delighted (to say the least) to see the name on an article and especially to remember what that was!!!

The skin then had to grow over the end of the pegs forming a barrier against bacteria and infections and Oscar had to learn to walk again (which for the joy of his owners, wasn't too difficult) and is now back to almost normal life.


Many of you may think that such a degree of specialisation for a veterinary surgery is wasted time and money (yes, believe it or not, I heard that comment!!!)
I don't agree, a life is a life, but to defend the cause it is certainly worth mentioning that this pioneering technique developed by a vet for our furry friends, has been adopted by human surgeons as well and is now in use to provide limb prostheses for human amputees.

I remember when I was a kid there was a TV series called "The bionic man", I never thought I'd see "The bionic cat" as well but I'm definitely happy to know it joined the family! :-)

Home

I have been reflecting for a while on the concept of home...

My life has brought me through many adventures... since when I was a kid I have been travelling extensively around the world, living in different countries, learning about different cultures, experiencing different lifestyles.
In every country where I have been I made amazing friends and I always felt welcome to come back at any time. There are very few places in this world I haven't been to.

One of the questions I get asked most frequently is: "What is your favourite country?"
I don't have an answer to that...
Favourite because of the culture? Because of the traditions? Because of the landscape?
It is so difficult to pick one over the other...

But the point really is, after having lived in so many places.... where is home?
Because when I travel to Italy to go see my family I always say "I go home"
When I'm in a different country and I talk to my UK friends I always tell them the date "I'll be coming home"
And just last month I said to someone that in July "I would have been home" (and I was referring to NYC)

Last night my flatmate Jenn cooked something with spices I used to taste when I was living in Brazil as a child... and I just felt a strong sense of longing for everything I have experienced while I was there.
Old memories came rushing back in a flash, memories of my entire family together and now, because it isn't that way anymore, I felt that one was the time and place where the concept of "home" was making sense...

So where is home?
And what is home?

I guess home means different things to different people in different times...
Somebody said that home is where your heart is...
I say that "home" is not a place but a state of mind, is where you feel you belong at a certain point in your life. You can have different homes at once... being it a place, a moment, a situation, someone's arms surrounding you, a warm familiar meal, a smile, a smell, a sight...

Home is something that you are familiar with, that you love and that makes you feel safe.
Home is your world, whatever it may be...
Don't put the concept of home in a box, it means so much more than just the four walls of your house!

And for the moment, I am enjoying one of my homes, in Italy, with familair food, smells, sights and the loving arms of my friends and family so tightly wrapped around me!!!

Love is blind... or is it?

This post is actually inspired by something a friend told me.
While having a chat he said he couldn't get over the fact that his ex girlfriend was now going out with a very "average Joe"... I mean, how could she possibly move from Mr Perfect to Mr "I-blend-into-the-background"???

Forgone conclusion: Love is blind!
But is it really? I gave it a thought...

Infatuation is blind, attraction can have impaired vision, but true love? I guess not...
True love is the one that sees the best, it can see into the depths of our hearts and souls with a clarity beyond compare.

Love is blind! Really?!
In most cases that's the furthest thing from the truth.

The partners see something in each other that is not ready visible to others outside the relationship, something that the rest of the world don't see... making the rest of the world blind, but certainly not love!

True love is receptive of all aspects of the other person with no exceptions, the lovers are not blind, they see very well, they see the good, worthy, solid facets of each other as well as the imperfect, annoying and challenging ones... they're not blind, they're just totally accepting of one another.

When infatuation turns into love it clears the vision to see deeper than outer attributes, we don't fall in love with beauty, we're attracted by beauty but we fall in love with the person.

The thing is that there is a very fine line between attraction and love and without some serious soul searching it's quite difficult to distinguish the two.
We are all attracted by the "idea" of love and it's not difficult to see how the desire to be in that euphoric state could lead one to mistakenly label a fierce attraction as "true love"
But love is an emotion that evolves over time. First we are attracted and then gradually we get to know our partner well and the initial infatuation translates into love.

I believe that attraction and infatuation deny any imperfection while true love embraces them
Love's keen vision doesn't miss a single detail.

Someone said "True love is not blind, it merely enables one to see clearly what others fail to notice". To that person I want to say thank you, you taught me a great lesson!

I'd like that job!

Well, everyone knows that being a student is not exactly the easiest life, especially if like me you're a mature student and you have to get a grip on your own...

You don't get a pay cheque, (yeah, SKINT is the word!), you have long summer holidays but may have to work during them, you may have to resit exams, your diet consists mainly of beans on toast and your healthy sleeping patterns cease to exist (for whatever reason that is!!!).

I remember when I left school one of my teachers said "You'll miss these days of being a student, it's pure bliss!" Ahem... I don't think so!!!
Don't take me wrong, I am a student now and utterly love it, but it certainly is not because the student life is easier than the working one.

And to prove my point I have shortlisted a few jobs I have thought I could see myself doing for quite a long time should this medicine malarkey not work out...

First of all what about that guy who won the race to become the caretaker of that paradise island in Australia? I could do that! Swim in crystal water (hey, I'm a dive master!!!) blog to promote the area (I'm definitely a blogger!!!) and relax at the spa (not sure I can cope with that but I'm willing to give it my best shot!)
£111,000 for 6 months of this torture? Yes please!!!

Then I read about this girl from Birmigham who has landed the dream job (literally!!!) to test designer beds everyday - £1000 a month...
Such an effort really, having to spend every single night in a bed manufactured for the Savoy hotel and then blog about the experience, not only about the quality of the bed, but also looking into what brings a good night sleep. Blogging again? Bring it on!!!
This is actually something that I could do whilst being a med-student.
Studying all day and working all night... quite a hard job but I feel I could devolve myself to these obligations oh so well!!!

And then my absolute favorite: candy tester in a sweet factory!
The job entails tasting secret recipes... I've always wondered how it would feel to be like Charlie at the Wonka's Factory and this would give me the chance to know... Heck, I would even do it for half the pay cheque provided they did give me free access to some kind of gym during my free time (you know, just to keep fit for the job!)

Again I could combine work and studying. What better way to describe how good a sweet is than by explaining the joy it brings in depressing moment such as exam revision time?!
I'm not sure if this is the best job but it's definitely the sweetest!!!

See? There are alternatives to depressing jobs and sure enough I want to be a doctor and will give it my utmost but, in case things shouldn't work out for a reason or another ...I HAVE OPTIONS!!!

Stupid law...

Sometimes we all come across some kind of rule that we find stupid, it happens to everyone at some point or another so tonight, just for the fun of it, I have decided to look up stupid laws...

I have to say, I guess whoever makes laws must have smartened up and made a few changes since I wasn't that impressed with what I found but 3 very special (...read STUPID) ones got me really giggling.

Here goes:

Stupid law number 1 ~
It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament in England

Reason for this is apparently that the Parliament is a Royal Palace so anyone kicking their bucket in there technically would be entitled to a state funeral.
Does that mean that if you look a bit sick they carry you out quickly? "Sorry sir/madam are you aware that it is forbidden to die in here?" Oh dear England!!!

Stupid law number 2 ~
In the Netherlands you are allowed to smoke cannabis but not tobacco (in public places)

Really?! YES!
There is a very strict zero tolerance to tobacco smoking in Dutch cafes and restaurant since a ban came into force in 2008. Apparently this law was written after a guy got fined by the local police not lighting a hand rolled cannabis joint... the fine was applied not because he was smoking but because the police found some tobacco mixed in with "the grass"...
Talk about being liberal!!!

Stupid law number 3 ~
Tibetan monks need permission to reincarnate

In one of history's most absurd acts of control over Tibet, China banned Buddhist monks from reincarnating without government permission.
No, this didn't happen centuries ago, the law was written by the State Administration for Religious Affairs in 2007.
I'd like to see exactly how that can be enforced... and how the high officials may explain a beautiful sacred animal passing by and obviously blowing raspberries at them!!!


Where is this world going?!?

Brush your teeth or you'll die!

Oh well, that sounds a bit extreme doesn't it?!
Imagine a mum using this sentence while trying to convince her kids to brush their teeth before going to bed... What about a little chat with social services about motherly attitude?!?

Truth is though that, however small the overall risk deriving from poor oral hygiene, it has been proven once again that there is a very strong link between people who don't brush their teeth and heart disease.

As a matter of fact, the results of the latest and greatest study here in the UK, found that people who rarely or never brush their teeth are 70% more likely to suffer heart diseases as those who brush twice a day (all of this even when keeping into consideration, smoking, dietary and lifestyle habits)

The offenders are also more likely to test positive for proteins linked to inflammation, which plays an important role in clogged arteries.

Now, as a kid I was never too keen in listening to mum shouting at me when I "forgot" to brush my teeth, but growing up things change and you realise that stinky breath is not one of the qualities the guy you really like may find particularly attractive!!! So, morphing into the lovely, stylish me, I did end up making a date with my toothbrush and toothpaste every time I eat something...

However, stinky breath is one thing and heart disease is something a bit more serious (even if on the long run the 1st one becomes kind of annoying!!!)...

So yeah, please, make good friends with your toothbrush, if not for your health sake at least for those whom you talk to during the day!!!

Change

I've been away for a few days because my life has been so busy.

I have been seeing friends, sleeping, cooking for Scotland, sightseeing and especially I've been applying some changes to my surroundings. There is something quite therapeutic about change itself... particularly for a girl.

Normally when some events of a certain magnitude happen, some things that required a considerable amount of energy spent -whether physical or emotional- to counteract the effects a girl will go to some sort of extremes (changing the haircut/colour according to research being the first!)

You'll be relieved to know that I haven't done anything to my hair (well, got the highlights touched up but that was already on the girlie "to do" list!) but I have been emptying my closets, moving furniture around, refurbishing my bedroom and changing some of my habits.

Too many memories of what was before are not good especially if one is after a new beginning.

So in came a new mattress, bedding, mirror, and an amazingly gigantic print of the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset which brings a smile on my face just by hanging over my bed.
My hallway is now full of bin bags, ready to be delivered to charity shops, packed with old clothes that don't fit anymore or that just haven't been worn for a long time and some have already been replaced with new, happy, summery ones (and shoes!!!)

I have taken to go for long walks, I have missed being outside the 4 walls of my flat so much.
Don't take me wrong, med-school is fantastic, but it sucked my life for the past 7 months and now I'm just ready to take advantage of every single free moment I have and dedicate it to myself!
I finally am back to my wonderful healthy diet of home cooked meals and I've left behind corrosive energy drinks and awfully caloric chocolate bars... Now I bake my own treats!!!


I have never suffered of low self esteem, and for this I have to thank the good foundations that my family has given me while growing up, teaching me how to always feel proud of myself even if things didn't work out the way I wanted them to, just as long as I had given it my best... and since that's what I do, I have no regrets about anything that has happened in the past months.
But I can tell you something, it is great to walk around holding your head up high, taking life on and being able to see change not as the end of something bad but as the beginning of something great!

Amongst all of these changes though is good to have some strong anchor points, things that you know you can rely upon and won't change for a long long time so I thought about my family, my friends and then I took a picture of my new bedroom layout and felt so happy to see my cheeky cat Sushi being the same old poser always in the middle of everything... Certainly I will always be able to count on him for a good laugh when needed! :-)