Dear Dona

Saving lives

2011-09-07T16:46:00.004+01:00

This post was inspired by two of my wonderful friends...

I thoroughly admire what they do. They're entertainers, they look like angels on silk ropes and have a very creative mind and very strong characters.
I look up to them and am inspired...

But for them, I am the one to look up to...

"Dona, you save lives" they say...
Yes I do, or better, I hope I will some day when all of my medical training will be finished but the point is this: I can only function if the people around me do their job too!

I need to sustain myself and I can only do that if I get to a supermarket or a restaurant, what would I do without a chef or someone stocking the shelves?
The reason why I'm in med-school is because I had teachers and trainers who taught me how to read and write and a good part of how to live life... I would be saving no lives if not for them!
I need my car to run well because that's my only way of getting to school and to the hospital, what would I do if no mechanics were working?

If I have a rubbish day, my head is full of thoughts, I need to relax and enjoy something beautiful I know there are people like Melissa Marie and Tad out there who can bring me to that special place.

So it's not me saving lives, it's all of us. It's a team of people none more important than the other. The only reason why there are doctors and lawyers and whatever other professions are considered "important" out there, is because around them there is a host of people who do their job too and do it well.

So thank you baker, thank you janitor, teacher, IT technician, entertainer... thank you because you're fundamental to my life as I hope I am in yours.

The only way to go on is by teamwork... that's the only way lives are really saved!

Kangoo jumping

2011-09-06T13:00:00.009+01:00

While I was in NYC I got dragged by my friend Laura to the fitness discipline with the craziest name: Kangoo

"What the heck?" I thought... It sounds a bit like kangaroo ...and man I was the weirdest looking kangaroo of the bunch!!!
So, Kangoo is a new way of jumping around having ridiculous fun and staying fit.

As a matter of fact I attended a couple of classes and, despite wanting to die after just 10 minutes, (though I was assured that it gets better once you get used to the boots and the high intensity exercise) I thought it was the greatest workout I have ever experienced since I started walking!

So what's all the fuss about?

Here is a picture of me with Mario (the trainer) and our Kangoo jumps

The shoes are actual boots with resistance bands underneath set in a way that will allow you to jump quite high without losing your balance.

Mario always starts the work out by saying that the 2 most important things to do are to have fun and keep moving. I accepted the 1st one as a given and then only understood the 2nd one when I almost splattered my pretty face against one of the mirrors in the gym because the bottom of the boot is seriously curved and unless you DO keep moving standing up is quite a mission.

Because of this though, your core muscles are constantly engaged and I was quite sore everywhere at the end.

So, what exactly is Kangoo?

As taken from Mario's website: Kangoo is for people who are injured and can't run outdoors because of the high impact and for people that want to have fun and actually smile while they are working out. It's for people that have plateaued and want to take their workouts to the next level and for people who actually want to look forward to exercising. It's for people that want to run harder, faster, and longer without any pain to their knees, back, and other joints and for people with joint issues and people who never want to have any joint issues due to impact. Most importantly it's for any and every one that is not afraid to try something innovative, intense, fun, different, and new. Kangoo is the most fun and burns the most calories of any other cardio that you could ever do and the weight of the boot coupled with rebounding against gravity gives you an intense cellular workout that ultra-sculpts your entire body especially your core and legs!

I can certainly vouch for the fun and the intense workout and of course, there are numerous medical benefits that come with this kind of exercise.
The music used during the class is kick-ass high intensity, it's loud, it's empowering and takes you high without, of course, leaving out Mario's energy, charm and approachability making this discipline the absolute must for anybody who is wanting to try something different.

I am so sad that it hasn't reached Scotland yet... maybe I could be the one to help with that?

For the moment being I know I'll be back in that gym as soon as I set foot in NYC again and I may even get my own Kangoos... certainly I won't ever stop to thank Laura for introducing me to the hardest yet most exceptional workout ever!

The force of nature

2011-08-26T15:08:00.009+01:00

Yesterday I spent the afternoon in Atlantic City with my friends. While they were rehearsing for their show "The Accused" I was helping out videoing some, but mostly just enjoying the visual beauty of it all.

While we were there, an official announcement was made by the governor of NJ declaring the state of emergency (because of hurricane Irene approaching) and telling people to evacuate the area within 24h.

I had heard of hurricanes down south and the damage they bring, but never really coming up as far high as this time...

So, while enjoying dinner just before making our way back up to NYC, we started discussing the force of nature. Just as we were all voicing our opinions, Colleen pulled out her phone and decided to show us pictures of her favourite tree "Papi".

Papi represents the force of nature in its utmost power, and I could see immediately how this was well suited to our discussion...
Not like a hurricane and its gusts of wind and shower rains, not like the earthquake that shook the ground just a few days ago, but that quiet force that day after day shows us that we have no control over it.

Papi is a larger than life tree that decided not to be imprisoned by a fence put too close to him.

And so he completely engulfed it within his trunk!

Have a look at these amazing images:

I looked at the picture and had to catch my breath such was the beauty of the message.
Refusing to be told how much he should grow, what were the limits of its existance Papi ate the fence...

We can't control nature, we can't submit it to our plans, our will, our ideas...

Thank you gorgeous tree for teaching us such a powerful lesson!

Kiss and make up....

2011-08-25T14:27:00.004+01:00

Don't you love it when finally after the argument is over you kiss and make up?!
I have to say that, as much as I don't particularly enjoy the argument, the emotionally charged "making up" part is one of my favourite bits of a relationship!

I like power filled situations!
I like kisses that take away your breath, hugs where you can mould into the other person, looks that pierce the souls, where talking is unnecessary, nights that will remain engraved into your memory...

Though I know that only certain moments of a relationship will be like that, they are definitely the ones I look forward to the most!

It turns out that all mammals have the same instincts...
Us humans of course can make some kind of sense of what is happening, may express our personal feelings about the situation, plan a romantic or passionate way of making up after a fight...

But oh animals have been doing it way before we started!

Nature is wonderful, the capacity that us living beings have to feel love and affection, sorrow for having shaken the relationship, is outstanding...

Kissing and making up is the most beautiful way of nature of starting again where balance was corrupted!

And after you see this...

... you just want to do this!

Osteopornosis (n): A degenerate disease

2011-08-23T15:31:00.007+01:00

I love communication and I have always had a fascination with words... I love to think about what words do. They express a feeling, a frame of mind, a thought, a condition, a place, a taste... Some follow sounds, some mean several different things at once.
To be able to express oneself in a way that others can really understand what we are trying to portray is a skill not too many people are able to muster.

My first spoken word was "banana" which I suppose it's quite different from the usual "mama" or "dada" that babies manage... Imagine my parents having to explain that to the family!!!
I guess it was the feeling that I had to make up for pointing at my dad and saying "banana" which pushed me towards becoming better at choosing the right words for the appropriate situations and in several different languages too.

So it really is no surprise I would feel attracted by a post about made up words with very clever meanings. I mean, how much actual knowledge of a language one must have to be able to create new words and attach a perfectly reasonable meaning to them... I applaud these minds!

Apparently every year The Washington Post's Style Invitational asks readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.
I just about died laughing at a few of the results.

There are many but here are a few of my favourites besides the one I used as the title which definitely takes the prize:

- Sarchasm (n): The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
- Inoculatte (v): To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
- Dopeler effect (n): The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
- Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
- Unfare (n) - The dollar you owe to the taxi driver before you have even moved.
- Ignoranus (n): A person who's both stupid and an *******.
- Negatile (n) - An area of the bathroom floor where, somehow, the scale registers you 5 lbs lighter.

For more of these very clever words go on the Sniglets site... rather funny!

Keep your cavities to yourself!

2011-08-18T16:17:00.006+01:00

Here comes again, the subject of teeth cavities!

Even after having warned you already on the dangers of not brushing your teeth, I felt it an obligation to share also this very essential piece of news with you...
I quite frankly think it may change your view on a few things!

Everyone knows you can catch a cold or the flu...
Most likely you wouldn't be going to visit any of your friends who displayed high temperatures, a runny nose and cough...
But would you visit a friend who happens to have a cavity?

Well, as things stand now, I will certainly visit but with precaution! This because researchers have found that not only is it possible to spread cavities, but it occurs all the time.

While candy and sugar get all the blame (BAD chocolate bar, BAD!) , cavities are caused primarily by bacteria that cling to teeth and feast on particles of food from your last meal. One of the by-products they create is acid, which destroys your teeth enamel.

Just as a virus can be passed from one person to the next, so can these cavity-causing bacteria.

The most famous culprit is this dude called Streptococcus mutans. And with a name like that you sort of already know he's going to be trouble!
Infants and children are especially vulnerable to it, and several studies have shown that most pick it up from their carers... for example, when a mum tastes her child’s food to make sure it’s not too hot.

Now, at my not so young age, nobody tastes my food to make sure it's not too hot, but obviously there are issues between couples.

“In one instance, a patient in her 40s who had never had a cavity suddenly developed two cavities and was starting to get some gum disease,” one of the dentists participating in this study said after she learned the woman had started dating a man who hadn’t been to a dentist in several years.

So my dear readers, to reduce the risk of inheriting somebody's cavities I recommend you make friends with an awesome flossing and brushing technique, and start chewing sugar free gum as it promotes saliva and washes away plaque and bacteria.

I can do without people tasting my food to make sure it's ok but I can't quite say the same of a boyfriend!

A.I.

2011-08-17T00:41:00.013+01:00

A.I. stands for Artificial Intelligence and it relates to the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it.

AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its chances of success.

The field was founded on the claim that human intelligence can be so precisely described that it can be simulated by a machine. This of course raises philosophical issues about the nature of the mind and the ethics of creating artificial beings, issues which have been addressed by myth, fiction and philosophy since the beginning of times.

Applications of AI are already used in video games, speech recognition programs, expert system such as the MYCIN that was created in 1974 which diagnosed bacterial infections of the blood and suggested treatments. It generally did better than medical students or practicing doctors though, of course, its limitations were observed. Namely,its ontology included bacteria, symptoms and treatments and did not include patients, doctors, hospitals, death, recovery and events occurring in time.
Its interactions depended on a single patient being considered. Since the experts consulted by the knowledge engineers knew about patients, doctors, death, recovery, etc... it is clear that the knowledge engineers forced what the experts told them into a predetermined framework. In the present state of AI, this has to be true. The usefulness of current expert systems depends on their users having common sense.

Answers on AI basic questions are answered here on Stanford University website.

And it's exactly Stanford University that just a few days ago, announced that they were offering a free online course on Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and all of a sudden the university found itself submerged with 74,200 requests on enrollment!

"The vision is to change the world by bringing education to places that can't be reached today" one of the main lecturers said.

And how will the AI instructors grade so many students? They claim the use of extensive technologies including Google moderator service and different was to personalise exams to minimise cheating.

I personally find it amazing that such a subject as this could be opened up to everyone without any limits. Age of the applicants varies between people just come out of high school to retired.
Besides being an incredibly interesting course to take, the potential of such method is massive. Imagine smaller institutions being able to implement their courses by joining efforts with great institutions such as Stanford...

I don't know about you but I have already asked my dad to take the course with me... He will certainly come in handy with the maths and logic side of it... me? I'll be the expert clown making studying light-hearted!!!

The stone

2011-08-15T06:21:00.004+01:00

A few days ago I posted this as my status on Facebook:

**The Stone: the unaware stumbled on it. The violent used it as a projectile. The builder used it as a corner stone. The camper, tired, sat on it. To the children it was a toy. David killed Goliath with it. Michelangelo made the most wonderful sculpture out of it. In each of these instances the difference wasn't in the stone but in the people. There is no stone on your path that can't be used for Your Growth...**

I reckoned that would be an inspiring thought for the day, so I posted it and went on with what I had to do.
Fact is that this quote kept on popping up in my thoughts for the entire day, randomly, just when I had a choice to make or an issue to face.
I have never really realised how many times we can decide to be the “better person” even in just the space of one day.

There are so many “stones” dotting our path at all times.

Someone cuts you off driving? Deciding not to yell insults at him is already using the stone as an opportunity to become a better person.
Someone who hasn’t been a good person to you needs help? Holding your hand out to help despite instead thinking “actually you deserve every bit of what is happening to you” will make you grow and teach the other person an important lesson…

I’d rather be considered too good, even naïve, because I decide to use every stone I encounter as a stepping stone to elevate my path, than get my “revenge” on life by not putting forward my best side.

I don’t always manage to do it, but I try and I guess that’s as good as it gets.
It’s not exactly turning the other cheek but it’s more like making the best of what you’ve got and getting some sort of sense of satisfaction out of your daily interactions and situations.

If I didn’t do that I may end up being richer, more popular, more powerful but I’m happy that my richness comes from doing something good for my soul, my popularity is with the people that count in my life, and my power stands in the ability of deciding against the society standards and choosing what I believe is right thing to do according to my values rather than being lured into the wrong behaviour for the wrong reasons.

So yes, stones are very welcome in my life, I may get hit by a few, but mostly, they make for a good “stairway to heaven”!

It's a bird! It's a plane!... No, it's dinner!!!

2011-08-15T06:20:00.015+01:00

I find myself always looking up when I'm here in NYC.

I love to see the skyscraper's tops, I admire their outline, their poise, the feeling of strength they convey...
Ah to be a bird and get close to the top!

It may not be that easy to become a bird but it certainly is easy to just float around that top now.

All thanks to Dinner In The Sky.
I came across a TV advertisement for them and decided to look them up and see what the great fuss about them was.

It turns out that they hold the key to an amazing concept.
Well, amazing if you don't suffer of fear of heights that is!!!

Yes because they come with a platform suspended up to 50m above ground where dinner is

served!

Diners sit in a seat that resembles one you might find in a race car, with everyone wearing a seat belt. This may detract from the allure of the formal setting but given that it's a quite a drop, I doubt anybody would ever complain!

This platform is purposely built and seats 22 guests with the centre reserved for the chef, his assistant and sometimes even an entertainer. In addition, a second platform can be hired to provide further entertainment such as a band or a stage for business presentations.

Needless to say that the food is some of the finest and one can just sit there and relax taking in the wonderful sights feeling a bit like a bird but without putting in any effort to use their wings.

I thought this concept was available only in the US but it turns out that it is offered in over 30 countries and I was rather surprised to see that even my little Edinburgh is part of the lucky locations on that list.

Look at these pictures!

Edinburgh

Paris

Las Vegas

London

If you're wondering what happens if someone needs a bathroom that's easy: the crane lowers the platform so that person can use the regular earthbound facilities...

Dropping a fork during a meal, however, could cause some problems!!!

Magic

2011-08-15T06:20:00.014+01:00

This stay in NYC has brought many "first experiences" into my life.
I love learning new things, love pushing myself to my limits, love the inquisitive nature I was gifted with because it brings incredible thrills and great joy to my days.

A couple of weeks ago I said yes to a class of flying trapeze (I will blog about that soon enough) but what I want to talk about is what happened after.

Once I said goodbye to the friends "flying" with me I found myself in Eric's company.
Eric is a new friend I had the pleasure to meet when I arrived at the end of June.
On his business card there is the word conjurer... The sound of it is quite enticing, don't you think?

According to the dictionary to conjure means:

* to summon something by magical or supernatural power
* to influence or effect by or as if by magic
* to perform magic tricks especially by sleight of hands

who knew???

Chatting all our way back to Manhattan, risking of being a bit cheeky, I gathered the courage to ask him if he would ever reveal any of his tricks; if he was willing to teach something, for as simple as it may be, to someone who didn't really have a clue.

When in answer to my question he asked me if I was interested in learning something, you can imagine I jumped at the opportunity!!!

Two minutes later we were happily walking towards his apartment to find a deck of cards.

I figured that by being so close to him, without an audience as you may have in a big show, I would have a perfect vantage point to figure out the tricks on my own.
Eric kindly performed several things in front of me, and just when I thought I had spotted the wrong movement and was ready to say the infamous "Aha! I got it!", it always turned out I didn't get it at all...

Because of my curious nature I tend to be distracted a lot, I love to observe my surroundings. I was in a new place, full of super cool things, and yet not once I took my eyes off Eric's hands such was the allure of his movements.

And that made me think...
I didn't notice the time flying, I didn't notice all of the little details that I would have normally taken in, I did not feel tired despite standing for a long time, did not feel hungry despite realising later I had had no dinner that night, I laughed, I got frustrated, I cheered...
And when I tried to figure out how could it be possible to be completely unaware of one's own state, that's when I got it... it was magic!

But not that kind of magic that Merlin the wizard would perform and that, quite frankly, just reminds me of Disney's Fantasia... I'm talking about real magic (though you may argue that it isn't so...).

The kind of magic that you know it's a trick, the one that another person, as human as you are, has the power to perform while you look in awe, the one that you are perfectly aware that if you'd learn the hand movements and the distraction techniques you would be able to manage as well... but it's the magic that makes you forget about your surroundings exactly because you don't know the tricks, don't know the movements and, as much as you're hoping to be able to say "Aha!" at some point, you really know that in the bottom of your heart what you hope for is that you won't get it because that's what makes it special.

It's not the trick itself, it's what it provokes in the observer. It's the fact that for a brief moment in time, things aren't clear anymore, the impossible becomes possible and the childlike figure that we all harbour inside us comes out giggling with joy!
Magicians trick our brains and hold our hearts!
Eric explains this rather well in his blog.

I have already charmed people with my newly found magic skills (yes, despite being rather hopeless as an enchantress) I did learn one of Eric's tricks and have used a few adaptations of it.

Would I ever reveal the secret behind it? No!

Not just because it is indeed the only one I know, but because deep inside I'm sure I'd take away the real enjoyment from people.

I may have said this in a very simplistic way but what better way of describing something than through the simpleness of the feelings that it arouses inside you?

And as for Sherlock Holmes a truth was quite always "elementary" (poor Watson!), so it is for me when I say that now I know what the expression "Magic is magic" really means!

This is my friend Eric

Mona Lisa is addicted to coffee...

2011-08-10T06:15:00.005+01:00

Art in it's proper form... and who says that art has to be on a canvas or carved in marble?

If you are like me, you'll find this piece of news fun and inspiring!

Every year, in Sidney Harbour, there is a running of free events proposed to celebrate Australia day. One of these is the Aroma Festival which is held at The Rocks, which for over 100 years was the hub of Sidney's international trade.

The Aroma Festival is a sensory overload and indulgence with the bite of brewing coffee, the strong explosion of spice as it hits the nose, the smooth quality of chocolate as it melts on the tongue and the clean flavour of the first sip of tea.

It's during this event that a group of people recreated possibly the most famous painting in the world, the Mona Lisa, using cups of coffee.
To be exact, they used 3,604 cups of coffee and 564 pints of milk.

To create the different colours they added no, little or lots of milk to each cup of black coffee.

The "painting" took a team of 8 people and 3h to complete and measured about 6m high (20ft) and 4m wide (13ft).

I found this quite inspiring! I have seen this painting reproduced in so many ways and with so many materials, printed on t-shirts, postcards, drawn on sidewalks, in bookmarks... but with coffee? That for sure has to be a first!
And possibly it's because Leonardo Da Vinci was Italian, possibly because I have a soft spot for this painting which I actually managed to see at the Louvre museum in Paris but I so wish I could have been there to admire this drinkable masterpiece!

Many people have wondered about Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile... I don't know what Leonardo saw when he painted this lady, but I do know for sure that I would be smiling in exactly the same way if I was surrounded by enough coffee to last me for my entire life!!!

The Temazcal

2011-08-09T23:11:00.013+01:00

I've just returned from Mexico where I spent a week relaxing with my friend Giorgia.

Though I have known her for almost two years, we never really had too much time to spend together so it was lovely to finally be able to deepen our friendship.

She turned out to be a fantastic holiday partner in crime.

Just like me she doesn't mind getting up early in the morning for the gym, a long walk on the beach, she likes adventures like me and is keen to try new things.

That's why, while we were taking advantage of the jacuzzi tubs at the resort Spa and the staff came in asking us if we wanted to take part for free in this traditional Mayan treatment/ritual, it didn't seem strange for both to answer with an enthusiastic YES!

Except...
We weren't really told what this "traditional Mayan thing" was going to be.
From memory I remembered having read something in the past about a steam room so I was kind of relaxed about the whole thing.

Except...
We were asked to wear a bathrobe and follow someone... we thought just to the Spa's main entrance but no, we went all the way to the resort's foyer where about 50 people were grouped to look at us... Erm... slightly embarrassing.

Ok well, Giorgia and I looked at each other totally regretting our enthusiasm and stepped ahead.

Greeting us were 4 "Mayan warriors" (well, dancers of the resort playing dress-up) and a "holy man"... though the only holy thing I was able to think of was "holy cow when will I ever learn to keep my mouth shut"!!!!

So we stand there, slightly observed, and told to close our eyes, and open our arms wide
**coooouuugh**
**coooooouuuuugh** some more...
What the heck is happening???

I didn't dare open my eyes but it was clear to me that they were blowing some sort of scented smoke in our face! (and I always maintained I never smoked!!!!!)
After about 10 mins of utter humiliation we walked to the rear side of the pool.
Phew, the rear side, at least the pool crowd can't spot us...

Except...
Giorgia points out that there are about 200 people sitting on their balconies pulling out their cameras...
More "holy" thoughts racing through my mind!

Finally, after having thanked, the earth gods, the water gods, the wind gods, the air gods and the bush fairies which wouldn't let us ever sleep again unless we fed them rosemary sprigs, we were asked to strip down to our bikini to enter the Temazcal.
As soon as I saw what it was I started getting the chills because the rest of the very enlightening article read many moons ago came back to me...

The name Temazcal is made of 2 Nahuati words: temas, which means bath and calli, meaning house. Overheating of the body (during the bath, the body temperature may reach one hundred and four degrees) produces a series of reactions: it stimulates both the superficial and the deep blood circulation, accelerates the frequency of heartbeats, as well as increases their force, calls into action the mechanisms of thermal regulation, activates the metabolism, and promotes sweating. All of these effects produce a great internal movement of energy and liquids, somewhat similar to the way in which strenuous exercise does, bringing increased circulation to all the muscles, organs and tissues. While all sweat baths produce these effects, the Temazcal, because of the way it works and the precision with which it can be regulated by the healer in charge of the bath, controls these body reactions to high heat to maximize the curative effects of the bath.

Downside of this very clever concept: the temperature inside this chamber is infernal!

As tradition requests, one has to enter in single file, in a clockwise fashion and sit on its little towel. Who goes the wrong way? Take a guess!!! (more embarrassment!)
Now I am all worried I have upset the fairies so very sheepishly walk backwards retracing my steps and finally enter the right way around.
I sit down and wait for everybody else to come in and then the guy says "AHUM"!

Huh???

So Ahum turns out to be the way to start and close conversation. A few Ahums later we are all laying on the floor, dripping sweat and wishing we were mute!
Ahums fly right and left, I'm in my own personal delirium!
By this point the temperature inside the Temazcal has raised to 47.5C and I am literally melting.

I try to settle and think of all beautiful things that happen in warm weather: the sea (oh how I wished I could jump in it), ice-cream (may someone please bring me one right now?), snow (yeah well, that doesn't happen in hot weather but my brain doesn't seem to connect properly!)
I reach my limit and decide to escape!

"It's too hot" I say and get up to make a run for the door... Crap, the wrong way around!
Ask forgiveness to the fairies, go back the other way, ask forgiveness to the guy I almost kicked in the face and run out!
Giorgia, needless to say, sacrifices herself (NOT!) to keep me company and runs for her life too!

We're out... we're safe!
Except...

The holy dude comes out to check on us, gives us a hug and suddenly drops the contents of an icy bowl of water on both our heads!
Holy sheep in the green pastures and all of Mary's little lambs!!!
We're both wide-eyed (especially Giorgia who had spent the entire day avoiding water because she didn't want to wet her hair!) we're shivering now, disoriented and very ready to attack the wonderful fruit buffet that was set-up right outside the torture chamber.
We finally sit down and regain consciousness (or whatever semi-state of it we were before this experience!)

About 20 minutes after, the rest of the group comes out, we all sit together to share our feelings The two of us, who are clearly horrified but with very good people skills, smile politely until the moment when holy dude shares with us that outside the resort this same ritual is accompanied by drinking hallucinogenic tea and burning herbal drugs rather than our very "I-am-only-happy-with-potatoes" rosemary...

Dear holy dude, thanks for the wonderful Mayan experience.... Now I think I know why they don't exist anymore!!! But at least it was something different and all in all fun...

Alexander McQueen art

2011-07-29T01:24:00.004+01:00

Before leaving for Mexico I went to the Metropolitan Museum to see the infamous Alexander McQueen exhibit.

Italian and fashionista as I am I had to!

I also have to confess that I wasn't very familiar with his creations. I had heard his name a few times but never looked into any of his collections, sort of dismissing it for being too blunt and, according to me, unwearable.

After meeting with two friends and queuing for over 2h we finally managed to get in and what I found was incredible.

Besides the striking designs of his garments I found that they always seem to tell a story.
He described himself as a manic-depressive romantic... and it showed!
The whole setting that was created to host the exhibit brought you into the mind of this incredibly troubled fashion genius which created not only wearable pieces (yes, some of them are indeed wearable!) but art in its proper form.

He took his own life in February 2010 and we'll never know why.
One can only speculate about what was bothering his soul so much and this agony was perhaps reflected in his creations.

The fact that most often than not his models always wore a dress with a headpiece completely covering their face made me wonder... Was he trying to hide something? Was he uncomfortable with human nature?
Structures, unusual textures, rips and tears, feathers and wings accompanied several of his most famous pieces like if he had to try and escape a hard reality.

So here is an homage to a very troubled genius, he left an incredible legacy and some very serious questions about what is around us...

The touch of death

2011-07-27T05:04:00.004+01:00

Well, it had to happen, sooner or later...

It was supposed to be a very fun night: kangoo with Laura and comedy show with other friends.
Instead I found myself spending the evening talking to a counsellor asking me how I felt about death.

Exactly what she expected me to say I don't know...
That I feel sorry for the family?
I feel that the patient shouldn't have died?
I feel it's unfair?

I just looked at her and I said "It's ok, it's part of the job, I knew it was going to come... at some point"
As she prodded even more I promised I'd go home, spend some time thinking about it and write a piece. A piece my teachers would be proud of, something that would really show how "reflective" my writing can get.
But does anybody really care about what you write when you're analysing your feelings?

When my pager started beeping tonight the last thing I expected was to be summoned to the bedside of a 37 year old guy who just 2 days ago was smiling on the operating table.
He was dead.

I shouldn't feel responsible, I personally have done nothing wrong, but I feel a great sense of anger and I should get over that too!
Can I say that this is unfair? Is it really about fairness?
Why does a guy who is my age dies after surgery?
He was weak, stomach cancer and all, tumor goes away after chemotherapy and then comes back with a vengeance. This time it's surgery... But he doesn't do well and leaves earth...

I couldn't bear looking at his wife, I sat outside his room for a while and all I could hear was the constant sobbing and the desperation in the words of this young woman. She could hardly breathe amongst her tears and I had to appeal to every ounce of self control I had not to start crying too... right there...
Memories of the pain that death causes on the ones left behind still fresh in my mind after my mum passed away...

And then the counsellor I was assigned to asking all those questions I didn't have an answer to... Or maybe I just didn't want to answer. The more she was asking the more I was reluctant to talk.
I've always said to myself that when the moment would come I'd be ok, it's part of being a doctor, that an "oh, that's sad" comment would do to express my feelings and that I would briskly move on to the rest of the jobs to be done. But I was just fooling myself.

And maybe it's because I was joking with the guy before surgery, maybe because we shared the same love of cats, maybe because he called me "his doctor", or maybe just because I perceived him as a human being and not just like a patient...
I am a bit dumbfounded because, like someone who has forgotten to activate the alarm gets the house burglarised, I felt robbed of my strong facade, of the professional attitude a doctor should approach death with...

But I'm only human and so, away from other people's eyes, I cried...
Does that make me a bad doctor? Does that say that I should not be working in this field because my heart is too tender? Or does it just mean that I have the empathy needed to understand what it feels like?

I'm just full of pain now...
The touch of death is always cold, no matter how close you are to those who leave...

Time travelling

2011-07-26T14:08:00.006+01:00

Have you ever wished things could be changed?

I caught myself quite a few times thinking "Oh if only I could turn back time a little bit" or "if I knew then what I know now" and think what the situation would be if I had said or done things in a different way.
Though mine was only a wish, some people did harbor the thought of time travelling and indeed change the past or take a look at the future.
Einstein's theory of relativity results from two statements -- the two basic postulates of special relativity:

1) The speed of light is the same for all observers, no matter what their relative speeds.
2) The laws of physics are the same in any inertial (non-accelerated) frame of reference. This means that the laws of physics observed by a hypothetical observer traveling with a relativistic particle must be the same as those observed by an observer who is stationary.

The first postulate, the speed of light will be seen to be the same relative to any observer, independent of the motion of the observer -- is the crucial idea that led Einstein to formulate his theory. It means we can define a quantity “c”, the speed of light, which is a fundamental constant of nature and it's how time is calculated too.

It all sounds quite omnious and very difficult but really what this means is that, according to this basis, we can suppose that to travel in time we just need to exceed the speed of light et voila’… it’s done!!!
But clever Mr Einstein had warned us that this would be impossible as nothing will ever travel faster than the speed of light...

During a recent study of the photon (a single particle of light) by some scientists in Hong Kong, this theory was proven right and therefore the idea of time travelling was definitively capped.
See, the probability of time travel is based on the possibility of exceeding the speed of light.
By correctly measuring the speed of a photon, and seeing that not even that could travel faster than light, we have exhausted any reason to explore time travelling... for the moment at least!

Knowing how men are (and thank goodness for their curious nature!) I don't doubt that sooner or later there will be some other attempt at figuring out time travelling... where else are we going to get inspiration for those incredible blockbuster Hollywood movies otherwise???

It's awake!!!!

2011-07-26T04:29:00.004+01:00

Well, I would have screamed too if this had happened to me!!!

Let's rewind a little bit...
- South Africa
- Man dies at home (sad news)
- Distraught family calls a private undertaker to take the body to the local morgue
- "Corpse" wakes up at the morgue and screams demanding to be taken out of the cold place
- The two mortuary attendants almost have a heart attack and run away scared to death as they thought they were witnessing a ghostly appearance!

Now, this may seem like a made up story, but it happened for real just a couple of days ago.
Imagine the terror of both the presumed death man waking up after 21 hours in the cold cubicle of a morgue, and the poor mortuary attendants who witnessed a dead corpse coming to life!

I'm happy to report that the story has a happy ending and the un-dead man was rescued from the morgue and put in a hospital where, after a few hours, he was deemed fit to return to his home. He had lost consciousness after an asthma attack. His family called a private company rather than the paramedics and the guy was mistakenly diagnosed dead!

Moral of the story... There is a reason why medical professionals go through years of training and hard work... it keeps people out of refrigerators!!!

Tornadoes in Manhattan

2011-07-26T03:22:00.004+01:00

Today the weather was rather bad...
I got spoiled by lovely temperatures, beautiful cloud-free sky and ice-cream vans dotted here and there...
Today I got nothing of it! The weather was cold, wet, windy and more than for an ice-cream I wished for a hot chocolate and marshmallows.

As I was looking out the window, taking in the wonderful view of the Manhattan skyscrapers I started wondering what would happen if a tornado hit the city.
Would the wind be broken by the high towers? Would they be able to stand the wind force or come crashing down?

Apparently the fact that high buildings disperse the whirlwinds is just a myth. No place is immune to tornadoes and it turns out that concentrations of large buildings may help produce stronger tornadoes, not weaker ones!

And I thought I was safe!!!!
But I remember actually asking this question to the guide of the Empire State Building about a year ago when I got to the top and he sort of told me not to worry...

It seems like the skyscrapers are build to withstand big blows and the only parts in danger would be the windows but not the internal steel structure.

As the windborne debris is the major danger the best thing to do would be to go on the lowest floor possible and towards the interior, away from the windows... apparently staircases are quite safe too! This is because the tornado would create a very strong force on the flat surface of the glass windows which would immediately shatter. Then everything inside (furniture, complements...) would fly out like projectiles as the wind blows right through. Once this happens the building itself would put up very little resistance to the wind in relation to how strong the structure is as the surface of the steel beams would be rather small.

In addition these structure are build to be relatively flexible (sometimes, when staying on the higher floors, one can even feel the "swing") and so would be more resistant to strong winds.

This said, I really hope never to see anything like the picture here below...
It makes for an awesome picture but a not so awesome feeling of impending doom!!!

Yaaaawn....

2011-07-25T03:56:00.006+01:00

I am so tired!!!

I have just come back from a night shift at the hospital that was a little intense and I'm lovingly looking at my bed... This said, I'm not quite ready to hit the sack yet!

When I'm not studying I always try to publish a blog article a day so let me ignore my sleepiness and get to work...

To stay on the subject I have decided to look into yawning... Why do we do it?

Well, I guess that the most obvious reason is because we are tired or bored.
Because in these occasions breathing is shallow so our levels of carbon dioxide and oxygen are unbalanced and so yawning is a way of restoring the right ratio. But... scientists are not quite sure about that!
Why in fact, would a fetus yawn when there is no oxygen going in its lungs? And how can a baby who is not born yet be bored?

We all know that, like coughing, yawing is contagious... I dare you to look at someone yawning and not be tempted to follow suit...

Some doctors even suggested that yawning is like stretching.
Yawning and stretching increase blood pressure and heart rate and also flex muscles and joints. Evidence that yawning and stretching may be related comes from the observation that if you try to stifle or prevent a yawn by clenching your jaws shut, the yawn is somewhat "unsatisfying."
Don't you hate it when that happens???!
For some reason, the stretching of jaw and face muscles is necessary for a good yawn.

But the most recent theory was proposed in 2007, when researchers hinted that yawning is used to cool the brain. They found that people yawned more in warm environments than in cooler ones. People who breathed through their noses (thought to reduce brain temperature) did not yawn at all.

I'm afraid I won't be able to come to any certain conclusion this morning...
All I know is that in the half hour that it took me to write this article I have yawned about 20 times though sitting in a cool room, not bored at all, maybe a bit tired but not shattered and certainly not conditioned as there is nobody else here with me...

In Italy we say "il sonno porta consiglio" meaning that you may find the answers you are looking for in your dreams or with a rested mind...
I'll try that and report back if anything gets a bit clearer... meanwhile... **yawn** I'm wishing myself sweet dreams!

Can a playground be too safe?

2011-07-24T04:24:00.006+01:00

I have just returned from a wonderful weekend away.
My friend Cindy and I went to visit one of her friends who has a house by the lake in Monticello, about 2h North of NYC.
The place was really great.

The group had at disposal a huge house, a speed boat, a floating dock, canoes, kayaks, foam noodles to float in the lake and the coolest hot tub I've ever seen.

I have a confession to make: I had never before swam into a lake and I had never canoed before!
A lake is quite different from the crystal seas I have gotten used to swim in during my travels. I admit that I felt a bit hesitant when I was asked if I wanted to go for a little canoe trip. Hm, I couldn't see my hands a couple of feet underwater let alone the bottom of this lake... And the question that went through my head was "is it safe?"

Despite my little hesitation I decided that really there was nothing to be afraid of and I should just suck it up and go!
I'm happy to report that, non only I turned out to be a natural at canoeing, but I also spend good part of the afternoon floating around in the lake with my new friends having a great time and not having a clue about where my feet were !

There are new regulations being considered now in Europe aiming to reduce the height of climbing frames in playgrounds and change the swing chains so that children won't be able to go too fast or too high.

I remember all the fun I used to have at the playground when I was a kid. I've never been too shy in the sense of joining an adventure (read "getting into trouble" if considered from my parents perspective!).
I used to hang from the frames upside down, I used to ask my dad to push me super high on a swing, I would climb onto the tallest slide, I got bitten by a few dogs and once I even jumped into the deepest part of a swimming pool without knowing how to swim forcing my dad to a sudden dive to come and rescue me from drowning!

By gradually exposing themselves to more and more dangers on the playground children are using the same habituation techniques developed by psychologists to help adults conquer phobias.
As a paradox, our fear of children being harmed by the most harmless injuries may result in more fearful children and increased levels of psychological problems.

And so I wonder, would I be the way I am now, sort of ready to jump into the deep end if I had had nothing "dangerous" to face in my childhood?
What sort of adult a child would turn out to be if he didn't have to confront challenges, fears, if he didn't have to push himself a little higher, a little further, a little harder?

Can a playground become too safe for a child? Judging from my own experience I may answer that with a yes!

Nutcase? No, Nutmeg!

2011-07-21T15:08:00.006+01:00

Today I went grocery shopping!
I love to stroll through the supermarket aisles, especially when I'm in a different country. One can learn so much about a place just by looking at their food!!!

One of my favourite parts is always the one of spices.
There is something so inebriating in their smell, the warmth they coat the food with, sometimes the sharpness of taste and always the comfort of a perfume that is somehow connected to a part of everybody's childhood.

I like pretty much every spice except for nutmeg, I feel horror just at the thought of it!
I can't exactly explain why. It's the tang of the smell, that bittersweet after-taste that lingers in your mouth that never convinced me much and it's the pungent odor that attacks you when you grate the nut directly onto your food.

Well, imagine my surprise when a colleague from the hospital commented that possibly I had developed an aversion to nutmeg due to what it does to the brain!

Huh???

It turns out that one can reach and altered state of consciousness by eating, snorting or smoking from a tin of nutmeg!!!
He went on to explain that nutmeg contains Myristicin which is a weak monoamine oxidase inhibitor.
For the "non-medical" readers, this substance is used as an antidepressant and because it's very dangerous it is only reserved as a last line of treatment in case the usual stuff doesn't work!

Myristicin poisoning can induce nausea, convulsions, palpitations and eventual death by dehydration.

So, just a few spoonfuls of nutmeg can cause a hallucinogenic trip for several hours (sometimes even a whole day!!!)

My friend hinted that possibly I am very sensitive and just the smell of it may cause my brain to reject the idea of getting any closer.
This fact though opens a can of worms... I guess that if this information becomes public knowledge the supermarkets will soon have to lock up their stock!

Getting high on Nutmeg... who needs real drugs than when the same can be achieved at a very little fraction of the price????

Google peas

2011-07-20T15:30:00.006+01:00

This morning I woke up to find that Google had changed its fun multicoloured logo to green and brown peas... Oh dear!!!

I came across something like this before... I mean, not the peas but definitely Google changed into something that was relating to a special event happening in the world.

Today's peas are dedicated to celebrate the 189th anniversary of Gregor Mendel's birth, the man who is considered the father of genetics.
If you are wondering why peas, it's because he did base pretty much all of his researc

h on pea plants... Yes, he was a "pea meister"!
His work wasn't really recognised and duly appreciated until after his death.
"meine Zeit wird schon kommen" (my time will come) he said... And today we can definitely say that it has come!

But far from happy about this discovery I decided to look into finding out why and who changes the Google Logo (or Goodle doodle, as it's more affectionately know) and discovered that the reason behind this frequent change is to commemorate a special event or person.

And who makes the drawing?
Well, some of them are made by Google's artists. People hired to complete this job, creative minds that are given a task. But some, are made by children!
Google holds a yearly competition called "Doodle 4 Google" where children are asked to create these fun filled logos using their imagination. The 2011's theme was "something I'd love to do" and the kids had an amazing time coming up with fantastic drawings!

This is the drawing that won the competition this year:

In my opinion, some of them are even a lot better than the people who are actually paid to draw!

Have a look at this... I find it wonderful!!!

Hard things to remember

2011-07-20T05:19:00.004+01:00

Today I had breakfast with Yuri, a good friend who has just moved to Manhattan for a year to complete his internship at a local hospital.

He arrived a month ago and was busy getting settled and getting his bearings.
We had a lot of catching up to do and at the end of our time together we exchanged phone numbers to keep in contact while I'm here.

It was rather funny how, even if he had repeated his number at least 3 other times during the morning to other people, when the moment came to give it to me, he still couldn't remember it and had to look it up.
It turned out that he had just gotten a new number a couple of days before and still was in the habit of recalling the old number.

Has something like that ever happened to you?
I usually have the same problem with expired computer passwords after the old ones expire.
I tend to type the old one because I am so used to do it and it's only at the 2nd or 3rd try that I remember that I have a new password.

If you are wondering why, do not worry, it is not because you're getting old (though, strictly speaking, you are!) but it is because the brain is competing to recall old and new memories both associated with the same thing.

What happens is that the memory gets cluttered with similar events and it becomes difficult for the brain to distinguish between old and new information as it was used to only have one set of data and now there are multiple, so it will take time for the brain to adjust.

MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) shows that quite well, I discovered through a bit of internet research!

Researchers at Yale and Stanford university led a study asking subjects to recall different faces and scenes (the memory of these items are stored in different areas of the brain) the scan found that blood flowed to both areas simultaneously creating a competition.
So, until when the brain will get used to recall the most recent information associated to a certain aspect or situation in life, confusion is likely to happen.

Now I understand why those few times that I change the place where I park my car it takes me ages then to find it again!!!

The ideal length of a hug

2011-07-19T04:21:00.007+01:00

The question popped to my mind actually because of medical reasons.

In our communication skills classes we are taught how to relate to the patient, try to understand if they prefer to be called by first or last name, if they want to shake your hand or not...

So starting from the type of handshake I may want to adopt with a specific patient (delicate with an older patient, assertive and strong with a man...) I started wondering if the same sort of concept could be applied to hugs with people.

We have all been taught that hugs are therapeutic! According to a study led by the American Psychosomatic Society, a hug and 10 minutes of hand-holding with a person we care for, greatly reduce the harmful physical effects of stress.

Researching some more I found out that the ideal length for a hug resulted being 20 seconds.
Because these 20 seconds are all it takes to release oxytocin in the body.
Oxytocin is the binding hormone (also known as the "cuddle" hormone because it is released by mothers during childbirth to help them binding with the new baby) that allows us to establish a deep connection with others.

In a study conducted by NYU in 2003, people who hugged at the beginning of the day for 20 to 30 seconds, were much less stressed in the evening, were generally less prone to react negatively to challenges and had a lower blood pressure therefore lowering the risk of heart problems.

I know it may be awkward, 20 seconds may sound a short time but, seen that the average length of a hug is 3 to 5 seconds, holding someone in your arms for that length of time may feel really long... This said, seen the effect of this great hormone, I'd definitely give this theory a try!

...plus, there is nothing like a scientific excuse to get that hug you have been longing for since a while!!! ;-)

Picturing Science

2011-07-18T17:37:00.009+01:00

Everyone who has been around me a while knows I'm a curious being and a definite sucker for science so, when I found out about this "Picturing Science" exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History here in NYC, it was a no-brainer deciding to go and check it out!
I was pleasantly surprised!

At first glance it feels a bit like strolling through an Andy Warhol's expo. Some of the work is arranged in 10 seemingly identical pictures arranged in a 5x2 grid, except that it is not Marilyn Monroe up on the wall but some mineral composition of a meteorite, or the beady eyes and huge jaw belonging to burrowing scorpions in Africa

Being particularly fascinated by the scorpions I started asking questions to the guide and found out that these pictures were taken under an ultraviolet light that causes the scorpions exoskeleton to become fluorescent and reveal the amazing details.

I spent a very long time trying to play a lonely game of "spot the differences" between the 10 insects faces... they all look the same though, unlike with Warhol's work, they are just not!

Other pictures of critters, wooden sculptures, skeletons were instead analysed using a CT scanner that the museum acquired last year in view of the use they could put it to by showing the aesthetics of science.
... and I always only though of a CT scanner as a mere medical diagnosing machine!!!

While in many of the images it is obvious that the subject is something scientific, we can see that there are clearly all these other things that are incredibly abstract and beautiful without being scientific! In fact, many of the departments at the museum are represented in the exhibition with the scanner and electron microscpy being used to take a closer look at the inside of a fossilized skull of a monkey, teeth of an extinct rodent and appendages of goblin spiders.

All quite fascinating, and coming from someone who is horrified just at the idea of bugs and insects, I didn't really mind them staring at me.

If you are in the neighbourhood, "Picturing Science" can be seen through to June 24th, 2012

The world's first "animated" tattoo

2011-07-18T17:16:00.005+01:00

Just the other day I was discussing with a friend of mine the idea of a tattoo.
I love them on other people but can't really see one on myself.
I'd be afraid to get tired of it, change my mind on the design... But I guess, most of all, I'd be freaking out at the idea of a needle piercing my skin at supersonic speed (picture me in a slight tinge of green feeling sick!!!)

Anyway, Aaron was telling me about this crazy video I definitely had to check out on Youtube of the world's fist "animated" tattoo.
Before I did that I of course asked what he was talking about... Animated tattoo??? How can the drawing on a person be animated?

So, it turns out that a Parisian ink artist tattooed on somebody's body a multi-media image.
Let me explain it better: basically he tattooed on a guy a QR code (those "checkered images" that you see on your boarding pass, on internet, now in some clubs and restaurants) which are used to activate an URL, an image or whatever you need as soon as they are scanned.

So the artists made a drawing of the frame and right in the middle of the image he tattooed this code... The following video is the real account of how it works!!!

Unbelievable, I say!!!
... And definitely NO, as cool as this may look, I still don't fancy a tattoo!!!

hospital

2011-07-17T03:53:00.010+01:00

Contrary to what the title of this post may lead you to think, what I'm writing about is not related to my medical experience here in NYC, but rather to a bizarre theatre show I came across by accident on a warm summer evening by strolling in the West Village.

"hospital" is a play about the interior life of a person in a terminal coma.
Though this is the first time I hear of it, this is a phenomenon in its 11th production, that is well loved for its balance of horror, humour and weirdness.

This year's patient is a grade school teacher with epilepsy who has grown tired of taking the drugs she requires to live normally and, accepting the risk of a major seizure, she stops taking her pills.
During a date the following night, her companion leaves her for a moment, she has the seizure, slips from the rooftop in the rain and falls on the pavement below.

Once in a coma she travels through the dark interiors of her dying mind, being met by dream-like characters from her childhood to guide her through the end.

The show is presented in 4 episodes and I have to say that, after having watched the 1st one last night, I very much look forward to see what happens in the remaining three.

This also sparked many thoughts in me though...

As a doctor in training of course I come across ill people all the time.
According to science our brain works by electrical transmission but when this transmission is just disrupted without being completely interrupted, what is that really happens?
We know that a coma is different from sleep because the individual is incapable of sensing or responding to external stimuli and internal needs, and so can't be woken up.
Many people believe that a coma is similar to deep sleep. However, contrary to popular belief, comatose patients may display signs of movement, make sounds and appear agitated.

I have only seen two patients in a coma so far and now I wonder: what goes on in their minds while we see them just "sleeping"?
Do they hear us? Do they think? Are they afraid? Are they in pain?
And is there someone such as "Jack, who went up the hill with Jill" coming to see them? Because that's exactly what happens in the show... So I'm curious...

Looking around a bit I found testimonies of some people who were in a coma and they claim to recall very specific events of when they found themselves in that state but then, comparing notes with those who were by their side when such event happened, the story never quite exactly matches reality... So, where are we when in a coma? Are we just on "stand-by" like a machine?

I guess I won't find an answer to this question at this point in time... I'll look forward to new findings in medical sciences that may point me in the right direction, something that could explain the how and why of this big mystery and all in all, really hoping that, should I ever find myself in that situation, it won't be the "itsy bitsy spider" coming to pay a visit!!!

Goodbye Shuttle

2011-07-17T03:52:00.005+01:00

On July 8th the space shuttle Atlantis was launched to carry a multi-purpose logistics module to deliver supplies and spare parts to the International Space Station.
This event will always be remembered as "the final mission", the end of an era...

A huge amount of people were present at Cape Canaveral for this event, the largest in years!

An occasion that was indeed festive but raised the question on what will happen to the USA space flight.

"We have come full circle since 1961, back when we had yet to show we could launch people into space." said Steven Dick, a retired NASA chief historian. "We will be hitching rides from the Russian to go to the space station that is mainly ours".

But is this really what the future holds?
I remember my mum telling me how she watched on TV the first steps on the moon and how excited she was.
I wasn't born yet and I can only imagine what every person in the world must have felt in that moment.
True, the crew was American, but didn't Armstrong say "One small step for man but one giant leap for mankind"? I guess that involved everybody... Man on the moon... wow!

So it seems a bit sad, puzzling, questionable to abandon such a program as the shuttle was.
President Obama has opted to end it at a huge saving as each of the 135 missions over the years cost about $450 million.

The thing is, the space station is still there, the moon has been conquered...
But there are so many other places to discover...
So yes, this was the last mission of the space shuttle but the world progresses on evolution.

The "achievable" missions have been accomplished, now we can start a new era.
Would we be here where we are today had we just been happy with the first prototype of anything in our civilisations?
Would we have smart phones, sport cars, jet planes, air conditioning and blenders the way we know them today had we been happy with the first discoveries?
Let me answer that for you... NO!

So goodbye shuttle, goodbye to what we know, what we have been conditioned to find fascinating and yet familiar...
But welcome to new challenges, welcome to new machines that for sure, in time, will come, to new missions, new destinations, new crews and training...
Welcome to the unknown... Just like in every other time of change in mankind...
The end of something is always the beginning of something else... And I guess that's also part of what Armstrong meant!

Passing on the knowledge...

2011-06-27T15:12:00.009+01:00

With my exams done and the major stress left behind, I packed my bags and went to Italy to spend some time with my family!

For those of you who don't know this, my dad is a super-active person always up to something (I wonder who I've taken from!!!)And in fact, true to his reputation, he had arranged for me to deliver a couple of basic first aid courses to kids in the local primary school.I gladly agreed because I love children and of course, I think that the sooner first aid is taught to people, the better it is!

So off I went to class with the little ones...
Teaching to children is very different from teaching to adults...
Attention span is much shorter so you always have have to be on the lookout for signs of boredom and change your strategy as well as making the class extremely interactive.

These kids though were fantastic, wanting to participate in all activities (well, past the 1st moment of shyness, that is!!!) telling of all the accidents, of all the people that they have know for all of their lives... and how funny were they!!!!
I heard about people cut with a chainsaw, burnt to death, fallen off the stairs and broken every single bone in their body... Gotta love kids and their imagination!!!

I spent in all about 8h of my holidays passing on the knowledge and yet I feel like I have gotten from these kids more than they have gotten from me.
The laughter, the passion, the light-heartedness that so often we leave behind growing up.
They made my day special and, in passing on a very little portion of what I know, I found out that I received back many folds more...

I left between hugs and requests of coming back....and a few days later my dad was given by the school drawings of the ambulance, of the contents of the 1st aid little case we gifted the kids with and lots of short little messages for me, thanking me for the fun they had, for what they learnt...

The thing that made me smile the most though was that on my way out of the school, I overheard some of the parents talking between them and discussing first aid things they had learnt from their kids the day before...

Go kids go!!! :-))

The Ramblings of a bored mind...

2011-05-05T14:57:00.003+01:00

Ok, I admit it, I should be paying attention but I just can’t.

The lecturer is a lady professor form Chicago with a rather annoying accent and let’s be honest, microbiology isn’t the most enticing subject.

I can’t believe tomorrow is the last day of lectures of my academic year… next year I graduate from St Andrews… Where has the time gone? I remember when I was just thinking of dropping the life I had before to get into this crazy routine I have which we call "being a student". Who would have said, over 15 years ago, when I attempted the Medicine entry exam in Milan (and failed miserably…) that I would find myself here today… or any day…?

Just a few months ago we accessed this new beautiful and modern med-school… It’s not the Bute, doesn’t have its character or location but it is indeed close to the beach…
Now, do you know how many times I have pictured myself going for a walk on that beach on my lunch break? Still haven’t done it!
I should really… Just, we always have so much to do that I prefer to get my lunch and hide with some mates in a tutorial room to read over my lecture notes.
It’s too cold here anyway, not like I’d get into the water… Possibly on the next sunny day…

Funny that years ago, when I had to decide where to go and leave, even though I have always professed a love for warm countries, I ended up choosing Scotland.

Far cry from my life on board cruise ships… not worse or better, just different!
I have things now I have always dreamt of: my own apartment, a cat (well, 3 cats!), some sort of sense of belonging, and a vision for the future… except that it keeps on changing…
That’s the beauty of life though, isn’t it?
My point is that you can have an idea in mind but you never know if it will turn out exactly that way.
Variables, that’s the problem, isn’t it?!
And I find myself sitting here in this lecture theatre, which is half empty because most people have decided that, seen the very rare sun outside, maybe it was a good idea to go over to the beach (I’m jealous now!) thinking about a million things except the sputum that the lecturer is trying to describe… and thank goodness, because I had broccoli soup for lunch and the sample slide mildly resembles that, so I prefer not to look at it.

But hey, eight more minutes and I can go home, drive for an hour and half, be greeted by loud purrs, just before the supermarket people get there to deliver my weekly shopping which I finally decided to do yesterday while eating the last remains of the most amazing chocolate ice-cream.
Yes, that spurred the idea of getting some more…

I just looked out the window… sun is gone…
...and apparently so is my brain!

Aahhh, builders!

2011-04-03T20:49:00.004+01:00

Hands up if you like me have been victim of some kind of laid back builder (or know someone who has been!) where it felt like a mission to get even the simplest stuff done properly, efficiently but most of all within a decent time frame!

My own experience was with my 2 little bathrooms which I wanted redone after we moved into my flat 5 years ago. It took them over 2 months to be stripped, re-tiled and plastered and then WE had to paint them because that would have added minimum another week to the already dreadful schedule!

Please honest, hard working builders out there, don't get offended by this post... I know you're good and I so wish you had been the ones working in my apartment, but there are a few workers in your category who unfortunately give you a bad name... believe me, I've heard the lamest excuses!

All this came to my mind when earlier today I came across this unbelievable video of builders in China who brought up a 15-floor high building in 6 days... I mean, 6 DAYS!

Can someone please explain me why did my bathrooms take 2 months?!? It is beyond me...

Little siesta? Why not? We have a long tradition of siestas in Italy, but they last an hour or so and not a whole afternoon...
Sunny day? Of course I understand... you only work half day as sun is so rare up here in Scotland... wish I could go out and enjoy it too!

Cup of tea? Sure... But I said "A" cup of tea, maybe 3 and not 20...

Biscuit with the cuppa? I'll even make a special trip to Tesco to go get the custard creams for you as long as you finish my friggin bathrooms before I manage to pay my 25-year mortgage!!!

Guess the next time I decide to do some kind of remodeling in my flat I may think of checking for Chinese heritage... seems like they know what they're doing!

The 5 seconds rule

2011-03-28T15:12:00.001+01:00

Just a few weeks ago I happened to drop a chocolate sweetie on the floor in the med-school lecture theatre and, to great disbelief of some friends sitting around me, I picked it up and proceeded to eat it anyway.

“Eewww” and “Are you insane?” are possibly the nicest things I got told in that moment and I wondered “Insane? Why insane?” And so the 5 seconds rule came to mind… HA!
The 5 seconds rule states that it is safe to eat whatever bite fell on the ground if it hasn’t stayed there for longer than 5 seconds (presumably because bacteria, dust, mites and all other lurking and disgusting things haven’t had enough time to contaminate said bite).

Obviously pathogens attachment is instantaneous and brushing things off with my hands didn’t do much to limit the damage but now let’s be logical:

- my candy didn’t fall in the middle of the street (I got told that’s where bug gangs have the habit of congregating so beware!) so that wouldn’t be as safe as the med-school floor.
- though as a good “almost doctor” I do have the tendency to try and keep my hands clean, it’s not like they are the most hygienic place where a candy could ever end (you know, before I unwrapped my sweetie I lifted my backpack that was sitting on the floor, a street sidewalk precisely, so bug gangs may have been hitching a ride to school with me)
- I like to keep fit through a variety of activities and so I wanted my immune system to exercise a bit by giving him a challenge… (have some bugs, will ya?!)

Jokes aside, it is proven that a lot of those people who never stress their immune system a little will have the tendency of getting sicker than those who once in a while will indulge in a little “forbidden bite”.
Keeping everything as close to sterile as possible, as many people have now the tendency to do, could actually be more harmful than beneficial. One could get shielded form the most common forms of bacteria or viruses to then get rather sick fighting the infection of something that shouldn’t create too much trouble.

I’m not saying that unless what you have dropped on the floor it’s walking on its own is still edible, but certainly the 5 seconds rule (provided the environment it is applied to is considered “clean”) it is actually a very good and humorous way of helping our immune system to get some muscles and be better prepared for its duties.

Plus honestly, who would want to miss out on a chocolate sweetie?!? I just had to retrieve it!!!

Feeling stressed? Have a dog!

2011-03-23T14:03:00.008Z

This is what the Law School of Yale seems to think...

Yale, which is renowned for its competitiveness, is starting a pilot programme next week in which student s can "borrow" a dog for half an hour to de-stress.
Monty (and the name is really all we know about the pup!) is a therapy dog, hypoallergenic (or so it's stated) and will be available to play for 30 minutes at a time beginning next Monday for a 3-day trial run.

The law librarian wrote an email to all students advertising this initiative and stating that "it is a well documented fact that visits from therapy dogs have resulted in increased happiness, calmness and overall emotional well-being in people"
They are used in hospitals, communities, schools so why not at Yale?!?

Besides the logistic (does Monty have a secretary filling in his diary with appointments? What if Monty can't be bothered going for "walkies" 5 hours a day? And what about his salary... would a sausage do???) I personally find the idea brilliant!
Therapy dogs have an outstanding temperament, gentle disposition and an incredible degree of friendliness which make them absolutely perfect for such a task as this.

As a matter of fact, what about suggesting to my med-school considering to adopt the same idea? I'm sure many of my fellow students wouldn't mind taking the "furry therapy" for a walk on the beach, playing ball for a bit, going for a stroll in town or just taking a little break on the wooden area in our school yard, lazying in the sun (those 5 days a year when sun shines in Scotland!) enjoying cuddles.

Yale got it absolutely right:

- An introduction to legal reasoning? Check!
- A cute dog? Check!
- A cracking idea? Check

Now let's just hope that Monty won't become over-stressed himself with all of these play dates!!!

The pain charts

2011-03-09T21:00:00.006Z

I have recently started my merging into Dundee Medical School as there is where I'll go for my clinical years of training.

Of course, being that Tuesday was our first day of the programme and I wanted to be prepared for whatever I would need to face, I thought to look up some of the clinical skills that we have been taught at St Andrews.

Communication skills are, in my opinion, the most important skills you'll ever learn in medicine. You can be a fantastic doctor but if you're not able to communicate properly with the patient all of your science is pointless.

One of the aspects of the communication with the patients that we have to get right and that we are practically brain-washed about is pain.

How do you describe it?
Does it radiate?
What type of pain is it?
Does anything make it better? Or worse?

What brings it on?

Is it continuous? or it comes and goes?
And most of all... can you rate it???

Oh dear... how do you rate pain???
Because if you ask someone like me whose pain threshold is non existent I'll tell you that if you shake my hand too sternly I'm in agony!

But you can ask my brother, who plays basketball with a probably broken finger, he doesn't really complain!

So let's say that pain is definitely subjective.

Doctors have several ways of trying to get out of the patient some sort of pain score and one of my favourites is the pain chart with little faces expressing their degree of discomfort.

So, here I give you the NHS pain chart!

I have 2 main problems with that:

1- Where are the odd numbers? I mean, what if my pain was #7... It doesn't "hurt a whole lot" but "hurting even more" doesn't exactly cut it!

2- Why is #2 smiling?!?!!

So I looked up on internet and researched if there was anything a bit more appropriate.

Maybe we could learn from other countries and see if they had something dare I say "less condescending"?!?

Well, obviously someone had thought pretty much the same thing as I did and designed its own pain chart... Now, this is what I call descriptive!

Have a look and please do tell me if you wouldn't think your feelings of pain to be better expressed by these images!

I commend the creator and had fun matching my own version of the pain scores to the number.

0- Hi, I'm not experiencing any pain at all, I don't even know why I'm here!
1- I am completely unsure whether I'm experiencing pain, or itching or maybe I just have a bad taste in my mouth
2- I think I may need a plaster

3- This is distressing, I don't want this to be happening to me at all

4- My pain is not messing around man!
5- Ow...ok, my pain is super legit now!
6-Why me???!!!
7- I see a green monster coming towards me and I'm bricking it!

8- I am experiencing a disturbing amount of pain... I might actually be dying, help!
9- I am almost definitely dying

10- I am actively being mauled by the green monster I saw at #7
11- I am going to auto destroy at any moment
Too serious for numbers - any comment coming out of the patient's mouth would be most definitely censored!

Of course this chart is meant for fun only but nonetheless, I consider it a possible great addition to the doctor's tools... if anything, it might improve that oh-so-vital relationship with the patient by means of conjuring a smile on both sides!

The strange case of the UFO and the time gain

2011-03-04T18:29:00.004Z

Have you ever seen a UFO?
Do you even have an idea of what it may look like?

I remember when I was just a little girl, I felt quite disappointed when my dad explained to me that actually UFO wasn't a synonymous of alien space-ship but instead was simply the acronym for unidentified flying object... the definition kind of make it lose all of its charm, don't you think?
Or at least it did for me...

I remember then years later when the TV series "The X-files" came out, there had been a huge surge in reports of UFO sightings, first in the USA, and then in many other places as the series reached other parts of the world...
One has to wonder how easy it is to condition somebody's mind but anyway...
I came across this piece of news today and thought it appropriate to share it here...

It was an unseasonably mild night in late October, in Barnes, south-west London, when Mr Man (I have just decided to call him like that!) took to his garden with a drink defeated by the impossibility to get to sleep...
Apparently, after a few moments of peace, he heard the distant roar of engines getting louder and louder and saw a huge UFO passing right over his house, heading west at great speed.
Mr Man described the craft as a "cigar-shaped vehicle with large projectiles on each side like wings and it seeming to have two very bright lights at the front and a white light flashing round and round underneath", he went on saying that he believed having seen coloured lights at the end of the projectiles and also a line of lights (windows maybe???) along the side but he wasn't quite sure as he was terrified!!!

Mr Man thought of calling the police right away but then decided to leave it to the next day and return to bed where, surprisingly for someone suffering from severe insomnia, he fell asleep immediately.

Well, after such an experience, the morning finally came and he decided to write a letter accounting everything to the Ministry of Defence.
In this letter he also expressed the belief of having been abducted because when he woke up, he realised he had gained a whole hour (the same one he had spent the night before out in his garden pondering the UFO appearance)

Should I really give away the fact that the MoD wrote Mr Man a response explaining that the clocks had gone back the night of the sighting and that would explain his gained hour???

So the poor Mr Man was deprived of his "close-encounter" experience... no real UFO, no need to panic, no abduction... Imagine the disappointment!

Oh, cheer up Mr Man, we're all thankful here, at least you have given us a good giggle!!! :-)

Of being a woman...

2011-02-24T15:00:00.004Z

A few things have happened since the last time I wrote, a few new experiences, a little more time spent thinking, considering, where the world is going, how things are evolving around me... and noticing how some of the things I sometimes take for granted aren't like that anymore...

Have I been missing so much just by being busy?

One of the things I have been observing is that there is now the tendency for women to take up more and more of the manly traits...

My question is "why"?
Since when cussing is ok for a girl? Not like it's ok for a guy either but... really, how did it become "cool"?
Since when getting so drunk you can barely walk is funny?
Since when getting into rouchy sexual conversations is acceptable? ... and then of course ending up complaining that we weren't treated with the respect that we expected...

Where are the days when girls were excited and cherished the idea of wearing stilettos and a floaty skirt? I'm seeing less and less of that...
Mind you, jeans and t-shirt are comfy, still, you can make that look really feminine and graceful too!
Yes, even if you are a mum, a career woman, a teenager or an elderly woman... that's the point, you're a GIRL!

But more than anything I have noticed how women now want to be in control of everything, they want to have the last word, they won't accept a man paying for their dinner, they'll purposely walk ahead of them opening their own doors, they'll even dismiss compliments.

"What? You like my dress? Oh, it's nothing!"
"You think I'm pretty? Yeah, I should lose a bit of weight..."
Doesn't a simple "Thank you" followed by a big smile sound better? Because if every time a guy pays you a compliment you turn it down he won't make the effort anymore... would you?

It's not about being weak, it's exactly the opposite... it's about being courted, it's about making the man do what he was born to do, being the hunter!
You're the peak of the highest mountain... have you ever really seen a mountain bending to accommodate a rock climber? Unless it's the famous mountain that goes to Mahomet I don't think I have ever heard of any!!!
You are strong, unmovable, but with a wonderful, enticing allure that a man has to discover... let him work for you!

Being the "prey" is fun, is coy, is mysterious, is a game, is a privilege!
Being taken care of is good... it doesn't diminish your femininity, if anything it enhances it.

No wonder guys don't bother with that stuff anymore, we do all the work for them!
And then arrives the famous cry of: "where are all the good men?"
Ahem, I guess they are scared of approaching!!!

Girls pursuing guys with phone calls, incessant texts, over functioning... take a break, close your eyes, remember you're a precious, beautiful being, you were created to be just that!

Don't behave like if you were for every one, you're not! You're only for the ones who care enough to show you that you mean a lot to them, for those who will recognise the woman in you... breathe in your femininity... and let it shine through and be proud of it...

On the road...

2010-06-26T14:31:00.002+01:00

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

2010-06-25T23:27:00.006+01:00

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

2010-06-16T11:58:00.009+01:00

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?

2010-06-08T22:53:00.008+01:00

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!

2010-06-05T22:54:00.009+01:00

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...

2010-06-05T22:20:00.006+01:00

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!

2010-06-05T13:56:00.004+01:00

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

2010-06-02T11:57:00.009+01:00

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! :-)

Blood needed!

2010-05-27T23:42:00.008+01:00

Today while I was listening to the radio I heard an ad looking for blood donors. Besides the drama of the ad, the idea behind it is really good. Blood is a necessity, without it you can't exist! Simple as that!

I can't donate it because of my travelling history and the fact that I'm anaemic but there are so many potential life savers out there and they really should give a hand.

The problem though seems to be that our country is not good at enticing people into donating their precious red lymph... The "save a life" mantra doesn't work that well here so focus should be given on HOW to reward people for their gift.

Granted, I may be a bit biased in my opinion, but I have been living in this country for slightly over 5 years now and, looking for inspiration on a sort of suggestion to help the cause, I came across this: A USA city is encouraging the public to donate blood in exchange for beer.

Well, I think that's genius! What more could attract a Scotsman than the idea of trading their blood for a pint?! That's officially a brilliant idea! I am pretty sure I even read somewhere that they give you a pint of Guiness after your blood donation in Ireland!

Some people think that blood is yucky and well, they can't stand much the sight of it, but did you know that if you replaced your blood with something much more exciting (like Fanta!) you would probably die within 5 years? Shocking but true! HAHA!!!

Come on people, we have more than enough blood in our bodies for it to be ok to part with some!!! There are people in hospitals who need it... and maybe one day that person could be you!
So here is my cunning new plan for the Blood Donor Bank employees: go and recruit people to donate their blood when they are the happiest — at the neighbourhood pub!

Since we're in Scotland, it may just be your best option!!!

Fact: Dogs Can Detect Certain Illnesses

2010-05-27T00:18:00.014+01:00

Oh well, as I expected I have been accused of favouring cats over dogs (surprise!!!) so I decided that to put things right I had to find something special about dogs as well...

Besides the funny, loving, crazy personalities they display, that is!!!

My dad owns a golden Lab (or maybe I should say that the golden Lab owns my dad!) and they are inseparable. Leo is the sweetest, most clever, adorable pooch I've had the chance to have around. Yes, my opinion is very much biased but, same as for cat owners, your pet is always the best!

So well, looking up interesting facts about dogs I found that:
- Two dogs survived the sinking of Titanic
- When a dog bays at the moon, it is following its basic instinct to call the pack together
- The phrase "raining cats and dogs" originated in 17th Century England when many dogs and cats drowned during heavy downpours of rain and when rivers burst their banks. Their bodies would be seen floating in the rain torrents that raced through the streets giving the appearance that it had literally rained "cats and dogs"
- Dogs have sweat glands in between their paws
- Dogs are about as smart as a two- or three-year-old child. This means they can understand about 150-200 words, including signals and hand movements with the same meaning as words

The fact that attracted me the most though (and actually that put together a bit of medicine too!) is that dogs are able to recognise some human illnesses and give warning to their owners.
This makes our pets not only great companions but also quite helpful!

It sounds like a Lassie TV episode, but it's truth and not fiction.
Dogs for example can sniff out a dangerous drop in blood sugar in a diabetic owner and alert the person to take action by pawing, licking, whining, or barking.
A few dogs have even been trained and placed as diabetic service dogs as, according to their trainers, their nose for hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) is correct 90% of the time.

Dogs are being trained to be alarm bells for an oncoming epileptic seizure too.
As in the case of hypoglycemia they have a talent in smelling the chemical changes in their owner and alert them that something is happening.

So now that I have done my job and put things right with a little post about both cats and dogs I'll leave up to you the choice of your best friend. After all it's just about what you prefer, they're both able to love you, fill your life with fun and keep you entertained for a long, long time!

...and please people, I have no intention of writing a post about canaries, rats or gold fishes so no more complains!!!

Fact: Cats Kiss With Their Eyes

2010-05-27T00:17:00.005+01:00

Today the weather hasn't been exceptional and I have spent a little bit longer at home than I've been used to in the past days...
While wondering what to do that didn't involve watching silly TV programs, I decided to think about ideas for my blog.

I thought about something medical but I do really need a little break from medicine now that I have just finished my exams so I decided to go for one of my other passions which is cats.
I have loads of funny stories to tell about my furry angels (turning to monsters sometimes!) but I wanted something a bit more factual that would make this amazing animal a bit more known to people.

I found a lot of interesting facts about them which are both interesting and enlightening such as:
- The nose pad of a cat is ridged in a pattern that is unique, just like the fingerprint of a human
- A cat will almost never "meow" at another cat. This sound is reserved for humans
- A falling cat will always right itself in a precise order. First the head will rotate, then the spine will twist and the rear legs will align, then the cat will arch its back to lessen the impact of the landing
- Never feed your cat dog food. Cats need five times more protein than dogs do
- Cats are "righty" or "lefty" just like people

But the thing that really got my attention is that apparently cats kiss with their eyes!

I have noticed it in Sushi, Storm and even little India but I thought it was just my imagination, every pet owner thinks their pet has a loving look in their eyes... But, as it turns out, feline experts all agree on the fact that cats communicate with a slow blink.

With their own kind, it's a peace sign, meant to put other felines at ease.

When aimed at humans, their seductive blink shows affection and even love.

I wondered about it a few times especially with Storm. We got him as a scared little kitty never keen to be held or cuddled and then slowly handled and loved so much to turn him into one of the most loving cats I've ever owned... the twist in this change of behaviour? It only happens with me. He stares at me for hours, without failing, and even after he has been fed he still comes close and just sits close and looks at me with this loving stare in his eyes, slowly blinking.

People can definitely return the love with a long gaze and slow blink as to "blow a kiss" back to their cats using their own language. Well, now I know how to respond!

Smiles

2010-05-25T18:44:00.006+01:00

Today the news said that this hot spell won't last much longer so I felt compelled to go out and enjoy it. I put on my summery pretty clothes, chose what music to load on my mp3 player and headed towards town for breakfast at Starbucks.
There are several dotted around the city centre but my favorite one in right on the opposite side from where I come in, I like that one because it allows me for the longest walk.

Under the news that our beloved rainy Scottish weather will be back soon (hurrah from the population of S.A.D. suffering individuals - for those not familiar with the acronym that stands for seasonal affective disorder... indeed SAD!!!) there was a little blob about the power of smiles. Not much, just a couple of lines saying that a smile is contagious...
I have always suspected it but today I was determined to put the theory to the test... and with a sun like this who wouldn't want to smile!

Have you ever noticed how the word "smile" itself actually assumes the position of a smile on your face after it has been pronounced?!

So I started my little uphill walk and I was indeed wearing my smile... And it became clear from the very first 5 minutes that the theory is right, smiles are contagious!
But they are so much more than just contagious...

I had people smiling back at me, I saw people who weren't smiling until when they saw me doing it and then kept on smiling after I had passed by, like if I had reminded them that even just the fact of smiling brings some glimpse of happiness into your day.
I had people nodding at me like in sign of approval, people whom I had never met before (and no, not creeps!).
I got even stopped by the local TV to be interviewed about my opinion on public transport here in Edinburgh and got told that, after looking around for a while, the crew thought I'd be a great person to talk to since I was obviously happy!

And I was!

Sun was shining, I was wearing something pretty, I had my favourite coffee in my hand and I was bringing smiles to my city...

Smiling makes other people happy and you make yourself happy too, I have tried it and I can vouch for it! Smiling is always your best option... now the only thing you have to do is to go out and try it yourself!

Hello Blackberry!

2010-05-23T21:29:00.015+01:00

Blackberry is a fruit... why did they name a phone after a piece of fruit is really obscure to me...

I was trying to find a reasonable explanation for my brother about the name: "Erm... I suppose a blackberry fruit is black with little blobs... so the phone is black with a keyboard!"
Yeah well, sorry, that's the most intelligent thing I could come up with!!!

I have wanted a Blackberry since I can remember but it was not in the range my phone provider held so I always opted for other sort of phones. The one I have now is a touch screen one and it's mildly annoying since in winter my fingertips get so cold that the screen doesn't recognise the touch and I end up looking like a maniac trying to punch a message into the poor defenceless phone which doesn't really care!!!

Since my contract ended today I was due a phone upgrade. I went into the Orange shop and found out that the Blackberry is now available to get.
No-brainer decision there than... I'm getting one!!! Except... there are about 15 different types of blackberries to "pick"! Bold? Curve? Storm?
Since the name unequivocally leads me to think about the fruit, you can imagine I was relying on all my inside strength not to burst out laughing at the poor guy who was trying to explain the difference between the different "berries" as, in my head, I see them all hanging from a bush!!!

I asked for a few minutes alone with the handsets (you know... to think!), looked at them all, picked them up and tried to find differences that could be decisive in my choice but nope... not a clue!!!
Until when the sales guy must have realised that I was indeed unique (to say the least!!!) and had this eureka moment... Left my side, went into the back store and came back with him, the winner, the berry that stole my heart, that caught my little fashionable, terribly stylish Italian soul... The white Blackberry Bold!

And all of a sudden I saw how "Bold" and "berry" can go together, I saw he was different, a "berry" with a twist, and he was going to be mine!

So welcome into my life you beautiful, pearl white Blackberry, though you're albino and not black, I think you and me are special and we'll get along very well as long as you, of course, promise to always recognise the touch of your mistress!!!

A summer stroll...

2010-05-22T19:39:00.015+01:00

Summer has to be my favourite season...
And no, it is not just because of the heat or the light though they most certainly are welcomed and very much enjoyed, I love summer because of what it brings out in people...

Today I went out for a little stroll with my brother... I love walking in Edinburgh, no matter how many times I go there I always manage to see something that captures my attention!
Today was not different.

While gently strolling through Princess gardens Dani and I stopped to admire how beautiful the outline of the main fountain was against the amazingly blue sky, absolutely breathtaking!

So we had to take a picture together right in front of it, and don't we look smashing?!

It's definitely quite a different experience from the crazy freezing walk we took on Christmas night when everything was icy and the streets were deserted...
Today was hot, not a cloud in the sky and there were so many people around, children playing in the gardens, splashing water from the fountain... People holding ice-creams, wearing smiles and like if they were at some kind of seaside resort, several walked around proudly without their t-shirts... aahhh... have to love Scotland for this, a ray of sun and people lose all sense of shame! They all wear sunglasses, all turn to the sun like sunflowers and all breathe in deep this rare moment of fullness...
And I feel right at home because that's exactly what I love about summer (though I refrained from walking around topless!)

And look who made its appearance!!! The tram was on Princes Street... Mind you, it wasn't going anywhere... but it was there nonetheless, as a gentle reminder to people that this madness is going ahead and we should all cheer for joy. There it was, Mr Tram in flesh and bones (or better in metal and glass) looking quite sleek and I have to say I'm not that impressed but I'm happy to know that at least something is happening on that front and I look forward to be proven wrong!

With all that heat and being about lunchtime Dani and I went into Browns on George Street for a full Scottish breakfast. I couldn't even eat half of what I ordered but Dani thoroughly enjoyed his while I was looking for something inspiring to photograph... and my eyes focused on my cranberry juice.
Have you ever noticed what an amazing colour it has?!... it looks quite like liquid rubies, the colour of a sunset on the Pacific Ocean ... so I had to take this picture and believe me, it was as tasty and refreshing as this picture looks!

After another little while we decided that the crowds were a bit too much and it was time to go back home for a little siesta (yes, we are Italian!) but not before taking one last cheeky picture of me and my new little acquaintance, resting in the sun, guarding the entrance to the gardens, providing entertainment for the kids and finally kindly accepting to become my friend...

What a lovely day Edinburgh has gifted me again with, never fails to surprise me!

Now what?

2010-05-22T19:08:00.004+01:00

After a very stressful, very demanding time in my life I found myself resting for a few days with really nothing much ahead to have to think of...
And everything is organised, everything has a slow pace, everything is just not a source of worry... and I find myself wondering where all the big problems I couldn't get my head around just a few days ago went...

When all is suddenly still, after the world was spinning so fast you felt mildly sick just trying to keep your head above the water, you can't help but ask "What now?"

No more exams to prepare, no surgery to think of , no hospitals shifts to attend, no lectures to follow...
And your mind is free to actually look objectively at all those little issues that came with the "big guns" and that added to the stress and that obviously had NO solution no matter from how many perspectives you tried to look at them.

And now they're vanished... or better they're still there but they are not menacing anymore...

Now it's so clear what is the right thing to do, now that the walls have been teared down you realise your strength, your place, your path...

And the only acceptable answer to the "What now?" question can only be "Now ME!"

From the patient's side...

2010-05-20T21:00:00.014+01:00

Well, here I am, back and with the intention of being back for a while!
Stress is over, school's out and I have nothing but summer ahead...
And loads, and I mean LOADS, of time to look around and get inspired for new blog posts. Goodness knows how much I have missed writing...

So here goes, my first post in way too long!

I have just arrived home from a short stay at the hospital... Just a few hours, from 7.30am till 6pm. I had a little procedure done, nothing serious or worrying at all but best for my health, I suppose.
"Normal" people wouldn't worry about stuff like this, "normal" people would laugh about the procedure and "normal" people probably wouldn't even notice the needle...

But I'm not NORMAL and I am a needle phobic.

So I stressed about this for the past 6 months, stressed to a level that affected my studies, my life and my relationships.
Don't take me wrong, a few more things came with the needle phobia that were heavy stressors, but definitely that didn't help!

However, me being me, I always look for the bright side of the situation and this had to be that I got to see "the other side" of my profession, the patient side...

It's all good to power through procedures, paperwork, explanations, drugs, observations and clinical notes when you're a medic... So easily forgetting that what is pure routine, daily bread and butter for you is actually a possibly distressing, very rare event in somebody else's life.

Today was my turn... I did experience all aspects of the journey and every single one of them taught me something.

I do see now why support is the key to success.
I had my brother with me and that made a big difference in the way I was feeling. As brave as one tries to be, having a loving familiar face around truly gives the surroundings a brighter hue.

The waiting room was nice and inviting and the group of us all having to get the same thing done smiled at each other with some sort of understanding.

Once in the ward privacy was assured around each bed and the surgeon and anaesthetist came around to say hi and ask a few questions.

I had seen the surgeon a few times before getting to this point and seeing his smiling, reassuring face was definitely a high of the morning. Not like I really thought that morning had any highs at all, seen my fear, but at least I was sure he knew what he was about to do and that made me feel a heck of a lot better!

Then was the turn of the anesthetist to whom I told about my extreme fear of needles and he said he could actually put me on general gas anaesthesia and then put the needle in once I was "over the edge".
It took me a while to assimilate the concept of "over the edge", imagining all sort of things ranging from extremely scary to hysterically funny but what I can tell you is that, after finding out that I wouldn't even see a needle, my pressure dropped down to normal from a very worrying high!
Now it makes so much sense when I learn in class that stress can lead to some serious problems.
I have experienced it, I'll remember when I deal with my patients.

The staff in the ward was amazing, to the point that when I said I was freezing they got me under the covers and hooked up to a warming machine... I didn't even know such thing existed but it did me a world of good (even if I could only stay in this cocoon for 5 minutes as my turn arrived for surgery).

The trip to theatre was sweet, with a nurse holding me. There is no written rule about it besides understanding what the patient wants. I needed protection, she offered me hers... and I was grateful.

The anaesthesia room all of a sudden was huge! But it is only huge when seeing it from lying on a trolley cot. I have been in several ones as a staff member... oh how the perspective changes totally when you're the patient!
You notice the bleeps of the machines, the different drug vials laying in order the counter, you notice the typical smell, that of iodine, that always lingers in this area, the tubes of the machines, the cotton balls, the tape that you already know will end up on your eye lids, you notice that there are so many people around you... too many!!!
I'll remember this as well... too much of a crowd is unsettling and for a little bit I felt like that...

So I loved the anaesthetist humour teaching me how to get high (though in this case I should say low!) on gases. I felt like a kid... "Let's play a game Dona, breathe in, hold your breath... the longer you hold it, the sooner you'll fly!" Fly??? Where?? Off the trolley... He smiled at me and then I heard the noise fade and everything went fuzzy, the world was all of a sudden gentle and about two seconds later I felt the so distinctive pressure of the blood pressure machine's cuff tightening around my arm... Surely I shouldn't be awake enough to feel that...

...Oh but I should!!! Because almost 3 hours have passed from when I walked down to theatre, I've been out of there for 8 minutes and apparently, while still half asleep, I managed to ask for some chocolate cake to be brought in just for me... Not once, not twice but three awesome times!!!
If it wasn't that the word "shame" rarely features in my vocabulary, this would have been the perfect moment to experience it... too bad it just isn't me!!!
I was back up in the ward about 20 minutes later, much sooner that they expected me to be. I'm sure that's thanks to all the loving prayers my friends have said for me in the past weeks. I surprised everybody with an incredible speedy recovery from the anaesthetic, I drank, I ate and I walked in a way that is hardly seen after surgery so I'm thankful to everyone... God is exceptionally good to me!

The nurses were so caring, bordering motherly and eventually I did get my chocolate. Though it wasn't cake I had about 5 squares of deliciously filled blocks and just sat on the bed to enjoy the virtual cuddles coming in from my friends through phone messages. Technology can be such a blessing!

I peaked under the night gown to see if the surgeon was a liar such as the nurse promising me the heparin injection in my tummy would just be a little scratch and instead had me screaming from pain and then bent for the next 20 minutes from the burning...
The surgeon promised me he wouldn't leave a scar... I looked... He didn't lie! Hero!!!
I remember one of the first things I heard him telling me was "If a surgeon is not vain about his work than run!" Man was I happy to have him as my own personal guardian angel...
There is absolutely nothing that can be seen, not even a dressing, I only have a tiny steri-strip looking back at me disappointed as I'm not taking it too seriously!!! In retrospective, it was doing its job properly and still is...

One other thing that was engraved in my head today is that patients want to be told the truth. and whatever you say can indeed be "used against you" in any further conversation.
Tell the truth, don't sugar coat it... be empathetic AT ALL TIMES but don't tell only half the truth. The nurse said the injection wouldn't hurt, she said it knowing very well that heparin burns a lot, and it was agony (well, agony for me!)... Not fair towards the patient... A little scratch doesn't cut it, I'm not a kid! Anybody would appreciate "this will burn a bit" rather than a lie, at least you're mentally prepared... don't end up jumping on the chair, especially after I told her how afraid I was of needles!
Routine sayings should be abolished! Some injections are a little scratch, some are hell, man up and say it!!!

Though, in the name of fairness, I also have to admit that the ward was full, she was really busy, I was most probably a little pain in the rear side and she was superb in anything else from walking me to theatre, checking on me constantly and getting me chocolate!
Because of this she's forgiven... and to be honest, it would be lovely to have her by my side should anything else happen to me.

This could have been a very bad experience but it wasn't and it's all thanks to the amazing staff that took care of me, every single one of them.
And that's the sort of doctor I would like to become one day, one able to encompass all the caring qualities I've been shown by everyone today.

Anyway, on the way home my brother Dani and I stopped at Blockbuster because I have been saying since when the academic year stared that, during my long summer break I would have finally caught up with movies, TV series and -after all the hard work- just mindless activities for a while.
... and since I'm forced to be under "house arrests", legally well drugged up for a few days, I guess the 20 books I still have to read and the 6 DVDs I got are going to be my time fillers! :-))

Well, I've had a few interesting weeks running up to today so I know how it feels to be stressed and a bit powerless... I've had a very enlightening day in regards to what are the annoying and reassuring bits of a surgical procedure so I can safely say that, after having been "on the other side", I definitely know this was an experience worth living for the priceless learning aspect of it! I'm sure this will make me just that little bit more of a better doctor in the future...

And this, my dear communication skills lecturers, makes for an amazing piece of reflective writing!!!

Mediocrity

2010-04-05T22:50:00.005+01:00

Mediocrity... Is something I don't understand...

Mediocrity, the way I see it, is not reaching your full potential as a person. Unfortunately I see a lot of it and it has nothing to do with not having the possibility.
If you do your best with what you're given you're not mediocre, if you put everything you have into a dream, a project, an idea than you've defeated mediocrity... But if you continually find excuses not to get out of something that you don't like, than you fulfill the stereotype... completely!

The dictionary defines a mediocre person as "not exceptional in any way especially in quality or ability, size or degree" but to me it goes beyond that... There are so many people out there that live half way between where they were placed and where they could be.
They choose to achieve only a part of what they have the potential to do and sit there complaining of how they don't like the situation they are in, or even worse thinking they are better than those around them.

It's not what you have that brings you out of mediocrity - you can still be a very mediocre filthy rich person - but your value as a human being is completely wasted.

Too many people are happy to just sit in the middle, choosing to be a half-hearted professional, member of the family, worker, believer, atheist, performer, participant in this life...
I'd have a lot more respect for them if I'd see them putting everything they have and are into developing any of these sides as much as I may not agree with some of them.
What are you doing with your gifts? Are they making you a better person? What are you contributing to what is surrounding you?

Mediocrity is the easy way out of everything. A mediocre being absorbs what it can but without giving anything in return... I much more like those "glow-in-the-dark" stickers, they don't make it obvious that they are collecting light but when the darkness comes they shine through because they are able to utilise it when it's needed.

A better person will use the ability he/she has been gifted with to make something of them. These are row materials to be used and it takes work to transform them into something of value... if you dare you breach the wall of mediocrity, if you work for it, even if it's hard, you're the better one off, if you are not afraid of giving it your best shot, even if it looks impossible, than it doesn't matter if you make it or not, it's what spark you put back in the life that has been given to you that makes you shine as the person you are now choosing NOT to be...

Get up from your bottom, have the courage to take the steps it takes to better yourself in whatever field you need to, don't settle with 99% if you can get 100% because, even if 99% is an excellent achievement, if you have the potential of getting to 100% and you don't than you're still mediocre!

Ode to Starbucks

2010-04-03T00:40:00.005+01:00

I'm sitting in Union Square which, for those of you who are not familiar with NYC, is a little bit like "everything-you-can-find-in-the-city-concentrated-in-just-a-few-square-meters" sort of place... Around the square you can find to name a few: a make-up shop, a whole food shop, a shoe shop, an acting academy, a pet shop, a few clothing shops and lots more,,, basically, if you never wanted to move anywhere once you got here this would be the place to place your tent in and just enjoy!
In the middle of the square there is a park, all around there are very often market stalls selling foods and all sorts of other things and then, of course, there are 3 Starbucks... And I mean, THREE!
I'm sitting in one of them and I thought, being in the land of USA, I had to write about such a staple!
I got to know Starbucks in Europe, funny enough... But it's only after I started to travel over to the US that I realised the mass phenomenon that this "coffee shop" chain represents... And I did have to put coffee shop in inverted commas because Starbucks is so much more than that!
Coffees are indeed sold but that's just the background of the full operation, what I would call the "bucks"... ah but the "Star" is something else!!!
The "Star" is the people meeting in here, to chat about happiness and disappointment over a warm drink, the people who come in to warm up in a freezing day and those who come in to escape the boiling heat of a mid-summer afternoon...

The Star is also the opportunity one has to use free Internet...
"Well, what's the big deal?" You may think... Many other places offer that as well...
Ah yes, but there is a Starbucks pretty much at every corner of every street... It's like a faithful friend you know you can rely on wherever you go. And that of course mean every little corner of the world... how convenient!

And then there's the food... The dozens of different sizes, flavours, colours, calories, shapes and funny name ones... Watching your line? If you get the reduced-fat-double-cinnamon- little-swirl you are only getting about 200 calories compared with the amazing chocolate-vanilla-envy-pound-cake that will bill you about 350 of them...
And it's all written down for you, so you don't blame them for getting fat... you know, like they do with McDonalds!!!

And if you go on the Starbuck's website you have the whole specification of every single ingredient, percentage, weight, and anything else you can think of for every single drink they offer.

I tried the Dark Cherry Mocha today for the first time... Maybe if I had gone to the website and realised the amount of calories and fat it carries I wouldn't have bought it but, after all, one must try everything in life and so I did!

I do understand the big fuss over the drink... it does things to you (like my friend Ben says!)
namely it warms your thoughts, it transports you into a cherry blossom garden, it embraces you with this sweet but not too potent fragrance and then the coffee aroma hits you and you realise that the little smile building up on your lips really is a gift of Starbucks...

Maybe I'm a bit biased in my opinion... There are many excellent coffee shops (much much better than any Starbucks!) with home baked goodies and not mass produced like here...But come on, let's be honest, at least the green round sign symbol of this big giant, always guarantees what you'll be getting and that's a place to relax, have a great chat with friends, offer you comfy seats, and maybe, just maybe, bring you somewhere else like it did with me...

Junior WHAT?!?

2010-04-01T16:13:00.007+01:00

So here I am, back in glamorous NYC to attend an unexpected seminar at the now familiar Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

The trip over has been a little adventurous... Starting with almost missing my connection flight in Paris because of delays due to snow (yes we got snow in Edinburgh at the end of March!) and my suitcase getting misplaced by the airline resulting in me having to frantically look late at night for something half professional (yet stylish!) to wear at the seminar today... Not like I'm complaining since Air France will be refunding the money spent!

This said I at least managed to arrive on time at the hospital this morning without getting lost at all (I'm getting good at this NYC living madness!) to register for the seminar and joined the line to get my name badge.

For those of you following my academic path, I am actually still a med-student and though I have been studying around medicine for a few years, I have only started at St Andrews in September and am 2 and a bit full years from getting any sort of a degree... basically I am nobody you should trust yet!

Apparently the American bunch doesn't think so as when I got handed my badge for the day my face almost dropped at the title "Junior Doctor - UK"

Junior WHAT?!?
Oh dear!!!

Taken completely by surprise I stood there wondering if it was the case to actually rectify the obvious mistake made... I so wish I was a junior doctor but well, I still have quite a way to go and certainly I don't deserve the title... though something at the back of my mind told me it would be really cool to walk around the hospital and have people looking at that badge and think "Wow, she's a doctor!" (like they would... ;-)) and what harm could it do since I'm not expected to talk to anybody or touch anything anyway today?!

So I decided to shut up and live in the illusion that for a day I actually knew a lot more than I do... Except it didn't last long... My incredibly honest conscience had the best of me and, 10 minutes and 4 curious people later, I headed to the registration desk to point out that I was not ALAS, a doctor yet!
The lady looked at me in complete bewilderment and said "Oh, but you are!"
"Erm, no..." I tried to explain "I wish I was but I am not..."
She gave me a big smile and kindly explained to me that a Junior Doctor here is actually a doctor in training, someone who has completed the first stage of training and passed their interview and been accepted into the program I'm following...

"Ah!" that was just about all I managed to say... So I found out that after all a "Junior doctor" here is the equivalent of what a "Baby doctor" would be in the UK
I always knew Americans have to do things bigger!!!

So I did spend the day proudly wearing my badge and for a few hours I felt a bit like Dr House, though he's an MD (but maybe here I'll be an MD next year and it will mean something completely different!!)

Cat Nap!

2010-03-12T08:09:00.004Z

Have you ever fallen asleep at work, at school, at a rock concert?
Well, believe it or not, I've done all three!

And lately I've been struggling a bit to keep my eyes open in the afternoon, just after lectures, when the lunch break has finished and that amazing concept that is the afternoon siesta seems such a wonderful idea... after all I'm Italian and we do that at home!

So I've delved into some serious research of why (besides the gruesome exam revision schedule I've compiled for myself) should I feel so tired always at the same time of the day and see if I could find a reasonable answer.

Well, it turns out that "It's all part of your body's biological circadian rhythm that defines your sleep and wake cycles," says Michael Breus, a clinical psychologist, board-certified sleep specialist.
According to Breus, your body experiences a drop in core temperature and mental alertness about eight hours after awakening; this is similar to what you experience before bedtime... it's science!

Aha!!!
So it's not just me being lazy
But why Nap?

I find out that naps have been shown scientifically to benefit almost every aspect of human wellness, from lowering your risk of heart disease and repairing cells to the more obvious ones of lifting your mood and stamina, knocking down stress and making you more productive. And because naps can do that they can help you live longer, stay more active and look younger....

Nap to stay young?! That's an argument I'll support!!!
But there is more...
Apparently brain activity stays high throughout the day with a nap while without one, it declines as the day wears on and napping benefits don't even stop there!

By sharpening your motor skills and neuromuscular coordination, napping can make you better at just about anything you do, from dancing and playing the piano to driving a car, making quick decisions, responding to stimuli or danger, exploring the Internet, and typing frantically on a computer like I'm doing now...

Behold the power of napping!
So the nap is making its case as a beneficial part of our UK culture too!
Whether you call it a cat nap, power nap, kip or siesta, you can now have a true scientific reason to go to Sleepytown, population: YOU!

And if those around you give you much grief, suggest that someone sounds grumpy and needs a nap.
Anyway, researching this article was exhausting -- I think I'll grab a little shut-eye joining my 3 kitties that have already adapted delightfully to my new findings and are enthusiastic supporters of these new ideas... yawn... Goodnap.

Stowaway

2010-02-25T12:17:00.004Z

Following the suggestion of a dear friend I have decided to post a funny story just to let the world know I am indeed alive, if a tad busy with life!

So, two days ago I was running late as usual on my timetable getting ready for university.
Make-up on, half dressed, hair still wet from the shower but with my backpack already packed from the night before so at least I didn't have to worry about that... Except, I still needed to put the flask with my soup in.

Oh dear! Run to the fridge, choose the soup, warm it in the microwave, put it in the flask and put the flask in the bag.

Almost ready to go now...

Shoes on, hair almost dry, a last touch of lipstick and off I go to pick up the bag.
Up on my shoulders and... why is it so heavy?!? Never mind, must be just that I'm tired!

Eh... did it just move?!?

Right, bag off my shoulders, I notice I didn't close the zipper properly... Opening big enough to allow... No, it can't be... Or maybe yes...

Open the bag... and yes, there HE was...
I found my little stowaway in my backpack!!!

"Were you thinking of coming with me to uni?" I rhetorically asked...
The answer is a loud, proud purr... And of course no movement hinting that he had any intention to come out of the bag.

Sushi, my little monster got so close to get taken into an anatomy lecture today that I really wonder (having already found him once playing with my stethoscope) if he's pursuing a medical career same as me!

Sorry little one, you'll have to stay home for now but I promise to share all my notes with you as soon as I'm home!

You snooze, you lose...

2010-02-09T13:19:00.005Z

... and in this case it's meant literally!!!

I got news that a group of geeky friends have invented an alarm clock that donates your money for every minute longer you'll spend in bed... oh dear!!!

This clever clock is on sale in the US through ThinkGeek and it has an unpronounceable name such as Sn?zN?z.
It is connected directly to your bank account and, when you buy it, you have the option of choosing who will receive the money and the amount given.
Every time you'll hit the snooze button (the one that allows you to spend a few more minutes in bed before ringing again) sleeping will become expensive and possibly the thought of it is likely to get you out of bed fast!

To maximise the "speed"effect I'd suggest choosing someone you don't particularly like as the receiver of your money, this may really get you on time to that all important date you have with your office desk in the morning... Anything rather than giving money to someone you loathe!

Or alternatively you could choose a charity, and then, maybe, cheekily be able to convince your friends that you're not really a lazy person, you just have a good heart and stay in bed for a good cause!!! ;-)

Good luck with that!!!

I did it my way...

2010-02-07T18:59:00.016Z

When I set off to NY I had great ideas in mind blog-wise...
I was sure I'd get to every evening with so many things to comment on and manage a great post on all experiences.

But as it usually is the case, not all the best laid plans turn out the way you want them to...
Indeed I got to each evening with my head full of ideas but also there was so much more to these two weeks than just telling the world what I had been up to... So many characters I met, many places I saw, many things I experienced (and so much exhaustion!) that it turned out impossible to make an account of every single thing I did during the day...
So I have decided to write posts about random stuff I'd come across and then, only at the end of my stay, make a whole general post about my two weeks in the Big Apple.

Since I didn't want this to sound like a shopping list, instead of mentioning every single place I've been to, I'll tackle whatever I did by feelings... I hope this will make it even more fun for you to read.

To start with I had fun, and loads of it!
Fun because I was with a friend who is like a brother to me and sharing things with "family" always makes them special. We wandered all over Manhattan and a bit outside too, went ice-skating at Central Park and oh it was quite sore when I fell!
Fun when after a 4 hour tour of the Rockefeller Centre, NBC Studios and Observation Deck we finally got out on a different side of the raod from where we went in and looking at the building we didn't even recognise it though we had been in for such a long time!
Fun trying to emulate poses and looks of the Broadway show billboards, taking pictures everywhere, meeting new and old friends for some good NY banter, and definitely fun experiencing the local cuisine. I had a pretzel for the first time and Umby had some cheesecake...
And the inescapable Starbucks that literally haunts every single street corner and that inevitably became our favourite breakfast meeting place.
Fun experiencing the real NY with the best tour guide ever, Laura! She has been such a source of inspiration, laughter and definitely adventure!

Then we got emotional!
Because of the homeless people in the street, because of the awful "fashion furs" trend that people seem to wear more and more especially in the city, at the poorer areas in NY, at the cold we suffered that made us think how fortunate we were, having to experience it just for a short time while there are people around who have no choice...
Emotional under the Statue of Liberty and its meaning and at Ellis island and all it represents.
In its big lounges it was almost possible to still hear the voices of the people who spent many days there, sometimes weeks not knowing what was going to happen, sometimes being separated from their families, ready to start a new life in a completely unknown place and realising how the "American dream" for many turned out not to be a dream at all...
We got very emotional at Ground Zero, the place where the two twin towers stood once and though they are rebuilding new skyscrapers we could only bare the sight of it for a few minutes and then had to leave...

Then it got serious!
Thinking about the future, where our roads will take us, where we come from... serious reading all the little signs our wonderful God put on our paths. My med-school, Umby's performing career, the hospital, the Lee Strasberg school... What is it going to be? Are we making the right choices and what are we leaving behind?
And then, is it really up to us? Though one still can't help but wonder...

Then it was frustrating!
(...or maybe not too much...) trying to figure out how to get somewhere using the subway which is very straightforward once you understand how it works... though it takes some time to get used to...
And then all the madness every time we got close to any sort of landmark: take off your jacket, take off your scarf, your shoes, your belt, open your bag, stand over here, no, that's too close, go back a bit, don't move, don't talk and sometimes don't even breathe!
"Do you have anything explosive on you?" Erm... let me think... NO!
Go there, come here, show me your passport, ticket and even your eyes...
And then you can get all your stuff back to start the whole thing again just as you go round the corner.
I understand that security is very important and if we did find annoying having to go through all that just a few times, imagine the poor guards who have to say the same thing day in day out to thousands of visitors... No wonder they sound a bit mechanic in their dealings!!!

And last but not least, it was heart-warming!
Thanks to Umby, Laura, Luca, Giorgia, Lara, Silvia, Stefania, Francesca, Tad, the friends at the pizzeria Keste' (who despite the exotic spelling make possibly one of the best Italian pizza you'll eat in NY!)
Their kindness, their friendship, their smiles made these two weeks absolutely exceptional and we already can't wait to go back in July and for a whole month

There is still so much of the Big Apple that needs to be bitten and we thoroughly look forward to it!

Limelight

2010-02-05T04:40:00.004Z

Tonight I made arrangements to meet a few friends for dinner.
It's restaurant week in New York when all the most expensive, most renowned, most famous restaurants open their doors to the "commoners" and for a mere $35 one can get a 3 course dinner. Even though one shouldn't forget to still add the cost of drinks, taxes and tips the experience is well worth it!

So, for such a special occasion I decided to dress up to my best!
Since when I arrived in NY two weeks ago I have been wearing nothing but jeans (safe the suit I had on today at the medical conference) so the pretty and floaty skirt I choose for such a night feels just right.

I put on my make-up, gorgeous dangling earrings, do my nails, a touch a sparkling body cream, black stilettos on and none of these Hollywood actresses has anything on me!
As I start walking down the road I catch a glimpse of myself reflected in the American Eagle shop window and I smile, I look good! And of course the "Italian-from-Milan" princess inside me is fairly content.

I even manage to collect a couple of compliments as I walk towards the restaurant and though of course I don't respond (ladies never do!), I nod in self-approval...

But, as I bask in this moment of happiness, with my head in the clouds, surrounded by the bright lights of Times Square, I completely forget that I am wearing a skirt and walk straight on to one of those subway grids...
Yeah...
You guessed it...
My skirt lifted right up to my head and it took me a while to realise what was going on!!!
So this time instead of a couple of comments I get a full blown applause and cheers from the people who were in Times Square assisting to a charity concert for Haiti!!!

Could I have picked a more inappropriate moment to do such a thing?!? Possibly not!!!
Me being me I'm sure my face (and hopefully just that!) will be remembered for time to come here in the theatre district!

Oh well, I got my 5 minutes of glory in Manhattan, not many people can say that... but I'm back in my jeans already and will stay that way till when I'll get used to the evil subway drafts (or learn to watch where I go!)

The power of the mind

2010-02-04T23:21:00.004Z

While checking the news form the medical world today I came across this rather interesting article that according to me put things right back in perspective where they belong.

The article explains of a new method used that unlocked communication with patients trapped in a vegetative state. Apparently scientists have been able to reach into the mind of a brain-damaged man and communicate with his thoughts.

This state of awareness was also detected in other patients who had been diagnosed as being in a vegetative state.

Without going too deep into the mechanics of this system it is sufficient to say that the method uses functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging that shows brain activity in real time.
It was thought till today that patients in a vegetative state are awake, not in a coma, but have no awareness because of severe brain damage.

A control group was asked to do some basic motor "imagery" association such as imagining to play tennis or imagining to be just roaming the streets.
As different parts of the brain are activated when we do vigorous movement and when we don't the doctors associated the tennis game with a "yes" answer and the roaming with a "no" answer and were able to make contact with the patients who then managed to answer several questions this way.

Besides considerations on the fact that this method will be able to allow communication with patients on what way to go with their future treatment, it also opens the doors to deeper considerations such as termination of life.

Too many times the life-aiding machines are switched off because it is thought that there is nothing else to do. Too many times communication with the patients is given up because we can't understand what is being said... Out of 60 patients tested with this method, 43% were able to communicate (with 100% success in accuracy of their answers interpretation)

So, though it's still early days, though research still needs to be perfected and pursued, this just goes to show how quick sometimes we are in dismissing the power of our mind!

Overheard in New York

2010-02-03T03:11:00.006Z

One has to love New York and its people... There is such a variety of ideas, cultures, backgrounds and humour that it is almost impossible to go around town and not pay attention to conversations of those passing by, especially if like me you love to learn the local "stuff".

Yesterday has been a day full of jems... I heard a few more but these four really put a smile on my face.... I'm sure it'll be just the same for you!

Black guy on the street: Hey girl! You lookin' fine... I'm gonna do things to you... Yup, lots of... things!
His friend: Like, what you gonna do to her?
Black guy on the street: Things man, I said things!!
- In Union Square

Dad: Don't tell me what to do, you're not the boss.
Little daughter: You're not the boss too!
Dad: Then who's the boss?
Little daughter: Obama is the boss!
- At 46th & 7th

Older lady to a little barking dog: Shut up! This is not your sidewalk!
- In Times Square

Middle-aged woman: So, is she like, skinny pregnant?
Friend: Yeah, she looks like a model
Middle-aged woman: Good! There is just no excuse to gain weight during pregnancy!
- In Starbucks at the Rockefeller Centre

The new Alcatraz

2010-02-03T01:29:00.005Z

The name Alcatraz brings to mind the famous prison holding the most dangerous criminals and from which allegedly it was impossible to escape.
With this in mind it is possible to see why scientists have chosen this name for an encyclopedia that analyses all bacteria causing hospital infections.

This idea of listing all characteristics of every single bacterium responsible for hospital infections started at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. They decided to catalogue the DNA sequence of each and every single bacterium in such a way that it will be possible to compare it with those already present in a database. This process will be fundamental in helping to understand the history of the infection and what caused it.

In this way it should be easier to decide what antibiotic to prescribe to cure the infection as some bacteria have now developed a high resistance to some of them.
Many pharmaceutical companies are also adhering to this program to help create antibiotics able to wipe out any sort of infection.

This however is only one of the options that university research is exploring...

Another breakthrough discovery arrived from the university of Parma, in Italy, where researchers unlocked the principle behind dental caries sequencing the entire bacterium responsible, the Bifidobacterium dentium. It was hard to understand how a bacterium that is normally located in the intestine could survive in the oral cavity: by analysing its genes, it was seen how instead it could metabolise sugars in the saliva and resist to the active ingredients of toothpaste and cause damage to the teeth.

From all of these researches was born Alcatraz - the Genomic Encyclopedia of Bacteria and Archaea. Ideally this encyclopedia will manage to list all microorganisms present on the earth collecting data on each one's DNA...

One would hope that security would make it more difficult to "escape" from there than from the real Alcatraz!

Runner up, and up, and up...

2010-02-03T00:43:00.007Z

If the thought of a broken escalator fills you with dread you may consider staying away from the race I'm talking about!

Today people from 19 states and 17 different countries met in the lobby of the Empire State building for the annual Run-Up race from the foyer to the Observation Deck located on the 86th floor. The race covers 1576 steps... Now, I don't know about you but when sometimes the elevator in my building is broken I really don't relish the idea of climbing the steps to get to the 5th floor... But to the 86th?!? This event isn't really calling my name out loud!

This said it is quite typical of the extremes you can encounter in a city like NY where anything is "normal" and everything moves at such a pace that it takes a while for your head to stop spinning.

There was no shortage on New Yorkers who completed this race under intriguing circumstances and my appreciation goes to Ginette Bedard who completed the race in only 22:35, Ginette is 76, of French origins and she apparently just said "Oh la la!" once she finally reached the top... what a legend!

Safe for emergencies the ESB's staircase is only open once a year on this occasion so the runners always race through stale air and with a cloud of dust at every step. Considering how freezing and humid the air is at the 86th floor the runners end up racing into a big cloud and all remarked how wonderful that is.

This is an invitation only run and people wishing to participate should contact the New York Road Runners Club stating they wish to join... As much as I'm in awe of the people attempting the race, something tells me that I won't look up their number anytime in the near future though...

Every girl's dream!

2010-02-02T02:52:00.006Z

This afternoon, my friend Laura and I had to go and personally check out the 18th Annual Hot Chocolate Festival at the City Bakery.

I have to say that us girls did it out of the major sense of duty that drives us, going to sacrifice our line to gain knowledge on this very important event and spread the word.

Since 18 years, almost every day of the month of February there is a new flavour of hot chocolate (only 3 flavours are repeated) lovingly prepared and offered to the public...
To my surprise (NOT!) the majority of the people in line for the tasting were girls...

Here is this year's list of days and flavours:

1st - Lemon
2nd - Chili Pepper
3rd - Chinese Cinnamon
4th - Espresso
5th - Ginger
6th - Banana Peel
7th - Caramel
8th - Vanilla Bean
9th - Earl Grey Tea
10th - Moulin Rouge (pomegranate, espresso, dark chocolate, lemon)
11th - Tropical
12th - Bourbon
13th - Milk Chocolate
14th - Love Potion
15th - Vietnamese Cinnamon
16th - Hi Ho Pistachio
17th - Milk Chocolate
18th - Darkest Dark Chocolate
19th - Creamy Stout
20th - Happy
21st - Sunken Treasure
22nd - Ginger
23rd - Arabian Nights (cinnamon, liquorice, cardamon, pepper, coriander and a variety of tea leaves)
24th - Ode To The Polar Bear
25th - Beer & Brown Sugar
26th - Shangri-La
27th - Banana Peel
28th - Festival Finale (TBD)

If you are wondering about some of the favours such as Ode to the polar bear or Sunken treasure they are a mystery to me as well... :-S

On arrival we are greeted by chunky marshmallow curtains... I have never seen a marshmallow that big and wonder what would ever happen to them if I dared taking them home to my furry kitty friends... something tells me they wouldn't last long (and yes, I'm referring to the curtains not to my pests...)

That's quite fascinating though possibly not very practical to keep...

The bakery is big and it's starting to get crowded. It's that time of the day when a cup of tea (in this case of hot chocolate) is a need more than a want and people coming out from their offices, or in town for any reason, would think it a good idea to join the queue for a gulp of this rich, thick and perfumed treasure to warm the soul.

Today it's Lemon Hot Chocolate day and my brain rebels at the idea of anything citrusy mixed with anything milky but I also think that it must be something worth trying if it's the flavour chosen to open the festival... After all, one wouldn't want to scare the clients away on the first day!!!

So Laura and I shoot a quick video with our cameras at the entrance for Laura's Blog and get in.
Laua's blog is in Italian but, if you have even a basic understanding of the language, it's well worth a visit as all of NYC best hidden secrets are revealed!

We immediately notice the TV crew of Channel 4 news on site to report the event, this must be really good!

We join the line of people waiting and finally, when after a very long while a lady comes to ask us if we still had to pay, we realise that we were standing in the wrong spot and completely skipped a massive queue extending all around the main counter on the other side of where we were standing... I know this may sound typical Italian but this is actually typical of Laura and Dona... no bad intentions, just a bit ditzy!!!!

We order our chocolates and I say yes to a marshmallow because I belong to the school of thought that if one has to sin, the sin has to be worth to be committed!

When the cups arrive this is what we see:

The marshmallow in my chocolate is a white brick, same as the one they used for the curtains. Should I eat it? When I finally decide to pull it out from the chocolate my fingers feel the softness of the texture, my nose smells the very distinctive vanilla perfume it gives off and when I bite into it, it just perfectly melts in my mouth... I have never tasted anything like that... and to top it off it starts to offer me a bit of that lemon flavour my hot chocolate is supposed to taste of.

And I'm surprised... very pleasantly I must say!

Against all odds, lemon and chocolate marry extremely well, the drink is soothing, a bit exotic and I do polish the mug till the very last drop.

Unfortunately I have to go back to the UK on the 6th February but if the rest of the month is anything like today I may even consider go plea with Air France to move my departure date to the 1st of March and beg my classmates to take notes of all the medical lectures I'd miss during the month... After all life is made of priorities and who could ever deny that something like this is every girl's dream?!?

The strange case of the missing towels

2010-01-31T03:21:00.009Z

The hotel I'm staying at in NY (The Paramount) is amazing. Located just half a block from Times Square, this is the ideal location to enjoy sightseeing, fine dining, great shows and a fabulous atmosphere.

I don't have a bad word to say about anything. The room is spotless, the location great, the staff super friendly, the wi-fi really fast... except... I have been missing towels for a week now.

For some strange reason every night I come back from my day out and I have to call in at the front desk and report that the towels are missing from my room... And every night, just about 5 minutes after my chat to the front house manager a housekeeper knocks at my door with a warm set of fresh towels...

Still, it is beyond me how I had to ask for them for 6 nights in a row.

I'm annoyed, frustrated and to be honest also a bit baffled at this continuous lack of attention from the housekeeping department.

Have I upset anyone in such a way I deserve to be left without towels? Is my room under a spell and it becomes invisible when the housekeeping girls replenish the towel supply? Do they think I only need to shower once a week????
I'm puzzled to say the least!

Last night I even heard the front of the house manager speak to the housekeeping manager and giving her strict instructions on how to make sure I have towels in my room at all times... So why do I never have them?!?

Tonight again I'm towel-less when I return from a hard day out shopping, so I go and speak to lovely Amanda, the manager. I am not amused but keep it decent as I know it's not her fault. There MUST be a problem somewhere, I can't believe this is happening in such a hotel and after so many reports.

Five minutes later the housekeeper brings in new towels, five minutes after that Amanda shows up at my door to inspect the room and with her there is a guy from room service bringing in goodies to help quiet my frustration (ice-cream and hot chocolate, a girl's dream!!!)

Look here, look there and the towels are nowhere to be seen... Until... Amanda walks to the very end of the bathroom, looks straight in the mirror, tilts her head slightly to the left side and says: "Oh, but they are here!"

Here? Here where? Where in the name of goodness are these towels?!
"Here -she says- behind the mirror!"

BEHIND THE MIRROR?!?!

Yes, behind the mirror... and I:

1) Feel like an idiot for every single time I went to complain for the lack of towels in my room
2) Cringe at the potent laughter I know this post will raise with my followers
3) Know that I may look like a numpty to everyone present in the room at this moment but cradle my shattered ego in the concept that how in the world was I supposed to find the towels behind the mirror anyway?
4) Can't wait for everyone to leave me alone with the goodies they have brought up because, even if I possibly don't deserve them, I am fairly pleased I got them
5) Think that maybe tomorrow I may go down and see Amanda at the front desk asking for towels just so I don't lose the habit!

Bodies - The Exhibition

2010-01-30T13:00:00.007Z

During my little break in NY I find out that the famous (or infamous...) Bodies - The Exhibition is here and decided to go and check it out... After all it is something not to be missed if, like me, one is fascinated by the marvellous machine the human body is and especially if one is a med-student such as I!

I get in with a friend who doesn't belong to the medical environment. Luca is my friend Laura's husband, and he is just curious to see what is inside and maybe a bit apprehensive at the idea to be face to face with our innermost part, in the literal sense of the words.
This said, he follows me in... I'm delighted, it will be interesting to see the reactions of someone who hasn't been is such such close contact with bodies in this way, someone whose knowledge of anatomy is probably superficial compared to that of a med-student.

From a medical point of view I resolve to keep an eye on him just in case he feels a bit woozy looking at some of the stuff on show... After all not even I know what expects us inside.

The entrance is spacious, completely silent, and already from here before even seeing anything there is a sense of wonder... In a while we'll face our inner selves and that must count for some of the way I'm feeling now.
Bright lines projected on a wall welcome us and a sign explains that these images we'll find all the way through the exhibition are a representation of what the cells look like in different tissues of our body... very interesting... I imagined them to be quite different...

What follows are several areas where superbly preserved body parts and full size bodies are exposed. The skin and the fat covering the internal organs of these bodies have been dissected out and they are placed in different positions (eg. one of them is holding a basket ball and it seems ready to try a hoop) trying to emulate a movement chosen to highlight the particular function of a specific group of muscles.

I stand in awe in front of them... They have nothing to see with the cadavers we dissect at university and yet, they were once alive just as I am now...

I find out that the bodies of this exhibition have been prepared using a process called polymer preservation. In this process, tissue water is first removed by submersion in acetone. Then the acetone too, is removed in a vacuum chamber. During this step in the process, known as impregnation, the tissue space within the specimen, formerly filed with acetone, become filled instead with liquid silicone rubber. Lastly, during a step called curing, the silicone rubber is treated with a catalyst and hardened. The end product is a rubberised specimen that can be easily examined without any chance of deteriorating due to the natural decay.

I remember to ask Luca how he feels and what he thinks about the exhibition. He answers with an enthusiastic smile and a genuine interest in his voice when he answers: "I find everything fascinating!"
Fascinating is a word I love, that renders perfectly the idea of what the human body is, of what we know we are but that still can't be completely explained as we're a bit of a mystery and there is so much to learn.

I read the signs close to each specimen and add little bits here and there, things I think Luca may find interesting though I have to say that the exhibition is very well done and, even if someone doesn't have much of a clue about anatomy, everything is explained in that sort of detail that could benefit someone who isn't an expert helping to understand every body process in a substantial way but without ever being too specific, boring or difficult.

The exhibit is divided into body systems, every area deals with a specific aspect of our physiology, from the musculo-skeletal system and the support our bones and muscles provide, to the respiratory system and the importance of the lungs with a very interesting section showing the damage smoking does to the airways. Here I find out that a single cigarette shortens your life in average of 3 and half hours... Smoking kills, literally!

Luca is affected by the black lungs of a smoker in one of the displays and this makes me hope the specimen may help people understand the self-inflicted damage to their bodies...

One of the most impressive parts of the exhibition is the one concerning the cardio-vascular system. Here the shape of the body is defined by blood vessels that have been injected with chemical dyes (blue or red depending on whether they are arteries or veins) hardened and then all tissues around have been melted and flushed away so leaving only a very thick network of blood vessels, the result is simply breathtaking!

Even the part dedicated to the birth is outstanding with specimen of fetuses ranging from 4 weeks to complete delivery. Unfortunately, as sometimes happens in our bodies, something went wrong and some of these specimen are a strong reminder of how volatile our human condition is... A sign at the entrance of the room warns visitors that if they prefer not to enter they can bypass this area by exiting through a side door. Luca and I decide to brave it... We get in and what welcomes us is an outstanding display of little ones whose bones and organs are just beginning to form, and even those less pleasant to look at anyway put into perspective the miracle we are.

So, once arrived at the end, what is the verdict?

This exhibition most probably affects people in different way according to their background and knowledge of our basic physiological processes and anatomy but in essence, according to my humble opinion, this is something that everyone should go and see.
Too many people abuse their bodies with too much alcohol, a wrong diet, too little exercise, drugs... These abuses carry with them serious consequences such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes, some types of cancer which are mostly avoidable...

As a doctor in training I am convinced that the best medicine that can be prescribed to get to the root of some of these problems is a good dose of body education.
"Bodies" has been created with this idea in mind and both Luca and I, from a medical and non-medical point of view, agreed that a visit possibly would change the relationship you have with your body in a radical way - A definite must see!

With too much time on my hands...

2010-01-28T04:54:00.007Z

Well, I made it to Amsterdam on a quite uneventful flight, or so it seemed since I slept the whole time. I got told form an announcement on board that there was no way I'd make my flight so I took it easy and let the rest of the crowd run ahead before I made my way to the transfer desk... to my dismay there was not a single soul on site.

Are you kidding me, KLM?!? After all your flights are delayed on arrival you don't have any staff at the transfer desk?!? I sighed and decided to give a chance to one of the 30 automatic check-in stations lined up in front of me... which turned out to be a brilliant idea.

Not only the machine read my passport without any problems (that's a first!!!) but I also got my new boarding pass, a voucher for 15 Euros for lunch, 10 Euros for a phone call and 2000 points to be credited on my frequent flyer card and all of this just because I missed my connection flight... can't really complain! Today was just meant to be travel day anyway so it doesn't matter at what time I ultimately make it to NY.

I find myself with loads of free time on my hands now though... My flight is not until 17.45 and it's barely 2pm so the first thing I need to do is to get food.
You guessed it, I went to look for the sushi place and found it. I had a good go at it... My vegetarian meal was loaded on a flight I won't be on so, unless I make the best of this voucher, I'll be starving all the way to the big apple!

Next is duty-free shops browsing... There is a lovely local Delicatessen one with all sorts of cheeses and wild salmons, wafers, truffle oils and more chocolate than my brain could ever take in so I decided that's not safe for either my shape or my wallet and decide to do elsewhere...

My next stop is a Flowers and Bulbs shop, I am definitely in Holland! Too bad I will not be passing through Amsterdam on the way back from NY, I was considering getting a vase of tulips for my flat... Both my cats and I love tulips... alas, not for the same reasons!!!

Then something caught my eye... this booth called Back to Life... What could it be? A charity? A service dealing with people traumatised by traveling? Back to Life from where?! I had to go and check it out... Trying not to look too suspicious I approached the booth and had a look around; it turned out to be a massage parlour! Aaahhhh.... I didn't dare ask what kind of massage would bring someone "back to life" but the place was empty and I had been noticed so I decided it was time to keep on exploring and casually made my way back to the main area from where I came.

I ended up buying a pair of sparkling earrings and hair clips at an Accessorize shop... nothing really out of the ordinary since that's the same exact shop I go to in Scotland but I have decided to save my money to shop in NY.

I'm quite tired now, I just made it to the gate and still have about 2 hours to go before I can board. My eyes are closing and a few people sitting around me are desperately trying to see what I'm furiously typing on my keyboard but I won't let them!

Time to say goodbye now, I'll rest a bit before getting on the plane and then enjoy the movies on board...

More to follow from the crazy city I'm heading to... unless this plane throws a tantrum too!!!

New York bound...

2010-01-26T05:50:00.003Z

So, I've been absent for quite a while from my blog and have now resumed writing during this little peaceful break from university.
Life has been hectic as it usually is for me and with a few surprises... Some not that welcome but I usually manage to cope with anything so I'm sure it'll be just the same this time.

At the moment I'm sitting at Edinburgh airport waiting for my flight to New York. It was supposed to take off an hour ago but I'm still here waiting for it to arrive from Amsterdam where apparently it broke. Just my luck!
As in all situations though, there is a positive side to it and I struck up a conversation with this lovely older guy who is originally from here but planted in Chicago since 36 years.
He told me how he spent most of his life in the army and even pulled out a black and white picture older than I am of him in uniform with kilt and all... how sweet!
I found out that his daughter is in the Navy, that he's going home after having visited his brother for his 65th birthday and that he just got to meet his first great grandson who is just 18 months old.

I feel refreshed by the conversation.I can see the pride in this man's eyes as he speaks about his family. Coming from a tight family myself, I'm loving this!

In a bid to keep myself entertained in this small departure lounge I wander to W H Smith and start looking for a book to read. It doesn't matter that I already have one in my handbag and another three in my suitcase, a book never goes to waste, sooner or later I'll get to it!
So I fond this one called "What's up Doc?" by a certain Dr Hilary Jones who turns out to be a guy (despite the Hilary name!) and I decided to get it since "what best to buy when you're a baby doctor yourself?". Hopefully it will provide insight and inspiration and if not, at least I hope it'll make time pass.

I get myself a skinny caramel latte at Costa as a little treat and settle in the chair at the gate waiting for my plane to land... except that the board is flashing a green banner saying "Boarding" and the plane isn't even here yet...
Does that mean that they are boarding in Amsterdam? Or at some other gate? the departure board still displays gate 3 which is where I'm sitting at the moment so I should be ok... Maybe I'll even make my connection in the Netherlands as the staff will come and get me like a celebrity at the plane with one of those ridiculous carts that are quite useful when you're late but really should only be allowed on golf courses they are that ugly!
In such a case I doubt that: 1) my bags will follow me swiftly, 2) I'll be treated like a celebrity and 3) I'll look fashionable on the ugly cart but I'll suck it up in the name of the connection flight!
Worst case scenario they have a lovely sushi restaurant so I'll stop there for my favourite snack.
It has been a hell of a month and I'm desperately looking forward to a break with one of my best friends in NY and to some cool American medical training (chances of me turning into a real life Dr. House?!?)

Oh... plane has finally landed... I'm off... But I'll be back soon, I promise! ... Most likely from Amsterdam where I'll definitely miss my connection!!!

Tip-toeing around Edinburgh

2009-12-26T00:53:00.003Z

It's Christmas night... The day has passed and it was a very good one...

Lots of food, lots of laughter, lots of napping too... so Italian!

And after all that my dad, my brother and I decided to go into town to experience a little bit of the festive Scottish spirit...

Never had I seen Princes street so deserted. Never had I seen it so quiet.

The expression "Ghost town" doesn't even cut it... There wasn't a single soul about!

How amazing!

The thing of which there was plenty about however, was ice!

After the heavy snowfalls of the past 2 days and the sub-freezing temperatures that did indeed granted the kid inside all of us a white Christmas, ice covered every single inch of pavement we put our feet on. It made our little expedition seem quite an adventure!

It was one of those occasions in which I wished I had taken up ice-skating when I had the chance to learn how to, one of those moments in which I wished I had forgotten I am Italian and fashionable and wore sturdy trainers rather than fancy boots (and there wasn't even anyone around to admire them!!!)... I almost landed on my "soft spot" a couple of times, ended up in hysterics laughing with my brother in the middle of the road.

He crossed Princess Street shamelessly without even having to look right and then left (and thank goodness because he may have gotten it the wrong way around being from another country!) skidding like a child...

The pace was much slower, the attention to detail enhanced...
Has anybody noticed that some of the Christmas lights outside John Lewis flicker and some don't?
Has any of you realised that the coffee cups in Costa on Castle street are stacked on the side of the coffee machine rather than on top of it at night?
And has anyone taken the time to look through the little fissure in the paper blocking the view inside the new Primark and gathered that if your wish is to go shopping there soon it ain't happening because the place is a completely empty concrete cell and the light bulbs are just hanging from metal hooks...
And also... Have you ever taken the time to see how beautiful the blue lights look on the trees that line Princes Street?

Oh, and I finally saw the infamous tram tracks... did we really pay all that money for that?!?
I'm sure they'll be great once they'll go, they just look a tad bit awkward now...

When the city is empty, when the hearts are happy, when your eyes are open, when ice becomes your play buddy... that's when you discover the place you live in... and it's beautiful!!!

Early Experiences in the Dissection Room

2009-10-25T23:46:00.003Z

Learning by dissecting real bodies is nothing short of an amazing opportunity.That’s what I have always thought so it’s no surprise that the idea of entering the DR has been for all the months previous to coming to St Andrews a fix thought in my mind.

Several thoughts came to my mind.
What if I don’t like it?
My friend told me it smells of formaldehyde and my nose is quite sensitive… What does formaldehyde smells like anyway???
What if I get too emotional looking at my cadaver? I have seen my fair share of dead people already but I didn’t have to spend time with them for months so I was quite unsure of how I would have felt.

The only word that comes to my mind when I think at the first time I entered the DR is “awesome”. So exciting... I can tell everyone who knows me that I dissect real human bodies now!
I did get a bit emotional looking at 686, that’s how we call him and it’s quite weird to think of him as a number after all, just a couple of years ago, he was as alive as I am.
One thing that I found peculiar was that his face was covered… why? Shouldn’t we look at this person who gave us this amazing gift? Maybe it was done for those sweet young souls that are just out of school, those who don’t have seen much of what happens when you die… those who have seen nothing about an older body.
I didn’t like this fact so, when people weren’t watching, I did lift up the cloth and had a good look at 686’s face. At least now I know who I’m dealing with.You may disagree but I find this quite more respectful than keeping his face covered. My opinion though…

The first session in the DR left an exhilarating feeling in me, how cool!
The second time we went in and all of the successive ones it was like second nature. Get in, get your gloves on, tick your name off the register and wait for the demonstrator to come around.Sometimes we just work on models and body parts, some other times 686 is there to teach us.I wonder where do they hide him when the models are present instead.
Somehow I identify the DR with him and though I’m grateful for everything (models and body parts included) when 686 is not on display I miss him, silly me!

Last week we learnt everything about the heart and the cardiovascular system. Dr Wood pointed us in the right direction and let us find out the fact by ourselves before coming and check that we got it right. I love it, I love that we’re not spoon fed every tiny bit of information but we are given the tools to find out on our own. The most bizarre thing however was that he put 686’s heart in my hands and left me with it.
Oh dear! That’s a new experience…

Holding someone’s heart in the palm of your hands… it definitely has a complete different meaning to the expression we use as living people!
But I did it and it felt good… and while I was looking at it, pushing my fingers through the blood vessels and reaching the inside of the heart I felt professional, I felt curious, I felt amazed and I felt a little bit intrusive but all in all the most important thing that I have learnt so far in the DR is that being intrusive and curious is one of the best attitudes that a doctor in training (or not…) should have.

So forgive me for loving it!

Medical update...

2009-10-14T21:55:00.004+01:00

Almost three weeks in and going crazy!

It's all good fun, loving the lectures, enchanted by the practicals (though most time I'm told to shut up not to spoil it for those who don't have much knowledge of first aid!) and bored by hand washing but understanding it's quite essential...

Workload: HUGE!!! If one takes it seriously of course...
I suppose my commuting back and forth from Edinburgh doesn't help either...

Thank goodness for amazing friends who offer me a place where to stay when it's needed and for those who offer to cat-sit when I do have to take up the offer of a place to stay.

Anything changed from the beginning? Yes and no...

Yes, I have made so many more new friends. Some similar to me, some very different, all of them enriching my experience in med-school!
In the space of three weeks I think I have learnt so much new stuff I couldn't even fathom to fit in my head but, lo and behold, it fits!!!
I've become an expert in tissues, bones, joints and muscles though I know that in a few weeks I'll look back and what is considered "an expert" tonight will be a beginner then...
I love that my lecturers start to recognise me... A few know me by name, by the fact that I am the crazy one commuting from Edi and the one they have to hide from if they see me in a corridor as I'll occasionally surprise them with random questions!!! :-) But I know they love it, really!!!

No, the fact that I still feel like I have won the lottery by entering here is still very much the same. Just tonight I read an article stating that this year about 30,000 students have not made it into university for lack of places... But I'm here...
The will of working hard is still very much present and growing with every new exciting thing we learn. I do tend to get a bit lost in things I find interesting rather than focus on the task we are given but that's just me and I suppose becoming a doctor requires having an inquisitive mind so yeah, I'm exploring my new realm now... I'm tired, a lot, oh but it's worth it!

We have to do loads of reflecting writing, I do reflect so much for that and then I don't feel like reflecting for the blog anymore but one day I'll look back on what I'm writing now and I'll smile... Can't certainly put on my reflective pieces some of the stuff I write on here...
It's good though, it helps me to consider a lot of things under a different perspective!

So all in all everything still shines... let's hope I'll feel the same after seeing my mid-semester assessment results!!!

To number 686...

2009-09-30T21:18:00.004+01:00

Dear number 686,

You don't know me yet and I still haven't had the pleasure to meet you though I'm looking forward to that happening in a couple of days.
Today I saw the place where we'll meet... It gets crowded and there will be many people in there so we won't really have a quiet time together but I'm sure we'll like each other... I already feel I like you!
And this is because you have given me an incredible gift that will help me become the doctor I aim to be and for this I'll be eternally grateful. Through your gift I'll gain knowledge, confidence and skills. I promise always to be respectful and try my best to do things right with you. I'll come prepared for our meetings and I'll be very careful to make the most of what I'll learn from you!

I'm glad we never met before, it would have made the next few months a bit awkward otherwise and I possibly wouldn't be able to enjoy your gift as much but this doesn't mean that I wouldn't have been curious to hear what you have done before coming to St Andrews... Who knows? Maybe one day I will find out...

I wish I could tell you a bit about myself, it seems a bit unfair that I'll be able to discover your innermost secrets and you don't even know my name.
I'm really looking forward to be with you and I am really appreciative and a bit emotional thinking that if it weren't for you and others like you I wouldn't have the amazing opportunity of discovering what makes our bodies so special!

So here is my thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to you my cadaver, one day I'll know your name but for the moment you're number 686 and I already feel like we have a connection!

Dona x

One week on...

2009-09-25T19:50:00.005+01:00

Unbelievable...

After having wished for the moment I would start med school to come for what seemed to be an endless summer, a week has already passed and things will start to get serious from next Monday!

So how was my first week at St Andrews?

Well, I have to say:
"exciting" coming from the realisation that I am a proper doctor in training now,
"brilliant" thanks to all the new friends I have already made,
"inspiring" after all the talks from our lecturers and presentations of the university,
"a bit of a drag" after we have heard the same rules explained several times in a row though I supposed that, since it's quite important that us doctors behave professionally, it doesn't hurt to repeat them just a few extra times
"happy" because I am finally doing what I have wanted to do for just about a lifetime
"daunting" as of course pressure was put on us to perform to the best of our abilities
"fattening" thanks to the several social events that were organised to socialise with our classmates.

All considered, despite having to part with some blood to be tested for some diseases to make sure we're fit to practice, I am still living a dream and it's unlikely that this feeling will change anytime soon!

So bring on the real clinical stuff from next week, see the "baby-doctor" (as we have been defined by our lecturers) grow into someone that will be able to make the difference in people's lives...

I am ready, loving it and rearing to go!

Music to my ears

2009-09-13T17:15:00.007+01:00

Though music it was not!

Saturday I headed towards Leuchars with a friend and his dad to see the airshow which takes place every year in September.

The weather was just perfect for such an event and even the 3 hours sitting in traffic we had to endure didn't curb the enthusiasm of assisting to such an amazing show.

The place was incredibly crowded and taking pictures was challenging to say the least but the day was fabulous and the flying displays were just incredible. Especially the one of the Red Arrows that painted the sky red white and blue in different shapes (including a heart!)

As I was standing there watching these flying machines sail effortlessly through the sky and hearing the blast of the engines I wondered how breathtaking it must be for a jet pilot to be able to do such things, to fly at that speed, to own the sky and to turn so many heads...

I had to take a picture close to one of these beautiful iron birds...

What an amazing day!

The new sister

2009-09-13T16:50:00.009+01:00

She arrived just before I left to go on holiday in Italy... Gift (alas, to be returned) of a friend in need

A little bundle of fur, quite scared and aggressive; never I had heard a cat growl like a bear but she did give a very good demonstration of it.

The first few nights she slept close to me, in my bedroom with the door closed... after spending the first afternoon hiding under the bed she came out and started exploring.

Now she's unstoppable!

She eats any food that's left around, has put her two stepbrothers in line and she rules the house.
No place is off boundaries and she walks around like a queen in her castle...

This said, still at night she cuddles close to me with her head resting in the palm of my hand and she purrs looking at me with those beautiful, enticing, emerald eyes she was gifted with...

Welcome to your step-family India... you are the proof that any girl will always rule!

Love you loads already!!!

Back to school...

2009-09-11T10:30:00.004+01:00

Well, I have been absent for a month or so...

Been on holiday, ate too much food, traveled around a bit, had fun with friends... even gave a bath to our dog!

But now the fun is over and it's time to get serious again (who me?!?)

In just over a week my adventure at St Andrew's will begin and though that will be so much fun in many ways it also needs to be taken seriously because that's my future... That's what will finish to make me the doctor I want to be and give me the tools to make the difference in people's lives.

I'm all sorted (have been for a while actually :-p)! Have my books, loads of stationery, coloured pens, pads to take notes, folders already set up on my laptop and yes, I even have all my folders colour co-ordinated with the subjects... In short, I need nothing else but my train tickets to get up there.

Wish me luck!!!

Befriending dinner

2009-08-04T12:40:00.005+01:00

Oh, I have a soft spot for funny stories and this one really made my day!

It is about an unlikely friendship developed between a snake and his evening snack Gohan, the hamster.
Instead of gulping it down Aochan (the snake) took a liking in this unusual friend
They now share a cage and apparently some night Gohan falls asleep on top of his friend snake.

Now I suppose this is a very good way mother nature has to teach us about friendship, how it can conquer even the highest barriers, how it transcends background and species...
It really made me think... if animals can why is it so difficult for humans?!

Though as much as I appreciate the beauty of the story don't ever expect me to befriend my chocolate cake slice! :-)

A historic date...

2009-08-02T23:37:00.004+01:00

I found this application on Facebook which can tell you what important historic events happened on the date of your birth on different years.

Even if I wasn't expecting to find anything interesting I decided that it was worth a try and went ahead to input 26th October 1973 (yes, I am that old!)
Here is a selection of the most relevant of the 149 events the application brought up...

Some of the events are more important than others but I have picked these specific ones because they all seemed interesting to me... so I added a little comment on the side

1994 - Jordan and Israel sign peace accord - There should be hope for everyone than...
1988 - U.S. - Soviet effort free 2 grey whales from frozen Arctic, Barrow, AK - Awesome!
1984 - "Baby Fae" gets baboon heart transplant, lives 21 days - Beginning of something big.
1973 - Dona Braghieri's Birthday! - Best reason to like this date???
1973 - President Nixon released 1st White House tapes on Watergate scandal - A mess...
1972 - Guided tours of Alcatraz (by Park Service) begin - I've taken one... they're scary...
1966 - 1st Pacific communications satellite launched, Intelsat 2 - Maybe should blame this for my high phone bills...
1958 - PanAm flies 1st transatlantic jet trip - New York to Paris - And the real holidays began!
1954 - Chevrolet unveils V-8 engine - My engine!
1950 - Mother Teresa found her Mission of Charity in Calcutta, India - Inspiring!
1938 - Du Pont named its new synthetic fiber "nylon" - Such a cool fabric!
1922 - Italian government resigns under pressure from fascists and Benito Mussolini - Oh well... we all have our dark spots
1916 - Margaret Sanger arrested for obscenity (advocating birth control) - She should see the world nowadays!
1912 - Woolwich Tunnel under Thames opens - No more need to swim
1900 - After 4 years of work, 1st section of New York subway opens - And now it's a labyrinth!
1863 - Soccer rules standardized; rugby starts as a separate game - The day the male population started to go downhill..
1863 - Worldwide Red Cross organized in Geneva - Had to put this one in for obvious reasons!
1861 - Pony Express ends - But I did love the idea of the Pony Express service...
1858 - Hamilton Smith patents rotary washing machine - A saint to housewives!
1749 - Georgia Colony reverses itself and rules slavery is legal - Hurray!
1524 - Spanish troops give Milan to France - Luckily we were only French for a short while! :-p
1492 - Lead pencils 1st used - where would the world be without lead pencils?

The "tragicomic" things of life

2009-07-29T14:05:00.005+01:00

Despite the title this is quite a sad post... A post that describes how disconcerting certain things can get...

Last night I got a call to go out and support a fire victim through a British Red Cross service we offer in conjunction with the fire brigades.

On arrival the fire was extinguished, the old lady whose house went up in smoke was with a neighbour and a friend looking after her and all that was left from the horror was just a river of water running from her flat, the charred walls and an acre smell of smoke.

Tragic - that something like this was done on purpose!
Tragic - that this poor lady has endured molestation from this other person for over 20 years.
Tragic - that there are people out there that would go to any extent to get what they want and when they don't succeed they retaliate in the most awful way.

Comic - it was done by a guy well past his 70's who apparently wants an affair with her!

Don't find it comic? I did...
As a matter of fact I had to get away from the scene to go and laugh quietly for a moment.
You don't understand? I'll explain...

Providing this service we see horrid things, families left without anything but the clothes they are wearing (sometimes not even much of that), people who are left stranded, with no place to go they can call their own, sometimes rejected by relatives because of a baby or a pet they have (yes, it has happened right before my eyes!) shivering in the cold, 90% of the times it happens while it's raining as weather doesn't care about poor people out on the street...

Most of the times we have people in our van, we give them what we can, keep them warm, listen without interrupting because from a starting silence a flow of emotion (and possibly tears) usually erupts.

But tonight I heard the story of this lady who was at the Bingo with a friend and came home to find her flat grilled by an older guy who just can't bare to be rejected... I was very supportive but then I left.

This is my way of coping with what I saw, we all have one...
Some of the fire fighters were discussing exactly the same!
Stereotypically a man like this should be at the pub with mates, or walking a dog, or betting on football as the greatest thrill but no, for passion he set fire to his "object of lust" 's flat...
Good grief!

Don't judge me badly... The private chuckle wasn't due to lack of respect for the lady (that's why it was kept private for starters) but my way of dealing with these things I face as I provide support to people...

Once home I took a shower to get the smell of smoke out of my hair and thinking I would have never seen the day in which I would be thankful for Bingo Halls but there it was, that day...

And another smile surfaced safe in the knowledge that at least the lady was unharmed though she didn't win anything...

Old time medicine

2009-07-24T02:12:00.007+01:00

Since it's still holiday time I have plenty of free hours during the day to do what suits me.

It varies everyday but today was dedicated to mindless TV.

I don't usually spend time watching TV and never find anything too interesting save a few cooking programs and some fascinating documentaries on the Discovery channels so mostly I sit in the living room having the TV as a background noise...

In the afternoon, while I was searching for something that would induce a well deserved nap, I stumbled on a programme that instead tickled my curiosity.

It was a program on old-time medicine and how practitioners (mostly who didn't really have a clue!) travelled from town to town putting up quite a show in front of crowds...

I'm not sure about the healing properties of the concoctions they used to sell but certainly the entertainment value was outstanding.

Old time medicines contained everything from arsenic to opium and promised instant cures.

Winslow's Soothing Syrup was one of them, seen as indispensable to quiet babies and teething toddlers, it was based on a fantastic ingredient: Morphine!

Thank goodness today nobody would ever dream of calming down a baby by giving morphine (not that they'd confess to it at least!) but there are several other substances that were used at the beginning that we definitely wouldn't use in conventional medicines nowadays.

Opium was commonly used to control coughing

Arsenic and Mercury cured syphilis

Cocaine cured toothache

Heroin was given to help with asthma

Now, I am asthmatic, imagine me turning to my dad and trying to explain that the heroin I'd keep in my drawer only had curative purposes!!!

Some medicines simply took an all-round approach. In 1862, Mixer's Cancer and Scrofula Syrup claimed to treat "Cancer, Tumors, Erysipelas, Abscesses, Ulcers, Fever Sores, Goiter, Catarrh, Salt Rheum, Scald Head, Piles, Rheumatism, and ALL BLOOD DISEASES."

Goodness me, give me the formula for that and who needs med school for the next 6 years?!?

No doubt there will be more medical advances on the horizon that will make some of today's medicines outdated. So perhaps it's wise to avoid smugness.

All I know is that I found a few pictures that I want to share that really had me torn between horror and seriously thinking "Come on... you know it works!" :-)

Cocaine Toothache Drops - You'd end up so high that for sure you wouldn't feel the pain anymore

Bayer used to sell Heroin syrup as a non-addictive alternative to cocaine - REALLY?!?

Coca Wine - A Tonic... yeah, for sure

Syrup to calm babies - Opium and 46% alcohol... They would definitely sleep well on that! I know a few adults who calm down on a 4% alcohol!!!

The best plans are the ones NOT laid out...

2009-07-18T10:44:00.008+01:00

I am an organised being... there is no denying it!

Some people would call me a "control freak" but honestly I don't mind if that means I know what is happening... I have to have everything laid out, square and sorted (way before it's needed...) so I can relax.

In September I'll start med school at St. Andrews university and since commuting from Edinburgh presents many options, Stu and I explored a few
So, in view of that, husband and I yesterday took a drive to Inverkeithing to visit the train station. Driving there in the morning and taking the train to Leuchars resulted being our choice for the cheapest and most convenient way to commute.

After having seen the station, the car park and having walked from the car park to the station to see how long it would take me, we decided that it was a good day for a drive and opted for the arrival station close to St. Andrews. Since we had seen where to start we might as well see where it ended and where I'd need to get the bus to get to uni.

So we set off towards Leuchars and once arrived there and seen what we needed to see we headed on to St Andrews. Weather was typical Scottish but we weren't discouraged... After all, when you live here you have to put up with it!

From Inverkeithing, I had called my friend Leia just to check if she was around and maybe have a coffee together when we arrived.

We met at Costa and what was supposed to be just a friendly coffee became a fantastic day of fun together. We moved from Costa to a pub, waited for Leia's boyfriend Andrew to join us after work, realised that "shy" Andrew close to my husband Stuart definitely wasn't so shy and moved over to his restaurant for dinner.

Had a massive bottle of wine, tons of food, weird (but delicious) ice-cream, an undrinkable cocktail that was drunk anyway and... took a couple of pictures!

Yeah... erm... well... funny!

Then we went to the Raisin pub, played pool, met new friends, chose cool songs from the juke-box and, after what seemed like a long long time, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways...

It turned out to be an amazing day, despite the pouring rain, the blister on my foot caused by the new shoes (after all I wasn't really supposed to walk anywhere!!!) and even managed to take home a half sober husband... what a night!

So yeah, sometimes things done on the spur of the moment turn out just as great as the organised ones...

Though never ask me to apply the same principle when I'm dealing with school stuff... the control freak in me may just rebel!

Human Chimera

2009-07-16T00:29:00.005+01:00

In ancient Greek mythology the Chimera was a monstrous animal whose body was composed of parts coming from different species: the body of a lioness, the head of a goat and a snake as a tail.
In Italian a Chimera is a foolish fantasy, something unreal (a bit like the animal I suppose)

In genetics a Chimera is an animal that has two or more different populations of genetically distinct cells that originated in different zygotes.
In vitro, embryos of a species are mixed with cells of another species to create an animal composed of different parts...

Sounds difficult?
Let's make it clearer...

Imagine a mother discovered one day that one of her two children was genetically not hers.
Suddenly the question becomes not “Who?” but rather “Huh?”

It's almost unheard of and yet it does happen... The mother is a human Chimera

The most common form of human chimera is called a blood chimera. This happens when fraternal twins share some portion of the same placenta. Each twin is genetically separate except for their blood, which has two distinct sets of genes, and even two distinct blood types.

What happened to "the mother" is a much rarer occurrence. Rather than a simple exchange of blood, "the mother and her fraternal twin" merged in utero, leaving only one fetus. The cells in her body are a mosaic of genes from both of the original embryos.

After a bit of research I found out that doctors at the University of Edinburgh in 1998 had a patient referred to them for an undescended left testicle. However, when they examined him they could not find a second one. Instead they found something unexpected, an ovary and a fallopian tube. This patient was a chimera formed from the fusion of male and female embryos.

And I thought I had it all figured out! ...

The Stanford Prison Experiment

2009-07-08T23:33:00.009+01:00

"Prisoner 8612, against the wall!" The prisoner ignores the guard.
His mind is reeling. It feels like everything is pressing in on him, as though he is going mad.
"Against the wall!" the guard shouts again. "Come on, somebody get him back in line"
Suddenly 8612 wheels to face the guard. "Listen, if I have to be in here I am not going to put up with this... I mean, really!!!" The prisoner turns and grips one of his fellow prisoners by the arm. "I couldn't even get out" he hisses. There's a desperate edge to his voice. "They wouldn't let me out. You can't get out of here."
The other prisoners laugh nervously, but you can see it in their eyes - the sudden flash of panic. He couldn't get out? That means that this is an actual prison. And they're stuck inside

This is a brief account of an episode that happened during the Stanford Prison Experiment

Started as a game, 20 persons volunteered to spend two weeks in a fake jail in the basement of the Stanford Psychology Department, dressed up as prisoners and guards.

The idea of Philip Zimbardo was conceived to investigate what situations make good people turn bad. A prison sounded like the ideal place to get answers to his questions.
What makes prisons such violent places? Was it the character of the prisoners or the guards to blame? Or was it the structure of the prison itself that brought out the worst in people?

He ended up getting his answer quite fast and in a brutal way...

The researchers had held an orientation meeting for the guys playing the role of guards the day before the experiment, during which they told them that they could not physically harm the prisoners but they could use the type of language they preferred to insult them, they could withhold basic necessities such as food and blankets.
They could create in the prisoners feelings of boredom, a sense of fear to some degree, take away completely their privacy and individuality in various ways.
At night, when the guards thought the researchers weren't watching the worse type of abuses were used.

The experiment went so far that after just 36 hours into the two weeks one of the prisoner (8612) had to be released.
After 6 days the experiment was halted because the prisoners were mentally broken and the guards had turned into monsters.

This was just an experiment but it was a very good way to prove how power has a very poisoning effect on many people turning them in some cases into greedy, selfish, heartless beings. There was no need for the guards to punish the prisoners in that way, they were not told to abuse them but they did. Strong in the fact that they had unlimited power over the prisoners they used it in the worst way.

In my own little surroundings I have seen it happening too... even if on a small scale, when people got promoted to a new job and all of a sudden they were in charge of other workers... they became lazy, rude and demanding. Mind you, not all of them but I have seen my fair share of this happening... a bit too many times to consider it just a coincidence.

It makes me wonder if this is what happens to people who hold the utmost power in our countries, those who make decisions on our behalf, those who are caught stealing our money for their own benefit, cover their mischiefs so we don't find out since it would be only fair we asked for them to be removed from their places... are they like the guards?

I certainly hope not... but I fear I might be wrong on a few accounts...

Old/New Friends

2009-07-08T22:49:00.007+01:00

Mexico was a magical place for many reasons but possibly the most important one and the one I feel I have to talk about has been giving me the opportunity to reconnect with two friends that were kind of "lost"

It wasn't Mexico "per se" but since it happened there it really made my holiday even more special.

I tend to protect the people I write about because I am of that nature so I won't give any names or too many details about them but their stories are pretty amazing and mean quite a lot to me so I want to share them.

One is a girl, a lovely girl who apparently at birth was diagnosed as not being able to survive past her 5th birthday (or there about), she's well past her 30s now and very well. This girl was a passenger a few years ago on one of the cruise ships I was travelling on.
Bond doesn't even cut it as a word to describe what united us.

"Someone" had a plan and she told me things that, even if at that moment I didn't realise, changed my life in so many ways they literally turned inside-out my reality making it exceptional.
She works as a missionary speaker now, has an amazing husband, got one of her dogs from a bush and is one of the persons I admire most amongst all my friends.

I met this girl only once in my life, have been in contact with her for years, lost her because life gets in the middle but found her again... and it was like if nothing had ever changed (or better, things had substantially changed for me but between us everything was just the same...)

The other friend is a guy, a very fascinating person who travelled a lot though, instead of sailing the seven seas, he flys the blue sky.

One day I helped a passenger sort out some problems with her excursions on the ship, and the next day again and the one after again... we became friends... we had dinner together on board a couple of nights and as she was about to disembark the ship she asked me if she could get my email for a guy she knew because she thought I was the "female" version of him and I would make an excellent friend.

I smiled, what a weird way of getting a friend!

But I did give her my email and I did receive a message from this guy a few weeks later.
The message got my answer, and then an answer back and soon this person became essential in a way I can't quite explain for me to get through the long months on the ship.
He got my thoughts and tales about my travels, I got his humor and reflections on daily life.

And I just loved it!

As for the girl, I have met this guy only once in my life, have been in contact with him for years, lost him because life gets in the middle but found him again... and it was like if nothing had ever changed... again.

I love that life challenges you in so many ways and then it surprises you with things you wouldn't expect and, as I'm getting to know my two old/new friends again, I can't help but being grateful for the memories they both brought back and the ones I know I'll build with them from now on.

Love to have you back guys!

Clever country

2009-06-28T22:03:00.005+01:00

At the moment we must catch the sunshine as soon as we can.
Looking at the satellite pictures there's a big cloud right over Cancun so we know it's not going to shift in a couple of hours.

I feel a bit like at home, were it not for the difference in temperature, where literally everyone sprawls outdoor as soon as they can see a ray of sun. So it is here today...
Sitting on our terrace we wait for the sun to come out from behind a cloud to run by the pool and then run back 20 mins later when buckets of water are chucked down on us.

"What is the point in running back and forth from the room Dona?" Asks my long suffering husband who instead supports the school of thought that, since you're getting wet anyway, you might as well keep inside the pool.

And he may be right... the pool has a swim up bar (so typical in all inclusive resorts!) a restaurant built right on the edge of it, steps at different levels so you can decide how much of you is actually getting wet, a sheltered area for when it does rain and a proper section with chairs, Jacuzzis and cabañas for when the sun does come out.

I frown... "You know I get cold if I spend too much time in the water!" I try to explain...
Stuart laughs, he knows!

So I'm off to spend some time at the Spa which is covered and I leave hubby sitting at the swim up bar with friends thinking that besides the ruins and swimming with the dolphins this set-up is the reason why people come on holiday here.
Good weather, free drinks and food, amazing service (needs tipping however!)
And tipping makes the world go around, for sure it does in tourist destinations and it's while I ponder tipping that I realise that I have all the money in my bag and Stuart is left at the bar without any.

So I run back trying not to slip on the wet tiles (what a show if I did!) and tell him that I have the pesos and ask where does he want me to leave them
He chuckles and tells me he actually has taken the money from my bag.
"What? And where is it?" I ask
"In my pocket!" says he, like if it was the most natural thing to say... which it would hadn't it been that he was sitting in the pool.
"Eh?!?" is all I manage to answer back
And then he realises what is going through my brain and says "Oh, don't worry, the money is waterproof!"

So I stand there, a bit dumbfounded but not even that much.
Someone who likes logic like me cannot fail to appreciate the fact that, in a place where tipping is everything, they made it easy for those sitting at the swim up bar not to find an excuse for not carrying money on them or if the consumption of alcohol becomes too high and one forgets having money in the trunks pockets it would still be good for tipping after all...

What a clever country!

The Coffee House

2009-06-27T00:11:00.009+01:00

This resort we're at in Cancun is awesome.... It even has a coffee house!
And though really you may not be tempted by a hot coffee when it's 32 degree C outside, the decor must be seen.

For those in the UK it resembles a lot to what you would find walking into a Costa Coffee, for those around the world imagine a Starbucks but with better coffee and dark red, warm tones and very comfortable large sofas.

The walls are tinted maroon and different size framed pictures of coffe mugs, coffee ads and coffee beans hang around.
There is a marble counter sitting on dark wood cabinets and a display of pastries and sandwiches that makes your mouth water just by thinking about it.

Walking past and looking in you feel a warm fuzz feeling growing inside.
This coffee house should be in a montain chalet somewhere in a ski resort, certainly not in Mexico!

This morning In went in... finally!

The sky outside dark with threatening clouds, the sea breeze feeling more like the one preceding a thunderstorm than the gentle refreshing breeze I'm used to find here, so I give into temptation and walk in looking for a nice latte and maybe some cream on top, just as an extra treat.

I look at the display, choose a fruit tart (amazing, by the way!) order my latte and sit down to wait. If the coffee is to compare with the tart it must be to die for.
I sit patiently, smile on my face thinking that a cool morning in Mexico actually has some positive sides and wondering if a latte in Cancun is the same as a latte in Edinburgh

5 minutes pass and still nothing...

Since I am the only guest in there I start wondering what can take someone so long to make a simple skinny latte and spray some whipped cream on... anyway, I wait.
After 5 more minutes the guy working behind the corner comes over and asks me to repeat the order again, I do... he looks a bit puzzled...

Ok I think, maybe latte means just milk like in Italy so I repeat again what I want, but this time I do it in Spanish and explain that I do want milk and coffee together. I even go to the extent of explaining that he can put the hot milk in before the coffee, and then add the foam at the end.

Suddenly his eyes light up, he has a eureka moment, takes my hand and asks me to follow him behind the counter just around the corner where I am presented with something that if I hadn't been gifted with the self control I possess this would have sent me down on the floor laughing like a maniac!

In front of me stands a coffee machine! But not a Costa/Starbucks-super-spaceship-mega-coffee-machine, it's more like a vending machine type of coffee machine, with small buttons telling me what will come up in my plastic cup and how much sugar will be added.
I smile, trying not to look suspicious, and point at the "cafe con leche" button.

I decide to pass on the whipped cream just in case the poor guy feels obliged to take me around the other corner and possibly introduce me to a cow needing to be milked or something...

Now I understand why this coffee house is in Mexico and not in the Colorado mountains...
Nonetheless, I am grateful for a warming cup since I'm cold and actually, the vending machine coffee ended up being quite good
:-)

Meet Pablo...

2009-06-24T22:47:00.005+01:00

I have written about this on my Facebook status but not everyone can read that and it's such a funny story that it is calling to be told... so here it is...

6.15am is the time I get down to the pool since the day we arrived here in Cancun.
It may sound like awfully early in the morning but honestly, it's the same as 12.15pm in the UK so it's not so bad, actually, it's a heck of a lay in!

So, 6.15am I pick up the pool bag that I packed the night before with sunscreen, sunglasses, a bottle of water, room key and a book and make my way down trying not to wake up hubby.

The main reason why I do it is to get the best place by the pool, where it's sunny throughout the day and quite close to the bar (for hubby's sake!) and also to get one of the few floating mats that are available. They disappear pretty soon so I make a point of being there early to get it.

So early in the morning there is nobody around, the sunrise is gorgeous, rays of light breaking through the clouds and birds chirping with sounds I had never heard before.
So early I keep on napping on the pool chair and hear conversations between staff members... the few that are already working... That's how I met Pablo, the pool man.

I heard someone calling him one day while I was half asleep, that's how I know that his name is Pablo.
He is always there when I arrive.
Pablo cleans the pool, that's the only thing he does... all day long!
He uses a kind of machine when it's early and nobody is yet in the water and then later, once the sun is high and actually being in the water sounds like a wonderful relief from the liquid gold he goes in and, armed with a sponge and bucket, he scrapes all the walls down to get rid of the suntan lotion that plasters itself on the tiles... all day long!

I look at Pablo and think he looks pretty content with his job, he always smiles, a very funny crooked smile. He doesn't say much, not sure if it's because he's shy or because he thinks the only thing I can say in Spanish is "Hola Pablo", I have never really figured it out...
But we have formed a really cool bond that goes like this, every morning at 6.15am

"Buenos dias senora!"
"Hola Pablo"
"Cafe?"
"Oh... gracias Pablo!"

And that's about it... Pablo disappears and, though I honestly doubt that his duties include being my butler in the morning, he does it.
I tried to tip him a couple of times for such dedication to customer service but he refused and then looked so embarrassed that I gave up... I just smile and thank him profusely. That seems to do the trick.

Throughout the day he passes by my chair, nods and says "Senora" kind of acknowleging the fact that I'm there... "Pablo" I answer, kind of doing the same.

And so it went, day after day after day of my holiday...
Till 2 days ago when Pablo handed me my coffee coming from the left side of my pool chair rather than from the right as he usually does.
This new position allowed me to see something and made me freeze.
WHAT?!? How did I not see this before???

I looked at him and, after having turned of a funny shade of red with shame I asked him in Spanish "Is your name Rafael?!?"
He looked around like somebody caught with the hands in the cookie jar and nodded.
Just that... Not an explanation of why in the world he let me call him Pablo for 11 days without ever correcting me!
And what did I end up doing? I broke out in the loudest laughter you have ever heard, thinking what a Muppet I was and this melted "Pablo" too and he started smiling, and then a bit wider, until when he ended up bent in hysterics as well with me and in broken English he told me "I like Pablo"

So after we finished our fit of laughter he went his own way, back to scrub the side of the pool

And this morning it went again...
"Buenos dias senora!"
"Hola Pablo"
"Cafe?"
"Oh... gracias Pablo!"

Both of us still laughing... guess it will be "Pablo" forever now!

Wonderful creation

2009-06-18T22:51:00.005+01:00

Today is sunny and warm, like all the previous days of our holiday here in Mexico.

Today I have spent about 8 hours by the pool soaking up some rays and thinking about how blessed I am, like all the previous days of our holiday here in Mexico.

Today I have decided to leave my husband enjoy our new friends and come up to the room on my own to nap a bit and read a beautiful book I managed to rummage in the pool butler's trolley.
So I did and, after about an hour of reading I closed the book, sighed and looked ahead staring right at the ocean and thinking this is heaven.

Heaven, what a beautiful word this is!

And I found myself wondering how is Heaven going to be... The Bible tells me something about it but I also know that eyes have not seen and ears have not heard of the wonders waiting for us there... So it's only human to try and guess...

Ocean? There must be an ocean...
Sand? Light? Wind? Animals? How much different is it going to be from what we are used to know here?

This is probably one of the best holidays I've ever had and it's so special... the feeling that this was created for us to enjoy, the new friends we have met, the things we are so glad to experience, the laughter we're delighted to share and all the memories we're making to keep us warm when we'll be back in our country.

How is Heaven going to be than? Knowing that friends will be forever, that memories will never fade, that God will really be "at hand" and we'll enjoy not only his creation but Him as well.

A bit pointless at this point in time to play the guessing game and though it's fun it certainly doesn't give me any answers.

The only thing that's sure is that Heaven is going to be amazing, though we can't comprehend to which extent now, and that this wonderful creation is just a little taste of the future that's lovingly laid ahead for us... How exciting!!!

Buenas noches señorita!

2009-06-14T23:22:00.007+01:00

... which, for those who don't speak Spanish, means 'good evening miss'...
We have been here in Cancun for almost a week now and last night was the 1st night I was out on my own.
By "out" I mean at the restaurant in the resort and by "alone" I mean husbandless...
Because Stuart has this AMAZING ability to get sick every single time we go on a long holiday together. He did it in Maldives, in the Red Sea, in Mexico last year and this year again!!!
He has an evil cold... not quite the flu like the other times, but since we are in Mexico, sending him around the resort with the sniffles would equal to sending him into immediate quarantine with this swine flu business...
So, while I was sitting in the room whim him praying the bug wouldn't spread over to my side and hoping my dear husband wasn't bound to turn into bacon soon, he told me to go and enjoy the evening rather than sit bored in our suite.

At first I didn't want to but then I got quite hungry (being vegetarian in Mexico is a curse!) and the room service does't really offer anything for 'my kind of people' other than a salad so, won over by the idea of the massive evening buffet, I left promising to be back soon.

In these past days people have developed a healthy respect for Stuart, they nod when he passes by (6ft2' husband is hard not to notice close to little me), they greet us and it's quite obvious that he is the head of the family and he's in charge even if I am the one speaking Spanish.
But last night it was quite different and I had fun making some considerations on how things change when some constants become variables...

First of all it was the smile of the host at the restaurant - Buenas noches señorita!
"Hello" I said and proceeded to explain that my husband wasn't going to join me for dinner as he wasn't feeling very well (that would make me a Mrs by the way, not a Miss as they insist in calling me!)
His smile enlarged even more (if at all possible) while he escorted me to my table.
Immediately I had 2 waiters by my side
Two? - I thought... Why two? when we never seen more than one every 10 minutes...
But then, it was a lonely señorita having dinner... that's why!
Don't take me wrong, the resort's service is outstanding, not a single bad word can be said about it, pure luxury, but last night any kind of expectation was super exceeded.

The buffet wasn't a buffet anymore, I got taken any kind of vegetarian food there was on offer and asked about a million times if I wished anything extra cooked especially for me by the chef
I decided to see what would happen if I pushed it a bit and in perfect local language asked if it was possible to have an omelette and palm hearts... not the easiest to find...
I thought the waiters were going to burst with excitement at my request and sure enough I got my weird order in less than 5 minutes, piping hot on the table...
I thanked everyone for their kindness, left a nice tip (well deserved I have to say!) and moved on to a little barefoot walk by the pools.
You should see this place, is as exciting in the evening lit by candles as it is in the day by the sun.

Everyone talked to me - Buenas noches señorita - and I always smiled allowing a few kind words for all the pool guys busy preparing the place for another busy day tomorrow.
All quite taken aback that I spoke their language (the majority of guests here are Americans and apparently they rarely speak it) and fascinated by my long flight from the UK and an unsually lengthy stay of two weeks comparede to the average 1 week one.

I got offered drinks, tales of Mayan gods, a few words on tides and the sand level of the beach and then finally I made it back to the room but not before meeting the lady who turns down the room at night who gave me a beautiful bright smile and greeted me with a "Buenas noches señora Kane" and, despite all the attention I got during the evening, her greeting was what made me feel sooo good!

A good night out?

2009-06-06T05:09:00.011+01:00

It's friday night (or more Saturday very early morning) and I can't sleep...
So I looked out the window and saw two guys and a girl staggering home after a night out in the town... NOT a pretty sight!

Since when I live here in Scotland I am trying to understand what makes a person go out on a lovely evening looking like a human and then show up back home in the middle of the night (or there about...) looking more like a slug than a person.

What is the appeal of spending loads of money on alcohol to then see it all going down the drain (and I do literally mean DOWN THE DRAIN) a few hours later.

I'm sure this post may elicit some offended responses from some of my friends but this is my place to express my opinions so I don't really care...

Call it different culture, call it different generation but I honestly can't grasp the fascination with pubs and nightclubs. I love dancing, I honestly do and if I could find a club which plays the kind of music I like at a decent volume (because my ears do work still quite well and anything over 90 decibels is annoying!), with decent people around (I don't like to be looked at like if I were a walking burger!) and which served possibly a couple of alcoholic drinks tops per person (because as I said, I don't understand the "getting pissed" fascination) I'd love to go...
But seen the habits around here I would most probably be one of the very few customers there... and I do still wonder why...

I'm not pointing the finger but yes, I am being a bit judgemental about it.

Because I strictly avoid many places I would maybe like just because people go there to get wasted and, though I am not imposing what I wouldn't do on others, I find it unnerving when they try to do that to me. Some people on alcohol get violent and that's not my cup of tea.

Whoever says that alcohol makes you forget things is not telling the truth... it makes hard to remember what you have done the night before but while you're doing it you're honestly conscious of what you are doing, alcohol just takes away the inhibition... Often that's not a good thing because if one wouldn't "normally" do it than you can bet that on most occasions it shouldn't be done!

"It" being whatever!

Don't take me wrong, I do sometimes enjoy a glass of wine, I can always find some good thing to celebrate, but a glass of wine is not 15 pints of beer gulped down in a ridiculously minimal amount of time.

And again, I understand the special occasion, that's fine, but does the ritual have to be repeated every weekend or even worse every second night?

And why a good dinner, a walk and a movie don't cut it anymore? Or has it ever happened up here that a good dinner and a movie were thought of as "a good night oot"?

I don't get it (yes I AM thick!) and I don't see the appeal of girls waking down the road back home looking like trash, speaking even worse, guys who can barely stand and stop puking at every street corner.

£100 for a "good" night out? Thanks but I'd rather be a £15-cheap-date with popcorn at a sci-fi movie... At least escaping from reality on a spaceship is a bit more grand than vomiting when I get home... if I can hold it till there...

Slip, Slop, Slap

2009-06-03T23:02:00.005+01:00

Slip- Slop- Slap is the name of a health campaign in Australia exhorting people to "slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen and slap on a hat".
Well, no better way to greet these past days of glorious weather we had in Scotland.
I did welcome my brother with a certain degree of apprehension as for him, coming from Italy, the weather here is never good enough...
This weekend however it surpassed our wildest expectations gifting us of the chance for a open air BBQ

and an unlikely trip to the beach including being able to put our feet in the water...

Quite an occasion, especially considering that the weather was pretty miserable in Italy and Dani escaped the rain to come here and get suntanned, beyond belief!
We used the days to relax, laze about in the sun and do a bit of sightseeing. Edinburgh is stunning in the sun! :-)

A few rays of sun and Scottish people go crazy. Guys walking around town shirtless and well, let's face it, some of them, proudly sporting a hefty beer belly that really didn't need to be shown but I guess it's all part of summer as we know it up here.

Every little green patch of town covered in people sunbathing, some red as lobsters, some white as the moon but all with a big smile on their face.

So I am not sure if "Slip- Slop- Slap" will work up here as well...
Certainly we tend to "slip" shirts OFF and hats are usually not "slopped" on since we just got rid of them after a long winter but maybe "slapping" on the sunscreen is the one advise Scottish people will take.
Wasn't that the title of a song saying "If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it"?...

Maybe we should listen!

Summer with my best friend

2009-05-28T13:06:00.006+01:00

It has been over two months since when Stuart has left to join his ship in India and tonight finally he'll be coming home.

It's quite hard to explain how we endure this kind of lifestyle... I guess we are used to it by now...

I study, volunteer, read, watch movies, teach Sunday school, learn to play the piano, write a book and see friends all here in Edinburgh... He works in India 6 months a year!
On top of that sometimes he goes off to do some temp work... I suppose it's my fault since when I'm under exam I reckon I must not be the most chilled person walking on this planet :-S

I see my husband a total of 4 to 6 months a year which for some people would be impossible to bear... but we make it... and possibly it's the reason why we're so strong together as we try to make the most of the time we have.

This summer is going to be special, we have the whole two months together to enjoy. For the first time since we met 4 years ago there will be absolutely NOTHING to do but enjoy each other's company...
No exams, no clinical placements, no problems, no work... Just me and my best friend!

I can't think of anything better, and I smile at all the daft things we'll end up doing.
We seem to always end up laughing about anything... or to tell the truth I get all uptight about stuff and he just tells me "yes dear" and pulls a funny face which inevitably ends up in a massive laugh.

Our life is perfect the way it is, though people most time don't understand it.

We have time apart and time together, we give each other space but at the same time we experience life together, we're on equal levels and follow each other's lead when necessary.

So I have a big grin on my face today, Stuart is coming home and we have an amazing summer to share before life goes back to normal... or at least to what it's normal for us!

The jet-set life....

2009-05-26T02:07:00.017+01:00

2.07am and blogging...
It has been a crazy past few days and I had no time whatsoever to think about what to post so here I am, late at night (or is it early in the morning?) pondering my experience in Monaco.

I had a great time, and though it was expected, it's always nice to realise that work can actually be good fun.

We had a day to prepare and 4 days of really hard work on the track.

What people don't realise it's that the Formula 1 GP is not the only race that goes on in Monaco over the week, there are a lot of other races which require car tuning, trials and competition.

So we do spend pretty much 4 days solid on the race track, in the heat, breathing humid air, eating packed lunches and wearing a uniform that, though looking quite smart, isn't of the finest Egyptian cotton (if you know what I mean...)

This said, one cannot really complain... The food is excellent and abundant, the place is amazing and the company is the finest, with many opportunities for cultural exchanges, for making new friendships and for strengthening some old ones too.

Monaco Red Cross' hospitality is of the highest standard!

I am happy I managed to be part of the team again this year because, by the look of it, I won't be able to join in next year due to exam schedule.

Here are a few pictures that sum up pretty well our 5 incredible days...
Volunteering can be exciting, you know?!?

Welcome to a week of madness... though it's a good one most of the time!

Relaxing before the insanity begins

I found an old friend

The British Team

Guarding the VIP stands

Friendship Drinks - Italy and Belgium united

The Tunnel Team

After all had finished... The people gone... Waiting to be stood off...
I may have crashed... a little...

The little things we tend to miss

2009-05-16T23:41:00.005+01:00

A world-class, extremely famous musician, playing on a priceless violin stops at a corner of a street in Washington. From a small case, he removes his instrument and places the case open at his feet. He throws in a few dollars as seed money and begins to play.

The musician is Joshua Bell but nobody recognised him

He is simply described as "a youngish white man in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt and a Washington Nationals baseball cap"

One wonders... People who rushed past, perhaps flipping spare change, what would they have done if they had realized that they were getting a free front seat at a performance that they would never get another chance at again?

What do we simply throw out as useless, meaningless, even stupid... just because we don't have a reason or the time to really look at it's value?

Someone argued that it was the musician's fault if his value wasn't recognised... apparently he didn't engage with the crowd. He needs a stage and the street needs to be made into a stage by the musician, it doesn't become a stage on its own.

So, does that mean that if you are great but nobody notices than you really are not that great?
And does it mean that if we don't recognise the value of what surrounds us it's not our fault but the thing/person's fault because it wasn't able to reach us, to keep us interested, to make us want to know more?

The world is so full of big, really meaningful things that it's the "little" things we really do tend to miss.

And yet this brings me to consider what defines something as "little".
Is it the being common? Or unknown? Or quiet? Or written in a different way? Or whispered? Or new?

And if it's little to me would it seem little to you as well?

Truth be told some people did put money in the violin case, some people, even without recognising the person recognised the value of the music, some people noticed...

And though this may make you think that in this fast paced world slowing down a bit may make you appreciate what is on your path, at the same time let's not forget that while we're enjoying the music, somewhere else, at another corner of the street there is another musician who is packing up and whose amazing music we'll never hear just because we were a tiny bit too slow...

It's logical...

2009-05-15T00:19:00.017+01:00

Tonight I went for a movie marathon with my friend Dan.

We watched Angels & Demons to end the evening and before that we went to see the new Star Trek since he hadn't seen it yet.

I usually only go to see a movie more than once if I think it's really great and, since I thoroughly enjoyed it the first time, I didn't mind sitting through it again with my friend.

Like when a book is read a second time new details are taken in, the same was for me tonight.

Once passed the explosive special effects, the loud sounds, the fast paced action and the surprises, you start to see the complexity of the characters.
I have never been a real fan of the series (I think those who are call themselves 'Trekkies'). Possibly I have seen just a handful of episodes of the old TV series when I was a kid so I don't remember anything past some of the names and Mr Spock's pointy ears.

And tonight I was indeed intrigued by Mr Spock...

Yes you read it right! Not the pretty face, blue eyes and macho attitude of young Captain Kirk but the internal conflict, repressed emotions and insane logic of the pointy eared Vulcan...
While the internal struggle between the emotions coming from his human heritage and the deep rooted logic coming form his Vulcan half serves the purpose of the character on screen, I found fascinating how these traits are very much the same exact ones that can be fond in a real person.
As Spock struggles every moment to master the acceptance of these dualities in himself so do we, pulled by the two sides of the same coin.
The passion versus moderation, the mind versus the heart, the known versus the unknown...
Are we driven by our emotions or by our intellect?
And how do we reconcile those two things?

Some people more than others are prompt to follow their feelings while some others do rely on logic... This doesn't mean that the counterpart is absent, just dormant or voluntarily repressed.

After almost every consideration he makes, Spock ends the track of thoughts with the statement "It's logical"; almost as if, by saying it, he wanted to convince himself rather than those around him.

My brother and I are textbook examples of the two extremes, I feel more than I think and he thinks more than he feels... or so it seems. If a battle is going on inside you would never know, but this doesn't mean that it's not occurring.
Two voices in the same head, two points of view of the same scene... Why do we choose one rather than the other may depend on so many variables the outcome is hardly forseeable...
It's not what you see, it's what you are unlikely to see of a person that's alluring!

So tonight, while really enjoying the glamour of Hollywood's version of space on a big screen and agreeing on how it is only "logical" I'd make these kind of considerations, I asked myself:

"Would I suit pointy ears?"

Can I say yes???

A present for the whole family

2009-05-13T15:56:00.011+01:00

This year has almost come to an end and though it has been really stressful and challenging, I have grown a lot through it and I feel I am more ready now to go ahead in my medical training than I have ever felt.

Since I passed all of my exams, dad got me a present... and a lovely one I must say!

You know how we Italians are known for being coffee addicts?

Well, here I am! And I know my husband is too...
So daddy got me a coffee machine.

Awesome!

It does all sorts of stuff, from proper espressos for when I'll need to stay awake while studying, to soothing hot chocolates for the cold Scottish winter nights, from fancy cappuccinos and lattes to entertain friends to steaming cups of tea to cure all problems...
I couldn't have wished for a better present!

I went to pick it up today, got home, unpacked it, run the cleaning cycle 5 times (no, it's not me being just me, it is in the instructions to run it 5 times!!!) and made myself a latte...

I can't even tell you how great it tasted, like properly made at Starbucks and maybe even better!

I turned around to pick up the box from the floor and rip it to get it in the recycle bin when I see that my two furry angels are enjoying the present in turn as well.

I laugh... and quite loudly

I get the coffees, they get the box!

A present perfect for the whole family than!

The stuff dreams are made of...

2009-05-13T14:48:00.009+01:00

Well, possibly not my dreams... but they must be someone's dream for sure!
I did get quite excited about them though, my precious little creations!

So, here is how the story goes...

A few weeks ago I got sick at college, doctor said I was extremely stressed (may believe him...). Fact is that I was so poorly that I had to leave classes and go home. I must have looked pretty horrible since some of my lecturers even worried about me driving the one hour trip to get home.
Obviously since I'm writing this today, I made it!

Anyway, since I had to leave early I missed a chemistry lab practical with my group and I was told to join the second group which performed the aspirin synthesis experiment yesterday... and so I did.

I have to admit that out of all the practicals we have done, yesterdays' one was my favourite.

There is something really nice about working in a small group - just 3 of us - and having the lecturer right close by, supervising us but also able to have a good laugh while working.

So we did synthesise aspirin and, to my surprise, it was so simple that the next time I get a headache I may even try it at home myself rather than go buying it somewhere!

Or maybe not... See, some of the stuff we used had a powerful stink to it so, possibly, I'll leave the making to someone else.

Well, in the making I have witnessed some very cool things happening right in front of my eyes:

- the first thing was seeing crystals forming in the tube I was using.
"Yeah, big deal...." you may think, but you should have been there to see it! Since nothing was happening, Andrew, our chemistry lecturer, put a tiny crystal of aspirin (apparently it's called 'seed crystal') in the tube I was using and in seconds it started growing hugely just because finally the particles found a surface to attach to... I couldn't take my eyes off it!

These are actually not my crystals but it's to give you an idea of what happened...
all in the space of a few seconds...

- the second thing is that the first group of people doing the experiment had a bit more time than us so they left their crystals to dry in an oven while we did something different and flash dried them over a Bunsen burner. Somehow I got spike looking crystals... Andrew tried to explain me how they came about (something to see with direct deposit from gas to solid phase but it got lost somewhere in translation... sorry Andrew! :-p) but the fact is that they just looked amazing to me! So, as a proper geek (you people know me!!!), I had to take pictures of them and post them here. Aren't they just beautiful?!

So here we go, who would have said that I would have enjoyed a chemical experiment... I am discovering a lot about myself and I am quite impressed...
Or more simply put, I think I am becoming a sad person (in the affectionate way!) just like my lecturer...

Oh well, could be worse!

This post is also dedicated to my wonderful dad whose attempt to teach me 'acetylsalicylic acid' as one of my first words didn't go unnoticed! Obviously dad I have you to blame for a lot of what I am today!!! :-)