Looking at Distant Things

Exams are over. Well, it was over back on Wednesday, and I've been spending the days catching up on some reading that I had to give up.

Seriously, if I had the time and the money and the means, I'd probably do nothing but buy and read books. But I don't. Still, it's my way way of relaxing. Sitting down and reading a good books or two. Right now, I'm reading this book called Life in Vietnam: through a looking-glass darkly by Nguyen Ngoc Phach. It's about, well, life in Vietnam obviously, but after the war when the Communists took over government. It's written in English but it also has these short poems called vè. I use the term poems loosely as the vè were mainly written by average people criticising the government. Some of them make a surprisingly lot of sense and some at applicable to the modern day, despite being written some hundreds of years ago. It has English translations and explanations so it's understandable. If you're Viet, you should read this.

I spent most of the morning, cleaning up my room. It was pretty messy, since I practice the First Available Surface filing method, so my table was covered in stacks of papers and folders, and a good portion of the floor as well. I even broke open my computer case and spent some time to get rid of all the dust inside. Unfortunately, one of the fans has developed this annoying whirr. I can't do much about it. Maybe a can of compressed air to get at the dust in those hard to reach places.

Tomorrow I am uncapped so let the bandwidth flow! Also the season finale of Doctor Who season 3 hits the air. I can't wait for it. The last episode ended on a massive cliffhanger, so I'm stoked.

Besides that, nothing else is happening. I have clinical placement, but that's like a week away. Lesley has been thinking about grabbing a group of people to go watch the live action Transformers, and if it happens then I'm in. Oh Transformers...now that was a pretty good show. The newer shows nowadays kinda suck. Like the Pokemon on Channel Ten. The basic premise of the group showing up, then Team Rocket trying to mess things up, is still the same since the very first episode of Pokemon. I reckon they should drop Ash and co and make a totally new series with new characters. A massive reboot, so to say.

Back to reading.

The Sound of Drums

Close. So close to the end of exams. Then twelve days of holidays, then a week of clinical practice, then another week of holidays, then back to uni.

Last exam is medical radiation physics. It won't go too bad. I had Radiobiology exam yesterday and sucked big time. I only knew a handful of answers and the rest were more on instinct and luck. MC questions are both a blessing and a curse in my opinion. When you know the answers, it's easy, but when you don't it comes down to probability and instinct. You look at the answers and you get the feeling that C must be right. That's probably the most useful tip that one can get for doing MCQ. Your first instinct is usually right. Remember all those MCQ we had to do since the beginning. It was a lot. I remember around the late days of primary school and the early days to high school, there were all these little tips and rules to MCQ. Some useful, most...not really. The correct answer is always B. Take a guess, there's a 25% chance you'll get it right. Three identical answers (B,B,B etc) is usually the limit and the if the next answer is thought to be the same, then something has gone wrong...unless the answers are deliberately the same for four in a row to psych you out...those were the days.

Despite the cappage, I've managed to downloading ep 12 of Doctor Who. I won't spoil it, but it an amazing episode and is filled with all this info about the Time Lords, their home planet, some of their customs. And the season finale looks dam amazing. Then gone. With exception of the Christmas Special, there won't be any Doctor Who eps until season 4 next year, starting sometimes in April/May.

I have obtained Simcity DS, but have yet to play it. Simcity 2000 was probably the first real game that I actually bought. And it was so interesting. Acting as mayor, trying to build a prosperous city while keeping the people happy and avoiding disasters. It started to get more complex from then on. Simcity 3000 was pretty good and I haven't tried Simicty 4. Simcity 2000 was designed by Will Wright, the same dude behind The Sims. Now that was quite addictive. And while both games were great, the publication of so many expansion packs seem to be more of a money grab by EA than anything else. But there's no denying it was one hell of a game.

No news on the job front. I've sent my resume almost 3 weeks back to a potential employer and they haven't replied. Their website is still "Coming Soon", so I'll wait it out. If it goes online and there is still no word, then I'm off to find another potential job. I wish I had a stable income of cash.

*sigh*

If wishes were fishes, then we'd all cast nets.

I put the Laughter in Slaughter

Three exams down, and three left to go. I have Human Biology, Radiobiology and Medical Radiation Physics. Radiobiology is going to be the tough one. I hated all lectures, cos the lecturer was so-so. I swear the book is a better alternative.

I told myself that I would start studying a month before the actual exams. Well that fucking worked. I find myself studying like a crazy man a week before the actual exams. Arrgh, so much for trying to improve myself. But I think I'll pass. Probably Credit, may even Distinction. Anyway the weather has been acting up lately so staying indoors and warm, nose deep in books and notes is still a preferable idea.

Still sitting around, studying while chomping on some chocolate and slamming down shots of Coke is not going to make my body healthy. If there is one thing I truly believe in, it's that as you go through the University of Life, you must have a PhD in Getting the Fuck Away when Shit Happens. And you're gonna have trouble getting the fuck away on chocolate and Coke. Motivation. I need some of that. As soon as the 300 DVD comes out, I'm on it like stink on cheese. It's probably the most manly, testosterone laden piece of work since...since a whole lot of other manly things. I'd probably won't be Spartan, I would be able to run like the wind whenever trouble hits.

After the aforementioned exams, of course.

Ahem.

How do you guys dream? I occasionally get these weird, surreal dreams that make me wonder whether I should write them down and make a book or something. Like how a giant octopus is ravaging the beaches, how sentient spotches of colour ink are disrupting the world's electricity supply, or how there's a group of teenagers caught in a world of time travel, big explosions and sexual tension. I don't know about other people, but when I dream, it's deadly real except for the fact that there is actually no sound, but I can understand what people are saying as if there was sound. Makes sense? No? Don't worry.

Doctor Who season 3 is beginning to come to an end. Two more episodes before the season ends. The 11th episode is an absolute blast. With the revelation of another Time Lord. But I won't say who. I know a few people eagerly awaiting the ABC to start showing some Who action, but dammit, get cable and download the episodes.

Read Tales of MU. It's worth it and addictive as crack.

More cramming. Onwards.

I didn't start this fire

Why am I posting this blog at 6am-ish in the morning? Because I was a moron. I fell asleep after lunch for a 2-hour sleep because I was hella tired from studying. Then I went to sleep earlier than usual at just past 10pm. Then my body kicked my awake at 4am. I tried to go back to sleep, but I couldn't. No matter how much I tossed and turned, I couldn't get any shut eye. So much for sleeping in on the weekends.

I'd probably study some more and maybe get started on those anatomy sample exams. First exam is my Preparation for Practice (DR) on the 19th. I'm pretty sure I can handle the MCQ but it's the short-response that has me somewhat worried. I should try to find some sample exams or something.

That's one thing I'd wish was more prevalent. Past papers like from the past five years or something, but since there are like a gazillion courses at a tertiary level, I don't see it happening. That's one thing I liked (if you could use the word) about the HSC. You could buy a book with all the past papers since like 1988 or something. I think that these past papers helped me get a decent mark for the HSC or at least the confidence to walk in and tackle the damn papers.

Despite some procrastination on my part, studying is going fairly well. I'm pretty sure that I'm not going to get distinctions for all of them but I won't fail. Of course, there is a little thing that has been distracting me: Tales of MU. It's a story-in-progress about a student in her first year at a magical university (hence the MU) where the students include nymphs, centaurs, elves and other fantasy creatures, as well as humans. It's updating daily and it is addictive as crack. This author can write, and write really well. Seriously I would kill to write as well as that. Plus the bite-sized pieces are enough to fire you up and getting all excited about the next piece. So yeah, check it out.

Clinical is getting me all worked up. Its exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. Sure this will be the first time I get to go to real work setting, but then performing the procedures on a real person is different to doing it on a human analog. I shiver from anticipation and a little fear. Well, it will be fun I'm sure.

Weather is pissing me off. It rains hardcore then freezes over at night. Usually, right now the sun is beginning to rise so there is a hint of light, but looking out my window, it's almost pitch black.

Damn it all.

The War on War

Updates will become sporadic as I study up for my end of semester exams, but I'll post the occasional post maybe with a picture or Youtube video.

Joined Facebook at the behest of Jimmy. His claim of 25% of Seftoners are facebooked was strong, although I'm not sure everyone is active. Well, it does seem to be more of a way to keep a thread of contact between old friends.

Managed to get Halo 2 to work and I'm a bit disappointed. It was a lazy port from the Xbox straight to Vista with very little changes. The fact that you have to pay a monthly fee to play online multiplayer does hurt, but I hear good things about it. Maybe a month as a trial or something.

Weather has been swinging about lately and now it's getting colder. To be honest, I actually prefer the rain. Because the clouds ensures that the heat (or what little of it) doesn't escape into the sky and so it's a tiny bit warmer. Now with the few days of clear skys, it's nice in the mornings but colder at night.

Oh, and here's a little something for gamers out there.

Sometimes even lawyers need lawyers.

Well, no more lectures because the first semester of university is over. Not really. There are still exams to be held. I was freaking out a minute or fifteen when I realised that I knew what day and times my exams were on, but not the exact place. Yes, I know it is held in the campus, duh, just not the exact rooms. But a quick trip to MyUni cleared it up and I can now focus even more on studying.

I've been invited to a BBQ this Sunday along with the whole family, but unless the rain decides to stop, I don't have much hope. Unless the location has a veranda, then maybe. Still, whenever I'm invited to a BBQ, I momentarily cringe. Without exception, all the BBQs I have attended, with the exception of my own, seem to stuff up the food. Not all the food is bad per se, but some people don't know who to do a BBQ properly. At best, you get slightly raw meat. The worst? I went to a BBQ where the host had trouble with the wind, because the gas BBQ couldn't get hot enough. So the food was massively undercooked. So he cranked it up to the redline and everything was massively overcooked. Maybe it's just the Asian families I've been to that can't do a BBQ properly. You go to an Aussie's place, and you can almost guarantee that they'll do a decent BBQ.

On another train of thought, I remember one of the lecturers encouraging us to make friends or maintain friendships with people who are studying different courses. To have a big picture of what other professions and courses are going to be like or something. That said I keeping forgetting to ask for neuroscience notes, because everyone I talk to about neuroscience says it's a bitch, while the few scraps of info I have on it sounds interesting. Maybe it sounds interesting because I don't have to actually study for a test on it. Anyway, Jack sent me an essay on this family law case and it was an interesting read. In a nutshell, the husband sues the wife because two of their children aren't his and she deceived him by not telling him and as a result he suffered mental and psychiatric trauma as a result. He lost because the judges decided that he really had no reason to suspect anything before the paternity test and that the wife keeping quiet didn't count as deceit. So the tort failed. Despite the 10000 words and 8 pages, it was an interesting read. Still I don't know why Jack asked me to edit it. I'm going to be a radiographer, not a lawyer. Still, interesting and thought provoking stuff.

And finally, Nam has jumping onto the blogging bandwagon. A bit late maybe, but it seems regularly updated for now. Go read it. Because reading blogs actually helps to complete your work faster. Seriously.

Marching On

Now entering the final week of the semester, the days have become more focused on study. No one wants to fail their end of semesters.

Clinical briefing today for MRS. It was basically checking that you have all the required items like CPR cert, PRM, vaccination etc. It took up the better part of 2 hours almost. It really depended on what line you decided to join and when you joined it. I joined a line where the checking was quick and very brief. The guy was like, "yep, yep, you got everything." I'm not sure if he actually saw some of the certs that people were trying to show him. There was also a quick test on the clinical practice. But it was a bit hard, and didn't focus on the ethic and legal side of things, which everyone studied like hell because it's like the largest part of the unit.

Some good news now. My group mark for our presentation on infection control was scored 19/22. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Despite the slowly increasing workload, I'm still managing to keep up with House and Doctor Who. Did you know that Torchwood, a Doctor Who spinoff, is going to appear on Channel Ten? The sole reason I believe is that one of the main characters is Captain Jack Harkness. Because if you call him Captain Jack it almost like Captain Jack Sparrow. I want to watch the third Pirates of the Carribean, but it's been getting rather poor reviews. I'm a pretty shallow movie viewer. I really liked all three movies, and didn't really get why everyone seems to dislike it. Bah.

Back to study.

Ever pulled teeth out of a chicken?

Sorru about the lack of updates. I've been capped for the past two weeks and you can't imagine how painfully slow it was. Plus catching up on work and revision required me to log onto USyd's WebCT which was downright slow. Moving on...

I now know where I'm going for clinical practice. From the 9th to the 13th July, I'll be at Westmead Hospital, which is suprisingly close to Parramatta. While it's nice to know where I'll be going I am a little bit apprehensive about the whole thing. Still, I'm sure it'll be fun and I'll learn a whole bunch of stuff.

Lectures, as all university students know, can be quite boring depending on the lecturer and/or the subject matter. My lectures on radiation protection can be said to be quite boring, mainly because the subject is a bit dry. So the lecture is kinda boring, unless the lecturer goes of on a tangent. On one lecture we were talking about non-ionising radiation, specifically lasers and their class. The higher the class, the more powerful it is. Australia supposedly bans class 3 lasers for personal use, but one can easily buy one off Ebay. The funny thing was the lecturer joked that he bought such a laser to aim at the naval base nearby and see how long it takes for them to respond. Hopefully, not that quickly.

I'm also one of those people joining the ranks of "I want money, but don't have a job". I haven't been searching jobs all that zealously though, but having some extra money seems like a good thing, right about now.

So everyone, keep it up and try not to fail. I know several who came into hair's width of failing. I came damn close to failing. Too close.