Advice for the Young at Heart

Finally, my OSCE is over. Basically a practical exam. It was tough in its own way, having to remember quite a bit of stuff.

The areas that I had to know the projections and pathologies were facial bones, including mandible and TMJs, cervical, thoracic, lumber spine and hip and pelvis. I'm pretty fine with everything except the facial bones part. I didn't do many facial bones, simply because it was usually easier to stick the patient in the CT machine. So I was hoping that I wouldn't get facial bones, but unfortunately I scored a mandible. Pub brawl, query fracture mandible. I did that whole thing on theory, and since I've never actually done that view I couldn't really offer any extra information.

The shitty thing was that the examiner asked me what projections I would do. I gave an answer, then he asked me if I would do a lateral, the side on view. I told him that I felt meh about it, since it doesn't offer that much information due to superimposition of all the facial bones. I'd guess I'd do it, but I'd prolly skip it. Then he tells me to do a lateral projection. So I blank out, since technically there is no specific projection for a lateral mandible. So I did a lateral skull, but centered to the jaw instead. I wonder whether he deliberately asked me about the lateral projection, then ask me to actually do it to see whether it threw me off.

I think I did alright. The examiners were also marking the way we introduced ourselves, patient care and all that jazz. So even if I mucked up the projections, I'm pretty sure I did alright for everything else. So now all I have is the two final exams, and to prepare for my clinicals. Actually my clinical ends a day early now, but the tradeoff is that we have to show up to uni the next day to hand stuff in. Not that bad for me, since I live close.

My brother has got me playing World of Warcraft. It's a private server, not the official ones, so I don't have to pay a monthly fee (yes, Asian stinginess strikes). So I'll do a bit of playing in between studying for finals. And I can play a few hours every night during clinicals.

So I was browsing the internet and I found this:
That's actually not a bad form of alternative transport, if you don't mind looking like an idiot. You can use it to get to the shops and carry your grocercies. Space and power might be a problem. They should add an electric motor or something to help out.

Back on the Rocks

I tried to study for my upcoming MCQ exam but it just got too boring. Couldn't bear to read through the bloody notes, so it was back to the old stand-by of procrastination.

Friends have been bugging me about the next road trip, although you could argue that it's not really a road trip since we're never really travel that far, so with the free time I had I decided to some pre-preliminary planning. I still refuse to do any proper planning until after my 3rd block of clinicals, but I started playing around with locations and budgeting. One of my friends was so excited by the prospect that she sent me some accommodation options. They definitely look good, but everytime I look at the prices I feel a sharp pain shooting up my spine.

The current financial crisis have put my PC plans on hold. The prices for everything have decide to shoot up and my planned build was thrown out the window. So I'm back to waiting, although at this point it seems that I will be cursed to forever wait. I don't need the Aussie dollar to achieve parity with the US dollar (now that is a different can of worms) but getting it back to the old times of about 80-85cents would be welcome.
Yeah, that's my reaction to carrots as well.

Shoddy weather

Spring is probably the season I hate the most. Well maybe not hate, that's a bit too harsh. But one moment, it's as hot as summer, then out of the blue rain pours down and the weather goes chilly. However, luckily the weather held up every time I went out.

There was my friend's 21st where the theme was iconic figures from music or film, but generally any fictional character worked. My costume of the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail went over pretty well.
I'd finally spray painted it silver. I was going to cut out the black squares as air holes, but that was too difficult; wasn't sure the bucket would stay in one piece. And to cover the eye slot I used a spare sheet of x-ray film. The boar emblem on the tabard was sewn by my aunt, since sh'e pro-sewing. The weather actually stayed pretty warm so it was a bit stuffy in the costume, even worse was that I put my gloves, which was sprayed painted black, in the bucket so everytime I put it on I was inhaling the leftover paint fumes.

Also a quick day trip to Bronte Beach during the semester break. Nothing major just a break from the uni grind and forgetting for a moment about our research projects. The weather was a bit murky in the morning but got a lot better just as we started out. As always there was food left over and that was auctioned off at the end of the day. I just find that hilarious for some reason.

"Sausages...8 of them, never been opened. Who wants it?"
"Me! Me! Me!"
"Damn it I was too slow"

It always happens at my friend's place in Strathfield. Any trips start there as well, since its a really central place for everyone to meet. Also I'm beginning to be amazed at the amount of people who live relatively close to where I live. On that beach trip I drove a friend of mine home to his place in Auburn. He happens to live across from a park, where my dad would take my brother and I to play on the swings and equipment. And all this time I thought he lived in the distant regions of Auburn, not borderline to Granville.

And here's a little pic that I think is seriously funny: