It has been quite a while since my last
blog and I have no real excuses. The last 6 weeks or so have gone exceedingly
fast - Mainly because I have been quite distracted with studying for exams
(again!). I was lucky enough to have two weeks of study leave before my written
exam which was actually almost relaxing. Work had been quite hectic and I never
thought I would say I was looking forward to study – but I definitely was in
the last few days before I took off. My first week was spent secluded in my
Darwin house hitting the books but for the second week I flew down to Sydney
(and then on to Kiama) to visit the parentals. Even thought I expected it, the
change in temperature from Darwin’s constant 34 degrees to Sydney’s 18 and
below was quite shocking. Feeling cold has virtually turned into a foreign
concept.
Kiama, as always, is beautiful and luckily
there was a bit of sunshine while I was down there so I could go visit the
shoreline. It was also pretty awesome to hang out with my family – I do miss
them up here.
It
has now been just over 2 weeks since my written exam and not surprisingly it
was not terribly fun. I had booked into a hotel the night before the exams right
on Coogee beach but of course it rained the whole time I was in Sydney so I
wasn’t able to get out and enjoy it at all. Sydney rain sucks when you don’t
have an umbrella! I did appreciate the hotel’s mini bar though. Who would have
thought that mini bottles of alcohol could be so much fun!
I also managed to have a quick catchup
dinner with some friends and an early breakfast near the beach with my brother
and sister in law post-exam which really cheered me up. Exams are never fun and
its good to see that there really is other things much more important in life.
Lovely.
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| NB All windows are still intact. |
Work has been pretty constant – in both
good and bad ways. I am still working with the Acute unit and am shuffling
between days in theatre and days on ward rounds.
Last Friday was ‘Team bonding by moving
furniture’. We are undergoing a slight shuffle of desks between rooms and it
has been the overwhelming topic of conversation for a good week now with
everyone stressing about where they’re going to, who will move the desks and
when, how the new room will be better (or worse!)… Our room has had a constant
flow of people in and out to discuss it all, which I must admit was not
terribly conducive to study. I also thought Charlie was going to have stroke if
someone said “But will my desk fit in there?” one more time!
Luckily the trauma team is seen as a
‘priority’ so all of our desks have been shuffled and sorted. Although the
problem of available power-points did not appear to have been throught through
– hello extension cords! While myself, Amanda (social worker) and Bec (OT) are
now secluded away in our little corner of the room, with the education girls
around the side, we have lost the two IT guys which is a shame. I will miss
their discussion of things I don’t understand and the contant background of
Bollywood music. They’ve now been put into the TINIEST room next door which I
don’t think either of them are too happy about. But it will hopefully limit the
expansion of Charlie’s post-it notes.
I’ve also managed to get organised and complete
a few courses through the centre. It seems like there are constant courses
going on in the department and I’m lucky enough to get any of my course fees
paid for so I’m trying to get time to do as many as possible. Earlier in the month
I finished off the MIMMS course which involved playing with lots of grey blow–up
dolls outside on the grass (not as scandalous as it sounds) and last week I did
the simulation Australian Trauma Team training (basically a day of constant
trauma calls – ugh). This week I am off to do AusMAT so I’ll soon be an expert
at getting taken hostage and going through passport control. Yeah!
With all the studying I haven’t had a
chance to do much around Darwin. I have ventured out for brunch a few times.
Although I still miss Three Bean terribly, I have adopted a café in Cullen Bay
as my substitute. Mainly for the view of the boats out the back which is
delightful on a fine day. You can even grab some bread and feed the fish off
the pier.
I’ve done some shopping at the Markets. I
got there early on Saturday but apparently wasn’t early enough to beat the
BILLIONS of people already there. Markets are definitely very popular in
Darwin!
I also took a study night off to head out,
along with everyone else in Darwin, to see John Butler Trio play down by the
water. It was a super hot night and it was quite funny to me to see pretty much
everyone I know in town there. I ended up standing between one of the trainers
from the gym I go to and the Salary packaging guy I’d seen that afternoon. It
was a good show though, only bested by the show at the bar. Fiona and I got
stuck between an ex couple who were trying to coordinate buying several cans of
beer between them (unsuccessfully) whilst trying to bar an old guy from getting
in front of them. You had to be there….
I’ve also been lucky enough to have several
visitors up here recently – thank goodness for conferences. First up was my old
boss and research buddy Costa. He came up with the family for a Bariatric
conference followed by a few days in Kakadu. I think by the time they got back
to Darwin they had all had enough of the heat so Costa and I had a good night
out – him unwinding after too much family time, and me unwinding after exams.
It was good to catch up and I must say I do miss the rants. Noone rants quite
like Costa.
Then the urologists turned up. Clair,
Michael and their two beautiful girls made the long trek up from Orange. Quite
a difference in temperature for them! They had a great time feeding crocs and
checking out Sexy World. Clair and I haven’t worked together for years and
years but we have managed to run into each other every so often, often via our
mutual friend Anna. Next year I’ll have to venture out their way and repay the
visit.
Very exciting for me was a visit from my
old flatmate Kesley. My second bedroom is furnished with most of Kesley’s stuff
so it was only apt that she came and stayed in there. While I do love the
freedom that living on my own gives me, I must admit Kesley did remind me how
good an awesome flatmate can be. Shannon, one of the other urology registrars I
know well from Newcastle (And recent exams) also came up to hang out and I had
a fantastic few days with them both here. Highlights were a big cookup of our
special spag bol and an awesome brunch by the water. It was extra extra sad to
drop them both off at the airport – come back soon girls!!!
In the last week or so the weather has
changed completely. Its getting down to 22 degrees at night and the mornings
are divine – 25 degrees, sun and a nice breeze. Its still hitting low 30s in
the afternoon but if this is what the dry season is like I cant wait! It’s a
little depressing to spend the weekend studying but there are worse places to
be than on my balcony with my headphones blasting, watching the guys tear down
the house opposite. Sadly my palm trees are all gone but the shirtless
construction workers do make the dilapidated house more interesting.
