the dusk of college life.........

so here we are...........

at the fag end of my life as a "Medical Cadet" ........yeah, i know it sounds weird.....

.....still ........... if i haven't written as much as could be expected.........it's because of the reason that writing is such a time consuming process.... haha..

.....in anycase, LIVING it has been a bittersweet experience........

........from worrying about meeting the requisite attendance criteria at the end of each professional year.......to cribbing about the scanty vacations.......

.....life in college has taught me a lot.............i'd say made me more cynical.............and made me learn that if you take things hands-down......people will show no consideration .......... at some point, one's got to retaliate............

.....

........so, i walk into the twilight of college life........................

worrying yet again about the attendance, .... and with no worthwhile exam preparations (as yet) .........

......let's see what happens ................. GERONIMO !!

What was that book! ?

Was reading yet another of those "engineering college/MBA life -- all haha, dope-filled, and ridiculously easy to pass, yet we dread our exams etc. etc." ..... don't even remember the name, there are so many of them around....

can't say what gets into people once they pass engineering or get through MBA ......... does the "writer-bug" find them really tempting, or the "Bhagat sold it, so why can't I" bug............

and yeah........they do sell.........to what extent i can't say..........or is it that people have nothing else to do after they do that.............would leave the question open............

.............wonder what will be like to write a book on life in a Medical College............

......................bet that Dissection Hall yarns will be much more interesting than Metallurgy lab.............

............let's see...............if in a few years no one does..................will have to do something about it..........

The World of Nature....

Forever i have wondered.... why I found animals more interesting than humans??....

.........no !! that's definitely not some kind of perversion........

..... was watching the documentary "Earth" ....... a couple of days back..........and i realized .......... it is simply because People are so complex ... and animals are so straightforward............... no animal is bad, ... whatever they do, they do for a purpose, not on a whim........ all are great parents , and very-very selfish offspring........

and in this world, where just to survive in the wild -- yes, even for 'wild' animals -- takes all one's effort, it's rare to see hearts that pure, and free from malice...............

.........there are no shades of grey in the animal world.........and if there are, only a few..........

.......i think i am going to be very upset at the next person who says "animals are dangerous because they are unpredictable"......... because in fact, it's the complex a.k.a "sophisticated" humans that are so.......

ahhh.....smells like success...

Ever had that feeling of having hit a jackpot overnight??........

........i'll bet u have..... ........ but first the current affairs.........

..............VIII term (sem) is like a grindmill where you can neither enjoy studies (who ever did anyway !), nor the holidays (and believe me, it's nearly been one long vacation for the last month)......

.....anyway, the success story goes like this -- after a remarkably drastic experience in the PSM (that is Preventive and Social Medicine, for the uninitiated) theory exams, the outcome looked bleak... very bleak after the practicals...

......mentioning the date of results was a taboo........ hell! yeah, we were worried -- some for the fear of failing (at least I was !) .... some for the fear of losing those distinctions...

So, they came out, the results .... and I passed!! (thank goodness!!) ... no wait! got an under-20 rank .............. only the second time after Ist year !.......... and a distinction in Ophthalmology (notwithstanding the fact that at least 80 others got that too)......well that's something to rejoice i guess!

.........I'm happy, folks -- not because of the performance itself ( you know i'm not of that type, right ;-) )

-- but because now i get a genuine shot at getting PC............. what's that ? .... that's for another time

Superiority, Inferiority etc etc...

Yeah, i remember.............it was the ENT Prelims clinical exam.............and i had this little "conversation" (carried at about 160 decibels) with a "lady" (if you could call her that) colleague of mine...........

.........The point she brought up was one of "superiority"............or in my case, inferiority...............to whom?......(to her of course)............in what way? (well, don't know for sure)................... .

.............if i got the drift right, it had something to do with marks and academic performance............(abyssmal on my part :) ).............

.................but then i wondered.............................is it really so???.........

.............only the academics decide who's is "superior" and who is not?.............

i guess it's like that now.................but if that's the case.............is it right?

.........so all you artists, singers, actors, photographers and all other "inferior" people........pack up your paraphernalia ............. get 'em books out..................and start mugging.....................shut down Flickr, facebook, even this Blog..............

and ...nose-dive, quite literally, in the world of "literacy"......................because, true "knowledge"......lies elsewhere......

(sorry for using so many "quotes"...................try and understand).....

arrey ye paani kab barsega??!!!!

.....life's HOT!!....

literally..........with temperatures crossing 40deg............attending clinics and aftrnoon classes has become an everyday battle with the "inner sloth"......

....or is it self-preservation instinct??? .. :)

.........in any case........clinics and classes would have to be attended.........

.............as long as there is water to drink and bathe in (in that order..he he)..........

.......with news of reservoirs drying up......even that aspect is appearing doomed...................

............

..............

................abhi kuch din se baadal to hain..............PAR YE BAARISH KYON NAHI HOTI YAAR !!!!!........

........(yeah yeah......i knw.............aftr a couple months i'll be praying fr it to stop :D )........

.............

..................koi nahi................life's like dat........

Ring-RING-Ringaa......

Ring Ring Ringa.........
that's a song from the "critically acclaimed" Slumdog Millionaire...
but what comes to my mind is the number of cellphones we Indians are using nowadays.....
I remember when I was in school, having a cellphone was one of the status symbols.......heck! even my dad din't have one ever!!....
...but within a couple years, what i see is that practically everyone...yeah EVERYONE is flaunting one...

This thought hit me the hardest at an eye-camp conducted by our Ophthalm. dept.....
that was conducted for patients who couldn't supposedly afford an eye surgery........now as far as i think it's not one of the costly ones......... and SEE (rather hear)......in that little gathering, from every corner.....now and then........a new tone...:).. (we'll talk about "mobile manners" some other time...)
.................so much for "Kar lo duniya mutthi mein"................

"The way to dusty death???"........

....Summer's arrived............

and it's hot .........and by that i mean REALLY hot..............

.....(stand outside in the afternoon and u'll get grilled )....hot...

......what's more........attending classes in this and the worse............going for visits..........

i.e. roam around in the baking heat................................

.............

to add to the misery...the hostel staff remembr trimming the trees in front of the floor ONLY in this season................

......he he ......they mst be loving "cadet tandoori"........... :)

...........rest of the life ..........jst goes on in its own rut..........

........aaaarrrgggh.........when will the rains come !!!!

...why can't the whole of college be like this!!!!!

....FIELD TRIPS, and MORE field trips.........

.....this is one aspect of Community Medicine, a.k.a. PSM, that I like........

.......they are like school picnics...........lot of fun..........and yeah.........what's the icing???.........you even get ATTENDANCE for the same.........

......the weather shouldn't be so hot though.............but (yet again).....you can't always get everything you want...............:)

............some respite from the clockwork of life........(excuse the cliché)........finally.......

And we are back.......

Long time since the last post............

 and much has happened in the meantime.....................

......Exams got on...........got over...............went on leave.....

had thought of many things to do.......but you can't get everything you want...........

... had liked sm1 for quite sometime..............told her the same...............still hanging around for an answer..........................

This and a lot more.................practiced for Silhouettes..................got hospitalized.......................

missed the whole of silhouettes....................

got result...........passed again...smhow............    :)

Said gudbye to Basketball.............................got "diagnosed" with TB...     :)

........................made hospital my second home......donated lots of blood...(for Lab tests guys!!!)....................befriended some Officers.......and some nursing officers too....   ;)

......became the first Medical Cadet to get a Medical Category.......well almost........

and thus........the life goes on............welcome to the VI term...........................

ENT, OPHTALM and PSM..................................let's see what justice i do to them......................

Mumbai attacks.....medical colleges across maharashtra struck...

Mumbai was attacked..............yet again......................

enough about it has been said -- about the insensitivity of the terrorists to the apathy of the government to national security................ 

For us, it was something else.......................the exams that were supposed to end, couldn't......

now there is a distinct possibility of the vacation being cut short......

self centred, this thought of mine, isn't it?????? 

I don't think so, for someone who gets to go home only for 14 days in more than 6 months, it's unimaginable........

still.................hope (of passing) still prevails.......................................................................

u can run, but can't hide !!!!!!

long time,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

not as if i was too busy......................in fact, i was online EVERY SINGLE DAY...

but, the point is that there was nothing even vaguely interesting happening.............

yeah, the usual Diwali (yaawwwn), Dean's farewell and stuff..................but NOW, we've crossed the deadline.................final university exams start in 20 days................................so little time to mug up 18 months of curriculum isn't it    ;-)

well lets face it................u can't hide, so why run?????

Some Breathing Space !!!!!!!!!!!

Finally, got through the Prelims............."survived" would be a better description, "scraped through" even better.............

In any case..........all is well that ends well..........it's been nearly 2 weeks of not studying, including a trip to Nasik.................. 

[sigh] i wish life was always so good......... 

 but still, University exams are hovering dangerously close...........it's time to head back to the books.............

but just one more day.............to live easy .........

8 up, 3 to go...................

Survived the marathon theory exams "session", and am alive to write this.............now just 3 more to go, and i don't care how i do in those..........................................just want this to get over................

A waste of Wonderful weather...

Ever seen a Gulmohur tree just about to shed its leaves ???
every single leaflet is golden yellow.......brittle, just touch and it falls down....

the weather is wonderful.........the rains have given just the right amount of bite to the wind....

Numerous Swifts flit above me, uttering their sharp cries..........a family of Babblers is busy chasing away a garden lizard while two Spotted owlets stare out of their nest hole in the large fig tree outside the lecture hall complex..............

really a weather fit to enjoy nature, .....

...........But here i sit, trying to mug up the treatment regimen for Tuberculosis, Leprosy, Epilepsy and all the big and small diseases..............alright folks, Exams, much awaited, have finally arrived......................................

Exams ahoy.....

Finally exam time has come....................the time for never ending nights (or shall i say an extension of the daily routine)

with barely 20 days to go to the Prelims.............you see the whole junta go about .....very much like the archetypical zombies.........on an ovrdose of coffee and "other stimulants".....

Vth term.........that is 13 days non stop "night outs"................it cracks even the hardest of nuts........

no doubt..............it is feared as hell...............

Of rains and colds.....

Finally........some rains -- actually a LOT of rains............the most in a decade they say......

gave some respite from the heat......but gave me a cold too...................
tried out the "chicken soup" treatment (now i think it really works).......

In the meanwhile...................the whole sleep pattern is going haywire.........slept for 6 hours straight (after classes that is )........... and now sitting wide awake while even the "nightcrawlers" have gone to their burrows.......

Basketball woes....

What has happened to me !!!!!!!
Sucked (yet again, for the umpteenth time in last fortnight....) on the basketball court........crazy passes and all,
just can't figure out why i get psyched out in offence -- think i'm better than before at defence....

Before that, flunked the Surgery O.T. --- the first day itself ;-) ..... let the other people scout and report how's the scene in the unit...

managed to fit in about 2 hrs of study................off to hostel now.......

Saturday 23 Aug 2008....

Saturdays aren't as fun with the exams round the corner.........got past a quick day, with last day of Gynae clinics over fr this term...

Took a day off frm the Basketball court, some net surfing.........had a brainstorm -- why not start a blog...........
Meanwhile, identified the bird I saw a couple of days ago positively as a Tickell's Flower Pecker........ pretty little birdie....


hav a couple of movies to watch tomorrow, and Surgery rotation from Monday........life really "rocks" ....

Here i am..............

The same old tale of a medical student...........is it???????
Here i am, sitting in our Computer Club.......... playing Age of Empires and...........blogging (fr the first time)....................... and exams are near...........

come, let's take a glimpse of life here....