Wednesday 16 March 2011

Stress Relief

I have been missing in action somewhat for the last week and a half.  The essay needed to be done after all, surprise surprise and I wrote an awesome one if I say so myself.  I was really proud of it - well researched, technically strong writing and a good conclusion.  Even my superior agreed when she saw the first draft.  And then I had to massacre it and cut 350 words.  That doesn't sound a lot but it only had to be 2000 in total and not a single word over.  It was so dry once I'd finished it I really didn't like it anymore which was really disappointing since I worked so hard on it.

As soon as that was submitted it was only a couple of days until the next AMK and I was feeling The Fear.  Between the first one and the second one we did a load of case units but between the second and third we did one unit on cardiology which I always just don't understand and a highly specialised SSU project.  I really wanted to keep making an improvement and stay in the top half of the class.  Late teens early twenties is my goal for this one.

I sat it this afternoon and it was horrible.  There were a load of gastro questions - ask me again at the end of next week when I've finished the gastro unit please, and a load of questions I recognised bits about from seeing them on patient records at work but don't know the specifics of to be able to answer.  And for once there were a few where I knew bits about what they were describing, but they hadn't asked the right question for me to be able to answer it.  For example they gave a perfect description of shingles without identifying it as such.  Fingers crossed the question is what is it....nope, how do you treat it.  I don't know, I didn't look at that bit.  Grr.  Can I have half a point for being clever and knowing it's shingles?  There were some I got down to a 50:50 and I honestly still can't say I got it right or not.  I'm afraid to look up the answer.  Oh, and diverticulitis.  It comes up every time and every time I think ooh, what on earth is that, must look that up and forget.  Gah.  Well, I know now.

I missed pancake day this year.  I was studying and couldn't take the time to make them.  I had suggested to my housemates before the workload became all encompassing we do a house pancake evening, because the only thing we've done together since we moved in was go to a disciplinary hearing.  They all said it was a good idea and we should do it.  Pancake day comes and they get some course mates over a pancakes for lunch.  Gee thanks guys, nah, don't worry I didn't want any  Thanks for asking... -_-

At the weekend I coxed the crew I'm supposed to be racing with at Women's Head of the River next weekend.  I can't go because I can't afford to get the membership and enter the race.  We had a new coach who's coached the New Zealand National team so he should be pretty good but he was pushing them so hard he almost broke them.  Race piece after race piece, more pressure, row faster, row for longer.  It was tough. For two hours I was in charge.  I was their on board coach, talking them through the pain, motivating them, getting them to row their best, keeping them strong, tweaking their technique, steering them.  I was responsible.  That's my stress relief.  Yelling at people to do their best at obscene times on a Sunday morning.  Dressed in so many layers you could push me over and I'd bounce up again.  Leaving work and study behind me focussing entirely on being what my crew need from me.  That is my stress relief.  That, and if you'd have been a fly on the wall of my kitchen a few hours ago I had the radio on full blast playing dance music and I was dancing round the kitchen like a loon cooking bolognese stuffed pancakes :)

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