Monsoon Holiday!

I can't stop plagarising songs,can I?I guess its like asking me to stop quoting from Douglas Adams...not doable(no snickering from those with dirty minds)!
This particular holiday was long overdue,didn't realise how long til I actually got there.And no,I didn't take leave(blasphemy!)...got lucky(no sniggers please!) with a light posting and understanding professors!Unfortunately,the honeymoon is over and Obs-Gynae has started!Yech!Too many horrible puns(totally unintended)all in one paragraph!Aaargh!
It was supposed to be a Delhi-Agra-Jaipur trip...but the Agra part was cancelled which means that I didn't get to see the Taj...AGAIN!!!Did I mention that I've seen everything in Agra but the Taj.So near and yet so far!Though I guess it was for the best considering the hullabaloo,a blessing in disguise and all that!
One of the major problems of being an Indian is that you HAVE to visit relatives wherever you go and considering the number of Indians and move around,there's no geting away from family wherever you go!So,yea we did have to spend time(to put it kindly)vsiting people and my parents have strict rules about dragging me around!
It would be impossible to cram 5 days into a few pages...and very boring if you weren't there!
The most fun(and fairly embarassing)part was at Jaipur City Palace with Mom in a starring role.She decided that she wanted to meet the Maharaja...the conversation goes something like this(translatedsince a lot of people would find it difficult to understand Mom's Hindi):
Mom: I want to meet the Maharaja.
Guard: You have to take an appointment.
Mom: : Definitely,but I'm leaving tomorrow.
Guard: It's not that easy...everyone can't meet him just like that.
At this point,someone goes into the private area.
Mom: How did he go then?
Guard: He's a guest.
Mom: So am I!
Guard(totally flummoxed and frustrated):
That's not possible.

At which point of time,I stoppped pretending that I didn't know her and dragged her away before the poor guy lost it totally.My dad was very conveniently occupied on the cell phone the entire time!

What really struck me during this trip is that India made a lot of progress...scientifically,culturally and otherwise..the tragedy is that we seemed to have let go of all that,the Jantar Mantar and the iron pillar that never rusts being classic examples.As is yoga,a prophylactic AND curative treatment.In fact,it is fashionable to revile India and all things Indian...to ignore the beauty which shines through the grime!

On a lighter note,this sign opposite the ticket counter for the Qutub Minar was rather funny:

 

As for the Qutub Minar,apparently a ruler two centuries later wanted to build another minar,twice the height and diameter of the Qutub.A classical case of the "Mine is bigger than yours " Syndrome:

 

And I did get a bird's eye view of Bombay(not sure about the rules for that so I took it on the sly):

 

Turns out that its good I had that holiday or I would have definitely killed someone on the transfer to Sion today...kept me around for an hour longer to make me do stuff that was their responsiblity once the patient was admitted there.It got to the point where I was picturing that particular houseman with a scalpel in his jugular...guess the holiday prevented me from actually doing that!

Liff As I Know It!

There'll always be some arrogant little brat who wants to make music with a guitar.

That particular quote ends with "Rock n roll never dies".But rock n roll is still a long way off for me...have chords to strum before I sleep!
Took the plunge...bought my own guitar!Got blisters on my left forefinger too on my first day of official lessons(What is wrong with me?This was supposed to be my year off from studying!)from pressing too hard on the E string!Should I consider as them badges of honour/battle scars?Well...no pain ,no gain,I guess!Strangely ironic considering my chosen profession!Since that takes care of the sadism part,let's now explore masochism by playing the guitar!Maybe I should play with Bandaids on all fingers!
And now I'll actually have to moisturise my hands to prevent calluses and get some feeling back into my poor,abused didgits(tRead:Do girly stuff,how annoying!).Maybe I should go sit in front of the television and mindlessly channel surf to disprove my feminity!

Liff As I know It!

I Worked All Night!

I've made it out of Paediatrics...safe and sound...finally though my all important completion is still to be done!Didn't think I'd make it for a while there while on the last day when I had the honour of meeting a lazy intern who shrugged his work of right onto me which means joy,oh joy,I had an extra night on call this time.Aaargh!
Actually,its not the work I mind doing so much(my opinion about my job is evident from the rest of my blog),its the principle of it ie having to do someone else's work while they pretend they're working sooooo much.Though when I was yelling at him for doing that,I did realize that I've inherited my mother's "teacher" voice.Its freaky when you open your mouth and hear your mother's voice with the same tone,same words and same inflections!But I digress...
Paediatrics was much better than it had any right to be(luckily for me!.I had a good time taking references to surgery and luckily for me,I got to do a few procedures too(thanks to the two amazing house officers)in this unit and my extreme persistence.I tried every method,from begging to jeering and I finally got my way!
Yea and a little help from Lady Luck...the entry of a new third houseman...who like others of his ilk was disoriented over his first few days and creating so much extra work that they'd rather let the slaves(read interns)do procedures!
And the most fun of all was the presentation we had to prepare.Our lecturer tells us it's good preparation for our post graduation.Doesn't he realize that post graduation is quite far away...considering that as of now,we're still undergraduates!
Jeez...one wouldn't think that he was a PG student a few months back-can't believe we lost him to the dark side so fast and so easily!I mean,of course it's a dream come true for me to give over a whole weekend to the equivalent of studying during the year I marked out as fun.Even my parents could have told him that no intern wants to sit and prepare a presentation...for crying out loud,we just got out of a course in which at least one exam a month was the norm! Spare us for a year,will you?Especially since you know from bitter experience that once we get a PG seat our life as we know it is over!
Well,Paediatrics was pretty darned good for me(maybe because I actually like babies).Unfortunately,I have Obstetrics & Gynaecology(in which I have absolutely no interest)coming up next month...and my feelings about that can be best expressed by:

 

Liff As I Know It!