max factor

mood: content.
state of mind: head hurts.
tune: kim carnes "bette davis eyes".

that maxine mckew announced her candidacy for a seat in the next federal election came as a surprise to me. that ms mckew chose to run for the seat of bennelong, the incumbent being none other than prime minister john howard, failed to surprise me at all.

i assumed that ms mckew would bide her time as an adviser to kevin rudd, before perhaps moving into the political arena in earnest some time during the next term. i think the only smarter decision that could possibly have been made by ms mckew and mr rudd has been made.

the past couple of months has seen the usually intrasigent mr howard regularly on the defensive, making gaffes in and out parliament (e.g., barack obama being al-qaeda's president-of-choice), executing a few backflips that would have a chinese gymnast jealous (e.g., the planet is now getting warmer, but only in the last few weeks apparently), and, in his opponent's direction, slinging quite a bit of mud (e.g., "mr rudd's getting a bit up himself"), the likes of which the electorate has little time for. a prime ministership fraying at the edges perhaps?

what better time to throw in a distraction such as the preselection of a high profile candidate as his opponent in his own electorate. there is no better time, and this further shows that under mr rudd, the ALP is serious about winning government. on the three critical issues of election 2007 mr howard is losing traction - not the best time to be looking over his shoulder.

another distraction is yet to appear on the australian political radar. this september, australia plays host to the APEC summit. with an election likely either october or november, this is probably not the best time to be seen rubbing shoulders obsequiously with george w bush in silly hats. (american vice-president dick cheney's recent comments indicated that they are not interested in a sycophant anyway - the alliance is stronger than what mr howard's comments imply.) along with the barrage of climate change and social justice protesters likely to be in attendance and getting media coverage, this is not the sort of lead-in anyone would like for an election campaign.

but what of the value of this campaign to ms mckew (let's be honest, a return to a career in journalism seems unlikely now). without much persistence, it is highly likely that ms mckew will win bennelong in the long run, and thus her candidacy at this election is a sideline distraction if not more. mr howard's time in the federal parliament is limited; it is very likely, even should he win bennelong and the wider election, that he will retire. a subsequent by-election would likely see ms mckew's ascendency to federal parliament. this fact has to at least annoy mr howard.

keep the gaffes coming!

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images: public

rubor, tumor, dullor, calor...

mood: pretty happy.
state i'm in: totally in love with having monday's off!
tune: jamiroquai "canned heat".


here's a few pics from med school sports day. this is where we spend the entire day, from
breakfast 'til late at night, drinking our livers into oblivion, and throw in a few physical activites (most also involving alcohol) for good measure. adalbert, emma, nicola and i opted out of the run from the trans at roma street to UQ in favour of a very civilised champagne breakfast with all the trimmings.

over the course of the day everyone got themselves rather intoxicated. several ambulances. someone lost their wedding ring... fiance will be less than impressed, i'm sure. yours truly managed to score a blood nose on the jumping castle - thanks to jess for looking after me. now sore and swollen, pretty sure it's not broken, but i will check with my tutor (an emergency med specialist) on tuesday just incase. all in all, sports day '07 was a success.












how one should be leaving pre-drinks... em, nic, and adalbert well on the way











leonie getting trashed... as usual; kluver strutting by in the background











jelly fun











"anyone seen my wedding ring?"













me, amy, and our aviators











sandra: "get away from me leonie, your f@#%'d up"











not sure why there are always straight guys in their underwear at most events involving alcohol???











jess, ???, bec, and me











me, kim, adalbert, and nicole














some sandra-lovin'














me with lisa, disguising herself as a beer can

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images: mine

seeds sown

mood: happy.
state i'm in: banking hard left from a weighty study session.
tune: bebel gilberto "august day song".


the seeds of a new adventure have been sown. time will tell how many seeds germinate, which seedlings can make it through the undergrowth, which saplings can make it to unperturbed daylight, and which can go on to bear delicately perfumed flowers and sweet fruit.


i can smell some of them already.

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image: mine

preserved persimmons

mood: pretty happy.
state i'm in: praise for preserved persimmons.
tune: donny hathaway 'the ghetto' (always reminds me of summit restaurant... how ironic)


i had my first feeling of worry today since the start of the academic year. bit of a feeling that washes over me when i realise this course is full on, and there is a sizable chance of failure. but i remain decidedly upbeat, unlike previous occasions when this i have felt this. i guess this is MBBS 2; i know what i am in for, and have a slightly better handle on how to handle it.

at first i was a little over the idea of another lecture- and tutorial-based year of studies. i am looking forward to third and fourth year rotations - wards, wards, and more wards. but i am starting to see the progression - the lean towards more pathology this year; more 'abnormals' than 'normals'. thats a good thing! something a little more amenable to one being able to sink their teeth into. there's a renewed vigour within fast removing me from the doldrums of the old first few week blues. maybe this is all the tonic i need to cure a bit of a brief low period felt over recent days.

most of this is the result of a case of anaemia for the week, and the chance to experience a real life case of the condition on the wards, with an aetiology just as likely to come from column on the 'causes of anaemia table' as another. literally, from book to bedside.

is there a latent haematologist lurking in the depths of me somewhere? for now, i doubt it.

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off topic just a little, my local fruit store just started stocking dried persimmons. so bloody good! sure, they are brown and wrinkly, resembling something, wildly out of control, from a dermatology class last week. but tasty indeed. get some if you can find them.


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image: mine

brollies and jackets out

mood: pretty happy.
state i'm in: forced bedtime.
tune: tranquility bass "cantamilla" i never tire of acid jazz.

how nice is it to walk in the lightly spitting rain? ...to feel a genuinely cool breeze on your face (other than immediately after opening the freezer door)? ...to not sweat once throughout the whole day? ...to feel cold when you get out of the pool? ...to make a mistake and only wear shorts and a tee out for the day? ...to cop a volley of cold waterdrops from a branch blowing in the wind? ...to crave a warm beverage?

i hope these days stick around.

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image: mine

thinking about tomorrow

mood: content.
state i'm in: still in rebuke over my own emotions.
tune: beth orton "thinking about tomorrow".

'tired but i ain't sleeping..,' just been playing a few mellow tunes on my trusty little iPod nano and come across one of the most splendid in all of my collection. it effects me so deeply and takes me back to some places i would love to return, and some i would not. so i get out of bed, put on my specs, and fire up the iBook i just shut down an hour ago. (anyone for an Apple product placement?)

in an instant, i'm in budapest, on margit hid (bridge), at the southern tip of margit-sziget (island), staring down the danube in the fading twilight, at one of the most beautiful cities i have ever been to. i'm quietly singing the lyrics to myself, and thinking of the greatest love of my life up to that point, lost.




in another instant i am in richmond, london. ms orton is loud on my headphones, as i wander around the city's streets, collecting wine, food, and gifts for the festive season. in and out of tesco's and marks & spencer, finding what i seek. again, as i go, my mind steals away, and i get sentimental about love, lost and found.




another memory springs to mind. in my bedroom, in the wee hours, studying my first few weeks of med, lost in the quagmire of this new course. beth orton on high rotation on iTunes (there it goes) and lost love on high rotation in my mind. my mind casts itself to a couple of brief honeymoons, with a love left unrequited by geography alone.

this song is one of the most potent catalysts for bringing to the fore of my mind the feelings of love lost, unrequited, and abused. i love it so sweet, but it, and the thoughts it rekindles, hurts.

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beth orton "thinking about tomorrow"

tired but i ain't sleeping
thinking about some sad affair
and why i should be leaving
cos some of these thoughts only seem to take me outta here
these habits are so hard to break and they're so easy to make
these habits are so hard to break and they're so easy to make

thinking about tomorrow
tired form all the time i spare
on what i still believe in
when none of my talk ever seems to get me anywhere
these habits are so hard to break and they're so easy to make
these habits are so hard to break and they're so easy to make

so long bye my friend so long
so long will it ever happen again
you know that i've been waiting for you
i’ve been creating for you so long
you know the light ain't fading from you
nothing could save me from you, so long

tired but i ain't dreaming
falling into solid air
and why i must be leaving or one of these days
i'm gonna pull out all my hair
these habits are so hard to break and they're so easy to make
these habits are so hard to break and they're so easy to make

so long, bye my friend so long
so long will it ever happen again
you know that I've been waiting for you
i've been creating for you so long
you know the light ain't fading from you
nothing could save me form you so long

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images: mine

numero uno

mood: slight despondence.
state i'm in: unable to understand.
tune: beanfield "close to you" (maurice fulton remix).


it's a sick feeling when a parallel universe, once yours before a tangential shift, succeeds without you; you can't stand it. when you have to be the centre of the universe, how do you cope with there being more than one universe? you cannot be omnipresent; if only, for a time.

thoughts go round and round in your head. you wish you could transcend space and time and return to that universe. but you could not stand it anyway, for it was all "a pile of dog shit".

transactions can be made between one universe and another; we call them 'lessons from our past'. you make withdrawals from a parallel universe or two all the time. but these transactions are not enough. they afford you the wisdom to make a decision in your favour, but they do not bring with them all you loved about your where you once were, now the parallel universe. when, in fact, not all was dog shit in that time, there is forever a feeling of longing.

nevertheless, you think you're now over it. and you can give the slightest smile in the direction of the parallel universe, as if in approval, and happiness that events have been favourable within it, even without the input of your (apparently) divine wisdom.

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image: public domain

in a geeky sorta way...

mood: happy.
state i'm in: moling over moles.
tune: diana ross "i'm coming out".


this is cool...


aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. the rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe.

eos

mood: neither here nor there.
state i'm in: trying to persuade myself to study.
tune: macy gray "coming back to you".


hit the motor show with suffien and dad on saturday. such a hard decision... audi RS4, saab 9-3 aero, bmw 335i...? mercedes was absent, but i am sure the AMG C32 would rate a mention. but for me, the show was stolen by the new volkswagen eos, one sweet little hardtop convertible. i've never been much of a cabriolet man, as far as suspecting i might buy one, but i am quite taken with this little cutie.

























intern car in a couple years perhaps?


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images: public domain

... just add water

mood: content (at home).
state i'm in: dreaming of eos.
tune: pattie labelle "stir it up".

i don't think i will become a dermatologist. just put behind me two weeks of solid derm with another to go yet. rashes, hives, moles, melanomas, and other funny shaped, odd-coloured, pus-filled lesions, just not my cup of tea really.

it's not that it is particularly boring, nor particularly difficult. in fact, there are only two conditions that, as a dermatologist, you would get out of bed at 2am for; only two dermatological emergencies. insurance is low, work hours are great, and the chances of accidentally killing someone are pretty minimal. but still, not for me. i think i'm still more on the path to becoming a physician for now.


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instant boyfriend... just add water.

it's been great having suff back, after 7 long weeks of his absence. i had become quite accustomed to spending my time on myself. i'd only had to please myself really; come as i please, not tell anyone of my whereabouts, not have to be anywhere for anyone. the last week has required a little adjusting. all of a sudden, i have gone from pseudo-bachelor status, back into a settled relationship. it has been a most wecome adjustment however.

i must admit, in the sweltering 34 degree days, i very much doubt i am the most exciting boyfriend. more a lethargic, malingering even, lump of medium-rare meat.