Last night we played footy again, but had a flat out terrible performance. It’s probably reflective of a couple weeks spent sitting behind the desk for all of us. A few of our players didn’t even come out because they were (purportedly) still behind their desk. So we got cranked, 10:1. I don’t know what those other guys have been doing to stay in shape… Anyways, this morning I am a bit stiff. I spent most of the weekend behind my desk and at least in my apartment. It’s basically time to do nothing but that until the June exam. Last week was a bit of cardio stuff, with our patient having an MI. I am a little lost still on the EKG stuff, and I don’t really have my head around the way the machine works, let alone what it’s readouts mean. That will be probably pretty odd to read in a few years, since it will hopefully become second nature. This week I have cheated and looked ahead. Our patient will be having acute renal failure. It’s starting to come together a bit, and at least I am getting used to the paradigm of school again, and the particulars of this one. Hopefully I’m able to focus appropriately to execute this exam the way it should be done.

Tags: Life, Medicine, UQ by David Graff
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This last weekend we had May Ball.  It’s basically Medicine’s excuse to get dressed up and party.  It was like a wedding, where nobody got married and we all knew each other.  I have a few shots from around the tables.

Tags: Australia, Life, Medicine, Photos, UQ by David Graff
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Our apartment is perfectly positioned, according to me. It runs east and west, with our bedrooms on the east side, with large windows and sliding glass doors and separate balconies. Then on the west side is our kitchen and living room, and another balcony. It’s here that we get to spend the evening and watch the sunset every night. Some are quite flashy, and some are just a little bit of hazy yellow in a perfectly clear sky before the sun drops away over the outback. The best of them make me wish I had captured them, so I have actually tried a couple times. It’s hard to know when they’re going to really light up, but this one is alright. It’s a lot longer than the sunset itself, but I thought the time lapse of the people running about was interesting too.

Tags: Australia, Life, UQ, Video by David Graff
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A year ago I wrote my MCAT.  I had no idea what was about to happen and how my life was going to change.  It has been quite a head spin.  More at the beginning of the year than now, as I’m starting to feel like I know my way around and what’s going on.  I have spent just over three months here now and am getting back into feeling like a student, and at the same time am starting to feel like I’m able to really get my head into the game for school.  It feels good to finally have the motor running.  Now it’s time to cover some serious ground cause my mid year exam is coming up at the beginning of June.  It’s the first written exam I will have and is the only one I’ll have before finals, which makes it feel like a big hurdle to jump.

Tags: Medicine, UQ by David Graff
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I am playing footy with a team made up of some of myPBL group and another. It’s a touch league, so I’ll be able to keep my ears attached to my head, which I find particularly handy. It’s a pretty intense game that I’ve never really played before, and it makes for a lot of running.

I tore something in my leg and I’m in a bit of pain, which is a stark reminder of the validity of my usual MO of self preservation, but also good to get out there. We play at a field over in Yerongpilly or something like that. It’s a 45 minute walk from here. I’ll have to ask Matt where he played when he was down here. Anyways, we got our butts kicked tonight. The game is very athletic… I’m not. We’ll see over time.

Tags: Australia, UQ by David Graff
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Here are a few pics from around campus that I took when I just arrived.  It’s really a good looking place, very old fashioned.

Tags: Australia, Photos, UQ by David Graff
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It’s pouring rain today, and the air conditioners are still blasting away.  I’ve been cold all day, and have twice had to go outside to warm up.  It’s a strange feeling stepping out into a grey wet day to warm up from the cold library or class!  Not much new to report, just getting things together here.

Tags: Australia, UQ by David Graff
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Last weekend was Australia’s National holiday, aptly named Australia Day. The holiday itself falls on January 26, and this year that was a Saturday. In lieu of the day, we had Monday off, and I took the chance to see a bit of the city. I haven’t seen much of it yet, since I’ve been feeling a bit obligated to sort out this whole homelessness thing of mine (I’ve been temporarily staying at a dorm on campus).

Since the rental market here is controlled by real estate companies, there was none open on Monday, briefly relieving me of that duty. So I headed down the river, to see where the City Cat ferries would go. I took a stop in Southbank, which is an inner city park with a pool made like a beach, sand and all. You can see the “lagoon” on the Our Brisbane webcam. I took a few photos that I’ll put up later.

After getting back on the ferry and riding it as far as it would go in one direction, I decided to time lapse capture the trip home. Follow the link to watch it. [Read more →]

Tags: Australia, UQ, Video by David Graff
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End of the first week here and it’s Australia day, which brings back good memories from the last time I was here.  I remember walking our butts off around Sydney trying to figure everything out. Maybe I’ll go downtown and relive it.

This week has been busy feeling compared to the time leading up to it.  The classes so far are a mix of introductory science, orientation and when the parties are.  The most different thing is PBL, which is Problem Based Learning.  Basically you have 9 other people that you sit in a room and go over a case chosen by the school.  Except you can’t just talk about logical conclusions and what the most likely reality is.  You, and all your colleagues, have to discuss at length every single minute detail of the situation.  It’s not enough to say he hurt his finger.  What muscles are in the finger?  What bones? What structures could have been affected by an injury like this? Is the pain from the skin, or elsewhere? Why does it hurt? How is the pain transmitted? What is affected by the pain? How does that make him feel? What led up to this injury? How can it be avoided? Is it our responsibility to avoid this for other people? etc.  I hope it doesn’t drive me crazy, and I suppose the point is to make the footprints of coverage as large as possible with a single case at a time.

Tags: Australia, Medicine, UQ by David Graff
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It was international welcome day today for the School of Medicine.  There was a few sessions on how things work at the school, some introductions, and a lot of welcome-to-the-brotherhood talk.  One of the things that stood out to me today was in the Australian Culture session.  They encouraged us to “Let our judgements be fair” (Specifically in context of understanding other cultures).  In Canada it often seems that judgement is a bad word, and that everything is just equal because “we’re supposed to think” that way.  I have often thought it strange that everyone would habitually judge, but just as habitually deny or condemn judgement.  The Australian way seems to be a better fit for the way I see things; it seems more honest.

Aside from all that the BBQ was good, and despite being cloudy all day, I got sunburnt.  They say it can happen through the clouds, and once again, they’re right.

Tags: Australia, Medicine, UQ by David Graff
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