The drive back

We had a wonderful drive back from rural. My father flew up to the rural city to drive back with me and so we left-mid morning. (The Man could not be there because of work commitments elsewhere.)

It was a nice drive, and it felt a lot more relaxed than when my husband and I drove up there the first time. It had a lot to do with the fact that I'm was going home, and that there was no particular rush to the destination.

It was a six hour drive, and as it went by the landscape just got greener and greener. It went from being all brown, dry and dead into green farmlands full of crops and the occasional forest.

Half-way back we took an alternative route and ended up traveling through cattle country and a lot of produce farms, and it was so nice to look around at the scenery. My favourite game is to try to guess what the crops are. I grew up around strawberries, sugar cane, pineapples and bananas but didn't see any of those on this trip. The single crop I was sure about was the mandarin trees, and we think we spotted some onions, but the rest just looked green, lovely and unidentifiable.

At one point the road got narrow and we were driving through cattle fields (on the road, of course) across cattle grids and got to slow down and keep an eye out for big beautiful beasties wandering across the road.

We had a very interesting moment when we came across a massive bull standing in the middle of the road. We came to a complete stop to see which direction the bull was going to go in, but he just stood there. Beeping the horn would have been a bad idea - he was big, intact, and may have been very territorial.

We were going to drive behind him, but then another car came along the road and the big bull moved out of the way in the direction that we were also going. We stopped, let him and the other car passed, waved to the other car as is the country way, and then we were able to drive onwards.

There were a lot of cars on the main road, but it was mostly an uneventful drive and we arrived at my parent's house in the late afternoon. We had a wonderful evening and I went home the next day to a marvelous feline reception.

I'm still not entirely unpacked, but it doesn't matter - I'm home!

HOME!!!

Rural rotation is over. Thank God. I am home and am happy again. :)

I now have a small and furry fan club following me around everywhere, which is very sweet.

Unfortunately the dust from the storms is still blowing around, so my eyes get itchy (I have very sensitive eyes) and my nose is a bit runny, but I don't really mind. I am simply happy to be home.

I'll tell you the story of our trip back in another post, but for now, I have to rest and enjoy life. :)

One more sleep!

One sleep to go!

Our exam is today. I should be more nervous about it, but I just want to go home.

At least other people will be around me studying this morning so there will be some motivation to study. Joys.

Week 8 of rural

Two sleeps to go! Two sleeps to go! Two sleeps to go!

Then I drive home!

Not that I'm excited or anything. I still have to hold myself together for long enough to pass the exam, before I snap and spend the afternoon racing around screaming with joy.

The end of Week 7 of rural

It is the last night at our rural placement!

Tomorrow we are going to be driving back to the central rural location, have a week of talks with an exam at the end, and then I get to go home.

I can't believe that it is almost over. I'm kind of proud of myself. I have never been away from home for such a long stretch before, particularly not by myself. (I know I'm with other people from the medical school but that isn't what I mean.)

I have even gotten into the habit of packing multiple days worth of lunch salads in one go, and even doing the same for dinners - it takes up less space and saves time later on, plus I'm never stuck without lunch. :)

It makes it easier to say no to takeaway when you already have a nice dinner in the fridge, and you know that the dinner will be tastier anyway.

I can't wait to get home again. I have missed my family so very much. It will be lovely to get back there and actually be able to STAY longer than two or three days.

I have also missed my kitchen more than I can say. The oven here doesn't quite cook right. I cooked a lovely Leek and Cauliflower Pot Pie tonight (from Veganomicon - yum!) and the biscuit topping didn't quite cook through.

The washing machine doesn't clean very well, either, but it is better than nothing.

We have been walking distance from the "city centre" as well as the pubs, which has been a bonus. It is nice to not need a designated driver or taxi because the pub is five minutes walk away!

The Man will be away for another week when I get back, which is sad, but at least I will be home. :)

So close!!!

Eddie, you legend!

I have always been a huge fan of Eddie Izzard. What is not to love about the cross-dressing, razor-witted comedian and actor?

Now I think he is a bloody legend. 43 marathons in 51 days, all for charity. I just hope that he hasn't hurt himself too badly. Run, Eddie, Run, indeed!

Random career thoughts 2

I am starting to think that it would be a good idea to take my time getting into a training program.

In Australia, we do a common intern year, then most people do a residency year and normally you slot into a training program after that as a registrar. Some people take more time than that to get into the program that they want to get into, as some of them are highly competitive.

Some people change programs after a couple of years of training in one, and start again in another.

I had planned on trying to get into psychiatry ASAP, but part of me really wonders at the wisdom of this.

I am still not 100% sure that this is the direction that I want to go in. I enjoy clinical medicine, too, so I don't know that I want to leave it as much as I would be if I went into psych.

I'm starting to think that it might be a better idea to just see what happens as I go and take my time making my decision. I have gone slowly in every other decision in life, so why should this be any different?