Ridiculous ramblings, really

I'm feeling: determined

Still around and reading. Just trying to finish the diss and as such a bit busy.
Once I hand it it, I expect babbling to happen.

Onward!

In an attempt not only to update via twitter or when I'm close to a nervous breakdown, I wanted to mention that not only was I good today and went to the gym after work - hence the mellow mood, but I also did spend the whole day singing.
Given how *badly* I sing and my chosen songs (Terry Jacks, Seasons In The Sun; Dropkick Murphys, The Green Fields Of France) the fact that none of my colleagues have killed me yet is an achievement. Of course the singing was my way of coping with Prof. Blub asking me for the literature review part of my diss (something colleague M, warned me might happen) so maybe this shouldn't count as a positive point. And the most likely person to actually get me to stop singing, the aforementioned colleague M, was not at work today, so this dampens the point even more.

Anyway, enough rambling. Now, to call colleague M once he's back from his business trip (not for Rheinland Pornproductions but thank you for planting that image in my brain, M) to figure out if we're going to carpool again tomorrow and if we do, what his feeling about picking up the syrian colleague because of the BVG-strike are.
Oh, and to work on that diss. I knew I was forgetting something.

I'm feeling: mellow

My three weeks of freedom are over. I'm afraid to count how many days I actually stayed away from work. I think it were less than five.
Obviously I'm completely mad. And a workaholic, but that's nothing new.

So what did I *do* in that time?

• Trying my best to compile most of the data on any dog that walked out of the clinic with a transdermal fentanyl patch in the last two years
• Occasionally designating a patient a test subject and collecting lots of data from them too. (Expected time to finish with my doctorate at this pace: too long)
• Being amused how my attempts at randomizing by throwing a coin all came out with the same result for a whole week
• Failing to get a photograph of Bob the cute piglet that came in on M's shift. (No, I don't work in a mixed clinic. Pigs are definitely *not* our usual clientele.)
• Being shocked at Heath Ledgers death. I don't know why that hit me so hard, I've never been a proper fan or anything. Maybe because Actors of my generation are not supposed to die yet? Or because I've unconsciously picked those people likely to die soon and he wasn't on the list? Whatever it was, it was a very strange thing.
• Going to Leipzig for two days. I was amazed how much at home I still felt there.
• Apparently failing to take Project 2008 seriously. But how could I? It's a sort of bet between some colleagues to at least find one guy to snog every month if we can't find anything else. Opinions on this are divided in the clinic. I actually don't care very much, after all I know myself and am all about realistic expectations. If I find even one guy to show any interest in me in a year I'm lucky. So, definitely not taking it seriously. But not condemning any of the others. We'll see what dramas will spring from this as the year progresses.

And now I'm going back again, to finish up collecting everything for the study I need, be there if anything surgical comes in and later help M.
Wohoo. My life is full of excitement.

Current Location: Berlin
I'm feeling: drained

Two weeks since the last entry and it feels like 2 days.
My life has been busybusybusy since I came here, but right now, it's on an upswing from that. The move in addition to Prof Blub asking me why I haven't even turned in an introduction, let alone the literary review part of my dissertation, makes for busybusybusy² times.

The move has become necessary because J.'s boything has been retransferred to Berlin and the tree of us are currently living in a two room flat. Just to act contrary to popular expectation, all of us are going to move together. Into a three-and-a-half room flat. Once I finish my dissertation (HarHar) or decide I've spent enough time in the hell that's the clinic (for those who haven't noticed, I love the job and the colleagues, but would happily kill the bosses if given the chance), I'll move out and the two will have a nicely sized flat. This hopefully will work out in such a way that I'll move out at about the time J. finishes with her dissertation and joins the gainfully employed masses, and splitting the rent between two people no longer overtaxes a postgrad's account.

So, in between trying to put together a somewhat coherent literatry review on intraoperative hypothermia and packing my belongings into boxes (and since most of my belongings are books, this makes for heavy boxes), I've been painting my room, giving a kitchen a makover and generally been running around like a headless chicken.

But for my work I have pictures to show.
( There is stucco on my ceiling )

And why is Dunkin' Donuts (sadly, the only place to get a chocolate fix on a Sunday evening. If your definition of 'evening' doesn't go beyond 20:00) so expensive? For 5 € I could get a pretty good cake at the pastry shop next door (if only it were open).
I need to retrain my body not to crave chocolate after hard work.