Numero uno all over again

I cannot believe that I am coming back to this site and boy has it changed. The last time I came near it with a twig was when I was still a teenager, eager to show it off whilst acting all clandestine, trying my very best swing at being incognito. It was all to impress someone of the opposite gender and never a true reflection of what I really thought. Well, maybe a little, not a whole lot though. Popping this open brought back 'Just the 6 of us' and '千里之外' unexpectedly. It is wonderful how everything is so intricately linked to google nowadays and to be honest I love it (not so much the pictures of the old skinny us with our badly managed crewcuts trying the very best to grow up while looking cool). Still, those were probably the best times of our lives, at the very least definitely mine, and I would like to thank all of you guys from the gang.

This unexpected lull which was meant to last 2 months with a perceived fruitful end is certainly not working itself out. First, the VISA that is meant to chauffeur me back to Harvard has definitely acted up for real this time. Whatever salvage manoeuvres they're performing there at Plastic Surgery had better boost my chances as it has been a truly disappointing descent having prioritised this job over all others. It was a huge leap of faith parachuting myself into Beth Israel and having my inadequate British MBBS brutalised by the Harvard horde, and I guess now I am paying the price. Everything said, I am tired of waiting and can't wait to get my hands on patients again (in a magical, healing way mind you). With all the nice offers I had previously mercilessly rejected from Oxford, their spirits are back to haunt me. I still do hope to catch one and tame it to my benefit. We shall see on the 6th of November…

This incredibly long, unexpected break had me looking at myself and being very appalled at how I have neglected my holistic well-being. I have not picked up a book in years since graduation and even when I do, it's Medicine. The Martian by Andy Weir has completely blown me away, and I've certainly caught the train late because I remember seeing Jason Bourne in a Martian suit on a movie poster somewhere a while ago. Doing the reading only when you know the movie has been a box-office hit is just uncool. But now I know what Dr Odom was going on about when we were on rounds. He remains the coolest Trauma surgeon I've worked with to date. But hey, I've finished a non-medical book since graduation! This is a milestone. For those of you who still hasn't read the book or watched the film, you seriously need to do either or both, and you'll want to give Mark Watney a fist bump.

It's been 3 months of self-discovery, a lot of thinking, mum and dad time and Karen time. Despite this being more or less involuntary, I would like to think that it generated more good than bad. These guys have done wonders for me and I'd literally be in fetal position crying myself to sleep if it hasn't been them cheering me on. I'll log more of their greatness in the future for sure.

This has been an excellent first entry, and the next one will be something I've written for a magazine but would just really like it out here as it was the first piece of proper writing (not translation) I have done for a while. It's a piece on the beautiful scenery we witnessed in South Korea just outside of Seoul  a couple of days ago and boy everyone should get a chance to see those leaves and the true colours of autumn. Enjoy!