Hello world!

Hello all! Sorry, long time no see! I haven't had much free time this week (...let's make that 'haven't had any free time this week' !)
I've spent waay too many days in the hospital past 9pm, and I am so excited about leaving the gross hospital accommodation today for my 2 weeks Easter holiday. It is currently 7am and I am in the hospital library, I couldn't take it in my room any more (or "prison cell" as one of my medical student peers calls our rooms!)

Remember how some posts ago I was complaining that the ex-residents of my room smoked, because my room STUNK of cigarettes? Well, last night I was on the phone to Chris, complaining yet again that the room just stenches of smoke. I have had the window open perpertually for 3 weeks and have sprayed the room with as much air freshener as I can, but nothing seems to improve it. My clothes in the cupboard are even starting to stink of smoke as well. EUGH.
and my clever Chris said "You know, maybe it's the people living below you who are smoking..."

...3 minutes later I was knocking at the door of the flat below, and yes, sure enough, the girl who lives in the room directly below mine smokes.

a lot.

so I have spent 12hours a day for the last 3 weeks being a passive smoker.

YUK
YUK
YUK

I'm the sort of person who holds my breath when I walk past a smoker in the street, so you can imagine I'm not happy!

So now I am waiting till 8:30am when the accommodation office opens, and then I'm going to

a- complain
b- beg (on my knees if necessary!) for them to move me and put me in a different room.


Luckily tomorrow my 2 weeks Easter holidays start. THANK GOD!!! It's been 12 weeks since the Christmas holidays and am in desperate need of a break! Also, I just want to go home! (...to a house with clean air!)


Okay, it is Friday in Lent, I better not complain anymore! There are far far worse things than a room made of asbestos which smells of cigarettes!


This afternoon I am supposed to be having a Communication Skills teaching session on 'Taking a sexual history' from patients.

I have already heard from my friends that the actor-patients who come in are all a bit odd; there is one promiscuous gay guy who talks really animatedly and in details about his sexual activities using all sorts of gross slang terminology.
In our teaching booklet it says that we have to ask all sort of questions about the sexual behaviours and whether it was with males/females and whether they used "protection" and all sorts of other unplesant things like that.

I was going to go (being the nerd that I am, and never missing a teaching session on anything)...but upon reflection, I have decided not to.

I get easily scandalised by these sorts of things, and quite frankly, I don't want to be exposed to talk of morally deviant behaviour, presented as normal.
I turn off TV shows as soon as they start to mention anything to do with gross sexual behaviour (...not that I own a tv, or have watched tv for months anyway!). I mean, I haven't been able to cope watching shows like "Friends" for years on tv anymore! Sex before marriage, terrible sexual promiscuity, acceptance of homosexual behaviours....not good stuff. It certainly doesn't make Jesus happy.

I find that the more you allow yourself to be in contact with such things, the more they eventually start seeping into your mind, and you start seeing them as normal.

It's obvious; you do eventually become what you choose to surround yourself with.

(the word 'choose' is important)

Feed your mind who good holy thoughts and you will interpret the world in the different way than if you expose yourself constantly to morally deviant things.

The horror that you should feel with sin gets numbed...and eventually you become accommodated to them, and seeing them as being not 'that bad'.

(this definitly happened to me just before I started University. I was going through my I'm-a-cool-19-year-old phase, and spent my days watching 'Sex and the City' and all those other trash tv shows...and I eventually just become accustomed to their sins. Not even really feeling shocked at the extent of sin they portray.)

So I was thinking "What would St. Therese of Lisieux do?"
Well, she would probably say something holy and convert the whole class, but the point is, I don't think she would expose herself to something like that.

And plus, such a class would scandalise my guardian angel!

It would be different if there was going to be any opportunity to talk about the morality (or lack thereof) of these behaviours, but the class isn't about that at all. It's just a case of talking to actor patients (in front of other students) and learning how to ask about their sexual behaviours and how to advise them on being "sexually safe".

I think I could probably take a sexual history from a patient if I needed to for an exam, without having to suffer through the class...so I'm going to purposefully miss my first ever class!!


anyway, it is now 8:30am...am going to find that accommodation person!