"Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten." - G. K. Chesterton

I've come to the end of my first week of being "gainfully employed", as Jaden would say. It wasn't so bad, but mainly because I'm certain that the staff are taking things really slowly with me. I'm not sure if this is a good thing because it probably lulls me into a false sense of belief that I can actually do this but I guess it's better than hitting me with the hard truths from the get-go.

I really like the environment of the clinic though there are few nurses who are around the same age. Talking about age, apparently I look older than I am! So far, no one's been able to guess my correct age and most of them are at least 2 years off. GAH. Anyhoo, the environment's great because it's like a minor operating theatre so I wear a gown nearly all the time. Thus at the end of the day, I feel rather clean and not grimy at all. Yet at the same time, it's not so sterile that I have to be conscious of every move I make lest I get contaminated by germs. Did I also mention that the place is air-conditioned? :) and I haven't even said the best part yet: I actually get home at a reasonable hour because there's no shift work!

It helps that my preceptor's extremely nice and get this, she's a mother and a freakin' Twilight fan! Instant connection haha. She's from the Philippines and so are half the staff, I think. I feel a little like an outsider when they all get together in the lunch room but it's my fault too since most of the time I prefer to keep to myself and read. It's not that they don't try to include me in some of their conversation, but honestly, I just haven't clicked with anyone so far and so haven't felt the desire to mingle much. I feel like a big fake when I talk to them. It might be because I still feel like I'm a student and they are my superiors rather than my colleagues. I shall have to get used to the fact that I'm now on the same level as most of them.

Other than that, I'm familiarising myself with the layout and routine of the clinic. I've managed to participate in two common procedures and gotten to know some of the doctors. No good-looking, young ones so far (BOOO) but one of them has made quite an impression on me with his distinguished looks and the way he carries himself.

All in all, it's been a more eventful first week than most of my hospital attachments. On the first day, a patient fell in the toilet and had to go for surgery. THANK GOD I wasn't the nurse in charge of her. We also found one of the cleaners asleep and snoring in the toilet-with-a-bed. He was dead to the world! We knocked and called out, worrying that it was a patient inside and when we finally managed to unlock the door, he still didn't wake up! I assume he was fired or suspended because I didn't see him any more. And the grand finale: some unmarried dude in his 60s, who was hard of hearing, kept asking us to give him a kiss and displayed the family jewels when I was helping him in the toilet. Can I say Eeeew?

I really hope that I'll be happy here and be able to face whatever adversities that might come my way. Especially that little matter of being on-call in a year's time but I'll scale that wall when I come to it.

On the other (powder-free latex-gloved) hand, here's the latest New Moon trailer. Love the wolf pack and Jacob's totally burnin up the screen.



Happy birthday, Kang Hao.