Pethidine Pleasure

Back from sunny Tauranga! No more mountain climbing or trips to the beach for a while now... until my holiday in Hawaii - where I won't have to freeze my gluteus maximus off to enjoy great scenery! I really can't believe that my elective is so close. After 18 months of planning and about 200 emails, the only thing that stands between me and the airport is a 6 week paediatric attachment.

There are a few loose ends I have to tidy up before I leave, such as my absolute pigs sty of a bedroom! Oh! The tremendous amount of junk I've collected during med school. Yesterday, I cleaned out all of the journal articles I've collected over the years. By the time I finished cleaning out the filing cabinet, my room was even more messy than when I started! Then there's my wardrobe with old clothes in it which I haven't worn once since moving from Christchurch! I've really declared war on all of my rubbish, but I think it's going to turn nasty. The avalanche of useless waste is falling faster than I can run!

I've just had the most awesome day. I went into the hospital in the morning, did a ward round and then saw a couple of procedures in theatre. Then I saw a baby being delivered down in delivery suite. I felt very priviliged to have been allowed to witness a very special and personal moment for the family.

After that, I went into town for a late lunch. While facing a very pleasant ocean view, I had a delicious Cajun chicken burger with fries and a nice hot coffee that wasn't too strong or too weak. After that, I felt very full and just sat in a bench and soaked up the view.

Then I drove to Mt. Manganui and climbed up to the top. I took a very steep route which got me to the top in less than 20 minutes, but I was also quite puffed due to my poor excercise tolerance! The hard work was rewared by a beautiful sunset view over Tauranga and the port. I managed to find a spot where I could see the endless ocean to my right, with boats coming slowly into the harbour. Slightly to my left, there was a small forrest of pine trees, which I'd love to say was wild and untouched by humans, but it was probably a tree plantation. Behind it, a warm and mellow golden sun was setting behind the hills in the distance. Further around still, I could see the port winding down for the evening and the lights of Tauranga starting to warm up. The best part of all was that there was no other human life near me at that part of the summit, and the only thing I could hear was the ocean gently brushing against the base of the mountain.

Unfortunately, because the sun was setting, I could only stay there for about 30 minutes before I had to make my way back down. I took an easier route but it also took longer. Almost 45 minutes. It was nearly dark by the time I got to the bottom, but it didn't really matter. A full moon now provided all the light I needed to make my way safely back to the car. I feel so relaxed now. I could easily stay here forever.

Greetings from Tauranga! Gosh, it's been difficult to get internet access here!! There's only one computer that isn't restricted, and the connection is a painfully slow dial-up connection!!! I'm seriously getting withdrawal symptoms here. Shakes, tremor, poor concentration... What makes it even more painful is that there is nowhere to watch the French Open on TV!!!! There's so little to do, I'm actually going to bed early every night!!!!!

I really like Tauranga as a town. I haven't had time to look around that much, but what I've seen has been really nice. It's really easy to get around, plenty of shops to buy all the stuff you need, and the beach by Mt. Manganui is really awesome! I hope to get the chance to see more things later on this week, but it's really hard because I'm tied up with clinics and theatre most of the time. I also can't simply run away because I have so much time to make up for when I was sick!

I'm writing this entry because theatre has been delayed. It was super frosty here overnight and it has caused the humidity to drop. Apparently, this increases the static electricity and makes us more likely to explode if the diathermy machine is used! There are humidifiers going full blast, but they seem to be making not one iota of a difference. Absolutely bizzare. Never heard of this being a problem before!

OK, better see if theater has more mositure in the air. Maybe we should get some kettles and start steaming out the theatres. Sorry for the poor english in this post. Too lazy to proof read. Bye!!