The World of Mac

The world of Mac. No, I'm not talking about that wonderful cosmetic company that makes the best eyeshadows in the world, I'm actually referring to the inventors of the ancient Apple computer and LC II. I have recently been eyeing many of the Macintosh products available out there, which is weird because I've managed to boycott the iPod for a number of years (much like I did with the cellphone, way back when) and I'm definitely a self-proclaimed International Business Machine LOVER.

But alas, like any consumer/sucker that needs to get with the times, I've realized that Macs are damn COOL. For instance, the whole Mac OS dock has got to be the coolest thing ever, so much so that I almost considered dumping my Toshiba Tecra for a new iBook (thank goodness that thought only lasted a half day or so). I feel so lucky 'cuz after only a few days of commiseration, in a flash of life-altering lightning and twist of fate, one of my classmates told me about ObjectDock. I just installed it and it is the COOLEST thing - download it and I promise it will end Mac envy.

(Ok, so I lied, it is so much crappier than the real thing, but hey, we all can dream right?)

School is busy as heck right now... exams in about 6 weeks and I am dragging my feet through lots of physiology! I thought the kidneys were bad, the lungs are even worse! Who knew a big bag of air could be so complicated. Geez. And I thought it was supposed to be as simple as sticking a balloon in a 2 L plastic coke bottle.

However, I think I have solved my "I-want-be-a-surgeon-but-don't-want-to-go-through-hell" dilemma. I recently discovered the world of interventional radiology and to me, it is the shit. It involves lots and lots of procedures from image-guided biopsy to visualizing blood flow in the body with dyes (angiography) and everyday is different. It's like the best of being a surgeon without actually having to be a surgeon. The drawback is that there is a bit of radiation exposure here and there... it's official, ovaries belonging to female medical students have it rough.

At any rate, there is still fun to be had, whether it's watching Skating with Celebrities, lamenting the decline in quality of Grey's Anatomy, ordering three $7 three-topping pizzas from Domino's, pretending to know Klingon (don't ask - Star Trek is for nerds!), coming in second last at Queen's recent mentorship group trivia night (I stink at trivia!) or reading my CMAJ. Check out this recent pic:

True dat! For goodness' sake will somebody end the evil corporate pharmaceutical empire.

Kenya Update
March 3, 2006

It was such a privilege to meet the founders of the Kenyan clinic I'll be working in this summer. It was very inspiring to listen to their philosophy on empowering impoverished villages and creating sustainable programs so that they can flourish after volunteer work there is complete. In the future, Caring Partners International hopes to set up similar clinics in villages around the world. It was highly recommended that I watch the movie the Constant Gardener, which was partly filmed in Nairobi and features traditional Luo music, which is the language that is spoken predominantly in western Kenya. The movie is very moving and wonderful and I highly recommend it to all - just be forewarned, the movie is disturbing as it speaks on the pharmaceutical evils that I mentioned before.