Bliss Part 4

A sure sign of impending physical meltdown always presents itself after 3 months of work in the ER. So yesterday evening, as the influx of resus cases continued, with 2 collapses and countless geriatric patients with raging fevers on nasogastric tubes in vegetative states, I suddenly felt the room spin and had to stop in my tracks for a few seconds until my head cleared.

But I managed to finish the shift despite a few milder episodes thereafter. And today, I'm relieved to escape an even worse fate in resus, by being assigned to consultation and having competent MOs running the show.

Am just waiting for the evening to end, so I can start my leave and recharge my dying battery.

How the hell am I going to do this for another 20-25 years?

Anyway, the week ahead isn't going to be easy. Chinese New Year looms, and as always, I'm in charge of house-cleaning, since I refuse to let my parents go through any heavy physical exertion, and think it's a waste of money to hire professionals who may end up stealing my valuables for all I know.

In the middle of all that sweaty activity, I need to finish up a journal writeup and get it submitted, meet friends visiting from Australia for an entire day out ( they were extremely hospitable when we met them at the Gold Coast last October ), congregate with relatives for a reunion dinner, and run a long list of other assorted errands in between the social engagements.

But I'm not complaining. Anything beats fighting daily battles in the ER. Not seeing sick people - or even worse, WELL people - in the hospital will do wonders for my mood.

As Dr. Gregory House famously said, "Treating illnesses is why we became doctors. Treating patients is what makes most doctors miserable."

Second, many hearty congratulations to Jason Mraz for winning TWO Grammy Awards! Don't think Make It Mine was the best choice - his rendition of Love For A Child is far superior - but I've always predicted that he would win a Grammy someday, and am thrilled that he's swept 2 in a year, especially after he lost in 2009 for I'm Yours.

Well-deserved, Jason, bravo! :)
Now if only they'd get him a spot performing at the Grammys ceremony already. He'll bring the house down for sure!

Am eyeing a new series on cable's Fox channel ( Ch 132, FYI ). Called White Collar, it features a con artist being arm-twisted into aiding the FBI - not the most original idea ( e.g. Catch Me If You Can ), but boasts a tasty Matt Bomer in the lead role, so I'm game. :)

Premiered last night, but I've been too busy with other programmes to watch it. Will post a review once I do.

Glee continues to enthrall. Episode 3 was so much fun, with the high school teachers forming an all-male a cappella group called, cheesily enough, Acafellas. Check out their performance of Color Me Badd's I Wanna Sex You Up. Real high school teachers are never this cool. :)

And I have such a huge crush on Matthew Morrison right now!

John Lloyd Young made a guest appearance as a thumb-less teacher, but his vocal abilities weren't showcased at all. Such a pity.

Something else to look forward to - the final season of Monk starts on Starworld 9pm tonight. I've watched every single episode since S1, and can't wait to get some closure regarding Monk's torment over his wife's unsolved murder. Not going to read episode guides for this one!

I intend to enjoy some good food this coming week. I rarely venture far for meals since my mom's an excellent cook and I love staying home ( TV, books, Internet, fluffy pet cat ), but social commitments offer good opportunities for pigging out once in a while, so I'm going to enjoy myself dammit! Just need to make up for the calories with more exercise.

Oh yes, forgot to mention that I'm currently poring over Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. 100 pages in, I'm far from impressed. Think Angels & Demons was exceptionally good, then The Da Vinci Code got tiresome, and now Symbol feels limp and lifeless. Am certain Brown had a strict deadline to meet, since his publisher would insist on yet another Robert Langdon adventure so Hollywood can churn out a 3rd Tom Hanks / Ron Howard flick.

The result? Every scene sounds and feels staged to the point of annoying the hell out of me. And why does the author deem it necessary to start most chapters with a character's name? Robert Langdon this, Katherine Solomon that... you get the idea.

He sets things up in Washington, D.C., which is intriguing enough, but again, the prose lets the story down. This isn't helped by the fact that I finished Jeff Lindsay's mind-blowing Dexter In The Dark just before picking this up. The difference is colossal.

Last but not least, I'm so thankful to W for tipping me off about a website that offers free American TV shows online, and actually works! Have already watched 2 episodes of Dexter Season 4, which is so freaking AWESOME! Uncensored too, so everything makes perfect sense now. You can bet local cable will snip out the naked bathtub murder scene when it hits our shores.

Once I'm done with Dexter, it's on to Gossip Girl. Hope the webmaster will add Nip/Tuck and Nurse Jackie soon. I love dark comedies. :)