My good friend is getting engaged tomorrow and we're all yippy skippy for her...After all the hospital work, its a great chance to slide into my Choos have my hair done and wear my Dior inspired dress a la Sienna Miller...nothing in this world gives me greater pleasure :D Have a terrific weekend xx
I woke up today oblivious to my surroundings...I performed my daily ritual of sleepily hitting the snooze button three different times with each piercing shriek reminding me that the next ring would be the last and finally Id have to drag my body out of my cosy cocoon to pad off into my bathroom where conveniently, I already have cushions waiting for me in the tub! Unfortunately I woke up five minutes later than usual...and with the insane traffic on the roads these days that would mean walking into the meeting room later than the Head of Surgery...something I would prefer to forgo. I sighed and got ready...drove to work in the same trance-like state that I woke up in...stopped at a red light in the longest morning rush...pulled out my cam and took a picture of a tree..(dont ask)...reached work by some twisted sort of fate early and watched a fascinating presentation on a male patient who was admitted after a car accident that completely whacked his spine, with the CT scans showing impacted bone fragments in the spinal cord and some seriously shattered vertebrae. I would have killed to scrub in and watch them operate but as usual all the fun surgeries either don't happen here or actually don't happen...according to the consultant the experts have agreed that leaving him in this state would be better for him than risking the surgery and operating on him leaving him with serious damage. I sighed again for the second time this morning and joined the team to be assigned the exciting task of discharging patients..yay..Hey at least on the bright side, they get to go home before the weekend to spend time with their families. Im on call tonight. Bleh and its not even for medical reasons. Sometimes I wish life would just get more interesting already. I find myself like an automaton working,half hearted attempts at studying and sleeping. Whilst the world is living around me and life is happening, my eyes glaze over in boredom at the snails pace things are at my end these days. Honestly theres so much more to life.
On a lighter note my product find of the week is Chanels Navy Satin. The sequel to last years Black satin will not disappoint...a rich,deep inky navy that has the right amount of subdued shimmer in it and one coat was all it took to let it stay on my hands from the evening through work the next day..this coming from a girl who prefers not having colour on my nails at work.Its that sssexy.
Another delicious treat is Kiehls Soy milk and Honey body polish. This is one scrub that made my usual favourite, Natura Bisse Honey scrub pale in comparision. Not only does it contain my two favourite ingredients milk and pure honey, but its scent is yummy enough to eat and the grains in it are so gentle on my skin that I didnt realize how much this product meant serious business until I noticed the next afternoon how incredibly soft my skin was..Im hooked. From the same range is the new Nurturing body wash cream and the infamous Creme de Corp in original and light versions that my skin just drank up..Prepare yourself for baby smooth skin follow.
The heavens literally parted and the rain has been falling down in different moods...it ranges from light showers to an all out outburst of heavy downpour,large raindrops rolling down into the earth below and the clouds cover the sky in bundles of grey whilst I look on absolutely satisfied,because it reflects my mood. I adore grey skies, cold icy breezes and pelting rain...its one of the reasons why I love travelling away in winter...to totally experience the season in its full glory...I get so profoundly affected by the weather and theres been something so whimsical about the last couple of days that I found myself a bit deeper in my thoughts than usual..
My evening lullaby for you...play it in the background...listen to the raindrops softly tap against your windowpane and let those daydreams take you away into a deep slumber, where they will come true...Have a starry night xxx
Its been no secret to those who know me that Im the biggest beauty junkie out there...seriously I kid you not..lotions and potions and magical feelings of bliss are my forte. It started out as a young girl, sitting on her mothers dresser and admiring the beautiful bottles and scents, soft blush brushes that Id love to swish over my nose, makeup in gorgeous colors and delicious creams with heavenly textures..I used to sit on the edge of her bed in the evenings before one of her dinner parties watching her get dressed in awe...Soft puffs of scented powder here...a gentle cloud of perfume there...Black glossy lashes...rose cheekbones and the ultimate in a little girls fantasy world..the lipstick... Growing up it definitely affected how I perceived beauty and although we love to believe in beauty being skin deep...the timelessness of womens rituals from Cleopatras milk baths to the Courtesans of France are living proof that the legacy will continue on...and lol the multibillion dollar industry that operates the beauty world also proves otherwise... Beauty is a sense of welbeing...a private world, a sanctuary to escape and run to when things just dont seem right in your life...the happy high you get when you wake up glowing the morning after your dream night cream...the stress relieved when you book into a spa and sink yourself into the hands of your masseur followed by a nail treatment leaving you with beautifully polished tippy toes...deep conditioning and head massages that leave you with silky strands....its all part of the magic and theres so much more...for the women who constantly give me excuses that theyre super busy running the world consider it me-time and enjoy... Im launching this corner on my blog to discuss any questions...update you on whats new...post pics of my favourite tried and tested... and maybe share a few of my own personal secrets with you.
Funny Bedtime thought: Thank you God for the blessed day you decided to create me a girl :D
James Blunt released a beautiful song about nostalgia called 1973...Im sure many of you have heard it and no doubt its probably affected many of you the way it affected me.. 'and as time goes by I will always be in a club with you in 1973' Regardless of who the mystery Simone is, whether a lover, a mentor perhaps or a spiritual fun crusader in an era where the world was still backlashing against the aftermath of tragedies that had happened halfway across the world in Vietnam...the point is this.. Memories and moments are all we have...invoking the spirit of laughter..times of passion...bittersweet melancholy..daring adventurous challenges that weve faced...places weve been to...and the people who happen to share our moments make remembrance so much more... Looking back through my time I realize that I am richer than I ever could imagine...Its the most beautiful thing to follow your own path...because the nostalgia that remains is yours...from your moments...your choices...to the chosen ones by fate whose own paths are destined to cross yours...all that is yours...and I choose to celebrate that humbly...because its made me all what I am today.. Today I am richer because of the people who have crossed my life and taught me some of the most important lessons I have ever learned by generously sharing with me the different journeys life has taken them on... Today I am richer because over the years I established a network of friends who have seen me fall..seen me smile and still love the person I am... I am richer because I understand pain and adversity but I have never allowed that to embitter me....rather it gives a push to be a better doctor and to empathize and be supportive with friends,loved ones and people I meet...at the end of the day everyone needs to feel understood...validated....and through that I get to understand myself better. Im not perfect...far from it in fact..as TheNormal sees it, lool Im a 'Melancholic Vampire'... Vampire or not, tonight Im going to unwind and relax and and allow the flashbacks and ghosts of the past to visit me and comfort me, I need to be soothed tonight.. After all..nostalgia is mine.
In loving memory of JD, My diamond in the sky... Heres looking at you kid..Wish you were here
Inspiration comes in many unexpected forms. Infamous 60's rocker self proclaimed "Lizard king" Jim Morrison, believed that the body was the soul's prison unless the five senses were fully developed and open.He considered the senses the 'windows of the soul' and that 'our pale reasoning hides the infinite from us.' I find inspiration to be one of the most beautiful sensual experiences a person can go through.. To me inspiration is creation. A chance conversation with a random stranger...the colour of the sky at dusk...a simple golden leaf in the midst of a pile of colours in the autumn...or a still winter night blanketed by softly falling snowflakes..a special era in time...a page turning book...an unexpected encounter with life...or the materialization of a dream before your eyes...all lead to different forms of creation...because no matter where or how busily immersed in lifes routine...a sudden epiphany stops us in our tracks and opens your soul... I like to think we are all artists at heart...we articulate ourselves in different ways...the writer portrays humanity...the designer creates dreams...the surgeon heals artistically...the musician relays universal depths of emotion..and interestingly enough although we may get inspired by the same musings we coexist differently through the imaginary lines between us that paradoxically join us together in the recesess of our minds. 2007 was an inspiring year for me especially towards its end when I was least expecting it and it came as a lovely surprise in one gorgeous bubble...I learnt that planning ahead gets you far to a certain extent but the unknown brims with twists and turns that keep you on your toes and sometimes changes the course of your path forever..
This is why Im not making any resolutions this year..because as the final day of December draws to a close, I feel that life for me has come full circle...sure I have plans but better than that, Im throwing my arms wide open to embrace the unexpected everyday..Afterall,the fire that fuels is an open soul...and I cant wait :)
May This New year bring you all the treats and wishes that your heart desires...may it let you jump into fantabulous experiences and special memories to last you a lifetime...Heres to new beginings..BubblyCheers and Happy New Year xoxo
"No one believes that their life will turn out just kind of okay...We all think we are going to be great. And from the day we decide to be surgeons, we are filled with expectation. Expectations of the trails we will blaze, the people we will help, the difference we will make. Great expectations of who we will be, where we will go. And then we get there. We all think we’re going to be great and we feel a little bit robbed when our expectations aren’t met. But sometimes our expectations sell us short. Sometimes the expected simply pales in comparison to the unexpected. You got to wonder why we cling to our expectations, because the expected is just what keeps us steady. Standing. Still. The expected's just the beginning...The unexpected is what changes our lives."
And finally just when I thought things could not get any better...The chapter begins..
He asked me why I wanted to be a surgeon? "Theres a passion within that motivates and inspires us to be driven towards accomplishing our dreams goals desires whatever...." I looked up at him intently...."Surgery has been the love of my life Professor". The next thing I heard was so unexpected that it came to me as a revelation...the feeling of a moment of greatness..Ive never been more humbled by somebodys words yet overwhelmed with awed anticipation at the same time..
Since Ive been appointed (omg surreal =))))))) the enthusiasm has been bubbling to bursting point all week....I love my patients in my old dermatology department and the rapport Ive established with them over the last few months happened so quickly...Whilst I was away on vacation the receptionist surprised me by informing me that they refused to see other doctors and waited until I got back...and lol I got the sweetest welcome... To me thats priceless...its the best feeling in the world when you know that youve succeeded in getting your patients to trust you not just with the disease itself but in opening up to me about their lives...asking for my opinion on matters that werent related to my specific department because they know my solid belief in taking the time to listen, educate and explain whilst treating them and going out of my way with pleasure to make sure that at the end of the day Ive given each one of them 100% , so whether that requires me to seriously piss off Senior Consultant histolab guys ego when I asked for a second opinion on his very evasive diagnostic report on a patient that was stated to have query skin cancer for two years (wtf is that?!!) just to put the poor patient out of his misery then Ill do it....or be honest about better and more effective treatment options available elsewhere too then Ill do that too..at the end of the day its a responsibility and as much as I hated working there in the begining things became better because now I get to practice my favourite art in the world.
Ive never felt more at home in a hospital than in the O.R..its an adrenaline rush I can't describe..learning new techniques and being challenged and inspired by some of the most professionally brilliant surgeons around...
Surgeons are another breed...we're neurotic...we're perfectionists and we are dedicated individuals with so many different fascinating and interests and activities in our own world.
I head off to London once more soon (yesssssssssssssssssssssssss!) to take my Basic Surgical skills course and I have so many things to do after that...its going to be a fantabulous year inshalla.
Things cant get any better than this. Life is good.
I love peaceful nights..I love the world when its asleep and Im submerged in the privacy of my thoughts...set them free and revel in the calmness that envelopes...late nights and parisian music...parisian anything...Ive always loved how a whole nation can live their lives in the pursuit of pleasure and lifes little luxuries...not a care in the world they throw away their inhibitions and live life to the fullest experiencing and savoring every single delicious moment...what a life to lead...what memories to look back on when you sit years ahead.. once more enjoying another soothing night..
Here are my memoirs..
The tree I talked about in my last post : P
Ethereal gorgeousness
Lounging around @ my sisters in London
