My friend- the train

2:15am and I just came home from Mainz where I was at a very enjoyable birthday dinner party. Good food and nice people- it is always great to know that your friends have carrying and lovely folks around!

But back to my headline, back to my "other friends"... the train or the German train company DB.
German trains are known to be efficient, clean, hyper-modern, comfortable, fast and contrary to all the clichés about Germany, trains are soo often not on time. And YES they are really unpunctual- I could fill books with my experiences.
Sometime you can understand why: Getting home around Christmas is a nightmare. Not only that all the trains are packed (have a seat reservation!) but there are also quite a lot of people killing themselves by jumping in front of a train. That itself is awful but usually the tracks have to be closed after incidences like that for hours and hours due to investigations and all that. You are late, you miss your connecting trains, you are even more late, miss the next connections, ...
But most of the times you just wait and ask yourself why they are late. Also, you departe a station on time and arrive at the next one with a 10 minutes delay not knowing why...

Well, it is not Christmas and for God's Sake noone commited suicide today.

On my ride back I had to change trains in Frankfurt. Frankfurt Airport Station is probably one of the prototypes for clean and futuristic stations in Germany, but I wasnt so wild about spending there 28 minutes. Of course by midnight (Welcome to Europe) all the shops and the lounge are closed, so I had to wait on the platform and there is not much to see. Ooh and did I mentioned that it was cold!? It was cold; around 3° C...
I waited and waited and suddenly the loudspeakers cracked. That is always a bad sign if they dont ask immediately for your attention for the incoming train.
My inner alert bells started ringing. A friendly voice announced that my train connection had gotten cancelled due to logistic problems, but another train substituting that connection would be there in about 25 minutes - *yippieh* more time to freeze my little butt off...

The train came and was warm! but we were so late that I missed my connection for public transportation in Heidelberg- My options were

a) to walk about 40 minutes from the station with my heavy backpack
b) to wait another 35 minutes for the next night bus, take the 10 minutes ride and walk the other 10- 15 minutes OR
c) take a cab....




... it is spendy to be me.....

Another week...

... is almost over and I m such a lazy stuuud...
Not much has happened lately.

Yesterday and the day before yesterday, I spent hours and hours for my dissertation again. I think I already mentioned (must have been very short in another post) that I was not really amused.

I was in the kitchen for more than 2 hrs today. Preparing dinner for me and Todd and baking a carrot-walnut cake for my Angel Dee. She just turned 25- I will do so soon as well :-/

I like cooking and the whole stuff cause it is so relaxing and for those who dont know: one of my life's centers is FOOD and other one is probably LOVE.
And we Germans know who to connect those two essentials in a saying:
Liebe geht durch den Magen; Love takes its way through the stomach - learn how to cook and (s)he is yours...

If anybody wants to post a reciepe I should try, feel free to post it -
I am advanterous in the kitchen...

Colour the world

was a song I remember from about... uhmm... maybe 7 yrs ago...

and if anyone knows how to do it- PLEASE DO IT!
I dont know how many weeks I ve been suffering in a cold and grey Germany... Is the sun about not to come out again at all...?!

We used our Sunday for a little walk in the mountains around Heidelberg and suddenly there was a 5 sec-crack through the clouds and I took my camera to capture that glorious event....

In hope for more cracks....

Ladies and Gentlemen

A BIG Premiere!!!!!!

My little black sheep has its first appearence!
Some you of might already know it:
A have a a little plush sheep given to my by my brother and that "black sheep of the family" is used to travel with me all over the world.

This weeks cameo is a quite recent one;
January, skiing @Feldberg/ Black Forest, GER

@ Mat: It doenst always work that way ;-P

Classes

Today and yesterday I took some classes in order to re-fresh my knowledge in orthopedics...
Well, I just learned all the stuff in October, but my brain seems to be in my head, just to forget everything... okay- I m overdoing a bit- it wasnt so bad - it actually helped me quite a bit and it was fantastically organised. Only 5 students took these classes though we did not have to pay for them and we even got free coffee, sandwiches, lunch, .. but it was in Heppenheim- so it took me about an hour to get there and getting up at 6.15 am is not one of my strengths - especially not Saturdays...

I had a good time and learned a lot. Wouldnt mind now, to get orthopedics in my orals...

Still, 17 hrs of lectures in two days. That was very exhausting, I'll hit my gym later and hope for a restfull weekend.

Sorry,

I am still trying to get along all with the options and am struggling quite a bit here. I had some problems with the previous post since I couldnt copy and paste my wordfile :-( . Hope you guys can read it anyway.... As soon as I have figured out how to do it the right way I ll re-post it...

And a big extra hug goes out to Miss Tara Misu in L. who double-scored by writing comment no 1 and 2... keep up your ale blog !

*************
update:
could paste in the text now, so you should be able to read about my headache trigger ("Genisis")

Genisis

…actually a word from the Bible, used to describe the end of the world, but that’s how I feel like today when it comes to my research project.
In Germany we’ ll have to do research and write a thesis/ dissertation in order to get the title "dr. med./ doctor".

As Medical student u have heaps and heaps of exams of little subjects and sub-specialties which are annoying. Nonetheless most of us start to do a research project besides the studies. Mostly ‘cause everybody keeps on telling you: “Later, while working, you don’t have more time then u
have now…”.
Well, where is the time I am supposed to have now?!?!

So, many students start their dissertation as soon as possible. And even though you are warned by all your colleagues, most of us will slide into a kind of nightmare that is repeating and repeating in every generation of med. students.

First you make up your mind what you want:

a) You wanna find something where you don’t have to invest so much time? Something that might be finished soon? You can try to find a project where clinical studies or the lab work is done, so u just have heaps of heaps of data and try to extract something gorgeous for the
well-being and the benefit of all people on our glorious planet
*pathetic melodies plays in the background and a rainbow starts to grow from one corner of the screen to the other*

Well, it could work… You have data, you do some literature research and three months later *tata* you finished your 60 pages and your abstract will be published in an important American scientific journal.
But often u find huge gaps and lacks in documentation and frustrated you have to run and try to re-collect data from different archives, wards, by approaching the patients (if they are still alive), … in the end it takes way way wayyyy longer than expected and maybe in the end you don’t have any valid results at all… And you start again.

b) You either don’t find a promising project that meets the description under a) or you are an heroic and adventurous stud - maybe even willing to go into research or keen on an academic career later. So you approach a Prof., apply and host a project: You collect data for the dissertation yourself, assist in a clinical study, do lots of Southern Blots, FISH and PCR in a lab ... and lots of stuff like a secretary- I cannot count all the times I copied Medical histories of patients or blood counts, how many leaflets I printed and folded and how much time I spent doing posters for my Professors’ congresses...

Well, when I applied to participate in the project where I have been doing my dissertation I was told the clinical trial and collecting data is about 6 months. Since everybody says to add 50 -100% of time to what the Prof. Tells you I was pretty cool with that view. I calculated about
10 months- that would have meant I had been finished with that first part in July 2004 – Okay, since we know reality is not a fairy tale and no prince comes around to save you, I faced my destiny and started, not giving up, beared all retrogressions. My dissertation is about
“Reduction of Side Effects in Breast Cancer Patients” and I thought the topic is a very interesting one - everything expanded and in December 2005 I finally finished the data collection... 22 months (!) after I startedFor the coming months I have not intended to do much for the study since my preparations for my exams take more that enough of my time my
exams. I also have a college co-working on that project and there is a doctor that is only paid to assist us thereThe studies are financed by a private foundation. They set up some deadlines we have to be aware. I was asked to help a bit again, since one of the deadlines is coming closer and they are running out of time - I got there this morning and neglected my ENT book.

But what did I found ? A paper with tasks. Tasks that I asked them to take care about in December!!! In several emails where no-one has ever replied to me I pointed out some issues that have to be worked on and that take time. I was soooooooooooo pissed, especially (of course) none of them was there today and I was left all by myself.

We shall see what happens next, I have to go back to the Clinic on Tuesday in order to finish my unfinished tasks from today.........

Sweet Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you......

Well my day has been pretty busy so far- training at a GP and by doing that I met the requirements to get my certificate for General Med. That means I do have all certificates (of all exams and trainings I did) that I need for the Federal Exams in March....

4 more weeks to study....

But later I ll just go out and enjoy my Valentine's Day Dinner!

I got the party started...

Hello Visitors, hello Friends,

a simple German bloke decided to open this blog as little online diary.
I' m 24 yo, medical student- currentely studying for big federal exams - and always keen on exploring the world.

Since my last year of my studies - the year of Electives - offers me once more the opportunity to discover our beautiful planet, I ll pack my backpack and go...

Meant as medium of staying in contact with friends all around the globe, I hope I ll be able to keep you updated with what happens in my life and what I m worried about, what makes me sad, what makes me laugh, ...

And I wanna say THANK YOU to Brenton - a great guy in Sydney who inspired me to start my bloggers life...


Joe