Week 68 - Seeing Real Patients & Seeing Real Musicals

Thursday #69 – woke up early and full of nerves this Thursday as I was about to have my first full day of seeing patients.  Having seen a couple of patients on Wednesday as part of our induction week, I was a little less scared and semi prepared for what was to come.  It was also the first day I would meet the team at Brookvale, having done all my training in the city with a bunch of people I will most likely never see again.

I got the bus in and was ridiculously early as I hadn’t wanted to risk being late on my first day.  I swung by Baker’s Delight and Coles for a Cheese & Tomato Roll and OJ for brekkie as for the 3^rd or so day in a row I still hadn’t bought milk to have with my Weetbix.  I eventually headed in and met the gang before The Mentor/Senior/Other Optom showed me around on a mini tour.  Before we knew it it was 9:00 and our half an hour of “special time” in the appointment book was drawing to a close.  It was time for patients.  First up was Mother Hot One.

I was super relieved to have a friendly face first up, though she may have been a little unsure when she had to point out where my light switch was – apparently my tour had not been comprehensive enough!  As part of the service I provide, Mother Hot One was lucky enough to undertake a visual fields test.  We sat in a dark room for about 15 minutes, she stared at lights and pressed a button; I stared at the computer and judged whether she was pressing the button appropriately.  It was fun all round.  Since our tour had run late, there was no downtime between patients and just after farewelling Mother Hot One it was time for patient number two.  With one under my belt I was feeling a little more confident and had knocked out four patients before lunch (probably half the amount The Mentor/Senior/Other Optom had done but the most I could do given the longer appointment times I had been allocated).

For lunch I ate my salad I’d prepared the night before then headed into the mall to briefly wander around the shops.  After what felt like 20 minutes, my 45 minute lunch was over as I had to be back in the office and ready to go for my patient straight after lunch (so technically I feel like I only really get a 40 minute break but who’s counting).  Another two patients after lunch and then it was time for my final patient of the day – Brother Hot One.  He had come in for the same reason as Mother Hot One so by this stage in the day he got a much more streamlined eye test and even the riveting visual fields test didn’t seem to take quite so long.  He was out of there by about 4.30 so I spent my last half hour making sure I was on top of all my Medicare forms, had everyone’s records saved in the computer, and briefly recapped (in my head) my first day and seven patients.

There was some keratoconus, some migraines, some glaucoma suspects, some reading glasses and a couple of “general checkups coz it’s been about 10 years”.  All in all not a bad first day.  I headed to the bus stop and waited for the L90 to head into the city and meet DTM.  For a while I had wondered if maybe he was onto my blog as it seemed anytime he suggested an activity he was keen for it be a Thursday.  My first thoughts were “isn’t that nice it’s just like old times” as these Thursday night outings had inspired this whole blog; my second thoughts were “wait a minute, he must know about this and is trying to get himself a good name” as The Hot One did once unintentionally spill the beans and we’ve been unsure if he knows ever since.  Finally I cracked it, it was neither option A nor option B but in fact a timetabling issue – the buses run later and more frequently on Thursday nights due to late night shopping.  Instead of the last bus home being 9pm, we also get a 10:30 option and a midnight one.

We met at the QVB and headed to get some Nando’s for dinner – because we’re heaps fancy like that.  A chicken burger and some peri peri chips later we were ready to head down to Darling Harbour for a night of musical theatre…DTM could hardly contain his excitement.  We headed to The Star and grabbed a couple of drinks before making our way to The Lyric Theatre for Legally Blonde The Musical.  I had decided it was time to cash in some of the “time doing girly things” that DTM had promised me after I spent the best part of a week at test cricket in Barbados.  He reckons this 2.5 hour musical was more than enough to call it even but from where I stand we’ve still got a good 3 days of girly things before we’re close to even.

He tried his best to look mortified (and perhaps genuinely was during the opening rendition of “Omigod You Guys”) but I know deep down he enjoyed it.  This is after all the same man who just weeks after sitting through epic that is Les Misérables wants to go see the live version in Chatswood.  My personal highlight was the song that asked that age old question – is he gay or European?  With lyrics like “you see they bring their boys up different in those charming foreign ports, they play peculiar sports in shiny shirts and tiny shorts. Gay or foreign fella? The answer could take weeks, they will say things like “ciao bella” while they kiss you on both cheeks” it raised some very valid points.

After the show we headed to a bar, partly to kill time before the bus and partly so that DTM could feel slightly more manly after the evening’s activities.  We got the midnight bus home and I walked from the bus stop like a dero in just my stockings after 17 hours in new shoes had me in agony.  A scary Thursday initially topped off with a good night out.  Gonna be a hard one to top.

Week 67 - Breaking In & Inductioning

Thursday #68 – the day was not off to a good start when my alarm went off stupidly early and I got myself out of bed only to discover the bathroom door was locked.  As DTM was asleep in bed and I was clearly not in the ensuite, it became apparent someone (who still denies it despite compelling evidence that he was the last to use the bathroom) had managed to lock the door from the inside with no key on the outside.

I struggled for a couple of minutes in the dark trying to break in before deciding being quiet and considerate wasn't really a priority since it was sleeping beauty himself who had put me in this predicament.  I whinged loudly enough that DTM woke and I was able to fill him in on my drama.  He pretended to help but since he refused to actually get out of bed and look at the lock it wasn't really much use.  Eventually I got it open with 15 cents (5c too small, $2 too big; combination of 5 and 10 just right) and was able to resume my morning routine.

When I got into the city it was day two of our induction week so I joined The Quiet One, My Future Work Colleague and The Smart One for a riveting day of PowerPoint presentations and practising on each other.  The B&L Rep came bearing macaroons so the day was not a complete waste of time.  The presentations from The Big Boss were particularly painful as we'd go around the room and each read a line from the slide but since they attracted much needed CPD points we can't complain too much.  The content was fine, it was just a painfully drawn out process as they had successfully employed 3 of the quietest grads and least likely to answer questions from the entire grade.  Thank goodness for My Future Work Colleague. 

For lunch I got myself a chicken pad see ew and got to say a quick hello to My Clinic Gossip Girl who was passing by as she shopped for dresses (living the dream).  My Future Work Colleague inquired as to whether or not I knew about Michelin ratings for restaurants and informed me that this particular dumpling place The Quiet One and The Smart One were eating at had two stars or hats or whatever the rating system is.  I assured him that despite my Caucasian appearance and the fact I am the only one of my kind in our little group of grads, I had previously eaten dumplings there and knew they had claims of being the best in the world.  This was a mistake as he then asked my thoughts on the dumplings and I was forced to admit that I couldn't recall too accurately as the dumplings came sometime between 2 bottles of wine, a bottle of champagne and some tequila shots with The Bad Influence.  To top it off I had woken up the following morning with a sore back and a toothbrush underneath me – take that princess and your stupid pea.  By this stage they thought pretty highly of me so I added in that I had only woken up because a lady was knocking on my door with my driver’s licence she'd found on the main road.  In an attempt to justify my actions I threw my sister in too and added that my next wakeup call came from The Vice President's phone and I spoke to a taxi driver who had found the mobile she had lost in the wee hours of the morning.  A top effort from the family that particular January evening!

After reminiscing on my actions from one year ago, we headed back to the office for more of the same training.  When 5 o'clock rolled around I was on a bus home and pretty glad about it.  Dinner was not particularly memorable and eventually DTM and I sat down to watch a movie.  After his copy of Zero Dark Thirty failed (for what felt like the millionth time) we considered Hotel Transylvania and finally settled on Seven Psychopaths.  What we actually got was somehow a mix of the two and after an embarrassingly long time we realised that the audio from Hotel Transylvania had made its way onto the visuals of Seven Psychopaths and the two men on the bridge weren't actually doing Dracula impersonations.  For Plan C, we ended up watching some 3D Imax documentaries on Mummies and Galapagos.

After an hour of two of turtles, lizards and ancient history (some of my very favouritest things) it was time for bed.  Not an ideal Thursday but some valuable skills in breaking and entering were acquired.

Week 66 - Switching Meats & Missing Animals

Thursday #67 – this Thursday kicked off in much the same way as the Wednesday before it, ignoring my alarm for a while and opting to snooze for another 20 minutes rather than get up and get on the exercise bike.  I’d had an inspirational start to the week with 2 sessions on the bike on Monday and Tuesday but after work sabotaged me with free sausage rolls and pies from Pie Face on Tuesday I realised my efforts were pointless and my time could be better spent asleep.  Some weetbix for breakfast and a quick shower and I was on my way to the bus stop.

Being out of The Bra and back on The Beaches means not only do I get a refund on my car insurance (based on my new safer home address) but also a change in the people I see in my street on my way to the bus stop.  Gone are the trackies-clad-chain-smoking-beer-drinking dropkicks and in their place are lovely old couples walking their dogs who wish me a good day and compliment me on my outfit.  It’s always a nice start to the day when a complete stranger says to you “oh you’re all colour coordinated, good on you!” – was particularly reassuring as I think many felt my days of winning best dressed were behind me when I left uni.

When I got into work things were fairly standard as I was now pretty speedy at my reception duties which meant more time sitting around doing nothing as (and rightly so) they were reluctant to teach me too many reception tasks that I would never again need to do as an optometrist.  At one point The Hawaii Spokesperson commented “you’re bored out of your brain aren’t you” and I had to agree I was.  I decided on a crêpe for lunch as I thought there was a good chance I wouldn’t get dinner as I was meeting DTM after work and he tends to like not feeding me.  I settled on a roast lamb crêpe, largely because I was craving red meat as I tend to eat a whole lot of chicken these days.  Halfway through making it, the geniuses realised they were out of lamb and asked if they could switch it for chicken.  I of course agreed and then wondered if it was a wise choice as the other ingredients seemed to have been selected for their Mediterranean vibe and how well they would work with lamb.  Luckily it turned out OK.

After work I headed off to meet DTM as we had plans to head to the aquarium and wildlife world.  As part of our drunken Madam Tussauds experience, we had purchased a triple pass and now found ourselves in the position of needing to use the other 2 tickets before Saturday…oops.  DTM assured me the aquarium was open until 10 so we went and grabbed some food first.  My large late lunch plan backfired on me when I suddenly found myself sitting down to dinner at 5.30.  We both knew what we were getting (since we’d been to the same noodle place before) and being the gentleman that he is, DTM ordered first and ended up taking the last of the chicken so that I was once again confronted with the a last minute meat change.  I opted for beef (as it seemed preferable to seafood or pork) but wished I could’ve had chicken with my noodles and beef with my crêpe (since it’s closer to lamb and is red meat and all).

A quick detour via Myer was planned so that DTM could check out photo frames for his new interior decorating project.  Walking across the road I realised my leg was getting wet every step I took, and looked down to discover I hadn’t closed my water bottle properly and the pool which had formed in my handbag was now leaking out.  We quickly transferred the important things (ipad, ipod, phone, sunnies and wallet) to DTM’s manbag (the one and I mean ONE time I’ve been grateful for his odd manbag obsession) before heading to Woolies to stock up on powerade for him and plastic bags for me.  We then headed to the foodcourt to put all my belongings back in my bag inside two plastic bags.  This was when DTM decided to look up opening hours and informed me that the aquarium and wildlife world take their last visitors at 7pm and it was unlikely we’d make it there in the next 15 minutes.  To make it up to me he said we’d go to Opera Bar and it was his shout, but first we had that trip to Myer to look at photo frames.

After wandering around Myer rather unsuccessfully we left with the plan to head to either Opera Bar or The Forestville RSL…somehow we ended up back home with a 6 pack each.  We sat down with our ciders and beers in our home cinema and watched Lockout – some random Guy Pearce movie set in 2079 where prisoners are sent to space but for some reason I still can’t comprehend, they walk around instead of floating. 

Despite the lack of lamb at lunch, chicken at dinner, and animals in general at Darling Harbour; it was a pretty good Thursday and reminded me of my old Thursdays to some extent.

Week 65 - Starting Work & Getting Domesticated

Thursday #66 – Once again I awoke pretty early this Thursday and enjoyed some weetbix (back in my cupboard after a much too lengthy absence) before prettying myself up as best I could and heading off to start my new job.

I arrived in the city stupidly early (a combination of planning to be slightly early and people being away on holidays causing the bus to make record time) and hung around the food court until it was time to head up at 8.30. I made my way to reception and was greeted with a reception manual. After 5 long years of uni I was now spending 2 weeks training as a receptionist.

The work was straight forward enough and the people nice but it didn't take long for me to get slightly frustrated by the dumbing down of things (when a receptionist starts explaining the finer points of contact lenses to an optometrist it is both annoying and unnecessary).  More interesting was the office politics as I noticed the change in people's reaction when I was initially introduced (polite enough but don't really care who I am) and then when the phrase "she's our new optometrist" was added (suddenly they all perked right up).

The highlight of the day was probably my trip to Coles and Woolworths. After The Big Boss had handed The Golfing Receptionist some money to buy him a couple of coke zeros, she promptly fobbed it off to me to buy the cans and return some dish washing sponges.  As much as I wanted to protest that I was the optom and clearly above getting my own drinks let alone someone else's, I held back and instead enjoyed a chance to get out of the office and away from the phone.  When Coles didn't have the right sponges, I took it upon myself to investigate the Woolies sitch and add 15 or so minutes to my trip.

I made my way back home at 5 and after sitting down briefly I was soon on my way to Chatswood to meet up with DTM.  He had phoned and given me 5 minutes notice to leave home and get there in time to meet him for dinner and a movie on his way home from the cricket.  We grabbed some Nandos for dinner before wandering around Target looking at breadmakers (because the food processor, convection oven and water cooler hadn’t made DTM enough of a housewife yet).  After what felt like an eternity in the kitchen appliances section, we made our way up to the movies and watched Life Of Pi.

A rather large Thursday – starting a new job, looking at breadmakers AND a free movie – but generally no complaints, I’m pretty sure my Thursdays will have to start quietening down again soon.

Week 64 - Burning Up & Drinking Up

Thursday #65 – Woke up rather early this Thursday as DTM and I hadn't quite adjusted to the 90 minute time difference after landing in Darwin just after midnight.  We enjoyed the air con in our room but eventually ventured outside in the thirty something degree heat to get some maccas for breakfast.

  

We picked up a copy of The NT News as we couldn't go past the headline of a croc breaking a man's face.  We wandered around Mitchell and Smith streets and familiarised ourselves with the local shopping facilities.  Naturally we also posed for photos with the wooden Santa offering holiday greetings from Darwin.

  

We checked out the visitor information centre and stocked up on a few million brochures to work out how to spend our next 5 days in the top end.  We decided to walk down to the waterfront and after seeing the sights (the remnants of town hall after it got destroyed by Cyclone Tracy, and some old telegraph pole which apparently has some significance) we were on our way down to the beach (purely to look, as crocodiles and box jellyfish make swimming less than appealing) when thunder struck.  We decided to head back to our room and hide from the impending storm.

  

After hiding out for an hour or so, we later made our way up to the pool bar at our hostel, and the ever chivalrous DTM bought himself a jug of beer and me a single cider...about a quarter the size of his beverage. We spent the rest of the night up there, swimming and drinking before returning to the much welcomed air con to sleep.  A much hotter Thursday than ones in the past but a good one nonetheless.