I am finally home!

I cannot tell you how amazing it has been to come back to South Africa, and back to Cape Town. I don't think I truly realised how much I had missed it, until I was back.

The last few days have been wonderful. I started off celebrating my 30th birthday. From being spoilt rotten by getting a  phenomenal Canon 1100 EOS from The Boyf and all my friends, to a last meal at Jamie Oliver's, to ending my final night in London with all the special people in my life. BUT...Friday morning was not fun! I was hungover, not fully packed and the moving people came to fetch my boxes that I was shipping home at 8am! I arrived at Heathrow later that day, with my suitcase weighing 32kg. The check-in lady was not sympathetic to my inability to pack only "necessary" things when immigrating. That being said, I was that "person", who has to open their suitcase in front of everyone, with underwear hanging out the sides, trying to remove a few kilograms.

Eventually I was on the plane, too nauseous to be sad at saying goodbye to The Boyf, ready for the long haul flight. I settled in quickly with a tomato cocktail in hand and swooning over Ryan Gosling in Drive.

Finally being back on African soil, has been a revelation. I have spent the past 2 days by the pool, eating lobster with the family, walks on the beach. BLISS!

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LMM

xoxo

Ageing and Packing

Tomorrow is my 30th birthday. I have been dreading this day for the entire year of being 29, but now that it has arrived, I have so many other things to organise, like my moving my ENTIRE life to a different continent, that I haven't had time to worry about it or fixate on the loss of my twenties. In high school I had a timeline, as most girls do. This is how it went:

26: meet the man of my dreams - fail
28: get married (after having been engaged for 1 year) - fail
29-30: have a child - fail  (although if I get preggers now I could squeeze it in)
31: have second child - fail (could work if I had twins!)

So things are looking pretty dismal according to my 16 year old dreams, but what the hell.

Trying to pack up your entire life for the 6th time in 6 years, is getting a bit old and definitely a bit tiring. I have been so good! I had the help of a wonderful friend, who helped me sort through my clothes and so I have a whole pile to donate to charity...only I keep sneaking things from the pile, back into me boxes :)

Wish me luck!



LMM

xoxo

Movie of the Week

Set in London in 1961, this film follows the life of 16-year old Jenny, played by Carey Mulligan. She leads a run of the mill existence for her age and has aspirations to go to Oxford University, until she meets David. David, played by Peter Sarsgaard, seems cultured and open-minded and Jenny is swept off her feet as he introduces her to shows, pubs and weekends away in Paris. She is completely deluded and decides against all dreams of further study.

Scenes depicting David speaking in a child-like manner to Jenny are slightly Lolita-like, as she falls for his devilish charm. The screenplay was adapted from a true story written by Lynn Barber, by Nick Hornby, who manages to add some slightly amusing events to this film.

A movie I really enjoyed and would recommend.
7/10

LMM

xoxo


P.S: News from Rome to come later this week

I'm off to Rome!

Little Miss Medic is turning the big 3-0 next week and so The Boyf has decided to take her to Rome for the weekend to celebrate! YAY :)

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I think I deserve it after 18 days working non-stop!


LMM

xoxo

Last day at work!

Today is day 18 of my hellish stint of work-induced madness. It is my final day working in the UK and it is a helluva lot sadder then I expected it to be. I have said some goodbyes already and it has been hard. At my one job I was spoilt and got these beautiful flowers.

I have no idea what type of flower this is, but it looks like rose cabbage!

Purple cabbage rose!

LMM

xoxo

Sale Scoops

I just snatched up these A-Ma-Zing 2 items from Urban Outfitters on their online sale.

This two tone leather shopper is going to be brilliant for my new job :)

I've been wanting these for a while now and I got the LAST pair! For £10!



LMM

xoxo

Movie of the Week

Tree of Life, starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, has been tipped to be one of this year's Oscar Nominations. I love watching Oscar movies, but this one was not only a terrible disappointment, it was also very strange.

The film is directed by Terrence Malik, who also directed Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line. The story takes place in Texas in the 1950s, with Brad Pitt starring as the authoritarian father. Sean Penn, who plays the grown-up oldest son, features for a total of 10 minutes in the whole screenplay. I struggled with the actual theme of the movie. Is there a religious angle? The one pro was the beautiful images of children running outside in the sun, but that is where it ends. I actually had to fast forward through a gruelling 17 minutes, in which there were no people, no speaking, only Discovery Channel-esque images of volcanos, ice and even dinosaurs. Seriously? If I wanted to watch Planet Earth, I would.

I am not the only one who was totally unimpressed. Read here and here.

2/10

LMM

xoxo

F is for Flatus

Today is day 15 of 18 and the end is in sight! I had a horrific weekend. It was very busy and I was doing the short stay ward which is linked to the A+E. Basically a dumping ground for anyone slightly complicated who needs a work up with a few drunk fuckers thrown in for good measure.

I was seeing a gentleman (euphemistic to the highest degree), who was in his 60s and had been found drunk on the side of the road. Before reaching the cubicle he was in, his odour was wafting out to greet me. It was a mixture of homeless, dunk and poo all mixed into one. The head nurse had already told me a story about the patient in the handover. He had soiled himself and was found in the bathroom trying to clean himself up. He was licking pieces of toilet paper and then wiping himself and then licking the same piece again. YUM!

After giving him the quick once over, I then asked him if he had any other problems. He told me there was blood coming from his bum. FUCK! I wish I could just ignore this, but this complaint involves me now needing to do a PR (rectal exam) on this smelly person. I went to get the gloves and jelly. I asked him to lie on his side and lifted the sheets. I noticed a large ulcer on his bum and moved closer to look. Mistake number 1. As I had my face in close proximity to this area, said gentlemen emitted a large amount of flatus, right into my face. He. FARTED. In. My. Face!!!!

I have seen a lot but this has NEVER happened to me before. I retreated and when I thought he was finished I lent in again for a closer look. Mistake number 2. He. FARTED. In. My. Face. AGAIN! My junior was literally pissing himself from the sanctity of the end of the bed. This day had just become shit.

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Hope you had a flatus free weekend!


LMM

xoxo

Neighbours from Hell!

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Our flat block can be quite noisy, but we haven't had any problems, except for the man upstairs, until 2 months ago. It seems a bunch of people, I assume they are young, moved in the flat block next door. I have never seen them but I can hear them through my bedroom wall. They seem to have parties at home, all the time. On a Sunday night. On a Monday night. On a Thursday morning. They often come home around 3am and continue the party till the next day.

Last night I was woken up at 04:15am. Now I haven't been in the best of moods lately, especially since I had just finished day 11 of 18 in this hellish work marathon. I wake up to the sound of music blaring, what sounds like people jumping up and down and hideous singing. Deep breath.

Seeing I have no idea where their flat actually is, as it's in another block, I do they only thing that I can. I bang on the wall with an umbrella for a good 60 seconds. I have become that person! The person who bangs on the wall. Sigh.

Today I am grumpy. Very. Grumpy. And it's day 12. Sigh.



LMM

xoxo

Blondes will be blondes...

I haven't had a really bad blonde moment since my last accidental episode, so I guess it was time for the "stupid" gene to make an appearance again.

Since living in London, I hate to admit it, but I have suffered a bit from the Heathrow Injection. It is almost impossible to find time to exercise when you are doing juggled shift work. It is always dark and going for a run in the dark, is not my favourite past time. That being said, a lot of people do manage to do it, but I am not going to purchase reflective gear and hobble around like flashing Christmas tree just to run 900m (that is all I can manage at this stage). Excuses, excuses!

So I have taken to the eating less route. I am really good! I have cut out chips (crisps) completely, no chocolate, no pizza, no alcohol, lots of fruit, veggies and water. So why have I not lost weight? I couldn't for the life of me figure it out. Until...

...I was making dinner last night! I am bit of a sucker for convenience and often eat the lovely tortellinis from Sainsburys. I only add pesto or a tomato sauce and it's heaven in a bowl in under 5 min. I end up eating this every second night, until...I looked at the calorie count on the packet.

1/2 a packet contains 420 calories

I usually eat 1/2.  OK 2/3rds.  OK ALL of it. Then add the sauce. That's practically 1000 calories that I slam into my face every night, whilst wondering why I am not losing weight. I. Am. A. Retard!!!!

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I threw the pack of delicious filled tortellini in the bin and high-tailed it back to Sainsbury's to purchase some more appropriate calorated food.


LMM

xoxo

Movie of the Week

I recently watched this film on DVD. Directed by Rodrigo Cortes, Buried, is a story of a single man, Paul Conroy, who is buried underground in a coffin. The only character we see in this movie, is played by Ryan Reynolds. I had always thought of him as the comedian in movies such as Van Wilder, but in this film he really bring his acting A-game.

Paul Conroy is an American truck driver working in Iraq. His convoy is attacked and he wakes up to find himself in a wooden coffin with only a cellphone and a Zippo lighter. As he races against time, we watch him hopelessly makes calls to his loved ones and the authorities in America trying aid his rescue.

I didn't think the idea of an entire feature film in a box with one actor would work, but this ingenious idea definitely paid off and is a masterpiece.

8/10

LMM

xoxo

Day 9 of 18

While The Boyf is in India, I decided that I would work as much as I could to earn a few pounds to take back home (as I have saved fuck all NOTHING since being here for nearly 16 months). I have overextended myself slightly and committed to do 18 days in a row. Including Saturdays. And Sundays. Basically 18 days with no break. None. At. All.

Today is Day 9 and whilst I should be rejoicing in being almost halfway, I want to slit my wrists and paint my suicide note on the wall with my own blood. Yes, it's that bad! I hate every patient I see. I loathe their minor complaints and I don't fucking give a shit. Not today. Not tomorrow. And not for the next 9 days.

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slightly grumpy LMM

xoxo

200th Post!

Today is Little Miss Medic's 200th post and I just wanted to say thank you to all those who have supported my small endeavour, I really do appreciate it.

In view of this I wanted to use this post to publicise a fellow blogger's massive awareness campaign. I first started following Pharside when I started my own blog. I have loved the wit and sheer brilliance of Marky Mark's posts. He has made use of his blog to create awareness about a horrific event going on. Luckily he has a multitude of followers and it has spread like wildfire over Facebook and other social networks. Without further ado, here is his moving video...

Please repost this video, tell as many people about it as you can and let's stop this from happening!


LMM

xoxo

I miss my kitty

Whilst I have been in the UK, my cat, Piglet, has been residing at my parent's house. At first they were extremely reluctant to take her, but now she is the apple of their eye and the Queen of the castle. She is very demanding and this little clip reminds me of her.

She is exactly like this, minus the baseball bat.



LMM

xoxo

R is for...

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I am currently working with a new doctor in our department. She. Is. A. Retard. I am sorry, but there is no sugar coating this one. Actually she is a Romanian Retard, not that nationality has anything to do with it, but it has a nice ring to it. I cannot begin to explain the sheer magnitude of her retardedness, but let's just say that she has never heard of the most basic medicines, and it's not because due to a language barrier! One of my NY's resolutions for 2011 was to not speak badly about others, this year I have realised that the inner bitch cannot be suppressed and so RR gets to bear the brunt of this.

Today was Day 2 of the horrid-awful-painful 18 day stretch that I have inflicted on myself. I arrived at work to find the Romanian Retard singing to herself whilst trying to look at xrays...not a good sign! The day went from worse...to hell on earth...and then if it couldn't get any worse, Mrs Purple decided to return for the 3rd time this week.

God help me!


LMM

xoxo

January's Resolution

As I said yesterday, I am going to have a "mini" resolution for each month. This month's one was inspired by The Boyf. He is currently in India :( travelling 3000km in a tuk-tuk to raise money for charity :) you can follow his progress here.The 2 charities that his team has chosen are Frank Water charity and CANSA. The Frank Water charity helps deliver clean and safe water to the people of India. I have decided to spend the next month trying to save on the amount of water that I use.

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Here are some tips that I will be using this month to stop wasting water.

• run the washing machine and dishwasher only when they are full.
• don't let water run whilst brushing your teeth.
• have shorter showers.
• wash veggies and fruit in a bowl instead of running under the tap.
• never pour water down the drain, use it to water your plants or clean.
• repair dripping taps and leaking toilets

Hope I have inspired you to try some of these...

LMM

xoxo

New Year's Resolutions

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I am notorious for not holding myself to ANY of my resolutions and that's why last year I refused to make any, thinking it was silly, if I wouldn't complete any of them anyway. Come August, I had changed my mind and swiftly made 4 month resolutions to complete before the end of the year. No one (unless you are one of those people I hate) will stick to all of them, but it is all about bettering ourselves and having goals to achieve, which pushes you that extra bit. So without further ado, these are my 2012 resolutions...

• try and save a bit each month (I never put any money aside....ever! I think that needs to change)
• exercise every 3rd day at least! That works out to be 121.66 days of the year. Since I have been in London I have probably exercised 20 times, if that, and that's in 15 months.......eek!!!!
• to not always eat till I feel full
• to put more effort into the friendships that are reciprocated and to let the others fall by the wayside
• to get a dog...preferably a beagle :)
• to start a book club when back in Cape Town (or a wine slash gossip club)
• to visit my favourite spots in the Kruger Park
• to stop living for the future and enjoy today
• to learn more about photography

I think that's enough for the time being...all very serious. I also want to have a mini resolution for the beginning of each month and I challenge you to do the same. Stay tuned for January's one.

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What are your resolutions for 2012?

LMM

xoxo