Short Story......

Ek haat se do, aur ek haat se lo......likewise ek haat se I wrote the admission paper and doosre haat se wrote the discharge summary of that lady. Not just figuratively!

The lady came with an unbelievable heart rate of 16 beats per minute! And she was talking! Quickly I gathered her history, saw old charts, on duty intensivist came running and we were all set for temporary transvenous pacing. How excited I was, hoping I will be allowed to perform pacing. While the patient's relatives were trying to understand the implications of pacing, especially the financial ones, I sat down to write the admission paper. While I was doing that, the relatives had made their decision and wanted to move the patient to a charitable hospital. So after finishing the admission, my co started filling the discharge summary! Shortest ICU stay ever, with the lowest heart rate I had seen in a person, ever!

Hebra's Circle

Not related actually, Hebra's circle is something related to scabies (ouch, sorry) but then, cannot think of another terminology for these 'events' that happen in a circle. Like the other day, I was thinking about a 'character' I knew from one place about 2 years ago. The very next day, I actually see her at the most unlikely place. Then I was thinking of a blogger who shifted elsewhere and was wondering why she had still not mailed me her new url. Only to find later, four hours later to be precise, her mail in my inbox. Cool eh? So I think of something, and that thing happens, to complete this circle of sorts.

While I was waiting at the bus stop today early in the morning, saw a man alight from an auto. He was in his early thirties. His father (I presume from his age) dropped him, took a turn and went back in the auto. So I presumed (I love presuming things) he had dropped his son to the stop on his way somewhere. What struck me was the extreme thinness of this person. And the fact that his clothes hung about him like a sack. And the fact that earlier in the morning I was appreciating the uniforms of all staff nurses in the ICU and noticed one of them had visibly slimmed after she had her uniform made. Needless to say, she was the junior most on duty. Circle hmnn! Coming back to the slim man, either he was wearing 'handed over' clothes of someone healthier than him. Or had lost 20kgs in his clothes. Later possibility seemed unlikely, he did not look so sick. So, after his father left, he went away from the stop somewhere and a few minutes later, was back with a burning cigarette in his hand. Now nothing pisses me off more that people smoking at public places. Last time my friends and I had met someone like that at a coffee shop, one of my pals had politely told him that the smoke was bothering us and he very apologetically went to another table away from ours. He continued smoking, we cannot stop that, but at least he had the courtesy to keep away. I am not the kind who can tell people that they are bothering me. Not in so many words at least. So I silently tolerated his smoke. But not without giving him dirty looks. Passive aggression! I was also hoping his bus comes real soon, so that he has to drop his cigarette while he has just started smoking. His bus came, when he was almost through the whole cigarette, most of which I choose not to inhale. Prior to boarding the bus, the man dropped his cigarette on the road and did not bother to stamp it out. The bus left and the cigarette was left behind smoldering on the road, people carefully avoiding it. I was tempted to go and snuff the life out of it but refrained....not sure if it would be OK for the sole of my footwear! Plus did not want it to seem like I had thrown that stub! Eew.

Damn it, I hate people smoking on the road and public places.

Meter Jam

Auto, Taxi...you love them , you hate them, you swear at them yet cannot do without them.....

I hate it the most, to ask for an auto ride from Parle east to west. What makes it worse is that I get an auto after at least 10 have rejected (with 7 giving tchs, like I have asked them to try skinny dipping down the Mithi river) Late at night, I understand. But duing the day?! Whats the problem? Traffic? Its everywhere. Plus more traffic is more income, so why complain?!

Another pain is the airport. Try taking an auto from the Airport. To anywhere. Big pain  Once a fella fought with me because he had waited 3 hours in the queue and got a "minimum bhada". The other one, when I took him to Ghatkopar from the airport whined that this was way too far, he had waited 3 hours in the queue! Uh?!

I have reduced my auto rides the day the fares increased. Walking is good for me anyway!

But still, I do agree, we cannot do without them. Atleast I cannot. Since I do not have my own vehicle yet.

While we do blame them, there are nice guys too. One kaka near my home I particularly like. One day while on our way to Kurla terminus Nagesh forgot his bagpack with his laptop and SLR camera in the auto. When we realized, the auto had left already. But this kaka, returned back to give us our bag when he saw it in his rear view mirror.

For me, meter jam is almost always on. Bus or a walk. Auto for emergencies only.

But I am game for August 12th, yes!!

Finally Done.....

Got admission for secondary DNB in Anesthesiology at Nanavati Hospital, Mumbai. Yay. Work starts from August 2nd.


So now that means...

...no more "what nexts" for 2 years.
...small but steady income for next 2 years.
...Mumbai for next 2 years.
...busy for next 2 years.
...uncertainty postponed for the time being