interesting

In my boredom and frustration I did a quick personality/what sort of job should you do quiz. It was actually better than I thought it would be, 'you like to keep your options open' rang particularly true:

unsuccessful *2

fuck

I'm still here

Honest. I can't lie and say I've been busy or that the interweb has unexpectedly ceased to work thus depriving you all* of a riveting read. Nope I've just been being lazy, well that and becoming growingly obsessed by taking photos. The camera that I bought** for Carla and I at christmas is still providing us with hours of fun, well me at least as Carla has had work and homework to contend with, and impressed/annoyed our friends no end. The constant adjustments, *clicks* and re-adjustments (it is a manual focus lens) are thoroughly entertaining to all and sundry. I feel like I'm actually getting better which is nice although undoubtedly a plateau lies ahead I'm making the most of it. The camera itself is an impressive wee machine, teeny for an slr and to the point with minimal fuss. I think in time we'll feel we need a bit more - more control over exposure, white balance and an ability to auto focus with older lenses would be nice but for now it's ideal. Have a look on my flickr and feel free to leave comments, god knows the groups I've put some of the pictures in haven't held back:

3/10, well it's a snapshot really.

No it's bloody not! That took me ages. However, it's all good and it helps that tommy's photos are still getting better and better, I just have to sift through a few older ones (I'm a bloody long way from even imitating his current work) to get the brain flowing and then I go see what I can find. With hugely varying results. Still it's all good. Just need to get that big wheeled single speed out again, then I'll find some interesting pics.


*all implies more than 2

**Thereby reducing my debt to Carla to about 3k

the best complaint letter ever?

It must be pretty high on the list, apologies I've no idea if this is doing the rounds in the UK but it's the first time I've seen it and it's bloody brilliant.

read me

still here

Just. Newcastle issues all sorted and rescheduled for mid Feb interview which is good. Still to hear from Nottingham (have an interview but no date.....) and went to London last week to sit interview for St Georges. It seemed to go ok I felt I fielded most questions well, they're interesting most of the time which helps-no general time filler throwaways here.

"Imagine you're a GP and you've misdiagnosed a 50 year old patient and he has died as a result, what would happen and how would you feel?"

Ahem. I think I answered this one ok, I was certainly expecting something like it to appear and to be honest it's a scenario I know is entirely possible. A terrifying thought and if I were to practise medicine I hope one I would never encounter. Anyway overall seemed ok but feel in my gut something was missing, no idea what or why but still felt a bit empty afterwards. I did ask the 2 best interviewee questions I've heard (courtesy of John one of my London hosts) as well as my own specific med school one:

- Is there anything I've said you'd like me to expand upon?

-What reservations would you have about me working/studying here?

Brilliant. Sadly they said they couldn't answer the latter, though they seemed to like it! Ballsy for sure but what the hell.

Check out my flickr, over there on the right. No higher, yup that's it. Got an SLR for chrimbo (joint pressie with Carla) and adore it, lots more practice needed but love it so far.

unfuckingbelievable

Got home from a mixed bag of a day at around 9 to find an email from Newcastle Uni subject line: interview. Nice one I was thinking when the sledgehammer blow that is my luck (boiling hot or freezing cold I have yet to experience anything between feast and famine) struck me with the words:

Dear Mr McCrear,

You were scheduled to attend an interview at Newcastle University this afternoon at 3.30pm. It has come to my attention that you did not attend. Please contact me regarding this matter as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely,


What....





......the.......





FUCK!

read and re-read it's still reverberating in my head, how is this even possible? I had called Nottingham whilst at home over Christmas to avoid a similar fate, why can these people only email after the event? Must stop seething as need to sleep and call them first thing in the morning, well first thing for the UK which is about lunchtime here (thereby missing more work) I'm starting to think if I don't make it in it was never meant to be. And if I do it better be bloody brilliant.* In other news, a bus wouldn't let me off at my stop today because I hadn't rung the wee bell (despite me standing at the door waiting to get off, making eye contact with the driver and being pretty obvious at the stop being the one I wanted off at) and then later a bus stopped to let me on then thought better of it and drove off! I also nearly broke my neck after sliding on ice whilst saying hello to some of my students at school and was given a cracking bottle of red wine by one of my students' parents. Like I said I don't fuck about when it comes to luck, when it rains it's a bloody monsoon.





*I think it will so fingers crossed, eh?

back

Well I had intended to write at length about my trip but as it's now lunchtime and I've frittered away an entire morning I'll keep it brief: it was lots of fun.

It's now snowing in Madrid which is weird but cool (eh, see what I did there)

In other news my latest obsession is the Fisher Superfly, after riding Chris' at Drumlanrig I'm hooked! In negotiations with my old work about the possibility of getting one...