Fiy3ro

Last week I was in London. Again. Not because I really wanted to (OK, that’s not entirely true), but it was time to solve my registration with their council in order to practice medicine there. So after a futile attempt to sleep, 2 hours driving and almost 3 hours flying, I was in the land of the Queen again. Had to go to have my blood tested – was really amazed how different the technique was compared to what we do at home, then I went to meet Nana (who is there for 5 months now). Since I didn’t exactly know where to go, I switched to tourist mode and started walking around, with my trusted “non detailed” map in my pocket towards Victoria Station. Since it was really early, I sat down in a park and read (“Blood and Gold” by Anne Rice), waiting for Nana to get there.

After the happy reunion, we were on our merry way towards the GMC. I was immediately seen by a consultant, all the papers were in order (well almost) – it seems that one of the documents was not acceptable, and they told me so. I got desperate – I came to London for almost nothing? What will I do? In the end they told me that if they receive an email from my supervisor, it will be OK. So, I had to give up my return flight, call my supervisor (calls in roaming are a delight to the budget) and plead for the email. After this whole “my-world-is-crashing-down-on-me” moment, with hope in my heart that it will turn out for the best, we tuned into fun-mode. We went to the movies, “The last airbender” in 3D (finally had my first 3D experience), ate at an all-you-can-eat Chinese restaurant, and basically just had a good time.

On Saturday I went to a small town, to attend the Basic Life Support class – I walked from the train station, and the people from the class were shocked (lazy people). The course was great, brought back memories from lifeguardhood. Back in London, we checked out a pizza all-you-can-eat, once again bringing back memories from when we were lifeguards. We also discovered an arcade store, where they had this dance floor game – with 4 arrows, you chose a song, and the arrows showed up on the screen…when they reached a point, you had to step on the corresponding arrow – fun times. We also went to the Tate Museum, to see an exposition – “Exposed” – the main idea was, that the subjects were unaware they were photographed. The exposition is divided in several parts – celebrity, erotica, war, surveillance, etc. It was great.

On Monday, I was at the GMC again. Once again they were very polite, analyzed my situation but when the consultant said “unfortunately…” I knew I was in for more bad news. Bottom line, I have a new trip to London looming on the horizon because of ONE paper. I was too tired to be angry. I was fed up with papers and bureaucracy. I have reached my limit. I just wanted to come home. Leaving the building, I headed to the only place I knew could make me feel better – a bookstore. And what could be more perfect than Waterstone’s? It’s a giant bookstore, stretching on 5 floors and has PLENTY of books. So I grabbed a lot of them, sat down and lost myself in the pages – travel books, fiction, fitness, arts and crafts, you name it, they have it. And it is here that I bought a book “1000 places to see before you die”. The title really appealed to me so why not? Not to mention it is pretty cool to have a travel plan. If I understood correctly, this books doesn’t present only the “must-see” places, but hidden places as well. Can’t wait to read it.

On Wednesday I flew and drove home, then crashed into bed. I had a couple of days to realize what is going on around me, and was reminded to take things slow, let them evolve at their natural pace, not to push it.

So, with a new trip coming up, I’m really looking forward to the future. Keep you posted!