on the subject of... healthcare

here's a picture of me with the first person i helped to stop smoking:



so i left my job last week, all of a sudden (my decision!), and its got me thinking. a lot has happened in the year since i started working there... we released circlesend, i got into medical school, dad died, pippa & i split up... and its really hit home how much of a difference having a job you enjoy can make to your life. i did enjoy my previous job (working with aduls with learning disabilities) but found it very limited. the job i've just left (HCA for a large GP partnership in Southwark), whilst i wouldn't want to do it forever, has really affirmed my commitment to becoming a doctor. i also think that having worked on the lowest rung of the clinical ladder will ultimately make me a better doctor. i feel fortunate to know what i want to do with my life when so many people i know really don't.

working with people is so rewarding, especially when you can make a difference to them (albeit a small difference in my case). it also puts my own woes into perspective and makes me realise how lucky i am. i guess i'm actually slightly apprehensive about not working with people for a while, as it'll give my head a good chance to lose perspective and that might not be good...

ripping

despite my mum's perfectly valid comment that they have indian music in india, what better way to spend several of my last few days in england than in the tedium of ripping my entire cd collection. again. oh well, only a couple of miles of cd cases to go. having to resist the nagging voice asking if i really need 7 Yo La Tengo CDs. yes, in fact i do.

anyway, why am i telling you this? firstly, there is no "you" and its therefore better to talk to myself over the internet than out loud (conversations take longer this way too). secondly, if i turn round i have to face the prospect of packing a flat's worth of stuff into a bedroom with cupboards that are already bulging. so, here we are... its also healthy to realise just how much music i buy and never get round to listening to properly. i'm actually looking forward to hearing lots of it.

and whilst we're on the subject, here's a tent in pembrokeshire

setup and book

hi,
so i'm going to india. booked my tickets today, and the plan is to fly to delhi on the 5th of october, come back to engalnd for xmas, from bombay, then go back until the 28th of march when i'll fly home from delhi.
i figured a blog would be a good way of letting people at home know what i'm up to without constantly bombarding them with emails, and all the cool kids have blogs now so i thought i'd join the party. actually, i do already have a blog for my band, but i've only used that once to post some lyrics and stop people pestering me for them...

i only recently decided to go to india, having ummed and erred about it for a while. but it gradually became clear to me that i'd be very silly not to go away - being homeless, having a place at med school next year which will chain me to london for at least 6 years (please note: i love london), having a job that i really like but has served its purpose for me, and having a whole load of shit to process from the last 6 months of my life - and frankly india seemed the obvious destination. not that i feel i need to find myself or anything, just that it seems like a good place to ruminate, see new things, get very ill, live cheaply, find myself... no, wait.

i feel bad about leaving my family - i'm sure if you're reading this you'll know me and know that my dad died very suddenly in march - but i really think its time to put myself first for a bit, and i know i'll regret it if i don't. i also feel slightly bad about leaving the country when undertheigloo had been planning to record our 2nd album. but that can wait, and it'll probably be a lot better if we don't rush into it - i think we've got a lot of good songs ready to record, but i don't feel i've written good enough lyrics for them yet, especially given the wealth of subject matter rushing through my head at the moment. and i'm sure the record will benefit from some sitars...

anyway, this is supposed to be about india.