Friday, December 29, 2006

Scrubs

With having spent most of my professional life (from PhD onwards) working either in or in close proximity to hospitals, one tends to get used to seeing medical doctors wandering about. This was the same both here and in Manchester - although there seems to be one major difference in terms of the manner in which the doctors dress. Whilst in the UK, consultants, registrars, house officers and such were nearly always dressed smarrtly with white coats on (if necessary). This, too, applied to the surgeons and the theatre staff - at least when they weren't in the actual theatre. There was, indeed, the odd occasions when you would meet staff dressed in scrubs, usually with a white coat on over the top - but that was it. This is in sharp contrast to over here.

Whenever i go to the main MUSC hospital building here, it's to either eat in the canteen or to drop off DNA for sequencing or, on occasion, to buy a coffee at the Starbucks there. What seems to be somewhat de rigeur is for all Doctors, nurses and theater (note the spelling) staff to be happily walking around in scrubs, with hairnets and even with face masks still on. Be it in corridor, coffee shop or canteen. This, perhaps, isn't so bad (despite the large number of people in these places) but what is even more amazing to me, is when you see these staff happily sat outside eating sandwiches, walking to other buildings, or SMOKING. Even when i'm at the gym, you often see a number of obvious clinicians lifting weights, running on the treadmills and such in their scrubs. Now, whilst i'm sure all these people are concietious and will obviously wash up well, and, indeed, these clothes are probably used for such a purpose as being out of the the normal confines, so there is no problem. Personally, though, I find it rather disconcerting and would wish that they at least spend a few moments switching clothes before they go walkabout. I'm sure that i'm not alone in that either.

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Christmas Photos

So, as promised, here are a handful of pictures from Christmas Day - taken at the home of Jola and Aleks, my polish friends/colleagues. Note the large variety of foods on the table - it was a very unconvential, multi-national dinner. You may also see a glimpse of the trifle that I made as well!



Vivi and Jola take time to pose whilst cooking.



The Christmas Tree - isn't it pretty!



The traditional Christmas stuffing of faces.



Eat, eat, eat!!!



Jola and Aleks' Cat (whose name i shall not attempt to spell!)



Kaz, attempting to mime 'Hip's Don't Lie'. I wouldn't ask!

Monday, December 25, 2006

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

To all readers, wishing you a very Happy Christmas indeed.

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Lane Hogs

Now, i'm sure that regular readers of this site will be more than aware of my opinion of a lot of the drivers that i have encountered on the road here in Charleston. Even before i got a car, I was already laying into them somewhat for the many near misses that i'd had as a pedestrian when someone nearly hit me, nearly always as they were busy chatting on the phone at the time. I don't think i mentioned the near accident I had just before Thanksgiving where a driver behind me swerved into a ditch at the side of the road to avoid hitting me - bear in mind that I was at the end of a queue of stationary traffic, it had been raining all day, she was travelling far too fast, and was also on the phone at the time (as well as having a CD going). Plus, it was early evening dusk - and you can say, is it any wonder that she was in a position where she was going to hit me to begin with. Add on to this that the lady in question was 8 and a half months pregnant, and you can see why I was so shocked at it all. Anyway, I digress. One thing that has been bought to my attention of late are the sheer number of lane hogs that there are over here. Now, whilst this is not to say that no such drivers exist in the UK or anywhere else (they do), it doesn't seem to be anywhere near as bad as over here in my experience (maybe as there are far more two and three lane roads here)

So, you know the drill - you're driving along and meet someone trundling along in the middle or outside lane at 40 mph (despite there being a MINIMUM speed limit over here). No matter what happens, they absolutely refuse to move over - be it left or right, and you end up either stuck behind them or having to undertake them. This is particularly infuriating when you end up with two cars in each lane with both travelling at pretty much the same speed and so you can't do a thing about it. What i find even harder to believe is when these drivers have a steady stream of cars undertaking them and pulling back in front of them to carry on - they really don't get the hint or idea that they're basically being a nuisance. What then makes things even worse, is the fact that you end up with a lot of lane weavers who perpetually scoot from one lane to the next and back again in order to get around them. In short, driving in the US means that you have to have your wits about you. So much for the highway code!

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Biochemistry Party 2007

Okay, so as promised, here are a few photos from the Biochemistry Christmas party that took place last weekend. My brain is somewhat worn out this week, though, so it felt like too much effort to add humorous captions to go with them. Please feel free to make up your own instead.


Kathy, and husband Dwayne


Youssef (aka U2) and Viviana


Chris (left), Tom (front), Jim (back) and Ashley (right)


The three stooges - Kely, Viviana and Kaz


Rosemary and Yusuf (the boss!)


Stefka (left) and Chiara

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Lights Lights Lights

With America being the land where things have to be done bigger and better (particularly in Texas), it comes as no real surprise that this also applies to the decorations to be found in people's homes and gardens around Christmas time. Well, i say around Christmas, but nearly always about a month or so beforehand (I'm sure i've had my yearly rant on that already so i'll not go into it here). I find it surprising that people put the time and effort in decorating their houses from head to foot in lights - particularly given the amount of electricity it must take to run them (amazing how all environmental considerations and such go out of the window at Christmas). Suffice to say, driving around Charleston has become quite an experience of late. Head down to Marion Square and the town lights are the major focus point (a cavalcade of white lights), head out to some of the James Island suburbs and the houses are definitely competing with each other as to who can give off the biggest glow. In fact, I was hoping to have a few pictures of some of these creations for you to peruse but, alas, whenever I attempted to take them with my digital camera, all i got was a rather over-saturated glow. In this case, you'll just have to take my word for it. Thankfully my landlord has a bit more sanity (and taste, i guess you could argue) and has arranged merely three or four strands of lights instead of the whole store. At least it means i can get some sleep on a night!

Friday, December 15, 2006

Hectic-ness

Okay, so im sure that regular readers of my blog will have noticed a distinct lack of updates this week - and for this i apologise profusely. You can probably guess that im going to blame work for this, and you'd be right, but then around this time of year, there isn't always a lot to talk about aside from Christmas, and Christmas parties (am still going to do that - watch for photos of the Biochemistry Christmas Party next week). I have a few things rattling around in my head that would probably make amusing posts of a kind - but need to have the time to sit and let them properly form into thoughts rather than just letting them loose all at once (chaotic, let me tell you!). Anyway, this is my apology to all you frustrated readers out there who haven't been able to get their regular fix of Britishness in America.

So, what's going on at work? Well, aside from the Christmas parties that keep popping up, there's all the experiments i'm trying to cram in before the holiday - basically to give me some breathing space in January when my Dad is coming to visit (I know! He hasn't flown for 15 years!). On top of this, i'm finishing up revising my grant proposal which has to be submitted by 11th January, and am also sketching outlines for a seminar that i have to give at the end of January (may seem too organised, but with the old man visiting...). Suffice to say, it's busy, and add in the time at the gym (yes, im still going after three and a half months, it's amazing!) and practicing volleyball (my team are in a good position to go through to the play-offs), as well as entertaining the ginger gremlin (aka Jasper), it's all busy busy busy. Next week, hopefully, things will wind down a bit more (at least i hope they will) and i'll have a bit more time to post - in between all the baking i'm going to be doing (for lab lunches, and christmas dinners). Hopefully get to see some of you then!

Monday, December 11, 2006

A Drunken-ness of Doctors

Aside from the fact that i think the word 'drunkenness' is very appropriate for a gathering of Doctors (actually, what is the real word for that. Is there one?), yesterday was the annual department of medicine Christmas party (obviously it's annual but then Doctors rarely need an excuse to party). Whilst i'm not in the department of medicine, my boss' collaborator (and wife) is, and so her research group falls under that jurisdiction. Long story short, i was invited by a friend at work to go along as her guest. As i went last year, and it was fun enough, naturally i jumped at the chance. Free food, free drink, a nice setting (the Charleston Aquarium after dark) and generally some good company (a few other people from the lab/group were going to be there, thankfully). You can probably gather from this that a good time was had by all, and you'd be right.

One thing, though, that i find surprising, is the amount of drinking that a lot of doctors (medical and otherwise) do. You'd think that, given their awareness of the potential problems of excess alcohol consumption, that they'd be somewhat more concerned with overdoing it. But, oh no! They can knock it back as well as anyone else. And then some. In some ways, i can understand it to a degree - with such high stress jobs, the chance of having a night off to relax may come very rarely - even more so when someone else is paying for it, so they grab it with both hands whilst they can. But in some cases, i suspect, it may be more than that (like with the guy last year who was berating his wife as he'd promised to drive, and he wanted more to drink). Anyhow, not wanting to get all serious around this time of the year, i'll wrap things up. But given the tendency of medical students to go on big pub crawls as well, i think 'a drunkenness of doctors' applies well.

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

With the festive season well underway, you'd think that people would be in reasonable spirits and mood yet, as always, this is not the case. Whilst there are a good number of people who are less fortunate than others and, indeed, are given help around this time of year, there's also the unsavoury element of humanity that are out for themselves, and usually themselves alone. This was brought home recently with the report of a shooting incident at the local mall (local meaning about a 15 min drive away) at the end of this week. This, again, set my mind to thinking about the gun culture in general, particularly over here in the USA. I'm sure that most people reading this blog know that the right to bear arms is something written into the constituition - and so, essentially, is considered a basic right of every American citizen and, indeed, a considerable number of people over here have at least one gun in the house (usually loaded). Yet i do wonder if it's really an absolutely necessary thing?

Okay, so back when the Constitution was written, i can easily imagine it was a very necessary thing to be able to bear arms to defend your property - what with the 'free for all' style of obtaining land that there used to be back then. That, added with the fact that this was fledgling new country with plenty of native Americans and other European powers still floating around, then it seems perfectly reasonable. Yet, whilst the current politicians are happy to point out that certain things in the Constitution are rather out of date (quite rightly), they still seem to refuse to give this the proper consideration. Yet almost nearly every week, there are reports of shootings in communities or schools - in particular, the killing of 10 children at an Amish community in New England (i think it was). The other day I was reading of an incident in North Charleston where an elderly gentleman was shot in his home by a burglar - who had come across the rifle whilst he was going through the house. With some States willing to address this issue at the State goverment level, perhaps its time that the Federal government should also consider this a matter for debate. One can only hope.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Commercially Yours

As seems to happen every year, December is whooshing by at an alarming pace and you just know that Christmas is going to be over and done pretty soon. And I have to say, in some ways, i'm going to be very thankful for it. Now before i get into the rest of the post, I want to add something of a 'disclaimer' and say that what i'm about to talk about is nowhere near an America-only thing. It's pretty much a 'Western Culture' thing all round I imagine. What am i talking about? Well, as the days drip by, so the commerical juggernaut that is Christmas advertising and business gets bigger and louder. There was a time - when i was considerably younger, that Christmas actually used to mean something. Whilst as a child, there's always a thrill of getting presents, there was also the added bonus of getting to spend time with family and friends, warm greetings, and, in some aspects, a chance to reflect and be thankful for how lucky we were to be alive and well. Of course, as i've gotten older, the latter parts of this have perhaps taken precedent over the first. And with being over the other side of the Atlantic from my family, it takes on an even greater meaning. Yet this all seems to be lost.

Christmas, one time, used to be about something - the birth of Christ. Now whilst i'm not particularly religious, i think the sentiment surrounding this 'peace on earth and goodwill towards men' is applaudable. Nowadays, this gets lost in the flurry of Christmas adverts, christmas bargains, christmas sales and so on. Hell, when i was younger, the Christmas season 'began' around mid-November (in terms of the annoying adverts on TV). These days, the stores seem to put up decorations in Mid-September, and it gets stretched out. I suppose in that respect, it's quite understandable that by the time the day itself gets here, everyone has just had enough. I, for one, could happily go for a long time without seeing a 'Peace, Love and GAP' Christmas advert, or any of the other hundreds of adverts that assault your eyes at this time of year. Nor do i care about getting a PS3 or a Wii (or whatever the hell the two consoles that are flying off the shelves are called). When Christmas comes around, i will be in the company of good friends, thankful for my health and my family, and, at least, trying to get the spirit right. And not a GAP advert in sight.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Growing Up

So, now that it's been three and a half months (nearly) since i adopted Jasper (aka the Cat formerly known as O.J.), i thought i'd put up a few pictures to show you what he's like these days. Obviously, not much has changed - although he's a bit bigger. I took him to the vet the other day and they told me that he now weighs 7lb 12oz - so has put on pretty much half his bodyweight in the last three and a half months, so definitely an American cat! :-) Actually, i'm pretty sure that it's mostly down to growing rather than him getting fat. He certainly gets plenty of exercise running round the apartment like crazy! All photos have been carefully pre-checked by my workmates for maximum 'awwww' factor. Enjoy!


And Bend! And Stretch!


Methinks I need a bigger house!


Checking my e-mail. It is the 2000s, you know!


I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille!

Sunday, December 03, 2006

You Know You're in America When....

....a one and a half litre glass of coke is considered a medium

....ordering a cup of coffee turns into 20 questions

....you can spend half an hour flicking through the TV channels and there's STILL nothing on.

....everything has a low-fat, low-carb, low-fat-low-carb, low-sodium, no-sodium, caffeine-free, alternative. None of them taste better than the container that they're in.

....Tipping is not a city in China; China is somewhere in Europe

....sarchasm is a valley somehwere in the Midwest

....irony is how your shirt looks after it's been pressed

....breakfast has to have at least five types of sugar and two types of pastry

....crossing the road is an Olympic sport; you get points for artistic impression and the number of limbs you manage to keep.

Friday, December 01, 2006

Photos From the Top Part 2

As promised, now that i have finally got my camera sorted out and a lot more photos on my computer, i can show you those pictures from North Carolina that i had mentioned earlier. These photos were all taken from the top of 'Chimney Top' the mountain behind the High Hampton Inn were the conference was taking place. The views, i'm sure you'll agree, are quite beautiful. Enjoy!!