Heal thyself!

Undoctored: The Story of a Medic Who Ran Out of Patients 
Author: Adam Kay

There used to be a time when only the crêmê à la crêmê would be handpicked from public examination scorers to study medicine in state-sponsored medical schools. The competition to be admitted as a medical student was so keen. Entrance would mean assured employment by the State, together with the prestige, perks and elevation of social status to the family that came with it. That is what everyone thought, anyway.

A career in Obstetrics used to be considered quite noble. Doing the work of a stork, being there, and bringing joy via new birth was considered honourable. The team did not mind the long hours and gruelling work conditions, as they were muffled by the lustful cry of a newborn and wiped clean by the tears of joy of a parturient mother. 

Again, it is fulfilling no more.

What was a noble and fulfilling profession became a pressure cooker. A patient walks into a consultation room, wanting hassle-free relief from his pre-existing ailment. He wants 100% relief, not accepting that morbidity and mortality are realities of life. At the same time, he is wary that he may be taken for a ride, given a suboptimal treatment, and, if money is involved, be fleeced of his hard-earned money. 

The medical practitioner, on the other hand, considers the patient a potential legal liability. He must ensure all the ‘t’s are crossed, and the ‘i’s are dotted. He must run a battery of tests to ensure nothing is missed or left that lawyers will later accuse of medical negligence. 

In this background, Dr Adam Kay, a doctor in the ward, found the hard way that the system is toxic. It does not bother the practitioners or the attendants. They are left to deal with their own problems, grief and shortcomings. Dr Kay’s partner had a miscarriage, which he had to deal with himself. The system asked him to put his emotional baggage aside and work. 

He left his overalls and stethoscope for a career in standup comedy and scriptwriting. He soon discovered his true sexuality. In a genuinely comical way, laced with lots of sarcasm, he describes all the going on in his life, good and bad, all in one bag of laughs. Sometimes, he goes philosophical about human life and why we are here. A good read. 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Pay or be paid?

There was a heated discussion recently about attending weddings and the appropriate gifts to be presented to the newlyweds. 

Many questions were floating around and were argued but without reaching any consensus. For every point supporting attendance at weddings, there many against it.  Are the attendees considered privileged to have been invited in the first place? Is it an honour to attend? Is the invitation a hindrance or a nuisance to one's smooth sailing of daily routines? Do relatives get offended if they were non-attendees to someone's most important day in their lives? It is the lovebirds' declaration, so they should be in gratitude.

There used to be a time when weddings were announced widespread as a form of approval and legitimisation. It also was a diversion from their otherwise mundane lives. Social interaction between relatives was far and between. Humans, being social animals, were leading an agrarian way of living that was so unfulfilling. Interacting with farm animals and breaking back serving Nature was not gratifying enough. Meeting people for potential matchmaking, merrymaking and unwinding became compulsory. With time, it also became ritual and life-changing. Somebody needed to be put on the dais to be held responsible for all the wild oats that he sowed. The groom also can lay claim or metaphorically brand his name on his 'property'.

Ok then. How much are you going to part with this indulgence? If your attendance alone does not suffice, how much of your hard-earned are you willing to part for the host to announce his own intentions? Enough to cover his wedding expenses or to get a head start in life? As the overindulgences in matrimonial lavishness hit insane levels, how much is enough?

Me, I sacrifice time and offer blessings. After that, you are on your own... Felicitations.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Public display of private intent?

The Game... you just lost it!

Call me a loner, a sociophobic, Grinch or Scrooge. I do not particularly fancy having a big bash for something considered private. So what if you turn 50. Anyone with a bit of luck and divine non-intervention or intervention can achieve that. Even stray dogs can celebrate theirs (birthday, i. e.) if they survive the pound catchers or being a road kill. If they still want to felicitate themselves for this, it is still something personal - not appropriate for them to brag about it to their dogs and bitches but to reflect on their personal achievements and shortcomings to shortcomings to be able to survive another anniversary. 

Celebrating any personal achievement must be (er...) personal, enjoying it with the people who make it happened and the ones who were in the receiving end in the endeavor in your journey. Not that the bread man and newspaper man did not assist in your goals, this is personal. They got their dues. 

Perhaps superstition, perhaps fear of jealous roving ill intended eyes, significant event should be small and meaningful, not a public display of affordability and pomp. 

We do not need a surprise 48th or that matter 50th birthday like the one in 1997 movie 'The Game' where the Sean Penn character organizes an elaborate game to commemorate his rich and show-off brother's (Michael Douglas) 48th birthday. A recreational company, in cahoots with his bother, lawyer and staff brought Douglas to knees by siphoning off his money, implicating him in murder, getting him to be on his heels from the cops, drive him to paranoia and finally drive him to jump off a multistory office building to land on a giant glass dome which led him to a conference hall with a giant bed to dampen his fall and with all friends and relatives waiting to propose a toast there!

You do not need public display of private intent unless you are a politician or a business where  you need the public to support (or to be hoodwinked) for your private intentions!