Thursday 21 June 2007

Car Park Dodgems, a New Toy and Another Moan

Parking at hospitals is notoriously stupid! The one I'm at is no exception, it is awful! Cars everywhere, car parks full to the brim. Crazy drivers spending ages looking for a space, the older generation struggling to fit into a space which you couldn't fit a cat in never mind swing it. Having been in Hospitals for about 2 years now, my car looks like its been through a safari park of raging elephants followed by a parade of chavs with baseball bats and keys.There are dents and scratches everywhere! And I'm really fucked off. I didn't do any of them (well maybe one) yet nobody has ever stopped and left their details. Seriously my car must have been hit or scratched about 7 times in the past 2 years. It'd cost me thousands to have it all repaired. Stupid useless drivers! Seriously people should learn how to park, it's not that hard is it?No wonder the consultants all have their own spaces which are about twice the size of everyone elses!

A new toy? It is phone upgrade time, I've been with the network 02 for almost 4years but I've decided to swap to T-Mobile. Mainly for their great data tariffs.Anyway, I've been getting more and more excited recently about the prospect of a new phone (Yes I know I'm lame but I just like new gadgets and toys), I went to the T-Mobile shop yesterday and I knew exactly what I wanted. I toyed with the idea of getting a PDA phone to integrate my phone and PDA but eventually decided to go with the Nokia N95. I've always been a Sony Erricson man before,and this Nokia is going to take some getting used to! I spent last night playing with it (I LOVE getting new things and reading the instructions and setting them up and...and...well everything really) So I now have a sexy new phone with built in GPS which rocks! I've downloaded free maps for the places we're going in summer (Australia, Thailand and California. Sadly there are no maps for the Solomon Islands, I think because there are no roads!) It has great built-in Internet browser so I can surf the net anywhere and a really good camera so I don't need to carry yet another piece of stuff. I expect you're all bored now of me talking about my new gadget so I'll shut up and runaway and play with it some more ...*childlike excited giggle*...

And the moan? Well that is a secret :)

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, hospital car parks are a nightmare. Hate the places. My un-favourite was the one where I had to park on a 30% grassy slope.

The downside of the designated spaces your consultants have, as I understand it, is probably hefty fees. The NHS realised a while back that staff car parking is a nice earner (think "payroll tax") and the Universities are following suit - mine just announced huge increases for car parking (about 150% in my case - oh goody).

They told us nicely it was part of their "green environmental policy".

AMiB said...

the nokia N-series is really good! I've got the N90, and though it's given me a bit of trouble from time to time, what electronic doesnt?

you're coming to Cali? what part?

Ms-Ellisa said...

I 've got Sony Ericsson Z610i since my Nokia "accidently" broke on x-mas and I was really excited about the change. Nokia and Sony are very different in the graphics and all. I liked that because I think the stranger the gadget seems, the longer it feels brand new :)
(does that mean you 'll be frequently updating all the time?)

The Little Medic said...

uk bioscience - That is a good point, I seem to rememebr the car parking fees are extortionate for staff. For students it is about £25 a year which isn't bad (although add on all the damage to the car and it gets a bit more expensive)

amib - Yeah, its great, battery isn't up to much but other than that I've had no problems so far.

We're going to LA on the way back from my elective, it isn't till october though!

The Little Medic said...

ms-ellisa - Yeah the two are very different, and I agree with you it feels new for longer. It is a bit annoying though having to get used to a new interface.

As for being updated. Who knows, I'm not sure I fancy typing too many blog posts using predictive text but we'll see. Maybe I should get a bluetooth keyboard or something.

Anonymous said...

"For students [car parking] is about £25 a year which isn't bad"

Bargain of the decade, I would have said, LM.

To check out what your future NHS colleagues are paying see:

http://careerfocus.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/334/7601/167-a

Our Univ charge from next yr (£ 300-400 depending on grade) will be higher than what the article says junior doctors pay [outside London]. Since non-clinical Univ lecturing staff (below full Professor) in the UK typically earn £ 22-45K, the comparison is quite close.

It's a little thing, but it does make you feel like your employer views you as a cash cow.

Anonymous said...

"still not heard a thing back from the university about the OSCE mark " That is simply pig-ignorant and unacceptable. Keep insisting on a response ... if you would like to print out a letter pursuing this important issue, duplicates could be posted on your behalf twice weekly while you are away ...

XE said...

The parking lots at the hospital are ridiculously expensive! It's $15 a day here, and when I tried to leave the hospital at 3 a.m. there was no one at the booth and the gates were down, so I couldn't get out of the parking lot! Surely there are a fair number of staff members who end up coming and leaving at odd hours thanks to overnight call or staying late with a patient. This seems quite unacceptable.

Anonymous said...

i have a 5yr old nokia, its really small but i love it to bits.

as for the parking, I love hearing these stories - makes me glad i haven't learnt to drive. Still, I feel bad for you!

Oh and I've launched my new med school blog:

http://uptext.blogspot.com/

Sheena said...

Which is precisely why I take the bus to school/the hospital.

(And because I have no car :)

But, seriously, parking here is just as ridiculous. I've seen a professor of endocrinology take the bus, too, on a daily basis.

Btw, blogging from a mobile, now that you're with T-mobile, should be an interesting experience. And it's those lovely typos that come with using predictive text that make it even more interesting reading for the rest of us ;)

Anonymous said...

um, completely random unrelated comment. i remember reading on your blog that you're heading to Temotu in Solomon Islands. i just saw these links for tours to nearby Tinakula volcano and thought you might be interested: http://tinakula.com/ and http://tinakula.blogspot.com/

I dunno whether they're legit but if they are, it could be quite a ride. If you end up giving it a go, it'd be awesome if you could add something to our wiki: http://exploringsolomons.wikispaces.com/temotu

cheers,
Harry