Lifestyle Managers

There was a programme on TV the other day about lifestyle managers, these not-so personal assistants are provided for a fee by a growing company. Their aim? To make life easier by taking menial tasks away from busy people such as organising meals out, holidays or a plumber to fix your boiler, this gives busy people more time to be... well...busy.

It's a bloody great idea. I always find myself with a list of necessary and boring tasks but I'm too busy (aka - can't be bothered) to sort them all out. Missbliss offered to be my lifestyle manager but she is busy too (busy baking me cakes that is). If I won the lottery, the first thing I'd invest in (after a trip to a Ferrari garage) would be my own personal lifestyle manager. Until those numbers come up I'll have to make do with my PDA.

Yes, maybe it makes me look like a geek, maybe it is a bit lame, maybe I could make do with a normal diary but I don't care. It's a godsend, I've recently been wondering what I did without it. One of the female SHOs summed it up quite well the other day simply by saying "Boys and their toys"

Isn't it just an extravagant diary I hear you ask? Well no, not at all. Although that is probably the most useful feature. As a medical student it can become almost impossible to keep track of where you're supposed to be and when. I don't have that problem anymore, I know exactly where I'm going, when I've got to be there and what I'm going to do when I've got there. No more missed birthdays or anniversaries either which is a bonus and list of tasks makes sure I don't forget those everyday things. On top of keeping me organised, I've sold my ipod on eBay as I can now have all my music and videos on a memory card, I can keep myself amused on the move by playing games on it (that comes in very useful as a medical student because I seem to spend most of my time waiting around for things.) I even have anatomy videos on there, I know that's lame but I've got to do something to teach myself anatomy because the medical school aren't too bothered that I don't know my pisiform from my xiphisternum. I can access the Internet on the go with a built in wifi connection which makes checking my emails and reading blogs easier than ever.

Obviously the most important thing is the poser factor, a sense of organisation and professionalism which even some of the consultants are impressed with. Except when they're having a look at it, only to find my diary has been vandalised by missbliss who scheduled a session of cuddles.

If only it was a phone as well...

A Week In The Life Of Me

Gynaecology Update - Been on delivery suite this week, not seen a great deal due to being male and less than enthusiastic about gynae in general. Made the most of the time to start OSCE revision. Two weeks left and I can't wait till its over with (except for the whole exam thing at the end! - shit)

Laptop Update - Finally after weeks of waiting and 'communicating' with technical support, they've decided to replace the laptop (3 years later than they should have.) Why they couldn't have just said that 6 weeks ago is beyond me. Now we just have to wait for the vouchers before we can go and get a new one. Something tells me we've not heard the last of this so watch this space.

Roller Disco - This week saw me don some skates and take to the floor... unfortunately I'm shit and can barely stand up let alone skate around a dance floor. In the drunken shenanigans I managed to crash into my girlfriend twice [although completely by accident, whatever she might say] bringing her crashing to the floor and injuring her coccyx. Honestly what was I supposed to do?

Girlfriend Talking In Her Sleep - Perhaps its related to her coccygeal injury... who knows. Each night she usually falls asleep before me and when I come to roll over she sits upright and proceeds to either a) declare her undying love for me b) tell me to "shut up, shut up, SHUT UP and SIT DOWN!" (wtf?!?) or c) talks complete gobledeegook for a couple of minutes. She never remembers it either, but I love her all the same because she's great.

Food, Glorious Food - The girlfriend has spent much of the week making oodles of yummy cakes/biscuits/other tasty foodstuffs which has resulted in me gaining about a stone in weight. But its all so yummy...what can I do? *polishes off the last of the vanilla shortbread with extra sugar*

Psychosexual Lecture - The most anticipated lecture of the entire medical degree (for some at least.) Two hours of all you need to know about sex and patients, this involved games such as thinking of as many words as possible for vagina and penis (snigger) and me role-playing as a 50 year old man with erectile dysfunction. It was interesting and quite useful, although I'm not sure I feel any more prepared in asking 60year old ladies if they are sexually active.

The Budget - Wine up 5p a bottle, shit!

Money - I've got none... ideas on a post card please.


So, that about sums up my week, watch this space for more gynaecological fun, sleep talking girls and tasty food.