Summer Break

My summer, and I use the term 'summer' to refer to a holiday in the loosest sense of the word, is drawing to a close. All that's left is this sense of unfinished business and this intense desire to let loose on the world in some form of manic creativity and spontaneity. Instead, I find myself thinking of all the food I've managed to gorge on in the past three weeks since I handed in my final project: korean food, chinese waffle eggs, chinese bean buns, syrian food, mexican food, sushi, caribbean style gbk burgers, and numerous desserts of gastronomic proportions.

So anyway, final project: the big hoo-ha that would be the stopping point of a very long year. After spending two week researching at the Wellcome library in Euston, and an eye-liqefying number of hours staring at Google search results, I finally managed to produce a 5000 word essay structured around the art piece we had to create.

My focus: the social prejudices that refuse the permissibility of the dichotomous nature of doctors as both healers and patients. My artwork: A photo of Omar. Not that he has any illness that makes him patient-worthy, but he was willing to model for my piece. Over 400 shots later, using a borrowed DSLR camera and a carefully balanced tripod in the St Mary's Hospital main lifts, Omar's unexpected embarrassment paid off in producing my final piece. To understand the intricacies and reflections drawn from the piece (i.e. arty-farty made up nonsense that is absolutely necessary for the write-up), you'd have to read the whole 5000 word shabang. Not the best way to spend precious holiday time I must admit.

Hours after handing in the project, I made my way up north to Scotland. I spent a week between deadlines relaxing in a cottage by the sea whilst trying to rack up a decent presentation worth 20% of my module. I obviously ended up creating the presentation the night before I got back to London, but without that Scotland break, my brain would have been too exhausted to churn out even half a word. Now it's just waiting for results. Inshallah it all goes well. Duas!

Unfortunately I can't seem to access most of my photos, which is proving to be very frustrating. However, from the ones that I do have, they are enough to remind me of the awesome time I had :)

The day after my final deadline I started working in the private wing of Moorfields Eye Hospital in Old Street. Three and a half weeks later, today was my last day and I'm already missing it. The people were absolutely awesome, the atmosphere relaxed, and the drinks machine willing to provide me with endless free cups of delicious hot chocolate. After sending off most of the beautifully dressed-up staff to a ball with a Bond theme, I spent a few hours with my boss chatting and discussing life. Her words were profound and will stick with me for a long time. She was worried as she saw herself in me; an individual with all these dreams and ideas who is far too willing to lay it all down for those around me. She told me to never compromise on my happiness, to be strong, and to only be treated as something to be treasured. 'Don't let anyone change you into what they want you to be. They should instead stand back and support you and be proud of who you are. And if they don't, they don't deserve you.' My boss is one amazing woman :)

Next in the line-up for the remaining two weeks are trips to Oxford, Luton and Manchester with a couple of weddings fitted in between. 'Tis the season to be wedded it seems. May they all remain happy and forever thankful for each other :)