Let's chat

The devil is after my life which is why it's almost 1am and i'm still up. This is someone who plans to be in school bright and early because i don't have clinic tomorrow (yay!) and only have one lecture in the afternoon, so i plan to use the day to study. It feels good to actually know stuff. I had newborn nursery last week and i had to do a 2 min presentation on bilirubin degradation and enterohepatic circulation. This was in relation to neonatal jaundice. I was whining that i was still be asked to do biochem stuff, but i reviewed the stuff grudgingly and presented it to a less than captive audience. Anyway, on Monday i was in GI clinic and we had a 2 month old baby with Biliary atresia and the attending decides to pimp me on Jaundice and bilirubin breakdown. Pretty much all the stuff i had to learn for my presentation. I felt like a G just firing answers back at his questions. Good stuff.

I'm at the point where as much as i want to pass my exams and do well, i also want to KNOW stuff. Just fill my head with as much knowledge as possible, but it's hard to do because my time is limited and most times when i get back from clinic, i just want to chill and not study, plus my health has not been optimal these last few weeks. Anyway, all this long story is to say, i am going to be spending the day in school tomorrow. Hopefully. My tooth pain is 90% gone, thank you Jesus. I went to the dentist to get a filling and it wasn't funny. The pain after i got home was horrendous. It shouldn't have been that painful. I am utterly convinced my dentist is a quack or he needs to retire. That man is at least 80 years old. He is stooping at this point, but he wants to keep working. I had clinic this afternoon and had to put a warm compress on my face cos the tylenol wasn't working. It was a mess but i made it through.

Who else is watching season 3 of Downton Abbey? Good stuff. How about the RHONJ reunion? Madness. I hope those ladies are well paid because none of them look good at this point, behavior wise. Lauren is still a fat idiot, and she needs to shut up. So annoying in her too little dress and blabber mouth. As much as i am all for realness, i agree Caroline needs some botox or at least she need to stop sucking on whatever lemon she has been sucking on. She should pick one.

In other news, an attending expressed great surprise that i had only been here for 10 years because my English was "impeccable" and i have a slight accent. I was like nope, i don't have a slight accent, i sound exactly Nigerian and we speak English in Nigeria. See as she dey use style take dey curse me? U see them? Anyway, i forgive her cos she's a sweet older attending. Then a classmate who was there said she likes the way i pronounce Tachycardic because it sounds British. Now, that i would take as a compliment because in my next life, i want to have an English accent, although to be honest, i think any Nigerian would pronounce tachycardic the same way i do.

P.S. I know from the pidgin english/english i tend to write it might be difficult to believe i am fully literate and speak impeccable English. Well, if you dig deep enough, you might just be able to believe it.

1.04am - The devil is really after my life. Good night.


7.45am
I'm still haunted by thoughts of the Aluu 4. This one just won't go away. No one deserves to die like that, not even hardened criminals. What's bothering me more than anything is how easily "regular" people can turn into heartless murderers. How do you make that switch and just take someone's life like you are killing a chicken or a cow? You won't even kill an animal that way. You first take away someone's dignity and then you kill then and then burn them. Haba wa!  I am so thankful i didn't watch the video or see more pictures cos it's been really hard for me to get this out of my head especially since that's the main news every blog and everyone on facebook is talking about. 

If the only thing that comes out of this is that there is an end to Jungle justice, that would be great but i won't hold my breath for that one. Nigeria makes me so sad.

Idiot Proof Stew/Soup

This is the easiest soup you could ever make especially since you don't even have to know how to cook to make it. All u need to know how to do is use a knife to chop up ingredients. Of course a guy came up with this because i never would have thought of cooking anything this way, but it works and actually comes out very tasty, so i thot i'd share.

Ingredients

• Tomatoes
• Shitake mushrooms
• Habanero pepper
• Onions
• Spinach
• Fish
• Salt
• Ginger
• Olive oil
• Crayfish
• Seasonings (optional)

Directions
 Chop everything up and put them all at once into the pot. Add the fish, oil and salt and cover the pot. You could wait to add the spinach last, so as not to overcook it, but the originator of this recipe didn't. That's why i said it's idiot proof. Chop and dump and come out with something tasty.

Maybe i should call it emergency soup/stew?

It actually tastes like pepper soup kinda. It has a unique flavor.

A country full of Barbarians.

Since Friday when i saw the pictures of those guys, i have not had peace. I am beyond traumatized. So now a video is out which i am not going to watch. Most blogs have more graphic pictures, which i don't want to see. If you can watch that video, you need to ask yourself questions.

I've been asking myself why i have been so affected by this. Jungle justice has been going on for years. I have seen pictures and videos of it prior to this one, so why is this different? That's because the boys look like my brother, my cousins, my friends. I'm not talking about a physical resemblance here but more of a socioeconomic resemblance (i just made that up but hopefully you get the point). There is also the fine boy effect going on too. Let's call a spade a spade. They could have been thieves, or cultists, or been at the wrong place or with the wrong people at the wrong time, only God knows at this point. It just seems so wrong.

So now there's an outcry for justice. Another internet campaign that is going to go nowhere. How i would love to be proven wrong. What happened to the rape victim in Abia (or whichever state)? People shouted and raised dust and still nothing happened. Guilty or innocent, these boys are dead. Killed, burnt and video taped by a heartless mob. Let's call it what it is. Nigeria is a nation of barbarians. From the top of the government to the lowest citizen, rot exists everywhere. Everything is rotten. Do we even want to start talking about innocent people that have been victims of jungle justice? What kind of mind do you have to have to bludgeon another human to death? What about about the people who could stand to watch it and do nothing? I don't get it. I can never comprehend. EVER!

I don't know why i am so bothered by this but i am. I am traumatized.

Godforsaken Nigeria

I have gotten to the point where as much as i love the fact that I am Nigerian, I hate Nigeria.

I don't know how I can continue to stomach the horror stories that come out of that country everyday. The life of an average person in Nigeria is valueless. There's no safety, you can't go home for fear of being kidnapped. The roads are death traps and the air planes are flying caskets. We now have a fully functional terrorist group in Nigeria. Where r all the people who were denouncing Mutallab, saying he can't be a true Nigeria, cos Nigerians can't be suicide bombers? Isn't that the order of the day now?

Jungle justice has always existed, now we not only have to hear about them but we also get to see pictures too? Pictures of dead abandoned babies have become the norm on Linda Ikeji. As much as I like the amebo, I think I might take a hiatus from that blog cos Linda doesn't seem to know when to stop. I don't need to see a picture of a dead baby to get the message. I don't need to see pictures of the boys who were beaten to death. Good thing is sometimes she gives u the option of clicking to read more. 99% of the time, I don't click.

But I digress. Back to Nigeria. There was a time in my life when I longed to be in Nigeria, every bone in my body ached for my home. Now I beg people I care about not to go. When my father wanted to go last year, I told him to drop his ransom money before he goes cos no one has money to ransom him out. He ended up not going. Why? Because we come from the kidnapping headquarters in Nigeria, Benin. What's the point of going to Nigeria if you cannot go home and feel safe? My dad's friend who had moved back home to finally settle was kidnapped for a week and given the beating of his life. No one told him to pack his family and come back to America. My friend's father-in-law was kidnapped last year. They got one call from the kidnappers and never heard from them or their father again. As i write this, no one has a clue what happened with the dad. Is that how an old man deserves to leave this earth? They can't even say he is dead because there was no body.

Nigeria makes me sick to my stomach. Things just keep getting worse. Only in Nigeria will you gang rape a girl, tape it, have millions of people watch it and STILL go scot free. God forbid for that country. As religious as people seem to be, why has God forsaken that country? Oh I know, half of the people are stupidly religious and worship their pastors instead of God.

It will be exactly 10 yrs on the 26th of this month, since i've left Nigeria and i have no desire to go back any time soon. I will always love the fact that i am Nigeria because i love my heritage and my culture and i think Nigerians are cool people, but oh, how i hate that country. I hate it because it makes my heart ache. The people who are interested in fixing things will never be given a chance to, but i'm not one. I'm no longer interested.

I am thankful i have the luxury of being out of the madness. I have one sister and one niece in Nigeria and the day they leave that country, i will be truly done.

Med Sch 302 + General Amebo

To make up for my last boring post, I have decided to bless you guys with an update on my boring life. Hey! Pick one, either i talk about boring academic stuff or i talk about my boring life. Either way, you r still going to be bored

So i'm finally done with inpatient peds (yay! for no longer having to wake up at 4.30am, although i woke up at 4.30am today cos i had a presentation to prepare for). I saw enough Asthma and Croup to last me a while. I had a few interesting cases- chorea presumed to be as a result of rheumatic fever. Lemierre's disease, 2 cases- one was classic and the other not so classic. I managed not to get sick being around those snotty kids. Let's see how i fare in outpatient. I have had to learn the "rounds walk". Apparently, everyone walks faster than me. I just can't walk that fast, but when we are rounding, you have to walk pretty fast. Rounds take forever, average of 2.5-3 hrs every morning of walking and talking. Not my cup of tea. Worst part of my day for sure.

I just finished my second and last half day of newborn nursery. It was short and sweet. Peds is not lighting any bulbs in my head o. I was kinda hoping to fall in love with it, but so far it hasn't happened. I have the rest of the month to see what happens, with my outpatient clinic and 3 subspecialty clinics i was assigned to- Hematology, GI and Allergy. Should be fun.


I met Dr. Adorable *cheeky grin/smile*

No, he's not the beautiful man/Dr. (who is not so beautiful after all well he is kinda), i had talked about earlier. No, i did not name him Dr. Adorable (Nurses from two different unrelated hospitals in different cities had the pleasure of doing that). Yes, i think the name suits him and No, there will not be anymore said about said Dr. Adorable, except to say he is adorable and awesome on all the days that end with Y :)

Ok, fine! Most days that end with Y. But he is cute with a capital Q.

Good night! I need to go study.

P.S This one all of u were wishing me Happy Byday so, i hope say una know say the thing still far. Na OCT 29 o. But thanks anyway. I will still want it on the real day. No vex.

Just saying

How much of a coinkidink is it that I am currently completing a required online module on childhood obesity. My friend said I shouldn't have called anyone a bad parent, instead I should have said they were irresponsible. All na throat and neck.

So let me share what I am learning with you guys FOC. I pay $43,000 to learn this and you guys get it free. I am such a nice person. I know.

Impact of childhood obesity on adult health  

• Increased all causes of mortality in males and females
• Increased mortality from coronary artery disease in males
• Increased morbidity from coronary artery disease in males and females
• Increased risk of colon cancer in males
• Increased risk of arthritis in females

Co-morbidities (which are diseases that go along with obesity)

• Hypertension
• Insulin resistance
• Ancanthosis nigricans
• Advanced bone age
• Earlier onset of puberty
• Polycystic ovarian syndrome
• Dyslipidemia
• Non alcoholic fatty liver
• Cholethiasis
• Obstructive sleep apnea
• Pseudo tumor cerebri

This post is boring, yes yes, but the message is kids who are obese are being set up for a shitty future health wise. 

I have more interesting things to blog about, I promise. I'm just soooooooooooo busy. 

P.S. I got a marriage proposal today. But it was for an arranged marriage so I decided to pass :)) If UK no let you stay, then u might have to pack your jigida and go back to naij. I mean, I empathize with u but not to the extent of marrying you. Forgive me brother, I am not that nice. 

A SUPERSTAR WAS BORN IN THE MONTH OF OCTOBER. LET'S TAKE A MOMENT AND ACKNOWLEDGE THE GREATNESS THAT IS OCTOBER......Thank you! 

If you were born in October, 5 stars to you. If you were born in October AND you are a Scorpio, 10 stars to you. We are just awesome. Like, seriously. No seriously. Have you seen me? Have you met me? Ask around ;) Just saying. I am the truth sayer.