Summer Anthem 2008

Good news. Our new summer anthem (this makes it sound like we have previous summer anthems - LIE) is:



The greatest Eurovision entry ever? Definitely yes.

Andrew vs Medicine

Please see the above photo and fact that I have exams in two weeks time that can test EVERYTHING I'VE EVER DONE AT UNI FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS, and take it as an explanation as to why I've been so amiss with updates.

Andrew 2 - Medicine 0 (this could be very different soon)

Conspiracy Theory

I spent nine (count them) hours in work today. Nine of hours of soul destroying admin work.

My one highlight was to hear the inane chatter of the people whose full-time job is said soul destroying admin work. There was a good ten minutes conversation on butter, margarine and spreadable butter that ended with a quote that I feel sums up the mind numbingness pretty damn well:

'Lurpack spreadble... it's just a TOTAL lie.'

Roll on quitting this job (1 week left!).

Metronomification

Last night was spent at King Tut's watching (the super awesome) Metronomy. I particularly enjoyed the lights on their t-shirts and dance moves.

Standing in front of us were none other than Glasgow's Franz Ferdinand. They were all quite short, which surprised me as I thought that all celebrities were giants. Who knew?

Mad as hatters

In the attempt to get a hat (for the hat themed 'Edward Ciderhands and Amy Winehands' party - one in which your drink is duck taped to your hand) we went to a vintage shop off of Byres Road.

Whilst there we were engaged in conversation by the shop owner for a good 25 minutes, with topics ranging from:

• excessively high platform shoes
• Converse
• shoplifting
• violent crime in Glasgow
• the West End Festival
• more violent crime (more specifically in the West End)
• Inappropriate comments being shouted at scantily clad young women, and how that didn't happen in her day
• The things she got up to a youngster
• How she feels that ther 14 year old son is safe in the West End, but not in town
• Hats
• The rapidly diminishing stock of 1930s and 40s clothing
• Alcoholic liver disease
• Drug driving

I think if other customers had not come in at this point, we may still be there.

One year on

It was exactly one year ago today that I passed my driving test (at about this time last year I would just be driving to the test centre, imagining the new and impressive ways that I might fail this time). Number of times Andrew has driven a car since passing test = 0.

I feel that I did have some pretty impressive driving test failures (none, sadly, that required the test to be stopped on 'Health and Safety grounds' - when this happens, the examiner gets out of the car and you have to walk back to the test centre with them as they aren't allowed to drive the car and you are too dangerous to. I'd imagine this would be just a wee bit mortifying.):

• Test number 1 - two majors. Both because I didn't look behind me when I was reversing during the test (and also because I almost hit a pedestrian when I was reversing at the very end of the test). The examiner actually said 'Did you not see that person?!', to which I couldn't decide which was the better answer - 'Yes, I was trying to hit him' or 'No, I don't look behind me when I reverse'. Needless to say, a big fat FAIL.


• Test number 2 - one major. Stupid, fucking, bane of my life 'unmarked crossroads'. I accidently, instead of stopping at one, accelerated towards it. This caused my examiner to SLAM on the brakes and do an emergency stop, it was this that gave me the clue that I had failed for a second time.


• Test number 3 - PASS. Despite, whilst reversing round a corner, I managed to go onto the other side of the road, I still passed. They must have felt sorry for me or something.
  

This does bring me to a most amusing incident I saw last night when walking to work. I saw a car which was parked at the side of the road start to reverse (as if to get enough room to pull away) towards a car that was about 3 metres behind it. The only problem is, the person was revesing as if she was trying to escape from some kind of crazed axe murderer chasing her car from the front, and consequently (and I could see what would happen, but was powerless to stop it) she SMASHED into the car behind... unfortunately, there was someone sitting in the car behind, and MAN he didn't look too pleased (or sound) too pleased.

It's at time like these I think it's probably for the best that I haven't driven a car, as I can picture me in situations as above or like Thelma and Loiuse:

I think I'll have myself a beer

Carrie and Andrew's official song of 2008 has been decided. It came to us like a divine vision: Reel Big Fish - Beer.

Our reasons are two-fold:
1. We both enjoy beer, and will often find ourselves saying 'I think I'll have myself a beer'.
2. We feel this song represents good times, and good times are what we are all about.

I heart medicine

As a medical student, I've always had the sneaking suspicion that we get somewhat of a hard deal, for example:

• not finishing first year until June
• being the last people in uni to have exams in second year
• going back to uni TODAY, which if this was a normal Christmas holiday I would still be drunk/recovering
• not finishing third year until the end of June
• getting summer holidays in which you have to work in a hospital

Hmmm, but then again, if these things didn't happen, I'd have nothing to complain about...

Another year over, a new one just begun

Well there went 2007, the Andrew year of the blog. And thus begins 2008, the Andrew year of the... em, weblog. Also I feel it is an appropriate time to review my 'Aims and Objectives 2007:

Aims and objectives 2007

1. Start a blog = DONE, this goes without saying really.
2. Go to Brighton/Ukraine = NOT DONE, but is being carried over to 2008 as it's really quite a good one
3. Pass my driving test = DONE, as I'm SUCH a good driver
4. Get a car = NOT DONE, being carried over to 2008 as I'd quite like to be able to go cruising... Ghetto stylee
5. Get a piercing = DONE, my lovely right ear is now beautifully adorned with jewellery
6. Get a tattoo = NOT DONE, being carried over to 2008 and I now have an idea (albeit a quite stupid one)
7. Enter a road race = NOT DONE, my shortlived infatuation with running is over so this will not be carried over
8. Learn to juggle = NOT DONE, being carried over to 2008 as I really want to juggle, hopefully with knives
9. Become a YouTube overnight sensation = NOT DONE, it was a bit of a long shot
10. Go to see the Flaming Lips = NOT DONE, as they didn't come, but being carried over to 2008
11. Go to all 12 hours of 12 hour Cheeeesy Pop = NOT DONE, due to having to go to stupid work the next morning... being carried over to 2008.

So, as one can see: 2007 was not particularly successful in terms of aims and objectives. Therefore I will have MORE in 2008, in the hope that I can achieve more than my paltry 3:

Aims and Objective 2008

1. Go to Brighton/Ukraine
2. Get a car
3. Get a tattoo
4. Learn to juggle
5. Go to see the Flaming Lips
6. Go to all 12 hours of cheeeeeeeeeeeeeesy pop
7. Become less antisocial and talk to more strangers (obviously not taking sweets from them/getting into cars - I ain't no fool)
8. Be an extra in a Bollywood film
9. Learn to speak basic Hindi
10. Become fit
11. Go to the cinema on my own
12. Learn to unicycle (potentially combining this with 4)

Also me and Carrie have yet to decide on our 'Song for 2008'.