You'll never be/date Britney Spears

Or Brad Pitt. Never. Assuming you want to. If you don't, read no further, because your unhappiness does not come from such trivial matters.

So, you day-dream and you yearn and your eyes keep getting wet and your heart pounds faster when you think of/see your new found idol. You imagine how you could make everything perfect for him/her if only this shitty life gave you a chance. Maybe you see yourself walking in their godly shoes, maybe you see yourself as being thought of by millions as you think of your idols. You sigh and watch those dear movies and concerts, you buy the DVDs, the memorabilia and so forth. You're a fan. That makes you a fanatic. That is to say you have come to idolatrize an image. Make no mistake, this image is of your own making; they suggested it to you and you infused it with your ill-channelled hopes and dreams, as always taking the easy way towards cheap self satisfaction. You crossed the line between entertaining yourself and tormenting yourself with the unreachable. This you did for what even a superficial analysis reveals as being nothingness. Please aknowledge that you just managed to fill the void from within with some nothingness from outside! Congratulations. I've once watched a show about Madonna's (oh, what a pun!) fans. I was particularly struck by this young, beautiful woman that was a die-hard devotee. She collected everything she could get her hands on, related to her goddess, she had all the albums and compilations, T-shirts and posters, everything. She was young, truly beautiful and popular amongst her friends. She was a hell of a woman, if you ask me. She could have been someone's goddess herself, easily. Her face inspired. Yet she strangely chose to be only some fan, with an entire existence revolving around Madonna. That was all she talked about. She once saw her idol up-close. That's where her young life peaked. And gave her something fabulous to talk about. She didn't look happy at all. She looked hysteric.

fake idols • unhappiness

Zeitgeist Addendum (2008) review

Controversial, this one, as was to be expected. The Google PR of 7 for the movie's website goes to prove that it got many people talking, regardless of the angle each takes on it. And that kind of distribution is always a sign of success. Here are some potentially useful points of view on it.

Failure of epistemology

movies • New World Order • recommendations

RMO recruiting companies

There are a lot of them, since this seems to be quite a big market. A simple Google search will reveal the better known.

Anyway, here's what you should look for in such a company (beyond commitment, seriousness, professionalism obviously):

1. are they taking an at least mild personal interest in your future well-being as an RMO for them? Meaning: are they going to try to go the extra distance to make your life easier, will they really care if you miss your plane back home and try to prevent that the next time?
2. will they pay some travelling expenses? Do they cover other expenses? Are they able to deal with the GMC properly in your behalf? Or to the Home Office?
3. will they sweeten the contract with a nice completion bonus?
4. do they include holiday pay?
5. do they include penalties for premature ending of your contract (they should not)?

RMO • UK doctor

RMO in the UK

As I've explained in the previous chapter, the Resident Medical Officer is that doctor that actually lives within a  private UK hospital, 24/7, amounting to a total of 168 work hours per week.

In order to be able to work over the 40 hours week regulation, he/she would have to renounce that particular right and have his/her time off in separate, free weeks.

RMO • UK doctor

Relevant people an RMO deals with

As an RMO you will deal with some special people:

1. people from the RMO company that employs you; they are supposed to take care of you and be your best friends here, in the UK
2. the RMOs you take over from and you turn over to when you finish your week
3. the matron/clinical lead at the hospital you work at; she (or he)  will be your most direct liaison with the hospital
4. the nurses at your hospital; they are key to your performance in that setting and you should always try to befriend them and listen to their advice
5. the consultants; they are the top level professionals there and you'll look after their patients when they are not there; they are the ones you will ask for guidance whenever one of their patients presents with issues that are beyond your competences as an RMO

RMO • UK doctor

RMO pay and salary

This varies with the hospital you work at, but you would typically be paid about £1500-£1700 per week worked, before tax and National Insurance (NI).

After tax and NI you would be left with something between £1100-£1200 per week worked. Assuming you work a two weeks on - one week off rota, you would work three weeks per calendar month, so you will earn an after tax average of about £3300-£3600 per calendar month in which you work three weeks. This would be the equivalent of 4000-4500 Euro. Notably, you can calculate that your hourly rate is about £7, which is actually very low for a physician. So you are not well payed, you earn a lot because you amount a lot of hours. Also, rest assured: you definitely won't actually work for 24 hours a day.

RMO • UK doctor

RMO working pattern

Due to their very particular working schedule, involving working 168 hours per week (which is to say working 24 hours daily, 7 days), the RMO working pattern involves weeks on-duty and off-duty.

The most popular pattern appears to be two weeks on, followed by one week off. Some companies are able to arrange different rotas, such as the reverse of the previous one or one week on, one week off etc..

RMO • UK doctor

Introduction

What is an RMO?

RMO stands for Resident Medical Officer, which means, well, just what is says: the RMO is the doctor that actually lives inside the hospital, 24/7, and provides medical care for inpatients, outpatients and sometimes staff and visitors, as he is the primary emergency aid in that facility.

RMO • UK doctor

What it is to be normal

To be sane. Can this still be achieved? Should it be defined by statistical means as the state of the majority?

We've been thought to dream, "dare to dream", we're encouraged to go forth and dream of things. We've been told we're all beautiful and smart. We've been lied to. And no one tells us to be good. And that dreams are sometimes dangerous chimeras robbing you of your very life, especially when dreaming the trivial that cannot be acquired. That's not normal.

literature • philosophy • life • self development

Degeneration

Affects everything around us, us. There used to be moments I could not escape the feeling that we are racing on the downward spiral at full speed. Now the sensation is almost uninterrupted. Everywhere I look, all around, I see the signs of it.

It is as if we were about to become a great race at some not so particular or identifiable point, then everything began to crumble or, rather, melt down. I can't look at the greatest buildings of this world without instantly acknowledging the hunger that still ravages most of our fellow men. I am now unable to enjoy all the benefits of this so called civilization without reminiscing that progress only improved our personal hygiene, really. We're still the same beasts we were centuries ago.

degeneration • self development