There is room for everybody on Couch 72

Yes we were! We fought in Crete and North Africa.

One of our lads led the RAF mission to defend Murmansk from the Finns.

Feeling a lot better today, best day of the week so far.

And im taking a prescription antibiotic. Lets see who gets diarrhea first!

Job interview Tuesday. Programming for an insurance company.

Besides, who needs a gun when you could have a flamethrower instead?

Good luck.

Fascinating what a person can learn... Few months ago I had a sinus surgery due to the chronic sinusitis... Two weeks ago I started smelling cigarette smoke even when no one was smoking... Now I smell it almost all the time, like I was in a small room with full of cigarette smoke - disgusting (and I gave up smoking 7 years ago so it is even more sadistic)... Of course I googled it (without any hope that I can find something about it) and I found hundreds of links It's not as rare as I would expect. Of course google - like google - says that it can be everything from the allergy/infection to brain tumor, so I'm curious what my laryngologist will say (I have a control visit in 3 weeks). But smelling cigarette smoke all the time is pretty annoying

1. Yesterday I got prescribed some beta blockers that I'm supposed to take before presenting things at university (since that's pretty much been impossible so far due to my social anxiety). Had an ECG and some other tests done and it all looked fine so the doctor said it's ok for me to try beta blockers. She told me to try them at home first though so I don't try them for the first time just before presenting. I asked her when to try them and she said I could just try them whenever as long as it's not when I'm about to go to bed since the body's resting then. Does that mean I can try them now, while sitting here reading or watching TV-series for example? How will I know if the beta blockers work (the doctor said I should start with 10 mg but that it's ok for me to take 10-40 mg if I need to) if I'm not super anxious while trying them?

2. Mastodon! I've got a question for you (or anyone who reads this) if that's OK. Didn't know where else to write this but hopefully you'll see this when you're online.

At my university there's this summer research program for students at the faculty of medicine (more specifically people who are studying biomedicine, pharmacology and people who are studying to become doctors) and I've been thinking about applying. I think 30 people get accepted each year and you can apply if you're in your 2nd or 4th semester. People in their 4th semester have somewhat of an advantage since they've got more lab experience. That makes it easier for them to get accepted but some people in their 2nd semester get accepted as well. The way they decide who'll get in to the program is by first checking people's grades (only to make sure the people applying don't have serious problems with their studies) and then reading the applicant's letter about why they want to get in and what their interest in research is.

I'm simply wondering if there's anything I should think of when writing the letter? The reason I ask you is because of what you work with but I fully understand if this has nothing to do with it. Just thought I'd ask anyway!

Thanks.

I would write it as a common motivation letter for academic internship or exchange I guess (for sure you can find some examples in internet). If you want, I can check at home how my old letters looked like in more details (and they worked so maybe they weren't so bad ). For sure I would write something about your interests/future plans and why this course will be really helpful for you... Also point your best grades/achievements connected to this topic, as this is one of the criteria... In general, you have to convince them that this course is very important for you and that you are so great that choosing you is in their best interest

bonswalla is a new one for me, had to look it up. I don't tolerate green tea well, but my son swears it helps his asthma (which is basically lung inflammation). I am finally all the way off of prednisone, thanks to several juice cleanses. I've lost a ton of weight too (that wasn't my goal, but it's a nice bonus).
ha ha...that will be you. Make sure you take some GOOD probiotics with that, Hankstah. The ones that are found in the refrigerated section of the HF store.

Granite...nobody shoots anyone for saying one stupid thing. Besides, I'll bet it wasn't even stupid. Give yourself a break.

Guess what? H took the day off ... WOOT! Feels like a Sunday to me. Too bad he's made the house smell of bacon already. lol. So happy, I've missed him!

Oooo I didn't know that, maybe I should try once as I'm not the biggest fan of prednisone neither...

happy to hear that! (but good to not smell it )

Have a great day Wiki!!!

I was really looking forward to seeing my sister this weekend. But I ruined that.... I texted her a question I had about our childhood..I even said I was texting it now so we wouldnt talk of the past during our visit... But the next morning she texted she had too much work to do and she was behind.

The last time her T suggested we compare notes about the past and I agreed to that....and then she wouldnt speak to me for 4 or 5 months.... She would only text....

I guess I'm a reminder of all the horribleness...it doesnt help that i look alot like my mother (abuser) Also she has an eating disorder and I am obese so I think seeing me disgusts her and makes it worse...so maybe its for the best.

Maybe it's so you can make sure that you don't get any side effects? I'm afraid I have no experience of beta blockers so I don't know what taking them feels like.

That sounds like a really interesting thing to do. Write it as if the people who are going to read it have no idea of who you are - perhaps they won't, but perhaps it will be somebody who has been your teacher. Mention that you have been asked to supervise dissections. You could even ask the teacher who asked you if you wanted to do that to write a brief note of recommendation (unless that teacher is part of the selection committee.)

Definitely mention that you are thinking seriously about going on to the PhD level.

Yes, that's likely the reason. So perhaps it doesn't matter if I'm anxious now or not? Perhaps I should just make sure I don't get any really uncomfortable side-effects.

Yeah, it sounds like a cool thing to do. I'd really like to participate in some real research and see if it's something I'd like to do later or if I want to specialize in more clinical medicine (I can't become a doctor, obviously, but I could still work with clinical things). Is that a valid reason for applying? I'm a bit worried about being in the lab alone (or well, with a PhD student or something). I worry that I'm not good enough. Anyway, I'm not supposed to send them a letter or anything. I'm just supposed to ... sorry I'll take this in Swedish because I don't really know how to say this in English ... fylla i en "ruta" på en hemsida där det står "motivera varför du sökt sommarforskarskolan. Beskriv ditt forskningsintresse och vad det hittills resulterat i." I'm not sure how long it's supposed to be or anything.

Neutrino - re beta blockers - my brother (a t) once said lots of college students take them. I would think the worst average side effect would be tiredness.

Wiki - thanks! Im betting the same way! Has h tried the tofurkey bacon? I had some, it wasnt awful. Kinda chewy.

Eta someone - are you sure you are not downwind of someone's smoking butts? If they are not fully extinguished, they keep burning and smell horrible and the smell seeps thru kryptonite, i swear! My cubicle used to be 3 away from the main entrance where people took smoke breaks. There was an ashtray but often people would take a last drag as they approached the building then flick the butt toward my window. The smell turned my stomach but i was the only person who could smell it. Pretty sure i dont have a brain tumor.

H does like coconut bacon if I make it, but if left to his own devices it's think cut applewood bacon, with the grease still on it! lol. Opposites attract?

Neutrino - it sounds as if it's only supposed to be a couple of paragraphs, then, rather than a whole letter.

Finding out whether research is for you is definitely a valid reason, but I wouldn't stress it too much in the application, I think. They are asking about your interest in research, and you are good at describing that.

(btw, I've switched on PMs in my profile again, in case you want to PM me.)

What is coconut bacon? It sounds a bit contradictory

Yeah, I wanted to PM you earlier today but I guess you had switched it off so I wrote you here instead. Hope that's OK.

I really don't know what to write. I'll figure it out I guess. I've got another week to write it.

Also, this is very cool: .

Thanks for the suggestion - unfortunately I am sure as it doesn't matter if I am at work, home, outdoor or wherever, I've already washed everything what I could and no one at home is smoking... I thought that maybe it's coming from outside but my H is extremely sensitive to cigarette smoke and he doesn't smell anything (at here, at the office windows are closed and no one smokes...). In the best case I will have to switch my anti-sinusitis drops and in the worst case it's just a side-effect from the surgery (they said that I could lose the smell completely, now I think that it wouldn't be as bad as I thought ) or maybe I'll start smoking, and least I will suffer for a reason

When you have a draft version, PM me (if you want) and I'll take a look

I try to avoid looking in mirrors. There's this old man who lives in the mirror-dimension who's always there looking back at me, kind of like a stalker! His face is wrinkled & his hair is turning gray. He looks a bit crazy to me! I'm not sure what he wants. He never says anything... not that I've tried to strike up a conversation, mind you. And seeing him every time I do happen to look in a mirror, is starting to make ME feel a bit weird too! I wish I just didn't have to look in a mirror at all. But once in a while it's necessary, ya know? I keep hoping that the next time I look into a mirror, that old fart will be gone & I can see my true self again...

Thank you. I might do that.

The old lady in my mirror dyed her hair red this week - scares the heck out of me at those middle of the night bathroom visits!