Cured by the power of ROCK

There's a new radio station in Edmonton, land of the historically mundane and soulless corporate tunesmiths. Radio Sonic, broadcasting from a trailer by the side of the highway, promises to bring modern rock to the airwaves of the 'Chuk, and I'm as giddy as a schoolgirl having her first Sapphic experience.

For years your alternatives in this city consisted of a) The Bear, which was better before its playlist started consisting entirely of turgid nu-metal, and b) Easy Rock 104.9, which apparently every nurse must play by law at work. If it's supposed to be so inoffensive and calming, why does it make me want to hurt people, huh?

In any case, Sonic pledges to be cast in the mold of Toronto's The Edge, or at least what the Edge claims to be. So far I'm not disappointed; they're conducting their 'broadcast tests' and have been playing music that I actually LIKE. Yesterday morning I was driving home from a night on call at the hospital and heard 'Battle Flag' by the Lo-Fidelity All-Stars and shouted 'HELL FUCKING YES' to the apparent consternation of the elderly couple stopped beside me.

Jesus. Iggy Pop just came on. I need new pants. This station is like your cool friend who not only likes the same music you do, but has like a thousand CDs of obscure bands that you'd probably like if only you got to hear them once in a while. Well, I'm hearing them now. Thanks, you indie-rock music geeks!

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Had an epiphany on surgery on Thursday. During clinic I had four separate patients compliment my performance to the preceptor; afterwards he told me he might get one of those per rotation for a student on a regular basis. So apparently I'm fantastic dealing with patients.

Now, don't think this is me getting all cocky. I'm distinctly AVERAGE when it comes to my level of knowledge, at least as applies to surgery. And I can't tie knots for shit. But at least now I have a better idea of where my strengths are, and that gives me some empirical evidence to base my choice of career on. D-Day is coming up in a few short months...

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Holy fuck! The Clash! I'm in love!