Zem of the Day
Sometimes when I am examining a patient, I get a whiff of B.O. This happened twice yesterday. I find this distressing because, for a brief second, I have to pause and ask myself if I am the one with B.O. Then I have to try and figure out if I had a shower that morning, and whether I did a good enough job on the “hot spots”. Or, if I have had a particularly exertional morning, did I enlist appropriate antiperspirant support? Taking time out from a patient encounter to ponder these important matters can really hamper a budding physician’s productivity.
In Benin, most people have body odour. I understand this. Given the sweltering, crippling, oppressive heat, it would practically be a full time job to ensure that one never smells bad. Occaisional B.O. is almost inevitable. The same is not the case here in Ottawa.
I’m not sure if I mentioned this, but in Benin, most people commute either on foot, or on a ‘zem’ which is basically a crappy motor scooter. One interesting game we used to play was “Zem of the Day”. One day I saw a man on the back of a zem with three queen-sized mattresses on his head. People also walk around with a lot of unbelievable stuff on their heads, like we're talkin' Ripley's. But that is a different game, which I will report on later.
Have a good day my feline friends.
tabby
posted by telltale tabby @ 6:39 AM
3 Comments:
Tomcat and you could swap some serious BO war stories. His "best" involves some ass crack of the worst kind...not that there is a good kind of course.
Glad to hear that you are back in the good land.
Tamcat
PS: I'm jonesing to run the Ottawa half marathon. All jazzed about eating well, drinking lots of H20 and getting fit. Care to join me?
Dear bbctchr,
It's great to hear from you. You are very lucky to have sheared off your first cranial nerve at some point. Just yesterday, I was wishing to god that it was socially acceptable to plug my nostrils with cotton balls or something while doing a physical exam! Truthfully, the patient I was working with would probably not have noticed.
You may or may not find it surprising to hear that people with chronic, treatment-resistant schizophrenia are very forgetful when it comes to foot care.
cheerio,
tabby
Dear Tamcat,
It's great to hear from you. I had no idea you were blogging. I am also desperately in need of some radical lifestyle changes. I have no idea how things got so far out of hand. I am a slovenly pig these days, and there's just no denying it any further.
I am interested in training for the Ottawa half. I can think of no better motivator to pull my ass off the couch. The only problem is that even though I am ready to commit to the training, I don't know for sure if I'll be around at the end of May.....
I'm gonna start training soon anyway, (as in running on the treadmill in Inuvik so that I can hold my own if a polar bear decides I'd be a nice light snack). So, if you want a virtual training partner, I am in.
If, however, you want someone to commit to running the race with you, I suggest you contact Shakes. She's probably more reliable.
Okay, you and Tomcat have a great holiday. I hope you are getting a bit of time off from all of that ass crack, both foul and sultry.
xo tab
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