Randomramblings

How did I find your blog? I don't remember.

Why do I keep coming back? The things you write about are modestly interesting, but the way you write is quite compelling: from your excellent (although not quite perfect and sometimes charmingly convoluted) English to the way you dissect some perfectly mundane matters.

Care to share some details of your cohort study? What is it about?

on si blogs, I think. Or maybe from another blog's linklist. I can't really remember.

And I keep coming back because

1. your English, one can never know enough of a foreign language and your writing style makes me think about my vocabulary

2. topics that interest me, truthfully

3. the books!

4. the way you express your own opinion, even if it goes against what other people say, I respect that.

Oh, you're such charmers! :) Thanks for commenting and I hope to see other people comment as well.

Mitja, I'm really rather reluctant about sharing too many details about the study; mainly because it was only orally arranged yesterday and it might (though I hope not!) come to nothing if the Medical Chamber of Slovenia doesn't approve it. But in a nutshell: coping with stress in the workplace; a study of medical students until they become young doctors.

I found your blog by clicking your nickname on comment you wrote on Mitja's blog.

I like that you write your thoughts on a given subject thoroughly, with the exception of your advertisment of public heathcare, where you had to resort to comments.

Your writing is slowly getting sloppier. I do admire your english also, but it looks like you don't write as carefully as you did. Sometimes typos or misspellings dig in, maybe due to lack of time.

Congratulations on getting the study! After graduation I would like to become a researcher, like Mitja, so I will have to dig into some research too.

Right after you added my blog to your blogroll visitors started coming from misterious blog called Random Ramblings. I checked it out and discovered that it's one of those mellow, sweet and very readable blogs that are sometimes undeservingly hard to find.
Although our taste in books may differ, it is very pleasant to read your essays on literature. They're laid-back and at the same time quite insightful.
In other words, keep up the good work ;)

Marko - I'm sorry about the sloppiness of my writing, but I'm not under such an impression myself. I do proof read my posts and I occasionally even spell-check them (I used to do that more often but the spell checker is rather crude and more often than not it only points out the names and very few if any actual spelling mistakes), but even with that - one must allow for mistakes to slip by. Maybe you know the feeling when you've read something for 3+ times and you're not reading what's on the paper anymore but what you think there is. As for the typos in the comments, I do make a lot of them, but I don't bother correcting them, because then every comment of mine might have an additional "sorry, typo" comment. The mistakes are usually typos. Taking into account the fact that I'm looking at the keyboard (and not the screen) while typing certainly suggests that many more mistakes can get overlooked.

As for some turns of words, I do desire I could find a different, better, more straightforward way to say something, but sometimes the right (the better wording) words just don't come and as I usually post immediately, there's hardly any time left to think about them or to change them. Maybe I could write (at least the reviews) in advance and then proof-read them a few days later, although that would certainly be more time consuming.

I am still very welcoming of all comments that draw my attention to a factual error, a grammatical mistake, misspelling and the like. If you find any of the above and are willing to write a comment about it, then you're very, very welcome to do so. I do realize my English is far from perfect and there are things I don't yet know, so I'm willing to learn!

As for researching, you might try to at least familiarize yourself with what projects are going on at the moment. Maybe you won't get the chance to partake in a study or even do one on your own, but if you do, that's a wonderful experience and something to include in your CV when applying for that researching job. (Maybe you'll find out that you don't like researching all that much and will be able to pursue a different career.)

Aljoša - thanks for all the kind words, they really did brighten up this grey, dull day! I'm not at all surprized our taste in books differs, as I haven't found anyone in the blooging sphere who'd read the same books, but I'm glad I'm able to write something you find enjoyable.

P.S. Mitja - ever since I knew how to write my mother tried hard to make me write shorter sentences and I dutifully resisted her attempts. I do sometimes weave myself into my net of words and I wish those times were futher apart than they are in reality. Sometimes I do feel I'm a slave to my habit.

I think I found your blog on siblogs. I liked the title. Then I came across your post about White teeth and your devotion to Harry Potter, that got me hooked. I'm also fascinated by your classic education (I wrote about that already) and your will to work hard (one time you wrote "I only studied 8 hours today" and I was like whaaat???).
(Although, when you posted the 4(I think) part review of LOTR, I thought, no way I'm gonna read this.)
I think through months your blog became more personal and I like it better than reviews, I love reading about other people's lives, especially if they know how to write about it :)

Well, I do realize that many people study less than me, but a case in point - I'm a med student and a very diligent one. I also think I need a bit more time to learn something than my colleagues, so I have to work more.

I usually study about 12 hours during exam-time and about 4-6 hours on a normal day. It's exhausting and I often find myself to be working less, because I just can't concentrate anymore.

I've always been very much into books and learning and I like what I'm studying, so I don't find it that hard to persevere. Of course, there are times when you feel it's leading nowhere and you really need a rest, but can't afford one. Additionally, I've always advocated living one's life fully and I detest being a couch potato who's done nothing in the past few maonths but memorized every episode of Esmeralda. Being active, getting to explore and grow is when I feel most alive.

I like the details (in anything - a book, a film, a painting...) and I over-analyze them (a perfect person to be a HP fan, because I see a possible sub-plot three times on every page and by definition, Harry fans like to over-analyze). My mind is very analytical and I remember the details best. - So no wonder I found so many things to write about in LOTR. :)

I've been planning on revealing how I got hooked on Harry because you once asked how with being all serious I got to like HP, but have not quite got to it. (Like many other things.)

Belgothiel - you don't know how very delighted I am that the article helped you, if only a little! At the time I wrote it, there was some opposition, but otherwise, no positive feedback. And I thought I was not being heard or understood. So thank you for telling me - it's really heart-warming!

Generally speaking, I think the problem in most women is the lack of self-respect. We're very concerned about all our mistakes and wrong-doings and we tend to think others superior to us. And in fact: all the models and actresses look very average without make-up, proper lightning and (hair-)styling. And even if there was a difference in the beauty, I still think who you are and what (good deeds) you've done matters more than what you look like. And not being a starved, anorexic model can only be good for your health. Starving oneself just so they would fit in is senseless. I'm not trying to say I encourage people to be overweight, but that a healthy diet with a decent caloric intake and a regular (let's say three times a week) exercise routine (running, swimming, cycling, ...) is what your body needs.

The fact that you find me inspirational has just made my day. Thank you for telling me - really means a lot to me. Thanks for writing that. It was really inspirational and up-lifting for me.

Hi, I found your blog via your post on Jin's blog (Jinov svet). It's my first visit here, it looks interesting, so I think I will browse through it from time to time.

Turbokrt - welcome! Hope you enjoy reading my blog and - as always - you're very welcome to comment!

Belgothiel - I haven't heard of the book, but I did read some interviews the author gave and they were a good read. Thanks for your suggestion - I'll definitely try to find this book in the library!

I see that you still read the comments of older posts, so let me reply to this one, too! :)

I only started reading your blog recently. The thing that attracted me was not the contents, but something else. I was amazed by what you are doing in your life. You're a medical student with good marks, you go to ballet classes, you go running a couple of (or even more, if according to your new years resolutions) times per week, you read books (in English!), you write a blog, you put effort into writing quality posts in English… And all these takes a lot of time, but you manage. This is what I admire. It is so much above the average student.

You must be about my age, very ambitious, a good student with many extracurricular activities, introvert, not so much in favour of parties… I could find myself in quite some of your descriptions of yourself.

However, the big difference between us is that I stopped pushing myself, aiming for more, improving my English… I couldn't believe you still put so much time into practicing your English while you passed with A in Cambridge Proficiency Exam. I am ambitious, but not SO ambitious. And I am becoming lazy and too satisfied with myself. That's why I am happy to find someone »better« than me to look up to. I guess that coming back to your blog reminds me to do more things in my life and aim higher.

Oh, Tina, thank you! It's really kind of you to flatter me this way. :) Yes, I'm ambitious, sometimes overly so. But as I said - my goal is living my life to its fullest so that when I'm on my deathbed I can say I've seen a thing or two, not just watched life "take place" from afar.

Unfortunately many of the extracurricular things I do aren't really going to help me get a job, they're for myself and my improvement only. One good thing about writing a blog is that you keep track of the things you've done and end up thinking "wait, I'm doing quite a few things..." and before I never had this feeling of doing so many things.