29F | Pakistan – J.D. looking for her Turk (Bonus points if you get the reference)

I can't remember the last time I had someone to tell about my day.

Life has been... a lot lately. Work is exhausting (the usual 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., with on-call duties once a week), I'm in the final year of my specialization, and my father's illness has kept my brain permanently switched on. I've been living in full Type-A, hyper-planner, Monica-from-Friends mode for what feels like forever.

There's a phrase in Urdu: "Dil halka kar loon kisi ke saath." It doesn't translate perfectly, but it means something like "I wish I had someone to unburden my heart to." That's probably the best way to describe why I'm here.

I miss simple human connection. Someone to exchange the little details of the day with. The funny patient story. The article I stumbled across. The recipe that somehow worked. The thing that made me laugh. Especially at the end of the day, when everything finally goes quiet.

This post is admittedly a little all over the place, but if you've made it this far, I can promise you one thing: if we're friends, you'll probably become the unwilling recipient of whatever I've decided to test-bake that weekend.

I'm the sort of person who's happiest when she's learning something new. I love reading medical papers, discovering new books, picking up random hobbies, and collecting experiences. I recently tried a pottery workshop, and if you're into artsy things like that, I'd happily do another! More recently, I've been teaching myself medical illustration software (quite bad at it at the moment however...we can make fun of my work together)

Chess is next on the list... BUT I've promised myself that rabbit hole has to wait until after graduation.

A few favourites:

- Books: Sophie's World and A Thousand Splendid Suns

- TV: Scrubs (obviously) and The Office. I have, unfortunately, developed the habit of looking into imaginary cameras whenever something hilariously absurb happens.

- Recently watched: Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and The Sheep Detective(s). Totally opposite poles...?

I'd especially love to hear from people based in Pakistan, mostly because time zones are cruel and it'd be nice to have someone who understands the context we live in.

If any of this resonated, I'd love to hear from you!

P.S. If your opening message was written by ChatGPT (or any AI), please don't bother. I will block you the moment I figure it out. I'd much rather read an awkward, genuine message than a polished one that isn't yours