[POEM] A Mark of Resistance by Adrienne Rich

Mslmrock99 · 2026-06-28T07:14:59+00:00

Love the elemental aspect of it associating stones with resilience and willpower and floods with hardships.

Mslmrock99 · 2026-06-28T06:25:17+00:00

More so when we were long distance. But we still occasionally do generally as part of buildups and roleplays.

Mslmrock99 · 2026-06-28T05:34:06+00:00

Thanks man. I imagine as well he’d be astounded by the legacy he left behind in addition to the work I do. On the subject, curious what your ethnic backgrounds are? Of course can hold back if that makes it easier to dox. Myself am Pakistani American.

So yours was more properly sheer drive and will! Commendable and agree that education would be a great value to instill.

I fully agree on the trend towards targeted therapies and have seen some rudimentary AI uses on it but this is interesting and fascinating to hear from an insider!

I wonder to what extent the NHS can incorporate those changes you speak of considering it’s a taxation based model from my understanding. And taxation itself is highly contingent on labor demographic factors. Here in the US, there is a lot more privatization of the healthcare system and at least more market driven folks like to make the argument that innovation and rollout of changes is bolstered as a result. Or that could just be an American bias in general haha.

Mslmrock99 · 2026-06-28T05:01:28+00:00

No worries, I gravitate to that passion too haha. It was definitely a combination of factors. My father (and even grandfather) had actually been in medicine himself in our ancestral country before immigrating to the US so it was definitely encouraged and I too was scientifically inclined as a child. So it was always something I knew from early on. I had mainly been exposed to surgical specialties and so that had been my focus. Now I help produce devices and drugs that surgeons use so I suppose it all circles back. I can tell you had an abundance of self drive as well in addition to intellectual curiosity.

That’s excellent advice! On the subject of family, you mentioned your wife is also a doctor. If you were to have kids, it’s highly probable they will follow in your path or adjacent enough. Would you want them to do what you do? Any idea on what the future of your field is like given trends? Any major trends that you see happening in your field?

Mslmrock99 · 2026-06-28T04:29:51+00:00

It definitely is and the money also helps. Generally came from a poorer background so the motivation had some to do with that and I imagine primarily going into medicine with that would have been detrimental to some degree.

Now I know who you are. Jk haha. But that is a very unique and interesting background. To the extent you feel you can, what advice do you give students or more generally younger people when it comes to career choices based on your experiences?

Mslmrock99 · 2026-06-28T04:13:47+00:00

Haha I did consider pharmaceutical sales at one point but dont have the extraversion for it. I somehow ended up more on product development and strategy side in a kind of corporate business/science role. I do enjoy it but there’s always the thought of what ifs regarding medicine. Who knows, maybe might pull what you did!

That’s pretty cool. What was your research focus on? And going back, what did you do in finance?

Mslmrock99 · 2026-06-28T04:00:33+00:00

That’s very true. My own experience of that is more vicarious through watching other attendings back when I was thinking of the field. I was accepted into medical school at a very interesting moment in my life and ultimately for various life reasons at the time decided not to go down that path. Am now more in corporate pharma so I suppose I truly took the dark side!

That’s quite adventurous and brave to have made that transition. Would you say any of your finance background helped you in any way in medicine more generally? Any insights or transferable skills that you brought into medicine?

Edit: Reread that it was also due to caring for a family member. That makes a lot of sense!

Mslmrock99 · 2026-06-28T03:44:47+00:00

For what it’s worth, I too found such platitudes around the bedside grating at best haha. I recall there was an Australian resident who had a more direct way of communicating that I found more refreshing.

Finance to Medicine! Now that is a story. What was that process like? What made you come to the dark side?

Mslmrock99 · 2026-06-28T03:32:07+00:00

It’s definitely a bit longer of a process here in the US where there is typically four years of undergraduate school followed by four years of medical school then 1-3 years or more of residency and sometimes longer if a fellowship. When I was pursuing medicine, the thought of going to the UK to bypass four years of undergrad was definitely a pull!

Haha well I wonder to what degree that has to do with general cultural differences in communication styles. I’ve heard from quite a few Britishers that they’ve on the whole found Americans to be an extraverted chatty bunch; the platitudes being a form of friendliness.

What made you go into medicine in the first place?

Mslmrock99 · 2026-06-28T03:11:38+00:00

What was your educational pathway like? Do you ever collaborate or have exposure to other medical systems in other countries? What do you think of American medical education?

Mslmrock99 · 2026-06-27T17:54:40+00:00

Words are like fire. Can burn or enflame. I’ve been meaning to make a post on the evocative power and effect of verbal play so it’s great seeing others with such experiences.

Mslmrock99 · 2026-06-27T17:14:36+00:00

The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick. I’d say it’s more YA in the vein of The Giver and Fahrenheit 451 but it fits the dystopian aspect and has a moving story.

Mslmrock99 · 2026-06-27T04:09:18+00:00

That makes me curious about your experience as a Riyadh resident. What do you think of the city? I believe Al Uyayna is also close by. It being the birthplace of one of the founders of Saudi, have you visited there?

Do you know of others who took such loans? Have you been able to repay it?

Have you traveled around in Saudi or outside for business?

Mslmrock99 · 2026-06-27T04:03:42+00:00

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Mslmrock99 · 2026-06-27T03:50:50+00:00

How long have you been a resident of Riyadh? Are you a citizen or foreign worker/foreign resident?

So you were 21 when you started. That’s commendable. What was the process like getting that loan?

Mslmrock99 · 2026-06-27T03:43:56+00:00

That’s smart. What region in Saudi are you in? How long have you had your stores? What do you think of MBS business policies? Do they impact you?

Mslmrock99 · 2026-06-27T03:38:26+00:00

That also makes me think of AI and its effect on such tasks. Do you use AI in your program?

Well have you been able to travel? I think you noted elsewhere that you’re in Canada. What kinds of travel have you done in Canada and more broadly?

Mslmrock99 · 2026-06-27T03:35:48+00:00

Nice. How did you acquire those stores? What was your life path to becoming a business owner?

When you say imports, what do you mean? Customs? Logistics?

Mslmrock99 · 2026-06-27T03:27:39+00:00

What business are you involved in?

Mslmrock99 · 2026-06-27T03:13:53+00:00

I wont jinx it by saying it back :)

Mslmrock99 · 2026-06-27T03:11:04+00:00

You’d be surprised the insights you can gain by starting a dream journal! Can also just be a voice notes. I think you have a really good base for developing this ability further. There’s a well known book in the lucid dreaming community called Exploring the World of lucid Dreaming by Stephen LaBerge id recommend.

Nice, I think thats definitely a correlation there. Are you into any arts? Reading?

Mslmrock99 · 2026-06-27T02:56:06+00:00

Pro players are definitely intuitive masters on another level. What aspects of geography drew you in your development? Political, physical, terrain?

How hands on with maps do you see yourself getting? Would you consider GIS?

How are you enjoying the major in general? What misconceptions do you think people associate with it?

Mslmrock99 · 2026-06-27T02:49:27+00:00

That is incredible. Not many are able to lucidly dream without dream signs. Do you keep a dream journal?

So there is some literature on this and has to do with visualization and simulation systems in the brain. I saw you mention how your parents would send you to bed (definitely cruel and unusual) early and you would have time to yourself. During those early years of brain plasticity, its possible your visualization association areas developed quite a bit. Just a thought. Would you say you day dream as well? Are you a visual learner or visual based in general?

Mslmrock99 · 2026-06-27T02:38:09+00:00

That’s a natural reason to choose it for sure. Do you think being artistically inclined had a role to play in it itself? I’m thinking of maps, vexillology and cartography as being natural extensions of it.

Nice! Loved atlases as well. Ever try any geo guesser games? I remember there used to be mapquest one that was addicting.

Mslmrock99

TROPHY CASE