Independent

went to a talk tonight (with free dinner, hehe). i actually wasn't there for the dinner, but it was pretty formal since it was a "sit down" dinner sponsored by some company, and decent food like pasta, pad thai, salads, 4 cheeses, and proper cutlery etc. it was on the 4th floor of the optom building, i.e. the forbidden level where they do all their secret research. they actually have a proper couch on that level and some nice portrait paintings. the 5th floor is also forbidden as well...so it the other wing of the building...it was mainly a night to persuade us to think about opening a private practice.

throughout the night, i learnt these things:
- never sign something until you really know what you are signing
- the ideal husband (yes, skipping the qualities of a bf already lol) should study comm/law
- you will be in debt in the first few years
- optometry is really expensive
- you need to be rich and go rural where there are no optoms to open a successful "new" practice

if you were to open up your own practice.

there's so much to think about thinking to open your own practice. like those chairs you sit on, the cost $35 000, and a couple of screwdrivers cost $3000. the minimal/basic cost of the equipment is about $160 000, and you can't have basic, since no one would go to you, and it's those additional features which differentiate your practice, but then those machines cost more than a few porches.

then there's the $1000 weekly rent, or if you're like the guy who opened on george st, $1000 rent per day, which is crazy...then you have to pay staff, and if you're not making any money, you obviously still have to pay them, so you need some money in the bank to begin with. even if you're buying someone else's practice, they'll probably be losing money, so there's no point purchasing it...

a few optoms opened up their practice with their wife, and talking about they develop a strong relationship. the guy was so cute, buti really wonder doesn't he actually get bored seeing the same people 24/7...?

and then there's a million other things to think about. this guy who hires accountants and lawyers, yeah, i like getting money, but i don't like dealing with money.

they gave us show bags, but my one didn't have a pen torch! so sad ):

you'd be surprised at the amount of people at uni at 9pm. in the clinic, there were still quite a few students there. that would be me in 2 years time...(if i don't fail anything)...those 9-10pm finishes =/