i've moved!

http://zickzen.wordpress.com/ is my new address.

pls update! :)

goodness gracious!

it's been WAY TOO LONG. how to sum up 2 months? just a list of quick updates?

1. HONG IS getting married. when i saw ian's sms that wed before good friday i nearly flipped. but im so happy for her!! :) and she's the first so naturally we are even more elated at this.

2. i joined yoga. and it's been really good. it's totally delayed gratification because when you are in the 40 degrees stinking heat, doing poses you couldn't imagine doing, you just have to keep pushing yourself for 90mins. and you really do feel tons better afterwards. it's really interesting. just that you need to wash alot more towels than usual.

3. i don't like modbury. i will say it once, and i will say it again. i don't care if people are getting tired of me whining about modbury, but unless you are in my shoes, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO COMMENT. you have no idea what i have to face every single freaking day for the past 3+ weeks.

4. which brings me to the next point, i hate people who are judgmental and unable to put themselves in the circumstances of others, who make sweeping comments and statements without using their god damn brain.

5. random note: easter houseboat trip to mannum was heaps fun. too much cooking i'd reckon but alfred is the one friend i will bring on any houseboat/camping/chalet/sleepovers from now on. HE IS JUST TOO AWESOME. with him, you do not only get meals. you get meals PLUS wine PLUS dessert PLUS dessert wine PLUS hot chocolate made from scratch PLUS green tea latte which is better than starbuck's version PLUS he's so funny.

otherwise, i can't wait to get out of modbury. may 8th please come quickly! and i am looking forward to ED, to ian coming over to aussie land and to JUNE when i get a miserly 2 weeks break. damn it.

i am just too good at ranting.
someone please stop me.

so out of it

it's been more than a month since I last blogged!
Just started my rotation in gastro. so far so good.

otherwise, the weather has been very kind. Breezy and cool. What heatwave? Haha but I think the heat will be back.

it's vday this sat but we have no plans yet. it's my bdae in 3 weeks and i also have no plan for that. it's really quite depressing becoming 25. so ooold. :(

that's just a short update for now.
more later.

Guest Speaker Today.

Victor Chia and his take on our stay in London.

Enjoy!!

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The London Times Article 1/?

After a painfully long (14+ hours) flight, I wearily stepped out into the cold air of London. Made our way down to the accommodation hoping feverishly that it would actually be there and that it would be decent. Thankfully, the accommodation turned out to be fine.

First meal in London: MacDonalds, geez how boring can I get? In my defense, it was 10 pm at that point, and the MacDonald was just down the road. Now I know Daphne is just bursting to tell you of the joke that happened at the MacDonald, so I must say it first as a means of damage control. I ordered a chicken legend meal (something which I am quite sure is not available in Sg or Aus), which I ordered cause the picture looked cool. The lady then proceeded to ask me in her “What drink would you like”, in my jet lagged and tired state + throwing in her heavy accent, I answered “wholegrain”. As you can imagine, the lady just stared at me and repeated her question. I honestly did hear her ask me “what grain bread would you like?” With that meal, the first night in London ended.

Second day in London.

Woke up at a ridiculously early hour of… 6 am! I blame the jet lag. Met up with some of Daphne’s friends (Fidel, Andy and Yue Ping) for lunch at the Four Seasons restaurant near Leichester Square. Now for those who don’t know it, the Four Seasons restaurant is famous for their roasted duck. After devouring a whole duck between the five of us, we proceeded to hyde park for what was left of the Christmas fair. All I can say about the fair is that it was cold and I think I should have brought more winter wear.

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to be continued....

psyched about london!

Not sure if it was such a bright idea to do the elective in January. My brain is so damn rusty and all I ever want to do all day long is to have fun, chill out and do all the things I like to do. However, I am super hyped up about London! not that I have yet to visit this city but it just has this vibrant and addictive energy that keeps sucking me back that way.

This trip is probably going to be less touristy, already planned 2 musicals, as well as short dashes to Paris and Manchester. I am quite determined to try the famous macarons from the shop Pierre Hermes. Their website was all in french. goodness me. but the endless pictures of pretty pastries and cakes obviously cheered me up and put me in the right mood. haha. i guess yummy food transcends countries and languages. The Manchester leg of the trip is probably more for the victor who is a in-and-out MAN U FAN. that freaking stadium better have some cool shit if not i will scream my frozen self off.

Of course, I also hope to get a good feel of life in the ICU. spent some time in PICU, trying to see if there are differences to an adult ICU. Just hoping I will not be too moppy after seeing those very ill patients. Plus the gloomy weather London is SO famous for. I hope we will not run into too much of those rainy and dreary days.

BUT for nowwwww... it's only 2 more days to a brand new year!...I was dreading 2008 this time last year but i'm glad it still turned out to be a pretty good one. Phew.

Happy New Year guys.. :)
All the best for 2009!! *cheers*

i'm lovin' it.

After all that exam results saga has calmed down, a group of us gathered at ian's spanky new place for a good old fashioned charcoal bbq last night. lots of delicious food prepared by his family. the night ended with a round of uno stacko, which our poor kristin probably took out like 50% of the thangs.. she was yelling in despair everytime the persons next to her drew a 'reverse'. haha..

Things on the London front is getting more and more promising. We have arranged most of the things that we have to - trains, accom, transport, musicals, manchester... oh goodness. it's going to be a wonderful trip! I really love the atmosphere in London, even though my mum thinks it's grimmy and gloomy with too many dark skinned people around. So glad I stuck to my choice to do my elective in London. Yay!

Pics..at some stage. they are all over FB though.

the verdict

Dear NGP,

You are the 5th NGP I have collected under my belt. I always made sure I never took you for granted because you can be so easy and so difficult to grasp. You never fail to bring me so much joy and relief at the end of each school year. This year in particular, getting you meant so much more. I am free to go on my external elective to London, free to be a 6th year learning new skills on the wards in preparation to be a (hopefully) great doctor.

You remind me of accomplishment, no matter how insignificant. Even when other students from other universities laugh at us for only getting you, NGP, as the mark on our transcripts. You never fail to make me think that all that hours sloughing during svot, all that time running after consultants in the hospitals.. it all pays off. somehow.

You are also my last NGP. In time, I will move on. Moving on to something more complicated but hopefully more exciting and rewarding.

So long NGP, thanks for always showing up on the access adelaide screen every year.

Till then,
Daphne

NGP = Non-graded Pass.