Monday, March 19, 2007

what have i been up to?


brioche toast with smoked salmon and salmon moouse
candles and rose petals

chicken ciabatta sandwich!

potato stacks topped with anchovies and some herb thing

pan fried scallops with red sauce and pistachio paste
adrian, ian, yvonne

edward in a cocktail making frenzy

da girls! venita, me, june, jess, quinnie, joanne

card games time.

alvin and venita - drunk

it was such a wonderful party!
a combined alfred-quinnie-me bdae party.
we turned the house upside down preparing for this.
moulding potato mash into shape... slicing duck... shredding everything in sight..
moving furniture around. putting out candles.
playing nice soft music in the background.
people holding wine glasses, walking around, engaging in small talk.

everything worked out in the end.
lots of yummy food -which took forever to prepare but tasted so yummilicious!
enough alcohol to keep people happy and chatty (and trigger happy)
and everyone dressed up so prettily. *touched*

*beams* thanks guys, for giving me a night to remember :)

even the cleaning up was worth it!




Monday, March 05, 2007

of pet names

people always call their other halves by weird pet names.

they mostly revolve around dear, darling, honey, sweetie....the usuals.

i was kinda amused when vic started calling me chewbacca. well, it sounded quite cute. in a cute furry tame dog.. here kitty kitty kinda way. so i left it at that.

at least it's more original than many other names.

UNTIL he decided to show me how the real 'chewbacca' looks like.

this freak-until-i-poop-in-my-pants creature from star wars, is, my ladies and gentlemen, chewbacca.

100% original chewbacca.

IN WHAT WAY DO I RESEMBLE CHEWBACCA!!?

Saturday, March 03, 2007

post birthday blues

shit. when i run on the treadmill tmr, i will have to input my age as 23. i wonder how that would affect my running performance. haha.

everyone seemed to want to know what i did for my birthday.

nothing much really, considering it was a school day.
went to sosta for dinner. it's an argentinian place, famous for its charcoal grilled meats. i got the veal ribs and vic got the beef fillet. both were very nicely done. all tender, juicy and flavourful.

not forgetting to mention the sheer size of the portions.

it's blardy huge.

*shakes head* not good for normal human consumption.

we figured if we go there again, we'll have to share the mains in order to prevent stomach perforation. (as if)

besides that... got alot of hugs, smses and well wishes from friends. which is all good. esp from old friends, warm fuzzy feeling all over. :)

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

birthday blues


i will be 23 in a couple of days time.

O.O

Anyway, just for my own sake. I'm going to construct a wishlist.

1. CDs
- Gary Jules By Gary Jules (I blame Grey's for this)
- Taking a Long Way By Dixie Chicks (Blame Australia)
- 9 By Damien Rice

2. Vouchers from the following places
- Country Road
- FCUK
- Witchery

3. Unlimited copious amounts of best wishes and hugs from my loved ones.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

happy things

things that made me smile this past week

1. cny gathering on saturday.

it was a massive laugh-till-ur-head-drop session. factor in the truckload of yummy food that everyone brought along with them, add in a few ang moh friends who were game enough to stuff themselves silly with us, mix in singlish and stupid jokes!...was a great night. and all achieved without alcohol. the angmohs were so bewildered.

"you guys sound like you are bloody high on drugs or sth"

the cleaning up was horrendous though

2. cny card from an old friend

huiqi.. my fellow crescent classmate and NCC friend, sent me a cny card all the way from sg! she'd asked me for my address a long way back and i totally forgot about my little conversation with her in december. it's just so heart warming to know that people remember about you and puts in the effort to find out how you are and stuff. and sec 1.. was a damn long time ago. like 10 yrs ago. like in 1997. like when my crescent blouse was bright yellow and starched up and the peacock blue skirt was covering my knees. like when all i cared about was school and NCC.

3. an unplanned valentine's day dinner

with flowers!! i think this is like the 3rd time i've gotten flowers from vic. we went for yakitori on melbourne street. as yummy as ever! :) but yeah, the flowers were a big surprise.

4. results from last semester

nothing to say, except it was WAY better than expected :) and the fact that it made my mummy happy and reassured that i wasn't just partying my life away in adelaide. she thinks im a awful daughter who squanders money and sleep too much. (can't say that is false..lol)

Friday, February 16, 2007

it's a quiet friday night

..because everyone else is out. it's just me and the rabbits.

i also don't know why i decided to stay in. guess it's just too warm outside to enjoy myself. those ang mohs are mad. weather so hot, they like to eat around and drink jugs of beer, sweating and mingling with one another.

i miss home! it would have been so nice to sit around having steamboat.. lots of delicious food. plus my favourite orh nee! and all those cheng teng type desserts. it's weird to miss chinese new year. yes i know.. when you are in singapore.. you don't think much of the whole notion of it. eat.. ok loh. get angbao..thank you hor.. and simultaneously getting irritated by your kaypoh relatives who demand to know why you've grown over the past yr, which school you are at, what your grades are.. and.. everything else in your life really.

missing chinese new year really sucks.
hope you guys enjoy yourselves okie?
have a happy cny! :)

NB: the rabbits are not mine. they belong to my housemates.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

canto night

i am truly a computer idiot.

saw "jessica's jukebox" appearing in the left column of my itunes player.
i was bewildered. like.. what the heck is that??? turns out my housemate said yes to sharing her library of songs... and it just appears on my itunes.

so now i am swimming in lots of canto songs. it really is quite cool, this sharing music thing.

this week's been pretty interesting.

finally became proficient at taking blood. the less i care about causing pain to the patient, the easier i get the tube to fill with oozy deep red venous blood. heh heh.

saw a distal pancreadectomy and splenectomy. (removing pancreas and spleen) which i still dun really get my head around why they took them out since the cancer has already spread. apparently my consultant says its for pain relief...

what happened to filling patients up to the brim with morphine?

and then there was a distal gastrectomy. the surgeons took out all their big toys and happily stapled and glued the guy's small intestines to the whatever's left of the stomach. so cool i tell you. all these new gadgets.

and this stomach removal procedure was done on this 89 yr old man. right after the op, he was all quiet and in pain. and i was so worried he wouldn't make it. but the very next day, he was ordering nurses around and scolding doctors. oh! i was so relieved he was back with us. i was happy being scolded by him when i screwed up the angle of his bed.

sorry to go on and on abt the medical talk.
i am eating drinking and living med these days.

and we are going to have a cny gathering next saturday!
since there's no family here with us.. i guess we all have to keep one another company.
going to be a potluck. i think MJ and gambling's on too. ho ho ho.
our ang moh neighbours ain't going to be able to sleep on saturday.

but still.. no angbaos. no visiting relatives. no abalone to eat.

NO PINEAPPLE TARTS! *burst into tears*

BY the way, stitch prime is still with us. no one called for him. -.-"

Sunday, February 04, 2007

my mental age is 22

[x] I know how to make a pot of coffee
[x] I do my own laundry
[x] I can cook for myself
[ ] I think politics are exciting
[ ] My parents and grandparents have
better things to say than my friends
Total: 3

[ ] I show up for school/college/work
every day early
[ ] I always carry a pen in my
pocket/purse.
[ ] I've never gotten a detention
[x] I've watched talk shows
[x] I know what credibility means
without looking it up
[x] I drink coffee at least once a week
Total: 3

[x] I know how to run the dish washer
and or do the dishes.
[ ] I can count to 10 in Spanish.
[x] When I say I'm going to do
something I do it.
[x] My parents trust me.
[x] I can mow the lawn.
[x] I can make adults laugh without
being stupid.
[ ] I remember to water my plants.
[x] I study when I have to.
[x] I pay attention at school/college
[ ] I remembered to feed my pets.
Total: 7

[x] I can spell experience without
looking it up
[x] I clean up my own mess.
[x] The first thing I do when I wake up
is get caffeine.
[x] I can go to the store without
getting something I don't need.
[x] I understand jokes the first time
they are said
[x] I can type fast
Total: 6

[x] I have realized that the weather
forecast changes every hour.
[x] I have realized that no one will
take you seriously unless you are over
the age of 25 and have a job.
[x] I can read a book and actually
finish it
Total: 3

Now add up your totals and that's your
mental age!!!

my mental age is 22!

Saturday, February 03, 2007

LOST A STITCH?


the weirdest shit happened to me this morning.
i left vic's apartment and was heading for the market with him.
we walked out of the lift and walked towards the exit, as per normal.

next to the exit, someone placed a STITCH TOY on the ledge, as though that is the normal thing to do.

daph: OOOOO! stitch! so cute! *picks up toy and hugs it tightly*

vic: omg, it might be a bomb or it might be coated with anthrax. don't touch it!

daph: *snaps back to reality* DID YOU PUT MY STITCH HERE?!?!?! IS THIS MY STITCH BECAUSE IT LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE THE ONE I HAVE? IS THIS MINE!?

vic: *shocked* NO IT WASNT ME! I SWEAR

daph: then you can jolly well tell me who in the right mind would leave such a BIG cute toy abandoned here like that

vic: *pleadingly* it really wasnt me!

daph: ok, im going back upstairs. if my stitch is missing im going to kill you.

and true enough. my good old stitch was all well..and now i have a 2nd stitch.
i pasted a note where i found the 2nd stitch

LOST A STITCH?
CONTACT ME AT XXXXXXX

thus far, no one has called my 'retrieve a stitch' hotline.

i don't know what to do with the new stitch.
-.-

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

surely surgery!

it's been 2 days worth of feeling lost.

haven't been up to much, since the scrub tute by the nurses are held tmr morning. so i guess after that we can start roaming around and checking more things out. apparently we don't even have to ask anyone if we can scrub in. just appear and be ready 10mins before the scheduled time and say hi to the surgeon.

Haha, i could get used to this. that's the good bit about small and faraway hospitals. everyone is so friendly and accommodating towards the students.

registrar handover was today, so the surgical teams were in a mess, no one knows for sure who is staying on their team and stuff. so they sent us home. at 11.30AM! tomorrow, they promised, we will have reg and consultants for you. ok we said. and home we headed.

but it's been tiring. i tell you its the waking up at 5.45 for 7ish ward rounds.

and they sent us off to read weird stuff like varicocele and hernias. shouldn't we start with sth more 'normal' like.. i dunno.

we are going to work very hard tmr! 6 of us promised one another. interview patients! go for outpatients! and scrub in on surgeries! do takes! (yah right)...

meanwhile... back to weird readings.

PS: i catch lifts from my friend, Kerri-Anne. She's so nice to drive via the city to pick Cynthia and I up in the mornings and deliver me back to the city in the afternoons. So no buses yet :) I am so so thankful!

Thursday, January 25, 2007

rantings

for the people who are not interested in my crappy life... just move on to the next entry. it has pretty pics.

i just feel as though the MLTU, for one reason or another, actually knows who i dislike working with in med or something. every single freaking rotation i get this year, i have someone i have major issues with in the same group as me.

ok except acute and chronic care coz i have hams. and psych coz i have ian wu.

going to start my first rotation at lyell mac. for the non-adelaideans.. it's a hosp that is light years away from the city. i fear for myself if i have to stay late in the hosp or do takes. argh. ok im exaggerating. its about 1.5 hours by bus. but adelaide isn't the safest place on earth at night. so there.

den there's the issue of dinners (who's cooking? who will have time to buy groceries?) and the issue of meeting up and making time for vic. not a pretty sight ahead folks.

the only thing i can sorta take comfort in is the fact that for surgical home i only have like 6 people in total in my group. i guess the consultant or whoever will be able to reach out to everyone more easily? i dunno. im just making stuff up to comfort myself.

9 weeks! argh. if i ever survive and pass the freaking 9 weeks! i am so dreading school.
9 weeks is like.. 5X9 = 45 days. minus one public hol.... 44 mornings!

and i only see my other friends once a week during common program. boo hoo!

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

more london for the interested


tower of london where they keep the crown jewels :)

windsor palace? princess diana used to stay here.

gold plated gate

some royal something. shit im bad with names

us! in the parks.

mutant fat geese running loose

nut-loving squirrel enjoying our treat

on a walk around the city. tower bridge in the background

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

condolences

some london pics for you guys to see. it's actually a very random selection.. which i intend to enlarge when the blogger allows me to load more pics. it's behaving strangely tonight.

anyway. i met up with hong and ian today for dinner. was the usual talk and laughing, casual without being too superficial sort of chatting that you just cant ever get tired of.

time really does wait for no man.

we have all moved on in vastly different directions in life. some of us are still studying, some of us are going to start working soon, some of us got married, some of us still don't know what to do with our lives. we will no longer be the immature, fun-loving kids who were happy sitting in class and idle our time away with laughter and jokes.

and i just want to say that i've been deeply saddened by the news that our bio tutor in njc, Mrs Che, passed away a while ago. I only heard of the news a week back but it's just so scary. she was a wonderful tutor who was passionate about the subject and devoted to teaching. she was motherly, nice and very patient. she was always full of smiles and twinkly eyes.

the world has suffered a great loss, and may she rest in peace.

london thru my eyes

us outside the ice skating place at tower of london
london eye (on a gloomy day)
tower of london at sunset
tower bridge at sunset
say hi to the queen! outside st paul's cathedral
the painted hall. at the royal something museum.
the ceiling in detail
view from the royal observatory
buskers at covent garden
helping each other

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

life in the gastro ward

top 5 qns patients get asked by nosy but caring doctors in Gastro.
1. Any vomiting? (amount, relation to food, contents - food, bile, blah blah, any blood present)
2. Any problems with ur stools? (colour, any blood, amount, consistency, frequency)
3. Any abdominal pain? (where, when, how, ...)
4. Any weight loss/tiredness/fatigue experienced recently?
5. Ate anything in particular or travelled out of singapore? (top of the list: clams in cha kway teow, 'lamak' food, trips to bangkok etc)

top 3 coolest groups in Gastro
1. Patients who exhibit an inability to maintain intrinsic muscle tone, ie the hepatic flappers
2. Patients with distended bellies ie: the ascites troop
3. The gallstones gang - they keep coming back to remove more stones.

it's been too long!

i realised hardly anyone updates their blogs regularly these days.

i've been away from the blogsphere for a tad too long. not sure how or where to start writing. london? fidel's wedding? thing at sgh? my personal view of the world?

Sunday, December 31, 2006

A brand new year


Well, that's not exactly the image i see outside Fidel's apartment but it's close. :)
Just wanted to wish my dear friends all the very best for the new year ahead.
2006 has been pretty challenging for me. I am absolutely thankful to be in 4th year, have a bf who is willing to accommodate me in every single way, a wonderful family that love me so much.. and friends (not many) who has proven to be there for me time and time again.
All i hope is for 2007 to be the same, or better.
Happy New Year guys!

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Victor goes home

*weep* Vic just left London. Well, in actual fact, he has even left Barcelona! And victor is so sweet.

Daphne and Victor in Fidel's living room. Victor proceeded to showing Daphne his new jerseys and tracksuits from FC Barcelona.

Daph: Hey, those jerseys are nice. Why didn't you get one for me?

Daphne frowns.

Victor: Oh darling, I didn't know you wanted one.

and when he was in Barcelona (for a night) last night, he bought me a jersey!

And.

I finally got to my first gay bar in London, which according to fidel, is not a cream of the crop type. We will be going to be countdowning for new year in G-A-Y bar in Soho.

Last night's bar was more of a local bar sort of scene. It wasn't rowdy (which i like) and we just stood around with drinks and chatted. And the most hilarious thing happened in the bar when I had to go to the loo.

Daphne stood outside a bathroom meant for the disabled because Fidel and gang said the toilets meant for ladies.. men are using them.

Man approaches daphne.

Man: are you disabled?

Daphne: No i'm not, but there's no real female toilet here.

Man: Well, I am disabled. Let me go first.

Daphne: err, oh well go ahead.

Other man in toilet took way way way too long.

Man: Sod it, I'm going upstairs.

Daphne was left feeling bewildered. >.<

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Christmas in London

Hello everyone! I am currently in London. 5 minutes away from Earl's Court tube station.
Fidel's place is so nice and cosy. complete with a cute christmas tree and pretty lightings. The weather has been pretty kind to us. Although its a little grey, at least it hasn't been too rainy or windy. Phew :)

I arrived yesterday morning and the 3 boys had to be up at 5am just for me. awwe. we spent alot of time walking through the 3 big parks in London city. St James, Hyde and one more that i can't rem the name of at the moment. hee.

Went to a wine warehouseish sort of place and we picked up 2 bottles of moscato d'asti. yum yum. and we had .. fish and chips for lunch. haha. was pretty good except it came with a truckload of chips. after lunch, it was time for some shopping! err we didnt end up doing much except hang out at Harrod's food hall - which we didnt have any money to buy anything except the christmas pudding. haha

by then, we were dead tired. so we headed home and rested and napped. :) and we had some fast food sort of thing for dinner. accompanied by some prosecco from italy.

we started late today. and we had quite abit of fun opening christmas presents! I got a perfume and a wallet from vic, and a box of truffles from hotel chocolate and a money box (in the shape of a Red London postbox) from andy and fidel.

just came home from a very very filling Christmas lunch.

and we are going to make cottage pie for dinner. hohoho

Hope everyone had a great christmas! ahhhh i love london!! :)

Sunday, December 17, 2006

bling blings in my mind

i spent a freaking long time today exploring the world of bling blings - chanel, LV, Loewe, gucci and what nots. every label shone and all of the goods were screaming "buy me! you will look fantastic when you carry me around".

and i don't know what got over me but i suddenly felt a tinge of jealousy.


Why did i choose to do med? a career with not alot of bling blings and a big intrusion on personal life and stuff. a careeer which doesn't always repay you for the sacrifices you put in it. a career that takes away far too long of your time, your youth and your money. (yes medical course costs alot thank you very much) thus leaving behind very little for the bling blings you need in your life - be it pretty handbags or nice cars or big houses.

For once, I wished that I was in banking. Or investments. or something along those lines. I have a friend whose starting pay in a consulting firm is 5.5 K. Which frankly, is something I would only earn *count fingers* 5 yrs from now if I am terribly lucky.

Hai. for now. bling blings shall only be an eye feast, not a wallet trip.

Friday, December 15, 2006

my blog is collecting dust

hmm.

i realised my blog is lonely. haha. i guess when i am in sg, i have alot less time to spend in front of the computer.

and my friends are freaking scattered ALL over the world.

Hong's in Sydney, fidel is in London, Yup is in thailand, Chu is in Aust, Tiff is in LA, daph twin is in USA too. the list goes on and on. Even vic is in Europe. Tamade.

See! when i am back home everyone is away.

Lucky I am going to London next Saturday! Escape the weather in singapore. I bet I will freeze myself to bits in London. But I am really looking forward to it! We have alot of stuff planned out - outdoor ice skating, muscicals, museums, boxing day shopping etc etc. Hopefully there wouldn't be too much rain when I am there. The weather forecast been pretty shitty recently. plus fidel told me that there was a tornado (!!!) in London. whee.

Monday, December 11, 2006

relief

I PASSED 3rd yr!

oh well, i didn't check my results on my own. vic did it for me as i was working in the clinic. but still! the suspense! anyway, i am so glad PBL is really over for me.

i'm looking forward to clinical years.. and hopefully i would learn more stuff, see more things and mingle around more with other students. coz in uni, i always hang out with the sg peeps.

yay for me! haha.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

sticky and humid

it's been a while, folks.

been back home for a while and everything is like so different. i guess when you are away for nearly a year, changes seem more pronounced.

like that new washing machine sitting in the laundry room.

and my mum finally threw away my sec school textbooks

new clothes in the wardrobe that i have not seen before.

furniture all moved around.

eeips. so weird! >.<

anyway, i'm part time working at a clinic, and i spend most of the rest of the time slacking. and being online. meeting up with peeps.

i am looking forward to london! :)

Saturday, November 18, 2006

summer holidays

and so the hols started.

tue was spent catching up on sleep.
had a steamed fish for dinner! *yumm* it was very fresh and nice. esp with the chinese mushrooms and whatnots.
den at night we went to distill, a new hangout place on rundle street.
the waiters were all cute, the drinks were very interesting.
i got one got jericho - had lychee and basil in it. nice and refreshing.

wed... i slept more.
watched re-runs of friends on youtube, never fail to make me laugh.
oh! and we caught the new episode of house.
argh i hate that cop in it. he should go away and leave house alone.
which reminds me, i watched the episode of friends with hugh laurie as a guest star. absolutely hilarious.

i cant rem what happened on thurs.

friday
we went country road shopping! because there was a 20% discount for country road members (ie: victor chia) so he got a pants and a shirt. while i got my DRESSSS.
very happy about the dress.
nah-hah-hah-hah
oh, plus we had crazy food for dinner.

saturday
daph is very broke.
had $3.95 subway sandwich for lunch.
planning to have instant mee for dinner.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

it's over!

*whistles*

it's over! :)

okie, granted it wasn't the easiest papers of my life.. it should be okie.

i hope?

bought a fish, and we are planning to steam it! ok. totally out of point

off to play!
bye!

Saturday, November 11, 2006

its the end of the week

i have not slept as much as i did just now.

a full 6 guilt free hours of sleep.

i mean, granted that theres the mcq paper on tues.. i so need a break man.

this week's been harsh. had papers on mon, wed and friday.
it was just zoom zoom zoom!

i just hope that i emerge from this... by being in 4th yr.
(omg can u believe that thats actually possible? daphne let loose on the wards..heh)

Sunday, November 05, 2006

examsss

my first paper commences in less than 12 hours time!

everything is swimming inside my head.

"just keep swimming, just keep swimming.."

just like dory in finding nemo.

i shall go squeeze in as much info as i can right now.
hugging buddha's legs.. tsk tsk. that's my forte! hee

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

daph is dying!

omg.. im freaking out!

and im drinking redbulls and coffee by the dozens.

and the weather is like shit

and im talking crap

bye!

Friday, October 27, 2006

LAST PBL!


Today marks the last day that i will ever have to do PBL (problem based learning)
pre-clinical years are FINALLY up!
(and hopefully i wun have to repeat yr 3 again)

Medical school was in a flurry; people taking photos of each other, lots of hugs, drinks, food, saying our goodbyes to PBL tutors and stuff. the whiteboards, instead of being filled with cool mechanisms and details of diseases, were stuffed full of silly drawings and bets to when priya (poor girl, was caught in a car accident) would arrive for PBL today.

Priya arrived at 9.27, the winner went to Allison (she betted 9.29), and she's the girl who bakes yummy muffins and is capable of making a mean fat yummy chocolate cheese cake. I will remember her by the cute tub of vanilla yoghurt that she must have, followed by the cup of green tea that sits by her side, smelling ever so fragrant and exotic.

Danny, the guy who LOVES to scribe on the board. he is terribly enthusiastic about learning and is highly motivated. He makes yummy ham and cheese croissants and he cracks funny jokes and brings us off tangent all the time. Jim the tutor will always go "Danny, you had your restless moment already.."

Laura is the quiet one with a pretty face. she is sweet and smart, but abit blur at times. Plus, her handwriting is unique and neat - makes it such a pleasure to read the notes when she is the notetaker.

Clara is the one who wears pretty clothes to school all the time. She is a fellow Cresentian! *whistles* She is also terribly smart, and contributes both food for the brains (wisdom) and food for the soul (muffins and cakes)

Andrew sits by the side, always listening attentively and absorbing knowledge like a sponge. he is really into rural health and all, being in the rural society. and he turned up for PBL today high from champnage, which made him alot more comical than usual.

Priya, although sometimes turning up late, is soft spoken and funny. she told us she had polio as a kid. and in turn, we taught her how she could catch the free bus to uni and actually arrive on time. she normally walks 30mins to uni - not a smart move when you are running late.

and of course, there is Alex(andra) who caught glandular fever 2 weeks back. she was pale, with enlarged spleen and lymph nodes. she lives on a farm an hour's drive out of the city, but she mostly hates the animals. Her sister was premature, her mother has pancreatitis and her friend is undergoing chemotherapy. (cases we did this semester) Empathy is her forte - she's a queen at being the 'compassionate and kind doctor everyone wants to see'

oh! how could i forget Victor, the one i fight with all the time. He always try to outdo me; come up with a better mechanism, research on more topics, read more widely. It's hilarious how our tutor asked us 3 weeks into the semester, "daphne, are you close to victor?".. We blushed and our group members spent a good minute laughing. of course he is good member, he lends me notes when i don't do my work, and he confirms any doubts that i have. haha

Last but not least, there is Jim.
A tutor who is like a father figure, who insist on knowing our learning strategies, our living circumstances and what we like to do in our leisure time.
He is also environmentally friendly - he walks to uni! He enjoys our jokes and silly conversations, and he is a positive contributor all the time, bringing into the group the years of experience that he has got.

So guys, there you go. My pbl group in a nutshell. *tear drop*
Probably one of the best group that I ever have, and might ever will have.

I make it sound a little like a 'graduation'. Maybe it is.

Somehow or another, 3 years of med school has flown by.
Friendships were forged, alcohol was drunk, homemade cakes and food were baked and eaten, PBL was not done (until the last minute before the exams) and coffee kept us awake through it all. to witness the pleasure, pain and horror of being in medicine.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

drowning drowning

Let's do a re-cap on my exciting week

OSCES
otherwise known as how-to-make-a-med-student-freak-out in front of a real doctor.
8 stations, including a rest station. too bad for me, i STARTED on the rest station. so happily, i spent the 1st 10 minutes of the exam sitting down and .. freaking.

they asked a variety of stuff.. from how to take a sexual history from someone who just came back from a 'trip to thailand'... to ethical dilemmas..

i wouldn't ace it..but i shld pass me thinks?

did alot of stupid things as usual.
not knowing where the Snellen chart was (the chart with rows of letters in decreasing size to test ur visual acuity).. to almost killing my patient when testing for sensation using pinpricks.. i tink i poked too hard. blahhhh.

Revision
coming along slowly. i am still terribly distracted. i also dunno why. sigh. i just want everything to be over quickly. such a dread, exams.

Weather
The weather has been behaving like a female with PMS. some days SO HOT, some days i freeze. so annoying.

Parcel
My sister sent me a envelope filled with my favourite pensSsss!! so happy. thankew little girl. yayyy! now i can write non stop. mua ha ha.

Alrighty, back to schizophrenia.

Friday, October 20, 2006

update on...the toooth

hello hello.

just saw the dentist today, it's healing well!
no dry socket or wateva shit the other dentist said.

yeap, so it's well-vascularised and pinky and not hurting me anymore.
hopefully i can be back on normal meals soon.
it takes so so so long for me to eat a normal meal, the effort just drains the fun out of eating.

and theres so much more that i can say.. but i just woke up

so here's a big big thanks to every single one of u who was concerned about me... i'm back! (kinda better, but certainly one less tooth)

Sunday, October 15, 2006

why can't things be simple

i was given panadeine forte by the dentist at the hospital. knowing that it was a much more potent painkiller.. i decided that i should take it, since it would be nice to be painfree ya'know.

so i popped 2 into my mouth and swallowed it down with water.

and 1 hours plus later, i was nauseated to the very pits of my stomach, and i just wanted to throw up, but there wasn't anything to throw up since i only have a smoothie and a bit of cake for lunch. (just before i discovered the loose stitches) plus i was groggy and headachy all over.

so i had to lie flat (sitting up made it worse) and i slept the day away and woke up at 1930.

i hate myself!!! sob

ps: panadeine forte is panadol plus codeine. and codeine in the body, is converted to morphine, and im sure all of you know what morphine does. guess i shouldn't have underestimated the potency of the drug.. and should have started low by taking 1 initially.

the aftermath..of the aftermath

can u believe my luck?

my freaking stitches from my wisdom tooth extraction came loose!
and my wound was like semi-exposed.

rushed to the A&E at the hospital. took me an hour to see a doc/dentist person. there must have been alot of heart attacks and other urgent patients to attend to.

so when i finally got to see the dentist, she REMOVED my stitches, with alot of ease since it was loose and hanging already. and she declared that i did not need any new stitches!... sent me home with antibacterial mouthwash and pain killers. but she warned me to rinse my mouth after i eat, to prevent things from getting trapped in my wound.

i forsee many more smoothie meals. >.<

Saturday, October 14, 2006

the aftermath

when i open my mouth, i can see 2 neat stitches sitting at the back of the L row of teeth. gums are still tender and swollen, but i guess that is acceptable. i think the pain was worst right after the LA wore off and before the panadeine kicked in. it was like.."OH GOOSSSH". and i think the best painkiller of them all is ...SLEEP. somehow when u sleep you cant feel the pain. so i sorta slept my friday away.

so far it's been pretty sore, and my jaw muscles have been ultra contracted, resulting in me being unable to open my mouth wide.

and i dunno how my twinnie manages to eat rice and stuff.. i had smoothie for dinner last night and another smoothie for lunch today. dinner i had porridge. very ermm smooth meals. lol i guess i am afraid of having little bits of food stuck in my wound. i think that is horrifying and disgusting.

the freakiest bit of the surgery was when the dentist yanks the tooth out. you can still feel the pressure, and u can see the dentist using his strength to remove the stubborn tooth. the only thing is you cannot feel sharp pain. (pain and pressure receptors are different) the pressure feeling sorta freaked me out. thank god for lignocaine! wheee! :) and thank goodness vic was there, to hear me squirm the life out of me and make funny faces at the dentist. yah but moral support: very impt!

so yar.. hopefully more solid foods soon.

Friday, October 13, 2006

sick me

aishah made a funny comment about me today.
she says that i dress up so nicely on some days, and on other days.. i look like shit in my shorts and t-shirt.

and i didnt even realised that people took notice of what i actually wear! o.o

i dunno, it's tiring to dressup. sometimes its fun, but not when i have to drag myself out of bed at 7 in the morning...

anyway, its another 2 hours and i will have to be at the dentist!
will tell u how that went. bye!

Sunday, October 08, 2006

blahhh

if gummies could express how i feel, this would be it.
a vile combination of boredom, lack of motivation, and general sian-ness.
i really need a pick me up soon if not i.. i.. not sure what will happen. heh

anyway aishah's bdae thing last night was good! alot of yummy food, and many people squeezed into a cosy apartment kinda feels like chinese new year. i dunno, chit-chatting and watching friends on the tv is always chicken soup for the weary soul. and aishah has a cool coffee making machine! so it was aishahbucks (not starbucks) at work - she even made me foamed milk! haha. i was so happy :) over forthy airy milk.

its only a month more to the exams. it's seriously freaking me out, esp when i consider how much revision there is to do. it's abit like the A levels, where u just have to somehow cram years of work into a brain. 3 yrs of med! just for one exam. damn.....

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

uni days

this is one of the slackest week in uni ever.
monday was public holiday and there are no classes on thurs!

a 3 day week.

but i am still so tired. so lacking. so bored.

*yawn*

sorry for the lack of interesting things on my blog.
going thru a boring patch in my life at the moment.

and i shall only blog thereafter if i have sth cool to tell.
like aishah's bdae party this saturday! whooppeee. and i might possibly go for international night on friday. plus my wisdom tooth extraction hoohaa next friday. *ahhh!!*

so meantime, go read some other blogs man.

Thursday, September 28, 2006

it's time to say goodbye



say gdbye to what?
the hols i say! :(

anyway the laundry issue is not really ever going to be resolved, because my friend is .. lazy to be proactive. so he got to wait for his turn. serve you right, aloha
poor chap.

ah! my daph twinnie made me happy by saying that she might visit adelaide next year!
how exciting. but that's like nearly 9 months down the track. i will have uni at that time but we shall see how it all goes yeah.

and my wisdom tooth decided to bother me now, after all these yrs of.. not bothering me
i got to extract it on friday the 13th! oct.
i forsee a week of eating through a straw.

and im the world's worst procrastinator.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

solutions solutions

i think i am a HUGE medical drama addict.
house, grey's anatomy, you name it.

is this because i am learning med?

then why doesn't the 'real' thing fulfil me as much?

i get so distracted revising my work.
it's like you think you know it, but when it comes to crunch time, you actually don't.
i would love to be able to study on and on and on and be those sort of people who forget to eat or sleep because they were so busy stuffing their brains with crisp good ol' knowledge.
but i am more of the force myself to study and hope for the best type.

now i am just waiting for thurs to come.
den i can download the latest episode of grey's anatomy and allow it to fulfil my hunger for unrealistic and cheesy medical dramas.

btw, i made sticky date pudding yesterday.
i turned into santa claus and gave slices of pudding to my friends.
now there's only a bit left.
yeay for daphne. i hate to have alot of cake leftover and then i have to stuff my face with the same cake over and over again. it gets boring after the 2nd slice.
and then the cake wouldn't taste as good as before.

i am just rambling on and on.
someone PLEASE stop me.

btw, i have a friend who is in the following situation.
his housemate washes clothes in the washing machine like .. 3 times a week or something.
(don't question why he has so much dirty laundry)
thus, the drying rack on the balcony is always occupied by his clothes.
so this person now is pissed because there is never space on the drying rack for him to dry his clothes -> resulting in him being unable to do his laundry at the time he wants to do it.

solution:
a) negiotiate with housemate and designate days when each one of them can use washing machine
b) buy another drying rack so both housemates can dry clothes at the same time.

which makes more sense?

i am so random


a piece of blue sky from adelaide. right outside med school

peach coloured roses! from the market

some crazy strong alcoholic cocktail from bluenote. note how straw is stuck to glass on the outside. hee.

Sunday, September 24, 2006

random hp pics


i FINALLY installed the nokia PC suite on my laptop.
took me.. 4 months to get that done eh. hee
now all my hp pics are in my laptop! yoo hooooo!! :)

btw, this is vic's fingers.
notice the nice swiggly ink marks
done by urs truly.
someone was SO sleepy during lecture
that i could write all that on his fingers..
and he still stayed sound asleep!

this is vic. laying on the grasslands opposite east terrace.
notice how he squints his eyes
ie: weather was damn hot.











AND this is me! with my icecream on the same
hot sunny day
in the park.
damn i look so greedy.

ok enough random pics! bye guys

Thursday, September 21, 2006

a wasted life

why does wasting your day away always feel so good?

after my jap frens left on wed morning... i had a wonderful time lazing around.
sleeping in, watching endless hours of grey's anatomy..cooking.. haa

i really need to get myself together and revise my work.

-woe-

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

meet the parents

hi guys! sorry for the lack of entries. been terribly busy.. vic's parents visited and my friends from japan visited at the same time too. don't worry the meet the parents thing went well, and i did have some fun with them :)



at Greenock Creek Winery
[very tiny cellar door hidden in a basement]

view from Greenock Creek Winery

[it was 28 degs and blazing hot ]dinner at The Manse
[a perfect end to a day!]


Saturday, September 09, 2006

saturdays

i have not written a 'proper' entry for a long while.
sorry for the lack of photos. been abit lazy to upload pictures and all.

guess my tutor was right. It's the mid-semester blues that everyone is facing. the lack of motivation to do your work zealously, the flattened affect you dispose onto others. and the yearn for the magical 2 week break to be here right away.

Lucky the adelaide city council got smart and now, we have weekend markets on rundle street on saturdays! it's not as big a scale as say, the salamanca market in tasmania or the paddy's market in sydney. but still, its a nice way to spend your saturday morning. munching on pinched bits of the sourdough loaf you just bought from the guy who proudly acclaims he was kneading this very loaf whilst you were still sound asleep. Taking in the breaths of sausages slowing browning on the barbeque grill, mixed with the mystical scents of indian spices oozing out from the tandoori chicken.. your senses come alive.

and the market is a great place to see how nice people can be. the lady whom i bought my cheesecake and polish crisp bread from gave me a free date cake! which she proudly claims its her best cake. and after vic and i fought over who gets the last bit of the date cake...yes her date cake is so yummilicious! it's a hybrid between a cake and a sticky date pudding. it was moist, sweet and had enough dates.

that's enough market adventures for this week.

maybe next week i will arm myself with a camera before i head for the market! haha

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

vic is sick!!

like physically, not mentally. haha

hes down with the same set of symptoms as me. haha.
i think i am the culprit! *evil grin*

going to the royal adelaide show tmr.. with vic and other friends. hopefully the weather will be nice and sunny. and apparently there are many food stalls that provide free tasting. haha. can kacau animals too.

not very keen on the rides though. there has been 2 freak accidents from the rides already. eeeick

weekend hurry! be here quickly!

-a bored daphne

Thursday, August 31, 2006

still very sick

cough cough.. sniff sniff.

i haven't felt so sick in a long while.
my nose is blocked and my throat is still sore. T.T

and my voice is like shit like that. AHHH!!

i have a lecture at 10.40. looking at the lecture notes, i not sure if i want to go for it or not.
i am so lazy.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

sore throat

my throat hurts every time i swallow. i blame it on the tempura i had for dinner last night and the beer that followed it. PLUS, hans cooked up alot of deep fried nasi lemak dishes for his symbolic moving in.

help!

and the pediatrics assignment is a WHOLE LOAD OF CRAPPY CRAP.

>.<

Friday, August 25, 2006

argh

i hate gindis. this online war fighting, country owning game. my boyfriend is hooked. at home, he plays it, in between lessons he insists on going to the computer labs to 'check something'. when we are walking on the streets, he hurries me so that he can go home soon to 'make sure no one attacked my country'.

machiam the computer game is alive like a pet like that.


i do not comprehend computer games. the only game that i actually enjoy playing is solitaire, and i am not even very good at it. all that clicking and staring at the computer screen, very fun meh?

my boyfriend is only preoccupied with 4 things in his life: studies, food, me and computer games. its not that i am jealous of a game, hell, NO... but sometimes it just amazes me, the way he focuses on the game and become oblivious to the rest of the world.

and it's finally friday! yippee! except i have assignment due next friday, so i better start working on it yeah.

Monday, August 21, 2006

headaches

i kind of regret thinking that i want a case that will possesss more oomph.

coz right now, i have all the oomph i need in the world.
the current case..

an 57 yr old lady with sudden onset headaches, associated with neurological symptoms such as limb weakness and all.

AHHH. i must revise all my brain work!

on a brighter note, at least it is not my turn to do case write ups tomorrow! woo hoo!



Sunday, August 20, 2006

to the moon and back

this week zoomed by really quickly.

a whole week of hip fractures, falls risk assessment and 'how to take care of an old granny'.

whilst interesting, it did not provoke much medical brain development in me.

i hope the next case will have more 'ommph'. i dunno, like a massive stroke, or a crazy abdominal pain.. or something totally random from house. something that will leave me perplexed and bewildered.

haha. i am becoming one of them.. who thinks patients are just puzzles waiting to be unraveled and solved. speaking of which: house season 3 is coming out in september! i can't wait!

----------------------------------------------------------------------

i made my french yoghurt cake again on friday. brought it to my friend's humble dwellings. it was part of our barter trade agreement. i shall not disclose what i traded it for. if not everyone will start wanting some. hohoho. but garry my hungry friend came over at midnight and polished off the remains of my cake. and i thought i could have some cake for brekkie the next morning.

Garry is a funny person. he's always over at victor's place. and he actually enjoys sleeping on vic's couch. and he really likes the cold water in his fridge too. even though we just fill the bottle up with tap water. and we told him that there is nothing special at all with the water.

garry my funny and hungry friend. i shall put up a pic of him. just for.. visual impact.


victor and garry.
(i told you he is always hungry)

Sunday, August 13, 2006

sleep

i have been sleeping like a log.

friday night: 11+ pm till 11am = 12 hours
saturday night: 8+ pm till 8am = 12 hours
sunday: nap from 10 till 12+noon = 2 hours

that is like... MORE THAN A DAY'S WORTH OF SLEEP IN LESS THAN 3 DAYS!

O.O

i need some coffee? redbull?

SOMETHING!!!!!

Saturday, August 12, 2006

pudding time!

Hmm, what is that yellow mushy thing in the bowl???
Clue:

You will invariably find it at a dim sum restaurant.
Very popular with the Hong Kong folks
It's made from a tropical fruit.

Answer:
Mango pudding!

Alright guys, this mango pudding turned out SO GOOD. like it is so silky smooth. and the mango taste just burst in your mouth like a firecracker.

A pity that i did not add any cut mango bits into the pudding. I was.. running abit low on mangoes so all the mango that I had ended up in the pudding.

Some of you might wonder "australia now so cold where got mangoes?"
Well, you are right. It isn't really mango time now.
But I found some mangoes from Mexico! Which were plump, yellow and juicy. Even though they weren't really that sweet.. but who cares, it ended up in the pudding anyhow.

Ta-da! Mango Pudding!

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

happy national day folks

I guess the only affinity i felt towards singapore came in the form of local food, all homely prepared by the singapore association. i helped out at the stall during the peak hours. yvonne and i were cutting up the mua chee dough and tossing them around in the peanut and sugar. kinda fun and goooey! haha

i don't know why but i feel as though the things that matter alot to me in sg.. have dwindled in numbers the longer i spent my time in adelaide. maybe the prolonged periods away from home has revealed to me what really matters in my life. you will be surprised at the amount of shit you can put up with when u are out of your comfort zone.

house abit dirty, never mind, clean when i have the time.
nothing to eat? just make do with instant mee.
cold? wear more layers and then tahan the cold.

and the list goes on and on. because seriously, life is too short to be wasted on cleaning the house and worrying about what to fill your belly with at every single meal. i have other things that i want to do in my life.

its so strange.

this national day feels kinda forlorn.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

tuesday blues

have been really tired since saturday.

sat night we went to adrian's place for housewarming... followed by a special dinner with vic on sunday.. and yesterday i went to visit my pregnant lady who lives 1 hour bus ride out of the city.. and today was hosp day.

so didnt really have any time to rest or sleep.

hopefully things will turn for the better after wednesday.

Saturday, August 05, 2006

Mee Chiang Kueh

Hello I am Mee Chiang Kueh. Also known as Mun Chiang Kueh, Mey Cheang Kueh. Whatever you call me, I usually ignite a peanuty and sweet thought in your mind. I am usually sold in the market or hawker centre, perfect for a weekend brunch. I am crunchy yet soft and fluffy.
This is Victor, who is pretending to cook me. Daphne is the one who made all the ingredients, while Victor posed for the photo. But the pan belongs to him, so that's some credit.
This is me, almost ready. Sitting quietly on the crepe pan while I brown and turn crispy.
Daphne was very innovative. Inside of stuffing me with peanuts and sugar, she made me savoury by putting ham and cheese. I think the change of personality was refreshing. I was yummilicious!
I am also extremely versatile. Victor thought that I could be good friends with ice-cream. Ice cream was a little cold towards me initially, but I think we are quite compatible for eating purposes.
This is some of me. Bitemarks courtesy of Daphne Law.
And ta-da! Me in my full glory. Have some of me today!