sunday already!

and we start the weekday routine once again. it's really hot and stuffy in my room. My fingers are inching towards the control for the air-conditioner. eeeick.

point 1: business in the PICU really picked up over thurs and fri. In the end I left at 6+ on friday, which if you know me well -- is REALLY REALLY late for daphne's standard. But there was truly alot to see and do and learn. So it was worth it, despite the fact I was standing on my feet for nearly 10 hours. whooooo. so proud of myself. I administered the milky white sedative! (that starts with the letter P. P for propofol) heh heh. ok i'm really cheap thrill. leave me alone.

point 2: we has semi-resumed badminton sessions! played on thurs and friday. yay! felt great to be once again acquainted with the game. might do the waterfall gully to mount lofty trail sometime in the next few weeks. It's 8km return, which should be okie if you go in a group.

point 3. having CNY eve dinner on wednesday with med school peeps. should be good.

point 4. i got a new toy! hahahaha!

point 5: my dear friend Ian, is freezing in Southampton. See lah, don't want to bring more winter wear. tsk tsk! But he sounded happier for some strange reason. Maybe the cold has gotten to him. heh.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
on my way home from the hospital on friday, I looked up into the bright blue sky and discovered this! Some plane must have done it. And I wasn't sure why but I smiled to myself when I saw it.

uncertain to what was written - boopers? coopers?

i have only lasted 2 days of school.

the hospital that i am currently doing my PICU elective is 35 minutes brisk walk away from my home. it's probably pointless to take public transport because all that waiting for the bus and changing from bus A to B would most likely outweigh the walking time record. I realised, since I walk at about 7ish in the morning, it is pretty cool and there's this nice morning breeze in the air. However when afternoon rolls in, it is extremely painful to walk in the sweltering heat. The sun is scorching, there is no wind and your eyes feel like it is succumbing to the UV rays.

Well, I have another 12 rounds of walking to do (this rotation is 3 weeks long) so I either start getting used to the walking OR find myself some alternative transport. Both of which is rather impossible.

So I am just going to shut up and continue the walk.

PICU has thus far been abit slow. Bed occupancy is only at about 50%, which means the consultants have tons of time on hand. Which literally translate to having more opportunity to quiz me on random paediatric facts for dummies version 1.0 AND actually deliver teaching. I spent 1+ hour yesterday re-learning about the mechanism of breathing, what determines compliance of the lungs.. etc. You get my drift. Was really good, especially in helping me grasp how the ventilating machines help PICU patients.

Speaking of which, PICU patients really tug at your emotional strings. There is almost nothing worse seeing a very ill child with tubes coming out of his tiny body and seeing his parents keep watch at his bedside. There is also this a whole wall of photos/collages of kids who have been through the doors of the PICU. Some of them struggled and survived a lifetime of a miserly few months, whilst some others managed to leave the PICU better and are still thriving. Be it kicking a soccer ball or learning how to paint - it really makes you think about how lucky you have been, especially if you have always been healthy and free from the clutches of medical treatment.

Oh wells, common program tomorrow. Can see classmates! yay!

yipee!

i am finally done with the unpacking and the cleaning.
gosh it was so tiring.

so i took a long bath, did the scrubbing and the masking.
whoot. i feel shooo good. especially, since i am just sitting in the room with the fan blasting at me.

i might do some peds reading tonight. oh well we shall see how enthusiastic i get. Not terribly, i'd think. heh

Right, it's almost dinner time. gotta cook!

BACK

I'm back in dear old adelaide. thankfully it was sunny but not too warm today. About 25 degrees. Quite good weather :)

Just consumed dinner (stir fried noodles type thing) and probably have some fruits later or something.

I was sooo delighted at the supermarket just now because all the summer fruits were SO CHEAP! Bananas were 1.90/kg, nectarines were 2/kg and grapes were 2.50/kg. yayyyy!

Might go out in a bit for a drink of sorts.

Later!

Byebye Singapore!

Last night was really something.

Lucky I had my wan-jie-ling sister who helped me to clean up the place (thanks BABY sister).

But for now, I'm leaving sg (again).

Bye humidity, farewell durians and i will see you again folks!

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

Excerpt title: Why I love my friends.

Post-dinner, daph asked: Hey guys, want some durian puffs?

ian, tiff (clutching their already bursting tummies): Aiyar, dowan already.. so full!! *shook head furiously*

daph: huh!! but they are from goodwood park hotel!

ian, tiff (in complete unison): OH, YAH I WANT. *eyes glistening, voice affirmative



Where to find this kind of friends?

BIG BIG SOB

just as i thought life was great,

THE PRETTY GIRL ON MY PREVIOUS TEMPLATE DISAPPEARED

and my random clicking made it worse.


so. no cool template.

/daph runs off to find a replacement.
ARGH

/update:

OMG. can u imagine. I FIXED the problem all by myself. the pretty girl is back! WE ARE BACK IN BUSINESS! *jumps around*

ARGH and my necklace arrived in the mail.

Singapore Airlines Website has been down since 11pm last night!
It's so annoying because I cannot do my internet check in!
And it is nearly impossible to find a suitable phone number to dial.

I'm destined to sit in row 60 already.

Sob.

/update:

still unable to find number to call.

I am so irritated! Shall sit by the lappie refreshing the singaporeair.com website every 5 minutes.

Grrrrrrr.

/further update:

website became viable at 2.30pm.
did my internet check-in, and got seat 36A.
not a fantastic seat but it's better than nothing.

and guess what! My Necklace arrived in the mail just a minute ago! I'm pretty pleased with the services. It came nicely wrapped in a ziploc bag, and inside the bag it was housed in a nice gift box. When you open the box, there was a piece of bubble wrap to prevent things from moving around too much. You lift the necklace out of the box and discover that there was even a silica gel packet to absorb excess moisture!

Wah. and guess what else?

The price was inclusive of registered mail postage!

Wheee. me is happy.

And something else is making me very happy.
Tiffany, Ian and Hong are coming over to my house later this evening. My mum has kindly bought Yu Sheng from Mandarin Hotel, Cakes from Bakerzin and Durian Puffs from Goodwood Park Hotel! Oh mummy dear, all the yummy food! For me to share with the friends. Lol. Sho happy.

Plus we are opening wine to drink.

And my baby sister is coming back home from hall today.

Even the fact that I am going to start school soon isn't going to dampen my current happy spirits :)

Things are finally going well for a while.

ha ha ha!

I find this terribly amusing.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Perfect Man, according to 40,000 UK women.

HE should be clean-shaven, good-looking and drive a silver Mercedes. And, most important of all, he should be more than 178cm.

Height is apparently more important than looks to women looking for Mr Right, a survey claims.

Gallery: The world's most desirable guys

With blue eyes, short dark-brown hair and medium build, the ideal candidate would appear to be film star Jake Gyllenhaal.

Looks aside, the perfect partner must also love pets and appreciate fine wine, theatres and nice restaurants. Coupled with this he should have a "wacky" sense of humour, according to the study of 40,000 women by UKdating.com.

Mr Right wears smart jeans and a T-shirt, weighs exactly 80.5kg and is a doctor or lawyer who owns a home in a good location.

He has had three serious relationships, no more than six sexual partners, has never been married and doesn't have children.

Because.

Thank You Lord for the trials that come my way
in that way I can grow each day as I let You lead
And thank you lord for the patience those trials bring
in the process of growing i can learn to care

Chorus
But it goes against the way I am to put my human nature down
and let the spirit take control of all I do
Cause' when those trials come my human nature shouts the things to do
and God's soft prompting can be easily ignored


Yes I thank you Lord for the victory that growing brings
In surrender of everything life is so worthwhile
And I thank you Lord that when everything's put in place
Out in front I can see your face and it's there You belong

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

OMG

I changed my layout!

and lost my tagbox and links.


oppps.

will get that fixed soon.

PS: you could leave comments if you want to say something :)

new additions!

I went a teeny bit (ok, maybe a bit more than teeny) crazy the past few days over necklaces. Thus, I am happy to showcase the magic of online shopping! It really is quite cool man.

Imagine the way we used to shop for accessories.

Steps Involved:

1. Call/text interested friends. Preferably girls because when men look at girlish stuff for too long, rashes develop and their throats clamp down. You don't want your men dying on you.

2. Arrange to meet at a strategic location - the usual suspects being orchard or cityhall. (told you singapore is very small)

3. Meet these friends, but first start with a meal or a cup of coffee. Shopping requires lots of energy, concentration and eye power.

4. Ok, now you are ready to start combing the targeted area for accessories you (might) like.

5. Walk for gazillion hours. KIV (keep in view) many items. Hesitation sets in.

6. May or may not return home with accessories that you like. Sulk in front of the computer/TV

7. Repeat Step 1-6 again, with a different group of friends or a different location.

NOW, with the explosion of online shopping, things are so different.

1. Check out sites that you'd found by chance or ones that have been recommended by your trusty friends. This could be done in the dead of the night or in the wee hours of the day!

2. See something you (might) like. Eyes glisten in glee.

3. Copy and Paste Link into msn chat with good (female) friend making sure your taste is good.

4. You can even skip Step 3 if you really like that item!

5. Pay for it online and patiently wait for its arrival at your residence.

6. Relax one corner as you dream about how you are doing to match your recent purchase with the rest of your wardrobe.

Anyway, online shopping is coolbeans. Here are some sites that I frequent from time to time.

1. www.etsy.com

Many, many artists. Many, many, MANY choices.
If you worry overseas shipping will cost you a bomb, you can even choose to shop local.
they sell everything from jewellery, to recipes, to bags and hairclips.

2. www.urgetheboys.com

A girl from Queensland. Some cool pieces. but dang, always sold out so quickly.
Good if you have a keen eye for vintage-inspired pieces.

3. eaindriacreation.blogspot.com

Chinser recommended this site to me. Singaporean artist with a name I can hardly pronounce. BUT has quite interesting pieces. Some of the pieces I don't quite agree, others I like alot. That's the good thing about these sites. There is USUALLY something for everyone.

4. http://girlsmadethis.com/html/s01_home/home.asp

Mostly resin work. I like the pieces alot but the prices! O.O
But you know what? they are having the yearly sale! 50% off everything! Whoot!

Year 5 med. all planned out!

for those of you who are extremely interested to know about the year ahead for me - pls click the pic! haha

this is my first screenshot. gosh, i'd never know how to do sth so cool.
thanks lionel! heh.

so there you have it. one more week, and then i will have to face 36 weeks of torture. sit for a big exam and hopefully pass it.

on the right, there is this stupid column where they record your grades. hopefully i can fill them up with decent ones! yay!

i feel excited. is there something wrong with me??? hmm.

oh, on another note, the year is going to be different. key persons are missing.
was sad at the news. but hey, life always throws challenges and setbacks.
i guess i'd have to try to help as much as i can.

there comes a time..

whereby in every blogger's mind, the following question would resound.

"should i continue blogging?"

and for that, one must examine the reasons that drive people to blog.

1. An avenue for ranting aka "I had a bad day, X scolded me, Y betrayed me and Z tried to kill me."

Ranting, whether to a friend online, to a buddy over coffee or just personally over a written entry in a diary - is supposed to be healthy and encouraged. Pent-up angst and inconsolable problems often trouble each and everyone of us to some degree. Blogging could help with releasing some of those bad bad feelings. Especially if you are better at expressing yourself through writing. Ranting works wonders for me. Heh.

2. The place for deep thought and philosophy aka "what is love? if love is a piano, play on, give me excess of it"

Many a times, reflections and perspective can be obtained by penning down a few paragraphs. People could read what you've written and reply with some profound comment that would push you to think further than you'd ever.

3. Pseudo-online communication tool aka "this happened to me today, i'm feeling good in australia and please don't miss me too much"

This big world has significantly seemed alot smaller with the introduction of the internet. I wonder what people used to do for fun before the internet. Gosh! But anyway, when you have friends all over the world, writing a single entry recounting all events would save you much time and effort repeating the story 10 times to 10 different friends over the next couple of weeks. Oh plus you can post up photos and videos. Very handy.

4. Attention aka "I have posted up pretty pictures of myself pouting, winking and angling my face in different lighting. Please adore me and tell me you think I am extremely cute."

I can't really explain this reason for blogging other than... boredom? attempt to elevate self-esteem? Oh I know. for the lack of better things to do in life. But it could be a good way to get (wrong) attention.

I'm not really sure why I blog. It's a combination of reasons 1-3 I suppose. I don't even know who reads it, who thinks it's funny and who thinks I should just shut my trap up and whine to death in a corner. But seriously, I feel as though this blog is pretty public, accessible to a wide variety of people that know me. Which poses the problem of personal privacy - how much do i want to write on this blog? and if i cannot turn to my trusty old blog for answers - why should i even continue blogging?

Many questions. Uncertain answers.

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

On a totally different note, I had a wonderful dinner with an old friend today. After such a long time, I finally told him how I really felt about his ex-girlfriend, her flaws and undesirable attributes. I thought he would get offended at my blunt delivery of honesty. Instead, he agreed with me on many points and told me thereafter in a lengthy sms that he felt it was indeed very 'REFRESHING' to hear things like this.

I was kind of taken aback. Afterall, who likes to hear criticism?

Maybe I said the things that he had to hear for himself. Maybe I said the things that he thought was real, but had brushed aside for unknown reasons.

Maybe people should (in a tactful manner) tell one another their flaws and suggest ways for improvement.

Oh well, if your good friend cannot honestly tell you things - who else would?

oh we have a visitor.

and his name is jon teng! i heard he brought us otak-otak from msia. hmmm yumyum! planning to go for seafood together with david and june as well. and tomorrow night we plan to try la fondue - hidden somewhere in that elusive dempsey hill of a place. the reviews have been pretty mixed, some people liking it heaps and others finding it silly. oh well. we will find out soon enough.

anyway i just added my classes online. oh dammit the school fees have gone up by another 5000 per sem! Oh the rage and horror! What the hell do they do with all that money man. it's like 38K per year from one of us. the mathematics goes -

$38,ooo X 40 international students = $1,520,000

1.5 million AUSTRALIAN DOLLARS.

that's helluva lot of money. considering how much 'self-study' we do. eeeirppps.

i think i want to change my goals in life. i think maybe, i should open a medical school? it's like super money generating man!!

it's nearly 2008.

view of the pacific ocean hokkaido, japan



I know I say the same damn thing this time every year - time really passes so so fast! I have completed 4 years of medical school, gosh who knew I had that in me to do that? I have been a legal adult for a good few years. I have been in a stable relationship. Best of all, everyone around me have been blessed with good health.

It's hard to recollect the year in entirety using a few sweeping statements.

Yet it suffice to say that all I really wish for the new year is for the good stuff to stay good, and to improve on the not-so-good aspects. That's all I hope. Oh, and one small teeny wish - to pass 5th year!!! (after that, imagine the sweet sweet tender feeling of being in 6th year!)

I have so many things to be thankful for, so many people that have touched my life and helped me along my way. Whether you are an old friend or a new acquaintance, whether you'd laughed through my pathetic jokes or made those tortorous 7.30am wardrounds abit more bearable, I still thank all of you.

Ok, enough thanking here.

I still have so much to do, so much I have yet to experience.
May the year ahead bring all of us happiness, love and satisfaction!

Happy 2008!

back from outerspace!

yeah japan may only be 7 hours away from little old singapore but once you land on it, you feel like you are miles and miles away. Everything is different, every experience is new and exhilarating. From the types of vending machines they offer, to the fresh seafood, great biscuits and chocolates, hell even the milk tasted better.

I just you just have to be there to feel the difference. Or maybe the bitter and cold winter got to my head. haha. I gotta upload the pics soon but I have to do a million other little errands for now. so hang in there folks.

Anyway a weird thing happened. My Maths tutor from NJC (Mr Chan Yew Fook) ADDED ME ON FACEBOOK! gosh, you can't run and hide anywhere with these new techy internetish stuff we use these days. not that I have anything against Mr Chan, in fact I think he was a brilliant tutor, partly responsible for our class performing so well in that subject. (the other parts are hard work and a little bit of brains) but it's just a teeny bit weird chatting on facebook with a previous figure of authority I suppose.

Enough crap. Just for those of you who don't know (including me up to 2 days ago or sth), you can actually check your banding for the papers in the 4th year exams (MEQ, MCQ and OSCE). Just log onto the MLTU website and look under course assessment. I think most people know it already but I thought I'd better do a 'public' announcement.

and that's that for now. Need to sort alot of other things. seeya! :)

joy to the world! :)

despite all the serious doubts about myself, complaints about the format of the exam paper and countless bad stories from the osce...that ultimately resulted in the plummeting of my morale..

I PASSED!!

5th year here i come.. 5th year here i come..

this is such a big relief..! now i can go on my holiday to japan in peace. it's amazing how i use the word relief, rather than happiness or delight or glee or something with a happy connotation.
oh and since vicky has no blogging spirit in him, let me tell you he passed too! :)

*runs off to eat beef noodles for lunch*

rain rain rain!

it has been just pouring and pouring. gosh, welcome to the monsoon season! where rain doesn't stop and you have to waddle outdoors.

at least there hasn't been any major floods. last year was bad.

on the other hand....

my poor Kangaroo Island (7 times the size of Singapore no less) has been suffering from BUSHFIRES! so far only a few humans dead but the sheep community haven't been so lucky. oh well, kangaroo island is a beautiful place, i hope the fire wouldn't destroy it. com'on firefighters! put em' out!

heh.. i can't really blog about malaysia yet because i have yet to get the photos from Mr Victor Chia. *ahem!!! GIMME MY PICS* but soon..soon i will.

meanwhile i'm gonna continue my massive dvd watching! :) it feels so good. My sis and I would snuggle under the blanket together on my bed and both of us would share one headphone and watch the dvds together.

and results is gonna be out next week!.. prolly tues/wed i think since the BOARD of EXAMINERS meeting is on MONDAY. oh dear, all the bad memories of all the crappy things i said, did and wrote in the exam papers are all coming back to me. and i guess they will continue to haunt me until i know if i make it to 5th year

GOSH!....

it's thursday!

i have been back home for a couple of days. really feels so good to sit in your old room!
anyway guys, i will be heading to KL (and malacca for a day or two) with vic this friday. gonna stay with quinnie.. and probably catch up with all the med people who live in kl! pakyeap, jessica, su chuen.. yeaps.

should be fun. except i forgot to bring my camera back from adelaide. dammit. so i have to use the vic's camera, which should be fine i suppose...

so seeya all when i'm back! :)

hello world.

*stretches my arms* i slept so soundly last night. slept without any worries or stress. it was SO GOOD. everyone should try it. haha. oh well and so the summer has finally arrived! it is VERY VERY HOT outside (about 37degrees) and I need to pack my luggage, pack my room and put things in order before I fly back home tmr! YES TMR!... so happy. not that singapore is any cooler.. but at least i am home. and the freaking flies dun stick onto your face and dun move for the life of you.

i could talk ends on about the osces.. (dysphagia??!!) (stupid CXR?!) ... oh well. it was really stressful and funny whilst it lasted. just gonna end here with a little joke made by my dear old porkchop.

senario:
patient presents with dysphagia (swallowing problems) and after asking him a whole load of questions, porky decided that the diagnosis was pharyngeal pouch.

porky:
ok sir, it seems to me that you have a pharyngeal pouch that is causing you these problems.

patient:
oh.. okie. so what should i do?

porky:
well we are going to run some investigations to confirm the diagnosis.

patient:
that is great, what sort of investigations will i have to undergo?

porky:
first of all we will do a barium enema on you.

porky (1 split second later, after realising the change in mood in the room):
OH NO I MEANT BARIUM MEAL...

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

HOLIDAYS ARE HERE!!

LIFE IS GOOD AFTER ALL.


*runs off to play!!*

morning!

heh i knew my decision to sleep more last night was a good one.

woke up today feeling heaps better. decided there's no point crying over spilled milk. i'm just wanting to get Cs for the papers. oh gosh.

anyway it's time to look through more ECGs! and CXR! and EUC, FBE, LFT, TFT, ABG, XR of #...

dammit. so many abbreviated terms for med. hmm.

oh and not forgetting HIV, HBV, HCV... and erm.. MRI? CT? CTPA? ...

heh heh.

oh shit.

the 2 papers in the past 2 days have been.. challenging, annoying.. and difficult!!.......

i'm really worried.. the impending doom of failing 4th year could happen!...

i should really shuddap, go study more, practice more physical exam and hope for the best.

eeeeurgggh.

now, this is getting awfully scary.

how my pre-exam mood fluctuates.

2-3 weeks before exams: stressed, trying to study, some distractions present, mind is thinking "oh still have some time, should be able to do it"

1 week before exams: shit!! have so much more to study, and i have forgotten alot of what i have studied.. HOW HOW HOW? *flips thru past year papers*... can't do them!

2 days before exams: still studying. still freaking. and very worried about the prospect of failing the year.

sigh.

gosh

it's monday already.
SWOT is half over. exams are twice as near.

and in 11 days time everything will be over!!.. 11 days! that's not even 2 weeks!..

I CAN DO IT!.. i have to. i can't give up... not yet!


haha. i liked how inspirational i sounded. :)

PS: do my test if you have the time.. or if u got bored of ploughing through notes!..

yawn

it's my baby sister's 20th bday! happy birthday little one!... welcome to the 20s! :)

Anyway, that aside.. i still have a mountainload of notes to go through. my head feels like it cannot hold anymore information already!.. it's so scary!..I guess if i keep reading it, something HAS to sink it ..right?

we have been eating alot of instant mee. eeeick...and alot of take aways!.. hai. oh well.
but today i made chicken soup.. because it's good for the soul! and the mind i think. it tasted really good so i guess that's all that matters :)

haha, vic and i threw our poor turtle toys into the washing machines..they went spinning' mate!.. now they are drying. they smell nice :)...

ok back to the notes.. @.@

PS: victor is a smelly boy. when i was getting some blank paper to feed the printer, he thought i was trying to STEAL his notes. grrrrr.

it really is the end of the school year.

sometime during april this year, i stared at my "MLTU (medical learning and teaching unit i think) - used to be called MEU (medical education unit)" online timetable. It was bare, even though I had finished surgery at that time because the folks at MLTU isn't the best when it comes to efficiency. Results/Lecture notes take a while to be ulploaded. This is something that we have all learned to 'accept' over the past few years here in adelaide. and when we do not accept the nonsensical 'technical errors', we all pull our hair in frustration and bitch non-stop about it.

I distinctly remembered thinking to myself: "damnit!... when would the end of the school year approach? Would I be able to fill up this list with some decent grades?"

In a blink of an eye, ok maybe a few more blinks than that, I am absolutely DONE with the year. like done. like no more medical home units and surgery home units for a long time. i think the med/surg placements in 6th year are probably the closest thing to them. it's just plain surreal thinking about it. It wasn't too bad whilst it lasted, but I want to move on. I want to learn new things (say O&G, peds etc etc) and I want to gather fresh experiences under my belt. In fact, I felt like I couldn't sit still and wait for all this exam crap to pass so that 5th year could start rolling in.

As I handed in my last assessment form for the year to Ann Francis (the lovely lady sitting at the front desk of clinical studies in Eleanor Harold), it was a true sign that, YES I AM REALLY DONE for the year.

I am just hoping I wouldn't have to repeat all this!! O.O

because...

1. If your doctor told you TODAY that you were pregnant, what would you say?
say? NO WAYYYYY.... freak out or something.

2. Do you trust all of your friends?
depends on what sort of trust we are talking about. trusting my life.. versus trusting my friend to turn out for dinner as promised.

3. Would you move to another state or country to be with the one you love?
yes, because i am a hopeless romantic.

4. Do you believe that everything happens for a reason?
yes, or else if everything is random.. life would be harder to comprehend.

5. Name two things you would NOT tolerate in a relationship?
disappointment and .. infidelity?

6. Which one of your friends do you think would make the best doctor?
well, hopefully all of us!

7. Are you afraid of falling in love?
no....

8. Is there someone who pops into your mind at random times?
my dead grandpa. heh, no just kidding. no one really.

9. Would you stop talking to your friends because you hooked up with a new person?
no!

10. When was the last time you flew in a plane?
end of june. SGP - ADL flight on SQ...

11. What did the last text message you sent say?
to quinnie.. telling her how much the photocopying cost.

12. What features do you find most attractive in the opposite sex?
intelligence and humour.. oh and NICE VEINY ARMS! *slurp*

13. Fill in the blank. I _______ you in my life
would like to punch

14. Att or Single?
attached.. attached... very very attached.

15. If you were to wake up from being in a coma for a long period of time who would you call?
hmmm would i be waking up without my memory or with?
if i lost my memory.. i will be calling for HELP!
if memory is intact... calling for mum and dad.

16. How many kids do you want to have?
now? zilch.
in the future.. 2 i guess?

17. Love Someone?
yesss. plenty of people.

18. Where was your default picture taken?
erm. vic's smelly couch in adelaide!

19. What's your middle name?
wen hui?

20. Honestly, what's on your mind right now?
i should be studyiing. mugging and studying.

21. If you could go back in time and change something, what would it be?
did better for the A levels?
but im happy the way life was... and is at the moment.

22. Shoe size?
hmmm.. US 8. ( i know..big feet! sob)

23. What are you wearing right now?
trackies, t shirt...

24. Righty or Lefty?
LEFTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!... LEFTY! YAY!

25. Best place to eat?
Iggy's in singapore... in adelaide.. hmmm. the Manse?

26. Favorite animal?
Goat and turtles

29. Favorite juice?
most fruit juices... except banana and papaya.

30. Have you had the chicken pox?
No..

31. Have you had a sore throat?
what kind of qns is this? yes of course.

32. Ever had plastic surgery?
not yet. lol

33. Who knows you the best?
the smelly victor..

34. Do you get along with your family?
yes..

35. Do you wear contact lenses or glasses?
both. glasses because it's convenient and it makes me look geeky. lenses when i go out or have make up on.

36. Ever been in a fight with your pet?
no pets before.

37. Been to Mexico?
no.. but i would like to :)

38. Did you buy something today?
hmmm. i bought subway for lunch. and den 6 cans of red bull and 1 packet of shapes.

39. Did you get sick today?
no...? sick of studying.. does that count?

40. Do you miss someone today?
i miss my family..

41. Did you get in a fight with someone today?
does pretend-fighting with victor count?

42. When is the last time you had a massage?
LONG time ago. in june in sg.. i think.

43. Last person to lay in your bed?
me myself and i

44. Last person to see you cry?
umm. i can't rem the last time i cried..

45. What was the last channel you watched?
channel 10.

46. What are your plans for the weekend?
study.. and freaking out for the exams.
oh and go marketing for fruits and vegs :)

47. Who do you think will repost this?
no idea? don't think anyone else is as bo liao.

48. Are you happy?
no... i need to study!

49. Who was the last person you hung out with?
the boyfriend.

gosh

sometimes, i think i am the one who needs reminding!.. thursday would go down in history as the last day of 4th year med!... and i was so busy studying and doing stupid things (group presentation for radiation oncology) that i forgot it WAS the LAST DAY!.. at the beginning of the year, i could not phantom how ANYONE can go through with 36 weeks of clinical years, with only 3 weeks break in between.

but guess what? all of us did! :) i wouldn't say 4th year has been an easy feat.. learnt alot of new things, some things changed while other things stayed the same. but i would like to think that we have all got out of it stronger and wiser in one way or another.

4th year was a good time to start thinking about future career options. oh, that's what surgeons are like. *chop slice chop, scalpel please!*ooooh, physicians and their 'holistic' discharge planning *should this PT go to a nursing home? or dom care? ACAT assessment please!!*,.. and who can forget the PSYCHIATRY people? gosh.. and then there was ACC. ahhh, good times..

now i have to concentrate really hard till the exams are over. that's not going to be easy!.. but i'm sure we will all be okie!.. good luck guys.. study hard!...

IMPT IMPT!!!...

South Australian summer time (daylight saving) for 2007-2008 will be observed from 2:00 am South Australian standard time on 28 October 2007 until 3:00 am South Australian summer time on 6 April 2008.

Don't forget to turn your clocks forward one hour at 2:00 am on 28 October 2007 then back one hour to 3:00 am on 6 April 2008.

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service brought to you by the girl-who-has-nothing-else-better-to-do.

a post to distract me from studying..

surfing online and look what interesting things i found!...

starring from tod's: i like the buckle look. and the colour. woo hoo! classic look.

from chloe: look! so white, so pristine.. with key&lock too! chunky look. heh heh.

from fendi: recall what i said about the buckle? neutral colour (but probably wouldnt go well with the asian skin tone)

last but not least.. JIMMYCHOOS! ahhhh! for that gala-ball/executive dinner/charity ball that i will never go for.
otherwise, nice to oogle at :)

alright. end of oogle session.
go and study everyone!!!..

Question at hand -->
what does everyone do to keep themselves sane during the intensely stressful SWOT period? blog surfing? blogging? running? eating? sleeping? watching TV? playing games?

would lurve to hear from you :)

@.@

hmmm. After re-reading my latest entry and noticing the comments from my friends - I realised I might have kind of over-reacted to a small matter. Call me sour-grapes or whatever you want, I think I have the right to vent.

Guess life can be extremely unfair.. and extremely out of your own control.

Oh well, even if said med student gets A in one miserable rotation, his/her medical career is probably not going to be affected by it. If he/she continues to be that incompetent, surely fellow doctors would notice it. It's just a matter of time.

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and I want to bake! any good recipes anyone?

vents of frustration

how.. tell me how one can retain knowledge about things?

i swear i distinctly remembered the holistic management of COPD and asthma. However, as I read through my old (like from 2nd year med) notes, I freaked out at how much at

1) how much I seemed like I used to know.
2) how LITTLE I know at the moment.

This is NOT GOOD! NOT GOOD AT ALL!

and.. I found out that the way consultants/registrars have been dishing out the As have been WAY crazy. How can an idiot who cannot even interpret an X-ray of a wrist fracture be allowed to be considered an A student...???!?!... especially since A = above expected for a 4th year student.

WHICH PART OF MISDIAGNOSING AN X-RAY IS ABOVE EXPECTATIONS?!

argh.

i shall retreat.

and return to the old dusty notes.

the things med students do..

to keep themselves entertained can be oh-so-silly!

i got vic's (bigger) leg hung loose. and i was trying to see how many knee reflexes i could elicit at one stretch. so his poor leg was like overwhelmed with sensory input!.. jerking on and on and on. he was trying his best to contract his muscles, clench his jaw and whatsoever to try stop the reflex from occurring. Whilst I, Miss Sadistic, happily strike the hammer on his patellar tendon repeatedly. I was laughing myself silly. I was on a ball...!

oh..the things we do to keep ourselves happy (and insane)

don't worry guys. vic had a go at my legs too.
seems like my legs are less responsive than his... te he he

a bad saturday

was feeling pretty crap the whole of yesterday.

well it sort of started on fri night.. with a mild headache.
didn't think much of it, ate 2 panadols to counter it :/

woke up on saturday morning. with a headache. felt kinda crap.
thought that maybe if i had something to drink and eat (and throw in another 2 panadols) i should be fine.
went out for the wine tasting.

BAD IDEA!!!!...
the wine selection was fantastic but i was in no shape to even try like 10% of the 200+ types that they had on offer. the event was either held under a tent or inside a shed. both of which is bad if the weather was hot (which was the case yesterday). plus all that people squeezed together like sardines in a can... my headache pain scale pretty much skyrocketed.

decided to go home (alone) and sleep. vic stayed on with his booze buddy alfred.. and they each bought like a dozen bottles of wine. (nothing surprising)

i woke up. still headachy. took a cold bath and finally got some relief.
ate some porridge... and then the headache came back!.............. ()#$*)(*%$)(*%

i caved in. i went back to bed.

but i'm better today.
well i hope i will be!!..

shooeeesss.

pretty shoes!
i can't resist!
go and study daphne!!!!......


PS: i'm just really bored. drugs don't rock my sox

crazy weather.

it was 29degree yesterday. and it's going to be 31degs on thurs!.. gosh.

radiation oncology is so slack!... i could get used to this pace of life. heh. just plenty of planning in the CT simulator suite.. supervise administration of treatment.. consults with patients in clinics..it's mostly a 9-5 job. you still get proper patient contact. you are still a specialist in a field.

and something i didnt really know.. is that for all solid tumours (ie: minus the leukemias and lymphomas and a few other cancers) - 50% are cured by surgery, 48% by radiation and 2% by chemotherapy. and in alot of palliative cases, radiation can provide good symptomatic control, especially for pain. so it's not really doom and gloom :)

possible consideration as a future career? oh i dunno.. lemme deal with the damn exams first..whee!...

a snob?

victor calls me a snob.

times where i snub people.
times when i don't really include everyone into dinners/gatherings/etc
times when i come home exasperated from the day's events.

i call myself selective.

it's not like i'm rude to people i'd rather not talk to. i still say hi, do the small talk business and generally still capable to engage in a relatively benign and interesting conversation. but i do not see the need to be NICE to everyone, to help every soul, to bring out the best in every single human being. i choose who i want to hang out with, i choose who i share my jokes with, and i even choose who i superpoke on facebook.

i used to be the sort of person who was loud and nice to everyone in high school, then i realised that it was really stupid. you must be joking if you'd send christmas cards out to everyone you considered a friend. and it's ridiculous to make sure every single one of your so-called friends get a souvenir from you when you return from your little trip overseas.

as one grows older (and hopefully wiser), you just get better at reading people. on the basis of first impressions, i would now be able to tell if

a) i like you somewhat.
b) i like you and would like to be your friend. and we will be so cool together.
c) i don't like you one bit.

i know i know, it's very sad that i label people, put them into boxes and objectify their existence. but you know what? life is complicated enough as it is. all i need is a group of close friends that i can relate to and be myself. and for the rest of the world, i attempt to handle it the best i can in the way i know best.

i really need to study hard

victor the boyfriend is currently sitting NEXT to me, studiously scribbling away at his notebook, internalising all the different types of micro-organisms that God has provided this planet.

now, you might want to know what I am doing.

I was facebooking, then i was reading crappy news then now i am blogging!
what efficient use of time. there is just this weird inertia crap hindering me. i can't see it but i certainly can feel its powers. eeeick.

we went to watch the kingdom last night (another distraction... -.-") it was a pretty okie movie except the fact that the cinematography revolves around the camera shaking whenever an actor/actress starts running or shooting with weapons. i felt like i was sitting on a rocky ferry boat more than anything else. otherwise, the kingdom has excellently portray the americans as a heroic, we-save-all-in-need population of people. there were interesting plots at times but it was mostly really predictable. oh well. we should have known better i guess.

alrighty. i shall attempt to read something.
that victor chia is a studious piece of person.
he is freaking me out!!!....

warm sunday nights

the nights are getting warmer!.. the fan needs to be dusted and taken out from the storeroom already! the last day of neurology went by without much drama, if you don't count waking up late as drama. hahaha. i woke up a full hour late! because the night before i was all dosed up on red bull half studying, half watching re-runs of grey's anatomy. so dear old a/prof brophy went through my case write up with me, thankfully it was full of ticks and nods and "ahh yes, good point you made here"..

and i bought a new book shelf from ikea!.. oh dear old ikea. i love your cheap and student budget-friendly budgets :) it measures 80cm wide and 2metres tall!.. i'm gonna put all my files and books on it. it should be enough space.. and the old shelf is going downstairs to be a shoe rack. many have commented about the fact that quinnie, jess and i own enough shoes to start a shoe shop.. eeeips. they are sort of right. oh well.. we are girls what!!!..

and so, its just 3 more weeks to SWOT. 3 weeks of radiation oncology. 3 weeks of trying to study for the finals...!!!... >.<

breathe in, breathe out

3 weeks is a really short time. my stint in neuro/neurosurg is almost over! tomorrow is friday and it's the last day!.. just finished the case writeup. neurosurgeons are a succinct lot. the head of department (who's going to assess the writeup) insisted on keeping the 2 page maximum criteria. he said, "if you write more than 2 pages you automatically fail the rotation". what a contrast to the physicians and the psychiatrists! they LOVE flowerly and cool description of every damn thing, whether relevant or not to the patient's current problems. alright, they are usually relevant but it can be such a pain addressing issues surrounding a patient's ability to take care of him/herself. can this patient go home? nursing home placement in question? maybe meals on wheels?

i got my MSAs (cool abbreviation for electives that we can sorta choose) for next year. I said sorta because they gave me a damn long freaking list making it seem like we have tons of choices. but they subject us to randomisation and so you do not always get what you want. I got Pediatrics ICU [poor sick little kids], cardiology [lup dup lup dup.. lup dup dup dup..swoosh!], gastro and hepatology [sick tummies and livers] and rural General Practice [epitome of pap smears apparently lol]. i'm pretty happy with my electives! :) going to be doing rural GP with christine and jebbs. that should be fun!.. and from what i heard from seniors, the rural GPs would bring the students out on the weekends for some good ol' fashion fun - think crabbing, cycling, picnics... etc.

another weekend is almost here. eeeips!!!...

it's a cold friday morning

i realised that i love putting days/weather conditions as my blog titles. oh well. am sitting in vic's living room and the view from here is really quite dampening. gloomy grey clouds, strong-willed wind coupled with spattering drops of rain.

absolutely terrible weather.


and to think that i'll have to walk to the hospital in 10 mins in such weather. *gosh!!*....


played badminton last evening with only 3 people. sometimes single, mostly ian and i were trying new tricks on poor victor. he was really really tired. heh...

and i made pasta sauce from scratch using the latest recipe from Orangette (check out my links) and it was a success!.. what i meant was i modified the recipe by the addition of tuna flakes and chicken pieces and i left the onions in there too.. tasted really yummy. but i don't think i will make it that often. the quantity of butter called for scares the hell out of me.

the long weekend is almost here! I can smell it!... I can feel it!...but for now, i have a gruesome friday to endure.

7.30 ward rounds
9.00 neuro OPD
after lunch - back to wards for more torture.

i foresee ending at like.. 4?

i can't wait.

pies!

this is a pig. pig parcel.
in fact, it has more than just pig. there's chicken, bacon and mushrooms.
all happily rolled up together :)

whilst this is a poultry pie.
filled with chicks, vegs and mushroom - all snug together in a creamy base.

the fate of the pig pie.

the yummy bakery we got it from!

all gone!... YAY

the aftermath

having friends over at your house is an addictive thing.
you know you'd love to have them, and you know you kinda shouldn't at the back of your mind.

why so?

you'd realised u will let loose with them.. not study for a whole week.. and even end up spending alot of money (or munny should i say? lol) eating out. >.<

not goood!

but at the same time, friendship is like a drug man.
you keep wanting more :)
oh well, it was time well spent...

on another note,
HOUSE IS ALMOST OUT!.....
and this year, channel 10 is showing house season 4 one week after USA airs it!... HOW COOL IS THAT?.... californiacation and life (new dramas) likewise. eeeips.

i'm so looking forward to grey's anatomy.
cold turkey for the past 4 months!...

ting ting ting!

**scroll down to start from the first part of the trip.
tis' in reverse order.. sorry mate!

excessive caffeine consumption

my dear boy consumed at least 3 cups of coffee daily over the weekend.
WHY? WHY this sudden surge in caffeine intake?
well.. it all boiled down to the fact that we had a NESPRESSO machine in our hotel room. i have to say that this machine was extremely user-friendly, easy to clean, no spills/waste anywhere, and you can have a different blend of coffee everytime! (each colour in the box corresponds to a different flavour coffee blend)

but i am not as easily taken in by advertisement and bright shiny equipment as victor is. he spent the weekend awake, watching random TV channels whilst i slept like a pig every single night. lol...

so yes. this is the tale of the coffee machine.

the big night out!

because we are lazy to set up the self-timer function


Saturday night was spent in Apellation, a restaurant on-site with our accomodation. we tried it 2 years ago and it was so good, we had to eat there again this time around :)

sorry but we didn't take any pics during the meal itself. it's just kinda corny to take pics in a posh place! lol so it suffice to say that the food was really yummy. we also polished off a bottle of shiraz viognier -- locally produced; 'the vineyard is just down the road!"...

we spent a long time talking (and talking and talking) even though the food came out pretty quickly. we took a moment to gaze at the star-lit sky. i'm not sure if this is a rural thing but i reckon there are more stars in rural locations. te hehe.

we went back to the room, lit candles, attempted to dance but ended up laughing instead. i kinda spoilt the evening coz i developed a major headache (alcohol was the culprit!) so i was lying down with a cold towel over my poor little head. ughh.

but was a great night! yay!

saturday part 2

And then.. we went to salter's for lunch. salter's is the restaurant at the saltram winery.
so whilst i waited for my food, victor scooted off for (more) wine tastings.
we went to 3 winers before lunch.. and i think i drank enough wine for a morning.

view from our table at lunch.

lavenders! At Bethany Wines

MORE lavenders! oh they smell so good.
even better than loccitane or crabtree+evelyn combined ok.
fresh! lavendery! crisp! all natural!

this is victor.
all hyped for more wine tasting.

oh the view.
THE VIEW!
all so hilly and green and pretty and lavendery

the next morning (saturday!)

we woke up really early because everyone we spoke to on friday, kept on asking us the same 1 question.
"are you going for the farmer's market tomorrow?"

and we were like o.O

"what market is this we're talking about?"

so apparently there's this really cool market thing every saturday.
we had to check it out....

firstly - the morning view! (hasn't changed from friday afternoon te he he)

a row of vines - young, budding, tender green vines.
full of promise for the next vintage!

oh look! we found the right place :)

and we had to have this market special breakfast roll because 50% of the people at the market were ingesting this one special roll. (and boy was it good!)
for 5.50 - you have this huge ass roll with egg, big pieces of bacon, onions and the best part -- FREE FLOW SAUCES AND RELISHES!...
we tried the tomato and capsicium relish. total put-u-in-heaven food.

now...where now brown cow? so many things so little time.

cheap local flowers.

old man tending his fruit & veg stalls

inside the tent - chocolates, cheeses, sauces, dried fruits, milk.
and a funny looking scarecrow! :)

CAREME = yum yum yum!
one of the best pastries i've tasted in adelaide..
the danishes were buttery and flakey and yummy
and the pies (one whole post later on) were sooo good.

pics pics pics!

im trying to do this in a chronological order.. so be patient!! :)

driver for the trip... ting ting ting!.. victor chia
"so happy to be of service my lady.."

upon arrival... greeted with a GREAT ROOM! :)

sitting area

freaking king sized bed.
check out the weird 'sausage' decorative pillows. lol

this is bok choy, sitting on the sofa, enjoy the complimentary homemade cookie
(which was yummy by the way)

our private courtyard
and the view!
THE VIEW!
THE VIEW!

hello world!

hello world.

im back! ....

after the mad rush stuffing info in my head for the psych viva.. i rushed back home, packed all my stuff.. and went off to barossa for the weekend.

so now i have to unpack. do my laundry. and stop using (fluff)friends on facebook.

will be right back with photosss!! :)

eeick. 2 more days!

ok i'm deluding myself. it's more like 1.5days to the dreaded psych vivas.
all the information is just swimming in my head. eeeick.


the 'hairspray' soundtrack has been on repeat on the itunes so much so that it's getting abit too overwhelming. time for some soothing and melodious songs.

and when it comes to facebook... *shakes head*...
i HAD to adopt one of those damn (fluff)pets!
now im obsessed with collecting munnies, betting on races, feeding my pet, petting other friends' pets... argh.

ok back to benzoooos. i feel depressed and sedated just thinking about it. >.<

hairspray!

i have been listening to the hairspray soundtrack.
get it if you haven't!
i especially love 'good morning baltimore' and 'i can hear the bells'

i swear good music motivates me to study harder and stay at my desk for a longer period.

but halfway through my mugging, what had to distract me other than the FACEBOOK? sigh, now that more people are using facebook, i get karate chopped, high-fiveed and hugged and cuddled like 10 times a day. throw in the daily wall messages and the pervasive pattern of poking.. you end up with an extremely distracted daphne.

oh facebook. why do you have to exist?

the studying is getting along slow but ok. thankfully i finished the case writeups on wednesday. and that's due on monday! this is something that doesn't happen. i am usually the girl who stays up late the night before the assignment is due, typing frantically at the keyboard wishing God had given me more time.

heh. i am so proud of my self-discipline... only hoping now that it will lasts till friday....

and then i will be off to BAROSSSSA. te he he he!

friday.... hurry!!!!

case writeups.

in the midst of finishing the freaking case writeups.
i am running out of ways to describe a psychotic patient's delusions and complex belief system.
i think that the ability to pen down people's thoughts in a flowery and airyfairy way is a prerequisite to be a psychiatrist.



ugh.

it's already tues!!!.................

nothing much is gonna happen till vivas are out of the way.
oh except the international food fiesta this friday.

can we make 90 chunky sushi rolls in one afternoon?
can we cut salmon fillets into teeny slim strips?
can we cook enough rice to feed the city of adelaide?
can we raise up to the avocado challenge?

stay tuned for the outcome....

RANT RANT RANT

*punches invisible person in the face*

i hate being the object of people's bottled-up anger about the world.

a fellow med mate who shall not be named, went all ballistic on me for no real reason.

it's not my fault u didn't turn up for the tutorial 2 weeks ago.
and it's not my fault u didn't ask around what happened during the tute. (and too bad and too sad for you that the tutor was going away)
and it's even more so not my fault that you didn't confirm if tute was happening this week.

all the virtues of a good diligent medical student is lost the moment u flared up at ME.

I was innocently walking through the ED during the supposed tutorial time (because it was cold outside and my jacket was locked up in the CL office)
and you pulled me aside to rant.

I honestly do not care that you have other things on.
I don't give a damn you travelled down all the way in a bus from your suburban house.
And i don't bother if the bus ride took an hour.

HOW common is the phenomenon of tutorial cancellation in the world of clinical years at medical school?

VERY.

why?
1. patients are doctors' first priority. all we pesky little medical students rank way low in the hierarchy.
2. doctors always have things that they need to attend (conferences, private clinics, this and that)
3. that's life in the real world. sometimes no one cares if we get tutes or not.