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The amount of reading we have to do
2007-05-11 16:45:00
Been trying to reduce my backlog of tutorial work. Everyone has been quite aghast at the amount of tute work i have left undone. Right now, i am hovering somewhere in the middle of my pile of work. I have got another 7 weeks more tute work to slog through. It's crazy, wading through all those journal articles, textbooks and notes.I met up with Sapphire yesterday. We were hanging out at the Gloria Jeans in Borders, and just could not bear to bring ourselves to read another book. In the end we settled for some tabloid magazines, though i am not sure whether that was really a good way for my brain to destress. Somehow, with all the thrash gossip, i thought i felt my brain shrivel up a little. Haha.Anyhow, took a couple of shots of my the scenes when i was studying. Was experimenting with normal, B&W and sepia photos.
More About: Friends , Reading , Photography , Workload , Have

The reflection in the mirror
2007-05-11 03:44:00
I brushed my teeth, and i looked up.Looked up into the mirror, and got a shock.The face that was staring back at me...so stark.It wasn't my face.It was...my dad's.His eyes, which always shine with a serious light, the frown, the solemn expression.I stared into the mirror, and now i understand.Understood why people always exclaimed how much i resemble my father.Because for that one moment in time, i saw.
More About: Bizzare , Reflection , Mirror

Whee...
2007-05-09 17:52:00
And with a flourish, i have signed up for the Million Paws Walk. I am very excited now, can you feeeel it??

Feeling happy
2007-05-09 16:30:00
I have been thinking about my immediate future ever since i learnt that i got into Hospital V for my clinical school studies. That means that i will actually spend the bulk of my med school career in Hospital V. Hospital V is arguably one of the best, but i am having mixed feelings about spending the next 3.5 years in that hospital. I am not complaining, but it is kind of daunting when i envision myself either riding my bike to the hospital (when i need not meet patients and therefore can dress casually) or taking the tram (because there is no way in hell i am riding to the hospital clad in skirt when i need to meet patients).Will i get sick of it? It will be like high school all over again, spending quite a substantial number of years of my life in that institution. I will certainly develop a bond for the hospital (just like i did for high school), and what will it be like when i fast forward a couple of years later, and i start reminiscing the days and missing those days?Also beca...
More About: Happy , Med school , Feeling , Feel

It has been a bizzarre day
2007-05-08 07:41:00
Let me just list the events in order:1) I did not get much sleep last night. I received an urgent sms from a friend at 4am. She was asking me for some serious medical advice regarding a relative of hers. The symptoms sounded severe, so i told her to tell the relative of hers to seek the help of a doctor. Then the bombshell dropped - the person-in-topic is currently in a 3rd world country doing some social work. Medical facilities are apparently, crap. If she needs to see a doctor, she has to fly back; and it has to be a serious medical condition because she cannot just fly back as and when she please. Thus, i was forced to ask my friend to take a very short concise history from her relative by texting her all the relevant questions. I discussed with the Med Clique, and we all agreed she should seek help. Sugar Hyperness suggested that she should consult a doctor from the international agency. Right now, i am trying to get hold of my friend.2) Clinical schools allocation came out. I ...
More About: Friends , Med school , Been , Has Been

Severe lack of sleep
2007-05-07 16:06:00
A very short post.I found my thumbdrive.Oh no.That was my first response.Yay.Was my second response.Now i have 2 titanium thumbdrives. Am very happy.Second thing to update - Daxter voided on my bed, again.The fortunate thing was, i had learnt my lesson from my previous experience. After cracking my brains, i visited a pharmacy and bought a waterproof bedsheet for my mattress. Such a product was meant for incontinent patients, but just as well. I got the brainchild after i went for one of my clinical placements, and Chyn suggested i get one of those disposable first aid sheets. I extrapolated on her suggestion and realized that surely there must be a product in the market meant for incontinent people. I hit pay dirt.Although it was only a mere 5 minutes after i changed my bedsheets to new ones, and Daxter decided to mark it as his, i was a little thrilled that the mattress protector did come in useful. I settled back into bed after stripping my mattress of the soiled bedsheet and dum...
More About: Sleep , Ever , Lack

The ultimate behavior
2007-05-06 17:04:00
Test is in less than 10 hours. Barely through a quarter of the stuff i am supposed to be assimilating, but i am beyond that point. Not intending to study half the shit i am supposed to know.Right now, i am trying to tune in to the lecture recordings for my Health Practice module, and the recordings better be in fine order.Maybe, a good starting point is to start printing out all the required notes first.Oh wait, i should ask someone exactly which weeks' work are being examined.*Slaps forehead*
More About: Behavior , Med school , Workload , Mate , Ultimate

Retching is my first instinct
2007-05-04 12:56:00
AWWWW. I cannot stop squirming in pain after watching this video. I did not realize the groans that were emanating from me till Tiara asked me in alarm what was wrong.Yikes.My bradykinin must have been activated. I am experiencing phantom pain.Via Over my Med Body (April 28 2007).
More About: Videos , Bizzare , First , Etch

Can't wait
2007-05-04 10:21:00
I must say that i really cannot wait for this semester to get out of my hair. Then i can forever bade farewell to the nuisance curriculum of boring lectures coupled with droning sedative professors (though there are some incredible ones out there who make this otherwise shitty life in University a little more bearable, a little brighter) whose lectures induce guilt whether or not i attend.I am really really really not cut out for a lecture-based curriculum. I simply cannot handle mass lectures. I retain zilch information. Whereas when i turn up for one clinical attachment, i forever remember what condition the patient has, the mechanism of his pathology and the treatment required. And this very same disease is the one i have been trying to remember for ages before i saw this patient.Hurrumph.Of course, if i cannot get pass this semester, then i am forever destined to repeat the whole year. Shit.The test on Monday is looming ahead. I think it no longer boils down to whether i am prep...
More About: Med school , Wait

Turning into a couch potato
2007-05-03 05:32:00
When i was younger, and more disciplined, and more hardworking, and waaay smarter, i always wondered how someone could be a couch potato. A couch potato entails sitting or slouching or sleeping on the sofa 24/7 with just a blaring TV screen flickering in front of one's lifeless eyes. I mean, Life! should me more than that right? But that idealistic energetic part of me has been tweaked slightly i think.I realized with increasing awareness that i might have been turning into a couch potato, cell by cell, chromosome by chromosome.How else do you explain why i always feel sleepy after a meal (and i don't overeat either), and how else do you explain why whenever i sit on the couch after dinner, on the pretext of playing with my dogs and spending some time with them to make up for my long day in University, i always INEVITABLY fall asleep? And that no matter how much Tiara tries to get me up, she always never succeed, and i wake up slightly past midnight, and in a sluggish state, attem...
More About: Potato , Couch , Ouch , Turn

Kindness and Graciousness
2007-05-01 17:50:00
It's pretty windy outside now. The wind is howling past my windows and my bedroom door is slamming intermittently against its frame, and this despite it being shut. Tiara is asleep; she's got a test tomorrow and an early lecture. I am on the 3rd level, trying to get through some of my lecture recordings. The dogs are fast asleep on the couch; they have yet to eat their dinners (though there is always a bowl of dry food for them to snack on if they are hungry). Their dinners have been prepared and are currently sitting in front of me, cooling down. I added too much soup into the rice/chicken/mixed vegetables mixture, and now it is looking more like porridge. Oh well.Today's been a pretty good day (even though i lost my 4 year old titanium thumb drive which i love tremendously). I have resumed attending my lectures on Monday. Everyone who meets me in University asks me whether i am on my way home or whether i am coming for classes the next day. It's pretty amusing. Honestly, it fe...
More About: Life , Kindness , Ness , Snes

Robert Hunter
2007-04-29 01:36:00
Not sure if you guys have heard about the Robe rt Hunt er , an anti-whaling ship. Anyhow, this ship created headlines in international news a couple of months back with its high sea drama in Antartic. It was basically trying to prevent Japanese whaling ships from killing any whales.Anyhow, this ship after much hoo-ha (and i think it might have be declared a pirate ship, not sure about that) came to dock in the harbour just behind my house. I took a couple of shots simply because it is kind of cool to read about something in the newspapers, and having it appearing right at my doorstep, literally.

Is it really a good sign?
2007-04-29 01:02:00
I just got back from work. It is currently raining outside now, drizzling one second and pouring the next. It was the same last night. I always ride my bike to work, and so far i have always been fortunate in missing the climax of heaven's sadness. However, i wonder how long more can i hold out for. It is the same with going for classes. I haven't really been called in a God-forsaken downpour yet. I wonder what i will do if i arrive at my destination soaking wet.How has Liz been? I am not too sure myself. Last 2 weeks i went to work, she was in a very bad shape. She was not talking, and very much confused. She was looking at me with no sign of recognition. She could not even lift herself up, and i had to resort to physically lifting her from her bed to the commode (portable toilet) whenever she needs to void. She was also leaning to one side. I thought it was possible she might have gotten another stroke. I checked through the carers' communication book (all of the carers fill in...
More About: Jobs , Real , Sign , Good , Really

Race for a mate
2007-04-28 08:15:00
This is the hand of the guy in my prac class, whom i think was cute. (I can already imagine the uproar i have created amongst you guys. Thank God i am separated from the chaos by my computer screen.)I have never seen him before, but i did notice he has the gentlest kindest eyes ever. Yes, the eyes are the first i notice of the opposite sex. Followed by the abs. HAHAHA.We were doing a microbiology prac and we were trying to cultivate the bacteria present on our hands. Cute Eyes was not my lab partner; he was Mon's. I could have paired up with him, but damn, another girl asked me whether she could do the prac with me and it would be bloody weird if i had said no, and go on to partner up with a postgraduate i have never seen before, let alone speak to. DAMN.I completed by prac early, so i dropped by Mon's table and spoke to her (and of course to further check the postgrad out, discreetly of course. DUH!)."I have never seen him around," i whispered to Mon."Neither have i," Mon shrugge...
More About: Race , Med school , Mate

Erm...you do realize i am 3rd year right?
2007-04-27 17:58:00
I went for my clinical this morning. It was an early tram ride to the clinic. En route many high school students boarded the tram, each adorned with the colours of their school uniforms. The chatter filled the tram, though not as much as i recalled back from my own high school days. The first leg of the journey was filled with girls from the same high school. I quietly observed them, you can easily pick out the popular ones, the Gothic ones, the quiet ones, the studious ones and the sporty ones. Then all of them alighted at the same stop, and it was a huge crowd. Some met up with friends excitedly, others looked like they would rather be in bed.I could not help but smile. It reminds me so much of my own high school days, waiting impatiently at the bus stop with friends, and cursing the bus for taking so long. Arguing with my friends animatedly, and just random talk about things in general. I could easily recognize the Pink Bottles, the Easties, the Xenas and the Lins amongst the hig...
More About: Life , Med school , Real , Right , Year

Dear Life,
2007-04-26 13:33:00
Ease up will ya? Please don't pass me by. I am trying my best but your footsteps are too quick. Have you not realize that you left me behind?Dear Life , i feel like the dumbest kid on the block. I try so hard, but still i don't match up. It's tiring.Dear Life, why do people have expectations? And why do they project their expectations on others? And why do i feel i have to measure up on the time?Maybe i should hang a placard around me neck that reads, "Dumbest student on campus. Keep your expectations to yourself. Good riddance."Sigh.
More About: Rants

Incredibly distracted
2007-04-26 05:09:00
Ok, fuck. I am incredibly distracted.I cannot focus. Hell, i was supposed to complete this lecture recording that i am currently attempting to do, last night, along with 2 others. But i didn't. And then i was supposed to at least complete them today before i head off to my practical session, and i haven't.And why is that?Because my mind is fucking preoccupied about the house, whether or not we might get kicked out (a part of me is laughing at the absurdity of this because come on, it is just one fucking board, another part of me, the more defensive protective part is urging me to think of the worst case scenario so that i would not be in for too big a shock), worrying about the expenses i am forking out for the dogs, worrying about the jobs i need to, want to take on but cannot and worrying about my exams.HOLY MOTHER GOD. MY EXAMS. MAXS ARE YOU CRAZY?? YOU ARE IN MED SCHOOL! THIS IS NOT A WALK THROUGH THE PARK, THIS IS MED SCHOOL, AND MED SCHOOL IS TOUGH. GET A GRIP. MY GOD. ARE Y...
More About: Rants , Stra , Trac

Wham! and another distraction comes along
2007-04-26 03:18:00
I am in the heat once again, as usual. I have got a slight breather though i think the oxygen is running out once again, when i realized my last test (not exam) of this semester is 2 weeks from now instead of next week. Granted, it would be an additional week of materials to study for, but i am not complaining about any extra time i am blessed with, considering i am a whole month behind my study schedule.Yesterday was Anzac Day, a public holiday. I have been in Australia for 3 years now, and every year i tell myself that i will head to the city to have a look at the parade, but every year i am disappointed because of my workload. Now whenever i tell myself that i will go for the parade next year, it is always a half-hearted attempt because i know somehow, no matter how hard i try, i can never be on top of my workload in med school, and any subsequent breaks i am given, i use them to study madly.I have been talking with a fellow dog owner recently. Let's call him Jom. He is the owne...
More About: Distraction , Come , Another , Long , Stra

Playing traunt
2007-04-24 02:08:00
I have been skipping all my lectures in a bid to do some serious catching-up with my workload. We had an emergency evacuation yesterday. It was in the middle of my tutorial. I happened to be the person allocated to write the notes on the whiteboard. There was a small group of med students down the corridor in the lounge having a noisy party (probably first years, i mean who else can be so damn free on a Monday morning right??). Suddenly an announcement came on."Attention, attention. Please evacuate the building immediately. There is a gas leak underneath the building. This is an Emergency. This is not a drill."There were no wailing sirens. I actually thought it was those party-goers playing a prank because this is the 3rd time a similar thing had occurred, except this time there was no siren. But then the tutor hustled us out, and when we left the building, we saw a huge crowd gathered outside. The occupants of the nearby buildings had to be evacuated too, and we were not even allow...
More About: Med school

Classic
2007-04-23 08:25:00
Saw this on Sugar Hyperness's blog. Thought it was an incredibly novel idea. Very creative and original, so i took it for fun. Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™By the way, i have added an entry in my private blog. Click here to be re-directed.
More About: Classic , Class

Cracked boards and mouldy stains
2007-04-20 04:22:00
This has been happening to one of the floorboards on the top level. The floorboard had sprung up a little and i suspect that had caused the wax to go off. Also the dogs have been pissing at the area (no longer though), so i think the dampness had got into the floorboards and caused mould to grow.That's really bad news.I tried using a hospital grade spray on the stain but it ain't going away. For now, the agent and i agreed that it's best we not notify the landlord first and adopt a wait-and-see attitude. I will try not to let the dogs piss on the area anymore and at the end of the year when we do the routine checks, we shall see how it goes.But the agent did reassure me that it is probably just a simple sandpaper and polish job. In my end i thought we had to rip off the whole board and maybe the whole level and re-do everything. The bill is going to sit very well with me, i tell ya.Anyhow, the agent commented that we were very conscientious tenants and he has never met anyone who...
More About: Crack , Rack , Cracked

Suddenly missing them a lot
2007-04-19 16:36:00
Companions for life.Randy, my oldest friend of 12 years now. Been through the ups and downs with me since i was a kid. Will always be the one i fondly remember.Jackie, the rascal who was given to us. Greedy and disobedient at first, he learnt the ropes of my family pretty fast. His affectionate nature, intelligence and loyalty shone through like a beacon. My first medium-sized dog, and my first running companion. Led me to realize how affectionate some dogs can be.Daxter, the most stubborn dog i have ever encountered in my whole life. One who staunchly refuses to listen to any commands, one who embarrasses me thoroughly and test my patience soundly during obedience school. Yet the most good-looking fellow of all, and the one who cheekily knows how to get his way by tugging at your heart strings. Annoying!Kelly, my first female dog, and the youngest of the lot. Brightest of all the males and fittest of everyone. I am astounded. Smashed my preconceived notion that female dogs cannot c...
More About: Miss , Them , Sing , Missing , Missi

Lust for cameras
2007-04-19 15:58:00
Quite ridiculously, i have been hit with the inspiration to re-ignite my photography hobby. I made the mistake of browsing through a comprehensive, professional recommended website about all things cameras (Digital Photography Reviews), and what can i say? I laid my eyes on 2 beautiful gizmo, and now i am making plans to save (like hell) just to get themBehold the Canon PowerShot TX1 digital.It is a compact camera that mimics the more professional and heavier SLR ones, but this baby is packed with a breathtaking 12x zoom.About 4 years ago, after attending a Basic Photography course with Wushu, i came to the conclusion that SLR-like cameras with EVF lens are much more suitable for me. For the course, i was using a Konica Minolta film SLR with a pretty hefty lens. What i hated about that camera (although the photo quality was definitely much more superior, and the lens was obviously superb) its bulk. It was really inconvenient just to lift the whole thing out of my bag, scrambled to a...
More About: Cameras , Lust

Daxter's play antics
2007-04-17 06:55:00
Just for entertainment, this was a video i recorded on my Kodak camera when we went on a short vacation trip to the countryside. It is of Daxter's playing with a moth. Lots of insects in the countryside, perfect for the dogs to meddle around. And yup, we were watching Prison Break, hence the soundtrack. I will post about my countryside trip soon, but i have been busy this week. In fact i had a panic attack yesterday during my tutorial because i realized the seriousness of how far behind i am in my workload. So i skipped all my lectures this week to stay home to do some serious mugging.As for the burn on my thigh, i popped by the doctor yesterday. All is well but i was put on antibiotics just in case i develop an infection. And the antibiotics are horrible. They are huge and they bloody stink. I am poorly compliant when it comes to medications; already i have forgotten to take 2 out of my 3 dosages. Hahaha. I am also using a Vitamin E oil to try to reduce the redness of the scar. Bo...
More About: Play , Workload , Anti , Antics

River run
2007-04-15 13:09:00
This is just a couple of photos i took when i went on my run (which i haven't been doing for a long time, and thus am determined to resume starting with tomorrow because i am feeling FAT and starting to have a bulge in my middle which i absolutely am horrified about).Just to show the river that i ran alongside and the bridge i crossed. Pretty nice for a daily run.
More About: River

Hit and Miss game
2007-04-15 12:42:00
Classes resume tomorrow, and i am not the least bit pleased about it. My grandiose plans of catching up on my workload has flopped miserably. I have decided that my brain just does not match up with the rest of the medical students. Why? I honestly tried to study, and i put in some serious effort. But still i could only manage to complete one chapter of immunobiology before my brain just went kaput. It's not that i lost the motivation to read on after 4 hours of sitting at my desk, but rather i discover much to my dismay that i was reading the same sentence thrice and yet i was still not comprehending its meaning. Also i no longer remember what i was reading. It baffles me how so many medical students can just dedicate the whole day to studying and still retain what the hell they were reading. Thus, it led me to the conclusion that my brain is just not made of the same material. Of course with such a revelation comes acceptance. Acceptance is good, because it just lessens the guilt...
More About: Med school , Game , Miss

Feeling like i am having an affair
2007-04-14 06:49:00
The photos my mum sent me, of Randy and Jackie, well, i have been thinking more about them than i care to believe.I realize now how much i have forgotten about Randy and Jackie.Does Jackie leap up to greet me when i come home?How did Randy behave when i was bathing him?How did Jackie react when i brought him out on walks and he spies other dogs in the distance? What would Randy usually do when i was studying? Sit with me on my chair? Nestle at my feet?I remembered so much but forgot as much.It is not the first time i have thought about it. How can i just buy 2 more dogs in Australia, when i have 2 waiting for me at home? Is it fair on Randy and Jackie? Will i forget them?Sometimes, i feel like i am betraying them (Randy and Jackie). I feel like someone who has had an affair and had created another family outside of the one she already has. And the other family is waiting for me, waiting patiently hopefully, for the day i would come back and spend the rest of my days with them. Will ...
More About: Fair , Like , Feeling , Feel , Ving

Nearing the end of my Easter holidays
2007-04-13 14:14:00
Hallo everyone, i have been missing for almost a week and that's because i took off to the countryside with Tiara and the dogs for a break. I will not blog about the road trip and country getaway now, simply because i can't spare the time (since i have to narrate what we do and add captions to each of the photos i took) but i will just update on my life in general. I just want to add that i will definitely blog about my countryside getaway because it was action-packed (including earning myself a speeding ticket and having to take a breath analyzer test when all i had was chocolate!), and the photos have been uploaded to my laptop anyway (which always make everything a little easier).Let's see, i sat in with the GP again and observed her consultations with her patients. I got to administer 2 intramuscular injections all by myself for the first time, one in the buttocks and one in the arm, so that was pretty good. I had to take the blood pressure of the patient which was kind of ne...
More About: Holidays , Easter , Med school , Ring , Near

Friends for life
2007-04-08 23:28:00
My mom sent me this picture. She recently acquired a new 10 megapixel Olympus camera.It's just surprising how much i actually miss these 2 rascals. It is also quite evident that Randy has aged since i last saw him, and the merciless cataracts in his eyes have been unrelenting. Jackie? By golly, he has grown fatter again.*****Friends for life.It's bewildering what friends can do.A great friendship can be broken just by a word, a simple action or through nothing at all.My patience is wearing thin.When you think it's time to come around, i have probably made my decision, and i guess that's the saddest part of all.Decision-making can be painful, but you know i never shrink away.I am tired, and i hate emotional backlash like this. If you are truly my friend, you face this head on and not beat around the fucking God damn bush.I am sorry, but i am really busy and i simply have no time for games like these. Maybe it's your way, but it ain't mine, then maybe i guess we go our own separ...
More About: Life , Ends

The tricks of medical students
2007-04-06 11:52:00
I have been wanting to write this particular post for a long time now, after i observed the behaviour of several medical students. Unfortunately, i did not have the time, and now i cannot guarantee that i will recall everything that i want to say.Medical students are not as hardworking as we seem. Seriously, some of us do get by with minimal studying, and i am not implying we are smart or anything. I am just reminding the general masses out there that we are like any other normal University student who tries their best to get through classes as painlessly as possible.There is a postgraduate medical student in my cohort, who also i think happens to be the unofficial clown of the faculty. He always sits in the front row, and no, he is not a nerd. In fact, most times when i am glancing around the lecture theatre in boredom, i would see him completing the crossword puzzle in the newspaper or looking up his astrological sign for the day. Other times, he would be making discreet funny ant...
More About: Students , Tricks , Med school