Rice Pot Diaries

NEW BLOG SPACE

2008-01-09T01:30:00.000+08:00

Its been 3 good years at blogspot albeit with slacked periods and frenzy periods of blogging in between. Anyway, i' ve decided to move on to Window's live space and make use of their ultra friendly blogging tool instead.

Actually, its so that even if i don't blog, you all will still have nice pics to look at seeing that i have an Everest of assignments, lectures, ward work, exams and all that med school mumbo jumbo.

Right, i wanted to end with a good note here so for a major, big time, embarassing, big headed prawn(think the biggest) moment, please head over to my new online journal via:

http://cid-9c896b4f6cfe3238.spaces.live.com/

Prego Roma!

2007-12-22T20:32:00.001+08:00

I hope you enjoy the pics above. I finally sorted through 600 pictures and these are the few I've decided to upload.

Rome, Rome, Rome... where should I start? Day 1 was b-a-d because Alex got pickpocketed on the stuffy, crampy Metro. We were in shock as we trudged on towards our Bed and Breakfast. When we arrived, we were told that instead of 2 rooms, they have nicely put us all together in one room. Thank God, the room was big and although we had to share a common toilet, it was spacious and very clean. They've also decided to charge us less and I wonder if that's the reason our breakfast consisted of just coffee, juice, bread and buns. Anyway, we made do and tried our best to enjoy the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, Constantine's Arch and Campidoglio.

Day 2 was spent at the Vatican City and I absolutely enjoyed myself! We started at the Vatican Museum and while the rest went ahead, I armed myself with an audioguide. The 6 euros was so worth it! All the frescoes, tapestries, different rooms and galleries and even individual exhibitions of all sorts were explained. All you had to do was press the number on the audioguide to hear the stories. Sistine Chapel was amazing and I got to sneak one picture before the guard told me pictures were forbidden. Imagine waking up to Da Vinci, Perugino, Carravagio, Van Gogh, Michelangelo, Raphael etc... sigh... The Pope is so lucky :) It was no surprise I was the last one to exit the museum. We then head on to St Peter's square and basilica. After climbing 521 steps which progressively got narrower, we were rewarded with a magnificent 360 view of the Vatican City. It started drizzling and we went back down into the basilica. Everyone was really quiet and respectful and we were there at the right time to witness mass that was led by the Cardinal. We didn't understand a word of course. It started raining heavily when we exited the Vatican City but weather improved and we spend the remainder of the evening at the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps and countless Piazzas (not pizzas).

Day 3 consisted of the Roman Forum, Trajan Market, Quirinal Palace & Garden, Imperial Fort, Vittoriano, Trevere river and Marcello Theatre. I'm sorry for just spluttering the names of the attractions but that is what Rome is like. It's such an overwhelming place with chunks and bits of history and heritage deposited all over the city. A mere description of its attractions will do it no justice. Its somewhere you've all got to be at to experience and understand.

I will post more pics as soon as I get them from Alex :). With half of my laundry done, I'm ready for Barcelona woo hoo!

Don't die please...

2007-12-10T05:20:00.000+08:00

I'm referring to my poor blog which I've ignored for the past weeks. Its time to give it a charge up! However, I'm beginning to doubt my ability in updating it in the future with all that I have to cope with.

First up, Paediatrics is finally coming into its last week. Although it was really hectic and hence my impaired blog-updating, it was good fun because I got to relive my childhood. You get to play cards and sing nursery rhymes. I still don't get Nellie the Elephant and I should really download it seeing that that's the speed with which I've got to do chest compressions in Paed Life support. I did colouring too! That was before my patient went to get her tonsils out so we coloured together and the nurse thought I was my patient's sister! Plus, I found out that I look like a paediatrician but this doesn't mean I want to be one! What is with all these remarks from doctors I keep getting???

Next up is Malaysian Night 08 (Click to watch the trailer). Its going to be our biggest event next year and yours truly is putting on her dancing shoes again. The turnout last year was 300 even though only 200 tickets were available! Its about Hang Li Po, Hang Jebat & Hang Tuah. I'll be in charge of the chinese dance and because I've got to get it done, my plans to go London after Barcelona shall be sacrificed.

Talking about holidays, I have 3 more days and I'll be off but not without work to do because I've got to find out whats the best way to cover the Vatican City in one day. I just found out that most of the paintings in the Sistine chapel and the other galleries do not come with adequate description. Does this mean I need a crash course in Art History? Help anybody?

Lights On Liverpool!

2007-11-19T03:22:00.001+08:00

Weekly Bits

2007-11-12T02:35:00.000+08:00

Good Bits

1) I cooked for 15 people in Student Fellowship. Dish prepared was my own special fried rice and by special I mean a recipe conjured out of "not having this and running out of that". I used minced beef, onions, eggs, broccoli and carrots. Result was edible by my standards but praise God, everyone really liked it! Hee hee, most had second helpings and whatever left was "tapow"-ed back home.

2) I bought a really nice, thick trenchcoat for 25 pounds! Can't wait to wear it to Empire theatre for CATS tomorrow! (wait, thats 2 good bits actually)

3) CATS at Empire Theatre tomorrow. It is by the original West End Production Company :)

4) Creme Brulee Latte at Starbucks

5) Ward work starting tomorrow. Yay!

Bad Bits

1) Ding and I cried our eyes out while chopping onions. It was the most depressing culinary preparation Jon and Edward has ever seen.

2) I tried frantically to stop this 3-year-old from eating sand in the nursery at the expense of my hair and clothes but apparently, thats what kids in UK do during playtime. Eat sand?!?! I shouldn't have bother since all I accomplished from it was becoming a laughing joke sprinkled with sand all over.

3) The laughing joke with sand all over also picked up the flu bug from nursery.

4) Tsunami of Lectures at the Royal Children's Hospital. I was swept away with nothing to cling on.

5) Weather woes. Its getting colder duh but it will be 0 degrees tom when I get to the hospital! I didn't think we will hit 0 so fast. Oh dear...

I Miss LWH!

2007-11-08T02:49:00.000+08:00

This is a glimpse of my 6 weeks in obs & gynae. Sorry if the pics look blur or misty. They were taken using my K810i but there are a few by good ol' Lumix.

Remember, remember the 5th of November...

2007-11-06T06:11:00.000+08:00

Oh my gosh, if obs and gynae was hardcore, paeds is the hardest core? I was completely fooled by the Mon to Tues schedule, happy at last to get 2 days of a week free but after having one day at Royal Liverpool Children's NHS, I'm utterly convinced that stress is here to stay. This time, all us 3rd years have to adhere to a strict rule. We have got to sign into hospital by 0900 hours and sign out no earlier than 1630/1700 hours. Its not entirely a bad thing with a structured rotation but is it too rigid? Then again, there are the 5th year and Oxford students around competing for attention as well so they probably have no choice but to timetablelize my Mondays to Tuesdays. The amount of lectures are horrendous :( I actually sat through 4 of them today and I've got to sit through 5 tomorrow. AAAAHHHHH!!!

Anyway in regards to my post title, tonight was Bonfire night! I don't know what its significance is but basically its an excuse to do open burning and waste money on fireworks. That was my mindset until I got to Sefton park, a massive, open landscape in the suburbs to witness a 30 minute firework display. It was AWESOME. Loads and loads of people with children and MASSIVE fireworks.(Pics will be up later, need to get them from Alex). That was a nice escape from the brain-frying 8 hours I spent in hospital today. Thank you Lord!

Cheeky Post on the Staff Room Wall

2007-11-02T07:29:00.000+08:00

Last night as I lay sleeping
I died or so it seemed
Then I went to heaven
But only in my dream

Up there St Peter met me
Standing at the pearly gates
He said, I must check your record
You know, just in case

I saw that you drank alcohol
And smoked and used drugs too
Fact is you've done everything
A good person should never do

We can't have people like you up here
Your life was full of sin
Then he read the last of my record
Took my hand and said, "Come in"

He led me to the Big Boss and said
Take her in and treat her well
She used to work for the NHS
She has done her time in hell

Halloween Take 1

2007-11-01T09:30:00.000+08:00

I can't believe I actually got dragged to my very first halloween party hosted none other by the ever popular Esther Cole ;) Anyway, the first guess I got on my costume was "Is it a fortune-teller thing?" Gee people... I believe the correct term is Gypsy? Yes, I went as a gypsy partly...actually entirely because I didn't have to shell out lots of precious pounds to dress up. It was good fun trying to guess who was behind the masks and not so good fun being scared to death by really, really spooky costumes especially one that looked like a dementor...*shudder*. Anyway, these are selected pictures. I will post the rest on Facebook. Now, why am I not sleeping but blogging when I have CIRCUS(will explain some other time) tomorrow???

2007-10-25T01:43:00.000+08:00

I actually the survived being awake from 8 am to 8 am! I can't remember being in scrubs for that long a period. After the first 10 hours, they started feeling like my PJs.

Being on the delivery suite is a blur of C-sections interrupted only by occasional, adrenaline-pumping Gynae emergencies that would send me and my SPr sprinting through the 1st and 2nd floor from one OT to the other.

Besides keeping up with the SPr, I had to be careful around nurses who are in a crappy mood and trust me. there's plenty of them around but you can't blame them, they are working in a crappy shift. The computers all around the ward and OT's either have "When Can We Go Home?", "What The $%#@ Are We Still Doing Here" or "Please Get Me Out Of Here!!!" At the end, I only knew how tired my body was when I finally tucked into bed at 8 am after being on my feet for 24 hours.

I repeat the same thing tomorrow from 7 am to 2 pm but in the normal ward so I'm looking forward to some normal births. I shall rely on the same stuff to keep me going ie. McVities and free coffee/tea/yin yong ;)

Coping...

2007-10-19T01:42:00.000+08:00

I've passed the one month mark already but it feels like I've been here for ages. Time flies by weeks over here and yes, I'm coping. This is because I've learnt to sacrifice certain things like sleep and my poor blog.

After freezing my butt off at the operation theatre today, my very nice Specialist Registrar declined to sign my portfolio. Instead, she asked me to come back on Monday morning at 8am!!! This is so I can do ward rounds with her, scrub in and also because she wants me to insert some urine cathethers into patients. I would be jumping for joy, would be... but I'm oncall on Monday which means I'll be at the Women's on Monday from 8 am to hopefully 4 pm and then at 8pm through to 8 am Tuesday. Before I can say no, "Right, I'll see you Monday then, May!"

The warning bells for Burnout is ringing. I will try my bestest not to resort to Modafinil(anti sleep pill) just yet.

2007-10-13T19:28:00.000+08:00

Its been quite a week I must say. Basically, I'm now finally relaxing in my little cosy corner room trying to battle a leaky nose which happened out of the blue. I've been rushing in and out of hospital and I've not really noticed how much the seasons have switched places. Its autumn! The 2 trees outside my window are dressed in golden leaves that are falling one at a time. Absolutely beautiful!

I did my first evening shift at the Gynae ER last night so I was pretty konked out by the time I got home. God has really blessed me with good friends in Liverpool. Richard and Ai Wei picked me up from the Women's hospital so I didn't have to walk home and then we joined the rest of LCGC's student fellowship at McD's by the docks. After all the clerking and examinations and beeping, I charged up my batteries with a FREE burger. How cool is that? Students get free burgers here and you don't have to buy anything!

Croeso I Gymru

2007-10-06T19:54:00.000+08:00

Two weels ago, I travelled to North Wales, Ewloe to spend a weekend with Corrina and Keith. After being forced to say, "I support Liverpool Football Club", I settled into their lovely home. Wales is something like New Zealand, hills of greeneries dotted with sheep and ruins of ancient castles. The language Cymraeg is still used on signboards and street signs but its one of the dying languages. It sounds very Elvian like in the Lord of the Rings.

Its quite clear I have been underutilizing my Lumix. Hopefully this will change soon! Cheers!

That Day at the Museum

2007-10-01T00:54:00.000+08:00

These are some past pictures I took when we visited the World Museum in City centre 2 weeks ago. Do not be fooled by how sunny the pictures look. It was still quite chilly. There's more to come! Forgive my laziness in posting up the pictures I take every now and then. Miss you all so so much!

One Week Down!

2007-09-29T06:35:00.000+08:00

I'm really really enjoying my rotation at Liverpool Women's Hospital. Today, I finished up at Neonatology which was a pity because you have some degree of attachment to Baby So-and-So. They are so young, some of them literally just a few hours old and yet, are fighting so hard just to make it past the first 24 hours, the first week, the first couple of kilograms. I praise God that they are actually in a place where they get the best of what medicine has to offer them.

I know I'm going non-stop about the hospital but it really is different. An old man actually plays beautiful lilting melodies on a harp in the afternoon in the reception area everyday. I found that he's not hired and he plays because he wants to, because of the person he is. There is a kind of genuineness and raw sincerity which I've come to acknowledge and love. Its not just found in this particular hospital but in the city of Liverpool and its people.

One Week of Eenie Meenies

2007-09-25T03:47:00.000+08:00

My rotation at Liverpool Women's Hospital started off promising today. I woke up at 6.30 without an alarm clock, made my first packed lunch which consisted of a 3 tier wholemeal bread with butter and jam, a mini chocolate muffin, orange juice and an apple. Then I stepped out of my hall and was going to enjoy the 10 minute walk to class when warning bells sounded in my mind!

BBC weather forecast predicted today was supposed to be rainy! Darn it. I've got the wrong coat on, no umbrella and no hat and 5 minutes after realising this, it rained. Although back home in Malaysia, we would categorize it as a light shower instead of raining, I was pretty damp by the time I got there so after flashing my brightest smile to everybody, I coolly went to the toilet and dried myself.

When I was done and could finally face everybody again, I just realised I was inside one of the prettiest and cosiest hospitals ever! There are loads of nice sofas and designer chairs in our Blair Bell Education center where we can relax in between lectures, trying to soak in some sun through the glass roof and windows. The place feels more like a huge English Cafe instead of a hospital.

Liverpool Women's hospital is UK's biggest of its kind. They have 8200 deliveries per annum not including thousands of referrals that pour in all the time because all the expensive and high-tech baby machines are there. The consultants are really friendly and all we have to be slightly careful with are the midwives. We were told to make them a cup of tea sometimes to make our lives easier and its funny how the obstetricians still do that.

I had to sit through 3 lectures, do a neonatology (study of newborn babies < 6 months old) round with a consultant and sign up for 3 clinics. On top of that, I have to present a case this Friday and my poor patient is in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit! I seriously don't know what I'm going to do with the sudden flow of workload...

Pic of The Week

2007-09-23T23:51:00.000+08:00

I love this picture! All of us except Mr. Cameraman, Alex who's doing a great job. Many a times, my Lumix is rendered useless. This proves that I am diagnosed with 2nd stage Photodependency Syndrome. Why 2nd stage you wonder? Because I still carry my camera with me everywhere I go ha ha.

What Have I Been Up To...

2007-09-22T06:11:00.000+08:00

The answer is utterly predictable, starts with an "S" and ends with holes in wallets. I don't know why but I just seem to be buying stuff all the time and its not shopping shopping, its more of stocking shopping. I shall explain the difference.

Shopping shopping is when a person is at ease with everything and is totally carefree. She most likely is living with her parents or guardian and has a certain amount of money that she has no hand in making but with which she can do anything with. Depending on the amount and preference, she is likely to indulge herself in whatever that pleases her eyes. When you're shopping shopping, you have to pay a price a.k.a. GUILT (or at least I do when I'm back home).

Now, stocking shopping is in essence, the same thing which is dishing out cash but with a different motive and desired end result. She most likely is living on her own and has to take care of her own meals, laundry, expenses, rent etc. Shopping now encompasses buying the most necessary items in order to prepare for say, a colder season, future pack-you-own lunches and cook-yourself-meals. The objective of shopping has changed from indulgence to survival. The price you pay is not guilt but HOMESICKNESS.

The price I'm paying now is 95% Homesickness and 5% Guilt. I'm sure you all can work it out from here ;)

International Students Welcoming Fest

2007-09-18T22:14:00.000+08:00

Every year in Liv, programs for a couple of days are set up for brand new international undergrads and postgrads. I didn't think it would be a big thing but my my, they really pamper us and it is absolutely nothing like IMU's orientation.

The epitome of it was last night where all the newbies were treated to dinner at the famous and historic Britannia Adelphi hotel. Its like the great fest before Hogwart's term except this is to "mark the start of a wonderful relationship with our university and our city" (as quoted by the Lord Mayor of Liverpool).

Besides the posh food and surroundings, I really enjoyed the lucky draw although nobody from our table won anything. It was so funny and weird that the 3 tables that surrounded us won 8 out of the 15 prizes available. When it finally came to the last 2 draws, the two winners were called up together and they had to choose from two closed up bags. Can you guess what was in it? When the two lucky dudes pulled the their prize out, everyone cheered and clapped like crazy! It was 2 original jerseys, one Everton FC and the other Liverpool FC! It was good fun ha ha.

The weather was rather worrying as it dropped to 8-9 degrees celsius so I was wondering how the heck we're gonna walk home but I had no reason to worry cos the uni catered buses for us and promptly dropped us at the front of our halls with minimum exposure to the chilly winds. Life is good...

2007-09-11T05:38:00.000+08:00

Today at the hospital started out with postmortems and I guess its time to throw away all my daydreams about being a forensic pathologist/coroner inspired by Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta and all the CSI pathologists. Maybe its the way the bodies come in, like fallen Madame Tussaud's Wax models with eyes wide open, still staring but not seeing or the rotten stench which you can still smell behind the viewing gallery. Whatever it is, I think I can safely cross out Pathology from my future. It was just so good to walk to the bus stop at the end of the day where you meet and talk with living persons. This morning has renewed my perspective on life, on being alive and living a life...

A Lil' Bit of Liv

2007-09-08T01:21:00.000+08:00

Ok, these are basically some on-the-way-home pics I decided to take randomly just to give you all a little taste of Liverpool.

Traffic is generally moderate and rarely do you find one the likes of KL so its pretty pleasant when you're walking on foot but when you're on the buses, its not so nice because the buses are driven really fast and they seem to brake anytime they want.

The castle-like building is St Luke's church but I'm not going to say more as we will be visiting it soon and I'd like to blog more about it but really, its a darling of a building. Rapid is Liv's version of IKEA.

The Eye and Ear Infirmary which is just infront of my hall. Its rather quiet and I don't see people walking in and out much. I wonder what goes on in there.

You call this lovely place the Phil which is short for The Philharmonic Dining Rooms. We had the pleasure of dining here with our hallmates last Sunday and in short, lovely place, lovely food and lovely people so if any of you ever drop by here, I'll definitely bring you to chill at the Phil!

2007-09-04T04:50:00.000+08:00

Induction week started today at Whiston hospital and if you think Malaysian hospitals are confusing, wait till you come to Whiston hospital. Basically, you have to rely on asking people where certain departments are or risk walking one grand circle and crossing roads which you just crossed 10 minutes ago.

I thank God for the sun today because the weather is steadily becoming colder and colder. Even with sunshine, I feel cold. Then this pathologist tells us in winter, temperatures drop to - 10. Oh oh...

Studies wise, the engines are creaky in my top shelf and are struggling to warm up so no more going out, pubs and whatnot. Lecture today was about death certification and postmortem stuff. What a way to restart med school!

Lovely Liverpool

2007-09-03T00:49:00.000+08:00

It really is out of my expectation and I didn't expect Liv to be this lovely. I've been walking ALOT. Everytime we go to Tesco or Rapid, we go home and then come out again cos its just not possible to lug the stuff we buy around. However, I'm not complaining because you just can't take in enough of the beautiful Victorian buildings that line the streets.

Last night was my first time drinking in an English pub, one that was frequented by Paul Mccartney. I was super scared of smoke and whatnot but when I went there, I just realised nobody in UK smoke in pubs anymore plus I had 1 glass of red wine and it was only 1 pound fifty pence! No wonder, they drink so much in UK. I had a lovely time spent talking and laughing with new found friends.

Since its Sunday, I went to the Liverpool Chinese Gospel Church and I had a lovely time of worship and Holy Communion. We also got to witness 8 baptisms and hearing some of their testimonies really refreshed me.

I haven't been taking pics yet but I will. Tonight, we'll be having a traditional english dinner(whatever that means)in a pub with hall mates. The "Times 7" song is playing again in my head...

Miss You All!

2007-09-01T15:33:00.000+08:00

Not Quite...

2007-08-28T14:59:00.000+08:00

the last post in Malaysia...

Sing Yee and I are actually still in KL ha ha because we missed our flight to London on Saturday. It really really wasn't our fault because JPA either told us the time wrongly or they booked the flight at the wrong time. Our flight was supposed to be 12 noon and not 12 midnight but neither of us could do anything because JPA held our passports and flight tickets. Haish... I feel so STRANDED and I'm sure my family and friends who came to send me off felt the same way too.

STRANDED was until yesterday. Now I feel so WOW because God is so good. All economy flights on various airlines to UK are fully booked and to make up for their big blunder, JPA actually bought us business class seats on MAS to Frankfurt where we will then transit to Manchester. It take about the same time and we leave Malaysia tonight ... I'm still WOW!

My Last Post...

2007-07-30T20:36:00.000+08:00

...in Malaysia

I'm finally all packed and right now, FedEx is my bestest friend cos they shaved 10 kgs off my check in luggage. I have 2 bags and they are named Itsy and Bitsy respectively because they're quite itsy bitsy for a student leaving home for the first time.

The 20 kg limit was a shock but oh well, I've been so so blessed in other ways and while I know I'm going to miss home so much, I know I'm going to like it there so much too. My journey as a med student is finally opening a new chapter. Now as I look back, I decided to study medicine to find some meaning somewhere but after you get meaning, you get something else called purpose and then you realise its not about me, its not about finding meaning so I'll feel good, its not about securing your future financially but really its all about God, its all about where you are in his plans and its all about including Him in the unique journey He has chosen to bless each and everyone of us with. I guess thats in for now, this is Suet May blogging to you from Malaysia. Its been such a pleasure, till the next time!

Time flies like an arrow, Fruit flies like a banana...

1)Finish up attachment at UMMC (I finished already!!! I really thank God for giving me such an amazing and priceless opportunity)

2) Go down to Singapore (Just got home yesterday on Thursday. I must say... Aeroliner is definitely first class. Its exactly like a plane just that the bus doesn't fly. You get pillows, blankets, hot drinks and even movies! The only thing that annoyed me was the public announcement that was super exaggerated all the time. I had a really wonderful time tumbling about and yeah I ate a lot thanks to Po Po and Auntie Thelma who's main aim for 4 days were to stuff me cos I grew "skinny". I also got my first British Pound, a beautiful Parker pen and lots of other goodies. Thank you Uncle Leng, Mabel Sum sum! Love you all)

3) Be of good help at the Cancer Conference (This is the perfect ending to my never ending attachment. I expected some boring, scientific conference but I am pleasantly surprised that its a lot to do about real issues surrounding survival. I started off being impressed by topshot surgeons, oncologists etc. but in the end, there was not one person in the room who did not agree that the real heroes are the ones with cancer. To be able to hear survivors and persons still battling cancer encouraging us on and speaking up about their experiences has made me even more aware of the other aspect of healthcare. It may not seem important to us med students about the whole empathy jumbo but I realised from the conference, it can make or break a person who already is distressed with cancer but still have to put up seeking help from a "professional" who doesn't care enough. I had a lovely team of volunteers and though I was team leader, I didn't have to do much as they basically run automatically. It was awesome making new aquaintances and not too mention lovely fun and FOOD!)

4) Go back Ipoh (The time I spent in Ipoh was way too short so I had to eat double of everything in double speed to be able to cover most of my favourite foods. However, certain things like Indian Rice and Egg tart still slipped me by. Needless to say it was so, so good. Will blog about it later in Makan Club when I have time. I love my little Ipoh town!)

5) Buy everything I need to take to UK (I think...I have everything except for my checklist which I lost ha ha)

6) Have last meal with friends (Thanks to all of you for making my last few weeks so memorable. Love you all!)

7) Get last two booster japs (I had to wait 2 hours to get this done and practically flipped through all her magazines!!! Looks like my GP has prospered ha ha. It all went smoothly and Hep A, Hep B boosters aren't too painful thank God. The Doc also nicely sent me away with advice and encouragement about being a med student. )

8) Visit the Dentist (Praise God, Dentist was in a good mood. I always pray fervently before I walk in for my appointment. This is to ward off bad moods especially when he's scaling my teeth. Flossing my teeth diligently has paid off and he was done in 20 minutes.)

9) Cut my hair (All my hairstylist said was," The best I can do is a cut which lasts 4 months...")

9) EAT (I definitely acheived this a gazillion %)

Cinta WHAT?!?!

2007-07-28T21:28:00.000+08:00

My sister just switched to NTV 7 and now the whole family is watching Cinta Keropok Lekor... "sweat". Isn't it amazing what names they are capable of coming up with. The show is the usual BGR and without a doubt, it pales in comparison to Sepet. Cinta Cendol or Cinta Pisang Goreng anyone? ;)

2-In-1

2007-07-26T17:34:00.000+08:00

I got the opportunity to watch Mastectomy and Breast Reconstructive surgery today at the OTs today which means the patient is undergoing Breast and Plastic surgery at the same time. The op was really horrible but the humour supplied by Prof and the Plastic surgeon help numb it a little.

Basically the breast is taken out through two holes while the Plastic surgeon and her team remove a chunk of fat and a little bit of skin from the abdomen to replace the missing breast. I expected the entire chunk to be taken out of the body and then stuffed into one of the holes left by Prof but oh no...I was dead wrong. They actually create a small opening between the breast and abdomen cavity. They then proceed to make sure the chunk of fat still has its artery and vein connection before stuffing it through the miniscule opening! Oh my... I really thank God for Anaesthesia.

To make matters worse, the chunk of fat was a little too large so after stuffing and stuffing, we find that one side is 34C while the other is 34A!!! I nearly fainted...The patient is blissfully unaware of all the tugging and stuffing. I don't think she'll complain because after all, she gets a boob job and a free tummy tuck.

All Was Well

2007-07-24T10:22:00.000+08:00

I finally got my copy of Harry Potter 7 yesterday and it took me 12 hours to finish cover to cover. I started at 11 am and ended just before 11 pm. I just have to say I feel so relieved now that its over not because it wasn't a good series. Oh no, in fact I think JK Rowling has penned one of the greatest work of fiction in this age.

The feeling was not unlike the time when I completed LOTR. After all this while, chasing after Harry, Ron and Hermione can be tiring. It was really fun and all in the first 4 books and then became increasingly darker and heavier. The last book by far is her most complicated and twisted one of course and I don't blame her because she had soooooo many characters to finish up and make sure their ends were properly tied up.

So yeah, I shall not say more for fear that some of you who have not read will stupefy me. Goodbye Harry Potter and Gang! Till the next time I reread the entire series again.

Crazy Guy On A Bike

2007-07-23T13:07:00.000+08:00

I always find it very exciting and a tad weird whenever I find somebody I know in the newspaper or TV or radio so yeah whenever that happens, I get to scream,"Hey! I know this guy!(or gal)" and this morning I did.

It's not like I know him well but its still exciting all the same. We've only played tennis together a couple of times during A'Level days and he was from the American Degree program. He probably doesn't remember me but anyway to Tzuo Hann, Good Luck on Your Mission!

Here's the article from today's Star.

MALAYSIAN CYCLING HOME FROM US
by Audrey Edwards

Law Tzuo Hann has never gone scouting, camping or hiking. He likes cycling but reckons that, like an other average person, he has done about 500km of cycling.

At the Duke University in North Carolina, where Law, 22, graduated in biomedical engineering and economics, it hit him that it would be a great idea to see the world on wheels. He spent his entire fourth year researching for equipment and routes, working on raising money and talking to people who had done similar trips.

And, on May 28, he started from the United States on his great cycling adventure heading back home to Taiping, Perak. He pedalled off from Los Angeles, reaching Washington DC in 38 days, covering a distance of 5,625km.

“Flying does not really count since you experience isolated regions instead of experiencing how they connect to each other,” he said.

“Travelling in a motorised vehicle is common and does not allow you the many nuances of travel like the sounds, smell and contact with people.

“Walking is too slow. I do want to get on with life, so cycling seemed perfect,” he said in a phone interview.

“I like cycling. I have some savings, no girlfriend or job or commitments. It is the best time to do it and here I am,” he said.

He cycles about 150km daily and his daily routine begins between 5.45am and 6.30am, stopping at about 7.30pm. He takes a three-hour break in the middle of the day. Yesterday, he flew to Dublin, Ireland, to begin the European leg of the journey. He has another 15,000km to go.

He said that he would like to see emerging from this adventure was a charitable effort involving international and domestic organisations, and said that matters were being worked out to channel funds to a few such organisations in Malaysia and the Mae Tao Clinic in Myanmar.

For more, check out http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/longwayhome

Harry Potter and the Stingy Bookstores

2007-07-22T16:02:00.000+08:00

Haiyo... I'm sure you all have heard by now that MPH, Times and Popular have all refused to sell the final installment of the Potter Boy series to those who did not prebook. What's the fuss???

This goes to show that they sell overpriced books. If you think Tesco and Carrefour are the only ones selling the book for RM 69.90, Britain's Daily Express have reported that ASDA and Tesco UK are selling it for 5 pounds(RM 35)!!!

I'm sure J.K. Rowling will be pleased that the books are being sold for a much cheaper price so that more people can afford them. I haven't got my copy and am now wondering where to get it but I can wait.

Today was...

2007-07-19T21:24:00.000+08:00

Tiring... I konked out in the car on the way home.

Too bad... I didn't get to watch Harry Potter with IMU gang.

Tough... Some surgeries were delayed because patients were not stable.

Not Perfect But Still AWESOMATED!!!

2007-07-15T22:48:00.000+08:00

I finally watched Transformers and I'm blown away. It was a 2 hour plus wicked, adrenaline-pumping ride! Queuing up twice in 2 different cinemas was so worth it. After an unsuccesful attempt at Cineleisure (because someone wanted THX surround sound only), we had to concede with GSC. The half hour queue ended in front of a snobby guy who said 6.15 was sold out and didn't allow us to wait for reserved tickets to be opened. Then we met a beautiful angel, Jacqueline (she was selling tickets at the other end) who allowed us to wait. If you ever see her at GSC, be nice and give her a big smile for me :)

The "Evil Jock's Concubine" who had all the cool moves. The only scene I found cheesy was the part before Whitwicky dashed for the building with All Spark and the ending when they were making out in front of the autobots. What the...

Megatron, the Chief "Evil Energiser Bunny from Hell" died really suddenly too. A little anticlimax because I thought Whitwicky put the cube in Optimus' chest. Maybe they should have filmed him thinking about it first.

But like I said, it was still WICKED!!! My favourite transformer is Bumblebee. He may not have the cool changing effect like Optimus Prime but he's a good guardian, loyal and quick to please (he changed into a sleek cammaro after Mikhael's comments). Originally, he's supposed to transform into a Volkswagon Beetle or Goldbug.

Someone had a high too when KPMG and Deloitte buildings were shown in the last fight. I loved the parts where all the autobots rolled on together. They looked so good and REAL. If my Getz was an autobot, I wonder how he'll look like...(in dreamland). I came out of the movie all smiles, really really high and nearly walked into the Male's Restroom. I think I'm gonna watch it again! IMAX Theathre hopefully.

Could this be my baby?

2007-07-13T11:36:00.000+08:00

I think my patience in purchasing a camera is paying off and I shall keep waiting until the very last hour ha ha. At this point, I am seriously considering the Lumix FX 100 because of its...

New 28 mm wide angle Leica DC Lens

12.2 Mega pixels

2.5" High resolution LCD screen

Mega Optical Image Stabilizer (no more fear of shaky hands)

High sensitivity moder that comes with built in flash that can reach up to 16 metres

High sensitivity mode than comes with ISO 6400 (this means u can take pics even in the dark)

Venus Engine III(high quality video recording)

and lots of other features that I dare not blog about because I can't quite understand their functions yet ;)

I can't wait to test this beauty out!

Yippee!!!

2007-07-12T20:26:00.000+08:00

My visa is ready already! I am amazed at the speed at which it is being issued because I applied for it yesterday. Praise God :)

Today at UMMC was quite eventful, tougher than most days because I followed the urologist from Cambridge for teaching and to him, 'teaching' means 'firing the students left-right-centre with questions'. We discussed renal colic, renal carcinoma, bladder cancer, testicular cancer, lymphocele, varicocele bla bla bla. My brain was fried but it was a good fry, not too burnt. UM students are good at all the tough and detailed clinical questions but I think IMU students are better with anatomy and physio. You will be surprised because we learn using the integrated approach which helps us remember better while UMians learn anatomy in 1st year and very little of that later on.

So yeah, that was my day. Now I'm all zonked out for zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz........

Its over!

2007-07-09T20:29:00.000+08:00

Wimbledon is over! I have mixed feelings about it definitely. The Gentlemen's Singles Finals totally outshadowed the Ladies' Finals. I may be a bit biased because I don't like both the ladies but I think everyone who managed to get into Centre Court will agree with me that every single pound they payed for a ticket whether black market or not is 100% worth it.

On Saturday, Venus had a breezy 6-4, 6-1 win over Marion. What makes it special for these 2 players is that almost no one wanted them to win and almost no one thought they could win. Williams explains this by saying,"I was really motivated because no one picked me to win. They didn't even say, 'She can't win.' They weren't even talking about me." Then they both ended up in the finals. Like I said, its tennis, anything can happen.

Come Sunday and this time, although I can't say everybody wanted them to win, its obvious that everyone expected Nadal and Federer to end up in the finals and they did. Nadal in his usual tight-butt-hugging pants and Federer in a old-fashioned white blazer. It was a real fight. 7-6 (7), 4-6, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-2 really speaks volumes about how much Nadal has improved and how worthy Federer is of his 5th consecutive Wimbledon Dish

After the epic battle, Bjorn Borg was there to greet Federer in the hallway with a smile, an embrace and a chat. What a beautiful moment when the only 2 men in a hundred years to win Wimbledon 5 times in a row met... its like the Jungle Book ending where Mowgli finally meets another human after all these years. I had goosebumps all over and nearly cried. Tennis is so beautiful.

I love Wimbledon!!!

Oh well...

2007-07-07T15:00:00.000+08:00

I just came back from shopping with my dad. He must have realised how crappy I felt after the Henin-Bartoli tragedy so he decided to do something that made him crappy but made me happier ie shopping for bags and tech stuff. My dad is so cute. He complains after walking every 10 feet in 1 Utama but jogs 4 kilometres 4 times a week without fail.

We ended up at Universal Traveller and Travel Time and proceeded to look at suitcases. I fell in love with a really nice 22-inch cabin luggage when the salesgirl dropped a bombshell. If you are travelling to and around the UK, only 16-inch cabin luggages are allowed. What the heck?!?! It is miniscule and will probably only fit my underwear. What's the point??? Now I'll have to decide whether I want to check in everything and only carry my laptop ala Ah Mui or get one 16-incher and use it probably only once. I actually thought I could do the Chun Peng thing and stuff my cabin luggage to the brim with heavy stuff since they didn't check. Sigh...

Oh No!!!

2007-07-07T08:50:00.000+08:00

Justine Henin lost!

I can't believe it

I'm stunned.

I feel crappy.

Attempting Brit Humour

2007-07-04T20:40:00.000+08:00

Commentor 1 : And this is Maria Sharapova in her dress. Its inspired by Swan Lake. Her feathers being ruffled by the wind.

(1st set 1-1 Sharapova serving, Venus up 40-15)

Commentor 2 : Are you sure its the wind thats ruffling her feathers?

(1st set Venus wins 6-1)

Come on Sharapova, don't let the commentors poke fun at you and do your dress some justice!

2007-07-04T14:27:00.000+08:00

"Hey Suet May, you've seen me done an aspiration before right?"

er...yes Prof

"Ok, here, take the syringe, jab it in at 90 degrees and aspirate the fluid for me"

!!! P A N I C !!!

Needless to say, I didn't manage to aspirate the fluid. I think I didn't even hit the cyst at the right spot. It was horribly wobbly and small plus I was too nervous but Prof rectified my mistake. Looks like I need more practice with the syringe. Malunya...

I'm Allergic to...

2007-07-02T21:33:00.000+08:00

Something...an unknown :(

This is the first time I have a serious allergy. The whole of last night I was tossing and turning, scratching, hitting, patting the itch away in vain. That was not all. I had to walk into a clinic full of curious busybodies staring at my red neck :(

If only my antibodies had a voice and could yell out the name of the culprit :(

Go Henin!

2007-07-01T19:22:00.000+08:00

Justine Henin will be up against Patty Schnyder later in the 4th round of Wimbledon. I can't wait!

Here's a little bit about my favourite tennis player.

Nickname: Juju

Nationality: Belgian

Current residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco

Date of birth: 1-6-1982

Place of birth: Liège, Belgium

Height: 1.66 m

Weight: 57 kg

Coach: Carlos Rodriguez

Her favourite shot : Single handed Back Hand

"Sadly, I only have enough power to play double handed backhands..."

As a kid, she was a brilliant student and besides being a tennis extraordinare she was a good football player too.

She married Pierre Yves Hardenne in November 2002. I thought they make a really cute couple but they divorced early this year. It seems her father doesn't like him. Justine also suffers from oral herpes and in 2004, she was stricken with a nasty cytomegaloviral infection but she bounced back and today she is the female version of Fedex. You go girl!

Singles Titles : 34

Grand Slams Won: 6

2003 French and US Open Champion

2004 Australian Open

2005 French Open

2006 French Open

2007 French Open

She was Runner up in Wimbledon twice (2001 &2006) so I am praying she will net her first this year. Amen!

Go Henin!!!

Dilemma

2007-06-30T10:14:00.000+08:00

Crap... I just found out I have to make a difficult decision.

a) Follow Prof for the 1st KL International Breast and Colorectal Cancer Congress. It's 3 days at Crowne Plaza Mutiara and I get to go for free. I have to do some work of course but still, its a wonderful opportunity.

b) Follow my Grandpa, Aunt, Uncle, cousin Audrey for a 5 day vacation in Brunei. I love these people and I really want to spend time with them plus I haven't been to Brunei before.

Why God? Why must both happen on the same weekend?! Family or Work? Work or Family? Somehow, I know this will not be the last time I have to make a decision like this...

Lopez Out Too :(

2007-06-30T09:54:00.000+08:00

Darn it... Lopez lost too. StarSports didn't even show that match. How come all the men I supported didn't make it? Come on you underdogs! Its tennis for goodness sake. Anything can happen so make it happen!

I love love love love Wimbledon!!!

Out Henman, In Lopez

2007-06-29T13:17:00.000+08:00

Oh poor Brits, the great white hope crashed after a valiant effort yesterday. Henman lost in a 5 setter 6-7(3-7), 6-7(5-7), 6-3, 6-2, 1-6 to absolutely gorgeous Feliciano Lopez. Supporting Henman is never easy but I sided with the hopeful Brits yesterday night. The last set was absolute torture. What did Lopez do in the toilet before the 5th set???

Oh well, bygones are bygones. I shall divert my support to Mr. Lovely Lopez. I don't think I need to tell you why ;)

I love love love Wimbledon!!!

2007-06-28T17:09:00.000+08:00

Oh boy, yesterday was darn tiring. I was shuttling to and fro rooms, checking patients, tracing records and helping the doctors. We had 200 patients in the afternoon! I felt like jello yesterday so couldn't blog and couldn't watch tennis boo hoo :(

Today was much better although I'll have more workload on top of my attachment in the coming days. I was introduced to Prof G from Cambridge. He's UMMC's new Urological Surgeon and he asked if I wanted to work for him until I leave so as usual, I couldn't say no. Today's highlights consisted of one cataract surgery and a laparascopic cholecystectomy (removal of gallbladder while assisted by a tiny tube-like telescope cum camera). Absolute Coolness!

Tennisly speaking, Go Henin! 6-0, 6-4...She must have wiped out Vera Duschevina. Serena Williams, Elena Dementieva and Jelena Jankovic joins her as 2nd round winners. Tonight's draw will include Henman, Fedex, Sharapova, Venus and Hewitt so stay tuned! Star Sports, Astro, Channel 82. Please pray that it won't rain!

I love love Wimbledon!!!

The Great White Hope Sails On!

2007-06-26T22:34:00.000+08:00

Tim Henman is through the 1st round after beating Ah Mui's Carlos Moya in a 5 setter. The first 4 sets were played yesterday but due to the English weather, the 5th set was played today. Check out the score people!

6-3, 1-6, 5-7, 6-2, 13-11

He did pull out a couple great shots but statistically speaking, I thought Moya had the upper hand. Henman had 10 aces while Moya hit 17 aces. The last point was a boring double faulter by Moya to set British hopes flying.

James Blake, Marat Safin, Richard Gasquet and Ivan Ljubicic also joined Henman in escaping the 1st round.

I love Wimbledon!

2007-06-26T19:05:00.000+08:00

Today as I was doing ward rounds with Prof, a patient did an unexpected thing when we finished examining her. Although she was very frail, she managed to lift both her hands, wave it up and down while trying to say thank you to us. It was a simple and genuine act of gratefulness.

Its hard to explain but the tiredness I felt after a long day suddenly faded and my perspective cleared. Imagine looking through a key hole, trying to get a glimpse when suddenly the door opens and you really get what's going on. I can't wait for med school to start again :)

The Problem with Youtube is...

2007-06-24T16:14:00.000+08:00

It makes certain series and dramas super excessible and 100% free especially the Korean and Taiwanese ones. Okay, I am not a fan of weepy, square-love story dramas BUT when you're at home doing nothing, you tend to be influenced by your siblings' activities and in my case, 2 Korean-Taiwanese-Cantonese-Drama-On-Youtube obsessive sisters.

That is how I came to watch Tree of Heaven, a Japanese/Korean production.

What I thought would be a just-for-fun-10-episode-thingy turned out to be one of the saddest stories I have ever watched. From episode 5 onwards, I cried and cried... and cried. The ending is absolutely heart-wrenching and up till now, I'm still reeling from it. The soundtrack and amazing talents (the lead actress was 15 when she filmed this) proved a lethal combination.

I couldn't sleep at all after finishing it yesterday as the scenes played back and forth in my mind. My tear ducts probably hypertrophied after all the crying. All this happened and I was on duty in church this morning. I know...I have learnt my lesson well, very very well. No more Youtube for me...absolutely no more.

2007-06-23T10:16:00.000+08:00

Aiyo... Leaving in August has made me incapable of saying 'No' to invitations to hang out unless I have a really valid excuse such as attachment or visa matters.

Anyway, I will be spending the day at Midvalley with 3 friends. They will be shopping for the most of it I think. The problem is I'm not very exposed in the whole area of male shopping. Sure...I shop for my dad and buy gifts for some friends but its usually the case that a male friend follows me shopping and now its vice versa. Weirdla if you know what I mean.

They should have a "How to Accompany Your Male Friend Shopping for Dummies" because I think I'll definitely need it.

See You in August!

2007-06-20T21:29:00.000+08:00

Ah Mui, Thanks for helping me shave a couple of weeks off my dwindling holidays. It was so so much fun! I miss you already.

A Heck of a Retreat!

2007-06-18T19:01:00.000+08:00

The 3 days I spent in Selesa Hillhomes will definitely be one of my holiday highlights. It wasn't a very nice place and by nice I mean nice toilets and nice rooms and clean floors but the crazy bunch of people I spent it with and the God I spent it for meant everything in the world to me.

We went through some familiar things such as prayer, quiet time, tombstone and evangelism but God really opened my eyes to different stuff each time. When it came to the tombstone, we were asked to choose a verse for it and I couldn't think of anything but:

Matthew 28:20 And surely, I am with you always to the very end of this age.

Just reading it gives me the courage to face and do what I am scared of doing especially when it came to evangelism in Bentong town. I had the privilege of meeting 3 strangers, chatting with them about life, their ambitions, mine included and even exchanged phone numbers! They actually said," Wow! You're very friendly for a Chinese." I didn't know if that was a compliment or not hmm...Anyway, that opened the door for me to share my personal testimony and I hope they were encouraged to start living for more! Amen!

Then there are the brand new things such as Bible dancing to some sexy song. Ps Victor is darn funny ha ha! I wish I videotaped the dance but was too busy shaking to the beat. We also taught the theory and practical of baptising which was awesome. Even though it was just role play, I genuinely felt so proud and happy whenever I say," I now baptise you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...I welcome you [NAME] to the family of God!".

Tuesdays with Morrie was a whole new different thing. I've never got to watch the movie beginning to the end so I was ecstatic when Ps Lindy said we were gonna watch it for one night session. I tried unsuccessfully to suppress my tear ducts when I realised all the times, opportunities and people I took for granted so easily. Here is this man suffering from ALS, unable to wipe his own butt teaching us the most important thing in the world.

To live is to love and to love is to live. I also cried because I was reminded on how perfect and complete is God's love for us. I realise how easily I forget this because I live in a world where bad things happen to good people and I react by questioning how God can let such things happen. What I really needed to do was respond with love. While we sometimes cannot understand tragedies, we must do what we know, we can love. Love the people around us, love our community, love our country and pray that it catches on to others.

Matthew 28:20 And surely, I am with you always to the very end of this age.

Not So Fantastic 4

2007-06-15T17:04:00.000+08:00

Spoiler Warning!!!

What a dissapointment after the sizzling 1st installment! Invisible girl was only a pretty face in this movie who nearly died in the arms of a very stiff Mr. Fantastic, ironically... His stiffness was only second to the Silver Surfer and whats with the 4-in-one formula this time??? Sorry Johnny, You're hot, you did your best doing the job for your 3 team members but it wasn't enough.

Ocean's 13 Slices Like A Hammer

2007-06-14T12:10:00.000+08:00

Spoiler Warning!!!

It was awesome! Every eksabit(1 million terabits) of it.

My favourite parts were
1) Andy Garcia @ Terry on Oprah for "donating" the diamonds to fund building camp for 200 kids
2) Brad and George teary eyed after watching Oprah build new home for a family
3) Matt @ Lenny in seduction mode with Ellen Barkin. He was wearing a prosthetic nose which was so sharp, he couldn't drink from a champagne glass properly. Wa ha ha ha...
4) Mr. 5 Diamond Judge...the real one. Ha ha Poor guy!
5) And of course, the entire long con...

See you again boys!

How To Tackle Sucky Days

2007-06-12T15:06:00.000+08:00

Recently, my buddy went through one of those days where everything that can go wrong went wrong. I thought I was going to be her saviour but hah! I had no idea I was going through one of those days as well until something bad nearly happened. I shall not reveal it here for fear of my two nosy sisters. Anyway, this is a 3 step guide to get through one of those days.

1) Find your buddy and go shopping together! It doesn't have to be a posh place like Starhill. A cosy flea market like the one in Mont Kiara will do. Even though it nearly rained and there was construction going on and some bad person stole my nice parking spot, you'll feel better after a while.

2) Treat yourself and your buddy to something new preferably containing chocolate at a place that pops into your mind. Even though its a posh place(Bakerzin in this case) where the sleepy waiter irks you and still brings the wrong order after repeating your order correctly, stimulating your taste buds helps to reduce your irritation.

3) Find more friends especially those you haven't seen in a long while. Go to a lousy restaurant, order and laugh at each other for paying exorbitant amounts for lousy food. Better still, move on to the "Remember whens..." and continue laughing off the entire sucky day. After that, you'll find it hard even to be irritated by the guy with shaky hands who takes your picture .

Try it and let me know if it works will you?

Fedex Doesn't Deliver On Clay

2007-06-11T09:17:00.000+08:00

I think this was the first time I saw Federer so flustered on court. His winners couldn't undo the 50 unforced errors(if I'm not mistaken) he made battling Nadal. Poor guy...The French Open title remains elusive.

Although, its definitely not the case for Nadal who whipped Federer in a 4 setter (6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4) after a minor set back in the 2nd set. This means that Nadal is the second guy in tennis history to get a French Open hat trick since Bjorn Bork in 1978.

While both of these players are not my favourites, it was still an amusing game to watch and if it was any other player against Nadal, they would probably have lost in straight sets. I can't wait for my favourite Grand Slam.....The WIMBLEDON!

Henin Wins!!!

2007-06-09T23:20:00.000+08:00

Yay! Henin prevails Ivanovic after all in a very one sided match. Although she started off being broken by the Serbian beauty, I remembered what my coach always says. The first half of the first set is trial and error. After that, its serious business.

True enough, Henin recovered but Ivanovic never did. Sad though because I was looking forward to a fight. Anyway congrats Justine! You're amazing!

By the way, Djokovic is Ana's boyfriend and even though he saw his girl got thrashed 6-1,6-2, he still supported her. ;)

Henin VS Ivanovic

2007-06-08T09:24:00.000+08:00

Its that time of the year again where the greatest names in tennis clash on clay. This time in the finals tomorrow, its backhand-wonder Justine Henin against Sharapova-teenage-killer Ana Ivanovic.

Both had a breeze in their semifinals with Justine beating Jankovic 6-2, 6-2 and Ana thrashing Maria 6-2, 6-1. While I'm rooting for Justine, I must say that Ana looks pretty intimidatingl with her tendency for aces and hard strokes. For Justine to lift that French Open title again, I think she needs to pull deeper from her past experiences and a couple more of aces should help along the way.

GO TEAM HENIN!!!

Lecehnya...

2007-06-06T17:02:00.000+08:00

Haiyo, I was too tired yesterday to blog because I spent the entire day with Ah Mui running about town mostly settling my stuff at KLGH where I had a painful Mantoux test and applying for visa in Wisma MCA.

The Mantoux Test
Thanks to Lee Yan, I had a painful premonition about the intradermal jap but things got worse when I saw the nurse jabbing another guy before me. She dropped the cotton on the floor and proceeded to pick it up while holding the needle which was still in the guy's arm!!! I had to stifle my scream. Worst thing is, she reused the cotton on the guy. Phew...Luckily, the MO on duty took over. What I don't understand is, must they draw an ugly circle the size of a fifty cents coin around the puncture mark? They say that I can't wash, wet and scratch that area including the circle so the GP knows where I've done the test?!!!? After sweating due to KL's weather, the circle faded and now, its completely gone.

VisaUK
They have increased security like crazy since the last time I went there. You can't turn on your phone, bring your bag in and even let your poor best friend in. Luckily there was secret recipe downstairs. Then, I had to wait my turn behind this mother and son who took ages just to enquire about application. When they finally left, I thought everything will go well but they said my affidavit wasn't detailed enough. They actually want to know in detail how much I'll spent on even shopping and food! How in the world am I supposed to know how often I'll frequent Zara and MNG???

Afterwards...
We finally reached KLCC and the cool air-conditioning greeted us. I never felt so happy before. It took a few minutes to decide where to satisfy our hunger and soon, I am myself again in one of my all time favourites...CHILI'S. This got me thinking, I hope we get to eat when we're in heaven and how I hope that there's CHILI'S there... Maybe God could let me run His Chili's outlet...sigh...

"Extra Poop!"

2007-06-04T20:03:00.000+08:00

Shrek 3 was oklah... I totally agree with Jay that the villains were killed and turned into new leaves too easily especially when Artie wasn't even that inspiring. Snow White totally outshined the princesses and even Princess Fiona.

The Baby Shreks and Baby Drakeys were very cute though and Pinocchio's attempt to not lengthen his nose while being interrogated by King Charming was hilarious! Other than that, I didn't laugh much.

Ahoy Mates!

2007-06-01T20:18:00.000+08:00

Pirates 3 was awesome and isn't Jack Sparrow to die for? I absolutely loved the way he gets out of a tight situation. Slash the ropes! Woo Hoo! Fly up and swing about... I wish I could do that. I went to church after that and the soundtrack was still playing in my head especially the fighting scenes. I wanna be a pirate too (still day dreaming...)

2007-05-31T16:53:00.000+08:00

So many things just happened recently and to be quite honest, I'm in a daze. Hey, I got 2 weeks off from UMMC, its suppose to be R&R as in Rest and Relax not Rushing and Running! For example today, I was suppose to have a nice time at the movies but after getting a call, I rushed down to KLGH to do my check up. I had no idea how huge the hospital was until getting sent in the wrong direction by a security guard and walking 2 km in the reverse direction after that.

Its funny because normally, I'd be irked by this and frustration will set in but I am strangely at peace. I can't really explain it but we have a good God and its at hard times where I feel closer to His presence. Instead of feeling frustrated at my uncle's condition, my tutor and my preparations to go overseas, I am much calmer than before.

Now I know why Jesus did His devotion in the wee hours before all the hecticness of the day sets in. Speaking to my Father who loves me no matter what and who gives me the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will always make bad days good and good days better. Amen!

I Can Cook This!

2007-05-25T13:29:00.000+08:00

I spent my morning today being "domesticated" (as a friend puts it) by my sister at the stove. Although I didn't enjoy her breathing down my neck and giving me smart-ass comments everytime I made a mistake like putting too much oil or cutting onions the wrong way, the end result was too delicious to complain.

Now Spaghetti ala Carbonara Seafood has been added to my 'I-Can-Cook-This' List!

For info on how I did this, just click on Makan Club under Fun Stuff on my sidebar.

Riding Triple A on Cloud Nine

2007-05-24T15:30:00.000+08:00

I started my day very shakily today at the Operating Theatres. Due to waking up at 2 am for the Champion's League Final(my team lost to a better one), I just shoved down two pieces of bread before rushing to UMMC. Halfway through, my high-metabolism-body ran out of fuel and ya, I literally started seeing stars so to all aspiring surgeons, never leave home without the big B, BREAKFAST!

Thank God I managed to recover to witness a biopsy and after helping out for a mastectomy, the Doc said, "Hey, I think Prof Vijay is doing AAA in OT8, why don't you go have a look." Wow! I actually witnessed my first Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm surgery up close! I was in heaven! Basically, this guy's large abdominal artery which carries blood to lower limbs has a weak wall and instead of being nice, smooth and long all the way down, halfway, it has a balloon that can rupture anytime. In this case, the aneurysm/balloon was the size of an orange! To help with easing of stress in the OT especially when inserting a stent into the aneurysm, everyone relied on Paris Hilton's Stars are Blind. Cuteness!

Anyway, my heartiest congratulations to AC Milan and Jordin Sparks. I think both of you so deserve your victories!

2007-05-23T21:42:00.000+08:00

Okay, I've made my peace. Its LIVERPOOL all the way woo hoo! I believe I have a greater calling singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" than just drooling at KaKa. This will be my first time waking up to see a match in the wee hours. All previous attempts have been unsuccessful.

Regarding another matter, I actually drove my maid to the airport just now and thinking that it'll just be a quick send off, I parked illegally. 2 hours later, due to Air Asia's 'efficient' check-in counter, I find myself strolling out leisurely with mom until I see my car being harassed by a traffic cop.

I don't know why I did it but I ran as fast as I could, screaming on top of my lungs "ENCIK!!!ENCIK!!!" When I reached my car, I could hardly breath, let alone pray that I'll get a second chance. I must have looked really sick/scary because the cop then said, "Haiyo, ok faster, fasterlah." Wow! Praise the Lord! This one incident has restored my faith that not all traffic cops are out to cari duit kopi. He was halfway filing up the saman formleh! What a nice guy. "Terima kasih banyak banyak!"

Football Fan Wannabe

2007-05-22T23:02:00.000+08:00

The UEFA Champion's League Final is drawing closer and closer and I've yet to pick a side. Crap, this is what happens when you're too lazy to actually watch some football games and you end up relying on Dad to tell you which team is better. Anyway, to fan the flame of "soccer-mad-nationess" in me, Dad gave me a deadline which is tomorrow before the match starts or else I won't be allowed in the AV room :( All I have to do is tell him which team I support but the problem is I have to choose between ...

...KAKA who is definitely my very own greatest football hero ever! Not even a vertebra fracture can stop him from melting the defenders, goalies and the heart of a girl who can't remember the last time she watched a football match. That's how great he is!!!

AND..

...LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB. "Gulp" I feel guilty even having to think about my decision. After all, in a couple of months, I'll be adopted into the 'You'll Never Walk Alone' community. What do I do now???

Doing Laundry

2007-05-21T08:33:00.000+08:00

Create Your Own
I am such a klutz! I can't even get my dates right. We were suppose to catch David Gomes at Chill, Plaza Damas for a relaxing night of jazz but May 18 was on Friday! Sorry Julie!

Anyway, we decided to go to Laundry Bar instead. The whole place has expanded since I last went there with the Makan Clubbers. Julie had a really nice Mohito (I just took a sip) and I had a sour fling. Ha ha that sounds so wrong. Its actually lime juice and cranberry juice on crushed ice. Non alcoholic because I'm a responsible driver. (Time to roll your eyes)

We will try to catch Junji Delfino on June 9 and hopefully David Gomes on June 16. Any takers?

Friday Too?

2007-05-19T01:40:00.000+08:00

Hah! I thought I would actually have today off to sleep late but instead the alarm rings at 7 again. 45 minutes later, I find myself running groggily through a blur of patients trying to locate Dewan Kenanga on the 3rd floor of the UM Medical Faculty.

I finally find it after a maze of passages and wah la! I'm standing inside a really ancient-Harry-Potterish lecture hall with aisles of seats stacked so high, it makes me dizzy looking up. The entire hall is wood paneled and its really really old school. I think the previous generations were not very tall because I found I had to sit slanting so my knees could fit comfortably.

The Vice President of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons & Physicians of Glasgow walks in and starts his lecture on getting your FRCS from UK, its challenges bla bla bla. Darn it....Prof didn't have to be this nice to invite me to a lecture that only Medical officers or Surgical Interns attended. She actually introduced me to Dr. Galloway! Haiyo, so shyla.

Out of 3o people attending the lecture, there were 4 females. 2 were top surgeons, 1 was a surgical intern and the last was an out of place 3rd year medical student struggling to stay awake. The fact that Mr. Galloway looked like Richard Gere helped tremendously.

After that, it was back to daycare surgery which some doctors say are like a factory line. The best part of the day was sneaking into the nurses lounge with another medical officer to curi makan. Good stuff!

The Ride So Far

2007-05-17T16:06:00.000+08:00

I didn't post anyting for a few days because I was feeling rather blue. I totally didn't expect and wasn't prepared for the situation at the Oncology clinic. Everyone tries their best to maintain a cheerful disposition so that the sadness precipitated by one patient doesn't spill over to the next. I wish I had the Heitian from Heroes to wipe my memory of every patient before I see and hear the next. I'm just glad out of the 4 days I spend in UMMC, I will only have to spend one in the Oncology ward.

Actually I not only felt depressed after 7 hours there, I felt really angry and frustrated. This is targeted not at the patients but some of their family members. Its mind boggling that some patients would rather trust bomohs and sinsehs rather than oncologists. Aargh! Their family members don't help either and these patients come back only to have us tell them that the best thing for them is the Hospice. The funny thing is that they get really angry when you mention 'Hospice' because to them Hospice = Abandonment and Death when in reality, they will get the most complete care there which includes pain management and counselling on top of continued medication.

Wednesday and Thursday are my favourite days. Time spent in the Surgical Clinic and Operating Theatres some how refreshes me and keeps me looking for the week to come. Praise God I haven't witnessed any deaths at the operating table yet. The one thing I'm really sure so far is that Oncology is definitely not for me.

Little Maddie Missing!!!

2007-05-13T15:52:00.000+08:00

I don't know how many of you know this but last thursday, 4 year-old Madeleine McCann was abducted from a Portugal holiday apartment while her parents were out. While the initial theory is that she was taken from the apartment, there is also a believe that she may have wandered off to a nearby supermarket and then abducted.

Money has been pouring in to help hasten her return to her family especially from JK Rowling and David Beckham even took part in TV appeal for her release. I believe the current reward for any information that will help in her returning safely stands at 2.5 million pounds.

(Jacob Wetterling,aged 11 in 1989)

Even as I read more and more about her, I am reminded of Jacob Wetterling, a boy I read about in Reader's Digest a long time ago. He was abducted in 1989 while cycling with 2 other small boys. To this very day, he remains missing. His family believes he is still alive as they had received a voice message from a person who claims he is Jacob Wetterling. The message just informed them that he was still alive. Why he didn't contact them directly and why he has failed to come home till today is the heart-wrenching part. These 2 are just reminders of the thousands of children still missing from their families today.

So everybody, lets do our part too and be aware just in case she's been taken to a place near you. Please take note that Madeleine has an unusual right eye where her pupil runs into her blue-green iris. If you have any information please call:

Crime Stoppers at + 44 1883 731 336

If you have information and don't want to call for reasons such as "Its too expensive" or whatever, email me or put a comment on this post and I'll call the authorities on your behalf. If you don't trust me and think I will curi your 2.5 million pounds then just calllah! You can remain anonymous if you want to.

In the mean time, let us join hearts and hope and pray together for Little Maddie's safe return.

High Class Butchers

2007-05-11T12:03:00.000+08:00

"Hmm...Why are you taking so long to finish the op? You've done this before. Ok, I think Suet May will help you. Nurse, get me a size 6 1/2 gloves."

Ok, the day before when Prof said we were scrubbing in for surgeries, all I really imagined was wearing the scrubs and looking... from afar. Instead, I found myself staring at this guy's ass which I initially thought were breasts but it was far too low to be breasts. I can't believe that I'll be taking part in the first surgery I'm seeing. Even though, it was just holding the clamps and cutting the sutures for the Master's student, it was very exciting albeit very frightening at the same time especially when blood suddenly squirts up when you least expect it too.

Right so after we finished the first op of the day, we had like 7 more so Prof had to step in to quicken up the pace if we were going to finish in time. Up next was a mastectomy (removing a whole breast) and I took a break so I didn't help. A House officer was there too and we chatted and she said something that stuck with me for the entire day. "Oh my gosh, just look at her. She's like a butcher!"

Then I looked at Prof and oh my she does look like a butcher, a high class one. She actually finished the mastec in 20 minutes and still managed to show us all components of the axilla namely the axillary vein, artery, brachial plexus, pec major, pec minor and serratus ant!

Now tell me, why are surgeons so glamorous again? I think we all need to view it as glamorous because in reality, it really isn't glamorous at all unless u think working in hideous scrubs and hair caps is considered glamour. Plus, you work in near freezing temperatures especially if you aren't assisting or operating because then, you won't have that extra surgical overall to conserve heat.

All that said and done, I still wanna become a high class butcher!

UMMC Day 1

2007-05-09T20:38:00.000+08:00

I woke up at 630 am today and I'm still feeling the after effects of it. Scrambling through my stuff, I tried to locate my labcoat, pen torch etc...Come 730am, Mom dropped me off at a very nice Menara Utama of the hospital. After getting lost for a couple of minutes (this I attributed to the shock of finding Delifrance inside the hospital), I manage to find the surgical clinic but it took me another 5 minutes to get through the huge number of patients.

My goodness! I had no idea what was to befall me today. The patients just kept pouring in and I helped Prof. do breast examinations on them. By 10, I was tired and hungry and I've just been there 2 hours. I did initially find it weird when the Prof asked me to do the examinations and to tell her when there is a lump(s) but I soon got the rhythm of doing it and not thinking too much about it. Oh and she walks pretty fast so I got a good workout shadowing her as she dashed here and there between clinics.

All in all, I really learned tons today especially about breast diseases and managing them. It was really interesting seeing the procedures like FNACs and biopsies. I should have done this earlier! Plus, Prof is really such a down-to-earth person and I was half expecting her to be like Chief Weber of Grey's anatomy seeing that she is the Chief of surgery but I was pleasantly surprised. She is actually on sabbatical leave but she still goes to work because she knows her clinic will be kelam kabut without her.

The best thing she said to me today is "Oh please be at the Surgical Ward 7th floor tomorrow by 8. We're scrubbing in for surgeries." That was surreal...

Potato No More

2007-05-08T21:27:00.000+08:00

Guess what I'm doing now?

Studying benign diseases of the breast.

Getting ready to meet Dr. Yip at the UM Breast clinic tomorrow.

I can't believe I'm actually holding notes and reading Snell and Papa again!

It feels strangely good though that I'm no longer potatoing.

Maybe I've dropped my Potato Chan status for good?

Malaysia Boleh...........er Kalah :(

2007-05-07T08:32:00.000+08:00

My trip back to Ipoh would have been routine. Good food, great food and yummy food. Usually at Uncle William's house, I would be playing with Audrey, Uncle Kong would have been sleeping and Aunt Lai Peng would be eating. Even if Uncle William switches the TV on, he would have been watching football stuff. AAARGH if only I didn't go back on the weekend that coincided with the AVIVA Singapore Open. What an agony!

Our only "hope" Wanwah-tanfook lost a 3 setter to Haifeng-caiyun. The scores which still hurt me when I type this is 21-16, 22-24, 18-21. We were in complete control, just cruising to game point in the first set. We screamed and clap our hands with joy. Second set came, things became rougher, never mind we were still there giving the two encouragement and cheering whenever they manage to get a point. Come set 3, alright I've got to stop here. I'm just a few alphabets from bursting a brain vessel.

So my point is this; do we have good players? Yes. Are they talented? Yes. Do we have the potential to rule badminton again? Yes. So why are our malaysian players so STUPID???? Stupid in these case doesn't mean lack of intellect. It means this :

S - Start well
don't they always? Why give us that false hope? Why win 6 or 7 points ahead in a set and allow the other team to catch up? Whats the point? You always rush into the game with full steam but somehow, towards the end its like someone put a needle into you and deflates you.

T - Torment fellow countrymen
The look on the chubby guy(our m'sian badminton head cheerleader) who never fails to turn up at one of your matches said it all yesterday. Slumped over his kompang, his dear team has failed, failed him and failed us. Thousands and thousands of malaysians tune in to watch you play, some of them future badminton players. Sometimes even Dato' Najib and his wife comes to watch you live. Phew, lucky they didn't make it yesterday. Think of all the elderly people who have been supporting you since the old days. Even kids like me and my cousin sister who is only 7 can get stroke from watching you play sometimes.

U - Unforced errors
Hello? You're all talented with super quick reflexes. You even come up with fancy moves at tight moments like at the net but talent alone isn't going to get you anywhere near the Gold Medal if you make unforced errors all the time!If you know you're older than the other pair, why go to battle in a 3rd set where you're bound to make mistakes???

P - Proud
Somehow, our players, not all but some and you know who you are. Win a few points ady, must beat chest like a gorilla is it? Haiyo, think of your partnerla. The antics aren't necessary. Just play well dang it!

I - Inconsistent
wah liau! too much man! One day, All England Champions, the next day, knocked out in the first round of AVIVA.

D - Drive tak ada
This would also explain the inconsistency. I just feel our players aren't driven enough. The best coaches and supporters aren't going to make it better. You need the drive, the desire to give your all through the whole game as well as in your career and not just at the start.

I feel much better now, ranting out my dissapointments. Now, it would be unrealistic of me to expect the Malaysian team to win all the time. Sure there are always 2 sides of a coin, winners and losers but hey, when given an opportunity or rather opportunities, take it and go for the kill!We need our players in all sports not just to think Malaysia boleh. Always boleh, boleh, boleh but in the end tak boleh. We need to be Malaysia Juara!

Praise God!

2007-05-04T11:26:00.000+08:00

Woo Hoo! I just got mail from UMMC today and a very notable doctor or rather surgeon has approved of me doing an attachment with her. This is super wonderful because for the last month, everytime my cell members ask me what my prayer requests were, I would say, "Pray that I will use the remainder of my holidays wisely." I think I said that so often, sometimes I catch one of them mouthing these words to me as I said it.

I start this tuesday and will be shadowing her around as she does her job in Oncology and Surgery. Ok, basically I'm going to be seeing loads of breasts because she is one of Malaysia's leading experts in breast cancer. Thank you God for giving me this amazing opportunity! I promise I'll do my best. Now, where the heck are my Repro notes?

The Luncheon

2007-05-01T14:25:00.000+08:00

Aargh! I want this so badly!!! Its fully padded and can fit two large files. What a beauty! If only Crumpler was made in Malaysia... If only...

Feast your eyes at their wacky, half past 3 website : http://www.crumpler.com.au

Homey Encounter

2007-04-30T11:47:00.000+08:00

This is a continuation of the previous post. I just realised I left out one of the best parts of my trip. Here it is!

After shopping on the streets of Seoul, mom and I headed back to the waiting point and wah la! There was this huge Visit Malaysia 07 carnival. It was a huge hit! Lots and lots of Koreans stopped by to watch and savour some Malaysian food. The Pak Cik in the middle is the Malaysian Teh Tarik King 2002 to 2005. He was busy making teh tarik and roti canai for eager Koreans. I happen to be standing quite near and lots of people were asking questions in broken English so I decided to 'pat' and I helped Pak Cik to answer them.

Korean man: "Is this red tea?"
Me :"Er..." (quickly looks at Boh box, actually it looked more like maroon) "Yes! This
is red tea! Very nice! You want to try?"
Korean man: "Ok"..."Ooh very strong! But I like it! Are you Malaysian?"
Me : "Yup!"

After countless questions about roti canai and whether it was bread or not, I found myself helping with pouring of more "red tea" and making roti canai while Pak Cik had a break. My "Malaysian Bread" looked quite pathetic actually but after chopping it up, you wouldn't know the difference ha ha. Hopefully none of my customers got cirit birit.

Ahn-Nyong-Ha-Se-Yo Korea!

2007-04-23T09:26:00.000+08:00

Finally after many months of perusing tour agents, newspapers and the best deals, my mom and I flew to Korea, a place both of us wanted to visit very much. Korean Air was in two words, uncomfortable and tasty. Weird huh? The seats all had this very irritating head rest which made me sit in a fetal position for 8 hours to Incheon Airport. The funny thing was that the food they served was one of the best I've ever had the privilege of eating on an aeroplane. Maybe if I flew first class I could have both; comfort and good food. The Gold Crown on the right belongs to the Korean Royal Family which sadly is no longer around due to absence of heirs. Honestly, I think the crown would look better on a girl/queen. Oh and isn't it weird that they keep a national treasure like this in their airport???

Thats our cute tour bus carrying 17 very eager Malaysians to discover Korea. The first place we zoomed off too is Dae Cheong Kam's palace that was built just to film Korea MBC's most succesful tv drama. In the show, everything looks huge, the palace and the peasant's village but the real set is obviously smaller and some angles or rooms are used to film different scenes.

These are different sections of the set and my gosh, I discovered the sweetest strawberries I've ever tasted! Anna, our tour guide told us that all strawberries in Korea are grown using the same soil from which ginseng are harvested. No wonder!

Our first meal/ lunch in Korea. Its an interesting stirfry mix of cabbage, chicken, mee etc... It took me some time to get used to it though and yeah, I ate my first authentic kimchi (Korean cabbage) here. Koreans actually have to consume kimchi all the time and every meal is served with kimchi which in my opinion is too sour, too salty, too bitter and too cold at the same time. Yuck!

This is how they make kimchi. First, wash cabbage 3 times and marinate in lemon, red pepper, sesame seeds, salt etc... and smoke it like in the left pic. The kimchi will be ready to consume but if you want to use it to boil soup or make stew, bury it with earth in a natural ground oven (right) and leave for a couple of weeks.

Then we hopped onto a ferry and went to this gorgeous island called Nami Island. Named after a 26 year old general who became a war hero after being murdered and betrayed by one of his officers, this place was used to film Winter Sonata. The last pic on the right shows mom posing in front of the statues of the two Winter Sonata stars embracing. As you can see, Nami island is filled with cherry blossoms and pine trees. Absolutely breathtaking!

After snapping loads of pics and nearly missing the ferry, the bus took us to a shopping area in ChunCheon where you get Korean designer stuff. Its super expensive!!! The shops here mostly cater to Korea's affluent families and are modeled by Korean actors and actresses. Remember Full House? The Rain and Song Hye Ko drama? All the clothes worn by her is sold by this store known as Roem and ya, buying a jacket here would have cost us all our Korean won. Then, dinner time! The middle picture is Korean seafood steamboat. Very very delicious! Besides Kimchi, we also had grilled pollack, foo pei (finally something familiar!) and fried sweet potatoes. After dinner, we headed off to a Mountain resort and thus ends our first day in Korea.

The reason for staying in the Mountain resort was so that we could be close to Mt Sorak, the third highest peak in Korea. This place reminded me that everything God made is so beautiful and that his love and faithfulness extends way past mountain tops, Amen! Brrrrr.... Super cold area though. It was so cold that my ears and nose turned red. Mom had to let me wear her wind breaker and she also bought me some gloves. To make it worse, Joe, our malaysian tour guide said, "Har! This place cold meh? Trust me, Liverpool is 5 times colder than this".

Everland Theme Park was our next stop. This is the Korean version of Disneyland and I think the main attraction here was not their rides but the thousands of tulips in every imaginable colour that filled most of the space. I wanted to go on their rollercosters but no one else wanted to so yeah, I didn't sit any of their rides except for their motion master. The thing in Korea is that if more than 10 ppl in an international tour wants to sit a particular ride, a fast pass is given free so instead of queuing for 2 hours to sit that rollercoster for example, your entire group simply enters a VIP door and goes for the ride pronto! We had a fast pass for mostly everything but the most worthwhile was the fast pass to Safari Land.

For 40 minutes, we enter the presence of bears, tigers, lions and ligers. The bear on the left seemed extra friendly and bumped into our bus with good intentions I hope and the pic on the right shows the 2 ligers born in Everland. They have the head of a tiger but the body of a lion. Hmm... weird...

The entire journey in Korea was really blessed. Not only did my mom and I get to see lovely cherry blossoms everywhere and not to mention snow, it hardly rained and whenever it did, we were always in the bus or sleeping at night. When we stepped out to sight see or to shop, it was always nice, cooling and cloudy. However, in shops, on buses and planes, with pets, on T-shirts and chocolates, on city walls and Giordano outlets, it was definitely "Rain"ing! Shopping in Giordano is like shopping in Gap Malaysia!

When we were in Seoul, we visited one of the last remaining traditional court houses. Due to Korea's phenomenal modernization which may be perceived by some to beat Japan's, most traditional houses were cleared away to make way for modern buildings so yeah here it is; simple with an understated elegance. There are also traditional games to you can experience here. Outside of it, there was this shop selling Korean ice cream which is super creamy and thick!

More shopping ensued on the streets of Korea. We found this antique pottery place on a certain street while going to the toilets and manage to get a few pieces to decorate back home. The last pic on the right shows a stone pagoda erected thousands of years ago. As they can't move it, a glass structure was built to protect it.

The other famous thing about Korea is its ginseng. They claim that only Korean ginseng is rich in Saponin, a substance that promotes good blood circulation and other health benefits. The only thing I remember about ginseng is Yeoh Peng Nam saying,"Don't simply let your patients eat ginseng ar, it can prevent blood from clotting." Sure enough, when we had our ginseng wine chicken stew, the old lady opposite me had nose bleeding. My cheeks simply turned red ha ha natural blusher :)

In Seoul, we also visited the Fifa World Cup 2006 football stadium and by golly, it was huge! Its a bit small but I'm the extra player next to Park Ji-Sung, Man U's shining star. The beautiful thing about Korea is that everything is so tidy and so well taken care of. Sigh... If only Bukit Jalil was the same.

I also had a hilarious time at Nanta, one of Korea's most famous musical. Its a fast paced monologue about 3 restaurant chefs and the owner's nephew. Its loud, its funny and it involves lots of sharp knives. I laughed for the entire duration. They made music with kitchen utensils too! Superbly entertaining and interactive! The street shown on the left was taken on the way back to the subway station. This is the most expensive road in Seoul where all hotels here are 5 stars. The most protests also take place here.

On our last day, we went to Itaewon, another city district in Seoul. Known as the American Ghetto in Seoul, this place has plenty of Americans especially around areas near the American Military base. The War Memorial we went to showcased preserved army tanks, planes, jets and submarines. The left most pic shows a statue of 2 brothers; one a South Korean and the other a North Korean embracing after reuniting in the midst of the Cold War. Their story is real and is documented. The middle pic is a rocket launcher and the last shows me standing in one of their war planes.

The other thing I loved about this place is that its filled with kids in all sizes! My mom couldn't resist it and took pics with some of them. She inevitably scared some of them off ha ha! I did take some pics with them too but it was in the toilet and my kids weren't as cute so I decided to post these instead.

Its nearing the end of this loooong blog and these are the people I want to thank for such a great time. Next to my mum is Joe Lau, our malaysian tour guide and next to me is Jin and Anna, our korean tour guides. They were all really attentive throughout our stay especially Jin. He would help us refill food, get us water, run up and down with our stuff and carry our luggages for us. To all of you, KAHM-SA-HAMN-NI-DA!

The one thing that really stood out to me about Korea is that this country is first class and the mentality of their people is also first class. Everyone knows they play a role in the well being of their Korea and because of that, crime rates are low and its safe everywhere. In fact, one of the couples left a big bag of passports and cash at the everland theme park. When Jin ran back there to find it half an hour later, it was amazingly still there! None of the hundreds of people taking pictures there took it. Really amazing! Its the same thing with their toilets. Everyone in Korea throws toilet paper in a waste bin instead of flushing to prevent clogging toilets. There is always a clean toilet to go to without having to pay for and without having to bring your own tissue paper. They also try to make most of their stuff biodegradable like their toothpicks, plastic bags and paper. All rivers used for drinking water are unaccesible to the public, boats, factories etc to ensure a constant, clean supply of water. In fact, if you commit suicide in one of these rivers, your family is fined a hefty sum to rid the waters of your body.

Okay, I think I've made my point that Korea is pro-environment. Our government should sponsor Malaysians to visit Korea so that everyone will be inspired to develop a first class mentality for the sake of our country. I really enjoyed Korea but when I reached KLIA and saw my dad, I felt relieved. If Korea is Yeh!, Malaysia Boleh! The pic(Vickie would be so proud of it ha ha!) below summarizes my trip to Korea the best. Ahn-Nyung-I-Keh-Seh-Yo!

4 Days To Go!

2007-04-11T10:56:00.000+08:00

I CAN't WAIT!

Wo Yao Jiang Hua Yi

2007-04-10T15:42:00.000+08:00

Okay, I give up...for now.

Until I find the perfect template that Blogger will not mess up, I'm done messing with my blog...for now.

I've decided to switch my attention to learning Mandarin! Its time for me to turn from a banana to a mango. With 3 classes a week, each lasting for 2 hours, i should be able to catch up with Kenn Foong. Wish me luck!

Ouch!

2007-03-20T11:08:00.000+08:00

Oh man, this holiday is turning me into a giant, clumsy potato-human hybrid. I guess this is quite noticeble as my "fit" sister decided to drag me to my very first physical activity since I don't know when. I was still in the midst of munching my "Heong Pang" from Ipoh when she yelled at me commander style. I quickly hurried and grabbed my socks in one hand but I was still munching off the other. Down the stairs I went......and whoops! Yeah, I slipped and went down via my gluteus (Butt) with "Heong Pang" crumbs everywhere. Its still painful and I think my coccyx is bruised as well so everytime I want to sit down, I've got to be extra careful. Lesson of the day is don't eat when you're walking down the stairs.

SPM

2007-03-09T11:25:00.000+08:00

I am so glad my sister is coming back this Sunday. Two and a half months really passed by like a flash and yeah, thats how long I have been vegetating at home. Anyway, the bigger news is that SPM results will be out this coming Monday!

It was 5 years ago when I sat in the car, hands sweating and heart in atrial fibrillation. Mom's voice was quite distant even though I sat next to her and I could hear nothing but my heart beat. I actually thought I would have collapsed climbing up the stair case to school.

Then, I was there, facing Miss Shahrini and she looked at me, I looked at her. "Are you ok?", "You look a bit green". I didn't say anything because I was just concentrating on breathing. Then she says, "Okay, lets do it". She shuffles through a stack of papers and that was the longest 10 seconds of my entire life. Taking out the paper, this was what she said. "Suet May!!! What happened to you!"

'Whishhhh' My two idiot guy buddies were behind me all the time and I didn't know it. Before I could even look at my slip, they whisked it out of my hands, dashed into the field, stared at it then stared at me and started screaming like sakais in the field.

Miss Shahrini then said,"You did so bloody well! But how dare you get an A2 for my 1119?!!!!" She was my English teacher you see and yeah, so I actually didn't know what my results were except for 1119. The end of the story was I finally summoned enough guts to join the two sakais in the middle of the field and peek at results I knew was not by my own doing but by the grace of a God that loves me.

Wow! Typing this actually gave me sweaty palms and tachycardia. Enough being said, I just thank God for keeping my sister safe during NS and giving me 5 more months to be a better daughter and sister.

Schicklewuber

2007-03-01T12:28:00.000+08:00

Before I tell you what this is, say it out loudly and tell me what crosses your mind when you say it. I think of an exotic cucumber spesies that takes centuries to grow and is only consumed by european nuns in a hidden mountain nunnery. Okay, its a bit farfetched but by golly, a word like Schicklewuber?! or should I say, a NAME. Now, say a quick prayer of thanks to God for your names.

The only thing I got right is 'european'. 20th April 1889, a boy entered the world as Schicklewuber. Don't ask me what his parents' names were but I'm pretty sure its neither Schickle or Wuber. He grew up in Austria under his dad who was overly strict and also under a mother who was too soft and spoiled her son. As he wasn't taught much about character and values, it surprises me that he initially wanted to be a monk. He fared well in primary school but soon, the lack of values and parenting caused him to develop his own. His studies plummeted and his life was increasingly marked by rejections and failure.

If you think a person like him will just dissapear off the face of the earth and affect no one but himself, you are wrong. Many years later, thousands of men, armed and deadly stood and hailed this boy. Schicklewuber or Adolf Hitler; they are the same. So please, if you become parents next time, always remember Schicklewuber. Being a good parent may be the very difference between Schicklewuber the monk and Adolf Hitler the dictator.

Gong Hey Fatt Choy!

2007-02-24T16:33:00.000+08:00

What an awesome CNY! I had the greatest time ever laughing, chatting and pigging out. Reunion dinner was so ironic. Its the Year of the Pig and this year, we had no Siew Yoke on the table. Weird, but thats the price to pay for spending CNY in KL. Yup, this is my very first KL CNY in my 22 years. Thank GoD for the wisdom because I definitely wouldn't have enjoyed the 7 hour trip back to Ipoh (Normally it only takes 2 hrs). This is mind-boggling because our Transport minister has actually banned all heavy vehicles from the highways from last Friday onwards. The only reason is there are more yuppies working in KL and they're getting richer and everybody wants to own that cute Myvi or that hot Satria Neo and everybody wants to be able to show off in their kampungs when they get back. The plus point this year is that there are less accidents. Praise God!

Potato is Tagged!

2007-02-12T13:58:00.000+08:00

Hey Jay ah, i can only think of one weird thing at the moment. Sorry la but this is it.

I've eaten rabbit shit before. Don't ask me how it tastes like.

2007-02-12T13:52:00.000+08:00

Sorry to all. Have been quite free and busy at the same time so maybe I won't morph into a potato just yet. Since the Johor floods have receded, I've been joining some of my church members in assisting a couple of families in Pagoh to get back on their feet. I've already gone twice and am looking forward to more trips.

Basically, the potato gets up at 5.30 am on a saturday, brushes her teeth, washes face and jumps straight into a car. She then sleeps for an hour and a half till the car stops at the Ayer Keroh Jejantas Restaurant. Time for breakfast and time for getting to know the other potatoes who have made the trip. Then, everybody drives on to the house which is smack right in the middle of a rubber plantation.

The first time I went, it was very disturbing, simply because all of us turned into instant ARSONISTS. There was too much mud-laden rubbish and there was no choice but to BURN
everything everywhere. I felt like crying because I'm doing nothing to stop the very thing I've spent my whole life lecturing my family about. Sigh... I won't be surprised if haze lands on Johor next.

Anyway, the second time I went which was 2 days ago, the place looked so much cleaner! Maybe open burning in certain conditions is necessary. This time, we planted flowers and repainted the house which was really fun despite the fact that I worked with an absolute perfectionist. Most of the time, my job was to hold his paint can while he scaled to the top of the house making sure every square millimeter is covered smoothly with peach paint. Even when everybody was already taking the group picture and heading to the cars, I was still there holding peach paint.

The other thing I forgot to mention about this relief operation is the food, not the lack of it which is surprising but the abundance of it. I'm not surprised if we spent half the time in Johor eating and yacking. Nasi lemak, chicken rice, tapioca, sambal tumis, sambal prawns, asam fish, fried chicken, sup kambing, mandarin oranges by the boxes and rice, rice, rice. Good thing it didn't get in the way of our mission ha ha. Now that I look back and reflect, it doesn't seem like a disaster area anymore but a giant kenduri that fell out of the sky.

2007-02-01T12:40:00.000+08:00

The phone rings and on the other line, I hear my sister's voice. After spending close to a month in Bintulu national service camp, I honestly expected to her to ask me how I am and tell me she really misses me. Instead she screams, "Is it true that Siti Nurhaliza broke up with Datuk K??!!?" What on earth.... Maybe National service is working after all. Prior to NS, she would never have taken so much interest in all this kind of gossip so I guess she must be really mixing well with the people. There has been a lot of criticisms about implementing NS, that its too late to foster unity and that it doesn't work bla bla bla. Well, at least our country recognizes the need to strengthen racial ties and are actually doing something about it. Some things have to start somewhere....

M2/04

2007-01-26T13:13:00.000+08:00

How we were two and a half years ago

So new, so shy, anything goes

Started off as senior's bait

Cramming notes in our heads

Now we stand and we end

No longer as newbies but as friends

7-month-sit-at-home-become-potato

2007-01-23T16:23:00.000+08:00

Yes, the high has left me. The weightlessness doesn't seem very light anymore. TV is starting to become a bore (SERIOUSLY!!!) Every morning, when mom comes in to open the curtains so everybody next door gets to see her daughter's panties, I stop yelling "Leave me alone!!!". Instead, I ignore her and remain in bed for another 2 hours. Heck, everyone's probably bored of my panties already.

Sounds pathetic? Yeah it is but the worst thing is everyone I see and everybody I talk too are part of the holiday conspiracy. "Oh here comes the lucky girl!" "I'll kill for such a long holiday""Wow...I'm so jealous" and on and on and on and on and on. Sigh...

However, I've just been rescued from the jaws of boredom and to my amazement, all it took was one phone call from IMU. "Hi, this is Hazlinda here. Your offer letter will be arriving tomorrow with your Uni of Liverpool dean." YIPPEE!!! I finally have something to do and yeah, the excitement of going to UK is back again. Then it hit me, I would have to see my dean tomorrow. Ok don't panic. All I have to do is tell him I love Beatles and I love football. :o)

"...he knows if you've been bad or good..."

2006-12-28T12:50:00.000+08:00

...so be good for goodness sake....

Wow! Christmas has come and gone and very soon 2006, M2/04 and most importantly EOS5 will follow suit. I am still mugging like mad, eating like mad and shopping like mad. Ok, the last one happens only a couple of times in a year hee hee. I can't help it, its SALE!!! Nolah, actually I can help it. Take for example today. Its the first day of ZARA sale and there was this woolen sweater which I wanted for a very long time so my Aunt and cousin accompanied me there. At ten, it was already a mayhem, racks of clothes reduced to bundles and sales assistants reduced to tears. Did I find the sweater? Yes I did!....In L size at half the price, hanging there beautifully and taunting me.

"Haha you cannot buy me, I'm too big for you!"
"Oh shut up, I'm going to try you anyway!"

And so I did. I didn't even wait to go to the changing rooms. In the end, I didn't buy the idiot sweater and you know what, I didn't buy anything! So yeah, I have self control!!! I'm against BINGE SHOPPING!!!

This blog is dedicated to a buddy (I shall choose not to disclose who but you know who you are) who made my day with a Christmas Card from another continent.

It cheerfully says, " The answer to the age-old question, What do you give a woman who has everything"

Answer: " MORE"

How cheeky! But thanks buddy, wish I could give you a hug. And no, this is not your first christmas card and not your first time asking whether it is. I believe last year, you sent me this.

Its nice to know, your cards are becoming a tad more cheerful. Cheers Mate!

You'll Never Walk Alone

2006-11-28T12:10:00.000+08:00

Finally, I decided to give a boot to my "too busy to blog because of exam" excuse. So much have been happening and I guess I want to reflect a bit on what has happened so far. November has been a month of decisions and discoveries set to change my life forever.

First comes the IMU Partner Medical University matching, a procedure that will place me for 3 years in a foreign university to finish my degree. When I got the letter, I just couldn't believe my eyes! University of Liverpool, England!!! The first reaction was shock! To tell the you the honest truth, I was upset as this was my fifth choice. Seeing that my results are not bad, this is quite shocking. To make it harder, I've had to put up with people giving me stupid remarks like "Hah? Liverpool? But you're JPA, you should go somewhere more expensive!" What the...but I'm not going to waste my blog space feeling sorry for people who assign value based on price.

Anyway, in trying to work out the equation, I forgot God but when I called my Pa, he was like "Have you praised God yet?". *Whack on the head* I sort of reluctantly mumbled "thanks God" but suddenly I was at peace. Can't explain the feeling but I know now, it must be God! However impossible it is that I got my 5th choice or gazillionth choice, nothing was impossible with Him. If it's Liverpool, it's Liverpool then. He must have his reasons. Anyway, the only reason why I did not rank Liverpool higher was because there were only 3 places which sounds pretty lonely and still does but I'll just have to make new friends.

Some facts about Uni of Liverpool
1) Founded 1881
2) Home to 8 Noble Laureates including the first man to use an X-ray for medical diagnosis
3)Part of the Russell Group Universities (the IVY LEAGUE equivalent for British Unis)famous for research, learning and teaching
4)Ranked 1 in the world for Medical Physiology and is also famous for studies in Infection and Immunology

And to think that I thought I got 2nd best or rather 5th best ha ha. Praise God for His Grace is sufficient for me and I also thank Him that my friends are also placed in universities according to His marvellous will! I've never felt so blessed :) Amen!

I turned 22 the next day and had a superb time at a Hillsong concert with the usual gang. Unknowingly, my neighbours and sisters from TTDI planned a surprise party for me at home which was so sweet. As a whole, I really had a wonderful time celebrating at home but more importantly, I realise that in this journey of life, I'll never walk alone.

ps: You'll Never Walk Alone is the theme song for Liverpool Football club just in case you didn't know ;)

2006-11-02T10:40:00.000+08:00

STRESS

What's that stiffness in my neck?
Feel that lump come in my throat
Stomach dropping to my knees
Feel like I just missed the boat

Panic rising to my head
Heartbeat racing, breathing fast
Can I do it? Will I fail
How long will these feelings last?

Apprehension overwhelms
Nervous twitching, fingers curled
Tension headache, aching back
All these symptoms now unfurled

Now my body's overun
Hormones racing from my glands
Must release it, let it out
How to do it's in my hands

Lost our way of fight or flight
Stored up anger, unreleased
Words and shouting flung about
Now it's time that raging ceased

Relaxation, that's the key
Integration of the mind
Exercise, good food to eat
Leave those worries far behind

Hold that stress out at arm's length
Draw it, write it, let it go
Roll it in a little ball
Throw it out, release that woe

Find the tools you have inside
Make a choice to be serene
Welcome stress, become its friend
Don't put life in quarantine.

Copyright © Sharon K. 2000

2006-08-22T10:08:00.001+08:00

The slacker is back.

I never realised it but now i know that if you keep silent for a long time to anyone or anything, its really hard to start saying something again. Why is it that I find it so hard to blog after being so quiet in the virtual space thanks to Telekom's efficiency. Having settled down in DJ, I find it hard to chat with my TTDI neighbours especially when they come visit. There is so much of lost time that I am at a lost when it comes to deciding what to say. The problem is the other party feels the exact same way and the easiest way out is to smile, blurt out the usual cliches and then face the uncomfortable silence together.

Moving Madness

2006-07-19T16:21:00.000+08:00

If there's one reason to control your shopping instincts, its this : the possibility of moving house which sadly has failed to hit me till now when I'm packing and not slacking to move house. I think I'm mad already.

How many sets of teapots and cups can one family need?
Answer is 1 but for a family who drinks tea everytime the moon turns purple, we have 8 sets which means 8 nice-to-look-at-but-highly-fragile teapots together with 32 twice-as-fragile teacups.

How many sets of encyclopedias does one family need?
Only one good one but apparently, my parents think on a different dimension. There is one for every precious daughter which comes up to 3 and not to mention an extra 3 sets of children's encyclopedias for the extra-stupid-daughter, me.

How many pairs of shoes shouldfour women have?
I'll be lenient so at the most the total should be 30 plus or minus a few pairs. Aha, but the question did not specify what type of women so for the Chan girls, we have 70 pairs. Congratulations! Congratulations! But wait, lets apply this question to clothes. Wow! I think we might have a Guiness World Record here.

How many photo albums can a family over the past 30 years collect?
20 albums with pictures lined beautifully in a row. My my, you can play the 'spot 10 differences between pic A and B' but I must warn you, the answers are tough to get. Also, we shall not forget the hundred gazillion photos which ought be in albums but strangely, have managed to escape their plastic prisons.

If only there's a cure for shopping...

2006-07-15T23:15:00.000+08:00

Hey Everybody!!!

I finally got my sim card and handphone today but I need your help. I was devastated when the Maxis guy said he couldn't do anything about my contacts so yeah, I lost all your numbers. Please text or call me using my old number so I can update my contact list ya. Thanks so much!

I've truly learnt my lesson and yes, I will carry my phone around at all times. If you ever find me without it, I give you the permission to knock me on my head. As for the love of my life, notice that it is a small "l" not a capital "L". Egg Roe, the Love of my life is God but you're right to remind me.

s u e t m a y

con-/-nect

2006-07-11T22:15:00.000+08:00

I'm thrown back into the good old days in Form 5 when all my friends play around with their handphones and I'm left trying to fit into a generation of beep-beeps. It was not until when I started college, Dad decided to get me my first phone to track my whereabouts. The ever-hardy-boring-blue Nokia 3310 who stood by me through thick and thin, accidental drops and food spills.

For 4 years, I was satisfied but slowly peer or should i say cousin-pressure set in and I decided, hey! Its time to upgrade myself but I didn't do it. Right, mom did it for me. While visiting my uncles in Ipoh, she smartly bought me my first camera phone. A silver Samsung (I forgot the model). It was bulky but it satisfied all my curiousity about the so-called savvy phones with cameras that you stop using once u realised how much u don't need it but thanks Mom.

Then IMU pressure kicked in and no, I'm not blaming any of you because without that, I would never have had the chance to enjoy my Sony Erricson K500i. It wasn't the latest model in the market but that was the only phone I've ever chosen and I loved using it. Sigh... then stupidity and sheer forgetfulness caused me to not to zip my bag while in 1 Utama. Just like that, I lost the 2nd love of my life (1st is my Getz).

To all my ex-handphones wherever you all are right now, I pray that the peace of God be with you and that you will get owners that are deserving of you and who will take much better care of you than me. As for me, I hope this feeling of emptiness or rather disconnectedness will pass soon...

2006-07-10T16:40:00.000+08:00

Am depressed

I lost my phone

Someone took it

so don't get mad

when I don't reply

your calls or smses

its because I can't

SIBKL

2006-06-18T21:08:00.000+08:00

SIBKL is not a company but a church. Well, you could say its God's company. This message is intended for all motorists travelling towards KL from PJ. Its been 2 weeks since we've moved and I'm still undergoing acclimatisation. Its like living in a hut for years and then moving to Beckingham Palace. No doubt, its big, its bold, its beautiful but at the same time, its a little bedazzling and bewildering to me. I have to stay still for at least 5 minutes (last week, it was 10) to spot my parents, sisters and friends. Having said that, I'm sure I'll get used to it soon but at the moment, I will be happy to retreat back into a temporary hut aka the media box at the top of the state-of-the-art-istana-budaya-designed-double-storey auditorium with the media crew where its somewhat homey despite frostbite-inducing conditions. To God be the Glory!!!

Murni VS Mummy

2006-05-31T21:33:00.001+08:00

For the Murni VS Mummy epic, just click!

Clock is ticking...

2006-05-29T21:44:00.000+08:00

Sigh... My heart is cracked with a fissure right in the middle. Half of it is pining for what will be missed in a couple more weeks. Its true that you will appreciate something better when you're about to lose it. After seventeen years in TTDI and I'm leaving... Life has been sweet; the countless birthday parties, kindie all the way to high school and lepaking all around although there are some hiccups along the way like the time where there were ferocious rottweilers, the occasional electricity and water shortage.Yet the other half screams with delight of what is to come. A bigger house, my own room, and a walk-in-wardrobe.

Aaaarggghhh!!! I'm torn...