The fruits here are really weird (that's a kinder way of saying they s**k). Normally I'd get apples or oranges from the market since you can't really go wrong with them. Sure, there are loads of other types of fruits but I figure that the apples and oranges are usually more worth the price.
For instance small, piddly pineapples are sold for quite a high price. And let's not begin on the wonderfully fantastic size of the dragon fruits available here. Bananas here are huge, but IMHO, they're usually exorbitantly priced. Yes, I compare the prices with the general prices back home and I know it doesn't really work that way but whatever.
Anyway, last Saturday when we were grocery shopping at the market, I saw some decently-sized pineapples on sale for just $2 each. I thought to myself that I hadn't had a proper pineapple since coming over way back in January and how nice it would be to eat a pineapple again. Plus the price was quite good too, so I bought it feeling all happy with myself for a good buy.
A couple of days later I cut up the pineapple and had a taste. Wow, I never expected the result in the least. If it was really sweet, I'd love it. If it was really sour...I'd love it too (and Leng Hui would have something to complain about). But this one was bordering on bland. Not just bland but the tasteless-kind-of-bland. Leng Hui was saying that it probably wasn't ripe yet so I retried them a few hours ago and it was just as tasteless.
It may have been just bad luck, but when she cut up her honeydew, she also said it was lousy. Wonder how the locals feel eating such tasteless fruits.
Come to think of it, although the apples and oranges are pretty big, they never did taste as good as those back home.
In their defense, when the grapes were in season in the summer they were really good though.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
Misfortune Misadventures
I woke up early Monday morning, intending to cook lunch and go for ward rounds. The first thing I noticed was that it was kinda warm but the sky was seriously cloudy. Finished cooking and got ready but since it was drizzling by then, I opened my brolly and started the trek to the hospital.
Things were fine until I was about halfway through the journey when the sky opened and the wind picked up. It wasn't long before I was drenched from the waist down (fortunately my jacket is waterproof) so there I was, halfway to the hospital, standing like a dungu in the pouring rain deciding between just going to the hospital or going back to change.
After a minute or two of pondering I decided to go back. Partly cuz I didn't want to squelch around the hospital in dripping pants and partly cuz wet clothes don't go well with my skin. So I turned around and squelched home and changed into something dryer. Then I was faced with the choice of going for a ward round which would have probably ended by the time I arrived or going later for a tutorial and hopefully, by that time, the rain would have died down. I opted for the latter and the rain did, indeed, die down by then.
The day in hospital passed by as it normally does. When I left the hospital, the sky was once again overcast and drizzling slightly. Well, since I didn't have much of a choice I started the journey home. Halfway through, it was a repeat of the mornings' incident. I squelched home, drenched but less drenched than in the morning. At least I didn't have to go back to the hospital that day.
The next day, I awoke again to a cloudy sky. This time though, it wasn't raining when I left but it started to drizzle along the way. However my brolly was more than a match for a slight drizzle. I was hoping that yesterdays' incident would not repeat itself. Well, it didn't but something else happened - a small tree branch blew off in the wind and smacked me right in the face. I stopped, nearly cursing the powers-that-be for toying with me but I decided against it and just continued on fearing the wrath of a vengeful higher power who could visit more misfortunes upon me. Thankfully the rest of the journey was uneventful. However, when I arrived at the hospital, the consultant casually mentioned that there would be a 'surprise assessment' that day, which meant he threw question after question at us when we were presenting our cases. It wasn't too bad but I think none of us were expecting an assessment then.
That night I was wondering what more misfortunes could happen to me in the coming days.
The next day was bright and sunny with not a cloud in the sky. I happily walked to the hospital without incident. In fact, nothing untoward happened to me....until lunchtime when I went to get myself a cup of tea from the cafe. I stopped by the notice boards outside the cafe to leaf through the posters and flyers stuck there. As I was leafing through the posters, one fell off the pin holding it and I reflexively jerked a hand out to grab it, completely forgetting that in my other hand was a cup of tea and....*splash*
"Oh Shit!"
There I was standing with a cup of tea in one hand, tea stains on the left sleeve and pocket of my white coat, and the rest of the tea on the floor along with the flyer.
A passing nurse smiled sympathetically saying "I'm glad I'm not the only one who does that."
At least I had some tissue in my pockets so I proceeded to mop up the spilt tea and replace the flyer where it belonged. Thankfully the rest of the day was uneventful.
By this time I was convinced that something was out to get me for whatever reason. I was also pondering what other things would happen to me in the coming days.
Thank the gods that worry was just that, a worry. So far nothing unfortunate has happened since and I hope it stays that way. Either that or I'll have another post like this in the future...
Things were fine until I was about halfway through the journey when the sky opened and the wind picked up. It wasn't long before I was drenched from the waist down (fortunately my jacket is waterproof) so there I was, halfway to the hospital, standing like a dungu in the pouring rain deciding between just going to the hospital or going back to change.
After a minute or two of pondering I decided to go back. Partly cuz I didn't want to squelch around the hospital in dripping pants and partly cuz wet clothes don't go well with my skin. So I turned around and squelched home and changed into something dryer. Then I was faced with the choice of going for a ward round which would have probably ended by the time I arrived or going later for a tutorial and hopefully, by that time, the rain would have died down. I opted for the latter and the rain did, indeed, die down by then.
The day in hospital passed by as it normally does. When I left the hospital, the sky was once again overcast and drizzling slightly. Well, since I didn't have much of a choice I started the journey home. Halfway through, it was a repeat of the mornings' incident. I squelched home, drenched but less drenched than in the morning. At least I didn't have to go back to the hospital that day.
The next day, I awoke again to a cloudy sky. This time though, it wasn't raining when I left but it started to drizzle along the way. However my brolly was more than a match for a slight drizzle. I was hoping that yesterdays' incident would not repeat itself. Well, it didn't but something else happened - a small tree branch blew off in the wind and smacked me right in the face. I stopped, nearly cursing the powers-that-be for toying with me but I decided against it and just continued on fearing the wrath of a vengeful higher power who could visit more misfortunes upon me. Thankfully the rest of the journey was uneventful. However, when I arrived at the hospital, the consultant casually mentioned that there would be a 'surprise assessment' that day, which meant he threw question after question at us when we were presenting our cases. It wasn't too bad but I think none of us were expecting an assessment then.
That night I was wondering what more misfortunes could happen to me in the coming days.
The next day was bright and sunny with not a cloud in the sky. I happily walked to the hospital without incident. In fact, nothing untoward happened to me....until lunchtime when I went to get myself a cup of tea from the cafe. I stopped by the notice boards outside the cafe to leaf through the posters and flyers stuck there. As I was leafing through the posters, one fell off the pin holding it and I reflexively jerked a hand out to grab it, completely forgetting that in my other hand was a cup of tea and....*splash*
"Oh Shit!"
There I was standing with a cup of tea in one hand, tea stains on the left sleeve and pocket of my white coat, and the rest of the tea on the floor along with the flyer.
A passing nurse smiled sympathetically saying "I'm glad I'm not the only one who does that."
At least I had some tissue in my pockets so I proceeded to mop up the spilt tea and replace the flyer where it belonged. Thankfully the rest of the day was uneventful.
By this time I was convinced that something was out to get me for whatever reason. I was also pondering what other things would happen to me in the coming days.
Thank the gods that worry was just that, a worry. So far nothing unfortunate has happened since and I hope it stays that way. Either that or I'll have another post like this in the future...
Sunday, September 02, 2007
The Incredible House-Moving Tale
Well, I've recently (read: about a month now) moved from the suburb of Mile End with it's never ending sounds of low flying planes to the quieter suburb of Kent Town on the opposite end of the city. Let me just say that it's an experience I hope I won't have to go through much in the future. Basically the previous landlord wanted his place back so we had to move. I personally cannot believe the amount of luggage we had to move. Check it out.
That's me standing there obviously. The white bundle contains my quilt and pillow. That black luggage bag beneath it is my main luggage bag. I also have another luggage bag around 2/3rd the size of the 1st one (you can't see it cuz it's obstructed by the front row of bags). Throw in another couple of bags and boxes and that's essentially all my belongings.
Those blue IKEA bags and other plastic bags on the left of the pic hold our shared items, like pots and pans etc.
Everything else is Leng Hui's. I cannot imagine how she acquired so much stuff in her 6 months over here. That brown luggage bag next to my black one holds all her books which amounts to 40kgs. That was undoubtedly the heaviest bag I've moved so far. In her defense, I do leech off a few of her books every now and then.
Anyway we had to call a couple of cabs with wagons and enlist the help of Jason and Cynthia who have a car. Just those two cabs set us back $40. Geez.
Fortunately we were able to acquire this nice little townhouse but it was completely unfurnished. This is the view from the front.
As you can see it's a semi-detached two-storey townhouse and ours is the one on the left. The wall on the left conceals our backyard which is pretty big, and at the moment pretty bare. Apparently our place also includes the plants and trees outside the front door.
The backyard which is pretty bare. Well, now there are shoots poking out of the ground in some places but otherwise still looks similar.
That's the pic of the lounge and dining room. Past the wooden sliding door is the kitchen and those stairs lead up to the bedrooms and toilet and bathroom. There is an arbitrary line dividing the lounge from the dining room and the line starts just a bit after where the base of the stairs ends. Not that it makes any difference to us but I just thought it unusual. You can also see one of our mattresses and something which I can't remember at the entrance to the kitchen.
That's a cacated pic of my room, or at least part of it with my semi-assembled bedframe. The empty space below the large windows is where I'm currently at, typing this out on my IKEA table and IKEA chair and IKEA glass and...well...we did get quite a number of things from IKEA.
Anyway I found out that if we wanted to connect the electricity, we were supposed to give the company at least 3 working days notice but due to uncontrollable circumstances we didn't have 3 days. Fortunately our agent said that it was a slow period and we should be able to get the power up and running on the day itself, since apparently all it involved was flipping a switch. Well, we weren't that lucky but we did get power the next day, so the 1st night was spent without power. It wasn't all that bad as our quilts kept us warm and thanks to Jason and Cynthia (again) who lent us a portable camping lantern so we had some light by which I assembled my bed.
For the phone, we had a toss up between Telstra, the major provider here, and another one (whose name I shall not reveal) but cost $1 less per month. We opted for the cheaper one and were told the line would be connected a couple of weeks down the road. As the day drew nearer we discovered that none of us would be free to remain at home for the guy to connect the line so Leng Hui called to ask if we could postpone it. It was only then that she was told that our area was actually serviced by Telstra so they wouldn't be doing it. So why didn't they call us to let us know? Oh, there was some lame excuse that they were having disruptions and having to have it sorted out. Bleagh.
As Leng Hui pointed out - it's as bad as Telekom back home.
Honestly we were fannoyed as we couldn't apply for internet without a phone line. The next day I immediately went to Telstra and they had the line up and running the following day. Now that's good service.
And lastly this pic has nothing whatsoever to do with us moving house. That's me at the Villagers' place. It was a unique type of TimTams as you can see.
That's me standing there obviously. The white bundle contains my quilt and pillow. That black luggage bag beneath it is my main luggage bag. I also have another luggage bag around 2/3rd the size of the 1st one (you can't see it cuz it's obstructed by the front row of bags). Throw in another couple of bags and boxes and that's essentially all my belongings.Those blue IKEA bags and other plastic bags on the left of the pic hold our shared items, like pots and pans etc.
Everything else is Leng Hui's. I cannot imagine how she acquired so much stuff in her 6 months over here. That brown luggage bag next to my black one holds all her books which amounts to 40kgs. That was undoubtedly the heaviest bag I've moved so far. In her defense, I do leech off a few of her books every now and then.
Anyway we had to call a couple of cabs with wagons and enlist the help of Jason and Cynthia who have a car. Just those two cabs set us back $40. Geez.
Fortunately we were able to acquire this nice little townhouse but it was completely unfurnished. This is the view from the front.
As you can see it's a semi-detached two-storey townhouse and ours is the one on the left. The wall on the left conceals our backyard which is pretty big, and at the moment pretty bare. Apparently our place also includes the plants and trees outside the front door.
The backyard which is pretty bare. Well, now there are shoots poking out of the ground in some places but otherwise still looks similar.
That's the pic of the lounge and dining room. Past the wooden sliding door is the kitchen and those stairs lead up to the bedrooms and toilet and bathroom. There is an arbitrary line dividing the lounge from the dining room and the line starts just a bit after where the base of the stairs ends. Not that it makes any difference to us but I just thought it unusual. You can also see one of our mattresses and something which I can't remember at the entrance to the kitchen.
That's a cacated pic of my room, or at least part of it with my semi-assembled bedframe. The empty space below the large windows is where I'm currently at, typing this out on my IKEA table and IKEA chair and IKEA glass and...well...we did get quite a number of things from IKEA.
Anyway I found out that if we wanted to connect the electricity, we were supposed to give the company at least 3 working days notice but due to uncontrollable circumstances we didn't have 3 days. Fortunately our agent said that it was a slow period and we should be able to get the power up and running on the day itself, since apparently all it involved was flipping a switch. Well, we weren't that lucky but we did get power the next day, so the 1st night was spent without power. It wasn't all that bad as our quilts kept us warm and thanks to Jason and Cynthia (again) who lent us a portable camping lantern so we had some light by which I assembled my bed.
For the phone, we had a toss up between Telstra, the major provider here, and another one (whose name I shall not reveal) but cost $1 less per month. We opted for the cheaper one and were told the line would be connected a couple of weeks down the road. As the day drew nearer we discovered that none of us would be free to remain at home for the guy to connect the line so Leng Hui called to ask if we could postpone it. It was only then that she was told that our area was actually serviced by Telstra so they wouldn't be doing it. So why didn't they call us to let us know? Oh, there was some lame excuse that they were having disruptions and having to have it sorted out. Bleagh.
As Leng Hui pointed out - it's as bad as Telekom back home.
Honestly we were fannoyed as we couldn't apply for internet without a phone line. The next day I immediately went to Telstra and they had the line up and running the following day. Now that's good service.
And lastly this pic has nothing whatsoever to do with us moving house. That's me at the Villagers' place. It was a unique type of TimTams as you can see.
Saturday, September 01, 2007
After a long hiatus...
Today marks a momentous moment in history - I had my 1st weekend take session...hopefully it won't happen too much. I can't imagine waking up before dawn on weekends. See, I woke up at 0630. Then I woke up again at 0650 and once more at 0710. It was so cold that I decided that it's better to hide under my quilt for a longer period. That and the fact that I haven't woken up so early on a Sunday for ages now.
Anyway I went for rounds then helped my registrar with a theatre session. Man the orthopaedic surgeons have all the fun tools: bone saws, hammers, chisels, mega-huge screws and metallic joints.
The atmosphere was very relaxed in the theatre too, probably cuz it's a Sunday so everyone was chatting happily. Then as the reg was closing up, I heard him say
Reg: *was sewing up the subcutaneous layer* After this we're done.
Me: Huh? Aren't you gonna sew up the skin as well?
Reg: *gave me a weird look* ...I said I'm almost done.
Scrub Nurse: *Lol* You are so blonde!
Well, gee thanks. Actually that's the first time I've ever been called 'blonde'. Interesting.
Well we were done soon after that and I went to look for the intern on call and he had some bloods for me to take so I went to take them. One of them was, hands-down, the most cheerful patient ever. Either that or she's slightly demented. She was laughing all the time in our morning rounds and was very cheerful when I asked if I could poke her with a needle. I was pleasantly surprised as she had some very good veins for an old lady.
Having poked all the people I needed to I asked the intern if there was anything else to be done and there wasn't. Which was a good thing as med soccer was going to start at around 1230. Now I obviously don't play soccer mostly because I completely suck at it but I thought I'd go and give 'moral' support to those playing.
Well, quite a few of the rest of the batch turned up as well, not so much to give support but to mingle and berkecoh with each other since it's really hard to meet together when everyone's on different rotations. Well, our team didn't make it but it was a game pretty well played. I guess. Not that I know much about soccer to start with.
After that the team decided to kick the ball around and tried to persuade the rest of us to join. I refused since I was in formal. Steph had shoes but says she sucks at ball games. Jebbrine and Yvonne said no as they had no shoes. Hanz said he can't handle such a small thing to which I replied with a "Hah?" He then proceeded to show what he could handle and I ended up on the grass, in my formal, after he hip throw-ed me.
No I wasn't hurt...well except for a slightly sore left butt cheek but the grass would have cushioned most of the fall.
Sigh. I so need to start exercising. I'm getting round.
Anyway I went for rounds then helped my registrar with a theatre session. Man the orthopaedic surgeons have all the fun tools: bone saws, hammers, chisels, mega-huge screws and metallic joints.
The atmosphere was very relaxed in the theatre too, probably cuz it's a Sunday so everyone was chatting happily. Then as the reg was closing up, I heard him say
Reg: *was sewing up the subcutaneous layer* After this we're done.
Me: Huh? Aren't you gonna sew up the skin as well?
Reg: *gave me a weird look* ...I said I'm almost done.
Scrub Nurse: *Lol* You are so blonde!
Well, gee thanks. Actually that's the first time I've ever been called 'blonde'. Interesting.
Well we were done soon after that and I went to look for the intern on call and he had some bloods for me to take so I went to take them. One of them was, hands-down, the most cheerful patient ever. Either that or she's slightly demented. She was laughing all the time in our morning rounds and was very cheerful when I asked if I could poke her with a needle. I was pleasantly surprised as she had some very good veins for an old lady.
Having poked all the people I needed to I asked the intern if there was anything else to be done and there wasn't. Which was a good thing as med soccer was going to start at around 1230. Now I obviously don't play soccer mostly because I completely suck at it but I thought I'd go and give 'moral' support to those playing.
Well, quite a few of the rest of the batch turned up as well, not so much to give support but to mingle and berkecoh with each other since it's really hard to meet together when everyone's on different rotations. Well, our team didn't make it but it was a game pretty well played. I guess. Not that I know much about soccer to start with.
After that the team decided to kick the ball around and tried to persuade the rest of us to join. I refused since I was in formal. Steph had shoes but says she sucks at ball games. Jebbrine and Yvonne said no as they had no shoes. Hanz said he can't handle such a small thing to which I replied with a "Hah?" He then proceeded to show what he could handle and I ended up on the grass, in my formal, after he hip throw-ed me.
No I wasn't hurt...well except for a slightly sore left butt cheek but the grass would have cushioned most of the fall.
Sigh. I so need to start exercising. I'm getting round.
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