One Sky, One Destiny

Palliative Care - A Reflection

2009-03-28T15:26:00.000-07:00

The past 3 weeks in palliative care has been an interesting experience. My original knowledge of palliative care was that it deals with end of life situations and involves lots of painkillers. Now I know that palliative care treats the patient and the family as a whole, physically, psychosocially and spiritually. Admissions for respite and symptom control play a big role in the whole picture as well. Painkillers, while an integral part of care, is by no means the only drug used.

It’s a very different world from all the other rotations I’ve been through so far. The aim is not to cure the patient but to ensure that s/he is as comfortable as possible during their remaining time alive. To that end a multidisciplinary team (and drugs of course) is essential and this is the first time I have noticed all the different teams functioning together as a unit. It is refreshing to see, after being bombarded so often that medicine is multidisciplinary, the different disciplines actually closely interacting instead of just leaving information for each other in the case notes.

After a while it really struck me how accurate it is to be empathic instead of sympathetic in this field. One simply cannot afford to be sympathetic and maintain his/her own sanity with all the grieving and, sometimes unchecked emotions that occur in this place. The fact that sometimes not saying anything and just listening is the best thing you can do for a patient or family member was reinforced as well.

The many quirks of the different staff members made me laugh on many an occasion. It never ceases to amaze me how sometimes, especially in this particular field, how a simple laugh can make you feel so much better. Everyone was friendly and accommodating, even if they were stressed from dealing with difficult patients, and made me feel a part of the unit.

I have had the opportunity to learn how to certify that a person is clinically dead: Check for pulse, heartbeat, respirations, breath sounds and look for dilated fixed pupils. Having never physically been in contact with a corpse before, I was surprised how cold the body was just hours after death and the how rigor feels like.

I've seen many cases of cancers, some kinder ones and some really aggressive ones. I've literally seen a walking corpse (omg how much more cachectic can someone get?), I've seen the terminal stage of a few patients (which tend to scare the heck out of their family members) and we had a patient with a really dysfunctional family.

Along the way I believe I have gained some knowledge on analgesics, sedatives and laxatives throughout my attachment as well. This will undoubtedly prove useful to me in the future.

It seems like 3 weeks is just about right to gain an idea of what palliative care is like as a profession. I am happy to have experienced something which I knew very little about just a month ago. It has helped broaden my knowledge and, I daresay, helped me grow a little as a human being.

Many thanks goes to Heath for helping me along the way, giving little tips on whatever and giving me work to do when I was bored :) Thanks also goes out to Rebecca for all her 'preaching' sessions (I love it how she ends all her teaching sessions with "OK, that's enough preaching for now.") which made me do homework and were of great help to me :)

2009-02-07T13:26:00.000-08:00

Finally a decent temperature!
The last couple of weeks ++ have been quite uncomfortable with daily temperatures above 40 degrees. The worst experience was on Friday and was mostly due to the fact that the local public transport service insists on using buses which are old and un-air conditioned.

The temperature on Friday was bad at 43 degrees. The worse part was that the wind actually felt hotter than the ambient temperature so there was no relief outside at all. As I left the GP where I was posted to, I took the first bus back to the city which was an oversight on my part as the bus was one of those stated above. I opened the window next to my seat expecting that the increase in ventilation would help cool me down somewhat. I promptly closed the window when all it did was make it even more unbearable. So there I was in the bus, feeling I was being slow-cooked as it went through the stops and traffic lights. I have never been more relieved to get off a bus in my life.

I've learnt my lesson. Next time I'm waiting for an airconditioned bus no matter what. I'm looking forward to the coming week just because it's forecasted to be below 30 degrees for all days except one.

2009-01-30T04:08:00.000-08:00

The current weather in Adelaide kills. Literally. Today's news said that this year reported the highest incidences of sudden deaths during the heatwave although authorities have yet to reveal the true causes of deaths.

The daily temperature has been above 40 degrees Celsius for the last week and is forecast to remain there until the coming Friday where it's supposed to be 35. Couple of days ago recorded a high of 47 degrees! The heat has also caused trouble with the power generators resulting in certain areas (thankfully not mine) having no power supply for 2 nights. Pity the poor souls who had to survive in such situations.

There were also a bunch of people who braved (or imo were crazy)the heat in the Wayville showgrounds to catch some band performing. According to the news the band prepared for this heat by practicing in saunas and such. The authorities did their best to prevent adverse situations by spraying the crowd with water, providing water supplies to the masses and providing 'misting chambers' where they could go cool off. One interesting bit that caught my attention was this (imo) insane white guy who absolutely adored the heat and said to "turn it up to 50(degrees)" followed by a "Whooooooo!!!"

On a side note, weighed myself a few days back and was surprised to find myself weighing 73kgs now. The summer hols back home really did a number on me I guess. Will make myself lose them extra adiposities once this bloody heatwave is over.

Random Updated Updates

2008-10-12T05:06:00.000-07:00

I'm seeing a lot of asses lately.

Surgery is not as bad as I thought it would be...but that's probably cuz my skin condition is much better than last year.

I've seen an operation which lasts less than 5 minutes.

I've seen an eyebrow-raising toe amputation.

I still wonder how (some) diabetics with foot ulcers don't seem particularly concerned about them.

I've seen a bad case of cellulitis with a weird-ish development.

I've been encouraged by a theatre nurse, telling me that my student life will fly past *snaps her fingers for emphasis* and then I'll join the workforce and have no life :) Concurrently wondering how much more 'no life' a person who already has no life can get.

I've had my name tested as various incarnations by the consultant in theatre. Problem was that the scrub nurse's name was also Ken. There was Ken, Ken1 (or 2...can't remember which), student Ken, and my personal favourite - Unpaid Ken :D

Wake Up

2008-09-28T20:46:00.001-07:00

My energy levels seem to be going on a sine wave-like period. Just last week I was overcome by an unbearable desire to sleep. Anyone who knows me fairly well would probably know that I think sleeping, if it were not a requirement for life, is a waste of time. That, and the fact that my circadian rhythm wakes me up if my alarm doesn't, make me unable to have long lie-ins normally. I can't understand how some people, my cousins included, can sleep so much and frankly, sometimes I envy them. Anyway this came as a surprise to me, to say the least.

So on the first energyless day, I woke up and attempted to have breakfast as per usual. Now normally I'd managed to go through most of my morning bleary eyed and would properly wake up when I had to walk to the hospital. That morning my eyelids felt like they were tied to 10kg weights and a haze of tiredness clouded whatever thoughts I might have had. The only thing I could think of was sleep so I managed to stuff whatever remained of my breakfast down my throat and set my clock for another 15-20 mins of zzzs. Imagine my surprise when I woke up to find that it was already past 1230. So made myself some lunch and then felt sleepy again (which is normal for me). So I decided to have a power nap...which works more often than not for me...only that I woke up refreshed...at 1600++. At this point I was seriously considering that there was something wrong with me.

With all that sleep already having been slept off I thought I could actually study well that night. Well my body was obviously trying to prove me wrong as I was dozing off again at about 2230...and woke up 11 hours later. Most of the rest of the week I could function with my normal amounts of sleep but fatigue was my constant companion and he wasn't really fun to be with.

Friday came and I thought to myself, finally the weekend. I can have a lie in and begone with this fatigue business. That was the night I was cursing Murphy and his stupid law. I couldn't sleep!! I needed sleep - all the cells in my body knew it - but I just couldn't sleep! It was definitely one of the most annoying things in my life so far, even superseding that which annoys me most usually.

This wasn't the first time but it was definitely the worst. Had a less severe episode almost a month back and am pretty sure I've had at least one other episode sometime earlier in the year.
I'm guessing either respiratory or gastro bugs cuz I've had concurrent problems with both this time round. Whatever it is, I'm glad I'm finally over it...or at least I think I am. Who knows? Murphy has proven me wrong time and again...

Drum Tao

2008-08-02T06:41:00.000-07:00

Just returned from a solo venture into the field of performing arts and I absolutely loved it!

Drum Tao - Martial Art of the Wadaiko

I chanced upon the advertising poster a few weeks ago and was instantly tempted, mostly by the opportunity to experience some new type of music. I asked around but nobody else seemed interested in it so I went solo. I was blown away by the performance. It was, quite frankly, one of the best things I've seen. Instruments aside, there were lots of shouts, leaps and amazing choreography to boot...and a couple of impressive-looking bo twirling sessions too.

As the title says, wadaiko were the main instruments of the night. However, to my pleasant surprise they included flutes, gongs, gu-zheng like instruments, xylophone-like instruments and monotonous trumpets (which looked like toilet plungers from where I was sitting) to great effect.
I particularly enjoyed a few of their bittersweet numbers. However, most of them were explosive, entrancing, addictive and energetic. It was so obvious that the performers were putting their all into their acts and they were enjoying it too. So much so that one could feel the energy influencing the audience.

The male performers demonstrated inhuman strength, dexterity and stamina with their drumming. On more than one occasion the drummers were beating so hard, so fast and for so long that I felt my arms ache. The choreography was exciting, sometimes mesmerizing and sometimes downright humourous. I'm not surprised that they've gotten amazing reviews (including 2 standing ovations) where they have performed. They definitely got a standing ovation from us tonight.

After tonight, I have a whole new appreciation for the drum. Kudos to you men and ladies for putting on such a great show.

Hontou ni arigatou gozaimasu.

If you get the chance to catch them, do so. You won't regret it!

2008-07-28T04:57:00.000-07:00

Edit: Today (29/7/08) we broke our record. There were no patients on the ward for our team :) We were grinning away at handover while everyone else just stared at us in disbelief...or it could have been jealousy or hatred. It's hard to tell really :D

Went to hospital as usual today (28/7/08) and discovered that my team had all of...1 patient. Ward round consisted of us going to his bedside and attempting to wake him:

Reg: Mr X...*pats his hand*...Mr X?
Mr X: *grunt*
Reg: *shrugs* Well, Ken, that's our ward round :)
Reg+Intern+Me: *Lol*

For the record, Mr X needed some sedation the night before as he was somewhat agitated with altered sleeping patterns.

This must be some kind of record. I've never had a medical rotation with only 1 patient in the ward.

2008-07-26T18:18:00.000-07:00

It's a sunny Sunday morning..well it was a sunny Sunday morning. It's overcast now and has pretty much been for the last few weeks. I miss the sun, the energy I derive from it, and most importantly the warmth it brings in the cold seasons.

Anyway, I'm currently doing a medical rotation at the Modbury Public Hospital which has been really quite good so far. The handover and ward rounds are inescapable but they're not too bad. The tutes are great though, and the best part is that we get lots and lots of food :)
The library on the 5th floor is where we spend most of our free time and it has a great view of the surroundings.

Rolling hills span across a great distance before tapering off into flatlands, which are the suburbs. The CBD is faintly visibile on a clear day too. The greenery is really refreshing and I've seen some great views from there so much so I wish I could have taken some pictures for memories.

On some cold days, the clouds hang so low that they seem to be emanating from the hills. At other times, sunlight and clouds create a play of moving shadows on the surface of the hills. Once the hilly side was clearly visible in bright sunshine whereas the suburbs and city were completely obscured by clouds and rain.

On a personal development note, I have long realised that many are the occasions when I subconsciously "wear a mask" (as Wee Jie said sometime back), and lately I'm getting annoyed by it. I have a couple of theories as to why 'I' do it but I want it to stop. The question is how...
I also need to start exercising again. The cold is just so...well...cold. Must get into shape. No, I do not consider round to be a shape.

Moss grows on blogs?

2008-06-19T06:58:00.000-07:00

It's been a long while since I last visited this place. No surprises since Adel is so interesting. I have also been asked to de-moss-ify my blog as well so I'll put up another bit of random stuff.

Anyway, my last rotation was in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Women's and Children's Hospital in North Adelaide. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I quite enjoyed the rotation seeing as how adult psych was fairly boring last year. It is unfortunate that there are quite a number of kids affected by a mental disorder with most of them suffering from what the staff call "Shitty Life Syndrome" ie abuse, neglect etc. There were also psychotic kids (the medical definition, not the layman one), those on drugs and one very memorable behavioural-related case.

Why did I find it interesting? I'm not too sure really. It could be because of the holistic approach towards treating the patients. It could be because of the skills applied during the entire course of said approach (never has BS been used more in all these years). It could be because if we managed to get on top of it, we would be ensuring the kid has a chance at having a decent future. Or it could be because I enjoyed the company of 3 great colleagues and a whole team of fun people. Hard to say really.

During the course of the rotation we met a Child Psychiatrist who asked us the question. That is the "So what do you want to be?" question. My honest answer then was "I dunno" because there's so much out there that I have yet to experience. His reply was "I'll be seeing you in a few years then." Apparently he has 'predicted' that some would join the ranks of Child Psych and quite a number of those predictions had come true. Interestingly now having completed the rotation, I wouldn't mind going into it in the future. A solid option to keep in mind perhaps?

Walking to and from the hospital had its benefits as well. The hospital being a good 30 minutes of brisk walking from my place has helped keep me from getting 'round' like I did last winter. One memorable night, after being on take, I was mesmerized by that very night sky.
It was a full moon and the stars were shining brightly. Cloudless except for a path of undulating clouds that seemed to go from one horizon to the opposite coming very close to the moon. It had a dreamlike effect to it - a silvery path to the moon. I wish I could have taken a picture of it...

On the TV front, NCIS is still drawing me like a moth to a flame. The season finale of House was shown as a movie length feature which was fantastically drama. Futurama has returned after 2 years of being off air! Got 2.5 seasons worth of 'Avatar - The Last Airbender (later it became The Legend of Aang)' and enjoyed all of it.

Oh, and I finally managed to bake some nice cookies. Got a recipe off the net and tried it last week except I think I added way too much baking soda (I mean, how the heck am I supposed to measure 5g?) and the cookies turned out more like pancakes. So I modified what I put in a little and remembered to add less baking soda and managed to turn out some olfactory-pleasing, gustatory-pleasing and cookie-like cookies! Yay me :)
Anyone for Raisin Oatmeal Choc Chip cookies?

Cleland Conservation Park

2008-04-07T05:03:00.000-07:00

I've always wanted to visit the Cleland Conservation Park on Mount Lofty. I am, after all, a sucker for nature and wildlife. I believe things never got off the ground last year as everyone was waiting for everyone else. Earlier this year LH went with XN; they were nice enough to invite me along but I've had had enough of being a tiang lampu for 10 years by then so I declined. Finally sometime last week I heard Thinesh was entertaining thoughts of going there so I jumped at the possibility and attempted to make plans.

Lucky us as it was a fairly nice Autumn day and we took off. The forecast was a sunny 22-ish day. We arrived in due time, paid, bought a couple of foodpacks to feed the kangaroos, emus and waterfowl, and entered the park. As we were heading for the "You Are Here" map we saw a few of these creatures:

Potoroos @ Kangaroo Rats. Could be mistaken for the vermin back home but these are much cuter. They have the same beady eyes though.
We spotted them scurrying about everywhere in the park. However, outside the park they are apparently next to extinct.

We next went into the Kangaroo area. They seemed smaller than I had imagined them to be though. Furthermore the particular species in that area had heads that resembled those of donkeys. Most of the mobs were just lazing around on the ground. Interestingly the lazing position they assumed was incredibly similar to those of my pets back home. Heck, I think I may have been in that position as well when lazing around at home.
A few of the braver ones (almost all of them were fairly tame) came hopping as soon as they saw us/heard the food packs we were holding. Feeding wildlife has never been easier. Some were really insistent, attempting to keep a paw on the hand holding the pack, probably in an attempt to keep us from withdrawing the food. We saw a couple of albinos, a joey suckling, and more joeys in their mother's pouches. That looked really weird since the mom had an extra pair of legs sticking out of its abdomen.

Soon after, the Koala 'exhibit' was opened so we left for that.

It was basically a large enclosure with a huge central 'hut' and a few large Eucalyptus trees for them. We noticed a few that kept 'running' around the enclosure. We chalked it up to their version of exercise :)

The 'Pet the Koala' session. According to the keeper, that was a 10 year old male (Koala live an average of 15 years). One may pet them by stroking the soft fur on their backs as anywhere else will aggravate them apparently.

Koalas eat only Eucalyptus and have evolved such that the normally toxic leaves do not affect them. They have 2 thumbs. Their hearing is about 10 times greater than ours. In fact, there were quite a few times when it stopped eating when we were waiting in line. Apparently that happens when a 'loud' noise surprises them...and there was a baby in line ahead of us.

We next went to see the Dingos. Apparently they are pests in the wild and it is a crime to keep one as a pet. They happen to be the reason why the local carnivores such as the Tasmanian Devil are now only found in certain locations. They also happen to be the reason for the Longest Fence which practically spans across the country.

Next on the map was the Wetlands, where we saw a tonnes of avians.

<-- Can anyone guess why I took this picture?

A snakebird. No, seriously, that's what it's called. It looks really disproportionate because of the long neck. This particular one assumed that position for at least 30 minutes. No, I have no idea why. The ranger said that in the water, its body is submerged and only the head remains above water, hence the name.

When we tried to feed a few we attracted the attention of most of the birds. One really 'aggressive' duck came and pecked away at the pellets in our hands like a machine-gun. For some reason, it decided the tip of my index finger was food a pecked at it and tried to pull it off. As a result, my index finger is now 1cm shorter.

No, I'm kidding :) It was painful though.
Other birds there were swans, pelicans, different species of ducks, geese, stilts and ibises.

There were a couple of aviaries that we visited as well. There was also an enclosure for a Mallee (go Wiki it for more details) where there were a couple of huge Mallee ducks among other birds.

We next went in search for the famed emus that scared the living daylights out of XN. They weren't the only ones there though. More roos aplenty, although these were much cuter than the first group. Managed to get Thinesh to grab a pic of this one's head in my foodpack :)

Overall the roos were really tame. I could even pet them and they wouldn't bat an eyelid (but that's probably cuz they were more interested in the food I was holding).

Finally. The huge-@$$, flightless bird of Australia. Looks like someone just dumped a dishevelled shag carpet on it. About half of them were quite wary of us. The other half approached because we had food.
Feeding them was interesting. Their beaks aren't sharp and when they feed it feels like bucket scoops. Apparently they can grow up to 2 metres tall but all of them were, at most, slightly taller than me. Not sure why XN was scared of them though.

One of the areas we visited was reminiscent of a rock quarry which was the habitat of the rock wallabies. They were so well camouflaged that we had difficulty even locating them.

Another species of wallaby, the Tamaar Wallaby. This is possibly one of the cutest things I've ever seen!

I still can't really tell the difference between a roo and a wallaby yet. The rock wallabies looked quite like the roos.

Caught a pic of one eating an apple...I think...

One of the last creatures we saw was Knuckles. Eat your heart our Sonic!!

Echidnas, like Platypuses, are weird mammals. They lays eggs, then suckle their young. Isn't it cute?

We also saw 2 wombat couples dozing in their caves. They are the closest relative of the koalas but they are ground creatures. A large adult can reach 40kgs. That's like, heavier than Jebbrine.

The only other animal worth mentioning is the Tasmanian Devil. It had an enclosure all to itself, and was basically just running around the entire place the whole time we were there. Either it was really bored or decided to lose some weight.

I'd say it was a day well spent since I've been deprived of animal contact for months now. I'm happy.

2008-04-03T17:21:00.000-07:00

Wow.

I should go buy some lottery. 2 incredibly rare occurences occured to me in the last day:

I *finally* met Bryan. It's been ever so long since I last met him (since most of us went back home last year actually) and we're both living in Adelaide.
I got an email from Eve...albeit it was just one line of randomness in response to one of the funniest emails I forwarded...but still! An email from Eve. That's like watching Haley's Comet!

2008-04-01T05:50:00.000-07:00

A wise person (or at least wiser than me) once told me "It takes two hands to clap."

Recently a thought has been bothering me...

If one hand wants to clap but the other doesn't seem to want to, should the first hand stop trying? Or should it keep trying in hopes that eventually the other will respond?

2008-03-26T15:11:00.000-07:00

It never ceases to amaze me that the orthopaedic team just waltzes into each and every room, have a minute discussion (or usually less) about the patient and waltz off into the next room.

What's even more amazing is they completely ignore (or are completely oblivious) to the big signs on the doors that say "STOP! Additional Safety Precautions Required".

And we wonder how MRSA and gastro bugs are spread around the hospitals...

*No I'm not dissing the ortho team. In fact I'm quite enjoying the rotation. It's just an observation*

Adelaide, the (literally) melting pot.

2008-03-14T04:18:00.000-07:00

Summer ended a couple of weeks back, yet the expected relief with the expected autumn weather never materialized. In fact, quite the opposite happened. The unexpected has occurred with the last 2 weeks being hotter than the summer I've been experiencing so far. Daily peak temperatures hovered between 37-40 degrees with the nights barely offering solace. This is what my room and bed feel like most of the time:

<-- My room

<-- My bed

In fact, this is the first time I can remember in Adelaide that I've been sweating profusely in the house. It is so annoyingly hot that I can't study or sleep for that matter...ok that was an overstatement. I can only sleep after much tossing around on a hot bed or I just knock off if I'm too tired from lack of sleep due to the 1st reason. Add to that the fact that the heat just drains you of your energy just worsens the whole situation.

I so can't wait for the cold weather to arrive. That would probably make me the happiest person on Earth, if just for a minute or so. At least when it's cold you can just put on more clothes to feel comfortably warm. Pity the opposite doesn't work. After all, there's only so much stuff you can take off to cool off. Plus one of the greatest pleasures in life has to be crawling under a nice warm quilt in the heart of winter.
This is one of the rare times that I actually envy the Villagers with their unlimited use of aircon, however damaging it is to the environment.

Mega Pwnage

2008-03-05T07:51:00.000-08:00

A gem I found on Youtube :)

2008-02-23T22:55:00.000-08:00

I hate the Clipsal!!! Well I have nothing against them personally but it's the event they sponsor, the Adelaide Clipsal 500 V8 Supercar Race!

Dahlah to arrange the race they've cordoned off a section of roads on the east side of the city for the last week. Coincidentally one of the roads cordoned off happens to be the road leading from my area to the city, ie the bus doesn't run there for the week the Clipsal is on, ie I have to walk to the city to take a bus when originally I could just take one from outside my house.

Now the pretty big area cordoned off happens to be less than 500 metres from my place so I can actually here the engine revs and concerts from here. And for such a 'big event' they obviously need media coverage, which comes in the form of 2 choppers circling the area. The event starts in the morning and lasts till late at night.
And they seem to have daily airshows by some Hornets.

No, not these hornets.

These hornets!

The airshow they put on is fairly low altitude, I'm guessing it's so the spectators can clearly see the stunts. This is, of course, not very pleasant to the ears.

I was walking back from groceries yesterday when one flew overhead. In that painful instant I was acutely aware of some loss of hearing ability in my right ear. Fortunately it seems that it's just a temporary thing.

Today being the only day I've been in the house the whole day, I have finally discovered how wonderfully annoying the clipsal can be. The revs start in the morning, varying in intensities throughout the day. This is followed soon by a really annoying cycle of choppers circling overhead. Sometime in midday the Hornets appear, screaming their jet engines off. Thankfully the Hornet show is just about 5-10 minutes. The rest of it lasts the whole damn friggin day!

I can barely concentrate, let alone study.

Worse, I can't sleep from all that damn noise!

....I can feel my sanity falling apart...

2008-02-21T03:49:00.000-08:00

Today in OPD, one symptom a patient was having was abdominal pain. After the usual pain history:

X : Hmm...have you had your gallbladder out?
Y : Yeah. Twice.
X : *blink* Excuse me?

I unprofessionally started laughing and the rest in the room soon followed :D

Turns out that Y had been involved in an accident and the surgeons who operated only removed half a gallbladder as it was all they could find then.
Some time later Y started having abdominal pains again and another doctor discovered half a gallbladder still left in him. Needless to say this doctor was less than amused having to remove it.

I am ninja!

2008-02-20T04:05:00.000-08:00

Me : ...hey...
LH : *screams blue murder*
Me : ..... -_-"

Above is a scene which has repeated itself countlessly in our place. The only difference is what I want to say in each situation, our clothes and the location. It seems that I tend to surprise her with my 'stealthiness'.

In all honesty I tend to dismiss that and claim she just doesn't pay enough attention to her surroundings. But then today happened.

Today I found the surgeons changing room locked, which is unusual as I never remember it being locked before. So I went into the Admin's room, who was doing some work on the com, to ask if she knew the code.

Me : *walks in* Excuse me...
Admin : *startled with dramatic gasp, hand clasping chest looking as if she's just seen a ghost*
Me : O_O ... *apologetic smile* I'm sorry...I tend to do that to my housemate too...
Admin : *laughs with relief* It's alright.

So either I start wearing a cowbell to announce my presence or I have a natural talent to be a ninja!

No I do NOT want a cowbell for my birthday!

The Story of My Life..

2008-02-10T23:34:00.000-08:00

...for the last 3 months now...sigh

2008-01-26T16:38:00.000-08:00

Finally back here in the land of the dry where it's fortunately not as hot as it was.
Things here are still pretty much uneventful, but I guess that's normal for Adelaide...or maybe it's just me.

Anyway, the first thing I noticed when I entered the plane was that it was unnaturally warm, almost as if the aircond wasn't working. True enough, after about 10 minutes the captain announced over the PA that something was wrong with the aircond yet none of them seemed particularly bothered about it. I was hoping it wouldn't be that way for the whole journey because I'd be really unamused having to spend 7 hours in a hot stuffy environment.

Then came the usual prattle about who is flying, where we're going etcetera etcetera. Next was the announcement to watch the safety rules onboard and so we all turned to look at the screen when suddenly the whole plane was thrown into darkness. After a few seconds the emergency lights came on.
I remember being vaguely surprised that there was no MSI incident, instead one could here plenty of "Awwwww"s coming from around.

"Well that's reassuring" I said to the fellow sitting next to me.
"Oh definitely," he replied "Welcome to aeroflop."

After a period of time when nothing seemed to be happening, your fears start taking over - especially after having seen one too many plane disasters on the idiot box and I was fervently hoping that would not come to pass.

Finally the lights and warm aircond returned and the captain apologized for the incident and instructed the cabin crew to demonstrate the safety procedures (cuz all the monitors were still blank). Then we took off...

...when we were at last in the air there was another announcement from the captain. Now he was obviously of a Malay education but the annoying things was that he didn't(couldn't?) pronounce words very well and he spoke way too fast so that all his words sounded joined. It actually took some effort to decipher the English he was speaking. As it turns out he was saying how sorry they were for the blackout earlier because some generator had failed. Then, as if nothing had happened, he went on in a cheery voice that we were still scheduled to be on time, the flight would take 6.5 hours, that they were expecting clear skies but warned us to be alert in case of turbulence etcetera etcetera.

I could only come up with 2 conclusions:
One - these events happen frequently enough that it doesn't bother them
Two - the captain sucks at behavioural skills

2008-01-01T05:10:00.000-08:00

And so 2007 has lapsed into the obscure realm of memories and 2008 has dawned. So many things have happened but it wasn't a good year, well for me anyway.

May the new year bring us all soothing rains, refreshing winds and bountiful harvests.

Malaysia Boleh

2007-12-10T06:22:00.000-08:00

What a welcome back to my home country. The 1st night was agonizingly fannoyingly itchy for me resulting in a multitude of excoriations. Now, I think I've had more excoriations here in the last 2+ weeks than I've had over the 11 months in Adelaide.

Roads have changed somewhat resulting in me nearly getting lost. Road conditions on the other hand are just as bad as they have always been.
Road users have developed even worse attitudes. I was driving home from a friend's house one night and lo and behold - an idiot riding his motorcycle in the wrong direction! That *bleep* was lucky he was at the side of the road. Next I meet the person-whose-grandfather-obviously-owns-the-road @$hole(s) on another bike. The rider and his pillion rider were obviously close (can this be grounds for a khalwat charge?) and were travelling at less than 40kmh...in the middle of the damn road. Lei ah yeah!
Irresponsible, selfish bastards who triple park on busy roads just because it's convenient for them. Irresponsible selfish bastard who was too lazy to reverse another 2 metres to park in a lot blocking my car from leaving.

When I was in Adelaide we had the previous HARDTALK session with our foreign minister which was one of my previous entries. That was followed by the BERSIH (The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections) march which garnered a lot of attention due to the many controversies and spins the government seemed to have put on it. Visit this site for their homepage. There are even videos on Youtube, I remember the police firing their water cannons at the 'illegal' gatherers and the reporter saying "this is democracy...Malaysian style".
The al-Jazeera clip included a faceless interview between one of their reporters who was caught in the conflict and one of our ministers who basically embarassed himself and his nation with his horrible command of English and practically screaming 'answers' and pointing fingers in the interview. I think this is the clip (might be wrong since I can't hear anything without speakers).

Shortly after the whole Hindraf incident occured...and is still happening. To those who have no idea what that is, basically a group of local indians formed a group to petition Queen Elizabeth II claiming that the Indian community were never cared for properly when they were brought over so many years ago. Reported in The Star:

It was reported that the sum sought was US$4tril (RM13.5tril) or US$1mil (RM3.4mil) for every Indian residing in Malaysia.

Well, they then took to the streets, became violent at the police and spread the word to other nations and caused some international dispute. They are now also accused of being extremist, attempting to incite racial issues(and some believe, trying to start another May 13 incident) and liasing with terrorists including the Tamil Tigers.

To top off the cake, news reports that our ministers have 'arguments' in the parliament and many are known for being complete blockheads. Think degrading women and constantly surprising the public at how idiotic they can be.

Lastly (for now anyway):
The incredible story of the lackadaisical attitude of the people at the National Registration Department - here.

Just a thought that hit me: Why read tabloids when Malaysian newspapers are all you need?

The Arbitrary List of Things to Eat

2007-12-03T05:21:00.000-08:00

THE ARBITRARY LIST OF THINGS TO EAT UPON RETURNING TO MALAYSIA
[to be updated as and when I feel like it]

Klang Bak Kut Teh - Achieved; potential for seconds
Assam Laksa - Achieved
Curry Laksa - Achieved
Onion Soup - Achieved
Hokkien Mee - Achieved
Cantonese Yinyong - Achieved
Yong Tau Foo - Achieved
Chicken Rice - Achieved
Fish head Meehoon - Pending
Tau Fu Fa - Pending
Nasi Lemak - Achieved
Japanese Food - Pending
Roti Bakar - Achieved; potential for more
Garlic Cheese Naan - Achieved; potential for more

Completely pointless blog post

2007-11-22T16:34:00.000-08:00

I'm finally home! YES! The flight was 7+ hours long and I was slightly airsick for most of the journey...it was like a mild case of nausea which became a little worse toward the end of the flight but I weathered it.

Watched 3 movies in-flight. The 1st was HAIRSPRAY! Yes, I know I'm seriously outdated with movies but hey, I was in Australia for the last 11 months so it's totally excusable. HAIRPSPRAY was completely enjoyable, as everyone who had watched it said. I was pretty much dancing in my seat while watching it.
Then I chose to watch The Simpson's Movie (due to lack of a better choice...Silver Surfer wasn't available) and had a good laugh. I think I might have attracted some attention as I tend to laugh quite loudly but who's keeping track huh?
The last movie I watched was....get ready...High School Musical 2. Seeing as how (most of the Adelaide people) know I pretty much memorized High School Musical they were pretty sure I'd get my hands on HSM2 asap. Well I didn't. And fortunately so, cuz though I was only able to watch half of it...it was quite crap and the songs weren't catchy at all. Period.

As the plane began its descent, I was smiling all the way. When the co-pilot said to the passengers "to all visitors, selamat datang ke Malaysia and to all Malaysians, selamat pulang" I was ecstatic. For some unknown reason, the national song went through my head. Then I wondered why in the world would they greet tourists in BM? It's not like they are likely to understand it right?

Hypothesis: When I return to Malaysia from Adelaide, I will melt from the heat and humidity.

Fact 1: Adelaide is currently hotter than Malaysia, with max temperatures reaching 40 degrees. Even I was quite surprised when I learnt of the temperature over there.
Fact 2: I did 'melt' from the sheer humidity over here. It's so different from Adelaide where one hardly sweats.

Fact which is totally unrelaated to the hypothesis:
The sudden change in environment, plus walking into a house with 3 dogs triggered a massive histamine release which caused me to itch unrelentlessly which caused me to scratch those damn intolerable itches which has given me excoriations on quite a number of places which has caused me a considerable amount of agony which I haven't experienced since...a long long time ago, which fortunately only lasted a few hours on the night I touched down.

Now if I can just complete the arbitrary list of foods to eat that's floating around in my head...

Achmed the Dead Terrorist

2007-11-09T15:16:00.000-08:00

Got this from Amanda and it's really good. Applause to Jeff Dunham and Achmed for this :)

Random Update

2007-10-27T05:54:00.000-07:00

It's raining.

It's (relatively) more humid.

The temperature is (generally) nice.

THE @#*&^#%LKBJBSDGB&*^* FLIES ARE BACK!!!!

I wish I had the powers to channel electricity ala Raiden. I'd toast all those fannoying flies that keep targetting me. I swear walking to and from the market today was a test of my sanity. Can you imagine holding heavy grocery bags in both hands yet having to fend off (idiotic) flies that land on the most annoying parts of your body. If it wasn't for the fact that I managed to kill at least 3 of them I'd probably have gone crazy.

It's SwotVac time!.....groooaaannnn....

Lalala

2007-10-13T09:24:00.000-07:00

I think the slow pace and laidbackness of life here in Adelaide is starting to rub off on us. Last Friday when we were returning around lunchtime...

Jason: Hey you guys wanna eat lunch? I know this great Vietnamese restaurant nearby and I'm super hungry...
Me: Sure, I don't mind. *looks at Shiau Cern* How about you?
Cern: Can la.

A few minutes and some totally unrelated conversation later...

Me: Hey, hang on! Lemme check whether or not I have enough cash for lunch first...
Cern: Ya hor, lemme check also...
Jason: I dunno if I have cash either...

*a minute later*

Me: I officially have fifteen dollars...*fiddles around with his wallet coin compartment*...no make that seventeen
Cern: I have about the same
Me: Is that enough?
Jason: Yeah, should be. I don't have much either but I have a bag of coins in the car.

So there we were, driving down the road towards the restaurant looking out for any ATMs in the immediate vicinity. There weren't in case anyone was wondering.
Well, in the end we did manage to dig out enough dough for a satisfying meal. Just enough.

HARDTALK with our Foreign Minister

2007-10-04T05:50:00.000-07:00

Looks like our problems are no longer just limited to our own Nation. HARDTALK interviews our Foreign Minister Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar on all the sensitive topics.

I have to say I am disagreeing with a lot of what he is saying.

"The important thing is that Malaysians feel they are Malaysians. We recognize our diversity is a source of our strength. There is no need for us to change the rules or law."

"We are able to exercise unity."

"But if you look in reality, what is happening is that the economic growth of the non-Malays is faster after the National Economic Policy than before..blahblah...even the Indians have a better household income than the Malays."

The following has to be one of the most contradictory statements I've ever heard:
"So I think that if you take it out of the ethnic dimension then you will see that it is the function of any government to help the less fortunate to make sure the divide that is based on ethnic division can be overcome."

How does that 'take out the ethnic dimension'? If you remove ethnicity from that point of view, the main reason why there would be 'fortunates' and 'less fortunates' is because some people were more hardworking and opportunistic than others. Or they really just got lucky. Besides, that doesn't explain the fact that the poor get poorer and the rich get richer does it?

I was keeping track of all the things he said up till a point when I just gave up because it seemed that his train of thought was just along one line - a one track mind, if you will. I can understand that he doesn't want to bring the country's reputation down but I feel that a lot of what he said was from behind whatever law it is that is protecting their interests. Honestly, you can say whatever you want but I'm sure a lot of people will be disagreeing with you and I don't think we're safe from another May 13 incident if this carries on.

Check out the lame-ass reason he gave for why there have been no other ethnicities in the top cabinet positions since 1973.

Sigh. Another attempt to sweep things under the carpet and have a knee-jerk reaction when something happens? He says it isn't but I guess we'll find out the hard way.
Someone posted some good comments about the video on Youtube saying how hard it is to run a government and that they're trying to improve things. Well said, whoever you are and I applaud you. However it is painfully obvious that whatever it is they are doing, it certainly isn't working. Instead of improving things are getting worse and if that isn't a sign, I don't know what is.

Sigh.

Painful fun

2007-10-02T07:17:00.000-07:00

I'm currently aching all over, so much so that I feel really like an old man. All this came about from 2 reasons, specifically a romp on the beach and a slightly excessive training session.

The slightly excessive training session was something I did about 2 days ago. The weather was nice and warm so I decided that I should go train outdoors. Furthermore there is this nice, if slightly uneven, grassy area in between the house units which is more than enough to train in.
So I did the 37 and I was really enjoying the outdoors. It had been so long that I'd forgotten the feeling. After that I decided to try it out but the mirror version.
The next day I found out I had aches in weird places, such as the suprapatellar area, just inferior to the inguinal ligament and my glutes. Heck, going up and down the stairs at home caused pain.

Well, the day was just beginning as that was the day we were to throw a surprise birthday party for Jebbrine at, of all places, Glenelg beach (it seems to be one of her favourite places). Everyone arrived before the birthday girl and so while waiting, we were introduced to beach cricket (thanks Rahul and Kian).
My first impression of the cricket bat was that it would make a really good weapon. The second thought was if I could use it to train the sword form but decided it was too top heavy for it, but it would definitely make for good wrist strength training. The 3rd thought was how the heck I'm gonna hit a ball with it.
It's official, I suck at cricket. I think I must have missed about 80% of the balls thrown at me, but for those that I actually managed to hit I think I hit them pretty well.

Anyways, after Jebbrine arrived with the organisers (read the female Villagers) we started the feast. It was a potluck thing so everyone brought something. We brought garlic bread and papadams, Christine brought tomyam fried rice, Daphne made a really nice lemon yogurt cake, Quinnie made some really delicious samosas, Bryan brought cold-cut meat and crackers and dip. There was also an apple pie, marshmallows, pizza and, you'll never guess the highlight dish - fruit chocolate fondue!

After stuffing our stomachs, we proceeded to continue with the cricket and then initiated a game of touch footy. Two first attempts by yours truly for two games he never played before and it was actually really quite enjoyable...except that running around on a beach was somewhat annoying because of all the shells. We attracted a lot of onlookers and it probably looked odd to them that a bunch of Asians were playing their local sports. Someone mentioned it would be similar to a bunch of Asians looking at a bunch of angmohs playing sepak takraw.

Today I could almost not wake up, tired out from spending almost an entire day at the beach the previous day. The most annoying part was that I could feel individual parts of my body aching, collectively it just felt like my whole body was aching. Sore shoulders, sore lower back, sore aforementioned parts of the legs, sore palms from swinging the cricket bat around and sore soles from all the running of shell-y sands.

I guess it just goes to show how deconditioned I've become and how long it's been since I've played some serious sports.
And yes, it makes me feel physically old.
But I'm still young at heart :)

Unfruity Fruits

2007-09-25T07:36:00.000-07:00

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.

Misfortune Misadventures

2007-09-14T09:10:00.001-07:00

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...

The Incredible House-Moving Tale

2007-09-02T00:18:00.001-07:00

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.

After a long hiatus...

2007-09-01T23:47:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-08-14T21:55:00.000-07:00

No Steve, the place is fully furnished and we don't even have to pay for utilities. Hebat or not?

Lol, yeah it's completely unfurnished and it's also slightly out of the city so that's why it's relatively cheaper.

Still pretty occupied at the moment. Plus we have yet to get a phone line, let alone internet at home (phone's coming end of this week).

Watch out for the incredible house moving story, as well as how I spoiled my own surprise birthday party (Happy Chow Chow?).

Coming to a blog near you.

As one door closes, another opens

2007-07-31T05:19:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't been updating for ages now. There have been some incidences that do merit blogging about but I just never got around to doing it - sigh, procrastination rears its ugly head. Anyways, today marks the last day we (Leng Hui and I) are staying in our current place. The landlord is returning tomorrow and we gotta scram.

Fortunately we have found a new place. Unfortunately it's unfurnished. Fortunately we got the necessities already. Unfortunately a lot of them require assembly. Fortunately we were able to take some time off from the hospital. Unfortunately we won't have power for another day or two.

Fortunately my baggage is still around 2 luggage bags give or take a few plastic bags for notes and etcetera.
Unfortunately my housemates' is around a tonne - mm...a few luggage bags, 3 IKEA bags, a DHL box and more...should take some pics of them.
Fortunately I don't have to move them by myself.
Unfortunately I still have to help move them....why do women have to have so many things?

..anyone who can answer the question above should write a book explaining it to the practical male mind.
...assuming the answer, in itself, has some practical sense in it that is.

Anyhoo, we probably won't have internet (or a phone line for that matter) for some days after we move in so no updates for a bit after this.
I promise I'll put up some things in the near future.

ARGH!!!

2007-06-16T11:13:00.000-07:00

It's bloody 0340 and I'm still awake. The reason being an insanely itchy scalp which annoyingly decided to pay me a visit just when I wanted to sleep. Tossed and turned...and scratched for what seemed ages before finally giving up.

So I went outside and took an antihistamine in hopes that it would help. Then I sat myself in front of my com and searched the net for possible causes and treatments for it.

Well, I actually already pretty much knew the causes already but just to double check. Seems like I could have developed a case of psoriasis of the scalp, or it could be ringworm, or a different presentation of eczema (which is supposedly pronounced 'eks-mah' over here). Worst case scenario would be head lice - which I'm definitely sure I don't have.
The most likely cause would be winter itch, with winter being all cold and dry after all. But it's been dry all the while I've been here so why only recently?

Whatever.

So I read up on some possible treatments which included topical steroids for the scalp (eczema treatment) and I wondered how was I supposed to get it on my scalp with all the hair around. Tea Tree Oil apparently helps with the itch as well. Then there was one which said to "massage warm olive oil into your scalp, leave for 10 mins, then wash as normal". That raised an eyebrow.

So anyway, I decided to just wash my head, hoping that that would somehow help somewhat. Then after washing I decided to try an experiment - I used my 'Dry, Scaly and Itchy skin cream' on the dry, (?scaly?) and itchy parts of my scalp. Whether or not it actually got to my scalp remains unknown though. The irony of it? Immediately after applying the cream I had to scratch my head again.

Now it's better. The itch isn't really gone, more like really dulled so it's loads more bearable. I can say I was so close to doing the olive oil thingy and just apologising to Leng Hui when she gets back (since the olive oil is hers). Man I'm so gonna go get me a bottle of anti-itch shampoo later today...assuming I'm awake at all later today.

*grumble grumble*

...

2007-06-05T05:53:00.000-07:00

So Leng Hui has gone home for 2 weeks. And I've been under the weather lately. Not sure if it's just the cold weather or because I really am coming down with something but I've been tired out and sleeping like a bear lately...not to mention an upset stomach too.

You really don't appreciate what you have until you lose it. An all too well-known phrase yet taken for granted. Yes, I colonize the hall cuz my room is...well let's say it isn't all to comfortable for studying. So the living room becomes the place where I do most things. And Leng Hui stays in her room most of the time, studying, cooking porridge on the phone and whatnots.

I suppose I take some comfort in the fact that there is someone else in the house with me, who I can talk to and well, basically interact with even though the main time we see each other is during dinner and breakfast...and sometimes lunch at the hospital (which is not really surprising since we come home at around 5+ normally).
To cut a long(er) story short, I am feeling the loss of her presence here. Somehow the place feels the same yet different....and no, in case any of you are wondering I don't have that kind of feelings towards her.

I suppose this comes about from growing up in a family with a sibling. Although everyone has different schedules, we all come home eventually, even if it's late at night. It's no secret that I don't exactly have a good relationship with my brother but...I guess the best way to put it is that I draw some comfort from having someone else around me in the house, even if it is my brother.

I must say that this is the 1st time I'm really feeling that I'm overseas - alone and fending for myself...I wanna go home - to my family, my pets, my friends...the food :)
and the piano.
It's not all that bad I guess, there's still some people I know here. Not all of them have gone home.

~That which does not kill you makes you stronger~

Randomness

2007-05-23T05:37:00.000-07:00

For some reason unbeknown to me, my housemate has decided to ask me one random question a week. Well, so far she has been trying and making up for some lost weeks. Pity I can't remember those early questions. Anyways, let's start a list :)

Do you drool in your sleep?
Can you burp the ABC?

Zha Tou

2007-05-22T05:44:00.000-07:00

I've had this really good consultant during my stint in Neurology. There were no problems whatsoever during our ward rounds. However, somehow, along the way he seems to have mixed up my name and someone else's. Now whenever we have clinical sessions with him (we as in the entire group of us doing our MHUs) he calls me David - without fail.
The rest find it really amusing, especially since I had him for 3 weeks in Neuro.
Today was our 3rd or 4th session with him, and seriously I expected him to get my name right this time round...seeing how I tactfully reminded him that I'm not 'David' the past few times.

Well, I wasn't surprised in the least when
"Alright David. Your turn" (we were taking turns doing reflexes)
...*I paused waiting for group to stop laughing*...
"...Ken"
"Oh that's right! Why do I keep calling you David? I haven't the faintest idea"

So we went through the session - I was pretty good at it :) Well, all of us were pretty good at it actually, he said so himself :)
Anyways, at the end as we were washing our hands I said goodbye to him. And he replied:
"Bye, David (intentional)"
"Maybe I should give you a new name too" *I grin*
"Maybe. But I'm the consultant." *grins back*

...ouch

Updates, updates

2007-05-14T03:53:00.000-07:00

It's official. Sick season is fast moving in. Every other person I meet is either sniffling or coughing. I wasn't spared either - was down with the typical non-specific illness symptoms a few days back. Ended up skipping hospital to sleep at home for about half the day. And even when I was awake I had to wear my jacket cuz I was feeling cold. In the end, I decided "screw this" and started to train. Wonder of wonders I felt much better after that.
The next day however, my current registrar and consultant told me I don't look too well. And that I should go home for some rest. They were also afraid they might contract whatever it is I had since at the moment, the Coronary Care Unit is only the consultant, registrar and RMO. Anyway I had to leave for a tute so I left :)

Today we threw a surprise birthday party for Su Chuen, masterminded by Jebbrine and gang. Was told, in no uncertain terms that it was to be "hush-hush". I wasn't overly concerned since I'm pretty sure they could keep her out of the loop.
Apparently they got her into the room, and to keep her in the room, Jebbrine started screaming whenever Chu-Chu went near the doorknob. Eventually she was said to have rolled around on the bed screaming... o_O"

Anyway, the surprise was a success. Christine held her lit cake while waiting for her. When she came out she was shocked :) She gushed "OMG. I never expected this. etcetc". Then she made a wish and blew out the candles....and then the smoke alarm went off! Hilarious and quite potong stim as well. Fortunately they managed to turn it off before the main alarm was triggered, else we would be celebrating with firefighters as well :P
Chu-Chu giving her speech: "I'd like to thank my mother, my father, my pet goldfish..."

*Yes I know that's one of Eve's favourite lines. I'm just waiting for the day someone actually says that for a celebratory occasion*

The cake was so fantastic! Chocolate cake with fudge covering topped with tonnes of chocolate chips! Lovely stuff. Anyways after the pigging out session, we were entertained with the birthday girl strumming some songs on her guitar. After which Kian and Paul took over, Paul seemingly having a preference for Britney Spears songs. That was hilarious too.
Daniel arrived a little later bringing with him funny pics taken when they all went for some cricket session at Glenelg some time back.
The chocolate mud cake topped with chocolate fudge topped with chocolate chips topped with multicoloured candles arranged in the shape of 2 2s by Christine and Shiau Cern.

The girls.

And guys.

I'd put up the group picture of the guys and girls too but these are clearer.

On the way back to the house, I spotted a shooting star. How wonderful it was to catch a glimpse of an event that lasted a fraction of a second. I've been hoping to see one ever since I came here.

Good Grief

2007-05-14T02:48:00.000-07:00

That was taken some time back when my cousin got married. Leng Hui saw this photo and told me:
"Eh...that guy looks so much like you!!"

I stared at her, a little disbelieving at what I heard.

..............."That is me."

She took a closer look, "Oh ya hor. Hahahahaha etc."

?Grossness

2007-05-13T06:15:00.000-07:00

Specially for the unbelieving or just simply curious. So I shall walk you through the picture because I'm being nice :)
That's me holding a dustpan and my phone for size comparison. In the dustpan you can see the accumulation of 4 days' worth of floor sweeping. I don't have a zoomed-in pic, but believe it or not, I'm sure that more than 80% of that dust there happens to be skin flakes from yours truly. Surprised? I was too when I 1st came over - it either doesn't happen back home or I don't really notice it. But I've gotten so used to it.
Guess my theory that I constantly eat is because I constantly need energy for regeneration holds some water after all.
Actually, now I'm eating on an almost constant basis - hypothesized that I need the extra energy for heat production now that winter is coming.
Plus a few days back, I weighed myself on our scale and it told me I lost 1 kilo!
If this keeps up, I'm gonna be all skin and bones by the time winter is through. GG.

Adelaide's Weird and Wonderful

2007-05-05T05:04:00.000-07:00

Adelaide's Weird and Wonderful is gonna be a post describing the out-of-the-ordinary occurences that we (will)experience during our time here.

Flies in Adelaide are fannoying! Here the flies are so damn persistent that no amount of shaking, flailing or moving will deter them. They'll land on all the most annoying parts of your face like eyes, lips, ears and stay there. However, persistent they may be but slow they also are. They move like the mozzies back home so one can actually swat them.
Sure some might say it's disgusting but I'd rather they be dead than bothering me.
I'm actually doing Adelaide a service then because on the average, I've killed 3 flies per day since I've been here. Today was the highest count of 5 in the span of an hour...wonder if I can get paid for this?
Note : For some weird reason the flies are mainly attracted to the males. Confirmed by the M204s who recently joined us.
16th February 2007 - late night 0300
still awake due to excessive warmth, only managed to fall asleep around this time. Woke up surprised as I didn't hear my alarm ring only to find out that I had woken up an hour earlier than planned (0830). Couldn't go back to sleep cuz too warm so went and started cleaning the house for lack of better things to do...
17th February 2007 - It's so hot that I can't study, it's so hot that I just feel like sleeping, it's so hot that I can't sleep! HELP! Too kiamsap to use the aircon. Heh, well I don't think that will be a problem ever again.
KFC here is just as bad if not worse than back home. Think I already mentioned this before but what the heck. It's tasteless and the pedas-ness is not pedas at all. Not even remotely close. Of course it could just be a coincidence but since Leng Hui also had some which was similar I think it's safe to say what I just did.
McDonald's here serve smaller portions than back home. Bryan totally agrees with me on this. Back home I could not open my mouth big enough to eat a Big Mac. Here it fits nicely into my mouth. No I'm sure my mouth has not gotten bigger. I upgraded my meal to a large...and I wasn't full when I finished! At least at the one back home I'd be full.
Oh yeah. They don't have the pump dispenser for ketchup or chili sauce either. Apparently, according to Bryan anyway, you gotta pay for the chili sauce here. Talk about weird.
3rd May 2007 - Bryan, Rahul, Leng Hui and myself went to watch Spiderman 3 on it's opening night here. Can you say the word ulu? There was no phone or internet booking for tickets (we didn't need to anyway, the cinema was less than half-filled). The tickets were similar material to the receipts you get at supermarkets. The seats had no cup-holders. Thankfully the screen was clear and the sound was crisp even though the speakers were those large amplifier-like boxes hanging from the walls.

...

2007-05-03T07:41:00.000-07:00

They say dreams are our subconscious interpreting events or working out unsettled stuff in our minds as we sleep. They could also be some kind of sign, or in some cases a premonition of sorts.
I wonder what my dreams could mean...

Original post 3rd May 2007
I've had this weird dream recently where I met this guy who seemed oddly familiar.
I'm pretty sure I don't know him and haven't seen him before.
The setting was in some university, I believe it was IMU.
Don't remember conversations but he was easy to talk to.
Found out that he stays very near my home, just the next street in fact.

And for some unknown reason, it feels disturbing.

2nd post 5th May 2007
A few nights later, there's another one with a morbid tone:
A group of us were having this party in a grand apartment somewhere. Somehow I know it's located on the 10th floor of a building. The wall which faces the outside of the building is not a wall. In fact there's nothing there - just a big gaping hole. The surprising thing is that nobody else seems to take notice of it, if at all.
The party goes on, everyone has fun but me cuz I keep looking at the hole wondering why nobody else is bothered about it. I have a bad feeling...
Someone backs up against the 'wall', sorta like he's shy of having his picture taken or realising he's gonna be the victim of a prank...then he steps into thin air...
Time seemed to slow down, I could see the look of utmost surprise on his face.
We all rushed to the hole and saw him falling slowly.
Someone laughed. Can't remember exactly who. Seemed that person thought it was some kind of joke before realizing what happened. Then everyone rushed down. Everyone but me.
I just sank to the floor in stunned silence.

Mini-ramble

2007-04-24T05:21:00.000-07:00

It's cold. It's dark. It's gloomy.
There.
That pretty much sums up the current weather we're having here. Actually it kinda sucks since I'm so used to sunlight, so much so that my circadian rhythm is heavily dependent on it. Hence I'm getting sleepy at hours which are far too early for my liking. Only last Sunday, I spent more than 10 hours in bed...which is so wrong as I normally spend less than 7. I suppose the upside of that is the wonderful warm and cozy feeling when it's cold outside and you're snug under your quilt with a small 'boiler' in your room.
My uncle casually mentioned that if I think this is bad, wait till June 21st when the shortest day in this part of the world will occur. Whoopee. I can't wait.
Sigh, the gloominess isn't helping in academic areas either...

I've made a new friend too. His name is coffee. I get a little help from him each morning now. It's either that or I walk around the hospital zombified for the entire morning.

I suppose that some good has come from this. My body has been slowly adjusting to the weather here - I don't flake nearly as much as I used to and my skin looks closer to normal than ever, probably from the lack of allergens here and the cool weather. Either that or I'm taking extra care of my skin.
Also getting used to the cold in general. When we had a warm spell a couple of weekends ago, somewhere around 29-30 degrees, I was positively uncomfortable. Now I wonder how badly I'll be affected when I go home to the heat, humidity and pollution.

Edit: For some reason unknown to me, my skin has been flaring up again. It doesn't make sense since I'm away from known allergens and it's been raining for the past week or so, so it can't be the dryness...unless I'm also allergic to humidity, in which case I'm just so doomed :(

2007-04-05T06:15:00.000-07:00

~Post removed at readers' request~

2 Months On...

2007-03-28T18:14:00.000-07:00

Kinda hard to believe but 9 weeks have since passed since we 1st started our rotations here in Adelaide. Time really does fly when you're having fun and being busy. Contrary to what Jebbrine keeps complaining about (that the people in Perth are having so much fun), I believe we're having a pretty good time here as well. I foresee an interesting 3 years ahead of us.

The past 9 weeks were routine, to say the least. I'm the weird one in the entire group as I normally wake up at 0500, either to cook or train...sometimes both(if I happen to be making a really simple dish).

Unfortunately the admin split us into M104s in surgery and the M204s in medicine. So we were basically mostly interacting with the people we already knew. But of course there were many occasions where we all had fun together.
Over these 9 weeks I believe we've all grown closer as a group...of course nowhere near what some of us were part of but everything has to start somewhere no? Jebbrine is the best example, she has seemlessly integrated into the household of Christine, Steph, Chu-Chu and Shiau Cern and it's obscenely obvious they're influencing each other.
We (very) recently celebrated passing our 1st rotation! Man it was fun! The aforementioned household is full of wacky people, more wacky than the people I used to hang out with. GG. Imagine that. If you don't believe me go visit Steph and Chu-Chu.

So yeah, I passed my 1st rotation. We were assessed in many different areas. It's so annoying that we're the 'guinea pig' batch as they introduced all new ways of assessments this year. I think it's a curse of our year. As far as I can remember(all the way back to high school), my batch was always the ones either being the last year for a certain exam or the 1st one.

They introduced this weekly online assessment, which was basically a weekly 10 MCQs, in IMHO some questions were really unfair. But as they said, it's a test run thing so it didn't bear much weight. There was also an End of Rotation assessment, which was a 50 MCQ online which was last Friday. Most of the weight came from a Ward Assessment, which basically means your team confers and decides (many different criteria) if you pass or fail.
I got my latest assessment form back (my earlier unit was handed up long ago) and looked at the comment section of the form. There, my consultant had written something.
At first glance it was complete gibberish, I couldn't understand anything he had written. Further proof that most doctors have horrible writing ('bad' is reserved for my dad, whose writing I can usually read :D sorry about that :D). Finally after half a day I finally deciphered what comment the head of my unit wrote:
"Improved with time"
....
it was either that or "diagnosed with lice"
I'm definitely inclined to go with the former.

Mamak Nite

2007-03-24T05:02:00.000-07:00

Today there was Mamak Nite. Basically it's like a dinner gathering of Malaysians and Singaporeans. It cost $8 per entry and we were served some roti canai, and there were coupons for a plate of nasi lemak, and 2 teh tariks.
Most of us went, guess it's the craving for some Malaysian cuisine (it was quite good btw). Sat at the table together with Christine, Steph, Su Chuen, Rahul, Bryan, Leng Hui and 2 of Christine's church friends. Chris was ber-security-ing and Sheng Kai and Jebbrine gave up their places to do something at home...presumably studying.

Anyway, each table was given a question sheet, kinda like trivia with loads of weird questions ranging from where the NATO HQ is located to how many brains a stegosaurus had. Each person was also given a piece of paper to write his/her name and email for a lucky draw, Grand prizes of a USB pendrive and an IPOD shuffle....I didn't win any :(
So we discussed the trivia cases of which I contributed to one correct answer:
George Lucas named his adventure hero Indiana Jones after what?
Correct answer: His dog *grins*

So after answering all the questions Rahul, ever confident, professed that our table would win and wrote on the question sheet:
WINNING ENTRY TABLE 9

After the organisers collected the sheets, "the core church band" came up and sang a couple of songs ending with a nice version of Innuendo's Belaian Jiwa. Post performance they announced the correct answers for the trivia.
Lo and behold, to our greatest surprise our table actually won a prize!!!
It was a surprise as we kept score and were sure we didn't get so many correct *shhhh don't tell anyone*
Heh, after a little discussion we attributed the win to the fact that Rahul had written "winning entry" on the paper and the committee took it at face value :D
The prize was a couple of packs of TimTams...so no big loss to the other tables :P

Bryan as usual was bermacho-ing wearing short sleeves when everyone else was in sweaters. Near the end I asked him how he tolerates the cold, to which he replied:
"My nipples are gonna fall off"
Well, the answer was intentioned for me, but unfortunately the whole table heard it and started laughing. Then Chu-Chu(Rahul has renamed Su Chuen...isn't this great? We had a Che Chu and now we have a Chu-Chu) laughingly repeated "My nipples are gonna fall off."
So then I asked her (pretending to be shocked) "Yours too?!"
...to which the whole table started laughing again.

Oh yeah, had a mock OSCE today, especially for the IMU students. I'm happy that they're taking good care of us here :)
In case anyone was wondering, it was 4 stations : 2 histories, 1 PE and 1 data interpretation. It went well except for the data interpretation, which had an ECG and a Spirometry test result which I have never seen before in my life.
Well, we should learn about that fairly soon, no worries :)

Quotes of the Day

2007-03-24T04:12:00.000-07:00

Intend to update this entry frequently. Well, at least as frequently as I get these 'wonderful' quotes :)

"I'm going to print an empty sheet of paper" - Cheok Soon, May 2006
"Oh look! It's Mah Jee Ken!" - Vanessa, everytime she sees me
"Throw at dog, dog also die" - Eve, on my Nokia 3310
"A hen is male, right?" - Siddharth, eating breakfast at Food Avenue, 22 May 2006
"Your carapace keeps you warm." - Tony, after watching X3 in a freezing GSC, 27 May 2006
"You are enlightened." - Chu Kin told me after I put my bag down, May 2006
"Uncle is a relative word...my uncle is my relative." - Chu Kin, 1 June 2006
"We have a buy-back policy : If you buy it don't bring it back." - The Bard's Tale, InXile Entertainment
Sign seen on a hawker stall: PENANG LOBAK : Pork RM2, Crap RM2 etc. (wouldn't wanna eat there o_O)
"This glue is pretty good - it's quite sticky." - Henry of VK Bookstore. (courtesy of Cheok Soon)
'We serve real food. Visually fat free. 100% Skin free.' - Advert for a pie shop
"...you know the toils of summatives, KKB, EoS3, and although it was fun I'm afraid our journey ends here, our last battle. So lets enjoy the moment, knowing that if we walked into IMU together, we shall leave together as well. Nobody gets left behind." - Cheok Soon, on the impending EoS5. A mirror of my own thoughts and emotions of the said day
"We've come this far together to forge a future that is our own. The last battle is here and now. Fear not! We shall not fall! I bid you fight! Destiny awaits!" - Kah Heng on EoS5
"Iced tea, no coffee" - customer. After I stared blankly and uttered a "Huh?" he corrected it to "Iced Coffee, no sugar". (how the heck do you mix those two up?)
"I slept with Mike before." - Peter, 25 October 2006. And no it's nothing naughty. He was bunking in Mike's place in Scotland. Lol, but it just sounds so wrong!
"Evelyn - The Ultimate Duracell Rabbit" - Eve's testimonial by her friend. I LMAO at that due to the fact that it is indeed entirely correct. She just goes on and on and on...
"My nipples are gonna fall off" - Bryan on how cold he was on Mamak Nite 24/3/07
"Actuarial science is actually science" - Jevanny, circa 2002/03
"E-business is business without paper" - Jevanny, crica 2002/03

Good Memories

2007-03-19T04:40:00.000-07:00

The 'infamous' throw

Hehehe, listen carefully to what sifu has to say

OMG!!! I'm on Youtube!!! I never knew...

Hahndorf

2007-03-11T06:10:00.000-07:00

So yesterday Leng Hui and I decided to pay Hahndorf a visit. Jebbrine was too busy berkecoh-ing with the Village people plus they went to church so they didn't tag along. How unlucky...for them that is.
Hahndorf is, supposedly, a German town somewhere about 40 mins from the city. So it's supposed to be famous for the food, or so I heard. I could have gotten my facts wrong. After all I'm just a student who likes to eat.
Ok ok fine. So Yin Yee's parents have a chinese restaurant there. That's another reason why we went :P

Anyway the problem here is that on weekends the buses run less than weekdays so we really had to time our schedule properly. On the way out I noticed the sky was really cloudy - the kind of cloudy that if it were in Malaysia, you would expect heavy rain within the hour. Plus the fact that it was supposed to be kinda chilly according to the weather forecast. And I didn't bring my jacket along...
Seems like I'm slowly getting used to the weather (hopefully, toes and fingers crossed) cuz altho it was cold, more so when the wind was blowing hard, I weathered it without my jacket.
Woohoo!! I have gained Cold Resistance +1!!!

On the bus heading towards Hahndorf, I took out my secret-hopefully-boredom-preventing-item-for-40-minutes-or-so (anyone wanna guess what it is?) and actually stayed awake throughout the trip. That in itself is actually an achievement since I'm so prone to sleeping in public transport. The trip itself was quite nice, kinda like heading from IMU to KKB in a bus. The scenery outside was calming, sorta like on the way to Cameron Highlands, and before long we were at Hahndorf.

1st thing we saw there was this sign

The chalkboard at the bottom reads:
HOFBR'A'UHAUS
Traditional Bavarian Cuisine.

Heh. We were wondering how in the world
would you pronounce that.

My first impression of Hahndorf was that it was a really nice, quaint little hamlet. It's basically a one road hamlet and the shops on either side are mostly cafes/restaurants and goodie shops. It really reminded me of Cameron Highlands as it was on a hill and the scenery was very green.
As we walked more along the road we came across this shop.

As you can clearly see it's really easy
to tempt me :)

Chocolate Shop!!!
Filled with all things chocolate.
One word describes it : Heaven
The shop had all these funny quotes on
chocolate too.

See, I really wasn't kidding when I
said they sold all things chocolate.

"Death by CHESS"

Not too sure if the board is chocolate but the black and white pieces sure are.
Bad present for me cuz I'll end up eating it and well, what's a chessboard without pieces?

This was on sale too!
Hahaha, we bought one to share :)

Since it's quite impossible to make out from the pic, here's what it said on the box (word for word):

CONFECTIONER ONLY REMEDY
Keep out of reach of chocoholics

BOCHOX (R) 100g NET
--------------------------
active ingredient cocoa solids 70%
For relief from the symptoms of wrinkles and crow's feet
Warning - may cause weight gain if used incorrectly
Directions: Simply break off the desired dosage and consume. You should quickly be overcome by stress-relieveing endorphins and no longer concerned in the slightest about your wrinkles.

IMPORTANT: THIS PACKET IS PROTECTED BY A TAMPER-EVIDENT PAPER WRAP. IF SEAL HAS BEEN BROKEN SUSPECT EVERONE. BOCHOX CAN BE HABIT FORMING.

STORE BELOW 18c

NOT TO BE TAKEN seriously

70% COCOA DARK CHOCOLATE

Fantastic description. There was another 'Emergency Chocolate' too but this was by far the better one. Looked at all the available temptations and finally decided to get myself a Dark Choc Rocky Road (looks like a bunch of marshmallows covered in choc).

Post-temptation attraction, we decided to go pay Yin Yee a visit at the restaurant since I had not had my brekkie and was hungry (you might argue that I'm always hungry but that's debatable). It was really easy to notice her place as it was the only chinese restaurant in the area.

The sign reads:

HAHNDORF CHINESE RESTAURANT
and some chinese characters which I can't read (but you already knew that)

We went in, saw Yin Yee and had a seat after which she came to ask us what we wanted to eat. We settled for something "without prawns" and "spicy". Then she invited us to go into the kitchen and meet her parents and so we did.
Turns out her parents are from Kampar but have been around, and still speak with an obvious Malaysian accent :) Plus they actually conversed among themselves in cantonese. We had an interesting chat starting off with the typical rapport building stuff. Then we moved on to stuff like landmarks they knew but aren't there anymore, eating places(they actually know where Raju's/Paandi's next to LSPJ is!)(they also know about Ng Tew Lee in Medan Selera *grins*) about places and 'politics' and finally her dad and uncle decided to cook beef wat tan hor and curry laksa for us.

I must say it was the best and most authentic Malaysian food I've ever had since coming here. At that point I told myself that I should go up every month or so for some really good food. It came with sambal and cut red chilli too! Hahaha, instant heaven.

Ahhh yes, the lovely delicious tender beef
wat tan hor.
Notice the placemats seem to be part of some scripture, the teapot and teacups.

The place even had red tanglungs. Really quite authentic.

I was a tad shocked when the curry
appeared. It was chock full with food.
I was actually concerned we might not be able to finish it, then Yin Yee said she told her dad that I "eat a lot". That's why there was so much food.
After that, I had to finish it la. I mean have to give her dad face right? It was delicious anyway.

After that really filling meal, she asked if we wanted dessert so we agreed. It seems that Hanz (one of the 4th years here - a great guy) had this theory that everyone has 2 stomachs. Yep. 1 is your normal stomach and the other is your dessert stomach. Hence everyone can always have dessert no matter how full s/he is. I so totally agreed with that. Oh, the best part is that no matter how much dessert you eat, as long as it ends up in your dessert stomach, the calories don't count! Fantastic!
Anyway, we just asked for a scoop of each of the 4 flavours - they were all heavenly.
Choc fudge, Kahlua, Baileys and Rum & raisin flavours. *drool*

That was the 1st time since coming over that I've eaten so much I couldn't move for a bit.
When we were done, the place had closed for the evening (it would re-open later) so we chatted with Yin Yee and then went for a walk to discover more about the place.

View of a park near the restaurant.
Calming no?
Note: the sky actually was much darker than it seems in the photo.

As we walked around talking, I was looking for a German bakery. Since it's supposed to be a German town/hamlet and I heard German bread was absolutely to die for, I wanted to give it a try. It wasn't to be though as the only bakery we came across only sold the usual stuff.

Went into this shop that sold some really unique stuff like wild hibiscus in syrup (for use with champagne), a whole assortment of Beerenberg items of which Leng Hui bought a Red Wine and Garlic Mustard, very fragrant cinammon sticks and loads more which I can't remember.

Then there was this candle store which sold scented candles which could last forever - the average would be around 100 hours. I believe the largest lasted 400 or so hours. The moment I walked into the store though I was immediately reminded of the departmental stores back home where the entire floor sold perfume.

We also visited this store that sold German sausages. I had a taste of some and bought back a $5 garlic mettwurst (whatever that means, as long as it tastes good). When Leng Hui asked how long it would last, the answer was "ages" and "it just gets harder the longer you keep it". Wow.
Leng Hui got herself a garlic mettwurst too and something called a 'Bum Burner'. That basically looks like a sausage made from cili padi and dried. I had a fingernail-sized piece earlier this evening and, well, suffice to say that if one eats enough of this at one go s/he will definitely end up having a burned bum.

Somewhere up along the road we
came across this store selling funny signs.
Gotta love the Aussie humour.

Yin Yee and Leng Hui posing in front
of a fake horse and carriage.
Yin Yee claims she isn't very photogenic. I see nothing wrong. Sigh...females :P

A quaint old market wagon in
front of a cottage with lotsa flowers in the background.

A nice view of the canopy covering (almost) the entire street.

A German Sign!!!

The only words I can make out are 'Welcome' and 'Hahndorf' though.

No there were no 'one-way road' signs in German unfortunately.

Returning on the other side of the road we came across another sweet shop. Got meself a huge fudge bar for $3. Yummy!
There was also this museum of sorts where they were displaying Aussie aboriginal art which was really nice.

It was towards the end of the trip when we finally decided to get that Bochox. As you can imagine, we already bought quite a lot of stuff (read:food) and for some reason I was carrying it all. So much so that when I went to pay for the Bochox, the owner noted that I had a good day. Hahaha, it was very fruitful that's for sure!

Had to wait for the bus to get back to the city, so instead of freezing our gluteals off in the cold we took shelter inside Yin Yee's restaurant, which had conveniently re-opened by then. Well, I won't bore you with details except to say we left the restaurant with 2 packs of fried rice(delish!!) and a rather huge pack of prawn crackers ala Malaysia. Lol, for some reason her dad reminds me of my own grandfather :)

The end result of our entire day
'shopping' at Hahndorf.
The 3 bags had my Rocky Road, Leng Hui's Rocky Road and the Bochox.
Notice the white packet? 'Chilli Chocolate' drink...Leng Hui is quite adventurous.

Notice the 2 fudge bars on the lower right.
Notice the 'Bum Burner' and mettwurst.
...I'd point with a laser pointer if I could but unfortunately I can't.

There you have it. Our trip to Hahndorf was really grool. We're so planning on rocking up again sometime soon!
Note: Visit Leng Hui's blog for her version of events....well actually it's more like her album of events :)

Epiphany

2007-03-03T06:08:00.000-08:00

Well, it's as I expected - the depression was a one day event. As I said it has happened before albeit very rarely and I still dislike the feeling alot. Thankfully it's over for now. The annoying thing is that although I know what I can do to feel better when I succumb to it, I just can't do it - more like my mind won't let me do it.

Woke up the day following the depression to discover that I was feeling better. As I was getting out of the house to go for ward rounds I looked up to see the fiery clouds of dawn. It was beautiful, the kind that really pacifies and calms the soul. Then I saw what made me feel all better:

It was 2 streaks of clouds in a 'V' shape running almost parallel to each other before merging near the horizon. The moment I saw that I was stunned by its significance. 1 streak represented me, what I am, where I am at this moment in time. The other streak represented all the things I love - family, friends, food - which incidentally are mostly back home (some in UK and NZ).
The 2 streaks were separated at first, which would indicate my current situation where I'm apart from all that I love. But as I looked further, the streaks became closer and closer and finally merged. To me it meant that this journey of mine will be a path to something good as it will, sometime in the future, reinforce and reunite me with all the things that I care about.

The moment I saw that and had that realisation, all the bad feelings vanished to be replaced by a warm glow and I was not depressed anymore - ready to face the days' challenges with my heart and head held high.

Depression

2007-03-01T04:22:00.000-08:00

1st March 2007 - the day that marks the first time I'm feeling down since arriving here in Adelaide. Call it whatever you want, being down, having the blues or simply depressed, I'm currently there. It's a mild case though, no suicidal tendencies or random acts of violence. In fact I function normally except that I don't feel like doing anything and can't focus. As to the burning question of exactly why I'm depressed I have absolutely no idea...if I did then I could actually do something about it. At this point I'm just moping about not doing much...heck I only finished half of my lunch, much to the surprise of Jebbrine earlier today.

The International Students Centre lady (who scared us off driving here) said that it is common for your emotions to go all roller-coaster on you as this is a whole new environment and one would need to adjust to everything. And it's not only one case but seems to go in cycles.

That being said, I never thought I'd be depressed here. Homesick sure but depression? Well, I've had it before but I really don't like this feeling. And it's so annoying when you want to do something about it but can't cuz you don't really know what's causing it.

Man I wish that I could have a nice piano and all my music scores. The alternative is exercising but I don't really feel like doing that. Or just playing around with my pets...
Why is everything I need back home?

Case

2007-03-01T03:32:00.000-08:00

CASE (21/2/07)
22 year old male presents with bilateral pitting pedal edema for the last 4 days. There is no pain or discomfort. Medial malleolus, dorsalis pedis and posterior tibialis were all not palpable.
The swelling is limited to his ankle area, his toes are spared. The only pathology seen on inspection is generalised dryness of the area with signs of recent trauma from scratching, due to chronic eczema.
He has never had such problems before. He doesn't know of anyone in his family having heart problems, liver problems or kidney problems.
Heart rate is within normal limits, BP is normal, S1 and S2 heard with no additional heart sounds or murmurs.
The patient is on antihistamines and topical corticosteroids.
The patient is mainly allergic to dust and seafood.

What is your differential/provisional diagnosis?

(Hint:He is at an unlikely age to suffer from the common causes of such edema.)

PS : Adelaide people are hereby prohibited from providing answers or clues.

ANSWER :
Patient suffered from a combination of vasodilatation due to the excessive heat and increased vascular permeability, most likely from trauma to the skin from excessive scratching of the ankle area. It is possible that a low-grade infection was also present but this was not confirmed.
The doctor advised that the patient didn't need any blood tests but would be happy to do it if the patient wanted.
The patient did not want a blood test and was advised to let time take its course and return if pain develops or he swelling remains after a couple of weeks.

The swelling regressed and disappeared within 4 days of seeing the doctor.

101 Things You've Always Wanted To Know About Me

2007-02-18T04:16:00.000-08:00

....thanks to a certain someone I now had to find time to undertake this arduous task of coming up with 6 weird facts about yours truly. It really isn't easy, I mean who normally thinks of weird stuff about themselves? Oh well, since I'm feeling too lazy to do anything anyway...
Warning Note : Facts below may be kinda gross. I dunno since everybody's grossness levels are different. So read at your own risk.

"Each player of this game starts off by giving 6 weird things about themselves. People who get tagged need to write in a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state the rules clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. After you do that, leave them each a comment letting them know you tagged them and to read your blog." ~So sayeth the instructions~

I do have eczema which can be pretty annoying. To me however, it is also an aesthetic /wadrobe problem, hence you will never see me in sleeveless and rarely in shorts. Reason being when it's bad it can look really disconcerting (even to me) and the more I cover up, the less I flake around...especially here where it's so dry. The only places where it has never occurred (thankfully) are the palms and soles.
That being said, it is to be expected that boils are a fairly common occurence with me and I find them even more annoying than the eczema. I almost always squeeze them till they burst. Yes, it's painful but I get this feeling of satisfaction from it.
That being said, I kinda enjoy some types of pain. Eg when my skin condition gets aggravated and is continuously itchy, I tend to put something really hot on it to 'burn' away the itch. Something really hot would include a really hot shower, a cup of boiling water or some such. I also enjoy taiji (too lazy to elaborate but those of you who know me well will know what I'm talking about).
There's this patch of hair on the superoposterior part of the right half of my head that has a tendency to stick up (anti-gravity) no matter how much I comb it down. It only stays down with lots of hair gel and I don't normally use that. I noticed that occurred after one of the 1st few times my mom cut my hair though...
I eat a lot. No that isn't an understatement. Yet it definitely doesn't look like I eat much since someone I know once told me, in reply to my telling her my weight, "where does it all go?". The people I'm here with still can't believe I eat so much...
I have a couple of theories though. One, I have a high metabolic rate so I burn food easily. This actually has proof, as whenever I get hungry I tend to start feeling cold in a cold environment. This problem vanishes after I eat though...or at least until I get hungry again. Two, I need continuous energy to rebuild my superly damaged skin....damn I need Wolverine's healing factor....
That being said, I'm also allergic to tonnes of things (can you believe highlighters are included?) Got the nickname 'The Allergy Guy'. Nowhere in this world will I be free of allergens unless maybe in a hospital sterile room....or a protective bubble....or in ice
Ezlin spread the word around college that I look like Harry Potter, hence my college friends still sometimes call me Harry.
This may be somewhat surprising but I am kind of a reserved person. I have difficulty in making small talk as well.
I never had acne in my life.
I have always been single and available (self-promo :P)
I don't really know how to show people that I love them :(
I am el-cheapo. Really. It's hard to find someone else whose level of kiamsapness can compare with mine. Ask my college friends if you don't believe me, although I'd like to think that I'm mellowing down recently :)

Hmm...guess I got carried away. I'd put down more but currently my mind is empty. Oh well, anyway I'm supposed to tag 6 other people for this but I think I'll spare myself...oh wait...I got at least 2 ie Chuks (still staying trim dude?) and William. Iona too whenever she gets the chance since I believe I'm heck of a lot free-er than she is at this moment in time. I'd love to read what weird things Chow-Chow gets up to but he doesn't seem to be very blogger-ing recently.
Oh well, whoever wants to do it and knows me just drop me a line to let me know then :P

Valentines?

2007-02-14T03:57:00.000-08:00

February 14th 2007. Another Valentine's Day is over, and how did I spend it? Hmm..waking up at 5am to prepare my packed lunch (it was fried rice in case anyone is interested), went to TQEH, went to RAH for a lecture in the afternoon, came back, cooked a beef dish and watched House on the telly (Season 3).
Here it seems, people shower their loved ones with gifts by the dozen. Everywhere I went I saw people carrying flowers and such, couples holding hands and whispering sweet nothings into each others' ears. Me? I watched House...gee...how romantic

There's this girl - ya know, I can't find a proper description here, what do you call a female early-20s student? A girl? A woman? A lady? ...miss? anyway back to the topic...
This female colleague of mine who requested that I play the piano at the cafe to which I obliged. After all I had wanted to play a piano for ages since coming over here. So I played a few (incomplete) songs and she stood by the piano and listened and complimented me on my skills. Now as it so happened she was the only one standing by the piano and listening while the rest (ie my gang and her gang) were sitting at some table a short distance away.
After that started the part where Bryan and Jebbrine insisted that I 'mesmerized' her with my playing. -_-"
It's still going on actually. Only this morning Jebbrine asked me why don't I ask aforementioned female out for dinner, to which I raised an eyebrow and asked why I would want to when I barely even know her.
"But that's how it starts what. You go for dinner, get to know each other lor. She is single."
...or something along that line was what Jebbrine replied. Wow. I should be so thankful that my friends are trying to matchmake me...and to think I dreaded my parents doing so...geez

That aside, my physical appearance as of now is pretty much that of a snake shedding. Make that a snake undergoing permanent shedding. Maybe I should bring a vat of oil to the hospital and excuse myself every hour or so and jump into that vat...

Happy Valentine's Day Mom and Dad, stay healthy. Happy Valentine's to Mimi, Bubbles, Goldie and all the rest back home who I will sorely miss this coming Chinese New Year.

Special mention goes to 3 people:

Kah Heng - don't give up on love :)
Eve - all the best! I have complete faith in you :)
Iona - there are many worlds but they share the same sky :)

Be excellent to each other and party on dudes!!!

Symphony Under the Stars

2007-02-10T05:07:00.000-08:00

On this bright beautiful afternoon, we headed to Torrens River for Santos (the Australian gas supplier company) organised a "Symphony Under the Stars" event. Basically it's a prelude to the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra performances and this is free to the public. It started at 8pm but a support band had an opening act around 7ish.

So all of us, M104s and M204s had arranged to meet somewhere in the park for this. Since Jebbrine, Sheng Kai and Bryan were at IKEA getting some furniture for their new apartment, we headed there 1st. On the way there Leng Hui dropped off the Kumar and Clark she borrowed from the library in our 1st week here. So kiasu cuz she never read it anyway :P We also stopped by KFC to get dinner. OMG, I disliked KFC back home but it's worse here. It's almost completely bland, they don't have Hot and Spicy and their pedas chicken isn't.

As you can see it was quite crowded, the ice cream line was a mile long and yes we were camwhoring :P

So we headed to the park and got a place to sit and started eating. Now flies are common and annoying but today there was a really persistent wasp that kept landing on my chicken bones and nibbling on them...nearly wanted to trap it in the box and throw it away...nearly.
Saw the M204s after eating and went to join them.

Leng Hui went around to grab more pics while the rest of us just lazed around. Around this time Jebbrine texted me saying they just got home and would rock up soon. It was amazing cuz the M204s brought a whole load of stuff to eat. There was bread, butter and jam, chips, wine (which is quite cheap here).

The locals too seem to have brought their entire kitchen with them. Most brought picnic blankets and chairs but I did see many who brought tables and tablecloths and basically food enough to feed an army. Most of the locals had some sort of bubbly white drink which was probably either white wine or champagne.

After a small 'discussion' we 'decided' that the next time we headed for such an outing, we too would bergwailo too but with an Asian twist. We would bring chairs, tables, a gas tank and have a steamboat session there. Man, can't wait for that.

A closeup of the stage and the orchestra members and a whole bunch of instruments. The support band that opened the act in the afternoon had a member who played the xylophone like a demon. It was so amazingly quick playing. Impressive. Oh, and they played a nice song with a really weird name : Rotting Eating Zombies from Outer Space. No. Really. I'm not kidding.

Earlier before we left the house, I told Leng Hui to bring along a jacket cuz at that time it was warm but I predicted it would get cold when the sun went down. But did she listen? Noooo...so when it ended up cold, guess who was wearing my jacket?

LEECH!!!!! Thankfully after Jebbrine arrived, she offered Leng Hui her jacket cuz she was feeling warm (?!?!) so I got my jacket back.

Su Chuen brought her jacket but wore shorts so her legs were freezing. Christine didn't bring her jacket so Rahul lent her his. What could the two of us do? It's not like we could let the girls freeze to death. So we did the gentlemanly thing - we let them have the jackets and kept ourselves warm with wine and bread and chips :)

The stage was beautifully lit at night, as this pic shows. Every now and then a whole flock of birds would circle above the stage and then fly off. The ASO played quite a number of songs. Unfortunately for me, they were mostly classical pieces and I find it hard to 'feel' the music for the most part. Anyway most of the time Rahul, Leng Hui and Jebbrine were camwhoring so I think our group was the loudest as we kept giggling and taking flash photos.

Leng Hui wanted to take a video of a performance and so asked Rahul to help her as there was a tong sampah blocking her view. Halfway through the battery died so Rahul offered to use his camera to film the rest which he did.

Their last number was one of Tchaikovsky's pieces.
Leng Hui was interested to film it and so was Rahul so he filmed it using his camera. Unfortunately for him the performance was about 15 minutes long. I noticed his hands tremor-ing a lot and he switched hands quite a bit too. Well, I don't blame him as the song was quite nice.

The piece ended with a blast of fireworks which was really nice.

Missing you

2007-02-08T04:50:00.000-08:00

It's not easy going around town when you see so many people walking their dogs or taking them for rides in their cars.
I've seen so many different breeds already, Huskies, Papillons, Bulldogs, Pomeranians and more.

Sigh.

They look so happy, tails wagging all the way...

I miss my sisters. I miss how we would cuddle together on the nice cool floor, on the couch. I miss staring into Mimi's soulful eyes. I miss how we would understand one another with a glance and a gesture. I miss running around the garden with them. I miss the nudges by Mimi.
Most of all I miss stroking their lovely fur...

Take good care of them for me Mom and Dad. I miss you too.

Another week...

2007-02-03T06:30:00.000-08:00

What a long week it has been. Waking up early to prepare to go to university, preparing sandwich lunches (cuz it’s so much cheaper than eating at the café there) and walking to take the bus…man it just reminds me of primary school days.

Furthermore some days we have to go back to the city for classes and presentations, and there might be something else at the hospital on that same evening. So as you can see, there’s a lotta traveling going around and it is tiring.

This week was extra hectic as we moved into the more ‘permanent’ accommodation and that itself was an extremely tiring day. Obviously we had to move all our luggage which weighed tonnes, then we went to IKEA, which is located near the airport (i.e. we had to board a bus to the city and another to IKEA) because we needed pillows, bedsheets, blankets and their respective covers. All that and we still haven’t unpacked yet. Fortunately for me, I have little luggage (comparatively that is, since my luggage was the lightest of all the 5 of us) so I managed to unpack almost everything that night.

Thankfully we finally moved into a new permanent place. One of the 1^st things I got was a humidifier. Asked Sam where I could find one and he replied that it will be very hard as it isn’t usually stocked here…I was thinking “what the heck?! This place is so bone-dry and they don’t use humidifiers?!”

Upon looking around I found the exact opposite of what I was looking for – a dehumidifier, and again I questioned the logic of wanting to make a dry place drier. Anyway, after asking around I discovered that some chemists stock it so I went to look and got one. That night was the best night I had since coming here. Honestly it’s no fun at all to wake up to so dry that it’s painful/uncomfortable to move your limbs and to open your eyes and blink simply because your skin has become so dry. Am currently using way more moisturizer than I used to back home but I suppose even that has its limits.

Oh yeah, there’s this café on the grounds of the hospital called Lizzie’s, and it has one of the best chocolate coated doughnuts I’ve ever tasted! Plus it’s huge, the miniscule doughnuts back home are nowhere in comparison.

The staff café on the 2^nd floor of the hospital on the other hand has a baby grand piano!! Mega stress relief for me on the day that I played it. Granted it has been close to a month since I last played the piano so that was wonderful.

Note to self : try to stop sleeping on buses. That unfortunately is a lot easier said than done as all this while I have been doing that – sleeping on buses and trains – so much so that is has become almost 2^nd nature to me. Reasons for wanting to stay awake? So I can read my book(s) on the bus. Also yesterday while I was dozing, the bus came to an abrupt stop and WHAM!!! My head hit the back of the seat in front.

Leng Hui went “Oh my God!” Are you ok?”

Jebbrine says she saw what happened too.

Fortunately for me it didn’t hurt in the least. And I have had some ‘training’ in this area (Eve and KKB…anyone in that car remember that incident?)

Today was fantastically HOT!!!! Not only that, the wind which I expected to cool us off was hot too. Oh man, and today is the day we normally do our shopping. It really doesn’t help that we bought all the meat and veggies, a pot, a couple of bowls, 3 large leeks (which really look like they can be used as a weapon) and the bus intervals are longer than that of weekdays. So there we were, roasting in the shade, feet melting when this group came over and I just couldn’t believe my eyes. This guy was wearing long track bottoms, an oversized shirt and a snow cap! And it was a friggin’ hot day! It’s a wonder he doesn’t get heatstroke.

Adelaide 101

2007-01-15T21:02:00.000-08:00

Wow, a post in such a long time. Honestly I have no idea why I haven’t been posting lately. Guess it’s a mix of laziness and nothing much to blog about…unless preparations for flying off to another country and certain PS2 games are newsworthy.

So here we are in Adelaide and it’s been almost a week now. Guess we’re slowly getting used to the place after a relatively stressful first few days. Waiting for buses, running around town for groceries, uni stuff, banking, looking for accommodation, not to mention the jet lag and sun-induced tiredness (well, it affects me) is really tiring.

The weather here is weird. The sun is hot but anywhere in the shade is cool and the wind, which is really frequent, ranges from cool to downright cold. It’s also dry as heck. I’m practically shriveling up like a prune so much so it sucks quite bad. The itchiness due to allergens has given way to itchiness due to dryness :( sigh…although it is loads more comfortable here as you tend to not sweat at all.

For all the advertising about the public transport service here being better than back home, it isn’t entirely true. While it is true that the services here are pretty regular they neglect to tell you a few things. Like the fact that some buses don’t service certain routes on weekends which resulted in Leng Hui and I waiting for about 45 mins for a bus that would never arrive. During weekends the buses are rarer so there is a longer time waiting in between, sometimes up to an hour. Each bus has certain stops so although there may be like 10 stops along a certain road, the bus you’re on will only stop at maybe 3 or 4, so you really gotta get used to the routes quickly or rely heavily on the maps of the bus services.

Then again after all said and done, they are pretty efficient if you know the routes and timetables. Waiting by the side of the road for one like in M’sia doesn’t work here.

As you can see, we spent most of Saturday waiting for buses and basically running around town viewing potential accommodations...ok fine, so Leng Hui was camwhoring in the 2nd pic but we were still waiting.

Yesterday was pretty fun cuz we all went to the Glenelg beach to relax. It’s quite a nice place and really quite crowded too. The road leading to the beach was aptly named Jetty Road and it’s basically a whole row of shops on either side. Then there was this plaza like area just before the beach proper where many stalls were setup, kinda bazaar-ish.

Jebbrine, Sheng Kai, Leng Hui and I decided to go walk along the beach while Bryan decided to stay and roast.

It was a nice warm sun(later it became really hot) with almost constant cool seabreeze and cold water lapping at our ankles. The seagulls treated the place like home, even daring to attempt to steal food from some beachgoers. Many dog owners also brought their dogs to run about the beach. Every now and then a helicopter would pass overhead; supposedly they’re the Shark Patrol units. We didn’t see any fish whatsoever though.

We found a potential place to stay at just outside the city. It comes with a piano, which is a big plus point for it I must say. It’s small, fully furnished and located very near an entire row of shops ranging from food to medicine and banks. There was this Asian Grocery near there where we saw Malaysian Maggi Mee! And even stuff like funeral papers which I never expected to find here.

Our current accommodation is a temporary thing, it seems to be an old hospital which has been remodeled as a hostel. We all stay in different rooms, and my room seems to be the weirdest of them all. It's divided into 3 parts: a bedroom proper, a 'living room' that has a 1 seater sofa and a ceiling fan which spins fastest at Speed 1, and a 'laundry room' which basically is a really small room that has a shoe rack and a dirty clothes basket.

Close up of my room door. Yep, I sleep in an ex-Radiation Room! Muahahaha!!! Mutation beckons!!!

For a dear friend

2006-09-27T09:42:00.000-07:00

Eve's birthday just passed, and since I was (still am) busy at work, I managed to wrangle a free day out of my superior and got her to visit Aquaria KLCC. Thought it'd be nice for her to go see all the (water)fish since she occasionally becomes one herself :D Actually it's cuz she hasn't been there before and I really wanted to get her to enjoy her day after all the problems she had (and probably still has but less) back in our days in IMU.
Seriously, I just hope you did enjoy yourself there Eve. Happy belated birthday!

Well, Kah Heng and Cheok Soon came along in the end - I did tell her she could invite anyone along so she told Void and he somehow got his Ipoh trip postponed and tagged along. Cheok Soon, almost perenially free, decided to tag along since he was...well...free...
Pics I/we have but with my lousy skills most of my pics came out blur. Head over to Void's blog
for more pics.
We saw so many things:

Top to bottom :

Arapaima gigas - the largest freshwater fish in the world
a beautiful golden arowana
Kah Heng pretending to be afraid of the fish...looks like he was more afraid of Eve(not in the pic)
the fugliest cap ever...wonder what Vanessa would look like wearing it...

Unfortunately those were the only pics that turned out well but we actually saw lots of other stuff too. Gargantuan turtles the size of huge boulders, the mostest humongousest catfish ever, manta rays, reef sharks, nurse sharks, giant groupers, chambered nautilus(es?), one of them ikan tanglung, horseshoe crabs, slipper crabs, hawksbill turtles were among the stuff we saw.

We even hung around for the feeding time, when 2 divers in scuba gear descended into the huge tank and fed the fish. The nurse sharks are sooooo tame, they almost seemed dog-like. So was the hawksbill. Most fish scattered when the reef sharks appeared though, we didn't see them eating anything.

We ended up in Chili's after that, with a bottomless drink each and a dish of bottomless chips. Lol, great snack that was....

My Blues are back

2006-08-03T09:32:00.000-07:00

It's funny, when I was burning oil for the exams, I yearned for the freedom to relax with my trusty PS2. Now that the exams are over and I am with my trusty PS2, I yearn for the days when I had classes.
It's so true that you don't really appreciate things until you lose them. I have effectively 'lost' social interaction on a regular basis. Previously I met and talked with people on a daily basis. Studied, played, laughed and basically had good times. Now all I hear is what comes out of the television. Kinda sucks....big time actually. Bumming around has lost it's glamour...if I were addicted to anything, it would be human interaction and I'm suffering from withdrawal...

The reality of the fact that our first phase of education is over is finally starting to sink in. And that the daily interactions were a privilege that won't happen again with the same people.

So I took Eve up on her offer of bringing us to this nice little cosy place - Ma Maison - a French restaurant somewhere in Ampang. I was surprised that she brought along Thuan Zen (correct spelling I hope) - turns out they were both from Klang. Along the way we picked up Cheok Soon and poor fickle-minded Kah Heng missed a delicious lunch. I just wish she would have told me earlier that she'd be at my place early - I was woken from slumberland by my mom telling me that she and a junior were at the house gates...really not a good way to wake up.

I really wish there was someone in my house that I can have a decent conversation with. The closest to that would be my dad, but even then we don't really have much in common...but he tries, quite a lot too, to have some conversations especially at meal times. Unfortunately most of the time I don't find interest in what he speaks on.
Guess I should try harder too...except that I really can't have any semblance of conversation with my brother as it will inevitably lead into an argument. And I guess one could say there is some bad blood between my mom and I, we have different philosophies of life and often end up arguing as well. The only difference is that arguments with my mom actually hurt.

I frequently wonder why I have such an 'interesting' family. The only reason I can think of is so that I learn some really valuable lessons of life...either that or I'm really unlucky.
Which is unlikely as I am lucky - lucky enough to have a family, a roof over my head, education, wonderful friends.

~always looking for the silver lining~

2006-07-24T07:57:00.000-07:00

It's finally over. Ok, not exactly since the results are out in 4 days but after all that stress from stuffing my head with 5 semesters worth of knowledge, words just can't express the relief I felt after the first day of the exam, which coincidentally was the one that required the most studying.

Went with a whole load of people to KLIA earlier to send off Chu Kin, Tim and Ben. It's funny, that it seemed more like seeing a friend go home after a long day together. Not surprising seeing how we spent most of our waking hours mugging together and helping each other out of ruts we got into. Hence I expected a greater reaction from myself but...well I believe the impact will set it in time...just not today. Perhaps this is what they say about familiarity? Sigh, now with all the bad experiences a friend has confided in me during the month before EoS, I'm beginning to wonder if I have changed...changed into a more distant person, looking at something from the outside trying to find a solution. But there is no solution to this...

There are lots of memories that I'll treasure from my time in IMU, and it ain't over...not by a long shot. Most importantly would be the people I've met and befriended. Then there's the stuff we stole off Kah Heng's laptop. The IMU Ball 2006 "Reminiscence" project. The fun time together in the SRC room. Taiji classes with a certain 'torturer'. Orientation activities, whatever is being mentioned in the papers is so NOT what happens here. Here bonds of friendship are built and strengthened with fellow freshmen and seniors not to mention we have a fantastic time too.

They say people change, but I really hope that the people I stuck with won't. Fat hopes of that happening I'm sure, but at least remain the same lame, kiddy person at heart. As Eve said "Go and spread the lameness"

I Say...

2006-07-09T06:22:00.000-07:00

...that humility is overrated. Only yesterday, my family and I were invited to my ku por's (grandfather's sister) birthday party. As I looked over the seating arrangements I felt a pang of despair as once again my brother and I were placed together with our cousins (grandfather's brother's grandkids - not close at all seeing how we meet only during CNY and rare functions like these) and their parents.

It's not due to the fact that we're not close. It's just that I don't really like the attitudes of the 2 uncles, especially when my brother is in the mix. The last time we were seated together was at another cousins' wedding dinner. They (the 2 uncles and my brother) drank can after can of beer and got themselves high. That was nothing, I mean it really didn't concern me. What did concern me was that very soon after the dinner started, they started teasing me...really not the most appropriate word to use but since I can't find another...which lasted the whole dinner. Needless to say, I just laughed at most of their nonsense, pretending to enjoy their teasing as well, but deep down inside was a very different feeling. One of annoyance and slight anger as well. I thought I'd let it pass since it was a one-off thing...

...until yesterday, when it happen again! I was like "what the @#$%?!" What the heck is wrong with these people? One uncle's wife smacked him time and again telling him to stop...guess she noticed I wasn't very comfortable with all the needling...but it was like hitting a wall. The best part? There was a long waiting period in between courses. Simple maths says that equals to more enduring crap out of their mouths.

It's not that I can't take the crap. Heck at uni we practically insult each other on a daily basis. The difference is that I barely know those 2 uncles and loathe my brother. So they had all their fun at my expense...again! Now standard Asian values say that one should be humble and not talk back to ones' elders. Humbug I say! I've told my brother off more times than I'm bothered to count and if this happens again, you can be sure those two uncles are going to get a piece of my mind!

I can forsee what would happen : they would be stunned silent for a while, then attempt to make amends by saying how it's just for fun and doesn't mean anything. But I would keep silent for the rest of the dinner and I shall not say anything to either of them. They'll probably end up thinking I'm some kind of stuck-up spoilsport but I couldn't give two hoots what they think. Then my mom would eventually find out about it and give me an earful about respecting elders. After which I would probably send this post to her in an email and hope she will understand.

The best part? My brother brought his girlfriend along to the dinner (I think she was the only one who sympathised with me) but since he got so wasted, guess who ended up sending her home? The nerve of that idiot!
Sigh...and my parents (and aunt and grandmom) tell me that whenever he tries to annoy me, to just yan/tolerate it. What I've tried to make them understand is that there is a limit to my tolerance and he surpassed that limit eons ago (full story on why I loathe my brother on my Friendster blog...maybe I should put it up here too...). Unfortunately they just don't get it at all. I tell them, especially my mom, that she wouldn't survive 1 day in my shoes but it falls on deaf ears as time and again the same advice comes out of her mouth.

For all her preaching on tolerance, she told me off (I'm putting it mildly) for being rude to her yesterday. I was like "HUH?" The only time I could remember anything remotely rude was when I corrected one of her statements, about my skin no less. And I seriously doubt it was anywhere near rude. And it was entirely unintentional.
Sheesh...talk about the pot calling the kettle black...

Musings

2006-06-09T10:38:00.000-07:00

So is there really such a thing as choice? Or is everything predestined? If there is destiny, who decides it? Of course there will be those that proclaim God in His/Her infinite wisdom as the 1 who determines it but what about free-thinkers and aetheists? A thought that has been playing on the dark edges of my mind for quite a while now...discussed this with some of my friends before...
anyway, maybe some examples will help clear my mind:

It seems painfully obvious that certain things are 'destined' so to speak. For instance, the fact that I have XY chromosomes instead of XX. I'm pretty sure I didn't have a say in what gender I wanted to be. When the sperm met the ovum - it's highly unlikely that these 2 gametes sat down, had a discussion and decided what they would form right?
I also was destined to be in my family, to be born in Malaysia, to have chronic eczema, to have 3 testicles...nah, kidding about the last one :P

What I did have a 'choice' in however were the courses I wanted to take, how I lived my daily life, going for a week to Redang to help save the turtles, getting a PS2, writing this blog among others.

So it does seem that there are such things as destinies and choices. Yet...if you think further, another theory is that everything is predestined. In this case everything really means everything. All the possible paths you could take during your life has been preordained - the difference is in which path you 'choose' to take. In this case is anything you do truly a 'free choice' so to speak?

Take the friends that you love and care about. Remember how you met them and developed a relationship?
Now think about this. If free choice really exists, then your meeting was simply due to pure chance - probability, if you will. It so happened that you both chose your current course and met and decided to forge a friendship. Had you have chosen a different course, you would not have met this person but probably met a different person.
If it was decreed that the 2 of you would meet, then obviously you 2 would meet, somehow or another, no matter what course you are doing wherever in the world no?

What about karma then? Is it possible that due to events in your past lives, in the current one you meet? Is this then destiny?

So I currently figure that there are a few possible explanations:

<>Destiny is determined by some higher power
<>Destiny is events in your past life that have shaped your current life
Certain things are predestined and others are choices
Everything that happened is purely due to chance, you got where you are by choosing your path

Now if destiny exists, there must be an Ultimate Destiny for each person - a reason why they are on this planet. Does everyone realise what they are here for and how would they go about completing their goal? What then if this person's goal is done?

....my head aches...

Suffering

2006-05-23T11:08:00.000-07:00

It's not easy being me. And there were many times when I silently told you (my parents) off for telling me:

"Stop scratching....it's bad for you...it's all in your head...etc"

Don't you think I know that? Do you really think I want to mutilate myself? It's almost the same as asking me to ignore the incessant taunts of my brother. You wouldn't know unless you are in my shoes. I'm almost willing to bet that those of you who do not have chronic eczema will not know how it feels.

How it feels to have an itch so bad that you just have to scratch it or you'd just die. To have itching on multiple parts of your body at the same time recurring throughout the day. To unconsciously scratch yourself in your sleep and wake up the next morning to find lesions that bleed and ooze on various parts of your body. To have to suffer the pain and discomfort from those lesions.
Would you know how it feels like to have permanently dry skin? That is so bad that sometimes when you move, a really dry part of your skin just tears? To feel that your limb feels very uncomfortable because a large part of it is dry? And because of that you can't bathe very often in this hot, humid country as that will just dry out your skin even more?

Do you know that the topical corticosteroids and moisturisers have only temporary effects? And that prolonged use of the steroids causes tolerance?

Do you realise that with all these lesions, even a simple thing like washing dishes and taking a bath hurts and itches like crazy? And yet you force me to do things like bathe the dogs. And when I protest, you don't seem to care and make me do it anyway.

You don't know that I worry what other people think of me when they discover I have this. You don't know I take pains to prevent certain parts from being seen at certain times because even I can barely stand to see it. You don't know how frustrating it is when I layer myself in ointments and creams daily but it never heals enough before another lesion appears there....

...you don't know I worry that I'm wasting your money on all these skincare products.

I've told you some of these things before but you just didn't seem to bother. In fact, the only time you do bother is when you see me plastering some part of myself in a semi-vain effort to prevent excessive damage to a part.
I've given up trying to talk to you about these things. Since you always think you know better than me...

...it's just like how well you 'know' my allergies and forget that I can't eat prawns when ordering...

Disgusted

2006-05-19T07:51:00.000-07:00

Honestly, I'm disgusted and disillusioned with the students of IMU as of now. The recent SRC elections was the subject of much heated debate in the IMU online forum.

Holier/Smarter/More-experienced than thou individuals criticized and insulted, basically bombed the way the SRC handled the elections. Using a not-so-selected choice of words too at that. Really makes one wonder if they actually think before the talk...wait...rephrase that to whether they actually think or not.
Ultimately Eve, Cheok Soon and Kah Heng resigned from their posts. Not because of the criticisms, not because they failed at their jobs but because after all the bashing, they felt like the very thing they cared for turned around and stabbed them in the back.

Not a day passed when a certain lecturer told his PBL group about another idiotic incident. Lecturer X told a few students one day that Lecturer Y's lecture was a little advanced for our current level of required knowledge and hence would not be asked in the exams. Word passed around (our lovable batch rep did so as well) as friends would try to help one another and that was, in fact, a really heavy lecture.
Soon lecturer X heard from lecturer Y that a student came up to ask if the lecture was really not required for the exams.

Can you imagine what lecturer Y must have felt when that idiotic student asked that question? Can you imagine the implications on the batch rep (who probably felt partly responsible for it)?

To the idiot who asked the question to the lecturer:
How many enemies have you made in uni that made you disbelieve the word of your fellow students? Even so, surely you should know that our batch rep has done nothing but work for us M104 students? Surely his word is believable.

Normally if a lecturer does not hand out notes, Johan and Renee would ensure that the batch receives a copy eventually. However after lectures today Johan (finally) announced that from now on, lecture notes that aren't handed out by the lecturer will have to be printed by the students themselves as he had not the time to do that stuff anymore.
This was met with a resounding wail of despair and negative statements from a large part of the class.

To all the assholes who did that:
Go boil your head, fry your face and then smear salt over it!
Johan and Renee have worked their butts off for you and all you can do is feel upset that they consider their studies more important than you spending some 40 sen to print out your own notes.
Talk about kiasuism!
Curse you to suffer as they have in the very near future!

Eve, Johan, Cheok Soon, Kah Heng and Renee - you have all done wonderful jobs. Yes, you make occasional mistakes but you are human too. And it's perfectly understandable why you did the things you did. Sadly such things go unappreciated.

Unorthodox

2006-05-14T07:16:00.000-07:00

2 days ago, due to some miscommunication, I had a fun-filled badminton game with Zhun Jeat, Chu Kin, Steve, Rafiqu and Kok Chuan. The catch was that I had only brought with me a spare t-shirt. So I played in a t-shirt and formal pants and shoes. (I usually bring along a spare shirt just in case I decide to be hardworking one day and go exercise)
I must say it was an interesting experience but of course it affected performance.

Later Eve invited me to go for a so-called 'Night-Walk' in Bukit Gasing. Apparently it was some Adventure Club thingy. I agreed, mostly since it would be so near my house. Besides what's a little frolic through a secondary forest which I've been to a few times already?

Some time back in secondary school, I used to join the annual camps to Taman Negara, where we were clearly told in black and white, what to bring along. It included 2 pairs of jeans for trekking (presumably one to wear while the other dries back at camp) as well as trekking boots. The problem was that I didn't have jeans nor boots. I hated jeans - the material made me itch, and the boots...what was I made of? Money?
Anyway I went for the camp regardless, equipped with my trusty khakis and my badminton shoes and stoicly trekked along with the others. I got some comments from my friends, including why I didn't wear jeans, why jeans are superior, whether I was sure the shoes would last etc.

In the end, I had the last laugh. My khakis were as tough as their jeans for the trek, my shoes survived without problems and almost everyone else complained that their jeans were SO heavy after wading through a river. In fact, until very recently my badminton shoes have faithfully served me, albeit having lost their grip (leading to me doing sliding stunts on the court).
I learned from that experiece that nothing is really hard and fast. There are always alternatives - sometimes even better than the norm...unfortunately we weak-minded humans give up way to easily, but that's a topic for another time.

Back to the present. I realised that since my t-shirt was as of now unwearable and I faced the quest of trekking in my entire formal wear. I also realised that I could simply go home and grab a spare shirt and my somewhat holey badminton shoes...but where's the fun in that? After all it was kinda wet that night.

And so clad entirely in formal, to the surprise of the guide (who was a friend of the Adventure Club guy who got us involved), I went through the forest.
Emerged unscathed, not that we would be anyway since it's devoid of dangerous animals, but somewhat muddy and sweaty. It was a mediocre adventure - nothing to shout about. It might have been more fun had the guides not stopped every 5 minutes or so for 5 minutes or so, to break open dead tree barks to admire little white insects or stare at a spider the size of half a thumbnail.
No offense but if you had mentioned earlier, like before we entered the forest, that you were on some biology hunt I might have had second thoughts about it.

Well, it's water under the bridge now. Pretty sure I've gained something from it even if I dunno what it is yet. Besides we had fun in A&W afterwards :D

Tribute to a Special Person

2006-05-11T11:53:00.000-07:00

It seems fitting that for a first post (on this blog anyway) that I should say something nice. And so I shall - about someone I am indebted to. Not talking about my mom or dad though, I'll forever be indebted to them and they shall be mentioned somewhere in the future.

I'm talking about my piano teacher, a tribute to a certain Ms. Choo Ing Kitt.

I really can't remember the first time I met her, just that it was in some music academy by the name of 'Sunwave'. Anyway eventually she left the academy and went solo. Then she would come to my house every week to teach my bro and I. And we would serve her water and the occasional food (snacks).
Like most kids I was terrible back then. Always fooling around and refusing to practise. So my parents gave her full permission to whack (rotan anyone?) us when she deemed it necessary. Fortunately she never did deem it necessary :D
I remember the classes were divided into 2 halves. 1st one would have a practical session with her. Then both of us would do theory together in the kitchen. Then the other one would have his practical session. I loved the theory session for all the wrong reasons - it was more a time of chatting and gossip than learning. We would exchange stories and she would regale us with stories of her life :)

She taught us for a good number of years. Sometime during that period she got married to a certain Mr. Lee and had a kid. We still called her Ms. Choo though :)

I remember I was always the poorer student - I refused to practise and was absolutely lousy in my theory. Somehow I managed to scrape through Grade 5 Theory and didn't bother anymore after that. However my mom insisted that I get a Grade 8 in Practical (ie piano playing). So we kept having lessons.
I absolutely hated the ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) syllabus. I hated and sucked at scales, pieces, and especially at sight-reading and aural tests (especially aural since I couldn't sing nor whistle). No matter how much she pushed me I just didn't have the motivation to improve myself. I scraped through most of my exams until I failed my Grade 8 exam by a point. (the passing mark was 100 and I got 99)

I was quite badly affected by it. I mean, it was my first real failure. I was annoyed, angry even, at the examiner for refusing to give me the one mark I needed to pass. I was about to give up then but was pushed on by my mom and her. Fortunately I could play the same pieces the following year, and so I did and I passed with 101 marks.

Then I realised that it was over - no more lessons as she wasn't qualified to teach diploma level. No more fooling around, gossiping over theory classes. She had also mentioned she wanted to stop teaching and focus on her child. And so she just stopped coming...

As the years passed, I realised just how much I missed having her in my life. She was more like a relative than a teacher. Mostly my fault for not keeping in touch with her, understandably so since she had a family to focus on. There were a number of occasions when I just wanted to pick up the phone and call, just for a chat, but never summoned enough courage to do so. I kept playing the piano though, turning to it for solace and just whenever I felt like making some music. Looking back I think what I really hated back then was having to play pieces I couldn't understand and didn't like.

When my 21st year on this earth came, I decided that I would invite her for lunch - but nobody answered the phone. Then I realised that I only had her father's house number - I didn't have hers.

I'm pretty sure that if she could see me now, listen to me play, I'd make her a little proud. I believe I have improved lots over the years (although my theory knowledge is now almost nonexistant :D) and play quite nicely. I also believe that my singing has improved loads. All because I was given the chance to enjoy music, but I only really started doing so post Grade 8 Practical.

Dear Ms. Choo, wherever you may be. Thank you for all your time, guidance and patience. Thank you for the wonderful times we shared. Thank you for this wonderful ability that you have passed down to me.

M2/05 Part 2

2005-09-15T05:51:00.000-07:00

So, IMHO, one of the biggest thrills of orientation apart from Treasure Hunt, is the Variety Nite. It's a night where all the junior groups have to put together a sketch and select one guy member to be an IMCC - ie cross dress and perform on stage.
The Orientation Committee decides what sketch and which female celeb to impersonate. So then it's all up to the juniors and their OOs to come up with something creative and, of course, entertaining.

Well, we had to help out Prasad as he very sportingly volunteered to be our IMCC. So we decided to bring in reinforcements seeing as how both Chu-Chu and I can't dance for nuts and Eve claims she can't either. So we brought in Li Shien. She was our OO when we went in (us being Eve and I). And she's a really good dancer. Plus since we decided to go 'clean', we obviously couldn't have him going up and being all slutty.
I'm really glad Li Shien agreed to help. She was really quite enthusiastic (about the dancing part-remember the IMCCs have to perform, usually it's a dance...and usually most of them are really slutty).

While they were busy with the dance, the rest of the group were eagerly putting finishing touches to the play they had come up with. It was to be a parody of LoTR.
Count us biased, but when we saw the final product, it was actually quite good. Unfortunately for some unknown reason, the audience jeered and boo-ed throughout most of the performance. I think it was a blow to most of them, seeing how they put in so much effort into it. The worst part was that most of the humor was in the dialog...and with the crowd making so much noise, it could barely be heard...

But we had really high hopes for Prasad. Li Shien choreographed a really nice dance for him. And we went to rent his outfit for the night (he was to be the Swan Princess).
Now at some point during the dance, Li Shien wanted a guy to act as the prince, and twirl the princess around a couple of times, offer her a rose and who happened to walk in during the practice session but me...
...so I inadvertently became the prince.

We OOs were pretty worried about Prasad's performance, seeing how dismal a response we received for the play earlier. But we needn't have worried at all. It was a smashing success. From the moment he went on stage, right till the end, the crowd cheered almost non-stop! It was fantastic! A lovely dance, done quite well by Prasad and, not suprisingly, the only non-slutty performance of the night!
....I so want to watch the video of it...

And he won the contest! As you can see, we were really happy that night :) The night ended past 1am, pity poor Eve who had to go back to Klang. Fortunately Willy was around, so I did have company that night in Vista.

The next morning itself was the Telematch. I was pretty surprised at the group turnout, as even I was tired out after the previous night...and I'm not the one being oriented. Basically it involves playing some silly games in a muddy field. And ol' Willy here became our waterboy :)
Anyway, they were soo sporting that, according to Eve, we won the Telematch...there were two incidences that I clearly remember :)

Involves a 'First-aid Station' cuz one of their SMs couldn't wake up (how sad is that?), so the First-aiders had to take over. Game involved two people carrying a 'victim'. Drop 'victim' at station to dab iodine on 8 parts of 'victim's' body (both big toes n thumbs, knees and elbows). Then carry 'victim' to another station.
Florence (the girl on the extreme right in the pic) was worried that I couldn't carry her. So I asked her weight (which is politically incorrect to tell...anyway I've forgotten it :P) and told her not to worry....
When it ended, she told me "It was almost like you're carrrying me all by yourself!"
I just grinned at her and said "I told you so"
Deva insisted that I get all muddy, said that I was a pain to which I replied "What have I ever done to you?". Her reply: Your Existence!...wah lau...how to fight that?
Anyway I ended up chasing her across half the field....wait...actually it wasn't really chasing. She was running from me and I was jogging slowly >:D

I surely don't regret becoming an OO this time. Juniors were great. And we actually got a present each from them :) Did I mention the Treasure Hunt treasure was a cactus? Yeah, well they got each OO a similar cactus.
I was actually flabbergasted when I received mine..."What am I supposed to do with this?"
To which they grinned and said "Water it"......

....I admit defeat to the 'superiority' of my juniors.....how sad is that? :D

M2/05

2005-09-14T05:50:00.000-07:00

After winning Treasure Hunt Orientation M2/05

Last Movie Watched : Silver Hawk - Michell Yeoh, Richie Jen
Now Listening : Eternity - Dreams Come True (Disney's Swan Princess)
Now Playing : Radiata Stories

And so Eve, Chu Kin and I decided to become Orientation Officers. To be sure I actually wanted to meet some juniors and make new friends (and I hope I did achieve at least that), not because Deva kept pestering us to....
(OOs are basically guides to the juniors, as someone put it, we're their surrogate parents for a week. And we usually suffer similar fates as they do during some events :D)

Well, when we met the juniors, it was predictably polite and formal. Of course that would be the case seeing how neither of us know them and vice versa. We told them what orientation would involve - that in almost all the past orientations things have been almost directly obscene and vulgar (for some really weird reason that the seniors enjoy it). Fortunately they agreed to be as 'clean' as possible because that was actually what we, as OOs, were hoping to do, in a (probably vain) attempt to change orientation...

Eve asked them, whether they would rather win the orientation events or have fun. The result = Have fun but must at least get better than 2nd last place (the last part was thanks to Eve). Then it was pretty chaotic deciding what to do, what to wear, who to wear what, what to perform etcetc. We were all really surprised at our group, as the soon enough took charge themselves, referring to us for guidance mostly. Haha, most of the work was done by them (as it should be) but that didn't stop us OOs from feeling a little useless too :)
The usual crappy stuff happened on the 1st few days - dress codes, signature hunts, ice breakers. And I'd like to think that the group really did bond over the few days they were together...and most of the time they seemed to have fun too, and for that I'm really glad, as that is how orientation is supposed to be - FUN.

The fun parts were on the last few days, especially Treasure Hunt. This is the day when the students are allowed to run around Bukit Jalil, heading to a station, doing some silly things the SMs (Station Masters, not the other one) asked and in the end receive a clue to the next station and 1/15th of the treasure map. Of course this is also the day when you would get really dirty and, unfortunately, complaints have been made before...but that's another story.
Chalk it up to a stroke of luck or whatever, but I'm inclined to believe that mostly it was the team's strong spirit and Eve's constant(ly increasing) hyper-ness that kept pushing us on that led us to win the event. Whatever the seniors threw at the group, they took it with great sportingness and were having fun too. And from station to station I hardly heard any complaints or whines about how far it was and having to run etcetc. In fact they just kept running...
...the scary part was Eve. People normally get more tired the further they go. She got more energetic and hyper the further she went...
After all the stations we pieced together the treasure map (thanks to Wei-Yen and gang for extra lighting) and rushed to the spot. We were the 1st there and eagerly pestered the SM for the treasure. He, with some flair, made a horizontal wave with his arm and proclaimed that "The treasure is somewhere in this area!"
Soon enough another group came in hopes of grasping the elusive treasure before we could and hopes (well, mine at least) fell. Fortunately, shortly after their arrival, Chu Kin found the treasure!

...we were told, as we were looking, that the treasure is really obvious (even at night for it was dark then), it's green and organic. So most of us were thinking along the lines of a dead frog or some such. Well, it was nicely wrapped in white cloth so it was obvious. And the 'green and organic' part turned out to be a cactus, which was in the box in the pic above. Hahaha, well we can't really be blamed for thinking that way since from our experience, pasts treasures included lingerie and a bull's heart (which the winning team had to kiss - yeuck).

Btw yes that is a tofu we're holding. It gives us some points at each station we go to...as long as it is intact. And yes, you are perfectly entitled to whatever opinion you're having at this point.

We were absolutely elated. For us OOs, having won the Treasure Hunt is a big thing. Even more so for the group that actually worked for it. We definitely earned some bragging rights :)

Final Fantasy is a RPG...

2005-01-13T04:37:00.000-08:00

You are Bahamut! You are King of the Dragons, and
rightfully so, for few can stand up to your
Mega Flare. Everything about you simply
screams "bad ass."

What Final Fantasy summon are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

OK so i haven't been blogging for quite some time now but I blame it all on the exams which just finished today. So...without further ado...

Now Playing : The Bard's Tale (PS2)
Last Movie Watched : New Police Story (Jackie Chan, Nicholas Tse etcetc.)
Last Book Read : A Darkness At Sethanon (3rd and final chapter in the Riftwar Saga) - Raymond E. Feist
Now Listening : Ore wa Tokoton Tomaranai!! (Opening theme of Budokai 3)
Completely useless info : I have a cow-bone comb

Anyway, the other day we were talking about FF and tried to come up with limit breaks for some of us uni people.

Umm....RPG fans and FF fans pls skip this paragraph. For the uninitiated, FF=Final Fantasy, a super selling series of games produced by Square Enix (formerly Squaresoft). Basically it's about saving the world with a party of 'endearing' characters who run into monsters, win, gain experience and increase in power. Simply put, when a character takes a certain amount of damage, s/he will be able to unleash a deadly/weird special move known as a 'Limit Break'. Usually it's enough to take out most lesser monsters. Some characters can also summon beings to aid them in the battle.

So anyway, I came home and thought up of more stuff....and here we go...(there's a bit of D&D mixed in though)...I added some new stuff like 'Ultimate Limit Breaks' which only work if the individuals' ultimate weapon is equipped :)

Female char, martial arts prowess. An outspoken, hyperactive young lady who blushes quite easily when teased. Enjoys teasing her friends though...favours a Fighter-type class.
Weapon of choice : Fists n Feet.
Ultimate Weapon : Megaphone
Limit Break : Omega Whine - points at a certain enemy and goes "Nguhnguhnguhnguhnguhnguhnguh.....NGUH!!"
Each whine does damage and might result in enemy getting Confused.
Ultimate Limit Break : Omega Whine AMPLIFIED!! - refer above...only now it affects all enemies and enemies WILL be Confused, Pained and Deafened. Allies in line of fire affected.

Male char, favours swords. Sarcasm and lameness personified, knows how to irritate certain people/monsters. Enjoys eating....a LOT! Favours a Fighter/Mage class.
Weapon of choice : Gunblade (this sword roxx!)
Ultimate Weapon : VERY aromatic food
Limit Break : Tremor - at point of reaching Limit Break, character becomes VERY hungry. Stomach growls emits waves enough to cause a minor earthquake > Damages all enemies
Ultimate Limit Break : Richter 10!! - as above but a party member runs across screen purposely carrying the 'VERY aromatic food' aforementioned. Resultant growl causes massive earthquake and summons a lightning storm!! Can cause Petrify and Chain Lightning.

Female char, favours heavy paper-binding files. Peace-loving and fun-seeking. Favours a Healer-type class.
Weapon of choice : Tome of White Magic (attacks by bashing enemies with file)
Ultimate Weapon : +5 File of Holy Death
Limit Break : Super Heal - charges up and throws the file at an enemy, after damaging it falls open and mystical words appear and heal party.
Ultimate Limit Break : Angelic Demon/ Demonic Angel - same as above but when book opens, the mystical words summons a fusion of an angel-demon. 1st form does light damage to all enemies and fully heals/resurrects fallen allies. 2nd form does minor damage to all allies but reduces all enemies HP to 1 (does NOT work on bosses)

Male char, martial arts prowess. Under permanent bloodlust to the extent of occasionally attacking allies. Cannot hit females and will do nothing if hit by one. Favoured class = Berserker/Barbarian
Weapon of choice : Fists (occasionally Feet)
Ultimate Weapon : err....(Fist Upgrade?) Either magical powers of the famed Ehrgeiz Gauntlets.
Limit Break : Dance of Death - unleashes a flurry of attacks on the enemy with a chance to Stun and Pain.
Ultimate Limit Break : Berserker Limits - same as above but bloodlust still fills his head. Runs to nearest male ally and grabs him. Holds the ally above his head as he starts to charge all his energy into the unfortunate ally. He then throws the ally to the aforementioned enemy head first, and as contact occurs, all the stored energy is released in a massive explosion damaging all nearby enemies (and the unfortunate ally too of course...really now, how would you like to hit an enemy with your head?)

Male char, asks enemies questions thus forcing them attack him. Knows all the latest songs and worldly updates. May 'buff' (improve stats) of allies by singing/dancing. Most likely 'victim' of character mentioned above. Favoured class-Bard/Songster.
Weapon of choice : Portable Microphone
Ultimate Weapon : Latest-model cameraphone
Limit Break : Selfless - Taunts enemies into hitting him so all other 'in-battle' allies get a free instant attack on enemy without wasting their turn.
Ultimate Limit Break : Blackmail - Takes a horrible (demeaning) photo of enemy with his cameraphone and blackmails the enemy who then pays the party a certain amount of cash (depending on character level - higher level = horrible-er photos :) and then enemy runs from the battle ashamed.

Female char, reserved type who talks very little. Has expansive knowledge with plenty of reference material. A Sorceror or Mage class.
Weapon of choice : Armful of books (casts spells on enemies...can also be thrown and summoned back)
Ultimate Weapon : Pathologic Basis of Disease, medical reference book.
Limit Break : Spell Chain/Spell Fusion - in the 1st version, she channels the energy from multiple books to strike the enemy(s) with spells, one after another for a certain time limit (depending on character level and available books). In the 2nd version, she channels the energy and fuses them into a new, formless spell which she unleashes upon the enemy(s) for an entirely random effect.
Ultimate Limit Break : Ultimate...ly Random Curse - opens the book to a random page and releases an energy blast from her outstretched hand (think Dragonball). The blast hits the enemy for moderate damage and hexes the enemy with all the diseases on that particular opened page.