Malaysia Boleh

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

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

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

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

Random Update

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...

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.

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

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!!!

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*

...

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

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 :)

1. Do you drool in your sleep?
2. Can you burp the ABC?
   

Zha Tou

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

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

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."