The Chronicles of A Medical Student In Melbourne

Suitability of title

2010-01-15T02:17:00.002+11:00

Wow I haven't blogged for a long, long time!

Now I ponder upon the suitability of the title of this blog - as I am no longer a medical student. In fact, I have completed my one year of internship!

How to assassinate a politician

2008-10-15T21:40:00.003+11:00

http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2008&dt=1012&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Sastera&pg=sa_01.htm

A Malaysian newspaper has published a 'fictional' story of a racist politician who allegedly promotes racist views whilst under the cover of multiculturalism. Funnily, there are many similarities in the description within the story to a particular real life politician - other than the fact that the politician in the story was assassinated "in the name of racial harmony"

Not much of a veiled threat really.

Malaysian minister resigns!

2008-09-16T19:18:00.002+10:00

I have never in my lifetime, seen, a Malaysian minister resign on principles. It is amazing and, regrettable, that such a minister is resigning - instead of others in the Cabinet. Nevertheless, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim has set a benchmark that most of his Cabinet colleagues will not achieve.

Why doesn't Melbourne Uni care?

2008-06-18T01:30:00.002+10:00

The month has been a hectic one. There's never ending work to do, jobs to apply to, cover letters to write, CVs to update and what's more, exams at the end of the month. For the past 18 weeks, I've done Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology - it seems revision is possible in one week? Really? And this is on top of my job applications and interview (which can take upu to 5 hours - I drove up to Bendigo and back for a 30 minute session).

I believe the health services (i.e., the various hospitals in Victoria) are within their right to ask us to turn up for interviews. After all, they are seeking employees, and our welfare technically does not rest with them, yet. It is the University of Melbourne that should be looking out for us, medical students. Why not change the semester schedule in order to make this period less stressful and anxiety-provoking than it already is? Why do we have exams during the scheduled interview period for our internships?

It does feel like my University doesn't care - does it?

A medical career dedicated to the poor and needy

2008-06-17T16:43:00.000+10:00

A medical career dedicated to the poor and needy

Carolyn Webb
June 9, 2008

ANDREW Dent, the director of St Vincent's Hospital's emergency department for 12 years, has endeavoured throughout his career to help the underprivileged.

During his University of Melbourne medical training in the early 1980s, he spent a month working at Mother Teresa's mission in Calcutta.

Dr Dent, who was made a member of the Order of Australia (AM) today, worked in Africa after surgical training in Britain.

He was the only surgeon at the Shisong bush hospital in Cameroon, introducing modern treatments and raising money for equipment. He has also worked in Papua New Guinea.

Blandine Dent said her husband, who is seriously ill with colon cancer, was very pleased to receive his AM.

"He feels very honoured," she said.

The Age, Melbourne.

The passing of a man, a mentor and a teacher

2008-06-12T15:10:00.003+10:00

Vale Associate Professor Andrew Wesley Dent, Member of the Order of Australia.

He was more than just my research supervisor. He was more than just the Emergency Department Director.

He was the one who checked on the progress of a medical student's research, during his lunch break - with a Coke in hand for lunch.

He was the one who brought smiles and jokes to the table. Who told stories of his days as a medical student and a junior doctor.

He inspired his Department and made Emergency such a great place

Most of all, he inspired me.

With his dedication and care, to his staff, his friends, his patients and his family;

With humbleness that has not been surpassed;

Thank you, Andrew, For your advice;
For your guidance,

For we will all miss you. For I will miss you. And your jokes. And your guidance.

Supposedly this blog's reading level is...GENIUS!

2007-11-29T23:18:00.000+11:00

That's not good...wasn't it a rule to always write for 5th grader level?

A beautiful pearl

2007-11-16T00:34:00.000+11:00

This was posted in response to a blogpost entitled "Angry" by Anonymous

A beautiful pearl

once there was a girl
shine like a pretty pearl
bright shimmery swirl

but so you see
it's hard to be
when nailed to a tee

how could the pearl
know of the world
in its shell it curls

so it's little surprise
just like sunrise
pearl is worth more than any price

Untitled

2007-10-13T12:22:00.000+10:00

The rushing waves, the open skies

a gentle breeze

rustling

brushes softly

The gathering storm, the gloomy sky

a gust of wind

blowing

against a heavy heart

The echoing thunder, the stark sky

a flash of lightning

lit

the chaos and fear

The constant sun, the calm sky

a gentle breeze

chilling

in the eye

Pyschiatry

2007-10-13T12:12:00.000+10:00

Psych block was over rather quickly. Everyone seemed rather intent on hating psych - but despite what has been said and done - it was well taught and rather enjoyable. Even the long case was..hmm..interesting.

Examiner: So, what do you think of using antipsychotics for management of anxiety disorder?
Me (thinking: oh crap...I don't know): urm...hmm...atypical antipsychotics such as quetiapine can be used. There is emerging evidence that these antipsychotics are effective in anxiety disorder.

Emerging evidence? :P From mua.

But thankfully, Google confirms that there are emerging evidence.

update: I actually did well in the exam - which is nice :)

Rushworth 1 - IN THE NEWSPAPERS!

2007-08-25T11:27:00.000+10:00

Our little trip down to Waranga News for editorial work! Very fun!
Never heard of Rushworth? Census Data 2006

View Larger Map

MY CAR!

2007-07-29T17:03:00.001+10:00

My car!
It may be used
It may be small
It may only have 2-doors
It may be a Hyundai
BUT it's still MY CAR! :D

Rural health

2007-07-29T16:52:00.001+10:00

The past week has been pretty interesting - with the amount of money the Federal Government (of Australia that is) is pouring into rural health - of course we would have a great all-expenses paid "orientation" in a rural campus of Melb Uni.

Fact is, whilst the trip did give facts about coursework in rural health, I'm sure everyone would have felt the strong unsubtle promotion of working in rural areas as doctors. Free meals (3-course welcome dinner, 3x main meals, morning tea, afternoon tea), games, free accomodation, free use of gym and sporting venues) and art gallery visits were some of the wonders of good government spending on rural health promotion :D

It was fun though! :)

But I'm not sure if I'm sold yet about working rurally. Which was the whole point of the trip.

No more impending homelessness

2007-06-26T16:50:00.000+10:00

I've moved!!! From Unit 5, 14-16... to Unit 5, 10... - which is to say - I can see my ex-landlord from the courtyard of my new place :(

Too bad they can see us too from the stairs leading up to the front door...

Highlight of a medical student's career?

2007-06-07T00:03:00.000+10:00

I woke up early to a cold Melbourne morning - only to miss my shuttle bus connecting the main hospital campus to the satellite campus 10mins away.

Reaching the clinic 30mins late was no matter at all, since no urologists were in sight when I arrived.

It was all worth it - because we told a consultant (call him A) that we were at the urology clinic to learn DRE (for the uninitiated, that's digital rectal examination or more crudely, finger-up-your-bum). Thereafter, every other urologist that A met was told of our presence (and aims). One laughed hysterically and I must say, unhelpfully.

There were just the two of us. It was a draw of 4-4.

(No, we don't keep scores for everything, just for DREs, venepunctures, IVCs, IDCs ..............)

Dreamlarge?

2007-06-03T22:38:00.000+10:00

Who would have thought to associate dreaming 'large' with Melbourne Uni? Certainly not before the Uni spent millions of dollars on a multi media ad campaign (Aussie dollars I must say - which means it'll cost about 3x more in Ringgit Malaysia, or 0.85 in US ).

Dreamlarge is the name of the ad campaign dreamed up by the people commissioned to promote the Uni's move towards Melbourne Model. In the next couple of years, the University of Melbourne will no longer accept undergraduates into most professional courses - including medicine and law. Instead, the Melbourne Model will require school leavers to complete a generic degree (Arts anyone?) before moving on to do a professional course as a graduate. Doesn't it sound suspiciously American Model rather than Melbourne?.

I suppose it has nothing to do with funding (and fees), and everything to do with education par excellence. This change comes at a time when

Most universities are facing severe funding crisis
Melbourne has since dropped a few places from the best of number 19 in the world (only according to Times Education Supplement some years ago).
Fees have increased drastically over the years for international and local students. International students now pay fees which are subject to up to 7% adjustment per annum. So if you start medicine, say, next year, and the fees should be approximately AUD$53000 (yes that much I'm afraid) - and by the end of your course of 6 years - $74335 on the final year for a whopping total of AUD$318,444 excluding living expenses (and yes...on current exhange rate, it does seem like it will be a touch beneath the million mark). Full-fee local students pay $10k less but they have no cap on the maximum 'inflation' per annum.

I am sure the Melbourne model will produce more broadly educated graduates (which sometimes seem necessary in Med - sometimes we forget there's life outside it). Maybe even better graduates. But denying that it is not, at least, partially motivated money is a lie.

Here's to dreaming large. Click on the link if, you too, find it hard to dreamlarge. http://www.dreamlarge.edu.au/

Changes!

2007-04-27T00:46:00.000+10:00

For two years or so, I have not bothered to change my blog template -but, because exams are approaching, it is only appropriate that I procrastinate by updating the template to a 3-column style, with the left-most column reserved for relevant links and right-most column for blog navigation and chat.

I'm sure you would have noticed a big colour change, from the gloomy "Dots - Black" template, I am now using 565 template (who knows what 565 means really?!)

I have added my favourite medical and non-medical books list - hopefully, the booklist will be helpful :)

The state of broadband in Bendigo

2007-04-22T23:58:00.000+10:00

It has been years since I last had to wait more than 10mins for a 1.3MB download. Yes, even dialup could be faster...though not always.

The most frustrating part of it was having conversations on MSN truncated - making me look like I'm ignoring people and making me feel like the whole world was ignoring me :(

Well that's that when you have to share a 512/128Kbit line with everyone in the hostel (and yes, there's 3 floors of 16 rooms each floor...do the maths).

Bendigo: A showcase

2007-04-22T00:59:00.001+10:00

Yes it's my fourth week in Bendigo now - and look at the pictures I've got myself. No, Bendigo's not rural, it's called regional. Basically it means a city in the bush. Kinda like Shah Alam or Seremban back in Malaysia :)The hospital itself ain't too bad - people there are mostly quite friendly, and are usually quite happy to help. There's always the odd ones out and the special situations, like when the whole group was told we weren't wanted for the morning wardround - and all of us were dripping wet from walking in the rain to make it for the round. Myers came from here - before they were swallowed up by the Sydney-side Grace Bros. and started to lose money. Still I haven't had time to actually explore the town too much yet, and may just do that tomorrow - if it doesn't rain.

For a place that's complaining of drought, it's raining awfully a lot here recently. When we first came four weeks ago, Bendigo's in Stage 5 water restriction and was expected to run out of clean water in NOV 2007 (I've never expected to be in a place that can run out of water in my lifetime) - but I reckon it should be all right till next year now :p

Funny how I spent my Friday night - not in a pub, not in a club, not in a cinema, nor in a party - I was in the emergency department till around 11.30pm. It's actually so much more fun being there as a clinical student rather than a research student. Still, with exams looming, everyone's a little stressed out about it. Short case, long case, MCQs - there's so much to learn and so little time. But it's okay, because we're medical students - impossible is what we do everyday (whoa!).

Easter holidays

2007-04-05T12:53:00.000+10:00

It's that time of the year again - everyone's feeling a little tired; the stress of coming exams sky-rocketing; and we have a one-week break - and we ARE medical students. So what else do we do other than...studying?

Already a few people have organised 'revision' groups for the week-long holidays.

Me? I want to just have break, play some badminton - and join those people for revision :(

A new post for the sake of it

2007-02-20T21:59:00.000+11:00

(blank)

Yep, that's what's on my mind at the moment...

A new year

2007-02-04T23:33:00.000+11:00

How time flies. Holidays are over and now, I'm a fifth year medical student! (Does that mean that I should know 5/6 of what I need to know? Hmmm). Not only do I miss Chinese New Year celebrations this year (in M'sia I mean) because of the early start, but I'll bet consultants and registrars are all excited to grill a new batch of Fifth Years - oh what fun :D

It's kinda exciting and scary, going back to the hospital after a 2-month hiatus. Wonder if I've forgotten everything I've learnt?

A published author

2007-01-31T18:54:00.000+11:00

Anyone can start a blog and become a published author. Yet not everyone gets an opportunity to publish in a respectable journal read by a select group of people.

That's what I wanted to start this post with. But on the other hand, I think - 'I'M GONNA BE A PUBLISHED AUTHOR READ BY MILLIONS' - sounds much better!

Is that why I am still working on my research about paramedic handovers? There's always more things to edit, numbers to check (which showed something scary - I think I made some very minor mistakes with the numbers in my thesis - nothing that would change any conclusions or even affect percentages), references to add. If there's anything this research has taught, it's

Research takes a lot of time and effort
It is good to get a superb supervisor (or in my case, supervisors).
Get published - otherwise the effort's kinda wasted
Even in research, it is nice to have contacts

It'll probably be a while still before my research gets published, and hopefully someone will want to publish it!

the osce surprise

2006-12-15T03:53:00.000+11:00

Just before exams, everyone (yeah, including myself) was rushing to attend procedural skills revision sessions for OSCE (a mouthful, but better than "Objective Structured Clinical Examination"). The skills coordinator was so nice, so calm and ever so helpful in revising and practising skills such as venepuncture, cannulation, suturing etc. As we were leaving the last revision session, she shouted out, "Relax guys, all of you will be all right for the procedural station!"

Yeah, sure...especially since out of the four stations, none of them were procedural. That's why she got to laugh and say "I gotcha" as we finished the exams ...

In memory of...

2006-09-21T20:59:00.000+10:00

It is really sad, when it takes another friend's blog entry to remind me that just three years ago, a very close friend passed away.

I still remember, he was preparing for his STPM exams, and he wanted to play badminton. My mom told him to study hard and play with me when I got home from Melbourne, in a few month's time. I never got to play with him again. Ever.

I never saw it coming. I even thought we were going to be future colleagues. Maybe grow old and laugh at each other. But not this.

Ganesh A. (1984-2003) - You are sorely missed. I wonder how things would have turned out otherwise. The time we shared was fantastic and you have been a great friend.

"Hujan emas di negeri orang, hujan batu di negeri sendiri, lebih baik di negeri sendiri" Malay proverb

2006-05-30T13:54:00.000+10:00

What that proverb basically says is that - Home country is still the best, even if it is raining gold in other countries, and raining stones at home...

I have been asked many times, by different people, of my plans after my studies in Melbourne. You see, I think it is really raining stones back home - with the current political backdrop, democracy, and even police problems (watched/heard of MTV Ashton Kutcher Punk'd ?? - here's one which is proudly Made in Malaysia, with real policemen).

What is Malaysia becoming?

The draught in blogosphere (mine at least)

2006-05-15T17:58:00.000+10:00

Introduction
If you'll just scroll down a bit on this page, you'll notice that my last post was in March. (and it's May now...)

Results
But I can't be faulted can I? A systematic review (yeah right) of selected blogs which I regularly frequent, shows that many blogs have not been updated for a long time. One of them have been taken off Blogspot (i.e., deleted). Don't trust my review? - Have a click at those links on the left of this post.

Discussion
It is most likely that there's a blogging trending which correlates with procrastination, boredom, and loss of interest after initial excitement (p<0.001). style="font-style: italic;">Conclusion
It may have been fun initially, results might have been interesting (maybe?), but I can't understand why one of my friends told me he loves doing research. I can't wait to get to clinicals - just another 2 months for it to start. And yes, expect more whining about it when it begins - didn't you know -- things seem more interesting before it starts, and after you get white hair (and use words like...I remember those days when I was a medical student...). Nostalgia - what a wonderful thing my brain does for me (...probably a change in the strength of connections between neurons saying...DAMN CAN'T YOU REMEMBER...YOU HATED IT!)

Disclaimer: This paper was written without peer review and statistics was anecdotal. Any statistician out there interested to do the real thing?

Back to work, back in Melbourne...my back hurts

2006-03-01T18:33:00.000+11:00

Since coming back nearly two weeks ago - this is what I have been doing:

1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

Yup very exciting stuff, data entry is. I type this kind of stuff, maybe from 10'ish till 4'ish (taking away time for Google'ing, emailing, procrastinating, etc etc). It is still very potent stuff even with stimulants - try it one day...it might just be your cup of tea!

Just when I thought nothing could be worse, it seems there's something called Data CLEANING. You know those 0's and 1's - I might have accidentally typed say 9 instead of 0 in my infinite concentration and so will need to be corrected. Really fun actually I can see it...hunting through an Excel spreadsheet from A till FD (yeah A-Z=26 columns, AA-AZ another 26, BA-BZ yet another 26...you get the idea!)

I can't believe I actually kinda miss those days during data collection - I guess that's why reminisces are usually misguided. (That's not to say I didn't enjoy any part of it - the clinical part was good!)

And now my back hurts - too much bad posture staring at those beautiful ones and zeroes.

Touchy-feely medical course?

2005-11-19T02:25:00.000+11:00

A kind medical student colleague, who is currently still stuck in the 'old' medical course with lectures, lectures and more lectures, considers the Problem-based Learning medical course as 'touchy-feely'. What does that mean?

The problem with the old course was that doctors know their stuff, but they treat their patients with condescension and superiority (not unlike how the 'old course' medical student commented on PBL students :P). Little emphasis is placed on research and continuing self-education.

The new course attempted to address this by being more clinically relevant, introduction of communication classes and earlier exposure to patients for the purpose of communication studies rather than disease-studies. Of course, with significant reduction in formal teaching time, it is almost impossible to cover in as much depth the many different disciplines that make up Medicine.

Some say that the new medical course produce doctors who know little anatomy. I say it produces doctors who can communicate well with patients and learn things as they practice medicine. Sometimes patients don't really care if doctors know about that tiny little vestigial ligament, what they really want is some help - To cure sometimes, to relieve often, to comfort always.

All walks of life from behind a pane of plastic

2005-11-17T20:11:00.000+11:00

Sitting behind the triage nurse gives a really colourful insight to the people that present to the emergency department. Many of which of course aren't really emergencies per se. You'll be surprised (or maybe not) that so many people go to the emergency department for no better reason than to take their blood pressure or to ask for some prescriptions for the gastric problems. Or come after the emergency period has ended - an example would be presenting to the ED 10 hours after the initial anaphylactic event.

Many a times I wondered if emergency departments have degenerated into a 24-hour GP clinic with some expertise in trauma and some Holter monitors. Staffing problems of course makes it difficult for everyone to be seen as promptly as what everyone expects - within minutes of being triage and registration. After one hour, two hours, 4 hours - people start getting restless and feel that they are being ignored. The fact is all beds are full and yes, there are more critical patients. People deal with this in all kinds of ways -- some sit quietly, looking at the door occasionally hoping that the big mechanical sliding glass door opens and someone behind it calls their name. Others make noise, lots of it.

I remember last night (or was it the night before?) that someone asked me if I was a GP. Now I'm not complaining here, really, but this same person is also waiting to be triaged by the psych nurse (and I suspect it was her who was complaining of an evil spirit in the toilet to the clerk, but don't quote me on that).

It's a small place really, the emergency department, but my, the people you see there...

My week in ED

2005-11-12T23:19:00.000+11:00

ED is really not the best place to do research, or rather the easiest place to do research. I know - I've been there this whole week - mostly from 3 to 11pm. Some nurses are really nice, others become a terror (or look and sound like one) when it becomes really busy. Quite a few are allergic to research questionnaires that takes up their time.

Life...feels like just all work with this kind of hours - is this all medicine is about?

Time wasted in ED

2005-10-24T00:04:00.000+10:00

How often does someone get the opportunity for a placement in an emergency department for a year?? Yet, here I am, day in day out, sitting in the ED Research Office doing my assignment...

Dumb dumb dumb assignment...

Hi Mr.Blog

2005-10-23T23:09:00.000+10:00

Dear Bloggie

Sorry for not writing to you for so long. In compensation for that, I'm trying out a new style of writing to you. From now on, until whenever I feel I should stop (that could mean the next entry!), I'll write to you in this style!

I've resisted telling you about this person, that after 21 years of my life, someone actually manages to piss me off. How often is that dear bloggie I ask you? I mean, the worst was feeling indifferent towards someone, no hate, no love but I guess this person brings the dislike out of me (yeah, I haven't used hate yet...). Some people in this world just don't have a sense of responsibility. And common courtesies ain't all that common.

I'll just leave this entry here as it is. Maybe I'll add more next time, who knows -- there's always more things that annoy me...

Colour of life

2005-09-29T19:40:00.000+10:00

The weather is cold. I'm here still waiting for the rice to cook. Somehow the heater refuses to work anymore, and somehow Melbourne is colder during spring (well this few days at least).

Does tiredness colour the perception of things?

Somehow things feel so bleak today. There's nothing to look forward to, just more work. My neck and my back is aching, probably from badminton this morning. As I look out of my window, the city of Melbourne beckons -- tiny lights on skyscrappers fill my sight; enticing and conjuring images of fun and excitement to be had. Yet when tomorrow comes, all sunny and bright, it makes no difference, for I already know what I'm going to do - work.

Too many commitments?

2005-09-24T01:30:00.000+10:00

Suddenly out of nowhere, my workload seemed to have increased significantly. I've been doing my St.John duty, marketing for a banquet, piloting my research study, organising a birthday luncheon, and now, may even need to allocate volunteers for charity BBQ. Nothing has been going particularly well actually -- the duty today was boring, MAS didn't want to do my study, people pulling out of the lunch, and yet undone...volunteer allocation on top of everything else.

Paramedic research? - - Ka poof!

2005-09-20T17:39:00.000+10:00

I'm still recovering from the shock and disappointment of finding out that my research proposal to talk briefly with paramedics in the ED has been shot down by the Metropolitan Ambulance Service (MAS) research committee. It seems that I'll be making the paramedics stay longer than they should in the Emergency Dept. They suggested that I do a focus group instead - and pay each participant $52 per hour (which is double their hourly rate).

Spent one month perfecting the submission.
Waited one month to hear this news

What a great organisation MAS is!

Dislike...

2005-09-19T22:07:00.000+10:00

Tjun's post on the different kinds of bloggers kind of reflect on the different kinds of people that are out there, in the big big world (that sometimes feel like it ain't that big...). There's this one person I know that, sadly, is not well-liked by many people. Sometimes it's really his/her (to preserve anonimity) fault -- after all no one really likes people who are insensitive (or at least, appear to be). What's scary is not the fact that s/he annoys me (and frustrates me even more) but the fact that other people can dislike him/her so much.

I've been wondering -- what can make someone hate another so much?

2005-09-18T00:35:00.000+10:00

It is almost possible to see the hospital where I'm doing my research in this photo -- look at that red sign board!

2005-09-18T00:34:00.000+10:00

Someone forgot to throw their beer bottles away...

2005-09-18T00:32:00.000+10:00

A pair of ducks (?) preparing to take the dive -- another picture taken at Carlton gardens on my way home

2005-09-18T00:25:00.000+10:00

The little birdie that I saw on my way home from St.Vincent's hospital

2005-09-18T00:16:00.000+10:00

The nuggets that goes with that sauce :P Yummm...

2005-09-18T00:15:00.000+10:00

Why am I dippiping into a "Spicy Dipping Sauce" that's 'Made in Malaysia' here in Melbourne?

Selamat Hari Merdeka Malaysia!

2005-08-31T21:35:00.000+10:00

In the spirit of Blog-Day and Malaysian Independence, this blog entry will be written in Bahasa Malaysia (idea courtesy of minishorts.net!)

Selamat Hari Merdeka Malaysia...sudah 48 tahun M'sia telah mencapai kemerdekaan daripada jajahan negara asing. Sudah 48 tahun, kita diberi kebebasan untuk menyambut kemajmukan rakyat Malaysia. Namun, setelah 48 tahun, adakah kita benar-benar bebas daripada cengkaman and legasi dari hari-hari terdahulu?

Setiap tahun, Syarikat Petroliam Nasional tidak gagal mengingatkan kita, sebagai rakyat Malaysia, untuk menghargai kemerdekaan yang diperjuangkan oleh tokoh-tokoh negara untuk setiap lapisan masyarakat Malaysia. Namun, setelah 48 tahun kita menyambut kemerdekaan, adakah kita benar-benar menghargai and memahami makna Merdeka and makna kerakyatan Malaysia?

Sememangnya, Malaysia telah membangun dengan pesat dalam aspek fizikal sejak kemerdekaan. Malaysia bagaikan seorang kanak-kanak yang telah melangkah dalam dunia keremajaan. Masih banyak lagi yang perlu diatasi untuk mencapai Wawasan 2020 yang telah menjadi matlamat rakyat Malaysia sejak dahulu lagi. Bukanlah sesuatu yang mudah, untuk menjadi negara yang maju, tetapi fikiran bahawa kemajuan sesebuah negara ditentukan oleh pembangunan 'fizikal' memang terlalu ringkas and cetek. Apabila semua lapisan rakyat Malaysia mula membina negara tanpa mengira kaum dan agama, itulah detik permulaan Malaysia yang maju. Sudahlah tibanya masa, setelah 48 merdeka, untuk rakyat Malaysia mengambil langkah pertama kearah membina negara yang benar-benar majmuk - benar-benar Malaysia yang sejati. Selamat Hari Merdeka Malaysia!

A day in the ED (1)

2005-08-30T00:46:00.000+10:00

Clinicals in ED could be fun, as it could be boring. This morning in the ED, I felt like an idiot, totally, not knowing what to do, or asking who for help. Everyone looked so busy. I wasn't sure if I could interview the patients even then in the morning - some were still sleeping, others were being evaluated by other doctors (from other departments presumably?). Yet I was really happy I managed to talk to ONE (!) patient, even though I didn't really get much from him. He seemed a bit reluctant to talk to me. Presumably because he's a bit depressed, talked to one too many medical student and damn...it's early in the morning?

Andrew (ED director) asked me to observe him perform a minor trauma suturing in the afternoon, as I was about to leave the department too! It was a good experience watching him perform the procedure and it didn't seem that difficult though it's hard to say...since he has years and years of experience (and I know that tends to make things look easier than they really are). The patient though, was really screaming in pain, even though he had tonnes of local injected into his wound already. Funny thing was, Andrew was administering the BIP questions as he is suturing the poor guy...and that guy said he wasn't a heavy drinker when he drinks about 40 units of alcohol A DAY!!!

2005-08-27T23:01:00.000+10:00

Housewarming at Mei-Ying's new place

What makes us Malaysian? - something to think about from Blogthings

2005-08-25T20:40:00.000+10:00

You Know You're Malaysian When....

You complain about the quality of the pirated DVD you just purchased. "What, RM10 for DVD5?! Aiyah, boss ... sound no good, cheaperlah ..."

You're willing to consume sambal petai and durian and gladly suffer the bloating and wind-breaking incidents.

You're exceedingly polite to the Mat Sallehs but you slag your own kind. "Hello, sir. Why don't you sit here, it�s got the best view of the city skyline." But, "Aunty-ah, your table is over there next to the kitchen."

You order Maggi goreng and fried chicken, complain about how oily the food is, and then proceed to finish it anyway.

You love to talk about food. You're already thinking about what to have for dinner while eating lunch. "I'm stuffed. What shall we have for dinner?"

You dive into a communal-style meal the moment the dish lands on the table only to hesitate at the last morsel of food on the serving dish. There are two possible explanations for this: the first is the pai seh (embarrassed) factor, while the other is the myth that the person who eats the last piece will be a spinster.

You hit the accelerator the moment the first drop of rain hits your windshield. "Alamak, it's going to rain. Sure traffic jam one. I'd better drive faster."

You seize the opportunity to make a U-turn anywhere ... especially where there is a sign telling you not to. Well, so long as the cops aren't in sight.

You feel a burning desire to send text messages and even have the gall to give your friend a blow-by-blow account of the movie to your friend on the handphone � during the screening of the movie. "Okay, now that girl Lizzie is impersonating an Italian singer; she so doesn�t look Italian ..."

You forsake your loved ones for the all-important four letter-word: S-A-L-E. "Sorry, mum, I can't take you to Aunt Mary�s because I have to go to MidValley before the crowd." You�re also more than happy to be part of the insane traffic jam that forms around malls during weekends and sale periods.

11. Reality shows Akademi Fantasia and Malaysian Idol dictate your social life. "What, no TV at the mamak? Count me out � I'm staying home. Rinie needs my support."

You pepper every sentence with lah. "No-lah, I can't see you today-lah. I have to study-lah. You know-lah, the prison warden aka mak is watching me like a hawk"

You fail to function normally without your daily dose of teh tarik and nasi lemak.

You have owned at least one Proton in your lifetime. Cheap, cheap. That is until you start to make enough dough to buy that Honda you've been salivating over.

You slow down at an accident site to take down the car number plate, but won't step out of your car to help � the victim could be a robber!

You'd rather park your car along the main road outside the mall, where there's a yellow line, rather than pay RM1 to park inside where there are adequate bays.

You plead, bat your eyelids and relate a sob story to the officer at the town council office to let you off the hook (or reduce the amount considerably) for the fine you incurred when you parked your car on the double line.

You make an appointment for 10am and conveniently show up a half hour late � Malaysian time, what ...

You pop open the wet tissue packet at the Chinese restaurant by squeezing the trapped air to the top of the packet before proceeding to smash your fist into it. The louder the pop the better.

You greet your friend / neighbor / acquaintance on the street with "How are things?" or "Have you eaten?" or better yet, by stating the obvious: "Went to market ah?"

Ramlee burger is the "piece de resistance" of your growing-up-years cuisine.

You catch all major televised events at the mamak.

You have roughly six meals a day (breakfast, mid-morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and supper). Then there's the snacking � keropok ikan, pisang goreng, muruku, jam tarts and the like.

You get the whole family dressed to the nines, jump into the car and head for the minister's open house � and ask for styrofoam boxes and plastic bags to tar pau food.

Your accent and language style vary according to the race of the person you are conversing with.

You've got a friendly disposition. Smiles are abundant and your "Apa khabar?" is warm and sincere.

You exclaim loudly how expensive everything is, even though the items may in fact be going for a steal. "Wah! So expensive, ah? Hak sei ngor (Scare me to death)!"

You dig deep into your pockets to contribute to the latest appeal for donations in the newspapers.

You "dis" our country all the time, but as soon as something good happens (like winning the Thomas Cup), you morph into a proud Malaysian.

You never travel abroad without a bottle of chilli sauce, or sachets which you can sneak into restaurants.

You're proud to be Malaysian - and you pass these jokes on to all your Malaysian friends!

Get Your Own "You Know You're" Meme Here

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The month of aircraft problems??

2005-08-17T22:44:00.000+10:00

It's been really weird keeping up with news lately. There has been so many different aircraft problems leading to things like unexpected landings to full on crashes. It was started from

MH124 in Perth, then
Air France crash which no one was hurt and then
at Italy when some people actually died and then
in Greece where everyone died
and now Venezuelan (Colombia) crash which 160ppl died

Why has there been so many crashes in this month?

Another month...

2005-08-03T01:13:00.000+10:00

Wow it's already August! Today was a super loooong day, feeling a bit tired, but don't know, I'm feeling like I need to blog a bit ;p

9.30am Tram to Melbourne central
9.45am Train to Footscray
10.10am West Footscray station
10.30am Reached Western Hospital after a 15minute walk
11.30am Finished tutorial...walk back to station
12.10pm Reached Melbourne Central
12.20pm McDonald's ;p
1pm Workshop on thesis writing
2.15pm Tram to St. Vincent
3pm Reached St. Vincent
5pm Leave for uni
5.20pm Returned DVD to library
5.45pm SALP meeting + dinner
6.45pm Tram to Flinders St.
7.20pm Tram to Bridge road for St. John
9.30pm Finished St. John - tram back to city
10.10pm Reached Village Cinemas - watching "The Island"
12.10pm Walk back to apartment
1.21pm Finished writing this post

Today in a nutshell...not

A moment of silence for the passing of greatest wizard

2005-07-17T23:11:00.000+10:00

Spoiler alert to HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE!

It was a sad night for me when poor Prof. Dumbledore died, betrayed by the one he insisted on trusting. Whilst the betrayal seemed complete, I secretly harbour hope still for betrayer to turn to the good side, perhaps so that Dumbledore's death would seem such a waste.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a relatively short book (compared to Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix) and upon rereading it's predecessors, I think it lacked the humour and the queerness found in the previous books.

This post was held until today (22nd July 2005) before it was posted to avoid 'spoiling'. (Post was written on the date as published above)

A post about the past month

2005-07-09T22:19:00.000+10:00

Phew it's already July and my last post (other than yesterday's wake-up post) was June something, before my exams. The month long holidays felt short as usual but much happened within that time.

The 3rd year party was quite fun -- the transport there was a bit hectic though (the taxi driver was referring to his map!). Details are a bit woozy now, but pictures paint a thousand words so I've attached some photos along with this post. My face was a bit red...perhaps it was the alcohol? ;p

Moving on, I think I watched Mr and Mrs Smith -- a funny funny action movie, which in my opinion, in a weird way, parodies marriage. They get to do all sorts of things some husbands (and wives) only imagine doing to each other...like kicking and shooting each other.

Mum and Dad came down to Melbourne soon after that I think, but not before I watched Batman Begins though. Another movie I really liked. Went around Melbourne with them and then ended up in Sydney.

The return to blogosphere marred by ugly terrorist attack in London

2005-07-08T18:13:00.000+10:00

It took 6 bombs, 37 dead and hundreds of casualties (statistics as I know now, which is probably outdated) to jolt me back to writing -- well I planned to make a return but yesterday's incident reminds me of how important to do things now; we might not get a chance after that, what with all the terrorism everywhere around the world.

Fear and anger is in the air, and Mr.Yoda would say Lead you down the dark side, this would. Terrorising for the sake of what -- justice? revenge? just because you could? Whilst there's excuse for terrorism, the act of war against terrorism would not solve much problem other than absolving our own anger and survivor's guilt.

Le Si Hokkien Lang, wa si teo chew nang (kak kek nang pung)

2005-06-09T01:25:00.000+10:00

I didn't know there were blogs dedicated to urm...the development of Hokkien dialect (particularly Penang). It seemed quite difficult to read the words and understand them - but then again, I'm not a Hokkien, definitely no Penang background as well.

Hok kuu bo tah teo chew ewh, bei hiao tah liow lor pak jik. Si le ai hiow tak wa seah si mi kai na jiou ko seah jik siahh nah 'comments' gor. Pak jik chai ki!

Hehe trying translating that ;p

Till the end of exams -- bye

Link to the Hokkien site: http://hokkienlang.blogsome.com/
Link to the TV Smith Hokkien entry: http://www.mycen.com.my/duasen/110405_hokkien.html

National anthem in cinemas...HUH?

2005-06-03T03:35:00.000+10:00

While procrastinating, I was browsing through some websites when I came across this weird forum title "Play Negaraku in cinemas, what's your opinion".

Why shouldn't Negaraku be played in cinemas?
1. What for - inculcating patriotism? More likely inciting rebellion...
2. Would there be time for it? Consider revenues for advertisements, trailers etc. An additional few minutes might not seem a lot but imagine going the cinemas playing that for every movie
3. Lost of efficacy - the more you play something, the more familiar people are with it, the less likely people would care about it (think back to school days when they tried daily singing of national anthem)
4. Why would anyone want to stand up and sing in a cinema...I mean...really??!!

Why should Negaraku be played?
1. Because the government suggests so??? Not good enough...

2005-05-27T23:39:00.000+10:00

Brownless Library Reserve - look at all those empty shelves! pssstt...last minute studying I guess - but why the textbooks??!!

2005-05-27T23:37:00.000+10:00

Smile...it's the last day at our faculty building!

The end of Chapter 1 of Med School

2005-05-27T23:21:00.000+10:00

Today was the last day of Uni for the semester -- my last day of tutes, lectures etc that is based in the uni. How time flies, for in slightly more than a month's time, I'll be starting a new phase of my medical studies - learning about research methods and doing research at a public hospital (someone remind me how exciting that could be please??).

Truth be told it is actually quite a scary prospect to start a new research project from scratch, on my own(!!!) - well no doubt with, hopefully, lots of help from my supervisor and coordinator. No more going to lectures at 8am, nor going for 3hour pracs. What does the future hold? 9-to-5 research I hope not!

Wah

2005-05-22T21:42:00.000+10:00

Heh I feel a little guilty for not posting here for the past 11 days - but hey maybe I had better things to do than to write to a webpage no one's supposed to be reading. I've just bought tickets for Star Wars Ep.III - Revenge of the Sith to be watched on Tuesday afternoon after classes. I'm surprised I'm looking forward to it (after the lousy 1 and 2s); it had good reviews actually!

Exams in about less than 17 days - then - it's over for my preclinical years. I'll be starting AMS (which if anyone is curious, stands for, Advanced Medical Science) and then I'll be off to my clinical rotations at St.Vincent's Hospital (and it's associated hospitals incl. Geelong Hospital and rural hospital placements). Like I said before, Patients Beware!

so stressed

2005-05-11T22:38:00.000+10:00

exams are approaching and i'm not in the mood for studying...i wonder why? ;p

GPs and referrals - passing the buck

2005-05-05T22:30:00.000+10:00

Usually it's the GP's job to pass the buck to specialists, hospital admissions etc. When I went for my clinical placement yesterday though, something unusual happened - a hospital referred a patient to the GP I was with. The problem was, my GP was not very happy at all. FYI, the GP was a lady who hasn't ever seen this patient before. And the other problem was, the patient had psychiatric (personality disorder, drug and alcohol abuse) problems and needs medical prescription; and oh yeah, the patient was just released from prison for manslaughter (nearly forgot that :P)

I think health authorities, or at least, hospital staff should be more sensitive towards the right doctor for the right patient. Doctors are still human, and whilst doctors are supposed to remain non-judgmental and not overly prejudiced against different patients, it is almost impossible to do so, especially when dealing with issues of personal safety, familiarity with psychiatric problems etc. (and yeah, the issues of stigmatisation of patients with psychiatric disorder and past convicts are obvious here!) I'm not blaming the GP, I might have done the same in her position. It's just illogical to just refer a patient which presented to an ED of a hospital to a GP when the patient has problems which may be better handled by a more qualified person such as a psychiatrist.

WARNING: I hope this post complies with the confidentiality issues involved in doctor-patient care relationship. This post has not revealed the names of the GP and patient, the location of clinic, the name of the clinic and hospital.

050505

2005-05-05T22:26:00.000+10:00

Heh just wanted to note here that today's date is a bit special... wonder what the statistician would say about it...once in 1000 yrs occurrence maybe?

Boring St.John meeting

2005-05-03T21:37:00.000+10:00

Imagine my dismay after taking the time, effort and moolah to go to the St John meeting only to find someone tell me:

"Okay people, let's practice taking pulses..."

And then the person I'm paired with is a fellow Meddy who I don't know (and he me). I just recognised him from his name (and maybe his face a bit...).

"This is you take radial pulse. Try it on my hands. What are the reasons for taking a pulse?"

"Urm...to get pulse rate, check character of pulse, when taking blood pressure?" I said hesitantly (or as hesitant as I could get while cracking up inside).

"Do you know how to take carotid pulse? It's a bit harder if you take it lying down"

"Did you know that I'm in the same course as you?"

"Yeah...urm...same year?"

HAHAHA if you knew you wouldn't ask that!

And that was that...meeting ended about 15minutes later after discussing how to fill paperwork whilst on duty. People might not admit it openly, but legal complications from medical treatment (and even first aid) is making everyone paranoia and way to save our butts is to write everything down. Wouldn't know when a wacko patient might feel poor and sue our ass off our pants.

Exams soon...

2005-05-03T01:03:00.000+10:00

The exam timetable's out - Exams are quick and short death of me this time - all papers are in consequtive days, between 7 and 10th June (and that's not very long away!). Scary how time flies, for not long ago, I just started this sem, being the last of my pre-clinical semesters in Melbourne Uni. It won't be long now before I get to start on my clinicals, so patients BEWARE!!!

Surprise!

2005-05-01T14:54:00.000+10:00

Happy birthday Wai May!

Anyways yesterday we've celebrated Wai May's 21st and Su Ling's 22nd birthday. It was a supposed to be a surprise party...Su Ling was but Wai May caught a whiff of something fishy when people called her and sms'ed her so many times when she said she might not be able to make it!

It was a great night...a good spread of food and nice dessert (oreo smoothie kinda like mcflurry, pistacchios

2005-05-01T14:41:00.001+10:00

Me and the birthday gals
Thx Hello!

2005-05-01T14:41:00.000+10:00

Two birthday gals with their one cake
Thx Hello!

2005-05-01T14:40:00.000+10:00

The group after food
Thx Hello!

2005-04-28T19:57:00.000+10:00

The view from my room in Melbourne!
Thx Hello!

2005-04-27T01:08:00.000+10:00

Yummy delicious porterhouse steak (with garlic sauce which is not seen in the photo!). Note that this steak was grilled and eaten few days ago (nearly a week!). I wanted to post this earlier but camera ran out of battery so I forgot.

Long time no see :D

2005-04-24T01:39:00.000+10:00

It's been a long long time since I've last posted on the blog. I've been wanting to post pictures of my latest cooking experiments...but there was not time. (or so it seemed since there's always time) Not much change in my life this few weeks, was quite disappointed for a while because of my results for quiz 1 was poor...quiz 2 was much much better. Yesterday was quite a day for me - my computer crashed and yeah watched movies till 4am at friend's place (Keen and Suling).

The bloody computer gave me the blue screen and then told me that "Missing or corrupted: C:\Windows\System32\Config\SYSTEM - press r at the recovery console during WinXP setup to attempt to restore file" (note msg is not exact :( ) Tried so hard but in the end couldn't do much of anything...installed windows again...except windows doesn't let me log on to my own account - supposed I have a password I never knew I had! So right now I'm using a fresh WinXP...will have to slowly restore old programmes back. Sigh...so much hassle!

While the computer was throwing tantrum, I was watching movies with some friends...we started off with "The Hunted". This was a really interesting movie - a lot of exciting melee fights especially with knife! The story I felt was a little predictable but overall an enjoyable experience.

Then we watched "Anatomie" - a very very interesting German movie (with English subtitles). ALL medical students should be made to watch this :p. The movie shows a bright german gal doctor who wanted to study more in anatomy at a prestigious institution for anatomy (which was at that time mainly monopolised by men). She discovers that the institution has one of the best anatomical specimens and models - because these models were vivisected (dissection of anaesthesised living people). Could be quite scary and disturbing for some people - so go ahead and grab a copy now!

We then watched "Exorcist - The Beginning". Another interesting show tho' the general comment was that The Exorcist (original 197x? movie) was a better movie and definitely scarier. Well I didn't watch the original movie so I wouldn't know but this movie wasn't particularly scary tho' it has its moments.

Eureka!

2005-04-13T14:21:00.000+10:00

Have you ever felt, in a moment, that you realised something profound? Like Achimedes did when he was in his bathtub...Eureka! I was so tired and stressed recently that I've forgotten how to live life; life was a drag. It's never easy to juggle many things in life; so much I have said in my previous post, but I've forgotten to enjoy doing them - I did them because I planned to do them and because I thought I had to do them. The fact is I planned to do them was because I wanted to but when the time came, doing something that was not 'routine' (and forced down my throat) in life is difficult.

I don't know what else to say, but somehow I'm feeling relief and excitement for things to come and the challenges ahead. What else in life can we hope for?

I would like to thank a friend (old friend at that) for giving me perspective on things (tho' I'll bet he didn't know it). I truly appreciate your help and confidence!

ps. the pot nearly boiled itself black while I was writing this piece of bs.

update@last

2005-04-12T18:11:00.000+10:00

I haven't been blogging for the past 2 weeks. I must say this past two weeks have been very tiring and stressful. So many things have been on my mind...having to juggle studies and extra-curricular stuff is truly draining.

I'll update this later or another day.

It's April Fool's Day

2005-04-01T02:05:00.000+10:00

I cooked steak for dinner tonight and invited 3 lovely gals (actually 4...the fourth...mum had cooked for her) for dinner as well. Honestly, the steak was quite, overcooked, and tough (it had its moments, but they were tidy bits of the T-bone). We went for a movie - Hitch - again :) The second viewing was not as good as the first, but it was still pretty good - like I said, I have a soft spot for comedy. 'Hitch' paints a commentary on dating and it's difficulties - quite accurate at times. It reminds me somehow (or maybe I'm reading too much into this?) that people need to stay true to themselves and, touching on something I mentioned earlier, trusting other people i.e. letting our guards down (a difficult task, yet quite necessary :P)

I enjoyed the night, definitely. Sometimes going out with smaller group of people is so much more relaxing and enjoyable. I feel distressed at times trying to match the energy people have at 2am in the morning. How could they ever wake up early (e.g. for next day's 8a.m. lecture?)

ps. I played an April Fool's trick on a friend (WM!)...feeling a little guilty now. I kinda told her that I left my wallet at her place, and she searched her studio for it (? maybe).

Early BBQs gets the doctors

2005-03-23T00:58:00.000+11:00

I'm pretty sure we're all quite familiar with the phrase "early bird gets the worm" or something similar. The fact is, even as early as 1st year, I have been slowly but steadily been signing up for more and more FREE "Defence Association" membership, you know, just in case I really do forget to remove the scissors I left in a patient's peritoneal cavity.

The many, many defence associations available here in Victoria, Australia, seem to be always queueing up (probably cajoled by the medical student association - but queueing up makes it sound like we medical students are important) to pay for our many BBQ events. Of course I'll also be looking forward to free pens, penlights, diaries, drug samples etc from beloved pharmaceutical companies.

Are 8am lectures really necessary?

2005-03-23T00:51:00.000+11:00

Despite the wide resources of Melbourne University (and the many many lecture halls), the Faculty of Medicine seems to find thrill in allocating one 8am lecture, at least, every semester. Going to these early morning lectures feels like another morning routine...it's a blur - at least I don't remember much of the lecture (it is debatable how much I remember from other lectures, a control study might be indicated here).

I'm pretty sure the lecturer would appreciate the extra time for him/her (political correctness - no longer masculine when gender unknown) to prepare for the lecture (reminds me of last minute assignments) and students, the extra sleep.

Do you trust me?

2005-03-19T23:06:00.000+11:00

trust (noun): firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something

"trust noun" The Oxford Dictionary of English. Ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson. Oxford University Press, 2003. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Melbourne University. 19 March 2005

Trust is a commodity very lacking in the world lately. Since the incident on Sept. 11th 2001, people around the world feared further terrorist attacks and lost trust, in other people. Fear is a strong wedge against trust - fear of death, fear of destruction and fear of hurting one's heart.

AND yet without trust, friendship cannot form, relationships impossible and misunderstandings rife. It is difficult, sometimes, more so for some people, to take a leap of faith to place trust on someone and believe. The fear of betrayal and rejection is strong, deep seated and hard to uproot. Yet, yet it is important to be able to trust, to have the courage to believe in others and to have a strong heart to face the fear of rejection and betrayal.

I didn't realise that 'trust' is a basis for for many human interaction, until recently. Even with this realisation, it doesn't make it easier to open oneself up and trust others not to break your heart.

The early Saturday morning post

2005-03-19T00:14:00.000+11:00

It has been quite a hectic week for me. I guess that's why I haven't been posting much during the weekdays. In addition to the movie and the birthday bash, I think there was a lot decisions to be made and things to be done as well.

The quiz on Monday morning was alright I guess (as far as I can guess...but what really annoys me is that I remembered Staph. aureus wrongly...basically I selected an option that said S.Aureus was catalase and coagulase negative!!!)

And then on Thursday I went to St.V to meet my AMS coordinator. He seemed to have lost his voice (hoarse!) but there was another lady which seemed really friendly. She was the 'new' Research Officer of the Emergency Research department (I mean the whole department is new...so who's not new?) The research topics that they suggested were all very interesting, I'll have a hard time deciding which one to do for my year there.

Sorry no reflections on life or anything on this post. I really wanted to talk about something the other day but Blogger kinda screwed up, so I can't be bothered typing the whole thing all over again...maybe next time when I'm really free :D

Another long night

2005-03-15T23:08:00.000+11:00

Well basically I'm back posting these blog posts if you guys haven't noticed. (This and the previous one). After St. Johns today I went for a movie at Crown's complex (yeah the only place possibly with a 'night' life in Melbourne!).

It was a fantastic movie - HITCH! I must say though I have a soft side for comedies and Hitch was a comedy (and romance). It was funny too to look at how allergic reaction can cause facial oedema (which we were learning about - hypersensitivities!) when Will Smith had his face all puffed up. If you are looking for a movie to watch (or to download) it is a good choice!'

Birthday celebration

2005-03-14T23:38:00.000+11:00

A whole gang of medical students rocked up to a Mexican restaurant today and caused such havoc never previously seen before. Obviously the birthday boy (I'm using that term very loosely...over 21...urm...boy??) is a typical thick skinned =) "let's make a 'MTV Video' right here, right now...in the restaurant". I must say it was hilarious...singing the Cadbury ad song ('...wouldn't it be nice....'etc etc. i forgot!).

After dinner, I thought I was going home...but wait those people "convinced" us (being me, Ming, Chit and Mei Ying) into going to Vanessa's place. We were initially at Wai May's place but suddenly someone called and told us that Vanessa was coming to fetch us to her apartment. Wai May stayed at home because the car couldn't fit her...otherwise...she would have had to coming along as well! It was a long night...

2005-03-14T23:31:00.000+11:00

Group photo at the Mexican restaurant. L2R: Me, Ron, Bala, Chit, MeiYing, Ming, LiYong, Sharan, Edwina, Calvin, Vanessa, Amy, WaiMay.
Thx Hello!

2005-03-14T23:17:00.000+11:00

Birthday Celebrations at a Mexican restaurant on Bridge Road, North Richmond. From left to right: Calvin (Birthday boy), Myself and Wai May
Thx Hello!

2005-03-14T11:11:00.000+11:00

A delicious meal at the restaurant, mexican half-chicken something! :D
Thx Hello!

2005-03-13T20:55:00.000+11:00

Delicious brunch made for myself by myself - Lightly toasted wholemeal bread with light shaved ham and lettuce, served with baked beans and scrambled eggs
Thx Hello!

2005-03-12T23:14:00.000+11:00

Fireworks at Moomba Festival Melbourne. It's kinda blurry because the fireworks scene on my camera requires a tripod , otherwise results are as seen!
Thx Hello!

The Road Not Taken

2005-03-12T00:46:00.000+11:00

One of my favourite poems, yet so ever relevant. Medicine especially is career with ever branching sub-specialties and sub-sub-specialties. Sometimes I wonder if I could ever not be doctor. What would I be?

You know I first read this poem when I was in still high school learning Literature in English (yeah it's different from English Literature, I'm serious!). Amazing really how this poem has stayed with me all these years...and after all those decisions that I have had to make at that time. Doesn't seem so long ago really, but like Frost, I too know that I can't go back in time and change my path anymore. Still I have a long way to go and my path I know has not ended but sometimes, sometimes; I wonder what I would see if I had taken the other paths.

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN - Robert Frost
TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;	5

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,	10

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.	15

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

I have a fungal infection: A self-diagnosis

2005-03-10T16:35:00.000+11:00

After finishing my clinical class today, I've decided that I have a fungal infection. That's, by the way, in addition to the angina that I have (and may still have) since Semester 3 and my irritable bowel disease from Semester 2.

I'm considered fortunate by most, I must say. Amongst my group mates, one thought that she had melanoma and another thought he was being poisoned (his fingernails had a strip of black lines outwards).

I bet by the time I reached my clinical school years, I would have had at least diabetes, the most resistant bugs you could find living up my nose and my throat; and probably my angina would have progressed to unstable or a heart attack.

It's really no wonder the world is short of doctors, eh?

Short hours, long day

2005-03-09T10:55:00.000+11:00

I woke up at 7.30am, left for uni at 7.50am, and reached lecture theatre at 8.05am for a lecture that ended at 9am. And that was the only lecture I had for the day (other than SALP seminar during lunch hour).

Feeling a little sleepy still at the moment even though it's already nearly 11. I'm a little worried about the coming test next Monday, for I don't seem to be prepared yet. And here I am being reminded by my housemate that there was a "War of Emperium" going on tonight in Oceania Ragnarok Online (oRO). This would be happening between 6-8pm.

Also feeling a little anxious about cooking tonight - I'm planning to cook steak. I really hope I get things right. Heehee...then I can start inviting people for dinner ^^.

----edit @ 10:20pm -------------

Experiment was a qualified success! I managed to cook steak with sauce, albeit the steak was more cooked than I wanted it to be. Wait till I learn to cook better sauces - my aunt is coming down from Sydney...hopefully could learn a few tricks from her because she's good with steaks and stuff.

Regarding cooking for you Jacob, urm...why don't you just ask Carl Lin to cook for you? ^^

First post

2005-03-08T23:45:00.000+11:00

So this is my second blog that I'm starting. I really don't know what happened to the first one. In fact I don't even know why I'm blogging again. Probably some bad undue influence from people I know (you know who you are).

I have nothing much to say at the moment. Probably be getting something to munch on and then sleep. Bloody faculty had to schedule a class at 8am and then my PBL tutor has the guts to complain that the turnout was poor...I've definitely seen worse turnout. I thought most people were surprisingly prompt for the 8am lecture too.

---edit @12.05am March 9, 2005--------------

The milk got frozen in the fridge. Heh, that's after we turned up the cooling settings for the fridge because last week fungus (green stuff, looked kinda furry) grew on the aluminium foil of the yogurt I bought. Can't have my hot cup of Milo then.