Primum non nocere

My Lullaby

2009-11-21T02:49:00.000Z

I just sang soft kitty to a newborn!

Multiple times!

soft kitty warm kitty
little ball of fur
happy kitty sleepy kitty
purr purr purr

~~~

=)

My Tunnel Vision

2009-11-15T22:22:00.004Z

I haven't blogged in a long while.

My life these days seem to revolve around very few things.

Getting through the current block. Watching CSI. Thinking about and communicating with people, in particular you, you and you. Which is why blogging seems to be a bit of a chore, for now.

Psychiatry - Fun

Dermatology - Slightly disgusting at times

Ageing and Health - Learnt a lot surprisingly.

O&G - Starting tomorrow with the Labour Ward, should be fun.

The Netherlands :

Bonfire Night :

Autumn :

My Holiday

2009-10-13T00:58:00.001+01:00

Its very "funny" that I am now in the Netherlands but am up doing stuff for my 4th year project.

On another note, its been exactly one month since my last non-post.

-.-

I shall go and see Van Gogh's Sunflowers tomorrow. If I don't feel too zonked.

2009-09-13T22:57:00.001+01:00

Its been long, hello blog...

Just finished the GP posting, more on that soon... Hopefully...

Psychiatry starts tomorrow =S

My Favourite Sculpture

2009-08-22T16:37:00.005+01:00

Time flies. Suddenly, the holiday's over and I have been a week into the GP posting. Haven't really had the time to blog (for like the last few posts =S).

A few collages from the recent Eurotrip :

Barcelona
(Note Gaudi architecture)

Madrid
(Note the middle picture, Procession of Death)

Rome
(Haha, note everything, Michelangelo's Moment of Creation, the Colosseum, the Spiral Staircase etc...)

Paris
(Gargoyle, La Tour Eiffel, Van Gogh and Whistler!)

I *love* Europe. Its so nice, the lifestyle is so nice, everything is so nice. I so would go back to any city that I visited!

Two things that I really liked :

From the *fabulous* La Sagrada Familia, "and what is the truth"?

L'Amour Menaçant
From the Louvre, I *like*! A lot! -see title-

Have been reading a lot of stuff on the Malaysian Insider and am quite worried about the state of politics in Malaysia, hopefully will have the will and brain capacity to blog about that and other stuff fully soon...

My Favourite IndoChinese Spring Rolls

2009-07-26T09:49:00.004+01:00

Jetted off to Cambodia about 4 days after I returned to Malaysia. Siem Reap is seriously dependent on Angkor and the tourist industry. There really is a stark disparity between locals and people with the tourist dollar. And I do mean dollars, all transactions there are done using USD. Got a really good rate at the Angkor Miracle Resort and Spa, which was good, considering we siesta-ed practically every afternoon, as the temples were so HOT.

Hotel
Note fake Bayon tower (centre bottom), with that, who needs Angkor, lol

The only reason to go to Angkor really is the temple complexes, there just simply isn't any other thing of interest. We did go to a "night market" though and saw tourists watching in amazement a "fish spa" *rolls eyes*

Various temples

Food was cheap, funnily enough, and I am talking about tourist restaurants. Then again, given that they're all clustered along one street, I suppose competition keeps prices low and food quality quite high?

Ice cream, spring rolls and amok curry

Cambodia has the best Indo-Chinese spring rolls I have tasted so far, they've got just the right ratio of meat to rabbit food, haha.

Blue Pumpkin Cafe, purveyor of above ice cream sundaes
Good French style pastries

Finally, a mosaic of the Temple-Travelling Snoopy!

My dSLR spoilt halfway through Angkor, bleagh, but managed to get it fixed before coming back to Dundee, phew.

And then there was Genting.

And Ipoh.

And Penang.

And I wish I had more time but I'm due to leave for London and then on to Barcelona tomorrow.

Till the next time =)

My Revelations I

2009-06-26T16:30:00.004+01:00

Plane food really isn't as bad as people make it out to be :

Cathay Pacific Lunch (KUL - HKG)

British Airways Dinner (HKG - LHR)

British Airways Breakfast (LHR - EDI)

Emirates Lunch (LHR - DXB)

Emirates Breakfast (DXB - KUL, I think)

Am a fan and will firmly recommend Emirates now, though SIA will always be No.1 =) [I somehow like the Singapore Slings the serve on board]

Food in Dundee isn't ALL crap (following pictures are apart from those on my FB folder) :

Croissants and Eggs at the Parlour Cafe

Chocolate Banana Cake at the Parlour Cafe
Ok, it doesn't look that exciting but its NICE

A Flake 99, lol, so British =)

Thai food in the UK appeals to my palate somehow :

Tom Yum (looks like some random Malaysian roadside one but its not)

Had a really nice green curry in Cambridge. Gosh, now I want to go to My Elephant...

Will be travelling to Siem Reap in about 7 hours time and I'm quite excited! Apparently the hotel has a wireless connection so I may blog... Angkor Wat here I come!

Lastly, I realise that, really, the most amazing meals are really to be found at home, my mother's cooking =)

My "Magical" Journey

2009-06-20T15:00:00.004+01:00

Urgh, ok, enough about the BMSc, will just be doing it next year, I guess =S

Anyway, will be heading back for about a month, whee~~~ Though I told myself I wouldn't, really do miss the food =)

Before that, just going to post something "cool" (in a very geek way) that the Medical School does. Basically, there are these keypads :

Then there are questions :

Then you "vote" like on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire's Ask the Audience Lifeline, and then the results come up :

Ok, now that I come to think of it, its a bit lame. Haha, I thought it was cool at the time...

Oooh, will be going to Siem Reap for a week like 3 days after I land, have to get the jet lag out of the way before that, haha =)

So, its bye bye Dundee, for now...

In a quite ironic coincidence, spotted this advertisement on the windows of one of the travel agents in Dundee (Dundee!!! Of all places!) :

Magical?!? -.-

Urgh

2009-06-09T09:47:00.001+01:00

Ok, its official, my application has been put "on hold" pending "satisfactory Year 4 results".

Great, just great...

=(

Sigh

2009-06-04T23:10:00.002+01:00

Have just been notified that there may be a possible setback to my BMSc application, which I assumed had been settled...

This is really unsettling...

=S

My Flowers

2009-05-30T18:46:00.003+01:00

Yes! Am finally finished with Stracathro Hospital! Well, ok, admittedly, it is a good place for learning, problem is, that its really RURAL...

Then again, despite it being so "rural", still could not escape the sight of this :

-.-

Goodness, one might actually think this picture was some randomly taken shot in you-know-which-country... Goodness...

Had a formative OSCE this week *dies*, fundoscopy, psychiatry, incontinence and audiograms amongst other things *flails*.

Nothing else much, will just end with a collage of flowers taken around Stracathro Hospital.

My Movie Locations

2009-05-11T00:23:00.000+01:00

Was sick last weekend, bleagh, my self diagnosis is some sort of traveler's diarrhoea, probably E.coli or a rotavirus. Had rather poor appetitie all week, which is good for weight loss, I guess, haha, but the weakness that resulted from that just sucked. Appetite's back though, am having a craving for yoghurt now [which is why I'm now snacking down on a pot of mango, passion fruit and papaya yoghurt, on sale in Tesco! Well, better than crisps at any rate *see below*].

On a side note, I must say the following advertisement is EXTREMELY EFFECTIVE *shudder* :

Ewww.......
*applauds BHF at the back of my mind*
*go on, click on it and see it full sized*

*Oh gosh, half the 500g pot of yoghurt is gone...*

Ok, so we went through a few weeks of the Transition programme when we arrived, basically revision lectures for the current 3rd Years who were going to sit their finals with the "added" "Its not just the basic sciences anymore, this is when you learn how to corelate the basic sciences with clinical reasoning"... Ok........ That sounds awfully familiar.........

Then was a week's break! Road trip! Rented a car, got another one and off we went. First stop, Inverness, the "gateway to the Scottish Highlands", nice town, not unlike Dundee, with a castle that is now the, er, courthouse? Just popped there to see and buy supplies then it was off to the Scottish Youth Hostel by the shores of the Loch Ness for the night. Hostel was really nice and literally beside the loch [that's "lake" for all you non-Scots speakers, haha] with quite a number of smaller rooms, Mervin and I got a room with a lake view!

Really like this photo of the old piano in the hostel
Reminds me *at the risk of sounding cheena* of Jay Chou's Secret, somehow

Shore of the Loch Ness just outside the hostel

Any sightings of the Loch Ness monster? Ah well, it was a bit misty, unless these count... :

Ahaha

This picture makes me feel like some hoax photographer person...

Next day it was bye bye Loch Ness and on to the Isle of Skye with a detour to Urquhart Castle. Seriously amazing, Urquhart Castle, pretty much spoiled the rest of the castles we visited through the week, really.

View of the castle from the perimeter wall

Inside the castle

Scotland's really pretty/beautiful, driving from Inverness to Skye is especially breathtaking, first going along the road that follows the shores of Loch Ness (A82) then through the mountains (A87, best road so far!). There are road stops every other mile on both sides of the road with quite a few having a view like this :

If the sky weren't so cloudy, this could have been a postcard

Next stop was the Isle of Skye, where we stayed in the Youth Hostel in Uig, in the northern part of the island overlooking the bay. Took a small, beaten road through the mountain pinnacles and saw this :

Quiraing Mountain Pinnacles *so nice la*
The place to take this photo can be reached by car, haha

Rained quite a bit that night and the boys dorm was not directly connected to the main building, brrr... Next day was rainy too, but managed to see quite a few places, albeit under a slight drizzle meaning we couldn't explore a bit =S

Fairy Glen
*they filmed Stardust somewhere here!*

Old Man of Storr
A 40 minute trek through the forest in the rain

So many things in Skye that we haven't seen; Fairy Pools, Maccleod's Maidens , Dunvegan Castle the Cuilin etc. Definitely a destination should we be very free closer to summer, anyone interested?

*side note: in a quite disgusting revelation, I have FINISHED the 500g pot of yoghurt and am seriously considering opening the other pot I bought*

Then it was off to Glen Nevis, home of UK's highest mountain Ben Nevis ["Ben" is "mountain" in Scots, muahahahaha] which, we originally thought, was 4000+ meters, like Kinabalu so we were quite impressed. Then we found out that it was 4000+ FEET *deflates* but the temperature here means that much of the summit is snowy so it may be more difficult, I guess... Stayed in the Youth Hostel in the glen itself, surrounded by mountains and filled with French people who were climbing Ben Nevis the next day...

Had great weather the next day and decided to hike to Steall Falls through a forest path. So nice la, the scenery...

Nice

Path ended with these two stones :

Stones "guarding" the entrance

Past the stones and around the corner, surrounded by mountains :

Steall Falls
*The Quidditch scenes and Goblet of Fire Dragon Egg-stealing Triwizard Task were filmed here! Hogwarts was apparently CGI-ed onto some ridge of Ben Nevis!!!*
*Braveheart was filmed here too!*

There's a quite interesting *wire bridge* made out of just 3 wires to cross to get closer to the falls, definitely not for the faint-hearted. Wanted to cross but there were a whole bunch of kids waiting their turn and we were due back in Dundee for the night. Went though Glencoe on the way back which also had niceeeee views.

As someone in our party mentioned, very Brokeback Mountain, lol
*landscape scenes for Harry Potter filmed here!!!*

Set off again a day later (watched Wolverine during the day in Dundee!) to Oban, seaside town on the West Coast of Scotland. Stopped in Stirling to see the castle (lol, too modern for us, somehow) and the Wallace Monument (I don't really have to say which Wallace do I?). The Oban Youth Hostel seems to have the best view so far.

From the window of the dining room

Outside the Hostel

Saw a really nice "watercolour" sunset in Oban, thank goodness the weather held...

Really like a painting

Sights (Sites? haha, both can be used, I guess) visited the next day were :

The Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary

Dunstaffnage Castle

MacCaig's Tower
*a replica of the Colosseum, lol, no need to visit Rome =)*

For sustenance :

So quaint la

Ok, bottom left was not from the shop above but you get the idea

Dundee has outblocks to Oban! Will definitely request for that if am able to =)

Oh yeah, found out during the week that my application to intercalate and complete a BMSc in Clinical Research was approved!!! Whee~~~ *ok, yes, I know, some people are gasping in disbelief* Ok, it kind of sucks that I'll be graduating in 2012 instead 2011 but the extra degree is worth it right, right? And besides, I really want to do it.....

Spent the weekend in Edinburgh, its SO PRETTY, really. Met up with Prasad and Kahyee, really had a good time, pity the diarrhoea struck halfway through though, must go back there soon =)

Don't know why, even with the road construction, its so pretty with the double decker bus and the Roman-esqe column in the background...

Went into the castle, they were setting up for the Tattoo already, pity I couldn't get tickets this year, oh well, there's always next year I guess... Thankfully bypassed the massive number of queuing people as had Historic Scotland membership and could waltz into seperate Premium Tickets building and collect ticket.

Haha, I'm a FRIEND of Edinburgh Castle [and, coming to think about it, Urquhart Castle too!]

Currently going through the Stracathro Hospital posting for a months, weekends back in civilisation [Dundee]. Its so rural that, oh, I'll just show you the photos :

Rabbits!

Field of sheep at entrance of hospital

Posting is for the rest of the month =S Well, at least I have a whole lot of secondhand books from a car boot sale...

*am still a bit bleagh from the diarrhoea though......*

Places to visit/things to do:

Rosslyn Chapel [30 minutes outside Edinburgh by bus] *film : Da Vinci Code*
Steam train from Fort William to Mallaig *film : Harry Potter train scene across viaduct*
Loch Shiel *Hogwarts Lake*

My Picture Collage

2009-04-18T13:08:00.010+01:00

Ok, Internet was just installed in the house today =)

Just a short post with selected "highlights" so far...

Oh, before that, thanks to all who came to see us off. It was really a surprise as I wasn't expecting quite a few of you, am really touched (^_^)

Putrajaya (I think) from plane

Bye Bye Malaysia

All the latest movies during the flight
The VERY VERY long flight

Layover in Hong Kong
Quite a fitting advertisement I think

From the plane on the flight to Edinburgh

The first Saturday after we arrived
Yes, that is snow...

Main campus of Dundee taken on a nice day, bout 2 weeks after the previous picture
The hospital and medical school is like 15 minutes away by bus though

Spring concert in a cathedral

Got a very basic DSLr
Sakura blossoms in the University

Visited St Andrews, its really beautiful, for anyone coming to visit me in Dundee, expect that as a day trip, haha... Pictures below are just a teaser, there's lots more to see...

The Royal & Ancient, the governing body for golf

Apparently world famous ice cream, personally, the pull is the 53 flavour choices

Last picture for this post :

Picture collage on my room wall

To come :

-A more wordy post of what I have been doing
-More pictures (house, hospital, university, places of interest, food etc.)

My Last Night

2009-03-02T15:07:00.003Z

Last night in KL. It has been a rollercoaster this past few weeks since returning from Singapore; running errands, buying stuff, packing and getting pissed off with the stupidity of people[not naming any names].

Met up with Jo and Alex in CPK. Lol, nostalgia~

Went to Bandung the Monday after Singapore.

From the plane window
Middle picture shows a mountaintop, nice =)

Top left : Neo Calista [from Bandung trip I]
Top right : Resep Dapurku [Bandung trip II]
Lower left : the Indomie shop down the road from the Jayakarta [Bandung trip I]
Lower right : Airport

Neo Calista Cafe.
Haha, super nostalgic, this is where I once had a meal with, like, the debate god, lol.

Top left : Rumah Mode
Top right : The fried chicken guy
Lower left : Rumah Ebo
Lower right : Nasi Timbel

I will SOOO miss this

Had dinner.

Ume-Tei in Amcorp Mall.

Spent the last weekend in Seremban in Ho Wai's house. Mostly eating, lol. Hakka Mee, Hakka Yong Tau Foo, Kensington, Ming Kok Dim Sum........

Ho Wai's Room

Bye Bye Malaysia.

My Trip Down South (aka Bye, Singapore)

2009-02-07T03:35:00.008Z

Last trip to Singapore in a long time (I think), quite a packed schedule meeting up with people for meals.

Mayim with most of the Asean family (and significant others where applicable)
PS. I love Mayim!

Food for Thought with Huiling and Sarah

Megabites @ NUS Science Canteen *snigger* with Yi Hern and Thomas (Wong)

Sending Weilin off, which I didn't know about until I met Huiling and Sarah for lunch

Breakfast with Wei Jian in Jurong Point

Dinner with cousins Hui Ken and Angus just before I left on the train back

Daiso opened 2 more outlets in Singapore! Plaza Singapura and Vivocity! Everyone, go there! SGD 2 for EVERYTHING in the shop[ok, some of the things are 2 for SGD 2, which makes it better right?]!!! Bought a cool[read : Japanese-designed] lunchbox as I will have to start packing food soon[haha, that sounds a bit depressing...]. Its MUCH better than those crappy RM5 shops here...

They also sold this :

Despite the funky available colours and provocative shape, its actually a banana carrier thing which Japanese mothers buy for their kids to carry to school with a banana inside so it doesn't get squashed by lunchtime. To prove that I'm really not in some strange sex shop and really at the kitchen section in Daiso, you can see an orange press at the top of the picture. Honestly, the pink one's very scary. Oh, and like everything else in Daiso, they were going for SGD 2, though I honestly can't imagine any Singaporean mother buying it for her kids, really looks very wrong.

Go eat in Tao's Cuisine in PoMo/Paradiz Centre on Selegie Road [short walk from Dhoby Ghaut]. Lunch seems to be worth it, 6 courses (that's appetiser, soup, salad, main, dessert and drink) for SGD 24, the service is so attentive and friendly, its scary sometimes. Thanks to Thomas (Chia) for the recommendation =)

Ack, I'll miss Singapore and all of you who are there!

Heard in the Woodlands Customs while waiting to get back on train :

Condescending-sounding father to daughter : Look at the train. Make a sentence with the word
"train".

Little girl : *mumbles something presumably answering her father's question*

Father : Ok, how do you spell "sentence"? Repeat after me, S-E-N-T-A-N-C-E, sentence.
S-E-N-T-A-N-C-E, sentence.

*omg, it was all I could do to not turn around and correct him*

Father (to daughter) : Look at all these people. What about "people"? How do you spell
"people"?

Father (talks to wife) : Ta yi ding chuo yi ge "vowel" de [Mandarin for : She's sure to get a vowel
wrong].

*rolls eyes*

D-Day

2009-01-15T15:18:00.003Z

Tomorrow is when it happens...

Will I see this :

Or this :

I sincerely hope its the second picture...

My High School Musical

2008-11-19T12:02:00.004Z

I just realised that our time now in Unversity mirrors HSM3 (yes, I watched it, so what?). Its like everyone's going to different places. Many going to University of Albuquerque (which, by the way, does not exist anymore) which is like Clinical School (this is not any form of direct comparison and I do not mean anything bad about Seremban, really, this is just a parallel example thingy because that's where many people in East High seem to be going, statistically) and others going elsewhere, Standford, UC Berkeley (because its 32.7 miles away only from Stanford, now, that's cheesy, in a sweeeeeet way though...) and Juilliard (once again, not saying PMS is better than CS, I do not mean any of this in a bad way, ok).

The point is, we're all leaving soon, and it only really struck me after watching the movie =S

Sigh...

One thing though, why can't we spontaneously burst into song and start dancing in sync with everybody else. Ok, crazy thought...

=)

2008-10-31T00:26:00.005Z

On a side note, Happy Birthday, Joon Heng!

My Disappointment

2008-10-04T14:54:00.005+01:00

You know, it always seems like I can never catch a break.

In some ways, its true. However, when I'm pissed off, its usually not because of all the things I have to do. If its stuff that I take it upon myself to do, its fine.

Its usually about one or two things that people do , or don't do, when these are the people I seriously expect better of.

So here goes, I wish I didn't open my Facebook account.

Then I wouldn't have seen it.

Then I wouldn't be so down right now.

Honestly, its not so hard, is it, to just ask?

I have already said it so many times, what's the use of saying it again?

Why should I bring it up again, when its not going to change?

This is where disappointment starts to set in.

Of all people... Why?

Whatever, its not like you're going to bother to read this and care...

My Stuff

2008-09-13T23:50:00.002+01:00

This isn't funny.

All my stuff. Documents, songs, episodes...

OH. MY. GOODNESS.... Photos.........................

Is this supposed to be karma? Well, it's a bitch. Then again, what did I do to deserve it?

THIS. IS. NOT. FAIR.

I really don't know where to start, really...

My Bingo

2008-09-07T12:27:00.009+01:00

It's very interesting when you experience something that you just read about in the papers and forget about it when you get to the World News section (or, well, currently, the Nation section as well), because it's just so much more interesting to read about people/nations bitching towards each other. Of course, in more politically correct language and diplomatic prose. Ah whatever, it's still bitching at the end of the day.

Those articles about local Scrabble competitions, remember? The ones with headlines like "Teen wins by making baby!" and you read only to find out that the highest scoring word for the final match was "ZYGOTE" on a triple word score tile. OK, I made that headline up, but the "ZYGOTE" thing is true, I remembered reading the article. Don't even think about what I was doing reading articles about Scrabble competitions, I don't know myself, maybe I was too bored? Still, I like my headline better than whatever was the original headline of the article, it would probably have made more people read it.

So, what's the point of this post? IMU Cup, for the first time ever, had a Scrabble component to it and since there was no one to join, guess who got recruited into the team. What I did not expect, was that every other team had people who actually played/used to play Scrabble competitively. Oh..... My....... Goodness......... The horror of losing with a 300+ point margin because I was somehow player A in the team going against the other player As. No "my C loses to their A but my A and B beat their B and C and so I win" sort of things allowed.

I am still not sure I get the allure of Scrabble as a competitive sport. I mean, why would you memorise 2 and 3 letter words but not know what they mean? By the way, do you know that "UG" means "to cause hatred"? I am going to start using that word from now on. How does "Don't UG me!" sound? I'm not even sure that sentence is grammatically correct. "PSST", "SH" and "BRR" exist and they mean exactly what you think they mean, did you know? But "ZEN" is not a word, I don't know why.

Don't ask how it went, surely you can guess.

The bright side? I got a bingo! Which means that there was a turn which I used up all my 7 tiles and scored an extra 50 points! Haha, the word was "SEATERS", blah, I know, lame word. I actually got another word, "COOTIES" but was foiled by the fact that I also made a 3 letter word which did not exist. An opponent actually bingo-ed with "DEBATED" and I was like, "Thanks....." =S

Ah, whatever, what's done is done. Also, I am NOT going to get into the other reasons why I think competitive Scrabble is =S

Anyway, was looking through the Web and people are crazy about Scrabble. *shudder*

There are, like, Scrabble marriage proposals.

camworld.com

Presumably with this ring...

splityarn.com

People who play giant Scrabble.

cnn.com

Scrabble for Breast Cancer...

femail.com.au

This, of course, seems less crazy to me :

hi-and-low.typepad.com

As are these chairs :

Made by Stephen Reed Industrial Design
The Bloom one's for the London office of Bloomberg
The middle picture is themed after 1984, I think...

Ok, the sofa's really cool, but I still do not get the competitive Scrabble thing, unless you actually memorise the words AND their meanings...

Oooo, found a very cool website : Geekologie

Which, unfortunately, also has some quite disgusting things amongst its cool things :

Ewww...
(Not a word, according to Scrabble)

Anyway, some rants :

Disappointment in other people really is the worst thing...

And you, don't assume, it really wouldn't hurt to just ask, seriously...

My Poor Baby

2008-08-22T05:55:00.017+01:00

This is going to be a long post, just a warning.

Just got back from a self planned tour of Java two days ago. 7 days and 3 cities : Jakarta, Bandung and Yogyakarta. Am actually quite thankful everyone got back alive and not mugged, raped and/or murdered.

First stop was Jakarta via the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. Being very cultured *haha* travelers, we made our first stop the MoNas (short for "MOnumen NASional" - the National Monument) since it was really close to Indonesia's Independence Day (the 17th of August). But before that...

Haha, my kind of culture. Padang food was the first stop of the "wisata kuliner" [culinary tour? ] part of the trip. Went to a nice place [Restoran Garuda] near where we were staying on Jalan Jaksa [backpackers' area of central Jakarta]. What happens is that they pile plates and plates of food on your table but only charge you for what you touch. What I really liked was the red sambal thing with salted fish at the bottom left of the 2nd picture. So nice... Oh yeah, chickens in Indonesia are, like, really skinny ie. free range. Meal cost about IDR 70,000 [RM 1 is about IDR 2740 so it was about RM26] per person, the most expensive we had in Indonesia actually.

This meal was also when quite a few people experienced Es Jeruk for the first time. Its like basically, a drink made out of what, apparently, is known as limau manis/madu in EAST Malaysia which we West Malaysians have never encountered. Oh, "es" is "ice, by the way...

Ok, so back to culture *haha*, the MoNas, also known as "Soekarno's Last Erection" [according to the Wikitravel article at least] is topped by this 50+ kg gold thingy that everyone who has successfully stolen has ended up dead under mysterious circumstances *shiver*. Anyway, it was a hot, long walk to the actual monument from the carpark.

Views from top of the MoNas

The bottom floor contains a dark gallery where the state emblem and creed and all that can be seen as well as being the place that houses the proclamation of independence. We then took a lift to the viewing gallery at the top, which really was a big relief because the winds up there were a really refreshing respite from the heat of the afternoon.

In the viewing gallery

In a rush to get away from the heat after that, we rushed to Plaza Indonesia which was a random mall akin to KLCC in terms of shops and price range. Sat in Starbucks for a while to satisfy the cravings of spoilt people who caouldn't live without it *haha* [did I mention the new Peach Pomegranate blended drink is awesome? =) ]. Then it was of to some plaza [I forgot the name] near Jalan Jaksa to see batik *see, culture again*.

A "bajai" trip was up next to the next destination of our "wisata kuliner".

Bajai

Yes, its quite scary in a "I'm-in-a-rollercoaster" sort of way. But very cheap, if you haggle, a lot.

Sate Khas Senayan

Sate Khas Senayan serves mainly satay [obviously]. An interesting thing to note about Indonesian satay is the peanut sauce which is smooth unlike Malaysia's chunky version. They also add "ketjap manis" to like everything. But it was nice, like eating satay with "fah sang woo" [peanut cream]. The left most picture shows Chinese and Dutch influences in Indonesian cooking with "lunpia" [spring rolls] and rissoles filled with a vegetable cream mix.

The next day begun with trip to Kota [the old city] *culture* and Glodok [Chinatown].

Kota was, well, full of museums, but we only visited 2, the old governer's house and the Wayang Kulit museum. No pictures of the Wayang Kulit museum as no cameras were allowed. Stupid me, at first, when I saw the name "Museum Wayang", I assumed that the museum was dedicated to old films. The governer's old residence included a exhibition on independence and a climb up to a balcony where the governer [I think] used to stand on to see people being whipped *shudder*.

With Ho Wai and Red outside the residence
I actually look kind of good in this picture

Glodok was hot, sweaty and dusty. Three things to note : DVDs, temples and es jeruk man *more on that later*

Es Jeruk Man

Oh, and another picture which I don't look totally fat in *Lol, that's like, so bimbo of me*.

Totally cultured outside the temple

After Glodok and going through a baaaaad jam, we hopped into a hired van for the 3 hour journey to Bandung. I was very glad to be out of Jakarta, honestly. The place where we satyed in Bandung was nice, with a garden and all.

Hmmm, what is there to say about Bandung? I have blogged about it before in the post about my first AUDC. Just think about Bandung as being a really large FOS with the weather of Fraser's Hill. Yes, haha, that's it.

5 things to try in Bandung. First, Jus Alpukat/Apokat. "Alpukat/Apokat" is avocado, which they grow in vast quantities in Java [I really don't know why Malaysia doesn't just import from there instead of halfway across the world]. What they do is they put the flesh of a whole ripe avocado, a cup of ice, a teaspoonful of condensed milk and some water and blend it till smooth. They then lace the cup with a few lashes of chocolate syrup and there's your drink for IDR 6000 - 8000 [ RM2.20 - RM3.00]. Its sooooo good. I actually survived only on that during one of the days in Bandung as we were all experiencing the sartorial culture *ahaha* that Bandung has. I think I drank 3 cups in the course of the whole day.

Jus Alpukat/Apokat

Second, Siomay and Batagor. Yes, "siomay" comes from "siu mai". Its actually just a humongous fried fish wonton. Batagor is fried tofu stuffed with fish paste, not unlike what you can get from "yong tau foo" stalls here. The items are cut up and smothered with peanut paste ala Malaysian satay sauce, lime juice and ketjap manis.

Third, Pisang Bolen. Invented by the Kartika Sari Bakery in Bandung its a buttery puff pastry thing stuffed with banana and cheese.

Fourth, martabak manis. Really just "apam balik" some random chinese uncle on the road is likely to sell. You know, the one with peanuts and sugar inside. But the ones here can be customised with more ingredients! The one with cheese, peanuts, chocolate, condensed milk and bananas cost only IDR 16000 [RM5.80]. Yes, I know, the ingredients are heart-stopping. Luckily we were in Bandung for 2 nights only.

Fifth, Sundanese food. Stopped at this restaurant on the last evening before taking the night train to Yogyakarta. I love the variety of sambal that Indonesian food has to offer. In the picture below, there's the red Sambal Terasi, which is like sambal belacan and a green sambal "I-don't-know-the-name". There was also this really nice Sambal Tempe but no pictures unfortunately.

Arrived at the train station about 2 hours early and so sat in the rail cafe to while the time away. All of us were horrified to see the television showing a news report on a "Tabrakan Kereta Api" [Train crashes?] with computer simulations of how the crashes happened. Also, since there was a miniature train set in the cafe, they actually did a "live" demonstration. Gosh... Thankfully, the "tabrakan" was in Sumatera...

Funny description of French Fries on the menu

The train was, er, not bad, then again, we took the Executive Class. I don't want to know what goes on in the lower classes.

Seat, with pillow and blanket

Arrived in Yogya early in the morning, thank goodness the sun rises at 6.00am in Indonesia and not nearly 7 like in Malaysia. Sophia met us at the station, so nice of her to be up so early. Dumped our stuff at the hotel and went out to explore. Caught the National Day celebration *culture* from outside the Governer's Palace.

Gosh, we're actually holding mini flags
Next to Red is Michelle's cousin

Dropped into the old Dutch fort after that. It was, well, just that, a fort.

Rest of the day was spent wandering around buying souvenirs made of the batik Yogya is famous for.

Next day, we got up early for one of the three reasons we originally planned the trip in the first place *cause we really are extremely cultured people*. Left the hotel in a van at 5.00am for our destination which opened at 6.00am.

Borobudur

It was awesome. The views. The fact that you can actually walk on it. Walking up the steps. Everything. I shall just let pictures show what words cannot convey.

Views of Borobudur

Views from Borobudur

Views walking through Borobudur

Reliefs in Borobudur (mainly)

Stupa at the top of Borobudur

The only picture of Borobudur which has me in it *details in a while*

2 and 1/2 hours passed really quickly. Wow, again. Spot of advice though, go early, you'll bypass the crowds and the hot sun.

Back in Yogya, stopped for a visit in the Kraton [Sultan's Palace] with a history lesson and a visit to the Taming Sari [Sultan's pleasure palace where his harem used to live in complete with a viewing tower where he'd stand and look before picking his, er, "girl for the night"]. Had "gudeg" for lunch, a Yogya specialty which is very sweet curry/stew made of young jackfruit. Then took a trishaw back to the hotel in preparation for the 2nd and 3 reasons we originally planned the trip in the first place.

Then, it happened, the reason for the title of my post... MY CAMERA WENT MISSING....... Argh... My nice Nikon P3, which is a really good point-and-shoot with very good night mode and 8 freaking megapixels, which you can see in the Glodok and Borobudur pictures, was lost... And I couldn't find it.... (!_!) And it contained the card with ALL my Borobudur pictures.............

*All pictures starting from the Borobudur ones are obviously not from my camera*

Sigh...

Anyway, left Yogya at 2.oopm for :

Prambanan

Endlessly impressive. Seriously. Different from Borobudur in the sense that its a temple complex compared to Borobudur's single structure. Also, Borobudur's Buddhist while Prambanan's Hindu.

The scaffolding is the reconstruction being done after the earthquake last year. They completed reconstruction the largest temple just 16 days before we got there. The student tickets were cheaper than expected so we spent the reamining on a guide who was a very nice man who brought us to the best photo sites where there were no views of scaffolding.

While explaining the structure of the temples and their associations and all that he made a small faux pas, haha. He described the mount of Lord Shiva, Nandī [actually a bull] as a "Holy Cow". I cracked, couldn't help it.

Us

I liked the starkness of the tree against the background of the temple

Views of the temples

Like Borobudur, they actually allow you to climb into the temples to see everything. We climbed into the Vishnu temple and looked inside. Quite small and dark actually, but still impressive.

At the doorway of one of the temples

Wall carvings

Wanted to see the sunset at Prambanan but it was too cloudy, boo. Left as it was getting dark for the *reason number 3* :

Sendratari Ramayana

The Ramayana Ballet is performed at the open air Trimurti Stage just outside Prambanan over 4 days in the month around the full moon (6 months a year). One episode a night. We caught the last episode. So lucky that the timing was so coincidental. Yes, in the picture above, that's really Prambanan in the background and yes, that orange thing is really the full moon rising. Sooooo cool....

More pictures [following the moon rise], just cause its so awesome :

The next day was the last day in Indonesia. Visited Universitas Gadjah Mada's Medical Faculty.

Toured the buildings with Sophia, its really a proper campus, unlike, some other universities, haha.

Nice flower on the grass

I think we were all impressed with the PBL rooms more than anything, haha.

Sophia and I

With the rest

Last minute shopping after that, spending the last of our rupiah. Then lunch at Mie Menteng in Malioboro Mall [or, more accurately "Mal Malioboro"]. We were discussing es jeruk and where the best one was. Oh yeah, being in Indonesia for 6 days + made us all use Indon words like "bisa" ["boleh" as opposed to "poison],and cewek [girl]. Then Ho Wai says, "But the best one is still the one in Goblok [he meant Glodok, note picture above of "Es Jeruk Man"]!" which cracked everyone up since other people could hear what he was saying and "goblok" is Indon slang for "bodoh". *ahaha*

Es Jeruk

Then, it was back to reality, haha.

Clouds from the plane

Oh, and one last picture, the MOST poser one I have EVER taken which someone insisted we take cause it was, I quote, "very Backstreet Boys". But its quite nice la, with the shadows and all, haha.

Lol, you can clearly see its a bit contrived on my part *I think* as I don't normally take pictures like that.
*Ish, poser-nyer*

Haha, I can't wait to go on a trip with friends again.

My Standing

2008-08-02T15:44:00.003+01:00

Oooo, I just checked and its not bad!!!

Not that I don't mean it does not need improving though, it does, a lot. Next goal : no 75s...

On the other hand :

Sometimes it's not about whether I can do it or not, I probably can, but it's about the fact that you should have done it already.

Sometimes, if you agree on something, do it, don't go back upon it on the last minute.

And you, sometimes, its not about whether it's used or not, you shouldn't just leave it out in the open like you're going to ignore it and eventually forget about it.

My Dominance

2008-07-26T16:42:00.007+01:00

Haven't blogged for such a long time. Usually indicates I'm way too busy or I'm very down or both, usually, sigh. Been running around like mad these past few weeks though was supposed to be having Selectives and Rotations ie. usually IMU students are very free to watch movies and stuff which everyone else has been doing very frequently and the only 2 movies I watched this last 2 months are Wanted and Red Cliff when others are watching 5 movies a week and all that. Sigh...

Anyway, was caught on the road for 3+ hours during the petrol price hike evening. Grrr... I'm not even going to start on the stupidity and unjustified action on giving only [whatever amount of time 5.30pm to 12 midnight is] hours to warn people.

Went to the Maple @ SentulWest to celebrate Tracy's and He-Who-Does-Not-Want-To Be Named's birthday.

These are nice, they're from Bisou, so cute, haha, but I think they went uneaten or, at least, I wasn't told whether they were nice or not.

Went for P.Ramlee the Musical (the Muzikal?). Very well done for a Malaysian production though the original one with Siti Nurhaliza would probably have been better.

Urbanscapes. Need I say more?

Did Complementary Medicine for my Selectives. Did you know that the qi(life essence/internal energy/"qi" in qigong) that you inherit from your parents is called primordial qi? Had a poster presentationin which the poster was done 2 days before. *haha* Taiwan *haha*

Went to Genting for a Leadership Camp where I was told that my personality was so dominant that I was asked whether or not I had friends because apparently, people like me use others as tools to achieve whatever it is I want to achieve. (OMG, if I want something done, I'd just do it myself) (and also, I don't use people) (plus, imagine someone asking you that!) I'm not going to start on the student who thinks he can run courses on personal confidence and the counselor who thinks that the student did a good job.

In Genting, note lack of friend(s) in picture *rolls eyes*

Saw Carynl, Su and Xing Loong all who were/are in KL, though it wasn't for long, bloody reponsibilities that I have.

Went to the Orang Asli Hospital in Gombak (now known as the other end of the world from IMU in Bukit Jalil) for Rotations. Heard many interesting things about the aborigines we have in Peninsular Malaysia there. The Museum is interesting.

Am currently in the middle of part I of the IIUM-CFS Debate League. Siva and I did quite OK today, hopefully we can maintain the status quo or do better tomorrow.

I think I'm blogging rather mechanically, which mean, sigh, I don't know...

Some words I mean to say
End up being kept inside
Sometimes I see your face
Then I run away and hide

To force a smile when I'm feeling down
Crying hard inside without a sound
Hopes were lost till you came around

~Hero For a Day~

My Bellini

2008-05-28T17:33:00.004+01:00

Wow, this is soon. Whatever, I need to, well, or at least attempt to get catharsis from the act of blogging. Still don't know if it works, we'll see.

Went to the Sky Bar in Traders Hotel last Sunday to celebrate Swee Leen's 21st. Thank you so much for buying drinks =) Had a Bellini, one of my favourite cocktails. If anyone's interested [will anyone even care?], my top three favourite cocktails are :

The Cosmopolitan - made famous by Sex and the City (which I adore, though I don't think I should be admitting to, then again, I just did, whatever). I prefer the tarter, slightly sweeter version made with Roses' lime cordial instead of the official IBA [International Bartenders Association] recipe made with lime juice.
The Bellini - The sweetness of the peach puree has to be there or else, and I quote a certain someone, "It tastes like beer!". Never mind that the main alcoholic beverage in question is champagne, tsk tsk, you.
The Singapore Sling - Its nice, really, nothing to do with the fact that I'm supposedly "pro-Singapore". Also kind of quite like the, erm, bastardised version they serve on SIA flights.

With Swee Leen and my Bellini
[Thank you once again, Swee Leen]

Now that I've reflected on the three, gosh, so not, er, manly. Two of the three are pink for goodness sake, and they're all sweet. Whatever, I am not going to conform to the view that guys should like bitter drinks, what, is it because they're all so sweet already? Then again, maybe its because I'm a bitter, bitter person.

Pictures of the Sky Bar and CUPCAKES from Bisou and Cuppacakes!

People at the gathering
Gosh, I look like a pimp in a couple of them...

Hai Liang and Yih Seong came down today to join in debate training and it was really great to see tham again. Very inspiring to see the combination of IMU X [or IMU Ex, haha] still working well despite the sabbatical from debate they've all been taking. And in case you think I'm forgetting you, thank you, Prasad, the fact that you've stayed on and provided guidance and training really means a lot to me and the society.

And now, some cryptic rants, which may or may not be so cryptic, depending on whether you can figure out who I'm referring to :

You need to start thinking of people other than yourself.

I don't know why I keep trying, actually, I do, just that I don't want to admit it out loud.

You need to stop thinking in one dimension.

Stop saying one thing and doing another.

What's the use of me trying if you're not bothered?

You need to learn when not to talk and to just, listen, watch, observe and learn.

Just because I don't, doesn't mean I don't want to.

You need to stop feeling so full of yourself.

Are we even friends?

You need to look at the bigger picture.

I need you to be more committed.

You need to stop acting like a child.

I need you to stop assuming things.

You need to pay more attention to other people.

What's the use of me saying things when you don't bother to do anything about them?

Debate and studies are not mutually exclusive.

You need to reciprocate.

Am I such a pushover that you can do everything for everyone but not for me?

You need to be interested.

Why can't you bother to remember?

You cannot assume I will take care of everything because its not a one man show.

Sometimes, I wish you'd just ask without me indicating anything.

Sometimes, I wish I'd stop playing mind games with myself and other people because the consequence of the mind game is always the same.

Sometimes, I wish I was really selfish, not that I'm saying I'm not, but really, I could be more, not that I'm saying that's good, then again, I'm not saying I'm an angel either.

You don't realise that you have more than most people have at this point in life, stop complaining.

You don't realise when I'm talking to you about you.

I need you to talk to me like you talk to everyone else.

I need you to realise when I'm feeling left out.

I need you to ask.

I need you to not ask.

Sometimes, I need you to realise that when I need help, I don't necessarily want it from any random person.

You know, its not whether I can or can't, its really about the fact that I would at least like to know.

Sometimes, I wish I could tell you everything.

Right, ok, that was kind of cathartic but somehow totally against my principles because I don't think its right to publicly rant. I don't really like to talk about why I feel someway unless I'm comfortable with that person which is probably why I don't have many close friends. And there is a difference between a friend and a close friend which is why I can be very lost looking in social situations. Even now, I'm having second thoughts about publishing this. Maybe its because I don't identify anyone that I'm still OK with the idea of pushing the "Publish Post" button. I might lose my nerve and take this part down in a few days...

Ok, here's the thing, I'm not referring to only one person. There is no set pattern to the rant above, don't go looking for things that are not there. Though, I must admit, there are lines, not necessarily in order, that could refer to one/a person/group of people/attitude of group of people. If you think I'm referring to you, think again, I may very well not be. However, if you do think I am referring to you, I am perfectly amenable to any discussion provided you can identify which line is you and are open to hearing what I have to say.

I will say this though, I'm pissed because I care, if I didn't, well, precisely, if I didn't, I wouldn't care. And, if you really think I'm talking about you, do come and talk to me about it, do not walk in tiptoes around me because of what you assume, its going to piss me off more, that is, if I'm really talking about you. Oh gosh, I keep adding clauses to what I say, but then, that's me, I suppose.

Am I being very selfish and not realising the problem is actually me?

PS. Tabs for AUDC just came out! Three things :

I did slightly better than last year, sigh, wish there was a larger improvement though.
Oh gosh, he thinks I'm just average.
Oh gosh, is she crazy? The first margin is so............

My Islamic Adventure

2008-05-22T17:33:00.011+01:00

Let me tell you what I intend to do in this post today, I hope to blog about 3 things :

1. Everything that happened from the last post till last Thursday.
2. What happened last Thursday till today.
3. The completion of a meme that was requested sometime between the last post and now.

On the the first item :

Was heavily involved in the Academic Council, the yearly meeting where the deans from the Partner Medical Schools come to, er, discuss policies in the running of IMU. Talked to the deans from the Scottish universities and yes, I reallllllly wanna go there. Had the opportunity to attend Dr. Mei Ling Young's house party in Bukit Tunku which was really really nice. Lamb cooked medium rare is NICE......

With James, Siva and a few Pharmacy batch reps.
[no, I'm NOT being discriminatory]

Went back to Pontian [I don't exactly know why I use the word "back" when I wasn't born there] for, ironically enough, my grandmother's birthday celebration and Cheng Beng [All Souls' Day] over a weekend.

Nice scene of the sunrise, though in a graveyard.

Contributing to my grandmother's Taoist tendencies and global warming

Nothing much after that, just practice practice practice for the Asian Universities Debating Championship [this year in the International Islamic University, Gombak] which leads me on nicely to my next item.

Random picture, who knew Sogo had such a nice fountain?

On to the second item :

The Asian Universities Debating Championship [AUDC] was held this year in the International Islamic University Malaysia in Gombak. 8 preliminary rounds was really no joke but all in all, it was great to be a part of the debate culture that Asia has.

IIU Campus [The Garden of Knowledge and Virtue]
Klang Gate behind, I've climbed that!

Stayed in the Radius International on Changkat Bukit Bintang =) with bus rides to IIU everyday, the campus in NICE...

View of Changkat from the window.

Though there were some hitches [WHY ARE SOME PEOPLE NOT ABLE TO LISTEN? HOW CAN YOU CALL YOURSELF AN ADJUDICATOR IF YOU WEREN'T EVEN LISTENING IN THE BRIEFING??? THE OPPOSITION DOES NOT NEED TO ATTEMPT TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM IF THEY CAN POINT OUT THE HARM IN THE GOVERNMENT'S PROPOSAL!!!! ARGH!!! FURTHERMORE, GIVEN THAT I PROVED THAT THE GOVERMENT CASE WASN'T EVEN WORKABLE AND THUS IT COULDN'T EVEN BE RUN IN THE FIRST PLACE, HOW CAN YOU FAULT ME FOR NOT ATTEMPTING TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM BECAUSE PEOPLES' LIVES ARE IN DANGER???!!! PLUS, MORE LIVES WOULD BE LOSS WITH THE RIDICULOUS UNWORKABLE GOVERNMENT POLICY EVEN IF IT WORKED!!!! I HAVE PROVED TO YOU ON ALL, AND I MEAN ALL, COUNTS THAT THE GOVERNMENT FALLS AND YOUR ONLY WAY TO JUSTIFY THE WIN IS THAT THE OPPOSITION WASN'T TRYING TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM] [yes, it sounds very sore loser, but trust me, it isn't], it has made me determined to attend next year's AUDC in the East West University [I have like so many comments on the name]. Preferably in the same team [IMU 1] with Mezhen and Siva.

The mosque; focal point of IIU

Ooooh, really have to talk about the bubble round ["bubble rounds" are basically rounds where, if you lose, your win-loss tally makes it very unlikely for you to break into the octo-finals. They usually occur in the last few preliminary rounds for teams with equal or near equal win-loss records.]. It was round 7 and we were on a 3-3 [3 wins, 3 losses, this was after the all-caps incident above]. The thing about the AUDC system is that it allocates better [by "better" I mean an objective system of numeral feedback given by debaters during the tournament] adjudicators in bubble rooms cause they are supposed to be harder to adjudicate as it assumes that the teams are more evenly matched [ehhhh, this is very interesting in a Numb3rs way...].

In the bubble round, we had a panel of 3 adjudicators, some random Malaysian person [don't want to name him, bah], TJ [from Assumption University, Thailand, he was the Convener of the most recent World University Debating Championship in said university] and... dum dum dum... Leloy Claudio [ 2 time winner of AUDC, Finalist in Australs, Worlds Quarterfinalist, highest ranking speaker from Asia in the abovementioned Worlds and top 5 adjudicator in this year's AUDC. Let's not even start on his achievements in the Phillipines. Yes, all of us in IMU 1 are fans. Lol, super idolisation, but he really is that good. And famous, haha. ]

River running through the campus
We saw a monitor lizard there on the first day.

So anyway, the wait for the results was long and scary. Oooh, but we did make friends with the opposing team, SMU 3, well, 2 out of 3 of them anyway, haha. Then came the moment of truth. Honestly the only reason why I didn't immediately feel like being the monitor lizard's lunch was that Leloy dissented [his panellists had the majority vote] and gave the win to us!!! It was like, I was sad we lost, but happy cause he didn't think we were totally stupid, yay! It was like getting some golden seal of approval or something. Shit, I hope no one from ADMU finds this and shows it to him, its like too fanboy to be true... But seriously, it was like, thanks for believing in us.

(^_^)

Finals were held in the Main Auditorium in IIU with the rather garish backdrop as in the picture below. Poor Daniel had to chair the debate sitting on that chair with no back.

Looks like a wedding

And last but not least, the third item :

Instructions: Remove one question from below, add in one of your own(personal), to make a total of 20. Tag 10 people in your list in the end of this post. Notify them.

[Hmmm, i don't think I'll tag people but I will change the ridiculous last question.]

1. At what age do you wish to be married?
I don't know, er, 30 maybe given the course *blah blah blah and goes on about medicine and all*

2. If you were to be stranded on a deserted island, who are the 3 blog buddies you'd take and why?
You, cause you've gone through NS and I know I won't die.
You, cause you'd prevent me from gong mad.
You, cause sometimes, all I need is someone to talk to.

[Happy guessing...]

3. Where is the place that you want to go the most?
If I really had to choose ONE, er, Rome?

4. If you can have 1 dream come true, what would it be?
Haha, the one where I had enough money to pursue academic dreams?

[urgh, I am such a nerd]

5. Do you believe you can survive without money?
Oh gosh, no.

6. What are you afraid to lose the most?
The knowledge of who I am?

7. If you win $ 1 Million, what would you do?
Most likely spend it, I need to learn how to save.

8. If you meet someone that you love, would you confess to him/her?
Yes. No. I don't know. Maybe. Argh...

9. List out 3 good points of the person who tagged you.
Smarter than he thinks and more popular than he thinks =)

[That's 3 points, seriously, think about it ;)]

10. What requirement you wish from your other half? No ditzes, please...

11. What kind of person you hate the most?

Stupid people. [haha, so elitist, who gets to decide who's stupid and who's not? Me.]

12. If you are given the chance to go back to the past and make a difference, will you?
Yes. No. Yes. Yes.

13. UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. What does it mean to you?
Loving someone EXACTLY the way they are.

14. If you had a pet orang utan, what would you call him? and why? This is a ridiculous question. I'd rather have a pet, er, Tasmanian devil or wombat. [randomly chosen animals, btw, I do not have a fixation with Australasian mammals]

15. If there's ever a war(or things that are similar) happening in your place, are you going to move to a safer place, or fight? Ahahaha, down south? Or will I already be up north?

16. If you have the chance, which part of your character you would like to change?
The fact that I overthink things. Then again, debaters call it analysis. Or, well, ANALysis...

17. Who is the person that you can share all your problems with?
You, as per question 2.

18. What's your weakest point?
Would I tell?

19. What's the thing that you're most proud of?
I really don't know. Anyone care to help me on this?

20. What is a pet peeve of yours?
People who make obvious statements (~_~)

I will end this post with a statement :

It shouldn't be about what you think, it should always be about possibilities.

My Pink Fins

2008-02-29T08:39:00.032Z

Well, have been back from Tioman for a couple of days now, still ~~tanned~~ sunburnt despite the double coating of SPF 50 sunblock on top of a [supposedly] more water resistant SPF 30 "Sports" sunblock and liberal applications of aloe vera at night. Anyway, did the PADI Open Water Diver Course which, "once certified, you will be afforded access to diving services found internationally and qualified to dive independently without a dive professional", as the website for the dive center we used, Eco Divers in Tioman, said with Su, Kim and Xing Loong.

The course normally takes 3 - 4 days but since there were some timing difficulties, we were aiming to complete it in 2 1/2 days. That's 5 knowledge development modules [er, theory tutorials?], 5 confined water training sessions [usually done in a swimming pool ie. "confined" water so there's a lower chance of panicking, I mean, swimming pool versus open ocean...] and 4 Open Water dives [2 shore dives and 2 boat dives] in 2 1/2 days. Oh yeah, and a final theory exam. Did I forget to mention the 200m swim and 10 minute survival float? Yeah, had to do that too...

The last week of February is not the purported best time to be on Tioman cause its the last week of the monsoon season but with scheduling difficulties we decided to just screw it and go then cause when I called in mid January the person who answered the phone very confidently said, "Oh, it'll be fine, in fact, we just dived [dove?] today!". So despite the Malaysian Meteorological forecast of afternoon thunderstorms the whole time we'd be on Tioman, we went all the same.

Arrived in Mersing way too early for the already early 10.30 ferry to Tioman due to the horrifyingly fast driving of the chartered taxi driver, at times, I think the car was lifted slightly of the road, resulting in what is normally a 2 1/2 hour journey completed in 1 1/2 hours. The weather from the ferry window was decidedly NOT looking good.

From the ferry window, ack!

Thankfully, the weather cleared and we camwhored [ack, I actually ~shudder~ camwhored, with sunglasses no less] at the top open air deck of the boat.

Eeee, camwhores...

After a really exhausting ferry ride [no idea why, we spent most of the time dozing in the airconditioned closed bottom cabin], we finally reached Air Batang Village [abbreviated to ABC and no, I have no idea what the C stands for] after a few false alarms at the jetties of Paya, Genting and Tekek villages.

First glimpse of ABC. Eco Divers is the rightmost building.

Made our way to Eco Divers where we met Tom, our diving instructor who went through some admin stuff then went to check into our accomodation, Nazri's place, which was at the end of the village and a very far first time walk. We picked Eco Divers cause they seemed more homey and personal and also cause the other one we would have picked didn't even answer the phone, bah.

Eco Divers dive center.
Note the "hidden" shower under the coconut tree in the bottom right picture.

First impression of Air Batang and Tioman in general while walking to Nazri's? Very "kampung". Maybe it was also due to the fact that it was the off-peak season and there were very few people there [in fact, we were the only Chinese people there the rest being a smattering of Caucasians and the local Malays]. It was like we had the island to ourselves, kind of... (^_^)

The little "titi" ["bridge" seems less descriptive somehow]
we had to cross everytime we went to our room.

Nazri's dining area, right beside the sea, very cool, literally and figuratively =)

Had lunch then went back to Eco Divers for our first knowledge module, where we were given this :

which we were supposed to cover in 2 days [groan...]. Looking scarily like the A-level Longman Physics textbook *retch* we open to the first chapter and watched the video which covered this :

which was more horrifying considering that's what we learnt for Physics of Fluids, ack... After the "revision" course on buoyancy, Tom suddenly announces, "Ok, I'll be showing you guys how to set up your gear then its into the water we go!" So, after showing us how to set up weights, the tank, BCD [Buoyancy Control Device], regulator, mask and the buddy system, we were lead into the water via the beach [yes folks, no swimming pool for the confined water sessions]. In a way, suppose it was better, straight into the ocean and all that. In we went to perform basic scuba gear control [including a very disturbing move to remove the mask and then use some law of physics to rid ot of water when you put it back on again] and then suddenly we're swimming/diving[not very well, of course, cause it was the first time] over coral reefs and seeing sea urchins[ they look very scary and evil!] and fish and suddenly... WE SEE A TURTLE!!! Ok, I really shouldn't have been that excited given the multitude seen during the previous trip to Redang but seeing it swim in the sea was so much better than by torch in the dead of the night.

Got out of the water and dried off then went to wash up and had a couple of cocktails in the Lime Tree Bar next to Nazri's where they have really cute little huts lined with pillows facing the beach to watch the sunset in. Oh yeah, Tioman's a duty-free island so alcohol is cheap =) Most expensive cocktail, a seriously alcoholic Tioman Long Island Ice Tea [yeah yeah, no alcohol before diving and all but whatever], RM15 and that's before the Happy Hour price where cocktails are reduced by RM2 and beer's at RM10 for 3 cans. Also had a delectable slice of carrot cake with coconut and brown sugar icing for RM2.

Sunset at the hut. Hee hee, very postcard...

Decided to walk to Tekek Village where the airport and duty free shops are to buy, er, duty free stuff. On the map, Tekek's shown as slightly south of Air Batang and when we asked, people said it wasn't THAT far so we walked. What we didn't realise was that a 3km walk after an afternoon of diving really turns the distance into what Kim later proclaimed "the Walk of Doom" well punctuated by appropriate ominous music.

Jungle trail leading to the "Walk of Doom"

Reached Tekek after some time and bought alcohol to drink and to bring back [let's just say I have ALL the ingredients I need to make Cosmopolitans now =)] and had a not-worth-it dinner at a place called D'Liza's, bah. Then began the looooooong trudge back laden with bottles of alcohol. That's 6km in total, probably slightly more...

Thankfully, the next morning was bright and sunny :

Had a whole day of theory and shore diving [both, er, "confined" and open water] which included the stupid mask removal [again and again!!!], some fin pivot thingy and attempting to stay motioneless in mid water while cross legged [forgot what its called, we just called it the "yoga pose" , not easy ok...] and 3 mini quizzes based on the first 3 chapters in the book, crap, had to redo the 3rd quiz cause got 3 wrong and the maximum is 2... During the dive, we saw... another TURTLE!!!! So cute~~~ [as in literally "adorable but ugly]. Then in was time for the waterskills assessment, lol, the 200m swim was right of the jetty in 6m deep water to a buoy in open water, I never realised that swimming in the open ocean would be so liberating but quite scary considering I could see schools of fish swimming below... I dived into the water and lost my contacts, bah... The dive was very very very cool, though, I like!

Found out we had to complete the "Knowledge Review" sections in the book so we slogged through them before cracking open the bottle of Kwai-Feh lychee liqueur and playing 4 Kings that night. Haha, screw the no alcohol advice (^_^)

Dinner that night at Nazri's.
Pictured is barbequed Kingfish which was goooood~~~
Also had BBQed Blue Marlin [my favourite!] and Mackarel, all,
to steal a quote from Anthony Bourdain "screamingly fresh"
Bout RM13 per portion, not bad I suppose...

The weather when we got up the next morning was, frankly, horrifying :

*shudder*

It started raining and all on the way to the dive center after breakfast, so depressing and the wind started blowing and all... Then we got to the dive center and... Wait, before that, on a more light hearted note :

Su and the household cat which kept appearing before meals...

Anyway, we get to the dive center and Tom's like, "No problem, underwater should be fine, in fact, YOU'LL PROBABLY BE GLAD TO GET INTO THE WATER" in a very nonchalant voice. Not surprisingly, he was right, the ocean was slightly rougher but it was fine and actually warmer than being in the wind... That was, of course, after watching the last 2 chapters of the video disc where they talked about stuff including nitrogen narcosis and decompression illness, haha, very like a med lecture... Then it was to the jetty to wait for the boat to take us for the boat dives [we get to dive deeper!!!]...

Part of our equipment at the jetty.
The pink fins are most unfortunately[fortunately?] mine.
They were supposed to be "magic fins" though,
according to staff at Eco Divers, er...

Tanks, regulators and BCDs

Camwhoring yet again

With Tom and Liz [second from left] from Belgium,
a Dive Master in training assisting Tom

Made the first dive at the Marine Park where there were sunken wrecks of illegal fishing boats, so cool~~~ Very suddenly had to descend onto the sand floor [18m deep, whee~~~] and do skills like the fin pivot [again] and the "yoga thing" and the mask off [argh!!!]... Wasn't actually feeling so good when I got up onto the boat since the sea was pitching a bit due to the morning rain. I cannot believe I got seasick, even after that terrific storm in Redang. I actually vomited over the side of the boat, sigh, but immediately after that, was fine for the next dive over Pirate Reef. Lol, that one was really like the ones you see on TV, with all the coral forests and all, saw an electric blue ray and.... dum dum dum... ANOTHER TURTLE!!! Sweat, overly excited to see turtles as if never had enough of them in Redang...

Eh, 3 turtles in 4 open water dives is very lucky ok, Tom said...

Had the final theory exam with Su that afternoon, Kim and Xing Loong, the lazy bums, went back to sleep as they could take it the next day since they were leaving later. Got FULL MARKS for the exam, lol, yeah yeah, kembang, haha... Yay, am a PADI-certified Open Water Diver =)

At the beach hut thing that night.
Picture taken with camera on Su's feet!

Dinner at Nazri's 2 [at north end of ABC]
Top left : Grilled Dory RM15
Top Right : Seafood Fried Rice RM 10
Bottom Left : Mixed BBQ RM25 [the best!!! and big!!!]
Bottom Right : Squid and Chips RM12
Problem : Food to loooooooong to come

Left on the early morning ferry the next day with Su. Walked around Mersing and bought DIVE T-shirts from the R&R as souvenirs [other souvenirs for myself included duty-free alcohol =)] and went for lunch.

Interestingly named 3 Colours Tea [bad grammar, I know...]
Tea with pandan syrup and milk, quite nice, in Sweet Story, Mersing

Bus ride was looooong and went through little roads, urgh... But still, lol, can't wait to do the Advanced Open Water course, if I have the chance (^_^) Would I recommend Eco Divers? Yes, definitely!

My Solar Hands

2008-02-20T16:47:00.002Z

Right, been a while since I blogged, have my own Izzi connection now, works great in Vista, but not so great in Subang, still, better than nothing. Nothing beats a wired broadband connection though...

Hmmm, so anyway, what has happened?

Took a trip down to Singapore just before Chinese New Year for the NTU Model United Nations. Went a day early to catch :

Eusoff Hall Dance Production : Love is in the Heir

Quite good, haha, very Disney, the song "Hero for a Day" could easily be the next Disney hit song =)

Quotable quotes from Kim (main character, eventually-Prince Adrian) : (breaking the fourth wall) Er, hi, I'm don't usually talk to people, I usually talk to statues.

Hmmm, ok, it doesn't seem so funny now, but it was when I was watching it... No offence Kim, I wasn't laughing cause it was bad, it wasn't, just me imagining you saying it in real life (^_^)

Then there was the was aww-inspiring (haha, stupid pun) : When you love someone, you'll do anything for that person.

Then was the MUN :

Hmm, all I can say is, now I know how er, bureaucratic the UN is.

Also attempted to study in Kim's Faculty [in a very, er, impressively titled "studio"] :

Hmmm, so this is how the more creative arts work...

Went to Mayim!

Chinese New Year? Hmmm, was a weird combination of food and sneaking away to study... Bah...

Anyway, been on an elective since Monday, er, its cooking... Yes, yes, why am I doing cooking, lol, at the time of selection I was too busy and just signed up? Ok, there is another reason but whatever... Its still pretty interesting, not that I have learnt anything new [haha, ok, very kembang] but the opportunity to cook using proper tools is interesting...

Oh... Wait...

Haha, apparently, I do have warmer hands than other people =) Which makes it easier for me to knead dough but is totally crap for making pastry where cold butter is needed [haha, get the stupid pun?]. Whee~~~ I have Solar Hands! Haha, now must try make some of the stuff seen in Yakitate!

Made thin crust pizza, chicken stew and seared pears in butterscotch sauce on Monday. Lol, I have to admit that when the chef pulled out pods of vanilla and asked everyone what they thought it was, I couldn't help rolling my eyes and saying "Vanilla..." in a very flat voice thinking that it wasn't long ago that I brought a pod to school =)

Tuesday was roast chicken and stuff while today was American... Would put photos up but there something wrong and its been 3 days into typing this post...

Results came out today, didn't do as well as I wanted to =(

In a very melancholic moment of honesty, I wish my Facebook horoscope was true...

Bah!

2008-01-16T03:10:00.000Z

Having a reduced-to-bare-bones internet connection sucks.

The auto-login modem/router thing for Streamyx can't access Streamyx and 2 out of 3 laptops in the house can't access it using the manual dialer.

The only laptop which can is the crappiest one [I mean, come on, a Celeron processor?] which lagsssssssssssssssssssssssssss...

Streamyx is no help even though the error is apparently with the "remote computer" which is, like, their computer.

Urgh...

=(

My (New) Country

2007-12-09T13:35:00.000Z

Hmmm, right, this was what greeted me as I opened my mail this evening. I will, apparently, be South Africa. Hmmm, don't exactly know what to think about that... Let's see, what do I associate the country with? Apartheid, Nelson Mandela and citrus fruits... Gosh...

Had a meet up with Su and Andrew [Haha, "AND ANDrew", lame, whatever...] who are back... Quite the fun, except, of course, I was supposed to be studying...

Lol, will get one with better lighting next time =)

Finally, because I really must study [exam on Thursday! Ack!], I leave you with the following. Though they may be a bit skewed to the American context, they're still quite relevant.

Which one are you?

Copyright : Michelle Au [Whoever she is...]

PS. Which one am I?

PPS. Maybe I can come up with my own 12...

My (lack of/pseudo/non-existent) Holidays

2007-12-02T10:41:00.000Z

Gack, the Haematology [supposedly one of the easier systems] and Gastrointestinal [supposedly one of the harder systems, because of its length more than anything maybe?] Summative coming up in 12 days. Am I ready? Haha, *laughs politely* joke...

Well, after that, its a free ride all the way to Chinese New Year with a 3 day KKB trip and 2 day workshop/lab thingy. What's the catch? The End of System (EOS) exam is after Chinese New Year. Like the Monday after...

Well, actually, its not like they didn't use to do this back in Singapore. "Oh, enjoy your 1 month holiday, but don't forget to study for the Common Test that starts on the first day of school..." Well, then again, its called a Study Break...

But still, Christmas and New Year AND Chinese New Year gone...? Bah...

Anyway, highlights of the week :

Shao Wen's 20th birthday party. Got there a little late due to, er, stuff... Well, at least we now know she's influential enough to drag quite a few of the batch away from a night of studying...

Had the rectal exam for CSU. Actually, already did it for the recent Charity Run so nothing really new. Unfortunately [or fortunately, depending on how you see it], we do the rectal exam on a plastic model rather than a real human. Quite unlike the Fake Doctor [go read, haha]. Still, the instructional video on hernias, was, er, very eye opening. Treated to an array of, er, geriatric appendages on video... O.o

Went back to the Seremban house for the last time to pack up stuff. Discovered that my mom has this plant that apparently treats hypertension. I'm like, "Hmmm, what about like, atenolol and all?" Hmmm, it might be interesting to do some form of research in the future...

The plant, don't know the name though...

Wish me luck!

When's everyone coming back?

My Addiction

2007-11-18T13:11:00.000Z

Hmmm, interesting, Wikipedia's featured article today is :

Lung cancer

A sign to ~~start~~ study~~ing~~ more? Probably...

Anyway, went back to the old house today to pack some stuff and reclaim what I left there... Amongst other things, these were found... Er, not that I'm bragging or anything, I mean, come on, this was back in like Standard 1... I'm sure most people got similar grades...

Haha!

Never saw so many perfect scores in my life, even, haha, Moral Studies *rolls eyes* Ah, those were the days, now, even getting a freaking B is like *dies*

Even more suprising,

A 91% for CHINESE???

A Ninety TWO???

I'm like, "What? How's that possible?", you mean back then I could actually, you know, read in Chinese??? I'm not sure I can understand the paper if I went through it now, haha, bye bye 90+%... Oh my goodness, my Chinese writing sucked then, not that its any good now... By the way, this was like some sideline Chinese class back then, never had it fully formal, didn't remember anything from it...

Hmph, enough of that, just unearthed a few more pictures of my trip to Singapore...

So cool la!

Which leads to the rant. Why does NUS have a very very very nice cafe [CAFE, without "TERIA" behind it, not that it doesn't have those, at least 3 in fact, only they're called canteens] with like nice air-conditioning [Ok, fine, IMU has great, sometimes TOO great, air-conditioning] and [from a student's point of view] above average food and desserts and a great view [well, of trees, but still... What do we get, condo blocks? A highway] and OK prices? On top of, like, Subway [am so craving a Cold Cut Trio on Parmesan Oregano with extra pickles and olives right now], New Zealand Natural [that berry frozen yoghurt thing], McDs [all the extra sauces which they give free! Tartar and Mayo!], Burger King [Enh....] etc. All we have is... You know, gah...

Anyway, also found all these today...

(O.0)

Those boxes are huge [they could fit 2 computer monitors each, with room for the styrafoam, and I mean the old style fatass monitors not those modern flatscreen ones...], by the way, gosh, almost died carrying them, who knew books could be so heavy? And they're not all, just a part of what I've accumulated through out the years... More back in the old house, gosh... Well, at least I can go through these tonight and take some [haha, as much as I want to, to take back all is not possible...] to Vista. Haha, books, they're the real drug of choice, they're intoxicating, makes you imagine things and takes you out of this world, as I was telling someone today...

Blech, no one had better think that last few sentences are some lame philosophy-wannabe thingy cause they're not.

I'm so addicted...

(^_^)

PS. Actually, I currently have one other addiction...
PPS. Yes, that was meant to be cryptic...
PPPS. I have got to get more EMBOSSED wrapping plastic...

My Random Musings

2007-11-11T07:39:00.000Z

Wow, its been slightly more than a month...

Right, ok, hmm, things that have happened...

We're going into the second week of the Gastrointestinal System, which, honestly, I don't find interesting at all. The previous one, Haematology, has proven to be the most intersting one so far... Oh yeah, also had mock OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination), which I most likely failed [I quote: "In my 16 years of teaching here, I have never yet met a student who has palpated the patient's chest while he was sitting up!"], really have to practice, sigh... Also have to STUDY for the combined Haematology and Gastrointestinal Systems combined Assessment in a month's time... Work work work...

Also competed in the 6th NHSD [National Health Sciences Debate] here, got to the semis with Mezhen =) 2 IMU teams made it to the finals and one of them won! Congratulations Yih Seong and Mian Li \(^0^)/ Most "interesting" motion?

THBT athletes suffering from Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome should be excluded from the Gender Testing regulations

I suppose...

Had a Staff-Student debate the Wednesday before the NHSD, this time it was Boys [Prasad, Dr. Thani, Head of Pathology and my TUTOR and I] vs Girls [Deborah, Mei Ann and Dr. Vishna, advisor for the Debate Society]. Hmmm, Mei Ann is the President of the newly formed I.S.O.W. [In Support of Women] of which Dr. Vishna is also the advisor of and the motion was that "This House Believes that Women make better Deans". Apparently the adjudicators thought that the girls won, *sweats*, I'm not going to start on gender equality and feminism. Hmmm, anyway, its not just me who thinks that ISOW is not a very good [quite unfortunate in fact] acronym for a society aimed at promoting women's rights...

Also went for a visit to the National Blood Centre [Pusat Darah Negara]. I really don't know why they can't call it the National Blood BANK like in, oh I don't know, just about every other country. But I suppose Bank Darah Negara sounds weird. Anyway, its pretty well equipped, maybe not as well as certain countries down south but well enough...

Popped down to Singapore during the Hari Raya holidays, really really happy that I got to see all of you that I saw, really missed you guys...

Yee Kiat's room where I bunked for a while

Thanks so much for putting me up, YK =) Hope no uni authorities surf here and take action, haha...

Cajun Chicken

Got taken to this place in Clementi called Botak Jones [???] serving Western cuisine in a kopitiam environment, think Tex-Mex William's in a Singaporean environment [ie. the impossibility of finding some decrepit roadside building without a tiolet, haha]. They serve stuff like the Cajun Chicken [very nice, the seasoned fries were really good too and cheap!] above and Chilli Con Carne, whee... Must go back, somehow =)

Mmmmmm...

Also went to IKEA had had the Herring plate, I like! Herring marinated in 3 ways, as far as I can tell, one's with mustard and dill, another's onion and some sugar syrup thing [maybe the onions were pickled in sugar syrup?] and the third, not too sure, drier, perhaps smoked? Urgh, why can't IKEA Malaysia get the herring plate? Gravad lax is not enough...

Through the front of the bus

Brought Joon Heng [he came down with some other uni people, stayed in Little India of all places...] to NTU to meet his friends, gosh, it really is FAR, haha... Got to see and had a really nice long chat with Wei Jian! =)

Hmmm, outside the library, interesting....

Helped Elaine with an assignment [haha, more like hindered the completion of]. I think it was supposed to come up with concepts for tunnels?

Architecture isn't easy ok...

Discovered a lot of stuff on sale in though it wasn't the GSS [Great Singapore Sale] period. Got a Deuter bag for half price! Haha *sarcastic voice* now all I need to complete the Singapore ensemble is a Sigg bottle *sweats*... Went to the Espirit factory outlet store, haha, I wasn't the one who bought the most stuff there =)

Well, that's Singapore for me [currently, that is], Friends, Food and Shopping, lol, sounds like a Uniquely Singapore ad...

Celebrated Mervin's, Michelle's and Joon Heng's birthdays [in that order, chronologically] amongst others. Am lacking photos from these events cause I didn't have my camera and was too busy organising stuff to get asked to take pictures and didn't get photos from people who had cameras, anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the celebrations. Also attended Chun Loo and Ming Hui's celebrations (^_^) Hmmm, have had quite a lot of alcohol this month =) My store has been reduced, SLIGHTLY...

Hmmm, best photo I could come up with...
Had to digitally brighten it though, lol, not even one of that taken at the actual celebration...
During lunch with Joon Heng, Redhuan, Adrian, Pei Shern and Yilin

Anyone wanna give me photos of me at your birthday celebrations I attended/planned?

Right, so, things to do, study, study and study...

Wish me luck for the upcoming exam!

Random musings :

1. I didn't do what I was supposed to do, to put my Haematology notes in order, despite the 4 day weekend.

2. I can search for torrents in Chinese now.

3. I apparently have a multi-modal learning capability.

4. My Internet connection at home's not very stable today so uploading pictures is hell. The last image took sooooo many tries before it uploaded...

5. I have a sudden reinterest in Avatar: The Last Airbender. So cool!

6. The government's shifting stance on the BERSIH rally is so transparent its not funny. The cover ups, the changing statements regarding motive, its like they were caught unaware though it was obvious what was going to happen. What does this say about them? Also, what's wrong with the reason for the rally? I'd type more but its better to discuss...? Besides, someone's already typed a post that mirrors my sentiments exactly =)

My MBTI

2007-10-09T18:30:00.000+01:00

Hmmm, apparently, I am an INFP, which is kind of weird, ok, extremely weird... What's an INFP? Its stands for [as can be seen above] Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Perceiving, which according to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a Dreamer and Visionary while the Keirsey Characteristics indicate a Healer personality which, actually, seems quite appropriate considering what I'm studying currently.

Yeah, I remember we did the test once in NJ, forgot my results that time though...

But people don't peg me as an INFP. I didn't quite believe it myself the first time, but I took the test THREE times and they all gave the same result =S

Wikipedia article on INFPs, quite interesting

MyersBriggs.org caption

So, what's your personality type? Click my thingy above and find out yours!

Hmmm, quite a few emo posts lately, will try to post something more "normal" soon... But, sigh...

Cathartic? No....

2007-09-26T14:58:00.000+01:00

Is it too much to expect anyone to notice and just ask?

Well, I didn't think so, but apparently, it is...

And it actually affects it more...

Now that I've said it, does it count anymore if anyone does?

To have it exacerbated by this seems superficial and shallow...

Looking at myself objectively sucks...

My Ledge

2007-09-12T15:44:00.000+01:00

On the brink...

... of adulthood?

Blah, I don't feel any different and I doubt a difference in how I am viewed officially will actually make it so. Which reminds me of a comment my Civics tutor back in JC once made, "You? You seems pretty jaded with life." Jaded? Hmmm, I don't know. I like to think that the little kid inside of me is still alive and exploding with laughter, haha.

The last few years have really been full of different experiences. Different people, different places, different emotions. Its been a lot of fun, in retrospect, and I hope things will continue like that...

... of despair?

Have been feeling completely emotional this past few days, a whole rollercoaster ride of ups and downs. Haven't noticed? *grins* The reason? Nope, not saying... Its common enough, I think, though with an uncommon clause attached to it... Cryptic? Ah well... I've come to realise that what I really want isn't a lot, but its those things that make everything worth it... Hope I get out of the roller coaster soon... Argh... I just wish...

Current Playlist :

1. Tonight I Wanna Cry - Keith Urban
2. You Give Me Something - James Morrison
3. Hey There Delilah - Plain White T's
4. What Hurts The Most - Rascal Flatts
5. Home - Chris Daughtry
6. Hurt - Christina Aguilera
7. Collide - Howie Day

PS. Yeah, I know, the playlist is just.......

PPS. Whoops, looks at the time [00:51] looks like I'm no longer on the brink of one of the above anymore...

My Goth Photos

2007-09-01T18:25:00.000+01:00

What happens after Korea? Haha, back to IMU for rotations, basically 3-4 day workshop-like classes in different fields; Pathology, Behavioural Sciences, Community Medicine etc. We had to deal with the angry patient this semester in Behavioural Sciences. Hmph, I don't really agree with some of the things they tell us to do to deal with this kind of patient though... "These are a few of the excuses you can use to deal with the angry patient......." What?! EXCUSES? I really don't think that should be the way. Then, when my turn to deal with the Simulated Patient was done with and the feedback started... "Oh, you shouldn't be using the perky salesperson voice" O.o And when I asked how I could improve :

Lecturer : Oh well, for starters, you should stop acting so, so, hmmm, what word can I use that isn't so bad....

Me : Its OK, just give it to me.

Lecturer : Haughty, yes, that's it, you should stop being so haughty...

*I instantly switch my pose [that's non-verbal communication *rolls eyes*] subtly to an even haughtier one*

Lecturer : See, you're being haughty now...

Me : *rolls eyes* Really?

Please, who gives you the right to call someone haughty when you're being haughty yourself? Just because you're the teacher??? Well, if you think that, then you're an utter failure as a teacher, especially if you're a Psychology graduate and a Behavioural Sciences lecturer because
you're supposed to know the best way to teach since you're supposed to have learnt how to understand human psyche. Oops, looks like that overseas education wasn't really worth it since you seem to be very bad at what you're supposed to have learnt how to do. Then again, since your speciality is in addiction, perhaps you're so used to working with addicts that you can't function around normal people... Hmmm...

Anyway, the "highlight" of Semester 2 rotations is the 3 day trip to Kuala Kubu Baru Hospital. Having just ended the Cardiovascular system [by "just" I mean 2 months ago, haha], we were supposed to take special interest in any CVS cases and perform CVS examinations on people, which was kind of weird if you got a 15 year old patient admitted for a high fever and rashes [yup, KKB's a hotspot for dengue...]. Still, we did all the "things an IMU student's supposed to do in KKB" like eat at 98 [Chinese zi char restaurant], get really cheap ice cream and drive to the waterfall.

At the waterfall with Chun Loo and Alex

At a bridge on the way to the waterfall

We were lucky enough to catch the night market which only happens on the 9th and 29th of every month, whee~~~ The "highlight" however, was that we got to watch a delivery! And I'm talking a full natural delivery, no epidural, mother screaming her head off and all that. *Warning : skip to next paragraph if you're squeamish* We waited outside the room and were just about to leave for bedside teaching in the wards soon when the nurse suddenly called us in, so about 10 of us rushed in, er, hopefully quietly, to watch. The mother seemed to be losing strength but the nurses kept encouraging her. Then, a nurse took this scissors-like thingy and placed in at the vaginal opening and CUT it THREE times to widen the vagina [its actually done to prevent massive tearing apparently]. Everyone flinched at that point, I think. Then the baby popped out, thankfully. The baby's limbs looked kind of blue, but the nurse said it was normal, anyway, the kid was soon warmed up. Haha, a few of the girls who watched the delivery don't actaully want to give birth now =P

Orientation [theme: Death Certificate] for the incoming M207 began last week with all the usual events like Signature Hunt, Icebreakers, Variety Night, Tresure Hunt etc but without the IMCC and Rape Squad [for those who don't know what I'm referring to, go read this], sigh... We were supposed to be having a "cleaner" and "less rag-gy" orientation [ie where's the fun in that] but I suppose it went quite well though there seems to be less respect for the seniors and a more "buddy buddy" thing, which, in my opinion may NOT be a very good thing...

The IMCC was replaced with the IM_ _ where they choose a letter and what the letter means [IMGG, we had IM Geeky Guitarist and IM Gay Guy, both very good performances, and IMPP, er, Party Popper, whatever that means...]. Lol, despite the death of the IMCC, it didn't stop me [MC-ing with the lovely Praveena] from asking very, er, innocent questions... =P

Question to IMGG [IM Geeky Guitarist] : Which part of the guitar is your favourite part?

Answer : G-string O.o

Question to IMPP [IM Party Popper] : What exactly do you pop at parties? *Lol, so obvious*

Answer : Cherries!

Question to IMMM [IM Musical Mummy] : What's the best part about being dead?

Answer : The fact that I'm laid all the time and I'm always on my back *OMG*

The winning IM this time round was IMBB [IM Borat's Brother] who apparently gave a very convincing performance. Oh well, at least the IM is not totally lost...

With Praveena after Variety Night

Icebreakers was well done this year, though without eggs, flour and butter. Kudos to Sanjeet though, for providing blue slime ;) Treasure Hunt, renamed Pirates of the Commonwealth was excellently planned with a fresh new concept [Yay, Redhuan and Abiramy]. Pity it rained halfway though... Telematch was interesting with the addition of Captain's Ball played with vegetables [papaya, brinjal, cabbage......] planned by Ru Fah and Sharon.

With the Chief SM [Joon Heng] and Chief OO [Ghie Waie]

Seniors with eggs and flour all ready to rag, er, I mean orientate (^_^")

Part of the First Aid team [with our customised shirts =)]

BBQ Night was changed to a party concept this time round with "Welcome to the Black Parade" as the theme and a gothic dress requirement to boot! (^_^) Lol, for the first and possibly the last, I had black nail polish on!

Ex-F Block dwellers, remember him? One batch our junior, HC student who lived on the ground floor, Jeffrey? He's in the new batch!

Goth photos with various people

More goth photos!

Hmmm, what else? Ooooh, GREAT video by Michelle and William and T-shirt design by Publicity [Alex, Chui Yen and Geng Yi]. Signature Hunt was done by Ho Wai with a very corny [self-proclaimed] poem printed at the end of the list =)

Kudos to the rest of the Committee for an Orientation well done! =)

Gack, class begins next Monday =(

My Korean Trip

2007-08-29T18:46:00.000+01:00

Whee~~~ Korea was fun!!! Haha, a week there would probably have been enough to see the main sights of Seoul but then again there was the conference to attend. Still, we got an extra day to see the sights...

A week in Korea for the 28th Asian Medical Students' Conference :

The Conference

The academic part of the conference was, er, well done by the Organising Committee. We were in the venerated Seoul National University [the Tokyo University, the Harvard + MIT + Princeton + Yale and the Oxbridge of Korea, haha, yes, I resisted making a reference to Singapore/Malaysia, damn, I just did...] quite a lot, listening to lectures, both on the main campus, which is on a hill, and the medical faculty, in Seoul city centre. Had lectures on the epidemiology of cancer, why stomach cancer is the most prevalent one in Korea and stuff like that by very esteemed professors.

SNU

My group also visited the National Cancer Center where we had 2 lectures on Childhood cancer and their new proton therapy beam treatment, which, though interesting, was very very VERY like a Physics lecture. Had a tour of the extremely modern hospital and the proton beam thingy, which was very cool.

National Cancer Center

We also did community service by, er, handing out pamphlets to citizens just outside the City Hall subway station. Considering we only had about 150 pamphlets to hand out between the 24 of us, we were done pretty quickly and went on to do some sightseeing. (^_^)

Community Service

The Resort

The first 5 days of the conference was held in Seoul, then they carted us off to the Hyundai Sungwoo Resort [about 120km from Seoul] for the final 2 days. The resort's a famous skiing resort, that is, in winter. Its supposed to be a "4 season resort" though, but I must say, the summer activities are kind of boring and expensive. The organising committee booked the youth hostel for us, which was basically a room housing about 10 people [or half a group, all the guys or all the girls] with futons to sleep on.

Futons

We did go rafting though, that was cool, not that it had any scary rapids or anything. That was certainly mush better than wasting a day wandering around the resort not doing anything.

Rafting with (L-R) Tsan, Joy, Michelle and Kent

The Drinking Culture

Student life in Korea has a pretty strong drinking culture associated to it probably cause alcohol's pretty cheap in Korea. A 350ml bottle of soju [the quintessential liquor of Korea] costs about 1300 won [about RM4.88], a 2 litre jug of local draft beer is 5000 won [RM 18.75] and a 2 litre jug of what they call a "soju cocktail" is about 4000 won [RM 15.00] in a regular "hof". What is a soju cocktail? Haha, basically, its a 2 liter jug of soft drink/ fruit juice with a bit of soju added, very little alcohol in it, one could drink many many MANY shots of that before feeling tipsy unless...

Beer

The welcoming dinner of the conference involved us going to a hof bar and having dinner there with seemingly unlimited jugs of "soju cocktail". It eventually got a little loud with everyone playing drinking games. Definitely a great way to break the ice and bond with the group.

The drinking culture is pretty scary, haha, I imbibed way way waaaay too much alcohol last week, we went out to a hof twice while we were in Seoul [this is on top of the welcoming dinner night]. First night wasn't so bad, just 4 jugs of beer shared amongst about 10 of us. The second night was scarier, it first started with an innocent enough jug of soju cocktail then another one. However, when about one-fifth of the jug was finished, my GM [group moderater, kinda like OO/OGL] emptied a whole bottle of soju inside and that's when the, er, "fun" started...

Mixing

The thing is, with student drinking in Korea, there is a very scary "one shot" culture, drinks are poured in shot glasses and drinking games are played, when one loses, the entire table does a little song with movement [which sounds like the ending of a Looney Tunes cartoon incidentally] ending with the shout, "One shot!!!", which, of course, means you're supposed to drink the entire shot. And they "one shot" EVERYTHING, not just for losing games... One could try to get away with a "pan shot" [half-shot] but what's the fun in that...

Shots! Left is yoghurt soju cocktail and right is soju straight up =)

Drinking games are kinda simple, haha, and loud... One, called "AH-Shook!!!" [Ah Shock!] involves pretending to have a "shock" of electricity in you. You and the people to your left and right must then look up into the sky and waves your hands crazily towards it while screaming [yes, screaming], "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh......... Shook!" At "Shook!" you "transfer" the "charge" by pointing at another person and on it goes until someone messes up. A very funny thing to do would be to "throw" the "shock" into the sky causing everyone at the table to become "shocked". Another game is a "love game". One person passes on love to the next by turning to them and saying "Ssarang haeyo" [I love you] and it travels in one direction. However, it is possible to "rebuff" [change the direction] by staring at the person who just offered "love" to you and scathingly saying, "Pyongshin" [apparently, a kind of harsh swear word, means something like "retard!"] and it goes on... Another is the 3-6-9 game which is described here. And flicking the rolled up wrapper of the bottle cap here.

Oooooh, haha, when a guy and a girl loses at the same time, the chant, "Lo bu shan! Lo bu shan!" [I think its pronounced like that, never really found out what it meant though...] starts and the have to drink their shots with arms interlinked like couples getting married. Haha, childish? You decide...

Of course, on the second night, we progressed from shots of soju cocktail to shots of soju [lol, for those who wanted]. Soju goes down pretty smooth, I must say...

The kicker was the final night at the Hyundai Sungwoo Resort. Our GMs and us transported 6 plastic pitchers of beer [at 1.6 litres a pitcher that's 9.6 liters] and a whole bottle of whiskey there which was stored in the fridge in our room. The night began with plastic cups of beer and a sort of reflections thingy with everybody saying something and a Cheers=One Shot thing at the end of every speech. It then progressed on to drinking games with the penalty of a whiskey/Coke mix. And when the rest of the group decided no more, it was just Taka, the Japanese guy, all the Korean GMs and me who progressed to "one-shot!"s of whiskey, straight, with a couple of the Organising Committee who walked into the room [for Pei Shern, read : Nick]... And no, I did NOT get flat out, blind drunk.... And I woke up 2 hours later to catch the bus back to Seoul... Haha =)

Stuff we carted to the resort

The, er, drunken night

Whoops, I hope the no uni authorities see this...

The Food

I have never eaten so much cabbage in any one week in my entire life. Kimchi kimchi and more kimchi appeared in every meal. One does get used to it I guess, especially the common cabbage one but some of them are really weird, like this one cold brocolli kimchi that was just BAAAAD...

Some of the lunches were bento boxes of Japanese food, haha, with seafood tempura and pork katsu as the meat dishes though the Korean twist was that there were always at least 2 types of kimchi accompanying the meal.

Very Japanese

We did have Korean food though, a cafeteria lunch in Seoul National University where I had kimchi chigae [kimchi soup with pork] which was way better than the one you get in Sungei Wang, haha. Quite a number of people, both Koreans and non-Koreans were like, "Oh my, you can eat spicy food!" *rolls eyes* We also had Ttakkalbi [literally "chicken spare ribs"] during one of our nights out, I suppose its Korean BBQ? That was really spicy though...

SNU Cafeteria Kimchi Chigae

Ttakalbi

Oh gosh, what was really good was patbingsu, its supposed to be this summer dessert in Korea. I would suppose that it would be the Korean version of ice kacang. Shaved ice and fruits are topped with, get this, frozen yoghurt, and mixed up by the eater before being eaten. The thing about it is that the yoghurt provides a sour tang that is really refreshing and makes it just sweet enough without being sickly.

Patbingsu

Breakfast was usually wheat tea [yeah, it takes some time to get used to the taste] and kimbap [er, maki sushi Korean style]. I must commend the organising committee on this, by saving money on breakfast and lunch [with bento boxes and such], they gave the money to the GMs to bring us out for dinner and stuff during the two days of the city tour. Thus we didn't have to pay anything for food or the bar tabs [though we did suspect that the GMs did top up a bit of their own cash, we never really got them to say how much or allow us to cover some of the costs *guilty*]...

Breakfast

Ooooh yeah, we went to eat Chinese food! Haha, yeah sounds stupid, I know. Apparently, the GMs wanted to bring us to eat a Korean-Chinese fusion dish called Jjajangmyeon. What is it? Haha, Zha Jiang Mian [literally "fried sauce noodles". We went to this place near Ehwa Womens' University which is supposedly quite famous, not for the noodles, but for tangsuyuk, or sweet and sour pork. Haha, it was actually the best sweet and sour pork I have ever eaten.

Sweet and Sour Pork

Jjangmyeon

The Sights

Our GMs brought us around Seoul during the city tours, haha, a student's view of the city I suppose. We went to Insadong [traditional area of Seoul where cultural items can be bought], Cheonggyecheon [Cheonggye Stream where lovers like to meet], Dongdaemun [the Great Eastern Gate of ancient Seoul] which is like a 24 hour outdoor Sungei Wang [they even sell the same type of clothes], City Hall [where we took kooky photos at the lawn] and N Tower [Seoul version of KL Tower].

Cheonggyecheon

Weird photo outside City Hall

N Tower

There was also a Palace tour!

I miss my group!!!

PS. Whoops, its been a long time since I updated... Sorry, very busy with stuff lately...

My Baby Turtles

2007-07-20T17:10:00.000+01:00

Argh, its so frustrating to live without my own laptop. Using someone else's is so... weird... somehow... Basically a single integrated circuit in the middle of the mainboard shorted and burnt. The manufacturers just claimed it was "Human Error caused by auto-oxidation due to liquid". Despite questionings as to why only a single IC in the middle of the board could have burnt, given that, in their own words, "there was no sign of water spilt on any other part of the laptop", they have not yet come up with a satisfactory explanation. Even if it was caused by liquid, it would have had to flow from the side of the mainboard, as that's where the "enterances" are, and that would have caused a trail of burnt/auto-oxidised parts right? Manufacturing fault? I think so...

Anyway, yeah, I have not posted in about a month, oops, haha, more like no mood as I receive more and more pathetic attempts of the manufacturers to brush off my laptop damage as "Human Error" through emails. Today's email was just laughable, a close-up picture of the burnt parts with red arrows pointing at the burnt IC and surroundings with the email saying "our overseas manufacturer has analysed and says its human error". What?!!? A picture may paint a thousand words but I really see no connection in a bunch of red arrows showing burnt parts and a satisfactory reasonable explanation as to how it is "Human Error" as they have alleged. Oh yeah, they are alleging that since the burnt IC shows white marks (ie. auto-oxidation), it just HAD to be caused by liquid spillage. Once again, What?!?! Doesn't the air contain oxygen which would oxidise the IC if it shorted and burnt? I'm sorry, but isn't this basic Chemistry?

I am never going to buy a lesser known brand of laptop ever again... Pathetic...

Ok, enough ranting...

Anyway, spent the week ~~lazing~~ recovering from the Klang Gate climb. Aching thighs are killer, really... Also attended debate training that week *laughs hysterically*. The less said about that the better. Headed to Kuala Terengganu by Bus the Friday night after the climb. Arrived and made our way to the Sea Turtle Research Unit (Seatru) in Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) formerly known as Kolej Universiti Sains dan Teknologi Malaysia (KUSTEM), an offshoot of Universiti Putra Malaysia (formerly Universiti Pertanian Malaysia). We got onto a school bus-van thingy and went to the jetty to be picked up by ferry to Redang. Transferred to a motor boat and jetted to the northern end of Redang [where there is no cell phone reception] to Chagar Hutang (CH) beach.

Chagar Hutang beach. Taken from Turtle Rock.

Hmmm? The experience? Haha, the beach certainly was beautiful enough, the entire length to ourselves the whole week. Well, ok, we had to share it with the turtles too =) Days basically consisted of hourly patrols during the day to check that the nests hadn't been attacked by crabs, ants or monitor lizards and nights...

So nice! The sticks are markers where thermometers are buried.

Postcard?

Nights were different as turtles nest then. From, 8-12, we'd pull up a ground sheet on the beach and lie on it, periodically patrolling in search of turtles. The first night, was, er, eventful, the Research Assistant, Fong, had 3 bumbling idiots with her looking for turtle tracks, which, as we found out, were totally obvious by moonlight. We were shown what happens when a nesting turtle is discovered but were quite apprehensive in approaching and touching it while it nested despite staff encouragement. Haha, the usual, "What if the head suddenly swerves and bites us?" and while patrolling, "Let's walk further from the shoreline, a turtle may suddenly rush out of the water menacingly..." =) Lol, on the second night, there was a momentary mass freakout when we suddenly discovered turtle tracks but only realised that the turtlewas 2 meters away after a while. It was like, "Argh! *run off* Omg! Did you see that?!!!".

What happens after 12? Well, there have to be hourly patrols by volunteers from 12am- 6am. Yup, it did cause quite a lack of sleep despite a schedule where everyone was supposed to get at least 4 out of the 6 hours to sleep ("^_^)

Turtle!
Kind of blur but that's the best my cam can do without flash and shaky hands...

Eggs! Very ping-pong ball...

Two hikes were planned, one a self guided river hike and another a guided hike to Turtle Rock. The river hike was interesting enough and quite fun [Oh no, first Klang Gate, now this... I can't be addicted to *shudder* hiking and rock climbing..... Right....?] with rocks on the river [more like a stream] to hop on.

Rocks to climb!

My favourite picture of the trip, taken during the river hike.
Oh no, I'm not mutating into some "Nature person", am I?

The Turtle Rock hike was more challenging, at time having to hike up an almost vertical plane in the forest. We hiked in shorts and slippers but our guide, henceforth named Scary Gary went up in nothing but boardshorts and a towel. Ants were kind of a problem occasionally, for us that is... But the views [yes, plural, since we stopped at different points at the peak] made up for it. In fact, the first photo of this post was taken at one of the points.

The start of the climb.
Yup, off the beach along the rocky shoreline then up up up!

Northeast area of Pulau Redang

Yup, I climbed in slippers!

Looking at the opposite "arm" of the bay

The one other special activity planned was the round islan snorkelling trip. Bah, been there, done that. It was cool to do it once again though. Haha, we heard tales of male turtles thinking that snorkellers were female turtles and followed tham in attempt to mate. Hee hee... The most interesting part of the trip was when we got caught in a storm!!! It was so Pirates of the Caribbean/some other sea movie, with the roiling sea snd a small boat being pitched about. I can honestly say I don't think any of us would be in any way apprehensive on getting onto a boat ever again after THAT experience.

Storm!

What else was cool? Haha, the hammocks, so idyllic to lie down on one with a book [Well, I was reading The End of Poverty *rolls eyes at self*]. Ooooh, and baby turtles, which we released at night. Did you know that the temperature of the sand affects the sex of the turtles hatched? Apparently, a lower temperature gives rise to more male turtles O.0

View from a hammock

Relocated turtle nests

Baby turtles
So cute~~~

So, how was the overall experience? Living with minimal electricity [solar battery for lights] and no connection to the outside world can be very disconcerting at first, admittedly, but one gets used to it. I would definitely recommend anyone to go for the programme if you have got a week free. Try to book a slot during the middle of the season though, as that's when most of the turtles land. Even if you're not very "Nature", just go. =) http://www.umt.edu.my/seatru/

After all, this is worth it :

(^_^)

Spent the following week recovering from the lack of sleep and preparing for the Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championship (the Australs). The Australs style of debating is, erm, unique in the sense that I have never encountered it before. Its 3 on 3, 8 minute long speeches WITHOUT Points of Information (POIs). Apparently, the Asian style which I'm used to is a hybrid of the Australs style and the British Parliamentary style. Anyway, the Australs style is supposed to give more chance in deep analysis and fleshing out of points with all the extra time given. Haha, whatever...

UiTM was the host this year, hmmm, er, it was... Ok... I guess... Haha, Aussie adjudicators demand different things from debaters, like, er, structure... And not speaking too loudly... One adjudicator appeared not to listen at all as she wasn't writing a thing down and kept staring at her nails. Extremely disconcerting... Then again, she remembered everything we said, so, oh well...

Interesting motions :
That segregating universities on the basis of ethnicity should be abolished

O.o in UiTM???

That Malaysia should abolish compulsory national service

Haha, most non-Malaysian teams had a problem with this one

That male circumcision should be banned

The next 3 are trick motions, haha :

ROUND 7: THE NANNY STATE
1. That democratic states should adopt Singapore's law regarding oral sex 2. That the state should compel the parents of obese children to sponsor a child in the Third World 3. That 'emo' youths should be placed in state care

Ahahaha! Hilarious!

At one of the socials

Ooooh, Ateneo [that's "Ateneo de Manila not any other] won the bid for next year's Australs! Whee~~~ Manila, here I come!

Had a, er, quite drunken KGV reunion one of the weekends. What happened? Hmmm, let's just say that there's a video of certain people strip dancing [not me!]... :P

Oh yeah, am heading to Seoul tomorrow for the Asian Medical Students' Conference =) Be back in a week!

Movies watched these past few weeks :

Transformers : So cool~~~

Die Hard 4.0 : Watched directly after Transformers so effect was mitigated...

Harry Potter : Urm... Would it have been better if it was twice the length but incorporated more elements of the book? Probably...

PS. Ack!!! Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows comes out today!!!!!!!

My Climbing Expedition

2007-06-10T15:29:00.000+01:00

Argh, my laptop suddenly stopped working the weekend right before EOS and I had lecture notes in there to read! Thanks to certain lecturers who insist that their lectures are copyrighted and refuse to let us print them by encrypting the lectures in PDF format with the print function disabled... Gah, I feel like finding some software that can get past that annoying little function and flashing the printed lecture notes in her face next time she pulls something like that just so I can see her reaction, hmph... Haha, how mean of me...

Anyway, EOS was... OK, I guess, I definitely should have studied more, as usual... Results came out a week later, I made it through... Yay! Haha, I made it through the first year of medical school! Should do something to improve my grades though (^_^")

I can't blog about Bandung either cause all my pictures are in my laptop! Oh no, I hope all my music and pictures are Ok... Ack, what about all my unwatched episodes of Grey's Anatomy, House, Numb3rs [Yes, I actually like Numb3rs enough to download it...] and Heroes??!!! Gack, I REALLY hope my laptop makes it out of the "hospital" alright...

Ok, haha, what happened after EOS? Well, after the initial partying [I really don't think much of Shrek 3 and POTC 3 by the way, ack, I hope I don't get clobbered by any fans...], the 5/6 day long wait after the initial euphoria and relief was quite agonising because paranoid thoughts kept coming as results day approached... Luckily for me, it all worked out alright... Sorry for those who did not make it though... Keep it up! I'm sure you guys can make it!!!

The most interesting experience so far these last 2 weeks [Haha, well, I'm sure you don't want to hear how I spent an hour killing the Lord of the Dark Abyss {that baddie name is, like, so generic} in Arc the Lad : Twilight of Spirits on the PS2] began with a innocent sounding SMS last Friday night asking me to "climb Klang Gate" the next day. When I asked whether there would be any danger of me dying [since I'm so, erm, un-mountain-climb-ey and all], the reply I got was along the lines of "won't be very hard". So I thought, "Ok, since I really don't have anything to do and all, why not, since its NOT SUPPOSED TO BE VERY HARD..."

Decided to do some research on what exactly I would be climbing. At that point in time, actually until I got to the place itself, assumed all along that the climb would be something not so tough, like Bukit Timah Hill or similar... Found out that the Klang Gate Dam is the main water source for the Klang Valley and its actually in Gombak rather than, well, Klang, as the name implies. Also found some photos of the trek up the hill by other people online with statements such as "almost vertical in some places" and "rock climbing involved" but decided to ignore it, I have no idea why, thinking about it now, haha...

Anyway, we got there the next morning and [Ken, Yen Bee, Praveena, Yinn Cher, Soo Han, Evelyn, Adeline, Joon Heng and I] started stretching when Crazy Climber Boys Number 1 and 2 [Haha, also known as Jimmy Tee and Jeremy Cheah] come down the hill [I say hill cause its actually a hill though it seemed like a freaking mountain to me] and started giving a briefing [apparently they ALREADY climbed it the previous day and were going up again, nuts, I tell you, nut, haha] on the climb ahead... Statements like "Oh, we'll be done in about 5 - 6 hours", "Yes, there are some very dangerous spots involved", "Everyone, I hope you did your stretching properly, the first part of the climb is physically the toughest" and "Yes, there will be rock climbing involved, some parts are almost vertical" [to which Yinn Cher and Soo Han whooped with delight]. I was like "What? Rock climbing? Without the man-made wall with convenient handholds and a secure harness around my ass? Argh!!!" Oh yeah, then, "Oh, we're not climbing to only one peak today, we're going to traverse along the ridge through several peaks before coming down on the other side of the hill range" O.o

Still, we set off, first part of the climb was the toughest, as they said, normal jungle trek terrain with stair-like climbing. But it was STEEP, very steep, almost gave up when we got to the first rest stop, wanted to die then. It was at that first rest stop when we started to understand why Jimmy said this climb was particularly rewarding...

First view of the dam, got better as we ascended

Went on after that, trail became less steep and thus easier but became more and more rocky as we progressed. The view got better though. KL could be seen on one side of the ridge and the lake on the other side.

The peaks on the ridge behind us.
According to Soo Han, "Very like a dragon's vertebrae..."

Then we reached the first rock, well, it was more like going down into a ravine rather than climbing up, but still, it was an experience... Made even more, er, exciting, by the thought that there was no safety equipment involved.

Breathtaking view of the lake.
Good enough for a postcard, you guys think?

Ropes attached to, well, not very sturdy looking trees

Jeremy, first to go down, I was next!

Then it was up a few rocks, which, thankfully, I managed to scale without, er, dying...

First rock, taken from the top

Next climb, there's apparently a very "macho" *snorts* picture of me on this rock but its in someone else's camera

Went through a few more rock climbs before reaching the first peak, grazed my calf on some rock but I was like, "Screw it, will bother with it only later..."Began to get signs of my quadriceps cramping so it was good when we reached the first peak without incident. I always didn't believe that Deep Heat worked despite years of using it as a first aider on other people, haha, probably because I never had any use of it for myself, until, of course, it was used on me. My potential cramps disappeared after some massaging with it. My thighs were on fire though [in a painful way, not in the wrong way that it seems to imply -_-], an unfortunate result of Deep Heat on sweaty thigh flesh [Ok, that sounds really wrong...].

Rock leading to the first peak

Cool looking trail leading away from the first peak

Traversed the ridge to the final peak before heading down the hill/hill range [???]. Haha, coming down was a riot. It all started when they announced that we would not be stopping on the way down as there would be leeches and it was best to just keep moving to minimise leech attacks. That just got everyone who abhorred leeches hysterical with frequent cries of "Ack!!! Why have we stopped moving? Go on! Go on!" and "Oh no! My leg feels itchy! Argh!!!" as we went down the hill, especially at the more leafy and muddy parts, further exacerbated by mentioning [by Joon Heng I think, furthered by Yinn Cher] of the Lich King when the conversation turned to Warcraft III/DoTA which of course turned into the Leech King (-_-"). This includes guys too with exclamations like "Argh, what if it gets into underwear?!!!" [Response : "ACK!!!"]... It didn't help, of course, that I decided to wear shorts for the expedition [yes, NJC shorts, snigger all you want...] so was feeling panicky [slightly hysterical, whatever...] and my, er, vastus medialis started cramping [got better after continued movement though...]. No one was attacked by leeches though, haha, so much for the hysteria, thought there was one in Soo Han's shoe [which didn't make it through his sock]...

A "people" collage

A "person and I" collage

Got down safe, went to town to have lunch and look at haversacks for the people going on the upcoming trip to scale Mount Kinabalu [received invite to go though I didn't sign up for it originally, should I? Said would think about it...] Slept like a baby when I got back... Thighs ached the whole day today. Grazed hand is reminder of what happened, lol. Very good experience, haha [Never thought I'd ever say that about a climbing expedition]... Am I up for another one? We'll see (^_^)

Going to Redang next week for turtle conservation, should be quite fun!

My First AUDC

2007-05-21T06:13:00.000+01:00

Hmmm, haha, yes, I've been on one of my online hermit phases. End of Semester's next Monday and as usual, I've not been studying enough, sigh. Taking some time off reading about Autocoids and Antagonists [Pharmacology *shudder*] to blog, haha. What have I been doing this past few weeks?

Went down to Singapore to watch The Phantom of the Opera on the 14th of April, performance was definitely above average though not standing ovation quality in my opinion. Which begs the question, do all the Singaporean people who flock the show every performance actually appreciate the merits of the performance or are they there just cause they are kiasu? [No offence to any Singaporeans who read this blog, lol]

Haha, most interesting photo taken during the trip; with a Lego lion in Takashimaya.

Next was Adrian's Birthday celebration in Soul'ed Out on the 17th. Haha, great food and company (^_^).

Bolognaise Twist @ Soul'ed Out. Its SO GOOD......

Went down to Singapore again 2 weeks after watching the Phantom for the SMU Hammers [debate tournament thingy] which was held on the 5th and 6th of May in preparation for the AUDC [Asian Universities Debating Championship!!!!!]. Went down a day earlier for a 04S19 gathering. Met up with Eva and Yee Kiat earlier in the morning but had to leave abruptly due to plans [sorry...] Hee, it was great meeting up with the class again that evening after so long (^_^)

In Cafe Cartel

Outside Plaza Singapura

How was the SMU Hammers? Lol, its weird that I recognise a large majority of the NUS contingent for debate from JC days [Gosh, I so have to bitch about certain people, haha, someone's gonna get a gossipy email from me after my exam =)] The manner of debating hasn't much changed from last time [haha, little technical terms used and such that I now don't bother with]

Arrived in KL early on the 7th and had MUET Speaking on the 8th. Why do I have to take MUET? Its so stupid, urgh. Went in without preparing and then started internally laughing out loud [lol, what a paradox] when the topic I got was about food and its importance in Malaysian culture.

Flew to Bandung on the 9th for the afore mentioned AUDC held in ITB [Institut Technology Bandung]. Haha, what's good about Bandung, from a tourist point of view? 3 things; clothes shopping, the weather and fried chicken. Why clothes? Well, apparently, most manufacturers have factories in Bandung and when clothes are overproduced, they sell them off in factory outlets at rock bottom prices. I'm pretty disillusioned with shopping in KL now considering Bandung's a 2 hour Air Asia [the only international airline to fly DIRECTLY to Bandung] flight away. The weather's like Genting since its way above sea level, cool, haha. The fried chicken's DELICIOUS. Buy a piece off a roadside stall for 2500Rp [about RM1] and get chicken that tastes better than KFC, seriously.

Its good! Haha, I forgot what the V means...

The Jayakarta Hotel was very nice, huge queen bed, poolview and small foyer in the front of the room. Food sucked during the tournament though, haha. I mean, what's the use of asking food preferences then serving beef every other meal without labeling the dishes? Anyway, the tournament itself was great. Really learnt a lot and am very inspired to improve my debating after hearing speakers from other countries. Haha, saw the NUS contingent again [bitch potential increased exponentially, haha]. May or may not type out the motions and more detailed post about AUDC depending on how lazy I am after EOS.

IMU B outside ITB

Hall in Bandung where the finals were held, wow.

Ok, back to Autocoids and Antagonists now... Wish me luck for EOS!

My Hiatus

2007-05-02T16:13:00.000+01:00

Will post soon (^_^)

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

=(

2007-04-16T04:54:00.000+01:00

I lost...

My Speech

2007-04-08T16:41:00.000+01:00

Oh my goodness, soooo embarrassing...

"...I'm Ben and I'm running for Vice President of Pharmacy. Now, someone once told me..."

*Why is the council staring at me like that?*

*mentally reviews what was just said*

*OOOOOOHHHH MYYYYYY GOODNESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!*

"... No! I meant MEDICINE!!!"

*Gack!!! Argh!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! MEDICIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINEEEEEEE.....*

I don't know what else to say about that, gah, I hope it doesn't jeopardise my chances...

Anyway, Hustings Day was on Thursday, haha, aside from that MINOR slipup[I hope] everything else went okay...

Hmmm, what else happened within this last few weeks? Er, Summative 2? Haha, I don't know if I studied enough, was spending this few weeks campaigning... Hmmm, results will be out soon, argh!

This weekend was the ICRC IHL Debates held in UiTM Shah Alam [That's the International Committee of the Red Cross International Humanitarian Law, lol]. Was part of team IMU 2. 4 preliminary rounds :

THBT the use of aggressive and creative interrogation techniques is for the greater good

We [opposition] were up against SASER-UiTM 2 [what's SASER? It apparently stands for Sekolah Sains Seremban, some super "premier" school under the UiTM mantle], lol, school kids, hmmm, well, I wouldn't say it was a trashing considering Deborah, Jesse and I were quite rusty but the adjudicator did say that we should tone down a bit when going against a junior team as we seemed quite intimidating. Haha, the phrase "aggressive and CREATIVE" is really, er, creative...

Result : Obviously, won!

THBT International Humanitarian Law is irrelevant to modern warfare

Again, we were opposition against IIU 2. Hmmm, debate was ok, haha, what constituted "modern WARFARE" was an issue largely contested in the debate.

Result : Won =)

THBT weapons of mass destruction are necessary for national security

Were up [opposition again] against MMU 4, which comprised Balloons [it seems to be a tradition for MMU debators to give themselves nicknames, lol] and 2 others. Only one on the team worth talking about is Balloons, he's THAT good, I could say that, despite having weaker teammates, he single-handedly took the debate. His reply speech was GOOD.... However, the adjudicator said that in actuality, their case was soft but it was more of our fault since we bought into it. Argh, must not believe the opposing team anymore on ANYTHING no matter how convincing they sound.

Result : Lost, boo =(

THBT International Humanitarian Law is worthless as long as war crimes go unpunished

Finally, goverment, against USM 1. This case setup was a bit wonky [our fault, I suppose]. Sigh I must admit that we tried to pull what the government of the previous case did to us and the opposition actually bought it. Argh, I feel terrible for doing that, actually, but the motion was so... Argh...

Result : Well, it was actually a silent round so we only got the results today [1 debate on Friday and 3 on Saturday], won! Though I must admit that we were kinda lucky...

Hmmm, IMU 2 didn't break despite the 3-1 result cause, er, our speaker scores were lower than expected, will see when the tab results come out...

IMU 1 [Prasad, Yih Seong and Hai Liang] did make it to the semifinals [Yay! Go Team!] but due to, er, should I say it, certainnewbieadjudicatorswhodidn'tknowwhattheyweredoing, they got kicked out on a 2 - 3 split and yes, the more senoir adjudicators did give them the win. Yes, it sounds like I'm whining, but in this case, ITS TRUE, argh...

IMU 3 [MeZhen, Siew Kim and Siva] consisted of juniors all going for their first tournament after weeks of training. I think they acquitted themselves extremely well with a 2 - 2 result despite initial hang-ups (^_^) The adjudicators [Michelle, Mian Li and Chan Sing] also did extremely well, some even chairing rooms =)

Hmmm, what else? Er, we began CVS? Haha, lectures start at 4.00pm starting tomorrow [yes, that's NOT a typo]. But apparently, its not a good thing, according to people I've talked to...

Lol, no pictures this time, will post up some soon. Haha, actually there were, er, some INTERESTING pictures of orientation, but sinceIhavetobepoliticallycorrectforthetimebeing, I won't post them up.

Voting days are tomorrow, Tuesday and Wednesday during lunchtime, those in IMU, PLEASE REMEMBER TO GO TO THE ATRIUM AND VOTE!

plug : Remember, we're your choice to be your voice...

personal plug : Vote me! Vote me! (^_^)

My Lightsaber

2007-03-25T15:38:00.000+01:00

[Edited]

[Edited]

Is this poster too corny?

[end of edit]

Hmmm, well, as you all obviously have realised, I am running for Vice Presidency of the Student Representative Council here in IMU [What I think are my chances of winning? Hmmm, in another blog entry maybe...]. Will blog about how its actually different from the councils of a Junior College and a secondary school when I have the time. Summative 2's this Friday [ack!!!] and Campaign Week 1 is this week [gack!!!]. Oh well, no one said it was going to be easy. Will blog when I have time [Lol, looks like my aim of blogging once a week is goiung down the drain...].

Anyway, if you're from IMU, VOTE for ME!

Lol, Michelle, who did most of the PhotoShopping [Thank you!!!!!!] wrote a VERY long entry promoting a few people [including me], haha [I feel very self conscious when I read the entry actually], click on her name to go see (^_^)

PS. [to those who are sniggering at the significance of the personal promo poster] Haha, there will be a smaller "Choo Ben Luke for Vice President" poster accompanying that one which will sort of "explain" why the theme of the poster is like that, lol, will post it up when I have made it, haha! (^_^)

My Coconut Bras

2007-03-06T15:47:00.000Z

Lol, in the middle of orientation now, so post will be quite short... First things first, spent a large portion of the Chinese New Year holidays in Chiang Mai [sigh, I wish I could say "studying"]. Haha, it was quite cool [in more ways than one] though. Some shots from the trip :

At the Doi Suthep Temple

Vachiratharn Waterfall

At the border to Myanmar
Picture taken with my cousin's son [my nephew?]. Lol, he's so cute!

At an orange grove (^_^)

School's been quite usual I guess, more lectures on Pharmacology now, haha, beta-blockers and stuff. Gosh, Summative 2's quite soon and guess who hasn't studied [WHY must this always happen to me......]. Quite like Chemistry, lol... Went for Shao Wen's CNY party last Saturday, fun event (^_^)

With Merv and Shao Wen

Orientation officially began last week but the real "fun" stuff only happens this week. The theme's "The Abyss" and the groups have to be named after a creature from the "Abyss" as well as incorporating the group number into the name. I'm an OO [Orientation Officer, like OGLs] this orientation, hee hee. There is a new event this time round like the Track Trip where we're supposed to bring the juniors using public transport to a mall in KL and "track" down stuff by taking pictures of them.

Then there is the dress code [where there's a theme of the day for each group and they have to come dressed in that theme]. Monday's theme was Tribal Tribute and after a senior's suggestion, the group decided to go as one of the tribes in Papua New Guinea where the men wear penis gourds [lol, not going to say more about that, go look it up yourself...]. The women actually go around topless but, well, we obviously can't have THAT [though the things we CAN have are pretty O.o] so I spent much of Sunday night [and early Monday morning] making..... coconut bras...

Preparation

Final product, lol

Gosh, will be going for Nursing Week visit to Hospital Tuanku Jaafar [formerly known as Hospital Seremban *shudder* but then again, *shudder* whatever its called] in, like, 7 hours... Super tired now, and some more there's Treasure Hunt tomorrow too!

My Last 3 Days in Taiwan

2007-02-27T13:06:00.001Z

Day 6 began with farewells in the hotel before heading to the Chien Tan Youth Activity Center [or something like that] where we would stay another 2 nights [long story about how we found the place but never mind]. We decided that we’d go to the Palace Museum then Taipei 101 and finally end the night in Shihlin Night Market.

The centerpiece in the Grand Hotel was a metal pig to usher in the Chinese New Year! The thing around the pig’s neck is actually a Dopod PDA Phone (^_^)

The Palace Museum was BIG, haha, the time we spent there definitely wasn’t enough. Went around collecting commemorative stamps which seem to be quite popular in Taiwan for some reason and seeing highlights of the museum the main one being this jade [I think] piece carved into the shape of a cut Chinese cabbage [I’m NOT kidding! There were signs saying “Cabbage this way >>>” and all that!]. Complementing that was a carving of some stone that was shaped like stewed pork [Once again, I’m NOT kidding]. Pity they didn’t allow pictures though. The museum shop even had a whole section dedicated to selling miniature cabbages in the form of different items like handphone straps, brooches, bookmarks, earrings etc. O.o

Outside the museum with this Taiwanese girl who led us there

We made our way to Taipei 101 after that. The mall underneath is actually very like Suria KLCC in design but improved. Hmmm, plagiarism?

The tower from a distance. Honestly, I think the one-heart-one looks VERY tacky.

A doughnut chain store called Mister Donut. They had this scrumptious special edition chocolate doughnut thingy.

We got to Shihlin pretty late that night so we didn’t go around much, haha, but we decided that we’d be back the next day.

Day 7 was shopping day. We split up and my group decided to go to the Guanghua Shangchang [Guanghua Plaza?] which is famous for its IT products then the Taipei Main Railway Station and Xi Men Ding to find souvenirs and finally end up in Shihlin with the rest.

Guanghua Shangchang was, er, ok. Haha, the IT products aren’t THAT much cheaper individually though I must say the ready made laptops were. We did, however, find this music CD shop which had a great variety and cheap prices. Next was the Taipei Main Station where we went to this Takashimaya-like place called Shin Kong Mitsukoshi which had like 10 floors [!!!] Gosh, if only we had more time.

Outside Shin King Mitsukoshi

Xi Men Ding was awesome! Its like the bottom of Far East Plaza and the upper floors of the Heeren with more shops and WAY better stuff. Once again, sigh, the constraining factor was time.

In Xi Men Ding

Shihlin was pretty crowded that night as it was a Saturday but the [human] traffic toned down slightly after midnight, thank goodness. Spent the time buying souvenirs and eating stuff. Oooo, and we bought the cool [kiddy?] looking sweaters that we were wearing when we posed with the plaque then (^_^)

The pretty famous jian bao [the baos are steamed first then fried]. Its like a BIG xiao long bao [Shanghainese soup dumplings] only in a bao, it has the soup and everything [does that make sense?]. Its super delicious!

Banana strawberry ice [Ho Wai and I decided not to go for the conventional mango ice] Its HUGE and NICE!

There wasn’t really a day 8 since we had to get to the airport pretty early [lol, we missed our bus and had to catch a later one, thank goodness we arrived in time]. Then it was a bit of shopping during the transit in Changi and then hello Malaysia.

Flying over mountains

Meal on plane. Yes, the pink drink is indeed a Singapore Sling ;P

Dessert (^_^)

With the plaque on the plane, lol

Haha, Taiwan has certainly touched my heart =)

My Hot Springs Visit

2007-02-26T12:42:00.000Z

The last day of the conference [day 5 in Taiwan] began with a closing ceremony at Fu Jen Catholic University. Guess what? We won the Poster Presentation competition! (^_^)

The plaque we received for winning! \(^0^)/

Posing with the plaque back in IMU. We’re wearing sweaters we bought from Shihlin (^_^)

With part of my group outside the university

We visited a leprosy sanatorium after the closing ceremony. Haha, it was actually a pretty political visit, won’t bore you with the details though. Still, we did hear a life story [quite the sad] from one of the residents there after walking around.

Stone tablet outside the sanatorium

Oh yeah, before I forget, we had lunch in this restaurant reputed for its “home style” cooking. It was called Nü Huang [Queen, I think] and the setting is like one of those crappy Chinese zi char coffeeshops, lol, the food’s pretty normal tasting though.

Dishes at Nü Huang. The only things you don’t normally get in Malaysia is the fried preserved bamboo shoot [center] and sliced cold some sort of shellfish [left of center]

Next was a trip to Yang Ming San for a dip in the hot springs [!!!] Haha, I never thought that a dip in the hot springs in cold weather would be so enjoyable. Even better was alternating between ice cold and really hot pools. I always thought Anthony Bourdain was crazy for doing that in that episode of A Cook’s Tour where he went to a Russian banya [super sweated it out in a sauna then jumped into asnow cold pool]. (^_^)

The hotel which housed the hot springs

In one of the springs. The water’s supposed to be pink in colour.

The different springs and stuff

The signs for a few springs

Feeling really relaxed [Haha, boo to the people who decided to forgo a dip in the springs for a little shopping] after that, we had the final dinner [a really good buffet spread] in the hotel. It was like Prom I suppose with everyone going around taking photos. We actually found like 5 other people who studied in Singapore before despite there being no official representatives from Singapore. How did we find out? Well, we were supposed to wear school uniforms in the final dinner [No, I most certainly did NOT wear the NJ uniform] then we saw 2 people in the RJC sweater [its so cool la] and it just snowballed from there.

Food from the buffet

With part of my group at the dinner

We then went outside for the final event; the mass-dance thing we did on the first day and then it was time for a final group meeting [we had sparklers!!! Lol, I’m like a kid] and back to Taipei.

Sparkly! Haha, taken with the “fireworks” function of my camera.

Crazy let’s-put-our-heads-together-and-take-a-photo thing with my group

Then it was back to the Grand Hotel and sleep. Haha, no, more like final group late night thingy where we ate, drank and made merry! Er, ok, we played Mafia [Polar Bear for those from HCIBS, lol, Joon Heng, no need to get so excited at seeing this (^_^)] and this Korean card game called [I think] Hurla which is kind of like a mix of Mahjong and Gin Rummy till the wee hours of the morning.

In the room (^_^)

My RPG

2007-02-25T15:29:00.001Z

Lol, in a hurry now, must finish blog posts on Taiwan then the 2 weeks before Chinese New Year and THEN the CHinese New Year post [Haha, I went to Chiang Mai! (^_^)].

Hmmm, day 4 in Taiwan began with a visit to the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital which is the teaching hospital of Chang Gung University. The university is a private university funded by this really rich guy and the name is in remembrance of his father [I think...]. We had a short lecture about the hospital and then visited parts of the hospital. The healthcare system in Taiwan is based on a insurance-like scheme and is meant for everyone to have an equal standard of healthcare no matter which hospital one visits. Well, it does have its inherent problems I suppose...

In the special part of the building dedicated to oncology. Everything a cancer patient needs is contained within this area.

We then had more lectures [lol, quite boring] on things like pandemics and travel, the use of PPE[Personal Protective Equipment] and a quite political lecture by a Sociology professor on how Taiwan handled SARS [haha, she said things that no one would DARE to say in Malaysia].

University Crest. Haha, no Latin motto though...

The College of Medicine section from the introductory lecture.

Wow, they actually have Homeopathic Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Apparently, they study the same things during the preclinical years but can then choose to branch out to Western Medicine or Traditional Chinese Medicine later O.o So cool!

After the hospital visit, we then went to Chang Gung University for lunch and following events.

Lunch in a paper bento box (^_^)

Fried chicken, quite nice, they marinated the chicken in spices.

We then had a RPG[yes, Role Playing Game] in Chang Gung University. Haha, when I first heard RPG, I immediately thought of Final Fantasy and truth be told, the concept isn't very much different. Its something like treasure hunt, with many stations to go to and things to be done in the stations but there are actually storylines to be followed which means that you actually have to try different stations until you reach the "start" of a storyline before you can play the games and gain points. Its quite cool really...

One of the games where we had to catch money with either a baseball mitt, helmet, tongs or chopsticks. Haha, I actually caught of total of 250 NTD [New Taiwan Dollars] with chopsticks!

A station where we had to don PPE. Gah, my right wrist is exposed.

Rest station where we had tea. A bamboo shoot bao.

Oh yeah, my group won the RPG! Haha, we were quite surprised actually because we weren't actually playing to win (^_^)

Candid shot of us jumping into the air

After the RPG, it was time for what was labeled as "Taipei Adventure" on the timetable. Haha, just a period of free time to go visit places in Taipei with the group. My group decided on Taipei 101 [for those who don't know, its the tallest building in the world currently] and Shilin Night Market [Haha, I thought I had already visited it and seen it all, but...]

Outside Eslite Bookstore in central Taipei, it opens 24 hours!

With Taipei 101 in the background

Haha, we went to the more tourist part of Shilin Night Market which is covered and has clustered food stalls [kinda lika a foodcourt] unlike the first night in Taipei where we went to the open air "older" [and in my opinion, more interesting] part of the market.

Strawberries on a stick coated with a melted sugar coating.

I didn't expect much of the strawberries until I bit into them. O.o They were apparently in season in Taiwan [as I found out later] and they were AWESOME! So sweet!

Cao Da Da Zi Pa [Extremely-Super-Mega-Ultra-Extra Big Big Chicken Thigh]

Haha, I'm not sure if the Hanyu Pinyin is correct. Anyway, I remember that we used to buy it in Singapore from the Shilin Snacks stalls but it doesn't come close to this. Its the size of 2 outstreched palms [seriously]! and it tastes SOOOOO much better. Oh, the cost? 50 NTD [about RM5, lol]...

Orh-ah Jian [Fried oyster?]

Haha, I thought the Malaysian version tastes way better though. The sauce on top is kinda sweet and tangy.

Chou Dou Fu [Smelly Beancurd]

Chou Dou Fu as it is served.

Its actually quite nice [as in, its fresh beancurd with a zing], but I really don't think its nice enough to warrant a long line to buy it when its sold in Malaysia [I'll eat it if its available but if I can't get in, I won't cry...].

Zhen Zhu Nai Cha [Pearl Milk Tea]

I can see why its so celebrated in Taiwan, it really tastes different [in a good way, its delicious!] and cheap [about RM 2 - 3 for a 700ml cup].

My Fluffy Chickens

2007-02-11T05:30:00.000Z

Day 3 [wanted to put days 3 and 4 in one post but realised it would be too long a post] of my trip to Taiwan in this post (^_^) Hmmm, by the way, we arrived a day earlier so day 3 of the Taiwan trip actually coincides with day 2 of the conference [and so on and so forth...]. Day 3 began pretty early, haha, breakfast was at 6.30am, gosh... Then it was into a bus to Fu Jen Catholic University, a private university funded by the Holy See and one of the universities hosting this EAMSC. We had a sort of Opening Ceremony and a lecture on Infectious Diseases in the Auditorium.

Fu Jen Catholic University

University Crest
Haha, one of the words in the motto is Pulchritudo! (^0^)

The lights at the side of the Auditorium shine in the shape of a cross! So cool!

Ah, right, before I continue, a bit of background information. The conference actually has a competitive aspect to it, namely a Paper presentation thing where countries present a medical paper and a Poster presentation competition where countries present a poster booth. Each presentation had to be about an infectious disease in the home country. Oh yeah, the theme of the conference was : Prevention and Control of Newly Arisen Epidemics. The Powers-That-Be decided that IMU would have full control over the Poster presentation this time, never mind that we have never done it before and all. Haha, anyway, we decided to put up a presentation on Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease [HFMD] and printed some really expensive matte self-designed posters in preparation for the presentation and put together a simple video and talk. Because we [the people involved in the Poster presentation] had to prepare the booth [Haha, actually a classroom], we missed the Paper presentation in the Auditorium [Malaysia, represented by UKM presented a Paper on dengue] and couldn't see the other Poster presentations of the other countries cause we had to present to the groups and judges that were rotating throughout the rooms every 15 minutes.

Our booth (^_^)

However, we sneaked out during preparation time to peep into the other countries' booths, haha. Outside the Indonesian classroom, I saw this :

This big-ass super cute fluffy chicken!!!

When we heard what the Japanese were giving out [they were just next door to us], we rushed there during the break between presentation sessions. Do give a guess as to what they are before you read the description (^_^)

Condom cases in THREE colours!!!

Haha, I think we presented the thing about 8 times. Oh yeah, scoring was 50% by the judges and 50% by delegate votes where each delegate got 3 votes. Results would only be out on the last day of the conference.

By the time, everything was done, it was time for dinner and then a Cultural Workshop also in Fu Jen Catholic University. We were given 4 options as to what cultural handicraft we would like to do and I chose to do the Scented Sachets cause it was the most different from anything we could do back home. The others were Paper Cutting [cutting designs out of red paper - Anyone seen the Discovery Channel documentary about this woman in rural China who's very good at it?], Flour Figurines [haha, basically Play-Doh, except that it was actual dough] and Chinese Calligraphy [that doesn't need explanation does it?]. Off we trooped to the classrooms where the various workshops were being held. But first, we made our own Tze Yun Gao [a Traditional Chinese Medicine that serves the same purpose as mentholatum]! So cool!!!

There's wax, dangguei in sesame seed oil and zi cao [purple grass?]
Lol, they don't use Bunsen burmers but an oil lamp thing

Finished product!
Tze Yun Gao

Supposedly good for chapped skin, shingles and pimples

Then it was on to making our scented sachets. Haha, I learnt a couple of new sewing techniques. The sachets were stuffed with polyester and sandalwood powder. I thought I'd seen enough of chickens that day till :

Fluffy chicken number 2! My scented sachet, I stuffed and sewed it up by myself!

Following that, we continued with what was titled "Taiwanese Dessert" on the timetable. More like snacks, haha. Was quite amused when the first snack was popiah, second kong bak pao [kou rou bao] and finally, tau fu fah... Lol, its not like we can't get them in Malaysia but it was still pretty interesting (^_^)

Spring roll/Popiah ingredients

Know what, interestingly enough, they put crushed peanuts and suger into the roll, just like my family! Haha, I've been advocating the deliciousness of doing that to various people in Malaysia over the years only to be met with looks of skepticism. Lol, haha, its pretty common in Taiwan, it seems. They also add preserved vegetable flavoured with chillies in the roll [haha, my family doesn't do that, just the peanuts and sugar part :)]

Finished roll

Haha, there was this Japanese girl who asked me why I put so "little" ingredients in my roll only to find out later that she put too much into her roll despite me telling her that thus ending up with a "pillow" instead of a "roll" (^_^)

Kong Bak Pao [Kou Rou Bao]
Slabs of meat larger than back home and they actually put vegetables in it [unlike back home where its just pure meat and starch]

Tau Fu Fah [Dou Hua]

They add stuff into their beancurd like boiled peanuts, [sago] pearls [zhen zhu] and something that resembles tang yuen [outer coating of flour with black sesame paste inside]. They use "black" sugar too! (^_^)

After all of that, it was pretty much sleep on the way back to the hotel, wake up, bathe, meet up in someone's room, play cards... Oops, I mean, er, gobacktothehotelthenbatheandsleep (^_^)

My Singapore Sling

2007-02-07T15:56:00.001Z

Haha, will be posting about the EAMSC 07 [East Asian Medical Students Conference] in Taiwan over the next few days. Was there in Taiwan from the 28th till the 4th and thus this post will be about days 1 and 2 in Taiwan. [*shouts* Taiwan was COOL!!! Haha, in more ways than one...]

We flew SIA which meant that we had to transit at Changi thus adding another 2 - 3 hours to the trip. So, why SIA? Haha, it was actually cheaper than our, er, national carrier and it has way better service as well as Singapore Slings onboard, haha (^_^). We could have taken China Air or Eva Air [did not have good flight hours] or Cathay Pacific [more expensive] but haha, SIA it was. Trip was pleasant, I watched Mistress of Spices and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna [!!! I was quite excited when I saw they were showing that! Haha, why? Non-IMU people ask me when you see me, long story (^_^)]. We also had Singapore Slings [duh...]! Its actually pretty cool, all the prerequisite alcohol comes premixed in this square bottle and all the stewardess has to do is mix it with pineapple juice and ice. Its pretty nice, considering its an airplane cocktail.

With Singapore Slings!

Arrived in Taipei on time where we were greeted by 2 conference people-in-charge and were popped into the shuttle bus to our hotel. Haha, we thought it was ironic that it was called The Grand Hotel [sort of like Quality Hotel in Singapore] until we saw it. Its based on an ancient Chinese palace and it really is pretty grand. The standard rooms were quite puny though but it was pretty nice [haha, the toilets had seat warmers and that contraption that shoot jets of water at varying temperatures and pressures at various parts of your nether regions].

The hotel at night

We freshened up and the went to the renowed Shihlin Night Market [not very far from the hotel actually] to look for things to eat. Temperature was about 12 degrees so it wasn't at all hot and sweaty like night markets in certain places ;P Haha, we found out that Stall A's rubbish cannot be thrown in stall B as its very expensive to pay for rubbish disposal so the we had to go back to stall A or find a public dustbin [Believe me, those were not easy to come by, haha, like finding a treasure chest?].

Oyster Mee Suah [Orh-ah Mee Sua] and a bowl of random boiled things in broth

Grilled stuff. See the stick of mushrooms, the long piece of chicken and the pork wrapped scallions on the right? That's ours =)

Da Chang Bao Xiao Chang [Big Sausage Wrapping Small Sausage]
The big 'sausage' actually mi chang [rice sausage] made of glutinous rice

My first cup of Taiwanese milk tea bought from a local chain store. Delicious!

On the way back to the MRT [yes, that call it that there as well] station, [imagine our amusement when] we saw this :

Yes, it really exists in Taiwan.

We had about 3 hours before the conference officially began so we headed out to the Taipei Main Railway Station to find a McDonald's to compare with the ones back home. Our amusement the previous night was further compounded when we saw :

An ad in the station. People walking past must have thought we were crazy as we were laughing and taking photos of this ad.

Lol! It became the running joke the whole week.

This was the only different burger. A grilled piece of chicken coated with BBQ sauce in a multigrain[!!!] bun and red bean pie. Haha, the fries taste the same. The tomato sauce is actual;ly made in Malaysia [Lol!]!!!

Barely made it back to the hotel for Ice-breakers which involved meeting my group and learning a mass dance thing. Then it was back to the room to change into cultural costumes for the Welcoming Party. Haha, we decided to go as the different races in Malaysia but since I was going as "Chinese" I was pretty much dressed the same way as half the room. Performed our "thing" [fashion show of different races plus dance and "Rasa Sayang"] in front of everyone but I have to say that the Hong Kong contingent stole the show with a very, er, manly performance involving kungfu/taochi/wushu moves and fans while the girls were, haha, breathtaking? Food was buffet style with quite a good spread of international cuisine, lol.

Plate from the appetiser table. Hmmm, I remember temaki, pseudo-Peking Duck [haha, it had meat in it], rice salad, smoked salmon, jellied pork cubes, char siew, Waldorf salad and cold seafood salad.

Plate from main course spread. There's Spaghetti carbonara with salmon, German Pork knuckle with sauerkraut [!?!], some kind of chicken and various things from the appetiser spread.

Plate from the dessert table. The peanut covered thing at the bottom is Muar Chee [they call it the same thing in Taiwan! Tastes the same too!]

Us singing Rasa Sayang. We look way too perky, I think.

Hong Kong guys

Hong Kong gals

The Malaysian contingent

My group! (^_^)

That ends this post about days 1 and 2... 3 and 4 to come in the next post! (^_^)

My Cool Tag II

2007-02-02T20:06:00.000Z

(^_^)

My CPR Lecture

2007-01-27T17:10:00.000Z

Gosh, its been quite a while since I last blogged. Haha, been quite busy with preparing for the EAMSC [East Asian Medical Students' Conference] in Taiwan [!!!!!] beginning Monday [!!!!]. We'll be doing a poster presentation and a, er, cultural performance, haha... Flying in about 8 hours time to Singapore then to Taipei [Woohoo!] and returning next Sunday. Haha, the conference is only 5 days long, what are we going to do in the weekend before flying back? *evil grin*

Had a lecture on Medically Important Parasites this week by an author of one of the recommended texts, gosh, according to him, we shouldn't eat raw fish [*gasp* no sashimi?], satay, frogs' legs and snails. Who does he think he is, telling us not to eat the good stuff? Hmph... Also had lectures on Immunology and Microbiology. For the record, the Microbiology lecturer is just SO condescending (~_~)

Lecturer : How come you all aren't like me when I was doing my medical studies? I would READ AHEAD so that I was well-informed of upcoming *academic events*?

Please, whoever said we wanted to be like you?! Who wants to be like someone who doesn't seem to bother about what her students think/feel/want? What about building RAPPORT, which you don't seem to be doing?

In Microbiology Lab with the same lecturer [I definitely made the mistake of asking her, should have asked one of the lab techs],

Me : We [as in, my partner and I] can't seem to find anything on the slide? What exactly are we supposed to be looking for?

Lecturer : Have you gotten the microscope on the correct focal length? *proceeds to give lecture on how to do that* Find the FIELD. Have you found the FIELD yet? Why haven't you found the FIELD?

Excuse me, first of all, I know how to use a microscope properly, I'll have you know, who do you think I am anyway? Next, since we obviously can't find anything, or else we wouldn't even be asking you, what in the world is the use of telling us to find the FIELD when you haven't told us what a FIELD is? Urgh!

We found out later that some of the slides had been inadvertantly rubbed off by the previous group of people, gah!!!!

Let's just stop there at how condescending she is, lest I say too much...

Had a lecture on CPR this morning. Horribly boring, nothing that I didn't know already. They showed the Singapore CPR instruction video *laughs*. Do they really expect people to somehow gain the knowledge and skill of performing CPR after a 3 hour lecture without any supervised practice? Hmmm, I don't know, but they seem to...

Went to Jessica's house last Saturday for her farewell party. Excellently planned occasion. (^_^) Checked out Bangsar Shopping Centre on Sunday (^_^)

Hope to blog from Taipei... =)

[Gosh, I can't seem to upload any photos now, will try do so soon...]

My New Abode

2007-01-14T17:56:00.000Z

Well, this is the first weekend staying in the new place, its, er, not too bad, its the furthest block [like Vista A], it has 2 swimming pools unlike only 1 in the other blocks [Vista A has the largest swimming pool of the Vistas], it has its own "restaurant" [like Vista A] which delivers upon request [like Vista A], its the most secluded [like Vista A] and its quite a distance to travel to its entrance compared to the other blocks [like Vista A]. Haha, am I the only one sensing the pattern here? Spent most of the weekend cooped up [with occasional trips out to Sunway Pyramid and my aunt's place in Kota Kemuning] [re]playing Final Fantasy X on the PS2 (^_^). Yes, yes, I know [and own, by the way] that there are newer games like Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts 2 [haha, I haven't even played the first one], Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy 12 and the like, but somehow, I felt like playing FFX again.

Hmmm, anyway, the week's lectures were, er, mostly interesting, I guess... We've started Immunology [Cells of the Immune System, Innate Immune System, the Adaptive Immune System......] and Pathology [Causes of Cell Injury, Acute Inflammation.....] with a lecture introducing Microbiology [haha, so many different types of bacteria, some with similar sounding names O.o]. There was also a briefing on the Elective we take during the holidays [Scuba diving anyone? Teaching English in Indochina? OBS? Heritage work in Penang? Learning about sanitation in a hospital *rolls eyes*? We'll see...].

PBL was good this week, haha, I actually took the time to research, on my own, the learning issues, like, all of them [which is what we're SUPPOSED to do] unlike previously where I'd skip a few because of time constraints. I know much more about SLE and Autoimmunity now (^_^). *insert sentences about satisfaction of a job well done and all that moralistic crap stuff, blah blah blah...* Oh, I LIKE my current PBL group [alot!!!], we've got great group dynamics =) Whoops, I'm not saying the previous one was bad in anyway though (^_^!!!)

Went to William's [Haha, I seem to keep ending up there somehow] with Su [who's been there before but only ordered drinks and never food *gasp*] and Andrew [who's NEVER been there before *double gasp*] on Wednesday for a final outing before Andrew flew off to the UK again. The menu? The interestingly named "Sotong Bang Bang" [though we had it without the squid since Andrew's allergic, haha "Sotong Bang Bang tapi tak mahu sotong"], Risotto with Portobello Mushroom and Beef Cordon Bleu, Mozzarella Ham and Cheese Naan, Mashed Potato and Fried Soft Shell Crab. We now have another 2 William's fans, people ;) Very coincidentally saw Josephine [whom I'd arranged to meet the following day, see next paragraph] there considering William's is pretty far from IMU or ICoM and we haven't seen each other in quite a while.

Thursday was a free day, met up with Hsu Phie and Nizam in Midvalley where we reminisced about old times =) after purchasing flight tickets [going to Taiwan for a medical student conference at the end of the month! Woohoo!] from the Singapore Airlines office [Thanks for driving, Ho Wai :)]. Later, met Josephine and Kimberly [where we reminisced about older times, haha, their my seniors from KGV] for dinner at the Curve where I saw many many many Sem 3's just after their EOS.

Oooo, right, last weekend, we were supposed to go for dim sum/dian xin [gah! I'm just going to use "dim sum"] at the renowned Foh San Restaurant in Ipoh but somehow it didn't really work out [long story] and it ended up just 5 of us going to search for the branch they opened in PJ but it wasn't there anymore so we just went to another restaurant in the area. Despite all the, er, setbacks [haha, its as if I'm talking about some monumental task], we had a great time, great company, great conversation and quite nice food. Yay to more breakfast outings! =) Later went to 1U where we met Su [everyone says you're very hyper, Su =)].

Hmmm, this week has been quite fun \(^0^)/

Left : Sotong Bang Bang [interesting story to the name] There's a piece of what they term "Fish Cordon Blue", stuffed squid, mussels and prawns on fettucini in a tomato based sauce with bird's eye chili [smokin~~~!] REALLY nice... This picture is one taken some time back though, cause the one we had this week didn't have squid ;P
Right : Haha, fried soft shell crab [again (^_^)]

Homemade Soto at my aunt's (^_^)

I got a Nikon Coolpix P3 now! So cool! [Pun unintended]
Photos in the future may be taken with this instead of my phone camera.
Maybe... Haha... If I actually bring it out that is...

My First Post of the Year

2007-01-11T01:37:00.000Z

Well, its been about 3 weeks since my last post, haha, let's see, what shall I blame that on... Laziness? ~~Yes! Er, no!~~ Er, partially... Lack of interest in blogging? Haha, no... Ah ha! The Taiwan Earthquake... I completely lost access to the net for like 10 days and even now I have to use a proxy server which means I can't access some features of the web, boo =(

How was Summative? Haha, don't ask... There was this really horrifying and embarrassing revelation immediately after the paper about the definition of a certain word in one of the answer choices (O.o). We'll see when the results come out (~_~) I will have to work much harder for Summative 2 [which is in, like, 12 weeks time!].

Sigh, couldn't make it down to Singapore during the Christmas break as I was moving house(!!!). Haha, I actually moved in like 3 days, which I do not recommend EVER doing without movers, it was crazy and horribly tiring. Well, thank goodness that's over. Oh, haha, I'm now a denizen of Subang Jaya =) [Ahaha! Back in Selangor! Pity its not PJ, but still, (^_^)]

Went to Pontian for a few days primarily to attend my maternal grandfather's annual "birthday" celebration. Spent the the first two days there in a comatose state after the whirlwind house move and came back after a couple more days since the term started on the 3rd (~_~) Having lectures on Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology now with Community Medicine and Pharmacology yet to come. PBL's twice a week now [gah!] and there's been a formal directive to stop faculty from giving out lecture notes [double gah!]. A method of increasing self-directed learning or is it just to save paper? We'll see...

At William's after Summative.
Top left : Triple H Sandwich
[Yeah, it looks like its nothing, but when you bite into it...]
Bottom left : Parmesan chicken and Risotto with Portobello Mushroom
[yes, there is a WHOLE mushroom hidden under the risotto]
Bottom right : Seafood cream spaghetti

After William's and a movie at the Curve

Just the guys :)

"Dry" Pan Mee from Sin Sin Restaurant in KL. Its REALLY good...

Ahaha! So cool! The Pokeball can be unzipped to become a Poliwag and the Poliwag can be unzipped to "evolve" into a Poliwhirl! (^_^)
[owned by my little cousins]

My First NHSD

2006-12-19T18:53:00.000Z

Hmmm, had a rather hectic past two weeks. Lectures on the reproductive system [week 15] and genetics [week 16]. Haha, nothing much to say about them I guess, except probably a lot of material is strangely reminiscent of A-Level Biology and the option topic we took back in NJ [thankfully WITHOUT plant bio *shudder* though]. What do I mean by "reminiscent"? Hee, the material definitely sounds familiar but I can't remember the details when I try to recall them [especially for Repro, which, unfortunately, I am not as interested in as SOMEONE is...] which is bad, of course, considering the Summative Exam is this Friday and I need to minimise the material that I have to study [Argh! Argh! Argh! Its this FRIDAY and I'm NOT prepared!!!].

Anyway, last weekend [between week 15 and 16] was the NHSD [National Health Sciences Debate] and I participated as one half of IMU 3 [yes people, its the British Parliamentary style, only 2 people per team], haha, so cool! The theme? α – ω : Health in the Extremes of Age

Debate 1 : THW set an age cap for practising clinicians

Haha, first debate and one of the motions I suggested was picked! Haha, talk about trial by fire when I [as Prime Minister] went up against the recently concluded Royals [national varsity debate competition only open to public universities] champions as Opening Opposition and IMU 1 as Closing Opposition.

Debate 2 : THW make pre-school education compulsory

Hmmm, don't really remember anything PC about this debate that is interesting enough to mention though there is a lot of un-PC stuff that I do [which shall only be told to you if you ask me personally cause it may create hoohaa should I type it here] about other teams and adjudicators (^_^)

Debate 3 : THBT all employees medical coverage plan must include a "Successful Aging and Wellness Program" [Gah, the Americanisation of the words "Aging" and "Program" rankles me...]

Haha, I actually successfully pulled off a Definitional Challenge as Opposition Leader! So cool!

Debate 4 : THW ban genetic predetermination of babies

Ooooo, my other suggested motion! Had IMU 2 [as Opening Opposition] and IMU 3 [as Closing Opposition with me as Opposition Whip] on the same bench and the Prime Minister just HAD to point out that it was a medical student bench. Haha, I must admit that it was VERY fun when the entire bench stood up at the same time [many many times (^_^)] to POI him on some factual error or on some point that made us all go (O.o) since we were essentially running the same case.

We [IMU 3] didn't break into the quarterfinals [sigh] but still, it was a good experience. There's always next year! Congrats IMU 2 [Deborah and Yih Seong] for making it to quarters and IMU 1 [Hai Liang and Prasad] for being 1st runner-ups in the NHSD!!!

Quarters : THBT babies with genetic defects should be aborted

note : There's a difference between this motion and the one for Debate 4, by the way, people...

Semis : THBT the government should fund palliative treatment for memory loss

Finals : THBT sexual assignment for intersexed infants should be left until adulthood

One expression for the finals motion : (O.o)

There was also the IMU Friday Night [a concert thingy] the night before NHSD which ran till 2am [Haha, Saturday Morning? Lame...] and the Super Mario performance from Variety Night during orientation was modified and performed with Merv as the title character.

Went out for lunch with Andrew, Alex, Carynl and Su who are all back from Cambridge, Auckland, NUS and Melbourne, in that order. Really had a great time catching up and gossiping (^_^). Really missed you guys... Can't wait for the rest of the gang to get back too...

Wish me luck for Summative!

Left : Smoked Salmon Quiche
Right : Black Forest in a Cup

My Cool Tag I

2006-12-09T14:37:00.000Z

My Mentor

2006-12-04T17:06:00.000Z

Endocrine system last week [week 14]. Oooooh[to non-med people], did you know that the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas have delta and F[or PP] cells as well as the more commonly heard of alpha and beta cells? We're back to the basic anatomy lectures followed by the more physiology based lectures. Hmmm, I realise that we spend less time on anatomy compared to physiology. Is that normal? Or are we supposed to be actually spending time in the MMS learning anatomy on our own? Gah, I have a feeling its the latter... Anyway, content last week was mostly about mechanisms of hormone action and endocrine functions. Haha, I think I'm quite neutral about this system, can't say I like it, can't say I don't either. Do I want to specialise in endocrinology? Haha, probably not...

Also met my Semester 4 mentor this week in a lunch meeting between Sem 4s and Sem 1s. Haha, she's, er, well, ok, i guess... Not patronising or condescending or anything like that. Also, I heard she's really smart =P Chatted with her for like 15 minutes before she had to go off. Oh well, its not as if I need someone to look over my shoulder all the time or whatever. We'll see how it goes...

Short post this time, gunning for NHSD [National Health Sciences Debate] this weekend and so have less time to squander. Also, summative's in 3 weeks! Must turn into super kiasu library furniture chao mugger very soon! Cannot lose to people who have been studying all this while [this very kiasu wish, of course, will be VERY hard to fulfil...]!

Absolutely DELICIOUS chocolate toffee thingy from Melbourne
Thanks, Su! (^_^)

Fried soft shell crab at William's [RM10 only!!!]

Trivia this week : Medical student syndrome happens when someone reads about the signs and symptoms of a disease and begins to believe they have it. It's called medical student syndrome because, well, it usually happens to medical students as they read most about signs and symptoms of diseases.

Debate : Discussion of possible motions for NHSD

My Mind

2006-11-29T16:27:00.000Z

The mind is its own place, and in it self
Can make a Heav'n of Hell, a Hell of Heav'n.

Book I, lines 254 and 255 of Paradise Lost by John Milton

2 poignant lines. Especially after having just completed the 2 Behavioural Sciences weeks.

I like my mind.

Read Paradise Lost here