Lazybum

Seems like ages ago since the end of Chinese New Year.

My professor asked, “So what do Chinese people call Chinese New Year? Just ‘New Year’? Or do they say ‘Chinese New Year’ as well?” I thought that was a peculiar observation. I’ve never thought about that until he mentioned it. Funny how a perspective from a different cultural background makes you notice little things that you don’t usually pay any attention to.

Some pics of my CNY- the first that I spent away from my family and all the relatives in Penang, and the first I spent in KL. So boring. Should’ve gone back with them instead. Anyway. Pics as below-

I love how everyone stood around and watched the lion dance together, while I sat higher watching them watch the lion dance. Teehee.  

I got a mandarin orange from the lion! Yay me. 

Uncle using iPad to record lion dance.

CPP reunion. Well, a mini one. 

 Reminiscing good ol’ days.

 Praying to the Jade Emperor for good health, good luck and a peaceful and awesome year ahead.
Fire, and fireworks. 

Rituals. 

On days like these I’m just so lazy to think of anything better to write. Or more like, I’m just so lazy to think. 😛    You can’t blame me though, I just went through my first night in the labor ward, and all I can say is, I don’t think I’ll be in ObGyn. Not my cup of tea, thank you. But more on that later. Adios!

January Weddings

January breeze and its fairly dry weather make it a good time of the year to have weddings. Of course, that’s not the only factor when it comes to choosing dates. Those who are married would know it involves the two families and a whole lot of planning (maybe even arguments/disagreements/panic attacks etc.), and not to forget a sage if you will, who somehow can tell you the auspicious dates you can choose from for the wedding day, just by having the couples’ time and date of birth. Fascinating ain’t it. I personally am amused by it. 
Anyway. Back to weddings. One of the two that I attended was of my best friend’s. This is irrelevant to the wedding but I just remembered- back when we were kids we used to keep a notebook with fictional stories about us and our friends, and we’d take turns writing it, just sorta improvised with the plot, and tried to write as close to reality as possible. Kinda like a parallel universe that only we knew existed. It was just so much fun. Childhood, when all is possible and sky is the only limit. Now we’re all grown up and one is married with a baby girl, the other has just become a Mrs., and yours truly is still… well. Let’s just say I still feel like a kid at heart. 🙂  Some pictures to share. 
One of my favorite shots, from Ling’s phone camera. Besties forever.
Kisses, and much love. 

Hello to Mr. And Mrs. 

Super cute couple. 🙂  Seeing them together makes me go awwwww. :)) 

Here’s another bestie with his fiancée, who will get hitched soon. 😉 Yay!

All set to give out Ang Paos to all the little ones in the family. 

First time CP met with little Marissa. 

Carrot carvings. Almost tempted to bring it home. 

Cake-cutting and champagne ceremony. 

Us. And our growing family. 😉 
The best part about having them besties is that,
we care for each other, regardless of our coordinates on the map. 
Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, wherever. 
We’ll be there for each other always and forever. 

I would have shared some more photos of the other wedding, but I forgot to backup the photos before deleting them. 🙁  Stole the photo below from a friend, heh. I looked like a haggard old maid, but whatever. The bride is beautiful as ever, and that’s all that matter. 
Wishing the two newly weds all the love in the world, and may their new chapter of life be filled with joy and adventures. xx. 

Island Getaway

The amount of responsibilities grows with age, and there’s just no running away from them. We can, however, make believe that we are free from all those frills and headaches, albeit temporarily – by traveling. All the other stuff can wait till we get back. 😛   And so, off I go for some peace, with nothing but the sounds of waves and peacocks around me.

And now, I’m back to reality. Ready to face another year.

2013 At A Glance

This year I learned that my body and my mind don’t communicate with each other. One can be weaker than the other; it doesn’t matter which is weaker, either way, I suffer.
This year I know I’ve underperformed, for reasons best kept to myself. But one important take home lesson is that I should believe in myself more. I really should. It’s something I’ve struggled for a long time, but this time it hit me hard.
This year I felt there were more downs than ups for me, but maybe that’s not true. I do have many blessings too. I went to places, saw things and people that reminded me of how fortunate I am; I met and made new friends, I’m beginning to learn to be more selective with friends, keeping only the ones who are true and sincere; I was given the opportunity to do something good for others; I learned some Tagalog; I passed a tough exam; I still love and enjoy what I’m doing/learning now. 
This year my best friend gave birth to a little princess; my classmate gave birth to a prince; another one got a baby girl too. Another best friend got married. My grandmas are still around and don’t have major health issues (special thanks to big brother and Cynthia for taking care of ah mah). These are among the many things I’m grateful for. 
And yet, in some ways this year went by in a lightning speed, my memories of the year were marked by sporadic blackouts which I couldn’t recall much of what happened. 
This year is finally over. I’m thankful for all that happened, and all that did not. I’m still learning about life, still finding ways to be a better self. This coming new year will be a year about a better self, and my goal is to take it easy, and live every day like it’s the last. 
Happy new year everyone! 

Night Echoes

There’s something about this time of the night that makes me want to write something. In a few hours I will be off for a mini vacation, one that I need really badly- for the soul and body to get away from the rush, the deadlines, the people. What I need is some peace and quiet, to stop thinking and just be. Just be, and breathe, and take in everything that surrounds me without thinking too much about it. At least that’s what I plan to do when I’m away.

But things don’t always turn out the way you plan, do they. Just like in this case, I don’t think I will get to go with ease when I know I have about 3-feet tall of work/reading materials waiting for me when I get back. Oh well. They will have to wait. For now I need to recharge myself before I can do more. And I really do need to get some sleep to be able to enjoy myself tomorrow. So much to share and write, so little time. More soon. Bye for now!

Moments

Just before we plunged right into the topic on fluids and electrolytes management in children, our professor decided to share a poem with us. Of course. How else would you start a lecture in the afternoon heat if not by inspiring them with a great poem, eh?! 😛  Here’s the poem to share. Enjoy!

Moments 
by Jorge Luis Borges
If I could live again my life,
In the next – I’ll try,
– to make more mistakes,
I won’t try to be so perfect,
I’ll be more relaxed,
I’ll be more full – than I am now,
In fact, I’ll take fewer things seriously,
I’ll be less hygienic,
I’ll take more risks,
I’ll take more trips,
I’ll watch more sunsets,
I’ll climb more mountains,
I’ll swim more rivers,
I’ll go to more places – I’ve never been,
I’ll eat more ice creams and less (lime) beans,
I’ll have more real problems – and less imaginary ones,
I was one of those people who live
prudent and prolific lives –
each minute of his life,
Of course that I had moments of joy – but,
if I could go back I’ll try to have only good moments,

If you don’t know – that’s what life is made of,
Don’t lose the now!

I was one of those who never goes anywhere
without a thermometer,
without a hot-water bottle,
and without an umbrella and without a parachute,
If I could live again – I will travel light,
If I could live again – I’ll try to work bare feet
at the beginning of spring till the end of autumn,
I’ll ride more carts,
I’ll watch more sunrises and play with more children,
If I have the life to live – but now I am 85,
– and I know that I am dying …

Climate Change

Good morning. Saw this the other day and really wanted to share. It’s important to know how bad our climate has changed, and realize that we are the major contributors to that. There are things we can do to slow down this process, no matter how tiny or insignificant they may seem. But more on that later, I’m running late! Here’s the vid to share. Do watch it!

It’s about time we start caring, no? Happy Thursday peeps. 

Afterthoughts

“Welcome to the real world, where people only want answers — correct, accurate answers. […] In life, there is no partial credit for being half right. If you want to accomplish something important, you have to be totally right — and be willing to face the consequences if you are not.”  

Excerpt from When the Air Hits Your Brain, by Frank Vertosick Jr., M.D. 

It’s funny how I’d always come across something that is so relevant to what I’ve been thinking about at that moment, as if the universe ‘gets’ what I’m thinking and is sending a message back at me. Those words from that excerpt pierced right into my heart, and mind. It’s probably a gradual process, but at some point during my clerkship rotations, I realize this: every passing day I am inching towards that real world- a world where physicians are expected to be perfect all the time.

Some time last week, I was in the neurosurgery morning conference, and the head of department talked about how patients are increasingly demanding, and they would harp on the one mistake that you’ve done, and would not let it go. To some, it doesn’t matter if you’ve done many things to help them or their family member; as long as there is one mistake, that’s it. They will come after you. It’s even more so in the field of neurosurgery than any other specialty – and for good reasons too, of course. But he brought it up to remind everyone that we are being watched – all the time. And so, pandai-pandai lah. 

Just finished neuro clerkship. Moving on to pediatrics. It feels like just yesterday that I did psych, but in actuality I’ve done psych, surgery, and neuro! Half-way point. 3 more rotations to go before year 3 ends. How time flies.

Capture First, Help Can Wait

The other day there was a fire in the hospital, and everyone was asked to evacuate. Medical students were asked to leave as well, as no one wants to be held liable for our lives, so we couldn’t stay back to help evacuate. Fair enough. Despite wanting to do something, we made our way out grudgingly, only to see a large number of people capturing photos of the fire in front of the building. -___- ||| Really? I’m speechless. I know there isn’t much to do to help, but still. There’s a time and place for photographs, and this is not it.

Is it just me, or is this what we’re expected of (and hence perfectly acceptable) these days? Is this what our society has become?

Mini Updates

“What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.”

An old adage that never gets old. Those were the words our clerkship director J left us with on our first day of clerkship before we ventured out to the affiliated hospitals – right after warning us that it’s going to be a very tough 8 weeks to come and we should be mentally prepared for it. Maybe because of that, I was expecting the worst, and that made the past 8 weeks seemed bearable, enjoyable even, if I daresay. Now that surgery clerkship is over for a week, I’m having withdrawal symptoms. For one, it’s so strange to be able to go home before 6pm. The day is still bright when I leave, imagine that! But. Not that I’m complaining. 😛

Onto 4 weeks of neurology now. Brains and spinal cords. So far we’ve seen quite a number of stroke patients, some Parkinson’s, a relapsing MS but could potentially be an optic neuritis case, a nutrition related neuropathy, and a chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (yep say it really quick 3 times and you’ll sound very smart lol). Apart from surgery, this is another one that I’m interested in. We’ll see if I still think the same at the end of the clerkship. I do have quite a fair bit to share on surgery though, but that’ll have to wait. For now, lots to review before the beginning of another hectic week. Till the next post, adios! 

For Serious Coffee Lovers

Here’s the trailer for a documentary film about coffee. Film to be coming soon, so it says on the website. Looking forward to it.

If I failed to graduate med school, or god forbid something happened to me and I couldn’t be a doctor due to physical disabilities (pei pei pei!!!), OR maybe when I retire (lol haven’t even started working and here I am talking about retirement! /rolleyes), I’d be a connoisseur of coffee, traveling around the world with just me and myself, tasting coffee from all corners of the world and enjoy the simple life. Mmmm yesssss…

Sometimes I feel all I need to make me happy is just a good cup of coffee. Sometimes. Right now though I could use an extra brain.

Anyway. Enjoy the teaser, you coffee lovers! And if it’s screening here in KL, let me know if you wanna watch it with me. 🙂

Watch: Teddy’s Operation

In light of surgery clerkship, here’s a video to share. Depending on what kind of person you are, you’ll either find it disturbing, or funny, or *insert your own adjective here*. Enjoy! 🙂