Dance Revelation

Some Cool Covers :)

2009-09-08T17:46:00.001+01:00

MJ Tribute

2009-09-02T17:20:00.000+01:00

So cute!

2009-07-28T09:36:00.001+01:00

I thought the girl would be too stunned to say anything, but she answered! Must have taken them quite a while to put something like that together. Watch...

Addiction

2009-07-12T05:44:00.003+01:00

Very much like me and coffee.
But this is definitely about something so much more sinister than caffeine
(but 'sinister-ity' can be very subjective...)
Enjoyed this very much on SYTYCD 5 Top 12.
It very much highlights the struggles in addiction and the gluey effect that the addictive substance (drugs, alcohol... including caffeine) have on people.
Watch...

Calle Ocho

2009-07-08T03:41:00.001+01:00

So You Think You Can Dance 5 Top 16

Daughtry - Home

2009-07-01T00:17:00.001+01:00

Belfast Carnival 2009

2009-06-30T00:01:00.004+01:00

Didn't know what it was a month ago, but I decided to join anyway. Something that goes along with parade and dance wouldn't hurt. And now, I am enlightened by it - and it certainly involves costumes, drums and lots of fun.

I did not bring a camera for this, so I turn to the trusty resources for stills and videos - Google.

Uploaded some photos on Facebook as well.

Until next year, if I am involved in it again. :)

Photos from GP posting...Rotation

2009-06-29T12:56:00.013+01:00

I tried to start a page to put up my photographs a couple of months ago, but knowing my history of blog neglect - it will end up covered in dust and cobwebs. I shall just stick to this blog.

Anyways, here are some photos from the past 3 weeks while I was away in Coleraine for my GP rotation. The place was great! The people were nice and friendly. But most of all, it is near the beach. These were taken from Portrush, Portstewart and Castlerock, places near Coleraine, and the Coleraine itself.

When I saw the label on the door of the B&B, I was thinking, "Great! They've given me the butler's room..."
But look at the room I got! TV and attic roof, plus ensuite toilet! Amazing!
If you need to stay in Coleraine. :) Call Breezemount Guset House.

The guesthouse owner's family tartan on the carpet.

The B&B.
River Bann.
The window of the fish and chip take-away, where I had my first dinner.
Yummy and greasy fish and chips + cheese.
Swan on the river.

The medical center I was NOT attached to...

Sun, sea and sand! The Beach!
Portrush.

Summer flowers.
A Batanghood sculpture?
Seaside houses.
Silhouettes of fishermen in dusk.

Just makes me want to live here after I retire. Too early to think about that right now, but still...

Black Glen.

Mussenden temple.
Downhill house looking through to the temple.
But we can sit near the rocks.
Monkey-ing at the beach.

Skater jump.
Walking on water.
A lost jellyfish.
Sunset at Portstewart.

New!

2009-06-28T14:25:00.001+01:00

And with that, 4th year has ended! Time sure flies!

I can't wait for this long course to end, but then again not too quickly.
Am I ready for the responsibility to be on my shoulders within a year's time?
YES, I am officially a FINAL year student!

Final year, weh...

Don't know to be scared or excited.

But definitely excited for the coming weeks!
Homebound and then the electives!
Oh, the break I so long for after the series of exams in 11 months!

More updates to come -
until I have edited the millions of photos I have.

By the way, how's the new template?
I like the change... :)

Going north

2009-06-07T14:53:00.005+01:00

Haven't blogged for a looooooooooooooooooooong time... and when I do, it's always when I am about to leave somewhere far. This post is none of the exceptions... I'm going to Coleraine for 3 weeks of GP rotation.Here's a map for all those like me who have no clue about the geography of NI. Though far away, let's hope the summer weather lasts - because I'll only be 3 miles away from the BEACH!!! :)

:):):):):)

Bleak...

2009-04-26T21:24:00.003+01:00

...their tears are filling up their glasses
no expression, no expression
hide my head i wanna drown my sorrow
no tomorrow, no tomorrow...

and i find it kind of funny,
i find it kind of sad,
the dreams in which i'm dying are the best i've ever had,
i find it hard to tell you,
i find it hard to take,
when people run in circles its a very...
very mad world...

-Gary Jules-

*No, I'm not suicidal... Just my week's impression of Oncology...*

Call me a fatty - I don't care!

2009-04-05T01:00:00.000+01:00

This week has been just non stop eating and sleeping, and I can literally feel my pants getting tighter! No joke! More reasons to shop? If my half empty wallet agrees, that is...

But back to food and more food, this week had been CRAZY! (feels weird saying this after Psychiatry) Ordering in or being master chefs ourselves, we had fun, be it -

posing with the food,
all engrossed in preparing them,
taking a rest bite while making them,
caught eating them,

or simply cooking them, we had an enormous deal of craic, not to mention stuffing ourselves silly with our own creation and masterpieces. All these talking will not suffice, if I don't display our array of mouth-watering work to make stomachs growl. (I know mine is at the moment...)

I Am Addicted To You - Ben's Facebook Tag

2009-04-04T22:49:00.004+01:00

Ben is nosy about my music taste, and he has chosen the right time to be, because it's Easter and I have time on my hands! We'll see who has the superior acoustic flavour!

Here's what you do:
1. Put your music on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. I honestly did not rig this!

1) IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Rise Above This - Seether (Yeah, man! U can do better!)

2) WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Cabaret Aspirateur - Les Triplettes de Belleville (Means, I'm dark and weird... LOL!)

3) WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Halo - Beyonce (Wow! This is good!)

4) HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Greatest Day - Take That (Can my iTunes read the questions??? Another good answer!)

5) WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE??
Scream - Chris Cornell (I'll need loads of honey...)

6) WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
I Want You - Kings of Leon (I want everything!!!)

7) WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Beautiful - Akon ft. Colbie O' Donis (HAHAHA!!!)

8) WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
7 Things - Miley Cyrus (I wonder what...)

9) WHAT IS 2+2?
Ao No Ether - Megumi Nakajima (Macross Frontier OST) (Think outside the box! ;P)

10) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Do You - Ne-Yo (Errr... No comment...)

11) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Cinderella - Steven Curtis Chapman (Hmmm... What will happen after midnight???)

12) WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Breakeven - The Script (Alamak... Emo-nye...)

13) WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Let It Rock - Kevin Rudolf (ROCK ON!!!)

14) WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Other Side of the World - KT Tunstall (Hmmm... :))

15) WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Gekidou - Uverworld (Errr... I dunno what it means in English...)

16) WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Black or White - Adam Lambert (Michael Jackson) (Maybe I'll end up dancing it alone...)

17) WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Vindicated - Dashboard Confessional (Awww... That's touching)

18) WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Footprints In The Sand - Leona Lewis (Interesting, and romantic in a way... :))

19) WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Din Din Wo (Little Child) - Muso Ko (Is there something that I need to know about???!!!)

20) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Cold Desert - Kings of Leon (No, I don't!)

21) WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Jing Wu Men - Luo Zhi Xiang (Means 'Dance.' That's not bad at all! :))

22) HOW WILL YOU DIE?
One Step Beyond - Karsh Kale (I'll fall off a cliff???)

23) WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
The Waltz - Gentry Morris (With who???)

24) WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Mercy - Duffy (Seeing people do that to me! LOL!)

25) WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
One Rock N' Roll Too Many - Syesha Mercado (AI7 / Starlight Express) (Yeah, my feet hurts!)

26) WHY WILL YOU GET MARRIED?
Shout To The Lord - AI7 Top 8 (Idol Gives Back) (Cool! :))

27) WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger - Daft Punk (4 really scary adjectives!)

28) DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Bu Yuan - Elva Hsiao (Does that mean yes?)

29) IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
What It's Like To Be Me - Justin Timberlake + Britney Spears (Don't wanna change that... LOL!)

30) WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Summerboy - Lady Gaga (If he punches me...)

31) WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
I Am Addicted To You - Anna Tsuchiya inspi Nana (Nana OST) (Sounds good!)

Deleting...

2009-04-02T21:46:00.005+01:00

Clearing the hardisc I carry above my neck and found some things that I don't need anymore:

1) Gedenkenlautwerden / Echo de la pansee
2) Thought broadcast / block / insertion
3) Delusions of persecution, guilt, etc...
4) Schizo affective / Schizotypal
5) Stereotypy / Mannerisms
6) Anorexia / Bulimia
7) Chlorpramazine / Clozapine
8) Enduring Personality Change... PTSD... ...
9) Amok / Dhat / Latah / Koro
10) Panic / Anxiety disorders

All of the above, and a whole load of other deletable (confusing) files...

*clicks on DEL button...*

Don't need those anymore, because...

I PASSED PSYCH!!!

Will still need them for final year - but lets just worry then!
Just lemme have my peaceful two weeks off! ;)

Spring is here - let's wake up and smell the flowers!

[edited] And I don't need a spring dress...

A Post In The Dark...

2009-03-28T20:28:00.002Z

As the Easter holidays looms closer, so will my Psychiatry attachment in Craigavon Hospital come to an end. In fact, my time in Craigavon for 4th year has already come and gone. So long Bluestone Unit... Bluestone Unit is the mental hospital in Craigavon, newly built last year - and has in fact this psychedelic place has won awards for its design. Some patients don't really like it, but then again, how can we judge.

With the long case out of the way, all that is left is the wretched Psych exam, which I'm stressed, because I'm not stressed. Contradictory? That is what 6 weeks in psychiatry has done to me... :( But I must say, the experience was good, not the lectures or the assignments, but the exposure and clinicals.

So what has happened after a couple of weeks?

A rodeo appeared in front of the Students' Union!!!
The QUB campus has been turned into a playground!!!
What has happened???
It was Rag Week for QUB. Looking at the standards of ragging here, I think IMU needs a little more funding in their ragging department, well, maybe a few years ago, since the orientation is no more...

What other fun things? We performed at the Holi Festival.

We did the Dikir Barat. So unlike me to do a traditional dance, but it was really fun!
The Holi Festival is a celebration of colours in India! So that explains, in case you are wondering why I look like some homeless person...
The Dikiers + supporters!

Now to stimulate your salivary glands!

Beef noodles!
Yummy Dim Sum!
Roast meats!
Mango pudding!
Meaty Pizza at Green's Pizza!
Molly Malone Seafood Pizza @ Green's Pizza!
Huge Quesadilas @ Wrap Works!
Giant Burrito @ Wrap Works!

And now, it is pitch black... Because it is Earth Hour! I know Earth Hour has already passed in most parts of the world, but we are now currently doing our bit here in Belfast UK! :)

And tomorrow, Daylight Savings starts again... Losing one hour in the weekend before the exams is not exactly the best thing happening now...

Xingie!'s Survey...

2009-03-21T00:24:00.004Z

THREE NAMES THAT FRIENDS CALL YOU:
1. jayjay
2. ChuanHerng
3. J-Lo

THREE MOST IMPORTANT DATES IN YOUR LIFE:
1. 13th March
2. 22nd Jan
3. 25th Dec

THREE THINGS YOU'VE DONE IN THE LAST 30 MINUTES:
1. Watched ANTM12
2. Played iMob
3. Checked Facebook

THREE WAYS TO BE HAPPY :
1. Dance all out!
2. Sing my heart out!
3. Play guitar (can't play all out yet!)

THREE GIFTS YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE:
1. Cash
2. Free holidays
3. Shotglasses

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES:
1. Dancing
2. Singing
3. Playing the guitar (new hobby)

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO FOR VACATION:
1. New York
2. Hawaii
3. Greece

THREE FAVORITE DRINKS:
1. Java Chip Frappuccino
2. Coffee Bean's The Ultimate(tm)
3. Hot Chocolate from The Chocolate Room

THREE THINGS FOUND IN YOUR POCKET: (Note: A Wallet is not among them)
1. Phone
2. Coins
3. Keys

THREE FAVORITE COLORS:
1. Red
2. White
3. Black

TOP THREE U LOVE SO MUCH:
1. God
2. Family
3. Friends

TOP THREE WHO YOU THINK WILL ANSWER THIS SURVEY:
1. Dossy ppl
2. People who has no psychiatry long cases to write
3. Procrastinators (like me...)

TOP THREE "THINGS" SPECIAL TO YOU:
(things only)
1. My phone...
2. My laptop...
3. My camera...

TOP THREE THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY LATELY:
1. Surprises!
2. Baked cakes!
3. Lovely presents!

TOP THREE REASONS WHY YOU ANSWERED THIS SURVEY:
1. Need a break...
2. Nothing to do...
3. Haven't done one in a while...

Most Exciting Week!

2009-03-17T12:44:00.015Z

The one week that has passed was the most exciting week yet! It all started with SWOT Fashion Show, then with Malaysian Night, and to top it all, to celebrate me getting old... I shall not let words get in the way and let the photos do the talking...

SWOT Fashion Show '09

The stage! We were all shivering with excitement behind the black curtains...
The typical medical student event intro - with scrubs... Spot me if you can!
I need a hero! Superhero costumes made out of scrubs!
Posh Frocks with Strictly Come Dancing!
Urban Outfitters + Rihanna's Disturbia!
Drama Queen's + We're All In This Together!
Climate + Fall Out Boy's Beat It!
Was roasting in the winter-wear...
V is for Victory!
Curious Tales + MGMT's Time To Pretend!
Cult + JT's Lovestoned!
And then MC Hammer's Can't Touch This! Good job boys!
Rusty Zip + Play That Funky Music!
Look at Ben doing his thang!
Bride and Joy + Coldplay's Viva La Vida!
Love to see the Profs and Drs in character dancing to Nickelback's Rockstar!
La Senza + Britney Spear's Womanizer!
Levi's + Marvin Gaye's Heard It Through The Grapevines!
Lifestyle Sports + Eric Pyrdz's Come To Me!
Mary Rose McGrath + Katy Perry's Hot 'n Cold!
Miss Selfridge & Jack Jones + Alpha Beat's Fascination!
Remus Uomo & Office + Chicago's All That Jazz!

Love this dance!
Finale + Lady Gaga's Just Dance!
Strutting on the catwalk!
Confetti!!!

Had so much fun even though we had to prepare from November! Would do it again in a heartbeat! Weekends will never be the same again... Kudos to the organisers, liasons, sponsors, catering, models, and last but definitely not the least - the choreographers! ;)

Malaysian Night '09

My poser pic! LOL!
Me & JiaLi
With Pat, Alicia & JengHaw
Me, JiaLi & JengHaw
JiaLi & Pat
With Alicia & KarLi (who sang wonderfully!)
Me in samfu and LinFoong in cheongsam for the fashion show!
SS pics backstage...
'Rojak' dance! Good job guys!!!
Ben and his own Belaian Jiwa!
So guess who won the best dressed?!
Good job guys for a fantastic Malaysian Night! Just hogging some of the glory in this picture! LOL!

My Birthday!

A Cheeky Monkey cake before the strike on midnight! I truly was surprised!
Me cutting up the monkey cake...

With Caryn @ Chillis, Belfast.
JengHaw, JiaLi & Pat
Someone discovered the coffee lover in me. These were some of my presents! :)
Me huffing & puffing out the Chocolate Molten Cake!
Thank you everybody for celebrating with me! :)
Me *touched* by the presents and cards! ;P

And as for Paddy's Day today, am just gonna take a break from it all... I love holidays! LOL! Anyways, Happy St. Patrick's Day to all!

Going Cuckoo...

2009-02-25T12:47:00.007Z

I just had my Paediatrics examination last week. I was really difficult, but I really enjoyed the attachment! Pardon my lack of blogging, because I was thrown to Craigavon for the past 6 weeks; and the halls are deprived of internet.

I didn't mind doing Paediatrics there though because the teaching is awesome! Did not expect me to like kids that much too! :) Maybe it is after the whole harrowing experience in Obs 'N Gynae. Sorry to all those who saw the Obstetrician/Gynaecologist in me - there isn't one in me now... LOL! Bottom line is, I very much prefer Paeds! :)

With Paeds over, 3/5 of my 4th year has passed. Time really flies! The attachments I have left are Psychiatry, Oncology, Geriatrics and GP. Suddenly the subjects up front looks so bleak...

Today is the third day in Psychiatry, and I'm playing truant. LOL! This whole mental thing is not really for me I think... Perhaps it's all just in my head... LOL! We'll see what happens in the end... Hopefully I won't get molested during my clinical attachment by cuckoo people. ;P By the way, am going back to Craigavon for my attachment, so no internet for a while again... :(

Alright! Pictures time...

Life as a 4th year medical student... :(

Can never resist a good plate of Ulster Fry. :)

Snowy path after a weekend of snow...

Me in the snow. :)

Botanic garden + snow...

Witnessed some disturbing pole dancing... LOL!

Indulged in some tasty hot chocolate!

Surf n Turf @ Doorsteps!

Don't we all wish we could bake like Linfoong?!
It was sooooo delicious + pretty!!!

Celebrated Pat's Bday... Happy 22nd!

Delicious Capricciossa @ Pizza Express

Half Chicken @ Nando's! :)

It was Pancake Tuesday yesterday, so we made...

Pancakes!!! :)

My shot at making savoury pancakes... ;P

More info on Pancake Tuesday. :)

Okay... 'till next time! ;P

Short and Simple...

2009-01-25T23:02:00.000Z

Happy Chinese New Year!!!

Happy Ending

2009-01-18T20:46:00.002Z

Wake up in the morning, stumble on my life
Can't get no love without sacrifice
If anything should happen, I guess I wish you well
A little bit of heaven, but a little bit of hell

2 o'clock in the morning, something's on my mind
Can't get no rest; keep walkin' around
If I pretend that nothin' ever went wrong, I can get to my sleep
I can think that we just carried on

This is the hardest story that I've ever told
No hope, or love, or glory
Happy endings gone forever more
I feel as if I'm wasted
And I'm wastin' every day

This is the way you left me,
I'm not pretending.
No hope, no love, no glory,
No Happy Ending.
This is the way that we love,
Like it's forever.
Then live the rest of our life,
But not together.

A Little bit of love...

New Header!

2009-01-10T16:15:00.003Z

Love it? Hate it?

New Year - Greater Things

2009-01-06T23:09:00.005Z

2008 was a wonderful year, filled with irreplaceable memories. From the first day of the year with Phantom of the Opera till the Roman new year countdown - God has provided so much and pulled me through thick and thin. Let's pray for 2009 to be the same or for greater doors to be opened!

As the Bible (and the t-shirt I got) says: "...You shall see greater things than that." John 1:50

May everyone have a marvellous and blessed year!

p/s: I passed OBGYN!!! Done and dusted - shall not touch it EVER, until next year's finals...

Christmas Time!

2008-12-21T17:37:00.009Z

It's that time of the year again! Rejoice and remember the reason why we all celebrate Christmas!

And so my holiday begins - the one that I so longed for since 9 weeks ago, or even way before that I suspect. But being in the holiday mood and all makes me lazy - so I'm not going to rant about how O&G is most likely the bottom of my speciality list - the only boost was the 30 seconds pulling Paige, Eva and Patrick, respectively, into the reality of life - which I hope they will not regret. Hopefully Paeds will be 1000x much better...

Ok, so here's a picture blog (cos I'm lazy to write/type), and they are not in order (cos I'm lazy to arrange them. ;P) I must have the lazy bug. I heard there's no cure for it...

Chilli's @ Belfast! Yummy Burger!

Jeng Haw's bday celebration @ Chilli's.

Was @ the Christmas Tree lighting for the 2nd time!

Yummy Chocolate Fudge Cake @ Villa Italia

First time @ Clements and the Bacon & Brie Panini

Desert combo (Profiteroles, Sticky Toffee Cake & Apple Crumble) @ Tatu

Watched fireworks during Halloween!

Brownies and Ice Cream @ TGI Fridays

My Bacon & Blue Cheese Burger and I

Churros a.k.a. Spanish Doughnuts

Christmas Potluck Gathering @ Shalom Bible Study Group

Dim Sum @ Sun Kee

Homemade Tong Yuen!

Jeng Haw's ginormous cake and the baker herself!

la casa @ Victoria Sq.

Seafood Pizza @ Speranza

Christmas lunch @ BCH.

Half chicken @ Tatu

Dressed up for Halloween. Yes, it's me behind the mask. ;P

Yummy Oldtimer @ TGI Fridays

Did a wee performance for City Dance fundraiser

German sausages @ Christmas Market

Tapas for a Tenner! Eat all you can!

HsuPhie came to visit. :)

Received a gift from Sharon, which really made my day! :)

That's all for now! Until more things happen during Christmas and after that! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! ;)

Bz Bz...

2008-11-30T18:09:00.002Z

Despite me having desires to update this poor abandoned blog of mine, I'm really tied down with an avalanche of commitments. Hopefully something simple will come up soon...

Having exams for Obs & Gynae in 2 weeks. :(
Pray for me!

Brrrr...

2008-10-29T00:36:00.001Z

Looks like winter is coming early this year...

Pictures till now...

2008-10-26T21:31:00.012Z

@ Botanic Gardens with Caryn.

Mooncake!

make-do-with-what-we-have-Steamboat

Shie Ling's @ Lee's Garden...

le MSSNI passover @ Starbucks...

past Prez n V.Prez

...halfway thru Jia Li's treasure hunt...

...caught posing...

Seriously?!

the look-anywhere-but-the-camera-but-i-don't-care picture...

Flowers and a blazer?! What's going on here?! ;P

Chris, Ben and I @ Frankie and Benny's

The spinning Cookies and Cream Cheesecake!
Will post the recipe for it next time!

Us in Victoria Square, outside Frankie & Benny's.

Me SS-ing with someone else's camera... lol!

Us @ Eid by MSSNI

Sunshine...

2008-10-25T23:54:00.000+01:00

Where is the sun???

If you are living in NI for the past 20 years and grew up with this atrocious weather, then you will not be asking this question. But, not me, not now. The rain and wind is terrible! And it rains all day! I broke 2 umbrellas in 2 hours! One old and 1 newly bought just 10 minutes before being torn apart by the dire wind! So much for umbrellas...

On to another topic, I really haven't updated my blog for ages! I blame 4th year! Or was it that 3rd year was WAY more relaxing? Either way, here's one after a whirlwind of studies and exams.

POEM ended about a week ago after a horrendous MCQ paper and a not too bad OSCE. I think I really like POEM, and am definitely going to miss it. I'm considering doing one of the sub-specialities as one of my elective discipline. Anaesthetics, fractures or emergency medicine? I wonder...

One block down, 4 more to go for the year. After a sorta lighter block, I'm now in slaughter territory - Obstetrics and Gynaecology for 8 weeks and then Paediatrics for 8 weeks - the mass murderers of 4th year.

So I'm already 1 week into Obs 'n Gynae - instead of a much needed holiday after 1 block, and it has not really worked its way into my favourite list. 1 week is still too early to tell anyway. Maybe after I have delivered 3 babies, then ask me again. Why 3? Because it's a require to deliver at least 3 in 8 weeks to complete my Obs 'n Gynae logbook. I'm starting to get tired from all these logbooks already...

Now, weekends are something I really look forward to - but they are always too short - too short for all the self pampering I need to do... But oh well...

STRESS!!!

2008-10-13T12:34:00.001+01:00

Exams on Friday!
MCQs and OSCEs...

Enough said...

Featherweight.

2008-10-04T18:14:00.002+01:00

Have you ever felt as if the all the weight on your shoulders have been lifted?

I have.

POEM - A&E

2008-09-21T17:47:00.002+01:00

I haven't blogged for a long time. Too caught with the action I guess. I'm currently at the second part of POEM, which is the A&E.

A&E is very different in many ways compared to all previous hospital experiences I've had, especially in the Royal. I've had my fair share of nights in the department to see some 'mad' stuff. It's a great experience for medical students, but not so for the victims/ family members - but that's a story for another day.

Some perks in my A&E posting:
1) I don't have a dress code to apply to. :D
2) I walk in scrubs all day - feeling all important.
3) I get to see everything from headaches to sore toe-nails. ;P
4) I get to get your hands dirty and do some crazy stuff, i.e. suturing!
5) There is no fixed timetable - I go in anytime, leave anytime! :D

There are some down-sides to A&E as well, but focus on the good things, it is an awesome experience. 1 more week to go, but I don't I'll be going in for any more crazy night shifts. Going back from the hospital at 2am; once is enough for now.

Another interesting bit - I met an elective student doing A&E in Royal; who said that it was God's plan for him to do his elective here in Belfast! He aspires to be an A&E doctor! How cool is that?! :D

Who Am I

2008-09-09T00:25:00.001+01:00

I wanted to blog about this for a long time, but time did not permit. This was one of the events that made my summer the most memorable ever! I really miss dancing, the trip and the people!

Who Am I is one of 1 a.m. productions I was involved in during summer. Although this was not new, I was really glad to be finally part of it - I really really wanted to learn the routine since whenever. I was blessed enough to not only do it once, but TWICE! First was at Project Dance HK. And the second time was at to God be the Glory, Grace Church, Shah Alam, where I shared the testimony below:-

I used to always wonder who I am to God...

I was brought up as a person who believed I could do everything myself. I don’t need to rely on anyone to do what I want to do, to achieve MY life goals. It was the same for God as well, even after I accepted Christ.

I did not put God in the highest priority in everything I do – be it studies, family, responsibilities or even in a church ministry. It even came to a point that I was encumbered with so many tasks in my life that I feel I need to stop serving God just to better handle my life – or so I thought.But things only became even more overwhelming. I was so burdened I was very sure I was going to fail. And I was very frightened. I frantically looked for something I can trust and hang on to for strength, peace or someone that can bring me through. I know that I cannot go through this ordeal with my own strength. I was reminded of a familiar verse – Matthew 19:26 – “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” With determination to pull through and many prayers, God not only brought me through, He even put me in one of the best universities in the UK to continue my studies.

The journey didn’t stop. I learned to put my trust in God bit by bit. Every decision I make, even small ones, I realised that those that I placed in His hands always somehow worked better. I learned that I serve God because I need to and not when I felt like it. It reminds me to be a grateful Christian.As I continued relating and serving God, I realised this – #(1) – if I put God first, everything else somehow seems to fall into place, and #(2) – that there is a greater plan other than mine – His plan is much bigger and better than the one I’ve been imagining. This journey of obedience and servant hood has brought me back here humbly sharing my story to you.

Finally, I’ve found that when I was wondering who am I to God, He’s already at work telling me it’s not what I’ve done but what He’s done for me - His grace, His strength, His forgiveness and His love that’s been there for me.

If you are also wondering about your identity, let me introduce to you my God. :)

_________________________

Enjoy the 'shaky' video!

p/s: Thank you Sharon for making my testimony more 'dramatic'! ;)
p/p/s: Thank you Albert for recording this video!
p/p/p/s: More summer events coming up, when I get the time. ;P

POEM - Anaesthetics

2008-09-05T12:26:00.004+01:00

And so I've started my first week of clinicals of my first 4th year block. There are 3 parts to my Perioperative and Emergency Medicine (POEM). To put it into simple equations:

POEM = Anaesthetics + A&E + Fractures

The sub-blocks will 2 weeks each. I've started with anaesthetics. And I must say, it has been an interesting week! I'm just glad to be doing real things to real patients! I know I might have hurt them sometimes, so here are my humble apologies (not that they will read my blog), but every medical student have to start somewhere...

Part of the pain is my lack of skills, and the other part is due to the arsenal of sharps the NHS has in store, that I have to use. And after 1 week, I know that even though my skills will reach a certain 'pro' point, there is no 'painless' way of inserting these needles into patients, unless they are asleep (under GA).

The 'deadly' Venflon. ;P

The 'Butterfly'; that stings like a bee!

The Venflon is for drips and the Butterfly is for drawing blood. No, I did not steal them! The just so happen to be in my pocket when I arrived home! My fault actually, because I took some spares in my pocket when I'm cannula-ting/ drawing blood from my patients.

So far, I've done about 8 successful cannulations and drawn too much blood, but definitely far from the good skills I've seen some doctors have.

Been in the theatres for most of my time in the hospital, watching and learning from the anaesthetists. If anyone thinks it's just sitting behind monitors and tweaking knobs and switches when the surgeons work away, then you are wrong! There is so much to patient management before the scalpel and after the sutures, from fluids to pain management, that I did not expect in an anaesthetist's job description! And there's so much to study for it too!

I was in the hospital average between 8.30am - 5.00pm lately, and I don't think it will be any shorter for other blocks. I really wanna study this weekend, but I think there's much self pampering that I need to do first. ;P

Eve's tag!

2008-09-03T21:52:00.004+01:00

Wow! Even before I could tag her, my sister tagged me first! Here goes...

1. At what age do you wish to marry?
Max: 31; if the conditions below are met,
1) I have a girlfriend.
2) I am financially stable.
3) I am spiritually wealthy.

2. What is your most favourite thing to do?
Currently and for many many many years to come: sleeping. Will definitely not get enough of them in the career path I'm in. If I got time to spare, then definitely dancing! XD

3. If you have a close close close friend since childhood who loves to take away whatever you like, including guys/girls, and he/she always wins, will you still consider him/her your friend?
Well, I don't want to be a friend like that... but I would most likely still consider that 'person' a friend.

4. What would you give up in return to eat all you want in the world and not get fat?
Do I have to give anything up? LOL! NO! I can feel my pants tightening already!

5. If you can have 1 dream to come true, what would it be?
To have already graduated... Studying for so long is really taking a toll...

6. Do you believe you can survive without money?
For some hours, yes.

7. What are you afraid to lose the most?
My mind. Doing psyche later this year - scary!

8. When was ur latest best moment?
My summer holiday! XD

9. If there’s someone that you love, would you confess to him/her?
Yes, when I'm sure of it.

10. List out 3 good points of the person who tagged you.
1) She is smart.
2) She is funny.
3) She's my sister. ;P

11. What are the requirements that you wish from your other half?
I'm keeping this open... :P

12. What is the thing that will make you think he/she is bad?
Back-stabbers & hypocrites.

13. What is your ambition?
To achieve THE destiny that is planned for me.

14. Is anyone really perfect?
We are not, but we can be...
"God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect." - Hebrews 11:40

15. If you had a choice to be rich or happy, which one would you pick ?
I want to be rich - spiritually; then I will be happy in His presence!
"Humility and the fear of the LORD bring wealth and honor and life." - Proverbs 22:4

16. If you have a chance, which part of your character you would like to change?
Perseverance. Romans 5:3-4

17. Who is the person that you can share all your problems with?
My family! :)

18. If someone had found a path to immortality to be bestowed upon you in exchange for one of your abilities, would you take it, and what would you sacrifice for it?
I have already found eternal life. :)

19. What is the best thing that had happened in your life?
To be born again...

And so I tag...
1) Patrick Tee (needs to update his blog.)
2) Jeng Haw
3) Jia Li
4) Caryn (bcos she asked me to update mine.)
5) Chia Ling
6) Evie Looi
7) LinFoong
8) Nana! (so that u can relieve some of that 'finals' stress... ;P)

51st!

2008-08-31T00:26:00.005+01:00

Happy 51st Birthday to Malaysia!It's not that there is a sudden outburst of patriotism in me, but missing it 2 years consecutively really makes me hark back to the days of commotion, preparation, the fireworks and most definitely the extra holiday! ;)

1 week...

2008-08-30T12:27:00.002+01:00

I've been back from Malaysia for 1 week already. Woke up from a 2-month long dream and ended up here, halfway around the world, after travelling for 24 hours. Don't remind me of the horror of transit flights.

4th year is a horror as well, a hectic horror. Full days everyday. It's really 180 degrees from the happy-go-lucky third year. And I'm starting with the busiest block of the year. That's life...

So what have I learned in 1 week?
1) Inserting IV cannulae.
2) Suturing is fun! Want to buy a chicken and practice at home.
3) Inserting ETTs is a terrible thing! Especially when you have to jam it into the patients airway a few times just to get in correctly in.
4) I know when to shock a patient.
5) I know when to flood the patient's blood with Adrenaline if I don't get to shock them.
6) I know that I got a choice of not to doing mouth-to-mouth in CPR.
7) I passed ILS.
8) I cannot sit for a full day of class, even if i consume barrels of caffeine.
9) Formalin really really really stings the eye!
10) It is much more fun to learn anatomy from preserved bodies.
11) I still dislike pharmacology.
12) Psychologists actually analyse how people draw pigs for personality tests. And it's quite accurate. Refer to Jeng Haw who is doing psychology now.
13) My stamina is bloody depleted! I died after running a short distance.
14) I've gotten used to the sedentery lifestyle in Malaysia after 2 months... walking is now a hastle...

So for the next 6 weeks, I just need to practise (1) - (7) on REAL patients, and I'm on my way to becoming a real doctor/murderer. XD The rest are just random ramblings that I have to get over myself... ;P Next question is, do I have enough time to keep this blog updated? I guess time will tell...

All Eyes on China

2008-08-08T17:31:00.002+01:00

Billions watched as China opens the games, and hosts the Olympics for the first time - the 3rd Asian country to do so. Expectations were high, especially from the most populous host nation, and I must say, they did a really really good job!

What a way to open the world's eyes to Chinese culture, history and traditions! The fusion between the traditional and modern concept certainly worked. I love the choreography, especially that is done with thousands of dancers! I imagine it to be quite difficult, because I cannot even handle one with 25 dancers! LOL! The torch-lighting part was fantastic as well. I feel proud to have Chinese blood running through my veins (and arteries).

My favourite part, the fireworks! Not just any fireworks - the smiley fireworks! ;)

Now then, let the games begin!

Back from HK!

2008-08-06T04:31:00.003+01:00

I'm exhausted and burnt! Black like charcoal! Malaysia is not so hot and humid after all! Hong Kong is beautiful! Minus the heat, it would be perfect! The food's amazing, the transport is efficient, the shopping is great! There's so much to talk about, but I'm just drained! Need to recuperate for a while... And I need to get photos from everybody!

p/s: i got almost the same picture as the dude, which i stole from in the post below! did realise until i posted it! lol!

The Disappearing Act!

2008-07-24T12:45:00.003+01:00

Am not going to be in Malaysia for 11 days!
Don't miss me! ;)

Am gonna be here...

Missing you...

2008-07-18T06:11:00.003+01:00

A sister can be seen as someone who is both ourselves and very much not ourselves - a special kind of double. ~Toni Morrison

Although it has only been 1 week since you left, know that we are missing you loads here. All the best in your new phase in life. Take care and God bless! See you soon!

I Really Should Be Blogging More Often...

2008-07-14T08:08:00.000+01:00

...but I'm busy filling my stomach with all that I'm deprived of for the past 10 months!

Disclaimer: This post is not for the 'hungry-stomach'-ed. Scroll down with caution, so as not to drown your computer with drool. ;P

WanTon noodles @ OUG

Toast with Gelato @ Leo's

Pork ribs hot pot @ Kuchai Entrepreneurs Park

Pork noodles @ OUG

Nasi bojari @ Madam Kwan's

Roast duck @ home!

Mom's recipe Ginger Chicken @ home!

Unagi sushi @ Sushi Groove

Salmon & tuna sushi @ Sushi Groove

J Co. Doughnuts!

Steamboat! Not once but twice already!

Theres so much more that I did not photograph, or too lazy to photoshop. ;P I fear I will go back to Belfast a fat boy! But who cares, as long as I can eat these glorious food! Malaysians are born to eat! So if I haven't been blogging lately, you know what I'm doing. LOL!

Change of number...

2008-07-01T08:32:00.001+01:00

Due to unforseen circumstances, my h/phone number will be changed to
+6012-6376975

Will be using this number for the 2 months that I'm back home...

HOME!!!

2008-06-27T17:37:00.005+01:00

It felt so surreal that 10 months could come and go so quickly and now I'm home again! It feels so good to be on home ground again, to all that I've grown and known. Then again, I've grown a little fondness towards Belfast as well - my second home.

On to some good news, which some might have guessed from the previous post, I PASSED!!! XD Happy days! Good bye 3rd year! Goodbye pathology! I'm definitely NOT a budding pathologist! And I'm glad that I don't have to ever gravel in it for a very very very long time! Congratulations to all those who have passed, and especially to those who have done superbly well! All the best to those who will celebrate a little later. You'll all be 4th years soon enough! God bless!

Let's start practising now, "Hi, my name is <fill in name>. I'm a fourth year medical student. Can I ask you a few questions?" Whoa! Sounds a little cooler already! XD

So I'm home, and it feels great! I had to go to the saloon the day after I got back, but all's good. Shorter hair for a hotter temperature.

The heat is not that unbearable, as what I would have imagined, since I have pretty adapted to Belfast weather. It is not all that sticky as well. Once a Malaysian, always a Malaysian.

Surprisingly, the first meal I had after I landed was not mamak or nasi lemak, but sushi. I haven't had Japanese food for over 10 months already so I really do miss it!

And then after that for a little bit of Hokkien mee.

Had a dim sum breakfast today.

And pork knuckle for dinner!

Looks like I'm getting the dose of Malaysian food that I'm longing for. There are tonnes more that I want to satisfy my long-deprived atrophic taste buds. Looks like I'll have to make a list of all those I want to eat, one to remind me of what I'm missing, and two, to make it easier for all those who wants to belanja me! XD

Will be home for about 2 months. Too short for my liking, but that's all I get. Hope to make the best outta it!

Coming home...

2008-06-25T16:41:00.002+01:00

Using a public network in London Heathrow now...
Boarding a flight home in 5 hours...
3rd year has come and gone...
And I'm going home...

home - micheal buble

F.R.E.E.D.O.M.

2008-06-11T09:48:00.004+01:00

It's finally over!!!
The longest grueling exam ever since whenever!!!
After 2 weeks, 2 pathology papers, 1 clinical paper and an OSCE;
and months before preparing for this -
oh, the sweet taste of FREEDOM!

Let's just hope the freedom I got is not short lived!
*Praying hard!*

So what am I gonna go after exams? Relax and eat all I can of course! I will be moving to a new place, so I will be internetless until I go home, but it's alright, since I will be travelling for a while. And then after that, it's HOME!!! Oh, I can't wait!!! 25th June is not far away anymore!!! XD

Due to the stresses of exams I started doodling again. LOL! It's true that you will tend to do a more of other things when the exams are near, like eating more or watching more YouTube. I believe it's something called sublimation. (sounds like something in BS, not that I can remember)

I think the last time I doodled was in A-Levels, and I did it on Taylor's tables! LOL! Me and juvenile vandalism! And then one day, my teacher found out and asked me to rub it all off! =( Darn! Should have drew in permanent ink!

So I'm reliving my yester-years now at Doodles! Gonna keep it as my side blog. Alright, gonna go enjoy my freedom while I can! Ciaoz! XD

EXAMS START TOMORROW!

2008-06-01T15:00:00.000+01:00

'Nuff said...

It's BACK!

2008-05-30T01:16:00.004+01:00

Robert Muraine @ So You Think You Can Dance 4!

and then theres...

George Sampson @ Britain's Got Talent 3

[edited] And he WON Britain's Got Talent!!! WOOHOO!!!

Such a "groovy" summer and I'm having exams... =(

2 Weeks...

2008-05-20T13:29:00.014+01:00

2 weeks...

...since I last blogged. Am preparing for a very scary finals. Not really like the one in IMU, when we can safely say we have finished studying after going through the lecture notes (which is all you'll ever need) 500 times. It's like swimming aimlessly in an ocean of information. What is sufficient to keep me afloat, and not too much to drown? I really don't know! Again, rely not on the power of man, but on You Know Who! XD

...since I ran my first marathon ever in my life! I did!
I joined a relay team, running for Belfast Marrow in the Belfast City Marathon 2008. I ran the last leg, 4.3 miles (6.9km). Have never ran that far to save my life before, and can't believe I ran for charity/fun!

Well, I gained lots of experience from that 1 run itself, like suppressing the temptation to overtaking everybody and ending up 'pancit'; and that running up gradients are super difficult, especially for 15 straight minutes!

But it was fun! Might just do it again next year! If I'm fit enough, I might try the full marathon! Well, after I lose the extra flab I gained from exam stress!

Met a long lost friend within these 2 weeks as well! Haven't been keeping in touch since primary school, so it was great that he decided to visit Belfast!

...until the dreaded exams. Getting the feeling of impending doom. Can't wait for it to be over, but don't want it to come so soon as well. Just want to get it over and done with, because 2 weeks after the exams, I'll be going home!
Oh, I want to go home! I know I'll roast in the Malaysian heat (because I think 15 degrees is really hot now) but every bit is worth it! A can't wait for all the summer plans and holidays! It's gonna be great! Can't wait! Can't wait! Can't wait!

Watched the Top 2 finale of American Idol 7 (AI7), after following it all season. No life, I know. My source of entertainment, since ANTM and House had their season finales.
The long awaited and expected David-David final! It's Cook versus Archuleta! America was really divided between teenagers and muppet lovers, and well, the rest of America! I think Archie did a better job in the finals, and will most probably win the title. He needed it more. Correction, his DAD wanted it more! LOL!

I've been a Cookie fan from the very beginning - he had me at 'Hello' - and that didn't change, since he was great throughout! So, I do hope he wins. Doesn't matter if he doesn't, 'cos he's gonna be successful anyway. The next Daughtry, maybe better! When's the new album coming out? Might get Archie's album too, after I retire, and from the antique shop. LOL!

[edited]SPOILER!
DAVID COOK WON!!! WOOHOO!!!

Alright, back to the books now!

I'm Alive!

2008-05-01T23:05:00.009+01:00

Not a post about David Cook's American Idol performance (although I'm a fan!) but just a little update to say that I'm still alive, and keeping the blog alive for a little while longer, until my exams are over! Oh, I just can't wait, to go home after that and all. But for now, I need a little more time to cramp all I need to into my tiny brain.

And to keep myself alive, I need food! I hardly blog without pictures of food nowadays. It's not a bad thing, but just tells how unhappening life is for me now. LOL! But I'm grateful I am still healthy and still able to consume glorious amounts of yummy delights! XD Food is a potent stress reliever!

Revisited Gourmet Burger Bank! This was about 2 weeks ago!

Crystal's DIY dinner wraps!

Voila! Looks professionally made rite? ;P

Had a heartattack on a plate (Ulster Fry) @ Maggie May's!

Stewed beef and roasted pork @ Same Happy!
(am curious how it was translated to such a name. >.<")

Shie Ling made Nasi Briyani and Curry Chicken!
Yummy!

Braised beef @ Tao Noodle Bar.

Patrick's Tao Suan!
Doesn't look the part, but it's still very nice!
That's why I finished one big bowl!
Good job Pat!

The most happening part of my past 2 weeks should be going to Dublin
to meet with CYin and LayIn! Haven't seen them since Christmas and New Year's.
CYin and I.

All geared up for paintball! Guess who are behind all the masks?
Was my first paintball experience, and I had fun!
Well, maybe because I did not go home with bruises like the others.
Felt a little left out when we were comparing the severity of our bruising. ;P

LayIn and I.

Jiat and I.
Last picture of us before rushing to the bus station in 4 minutes.
Managed to stop the LAST bus ON THE STREET!
Thank you Mr. Bus-driver for being so understanding!
If not, we would have to sleep under a bridge!

Smoked salmon starter @ The Old Mill.

Moi braised lamb 'coins' @ The Old Mill.

Jiat's Quail @ The Old Mill.
Reminds me of the puyuh at Steven's Corner.

Swordfish! Is that fish even edible?!
It's on a plate, so i guess it is! ;P

Was only in Dublin for a day and then back to Belfast.
Since exams are so near, I don't cook that often anymore.
It's more like I don't even cook at all!
I rely on the convenience of eating out and taking away such as...Domino's!
And now, it's back to the books. It's May already! exam's in 1 month's time! But I'll be home in less than 2 months! XD Cannot wait! Anyways, will try posting sooner. Just hope it will not be another 2-3 weeks time. ;P

Rest Bite...

2008-04-15T19:03:00.005+01:00

First week of General Medicine went like a breeze! That means another week just flew by. Inching closer to exams everyday. It is going to come no matter what, so no point stressing about it. Might as well do what I can, and face it like a Man! LOL! Oh, so help me God!

Haven't really had anything interesting to talk about in General Medicine yet, but the days in the Hepatology ward reminds me of this song...
...well simply because patients with liver problems are generally jaundiced (yellow-skinned). Liver transplant seemed so common here, although patients have to be transferred to London for the procedure. Wasn't it not too long ago that liver transplant was a huge operation? I cannot remember already. Well, with the advancement of medical technology, anything difficult 5 years ago would be plain simple now. I'm saying it as if I'm already doing the operation. LOL!

Well enough about stressful stuff, and on to wee relaxing bits last week. Went for a gig organised by the Arts students of Ulster University to raise funds for their Open Day. It was just a short and simple night featuring 4 bands.
Come to think of it, this is actually my first live band gig in the UK, musicals excluded. And I expected to have been to more! Sad deprived life. So I really did enjoy that night! Of the 4, I thought this particular band, featuring a singer by the name of Gentry Morris was the best. The others were great as well. The songs were mostly self written ones mainly in the blues, folk and rock genres. So it was all good!

On to another stress-relieving topic - FOOD! I cannot remember how long ago it was since I had Sausage McMuffin with Egg (it's very nice ok?!), should be more than 8 months, but I finally had it for the first time in UK on Saturday! And it's so good! Missed it, maybe...

Oh, and McDonalds is having this Money Monopoly promotion thingy, where people win things instantly, and guess what lucky me won? Another Sausage McMuffin with Egg! So it was a double dose in one day, to make up for all the times I'm deprived of it maybe!

And it was only last week that I won myself a 6" Sub Of The Day from Subway. I guess i'm having a little food luck. Not complaining!

Since I don't spend that much time in the city window shopping now ('cos I'm trying/pretending to study in my room. LOL!), guess where is my favourite place to shop now? None other than ebay! I did not believe in internet shopping at all before i came, but I guess now, I'm a believer! LOL!

So I was innocently window shopping in front of my laptop screen, and then suddenly I am innocently hit by something I have set my eyes on since before Christmas...
The Gap Inspi(RED) scarf! I have only seen it once in Endinburgh, and no where else! I was a little disappointed that I did not get in then, and it was nowhere to be found on ebay even after Christmas! I know, it's just a scarf, but I really like it ok?!

So anyways, I am suddenly rekindled with the familiar fondness 5 months ago! And guess how much it was selling for? 1/5 OF THE RETAIL PRICE!!! Part of the reason I did not buy it months ago was because it was a little pricey for a scarf, but that reason is now gone! An offer I simply cannot refuse! And they threw in a snow cap with it too! ;) I guess it'll only be of use next winter. LOL!

Alright, enough with the excitement. Back to the books...

Post Therapy & The Start Of General Medicine

2008-04-08T13:04:00.007+01:00

And after 2 days of not studying, everything felt normal again! Like the sayings of an old strategem - 'rest is a vital part of battle as well.' And the rest did me good!

I didn't do retail therapy, more like window retail therapy. My parents must be relieved. LOL! The other therapies worked great! I slept till noon, blast my annoying music, sang and danced! My neighbours must be cursing me for the past two days. No wonder I have been sneezing so much.

As for the baking therapy, I did not want to get stressed up by making something sophisticated, so I decided to make a brownie! So here's the Triple Chocolate Brownies with ice cream!
I actually miscalculated and made it too big! But I'm glad it was finished! Will post the recipe on makanclub.blogspot.com soon.

The eat-like-there's-no-tomorrow therapy did not really work though, because it involves a substantial amount of cash, which I do not have. But we did have dim sum on Sunday, which was great!

It was all good, but Monday came too soon. :(

Classes went full swing on the very first day, with a few glitches. The coordinator was on holidays, so we had no idea about where or when our classes were on a full first day. Everyone had to come in and start reminding each other about the impending exams in 8 weeks. What a 'great' start to General Medicine...

Fortunately, everything was sorted out by the end of the day. The end of a very long day! We will never appreciate half days until we have full day classes again. I miss half days in General Surgery!

But today, classes were only half day! Correction, only 1 hour! Sweet! But no slacking though, because doom is around 2 months, and counting... so it's Starbucks and the library for me now. Sorry if I'm not updating often now, but I'll try my best! ;)

Notice: NOT GOING TO STUDY FOR 2 DAYS!

2008-04-05T00:03:00.010+01:00

Easter break is coming to an end, and classes start in 2 days time. And what did I do during these holidays? I studied! This NEVER happened to me before! I mean, they call it holidays for a reason - which is as it says - a holiday! A break!

Although I must say this was a very study-productive 3 weeks, but I think it has taken a toll on my brain. I don't know why I felt a little... well... not myself after my library session today. Have I overworked myself? I don't know, 'cos I never did!

Makes me wonder how I did not feel this before, even though this is supposed to be the same amount of stress as before (EOS5), well, relatively. Maybe it's just me, putting pressure on myself. Not very appetizing to look forward to another visit to the library everyday, is it? This is so not life, so not the holidays. But then again, I'm a medical student...

Anyways, I have devised a way to revert me back to my former happy-go-lucky self! I am not going to study for the rest of my holidays! Well, for the 2 days left of it. And I'm going to use some therapies to keep my mind healthy:

a) Retail therapy - Always works! But need to spend money. Maybe not... ;P
b) The Stay-in-bed therapy!
b) The Dance-in-my-room therapy!
c) The Sing-as-if-my-neighbours-are-deaf therapy!
d) The Baking therapy! - Desserts are just so endorphin-ergic!
e) The Random-youtube-ing therapy!

f) The Eat-like-there's-no-tomorrow therapy! - I think that therapy should start now! --Stimulating cephalic phase--

FOOD!!! GLORIOUS FOOD!!!

The bottom line is, I'm not touching medical books until classes start! Full stop! Davidson, I'll see you in 2 days time! Same goes to you Kumar & Clark, and the rest of you as well! Bye!

*Keep your mental health, heart and blood vessels healthy. This is a community service message brought to you by jay133.blogspot.com*

LinFoong - The Serial Tagger!

2008-03-31T00:59:00.003+01:00

Aiyo! I still remember doing your previous tag not long ago la. See, I so nice, do all your tags. LOL! ;P

Instructions:
Remove 1 question from below and add in your personal question, make it a total of 20 questions, then tag 8 people in your list, list them out at the end of this post.

1. At what age do you wish to marry?
Most likely 30, when everything else in life is stable. But then again, I need a significant other first! LOL!

2. What will you do when you feel really emo?
Blast music and dance! And then sing emo songs. I should be fine after I'm tired enough to go to bed. LOL!

3. What do you have in your mind now?
Exams, financials, look for a house to move into and when to return home in summer!

4. Where is the place that you want to go most?
Home.

5. What song is playing in your mind right now?
Let It Be - The Beatles / Brooke White

6.Do you believe in seeing the rainbow after the rain?
If the rainbow is there, and I see it with my own eyes, then I'll believe! I think I answered this too literally. Metaphorically and personally, I prefer the sun after the rain.

7. What are you afraid to lose the most right now?
My mind.

8. What cheers you up for the rest of the day?
The sun and the clear blue sky! Weather is such a mood determinant here! LOL!

9.If you meet someone you love, would you confess to him/her?
Someone asked me this before (was it you Patrick? LOL!), well, I am, or have become a very safe person (cannot become a businessman already). I would confess, but I'll have to be very sure. But all is up to God anyway. If it is to be, it will be.

10. List out three good things of the person who tagged you.
3 good things about LinFoong? Errr...
1) Can bake very well! And I mean VERY WELL!
2) Strong and stays true to herself.
3) Good sense of humour.

Happy?! LOL! Just realised I only know you through your blog. Should go out one day to yumcha! LOL! ;P

11. What are the requirements that you wish from your other half?
Someone who can accept me for who I am. Not easy leh. ;P

12.What type of person do you hate the most?
God says to love everybody! But if there are bad qualities in a person which I dislike, it would be back-stabbers and cheaters. But I'm generally tolerant, and so I think. ;P

13.What would you do if you won a million dollars?
Pay for my course! That would almost finish it already!
I think I could only afford a Kancil after that.
There goes my apartment in Ampang! LOL!

14.What is your ambition?
If I'm a medical student, there's nothing else to hope to be but a doctor! LOL!
But there are more like going 'borderless', and the 'Dream Hospital' with some of my friends. I would hope to do something with dance as well, but have yet to find out what.

15.What would you wanna be after you're dead?
Someone with God.

16. If you have a chance, which part of your character would you like to change?
Jay the Big Procrastinator!

17. What is your favourite colour?
#2B65EC. HTML code for Royal Blue 2. Should be the colour I'm using for the questions. ;P

18.What do you think is the most important thing in your life?
Time. Important and priceless.

19. If there’s one thing in your life you want to do but yet unable to, what would it be?
Another difficult question.
Turn back time and correct all the mistakes I've made i guess.
Become Hiro! YATTA!

20. What would you do if tomorrow was the last day of the world?
Yay! Don't have to study for exams anymore! LOL!
I guess I would say all the important things to important people. I don't do this often enough. And of course, spread the good news! :)

I tag:
1) Patrick
2) Jeng Haw (you guys owe me 2 tags. LOL!)
3) Jia Li (since you so nice, do my previous tag.)
4) Steph Wong
5) Evie Looi
6) Christine Chow
7) FengY (since you are back!)
8) Suet May

Argh! I Can't Believe I Missed This!

2008-03-29T00:31:00.003Z

The answer is a definite "YES" for these guys for the question I asked in the post below.
*stolen from Sharon's Multiply page. LOL!*
Presenting the 1 a.m. Dance Ministry with their Easter Production, dancing to Kirk Franklin's Imagine Me.

What's worse than not being able to watch this live, is not being able to be a part of it! Argh! But it's really a great production! My deepest congratulations to everybody! Looking forward to more God inspired productions to come! Save me a dance when I come back! >.<

Awed and Humbled!

2008-03-28T15:55:00.003Z

My dad sent me this video a couple of days ago. Yes, my dad! I'm quite proud of my dad, because unlike most conventional dads, he is quite the tech savvy one! He knows how to use YouTube, which I'm quite certain most people his age haven't even heard of!

Anyways, on with the video, just click play:
What awed me the most was not the talent she has a a young age, but the passion she had even though she was not given sight. She loves to play the piano, and that in no doubt has touched many, even those like me, who has only seen this one year later from when it was first on Korean TV!

It reminds me of how gracious God can be. She has been endowed with an awesome and miraculous gift of hearing and music. I was awed and humbled by her raw talent and her modesty to give her best in her performance. I'm sure she will put her God given talent to good use, and be guided be a wonderful Teacher. Time will tell what happened to this 5 year old wonder.

Talent is undeniably God given. No matter how small it might be in one's perception, it is HUGE in God's glory. I am once again reminded of God's grace, and the diverse gifts that he has instilled in His people. So I went on a verse search (which I sometimes do when I'm Inspired), just to see what the bible says about God's grace and gifts, and 2 verses made an impact:

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2: 8-9

"As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For he says,
"In the time of my favor I heard you,
and in the day of salvation I helped you."
I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation."
2 Corinthians 6:1-3

So have you put God's grace and gifts to good use?

LOL!

2008-03-26T01:45:00.004Z

I found this on someone's blog. Can't remember who exactly. I was curious so I gave it a try...

What Jay Low Means

You are fair, honest, and logical. You are a natural leader, and people respect you.

You never give up, and you will succeed... even if it takes you a hundred tries.

You are rational enough to see every part of a problem. You are great at giving other people advice.

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection.

You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive.

You have the classic "Type A" personality.

You are a free spirit, and you resent anyone who tries to fence you in.

You are unpredictable, adventurous, and always a little surprising.

You may miss out by not settling down, but you're too busy having fun to care.

You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow.

You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily.

Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is.

You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life.

You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you.

At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself.

You are very charming... dangerously so. You have the potential to break a lot of hearts.

You know how what you want, how to get it, and that you will get it.

You have the power to rule the world. Let's hope you're a benevolent dictator!

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

If that person was me, am I in the wrong field? Politics might be better! LOL! But I know that is not for me! And if I was this person, I will most likely die of heart diseases! If this was true, then I would have to prepare for it now! LOL!

Easter

2008-03-23T23:41:00.018Z

It's about time I write something before my blog is officially pronounced dead. I'm having a 3 week Easter holiday, including my study week, so where did I plan to go? NOWHERE!

Yes, Jay has officially turned lifeless! 180 degrees change! Nerding has somehow taken priority now, well, partly due to the fact that Jay has been slacking for 6 months already, and Jay needs some wake up call to start mugging. And Jay has to stop referring to himself as a third person now, 'cos it's getting weird. ;P

Easter has been great, none the less. My first Easter outside Malaysia! Everything is my first now. It won't be the same next year so I'd better enjoy it while I can. Easter is kinda big here, like Hari Raya or CNY back home. The part that resembles the celebrations back home is the emptiness in the city during Easter! It's very scary because the capital of Northern Ireland can look really dead! And I mean REALLY DEAD! Everything is closed!

2 of the best jobs during Easter had to be librarians and postmen! I've heard of Good Fridays and Easter Sundays being holidays, but guess what, there's Easter Monday and Easter Tuesday here too! The libraries and post offices are closed until Tuesday! So much for all my mugging plans. I made Starbucks my library instead. There should not be an Easter Wednesday, so all systems go!

Went for a Easter Retreat organised by the church I'm attending here, the BCCC, at the beginning of my holidays. So here's a long stretch of photos, that some of you guys might have seen on Facebook!Went and stayed in Castlewellan Castle, somewhere south of Belfast.

The Mourne Mountains, on the way to Castlewellan.
Hope to go hiking there some day!

The wee Castlewellan town.
Rumour has it that the first Chinese take-away was established here!

Bacon and Cheese burger!
YUMMY!

Stairs leading up to the main area in Castlewellan Castle.

A real hunted-moose-head-trophy thingy!

The dining hall!

My bag and my bed!

The theme was 'Listening and Doing',
which was mighty practical!
Refer to James 1:19-27 for more details! ;)

Ben and moi.

Lear and I.

Roast chicken for dinner!
Looks very familiar doesn't it?! ;P

Chips, chips and chips!
Had chips for almost every meal!
Am gonna abstain from chips for a while now!

Ben finishing a large bowl of trifle!
He has eight stomachs too!

A very cute baby! Awww...

Ang and Ben's unfinished chess game...
They did not want to finish it.

My new profile picture.
It was somehow quite comment-fetching.
I wonder why... ;P

Will and 6 hours of sleep in 3 days.

The beautiful lakeside.

Posing at the lakeside.

Me risking to break my bones.

The maze at Castlewellan!
I actually got lost!
Reminiscence of the maze we built in high school,
for Food and Fun Fair.
This was WAY bigger!

Me and my usual freeze at Castlewellan!
Promise to change my next freeze pose! ;)

Ben and I with the English side speakers,
Roy and Eileen Taylor!
They were really great!

le dessert

Day trip to seaside town Newcastle.
Not the one in England!
There's one in Northern Ireland too!

Us eating Maud's ice cream in the cold.
Brilliant!

Ben laid an egg!

And Will kept it warm!

The globe @ Newcastle.
If you look closely, all of us are in the globe! ;)

Sunset at the lake at Castlewellan.

A wee worship concert for Him,
with glow-sticks!
It turned out HUGE!

The surprise BBQ after the concert!
It's great that the food was endless!
Not complaining!

Roast pork and long beans!

Apple crumble and ice cream for dessert!
YUM!

All in all, a time well spent in the presence of God!
Once again we were reminded of His greatness,
and what he did on the cross 2000 years ago,
that we are redeemed,
and our relationship with God is restored!
Retreats are great, as we get to back away from our busy schedules and focus on God. Thinking about this makes me miss my church back home. Argh! Can't believe I missed the Easter production! Post the video up soon! >.<

Alright, back to preparing for the finals! I haven't had a chance to prepare for exams 3 months before for good while now! Even back in IMU, I'd usually have about 2 weeks to prepare for finals, because Jay will somehow inexplicably be entangled in a series of events that he has to tackle. I guess that curse was lifted after leaving Malaysia! This is a luxury I will have seize! But I don't want to speak about things too soon. Knowing my procrastinating nature, things might just go hay-wire. But for now, back to that luxury...

1st Birthday Abroad!

2008-03-18T22:51:00.016Z

I MIA-ed from blogging for a while, well because some good things happened! So there's a valid reason! One of it was that I got to celebrate my first birthday away from home with good friends and company. So here are the photos!Doris baked me a cake the day before! It was a type of Coffee-Cheese Mousse Cake, which was very nice! Thank you!

And then at 12am, my friends gave me a surprise at my door! Whoa! Look at the magnificent presentation of the cake! It's a Peach-Strawberry-Vanilla-Chocolate Cake! Looks like I don't have to bake anymore! *hints to Jia Li and Phaik Har.*

Me cutting the cake!
*special thanks to Chia Ling, Shie Ling and Jiat for the card and After Eights!*

So, the next day, I had a potluck style dinner to celebrate! The best thing about it was that I don't need to cook anything! Just need to bring my stomach and feast! Jia Li made meatballs, pretty much like those in IKEA!

There's lap cheong, which I miss so much!

Satay Chicken! Anything Yee Pei cooks is always nice!

Mixed vegetables!

I think this was called Prawn-Corn, or whatever it is, it's still very good!

And char siew pork ribs!!! Jeng Haw's 'you-just-open-all-the-bottles' recipe! ;P How can anyone go wrong with the amount and the array of food prepared!

Earlier that day, I had my very first meal in the very first Nando's in Belfast! It's wonderful how they kept the spice going even though the UK peeps can't really endure our level of spice, which made it wonderful for us who craves spice! *thanks Sammie for the card and lunch!*

On the next day, we had another wee celebration at am:pm! Lot's of pics of me to come! ;P
Not my first time here, but it's still GREAT! Loved the ambience, and the food!

Had mussels for starters!

Phaik Har and I.

Heng Haw and I.

Patrick and I.

Chris and I.

My lamb shank! Simply delicious!

Ben and I.

It's raining men!

Poser and chandelier. ;P

Jia Li and I.

Tyng Hwey and I.

And then I got surprised with another CAKE! This time, it's a Chocolate Cheese Cake! Yummy! Pretty obvious who baked the cake. I really can retire as a baker already! ;P

SS photo of me and my new tie!

Got a Shot-Glass Chess Set for my birthday as well! Now, when and who do I get to play with? ;P But it's a great present! Didn't expect it at all!

Group picture at the Post-Dinner at Guthrie!
"Spot the not so sober ones... ;P"

And lookie here - my very first Me To You bear! And I'm straight!
It's so cute! Thank you!

I just want to thank everybody who made my birthday such a warm and wonderful one! I couldn't ask for more! Thank you all!

*thank you everybody who sent their wishes! sorry if I did not reply you.*

Lin's Tag

2008-03-11T22:02:00.003Z

The Rules

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. List eight (8) random facts about yourself.
3. Tag eight people at the end of this post and list their names.
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving them a comment on their blogs.

Eh, linfoong, this tag is very difficult la. I don't even know that much about myself. ;P But I'll try anyways...

Number 1
Alright, let's start with the obvious, non-random fact. I really like dancing! I did not start at a young age, which explains why I'm so lousy. I was truly into dancing only when I was in IMU, which not only became my 'first' medical school, but my dance school as well! Now, I just love dreaming with my limbs and body. If you see me having 'fits' or 'fasciculations' in the streets, I'm not having an epilepsy k? It's just me and my passion.

Number 2
I did not get to drink soft drinks (Coke, Pepsi, etc.) until I was about 14 years old. Talk about deprived childhood. Well, this was because I had childhood asthma. But I'm all well now, and drinking according to my heart's desire. soft drinks for that matter.

Number 3
I dressed up as another gender once. Ok, fine, twice. Once was in high school, where I had to play Snow White, and another was in IMU during orientation. Enough said.

Number 4
My favourite childhood storybooks had to be The Faraway Tree series by Enid Blyton. I can still remember reading it in Primary 2-3. I must have read it 4-5 times. I think I bought the books as well, but it should be somewhere collecting dust. Gotta look for them when I get home.

Number 5
I shall make baking my hobby now! It's really quite amazing how when everything was mixed and looking crap-like can turn into beautiful and tasty confectioneries! It's really a wonder how the first baker ever thought of baking!

Number 6
I was very into J-Pop in high school, and have tonnes of Japanese CDs and songs that I don't listen to anymore. I don't even know why did I even buy them in the first place. But my craze for Ayumi Hamasaki remains till now. Have yet to listen to her new album, but it should be great! Ganbatte Ayu!

Number 7
I have a collection of bears and soft toys in my room in Malaysia and I am not gay! I used to collect bears from Mcdonalds, and I think I have 2 full sets. Now I feel a bit unhealthy. The others are just stray ones. And some of my friends give me soft toys as presents as well, which I don't know why... ;P

Number 8
I used to be in a band in high school. No, not a brass band! More like a Pop/Rock band. Yeah, it was during that time when I was youthful, innocent and naive and thought I could sing. And yes, I was the lead vocalist. But that was a long time ago, and I know better now - I don't need Simon Cowell to tell me!

Phew! That was a difficult one! But still I managed to finish it. Now, for me to become evil, I'll tag:
1) Jeng Haw
2) Pat T
3) Jia Li
4) Chia Ling
5) Evie Looi
6) Nana
7) Steph Wong
8) Christine Chow

Sorry ya, but all the best! ;P

Commonwealth Day '08

2008-03-10T22:51:00.011Z

When I got the email about going to the Commonwealth Day, I replied that I was going without having a single clue about what it is! Not the first time for me to do such things... ;PI mean, of course i would go - I got to go on a free trip to see the Stormont estate, also known as the Parliament of Northern Ireland.

After a little research (which was done after I came back from the place) I found out that Commonwealth Day is the annual celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations held on the second Monday in March, since 1958. But I seriously have never heard of it before! It was maybe because it was not a holiday. I mean, everybody remembers their holidays!

And so there was a wee bit of exposure of Northern Ireland politics for me today (like all the drama in Malaysian politics during the weekend wasn't enough!) and I got to see Ian Paisley, the First Minister of Northern Ireland with my own eyes! For noobs, like what I was before today, First Minister = PM!

The event was one filled with speeches, but with emphasis on the environment. They even had a high school debate about the environment prior to this. And then, they had a dance performance. It was listed in the itinery as 'African Drums and Dance.'

Well, anything that spells dance would get me all excited, and I must say, I had high expectations, since they were going to perform in front of Northern Irish big-shots. But then, 2 girls came out in costumes nothing less than suggestive, and pranced around like wet (non-African) birds. I kid you not!

After the dance, my Ugandan friend told me, "You do not look amused."

Oh, did I show it on my face?! I'd have to work on being discreet from now on! One can't help but wonder which part of Africa was that dance from. Well, at least the drums were quite authentic. Wait, perhaps that was what they meant in the itinery - African Drums and (non-African) Dance! ;P

Spotted a Malaysian flag! I don't know why, but I was proud to be a Malaysian today, don't you?

Who could refuse a free lunch?! The lunch reminded me of something I had a while ago. But having a past experience tells me that I would have to take as much as I could, because there's nothing more coming! Perhaps this is how Northern Irish buffets are like...

Here are some of us student representatives from QUB. Quite a mixture of Malaysians, Bruneians, Indians and Ugandans.

The majestic Stormont, Parliament of Northern Ireland. I did not know, until today that this was a famous tourist spot as well!

Baking Mood

2008-03-09T15:59:00.002Z

While I'm in a 'baking mood', I decided to try something else other than cakes. And there's definitely no harm trying to bake cookies!

So here's PJ Bakery's first batch of Sinful Chocolate Chip Cookies! It's my first time baking cookies, and I'm glad I tried it! There's definitely room for improvement, especially presentation wise and the thickness of it. But it's a great recipe, none the less. (recipe at makanclub.blogspot.com)

Speaking of presentations, after finishing all my reports in General Surgery, the only task left to do was the presentation on Monday. And then my enjoyable 6 weeks would come to an end... Time really flies when you are having fun.

But the fun does not end, because the Easter Holidays come next! But I gotta study though, hopefully... ;P

Victoria Square Opens!

2008-03-06T23:45:00.000Z

Another shopping place opened in Belfast today! To avoid being accused of being a shopaholic-bimbo (which I am not!), all the excitement was because Belfast is in dire need of LIFE!!! You cannot imagine the deprivation compared to shopping-complex-chocked Malaysia!So yeah, this is the new place. Ladies and gentlemen, Belfast presents Victoria Square!

I was not expecting much. But this place is a breath of fresh air! It does not resemble anything Belfast-like! Look at the hamburger-inspired architecture! ;P

Some parts of the place reminds me of The Curve back home. Besides some repetition of shops like River Island, Top Shop and H&M, there were some new shops, most of which I cannot afford, like Urban Outfitters, All Saints and the very much needed, House of Fraser. Oh, and there will be an Odeon here too!

Oh, and we went in to Hugo Boss, and since it was the very first day, guess what did they serve their customers?
CHAMPAGNE!Sipping champagne and shopping at the same time. Ah, this is life!

There's a mini Hamleys in Belfast now! Nothing can beat the one in London! And not forgetting a mini Paperchase as well! Everything is mini here at the moment.

Me and my tourist-y picture in Victoria Square!

There's a viewing tower in Victoria Square too, but it was closed at that time because BBC wanted to do some recording. As expected, since it was the first day...

Anything that would make Belfast more happening would be great news! Will Belfast turn into a shopaholic district like Glasgow or Manchester? I think Belfast still has a long way to go!

There was something lacking after all the new addition and shops, was the shortage of makan places! Although monster-food franchises like McDs, Pizza Hut have dominated some shops, we still need more places to eat! There was supposed to be a Chilli's here, but I can't find it yet! I suppose it is still hidden somewhere...

Well, there is an increase in hang-out places, so I'm not complaining. ;)

Oh, and I've tried this very 'interesting' dish at AM:PM. This is the mozzarella + spicy Thai chicken + peanut butter pizza! I know, peanut butter??? But I must say, it tastes very interestingly good! ;)

Snowing again?!

2008-03-03T01:48:00.001Z

I did not believe the weather forecast today. Snowing in March is just impossible!
But then...
Nefertiti says:
OI
Nefertiti says:
look out of ur window

OMGosh! White particles were seen falling from the sky! I was not as excited as I was when I first saw snow. Probably it's because it was the holidays at that time. I might have to wade in it as I travel to RVH tomorrow. I might need skates to get there, if the walkways are frozen. It's forecasted to snow tomorrow as well?! Sigh...

Snow in March is just... wrong! It should be spring now! Where are my blooming flowers?!

[edited] The sun is shining! It's a clear blue sky! No frosts or snow on the ground! But the hills are covered in a nice blanket of snow. Looking forward to a beautiful day!

Little Things Make Medical Students Very Happy

2008-03-01T23:59:00.005Z

Sorry for not updating my blog. Have been busy, especially because my General Surgery posting is ending is about 2 weeks, my work pile is gathering to an astounding height. But then again, I LOVE surgery! I have not quite found out why yet. Maybe it's the teaching, among others. Keeping it as a future career option...

The past week has been wonderful for me, especially for me in surgery. Maybe it's because I don't really get to participate much in surgeries, and always the redundant spectator of a third year medical student. There is always this excitement when the surgeon asks, "Do you want to scrub in?"

I mean, you know you are not going to cut the person up and do what the surgeon is getting paid to do - you just want to get as near as possible to all the drama! Little things like holding retractor clamps, holding the intestines aside so that the surgeon can work his magic, or even just cut sutures can make me really ecstatic!

But I think this will only continue so long as you remain as a medical student. These jobs are small fries for doctors and surgeons. I even thought it was funny how I feel so happy when all I did was cut sutures!

Okay, on to the non-academic and happening events that I need to keep myself alive! All work and no play makes Jay a dull boy.

And so, with much encouragement and persuasion, I went to the SWOT Fashion Show on Monday. This fashion show is organised by the 4th year medical and dental students with the aim to raise funds for the less fortunate, and my friends thought I might be interested. Do I look like I'm THAT into fashion?! ;PThe tickets were not cheap, and we got mooned in the opening performance! What a way to start the night. And they were dancing in scrubs! So cute!

Well, this was no conventional fashion show. My friends knew that the parts that would attract me was not the fashion bit, but the choreographies and dances! Yes, the model not only had to strut in their very beautiful apparels, but dance in them too!

I liked the songs that night! Maybe because most of them are American songs? o.O I'm not saying Brit songs are bad - I just enjoy the former more.

Most of the famous brands were featured in the fashion show, ranging from New Look to Cult, from Warehouse to Burton.

The highlight of the show was stolen by non-other than the lecturers, in my opinion. It was always great fun to see the people who teach you being such a good sport and willing to entertain the students in return!

And the boys from the rowing team had to turn the temperature up for the women with a little strip-tease. I shall not comment too much about it.

And for those getting married soon, it's never too early to scout for wedding dresses! There's a funny Irish tradition - at every leap year, there would be proposal. And guess who does the asking? The girls! What lucky Irish men!

All in all, money well spent! Don't know if I'll participate next year though, but definitely going for it again.

Celebrated another friend's birthday yesterday, and we baked again! So if I don't get through med school, I know I have an alternative. ;P
Let me introduce you to PJ Bakery's newest Strawberry Cake! Cool rite?! I know my sister is drooling at the sight of the picture already! ;P Didn't know it'll turn out looking so nice, and it should be one of the hardest cakes to make. But the effort was well worth it! (recipe at makanclub.blogspot.com)

Well, back to work, work, work. With a few more reports and a presentation, Surgery will come to pass, and then Easter will come! On a more stressful note, exams are inching closer at every word I type. Not anticipating it, but it'll have to come. No more slacking, Jay!

IKEA @ Belfast!

2008-02-23T23:26:00.001Z

There's an IKEA in Belfast! And it is new! Well, about 3 months old now - and finally, Patrick and I decided to check it out! The place was not exactly at walking distance, so it was my first bus ride after a long while in Belfast!The blue background with the think yellow fonts brings me back home. No, I'm not from Sweden! There is an IKEA in Kuala Lumpur as well - and I LOVED it!

I was so ecstatic upon stepping into the place, I could skip my way through the whole place! But of course I didn't! Don't want to have weird Irish glares at a weird skipping Asian.

The things were the exactly the same as those in Malaysia (that's because they designed them in Sweden, made them in China, and then exported them internationally.) and that made me miss home so much! I do hang out in IKEA quite often back home.

I love modern concepts and designs! I always picture how I can fit all the things I like into this imaginary house I have in my head. Scouting for things now is a good idea as well, as we will be moving to private accommodations next year. Having the 'new' room as a canvas in my mind now.

Oh! The bug ate the rat! This is what happens when 2 boys happen to have too much time in their hands.

Remember the hearts with arms back home? They have the same hearts here as well!

The other attraction in IKEA other than the furniture is definitely Swedish Meatballs! Although I've eaten it tonnes of times in Malaysia, but I still want more of them! Tastes different somehow!

The meatballs were so good that even Patrick looks gluttony! The meatballs are definitely not made in China! But I doubt IKEA-Belfast import their meatballs from Sweden. English meatballs???

And then to the main aim of the day - Patrick wants to brighten up his room. The Westerners have such different taste in light! To us, one pure ceiling light is so sufficient. But no, they have to have numerous yellow wall lights in our rooms. No wonder the power usage in the world is so high!

Boys will always be boys. We left after getting what we came for + the all important IKEA catalogue! Furniture shopping was never this fun! XD

HOME is the most important place in the world. Can't wait to go back in summer!

End of my first CNY Abroad

2008-02-22T16:24:00.002Z

Wasn't in the updating mood recently, and felt that I have neglected my blog, but hopefully the over-enthusiastic blogger in me will emerge again.

Chinese New Year abroad is truly a new experience, as you all might have already read from the post before this. What do we do during Chinese New Year? *gestures to the crowd for an answer.*

"EAT, EAT & EAT!"

And so my eating spree continued, until the very end of Chinese New Year. Might need to get new pants soon. *hint hint* We had a steamboat dinner on one of the days, where my 8 stomachs were put to the challenge of finishing all the food, yet again. But then again, it was great fun.

Patrick's birthday was during Chinese New Year as well, and what a perfect opportunity to show off our baking skill! ;P Since we got new tools (a cake mixer and a new baking tray), instant cake mixes were so yesterday. Say hello to baking from scratch! The Chocolate Caramel Cake in the above picture was the result!

Another one of our creations was the Peanut Chocolate Fudge, by Jia Li. We could exercise our creativity and moulding skills and make them into different shapes! Like the teddy that I made?

And then Patrick decided to treat us to a meal prepared by non other than the birthday boy himself! I was to prepare a few dishes as well, and fortunately it turned out edible!

Bacon and Nachos Caesar Salad!

Moi Creamy Black Pepper Lamb!

Moi Honey Fried Chicken!

Pat's Champ Potatoes!

Pat's Braised Chicken!

And the crowd favourite - Pat's Macaroni & Cheese!

Oh, and Yee Pei baked a Banana Yogurt Cake as well!

I had my last Chinese New Year meal at Cafe Renoir. A little Western cuisine during a Chinese celebration for a change. ;PChicago Pizza @ Cafe Renoir

Seafood Linguini @ Cafe Renoir

Chocolate Ganache @ Cafe Renoir

Banoffee Pie @ Cafe Renoir

And that concludes my first Chinese New Year abroad. A really tiring but a new and exciting experience! I wonder how will next year be like...

Oh, and now that Chinese New Year is over, time to get a new haircut! Superstitious me... ;P

Eat Eat Eat!

2008-02-14T14:54:00.007Z

*BEWARE - MOUTH WATERING PICTURES AHEAD!*

Halfway through Chinese New Year, and the only thing we did was eat, eat and eat! It's like that when I was celebrating Chinese New Year at home, which made my first Chinese New Year in a foreign country, well, more cozy!
And of course, Chinese New Year eating starts even the day before it starts! How contradictory can Chinese people be? ;P I'm referring to the Reunion Dinner, on Chinese New Year eve. Anyway, we had a reunion dinner ala pot-luck! Although we were not home for reunion dinner, thankfully we have a 'family' to celebrate with in Belfast.

And what would Chinese New Year be if it was not celebrated with Chinese dishes? We had steamed fish, fried chicken, mixed vegetables and steamed eggs, just to name a few. Little did I know that this was only the prelude of a never-ending eating marathon.

We cooked on the first day of Chinese New Year as well! These are fried won tons that we made the night before. It was only now that I discovered I had a talent in stuffing won tons! There were some that was turned into soup as well!

And of course, Chinese New Year would never be the same without wonderful pork! This was Yee Pei's braised pork with fungus and mushroom!

The second day was spent preparing for MSSNI's Chinese New Year celebration! We were expecting about 50 people to turn up, but mass production wasn't a trait in any of our resumes. But with Jeng Haw's recipes and the the cooperation of many friends, we managed to pull through, even if it means staying up till 3am! Yee Pei and Shie Ling spent 5 hours alone frying chicken!

But the effort was worth it! The turn out was more than expected and I thought the celebration was a great success! There was lots to eat even though there were more stomachs to feed. The sweet and sour chicken was great! The spring rolls went the quickest. Mochi was better than the experiments we had. The sweet potato dessert, Chinese spiced eggs were special too, especially for Malays and other international students!

The dim sum lunch on Sunday was the only meal that wasn't prepared by our own hands! The atmosphere during Chinese New Year in a Chinese restaurant was great! They had karaokes of Chinese New Year songs blasting throughout our whole time there, and there was even a lion dance! Belfast is not that deprived after all! We celebrated Tyng Hwey's birthday at the same time! Oh, how nice to get your birthday celebrated during Chinese New Year!

Chinese New Year will never be the same without... YEE SANG! Believe me when I say we had this yee sang set imported from Malaysia! It IS only found in Malaysia and Singapore anyway. Patrick was very nice to sacrifice some of his luggage weight to ship this rare delicacy so that we could all enjoy it!

Patrick, Jeng Haw, Jia Li and I with the yee sang!

The eating does not stop! Yesterday, Yee Pei was in a very nice mood to cook, and we were fortunate to be fed! And so, there was another pot-luck dinner!

I doubt the eating will stop anytime soon, as long as it is still Chinese New Year. As long as there is food, who am I to complain?! I might have gained a few pounds, and possibly a higher cholesterol level as well! Oh, let's only worry about this when Chinese New Year is over!

So, when my Irish classmates asked me what do I do during Chinese New Year, I simply reply, "We just eat, eat and eat!"

Ang Pau!

2008-02-05T17:29:00.001Z

I received my first 2 'ANG PAU' today!
WOOHOO!!!
A wee bit early, but nobody's complaining.
That certainly brightens up my long day of classes.
It is a totally different feeling receiving red packets back at home from
when you are abroad and red-packet-deprived.
Now my room can look a bit more festive!

Thank you Mom, Dad and Aunt Celine! Miss you guys!
And to everybody...
HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

From Scrubbing to Mochi

2008-02-04T21:26:00.000Z

And so ends my first day of the first of my major postings - General Surgery. As I have learned from the 8 postings I had, the first day doesn't give any clue about the posting, especially this one which will be going on for 6 weeks. I might even cut my chicken differently after 6 weeks. Scalpel!

So what did we do on the first day?
Well, pretty much everything that I have done in IMU; which makes me reminisce and miss them so much. I had to learn to scrub in all over again. Anyone recalls the 6 steps of hand washing? And intimate examinations of the breast and scrotum? And who can forget the ever famous examination of the abdomen, which practically comes out in every OSCE!

As you can see, my introductory to General Surgery is nothing new to me. So the highlight of my day had to be the experiment later that day to make...
MOCHI!The students from China tasted and asked whether it is a Malaysian speciality. Unfortunately it's originated from Japan. They have never tasted it before. But on the other hand, some Malaysians have not tried it before as well. It is a huge chance for some of you if you are joining MSSNI's Chinese New Year celebration this coming Saturday!

It might look like a blob now (it IS supposed to look like that) but I guarantee it will look much more presentable on Saturday! Average score from the food critics - 8.5/10! There will be other main dishes prepared by us Malaysians as well!

Missing home when CNY is around the corner. I want my red packets!!! >.<

IT SNOWED AGAIN!!!

2008-02-03T01:44:00.000Z

It was fore casted to snow during the weekend. But there was a hint of doubt lingering in my head, because days before the weekend were so sunny and bright, and we all know we cannot fully believe the weatherman says.

But this time, the weatherman did not disappoint anybody! A few of us were caught surprised stepping out of the cinema to find the walkways and cars covered with a blanket of white fluff! It snowed again in Belfast!

No the snow was not as thick as the one during the new year, but it was enough to turn Belfast white. Of all the places, we heard that the Botanic Gardens was one of the most pretty places to visit after the snow, and we gave it a shot.The little gate with snow made me feel like I was in the movies.

Two things that look good together (and I am not referring to myself) are the pure white snow and the clear blue sky! There is nothing remotely as beautiful!

The snow here is still untainted. The lawn is still covered white.
But the snow wasn't thick enough for people to express their creativity with snowmen and other snow creatures. We did try to make snow angels and other things.

But the main purpose of getting out in the snow had to be photos! Wouldn't miss it for the world! Since I've taken a freeze photo before, how about a jumping photo this time?! I copied this from a poster I saw in Barcelona! ;P

But the snow was short lived. After an hour and a little drizzle, all the white was washed away, and everything was back to the way it was before. At least I don't have to worry about problems walking to class on Monday. But I kinda wish it would snow again...

O for Oblivion

2008-01-31T15:48:00.000Z

Coincidently O is for Omagh as well. And relatively Omagh and oblivion are quite synonymous! And I am glad I'm not going back there anymore in 3rd year!

Tyrone County Hospital was the same as it was before Christmas... dull! It looks the same as the pictures I took the last time I was there. ENT was not particularly appealing, and to a certain extent, quite gruesome as well, especially people getting 'nose jobs.' Sure, you might look pretty and all after surgery, but you are fortunate enough to be on general anesthetics throughout the hammering and chiseling!

I could actually list the diseases that I've seen in the clinic almost everyday, and they are always the same! Glue ear, nasal polyps (reminds me of WH!), vertigo, tonsillitis, tinnitus, did I mention glue ear? The quinsy case I got for my report was the most interesting I reckon. But generally, ENT is not my cup of tea.

Luckily enough, I was able to escape from oblivion a day before it ended! The reason - because it was SNOWING! My friend and I did not want to get stuck in Omagh because of the snow! My friend pointed out that it would be his nightmare to be stuck there underneath the layers of snow in Omagh. Mine too. Don't want to imagine being in oblivion for 2 more days!

So, goodbye Omagh. Hopefully I'd never have to say hello to you again.

What happened in these few days...

2008-01-26T21:36:00.000Z

...could be separated into 5 posts, but I've decided to save the hassle and just summarise them into one. These few days have been quite productive as I must say, moving to the end of SSCs and the start of clinicals again.

Anyways, I was quite excited when I got an email about this event by the International Friendship Association (IFA), because I heard that it was quite fun! IFA organises events for International Students. Plus, it was something along the lines of my interest. It was Ceilidh - the traditional Gaelic social dance in Ireland. Generally, my forte lies in modern dancing, as opposed to traditional ones, but I very much like to get my hands, or my legs, on as many dances as possible! And this one was a very interesting one. When the 'instructor' said that in this dance, you would only have to dance from the knee below, I thought it was simple enough.

But I was so wrong! It's not! One part was because the 'instructor' did not even teach the basic steps, and just moved on to the routine straight away! Foundations are really important! But because there were 2 professional Irish dancers from Finland, I got to emulate the steps that they were doing, and it wasn't all just skip skip and hop hop!

But I had a great time! I might go back for it again the next time! Seemed so long ago since I last danced.

Oh, and all the hard work goes to these guys playing the Irish instruments. Dancing to live music is always more errr... lively... than from the stereo. And they were playing them all night long!

Am I going to take up Ceilidh classes? Maybe...

Well, the Ceilidh was on Thursday night, and on Friday was the last day of SSC. In a blink of an eye, 3 weeks came to an end. As usual, I had a presentation on the last day as a form of assessment. I thought it went well, but we'll just have to wait for the results. Submitted my 'pathology blog' as well.

This is the last SSC that I'm going to have, I think, for my next 2.5 years here. I'm really going to miss these modules! This further strenghtens that 5 months have passed since I came here. I'm already halfway through 3rd year, and halfway to graduation! I feel like I've really spent too long a time already in this course. Well, the end is nearer now, from when I was a fresh semester 1 in IMU.

I'm going back to O-'Timbuktu'-magh next week to finish my 2nd week of ENT. I'm still cursing at the person who set the awkward timetable! And, any memory of ENT from before Christmas have been completely wiped off from my brain. So I'll have to start from scratch. Won't be blogging for next week, due to the 'ulu'-ness of not having an internet access.

But that is not the end of this post...

We went to have a little fun at Laser Quest today. It reminded me of the time I played this in The Mines in high school. I think I was very nooby that time, and was horrendously trashed. But today was all in the name of fun!
Well, the set up was pretty simple, and there was a briefing before the game, which made everyone say, 'Whoa! Got briefing summore!' After what's said, we were to choose our laser packs!

For those not exposed to such a game before, the pack consist of a laser gun and several target points for everyone to shoot at. Each pack has a name on it, after comic and movie characters, and we could choose one and check our score at the end of the game.

It was a fairly simple first person shooter sport. Simply see, aim and shoot! I thought it was kinda fun!

It was probably because I got the highest score in the game! *beaming with arrogance!* ;P

I think I will probably pay another visit to this place again in the future! If only the game lasted longer!

Hunger never fails to strike everytime after an adrenaline pumping game, and we went to satisfy our stomachs with dim sum at Lee Garden, one of our frequently visited restaurants.

I think I have reverted to playing the game I played most often in primary school, which is badminton! It's peer pressure I guess. More people play badminton here, and basketball is not a huge game here. Today was the second time I played the game in Belfast, first being last week, since I've touched a badminton racquet in Primary 5. Well, if I really do want to continue playing, I'll have to withstand the trashings by the students from China, and improve my game!

Striked One Thing Off...

2008-01-23T16:28:00.000Z

... in the "Things To Do Before I Die" list at the very beginning of 2008! What a blast it was to begin the year with something that I have been wanting to do.

Although it's a little late to blog about it now, but I still feel the same excitement everytime I reflect on the experience. I got a chance to watch The Phantom Of The Opera on New Year's Day!Not just any Phantom Of The Opera, it is the by the original cast in London itself! I heard there are many performances of it now, in Las Vegas, New York, Australia, etc. but that's beside the point. We watched it at Her Majesty's Theatre!

Too bad the theatre was under refurbishment, if not, the structure would be a great sight itself. Here's Sze Liang, Evie and myself before the show!

Looks like we were not the only ones who are interested to watch Phantom Of The Opera on New Year's Day. The place was packed full! It had been running for 21 years and still people are coming for it! Just shows how popular the musical is!

We were sitting a little far behind. To thoroughly enjoy the show (to see the actor's expressions, details of the set, etc) we had help from our friendly, red hot binoculars!

Kenn and Evie with their red hot binoculars!
Because there was a prohibition of photography, I had to limit the use of my Lumix FX9 until when the coast is clear. And that was only during the intermission. But I only managed to snap a photo of the stage before the security curtain fell, and before the chandelier was brought up to the ceiling again.

When I had the chance to take pictures again, it was when the show had ended. The stage and moi!

My souvenir and I! I bought a little book to remind me of the great experience I had on New Year's Day!

It was everything I had imagined it to be, watching the musical live. The many replays of the movie I had during the peak of its release in 2004 did not make less exciting for me. On the other hand, it made me so much more familiar with the story, and with the songs. If there was nobody there, I think I would sing along with it in the theatre. ;P

"Think of me, think of me fondly~"
Now that's one thing off my "Things To Do Before I Die" list. Many many more to go!

Book or Movie?

2008-01-21T22:22:00.000Z

I lack the motivation to blog nowadays. I don't know why. It's not like I am too busy and doing lots of stuff. Maybe it is the lack to topics? Or maybe I have used up my blogging juice for the logbook I'm supposed to do for my SSC. But either way, blogs need to be treated with tenderness, love and care (TLC), and so here's a little update to keep my blog alive.

You know what everybody says about movie adaptations - the book is always better! Just about 6 months ago, I finished a certain book, which I borrowed from a friend. I even wrote a critique about it. Little did I know, 6 months down the road, I watched the movie of the same title.

The movie is none other than P.S. I Love You. Don't worry, no spoilers ahead.Although I really liked the book after reading it, I would expect the movie to be much less appealing. But to my surprise, I liked it too! It's probably because it's written 'based' on the book, not the exact movie version of it.

There were differences between the movie and the book:
1) You know the feeling that a book exudes when you are reading it. Well, watching the movie gives me a completely different one! The effects of Hollywood maybe, but I find the movie to be on the happier side compared to the book.

2) The lead female is Hilary Swank! The girl I picture from the book would be a frail, weak and most likely blonde girl. But Hilary Swank is just so... strong! I mean, she gives me that kind of impression. She IS an awesome actress in my opinion.

3) I did not know how the Irish accent sound like when I read the book, which is in fact based in Ireland. And now that the characters can speak, it once again evoked a totally different atmosphere for me. I could only imagine the characters speaking American, but now it's a different story.

4) Gerard Butler??? OMGosh! Isn't he the versatile one? Phantom of the Opera, 300... and now P.S. I Love You?! A musical, and action movie and then a romantic one. Cool!

5) The only thing that remains the same from the book to the movie is only the backbone and concept of the story. Almost all the details were modified or changed to give the audience a better visual impression, which worked as a forte for the movie.

I would say this is one movie where you don't have to be bothered whether the book or the movie is better. But I'm sure many would like the movie as well, after reading the book.

I Smell Like A Corpse

2008-01-18T23:44:00.000Z

I am timetabled today for day of Forensic Medicine, which is part of my SSC of being a Diagnostic Pathologist in a Clinical Team. The class today was so far from clinical. So far that it was differently interesting!

The thought of seeing post postmortem today have been floating in my since the beginning of the SSC, and sometimes I do try to keep my hopes low, because like they say, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. But they did not fall. I am going to see my first postmortem today!

The morning introduction lecture on forensic medicine did not go into my head at all. Since the lecturer mentioned that he had to cases later in the day, my mind anticipated the sight of it, to see what all the fuss is all about.

I was taken to Forster Green Hospital to the City Mortuary, where most of the autopsies were done, right after the morning lecture. I did not even remember the journey there, even though it was in the lecturer's cool blue 3 series sports Beemer, because 'I see dead people', like how Haley Joel Osment said it. 2 bodies lie still on 2 stainless steel tables.

The place reeks of death! It the smell was horrendous! I probably brought back some of the vomit-inducing odour. We were to wear gowns and over-shoes (plastic bags wrapped around shoes) in case any blood gets on our clothes during the work of the enthusiastic butchers. And they were really like butchers. It was all done so fast!

The whole process kind of brings me back to Secondary 5, when we had to dissect a frog. It was all the same, to remove the all the internal organs and all, but just replace that puny little frog with a live sized human! It is a whole new story!

The first few cuts reminds me of Heroes where Claire being cut open. The parts were all removed, from the tongue to the bladder, and then the brain from the drilled off skull. It was like in the TV, mostly CSI-like, so surreal. I think I'm watching too much TV now.

I must admit I felt queasy for a while, and decided to watch some parts of the autopsy on a chair. I guess gore is just not for me. There was this part, where they folded the skin of the neck over to the face. It looked as if the face was gone, and it was all bloody and fleshy, like in the horror films! And they were quite rough. Go to the market, I think you will see the same thing done to livestock!

After the organs were weighed and bread-loafed, it was all over. Very swift for experienced hands who most likely have to do this 5-6 times a day. I could imagine so much more work during The Troubles. No one puked or fainted. So much for the drama-less day... I guess that's because the students here have dissection classes in first and second year, and they are sort of used to it by now.

I do not know why after the autopsy, I became really hungry. Had a really heavy lunch. And no, the dead body did not remind me of food at all! But after all that, forensic might not be the thing for me. I heard surgery have the same 'roughness', but that will all have to wait until I do my General Surgery postings.

Paul + John + George + Ringo = Liverpool

2008-01-15T13:06:00.000Z

My friends and I were discussing about what to do during our Easter holidays when I realized that I had not even blogged about my previous holiday yet! It was a marvelous one, albeit being a little too long. It all started with Liverpool to Barcelona, to Manchester and lastly London for New Years. I flew the day after my classes were done!

And landed in Liverpool at night. You can smell 'Beatles' right away, because the airport is name after one already! I was lucky enough to have Suet May there to provide awesome hospitality and to show me around. I took the so called 'standard tour!'

I was blessed with a sunny UK weather in my only day in Liverpool. The nearest 'famous' place was the 'bombed-out' church! Why is it famous? Probably because it was bombed once, and the insides of it was totally wiped out. What remained standing was the entire outer structure of the building!

The Chinatown arch in Liverpool is magnificent as well! But I couldn't say the same about the town itself. But who am I to complain, Belfast does not even have a Chinatown.

Then it was the shopping street in Liverpool, Church Street, which was WAY better than Belfast's Royal Avenue! Too bad I wasn't here during Boxing Day! Talk about being at the wrong place at the wrong time! But that is a story for another day. The Radio Tower is apparently the tallest point in Liverpool.

The famous Liver Building. No, it was not named after the organ. See, I learned this in Liverpool! The city was not named after the body part that we all think it was. It was actually named after a bird, the so called Liver Bird (RP) IPA: /ˈlaɪvə ˌbɜːd/, that could only be found in Liverpool. Unfortunately I did not see any, except for the one at the tip of this building.

Right beside the Liver Building is Albert Dock. I do not know why Albert Dock is famous, but it is definitely beautiful! It is probably an important port in the olden days.

I guess it is used to dock leisure yachts owned by various tycoons in Liverpool.

Albert Dock also house many museums including this 'The Beatles Story.' One does not need to pay the expensive entrance fee to tell that this is a tribute to the Liverpool born international phenomenon.

And then there's this tour car/boat that takes you around Albert Dock called the Yellow Duck Submarine. A little influence from the Beatles, certainly.

On to our next destination! We knew that we have reached our destination when we found John Lennon lurking in the corner!

This is actually Cavern Pub at Matthew Street, the so called birthplace of the Beatles. Basically, this is the initial leg they played in before reaching their sky limit fame. It seems that many famous bands played in this tavern as well!

They even have a tribute for the band in the corner of the pub itself!

It is only in Liverpool that a band named after a bug is so celebrated. Kinda makes me want to form a band here as well. How about we call it The Ladybirds! Maybe not...

Let's not forget that football is a HUGE thing in Liverpool as well. Too bad I did not get a chance to see Anfield. Maybe at my next visit. ;)

St George's Hall is a neoclassical auditorium in Liverpool city centre located on Lime Street, opposite Lime Street railway station. Did not get a chance to look inside though.

It is funny to visit the library during the holidays, but we did anyway. This is the Central Library in Liverpool.

Well, I was lucky to visit it actually. There was a dome like room inside it, which looked like some magical library in some fantasy story! If only all libraries looked like that...

Right beside the Central Library was the Walker Art Museum, and it's free! Jay likes freebies! Especially free art museums! Now who would put a fierce Roman statue in the middle of a dining hall?

Well, I have not visited many art museums, but this was a good one! Or so I think it is. I did not know whether it was legal to snap photos, but I took some anyways. ;P

In a blink of an eye, it was dark already! The disadvantages of winter! But it did bring out the lights in the city. Church Street looks beautiful at night!

Have you ever been to a cathedral, and then at the sight of the interior, a chorus choir just seem to come in to your ears, although there is nobody singing? I don't think I'm making sense. I did feel like that in this awesome cathedral!

Suet May and I, and the miracle of a camera timer! ;P

THE BEATLES AGAIN! Even in the cathedral! Somebody call pest control! Oh well, they are really big here! It was only here that I learn the four names of the bugs. Quiz me again 4 months later, I'd most likely forget.

You'd really have to see the gigantic Liverpool Cathedral yourself. Some might find it scary from the outside, actually, so do I.

A small restaurant is a tourist attraction in Liverpool as well. This is the Philharmonic Dining Rooms. It is called as such because it is located right opposite the Philharmonic Hall.

Apparently the washroom was an attraction as well. As I went in for a look, I felt as if I have been conned! But I took pictures of it anyways, to be inspected at home! What's so special about it anyway?

To top the my only day in Liverpool with cream, we had a little Christmas dinner prepared by our gracious hosts in Liverpool! And then the cracker, jokes and songs by Audrey! What a great day in Liverpool!

And then, in a blink of an eye, without much sleep and rest, we were out of UK and in another country already!
*to be continued...*

Pathology Blogging?

2008-01-14T23:32:00.000Z

One of my SSC's form of assessment was to write up a logbook of summaries of the daily sessions in my 2nd and 3rd week. And I thought it would work out for me me, because I blog anyway!

But as I was writing up by brief summary for the day, I realized that it was not as easy as I thought it would be. Problems:
1) I crap too much.
2) It was supposed to be brief. I crap too much.
3) I cannot rant in the logbook. I crap too much.
4) It was an assessment, I have to make it sound professional. I crap too much.

But all that aside, it was quite a fulfilling half day. Although we had to slot in a multidisciplinary meeting, a tutorial, a dissection session and microscope session in 4 hours, it was not bad at all! And we even have breaks in between! My SSC is quite 'chilling', so I'm not complaining.

SSC again

2008-01-12T16:42:00.000Z

I haven't blogged for almost a week now. Distractions maybe, from online comics, movie streaming, Caesar IV (you've poisoned me Pat!), but not studies. Gah, I need to start studying soon! Slacked for 4 months already!

It is the part of the course where QUB decided to slot a 3 week module called SSC again. You guys might remember that I have done something similar in September. It's basically the same thing, but I got another topic. I'll kill the coordinator, or whoever is in charged, if I ever get Neuropsychopharmacology again!

We were given a fair chance to choose topics along with the other 260 students from our year this time, as compared to the 4 leftover topics during the Autumn SSCs. I got my second choice, out of the 50 topics, and my topic this time is non-chalantly named 'The Diagnostic Pathologist in the Clinical Team.'

I thought it might help me in my pathology exam in June, but after one week of classes, looks like I still have to read up the DVD on my own (a money-saving scheme QUB has implemented to reduce the number of classes, but giving students more things to study themselves! I always wonder why we have to pay so much to study everything ourselves.)

But anyways, my SSC is simple enough. No critical appraisals to write, which I hate so much. There's only a case presentation that I will have to do at the end of it, and a log-book to record daily events that happens in class. Kinda like blogging, except that I'll get marks for it.

Well, there's nothing much to look forward to in this SSC. Pathology is mainly lab works and staining. Probably the post mortem, which will happen on Friday. Dead bodies... oooooh... o.O"

Memoirs of 2007

2008-01-06T22:31:00.000Z

They say that the end is the beginning of something new. And that was how my 2007 began - with the End of Semester 5 (EOS5) exam! But soon enough, it was over, but we had to bid our friends farewell, because everybody is going to different parts of the world.After EOS5, at Laundry.
Saying goodbye to those going to Adelaide.

Time was short for all of us to get together, but we managed to
slot in eat outs and short trips before everyone left.

Goodbye to Melbers.

2007 was probably the final Chinese New Year (CNY) I will be celebrating, before graduating. So I'll most likely be CNY-less for 3 years, potentially 5!

Gonna miss the house hopping too!

Some of my friends didn't go too far off, and was still visit-able.
The Variety Night was magnificent.

2007 for me was not a stressful year at all.
I did not have exams.
I was having an 8-month break.
There was no more convocation magazines to design.
There was no IMU Cup, no cheerleading routines to prepare.

But I guess I was still active in IMU, even though I'm already an old fart there.
I judged the IMU Dance Competition for the 3rd time...

And performed as well!

But little did I know that was my last dance in IMU.
3 years of groovy fun!
It was amazing how I actually developed a passion for dancing in a medical university!

I will really miss dancing in IMU.
But I guess there's a new generation of dancers there now!

I had a memorable birthday celebration with my family...

...and friends as well.

2007 was also the year I danced in service the most in ECF.

I taught some outreach classes and performed at the album launch.

But within less than 2 years, it was my time to bid ECF goodbye...

...and I had my last practice at 1 a.m. Dance Ministry.

Oh, and I participated in a Youth Abstinence Walk as well!
Missing my spiritual family and ECF!

And then, 4 months later, the Aussie people came back!
And I have not even left for UK yet! ;)
I guess 2007 was when Makan Club was 1 year old.
By the way, how is Makan Club doing now?

2007 was also when I visited my school again,
after not going back for a very long time!
The place changed a lot, but the people were still the same.
Well, at least my teachers remembered me!

2007 was also the year I got my baby that I am typing on now!
I hope she will last me at least until graduation!

It was in 2007 as well, that I finally got to meet my
tuition teacher and friends again, in such a big group!
Really miss the old times!

2007 was also when we had our Pseudo-Convocation,
to mark the end of 2.5 years in IMU.
Cannot wait for the real thing though,
which will be at 2010, hopefully! ;P

2007 was when I had my first external dance lesson as well!
I never learn dancing from anywhere else other than IMU before this.
I took Latin ballroom in William & Louisa's Dance World,
and I really enjoyed it!
Too bad I had to stop at Silver Rumba.
I would really want to continue, if I had the chance.

2007 was also the year that I felt I had no time to eat
all the tasty food in Malaysia that I want.
I had to rush for time to try to eat everything I want before becoming severely deprived!
The above is the kimchi at Daorae at Sri Hartamas.

Every Malaysian will definitely miss mamak food!
I seriously miss Ajimal Razim's Nasi Lemak Ayam! o.O

Bak Kut Teh!!!

Kopitiam breakfast at Yut Kee!!!

OMGosh! Chilli's!!!

Why am I torturing myself by making myself miss
all the food that I will not get for half a year more?!

Besides being a honeymoon year, 2007 was also a year of change for me!
A BIG CHANGE!
I left my home, which I have not leave at all for 22 years,
to somewhere new...

...which is Belfast.
After 4 months here,
I am comfortable enough to call it my second home.
Well, I better, because I will be here for at least 3 years more!

I took on cooking.
And I have to say, I like to cook now!
I can at least make myself a decent meal everyday!
I guess my food was either very healthy, or not tasty.
Because the biggest change I had in 2007 was my weight!
I was 78kgs in January, and now I am 64kgs!
12 kgs in 1 year! It's possible!!!

2007 was also the first time I set foot in the UK!
And that led on to many first times...
It was the first time I travelled around Northern Ireland.
To Giant's Causeway.

To Belfast Castle.

The medical postings in the have forced me to travel quite a bit as well.
To be honest, I'd rather stay in Belfast.
I had to travel to Altnagelvin...

...to Craigavon...

...to Musgrave Park...

...and to Tyrone County within 4 months!
I am really glad that I won't have as much traveling to do in the coming months.

In 2007, I watched my very first fireworks in Belfast.
This was during Halloween.

I also got to travel quite a bit outside Belfast in 2007!
I got to go to London for the very first time in October.

My first time in Dublin.

In Glasgow.

And then Edinburgh.

I got to see Liverpool.

My first European country outside UK was Spain!
Barcelona was AMAZING!
Highly recommended!

And I got to experience Manchester culture.
(dim sum, shopping and football)

And then back to London again, where my 2007 ended with a BANG!
That made my 2008 start with a BANG! as well!

It looks like my 2007 was quite a fruitful one!
I'm hoping and praying for a better 2008!
Judging from these past few days,
2008 might just be as exciting for me!