Things to do in prison

Got this off Christine's blog, whom got it off Shaolin Tiger's blog. :P Apparently these are inmates of Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, Cebu, Philippines. Wonder many weeks of practice did it take for them to put this together. At least it keeps them nicely entertained and occupied in there. :P

Ugh. What a week.

Dead tired.

Spent the better half of the day hopping from store to store looking for second hand electrical appliances and furniture. At least it was a productive (albeit expensive!) day. Got our refrigerator, TV, washing machine and beds. And joy to the world, we've got a place to stay! Now the only dreadful thing is the whole process of moving... *Groan* I'll have to take a couple of days off from the hospital. That's going to be in my last week of orthopedics somemore. Oh well... Can't wait for everything to settle down.

I know I'm supposed to post up the photos of Victor Harbour, but 2 things happped in the past few days. One's just scary and the other's just downright embarassing. Let's start with the scary one:


1. OMG I SAW A FLASHER!

At least I think he was la.

Ken and I were supposed to meet the current tenant in the new house to check our her second hand furniture. She and her boyfriend will be moving out at the end of the month. So yeah... 6p.m. Had a pretty long day (took the bus all the way to Hampstead Rehab Centre to get my bloody umbrella back). Came back to the city and took yet another bus to the new house. It was dark already and I sort of half-dead in the bus. Missed the stop and ended up on the wrong street. So I was wondering around alone in the dark trying to find my way to the correct street when suddenly I heard this thumping sound. Turned around and saw what appeared to be a really tall woman running towards me. At first I thought: Ok... maybe she's jogging or something. She overtook me, I notices that the 'woman' was wearing only a knee length long sleeve dress and boots (it's a friggin' cold winter evening by the way). The person stopped running and sort of cringed near the roadside fence. As I got nearer, I realised that this was a man. The dress was unbuttoned. And he was wearing nothing underneath! All this while he was stealing glances at me. I tried to walk past him as fast as possible. When I was just about to pass him, He started opening his dress and...

A dog came out from behind the fence and barked at him.

The fella ran away round the corner behind me. But not before grinning at me.

It took me 2 seconds before I screamed.

Thank God for that dog. And thank God it was a main road and not a tiny street where it was completely pitch black.

I told Xian-Nian and he said: "What makes you think it was a flasher? For all you know he could have been a rapist. I think from now on you'd better not walk alone at night."

It's true. But better said that done, Darling. It gets dark here at 5p.m. Sometimes I have to stay on take in the hospital, and sometimes you just have to walk home alone. It wouldn't have been so bad if it was just a flasher. As long as he didn't touch me or harass me or attack me in anyway. But still.... OMG.. it still sends shivers down my spine. Even though I have some experience in Karate also no use la. A guy that big could easily overpower me.

Needless to say, I made it to the new house in one piece. Ken arrived one hour later. Discussed what we needed with tenant, arranged date for moving in, and the blessed lady offered to send us home. *Breathes a sigh of relief*

Next story: 2. TEARING IN THE THEATRE

Haih.. this ah.

It was yesterday. Tutorials ended at 12.30p.m., so Jenna and I decided to go watch some operations (and hopefully assist) in theatre. And then later we would go on take with our registrar. 2 of our registrars were going to start on an open reduction and internal fixation of a humerus. They were so nice, they let both of us scrub in and help! Hehe... so anyway, the operation took way longer than I expected. Thought it would take at most 2 hours, and then we'd have time to rest bfore going on take. Mana tahu, the thing went on for more than 4 hours. The screw and plates couldn't be aligned properly so they had to remove the screws and put them in again and again. Heh.. there must have been at least like a dozen holes in the patient's bone already. :P Jenna and I were alternating between holding up the arm and pulling on the deltoid retractor. Hands were pretty numb towards the end. To make things worse, we had these lead suits on to shield us from radiation when using the Image Intensifier. Freakin' hot and heavy. -_-"

4 hours into the operation, for some unexpected reason, my eyes started watering. And tearing profusely. It's happened before when I'm tired or didn't get enough sleep. It got really painful and irritating but I couldn't touch my eyes 'cos I was scrubbed in (and anyway my gloves were covered in blood).

LH: *pulling on retractor* Uhh..... sorry.. my eyes are tearing...

Registrar: *briefly turns around* Uh.. hey don't cry... you can scrub out if you want.

LH: Hokay.. *quickly takes off the gown and runs out*

So embarassing ler! Somemore it didn't occur to me that I could have gone back in after washing my face. I left the theatre just like that. And the registrar wondered why didn't I come back in. He must have thought I really went out to weep. -_-" Saw him (much) later in the cafe. I apologized to him and he said: "Well, you didn't have to cry! It was hard, but we got the plate and screws in at the end!" *grins*

Ended up going back home at 7.30p.m. instead of 9p.m. Couldn't go on take because all the registrars went home.

Bleh.

Into week 4 of orthopedics. Contrary to what people said bout it being the most horribly exhausting, full-on rotation ever, it's not too bad. Maybe it's because I've already did Medical Home Uni in TQEH. Only that in ortho you have to go on take at least 2 weeknights and one weekend throughout your 6-week rotation. All the doctors are so nice! You really feel looked after and a part of the team (though your medical knowledge is near-zero and you tend to screw things up every now and then). Unless they're up to their neck with work, they'll try to teach you some things in outpatients and theatre. Still haven't seen many operations. There's a list of 'important procedures' that you're supposed to observe including internal fixation and joint replacements etc. Gotta try to see those before the 6 weeks are up. Orthopedic surgery is quite gory, a bit like a mechanic fixing a car. But it's so cool at the same time. :) We have daily ward rounds at 7.30a.m. and a trauma meeting at 8.30. Still find presenting cases to consultants daunting ('cos I still suck terribly at interpreting X-rays). Occasionally we get a good laugh from some of the recent admissions. So sadistic right? But I just can't help it. Some of the registrars present the cases with such deadpan humour. Hehe.. see Steph's post about the 'loose intramedullary nail'. I know it's so not funny for the patient... At least she wasn't in much pain...

Didn't mention this earlier in the week, but my housemate and I are facing are really big problem now. The landlord wants his house back! Our lease ends on the 31st of July, and we don't have another place to stay! So if we don't find a new place to rent, we'll be sleeping under the bridge. Literally. The past 3 weeks have been just downright stressful and annoying. Had to sneak out of the hospital whenever I could to call realestate agent and run halfway across the city to view houses. *Vomit blood* Didn't have much luck until 2 days ago, when we recieved a glimmer of hope. So... *crosses fingers and toes* Wish us luck! And God, moving my stuff is gonna be such a pain. 40+kg worth of books and files and a million clothes... Now I wish I had a car of my own.

Thank goodness Ming Lei and her friend, Craig invited Ken and I to Victor Harbour last Sunday. It was a much needed break from hospital life and frantic house-hunting. The place was soo beautiful!!! There's supposed to be penguins and whales there, but we didn't see any! But anyhow it was a lovely visit. Will post up the pics when my internet connection's fast again. We used up our monthly download quota so the internet speed has slowed to sub-tortoise speed...

Cheers!