1572480 minutes.

26208 hours.

1092 days.

156 weeks.

36 months.

3 years.

In an ideal world, we would be sitting together under a cherry blossom tree now. With only the wind and gifts of nature to surround us.

2 papers down, 2 more days of OSCE to go... *sigh*

Yesterday's MCQ paper was insane, so horribly sadistic and vague. Calling it difficult is an understatement. Like seriously, half of the questions I wasn't sure about and the other half were about things I never heard about. 180 questions in 3 hours = one big headache. And each question is preceeded by like a paragraph of vague history and a medley of symptoms and lab results. Then they ask you the choose the BEST diagnosis/immediate management/treatment/drug combination + dosage/diagnostic investigation/probability of patient having X abnormalities/etc etc etc. Choose the best answer from a list of answers which are mostly correct. Wtf, a student's worst nightmare.

More on my exams in my next post. This one is about an event that's equally (if not more) sad. While I was drowning in stacks of medical jargon, this was going on in my beloved home country. God bless Malaysia.

Transcript of Malaysia's Information Minister's interview with Al Jazeera News on the Bersih Protest:

Oh no..... one more day to exams!!!

Can't study anymore. Brain slowing down already. I have this weird feeling like caterpillars in my stomach right now. On Monday, those caterpillars will turn into butterflies and they shall emerge a-fluttering.

Thank goodness for that nice juicy mango I bought from the market last Saturday. Sweet, ice-cold mango: the perfect stress reliever. =) Written papers will be on Monday and Tuesday. It's going to be held in this hall somewhere near the Adelaide Showgrounds. According to to Irwan, it's this mega-huge hall that can fit a thousand people inside. And once you're inside, it's so quiet you can hear a pin drop... He says it's going to be a 'very interesting, fun experience'. Fun, my foot. My future as a 5th year med student is on the line! Omigosh and here I am blogging...

Thursday and Friday are the OSCEs, or as I describe to my mom: The "DAATTTTTT" examine patient "DAATTTTTTTTT" examine patient exam. Of all the hospitals they chose to have it in, they chose the Lyell McEwin Hospital! Which is like 54 bus stops from the city. And since yours truly's surname starts with "C", I'll be in the first group on the first day, i.e. at 8.00a.m.

Okie, this will be last post till after my exams (I think). Good luck to everyone (including those ppl having exams back home). See you on the other side. =) Ganbatte!!!

To my 2 'brothers'...

When I first knew you guys, I was taller than you. My my, how you've grown. :P Here's to the two people whom stood by me in times of need and shared countless of joyful moments with. Being the weird social retard that I am, it's a blessing to have met you guys. *God that sounds so corny! Are you pukng yet?* Anyway, happy birthday Vee Han and Andrew. Sorry for the combined post though I can't remember a year where we didn't celebrate your birthdays together. Miss ya lots. =)

While my dear housmate is laughing horrendously loudy and maniacally in his room watching Rowan Atkinson/Xena/Power Rangers/High School Musical...

Came across an interesting post in Kennysia.com (actually most of his posts are interesting). Click here to read it 'cos I'm too lazy to type too much about it. Furthermore it's a week till my end-of-year exams and I still have tons to cover. :P

Anyway Kenny was asking his readers whether the modern woman still needs a man in her life. In this age of feminism and female empowerment, women can pretty much provide for themselves. Women have better education, awareness and are able to support themselves financially. Three cheers for that. :) So what the heck do we need men for anyway?

The comments he got were of course pretty expected. Men need women and women need men. It's all part of the balance of nature/great circle of life/will of the Almightly/sadistic fate we've been dealt with since time immemorial.

Hehe... but I liked some of the comments by the readers. :P



http://www.kennysia.com/archives/2007/11/why_do_men_and.php#c385107
"In my point of view, no matter how independent a woman is, she still needs a man... It's a balance in nature... Women are born fragile and delicate we need the strength and masculinity of a man to nurture and love us. No matter how strong or independent a woman is to the eyes of the public, she may just be a fragile glass in her heart.

Also no matter how advance technology is, nothing can replace the touch of a man, the kiss of a man, the love of a man and of course, without men how are women going to reproduce?

Some feminist may be angry with me for betraying my own sex, but honestly I'm glad men exist in this world and I honestly admit that I very much depend on the love of my man.

Man needs Woman
Woman needs Man...

This is the fact and the balance of life, everyone please stop lying to yourself..."


http://www.kennysia.com/archives/2007/11/why_do_men_and.php#c385108
"Because we have higher level emotional needs. Being the only female in my research group, it is both flattering and frustating. Discounting reproduction (how unromantic)issue, women certainly are becoming increasingly self-sufficient, hence, it is inevitable "we can do whatever you can do". We see it everyday : from female bus driver, engineer, CEO (i.e. woman power in male-dominated industry).

BUT hey! This does not mean the other group of women - who loves to bake cake, plant peace lilies, and who are determined to spend the rest of their lives loving and tending for their family - are no longer out there.

It's just a matter of choice and circumstances. We go into male dominated world for various reasons : love the challenge, love the work, financial independence etc. But deep down we know nothing can beat the joy of raising our kids. Of being there watching their first piano recital and making lunch boxes.

So trust me, as much as we, working women love our job, we are born to be feminine. We need to return home from office and complain about our boss to a patient husband (and you NOT to disagree with us under any circumstance - no matter how unreasonable we are). We love them for changing the bulb though we can do it anytime. We love to leave all plumbing works to them in exchange of making the best dinner. Sure enough we can carry own our shopping bag, but it is lovely to have you carry it for us.

we need to NEED you."


http://www.kennysia.com/archives/2007/11/why_do_men_and.php#c385109
".....There's a hole in a women's heart that only guys can fill in. Ok lar got another hole also lar but that is not i wanna talk here :P. Women need a guy to acompany her, listening to their braging, their happyness and so on. but most guy cant do this for more than 5minutes. for me 30minutes would be nice, after 30minutes it'll get boring coz the same thing will keep repeating untill she feels ok."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

So Darling, if you're reading this... thanks for listening intently to all my rantings throughout these years. Even though it's the same thing over and over again, even though you'd rather be playing computer games and even though your ear is getting so red from pressing it against the phone... you steadfastly hung on without a single complaint. Love you lots!!! Just another 16 days and you won't have to listen to me rant on the phone till your ears are red anymore.... I can do it in person. :P:P:P:P:P

Why is my girlfriend mad?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=TjfTM90DhAg

Japanese Toilet Training For Kids

This is too funny. For those ppl who are cramming like crazy for end-of-year exams and whatnot... here's something to lighten up your mood. It was featured on the last Friday Night Download (a Aussie TV show). I went hysterical when I saw it. The Japanese really think of everything under the sun! *Wait till you see the next video I'm about to post. Coming soon. :P*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFVoLz88hiU

John Thomas Sign

Lessons in radiology:

Registrar 1: Hey Leng, come here. Have a look at this.
Lhui: ???
Reg 1: *Shows a pelvic X-ray of a male patient* Tell me the 2 abnormalities here.
Lhui: Uh... There's a fractured right neck of femur... and... *squints*
Reg 1: Yup... what else? See this loop of bowel hanging down here? That's an inguinal hernia.
Lhui: Ooo....
Reg 2: And there's a 3rd abnormality!! This here's a negative John Doodle sign!!
Reg 1: *Laughs* Yes, very important... the John Doodle sign!
Lhui: Huh?
Reg 2: See... *points at the penis shadow* His doodle is pointing away from the pathology, so that's a negative John Doodle sign. A positive John Doodle is when it's pointing towards the pathology... *grins* 50% of the time, it will be positive and the other 50% will be negative.
Lhui: *WTF???*
Reg 3: They're not going to ask students that in the exams!! And it's John THOMAS, not John Doodle!
Reg 1: Can't say penis 'cos it's 'rude' , so you gotta say doodle instead.....

Lhui: -_-"

For those of you who are scratching your head now, it's just a radiology joke. But the John Thomas sign really does exist. Though it has no medical significance whatsoever and radiologists probably use it to humour themselves when they're bored. Check it out:
http://www.whonamedit.com/synd.cfm/3050.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Thomas_sign

(From Wikipedia)

The John Thomas sign, also known as the Throckmorton sign, is the position of a penis as it relates to pathology on an x-ray of a pelvis. When the penis (visible on the x-ray as a shadow) points towards the same side as a unilateral medical condition (such as a broken bone), this is considered a "positive John Thomas sign", and if the shadow points to the other side, it is a negative John Thomas sign. This sign is of no medical significance and is employed as a humorous aside.[citation needed]

Heaven in a half shell

Hmm hmm.. it's been a while.

Completed my first MSA, Nuclear Medicine. It's quite amazing actually, the amount of things you can do with nuclear scans these days. Even though there wasn't a lot to do and some days were spent just sitting around in the reporting room with the registrar, it was a satisfying 3 weeks. Teaching was pretty informal and nuclear medicine touches a bit of most systems in medicine, so it was a good bit of revision. And much to my relief, it was a rather slack rotation. :) I'm really glad I got this as one of my MSAs. Kinda gave me a chance to see another side of medicine that you'd normally won't see in regular rotations. Not to mention getting tons of practice in putting in IV cannulae. I think I put in a couple dozen of them during those 3 weeks. :P Would still like more practice though. I get nervous when I know people are watching me, especially if it's a consultant. -_-" Like, there was one time I accidentally *squirted* saline on a patient. Steph was there, and so where 2 radiology technician students. Needless to say they all burst out laughing. Luckily, the patient was laughing along as well. I'd consider myself good at Jelcos (IV cannulae) when I can put them in as cleanly and quickly as the registrar there. 2 seconds flat I tell you! And not a drop of blood spilt!

Am currently into my second week of my last MSA of the year: Medical Imaging. Hehe.. both my MSAs are imaging electives. I'm not complaining, though. :P Exams are less than a month away, so I don't really have much drive to make full use of this rotation. You get to see some really cool prodecures in radiology (it's not just X-rays and ultrasounds down there). Though it IS more fun if you're actually involved with the procedure and not standing around idly watching people till your eyes rot. Though the doctors do try to explain things whenever you ask, they're generally preoccupied with their work. Guess they don't have much time to waste with students like us. Don't feel like going to the hospital much anymore for that matter. There's just so many things to cover before the end of the year exams but barely enough time! And here I am bloging away on a Sunday night....

Oh yeah I should tell you about my interesting first day at Radiology. There was this guy who came in for a CT-guided lung biopsy of a mass. Pretty routine procedure, only that this guy has really severe emphysema. His lungs were practically just AIR. Doing a lung biopsy on him is like asking for a pneumothorax. The respiratory registrar decided to hang around for the meantime as he was expecting something to happpen. Yep, a few seconds after the biopsy, the patient started getting tachypnoeic and really crook (that's "ill" in Aussie slang) on the CT table. Oxygen saturation droped to 60% within minutes. Another 10 minutes or so, he'd be going into respiratory arrest. Everyone was rushing around trying to stabilise the patient while yours truly could only stand there and witness the ensuing pandemonium. Basically they gave him oxygen, quickly wheeled him to the recovery bay and inserted a chest drain. He made a rapid recovery after that, thank goodness. I really respect those doctors lor. They were so calm through it all (they were kinda expecting this to happen also la, both the consultant and registrar AND the respiratory registrar were there). Felt really useless for not doing anything, though there really wasn't anything I could do at that point. A medical student would only be in the way when you already have so many staff attending to the patient. But it was a memorable experience nonethelss. I'll never forget how tension pneumothorax looks like now.

Update 15/10/2007 - One week after that incident, the poor guy is back again for another biopsy. Good grief. Dunno whether the chest drain was still left in. Didn't stick around to see what happened this time. -_-"

With the upcoming exams and impending stress, I decided to treat myself yesterday. Bought half a dozen raw oysters from the market and had them for lunch. A few dashes of tabasco sauce and some lemon juice did the trick. And they tasted just orgasmic.... I know Darling would bet to differ. :P:P It's a good thing I didn't get ill after eating it, though I did wash them just in case. I've never eaten anything raw from the market before, but the shopkeeper reassured me they're safe to eat...

Raw oysters + tabasco sause + lemon juice = a taste of heaven indeed... ^_^

Another day closer to the exams. Another day closer to home. I fear to long for November to come, as I fear I am far from prepared. Nights ppl... It's midnight already.

Disappointed? Enraged? Saddened? Amused? You tell me...

Really, really *SIGH*.... From Ken's blog.

BBC HardTalk: Sarah Montague with Malaysian Foreign Affairs Minister Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar.

Malaysia Boleh....

To a dear friend....

In case you didn't get my SMS....

HAPPY BIRHTDAY SENG KIAT!!!! May you have a wonderful and exciting year ahead... Looking forward to seeing you in November yea! =)

Baking Spree!!!

Yay!!! It's a long weekend again!! Monday is a holiday 'cos it's Labour Day... And I finally passed up my research proposal! So no more mucking around looking through journals and fretting over statistics and methodology...

To commemorate this fine occasion, I've decided to go on a baking spree. Got this wonderful book of cookie recipes. There's like 500+ recipes so I probably never finish baking them all ever. Both erm.. cookies came out alright, the only thing was one didn't look too appetizing.... Heck, I've only started baking a couple of months back. It's a far improvement from back in Malaysia when I couldn't even bake to save my life. So I guess I'm allowed to stuff up half the time. :P


Part 1: Dog Shit meringues

Yes, as its name denotes, they're brown, spirally globs of cream-like stuff. Would have turned out more normally had I not been so kiam siap. Hehehh.. didn't want to waste money on buying a piping tube for the meringues, so I used a 60ml syringe instead....

Behold! The BD Plastipak 60 ml syringe. :P

The syringe only sucked up a small bit of the meringue at a time, so I had to keep refilling and squirting. And when the stuff came out, it was like little diarrhoea-like curls, so I decided to make the best of it and make tiny little shit mounds on the baking tray...

Had to throw away the first batch 'cos they were burnt. But overall, they tasted like meringues, only wish I could make them 100% crispy, not cripsy on the outside and gooey on the inside.-_-"

Part 2: Vanilla, Honey & Milk Cookies!

Ok la, this is the not so gross part. :P Woke up the next morning itching to bake something proper. There was a recipe for Vanilla and honey cookies in the book, but I decided to modify it a little by adding in milk. Personally, I felt that it turned out pretty okay. Though Ken (dubbed 'The Household Food Critic' by Xian-Nian, of as I prefer to call him, 'The Guinea Pig') thought it was alright, but a little bland. So I sprinkled some caster sugar on the second batch before baking. I prefer my cookies to be not too sweet. :P

Ahh... the aroma of honey.... itadakimasu! :)

OMGWTF how could anyone do this

Even animals don't do this.

Was reading my sister's blog when I found out that last Monday, a sports bag containing a dead child was discovered in PJS1/48 Petaling Utama. This poor girl, Nurin Jazlin was only eight years old. She was raped, tortured and disposed of in such an inhumane way. She was found with a brinjal and cucumber stuffed up her private parts. Yes, there are countless rape cases going on in my beloved home country, but this has been one of the most disturbing yet.

According to my mom, there was a case a couple of decades ago where a girl was found with a wooden pole shoved right through from her privates and up out of her mouth. There is a Malay term for that, and it's called sula. Something useful I learnt from Form 5 Malay literature.

There are people who believe that it is the woman's fault that she is raped. Especially women who wear so-called 'revealing' clothing. Men cannot help but lust after women, so raping a sexy woman is only giving into their 'natural urges'. There are some who think that "pretty women shouldn't work, they should stay at home and be good wives". This is because their 'beauty' is an unholy lure and it causes men to fall into sin. Some have gone as far as to establish gender segregation in public areas, lest a male and female commit some heinous act of indecency. Come on, think about it. Who gets raped? Women (mostly). Are all of them 'pretty'? Are all of them wearing 'sexy clothes'? Infants, old ladies, even defenseless, innoncent little girls like Nurin were raped! In what way do you think these victims deserved their fate? There is no way one can blame them for this. If men truly are the 'stronger sex', how then can they put fault on the weak?

I know no one has voiced this in regards to the Nurin Jazlin case. I'm just ranting based on past events, since we're on the topic of rape and brutality against females.

Nurin Jazlin's family have finally accepted her death. Though we all share their grief, most of us will never truly comprehend the depth of their anguish and pain. May this inhuman killer be be brought to justice, and may he receive the consequences of his brutality.

Rape is a crime of violence, NOT lust. I hope that Nurin, along with the countless victims of the past have found peace on the other side.


Articles: Child found sexually assaulted and killed
Dad accepts DNA results

Do birds go to heaven?

Psych viva is over!!! Yay!! Was pretty lucky to have gotten the clinical vignette on suicide. Thank goodness... if I got some of the other questions I would have just froze there. Like Steph got asked exactly which antipsychotics to give and their DOSAGE. Which 4th year student memorises the dosage? The second part of the viva was a little unexpected: CBT. Had to dig deep into the sparse recesses of my tiny brain to find something back from my IMU days to answer that. What's done is done, didn't get a callback yesterday, so I assume I've passed. :P

Went to Sheng Kai a.k.a. Sean's 23rd birthday party at his gf Quinnie's house yesterday night. Suffice to say, Quinnie did a fantastic job with the food and organising. Not much photos, but yeah, it was a much-needed break from psych.

Anyway....

The morning before the psych viva, something weird happened. Woke up and had breakfast as usual... was just starting on some notes in my room when *BANG!!!* what sounded like something crashed/broke a window pane on my balcony. Peered out and saw this cute little pigeon sitting demurely on the balcony.

No broken window pane, no fallen objects. So I assumed that this bird must have flew smack into my window. It didn't fly away when I touched it, so it must have been injured pretty badly (but of course, since a bird smashing into a window pane is like a guy getting hit by a brick wall). Picked him (or her?) up. Looked ok. Eyes open, but not very responsive. Heart was beating etc.

Then 30 seconds later, his eyes rolled over. And the neck went limp. His heart beat was getting faint. I was like: "OK... shit. what to do. Erm... is he going into shock? Uh... chest compressions!!!"

Which I did for a few cycles. No, I didn't do mouth to mouth. How to do that on a bird? He did jerk a little after every few compressions, but then he eventually passed away...

Felt bad for taking photos of him like that, and didn't want to just throw him in the dustbin. So I dug a little grave for him in the backyard. Went back after the psych viva and decorated his 'gravestone'.

Rest in peace, little bird. May you be happy in pigeon heaven. Sorry I could not prevent your passing.

Medical Specialty Aptitude Test

Did 130 questions in like half an hour. Hehe... I've always found reconstructive surgery cool. :P But I don't know if I have to stamina for it.


Rank - Specialty - Score

1 plastic surgery 41
2 dermatology 41
3 anesthesiology 40
4 occupational med 40
5 ophthalmology 40
6 otolaryngology 39
7 physical med & rehabilitation 38
8 pediatrics 38
9 radiology 38
10 psychiatry 38
11 rheumatology 38
12 med oncology 38
13 hematology 38
14 gastroenterology 38
15 endocrinology 38
16 radiation oncology 38
17 pulmonology 37
18 allergy & immunology 37
19 colon & rectal surgery 37
20 general internal med 37
21 general surgery 37
22 emergency med 37
23 orthopaedic surgery 37
24 nuclear med 36
25 neurology 36
26 neurosurgery 36
27 preventive med 36
28 cardiology 36
29 infectious disease 35
30 urology 35
31 obstetrics/gynecology 35
32 pathology 34
33 nephrology 34
34 thoracic surgery 33
35 aerospace med 33
36 family practice 32

http://www.med-ed.virginia.edu/specialties/Home.cfm?CFID=2768254&CFTOKEN=2a25a6e986e70fa6-72CE10E6-BCDF-D829-784E85BC2D229599&jsessionid=5430c4caec732f192911