Welcome to the land down under

Ok.. this will be a super long post...

It's been 11 busy days since I left Malaysia. I'm now in Adelaide and will be starting my 4th year of medical school in the University of Adeaide along with some of my batchmates (Jebbrine, Bryan, Sheng Kai and Jee Ken) + 6 other M204s. The weather here is so crazy!! It's summer now, so it's supposed to be hot right? Just a few days ago, it was a horrible scorching 40 degrees. Not a cloud in the sky, and everything was as dry as a desert. Then yesterday it rained and the temperature dropped to 18 degrees. Somemore yesterday we went grocery shopping in the city. Ended up running around with bags full of meat and vegetables and fruits in the rain trying to look for the right bus stop. Today it's even colder. When the wind blows, it really gets to you. But besides that, Adelaide is a beautiful place. Very quiet and erm... peaceful for a city. Shops close at 5.00p.m. and on weekends they close even earlier. Such a far cry from KL, isn't it? *sigh* Not a mamak in sight...

It was a tiring and hectic first few days. Reached in the morning, met with the uni representative, went to our hostel, and then came out again to the city. Walking really is the main way people like us have to get around. Walk to the bus stop, walk from the bus stop, walk to shops, walk to find the right bus stop, and walk if we can't find a bus stop. Our first night was interesting, in its own horrendous way. After a short break at the hostel, we took a bus to the city to check out the uni and familiarize ourselves with the roads and stuff. Followed Bryan, Jebbrine and Sheng Kai to check out their potential permanent accommodation, bought some stuff (bottles of mineral water, shampoo, conditioner and shower gel. Those things had to be taken out from my luggage because it over the weight limit). We had dinner at Chinatown. The around 9.00p.m., we looked at out bus schedule, and thought we missed the last bus back home! The hostel is in a suburb called Hindmarsh and it's 15 minutes bus ride from the city. So there we were, frantically running around the city looking for a bus stop. And all the while we were lugging bags of huge mineral water bottles and toiletries! Not to mention that it was cold at night. And dark. Shops all closed, the city quite deserted. Haih.. but in the end we found a bus. No way we could havee walked back home in the dark on our first day.

The first week was very very hot and dry. Got sunburnt from a whole day of house hunting. Jee Ken and I learnt the hard way that some buses don’t stop at certain stops on weekends. Out of the 4 houses we were supposed to inspect, we only managed to get to 2. And in between inspections were just endlessly walking around while looking at our metro guide maps. It takes a while to understand the way buses work here. But when you do, you'll find that the buses here are quite efficient. Anyway... that Saturday wasn't a good day when it came to buses. Got quite burnt like a sakai already. Another thing different about Adelaide is the flies. They follow you around and are really persistent. For some unknown reason, they seem to go for the guys (esp Jee Ken). Perhaps there's some biochemical reason for this? Hmmm... Oh yeah the water here tastes funny! People drink water right out of the tap without boiling, and it's full of fluoride and chlorine and God knows what other mineral deposits.

Last Sunday, we went to the beach! There're a number of beaches around here. One of the more popular ones is Glenelg beach. Took a bus to the city, and then took a tram which goes straight down to the beach. Very nice place, but still cannot compare to tropical beaches like Redang and Perhentian. Sun was hot, but the breeze was very cooling. Had fish and chips by the beach! Still can't get used to Aussie food portions (don’t want to get used to is also). Thank goodness there's Jebbrine here to fill in for Andrew as my food buddy! Lazed around a bit, walked along the beach... pretty much the most relaxing day we had since we arrived.

This is a tram that runs from the city right up to Glenelg beach. Takes around 15-20 minutes to get here.

View from under the pier. It's really cool in the shade, but scorching hot in the sun.

L-R: Me, Jee Ken, Jebbrine, Sheng Kai.

Bryan and me.

With Jebbrine.

The beach just goes on forever...

This is how the sky during an Australian summer looks like.

Seagulls are everywhere, and they're not afraid of people.

Fish and chips by the beach!

On the pier with Jee Ken.

Notice the helicopter in the middle of the picture? They have these things called the shark watch. Shark attacks happen here quite often, so they monitor their movement from the sky, and ring some sort of alarm when they spot a shark swimming close to the beach.

And here we have an Aussie 'stuntman' jumping off some pole on the pier. It's prohibited FYI.

Ang Mohs here really love the sun and can really tahan the cold. UV radiation here is no joke. Adelaide has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world.

Some interesting stuff they sell at the beachside flea market: weird and funny quotes and signs.

They even have camels for tourists to ride here.

My temporary accommodation is a little creepy. But after being here for 10 days, I'm kinda used to it already. It's called Hindmarsh International Hostel, run by this nice Korean lady and they's an IMU senior staying here as well. It's OK and all, but most of the time the place is pretty dark (not many lights on) and... there are some interesting features to this hostel... Apparently, this place used to be a hospital.. -_-“ So yes, let me give you a guided tour of the place... You'll see some remnants of the hospital environment here and there, and this is what give this hostel its unique sense of creepiness...

This is the entrance. The hostel is a small single-storey building (like most of the houses here) located on Holden Street, Hindmarsh. It's around 15 mins bus ride from the city. It has I think around 50 rooms and the residents are from all over the world, like Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Nigeria and Malaysia (of course).

Hindmarsh sports stadium is just directly opposite the hostel. There was one evening where tons of people came for some soccer match (I think). Damn bising.

The place is not that well lit at night. Even during the day it can get a little creepy to walk the corridors of this ex-hospital... Even the doors of the rooms are like those you see in SJMC.. With the metal bar handle. Some of them are quite heavy and still have "STAFF ONLY" printed on them. Like hospital room doors.

Our common room where residents have dinner and laze around/watch TV.

The porch outside the common room. Seldom hang out here.

This is our cold room, where we put our foodstuffs like meat, vegetables, milk, etc. Someone joked that since this was a hospital, for all you'd know the cold room might have been the morgue.

The reception area.

Our kitchen. Everyone cooks their meals here. If you have good company, it can be a fun experience. Unfortunately some of the pots and pans here are quite old, with the Teflon worn off them. There is also another small kitchen specially for Muslims.

Laundry area. Washes are AUD3 per load and dryers are another AUD3. Damn cut-throat!

Seems that Jee Ken's room used to be the radiation room. Really. Even the set-up of his room is very like a radiation room (i.e. it has 2 smaller 'rooms' which was most likely patients' changing room. And the above sign is on the door to his bed. -_-"

This is my room. The walls are quite high, so Bryan said it could have been the room for psychiatric patients (yeah right). Anway I've gotten used to it and it's actually pretty comfortable here. I can get a fairly strong signal from the wireless internet modem here most of the time.

....and for some strange reason, there are power points and what looks like a phone port on the ceiling...

Unlike most rooms, I get my own bathroom. Look carefully at the shower, though. There's something suspicious there.

See this round, white button on the bottom right corner? The first time I showered here, I thought that was the button for the heater. So I kept pressing it. Then later when I discovered that this place used to be a hospital, it all fell into place. This button is what they have in patients' rooms in case something happens in the shower and they wanna call the nurse. Unfortunately for me no one came to my aid despite having pressed it half dozen times.

Behold! The flying cockroach that was camping out in my room for the first three days! On the first night, I felt something brush down my hand, so we all thought it was... *ahem* something to do with the history of the hostel. In the subsequent nights, the others had their own 'incidents'... Then on the third night, I felt the thing brush past me again. When I turned around, the cockroach was flying in mid-air! So... yeah. I smacked it with a slipper, squashed it with some tissue and promptly flushed it down the toilet bowl. But not after the fella flew into the jacket I was wearing...

Our bridging course started last Wednesday. So far, the university staff have been very friendly and helpful. They organized some discussions and clinical skills practice for us. Having just finished their EOS, I bet everything is still fresh in the M204s' minds... It's been 6 months since I touched my notes! Luckily the CSU tutor didn’t blast us or anything la.. I think in this one week we've done more communication skills sessions than we did in our 2.5 years in IMU! They must be trying to compensate for it or something la... Supposed to be revising my stuff, but no... I spent my weekend blogging instead...:P Hmm what else... went shopping with Jebbrine last Monday. It's sales period in Australia and some clothes are really cheap. If you count it dollar for dollar, stuff here is pretty affordable. But then again... I still can't stop converting the prices to Ringgit.. So depressing... The one and only phone call I made to my family so far cost me AUD9 on top of the international calling card credit. Didn't know that I had to make calls from a landline instead of a mobile phone. Somemore we only talked for about 10 minutes. Thank goodness Tiong, my old secondary schoolmate offered to help me out with getting a phone from Malaysia. Unlocked phones in Australia are bloody expensive... Met up with him last Friday after years of not seeing each other. :)

Ok then, will put up more pictures of Adelaide and my permanent accommodation soon! Internet connection today is crappy... Miss you all so much!

Leaving on a Jet Plane
John Denver

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go
I'm standing here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye
But the dawn is breakin', it's early morn'
The taxi's waitin', he's blowin' his horn
Already I'm so lonesome I could cry

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go
I'm leaving on a jet plane
Don't know when I'll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

There's so many times I've let you down
So many times I've played around
I tell you now they don't mean a thing
Every place I go I'll think of you
Every song I sing I'll sing for you
When I come back I'll wear your wedding ring

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go
I'm leaving on a jet plane
Don't know when I'll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

Now the time has come to leave you
One more time let me kiss you
Then close your eyes, I'll be on my way
Dream about the days to come
When I won't have to leave alone
About the time I won't have to say:

Kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go
I'm leaving on a jet plane
I don't know when I'll be back again
Leavin on a jet plane
I don't know when I'll be back again
Leaving on a jet plane
I don't know when I'll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go...

Surreal

Omigod NOW I'm starting to feel it. I'm leaving for Australia in 4 days!!! And I haven't packed yet! How on earth did 5 months fly by so fast? And what did I do with my time? I can't remember...

Spent the past few days clearing out my trash and unwanted items. My family's gonna move house after I leave. Sucks that I won't get to choose the furniture of my new room or even sleep in it for that matter. Most likely my family will be using it as a 'storage' room while I'm away. -_-" So, yeah... as I was cleaning up, my heart suddenly felt so heavy and I thought to myself: "Shit this is the last Friday I'll have in Malaysia in a long time! Then next Friday I'll already be in Adelaide. Without my family and friends! I'm not ready for that! Oh no....." Now it still feels weird and it hurts right *here* but I guess that's the way it is. Seng Kiat commented earlier that I don't seem to feel sad or worried or anything bout leaving. That's not true. Of course I feel sad (excited also la). But it only hits me at the last minute, just like how I start to panic insanely when I enter the exam hall. My retarded brain has this humongously long lag phase. I think I'm gonna cry at the airport. But my parents will be there and most likely they'll laugh at me. Crap.

*Sigh* I'm gonna miss everyone here. Even the people whom I didn't get to meet up during the holidays. I guess holidays give a sense of complacency. Makes you procrastinate until it's too late to even start scrambling. And my group of Subang friends, I can't imagine life without you guys around! What will I do for entertainment? Or more importantly, who can I count on to be there when I need it the most? I'll miss my family, especially since I've never been away from them this far, for so long before (and no Ma, I don't just miss you because of your 'labour'). Sisters Chin, it's gonna be hard with no little 'piggies' around to torment. :(

Ppl I'm gonna miss:

- My family (Obviously)

- Darling

- Andrew (Miss Moist can't be moist without Saint Skank)

- Vee Han (By the time we see each other, I'll have to call you Dr. Lim!)

- Calvin (Enjoy Seremban...:P)

- Meng Lee (Your life is a drama, and I'm one of your biggest fans)

- Seng Kiat (Since you 'claim' to be bi, I'll bring back an Aussie hunk for ya)

- Shing Wei

- Ching Ee (When I go off, you come back! Haiyah...)

- Shiau Wei (Thanks for the good times)

- Christine (Haih.. at least I'll be 1.5 hours closer to your time zone)

- Wei San

- Sue Wei (Thanks for the Bak Kut Teh!)

- Cindy (Good luck for your USMLE, and thanks for being my Karate buddy!)

- Karen (The days of SAM are long gone, but I'll always remember you :))

And all my other friends from Subang, IMU etc. You know who you are. :)

Another grandmother story

On another note, another one of my grandma's friends got harrassed by a flasher in the park. This shows that contrary to what some Kelantan officials say, you don't have to be young, pretty and wearing sexy clothing to be sexually assulted. Rape is a crime of violence, not a crime of passion. Why can't they understand that. And no, not all men think women = sex = evil = ban sexy clothing. Not all the time, anyway. It seems that despite living in the age of reason and respect, some people still have a morbid obsession about sex.

Listen to your grandmother

My grandma (from my mother's side) has been staying with my family for years. And even though she's well into her 70's, her mind is still quite sharp. However, when one lives with an elderly relative for a long time, one can't help but notice some of her advice is a little peculiar.... For example:

"Don't leave your underwear on the floor! At night ah... ants will come eat your panties!"

....right.

A long, long time ago, while describing what one of her granny friends went through when she was ill: "The doctors ah, put my friend in a hang kui loong (From Cantonese: direct translation means "drain hole"). You know, the one in the hospital..."

My grandma speaks Chinese by the way. It took me a while to understand what hang kui loong she was talking about. After much pondering I conluded she must have meant the hospital's MRI machine.

Triplets!

Visited my aunt today, who delivered three beautiful baby boys last month. The triplets are already one month old! It's amazing, really. For someone her size and height (she's shorter and smaller than me), she went through her pregnancy really well. Usually for triplets, the mother has to be put under constant observation in the hospital when she reaches 6-7 months or so. But for her, she was at home all the way until the delivery date. Cesarean section, of course. It was way too dangerous, and not to mention uncomfortable for her to carry the babies to full term. Fortunately all of them were born healthy. The moment the surgeon touched the amniotic sac with his finger, it ruptured! Talk about close calls. And another amazing thing was the speed that the C-Section was done. My aunt was wheeled in to the operating theatre a little after 10.30 a.m. At 10.56 a.m., Baby No.1 came out. 10.57 a.m. the next one, and 10.58 the last one. One baby a minute. What do they do, just pull them out? (apparently so...-_-") Though being premature, they had to be put under observation in the hospital for a couple of weeks. One of them even had to be admitted to ICU.

Thank goodness they're all fine and happily gaining weight now. :) They're sooooo cute!

This is the eldest of the triplets, Kai Yi (yellow blanket).

My mom holding the 2nd triplet, Kai Quan (white blanket).

And this is the youngest, Kai Li (pink blanket).

The three sisters holding the three brothers. I'm holding the second triplet, who kept fidgeting because he was hungry. The others were fed already, that's why they're so quiet. After this shot I accidentally performed the Moro reflex on him... Poor Kai Quan.

Small Pain In My Chest
by Michael Mack

The soldier boy was sitting calmly underneath that tree.
As I approached it, I could see him beckoning to me.
The battle had been long and hard and lasted through the night
And scores of figures on the ground lay still by morning's light.

"I wonder if you'd help me, sir", he smiled as best he could.
"A sip of water on this morn would surely do me good.
We fought all day and fought all night with scarcely any rest -
A sip of water for I have a small pain in my chest."

As I looked at him, I could see the large stain on his shirt
All reddish-brown from his warm blood mixed in with Asian dirt.
"Not much", said he. "I count myself more lucky than the rest.
They're all gone while I just have a small pain in my chest."

"Must be fatigue", he weakly smiled. "I must be getting old.
I see the sun is shining bright and yet I'm feeling cold.
We climbed the hill, two hundred strong, but as we cleared the crest,
The night exploded and I felt this small pain in my chest."

"I looked around to get some aid - the only things I found
Were big, deep craters in the earth - bodies on the ground.
I kept on firing at them, sir. I tried to do my best,
But finally sat down with this small pain in my chest."

"I'm grateful, sir", he whispered, as I handed my canteen
And smiled a smile that was, I think, the brightest that I've seen.
"Seems silly that a man my size so full of vim and zest,
Could find himself defeated by a small pain in his chest."

"What would my wife be thinking of her man so strong and grown,
If she could see me sitting here, too weak to stand alone?
Could my mother have imagined, as she held me to her breast,
That I'd be sitting HERE one day with this pain in my chest?"

"Can it be getting dark so soon?" He winced up at the sun.
"It's growing dim and I thought that the day had just begun.
I think, before I travel on, I'll get a little rest ..........
And, quietly, the boy died from that small pain in his chest.

I don't recall what happened then. I think I must have cried;
I put my arms around him and I pulled him to my side
And, as I held him to me, I could feel our wounds were pressed
The large one in my heart against the small one in his chest.

You Are 55% Normal

While some of your behavior is quite normal... Other things you do are downright strange You've got a little of your freak going on But you mostly keep your weirdness to yourself

How Normal Are You?

You Are 66% Feminine, 34% Masculine

You are in touch with your feminine side. Sensitive, intuitive, and caring are all words that describe you. And you're just masculine enough to relate to both men and women.

Are You Masculine or Feminine?

Your Five Variable Love Profile

Propensity for Monogamy: Your propensity for monogamy is medium. In general, you prefer to have only one love interest. But it's hard for you to stay devoted for too long! There's too much eye candy to keep you from wandering. Experience Level: Your experience level is high. You've loved, lost, and loved again. You have had a wide range of love experiences. And when the real thing comes along, you know it! Dominance: Your dominance is low. This doesn't mean you're a doormat, just balanced. You know a relationship is not about getting your way. And you love to give your sweetie a lot of freedom. Cynicism: Your cynicism is low. You are an eternal optimist when it comes to love and romance. No matter how many times you've been hurt - you're never bitter. You believe in one true love, your perfect soulmate. And if you haven't found true love yet, you know you will soon. Independence: Your independence is low. This doesn't mean you're dependent in relationships.. It does mean that you don't have any problem sharing your life. In your opinion, the best part of being in love is being together.

The Five Variable Love Test

Weird Al Yankovic Star Wars Parody

A cute little classic from way back! :P
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc2gqPzVjbM

Concise review on Casino Royale

Watched it last Friday. I'ts quite good, really. Daniel Craig gives the character of James Bond a bit of a rough edge, and he's certainly more built than his predecessor. I love the part when he emerges from the sea in his swimming trunks! Hehe.. and his eyes are so blue... It's interesting to see the more vulnerable, 'human' side of Bond being portrayed in this movie. He falls in love and is actually capable of getting hurt, both physically and emotionally. And Eva Green is just lovely. :) The only gripe I have is the (lack of) cool gadgets. The only gadget I saw Bond use was a defibrillator. -_-" But then again, according to the story he's just been appointed as 007 so maybe the cool stuff haven't been introduced to him yet... Overall, Casino Royale is a must-watch. Hope Craig returns in the next bond movie. :)

Turducken

Was surfing the net when I came across this interesting Thanksgiving dish. Went to Wikipedia to find out more...

A turducken ("TURkey-DUck-chiCKEN") is a de-boned turkey stuffed with a de-boned duck, which itself is stuffed with a small de-boned chicken. The cavity of the chicken and the rest of the gaps are filled with, at the very least, a highly seasoned breadcrumb mixture or sausage meat, although some versions have a different stuffing for each bird. Some recipes call for the turkey to be stuffed with a chicken which is then stuffed with a duckling. It is also called a chuckey.

The result is a relatively solid, albeit layered, piece of poultry, suitable for slow cooking by braising, roasting, grilling, or barbecuing. The turducken is not suitable for deep frying Cajun style (to deep fry poultry, the body cavity must be hollow to cook evenly). Turducken fans say that it is complex and usually quite agreeable in texture and flavor, as the juices of the turkey and chicken baste the duck, and the more robust duck bastes the turkey and chicken.

I was even more amazed when I read bout the variations of this dish:

In addition to the aforementioned chuckey, some enthusiasts have taken it a step further, and come up with the turduckencorpheail. This is a standard turducken, which is then stuffed with a cornish game hen, which is then stuffed with a pheasant, and finally stuffed with a quail. The turduckencorpheail is not for the faint of heart; it is an extremely time consuming endeavor, as birds of the proper size must first be obtained, and then prepared.

Chef Paul Prudhomme brought renewed popularity to the Osturduckencorpheail with his own Osturduckencorpheail recipe. There is a similar dish in South Africa called the Osturducken, an ostrich stuffed with turkey stuffed with duck stuffed with chicken.

A further variant is the gurducken, where the external bird is a goose, rather than a turkey.

In the UK the Turducken is commonly known as a three-bird roast. English chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall expanded this into a ten-bird roast (a turgoduckmaguikenantidgeonck - turkey, goose, duck, mallard, guineafowl, chicken, pheasant, partridge, pigeon, woodcock).

The largest recorded nested bird roast is 17 birds, attributed to a royal feast in France in the 19th Century: a bustergophechideckneaealckideverwingailusharkolanine - bustard stuffed with a turkey, a goose, a pheasant, a chicken, a duck, a guinea fowl, a teal, a woodcock, a partridge, a plover, a lapwing, a quail, a thrush, a lark, an ortolan and a passerine. Since passerine is a generic term, it is not known exactly what kind of bird was used as the smallest in the actual roast, although a pied flycatcher has been suggested. The recipe notes that the final bird is small enough that it can be stuffed with a single olive; it also suggests that, unlike modern multi-bird roasts, there was no stuffing or other packing placed in between the birds.

Omigod how on earth do you even pronounce that? Needless to say, all these dishes are great big cholesterol bombs. *drool*

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turducken

Andrew & Vee Han's 21st Birthday @ Luna Bar

*Blearghh* Still a little tired from yesterday's outings... It was Vee Han and Andrew's turn to hold their 21st birthday bash. Since we always celebrated their birthdays together, they decided to have a double event celebration. First, Hi-tea at Eastin Hotel. The food was good, with a wide variety of dishes ranging from Western to Malaysian to Thai. After stuffing ourselves and a few hour's rest, it was time for a chillax session at Luna Bar, KL. Vee Han and Andrew, love you guys lots!! Thanks for the unexpectedly nauseating wonderful night out yea!

Some pics of Luna Bar. Love the ambience of the place. We got there quite early, so we got a nice spot out in the open, by the pool.

The picture above was taken using my trusty human tripod. :P

L-R: Xian-Nian, me, Vee Vern, Meng Lee, Andrew, Wee Lip, Vee Han, Shing Wei, Seng Kiat.

...Meng Lee doing what he does best...

Cam-whoring in the washroom. Apparently the guy's toilet has a beautiful view of KL.

Dun need to tell what this building is, right?

The birthday boys having their Flaming Lamborghinis. Erm, I'm no expert when it comes to alcohol ya, took this off the net: The green stuff is a mixture of different types of liquor, usually Kahlua/Bailey's, Curacao and Galliano. The waiter lights up a glass of Sambuca. As he streams the flaming liqour down into your martini glass, you suck it all up at the same time. The effect? Cool blue flames and a fantastic warm rush.

You can't really see it from the pics, but the stream of alcohol flowing down to the glass is burning bright blue.

Yours truly having a go at a Flaming Lamborghini. It proved to be an interesting experience, but with some not-so-pleasant effects.....-_-" Sorry guys, it was my first time!

After having one too many drinks, Andrew becomes the victim of Meng Lee's passion...

...and this provides the rest with some fun-filled entertainment.

The end. Don't be fooled by this pic. What ensued shall not be disclosed here.

FIGOAT

Sucks. I've put off writing this entry for so long that now I've forgotten what I wanted to write. Another month has gone by with nothing much done, no thanks to procrastination. By the time I finished my job in McD's, the last few Karate classes for the year were over! *sigh* No more Karate ever... not that I was that good at it anyway, but still...

Despite a long-standing ban on keeping pets in the apartment, many residents here have dogs and cats. Fishes and turtles are OK (had a bunch of turtles myself). When I thought I've seen it all when it comes to pets, one guy decides to push the boundaries of neighbourly tolerance even further. He bought his son a pet GOAT. Yes. A brown baby goat. How on earth does one keep that in a tiny apartment? I bet their apartment stinks like nobody's business. Not only that, that goat is so noisy. The guy lives a few floors above my parents apartment. Every afternoon, we can hear the poor creature bleating. At first my mom thought it was someone's baby crying. Mana tahu it turned out to be a GOAT. Wonder what are they gonna do when it gets bigger. Slaughter it, hold a kenduri and make mutton curry for everyone ah? It even has a collar and leash like a dog for goodness sake! And the ironic thing about all this is the guy is one of the committee members for out residential community. What next, pigs and cows? We can have a nice little animal farm in our home then...

On another note, I attended the 18th FIGO World Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics in KLCC on Tuesday. Xian-Nian had an extra guest pass, so might as well take the opportunity to experience it. Heh... we aren't doctors (yet), let alone Ob/Gyns, so we didn't really expect to understand the lectures, but we attended them anyway. Learnt some stuff bout endometriosis, latest ultrasound techniques and some interesting drug controversies. It was good a good experience. Lots of people from all over the world, mostly specialists and researchers I think. It's quite amazing lor, that our country has to privilege to host such a large-scale event this year. I doubt it'll be held here again anytime soon. There were a couple of exhibition halls. Most of the booths were set up to promote new drugs and medical equipment. There were also some local and international tourism booths too as some of them are bidding for their country to be the host of the next congress (which I think is in 2012, not quite sure :P). FYI it was Xian-Nian's second day there, so he had already went around all the booths the day before. There were lots of freebies being given away. So being typical Malaysians, we did the typical thing...

There was this particular booth where you had to fill in a questionnaire about the company's drug and if you get all the questions right, they'll give you some free stuff. So we filled in the questionnaire and got our gifts la. Then we noticed that everyone were given some pens when they took their questionnaire. So Xian-Nian went up to one of the representatives...

XN: Excuse me, we filled up this questionnaire earlier, but didn't get any pens.

Lady: *Looks at Xian-Nian. Seems rather convinced, then looks at me. Gives me that one kind look, and glances at our guest passes.*

Lady: Sorry, these pens are for delegates only....

Wtf?? Like that also can! It's not like they're some cool gold parker pens or anything. They're just plastic ball pens with the company logo printed on it. Like those you get from buying Domino's Pizza or vitamin pills. Maybe it's because I didn't look like a doctor, cos everyone there are all middle-aged and matured-looking. I quote my sniggering boyfriend: "....little little girl... Yesterday I took also they never say anything." *sniggers some more *

Yeah well Dear, I guess your beard and size makes you look like one of them.:P

Andrew and Vee Han's double-event 21st birthday celebration is tomorrow. Can't wait for that.