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!

Winter is here, but it's colder on the inside

A Smaller God - by Darling Violetta


In the violent silence
Of a dream within a dream
You fill my soul with beauty
You're my shiny man machine
I'm sinking in the roses
Falling down to fade away
The velvet blade of apathy
Makes the crush so bittersweet

(CHORUS)
And I, I could have died last night
But I heard the voice of a smaller god
And I, I could have died last night
But I heard the voice of a smaller god

Your presence is the morning
Your absence is the night
I'm searching your dark hallways
Trying to find the light
Swimming your sad ocean
I'm drowning in your sea
This will all be over soon
And we'll learn to live again

(CHORUS)
And I, I could have died last night
But I heard the voice of a smaller god
And I, I could have died last night
But I heard the voice of a smaller god

In the evening stars I see your eyes
I hear you speak to me
I miss you now so much it aches
So broken so afraid

(CHORUS)
And I, I could have died last night
But I heard the voice of a smaller god
And I, I could have died last night
But I heard the voice of a smaller god

UVnation

I think the people who thought of the name for this event should have thought of a better one. More than once I had friends give me weird looks when I told them what I did in my 2 weeks back home. "What? urination?"

It was something like a large-scale clubbing event plus lotsa UV lamps like those you see in that glow-in-the-dark room thingy in Puzzle World. Very cool effect, especially if you wear white. :) Sorry, I left my physics behind along with the rest of my college knowledge so forgive me if I sound like a clueless bimbo. One whole level of the New Wing car park was converted to a dark but glowy ghetto dance arena. Hosted by Joey G, lotsa good music with DJs like Benny Benassi and a few others. Overall, it was a memorable and fun event. I haven't been out clubbing with my friends since... the last time I saw them! And it was good to see Erna again after so long... I can't remember the last time we went out together, girl! Hehe... though I'm not sure whether the whole thing was worth the ticket price. Quite ignorant about the clubbing scene too. But I do enjoy the occasional party with my dear friends. :P

L-R: Erna, Vee Han, Meng Lee, Andrew and me. The line into the entrance was so horribly long! Even though we already had tickets. People were queued in a packed line on the escalator all the way down 4 floors.

The whole place was bathed in glowy blue light and packed with people. The good thing bout having the event in a car park was that even though there were areas of dense crowds, there were some empty areas where you could escape to if you wanted a rest from the noise and sweat. :P And good thing the main arena was in the open-aired part of the car park. :P

Meng Lee hoisted me on his shoulders so I got a good view of the scene from above the crowd.

Meng Lee and me. :)

Return to the foreign land

After a slightly turbulent flight, I'm back in Adelaide. The 2 weeks back home passed by too quickly. It's always like that when you're having fun. Surprisingly, I managed to get all my luggage checked in without exceeding the baggage allowance. Even threw in Marieb at the last minute. Hehe... my mom was worried that she'd end up lugging back bags of clothes and paraphernalia from the airport. See Kakh? Believe in miracles and they will happen! :P:P:P

*Sigh* Not much of an appetite, but I've been eating junk here and there every few hours. It's freezing cold now. The room temperature is around 15 degrees. Outside, it ranges between 4 and 15. The bathroom light is still out of order, I've resorted to ***ting by candlelight... Gotta start getting things fixed, but I'm just too damned lazy.

I'll be starting Acute and Chronic Care 1 (Orthopedics) in the Royal Adelaide Hospital next Monday. Apparently the program there is really full-on. Looks like I'll be going to the hospital before sunrise and leaving it after sunset. Wonderful way to spend my winter, no?

Happy Fathers' Day!

The title says it all. :P Went out with him and my mom to eat his weekly lui cha, a traditional Hakka dish comprising of vegetables, taufu, nuts and soup. The soup can look a little too greenish for the uninitiated, and it's taste definitely takes getting used to. But I totally agree with my dad that it's one of those little Hakka treasures worth savouring. My dad's Hakka by the way. I'm an embarassment to the Hakka clan as I can't speak a single word of the language. Not only is lui cha healthy, it also makes a deliciously satisfying meal. My dad's completely hooked on it. Goes to Puchong nearly every weekend with my mom to eat it for lunch. Haven't really spent a lot of time with Papa since coming home. Mainly 'cos he's always busy at work and comes back late at night. Even when I was still hanging around in Malaysia, he was pretty busy and such. But anyway it was good to enjoy a simple lunch with him again today. Love you Papa! And though it may seem that we (my sisters and I) don't pay heed to what you say ('cos we've heard it a hundred times?) we really, really, REALLY do appreciate all the advice you've given us. Thank you for a truly wonderful father and may we continue to learn from your wisdom. Have a safe journey to Germany. Love you always. :)

Musings

Andrew and I were walking to the bus stop near Kota Raya, after meeting up with Meng Lee and Vee Han for lunch. I spotted a little makeshift biscuit stall selling all sorts of classic goodies like siew pao and biskut telinga. The stall was basically a flimsy wooden table set up what looked like the entrance to a backalley. A typical slimy KL drain ran in between the legs of the table. The stall was ran by a little old Chinese lady who sat on a stool by the drain, gazing serenely at the busy KL street. I picked up a packet of biskut telinga and handed RM2 to her. She smiled sincerely (you can tell that as the smile didn't just stop at her mouth. Her eyes were 'smiling' as well), and commented in Mandarin that he (Andrew) was quite good looking. Heh. She must have thought that he was my boyfriend. :P And then we continued on to Kota Raya and subsequently hopped on a bus back to Subang.

The point of all this is that Andrew pointed out something interesting about the old lady. You know how you see some poor soul sitting by the roadside, living in squalor and relative hardship? Most of us would feel pity for them. But as for the old lady, she exuded an air of serenity. She smiled happily and looked as if she was exactly where she wanted to be in life. It was difficult to pity such a person. Many of us will spend a lifetime chasing our dreams and needs, our greedy desires. Let's say we do achieve them. How many of us would be satisfied? It's a vicious cycle that keeps on turning. I wish I could be like her one day. And I don't mean selling biskut telinga by the roadside. Hopefully when the time comes, I can be at peace with myself and my life.

God, it's so good to be home. I think my boyfriend is a little shocked by my voracious appetite. Polished off a whole bowl of Uncle Lim's curry laksa and kopi cham on my own while I was out with my mom (according to Darling usually it takes 2 girls to finish that bowl of laksa). And the day before was maggi goreng ayam + nasi briyani + chinese dinner feast. *Sigh* At the rate I'm going I'll gain more weight here than I have in Adelaide. Cannot cannot... Must cut down my intake tomorrow already... -_-"

Anyway... just when I thought I had a pretty depressing 22nd birthday last week, I got the best present a girl could ask for. Arrived in KLIA on Saturday night feeling horribly worn out. Despite that, I was really happy to see my family again. Was about to make my way to the elevator when I turned around. What I saw shocked me to point of tears.

All my Subang friends were standing in front of me with Darling holding a beautiful cake lit with candles! Blowing out candles in the airport, that's a first. Seriously guys, just the sight of all of you after these 5 months is the best thing I could wish for. Thanks Vee Han and Andrew for organising that fantastic belated birthday surprise! *Sniff* Love ya all lots!!

Home really is where the heart lies. :)

Announcement

Hehe... in the midst of preparation and (laziness) during the last week of my rotation, I forgot to announce one very important thing.

I'M GOING HOME TO MALAYSIA TODAY!!!

*Jumps for joy* Yes! I get to see my family and friends! And food! Home-cooked food! Hawker food! Mamak food! Heh... I think my housemate would be happy to get rid off me as I've been rubbing it a little to his face. :P Can't help it!

My flight out is at 11.55a.m. Will be transiting in Singapore for a few hours before flying home. Better get ready. :)

P.S.- I passed my Medical Home Unit Rotation!! *breathes a sigh of relief* Though for all things to come out for an OSCE, it was the thing that I didn't pay attention to: Parkinson's disease. Ugh. Thank goodness for Dr. Koblar, who showed us how to a directed exam for a patient with Parkinson's. And thanks to Bryan whose 'random patient hunting' coincidentally led us to a Parkinson's patient!

100th Post

Here I am, shivering my ass off while trying to complete my final case write up and evidence-based medicine (EBM) which is due tomorrow. Our preceptor is a fantastic teacher, but he also wants us to be super meticulous with our case write ups and problem lists... I haven't even started on the EBM part and it's already 8 pages long (handwritten, not typed)! Ugh, and the fact that my patient has multiple non-specific problems with no real diagnosis isn't helping either.

On another note, thank goodness my research supervisor has signed my research proposal outline! Nearly thought I'd not be able to complete it in time as my supervisor is very busy and constantly in surgery or overseas. Really grateful that he's so nice and understanding. :) *breathes a sigh of relief*

To celebrate my 100th post, I shall put up some random and totally unrelated photos of my new stockings...

Damned punk rock right?:P Wore these to the hospital along with a black pleated skirt and matching pink scarf. I think a couple of patients were staring at the pink skulls. They must be thinking why is this medical student so morbid...

Ok better get back to work. *Downs more tea* End-of-rotation OSCE next Friday!! :(

Of Saturday morning OSCEs and Chinatown

Yesterday, we had yet another mock OSCE for IMU students, courtesy of the Adelaide Uni and Queen Elizabeth Hospital staff. Although I'm not too fond of trudging to hospital on Saturdays (buses come less frequently on weekends), it was really good of them or organize these 'IMU specials' for us. Throughout these months we've had lots of extra tutorials and stuff which I'd say has been a great help to us.

Anyway, the mock OSCE comprised of 4 stations: 1 clinical examination, 2 histories and 1 (supposedly) data interpretation. I started at Station 4, which I thought was going to be either ECGs of serum biochemistry or blood gases or some X-rays. Mana tahu....

*ting~ling~liigg* (the OSCE bell like ice-cream bell only. Still better than the horrible buzzer back in CSU Bukit Jalil.)

I hurried in, was going to go straight to the station, sit down and answer some data interpretation questions. Then suddenly there was this lady with a marking sheet there and she asks me to wait outside the station for one minute of question reading time. Wait... why is there an examiner for this station?? *stares at sign outside the station* Oh crap...

"You are in a cafe when suddenly someone collapses bla bla bla.... what do you do?"

I peeked over the curtains and saw a mannequin on the floor.

Crap crap crap. CPR!! That was so unexpected!!

Good thing we had a little refresher course on CPR during the first half of our Medical Home Unit Posting. If not, I'd have freaked out there and then. Still I didn't know that CPR could come out in the OSCE. And as I discovered after I completed the station (had time to chat with the examiner), you can't fake your compressions or rescue breaths at all. The mannequin is hooked up to this panel and certain spots will light up when you compress correctly. And it can also tell the examiner the depth of your compressions. If you compress somewhere else (or compress too hard) lights in spots like the abdomen, lateral chest etc will flash. -_-"

Another unexpected station was where instead of taking a history, we had to break bad news to a patient who was found to have colon cancer + ?liver mets. The other 2 stations were good ol' physical examinations and histories. Still need lots of practice though. Still struggling to get a full respiratory exam done smoothly in 6 minutes!

After the OSCE, we headed back to the city for some lunch and grocery shopping. It had been a while since we went to Chinatown, so Ken and I had lunch and did some grocery shopping there. Was looking for a new wok. The reason why will be dealt with in a later post. Anyway, we stumbled across this dumpling restaurant. And since it's a cold, Sunday morning and I'm too bored and lazy to study now, I shall show you some pictures...

The entrance to Chinatown. Pretty standard, huh? Resembles the one in Petaling Street in a way. But the place is way cleaner la.

Yes, the place is called Dumpling King. Tried the fried pork and chicken + prawn dumplings. Not bad, actually. A little oily though. The restaurant sells noodles, rice and soup too.

Like advertising for the restaurant only. Should get some commission for this. :P:P:P

The dumplings were pretty filling (for me). Had to ta pau back half for dinner. 10 chicken + prawn dumplings for $7.80, or 15 pork dumplings for the same price. Yes... it's bloody expensive if you convert to RM, but unfortunately, this is more or less standard restaurant prices here in Australia...:(

Pork + spring onion + ginger + flour = delicious combination. :)

Sue Chuen's 22nd Birthday

Hokay... super late post. But just wanted to put some pics of this event up. We had a surprise birthday party for Sue Chuen at The Village last week. Kudos to the Villagers + Jebbrine (considered villager also la:P) for organizing this! Everyone had a great time, and the coolest thing was when the cake with 22 lit candles was presented to Sue Chuen, it set off the smoke alarm! Heh... Check out Sue Chuen's blog for the vidoes. Also Stephanie's and Ken's.

The guys and the girls. :)

Updates!

Just finished half of my Medical Home Unit rotation. Currently on the General Medicine ward. So far, the ppl there are really nice...

Last week, Bryan, Rahoul, Ken and I went to watch Spider-man 3. Omigod cinemas are clearly not the a big thing in little ol' Adelaide. Either that or the cinema we went to was just to obscure. We went on the opening night (Movies here start screening later than they do in Malaysia). Considering that it was the opening night, we figured it would be wise to book the tickets beforehand. Lo and behold! I couldn't book the tickets (via online or telephone) not because they were sold out, but because THERE IS NO BOOKING SYSTEM. So I went down to the cinema itself to buy them in the afternoon. The ticket counters were closed, and there was only one lone lady at the snacks bar. Got the tickets from her. Free seating. And the cinema was not even 1 third full. And the no chun-ted THX speakers, k. Just black boxes on the wall. But overall the place was clean and decent la. Only the ticket price was horrendous. Spider-man 3 is worth the watch, but no where as good as the second movie.

Winter is inching in bit by bit now... Cold cold cold. And it's raining a whole lot more now. That's good considering it was soo freakin dry. Adelaide is going through one of its worst drought this century, so any rain is welcome. The thing is that now, it's nearly impossible to get clothes dry by just hanging them outside. We've now resorted to roasting our clothes on our pan heater (no central heating). Haih.. should take a picture la. Looks damned pathetic.

More updates to come. Internet connection is super slow and keeps disconnecting.

Acer strikes again

I have no idea how this happened.

I was happily sitting in front of my laptop last week. Was done with using it and decided to turn it off. I shut down windows and proceeded to close my laptop when

*KRAKKK*~~

My laptop suffered a pathological fracture. One of monitor hinges broke. The casing opened up and I could see the little circuits inside. How on earth does that happen??? Not like I was using immense strength to slam the thing shut or something. I didn't dare lift the laptop off the table lest the other hinge broke and the enitre monitor fell apart. And any repairs would surely be costly and getting a new laptop even costlier (everything here is $X3 mahh...).

So.... I did the next best thing. The following day, I squeezed the casing back into place and taped it shut with some Transpore (good ol' hospital wound tape).

As Wee Jie aptly described, it's just another case of Aceritis. *Sigh* At least the laptop is still working... Thank God for that. *Must stay positive*