Yours truly, Chia Ling

Almost to the end of 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Chia Ling) — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 21:30:00 +0000

Updating my blog from Mannheim (Magi´s home)
Had a Polish Xmas (her family migrated from Poland to Germany 20 years ago)
and some motherly pampering from Magi´s mum (nursing my cough and cold, home cooked meals ^^)
Next stop, Nuremberg to meet Shie´s friend
5th Jan will be study time again

Cant believe after this week, I will turn 24
May next year be good for me in terms of studies (pass all my exams) and HEALTH (omg...i m sick of getting sick...been sick for quite a while (infected a good number of ppl as well) and felt crappy. now i m just starting to spring back to HEALTH again and i want to keep it this way >.<)

There has been a change in my elective arrangement...again
Made Wedad quite upset for ffk-ing her UAE plan (well i think it is the better option for us. i dont wanna even imagine us disagreeing in UAE. She is a good friend but for a month long elective... i dont think i can take it.)
I´ve arranged 2 venues:
Malaysia (with UNICEF)
Singapore
I have yet to receive any formal acceptance from both sides. so i m still keeping my fingers crossed until the day that I am set to hand in that elective forms to my university.

Clinical project is still hanging in the air until I learn how to do an audit.
I wish I was born a genius. gahh..
I need a "Audit for dummies" guide book

What else can I update here?
Hmmm
There´s something (or rather someone) I would like to tell u, my dear friends but the time is not right YET
Be assured, u will know about it from me ok?

Other than that, I miss home a lot
After talking to mum & dad & the aunties, I felt even more homesick
Gahhh!
I felt slightly guilty for not calling home that often for the past few months.
Exams has been rolling all the time and I am constantly kept on my toes.
Next year, my exams will at least come every 6 weeks..I dont want another 2 weeks Oncology stint anymore...exhaustive lah. Didnt even get to layan Yilin that well when she came visiting cos i was busy nerding for Oncology!
Anyways, I promise I will call home more often next year! (ah that´s a resolution!)

I was thinking "maybe next year Xmas holidays, I will go home to see the folks" then reality hits, and I have come to realise that I will be preparing for my Final MB Part 1 around this same time, next year.
Hope it will be smooth then!

I am kinda dreading the Belfast weather at the moment considering Mannheim is not too cold since it is in the lower latitude. And that darn weather made our house in Belfast too cold as well...I think that can also be attributed to inadequate insulation. U can ask Yilin about this. She has been with me for 5 days in Belfast..the week before I left for holidays.
(Oh..congrats to Yilin for doing so well in her 1st term exams in London! Now ur folks can be assured that u r really serious about ur law dream)

Speaking about ppl who came to visit me, I was absolutely thrilled that Lydia came to visit me (with Wei Lynn, of course) in November, 2 weeks before my Psych exams. Old timers catching up! Would haf been perfect with that Nadia bum around though! Although i felt very sorry for all the things they had to endure during the trip like missing flights, taking the ferry, vomiting etc. Aiyoyo! But it was all good craic overall right? (some pics r on facebook!)

Hmmm
I have nothing much to say about 2008..I think it has been a good year for me overall. Not much complaints..would haf ranted it all out already!

I shall welcome 2009 with open arms!

2 series of good events & 1 unfortunate

noreply@blogger.com (Chia Ling) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 01:15:00 +0000

I accidentally deleted my flight ticket for Frankfurt (for xmas holidays)
Damn....
Keeping my fingers crossed now cos I will try to contact aerlingus 2mrw. hopefully they can help me out! -_-" stoopid girl

Neways!
I passed my Psychiatry! Phewww! Mediocre pass...bleh~
BUT STILL PASSED. Point taken!

I have got a reply from UNICEF M'sia! ^.^
This is only half the good news which will be complete once the other person replied me regarding my request to volunteer for them over Summer 2009 when I am back home!
I will definitely be quite over the moon if they let me! super excited

Cancer studies for the next 2 weeks then exams again.. -_-"
Yilin is coming for the week so I am feeling super excited to be able to c a family member! But Belfast is too cold and wet and gloomy at the mo. sheesh! Not the perfect weather for sightseeing though. but oh well we will make the best out of it ok?

Jam packed weekend post psychiatry! Gonna properly enjoy myself b4 intense cancer studies.
Rights need to hit the sack now. Had 1/7 full of activites and poor sleep 2/7 so I m pretty wrecked at the minute. I know it is not like I carried bricks while I was studying but u get what i mean eh?
Adios...Update more soon when I am more alive~

noreply@blogger.com (Chia Ling) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:11:00 +0000

Now into Psychiatry Week 3, I still feel quite unproductive apart from the fact that I have got all my cases which are compulsory to hand in (no I m still writing up on them, not completely typed yet). Where's my motivation??
My classmates claimed that apparently every1 is slacking off in psychiatry especially after we have just finished our intense paediatrics about 2 weeks ago. So that gave me a little assurance that I m quite "normal"!
I just need enough motivation for me to pass my Psychiatry exams on the 1st attempt! >.<
Thankfully I am assigned to one of the best SHO I've ever met. She gets me going by giving me things to do, recommending all my cases, explaining some topics to me and arranging my timetable and activities. Phew! At least!
Made some new "friends" in the ward as well and coming to realise the importance of keeping our sanity....that's the last thing a person will want to lose (i reckon).

My other 2 issues are:

My audit :
After much emails with my supervisor, I have come to a conclusion (with some advice from wedad) that I will just have to hold my horses now. I will have to wait at least until I get taught on how to do an audit in GP attachment, THEN only I can properly start it. (The reason why I wanna settle it fast is because I wanna have MORE quality time back home during Summer holidays next year instead of worrying about it and spending time in Belfast sorting it out when I can be enjoying myself!)

My electives arrangement:
Got rejected by HK because they dont have vacancies for the time & the department that I wanted. Too bad lor.
A Korean classmate was nice enough to offer me to do electives in korea since her mum has contacts with this person who owns hospitals in Korea. Would love to go but I can't speak Korean.
Cambodia is quite not in my list as for now since that particular Children Hospitals that I want to go only accept 1 person at a time. Bleh.
America is not a good choice since I don't have USMLE, I won't be able to assist in procedures and therefore I can only stand and OBSERVE.
UAE might be a fun IF the cost is not too high and if the accomodation can be sorted! (Hope to hear good news from Wedad about this!)
What's next?
I would love to go home but this is a chance to travel somewhere so I don't want to regret if I didn't take this opportunity!
But at the same time, I came to realise that after my elective attachment period, finals written paper is just about 3 months away! EEK!

Was deciding on Singapore (based on aunt's, dad's and xinli's recommendations) then my angmoh friend remarked that I should try something new and be adventurous!

The verdict, now I will be applying for:
Abu Dhabi (UAE) for 4 weeks with Wedad (depending on the cost)
AND
Singapore (with NUS) for 4 weeks in September (hope to get some motivation/good teaching in preparation for finals)

Now I have to drag myself to do my Psych Long Case after spending my afternoon reading the US election news and deciding on my medical elective attachment!!!
Need a big boost for my new found laziness..S.O.S!

noreply@blogger.com (Chia Ling) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 00:56:00 +0000

Psychiatry 1st day & I had already felt sleepy in class & always "pancing ikan" in class.
Sheesh!
my study mood hasnt arrived!
went to bank to sort out my tax exemption form but I had to get my national insurance number 1st b4 i can do that. damn mah fan!
Hope to get somebody from uni's GP department to be my supervisor for my audit! *keeping finger crossed!*
Had a nice sushi dinner (with Shie,Jiat & Pat)as a big complement today! Feels very bahagia whenever i eat sushi/japanese food! dunno why! maybe just bcos i m "tam chiak" (just like what lili tong said)
oh & i have to mention the gales today. so kuat man until i felt like i was filming Twister !

Got some pictures from my godbrother today..i so want to be at his wedding to witness it all!
Saw pictures of my godmother & godfather(pa)...almost cried.
Every1 is getting older including my own parents. Wished that I was at home helping out with some errands and just to accompany them to watch some taiwan hokkien drama.
I remembered last summer when I was back, my godmum(ma) wasnt happy with the tailor made clothes that she wanted to wear for my godbro's wedding. She said she doesnt know what colour suits her & since noone was free to accompany her to shop for the cloth, she just simply chose it & pa didnt know what's the trendiest colour either. It broke my heart thinking that I couldnt help her out with such simple task. it is not like she NEEDED help but u know I like to accompany them so that they don't feel lonely & felt left out by the younger generations.
Even with my own parents, when I was home I always try my best to accompany them to simple things like seeing the doctor, encouraging them to go for blood tests, going for a walk in the taman, having dinners/suppers at the hawker stall, going to the temple to pray and also to help them to pass some encouraging advices to my brother.
And i didnt do much this summer for my grandaunty *regrets*
I really hate to think that I will be so preoccupied with my job and miss out on simple things like this in life. Grrr!

I will spend my life working & sorting out other people's life (part of my job & I m more than happy doing it)...but what abt my own one?

Had been thinking of moving to england for my training to get down the latitude..a bit too cold here..cannot tahan sometimes. not that it is like an oven in england but i know the weather there r kinder than the ones here. but ppl here is definitely more friendly hands down!

But I might not get the foundation training rotations that I wanted over in england since I graduate here in Belfast, so there are better chances getting the rotations that I wanted here.
I have to choose either career or a new life.

Then again do I want to go back home after 2 years foundation training?
Still dunno. I wanna do my postgrad examinations 1st in UK at least b4 heading on!
Then I m stuck between career and family.

Ok I m thinking too much now. I m not even required to make my decisions now just yet.

Gah! I miss home lah (as usual!)

P.S: On another note, I m glad that a friend has decided to open up to me. u know who u r. I just wanna say "thank u very much" ^.^

Paeds exams SIAP!

noreply@blogger.com (Chia Ling) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 02:42:00 +0000

8 weeks of continuous motivation & hard work (quite!)...now it is OVER (well almost until we c our results for paediatrics exam next week!)
My 1st long case in my life wasn't as smooth as I wanted it to be...should haf done better lah. it was in that 1st long case in my life that i did my 1st cranial nerves examination in a child.
As i put it I got drilled into the floor, blended & juiced and finally they decide to drink me! Ok i shld stop complaining..at least i didnt get DiGeorge's syndrome (1 classmate got that)! :S
Written paper...wah really hafta thank my classmates and yeepei that helped me with the past years.
Yalar thats my life now study-->exam & this cycle will continue until forever?

Well to b honest, I quite enjoyed myself at paediatrics. I like interacting with children so i guessed it is only right that i like it! Ahh now I will miss those hide & seeks and ticklings, lending my "earphones" (stethoscope) to the kids & kneeling down when i take histories & examinations. None of my friends here haf children so basically i got no chance to kacau the kids unless i go to paediatric ward! haha *evil* i miss my little cousins (including that 2 tai chek lou)
ahhh children..they remind me of simple things i tend to miss out in life sometimes ---> fun, simplicity, happiness, compassion and patience.

Went out with my classmates for dinner & outing today..okla not too bad. still a bit not natural around my ang moh classmates. still cannot understand 100% of what they said sometimes. my ears & brain something wrong!

Moving on, there's a few things i need to settle like my elective (no reply yet) and audit (what topic!) and some other things like buying toilet rolls, vacuum-ing the house and must remember not leave/display more than 2 pairs of my shoes downstairs! hahaha..
badly need a quilt as well..damn sejuk now..and a cute strawberry umbrella (cos my very strong arms broke the current one i had)

thankfully for my long weekends...i shall try to straighten some things out b4 Psychiatry posting starts on Monday! ^.^

p/s: oh i was quite embarassed when my LOUD se7en's Passion ring tone rang when i was out with my ang moh classmates. they must have think I m so ah lian! hahahahaha am i? *i know u r nodding ur head!*

Some pics for updates:

Shie Ling's Bday

Craigor Paeds Grp A 2008
(Will upload a better pic of this from others' camera!)

noreply@blogger.com (Chia Ling) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:19:00 +0000

Writing this to curbed my boredom momentarily

Damn 'sien' (= boring...hafta translate a little since Magi has been reading my blog!) in neonatal unit (NNU). almost jargon-ish and ppl r too busy to speak to us. not that we r royalties but it will be much more interesting to know what is going on. learning curve dipping down now.
one consultant at NNU let me do the progress notes as he speaks. it went horribly. considering my ears r quite "deaf" (now thinking if my absent OAE has anything to do with it) i hafta asked him to repeat over few times & to confirm what i have written down is correct. bummer. then again no shame no gain :-/ argh.

Then i happened to be "useful" today at maternity ward! i was waiting for the SHO to arrive so I could join her for postnatal baby checks. one nurse approached me to ask if i can speak mandarin as there is a couple from china who cant speak english & there's a communication breakdown.
i may not be the best mandarin speaker but at least i can still managed to relay informations...i m glad i can be at service!

ahh speaking of china of which...check this news out:

"All food products with Chinese milk are banned," she told AFP.
"(Health officials) are also on the ground to seal the sale of the products," Noraini said, adding that the ministry was urging manufacturers to carry out voluntary recalls.
Noraini said Malaysia has banned Chinese milk and infant formula since the 1990s because of foot and mouth disease in cattle, and those measures were reaffirmed in a health ministry directive on the weekend.
The expanded ban comes after neighbouring Singapore found the potentially deadly chemical melamine in the popular White Rabbit Creamy Candy from China, she said.
Melamine is at the centre of a widening food safety scandal in China.
Around 53,000 Chinese infants have become sick after drinking formula laced with melamine, a chemical used in plastics which can also make milk appear to be full of protein.
Four children in China have died. Melamine can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure.

ahh there goes my childhood candy!

And I have another announcment to ask if there will be anyone interested to do a medical elective in Kapit Hospital in Sarawak. Trying my luck there as well as i now haf about 2 more weeks of elective left to fill in(if Hong Kong approves of my 1st 4 weeks) (hafta do total of 6 weeks)
Medics & non-medics pls do email me if u r interested hey_me_cl@hotmail.com
According to Feng ko, he had a memorable & exciting time there along Rajang River and monitoring the orang asli (indigenous ppl)! Think about it folks! :)

Before i end my post I would like to congratulate Shie Ling for her nomination for Anugerah Siswazah Cemerlang 2007/2008 UPM! many congratulations and I will be waiting for my roast pork satu ekor ok? hahaha.

What m i supposed to do now? ward? library?
:-/ siens

noreply@blogger.com (Chia Ling) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 23:01:00 +0000

Ahhhh penat!

Came back for only 24hours last weekend (so going to properly savour my time in Belfast this weekend!)
Was on call on sunday 9am to 10 pm! (I know!!)
Really haf to thank the SHO who lend me her bleep so that she can contact me when there's something interesting!
Wedad (egyptian housemate in craigavon hospital) told me "Dont expect anything when u go hospital cos i was on call on saturday & nothing really happened!"
So, I was expecting to at least curi curi go back to my hostel for a short nap...alas but who knows of the series of interesting things that has happened for me to learn & witness!
That's my busy last sunday! but trust me my brain was in weekend-mode.....always zoning out & lose my awareness & alertness!

but the rest of this weekdays weren't as eventful
didnt get enough clerk-ins as i expected
ahh...i guessed I just hafta be more alert & on the look out next week! i pray & pray...po pi me please.
clinics are not as interesting as i thought it would be..(I want to go back to the ward please!)
as much as i would like to spend time with those children but i will also like to be able to finish whatever i need to study & learn as much & complete my signing-off for my portfolio...I WANT TO PASS MY EXAMS (on 1st attempt).... *anxious anxious...super anxious*..i dun care abt whatever prize for getting whatsoever mark..just would like to pass.. :S
Always think positive to attract positive events

Before I declare that was a uneventful weekdays...we had a session with this simulated baby (which haf proper heart beat, femoral & brachial pulse, respiration, iv cannula, fontanelles and CAN GO CYANOSED) ..which was an absolute disaster! rushed to belfast from craigavon on thursday for this 2 hours sessions which was supposed to be a 10minutes test of management in acute situation. didnt expect it at all. and we were all caught on camera. used up all my adrenaline which left me dead on friday & now. gosh! yeah but yeah but no but (ala vicky pollard) it was quite fun as well!
Take home msg: always think S A F E--> A B C D E F (remember!)

Managed to ring my GP & he has agreed (lucky!thank goodness!) for my clinical project but i haf no whatsoever idea in conducting whatever audit...AUDIT? shen mo lai de?

Electives...I tell myself I have to make up my mind by saturday
Thanks for the suggestions from jo & ernerd..I m definitely considering malaysia! why not! :)

OK gotta sleep now...
Many things playing in my head and some emo-long trivial thoughts in my head which I don't know how to express (which will perhaps bore every1 out)
I miss home at some point everyday
It is NOT that I m not good here alright
I admit that I just missed the comfort zone
& it gets more intense when I m stressed!

P/S: I don't haf msn access in craigavon, ppl pls do email me if you would like to chat about something. Gimme some human touch! haha!

Disappointed

noreply@blogger.com (Chia Ling) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:48:00 +0000

There goes my elective plan in Siem Reap... :S

Got a mail from Jia Li just..& i cant believe what i read..
They only accept ONE medical student at a time.

Ok gotta think of some other hospitals then.

"Thank you for your interest in doing an elective placement at Angkor Hospital for Children.

I would like to let you know that we can accept only one medical student at the same time and only final year of medical students. The length of stay for medical students is 2 week minimum and 4 week maximum. Also, as a medical student here, you would have the opportunity to sit with a Cambodian doctor in our Outpatient Dept; work with the doctors in Inpatient, ICU, and ER; attend daily inpatient rounds; go on Home Care visits; and spend time in the Lab -- but this is by no means a complete list of the activities offered. As a med student, however, you would have 'observer status' only - so no procedures or direct patient care, but you would definitely be allowed to practice physical exam skills, etc."

Siem Reap down.
Then, I m still thinking about Hong Kong for a 3 weeks elective ^.^
(we have to do 6 weeks in total)

Any ideas for the other 3 weeks?

Hide & Seek in Ward 3 North

noreply@blogger.com (Chia Ling) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 00:09:00 +0000

Ah what joy being in a paediatric ward! It's those ward that u can treat it like a playground....err..quite!

I can remember clearly about this blond curly hair 2 year old boy "hiding" underneath a baby's cot, covering his own eyes thinking that if he cant see us, we cant see him too! Kawaii-des!

And using the stethoscope hasnt been so much fun when i take turns to use it with my patient!
"Can I use this to listen to your chest & u can listen to your own chest with it when I m done, alright??"
Eager nods from the boy!
Ah happy days!

There are grumpy sulky ones as well who fold their arms across their chest & not wanting to look at u....well...they r sick...cant blame them eh?

All in all...very intense but fun week.. (it felt like 2 weeks had already passed!!)
Havent been this wrecked for ages!
At least a 9am-5pm in hospital every week days! & if we are on night calls, had to be in from 5-10pm
And I will have to be in this SUNDAY! i know!
"I will expect you to be at the ward at 9am!"
All our individual timetables have been laid out for each 6 of us to follow...it is not like I created it to be kiasu!
*hint hint to THOSE ppl who have this particular interest of misintepreting me...wth...pls analyse your info in your grey matter 1st before releasing it to your motor tracts*

Ok enough with those unnecessary hot steam.

I guessed apart from learning paediatrics bit by bit each & every day & trying to keep my eyes open for the sleepy afternoon classes, I have again come to realise that there's really nothing in my life that I should be complaining about. Matters which are trivial & nagging can be resolved if we try with all our strength, minds & hearts & souls. Big matters are bigger hindrance but all we need is more time & patience & continually seek for the most suitable answer.

I saw this wonderful mommy with her adorable baby boy with a variety of medical problems (which is DEFINITELY not the nicest thing that happen to mothers). I dont have what so ever idea how she handles it. U can call it mother's protective instinct. But i really dont know how to put what I felt into words. Simply enlighting. TLC at its best!

There's more stories to tell & share but I think Oprah is better at doing that!

Before I end this post sounding that I m grumbling about the whole intense schedule, personally I m happy enough to be hanging in the wards if it means I get to discipline myself & learn + practice. Well, i HAVE TO. Exams in 5 weeks. Eeeek! No one will save my ass apart from myself! But I m also glad that the lecturers make the effort to put us on the spot to give some pressure so that we can learn & improve.
No shame, no gain!

2nd week of Child Health

noreply@blogger.com (Chia Ling) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 22:43:00 +0000

Last week was the 1st week of class & the stress had already rolled in!

In order of the most head cracking tasks:
1) Clinical project (What topic shld i do?)
2) Electives (Where? Had some plans in mind but no actions yet)
3) Exams after each postings

And after hearing this: "It is JUST 16 months away from your finals written so u guys better get serious & pay attention!!"

RIGHT.

I need as much "ohm" as I can get now!

It was great to be back home in summer. Talking to my peers..knowing that everybody has hurdles to overcome every now & then..sorta make me feel "normal". Stress will always come..it is just how we chose to handle it. March on!

Otherwise things r pretty ok. (apart from the annoying sore throat)
Trying to reactivate my studying centers and living my quite low profile social life :S
Started my oats meal..my flax seed oil supplements..and sleeping early plan...
All in the name of lowering my LDLs.

Missing every1 (plus the dog) and everything back home including the heat.
Brrrr..getting colder here day by day!

And randomly reminiscing my Form 4 and Form 5 times...

XOXO

Landed..Belfast

noreply@blogger.com (Chia Ling) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 01:08:00 +0000

Completely wrecked from the Segt --> KL then KL-->London then London-->Belfast journey!

Didnt manage to unpack all my stuff yet cos was busy catching up with housemates!
Didnt realised I had so much stuffs in my room..yet i brought more stuffs over! i m NOT feeling guilty >.<

Just checked my uni's email inbox & found out whole lot of things to be done! back to business!
e2save cashback claims..posts....bank stuffs....
but the darn bank holidays this coming monday is not helping me out much either. Grrr..

Most of my postings this year will be in Craigavon roughly 3 out of 5 major postings!
Hopefully it will be a good thing...benefits> mah fan-ness (which will be transportation problems unless i developed wings within these few days!)
But i will try to focus on the positive sides to get my energy pumping
As Winston Churchill puts it: “For myself, I am an optimist - it does not seem much use being anything else”

Ahh Belfast is still as cold as ever
15 degrees celcius for summer!

Let me reflect some good things that happened to me today to perk my spirits up:
Gotta EA Diamonds perfume (which i refrained from buying since it is off budget!) from my bro Andrew (hadnt had a surprise for quite sometimes oredi ... *grins*)
Didnt hafta rush for transit at Heathrow..all smooth & well
No baggage lost or damaged!
Had a heavenly nasi briyani ayam on the flight just now~

Currently missing my family ...especially after watching "Cherry Blossoms: Hanami" (German film) on the plane just now~

one more week...

noreply@blogger.com (Chia Ling) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:09:00 +0000

As the title says it...
Yes one more week & i m flying off to Belfast

I shall try NOT to complain
afterall I have had a 2 months break
logically, rationally...i shouldn't be complaining eh?

All my food cravings r fulfilled..
(Already kena blasted in Facebook for posting food & fruits pictures up!)
I have slept for as long as I wanted
Have talked as much and as relaxed as i wanted...like a broken record
Met and spent time with most of the ppl that I m close to
Read the newspaper everyday (upped my antenna for politics and world news...hated the ignorant life)
No straining my ears when conversing
Got my butt fried everytime I enter the car on a hot day (almost everyday! :) )
Ate good tasting pineapples every alternate days plus mangosteen...guava...rambutan..etc etc
to the stage that I reject durians!hmph!

What more can i ask for!

Oh & I need to add....i have managed to buy as many things that i wanted/needed without needing to turn my brain into a currency converter!

And oso at least I went to 2 "phor thor" (Hungry Ghost Festival) already..hehe

Still thinking what else I need to purchase to bring over...
Just bought white lightbulbs yesterday..yes u heard me...WHITE light bulbs.
I have always wanted to study in the kitchen over there in Northern Ireland bcos of the white lights but that will make me a poser studying in a public open space (other than library)

Went to ta pau "lak bi chui" (liu wei..6 tastes...a dessert) the other day
& i noticed i m not the only one with flat stick-to-ur-head straight mane
Turned out that Jess & her sis did hair straightening as well
LOL!
This is to make sure our hair dun turn into Simba's mane in a years' time
This is what we call future planning!

every1 (90% of ppl I've met) been telling me that I m fat
& yes i CAN audition for Michelin tyre's new mascot
Well considering I was taugeh-thin in the past...i dun blame them!
Gimme some time..i will TRY to keep fit..TRY try...

Having some probs/delays uploading pics since I m using dial-up at home in Segamat
Sorry ppl!
but I think I have uploaded enough pics on my Facebook under the album "Summer 2008"
Feel free to view la...

Anyways just to add in b4 i end this post...

To have been able to be back after about 10 months..enjoying my holidays and to meet up with almost every1 back home is a BIG BIG BIG blessing
But there are some ppl/things that I have noticed that has changed my perceptions...or maybe I m the one who has changed..
or maybe some things or ppl has always been that same way...it is just I who didnt realised earlier or didnt manage to see it from another angle!
Change can be a good thing or bad..it all depends on different principals & interpretations.
So, I m happy enough with what i have experienced ...just a few disappointments..but not anything too major!
Overall mood for this holidays still thumbs up and 11 stars out of 10.
Just like a black dot on a white paper...the white rules and there were loads of good surprises and many happy events that has occured to me. Pick the roses, make a beautiful bouquet, caution with the thorns and it is ALL GOOD! *grins*

noreply@blogger.com (Chia Ling) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:12:00 +0000

Almost 3 weeks into my darn allergic rhinitis
I dun mind the sneezing but not the sudden bilateral nasal blockage esp when I m sleeping at night..
Engorged turbinates..How dreadful
Cant smell my food sometimes..how annoying! ( i haf only 2 months in 2008 to enjoy local Malaysian cuisines...ahhh...i dun wanna compromise my olfactories at this precious time)
Grr...ENT will haf to rescue me if this doesnt resolve by August!

That aside...
Bangkok trip was marvellous..shopped til i dropped..like seriously
Been numbed by the exchange rate when i was in UK
Practically froze in Bangkok while shopping until my aunt shook me off it!
Luckily I picked up my shopping tempo fast enough
Old habits die hard!
Other than that I really enjoyed the Chao Phraya River Tour + visiting the Buddhist temple
Was really amused when we threw breads into the river to feed the fishes, the tourists from the other boat was shouting "huat ahhh!!! HUAT AHHHH! Hengg ahhh!" (i.e. to welcome luck & prosperity) when a big school of fishes swam on top of each other to consume the bread!
Ahh hokkien never fails to make me laugh
Also went to the hugely popular 4-faced Buddha to pray..even nicholas tse's dad went there to pray ok!
And no thailand trip is ever complete without a thai body massage... so relaxing!
Oh Chakuchat Weekend Market...my 1st & will be my last time there..if u had went there b4, u will know what i mean
Platinum Mall and Pratunam Market r enough to fuel my shopping desire!
Really what a small world ..I met Seyin & Seyee at the airport in Bangkok!!

U know i find it quite strange when a patient in Belfast thought i was a Thai.
But usually the Caucasians cant differentiate the Asians. (yeah apparently we looked the same.
Ok as we also may not be able to differentiate the Caucasians SOMEtimes..fine.)
Then, until i go to Thailand..even the THAIS mistook me!
9 out of 10 times ppl thought me & my aunt r Thais until we start speaking!
Ok i take that as a compliment for having the south east asian looks as long as it doesnt mean i looked like a ladyboy (ie drag queen)
But some of the ladyboys i saw are so pretty! made me felt un-female for a mo there! haha..

Need to go KL again sometime soon
It was super hectic the 1st time when i was up!
Met most ppl the last time..even managed to celebrate Suk Hui's bday with the Lil, Jo, Sek kuan and felt like a mini convent girls (sek kuan considered also lah) outing ! (Freddie, u missed it! How come meiyi not there to block u also we cant c u one ar?)
Met with shalini, kavitha, Evil wong..and suming my adik too. and a karaoke + long chat with yean lee..
Not forgetting Pek, Pek's cousin and me went for Gary Cao's concert in Bkt Jalil. His voice is impressive and mesmering.. but i totally dislike his reddish-orangy hair... suitable for a Garnier hair dye promo. :/ and shoulder pads :/ i just need to c u in crisp white singlet/shirt/none and jeans and black/brown hair ! is that too much to ask? but it was enjoyable bcos i get to spend time with Pek singing along to the songs!
Oh b4 that concert we went to urbanscapes KL after some persuasion from Jo. We almost ended up in Ipoh instead of Jalan Ipoh. It wasnt the artsy kinda event that I was expecting. I will still rather stick to films like those shown on Queen's Film Theatre (my uni's art cinema) Ok the getting lost part is more fun.."thanks" to Jo's good map reading skills and GPRS. lol!
Was delighted to c Jee, Ernerd, Brian the next day!
I was torn between accompanying them and Pek and my cousin sis Yilin! well well! Juggling they call it! :)
Still havent met Suba and SK.. :/

Managed to drive down to S'ban to c my IMU mates! Felt left out since Im the FAT one there leh and I tot I haf slimmed down a little b4 coming home! sheesh...false impression
Neways. Thanks guys for meeting me up despite having a tight schedule..
Nice dinner with Ernerd, Jee, Kai Lun, Siow Li, Seow Fan, and Christina. Then yumcha with Ben.
Persuaded to stay a night in S'ban since it is too late to drive down to Segt!
Didnt get to c Sabena ..but i saw her bed though. lol.

I did spent 2 and half weeks nett in Segamat despite all the travelling! Hehee...
Haf to spend more time at home ..Dun wanna regret later when I return to Belfast ..not spending enough time with the Segamat folks and not consuming enough of Segamat food!
At least for now, I am satisfied that I am home for my late grandma's death anniversary prayers, went to temple for Goddess of Mercy (Guan Yin Ma) birthday celebration and also Huat Choo Kong for blessing (when Pek and Pek sis came to Segamat :) )

Oops 1.40am ady
In S'pore now (for the 2nd time :) )
(My 1st time in Spore was when I landed in S'pore from London: Warm reception from my aunt & cousins and Pek, Meiyi & Jerrine with pisang goreng waiting for me heh! Met with Nad at the airport b4 she went to Perth on the day after i landed! good ol' 3-4 hours chat! Night time, yummy supper with my fatty twin cousins at the hawker center)

Few hours ago, went out with pek & her sis, cousins & friends for a scrumptious Jap buffet at Suntec City! (even my fashionable high waisted belt cannot withstand the expansion..)
Next stop..meeting up with Segamatian-working-in-Spore: Jotan, Meiyi, Hueyli and Yoke Fong lah.

Hoping for more family and friends time b4 starting 4th year in Belfast
In the mean time, no quarrels with my parents (yet). I m keeping my word, Michalina :)
Trying to be in my best behaviour to date.
Each time my temper start to rise, I remind myself that it is not worth it to lose it, it's silly and it's childish!
Only home once a year..really dun wanna spoil it!
Ohm....ohmmmm....

Now everybody...hail the life of t-shirts, short pants and slippers!

Home Sweet Home

noreply@blogger.com (Chia Ling) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:23:00 +0000

It has been almost a month since the last time i cried (before exams)
It has been almost 3 weeks that I have enjoyed not needing to concentrate hard when listening to other people talk!

Home has been good to me for these 3 weeks.
Hoping for another productive, enjoyable & happy 6 weeks before starting Year 4.

These 3 weeks has been spent meeting the most important people in my life and doing what make makes me feel like ...myself!
I would say passing the exams gave me the tremendous ease as well!

Other than meeting up & spending times with my family & friends, I still have many other objectives to be fulfilled before flying back to Belfast like trying not to quarrel with my parents this holidays (so far so good *keeping fingers crossed*), tasting all my favourite local foods (at least once for each type!), trying not to gain weight (impossible), spend at least a day at the beach, shopping for everything under the sun and et cetera et cetera

AAaaahhhhhh breathing the air of LIFE every single second now...
Hail the life of t-shirts-short pants-slippers !

Going HOME

noreply@blogger.com (Chia Ling) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:05:00 +0000

Exams were over last week.
I felt more drained than actually relieved.
With lotsa "logistics" stuff to handle right after.
Packing & shifting from Guthrie House was actually a pleasant event until the cleaners got orders to clear the kitchen a tad too early than it was supposed to be. Leading me to be the new "lap sap po" (rubbish woman) rummaging through at least 12 black garbage bags looking for my kitchen utensils (including pots, wok, plates, cups & my most precious Malaysian spices & food). I was pissed..no correcting..i M still pissed. Kicked up a fuss & got the accomodation office to compensate my "losses". Still...argh!
Otherwise shifting was quick with help especially from PhaikHar, Jack & Shie.
Thanks guys!
So far I m happy with the new house with tv & internet well set up even b4 i move in. What more can I say? Efficient housemates! ^.^
Su Ming is here to visit for about a week & I brought her around Belfast & Northern Ireland & also stop over in Dublin just for sightseeing!
Few meet ups 2mrw with my "abandoned" friends b4 going home. -_-"
Still confused on where to hit for dinner since every1 is pretty broke & also every1 has different food preference! Ah...I'll sort it out 2mrw... Apart from exams nothing else is difficult (post exams remarks)
Some last round of shopping to do 2mrw b4 packing & also packing itself 2mrw!
Toodles for now!
Keeping my fingers crossed for the exams results which is due to be out next week~
Hope that my freedom will not be short-lived!

About 1 more month~

noreply@blogger.com (Chia Ling) — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:04:00 +0000

About one more month is my Year 3 exams.
About one more month is TIME TO GO HOME!
Can't wait!

Been panicking over Easter as u can see from my previous blog.
But feels a bit numb nowadays. I guessed I ran out of adrenaline/noradrenaline in my body.
Worried about "what if's" or "can i" everytime b4 I dozed off to sleep.
But that's a little silly. The clock still turns and the day will come eventually anyway no matter how much worries I have.

Medicine is interesting and fun. Just the exams part which are daunting. (Hands up for those who agrees?)
Hmmm well it depends on how u look at it!
It can be quite fun or enlightening. :S

Been rejecting loads of outing with housemates n friends. (I supposed they are on the verge of murdering me for doing that too often! -_-") But I hope you do understand that it is not on purpose ok? Everyone haf a certain system or obligations on working things out, I just plan to do it u know more rigidly or rather in a boring way.
I need to like gather plenty of resting energy before I start mugging & need some lazing down staring-into-space time in betweens. I know I know I m lame.
But fear not my friends, after exams WE WILL BE OUT DAY & NIGHT. And I will soon be the rejected ones. Hehe.

And to my Malaysian friends ---->
I am very delighted to know that u guys r anticipating me back home! The captain will be back to serve ^.^ I miss u guys!

Been having recurrent dreams on my family lately --->
Super miss them! Even been dreaming about my dog LoonLoon. Pathetic eh.

Wish me loads of good luck & blessings to pass and do well in this Year 3 exams.
Hoping that i will be able to enjoy this exams and drive over this "speed bump on the road".

Tag time

noreply@blogger.com (Chia Ling) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:01:00 +0000

Right i owed Jay this tag ^^

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.

Well well
8 random facts...
That's a challenge!
I m so 'in your face" type I dont even know what "random facts" that people dont know abt me!
Let's try alright~

Number 1
My perfect Saturday morning/afternoon in Segamat will be:
Have an all I can eat hawker stall's food
Reading newspaper
A nice cup of soya milk
on a breezy windy warm afternoon
(Random enough?)

Number 2
Never worked/had a job in my life so far
Not proud of that though!

Number 3
I like to watch movies in Queens Film Theatre (QFTs)
which shows the not-so-comercial kind of movies & documentaries
I must admit some of them that I have watched r really pointless but what the hell I wont know a movie is good or bad until I watched them myself!
But the really good ones are really memorable and marvellous~

Number 4
I would love to have a pot of roses by the window,
but I m allergic to the pollens, I think.

Number 5
I have 3 scars on my body:
Right shoulder
Right elbow
Right knee
Bcos I fell off the bicycle when I was 11 or 12 on a rocky un-tarred road while trying to do something COOL with the bicycle. -_-"

Number 6
I was the captain for one of my school sports' houses/team during secondary school
but I myself can't do any sports -_-" (does taekwondo count?)
Strange isn't it!
The teacher said they just wanted somebody who can organise & pull things together. Gee!

Number 7
Not that sporty-fit generally
but I can walk very fast

Number 8
Ok I m running out of idea...
Emmmm
Errrr....
Well let's make this an open question, u ask me & I will answer!

Alright I haf to tag 8 ppl:
1. Ernest
2. Jo
3. Lilian
4. Yilin
5. Suk Hui
6. Patricia
7. John Lam
8. Felicia

Ok now another tag, this one from Jiat:

1. At what age do you wish to marry?
What kind of question is this!
It is finding the right person not about the right time

2. What will you do when you feel really emo?
Cry lorrr
And sleep
It's one of the most therapeutic
Ahh & also "torturing" my friends by complaining to them non-stop!

3. What do you have in your mind now?
If I will do well in my Year 3 exams in June

4.Where is the place that you want to go most?
Provence, to see all the beautiful lavender fields in a pretty dress

5.If you have one dream to come true, what would it be?
Can I have more than 1 dream to come true?
To be successful in my line of work

6.Do you believe in seeing the rainbow after the rain?
Scientifically yes!

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

8. What cheers you up for the rest of the day?
A cooperative patient who makes the whole clerking & physical examination process much easier to endure

9.If you meet someone you love, would you confess to him/her?
It depends, if he expressed obvious interest in me, why not?
If not, I won't bother!
Hate the whole confessing thing to the wrong guy then ended up with embarassment!

10.List out three good things of the person who tagged you.
GOOD??
I will TRY
1) He's younger than me so I have the authority to bully him! Muahaha
2) Quite mature for his age
3) Gossips with us like a makcik

11. What are the requirements that you wish from your other half?
This is so pragmatic.
If I have to say, that will be sincerity and undying moral support.

12.What type of person do you hate the most?
"Lan si" and arrogant ppl.
Hate ppl who don't respect women!

13.What would you do if you won a million dollars?
Use it to pay my medical school fees & repay my dad!

14.What is your ambition?
Pass every exams with good results, graduate, do post grad, & work my way up.
Bring my family for holidays
Travel the world
& I dont know how to elaborate further~ keeping it hush hush 'til I worked out my short term goals 1st!

15.What would you wanna be after you're dead?
Huh? A corpse? What else.

16. If you have a chance, which part of your character would you like to change?
Be less panicky
and have more confidence

17. What is your favourite colour?
Black

18.What do you think is the most important thing in your life?
My family

19. If there’s one thing in your life you want to do but yet unable to, what would it be?
To spend more time with my folks and my family
And...
To be a part of a rock back on a world tour! Woo!

20. What would you do if tomorrow was the last day of the world?
Fly back to Malaysia to see the faces I love

What I did last Easter

noreply@blogger.com (Chia Ling) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 00:45:00 +0000

The transport & the road trip crew. Driver 3rd from left.
NAAAAaa-Van (Navan) here we come!

Dino the cute King Charle's.

Doing what tourists do the best!

At Newgrange(Mesolithic/Neolithic architecture)

Rock of Cashel

Mengada-ada at Rock of Cashel
Rock of Cashel: Castle + Cathedral + Cemetery
(There was a St Patrick's Day concert the night before i.e. Bono & gang were all there...
We didnt get to go..tickets all sold out!)

The main joke/ jokeS of the trip: Snappy (the most outdated camera ever known to man) & Jiat

At Ray's aunty's place & our 2 fellow entertainers!
The revival of smell of my childhood..the piggies & the pig sty! Ray's grandpa's pig farm.
I miss my grandparents~

The 2 queens of the trip: Yee Pei & Shie Ling (Handles the map,direction,food,socialising and the rules! kekekeke)

All geared up for St Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin
The Belgravia Ave gang!

We r not missing out too! ShieLing & I with the antennas.

St Pat on the Harley.
Coolnya~
Alien invasion

Queen of the Honey Bee~

Floating balloons/creatures ..the most entertaining~

The tourist attraction: Ray Casserly (for real..some tourist took a picture of him. -_-" )
Don't u think he looks like the lead actor from Once?

Looks like somebody found love ~

Ray's mum St Pat's Day special dessert: Represents the Irish flag colours~
Creative & supa dupa tasty!

Ray's parents (world's most hospitable and friendly hosts ^^) & the rest of the crew.
Oh important lesson from Ray's mum: Don't call it CLOVER leaf..that's what the American calls it...it is SHAMROCK!

Celebrity encounter: Uncle Ding y'all (Jiat's uncle) aka screaming farmer in Batman Begins

I m already itching for another road trip over the next big holiday (AFTER exams...obviously)!
Anyone up for it?

noreply@blogger.com (Chia Ling) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 01:55:00 +0000

Just when I thought the sun is shining after the storm, it just had to rain again.
Gosh!
But I am trying to get things settled one by one & stop worrying or stressing out too much.
Trust & faith is all we need.
But this is so testing my stress management!

I hope that all the controversies/issues about the house that we wanted to rent will be rectified as soon as possible. I don't want any more unnecessary hair-pulling forehead-frowning distractions in this critical 2 months before exams.

Other than the house issue, in terms of preparation for exams..
I realised that being paranoid & manic is not the path to walk on.
I have always known that but I just can't seem to maintain my cool during pre-exam.

After getting some revelations Ms Hoh Yoke Sin, I managed to not be so uptight or expect too much out of myself.
As I quote her again "Relax or u'll burnt out when u r nearing exams!"
I certainly don't want that "burnt out" to happen.
I aspire to be a good doctor who can function properly mentally & physically when faced with stressful situations.
And also with a "blessing" of optimism from Mark, I guess I m ready to take a more positive route to face the exams in June.
Mr Cole the ophthalmologist puts it: If u can fix a problem, then fix it, If u can't fix a problem then don't worry about it! u can't do anything about it anyway
And also not to forget Nadia always telling me "Chia Ling, u can do it one lah!"

Packed with a whole new luggage of advices & inspirations, the right thing to do now is to shift into a different dimension of perspective & start to use the material in that luggage to obtain optimal outcomes!

Down with neuroticism!

noreply@blogger.com (Chia Ling) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 01:58:00 +0000

As usual, apologies for the long hiatus.
Been busy with loads of stuff like the usual different postings which requires a little more travelling! No more leisure walking to Belfast City Hospital which is a stone's throw away from my flat/hostel.
Had my 1st posting OUT of belfast (at Craigavon) for Haematology abt 3 weeks back & I must admit I had fun bonding with the local Irish classmates & I must admit I have never laughed that much with them during a posting 'til that 3 weeks ago! And Craigavon Area Hospital has the BEST CANTEEN in the world ever! (it could potentially become a restaurant!) Yummy food & cheap too~ I have never been thaaat into the "ang moh" food here before!
Then got persuaded to go for a road trip to Navan/Dublin. How can I resist?!
I had heaps of fun in that road trip, spending quality time with some of my closest friends in Belfast! I was pigging out in the car most of time cos I was so wrecked from all the travelling & lack of sleep before. We stayed at Ray's parents' house. Ahh I felt so comfortable & at-home...I missed home~ And went around travelling to some usual touristy places (Newgrange, Rock of Cashel) & tp some "ulu" places & managed to rediscover "the smell of my childhood" at Ray's grandpa's pig farm! And of course, we went for the St Patrick's Day in Dublin! Oh & not to forget we went to visit the famous Uncle Ding a.k.a. Batman Uncle (Jiat's uncle who STARRED in Batman Begins... ^^) Phaik Har u shld haf come with us~
Well all good things will come to an end & then we r back in Belfast and ShieLing went back to M'sia for her Masters Viva, Yeepei to Scotland, Jiat to Navan & PhaikHar (always dunno hilang where O.o hmph!) ....so I was bored to death! Well well I wanted the peace & quiet to study BUT It was pin drop silence for quite a few days (some of the girls in the flat went travelling too & some of them r still here but r always away doing something!)......silence to the extend that it was driving me up the wall. (I cant stand loneliness..I guess it's obvious! Miss Chua(My secondary school maths teacher) was right after all...I am the "Cili padi that cannot stand loneliness")
Then I have to stimulate my neurons to think about who else I can kacau!
Called my victims and Chia Ling was all occupied again *grins*
Thanks & sorry for those who has succumbed to me lah ~ Hehe..
But of course I will kena from my friends in the end: "So r u happy now? Still lonely?U shld appreciate this period of time to study....soo.. GO STUDY NOW!"
Luckily there's no rotan here.
Next, I was busy looking for a house to move in to after my contract at my hostel/accomodation Guthrie House ends this early June. *Keeping my fingers crossed*
Ahh tomorrow I am going to start a new posting in Musgrave Park Hospital. The night owl has to wake up early again and she might crawl to the bus stop tomorrow morning.
Ok will post my pictures soon. I cant seem to be able to load the pics up this time. Silly laptop.
Before I end, I m proud of myself this time for managing to gather some courage to let Magi know what I felt regarding Michalina's shifting out with her. It was a sigh of relief as I don't have to "act cool" in front of them anymore whenever they talked abt THEIR flat issue. It's all history now & hopefully it will all be buried deep down soon. Nevertheless, we r still good friends!
Also I m glad to announce that I m not a Plan B..at least now... for once!

* Last but not least, Huat Choo Kong/Ti Gong/Kuan Yin Ma, u must po pi me sun sun for the all the hurdles in 2 months time i.e. exams. I am about to be stressed to death even just by thinking about it. My hair is already starting to fall out more day by day. I promise u that I will be a good person & I will always put my best foot forward.*

Some announcements:
1)Meiyi, sorry to hear about the grandpa. Must learn how to let go ok.
2)Pek Chin and Suk Hui congrats for your graduation!
3)Andrew Tey, time to wake up!!!
4)Check out Jotan's piano performance in Youtube! Bravo!
5)Yilin, hope that u can sort out your frustrations with pigeon soon.
6)Lydia Singaraveloo I have not heard from u in ages! only always through Nadia only!
7)Jo, i cant wait to hear ur stories when I m back for summer holidays!
8)Be yi and San yi, dun fong fei kei me on our Bangkok/Taiwan plan!
9) Er yi ..how can u go Korea but NOT choose to come to Europe?? -_-

noreply@blogger.com (Chia Ling) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:30:00 +0000

Having some "free" time now..since it is Neurology aka Nero-holiday posting.

Some updates:

CNY celebration is really quite FUN & FESTIVE. I enjoyed myself very much & we still have one more event to attend tomorrow(Chinese dance performance by professional dancers) to officially mark the END of my this year's CNY celebration!
This CNY:

I had endless cook-out dinners at our flat mainly organised by our tai ka jie Shie Ling (she has all the parties going on!) and being invited to dinners at downstairs flat (that's where we had our CNY eve reunion dinner and of course at YeePei's, another tai ka jie (who doesnt want us to help everytime! Grrr)!
(My whole of last 2 weeks consist of: 50% Eating time 30% Sleep 10% Attend events 8% Clinical teachings 2% Other activities)
Malaysian Student Society NI lunch was all merry & fun.
Dim sum at Lee's Garden would have been one of the best events because there's cheesy 80s & 90s "classic" CNY songs at the back (all for the mood) and the surprise LION DANCE! ^.^
Went to watch Chinese Student Society's Night Event and was utterly disgusted by the selection of this what-not local Irish band ..not bcos they r not good but merely because it is CHINESE new year and a modern pop rock band performing is just not at the right place & right time. BUT i was very entertained by the rest of the performance especially by the guy who did WuShu (attractive~) especially with the "Shuang-Jie-Kun" (Nunchaku) *hoo hoo ha hee Jay Chou's song* and I m MOST impressed by this professional Chinese Opera singer who just blew my mind out (She is simply amazing! I could just imagine her "singing for the troops b4 going for war". Ok didnt know how that come up.).
Just frankly very disappointed at the cancellation of the karaoke event which I most look forward to.
I also invited Hannah, Mark & Catriona for lunch at my flat and I was still frantically cooking when they arrived. * -_-" embarassing* Lucky Phaik Har jie was there to help me with the preparation from grocery shopping to preparing the banoffee pies. Or else I really will pengsan. Ahh.. Hope they really enjoyed the food though I must admit my pasta sucks. What a horrible host.

**I will post up CNY celebration pictures soon! Hah! Then u can see my weight gain! (ShieLing and Michalina have been trying to drag me to P.E.C. for badminton & swimming....unsuccessfully~)

My Ophthalmo attachment in Mater Infirmorium Hospital was very good. Got to do a lot of Fundoscopy & using Slit Lamps ( but i m still not good at it). Most enjoyable/interesting were at Mr Cole's Outpatient Clinics where I have learnt the most on some eye pathology and also I got some sound advice on how to improve myself. I appreciate that very much!
And Cataract surgery was the most delicate and intrincate thing that I've ever seen and of course the corneal graft transplant...impressive~
I actually miss taking the morning bus to Mater & back. And it's a bonus to change bus at the city center so that I can buy some groceries and just take the bus back using the Day Ticket that I purchased so I wont have to lug all that heavy stuffs by walking! *Sob..sob..I miss driving.*

And I want to give Birthday shout outs to Patrick (17.02), Li Qing(18.02), Lydia(19.02), Nadia(20.02) and Wan Ning (20.02)!!

Perks!

noreply@blogger.com (Chia Ling) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 18:17:00 +0000

My long awaited parcel has FINALLY arrived!
I almost cried seeing all the familiar junk food and goodies and that big bundle of pens I requested for! Got the "bak kua" as well. Hahaha. I thought it was going to be confiscated by the customs.
Of course here we have things like Pringles and Baker's Cheese and Onions here to please me but it is not the same~
Ah there's also a belated bday card + photos + some cooking spices.
THANKS AUNTY MENG MOY! *man shui man shui man man shui*
I have never gotten a huge bouquet of flowers before but i guessed this is how it feels like when I carried the parcel down the road & down the corridor!
"YES I ve got a parcel from HOME" look at me! *smiles*

P/S: Last month, my dad sent my lecture notes + books over which weighed 15kg. Hehe. Thanks dad!

I m a happy girl! *grins*

?Festive mood

noreply@blogger.com (Chia Ling) — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 02:19:00 +0000

I m watching Petronas festive celebration ads..
Some super hilarious (Deepavali Machas) & some super touching & melancholic (the 2006 & 2007 CNY ones)..
I wish I can watch the Petronas' Chinese New Year 2008 ads (if they made one)

Ahh thinking back about every1 back home, the elders had become older & the younger ones had become mature. Was counting back the age of my parents, mum is 50 this year..& pa is 55 this year! Cant believe my folks are >50 years old. And I m still like a child depending on my pa. 2.5 more years..Not far. & I do wish that in about 2.5 years time, I can take leave when I work & travel back to celebrate Chinese New Year in Segamat, happily with everyone. No drama please

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR my family & friends~

*edit*
Here are some CNY adverts from Petronas that I can find from YouTube:

CNY 2007: (This is the one with Michael Wong's song)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5u0RUaogILE&feature=related

CNY 2006: (Our sons) They sh0uld have recruited Pa for this ad! >.<
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHVobYxdgmw

CNY 2005: (Grandma)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT2L-W1K5pk

CNY 2004: (Cant find it or not available!)

CNY 2003: (Once were Rivals)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULKe08RQoZ0

CNY 2002: (Hang Li Po)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjC4qI__kCI

CNY 2001: (Chopsticks)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73e-LfhSWJ4

CNY 1999-200: (Because)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8zPNP3uLK0&feature=related

Enjoy~

noreply@blogger.com (Chia Ling) — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 00:45:00 +0000

Today is the last day of General Medicine~
It was all very OSCE based & all the important things that we need to know to pass & do well in exams.
Good. Hmmm..
& every moment of it reminds me of exams.
Right, I m stressed! It just shows how INadequate my knowledge is (although I have gone through the same topics in IMU. *cold sweats*)
But overall I m quite satisfied with my case reports' marks.
& still looking forward to improving & polishing my physical examination skills. Need to do it more naturally & swiftly & STOP fumbling & STOP scratching my head~

Managed to rush to both the dissection classes this week! Though I was late most of the time. Nevertheless, better late than never! I wont probably be able to attend it so often anymore because I'll be in different places this spring semester & some even requiring me to stay out of Belfast for some weeks.

Next week, starting with Neuroscience. According to most ppl, it's NeuroHOLIDAY! Cos teachings wont be consistent & disorganised. Let's see whether this "matches" up to the haphazardness of General Surgery. Lucky that Jia Li is in the same posting this time, or else I'll have to walk to Royal Victoria Hospital alone~

Ah Saturday is tomorrow...& thinking about Saturday reminds me of my last week's hectic Saturday

- where we had so much fun with the everyone at the Malaysian Student Society's activity Laser Quest! I wasn't the accurate shooter (as u can guess) but I ranked 6th out of 13th! Not so bad lah. (Good job to the organisers of MSSNI(Jay, Jeng Haw etc))
- And we even proceeded to dim sum after that, since there's no mamak here.
- After that, managed to rush to the city to accompany Ben & Jeng Haw to Zara to "jampi"/"poison" them to buy more clothes ( I don't want to be the only victim of the Zara sales!).
- And rushed to PEC to play badminton for 2 hours~ Although I super sucked at it & I laughed & shouted more than I play! (I tak menang badminton, but I menang suara! YEAH!)
- Then got to eat delicious dark choclate that Magi got back from Italy & saw her skiing pictures.
- And to wind down the day, me & Shie Ling went to hang out at YeePei's and on much persuasion by Ray we watched "Bloody Sunday" (which is about the protest march in Derry in the 1970s which turned really ugly.)

Supposed to organise a lunch with my classmates today but most of them cant make it except Hannah Montana. Well, I'll have to come up with another date then! Prefer to have a lunch with a bit more ppl so it will more noisy! I will have to think of ANY Malaysian dishes that I can cook for them to try~ And it cant be too adventurous at the same time. Hmm..

Was over at Han Ni's today to try her famous Banana cake! Wonderful~ She purposely make it with less sugar because ShieLing is on a strict diet. O.O BUT actually the taste goes very well with the Vanilla ice cream. So i like it very much indeed! And I was gossiping away in their place & I can gossip about ppl from Year 2, Year 3 up to the JHO (Junior House Officers) level. Kekeke...
Then I walked to Tesco with Phaik Har to get groceries. There were so much snow flurries & the temperature is freezing! *Brrrr*

OK it's 1.30am now & I m gonna matikan my engine soon. It's the end of weekday effect where I get super active on monday to friday afternoon & after that I just sorta ran out of fuel! (Didnt even have the energy to go to Empire for Salsa with Michalina & Magi! Boy, I wonder where they have allllll that energy!)
Well I kena paksa by empress to go to St Georges Market tomorrow to buy some fresh fish~ & Ng Shie Ling actually wants me to cook dinner for her tomorrow! (You better eat & dun say that u wanna keep fit & REJECT my food! >.<)

AND the most worrying this week has been partly settled. Thanks to all that have been listening to my whinings & thanks for the endless empathetic consoles.

As u know it, it's February..then yeah yeah.. I pretty much like the idea of facebook of "who has BOYCOTTED valentines with Chia Ling" Genius!
I guessed I would have whine about Chinese New Year in my previous post. But I promise myself that I will make the best out of it!

SSC - General Urology - End

noreply@blogger.com (Chia Ling) — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 14:27:00 +0000

I cant believe it!
General Urology for SSC ..END! *sobs*
It has been SOoooOo GOOD! Time really flies when we r enjoying something very much

Next week start back General Medicine.

On another part,

These few weeks the British TV has been showing tv shows about obesity & discussing about unhealthy lifestyle & diet. Make me wanna go exercise as well. Believe it or not my BMI is good & I m not thattt fat (or that thin) BUT my LDL (bad cholesterol) & total cholesterol are high!
Really must do more exercise & eat proper food.
One tv programme hosted by Jamie Oliver was particularly very good in highlighting about unhealthy diet. He also brought in Professor Gunther von Hagens to show some cadavers whose organs has been badly affected by bad diet. (Dr von Hagens is best known for his plastination technique, which he invented in 1977. Von Hagens developed the Body Worlds exhibition, showing numerous cadavers plastinated in various poses and dissected to various degrees. Read more about him http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunther_von_Hagens)

At the same time the tv are showing cooking shows by Gordon Ramsay & Jamie Oliver. I also 'tergoda' to try the recipes. How to keep fit leh. Journalist in the newpapers has been complaining about this irony of large numbers of tv programmes talking about obesity but at the same time showing so many tv programmes on cooking & gourmet food!
However I do not share that view. I think that by showing people how to cook & prepare their own food, that can help them to learn to how to cook & prepare fresh food (instead of frozen pre packed food or fast food) & can learn how to control portions & introduce new ways of trying different variety of food!

Other than that, I have been watching a lot of movies, taking a lot of naps, trying new recipes and most importantly has been thinking about Chinese New Year! hahaha..
I guess it's not the angpows, but it's about the family & friends & food back in Malaysia. Well human are always not contented because we tend to think that the grass is always greener on the other side. I m happy where I m now but I do always think that how great it will be IF I can go back to Malaysia during weekends then back again in Belfast to start my weekdays! (sorta like the KL-Segamat-KL journey). Belfast-Segamat/KL-Belfast. Crazy!

Been thinking about "wai kong"(grandpa) & "wai po"(grandma) recently. Dunno why. I guessed I m still emotionally attached to them in a way though they passed away some time ago (2002, 2006)
I always tell myself "23 year old already lorr..cannot always cry. Discipline a bit."

And I think I have been able to control myself from contacting a certain someone so that I will wake up & stop drowning! Discipline is all I need! And I must trust myself in making the right choice.