Bacteria are my friends,
the reason I wash my hands,
but there's so much to learn,
and the midnight oil to burn,
what happened to my holiday plans?
22 December 2008
15 December 2008
杭州上海一游 A Holiday to Hangzhou and Shanghai
Hangzhou
红烧狮子头, a Shanghainese delicacy.(The most delicious meatballs you can ever taste!)
An exhibit at a TCM museum in Hangzhou.猴枣is derived from monkeys like the one shown above.
Hand drawn noodles with 虾仁(shrimps)and鳝鱼(eel)
西湖(West Lake) in the morningShanghai
We watched the 越剧 《梅龙镇》。The performers were all female, even the male characters!
Chairman Mao's favorite 红烧肉。(braised pork)
田子坊aka泰康路where old houses were converted into shops,art galleries, restaurants, cafes and pubs.
A multi-axis trainer at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum.It was used to train astronauts in the past, but has been retired.
I tried it!
The past week overseas may not have been the most time efficient way of spending my holidays, but given a choice, I would not have spent my time anywhere else.
Why not time efficient? Coz my parents and I went there with barely a skeleton of a plan, and there were difficulties deciding what to do with our time. But a certain segment of the trip etched a deep impression on me, and this is significant.
There isn't much to see in Shanghai and Hangzhou if you aren't a fan of old temples, ex-residences and beautiful scenery. Or street vendors on bustling streets selling their wares at impossibly cheap prices (which is possible because its impossible to tell their wares from the real thing) There probably are some good buys though, if you have a discerning eye and time to spare ploughing through the goods for the real deal. I certainly found it a chore visiting these markets, because of unpleasant touts who followed you wherever you went and others who grabbed you and refused to let you go unless you spoke to them nicely. But then again it depends greatly on where exactly you go - an upmarket place like Raffles City won't tolerate such misdoings - the shopkeepers will market their wares enthusiastically instead of aggressively. (but an overly enthusiastic shopkeeper may be labelled as aggressive - you get the point)
And the food won't tempt you if you dislike stuff like steamed pork dumplings and hand made noodles just like those in Crystal Jade or DingTaiFung except the fact that they are sold at a fraction of the price here. You'll probably find your time in China miserable if you hate exotic food like tiny saltwater crabs with delicate, mouthwatering yellow paste. But for those that are really keen, traditional Shanghainese dishes like preserved fish (xun1 yu2) or salted pork soup with bamboo (yan1 du4 xian1) might be worth trying. I love Shanghainese cuisine, though I try not to think about all the salt and fat. For the health conscious, you can survive on Subway's Veggie Delight - they have a stall on Shanghai's Nanjing Road West.
For the cost-conscious, the cheapest food I've found so far is da1niang1shui3jiao3's pork dumplings that go for 5 yuan = ~S$1.1 for 6 pieces. Assuming you have a decent appetite for 12 dumplings a meal would cost you 2*1.1 = S$2.20. There is no upper limit for food prices.
I've also seen scarves going at 10yuan (S$2.20) a piece on makeshift roadside stalls that open and close sporadically depending on the frequency of police patrols.
Places
I visited Hangzhou for 3 days followed by 5 days of Shanghai. The transportation was interesting - getting to Hangzhou involved a 5 hour plane journey to Pudong Airport, then a bumpy 3 hour bus ride to a sports stadium in Hangzhou. (A direct flight to Hangzhou is also available, I think by Silkair, but we didn't take that route) I stayed in a hotel aptly named "hotel overlooking the lake" (wang4hu2jiu3dian4) because it was located just beside xi1hu2 (a very large and beautiful lake surrounded by rolling hills and cultural artefacts). Strolling along the lakeside, the morning breeze was chilly, but the lake more than made up for the cold. Words alone are insufficient to describe the lake, you have to see it to believe it!
02 December 2008
Life seems to have gotten a lot better after the CAs... People are more relaxed (relatively) and you can almost feel the christmas cheer. The microbiology dept (surprise surprise!) has played a major role in this, with Prof Taylor and his staff donning red reindeer horns and festive hats in class. This is proof that "Contrary to common opinion, being a prof in a university does not mean that you become old and boring real quickly. Sometimes you just get wackier."
Prof Taylor makes school fun. The absence of exams makes it even more so. And the prospect of holidaying (escape!) makes life really enjoyable...
I'll be away from 6-14 Dec, on holiday to Shanghai and Hangzhou. For me the highlight would be the food (xiaolongbao, hongshaorou, shizitou, shengjianbao) and meeting my cousin whom I havent seen for 2 years. Shanghai is supposed to be my zuji (where my ancestors came from) so it'll be quite exciting.
I'm trying not to worry (but slowly working through) the pile of backlog I have right now. Some loose ends need to be settled before I leave.. but basically I want to enjoy the last week of school. (:
Prof Taylor makes school fun. The absence of exams makes it even more so. And the prospect of holidaying (escape!) makes life really enjoyable...
I'll be away from 6-14 Dec, on holiday to Shanghai and Hangzhou. For me the highlight would be the food (xiaolongbao, hongshaorou, shizitou, shengjianbao) and meeting my cousin whom I havent seen for 2 years. Shanghai is supposed to be my zuji (where my ancestors came from) so it'll be quite exciting.
I'm trying not to worry (but slowly working through) the pile of backlog I have right now. Some loose ends need to be settled before I leave.. but basically I want to enjoy the last week of school. (:
22 November 2008
END of COFM and pharmaco CAs.
I wouldn't be surprised if I flopped COFM, given the unpredictable nature of the marking schemes. It's a lot like GP, except that that I don't get practice doing questions and getting them marked.
Post exam activities were spontaneously planned after the CAs (or maybe they were hatched in our minds long before in anticipation)
LANNING was fun! - spraying bullets using a SAW that was IA free. And the goings did get tough after we upped the difficulty a few notches .
(though how tough can it be in an airconditioned LAN shop right).
After playing around the roles it seemed that the support and medics were all we needed to overcome the enemy. It was pretty impressive how all the SAW gunner could hold down the enemy while the medics advanced, and how the medics could heal and revive fallen SAWs.
(quite duh right? but need skill one leh!)
okay, maybe I didn't have much skill but it was fun all the same. Maybe a little violent :P
Dinner was at Fish and Co, Dhoby Ghaut. I had Fish and Chips - it was great. Heck abt the oil lar. For now.
Dessert? Soya bean curd (the og tradition) down a rather dark alley, that unfortunately also involved inhaling cigarette smoke. This game on Glen's iphone - involving 'bomb' diffusal? - is quite intensive.
Need my well-deserved sleep :)
I wouldn't be surprised if I flopped COFM, given the unpredictable nature of the marking schemes. It's a lot like GP, except that that I don't get practice doing questions and getting them marked.
Post exam activities were spontaneously planned after the CAs (or maybe they were hatched in our minds long before in anticipation)
LANNING was fun! - spraying bullets using a SAW that was IA free. And the goings did get tough after we upped the difficulty a few notches .
(though how tough can it be in an airconditioned LAN shop right).
After playing around the roles it seemed that the support and medics were all we needed to overcome the enemy. It was pretty impressive how all the SAW gunner could hold down the enemy while the medics advanced, and how the medics could heal and revive fallen SAWs.
(quite duh right? but need skill one leh!)
okay, maybe I didn't have much skill but it was fun all the same. Maybe a little violent :P
Dinner was at Fish and Co, Dhoby Ghaut. I had Fish and Chips - it was great. Heck abt the oil lar. For now.
Dessert? Soya bean curd (the og tradition) down a rather dark alley, that unfortunately also involved inhaling cigarette smoke. This game on Glen's iphone - involving 'bomb' diffusal? - is quite intensive.
Need my well-deserved sleep :)
17 November 2008
I brought my dog Gordon for a walk today. Really, it was because I felt he deserved a long walk, and I felt I deserved one too.
My sister was there with me, as usual. We brought the dog to one of the roads near our place that was lined with trees. There weren't many people at this time of the day when the cool evening air was blowing. Just a few others walking their dogs or rushing home, and lots of cars zooming past.
Gordon zoomed forwards the moment I started walking him, like a rocket out of control. It wasn't easy to hold on to him, and I had to apply the skills I had learnt from one of those dog owner manuals: let him know WHOs boss. Yup, I had to be pretty strict with him coz if you just let him walk freely he'll probably lead you straight onto the path of an oncoming car.
It was a good workout.
After walking the dog, I had a workout that almost paled in comparison: I went running along the small park with my sis, did a few pull ups and push ups, then called it a day.
It wasn't a bad way to spend the evening.
My sister was there with me, as usual. We brought the dog to one of the roads near our place that was lined with trees. There weren't many people at this time of the day when the cool evening air was blowing. Just a few others walking their dogs or rushing home, and lots of cars zooming past.
Gordon zoomed forwards the moment I started walking him, like a rocket out of control. It wasn't easy to hold on to him, and I had to apply the skills I had learnt from one of those dog owner manuals: let him know WHOs boss. Yup, I had to be pretty strict with him coz if you just let him walk freely he'll probably lead you straight onto the path of an oncoming car.
It was a good workout.
After walking the dog, I had a workout that almost paled in comparison: I went running along the small park with my sis, did a few pull ups and push ups, then called it a day.
It wasn't a bad way to spend the evening.
09 November 2008
On Saturday there was this NHS annual scientific conference thing that I was compelled to go since I had signed up and would face a hefty penalty of 70 bucks if I didn't. Not that I didn't want to, just I felt the day after CAs ended shld be spent doing sth other than academic stuff.
So I went down, and found to my surprise, that I rather enjoyed my morning there. The speaker for the psychiatry talk I went for (a man of rather high standing at IMH) was really engaging, and the topic of discussion - ADHD - was interesting as well.
Then there was this seminar on acupuncture as well - conducted not by TCM physicians but western-trained doctors. I had always been sceptical about the merits of acupuncture but apparently there are rigorous scientific basis behind the therapy. There was even a 'workshop'
whereby the speakers poked needles into the various acupuncture regions of audience volunteers, demonstrating some effect.
Although acupuncture has been in practice for thousands of years, many scientific studies have not proven its efficacy conclusively. So the seminar has not quashed my inner sceptic.
("Massage this acupunture region regularly for better health!" "Hmmm..." I say, while pressing the region of my dorsal interossei)
If side effects are relatively minor, why not?
So I went down, and found to my surprise, that I rather enjoyed my morning there. The speaker for the psychiatry talk I went for (a man of rather high standing at IMH) was really engaging, and the topic of discussion - ADHD - was interesting as well.
Then there was this seminar on acupuncture as well - conducted not by TCM physicians but western-trained doctors. I had always been sceptical about the merits of acupuncture but apparently there are rigorous scientific basis behind the therapy. There was even a 'workshop'
whereby the speakers poked needles into the various acupuncture regions of audience volunteers, demonstrating some effect.
Although acupuncture has been in practice for thousands of years, many scientific studies have not proven its efficacy conclusively. So the seminar has not quashed my inner sceptic.
("Massage this acupunture region regularly for better health!" "Hmmm..." I say, while pressing the region of my dorsal interossei)
If side effects are relatively minor, why not?
08 November 2008
Yes the first round of CAs are over! Obviously there are areas to improve on. Like Neuroscience was a case of rather bad time management, and some of the mistakes I committed could have been prevented if I had planned out my essay before I started. ah well.
Other than that the other subjects were quite ok :)
Nuff said abt the CAs. I still have lots to catch up on for other stuff! Haiz.
An update on post CAs activities.. I followed 'the gang' down to cineleisure for Jap buffet.. but the timing was pretty bad.. the queue at the restaurant was appallingly long.. we made a detour to another restaurant.. then decided again that the first restaurant we went to was what we really wanted!
We went back.. and waited.. and waited..
It was about 3pm before I got my hands on food, mildly hungry and irritated. Perhaps next time we should make a reservation, or choose sakae sushi instead.
At 540 we went to watch 'Tropic Thunder'. Don't ask me how I got dragged into watching that! I'm tempted to say that even without all the crude jokes and vulgarities its one of the worst movies I ever viewed. (Besides maybe, Queen of the Damned) But I did enjoy some parts of it, like the action sequences, and Weilun's reenaction of the scenes inside has convinced me of his future on the big screen.
However, other than that and its interesting premise of a movie within a movie, and a plot which manages to wrap itself up in a almost convincing manner, I couldnt stand the show. Sorry wl.
I'd much rather watch quantum of solace. Need to erase away memories of this disastrous movie.
Other than that the other subjects were quite ok :)
Nuff said abt the CAs. I still have lots to catch up on for other stuff! Haiz.
An update on post CAs activities.. I followed 'the gang' down to cineleisure for Jap buffet.. but the timing was pretty bad.. the queue at the restaurant was appallingly long.. we made a detour to another restaurant.. then decided again that the first restaurant we went to was what we really wanted!
We went back.. and waited.. and waited..
It was about 3pm before I got my hands on food, mildly hungry and irritated. Perhaps next time we should make a reservation, or choose sakae sushi instead.
At 540 we went to watch 'Tropic Thunder'. Don't ask me how I got dragged into watching that! I'm tempted to say that even without all the crude jokes and vulgarities its one of the worst movies I ever viewed. (Besides maybe, Queen of the Damned) But I did enjoy some parts of it, like the action sequences, and Weilun's reenaction of the scenes inside has convinced me of his future on the big screen.
However, other than that and its interesting premise of a movie within a movie, and a plot which manages to wrap itself up in a almost convincing manner, I couldnt stand the show. Sorry wl.
I'd much rather watch quantum of solace. Need to erase away memories of this disastrous movie.
25 October 2008
I had Prof E Tock as my tutor for pathology pots today. And he just couldn't help but remind us how pathologists LOVE associating their favorite disease with foods.
Pathologists love naming diseased structures after foods simply because of the wide variety of foods out there.. virtually anything diseased can be named after food!
WARNING: NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH OR B4 DINNER
.
Pathologists love naming diseased structures after foods simply because of the wide variety of foods out there.. virtually anything diseased can be named after food!
WARNING: NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH OR B4 DINNER
Show
.
21 October 2008
It was perhaps a rather strange time to go volunteering. And a rather random choice of project to involve myself in. But I learnt some lessons in the seemingly drab and boring job of manning a SHF health screening booth last Saturday.
I was hesitant whether to turn up for my shift actually, since I felt nobody I knew was going to turn up. But I did go, and was dismayed that it was actually how I imagined it to be - small, understaffed and completely unpopulated by students my age. But well, I was already there, and there was no turning back. I was placed immediately into the job of selling merchandise to raise funds for needy patients.
"But I thought I was supposed to help out with blood pressure measurements?", I splurted out without thinking.
"Don't worry, you'll get to perform them once more volunteers arrived."
Ok. I settled in comfortably into my job, trying to quieten sentiments of the "why am I here" type. And I did, coz I knew since I was there anyway, I had to make good use of my time.
Sure enough, reinforcements arrived within minutes of me starting my new job (just when I was getting settled in!), and I got my dream job of measuring blood pressure. And it was quite fun actually, except one person got a little miffed when I advised that in addition to having a healthy diet and exercising regularly, he shld probably see a doctor. (His high blood pressure was in the hypertensive range)
And I managed to convince another volunteer that her method of blood pressure measurement of was wrong. I'm not sure if I was tactful enough though, she didnt speak to me after that. Perhaps I need to attend more PDCP lessons in communication.
The event uneventfully, with me promising to volunteer in the future "when I have the time". It was not too bad a way to spend the Sat afternoon, certainly far better than poring over books at home or doing other routine stuff. I just hope I'll keep my promise.
I was hesitant whether to turn up for my shift actually, since I felt nobody I knew was going to turn up. But I did go, and was dismayed that it was actually how I imagined it to be - small, understaffed and completely unpopulated by students my age. But well, I was already there, and there was no turning back. I was placed immediately into the job of selling merchandise to raise funds for needy patients.
"But I thought I was supposed to help out with blood pressure measurements?", I splurted out without thinking.
"Don't worry, you'll get to perform them once more volunteers arrived."
Ok. I settled in comfortably into my job, trying to quieten sentiments of the "why am I here" type. And I did, coz I knew since I was there anyway, I had to make good use of my time.
Sure enough, reinforcements arrived within minutes of me starting my new job (just when I was getting settled in!), and I got my dream job of measuring blood pressure. And it was quite fun actually, except one person got a little miffed when I advised that in addition to having a healthy diet and exercising regularly, he shld probably see a doctor. (His high blood pressure was in the hypertensive range)
And I managed to convince another volunteer that her method of blood pressure measurement of was wrong. I'm not sure if I was tactful enough though, she didnt speak to me after that. Perhaps I need to attend more PDCP lessons in communication.
The event uneventfully, with me promising to volunteer in the future "when I have the time". It was not too bad a way to spend the Sat afternoon, certainly far better than poring over books at home or doing other routine stuff. I just hope I'll keep my promise.
22 September 2008
More self motivation...
A week's break is just so disruptive in the school calendar. Why can't there be school every day so that my daily routine is not broken?
Ok. I'm a routine freak. I love the monotony of days, the predicatability of lessons following a timetable more or less set in stone. Then sometimes the other me will wonder when things will change. And when I will take charge of my life.
Which I am starting to do, just that I'm doing so very slowly. Right now, my life more or less consists of school and family life. I don't have a lot of friends (that makes every friend that I have really precious). And my social life is more or less non-existent. And the question is why am I in such a predicament right now.
The reader of self help books in me has decided I'm in need to find new hobbies (yes, I'm still at that stage) and find new goals in life. Simply aiming to be a good doctor is not good enough. Moreover, its just a goal in the professional aspect of my life. Social goals? Like finding a gf? What about all the talk about developing all aspects of yourself - mentally, emotionally blah blah?
The opportunities are there, I just need to go and grab them!
Ok. I'm a routine freak. I love the monotony of days, the predicatability of lessons following a timetable more or less set in stone. Then sometimes the other me will wonder when things will change. And when I will take charge of my life.
Which I am starting to do, just that I'm doing so very slowly. Right now, my life more or less consists of school and family life. I don't have a lot of friends (that makes every friend that I have really precious). And my social life is more or less non-existent. And the question is why am I in such a predicament right now.
The reader of self help books in me has decided I'm in need to find new hobbies (yes, I'm still at that stage) and find new goals in life. Simply aiming to be a good doctor is not good enough. Moreover, its just a goal in the professional aspect of my life. Social goals? Like finding a gf? What about all the talk about developing all aspects of yourself - mentally, emotionally blah blah?
The opportunities are there, I just need to go and grab them!
11 September 2008
An achievable plan
The new academic year is considerably tougher than m1, but not yet overwhelming. With days ending at 4 or 5pm on average, immunology lectures that confuse more than educate, and the very memory intensive microbiology and pharmacology syllabus, sometimes I wish I could whisk myself back to the simpler days of m1, looking at cadavers and ending at 12.
So far I have managed to cope simply by putting almost all my free time into studying, reading ahead of lectures and basically upping my basal level of mugging. I think I have never truly experienced being a mugger, but I think this year I'm fast approaching becoming pro. The rationale is simple - I definitely have potential to do much better, and the core purpose of attending medical school is simply having a good medical education, of which studying plays a cornerstone. And the stuff I'm learning now is both interesting and relevant, unlike maybe biochemistry last year which really seemed to play little purpose...
I know people will say, whoa, Jia Yi, you mean you can work harder than you did before? Actually I'm just resolved to be more focussed on what I do best...
Non-academic wise, I hope to be able to get to know loads more people, and at a deeper level. This may seem rather unambitious but rest assurred that for someone like me who used to keep to myself all the time... every step of the way needs constant effort on my part! But I'm glad I'm in a faculty where everyone seems friendly and really helpful.. but I could have been more cynical in the past..
The action plan is simple... in theory -attend all lectures, participate in extracurricular events (join squash? play for coda? PHS? ), be nice to people (hopefully they will reciprocate), study everything in advance.
Year 2 is a year for me to grow and grow...
So far I have managed to cope simply by putting almost all my free time into studying, reading ahead of lectures and basically upping my basal level of mugging. I think I have never truly experienced being a mugger, but I think this year I'm fast approaching becoming pro. The rationale is simple - I definitely have potential to do much better, and the core purpose of attending medical school is simply having a good medical education, of which studying plays a cornerstone. And the stuff I'm learning now is both interesting and relevant, unlike maybe biochemistry last year which really seemed to play little purpose...
I know people will say, whoa, Jia Yi, you mean you can work harder than you did before? Actually I'm just resolved to be more focussed on what I do best...
Non-academic wise, I hope to be able to get to know loads more people, and at a deeper level. This may seem rather unambitious but rest assurred that for someone like me who used to keep to myself all the time... every step of the way needs constant effort on my part! But I'm glad I'm in a faculty where everyone seems friendly and really helpful.. but I could have been more cynical in the past..
The action plan is simple... in theory -attend all lectures, participate in extracurricular events (join squash? play for coda? PHS? ), be nice to people (hopefully they will reciprocate), study everything in advance.
Year 2 is a year for me to grow and grow...
09 September 2008
07 September 2008
31 August 2008
It's been a long time since the last post, since I've been procrstinating again. Today I shall try something different, and blog in my two personas.
Mr Cynical:
Dinner and dance was expensive and a rather big waste of food. Most of the people seemed to be going around taking photos rather than eating their very expensive dinner. Having spent 35 bucks on my costume, I went about "photowhoring" as some may call it. But I'm proud to say that at least I did grab something to eat between shots.
Mr Rational:
There didn't seem to be much point in taking so many photos, especially with people you don't know very well. It's pretty mindless, even random people came up to me and asked me to take photographs with them, simply because I was dressed as captain hook.
Of course, its all in the name of fun, and it's also a way to know more people. After all, medicine is one big faculty, and it's not very often that we get to have dinner together as one big family.
Mr C: Except since the music was so loud, very often you couldnt get a conversation going. Not a very conducive environment to make new friends, in my opinion.
Mr R: I think so too!
Mr C: And did you notice that the first thing people said when they saw you was always, "Wow, the parrot on your shoulder is so cute!!" It's like their more concerned about the parrot than your actual person right?
Mr R: Well, they were only trying to be friendly, how can you take offence at that?
Mr C: And don't you think that DnD is really all about appearances? I mean, eveyone dresses up to the nines, getting pretty costumes and makeup, doing up their hair.. What's the point of all that? And what about all the camwhoring?
Mr R: ... It's just a night of fun, no point rationalizing about it. I mean, its probably the last time you will get to have Dnd in medical school.. And look at all the beautiful photos! Pretty memories for the future!
Mr C: And the lucky draw? Don't you think its crazy to be able to get something without having to work for it? I mean, out of no particular merit, some guy gets to shake hands with dean, just because his number got pulled out of the box.
Mr R: That's part of the fun.. Anyway since when was life fair? Don't be a spoilsport!
Mr C: I suppose you're right, Jia Yi. Well, I better banish myself for now.
Mr R: Wait you can't go.. you're part of me too...
There you have it, this post sums up just about everything I think about Dnd. Do I have bipolar disorder or something? Sometimes you can't help but wonder...
Mr Cynical:
Dinner and dance was expensive and a rather big waste of food. Most of the people seemed to be going around taking photos rather than eating their very expensive dinner. Having spent 35 bucks on my costume, I went about "photowhoring" as some may call it. But I'm proud to say that at least I did grab something to eat between shots.
Mr Rational:
There didn't seem to be much point in taking so many photos, especially with people you don't know very well. It's pretty mindless, even random people came up to me and asked me to take photographs with them, simply because I was dressed as captain hook.
Of course, its all in the name of fun, and it's also a way to know more people. After all, medicine is one big faculty, and it's not very often that we get to have dinner together as one big family.
Mr C: Except since the music was so loud, very often you couldnt get a conversation going. Not a very conducive environment to make new friends, in my opinion.
Mr R: I think so too!
Mr C: And did you notice that the first thing people said when they saw you was always, "Wow, the parrot on your shoulder is so cute!!" It's like their more concerned about the parrot than your actual person right?
Mr R: Well, they were only trying to be friendly, how can you take offence at that?
Mr C: And don't you think that DnD is really all about appearances? I mean, eveyone dresses up to the nines, getting pretty costumes and makeup, doing up their hair.. What's the point of all that? And what about all the camwhoring?
Mr R: ... It's just a night of fun, no point rationalizing about it. I mean, its probably the last time you will get to have Dnd in medical school.. And look at all the beautiful photos! Pretty memories for the future!
Mr C: And the lucky draw? Don't you think its crazy to be able to get something without having to work for it? I mean, out of no particular merit, some guy gets to shake hands with dean, just because his number got pulled out of the box.
Mr R: That's part of the fun.. Anyway since when was life fair? Don't be a spoilsport!
Mr C: I suppose you're right, Jia Yi. Well, I better banish myself for now.
Mr R: Wait you can't go.. you're part of me too...
There you have it, this post sums up just about everything I think about Dnd. Do I have bipolar disorder or something? Sometimes you can't help but wonder...
10 August 2008
Busy = GOOD?
Tues 29 July - slack at home day. I ponned OG badminton for driving.
Wed 30 July - OG basketball
Thurs 31 July - OG badminton
Fri 1 Aug - JAMA seminar on Diabetes, Obesity and the Metabolic Syndrome, research
Sat 2 Aug - JAMA seminar (day 2), flutes outing with yunyuan, denise and jared [Happy B'day Jared!]
Sun 3 Aug - family day, library visit, gym
Mon 4 Aug - OG basketball, dinner at crystal jade Holland V, ice cream at Island Creamery
Tues 5 Aug - research, flag day, watched money no enough at AMK Hub (almost forgot about this), Happy B'day Dad! (My sister and I played the happy birthday song on the guitar and flute respectively, and we also gave an a capella perforomance of some chinese pop songs, in which I sang rather out-of-tune-ly. But I think dad was happy(: )
Wed 6 Aug - driving, OG chalet, ponned OG clubbing
Thurs 7 Aug - research, OG BBQ
Fri 8 Aug - Rag Day! Played Battlefield 2. Then had 3m class outing (: When I got home, the olympics opening ceremony was still showing.. I especially liked the part where Li Ning ran in the air to light the giant olympic torch - simply magical!
Sat 9 Aug - National Day. As I am typing this the parade has yet to begin but the skies have turned greyish and the first drops of rain have fallen. I wonder if the poor weather will affect the parade progression..
Wed 30 July - OG basketball
Thurs 31 July - OG badminton
Fri 1 Aug - JAMA seminar on Diabetes, Obesity and the Metabolic Syndrome, research
Sat 2 Aug - JAMA seminar (day 2), flutes outing with yunyuan, denise and jared [Happy B'day Jared!]
Sun 3 Aug - family day, library visit, gym
Mon 4 Aug - OG basketball, dinner at crystal jade Holland V, ice cream at Island Creamery
Tues 5 Aug - research, flag day, watched money no enough at AMK Hub (almost forgot about this), Happy B'day Dad! (My sister and I played the happy birthday song on the guitar and flute respectively, and we also gave an a capella perforomance of some chinese pop songs, in which I sang rather out-of-tune-ly. But I think dad was happy(: )
Wed 6 Aug - driving, OG chalet, ponned OG clubbing
Thurs 7 Aug - research, OG BBQ
Fri 8 Aug - Rag Day! Played Battlefield 2. Then had 3m class outing (: When I got home, the olympics opening ceremony was still showing.. I especially liked the part where Li Ning ran in the air to light the giant olympic torch - simply magical!
Sat 9 Aug - National Day. As I am typing this the parade has yet to begin but the skies have turned greyish and the first drops of rain have fallen. I wonder if the poor weather will affect the parade progression..
30 July 2008
random events
Class Outing (Sun 27 July)
The second class outing in 2 weeks was more or less a success, though I wished more people could have joined us. Thank you An Yi, David, Lee Wei, Vipul, Yuan Sau, Zi Kai as well as Michelle and Wen Yan for making the long and difficult journey down to East Coast! Especially Zi Kai, who still cycled with the class even though he had just cycled 120km down the Coast of Malaysia!
Until the East Coast is served by train (which I believe will be in 2020), I foresee that future class outings will be held at an ahem, more central location.
Planning could have been better too.. because we did not coordinate the arrivals of everyone, the ones who came earlier and who had already started renting their bikes were forced to forfeit like 45 mins of their cycling time..
But once everyone was there the outing went along pretty well.. naturally Michelle's hidden past as a accident-prone scientist, as well as ZK's and Vip's covert relationship status were once again brought into the limelight. Ahahaha.
Dinner was at Sakae Sushi, Parkway Parade, which was expensive but comfortable. On hindsight, I could have brought up other options such as Katong Laksa - much cheaper and much more famous! Oh well..
After dinner we had a 20 min all-standing discussion in which we contemplated the after-dinner options. Everyone lamented the lack of things to do at East Coast! Luckily David's recommendation of Pool garnered enough support. We ended up playing pool for at least 1.5 hours.. The girls managed to pick up a few skills too.
All in all, a pretty good class outing :)
Lunch, Rag and Tennis (Mon 28 July)
I had lunch with yunhua today. It was super convenient since she was working at the Brenner Institute. I can't help but envy her, since Cambridge is probably the top university for Medicine everywhere. It's a case of feeling the grass is greener on the other side.
Then again, its not where you study, but also how you make use of your opportunities. So I shan't make a comparison of how Cambridge is academically better or whatever (though it is) and I'll just count my blessings that here in Singapore, I'm close to friends, family and basically everyone I have known in my life. It's two greatly different experiences, and it's not fair to compare them side by side. (I think I'm doing pretty decently here in Singapore, and hopefully I shall improve in time)
It was interesting hearing all the different things they do at Cambridge, like the 80pg long essay-type notes for each physio chapter, the fact that their social activity comprises mainly drinking, and of course, the fact that they do get to dissect their cadavers. So the lunch went on rather well.
In the afternoon I crashed my OG's tennis game. I shall be eternally grateful to Pravin for giving me such an effective refresher course (: Though most of the time I was breathless picking up fallen balls, I did manage to serve out a couple of good shots!
With luck OG badminton and basketball will turn out to be fun too...
The second class outing in 2 weeks was more or less a success, though I wished more people could have joined us. Thank you An Yi, David, Lee Wei, Vipul, Yuan Sau, Zi Kai as well as Michelle and Wen Yan for making the long and difficult journey down to East Coast! Especially Zi Kai, who still cycled with the class even though he had just cycled 120km down the Coast of Malaysia!
Until the East Coast is served by train (which I believe will be in 2020), I foresee that future class outings will be held at an ahem, more central location.
Planning could have been better too.. because we did not coordinate the arrivals of everyone, the ones who came earlier and who had already started renting their bikes were forced to forfeit like 45 mins of their cycling time..
But once everyone was there the outing went along pretty well.. naturally Michelle's hidden past as a accident-prone scientist, as well as ZK's and Vip's covert relationship status were once again brought into the limelight. Ahahaha.
Dinner was at Sakae Sushi, Parkway Parade, which was expensive but comfortable. On hindsight, I could have brought up other options such as Katong Laksa - much cheaper and much more famous! Oh well..
After dinner we had a 20 min all-standing discussion in which we contemplated the after-dinner options. Everyone lamented the lack of things to do at East Coast! Luckily David's recommendation of Pool garnered enough support. We ended up playing pool for at least 1.5 hours.. The girls managed to pick up a few skills too.
All in all, a pretty good class outing :)
Lunch, Rag and Tennis (Mon 28 July)
I had lunch with yunhua today. It was super convenient since she was working at the Brenner Institute. I can't help but envy her, since Cambridge is probably the top university for Medicine everywhere. It's a case of feeling the grass is greener on the other side.
Then again, its not where you study, but also how you make use of your opportunities. So I shan't make a comparison of how Cambridge is academically better or whatever (though it is) and I'll just count my blessings that here in Singapore, I'm close to friends, family and basically everyone I have known in my life. It's two greatly different experiences, and it's not fair to compare them side by side. (I think I'm doing pretty decently here in Singapore, and hopefully I shall improve in time)
It was interesting hearing all the different things they do at Cambridge, like the 80pg long essay-type notes for each physio chapter, the fact that their social activity comprises mainly drinking, and of course, the fact that they do get to dissect their cadavers. So the lunch went on rather well.
In the afternoon I crashed my OG's tennis game. I shall be eternally grateful to Pravin for giving me such an effective refresher course (: Though most of the time I was breathless picking up fallen balls, I did manage to serve out a couple of good shots!
With luck OG badminton and basketball will turn out to be fun too...
28 July 2008
random events(I)
Ben and Jerry's Day (the week b4 21 July)
If I remember correctly this was the day Lakota/Bombini had Fish and Chips at the Glass House. (Next to Park Mall) The Fish and Chips was one of the better ones I've tasted.. I often get sick of the fish in Fish and Chips, so I suppose the fish must have been rather good since I finished an entire plate..
Following our sumptuous (and highly expensive dinner), we had Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, in which we had a wonderful time deciding what was most worth buying, and a rather difficult time (for glen) trying to figure out how much each person had to pay.
SIBF (Thurs 24 July)
After attending a hectic 5? sessions of practice the band headed down to Republic Polytechnic (in Woodlands!) to perform in the competition. From where I played the band sounded muffled and totally unlike its usual sound in the RI band room. I tried my best to play in tune but at times I really just had to stop playing just to alleviate the tuning problems. Generally it wasn't the band's or my best performance, despite my best efforts.
I think the band was placed 6th out of 7 bands, but the scores were rather close. I would think its still a commendable performance given the limited practice time...
CIP @ Jenaris Home (Sat 26 July)
To be honest I attended this cip mainly because the og was going for it, and because Charlene was organising it. It was really fun, and not much work for us volunteers, because the residents in the home were already quite independent and have settled well into their daily routines.
For me, there didn't really seem to be anything really different about the residents from normal people, despite my initial apprehensions. The residents probably enjoyed winning us at table tennis, checkers, chinese chess - in many of these pursuits, us medical students were their inferiors! But despite losing to an aged man in chinese chess 2 times in a row, I enjoyed the company of these special residents. They were special precisely because they were normal.
Ah yes, then there was the matter of 'volunteering' myself for an impromtu mass dance... Probably the most embarrassing thing I've ever done in my life. But since I seldom do such crazy things, I suppose that was fun too...
After lunch (which was prepared by the residents and which I found not-too-bad) we headed down alll thee way to Tampines.. to chill at Macdonalds! Following which I enjoyed a 30min ride on bus 10 home :)
If I remember correctly this was the day Lakota/Bombini had Fish and Chips at the Glass House. (Next to Park Mall) The Fish and Chips was one of the better ones I've tasted.. I often get sick of the fish in Fish and Chips, so I suppose the fish must have been rather good since I finished an entire plate..
Following our sumptuous (and highly expensive dinner), we had Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, in which we had a wonderful time deciding what was most worth buying, and a rather difficult time (for glen) trying to figure out how much each person had to pay.
SIBF (Thurs 24 July)
After attending a hectic 5? sessions of practice the band headed down to Republic Polytechnic (in Woodlands!) to perform in the competition. From where I played the band sounded muffled and totally unlike its usual sound in the RI band room. I tried my best to play in tune but at times I really just had to stop playing just to alleviate the tuning problems. Generally it wasn't the band's or my best performance, despite my best efforts.
I think the band was placed 6th out of 7 bands, but the scores were rather close. I would think its still a commendable performance given the limited practice time...
CIP @ Jenaris Home (Sat 26 July)
To be honest I attended this cip mainly because the og was going for it, and because Charlene was organising it. It was really fun, and not much work for us volunteers, because the residents in the home were already quite independent and have settled well into their daily routines.
For me, there didn't really seem to be anything really different about the residents from normal people, despite my initial apprehensions. The residents probably enjoyed winning us at table tennis, checkers, chinese chess - in many of these pursuits, us medical students were their inferiors! But despite losing to an aged man in chinese chess 2 times in a row, I enjoyed the company of these special residents. They were special precisely because they were normal.
Ah yes, then there was the matter of 'volunteering' myself for an impromtu mass dance... Probably the most embarrassing thing I've ever done in my life. But since I seldom do such crazy things, I suppose that was fun too...
After lunch (which was prepared by the residents and which I found not-too-bad) we headed down alll thee way to Tampines.. to chill at Macdonalds! Following which I enjoyed a 30min ride on bus 10 home :)
21 July 2008
I went to Charlene's grandma's house to try my hands at baking today. Charlene, Julia, Jonathan and Elizabeth were also there. On the agenda were two items: Chocolate marble cake and Custard Puffs aka Choux Pastry.
I was pretty blur at first but then it turned out to be a simple task of following instructions written on little pieces of paper. Those who didn't know how to bake, me included, followed the recipe perhaps too much.. like trying to get exactly 250g of flour down to the 1g.. Must have been reminiscent of chem/bio spa for the others... but for me it reminded me of the time i was fumbling with conical flasks, really scared of contaminating reagents at my lab, while trying to prepare a buffer solution for something..
But we must have been pretty good at following instructions.. coz the cakes turned out not too bad.. especially the pastry which had a really delicious topping.. think BoLuoBao! Pity that some of the pastry got stuck to the tray and had to be scrapped off.. leaving gaping holes that was the " worst nightmare" as Julia put it. But the pastry was really good enough to be eaten alone!
I shall try the chocolate cake tomorrow.. hopefully it wasn't as bad as Charlene put it..
I suppose baking isn't that bad a hobby if you have the time to bake.. and the friends to try the fruit of your efforts(:
19 July 2008
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18 July 2008
Whenever I suddenly experience an urge to start blogging, I always undergo a familiar routine. First would be the step of clicking on the create new post button. Then there would always be a time when I feel stuck - start reconsidering, wondering if I do have something to say. Sometimes I find that I do have things to say but I don't know how to put in words. Sometimes I'm worried the things I want to express would not reflect well on me after people have read it. And a lot of times I have nothing to say, but I still want to say something. Hopefully today is not one of the latter times.
Blogs are for expressing feelings and emotions, but a lot of times my blog does nothing but describe and list. That is deliberate. Today shall be a bit different coz I'm feeling FRUSTRATION and ANGER at myself for failing to drive properly. ARGHHH. I'm WASTING my parents money. ARGHHH. I'm still STALLING my car. ARGHHH. Basically, I have found that I've learnt NEGLIGIBLE things on my driving lesson. Coz I haven't progressed beyond driving on the roads for the last TEN lessons.
ARGHHH.
ok, I feel so much better now. Good way to destress, blogging.
Blogs are for expressing feelings and emotions, but a lot of times my blog does nothing but describe and list. That is deliberate. Today shall be a bit different coz I'm feeling FRUSTRATION and ANGER at myself for failing to drive properly. ARGHHH. I'm WASTING my parents money. ARGHHH. I'm still STALLING my car. ARGHHH. Basically, I have found that I've learnt NEGLIGIBLE things on my driving lesson. Coz I haven't progressed beyond driving on the roads for the last TEN lessons.
ARGHHH.
ok, I feel so much better now. Good way to destress, blogging.
14 July 2008
Day 1 (7 July)
830 Reached pgp and collected my new greyish-green bombini T shirt which the rest of my og had bought on the day of pre camp tea. The skit had quite a few sensitive jokes but was kind of funny. I'm not sure if it was better than last years skit though.
12 Went to Charlene's house so that she could finish her cip programme. Spent the time admiring the state of her house and her japan scrapbook, in between bites of grapes and sushi, and occasionally worrying that we would be late for my station.
2 Arrived at suntec. Ate cai4 fan4 at the food court. Marcus was supposed to call once the first group left his station, but didn't manage to as he was swamped. So Charlene and I got a shock when we received calls from Harpia saying they had arrived right after we had finished lunch.
After Harpia there was a lull period before a sudden surge of people. At one time there were 4 groups finding locations at suntec at the same time. My pictures were still a bit too easy, but then that gave us a rather easy time collating the scores. Most groups found all the photos, and the difference in scores was due mainly to differences in cheer quality and overall teamwork (which I found rather hard to guage).
Although mine was the 2nd last station, Charlene and I arrived last at the chalets. Could be the fact that we spent time shopping for og shirts. and also that the public transport took so long.
Day2
I wasn't an m1 (and neither was I a station master). But i did get dragged down for a game of tug of war. Basically the team who starts first gets to choose their opponent. Then the two player put on LBVs that are tied to each other and start walking in opposite directions on soapy ground. Unfortunately when it was time for m2s to play the other team chose me as their opponent. I played against Marcus, and I fell down even before he finished a step. But suppose its more of a size thing rather than a strength thing.
The afternoon, which was supposed to be preparation for cook out, was spent playing cards and doing other random things. And the people who went buying stuff for cookout came back rather late, so there wasn't much time spent on the actual preparation. But I guess considering that its more of a "have fun" thing rather than a "we go all out to win" thing, our effort didn't look too bad. Our theme was something about mafia and I played a minor role as one of the gamblers at the table with the words BIG and SMALL inscribed on it. Although I did put my leg on the table and start shouting the moment the judges came in, I had a feeling that I wasn't that convincing...
Of course the highlight of the event was Pr (m1) who had the judges bursting out laughing. It was one performance I would remember for quite a long time, though I only got glimses of it...
to be continued...
11 July 2008
Medicamp 2008: Medagascar! (part 1)
I am soo happy that I went for medicamp. I wish I could go again. After I had spent a large part of my holidays doing comparatively mundane things, medicamp was a breath of fresh oxygen. (not pure oxygen of course, or I would have hypoventilated and died)
What I really liked about the camp was that it enabled me to relive the sense of comraderie from last years camp. Okay, maybe medicamp is really an extended og outing. But its also one of those rare times when the og was also bonded together by a common goal of making medicamp a success. I think eveyone really played very hard and worked very hard to make the camp work out, and I'm really quite pleased with the results. I think I worked quite hard too! Playing bridge and not sleeping till 3 or 4 am each day is hard work you know. But seriously, I think I'm glad I played a tiny little role as a station ic for the amazing race. For many reasons.
To be really honest, welcoming the m1s was not the first thing on my mind when I decided to join medicamp. What I really had in mind was an opportunity to have good fun before m2 starts. But the m1s really exceeded my expectations in terms of their enthusiasm and proactiveness. Despite my reticent character and low-key role in the camp, the m1s were still rather enthusiastic when they finally decided upon dunking me after war games. A bit too enthusiatic, no? Haha but to add to their credit, the guys did volunteer themselves very readily when I needed people to help lug water back to our chalet. Mayank really cracked me up with his jokes, Jonathan (the bigger one) entertained me with his stories of 1SIR. I reciprocated by answering their queries about m1 life in general.
The M1s, really, were the driving force behind the camp. But when their enthusiasm waned a little (such as when we waited until 12am in the morning for "another og to join us for mass dance practice" on the 2nd day..), the ogls (my fellow batchmates) had to step in to rah rah them a bit. Weilun, despite his absences, provided great comic relief as comedian cum singer of "sexy back". Sheila, despite her sore throat, managed her role as "the boss" with great dexterity. Julia, the de facto ogl ic, was the one who ensure things were running smoothly. I got to know Alfred and Daniel and Ruth a bit better when I found out all three were from band.
All in all, it was not an unenjoyable camp. Actually it was extremely enjoyable. I wish I could attend med camp every year! But as that's not actually possible, I shall always cherish the memories and hopefully create better ones as time goes by =)
All in all, it was not an unenjoyable camp. Actually it was extremely enjoyable. I wish I could attend med camp every year! But as that's not actually possible, I shall always cherish the memories and hopefully create better ones as time goes by =)
03 July 2008
Mad Pre Camp
Medicine precamp was enjoyable for all the wrong reasons. (This is first statement serves as a hook for the rest of this post, and its true in a sense). The only thing that happened according to the programme for me was the amazing race. And even that wasn't done completely to plan. For one, I didn't head straight to my station after flag off. Which was really a sensible time-killing and fun thing to do before starting the long wait for the first team to reach my station (almost 4 hours later). Luckily there were plenty of things to do at Suntec.
After visiting the food court, shopping and playing cards (don't ask)... the teams finally started arriving. They found the stations way too easy, which is why I have since upped the difficulty level A LOT. MUAHAHAHA. But I will still have to see what happens on the actual day itself because medicine students are very smart (and they know their shopping malls quite well).
The evening was quite slack, except for mass dance which is very sweat inducing. I bathed in a bathroom facing the front of the house. I think its all right to use it in the day but at night when the outside is dark and the toilet lights are switched on, the outline of the users upper body is quite apparent throught the frosted glass windows. Some cheeky guy went to knock the windows halfway through my bath. Which is probably why I havent used that toilet to bathe again since.
Glen, Eli and Julia left halfway through the mass dance. Which left me, Jon, Charlene, Christina, Ruth and Alfred to play cards. (actually ruth wasn't playing, only watching; and alfred was helping christina with bridge most of the time) We played and played and played (yes bridge is vey addictive) until everyone wanted to sleep. But christina kept insisting on playing! Which is quite ironic coz she almost fell alseep in our last game. And she slept like a log throughout the night.
While on the topic of sleep, it was very hard to enter dreamland with the climate control air conditioning, which kept insisting on blowing a big blast of cold air at us every few minutes to ensure the temperature was maintained at exactly 25C. Making my nose clog up almost completely. (I felt better when I sat up.. on hindsight I think the mucus drained into the air sinuses in my skull) Alfred left to visit the other ogs and never came back. (When I finally had a dream, it was about Alfred coming back! This dream made jonathan laugh slightly the next morning when I told him about it)
Day 2 for me didn't really follow the supposed plan much.. We only played 2 out of six station games, mainly because our og had only 4 ppl to play. One was a laoyingzhuaxiaoji type of game, which was quite exciting mainly because I had the opportunity to practice running backwards. The other was twister which I find really impossible to play after a few moves! But none of the games really stood out for me, which is why I still feel that last years medicamp games were better.
In the afternoon we skipped war games altogether.. Ahem. But that was because not many of us were available to play anyway. So we went to help out in the preparations for fright night, which I felt should be highlight of that day. Ironically we didn't come back in time after almost our entire og went to watch movies at Downtown East. (We watched Zohan.. u can bet I didn't choose the movie. It was kind of funny in an extremely crude way.)
Anyway its not our fault for missing fright night altogether also.. when we called back hq they said the ghosts were very tired already.. right?
I think fright night must have exhausted Jonathan.. which is why he fell asleep soon after attending the debrief. While he was sleeping, the rest of us were cajoled by sheila into playing sardines (which is really hide-and-seek except the ppl who spot the person hiding go into hiding with him.. until the last person in the group is left searching moarnfully for his friends)
Yeah.. 20 year olds playing hide-and-seek!
Glen proved that the most dangerous place is also the safest place by hiding back in the very same room where we started off from. Jason, unfortunately, was the last to notice his hiding place, and found us only after 30mins. I shall rmb this for a vvery long time..
We played bridge until it was almost 4. Then sheila had to leave and was nice enough to give me and jason a lift home as well. I didn't have all the keys to my house so I spent like 1.5 hours in a HK cafe eating and dozing off at the same time, until it was 6am in the morning.
It was a memorable camp, am I not wrong?
After visiting the food court, shopping and playing cards (don't ask)... the teams finally started arriving. They found the stations way too easy, which is why I have since upped the difficulty level A LOT. MUAHAHAHA. But I will still have to see what happens on the actual day itself because medicine students are very smart (and they know their shopping malls quite well).
The evening was quite slack, except for mass dance which is very sweat inducing. I bathed in a bathroom facing the front of the house. I think its all right to use it in the day but at night when the outside is dark and the toilet lights are switched on, the outline of the users upper body is quite apparent throught the frosted glass windows. Some cheeky guy went to knock the windows halfway through my bath. Which is probably why I havent used that toilet to bathe again since.
Glen, Eli and Julia left halfway through the mass dance. Which left me, Jon, Charlene, Christina, Ruth and Alfred to play cards. (actually ruth wasn't playing, only watching; and alfred was helping christina with bridge most of the time) We played and played and played (yes bridge is vey addictive) until everyone wanted to sleep. But christina kept insisting on playing! Which is quite ironic coz she almost fell alseep in our last game. And she slept like a log throughout the night.
While on the topic of sleep, it was very hard to enter dreamland with the climate control air conditioning, which kept insisting on blowing a big blast of cold air at us every few minutes to ensure the temperature was maintained at exactly 25C. Making my nose clog up almost completely. (I felt better when I sat up.. on hindsight I think the mucus drained into the air sinuses in my skull) Alfred left to visit the other ogs and never came back. (When I finally had a dream, it was about Alfred coming back! This dream made jonathan laugh slightly the next morning when I told him about it)
Day 2 for me didn't really follow the supposed plan much.. We only played 2 out of six station games, mainly because our og had only 4 ppl to play. One was a laoyingzhuaxiaoji type of game, which was quite exciting mainly because I had the opportunity to practice running backwards. The other was twister which I find really impossible to play after a few moves! But none of the games really stood out for me, which is why I still feel that last years medicamp games were better.
In the afternoon we skipped war games altogether.. Ahem. But that was because not many of us were available to play anyway. So we went to help out in the preparations for fright night, which I felt should be highlight of that day. Ironically we didn't come back in time after almost our entire og went to watch movies at Downtown East. (We watched Zohan.. u can bet I didn't choose the movie. It was kind of funny in an extremely crude way.)
Anyway its not our fault for missing fright night altogether also.. when we called back hq they said the ghosts were very tired already.. right?
I think fright night must have exhausted Jonathan.. which is why he fell asleep soon after attending the debrief. While he was sleeping, the rest of us were cajoled by sheila into playing sardines (which is really hide-and-seek except the ppl who spot the person hiding go into hiding with him.. until the last person in the group is left searching moarnfully for his friends)
Yeah.. 20 year olds playing hide-and-seek!
Glen proved that the most dangerous place is also the safest place by hiding back in the very same room where we started off from. Jason, unfortunately, was the last to notice his hiding place, and found us only after 30mins. I shall rmb this for a vvery long time..
We played bridge until it was almost 4. Then sheila had to leave and was nice enough to give me and jason a lift home as well. I didn't have all the keys to my house so I spent like 1.5 hours in a HK cafe eating and dozing off at the same time, until it was 6am in the morning.
It was a memorable camp, am I not wrong?
25 June 2008
More Japan Pictures
A scenic spot in Osaka Castle
Shinsaibashi Shopping Street, Osaka. It was super crowded here. It was drizzling slightly when we arrived, but the rain stopped soon after. There were lots of men in suits and students. I think almost all the ladies had dyed hair! And the Japanese seem to have a penchant for transparent umbrellas.
Todaiji Temple, Nara [we passed through a deer park to get in]
One of two magical rocks in Kiyomizu Temple, Kyoto. One is deemed to have good marriage prospects if he can walk blindfolded from one of these rocks towards the next.
Oshinohakai Village, a stop point before Mount Fuji. There are 8 mini-lakes here, each boasting crystal clear waters and eye-catching waterlife.
Lake Kawaguchi
Mount Fuji 5th Station
The Bullet Train
Inside the Bullet Train. Feels like an airplane or sth.
One of the souvenirs on offer on Nakamise Shopping Street, Tokyo: Dogs crafted from tiny pieces of leather!
The view from my hotel room in Narita
A gift shop in Aeon Mall, Narita. My sister was fascinated with this stuff.
Sashimi!!
19 June 2008
Photos from Japan trip (11-16 June 2008)
Mount Fuji!! (14 June 2008)
Me outside Hard Rock Cafe, Narita on my last day in Japan. Cool right? (16 June 2008)
Me and my sis at kiyomizu temple, kyoto. I think I was stoning after taking the lucky water. (12 June 2008)
My family on the first day at the kansai airport monorail. Guess who was taking the photo? (11 June 2008)
On an unrelated note: this is an interesting (though depressing) article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/health/views/17essa.html?ex=1371355200&en=505c2fbd5bfe4f7f&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
Mount Fuji!! (14 June 2008)
Me outside Hard Rock Cafe, Narita on my last day in Japan. Cool right? (16 June 2008)
Me and my sis at kiyomizu temple, kyoto. I think I was stoning after taking the lucky water. (12 June 2008)
My family on the first day at the kansai airport monorail. Guess who was taking the photo? (11 June 2008)
On an unrelated note: this is an interesting (though depressing) article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/health/views/17essa.html?ex=1371355200&en=505c2fbd5bfe4f7f&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
18 June 2008
Japan! (Please refer to XY's blog for greater detail; this is only an outline)
We shopped at Osaka and visited Osaka castle on the first day, ending it at the popular Shinsaibashi shopping belt in Osaka.
On the second, we headed to Nara for the TodaiJi temple, then Kyoto for Kiyomizu temple.
Then on day 3 we went up mount fuji and visited Oshinohakai village on the way.
On Day 4, we visited the Shin Yokohama raumen museum, took the bullet train to keikyu shinagawa. We also headed to Asakusa, Ueno Flea Market and Shinjuku. We spent day 5 at Tokyo Disneyland.
On our last day in japan we took a public bus to Aeon Mall in Narita.
Pics soon! :D
We shopped at Osaka and visited Osaka castle on the first day, ending it at the popular Shinsaibashi shopping belt in Osaka.
On the second, we headed to Nara for the TodaiJi temple, then Kyoto for Kiyomizu temple.
Then on day 3 we went up mount fuji and visited Oshinohakai village on the way.
On Day 4, we visited the Shin Yokohama raumen museum, took the bullet train to keikyu shinagawa. We also headed to Asakusa, Ueno Flea Market and Shinjuku. We spent day 5 at Tokyo Disneyland.
On our last day in japan we took a public bus to Aeon Mall in Narita.
Pics soon! :D
09 June 2008
Ytd I had a good gathering with my fellow chinese chess enthusiasts, some of whom I had not seen for a long time. Had a lot of fun, relearnt some mahjong. Also, HW and I had a painful chinese chess lesson from Brian. (Lol he seems to think I camo from the army due to my hairstyle) But it was a good learning experience, and I found to never take a situation for granted on the chessboard. A pro can easily turn the tables on a seemingly victorious opponent.
KY family was once again extremely hospitable, and I was grateful to be treated to a sumptuous lunch as well as a free flow of drinks :D Hospitality is something I should pick up! Sadly, I couldn't stay for dinner as a family dinner was organised for the night.
I met up with Jared today after losing touch with him for so long. I am happy that he got a place in dentistry, but I can't believe we're going to be school mates again next year albeit in different years and faculties. But it looks like the RI flutes for my year are all heading into medically related careers while our counterparts from RG are in law. Things just happen u know. I kept bugging Jared to organise a section outing, and he said he would do sth about it. Hope=)
The rest of the day was the usual; gymming and supermarketting. Gotta sleep for an early day tmr (:
KY family was once again extremely hospitable, and I was grateful to be treated to a sumptuous lunch as well as a free flow of drinks :D Hospitality is something I should pick up! Sadly, I couldn't stay for dinner as a family dinner was organised for the night.
I met up with Jared today after losing touch with him for so long. I am happy that he got a place in dentistry, but I can't believe we're going to be school mates again next year albeit in different years and faculties. But it looks like the RI flutes for my year are all heading into medically related careers while our counterparts from RG are in law. Things just happen u know. I kept bugging Jared to organise a section outing, and he said he would do sth about it. Hope=)
The rest of the day was the usual; gymming and supermarketting. Gotta sleep for an early day tmr (:
07 June 2008
"DON'T PANIC!" These word inscribed in The Hitch Hiker's Guide to The Galaxy might have been addressed to the person having trouble making simple turns at junctions: ME. The car surged jerkily as I tried to maneouvre it right.
It is a lack of confidence I think. Stepping and letting go the accelerator pedal at an uneven pace almost gave my instructor a heart attack. Hopefully (and I will definitely try) I will manage this turning at junctions business by next lesson.
OK, I shall give up my place in front of the computer to my sister. Staring too much at the screens will give me a headache. I shall watch some TV and enjoy myself after the traumatic driving lesson. N start packing for japan. :D
It is a lack of confidence I think. Stepping and letting go the accelerator pedal at an uneven pace almost gave my instructor a heart attack. Hopefully (and I will definitely try) I will manage this turning at junctions business by next lesson.
OK, I shall give up my place in front of the computer to my sister. Staring too much at the screens will give me a headache. I shall watch some TV and enjoy myself after the traumatic driving lesson. N start packing for japan. :D
05 June 2008
I am reading a novel called "the Empire of the Sun", about a 12 year old British boy trapped in the Shanghai of the second world war. For some reason I feel I can empathise with this protagonist, even though I have not experienced any war myself. Rather cruelly, he desensitizes himself to the violence and destruction around him, focussing his energies on his homework, and ironically, spotting the American and Japanese aircraft that has made his life so miserable. Towards the end of the war, the Japanese are increasingly venting their anger on the POWs. Jim, and his friends around him, experience unimaginable sufferings from starvation to the ravages of malaria. Yet Jim says there is no need to fear death, for in his mind, he and all the POWs around him are already dead...
Hopefully Jim will survive to find his parents. Though I seriously doubt that the ending will turn out hopeful.
I was also very hopful that the Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian would be worth its weight in ticket money. Well, the $7 I paid didn't go to waste. The action sequences were brilliant, as were the digitally animated talking animals. And the plot, full of twists and turns, rivetted me to my seat for an entire 144 mins. It helped that I didn't remember much from the book, so I didn't anticipate the plot twists...
Lunch was a delicious grilled chicken rice ($5.30) at the Bugis Food Junction, following which I went to the library to borrow some guidebooks on Japan, which I will be visiting next week! Whee.
Later today, an incident left me feeling bewildered. On my way home from the national library, a middle age lady called out to me in chinese, "can you speak chinese". Thinking she was a tourist in need of directions, I backtracked to find out what the matter was. Then I noticed that she was dressed rather simply and shabbily, which refuted my first impression. And she started telling me a long story about her mother suffering from diabetes, that she was jobless, and that she needed to buy takeaway noodles to feed her family.
Slowly, I got her message. Part of me wanted to give her some money to help her dire straits, but another part wondered if this lady was bluffing.
In the end, I refused and walked away, leaving the lady to approach other passers-by with her story. But in my heart I wondered: was what I had done right?
Hopefully Jim will survive to find his parents. Though I seriously doubt that the ending will turn out hopeful.
I was also very hopful that the Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian would be worth its weight in ticket money. Well, the $7 I paid didn't go to waste. The action sequences were brilliant, as were the digitally animated talking animals. And the plot, full of twists and turns, rivetted me to my seat for an entire 144 mins. It helped that I didn't remember much from the book, so I didn't anticipate the plot twists...
Lunch was a delicious grilled chicken rice ($5.30) at the Bugis Food Junction, following which I went to the library to borrow some guidebooks on Japan, which I will be visiting next week! Whee.
Later today, an incident left me feeling bewildered. On my way home from the national library, a middle age lady called out to me in chinese, "can you speak chinese". Thinking she was a tourist in need of directions, I backtracked to find out what the matter was. Then I noticed that she was dressed rather simply and shabbily, which refuted my first impression. And she started telling me a long story about her mother suffering from diabetes, that she was jobless, and that she needed to buy takeaway noodles to feed her family.
Slowly, I got her message. Part of me wanted to give her some money to help her dire straits, but another part wondered if this lady was bluffing.
In the end, I refused and walked away, leaving the lady to approach other passers-by with her story. But in my heart I wondered: was what I had done right?
02 June 2008
28 May 2008
A Tempo XIX was one for the memories.
It's amazing after all this time that so many people continue to support to band. Amazing for me at least. I think everyone has their reasons for coming: the return to Esplanade, for one, created a sense of deja vu. More importantly, there was the opportunity to meet friends with whom you had lost contact over the short span of 2 years.
Of course, it could have been just me who has neglected keeping in touch. But whatever the case, it felt good to see everyone again.
I can still hear tico tico and takarajima playing in my mind...
Thank you rjcsb for the wonderful performance! :D
It's amazing after all this time that so many people continue to support to band. Amazing for me at least. I think everyone has their reasons for coming: the return to Esplanade, for one, created a sense of deja vu. More importantly, there was the opportunity to meet friends with whom you had lost contact over the short span of 2 years.
Of course, it could have been just me who has neglected keeping in touch. But whatever the case, it felt good to see everyone again.
I can still hear tico tico and takarajima playing in my mind...
Thank you rjcsb for the wonderful performance! :D
27 May 2008
A penny saved is a penny earnt. I truly believe in this rule, but at times I don't know if I'm being overly obsessed with it. Am I?
When it comes to food, my first choice is always the most economical one. Preferably under 3 dollars or so. I almost never buy drinks, because they are the items with the highest profit margin. (or so I've read). And I've cut down on fruit juices and buy fruits instead because they are essentailly the same thing.
When it comes to shopping, my only urge is to buy books. And even that urge has been resisted time and again. I find I'm happy enough to browse books at borders, where they have comfy little chairs for you to finish your novel. And any books that I'm really interested to have, I get them from the library. Oh, and I never, ever buy clothes for myself.
I reckon the greatest part of my spending (for now) is in transport. [All those bus rides and MRT trips to buona vista really eat up my ez-link] It appears I've mastered the urge to buy buy and buy. And I should be able to save, save and save. But strangely enough, I don't seem to be able to save as much as I thought.
I wonder why.
When it comes to food, my first choice is always the most economical one. Preferably under 3 dollars or so. I almost never buy drinks, because they are the items with the highest profit margin. (or so I've read). And I've cut down on fruit juices and buy fruits instead because they are essentailly the same thing.
When it comes to shopping, my only urge is to buy books. And even that urge has been resisted time and again. I find I'm happy enough to browse books at borders, where they have comfy little chairs for you to finish your novel. And any books that I'm really interested to have, I get them from the library. Oh, and I never, ever buy clothes for myself.
I reckon the greatest part of my spending (for now) is in transport. [All those bus rides and MRT trips to buona vista really eat up my ez-link] It appears I've mastered the urge to buy buy and buy. And I should be able to save, save and save. But strangely enough, I don't seem to be able to save as much as I thought.
I wonder why.
13 May 2008
Try searching PDCP on google. This was what I did, as a seemingly meaningless exercise.
Its quite strange looking at blog entries from seniors from this point of their m1 life. How they've been through all of this before. How similar your feelings now are to their feelings then. Its frightening that in our seniors, we can see our future... Anyway...
The Professional Development and Communications Programme, or PDCP, is a specially tailored programme for undergraduate medicine students targetted at instilling professionalism and improving communications skills. It's lame, but after reading a few blogs about this programme, my thoughts are similar to others - its all theory which lacks direct practical value. Though the Meads theory about the I and the Me is great and explains much about the self, it belongs more in philosophy rather than Medicine. My first reaction was: you don't need to know all these theories to be a good communicator!!!
On second thought: we are understanding how our impressions of ourselves are influenced by others, and why people do what they do - whether as an actor on the world stage or as an individual influenced by the id, the ego and the superego. What I do influences what you do, which influences me in return. The analogy of infinite mirrors! Right now my brain is a mess of all these theories man has thought up to explain his own behaviour. Perhaps the philosophers were right: to understand people, you have to understand yourself first.
Its quite strange looking at blog entries from seniors from this point of their m1 life. How they've been through all of this before. How similar your feelings now are to their feelings then. Its frightening that in our seniors, we can see our future... Anyway...
The Professional Development and Communications Programme, or PDCP, is a specially tailored programme for undergraduate medicine students targetted at instilling professionalism and improving communications skills. It's lame, but after reading a few blogs about this programme, my thoughts are similar to others - its all theory which lacks direct practical value. Though the Meads theory about the I and the Me is great and explains much about the self, it belongs more in philosophy rather than Medicine. My first reaction was: you don't need to know all these theories to be a good communicator!!!
On second thought: we are understanding how our impressions of ourselves are influenced by others, and why people do what they do - whether as an actor on the world stage or as an individual influenced by the id, the ego and the superego. What I do influences what you do, which influences me in return. The analogy of infinite mirrors! Right now my brain is a mess of all these theories man has thought up to explain his own behaviour. Perhaps the philosophers were right: to understand people, you have to understand yourself first.
12 May 2008
The day before I had my first driving lesson, in which I learnt how to start and stop the car. Doesn't sound like much, but I suppose the first lesson was shorter because my instructor spent some time going through some theory and car mechanics. It was interesting, and talking to my instructor relieved my anxiety that was understandable for a first lesson. And despite my misgivings, I rather liked his method of teaching, which was he would bark commands out while I would follow like a "puppet". This enabled me to get used to the motions of driving a car, and was good except that I would have to think while acting like a puppet so I could repeat the actions myself. (which wasn't that bad since I can more or less start the car now. just that I tend to forget to pull up the handbrake and the car still jerks in the beginning because of uneven pressure on the gas) I'm making it a point to recall the steps when starting a car, even little things like the seatbelt, the front view mirror and checking the blind spots, because my next lesson will be only a week from this post.
Yesterday I celebrated my 20th birthday! It was nothing fanciful, just a family gathering in the evening. The highlight was this larger-than-usual blueberry cheescake, which of course was store-bought. (nobody in my family can bake...) But it was delicious nevertheless, and I thought they should have added the words "Happy Mother's Day" in addition to "Happy Birthday Jia Yi" to make it extra special. But mom always puts my birthday above mother's day, which nearly always falls very close. I think my mom rocks. Happy Mother's Day! (=
I felt my birthday wasn't very well spent because most of it was wasted on playing the computer, after which you get an awful headache and sore eyes. You kind of lose your grip on reality after a while, which is not a good thing. And I must apologise for playing games on the computer while my sister was studying for her common tests coz I know they must have distracted her quite a bit even though she insisted they did not.
Anyway, tmr school starts on a supposedly more relaxed note. Hope PDCP will be fun! (When I told my research mentor that we M1 students are going for a class to improve our communications skills, she smirked, "So medicine students cannot communicate la!". So embarrassing!) I don't view myself as an excellent communicator, but I do believe I can do so decently. Anyway, I'm viewing PDCP with an open mind. Just to see how it goes...
Yesterday I celebrated my 20th birthday! It was nothing fanciful, just a family gathering in the evening. The highlight was this larger-than-usual blueberry cheescake, which of course was store-bought. (nobody in my family can bake...) But it was delicious nevertheless, and I thought they should have added the words "Happy Mother's Day" in addition to "Happy Birthday Jia Yi" to make it extra special. But mom always puts my birthday above mother's day, which nearly always falls very close. I think my mom rocks. Happy Mother's Day! (=
I felt my birthday wasn't very well spent because most of it was wasted on playing the computer, after which you get an awful headache and sore eyes. You kind of lose your grip on reality after a while, which is not a good thing. And I must apologise for playing games on the computer while my sister was studying for her common tests coz I know they must have distracted her quite a bit even though she insisted they did not.
Anyway, tmr school starts on a supposedly more relaxed note. Hope PDCP will be fun! (When I told my research mentor that we M1 students are going for a class to improve our communications skills, she smirked, "So medicine students cannot communicate la!". So embarrassing!) I don't view myself as an excellent communicator, but I do believe I can do so decently. Anyway, I'm viewing PDCP with an open mind. Just to see how it goes...
10 May 2008
Ytd I was quite proud of myself coz I chionged finished my stuff at the lab then chionged to the botanic gardens for lakota picnic. Everyone was late, and I was only slightly later than everyone else! And this was despite having to make a long walk down half the length of botanic gardens (from the law school entrance to the symphony lake!)
They chose a spot that proved rather scenic, though a bit out of the way - a hut overlooking the symphonic lake! I thought it was a great place to be close to nature, and it is! There were plenty of fishes, tortoises, mynahs and other wildlife to see and feed. Though when I arrived it was apparent some people had been doing some eating themselves. There was plenty of finger food left over still, however, and I could happily help myself to the chocolate cake, durian puffs, cheese and egg sandwiches and all the other goodies! My purchase of a curry puff and chicken pao was apparently redundant. But at least some people ate the pringles and chocolate gigabytes that I painfully lugged to the place.
Food we may have had in abundance but entertainment plans had been neglected. Not to say we didn't have some fun just sitting around and feeding the occasional mynah. But besides the special location, it was an unremarkable trip, though it did provide further chances for intra og bonding.
When people started leaving for dance and other stuff our brief outing drew more or less to a close. Somehow reluctant to go home so early, a few us (wl, eli, gl and I) decided to meet the dance ppl after they finish for dinner. Meanwhile we headed to the LAN shop to have a shot of Battlefield 2. OMG its a game I would highly recommend though I am an absolute n00b at it. I sheer fun running around in the battlefield playing coop with friends, and getting to try all sorts of vehicles from tanks to fighter jets. (not to mention parachuting down when the jet fails to land) I suppose some video games do have their merits...
Then dinner was tomato ramen at Ajisan PS, with Ju, Jason and Chris. I wish Jon could have come! haiz.
They chose a spot that proved rather scenic, though a bit out of the way - a hut overlooking the symphonic lake! I thought it was a great place to be close to nature, and it is! There were plenty of fishes, tortoises, mynahs and other wildlife to see and feed. Though when I arrived it was apparent some people had been doing some eating themselves. There was plenty of finger food left over still, however, and I could happily help myself to the chocolate cake, durian puffs, cheese and egg sandwiches and all the other goodies! My purchase of a curry puff and chicken pao was apparently redundant. But at least some people ate the pringles and chocolate gigabytes that I painfully lugged to the place.
Food we may have had in abundance but entertainment plans had been neglected. Not to say we didn't have some fun just sitting around and feeding the occasional mynah. But besides the special location, it was an unremarkable trip, though it did provide further chances for intra og bonding.
When people started leaving for dance and other stuff our brief outing drew more or less to a close. Somehow reluctant to go home so early, a few us (wl, eli, gl and I) decided to meet the dance ppl after they finish for dinner. Meanwhile we headed to the LAN shop to have a shot of Battlefield 2. OMG its a game I would highly recommend though I am an absolute n00b at it. I sheer fun running around in the battlefield playing coop with friends, and getting to try all sorts of vehicles from tanks to fighter jets. (not to mention parachuting down when the jet fails to land) I suppose some video games do have their merits...
Then dinner was tomato ramen at Ajisan PS, with Ju, Jason and Chris. I wish Jon could have come! haiz.
06 May 2008
I guess today was the first day I had hands on in the lab. It was the first time in 5 years that I laid my hands on a micropipette or PBS buffer solution (I vaguely recall using this excessively during the IBN attachment long ago). So excited/nervous I was that I contaminated an entire PBS buffer solution the first time I touched it. I plunged the micropipette into the micropipette head so hard that I bent the tip. And I took the micropipette out of the sterile hood to remove the blunted tip. What a day of embarrassing mishaps! Luckily, my mentor was most patient and forgiving, and merely pointed out my mistake laughing. I had to try my best to look serious while she pointed out all my mistakes. Argh. I think I've learnt from my mistakes and I'd be an idiot to repeat them. But unfortunately/fortunately I am quite sure there are more to come. I'd just have to try my best to minimise them by keeping awake, watching carefully and listening attentively.
For once in my life I feel that all the SPA I did in JC was useful. Although SPA involved lots of wayang and memory work, it did keep me on my toes, and make me more conscious of what I was doing.
Is this MOE's way of preparing everybody to be a researcher? I doubt many have fond memories of SPA, and not everyone is gearing to become a researcher. But despite its faults, I think more SPA could have reduced mishaps like bending the tip of a micropipette.
For once in my life I feel that all the SPA I did in JC was useful. Although SPA involved lots of wayang and memory work, it did keep me on my toes, and make me more conscious of what I was doing.
Is this MOE's way of preparing everybody to be a researcher? I doubt many have fond memories of SPA, and not everyone is gearing to become a researcher. But despite its faults, I think more SPA could have reduced mishaps like bending the tip of a micropipette.
03 May 2008
Yesterday I attended WL's mum's wake. Sheila smsed the whole OG about it and consequently all of us turned up, except those that were overseas. It shows that even though we medical students may appear apathetic at times, but we still care for our friends who need our support :)
The OG stayed through almost 2 hours at the wake, including observing a Buddhist ritual that involved chanting monks. There wasn't exactly much to say to a friend whose parents just died, but I think the important thing is that we were there to offer support.
Yesterday was the first time in a long time since I entered Junction 8. The food junction had morphed into this spanking new, brightly lit place with nice big letterings for the stall. Unfortunately the food costs seem to have risen as well. This pepper rice meal that I bought cost $5.50, which I thought was a bit high for beef on a hotplate. It had this fancy paper ring around it with printed instructions on how to enjoy the meal. It's obvious that its a marketing gimmick to make the product more attractive, and it works. Pepper rice rating: 3/5 for the poor value for money.
This morning Sandhya and I interviewed prof tay. It is shocking how many hobbies a professor can have! Books, pets, cars, gramophones, you name it, he has it.And he still manages his job as deputy head of anatomy. Won't disclose too many details - more will be published in Pulse! (I love this job! I think its fascinating to hear from the professor himself abbout his work and hobbies...)
The OG stayed through almost 2 hours at the wake, including observing a Buddhist ritual that involved chanting monks. There wasn't exactly much to say to a friend whose parents just died, but I think the important thing is that we were there to offer support.
Yesterday was the first time in a long time since I entered Junction 8. The food junction had morphed into this spanking new, brightly lit place with nice big letterings for the stall. Unfortunately the food costs seem to have risen as well. This pepper rice meal that I bought cost $5.50, which I thought was a bit high for beef on a hotplate. It had this fancy paper ring around it with printed instructions on how to enjoy the meal. It's obvious that its a marketing gimmick to make the product more attractive, and it works. Pepper rice rating: 3/5 for the poor value for money.
This morning Sandhya and I interviewed prof tay. It is shocking how many hobbies a professor can have! Books, pets, cars, gramophones, you name it, he has it.And he still manages his job as deputy head of anatomy. Won't disclose too many details - more will be published in Pulse! (I love this job! I think its fascinating to hear from the professor himself abbout his work and hobbies...)
01 May 2008
I'm going to embark on a rather cheem project that I don't understand. (yet) But I'm rather looking forward to research, because I haven't done it in a very long time, and also because I wanted to maximise my holidays. And so far, things have turned out well. My mentor is very approachable and eager to teach! So hopefully the project I'm doing, focussing on ER cell migration, will turn out well. (author's note: on hindsight this is not the most disease related project available. But it involves live cell microscopy with beautiful colours! Which is the most aesthetically pleasing project I could find)
It was a good day to be at school because I got to meet some classmates whom I've missed. During my lunch hour Ching Hui, then Liang Yi emerged from the 'horror' of anatomy vivas. They all complained about difficult questions, but I'm sure it wasn't as bad as I heard.
Lots of things to look forward to. On Fri after interviewing prof tay our OG is having a picnic! And tomorrow is a public holiday! Woot.
It was a good day to be at school because I got to meet some classmates whom I've missed. During my lunch hour Ching Hui, then Liang Yi emerged from the 'horror' of anatomy vivas. They all complained about difficult questions, but I'm sure it wasn't as bad as I heard.
Lots of things to look forward to. On Fri after interviewing prof tay our OG is having a picnic! And tomorrow is a public holiday! Woot.
30 April 2008
Today I watched Little Miss Sunshine with my OG. Its a comedy-satire about a dysfunctional family going on a road trip where they encounter death, automobile accidents and life turning revelations. Its caused quite a stir in the OG when it ended because its ending didn't seem to provide a resolution to the story. Profanities were widely featured throughout, and I'm unsure how the family got away with things like breaking through parking barriers and other worse crimes.
I think its a movie about challenging conventions. Or maybe its just making a mockery of the whole American dream. But my literature is not good enough for me to be sure...
I think its a movie about challenging conventions. Or maybe its just making a mockery of the whole American dream. But my literature is not good enough for me to be sure...
28 April 2008
Mother dragged me along to see my sister receive her prize at speech day at dunman high school. Currently Dunman High School is located at the old RJC campus at Ghim Moh, so the venue wasnt altogether unfamiliar. I even knew where the toilets were without looking, thanks to fading memories of REACT that seemed so long ago.
But nostalgia aside, I wasn't exactly comfortable sitting in a midst of parents and eager Dunmanians waiting to receive their prizes. And the fact that I was wearing T shirt and jeans in contrast to a sea of formal wear did little to comfort me. Ah well. Luckily nobody seemed to pay attention. Distractions were abound, the brass band was playing, the NPCC were marching, and the Lion Dance Troop was performing. To while away the time, I read, while mother sat patiently waiting for the ceremony to start. My sister, oblivious to our presence, was chatting excitedly with her friend, fellow bandmate and exclassmate Kee Zhiyin who, incidentally, swept most of the prizes in her year. There's competition everywhere.
Nothing much was worth noting in the ceremony, except that I failed miserably in my task to photograph my sister receiving her award. (She was much too fast!) Perhaps it wasn't the most interesting way to spend the morning, but in my view it was worth supporting my sister in her first year of JC rather than idling at home doing nothing but reading.
After the ceremony, I had a good lunch with mother at the Tanglin Mall foodcourt. Following which, I ambled on to kinokuniya and finally borders at orchard. Something of note: Kino has no seats, while Borders has too little in its Orchard branch. At Borders, the seats were all taken and the soft cushion chairs present at Borders Parkway were no where to be found. So I sat on the floor at the childrens section. :)
On a separate note, I just finished "When We Were Orphans " today in addition to "The Bernini Mystery" a few days earlier. The first was interesting because of its historical setting in world war II and its unique storyline. Though I felt the plot felt similar to some Chinese drama serials. The latter was a good 'ol mystery story with what I felt was a rather clever, if slightly convoluted plot.
Interviewing samuel tay on friday. And getting myself involved in some research, which will hopefully prove a fruitful use of my holidays.
:D
But nostalgia aside, I wasn't exactly comfortable sitting in a midst of parents and eager Dunmanians waiting to receive their prizes. And the fact that I was wearing T shirt and jeans in contrast to a sea of formal wear did little to comfort me. Ah well. Luckily nobody seemed to pay attention. Distractions were abound, the brass band was playing, the NPCC were marching, and the Lion Dance Troop was performing. To while away the time, I read, while mother sat patiently waiting for the ceremony to start. My sister, oblivious to our presence, was chatting excitedly with her friend, fellow bandmate and exclassmate Kee Zhiyin who, incidentally, swept most of the prizes in her year. There's competition everywhere.
Nothing much was worth noting in the ceremony, except that I failed miserably in my task to photograph my sister receiving her award. (She was much too fast!) Perhaps it wasn't the most interesting way to spend the morning, but in my view it was worth supporting my sister in her first year of JC rather than idling at home doing nothing but reading.
After the ceremony, I had a good lunch with mother at the Tanglin Mall foodcourt. Following which, I ambled on to kinokuniya and finally borders at orchard. Something of note: Kino has no seats, while Borders has too little in its Orchard branch. At Borders, the seats were all taken and the soft cushion chairs present at Borders Parkway were no where to be found. So I sat on the floor at the childrens section. :)
On a separate note, I just finished "When We Were Orphans " today in addition to "The Bernini Mystery" a few days earlier. The first was interesting because of its historical setting in world war II and its unique storyline. Though I felt the plot felt similar to some Chinese drama serials. The latter was a good 'ol mystery story with what I felt was a rather clever, if slightly convoluted plot.
Interviewing samuel tay on friday. And getting myself involved in some research, which will hopefully prove a fruitful use of my holidays.
:D
26 April 2008
Today I headed down to the ComfortDelgro Driving Centre to apply for my PDL. I was worried I wouldn't be able to get the licence because I hadn't been able to print my BTT results, and became even more worried when I found that the results could only be printed at the kiosk there if they were less than a month old. (I took my test like 2 months ago) But they didn't require a hardcopy of the BTT, and the application went through without a hitch. The procedure was remarkably efficient, and thanks to my early arrival in the morning, I spent little time in the queue.
But a major obstacle has turned up: time! The instructor I had found was only able to find time two weeks from now, which is rather disappointing...
But a major obstacle has turned up: time! The instructor I had found was only able to find time two weeks from now, which is rather disappointing...
25 April 2008
This morning, I finally found a driving instructor! Hopefully my lessons can start next week after I register for my provisional driving license tomorrow.
Now that viva lists have come out, I am both relieved but also slightly disappointed that I wasn't going for any distinction vivas. Ah well. Just work harder next year I guess!
An Account Of A Not-So-Very-Long-Walk
In search of a cure for boredom, I went for a long walk today. Okay, I cheated a bit by taking the bus to Bugis instead of walking there, but it was still a long walk okay!
My first stop was the National Library. I had wanted to see if they stocked any video games that I could borrow using my premium membership, but alas all they stocked were audio books. If I wanted video games or anything of that sort I shall have to make my way to Tampines or Ang Mo Kio.. but wait a minute.. Marine Parade also hosts a collection! hah! But I knew that already. My findings today just confirmed the fact that the national library is not a good place to borrow video games from. But I did borrow two books, one a mystery book by Ian Pears the other "When we were orphans" as a more serious read.
Next, I trudged my way down North Bridge Road to Stamford Road and walked all the way to the National Museum. Didn't particularly see much, and not that I had an aim in mind. Simply took a nice long look at the surroundings and the architecture. I didn't want to pay the entrance fees, so I stayed in the free viewing area where there were nice sculptures and displays to look at. The things they have for show are kind of random, like a history of womens fashion in singapore, and an exhibit featuring everyday objects magnetically stuck onto a metal wall (supposed to be artistic i guess)
My next stop after the National Museum was a brief one at SMU. Admired their steel and glass buildings and had a short peek inside. I wanted to go into the library but had no matriculatiion card. Haiz. I initially felt that the strategic location and spanking new premises were great for a school. And they are. But I still prefer the natural greenery around Kent Ridge. No doubt long bus cum train rides can be tiring, but they also provide a time for relaxation and meditation.
Anyway. After leaving SMU I turned into Hill Street and into Funan Centre. I had initially wanted to find a nice game to buy but decided against spending the money. I mean, no point buying when I'm not that avid a gamer, and moreover the internet provides access to so many free games. But for want of something better to do, I went into Challenger and played on their Xbox a bit, following which, I grabbed a bite at Taco Bell and tried their Chicken Taco, which wasn't too bad. But how do you eat it without spilling the filling?!
I had wanted to head home after that, but in a sudden burst of spontaneity at City Hall I headed down CityLink Mall for the Esplanade, a place where I used to frequent to find scores, listen to performances and long ago, perform in. The library disallowed borrowing of music cds, but I was able to find some flute scores - one on classical flute solos and another holding practice pieces along with some tips on flute playing. (Hopefully I will use them.)
From the Esplanade it was another 15 minute walk before I reached my busstop opposite Suntec City Mall.
Total time spent: >< 6 hours
Now that viva lists have come out, I am both relieved but also slightly disappointed that I wasn't going for any distinction vivas. Ah well. Just work harder next year I guess!
An Account Of A Not-So-Very-Long-Walk
In search of a cure for boredom, I went for a long walk today. Okay, I cheated a bit by taking the bus to Bugis instead of walking there, but it was still a long walk okay!
My first stop was the National Library. I had wanted to see if they stocked any video games that I could borrow using my premium membership, but alas all they stocked were audio books. If I wanted video games or anything of that sort I shall have to make my way to Tampines or Ang Mo Kio.. but wait a minute.. Marine Parade also hosts a collection! hah! But I knew that already. My findings today just confirmed the fact that the national library is not a good place to borrow video games from. But I did borrow two books, one a mystery book by Ian Pears the other "When we were orphans" as a more serious read.
Next, I trudged my way down North Bridge Road to Stamford Road and walked all the way to the National Museum. Didn't particularly see much, and not that I had an aim in mind. Simply took a nice long look at the surroundings and the architecture. I didn't want to pay the entrance fees, so I stayed in the free viewing area where there were nice sculptures and displays to look at. The things they have for show are kind of random, like a history of womens fashion in singapore, and an exhibit featuring everyday objects magnetically stuck onto a metal wall (supposed to be artistic i guess)
My next stop after the National Museum was a brief one at SMU. Admired their steel and glass buildings and had a short peek inside. I wanted to go into the library but had no matriculatiion card. Haiz. I initially felt that the strategic location and spanking new premises were great for a school. And they are. But I still prefer the natural greenery around Kent Ridge. No doubt long bus cum train rides can be tiring, but they also provide a time for relaxation and meditation.
Anyway. After leaving SMU I turned into Hill Street and into Funan Centre. I had initially wanted to find a nice game to buy but decided against spending the money. I mean, no point buying when I'm not that avid a gamer, and moreover the internet provides access to so many free games. But for want of something better to do, I went into Challenger and played on their Xbox a bit, following which, I grabbed a bite at Taco Bell and tried their Chicken Taco, which wasn't too bad. But how do you eat it without spilling the filling?!
I had wanted to head home after that, but in a sudden burst of spontaneity at City Hall I headed down CityLink Mall for the Esplanade, a place where I used to frequent to find scores, listen to performances and long ago, perform in. The library disallowed borrowing of music cds, but I was able to find some flute scores - one on classical flute solos and another holding practice pieces along with some tips on flute playing. (Hopefully I will use them.)
From the Esplanade it was another 15 minute walk before I reached my busstop opposite Suntec City Mall.
Total time spent: >< 6 hours
Three Diary Entries: A summary of the Lakota Outings one week after Pros
17 April 08
22 April 08 [the programme was very similar to 18 April, but no two days can be the same...]
17 April 08
- sakura sushi ($22++),
- cineleisure rent-a-room ($2++) - basically a room equipped with facilities like Xbox and computers, so you can play dota and watch movies like the lake house. movie rentals cost extra, unless you have a special voucher like sheila had.
- a walk down orchard road with your og mates after pros (PRICELESS)
- eating dou hua at a famous yet ulu, old yet airconditioned restaurant/coffee shop (70c)
At 3.30pm, we agreed to play basketball: boys against girls. tried my best, but the girls kept scoring. argh! Sometime later, we decided that mixing the two genders would allow for a more balanced game. I joined the team that included glen and charlene, and this time things went better, but more because I was on a better team. [note to self: need to practise shooting/stop playing basketball]
At 5+?, the ten of us started playing soccer. basically it was the guys + sheila doing the shooting. lol. stupid ball kept flying into the drain too! all the guys except jason got a chance to pick the ball. Sometime later, jason, christina, theng whye, julia and charlene left, leaving me glen sheila weilun elizibeth for the dinner outing: another famous recommendation of sheila's (think last weeks post anatomy tauhuei.) TADA! XO beehoon! I took sheila's car to the place, and remarkably we found a parking lot quite easily. Glen had some difficulty though.
At 8+?: the quintet proceeded to island creamery at serene centre. charlene joined us. despite choosing very carefully, we ended up with two very sweet flavours (too sweet? advert for euyangsen birds nest on tvmobile come to mind) naturally, we didn't finish the two tubs that we ordered. (cost: $2.67)
Then at 9+ we went for a walk at the botanic gardens! very romantic! except weilun kept complaining about mosquitoes, which i admit, we present in large numbers (kind of reminiscent of field camp.) and frogs kept croaking. i wonder why...
At 5+?, the ten of us started playing soccer. basically it was the guys + sheila doing the shooting. lol. stupid ball kept flying into the drain too! all the guys except jason got a chance to pick the ball. Sometime later, jason, christina, theng whye, julia and charlene left, leaving me glen sheila weilun elizibeth for the dinner outing: another famous recommendation of sheila's (think last weeks post anatomy tauhuei.) TADA! XO beehoon! I took sheila's car to the place, and remarkably we found a parking lot quite easily. Glen had some difficulty though.
At 8+?: the quintet proceeded to island creamery at serene centre. charlene joined us. despite choosing very carefully, we ended up with two very sweet flavours (too sweet? advert for euyangsen birds nest on tvmobile come to mind) naturally, we didn't finish the two tubs that we ordered. (cost: $2.67)
Then at 9+ we went for a walk at the botanic gardens! very romantic! except weilun kept complaining about mosquitoes, which i admit, we present in large numbers (kind of reminiscent of field camp.) and frogs kept croaking. i wonder why...
22 April 08 [the programme was very similar to 18 April, but no two days can be the same...]
3.40pm: I arrived at PGP porch expecting everyone to be there. but only jon was there. lol. but soon enough (in 20 mins) people started arriving and we headed down to the foyer to play table tennis. I was not terrible at table tennis, but most of the people were better! hahaz. not that i minded though. i think i picked up a few skills here and there, though if i really want to improve i would need to play on a more regular basis. jipson and alfred joined us for the games!
As more people arrived (charlene and sheila arrived i think more than an hour late) there were insufficient tables/rackets. so most of the girls (except sheila) went to play tennis
Then me and jonathan got bored of table tennis too and went to see how the tennis game was progressing. it turned out that it had just ended. so jon and I started attempting to play tennis! (I'm sorry, zikai, anyi and vipul at this point cause I suddenly could not remember how to play tennis like we used to. but its been 2 years.. so..) hmm jon and I remember that the furthest we got to rallying was like 5 hits.. so it was like.. erm really bad.
At this point jason christina and sheila emerged into the court and at this point i decided to head back to the foyer to continue practising table tennis. i had a rather intense game with glen ( i think for him it was rather relaxing) trying to learn how to spin. the thing about playing amateurishly is that a lot of time and energy is wasted trying to pick up balls that you missed. but i guess thats part and parcel of learning..
At 6+ we headed off for dinner at Adam food centre where some friends from another og was enjoying their meal. what a small world! I got to try the famous nasi lemak from a stall whose fans included the sultan of brunei among others. I didn't find the food particularly special, except the chilli paste they spread out generously on the plate. The paste was supposed to be crowd puller, so I finished almost half of it despite the fact that I am not a huge fan of chilli. And it was not bad, but maybe not enough for me to come back repeatedly for it. hehz. my only complaint was that the portion was a little bit small, so luckily I shared a bit of mutton soup with alfred as well. Perhaps the light dinner was why the og headed to our next destination: island creamery!
Most coincidentally, we met our friends there again! what happened at island creamery was a blur, except that people kept gossiping and glen kept taking random photos of people trying to catch them in their most "unglam" poses! [these photos are now on facebook if you're really interested] we were rather noisy, and i hope we hadn't spoilt the mood of other diners in the vicinity. and the flavours for the night were reverso (very chocolately and fudge-like, i bet my sis would like it), burnt caramel and soursop. (Much better choices compared to those on our previous visit) Soursop was a refreshing flavour after you have had too much cream for your palate.
Despite the wonderful flavours, the icecream was not all finished due to the fact that the remainder had melted into a semisolid slush which looked much less palatable. ah well. but it was still a lot of icecream nevertheless, so it was a natural decision to take a walk down the botanic gardens into the law campus.The first thing that struck me when I entered the premises of NUS law was the sheer grandeur and colonial feel of it compared to the medicine campus at Kent Ridge. And, despite its age, the law campus didn't feel old. Being there was like getting transported into the 1960s, when our parents roamed the earth. This was the impression I received just by entering from the side gate. When we reached the courtyard, the beautiful scene simply overwhelmed me. (ok, I'm exaggerating here, but it was beautiful, even at night) The landmark in the courtyard, we guessed, had to be the four pillars guarding the gigantic tree that reached high above us. we had a field day trying to guess what the four pillars represented, and given the rivalry between law and medicine, this meant a lot of ribcracking jokes. haha.
But despite the wonderfully cool midnight breeze blowing in our faces, we wanted air conditioning. Charlene knew the way! I still don't know the name of that building, but it was a medium sized hall framed with glass windows and fitted with two sets of sofas. Comfortably, we hopped onto the soft cushions of the expansive chairs and began our long conversation that went on long into the night. What was that game we played? with red green and amber? traffic light! whatever it was, playing it got me home at a ungodly hour of 1130pm, even after hailing a cab.
As more people arrived (charlene and sheila arrived i think more than an hour late) there were insufficient tables/rackets. so most of the girls (except sheila) went to play tennis
Then me and jonathan got bored of table tennis too and went to see how the tennis game was progressing. it turned out that it had just ended. so jon and I started attempting to play tennis! (I'm sorry, zikai, anyi and vipul at this point cause I suddenly could not remember how to play tennis like we used to. but its been 2 years.. so..) hmm jon and I remember that the furthest we got to rallying was like 5 hits.. so it was like.. erm really bad.
At this point jason christina and sheila emerged into the court and at this point i decided to head back to the foyer to continue practising table tennis. i had a rather intense game with glen ( i think for him it was rather relaxing) trying to learn how to spin. the thing about playing amateurishly is that a lot of time and energy is wasted trying to pick up balls that you missed. but i guess thats part and parcel of learning..
At 6+ we headed off for dinner at Adam food centre where some friends from another og was enjoying their meal. what a small world! I got to try the famous nasi lemak from a stall whose fans included the sultan of brunei among others. I didn't find the food particularly special, except the chilli paste they spread out generously on the plate. The paste was supposed to be crowd puller, so I finished almost half of it despite the fact that I am not a huge fan of chilli. And it was not bad, but maybe not enough for me to come back repeatedly for it. hehz. my only complaint was that the portion was a little bit small, so luckily I shared a bit of mutton soup with alfred as well. Perhaps the light dinner was why the og headed to our next destination: island creamery!
Most coincidentally, we met our friends there again! what happened at island creamery was a blur, except that people kept gossiping and glen kept taking random photos of people trying to catch them in their most "unglam" poses! [these photos are now on facebook if you're really interested] we were rather noisy, and i hope we hadn't spoilt the mood of other diners in the vicinity. and the flavours for the night were reverso (very chocolately and fudge-like, i bet my sis would like it), burnt caramel and soursop. (Much better choices compared to those on our previous visit) Soursop was a refreshing flavour after you have had too much cream for your palate.
Despite the wonderful flavours, the icecream was not all finished due to the fact that the remainder had melted into a semisolid slush which looked much less palatable. ah well. but it was still a lot of icecream nevertheless, so it was a natural decision to take a walk down the botanic gardens into the law campus.The first thing that struck me when I entered the premises of NUS law was the sheer grandeur and colonial feel of it compared to the medicine campus at Kent Ridge. And, despite its age, the law campus didn't feel old. Being there was like getting transported into the 1960s, when our parents roamed the earth. This was the impression I received just by entering from the side gate. When we reached the courtyard, the beautiful scene simply overwhelmed me. (ok, I'm exaggerating here, but it was beautiful, even at night) The landmark in the courtyard, we guessed, had to be the four pillars guarding the gigantic tree that reached high above us. we had a field day trying to guess what the four pillars represented, and given the rivalry between law and medicine, this meant a lot of ribcracking jokes. haha.
But despite the wonderfully cool midnight breeze blowing in our faces, we wanted air conditioning. Charlene knew the way! I still don't know the name of that building, but it was a medium sized hall framed with glass windows and fitted with two sets of sofas. Comfortably, we hopped onto the soft cushions of the expansive chairs and began our long conversation that went on long into the night. What was that game we played? with red green and amber? traffic light! whatever it was, playing it got me home at a ungodly hour of 1130pm, even after hailing a cab.
18 April 2008
25 March 2008
Went to school today to print notes. Wanted to buy LiFen's notes off the shelf at the photocopy shop but i realised it was my misguided notion that the shop had it 'off the shelf'. oh well. but being a rather resourceful person i headed to the library. i really think the library is a very useful stop for information. their computers are very conveniently connected to the internet where I can easily download notes from medicus.tk
haha and the best thing is, they had a laser jet printer which works loads faster than the inkjet I have at home! I think i printed err.. like more than 200 pages of stuff? and thats printing the notes double sided, with two pages on one side. Felt rather bad about hogging the printer for an abnormally long time. (to the 3 ppl behind me waiting to use the printer - sorry!)
met daniel h and jon sng at the library too! haha looks like I wasn't the only one going to school early.
on a random note (again), blogging is seriously therapeutic. stressed ppl shld try it more... I shall put the CAs behind me and look forward to the coming exams! YAY. (think optimistic yar:)
haha and the best thing is, they had a laser jet printer which works loads faster than the inkjet I have at home! I think i printed err.. like more than 200 pages of stuff? and thats printing the notes double sided, with two pages on one side. Felt rather bad about hogging the printer for an abnormally long time. (to the 3 ppl behind me waiting to use the printer - sorry!)
met daniel h and jon sng at the library too! haha looks like I wasn't the only one going to school early.
on a random note (again), blogging is seriously therapeutic. stressed ppl shld try it more... I shall put the CAs behind me and look forward to the coming exams! YAY. (think optimistic yar:)
23 March 2008
being determined not to touch my books at least for one day, i decided to finish up whatever 'chores' i had to do. which includes buying a new handphone! so I headed to the hello shop at parkway and started reviewing the phones once again. think i was rather quick to make my decision - i reviewed the phones on offer first then decided on one of them coz it received an award at some world competition. well, it sounded like a prestigious competition at least.
so now im an owner of a w910i walkman phone. which has 1 GB of space. yay! unfortunately this phone doesn't have any features to enable reading of word or pdf documents, which i felt would have been useful. but i think its one of the better entertainment phones around for my budget.
has anyone ever used an LCD screen protector for their phone? I think its a good idea, but I just can't seem to stick it on properly without any air bubbles... and the more i redo it, the worse it seems to get.
after fiddling with the phone a bit in the afternoon, I actually found the time to go swimming. Dad was nice enough to send me to the pool while he and my sis went for their running session at the gym. Actually it hasn't been THAT long since i last swam, but its been a long time since I swam PROPERLY. (my last swimming session, is erhem, done back in BMT) So it was expected that my swimming strokes had deteriorated to a pitiful stage.
on a random note: my mum's returning from overseas today! YAY.
happy easter sunday:P
so now im an owner of a w910i walkman phone. which has 1 GB of space. yay! unfortunately this phone doesn't have any features to enable reading of word or pdf documents, which i felt would have been useful. but i think its one of the better entertainment phones around for my budget.
has anyone ever used an LCD screen protector for their phone? I think its a good idea, but I just can't seem to stick it on properly without any air bubbles... and the more i redo it, the worse it seems to get.
after fiddling with the phone a bit in the afternoon, I actually found the time to go swimming. Dad was nice enough to send me to the pool while he and my sis went for their running session at the gym. Actually it hasn't been THAT long since i last swam, but its been a long time since I swam PROPERLY. (my last swimming session, is erhem, done back in BMT) So it was expected that my swimming strokes had deteriorated to a pitiful stage.
on a random note: my mum's returning from overseas today! YAY.
happy easter sunday:P
22 March 2008
Post-Exam Activities
mixed feelings as CA2 drew to a close. its like yay, the exams are finally over, now's our well deserved break! then the fact dawns on us that the big examinations (worth 3 times as many marks as our CAs) are heading our way (in three weeks!) can a medical student EVER get some rest?
after our last paper - physiology - the OG followed our usual tradition. we headed down to town (again!) and went for an extravagant meal at plaza singapura. (haha maybe not that bad - 9.50 only) i think i can describe the meal as getting what we paid for - we paid the lower end of the scale, so the food wasn't exactly good. (in fact i think school food is betta. and cheaper!) but the reason we were there was exactly to get away from it all. the 'horrible' science canteen and some of its 'dreaded, unappetising food'. (pls! no offence to any of the stall owners!) okay, enough insulting the science canteen. on with the story!
so, it was Eli's birthday (did i mention that?) and we 'sprung' a surprise on her by almost buying two cakes for her. the plan was this: we get Eli seated at the restaurant, after which some of us make our excuses and leave the table. i think it must have been strange coz all of a sudden more than half of lakota wanted to go to the toilet or draw money. then there was a miscommunication and the group split into two groups which almost bought two cakes.
fortunately glen had the good sense of making a well-timed phone call to prevent the catastrophe.
yay! though i didn't think we managed to keep it a surprise, i think eveything turned out well in the end. everyone (almost eveyone? i didn't keep track of who ate and who didn't) left the restaurant full of cake and with their stomachs bursting. (Note: this is a highly biased account of what happened coz i happened to be sitting next to weilun who kept complaining of his stomach bursting. no offence to weilun)
and, (again following og tradition), lakota went for a movie outing. this time watching the very cool movie SU2. i call it very cool coz its all about hip hop and the dance moves don't stop even after the credits come in. I didn't really think much of the movie at first. coz i thought the plot was a bit unrealistic. but after much thinking i felt that if u ignored the plot the dance moves alone made the movie worth the ticket price. and i supposed that since the movie's underlying message was to follow your dream (and perhaps be a bit of a rebel), then it can't really be that bad a movie after all...
[SU2= step up 2]
nothing much happened after that. we wandered around for quite a bit. then people started leaving. then some people (me included) sort of stuck around a bit. i can't remember what our conversation was like, but i think it wasn't important. finally, at around 6+, i left.
after our last paper - physiology - the OG followed our usual tradition. we headed down to town (again!) and went for an extravagant meal at plaza singapura. (haha maybe not that bad - 9.50 only) i think i can describe the meal as getting what we paid for - we paid the lower end of the scale, so the food wasn't exactly good. (in fact i think school food is betta. and cheaper!) but the reason we were there was exactly to get away from it all. the 'horrible' science canteen and some of its 'dreaded, unappetising food'. (pls! no offence to any of the stall owners!) okay, enough insulting the science canteen. on with the story!
so, it was Eli's birthday (did i mention that?) and we 'sprung' a surprise on her by almost buying two cakes for her. the plan was this: we get Eli seated at the restaurant, after which some of us make our excuses and leave the table. i think it must have been strange coz all of a sudden more than half of lakota wanted to go to the toilet or draw money. then there was a miscommunication and the group split into two groups which almost bought two cakes.
fortunately glen had the good sense of making a well-timed phone call to prevent the catastrophe.
yay! though i didn't think we managed to keep it a surprise, i think eveything turned out well in the end. everyone (almost eveyone? i didn't keep track of who ate and who didn't) left the restaurant full of cake and with their stomachs bursting. (Note: this is a highly biased account of what happened coz i happened to be sitting next to weilun who kept complaining of his stomach bursting. no offence to weilun)
and, (again following og tradition), lakota went for a movie outing. this time watching the very cool movie SU2. i call it very cool coz its all about hip hop and the dance moves don't stop even after the credits come in. I didn't really think much of the movie at first. coz i thought the plot was a bit unrealistic. but after much thinking i felt that if u ignored the plot the dance moves alone made the movie worth the ticket price. and i supposed that since the movie's underlying message was to follow your dream (and perhaps be a bit of a rebel), then it can't really be that bad a movie after all...
[SU2= step up 2]
nothing much happened after that. we wandered around for quite a bit. then people started leaving. then some people (me included) sort of stuck around a bit. i can't remember what our conversation was like, but i think it wasn't important. finally, at around 6+, i left.
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