I didnt think clinicals would be so fun but it has been so far. Watching OTs, attending tutorials, talking to the people admitted to the hospital that we call patients makes medicine come alive, all of a sudden. Having friendly fun loving doctors as your mentors was what really made the experience even more enjoyable. Add nice cg mates into the mix, and csfc feels like a great learning experience.
Ok, to be more realistic it's only the first week, but I'm already very happy that everything's gone well so far. There are bound to be unpleasantries one day, just as there are bound to be nice people we meet. So what the heck, I'll take things as they come.
That's not to say that everything's been a piece of cake, I mean the amount of revision that needs doing is well.. quite a lot. Which contradicts the advice from one of the nice HOs: "trust me, the best advice anyone will ever give you is to pursue your other interests in csfc"
well... better mug but not mug too much.
what I've learnt so far: knee examination, neck examination and lots of other random stuff

I never thought 3 weeks would pass so fast, but they did. I'm quite surprised at how my perception of time changes.
During some parts of the 3 weeks study break I was like: "why is time passing so slowly, I really want exams to end and have time to do whatever I want".
During the days of the exams I was thinking: "why can't I have more time! I can't finish studying!!" After the exams I'm like: "wow, that was fast! M2 is over!!"
And now I can feel the post exam break drifting away in the wind.

Sometimes I wonder the wisdom of staying at home to study for 2 weeks coz it sometimes is soo boring (sian)!! I feel like going to school sometimes to see some people (other than my family at home, which are nice people but even I need to socialize sometimes)
But I'm really too lazy to take the bus, then the train then the bus to school, then make the same journey home again in the evening. Argh.

I think of really redundant (boliao) matters in between readings. Like, sometimes I wonder how other people study. I really get a headache reading notes that I've gone through a few times before, so I break the monotony sometimes by

a) typing out notes on the computer,
b) drawing mindmaps (useful for notes for which I don't get after reading)
c) drawing (seriously, drawing helps to consolidate information. just try drawing out our immunology notes (= )
d) reading a textbook which I havent read before, which sometimes gives me an interesting perspective on things. Then I wonder why I'm spending so much time reading things that I might be able to cover faster by going through notes, half of which I forget in the half the time I spent reading.

By far, drawing out stuff and making notes seem to be the most efficient means of studying for me, but they are also especially draining. And I'm surprised at the amount of time I need to spend drawing, sometimes I wish I weren't so concerned about squeezing everything into a tiny sheet of paper.

As for why I'm blogging, I have a slight headache that makes thinking a chore. ouch. (that means I wasnt thinking when I wrote this. lol)

Good luck to everyone who's reading this who is having exams on the 30 (neuroscience) and 31 (microbiology)!

PS: I am shocked at the amount I have left. University exams make like A level biology look like chicken feet, relatively.

Marley, Gordon and Me

I feel obliged to comment on the movie coz I have a golden retriever named Gordon who is 8 years old. The movie is everything on a dog movie lover's wish-list: it's funny in the beginning, and very of emo at the end. Really very sad ending. Though I think its how they filmed it, I've no idea how people can love a dog that is that destructive soo much. But its true when they say that dogs don't care about your social status, as long as u care for them they'll care for u back. Maybe that's why dogs are man's best friend.

Come to think of it, Gordon does do funny things, though he is no where as extreme as the title character of Marley and me. He barks nearly exactly at 530pm each day, when its about time for his daily walk. (Haven't been walking him recently coz of exams... hmmm...) And sometimes after the family returns home from a meal, he'll start licking his doggy plate (which is already empty). My mom hypothesizes that he's trying to ignore us. But that doesn't make sense because after we enter the house, he starts barking again. Maybe he needs more food?

Gordon craves for fun like any other dog, and if he doesn't get it he'll look for ways to do so. One of his favorite routines the moment I remove my shoes and take off my socks is to bite off the socks and run away, looking back to see if we give chase. I've thus far learn't to throw my socks straight from my feet into the clothes basket where he can't reach them. Though if he gets frustrated enough he'll target shoes instead...

Time to play!