Updates

I had been wanting to read a few books for some time now and I finally got to do so the past few months.
Despite the proliferation of electronic books, the reading experience seems compromised when I do it on the tablet or smartphone. Call me old fashioned but somehow reading ink on paper feels more authentic compared to the pixels I see while I am typing.

The first book I have to mention is a heavy tome more than 1000 pages in length that has been sitting on my shelf for more than a year. It was bought during a seasonal sales where retailers mark down their prices on an already overpriced product.

Immediately after the sale, I felt rather guilty. I knew it was unrealistic for me to finish reading this monstrosity.
Despite trying valiantly to begin reading, I was thoroughly confused after several attempts, probably due to:
1. The sheer number of characters
2. Each of whom were known by several different name
3. And obviously, a  lack of motivation.

So "War and Peace" was left on my bookshelf until 2 months ago I picked it up and began again right from the beginning.
With the aid of the translators notes I finally managed to make some sense of the plot and eventually I built up sufficient interest in the characters to complete the book.
Nothing I write here will do justice to the book's contents so I shall not attempt to do so.
To put it simply, it is the story about the lives of Russian aristocrats during the turbulent period of invasion of Europe (and eventually Russia) by Napolean.
Tolstoy fleshes out each character so well that their actions seem like the most logical thing in the world given that particular time and place.
They have hopes dreams and aspirations just like you and me, but are "swept away in the events of the novel" as the translators put it.

To someone like myself who has minimal (or shall I say zero) knowledge about the Napoleonic wars it was a real eye opener, and an enjoyable, albeit challenging, read.

"War and Peace" now occupies a prominent space in my bookshelf in the hope I will revisit it again.
Now, if only I could get myself started on my medical reading list...

It's been a long time since I blogged.
Not because there has been a lack of time but probably because my creative juices dried up.
Today my creative juices aren't flowing well but I just need to rant a little.

I am beginning to like my job a bit. It is sometimes boring, occasionally tiring and once in a while, fulfilling. Moreover, it is a welcome change to see outpatients. I even get to treat the occasional patient with chronic disease like the GP down the street.

Satisfied? Not completely. I will need to work in some study time into my routine.
Somebody did say I should not waste this 16 months, and I totally agree.

My love hate relationship

There are days when I wish I didn't have a hand phone.
Days when I was on call and my phone wouldn't stop ringing.
Days when it was after work and people still kept bugging me about stuff.
Days when the sun is shining and I still feel a nagging need to check my phone.
The constant urge to check my phone surely borders on obsessiveness.

Actually, I can probably survive without a hand phone.
After all, 20 years ago this device hardly existed for the mass market.
It's just that nowadays, there is this pressure to be constantly contactable.
It's like being on call 24/7.

I'm not saying that the hand phone is all bad.
I mean I love its convenience - I can start fiddling with it if I run out of conversation topics at a dinner, play games on it during boring bus rides home, catch up with the news, spy on friends on facebook (yeah I do that) and whatsapp random people.
But I'm not sure if it has made me more socially handicapped.
After all, what did people 20 years ago do when they run out of conversation topics at a dinner table?
Turn on the radio?

Maybe there's a technology for every era.
Maybe I truly can't live without my hand phone.

A Guilt Trip

It started innocently enough.
I had found out through the Straits Times that my favourite bookshop had moved.
On its grand re-opening weekend I made my way down (post-call even) to sneak a peek at its new premises.
All was well until I ran into a crowd of eager patrons swarming throughout the bookshop.
I should have turned back and gone home, but my kiasu spirit urged me on.
20 percent off! This weekend only!
I braved the throng of people (some just standing around absorbing the atmosphere) and went back and forth the bookstore searching for a suitable buy.
Would it be Roald Dahl's "Ten Short Stories"? Or Yann Martel's "Life of Pi"? Maybe both!
Two books in hand, I headed for a last look at the medical section.
Ah, look - there's the "Pocket Prescriber"! Only  $42.78 (which means about $34 after discount).
I quickly search the internet for Amazon's price - which turns out to be USD $22.38 ie. SGD $28.79
Price difference notwithstanding, I chucked the 2 fiction books and whipped out my wallet for "Pocket Prescriber".
I can't say I regret the decision. Not yet anyway.
Most of the books I buy end up being half-read. The more interesting ones I finish off in one sitting and chuck  them in one corner.
Medical related ones like "Pocket Prescriber" probably fall into the former. But somehow I feel less guilty buying medical books. And my inner bookaholic is appeased.
Till the next time..