This time tomorrow!

This time tomorrow I’ll be sulking and mourning my way back to Melbourne…

The thought of leaving home just made me feels so lethargic and malaise! As though I’ve caught this mebournitis! Feel come-what unwell now, sick maybe… Not as energetic as I was anymore, and certainly less vocal & loud (which is something unusual)… but the cause is definitely not pathological…

But yah, from busy schedule to mountain-high studies, irritating flies & weather to winter, homesick to fav-food-deprivation mood… All these familiar voices are calling me back, & trust me it is not “calling me softly with a song”…

But one thing I’m certain, that I’ve fallen in love with KL tremendously, that I love my family & church unfailingly, my tolerance for lousy Malaysian surface increases & I still overcome KL’s “erratic” weather.

I just gotta keep Dec 2008 as my focus!

Exercise Part 2

I am in my I-must-keep-in-shape mood now! With strict diet restriction (er, konon la) and consistent exercise, I'm trying to burn off my tummy that seem to have grown to a significant shape, a shape that I won't go on elaborating.

So, like I promised in my previous post, my exercise routine is not gonna be last. So, today I did my 2nd jog on my treadmill, but this time around I was on for 25mins. Wohoo!!! Progressing!!!

Thinking of my 3rd exercise routine now... Probably should do some crunches later. Did 100 last Sunday, and another time yesterday.. 6 packs are emerging! Another WoHoooo!!!!

Starting point!

Mark today's date everyone!

I woke up early -0730 and had a 15 minutes run on my treadmill!!! FINALLY, did my exercise for the first time since I got back to KL!

Some of you must be thinking - 15 mins is too short, and what a waste of time, but I'm trying to build my stamina again... So, watch out for more updates on my exercise routine! This post is definitely first for 2008, but not the last! :-)

Since I’m back from Melbourne, people kept asking me whether I’ve eaten everything that I’ve been craving for when I was in Melbourne. Some asked me if I’ve devised my must-eat-list and others have asked if I’ve been to this, or that place for meals.

So I thought I should come out with my 2nd must-eat-list again in no particular order:-

1. bak kut teh – in puchong and in pandan indah one. Trust me, the reason why I didn’t add klang in my list because the place is so far away, and the bak kut teh over there is over-rated.
2. nasi lemak in ampang
3. my Mongolian steam boat which my friends love it a lot when I brought them there.
4. beef noodles at jln silang & pandan indah – I had it the other day but I want more!!!
5. yong tau foo which I just had it for lunch but won’t mind another round.
6. mee rebus & rojak stall in ampang
7. my fish ball noodles near jln alor
8. how can I forget chilli’s!!!
9. my penang seafood & asam laksa in tanjung tokong which I’ve yet to fulfill since my first list
10. er, I think I’ll cancel buffet cause my capacity for a meal seem to have shrunk
11. tandoori and naan opposite ampang point and at jln masjid India
12. the funky fruit juice in murni’s
13. beef rendang and more beef rendang that my friend’s mum make, but since my friend ain’t around, I guess, I gotta continue this craving.
14. saisaki buffet (this is an exception) for sashimi & sushi
15. seafood noodle soup at jln alor.
16. hokkien mee at jln imbi
17. had my yee mee soup in ampang but I want more.
18. my grandma’s bake cauliflower with cheese is awesome.
19. mum’s homemade soup
20. steak and more steak! oh yah, since I said I’ll stop at #20, thought I wanna add my Dutch restaurant @ Changkat Bkt Bintang. The pork knuckle is awesome!!!

Ok, I think I better stop at #20 coz if not, I think I’ll take up the entire blog. Nevertheless, just hope that these holidays will be meaningful as I spend my time with my family, church, & friends. Am excited about the Christmas production that church is coming up with and looking forward to trips. Really need a break after 19 weeks of torture in clinical years. Those who have read the list above can start \ inviting me for meals. I won’t mind company and treats.

2nd week in Bendigo

Another week has passed by. Finally, back in my room in International House. Never felt so at home since I got to Melbourne until now. It’s good to be back here with all my friends around.

Never had anything exciting this week. Been very lazy and hardly gone for any morning ward rounds. I attempted IV cannulation (which means you stick a needle in a tube into the vein so that you can infuse any fluid into the vein) on a patient in the presence of an intern, but failed to get it into the vein totally. Patient lost confidence, so I had no second attempt. I tried it on my friend, first on her left hand, and failed. I made my final attempt on the right side, but failed again. I think I’ve bruised her veins in both of her hand badly.

My friend attempted a try on me too and got it through. However, the process was painful and now, my forearm had a blue-black mark… I never thought cannulation was so bad, because when I had it during my admission for dengue fever, it didn’t felt as painful as now. Well, maybe I was too sick to feel the pain. This time, it’s no joke.

Hoping to get to get my cannula in someday next week. Need more patients to try on. Sounds evil, but well, I need to learn. I gotta learn how to take some blood too. Sigh. I missed out on a hemicolectomy(removal of 1/2 of the large intestine) this Wednesday... Hopefully there will be more exciting surgeries next week... :-(

View of Sacred Heart Cathedral outside my room in Bendigo

BAD EXPERIENCE

MARK THIS MOMENT! IT’S TODAY!!!! Never again will I put on contact lenses. Today is my FIRST & LAST!!! I have no idea how so many people including my sister and my mum can survive with such a pain of putting on those 2 small little lenses and at the end of the day, casually take it without any struggle…

Took my sister ½ hr this afternoon to help me put on those lenses. After meeting my best friend, who thought I’ve use lenses for ages, I came home; wanting to take them out cause they are hurting my eyes. My eyes felt itchy and uneasy when the lenses were on, every now and then I sorta rub my eyes (I know I shouldn’t do that but it’s irritating) to relieve the discomfort that my eyes were experiencing.

I asked my mum & sister to help me remove those 2 lenses since they are the expert of contact lenses. Instructions kept firing out of their mouth “Look straight!!” “Look down!!” “Don’t blink!!” “Don’t move your eye ball!!” I was like, these are reflexes. Whenever you touch the eye ball, or my eye lid, your body will send a reflex to cause your eyes to shut as a protective mechanism! I tried every way, putting more solution into my eye, try to blink like gila babi, non stop trying to push my eye lid as far apart as possible… Finally after much struggle, and minutes of torture moments, they came off…

My eyes are now red and swollen… Slightly painful for the consistent trauma in such a short period of time. I told myself, as long as I’m still breathing, I’ll NEVER attempt a second time of using contact lenses. MARK MY WORDS!

Such a torture....

Press On!!!!

You guys must be wondering what’s wrong with me… I just should sitting down, trying my very best to study for my exams on Tuesday. It’s finally here. The exams. EOS 5 again! Stress level should be there, but I never seem to feel it. Maybe it is peace. Maybe I just wanna get it over and done with. Or it might be due to distraction. Whatever it is, I certainly don’t know what my exams emotion is now. Was talking to my friend yesterday, and we both came to conclusion that I am stress somehow because I am not stress for exams. This is bad.

But today, I woke up and the first time (10 am) that came into my mind was “This time next Sunday, I’ll be on the grounds of KUALA LUMPUR, my inheritance that was given to me.” In my mind I was going “YES YES YES YES!!!” The very thing that kept me persevering through my exams despite how dreadful it is is God’s grace & strength, and the picture of my home set as my desktop background. Everyday I go around telling people “I’m going back next week! I’ll be in KL on Sunday the 10th!!” I reckon my friends must be so irritated listening to me chanting these sentences restlessly… I can’t explain how much longing I have for home, for my family, for church & friends… It is just my territory, my inheritance God given unto me; it is the place where I grew up, where I was changed and had my first encounter with God. I was shaped to be what I am today.

I can imagine myself jumping with joy once I step down KLIA, if the authority permits; I’ll just roll all over the ground of KLIA all the way to the entrance… (Just kidding, just wanna emphasize the joy I’m experiencing) I’ll be running towards the entrance embracing my family. I can imagine my dad driving us to one of the usual breakfast stall that I love. In my mind, the picture of a warm bowl of whatever noodles is sitting right in front of me, waiting for me to eat it fully! I then can imagine myself stepping in front of my driveway, walking towards the door while brushing my hand through cars. I’ll be in a tachycardic mood as I step through my living room, trying to capture if there’s any changes or new stuff that my parents bought. I can imagine myself fixing my eyes on the Astro remote control, which I know I miss clicking it everyday. I believe I will joyfully run to my bedroom, throwing my entire haversack on the floor & jump straight to my bed, trying to find the comfort that my bed has always provide me. If my sister is in her room sleeping, I know I will go to her room, trying to disturb her by waking her up like I always do. I can picture her irritated face, trying to push me off and yell at me to get out of her room!!! And after all the moments, I can see myself preparing to go to the 11am service in church in my black Jazz, and as I drive, I’ll be capturing every moment of not needing to walk for at least 20days. As I step through my church entrance I know I’ll be embraced by all the familiar faces that I miss so much. J

All these thoughts are running wild in my mind now… I can’t stop thinking, all I need now is to stay focus, & persevere for another week. Days go by really quickly, but I hope that the 20days in KL will be enough to build another greater level of relationships with people around me.

Til then, I just need to press on!