Going Green!

I just got my green!

Now just to keep up and continue contributing as a member of the awesome forum, without which I would certainly not be where I am today.

In other news…

I was rather surprised when KK called me yesterday evening to inform me I had gotten the job, especially after the recent debacle regarding the overdosing of two cancer patients, one given 24 times the stipulated amount of 5-fluorouracil. Either ways, I’m still slightly conflicted as to whether to accept this job, since I would only be there for 10 days before flying to Melbourne to settle my housing problem. I anticipate they would spend a good 3 days training me, another 2 days for me to settle down to routine, leaving just 5 days of me working before I quit and they have to hire and train someone else. From an administrative point of view, it doesn’t quite hold up. But they seem to be in a dire need of staff, and my conscience doesn’t feel too happy just leaving them in the lurch.

On the med school front, I had my medical checkup a couple of days ago. Got my xrays and blood test taken at Paragon’s Point Medical Centre and Radlink, both recommended by the Australian embassy for student visa purposes.

Note for Singaporeans: You need to bring your PASSPORT. IC won’t do. =\ I had to drive home to get my passport! Epic waste of time.

The doctor was pleasant enough, chatting about how his sons were both doctors now, and asking if my dad was a doctor as well, then proceeding to stab me with a needle. Curious isn’t it, how so many people ask if my dad is a doctor? Does it really matter? Some argue that lots of kids in medical school are the offspring of physicians, but there is an equal and unrepresented number of non-physician families in medical schools as well.

Anyway, all the test results came back negative. I’m one step closer to medical school again.

Still waiting on the info pack from Monash. It’s unnerving how long they take to send the info packs to international students. The only reason why I feel one step ahead of the other international students is thanks to updates from the local students on the forums. I.e., knowing the start of school is on the 27th of January and not the 1st of March as the offer letter states. Knowing about FOBS day before Monash sends the letter. Knowing about immunization and police checks and first aid courses. If I didn’t have my additional info source, I would be booking my flight for mid February, not have tickets to Melbourne in December, not be prepared for immunization or police checks, and would not be booking first aid courses now.

I hope they send out the info pack soon. There are 9 other internationals out there who might have no idea what’s happening.

10 months

I know this was meant to be up yesterday, but time was not on my side…

Happy 10th month, baby.

Here’s a dancey song for you!

lols

A SHORT HISTORY OF MEDICINE: “Doctor, I have an ear ache.”
2000 B.C. – “Here, eat this root.”
1000 B.C. – “That root is heathen, say this prayer.”
1850 A.D. – “That prayer is superstition, drink this potion.”
1940 A.D. – “That potion is snake oil, swallow this pill.”
1985 A.D. – “That pill is ineffective, take this antibiotic.”
2000 A.D. – “That antibiotic is artificial. Here, eat this root!”

———

When a panel of doctors was asked to vote on adding
a new wing to their hospital, the Allergists voted
to scratch it and the Dermatologists advised not to
make any rash moves.

The Gastroenterologists had sort of a gut feeling
about it, but the Neurologists thought the
administration had a lot of nerve, and the
Obstetricians felt they were all laboring under a
misconception.

The Ophthalmologists considered the idea
shortsighted; the Pathologists yelled, ‘Over my dead
body’, while the Pediatricians said, ‘Oh, Grow up!’

The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was
madness, the Radiologists could see right through
it, and the Surgeons decided to wash their hands of
the whole thing.

The Internists thought it was a bitter pill to
swallow, and the Plastic Surgeons said, ‘This puts a
whole new face on the matter.’

The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but
the Urologists felt the scheme wouldn’t hold water.

The Anesthesiologists thought the whole idea was a
gas and the Cardiologists didn’t have the heart to
say no.

In the end, the Proctologists left the decision up to some pain in the “you know what” in administration

———–

Three blondes are walking through the forest. They come upon some tracks.

The first blonde says, “They’re deer tracks.”
The second blonde says, “They’re bear tracks.”
The third blonde says, “They’re moose tracks.”

Then a train hits them.

I wish I had two brains

2 sets of eyes, 4 ears, and two right hands.

And of course, a whole stack of notepaper.

After inquiring a bit on the forums about what I would need to prepare myself for Year A of med school, the one answer that came out resoundingly was Anatomy. Now, I don’t know much about anatomy aside from what I picked up right till high school, and certainly do not profess having an in depth knowledge about the subject at all.

So I do what I’ve been doing for the past couple of weeks. Watch documentaries.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9WtBRNydso&feature=PlayList&p=9A701D54E8896D0E&index=0&playnext=1

Youtube is host to an awesome playlist of lectures on General Human Anatomy from UC Berkeley. Having watched the first lecture, I can safely say I share the same enthusiasm as the professor about anatomy, and I’m simply itching to learn more. I have 3 months to shovel down as much of this as I can before starting school. Helps a lot that the professor is not only very clear and concise about her information, but also rather entertaining.

I’m contemplating buying some anatomy books before I begin school. They might serve to be helpful through the course of my study, especially if they are really clear and help me memorize the planes of the body easier. Time to head down to Kino soon…

This evening, Papa and Mama brought us all out to Taste Paradise at Mosque Street for dinner as a mini celebration of my getting accepted into medical school. Though dad is still a bit hesitant to celebrate, thinking that at any moment, Monash would withdraw its offer. Mom on the other hand is really excited too. =) It’s great seeing her so happy. I feel like this time, I’ve done them proud.

Lulu bought me my first stethoscope! =) the Littmann Cardiology III that I had been eying. I’ll do a proper post later on about this choice and how I came to this decision having compared the Classic and the Cardiology. Right now, it’s getting a tad late. Sleep, then tomorrow, back to studying!

Paths of Morality

It’s Ducky in a tie! =D

Anyway, that wasn’t the main point of my post.

This is.

Yes. You’re not seeing things. It really is $1 per litre of 98 and 95 grade petrol. Most people in Singapore would know that over the last weekend, Shell launched an 8 hour long campaign island wide that slashed prices of petrol to sinfully low prices. Naturally, the cars started queuing and causing jams that littered the entire country. We originally weren’t planning to join the madness, but having had lunch at Jurong Point, we slipped into the back of the queue for the Shell station opposite the Jurong Police Station. It wasn’t so bad, really. Took us about 20 minutes to reach the front of the queue and top up a good 70 litres for the Cayenne.

Emboldened, we took the other 2 cars out (BMW and Mini) to the Shell station just outside my place. But that was when horror began.

Now, as you can see from my crudely drawn diagram, we live really near the Shell station. In fact, by turning right rather than left at the T junction, we would be able to cut at least half the queue. But, seeing how the queue is a rather sizable one, we stuck to our moral compasses and turned left towards the U-turn, joining the back of the queue.

Having been in the queue for a good 30 minutes, we finally reached the T junction. Judging by the speed at which the queue was moving, it can be assumed that no one was jumping the line at the T junction (or the cars in the front simply clogged up the T junction’s leftmost lane, making it impassable to queue jumpers. We were all up in solidarity, together squeezing out any would-be-immoral queue jumpers.

However, upon reaching the T junction, I was stuck, miserably, just behind the stop line of the traffic light. The cars in front moved a lil, making a slight gap between our car, and long’s car which was ahead of us.

AND THEN!!!!

Two assholes jumped the queue right in the slight lil gap between our cars.

This gap slowly widened to fit one car, in which they both shoved the noses of their Jaguar and Audi, blocking off both lanes for the road.

Shell had gotten Cisco police people walking around to prevent any rioting and investigate what the fuck was going on. The Audi guy gestured he was going into the Pet Store. We figured, alright then. He can’t help cutting in, since you can only turn into the pet store from that lane.

But he didn’t go into the pet store!

The lying cheat just straightened out his car as soon as he could and joined the queue to Shell.

=.=

The Jaguar didn’t even bother. Just bulldozed her way through.

So our queue was cut by the two who chose the Path of Social Gracelessness.

It was a sad moment in Singapore.

Car horns wailed in protest through the air. Fingers and words of frustration waved at the two perpetrators from all across the line. Protests fell on deaf ears. Even the Cisco police people couldn’t do anything about these people who had dissented from the social order of the Singaporean Queue.

It was all a form of cruel irony that we found out shortly after that they had run out of stock for formula 98, causing most of the cars to leave the queue after anyway. We had queued for 45 minutes, essentially for nothing.

The Wait begins

Monash began calling their successful applicants about 3 hours and 15 minutes ago.

Now the wait for the one email begins.

The suspense is so horrid I feel completely dysfunctional.

Yes or No I just wish they would tell me now!

Going going gone

It’s going.

All of it.

I cleared out more than half of everything in my wardrobe, extracting from its dusty depths huge armfuls of clothing. Tomorrow, they’ll be off to the salvation army and/or some tailors so they can sell the material for some extra cash.

If this doesnt say “I love you more than anything so I’m tossing out all the clothes I love wearing for clothes you love me wearing”, I don’t know what does.

The dust is starting to irritate my nose.. =\

It’s only one more day till Monday, marking the start of the Monash results week. Somewhere deep in my heart, I already know the answer for me is a “no”. I wonder what fate has in store for me, twisting and spinning me round like a fluffy plaything.

Mystery abound!

Mid through yesterday, I developed a fever and a rather incessant nosebleed that have both gone right through the night and continue to plague me today (accosted with a newly developed cough).

My point?

I’m stuck home today.

Not that I don’t enjoy being at home. I just figured I could have gotten more done over the past couple of days instead of lying in a feverish heap on various beds of the upper floors of my home, with a juice box of barley and a digital thermometer by my side.

Doctor says my trip in Australia exposed me to low humidity, leading to the cracking of the skin in my nostrils, exposing my blood vessels (which in my nose tend to run really near the surface of the skin). The fever was but a result of the nosebleeds.

=\

Didn’t explain why I only get nosebleeds when I’m back in the higher humidity of Singapore. Or why I’m developing a cough. Or why the fever won’t abate even when my nosebleeds stopped yesterday.

Either ways, I was pottering about my house looking for some apple juice to fill my juice box with. Only to find that my house is full of mini bar fridges that are neither occupied, nor even plugged in. They’re actually being used as ornament display tables of sorts.

Curiouser and curiouser…

Smile

You´re better then the best
I´m lucky just to linger in your light
Cooler then the flip side of my pillow that´s right
Completely unaware
Nothing can compare to where you send me
Lets me know that it´s ok yeah it´s ok
And the moments where my good times start to fade

You make me smile like the sun
Fall out of bed sing like bird
Dizzy in my head spin like a record
Crazy on a Sunday night
You make me dance like a fool
Forget how to breathe
Shine like gold buzz like a bee
Just the thought of you can drive me wild
Ohh you make me smile

Even when you´re gone
Somehow you come along
Just like a flower poking the sidewalk crack and just like that
You steal away the rain and just like that

You make me smile like the sun
Fall out of bed sing like bird
Dizzy in my head spin like a record
Crazy on a Sunday night
You make me dance like a fool
Forget how to breathe
Shine like gold buzz like a bee
Just the thought of you can drive me wild
Ohh you make me smile

Don´t know how I lived without you
Cuz everytime that I get around you
I see the best of me inside your eyes
You make me smile
You make me dance like a fool
Forget how to breathe
Shine like gold buzz like a bee
Just the thought of you can drive me wild

You make me smile like the sun
Fall out of bed sing like bird
Dizzy in my head spin like a record
Crazy on a Sunday night
You make me dance like a fool
Forget how to breathe
Shine like gold buzz like a bee
Just the thought of you can drive me wild
Ohh you make me smile

I can almost see it
That dream I’m dreaming but
There’s a voice inside my head sayin,
You’ll never reach it,
Every step I’m taking,
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking but I
I gotta keep trying
Gotta keep my head held high

There’s always gonna be another mountain
I’m always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an up-hill battle
Sometimes I’m gonna have to lose
Ain’t about how fast I get there
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side
It’s the climb

The struggles I’m facing
The chances I’m taking
Sometimes might knock me down but
No I’m not breaking
*I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I’m gonna remember most yeah
Just gotta keep going
And I, I gotta be strong
Just keep pushing on
Cause…

There’s always gonna be another mountain
I’m always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an up-hill battle
Sometimes I’m gonna have to lose
Ain’t about how fast I get there
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side
It’s the climb

There’s always gonna be another mountain
I’m always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an up-hill battle
Sometimes I’m gonna have to lose
Ain’t about how fast I get there
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side
It’s the climb

Keep on moving
Keep climbing
Keep the faith baby
It’s all about
It’s all about
The climb
Keep the faith
Keep your faith