I did it!

It has been a while

I ran the half marathon...twice!

Updates

For the few who still read my rarely-updated blog

I'm still running. *pat on the back*
Trying to run at least 3x per week, not bad for someone who hated running in school.

I've graduated from walk-jog to jogging all the way, albeit really slowly.

Can't wait for my nike+fit and ipod to arrive....

I Will Join The Army Half Marathon in August 2009

There. I've said it. Now I have to do it.

Decided to run last night during my call. The reason: I need to be fit. I need to lose weight.

The real reason? I am NOT pregnant!!!
Was asked by 2 different patients in the same week whether I was pregnant. To be fair, I was in my scrubs with lots of things in my pocket i.e. 2 phones, 1 purse, call card and name tag, 2 pens, 1 notebook. Was standing up and was scratching my back. Guess it was itchy, can't remember. The 2 different patients very nicely asked," Are you expecting too?" OMG!! Almost wanted to say yes to the second patient to prevent the embarrassment but if the nurses heard me, then people would really think that i am pregnant. NO. I AM NOT PREGNANT. JUST FAT.

Lucky for me, my cousin is extremely pro-running. He gave me a very inspirational email about running and I ran for the first time today. Ok. Not run. But walk-jog.

4 kilometres.

Yeah!

what a wonderful day

Brunch at Halia with J

Too hungry to pause for photos with the food. Nice but rather small portions.

Artistic photo number 1

Lunch and games at Joo Chiat Road

Joe found a cool art cafe, artoholic, 3 doors beside my grandmother's house. Although we moved out a long time ago, the memories still ran deep. We talked about how we woke up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee, finding money underneath the flooring and running to 7-11 just before tv shows to buy snacks. Weekly trips to parkway, scary dogs in the backyard...so precious....

Games and whisky at Joo Chiat

Dinner at Marmalade Pantry with SWYK

Dinner with the gals to celebrate yw's birthday. Food was alright, sticky date pudding was gorgeous as usual. Everybody still looks the same except kat's hair is shorter, yw's eyes are darker, wendy's hair is longer and I'm fatter.

reminiscence

Dinner at rakuzen with cardio and J

Starters

Look at the food on our table!

Food was good, company was better

view from above

and finally...

Special shout out to Ben. Gorgeous photos as always.

Shuling Feasts

Haven't been baking since I started work. Decided to put on my apron and display my culinary skills again. Inspired by the numerous blogs and tv shows of course


Chocolate Biscuits with Soft Chocolate Centers

According to the cookbook, if you eat these when they have just been cooked the chocolate is quite runny, and if you eat them cold they are nice and gooey. hmmmm, didn't turn out the way they described. Cookie was nice, but chocolate didn't melt. Still delicious though.



Close up, can you see the chocolate sticking out?




Ta-da!



Banana and Honey Bread
Waiting for the yeast to work. Rise bread, rise!

MMmmmm...

Inside My Pretty-Little (sometimes psychotic) Head

Day 1 (thursday): **#$^%&Q^*&^*! Ouch! Can't wear my heels today. Why does it hurt so bad?

Doctor doctor, patient collapsed at bed 10.
WHAT? It's the other end of the ward! Quick go first, i'll join you when i can. Limp, hobble, tried to run, reached bed 10 finally....fast af? Cardiovert? Ok. Sedate! Shock! uh oh, more sedation! Shock again! Foot, what pain?

Nice physio: Think your toe is loose. ?Dislocation ?Fracture
Xray done: Confirmed fracture, wasn't it supposed to just a contusion??!!
Palpitations, do I need a cast? Operation? How about all my pretty heels? How to work?

Patient in clinic, doctor get well soon. Thanks dear uncle, you too.

Day 2 (Friday): Should I go to work today? Foot touched the floor for the first time today. AAAAARGH! Hello enn, sorry i broke my foot. can't go to work today
1 min later: SMS from work. Shuling is on mc today. Broken toe

time to keep the heels in the boxes.

Day 3 (Saturday): Pain is getting better. Crutches suck! So tiring and embarrassing. Stop staring at me! Yes i know i look funny with one shoe but i broke my foot! Need to go to his house, sigh, please please don't laugh at me.

Why are the heels still there? Tess!

Day 4 (Sunday): Hmm...there is no pain if i don't move. Not bad. Should i go to work tomorrow? Getting faster with the crutches. His dad: Remember to on all the lights *wink* AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGHHhhhh.

Day 5 (Monday): rise and shine! back to work today! "Do you need a wheelchair?" "Can i help you" nice nurses i met downstairs. Nope, thanks, i can manage. Left foot starting to cramp...it's ok. We're near the ward.

Stared at the entrance to the ward for 5 sec, should i go in? Please don't laugh at me. Everybody will see you anyway...here goes nothing....

"Why're you here?" "Can hear your crutches from miles away?" "Better stay at home if you want your bone to heal." Yes, why did I go to work? I'm too tired from all the travelling, can't round anyway.

Clinic: Who's this? Why are you going to the room? We didn't call your number!
I'm running the clinic today lah. I'm the doctor, not the patient. Yup, me, the bai kah me. Not dr ashok today.

Why are my toes swollen? Like those aunties with heart failure. uh oh, checked my calves for the 10th time today.

Day 6 (tuesday): MC today...check mail, check facebook, read blogs, check facebook again. Tick tock tick tock

Day 7 (Wednesday): MC again. Nice to wake up late. what shall i do today? Check mail, check facebook, maybe i should update my blog...

TCU is tomorrow. Hope they won't cast my foot. *cross my fingers and toes* (left toes of course)

YAWN

it has been quite a while.

thought i should start blogging again since i have so much free time these days. Well if you didn't already know (roll your eyes), i broke my foot.


Specifically my right fifth metatarsal.

Can you see it? It's the longest bone in the foot, on the extreme right bone. Can you see the minor irregularity? Yup. That is a fracture. Or, broken bone.

Ouch

I'm resting at home, bored to tears, checking my facebook account 3 times a day (maybe more), yup. I'm quite bored.


Words of wisdom. Do not run down the stairs. On the lights. Even if you're at home, you can miss steps. Drink milk everyday. Start taking calcium tablets.

atypical chest pain

haven't had a decent buffet in a LONG time. can't even remember when was my last. anhedonia. anyhow...

went for a great buffet at plaza park royal today. it was good. trust me. Haven't had such a big meal in a while. started having epigastric pain after the second round. But i still continued eating, i mean, it's a buffet HELLO! Then started to have chest pain, constant, tight sensation, central no radiation.

Now i remember why i haven't been eating that many buffets recently. it's painful. Pain score of 3/10. Almost.

CK, CKMB, Trop T and ECG x3!
Amylase
LFT
FBC
U/E/Cr

NBM
KIV gastric banding.

You Will Die at Age 70

You're pretty average when it comes to how you live... And how you'll die as well.

What Age Will You Die?

payday

sometimes you're 100%.
sometimes 0%.
No matter what.

Big juicy vein?

Blue plug?

No problem.


Welcome to the real world.

Lalala

No. of days of work: 7
No. of lunch: 3

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to those who are unbridled, untrammeled, and free. In love, you feel the most alive when your lover is creative and never lets you feel bored. You'd like to your lover to think you are loyal and faithful... that you'll never change. You would be forced to break up with someone who was insecure and in constant need of reassurance. Your ideal relationship is lasting. You want a relationship that looks to the future... one you can grow with. Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment. You think of marriage something you've always wanted... though you haven't really thought about it. In this moment, you think of love as something you thirst for. You'll do anything for love, but you won't fall for it easily.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

I cried

I cried! Actually cried!

I'm the type that will not shed a tear when I watch movie. Will laugh when everybody is sniffing away. Won't cry when I read a touching book. But I actually cried!

Can't believe it. Been hearing lots of talk about people crying but I always thought I wouldn't be one of those. Didn't think it was that bad until I felt unappreciated. Then everything just flowed. Had to sit down and cry. Think I scared everybody.

Better not cry again.

what's your worst holiday?

Sundaytimes has a frequent flyer section where they'll feature a person each week to talk about their best and worst experience. The guy they featured yesterday talked about his experience at this very famous brand at Champs-Elysees, Paris. He had the exact same experience as me! The brand is regarded as a status symbol around the world, with branches world-wide including Singapore, but yet, in the city the brand originated from, I got nothing but lousy service that cannot be compared to the man selling baguette by the roadside.

"We were waiting for someone to attend to us for 25 minutes when a guy walked in and got attended to immediately." Yup, HELLO! I'm here. Been here for very long!! But here is this guy with a nice suit and you run to him with your tongue sticking out and he didn't even buy anything! "I went to the supervisor and asked him politely what the deal was, and his excuse was that he didn't see us." Couldn't even find any supervisor that I could complain to. Had to ask the security person there. If I didn't make myself seen or heard, I'll probably be still standing there right this moment and waiting for the people with their nose in the air to accidentally bump into me before they realize that I'm in the shop. The most horrid part was they didn't even prepare the tax rebate form properly after I spent a bomb in that shop. Wasted my time at the airport. I'll never ever buy anything from this terrible brand again.

I really like Paris, everything was great except for this stupid incident. And it's the last thing i did in Paris somemore. And nope, this trip is not my worst holiday. My worst holiday was to a nearby island, nothing on that tiny island except the resort. The pool looked great in the photo but it turned out to be as big as the bathtub in the toilet. Wanted to post some photos but I think I lost the cd containing the photos. It's somewhere but my house is still messy from all the mbbs studying. No time and no mood to pack. The bag that I brought for my clinical exams is still where I left it on my last exam day. Tendon tapper and everthing still inside. What is wrong with me??!!

Going to start work soon. The night duty list came out today. Quite strange to see my name there. Feeling excited, yet nervous and terrified, depressed yet happy at the same time.

Clinical exam number 1

I'm on a super high right now. I feel like jumping on a trampoline. Think I drank too much coffee and I'm kind of addicted to coke now. Anyway more about my first clinical exam.

was super nervous right before my exam. My heart was pounding since I woke up but when I saw the examiner, I suddenly became really calm. Don't know who my examiners were but one of them looked really familiar. He started chatting with me as I walked towards my first case. Kind of reminded me of my driving exam, the examiner was talking to me the entire time until I thought he forgot to test me. Anyway, since I passed my driving test, I should be able to pass this clinical right? He asked me what long case I was getting. Paeds long. so do you like paeds long or short? I'm happy with what I got. So you are one of those who want to do paediatrics? No sir. I'm not intending of doing paeds. Then why do you prefer paeds? I wanted to say because there are fewer types of long cases for paeds and it's easier to spot what will come out and I get a break between my med short and surgery exam. But I didn't because it would sound like I'm a slacker. So I said, I like paeds because I enjoy being around children as they are cute.

yup. Children are really cute but THAT'S NOT WHY YOU WANT TO DO PAEDS LONG!!! I sounded like a BIMBO!!!!!! And this all happened before I even saw my first patient. Anyway my first case was a woman was a massive hepatomegaly and a curious mass in the left iliac fossa. I happily said that I think it's a colorectal cancer and metastases to the liver. After lots of digging, I finally said polycystic kidney disease with polycystic liver. And then the examiner said, can the diagnosis be polycystic liver disease when there is such a huge hepatomegaly? So, the clever little me said, yes because massive cystic hepatomegaly can occur especially in women and it is not common in man. (the patient was a woman btw) And the examiner eyes nearly popped out, are you sure?? Yes, sir, I'm sure. I read it in the book.

Ok then I went onto the next case. And IN THE MIDDLE of my examination of the cranial nerves, the same examiner asked me, where did you read the polycystic liver information from? Baliga, sir. 250 cases in clinical medicine. And he actually copied down the book name!!!! I almost fainted on the spot. Then after my exam, I couldn't find a single person who heard of this fact. But I really read it and I can prove it!!

Page 323 of Baliga.
Unlike renal cyst formation, liver cysts seem to be influenced by female hormones. Whilst men and women have the same frequecy of liver cysts, massive liver cysts are almost exclusively found in women. Mr Baliga, you better be correct because only you seem to know about this fact.

My examiners were really nice. Can't complain much, but they should be looking at me examine the cranial nerves and not thinking about what I said in the previous case!! Second case was ok, screwed up my third case though. it was a massive pleural effusion but I said it was consolidation. Whatever.

my pre-auricular sinus is infected. Because I'm super neurotic and I keep squeezing the sebum with my dirty fingers whenever I study so it got infected. I don't know what are the complications, but judging by it's location, I might get otitis media and become deaf. Or get meningitis/ brain abscess and become stupid (not that I'm smart now), or just get disseminated sepsis and die. Whatever.

my Funky cg12

the theory papers have finally ended. It has been a long 5 years. was just looking through my old photos of med school and feeling a little nostalgic. anything to get away from studying...some of my favourite photos



This was our christmas-theme 2004 Christmas party at wendy's house. It was one of our funnest party! We had loads of fun dressing up and everybody really put in a lot of effort.



then somebody had this great idea of us going around to sing Christmas carols. So we all went downstairs in our outrageous costumes and sang to people on their way home. I think many of them thought we were crazy, but it was extremely fun. This photo, although a little blur, shows pinakin the shepherd trying to conduct the group which included 2 other shepherds, a fairy, a gingerbread man, a reindeer, 2 santarinas and I think the last one is a Christmas tree.



This is a rare photo of my entire cg. There'll always be somebody missing in our photos. We all dressed up red-carpet-ready for my glitz and glamour party at the hard rock cafe for my 23rd birthday. It's nice to see everybody all dressed up. Actually, we all look so good everyday! =)


This is wendy's ethnic birthday party. I was the Cheena-girl and wendy was the ethnic girl. I can't remember what the others wore but I think we were the two best-dressed AGAIN.




Charlie's angels at von's retro birthday party. I was quite embarrassed by my outfit cos it was really quite retro. Bought the dress when i was in secondary school and it was perfect for the party!



Wayne (i think) photoshopped this photo. Hilarious!

This is a special note to pinakin. THANK YOU FOR STARTING MY CAR FOR ME THE OTHER DAY. WITHOUT YOUR HELP, I WOULD HAVE JUST SAT AT THE CARPARK AND CRIED. THANK YOU VERY MUCH! and thanks to nathan and kok pin for offering to push-start my car.

The highlight of my med school was the trip to India. Didn't think it was going to be fun initially, but i really enjoyed myself. This is the whole group at some park.





Goa. Who can forget goa? I always wanted to try parasailing and I finally got the chance. It was superbly fun but it ended way too soon.


There are so many photos that i like, i can't decide which to put up. But this has to be my favourite photo of all. It captured the essence of India to the core! Although I will NEVER EVER travel in the general cabin again, it's quite an experience. But once is definitely enough.

Med school is coming to an end...in 10 days time. I can't believe it. Been striving to get into med school all my life. Ok maybe not my whole life, but since i was in secondary 2 when i chose to do triple science. Seriously. My goal when i was a mere 14 year old was to get into med school. Hopefully i will pass. I'm sure the rest of my cg will pass because they're all so smart and hardworking. They won't just pass, they'll definitely do very well. Wonder what working life will bring for all of us, which posting we'll do, which specialty we end up eventually. But one thing I know, we'll remain in contact always. Hehe. Sounds corny but it's true. Heck! We're almost like family!

my brain is LEAKY!

I've finally concluded. I HAVE A LEAKY BRAIN! it just doesn't allow me to store anymore information. For every word i read, a whole paragraph of words will leak out! I'm having muscle ache from all the heavy books that i bring in and out, up and down from the shelves. I have infiltrated my entire house. There is not a place without a book or a fly-away note.

I'm afraid yet i'm doing everything except study! Got time to book air tickets, surf the net, watch the oscars (Dolly Parton's waist is sooooooooo tiny!! It's about the size of my one thigh!), and even blog! And i think my alarm clock is running out of battery. Hope it'll ring tomorrow. And my tire has a nail in it!! Somebody drove over a nail right before my exam!! If my tire punctures tomorrow, i'm going to murder somebody!


The lucky thing is, my registration number for the exam is 88. It means lucky right? yup, lots of luck to me! and everybody else taking the exam tm!

my johari window

saw this on pinvinbin's blog. Kind of interesting. Help me choose some adjectives that describes me. Just click on the link below!

ling's Johari window

My heart is red

You're a passionate lover - you always have a huge fire in your heart.

Too bad it's hard for you to be passionate about just one person!



Your flirting style: Outgoing and sexy



Your lucky first date: Drinks and dancing



Your dream lover: Is both stable and intense



What you bring to relationships: Honesty

What Color Heart Do You Have?

medicine end of posting test

it was a strange test. Strange but good. i thought i was prepared, i had a fundoscope (even though i don't know how to use it), orange stick, Snellen's chart, even a clipboard for my paper. But guess what! I wasn't so prepared after all. I forgot to bring my stethoscope! I left it in my bag at another ward and just when the doctor was about to introduce me to the patient, my heart almost stopped cos i realised my stethoscope wasn't with me! Super sian. Had to run down to get it and run up again. By that time, i was sweating like hell.

My first case was this gentleman on telemetry (some heart monitoring thing). He kept talking about how his stools has blood and everything and i was trying to time his pulse, look at jvp, palpate, auscultate blah blah blah. After examining, the doctor asked me, " what is your diagnosis?" i was stunned man. I thought she'd say something like present your findings, or tell me the important signs. People always tell you to be prepared for any kind of questions, but when it actually happens, it's not so easy to react. I told her my diagnosis was mitral regurgitation (which was correct cos i went back to check the file) and aortic stenosis (my auditory hallucination). Hehe. I think she got a shock when she heard that one.

My second case was quite hard to find. We had to go to many wards to look for patients because they were either discharged or too tired because many students have examined them. I ended up with a patient with rheumatoid arthritis. I was quite happy because we had a good tutorial on RA just a few days ago. But as i was examining, the room became extrememly hot and stuffy. I knew i looked very funny because i was trying so hard to look and sound intelligent but i was sweating like a horse. Not very glamourous at all.

Then just as i was preparing myself for the long case, she told me ok. that's all for today. What?! I mean, YEAH! i don't have to clerk anybody and sweat somemore. I think i did ok. The cases weren't that hard. However forgetting my stethoscope was a big boo boo. My examiner is a cardiologist some more. I knew i would get a cardio case. Didn't touch any of my other equipment at all.

now i'm waiting for kok pin to finish his test. He got the same examiner as me but i think he has to do long and short cases cos he started with long case. If final mbbs is going to be like this, i think it's not that bad. Cross my fingers, toes, eyes and everything that can be crossed!!