eeveehow, searching for truth

21.1.12

2012-01-21T23:13:00.003+13:00

21.1.12, mirror image of a date?

Today I celebrate my existence in this world for quarter of a century. I've been blessed to witness and appreciate the wonder of life from birth till now. Millions thanks to my dearest parents who brought me here.

It's a relaxing and sunny weekend. I got to sleep in. Spent some time with my loved ones. Chocolate apricot torte as birthday cake. Amazing presents. I couldn't ask for more.

Recently I'm addicted to a song by Six60 entitled 'Only To Be', the chorus goes like this:

Yeah yea, I'll live just turning pages

Yeah, well I know it's worth the ride

Ain't it good to be alive?

I Want CNY!

2012-01-15T09:21:00.001+13:00

I really miss Chinese New Year, sob...

Farewell 2011

2011-12-31T23:19:00.006+13:00

2011, what a year!

Have I become a better person over this year? Hmmm.. I don't know. But I'm pretty sure I've gained heaps from all the things that I've been through. Regardless of the nature of all the outcomes, I believe everything happens for a reason and there's always something good masquerading at the side.

2011, it's a very challenging year. Stresses were clouding most of my time and occasionally causing some unnecessary emotional outburst. I sincerely apologize to all my beloved friends and family whom I may have victimized.

Another year has gone, have I grown more mature? Hmmm... You be the judge. There were so many things happened this year. Highs and lows, I could barely remember all the details. Good times and bad times, I wish only good memories would stay on.

2011, how shall I describe you? Puzzle in venture, that's it.

A Month in North Island

2011-12-20T13:27:00.004+13:00

Back in Christchurch after spending a month in North Island. It was supposed to be a formal attachment for the curriculum but i felt like i was on vacation most of the time. Maybe that's why i didn' realize time had passed me through so quickly.

GP attachment in Cambridge was enjoyable. All the staffs were very friendly and made me feel very comfortable working there. The town was lovely. Lots of small cafes along the main street with local business outlets. Perfect place for retirement if you want to escape the hustle and bustle of cities.

Almost every weekend Swarna and I would plan for short excursion to places around Hamilton, unless we were too worn out and wanting a sleep in. Road trips are always fun and I'm really glad that we've covered so many places.

Cambridge Medical Centre, a big practice in this small town. It has its own lab and radiology.

Sushi in Cambridge. It was freaking cheap, the whole set cost less than $10. Yummy...

Home of L&P, Paeroa. We purposely bought a bottle and posed in front of this landmark.

My socialite host for the past one month. Always busy talking on the phone or messaging people. And she is a closeted alcoholic, haha!

Hot water beach. Like its name suggested, if you go there at the right time and find the right spot, you could dig a hole at the beach and hot water would gush out from beneath. Not exactly understand how it works, but it did happened when we were there. We spent almost 4 hours dipping our body inside this natural hot spa. Great fun!

Thank you so much for your warmest hospitality, Swarna.

Without You

2011-12-09T17:11:00.002+13:00

Special dedication to somebody in my life whom i can't live without

Brief Update

2011-11-29T22:43:00.003+13:00

Just realized that i only have one post for the whole November. Time to put another one up before December sets in.

Currently I'm up in north island doing general practice attachment at this small town called Cambridge (not sure if it's related to the one in UK). Anyway, it's a nice place between Hamilton and Rotorua. Been there once while i was on my way to Rotorua few weeks ago.

Can't wait for the christmas holiday! Counting down...

Auckland & Rotorua Trip

2011-11-12T12:49:00.007+13:00

I had been planning for this trip few months ago before the final exam. Didn't really do a thorough and extensive research but i knew exactly what i wanted to do. Gladly everything went alright.

Spent 3 days 2 nights in Auckland and another 3 days 2 nights in Rotorua. Nothing much i could tell about Auckland since i had been there for numerous times. But Rotorua, gosh, it's the place you must visit. It's a quiet, self sufficient town with lots of pretty attractions like spa, thermal pools, zorbing, maori settlement and etc.

First stop was One Tree Hill. Thanks to Swarna who picked Jane and I up in the airport and spent half of the day with us.

Later, we went to Mission Bay. I still remembered the last time I was there when Caryn was here for elective. Flashing back good memories.... Oh, i just realized the island at the back was Rangitoto Island. Learn something new everyday, haha!

This is a snap shot of Polynesian Spa, Rotorua. It's a really nice place. We spent almost 4 hours dipping ourselves in those hot pools. However the admission was quite pricey. We paid $43 for the lake spa instead of $21 for the normal adult spa. Nonetheless, it's worth the price. Highly recommended if you want to have a relaxing time and smoothen up your skin.

Breath-taking scenary while having a nice time. Considering to bring my family here if they are visiting nz next year.

Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland, the main attarction of Rotorua. It's a vast reserve park of hot pools and geysers. Lots of nice scenary apart from the smelly sulfur vapour and smoldering weather. Admission fee: $32

Lady Knox Geyser, that explodes everyday at 10.15am. Luckily I collaborated this trip with Swarna so we managed to witness the 'explosion' on time.

The highlight of my trip, ZORBING.... I was in the ball by the way, haha! We got cheap deals from GrabOne, only paid $22 for each zorb.

All of us including Swarna's cousins and niece waiting in the jeep before they brought us uphill. Super excited!

Finished my solo zorb on the zig-zag track. It was so fun! That was a Zydro, which mean before i squeezed myself into the 'ball', they put in a few buckets of warm water inside and let me rolled with the water. They described this as a combination of roller coaster and washing machine. Pretty dizzy at first when i stepped out but it was tolerable. FUN! Super duper highly recommended! Random fact of the day: Zorbing was invented here in Rotorua!

What an awesome and exciting post exam vacation!

Second Chance

2011-10-26T12:24:00.001+13:00

One more chance to make things right

Oddstuff

2011-10-14T14:20:00.001+13:00

Screen caption from the internet. Anything odd you notice under the section 'oddstuff'?

Wishlist

2011-10-09T14:11:00.004+13:00

I want a pair of wing

that soar me to the sky,

I want a pool of Pensieve

that store away my sorrow,

I want a forceful embrace

that tell me everything is gonna be alright,

I want an enlightened muse

that guide me through the hazy time.

Ask of million wishes

to show that I am not complacent,

Elders told me not to be greedy

but the rat race leave nothing behind for me,

Here I am, standing strong yet with dilemma

with a sheet of wishlist

trying to have a glimpse of reality

Looking Forward

2011-09-21T22:08:00.003+12:00

Having something to look forward to amidst stressful exams.

Epiphany

2011-09-09T18:26:00.003+12:00

An epiphany about people, especially people in my life.

There are lots of passerby, brushed our shoulder and said farewell. A momentary friendship that worth keeping at the back of my mind and perhaps retrieve them for reminiscence once in awhile in the future. 'How do you do, mate?' probably would be a good opening line if we haven't seen each other for quite some time. 'Not too bad, i have been doing such and such... i tell you it was great...' (pretending everything in the world is perfect and divert the conversation to something light if it gets too awkward). How true is that?

Then there are people that i am or used to holding grudges against. People that despise, betray or lie to me. My life would not be so interesting without this type of people. Thank you for your existence and please stay away. What comes around goes back around, do watch out, my friend.

Finally there are people that i treasure and love. People that i can rely on and walk me out of misery. People that give me strength and carry on with life when everything seems so cloudy and dark. I don't know how to repay such kindness but i'll be there whenever you call. A shout-out to a dear friend of mine, without you my life would be an utter mess. Thanks for picking up the pieces for me.

Orana Wildlife Park

2011-09-01T00:20:00.003+12:00

In another word, it is a free range zoo, which means all the animals do not live inside a cage. Instead they are given a reasonable amount of compound to walk around while the visitors can see them from a distance seperated by electrical fence. Animals include zebra, lion, tiger, rhino, monkey, kiwi bird, giraffe, lemur, otter and the list goes on and on.

Since we are having a week of holiday, Jane and I decided to visit the park which is approximately 30 mins away from city centre. We spent almost 6 hours plus inside the park visiting all the animals. It was tiring but totally worthwhile.

Rhinos in the Africa Plain

Jumping on a trampoline while all the small kids were away. Such fun!

Hand feeding the giraffe with some branches. Apparently they have really long and yellowish tongue. I wanted to touch the neck but too bad it always move away, sigh...

Jane and the Lion Encounter Poster. We paid extra $30 to enter the cage while the zoo keepers fed the lions. Only 20 people allowed inside the cage per day. Guess what, we were the first and only customer who went for it. Well, you gotta be at least 1.4m tall to enter and most of the visitors i saw that day were small children. Lucky!

Inside the truck. Gosh,it was really scary. The lions were surrouding the truck because they wanted food, some of them even climbed up to the roof of the cage. The scariest thing was when they were roaring and fought among themselves. An awesome experience!

Jane and her favourite animal, cheetah. It is the fastest animal on earth and surprisingly pretty harmless when they are not hunting or mating.

It was a nice day out! Highly recommended if you are visiting Christchurch.

Family Trip

2011-08-26T20:30:00.004+12:00

Finally i get the chance to blog about my family trip which happened almost 4 months ago. It's been such a long time since i had so much fun with my family. In fact, i would consider this was my first overseas vacation with them. My parents had been to so many places across the globe but never brought us along, argh... Haha, not throwing my tantrum anymore because i truly enjoyed this trip. Miss you all!

Poor erjie and francis who missed out... we did think and talk about you two lots of time throughout the whole trip because we really missed you, haha! Now just to show off some of the highlights of this trip.

Minus 5 Bar in Queenstown. A small bar completely made of ice and served cocktail in an icy glass. Only allowed in the room for 30 minutes. Couples of sculptures scattered all over. Overall experience, freaking cold.

The most luxurious accommodation i ever had. It's a villa at the top of a hill overlooking the whole Queenstown. Would definitely not stay there if there wasn't discount from GrabOne.

Kawarau Bridge, the first bungy jump was invented here. Yeah, one thing ticked off from my bucket list, i jumped! Very expensive and very scary. My advice: think twice before you pay and don't think anything when you are standing at the platform.

Dajie and a big teddy bear at Toy Muzeum, Wanaka. Rows of toy display ranging from ancient time to modern time. More like a warehouse than a conventional muzeum. Not entirely gutted but didn't find it too fascinating. Probably because i didn't own too many toys when i was young, sob sob... childhood deprived...

My parents and san gu at the top of Franz Josef glacier. Instead of spending 8 hours hiking the glacier like we young people did, they decided to take the helicopter and flew up in less than half an hour. Of course there was a price to pay, huge monetary price to pay, haha! Not complaining since it came out from their pocket.

My dad trying to lift up a tilted clock tower at Puzzling World, Wanaka. It was a very interesting place that create visual illusion. The best part was a room that looked normal but made you feel dizzy and walk sideway as you walk across. Highly recommended. Bring along a scientist to explain the phenomenon would be awesome.

My mum trying to 'flirt' with cruise captain in Milford Sound, haha! It took us almost 5 hours to drive to Milford Sound from Queenstown, and another 5 hours to return on the same day. Breath-taking scenary but extremely tired after such a long journey.

Me and san gu at Mirror Lake, somewhere near Milford Sound. Don't get fooled by the name of the lake, it doesn't reflect your image when you look down, it only reflects the scenary above the surface.

My family at Skyline, Queenstown. We had over rated buffet, watched a haka performance by Maori people and took lots of picture since the scenary was so pretty.

Random shot at Akaroa. It was ANZAC day when we were there, so most of the shops were closed. Not to mention the weather that day was horrible. Cold and wet, worst combination. We went for a cruise and saw some rare dolphins that can only be found here.

Me and dajie having fried rice at Franz Josef. Fried rice that bought from Wanaka the night before. Probably the best fried rice we ever had because we were extremely hungry when we were taking the break. Imagine 8 hours of hiking on ice, probably shed off some kilos as i climbed, haha! Highly recommended and do it while the glacier is still here, remember global warming is taking over.

Memorable vacation. Shall do it again!

Another Snow Day

2011-08-16T16:42:00.003+12:00

What's the best thing to do when there is snow? Of course it's to stay home and stay warm. Christchurch was hit by another polar blast yesterday bringing snow to this ruined city. Though it isn't as heavy as the previous one, i still get the opportunity to make another snow man at my front yard. Such fun!

Mid Winter Santa Claus

2011-08-08T09:56:00.003+12:00

A mystery parcel was sent to my doorstep few weeks ago when i was chatting with the sender at night. It was a pleasant surprise! She sent me 2 packs of dark chocolate tim tam and 2 hand warmers. Thank you so much, Swarna! Really appreciate that!

Suddenly it reminded me of one chinese idiom, ‘千里送鹅毛，礼轻情意重’

Let It Snow

2011-07-25T12:12:00.008+12:00

It's such rare opportunity to see snow in Christchurch. And it's beautiful.

The snow started falling yesterday late afternoon, but it melted once it touched the ground. It got heavier towards the dawn and accumulated almost a few inches thick on the ground over the night.

This morning i was supposed to attend a clinic in the hospital. But the snow blast was really terrifying. So i decided to stay back, so as my working flatmates. Holiday for all!

We snowballed, we built snowman, we took lots of pictures, what a great Monday!

Built my first snow man

Mid July, Mid Winter

2011-07-17T13:29:00.006+12:00

Winter in Christchurch is always uneventful. There is no snow yet the weather is chilling. The most we could get here is early morning frost which often make my sinus ache for awhile. But the good thing is sun will still rise and shine brighthly for most of the days. Wish i could dip myself in a hotpool now and enjoy the sun outdoor.

It's July, stress is definitely creeping up and hopefully i won't freak out anytime soon.

Visitor from Belfast, Lixian, who got me an Ireland keychain (hinting someone who used to live in Belfast...haha)

FaceTime

2011-07-02T00:11:00.007+12:00

A new technolgy that bring me closer to my family. Totally enjoyed our past few conversations. *just trying to justify my purpose of buying this phone, haha*

Rattling and Trembling

2011-06-24T16:21:00.002+12:00

Few days ago, a big aftershock graded 5.4 hit the city again. It was so bad that my house actually had electricity cut for a short while. I know i have been blessed, living at the lucky side of the city where liquefaction and disruption were minimal. But this time was different. Apparently there was a new fault line which i hope nothing worse will ever happen.

Just to let you all know that i'm fine over here. Life still goes on.

Yesterday night i watched 'A Walk To Remember' with my flatmates. It's such an old show but believe it or not, that was my first time watching it. I believe the show had touched lots of people's heart and that's why it was so famous.

Discovered this soundtrack, really nice.

Tap Tap

2011-06-12T10:10:00.004+12:00

I have been so addicted to Tap Tap Revenge lately. Guess it reminded me so much of O2 Jam which i used to play endlessly during early college time. If i'm not mistaken, i downloaded a few gigs worth of songs in my playlist. Felt like some kind of aspiring musician when i played the game. Awh... miss playing piano and flute...

Anyway, Tap Tap is awesome. The first tap tap sonng given to me was Gaga's Alejandro. Like to play with pop songs. Such fun!

Holiday Mood Again

2011-05-29T22:20:00.003+12:00

Gosh, i shouldn't have such feeling when exam is still on its way. Anyway, Swarna is visiting Christhchurch this weekend. Super excited.... It's been such a long time since we last seen each other. So not going to study for the long weekend. That's not the end. Term break is coming soon. Not that i have any plan, but it's nice not to wake up early in the morning and report myself at the hospital. Besides, cycling in a frosty miserable morning ain't a good experience since winter is around the corner.

Looking forward to the weekend!

When Everything Is Going Well...

2011-05-16T17:43:00.003+12:00

When everything in life is going well for you, there must be something pop out in the middle of nowhere and annoys you. Have you experience that before?

Yesterday was a bright fine day and totally lightened my mood since morning. It would be such a waste not to spend some quality time under the sun, so i happily rode on my bike and loitered around. Reached another suburb, borrowed one story book, did some window shopping (not really, bought 2 pairs of socks from kids department, haha). When everything went perfectly fine, my bike tyre went flat. Thanks to some delirious drunken good-for-nothing people who threw away their bottles by the roadside. ANNOYING!!!

Then this morning, i found my phone was out of battery. One thing i couldn't fathom was that i just recharged it the night before. Occasionally this phone would ask me to reinsert the sim card or automatically change to flight mode. Tell me why. Francis Koh, you'd better give me a good explanation!!!

When everything is going so well, argh....

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T00:06:00.005+12:00

母亲节快乐！

This pendant from Michael Hill is our present to the loveliest mother on earth. Yes, that's you, haha! I still remembered vividly that last week when we were in Queenstown, you dragged me and dajie across the street to the jewelry shop and showed us this pendant. Luckily the price was reasonable and we bought it without second thought. Hope you'll love it.

Miss you very much!

Missing All of You...

2011-05-02T00:06:00.003+12:00

Somewhere near Milford Sound

Just sent away my family to the airport. The sense of sorrow is really overwhelming. It's been such a long time since we had so much fun together. Can't believe the road trip has over and it's time to say goodbye. Miss you all so much!

Holiday Mood

2011-04-21T09:18:00.002+12:00

Can't wait to see my family and travel together down south! It's gonna be fun.

Journal Review

2011-04-08T13:51:00.003+12:00

Should I go for growth treatment? Technically speaking i'm still in puberty, haha!

New Toy

2011-03-30T20:58:00.003+13:00

Slick!

My latest toy, radio clock! Have been looking for a descent radio clock for quite some time. Finally i met this beautiful creature. Love its modern metallic design with adjustable blue digital screen. What's so great about this clock is that it has projector on the side, which mean at night if i would like to check the time, all i have to do is just looking up to the ceiling. No more rolling over or straining the sleepy eyes. Isn't it brilliant?

Premonition?

2011-03-20T23:11:00.004+13:00

There was a rumour spreading like diseases around Christchurch recently. It said there would be another big earthquake near March 20th. The man who started this rumour was known as Moon Man, simply because he made the prediction based on the moon's activity.

However, geology scientists said nobody can predict the next quake attack and denied the credibility of the Moon Man's theory.

This rumour had somehow executed its mass hysteria effect on this poor community. Lots of families are stockpiling groceries at home. Some even decided to leave the city for a short while.

It's March 20 today. No major earthquake, just one slight tremor few hours ago. Phew... hope the guy's premonition was just a trash talk.

Earthquake Getaway

2011-03-11T15:55:00.004+13:00

A spontaneous road trip turned out to be a blast! Me and the Elizabeth Street girls (sin mei, xiao li and jane) spent 3 days 2 nights exploring the northern region of South Island, eg Nelson, Malborough and North Canterbury. Actually it was pretty hectic to cover so many places within the short time frame. Nevertheless, we did it and proud of it!

First day: Left Christchurch in the late morning. Went straight to Hanmer Spring. Paid extra 10 bucks for the slides. Gosh, it was really fun! Spent 2 hours dipping inside the thermal pool. Felt my skin was smoother. Psychological? Haha! Hit the road after late lunch. Drove for approximately 6 hours to reach Nelson. Stayed in Mid-City Lodge rooftop apartment. Nice location, friendly owner, spa bath, what else do you want?

Second day: Went to Nelson i-Site to find out what to do. Wanted to do sea kayaking, but it needed booking one day prior. Sigh... Finally decided to do salmon fishing. So we drove all the way to the west side- Takaka. Spent half of the day there. Came back to Nelson and zzzz.....

Third day: Left Nelson and drove to Malborough. Stopped at Havelock for fresh mussels. Visited Picton and Blenheim with lightning speed. Went to Kaikoura for dinner later on. Ended the trip with Jane driving us back to Christchurch.

First dinner at Nelson, Stonegrill Restaurant. Unfortunately we were too frugal to order any stone grilled meal. This was my pork fillet with risotto. Quite Nice.

Me and Sin Mei standing at the end of Trafalgar Street, Nelson

Me and Xiao Li at Nelson Cathedral

Sin Mei and Xiao Li standing in front of Trafalgar Park (stadium)

Eating real fruit ice cream (banana plus mixed berries) at Motueka. $4.50 each. Can add in yogurt if you want (ew....)

Nelson's WOW Museum (World of Wearable Arts and Classic Cars). Normal student price: $16, but we got further discount to $10 because we are from Christchurch, yeah! Not allowed to take pictures in the Wearable Arts section, so we took a few from the cars section.

My mafia car (outside WOW Museum)

The girls and Austin Power's car

Salmon fishing at Lake Anatoki, Takaka

Managed to get one salmon after being helped by a group of friendly customers. It ain't easy to fish... Posing victoriously with our catch! It weighed approximately 1.8kg.

Fresh smoked salmon, yum yum!

Havelock's Mussel Pot. Nicest mussels i have ever taste.

Me and Jane at Queen's Garden, Nelson

Jane and Sin Mei at Queen's Garden, Nelson

At Picton. Interislander ship at the background.

Blenheim's chocolate factory

Tossing a stone at Queen Charlotte Sound

Somewhere near Kaikoura. Awesome scenary. Able to see wild seal at the sea side.

What a great road trip! Thanks peeps!

Extra Pocket Money

2011-03-10T11:04:00.002+13:00

It feels like i have been having holiday for ages due to the earthquake. In fact, i just came back from a road trip around the top of south island. Thanks to the ang pao worth 300 bucks from our caring government, haha!

More pictures update soon.

Survival Tips

2011-02-28T10:07:00.003+13:00

The picture above is demostrating a method to protect yourself during earthquake. It is called the triangle of life. Instead of hiding beneath a big surface, you should lean against some strong furnitures so that you won't be squashed or deep buried within the rubble when the whole building collapses.

I saw this picture from a forwarded email from sin mei quite some time ago. However, during the recent earthquake, i was trying to cover my head underneath a study table in library. What a silly move! But never mind, almost everybody there was doing the same thing and nobody got hurt.

Earthquake!

2011-02-23T00:01:00.002+13:00

Another big and devastating earthquake had hit Christchurch again. It lasted less than a minute but it felt like forever.

Just to let the people that i love that i'm alright. The telecommunication has been restored recently. Really appreciate all the warm regards and heart-touching texts. I feel loved.

Anyway, power and water supply were back to normal. My house seems fine. Not sure what will happen next, so i'll just stay put and play by ear.

Compare to others, i'm really fortunate. Hope the sufferers will get through this disaster soon.

Ignite The Light

2011-02-20T12:28:00.004+13:00

I had my birthing suite night shift few days ago. My mind kept thinking about Katy Perry's Firework music video clip when i was in the labour room. Instead of singing 'you just gotta ignite...the light...and let it shines...', my whole night was about 'yea..push...yes...you are doing great...keep pushing...'

The next morning when i went back home to rest, i was dreaming another shift in birthing suite...gosh, that's so tiring.

Hedgehog In The Pool!

2011-02-12T15:16:00.003+13:00

Yesterday morning before i went to school, i saw a creature wiggling its way in the middle of my house swimming pool. To my astonishment, it was a hedgehog! (first time seeing a wild hedghog, scared scared...) It wasn't dead but it was struggling to get out of the pool.

I quickly grabbed my phone and snapped a picture of it. A few seconds later, it curled into a ball and seemed to be drowning. Oh no... I should have save the poor creature first instead of taking its picture. *guilt kicking in* Without wasting more time, i put down my phone and used a scoop to lift it out of the water.

It seemed lifeless after i put it down at the side of the pool. I ain't going to do CPR on it, no way! So i used a rod to poke and prod it for a few times. Phew... it started to have some body movement, i could see some breathing effort, not sure about pulse, GSC was probably at the lower end, responded well to my poking, haha!

I saved a life!

(better put more chlorin in the pool this weekend before i dunk myself in)

Simply Beautiful

2011-02-04T15:05:00.003+13:00

This is a TV advertisement by Telecom NZ. Just spend one and a half minute of yours and watch it, i'm sure it would melt your icy heart. Not to mention the song playing at the background is simply beautiful. Went online and search for the song. To my dismay, the song is not available to the public. The song is entitled We're Like Balloons by Chelsea Jade. Please let me know if you can find the source.

I admire the pure and innocent friendship between the 2 boys with different skin colours who used to spend their childhood together. If only thing can remain as it is forever. '....Our hearts don't have heavy parts... like balloons... we float to new heights...'

p/s: 恭祝大家农历新年快乐，心想事成，万事如意！

Rolling On Floor Laughing

2011-01-22T18:10:00.003+13:00

There is a new comedy series showing on tv recently, it's called Miranda. Very funny and addictive. Can't stop watching it from youtube. Highly reccomended.

p/s: I'm officially 24, yeah!

Chocolate Ad

2011-01-12T20:28:00.005+13:00

This chocolate land seems thousand times better than Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. Thumbs up to Whittaker for such a thought provoking advertisement. By the way, their chocolate is awesome, especially the dark ghana, gosh, it's really finger licking good.

2011

2011-01-01T08:54:00.005+13:00

Happy New Year!

Can't believe we have entered a brand new year. Time flies, isn't it? There are so much i need to accomplish this year (but i don't dare to make a list of new year resolution because i'm afraid it would be too long and too unrealistic). Thus i will do things one step at a time.

May this new year bring you more joy and happiness. Let's cherish this festive moment with your loved ones.

p/s: I have deactivated my facebook account, but don't hesitate to contact me via my email or mobile.

Getting Fit With Wii

2010-12-30T12:12:00.003+13:00

While everybody is frantically crazy about the new xbox kinect, i'm still exploring the wonder of Wii. Of course, i wouldn't have this luxury if Nadia didn't leave her whole wii bundle here for the time being. Thanks, hehe! *Ken Jin and Limin are considering to get one wii, or maybe kinect after she takes it back next year, muahahaha.... isn't this the best place to live in*

Anyway, this post is not about how much fun you could get from wii which we already knew long time ago. Do you know you can get fit and healthy by playing wii? *one of the arguing points for the kids who want to pester their parents to get a wii, haha* Introducing Wii Fit... (actually this game was already released few years ago, i know i'm out dated, whatever)

This is the main menu of the game. The miis from left: me, nadia (zzz...because she stopped playing for quite some time, tsk tsk...) and limin.

My BMI profile. I set my BMI goal to 21 in one month, which mean i have to gain approximately 4kgs . Gosh, it's really hard.

This is one of the muscle workout in the game. Basically all the exercise focus on the centre of gravity and the balance board will rate your performance based on the stability.

This is Step, one of the aerobic exercises. Whenever ah hui sees us playing this, she will giggle and clap her hand. That's why when she gets cranky while we are exercising, we have to stop whatever workout we are doing and change to Step just to 'entertain' and calm her down.

Just for laugh

One Little Cute Baby

2010-12-22T20:12:00.006+13:00

Have been babysitting this small monster for the past few weeks. When Limin is busy with something, she will tell ah hui, 'go and find uncle mui how'. Sob...i'm an uncle already... Anyway, this uncle turns into some pre school toddler when ah hui is around him. Will act cute with her, clap hand with her in front of the mirror, make some baby babbles, play with her toys... Unleashing the childishness within, haha!

New Room

2010-12-14T21:35:00.003+13:00

Finally i have moved into my new room (with ensuite bathroom, hehe). All i did today was only labour work. First i had to move Nadia's stuff to the 'store room aka guest room'. After that i had to move all my stuff down from the guest room to this room. Calories burnt: millions of kilojoule.

Food For Thought

2010-12-07T22:51:00.006+13:00

"A little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion"

-Sir Francis Bacon (22 Jan 1561-9 April 1626)

This sentence really make me put down the book and start to think its underlying meaning. I can't agree more with first half of the sentence because i'm the living proof of that. I don't know much about philosophy, in fact i don't know anything about it at all, as Socrates said, 'all i know is that i know nothing' (just trying to illustrate my point in a more philosophical way, hehe...). Anyway, i never know my agnosticism/atheism is related philosophy, how true is that?

How would you describe your spiritual life? Religion is definitely one way, but not the only way. Some people say it could be explained by how well you understand your own life. If you know the purpose and meaning of your existing life, you already had your spiritual part of your life well covered. In self help groups like alcoholic anonymous, they regard spiritual support to something they called 'higher power'. The 'power' could be god, family, friends, brain strength, wine goblet, money and all sort of things. If i were to answer that question, i would gag for at least 2 minutes before i could say something that is most probably nonsensical.

Philosophy vs religion, a very intriguing contrasting couple. These 2 subjects always make my mind spins and aches when i think about them. And the most annoying part is that there will not be any proper answer or solution for whatever that bothers the mind at the first place. Recently i borrowed some philosophy books from the library with the intention of enriching my tunnelled world view. But the amount of theories and ideas are too overwhelming. Some really caught my attention and made me think. But there are some which i just don't even bother to try because i know i would not be able to understand anyhow.

If Sir Francis Bacon's words were true, will i embrace a religion when i'm wiser? Hmph... how come i don't see it's happening? I have this strong urge to prove the second half of the sentence is wrong, but considering the amount of readings that i need to do in order to understand philosophy in depth, gosh, my poor little brain gonna burst in no time. Maybe i can consider taking a second degree in B.Phil and write a thesis about it. Haha, dream on...

Kee Ping's Invasion

2010-12-03T12:58:00.003+13:00

How many days do you need to plan for a holiday? For Lim Kee Ping, he needs less than 5 days. Last weekend when i was busy moving in to my new place, i got a message from him saying that he is coming to visit me in the next few days. 'He must be kidding', I thought. Apparently not, he had everything sorted out before he dropped the message. Salute!

Introducing Lim Kee Ping, haha! Standing at the top of the hill, pretending to be blown away by the wind.

Highlight of his visit: cyling trip up to Port Hill. It was really a fitness challenge, it took us almost 2 hours to reach the top of the hill. My poor little bicycle, it must had suffered a lot throughout the whole journey.

One of the landmark of the hill, Sign of the Kiwi. Actually it is just a rest station that sells coffee and ice creams.

It's so hard to snap a nice smilling picture of him, this is one of the rare ones. Picture taken at the botanical garden. I really enjoy his company, especially at this dark times of my life, sob sob... Anyway, hope he will come again in the future. I promise, no more torturing, haha!

11/11

2010-11-14T16:58:00.003+13:00

Eleventh of Nov, 2010, a day that i shall not forget for the rest of my life.

I still can remembered vividly the moment when i opened my email indicating exam's result. The heart was pounding so fast that the breathing could barely catch up. But when i saw the four letter F word inside the email content, my heart sank. The whole world seemed to stop momentarily for me to digest the information. I rubbed my eyes and looked at it carefully. No error noted. And for the fist time in my life, i stared blank into the space and wonder if this is reality or nightmare.

'You dumb boy, we ain't going to give you a second chance and you better get your ass back for another year here.' I felt like the email is saying that to me.

I am ashamed. I don't know how to face my family. They have been working so hard just to let me get an overseas certificate. Studying medicine privately in foreign land is ain't cheap. With that amount of money, they could have a few more properties in my hometown or travel around the world for a few times. But i let them down. I don't want to tell them, 'mum and dad, you can't retire so soon because i still need your support to continue my education.' Only an irresponsible, inconsiderate, imbecile child will say that. And guess what, i'm actually that child.

Thank goodness, i have been hearing words of comfort from friends and family. Though they kept saying it's nobody fault, i know deep down inside, i'm the one to be blamed. I should have study harder, i should have taken it more seriously, i should have be more enthusiastic, i should have.... But everything is too late now.

Every now and then, this feeling of failure will stab it to my heart as if it will never go away. I'm petrified. My life seems so aimless except to clean up this mess. I hate myself. I hate this life.

The purpose of writing this post, actually is to tell the people that i love, that i'm in a real bad situation. I would be lying if i say i'm perfectly fine. But i can assure y'all i will be alright, eventually. Hopefully time will be a good healing factor. Gotta need some time to compose myself and fight again.

Holiday

2010-11-03T20:52:00.003+13:00

Exam is over, yeah! Gonna spend this short holiday doing anything that does not require brain activities. Feel so drained at the moment...

Flying up to auckland this friday and attend james's debut performance on stage production. This holiday is gonna be sweet.

Time To Ignite The Midnight Oil

2010-10-24T19:10:00.003+13:00

A week of study break, is it enough to cram all the important knowledge into my tiny brain?

Recently my electronic stuffs have been turning their back on me. At first, my mouse which i bought earlier this year was broken. The problem was probably at the roller, it kept fibrillating up and down the screen whenever i plugged it to my computer. And few days ago, my phone started throwing temper. It kept resetting itself with no reason. I won't be getting a new phone until i finish my exam, so for those who want to get hold of me, email and fb will be fine.

I was browsing the internet for new phone justnow, don't know what should i get. iphone was bloody expensive, but it looks cool and fancy. I am hoping to get a smartphone, any good suggestions?

Anyway, this whole week is solely dedicated for study, please grant me infinite energy and memory.

The End?

2010-10-17T19:06:00.003+13:00

It's the final week of my final run of the year. Tonnes of exams are pouring in, wish me luck.

Exclusive Club

2010-10-09T12:02:00.003+13:00

Few weeks ago, the cafe in my school put up this new sign board. Finally i'm in some kind of exclusive club, haha! Actually it's just an ordinary cafe, no comfy couch or open bar, no live band or fancy decor, it's just a place where people like to hang out. Oh, there is free coffee and hot chocolate though. For food, we still need to pay $$$, sigh...

Road Sign

2010-10-02T21:23:00.002+13:00

I have never seen this road sign until i came to christchurch. It didn't draw much attention to me because i seldom cycle along the tram track. But guess what, few days ago when i was cutting corner to a restaurant for dinner, my bike got stucked and i fell over. It was so embarrasing... Lessons of the day: do not cut corner and road bike's tire isn't that perfect after all.

Mad World

2010-09-25T14:34:00.003+12:00

Living in a crumbling world, i need strength to pull myself out of this rubble. I wish prayer will be answered, if only agnosticism has never gone into my head. I see light and shining stars, but are they shimmering through to the future where i always dreaming for? For once, i'm crippled, dragging the remaining shattered self, looking for a touch by an angel. Are you my angel?

I Want To Sleep In

2010-09-19T11:40:00.005+12:00

Living in the new YMCA building is incredibly cosy, but the amount of noise produced every weekend early morning is driving me crazy soon.

Weekend mornings are always the best time to sleep in after an exhaustive week. However, i have not been granted with such privilege from the day i stepped into this luxurious hostel. Lots of travellers love to stay in ymca for the weekend, not that they party all night long in the building, it's just that they often wake up early in the morning, making lots of noise from opening and closing the doors, discussing their daily plan out loud at the corridor and etc.

Compare to the slightly substandard hostel that i used to live in, though there are lots of thing i can complain, at least it is more quiet and that's the most important thing i want in an accommodation.

The management is contemplating whether to repair or demolish the old building. I don't know which outcome to hope for.

Alright, enough grumbling. This week has not been great, lots of unfortunate events were happening around me, i might be receiving a fail from my previous posting, and the fear of final is getting overwhelming.

Just hope everything will fall into its right place soon. Peace.

谚语

2010-09-13T21:05:00.004+12:00

"树欲静而风不止，子欲养而亲不在"

孔子行，闻哭声甚悲。孔子曰：「驱驱前有贤者。」至，则皋鱼也，被褐拥镰，哭于道傍。孔子辟车与言曰：「子非有丧，何哭之悲也？」皋鱼曰：「吾失之三矣，少而学，游诸侯，以后吾亲，失之一也。高尚吾志，闲吾事君，失之二也。与友厚而少绝之，失之三也。树欲静而风不止，子欲养而亲不待也。往而不可追者，年也；去而不可得见者，亲也。吾请从此辞矣。」立槁而死。孔子曰：「弟子诫之，足以识矣。」于是门人辞归而养亲者十有三人。

好友，节哀顺变！

Shakey Christchurch

2010-09-06T12:21:00.003+12:00

To those i loved: I'm safe and alright in Christchurch, don't worry and thanks for your concern.

As you all might know, a magnitude of 7.1 earthquake had hit Christchurch on Saturday early morning. Luckily i was in Auckland when the disaster took place. I wasn't aware of the incident until the next day morning when i saw the news on the tv. It was really shocking.

I was supposed to be back in Christchurch on Wednesday morning, but my friends in auckland insisted me to stay on for another few more days. So i decided to go back on Sunday. Lucky me, i had escaped when the earthquake occured on Saturday morning.

Now i'm back in Christchurch. The whole city is utterly dysfunctional. The central business district is closed, so as several main roads across the city. My room wasn't too messy, just some fallen folder scattered on the table and floor. But my dormitary caretaker had evacuate all occupants to the new YMCA building for a few days because the management wants to evaluate the condition of the building. By the way, the room in the new building is really nice, really tempting to move in, but it's so expensive, double of what i'm paying at the moment, sigh!

My school is closed for 2 days, so i've got extra holidays. Does it mean they will postpone the final as well? Doubt so, still gotta study for final, argh....

Occasionally, i still feel some aftershock over here. It's quite scary but for those who had experience the event on Saturday morning, aftershock is nothing compared to the epicentre. Just hope there won't be another earthquake coming here.

Second Mid Semester Break

2010-08-30T10:09:00.001+12:00

1 week of holiday, not gonna spend the entire 7 days with books, even though final is just around the corner. Thus i decided to fly up to to auckland on friday afternoon, to meet up with my friends and to have a few days of stressless vacation before the start of study marathon.

Celebrated bee ling's birthday on friday night right after i landed. Had dinner in a Italian restaurant near the harbour. Long wait but delicious food. Party all night long after dinner! Happy birthday again, bee ling!

Went to auckland all time favourite hang out place- Hulu Cat. Photo taking, board games, card games, chatting, fooling...were all the activities we did from 9 to midnight. Happy times passed by in lightning speed indeed

Last but not least, was to meet CARYN KOH while she did her elective in auckland. It's been so long since we last met. Had so much fun with her, she is still the same caryn i used to know, brings back so much memory from the past. When will we meet again? Sigh, gonna miss you dearly, take care!

Spring Is Coming To Town

2010-08-22T21:21:00.004+12:00

Flowers are blooming and birds are twittering. It's a sign of desirable weather, woohoo! It's time to keep thermal and thick jackets back to the closet.

This 2 months will be a hell for most of us in 5th year. Lots of small annoying tests are coming on their way plus the dreadful final is approaching near. Rising stress level... Popping pimples, ogling eyes, crusting skin, branching hair, that's how i will look like in the near future, haha!

Ok, enough grumbling. Time to get back to study.

p/s: congratulation to all my fellow friends who passed their final in seremban! enjoy your holiday!

Girls and Orthopaedic

2010-08-15T20:01:00.005+12:00

After first week of orthopaedic run, i notice a lots of girls have great interest in this field. They are the one who answer most of the questions in tutorial, they are the most enthusiastic students to go for clinics and surgeries, they are most of the consultants' favourite.

I asked a few of them, if they are considering to specialize ortho in the future. Surprisingly they gave me the same sort of answer, 'No, because i don't have the physical strength.' Oh, what a shame!

I even heard somebody said she likes ortho because the department is filled with eye candy consultants. Hmph... really? Haha!

Better buck up my knowledge and skills in order to compete with the girls!

A Week of Miscellaneous Attachments

2010-08-08T15:10:00.005+12:00

This week was pretty random, had 3 differents specialties to attend, which were anaesthesia, intensive care and emergency medicine. What did i learn? Hmph... quite minimal. Besides, there was no assessment after those runs, that's why nobody took the week seriously.

So far i can only remember propofol from anaesthesia, because that's the medicine that killed michael jackson, haha! Emergency medicine summarized most of the salient topics in cardiovascular, which was a good revision for me. Intensive care, only had 2 early morning ward round, didn't learn anything except looking at the poster-sized patient's chart. One word, sien!

Starting musculoskeletal tomorrow, heard that the consultants are quite strict. Scared...

Jeng Yi came by last Thursday. Had an enjoyable long chat with him. Went to the cathedral square and spent countless time figuring out how to snap a good picture of us with the cathedral. Real fun.

We have the same height, haha!

It's Already August

2010-08-01T19:53:00.003+12:00

Gosh, can't believe July is over! Time flies, isn't it?

The dreadful final exam is another step closer to me. Oh no.. i shall not stress myself, must take everything slow and easy. But how? So many things to cover, so many unknown or vague territories, so many skills to work on.. oh no....(need a chill pill now).

Ok, talk about something nice. Hmph... the weather is awesome today. For the first time after so many months, my window had no condensation this morning, which was a sign of warm weather. At least 10 degree celcius today, i believe. However, it's not that i could spend the day lazing on the lawn and sunbath. Instead, i still need to force myself to the books and study. Very pathetic indeed... Why do i have to go through all of these? Sob sob...

Haha, don't worry about me, it's just ranting. This torment will end very soon. Gambate!

OA

2010-07-23T22:19:00.004+12:00

Just came back from Overeaters Anonymous. One word, wow!

It's very interesting to know that there are people out there who actually suffered from food addiction. And it takes such a big amount of effort for them to recognize the problem and seek help. This addiction is just as bad as other substances, it will cost you money, relationships, career, self esteem or even the power to go on living.

Just hope i won't get addicted to anything, especially food. I love eating, yum yum!

Jeng Yi In Christchurch

2010-07-20T14:49:00.004+12:00

有朋自远方来，不亦乐乎

This high school mate of mine, stepped his foot on christchurch for less than 24 hours, and now he is off to his journey down south.

Really glad to catch up with him since end of last year's gathering.

Dream

2010-07-10T21:47:00.004+12:00

I had a dream few days ago, it was so vivid that i could recall it till now.

The dream.... was set on a beautiful weekend morning, when everyone in my family went out for brunch. We went to a noodle stall (wan ton mee) where my father claimed to be one of the best food in town. Right after we came out from the car, my father went straight to the stall owner and ordered a double portion wan ton mee for himself. Then he turned back to us and asked, 'so what do you want? just order it yourself, ok?' As usual, we look around to see if there's other food available, but in the end, we ordered the same thing as my father did.

My mother, on the other hand, refused to order any food because she said she wasn't hungry. But when our food arrived, she would pick up the chopsticks and nibble here and there. That was so typical of her. My brother, would be busy clicking his phone as if there was a multi billion dollar business going on. Surprisingly both of my sisters were there as well, but not sure what were they doing at that time.

In reality.... there was a wan ton mee stall that we used to visit every weekend during my early teenage time, it's somewhere near Tasek, probably it had closed down by now. My father really liked the food there, and yes, double portion was no hard task for him. My sisters seldom joined us for brunch, that's why the memory was quite blurry. My brother wouldn't have a phone back in those time, so must be some error in recalling. My mum definitely liked to 'curi makan' our food, argh....

This dream definitely has some component of history in it, that's why it made so much sense to me. This dream also reflects how much i miss those time spending with my family. Home is certainly where the heart is.

Three More Runs

2010-07-04T20:55:00.003+12:00

A week of integrative learning classes had finished. Passed addiction medicine osce, hooray; Still awaiting ophthalmology test result, but i think i should be able to pass it with flying colours(woo, how confident i am, haha! Well, thanks to geekyasian and its active members' contribution, past year questions really helped!)

Tomorrow will be the first day of my next run, Public Health. Classmates said it was pretty cosy but lots of reading to do. Plus it's time to prepare for final, gosh, starting to feel the tension now. Chill.... must make full use of all the free time in the rest of the three runs before it's too late. I must nail it!

The radio here in nz recently has been playing this song from the 80s. It's so catchy and kinda stuck in my head once i hear it. I don't really know its meaning, but who cares, the rhythm sounds nice.

Semester Break

2010-06-28T21:04:00.002+12:00

Just came back from auckland this morning. Landed at christchurch in a misty, 6 degrees celcius morning. Really glad that eng ann picked me up at the airport and gave me a ride to school where our class commenced at 9am.

Holiday in auckland was really enjoyable. Catching up with mates, eating gourmet food, watching movies with takeaway pizzas, playing games at cafe and etc. However, fun time passes fast, and now it's time to start second semester of the year and be ready for studies.

Thank you guys for the warmest hospitality. Hope to see you soon!

Mid Year Break

2010-06-13T23:04:00.004+12:00

Hooray, it's holiday!

2 weeks of break is just nice, not too short and not too long. I'm so not going to do anything that required intense brain activity. Study for final? Maybe half an hour per day, do you think it would be enough?

Feel like learning flash, but i'm not sure if i have the patience to do so. Just in case you don't notice, i added a flash banner just below my main blog banner. Wish i have the creativity to do nice art....

Snooze in the cold weather is the best thing ever to do at the moment!

Bump On My Hand

2010-06-05T21:26:00.004+12:00

Mantoux test (one of the investigations for tuberculosis). Fyi, that's my hand, i took the photo right after the person finished injecting the antigen into my skin. After one week, the bump has slightly subsided but had turned into a rash. Not itchy or painful. Just not right cosmetically, haha!

The result of the test was positive!! Duh, i had BCG vaccine in the past, of course it will be positive. That's why i don't understand what's the purpose of doing this test in the health check up. Waste my money and make my arm looks uglier, sob sob...

p/s: psychiatry exam on next friday, scary scary....

Self Diagnosing

2010-05-22T21:38:00.003+12:00

Some people say medical students are generally hypochondriac. They like to exaggerate some minor symptoms of theirs and figure out a long list of differential diagnoses. It's weird, isn't it?

I never have this problem since early this year because my previous 2 attachments were O&G and Paediatrics, so i couldn't relate anything back to me.

But now, i'm doing Psychiatry, and i think i'm abit crazy, are you scared? Muahahahaha....

Drive Myself Crazy

2010-05-15T14:55:00.007+12:00

Psychiatry, it's a very interesting specialty. Dealing with people's mind and emotion is definitely not easy, especially with the sick ones.

I am assigned to Mothers and Babies unit, specifically cater for mothers with mental health problems, so it could be depression, psychosis, anxiety, you name it. A switch to motherhood apparently is not an easy task. There are so many things going on in their mind and it takes enormous strength to be tough and go on with life.

So my fellow brothers, please be more understanding when you become a father in the future. Bringing home money isn't your only duty as a husband and father. Spare some household work from wife and spend more time with the kids will make a huge difference to your beloved one.

Lots of study to do, even though not many assignments in this run. Gotta prepare well for final exam too, argh....

Have a good weekend!

母亲节快乐

2010-05-08T22:21:00.004+12:00

五月的第二个星期日，你打算如何与你心爱的母亲度过呢？

我没有骇人的文采，不懂如何以语句来表达我的心意。刚在网上看到一些感人肺腑的母亲节寄语，不禁感叹自己的语文能力不及他人。无论如何，我在此向我敬爱的妈妈说声： ‘母亲节快乐！’。儿子不孝，都已经好几年没有和你一起度过这意义深重的节日。你一定回答说：‘哎哟，求学要紧，有心就好啦！’ 对吗？哈哈！

我答应，日后事业有成，必定让你天天过母亲节。

Kia Ora

2010-05-02T12:30:00.003+12:00

Just finished paediatric run, so i'm allowing myself to chillax for the next couple of days before i need to start studying for my Maori exam. Just in case for those who don't know, Maori is the indigenous people in New Zealand, and our medical school in Christchurch has a comprehensive teaching block specifically on their health. Next week we have a case presentation and a few station exam, including Te Reo (Maori language). Hopefully it won't be too hard.

James came over last week and we celebrated his birthday in advance. We went to Kaikaoura for whale watching and had uncountable meals at Osaka, haha! It was really amazed to look at the gigantic creature in such a close distance. Definitely a good experience, hope he enjoyed it too. Another one thing to tick off in my must-do list in NZ!

Increasing Stress Level

2010-04-25T21:39:00.002+12:00

Had a great weekend, couldn't believe it's already over. Long presentation tomorrow, end of paeds exam on tuesday..... gosh, so many things to study, so many things to do, but what i really want to do now, is to zzzzzzz....

My laptop power cord created some smoke and sparkle justnow, luckily my laptop is still functioning and hopefully the adapter is still usable because one adapter costs $90, awfully expensive. So tomorrow i gotta find some time during the day to buy the power cord, really troublesome, sigh!

Wish me luck!

p/s: Happy Birthday to Sin Mei (had a steamboat party in raenna's house in the afternoon, nice food!)

Culinary

2010-04-08T21:32:00.004+12:00

Kitchen has never been my sanctuary. The most useful thing that i could ever done in a kitchen would probably be peeling the garlic skin and talking to the real cook like my mum and friends. Actually i really enjoy talking to them at that moment, not that i purposely want to deviate their attention, but they seem more chatty when they start cooking. In fact, it's like the best time for them to show off their multi tasking skill and delegating skill by ordering me to do things like, 'bring over the vege', 'pour some water into the pot', 'stir it for me'..... then they will get back to the chatty mode and spill out everything.

But when it comes to me, i'll be shunting everyone out and pay 100% attention to my cookery. Perhaps that's the difference between the chef and the eater, like me, haha!

Last Saturday, me and eng ann decided to cook our lunch together. We definitely want something asian, but what could we possibly cook? So we went to several asian shops and looked for ingredient. Then i saw tomyam paste on the shelf. Suddenly the image of tomyam fried beehon that my mum usually cooks on sunday morning flashed into my mind. My saliva had started drooling just based on the imagination... That's it, i'm so gonna cook that, but how?

None of us know how to cook that dish, but we didn't care and carried on with the plan. And guess what, it wasn't too bad. Of course it wasn't as tasty as my mum's, but we were really satisfied with the outcome. Finally my confidence in cooking has gone up a wee bit, haha!

Few days ago, the caretaker of ymca saw me cooking instant noodle in the kitchen and said, 'you like cooking, don't you?' I looked at her and almost wanted to roll my eye and said, 'not really, it's just i have to eat'. Then she laughed hysterically.

Will try to cook another hometown dish when the craving attacks me again!

Moving On To 2nd Week of Paed

2010-03-28T20:40:00.003+13:00

I can't believe my first week in paediatric is over. Time flies...

Recaping my last week's activities: never ending lectures/tutorials, went to a school for mentally handicapped kids, went to a Plunket centre at Lyttelton. During our visit to these schools, we need to play with the kids and observe their development at the same time. Sadly to say that i couldn't handle kids very well, i almost made one kid cry and ran away from me (luckily the mum didn't notice, phew....). Then i saw this baby with big blue eyes, so cute. Felt like pinching his cheek if i'm alone with him in the room, haha!

This attachment is definitely not as slacky or as easy as other people said. I have so many things to work on. I will nail it, gambate!

Easter is coming, so as my one week break, hehe!

Chocolate Bunny from Restaurant City

Next Run

2010-03-21T17:05:00.004+13:00

This week has been very cozy and slackly because we only had 2 days of Maori teaching. The rest of the week were actually free. Nothing could be better than sleeping in and eating brunch everyday entertained by a series of movies that i stored in my computer. Sadly time of leisure often passes without us noticing it. Guess my energy has well recharged and replenished over this weekend. Tomorrow will be the first day of my next run, paediatrics. Hope i guess to see lots of cute small kids, like Stewie in Family Guy. (oh, i have been so addicted to the cartoon series, it is so funny and brainless, haha)

This is Stewie Griffin, isn't he adorable?

Took this picture before my neonatal bedside teaching. Look at this stethoscope for newborn, so small and cute!

Hi Mummy

2010-03-15T23:20:00.003+13:00

It's so nice to see my mum again, via webcam. Technology really connects people all around the world. Miss my family.....

Very happy that iloveim is working for video call

Look at the camera and smile!

Finishing First Run

2010-03-02T20:48:00.003+13:00

Next week will be my final week in O&G, time flies, isn't it? There are lots of presentation i need to prepare, and a scary end of attachment exam next tuesday. Omg, i hope i won't be freaking out.

No more duty at the birthing suite, and i still have no normal delivery case, sob sob.... Last friday night i followed this patient from 3am till 12pm, hoping it will be a case in my log book. Unfortunately it ended up as emergency caesarean section due to some problem. Sigh.... save me!!!

Today i got praised from a gynaecology surgeon and an anaethetist, happy happy!

Cozy Weekend

2010-02-21T20:49:00.004+13:00

After a week of hectic schedule, i decided to take a short break over this weekend. Not going to do much study but just wanna have a good rest and recharge my energy for next week's work.

Went to limin's potluck party and ate alot of nice food and biscuits. Luckily my cycling helped me to burn out the excessive calories, so hopefully there was no extra weight gain after the feast. Weather was awesome, tummy was filled, watched couple of nice movies, what else could i complain of such a fantastic weekend?

Next friday night would be my second last shift at the birthing suite, please give me some normal vaginal delivery case......

Just finished watching Fame, this dance was smoking hot!

O&G

2010-02-15T21:57:00.002+13:00

Just finished my second session at the birthing suite. Unlucky me, still has no chance of watching a woman does the most noble thing on earth, which is to give birth to a baby, normally.

As usual, monday blues, i used enormous of strength to pull me out from the comfy bed and went to birthing suite and hoping there would be some interesting case for me to watch. The session was started pleasantly by meeting a nice male O&G consultant who brought me along with his team to visit a lady who was about to be induced in order to deliver a baby by today. That time i was thinking it's gonna be my lucky day. So i went back to the room to build up some rapport with the mother like what a student should do even though we don't feel like doing it most of the time.

The mother gave me her permission, but she worried that her husband might not be ok with a male student standing in the room during the delivery. Few hours later her husband came and he really was not ok for me to watch his wife giving birth. WTFFFFF........ I'm not doing anything to your wife, for goodness sake, my presence is definitely, utterly, solely on academic purpose. Chill..... so i just let my female colleague went in and watched the delivery. Wasted all the rapport built.

Then another potential case came in. I asked the midwife to get consent from the mother. She said yea. And guess what, she never came back to me until the chief midwife went in and asked her again. The midwife was a real bi*ch! I saw her so many times at the corridor and she could just ignored my request as if it's not important. Hey, i need to fill my log book, ok? Of course with her attitude like that, the mother also turned me down.

However, at least after this incident, i know who shall i rely on and who shall i loathe at. The chief midwife, Rhonda, is the nicest person in the suite. She purposely stayed back after her shift just to make sure the midwives get back to us. After so many big no-no to my face, she even consoled me and said, 'those midwives just don't understand that this is a teaching hospital and they should convince the patients to let you all go in and learn, and it's gonna be harder for you because you are a guy!'

Sexist! Chauvinist!

今年的除夕夜

2010-02-14T17:17:00.001+13:00

夜深了，我才恍然记得今晚是除夕夜。没有家人在身边，农历新年也只不过是平凡的一天。有所感触当然是免不了，能做的就只是祝福家人欢乐喜庆。

回想以往的除夕夜，是多么的令人雀跃万分。久违的亲戚，压岁钱，满宴，烟花，贺岁片，假期，红包，零食等都让每个小孩眉开眼笑。中学以后到外地求学，除夕夜变得更具有意义，深受体会团圆饭的重要性。尤其是那一刹那与多日不见的双亲重逢，不管生活有多艰难，你都会知道他们永远的默默支持你，守护你，站在那扇永不关闭的家门口。

去年年尾假期有幸与家人团聚，已足以补尝今年独自在外地过年的感伤。不知何时何日再共能享这份天伦之乐。。。但愿人长久，千里共婵眷。

我这儿的时钟已过了12点，那岂不是大年初一了！恭喜发财！在家乡的家人们必定还在慢尝那顿团圆饭。披着疲惫身躯的我，刚从妇产部值班12小时回来，誓要写完这份稿才安心，忽然想起家母时常说的一句话：‘[广东音]好就女人，不好就累人‘，真好笑！

今年的农历新年，是我养蓄精神的好一天，太阳不晒屁股都不会离床。祝大家新年快乐，心想事成，读书的学业猛进，打工的步步高升，做生意的横贯满盈，搞政治的快快反省，oops!

February

2010-02-07T15:57:00.004+13:00

I'm back in Christchurch!

Everything is already well settled. My new accommodation at ymca is fine, the only thing i hate about it is that the hostel does not provide internet service. So i gotta walk to school everyday just to reconnect myself to the virtual world.

The weather here is still quite cozy, so happy to be able to wear singlet and sleep at night. Met a few juniors and seniors, glad to catch up with them again.

The school starts tomorrow, officially. O&G is my first run, omg omg..... My biggest fear because repro was never my strong subject, and now i'm getting it for my first posting, please have mercy on me! Gotta be strong and nail it!

Interesting fact to share with you all. Do you know February 2010 has 4 Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays? It only happens every 11 year. So have a great February!

Auckland Seafood Festival

2010-02-02T14:40:00.003+13:00

Last Sunday, James brought us to this annual Auckland Seafood Festival at Viaduct. The place was pretty secluded and it took us more half an hour to walk to that place. General admission to the event was $15, but no free food provided, sob sob.....

Apart from food stalls, Auckland Seafood Festival also set up a few stages for various performances at different corners. Highlight of the day, i believed, was the cooking demostration by a big chef, sadly i wasn't the type that enter the kitchen and ignite the stove.

Walking along the pier after paying the entrance fee, bee ling was the cameraman

James: "yo people, let's go" ... Kee Ping: "wait till i finish posing"

Very nice grilled salmon

New World Supermarket booth. The platter only costed $5 *ain't what you do is the way that you do it*

Good food must be shared together

My Birthday

2010-01-21T22:08:00.004+13:00

Memorable birthday celebration at Auckland. Thank you so much, my friends!

Summer Retreat at Gold Coast

2010-01-19T13:04:00.005+13:00

A vacation inspired from a swimming session at Vista Commonwealth C pool, was regarded as a joke at the beginning but after 'a meticulous proper' planning, we finally had made this dream came true.

You know, i always had been a big fan of AirAsia "Now Everyone Can Fly". But after this flight from KL to Gold Coast, i am indeed very disappointed with its service. Before i booked the ticket, i knew this would be a long haul flight, so i decided to pay more and buy its XL seat, which supposed to have bigger leg room and able to recline more compare to the economy one. Unfortunately the reality wasn't consistent to whatever they advertised on the internet. The seat was definitely bigger than the usual one and there is ample of leg room, however what i needed the most was the recliner. Guess what, all the XL seats cannot be reclined! According to a air stewardess, she said this is an old airplane, only the XL seats in the new plane can be reclined. WHAT!!! I felt so cheated! I had a bigger seat, so what? my arse isn't that fat! I had bigger leg room, so what? my leg isn't that long! Not to mention the RM12 baby's portion nasi briyani, ew.......

Thus the whole 8 hours in the mid air was really tormenting. And that's not all, i was stopped by a custom officer and interrogated for a few more minutes after we landed. Luckily they didn't asked me to enter a room and strip. Do i look like a terrorist? Hmph....gotta do some make over soon.

The first thing we did after checking in to the hotel was Zzzzzzz. Exploration of the town only started after we snoozed for a couple of hours. In general, gold coast is a pretty place. The beaches from Main Beach to Surfers Paradise to Broadbeach were sandy and fine. Temperature wise, panas! We could hardly walk on the beach barefooted because it was sizzling hot. That's why i don't understand why the Caucasians can stay under the sun for so long without feeling burned.

The main purpose of visiting Gold Coast was definitely not sun bathing at the beach, but because of the theme parks. We managed to enter 4 theme parks across 5 days. One word to conclude all theme parks: Queuing. All theme parks were so damn crowded because it's summer holiday. Lesson learned.

Pictures certainly could describe my excitement more than words. Enjoy!

International Beach Resort, the place where we stayed. It is just 5 minutes walk away from the core of Surfers Paradise.

The view from our apartment's balcony

Trying to do a jumping shot at the beach

Surfers Boulevard, the centre of Surfers Paradise

Pasific Fair, the biggest shopping centre in Gold Coast

The alcoholic and her triple platinum margaritta

Dracula's Carbaret Show, Vampirates. It is a very interesting place, the whole buidling is decorated with dracula's concept, even the waiters and workers put on funny make up.

At King Tut's Putt Putt, for golfer wannabe. I guess we were the oldest player apart from the parents who accompanied their young kids

This is the Egytian Course, 18 holes in total. James was the winner, scoring the highest score

The last hole of the course. Posing victoriously with the king cobra statue

Theme Park 1: Wet n Wild

Got sunburned over my shoulders even though i had put on sunblock, sob sob......

Theme Park 2: Movie World

Cartoon Characters' Parade

Best roller coaster, Superman's MRT (not sure if it's offcial name). The ride's speed was exhilarating and the best of all was that the queue wasn't too long

Cute pig statue & me, hehe!

Posing at the Main Street of Movie World before we left

Theme Park 3: Dreamworld

Did i tell you that koala bear is so adorable? It looked like a soft toy when i pet it. Wish i could rear one in my house

James and his sno kon, something like ice kacang but without kacang

Swarna hot flushing with her $10 fan

Special performance from MTV

Posing at the Animal Island with kangaroos hooping here and there at the sides. We didn't take much pictures from the rides because we were too dazed to do so. Oh, we are proud to say that we had tried the world tallest freefall, The Giant Drop, haha!

Theme Park 4: Sea World

The sea lion peformed really well

Nice shot from James. But i still prefered the dolphin performance in Ocean Park, HK

Thank you Swarna and James, i really enjoyed this last vacation before our graduation. Next vacation at Six Flags, US perhaps? Haha!

Gold Coast, Australia

2010-01-16T20:35:00.001+13:00

Awesome vacation, more updates coming up!

The Journey Begins

2010-01-06T18:43:00.007+13:00

No more home sweet home, it's time to get back to the reality....

I have never enjoyed holiday so much like this before. Not that i visited a lot of places, in fact, i barely stepped out of my house. So what have i been doing? Well, doing things that do not require any brain activity like watching movies, playing fb games or dota, improving my piano skill and etc. The feeling is kinda like hiding in a peace haven where outside world is no longer our business and the only concern is to decide what to eat for next meal. Sigh, don't know when will i have the opportunity to do so again.

Eaten all my favorite local food (except banana leaf rice, sob sob....), met up with some of my close friends, sent my brother off to subang for college, took a family portrait, bought a few new gadgets and clothes.....wow, quite an accomplishment! Haha!

Tomorrow i will be taking a bus down to LCCT all alone, sob sob...... Next station will be Gold Coast, Australia. Woo, can't wait to visit all the theme parks and get a nice sun tanning at the beach! Just hope the aussie custom won't turn my luggage upside down and kacao kacao.

Last vacation before the school starts, so gonna enjoy it to the max!

2009, What A Year!

2009-12-31T23:59:00.000+13:00

It's a year full with turbulence and challenges, a year spent in foreign land and a year that make me realize beautiful things actually are just sitting by our sides.

At the beginning of 2009. i was busy preparing myself, both physically and mentally for education abroad. Of course things didn't turned up as smoothly as i wished to be, but i must be grateful that nothing disastrous fall upon me.

Now reaching the end of 2009, i can't help but to flash back all the significant and memorable moment which had occurred. If only i could capture and compile all these memories into a movie and share it with those who sincerely care for me. Hopefully lessons learned this year could be applied for next year and mistakes done will not be repeated forever.

Next year will be a critical year, time shall not be wasted on unnecessary agendas. The amount of energy and effort needed is beyond my imagination, all i can do is to focus and stay on path at all time. I guess this new year resolution might be as thick as dictionary then.

Ready for 2010? Hell yea, bring it on!

Family Portrait (Behind the Scene)

2009-12-22T07:22:00.006+13:00

Finally our family had our first proper family portrait taken from the studio, all we needed to pay was just RM80. Yea, it was cheap and we were pretty happy with the outcome.

This package included hairdo, make up, dress/coat and 6 pieces of 4R size photos. However the make up and hairdo took approximately 2 hours for the 3 ladies in my family. What did we XY do? Nothing except to wait patiently.....

Before i reveal our official family portrait, let's see a few 'behind the scene' pictures. In conclusion, it is really fun.

Gentlemen of the family.....waiting indefinitely for the ladies to prep themselves

Me and my siblings, getting ready before the photoshooting starts

Mummy was so excited to put on 'wedding dress' again after 2 decades plus

Behind the scene 1 (my brother's solo pic)

Behind the scene 2 (my parent's couple pic)

Shopping Spree

2009-12-10T02:10:00.004+13:00

Just came back from KL after 3 days of shopping spree, feeling so guilty..... at least gotta show it in front of my parents who pay for my credit card bills, haha!

Items that i got from these few days:

a) Laptop - brandless but good performance specs

b) Bluetooth stereo - original sony erricsson's product but cannot tune into radio

c) Stethoscope - classic littmann with navy blue colour

At the same time, i met up with the 2 aucklander who just came back from the kiwiland and never stopped complaining about the boiling temperature in KL.

Taking the first picture from my laptop's webcam

Forever Young

2009-12-03T04:08:00.004+13:00

Scenario 1:

Went out for lunch with my dad and brother, joined by my dad's friend, Mr. A.

Mr. A: Oh, where are you studying?
Me: Studying university at overseas.
Mr. A: *amazed* how old are you? 15 or 16?

(I instantly burst into laughter and my brother gave me the jaw-dropping shocking look, because i looked younger than him, muahaha.....)

Scenario 2:

Went to the optician to fix my spectacles and get new sets of contact lens, accompanied by my mum.

Salesgirl: Are you working or studying?
Me: Studying.
Salesgirl: High school?
Mum: Haha, you wish, he is 20+ years old already.
Salesgirl: *amazed* unbelievable, he still has the baby face look.

(I turned to my mum and rolled my eyes)

Wish i could have this anti ageing ability till i reach middle age, it would be so cool!

Random Pictures from Handphone

2009-11-24T16:03:00.006+13:00

Before i left Christchurch, i went to New Brighton's beach. This is the pier. Many old uncles and aunties sitting at the end to fish. The wind was strong and chilly, i couldn't stay there for too long because i didn't wear enough warm clothes. The sand was quite fine so it was quite comfortable to walk barefooted.

Piha Beach in Auckland is still the best beach i ever visited in NZ.

Kia ora is a very common Maori term used in NZ, it simply means hello. Luckily we don't have to learn the entire language to study in NZ, however we still need to learn its culture and do some assignment, and the worst thing is, next year there will be a Maori OSCE, sigh.... i like to learn other cultures, but not when it is under pressure.

On my cycling journey back to city centre, i spotted this road sign so instantly stopped and took a snap.

Manuka honey (except the last white bottle), my souvenirs for my family. I don't know what's so special about it, the only thing i know is the price difference. The bottle at the left costs $18, whereas the white one only costs $2. Will i grow stronger if i have a tinge of it? Should try that later, hehe....

This is the guest room of my house, but i'm sleeping in it. Pretty sad, right? Ever since i studied in kl, my brother has 'colonized' my room as if i was exiled from this house, sob sob.... Never mind, i shall grab it back one day it the future!

And finally, the real picture of this annoying creature. You will know the whole story if you read my previous post. Well, the good thing is that i slowly adapting to its noise, but i still can't sleep later than 8am, i miss waking up late and have brunch while watching a silly movie.

Cursing the rooster to have recurrent nerve paralysis, laryngitis, epiglotitis, pharynx obstruction, #$@%

Morning Revival

2009-11-19T12:36:00.003+13:00

Greetings to everyone from my home sweet home!

It's so nice to be back at home, seeing all the people i love and eating all the food i crave. Hope i wouldn't be a big fat boy by the time i leave, hehe!

Anyway, it's 6.30am and i'm sitting in front of the computer fb-ing and typing this post. Why? Thanks to the annoying wild roosters that my neighbour rears, that crow hysterically every 5 o'clock in the morning. That's not the end, these 2 damn cocks will continuously fulfilling their duty of breaking the dawn every 10 minutes, alternately. Gosh, please have mercy on a light sleeper like me....

Feel like just go over and tear their vocal cords apart! *roar*

How about my family members? Poor thing, they already desensitized by the noise, sigh... Hope i can acquire that ability soon.

Great News

2009-11-12T12:48:00.003+13:00

Yeah, i pass 4th year! That means i can go back home and enjoy my summer holiday, hooray!

Congratz to the 5th year who pass their final exam! Soon it will be my turn to sit for that terrifying exam, scared..... But don't care, i'll enjoy my holiday first, hehe!

Holiday

2009-10-31T21:46:00.004+13:00

I enjoy waking up late in the morning and watch a silly movie

Why?

Simply because i'm in holiday now, hooray!

Gravity - Sara Bareilles

2009-10-27T23:15:00.002+13:00

Something always brings me back to you
It never takes too long
No matter what I say or do
I'll still feel you here 'til the moment I'm gone

You hold me without touch
You keep me without chains
I never wanted anything so much
Than to drown in your love and not feel your rain

Chorus:
Set me free, leave me be
I don't want to fall another moment into your gravity
Here I am and I stand so tall
Just the way I'm supposed to be
But you're on to me and all over me

Oh, you loved me 'cause I'm fragile
When I thought that I was strong
But you touch me for a little while
And all my fragile strength is gone

CHORUS

I live here on my knees
As I try to make you see
That you're everything I think I need
Here on the ground
But you're neither friend nor foe
Though I can't seem to let you go
The one thing that I still know is that
You're keeping me down
Oooh

Keeping me down
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

You're on to me, on to me and all over

Something always brings me back to you
It never takes too long...

一

2009-10-22T21:25:00.003+13:00

刚在自由媒体看到一篇有关“1Malaysia”的文章，发现到有一个非常特别的诗，但不是很明白其意义，想请教一些路过贤者的指点。

一，不可一以观之。

一，不可以一观之。

一，不可观之以一。

一，不可以之一观。

一者，一也！

1 month

2009-10-17T15:02:00.003+13:00

Exactly one month later, i will be sitting on an airplane back to my hometown, hooray....

Can't deny the fact that time actually passes by without us noticing it. I am here in nz for almost 9 months, and finally the time of going back home is drawing near. I am so excited! I already started thinking of what to do and what to eat when i go back, gosh, i miss home!

14 Gloucester St.

2009-10-10T17:54:00.007+13:00

*This post is exclusively dedicated for imu juniors who are coming to christchurch next year*

Also known as imu flat since last year, 14 gloucester st is the accommodation specially reserved for all imu 4th year students, simply because of its strategic location in the middle city centre. Only 10 minutes walk along Rolleston Avenue and the bridge across Avon River will bring you to the place you always want to be...HOSPITAL, haha!

Transportation has never been a problem in christchurch, especially when you live in this flat. 15 minutes of slow pace stroll is all you need to reach the core of christchurch where you can find rows of shops to deal with your errands or treat your hunger. Well, if you are too lazy to walk, a bus stop right in front of this flat can fetch you to anywhere you want, for example, airport.

It is a standard and comfy flat ideal for students who aren't going to splurge all out during the time of study here. Ample of compound in individual room but not so suitable for people who wish to hold a party in the common area. Heat insulation is pretty substandard so better thickened up your skin now or prepare to pay the bill. Though it is at the centre of the city, you don't have to worry about noise pollution, you can barely hear anything (it's christchurch, for goodness's sake), unless it is produced by the flat inmates.

Pictures and descriptions of the flat are shown below: (click the image to enlarge)

Lounge--the place for osce practice and late night gossip. For those who can't withstand the cold weather, the lounge is equipped with a heat pump that keep you warm at a lower cost. Sleepover at the lounge is very common among the flatmates.

My bedroom (don't dare to invade other flatmates' room). Most of the rooms are similar in size, except 2 rooms that subdivided into 2 small units. A double bed, wardrobe, desk and chair are provided. Sunshine in the room is very crucial in this country, fortunately all the rooms are well lit as long as you open the curtains.

There are 2 bathrooms and 2 toilets in this flat, so it shouldn't be a problem if everyone wakes up at the same time in the morning. But remember to keep these places clean and dry at all times to prevent fungal growth.

Laundry room has both washing machine and dryer. However the room is not big enough to hang any clothes, hence backyard or your own room are the better choices.

This kitchen has all the necessities, eg. stove, microwave, fridge, utensils, pots and etc. Of course you have to get your own groceries and do the cleaning.

Backyard, a place for the school staff to park their car. It is also another good place to hang your clothes in a bright, sunny day.

This is just a random collage

Finally, mua!

For further information, please click here to read Michelle Gan's last year review.

How about a round of applause?

2009-10-01T09:00:00.003+13:00

I still remember vividly kevin was making fun of this song when it first came out last year. Never know this song actually is so nice until Rachel from 'Glee' sang it in the second episode.

Friends' Visit

2009-09-24T15:20:00.002+12:00

Swarna

James

Picnic at Botanical Garden

Camwhore at weird angle

Walk around the town (Art Centre)

Victoria Park

Spending great time with great friends

Interschool Plenary

2009-09-20T22:48:00.004+12:00

This picture was taken last Thursday when we had our third interschool plenary. This time the lecture was delivered by Wellington. However, the session was being interrupted for a couple of times due to some technical problem. That's why i got the chance to bring out my phone and snapped a shot. Spot me if you can from the lower right window of right screen.

I like the fat granulocyte picture on the left, so cute!