I'm still recovering from this morning's post-presentation syndrome. My first ever fear in presenting a case to my colleagues. 'A person with significant hand disability (post traumatic, rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis)' is my topic presentation. I've done my prep early last week. But just for the last two days, I read on hand conditions and realized there are lots and lots which I have not covered in my powerpoint. With all the busy timetable and close presentation day, I allocated time on it to be done at least one hr before my actual presentation time. But, they are just too much to cover, or rather I don't know how much I should cover. The more I study, the more I think the conditions should be shared. But time is precious, I ended up choosing the common ones.

I have not prepared well for my presentation, i guess, work without prep doesn't often turn out great,rite? I'm disappointed at myself really, what I want to do is to share what I've learnt about hand importance with my colleagues. I think I was somehow at the verge of breakdown, but somehow managed to pull myself back, and delivered a presentation. I'm just not 'bony' enough for MSK ya?

Case presentation is very common in Western's education. I supposed that's why they are more outspoken and very confidence in presenting themselves. Asians are totally opposites, spoon-feeding is the practice unfortunately. Hahaha. I'm still learning to build my confidence and my communication skills. I get muddled easily and will be panicky if I am questioned by the biggies (consultants, registrars, HS...). Arrghh, need to get it over with confidence appearance and answer. A friend of mine suggested way to help me, he gave me a task to talk to at least one stranger on the street for about 5 mins until it reaches 100 in total. Ohh my...it is challenging for me. But I did talked to a few but have stopped it for some time now. Hahaha.
It's quite fun though although it requires skills to continue a conversation especially you are doing it with random strangers. What the?

But overall, I find case presentation is helpful. Aside from building up confidence, it also tests on one's method of delivering it, the content of the presentation and time-management skill. Life is a sage, we never stop learning but hopefully, as we learn, we grow wiser. :)

To conquer the battlefield, we have worked hard, and be there for each other; yet, it seems so far now that is it God's will for this hurdle at such timing? We shall leave it to God's hand. I'm grateful to have you as my big sister. Being the eldest in my family, I'm more of a counselor or adviser to my brother and sisters. Hahaha. You constantly guide me, lending me hand at school work, wake me up from my laziness in completing assignments, your secret home remedies for colds, and most of all, being bearable of me not being a movie fan!!!

Now that you're gone, I'm gonna miss you so much. Miss all the nagging on assignments to due soon,on my food obsession, and our stupid silly talks during study group. >_< All the moments that we spent together, I will cherish and treasure it. Be tough, and stand firm on your decision, never say die before giving your best!! ;) Support ya all the way!! *hugs*

Note: I'm looking forward to your future return and if I'm being offered a job here, we will have a good feast ya. If not, I'm going to hunt ya in your home country. :D

Thank you for being part of the footprints in my life. Take care!!!

2 months 3 days to go before finals kicks in. I can feel stresses are building up in me, for the past 2 weeks, I've been thinking if I can make it. I'm repeating the year, and being an international student, my tuition fee is certainly not cheap at all. The tuition fee itself is NZD50k, moreover, its not fixed. There is usually a slight increment in every year. I'm very very grateful and lucky to be able to do medicine, and be given a second chance to do it!!!

Medicine is not a cheap course. At least half a million is required for the fees itself, thus, most medical students are either on scholarships or study loans. I'm on 'pa-ma' (Pa = 'papa' or father, Ma = 'mama' or mother). Recently, a friend of mine was told that her government scholarship was terminated and she could not continue her medical course. At that one moment, I felt life can be so cruel. Just another 1 1/4 yrs, we'll be serving the society and the payment could be started from then. Why destroy the dream of a dedicated pursuer at such a critical moment? It might not be as long as famous enterpreneurs or businessmen, but 5 years of sweats and hard work is not nothing!! I'm not clear of how the government system works when it comes to scholarship distribution and every countries has its own rules and regulations,so i guess the administration will differ to some extent. All I hope is that my friend's upcoming meet-up with the authorities in her country will go smooth and hope to see her back in med. school and together we graduate as medical doctors!!

Life is so unpredictable, isn't it? I always thought that anything can happen in this world, so I try to live freely without any worries. Unfortunately, it's so hard. As long as we are in this world, worries are always there. My lecturer once told us our brain is 30 seconds ahead of our next action. In other words, everything seems to be destined before we actually pursue it. Imagine Sir Einstein's determination with all the experiments and the deeds of murderers and criminals, both actions were pre-determined. So amazed yet mysterious. :)

Alrightee. I shall go back to my case history. Ergghh..it always takes me days to finish case discussion. I must get it done in 15 mins time. And I'm going to enjoy the lovely sun out there!!! Feel like getting myself a smoothie..hehehe.

It's the end of week 3 of MSK run. MSK stands for musculoskeletal. That's right, I'm doing the bone and joints run. I must admit orthopaedics (aka bones) is a highly competitive subspecialty. And of high profit too!! So for those who are eyeing for money, orthopaedics should be on top of the list. :D
MSK is busy and quite full-on!! I've been having full-on days for the past 3 weeks; from 8am - 5ish pm). Teachings, theatres, orthopaedic outpatients clinic, rheumato outpatient clinic...that's what my life has been occupied by. And my eye bags are getting heavier and heavier..its time for me to have a sleep. Shall update the rest soon. :)

Hurray! Our lovely glorious sun has finally made her appearance after a week of chillingly cold and cloudiness.
Not forgetting, the weekends is here! My aim is, hopefully, to be fully recovered from my current cold state. I think it's a cold, though I was malaise and had a slight temp. 4 days ago. With the on-going swine flu & H1N1, I questioned myself if I should just be home-bounded until I'm completely well. Being the 'virus' currently, the last thing I would really want is to spread it to other people. We all know the immunocompromised are susceptible to any bugs. Immunocompromised, is just another flashy medical term, which actually means the diseased or sick people; hence, I used to think the sick should be more worried when they are outdoor as they are highly favoured by the bugs. Yet, as the sick is more prone to be attacked by the other bugs, home is the best place, not just for recovery but also to stay away from the potentially virulent bugs.
I have a number of tasks to be done this weekends, Study group, grocery shopping, 2 reports( due next Friday)and attend to a self-help group...My nose is stuffed, breathing through mouth now. Together with the loss of smell, i have disruption in my taste bud too. Could hardly taste any food that I've been taking in lately unless if they are exceptionally pungent, sweet, hot.
Alrightee, I'm going to bed! Nitez!

It is the 2nd day of addiction medicine. What is addiction? For me, it refers to physical and psychological dependence on a substance(s) or an activity that have a significant impact on one's daily functioning and also the surrounding people. And yes, it can be inherited, scary,rite? Seems to me that most medical conditions do have some genetic components. Let's see what I'm addicted to. Hmm, currently, I might be an exercise freak. I work-out 7 days a week unless I have calls to attend or I'm deadly sick. There are many classes, right from smooth relaxing moves (Body Yoga, Body Tai-Chi) to energetic and high-impact moves (Body Attack, Body Combat, Body Jam). I have never attended any ever since I became a member, instead, I prefer going on to treadmill, cross-training and weights. Maybe I should give it a try on one of the classes as they are highly recommended by my friends who are also the gym members. By the way, Les Mills is the gym that I signed up for. Guess what, they are moving to a newly renovated building@Cashel street in about 80+ days.

To help us to gain a perspective of an addict, we are allocated to different clinical placements respectively. Basically, they are residential houses for the recovery of A&D (Alcohol & Drug) addicts. There are of outpatient, short-term and long-term basis; depending on the assessment results of the clients. Philip (my groupmate) and I have been allocated to Salvation Army ChCh Bridge. It is a 'good' start of a day for me for I went on to the wrong bus!! Well, it was the right bus number, just that it went opposite from my destination. >_< After a few stops, I felt the bus was further and further away, I then checked with the driver. 'We are going to Sheffield Crescent/Burnside.' I quickly stopped at the stop and waited for the RIGHT bus. At the meantime, I texted Philip, informing him of my silly incident and also asked him to inform the in-charge person. I was 55 mins late, supposed to start@9am. Had a warm welcome by Andrea and the receptionist. *hUgs*

We were slotted in into the conducted sessions for the day. "Healthy living" is the first session, whereby Prof Fraser was invited (together with his pot specimens) to share his knowledge of the effects of alcohol and drugs on the body. Though I only sat in for the last 20 mins, it was a good revision for the finals. :p Next is the supportive sobriety (relapse prevention). Together with 8 alcoholics, we watched a video titled P.A.W.S (Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome), followed by a discussion on it. I find this session is meaningful, the fact that one of the guys asked, 'it seems like there is always terms/conditions lining up for us (addicts) to come face-to-face to.' I agree with him but without the word 'addicts'. Haha. I think everyone has an on-going unresolved problems, there is always something challenging out there waiting for us. :D Interview an alcoholic concludes the session for the day. My lady was very kind to share her addiction history, medical history and social life with me. To be honest, I could never fully understand an addict's life but I'm willing to listen to them.

Alrighty, its 9:52pm! Bedding time! Hope I recover from my cold soon. Night!!

It has been at least 2 months since I last updated. Thanks to my dear flatmate for the reminder. :p
I have 4 big missions to accomplish in one week time, first, a group presentation on this Wed followed by a biochem test the next day , a end-of-run written test on Fri and an assignment to be handed in by next Mon.
Will update on my current run some other time. Now its my bedding time!! :)

      Time passes, indeed. Its the 2nd last day of my easter break. A share of what I've been up to so far,

10th April '09
Karaoke session with friends (June, Henry, Andrew and Wayne) @ Ancestral cafe. Believe it or not, it was my first ever karaoke singing. LOL. I'm not good at singing, though I do sing but only a few phrases to myself. One more thing, I'm out-dated with the latest mandarin songs. Sorry guys, I just don't keep track of it. Overall, its a good catch-up event. Get to listen to my talented friends' singing is a pleasure for me. I still prefer to be a listener. Can't I? :p

11th April'09
It's my buddy's birthday!! *Happy birthday, Ling Sing!*
For tomorrow is Easter Sunday, we had a day earlier birthday celebration for Henry @ Bluefish (a Japanese restaurant). It was to start at 5:45pm, I thought I'd probably be late but turned out I'm the first one to arrive at 5:50pm. Henry, Andrew and John (aka the guys / 'family') were there waiting to receive the guests like me. Hehe. We checked out the menu and also the sushi train while waiting for the rest. Being a salmon fan, I opted for a bowl of teriyaki salmon on the train. Salmon is the best unquestionably!! Yum~
By 6:30pm, all guests have arrived. Without hesitation, all proceed with own orderings. As we are quite a huge group and only a table of 2 or 4 are available, we sit to the sushi train. Hence, we have subgroups for chatting. By the way, the restaurant itself is not spacious, maybe its to accommodate the long sushi train. June and I then shared a vegetarian yaki udon. I think the udon is tangy, however, it might be a bit oily and salty. Shall go for soups in my next visit. :D

12th April'09
*Happy birthday, dear Henry!*
Today marks the start of our 4 study group sessions in this 1-week of holiday.

14th April'09
      I'm back to baking! Hehe. Recently, I'm into baking cupcakes / muffins. About 1 month ago, I first tried baking chocolate cupcake. They turned out good, apparently. I shall take it as compliment. :D I baked lemom poppyseed muffins, they turned out very good. I will take them as a suppot pushing me to try different recipes.
 

      That's about it on what I've done since my break started. After that, I just do reading and attend gym for workout. Pretty much the same routine everyday but I love it. =) Okie, till then. TIme to sleep...:)
 

      Today has been chillingly cold, wet and windy! I walked against the strong winds for my first group study session at uni with bags on both my shoulders. One bag of study materials whilst another is packed with sportswear, toiletries and a comb as I'm going for a workout in a gym.
It was our (Prabha, Yati and me) first study group of the year. Cardiovascular system is our first revision topic. We practised over the past year questions on histories, exams and patient educations. I did patient education and exams, haven't got a chance to do history. Shall do that in the next session. Overall, it was a good start. Nobody is perfect, by filling the knowledge gaps in between, lets hope we nail the year together!!  Charge forward and put our game face on !!! :)

PS: this should be posted on 30 March 09. Hahaha.

      Today is the start of 1-week easter break! So far, there is no any plans for other than scheduled study group session, otherwise, just chill out and spend it wisely. :D -- 8th April 09

 

 This is going to be quite a long blog, I ll try to make it short but sweet. Hehe.

First of all, I had my first laser strike this morning@Moorhouse Ave (Harvey Norman building)!! There are about 20 of us (including 10 outsiders). We were briefed on the gun features by a talking computer screen and by the instructor, on the dos'&don'ts. After having our gear on, we then secured ourselves position in the dark combat space. Our gear consists of a vest with the gun attached along. The vest has 4 lighting areas (1 front, 1 back, and 2 on the shoulders) to be shoot at. 60 pts for shooting the front, 40? for the back and 10? each on the shoulder? Couldn't remember much. LOL. There are 2 teams, red and blue. The rule of the game is to shoot as many as you can, get as many points as your can. Having to run around in a centrally-heated space with my Kathmandu down jacket on, I felt so stuffed. How stupid I am eh.  Anyhow, I had lots of fun, and I can't believe that I was the most accurate player. Haha. Hope we could all play together in the future. Hehe.

I shall share some of my outings throughout the interschool learning week.