Healer

Great song of declaration!

You hold my every moment
You calm my raging sea
You walk with me through fire
You heal all my disease

I trust in You
I trust in You

I believe You're my healer
I believe You are all I need
I believe You're my portion
I believe You're more than enough for me
Jesus You're all I need

Nothing is impossible for You
Nothing is impossible
Nothing is impossible for You
You hold my world in Your hands

Great Ocean Road

Bays of Islands on the Great Ocean Road

8-m pool @ Great Ocean Road

Shopping at Ripcurl, Torquay

In the Car

Reaching for the rainbows

Sisters in Australia (I)

The start of our roadtrip to Melbourne from Adelaide

The Blue Lake at Mt Gambir

Warrnambool - "whale-less" watching

Losing a part of my good memories

Mum just informed me that the sale of our old house is being finalised. It will be handed over to the buyer on 9th July. Mum also said my siblings will be going to have a last look at the place this weekend. I know it sounds silly, but i feel a sense of loss and nostalgia.

My old place is where I had my best times - my secondary school period. It was easy to do well in school, cca, lifesaving, ballet, piano... there might have been some BGR worries at that point but it was still rather carefree as a whole, perhaps cuz I was young(er). If i had to to so many things now, somehow i think i wouldnt be able to cope. Age is catching up i suppose...? or is life more complex now? or uni too demanding?

I love my old place. It's a good location. Smack right between RI and CHS, I had the best of both worlds. heh. just kidding. seriously speaking, its location is perfect. On good days, it only takes me 15 mins to get home from school by bus. Its close to amenities like swimming pool, shopping mall, MRT, etc.

Most of all, its the memories I associate with that place that brings on the nostalgia. Even my sibilings agree (thats why they are going back for one last look). Its where we grew up. Its where my family had the best times - our golden years. I think if we were to move from our current place, we'd just go without looking back. Our current house, though more pleasant in decor and more spacious, lacks that little extra the previous house had.

One more thing, that "tall man" at home! Im sure my bro remembers it. We often see it wandering around the little family area upstairs. I quite sure he is still there. haha. Goodbye Tall Man.

And Goodbye...
My home
My warm shelter
My comfortable abode

I will have to secretely admire your new look from afar the next time i return.

History

The way in which a human mind differs from a computer is in the way information cannot be erased. Some suggest hypnosis to overcome bad past, some suggest NLP to lessen the impact of bad memories. Although you can alter the way u see your past, you cant change the events.

The body's natural mechanism of coping with awful experiences is putting these memories into an archive, which will not usually surface. When similar events occur later on, it triggers the bad memories in the archives and open emotional floodgates. This nullifies the effort you put in to change the way you see the past. What then? Do we start the healing process all over again? I guess the answer is yes, if you wanna live a life of normality.

Blunt

I took what's mine by eternal right.
Took your soul out into the night.
It may be over but it won't stop there,
I am here for you if you'd only care.

You touched my heart you touched my soul.
You changed my life and all my goals.
And love is blind and that I knew when
My heart was blinded by you.

I've kissed your lips and held your head.
Shared your dreams and shared your bed.
I know you well,
I know your smell.

I've seen you cry, I've seen you smile.
I've watched you sleeping for a while.
I've been addicted to you.

I am a dreamer but when I wake,
You can't break my spirit - it's my dreams you take.
And as you move on, remember me,
Remember us and all we used to be

Goodbye my lover.
Goodbye my friend.
You have been the one.
You have been the one for me.

Your way with me

You've got a way to make me smile when it hurts
To make me forget the pain and focus on what's worth
And when it creeps back
You've got a way

You've got a way to make wrong things seem right
Because you've got a way with words
It's also the way you hold me
The way you comfort and adore me

You've got a way to make me believe in myself
You make me let go of my fears
With you around
There's someone to wipe my tears

Though I may cry
Your way will always work
You've got your way with me
The way in which darkness never lurks

Epitome of comatosity and fading memories

Nothing seems to be able to excite me much these days. Happiness is transient, so is sadness - things just keep falling back into the "neutral" state. I cant find something I'm really happy or sad about. Things that used to matter dont matter much these days. My memories seem to be fading with time and with each bout of illness i get. Resting and sleeping more than usual seem to dilute memories, emotions and dreams. Desensitized.

With life so transient, there is no one solution to what it throws are u... so once again I'm at lost of what to do. Maybe just take it a day at a time and rough it out in a smooth way? Comatosity behind the art of Zenity perhaps. But i dont think i have another choice... I'm too numb, too weary to do anything else.

Uncovering Carrie

Supressed emotions

i wanna get really excited about my trip with the girls, but ive got exams on my back.

6 Days to OSCE (pronounced oz-ski)

9 Days to Biomechanics viva

Then comes the written exams.... where im going to be experiencing a pharmacological overdose... and biomechanical breakdown.

My new baby - k810i

The latest addition to my shopping bag which marks the perfect start to the Great Singapore Sale'07 which began yesterday ---> my new handphone K810i~ I switched my loyalty from Samsung to Sony Ericsson in favour of the cybershot tech camera, so I can take good pictures all the time. You never know when you need the camera.

I've never been so decisive before...haha... starhub launched it today, then I walked in and bought it. Yeah.. so happy now...though the damage was $498 *bleah*!

Our first JC mate who got married

So many things going on but no time to write everything down. Anyhow, I really must write briefly about this as other than XR, the rest of you weren't there.

So here goes... you know what they say... a picture speaks louder than words.. photos are courtesy of Gil's camera phone~

(Zai, XR, Belinda, Rebecca, Me & Gil)

Belinda's wedding was held on 12th May at Traders' Hotel. It's the first wedding that I've attended by myself & for that, my first red packet out - some sorta milestone in my life, haha! It was a small cosy affair but I don't have her husband in the photos I'm afraid. Let me summarise by saying the couple are teachers at SRJC at the moment. The food was good though I had some trouble eating due the lack of teeth and soreness of my bite.

XR & I before the wedding began...

p.s. Belle, I have extracted out my first pre-molars on the upper deck by this time. See anything??? (not going to write much abt the braces for now... but I will post up a picture of my pre-molars when I take a picture of them)

The Giant Magnifying Glass

Things are amplified and intensified when you are overseas - far away from shelter and security. Days seem a little longer here cuz there is no "going home" feeling... you are constantly on the move and constantly looking after every nitty gritty. At home, you can sit back for a good 12 hours everyday - 4 hrs semi nua-ing time at home + 8 hrs of peaceful sleep knowing that ur parents are in the next room and knowing that your neighbourhood is safe at night - something we lack here.

I guess being away have allowed me to look at things from a different prespective. Not just look look, but really experiencing and looking deep into the matter. its easy for me to sit back in my room in singapore and go "hmm yeah if i was alone in another place... things would be like this or that... I would learn to be independent, etc"... but thinking and imagining can never match the real experience.

Not that i never knew it, but over here, it really sinks in how so much my parents mean to me. And now that they are older, i do worry for them. I usually think of them in the mornings when i wake. Like a passing thought and i smile and go "hello dad, hope u have a good day at work" sorta thing.

And not that i wanna quit and run home now; i am still embracing this experience.

Its not just family and friends that i miss as individuals... its the life and the happenings. When i first arrived here, we were made to attend orientation lectures which taught us about starting a new life away from home - the uprooting and rerooting business. I remember clearly the diagram of a tree and the animation that came along with it... man, i do feel like that tree now - growing cuz im learning ... and cuz of the undying support from a few important pple. A life changing experience calls for a life long gratitude...

And i just wanna say, "i'll be there for you... cuz you're there for me too."

Phenolic experience

Clinic today was good because...

1. I made my first insole (orthotic device) to help a patient ease his foot pains (medial longitudinal arch and dorsum)
   
   
2. And I sat in while one of my seniors performed surgery on a 15 year old boy. Was quite an eye opener.
   
   
   

It's Hannah's and Mery's bday parties on friday. Hannah's got a unique personality and last name - Szewczyk. She's of Polish descent. I also have italian, greek, serbian, etc classmates and a german lecturer. I love these ethnic pple; they give Australia colour and flavour. I like this feeling of being in Little Potpourri Europe, esp the cultural exposure and appreciation (gastronomic included, heh).

Wanted

Description

Asian Male

Approx 6 foot

Skinny frame

Last seen UniSA City West library @ quarter past 4 yesterday

Wore black jumper

Reward

You'll receive the money he tried to take from me

The old new

When I was back home over the summer hols, I swopped my ballroom shoes for my ballet ones. My luggage was way overweight when i returned to adelaide this time but i insisted on bringing my ballet barang with me. I managed to bring everything over thanks to justin who allowed me to tong pang his baggage capacity.

Dont get me wrong. I love ballroom, especially latin. But theres something about ballet that makes me keep going back to it.

I love being in a studio with other ballet girls. I love dancing to instructed routines and having a teacher guide me along. I think this is how I grew to take criticism with a positive attitude. Without constructive critique and comments, I would never had come this far in dance. I had Ms Penny with me all my ballet life... and i miss her.

Now i'm offically contemporary ballet student at Norwood Ballet Centre. :) Contemporary is the new ballet for me - old steps, new moves. I'm lovin' it.

May days

Welcome to the merry month of May

Birthdays

Spiderman Three

Week of 7th may - Happy days all week cuz
teaching staff away for conference

Pirates of the Caribbean

Mother's Day

P/S: May it also be a merry month for u!

...Life...

It's been some time since my last entry. Pretty busy as usual but not necessarily interesting..

Work goes on as usual. Then again, not as usual because I did practically nothing last week because I was in Bangkok from Tue-Thu which meant I had no Monday blues and other types of depression. On top of that, in a world with experiments, a single day usually means you can't do much...so I kinda bummed a bit and spent time chatting with people...haha~ It's great to have colleagues that you can get along with so you don't exactly dread going to work daily (except the getting up bit...). To make things better, my boss is not around this week and will be back after Labour Day... that gives me time to get back into the swing of things. Having some problems with my Southern blotting...I just hope it works out. I kinda get stressed when I have nothing to show my boss during my weekly personal meeting with him.

Bangkok was hot and dusty --> what else is new??? But as usual, the food is yummy... I just love Tom Yum Soup, Phat Thai... Shopping was alright. Things are still cheap but transport and food have increased in price. I think the service standard really has dropped and the people don't seem to be that happy. Land of Thousand Smiles has became Land of 100 Smiles it seems. I wonder why...could it be the political situation or the standard of living? In addition, the taxis have become more brazen... with many refusing to use the meter...tsk tsk~ However, I do compliment the new airport. It's cleaner, brighter and more cheery. Despite all the negative media reports or the "official" comments, I don't see any problem and didn't have any problem at all. Am I reading too much from what I see? It seems to be politics at work again... shall not go too much into this... I shall leave you to ponder over it.

Issues on my teeth have been settled when I went to see the orthodontist 2 weeks back. Decided on braces which will be done at National Dental Centre. Did the X-rays which cost me 200 bucks. Throw in the GST --> $210 but I must say the equipment were sophisticated... Extractions will be done on 8 May. *horrors* I will need to extract 2 teeth from the upper deck first... the banding should be done a week later. Did I say I was dental-phobic? Can't be helped since I really have no more space on my upper deck....too much teeth or too small a jaw... causing all the alignment to go out. You should have seen the X-rays... all the problems...including future wisdom teeth problem is really depressing.

Life is pepppered with so many things... good / upseting / depressing / happy... to add color I guess to our otherwise mundane existance. *Lol* It's ain't that bad because we have friends for company and there are so many things we can do.
Just be glad you aren't like a moth...who doesn't do much except eat, sleep, hibernate, mate to lay eggs...which subsequently lead to death. Their point in life??? It's literally life...
*sorry for the punt*

I love NY

NY girls have been associated with sleeveless whites, looking dorky in short crops and even dorkier with spectacles so thick you cant see the eyes clearly. No matter how negatively the world may perceive NY girls, I still love the school, the pple to bits.

There may have been stringent rules i didnt think was necessary but in retrospect, i feel it did us good. Discipline helps nurture and mature. Time have moulded and changed a few aspects of the school. NY girls are not the same now but im happy the way girls of my era turned out - we do not fall short of the school's aim in our lives. It says:

"Every NY girl is a respected member of the society... someone who is proud of her integrity, achievements and cultural roots."

If I was given a chance to choose again, I would still go to NY and do the same things over. 2/7 '97, our canteen classroom, painting our new classroom upstairs, my favourite teachers, my favourite seniors, my mates fr NPCC, our camaraderie... everything shaped and groomed me.

NY girls are good girls. Very generic sounding but if u are one, u should know wat im saying.

and i always will.

Before i go, i'll put up pictures of NY girls who got married recently.

Lini, who got married last weekend. *whistle and cheers* (like back in school hall when congratulatory announcements were made)


Lini is our first 2/7 '97 bride. We also have a first from 2/7 '96 - ever sweet, ever so perfect girl, Meiru.


Congratulations! *confettiiiiiiiii*

Shoe issue

Repeat title many times.



...

Go on, keep repeating.







Repeat until tired.




Haha, alright, thats not the point of this entry. Today I wanna debunk the notion that girls have too many shoes and guys are satisfied with a few good pairs for different occasions. Ladies, its time we put our feet down.

This is what i saw outside Room 9 in hostel today:

Grand total of 16 pairs.

Stereotype busted.

Fly away 因为你和幸福有约定

只要你不害怕，不担心

只要你愿意多用心照顾自己



不害怕，不担心

因为星光闪耀

因为和幸福有约定

I cant quite describe how i've been the past week. I am looking forward to clearer skies, sunshine and a rainbow. (btw adelaide's been really hot the last couple of days. 32 degrees for autumn is unacceptable!)

My trip to Victor harbour was a good way to spend the Easter weekend. It was Adelaide Angels versus Sydney Siders. We had 3 visitors from Sydney.


From left, we have Edwin from Sydney, Adrian, Dr Tang, Mrs Tang, Prof D, Cynthia (Syd), Dr Tan, myself, Metta (Syd) and Dr Wee.

Prof D is our pride. He finished 2nd in his cohort of engineers last year and is headed for Oxford to pursue his PhD. Prof is the brother of Adrian. They are also referred to as 'the Ng brothers'.

Dr Tang is my favourite. everything he says is hilarious. and knowing how he is like, just looking at this photo tickles me.

Dr Wee is second to Dr Tang. Take a look at this.


There is something else about Prof. I must show u his favourite pose.


More awkward positons for your eyes only.

And the mastermind who couldnt stop chuckling.

Long Weekend

What a weekend... glad it's only a 4-day week but I still went to work on Fri - was sup to be just a few hours but because of my 2 h procrastination (was chatting with someone) , it ended up I finished work at 4 plus. *pui* To top that up, I went to work for half hour on Sat before 8 pm. Guess why? Procrastination again...I just keep delaying going to work...haha.. but it's okie lah, because I went to NTU to look for people to have dinner with. Ended up going back to the hall to play games...which included monopoly (disney edition) etc. It's a very pretty set but I think my powerpuff gals edition is just as nice. Ended up going home at 6.30 am...surprisingly traffic was quite heavy. Supposed to get home in 8 min...took me 15 min. Where's everyone going on such an early sunday morning anyway...nutz~ I'm going in the way of work hard, play even harder...but I guess such late nights shouldn't be too often or else I will become a zombie.

Fang: I'm going to bkk on the 17th...staying for 2 nights...till 19th ----> which is the day you are going to arrive...haha...but I'm taking a evening flight home. How long will you be there? So...John is going to HSBC, are you going to join him? Tailor clothes... everywhere also can tailor...just scout around and ask for the price and material they are going to use. Compare lor.. the price varies like a lot.. but it's still cheap lah...like what you get at G2000 you get it tailored there for around the same price plus it usually takes like one day unless you wanna make a lot.

Belle: How's it going? You've been rather quiet recently... but I like my orange mask. Thanks! I wanna watch TMNT...partly because it's set in NY and what you mentioned...haha~ WB should thank you for promoting it.

XR: Where's your maiden post? The first one doesn't count... *waiting*

Anyway, I just wanna end off with..I miss you girls and our gatherings...life is so hectic... I wanna go for coffee / hi-tea etc activities that are relaxing and "nuan" (as XR says).

Gg bangkok too!!

Wow.. our blog looks so artistically beautiful!! did you choose it belle? it's really nice!! but what are the things on the girl's head? make her look like reindeer.. hee

Haha, happy for you Jean! i think it's damn hard to win anything during these events, must be very lucky loh.. and just nice your parents gg bangkok as well.. when you leaving? i'll be gg from 19th to 22nd with John and my parents. John's leaving OCBC to join HSBC le.. so this is like a short break for him.. we're gg there to tailor clothes =) Have you all tailored clothes there before? maybe can recommend a good place! we're staying at this new hotel near MBK, called siam@siam! my colleagues say it's a great place, so gonna check it out..

Hmm didn't think of the TMNT thingy, but sounds quite right.. LOVE the photo.. seems like we've been wearing the mask our whole life.. haha.. Hang in there belle! We miss you too! any updates on your love life? ;p

The Bangkok trip that was meant to be... (yeah, you didn't read this wrongly)

Well well well... I've been feeling off-colour all week. I managed to battle off a sore throat at the start of this week but was defeated by the flu bug which has been bugging me since Wed and has not buzz off. I had to do a presentation yesterday breathing via my mouth and speaking with a nasal voice as my fellow colleague puts it. However, good stuff comes at the end or when you least expected it I guess. So the story begins...

I totally forgot I signed up for the a*star d&d (held yesterday on a Fri) and was reminded to go for it by an email which arrived on Thu (not that I saw it till midnight). This d&d ain't my company's d&d. The latter was held in Jan earlier this year. The reason why we were invited was because we were their scholars. Anyhow, we only had to pay 5 dollars each. However, if we didn't turn up, we had to pay 85 bucks which is the full cost according to the Thu email... *sheesh* here was I feeling all under the weather... needless to say, I was less than enthusiastic. However, the good things started to happen from here onwards...firstly, I didn't have to work a full day. Technically a half day because they wanted to see the scholars at 4 plus before the d&d so I excused myself from office happily....but when Nayu (one of my good friend from ntu...XR might remember her) & I got there, it appeared no one really turned up for that appointment. *lol* Since the dining venue was at Meritus Mandarin (the one at Orchard), no prizes for guessing what we did next. We had a good time shopping at Taka, followed by coffee at coffee club before hopping back to the hotel's ballroom. The 8-course food they served was surprisingly yummy. I kinda like the herbal duck and dessert which was red bean soup with tangyuan. My companions at the table were pretty good company though the whole night's attention was on Phillip Yeo since he's the outgoing chairman. Here comes my personal highlight of the evening: the lucky draw because I actually won something. Can you believe that? Here I was eating my tangyuan, the next min my no. 0224 was called out. The miraculous thing is that I did not win anything stupid or useless...if you know what I mean...I don't really want to go into what people give away for lucky draw here but I actually got 2 return tickets to bangkok (bkk) from jet-star which seriously isn't too bad! My 5 dollar investment yield pretty good returns - half-day leave, good food and airtix. To think I almost didn't go!

Anyway, my parents happened to be going bkk in April. They got their trip settled much earlier. I thought I will give it a miss this time...but what do you know, fate beckons, I'm going to bkk after all with them (and my lucky brother). Cheers to the family trip and here's to shopping and phat thai!

Cowabunga!

I think we are TMNT.

Firstly there are four of us - the fantastically fabulous four. And then the roles we play in our group dynamics matches each turtle (maybe Ninja sounds better).

Xinrong is definitely Raphael. She is agressive (may not be a bad thing, esp with work), expressive and short-tempered (but we still love u!).

Jean is the most bubbly and happy-go-lucky in our group. I've never heard her say "Cowabunga!" but she likes to sit down, read a book and eat - Just like how Michelangelo does his pizza and comics routine.

I reckon Fang's place in our circle matches Donatello's. She's always caught up with her work (like Donatello getting caught up with his scientific pursuits) but she still attends to us. She is also more laid back in the group.

And I... I am Leonardo because thats the last ninja. But seriously, I'm liken to Leonardo because I am always trying to get my work-play balance sorted and get everything right. Leonardo is not really a prefectionist; he just does his best - like me. :)




Maybe "with our powers combined" with Francesca and Gilbert, we can be Captain Planet and the Planeteers.

P/S: I miss u guys...

Got Banana?

With only 2 hrs of sleep last night, I dragged myself to school, sat thru a test, a lecture, a muscle testing pract and had a discussion with my lecturer regarding my presentation. i retired to the cafeteria during the break, still feeling woozy. I sat down and rummaged my bag for my banana. Upon seeing my banana, Tamara, who was seated to my right, whipped hers out and said "I brought a banana as well."

I turned to my left and asked Michael Tomic, "Have u got a banana (too)?"

"...... ."

The rest of the table roared with laughter. ... I swear I turned red. :( I didnt mean it that way...

I decided I needed to go back home to catch forty winks before I go attend Michelle's Grad. Din wanna embarrass myself agn. heh.

"phat yip zhor loh!!"

Luk Ka Ki, gong hei gong hei!

Michelle was really happy to see me. She thought I wouldnt be there becuz of my mountainous deadlines. But i was. With a pressie too! I love giving presents. :)

Weekend bits

Hi peeps~

I'm here with my entry again which I will attempt to write at least weekly.

Anyway, I didn't really do much over the weekend except I had dinner with 2 other friends at Vivo City at the place called Bosses Restaurant (I don't think there's "'s") on Friday. Anyone wanna guess the Chinese translation? It's called Hei She Hui....*lol* I'm afraid the food isn't as interesting as the name though. It serves stuff like La Mian, Xiao Long Bao, Soups and a lot more but the La Mian the three of us had were really mediocre. In that aspect, Crystal Jade would win hands down. In the round of the Xiao Long Bao, CJ gets another vote over the Bosses because the skin was really too thick though the presentation was pretty good. The deep fried eel was probably the best of the lot we had. Had a hard time figuring out where to next. Even though it was 9.30, nobody really wanted to go home since it was Friday. Somehow, we ended up at Cafe del Mar (I hope I got the spelling right...) at Sentosa...*haha*... yeah I ended up driving across the waters to have drinks. Loads of people were there... a lot of Caucasians especially. I don't know if you guys have been there but it's on Siloso beach though the place has its own little pool for patrons who wanna take a dip. The outdoor ambience there was pretty good with sofa / mattress / plastic rattan chairs etc. that sorta stuff with umbrellas. You can be on the sand or on the pavement. It was a pretty cold night though. Sad to say, the drinks were so watered down. I'm afraid the bartender had no idea what he was doing or the management was really trying to save money. The trance music they were playing was initially alright at the beginning but after a while, it started to bore us. We were surviving on ambience (minus the music) and company. I think we will try some other beach bars next time...I don't think I will go back again really. Once is enough.

I popped by to explore the NTU Alumni Club on Sat and ended up having set lunch at the restaurant. Set lunch there tasted pretty alright. The place is huge with 9 floors (of which the tennis courts are on the 9th floor) but deserted. Apparently, the official opening will be in May. There's a Spa there which looked kinda interesting.... the outdoor concept deserves a visit for me... but yeah... the thing is when will I ever go back again I really don't know. I don't have the intention of joining the Alumni Club for now at least (XR, what about you?) Out of further curiousity, I stepped into a condo showroom across the Club (haha.. fang, this is right up your street. The project is One-North. The reason I went in was because I wanted to see the showrooms... nice pretty stuff. Apparently, the project is 100% sold...haha.. but they just kept the place open for people who are still interested to have a look. I guess they are either busybodies (like moi) or perhaps really keen buyers who probably could get a subsale unit...at an exhorbitant price. The thing which kinda caught my eye was their SOHO units. Kinda cool but pretty Western concept to have your bedroom overlooking your living room or in this case, your supposed work area which was next to your open concept kitchen...haha~ Floor area is small though.

Oh ya... remember I said I wanted to get braces? I went for a consultation at my dentist on Sat....just a 45 min information getting session with Q&A. It sounded pretty alright but I will be going for another consultation at an orthodontist... then it's the compare & contrast and weighing the pros and cons. Will keep ya updated...(I know XR wants to know the price but it's kinda complicated.... but let's say basic cost will probably be 2400 - 3600... and supplementary cost will probably come out to be another 1000 more. Anyway, I will check out the orthodontist and see how it goes.)

I watched a movie too on Sat... called Stomp the Yard. It was great and I enjoyed it. Did anyone catch it? I think it's been out for a while...just that I've been lagging when it comes to movies. *lol*

It's going to be a stressful 2.5 months coming up (Belle, you won't be the only one!). My post-doc is going on maternity leave on Wed... goodness know when her baby girl is coming but yeah...I'm going to have to handle her project on my own. *sighz* I hope this 2.5 months go by smoothly and quickly enough. Come to think of it... ever since I begun my attachment, I've been under her supervision...helping her with her project for 8 months. In another 4 months, I will start handling my own project when I start school. Now that should be exciting. In the meantime, just hope to get some positive results while she's away. I think I'm going to miss her a lot.... I hope she comes back after having her baby and not choose to sit home and be a Tai-Tai...*haha*

I wish i was studying in a dance college instead

Ok i have to admit ive been feeling a little down and also stressed out with school. For one, i just recovered and returned for classes. Next, I have a whole series of assignments/presentations to get through before i can take a breather over the 2-week Easter break.


Tues 27th - Clinic

Wed 28th - Pod Test

Fri 30th - Pod Studies precis due + presentation (STRESS ALERT!!)


and it doesnt end here. i have one more week of deadlines.


Tues 3rd Apr - Pod Clinic PBL Presentation (STRESS ALERT 2)

Wed 4th Apr - Pod take home test & Pharmacology Presentation (STRESS ALERT 3)


On the evening of the 4th, i have Pod Dinner. Good timing cuz i would have been done with all my presentations for this semester. Really packed but once its done, i will be done with presentations for this sem. Pod Dinner is the annual welcome dinner for first years. Gonna be a good social night. Last year's was pretty good.

Probably the biggest cheer-up i had the last two days was this poster from Ken. He got it from Spain. I feel its character everytime i look at it. I can almost feel energy emanating from the dancer. As a ballet student, I enjoyed Character Movement the most. I loved the Promenades, Muzurkas and all the elaborate movements and poses (ok, drama mama i know. but im Leo, so i guess that makes me more arty?). I found it easier to express myself through Character work than Classical or Free movement. I'm a more energetic type dancer.



Girls, Fran is in melbourne now and she's thinking of coming down to meet me. It'd be great if she does. :)

You dont have to go to the Louvre

Our pavement artists are world class.

Catching up

Hey my dear girls, i'm an absolute idiot with regards to blogging.. haha.. have no idea what to do.. guess it's like writing an email yah..

Belle, was really quite xin tong to see your hospital picture =( I'm sure u agree with me tt health is most impt yah.. doesn't matter how u got the infection, most impt is that you're well now.. please do take care of yourself k.. dunno wat's the env like in adelaide, but just drink more water, get enough rest, keep warm and take some vitamins if possible k..

i've no idea who's michael or the other guy with the complicated name.. haha.. tink i've really lost track as to who these guys are.. but dun worry, i'll read this blog regularly and i'll be able to catch up yah. *wink*

LA sounds real interesting.. reminds me of the lab time we had in rjc.. haha.. half of the time we din noe wat the hell we were doing.. haha.. ridiculous.. hope you're enjoying wat u're studying there yah..

Jean, i'm so sorry dear i wasn't there to celebrate your bdae with you.. had a real tiring day.. sigh.. sometimes i tink my life revolves around this job so much.. i'm glad you had a wonderful day.. is that settlers game the one we played at gilbert's house? who won in the end?

yeah robertson quay is a real nice place.. there's a club there called butter factory that plays R&B music as well.. maybe u can go check it out? haven tried the restaurants there before though.. is the jap food good?

how's research in school anyway? boring a not? really admire that you can go so far with life science loh.. i was already struggling in my first year.. hee.. same for you, really hope you're enjoying what you're doing as well.. =)

Xinrong, how come your msg to me the number is different from last time? is it a new number? how's deloitte treating you? still interested to join ocbc? must tink hard yah.. see my working life, think will scare everyone away.. haha..

John & i are doing well.. safe and happy =) been hitting target quite consistently for the past half year.. so work is good.. but just busy and stressful.. working for a bank is crazy.. recently have been having thoughts of changing jobs too.. but maybe it's just a phase..

Will try to blog here weekly yah.. LOVE reading all of your posts & pics, keep them coming yah..

Hugz & Kisses,
Fang

I gave my first to Michael (the other one)

Local Anaesthetic, that is. Today we had Intro to Surgery. Needles. Ugh.

It went like this, we had to cycle from Giver to Receiver and finally Support. Giver administers the LA, Receiver sits in the chair squeezing the Supporter's hand, while receiving the LA from the Giver. For everyone, it was our first time administering a Local Anaesthetic. Butterflies in the stomach initially. But when u were done, u feel a great sense of achievement. As Julia put it rather euphorically, "this is one of my To Do Things before i die - to administer a local anaesthetic!!".

I gave my first to Furmaniak. He is "the other" Michael in class.

I have problems receiving needles (imagine how i felt at the hospital two weeks back. i almost cried. really.). Because ur receiver becomes your supporter, I had Michael as my support. My heart started racing even before the needle went through my skin. I held my breath and Michael held my hand. He tried to talk to me about my weekend but I couldnt concentrate on the conversation - my mind was with the other end of my anatomy.

All of a sudden came a "Opps, i'm sorry! I'm so sorry!". That was something you didnt wanna hear in injection class. But well, shite happens. The needle hit my bone. I numbed Michael's toe... and now his hand.

So that was that. It was done and it wasnt that all that bad. Now i just have some residual soreness in the toe.

Btw did i mention that Furmaniak is my personal favourite in class? The order wasnt plotted though.

(picture from La Trobe Uni's Podiatry Photo Library)

Bouncing back

I've recovered from that bout of lung infection. Lower left lobe (for those interested in (grey's) anatomy). I'm not even sure how i got that infection. Just came down with a 39.5C fever after a full day of clinic one tues evening. Nail dust from patients? Sand from road works outside uni? Or was it a bug i caught from Singapore before I flew back here? In any case, I'm so glad its all over. Falling sick in a place far from home is best avoided.

I was treated at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. They put me on saline drip to get my temperature down and then gave me IV antibiotics to tackle the infection, which they initially thought was UTI. The rest of the time, I rested and nursed myself back to health at home. I must thank my friends who came to visit me - they brought with them food (essential for survival!! and gettin well), laugther, cheer and lotsa love and concern. Thank u so much!

My heartfelt appreciation goes to Justin, Josh, Ken, Sam, Wayne, Kimberly and Chiang wei.

Special thanks goes to my best friend, Abel, who took the brunt of the illness and everything else that came with it. Thank u so much. xx. I'll buy u a good dinner soon.

I met Melee today. I was supposed to meet her and Georgina the Friday of the week I fell sick.

Melee introduced me to Mau, Adrian and Mary. Adrian is the odd one out because the rest of us have names begining with the letter M. Here's a picture of the girls at the driving range.


That's Mary to the left and Melee on the right.


It's back to school tomorrow after two weeks of rest and recovery! Bouncing back. :)

Birthday Treats!

Settlers' Cafe, 17 March 2007: Thanks to XR & Gil for such a great time on my birthday!

All the 3 games were played were fantastic. Trans-America felt a bit like Snap - it was so fast --> look at us laying those black tracks!

XR: This is for you! Presenting Ms Tjua's favourite.... Settlers of Catan

TCC @ Robertson Quay

Hey my dears~

There's a place I realised we have not been to together and it's really nice --> Presto! Robertson Quay. There are so many Jap restaurants there... easily >10.. not to mention the other eateries & tonnes of bars & places to chill. For those who don't know, it's at Mohd Sultan...hehe somewhere near DblO. I went to the TCC there with my NTU bowling gfs. So here are a few pics which are interesting:

I'm fascinated by this pic really.. it's such a happening cow. It looks as though it's going clubbing. Look @ the handbag & heels! Yeah... I can hear some of you going...we never went clubbing together (ok.. I've been to Zouk with XR...does that count?)

Ok... sofa chairs & bean bags are like passe! The latest thing I found at TCC are these cool ratten seats which my friend vowed to get one of these for her future home. It's really fun to sit in...except you never ever stop moving...EVER!

The last pic is just for information sake... to my companions of the night - thanks!
p.s. We had dinner at a Japanese restaurant earlier.





Gals, let's try to hit this area next time k? After all, we are all sick of the Marina Square routine by now!

Happy Birthday, Eldest!

I missed it last year, missing it this year and still going to miss the one next year.

Happy Birthday Jean! When im back eventually, we'll have a big big celebration to make up for lost time.

xox. love u lots.

Sat event

hello

testing

sian with work

Jean's birthday celebration on sat. its only back to me and gil again . We started a few years ago celebrating each other's birthday. No of people coming down expanded . But after a while, its back to the three of us again.. sigh...

hopefully this celebration will go on a life time

haaa

Babes Galore - Introducing the writers

L to R : Marabelle, Ming Fang, Xinrong & Jean

Jean.. reporting!

Test blog from Jean... =)