two down, four to go.


cofm wasn't as bad as i thought, though they asked about care of stroke patients and all i could do was to scribble something out of common sense and my lack of time. think i'll probably fail that question. the rest was a-ok, and as i said, i was sorely lacking in time. there were so many things to write about on quitting smoking and effects of disease on a family, but only fifteen minutes to do so.


neuroscience was exactly as i expected. i'm glad i didn't study the brainstem and all the medullary syndromes which were mentioned but not fully taught. was very pissed over the past few days because people were going around either showing off their very detailed knowledge of anethetics or insisting certain neuro systems and lesions had to be known. it's been happening since jc but somehow i was only pissed this time round. wonder why.


and now, on to immunology and microbiology. i'll be needing all the luck in the world.

cofm is becoming nearly impossible to study for. it takes second spot, just behind the crazy psychology and sociology ("it helps you communicate with your patient better yada yada") theories we had to mug at the end for first year, for the "scratch your head and wonder why you have to study this" award. a round of applause please.


and don't even get me started on the rest of the subjects. this ca is gonna become living hell, well almost, for me.


on the bright side (to cheer myself up), it's two months to the study-for-the-next-ca break! whoot!

playhouse was yesterday and it was fantastic. we won best script, direction, actress and 2nd overall. actually you could say we were first, cuz traditionally the best play prize has always gone to the fifth years, unless they are like the current thirds, who pulled out of the competition. now that's another story. and since we were second for playhouse and first in sports, we're the overall champions within the faculty. woohoo!


to recap, i came really early, because i though i'd be late. chatted with the lights guy who was conned into coming early because he was told the lights and sound room would be opened at ten thirty and that the lights had been changed. he eventually found out that the hall office hadn't even opened the room (what's new?) and the "light change" was just a slight tilting in one of the many stage lights. sadness. when the actors started streaming in the makeup team got to work. a flurry of activity, and eventual pandemonium as we yelled for eyeliners, blushers, foundation and the lot. some people "dropped in" on our team, and in the confusion, our dear emperor was left with no makeup until about half an hour before showtime. we carried out touchups in the hall canteen, and soon found out that you can never trust what you lean on. a video machine console came apart, a chair threatened to collapse and someone got makeup on her arms.


the play itself was great. a few flubbed lines and some erratic music, but overall our performance drew tons of laughter with a spoof of the visa commercial (the "my brother is going on a journey and i want to bring him good luck" one), spanking scene and a host of colourful characters. we even had a spectacular fight scene complete with high kicks and swords and a hilarious rap included.


costumes prize went to the firsts, but oh well, we did a good job too, and must have contributed to our second prize so i'm not complaining. talking about costumes, our dear medsoc president gamely crossed dressed as an ot nurse. the fourth year dresser was outside the hall adjusting his bra and giving him lots of crushed paper to pad it up. that was horribly funny.


didn't watch the full fifth year play but caught their video segment which was fantastic. the editing was superb really, and of course sharier with his impeccable acting. the fifth years are amazing, what with all the "cramped" postings and internships and the final looming ahead, they managed to put on such a good show. now if only we could be like that in three years' time.

playhouse is in two days' time. we had a great rehearsal just now after the cofm excursion, despite the fact the hall office refused to open the sound and lights room for us. we paid for the use of the stage and we had no lights or sound. how funny.


talking about the excursions, my tutorial group visited the society for the physically disabled today. very interesting, the things they have. those social workers and volunteers are simply amazing. have the most absolute respect for them, because it really isn't easy trying to teach forty year olds songs like "you are my sunshine" and training them to pack whiteboard markers. i know at least one person going into social work, so hats off to you, w-!


one of the first things i heard in school was a sad remark about forming our cgs. that person said,"might as well submit my name alone la!" i was like, oh dear! how could something as exciting as entering the wards end up in such a state. i haven't thought about it much, nor have i talked about it with many people, but there're all these stories and some saying how you should get people who drive or live near you or both, etc and long checklists for your propective cg mates.


'tis sad.

anger, panic, disgust and amusement. i'm surprised i experienced this range of emotions in a short span of two days. all i can say is that i've never been mad at anyone for a long time. angry yes, but not mad. for the rudeness, the disrespect and the sheer arrogance, to me and the people i work with. on this team we share the work out. we don't make demands and neither do we try to be too clever by half. to those people whom i let in on this, you know the details so there's nothing to more to say. to those who don't already know, well, i'll see how i'm feeling about it tomorrow.


disgust because some people have said certain things to me, and done quite the contrary. but at least in this case most of the stuff went smoothly so i'm not complaining.


on a lighter note, the exams are coming and i still haven't mastered half of what will be tested. based on the mark weightage, microbiology is three times more important than neuroscience, but i seem to be more familiar with my tracts and nuclei as opposed to complement, flavi and pico-rna viruses.


what saved the day was being introduced to a very noisy neighbour called razen. he's the scot terrier who lives below and who loves to bark at everyone. he licked my hand today and kept sneezing, so i think the car needs a wash. heh.

an exciting past three days. on thursday it was off to town to celebrate the-one-who-shall-not-be-named's birthday. we had a great dinner at an indonesian restaurant, talking, eating, gossiping and all the usual girl things. to burn off the extra calories we walked all the way down orchard road to dobhy gaut station. i missed my weekly dose of lost, but the company more than made up for it.


friday was the day of interviews. ivan ho (aka mr black) in the morning and our dean, prof john wong in the afternoon. both have similar traits really, and both have a certain charisma that must have helped them in achieving what they have now. very interesting and insightful. the interviews will appear in the next issue of pulse, so watch out for it!


today, saturday, was the first full dress rehearsal for playhouse. the costumes did not present much of a problem initially, but the makeup did. i've got absolutely no experience in doing stage makeup, so essentially the lead actress was my guinea pig, though she was very nice about it. it turned out quite well though, including that of the supporting cast. the script is hilarious and the fight scenes are especially impressive considering the varied backgrounds of the actors.


on the way back taking the train, there was this young boy with polydactyly. six fingers and toes on both sides. i didn't notice it immediately but what caught my eyes was his larger than usual feet. it was then when i realized he actually had two middle toes, and two middle fingers. his left hand was even odder, because his pinkie had a little strut of a bone (like the clavicle and the shoulder) so it stuck out in a weird position. other than being a little on the skinny side he looked otherwise normal, both physically and mentally. heh. the things you see on the subway.

A Doc's Life is back online, as crappy as ever.


had a great day today. a confusing but rather interesting neuroscience lecture on the ascending tracts, followed by gruesome pictures for an aids lecture, after which was a singularly crappy lecture on workers and health given by the hilarious prof c. to round off the day, our pbl tutor forgot to come to class and our rep spent half an hour trying to contact. in the end there was no lesson, but the lot of us who had bothered to show up for pbl (yes there're the "will show up" and the "most probably will not show up" groups) spent some time laughing and joking about stuff. i'm really glad for my first year anatomy/pbl/pdp group. we're such different people but yet we get along fine and dandy.

reading all the buble reviews makes me wish i were there last night. ooh, i'm so jea-lous!


anyway, i didn't go for any dance class today. was tired so i went home instead. fortunately it's an open class, so i needn't worry about not being able to catch up. in any case, i don't see how other schools can have twelve week (some even eight week) courses. it takes some time to build up strength, especially in your ankles, so it can't be that easy to progress to advanced level!


on a more sombre note, it was splashed on the front page of the home section today, pictures of a woman whose daughter was killed screaming at a man who came to watch the trial because it's "more exciting than a drama serial". can you find a better example of man's inhumanity against man? what does it take for a person to tell another that it's no big deal that her daughter was thrown down her apartment block? it seems we have a bit of an issue here, because recently a prominent member of the medical profession said singaporeans are too compassionate. it's quite ironic that all these are happening at the same time, isn't it?

And I added a new link. Go read.

my dance class is no more. for now at least. went down after lectures today full of anticipation and excitement, only to find out that not a single soul has signed up for the class, therefore it will be postponed indefinitely. thanks to google, i've unearthed other sources of ballet education, one of which i might give a try tomorrow, if i'm crazy enough. the instructor has danced under people from the bolshoi, what more could i want?


i suspect i might have sat opposite an aids patient today on the bus. he wasn't that old (probably about late thirties?) but he walked with a stoop. his left eye looked like it had been punched and it was black and blue. but it was the skin lesions on his legs that made me think of hiv. almost like karposi's sarcoma (though i must confess to have only seen it in photographs) and they looked like they would never heal. he could barely walk and took ages to get up, take out his ezlink card, and alight. i could be wrong, but if there's a condition that makes a person look like this, do let me know.


long days for the rest of the week. playhouse is coming up, and the exams are looming. yeow.

i'm getting a headache from my oncology notes. not only are there numerous pathways that are all related to cancer, but there are tons, gazillions of proteins/enzymes/receptors involved in the pathways, each with odd names that don't make any sense.


on to less ache-inducing things, everyone's disappointed with the latest season of the amazing race. with all the action going on within the states, it isn't exciting anymore. what made it so interesting was seeing these americans trying to survive in cultures so different from their own. now we no longer can, and the show's turning into a diy cum american history show. just as well that i don't really have the time to watch it nowadays.


at least lost is going all right, for now. i was thoroughly confused with last night's episode on locke. it was such an extraordinary story for him to have given up his kidney for a father who later abandoned him. i was like, wha...?


i'm being incoherent, so i think i should shut up and go to sleep now.

blogger looks damn weird on mozilla.


yesterday i thought i had quite a lot of time. today i've just been dumped a whole lot of work, and it's not even playhouse. so here's the list: schoolwork plus revision for ca, playhouse, urop, pulse and dance class. dance will only start in two weeks' but i can imagine with all the work, it can only make my schedule more packed. i've just got my urop up and running again so there's another thing to clear. oh well, at least i'm enjoying playhouse and pulse, and i'll very probably love dance class. blimey.


but, shoots, what a difference a day makes!

i really should be going over my virology but i haven't blogged in nearly a week and it sure feels odd.


first up, lots of stuff going on because of playhouse. it's back to ancient china this year so wuxia costumes and water sleeves are in the vogue. borrowing and seeking and making our own props and costumes is a true test of creativity and teamwork. three weeks till the performance, and a month to exams...you get the idea.


anyhoo, i was at the isetan private sale the other day, and despite the mountains of pretty clothes on sale, i was only able to buy a limited amount of clothing. as usual. several medicine ppl were there too, pulling skirt after skirt from the racks. i had to leave early, so after my purchase and bidding my goodbyes, i took the escalator down to the first floor. the view was spectacular. a sea of women clutching handbags, shopping bags and sleeping babies all hard at work locating the best bargains. consumerism at its best, and as if to prove the point, the lady in the escalator next to mine lost grip of her pram, and it toppled backwards, because there were so many bags hung on it. incredible. if not for the quick reflexes of a man just next to them, the baby would have experienced his first thrill ride. i have never seen a pram go over backwards because of the weight of clothes alone, but there it was, at a singapore sale.


now, back to virology...