could i have asked for more? initially thought that i would not be able to watch last night's match, but my dad managed to find the antenna for our old tv. it took a while to set it up, find out which channel was showing the match, and moving the set around to get the best signal, but it was all worth it.

a 1-1 draw after extra time, and then a 4-2 win on penalties. it was terribly tense, and i felt it. there was another woman around my neighbourhood who kept yelling, and uttered some expletives when the argentinians looked like they were about to score after the equalizer. the really funny thing was that when jens lehmann saved that spot kick by ayala, the dog two floors down howled. heh. der desutche hund. but man oh man, what a match. the germans were persistant enough, even though i didn't think they played as well as they could have last night, and they never gave up. klose became the tournament's leading scorer with his header, and ballack showed the tenacity of the germans when he stepped up to take the penalty. before that in the dying minutes of the game, he was actually limping and reduced to walking pace because of a thigh injury. but when it mattered most, he hit it home. now germany meet italy for the semis next week, and i can get to watch it in colour.

what a good way to end my first week of third year. it has been a rather relaxed week. managed to orientate myself and settle in. most of the patients have been nice to us so far, and are more than willing to talk to us and let us examine them. one patient i clerked has been taking care of his paralysed wife for the past four years. he talked about having to bring her to the toilet every now and then, and remembering to take care of himself while caring for his wife. another patient was still deciding whether to have a stent or bypass done for his condition when i left the hospital yesterday. classmates have clerked patients who attempted suicide or who have had end stage renal failure for years together with other conditions. is it any coincidence that in this one week, two reports have appeared in the papers showing the shortcomings of doctors. it's no wonder that in the resident's room of the cardiology ward, someone wrote a reminder on the whiteboard - "we treat, God heals."