med school mumblings...

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

whoot. new layout. -finally-

seen scribbled on the final mb timetable outside the library:

"Roses are red
Violets are blue
You're graduating soon
And we're only M2."

Sunday, March 25, 2007

i really can't stand it when men drive recklessly to show off to the women beside them. it's bad enough when they try to cut into your lane suddenly or tailgate you no matter how fast you drive, but it's never acceptable when they try to knock down your mother.

was at junction 8 yesterday afternoon for my family's weekly grocery shopping, and all was well until we were on our way back to the car. now for those not familiar with the j8 carpark, you have to turn left as you go down the slope into the second basement. you can go straight, but like i said it's against the direction of traffic and is meant for cars to make another round should they be unable to find any lots. so what happened was that my dad was ahead of my mom and me, pushing the trolley, and i think this crazy idiot must have seen him and decided to show off his ability at getting a parking lot so he stepped on the accelerator and hurtled down the slope and entered the lane against the direction of traffic. obviously my mom and i were looking out for traffic in the correct direction and it was only at the last minute that we noticed him. my mom had already stepped onto the road by then and it was by divine intervention that she hadn't taken two steps more.

the idiot drew up in front of my car, and proceeded to surprise and block all the other cars who were turning into the lane. so he stopped there and i took my time to unload the groceries, only to be sickened by the sight of his girlfriend drapping herself over him, and he sitting there with a silly grin, looking as if he had achieved something great. it took so much effort not to go up and scream at or punch him. to have lost a loved one to an rta is enough; i do not want to lose another one. there was a car preparing to go up the ramp when the idiot was coming down it and i saw the shock and horror on the driver's face.

he probably is free from painful experiences, but you do not need one to be a careful driver. would he learn? when would those who treat driving like an arcade game ever learn? when they end up in the emergency department? i certainly hope not.

Monday, March 19, 2007

wow it's been a long time since i last blogged. so much has happened - pros, movies, the start of family medicine posting. stuff outside of medicine are taking place too; developments and steps back taken.

we had lectures on death and dying today as part of our primary care education. it's an area that somehow connects with me, and it's a pity that palliative care is not recognised as a specialty in singapore. we build casinos, stage "artistic" nude shows and make television serials about singles sleeping around, yet we aren't open enough in dealing with something as fundamental as death. how ironic.

anyway, as part of our tutorial we were shown clips from a wonderful film called Wit starring emma thompson and directed by mike nichols. this straight-to-video film was written by both of them and is based on the play by margaret edson. it tells the story of vivan bearing, an english professor with fourth stage ovarian cancer, who has to deal with her last days. i wished i could have viewed the entire movie, though i'm sure i would have bawled my eyes out by the end of it. just that last segment where she is being coded despite having a dnr order was so heart wrenching that i could barely hold back my tears.

it's a pity that this movie never made it to the big screen because emma thompson would have surely won some awards for her heartfelt portrayal of a dying woman. loved the part where bearing's mentor, professor ashford, reads her the story of the runaway bunny. it's a wonderful retelling of psalm 23 and i can imagine it must have been very comforting for bearing to hear that.

in the end bearing dies, and in her voice over she recites john donne's poem:

DEATH be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,

Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,

And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then;
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

something to think of when visiting the homes of patients on palliative care tomorrow.

Saturday, March 03, 2007

three lives in three months. oncology has not yet beckoned; perhaps it will soon.

as for the layout, it'll have to stay this way till i find or create a new one after pros. the server must have crashed or something. it's been ages since i did any html tinkering, but i'm looking forward to doing layouts again.

my post-exam "to-do" list is growing longer. recently added at number seven was "to carry on with my german exercises", triggered by a tagboard conversation on someone's blog. heh.

i just have to wait until the exams are over. oh bother.