I Can't Believe...

1) ...the @#$% lot of paperwork that's just been dropped on us regarding the submission of our logbooks. the dean's office just doesn't get it, does it? the student representatives raised the point that it was a waste of time for us to fill in patient id numbers when no one looks at it anyway, and so the dean's office stopped the practice. so we heaved a sigh of relief...and look at what they've done? added a whole lot of stuff to be done just so that our logbooks can be signed and collected. what's going to change is that instead of simply handing in as a group before the deadline and collecting it as a group at any time, the group leaders have to make sure we all sign that we've submitted, someone in the office has to sign that they've received, and we have to sign to collect it.

that probably isn't too bad, but what irks me is that we have to sign an authorisation form and hand it to the person who's collecting the log books. so it can't be the sort of impromptu thing it's been the past few years where the person who happens to be near the hospital can just drop by and collect it. -shrugs- perhaps it's just training for the work that is to come.

2) ...that i'm still interested in soccer. yesh. mumbler has supported germany since the 2002 world cup, and hopes that der mannschaft will do well tonight and deny spain. wahaha. now hit me.

3) ...the huge dollop of favour that fell on me one day recently. i would rather not reveal too much as it ain't the right time, but let's just say that i'm in awe of Daddy's grace. i certainly didn't deserve it, but now that i have it, i shall use it to guide the course for the near future. heh.

The Beginning of The End

begin with the end in mind, they always say.

i will try not to forget where the true end lies.

An Interruption

a rather touchy subject ahead - don't say i didn't warn you.

a book was recently brought to my attention because a friend put a picture of it on his blog, and i happened to walk past it at kino today. the book is called "The Third Jesus" by deepak chopra. of course i'm wondering what a guy like mr chopra is doing talking about Jesus, and so i pick up the book, and am most horrified, and amused, at what he writes.

by way of an introduction, i'll just list out what he means by the "third Jesus". according to chopra, the first and second Jesus are historical and religious/christian respectively, while the third one is this mystical being who's contribution to the world's spirituality was to provide us with a way to "God-consciousness", a term that chopra uses frequently in his book. so what he does is to take bible verses and offer a new age interpretation of them, insisting that this was what Jesus meant and that the end result of it all is enlightenment.

i am most horrified by the allegations he makes about the church (that the church has deliberately prevented us from knowing this "cosmic" Jesus) and his teachings that a relationship with God must be "sought for...[because] God is hidden." i shan't go into a theological rant here (i'm not the best person to do that anyway) but suffice to say, this shouldn't be the case.

then again, i find it funny that a person who isn't a christian would profess to know so much about what Jesus taught. i am aware that some of the best bible scholars aren't christian, are in fact muslim or jewish, but who obviously leave the spiritual interpretation to the believers. i don't really know how to describe his new age spin on scripture verses (laughable? sad? unique?) but i'll take it as a compliment - as a testimony to the irreplaceability and power of the scripture.

there seems to be much praise for this book even from priests and pastors, which is surprising because chopra completely ignores basic tenets of the christian faith. and while i'm sure mr chopra has contributed much in helping to "empower" people, i'm also wondering what the nuns who catechised him are thinking.

In Summary - Holiday in LA

so yes, an overseas elective is a holiday that's meshed with a learning stint. in a place like LA, there's quite a bit to do on weekends, but truth be told, LA is less glamorous than it seems. all that glitz and glamour is only on celluloid, and other than the impossibly tall palm trees and that famous sign, there's nothing to differentiate it from any other city in america. and mumbler's only glimpse of a celebrity was that of, wait for this, gurmit singh. yesh. i flew 9000 miles to see a celebrity from my hometown. do you see the irony of it all?! by the way, he was there to interview the cast of kung fu panda for channel 5. and no, i didn't get to speak to him.

enough of my rambling, here's the lowdown of our LA exploits.

1) hollywood boulevard
that's grauman's chinese theater. built in 1927, it also features the handprints of various celebrities in the front, from gregory peck to sean connery, paul newman to johnny depp. and while we were there, some china supporters were making their voices heard. it was pretty small scale, but they even had the various olympic mascots to complete the picture. the other place worth a mention would be the kodak theater - host of numerous academy awards and two american idol finals. that's it for hollywood boulevard. there's the walk of fame of course, and souvenir and costume rental shops, but that's about it. ripley's believe it or not and madame tussaud's museum are there too, but nothing magical or spectacular.

2) the grove/ farmers' market
these are just next to each other. farmers' market is a food haven. it's kinda like our newton/tiong bahru food centres only with a more international range of food - they even have a singapore stall there which has newspaper pictures of sr nathan and sells laksa for usd9. heh. what i love are the meat dishes - thick juicy chunks with baked beans and baked potatoes...pictures to be up on the food blog soon!

as for the grove, it's essentially a little town of shops which even has it's own fountain and trolley. a great place to take an evening stroll after a good dinner at farmers' market, since you could shop (pottery barn, banana republic), have dessert (cheesecake factory) or simply catch a movie. it's a charming place, and i recommend it. but beware, parking is $5/hour!

3) downtown LA

we went on a sunday, which was a mistake because much of it is a financial district, so the area was pretty deserted. before that we stopped by rodeo drive, which spans three city blocks and has over a hundred upmarket stores. it wasn't just the shops that were cool, the cars that lined the street were just as amazing.

some places to mention: the walt disney concert hall and the cathedral of our lady of the angels. if you've watched the movie get smart you'll find it familiar as the location of the film's climax. it's a rather imposing piece of architecture that was probably part of the city's efforts to rejuvenate the downtown area and it home to the los angeles philharmonic. a few streets away is the church, which is apparently earthquake proof and is the final resting place of actor gregory peck.


also in downtown LA is chinatown, which was as disappointing as it could get. deserted, run down, and looking just like any part of the city, it is, uh, best not visited.

4) the beaches

what's california without its beaches? we took a drive along the pacific coast highway and got to see malibu and venice beaches. the surf was up in malibu, and we took off our shoes (no we weren't expecting to go to the beach!) and ran along the shore as was befitting of the moment.















venice beach had lots of street performers and roadside peddlers, which made for yet another place for a good evening stroll. look at the pretty sunset!5) the j. paul getty museum
recommended by someone who's stayed in LA for 3 decades, this is a place not to be missed. admission is free, and you have to take a tram up the hill to get to the museum. once there, you can indulge yourself in the various exhibits (european paintings, photography, sculptures) or admire the breathtaking view of los angeles that it affords.6) the others
we visited universal studios one hot saturday afternoon (before that newsworthy fire which razed the sets) and drove to six flags and a factory outlet, which are outside of LA, on memorial day weekend. six flags is full of rides for the thrill seeker (which mumbler isn't really, having to sit out the 2 of the 6 rides her friends went because she was getting too nauseous) while the premium outlet is a shopper's haven. and indeed, we all heard a few familiar accents as we made our way through the shops. heh.

so ends chapter 2...next up is san franciso!

In Summary - Life in LA

a picture speaks a thousand words, so i guess i'll just add a few lines here and there to tell the story of my great american adventure. i'll start off with our LA life. enjoy.

the view of the hospital from the junction of beverly blvd and san vicente blvd. on the left are the wards ("8 southwest" or "5 northeast") and on the right is an entire block of icu wards called the sapperstein critical care tower. i was in the surgical icu on the top floor, and it's referred to as "8 icu" or "8 sapperstein" amongst the staff.

and being on the top floor, it offered a fantastic view of the surrounding area from the bridge. that is beverly center in the foreground, a rather atas shopping centre which is just next to our apartment, and beyond, it's hollywood! in fact, the famous sign is obscured by the bar on the left - that's right, we're at the doorstep of glitz and glamour. haha. no wonder so many stars come as patients.


home was a two bedroom apartment situated right across the road from the hospital. and yes that messy bedstand is my corner. as you can see, mumbler can be quite a messy person.





















"hangouts" were jan's restaurant and the grove. jan's was where we'd have an enormous breakfast on sundays which could last us till dinner time, while it was at the grove/ farmer's market that we watched 3 movies and ate several good meals, so both deserve special mention.

there was also church, but 1) i don't have a good photo of the building and 2) it's just an ordinary block shared by various religious groups from the university. what i'd have to love to put up are the photos of the laundry room, but they're with someone who's still happily touring the states right now, so that will have to wait. we spent several hours waiting for our laundry (from wash to dryer it took 2 hours) and met a very gay-looking neighbour who smelled of weed on one of our trips, who kept warning us to be careful because an old man was once shot in the garage. it didn't matter that it was a crime of passion, he spent half an hour talking to us about that in the laundry room.

well, that's it for life in LA. it was only 3 weeks so i never really got to know the area well enough. besides, LA is a place where you must drive. things in LA are very far apart from each other so it's hard to walk around, and the transport system leaves much to be desired. some buses run only once an hour and most run partial services on weekends or don't run at all. we were blessed to know someone who's been living there for 30 years, so we kinda got eased into LA. heh.

coming up next, attractions in and around LA! stay tuned.

Back!

mumbler is back. and nursing a cold which she picked up right before leaving san francisco. sigh. so now the rest of the week shall be spent staying at home trying to get better before school starts in 2 weeks' time. and while she's on the topic, she's very grateful for her group (barring any changes before the year starts) because m5 is going to be one heck of a long and busy year so it matters who's in the group. heh.

more stuff about the trip to be uploaded in due course. right now i have to concentrate on the unpacking. argh.

Notes From America (4)

electives are over! can't believe how time flies. it's off to san francisco and then new york. ole!