19^th Dec 04: Excesses @ Brian's

Master Chef Brian See surprised us with his oven skills last night...

Master Chef/ Dr-to-be Brian, taking out his pièce de résistance. Ladies looking for a gentleman with a stable income and can whip up romantic Valentine/ Christmas dinners,  email me for Brian's contact number... haha...Also scroll down to see the desert !!

An extensive spread...

All the stomachs who were in luck yesterday. (Master Chef is in white next to candle)

The pretty ladies...

Chocolate fondue !!!

The night ended with Pictionary ™. Where Daniel (came late, not in pic) aced the word "Share" by drawing our favourite Sharity Elephant.. And someone drew what look like a scrotum... haha (its the girl with the reddest face)

5^th Dec 04: I have done it!

5 hours 8 mins of running,
2.5 hours of agony.
Many others from rj'99 ran as well: Peter Lim, Ming Jun, Gail, Jeremy Lin...There was someone dressed as a cake to raise funds for charity, yet another with a tux and shorts. Both Caucasians (naturally). And just like any race I ran, there would always be a couple of old men with grey hair who were faster than me.
The pack of horses from Kenya & Tanzania did it in 2 hours 17 mins 2 sec (1^st), +13 sec (2^nd) & +25 sec (3^rd). Will put some photos up when I find them.

Yesterday, Brian and I went to view the new rj campus. Sprawling, with many different levels, highest block reaches 14 floors, level linkways, sloping linkways, a few slanted buildings. We think vertiginous patients will not be able to find their way out! But as Brian said, finally a campus worthy of the Raffles tradition.

22^nd Nov 04: RUN

13 days to marathon, 14 weeks to MBBS.

RUN
Are these times contagious

I've never been this bored before

Is this the prize I've waited for...

Now as the hours passing

There's nothing left here to insure

   I long to find a messenger


   Have I  got a long way to run
   Have I  got a long way to run

I run......

Is there a cure among us
From this processed sanity
I weaken with each voice that sings

In this world of purchase
I'm going to buy back memories
To awaken some old qualities

Have I got a long way to run
Yeah, I run.......

Collective Soul

8^th Nov 04: Aristocrats & an Ankle strain

Apparently, having many different types of aristocrats is the key to winning the game, Saint Petersburg*. However having an ankle strain is NOT the key to completing a marathon. Did run at MacRitchie again with Peter on Sunday. Think this is good for my heart, shall carry on.

And there is this interesting Singaporean blog to read: http://xiaxue.blogspot.com/
Her candidness is refreshing. And she always has someone to bitch about. Not to mention her ego is quite big too... That's okay because I'm sure candidness is associated with some ego...

* For those of you who aren't acquainted with Saint Petersburg, please refer to my previous entry.

29^th Oct 04: Updating in the COFM comp cluster

Over the past 2 weeks, FMS (thats Faculty of Medicine Shield) road relay and playhouse concluded. Yes, FMS is just a fancy name for Intra-faculty... Us yr 5s were third for both events, which was commendable (considering that the tradition of final year winning ceased to exist couple years back).

Anyway, I'm looking foward to clear up diabetes and cardio exam techniques so that I can play Saint Petersburg Game this Sunday, with Aaron, Jasper and Darren.

Back to DKA now, more on the game next update.

10^th Oct 04: Drowning less

Today (and yesterday night), I had my best night duty ever. I had been drowning in a sea of information since the start of M5. But the HOs on duty, Pearl & Julia, taught me alot -- theoretical & practical. Mr Jimmy So was also very nice to me, just as nice as he was 2.5 years ago during my e-clinics (he was my first ever tutor, btw). All these make me believe that I can actually get through the MBBS finals.

Time flew so fast, from 1600 hrs to 0330 hrs, except from 1930 to 2000 hrs when I had my dinner at the lounge, watching bit of Heavenly Sword & Dragon Sabre; I was either setting plugs/ taking bloods, feeling peritonitic tummies, seeing air-fluid levels on AxR, looking at GREEN bilous aspirate, looking at feculent aspirate AND assisting in a laprarotomy.

6^th Oct 04: Jig-Saw (Kailing says: " Zig-Zaw !")

Studying is like doing a 1000-piece jig saw puzzle. You don't have to know all 1000 pieces well. Just the corners and the sides. The rest will fall in place.

I enjoy one-to-one teaching. I am most effective with clueless students. They are the neighbourhood students who try to mug all 1000 pieces of the puzzle. Maybe they were taught this way, maybe it is our system.

I tell them each topic has its own corners and sides. Apply this to questions and it becomes clear.

Some of them become extremely disheartened after failing their exams. They stare at the 1000-pieces moutain.

Some teachers of secondary school maths often say: " Here is the model answer to this question. Follow the steps, use this formula." or " Just ⁵C₃ x ⁴C₂ x 2."

I teach: " This is a permutation & combination question. The most important thing is to ask yourself if the order of selection matters."

Today, I clerked a fresh admission. Poor historian and Melayu speaking aside, my history taking skill is definitely going down the drain. Time for me to get my corners and sides.

2^nd Oct 04: Shiny-ies...

On 9th of October, I will officially go dormant from Muonline. But not before a shopping spree (getting items for a few friends). Today happens to be Veldspar's birthday... Happy Birthday to you !! Please wait patiently for your chaos dragon axe with skill.

So anyway, I have been waking up at 0530 hrs in order to reach NUH early, and have to do this for 11 more weeks !! So shall be posting less as I strive to study, run and play (guitar) more.

18^th Sep 04: Does the Flap of a Butterfly’s Wings in Brazil set off a Tornado in Texas?

So sorry for the paucity of updates; I have been working my bums off during my surgery posting at the bumble-bee SGH. What you see above are Jewels of Chaos. Those of you who play Mu will know they are quite valuable. ( I admit to indulging myself it a bit of MMORPG, BUT I have cut down my playing time since surgery at SGH ! )

Today, Straits Times had a full-page article on the opposition parties. Finally some publicity for the opposition, albeit the SLANT towards the declining SDP. I would have liked to hear more about WP or SDA with their promising new blood.

A few days back, someone wrote in to Straits Times Forum to show his disapproval that Singapore has just passed a bill to allow  embryonic stem cell research  His main points were:
1) embryos are living humans
2) embryo research to date  has yielded no significant results.

He sounded AS IF he KNEW that embryo research would not yield any results in the next 5, 10 or 100 years.

Tell that to Christopher Reeves and many other paraplegics who are hoping for a cure from any avenue. Tell them, " No. Sorry, we are closing down this avenue of research. Not because we do not have research funds BUT because some of us out there do not think it is right to do such research."

Yes, tell that to the many parapelgics and fellow human beings with other untreated conditions.

Yes, sorry, we are stopping research. Please take your painkillers daily/ Please continue your daily injections of XX medicine/ Please continue your daily placement of a tube into your urethra to drain your urine/  Please have someone turn you in bed every 4 hours so that you do not get bed sores.

Nonsense, I say.

14^th Aug 04: All correspondence

Thanks to the the ENIGMA ( that is what I nicked my friend, a genius ), I have a Gmail invite !

Yes... all correspondence to:

stormscape at gmail dot com

Thankyouverymuch...

Back to reality...What have I got ?
3 students till end of this year.
A marathon in Dec.
Writing my chemistry A level guide.
Someone just chio-ed me for windsurfing, maybe wakeboarding... Do I have time ???? Hope so hope so...

8^th Aug 04: Crazy for Mu

Level 57 dark wizard.
Legendary staff + 1+ 4.
Skull shield + 4.
Sphinx helm + 3 + 4.
Sphinx armour + 7+ luck.
Sphinx gauntlets + 4.
Sphinx pants + 3.
Sphinx boots + 4.

This is what's keeping me from updating for a month !! I've just registered for the Stand-Chart Singapore marathon. Yup. Going do my virgin 42.195 km. ** Now.. better not injure my ligaments.