Adventures in Albany - Day 25

Highlight of the day: I sutured my friend's grandma. I sms-ed him, and he thinks it's cool too.

The day started with normal ward rounds and sutures in the morning. I managed to signed off a procedural sheet for 3 sutures that I had done. Again, I really felt that I am doing something with these hands that God gave me. I started doing Medicine so that I can work with my hands and my brain. I feel that both represents my being. I don't have a golden figure, or a golden kick, or a golden voice, but I have my hands and my brain.

I've mentioned about my fear of getting dementia, or losing control of my brain and thinking. I don't think I have mentioned much about my hands. I like craftwork. I started out liking origami, which slowly branched out to other art stuff, including drawing and paper crafts. I slowly branched into beads, and jewelry at the beginning of the year. I am proud of what I have done, but I do wish that I can use them for something much more useful.

That's how I first got interested in Medicine. I wanted to do surgery. My second choice was dentistry, where again, there is a bit of handwork. When I failed to get into either course in NUS, I went to IMU, with the intention to be a surgeon in Singapore. I didn't like the racism in Malaysia, and I never wanted to go back there. Singapore was the next best thing and I really liked it there. However, IMU being in Malaysia, I had no choice if I wanted to be a surgeon.

In IMU, I had less chances to use my hands, but I still did arts and craft. I still have a model Titanic with weekly parts that I have to finish, but I never had the time to complete. Model making was the next handiwork I could do with my hands and I enjoyed it. Now that I think back, it really deviated a lot from what I initially started out with.

Then, I came to Perth. I really enjoyed scrubbing in and taking part in the surgeries I observed. I liked to watch the surgeon's nimble hands doing sutures, tying 5-0 and 6-0 threads onto blood vessels or doing perfect subcuticular stitches. Despite that, I had really little experience doing the sutures myself. Neither surgical terms I had allowed me to do that.

However, when it comes to being in ED and GP, and having a GP who lets me do stuff, I managed to finally do what I wanted to do all these while.

The question now is: Where do I go from here.

Trip to Ipoh

I went to Ipoh the past two days. I managed to watch "The Spirit" (which I will write on later) and buy some of my new year clothes. I was also dragged to accompany my mother in a course to string beads/crystals into jewelry. I've posted up the final products on my facebook album, but I'll post two samples here:

This has a retail value of RM 190

This has a retail value of RM 120

Everyone says I have talent in doing handy crafts. I have inherited this from my paternal grandmother and my mother. And being a boy, I have broaden my interest in crafting stuff to robot models, particularly Gundam ones.

Me being good at handyworks is one of the reasons why I got into medicine. What does that got to do with being a doctor? Well, it is more of being a surgeon.

But it is going take a while before I can use my hands for that. So in the meanwhile, I am just going to indulge myself in making these stuff.

Oh yeah, the jewelry, I am selling them, so if you are interested, please let me know.

Other than that, my trip to Ipoh was uneventful. Except for a glimsp of beautiful girls. Which made me feel more lonely... and desperate...

Graffiti!

Yup, without my WoW addiction, I found another addiction: Graffiti.

There are some really awesome graffiti done by other people, and I can only scratch the surface of how they manage to plan and produce such beautiful images. So far, I have only been using my mouse, which limits how much I can do. Some of the images I've seen require the use of a stylus and touchpad thing. It would be really useful to prevent my mouse hand from acting up again. Come to think of it, it was set off by WoW addiction in the first place...

I got into graffiti so much so that I have no inspiration to blog. Thus ends my blog mania from that one little glance with a girl I saw only briefly.

A Circle

I am beginning to feel like a tennis player. Love means nothing to me now. I tried to court her but I didn’t have the balls to do it. I served whatever I had over to her side, and it was never returned. I was about to call it deuce, then it hit me.

My life is at a plateau… its all flattering. Sometimes I feel like I am going to explode with this built up energy. If it happens, I would probably make Ma cry. I don’t want to burn her hopes. It is hard when everything feels like its all going down slope. I guess I have to be cool and hold myself together.

I’ve thought about it. Having only my current circle of friends is pointless; it’s like drawing with a broken pencil. I might leave an impression, but it can be damaging. If only I can find a way to make our cliques click. Hopefully something will overlap, and there will be some interest… and then my life will make more sense. I guess all I want is some change. Only then, can I coin my life to be wealthy.

Fireworks, Gandalf! Fireworks!

Its quite a beautiful thing to watch from afar, fireworks are… But to see them at ground zero, that’s something different! Despite my fear of the upcoming exams, we still managed to take a whole day off and went to a carnival/fun-fair/entertainment fair. It has everything a carnival needs, games, rides, shows and holes in your pocket.

I spent too much money at that place. We were literally throwing away our money. At least for one game, where your $1 coin must land perfectly within a square… We didn’t win anything, but in the end, I bought a prize to keep me sane. However, I got to try games that I wanted to for a long time, shooting and darts. I love those projectiles… all I need now is accuracy.

We also walked around and bought show bags, bags that contain stuff they were promoting, and for a very cheap price. Playboy magazines, Chocolates, Gamer magazines, you name it, you got it. I bought some beads that would allow me to start on a project that I have been planning since my Singapore days with a visit to Chee Seng’s place. Now, all I need is time… after exams…

We also played with baby farm animals. I learnt something new: I’m calling chickens with wild hairdo’s as Chooks. Chooks are slang for chicken Australia, but these funky haired ones deserve a name… I also managed to meet several kids. They were so cute and cuddly with their innocent behaviour. They jump around, enjoying the cooing of the crowds. And they eat everything! Or at least try to.

Then came the highlight of the event, a show in the central stadium. By the time we got there, we’ve missed quite a lot. But I knew there were stuff involving helicopters and emergency vehicles… Anyway, when we started watching, there were horses. It’s quite different from the horses in WoW and this is certainly much more majestic. They didn’t so much, but just showing them is enough to cheer and clap.

Then came the higher horsepower riders… This showdown was excellent! The horses on one side, and the cars on the other, slowly inching their was to each other… Then, BAM! The horses surrounded the cars, the cars desperately trying to get out of the circle. The cars roared but the horses stood fast. Then one car broke out of the circle. Two horses were on it immediately. They chased the car around the field while the remaining 4 horses continued their hold on the frantic cars. Finally, they managed to ‘lasso’ back the runaway car into the circle. Yee-Haw!

The next part was with just the cars. It was just brilliant. “Turn left to turn right,” says the quote from Disney’s Cars. It was just fantastic! Imagine the Red Arrows making formations in the sky. Now, picture cars instead of planes and ground instead of air. That’s what it was like. They made crazy formations only seen in traffic jams! Only centimeters apart and driving at a fast speed! Then of course it wasn’t complete without a stunt involving ramps and flying cars.

The last part of the show was a firework display, and we got to see it at the base. The sounds and explosions don’t come with a delay! It was great fun and breathtaking (coz of all the smoke…) And all that I can think of during the firework display? Copper burns blue, magnesium burns white…

almost one month..

There aren't much movies that I want to watch. The latest 'movie' was SuperSize me. There goes my appetite for McDonalds...

It's really gross, how business and money takes over the needs for health awarness...

Argh, I can't really think now. I'm sick now. Having running nose and sore throat. How did I get sick? Late practises and lack of rest. Stress? I don't think I was under stress, but I am still sick.

Updates:
Cheerleaing was over on Tuesday. A hectic month of IMU cup. I tried to join as much as I can and in the end it was just cheerleading. I really am messed up and angry about how people think nowadays. Especially the new batches. They think that we rigged the IMU cup when all we tried to do was to be fair. So, with all the transparency, we broke history by losing the IMU cup. oh well. On the one hand, they deserve it, on the other, I really hope they change their attitude. We were just being fair.

Anyway, we won cheerleading. I am not too happy though. Reasons too many, and not nice to mention here. My first well earned gold medal. That is good enough for me.

And the Art Competition came to a close on Friday. I am now RM50 richer, but I hoped to have gained more. Oh well, it's the best I could have done. I'm still thinking of what to do with that money. I'm thinking of using it to cover up the cost of the Return of the King soundtrack I bought a few weeks back. I guess that's where my money should go...

Well, this is all the thoughts I have to write out. Probably more to write IF i feel like it...

Nah, should not give the boring start of the day stuff, I just lead a typical Ken Rhee life... Woke up late though...

Wanted to join today's practical so that I'll have more free time on Friday, but was scared of the overcrowded look in the lab and the labtechs shut the dorr on us... oh well... Caught by Yee Neng to do the banner again. Since I have the time now, I decided to help. All is well. Want to put it up today and brilliance! NO STRING!!! ah, wasted more time...

Anywaym the message i'm trying to bring across is.. THE BANNER DESIGN IS MINE, SO CRITICISE ALL YOU WANT, I STILL LIKE MY CREATION.
I am in the library wearing nothing but sandals, bermuda shorts and a t-shirt.. of course the underwear... and imu tag... I thought they stricten up the rules? HAHA, the Krazy Kreature strikes again...

BUt lesson learnt today...

18th March 2004, Thrusday (KrazyKreaturez's Journal)

Today is a busy day, as was yesterday. And the day before, now thtat I think of it... Anyway, today was a busy day. I started out earlier, as I did yesterday, at about 0645hrs. I ironed my shirt and washed up. I rushed to the auditorium and found the audi EMPTY!!! Rare occasion in the wee hour of the day (0715hrs), but there are people there. Only recognised Victor, Renuka...

Anyway, I set out to do what I came for, I laid the white 6mx4m cloth and brought out my chalks. Okay, how do I start? I mean, all I had was an idea in my head and a rough black and white sketch. But I carry on anyway, hoping my imagination will be as good as I hope it will be. I drew the hourglass. Darn, i finish my 2 inch chalk. At this rate, I'm screwed...

I ran out of chalk. By the time I decided to stop drawing, the Audi was half full.. half empty, depending on which side you are talking about. Oh well, I shall get on with it another time.

Lecture starts and again, I find myself counting the number of 'as such' again. 62 this time, but I am a bit confused about the exact number as whenever my mind wonders off for a while, I don't listen to him. This isn't a good sign as I don't get the information being presented, but I hope that I can cover it later in life, before Summ1. Next was Dr. Vishna and her carefree lecture on B-lymphocytes and antibodies. I almost got what she was saying this time... And she ended her lecture with a story of her being scared of animals. Cruelty to animals, but we can't avoid it. I mean I LOVE animals, but I know how important it is for the researchers to use them. Research on animals is important and 'better' than using acutal humans, but not many people seem to realise this. All they can see is "Oh, poor animals..." "They were so kewt..."

Then was PBL. I don't know how effective having PBL's are though. I used to be from a group that gives out handout so that we don't really need to copy anything. But this time, the material is voluntarily given out. I decided not to give any out this time as there isn't much to say and I'm not really sure on what it is. Adding to the fact that I have been busy this WHOLE week, I don't have time to actually research thoroughly... Anyway, I thought it was quite good and the rest were as good and boring...

After PBL, at 1300hrs I had a meeting with the Dance Club Committee. They basically want us to perform some dances for the recruitment drive, as with last sem. I get to dance in at least 2 of them. oh wow, oh joy... And I finally get to see the committee for this sem. The tall Pharmacy girl is actually the VP... odd... but oh well...

Later at 1400hrs, CSU!!! Yeah, session was scary, not knowing what to expect and fearing the worst. It turned out quite well, and I guess anything always can be better. I forgot to bring my tape, so I forced Steven to be the Doctor this time. As we waited for our turn, we went through the question and I don't know why, though I feel more insecure, I seem to know what to do, more than he did, but he did an okay job though. I'm getting too big a nose now... Later at the debriefing, my nose shrinks smaller... I feel so unknowledgable. And I seem to know nothing at all, except what other students told me before this.

When everything was done, I got onto doing the banner paint job. I did most of the hourglass as only I knew of what I wanted. DUH The rest helped out and I really thank them. Especially the 'moral support' I needed... The banner would be up soon, and I am proud to have left a legacy.. heh heh heh...

Now I sit here trying to write the elective report... Editing is more like it though.. haha