Thank God for Fidays

Its the weekend again. The only difference this time was that my Friday was a busy one. Started with just PBL. The still remaining problem is that I tend not to speak up. My topic was on the Diagnostic Criteria for Schizophrenia and we were supposed to go through it at the beginning. Of course when I don't say anything, we tend to skip it. I should talk more, speak up more. I mean even in history taking I don't pronouce the words correctly. It's called dysarthria.

After PBL, I went to Royal Perth Hospital to meet up with my group members about our research project. I finally got a research project. It was a great milestone as the due date for the proposal was Friday. oh wait... this IS Fridy. Anyway, my supervisor is a very nice man. He likes to talk, I feel, and is very enthusiastic about his work. He has a Toshiba laptop that is huge. Larger than Martin's one was. It has a remote and everything. And doctors get to buy one every year tax-free. Anyway, after a brief discussion, we were sent off with writing the proposal while another group discussed theirs...

I went to Princess Margarets Hospital for Children next to see my Mentor. We talked and it was fun to have someone to be guiding you and asking how we're getting along in Perth. I've answered that question 3 times on Friday, and all of it are to different people and I gave different answers. All in all, the general idea is that I'm coping. It's been fun and a much educational expereince. Of course there are still stuff to do like reading up on antibiotic regiments.

Next was a vegetarian dinner in the City. It really does taste like the real meat. It was great.

Next, we watched another 2 movies. Van Wilder and Being John Malkovich. They both have their own pros. Van Wilder is the comedic, sexual movie, where else Being John Malkovich is twisted. The underlying message in Van Wilder, the most popular guy in school, is that everybody is cool in their own right, and there is potential in all of us. Oh yeah, point to note is dog semen is fetocidal.

The second movie is an old movie, by the same writer as Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind and just as twisted. There are very good actors in it, John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, etc... I still have no opinions as to what the show actually means but it's about being someone else. The feel to be someone different. It's for those who are experiencing identity crisis and want to know who they really are. And the way to do it is to be someone else for the time being. I guess we all want to be someone different at some point in our lives, but not all of us get to do that.

The similarities in these two movie? Live for moment. Carpe Diem, Memento Mori.

And to end the day (or night) I finally was able to watch Book of Daniel, a series that I've stumbled upon in my search for entertainment. A priest who sees Jesus, who's married to a lovely wife, and have 3 children: a gay son, an adopted chinese guy, and a drug selling daughter; has a Bishop as a father (a father for a father just makes the show weirder...) , a mother who suffers from Alzhiemers, a gullible ignorant innocent sister in law. People talk.

I sometimes freak myself out.

I just watched a barrage of movies, including a attempted Star Wars Marathon. Well, I gave up after watching Episode I and II back to back. Anyway, I stumbled upon a Jim Carrey movie called Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.



I liked it because it's... well... hard to understand. Meaning it's some warped mind-boggling story about life and hard to understand. It's about a couple who after going through a rough relationship, Clementine (Kate Winslet) went to get her memory of Joel (Jim Carrey) erased.

The scientific basis of this 'treatment' is that certain parts of the brain will have some activity in it when certain memory is triggered. So by relating all the spots with all the memory of the person/object/animal, a mind map, so to speak, is formed. Then the memory can be erased. Worried about brain damage? It IS brain damage.

When Joel found out, he too went through the process and the movie is almost all 'in his head'. How nice is it to erase something painful and embarassing from your mind? What if it is about someone that you love so much, but is just so hurting? I said I freak myself out. The reason is that I just wanted to blog about not forgetting seomthing or someone, hence the flower... And this is before I knew the existance of this movie nor had the inlking of watching it.

There's something about Jim Carrey's show that scares me. I heard things about The Cable Guy, that it is a story about a crazy person. Once the name Jim Carrey is mentioned, one would think laugh, funny, comedy... Like The Mask, Ace Ventura. But with movies like The Cable Guy, The Truman Show, there is a certain haunting feeling about his 'serious' movies. It's about satire, about life. Another great comedian is Robin Williams. He has his funnies, but there are serious stuff going on in his movies. Mrs Doubtfire, Patch Adams, Dead Poet's Society, Death to Smootchy. Serious stuff... about satire and about life again.

A salute to two great entertainers; Jim Carrey and Robin Williams.

I end off with a snipet of the poem by Alexander Pope (no, not the late Pope Alexander...) entitled "Eloisa to Abelard"

How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd;
Labour and rest, that equal periods keep;
"Obedient slumbers that can wake and weep;"
Desires compos'd, affections ever ev'n,
Tears that delight, and sighs that waft to Heav'n.
Grace shines around her with serenest beams,
And whisp'ring angels prompt her golden dreams.
For her th' unfading rose of Eden blooms,
And wings of seraphs shed divine perfumes,
For her the Spouse prepares the bridal ring,
For her white virgins hymeneals sing,
To sounds of heav'nly harps she dies away,
And melts in visions of eternal day.