Funny Story

I felt lucky tonight. We've been going out for more than 2 years already and I have been dying to hear him pop the question. He has been hinting about a special dinner date and even bought me nice jewelry for the occassion. Only I don't know what the occasion is.

"I'm sure of it." That's what all my girlfriends say. "He's the one."

I tried on a few dresses that night. It was so hard to choose the right one for tonight. I don't want to look too sleezy, but I don't want to look too casual. I wanted something that said, I'm serious about this. It took a while, but I got there in the end. I know he likes white, so I went with my silky white skirt and lacey white blouse. It took me another hour for the make up and hair, but it was worth it.

I got to the rendezvous point and he was there waiting for me patiently. I greeted me with a warm hug and a peck on my cheek.

"Hi Princess. You look great." I smiled back. "Shall we?"

I nodded as my heart raced even more. We were headed to a classy restaurant! He really did go all out for this night. I'm sure of it now.

Dinner went uneventful. Thoughts were racing through my mind, of how he would propose. Would it be the ring in the champange? Or a strong of violins? Or just a speech and getting down on his knees in front of everyone. My heart beat so fast, I thought I was going to faint. The anxiety was just overwhelming.

Dinner ended and nothing happened. I can't say I was disappointed. I know he still had a whole night planned ahead, but I thought that the restaurant would be a more romantic place. He'd better live up to my standards.

As we walked out the door, a gust of cold wind blew past us. As if a reflex, he gave me a squeeze which restored my faith in him, instantly warming me up despite the cold air. I smiled again.

Then, when I least expect it, he got down on his knees.

I couldn't help but I burst out, saying how much I love him and how much I wanted this to happen. I was saying Yes before he could say anything.

Then I realised that he was looking at me with a perculiar look.

"Isn't that what you wanted to say?"

"Honey... I am just tying my shoe laces..."

I Care

I want you to know, how much I care.
I want you to show, but only if you dare.
Your every happy every woe, every dream every nightmare.
Your every high and every low, I really wished you'd share.
I'll make it snow, if that is what you declare.

For you, I will go, just about everywhere.

For today and tomorrow, I'll always treat you fair.

My love can only grow, this I swear.

The Last Dance...

Everyone looked pretty last night. And the night was beautiful.

But no one could compare to how beautiful she looked that night. I cannot even begin to describe her how she looked, but she looked good. No, she looked better than good; she looked great. She looked so elegant. It wasn’t that her dress was bold or daring, but she stood out in my eyes, I could spot her a mile away. She normally looked good without any make up on, but tonight, it augmented her natural beauty. All I wanted to do was to look at her and gaze into her eyes.

All I know is that she makes me feel nervous. I don’t know what to do, I don’t know what to say, I don’t know how to act. I never said how nice it was to see her. I never complimented how good she looked in her dress. I never really told her how I felt and how she made me feel. Her mere presence just makes my heart race. Her radiance fills my insides with warmth but I would still shiver.

I wished that I had more time; more time to warm up and dare myself. I needed more time to loosen up, to let go the weight that is on my shoulder, to stop worrying about everything that had went on in my life, everything that has yet to come. I couldn’t do anything, and I didn’t do anything. And thus that is why I remained quiet. Maybe a few more drinks later. All I can think of is that I regret that the night had to end… but it had to end.



Balls are the one of the only times where everyone can dress up. And I really appreciate the effort that all the girls put up yesterday. They all looked so good in their dresses with their hair-dos. It was really a great night.

Growing old

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone...
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and
parents will. Stay in touch
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9.. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret,you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19.. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36.. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood..
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's,we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time.. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

Adventures in Albany - Day 26

This would be my last weekend here in Albany. I thought of going to Denmark to visit the Dinosaur museum, but I was lazy to walk down and hire a car. Well, that and I'm broke and I haven't really done my log book.

Instead, I stayed in my room and watched anime. I watched a couple of animes to pass the time. By couple, I mean 3; and by anime, I meant anime series. I also typed out most of what I have into my log book, so I cannot say that I have wasted the whole day.

One of the Anime I've watched was Ride Back. It's a story about a ballet dancer who injured herself and was never to dance again. However, she manages to, through futuristic motocycles called Ride Backs. It's a motorcycle essentially, but is able to transform into a humanoid form on wheels. The computer balance system goes really well with sense of coordination, from her glory days as a dancer, such that she was able to pull off majestic stunts on it.

At first, it was a story of a girl struggling to cope with her downfall, and turning to riding this new invention by accident. However, the show slowly progressed into a war between an opressing government and a rebellion, with her in the middle. I got confused as who the target audience was, but I would think that only anime fans who just watch anime for the sake of watching anime would watch it. I would say it is more targetted for guys because of the cool machinery and battle scenes, but then it has many feminine qualities such as a female protagonist with a passion for dance.

Maybe, it was meant for the girls, but also attract the guys with graphics and explosions, kind of like adding a love scene in an otherwise action pack movie. Commendable effort this time.

I can't say which part attracted me more, but I did like the storyline; political/military oppression and media corruption, struggles with barriers in life, AWESOME IMAGINATION AND GRAPHICS.

How far are we from that kind of technology? It doesn't seem far...

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.

Adventures in Albany - Day 24

After disappointing news yet again from the job agencies in WA and NSW, the chances of me staying in Perth is no longer visible. I would have to either take up the job offer I have in Singapore, or to attempt to contact other states in Australia where I did not apply. I never had the intention to leave Perth, but to leave Australia entirely is a different question. I still could not decide which is better; to go back to my original plan to work and live in Singapore nearby family and familiar territory, or to venture forth into the unknown but still be in the health system of Australia.

Conclusion still pending.

Apart from that, its a small victory for me in GP land. I finally got a praise, albeit sarcastic in nature, that I do know something at least, from my 6 years of training. They say that you can throw away half the stuff you learnt back in pre-clinical years, but this year, I find myself going back to the stuff that I memorized so hard to pass my exams in IMU. They are called fundamentals for a reason and I have to revisit mine in order to get through this year at least.

Even the basics of explaining to patients what a disease is, proves to be a challenge. You can treat the disease all you want, knowing it inside out, but I still find it hard to explain to the patient without jargon and make them aware about their conditions and the basis of treatments. Basically, explaining the whole hour worth of lecture on a topic in 7minutes or less.

After GP, I took a detour, travelling on a different route to get back to the hospital.
Notes to self:
1. Don't travel in the dark through a graveyard if you don't want to be scared.
2. Don't stop to smell the roses (in this case stop to take photos of calla lilies) in the dark in someone's yard.
3. Don't give your home address to evangelists.