More things that you won't find in Malaysia

Freddo's gelato.. loving it..

He Made Everything Beautiful In Its Time: Part 4 - Pretty in Purple and More

Plans.. plans.. plans..

Ok.. i know that this is still a long way to go, but i wouldn't want to wait til the last minute (but somehow things always end up like that) or regret it later..
I'm thinking of taking USMLE Step 1 after year 2 or 3.. then do a BMedSci.. problem is the latter.. to do or not to do a BMedSci.. yes, it would probably increase my career prospects and help me gain exposure.. but i hate statistics.. and i wouldn't want to graduate 1 year later than my batch.. imagine not graduating and camwhoring with people you have been with for 4 years during convocation..

Evidence-based medicine: Reading medical journals can be detrimental to your health

Seriously I am starting to get sick of it already.. do you know how much time and money I spent on printing journal articles for this month? then have to read them some more..

First it's for my assignment on Evaluating Popular Information on a Cervical Cancer Vaccine, now it's for my Surgical Anatomy selective.. need to find stuff about complementary medicine and alternative treatment for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck..

Fortunately it's the holidays now..

Ehem..Malaysia's version of Grey's Anatomy? :p lolz

After witnessing surgery in the OT of Monash Medical Centre, Moorabbin..
p/s: stop laughing..

End of a long day.. thank God mid semester break is here..

I can't really describe how tired I have been for the past few days.. already starting to fall sick already bcoz i've been sleeping as late as 2-3am thanks to my 2000-word assignment.. I don't even know if I answered the questions correctly and mentioned all the points required..

Today, I had a PCL from 10am til 12pm.. it was on stress and anxiety disorder (i dont really like the BS stuff in it, but i try to make the most out of it and participate) then, i ended up doing my assignment from 12 til 2 pm (imagine staring at your laptop screen non-stop trying to put the finishing touches on the bibliography).. it was not done, but i need to go back to the Halls to recharge my laptop battery.. then need to follow up on Sabrina who is doing games today.. after that do assignment til 4.15 pm.. went and disturbed my friend who was dressing up for MUMSU ball, asking for his help burning the document into a CD and printing the 18 pages of it.. 4.30 pm already.. need to run from the Halls all the way to the medical faculty (20 minutes) to submit it.. it was a dark and cloudy day.. and when i exited the Halls, it started raining and gusts of wind almost blew my shirt off (what the..?) anyway, deadline of assignment was 5pm, i popped mine in at around 4.50pm.. doing stuff at the last minute: trademark of being a Malaysian.. wah, damn tired leh.. went back to the Halls by bus, traffic jam.. got off 1 stop early and walked only to be overtaken by the bus later..

As i was taking the bus from the Halls back to the bus loop (on the way to CG), the rain stopped, rays of the sun emerged from behind the clouds.. and i saw the beautiful sight of a rainbow.. haven't seen one in ages.. wonderful way to end a tiring day..

I must admit that it's not been easy for my first 3 weeks helping out as my CG's games coordinator (ie quality control).. 1st week with Serene: she has little time to think of one because she is practising for the church's new centre opening ceremony in Frankston, so Ivy helped her out.. 2nd week with Ting: she was not very confident of doing it (and a bit of cross cultural communication breakdown).. this week with Sabrina: her first time i think, need to let her gain some new experience.. not easy considering the fact of what I need to do with my time (sometimes need to research some games too)... but I'll take it as a challenge and do my best for Him..

Oh, one more thing.. my lameness seriously needs to be controlled :p

Yea!! Mid semester break is here.. going to Planetshakers on Sunday, tulip farm trip on Tuesday and Yumcha on Wednesday.. but wait, can't quite relax yet.. Surgical Anatomy Selective mini poster due on Friday October 6th and got meeting probably on Monday or Tuesday.. and i need to catch up with other parts of my studies..

Oh, boy... here we go again...

Fighting a losing battle..?

Cancer.. The word that most of the time brings shock, grief, despair and misery into our lives the moment we hear it.. It's like when you get it or if you see someone else get it (be it a loved one or a patient at a hospital), it can totally be a life-changing, or rather nerve-wrecking experience.

I have to admit that for some reason cancer runs in my family.. I witnessed my cousins losing their mother to breast cancer a few years ago. My uncle whom I'm quite close to passed away 2 weeks ago as a result of terminal liver cancer. For my selective, I witnessed 2 surgeries (a modified radial neck dissection and a laryngectomy) to remove cancerous lesions and lymph nodes.. and here I am doing my evaluating popular information assignment on a newspaper article entitled 'Cervical Cancer Vaccine Breakthrough'.. kind of ironic doesn't it? and with the way my junk food habits are going, it's not going to do me any good.. i was a bit freaked out when I saw a slightly swollen "something" on my palatine tonsil in the mirror that day.. not sure whether i should get that checked out, but my cough has improved though..

By the way, i passed my mid sem exam (despite the circumstances and the way i reacted to it)..

For the surgery, 1 of them was a 79 year old widow who might have experienced an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) during the neck dissection which had to be called off.. She was later found to have a triple vessel disease and left ventricular disorder (severe heart conditions, meaning that by right, she should not have been operated on).. she also had skin lesions (suspected melanoma) and an adenoma in her descending colon.. the surgeon rang up the daughter to ask her to come to the hospital and consider the option of palliative care..

I'm not trying to scare people regarding cancer.. It's just that sometimes i wonder how oncologists deal with these things day in day out.. It happens every hour, everyday, but I think there was a time when i've already come to a point where I would no longer want to encounter anymore people dying of cancer or any other reason.. I'm already sick of too many people around me dying.. it's like me shouting to God, "CAN YOU STOP LETTING PEOPLE DIE OF CANCER??!!!" (that's before last week's CG teaching.. but I'm still learning though.. probably being reminded by Him of the urgency of the situation) and i know this sounds selfish, but honestly i wouldn't want to be in the patient's shoes either..

..... Although this is a ranting post, i just remembered today's shepherding lesson on the God's View on Life: The 3T's - Life as a Test, Life as a Trust, and Life as a Temporary Assignment..

Hence, i shall not elaborate anymore on this.. my points seem scattered and I don't seem to be making any sense..
final point.. remembering Sarah in prayer.. may God pull you through..

Gloomy

Ever felt miserable when you break a promise you made to God?

anywayz, some issues related to self-confidence and personal ego which need to be dealt with tomorrow..

and my assignment is due this Friday.. starting to get sick of combing through journals.. and just what i needed, walking home from library in the cold drizzle and strong wind..

prayer items: Jason (journey mercy and spiritual strengthening when flying back to Singapore), Sarah (bad news), Sabrina (games for CG)...

Latest edit: also pray for the churches, in Thailand, especially Hope Bangkok since there is an atmosphere of uncertainty after the military coup.. (martial law states that gatherings of more than 5 people is punishable by 6 months jail) and since Ivy may be going there for her medical elective..

Shampoo jokes courtesy of Ian Song

Which shampoo does the Holy Spirit use?
Dove

Which shampoo do the angels in heaven use?
Rejoice

Which shampoo do you use after running up a steep hill?
Pantene

Which shampoo do Catholics use?
Head and Shoulders

Yet another belated post: CCM Superheroes Night

Ok, CCM organised a Superheroes Night on August 3rd and it was basically a night of food, fun and whacky stuff..here are some pix.. by the way, thanks to Robby for the pix :-)

Here we got Dhany as Donatello from Ninja Turtles














Kien (Luigi) and Keith (Mario) haha.. so cute..
Wolverine (Jason)
Neo from 'The Matrix' (Michael) always get the girls :p

I think this is Hatake (or some Naruto character which Jeffrey is trying to imitate) and Cissy (I don't know who is she dressed as.. maybe Chun Li)









Superman (Shaun), isn't it obvious?


















Rogue from X-Men (Chi-Ann)



















Ok.... some of you might just be wondering what I came as on that night... promise don't laugh ar..














DON'T LAUGH!!!!!!! I don't know what to make out of this.. people commented I look 1/3 Rayden from Mortal Kombat, 1/3 Hokage from Naruto and 1/3 Zorro.. might as well call it Tong Sampah Man













Group Photo Pose

Belated Post: Osi's farewell party 23rd July

Should have posted this long time ago.. anywayz, Osi is our CCM friend who went back to Botswana after completing his engineering course. We will deeply miss this faithful brother of ours.. as Jason pointed out, 1 thing we will miss about Osi is his humility and great deal of optimism in life. Take care, and all the best in Shanghai :p lolz

CG Lesson: The cause or the response

Ever wondered why certain tragedies happen in the world today.. terrorism, war, natural disasters, accidents just to name a few.. and sometimes we tend to ask ourselves, "Why me?" In our angst and frustration, we demanded an answer from God. But will you actually be able to handle the situation if you eventually come to know (as in God personally tells you) why the hardship / tragedy happened?

Knowledge is passive, suffering is an active process. There is no truly intellectual answer which explains why these things happen. To fellow Christians, you probably tend to remind them that, "It is a test of faith, it's God's way of getting people to draw close and look to Him in times of need etc" but what about pre-believers who ask you "If your God is supposedly so good, loving and fair, why does He allow so much of these pain and suffering to occur?" What do you tell them?

I remembered asking a question about the tsunami / earthquake in Indonesia, as in not all the people who died actually deserved their fate, and these people haven't actually heard the gospel yet, why not give people doing missions more time to reach out to them.. The answer given was 'redemptive purpose'.. God judges everyone fairly, and He would have done something in their lives to minister and test their conscience.. if they respond to Him then they will be saved.. same principle applies if someone asks the question, "What about the indigenous / aborigines who are far away from civilisation access and have never heard of the bible?"

Redemptive purpose. Everything happens for a reason. I was pointing out to a friend the motto on the US logo (whatever you call it) which says "In God we trust." He dismissed it as nonsense since the US has caused so much suffering (both directly and indirectly) by going to war. True, I dislike wars. I don't like to see people suffer. (by the way, I'm not for or against the US) But think about it; if the war hadn't been allowed to happen to get rid of the dictatorship rule, churches wouldn't start mushrooming in the Middle East.. In Exodus, if God had not hardened Pharoah's heart, the Israelites wouldn't have been able to see God's miracles and power through the plagues and parting of the Red Sea..

Even in John13:33 Jesus mentioned that "In this world you will have trouble." It is not what happens to you, but what happens in you that matters. God has promised to give us life to the fullest (John 10:10), hence rather than focussing on the situation, focus on your response to the situation.. There was this book, 'Stick a Geranium in Your Hat and Be Happy' by Barbara Johnson where the author describes all the miserable things she went through (2 sons died, 3rd son who turned out to be a gay disowned her, husband got involved in a car accident and went into a vegetative state).. kind of resembles Job who suffered terribly and lost everything. She contemplated suicide initially since she could not bear the pain anymore, but if these had not happened, she would not have been able to eventually talk and reach out to people who lost their children in accidents, whose children turn out to be gay or whose husbands are in coma etc. (ref. Hebrews 6:9-11)

The best thing to use is your own testimony, which people cannot dispute..

1 Samuel 40:8 - The flowers wither, but the word of God stands firm.

A kind of faith is required to prevail.
2 types of faith:
1. Child-like faith - knows God loves you and has a plan for you
2. Fidelity - perseverance and hang-in-there-at-any-cost type of faith, involves learning how to trust God even when He seems to be absent..

Why is it so hard to have these kinds of faith?
Don't know God well enough - when you truly understand God, you will find the joy, peace and assurance

Conclusion: We all have our own difficulties. Allow God to take away you questions and focus instead on how are you going to respond to such circumstance.

Additional brief lesson on the domino effect of one bad situation..
Story: A man wakes up in the morning and found out that the wife has not cooked any breakfast for him. He yelled at his wife and so she quickly fixed up something for him to eat. Then, his daughter spilled coffee on his pants. He got angry and scolded her. As the daughter cried, the man runs up to his room to get changed. When he came back downstairs, he found out that the daughter missed the bus because she has not stopped crying. His wife told him to send her to school. He obliged, but the daughter, still angry over the scolding she got slammed the car door after she got off at school. He then realises he is late for work, and got fined for speeding. When he arrives at the office, he got scolded by his boss for being late and got fired.

Lesson: 10% of things in the world today you can't control, but the remaining 90% you can.. It all depends on how you respond to the situation.

Unpredictability

Welcome to Monash medicine, where anything can happen anytime, anywhere and anyhow, even before you are an actual doctor. Woke up today at 6.30 am.. hitched a ride with some friends in the same tutorial group to the following aged care facility to practise musculoskeletal exam of the upper and lower limbs (spine exam a bit too risky to be performed on elderly patients by med students).. we didn't really know how in the world to get here, so i helped to navigate (aka map reader) for the 50 minute ride from Clayton.. when we finally arrived at the centre, guess what the doctor told us?
"Oh, I'm so sorry.. but we had an outbreak of gastroenteritis yesterday and we were advised not to allow anybody in. So class today is cancelled.."
I was like thinking, "What the? We woke up early and came here for nothing? "
The doctor then added, "Oh, you guys can come back next week at the same time and same place and join another group which is also coming.."
Hello? I NEED to do my assignment and next Wednesday is supposed to be my day off leh..







Anywayz, what we did was we decided to hang around at the beach in Frankston.. took some pix..

We later received an email from the site visit coordinator.. Briefly summarised, it says:
"We apologise for the last minute notice of this incident. Therefore, we have organised a replacement site visit for you guys this Friday from 1-3pm at the Kingston centre. "
Where in the world is Kingston? And I need to cook Japanese food for CG.. Can somebody help me go and bash up the staff at CMHSE..? ARGH!!

It's official:

I HATE EPIDEMIOLOGY AND BIOSTATISTICS!!

As the curtain falls..

3 more months til the end of my stay here in Australia.. yes, I do miss the people and cheaper food back home in Malaysia.. I would love to see the new Monash campus..

But I love Melbourne.. and the people here.. I don't want to leave..

Crap, I should be studying..

Countdowns

Church anniversary: This Sunday, 10 Spetember
Church Frankston centre opening: 16 September
Assignment "Evaluating Popular Information" Deadline: 22 September
Final year exam: 1 November
OSCE: 8 / 9 November
Visa expiry: 31 January 2007

Never again..

I felt so relieved and fortunate today.. Thank you Lord.. I am very sorry and I will never touch DC++ or any Torrent programs ever again in the future..

Apologies..

"Sorry", a word that all of us use commonly everyday, be it to apologise, or to express sympathy to somebody in sorrow, etc. (especially so as future medical pratitioners) We should apologise, no matter whose fault it is.. always be the one to eat humble pie.. but is there ever a case of offending through apologising?

I asked Chris today, "Sorry if you feel offended, but if you don't mind can I ask you something? It's a rather sensitive issue.." I've been doing this quite often if I am afraid that what I ask may be considered an insulting to others (since I have the tendency to say things before thinking).. Imagine asking a person about his / her loved one who just recently passed away.. or asking your friend academic stuff when he just failed his exams..

He replied that I can just ask him straight away. According to him, trying to be too cautious by apologising before that question can actually make it sound even more offending and insulting..

Hmm... being overcautious.. by the way, curiosity kills the cat, so is avoidance better compared to being 4+4? What you don't know can't hurt you.. so to know, or not to know?

He Made Everything Beautiful In Its Time: Part 3 - Flower Power

He Made Everything Beautiful In Its Time: Part 2 - Spring is Coming..

I wish i was a robot

I just came back from my surgical selective at Monash Medical Centre Moorabin (7 am til 6 pm).. I'm so exhausted that I would love to jump straight into bed.. I have a meeting with my surgical resident at 8 am tomorrow for project write-up discussion.. (meaning I have to wake up at 6 am again) I missed today's lectures and dissection.. I need to make notes for anatomy.. and Monash is trying to kill me since I have to read 42 pages of epidemiology and biostatistics notes before tomorrow's tutorial..

(*stares in envy at Melbourne uni students who only have 14-16 contact hours a week, with free time spent working, volunteering, going to the gym, spa etc.)

He Made Everything Beautiful In Its Time: Part 1 - Winter Shots