My sister shared this with me.
Like WOAH. Zai. Impressed, totally.
Would be fun to try it out, wouldn't it? Any keen parties? :D:D:D
Monday, October 12, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
My maiden experience as a wedding emcee
Strange and a little absurd, some may say, that my maiden experience as a wedding emcee was for a couple whom I'm not even acquainted with, and whom I've not seen until 1 hour before the commencement of the wedding luncheon.
I've attended quite a few church weddings, but not many wedding dinners/luncheons. Maybe only 2-3? But certainly less than or equal to the number of fingers on one hand (i.e. 5, unless you have polydactyl). And therefore, much can be said about the extent of my experience in the proceedings of a wedding reception, or rather, the lack of it.
It can really be stressful doing something for the newly weds during a wedding, whether you're presenting a special song item or being the emcee. (Actually these are the only 2 things I've ever done at a wedding; being a part of the audience celebrating the holy matrimony of a couple does not count. Hopefully, one day I'll have the honour of being a brother for the groom, and ultimately, if God willing, the groom. Haha). But anyway, the reason it can be stressful is because, you would want to be the last person to screw up any part of the wedding (if there are any screw ups at all). Well at least, for me, my wedding's gonna be, hopefully, perfect, in whatever sense of the word. Also because people only get wed once in their entire lives (ideally).
And so, it makes me (a person who really hopes everything runs like clockwork, according to every detail in the planning) very very nervous, and a little uptight, when there's hardly a proper run through of the whole sequence of events during a wedding ceremony. Especially when the not-so-proper run through is peppered with 'play-by-ear's.
For one, I don't know how a yum seng's supposed to work. So I guess I made everyone a little bewildered and amused when I shouted yum seng 3 times without taking a single sip in between. Oh wells. This is how learning and gaining experience takes place isn't it?
Everyone's placing a bet that I'll cry big time the day I get wed. I shan't comment on that, but I can probably predict that I'll be pretty uptight about it. Imagine that. But if my sister's gonna be my wedding planner, I dare say it's probably gonna go quite well, given how she arranged by surprise birthday party x2. And I think she'll expect a big angbao from me. Haha.
P.S. Have I mentioned that I'm considering embracing a concept of a musical for my wedding? If I have the time and energy, and if my other half agrees to it, hopefully I can be the producer, the director, the composer/arranger, and of course the lead actor/singer. Haha. May sound unrealistic, but I'm entitled to my dreams rite? Heh.
I've attended quite a few church weddings, but not many wedding dinners/luncheons. Maybe only 2-3? But certainly less than or equal to the number of fingers on one hand (i.e. 5, unless you have polydactyl). And therefore, much can be said about the extent of my experience in the proceedings of a wedding reception, or rather, the lack of it.
It can really be stressful doing something for the newly weds during a wedding, whether you're presenting a special song item or being the emcee. (Actually these are the only 2 things I've ever done at a wedding; being a part of the audience celebrating the holy matrimony of a couple does not count. Hopefully, one day I'll have the honour of being a brother for the groom, and ultimately, if God willing, the groom. Haha). But anyway, the reason it can be stressful is because, you would want to be the last person to screw up any part of the wedding (if there are any screw ups at all). Well at least, for me, my wedding's gonna be, hopefully, perfect, in whatever sense of the word. Also because people only get wed once in their entire lives (ideally).
And so, it makes me (a person who really hopes everything runs like clockwork, according to every detail in the planning) very very nervous, and a little uptight, when there's hardly a proper run through of the whole sequence of events during a wedding ceremony. Especially when the not-so-proper run through is peppered with 'play-by-ear's.
For one, I don't know how a yum seng's supposed to work. So I guess I made everyone a little bewildered and amused when I shouted yum seng 3 times without taking a single sip in between. Oh wells. This is how learning and gaining experience takes place isn't it?
Everyone's placing a bet that I'll cry big time the day I get wed. I shan't comment on that, but I can probably predict that I'll be pretty uptight about it. Imagine that. But if my sister's gonna be my wedding planner, I dare say it's probably gonna go quite well, given how she arranged by surprise birthday party x2. And I think she'll expect a big angbao from me. Haha.
P.S. Have I mentioned that I'm considering embracing a concept of a musical for my wedding? If I have the time and energy, and if my other half agrees to it, hopefully I can be the producer, the director, the composer/arranger, and of course the lead actor/singer. Haha. May sound unrealistic, but I'm entitled to my dreams rite? Heh.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Words
Derek Shepherd: “How did he not know this happened?”
George 'O Malley: “Why is it his fault for not noticing? Going through life thinking they had the relationship where she could talk to him if she was in trouble, she would tell him. If you really have feelings for someone, if you really love them, then you talk to them.”
Owen Hunt: “Maybe she tried. Maybe words failed her. Sometimes, words fail."
In the Midnight Hour,
Grey's Anatomy Season 5
George 'O Malley: “Why is it his fault for not noticing? Going through life thinking they had the relationship where she could talk to him if she was in trouble, she would tell him. If you really have feelings for someone, if you really love them, then you talk to them.”
Owen Hunt: “Maybe she tried. Maybe words failed her. Sometimes, words fail."
In the Midnight Hour,
Grey's Anatomy Season 5
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Mortality and Morbidity
Yesterday, I had some difficulty passing motion; and even today I kept running to the toilet a few times, with slight sensation of incomplete voiding. Now, normal people would probably experience these symptoms once in a while and think nothing of it. But when day in day out for the past couple of weeks, you've been talking to patients who presented with these symptoms and have now been diagnosed with some pathology, you can't help but have some morbid thoughts running across your mind. Disclaimer: I am not paranoid, nor am I excessively worried or anything. And now I am perfectly fine, physically at least, maybe with the exception of a slight weight problem :P Just had some thoughts. (:
A couple of weeks ago, during my night call, I witnessed for the first time, a patient dying in hospital, in probably what is the most dramatic thus far. The patient came in vomiting blood. For some absurd reason, he was sent up to a general ward (VS. ICU) even though he was quite hypotensive (i.e. low blood pressure). After some time, he started vomiting blood profusely, and even at one point, started to seize. Imagine a patient with a plastic bag full of fresh blood beside him, and now more blood on his clothes. The on-call team started resuscitation efforts. But at the end, he didn't make it. All this while, his family members were waiting outside, looking worried and praying hard.
I was just thinking. Had the patient known that the last thing he would ever say to his family and loved ones was before he was admitted into the Emergency Department? Had he anything more he would have wanted to tell them? Had his family anything more to tell him?
Was thinking about acute/sudden death (i.e. suddenly collapsing after a marathon, road traffic accident?) VS death due to chronic condition (i.e. cancer). Which would I prefer? For one, maybe an acute death would be less painful, as compared to the seemingly long-term suffering of a chronic condition, where one might perceive himself to be just waiting for time to pass. But if I knew I have a chronic condition, I would be able to plan what I would wanna do for the rest of my limited life.
I wouldn't want to be unable to tell my loved ones that I love them (if I never had before), just because some drunk irresponsible driver ran me over and I died instantly.
Such is the unpredictability of life. Certainly, I know the Hope that awaits me. Just that, just wondering, will I have any regrets should I just pass away the next day? Will I regret not spending sufficient time with my family? Will I regret not telling someone how important he/she is to me? Will I regret not mending ties with certain individuals?
So many potential regrets I can now think of. But will I be able to live my life differently, knowing I may have these regrets?
Anyway, I'm perfectly fine. I guess. Shall go read newspaper and do my 2nd case write-up after that. (:
A couple of weeks ago, during my night call, I witnessed for the first time, a patient dying in hospital, in probably what is the most dramatic thus far. The patient came in vomiting blood. For some absurd reason, he was sent up to a general ward (VS. ICU) even though he was quite hypotensive (i.e. low blood pressure). After some time, he started vomiting blood profusely, and even at one point, started to seize. Imagine a patient with a plastic bag full of fresh blood beside him, and now more blood on his clothes. The on-call team started resuscitation efforts. But at the end, he didn't make it. All this while, his family members were waiting outside, looking worried and praying hard.
I was just thinking. Had the patient known that the last thing he would ever say to his family and loved ones was before he was admitted into the Emergency Department? Had he anything more he would have wanted to tell them? Had his family anything more to tell him?
Was thinking about acute/sudden death (i.e. suddenly collapsing after a marathon, road traffic accident?) VS death due to chronic condition (i.e. cancer). Which would I prefer? For one, maybe an acute death would be less painful, as compared to the seemingly long-term suffering of a chronic condition, where one might perceive himself to be just waiting for time to pass. But if I knew I have a chronic condition, I would be able to plan what I would wanna do for the rest of my limited life.
I wouldn't want to be unable to tell my loved ones that I love them (if I never had before), just because some drunk irresponsible driver ran me over and I died instantly.
Such is the unpredictability of life. Certainly, I know the Hope that awaits me. Just that, just wondering, will I have any regrets should I just pass away the next day? Will I regret not spending sufficient time with my family? Will I regret not telling someone how important he/she is to me? Will I regret not mending ties with certain individuals?
So many potential regrets I can now think of. But will I be able to live my life differently, knowing I may have these regrets?
Anyway, I'm perfectly fine. I guess. Shall go read newspaper and do my 2nd case write-up after that. (:
Sunday, October 4, 2009
“把碗洗得干净一点！”
Maybe my blog is really dead. But well, good thing that death is not an end-point, but a transition point. Just like I have the power to revive my blog as and when I want to, so there will come a day when all the dead-as-of-now will 'go to' another place, for better or for worse, but that would certainly be for eternity.
Anyway, just wanted to pop by (can you technically pop by your own blog?) before I continue on my surgical case write-up (which in itself can be a form of warped enjoyment, just that it's super time-consuming -.-"). There's been a lot of news lately, from publicised ones like Ris Low and disasters (natural or otherwise), to private ones like friends and acquaintances being hospitalised, witnessing my first death in hospital (this was like.. 2 weeks ago). Each of them deserve a full post, but well, until I have a little more time on my hands, I shall not venture into lands unknown, past the point of no return.
Just now, when I was washing the dishes (dish, to be more accurately - my own soup bowl), my mum nagged, “把碗洗得干净一点！”. The main point is not that my mum nags (which mother doesn't? Moreover I think my mum nags minimally already (: ) Thing is, if something is clean, it means it has to be perfectly clean. If it isn't, then it really isn't. It's quite an absolute isn't it? Oh. Correction - It IS an absolute isn't it?
As much as social studies and GP have taught us always to "agree [with almost everything, it seems] to a CERTAIN EXTENT," I wonder whether our minds have been accustomed to spectrumise everything. Law aims to make the punishment fit the crime, and rightly so, but have we forgotten that there is sin has no such grading system?
Can you love a person more over time? Love is an absolute standard too, isn't it?
Anyway, just wanted to pop by (can you technically pop by your own blog?) before I continue on my surgical case write-up (which in itself can be a form of warped enjoyment, just that it's super time-consuming -.-"). There's been a lot of news lately, from publicised ones like Ris Low and disasters (natural or otherwise), to private ones like friends and acquaintances being hospitalised, witnessing my first death in hospital (this was like.. 2 weeks ago). Each of them deserve a full post, but well, until I have a little more time on my hands, I shall not venture into lands unknown, past the point of no return.
Just now, when I was washing the dishes (dish, to be more accurately - my own soup bowl), my mum nagged, “把碗洗得干净一点！”. The main point is not that my mum nags (which mother doesn't? Moreover I think my mum nags minimally already (: ) Thing is, if something is clean, it means it has to be perfectly clean. If it isn't, then it really isn't. It's quite an absolute isn't it? Oh. Correction - It IS an absolute isn't it?
As much as social studies and GP have taught us always to "agree [with almost everything, it seems] to a CERTAIN EXTENT," I wonder whether our minds have been accustomed to spectrumise everything. Law aims to make the punishment fit the crime, and rightly so, but have we forgotten that there is sin has no such grading system?
Can you love a person more over time? Love is an absolute standard too, isn't it?
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
It's Tme for Sayang Sayang (:
Guess I'll just squeeze in a short post (for once!) before I get engrossed in handling groupings and pairings for future postings, gathering feedback for Dean's Office, doing PBL and reading up for tutorials (:
It's Time for Sayang Sayang
(Music and lyrics by Alvin Oon)
There seems so many things that lie before us,
there’s just so many things we want to do.
But let us stop and pause for just a moment,
let’s do something special me and you.
It’s time for sayang sayang, it’s time for sayang sayang.
Caring for one another family and friends.
It’s time for sayang sayang, it’s time for sayang sayang.
As we go walking together hand-in-hand.
The time that we all love is here to treasure,
a very special time of the year.
These days you're sure to find, these days are yours and mine,
We share them with the ones we hold so dear.
It’s time for sayang sayang, it’s time for sayang sayang.
Caring for one another family and friends.
It’s time for sayang sayang, it’s time for sayang sayang.
As we go walking together hand-in-hand.
Sweet. Lovely (:
It's Time for Sayang Sayang
(Music and lyrics by Alvin Oon)
There seems so many things that lie before us,
there’s just so many things we want to do.
But let us stop and pause for just a moment,
let’s do something special me and you.
It’s time for sayang sayang, it’s time for sayang sayang.
Caring for one another family and friends.
It’s time for sayang sayang, it’s time for sayang sayang.
As we go walking together hand-in-hand.
The time that we all love is here to treasure,
a very special time of the year.
These days you're sure to find, these days are yours and mine,
We share them with the ones we hold so dear.
It’s time for sayang sayang, it’s time for sayang sayang.
Caring for one another family and friends.
It’s time for sayang sayang, it’s time for sayang sayang.
As we go walking together hand-in-hand.
Sweet. Lovely (:
Monday, September 14, 2009
A Little Something about my Life
A friend of mine had once commented that my blog is dead before it is even alive. Well, rightly so, and I kinda agree. The past 2 weeks since Surgery posting started have been quite an experience, albeit an extremely hectic one. Not only is surgery quite a entirely different ball game in terms of physical hours, but it so happened that these 2 weeks have been a period when I had, for a while, many additional things on my plate. These include my first attempt at translating a full-length medical article, my first experience at conducting a choir at a choral music camp, taking up an additional tutee, scrubbing in and assisting in my first operation (despite just holding a retractor and proctoscope), etc. Knowing how long it takes for me to blog, and since I'd very much prefer to finish one post at one sitting, I refrain from beginning one.
Now it seems that the only time I have to blog is when i watch tennis at 4:30am in the morning (Update: Federer just took the first set 7-6 against Djokovic in the US Open semifinal, his 22nd consecutive Grandslam semifinal, following Nadal's shock loss against Del Potro). You absolutely have to love it when you see beautiful shot-making like, returning the ball around the net instead of over the net. And the weather in the US isn't really helping, now that the men's finals is gonna be played live on probably a Tuesday morning in Singapore (due to rain delaying matches on previous days), I'd either miss the match or won't get much sleep before reaching TTSH at 7:30am in the morning.
On a side note, I absolutely love my Mondays. And I really really love them. It's really a precious break for me, because I hardly get any rest during the weekends, needless to mention weekdays. That's because nowadays there are few/no lectures on Mondays, and my students all have lessons in school, so I'm basically free till evening. Hence, Monday gives me time to catch up on studying/reading (be it medical or otherwise), watching movies, or just some time of my own. Therefore sometimes I'm a little bewildered when some of my friends want to go back to the hospital on Mondays. But then again, I shouldn't be critical, because they're really keen and passionate about learning (I must say I do not share the enthusiasm on an equal level) and they probably get their rest at their own time. It's just that since I'm already spending 4x10h in the hospitals on 4 out of 7 days (not inclusive of time spent travelling, which can be quite substantial), I'd really like to spend the rest of my time on other things that I enjoy doing and are of value. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that I hate medical school. In fact, I'm enjoying every moment of it, learning, interacting with patients and doctors. Just that I don't want my life to only and merely revolve around medicine.
Some of my friends (These are friends who truly care about me and my welfare, so I do appreciate their kind intent and concern (:) have asked me is it really necessary for me to have so many students, take up so many commitments outside of school, etc. Well, I'm not short of money for now, and frankly-speaking, if I'm giving tuition just for the money, then I'm really short-changing myself, because I know some of my friends who charge much higher rates than I do. But it really is the fulfillment of seeing my students improve, developing an interest in the subject and a way of thinking and working out the solutions which give me satisfaction. People have said that I should learn to say no. Maybe that is something I should learn, but to me, if you can help someone who's asking you for help, and if it doesn't kill you, I'd be inclined to agree. Afterall, you'd never know what you're missing out on learning or experiencing if you don't give it a try. And trust me, students teach you more than you think they can. And yes, to those who are afraid that I'll burn out, do continue to keep me in prayer and remind me if you see signs of that happening to me =) And yes, I won't forget to make time for my family as well. =)
I've actually cut out many newspaper clippings which I'd have liked to make some comment on or something, but currently they're just sitting on my tray, 10 of them at least. They range from the thought-provoking to the bizarre and absurd.
Well, as I'm watching tennis, I'm not intending on blogging about something totally serious. So anyway, just wanna share a little something about a perspective. I've not, and am not intending to, examined the whole merits and accuracy of this perspective. Just something that came to my mind some time back. (Federer takes the 2nd set 7-5!) Humans' emotions can be quite volatile. You can try to observe a person, try to subconsciously formulate some patterns and theories on how he/she may respond or react to certain situations, but at the end of the day, sometimes they may still surprise or shock you, just when you think you can start to predict how they'd respond. Is it just because people don't really know what they want? Or maybe it's just the complexity of the human psyche. Maybe that's what makes life and human interactions so interesting. And for a person like me who likes predictability, who gets fed up at times when I can't figure out what a person's thinking or what's going on in a person's mind, it is really quite a lesson to learn.
The value of waiting.
Actually I've been done with this post a little time back, just that I'm waiting for the match to finish. Another beautifully excellent shot in between the legs after Djokovic returns a lob. Check it out on youtube, it should be there in time to come. =) Roger through to his 6th consecutive US Open final for a record 6th consecutive title in the Open Era. (:
Now it seems that the only time I have to blog is when i watch tennis at 4:30am in the morning (Update: Federer just took the first set 7-6 against Djokovic in the US Open semifinal, his 22nd consecutive Grandslam semifinal, following Nadal's shock loss against Del Potro). You absolutely have to love it when you see beautiful shot-making like, returning the ball around the net instead of over the net. And the weather in the US isn't really helping, now that the men's finals is gonna be played live on probably a Tuesday morning in Singapore (due to rain delaying matches on previous days), I'd either miss the match or won't get much sleep before reaching TTSH at 7:30am in the morning.
On a side note, I absolutely love my Mondays. And I really really love them. It's really a precious break for me, because I hardly get any rest during the weekends, needless to mention weekdays. That's because nowadays there are few/no lectures on Mondays, and my students all have lessons in school, so I'm basically free till evening. Hence, Monday gives me time to catch up on studying/reading (be it medical or otherwise), watching movies, or just some time of my own. Therefore sometimes I'm a little bewildered when some of my friends want to go back to the hospital on Mondays. But then again, I shouldn't be critical, because they're really keen and passionate about learning (I must say I do not share the enthusiasm on an equal level) and they probably get their rest at their own time. It's just that since I'm already spending 4x10h in the hospitals on 4 out of 7 days (not inclusive of time spent travelling, which can be quite substantial), I'd really like to spend the rest of my time on other things that I enjoy doing and are of value. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that I hate medical school. In fact, I'm enjoying every moment of it, learning, interacting with patients and doctors. Just that I don't want my life to only and merely revolve around medicine.
Some of my friends (These are friends who truly care about me and my welfare, so I do appreciate their kind intent and concern (:) have asked me is it really necessary for me to have so many students, take up so many commitments outside of school, etc. Well, I'm not short of money for now, and frankly-speaking, if I'm giving tuition just for the money, then I'm really short-changing myself, because I know some of my friends who charge much higher rates than I do. But it really is the fulfillment of seeing my students improve, developing an interest in the subject and a way of thinking and working out the solutions which give me satisfaction. People have said that I should learn to say no. Maybe that is something I should learn, but to me, if you can help someone who's asking you for help, and if it doesn't kill you, I'd be inclined to agree. Afterall, you'd never know what you're missing out on learning or experiencing if you don't give it a try. And trust me, students teach you more than you think they can. And yes, to those who are afraid that I'll burn out, do continue to keep me in prayer and remind me if you see signs of that happening to me =) And yes, I won't forget to make time for my family as well. =)
I've actually cut out many newspaper clippings which I'd have liked to make some comment on or something, but currently they're just sitting on my tray, 10 of them at least. They range from the thought-provoking to the bizarre and absurd.
Well, as I'm watching tennis, I'm not intending on blogging about something totally serious. So anyway, just wanna share a little something about a perspective. I've not, and am not intending to, examined the whole merits and accuracy of this perspective. Just something that came to my mind some time back. (Federer takes the 2nd set 7-5!) Humans' emotions can be quite volatile. You can try to observe a person, try to subconsciously formulate some patterns and theories on how he/she may respond or react to certain situations, but at the end of the day, sometimes they may still surprise or shock you, just when you think you can start to predict how they'd respond. Is it just because people don't really know what they want? Or maybe it's just the complexity of the human psyche. Maybe that's what makes life and human interactions so interesting. And for a person like me who likes predictability, who gets fed up at times when I can't figure out what a person's thinking or what's going on in a person's mind, it is really quite a lesson to learn.
The value of waiting.
Actually I've been done with this post a little time back, just that I'm waiting for the match to finish. Another beautifully excellent shot in between the legs after Djokovic returns a lob. Check it out on youtube, it should be there in time to come. =) Roger through to his 6th consecutive US Open final for a record 6th consecutive title in the Open Era. (:
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