the deepest shade of red you can imagine.. and then some

i can't imagine how awful i feel. awfully embarrased but also just generally a sick kind of awful. must be some perverse twisted bit of me somewhere inside or else why would i be sharing with anyone something so embarrassingly awful that it's funny in a sad sort of way?

*takes a deep breath*

and so, my confession begins.

i was relaxed today. a rarity nowadays. it was my allocated day off from work. they forced me to take the day off but pay me, just so they could make up my total hours to satisfy the week's quota. not that i'm complaining. anyway, i digress.

so i come home today after running the usual errands.. bank, post office, groceries, fixing up the house and the obligatory visit to ikea. bag galore. a malte to boot. couldn't wait to put it together. put it together i did and it now proudly acts as a sidetable for my keys and knick knacks.

spent the afternoon putting up wall decals, trying to tidy up the boxes and such. then came the knocking.

at first, i thought they got the wrong apartment. i've done that. the elevator took me one floor too high. i got off, as it was the first stop and the lady with me lived on the floor above. i walked to the door and realized the key didn't fit. only then, did i notice that the apt number was 100 more than mine. oops.

so yeah, it happens. i thought someone was just as absentminded as me. thought they got the wrong door. they had a gaggle of children in the background. now why would i have a class of kiddies visiting me? surely they must have the wrong door. so i ignored them. yes, i'm very anti-social. for those that don't know yet, i refuse to answer the door if i'm not expecting you.

let's put it this way... i don't know what's worse - to yell out "who's there?" in a wimpy female voice and have the person on the other side figure out i'm all alone, or to ignore the person on the other side of the door and have them think nobody's home. i'm for the second option - they have their imagination to deal with - as far as they know, a football team could be living in my apt but if i open my mouth, it'll be a giveaway that i'm most likely alone. not very safe.

so i digress again. the knocking goes on all afternoon. every hour or so. quite regular. reminds me of the stories i've heard of how burglars figure out who's home or not. so i try not to think about it. after all, the sun was still out. everything seems less scary in the daytime. the knocking finally stops and i call A to validate my runaway thoughts of scary burly burglars and such. then the intercom started to ring. so now i'm a tad worried. the sun's gone down, the knocking hasn't stopped.

i'm still loathe to call out in my wimpy, now scared girly voice "who's there and what do you want?" the sentence is too long. so i talk to hG who suggests calling security. d'oh! why didn't i think of that! so call security i did. a nice fellow called matthew answered. he reassured me, gave me some advice, said he'd check it out. no news. the knocking came again. it was now around 10.30pm. now, my runaway thoughts have really gone galactic. i call matthew the security guard again. he promised to announce himself at my door next time he does a circuit.

to cut things short, i found a piece of paper scrunched up and shoved under my door but because i had a draft stopper, i never heard nor saw the paper until i opened the door. i've never been so embarrassed in a very very long while as i read a scrawled message saying "please call your next door neighbour. N - 04******** i have your keys. you forgote them in the door"

...

like i said.. i've never been more embarrassed.
on the bright side, i now have my contingency plan in place. one that i should've done long ago much akin to the charlestown one when we didn't have water or power for a few days. i've now got the local police number scrawled in ink and programmed in my phone. i've got a whole list of phone numbers of people i trust + people nearby whom i can dial out to in case anything happens. a tad paranoid, you say? i suppose so but this is what comes from living alone for all these years. a girl kinda gets a tad edgy. hmm. i should just shush now.

what goes up must come down

I had another bout of warm fuzzies straight afterwards. Why so, you ask? Why, I finally made it back to America after more than a decade!

Spent about 2 weeks there.. mostly in LA. Explains why this blog's been a tad quiet last month. Interspersed were mini-trips to my aunt's place in Orange County, a day trip back to the valley and a weekend in Philly/NY. Caught up with a few besties from elementary school and that was a treat.

I never realized how much I miss life in LA. People always ask if I'll end up back in the states after my stints in whatever country I happen to be in at the time and I always tell people that I can't see myself going back. I used to believe that going back would be meaningless because life as I knew it back then wouldn't be the same - my friends aren't there anymore and those that are would have hopefully moved way past the days of playing in our little dirt playground at Sierra (that doesn't exist anymore btw... it's now a horrible mass of concrete they call the parking lot). This trip highlighted the fact that yes, everyone's moved on but the fact that my old besties still have tons to yak about despite the years and years that's lapsed... wow, that was a warm fuzzy in itself. We admitted we each had our trepidations.."where do we start? what will she be like? what will we talk about? will we have anything in common anymore?" we yakked though. like old times. bits and pieces fell into place to fill in the huge gaps. i missed that. This trip completely proved me wrong in my belief that life moved on when I left, and that I could never catch up. Who said anything about catching up? I could very happily walk in step with life as it is over there.

This trip also proved me wrong in that yes, I could see myself moving back. I miss life there. Life as I knew it, life that I was used to. I miss the itty bitty comforts like being able to find a bar of butterfingers in the supermarket (instead of people going "huh, what's that?"), to have normal internet packages (instead of paying through the nose for 40gbs a month), to be able to put my mail in my mailbox and know it will get delivered (instead of walking for 5 mins just to drop off mail at the communal mailboxes).. you know, the little things.

So anyway.. I had an awesome time, kudos to everyone I managed to meet up with for putting in the effort to actually make the meets happen. Sheer nostalgia, it was =)

With that in mind, you can imagine how awful it was to return to the bleak humdrum I currently call life here in Australia to face a week of relief before launching straight into a week of night shifts that cover specialties I especially suck at. The week off that I automatically get after a week of nights melted away as I battled a rather ...aggravating specimen of a solicitor and overly concerned parents (gee, what's new.) regarding a rather large purchase in the works.

Started my new term today on a wonderful wonderful note - I left home early because I wanted to be organized and ready to rock when 8.30am hit you know. I was so organized, I left both my pager and cell phone at home. go me. Let's just say I made it through today, inclusive of ward meetings I only knew about an hour prior to the meeting itself, in not too bad a shape.

One day down, a whole 10 more weeks to go. *sigh*

not quite what i had in mind

it's been nearly a month since my very last post
i've been just a tad busy these past few weeks
juggling work and sisters, sleep and fun
and amassed some memories that are for keeps

we'll start off with boot camp, the butterfly kind
run by a sisterhood, for a few local teens
a grueling affair, 'twas this four-day camp
filled with smiles and tears at narabeen's.

what a relief it was to find
i clicked with her, my little sis.
i'd never guess that i would cry
but tears rolled out 'cause of that little miss.



i also got my first brush with fame
for natalie and sis were the honored guests.
everyone both big and small
wanted in on the photofest!



the first day of work overlapped with camp,
it wasn't ideal but what could i do?
i managed to survive our orientation
and also made a new friend or two.

meanwhile at home, my fluff became bored
they cooked up some mischief whilst home alone
poor sleepybear bore the brunt of their jokes
they took off his shirt, antics i don't condone!




the weeks rolled by and before i knew,
'twas australia day weekend wit lots to do!
my cousin had arrived, fresh from taiwan
we went 'round the city but had no time for the zoo =(



i also found a bottle of pink grapefruit juice
one called ami with a quirky little twist
they took us for idiots with a pronunciation guide
ah-mee 'twas how to say it, meant friend 'twas the gist.



the weeks dragged on, and i was always at work
my homebound fluff, oh they rejoiced!
hours on end to wreck havoc to my place 0.o
lotsa plans and opinions to voice!





work itself wasn't too bad..
i was slowly easing into routine
patients to see and forms to fill
i think i might've appeared too keen

that initial enthusiasm slowly waned
especially after my first weekend shift
'twas a mayhem to cover the place
i left the hospital a wee bit miffed.

this past weekend was really crap
more patients to see, more forms to fill
a caesar to assist, a token to keep
ooh that baby's cost me a hefty bill!!



i had on scrubs and my brown suede boots
when they cut her tummy and i was told to push
i heaved and i shoved until the baby came out
with blood and fluid, and also some mush.

it all sprayed out and onto the floor
it covered my scrubs and drowned my feet
it turned the floor into abstract art
a bloody mess my eyes did meet.

remember my gripes about Oh and Gee?
i still stand by all that i've said
the specialty's full of leaky ladies,
and bloody ones stuck in bed!


speaking of blood, 'tis bloody ruddy red
the same color that is used on the 14th of feb
valentines' this year passed without my yearly gripe
no, my caustic sentiments, they have not ebbed.

a day of hearts and bouquets of roses
of extravagant dinners and expensive candy
or lonely singles left wandering the streets
great for sales, my ain't that handy!

'tis all a conspiracy, some may say..
concocted by hallmark as they insist
why declare one day when the others just are,
as special enough too, to warrant a kiss?

anyway, i shall leave you be
that's quite enough rhyming, even for me.

quick update

another quick update before i disappear into another puddle of oblivion. i can sense these things, you know. =)

came back from my 2-week vacation in one piece. survived the family and relatives. it was even enjoyable this time. no, this didn't include the car crash i was in. yes, everyone was alright though i can't say the same for the hunks of metal we were travelling in.

pictures to come, watch out for them on flickr.

joined life changing experiences as a Big Sister in their SISTER2sister program. supposed to be a mentor for girls aged 13 - 18. boot camp started on saturday. don't know whether to take it as a compliment or not - been mistaken many a times by both big sisters and little sisters for being a little sister at camp. hmm. it's supposed to last for four days, but unfortunately for me, it overlaps with my orientation at the hospital. hence, been running on near empty - boot camp itself is physically and emotionally exhausting. organizers have suggested taking days off from work if possible to recover from the camp. no can do =(

sooo... what i've been doing is driving back and forth between the campsite at Narabeen (never been to narabeen? nevah been!), home and the hospital. takes aroud an hour with no traffic, boo! daytime's spent in "doctor" mode.. or as well as i can get myself in that particular headspace from 8am to 5pm. then it's a mad dash home, shower, change into big sister mode so i can gather all the stuff i need for camp before driving down there, spend a couple of hours doing the night activities planned and then driving back here like cinderella hoping the clock doesn't chime midnight too soon.

good thing this is gonna last for one more day/night and then i can just concentrate on orientation instead of falling asleep. i mean, on a good day, my attention span only lasts for 20 minutes so you can imagine what it would've been like today.

random thought jump: the other interns were reaally really friendly. it's only been one day, so it's not like i made fast friends with anyone but everyone was nice enough to strike up a conversation or two throughout the day. they seemed piqued upon hearing that i was from newcastle. the accent presented itself as another conversation starter. all's good but won't count my chickens before they hatch. we'll see what tomorrow brings =) at the very least, i hope that more sleep is in the picture somewhere.

brisvegas adventures

apologies if the pictures take a while to load, especially for those of you in australia. our broadband is a third world joke

* * *

late thursday afternoon, it was
last minute plans and schedules abuzz

for some reason, it slipped our minds
closed check-in counters, we would find

thirty minutes before the flight
that's when we were supposed to alight

what to do, we stared with dropped jaws
next flight won't do, we suddenly paused

our eyes wandered around to other counters
as we hoped for better encounters

we had to forgo our jetstar seats
'twas virgin blue! we admitted defeat =(

so much for gloating 'bout our $50 tix
forked out $300 more to solve our fix



'twas the most awful feeling
hearts and brains still reeling

it physically hurt to part with the dough
a reminder of the seats we forgoed

to take our minds off the pain
we splurged on goodies to take on the plane

hazelnuts and almonds, coated in choc
bottles of juice, aye did we stock!



lucky for us, there was one last flight
or else we would've been stranded for the night

as we approached the departure gates
our bags were scanned as rules dictates

mine encountered trouble, but it was cleared
undergo an explosives test, anj volunteered

the seconds ticked past and we could finally board
when we saw our plane, we were both quite floored.



thank goodness it was, indeed the wrong plane
cramming us all in, that's a tad insane!

we turned and saw a much better view
one that contained a virgin blue



we arrived in brisbane, safe and sound
we saw the taxi line, then we frowned

phew, 'twas a quick drive into town
our hotel was easy one to track down

boarding the elevator upon checking in
getting to our floor threw my mind into a spin



we arrived at our floor and found room eight-oh-nine
'twas like this apartment, the one i call mine!



the bed and decor were all quite purdy
tho the bathroom had slime, what a pity.



the view from the balcony wasn't too bad
the city by night was kinda rad =)



our tummies rumbled, but since it was late
room service fries with aioli were what we ate

the course was awesome, exceeding expectations
it came complete with gastronomic temptations

we went though shock, anginas and drownings,
anaphylaxis and other stuff, astounding!

instead of working on that blasted letter,
we joined a night tour to know brisbane better.

but just before embarking on our trip
there's food and cash we had to equip!

so we found the mall, 'twas not a ten-minute walk!
but 'twasnt far enough to make us baulk

uh-oh, we went. look at the time!
we're gonna be late, our anxiety climbed

we managed to hail a cab passing by
stuck in traffic, we sat there and sighed

in the spirit of this trip so far
we had hailed the cabby that was a tad sub par

he had two left hands and two left feet
he didn't know our hotel's main street

we had enough, we were in a hurry
the lights were red, we left in a flurry

crossing the street in such a big rush
anj and death and a very near brush

'twas another cabby who was turning
cussed us out til our ears were burnin'

we didn't have time to care so much
we had a tour to catch and were late as such

reaching the lobby, a man we accosted
but we got the wrong man and away we fled

we finally found our tour guide name frank
he was the total opposite of that old crank

he took us all on his little bus
to see the sights he thought were a must




we cruised through paddington and past government house
and up mount coot-tha as quiet as a mouse

dinner was served, a tangle of noodles
not something i could eat oodles and oodles

we later headed down park road
which was the mini eiffel tower's foreign abode

a thai temple, we also passed
a pretty glow, did it cast



under some arches, the group jovially traipsed
oooh-ing and ahh-ing at the shadows and shapes



we hit south bank and later story bridge
we went river cruising, 'twas chilly as a fridge

that cruise was nearly the death of us
surprising how not more came to cuss

for frank had paraded us past the crowds
to the front of the line, we feared ka-pows!

we got off safe at mulberry park
in time to see the tottering girl in the dark

once again, we boarded our ride
city views and a mormon church, we eyed

14 million, it took to build
gold and marble, it was guild o.0



some time later, after chinatown
'twas when the tour began to wind down

we cruised passed fortitude valley
and meandered through some back alleys

all this while, there was this girl
annoying as hell, i could hurl

she wouldn't shut up, not since the ferry
she had a running commentary

we finally returned for a good night's rest
'twas our last night as this hotel's guests

we woke up to a beautiful day
wishing we'd planned a longer stay



the rest of the day passed without a glich
we caught the train without a hitch



arriving at the airport with too much spare time
they wouldn't check us in, not for a dime

so we sat around yakking about hair
anj yanked out my greys, i began to care

some hours later, after dinner and yak
of ecgs, hair and math attack

we were finally boarding our intended flight
can't wait to go home, the end was in sight!

a mere hour later, we landed in newie
we awaited our bags in the midst of chop suey

we made it back home, well before midnight
and greeted our homes with much delight

so that's the gist of the past few days
it could've been worse in so many ways

the gods must be crazy II

my tummy was a'rumbling
and the sky was turning dark
so i trudged to my kitchen
i was hungry as a shark

i sifted through the freezer
and then right through the fridge
i ended up cooking hot dogs
as long as brooklyn bridge

a couple of eggs then caught my eye
and signaled a scrambled egg crave.
things were bubbling merrily along
if only my tummy would behave!

i had made a mess on the kitchen top
and so i reached for 'em towels
the ones with my happy cows sprinkled 'round
and then i nearly swore in vowels

for my fingers had tapped, within the tube
something quite soft and furry
it took a while to register
i withdrew my hand in a hurry!

bewildered still, i dropped the roll
and as soon as i did,
this disgusting thing dropped out too
it plopped and fluttered and slid

EWWWWWWWW what the fuck!!
i silently screamed
too horrified and shocked
then, more profanities streamed.

ew ew ew, you frickin furry thing
ew ew ew, as i scrubbed my fingers clean
all thoughts of dinner were suddenly gone,
as my tummy lurched into my spleen.

hey, you.. yes you up there
you've had your fun with my parking space
so quit messin' with me, won't you please!
you'll soon turn me into a basketcase =(



crime scene and escaped felon

story of my life

so i went to get my keys this weekend and finalize the lease contract for the new place... pix of empty place soon, anj. or your could just make the trip down to see it in person with me one of these days =)

the lady at the rental office gave me all the bits and bobs needed and finally, directions to get to my parking spot that went something like this:

• car park ramp just around the corner - go down the ramp
  
• when you get in, turn left
• then turn right - drive all the way done (yes, she meant down)
• turn right again - go up ramp
• up ramp - turn right
• #719

goodness.. i thought it'd never end when she said she had better write down the directions. what is this, an obstacle course? was what went through my head. images of my driving test suddenly flashed through my mind.

this is what greeted me when the spot was spotted.





...
..
.

!@!?#


thank you for the snip, whoever's up there - that's not funny.
thank you, hG, for the snap and the company.

be careful what you wish for..

a few months ago, i was still coming to grips with a vacation i didn't ask for, let alone want. i was stressing over what the hell i could do to fill in the time and make it worthwhile. now, i've been kept insanely busy for someone who is on a 3-day work week. besides the papers i need to write up and the exams i need to study for, i've been hit with a viral bug or two. frankly, i'm quite impressed at myself for being able to stave off any sort of flu-like illness after being in contact with coughing, spluttering, feverish and generally miserable people for 10 hours straight, three days at a time. yay me. i'b now duhking like dis cuz by dose is blocked and id's a horribuhl feeling. =( i'm ploughing through stacks of kleenex faster than hungry hungry hippos. everything seems to be happening all at once and suddenly, i feel like i'm running out of time. spring will already be upon us in another week's time - that's something i'll never get used to. september is supposed to herald autumn dammit. back to school and then the anticipation of halloween not long after, with thanksgiving feasts beckoning and a white christmas. urgh, now i've gotten myself sidetracked. something that's been happening more often of late... anyway, like i was saying, spring is almost upon us and in another month's time, i'll be househunting for a new pad in sydney. hopefully, i'll be all settled by mid-november and that's where the fun will begin when i start to decorate and customize! on one hand, i can't wait. on the other, i'd love to have a couple more months before the time to move rolls around. gotta be careful with what i wish for though - i'll be damned if i get faced with anymore academic hiccups to fulfill my wishful thinking of a few more months free.

thoroughly psyched

my psych rotation was an interesting one and i loved the people i worked with. the amount of effort going into end-of-term thank you cards is usually proportional to level of attachment i have to them. although i didn't have much time to whip up the cards, the fact that i used my precious shrinky dink paper and got out the watercolors is indicative of how much i liked the psychs =) was even a tad sad on the last day at not being able to know the outcome of our inpatients' admission. i surprised even myself that i cared that much o.0

now, it's onto my general practice attachment. two days immersed with an awesome gp in a room so cold that polar bears could call it home... couple that with a steady stream of coughing, spluttering, feverish, miserable patients... my poor immune system was overwhelmed =(

despite having moved onto a new rotation, i think i'm still suffering from a psych hangover. a patient of ours came in just last week with a bunch of angry red lines across his back. he was requesting morphine of course. i'm not quite there yet but i gave myself another surprise when i woke up with an ouch. toddled over to the mirror in that half awake state and freaked myself out with what i saw. it was a very wtf?! moment. if i was superstitious, or had this happened a few weeks ago on that friday the thirteenth, i could have probably convinced myself that i had an unsolicited visit from some dark sinister thing. the next thing that popped into my head was a mental picture of me with baby gloves on. and one of those frilly baby bonnet things. with the one-piece pajama suits. a straightjacket momentarily flickered, superimposing itself in the already ridiculous mental image. seriously, who the hell scratches themselves like this? impressive scratches, i must admit but just a tad disconcerting that i did this subconsciously. it still hurts in that stinging sorta way, implying that they're not as superficial as i first thought. makes me wonder what other things i do... or have done whilst asleep o.0 i've gone mental =( they say there's a first for everything - this is one i could do without.

all ears!

so this is it.. four weeks of emergency room madness and it's all done. just got home not too long ago, just saw them all not too long ago and yet, i already miss them. no, not the patients. forget all that touchy feelie empathy crap. we've had enough interactional skills sessions to satisfy a lifetime and half of it. i'm talking about the staff... i thought i like my ortho regs well enough during the last rotation but this bunch of people in the ED topped 'em. to think that i was dreading my ED rotation! continuous long cases didn't seem too enticing at first. i forgot to add the people factor to the equation.

yes, i've had the internship crap to deal with and it was a pain organizing anything from that far away. yes, the daily 40-min journey to and fro were a pain in the butt and i've had many a near miss with crazy speed demons swerving in and outta traffic. yes, there have been times when i catch myself willing the clock hands to hit 10 or 11, just so i fulfilled my weekly hour requirements. i come home dead beat, cramming in 12+hr shifts.. but i come home contented that at least someone's gone home feeling better.

it's been one of the few rotations where there was a sense of belonging. inside jokes, random bantering at everybody and anybody's expense, having random conversations ranging from medico-legal gossip to types of cars good for racing (abs, you would've sooo loved the convo. you would've gotten on well with the RMOs.. maseratis were mentioned!) getting called to see the weird and wonderful.. and a nearly tearful last day. all that's still tugging at the heart strings.

how often is it that one gets acknowledged, let alone spoken to as a lowly medical student by a consultant? it was awfully embarrassingly heartwarming when the consultant in charge held everyone back after handover to announce that it was my last day and thank me for helping out these past four weeks. i guess that bringing in a large fluffy chocolate mousse cake might've contributed to the flow of good words and appreciation too but still.. it was kinda nice to have one's efforts acknowledged once in a while =)

memories of tiny sick tots who leave the ED smiling and babbling in incomprehensible baby talk, sweet little old patients who so patiently explain their complaints for the hundredth time, those who wait ridiculous number of hours for their turn to be seen but still gratefully thank you afterwards, the suturing, the xray reviews, the dozens of neuro and ear exams, the "oh shit!" moments shared with senior staff, the new-found "hi, how're you?" buddies i've made outta med and surgical regs and rmos, the nurses defending and protecting me from "mean nasty doctors," the radiologists taking time out to explain both results and politics and most of all, all the weird, wacky and wonderful patients encountered over the past month .. they all remain but memories. sadly, all i've got to show are ears and more ears.

yeah, i'm rambling like i always do but just indulge me for a wee bit! i just want to savor these warm fuzzies for a while more before returning to a reality clouded by the looming exams. can't wait til they're over!

little annabelle and the field trip

Sometime last year, Noelle had called up Isabelle for some advice about how to deal with Annabelle. Li'l Anna was different from the rest of her classmates, you see. She was slower than them, she needed special considerations. Noelle wasn't sure if Annabelle would be able to go on this field trip next year. Isabelle assured Noelle that everything would be fine. Li'l Anna signed up for the field trip.

She was estactic.. she would be able to join her friends, even though she would be joining them late. Nevertheless, she would be able to go on the field trip! Li'l Anna wondered about how she would get there if she was going late. She went and talked to Jill, who seemed to know lots. Jill reassured her everything would be taken care of, don't worry. Now mind you, li'l Anna might be slow but she was still able to sense potential roadblocks. She was also a tad obsessive and was a worrier so she went to speak to Isabelle. After all, if Noelle was getting all her information from Isabelle.. why shouldn't Annabelle do the same?

Isabelle reassured li'l Anna all's well and whoever was in charge of the field trip would have to sort out the problem of transport. It wouldn't be Anna's job. After all, Isabelle said Anna could go and therefore, Anna will go whether the field trip manager was happy or not.

As it so happened, the field trip manager turned out to be Chloe. She had a twin called Catie, who was filling in for her. They had mischieviously switched identities for the time being. Li'l Anna didn't know this so she spoke to Catie, thinking she was Chloe. Annabelle wanted to make sure that she would have transport to get her on this field trip. Catie didn't know much about her twin's job anyway.. and was scared to make the wrong arrangements so she also turned to Isabelle for some advice. Isabelle was happy if Catie was happy. Catie, unfortunately, wasn't happy and didn't want to let li'l Anna go on the field trip. That was the easiest option for Catie because it meant that she didn't need to find out how to arrange for transportation. Catie didn't like new things very much, nor did she like meeting new people.

Isabelle, now being sick of being the shoulder to cry on for everyone else, decided that li'l Anna couldn't go on the field trip either. She apologized for giving out wrong advice in the very beginning and as compensation, li'l Annabelle could go on the field trip if she could work something out with Catie. Catie was still unhappy, even after Anna told her where to go find cars and buses. Without Chloe's knowledge Catie went and told Isabelle she couldn't find any cars or buses for li'l Anna. With that information, Isabelle could only conclude that Annabelle wasn't able to go on her field trip after all. She would need to wait until next year to go with the other kids in the year below.

As slow as li'l Annabelle is, she is still able to feel frustrated and very sorely disappointed at not being able to go on this field trip. She's not sure what to do - should she wait until Chloe comes back and bad Catie goes away to ask to go on the field trip again? ...or should she just resign herself to the decision of going on the field trip next year and twiddle her thumbs for the time being?

the ignorance of itchybutt

the portly boss, the one they called itchybutt, sauntered casually in and out of the four clinic rooms all morning. he peppered each visit with random questions, questions about the life story of the guy specific fractures were named after. more questions about some random guy who was the first random guy's father. even more questions about anatomy and fracture mechanisms.

during one of these spurts of conversation, he asked yet another question the two students couldn't answer. sure, there were numerous wonderful possibilities floating around in that brain soup of theirs, each a possible answer. there was a lot of intracranial debate and random bits leaked out in the midst of it all. itchybutt was not impressed.

his gaze turned upon the student to his left - the one who wanted to ease up on the questions for it was only their first hour of the new rotation. he asked that student "where are you from?"

he picked the wrong student for that question - she couldn't even answer such a simple question. eventually, she figured that the most correct response would be "originally? taiwan."

itchybutt did not miss a beat. "well you should go back to where you came from and study anatomy for 6 months before you come back here!"

wtf.

the fact that other hospital staff have nicknamed him itchybutt for his lack of hygeine may be hurtful, had he known about this pet name of his but it surely does not justify this sort of behavior! itchybutt unknowingly unleashed the inner tattletale from that particular student. it is only a matter of time before the faculty is going to find out. will itchybutt continue his appalling track record as a person or will he be tickled by lightning one fine day?

yesterday

so yesterday was the day. you know.. that one! i was so tired at the end of it all when i collapsed into bed at half past midnight. there were a lot of people milling about so i was thankful for the small quiet private dinner later that night, away from the chatter and noise. it was rush rush rush throughout the whole day.. didn't even manage to have anything to eat until nearly 6pm! i had decided to wear my intricate dangly champagne earrings just to be different. it was to go with the brown number i chose, complete with delicate lace and pleats and romantic balloon sleeves.

*grins and holds up hands with a brand new...*

...well so anyway, i haven't had one of these days in a while where everything was planned to immaculate detail, yet everything seemed to deviate from the agenda. so much for all that planning although one could point out how much more wrong the day would've gone without the aforementioned planning effort.

won't bore you with details... i'll just bore you with a list instead for most of the days' events.

• gas station: 9am and there were cars flowing out to the street lining up for gas. i get to the pump 10 mins later and the pump i want is out of service. had to circle around the block and line up again before finally filling up
• train station: got there 20 mins early thinking i could just park at the public parking lot next to the station. circled around for 20mins, went "oh shit, imma miss the train" and found parking another 10mins later at the public parking lot in the city itself. miss my train i did.. by 4 minutes and 54 seconds.
• immi: couldn't find the ticket machine to get a number for the counters, wandered around looking as lost as the next person before figuring out the info line was also the ticket dispensing line. stupidly forgot how things worked.. i had thought i'd be in and outta there in 15 minutes with a new visa. 15 minutes turned into 45 minutes.
• another train station: managed to catch the train with the longer route on both trips to and fro to surgarfix. thanks, mister station master.
• chinatown: one of the two highlights of the day. was accosted by a pleasant looking man spouting mandarin, asking for directions to central. told him i'd walk with him, seeing i was heading there anyway. we nearly got killed as some idiot in a sparkly black bmw tried to overtake a van as they both turned at an intersection. the idiot swerved into the bus lane to avoid hitting the van...had he lost control, he would've come crashing right into us. there was one point where the car was front on as it came 'round the corner. mr man was there just standing there with his backback slung across both shoulders.. it was kinda cute. it was kinda nice knowing i helped make someone's day less screwy. he csaid he'll always remember the little taiwan girl who helped him find his way. aww. we parted ways after i got him a map and sent him off on the correct train this time.
• pre-dinner: S and I were both hungry. all the shops had dumped us by the time we reached the shopping center. max brenner or starbucks had been the plan but we had to resort to the chinese restaurant. we saw vegetarian spring rolls on the menu and walked in, planning to order something to whet our appetite before dinner proper. when you couple a kooky rude waitress who doesn't understand much english with very hungry people, it's not gonna end well. we were forced to order $20 worth of food 'ween the two of us as minimum order and when we finally decided to supplement the spring rolls with a veggie & mushie omelette, the waitress didn't get it. we had to point it out on the menu and she dashed off before the menu had closed. she came back 10 minutes later with a steaming plate of veggies & mushrooms. uhhh... yah. we were too flabbergasted and hungry. besides, there wasn't much point explaining it was the wrong order to someone who doesn't understand.
• dinner was awesome! highlight #2 =)
• getting lost: was not so awesome, especially on a stormy foggy night after all that.. and seeing the clock clowly tick towards midnight. to cut a long story short, i missed my exit and turned off the next one, followed the signs until the road turned into a dirt road that 2 cars could squeeze through with dense bush on either side enveloped in pitch black darkness. no streelights, no nothing. couple that with a deserted sleeping town and fog creeping in.. i felt like i was in the twilight zone. half expected some murderous lunatic to jump out and kill me. my vocal cords were prepped for some whoopass screaming from my karaoke session in the car earlier anyway.
  

i later looked up where i was. see that black arrow on the left map? that was me on the dirt road at a bit past midnight. fog. pitch black. high beams piercing into the darkness and illumiating only about 10 feet worth of track. would've ended up at a dead end if i had followed the track. scary thought. very. was supposed to end up in the direction of cardiff at bottom right corner. ended up in west wallsend. the little orange circle was where i made the wrong turn. that in itself was odd. been here nearly 7 years and never made a wrong turn getting off the freeway before.

ah well, 'twas some excitement to break the monotony i guess.

boys boys boys

what's with the spate of questions about the boys in my life lately? must be expired valentines' fumes that haven't completly dissipated. i'm flattered that people care enough to ask if there's someone special in my life to keep me company and doubly flattered that there are people out there who think i have a multitude of guys in my life to pick and choose from. wow. even my gramps was hinting at it... outta the blue, out of context with the rest of the conversational flow, he abruptly asks "so how old are you this year?" my gramps has never taken an interest in me per se... he's always been interested in what i've been up to, but never about what my favorite colors or favorite foods were. he goes on to inform me that i'm all grown up now, i need to do grown up things. ah-huhh...

the clincher came on sunday though. was talking with my parents, wished 'em happy chinese new year tho like any other commercialized holiday, didn't mean much to any of us except for a reason to call or be together. so yeah, my dad asks me what my new years' resolution would be this year. i told him i don't do resolutions - i don't see the point of possibly disappointing oneself if i don't attain the goals i set. with all the ups and downs of life, the unpredictability i've seen... *shrug* i'd rather take things as they come.

so here it comes.. my dad says with a hint of amusement "i heard from your mom that your resolution was to find a husband this year!" wtf. i was flabbergasted... that was so wrong. having this converstation with my dad was wrong enough. he who gets embarrased and squirmy when he finds out that it's "that time of month" for me. he who gets uncomfortable when he stumbles upon a bra in the laundry and realizes it's mine. besides, it's so wrong in that something like that would never have passed my mother's lips - she who sizes up any male classmate, colleage or stranger in my age group, she who screened my phone calls, she who thinks that all men are evil and dangerous. and the the resolution part. did he not hear what i just told him?! i don't do resolutions. and then that last bit, the icing on the cake. a husband!? dude, i don't even have a boyfriend yet... where the hell did the husband thing come into the picture? *faints*

it definitely wasn't our run of the mill conversation, especially not the usual ones i've been having with my dad that usually results in some teeth-gnashing and fervent indignant gnnaarggh-ing. this one was just so left-field that it passed by the usual conversation benchmarks and left them to bite the dust. that conversation soooo did not happen.