Write Drunk, Edit Sober

We just finished our mid semester final exams. Only two days but it feels like we've been studying forever. Most of the surgery topics, Orthopaedics & Internal Medicine covered in 9 weeks. Finished our theory papers yesterday. Internal Med in the morning and Surgery/Ortho in the afternoon. The afternoon paper was a killer. 30 multiple choice questions but each question had 5 sentences of which you had to read and mark if they were True or False. So in total, 30 questions times 5 is equivalent to 150 True or False questions. That was for Section A. For Section B we had short answer questions. 4 main questions and each of them had about 4 to 5 sub questions. And then for Section C we had 3 long answer questions which again had about 4 sub questions each. We had to draw certain things, too; the hepatobiliary tree/tract, the pancreas in relation to the stomach etc, the inguinal canal (Google it :P), the thyroid. So many things. You know when you have so many questions l...

It's one of those decent-looking mornings. So many things have been happening these past few weeks. So many good things. We're done with the theory part of our semester. In about two or three weeks we'll be going to the hospital for our clinical clerkship. Which is incredibly exciting but also terribly daunting. Exams next week and after another week of classes we're off for a little while.  The wedding last week was really lovely. Very small crowd. Good speeches. Nice company. And I actually wore my very first saree.  Which was a whole new experience in itself. Having to co-ordinate movement whilst being draped in 6 yards of fabric and having to maintain dignity by walking quickly yet gracefully in bloody heels without falling flat on my face. Ohmygoodness. I have new found respect for my mom. Seriously. Spent the wee hours of the morning having the lava cake I took away from Domino's after lunch while watching The Judge. And then I slept like a ...

You know what reeeeeeeally ticks me off. People who dislike other people, but talk to them like they love them with all their heart. I know people say that if you do that, it's you being mature and trying to be the bigger man and all but personally? I think it's bullshit . If you don't like someone, don't talk to them . It's as simple as that. If you have potential work to do with them then be civil about it. But please, for heaven-sake don't put up an act. Don't say hi. Don't say bye. Don't text them. Don't call them. Don't smile at them. Don't say you miss them. Don't say you can't wait to see them. Don't put up statuses on social media about and/or for them. Don't have anything to do with them. Just don't. Because it's damn bloody confusing! >:(

I just finished watching episode 4 (of season 11) of Grey's Anatomy. "The first time I won my Harper Avery award, I thought, screw those boys. I stood there holding that trophy, thinking about all I'd sacrificed, what I had overcome and I dedicated that award to all the women surgeons who would come after me." - Dr. Ellis Grey The past 4 weeks of my third year of medical school have been incredibly productive. We had two days of orientation after which we delved right into physical examinations and long lectures. We started off with the general examination of the patient. Observation, inspection and everything and after we were taught, we'd be tested individually to perform the examination again to make sure we knew everything by heart.  After that we moved onto the abdomen, then to the cardio-thoracic region, followed by head and neck.  We had a session on catheterization as well and we were shown the types of catheters used, etc. On Grey's An...

I really, really, really love where I am now. I really do. This place we went to this evening is less than ten minutes away and it's such a lovely place to go for walks in the evenings and early mornings.   Couldn't walk around or see much  coz we went a little late. Things are going really well. Classes are going alright and in a few days we'll be home for the Diwali break. Looking forward to that (and all the cookies mom's making) :D Nothing new otherwise, Personal life is getting a little interesting but I'm not going to elaborate ;) More soon, I hope. Cheers to a good week :D

I like how things are moderately paced here.  I like the view I get of the early morning sun from my balcony and of the sun setting as I drive back home in the evening.  I like how everyone here is so damn friendly. The majority of the people here are over fifty, sixty years old. There's always a smile on their face as they greet you or try to help you. It's such a pleasant environment. I like the variety of Chinese food I get here.  I like how there are so many little cafes around town. This was at the Espresso Bar just five minutes from my place. Served very good chocolate fudge, too. I have to say, I really wasn't keen on coming to this place. I was so upset and so disappointed for many months but by God's grace things are going just fine and I'm at complete peace. I like how everything is just a five or ten minute drive away from where I'm staying. Town is a little bit of Penang and Malacca all rolled into one.  Went for Cell Group last...

Very happy to say that I've settled nicely into the new place. Everything's set up and unpacked and it finally feels like home. Everyone's very friendly here. So helpful. Traffic isn't that bad. Places are close by. We get everything we need. The only downside is that there's no cinema here. Which means I'll be traveling up north frequently now and I can't wait. This semester doesn't exactly seem like a particularly busy one so am really looking forward to some traveling.  Just finished watching Northanger Abbey. Was checking my hair with the phone's front cam and one thing led to another and I took about twelve selfies just like that. Heh. I tell you the things I do when I'm alone. Completely hooked on Downton Abbey. Finished season four and half of season three yesterday. Can't wait for season five to start. Also waiting for season eleven of Grey's Anatomy.  I  have unlimited WiFi. No more quota nonsense so have been ca...

Word of the day is 'overwhelmed'. I walked, I ran, I sat down for about forty minutes to catch my breath but within just a few hours I've learnt a hell of a lot. One day down, four more to go. From toothless grins to hyperactive little boys to quiet little girls.  I'm going to live and breathe paediatric medicine one day. It is SO incredibly important to be able to speak in Tamil and Chinese aside from English and Malay. Without being able to speak and understand a little Cantonese here and there I'd have been completely lost today. Woke up at 6am and left the house at 7.30am. Was at the hospital by 8.15am and everything was happening really quickly. Ward rounds, medical history taking, diagnoses, treatments, run to Ward 6, take medical history. Run back to Ward 2, report. Run to Ward 7. Run back again to Ward 2 to report. Sit in the clinic for slightly over an hour. Observe, listen, write, write, write. Look at hand gestures, figure out what's b...

Was in Penang for quite a few days. It was a sleep-eat-shop kinda trip and I ate and ate and ate until I couldn't eat anymore. Didn't do much shopping though. Spent time indoors at the hotels this time round.  Still can't get over all that glorious food. These are the snapshots I took over the few days I was there. First few days were spent here. The pool was so nice! Was having a little too much fun so didn't take any pictures of the pool unfortunately :P From the parking lot at night. The hotel lobby. This is just above you as you enter the lobby. It's lighted even during the day but you don't really notice it as much. It's the first thing you notice when you walk in at night. This was the view from our room. Very comfortable, spacious room. The TV was set so you could watch pretty much anything from music videos to recent movies. There was even a CD/DVD player and a stereo system. Very impressive. At sunset. I really wanted...

Drove my car back up north last week.  Changed a few things and did her up and she looks and feels as good as new now.  She had twelve inch rims and tyres before this. When I bought her I changed the tyres but not the rims. Now she's running on fourteen inch sport rims and low profile tyres. So much quieter than before and sooo nice to drive.  Sent her in for a good polish. The guy even re-painted a few things. This front part, just above the bonnet and the wiper holders, both front and back and also all four door handles. Before coming back some weeks ago I got her tinted. Good deal on Groupon and they did it really well. It's not too dark although it looks almost completely black.  Got the engine mounting changed as well. When in reverse she used to judder quite badly. Now it's super smooth. Have installed sensor locks and changed all the floor mats. Replaced the drive shafts and brake pads. Can't wait to start driving back when I'm on break....

Successfully passed Year 2! I came home for my study leave hoping to have more time to study and hoping to have my meals taken care of instead of having to keep going out to buy something or cooking. I thought I studied enough. But then I went back south and started revising for my paper on Monday and realized I didn't do shit while I was home. I mean I went through my notes and all. I remembered a few things here are there. Mostly from what was taught during our lectures.  But that was about it. So began my two weeks of sleepless nights.  We'd have only theory papers every alternate days and on the other days we'd have both theory and practical papers. And these papers were all back to back so there was no break in between subjects which made this a nightmare. Once the theory paper was done I'd come back and (try to) sleep for an hour or two then I'd wake up, wash up and start studying. In between I'd have my meal for the day and I'd be dr...