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YOz everyone!
Second day in toronto, the sightseeing begins in earnest.
Crashed an immunology lecture with Zhu from 10-12 noon. My goodness, they get their notes printed out for them, at one slide per page. Is that generous or what.
unfortunately, despite the two hours alloted, the lecturer went ultra fast. It was inevitable that zhu was left behind in the dust.
HAHAAAHa...
After that, got a lecture on how to take a subway down town so that I could visit CN towers.
It's basically this big pointy tower which is like the world's tallest building and free standing structure. Paid 24 dollars to get up to the dome at the top, not too bad, the weather was great, and to be honest, HOT at an average of 15 degree celsius, and the skies clear so had a pretty good view of the entire city as well as the off shore islands, very nice.
Then went a floor lower to the glass floor level, which is basically this glass floored area where u can walk on whilst looking down at hard concrete thousands of feet below at ur feet. Scary stuff I tell u. It took me a good ten minutes of staring, and taking photos before I ventured onto it. I took a video of myself ( or rather my feet ) doing the whole walkway. So proud of myself.
After CN tower, decided to just wonder around the district.
Visited this Antique collector's museum. Rather interesting consisted of little stalls from various antique dealers with lotsa queers pieces of antiques of different genres. Got myself this gold seahorse with a mother of pearl body and an Ivorex by Authur Osbourne " Anne Hathaway's cottage". Rather interesting piece i must say.
After that went around 2 shopping concourses the Metro Path and Simcoe place. Managed to find myself a pair of leather turquoise mocs for $10 when they originally cost $45.
Went back after that and after writing a couple of postcards, decided to take a walk down to korean town which is just down the street. Filled with lotsa odds and ends shops, japanese, korean and the likes kinda restaurants and eateries. Walked around for a while and snooped around a couple of shops before acting feet led me back.
Wat a busy busy day indeed.......
Nightz...
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Hear ye! Hear ye!
Come 6 am this day, smoking in public places including, PUBS, shopping centres and offices will be BANNED. Yes! with a capital B.
I'm so proud of ye fair scotland, to finally be able to stand up to the masses,
and one of your not so fair pples' favourite past times (aside from the pints and deep fried mars bars ) and finally say that u will not tolerate, u will not stand, u will not bear to see another innocent die of lung cancer due to passive means.
Eat that u southies!
yes...
i'm just back from our local, the bobbin.
4 double rum and lemonades and a lemonade and double schwapps later,
i've lost an hour of my life.
yes, my frens, time has gone forward by an hour when the clock struck 12.
i've watched dana, who, for the record, has stopped smoking for 3 years,
lit up one last time on this memorable night.
the last night when smoking in public places will not get u fined 50 pounds. (jail terms are applicable to persistent offenders)
I shamefully admit that despite my postition as a absolute detestor of smoking, & as a member of the medical field, helped light up 3 of the 4 fags she had.
I'm a pyromaniac. seems that it comes above my responsibility and my duties. sighz...
It was a truly heart rendering scene, as we walked out of the pub,
and she gave away the remaining pack to a bunch of NEDs ( Non Educated Delinquents) outside the bobbin.
Cheers~!
Friday, March 24, 2006
Hey guys visit www.123numerology.com ! Get a free mini numerology report and free tutorials.... All quite interesting...though couldn't really agree with everything! But it's free! and there's nothing else to do anyways.... YAY! Esther, your Life Path of 4 ... You are a trustworthy, practical and down to earth individual who places ethics above materialism and greed. You are a humanist at heart, and your life path focus is usually related to manifesting the greater philosophical ideals into practical reality. For this reason your expectations of yourself and others are unusually high. You are a doer, more than a talker and nothing annoys you more than an individual that does not follow through on what he or she says he is going to do. You don't suffer fools gladly and have no problem swiftly eliminating people who you consider being a liability from your life. You especially have no tolerance for silly, neurotic or shallow people. One of the problems of being a four is that you expect others to be of demanding of themselves as you are of yourself. It is painful for you to realize that others simply don't have the same perseverance, dedication and devotion to improving the world that you do. Many 4's are also extremists, tending to be very right wing or very left wing in their thinking. Your incredible stamina, perseverance and will power allow you to accomplish ten times the amount of work that anyone else can in one day. Others often realize this about 4 and take advantage of your almost superhuman qualities. Your organization and planning skills are exemplary and for that reason you are a fantastic strategist, administrator, project manager. You are a perfect example of how "slow and steady wins the race." Often your tenacity and strong will is perceived as stubbornness. Fours often don't make good leaders as others see them as too autocratic and demanding. Of all of the numbers, you are most prone to such disorders as obsessive compulsive disorder and being addicted to perfection. The plus side of this is that many of you own dream homes that are spic and span from top to bottom. You are also an excellent landscaper and interior decorator. You are enraged by any type of social injustice and can be quite outspoken about politics, religion or ethics. Although your intentions are good, it is also one of your life challenges to learn to be tolerant of other's beliefs and opinions. As the number 4 is associated with the earth element and the four elements you a re the most grounded of all of the numbers. This makes you an excellent parent and provider. You usually marry early in life and because of your conscientiousness about money are quite wealthy by the end of your days. You also love animals and will probably enjoy the company of many pets during your lifetime.
It's the LAST DAY OF TERM!
yup, Easter begins at 4pm this afternoon.
Alright..... will be gearing up for my trip! Zhu the descent begins now!!!
(P/s: already got the loot i told u about )
Anyways, today was the last day of our clinical skills rotation.
Sobz...this is the last ward session where we can wear casual gear. For next term it's formal wear and white coats every thursday and friday morning....sianz...
well, today it was a revision on the neurological examination, and we
had volunteer patients (old pple who volunteer their time so that we can examine them )
yup, and it was at my first patient that I realised a fact of life that has been unrevealed to me
up to this point in time:One of the most back breaking tasks u'll ever do in ur life,literally,is to lift a relaxed leg with one hand, and attempt to ilicit a knee jerk reflex. Why? Well, the legs are apparently the heaviest part of ur anatomy according to our tutor.Most importantly, you're dealing with old folks, pple who have had the time and experience to build up an impressive stock of padding and insulation,so to be perfectly honest, it's no fun job bending over the patient, suporting the whole leg with NO help from the patient ( so u can actually get a reflex).the worst part is when the tutor comes along, whilst ur practising, and stops u and makes u do it over and over again because ur technique is not right, ur not using wrist action ...blah blah blah...And.............. ALL this time ( abt ten minutes in addition to the previous 5 minutes u spent attemptin) you're holding the bloody leg up! For yourself and ur tutor. Touche~! Yup, I'm goin to spend tonight nursing my sprained back and wrist. Jaa ne ~!
man....i'm unbelieveable.
LAst night, I discovered that i could actually do work through any amount of noise.
or at least till that level.
Well, was feeling rather bored last night,
and not really up to doing proper studying @ having 5 textbooks in front of u and sifting through each and everyone of them to gather appropriate information to support the lecture notes.
So I decided to write up my lecture notes @ transferring notes joted down during lecture onto the actual slides.
So I sat in the living room, with dana and noura, and started to do that.
And whilst i was writing stuff on fractures and osteoporosis, I was in fact also actively participating in conversations on how guys are smelly, gossip, floozies (sluts) etc etc.
It was amazing. Then lynn and Tom came by and they discovered this website that has collections of videos on really old cartoons , like gummy bears and he man etc.
And soon there was a racous party goin on in my room opposite the living room.
The fools were busy singing and bopping to the bloody cartoon theme songs.
Rather interesting too i must say.
And through it all i persevered and finished wat i wanted to do.
Peace out!
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Sitting in the attic of the GP surgery,listening to an hour long diatribe on health screening, health promotion, and disease prevention,I witnessed the most poignant scene through the window just opposite my seat. It was a fine morning, sun was out, quite stongly too, wind was blowing ever so gently,and as I watched, the wind started to pick up speed, and the trees began to change their dance from a waltz to a rondo,And then the heavens broke down, and sheets of white tear drops fell gently... Ladies and Gentlemen,Let me introduce u to this magnificent work called " The Scottish spring"
Saturday, March 18, 2006
WHoohoo!
Yesterday was a SUPER fun ST. PAtrick's Day!
Day of the Irish and Guiness...everyone please remember 17th March!!!
Well, anyways...contrary to wat u might be thinking, I was not out on a liver crippling pub crawl last night.
For the majority of the night I was at a ceilidh at a church.
Yes...haha. A church.
It was fun. It was my second ceilidh ever since i've been here (recall Joy's birthday party last december when she held a ceilidh and i attended)
Less casualities this time. Although I must say that Tom who took the first dance with me
suffered a concussed jaw and badly stomped toes. ( reminder, the skull is a very dangerous weapon)
*evil laughter*
but i must say i've gotten more sure of the steps this time, managed to waltz thru most of them without incident. There were a couple of new dances, such as the St.Bernard's Waltz and the Flying Scotsman.
But then again...the most fun i had was with STRIP the WILLOW! though i must say that due to the limited space in the church hall it wasn't that great.
And yes...the calibre of guys there that night weren't too great. Only spotted one good looker.
hahaha...
yup so after that, me, Dana and Tom headed to MacCameron's to meet Anna (Dana's fren) for a drink. It was after all St. Pat's nite. It was packed full with pple. And some of them had the big fluffy leprechaun's hat with cariacatures of guiness pints. Kawai ne.....darn, wish I could have one of those.
Well, so after a drink ( yes only one.. I had a triple whisky cola. upon returning from the bar, Dana told me that was a supposedly illegal drink which they were not supposed to serve and the barmaid gave her a double and a single and told her to mix it together into a cup. hahaha....well, that's wat u get when u go out with a binger ) we headed back.
Wat a nice night, great workout at the ceilidh and a nice cold drink. Excellent!
Cheers!
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Another interesting thing introduced by Gen.
http://www.handwritingwizard.com
For a graphologist, the spacing on the page reflects the writer's attitude toward their own world and relationship to things in his or her own space. If the inputted data was correct Esther has no white space or margins on a typical sheet of paper. Esther fills up every last inch on the top, right, left, and bottom. Hmmm. If this is true, then Esther has a very aggressive personality toward others and quite frankly lacks a bit of respect for the space and property of other people. I would be surprised if Esther just comes into someone's home and helps herself to a drink in the refrigerator. This can be both an obnoxious personality trait and it can be assertive and effective in getting what you want. There isn't much fear of getting in trouble here, Esther finds plenty of reasons to break the rules and get in trouble. (Okay, perhaps when she was younger, not anymore?) Basically, people with no margins are a handful.
Esther has a healthy imagination and displays a fair amount of trust. She lets new people into her circle of friends. She uses her imagination to understand new ideas, things, and people.
Esther is a practical person whose goals are planned, practical, and down to earth. This is typical of people with normal healthy self-esteem. She needs to visualize the end of a project before she starts. she finds joy in anticipation and planning. Notice that I said she plans everything she is going to do, that doesn't necessarily mean things go as planned. Esther basically feels good about herself. She has a positive self-esteem which contributes to her success. She feels she has the ability to achieve anything she sets her mind to. However, she sets her goals using practicality-- not too "out of reach". She has enough self-confidence to leave a bad situation, yet, she will not take great risks, as they relate to her goals. A good esteem is one key to a happy life. Although there is room for improvement in the confidence catagery, her self-perception is better than average.
In reference to Esther's mental abilities, she has a very investigating and creating mind. She investigates projects rapidly because she is curious about many things. She gets involved in many projects that seem good at the beginning, but she soon must slow down and look at all the angles. She probably gets too many things going at once. When Esther slows down, then she becomes more creative than before. Since it takes time to be creative, she must slow down to do it. She then decides what projects she has time to finish. Thus she finishes at a slower pace than when she started the project. She has the best of two kinds of minds. One is the quick investigating mind. The other is the creative mind. Her mind thinks quick and rapidly in the investigative mode. She can learn quicker, investigate more, and think faster. Esther can then switch into her low gear. When she is in the slower mode, she can be creative, remember longer and stack facts in a logical manner. She is more logical this way and can climb mental mountains with a much better grip.
Esther will be candid and direct when expressing her opinion. She will tell them what she thinks if they ask for it, whether they like it or not. So, if they don't really want her opinion, don't ask for it!
Esther will demand respect and will expect others to treat her with honor and dignity. Esther believes in her ideas and will expect other people to also respect them. She has a lot of pride.
Esther is moderately outgoing. Her emotions are stirred by sympathy and heart rendering stories. In fact, she can be kind, friendly, affectionate and considerate of others. She has the ability to put herself into the other person's shoes. Esther will be somewhat moody, with highs and lows. Sometimes she will be happy, the next day she might be sad. She has the unique ability to get along equally well with what psychology calls introverts and extroverts. This is because she is in between. Psychology calls Esther an ambivert. She understands the needs of both types. Although they get along, she will not tolerate anyone that is too "far out." She doesn't sway too far one way or the other. When convincing her to buy a product or an idea, a heart rendering story could mean a great deal to her. She puts herself in the same situation as the person in the story, yet she will not buy anything that seems overly impractical or illogical. Esther is an expressive person. She outwardly shows her emotions. She may even show traces of tears when hearing a sad story. Esther is a "middle-of-the-roader," politically as well as logically. She weighs both sides of an issue, sits on the fence, and then will decide when she finally has to. She basically doesn't relate to any far out ideas and usually won't go to the extreme on any issue.
People that write their letters in an average height and average size are moderate in their ability to interact socially. According to the data input, Esther doesn't write too large or too small, indicating a balanced ability to be social and interact with others.
Friday, March 10, 2006
Today we learnt a most intimate art form
a sure fire way for u to sneak a quick kiss from an unsuspecting handsome ( or beautiful) patient
..... if one every walks through your door.... ( well, u can dream can't u?!)
" Good morning, my name is ________, a 2nd year medical student. Is it alright if I check your the back of your eyes?"
" Yes."
"This examination requires me to get my head/face very close to you. Are you alright with that?"
" Yes, sure go ahead"
Yup, ladies and gentlemen, here's introducin u to Fundoscopy.
Which is basically looking at the back of your eyes to check ur optic disc, microcirculation, fovea and watever else u can see out of the pinpoint light source.
Basically u take this opthalmalscope, and advance towards ur patients face with the thing stuck to your eye. Literally. You start at say 20-30cm away checking red reflection and then u start coming closer and closer and closer to the person eyes till, following procedure, the fingers wrapped around ur scope touch ur patients cheek, or lips. and then at this distance of around one inch from the persons face u start describing to ur prof what u can see at the back of this person's eye optic disc, blood vessels, interfaces etc.
Man...it's really fascinating what u can see,
I never thought u could actually see such things. I thought it was all part of a fabricated tale.
hey! we were told of this one guy during his OSCE ( examination on clinical skills), was constantly shining his scope at the forehead of his patient and described to the most bewildered prof, that the patient had a normal retina.........
Well...hehe....must admit that I wasn't too good at this,
and everyone was trying to look at my eyes, because the tutor said they were a challenge what with the astigmatism and all.
So I scored, a whole bunch of girls, some dorky guys, but 2 good looking guys!
Thank goodness no one had garlic or snot or anything on their face....
One of the good lookers got to be my guinea pig as my tutor brought me through the whole procedure and put me through a OSCE scenario. Score!
haha...thanks John for putting up with it, hope ur not blind after having me iradiate ur eyeballs with light for so long and sorry about messing ur hair up! (we're supposed to put our other hand on the top fo the persons head to steady them....@ make sure they don't escape the torture of the blinding light)
hehe....thinking of getting my own opthalmascope now...
what a fun piece of equipment.
And the tutor says u only improve with increased practice, so i suppose that's good reason enough.....
....and of course, like most things....it has it's perks.
Cheers!
Thursday, March 09, 2006
I'm suffering from dementia...
I am sittin here in the comp. lab in the social space at 9.30am in the morning....
WHY?
Well, I have clinical skills...
which i thought started at 9am...but guess wat they start at 10am....
So basically, i just lost half an hours extra sleep, after having had only 6 hours of sleep (was watching Munich with flatmates last night) and i have nothing better to do than this for the next half hour.
well, lets talk about the 2006 SSM (Student Selected Module ) Project Presentations that occured yesterday...
And yes...atashi sama sat through all 32 15 minute presentations from 9.30 in the morning till 4.30 in the afternoon. YEs... I am so supportive of my fellow coursemates...
Not really...
My group's presentation was at 3.30 in the afternoon, so just decided to come in at 9.30 (for fear of attendance taking, which never occurred..which is shit ) and stay and watch how everyone else performed.
well i must say that there were some really interestng ones, and some pple really showed their secret talents such as cross dressing ( BIg biker Tony turned Kate Moss for coccaine vaccinations), Thick irish accent Dave sporting Thick, authentic German accent as Prof. VAn Gunter in i can't remember which project.
But to be honest, I'd say that it was really a case of saving the best for last. Not because i'm biased or anything but I think that that the groups under immunology and infection which were presenting from 3-4.30pm had the most interesting presentations.
I listened to everyone of them without falling asleep, even those after my presntation. Every single group had a novel way of presentation from court trial cases ( MDR-TB (multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis): INTERNATIONAL CULPRIT ! That's my group! WHoohoo! ) to blue peter (some country programme apparently) and BBC broadcasts.
But then again...I think,in my personal honest opinion...
MDR-TB rocks!!!
Such beautiful and handsome actors and actresses!
Such stunning and powerful execution!
Definite academy award receiver!
And the best actress award goes to...........................
........... (drum roll).............
Esther as the malevolent judge in the MDR-TB trial.....
Me: Oh,I can't believe this. The other nominees were so fantastic in their roles ... *coughs*....not. .........
oh well....have to traack down the hill to clinical skills centre now!
Jaa ne~!
Monday, March 06, 2006
What Your Face Says 
Overall, your true self is reserved and logical.
With friends, you seem dramatic, lively, and quick to react.
In love, you seem mysterious and interesting.
In stressful situations, you seem sad and helpless.What Do People Think Of Your Face?The Movie Of Your Life Is A Black Comedy 
Your best movie matches: Being John Malkovich, The Royal Tenenbaums, American PsychoIf Your Life Was a Movie, What Genre Would It Be?Your Values Profile 
You value loyalty a fair amount.You're loyal to your friends... to a point.But if they cross you, you will reconsider your loyalties.Staying true to others is important to you, but you also stay true to yourself.
Honesty:
You don't really value honesty.You do value getting your way, no matter what.And if a little lying is required to do that, no problem.A few white lies never hurt anyone (at least, that's what you tell yourself!)
Generosity:
You don't really value generosity.Your needs always come first, no matter what.And you'll possibly help someone else out...But only if it helps you in return.
Humility:
You value humility highly.You have the self-confidence to be happy with who you are.And you don't need to seek praise to make yourself feel better.You're very modest, and you're keep the drama factor low.
Tolerance:
You value tolerance a fair amount.You are open to new cultures, beliefs, and ideas.You have very few prejudices that you're aware of.And while you are tolerant, you do stand true to what you believe.The Five Factor Values TestYou Are Lightning 
You are best known for: your power
Your dominant state: performingWhat Type of Weather Are You?You Are 40% Evil 
How Evil Are You?Your Inner Blood Type is Type A 
You are most compatible with: A and AB
Famous Type A's: Britney Spears and HilterYour Hair Should Be Orange 
The one day that i wake up early in fear that the stupid roads will be clogged with snow
and that I will be late , is the one day where the roads are clear and the no.40 takes 15 minutes to reach forresterhill...
And now i'm stuck here for another 20 minutes before the rest of my group turns up to rehearse the damn presentation for our SSM project on wednesday....
This is SHIT!
On the other hand, the boys ( Tom and Keith) were over last night,
and since I was bored, I started to dare them to drink different concoctions of vodka mixes
Hey! I was generous enough to share my precious 45% smirnoff with them!
Yup so this was basically, what we came up with:
1. 2 shots of vodka and a quart of thick frigg chocolate milkshake.
2. 2 shots of vodka+a shot of that milkshake+2 marshmellows.
3. A shot consisting of vodka and milk
4. A shot consisting of vodka + milk + tabesco sauce
hehehe....disgusting shit i tell you. I didn't drink any of them, but the smell was toxic enough...
But the boys downed them dutifully, though I must admit the after effects were rather amusing.
Apparently the marshmellow one (2) was the worst cause the marshie absorbed the vodka and milkshake and stuck to the back of their throats....major gag reflex stimulation...
Well, apparently, the Bbasement (the great cocktail place I went for my birthday bash ) is giving away 100 pounds for a new cocktail idea....
I'M EXPECTING A THIRD OF THAT PRIZE MONEY DUMMIES!!!
cheERs!
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Snow Blizzard right outside my window!
WHOOHOO!
yes....nothing better to do on a sunday afternoon...
will make a cup of hot chocholate with marshmellows and sit in front of my window staring
It's really quite intriguing....
As are the following quizzes from quiz galaxy as introduced from xin hui's blog!
Cheers!
Take'>http://www.quizgalaxy.com/quiz.php?id=41">Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.comThe Picto-Personality Test
When alone, you let it all hang out and ignore every social convention.
You are romantic, and when you are with your partner you like to woo them with your imagination.
In the future you will be happy and live richly.Take'>http://www.quizgalaxy.com/quiz.php?id=71">Take this Test at QuizGalaxy.com
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Today my patient cried on me....
man....
and no....I did not make him cry.
Poor Mr A.R
Damn! British rail!
49.5 years of exellent service driving ur stinky trains which messed up his bowels and led to faecal incontinence and all u gave him was a stinking watch and a microwave.
You bastards!
You stinkos!
May your rail lines rust in agony!!!!
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
whoohoo!
Going to continue snowing over the weekend.
today after a hard days work working over the damn SSM,
finally managed to go home and PLAY in the SNOW!!!!
had a brief snow fight with the Dana, Noura, Laura and Grant...
the snow fall is excellent!
nice thick fluffy snow!
COOL!
yup, and after the buggers left for the Bobbin,
me and angela decided to build a snowman...
well, so see, there're some road works goin on now on the road just outside our flat
so there's this huge digging tractor that has been diggin up the road
so when the snow came, work stopped basically of the snow in.
so...we decided that the most befitting place for our masterpiece should be on one of the wheels of the tractor.
hehehe....
yup, so after half and hours hard work, rolling huge balls of snow
and sourcing for eyes, and nose and arms,
hey presto!
we had..... GENERAL CHARLIE...
Lost the fingers of his right hand in the war, but still standing strong in the cold blistering snow drift.
He's the best snowman of all!
All Salute General Charlie!