Mika - Grace Kelly

Another one of the songs that lifts up my spirit.

Way Back Into Love

Oh boy, I am very very addicted to this song! It was sang by Hugh Grant and Haley Bennet in the movie Music & Lyrics. By the way, if you haven't watch it yet, pls do so...It was a really sweet romantic comedy. I've decided to put up the lyrics here so that I can sing it along whenever my mood is low. (for eg, like now)

I’ve been living with a shadow overhead
I’ve been sleeping with a cloud above my bed
I’ve been lonely for so long
Trapped in the past, I just can’t seem to move on

I’ve been hiding all my hopes and dreams away
Just in case I ever need em again someday
I’ve been setting aside time
To clear a little space in the corners of my mind
All I want to do is find a way back into love
I can’t make it through without a way back into love
Oh oh oh

I’ve been watching but the stars refuse to shine
I’ve been searching but I just don’t see the signs
I know that it’s out there
There’s got to be something for my soul somewhere
I’ve been looking for someone to shed some light
Not just somebody just to get me throught the night
I could use some direction
And I’m open to your suggestions

All I want to do is find a way back into love
I can’t make it through without a way back into love
And if I open my heart again
I guess I’m hoping you’ll be there for me in the end
There are moments when I don’t know if it’s real
Or if anybody feels the way I feel
I need inspiration Not just another negotiation

All I want to do is find a way back into love
I can’t make it through without a way back into love
And if I open my heart to you
I’m hoping you’ll show me what to do
And if you help me to start again
You know that I’ll be there for you in the end

Only 4 days left... =(

I know many people said this sentence before, "Time flies when you are enjoying yourself."

I couldn't agree more. So, yeap, I am repeating that sentence,

"Time REALLY flies when you are enjoying yourself."

Anyway, my weekend in Singapore was really good. My family drove down, carrying a heavy load in the boot, because my brother moved some of his things to his condo at Ang Mo Kio. Bro's condo was really impressive. The place was spacious and modern. After unloading his things, we left for the much talked about Vivo City.

It is the newest and the biggest shopping mall in Singapore. Despite being big, the mall was still rather crowded...so many people were busy shopping. I was quite surprised to see a couple of familiar labels, such as Ted Baker, Gap, and River Island in Vivo City. Bro wanted us to try a famous sushi restaurant, but as it was dinner time, the queue outside that shop was just too long. We ended up at Food Republic, where hawker food were sold in a high-class style. Choosing what to eat appeared to be a tough chore as there were just too many to choose from. I ordered a bowl of Kim Chi Soup with rice for dinner. The soup was sooo good! It was really spicy, and bursting with flavour! yummy yummy!

The next day, I met up with Green Pea. =) I was really happy to meet her, and glad that she didn't look too skinny as I thought she would be (her life has been rather stressful). It was nice to catch up with her and chat about our funny days back in Dundee. We had loads of food; Japanese, Chinese, etc. All of them were delicious...really makes me think why bother working in a foreign country where such food is scarce. Oh, btw, I have a tiny confession: I am officially addicted to The Coffee Club! It is way waayyy better than costa or starbucks in Glasgow. hehe. The dessert and coffee were amazing....I am SO going to miss this place.

Besides food, I managed to do some shopping. Green Pea was quite a shopper too, as she managed to get herself 2 new bags! (she certainly has inherited her mum's genes, as she too, love to buy bags). We both agreed that retail therapy is indeed the way to go to make ourselves happy.

I left Singapore on Mon afternoon by bus. Parents left on Sunday. Thank you Green for the wonderful time, food, Nicis, Jap ikan bilis, Esprit. =) I wish you well and pls take care!

As for me, with only 4 days to go before I fly back to the cold weather and loneliness, I shall continue to play hard!!!! teehee...

Me @ Vivo City

Green Pea & me @ Takashimaya.
(It was a struggle to get a kind soul to take this pic for us...shall not go into the details of it.)

Moving on from the *Woof *Woof to the *Oink *Oink

There goes the pig, announcing to everyone that this is the PIG year. It was also saying goodbye to the Dog year. Reflecting back to the events of the doggie year, I think what the chinese fortuneteller said was right, that this year, I have angered one of the gods, hence, I would be faced with bad luck. I was expecting that things would go smoothly since the Doggie year is my yr. But I couldn't agree more with that fortuneteller....it was indeed an unpleasant yr for me! Glad that it is over now....hope things would turn out better in the piggie yr.

Anyway, my journey back home to Penang was indeed very long...from Glasgow -> London -> Singapore -> KL -> Penang ...all within 3 days! *phew....thank goodness I'm still breathing and have not developed any signs of calf tenderness or swelling.

The moment I touched down at Singapore, I could actually feel myself "at home." Chinese new year songs were played in almost every shop, pretty red cny decos were also all over the place! I have not seen or heard anything cny-related for a few years now. So I felt rather happy!

The beautiful flowers and plants put up for CNY @ Changi Airport.

When I reached home, I was surprised to see my living room so nicely decorated, with mei hua's, ang pows, new paintings..etc... Everything looked bright and red... my parents certainly did take the effort to decorate the house this year! It was unlike them, as they are normally quite lazy people.

My arrival at my granny's house on Monday nite turned out to be a huge surprise to all my uncles, aunties, cousins and ah ma. They were shocked! They kind of recognised my voice, but they could not recognise my look? Ah Ma even said that if she bumped into me along the road, she probably would not have recognised me. hmm... really wonder if I really changed that much? Oh well, it was nice to meet up with everyone. The only unfortunate thing was Ah Ma had a fall on New Year's Eve, which resulted in a torn tendon at her shoulder joint, hence, she couldn't cook her usual special CNY delicacies. However, I still managed to munch on loads of cookies!!! yummmy!!

Did not really do much in Penang, except for eating, of course. Well, isn't that what Penang is famous for anyway? The weather was really hot Penang...so I had some fresh coconut juice by the roadside. Besides the usual kuay teow theng, pasembur, loh mee, curry mee, etc... bro took us to a place called "The Spice Garden." I have never heard of this place before, but apparently, it has been in Penang for many yrs now. It is a garden with loads of different spice plants (you know, like cinnamon, lemongrass). We all had a drink at the garden...and boy, it was really fantastic! Dad had a special mocktail, "Spice Mocktail" (basically it consisted of a rojak of many different spices), while I had tamarind soda (which was very refreshing). Bro had a "Gunner" (a cooling drink with ginger...tasted like ginger beer to me), and mum had a simple lemongrass juice. I really did enjoy my time there!

ah....Refreshing Coconut water!

Enjoying my tamarind soda @ Spice Garden, Penang.

Now I'm back home in KL...will be leaving for Singapore soon to meet up with Greenpea! =)

Putting My Feet Up

It is holiday time! So I'll be putting my feet up for about 2 weeks starting from today!

aye...I'm going home home...back to my cosy house in KL!

hehe..i know...it's sad to be flying on CNY eve and only arrive at the night of the 1st day of CNY.

but hey, I do not care, as long as I get to go home, nothing matters!

so...will update from home!

HAPPY PIGGIE YEAR!!!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Food, ballet, music and lyrics

This weekend has been a really nice and relaxing.

It started off with dinner with my friends at a Korean restaurant 20mins walk from my flat. I have to say the walk was well worth it! The food was simply fantastic. I ate a special Korean dish made of spicy pork and squid. It was so delicious. I shared a kim chi hot pot with my friend...and that was really spicy. All of us were very hungry coz it was about 9.30 pm before we actually sat down to feast. So, we ordered a big plate of sushi...and yes...yummy!

The next day, I watched "The Nutcracker" ballet. I have always wanted to watch the ballet, as I had played the whole musical piece on my piano a couple of times. Last year, I watched "The Swan Lake," and I think The Nutcracker is nicer. The stage was really colourful and the performance was more cheerful compared to The Swan Lake. The latter was a more serious performance (and I kind of dozed off for a few seconds during the performance).

This morning, my friend and I left for the cinema early to catch "Music and Lyrics." Oh, I so love this show. It was so romantic and sweet. It was so funny watching Hugh Grant acting as a famous singer in the 1980s. He could sing and move his booty too! haha. The show was really light and entertaining...probably THE perfect show for V-day, which is looming near. All the songs sang in the show were really nice...and I'm going to get the whole soundtrack soon! Believe it or not, although it was a romantic comedy, I actually cried during one of the scenes....

Besides those above, my time has been spent doing some last minute CNY shopping. COZ I'M GOING HOME FOR CNY!!!! yay! I have not been celebrating CNY properly since I've entered Med school. CNY was always a time to study, as my Uni just loves to set exam dates during CNY. How thoughtful of they!

I'm counting down my days....will be flying off this Saturday! oohh...I can't wait!

Oh...just heard that one of my friends is flying off to Aussie today. So she's going to miss CNY, but her relatives and family members were really kind to prepare various food for her before she goes. How nice. All the best gal! Make sure you dun flood KLIA! =)

It's Not Yours to Decide

I have been working in the Rheumaholiday ward for the past 2 weeks. (note it is rheuma-holiday not rheumatology...=P)

As this ward is a Day Ward, patients normally come in as a gang on a Monday and by Thursday, most of them would have been discharged. The majority of them are admitted for intravenous infusions of various drugs (eg. iloprost and immunoglobulins).

Basically, I function as a clerk-o-meter and a vampire (i suck blood from everyone) in the ward. Sounds pretty simple eh? Yes it is....but the only thing that I really hate about is certain patient's attitude. I don't mean to say that they are rude or nasty, it's just the way they act at times. Many of them are season ticket holders to the ward. Hence, they become VERY demanding.


Two examples:

"Hey, doc, I want you to put the venflon into the vein at the back of my left hand."

OR

"Hi doctor, no venflons at my hands, please put them around here. (whilst pointing at her antecubital fossa)."

Who are they to decide where I want to put the bloody venflon??! I really get annoyed when patients say all these things. Sheesshh!!!

To make matters worse, they do not have the greatest vein in the world! They have connective tissue diseases....hence, they have thick skin or tiny fragile veins. So, it is certainly not up to them to choose where they want the venflon inserted.

However, I just told them that I'll try my best to find a vein there, but if I can't, I'll have to try somewhere else (in a very polite manner, of course). Sigh.

oh, btw, here is another example:

"Oh, why are you putting in the green venflon? I have always had the pink one."
(the patient was referring to the size of the venflon)

Now, what was that all about?!

It's not yours to decide, dude!

Boring Babel

I've watched "Babel" over the weekend.

There was a lot of hype about this show, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. Halfway through the show, I felt a sudden surge of familiarity. The movie plot is actually rather similar to the movie, "Crash." I think the latter wins hands down. "Babel" was rather slow moving, and unexciting. "Crash" on the other hand gave me the adrenaline rush and left me intrigued . So, to be honest, I do not think "Babel" is THAT good. hehe. Anyone beg to differ?

Brad Pitt hardly exchanged much words, except for "F*** you!" or "Get me an ambulance," whereas Cate had to act out a scene where she was injured. And the Jap girl was really strange... I thought she was a really horny person. haha. Didn't really understand why she acted the way she did.

Oh well...that was my weekend movie. I think I want to watch "Notes on A Scandal" this weekend. hehe,

It's All About The Vagina

I have never laughed throughout any performance as much as I did tonight.

The Vagina Monologues is an excellent play that is currently showing in Glasgow. It was the perfect girls' nite out, as you should have realised that all females have something in common, ie, the vagina. The whole theatre was filled with women and probably only less than 10 men....hehe.

The show began with the usual request for the audience to switch off their handphones. However, at the end of the sentence, the speaker cheekily added, "You can turn on the vibration mode instead."

Basically, the show was performed 3 celebrity females, who took turn to read out monologues (based on interviews conducted worldwide) about interesting facts and stories about the vagina. It was hilarious. The first part began with them telling us about the various terms used instead of the word "vagina," such as, the monkey box, the love garden, the marshmellow, the horse spot, or maneater. There was a funny story about an elderly lady who had never had an orgasm ever in her life.

I enjoyed the monologues titled, "Because He Liked to Look At It" and "The Woman Who Likes to Make Vaginas Happy." The first one was about a woman who doesn't really like her own vagina. However, one day, she ended up sleeping with a man named Bob, who told her that he needed to look at her before sex. She said, "Oh, I'm here." But Bob was actually interested in looking at her vagina before sex. He was so amazed at with the vagina that it turned him on, not the woman. haha. The latter was about an ex-lawyer who enjoyed to make people "moan". Well, not the kind of moaning one would expect in the court...but the moan of an orgasm. It is really difficult to explain the story, but it was really fantastic.

Oh....did I mention about the "Vagina Happy Fact" or "The Clit Fact?" =P This was the fact:

" The clitoris is an organ created for pleasure. It has 8000 nerve fibres, which is more than those at the fingertips, lips, tongue and twice as many as the penis! "

(ps. the word 'tongue' must be said with life, because, you wouldn't want a limp tongue touching your clit)

hehe...so at any point during the show, if someone shouts, "Clit Fact," everyone would start to repeat this statement.

After a short 15 minute interval, one of the performers said, "Oh, my vagina managed to get a cup of tea....in fact, I've managed to dunk a HobNob into it too." The other performer said, "My vagina got a fag." It's all about the vagina!

There was also a part of the show where women were asked how they would like to dress up their vagina. One of the replies were, "Armani only." The other part that I found really funny was the part called "My Vagina is Angry." Here, the performer talked about various things unpleasant things that could happen to the vagina, such as a trip to the gynaecology/obstertric clinic. The speculum used to look at the cervix was called "duck clips." hmm...don't think I can have a straight face the next time I perform a cervical examination....hehe.

Towards the end of the performance, one of the performer talked about the different kind of moans who can make during an orgasm....hehe...this was really really funny. There was the and of course, doggie moan, the It girl moan, the NED moan, the Tina Turner moan, the Nearly There moan and the triple phase moan. The last moan, I have to say, was amazing. The performer actually acted out an orgasm (3 different ones one after another)....she was so natural on stage and ended the whole thing by saying, "I get to do this 6 times a week." haha....she was brilliant.

The Vagina Monologues was a really superb show...I highly recommend it to all females and brave men. haha. I have never heard anyone talking about their vaginas so openly until tonight!