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Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Accompanied my sister to the hospital today to remove her stitches and for Lucas's checkup.. He seemed to enjoy the car ride to the hospital:) He was just watching the passing scenary with a pensive expression:) Heh had some fun with my camera today..



Lucas's jaundice is improving but very slowly. Poor kid. He really doesn't like being put under the UV light machine thingy but its the only way to bring his bilirubin levels down quickly. Was watching Lucas sleep earlier..wonder what babies dream of. He was smiling and twitching in his sleep..my sister says he's probably just dreaming of food. or sleep? What else does he know of at his age?


I think the most frustrating thing about taking care of a baby is not knowing why exactly he's crying..but then when I just watch him sleeping, or when he simply stares back at me, I just marvel at the wonders of the world and thank God for allowing us these peaceful moments amidst the chaos and confusion we face in life:) somehow everything suddenly seems right in the world:) Haha I feel like laughing everytime I see Chris carry Lucas. He carries him like a toy; in one arm, waving him around and playing with him all the time.


Anyway I haven't been sleeping too well for the past few nights..not because of the baby..probably more because I'm still operating on sydney time..get up early and just lie in bed at times..and then I can hear the baby crying sometimes..Yeah but I guess all this just makes me appreciate what my parents did for me when I was a baby:)


enping: Thank you!I'm happy to be back as well:) ooops what concert?haha and when?
debs: harry in the afternoon!ok!:)meeting at orchard?
~me~ at 12:56 AM

Monday, November 28, 2005

yawning Lucas.
~me~ at 11:08 PM

thinking Lucas:)
~me~ at 11:07 PM

everybody's sleeeepy....
~me~ at 11:05 PM

Its been awhile since my last post..feels like a lot's happened since monday..


Post exam period on friday was pretty nice:) the exam was pretty tough but I was just really glad it was over..Went out with Ling, louisa, myt and Sunita to this nice coffee place over at the spot..It was a nice closure to the year..I felt a lot more nostalgic and sad than I had expected to when saying goodbye to the creston people..I've felt out of place for the last year at creston but I've got good memories of the college as well..said goodbye to ling outside coles then left to meet the girls for bible study..Haha was kinda sleepy after bible study..but I gave in to the temptation of mahjong in the end:) Had fun but I had to leave gloria's at 7 in the morning to PACK. Haha sorry I couldn't say a proper goodbye gloria but I felt bad waking you up. Anyway, I did a lousy job of packing but kind of managed to put everything away before rushing to the airport..


The flight back felt longer than usual..had a lot on my mind I guess. This semester was kinda different in comparison to the first..Thanks so much to olivia, lin min & gloria for all the food, mahjong sessions and laughs of the last semester:) Thanks especially for the food during our mugging sessions of the last week; the krispy kremes, timtams and dinners:) I've had a lot of fun times with you guys this year, and I'm grateful to you guys also for continually inviting me to bible study, and for helping me to think more about my faith. Kinda wish I could have stayed longer in sydney for house-hunting and post exam celebrations..It's hard to believe that a year's gone by..I'm one sixth of my way to graduation. And I've come to realise a bit more about myself over this year. I think I'll kind of miss sydney. But home's great of course:)


Lucas is adorable!And I'm not just saying that cos I'm biased or anything..he really is:) He looks just like a smaller, cuter version of Chris:) with more hair:) Seeing the amount of time and work Chris and my sister put into looking after Lucas makes me realise just how much my parents had to do for me..I remember not being able to picture Chris as a father..or my sister as a mother.But looking at them now..It just seems so natural for them. I woke up at 4am early sunday morning to the sound of Lucas crying..I opened my door a crack and caught a peek of Chris changing Lucas's diapers and whispering to Lucas..I've always respected Chris, but for the first time I was admiring him for being a father:) For the past week he's been cooking and changing diapers and taking such great care of my sister. Lucas is really blessed to have parents like my sister & Chris. And my sister's lucky to have Chris:)


It all kind of makes me look forward to being a mother..I know its tough but listening to my sister describe the bond she felt with Lucas..It was just beautiful. And I smile everytime I see Chris fuss over tiny little Lucas. He's still the same playful, mischievious brother-in-law I remember but I'm seeing a whole other wonderful side to him now:) Haha he was practising how to knot one of those sling-like cloths meant for carrying babies..but he was afraid to hurt Lucas while trying it out so he was practising with one of my teddy bears. So he was walking about the house with a teddy bear strapped to his chest:) Tried to snap a picture but he ran off before I could take it.


Anyway should probably try to sleep earlier tonight..my sleeping hours the last few nights have been pretty screwed up. Good night all:)


flower puff gals: erm. Haha no idea!who exactly is this? I think I know but not definitely sure:)
maaandy: harry potter sounds good!heh what time exactly on 2nd december?:)
~me~ at 1:33 AM

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Had an interesting discussion with Ling tonight..I won't go into details but it left me thinking..I wonder sometimes if I view things too simplistically. I know the world's not in black and white. but I just don't see things at times. Ling says I'm just blur. But I think it's not just that. I guess its good to try to see the best in people, but I wonder if I'm trying to see things that aren't there at times.


anyway I shall stop babbling..had a weird dream last night. I dreamt I was pregnant, and my sister was giving me advice on the what-to-dos and what-not-to-dos..hmm. I remember gloria once asked me if I wanted to have children. (Yeah random question but she's always popping these random questions at me) I replied that I might not even have children or maybe even not get married and both she and ollie went "rubbish!" or something aloong those lines. Haha they said that out of the 3 of us, I would probably be the first to get married..apparantly cos I'm stable. whatever that means. Haha well we'll see.


I realise I'm babbling a lot tonight..sorry its been a long day.


ruth: yeah time really flies!well actually its only been 2 months. But its felt so long!good luck for your exams k:)heh not that I think you need it:)
cindy: hey thanks!haha yeah I'm an aunt!sounds so oold...looking forward to seeing u when I get back:)
~me~ at 1:08 AM

Monday, November 21, 2005

hmm feeling rather nostalgic now:)just spent the night listening to band songs:) Plus I just reread my nice long email from ruth:) thank you dear:)


anyway, its been a rather dreary day..pretty much spent the whole day at my desk..I don't think I'm stressed. hmm but for some reason I felt kind of...off..today. Not sure why either. Spent some time catching up with my friends at college..most of them finish exams in the earlier part of the next week..So I probably won't see most of them until next year..and I most probably won't be staying here then. It's kind of sad to think it'll be the last week I'll be spending with them..


sigh my mind's kind of blank now. sorry for the short post.
~me~ at 1:22 AM

Saturday, November 19, 2005

I'm an auntie!!!!:)


Thurday, 17th Novmber
5:30 pm: I meet the girls at barker and we troop off to kingsford to view one of the apartments there. Apartment was nice. But think we need to look more..
6:30 pm: We reach gloria's place. Me, Lin min and Gloria discuss our living plans for next year while ollie starts mugging:) We order thai takeaway for dinner:)
7:00 pm: Thai food galore!
8:00 pm: Official commencement of mugging session.


Friday, 18th November 2005
12:30 am: Good night.
5:09 am (2:09am Singapore time): I receive an sms from my mom telling me my sister just left for the hospital with chris. I try to go back to sleep.
8:20 am: I get out of bed, brush my teeth and then just sit in the middle of gloria’s living room. Don’t know what I was doing. Was probably just lost in thought.
8:45 am: I wake Jon up for our 9am lecture. He scolds me for now waking him earlier.
8:50 am: We rush for the bus.
9:00 am: Ethics lecture. Pretty interesting:) Didn't realize there were that many issues attached to organ transplantation.
9:20 am: Received an sms from Chris. No progress yet.
9:20 - 530: seemingly loooong school day.
5:30 pm: My dad calls me.I've been an auntie for half an hour!Was really happy:) But unfortunately my sister had to do a c-section in the end..but Lucas is a healthy 3.75 kg!


Just glad that both Lucas and my sister are fine now:)


Oh and happy birthday lynn!!!No I didn't forget:) Stay happy always and take care:) miss you!


pips: haha yes running is addictive:) but I was never as crazy as you!!
~me~ at 9:07 PM

Thursday, November 17, 2005

Cockroaches are bad. Bad bad bad.


Just came out of the shower..I was just enjoying the nice hot water when I saw a blurry black roundish thing (I wasn't wearing my contacts) climb the wall directly in front of me. Like 10 cm in front of my face. I didn't realise what it was at first but when I did I kind of screamed (welll more like shouted, and hey under the circumstances I think I was pretty justified in reacting the way I did) Haha think I was more in shock than in fear. Anyway I ended up accidentally flicking some soap at it and it dropped to my feet. Cockroaches are bad.


Ok other than that little event tonight, my week hasn't been too bad so far..I keep expecting to get a message from my mom telling me my sister's in labour. Or that she's already given birth:) Communications tutorial today ended up not being as bad as I thought it would..surprisingly my entire scenario group showed up (most groups end up with half the attendance it being the last comm tut) and it was pretty entertaining:)


Haha I went for a run monday evening to coogee..just felt like I had a lot of pent-up energy. I kind of feel hyper but sleeepy as well. Probably more mentally drained I think. Ling didn't believe me when I told her I initiated exercise. Louisa says I'm crazy as well. But I think its just a phase. Oh well we'll see how long this lasts:)


Sorry for the short post but I'm really tired now..yawn. 9 days to the exam!& 10 days to home:)


ollie: ollie!so happy to see you here:) haha no need to thank us for sharing your your birthday with us:) just glad you had a happy day:)
lynn: hey hey!!heh I'll be back in 2 weeks:) miss u too:) really I do:) hah was wondering who the person with the long weird name was at first..
nicole: haha oh thanks!c-o-u-s c-o-u-s. Is that italian rice?or jewish rice?no matter..it tasted good:)
ruth: Thanks dear:) you made my day:)hey when exactly u returning home?
jing: haha. is there something wrong with my tabboard??so many funny posts...hello jing!!!:)*waves*
~me~ at 1:53 AM

Sunday, November 13, 2005

A relatively nice weekend after the looong week..Was pretty glad after the assignment and project was handed in on friday:) the atmosphere in college was pretty high-strung on thurday night..one of my friends was waaay over the word limit (she had 13000 words too many), another was really stressed over her referencing..anyway thats all over now. Celebrated on friday night with mahjong:)


We realised it would probably the last mahjong session at gloria's ever..quite sad..I've got nice memories of our mahjong get-togethers this last semester at her place:) And I think we cleared out her fridge again. Sorry gloria..but thanks so much for the chips and the soup and the apples and the lunch:) Haha if I do move out next year you're welcome to clear out my fridge anytime:) and I will attempt to cook decent meals for you and ollie in return for all the dinners I've had at your places:)


Last night's birthday dinner for ollie at faith's house was good too:) Faith's an incredible cook. She made seafood kus kus (is that how you spell it?its some jewish form of rice..) for starters, then baked salmon with potatoes for the main, and the night was ended nicely with some pastry concoction with berries:) yummy:) and faith is really so nice..she's like this big sisterly figure to us all..speaking of sisters..was just talking to my sister earlier..Lucas is still not out. But I told her he's just waiting for the most opputune moment to make a grand and dramatic entrance into the world:)but should be anytime this week. If he's not out by saturday then it's gonna be an induced birth..haha I quote her: "There's milk leaking from my boobs!"


"It is purely Singaporean to act with future gratification in mind - to only enjoy things after we've gotten them and to only want them if they reward us later, but few of us know how to savour the moment that counts. five years will pass in a flash, and i hope you don't stand at the end of them wishing you should have treasured them more. schooling days of life, are the essence of memory for adults, just like how our childhood is a treasured memory for us now. school is school, it's more than just a job-giver, it's a mould of the future you."


Was just replying emails earlier and someone close to heart sent me a nice looong mail with a lot of thought-inducing paragraphs:) thank you:) anyway, the paragraph above is kind of stuck in my mind now. Yep. 5 years left. Its true that my parents often tell me how much they enjoyed their school days..but when I look back at all the memories and bonds forged over this last year, I feel amazed that its only been one year. I feel really grateful for the friends I've made here and the opputunities that have been given to me. I often sit at my desk and stare at my pictures and wish I were home. But I know that I don't regret choosing to come here. I've had a lot more time to think about areas of my life since coming here.. (probably because there aren't many other ways to procrasinate here at creston) Sometimes I still feel confused..over the decisions I've made, and over the decisions I've yet to make. I think a lot about the relationships I have here, about the ones back home, and about the ones I've yet to make. Sigh. Anyway the point is I should probably stop thinking so much and just focus on what I do have now and treasure the things and people in my life more:)


Oh and thanks to naomi for the (erm very very early) christmas present:) It was a surprise but a very nice one:)


Nicole: haha yeah I really have been on a running craze for the last week!probably a good reason to get away from studying:)heh I'll try to keep it up:)
Nadine: yep haha but I'm lousy at it though:) but it really was fun:) yes yes get-together when I go home!
~me~ at 10:34 PM

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Yawn. Just came back from a run and dinner with the girls:) We played frisbee for awhile as well after running..Haha but gloria says I'm scary with the frisbee; According to her, I throw it at her like I'm trying to kill her. Feeling really sleepy now. Oh and on the walk back from barker I counted five cockroaches. Plus one more cockroach gloria (VERY bravely) killed in ollie's kitchen when we were cooking dinner. Oh and I killed one BIG cockroach in my room today as well. Ugh. There are lotsa cockroaches here but they somehow seem a lot more sluggish than the ones in singapore. Even the cockroaches in australia are so laid-back and lazy.


Its another slow week..but yesterday was really great:) happy birthday ollie!! Heh we gave her a few pleasant surprises in the course of the day.
Surprise number 1: macDonald's breakfast before class!haha we had to make sure she was out of bed and out of the house so Jon tricked her into going for a morning jog while we went to get breakfast. Unfortunately there was a slight miscommunication which almost ruined the plan. Yeah but we still ended up surprising her:) although it probably wasn't as dramatic as we had originally planned:)
Surprise number 2: we decorated her room while she was away at class in the afternoon:) with lighted stars and 2 BIG picture frames of memories from the past year in sydney:) met up with a few minor problems as well including spilling coffee on her bedsheets and gloria having to bring her grocery shopping after class so we would have enough time:) but again she was surprised & happy, so I'd say it went pretty successfully:)
Surprise number 3: birthday cake after dinner!We went to this korean restuarant for dinner:) hot pot and seafood pancakes were really yummy:) then after dinner melvyn and LM had to come up with several excuses to go buy candles and such. (I was kinda blur and wasn't really involved in the plan at the time) Anyway, cutting a long story short, the night ended with a nice coffee/chocolate/tiramisu? cake:) and I think ollie really was happy:)


haha I kinda almost ruined the surprises with my blurness though. Oh well but no harm done:) and things ended up good:)


Its been a pretty good week so far but don't know why I'm feeling kinda sian tonight..Its probably just the idea of having 2 long school days ahead of me and having to finish up my assignments and projects by friday. Yep but there's plenty to look forward to:) the end is near:) After friday, it'll be (probably) mahjong, bible study, then 2 weeks of studying for the final exam, then HOME:) and somewhere inserted along the timeline there'll be me becoming an auntie!:)


Ok anyway better go work on my assignment and project now..and bathe:)


mandy: thaaank you so much:) heh your little message made me really happy:)
ruth: I miss you too!I've still got our tai-tai days on my mind..I'll see u in december:) hope you're not too stressed with work now:) take care:)
~me~ at 12:13 AM

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Tired. But happy:)


I just spoke to my sister..the baby's due at ANY MOMENT. I guess it didn't really hit me until I spoke to her tonight. I can't even imagine how it must feel..going about doing everyday things knowing that at any moment your baby could be born..haha she kind of had a false alarm last night..was trying to imagine the scene at home..according to my sister, it went somehow like this:


my sis: Chris! My stomach feels funny. I think I'm having contractions. But they feel different...how how what if its the baby coming?
chris: hmm? remember what the gynae said..they have to be occuring at regular intervals.
my sis: *looks at clock and pauses for a long while* whew. ok sorry false alarm.
chris: yeah I know. my stomach feels funny too. Think it was something we ate for dinner. I need to shit.


Wish I were home.


Anyway, today's clinical was pretty interesting..but sad. The first patient we talked to was this sweet elderly lady who had oesophageal cancer. She only had 3-4 months to live. But she was so nice..allowing us to poke and prod at her. Sigh. And the next patient we saw was a Korean guy with pancreatic cancer. One month left and nothing the hospital can do. It was harder with the korean guy since he couldn't even understand what I was talking to him about..and it was the first time I saw a jaundiced patient with literally yellowed eyes and skin. The image of his yellowed eyes is still stuck in my head. Its so different reading/studying about all this stuff and actually seeing people with these conditions. I guess we never ever can be 100% ready for anything, until we actually do it. My sister won't ever be fully prepared for her labour. I won't ever be fully prepared to be a doctor. Same with relationships.


Yawn. Good night:) Happy birthday to ollie in advance:)
~me~ at 1:44 AM

Monday, November 07, 2005

A relatively slack but nice sunday:)


Just returned to college from ollie's place..feel quite bad for leeching off her all the time..she's so nice to offer us dinner at her place so often:) haha we experimented with tofu tonight for dinner and it turned out relatively successfully:)


Me and gloria didn't plan to stay at ollie's for so long but I guess we didn't particularly feel like going back after our jog:) haha yes we jogged. I jogged again today!my sister was quite surprised/impressed when I told her I was going jogging this evening:) heh. yep jogged down to ollie's, then to gloria's then one round around centennial park. Its really pretty pleasant to run there. Except for the annoying flies towards the end. Yep but I had a pretty good time with the girls today:) A lot of interesting topics discussed. Maybe I'll elaborate on them sometime soon. But I think I should go bathe now:) And I hope my legs don't ache tmr.
~me~ at 1:22 AM

Sunday, November 06, 2005

Just a quick post tonight..haha cos I know I'm in no mood to do work anyway..just back from dinner at melvyn's..it was a long slow dinner and everyone was kinda stoned in front of the tv for awhile arter that. kinda hungry now. I just stole some food from the kitchen;I put the skills Ling taught me to good use:)


anyway, spent most of the day at gloria's making ollie's birthday present:) jogged over to gloria's on a whim..was feeling kinda sian of walking all the way there so decided that jogging would make the time pass a lot faster. and jogging here is a lot more pleasant than back in singapore I guess:) but everyone seemed so surprised when they saw that I had jogged to gloria's..haha they said they couldn't really imagine me exercising. Maybe its cos of the laid-back air I seem to give off here. Naomi always comments how sleepy and laid-back I seem to be all the time. But she says it gives me a cool attitude as well. Heh. Erm not quite sure what that meant.


We had a trivia night at creston last night..it was based on questionaires we had to fill out on ourselves a couple of weeks ago..was pretty interesting to find out little details about other people:) and it was a nice round-off to the year. Hard to believe we've been together for a year at creston. Amanda actually left for home on thursday..she's got no exams so basically she's finished for the year!lucky. anyway, back to the trivia. I can't quite recall filling out the questionaire but one of my answers on my toilet habits (I shan't go into specifics) pretty much amused everyone. :P Rachelle actually laughed so hard she fell back off her chair. I didn't realise it would make that much of an impression on everyone:) Yeah it was a nice end to the semester. Next week is stu-vac for everyone but the med students..that just means the end is near...


Hmm right now it doesn't feel like assignments and projects are due this friday. And 3 people just seperately and consecutively asked me what I was doing wearing running shoes and shorts at this time of the night. Think people are just not used to seeing me doing anything physical. yawn. Good night:)


Glad to hear from you:) of course I miss home:) and you:)
~me~ at 2:03 AM

Thursday, November 03, 2005

Just spent the past 3 hours reading about alcohol and alcohol campaigns. Oh joy. :) ahh can't wait for my project to be over..


Like I said, this week just seems to be crawling by..spent a bit of time talking to mythili earlier..we were saying how there seems to be a lot less motivation this semester. Maybe cos we're looking forward to going home so much more..This semester just feels really different for me..I feel like a lot has changed, or more likely my thoughts have changed, and I'm seeing things around in me in a different light. I just feel......trapped in my own thoughts at times..and I don't really know how to let them out, and whom to let them out at.


anyway, yesterday's hot topic of the day was the melbourne cup. Ling was telling me what a big event it is..its a public holiday in melbourne!In Ling's words, "Another excuse for people to slack." My friend's tutor actually told the class that he wouldn't be able to teach them because he had to go and watch the melbourne cup. Haha oh and yesterday was a public holiday in Singapore. Hope everyone back home had a happy deepavali:) and happy hari raya in advance too!Pity australia's not as racially diverse in terms of public holidays:) Oh well I won't complain:) my school days are already pretty short in comparison to the other faculties..haha Ling always complains that my days are so slack compared to her..and she always scolds me, mythili and louisa for being late to our morning 9am lectures. Although we live literally right across the street from the lecture theatre:) She says no wonder patients always have to wait so long to see their doctors. Cos doctors are always LATE.


Haha well I'm usually ready to leave the college by 855 (most of the time) The last 5 minutes are spent pulling mythili out of bed and waiting for her to run upstairs and grab her breakfast. That girl is just unbelievable. She sets her alarm for 720 and can actually snooze all the way until 9. Tired. I'm going to bed now. To the people back home: Happy hari raya:) Good night everyone:)


I wish I were home.


Xinli: hey!I'll be back in late late nov:) miss u too. haha but somehow the image of the last time you were over at my place pigging out is still so clear in my head..
~me~ at 1:45 AM

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Happy halloween:)


There was end-of-semester formal dinner tonight at creston..I wasn’t really looking forward to it but it was pretty fun in good company:) the food was kinda weird though..there was avocado in every dish! avocado & salami sandwiches for starters, salad with avocado on the side, Chicken stuffed with avocado as the main. I mean I like avocado but it felt kinda like iron chef with avocado as the ingredient of the day :) Took some nice pictures and enjoyed the company of my friends:)


Its been a relatively slack yet unexplainably sian day..had clinical bright and early this morning with Dr Mangos..He’s really a great tutor. Think this was by far one of the best clinical sessions I’ve had..We learnt abdomen palpitations..It was just nice seeing Dr Mangos interact with the patients..and he was really nice to offer to do the makeup session for us. He didn’t have to but he did:) next week its back to my old tutor again..don’t know why but this week just feels really slow and draggy..


I had a nice weekend though:) went to gloria’s on Friday night for mahjong :) haha her housemate must think we’re mahjong addicts..I guess to a certain extent we are..but I enjoy mahjong more for the company I guess:) I’m really grateful for the friends I have here. I know I keep saying that but I guess its cos I want to keep reminding myself that I really am truly lucky and that I should be grateful for all that God has given to me:) Saturday night was potluck dinner at evelyn’s to celebrate alvin’s birthday:) I think all my friends are really good cooks now..but I guess that’s natural after having to live and cook for yourself for the past year..think the med singaporean year ones are really starting to get to know each other better..compared to the gatherings we had in the beginning of the year, Saturday night was really noisy and festive and just..nice:)


And I guess spending more time at my friends’ apartments are making me think more about moving out on my own as well..I think the really good thing about college is that I know that there are always people around. Not having to cook and clean is a bonus. But I look forward to just waking up in my own room and not feeling pressured to have to do anything according to anyone’s rules. I know there’s the downside to moving out as well but I guess I’ve learnt over this past year that college life is just not me.


Ok I better go get some work done now. Yawn. Or maybe I should just go SLEEP. I had about 4 hours sleep last night..have a great week everyone:)
~me~ at 12:19 AM