Christmas, silent nights, and roadtrip!

Hope you all had a merry Christmas spent with family and friends! This past week I've been working night shifts starting last Saturday night so at the moment I'm kinda disoriented as to what day it is and whether I should be awake or sleeping...not unlike some of the patients on the wards!

Christmas Eve we had a special carols service at church. We sang 10 carols with bible readings and lessons in between each one and a short message at the end. I'm really really happy with how the music team did with the 10 carols considering we had our first and final rehearsal that same afternoon! Good job team - thanks to God for your gifts!

Didn't make it to Christmas Day service cos was too zonked out (that's a cool word!), but all in all it's been a good week of nights. With only 2 wards to cover during this time of year, I've averaged 4-5 hours of good uninterrupted sleep each night! How's that - literally paid to sleep! But if I had it my way, I'd rather pay NOT to have worked over this past week...but what to do?!

Anyhow, the offset is that my super nice medical admin person gave me next week off as compensation and so I'm heading down to Melbourne early tomorrow morning at 6am (yup - knocking off work a bit early courtesy of the cool resident who will cover me!)! Going down with some church friends to meet up with some other church friends already there. So we'll spend NYE down there and then head off to do the Great Ocean Rd! Should be exciting!

...and maybe for more reasons than one... =P

And that's a wrap for 2006 - seeya all in the new year!

Random collection of...stuff!

A random collection of stuff I've done in the last 10 days or so:

• Hanging out with church friends! Has been awesome staying back at church for dinner, and seeing Casino Royale last Tues. Great to meet some newcomers too! Have really enjoyed getting to know ppl better!

• Bike riding in the rain with a friend! Went for a ride to Port Botany hoping to do a bit of plane watching. Instead, I stacked it on the way there, the rain got quite heavy so we had to hide under a bridge from where we couldn't see any planes, and my friend punctured both her bike tyres! Maybe that wasn't the best day to go, but it was fun anyway!

• Have been quite busy with music at church. Songlead at church for the first time last Sunday since I really can't remember when...quite enjoyed it actually! This Sunday's Christmas Eve service is going to be HUGE for the music team as we'll be singing 10 Christmas carols with short sermons/lessons interspersed between them. If you like carols, come along to St Mark's this Sunday 5pm!
  

• Discovered Jimmy Eats World, another cool band Jon discovered a while ago that I found in his CD collection! Awesome songs include: For Me This is Heaven, Futures, Work, and Night Drive.
  

• On a Gilmore Girls watching spree! Powered through the 2nd season on DVD and just started the 3rd season! Despite what you may think from the title, this isn't a series just for chicks! The witty dialogue and relationships are refreshing and keep me coming back for more! Makes me wonder if I'd ever wanna live in a small country town...
  

• Still reading Dan Brown's Deception Point - highly recommended! Trying to stick to my read-thru-the-Bible-in-a-year reading plan but slightly behind. Have just read Titus - lotsa pearls in there!
  

• Lastly, work - did a week of evenings last week - not too bad! Loved having the daytime free and sleeping in! This week did geris! I actually really enjoyed it despite it being a busy week! I think I really love the multidisciplinary aspect of it! Next week doing a week of surgical nights 11pm-8.30am from Sat night till Sat morning.
  

So overall an amazing past fortnight really! I think in the last month or so I've really felt like work has stopped being all consuming energy sapping part of my life and that things have turned around! Whether I've felt tired or not I've thrown myself into doing different things, going out, doing crazy things! And I've loved every second! Bring it on!

'This could be the very minute I'm aware I'm alive...'

If it's one thing I love, it has to be spontaneity! And what could be more spontaneous than deciding to go bike riding with a friend at 1am in the morning after Carols last Saturday night!

Maybe it was the caffeine... maybe it was because I was still glowing after an awesome Carols event... maybe it was because I thought 'what the heck, why not?!'

So off we went, stopping by the Mobil first to pump some air in our tyres. I was a bit wobbly still, having not ridden a bike since I can't really remember when. The air pump hose wasn't attached to the pump so we had to ask the kwik-e-mart guy for the hose. At first he refused, perhaps thinking what? That we were gonna run off with his hose??! Eventually some pleading and begging melted his resolve and soon we were on our way with pumped up tyres!

It was a nice ride under a full moon in warm weather and a cool breeze streaming in our faces. We reached the Centennial Park gates to find the main gates locked but we were able to slip in through the pedestrian gates. Don't know why, but it kinda felt like we weren't supposed to be in there. I mean, who goes bike riding at 1am in the morning in Centennial park?!

Without street lights and with the trees obscuring the moonlight, we had to rely on our makeshift bike headlamp - a camping style headlight strapped to the front of my bike - to guide us.

Then it was without warning that my friend suddenly said "Look! Lights! Ranger's coming! Let's get off the road!" Sure enough a jeep was approaching with flashing siren lights. So we kinda tried to go stealth, switching off our lights and heading over to the pedestrian walkway and the cover of some trees.

It was too late.

We were spotted!

The ranger called us over and we thought we had had it! We were gonna get kicked out of the park. Or maybe even fined!

Actually, the ranger was really nice and just wanted to make sure we were ok. He had spotted a group of 4 youths lingering around near one of the gates and just wanted to warn us to stay away from them.

Somewhat relieved but slightly alarmed as well, we thanked him and headed on our way.

We cycled uphill towards the Woollahra gates and turned right to follow a road towards where they have the moonlight cinema. Then we enjoyed a long downhill run back down to the main circuit! Ah...hadn't done that in a while! And certainly not at what was now 2am in the morning!!!

What can I say...it felt good to be alive! So good, I was ready to do it all over again the very next night... =P

Carols by Candlelight 2006!

Wow! What an awesome week of annual leave and to top it off, an awesome weekend!!! Spent the rest of last week hanging out with my cuz mostly, playing golf, watching Open Season, and of course heaps of DVDs!

Then our church put on its second ever Carols by Candlelight on Sat night! Having missed last year's one cos of Gradball and having only seen photos of it, I wasn't quite sure what to expect but what a night it was!

We arrived just after lunch to help set up and to do a last minute run through rehearsal. Randwick Council had kindly provided a bigger stage and a marquee this year so we didn't have to fry in the hot arvo sun!

After sound checks and what not, we ran through the program. The drama team were running through their first and last rehearsal for the skit, which was rather frantic but it came together and the props were outstanding!!! Go the dual function outback dunny/ATM machine and the rusty holden ute!!!

Jon and I did a squishy run to 7/11 to recharge before the evening's program got underway! Around 5pm people stated rocking up and we had the BBQ, jumping castle, and kids games going! At 7pm some kids from Malabar Public did a few musical items as well as some dancing girls from some private dancing school. Then it was time for the carols and skits!

The program was much the same as last year but bigger and better! This year we had the NTE team on stage for a Hi-5 style kids song! We had santa who preached the gospel! It was all happening man and if you missed out this year you'll have to come back next year!!!

I think I spotted some angels!

There were apparently more people than last year and a real feel of community spirit! From what I hear there were great gospel conversations and God was really working in Malabar! Bring on Carols 2007!!!

A world away from Sydney...

...and yet still in Sydney! The place I'm talking about is the Northern beaches, where my cousin and I took a spontaneous leisurely day trip today, the start of my 3rd week of annual leave!

Having just been up at Collaroy for houseparty, I thought it'd be nice to wander further up north and discover some of Sydney's hidden pearls! We hopped in the car and after listening to Snow Patrol's Eyes Open album once through, we had reached Collaroy!

We got out and stretched our legs before taking a walk to the hill at the southern end. This is the view we saw!

Next we headed up to Palm Beach, the hideaway of the rich and famous! By now the sun had come out and it was a glorious day to be outside! We grabbed some fish and chips from this cool general store that had heaps of Coca-cola memorabilia (Dr J you would've loved it!) and sat near the beach enjoying the sun! After we'd had way too much to eat, we fed the rest to the local ducks who showed their gratitude by doing their business almost on our slippers! Thanks alot!

After lunch we headed to Barronjoey lighthouse, only accessible by a short stroll on the beach and then a steep rugged walking track to the summit of Barronjoey headland. The walk was tough but soooooo worth it cos this is the view we had from the top!

Headed back down and stopped at Avalon beach for icecream before heading home! Felt like we had spent the day in some central coast beach side town but how lucky we are to have such wonders on our doorstep...

Evening church HP!

Had an awesome weekend away at our annual evening church houseparty! We went to Collaroy Conference Centre up on the northern beaches on Friday night. I went with my pastor to lug all the music gear along.

We were the second people to arrive! Go figure! Set up all the gear and before we knew it, most people had come and we had our first talk from Dave, the speaker for the weekend. He spoke on Romans 8 and what it means to live as someone set free from sin to live for Christ. Afterwards we stayed up late playing Jenga, Take 2, and card games!

Saturday I woke up early and went for walk with Di and Sus to beach. It wasn't the best weather but it was so refreshing to be up early and enjoying the sight, smell and sounds of the beach. We made it back in time for brekky and just before the gathering clouds poured rain. After brekky we had bible study, talk, then free time. Despite thinking that we'd be stuck indoors, God swept away the clouds and provided with sun even for the 3 hours we had off!!! We went outside and played tennis, basketball, and baseball! And no sooner had we gone back indoors, it started raining again!!! Sat night was compulsory fun with a trivia/awards night and some funny games (guess what the game was in the photo!) This was followed by more fun playing Articulate, five hundred and other games into the early hours of the morning!

Sunday we had bible study and talk before packing up and heading back for 5pm church.

All in all a relaxing fun weekend and according to Andrew - the best houseparty ever!

I am...

...listening to: Snow Patrol - Eyes Open! Totally awesome album - my bro introduced me to them a while ago but they're only really hitting the charts in Aus now, esp after that cool Grey's Anat music video of Chasing Cars!

...watching on TV: O.C. Season 4, Tripping Over, Survivor Cook Islands, The Apprentice.

...watching on DVD: GG Season 2, Scrubs Season 2.

...reading: Deception Point by Dan Brown, 1 Corinthians.

...playing on XBox: Dynasty Warriors 5, Battlefield 2:Modern Combat

...shopping for: new phone maybe??, keyboard/synth

So much to do...so little time...

You could be happy...

Doing a week of evening shifts from 5-11pm this week has been great! It's meant I've had the daytime off and the shorter shifts have been easy to deal with. It's almost been like a semi-holiday...!

Monday - Picnic lunch at Bronte beach with med friends.

Tuesday - Watched The Prestige at Bondi followed by a yummy Jap lunch and shopping for pressies at Westfield with same med friends! Thanks guys for the unexpected pressie - not even my birthday!

Wednesday - Sleep in day + catchup on this week's compulsory TV viewing!

Today - Early start to drop cousin to airport before going back to bed. Woke up late to go to high school friend's place to watch the start of the Ashes! Had an awesome bbq and met one of his Unibuds friends, a Ukrainian fellow, studying psychology at UNSW. Had really interesting conversations with him about med (cos he's considering switching to med) and about life in general. Really refreshing to chat with someone with different perspectives on things and made me reflect on my own values, beliefs and motivations in life.

So after such a nice week so far, I've realised - hey - life isn't too bad! Life doesn't have to revolve around work. We work to live, not live to work! So how do I feel?

I feel revived...

I feel rejuvenated...

I feel content...

...I feel happy!

Sea by the Sculptures...

The sky was a perfect blue today and as the rays of golden sunshine streamed in my bedroom window, I knew it was one day I wouldn't under any circumstances allow myself to stay indoors! I allowed myself the luxury of waking up slowly in bed, despite my bedside clock reading 11:05am, and even enjoyed reading the prologue to the next book I'm starting - Dan Brown's Deception Point.

After finally getting up, I decided that the perfect thing to do on such a nice day would be to finally see Sculptures by the Sea, something that I've been wanting to do for a while, but have never really gotten around to it in previous years...

Did a quick sms around and met up with some friends at Tamarama beach! Wow! So many people!!! And what a nice day to be outside! Already I started to admire some cool works of art and at the same time, begin to critique some which I thought "hmm...I think I could do that myself anyday!".

We grabbed a quick hot dog lunch before walking towards Bondi Beach enjoying the warm sun, the cool sea breeze, and of course the sculptures. I have to say there were some really cool ones! Had my camera along and my finger was going trigger happy! Since pictures speak a thousand words and I'm no expert on commenting on art, I'll let the ones I've posted here speak for themselves!

Got a very nice surprise when a friend I haven't seen in ages tapped me on the shoulder as we were walking past each other! Good to seeya again man!

All in all a very enjoyable day. Ended up with a nice red nose from thinking I am immune to sunshine and never get sunburnt! At least I got some Vitamin D!

Oh yeah - did I mention how many cups of FREE Lipton Ice Tea I had from the promotional store they were running?!

Some cool photos I took in Cairns!

Nothing exciting lately...

Just realised I haven't blogged for ages! A friend from church asked me recently what I had done over the past 2 weeks that was exciting and I had really struggled to come up with anything!

So, she convinced me to go out with a group of friends from church after dinner on Sunday night. We went to the Shangri-La Hotel for Sugar hit, a dessert promotion as part of October's Good Food Month. Had this chocolate layered mousse thing with raspberry something or other in a shot glass. Was really nice! But rather sweet...duh!?! Had a glass of red dessert wine, which was really nice and sweet. Had to fight the urge to scull the whole glass in one go!

Got home around 11:30pm and man it was hard getting up Monday morning at 6am! But worth it I have to say...

I really shouldn't use being tired as an excuse not to go out I've realised. To do so is the path to the old and boring side...

My diagnosis...the travel bug!

It's been almost a month since returning from Cairns and I've diagnosed myself with the travel bug:

Name:
travellococcus buggis

Epidemiology:
Young people generally, no matter how cash strapped. Especially prevalent in those who have recently returned from travelling.

Pathology:
Lodges itself in patient's subconsciousness and multiplies, creating continuous yearning for travelling.

Clinical features:
Patient spends countless hours pouring over travel magazines, travel guides, browsing online travel websites, visiting travel agencies...etc. Exaggerated features in Asian patients who have tendencies to accept nothing but the CHEAPEST deal!

Management:
Book patient's airfares, arrange accommodation, car hire and activities, and transfer them urgently to the nearest airport. Organise annual leave +/- ADOs for patient.

Someone please cure me!!!

Too busy to pee...

Wow!!! Can't believe it's been 2 weeks since I got back from Cairns and since my last blog! Time flies but I haven't really been having much fun...

Surgery at Campbelltown has been super-duper-not-even-time-to-pee busy since coming back! Out of the three surgical teams, I've been averaging a patient load of double the amount of the other two teams put together! Hit a peak of 27 patients mid week which is reminiscent of my days doing aged care at Bankstown where that was almost the norm. Had surgery every single day last week which equals heaps of new patients, less time to do ward work, and leaving work late =( On top of that I had to work yesterday, thus cutting my precious weekend by half! Not to mention I had to assist in surgery until 11pm last night...

I guess I can't complain. The surgical registrars at Campbelltown have to work 36 hr shifts 1 in 4 days. That's crazy man!!! Now why on earth would anyone wanna do surgery?!?!

Oh well...GP land here I come hehehe =)

Cairns was AWESOME!

Just got back from a 1 week holiday in Cairns with family and a cousin! Had an awesome time over the 8 days and 7 nights we spent there! Here's a quick summary:

Day 1 - Arrived in Cairns, picked up rental car and checked in at 2 bedroom apartment. Then went for scenic walk called the "Red Arrow Walk" near Cairns Botanical Gardens during which we enjoyed views of Cairns city, Double Island off Palm Cove and the inviting aquamarine waters of the Coral Sea. Then headed to the Esplanade for a walk before going grocery shopping at the local Coles to stock up on snacks!

Day 2 - Took a scenic cable car ride up to the village of Kuranda on the Atherton Tablelands. Enjoyed 2 stops along the way up and walks along rainforest boardwalks, one offering views of the spectacular Barron Falls. Reached Kuranda and visited the local markets there, the Koala Sanctuary and enjoyed some local made icecream! Then took the scenic railway back down to Cairns.

Day 3 - Went on a day cruise to the outer Great Barrier Reef. Wasn't the best of days to visit the reef as it was overcast threatening rain and rather windy, meaning choppy waters and a bumpy catamaran ride! That in turn resulted in myself, my bro and cousin puking for the most part of the day unfortunately limiting our enjoyment of one of the modern wonders of the world! Did manage to go snorkelling though and once I got the hang of it - how to breathe in and out of the tube through my mouth (sounds easier than it is...!) - I was able to enjoy spotting various fish out of Finding Nemo and other reef marine life! Also tried scuba diving but got down to a measly 1 metre below the surface when panic gripped me and I gave the thumbs up to my diving instructor signalling I wanted to surface! So yeah...maybe scuba diving isn't for me!

Day 4 - Went on a self-drive around the Atherton Tablelands. Visited towns like Mareeba (the coffee capital of Australia), Atherton (once populated by Chinese goldminers!), and scenic waterfalls along the Millaa Millaa waterfall circuit. Alot of driving but all in all a nice day!

Day 5 - Went on another cruise (hehehe - you think once would've been enough eh!) to Green Island on what was a much better day. The catamaran we went on this time was also bigger and the water alot calmer so trip was thankfully puke free! Enjoyed the resort facilities at Green Island and the warm clear blue/green waters! Went on a glass-bottom boat ride and an eco tour around the Island.

Day 6 - Went on a self-drive up to Port Douglas (the retreat for many celebrities), the spectacular Mossman Gorge, and across the Daintree River to visit the Daintree Rainforest! Again a lot of driving but very scenic for most of the way along the coastal road up from Cairns!

Day 7 - Visited Rusty's Markets in Cairns before heading up to Wangetti (halfway between Port Douglas and Cairns) to Hartley's Creek Crocodile Adventure Park. Really enjoyed the afternoon program on offer including the crocodile farming talk, snake show, boat cruise, crocodile attack show, cassowary feeding and koala feeding. Took some awesome photos and videos of crocs - crikey!

Day 8 - Visited the Outback Opal Mine centre and then the scenic Palm Cove where we found some beach chairs along the beach owned by one of the resorts and relaxed on them enjoying the cool breeze and spectacular views! Then spent the afternoon hunting for a nice place to have mud crabs, found one that looked decent but then were disappointed that they weren't actually as good as the ones we get back in Sydney. Oh well...! Caught the last flight home and got back to Sydney around 10pm!

And that's about it!

The whole week went quick but at the same time my whole 2 weeks annual leave felt like a long relaxing break!

I think I can now face the 8 or so weeks until my next week of leave...!

Young hearts run free...

Got this off Queenie's blog...

Guess it proves what I've known all along - that I'm still immature and young and heart! Now, is that a good thing or a bad thing...??! I'm apparently 18 at heart...I think I feel that young! And just about every other patient and staff member at work does comment daily on how young I look and how amazing it is that I'm already a doctor! I guess I should take it as a compliment but I think some people find it difficult to take you seriously when you look so young...

Anyhow, give it a go for yourself!

You Are 18 Years Old

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

Glorious Day!!!

What can I say?! Today is like the perfect day! The sun is shining. Birds chirp happily. There's a slight cool breeze to complement the warm rays of sunshine. I wish every day was like this...!

So what am I doing at home then?! Enjoying my first week of annual leave for the year! Have been busy planning our itinerary for Cairns. Figure if I do the hard work now, won't have to wonder what to do each day cos it'll all be figured out already! Think I will go for a run to Coogee beach later this afternoon when it's not so hot. Maybe grab an icecream and lie on the beach or grass and day dream about stuff...!

24 hours and counting...!!!

Won't bore you with what's been going on at work because well...it's been pretty boring!

Am excited though by the prospect of taking annual leave for the first time this year in little over 24 hours!!! Will be taking 2 weeks off. I'm basically spending the first week bumming around and sleeping in (my favourite pastime!). Then will be taking off with family and cousin to Cairns for 8 days!!!

Very very exciting cos having lived in Australia all my life, I realise that I have actually seen very very little of its natural wonders! In fact, I think I can count the places in Australia that I've been with my fingers!

Been spending the last couple of days working out what there is to do in Cairns and its surroundings and which cruise to take to the Great Barrier Reef! Also whether to try scuba diving or just snorkel!

Really hoping to see some turtles!

Happy to be in scrubs...!

It's week 2 of my surgical term at Campbelltown and all in all, things have been good! Despite the early starts and long drives to and fro each day, I think I'm actually beginning to enjoy my surgical term!

Realised today how comfortable it is to wear scrubs around hospital all day!!! It's like wearing your pyjamas - soooo comfy - maybe even more so!!! Don't think I'd wear them at home though... =P

Things that lift my spirit today at work:
1. chatting with lovely 72 year old lady who's been in hospital for way too long recovering from a left hemicolectomy,

2. getting to assist in surgery,

3. draining 2 litres from a nice Scottish fellow's HUGE bladder after inserting an indwelling catheter - somehow soooo satisfying!

4. kicking out 2 of my patients and surprisingly a third at the end of the day, when one patient actually asked if he could go home since he felt so well - I had no objections to that!

5. patient list back to single digit figure!

I didn't even mind staying back 40 mins...!

God does answer prayers! =)

After hours antics!

Was on rostered overtime at Campbelltown last night with Jaz. We were both run off our feet despite thinking it'd be cruisy since there's only 3 wards to cover between the 2 of us there.

Finally cleared the boards on the medical and surgical wards around 10pm when we decided to head over to the psych unit to review a patient. They had called us earlier that evening to see this guy who had apparently decided to start banging his head against a concrete wall repeatedly and who now had headache, vomiting and blurred vision. We had been kinda delaying seeing him because:

1. who wants to see a crazy psych patient right before ending a shift?
2. didn't fancy the guy getting agro or something towards us...
3. going to the psych unit actually involves leaving the main hospital complex and trudging a hundred or so metres in the cold and dark...

Anyhow, since we could no longer give any excuses as to why we still hadn't reviewed the patient, we decided the 2 of us should be able to handle this psych patient.

Turns out the guy hadn't banged his head against a wall, but had just punched himself in the forehead with his fists. Ok...so maybe not so crazy but still crazy! He said that he had been hearing voices and wanted them to stop. Fair enough I guess... We did the most rudimentary neuro exam and decided that he was "medically stable". Said goodnight to the psych staff and thought that our busy shift had finally come to an end.

That was until we got back to the entrance to the hospital to find it locked.

The sign on the door said "After hours please ring bell <----" Except that there was no bell to ring! Jaz and I searched around the doorway looking for a swipey card access thingy or something to let ourselves in but to no avail...

Ended up calling switch and explaining our predicament. We could hear switch explaining our situation to someone else and probably thinking "Those silly interns...!!" For some reason or other, security had something better to do than come and let us in so they told us to find the tunnel leading from the psych unit to the main hospital block.

Jaz and I looked at each other blankly and laughed!

Somehow they expected us to find what sounded like some obscure secret passageway leading from the psych unit to the main hospital block in the dark!

We trudged back over to the psych unit and actually found the tunnel straight away. We followed it to its end to find a door. Another locked door!

By this time we were thinking about just walking all the way around the hospital to the main entrance at the front. But amidst our aimless wandering, we spotted 2 doors with swipey card access thingies next to them! Tried the first door and but the stupid reader denied us access. Tried the second door and hey presto! It opened without even having to swipe a card! So much for security!

Thence ended a long and tiring day. To top things off, I spent the night in a freezer that is Campbelltown Hospital's overnight accommodation for its medical officers. The bed only had one blanket a sheet and by golly I was shivering all throughout the night...! There was a fan heater there but when I turned it on, the fan wasn't working and the element began to light up real bright and I seriously thought the heater would blow up so I quickly turned it off...

The 1.5 hrs of driving each day are definitely worth it...

Campbelltown Hospital!

I'm actually at home at the moment! And boy is it good to be home!

Today was my second day at Campbelltown, my first on the wards after a day of orientation yesterday. Have decided not to stay in the accommodation there but to drive every day instead cos it only takes 45 mins door to door! But I must say, the long drive really does feel long even though it's only an extra 20 mins from Bankstown. Anyhow, I think it's worth the drive to and fro each day to be able to sleep in my own bed and have the comforts of home!

I'm doing general surgery down there but today was a non-surgical day so I basically bludged most of the day! Finished the ward round with my reg by 8.30am and then did a few tasks before heading for the RMO lounge to hang. Man I have absolutely no problems with doing that for the next 10 weeks! But I guess I should bring a book to read or something cos it does get boring just watching the clock to tick down to 5pm.

Tomorrow I've got an evening shift so will have to camp overnight in Campbelltown...

The emergency's over!

Yay yay yay yay yay!!! My emergency term's over! No more nights for a while. No more weird shift work. No more having to deal with a particular staff specialist. No more having to deal with patients I have no idea how to deal with!

Ah...all I can say is what a relief! But to be fair, ED wasn't too bad. In the end I felt a lot more comfortable and like I kinda knew what I was doing. In the end, the night shifts were actually the ones I enjoyed the most because of less pressure, less people to deal with in terms of trying to admit a patient, and cos there's this really cool CMO who's on at night most of the time. So yeah, in retrospect, it wasn't all as bad as I might have made it out to be.

Now have to look forward to next term...general surgery at Campbelltown Hospital. Man I feel so insecure with my knowledge of surgery...I hope I don't look like a total dumbass! Like seriously, I can't even remember how to scrub properly and perhaps my greatest fear is stuffing up in some way in the operating theatre, eg by contaminating a sterile field, or dropping an instrument or something! But in all likelihood, I'll just be holding a retractor most of the time so how hard can that be right?! But I'm just getting over a cold at the moment so I hope I don't cough up gunk into a patient's open stomach or sneeze into my consultant's face or something! But I've heard that the surgeon I'm attached to is really cool and even a Christian! So I hope that might make things easier...

Anyhow, gotta have lunch now... I'll probably stay out at Campbelltown most of the week and come back home on weekends so hope to see you then!

Mission accomplished!

Well the letter arrived in the post today. Unannounced. Unexpected. Nervously I tore open the envelope, not sure whether to do it slowly, dreading the unthinkable, or whether to just rip it open and get it over and done with...

I got an offer of a GP training position with SIGPET!!! And what's even better is two good buddies got in as well to the same training provider! What people said was soooooooo difficult to accomplish has been accomplished! And all I can say is: what a relief! 29/33 was always good odds but man you just have to imagine yourself being one the four who missed out and your heart just sinks! Ah well...I'm just glad I got in to the one I wanted so I hopefully don't have to do my training too far away from home.

I guess all that hard work of bribing referees (hehehe) and whatever mumbo jumbo came out of my mouth in the interview was enough...

People of Sydney...watch out!!!

On another happy note, I did my last day shift in emergency today! It was great cos I had two super nice specialists on. It sucked cos a patient (not mine) came in with Meningococcal meningitis, initially looked well, but soon became a resus pt and despite all our efforts (mine involved running to Pathology/Blood bank to collect Cryo and FFP), the 18 year old pt died.

Understandably, there were tears in the department...

Time flies when you're having fun?!

Man I've been lazy with this blog! What've I been up to since I last wrote 9 days ago...???

Work's been busy. Have been slowly counting down my shifts in the emergency department - just 2 day shifts and 4 night shifts to go!!! What can I say? Some days are really really busy and I have no idea what I'm doing.... Some days are actually quite interesting and pleasant when there aren't patients pouring through the door, the patients are actually sick and should be at hospital, and the staff specialists and CMOs are nice enough to help me out (= tell me what on earth's wrong with my patient and what to do next!). But all in all, I think I'll just have a huge sense of relief when it's all over! I miss brainless ward work!

When I haven't been at work, I've been busy applying for jobs for next year and trying to get a training position with a General Practice training provider. I've applied for RMO jobs at POW and Bankstown - finally finished all necessary documents and uploaded them on Monday. Had an interview with SIGPET training provider on Monday morning in Balmain. Interview went alright...I was kinda um-ming and ah-ring my way through the interview but hopefully what I said sounded good enough for the interviewers! I guess a 29/33 shot isn't too bad odds! I find out if I've got a training position next week!!!

Other than that, I've been busy with church stuff as well! Chaired my first church meeting on Sunday! Was kinda nervous and spoke really fast as I tend to do sometimes but I got some positive feedback so that was encouraging! I guess there's a first time for everything and you only get better with practice! Then I've got my Preliminary Theological Certificate (PTC) exam on the book of Romans coming up on Monday and I've only covered half the course so far!!! Looks like I'll be in for some cramming on the weekend!!!

So yeah...not sure if I've been having fun but time has certainly been flying by...!

Busy busy busy!

Well another week goes by and it's been a great one! Had 3 and a half days off last week and mostly spent it with my aunty and cousins from Malaysia.

On Wednesday we had a nice fish and chips lunch at La Perouse followed by a full round of golf at Randwick Golf Course since my aunty's a golf fanatic! She loved the scenery at the course, even if it wasn't that well maintained.

On Thursday went to the city for lunch at a really nice Japanese place called Musashi next to Capitol Theatre with my godmother and aunty. Was kinda weird going out with 2 aunties but I love playing the host! We walked all around the city visiting Hyde Park and the memorial there and doing a bit of window shopping before having coffee at Myers.

On Friday went for a drive with aunty and cousin to Miranda Westfield. Had lunch in the food court there before walking around doing more window shopping!

So yeah - busy 3 days or so but really really enjoyed them and much better than sitting at home doing nothing like I probably would've done otherwise! Just finished 3 night shifts in a row. They weren't actually too bad and I'm really starting to like them actually even though I have always dreaded them.

Got a busy 2 weeks or so coming up. I got a interview with SIGPET, one of the Sydney GP training providers!!! That gives me a 29/32 chance of getting a place and I have an interview next Monday morning! Also have to apply for my Resident Medical Officer job for next year as applications to all hospitals close on 18th August so reminder to myself - get cracking! Will apply for Prince of Wales Hospital and Bankstown and don't really mind if I get offers to either.

In the midst of all that, busy with church things as well. Just finished preparing my last 2 bible studies on 2 Corinthians and will be chairing church for the first time this Sunday plus I'm on music this week. So busy busy busy!

Do you ever just wanna SCREAM?!

Haven't written for a while...does that mean the time has flown by or that I've just been too lazy to write? Probably a bit of both...

Last week did a week of nights. Wasn't too bad. Some nights were really quiet. One in particular was a total nightmare. Got to do some suturing finally and my crowning achievement had to be cannulating a 2 year old baby!

Today the emergency department was once again a total madhouse. It was as if everyone in Sydney woke up and decided they'd pay a visit to Bankstown Hospital ED! And by gosh there was no shortage of stooooooooopid presentations! I won't give examples...starting to get worked up just thinking about them...

On a happier note, got to spend time with my cousin and aunty from Malaysia yesterday. Took them to Bankstown to have Vietnamese noodles my aunty was craving and then we went for a drive down south to Wollongong to visit the Nan Tien Buddhist temple. Really really pretty and serene! Took heaps of photos until my battery ran out! Then on the way back met my bro and other cousin for dinner in Hurstville where we had yummy seafood for dinner! So all in all a nice day!

One more day in the madhouse tomorrow and then I have 3.5 days off... yay!

Long time no blog...

Wow haven't blogged for like 10 days...so what have I been up to?

Not much really...just worked 6 out of the last 8 days so I guess alot of work. Nice to finally have some quality time to rest and relax. During the week it's usually just so hectic at work that I come home totally wasted and since I'm working 10 hr shifts now, that doesn't leave much time for anything else. Basically get home, have dinner, veg for a bit in front of tv and then hey it's time to sleep already! And so the same routine occurs day after day...how depressing...

On a slightly happier note, my GP application appears to be going well. I've applied for SIGPET first and IGPE second (acronyms for 2 of the 3 GP training organisations in Sydney) and based on the reports of my 3 referees I was ranked in the top 10-20% of candidates ie band 2. That gives me a fair shot of getting an intervew with SIGPET or IGPE so fingers crossed...! Funny though...cos I'm not even sure that I wanna be a GP yet, but I guess we'll see...

Have an aunty and cousin sister over from Malaysia at the moment. My cousin is coming to study at UTS as part of a twinning program for 2 years here. They've been here before so will have to think of new places to take them...anyone got any suggestions?!

Good to be a kid again...

This week I had 4 awesome days off from Monday to Thursday! Despite thinking initially that I'd have nothing to do for 4 whole days, I realised that this week our church was running Kid's Club 2006, a school holiday program for kids!

After spending Monday at home watching TV all day in the form of the World Cup final and some compulsory viewing leftover from last week, I was all ready to get outside and help out at Kid's Club!

The program started on Tuesday and we had around 20 kids. This year the Club theme was 'Around the World', each day being focussed on the culture of a different country. We started with Australia since it IS the best country on earth! The gospel theme for the day was that God created the world and we had stories, puppet shows, singing, games, memory verses, and craft that were used to teach the kids. It was great that by the end of the day, most of the kids seemed to have remembered this main point!

On Wednesday, the theme country was Mexico and myself and Thomas dressed up as Mexican amigoes enjoying an afternoon siesta (which is what I feel like having just about now!). The gospel theme was how all mankind has sinned and that God's punishment for sin is death. Although it was a pretty serious topic, the kids seemed to grasp the main point and the seriousness of it. Other fun things we did included doing a Mexican hat dance, and making a traditional Mexican toy!

Today was the last day that I could attend even though the program finishes tomorrow. The theme country today was Japan and a number of leaders were sporting ninja headbands, karate outfits and traditional kimonos! The gospel topic was that Jesus died to save us and this was well taught via Liz's storyboard. We went down to the park as well to play parachute and stuck in the mud and by the end of the day we were all exhausted!

The last few days have been just such a lift for me. In a time when work has been challenging and I haven't always been in the brightest of spirits, helping out at Kid's Club really helped me remember what's important and valuable in life and gave me so much encouragement both from the kids and the other leaders. It reminded me how much I love working with kids and perhaps that's what I want to spend the rest of my life doing...

Any ordinary day?

Twas my birthday today...though by the end of it, it more or less felt like any ordinary day... Got up late having watched the tennis the night before. My bro and mum ran into my room to wish me happy birthday and give me presents - what a nice start to the day!

We then went out for lunch in Hurstville before I had to head off to work for an afternoon ED shift. And whilst I was in the car I started wondering...'Man I wish I had today off! Why didn't I try harder to swap shifts and get it off?'. Then I started wondering about why birthdays are special and I concluded that I wasn't really sure...

What makes birthdays something to be celebrated? What makes it our special day, where everyone congratulates you and you suddenly seemingly become the centre of the universe? I suppose there's the significance of having reached another milestone in your life...another year to add to the tally...or to some people, another year closer towards getting older and older and older...perhaps without having accomplished too much, or not having accomplished what one would have liked or expected...?

Well today at work it was like any other day. I definitely did NOT want people at work to know it was my birthday...perhaps cos I didn't want them to sing to me (which by the way I find kinda uncomfortable about each year...whether it's just my family or a whole bunch of people...)? But at the same time, thanks to my family who made the few hours before and after work special, and the people who called and sent messages. Special thanks to Uncle Alex and Aunty Clem from England who called whilst I was at work but I wasn't home to talk to.

Work turned out to be one of my cruisiest shifts ever! Got home just before midnight to cut the cake my mum had baked for me and to enjoy the women's final of Wimbledon. And just like that my birthday was over...was it just another ordinary day...?

Days off are good! =)

Ah...how nice it was to wake up today without having to worry about jumping out of bed to rush out the door to work! I love being able to take my time waking up...sometimes even picking up one of the many books piled beside my bed to read if I can keep at least one eye open without too much effort...

After much thought, I think that's just about the only thing I like about this emergency term so far... Working four 10-hr days per week rather than five 8-hr days means more days off and that can only be a good thing! ...which makes me wonder...if I'm so happy not to be at work, does that mean I don't like work???

Hmm...maybe it's just this ED term...the unpredictability of each shift...not knowing what will walk in the door next... Yes I know, I say 'what' when referring to patients coming in the door...is that a bad sign too??? Sometimes it's just so frustrating dealing with some patients...actually most of the patients I've seen so far...that one can't help but label them by what postulated disease they may have just out of spite - to the CMO..."uh Dr so and so, I have absolutely no idea what to do with my left-upper-quadrant-abdo-pain-guy-who-says-he-hasn't-peeed-for-2-days-guy...could you sort him out for me? Pretty please??!" On the other hand I have met some really nice people and man the kids and babies I've seen - SOOOOOOOO cute!!! Kinda scary not knowing what to do with them too but I kinda wanna take them home with me!

Man I feel so dumb and inadequate this term! Whereas I was confidently prowling the wards last term, doing ward rounds on my own, pretty sure of my stuff, now I find myself without much idea for most of the patients coming in ED and looking like a complete idiot and dumbass when I present dodgy cases to the CMO or staff specialist! Luckily most of them are really nice and don't expect me to know too much...still...

Makes me wonder about how I'll survive in GP land...if that's what I really want to do...

The Perfect Guy/Girl?!

My cousin sis sent me this pic a while back...actually the original e-mail had 4 pictures above this one of 4 'perfect guys' doing chores, giving their wives massages etc etc. You can imagine that this pic following those 4 would've had a bit more impact than this one on it's own...

So what is a guy's perspective on all this???

Well I guess just like most girls, most guys probably fantasise about their 'perfect gal'. And whilst girls may fantasise about perfect guys who will be attentive to their every need and do all the housework etc, I think it'd be fair to say that most guys fantasise about probably just one thing...

Now sure you may argue that guys' and girls' fantasies are different and girls' fantasies are generally more innocent, whilst guys' fantasies are generally lustful... I think the point is though, that fantasies are nothing more than self-indulgences. If I were a girl, I'd be abhorred to imagine every guy I walked past fantasising about me. Being a guy, I'm abhorred to think that girls could ever expect their perfect guy to be just that...perfect!

I guess it's not really realistic to go around with a checklist of pre-requisites and criteria that define your perfect guy/gal. Looking for a partner isn't like shopping for a car or house! I've always thought that when you do find the right partner, all those criteria and pre-requisites (bar some) would go out the window anyhow.

But on the other hand I think you do need to assess a person's character, attitudes and personality to decide if he/she is appropriate to pursue a relationship with. This I think is different to ticking boxes off a checklist of pre-requisites. It's spending time with the person to see if they share similar goals and attitudes with you, and if they are, dare I say for lack of a better word, "compatible". And being a guy, I'm ashamed of it, but I can be the first to admit that I do struggle with giving a girl's character/attitudes/personality a higher priority than her looks.

At the end of the day, surely searching for a partner isn't about what you get out of it yourself but how you can serve and care for the other person? And I think that is the core problem when we go about looking for Mr/Miss Right. We go about looking for who's best for ME, rather than what I can offer and how I can serve the other person. We think about how it'd be nice to have someone to snuggle with ME, someone to comfort ME when I feel all alone... That person should actually be called Mr/Miss Right-for-ME...

But sure, as I go to more and more weddings, see my friends all with partners, and keep on hearing my parents ask me "So have you met any nice girls lately?", I do wonder impatiently...when will my turn come to meet the girl God has planned for me? But then I think about it and remember that yes, God does have a plan for me and I have to trust that plan. In the meantime, my job is to work on my character, attitudes and bad habits and to look for ways to serve my sisters in Christ. It is no small thing to ask a girl to accompany me through life. I pray that one day God will grant me the responsibility and privilege of caring for and serving a girl for the rest of my life...

We were robbed I tell you...ROBBED!!!

What a tragedy! What a cruel way to exit the World Cup! After what was a super performance by Australia in the group round, once again the FIFA referees have robbed us of the chance to make it to the next round! Can they not get anything right? The refereeing of the Australia vs Croatia match was an absolute disgrace! We should've easily won that match if ref Graham Poll had had his eyes checked before the match so that he would've seen the clear foul on Viduka in the penalty box and later the obvious hand ball by a Croatian defender in their box! Then last night - oh my gosh! It was the dying seconds of the match and this time the ref was a mere couple of metres away and he STILL got it wrong!!! Lucas Neill was clearly on the ground having missed his tackle and that Italian guy obviously tripped purposely over Neill hoping to be awarded the penalty! And the ref obliged... Australia, I don't think I have to tell you that a great injustice was done... I guess at the end of the day, you win some and you lose some...

But credit has to be given where it is due and the Socceroos really did exceed all expectations after being given a lousy draw in the first place having to play Brazil and then Italy in the round of 16! All I can say is that they put all their heart and soul and effort into each of their performances and are true Aussie champions! We can now be recognised as a force to be reckoned with and this World Cup has done wonders to lift the status of soccer in Australia!

Watch out! South Africa 2010 - here we come...

New Term, New Instrument!

"Why are there so many guitars in the house?!!!" yells my mum, complaining that they are cluttering up the house...

My bass guitar arrived yesterday!!! Bought it off Ebay from a guy in Brisbane and it arrived here nicely packaged and in one piece yesterday arvo whilst I was at work. It's a really nice Fender (Japan) Vintage '62 P-bass in a 3 tone Sunburst colour! That description probably means nothing most people so in plain english, it's a medium of the range, pretty nice sounding bass guitar!

So why did I suddenly decide I wanted to learn bass and buy a guitar? Well it all started out with a friend who wanted to learn and I thought, well hey maybe I want to learn too! Then a few weeks at church I was asked to play bass last minute...even though I didn't know how...and somehow with my limited skills in acoustic guitar, managed to figure out the notes on the bass and bumble my way through one of the songs! And I thought...hey this isn't too hard!!! So there you go...I have a bass!

Now just gotta learn how to play it... =P

On a less exciting note, have done 2 shifts of ED so far and have surprisingly settled in really quick into my new role. Everyone's been really nice so far and really helpful in getting me orientated as to how things are done in the hectic ED! Saw about 4 patients on my first shift, and 6 yesterday so, so far, so good!

Next set of shifts is days this Sat-Mon...

A side, B side, Seaside

YAY!!! My week of nights is finally OVER!!! So glad to get back to normal routine and eating patterns. I have to say though, this time round the week of nights seemed to go quicker and was more bearable than my first lot. Don't know whether it was because I took a different approach to my sleeping pattern, or because I did a proper ward round at the start of my shift meaning that I didn't get paged as much, or simply cause the World Cup was on and I had something to watch all through the night! I really think the latter was a major factor now that I think about it...something I won't be able to enjoy next time around. 9 hrs is a long time to kill and this time around I didn't want to sleep during my shift cause last time I found it to be not really refreshing and meant I couldn't sleep properly during the day. So anyhow...just really glad second lot is over!

Went out yesterday with Jimbo, Carmen and her friend Frankie to see a Honkie movie at George St called 'A side, B side, Seaside'! It was one of two sessions of that movie being played as part of the 53rd Sydney Film Festival. It was not your typical honkie movie and was rather thoughtfully produced. Many of the scenes felt familiar even to one who hadn't grown up in Hong Kong and there were several memorably funny scenes! Cause I can't be bothered to write a spiel about what the film's all about, I'll just copy paste the one from the Sydney Film Festival website:

"The story of two girls' farewell to their 17 years of youth. In two parts, just like two sides of a movie disk, the film tells the separate but intertwined stories of Chen Tian and Ah Mel. Chen Tian is a schoolgirl about to leave for Beijing for college, who decides to spend an unforgettable trip with her best friends in the fishing village of Cheung Chau, where she discovers love for the first time. Ah Mei, a girl who's had a tough time in the big city, returns to the village to revisit her past. She finds herself reuniting with two boys from her childhood. The fresh performances from the young actors, combined with Ah Chiu's deft direction, perfectly capture the fun, enthusiasm and romance in this enjoyable coming of age movie."

So there you have it! If you wanna check it out, the second screening is on this Wednesday at 6:40pm George St Cinemas. Go see it!

Socceroos - Australia salutes you!!!!!

Got to work excited and on time for the first time out of all my night shifts ever! The reason - to see the Socceroos take on Japan!!! Forget about handover. Forget about the wards. Ignore the pager. Nothing was gonna stop me watching this game to the very end. And how glad I am that I watched right to the end!

After that dodgy goal by Japan in the 26th minute when they blatantly fouled our goalie Schwarzer, I thought I'd be happy if they could just draw. What happened in the 83rd, 89th and 92nd minutes were beyond belief and had myself, the night med reg, and the night surg reg jumping off the couches and hugging each other dancing wildly around the common room! Amazing how many feelings a 90min game of soccer can evoke and I could almost feel the nation celebrating as one after each goal! Man I was even crying tears of joy by the end...such was my disbelief at the almost magical ending!

Some people may laugh and wonder what all the fuss is about and how others can get so emotionally involved in what is just a sport, just a game. But what happened tonight was not just a game...it was a defining moment in Australian history. A moment when we burst onto the world soccer scene as a nation and announced in typical gutsy Australian fashion to the rest of the world "BRING IT ON!!!"

Came home this morning and watched my taped replay of the match and the goals at least 10 times! The first goal may have been a fluke but Timmy Cahill's second and Aloisi's third were quality! Pure quality! And who can forget our mate and honorary Australian, Guus! He may have buggered up the first half but his tactics and substitions in the second half were pure genius! Guus mate - you're a legend!

Next stop, world champions Brazil. No worries! We can DO IT!

Socceroos - I salute you!

Empty corridors...

Sitting at home watching the clock tick away...40 mins till I have to leave home for my second night of nights!

Last night was really busy - took me 3 hrs just to do one round of all 8 wards before I finally got to have a few hours rest. In amongst the chest pains, febrile patients, and absconders in the middle of the night, I actually got to watch some of the World Cup! Didn't feel too sleepy at all, courtesy of a 4 hr sleep yesterday afternoon. Gonna try staying awake after each shift and sleeping between 1pm and 9pm or something like that. Will then try staying awake throughout most of my shift rather than trying to scrap together a few hrs of sleep here and there which won't be effective and refreshing anyway. Somehow I have a feeling this approach to this second set of nights will mean I don't find it as bad as my first ever set of nights.

I wonder what tonight holds install for me besides empty corridors...

The end is here...*sigh*...

The day is here...the moment I've dreaded...the end of my Respiratory Medicine term...

10 weeks of mostly less than a handful of patients literally, and most of the day to surf the net, sleep in the library, and basically getting paid to bludge...alas my honeymoon is about to end!

I suppose it's about time too. I was kinda getting bored by finding things to do for 5-6 hrs a day! However, there's no way I'd want to be as busy as I was during my Aged Care term.

Got a week of nights coming up...I can honestly say the only good thing about it being next week is that it coincides with the start of the World Cup and that means I'll have something I actually want to watch in the early hours of the morning! I think I'm gonna try a new tactic this time round to minimise getting called every 15mins! Think I'll do a thorough ward round as soon as I start my shift and then one before finishing off in the morning. I figure that way, I can justifiably ask that I not be paged (except for emergencies) between say 2am and 6am. Perhaps I might be able to get some decent sleep each night or catch up on some soccer! Also thinking about maybe not going to sleep straight after going home each morning but perhaps staying up a while and sleeping from 1pm till 9 pm or so and going to work fresh each night. I guess we'll see how we go!

After that dreaded week of nights, I'll be starting my Emergency term which I can only imagine will be hell on earth! *sigh*...why'd I ever become a doctor...???

I wish...

It's midday and my stomach is rumbling...again...I wish it'd stop...

Pouring down rain today - nice to be in bed, not so nice to be outside...I wish I was in bed...

Only have 2 patients on my list today...I wish I had more...

Finished e-mailing already...I wish I had something to do for the next 5 hrs...

Working rostered overtime this evening...I wish I didn't have to...

*Sigh*...I wish...

Fully sick on my ADO!

Had an ADO yesterday but got gastro from my family!!! First mum got it, then Jon, then dad and finally myself! Had been nauseous all night and finally let it all out in the morning when I could take it no longer. Vomiting is one of those symptoms you feel equivocal about...on the one hand you want to vomit cos you know it'll make you feel better after, but on the other hand, you really don't want to cos you know it's gross and tastes disgusting! When it finally came up, it actually really hurt and I thought 'this must be what it feels like to rupture your oesophagus!' but the pain subsided so it was ok. Afterwards felt a bit better, although not 100 percent. Got up and went downstairs to lie on couch with heater on cos bed for some reason felt cold. I think I had chills and probably a fever as well. Felt really really weak and lethargic like all my energy had been sucked out of me. Pretty much spent all day sleeping on couch taking Buscopan for stomach rumbling. Come evening, had some congee for dinner and kinda felt better, less weak and lethargic.

Overnight felt slightly better and woke up this morning late with a craving for Oportos! Went to Eastgardens with Jon to have lunch. There were so many people there!!! It's like people seriously have nothing better to do on a weekend than indulge themselves on fast food and shopping! I suppose the weather was awful today and yesterday so what other place to be indoors besides home than in a shopping centre! Bought a Giordano jacket for bargain price $40 and then headed over to EB games to check out their sale. Got Halo and Star Wars KOTR 1 for bargain price of 12.50 each! Bumped into Shaun from church there and a second later spotted Siew outside the store waiting for her brother to buy a game! That was a nice surprise considering I haven't seen her since...well since last year I suppose!

Stomach's been rumbling a bit still but I think I'm almost back to normal...got an overtime shift on Monday so hope I'll be right for that...or I could take a sickie...?!

Introducing Dr Moleman...

I'd like to introduce Dr Moleman, my new reg for the next two weeks relieving my old respiratory reg. He's probably around 60 yrs old and has been a career medical officer all his life! He's asian, short with a hunchback, and has this funny asian accent. He spits all over the place when he speaks and boy does he like to speak!!! Our ward rounds this week have been nothing short of 2 hours (normally 30mins with old reg!) and on Monday it took 4 hours to see just 13 patients! Over the course of the week, I have learnt to steer Dr Moleman away from one patient to the next and sometimes I feel like a parent urging his child to follow him saying "C'mon Dr Moleman. Come along now!" When I fail, I inevitably lend myself to hearing Dr Moleman enthusiastically rehash each patient's entire history that I already know, whilst I stand there tapping my feet, trying to avoid the spit flying in my face! But aside from all that, he's a really nice guy and cos he's been around so long, absolutely everybody at Bankstown Hospital knows him on a first name basis!

I think I'll try and take an ADO tomorrow...and maybe next Friday to escape the Moleman!

Fun Weekend!

Had a fun weekend! Got a nice wake up call yesterday at 11am or so to meet Themis, Kenny, Khoung and Mary for lunch at Maroubra's chinese restaurant called Golden Phoenix! Spent almost 2 hrs there enjoying what was brunch for pretty much all of us! Afterwards, drove to Randwick for coffee at Coffee n Things. I had a really nice Hazelnut milkshake, which you don't see often!

We adjourned after coffee for afternoon naps, before meeting again for dinner at the Spot. Spoilt for choice, we couldn't decide and ended up eating at Ambrosia, the fast food outlet there! Then watched the 8.45pm session of X-men III! Have to say that it was below expectations on this occasion...I was hoping to see sentinels from the cartoons and heaps of cool new X-men like Gambit etc etc but alas they practically killed everyone off!!! (Sorry if you haven't seen it yet!) Perhaps they'll redeem themselves with a better 4th movie but it'd have a lot of ground to catch up on!

Today, I had a nice sleep in again! Ah every day I get to sleep in is pure bliss! Went to church early cos Alex wanted to make a recording of some of the songs he'd written. He got all this sound gear and had it set up like a makeshift studio! Very exciting =) We only recorded 3 songs but had to play each one alot of times to try and get it right! In the end there probably was no perfect rendition of any song but I guess it was ok for our first recording!

Back to the real world tomorrow...only 2 more weeks of respiratory left and a week of nights before emergency...