A perfect day

Yesterday was a perfect day...

Peaceful afternoon at spa botanica

An afternoon at sentosa's spa botanica was just what i needed...Haha my favourite part of these spas is actually pouring over the spa's menu and deciding which treatment you want to pamper yourself with. Heh. rather narcissistic and self-seeking but what the heck--if you don't indulge yourself, who will? ;>

There were endless choices..stress-relief massages, body wraps, aromatherapy massages etc etc..but in the end i decided on the sumatran coffee scrub..'Enliven your skin with this exfoliating blend of coffee, cocoa and cinnamon. Coffee has a diuretic and stimulating effect on the body. Cocoa is high in omega fatty acids that nourish and moisturise. Cinnamon gently warms skin to boost blood circulation.' Heheh sounds good eh?=)

Dinner with Nic was at Il Lido (the new restaurant at Sentosa Golf Club)..To those who love good food, great views, lovely ambience.. you HAVE to try this chic italian restaurant! Especially if you liked Pontini's..their head chef moved here..so you can be rest assured what you get is authentic fabulous italian food! The view is even better than The Cliff..cos what you see is an extraordinary view of the Singapore Straits. And if you go at the right time, you can catch a beautiful sunset!

And though I wanna gush some more about the view, their food deserves special mention. Nic had the veal cheek (special of the day)--I tried a piece since i was curious to know how veal cheek (yup the cheeks on the face, not butt--i hope) tasted--Oh my goodness, i don't think i can ever touch meat without thinking about that piece of divine-melt-in-your-mouth veal again.

I had their speciality: Aglio e olio pasta with sea urchin. What a name..Well it was really good, a little out of this world! i don't think i've actually pasta like that before..the sauce was actually mashed up sea urchin & italian parsley mixed with white wine, olive oil & garlic. The more i ate, the more i liked it, but it was finished all too soon. (Why are all their portions so small??)

To end off a really good meal, the dessert was just the thing. Venetian tiramisu..definitely one of the best i've ever tasted! A sure winner!=)
Well it was just an awesome dinner..Both Nic & i thought it was great..so here i am spreading the word! It's not as ex as certain restaurants, so definitely worth trying!;>

Lady's Card

The UOB advertisement for their Lady's card is so cool! The TV version is even better..i like!

Hurricanes are named after me.

I am strong. I am tempestruous.

I am the calm of Audrey Hepburn

Before the storm of Charlie's Angel.

I may not be able to read road maps sometimes.

But at least I can ask for directions.

I love shoes; one pair is never enough.

I can do everything Fred Astaire did.

Backwards and in high heels.

I am woman, hear me roar.

be with me

Yay Pathology is finally over!
Haven't stopped mugging since the start of 2004--first O&G, followed by patho..So I'm REALLY lookig forward to a holiday! Before the start of electives! Quick--Book spa, go shop, travel, check out nice restaurants & good food, get more than 4 hrs sleep a night, watch DVDs of the movies i missed--before electives start in a week and a half!

The patho paper today, by any standard/definition, was pretty screwed up. They tested us on topics that no one spotted--TB was reasonable, HCC was already pretty bad (it's such a rare cancer compared to liver/lung/breast/CIN/colon..), but the forensic qtn and the road traffic accident (RTA) qtn just left everyone totally flabbergasted..As i was answering the RTA qtn, i felt like i was in some emergency med exam or smtg. Oh well, but the 2 and a half hrs passed eventually..and believe it or not--It's finally officially post exams. Phew.



Anyz for those who want to watch a good movie, check out Eric Khoo's 'Be with me'. It's no longer showing but can go rent the DVD..It was the opening film at the recent Canne's film festival's director fortnight. Here's part of the film synopsis :

'..The cinematic equivalent of a hymn, Be With Me is a film about human beings and their search for love. In his latest film, Eric Khoo manages to explore the themes of urban loneliness and the sentimental "spleen'' without sinking into a cynical abyss. Neither does he resort to cruel psychological stereotypes. In fact, the film is a veritable song of hope; it reclaims the real meaning of the word "humanism"...'

The show really touched me..Parts like one girl's love for another had a kind of aching beauty to it, and the scenes of provision shops with tinned biscuits evoked nostalgia in me, but it was the devoted love of an old man to his wife that wrenched my heart with sorrow and hope..that such true love & commitment existed. Of course i cried..the tears were inevitable. Well i really liked the show..but of cos not everyone may agree.

Ok..time for sleep. Hehe some advice from magazines: Put night creams/serums at night cos skin is at it's most active repair rate while we sleep..cos it's not busy fending off environmental pollutants, UV light, etc etc. Haha that's why they call it beauty sleep. And that's why the fastest way to get premature skin ageing is to enter medicine where you have a surplus of stress, late nights, coffee and more stress to cause irreversible insult on your skin. Argh.

best mum and dad

ok..oops sorry i have been totally negligent in blogging cos of mugging for patho exams, doing my UROP, preparing for overseas elective--can't believe harvard just replied--after i sent my applications EONS ago!=), etc etc..

but just wanna say a BIG 'Thank you' from the bottom of my heart to my wonderful parents.. for being sooo supportive of me going over to Boston for my overseas elective. Haha they're probably just as excited as I am..and I know the flight tickets, tuition fees and accommodation (not to mention my shopping/eating/phone expenses) are gonna add up to a frightful sum..but they are still so WONDERFUL about it! Hope I'll make full use of the elective & learn lots in massachusetts general hospital and not let them down!

and i wanna say 'Thank you' to a wonderful study partner too..who has made this whole period of studying for patho so much less lonely and boring..can't wait to cook us some dinner in new haven..haha

and lina...looking forward to spending quality time with my dear sister in sydney and auckland.. it'll be great hanging out with angela at sommerville again huh?!=) hang on..less than 2 weeks to go! Haha mummy & daddy have already checked out shows for the syndey opera house..They're such dears!;)

Bipolar girl

i think we're all abit bipolar..i mean i was still high & happy not too long ago..but now just feeling kinda dysthymic (not yet depressed lah)

sigh..the moody side of me acting up again..heh..today i was getting irritated over insignificant things, having hot flushes & mood swings (oh dear..sounds premenopausal?) Must be the stress of the exams getting to me..Thankfully, i've got a great study partner(thanks dear!) who keeps me smiling with his funny smses & jokes=)

this world sometimes just throws funny things your way..and you just gotta accept it. recently i got good news..something i've been waiting very long for finally came true..but things just took an unexpected turn..and now i'm not sure whether to be happy or sad. haha ok maybe i'm just making a big deal out of things..like i always do..hmmph :/

oh well...right now pathology is my life (how sad is that)..i disliked patho in yr 2, but i realize it's soo different studying patho now in yr 4..starting to like it--even if it's just a teeny bit. But really, after going through clinicals & having learnt so much more, studying patho now is alot more meaningful to me. At least i now see a point in mugging papa & baby robbins!

a charming night at HV

7th March 2006
Night out @ HV

Hey wendy dear! sorry for the late post..haha but anyz i had a great time that night! thanks babe! The food, music, gossip, relaxed atmosphere at holland V, ICE CREAM & waffles, and of course-- the company--were all divine ;)

Was feeling quite stressed in the med lib that day, seeing how hard everyone was mugging..but the pressure was good in a way i guess--At least it made me realize i had been playing a bit too much..tsk tsk. So have started to study harder the past couple of days..yay, feeling like a good girl again..haha

Anyway, wendy & i planned a girls' night out @ HV, and i wasn't gonna let patho spoil my mood! We had a yummy dinner at Sushi Tei..Haha i was so happy to find out wendy & i were both unagi lovers! There was this unagi roll which was beyond delicious-- a thick juicy slab of unagi on top of a sushi with sweet tamago in the centre..Thankfully it wasn't cheap..Any cheaper and they would have had me hooked!

Apart from the usual sushi & agadeshi tofu, we also indulged in soft shell crab that was so good to eat cos it was deep fried & crispy & oily..Man, lucky we lost count of calories..Cos we went Gelare next! hehe.

Yup, the main reason why we decided to come on tuesday was cos it was halfprice-for-waffles-day at Gelare..and for those who haven't tried Gelare waffles, sigh..you don't know what you're missing! Please try!! Top up the waffles with ice-cream & fresh whipped cream, and the effect is almost as good as LSD..Haha..To top off a great night..we found great music @ Wala's! Tuesday nights are not so crowded, so we got seats near the stage..the music was good..and we recognized all the songs they played that night..so basically, we had a blast! =) but we decided to call it a night after we started looking polycythaemic despite less than a full glass of drink each..haha, so lousy rite..i think i'll die of plethora (can u die such a death?) first before i ever become an alcoholic!

a vote to stay or change

My good friend once told me 'The one who cares the least is the one with all the power.' i think it's true to a certain extent..

oh well my problem is kinda silly i guess. today we all got to place our votes on whether to stick to the same cg or change cg. I thought about it quite alot and finally decided to stick to my cg.. after all i felt i had gotten to know the people there alot better the past year or so and i had certainly learnt alot from them. Sure it was stressful but i think pushing myself has made me a better and improved person. Most importantly, i honestly liked my cg mates quite alot..So i was kinda upset though not surprised to hear that only me & another person had voted to keep the cg..everyone else had voted a change..Sigh. Silly of me to get upset over it, but i couldn't help feeling a tad sad for the rest of the day..

And it didn't help when i heard most of our other classmates had voted to keep the cg..Nic's cg even had a discussion and ALL unanimously voted to stay together..

Ok but i'll snap out of it..maybe all they wanted was a change..not that i mind..Look on the bright side..It's always nice to make new friends =)

a night of Mexican food & taboo!

Gathering at Nic's
CG 6 & 13 & a few other lovely guests

The food was great! Tacos with beef & onion, corn, cheese, refried beans & other fillings prepared by Nic..Capsicums stuffed with minced meat & Dominican fried rice coustesy of Hong Yi, Sangria prepared by Ramesh (which I got all RED from by just half a cup!), Konnyaku jelly by Delice, Banana & strawberries dipped in chocolate fondue prepared by LiQi (best thing was it was sugar-free yet tasted better than normal chocolate!), Apple enchiladas--apple pie filling wrapped in flour tortillas--baked by steph..

Some shots of everyone having fun at the party..

HongYi, YanXian, LiQi & Nic

Jason, Errol, Reema, SuiAn, Delice & KunDa

Kun da the jelly monster

Steph, PeiLing, Nicola & Emily

Taboo Time! First, cg 6 against cg 13, followed by guys against girls..can't remember who won..Haha

Our dear host Nic & his favourite party game Taboo=)
CG 6: hongyi, nic, errol, liqi, reema..missing ramesh & delice
CG 13..kunda, steph, emily, sui an, jason..missing winston & clinton

Anat group mates still after years..heh we should organize an anat gp gathering soon! steph, nic, kunda, xinni.

Dinner time!

1st March 2006

me & some of my cousins ..

mummy, daddy & me..

yay..finally took a photo with you, yen!=)

Two of my male cousins..one's 27 & the other's 25 yrs old. They're rich, handsome, suave and one is a Star in HK..haha..but sorry girls, they're VERY taken..Not only are they married, they're both fathers now! That's why we were having the dinner..celebrating the belated one month birthday of one of their newborns..Savanah! Here she is..such a cutie pie! And that's her dad on the right..(shirley, judy & woon jie..here's the photo you've all been waiting for..haha);> And here's my family with the Chow family..My aunt & uncle are in their 40s but already have 2 beautiful daughters-in-law and 2 beautiful grand daughters! How lucky!
Anyz the food was GREAT! I haven't stuffed myself with such good food for a really long time.. Sharks fin, abalone, sea cucumber, goose, mushroom wrapped in beancurd skin, pomfret with salted vegetables, century egg with fried silver fish, sweet cakes & dumplings..all sorts of chinese delicacies really! I felt terribly sinful but couldn't stop eating!=P

And my aunt got all of us L'Occitane soaps as a token of appreciation for coming for the dinner..the soaps were soo fragrant! i can't bear to use them!