Boston here I come!

The past few days i have been languishing around, feeling moody and hypothyroid (lethargic, slow mentation..i think we all know that lousy feeling).

But today i woke up and felt totally awake and energised! Finally snapped out of the dumpy blues! Yes!! Maybe it's cos the fact that I'll be leaving for Boston tonight has finally sunk in=)

And my bags are more or less packed..last night my parents had to help me with major repacking of my stuff to a bigger suitcase..haha..pillow, blanket, sleeping bag, clock, shoes, lots of clothes, a few heavy heavy books, thermos flask..all stuffed into a big blue luggage--30kg! Haven't packed all my toiletries (you won't believe how much i have!! they'll probably require another mini hand carry luggage of their own..haha)


But it feels so surreal..can't believe i'm leaving tonight! And knowing how GREAT i am at directions, i think i'm gonna have an adventure finding my way around Boston by myself! Hahaha..CAN'T wait!

I better start reading up on my general surgery though..heard the americans love asking questions, so each OT session is like a viva that lasts a few hours long..and I'm in a team that does lots of Whipples..Oh man, someone please save me! That's like how many hours (6 hrs at the very least!!) of standing, holding retractors and trying to answer questions of the pancreas, duodenum, biliary system...So better start reading...

i wish that was me studying..but i was actually diligently reading the menu at Lei Garden..Went there for lunch with my dad last sunday..their cantonese dim sum rocks!! Go try it!

sYdNeY Part II

'Sydney, a free spirited, vibrant city built around one of the world's most beautiful harbours, with scores of sparkling beaches within easy reach of its cosmopolitan heart - that's Sydney, capital of New South Wales, Australia's largest and oldest city, a sparkling jewel by the harbour pulsing with energy and a dazzling city life...' Sydney was where my sister and I were born but we haven't been back since we were little kids! So it was a great feeling going back 'home', though I still felt very much a tourist in this pretty harbour city..

Haha..perhaps that's cos our dear daddy booked us a hotel that was right smack in the main shopping belt..where David Jones, Myers, Portsman, Supre etc were all at our doorstep. WHO's complaining? Not Us! :)

We met our cousin Ranui at the hotel lobby. It was wierd at first cos we hardly knew each other..but he was a great host to us over the next few days..and glad to say, we've gotten got much closer. Anyone going sydney next time, let me know-- i'll introduce you to the best tour guide ever! hehe..Plus, he's really popular with the girls (and guys) ;>
Dinner was at Customs house, in a really chi chi la la restaurant called Cafe Sydney. It was great meeting Aunt Alicia, Uncle Patrick, our pretty cousin Camille & her husband Theo. The rooftop restaurant commanded spectacular views of the harbour..AND the waiters. Haha No kidding. Especially the one serving us who said he was from S'pore! Think of the cutest TCS actor (erm is there one?), multiplied by a hundred thousand times!Trust me girls..this is one waiter you'll wanna tip. Hahaha.
Lina, steph, ranui, camille..long lost cousinsNext day was SHOPPING day! Haha lina & i were probably the 2 happiest girls in sydney that day. 'Nuff said. To serious shoppers, you must visit queen victoria building..it's a beautiful way to shop cos of its romanesque architecture..

i personally liked the Strand Arcade for its many espresso cafes, haute couture & australian fashion (think Alannah Hill, Lisa Ho, Zimmerman) Of course we could only window shop..though the clothes all looked sooo pretty. Sigh..can't wait to start earning my own money!

But to those who want more affordable brands, there are really great Australian ones like: Cue Design, Kookai, Country Road, the average brands like Sportsgirl, Portsman, Supre, and of course all those cool surf brands like Billabong, Quiksilver, Rip Curl..Ok, better stop--i'm starting to sound like i'm working for the fashion industry.

That night Lina and I met Aunt Alicia & Uncle Patrick to watch 'The Ring--An Orchestral Adventure' at the Sydney Opera House. Haha guess my sis and i aren't really the sort to appreciate orchestras, not to mention an orchestral 'adventure'. Haha Lina, only you and i know what happended eh..*wink* After that, Ranui brought us to this Sydney Blu Horizon Bar, where the view of the city at night was really breathtaking!

Day 3 in Sydney..was a blissful & wonderful day. After a hop-on hop-off bus tour of the city (made mandatory by dad..haha. But we enjoyed ourselves really!), ranui brought us to Manly..a seaside resort just a short ferry-ride away from sydney.

I loved the place as soon as I stepped foot on it. There was this relaxed & chill-out & happy atmosphere that washed over you immediately. Everyone was smiling & laughing..the beach & sea were filled sunbathers, surfers, swimmers, divers, snorkellers..Everyone & everything was beautiful! :)

Plus we had a 3 hour long lunch at Whitewater restaurant, where we chose to dine outdoors where there was a great view of the beach & surf..We had the seafood platter..a feast of lobster, crab, oysters, tiger prawns, salt and pepper squid, clams, and mussels. Ultimate freshness. Plus we had dessert of warm chocolate pudding with vanilla sauce, choc&hazelnut cake and smooth chocolate sorbet. Tell us one reason why we should stop smiling hah! =) =) =)

Later we hiked up some cliff..the view up from there was absolutely worth it!

The sun set from North Head was really pretty too..with cotton candy-coloured pink & purple skies tinged with orange. I love sun sets!

Sydney has been great..Just hope the wonderful memories never fade away!!=)

SyDnEy part I

Haha here's part 1 of my blog on sydney..
And it's ALL ABOUT FOOD!

Juz look at the pictures which kinda say it all! Haha don't drool;)

And dun ask me about putting on weight..All food and no exercise, what do you think?! Haha but ok lah, we did walk alot: shopping in Sydney and hiking at Manly(a beautiful beautiful seaside resort a ferry ride away from Sydney)

Anyz..'There is no love sincerer than the love of food'--George Bernard Shaw

*smack lips*

auckland

Holidays April 2nd to 9th 2006 hello hello hello diary!

i've been wanting to blog about my recent trip to Auckland& Sydney but local electives have just been busier than i expected..That's cos you're expected to join all their extra activities in addition to clinics..like grand ward rounds, CME activities etc..which usually ends late in the evening. And they are all way beyond student level (like discussing the technicalities of cataract surgery, LASIK and so on..i tried to cover my sense of loss by scribbling notes (albeit sometimes unrelated to the lecture topic) down.

But it's interesting to hear them talk, and there's no stress that i must know everything. Plus the ophthalmologists are all really nice, especially my tutor, who let me use the slit lamp and indirect ophthalmoscopes on patients. I felt so 'pro' fiddling with the machines and wearing that head gear (which in my opinion all the female ophthalmologists look super sexy in) Haha. Except i looked like an idiot..i didn't even know where the light switch on after i put it on and adjusted it snugly to fit my head. So i had to take down the gear and examine all the knobs to decide which was the switch. All this in front of 2 ophthalmologists and the patient. Wah..paiseh.

Anyz, i gotta start preparing for my overseas elective too. Judging from Joline (who's doing the same general surgery rotation as me at harvard, but one month before me), the medical student is left by herself to clerk new admissions when you're on call. Boy, i wouldn't want to turn up on the first day of my rotation only knowing all about the eye. That'll be scary--for me, my tutors and the patients.

But ok..here's happy happy stuff. My trip to Auckland & Sydney was totally amazing, fantastic, mind-blowing, unforgettable..haha you get the idea. No No i didn't do crazy stuff but i met up with my dear Aunt Shirley, Uncle Sam and cousin Angela in Auckland, and Aunt Alicia, Uncle Patrick and cousins Ranui & Camille (& Theo) in Sydney. It's always great to catch up with loved ones, and meet long lost cousins whom my sis and i never knew.=)

But i'll blog about auckland first..sydney in my next blog..cos i'll need time to make the photo collages..There are just so many lovely pics i have more trouble deciding which ones to put up than actually making the collage itself!

In Auckland the first thing Lina and i did was to pay our respects to YeYe and MaMa, our paternal grandparents..We placed fresh bright flowers on their graves, and wished them a peaceful rest. I never knew them very well, but really, without them there wouldn't be my parents, not to mention me. So i feel we're always indebted to our elders. You know luo ye gui gen..falling leaves return to their roots.

Auckland felt so familiar to Lina and i. We did all the usual stuff..And like lina said..it brought back all the memories of our frequent childhood trips to Auckland. The house at sommerville, the mall at meadowlands (my gosh even the supermarket and video shop are exactly as we know it), the delicious dimsum (why is the dim sum in auckland TONS better than singapore's?), and my wonderful relatives..everything and everyone gave such a feeling of comfort and nostalgia.

Of course there were some changes..like the shops in newmarket seem alot trendier and higher-end, and there's the new mall Botany's (Angela's 2nd home!). And then of course there's us.. the 3 cousins who loved food, shopping, and gossip..well we still love all that, but we have definitely grown & matured(Yes we have!) The stuff we shop for (like work clothes, stylish heeled shoes, bags, make-up, skin care, blah blah)..The food and places we eat at (yes more cafes for us please..remember we're still spend an afternoon at that chi chi starbucks cafe in HK Landmark shopping centre)..The things we discuss (people, relationships, work..no politics yet please!)

Glad to see we've all wisened up somewhat..and no matter how old we are, we all manage to click like brownie and vanilla ice cream!

And thanks a million Angela for taking time off work to bring my sis and i around.. we enjoyed ourselves tremendously!