PinVinBin: May 2005

Sunday, May 29, 2005

Personality Test #2: Colour Quiz

Well... This seems to be quite accurate at this point in my life too. Hmm... Except the sexual activity part!

My Existing Situation: Dissatisfied. The need to escape continued involvement with my present circumstances makes it imperative for me to find some solution.

My Stress Sources: Delight in the tasteful, the gracious and the sensitive, but maintain my attitude of critical appraisal and refuse to be swept off my feet unless genuineness and integrity can be absolutely vouched for. Therefore I keep a strict and watchful control on my emotional relationships as I must know exactly where I stand. Demand complete sincerity as a protection against my own tendency to be too trusting.

My Restrained Characteristics: Feel that I am burdened with more than my fair share of problems. However, I stick to my goals and try to overcome my difficulties by being flexible and accommodating. Feel trapped in a distressing or uncomfortable situation and seeking some way of gaining relief. Able to achieve satisfaction through sexual activity providing no turmoil or emotional agitation is involved.

My Desired Objective: Desire a tranquil, peaceful state of harmony offering quiet contentment and a sense of belonging.

My Actual Problem: Need to protect myself against my tendency to be too trusting, as I find it is liable to be misunderstood or exploited by others. I am therefore seeking a relationship providing peaceful and understanding intimacy, and in which each knows exactly where the other stands.

Wow...

The Musical Baton Goes On...

Total volume of music files on the laptop: 3.06GB, 520 songs

The last CD I bought was: Erm… Honestly I can’t remember… It must have been at least half a decade ago. Must be some compilation series. I usually dun buy albums. The last one my sis bought was JJ’s ‘Bian Hao 89757’ though. Do you count those that were given to me? If you do, it has to be Jolin’s cd from Aki and Spinkypinkie. =)

Song playing right now: On the laptop – None; I’m listening to Y.E.S. 93.3, my favourite radio station. Ha! Anyway, the song on the radio now is ‘Xiao Fu Qi’ by Ocean and Cai Chun Jia.

Five songs that I listen to a lot, or mean a lot to me (in no particular order): Wah… This question is not that easy, cos the songs that I listen a lot always change with time and mood (diurnal and emotional variation?? He he…) Currently the 5 songs that I listen a lot include:
1. ‘Tian Tang’ by Guang Liang. Ok… I noe you guys are gonna start wondering again… Seriously, there’s no hidden meaning behind my liking for this song. I just find that the lyrics are very meaningful. =)

2. ‘Bei Feng Chui Guo De Xia Tian’ by JJ and his junior Jin Sha. There aren’t many new Chinese duets nowadays. And this is one that’s rather refreshing to the ears! Jin Sha’s voice is really sweet and cute and as usual, the lyrics are rather well-penned IMHO… (Think I’m the person who goes for lyrics more than tune. Heh…) And one more thing, the harmonisation for this song is quite challenging! (at least for JJ’s part)

3. ‘Rang Wo Ai Ni’ by Da S and ZaiZai. This Chinese Duet from the drama serial ‘Mars’ brings back memories of Meteor Garden 1. Dunno why… Anyway, my reason for liking this song? No prizes for guessing, the lyrics are very meaningful as usual. =) Though I dun think there’s any harmonisation done in the song.

4. ‘Zui Xiang Huan You De Shi Jie’ by Fish Leong. A very ‘clean’ song (My definition of ‘clean’: Just soft piano background with no noisy loud bing-bang music like those of certain bands. Er-hem… Can’t mention them lah… Sorry!).

5. ‘A Moment Like This’ by Kelly Clarkson. I seldom listen to English songs but Kelly Clarkson is one of the artistes whom I’ve grown to like a fair bit. Still recall the first time I heard this song was when I was taking Ling’s car. Used to play Kelly’s ‘Breakaway’ everyday but now my fave has reverted back to ‘A Moment Like This’.

Five people I'm passing the baton to:
1. Diamondbutterfly: Since this baton was passed to me by my choir friends, I should help spread it to my other non-choir friends. =)
2. Beautiful Dreams: Same reason as above.

Er… Can’t think of who else to pass to… Since most of the choir ppl would have got the baton before and not many other ppl I noe blog. Heh…

Saturday, May 28, 2005

What Is Your Type?

Well my scores clearly identified that I am type 9: the Peacemaker... Hmm...

My scores are as follows:

Highest: Type 9 (Peacemaker)

Next: Type 5 (Thinker)

Next: Types 2 (Helper) and 6 (Skeptic)

Next: Types 1 (Reformer) and 3 (Motivator)

Next: Types 4 (Artist) and 8 (Leader)

Lowest: Type 7 (Generalist)

Does anyone else have similar results to mine?

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

I need a break...

I have just applied for an extended leave of absence of unknown duration from the Faculty today. And it will take effect from tomorrow onwards. This means my medical education would come to a standstill from tomorrow onwards. Anyone who's free for breakfast/lunch/dinner/shopping/entertainment pls let me noe.

I wonder if my absence from the CG would make any difference to the dynamics within...

Friday, May 20, 2005

STIs again!

Oh yah... Forgot to blog about the joke (ok lah, not really a joke. Heh...) that one of our tutors told us during a teaching session some days ago. The topic for the session that day was genital discharges and ulcers. So to make the session interesting, she added a fair bit of juicy details, one of which was this case which she saw in DSC when she was still a Reg.

This patient had gonorrhoea and it was one of the most severe cases she had ever seen (that's what she claimed). The guy had to "pad" the insides of his underwear with layers of tissue paper cos the amount of discharge was so copious that it was like menses except that it was yellow in colour. Then when she told the patient to take his "thing" out and show her, the discharge just came out like a running tap and showered the floor of the DSC clinic. (I'm not sure if she was disgusted. =P) But anyway, she told her consultant about it and the humorous consultant replied, "What do you expect? DiaRRHOEA... GonoRRHOEA..."

Ha ha ha...

The Praying Hands

This is another story which I thought was very heart-warming… I wonder if such people really do exist in such a society now.

You might have seen this piece of artwork somewhere before. Or this may be the first time you’re seeing this masterpiece. Whatever it is, the reason why I want to blog about this picture tonight is coz of the touching story of love and sacrifice behind this work of art.

Albrecht Durer and Franz Knigstein were two young men aspiring to become professional artists in the late fifteenth century. However, they were hampered in their progress as they did not have enough money for their studies.

Finally, they decided to draw lots. Whoever lost the draw would have to work as a labourer to earn money to support the winner for his studies. Then when the winner finishes his course, he would return and support the other through the art studies.

In the end, Albrecht won and so he went for the studies. After many years, his effort finally paid off and he became a famous artist. All this while, Franz has been working diligently as a labourer to support Albrecht until it was his own turn to go to school.

Now that he is famous and self-supporting, Albrecht returned to fulfil his promise and send Franz to art school. But when the time came, Franz could not go, because the years of hard labour had destroyed the fine movements that his prized hands used to possess. He could no longer manage the delicate brush strokes necessary to execute fine paintings. Though he knew that he would never be able to realize his dreams of becoming an artist anymore, Franz was not bitter. He was genuinely happy that his friend had attained success in this field.

Then one day, Albrecht saw Franz kneeling and praying, with his rough hands lifted up in mid-air. An idea struck him and he quickly gathered his drawing materials and sketched those hands – and that was how this masterpiece was born.

How many people in this world are actually willing to sacrifice themselves so that they can help their friends succeed in whatever they were pursuing?

Monday, May 16, 2005

Incredible India

Alright my faithful readers. LKY said its been 5 weeks. So here.

India is shiok. I feel at home. I dont feel that I am the minority. Unlike Singapore. I am the only one the speak the national language so half the time I feel I am the loudspeaker for the Singapore delegate. Can be tiring after a while.

In rome, do as the romans do. So I am trying to be as Indian as possible. Drink alcohol like water and litter whenever you have the chance. But not everyone likes that. Haha.

But who cares. Who dares pick a fight when I have home advantage.

Till my next blog. Namaste

pinakin

2nd week in NSC...

Hey Pin! Is that all you can say??? 5 weeks in India and you haven't blogged a SINGLE thing! Bin too! Are you 2 really THAT busy? If Ling can blog, I dun see why the 2 of you can't leh... Newae, nope, I'm just very fascinated with the "escapades" of these ppl. And, nope, I won't send the girls to you, unless you blog. Ha ha...

Newae, I've nothing much to blog abt. Basically wasted my whole weekend doing nothing substantial other than meeting up with some of my ex-JC classmates on Fri night. And I "played truant" today! Left NSC at 9.30am and came back only at abt 4.30pm to discuss something with Kirs. So fun! Should do it more often. Heh...

Here's something interesting my cell leader sent me. Thought it's very meaningful. BeliefInLife should be able to appreciate it I think. =)

This story is about a carrot, an egg and a cup of coffee... After reading this, you will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things have been so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and she wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed that as one problem was solved, a new one would arise.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?" "Carrots, eggs and coffee," she replied. Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.

The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?" Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity - boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water. "Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?"

Think of this: Which one am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity, do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart? Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavour. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

Friday, May 13, 2005

Please practise safe sex! (or even better, abstinence!)

Well, birth rates may be dropping (Re: diamondbutterfly’s blog) but IMHO, STI rates are definitely not going to come down anytime soon.

Anyway, I din bump into any familiar faces for the past 2 days. Heh… Things are becoming normal again. He he…

Spent the whole day at DSC today (except for the short 1hr which we spent at NSC Lecture Room listening to Prof Chan questioning the MOs). Was quite amazed by the no. of ppl who turned up at the clinic, either complaining of dysuria/itch/ulcer/growth whatsoever or asking for HIV/HBV/syphilis tests. Sigh…

Managed to see quite a wide variety of patients today – got the “bread-and-butter” ones like gonorrhoea, syphilis and NGU, but sadly no trichomonas or Candida. Heh… Prob it’s coz most of the patients I saw (99%) were guys. Although most of them were str8, I still managed to catch 3 bis and 3 gays. Ha! 2 of them even came with their male partner. He he… So interesting to see them. (Paiseh for my suaku-ness cos I rarely bump into these ppl)

I must blog about 3 of the patients whom I came across today.

First was this guy X. He is a 19-year-old Indo guy who has sexual preference for both males and females (i.e. bi). He came in cos 1) he wanted to do the HIV testing and 2) he had these erythematous plaque-like lesions on his penile shaft. Then the doctor realised he also had this rash on the body and he immediately ordered an RPR test. Guess what? It turned out to be positive and the titre was actually quite high (R64)! Feel quite sad for him, cos he’s only 19 years old and he has to afflicted with such a disease. Just pray that his HIV serology is negative…

Then there was this guy Y. He is 20+ and has a sexual preference for males. This poor chap had this rather huge anal wart which required liq N2 (ouch!) zapping. And he also had throat GC! Had funny mixed feelings when I heard his moans/groans after he was cryotherapied. Heh…

The third one was this 32-year-old bi who came in for zapping for a viral wart on the tongue. How rare is that??? Heh… Just reading his sexual history is enough to make you confused. He he…

Whatever it is, DSC is really quite an interesting place. But I must admit I do feel a bit upset knowing that people as young as 18 years old are already engaging in regular unprotected casual sex with CSWs. Despite all the counselling and advice to advocate “safe” sex, they still continue with such high-risk behaviour. Is there anything else that we can do for them?

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Why do I keep bumping into ppl I noe??

This is crazy! I dunno why I keep seeing familiar faces in NSC. What is going on??

To cut the long story short, the person whom I met today was a Prof from a certain faculty of a certain renowned university in Singapore (again, for obvious reasons). She was the one who helped us in our CHP last year. (No… I’m not referring to the one whose hubby is an ophthalmologist. Heh… Dun think you’re so smart ok? Ha ha…) In any case, she came in today for the removal of a seborrhoeic keratosis. Dun ask me what it is ok… I’m not interested to give a tutorial on it and its differentials. =P

I ate lunch alone today… How depressing… Had to walk over to TTSH in the rain to ta bao lunch from the Food Junction there. And then had to hide in the room given to us to eat my lunch. Sigh… I need company!!!

Anyway, one of my friends got admitted into SGH today for an elective operation, and it’s going to be a really big one… Hope she can tide over it and recover well. Sigh…

Monday, May 09, 2005

Why am I feeling this way???

何必寻找所谓的天堂
原来我因为你不想再去流浪
情愿平凡不拥有一切也无妨
有了你在心上已经是天堂

Suddenly these words just mean so much to me... Perhaps it's really time to do something about it...

Skin Deep...

The first day of the 2nd half of my electives went past just like that. Did not really see any “exciting” case today but managed to catch a glimpse of the “bread-and-butter” cases of Dermatology, a.k.a. A (alopecia and acne) & E (eczema) cases. =P

I must really commend the Dept for their special arrangements for us. I thought the timetable for the NNI electives I did last year was already very detailed, until today. Each one of us is given a personal schedule on who to follow and which place to go to (FYI, we are posted to the clinics at NSC, DSC clinic and CDC on a rotational basis). *clapz clapz*

Anyway, that’s not the main point of my entry tonight. All I wanted to talk about tonight was someone whom I met at NSC this morning. Here is some background info: my CG ppl (me inclusive) went to a renowned fitness club in Singapore (can’t mention which one for obvious reasons) near the end of last year for a trial of the services and facilities. When we were there, this very young, boyish-looking and friendly “fitness consultant” showed us ard and offered us help when needed. He was sort of the in-charge for the whole group of us.

Then… I saw THIS PERSON again today. You must be thinking what’s the big deal rite? Here comes the thing. I did not recognise his name from the list of patients, so I was happily reading his past history (Read: social history; for the medically-inclined ppl, you noe what I mean =P) and realised that he was last seen at NSC for some STI treatment. I was quite happy cos I could finally see my first STI case after the whole day’s clinics (ok, I noe this sounds super perverse).

Anyway, you can imagine the shock when I saw him walking in. When I looked back at the name on the screen, I realised it was really him… Think he recognised me but I pretended not to noe him. Or rather, I tried to avoid his gaze whenever he looked in my direction. He he…

In any case, my point in putting this entry is just to affirm the saying that we cannot (or should not) judge a book by its cover. Heh… A decent-looking man can still do those “Ahem” things. =P Tsk tsk...

Sunday, May 08, 2005

Short but interesting week...

Time really flies! I’ve already finished the first segment of our electives! Will be moving over to NSC from next week onwards. A bit scared noeing that there’ll be no one else around except for me and Kirsten. Sigh… Hope our allocated tutors are nice. Hmm… Also quite sad that I had to leave SGH just when I got to noe some of the M3s (Re: Prozac’s blog) better. Well maybe there’ll be more chances to interact more with them in future ba… They’re really a crappy but interesting bunch. He he… And one of them is our fellow junior from VJ! =) And I discovered one of the HOs we’ve been working with is actually the girlfriend of one of our choir seniors… For those of you who are dying to noe who I am talking abt, can come ask me! He he…

In short, this week has been a short (cos of Labour Day) but interesting week. Was supposed to go out with my other friends on Thurs night to show our female friend from Hong Kong (Purdy) around. But so paiseh I couldn’t make it in the end cos I had cell that night. Too bad! Next time perhaps…

All of us gave her a card as a farewell gift. Then as I was about to leave, she said she would want me to sing for her when she leaves on the 21st! Alamak… I can’t sing well lor… Dunno who is the person who told her I could sing… So I had to quickly “volunteer” our dear Prozac instead. He he… And btw, Prozac, if you happen to read this entry, I’ve also learnt who is doing the harmony for the different segments for “Shao Nian” liao. Will “ace” the song when we go ktv next time!!! =)

Can’t remember a lot of other things that happened this week. Guess losing my short term memory is a sign of aging liao. Sigh…

In any case, I happened to bump into a fellow M3 (Winston) at church today. Din noe he also attends the same church until today. Ha ha… Quite nice to noe so many medical students (and doctors of cos) worshipping at our church. Heh…

Anyway, I had to rush off to the airport immediately after service tonight to send Spinkypinkie, Aki and Greenie off to Japan. Can you believe it? I’ve sent 2 groups of friends off from the airport within 1 month, while I am still hanging ard in sunny (or should I say “scorching”?) Singapore. How I wish I could join them! Sigh… Just too bad that our holidays always come at the wrong time. =P

In any case, Spinkypinkie’s mum gave me an S.H.E. poster! So nice of her. (Thanks auntie!) She was telling me that the shop attendant asked her if she wanted Fish Leong’s one instead but she din noe if I liked her so she din take. What a pity… Fish Leong is one of my fave singers!!!

Anyway, one of the guys from choir whom we haven’t seen for a long time also came tonight! (For those who noe, it’s Edwin, yup, the male lead of the infamous mineral-water-bottle-toilet-bowl episode) And just like all our other gatherings, funny happenings still took place within the short 1 hour when we were there.

Firstly, it was Greenie. Can really see her eagerness and excitement about the trip.
1) She asked me to help her hold the tickets and the embarkation/disembarkation forms while she pack her stuff. Then when she wanted to hand them over to her friend (ONLY about 10 minutes later), she started looking for them and when she saw me holding on to them, she exclaimed, “xxx (my name) !!! Why are you holding on to the forms??!!”
2) In her excitement, she signed Aki’s embarkation/disembarkation form by mistake.
3) This one is the funniest. When the group wanted to check in at the counter, Greenie was so excited that she walked off without bringing her luggage with her. Hope she doesn’t do this at Kansai Airport! He he…

Next was Spinkypinkie. When we offered to help carry her luggage, she blurted out, “No, I’ll carry it myself. I must be an independent woman (or something along that line lah, can’t recall the exact words she used).” But Edwin still went ahead and helped her tug her luggage to the check-in counter. Greenie was another nu3 qiang2 ren2 who wanted to carry her luggage by herself. As for Aki, of cos she had her beloved Heh-heh to help her carry the luggage lor. He he…

That’s basically about it for what happened at Changi Airport. Can’t blog too much otherwise got no space. But before I end, I MUST talk abt Edwin’s car! Man, his car is wow! Although it was a Nissan Cefiro on the exterior, it was like (or even better then) a Mercedes on the inside lor!
1) There was this armrest between the 2 backseats so Conscience and I commented that we can start having tea behind or even start playing those traveller-pack board games on it.
2) Then Edwin shocked us by telling us he sometimes have his meals at the backseats when his father drives. (There was this gadget behind the 2 frontseats like those retractable trays that you see on the back of the seats of the Economy class on the SIA planes.)
3) When the car started moving off, karaoke-vcds started playing!!! And it was Stefanie’s newest album lor… With the 2 small screens and mtvs, Conscience and I then launched into a spntaneous ktv session in the car (except without the mikes). Heh… We wondered if the screens could play other things then Edwin said we could also watched TV and sometimes his father uses them to check the stock market (*gasp*)! Too bad the equipment can’t play dvds and video tapes. Ha ha…
4) Halfway when he was driving, I peeped at the front and I realised his accelerator pedal has blue lights! How funky!
5) Then when we reached Simpang Bedok (for supper), he converted his front screen to look at the back of the car to ensure that he was parking straight into the carpark lot. It’s like those in the SBSTransit double deckers. So high tech!

Well, I may sound super-duper sua ku but I really am amazed at all the things that we discovered about his car in the short timespan of 20 minutes. It’s a bit difficult for you guys to picture all these gadgets, but trust me, the only thing that’s lacking is prob a toilet, otherwise you could have stayed in it. =)

Ok lah. This entry is really LOOOOOOOONG. Will stop here liao. And it’s Mothers’ Day already! Happy Mothers’ Day to all mummies out there! (to all you corny ones out there, no, I dun mean those you find in Egypt =P)

Sunday, May 01, 2005

3rd week of Electives Posting...

Hello to all of you guys in India! Thanks to all who were so nice to drop me SMSes. Sorry I couldn’t reply any earlier cos I had been rather busy (with electives, church stuff and tuition) and the STUPID computers in the SGH lounge refused to let me blog. =P

Anyway, how are you guys doing? I’m very fine. And I really miss you guys!! Absence really makes the heart grow fonder… Sigh… Anyway, you noe what? I’ve NEVER seen the SGH student lounge so crowded before! You must be wondering how crowded it is rite? Let me tell you, the Assoc Dean’s Office have to add many more chairs to the room so that we can at least have a decent place to sit on. That’s HOW crowded it is. =P With the influx of M2s-going-M3s doing E-clinics and the M3s-going-M4s doing their electives, life can’t be more exciting man. =)

Oh yeah… Also saw our direct seniors (now HOs) start work in the wards… Which unfortunately reminded me how time has whizzed past and how old I’m now. =P It’s really quite amusing to see the M2s discuss the examination techniques. To think we were like them 2 years ago! I initially wanted to walk up to them and talk to them but heh, maybe not lah. They might think I’m some queer weirdo and besides, I’m a very shy person! Ha ha… Bhb… =P In any case, I thought it’ll be better if we (as seniors) are more spontaneous in approaching them to offer help, especially when we had the same benefits from our seniors when we were doing our Gen Med and GS postings in M3. Dunno lah… But hey! I’m really making an effort to get to noe our juniors ok! (Re: the M3s in Prozac’s most recent blog entry)

Ok lah, guess I should stop liao. Otherwise this entry is going to be TOO long. But before that, I’ll hafta reply to the individual SMSes… Heh…

<Shuling> Yo Shuling! Of cos I miss you lah! And yes, I’m cheapo no doubt, but I’m not so cheapskate that I only miss your car and not you lor. Heh... And in case you din noe, I’m still taking my friend’s lift to SGH. He he… Sorry lah, that’s just me. Heh… Anyway, I dun think you would want to be in Singapore now lor. The weather is scorching and it hasn’t been raining since dunno how many days liao. Sucky weather man… As for the food, you can always come back for a feast in 5 weeks time. Ha ha…

<Pinakin> Yo dude! I really thought you forgot me leh… Idiot. SMS Wendy but din SMS me. =P Ha ha… Just kidding lah… Hope you’re enjoying yourself in India! =)

<Von> Hi Von! Everyone is well here. I just spoke to Wendy over the phone. She’ll be taking her OG test soon. So wish her luck ba! Anyway, thank God you find the food palatable. He he… Thought you’ll be the one having the most difficulty with the food there.

Finally… To all you guys in India, do take good care of yourselves! Will catch up with you all in 5 weeks’ time… Till then…

PinVinBin