lilyng's Xanga

true story

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 16:04:43 GMT

oh hello.

why yes, i am alive.

though i doubt some would call it that.

it seems one has come full circle.

as i go into what is now my 4th year as a not-so-glorified practicing doctor, it seems the ever so dreaded physician's exams are looming around the corner.

yup... it feels like med school all over again. but WORSE.

studying to be a specialist is an even bigger mothership nightmare than studying to be a doctor.

who would have thought?

remember "back in the day" as a 4th year medical student, how i got all excited doing my first urinary catheter on a real patient?

that's medical talk for inserting a long tube into someone's (typically male) bladder.

i felt so doctor-y back then. like a real one.

pfft, those days are LONG gone.

when i became an intern (a real one), i quickly learnt to dread getting paged to do urinary catheters as they became one of the most annoying tasks to come with the job.

and now that i'm a registrar (ie. more senior role), i have quickly learnt to toss these mundane chores to the new interns.

they will then pass it on to the eager, bright-eyed medical students who will be waiting in line to do "real doctor-y things".

ahh, the circle of life!

the real world goes a little something like this:

true story.

and i wonder, what is it about october that keeps bringing me back?

plan B vs. C

Sat, 23 Oct 2010 12:30:26 GMT

not only am i procrastinating writing up my presentation for journal club conference next week [i'm not a big fan of public speaking, and even less so preparing for it],

but in a weeks' time i'll be making my annual pilgrimage to hong kong only to be faced with the ultimate dilemma:

plan B or plan C?

to the uninitiated, B = balenciaga and C = chanel.

B: classic city in murrier

C: classic 2.55 in tan

don't be too surprised though if my bank account decides to bail with plan 0.

brb

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 10:51:00 GMT

i would love to come back and leave a doodle in here some day. soon.

when 7am medical ward rounds no longer exist.

ha.

the dawn of a new era

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:32:51 GMT

it's been just over 3 months since i've made the big move over the summer.

yes, i've left the high life in europe behind and relocated back to melbourne.
with 8 shipped boxes in tow and £200 worth of excess baggage... no one ever said moving was cheap!

and although vacationing in australia has always been an annual (sometimes twice yearly) summer affair, adapting back to the melburnian lifestyle after a good 7 years away does take some adjusting to.
thankfully, melbourne has always been a rather european-influenced city and i'm slowly rediscovering the reasons why i've always loved this place.
it's not quite the same exploring through the eyes of a young professional adult compared to when i first lived here as a high school teenager..

for one, being a cultural melting pot makes melbourne a foodie's gastronomical delight.

if there is one place which serves authentic french food in a fuss-free and parisian old-school charm setting, paris go bistro really is the place to -well, go.

starting off with the exquisite soupe a l'oignon gratinee [french onion soup] and fresh escargots -- the french classics and our personal favourites,
then on to the prime porterhouse steak and tender filet de veau normande [veal fillet in creamy mushroom sauce - the real thing! i swear those mushrooms tasted like truffles] with a side platter of mixed vegetables to share,
finally finishing off with pudding aux figures - fig pudding topped with butterscotch sauce and serves with rum and raisin ice-cream.

we were the first patrons there as we got an early reservation. service was lovely with the french waitresses but started to slow down later in the night when tables started filling up, i think they only had 2 waitresses and possibly 1 chef? around so it took ages for dessert to arrive.
other than that, definitely a place i'd love to dine in again!

paris go bistro
116 rathdowne st.
carlton

intern files #107

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 23:44:54 GMT

so one of the best things about being a doctor is having your own surgical kit and unlimited access to various medical equipment.

i spent a frustrating hour clad only in my bath towel performing DIY microsurgery on myself, trying to remove this sucker of a splinter that was embedded in my palm.

all you need is a high pain threshold, no local anaesthetic required.

old wooden chairs on hospital grounds are occupational hazards in their own right.

intern files #106

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:16:08 GMT

spent 3 hours waiting for a friday evening ward round with the registrar who was napping in the doctor's residence and finally showed up deciding NOT to round.

FML.

from the purveyors of happiness

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:46:47 GMT

our favourite irish chocolatier has finally made the wise decision of turning their infamous hot chocolate into instantaneous DIY goodness!

it's easy as....

intern files #105

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:08:15 GMT

why is it the first and only time i overslept for work was the day i was due to present at the orthopaedic multi-disciplinary conference?

i looked at my alarm clock and it read 07:10.

my presentation started 10 minutes ago. FML.

in other news..... it's been so long since i've logged in that i forgot my xanga password, haha.

CNY 09: from heatwave to snowstorm

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 18:51:28 GMT

with just enough time to drive from KL international airport to my grandma's for the reunion dinner, i then spent the majority of CNY in australia - basically melting in sydney and riding the heatwave in melbourne.

the thing i miss the most about this season is the yee sang / lo hei.
indeed, it is a truly chinese malaysian dish, enjoyed by families only during the 15-day period and some have called this the "chinese salad".

above: malaysian version
below: australian version

after 2 weeks of sweltering under the burning sun, i was greeted back in europe with the snowstorm that has swept all across the region. the quiet scene at the airport was almost creepy.

talk about two ends of a spectrum.
well, the snow have melted and the sun is showing its face again -- i'm so glad it's almost spring!!

gift vs. curse

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 19:54:57 GMT

honestly, work has been eating me up alive.

since being back from the CNY holidays, things have taken a drastic turn.
i've been assigned [by a nurse manager, no less] to take up an additional consultant's job list; so now i have double the quantity of patients and working hours, and ironically half the patient-care quality i should be providing.

it's been a rough week and i've learnt an invaluable lesson which will probably haunt me for life... unfortunately that came at the expense of an 87 year old man's life.

sometimes being a doctor is both a gift and a curse.