Maldives

Greetings, originally uploaded by maapu.

I so want to be here :)

Take me to the Hilton, originally uploaded by maapu.

This is at taken at Hilton hotel.

Awesome Avatar

If you havent already watched Avatar, please go watch it! It is damn gd! :)
You can also start by watching this trailer. Watch in HD :)



I really like the universe James Cameron has created from scratch. The distant world of Pandora is so pretty and exotic! I love the flowers tt glow at night and all the strange and peculiar creatures.

If u can, watch it in 3D. It is really awesome :) Seriously, nothing i say here will do justice to the movie :)

Here's the only screenshot of the pandora i found on internet. I'm sure more will be online soon!



I wiki-ed Avatar and found out that James Cameron actually waited for technology to catch up before he could produce this movie he envisioned. This is apparently the most expensive movie ever filmed!

So, please go watch it asap! I'm damn sure you'd love it too:)

Portraits i love

eight., originally uploaded by mistybliss.

This photographer has done an excellent job taking portraits of her children.

Many people think that i like only macros... but the truth is i love to take portraits too! Unfortunately, most of my friends are qt camera-shy and so i seldom get to practise...
I usually take my portraits overseas :) or of complete strangers..
These are few of my favourites..








Hope i will get to take some on my next trip!
But before tt i'd have to toil thru MBBS first :*(

Random Things

I wonder how many of my friends know that i love to play hexic :)
I saw these at lunch and they reminded me of hexic!


Some time ago, my frens and i went nightcycling and we cycled across the expressway my dad drives on everyday.


After ID posting, sam suggested that i cheer myself up to get a scoop of ice cream at Udders :) I love their hazelnut ice cream. I think it's called hazel's nut.


Simple things that cheer me up.. like a pretty sunset :)


We all got a wk of pseudo-break.. Lets jiayous everyone :)

Small things that peeve me

I think i have posted about expectations several times before and how i get really peeved when things dont turn out the way i expect.

Here and here are just 2 of them.

Today i bought a screen protector that cost me $12. I never paid more than $5 for one and i usually have to put it on myself. The best of cos is the screen protector came with my electronic device free and the friendly shopowner expertly stuck it on for me.

I was so surprised today when the salesperson at the shop returned me my phone with this super apparent big bubble with a speck of dust in the centre. I'm not saying tt being able to pay $12 is damn big but i really wasnt expecting to see that bubble.

I may or may not be able to do a better job. I've actually stuck on the screen protector for most of my devices and i perfectly understand that it can be tricky. The thing is my expectations are lower. Even if it is imperfect, it was done by amateur me.

Actually when i reflected abt what happened today, i think i was partly upset tt getting the screen protector was a hasty decision.
1. I was happy without one
2. I actually wanted to get a matt-finished screen protector
3. I was lazy to hunt for another shop
4. I was lazy to stick it on myself

At the end of the day, things that upset me the most are things tt stems from my inadequacy or laziness.

On one hand it is damn useful and safe to not have any expectations but i wish to attain the 境界 of have expectations and yet not let the unmatching outcome affect me.

I will eventually get used to my screen. If not at most i peel it off lor :) haha

Droplets on Crimson Red

Droplets on Chrimson Red, originally uploaded by grinleaf.

It's been so long since i last posted. Today is post-EOPT!

I cant help but ruminate on the silly mistakes i made today.. but its ok! I'm happier after processing this photo i took on sunday.

Hmm.. i think it'd probably look better on black background though!

I miss photography.. cant wait to pass mbbs.

Baking Philopsophy & Analogy

It's interesting that i am currently qt overwhelmed by all the things i am feeling abt my long lost hobby aft making tiramisu today.

1. Practice makes perfect
I used to be able to bake things qt efficiently in one smooth motion. No extra bowls used, no extra bowls to wash and the kitchen remains spick and span. I had a chat with a fellow baking fren and she told me that baking is like doing physical examination. The more u do it, the smoother and sleeker u become. It is true. Today when i made tiramisu, i forgot this i forgot that and i couldnt find most of my things.

2. Bake and be Happy, Happy that you baked
My fellow baking fren and i both bake when we're both happy and frustrated. Sometimes baking does make me feel better but as a general rule, i personally believe that good bakes comes from a happy baker and i try not to bake when i do not genuinely want to bake. I am least confident of the things i baked when i am frustrated. It becomes a vicious cycle... foul mood, foul bake which feeds the positive feedback loop to foul mood.

3. The perfect kitchen, equipment and organisation
I dream of having the perfect kitchen when every corner and inch of space is carefully considered and put into good use. I want every space to have its own purpose so that only things that belong to that space will be there. In this way i maximise space and i can find the equipment i need. I hate it when pple borrow my baking things and not return it to the same space. I hate it when i need to scramble at the last min like when whisked egg whites cannot wait and i cant find the stupid spatula.

Perhaps my interest in baking is dying. I should be glad that i made something today though. If i hadnt, the next time i bake would be even an even longer no-bake stretch in btwn than it was for me today.

What happened to my dream of combining baking and photography? Why am i not exhilirated that i did so today?

Tiramisu

Tiramisu, originally uploaded by grinleaf.

Practice makes perfect and the converse is so true too!!

It's been a while since i made anything. It was such a disaster not being able to find things where they used to be. I'm so out of practice and it makes me all jittery if this tiramisu will be approved.

I wished i had bailey liquer. I had to use kahlua which i felt was a little less fragrant. But hopefully, it's the effort tt counts :):)

Post-SIP

It's been a while since i touched my camera and processed some the photos i have taken so long ago! I'm super glad that SIP is over. But in retrospect there are things that i will miss abt it too :)

IF only it's hols for us all ex-sip-ers. It'd be perfect!

Anyway, some photos i've uploaded to my near-dying flickr account :)



I have 3 similar photos with focus placed on different points, the bird, the boy and in btwn. The bokeh of this looks most complimenting and not as distracting as the one with the boy in focus.


Katsudon at Shokudo


I was asked why i am so fascinated with geckos. Don't u think they have such cute and peculiar ears?

That's all for now. More to come when i have time! :)

October 22

A lot of things seems to be happening around October 22.
Including Windows 7! YAY :)

Sigh

I wish i can remove the part of my brain that ruminates over sth i have done wrong and cannot reverse.

I hate ruminating! I need to get on with life, move on.

Deutschland Deutschland

When i was looking for songs to include into my new cd for the car, i chance upon this forgotten song in my collection!



OMG!

This is such a classic! I use to listen to this during german class :) I miss german and Germany so much! :)

Flatus Pee & Poo

Never had i been more happy to hear that patients have passed flatus, pee & poo before being part of the pang sai (colorectal) team.

It was such an interesting sight when the whole team practically cheered when poo was seen in the stoma bag!:)

Anyway, today has been qt eventful.. 2 of our patients were qt ill and in the midst of resuscitation flurry, we still had to make calls and referrals and discharge patients. Is this post-take frenzy?

I woke up this morning feeling super tired. It can be qt an unbelievable thought that this will be my life for the next few yrs aft i graduate.

Anyway, the most exciting/interesting thing that happened today is my consultant requested for me to round alone with him... and i survived.

YAY :)

No Weekend!

It's kinda strange that today doesnt feel like sunday at all. I was in hospital before 7 and i've been doing so for the past wk!

I usually start and end my day at the hospital when the sky is dark. haha

Interestingly, now that i have to drive everyday, i'm starting to find ways to enjoy doing so. I actually find it amusing that early morning, the trucks and lorries take lane one and i'm going to write a new cd later.

Unfortunately, i still dont like it when the traffic is bad. I dont think anyone does, esp people who drive manual cars.

Hope everyone's had a gd wkend :)

Long >2 wks Ahead

You know how some pple say we shouldnt take it for granted that we will definitely meet the person we part with again? It is qt a terrifying thot to me!
In my life, i have felt it twice, somewhat. First was when my dad got sent to phuket in the rescue team when there was the tsunami and 2nd is today.

I said gdbye to my dad as usual this morn and he drove off to work. But i will not see him again for at least next 2 wks! Why does he get sent off to another country so suddenly??

It's quite a scary thot to me that the next time he disappear is for good.

I hope my dad comes back soon!

Headache +++

The scorching sun was headache inducing today.

What a wonderful way to start my SIP.

Argh.. i really dread all the traveling for the mth ahead. I'd be SO bushed.

Gd luck to me!

Trade-in

If i could be traded-in, how much am i worth?
If there is one-for-one exchange, what would i be exchanged for?

I like this photo taken by Weixiang. Interestingly, i think my reflection looks like it's trying to talk to me.

Therapeutic Run

As much as how some pple believe in retail therapy, i guess i find running qt therapeutic too.

Strangely, the happiest thing i did today was running in the evening. I guess it's partly cos i spent the whole afternoon of nice weather doing nonsense instead of catching up on my sleep before the next tiring posting!

I'm quite happy that i've finally gotten over the inertia to start running again and I'm a bit closer to my fitness peak than i was 1 mth ago?

Today i ran on track and after running randomly ard my neighbourhood on concrete pavements for some time, i could really feel the difference! Most people do not like running ard the track cos they find it boring. I personally like it cos i like the shock absorbing properties of the track that makes me feel that every step has that added bounce and i really like it that i do not have to stop at the traffic light or watch out for traffic. Running on the track also lets me think abt things and clear up my cluttered mind a little :)

Hope i can keep up with this. The hardest period will be my dreaded SIP which is at a hospital SO far away... :(

Dream House

I dreamt last night that my architect friend gave me a home for free, apparently she designed the whole building! The apartment was so nice that i didnt want to wake up!

I think it is a loft apartment and it was a 2-storey open concept home with floor to ceiling windows that offered a gorgeous city view. I love my house this way with plenty of light in the day :)

My bedroom was designed to be on the second storey. It was so cozy and comfortable that in the dream i had trouble getting up in the morning too!

The first storey didnt have walls, so it looked really spacious and what makes the house so perfect is it had a photo studio! It was almost like a set, ready anytime for food photography.

I actually rmbr the incline table which architects use in my dream vividly. The one at my house had an inbuilt touch screen monitor with an awesome interface. So WOW!

Of cos i wasnt able to find a picture that comes close to my dream home tt i dreamt of last night.

This one looks pleasant with a hint of plenty of natural light :)

Hearts

нεαятs , originally uploaded by anouk.alvino.

I pondered today about unconditional love.

1989

My mom found some random photos which she didnt put into my album. Here's 3 of them cos i'm too lazy to scan all of them. Apparently i was qt bratty and climbed ard like a monkey then :)





Look at the bruises and scab. I fell a lot when i was young and i am still a klutz now.


Check out what my classmate behind me is doing. I find it damn funny la!

Toco Toucan Through the Cage

Toco Toucan Through the Cage, originally uploaded by grinleaf.

I had a dream tt i own a toco toucan.

Interestingly it is biologically wrong because my toucan can talk! HAHA

Anyway, this pic was taken through the cage. Pls pardon the graininess and not-so-sharpness.

Despite it all, i like this pic :) Yay

Taipei 101

Taipei 101, originally uploaded by grinleaf.

We all miss taiwan, don't we :)

This photo was taken at 象山. Only possible aft weixiang climb this huge rock and placed the camera on tripod in a precarious position.

Beauty of Imperfections

Simple & Pretty in B&W, originally uploaded by grinleaf.

Sometimes i wish life was simple and clear-cut like black and white.

Yet, there are times when i marvel at how grey tones can make things interesting, pretty and unique.

Note that there are holes in the petal, they make this photo less boring dont they? :)

Toco Toucan

Blue eyed toucan, originally uploaded by Nilton Ramos Quoirin.

The name of this pretty bird cracks me up. It's so cute to pronounce!

Anyway, i saw one today and i'm qt convince it's easily one of my fave birds :) The one i saw looked exactly like a soft toy. The brilliantly orange beak, pretty blue around the eye and the stark contrast of the black and white :)

I was so blown away. Totally...Haha

Blooming

Blooming, originally uploaded by grinleaf.

Finally, the respite i've been waiting for is here.

After this, it shall be yet another arduous uphill journey.

Meanwhile, it's time to rest my feet and watch the flowers bloom :)

How long & Why?

, originally uploaded by mistybliss.

I wondered today abt how long it takes to forget something, happy and unhappy, important and unimportant.

Why do i rmbr most random and unimportant of things?

Btw, i love this photo :)

Freezing on Mt Hehuan (合欢山)

Taroko 026, originally uploaded by nwxiang.

This picture cracks me up. It reminds me how we had to hold on this act-cool expression while braving the cold on the mountain top.

We really shouldn't be wearing t-shirt and shorts when it was sub-10 degrees celsius. Some of us were lucky tt we had our jackets within reach :)

I miss taiwan!

Expect the Unexpected

Out of the blue, out of nowhere and without warning, my laptop refused to boot.
It was working perfectly fine the night before!

What happened?
(Failure fixed disk 7)

Sometimes in many aspects of our lives, things just happen.
You yourself may be fine today and not tmr!

Guess i just have to constantly remind myself to 未雨绸缪. :)

Diaper Confetti

There's a patient with behavioural problems in my ward. While it is qt a nightmare for the nursing staff, the things he do sometimes make me laugh.

Just when i was wondering why there were so many paper/cotton bits on the floor, i was told that last night, he tore up his diapers and threw the bits into the air!

It makes me laugh when i recall the image of him doing so, but it also reminds me how sad it is to have dementia.

If i live long, i hope to be healthy and not be a burden to my loved ones :)

Ladybird

Ladybird, originally uploaded by grinleaf.

The red and green combi never fails to remind me of Christmas :)

Enroute to Cingjing

Enroute to Cingjing, originally uploaded by grinleaf.

I havent touched my Taiwan photos for some time.
This is a treat for those who, like me, love spicules of sun's rays :)

The white van was our mode of transport to cingjing from hualien!

Yangmei (杨梅), originally uploaded by grinleaf.

We saw some Yangmei (杨梅) at our lunch stopover place :)

Officially Old

Today my consultant said to me,"The day u reach for fastum gel, u're officially old."

I've been having recurring and chronic left shoulder ache. It's so bad tt i now carry my things on my right shoulder. Perhaps i'm brewing a right shoulder ache :(

Fastum gel seems to work for now.. but not very long! :(:(

Apart from my aches and pain, i'm qt happy today cos a 99 year-old patient is very well and she was so alert! One of the long staying patient who always waves hello and gd bye at me finally got discharged.

Perhaps i'll miss having someone wave at me when i report to work, leave from work and even walk past when i'm on night call.

The ward is getting a bit exciting with imaginative patients for now :) Interesting. haha

Nightmare

I had a really bad nightmare last night but there were things tt cheered me up and made me feel better!

It just occurred to me tt i havent been watching grey's anatomy when i chance upon the supposed season finale on a fren's blog.



"We'll take care of each other even when we're old, smelly and senile."

:)

Things that make me smile

I've been kinda happy from various reasons. Some of the things really warms me up :)

1. I'm happy when my patients improve with the management of the team and leave the hospital smiling.

2. There are patients i grew to like and i look forward to see everyday!

3. I think i'm learning something everyday.. be it administrative or from listening to a patient's story

4. I see old couples with their relationships still going strong.

5. I witness how an elderly mother still puts in her everything to take care of her also elderly son with schizophrenia

6. "Till we can afford it, some things have to be done manually"

7. I sometimes do stupid things that in retrospect is qt funny. haha

Dawn at Alishan

Dawn at Alishan, originally uploaded by grinleaf.

We got up at 3 am to see this!
Y'know the day we arrived, it was raining cats and dogs and we were so worried that we wont get to see the sunrise!
Apparently if u see the sunrise, there wont be a sea of clouds which is a sight equally popular with photographers too.. I guess we cant have the best of both worlds!

I really miss taiwan :) i think i will go back. Maybe to see the sea of clouds and take the train when both sides of the tracks are filled with plum blossoms.

Withdrawal Symptoms

I've been having occasional bouts of Taiwan trip withdrawal symptoms...
Last week, raphael and i were craving for mochi and today i craved for 炸鸡排:(

There are SO many things i miss!

I'm also so tired for today's work... I dont know how i'm going to survive houseman year :S

Mb i should worry abt surviving M5 first..

Mini

Thanks for the surprise tt's so small and cute :)
I love it!!

New Profile Pic

When i was taking the above photo, my new profile pic was shot!



There're so many things i like abt the photo... including the fact that i am using my nikon with my fave lens, being among flowers and the pretty pretty bokeh :)

Thanks fren! :)

i love bokeh

I like taking pictures with shallow depth of field and have just what i want in focus.

Like the spider pic in previous post, i'm often amazed by the pattern of colours tt show up behind the subject of interest :)



Actually, our eyes do it all the time. But it amazes me to see the difference of near and farther vision captured in a photo.

Also, if u think abt it, our minds do it too in a more abstract manner. We sometimes see only what we want to see :)

Saturday, Happy day

If u've been reading this blog, it's prob nothing new to you that Saturday is my favourite day:)

Today i processed one more day of Taiwan photos which i will upload on facebk soon.

Here's 2 i quite like which are on flickr already :)





More photos to come soon! :)

I miss Taiwan

I have a gazillion more photos to process :) Here's one from one of my favourite destinations, Hualien.



This was taken at dawn at this pebble beach called 七星潭.

2 photos i like very much by weixiang :)
(Photos are clickable to go to his flickr site)



This is me when i was abt to stack the stones to take the photo above.


Shall end off with my favourite photo at this point of time.
Silhouette of wen phei, sie yen, raphael and i :):)

Last Day

Tmr, is the official first day of M5.

It'd really be a lie if i say that i'm not anxious at all :S

Despite the dreadfulness of M5, i ought to be thankful for the rather awesome elective mths and break i had :) I cant say it was always fruitful, but i hope the stresslessness has been suffice for the survival of the hectic yr ahead.

Among the happy things that happened, i realise that most offered happifying photo opportunities and these photos have been uploaded either here or on flickr in the past mths. I hope u've found one or two pictures u like!

I guess one of the most interesting thing i did was to see Jolin Tsai at a press conference!

Jolin is really petite in real life.

And then there was Taiwan which i so absolutely LOVE.

Taiwan pictures however will take time to be processed cos all my photos are taken in RAW format. But i shall post 2 here to get things started :)


This is taken at 淡水, the place Jay chou's 不能说的秘密 was filmed :)

To end off, i hope amidst the hectic year ahead, i would be able to find pockets of time for myself to slow down and enjoy a cup of tea with pple like these 2 at Taipei 101.



Have a great wkend friends :)

Back to Reality

I woke up this morning and was feeling a little sad tt i opened my eyes to my room.

Despite being back on the comfort of my familiar bed, i do miss Taiwan :)

I had a gd trip!

Interestingly, i tried shutting my eyes tight and opening it again wishing tt i'd see (pls say this the yikang-way) ROSEland, GOLD standard :) haha

M5 soon.. and i have to put my camera and fun away for 1 yr :S

Up next, Photos of my trip!:)

Busy Happy Monday

I'm really happy that i could run so many errands today including sending my IBM to its hospital for a fan transplant. The service at the service ctr was excellent! I'm ambivalent abt whether it is a gd thing that i only found out now, cos on one hand, i'm really happy that my T43 has survived so long when a number of my frens had fan error when their Thinkpads were around 2 yrs old, and on the other, my IBM is out of warranty!

Plenty of things happened today that threatened to ruined my day.. including the possibility of getting a bus lane ticket while letting my mom alight at the Bedok MRT bus stop and i later saw someone in white uniform with a digicam+tripod :((

Also, i had trouble running cos i kept having persistent side stitch :(( I read abt it on wikipedia.. it's pretty interesting and its actual cause is unknown.

Interestingly, despite all the awful things, my day felt pretty awesome on the whole. I guess, it's always the simplest things that saves the day :)

I have qt a lot of photos i havent processed. But here's a few current ones to share!


Prof Low and CG mate Wenhui