Best Hols?

(long post ahead with loads of photos)
This holiday has been so great so far that it is in the run for the best holiday i've had. True holidays are hard to come by... cos how many hols are there that u can really put ur work aside? My friends studying overseas say they usually get real holidays (those that are not followed by exams when school re-opens) but such cases are rare in Sg!

Anyway, this holiday has been great cos on Saturday, not only did i get to watch movie in the morning, i also took part in a captain's ball match. Although the team comprises of chapalang members (i only knew marc and Jeremy, we actually came in first! I have so much to write abt the matches.. but i shall wait for Jeremy's photos :)

Some lousy shots i took at the end of the day...




TODAY
Today could possibly be my best day of the hols cos i accomplished damn a lot in the morning! This is what i did...
6.30 am: Wake up
6.55 am: Send mommy to Toa Payoh for her weekly accupuncture
7.25 am: Arrived at kahhua's house to pass her tea leaves
8.10 am: Arrived at NUH to visit my mother's friend on her behalf
8.40 am: Breakfast at Science canteen - had mian can can!!!
9.00 am: Read my new book '500 Pies and Tarts'
10.00 am: Went back to toa payoh to pick mom up
10.20 am: While waiting, i bought a pair of working shoes
11.00 am: Drove to Bedok cos mom needed to zap something
11.10 am: While waiting, i went to the bank to get my dbs card replaced
11.20 am: I found slippers to replace my slippery pair
11.50 am: Home + bathe
12.00 pm: Wanted to watch Martha Stewart show
1.00 pm: Left home for Vivo!

Sentosa Day!
The sun was up and it was a great day for photography :)






i like the above 2 shots! Weiyan and Wenyang looked happy to be able to find shade behind the rock:)

|Luge-ing and Sky riding|




The boys miss army.











I finally got to use my Ben&Jerry Voucher!










|My Fave Husky!|







|My Favourite Photo of the Day|


More Photos of the snake

Close up of the skin! I actually got to touch it :) Surprisingly, it is quite soft!






















I took this photo by placing the camera beside my ears!

What does the cloud remind u of?

It reminded me of my fave husky!

Tired People






Some Macro shots

Can u see what i'm trying to focus on?










Can u see Ants?



I shall end off with photos i kopped from wx's facebook album!
Pro camera + skill gives u beautiful pictures!




Monkeying



That's all for now, hope u're enjoying ur hols as much :)

Chick flicks

I've been keeping up with 1 movie a day so far :) Unfortunately, i decided against movies i really want to watch like matrix trilogy cos the movie quality online will definitely not do the movie justice.. maybe i should borrow the disc from someone! Anyone has??

SO, what have i been watching? Haha.. i've been watching shows i think should be funny enough to amuse me such as



and



And can u believe it? i have watched every single episode (i think) of all 4 seasons of House and Grey's anatomy! To be honest, i'm starting to lose interest in House cos they are really having trouble breaking out from the same old template. I'm looking forward to some sort of a new breakthrough next season!

As for Grey's anatomy, the drama is really quite entertaining :)

About the 2 movies i have watched...

How to Lose a Guy in 10 days
This movie had a not bad rating and had quite an interesting synopsis:
"Benjamin Barry is an advertising executive and ladies' man who, to win a big campaign, bets that he can make a woman fall in love with him in 10 days. Andie Anderson covers the "How To" beat for "Composure" magazine and is assigned to write an article on "How to Lose a Guy in 10 days." They meet in a bar shortly after the bet is made."

I admit i watched it largely to find out who wins.. but the movie ending was quite cheesy, so i dont think i like the movie as much. There's one thing i like though.. and that's Andie's dress in the poster! I cant a pic of the back of the dress.. there's a ribbon cross like an "x" at the low waist. Pretty! Anyway, yellow is quite a daring colour for a dress, sth i havent tried :)

Kate and Leopold
Decided to watch this cos i saw the last 5 mins of it some time ago when it was showed on tv. So i was quite curious about the show particularly after finding out that it is listed under "Fantasy / Comedy / Romance / Sci-Fi"

The show left me with some thoughts and i think our culture has really changed a lot. Time travel from 1876 to 2002 contrasted the behaviour of people of different centuries. One of the obvious thing was men were more gentlemanly!

They had interesting etiquette like all the men have to stand up when a lady leaves the table.

I think i will rate this movie 7/10. Not too bad :)

Here are some quotes i find interesting from the movies:

"I was told that love is a leap, but admittedly i was never quite inspired to jump."

"It is no more crazy than a dog finding a rainbow. Dogs are colourblind, Gretchen. They don't see colour. Just like we don't see time. We can feel it, we can feel it passing, but we can't see it. It's just like a blur. It's like we're riding in a supersonic train and the world is just blowing by, but imagine if we could stop that train, eh, Gretchen? Imagine if we could stop that train, get out, look around, and see time for what it really is? A universe, a world, a thing as unimaginable as colour to a dog, and as real, as tangible as that chair you're sitting in. Now if we could see it like that, really look at it, then maybe we could see the flaws as well as the form. And that's it; it's that simple. That's all I discovered. I'm just a... a guy who saw a crack in a chair that no one else could see. I'm that dog who saw a rainbow, only none of the other dogs believed me."

"And... it's a great thing to get what you want. It's a really good thing unless what you thought you wanted wasn't really what you wanted... because what you really wanted you couldn't imagine or you didn't think it was possible but what if someone came along who knew exactly what you wanted without asking they just knew... like they could hear your heart beating or listen to your thoughts and what if they were sure of themselves and they didn't have to take a poll and they loved you... but you hesitated and I"

Hope i will discover some nice movies this hols:)

Day One

Day one of post exams... i actually 自然醒 at 6.55 am! If not for the captain's ball matches with Jeremy, marc and his church friends later, i would have gone out for a run. The weather is awesome!

I love the morning breeze :)

Today, i shall start with my holiday movie homework! I am going to watch all the movies i was curious about but not curious enough to watch it in the theatres :) Yay

I love holidays :)

Oh, before that i shall post some photos!

Valerie's Bday Lunch @



The food was really not bad :) I like the soup and my dijonaise chicken :)









The Mudpie was a little too sweet for me :) But good for all happy people in holiday mood!


Val the birthday girl! :)


I love my cg.. we're missing Deborah here.. Left an empty seat for her!


Same photo split second later without flash



With flash again :) I think my hair is super long again.. esp the fringe.. i should do sth about it!

Ningqi's Bday @ Miss Clarity Cafe
The lighting wasnt optimal so i left the photo taking to the people with more pro cameras :)

But how could i not attempt to take photos of the food around?


Soft shell crab pasta.. Wasnt fantastic though :( And each time i get reminded of how soft shell crab come about, i will swear to not eat them again. Too 残忍 liao


Weixiang's creamy pork. i forgot to ask him if it is nice

I actually didnt take any other photos.. but bean took the following shots cos she wanted to try my camera! Hopefully allen comes kop-ing them for his facebook album. Hahaha





Alright that's all for now :) I am going to watch a movie NOW!

Black, Grey and White

I have a strange flight of ideas today and the following occured to me when i was showering!

As much as i want to see everything in a simplistic black or white manner, stimes the existence of grey just cannot be ignored.

(1) Strengths and weaknesses are relative
It occured to me just now that ur strength to a person might be a total weakness to another. For example, being eloquent and vocal might be seen as a gift or talent to many but to a person who is looking for just a quiet listener, the vocal person might not do that well. Cos a thousand well chosen words strung together will never equate to the silent company the person is looking for. On the other hand, a man of few words, which commonly not really seen as a talent, might do a perfect job :)

In a way, can i say a strength is a strength only when it is in demand? Weakness can become a strength when it is in demand?

(2) Unconditional Trust
I realise that i trust some people unconditionally and when they make mistakes, the first thought that usually comes to my mind is: no one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes. Am i too trusting or am i deceiving myself sometimes?

(3) Flexible complement
The word complement is often linked to the idea of a 'perfect fit' but how possible is it to find one? When u think of the art of cooking, the mixing of flavours is very often a subtle affair. I believe whether something fits or not isnt a rigid thing. Just like how different fragrances and tastes amalgamate, it is the end product that matters more! If things are often taken on an apparent level, some perfect matches will never be discovered.



Then again, it becomes complicated if u consider whether a match is perfect or not is subjective.

Above 3 of just food for thought for everyone to share :) Do tell me if u like or agree with any of them!

Perhaps all these will make sense when i do find out that a perfect fit does exist.

Admirable Trust

Those of you who watched the 2nd episode of the new 7pm show starring felicia chin will find the following story familiar.. :)

In the show, felicia chin is an insurance agent. On valentine's day, she was supposed to sign/confirm a deal/policy with a client called Anthony but she cancelled it for her boyfriend. At the dinner place, she happened to see her colleague, Amy, trying to steal the client to seal the deal by claiming that she was 'told' to come in place of Felicia.

Felicia found ways to get her boyfriend to go home first (cos it was coincidentally her father's birthday and he was waiting at home) and she confronted the 2 of them. After realising that it was Amy who was trying to 'steal' the ownership of the policy, Anthony and Felicia had a good chat.

The next morning, Anthony called to confirm that he wanted to sign a policy worth 1.2 million dollars! Of course, Amy wasnt very pleased after their boss praised felicia, so she tried to sabotage her by taking photo of a card that Anthony sent to say thank you and sent it to her boyfriend.

At lunch, the boyfriend was quite upset to know Anthony was the reason why she came home late and he snapped at felicia. Felicia defended herself by saying her career is very important to her now and she needed her boyfriend to trust her especially when she has very competitive colleagues. They parted abruptly and Felicia returned to her office.

Felicia confronted Amy about the sabotage and asked her why she had to attempt to steal her client and 挑拨离间 between she and her boyfriend. While Amy was mean towards her, Felicia's boyfriend appeared and said that actually he was there with her when Anthony signed the policy. In addition, he bought cakes for tea break and claimed that it was felicia who bought them as a treat for everyone in office and left them behind accidentally after they had lunch just now!

I was quite moved by what the boyfriend did. Not only did he think about what Felicia told him she needed, he acted upon it. He was there to defend her and the trust there is something quite admirable.

Though this excerpt may be a little 断章取义 but the point i'm trying to make here is I think being able to trust each other is very important in a relationship. It can be very painful to find out that u are being trusted less than how u're trusting.

Interestingly, i just realised also that there is a thin line between not trusting a person and always wanting to know in detail what a person is up to.

Alright.. blog again soon!

It'll be Over soon!

With long case down, i can feel that the end is near! I can smell the holidays! yay

To be honest, i've been in holiday moood for some time, which explains the unproductivity.

For the past few days i realise that watching TV isnt entirely useless cos i did see a bit of paeds here and there!

For example, Did u know that Miss Iowa 2008 has cerebral palsy? Watch the video here!
I was so worried to get cerebral palsy for my long case.. cos i havent really clerked one properly...


Then when i was watching Tyra show over dinner, i saw this mother with Osteogenesis Imperfecta... commonly known as brittle bone disease. Can you believe that she is a mother to 2? And because OI is an autosomal dominate disease, her elder daughter has OI too. Interestingly, she has the classic triangular head shape that reminds me of my favourite boy of my entire posting, alexander.

I cant find the video though...

Alright... the next time i blog, i probably have freedom liao! YAY

Nightmare

Last night, I dreamt that i was stuck alone in bangladesh!

I was stuck in Bangladesh cos i tried looking for my shoes and watch on the beach. I tried so hard (especially for the shoes cos there were tens of thousands of them scattered on the shore) and i forgot about time and i missed my boat, obviously the shoes and watch in my dreams were rather precious!

When i finally got onto the next boat and made my way to the airport, i realised that i had miss my flight out of the country :(

It was quite a nightmare trying to ask for directions but thankfully, i met some friendly english-speaking people who told me they were also staying for the night to catch the next flight out.

Then i woke up...

The interesting thing was i woke up several times panicking about what i should do and when i slip back into my sleep, the dream continues...

All the effort trying to look for things precious to me disrupted everything else leaving me feeling abandoned and alone.

Maybe i shouldnt be too 执着 in future.

?

why do people throw ur trust away?

Isabelle Ann

My new cousin arrived a week ago and she is such a sweet baby!





She's rather big for a 9 day old baby right? My grandma thought she was a mth old!

And look at her hair! Thick right?
Also, note that she is holding on to the bottle on her own!

I heard she is able to raise her chin to look at people walking by when placed on her abdomen. From what i've learn, that's achievable by 1 month old. She's passed her hearing test with flying colours too!

Is she really developmentally a month old?? Beats me.

impending distraught

will it happen?

better

I felt better after watching the season finale of season 4 Grey's anatomy :)

i was

I've been meaning to write how happy i was ystdy tt i met so many pple i miss so dearly including qiantai, dorothy (my colleague from NCC) and my councillee..
I was happy that i talked to donald who updated me tt matthew is happy too

I cant be more grateful that my grandma cooked chilli crab today after knowing tt i was going back for dinner and there was watercress soup too!

But all these doesnt matter now cos i'm not sure what i'm supposed to feel!

Everyone has a right to sth they keep only to themselves right? How would u feel when that right is taken away from u? Have u thought abt it?

Everyone has a past, some are forgotten and some are insignificant. I think i am blessed when i have a selective memory.

I'm hoping for a fruitful weekend, if it is at all possible :(:(

Strata

My mom watched one of my favourite weekend morning TV programme Everyday Food with me and she wanted to try one of the recipes they demonstrated called Strata with Italian sausages and sun-dried tomatoes.

But because we do not have italian sauages and sun-dried tomatoes, we made do with minced meat and fresh tomatoes :)

In case u're wondering, strata means layers in italian and layering is pretty much the highlight of this recipe :) I believe strata can be consider a savoury bread pudding :)

Pictures!
(I must admit that i wish it turned out looking prettier, but it's our first try after all!)

What i'd change if we make this the next time
(1) Use better bread instead of bonjour loaf, sth drier especially
(2) Use REAL mozarella cheese
(3) Use sun-dried tomatoes

Overall, i find the whole thing too moist. Possibly from the bread and fresh tomatoes. The next time will be better!

Recipe below if u want to try it too :)

Ingredients
Serves 6.

8 ounces Italian sausage, (about 3), casings removed
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
Unsalted butter, for baking dish
8 large eggs
1 cup milk
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
6 to 8 ounces Italian bread, sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, (about 6 ounces)

Directions

1. 
   

   In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook sausage, stirring occasionally, and breaking up meat with a spoon, until browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add onion; cook. Stirring, until soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in sun-dried tomatoes. Transfer to a plate; let cool until barely warm.

2. 
   

   Butter an 8-inch-square baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Arrange half the bread in a slightly overlapping layer in bottom of dish. Scatter half the sausage mixture and then half the cheese over the bread. Repeat with remaining bread, sausage, and cheese, pressing firmly. Pour egg mixture over layers. Cover and refrigerate at least 20 minutes or up to overnight.

3. 
   

   Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake, uncovered, until puffed and golden and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes.

2 Weeks Notice

I caught this movie cos expectedly i couldnt do anything academic :)

I enjoyed it for the humour! Please dont laugh at me, but i do think i have a weird sense of humour.. in a way, i might find sth funny and u totally dont!

Sandra: Arghh...U're the most selfish person on this planet!
Hugh: No.. that's silly, cos u havent met every one on this planet

I took some time to analyse what is the essence of a romantic comedy.. It seems that it always take a woman that has a perculiar personality and a very unassuming, unintentionally funny man.

Think music and lyrics, 27 dresses for example :)

And i think today i can conclude tt i do like Hugh grant! Perhaps i should watch his other comedies :):)

This leaves me with more movie homework :) yayy.. i cant wait for the hols :)

Unfortunately, i still have 2 weeks more to survive :(

TGILW

Cheerful picture for weekend mood!

Thank god i tell u, that it's long weekend ahead :)

I'm so relieved cos i've been VERY tired from travelling to and fro across the island everyday, writing portfolio, following up with patients, reading about conditions, tutorials, night calls, long days, interactives, getting caught in jams etc.

Though at the end of it all, it's supposed to be for my own good, i find my productivity really low :( :(

Just like now, i'm bored of writing my portfolio of a patient with UTI.

Anyway, i just want to show u some nice clips my mom gave me. They're so pretty but i dont know where to use them on!



Most of u know that i like tulips. U know, i am so happy that facebook flower shop has so many new ones! yay :)







I think i miss my camera.. forgive me for posting so many shots of the same thing :) haha...

I hope i'll survive the next 2 weeks! I am so looking forward to hols and then i can say TGIH! Haha

Mothers' Day

I went to church today and found out that one of my favourite granny has passed away. It's quite surreal cos my granny and i just spoke to her last week and she was well.

We heard that she was sitting on her rocking chair after breakfast when she dropped the fan she held in her hand and when her maid picked it up for her, she was no longer responsive. She left just like that.

It makes me wonder if she felt any pain... how fleeting was the moment when she slipped to another world and if she is in heaven right now.

Her family had plans to celebrate Mothers' day today but granny left just like that. But they were comforted to know that at least she left quite peacefully.

Happy Bday Treo

Today's my dear Treo's bday!

Although my favourite treo isnt the one i'm holding on to, i've come to terms that i should not be too fussy :)

I just need a little patience to grow to like my current treo :) Haha.. and perhaps with some love, it might misbehave less.

The following should have been posted together with the previous post!



Thanks Yang for the broccoli soup! We both agree that it does take some motivation to be nice to someone, especially with no reason.
I always believe that the best present should be one that made u think of the receiver with the first look at it :)

So when was the last time u were nice to someone?

Kiddy Delights

Just when i'm starting to like paeds more, my week got better with a surprise from my grand aunt who flew back from australia!



Even Eeyore is happy!



My very own Toblerone that is a little more than 30 cm long :) Wee~~




I guess i'm not the only happy one. Cos my mother's hamster can now look forward to a new toblerone house too :)



One of my proudest achievement of my posting is assembling this kit :)
I used to leave it in the student lounge, but wenhui warned me about how devastated i would be if the kit goes missing. So i now carry it painstakingly to and fro across the island :(:( I guesss re-assembly a paeds kit wont be as fun!

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Actually i'm writing this post while i'm having a very terrible headache... i really hope i'm not coming down with anything! y'know, i always think that headache is one of those unconvincingly decapacitating illness cos it has fewer external signs and it's thought to be subjective.

Similarly, suffering for a psychiatric problem can have less physical problems too. But would u rather lose an arm or a leg OR your mind?

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I shall end this post with one of my popular soft toys with the kids. I like it too cos Eeyore who is usually depicted to be sad is seen smiling!

Hope i can sleep my headache away :)

Have a good weekend everybody :)