Please let the weekend come now.

I am so absolutely knackered that the weekend feels like its never ever coming.

That being said, Im glad that my idea to roll CPR out in schools in singapore as a station for napha tests during PE is slowly taking shape with some motivation and help from my best mate in London.

Its HC night this coming sat, and I have been junking so much these few days to keep myself at work and at home that Im positive I cant fit into any dress without looking like a freaking dumpling. Damn. I hate it that girls have weight woes all the time.

I am truly proud to be a Singaporean.

This is my fave version of Home so far!

I think coming to London to study has really made me really appreciate home and love it all Singapore- both her good and bad. Yes indeed, we do have our flaws and Singaporeans aint the most perfect people in the world, but i still do love my country and my people so very much. I know we are kiasu, but we are also efficient. I know we speak Singlish, but sometimes there just isnt another better word to substitute "damn sian". And yes, we dont have any Michelin starred restaurants, but we have the Tiong Bahru Market, Katong Laksa and even Food Repulic serves awesome food. We dont have Eason Chan or Madonna, but I think JJ Lin, Stef Sun and Kit Chan amongst others does a pretty fine job too.

Yes, we dont have much political freedom, cannot hold strikes/ protests unless we apply for a licences and cant even buy chewing gum. But at least, we still have a working government -a damn good one as well-, a reliable MRT & bus service (muahaha, no tube strikes and no lost income cos you cant get to work) and I never have to feel pull a chair to sit on and feel a sticky disgusting piece of thing under it.

I am patriotic, I dont deny it. I know its not very cool, esp so amongst people of my generation.

I know Singapore aint perfect, but I love her all the same. Thats what love is about right? Appreciating whats good about someone and accepting the flaws as well.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

May your day be filled with love, romance and kisses!

Starting Afresh!

I've decided that I've enough of black and I need more colour in my life. Anyway to us Chinese, black isnt the luckiest of colours as well.

So here's a new background (template and sorts remains the same cos I know nuts about HTML) to welcome Spring! ((((:

Agatha Christie's Mousetrap!

Mousetrap's well worth watching!

I have never really liked watching plays in the past, because I used to find it so hard to catch what the actors are saying and 'cos I have a very short concentration span. Unlike musicals, you cant just zone out for a bit and come back again. Once you have fallen into the Whats-Going-On blackhole, you are pretty much stuck there forever. Plus, I always found them alot less entertaining than musicals (less prancing about and repeating the same sentence many times till i finally could sing it too).

But I had decided to go for Mousetrap partly because of all the good reviews it has gotten (but I have to admit I was still slightly skeptical then) and mainly 'cos I wanted to meet up with a mate of mine from Oxford who had come down to London for the show.

But Mousetrap was real good, I never got bored at any point of time and possibly because Im a terrible detective, it got me guessing till the end. Having watching 2 really good plays in London thus far (Woman in Black and Mousetrap), I am now ready to embrace the theatre more!

On a side note, doing my GP rotation now (despite not seeing very many white patients because the location Im in tend to see more immigrants), made me realise that the uptightness, properness and politeness we see of the Brits in films/plays are so very true (esp so in the older population)!

Ciao, off to wingchun practise now! Unfortunately it doesnt look anything sunny enough to take a walk in Hampstead Heath.

CNY 2011- London & Faro

I know I havent been updating for quite some time but thats because I have been so ridiculously busy with so many things--- a weekend trip to Faro, Portugal, a couple of CNY dinners, my dearest flatmate's bday (I baked a Victorian butter cake- My 1st ever baking experience other than the other time I made bread pudding which really doesnt count as baking.) and so many other small random stuff that seems to make my days pass in a daze. Its definitely been one of the best chinese new year away from home.

Faro '2011:

Pictures of Faro would be up once I order my all-in-one memory card reader and get the photos into my Mac.

It was a lovely trip- perfect for a weekend getaway cos there was nothing to do there except for beach activities. Moreover since it was off- season (winter), it wasnt crowded. Although we couldnt swim (wayyy too cold), there was still some winter sun and I was thankful enough that we were able to stroll about in our shorts and sleeveless tops. We were definitely inviting stares at our inappropriate attire (most people were in sweaters and long pants which to me was pretty absurd cos the temperature was possibly about 18degrees or so.).

On our first morning there, we took a long 2h stroll from our hotel (Hotel Monaco- Highly recommended. Clean, friendly staff, Awesome room at Hostel Prices!) to Faro's only beach. Because Im a traveller who values the experience more than visiting 1000 churches or tourist attraction, the walk there was one of the highlights of my weekend trip. The weather was beautiful (sunny and warm but not too hot), and there was hardly any traffic so we could easily walk along the expressways and sometimes in the middle of smaller roads. We walked past the airport (our hotel was about 5mins drive away from the airport), across the Faro's massive nature reserve at low tide (Which was alot of marshland, but it was still a pretty sight in its special way.), stopped by a fruit stall set up along the roads, chatted to the very friendly fruitseller & had the best and biggest oranges I have ever tasted (8 for 1euro!), took many many photos along the way and finally made it to the beach. The waters were too cold to swim in, but since it wasnt peak season, there were only a couple of locals sitting about and enjoying family time, we had a really nice walk down, picking up seashells and enjoying the waves.

Of course, a trip is never perfect without good food (and desserts). We found a lovely bakery near our hotel which served awesome sponge cakes and coffee, plus at a cheap price (we paid about 8euros for 8 plates of cakes and 3 cups of coffee). The custard portuguese tarts were kinda disappointing though- Im not sure if its cos we overdosed on custard (they somehow had to add custard to everything, and a generous serving of it) or that Im expecting something like Magdeleine's egg tarts in Singapore or Macau's take on portuguese egg tarts.

Another thing which I thought the Faro-ians (or maybe its a Portuguese thing, Im not too sure) did beautifully was homemade potato crisps. The chefs at the local restaurants would hand sliced potatoes and then fry it before serving it immediately (literally piping hot!). I love those which are crispy at the sides and yet soft in the middle- Its like getting the best of both kinds of Mac's fries. If you like your fries/ chips/ crisps crispy, the smaller slices were also fantastic.

Finally, the highlight of my trip was the discovery of WHITE SANGRIA (served by a very cute Portuguese bespectacled bartender). I had a bit too much that night (at least a pitcher), so much so I was asking for more (very unlike my usual behaviour I must clarify), asking D & K ridiculous questions (I dont remember what exactly though) and doing alot of pointing & big actions according to K. Whoops. But definitely worth it. I cant rem what exactly is the name of the bar but its one of the 2 bars that people like to go for pre-drinks. Will definitely share if any of my travel buddies can recall.

All in all, the people there were also really lovely, all very friendly and helpful. Friendly locals definitely rank as one of the most important factors when Im judging a place and Faro would get loads of stars for that. The food there was good and cheap and so were the drinks. So thats adds more stars to it. Plus, we paid 20euros per night for a very lovely hotel!

But that being said, 1 weekend is definitely all that is needed for Faro (:

新年终于来了！

Since I am now too stuffed to shower and sleep, I thought I might just do a quick entry here to wish everyone 新年快乐，学业进步，兔年行大运!

Hoping that everyone out there has had a wonderful reunion dinner with your family, friends and loved ones!

I have had a extremely lovely steamboat dinner complete with LOADS of food (chicken, squid, abalone, yong tau foo, fish, 烧肉, chin chow, 年糕, home made banana cake ... BURP), loads of laughter (always the case when you have a hyperactive mark around) and loads of good company! I count my blessings here everyday that I have such lovely friends like them around when Im here in London.

I think when Im back in Singapore, Im definitely going to look back at these times and wish that I could be back here for something like this again.

All in all, Im thankful for the very beautiful CNY reunion dinner which I just had, even if it was cold outside and we didnt have as much pineapple tarts and bak kwa as we would like.

张敬轩－ 我的新欢。

Recently I discovered a singer who has pretty good songs.

Even though he has been around for quite some time, I have never heard of him. But i have definitely heard some of his songs on Yes 933 in the past. I youtubed his name and it came up with quite a few old songs which I used to liked, but I suppose never enough to want to google his name.

张敬轩- 吻得太逼真 (click here if video doesnt load)

This was the song which Yes 933 played that caught my ... ears.

I have since been listening to it on loop.

-

And 新年快乐 to everyone, its 除夕 tomorrow!

To me, its possibly the most important day of chinese new year and Im glad Im spending it with my pseudo- family here in London.

I do hope that all of you friends would be spending it with friends and family and loved ones wherever in the world you are at now (:

Happy birthday to my favourite credit card bill payer!

Happy Birthday to Lee Pa Pa!

Wished I could be home for this and for CNY :(

At least Im trying to make it slightly more festive for myself by having a massive clean up of the house to rid of dust, dirt, bad luck and expired food, creating a mini CNY corner full of goodies and reading my favourite chinese work of all times- 绝代双骄.

Plus, my consultant (? italian) said he would give me an angpow cos his wife is singaporean. Muahahahahah.

And the CNY celebrations starts for Peish (:

I only wished I had brought my camera with me cos it was really lovely today at the Singaporean CNY street market. It was properly crowded even though it was held in UCL's south cloisters (which is basically not bigger than half a bball court). There was happy chinese music & CNY songs blasting through the air. There was also a good selection of good ol' Singaporean/ Chinese food like kaya, chwee kueh, orh nee, cheng tng etc. Most importantly, there was loads of Singaporeans! It always makes me happy to meet fellow schoolmates and countrymen (how very communist i sound). Even if occasionally, I have to make (awkward) small talk with hi- bye friends or admit (very embarrassingly) that i cant even remember their face, much less names.

But all in all, its a good feeling and Peish is a very (tired and cold but ...) happy girl today!

-

PS. Need advice for the following:

(Am as usual being my very indecisive self)

1. Singapore VS Spain?

Should i go home (singapore) for easter for 13days (Ie. Sun and Comfy bed and wakeboarding and friends & family) OR 7 Day Spain/ Canary Island trip for beach times +/- weekend trips with my medic friends from singapore who would be in the uk for weekend trip?

2. Singapore VS India?

Should i go back home or India for a 6 week medical elective?

新年快来了！

Had a day off today, which really is a great luxury. Despite that, I didnt quite manage to sleep in, was up and about by 8am. Unlike most uni students my age, I have trouble sleeping in even when I want to. I just have this extreme paranoia to jump out of bed asap cos I have 1001 things to do.

I have been feeling very festive recently. I mean since Im in a land whereby 99.99% of the population doesnt know that the biggest event of the Chinese calendar is next week, its really up to the individual to create the 气氛.

It actually feels really good to start chucking all the bits and pieces which I have been collecting in the past year but have never used (I still have the garang guni/ rag & bone man mentality. You know when you are young, you would keep everything from wrappers to broken toys 'cos you just dont wanna throw anything away. I still have this bad habit.) and ridding the house of all the dust and dirt. Started with my loo yesterday and Im going to work my way to my study area, room and then the living room.

On top of that, Im really looking forward the CNY eve reunion with my favourite people in London (32nd councillors) which Im sure will be filled with laughter, joy and loads of food! And then 人日 celebrations with the medics, of course over even more food!

Its been 4-5 years since I last celebrated CNY at home with family and friends and solid good quality singaporean yummies. I really cant wait for the day that I can throw my square cap in the air, get the scroll I have been working for for the past 5 years and take SIA back to Singapore for the last time. Its gonna be bittersweet, but I think its time for me to go home. I have had my good share of fun.

I really want to go home for CNY.

Everyone has a soft spot for something/ someone. For me, its my little brother even though I have never mentioned it to him before.

So today when he txted me to ask me when I would be back to go wakeboarding with him, it just got me terribly homesick. And really it doesnt help that CNY is in about 1.5 weeks time. We could still have steamboat dinners, pineapple tarts, lo hei and Stephen Chow films, but it just aint the same when its not in Singapore.

But I did make the choice of coming here 4 years ago and promised that Im gonna complete it and do it well. Afterall, I cant let my daddy down. Just like how I want everything to turn out perfectly for my brother (Eg. I was ridiculously happy when I heard he got into good unis), I know my dad has a soft spot for me and its going to make him insanely happy when I graduate ... well.

Ahhh, venting helps. Now, Im ready to continue with the term (:

All your wide- feet ladies.

Yes, after years of searching, I have finally found the right boot. I know this is such a Carrie Bradshaw moment, but i really just cant contain my excitement.

For someone like with a funny arch and really wide feet, finding the right shoes/ boots has always been the biggest challenge. For women, you would know how important it is to find a bra that fit, like it just cant be uncomfortable in any way.

To me, Shoes are that and more ... 'cos it has to be aesthetically pleasing as well. And whilst most people have the luxury of having a wide range of choices, having a pair of slim cinderella feet, I have always been plagued with the problem of having to put on a pair of shoes/ boots that either hurt (slightly in front cos its too tight or at the back 'cos I had to get a bigger size to fit the front and the back of the shoe would be too loose & cause abrasian) or settle for something like crocs (eeps.).

Aesthetics and comfort never seemed to agree at the same time for me, until I found this baby a couple of days ago at Birkenstock's in Covent Garden.

It doesnt look like Jimmy Choo's but it doesnt resemble Crocs as well. But best of all, wearing it feels better than not wearing shoes at all!

For those who have ever owned a pair of Birks sandals, you would probably know that the sole is awesome for peeps with wide feet. And the contoured sole is just amazing, I almost feel like I could stand on them forever! For me, the arch support it provides really does help to redistribute the weight on my feet, which makes it even more comfortable than not wearing shoes at all.

Its probably a splurge, but hopefully, it would be able to last as long as my sandals (4years and still going strong)!

For more designs, check out the Birkenstocks website!

Life's only as exciting as we make it to be.

Paediatrics is exciting, even when Im posted out of London to Queen's Hospital in Romford and even though I havent actually really started (today was my 1st day and all we did was to roam around getting access cards settled & such). Its got me excited that there is now yet another specialty whereby one can still be a generalist.

After year 3's rotation rotation through medicine and surgery, I was beginning to think that other than Geriatrics (not exactly my cup of tea), EMed (very exciting, but also very exhausting. Potentially unsustainable as a career in the long term.) and Critical Care/ ICU (Ditto as EMed), we have to be tied down to a subspecialty. But the Piscean in me really wanted more freedom to do something different everyday. Then, year 4 came by and let me discover O&G and Paeds. O&G was an amazing experience, cos for the first time I really wanted to be a doctor- like a practising one. I have loved medicine the day I started, but I was ambivalent about being a doctor- I am happy to give up being a doctor to maybe pursue an academic path in the medical field (like to be a student for life) or maybe for my family if necessary. But now, i really do want to practice. It might also be due to the fact that these specialties generally have patients who are so motivated, which does add on to the feel- good factor of being a doctor.

I shall sit tight and see what Paeds and Queen's have to offer, Im hopeful and excited (:

-

Aside from starting on a very exciting posting, I have got real exciting plans lined up-

1. Billy Elliot musical finally!

2. Weekend trip to Faro, Portugal over CNY weekend with 2 really good mates of mine.

3. 10 day trip to Rome, Naples, Croatia & Macedonia

And Im planning ...

4. Trip to Morocco with some of the medics

5. Crossing my fingers and hoping that I can get a table at THE FAT DUCK in march (Pray for me!)

-

Finally, I really really want to catch this real bad:

The King's Speech

Looks like a very powerful movie!

Afterall, how can Colin Firth produce bad movies eh?

Medicine. Play. Eat. That's my life for you.

13 Things I want to accomplish before I graduate:

1. Pass my exams, hopefully better than just barely scraping past.

Visit:
2. Rome & Naples & Pompeii
3. Croatia
4. Morocco
5. Greece
6. Berlin
7. Malta
8. Iceland
9. Portugal
10. USA ... Maybe just Harry Potter Land, or Miami or California ... or the Grand Canyon

Eat at:
11. The Fat Duck
12. Gordon Ramsay's

13. Not be embarrassingly bad at wing chun

There are just so many places in the world where I would also like to visit, like South Africa, Egypt, Dubai, South America, Vietnam and Cambodia, Bhutan ... The list goes on.
But I guess its a good thing that I probably will not be able to do so in the next few years or so because I (hopefully) have another good 50years to see this world and I wouldnt want to be real bored by the age of 35, would I? (:

Im off to Italy and Croatia ... in April!

Pathology week is over and Im off to Romford for my DGH posting next week. Excited or not I cannot decide. Excited because I do hope that I will like paeds very much, and not very excited because it is winter and battling (1) London transport in (2) the cold is very unpleasant.

I have pretty much spent the past week or so scouring the internet for details to plan my 10-day trip in April to Italy and Croatia. After much deliberation and advice from friends who have been to these places, Ive decided to just stay in Rome and Naples/ Pompeii for about 5days, and the other 5 in Dubrovnik, Croatia. From Dubrovnik, I might take a day trip to Macedonia (or maybe stay there for 1 night) and to Split or other neighbouring cities.

As it seems like an almost impossible task from Italy to Croatia by land/ sea (either wayyy too many train changes or too pricey OR the ferry from south Italy for Croatia leaves on funny days), I might just splurge a little and take a flight with croatian airlines to save me some time and hassle.
(It takes at least 13h on train from Rome to Zagreb, Croatia with a couple of changes in between and from Zagreb, I would still need to take an overnight train to Dubrovnik that would make it another 10h. 1 whole day of travelling ... not appealing.
Ferries from Bari, Italy to Dubrovnik/ Split doesnt leave very frequently, about 2x per week. This would either shorten the Italy leg of my trip significantly or the Croatia part, neither of which I am keen to give up.
Flights are short, about 1-2h excluding all the airport transfer, check-in time etc but quite pricey- Best 1 way tickets with Croatian Air is about 140euros.)

I am really looking forward to the beautiful beaches (and sun!) in Croatia and chilling out. I only wished that there was a younger person (Im heading down there with my Mum and Aunt, and I dont know many people who are very keen on travelling with me if they know that there are 长辈s around) who could go Croatia with me just so I could do all the extreme sports there. Neverthelss, I do think I would be a very nice chillaxing trip even if I didnt have the chance to do so anyway.

I have also applied for my elective in India and Im going to plan my SSC back home in Singapore as well.
And its probably, just about right time to do something about my Easter trip to Morocco!

Life's only just as exciting as you make it out to be yeah? (:

Tough Choices.

As I thought about the places in Europe that I would like to visit and the number of holidays I have left, it just struck me today suddenly that Ive barely much time left in UK/ Europe.

And its probably time for me to stop moping about being homesick and maybe start making good use of my time here- to see more of Europe (Where to find time for Berlin, Greece, Switzerland, Turkey, Portugal, Morocco), to watch more football matches (yes Im positively excited about the Arsenal- Man City match at Emirates Stadium tmr) and musicals/ plays, to frequent more michelin starred restaurants and enjoy the pizzas & kebabs, and most importantly, to enjoy the freedom that I have taken so for granted.

An old friend of my mine who had studied here in the UK but have since returned back home to Singapore, told me that she has since started missing her life here quite a bit. This surprised me slightly, for she was one of my kind- someone who would get so terribly homesick and be hit by seasonal affective disorder (SAD) during winter and is always happy to be back home in the land of good food, good weather and good beaches. But as she said, the grass is always greener on the other side- she has started missing all the freedom she used to have. I could see why- when Im back home for holidays, everyone seemed to let me have things my way, cos Im hardly back. I get to choose where to eat, what to do and our holiday destination. But I would think that the novelty of having me back when I do return for good will wane, if Im lucky, after a honeymoon settling- in period of 1 month. And then, it might be back to schooling- days, with a curfew and all. How ready am I for that? But then again, how ready am I to stay here potentially for another good 10 years?

Life's full of tough choices- I have thought long and hard about how badly I would like to go home to do my housemanship and my registrar training which would mean:
1. Im home.
2. Im going to be working with people whom I can really get along well with. (As much as I hate to say this, I still do find it hard to really connect with the angmohs. We really do have different humour.)
But ...
1. Less freedom, less pay (least of my worries to be honest).
2. Harder to get specialty of choice cos its so much more competitive in singapore (number places in each specialty is probably 30x less and Im not even trying to exaggerate the statistics), and we medics who have graduated outside Singapore are generally considered to be less able than the locals. Plus, we are apparently disadvantaged with regards to application for the residency programme because "we do not know the consultants"- ie. poor networking.

So here I am still sitting on the fence, deciding whether its time to pack up and go home, or to rough it out for a good career. Either way, I have this nagging fear that I will one day no longer be able to fit in anywhere anymore.

How to be a 20- something, Singaporean Style.

A friend showed me this article, How to be a 20- something, which brought a grin to my face. It was cheeky and yet relatable article that truly captured the thoughts of our age, although it probably applies more to American teens than us. So why not come up with one more relevant to Singaporeans? Out of sheer boredom, I thought why not tweak the original article slightly so we could identify with it more? I have to, however, clarify that I unfortunately spent most of my twenties outside of Singapore, and have actually not even completely 1/3 of the twenty- something journey. Nevertheless, I sincerely hope you would like my version anyway.

Here goes ...

Be really attractive. Your acne is gone, your face has matured without having wrinkles and everything on your body is lifted naturally. Eat Old Chang Kee and drink Koi Bubble Tea 7 days a week and still look like a babe/ hunk. Have 2 servings of roti prata with extra curry and sugar for supper. When you turn thirty, it’ll become a different story but that’s, like, not for a really long time.

Move into school hall, and burn all your time on RAG, hall play or going on random walks with your mates in the middle of the night. Take as many zi- pais (self- potraits)/ neoprints as possible. Sit in Macs or Starbucks for hours and talk about nothing important in general.

Stalk your crush on FB, join clubs and societies to widen your social circle and if you are lucky, he/ she might just be sitting opposite you whilst you are mugging in the library.

Work part time as a tutor or at (M)phosis because your allowance is not enough for a weekly Mambo night or to fund that 1 month trip to Europe you have been planning since forever. Be part of as many initiatives as possible, and stay hopeful that what you are doing makes a great deal of difference to the less fortunate. Remember that you’re young and that the world is your oyster. Everything is possible, you still have so much to see and hear. You went to a good school and did good things. Figure if you’re not going to be successful, who the hell is?

Date the people you never had the courage to even talk to in the past because your friends will go “Ah Beng and Ah Lian sitting on the tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G”. See someone for 3 months just because all your friends are too busy to watch movies with you.

Eventually all these nobodies will make you crave a somebody. Have a real relationship with someone. Go on vacations together, exchange house keys, cry in their arms after a demoralizing day at work. Think about marrying them and maybe even get engaged. Regardless of the outcome, feel proud of yourself for being able to love someone in a healthy way.

Start your twenties with a lot of friends and leave with a few good ones. What happened? People faded away into their careers and relationships.

Think of yourself at twenty and hanging out with people who didn’t mean a thing to you. Think about writing papers, about being promiscuous, about trying new things. Think of yourself now and your face looking different and your body feeling different and how everything is just different.

Form the habits that will stick with you forever. Drink your Kopi- Siew Dai every morning over Today/ Straits Times. Enjoy spending money on fine dining, go swimming every Saturday and have dim sum on Sunday morning.

Help your parents on Chinese New Year eve, prepare the steamboat and wear red. Remember Mother's Day and Father's Day and give a handmade card. This will all mean so much.

Think about having children when you stop acting like a child. This may not ever happen.

Maybe this is assuming too much. Maybe this is generalizing. Maybe society uses age as an unrealistic marker for growth. Maybe. Still feel the anxiety on your 30th birthday and think to yourself, “Oh shit, I’m no longer a 20-something.”

Christmas eve at Home.

Its christmas eve, and yet there is no festive mood in my household. Not that there ever has been, for xmas has never really had a special significance to us since we are neither angmoh nor christian. Now even more so, as I watch my younger brother growing up. Well, at least he once used to spend days like this at home but now, asking him out even for a family meal requires us to book in advance. It is now a given that he is not available unless otherwise stated. Hopefully, somehow he will miraculously get through this Im- the- king- of- the- world stage. I blame army- although i hear from people that the compulsory conscription in Singapore makes our dudes more mature, I suppose it can backfire in some cases yeah?

Since, its afterall a festive period, I should stop sounding so bitter cos my line- up for the day is really not so bad and it actually doesnt quite reflect my cheery mood (plus Im actually in Singapore, which makes Christmas, or any other day for that matter, 1000x better). Wakeboarding class in the late morning with my brother (and possible his mate), dinner at a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown (How ironic, considering its Christmas. But i will rather have this than turkey anytime.) with one of my best mates and still trying to find sometime to do in between.

Maybe I could break the tradition for myself and do some Christmas present shopping?

Home sweet Home.

As a I sit at my bar table having breakfast in shorts and T- shirt in lovely Singapore, reading this makes me count my blessings. By some stroke of luck, Gatwick opened for operations on the sunday i was flying home and it stopped snowing that very morning ... just for 1 day.

Although I have only been away for 13weeks, somehow it felt like almost half a year (if not more) has passed. Its not that I havent enjoyed my term, but it has been an exhausting one albeit exciting one. I found wingchun, much to the dismay of my mum, who promptly dragged me to the chinese sinseh after seeing all the bruises on my chest and hands. (We had to be punch bags for our respective partners to practise on. And my partner, S, is really one strong woman. The massive blue- black on my sternum speaks for itself.) Im more than glad that she was assured by him that not only is minor bruises and cuts part and parcel of martial arts, but that the basic stance of wingchun is a fantastic way for women to keep prolapse and osteoarthritis at bay.

So I begin my holidays, by getting my mum her new iphone4 (calculated that with viber and such, we would save more on long distance calls in the long run), wakeboarding classes with my brother (so rusty that Im aching all over now), visiting my Gran who is recovering very well from her knee surgery, a family Harry Potter outing and loads of kopi, kaya toasts, hokkien prawn mee, carrot cake, wanton mee and pork floss buns.

Keep fingers crossed for me that flights back to London will all be cancelled. I could really do with more than 10days in Singapore.