Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

Sometimes I do wonder if Im more emo than I think I am/make myself out to be.

Or maybe I should just blame it on Hormones? All girls get to do that right.

I feel like I need a break, but I dont know from what.

And I do feel like going home quite terribly, sigh.

Pied a Terre

Firstly, apologies that the photos are coming up in a weird order.

And also, cos I was too excited that i didnt quite manage to get proper photos of all the food there :D

A very bad photo of the main dish, which was fowl on mash + carrots & parsnips on top.

The fowl was very very well done, loved the texture of it and like the crispiness the skin on top. And the mash was smooth, and carrots really sweet, having taken in the sauce on the chicken. Not a big fan of parsnips though.

Came complete with the tempura like cabbage, which I really really loved.

The other main dish- which was the fish. It was pretty good too.

As before, I loved the crispy veg that went with the fish.

Pre- dessert.

Had chilli in it, very interesting tasting.

My starter.

Duck hearts, sausage and foie gras. I really loved it :D

Pre- starter.

Loved the little pastry thing on the left. Forgot what it was though.
Had a pretty awesome day today.

-

Slept in late, cos there was nothing but ward duties today. Didnt manage to find anyone to sign off my forms for me :( Hopefully tmr I would be able to grab hold of someone if not I would be seriously screwed.

And of course the highlight of the day was a 5 course lunch at Pied A Terre, a 2 Michelin Star Restaurant at Charlotte Street. (For about 33pds incl of additional charges.)

It was lovely that we managed to get hold of the private room, which was pretty comfy and gorgeous. Lighting was nice and romantic, which got me pretty sleepy.

However, I wasnt all that pleased with the service. Its not that the waiter serving us was rude or anything but I had feeling that it was done in a pretty slip- shod manner. Maybe cos I used to work in Banquet, but i hate it when waiters clang utensils on the plates too loudly. Although, I have to admit that we were behaving in the most unglamorous manner ever.

The food was good, I have to admit. But below my expectations of a 2 Michelin star restaurant meal. I definitely have had better food elsewhere without Michelin stars, but it might also be because we have had a meal that was on discount. It might possibly have been better if we ordered other stuff from the proper menu itself.

All in all, i still did enjoy myself tremendously there. There was good food, nice ambience, pretty good service and lovely people around. A very awesome lunch! :D

Headed down to New Bond Street for the Mulberry sample sale, but was rather disappointed by it. Didnt like most of the stuff too much anyway, so didnt get anything. I think Carmen and I were possibly the only people who left without getting anything. Ah wells.

Surgery's ending in 2 days time, and I still need to get a bloody CEX done urghs. This sucks!

More plans for Good Food.

My current line- up of Sins now includes:

The Fat Duck, of Course.

2nd Best Restaurant in the world, with 3 Michelin Stars to it.

Need I say more?

And possibly to The Waterside Inn, just next to it.

Le Gavroche, by Michel Roux Jr.

It must be great, since the man himself is so absolutely amazing.

The menu too, looks extremely extremely tantalizing, and relatively value for money, compared to the others on the Michelin List.

Murano, one of Gordon Ramsay's many Restaurants, with Angela Hartnett as the Chef.

The Lunch Menu looked pretty good and is pretty affordable too!

Maze, another one of Gordon Ramsay's ventures as well.

Its French, with some Asian Inspiration, and everything in tasting sizes (good news for girls!).

Its apparently pretty new but has had loads of good reviews already, well of course, including 1 Michelin Star :D

The chef has trained as the famous El Bulli (Best Restaurant in the World 2009!) in Spain as well.

York and Albany by Angela Hartnett/ Gordon Ramsay.

Its actually just at Camden, and I never knew about it.

They even have this small grocery store next to it :D

And this is why London is awesome :D

Salt Yard.

The highlight of my meal at Salt Yard, Charlotte Street.

Courgette Flowers, with goats cheese and a tinge of honey drizzled on it.

Plum and Almond Cake with Salt & Caramel Ice Cream.

Picture doesnt quite do it justice to be honest, tasted loads better than this looks :D

Salt Yard seriously serves amazingly orgasmic Tapas.

The tortillas here were my fave, and in my opinion better than those I had in Barcelona 1 yr back. (Hear this Ernie? :D)

Yum and Happy now!

Edna mode.

My new edna mode haircut. (Or Lady Gaga wannabe.)

That smile there seriously does not reflect my insides :(

Wish me luck in facing the public tmr.

Weekend trips :D

Heading down to Bury St Edmund's Christmas Market in 2 weeks time with the councillors, my flatmates and some of the medics! If you are up for it as well, please please please join us :D Though you would have to book your train tickets from nationalrail on your own. Afterall, parties are always merrier when there's more to make noise and do silly stuff!

Hopefully it would be good, considering online reviews have been making it sound so awesome. They have a trail of markets, selling stuff from christmas food (ooooh yeeeharrr!) to little trinkets. And im crossing my fingers and hoping that it wouldnt be insanely cold up there (though this place is only slightly up north of London, 45mins away from Cambridge) cos my cold tolerance is really very pathetic. But, Im still pretty much very very excited about this as of now!

-

Visited the London BBC Good Food Show 09 at the Olympia yesterday and I really enjoyed myself tremendously. I was seriously stuffed from going around tasting all the awesome cheese and wine/ alcohol and cakes and udon and kickass sausages and loads of random stuff. Managed to nab a couple of real great deals like 90p Calpis concentrate (I know its weird getting Jap stuff here in London), Rachel's organic yoghurt (the yoghurt rice is unbelievably smooth and awesome), sausages of course, jam for friends and aiyah, Im too lazy to type everything down. The sample size dishes which they sold there was disappointing though. The venison burger from Launceston Place was a little on the dry side, Kungbao chicken from Min Jiang good but not fantastic, and the Lemon sole with white wine sauce created by one of the Masterchef Winner was a little too salty (though I suppose it would have been better if it was the creator himself cooking it).

BUT BUT BUT ... I MET MICHEL ROUX JR in person. I was literally like 5m away from him. Totally made my entrance fee worth it :D :D :D

-

Today's the day whereby I told myself that its not too late to start afresh, and pick myself out of the ditch I have dug myself into. I heard that subtle relief from my mum when I announced that to her today.

10 weeks of play (excl summer) is enough. Its time to show people what Singaporeans are truly like :D

I love online shopping.

Just went into this crazy frenzy of getting shoes and bags and coats online.
Whatever happened to self- restraint :(

Rebirth.

What a week it has been for me.

Having Stef over, Meeting the PKK people and councillors, Mini- Maf, falling ill (so much so I had to take time off school), getting better, having dj over, watching Blood Brothers (4th row from the front for 15quid hehe), catching up on my sleep debt (out at 9pm, up at 9.45am) and a very lovely quiet Sat morning and noon.

Its going to be my flatmates' reading week, and my busy week. Not that I am complaining cos i really do like going to the hospital. I love my Hepatobiliary (basically the liver and gall bladder and stones and stuff) rotation. The consultants are absolutely charming, and awesome teachers.
As Rae said, I would feel rejuvenated after a bought of illness. And indeed I do, I feel like its time for me to start working very hard to catch up on all that I have missed. Esp since there is only 3 weeks left for surgery. I think im going to miss it very very much :(

Time really passes too quickly.

Sick.

I hate being sick :(
Esp when Im having such an awesome module with such great teachers who are so willing to teach us!
For some strange reason, I fall sick everytime i dont sleep well. I think Im getting old. Either that, or I blame stef for passing the bug to me when she was over during the weekend. Or maybe its my patients, or the freshers, I dont know. I'm basically surrounded by coughing, sneezing, tearing people all the time.

Mini MAF was cool, though me and Stef went super late, barely in time for song and dance. But it was sweet meeting the councillors. Everyone seems to be doing real well.
And now we have planned a trip up to oxford, I cant wait for the all- awesome .... Moo Moo's! I heard that they do hot milkshakes too :D

Posh.

Today, my patient taught me something interesting.

Did you know? ...
That the word Posh came about from "Port out, starboard home" (P.O.S.H). Apparently it was on the passenger list for for people travelling from UK to India because the sun would be on the Starboard side when outbound and Port side when Inbound. Tickets for those cabins would be more pricey, and hence usually only the richer people would be able to afford.
And hence, the term really :D

Its interesting what we can learn from just talking to people, and being willing to give some the extra time to "blabber on". You never know what surprises lie ahead of you.

UP and around on a bright Monday Morning

Turned all my clocks, but my handphone/ alarm clock back 1 hour.
So here I am, chirpy and awake and WAITING FOR SCHOOL TO START (?!?) at 7am in the morning. This is beyond sad! But i like the feeling of getting ready for work in a relaxing manner, taking my own sweet time to get dressed and have breakfast.

And Im so glad that Dj is going to be around for xmas to travel around with me! We are currently looking at somewhere sunny.
Stef is coming over for the weekend, and there is going to be Mini Maf for me to meet everyone.
I have a hunch this is going to be a relatively good week, crossing my fingers and hoping that I wont lag for my new Urology rotation as I did for the past few.

Im ashamed to say this, but i am now officially extremely sick of B&J's icecream, after having (too much of) it for the past 1wk (every single day, urghs). Things like this happen when there is 2for1 offers and only 3 flavours are restocked each time -_-"

Quick Update :D

I just finished my ENT (Ear Nose Throat) ultra-short posting and I have to say this is definitely smthing tt i really enjoy. I was speaking to one of the specialist reg and he was saying tt you get a good mix of clinics and surgery on ENT which is great. I like being able to use my hands and work on stuff, and yet I like the whole idea of meeting pts and chatting to them as well. Plus the surgeries for ENT are pretty "clean" and sleek, and these surgeons sure do play with loads of toys. Double plus! I like rotations cos it allows me to open my eyes to more fields and things tt I would not have considered otherwise, but at the same time I dont like the fact that I dont quite get to know my consultants and the staff well cos we just keep switching firms.

I havent been all too proactive and working as hard as I should be in school (I dont think i have properly clerked all tt many pts this wk), and I have been having way too much fun with my flatmates. Like i do find it rather ridiculous tt Im having dinner from 7-10pm on a daily basis. Even my mum has started saying things like, why dont you try working, for 2-3days and then play for the rest. -_-" But still, its cool to have smthing to look forward to after a long day at work. The feeling of a pseudo- family away from home.
But the last couple of weeks have been really great for me, from gg down to Billingsgate Market and getting loads of lobsters and crabs and throwing parties and meeting up with friends and all.

Im going to watch a Chelsea match nxt wed, and Kep is just insanely excited about it. Im looking forward to it, hopefully catching a glimpse of ballack or smthing. But not all tt excited about the cold.

And i havent yet decided if I should go home for xmas, cos Stef is not going to be ard to travel w me and I think dj is off in Japan. URGHS.
Either tt, or I will make my brother come over to go Morocco with me :D

Skiving off On- Call.

Considering that I havent been doing any reading for the whole week and that I just managed to skive off from my on-call duties which I swopped with Morrison, I should be getting some work done now instead of waiting for House to load. (Yes, the new season is finally out! So is Heroes. I dont even want to check if Chuck's out, even though I dont think I would eventually be able to resist it anyway.)

The whole week has been so hectic, coming in early and all. We aint going back tt late, but still having to be rushing about and taking in all the info just completely drains me. I havent called home much, and my mum called to ask if I had died or smthing. I have now FB-ed my brother to tell him to periodically assure my mum that Im alive and well, not that I think he actually checks it with A's coming up and all. Hopefully, he would actually be working on it to some extent.

My flat has been like totally the most amazing thing that happened to me ever. Going back now is to some extent like going home. With people to chat with and stuff. Its really a nice feeling. I have half made my immediate neighbour (the one who looks like asian harry potter) my slave. Which is cool :D

I met up with Egg, Dada and his twin sister last night for dinner and some drinks. We had Fish and Chips and I have to admit that 3 years down, I still dont get British grub. As much as i love fish, I still cant bring myself to say that I loved dinner last night. It was good for fish and chips, but I really would rather have it done say, the Italian way. Headed down to Potions after that, and it was claustophobic, though i did get pretty used to it after a while. And i am starting to like my cocktails, though for the sake of my liver, I do try to keep it down to the bare (social) minimum.

Colorectal firm's over. Which is quite a pity, cos I really really loved it so much. The consultants and regs are absolutely amazing, all of them excellent surgeons and interesting personalities in their own unique way.
Its going to be Upper GI and Bariatrics next, heard it loads more relaxing, which is cool 'cos I think Im going to need a slowing down to not burn out. I applaud the singaporeans back home who can just go on and on like energizer bunnies. Sometimes I wonder if I would be able to handle all of these when I do eventually go home. Hopefully, I wont be like the crappiest doctor around.

Its a lovely day outside today, and thats a good sign always!

On Call on Sat is afterall a good thing!

I had one of the most productive days ever yesterday.

Managed to successfully take bloods from a terrified kid. Which was really a cool feeling cos he thought I was pro. Hah. Even though i was probably trembling more than him. But I had to keep that confident smile on, and assure him things were going fantastic. And thank God, I got the vein the first time. Nothing beats the feeling of shiokness as you see the flash-back (blood flowing back into the needle for the first time before you insert the tube), when you got the vein.
Really, now i see the wonders of good communication. I mean last time I used to think that PDS was such a waste of time and they are teaching the plain obvious. But now Im starting to appreciate the little tips and all which I picked up from there. For one, it makes pts less angry when you mess smthing up, which is smthing med students are bound to make.

I failed my first cannula but the pt was chilled with it thankfully. The FY1 on duty failed on his first try too :P
But after that, i managed to cannulate this anesthetized chap. And it felt good. And honestly, I think I was real lucky to have met cool nurses and anesthetists and surgeons who were willing to show me things.
Watched a hip replacement op after that, and now i do have second thoughts abt ortho. And i see why my neighbour was telling me to run 5miles a day at the very least and to work with weights. Tough stuff.

I then popped by the next theatre to watch my consultant do a complicated colectomy on this lady with metastasis in her sigmoid colon, following spread from the left ovary. They had to create a permanent end ileostomy after that. I was amazed totally by the concentration levels and dexterity of my reg and consultant. I think as Medstudents, I really do have to sit back and think when I complain about how tough my timetable is, 'cos i think our bosses have it worse. Not only do they not complain one bit about it, they still have to juggle teaching responsibilities on top of it.

Managed to get off 2h from work, which was cool. Went down to oxford street hoping to do some shopping only to realise that I am in London and shops are off at 5pm. So headed down to my snr's MAF party after that. Came back shattered, showered, slumped onto bed and slept without an alarm clock. Shiokness.

Going shopping in a bit!

Eradicate the Freshers!

Im feeling murderous today. Like Im freaking pissed at the freshers in my block who are partying daily till 4am everyday. I cant bloody sleep at all with all the noise they are creating and its frustrating when you are in bed for 4 damn hours. (You get my point from my choice of vocab.) They kinda forget that there are people who dont want to hear their convo and flirting and have to wake up at 6.30am for work.
Im real thankful that my flatmates are angels.

Well of course, other than my animosity towards the newbies, Im otherwise quite happy. Clinic's awesome and so busy. We are up and running from 7.30am and only off at 5pm, with like 15mins in between classes for lunch (in the midst of walking to the next class). Its kinda crazy, but exciting in its own way. I prefer this to having to wait around for things and being bored.
Managed to clerk someone with 4 pages of past medical hx. But in light of pt confidentiality and what not, I dont think its a good idea to share it here. Really, i never knew that so many prblems could be present in the same person at the same time. But i suppose, I should be qte immune to this already no?

Nitin and I then went to watch a colonoscopy through a stoma after that. It was cool stuff, since most of the time they tend to insert the telescope through the anus. Im quite impressed by the Reg's skill. I mean it does require some sort of coordination and practise to be able to maneuver that stuff well. The pt had some sort of mutated HNPCC, which predisposes him to colon cancer. Results from the colonoscopy wasnt too good, a previously removed polyp is now a fairly large lesion. He prbly has to have a colectomy lined up. It would really be interesting to do some follow up with him since the Reg mentioned that he prbly has to have a surgery lined up qte soon.

On a side note, I think Im pleased with myself thus far. I dont think Im doing fantastically well as far as rankings are concerned. But i think i have largely surpasses my expectations in terms of being able to communicate with people- both pts and peers alike. For the past 2 years, I have had this irrational fear that Im going to pass out everytime i spoke up in a group, but I have to say it is getting better now :D And i think im finally really enjoying hanging out with the angmohs. Which is good news really.
Im thankful that clinics is going well for me, and hopefully it would continue so.

Hell's Kitchen!

I have refound my love for cooking. I mean, its completely time consuming and can potentially be more expensive than eating out (Well, since you cook for 8 people and when you are out, you pay for only yourself), but once in a while, its definitely worth all the trouble.

I was supposed to be making Tiramisu, but I couldnt find Kahlua so I decided to make some other dishes.
And so our dinner consisted of:
1. HK Style/Dimsum Carrot Cake (courtesy of Carmen)
2. Pineapple Rice (Miche)
3. Thai Green Chicken Curry
4. Stir fry Veg
5. Jap Curry Chicken
6. Ma Po Tofu
7. Honey Glazed BBQ Pork Ribs
8. Victoria Sponge Cake with Ice Cream
9. Passion Fruit and Manga Yoghurt Dessert (Miche)

And that's why my Sat night was awesome. How can it not be great when there's good food and good company yeah? :D
(Well hopefully, they did think the food was good la hehe.)

Kep's already in town, and I heard Dada's coming next Sat.
Reunion on Maf night, sweet :D

Pathology Week

Im going to give myself a break today (what's new). But Pathology week has been a tad too much for me, I mean Im totally not built for lectures from 9am-5pm, plus I dont see how we are supposed to be absorbing so much in 1 week, and having to immediately apply all these knowledge at the start of next week. On top of getting ahead with revising stuff, I think I need to get more intelligent.

I dont see how I would be able to juggle stuffing knowledge into my already full brain, waking up for ward rounds at ungodly hours (7.30am properly dressed and looking fresh?!) and having fun at the same time. Oh, and of course, staying healthy. Its easy to degenerate into eating crap instant food (I have had sandwiches for all 3 meals for 1 week now) and not exercising (Im proud to say I have finally signed up with the gym!). But i think if I could graduate from MedSch and say that Ive had a blast of student life, then I think Im capable of doing anything. Though I do suspect that Im going to be saying "I could get through foundation/ reg/ consultant years and say that Ive had a blast" for the rest of my life. But of course, providing that I do graduate in the first place.
All these busy-ness while trying to keep in touch with friends and family back home. Phew. But Im thankful that 3rd year has been kind to me, Ive been loving it and being the new kid on the block aint that bad 'cos the people around have been real nice, accommodating and friendly. 4 weeks into term and Ive only had 1 bad day. I hope such good fortune will continue :D

People are starting to move into Schafer this week, considering school for all the others are starting next week. No one has moved into my flat yet, but I suppose its a matter of time. But people that I have met around have been really nice and friendly. Plus I met another Singaporean HC dude (and incidentally CheeGake's friend) who is staying in my block on the floor abv me. I do hope that I would be able to meet more Singaporeans around. Afterall, Im starting to feel this irrational fear that one day I wont be able to converse with anyone who's life doesnt revolve around medicine.

Kep's flying in tmr, exciting stuff. And Rae on Sat. Finally, London's coming alive!

Breaktime!

Decided that it was time to take a slack since ICCM and OSCEs ended, and this weekend has been quite a blast.

Went out to shop at Covent Garden and then had dinner at Las Tasca on Friday. There was 50% off on food, so it was a real good deal. Kiki, Carz and I had a sharing meal for 2 and we were totally stuffed by the end of the night. I had 2 glasses of sangria and I think I was a little tipsy by the end of dinner. Which prbly explained why i actually agreed to go Huntley with them after that. People were absolutely shocked to see me there. I mean its beyond rare that Peish turns up at a social event and almost unthinkable that im at the school bar.
I have to admit its real sad considering its only my 2nd time there, and Im in my 3rd year of medschool. But it was good fun, and I got a taste of my new current new fave- Smirnoff Ice. I like my drinks sweet and this was pretty light. Though I think by the end of the night, I was a little whoozy since i KO-ed pretty soon I got the chance to hit my sack.

Sat was a rather domesticated day for me. Finally got the chance to properly clean up my room, pack my table, vacuum the floor, clear the kitchen. Its nice to be starting a new term with a newly cleaned room.
Spontaneously decided to watch Sister Act, the Musical after that. And it was great. The vibe was amazing and the stage set was impressive. I personally preferred Hairspray though, but Sister Act does have good songs! Managed to get real good tickets at an awesome price. Single seats, but i suppose we dont quite have to sit together with friends for shows yeah?
Got back and continued watching old Sister Act clips on youtube.

Ive spent this morning doing my laundry and getting random stuff for Kiki who is going to be making ondeh ondeh and baking! Cant wait to try it, crossing my fingers and hoping that it turns out well.
And im just going to spend my Sunday lazing around, watching youtube and catching up on all the rest Ive been missing. Surg's starting soon.



This dude totally moved me to tears.

Ive been tearing a whole lot recently, like I was bawling my head away in Sister Act. The couple nxt to me prbly thought i was nuts or emo or smthing of sorts.

The end of OSCEs!

OSCE went disastrously today. I mean I was so nervous I couldnt even spell accessory. I think i had like 4 S-es in it. I can totally imagine the examiner's face when he marks my paper. Even Ken was laughing at me for not completing the cranial nerve question, which was a total giveaway. Plus I was shaking so hard when I was trying to palpate for the brachial artery.
Im just glad that its not included in the final yr's grades, which actually counts for MBBS. Urghs.

Went to celebrate the end of OSCE with Carz and Ken. We had a last minute change of plan, and headed down to Belgo's in Chalk Farm for some mussels instead of French. The sausages (esp so!) and chicken there was good too. And we managed to beat the clock at 5 (so we only paid 5quid for our main dishes). The desserts werent fantastic though. Speaking of which Im kinda craving for some Pistachio ice cream at Selfridge's/ Le Chocolatier.
And i really should make good use of the 2for1s at Cafe Rouge and GBK. Oh, and 50% off at La Tasca! Sangria anyone? :D

Its not good that I have been feeling too full too much recently. And its worse when I havent even signed up for the gym yet.

One of those shit days.

Today is a shitty day.

I had a crap day at school.

Wanting to make myself happier, I had a strawberry cheesecake. Only to realise it was rotten after I finished it.

Im bloody sick of having crap food for meals daily.

The weather sucks.

And i have a freaking OSCE Im damn unprepared for in 2 days time.

Most of all, I wish I was home.

I actually miss my brother, mum & dad and friends.

Damn a lot too.