20131130
home is wherever i'm with you
hello from hong kong! i am still exhausted and not particularly happy about sleeping in this tiny apartment.... can't wait to be back in sg. can't wait to be where j is, actually.
was super sian waiting for 11.30pm last night so we could leave for the airport. my grandfather nearly didn't come with us. -.- slept most of the flight.
arrived in hk before 6am, took a bus to mong kok and dropped our luggage off at the tiny apartment. went to cheers restaurant for yum cha. walked around a bit after but the shops were mostly still closed.
when we got back to the apartment they were still cleaning it out. -.- left the grandparents there to rest while we went out to horizon plaza and the prada outlet. didn't really intend to but ended up buying a wallet and bag haha. i like them though. surprised that j didn't make a big fuss about it. ;p
we were going to have dinner at some restaurant but there were too many people. went back to cheers but they were hosting two weddings, so we ended up eating at yoshinoya instead. walked around the ladies' night market for a bit but didn't buy anything. as i always say, there's nothing to buy in hk.
hope i get to eat all the food i really want to eat before i go back. can't really be bothered with anything else.
10:46 pm
20131129
hello from singapore! i am dying in this heat. how would i ever survive moving back? :| anyway, it's a 10 hour transit and i'll be back at the airport in about 2 hours. off to hk next. i know i should be looking forward to the food and the shopping but i'm so tired i just want to rest!
got up at 6am and got ready. j came over and we went to pump petrol first, then drove to the airport together but in two cars. i just followed him because he took a different route to avoid traffic. got to alpha at about 8 and j drove me to the airport after. at the alpha carpark a kid nearly ran into our car, and his mother apologised to us and scolded him. if we were in sg, the mother would have scolded us, ha.
it was so nice of j to go with me. :)
the flight was delayed because of a problem with the in flight entertainment. it was a small old plane so the system wasn't great anyway. only watched one movie - blue jasmine, and a few episodes of the middle and new girl. slept for a few hours but there was a crying baby plus screaming kids. -.- control your kids, woman.
am already missing melbourne's weather. it is so hot and humid here i want to cry. :( don't understand how my sister sleeps without the air con.
went to send my dress to be altered on the way back, and shared mcwings with my mother. spent some time with the grandparents in their room. the maidy says i look better now (as in i am fatter). :(
skyped with j. :)
as requested by rong:
30nov to 4dec - hk
6dec - ?brunch with cheryl
7dec - linda's wedding
11 to 19 dec - phuket
20dec - the big 10
21dec - fly back to melb
nothing much lah hor. i just want to rest. :|
my right eye is so rubby i look like i have conjunctivitis. :(
9:25 pm
i know my God is able to carry me through.
back from the grampians road trip. travelled with some of the most annoying, ungentlemanly boys ever. all they ever did was eat, sleep, watch tv, and talk. non-stop. i felt like throwing things at them. and there were at least 4 instances when i would have liked to have driven back to melbourne, if i'd driven. -.- i don't have much patience.
wasn't going to write about everything but figured i would, just for completeness.
on the first day we picked daniel's mum up from the airport and then went to ballarat to meet everyone else. walked through the art gallery, talked about how we couldn't appreciate art. had hot chocolate and scones/ banana bread at the beechworth bakery, then went to take photos at lake wendouree and hiked around mount cole (we didn't actually get to go to the top). thought that i was going to fall and die many times. thankfully j was there to catch me. ;p what would i do without him? ;p
went to coles in ararat to get groceries. i nearly wanted to kill someone by the end of it. the annoying boys wanted to buy things like cream cakes and chips and doughnuts and cookies. NO. ugh.
finally arrived at the accommodation in halls gap and started cooking immediately. had a bbq and watched tv. there wasn't enough hot water for everyone to shower. plus one bathroom to eleven people... not the greatest. add ungentlemanly boys to the picture and... just kill me now. plus we remembered at like 12am that we needed to make sandwiches.
on day two we got up early to cook breakfast. scrambled eggs and bacon. hiked up to the pinnacle via the sundial carpark. i think i prefer the hike from the wonderland carpark. didn't get to spend much time at the top. went to mackenzie falls after, my third time there. sat there and had our sandwiches and pears. then we went back to halls gap for ice cream. had banana and old english toffee, yum. it was a really hot day.
went back to the house to shower/ rest, then cooked dinner (pasta, salad, roast chicken, billy's spinach thing). went to the boroka lookout and then the balconies to watch the sunset. though we didn't actually see the sunset. -.- saw lots of weird stacked stones. like >100 stacks. really weird. and creepy. should have taken a photo.
happy 5th!
woke up at 7 today because that was the time we agreed on. i will never get this waking up late thing. how disrespectful. but people don't seem to get that. sleep is more important, right? -.- since no one was up yet, i took a shower. then went for a walk. saw 3 kangaroos. it was nice because the flies weren't out yet and it wasn't that cold. when i got back to the house at about 8.15 it started to get a bit colder. eventually woke j up by calling him from outside his window and giving him a shock haha.
cooked breakfast again - more eggs and bacon, sausages, leftovers from last night. also made bacon and egg sandwiches using really expensive eggs and bread bought from halls gap, which we didn't even get to eat because we didn't hike today. was really annoyed by people who just sat and watched tv while we rushed to clean up after. plus they took ten thousand years in the toilet too.
we were going to hike up mt picaninny (?) but it was raining so we didn't. went to dunkeld and had lunch at the old bakery. one of the boys only ordered his meal when we were nearly done eating. -.- YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. went to have a look at lake borac after but didn't get out because it was raining. drove back through ballarat.
we were stuck in heavy traffic and j really needed to pee and i took an insta video of him but he made me delete it. ;p i still have it on my phone though. hilarious.
dropped daniel and his mum off at my house, where they collected james' car from liliane. showered and started packing, then j picked me up again and we went over to bettina for dinner cooked by ben, april, daniel, and daniel's mum. so nice of them. :) watched pacific rim and complained about certain boys.
j sent me back and on the way we went to pinewood to get some starburst and maltesers for the family. oh and we balloted! now to wait with bated breath.
can't really believe that i'm flying back in 9 hours. i'm too exhausted for all of this. not going to see j for a few days but i guess it's just like when i'm working. i'm driving the yellow submarine to the airport car park and he'll follow (actually, he'll lead and i'll follow) and he'll send me to the airport from there. :) i tried to stop him (such a waste of money) but it would be nice to see him before i fly. ;p
goodnight, need to be up in 4.5 hours.
1:25 am
20131126
take it or leave it, it's yours to decide
break it or keep it, you're safe
hammer and tong was closed. again. this time it was my bad though, i didn't check, and they are always closed on mondays. -.- thankfully this time it was in the morning, so we went to birdman eating instead. had their soft shell crab open sandwich (which was not even open) and thought it was alright. definitely not as good as hammer and tong's. the upside was that the crab had roe. ;p
oscillating between thinking i can, and thinking i can't.
went to watch the hunger games 2 with some of the lg people. didn't watch the first one so i didn't understand bits of it but thought it was not bad. though i didn't like the ending. went for a "quick dinner" at straits which took ten thousand years. i barely even ate, it would have taken me like 5 minutes.
i have so much residual grumpiness from the past week that i think it will take a huge effort to not be grumpy for the next few days.
there will be no rest this annual leave, none at all.
12:10 am
20131125
the quarter life crisis continues-
had interesting conversations with two people after church today. the first was with michael, and it was about weddings haha. talked about weddings here vs. back home, about inviting people we don't want to invite and having them completely ignore the entire wedding etc. he had 500 people at his msia wedding?!?! i said i wanted 100 people and he said that was really little haha. it was nice though.
also, sher just had what looks like her dream wedding. it looked lovely (from photos on fb). i am infinitely envious.
the second conversation was with aunty pansy. i haven't spoken to her in a really long time. she still scares me. she was talking to me about GP reg-ing and how some rural places don't give you points, so i have to choose carefully. will need to do some research before i apply in april (gah, so soon).
dropped the cats off at the cats in the country cattery this afternoon. i didn't check the drop off times beforehand so we had to go home and go back again. made j miss the ccm advance too. :| though he says i didn't make him do anything.
the place looked nice and the lady (kim) seemed really nice too. they have their own multi-level scratching post (which they never had at home), and a bed and litter tray each. kim said once they're used to the place she'll let them out to wander around the room. i'm sure they'll be fine, but they must hate me now. :( i miss them already.
came home and vacuumed my room, then went out to kagurazaka for dinner with jean, daniel, dar ray, and yu en. the food was good, though the portions were small. had a good time. :) jean loves my car. ;p
came home again and immediately started cleaning. cleaned out the cats' toilet, which is actually our toilet. washed all three litter trays. cleaned the bathroom floor and mopped it. cleaned the bathtub, which no one ever uses. cleaned the toilet. mopped the kitchen floor. vacuumed the living room. washed the dishes. took out the trash and the recyclables. liliane came back and i asked her to clean the shower because i could not do anymore.
i feel like eating again now. -.- my nail polish is horribly chipped and the skin on my fingers is all cracked. :(
the plan is to go to hammer and tong tomorrow for brunch after the agent comes to inspect the house. if they are closed for some reason or other i will be very upset.
12:07 am
20131123
everybody is running forward. at different speeds maybe, but all forward. me? i have never been running. at the most, i have been jogging, a half hearted attempt to keep up. but i slow to a walk. and then i stop and stand still, and watch everyone disappear into the horizon. then, maybe, i turn and walk the other way.
happy birthday j, i hope you had fun.
12:09 am
20131121
day 6 (i am going to lose count soon). every day feels like a weekend when you're not working. ;p
it is always strange to think that i know nothing about things that happen in singapore now.
woke up and started baking before 9am. baked the cheesecake first. it was my first time baking a cheesecake with a base that creeped up the side of the tin as well. have never done the base so painstakingly haha. made the cream cheese filling and swirled in the berry sauce. looked quite pretty. then i added the sour cream top layer, think i added a bit too much, it almost looked like it was overflowing.
roasted pumpkin, sauteed onions and garlic, tossed in baby spinach. made the pastry and blind baked it. assembled the quiches with lots of cheese. ;p made 2 big ones and 1 mini one.
was really hungry by then but i waited for j to finish his exam and call me. he said the paper was really difficult and people came out of the hall crying. :| i came out of every single exam in med school not knowing if i would pass or fail, but never cried, so...
went over and had laksa lamian for lunch. gave him part 2 and part 3 of his birthday presents. :) he liked the book. :) then we went to uni to do his police check thing. ← typed by him. was kind of nice to be back in cmhse. it's been forever. went to pick up my stuff from the post office in clayton too.
watched while he did an exam paper and tried to answer some of the o&g questions too. i really don't know much gynae. i wonder how i would do on a 4th year paper now. ;p would be kind of interesting to know haha.
had maccas for dinner. the coke was disappointing.
my steering wheel now makes noises. :( like a cable tie.
zhilin and zepeng are engaged! :D yay wedding!
need to remember to send gvh my signed contract. more baking tomorrow. hope the cake turns out well.
10:40 pm
day 5 of 37. it's going by quickly! :|
woke up when j texted me that he was going to uni for osces at about 7.30. so early. went back to sleep after that though. still tired.
went to chaddy and was glad i went pretty early to avoid parking woes. got there before 10 and left before 12. bought a dress and nothing much else for myself. it needs to be altered though, i'm too short haha. might wear it for the wedding. :D
went grocery shopping at pinewood coles and spent more than $100. D: yikes. berries are expensive and j wants a mixed berry cheesecake and i wanted fresh berries rather than the frozen ones, hmm.
had sushi for lunch, then baked 2 batches of corn muffins - though i cheated and just made a double batch. it made 48 muffins and 2 mini cupcakes. gave one to j with a flag saying "more than halfway through!" :) 3 down, 2 to go. made the berry sauce and crushed the biscuits for his cake, then chopped up pumpkin for the quiches so i have less work to do tomorrow.
talked to yuwan while baking. :) she was having her long-awaited day off. :)
did heaps of laundry and changed my sheets. tidied my wardrobe. called the agent, he'll drop by on monday. :\
went over to j's after he was done with osces. he keeps randomly thinking of mistakes he made. went to dabao food from choi palace and saw pastor, aunty daisy, corinna, and jayden there. bought rekorderlig too. j is trying to convince me to drink with him. and that he is not an alcoholic.
watched half of turbo, which i actually liked more than i expected. took a nap and slept right through the what does the fox say alarm. :\ achievement unlocked. james and his friend were recording a song which his friend wrote. heard it millions of times from upstairs, i like it. it's going to be stuck in my head for a while haha.
am extremely amused by my intern. ;p today she texted me with a ♥ and said it was lonely without me hahaha. j says she will ask me to marry her one day. ;p (she is already married.)
going to lavendula on saturday! :) but forecast is for rain? :\
12:58 am
20131119
day 4 of 37. exhausted.
woke up early to send derrick to the airport. picked jeanwei up and then went over to their place. waited for him and mei. said bye to j. got to the airport just after 10, without dying.
then jeanwei drove and we went to dukes coffee roasters for brunch (lunch). we were all starving by then. their hot chocolate is a bit nutty so i didn't really like it. had the smoked pork hock polenta with asparagus, edamame, poached eggs, and lemon hollandaise, which was alright. as my mother would say, nothing to shout about.
went home after and washed my clothes. they are still sitting in the washing machine because the dryer continues to be occupied (after at least 2 days).
then i picked jeanwei up again and went to mei's. drove to brighton beach and sat there for a while taking photos and making some vitamin d. we were approached by a "muscly man" (jeanwei's words) who was a bit weird.
went to the city to pick shuwei up, then we went to fitzroy. wanted to have dinner at hammer and tong. they were open, but for a private coffee tasting event. -.- seriously? i think i need to call them beforehand next time to avoid being disappointed. :( ended up having dinner at cider house instead (right across the road from rice queen, which is where tae and i ate the last time we were disappointed by hammer and tong).
we both had the duck confit risotto and one of their many apple ciders. not bad. went to n2 after that for buttered popcorn gelato, but it wasn't as good as the other time. she gave me a lemon cheesecake that she made, and a christmas card! aww. :) invited her for our grampians road trip. i hope she goes, even though there are already too many people.
met a ginger cat named sam while walking back to the car. he was friendly.
dropped by j's on the way home to pass him the peanut butter cookie i bought him from dukes. he said he didn't do too well for two of the stations in the first set but i don't know anything about the second set. two more tomorrow and osces will be over.
tomorrow i shall go to the chaddy vip sale, bake some corn muffins, and wash more clothes. and rest.
10:55 pm
day 3 of 37.
went over to j's in the morning to cook lunch for him and derrick. had to listen to him talk to himself for a couple of hours too. :| will be glad when exams are over. his inability to cope with stress baffles me.
had soup noodles for lunch. yum. :) that's what i was eating when i was sick a couple of weeks ago haha.
my mother has agreed to let me stay in rusden house next year!!! could not be happier. but there are still lots of problems to sort out. need to organise for the agent to come and look at the apartment but it isn't really in a presentable state. -.- also need to fix and clean a lot of stuff. can i not. :( plus living in rusden house means not having an oven. :\
went to pick j up after the via. took me 40 mins to get to caulfield in the traffic. -.- super dislike driving at that time. ended up having dinner at papparich in chaddy. went back to his place and watched a bit of john carter (i still have no idea what it's about) then came home.
randomly, last week i had to make a phone call to the ortho reg about one of our patients. he was a 76yo man who'd had a left peri-prosthetic hip fracture and had a revision a few weeks ago, but had been complaining of left hip pain for a couple of days, so we did an x-ray, which clearly showed a dislocation.
ortho reg: hello?
me: hello is this the ortho reg?
ortho reg: who is this?
me: erm i'm fawn, the gem resident.
ortho reg: ohh, so you're a shining stone?
me: ermmm. so i was just calling about one of our patients...
i was too stunned to respond appropriately to his "shining stone" comment haha, particularly with my intern, reg, and consultant all waiting to hear what the ortho reg would say. (gem stands for geriatric evaluation and management.) found it really strange that he refused to identify himself as the ortho reg.
also randomly, my intern texted me "it's so boring without you." hahaha. ;p she said the relieving resident wasn't there, and neither was the reg. haha. i really pity her if she had to go through the consultant ward round on her own.
we have been having some good going telepathy recently. ;p love it. now when i look at him, he says "i know, i love you too." ;p awww.
after exams....
stop then stop lor.
12:07 am
20131117
day 2 of 37. :) realised that i forgot to count this weekend haha.
spent most of the day horizontal. not sure why i'm so tired. had dinner at straits, chicken rice yummm.
have a new scratch on my arm from when bailey freaked out when j left after sending me home. haven't been scratched in ages. ouch.
j's exams start tomorrow! via, osces, and the other 2 papers. 5 days to go. you can do it! :)
cooking lunch for/with j tomorrow before his afternoong paper. brunching with some of the girls on tues after sending derrick to the airport, then having dinner at hammer and tong (soft shell crab burger!!!) with shuwei. :) chaddy vip sale on wednesday, and then baking on thursday - j's birthday cake (mixed berry cheesecake), pumpkin quiches, corn muffins for timmy's birthday party. going for crazy wings (but not actually going to eat any) with some of the church people after j's last paper on friday.
poisonous thoughts are poisonous. trying to avoid them.
am super annoyed by x but (breathes) it will be over soon. cannot wait. please go and bother someone else, thanks.
11:35 pm
20131116
day 1 of 35.
woke up at 4.30am this morning after a dream about work. can't remember much about the dream except that the patient was on frusemide 45mg (what?). and the previous night i dreamt about one of our patients with an altered conscious state who needed a CT brain. i hope the work dreams will end soon. dreaming about work makes me feel like i'm working in my sleep too. tiring.
couldn't fall asleep again after that for 2 hours. eventually got out of bed at 9.45am. wanted to get stuff to cook pasta with avocado but realised that i would be having pasta (and pizza) for dinner tonight so i decided against it. had scrambled eggs for breakfast and felt really full after.
read the most ridiculous article ever. imho. an ecologist has claimed that humans are not from this planet. his "evidence"?:
- bad backs suggest that humans came from a place with low gravity (and not because of bad posture, obesity etc.)
- humans get sunburnt (nothing to do with holes in the ozone, or how people spend a lot of time indoors)
- the size of babies' heads are too big and they cause pain when giving birth (apparently not a common problem with other species on earth) (it is actually eve's fault)
- people are "always ill" because we're meant to be following a 25 hour cycle instead of 24 (nothing to do with diet and other lifestyle factors, and also, who is
always ill?)
- humans are not happy on earth (?? no words for this one)
anyway. went over to j's after his study group. eventually went to ikea for lunch at 3.30pm haha. ate a lot. then we went to sofia's for the btf appreciation dinner. i was just being extra because i didn't even help out with btf at all. :| ate a lot. and then we went to billy's to watch tv and have nutella cheesecake. yum, but so full! and fat.
that question all those months ago.
11:17 pm
20131115
day 5 of 5. finally. i am officially on annual leave! :D
my brain feels dead after all the work i did today. 3 discharges and 3 admissions. and at 5.10pm (when we're already supposed to be gone), the nurses told us that one of our patients needed a catheter. sigh. i'm so glad it's over. the relieving resident will have to deal with the aftermath next week.
my reg says she hopes the relieving resident will be as good as me. ;p not in terms of medical knowledge, obviously (she knows that i know nothing), but in terms of efficiency. ;p plus i slack a lot less than my intern haha.
felt too tired (and braindead) to drive back after work, thought i would just stay in shep for the night and then drive back in the morning. but i ended up driving back after dinner anyway haha. driving at dusk reminded me of driving from maroochydore to bundaberg. i miss the coast, it must be so warm up there by now.
missed the last combined lg of the year, oh well.
10:50 pm
20131114
day 4 of 5. :D only one more dayyy. the whole world is envious. ;p
busy day today. did the ward round with J, unfortunately the med students didn't follow us today. -.- so we got questioned and i looked so stupid. fortunately i really can't be bothered at this stage. J told me to have a good holiday haha. he's a nice boss.
did a few jobs after the round, then had lunch. then we went for the case conference, where we only had 6 patients (2 were discharged this morning) and i presented 2 of the easiest ones. ;p my turn to be the slacker.
did more jobs after the case conference. we had a total of 4 admissions today. D: jo did one and i did two, and we left one for tomorrow because it was all too much. my head was spinning when i left the ward at 5.20pm.
physio: so she came in with an infective exacerbation of her COPD?
me: yup, then she had a nstemi. it just gets better, doesn't it?
physio: why yes it does.. maybe i should give this patient to E (another physio), we should share these sort of patients equally between us...
me: thankfully i'm going on holiday after tomorrow.
physio: oh, lucky you! so you really don't care, do you?
me: nope, not at all...
came home and showered, then jo came over to see the cats. now she is reconsidering getting a dog. ;p my meows are getting much better with strangers. :) went to the teller collective for dinner. had prawn tacos, a pumpkin and artichoke salad, gravalax salmon with asparagus, and pumpkin and leek risotto to share. am so full now.
j seems a lot happier yesterday and today compared to two days ago. i'm glad. :)
8:28 pm
20131113
day 3 of 5. :D hump day!
took my afternoon off today so i could clean my house. ;p it wasn't busy and there was only some paperwork to be done so i left the jobs with jo. she keeps telling me to give her all the shit jobs haha.
ward round - 7 patients! the poor rehab team has 25 in total while we only have 15 haha.
case conference - the reg slyly made me present 3 patients while she only presented 1. -.- slacker.
lunch - had an extended lunch break with jo. extended lunch breaks make me feel uneasy. work first play later right?
jobs - i finally have access to the rehab printer!!! so i can print path requests and stuff. still don't have access to the system we use to do admissions or discharges though. -.-
came home and vacuumed, cleaned surfaces, cleaned the floor around the cats' bathroom, washed dishes, cleaned the bathroom, took the trash out. decided that it didn't make sense to wash the litter trays today and refill them with fresh litter because i should wash them and just leave them empty before i leave shep for my annual leave (fri/sat).
might only go back to melb on saturday morning because i'll need to wash the litter trays immediately before i leave. which means if i went back on friday i'd have to come home after work, wash the litter trays, load the cats, drive back, unload the cats, then go for lg. doesn't really make sense, so saturday's probably better.
skyping with j while he studies in the library haha. it's like a silent movie. ;p except that i can hear him typing. and coughing. he got my postcard. :)
yurong is engaged!!! so exciting!!! ;p ;p yay can't wait. :D we have our answer to the "which one of us is going to get married first" question. ;p
2 days of work left, and 16 days till i am home.
5:31 pm
20131112
day 2 of 5. !!!
tuesday is relaxing because there is no consultant ward round. did a few jobs (made the biggest mess ever putting a cannula in) while the reg went to see some referrals, then we saw A's patients in preparation for his round tomorrow. there were only 7!
i think my intern spends most of her time on her phone instead of doing work. -.- it gets annoying at times. and then she doesn't even carry a patient list herself. after rounds we look at my list to divide the jobs. good thing i am organised. ;p
went for my end of rotation meeting with the physician. had nothing much to say. "the consultants and regs are very friendly and supportive..." "i think we did paeds at a quiet time so a lot of the time we didn't have much to do..." "i think all the rotations i did this year are very useful for GP..."
the reg is envious that i get to have my annual leave at this time of the year. the down side is that i have to work christmas and boxing day. but of course the up side is the public holiday pay. but then another down side is that i'll only have been back at work for 2 days before i have to go solo so i won't know any of the patients. D:
the new patient arrived at the ward at 4.30pm. -.- it's so annoying when that happens because it inevitably means having to stay late to finish the admission. thankfully in GEM the patients are seen by a reg first and so the history is documented. ;p and also there is some kind of plan in place.
i have left otitis externa for the nth time. D: my ear is so sore that i can't even use my stethoscope hahaha. good excuse, since i can never hear murmurs anyway.
j is so stressed and i don't know how to help himmmm. :(
night noodle markets!
10:17 pm
20131111
home is wherever i'm with you.
day 1 of 5. :D only 4 to go!
drove up to shep early this morning - left at 5.33am. it was such a sleepy drive. i much prefer the light previously... now it gets bright so early. :| went home to clear cat poop, feed them, and take a 20 min nap.
the reg was 30 mins late. -.- i almost thought she wasn't going to show up and we were going to have to round on our own. D:
rounded in preparation for J's afternoon round, then did a few jobs here and there. at 12 we were told that G was doing some teaching which we had to go for. it was about isbar and stroke classification. he is extremely boring. i still have no idea. :\
went back to the ward and went on J's ward round. we had a couple of med students so thankfully most of the questions were directed at them and not us. ;p i have to say that SJ really knows his stuff. i am just clueless. plus at this stage (4 days before annual leave) i really cannot be bothered. i hope these guys hang around all week so i don't have to answer any questions.
did some jobs after the ward round. hijacked E's computer to do an admission for a patient who was admitted last friday. ordered some imaging and some bloods, then put a cannula in. told the reg everything i'd done and she seemed very appreciative - she was doing some presentation for the M&M next week (or maybe this week?). then she asked me if jo had done any jobs hahaha. i'm making the intern look bad.
came home after work and had dinner (fried rice, three cups chicken, eggs). j's hour-long naps always end up being at least 1.5 hours long. i'll call at 1 hour and he'll go "i want to sleep some more..."
7:24 pm
20131110
"after exams...."
it was a lazy sunday. except that it started at 7am.
went to church for set up, did ohp, attempted to talk to some people during church lunch. sometimes i just cannot be bothered. said hi to asher, who was frowny to start off with, but then joab made him smiley haha. so cute.
went back to j's first with derrick while j went to the container. took a nap. spent most of the afternoon (okay, the whole afternoon) doing nothing, then went to ajisen ramen in glen for dinner. so full. it was nice though. j's been so busy studying and being stressed, it was nice just doing nothing with him.
because of j i keep getting coke cravings. :|
things i dislike with a passion.
walk to the city? challenge accepted. (though i highly doubt i'll be able to actually make it all the way haha.) walk until leg pain before grampians = cannot walk anymore in grampians.
kevin is going to go around victoria on a bike with titus, i feel so worried for them! D: plus he wants to go skydiving in sydney haha.
driving back up to shep early tomorrow morning (5.30am ish) for work. 5 more days = 4 more consultant ward rounds, 2 case conferences, and i know we've got at least 2 discharges planned for this week (also = 2 admissions, hopefully they'll be rehab patients and not GEM). the next time i come back to melb i won't need to go back to shep for 5 weeks! :D though now that i think about it, 5 weeks isn't very long...
about 2 weeks till i say bye to my babies. D: D: D:
10:46 pm
20131109
j came over in the morning and we brought the yellow submarine back to the workshop. the guy managed to solve the problem, i think. hopefully the car stays fine.
went over for a while before lunch. washed my hair because it was getting gross after not washing it for 36 hours. had lunch at ping's dumpling. yay chicken and prawn dumplings. :)
ran into daniel after j left for his study group! how unexpected. he was in clayton grocery shopping before meeting dar ray and someone else and then going to the city for dinner.
got stuff to make chicken soup and three cups chicken for church lunch (requested by j). hong kong now has the chilli crab lamian so i bought a couple of packets. ;p though laksa lamian is still nicer.
came home and made chicken soup and three cups chicken. finished going through all of j's obstetric notes. went over to j's for dinner and a walk, then did random things while he had study group.
when you cannot articulate how important something is to you.
recipes to try:
home made peanut butter
different baked eggs
avocado baked with an egg
different banana fritters
11:36 pm
day 4 of 4. :D
went to work feeling like not doing any work at all. which i actually hinted at a few times haha.
"the printers are not working and we have no access to the system. let's just go home" and (after i went to try and do an mmse, but the patient was having lunch) "the mmse is not urgent. as long as we do it before A's ward round on wednesday it'll be fine."
so we went to have lunch haha. all gem and rehab junior doctors. ;p all i had for lunch: roast veggies. not a typo. veggies.
we shifted into a new office today. some IT guy came to move our computers but we had to move everything else. which meant cleaning the office out. which meant throwing whatever we didn't want on the floor haha. one of the consultants came and picked through what we discarded. he picked up an ECG from 2011, and a MIMS from 1993. :|
we don't have any phones in our new office yet. and for some reason i can't add the rehab printer to my list of printers. and i don't have access to the system, which means i can't do admissions or discharges. -.- had to borrow yati's login. did 1 admission and 3 discharges. still have 1 discharge to go but i couldn't find his notes. oh and 1 admission, the patient arrived at like 4.35pm. -.-
drove straight back after work. the car worried me a bit towards the end of the drive - it was quite noisy and seemed to be working really hard (i feel like i'm describing a patient's laboured breathing, but it's kind of similar). got j to check it out for me after lg but it was back to normal then. :|
arrived at about 7.45pm, they were still having dinner! i was surprised. LG3 was in the law building too. stopped downstairs to talk to sin yee for a bit. :) she's here on holiday.
trying to get j to grow a mo just for fun. james downloaded a mo app hahaha. had supper at straits of malacca. durian pancakeee. suddenly feel like having durian puree and the durian pancakes from taka.
1:07 am
20131107
'cause with you here, i'm a rocketeer
day 3 of 4. 6 work days till annual leave.
realised that the GEM intern really has a good life, being the first one to leave every day. which basically leaves me with all the jobs.
today i was meant to leave at 3pm but i ended up staying till 4.45pm, though jo left at 4pm. how does that even happen? -.- i didn't leave at 3pm because there were lots of jobs to do and there was no way jo would be able to finish them before 4. i think the reg didn't know i was meant to be off, so she kept giving me jobs to do.
really dislike having to talk when my voice is so croaky and my throat is so scratchy. but the reg came to case conference late today and conveniently sat at the other end of the table so she wouldn't have to present any of the patients. -.- slacker. then she made me do an mmse at like 4.30pm. kept having to stop to cough. not a good look, particularly in front of your patients.
jo poked a poor patient a few times then gave up and asked me to have a go. i managed to get a 22g cannula in, thankfully. all he needed was a stat dose of vanc. i feel so bad for the oldies. they have such terrible veins and always get poked multiple times.
am trying to be more positive about the whole being questioned to death thing on rounds. at the start of the round i do actually feel quite enthused about learning but when he asks so many questions that the round takes ten thousand years and doesn't leave me enough time to do my jobs... :\
blackbird market?
to go to lg or not tomorrow.....
10:07 pm
excuse me while i fall for you
day 2 of 4. halfway there!
if only my postnasal drip and sore throat would go away. in the middle of the night i coughed up this really gross looking yellow gunk with blood in it. D:
work: ward round, case conference (multidisplinary team meeting), grand rounds. went back to the ward after, and jo and i divided the patients up between us. did jobs, including a cannula and a venepuncture. ;p it feels weird stabbing patients again haha.
throat is still on fire. had 4 strepsils while at work today but i really don't think it helped. bought more honey so i can drink copious amounts of honey lemon. and made more soup, because it's the only thing i can even contemplate eating. okay not entirely true, i did make myself have sandwiches at grand rounds. but soup is so much better than sandwiches.
kiasu singaporean: signs up for e-alerts, but still checks the website every day. ;p
finally got all the car money + pay today so i suddenly feel like i have a lot of money hahaha. but okay, not really. it's all going to fly away soon.
rediscovering old songs.
speaking of songs - at today's grand rounds they played a video from their community event (by the kidney foundation).
"i'm a kid, billy, the kid kidney. all i wanna be is sugar-free!"
bye Skype! :( you will be missed.
at this rate i will be doing things just because other people want me to for the rest of my life.
12:31 am
20131105
save me san francisco
following a conversation with j, i went to read my archives from when i was studying for 4th year exams, and found this, written about 3 years ago. ;p
a conversation with yuwan:
"just now i dreamt that you had a new boyfriend."
"A NEW BOYFRIEND. and who's that?"
"i don't know, he was very tall."
gives an oh really look.
"it was a nightmare. your mother was so angry."
which is true. except that, as j keeps stressing, my mother isn't angry. i feel like i haven't talked to j properly in more than a month. how many days left till the end of exams?
made soup this morning, using only a few ingredients: chicken, carrots, corn, chicken stock, and water. maybe i will lose weight. yay. had the same for dinner, except i added mee sua. and had some sweet potato chips in between haha. and a pear for breakfast so i could have some ibuprofen. okay maybe i'm not going to lose weight. -.-
i'm tired of everybody and everything trumping me. :( i am trying but i can't seem to do it.
studied today. on melbourne cup day. and i don't even have exams. how sad is my life? ..to make it slightly less sad i decided to do some online shopping. i will have stuff waiting for me at home when i get there. ;p
i have run out of honey but my throat is still on fire.
fire. :( finished the jar that i got from chai & hanting's wedding. lignocaine spray, please?
"have u told Justin of yr plan? it's.....KIND OF IMPORTANT!"
hilarious.
cheer up song:
keep on moving
back to work tomorrow.
9:32 pm
20131104
day 1 of 4. realised that tomorrow is a public holiday so i don't have to work! :) the days just keep disappearing on their own.
i foresee 8 weeks of hell in geri's. 20 patients, each with complicated histories and 2-3 drug charts worth of drugs, ward rounds that go for hours, consultants that ask you questions that you cannot answer (okay, maybe that is just me), unpaid overtime.... after spending the last 9 months looking after well pregnant women and kids, the tiny bit of medicine i knew has gone out the window. so please. direct all your questions to jo (the intern) and let me hide behind her.
we are the asian girls team. reg is from china, resident from singapore, intern from korea. boss is from i don't know where. india, probably. the intern had to leave half an hour early (3.30pm) because her sister was unwell in melbourne, so i ended up having to stay 1.5 hours late finishing up the notes, updating the list, ordering bloods, rewriting drug charts, dosing warfarin etc.
went to coles after work and got myself some drugs. paracetamol, ibuprofen, phenylephrine, and strepsils. it is a lot easier to be independent when you're used to it.
8 work days before annual leave. thank God for cup day.
opportunity cost - i hope it was worth it.
9:22 pm
20131103
called in sick this morning. first time ever calling in sick when i'm actually sick. spent most of the day in bed, alternating between feeling hot and feeling cold. felt slightly bad about missing the last day of work in paeds, but i could not survive another 14 hour shift. if it was just an 8 hour shift, maybe. but not 14.
10 work days left before annual leave. heard that the rehab boss is not a very nice person.
when j was sick, i bought him paracetamol and ibuprofen, and called in sick to cook porridge and chicken soup for him. when i'm sick, i called in sick, made honey lemon and cooked porridge for myself. if this is any indication of what my life is going to be like in the future....
6:39 pm
20131102
day 2 of 7 - i am dying.
was exhausted this morning when i went to work. tim was still in melbourne so vishu covered for him till about 7pm.
guess what. circumcision boy had a penectomy. the circumcision was done by a GP. that GP's life is practically over.
our intubated pneumonia girl was extubated in monash this afternoon and was reportedly stable. and our intubated neonate was still intubated, but in air.
we admitted a 10yo boy with critical asthma. he had mag sulph and aminophylline and still required 30 minutely ventolin. usually by this stage we'd have transferred him to the kids', but today we managed to get an ICU bed so we parked him there instead.
my nose was running the whole day. could not go 5 minutes without reaching for a tissue. when i was assisting the reg with a neonatal cannula, i had to run away twice to get tissues. sue said i was making her feel sad, so she stole a cetirizine out of the drug cupboard for me haha. i think it helped a little. tissue requirement went from 1 in 2 mins to 1 in 5 mins. easily went through a whole box of tissues today.
when i was up in mid the midwives were offering me panadol and panadeine forte haha. "you just want to go home don't you?"
tim sent me home at about 8ish (right after i'd decided to just carry a box of tissues around with me) because he didn't think i looked too good haha. took the opportunity even though he was about to do an LP. okay not about to, he had to do a cannula first. handed over and left. met the boss along the corridor and awkwardly told him i was going home early. he was lovely as always and told me to get some rest.
came home, had dinner, showered, and am going to sleep now. i'm tachycardic at 116bpm and i'm pretty sure i have a fever. and i have a headache and a sore neck and a sore throat and sinusitis. tim said if i wasn't feeling up to it tomorrow, not to come in... hmm, we'll see.
10:23 pm
day 1 of 7.
today was a crazy day. it went by so quickly because there was so much happening.
a newborn baby with mec aspiration and a pneumothorax got intubated and had a chest drain inserted. nets came and took him down to the royal women's.
then we had a 6yo girl with pneumonia who desaturated to 85% on high flow oxygen and required bipap. pets came and decided to intubate her, but then she bronchospasmed and my reg said she later required heart and lung bypass and FFP and blood transfusions.
there was a 25 day old baby who was bleeding from his circumcision. he needed to be transferred to melbourne because no one could do the anaesthetic here. but he was waiting in ED for ages, who knows what's going to become of his.....
and stef and i admitted one of our frequent flyer patients, a 6yo boy with quadriplegic cerebral palsy who gets recurrent aspiration pneumonias. he came in with increased work of breathing and fevers and seemed to be quite stable initially, but then on the ward he desaturated to 86-88% on 2L O2 with bipap and didn't really respond to the hypertonic saline nebs and suction. he eventually improved on 6L O2 with bipap but might need to be transferred out overnight. or tomorrow.
it was a good thing we had our farewell afternoon tea today, because otherwise there wouldn't have been people to help save lives. tim (the locum reg) stayed till 9+ on his afternoon off sorting out the girl with pneumonia, then he went to melbourne with the 25 day old boy in the air ambulance because no one else could go with him. and he's on call over the weekend.
why can't crazy things happen one at a time instead of all at once?
got my rotations for next year, which are crap. relieving for the first half of the year, then ED, then nights (or maybe it's ED nights). i'm not sure if they'll let me take one week off in june, but i'll try. really not looking forward to next year.
for some reason i kept thinking that i was starting afternoons tomorrow, which would mean i could sleep in. but no, it's the weekend, which means 14 hour shifts. :(
sometimes i think it's all a charade.
12:39 am