My Roman Holiday 3

RomeThe coliseum in all it's grandeur

The 14.80 euro train ride to the city of Rome was the last leg of our journey. We reached at almost 12 am to our hostel that was situated by the seaside, called Hostel Lido. Your next question should be - "Since when did Rome have a seaside?" And yes, it does not. It was a 30 minute tube ride away from Rome and Whatever you do, DO NOT STAY OUTSIDE OF ROME if you ever travel there.

That aside.

Rome is a busy city with ruins situated all around and in it. Rather weird to be exactly honest but if they took down the ruins, they would run out of business in tourism pronto.

So the essential things to cover would be:

1. The Coliseum
From the Coliseum we walked past the Palantine and Roman ruins to a Food Market where we planned to have lunch. Only when we reached the Food Market, we realised it was like any other Pasar Pagi in Malaysia which sold fruits, vege and not even Kuih that we could buy.

Tomatoes are pretty I know - but I am hungry and it is not proper FOOD!!

As Ven Gee and Daniel consulted our next course of action, Wei Lun decided to steal my bag. Spotted by Darren, he failed miserably in his attempt and instead was banned from eating for the rest of the day.

After lunch we made a start towards the Pantheon but on the way stopped by Piazza Nationale.

One thing about European countries, not only are there churches everywhere, but fountains too

We passed by an artist fair and man, some of them ARE GOOD.

If you look behind Ven Gee.. do you see Angelina Jolie??

Street artists selling their wares

2. The Pantheon

The Pantheon

Met this random guy who was a minister from China or was it South Korea? He gave us his name card. My friends scrambled to be in the picture as you can see and left me out.

But let's not forget our main focus - the Pantheon. That was built in 19-- and has 16 pillars on the outside. On the inside, it has a hole on its dome, built to let in natural sun rays and 28 holes punched into the ground to drain water away when it rains. That is about as much as I can remember about it.

The altar in the Pantheon. All lighting is natural from above.

As Ven Gee and Victoria disappeared to goodness-knows-where (AGAIN), we took advantage of the lighting to make up for the album-cover-quality shots that were lost in my camera.

When the 2 lovebirds finally resurfaced, we went on to try:

3. Italian Coffee
In a place called Sant Eustachio, Italy's oldest coffee parlour, Daniel and I tried it's trademark coffee called.. em.. Cafe Grande, which was a shot of expresso and sugar stirred into almost a paste like consistency. Sweet. Slurps.

The next day, we went off to Camilloni A. S.Eustachio, a cafe just around the corner for Sant Eustachio.

House Coffee this time..

4. Fontana De Trevi
Breathtakingly beautiful. Except for the massive crowds which dropped its appeal down by a notch.

Throwing coins into the fountain. 1st time - ensures your return to Rome. 2nd time - you will fall in love with a Roman. 3rd time - well I am not too sure anymore. However, I have reached the 2nd step, I threw a coin into the fountain about 10 years ago on my first trip to Italy.

Dinner was at Al Picchio, a restaurant that seemed more like a cafeteria. However, the food was fairly priced and it was near the Fountain. Between Daniel, Darren and I, we finished 1 litre of wine that drove us over to the 'tipsy state' that caused Ven Gee, Wei Lun and Victoria to ditch us. Friends indeed..

This is what alcohol does to you.

The best part was Darren tried to get a blonde girl to take a photo with him (Daniel as photographer) outside the restaurant toilet only to be given a resounding 'No' and 'You Must Be Kidding Me' answer. Luckily by then I had already escaped down the stairs only to have both boys running out almost immediately after, yelling 'RUN! WE'VE GOTTA GO!!!'

my 6th gelati:
At San Crispino. The best in my trip! Honey flavour and banana flavour. Honey flavour absolutely rocks.

5. The Palantine and Roman Ruins

Spent about 2 hours just wondering among the ruins and taking pictures. The weather was good, the place was good, aah...

Looks small but the building behind is HUGE.

Ven Gee showing how flexible he is in getting the best angle possible

Towards the end of the day, when Ven Gee gets a bit frisky.

6. The Spanish Steps

Which is really nothing but steps. Loads of designer shops around though.

Victoria and I had this really pretty dessert:

It was a cheese strudel. 6 euros. YUM

We then went to a church near the Trevi Fountain which was filled with human bones. Bones covered the ceiling, the walls, everywhere. I did not know that human bones could be arranged so prettily - it was a mosaic of patterns everywhere. True to our medical studies, we had a rather intellectual time discussing the different bones in the body and we also threw in a Find Me This Bone quiz. Hey, we are medical students after all. And you'd better be nice to me, one day I'll be your doctor. Them lovely bones leaves you with a phrase though: "What you are now we once were, what we are now you will be."

Returned to the San Crispino again for my 7th gelati! Took the Honey flavour (can't get enough of it) and tried Meringue and Chocolate flavour too. Absolutely heavenly.

While walking down the shopping streets of Rome, we chanced upon this street artist. She spray painted the entire picture under 5 minutes, and her performance always ends with a round of applause from the crowd. They are sold for 10 euros per piece. Makes me wonder why I am paying RM 1 mil to study in university when I can just sit by the road side, Wow people with my fantastic talent and earn loads of tax free cash.



7. Don't know what it is called
It is the fortune teller thing you find in shopping malls across Malaysia. So now I know.. the real one is in Rome. and it is barricaded off and certainly does not tell any fortunes at all. I've been cheated my whole life. Not that I have used the fake ones in 1U before BUT...

8. Villa Borghese
A large garden. Situated north of Rome. Pretty indeed. We then decided to rent the 3 seater bike. It was fun. Truly relaxing and enjoyable. That is until we found out that it was extremely difficult trying to cycle up a small incline. Despite 2 people pedalling with all our weight. However, the landscape remained pretty. Until we decided to make a final turn downhill before returning the bike. And found ourselves at the metro station entrance. Which is way, way off from where the garden is. Then things weren't as pretty. We had to push the bike uphill as we cannot, even with all our weights combined, cycle up the slope. And things got uglier as Victoria dropped her shades and it got run over by a car.

Mm. Not pretty at all. But, we survived. And the garden, not us with our sweaty faces, remained as pretty as before.
my 8th and final gelati of the trip!

Of Melon, Tiramisu, and Mango flavour

Vatican

Plan to miss the mile long queues in theVatican : Wake up at 7 am, be out by 8 am and be there by 9 am.

7 am worked, 8 am worked but things stopped working just about there. The bus was late, the train was late and we met an American student who was travelling to the Vatican too and claimed that she knew the way by bus. The latter should be just about better news, as our original plan was to take the metro to San Pietro and find our way from there. But since said American girl mentioned that someone told her the fastest and best way is by bus, us being the submissive Asian followed her to the bus stop. Only to discover she was about as clueless as we were on which bus to take. Upon boarding the bus, we realised that we were going the wrong way a few stops too late, and when we finally reached the Vatican it was 11 am.

So we queued for about 40 minutes in line to enter the Dome only to find out that the Vatican Museum closes at 1.30 pm. Left the line and made our way to the Vatican Museum instead where we stood for 2 hours (I HATE Qs!!!) until we were finally permitted entry.

Absolutely worth it.
You cannot go your own way and pace, the crowd moves as ONE. So do you. We entered countless rooms decked with paintings and drapes etc that were magnificent!! The end of the museum is the Sistine Chapel where Michaelangelo's painting "The Last Judgment" stands. I totally recommend the Vatican Museum after the Louvre in Paris.

Back to the queue to enter the Vatican Dome. The inside was covered in gold. Lots of gold. We even made it for the 5 pm mass.

The inside of the Vatican Dome

The outside of the Vatican

My Roman Holiday 2

Florence

The Piazza Duomo with it's green and pink facade

The eurostar which cost us a whooping 30 euros (damn, it's expensive) brought us to this city which is my favourite. It is small, everything is within walking distance and it is really pretty too. Our hotel was located onthis rather dodgy street, sorta like Petaling St back in KL but no, we did not run into any kind of trouble at all. We were the only occupants in the hotel at that time and man did we make loads of noise.

Our first stop was the Piazza Duomo which in my opinion looked weird from outside with its green n pink walls. Inside was even better, it was starkly bare. However, according to Lonely Planet, the Duomo is well known for its pink n green facade; which kinda skewed my impression - i have to like the exterior now.

Spent over an hour in it, and at the gift shop, the shopkeeper came up to us and told us to keep quiet when the best part was, we weren't even talking. Not to mention we just only entered the shop. The noise was from the crowd that was jostling around the whole place. !#$*. Ungrateful woman, we are bringing business to ur drabby place!

Soon after, we left and headed to Piazza Signoria where the Uffizi Museum was situated. Waited in line for about 30 minutes and then VenGee and I decided to go right up front to see if we can purchase the tickets first. Mr Right In Front of the Q told us he has been waiting in line for 3 hours. THREE HOURS?!!? and the line is less than a 100 m in length. Mental. However, we were given a choice to purchase advanced tickets at a higher price of 9 euros(normally 6 euros). If money can solve a problem, then the problem is Not a problem.

So we wondered off with our expensive Uffizi tickets(for next day entrance) and headed over to Ponte Vecchio (a really pretty bridge that had shops on it from one bank of the river to the other)

The bridges that can be seen from Ponte Vecchio

my 3rd gelati!

In my hand - Kinder Bueno and Mango flavour
A rip-off of 8 euros for it

Next stop on was Piazza Dei Pitti where we bought the 11.50 euro ticket to enter the Palazzo Pitti. In utmost truth it was like any other museum and a rather boring one too.. as it had too many rooms and pictures. The gardens looked fantastic from the windows though and soon we were itching to get the heck out the the building and onto the sunny lawns.

Much to our disappointment, entrance to the gardens is a separate ticket (6 euros) . Aww.. well, Daniel, Victoria and I decided to forgo it and so to avoid the guys from queuing up again to enter the place (we had to go past security checks with X rays and stuff) Dan and I went out to get the tickets for them. At this window of time, the 15 minutes or so that took me to walk out of the palace walls and to the ticketing booth, I lost my trusty old Konica Minolta camera. It was hanging around my wrist and I was pretty sure I did not leave it anywhere as I was constantly reminding myself not too (I left my cap at the Uffizi ticketing booth hence the paranoia) and I have no idea how it went missing. I cried for at least 3 nights, though in actual truth I rejoiced as it meant I could get a new one (the flash was a bit cranky anyway, and it's 3 years old) but we DID have awesome shots of album-cover-quality-posing of Westlife and M2M at the top of the duomo in Milan. So we all bled internally due to the loss of such magnificent talent that was oh-so-professionally captured on my camera. Still, life goes on.

Hiked up to the Piazza Michaelangelo to watch the sunset though the sun was hidden behind clouds - I know.. what sunset??!?

The view was still pretty though

Dinner was splendid affair but we did spend about 1 hour searching for the place. It was called Trattoria Za-Za, a place recommended by our seniors for it's Truffle Spaghetti and 40 euro for 1 kg steak. Lonely Planet did not mention it and except for scruffy directions from our seniors - 'it is near the marketplace' - we spent a pleasant time asking around for the restaurant. And I've gotta say it was a fantastic recommendation for we had both the dishes above and also a ravioli with spinach and walnut sauce which was mamma-mia!
We then moved off to our next stop which brings me to: my 4th gelati!

mine on the right - green apple and rum n raisin daniel's on the left - caramelised pears and i don't know the other flavour

Pisa

The famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. What do people do when they reach this monument? They take photos. and more photos. and more photos. Photos like this:

Now you know why the tower of Pisa leans. But no, I am not the only one who made it lean. A whole range of people did.
We actually spent about 1 1/2 hours in Pisa as we had to rush back to enter the Uffizi (10 euros return train ride from Florence to Pisa). My 5th gelati was in Pisa (just after the bridge, in Lonely Planet). No pictures unfortunately as we were in a terrible rush, but it was of Peach and Cookie n Cream(I think) flavour. The best ice cream so far as the Peach one had bits of peaches in it which made it really really lovely. Made the train just by the skin of our necks and reached Florence in time for our 3 pm Uffizi date.

Uffizi was pretty. That is if you get the audio guide or guide book to tell you about the important pictures to see. We saw the famous Adam and Eve painting and the Birth of Venus along with the works of Leonardo Da Vinci and Carravagio, to name a few. After Uffizi, I decided to return to Palazzo Pitti in a last bid to find my camera. Went up to the security personnel to explain my predicament (I gotta applaud Italy as they can at least understand English, not like the French/Belgians) but no one turned in my lost camera. They then directed Dan and I across the square to a gate on the opposite.

"Ask for Carabinieri" - what the...??

So we wandered across the square and gate crashed a party that was going on next to the gate. A woman came out and demanded our presence, to which we replied " We are looking for.. em.. ca..va..er..nie-ri?" (Obviously the word Carabinieri was not retained in our memory.)

"Ah, it is over there." And pointed towards a set of shut, forbidding looking gates.

We inched up to the gates and boom, it opened with another woman asking us what we wanted.

"Cava - thingy"

"Oh. Upstairs."

"Er, what is it may I ask?"

"It is the police."

"Ah. Er. I see. Ok, but thanks!" And we left double quick.

Rather fun though, asking around people just using a word that we had absolutely no idea about. Everyone should try it at least once in their lifetime.

My Roman Holiday

Milan

The Duomo

Pity though, it rained the whole darned day. We only covered a few spots, the Sforzesco Castle which was a massive red brick building with holes all around it. Next we went off to the fashion street (Via something) and to Milan's Duomo(church) which was probably the highlight of the city. Paid 4 euros to climb up to the top of the Duomo and I have to recommend this to everyone who goes to Milan as the view is absolutely breathtaking. We spent a few happy hours posing/modelling and taking random pictures much to everyone's embarrassment.

Sforzesco Castle

On the roof of the Duomo

We then proceeded to look for the Saint of Milan which was this small weird church (up til now I am not 100% sure if that was the correct place). Lonely Planet recommended some restaurants which was around the area and to our utmost disappointment, not one of them was to be found. *Flushes Lonely Planet down the toilet* We ended up eating in somewhere called Ristorante Tradizionale which served a great 4 cheese pizza and the BEST seafood linguine.. Ooh.. heavenly.. Look at it!!



Unfortunately, Darren and I got cheated in Milan in front of the Duomo. 2 men came up to us and almost forcibly put some corn into our hands while whistling for the birds to come. And come they did. I walked off and one of them came up to me asking for 10 euros. I refused and he asked for 5. I refused again, and I finally offered him 3 euros for both Darren and I. However, they swooped down onto Darren next and tried to force him to pay 5 euros too. After much argument, they walked of with 2 euros that he gave. Do NOT in any circumstances allow these idiots to put anything into your hand. In fact, Do Not accept any sort of things at all from anyone in Italy.

In the midst of price haggling

The next couple that was conned. Could hear them arguing from way over here.

and my first gelati of the trip!

Tiramisu Flavour

Venice

City of water and canals

Took a 12.50 euro train to Venice. Upon reaching, we bought the 'Rolling Pass', a pass that gave us discounted entries into museums and also half price off the water taxi fares. (only available for 18-26 year olds) After checking in,(the hotel was fantastic!) we headed directly to Murano, famous for its glass blowing and glasswares.

On the water taxi

A whole orchestra made entirely from glass. and the figurines are TINY
An entire garden made of glass. Glass Museum in Murano

Then made our way back to San Marco which was the main square in Venice. It was once again beautiful but there were tonnes of people shoving, pushing... ergghh... and way, way Too Many Birds. This time around, there were street vendors selling a packet of corn each for 1 euro. Makes me feel like neutering the 2 wankers in Milan.

Ven Gee, Darren and I bombarded with Birds

What is Venice without a Gondola ride?

Was at first offered a price of 30 euros per person for the ride. Being the absolute Asian, we tried to bargain to a lower price. No can do. So we walked off. And after a few steps was approached by the next Gondola man. 20 euros says he. No says we. Off again. And another man rushes up. 15 euros says he. 90 for everyone. No. We want 10 euros per person. Alright, and yet another man comes up. Offers 13 euros per person but wants to charge us 80 overall. Er, hello!!13x6=78 and Not 80!! So we walk away and another comes up to offer 80 again.
What's this? As bad as Petaling Street!. In the end, we went to a gondola operator that had their prices printed on the board. It was still 80 bucks overall but I guess we felt less cheated.

San Marco Square

Hunger took over and we wondered off into the maze of tiny streets that constitutes Venice to find a restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet called Vino Vino. Our minds were filled with a marvellous seafood dinner complete with lobster meat, oysters, clams, washed down with sparkling wine...

One of the seafood shops we passed by while searching for Vino Vino

After much map consultation, scratching of heads, back tracking... all which tested our navigating skills to the limit, we arrived and lo and behold! the darned place is closed for renovations. What the........... We are hungry, lost, tired... not to mention our messy hair due to all the thinking.. *flushes Lonely Planet down the toilet again, adding some chlorox this time* So, we settled for this other place called Osteria(meaning seafood in italian) Assassini. Which had ratherOK food only that true to its name, it 'assassinated' us for not only did it Not have seafood, it charged us a #$%ing sum of 30 euros for a plate of grilled Vegetables.

30 euros worth of vege which consisted of carrots, cucumbers, aubergines, potatoes and peas that I can get from Tesco at 30p. Blardyyyyyy.... eating gold - 食金啊???.

In one of the churches that was on an isolated island in Venice. Ven Gee and I intellectually contemplating the ceiling's paintings.

my second gelati of the trip!

Pistachio and chocolate flavour

Tbc

I finally found the pictures of Templer's Park!

Gotta thank God for all my fantastic friends who makes life all so much more beautiful

6 Weird Things

There's this game that's going around where the tagged person has to list down 6 weird things that they do. I've been tagged by Evie. And just to add spice to my blogsite, I WILL try to think of 6 weird things of me. I've gotta think real hard tho, since I'm so damn near perfect.

Before that:
Here are the rules;
Each player of this game starts off by giving 6 weird things about themselves.
People who get tagged need to write in a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state the rules clearly.
In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names.
After you do that, leave them each a comment letting them know you tagged them and to read your blog.

6 Weird Things About Me
1. I am Pretty
2. I am Smart
3. I am Rich
4. I am Tall
5. I am Popular
6. I am Just Too Good To Be True.

There you go.
6 fantastically weird things.

*****

Ahaha. Ok, that was just a starter.
Let's get on to the Real 6 Weird Things. I won't call them weird, I'll call them Just Me.

1. I don't like people getting onto my bed. I just don't like it. If you do, when you leave, I'll change all my covers to fresh ones. And no, I don't have an obsessive compulsive disorder. I just don't like sleeping with bugs from your body/clothes. Think of all d bugs u picked up on the way to my bed. Eurgh.

2. I will not and can not go to bed without taking a shower first. That is because I do not want to contaminate my bed. Refer to no. 1

3. I do not take afternoon naps. Why? Because it's a waste of time(when I take afternoon naps, I'd sleep for 2-3 hours, and no I won't be able to wake if I was to put the alarm clock on) and I will not be able to sleep at night if so.

4. I have become a true believer in English Tea - Tetley brand. Know how they say "I need a cup of tea!" Yup, a cup of hot tea with milk makes the ultimate soother after a day in the hospital. Have to be taken together when watching TV.

5. I have currently developed an obsession with make up. I buy all sorts if I find the colours pretty but I am very obsessed with the brand I choose cos I am NOT going to apply cheap make up on my already very bad skin. However, despite my array of mascaras, eye shadows and blushers, I Very Seldom use them. (Ahem, anyone wants to have a make up discussion with me regarding the best colours and brands in town, drop me a note.)

6. I like to spend time on my own. In my room, watching serials, drinking tea. But I Cannot survive without company and dislike returning to an empty flat. The best thing is to come home, open the door and see all my flatmates outside their rooms talking about the weather or trees. So long as they are there to welcome me home, life is Bliss.

Right. I think I prefer my first 6 Weird Things but then living in a realistic world, those 6 are not possible.

I am now going to tag:
1. Nigel - bet u've got tonnes of weird things.
2. Sue Ann - i think ur weird things can out beat anyone's
3. Melissa Ong - weird already in a cute way but can definitely fit more weird stuff
4. Sze Lyn - Ok, time to know more about u
5. Yee Mun - blogging is therapeutic
6. Li Shun - time to tell me things

Of Malpractice in the Medical World

I was in teaching today, learning about pneumothoraxes(air in d chest,causing ur lungs to collapse) and effusions(likewise but with fluid) in the chest.

And then my consultant said to me. When he was a 5th year medical student, there was this over eager doctor that aspired to be a cardiothoracic surgeon. He insisted on doing all the clinical procedures and one day was about to insert a chest drain into a patient with a pneumothorax. That's inserting a tube into the chest to drain the air out from the chest so ur lung can re-expand.

So this Very Eager Doctor stuck the tube in.

And to his utmost dismay, I would say, the tube started beating to the patients pulse. He had pierced the left ventricle(the compartment that pumps blood all around your body) of the heart with it. Blood started coming out of the tube.

What do you do? The only ONLY smart thing he did was not to pull the tube out. Should he have pulled it out, the patient would have immediately bleed to death.

So, patient was carted off to the theater where the surgeons tried to patch the hole in the heart as they pulled the tube out. But, he didn't make it.

Naturally, so-mentioned Very Eager Doctor's cardiothoracic future came to a staggering Halt.

And then, i remember this other story.

Another freshly graduated doctor was about to perform a lumbar puncture. What's a lumbar puncture you ask. that is when a doctor sticks a needle into your spinal cord to get spinal fluid, which is really fluid from your brain as it runs all the way down the spine. Correct me if I am wrong. I said that I will cheat my way thru medical school so trivial details like this does not concern me.
There are tonnes of nerve endings there. You know how you can move your limbs? All thru this lovely nerve tracts that run up your spine.

Anyway.

Freshly graduated doctor puts the needle in and in the process disrupts the nerve roots.

Leaving the patient paralysed waist down.
Likewise, that was the end of his medical career.

But, I think.

Doctors are only human aren't they?

Valentine's Day 2007

So V-Day was over a week ago.

What did i do this V-Day? I didn't spend it alone, firstly. And then again, wish i may, i didn't have a handsome guy ask me out for that candlelight dinner. Nor did i have any flowers Or presents to signify this (i shall say it since i am single) over-rated day.

Instead, I, had 20 dates.

I dated 20 guys. Guys i don't know. Yup, i went speed dating. now now, let me first explain WHY i went speed dating.

No, I wasn't desperate u moron. I was fulfilling my responsibility as a good citizen and ultimately as a medical student. I was helping research along for the betterment of the population and of psychology sciences. I went on a Speed Dating Psychology Test. Pretty exciting, eh?

I've never done speed dating b4 and now with the whole 'psychology' test thingy involved, we were each given a sheet of paper and on it, we not only had to write whether we wanted to meet this guy again but we had to rate how attractive we thought he was and how masculine. On the guys part, they had to rate how attractive they thought the girls were and rate whether they think the girl was interested in them or not. The guys also had this wee microphone attached to a recorder and after every round, they had to read off a sheet of paper while recording their voice: "My name is bla-bla, I was talking to bla-bla and the thing i remember most about her was bla-bla", with the girl still sitting at the table. At the end of the whole thing, the girls had to do a computer programme test where u rated and compared pictures of faces and voices.

Pretty intimidating i tell you.

So, the whistle went and we had 3 minutes each to talk. There were 20 guys altogether and the girls had to move around. 1/2 way thru, it got pretty tiring.. Like someone put it, it was the same conversation with different people.

However, I've gotta say I ticked a few guys whom i thought were pretty interesting. One was a musician who sings and plays in a band but works as an architect(i Think), another a guy from Seville, Spain, the next a really muscular guy who was hilarious (and rather good looking too), and then was someone I really cannot remember and the last, another humorous guy who works as a web techie from his home.

The way speed dating works is if someone ticks u off and u tick him off, then d organiser will email both parties each other email addresses.

Still.

I am more interested in the psychology results.

I mean, who wouldn't be? All in the name of serving the nation.

Santa Baby

Masquerade : Half Way Ball 2007

I'm half way to graduation. 2 1/2 years to end of my course! Another 2 1/2 years to being Dr. Hung. (if all goes well) Morbid. Scary. I'll be no more a student. No more free stuff or discounts of movies, theatres, train tickets...

Dinner was 49 pounds, a 3 course meal, dessert being the best. After that, a ceilidh and DJ. I look forward to my next major ball which is on my graduation. That will read

'The Edinburgh Medics Graduation Ball 2009'

I think a student's life is the best life one can lead.

Iona and I

Matthew and I

Matt, Anneli, Nargiza and the lovely dessert

Kiru (i love the dress) and I

Murder

Apparently some guy came into A&E with a heart attack. He was critically ill. His history says that he developed horrible chest pain after a heated argument with his relative.

The doctors managed to stabilise him. He was found to have 90% narrowed coronary arteries. Did the argument precipitate the heart attack? Or was he going to have a heart attack anyway at that moment, argument or not?

Whatever it is, the police was involved.
His relative was charged for attempted murder.

*Sweat*

Cardiothoracic Surgery. Suturing. What Else?

So, I was in an angiogram surgery today. Should I become a doctor in future, and have medical students standing in to observe my surgery, I swear I shall explain every step to them. Quiet surgeons who do not say anything while I stand there staring at the screen, trying to decipher which artery is blocked are Most Certainly Not Helping My Career At All. Anyway, considering I did not know what was going on as they stuffed in wire after wire up the poor man's radial artery(at the wrist) while trying to find the blocked artery at the heart(which they obviously know where it is but I don't) left me a lot of time to day dream. Which lead me to think of the first cardio surgery I saw.

***

It was a sunny day. Well, it really was. I could see it out of the window.
It was a CABG surgery. A coronary artery bypass graft surgery. That is when your heart arteries are all blocked with gunk(stop eating all those char kuey teow and nasi lemak) and you need another artery(taken from somewhere else in your body) to replace it. The surgeon sawed through the middle of the chest. Spent about an hour messing about with some artery that he wanted to use. Sam and I stood and watched him slowly and painstakingly cut away all the fat around the spare artery. So boring. Still, being the very very Keen medical student, we feigned interest. Oh look! That's a bit of fat being zapped off!(they use heated tools to burn away fat. something like when we were in sec school, the pateri pen we used in KHB)
Still Sam and I stood and watched. Finally, the surgeon proceeded to the chest again. The anaesthesist, a lovely oldish man, bless him, gave us 2 stools to stand on to look over the patients head.

I didn't expect this. The surgeon cut through the first layer of whatever that is covering the heart.

We see something pulsating below.

He cuts through the pericardium - the final layer.

And audible gasp from Sam and I.

The pulsating heart. Sitting in a breathing, living person. A live heart. In all its glory.

It was a high. Like Meredith said to Dr Sheperd in Grey's Anatomy. "That was the ultimate high sir."

"Never seen a heart before?" asks surgeon. "No. Not a pulsating one, sir"

***

Oh, they've finished unblocking the blocked artery of the present patient. The surgeon starts suturing up. Which lead me to think of my first suturing lesson.

***

I mean, how difficult can sewing be?? Honestly.
Honestly?? It is. I be to my last dollar 75% of the room could not follow the hands of the lecturer as he took us slowly step by step to tie a knot with the suture material.

First, the finger here, then the 3rd finger under here and the thread over and.. and...
Everyone was lost. The lecturer just stops doing it step by step after awhile. After all, statistics show that 3/4 of us will be GPs and not surgeons so statistically, it doesn't really matter whether we can actually suture or not.

Suturing aka sewing is hard work. I think all surgeons are potential seamstresses.

***

Now everyone is packing up, the patient moved back to the CCU. The surgeon tells me there is nothing more to do and sends me home.

***

Which leads me back to my first cardio surgery. After replumbing all the blocked arteries,(yes surgeons are potential plumbers too) the surgeon inserts wires to pull the rib cage together. Sheer, brutal force. Later on, 2 holes are cut into the skin just below the rib cage. 2 tubes are inserted into the body to where the chest cavity is. For drainage as to prevent build up of fluid after the surgery. TWO HOLES INTO THE BODY. Cut by a scissors and tubes shoved in.

And I think, if these are the kind of things we have to learn, what about other courses? What do people who study engineering do? Literature? Economics? Nah.

I can put a plaster onto a broken wrist. I've learnt how to. But JUST the wrist. Who knows? Given a scissors, I can make holes too.

Back in Edinburgh

DAMN IT

Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve

Christmas was spent in Hong Kong. Met up with all my CXIWE friends again. Went to eat 'dai pai dong' aka hawker food. In HK. Hahahhaa, like i don't get enough of it in Malaysia already! But hawker food in HK is a bit different. More 'restaurant' style, the only thing is it is Not in a building. Shopping, food etc in HK was brilliant as usual. The crowd in TST on christmas eve was massive though. There were plenty of small groups of carolers everywhere and the lighting decoration was fantastic. Christmas was spent shopping again, (yes, Asian countries Do Not close down during Christmas. Everything comes alive as its the best time to make money, unalike Western countries where the whole place goes dead. Eww) and Christmas dinner in my grandparents place. HK is definitely my type of place. Full of life and activity. The city never sleeps.

***
New Years Eve.
More of a subdued event mixed with alcohol.

Fireworks in KLCC. Camera whoring. Drinking games in Traders Hotel room. Touring Traders Hotel's different floors and rooms alcohol influenced. Sleep.

Welcome 2007

Nails

Think I can be a nail model? Yeap, I think I can

ECG and Chest X Ray Intepretation

We shall have an incredibly fun time intepreting ECGs and chest X rays.

what is an ECG did u say??well, its an Extremely Complex Graph or electrocardiogram. take your pick. OoOooo .. I'm so excited!!!!

Well, to kick things off... this is a normal PQRS complex you should see. How easy is that?
Ok, assuming you have already got all of those in your head. the P-Q-R-S complex. oh with a T wave at the end... you should now be able to intepret the ECG below...
Well.... spot on! A sinus bradycardia.
I hear someone asking whats sinus... oh, sinus is when u have a P wave followed by the QRS complex and they are regular.
Bradycardia? Oh, that means a slow heart rate. Cause the distance between one R wave(highest peak) and the next =no of boxes. Heart rate = 300/no of boxes ie 300/6= 50. A normal heart rate is 60-100. anything below is bradycardia, anything above is tachycardia.

Oh shocker... you managed to spot an ST segment elevation!! He is having a myocardial infarction!!
Riight, i hear u say myo- infarc- what?? basically a heart attack. Medics have to sound high class. we call it a MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION.(basically so the normal population don't know it when doctors discuss it in front of them. Take neoplasia or metastases for example. It basically means cancer. Well, if we talk bout neoplasms and what not, the patients Wouldn't know they have cancer eventhough we are discussing it RIGHT IN FRONT OF 'EM. Doctors are compassionate people )
Hmm, is there a Q wave? It might be physiological or pathological. What on earth do they mean!?!??! Even both words are difficult to pronounce. Heck it.

Ok, I don't know what I'm talking about. Or what i heard in lecture today. Neither makes sense. I don't know how to read an ECG. and by the end of this year, i'm expected to be pretty damn good in it.

Never mind, considering that we are all geniuses at ECGs now, we'll move on to chest x-rays. Woohoo!
Have u seen anything like this? That is an absolutely normal chest x ray. YOUR chest should look just like it.
And this is..... a *copy n paste*

Pneumothorax - what the? i'm not very sure myself. Go to http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/omd/index.html to find out yourself.

why pneumo-thingy?? because
.X-Ray signs:

1. Pleural line

2. No parenchym behind the line

3. Displacement of mediastinum


Huh? A few extra white lines and shapes here and there? Looks almost the same to the one above!

Argh, let's not even go there. I don't know anything of this.

I guess the only way is to bluff my way through med school.

Knee Arthroscopy

At the Outpatient Dept

Dr: Hm, i am sure u have an ACL tear. And probably a meniscus tear too. I'll arrange an emergency MRI for you tmr and if u call into my office later that evening, i'll tell u if u've gotta go for a surgery on tuesday.

Me: Ar.. Ok..

At the MRI Dept

Nurse: Right, just straighten ur leg and dont move. we'll give u music to listen to as the machine is really noisy. this is going to take 20 mins

1/2 way thru..

Me: This hurts this hurts...when is it going to end?!?!?! As Christina Aguilera and Sugababes roar in my ear - i'm battling with my pain receptors to keep my leg straight as it hurts horribly when its in that position.

At 4 pm the same day
On the phone

Dr : Yeah, u've got an ACL tear with a bucket handle meniscus tear. We are operating on tues. come into day surgery centre at 7.30 am

Tuesday, Surgery day, 7.30 am

Nurse : Kar Hung please. Well, as my english name is behind my chinese name, they naturally take the first part of my chinese name. sigh. talks me thru the anaesthetic regime. something about general anaesthetic and a femoral nerve block.

SHO : Kar Hung please.
Looks thru my notes

SHO : Huh, u've got an MRI?? Usually takes 4 months to be arranged! Huh, u just saw the consultant last week and u'r having ur surgery today?? that's fast!

Turns d page in my notes and comes to the typed up case notes which says..

This 21 year old 3rd year medical student doing the Locomotor Rotation presented with a....

SHO : Right..

Figures. I love being a medical student.

On the anaesthetic table

Anaesthetist : Alright, we are gonna but a cannula here. ties a glove around my arm. Make a fist for me please., and repeat. Right, its gonna be an ant prick. sticks a needle into my vein on my wrist. This is something that will make u go to sleep..
Anaesthetist 2 sticks pads over my body and i can see my heart beat on the ECG monitor... perfectly fine heart i reckon..

***

Nurse : Is ur leg painful?
Me : Yeah. I can't open my eyes..
Nurse : On the scale of 1-10?
Me : 5. And i Still dont know who i'm speaking to..

Nurse injects some morphine in. Repeats the above conversation another 3-4 times and continues injecting morphine.
I begin to shiver and nurse 2 puts a blanket over me with hot air blown in. The best ever feeling even though i was still heavily sedated...
I'm wheeled out to the day surgery ward.

***

Nurse : Sorry, I need to take your blood pressure.

Me : OK. Tries to read of the blood pressure machine but i can't register anything. the words swim left and right...i see a 99 or something to that effect. Huh?? Er, nurse, is my blood pressure ok? hey, my voice sounds FUNNY..

Nurse repeats the procedure every 1/2 an hour.

Tuesday, Surgery Day, 4 pm

Dr : Hi Rachel, we've repaired ur ACL, and managed to sew back ur meniscus as it was in a particularly well blood supplied area. U shouldn't weight bear for at least 3 weeks on that leg as u might rerupture d stitches.

Me : Ah.. ok? Can i go for classes tho?

Dr : Yeah, u've gota come in here for physio classes.

Me : Eh? Er, i mean can i go for Uni classes.

Dr: Oh yeah, sure u can go for anything.

Me : Oh OK.. Thanks Doc.My voice STill sounds funny..

Tuesday, Surgery Day, 6pm

Physiotherapist : Right, we've arranged a physio appointment for u next week. on Weds. Usually, patients come in before the surgery and we have a proper talk thru and all the appointments are made beforehand. but u came in real quick so i just did it for u..

See, told u its great being a medical student.

At 7 pm, two of my flatmates turn up as the nurse was explaining when to take my pills and also how to change my dressings should i need to. I nod in and out of consciousness as she speaks and remained like that the whole time til i finally tumbled into bed at 8 pm..

I am sitting here the next day at 11 am..

Love the anaesthetics.

Back to the Good Old Crutches

Yes..

my problematic knee has finally decided enough is enough and i am now back to using my good old crutches as it is.

The story starts on how i slipped unglamorously on the wet floor in my kitchen.. and my knee twisted medially causing my ligaments to be stretched. i suppose i have a bit of loose meniscus in my knee too.. that is why i had intense pain and my knee is now currently locked in one position. i can't extend it properly nor can i flex it fully.

So.. off to A&E of our famous Royal Infirmary fo Edinburgh and i was referred to the fracture clinic the next day. there, the orthopaedic doctor told me to come back in 1 week! said that i've gotta wait for the swelling to go down a bit before it can really be assessed.

well, well, well.

irony is... i am doing my locomotor rotation now.. and i go to d fracture clinic twice a week to observe my tutor and his patients. i suppose i took things a tad too far and now i've gone for role play..

the only problem is, i am Not the doctor

My 21st Part Two

After my big birthday dinner in Malaysia,

I returned to Edinburgh.

And had 4 days of celebration.

Well, not quite, but something to that effect..

Thursday night - clubbing til I got drunk

Friday night - out at 3 sisters for drinks again ( 1 bottle of smirnoff ice was all I had - I'm not an alcoholic)

Saturday afternoon - Dim Sum with everyone! Fantastic food...

Sunday night - On my request, I was surprised with a home made chocolate cheesecake!

Yum yum...

Now, with all that empty calories and fatty food, I need to go on a diet.

The Argueably Crappiest Day of My Life

Today is my birthday.

Well, NO. today is NOT the crappiest day of my life. Went for dim sum this morning with my friends and it was really good cos it was free for me. =) I have a friend over from Ireland and have been walking with him around Edinburgh the whole afternoon. Now, I am back in my flat, trying to study for my anatomy spot exam on Monday.

Wait.

yeah.

The crappiest day of my life was..
Yesterday.
29th September 2006

It all started a few weeks ago, when I was forced to go down to London by AMSA. So I booked my flight ticket for this all-important-meeting in London which was due to start at 9 pm on Friday and return on Sunday. I was to leave Edinburgh at 6.05pm, reach London Luton at 7.20 pm or roughly around those timings. Then I had to catch a 1 hour bus to the city centre and tube my way to Marble Arch and find the restaurant the meeting was supposed to be at. Well, technically, I'll reach there by 9 pm should all things go smoothly.

I had lectures from 2-4 pm. Skipped out at 3 pm, got home, and left my flat at 4 pm to catch the bus to the airport. It's 25 mins by bus. 1/2 way on, I looked out of the window and saw a guy holding something red. Hmm... what's that? oh, a passport... HOLY..

Spot on. I forgot my passport. In a flash, I was out of the bus, running down the street looking for a cab. My watch read 4.30 pm. I reached home at 4.45 pm grabbed my passport and hopped up the same cab to the airport. My watch read 5.10 pm when I finally got there. Check in desk closes at 5.25 pm. My taxi trip cost 22 pounds.

Thank God. There was still a short que at my check in desk. I've still got time. Righto. Checked in and I had to be at the departure gate at 5.35 pm. Raced upstairs - and faced another que - the security check point. No que could've been longer. No matter, I've still got 15 mins til 5.35 pm. Fidgeting... fidgeting...

Made it through pretty fast and the tv read that my flight was delayed. To 7 pm.
Right. No probs! I can study.

And right again, I forgot to bring my Anatomy Book. I can borrow one when I get to London I suppose. So I walked around, talked to myself and the flight got delayed again. Great! At this rate, I'm going to reach the restaurant at 11 pm.
What the... this is so pointless. I'll be missing this incredible meeting that my whole trip was focused on. All the telephone conversations about the one-of-a-kind meeting with the whole association, the deep and illuminating conversation we are suppose to have about the conference in HK...
I'll be missing a huge chunk of it. What rubbish. Then why am I going to London for anymore? I've got a exam on Monday. And I forgot to bring my book to study. Should I still go?
It's a 62 pounds ticket.

So I thought and thought. For about 1 hour. I watched the gates being open. I watched the crowd line up to board the plane. I see them boarding...
and I turn and walk out the exit.

Don't talk to me.

This is totally crap. I've spent about 100 pounds on a trip I didn't make

My first week back in Edinburgh....

Wow. 3rd year Medical Student.

Has a nice ring to it.

Only, I have lectures from 9-5 this whole week. That's C-R-A-Z-Y. What happened to the 1 lecture per day in 2nd year???

Lots of new faces. New people. Heard that about 10 transfered from Cambridge, 5 from Oxford, about 15 from St Andrews and 10 from IMU, Malaysia. Students who did a Bsc the year before. Our class has grown.

Today we had a patient come in and he was interviewed by our lecturer. Q & A session followed. Poor ol' fella.... a great heart attack candidate. Born with low birth weight, typical Scottish diet, smokes like a chimney, both dad and bro died of heart attacks, mom waiting for a triple bypass surgery.... Things like this are real, mind you. Well, yeah, the only snag was that our so-called 'patient' was actually a professional actor. He was totally convincing and took us all in. Well, technically, that's our lecturer's fault since he arranged it. But, yup, medical students gets professional actors to act as their patients in exams. And they cry when we break bad news to them, they get angry if you say something wrong. This all happens during the exam itself. Look what medical students have to go through.

Hm.

Went traditional Scottish ceilidh dancing last Sunday. Twisted my knee and its been hurting since. Went for a free Taekwondo class today and my knee is like, yeah... gone.

Someone needs to develop knee transplants.

Worse thing to happen this week was that I am literally being forced to go down to London. By bloody AMSA. And I have an exam d day after I get back. And I'm going down on my birthday. How sucky is that?

My 21st...

showed me that I had many friends. Friends who bothered to come, friends who gave up other stuff to be there; that includes taking a whole day off work to get ready*wink wink*. But, I discovered that the best kind of friends were those that gave an immediate YES! on d spot, when i invited them and didn't change their minds afterwards. That gave me a warm feeling deep down, a feeling that gave me a sense of belonging in all their busy lives.

made me realise that some people actually care. Yes, I had a friend come all the way from Malacca. I had a friend who went to Australia and couldn't make it but expressed her deepest regret and still remembered to text me on that day to wish me a fun filled night.

showed in true perception that friendship is valuable and warm, but friendship is also very frail.

gave me my first experience of clubbing in KL. Not that I've not done it before. Just that this time it was legal.. and we opened bottles. I've never tried that before in KL. We went to Loft and I had plenty to drink. This ultimately proves that drinking and dancing is better than just dancing alone. And, drinking from a bottle beats drinking from a cup anyday. Too bad they don't hand out bottles so freely in Edinburgh. Maybe I should start a trend.

but...

my 21st also

showed me that some friendships are cheap. As in literally. As in 30-40 ringgit cheap. dirt cheap. I suppose I'm considered lucky that I realised it with a few mere bucks. It didn't cost me an arm and a leg.

told me that there are actually those who don't care. It is true that it is the thought that counts, but what's the point of the 'thought' when you don't even THINK in the first place?

singled out those that thinks its a chore to come. Those that think they are coming just because I asked them to. Just to give me 'face'. Their lives are alot more important. Well, of course they are! But Come On! If you really can't make it, cos of some bullcrap reason of being busy, tiredness, broken heart, eaten by the dog and what not, I'll accept it if you told me in advance! For heaven sake, don't come if you don't want to. Don't start telling me your sob story and making it like its a terribly big deal to come. It was a big deal to me before but once you start to think that way, it is not anymore.

showed that I can't please everyone. Its hard to be a host.

At the end of the day, I realised and truly value those whom I know really treasure me as their friend. I had a superb night, and I know who were those who really enjoyed themselves and my company and those who actually did not. Like I said, I can't please everyone. I'd like to grow up and tell my grandchildren in future what my grandad tells me - "I graduated from the Community Social University. I know everything about people to people relationships." And my grandad is a great man. Really.

Mummy's 50th

5 0. My lovely mother has reached the ripe age of 50 years. Half a century. According to my very hong kong father, it is a MUST to celebrate your 50th. I mean, these kind of things don't just go by without being recognised. It's a time to celebrate!
So mummy dearest pulled her birthday all the way to August just so that my bro and I can be around to celebrate it with her. We went a back to her hometown, Sitiawan in Perak for the dinner as most of her family were there. My sister came all the way from penang, my 3 cousins studying and working in KL also made the 3 hour travel back to Sitiawan! In other words, I was looking forward to a massive family reunion.

The day before the dinner was spent stuffing ourselves full with all the local specialities. Mmmm... red wine noodles, oysters with egg(ou jian), peanut bun, loh meen(special Sitiawan style. NOT the type in KL), gong pian...
It was an eating fest. Dinner came... and it was a 12 course dinner. Despite the food we already had, dinner was another makan affair, with home cooked red wine noodles by my grandma as an extra dish. A MUST too for Sitiawan celebrations. Hmmm... with all these beliefs and what not, I wonder why the chinese aren't the majority of obese people.

Well, basically, it was a huge, fantastic family reunion. We should definitely do it more often! Still, I guess I've got to wait for another milestone birthday...but first, I've got to brainwash them the hong kong way....