I'm not blogging on my London and Paris trip yet. I'm still waiting for some photos which my aunt took with her camera. But in short, I had a great time!
Anyone wants this T-shirt? I got it for free from a souvenier shop in London. It's worth RM84! I'll give it to you free, because I don't want it. Only thing is, it's in 'small' size. So you'd have to be as big as me to fit in.
I had to do a patch test on Monday. Early in January, when I finished my ProActiv facial wash, I needed a new facial wash immediately. Because I couldn't go to Mines Shopping Complex to get the ProActiv, I ended up buying another facial wash just to use temporarily.
I've always thought that the one time everyone gets to see my naked back would be when I'm wearing a sexy backless dress. Not like this! *sigh*
One week later, the skin on my hands, face, neck and my lips became so dry that it started peeling! Then the skin on my back and shoulders started to get dry also. My skin has had allergic reactions to cosmetic products before, but not this bad! The worst thing was when I started having heat rashes. Everytime I sweat, my whole back would feel like thousands of needles poking into it at different times. I went to see a dermatologist in Seremban Hospital, and he diagnosed me with seborrheic dermatitis. That same week I saw another dermatologist in Selayang Hospital, and she diagnosed me with allegic dermatitis.
Man, it scares me when doctors don't make the same diagnosis. I wouldn't know who to trust.
Anyway, my skin problem is gone now. But the doctor in Selayang wanted me to come and do a patch test just to find out what I'm allergic to.
And I found the culprit to the whole problem! Stupid Oxy facial wash!!
Notice the big red square? Imagine how itchy it would be.
A patch test is not a good thing to do. First, you can't wash your back as long as you have the patches on. It's gross, man.. It's so hard to bath without getting my back wet. Second, it itches like crazy! And since I'm not allowed to scratch it or take any medications to stop the itching, I had to pinch myself just to stop thinking about the itchiness. Lastly, when the nurse pulls the patches out, you'll go OUCH!!! Back waxing is not a good experience. And it's so ticklish to have someone touch your back when they apply or remove the patches. Heehee..
One more week until the final year of my life as a medical student begins. Die.
I'm no cam-whore *in denial*.. Guess what's my waistline?
Meet the newMalaysian Guess ambassador. First mission: To travel to the Eye of London and tell the tourists there that KL has a better one. With an wide screen TV and DVD player some more!
Second mission: To go to Paris and seduce a hot French man, and find out whether French manicures and French fries (if not French kiss!) are any different from what Malaysians think they are.
Third and most important mission: To have the best time of my life! London and Paris, here I come!!
Heehee.. please bear with me, it's only fun to blog when I can act dumb once in a while. Will be back home in Malaysia on the 25th. Love u guys!
Congrats to my sem7 and sem9 friends on passing exams!
Go on the Eye on Malaysia in Taman Titiwangsa KL. It's so freaky, I can almost guarantee your date will hold your hand(when I say this, I'm referring to both boys and girls)! If you're lucky, you might even get a hug!
But be prepared to stand in a long line(about half an hour wait) and pay RM100 for a private cabin. Unless you want to pay RM15 each and sit with other people.. it'll be so funny if one guy got into a cabin full of girls and all of them screamed in the cabin as it goes higher and higher..
But don't try on me. I've gone on it already :p And I didn't scream. Only had a drop of sweat on my forehead on the first round.
I went for the Watersky Festival in Taman Titiwangsa last night. Definitely something to watch this month. It's on every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 9pm. But only for this month. They had some jet-skiing and boat shows on the lake, and fireworks. I was lucky enough to be in the cabin(right at the top of the Eye) when the fireworks started. The best thing was the crowd. To be among your fellow countrymen celebrating the efforts taken to promote 'Visit Malaysia 2007'.. I'm glad I was in the right place at the right time, most of all glad to be alive.
From the top of the Eye.. scary wei..
Top: From inside the cabin. Bottom: From the ground.
The best place to be now is Malaysia. And the most happening city: Kuala Lumpur.
KL Twin Towers, Eye On Malaysia, KL Tower and Istana Budaya. What a sight!
Just another info: My relative who works in The Sarawak Cultural Village says that this year's Rainforest Music Festival in Kuching will be the best one yet, and a definite must watch. It's on the second weekend of July. If you can go, GO!! I've gone for one 2 years ago.. I had so much fun! My parents and some other close friends are going this year, but since it's too close to my gynae exams, I'll probably miss it.. sob sob
It's confirmed! I'll be arriving in London on the 17th. I'll be in Paris on 19th and back in London on the 20th. Watching a Man U-Fulham football match on the 24th in Fulham. And going back to Malaysia on the 25th. I don't think I'll be able to visit any other places, since I plan to explore every part of London! HengJeng, I hope you're reading this. Can I stay a night or hangout for a day with you guys (preferably on the 22nd or 23rd)? Woohoo!! It's so funny that Lydia and I went to Paris during the same holiday.. my other housemate is fuming with envy!
1. I'm done with my 20 hours of classes in Mandarin! But don't start having expectations and talk in Mandarin to test me, 'cos I suck! I know so little since I've only done it for a month. However, now that I've done some basic, it's only a matter of time before I start classes again. I'm so happy! What a challenge, to go by myself and learn a new language. Muahaha.. Now it's the stupid elective report I have to write that's giving me headache.
2. There was an operation theater(OT) staff in the hospital who was checking all his 4D lottery tickets. Each time the numbers didn't match, he'd go, "Aiyo." Finally, when all done, he looked at me (since I was staring at him in curiosity) and went, "Looks like I can't retire yet. Have to stay here longer and eat hospital food *sigh*." I was giggling after he said that.
3. I discovered later that the OT staff was actually an anaesthesiologist. A good one too! He kept looking for me to tell me to observe the procedures he did. He'd even made one of the staff nurse hunt me down when I was in another OT to tell me to come and watch him do an epidural! Heehee.. such a nice man. Whenever I was observing an op, he'd make me sit down next to him and teach me all about fluid and electrolyte balances in the body, all the drugs used for anaesthesia bla bla bla.. That's it-lah, I can skip my anaes posting next month already... if only that was possible.
4. Do all anaesthesiologists sleep when an op is going on? I caught 3 of them doing it. Makes me want to consider anaesthesiology as a specialty..
5. Did you know that a thyroglossal cyst extraction takes longer than a Caesarian section with bilateral tubal ligation, dilatation & curretage and laparoscopic cystectomy done together?! Anyway, the time taken is around 3 and a half hours. My fingers were cyanosed after the third hour! Purple fingers!!
6. My dad is too famous. I've come to the conclusion that every doctor(from every department) in Malaysia knows who he is, and that I have very LARGE shoes to fill *sigh*.
7. I saw a fetus boucing from one end of a uterus to another during one of the ultrasound scans I'd observed. For one minute, the doctor, the parents and I were just staring at it bouncing. Cute, but oh-so-weird also.
8. I saw my first Crohn's disease! We hardly get to see any in Malaysia. Lucky for me, unlucky for the poor patient. I saw the doctor do an ultrasound scan, endocope and colonoscope on him.
9. I attended a breastfeeding counselling class. It was so funny! The nurse giving the class advised the women on how to prevent the breast shape/size from shrinking or being unequal in size. Mainly, don't take weird medications to increase/decrease the amount of breastmilk, and wear proper supportive bras which prevents you from having 'papayas' like our grandmothers who didn't have proper bras. Haha. I shouldn't laugh, but then..lol..
10. Things I saw in the OT: thyroglossal cyst extraction, hernioplasty, removal of a oesophageal tumour (omg, I could see the patient's heart!!), D&C for a case of endometrial cancer, Caesarian section with bilateral tubal ligation (is there a unilateral one? :p ), laparoscopic cystectomy for a woman with endometriosis, Wertheim's (radical) hysterectomy. I know no words to describe how lucky I felt.
11. There was this 21 year old girl who came to the clinic and she was diagnosed in the end with polycystic ovarian syndrome. Poor girl, she was told 3 years ago by a General Hospital doctor (when her menses became extremely irregular), that she has more testosterone than oestrogen hormones in her body. The stupid doctor even added that she was meant to be born a boy, not a girl! To add more, she was told that it's going to be hard to get pregnant in the future. Guess what my godfather told her:
Godfather: Do you have a gun? Girl: *confused* Err.. no? Godfather: I'll go with you to GH and shoot that doctor.
That girl was in tears for 10 to 15 minutes when she was finally told that the doctor was wrong and that she was meant to be a girl, not a boy! I'm so angry at that GH doctor. How can such a 'pathological' doctor be allowed to treat patients? Note to self: Study more on counselling this year.
What a great week. I'm done with my selectives. 3 more weeks of holiday to go!! One week to shop for London trip, another week to be in London, and one last one to recover from jet-lag!
I've been doing an attachment with my godfather, an O&Gconsultant in Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre. First reason for doing my selective there? I thought I could take advantage of my godfather so that I'll be able to do the attachment and also enjoy my holiday doing lazier, unproductive activities (like shopping) at the same time. Secondly, I've enjoyed my obstetric posting so much in Seremban that I thought maybe I would enjoy being an O&G specialist in the future. So doing this attachment was an opportunity to find out whether I'd like the gynae part of it. Thirdly, it was an opportunity to see how it feels to work in a private hospital, and compare it with Seremban Hospital.
Conclusion?
1. My godfather must be one of the smartest man in the world. He made my first week such a good one, I've reconsidered being a lazy bum and actually took every opportunity to learn as much as I can from him. He introduced me to the important doctors and nurses in the hospital, which gave me the green light to go anywhere to observe anything. I've seen 2 hysterectomies, a cardiac catheterisation, tons of ultrasound scans, assisted in an episiotomy, hung out at the A&E department, operation theater and wards etc.. During one of the hysterectomies, he and another surgeon gave me an anatomy lesson. Everyone is more than happy to teach me. In the end, I've spent the whole week learning things no one in Seremban has the time to teach me, and saved all the money that I would have spent had I chosen to go shopping :p
2. I've reconsidered being an O&G specialist. It's a great specialty, but somehow I don't think I want to be doing surgeries in the future. I don't think I have the drive to do it. I think I'd be happy just being a physician. Sad, to think I was so fired up about O&G last time. Who knows? I might change my mind after my housemanship. So for now, that only leaves me with paediatrician and dermatologist.
3. Gleaneagles is so cool. Everything looks so organized, high-tech and clean. Each pregnant woman gives birth in her own room, with only one midwife yelling at her.. compared to government hospitals where you can have up to 10 nurses yelling at you to "PUSH!!" If I could change one thing, I'd change that. I think it's downright rude and inconsiderate. One nurse giving orders is good enough, 2 the most. The others should shut up. But it's so expensive to get treatment there. I don't think I want to work full-time in a place where my service is only used to help people who can afford such payments. I didn't sign up to be a doctor for the upper and middle class.
However, there are things I don't like: 1. All operation theater nurses are the same. Territorial is the best word to describe them. As soon as I step into the OT lounge, they'd stare at me as if I should be shot. I've made it a point to only go to the OT when the surgeon I'm following is already there. *sigh*
2. Food is so expensive. The cheapest food, which only the staff can buy, is lousy. I've resorted to buying sandwiches from a stall in the hospital itself. Something tells me I might lose another kg soon.
So far, so good.
To those doing Semester 7 and 9 exams, good luck! I'll be praying for you guys..
I'm so happy. What a great show. Suspense until the end. I'm so jealous of the teams in the show! To be able take up such a challenge? Wow..
Congratulation to the winning team, Zabrina and Joe Jer for winning the US100,000 prize money! I'm so proud of them for being the first all-girl team to win an Amazing Race. I did get a bit worried when they took so long to assemble the bench. I remember telling my dad, "Great! They've proven girls take longer to assemble furnitures." But I love them for being such an inspiration. Girls will soon rule the world.
I think Andrew and Syeon make such a cute couple. The way he kept saying, "Baby.." Awww..
To Allan Wu, you are all man.. In Mandy Moore's words,"How much for your love?"
p/s: I'm busy with selectives now.. will update in the end of the week.
