The secret of watching movies

While at a conference lunch, sitting at the same small table as our boss, another clinic boss and a boss no.2, me and my colleagues had the following conversation...
(pseudonyms used to protect their highly secretive identities)

Abit Dense Guy: later I need to go off early, can't stay for the whole conference
Movie Extraodinaire Guy: why u watching 'movie' is it?
KPO Gal: No lar, he doesn't watch 'movies' on weekends one
Abit Dense Guy aka ADG: (really quite dense) huh? Nowadays like got no good movie leh. If got, we go watch together!
Passerby A: I think he wrong frequency.
KPO Gal aka KPG: you know! movies as in like the movie you went to watch yesterday?? In Pasir Ris???? (wagging her eyebrows)
ADG: OHHHHHHH! that movie ah. $6.50 one rite!
Movie Extraodinaire Guy aka MEG: so how was the movie?
ADG: not bad!!! Not much plot for $6.50 movie!! Very boring heh heh heh

From there, our conversation deteoriated...

ADG: actually i dun think I'd be watching movie in Pasir ris anymore..
MEG: huh? why? Not enough plot for you??
KPG: cos he went to piss off the cinema staff *snigger snigger*
MEG: (who has good relations with various cinema staff) how come??
ADG: cos last week when I went for the movie, the movie err.. started late.. becos the.. err.. screening personel came late. And there was alot of other patrons who wanted to watch the movie, long queue outside the cinema.
So I scared the movie end late and went to call up the director of the movie to complain..
MEG: gasp! *utterly shocked at ADG's dense-ness*
KPG: it's no wonder they're pissed off at you
MEG: yar the last thing u want to do is to piss off ANY cinema related staff... I also had to wait sometimes when my movie start late.
KPG: There was once when my movie was ONE hour late due to some miscommunication so I just stood outside the cinema and err.. kindly advised other movie patrons to try their luck at another cinema! Never complain lor!
ADG: Oh no! I'm screwed!

Why I wish I were a guy at my workplace

Sometimes being a female really sucks at my workplace because of the number
of requests you get And if you're the only female on duty, you can really drown in the workload buried under wave after wave of feminine angst... It never fails to depress the heck out of me whenever I see my whole queue of only females.

1) you have to see ALL, if not most, of the br**sts and va**nas that want to
be examined that day
- these always take thrice the amt of time you usu take because of all the hemming and hawing and the getting to the bed and undressing

2) fact: females talk more than males.

3) generalisation but most of the time true: females tend to be more highly strung and more difficult to pacify and reassure than men (I'm sure my esteemed O&G colleagues will agree)

4) females tend to come in with more than 1 problem, in fact working where I am now, they always come in with at least 3 issues.

Number 1+2+3+4 or any of the above combination make for very LONG and frustrating consults.

And there are also some v weird reasons why you get requested:

5) There is a common and worrying misconception that females are kinder and gentler and thus make better listeners. I AM SERIOUS. People have actually said this to my face before, during which I would valiantly try to defend my male counterparts "No they are all very good and kind one!" I exclaimed while the
listener stare disbelievingly at me.

6) strange old men walk into your room and say that they are "very happy to see you" even though you've never seen them before

7) strange old men walk into your room and complain abt bizaare genitalia
related problems.

quick post

Sorry guys i know i've been neglecting my blog recently, think it's been the longest that i've stopped blogging.
Thought i'd just hurriedly blog smth to pacify u guys while I'm trying desperately to keep myself awake. I went out drinking with my colleagues to celebrate end of posting and got myself horribly drunk when they only agreed to let me leave to catch a cab before the midnight fare after i down my pint. So because i was rushing off I downed it very hurriedly and left immediately after. Downside of it was i got v quickly drunk in the cab and no way to work it off, so I had to eat some supper and drink a gallon of water to hide my drunk-ness from my parents.
So now everytime i lie down i feel like i've got splinting of the diaphragm.

It's been quite a strange feeling today seeing Boss giving gifts to our colleagues who were leaving (the whole ops actually pooled money to buy gifts for the mos who are leaving, so amusing, never see before) cos me and most of my colleagues would be staying on.
I just recently received devastating news. I've been, like a mad woman, crazily planning the wedding 1.5years before the actual event becos I'm predicting that I wouldn't have so much free daylight hours in the future after I got out of this lifestyle. But my boss just dropped a bombshell on me that I may actually have to stay yet another 1 more posting here even. Due to the traineeship timing. Darn! I need to rethink my options again v carefully... sian

test

it,s too good to be true. if this works then i can blog from my phone
anywhere (in between irritating mc seekers) or during sailing yay

Sandy's NYHA score

Something extremely exciting/darn hilarious happened at work today.
With all the weird sh*t that we've been dealing with this posting, I think we are all on the way to becoming psychos ourselves (our boss said smth abt us all being high at dinner the other day).

Anyway my Sandy has been quite sick a couple of months back.
It all started abt 6mths ago when the vet while asking some usual screening questions (like how we ask any CP/SOB) noted that Sandy has been coughing occasionally. And i learnt that coughing is like a sign of CCF in dogs!
The vet then asked questions abt when Sandy cough, is it when she's excited/barking/running? Is she more lethargic/still can run?
We told the vet very honestly that it's quite difficult to answer her questions as sandy is rather sedentary (to put it mildly).
And so a CXR was done: and lo and behold Sandy has what looked like consolidation/?pulmonary oedema in both lungs (yar i saw the films too).
She was then started on frusemide and some chim sounding heart medicine.

This was when she started to have urinary incontinence and increased urinary frequency but her cough didn't improve.
Slowly her NYHA score deteoriated, she couldn't walk/bark/scratch herself without coughing her self into a fit and would get very breathless after each episode. With each visit to the vet, her frusemide dosage was increased but that had to stop after a while because my mum refused to do a UECr (apparently the lab techs missed the vein in sandy's thigh and wanted to jab her neck!)

Anyway i kept bugging my mum to bring her back to the vet who repeated the CXR which shows no improvement. i asked my mum to ask the vet if it was just a simple infection but either there was a miscommunciation, my mum told me the vet mentioned smth abt hypertension in the lungs (does anyone else thinks this sounds like smoking?) and offered to do a $400 Dopler ultrasound of Sandy's heart which is so exclusive only the head of the whole place know how to do.
My mum very blurly agreed.

One week later, the ultrasound was normal, no SWMA (i assume) and no hypertensive cardiomyopathy (according to my mum).
And Sandy came home with some brand new medicine and a very ugly rectangular bald patch on her trunk (it's so ridiculous and ugly even i feel ashamed to post up a photo)

I looked in her new bag of medicines and what did i find but a packet of prednisolone and PROCODIN (which looked EXACTLY like the bottle i have in my medicine cabinet)
A few days later: Sandy was good as new again and took great joy at barking loudly at me everyday to feed her junk food.

I know it's difficult to diagnose without a history but this is simply ridiculous!

Anyway, i'm pleased to announce that Jack and Maggie (Jack's sister) have found good homes and after a harrowing 3 days looking after both of them (think of 2 energizer bunnies who pee everywhere, run at crazy speeds and fight with each other non-stop) , Sandy and I are relieved to have peace and quiet in the house again.

Temptation

I've recently met someone new.
He's quite a funny and quirky character, very sweet and I have to say extremely cute with doe eyes and gorgeous hair.
And though it's only been two days, I'm guilty to say that i'm alrady developing a crush on him.
My parents adore him and he's quite enamoured of me too.
But i look at my first love, who also has a pair of soulful brown eyes that would rival anyone's, eyes who saw me through all the difficult times of my life, and i get so overwhelmed with guilt.
And so i resisted temptation, hardened my heart and said no.



Introducing....
Jack....

My neighbour's abandoned dog, who is a blond long-haired dachshund puppy! (for those of you who don't know, that's sandy's breed)
So when another neighbour asked us to help them babysit him, my parents agreed and my mum was VERY keen on adopting him for good.
My dad has even taking to calling him Jack, and said the chinese name can be Jie Lun (I think he confused Jack with Jay but i din have the heart to correct him, besides what kind of a name is Jay for a dog?)

So far it's day two of babysitting, and i have spent the last 2 days of my precious leave stuck in my living room, toilet training and scolding the pup.
I have forgotten how tiring puppy training is (yes i was the one who trained sandy 12yrs ago, she was toilet trained beautifully but now 12yrs later, dementia and incontinence set in and there goes all that training down the drain)

Except for the fact the the puppy is destroying everything in sight, and sandy is barking everytime i spare a bit of my attention playing with him or carrying him, things have been going well (no bloodshed).

I met up with some potential adopters last night and hopefully if all goes well they can take him off my hands. Meanwhile I hope Sandy can tahan the jealousy till then.

Jiemei updates

Aren't you guys proud that i'm blogging just an astounding ONE HOUR after we met up?
Some of you may not even be home yet!
Muah haha i'm so proud of myself
(*coughs* remember what Wk said abt why i'm blogging more frequently now? Well she was absolutely right. I was supposed to settle the planning once and for all but somehow i just found myself blogging instead haha)

Well for those of you who suddenly couldn't turn up (frown at you know who),
please kindly keep your may Vesak day public holiday weekend free for a weekend of jiemei bonding (err gh you may or may not be included due to logistics reasons), spa pampering, relaxing massages and seafood eating (i added the last for me)

It's the last holiday before those of us who are married get G1P0-ed, those of us who are planning to get married get married, and those of us who are taking exams lead the prestigious but busy black-tagged lifestyle.

Keep your fingers crossed girls!

Suckered in

In the past, sometimes when I look like i'm listening and nodding away, I'm actually inwardly rolling my eyes, pulling my hair and shouting "arrgghhhhhh!" inside.
Now i've progressed to mentally picturing myself standing up and giving them a hardy kick out the door.
It got so bad once that I actually found myself standing up but caught myself in time and quickly went to wash my hands.
What does that say abt me???

Anyway, those were on the bad days.

On good days, I actually find myself humming at times and being all cheery and smiley. Of cos a good lunch at a good restaurant is always a good motivation to work hard.

And yes my friends, I'm afraid to announce here that all the predictions made by my wiser seniors in the previous posting came true: I AM suckered in by the lifestyle.

I'm meeting up with friends almost every other week, I actually have time to run errands that can't usu be done on weekends, another friend is trying to psycho me to join a gym tog (God forbid i become like gh!), I'm thinking of swimming again since i can now reach home before the sun sets, I'm blogging more, I get to meet up with pple on public holidays and even the eves.

Say i'm easily tempted but yes, I'm suckered in.

Love talks

As promised: one of my blogposts that i dug up from my many drafts...


I had a great time meeting up with friends that made up various stages of my life cycle in the past 2 mths that i've been in this posting (heh kudos to 'normal' working hours)
And it has been really nice catching up with everyone, finding out abt new relationships/new relationship status.
Some friends got surprisingly attached, others even more surprisingly remained not. The girls got prettier, while somehow strangely, guys ALL look the same, even down to their hairstyle tho we've not met up in at least 7yrs. People are talking abt engagement rings and BTOs and life insurance policies at jc gatherings, and it's at times like those that u feel ur age smacking you in the face. [My subconsious can't seem to grasp the fact that i'm not 18anymore, whenever i see a pt with Ic no. of S90..., i keep thinking i'm gonna deal with 12yo boys]

At my class gathering, my friends were just chatting abt the various stages of their relationships and i tot it'd be fun to write my own theories and those they shared with me here on my blog.
See if u agree!


1. Friends
The norm is that we all start off from being friends. Although in this modern day and age, the converse seems to be getting more and more prevalent. And also if you are one of those guys who are looking to our fairer friends from neighbouring countries, then shoo! you should stop reading this blog post, in fact, I would prefer it if you stop reading my blog altogether.

2. Ai Mei phase aka i-like-you-you-like-me phase or I like to call it the 'Ai Mai Ai Mai' phase
The most exciting part of the relationship where you sort of know that the other party likes you, where the guys pay extra attention in being nice to you or if in pri sch, tug on your pigtail and then run away, and the girls giggle loudly at everything the guys do and say.

3. 'eh! you want to go steady?'
Being a rather traditional girl myself *coughs* I would prefer it if the guy can pop the question to make things official, of cos, if you do ask the question above, I can gurantee that your success rate might be rather poor. Asking is MUCH more preferable to dragging your feet in AiMei phase and assuming that the girl will grasp your intention by osmosis. I've always admired those guys who knew what they want, and go all out to inform the girl. Well, of cos, I'm saying all these easily like it's chicken feed, but i think if i'm born a guy, I'd be too chicken to do any of it and most probably end up a loner at home watching tv everyday.

4. The Re4 Lian4 aka Madly-in-love phase
You meet up everyday, and spend the time apart chatting/smsing on the phone, you start and end the day thinking abt him, you feel sad everytime your time together is ending, you get a thrill everytime he holds your hands and steal quick kisses when you think no one is watching. You might declare to the whole world that he is THE ONE, and you've picked out your kids' names already. [My friends would be able to tell you that i did quite the converse by telling everyone that he is most likely NOT The one... ssshhh dun tell Catechol, he doesn't know that and obviously doesn't read this blog]

5. The stable phase
once you manage to emerge from all that craziness alive, you can truly begin to settle down and get comfortable with your status as a 'attached' couple. The problem is if one half of the couple emerges before the other, that's when you get the: 'why don't you want to spend time with me anymore?'s, 'are your friends more important than me?' and the 'you don't treasure our time together' and other similar drama things that's the stuff of ch8 dramas
You can enjoy regular weekend dates and not feel like you've been done an unjust punishment when your other half dun want to meet (even tho i still meet Catechol everyday, but at least whenever any one of my friends ask me out, I still place you guys over him k)

6. The One year Test
Here's when you find urself stagnating and thinking if you seriously see yourself with this person. Some I know lay down ultimatums ('if you dun give me the ring by next year, I'm moving on'), others may feel like 'taking a break'. Be it a day, a few weeks or even months apart (mine always infuriatingly only manage to last a few hrs) Either way, i believe it's just an obstacle you need to work your way through together and smth that at the end of the day bring you closer together.

7. The Three year Itch
Earlier or later than 3 years, it will come. It may come in the form of a temptation, a distraction, a new job or a family matter but it is going to happen.


8. The Lao fu Lao qi (literal translation: old husband old wife) phase
Here's when you pretty much decide that you're stuck with each other for the rest of your lives, despite knowing abt his snoring or stinky feet or strange dental habits or her less than ideal cooking or non-NEA approved food hygiene or propensity to kick you in your sleep when you snore.
(*coughs* resemblance to any characters living or dead is purely fictional).

Nua-ing

Definition: a state of doing absolutely nothing with no purpose whatsoever

Due to the screwed up system of applying for leave for this posting, I got an extended 13day break in a month that is not very conducive for travelling (instead of march as i've originally requested for), and due to other various reasons, I had to scrap my New Zealand plan (even though I've had the itinerary 70% planned already), we went to somewhere more affordable instead.
As such I've got 4 days of leave left to kill by nua-ing at home.

By the last hour of Nua-ing Day 1: I was already rather sick of nua-ing and was suddenly gripped by 2 inclinations:
a) I suddenly realised that I've not been blogging for quite some time [is that a collective 'duh' i hear from you guys?]
b) I suddenly had a very stronge urge to blog

So on day 2 of nua-ing, I sat in front of my laptop and logged on to blogger.com but for the life of me, can't think of anything to blog abt. So i thought to sift through my many many unfinished drafts of blog entries [yes, these days i will blog halfway then get distracted by some other thing then forget all abt blogging. I so miss those days when, usu during mugging, a whole blog entry will just drift into my head and i just cannot continue mugging till i blog it out of my system. Or tht was my excuse then.]
So i tried to sift through my posts but blogger was lagging, and then i got distracted by smth else and forgot abt it.

Now is day 3 of nua-ing and i just spent the past 5min blogging abt how i need to blog but haven't.
I think i shall post up one of my drafts tmrw which coincidentally is also last day of nua-ing.
ok, my new year resolution for this year would be to blog more (and also to exercise more, as per my resolution for the past 10years of my life)

But then again, it takes me one day to realise i need to blog more, another day for me to get round to doing it halfway and a third day to blog abt the need to blog more. So i dun really see a high success rate here.

Maybe i'll blog abt my trip.

Soon.

Ode to all my new 'friends'

It has really been an exhausting and depressing 2 weeks at work. After fake-smiling and talking non-stop at top speed for most part of the day, I'm so exhausted that i just want to hide in one corner and be anti-social. Somehow, the demographics of the pple i'm interacting with on a day to day, no make that 6-minute to 6-minute basis, just makes me all e more exhausted and hateful.

Plus i made the mistake of arranging for some 'extra-curricular' activities in the world of SAIL-ing after work (i was inspired by my fellow colleagues who are all veteran SAIL-ers) and it just drains the last of my patience and energy at the end of the day.

I got inspired to blog while doing flu just now, in betw giving out 2/7 mcs like nobody's business so as to avoid them coming on our precious half day tmrw! hurray for christmas eve!)
So i tot i'd write a poem for all the 'new friends' i made during my time here..

'Ode to you'

Hello! Welcome!
Stay as long as you want
A long list of questions, you say
No problem at all, I'm here to make your day

It's ok to worry abt that pimple
It's ok to care abt that scar
No your leg's not broken
No you don't have asthma
I'm sure that tummy is distressing
A sticky sensation on ur privates???!! OH how worrying

Have you tried these painkillers
Have you taken your losec?
Wow you refuse medication! That is just so heroic
Your pain's not better You want to see someone else?
Sure! one referral coming right up

Oh so you saw the specialist? Nothing wrong they say?
You want a second opinion and you came to see ME?!

Hmm i think it's spondylosis
No it's not a stroke
No it's not a heart attack
No it's not cancer
No it's not a fracture

*****




The above poem is based on the author's personal experience. Any resemblance to persons living is purely coincidental.

It's Finally Open!!

After much toil, sweat and puking blood, the very very long-awaited Catechol's stall at Bishan CC is finally opening on 10/10/09!
I also put alot of my heart, sweat and blood into it so u guys must come support k!

See the promo description we're using that yours truly wrote here:

Sweet Stone @ Alfresco Bishan is an alfresco cafe offering mouth-watering claypot chocolate fondue, Belgium waffles and an array of home-made gelato, mini-sandwiches and refreshing drinks such as freshly made smoothies and interesting mocktails.

Coupled with a romantic candlelight ambience and chillax music in the background, it is the ultimate setting for a perfect date or a cool hangout for friends.

Opening special promotion on 10/10/09!
Simply recite the code “Alfresco Bishan Free Ice-cream Day!!” between 9am to 12pm or better still, wave hi to me (i’d be there after 6pm) and get a FREE scoop of gelato on me!
[If any kind soul offer to give me a lift from my workplace to bishan i'll give you unlimited servings ah! Wk are u tempted? hiak hiak]

Come join us at
Sweet Stone @ Alfresco Bishan
Bishan Comunity Club Level 2
51 Bishan Street 13

Turkey Day 2

I think I was too numb with shock and exhaustion to fully comprehend our situation, because instead of breaking down in horror, I just said, "let's just walk."

So walk we did, tensing in fear, everytime a car whizz past us.

And after walking for what seemed like eternity, we spot the first sign of civilisation: a gas station.

We hurried towards it and pounce on the first (and only) person we saw: some gangster looking type washing his car.

When we asked him if he knows of any bus stations or shuttle bus to Capadoccia in the area, he looked really puzzled, (and for a heartstopping moment I tot he couldn't speak english), then he told us that there is NO bus station for miles and no shuttle bus either.
At our defeated looks, he then asked if we were perhaps referring to the public bus?? After he realised that we were so lost that we would do anything to get out of the area, he gave us explicit directions to a cross junction further down the road and told us that the bus only starts at 5.30am so we have at least 2 hours to kill, he even brought us to a quiet restaurant behind the gas station and told us to rest there first. After accepting our profuse thanks, he went back to washing his car.
After a few minutes, he came by again and said, "come! I show you where to wait." and brought us throught a deserted car park, some grass patch to the aforementioned cross-junction.
And it was a good thing he brought us because, there was no freaking way we could have found it on our own, as there were no signs at all/and no semblance of a bus stop. He told us to just wait by a street lamp and the bus will stop for us.

After eating some strange soup in the restaurant, it was 5.30am and we went to the street lamp, half thinking that we may have been duped.
And then at 5.40am, a tour bus, that looked just like the bus we took from Istanbul, stopped at the street lamp opposite and we looked dubiously at it. I seriously thought it was just another random tour bus stopping for a toilet break. Catechol ran up to it and we heard the miraculous words "yes we go Capadoccia!"
It wasn't until we were well on our way on the bus and the bus boy had collected 5euros from each of us that we began to appreciate the evilness of the bus company in Istanbul.

After about an hour of bus journey, the bus stopped suddenly at a rest station by the expressway for a toilet break for us and we were told that smaller buses will be bringing us in to Capadoccia. While I was in the loo, a friendly turkish guy who works at the bus station struck up conversation with Catechol and told us to wait in his office where he very charmingly showed us many pretty pictures of Capadoccia. He served us Turkish tea and about 2 seconds later we realised that he was trying to get us to sign up some tour package with him.
I had initially wanted to book day tours with our hotel, but Catechol was quite keen on settling a package first and the guy promised to pick us from our hotel, the price was comparable so i agreed.

Then finally...finally we arrived in the charming town of Capadoccia. Capadoccia used to be a town where travelling merchants would rest their camels while they themselves rest in cave homes.

The entire town consisted of tiny homes and buildings all carved out of stone and caves. We were staying at the very quaint Shoestring Cave Hotel, famous for its cave rooms.

On the stairway up to our room

When we arrived, the owner said that our rooms were not available yet as we were too early, so we hung around and waited and he chatted with us for awhile.
When he too tried to advertise his tour packages, we explained that we had already paid for one. His face immediately changed and asked if we signed up at the rest station. He then went on to angrily explained that those coporate bus companies have been strangling the tourist trade in Capadoccia with such unscruppulous means such that small local tour companies are struggling to survive. He also told stories of his previous guests being grossly overcharged, or being stranded at the rest station simply because they refused to buy their tours. We apologised for our ignorance but he just shook his head and looked really sad.
So we very guiltily decided to upgrade our room to one of their nicest rooms on the top floor with a fantastic view and pool just outside our door.



Our cave room - essentially just a cave made into a room

After a quick shower (no time for a much needed nap), we hurriedly went down the road to wait for our daytour bus (we were worried abt the bus coming directly up to our hotel given their history).
Our guilt was short-lived because I really enjoyed the tour greatly.
Capadoccia was beautiful and is still our favourite city in Turkey.

We saw ancient homes carved out of caves....


Churches, kitchens and dormitories carved out of caves...


Pigeon holes.. Those holes in the mountains are man-made, specially for pigeons to enter and do their business, after which men would come by and collect their droppings to be used as fuel [the thought just boggles the mind doesn't it]


Uchisar Mountain (you can actually climb it!)


We had buffet lunch where I had to admit that even I had problems stomaching some of the weird turkish food


So we had to eat this....


More nice scenery!


Fairy chimneys!! These were natural wind-blown phenomena and people in the past used to believe that fairies actually reside in them.



Another Turkey cliche


Funny rock-formations





We went to a small hole-in-the-wall restaurant near our hotel for dinner.
Capadoccia is famous for its pottery and also for this dish of meat stew in a clay urn-like pot.
They cook the raw meat in this half made claypot, put some wet clay on top to form the cover and cook the whole thing in the fire. Such that the only way you can eat ur food is to crack it open.
Catechol tried to carefully tap it like cracking an egg but failed dreadfully. But the owner very nicely came by to show us how to do it. He gave a mighty WHACK at the pot with his knife and it cracked open in two.


And that was the end of my last truly happy day in Turkey...

Turkey Day 1

Ok so i went on this trip 1 year ago but i was too busy and exhausted then to blog abt it, and i was just looking through some of my photos just now and decided that it's too exciting/hilarious/memorable/expensive a trip not to immortalize it in words here...

My holiday started with me being post-call after a 27admissions night as a GS HO in HPB and me going post-call at 5pm with my reg bidding me farewell with "thanks for working so hard last night, enjoy Turkey, get urself married to a rich tycoon over there!"

I rushed home and packed furiously as i haven done an iota of packing since i was too exhausted working 14 hour days. So needless to say, i did close to zero research on the trip as well. [unlike my Japan trip which has been planned to perfection, as i spent every waking hour not mugging for MBBS, doing my research, so those were alot of waking hours.]

We went ot the airport at an unearthly time of 3am and flying SQ was a world of difference from the budget airlines we usually take, i fell asleep instantly.

We had a brief stopover in Dubai, which is full of pictures of high tech buildings and rich people, you can almost smell the money in the air.

hmm.. potential husband, mr oil tycoon??

And finally we arrived in Turkey!!
Where we took a train bringing us to the city centre of Istanbul.
Check out the first truly Turkish sight we saw:

If a Turkish man making doner kebap doesn't yell Turkey, i dunno wat else does.
So being famished, we immediately set abt eating our first kebap sandwich in Turkey.
And it was goooooood.....

Our first meal in Turkey. I also like to call it Exhibit A.
[Over the course of our 8 day trip, we saw and bought from many many many more Turkish men shaving meat from kebab, such that if i were to see this sight in Singapore now, my immediate response is to gag and run away]


1st stop = booking our bus tickets to Capadoccia
Apparently, it is the done thing to travel between states in Turkey by bus. SO i asked Catechol before the trip if we should check out the bus timings and book the tickets first. But he says there;s no need to as there's this place where everyone goes to get tickets and that's the only place to go.
[can i mention here that for our Japan trip i read up on ALL the shinkansen lines and learn how to read their timetables so that i can figure out the EXACT train we need to take everyday]

So we followed a pack of ang moh tourists to this 'place' which is essentially a ginormous car park with rows of shops all selling bus tickets and vendors shouting and touting at the top of their voices (there were at least 100 shops, they were numbered so i'm not exaggerating.)

We wandered abt looking for a company that offers a direct route to capadoccia, which was surprisingly impossible, i think it had smth to do with the weekend. We finally found one which spoke english, open ot negotiations and promised us a free shuttle bus to our destination from the place that they're dropping us.
We worked out the timing details, paid for our tickets, dropped off our haversacks (mine weighed almost half my weight i think) and went off to do our first sightseeing in Turkey!

My MO asked me, "what do u do in Turkey?" I said, "see mosque lor" And he thought it was hilarious.
Very funny meh?


We went to this place called Basilica Cistern.

It's kinda like an underground drainage system that they used in ancient days. the moment you descend the stairs, and the cold air hits you in the face, it was just such an awe-inspiring sight, with a goose bumps raising and spine tingling eerie atmosphere.


With flash - it's actually really dark
just imagine this scene as far as the eyes can see
And as you navigate the walkways and peer into the stillness and darkness of the waters, you can almost picture moving shadows just beyond your sight.

We had Turkish Apple tea here. Very nice and romantic



We then visited Topkapi Palace (*coughs* e spelling is smth liddat lar.. so long liao can't really remember).
It's another must-go place.
A really nice way to spend the afternoon exploring the different museums and looking at the nice buildings.
But the real reason to go is this:

The awesome view
That's the 'Bosch' sea i think (Again *coughs* my geography not very good) Separating Turkey and Greece.

We had lunch there, which was another delicious doner kebab sandwich (you may start counting the number of kebap we ate if u so please) and a can of SGD7 dollar coke.
It was totally worth it, it was just so shiok and chillax there. To this day we still talk abt the $7 coke with fondness.




We hung around and briefly visited some more mosques, then it was time to go pack dinner (make a guess wat we dabao) and catch our overnight bus to Capadoccia.

It was on the bus that we first we began to suspect that maybe negotiating such a cheap price may not be such a good idea after all.
Cos we were placed right at the very end of a very crowded bus, where we were surrounded by noisy local kids and the air con was very stuffy.
I was amused though, by the fact that the bus came with its own Bus Waiter, who goes abt spraying Turkish perfume on our hands and giving out plastic cups of water.
[It gave us great amusement to compare the various 'services' offered by these bus boys on future bus trips.]

All in all it wasn't a very comfortable trip, with the bumpy ride and the cramped seats.
But what shocked me, made me flabberglasted, and so darn terrified was this:
At 3am, they woke us up and told us to alight with our luggage.
So Catechol and I sleepily got off the bus, and asked abt the shuttle bus, the bus boy pointed vaguely in a north wardly direction, and the bus drove off with ONLY the two of us alighted.

We then looked around us and fully took stock of our situation.
Because they dropped us off in front of a closed and deserted taxi company in freakin middle of nowhere. with NO buildings OR bus terminals that can be seen for MILES. And there weren't even any cars on the road.
I've never felt so scared EVER in my life, not even that time when Sm and I almost got caught in the middle of a gang brawl in London or that time when we got hopelessly lost in Japan for 3hours.

stay tuned for more turkey adventures...
Next up, how we got out of our predicament..
the beautiful Capadoccia with its fairy chimneys

Things we learn from tv

I was eating dinner at 1am today while my mum watched some hk serial on doctors.
I caught 15min, and spent 14min of it laughing madly to myself..

Scene 1:
Pregnant patient talking on phone along hospital corridor.
suddenly clutched her tummy and sank to the floor in pain "ARRGH! My tummy pain!"
A chio doctor walked calmly up to her and says, "DON'T WORRY! It's most probably just a miscarriage!"
Next thing you know, the patient is in ot undergoing a crash caesar. The anesthetist persistently and repeatedly announced her vitals at 1 second intervals, "her bp is now 103/70! It's now 95/60......" while the OG guy who's the only one at the table, made 1 cut and said, "i see the head. Suction!"

The scene then cuts to a Neonatologist auscultating a healthy, pink 1-2 mth old baby(presumably judging from its size) stuffed into the neonatal inbubator. It was a terribly tight squeeze for the baby. The doctor then explained to the mother (same pt from just now) that because the baby is prematurely born before SEVEN MONTHS (whoa! 28weeker?!!) the organs are all underdeveloped, including the heart which is why the baby has irregular heart rhythm and needs cardiac surgery (P, can u explain how this is so??? I so confused).

Next scene: the mother stood tearfully at the window staring at her baby and suddenly the bells go off and we see closeup on the monitor HR 175 flashing wildly (hmmm isn't that normal for a neonate?) and hang on a sec, is that tombstone ST ELEVATIONS i see on the cardiac monitor?? OMG this baby is having a heart attack!!
The nurse then auscultated the baby and sent the baby for emergency surgery.

Scene 2:
Two doctors on their off day very suay-ly saw an unconscious young boy lying prone in a stairway. Doctor 1, at the head of the patient, used 1 finger to feel a spot under the ear, said, "the pt is still breathing."
Doctor 2, caressed the pt's left buttock, and pronounced, "no fractures!"

Next scene, in resus room, boy still unconscious but supine now. 2 nurses pounced on his legs and said, "no fractures!" (they seem to be really obsessed abt fractures)
The ER PAed specialist immediately flopped the patient over on his tummy and did a PR! (I was shocked speechless here) Got fresh blood on glove. He then asked for a proctoscope, and the nurse slapped a ginormous metal proctoscope (ouch) into his hand and very professionally squeezed gel onto it (i have no idea why this is the only part they got right). He then shove the whole thing into the patient and without removing the probe or using a light, diagnosed the patient as having anal tears secondary to sexual assault. (Best lor! You win already)


I read this article abt how a study in the US claimed that medical students are cultivating bad habits from watching medical dramas on tv.. The commonest mistake being shocking a asystole rhythm. It's scary the number of times u see that happening on tv. everytime i see teh defib machine while in a shopping centre, i give an invlountary shudder of fear at the thought of how just anybody can have access to it.

There are also some other 'interesting' ways to revive collapsed patients.
I saw the 'Nipple Twist' (darn hilarious.. Foreman doing it to HOuse) and also many versions of the precordial thump. One version i remember to this day was in ER, when the team was doing CPR on a patient with no avail, WHILE 2 repairmen were fixing the ceiling RIGHT next to the patient. So naturally, the ceiling collapsed onto the patient, there was a moment of shocked silence while waiting for the cloud of dust to settle, and hey presto! Sinus rhythm obtained!!

Shameless plugging

It was nice having an impromptu gathering with half of the jie meis today, no thanks to Sm (who had a prior engagement), P (who gave me false hope by agreeing to come but then last minute say she can't becos of the 9/9/09 baby boom????) and Gh (who is MIA, period).
Anyway you guys missed out on eating FREE CHOCOLATE FONDUE!!

I happened to mention tht I have to leave early as i have to help out at Catechol's stall due to some unforeseen circumstances. So immediately Zh and Wk, especially Wk, wanted to come too and kpo. I tell you, never in my SIX years of knowing her have i seen Wk so eagerly offer to give me a lift somewhere. And that was how I unwillingly and very forcibly was forced to treat them to one chocolate fondue set. Heng not that ex hee hee...

Anyway in the short time that i was 'helping out' at the stall, I had fun, kinda reminded me of helping at my dad's shoe shop when I was young. (I was supposed to help for a longer time but I could slack off helping when e gals were around.. yay.. haha)
I think all I did was to smile winningly at and pounce on a few uncles and scoop a couple of bowls of gelato. Oh and also to draw a make-shift name card for a nice lady who wanted a card for our stall but cos the stall just opened so it's not available yet.

But Catechol says I drew in quite a few customers in the short time that I was standing there.
There was this rather creepy unkempt old man who came right up to me, and without even looking at the menu, pointed to the waffles and said "give me one". So I tried to upsell him by promoting the chocolate and gelato and he said "no! I cannot eat sweet things one." Oh no! I thought to myself, but our waffles got caramel so it already sweet! (the doctor in me struggled with my mercenery self for quite a bit there until Catechol hurriedly took the uncle's money and sent him on his way).

Anyhow.. if u happen to be in Chinatown Market pls do drop by and show your support k!! We are at Blk 335 Smith street #02-226. In a secluded corner near the famous Claypot Rice with the infamously long wait.
Errr... also pls kindly note that the offer for freebies is for today only because of err.. certain forceful circumstances.

Crusin'

Nothing to blog abt, or rather, heaps to blog abt workwise but not allowed to blog it.. And after a long 11day break from work, i'm not used to the disturbed sleep-wake cycle again, so here i am blogging..

Photoblog of the one and only long break in this 6mth:
P's ROM!!
I just love it when i see friends at their ROM/wedding, it just makes me want to cry to see them so gloriously happy.
Congrats to the happy couple!! Thanks for inviting us!

First to the food at P's hse, ditto at her ROM:


I went on a cruise!!


It's always been a unattainable dream for me and my friends ever since mugging for 'A's to go on a cruise (for the 6 meals a day and the absolute slackness of the holiday. yes, my friends are as gluttony as me). Now that the unattainable dream has become slightly more attainable thanks to a slightly increased income and a credit card promo, we were all set to go until, because of some unforeseen circumstances and an inability to let go of an irrational fear of water, my friends had to pangsei me. So of cos i was disappointed.... until Catechol took pity on me and decided to pei me go instead!! Yay!!


It's an elitist world on board and everything, from boarding gates to welcome drink to queues, depends on ur class status, which is why i'm extremely glad (And guilty for being glad) that we upgraded.

Ecstatic abt our 'upgraded' balcony


Extremely tempted to wave goodbye here with a white hanky as we were sailing off like the good folks on the Titanic (hmmm, am i dating myself by even mentioning the Titanic?)


We found an extremely long and snaking queue outside the Theatre and tot some show was abt to start, just as we were abt to join the queue, some waitress asked us if we were "red cards" and told us to go directly in. "Wah liddat one ah?" I said very unglam-ly.


We went in and was greeted by a weird sight of alot of people hanging around and queueing up at a table, and we found out that it's all not abt a show at all, but abt reserving tables for a gala dinner. Feeling perplexed, we pored over the menus and realised that out of 4 restaurants, "red cards" can dine at 2 of the more prestigious ones for free whereas "blue cards" must pay extra.
And guess wat, by the time it's our turn, all the prestigious restaurants are taken up already, and we're left with the lousy ones.
Such is the proud kiasu spirit: The gates to the theatre opened at 3.30pm. We went in at 3.35pm.

I've lost count of the number of times i just look out at the sea and stone:
While sitting at our balcony


While eating


While walking by some random window


While slacking at the deck


While Catechol is gambling

While eating ice-cream


While getting sunburnt at Phuket


We came back from our Phuket trip just in time for our Gala dinner, which is supposed to be a formal affair.
And while i threw on an extremely casual dress, the ang mohs really blew my socks off by wearing real prom dresses (like those american gauzy dresses you only see on tv) and suits complete with the occasional bow tie.



With all the slacking by the sea i've been doing, it's no wonder i got horribly sunburnt.


It's been a fun (and slack and gluttony) holiday, but we're having second thoughts abt coming back. We lost money at Texas Holdem'!! Cleaned out on our last day by some ridiculously lucky dealer.. hmmph!

Anyway, i went back to work with everyone asking me where i've been cos i'm very obviously darker and peeling away like nobody's business.