Happy Fathers Day!

Today is Fathers Day and I really wished I could be back home with my dad, but I am thankful that I will be seeing him soon :) Here's to the most jovial, humorous, kind, loving, *cough* paranoid, and worry-ful man in the world! With love, your GOOD daughter! hahahahhahahhaha

And so I dedicate this poem to you Appa :)

What Makes a Dad

God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities
, When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so,
He called it ... Dad

-Author unknown-

Cafe Alfonso

This is my 2nd time to this wonderful cafe located at Hutt Street, and needless to say, it's definitely quickly rising to being one of my top fave brekky spots in Adelaide :) (for several reasons!)

Firstly - great ambience.

The first time my friends and I came here, we sat outdoors, and it was lovely to enjoy our meal while having the cool morning breeze sweep through our hair and the warm sunshine warm our skin. It was also heart-warming to see many families enjoying their brekkie together, some of them with their cute little doggies tagging along :) The second time around (today) we opted for indoors and I was not disappointed! Loved the classic old'school theme with black and white photos hanging on the wall :)

Secondly - great service.

The staff are so friendly, and the waiters are such gentlemen. And not to mention............cute! *giggles* Okay, okay, only one of them is. (haha, shucks, now you all know the MAIN reason I love this cafe! lol, only kidding!) Besides, it's not wrong to treat your eyes to a little candy once in a while hey? *cuci mata..haha*

Thirdly (and most importantly) - great FOOD!

Their Continental breakfast comes with a hearty serving of eggs (cooked as you like them), bacon, sausages, 2 slices of toast, mushrooms, and tomatoes :)

Today I tried 'Avvolto' which is a wrap with scrambled eggs, bacon, tomatoes, melted cheese, and hollandaise sauce and to say it was anything less than DELICIOUS would be an understatement! Yum :)

I also appreciate how they are very generous with their little packets of butter, jam, vegemite, and honey, and you can always help yourselves to more if you wish to.

Last but not least, and what I loved most about today's brekky is the awesome company :) Love my two beautiful girls, Yean and Claire Bear <3 Look forward to more brekky dates (and checking out hot waiters) with you :)

Bliss Organic Cafe

It was a chilly Saturday morning, and me and two other friends had agreed to meet up for brekky. Considering none of us had a car, and all of us were at TheVillage the night before, we set out on foot and planned to go to somewhere we haven't been before, but somewhere closeby. Our feet decided to bring us to the doorstep of 'Bliss Organic Cafe', a tiny quaint little cafe tucked away in one of the alleys of Chinatown.

When I stepped in, we immediately fell in love with the homely yet retro ambience.

And so we chose our table and seats and had a look at the menu. Here's what we ordered:

Above: Banana pancakes with maple syrup

(4 Leaf organic wholemeal super fine and 4 Leaf organic plain flour, vanilla, sunflower seeds and dried grapes, served with organic maple syrup - I added bananas as an extra)

Above: Scrambled 'eggs' with toast (and a rash of 'bacon') (inverted commas because it's actually tofu)

(silken tofu pan-fried with mushrooms, seasoned with salt and pepper, served with organic Turkish pidé and spread, with rash of 'bacon' as an extra)

Above: Tofu scramble

(head chef’s signature dish – firm organic tofu hand-scrambled with white mushrooms, organic potato chunks, organic grated carrot, organic wilted spinach, organic tomato cubes, raisins, pepitas and sunflower seeds. Sprinkled with flaxseeds and sesame seeds.)

The food itself was a little disappointing. Maybe it's because none of us were vegan to begin with, so we weren't too fond of the taste of vegan 'bacon' and 'eggs'. I really liked my pancakes (although, the menu did say that it comes with 8 pancakes, but as you can see in the picture, I was shortchanged by 2), but I don't think my two other friends enjoyed their scrambled eggs or tofu. Understandably so I guess. I tried some, and the tofu tasted like Chinese stir-fried eggs, while the eggs tasted like soggy tofu with curry powder.

Nonetheless we had a wonderful chat and enjoyed our brekkie together because it's the company you're with that counts, not the place you go or the food you eat :)

Procrastination taken to the next level

Okay, so I was given this assignment many many WEEKS ago. 1000 word 'Critical Thinking' essay on "The significance of adverse events in the Australian health care system". There were several articles given to us to read and incorporate into our essay, and these take a significant amount of time to read, digest and to extract the core 'ingredients' from. I should have attempted to do the readings maybe over the weekend at the very least, but me being me, when do I start? THE NIGHT BEFORE IT'S DUE! *collapses*

Sometimes I wonder, WHY do i procrastinate everything I do so much? I sometimes even procrastinate my procrastination! As a matter of fact, at this very second, I am wondering why on earth I'm writing this blog post when my essay is due tomorrow morning and I'm not even half way there!

I guess it all boils down to the adrenaline rush. I just can't seem to get anything done without it! And i wish that rush came earlier, but unfortunately it only comes at the 11th hour, right when I'm severely pressed for time. Same goes for exams. All I can say is, God's grace is indeed so abundant that He has allowed me to pass all my exams so far. Thank you Jesus!

Okay, I guess I better get back to my unimaginably boring and pointless assignment (please do not forward this blog post to my university's MBBS Convenor! yikes!) Let me tell you, it took me approximately 8 hours in total just to read those 4 articles provided because I kept zoning out and dozing off! Okay until next time! God bless the Australian Health Care system!

Interesting Patients

Got to see some interesting patients at the hospital today! :D

One was a middle-aged lady who had a very obvious right ventricular HEAVE and tricuspid regurgitation and pronounced P2 heart sound from primary pulmonary hypertension.

Another was a man who had suffered from a stroke and had hemiparesis and deviation of the tongue and also had diplopia!

There was another man who had Guillian-Barre Syndrome but we weren't fortunate enough to get to examine him :(

All in all, it was a good day. Am just happy that I learnt at least ONE new thing today. and that isss:

DIGOXIN produces a downsloping ST depression (a.k.a reverse tick phenomenon) on an ECG! I had NO IDEA! :D

Blessed

I am so happy and blessed to know this little 5-year old girl from church. Her name is Ikiia, and she's my little angel. I've been looking after her (and the other children) since last year, and on the days that I am on duty at KidZone, I am sure to leave with a smile in my heart :)

Today at KidZone in church, she was trying to pacify little 2-year-old Jem-jem who had been crying for her mum, she said to her "Don't cry Jem-jem! It's okay! Do you want to play with me and Anjali? She's my friend. My bestest best friend! We'll play with you :)" It truly made my day. Just when I was feeling down and lonely, God shows me how blessed I am. She is my bestest best friend here in Adelaide too and such a blessing to my life. She will always have a special place in my heart. Thank you Jesus

Teddy, will you draw a flower for me?

Children will always have a special place in my heart. To me, children are the symbol of love, happiness, innocence and purity. When I see children, I see the face of God. That is why I simply LOVE taking care or them and playing with them in KidZone in church on Sundays. Plus, I get to re-live my childhood =)

Today, something soooooooo cute happened in church. Ria-Grace is a little 2 year old girl who's beyond adorable. She's cute, chubby and has the most gorgeous locks. She's also of mixed heritage (Indian and Caucasian) which means you can imagine just how adorable and pretty she is! (Feels weird using the word 'pretty' on a 2 year old girl..haha..oh well~I'm sure she'll be stunning when she grows up! Boys, you better get in line now! haha)

Well, I was helping little Ria-Grace colour a picture of Jesus today and she did the most adorable thing. She normally doesn't really talk much to strangers, but then I decided to take

her little teddy bear and hide behind it while pretending to be the Teddy by moving its head and hands. Surprisingly Ria-Grace started talking back to Teddy!

RG: Teddy, will you draw a flower for me?

and I..uhh..i mean Teddy: Of course Ria-Grace! Can you give Teddy a colour pencil please?

RG: *takes colour pencil and places it into Teddy's hands*

Teddy: Thank you Ria-Grace! *tries to hold the pencil* [I wrap my fingers around Teddy's arm and Teddy holds the pencil*

RG: You're welcome Teddy!

Teddy: *draws a flower on the paper* Here you go Ria-Grace! Do you like Teddy's flower for you?

RG: *smiling* I like it very much Teddy! Thank you Teddy!

Teddy: You're welcome Ria-Grace! Can you give Teddy a kiss?

RG: *leans in and kisses Teddy on the nose* MWAHH!

Teddy: *blush* =)

RG: Can you draw a green flower for Thomas Teddy? [i have no idea who Thomas is!] *takes green colour pencil and places it into Teddy's hand*

Teddy: Why of course Ria-Grace! *takes pencil and starts drawing*

RG: *moves slightly from her little green chair* Come and sit next to me Teddy! I love you Teddy!

Teddy: I love you too Ria-Grace!

Sometimes I wonder whether they (little children) believe that Teddy is actually talking to them or whether they know that the person holding Teddy is pretending to be Teddy. But considering Ria-Grace is only 2 years old, I'm pretty sure she believed Teddy was talking to her :) God is so amazing isn't He?

p.s: this teddy bear picture is not a picture of Ria-Grace's Teddy btw, lol...it's a picture of myyy teddy, Romeo ;)

Living in a Self-Centred World

I've realized over the past few weeks that so many people in this world are so self-centred (yes, I know I should have realized this ages ago silly me!) But that is our human nature isn't it? To want the best for ourselves. But I'm not saying wanting the best for yourself is wrong or a bad thing, I mean, it's a great thing! I'm just saying, try to be mindful of others while you are. Don't step on others to get to the top, in whatever aspect this may be. Especially in terms of knowledge. When you have it, share it! When you are a part of a group, work together to make things work. Help one another, don't abuse one another. Many of my friends say "Such is life, you just gotta to do whatever it takes to get to the top, just don't care about the rest", but the part of me with a mindful conscience says "Don't be like the rest. Be kind unto others. God will see your good deeds and reward you later".

With that, I would like to end this blog post with a prayer, because I know that no human is perfect, and I too have surely been selfish before.

"Dear Father in Heaven, I thank You that You are a merciful God. You are a God of many chances. I pray that You forgive me for all the times I have been selfish, because I know that when someone is selfish unto me, it is not a pleasant feeling. Help me be more mindful of others and do unto others only as I would have done unto me. Lord, I pray that You would also help me forgive my friends who have been selfish unto me, be it knowingly or unknowingly, and I pray that You would help me be more understanding and enduring of any situations like these that may arise in the future. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen"