NGP!

What are the three most important letters (apart from G O D) to any medical student (myself included) in my uni if you'd ask them ? Undoubtedly the following: N G P. These three letters are short for words that are like honey to the ears of a med student - Non-Graded Pass. THIS is basically what we live and study for all year...and patiently/dreadfully wait for our entire holidays.

Earlier today, God blessed me with these three wonderful letters on my academic results website, and I couldn't be more overjoyed. I was so nervous and anxious as a couple of the exams I sat for didn't go as well as I would have liked them too, but God's grace is abundant and overflowing, and He allowed me to pass! So, I am really really grateful and happy to say that I am officially half a doctor! Hoorayy!!

You know what the sad part is? Here I am, peeing my pants before clicking the page to check if I had passed because I honestly thought I wouldn't make it through, here I am praying like I've never prayed before, heart palpitating, sweat dripping down my forehead....and when I fiiiinally clicked the page and saw those three holy letters, I was soooo happy that I started tearing. At this point in time, all I wanted to do is convey the good news to my family, and you know when you get good results and you tell your parents, I don't know about you, but..all I want is for them to at least be happy together with me and for me and show some form of excitement, or celebrate with me, or treat me to something like dinner or anything nice for the night. Instead, this is what transpired.

Me: "Amma guess what!! I passed 3rd year! Woohooo!!"

Mom: "Oh ok, You know ah..the dry cleaners ironed your bharathanatyam suit wrongly. HAIH. Now I have to iron it myself all over again!"

(p.s: she later went on to scold me for wanting to eat out for dinner)

Me: "Appa guess what!! I passed 3rd year! Woohooo!!"

Dad: "Ok lah...you can have extra scoop of ice cream on your birthday dinner" (continues his path walking to the kitchen to do something else)

Me: "Grandma! I passed my exams!"

Grandma: (holding her toothbrush in her hand) Can you give me some toothpaste? I ran out of toothpaste, would you be so kind to get me some toothpaste?

Haiz, sometimes it's soooo disheartening to have a family who doesn't get excited or take your achievements seriously. I know what you may be thinking, and many of you will tell me "I'm sure they're very proud and happy for you, they love you very much, etcetc" BUT the bottom line is...I really wished an achievement as important as this was celebrated and appreciated for at least longer than 2 seconds, and with something perhaps a little more encouraging than an "Oh okay".

Venepuncture

As cruel as the term 'venepuncture' sounds (i.e. puncturing a vein), I had the opportunity to do it the whole day at the IMVS at the hospital yesterday. Hmm...i gotta say, taking bloods all day is actually quite FUN! (even for me who is a scaredy-cat when it comes to injections)....so who would've known??!

Better still is taking blood from a child...it's actually quite entertaining i must say. One minute they're crying and screaming their heads off (which actually temporarily deafens you), and then next minute you say "Aww it's all done! do you want a lolly? what colour would you like?" then INSTANTLY crying stops followed by *GIGGLES* "GWEEEEEN!! =D"

First Week Back

So it's been exactly a week since my return back to my dull and gloomy Adelaide life. *sigh* Though I had one month of holidays, being back here makes me feel like as if I never had a holiday to begin with. Where'd it go? Time just flew out the window! Funny thing is, first day back and I've already started counting down to the end of the year when I get to go back again...lol. Guess it just shows how much I love this place! =)

Grueling semester ahead, it is already beginning to wear me out just after the first week! Hmm the thought that's scaring me the most right now is EXAMS. And this time, it's more than just a fear. It's a life or death situation. 100% worth for each paper I sit for; fail one and you have to repeat the entire year! God, I pray that doesn't happen. Will update my blog soon, gotta wake up at an unGodly hour of the morning tomorrow to travel by bus to the hospital. Oh what joy! =)

Is this a fruit? Can I eat it?

My grandma never fails to humor me and provide me with a source of endless joy and laughter :)

Today, she saw some potpourri sitting on the table in our house, and she picked up some of it and asked me "Is this a fruit, can I eat it?" To which I replied "No grandma, don't eat it! It's potpourri". Not understanding the term, she asked "Hmm??", I answered "Just a decoration grandma, it can't be eaten". Disappointed, she quipped "What is it decorating? If you can't eat it just throw it out lah, no use." :P

Grandma, oh grandma...lol :D

Is it worth it?

I've been told many times before, "It's just not worth it". Chasing up after people who just don't care about you anymore and have moved on in life. It's hard cos i'm a stubborn girl, and it feels like I'm always trying my best to hang on to whatever thread of friendship that's left connecting two souls. What's more frustrating is when you're the only one initiating the effort 99% of the time.

Friendship. What is it? When you form a bond with someone in a particular place, at a particular time and phase in your life, what meaning does it hold for you? I'm not sure about everyone else, but it feels like when transitioning from one chapter to another (e.g: school to college, or college to uni, or country to country) the people around me seem to join a new circle of friends and forget the old. A reality that is hard for me to swallow. Sometimes I wonder, how can someone forget their friends so quickly? I mean, one moment you're close friends, doing everything together, and the next (maybe few months/years down the tracks) you hardly say hello to each other?

With the age of facebook, keeping in touch is now as easy as a few taps on the keyboard and a few minutes of your time. But I hate to always be the one to start "hey, long time no hear from you, how are you, how's everything...". A close close friend of mine once told me, "Why are you wasting your time, every time I see YOU posting to them, it's not like they make any effort to keep in touch back from what I see". True. Facebook is also a very destructive tool. It can really hurt one's feelings when you see your "friends" spending soooo much time on facebook, updating photos of them with their new friends and conversing with other people and doing everything under the sun BUT attempt to keep in touch with you. Clearly they're not busy considering the amount of time and updates on facebook. But I guess the friendship we once shared just isn't important anymore. It's sad, really.

But life goes on. I need to learn to let go, and start moving on myself. Or else, I will always be left behind...

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 :)