A very happy and blessed Christmas

It's the year end. Thank you very much to all readers of this blog. I'm always touched you bother to comment. Have a merry christmas and a very happy new year 2008. I'll be away from blogging for a week. That's right folks...you heard right. 7 glorious days away from work to be spent in total self indulgence. Now that's the way to wrap up...what was /is a glorious year 2007. Happy holidays!!!

This is soooo true

I found this in the music room. Whoever found it..and put it there is a sound man.

I'm back to reading books

There was a temporary deviation from reading for a while now. There after to be known as the "dark ages". The picture is of the library of Sancta Sophia college, the place I stayed in in Sydney. The college grounds were lovely reminded me of Oxford. ( Not that I'm incredibly familiar with oxford...I went there ONCE and had a quick walk-a-bout absorbing the atmosphere marginally). The more accurate reason why I say it reminded me of Oxford is...because it looked very much like the oxford depicted in them very English movies we see on AsTRO.

Sancta Sophia was founded in 1925. ( So its old ) It's incredibly near Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Pretty handy for those attending any courses there. The bus service to town and back is a handy plus point. Save on taxi fares. If you walk uphill you get to Kings st...which is a brilliant place as it houses quite a number of second hand bookstores. I know regret not buying more books. DAMM!!

Sydney in Spring

I finally did it. Climbed the Sydney Bridge. On the very first day, after wading though customs ( no body frisking....and bags were opened in the process) we proceeded to the lodgings to dump the bags...and off to town...in particular CHINATOWN for a spot of Yum Cha. The weather was ( unfortunately ) gloomy on arrival and there was a slight chill in the wind. It went right thru the T-shirt and made me think...maybe I should have brought a thicker jumper.

Anyway after food and feeling decidedly more energetic, we made our way down George St ( a very long street) onto Circular Quay....took the obligatory pictures with Sydney Opera House in the background....went to the ROCKS ( bought nothing there...) and finally into the bridge climb office to be gowned up and geared up for the climb. The view was spectacular!!!

I need to lose weight

TIBO and I

This lovely little gadget makes my journey to work enjoyable.

Merry Christmas:)

FINALLY!! I've not only completed the christmas shopping...but it's all nicely wrapped and ready for putting under the tree. The relief of it all!

My cousin got married today:)

Simple...ie no useless speeches and endless tea drinking..but festive with a whole bunch of groom's men being their usual boisterous selves. Tradition dictates the groom go through a barrage of tasks before he claims his bride. My poor cousin-in-law to be and his bestman had their legs waxed. Oh and somebody got pushed into the pool. That's weddings for you.

Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs. Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes. Being vexed, a sea nourished with lovers' tears. What is it else? A madness most discreet, a choking gall and a preserving sweet. William Shakespeare

Tagged by Katrin

FIVE facts about me:

1. I have obsessions....
a) The first started at aged 5 or 6 where I suddenly became aware of the veins on my palm and spent whole mornings alternating between rubbing it furiously or rushing to the sink to wash my hands. ( thankfully I grew out of this obsession in a week..it got too tiring and after a bit I decided a little blue line on my palm wasn't gonna kill me ).

b) My next big obsession was bouncing on the pogo stick. I got just such a contraption one birthday and my afternoons were then spent bouncing off the stick and falling off every once in a while. I stopped when I reached 200 non-stop. It finally became boring. The stick is up in some cupboard somewhere. I haven't seen it in like 20 years.

c)Then I got obsessed with my mole and used to spent hours looking at it ( not the face..mind just the MOLE ) and figuring out how to get rid off it. I think this lasted a good month before I got sick of looking at it in the mirror and moved on.

d)More recently my obsessions have taken a healthier turn for the better. I think I've improved with age. My latest obsession is getting the entire score for "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring ". And so for the last 4 hours I've been glued to the net downloading various scores and rushing off to play it on the violin.

e) My on-going obsession is getting all books written by Elinor M.Brent.Dyer. Now this is a good obsession. It's one of the few which has stayed on over the years. Anybody out there share this obsession??

What I bought today

Two purchases which make my WEEK. Gossipy Hello magazine ( not as juicy as others but they have great pictures..so I like it.) And Yes another Kim Edwards' book. A compilation of short stories. Off to continue reading the book....finished the first short story...VERY GOOD.

Book Review number 2

Right..I've just finished this book about ten minutes ago. The emotions stirred is like reading a Jodi Picoult book. The story line is simple enough. And the ending is something you look forward to...you can almost see where it's heading to. And yet...it doesn't diminish the ability for your emotions to be plucked one by one as the chapters unfold. Okay so I did cry a bit. David Henry appears in the first chapter as a loving husband, looking forward to his first born. He loves his wife tenderly and sees it as his job to protect her from every unpleasant. And so when he delivers his down syndrome daughter, he follows his first instint which is to keep this from his wife. What follows this lie is a growing wedge between his wife and him. Resentment and guilt are the two main emotions running through the following pages. Paul the other twin born normal goes on to have his own life but always with a shadow ot his dead sister with him. This is a good book to read. You'll be rushing home to read the next chapter.

Will Kemp, Shakespeare's forgotten clown

Will Kemp was a famous Elizabethan actor who achieved something remarkable through this Morris Dancing. In 1599, he danced for 125 miles from London to Norwich over nine days. Kemp's Jig was published in the 17th century....to celebrate this feat.

Why the sudden interest in this song?? Because I've chosen this song for my exam piece.

Too lovely to eat

Book Review...number 1

The picture isn't the best. I had every intention of taking my own picture...much clearer but I've only just realised I left the book at work. Anita Shreve...what do I know about her? At this moment of writing nothing at all. I'd seen this in hardcover as early as last year. Remember it clearly....it was on the shelf in Kinokuniya and I thought...nice bookcover. ( Yes I am THAT shallow at times..) As with MOST books in kinokuniya it was wrapped in cellophane and so I left it.

Every once in a few months, I go into a certain kind of mood. Not sure how to describe it. It's a mood where you get fed up with your usual books and are eager to break away from the norm. This is how I came to read this book.

The first page wasn't that appealing...it starts off by a description of the hills far away. I don't like books starting off like that. If you are patient and read on....the story unfolds in a very pleasing way. It's like watching a nice movie where you 're sunk into the sofa with a cup of tea....sipping slowly and watching the tale unfold more and more. Shreve weaves a make-believe tale into this story. Initially I hated that. Found it distracting....and wanted to hurry through the paragraphs. I'm glad I persevered. Even though it becomes fairly predictable towards the end the middle bit of the work makes you eager to read on. I enjoyed it. And would buy another Shreve book some time soon.

Saturday Feast

I spent the bulk of saturday In Putra Jaya, in the company of two very good friends,one of whom cooked for us. I did 20 minutes of yoga just so I could eat without guilt. It worked partially. So maybe this really is the way to go.....diet-wise.
To the right is desert...the infamous kek Lapis ( from AMWAY...), Jam tarts and the other dark chocolate coated cookie.

These strawberry tarts are as YUMMY as they look. They also smelt divine. When I sniffed them......it brought back memories of my strawberry shortcake doll..I think she was called rasberry something. She's still around somewhere in the cupboard back home. These tarts are homemade. So Kudos to the person who made them..I thoroughly enjoyed every morsel.

This is about the only fruits I've eaten the whole week. Guranteed to move stubborn bowels no problem.

And here we have......the MAIN dish. Curry Mee.....done to perfection. The gravy was just the right thickness. I hate watery ones. And it was just spicy enuff leaving you wanting more...rather then them chilli ones where your tongue burns you sipped about one glass of water..and that spoils the meal. I had a good saturday.

For Dobbs!

I've been meaning to download the pic of my Jibbitz-s but the internet connection was horrendously slow on Sunday..and after a bit I got deviated to other stuff to blog about. But here it is..I had to stick it onto my plastic folder so it would remain upright for the photo-taking session. It's been moved to the piano cover..which is lacey and full of HOLES. So I've snook it into one of them holes...comic relief when playing boring scales.

Ms read

This is a top I've obsessed over for months now. When I finally decided I would indeed buy it...couldn't find the damm thing in the shop. There's some lady out there wearing my top. And I WANT IT BACK.

Borrowed from Anna's blog

1.Take the book nearest to you and open page 18 - what does it say on line 4? SPUTUM for fungus. ( don't ask what crap I read..it's embarassing)

2. Stretch your left arm as long as you can, what do you touch? A cotton pink hankerchief given from a funeral...tradition dictates you wash your face after viewing the coffin and wipe it off with this kerchief.

3. What was the latest you watched on TV? Yes Minister the series this morning at 3:00am.

4. Without looking, guess the time: 10'o'clock I know this for a fact cos I looked at my watch before I started blogging.

5. Besides the computer, what can you hear right now? The droll of traffic on the ground floor and some neighbour slamming the door.

6. When were you last outside last and what did you do? Came from back work late...went out for dinner...and ate too much.

7. What did you look at before you began this survey? My envelope of receipts...stemming from the begining of this year.

8. What are you wearing? Baju Kurung.

9. Did you have a dream last night? Yes it was a horrible dream I can't remember what it was but I think it was a nasty one.

10. When did you last laugh? Earlier this evening when someone pointed out I can't spell for nuts, Absolutely true ...I have problems with certain words...always had.

11. What are on the walls of the room you are in right now?
A poster of the london underground...a collage of pictures...Van gogh jigsaw puzzle...my graduation picture..and another van gogh picture exactly the same but painted on a tile.

12. Have you seen something strange lately? Yes a flickering of light on the car in front of me just now...where there shouldn't have been. I must have been hypoglycaemia and hallucinating then.

13. What do you think of this challenge? I think it's a novel way to blog.

14. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Would you believe I can't remember what I saw last..it might have been black diamonds.

15. If you were a multimillionaire, what would you buy? I would buy a nice house...buy my brother out of his bond so he can do as he pleases..tell my dad to stop working...and donate something to poor....plus donate something to the place I work..

16. Tell something about yourself that people don't know? I only brush my hair in the bathroom and no where else.

17. If you could change ONE thing in the world, without taking into account politics and guilt, what would it be? Racial discrimination

18. Do you like dancing? Yes especially Ballet.

19. George Bush? He's alright I think.

Books to devour

I went a little mad on Sunday. MPH was having its member's only sale. And guess what?? They had three titles of Ms Read at the chic lit section. Have you ever walked up to a section with no expectations..and yet hoping secretly to find that elusive book? ( in this case books...) Try and imagine this and you may well experience the elation.

Books that I'm reading

1. Harry Potter..( stuck there for months.)

2. Second Time Lucky by Sophie King. ( almost done..should be finishing this evening )

3. A wedding in December by Anita Shreve ( totally out of character to buy such a book, but nonetheless a pleasing surprise...aim to finish by the end of this week.)

4.Georgy Girl by Margaret Forster. ( once again a lucky find..at TIMES the pavillion )

The memory keeper's daughter ....is a book which I've been contemplating reading for months. I've stood at POPULAR bookstore reading the first half of the first chapter. So when I'm done with all the above books...( or maybe even before..) I shall read that.

SATAY

The department's hari raya celebration is this Friday. ( Unless I've gotten the dates wrong). We can expect amongst other things ( dare we hope ) satay, cakes from secret recipe, rendang, ketupat, jello, chicken curry....

Selamat Hari Raya...a little late. Maaf Zahir Batin!!!!

Spot the Smiley Jibbitz

For the record, these are not my legs. They belong to my cousin Bryan.

Blood donation..does it hurt?

There was a blood donation campaign at the old Parish Hall today. I've been to two blood donation drives in the last ten years and I've donated blood twice. The first was for purely selfish reasons ie they were giving a free t-shirt for every one pint of blood you gave. I still have the t-shirt..it's now yellow and the words have faded somewhat. The second time around for for more self-less reasons. The first was painless. I suspect the thrill of getting the t-shirt numbed the pain. The second was complicated by infection and I had a lymph node to prove it. It's not easy getting at my veins, a combination of more than ample subcutaneous fat plus deep seeded veins makes it challeging. And so today, I opted out.

Jibbitz:)

How crazy is this? I have two JIBBITZ..and I don't own a pair of crocs. Not from lack of trying. I have tried numerous pairs in different colours. The end-product is nearly always the same, the feet look gigantic in them plus the calves automatically look like sticks coming out of flower-pots. A cousin came up to visit, and his obsession with Jibbitz rubbed off on me. I've been obsessed with getting a smiley face Jibbitz since. ( They're out of STOCK for now..)

I'm still trying to figure out the best way to show them off, make a hole in your coat and stick it here?? Stick a magnet behind it and latch it on the car? Jibbitz was born in 2005 by a stay-at-home mum who had the imagination and flair for making something to stick in the holes of crocs to personalize them. Who would have thought??

Layered cake..sarawak style

I developed a liking for Kek Lapis Sarawak a while back. It's not too sweet, and the plus point is, it looks very nice. The mechanics of making it makes it even more precious to have. There was a booth at Hartamas where you could order it for a price. And oh boy, what a price it was. For raya, two friends gave me kek lapis. Correction three friends gave me kek lapis. Thank you:) I certainly enjoyed eating it as much as wondering how many hours went into making this intricate cake.


ps apologies for not blogging. Have been diverted to facebook for a while. It's addictive. But I'm BACK

Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor

Malaysia's dream of sending someone into space has finally materialised. Sheikh Muszaphar is a doctor from the same hospital I work in. My only claim to fame is having ONCE made a referral to him a few years back. How exciting is it to go into space. Pretty DAMM exciting I should think.

Latio

We have a new car. Correction! My dad has a new car. I drove it this weekend. I managed to drive it forward three feet and then reverse it back into position. The last time I drove a brand new car ( ie mine ) I crashed the machine within 2 weeks. So perhaps you'll understand the hesitation in taking over this new machine.

My dad..my hero

The violin has been fixed. My dad came over with a whole plastic bag of glue tins ( he 's obsessed with glue hoarding..and as of today I will no longer make fun of him ). He sat down by the window for natural light and ten minutes later...my violin has been glued back. There's loads of masking tape around it to be left there for 24 hours. I've played on it...( I suspect there is some difference in the tone ) But generally My mood has lifted somewhat.

:(

I can still hear the sound as the violin hit the floor. The bridge broke into two pieces and my strings remained flat ....there was a loud bang. After adjusting the bridge ( an hour later ). the adjustment required a trip to the nearest music shop. Things were looking good. I cheered up enough to buy a storybook. Alas, the joy was short-lived. Only realised the extent of the damage when I fished it out of the case to practise. there's a crack and the violin sounds awful. Added to that, the new bridge slants differently so practising across strings is now a little bit more challenging. I'm very sad. I had a little weep whilst practising my scales ( with loads of notes off key).

Little Britain.

It looks like a DVD marathon session this week. I've only just realised I haven't completed "Little Britain" the complete THIRD series. I wish there were more hours in a day. Don't you?

My Girl!

I have a weak will power. No point denying it especially seeing as I've started on yet another Korean Drama serial. Woohooo!!

What I'm watching

Okay so I promised myself I wouldn't turn into one of THOSE. You know, those ones who're hooked on serials. Well it serves me right. I am now reluctantly coming to terms with what I now realise is a full blown addiction to korean dramas. Currently on my 8th episode ( disc 2) of Full House. It's all Marilyn's fault. ( I hope she reads this ). The moral of the story is...dun laugh at others..you might just very well turn into them yourselves.

Full House comes highly recommended by at least 4 different people so it MUST be good. I think what I enjoy is listening to the dialogue. ( And reading the subtitles too). Not much KimChii featured in Full House. And from the food scenes..their rice is different..more glutinous.

It was filmed in Gwangyeok-si area of Incheon, which is a metropoliton city in the west coast of South Korea near Seoul. Interestingly in Feb this year Incheon declared itself an "English City".The house in this film was a real house and it cost one million US dollars to built.

Merdeka! Merdeka!Merdeka!

Exactly a year ago, things were in a limbo. There were subjects to be recruited and data to be entered into SPSS. The weekends were used doing work (reluctantly) and when it was used for pure enjoyment the after feeling of guilt was horrible. You know what I mean surely.

Today is different. Pure relaxation without an ounce of guilt. And oh boy oh boy does it feel good. The sun is out with a vengeance this morning. I got burnt heading out for breakfast. No traffic on the roads and there's a general feeling of restfullness. Don't you just love this feeling??

How many hours does it take?

......to sound good on the violin.

Secrets!!!

I lugged the blue book back today. Rather optimistic move. The Korean drama serial has ended ( with a lot of tears..they really know how to do a soppy scene....these Koreans ) so perhaps this is a good time to sit back and do some NON-fiction reading and increase the IQ. The book to the right is right up my street. Ms Read aka Dora Saint write about village life. Very entertaining and certainly guranteed to be more enjoyable. Decisions!! Decisions!!!

"SECRET = revealed only to the initiated. "

Greediness

Most people starve themselves prior to a free meal....but if you happen to be two individuals with a good appetite and little notion of dieting...you then proceed to have a full meal just two hours BEFORE. This is what we ate courtesy of AYAMAS at Kl Sentral. Pretty huge portions! Just for the record, we still did justice to the food come dinner time. Fast digestive tracts...that's what we're blessed with. What's the saying...a moment on the lips..a lifetime on the hips.

Origami

My grand-auntie who's 94 year old made these for me. She's a wonderful lady with a great soul who's led a hard life but never complains. I think if you don't compare yourself with anyone else, and if you don't feel envious of people who have more, you're pretty much set. Easier said than done I suppose. Our very human nature depicts that we compare and contrast.

I've stuck them on my shelf near the window so when the wind blows...they bob about full of life. A reminder of simpler things in life.

Harriet Evans

I had great plans to buy Harriet Evan's latest " A hopeless romantic'. I thoroughly enjoyed "Going home". So I need to make a trip to Midvalley MPH to get it I guess...it hasn't been seen anywhere else.

Couple or trouble

I am ONE DVD away from completing this korean drama. This latest ( healthy ) obssession has taken a back seat the entire week. When i first watched this, I thought to myself AHAH it's just like Goldie Hawn's " Overboard". I don't think the hero is good looking enough. ( Although as you're drawn into the plot he gradually becomes pretty endearing) So I'm forgiving the casting director just this time. It's tiring business watching korean drama serials. Unlike an English movie you can't multitask ie do your ironing or walk to the fridge too pick up something to drink. On NO you need your total concentration to read the subtitles. ( Which if you have my bad luck..can be quite terrible ones ).

5o years of Independence

We'll be celebrating out 50th independence day on the 31st of August.

Teluk Intan

Every once in a while, we head north ...to Teluk Intan Hospital for a spot of teaching. There was a bit of traffic leading out of KL...but once we hit the highway it was smooth sailing until we reached the outskirts of Teluk Intan, where the roads became narrow. I dozed off so I missed a good shot of the town as we entered it. There's an equivalent of the leaning tower of pisa here. I didn't believe it until i googled it:) And no I didn't get a shot of the leaning tower....there wasn't much time for sight seeing. As proof that I actually went there...here is a shot of the group I taught. They look happy enough I should think.

Garcinia mangostana

Purple Mangosteens to us. We had them last Sunday. It's quite a feat eating them without staining your fingers. Best not to eat them wearing a white t-shirt..unless you don't mind having pink spots on it. No smell involved ( unlike our friendly durian fruit). Beware drinking coca cola after eating mangosteens. What you will get is a massive churning effect in the tummy. Most unpleasant I'm told. You have been warned.

EMily

This is Emily...my niece. She's finally back from the States and I hope to see more of her in the future.

Convocation Day:)

After 4 years of working very hard, we've finally come to journey's end. Well not quite, it's a new chapter in our lifes. We convocated on the 11th of August.A great glorious Saturday morning, with the sun shining madly down at us. Proud beaming parents, proud beaming graduates and loads of flowers lurking about the place with some suspiscious looking teddies being carried discretely about.

This day wouldn't have been possible without the grace of God.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate my friends who have journeyed with me in this ...at times difficult path towards our common dream of being great physicians.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

For the sake of completeness I should like to add, the proper attire comes with a cauliflower-looking head gear which I'd discarded by the time this picture was taken.