Save The Date

Perth

8th November 2008

(Another in Brunei on the 26th October 2008)

Anonymous

In the back of my mind,
The dark clouds are brewing a storm!
Darker and darker, bigger and bigger
They grow with each unpleasant thought.

What i once thought was...
Seems to be not, anymore.
I get a glimpse of this evidence,
Bit by bit, little by little.
Behaviourly, verbally and mentally.
I'm not agreeing.

I'm battling in my head.
And i'm reluctant to enter,
Anticipating the unknown.

I am trapped, simply trapped.

-Anonymous-

Lunch at Mamak's

Discovered a newly opened Malaysian style cafe called Mamak.
The first time we stopped by, the queue was right out the door!

So we said forget it. Come back another time, we were starving.

On Saturday, the line again, was past the enterance and spilled onto the pedestrian walkway. We decided to wait and try.

People strolling by wondered what the fuss was about.

As we soon found out it wasn't that big of a fuss, it was just that the confines of the cafe was tiny!

The food was good, but wasn't that good to have been waiting for 20 mins on the pavement and another 15mins for the food! Wasn't impressed by that.

With each passing minute i waited, my recommend-o-meter dropped drastically. And with each passing minute, my eyes squinted a little more as the air flow (or smoke flow - should i say) wasn't adequate enough which made way for a major headache! Not happy at all.

Maybe...just maybe we'll try again when its less crowded and stuffy.

With Much Hesitation, I Proceeded...

Fang has been nagging at me for god-knows-how-long to shave his mo'. That is, nagging at me to give him the green lights to completely chop his hair. And i've been putting it off...until now.

I know its only hair...it'll grow back etc. etc...and even i have my own moments with my hair where i just think "ah...to hell with it...chop it!" But my situation and his are different...in that when i say i don't care and ask for my mo' to be chopped, i don't NOT care to the extent where i don't look somewhat presentable/decent. Whereas when he wants it cut, he wants it all off for summer without deciding if it'll suit him etc. Having said that, i'll probably get used to it..sooner or later.

As if it wasn't bad enough having to picture his newly shaved thinker, he wanted me to participate in the event! I had to face the inevitable, as he went and bought a professional home shaving kit today. He figured it was a good investment (as his hair grows insanely fast!). Fifty bucks for the kit, in 2/3 months (equivalent to 2 haircuts in a saloon) he would have gotten back that amount. *sigh*

The both of us had no idea how to go about it...this kit came with everything...all the size settings, 2 pairs of scissors, 3-4 types of combs, brushes, the shaver plus a smaller sized shaver and an apron! So Fang just selected a #2 and #3 sized comb that attached to the shaver. We started off with the #3. Then he decided that it wasn't short enough and so i proceeded with the #2. Here's the result...

- Before and After -

He was so pleased, i think he has quietly decided for himself to keep me on so he can get a free haircut every week.

Upgrading Gadgets

- Black and white ipod nano (gen1) -

Fang upgraded his mobile phone and his black ipod nano (gen1, 4GB) to an apple iphone...so it was only fair that i did some upgrading too...though its nothing as spectacular.
My gen3 red ipod nano (8GB) replaced my gen1 white nano (4GB). I'm loving the red, which could only be bought via the net and part of it's proceeds goes to fund the AIDS champaign in Africa. Fashionable and charitable.

But it turns out that the gen3 nanos' aren't as comfortable to hold. My grip might take a while to adjust.

Speaking of grips, Fang lost his one day and the beloved iphone fell to its first (of many more to come) dents and scratches. Needless to say he was heartbroken, as he messaged me that instance to say so. From then on, he has been searching endlessly for the right glove for the phone...he's still searching...

- Apple's iphone, Red ipod nano (gen3) -

Strutting My Stuff - check me out!

Sexy Style
http://www.gardenofreinvention.com/default.aspx?userid=10115&hash=287A019D9343BD9BA2618A5230D6CA72

Funky Style
http://www.gardenofreinvention.com/default.aspx?userid=10118&hash=5581737F10C7CB1483657249A5A24736

Geeky Style
http://www.gardenofreinvention.com/default.aspx?userid=10119&hash=BECF7DD60EC013B074002C8C2DDA6F0F

My Pets

It's A Case Of Closet Break

Can't watch Prison Break the same way ever again!!!

Michael Scofield AKA Wentworth Miller is gay......noooooooooo

*breaks down on bended knees in disappointment*

Those sexy bedroom eyes won't ever look the same again.
That bad boy shaved head look won't appeal anymore.
That sly smile popping up at the corner of his mouth every now and then after some sneaky accomplishments, looked so HOT, but now...so NOT!

Instead i'm imagining those lanky limbs swing back and forth and his wrists flicking in the air.

Need i say more?

APEC Lockdown

As you know, the APEC World Leader's Summit was held in Sydney a couple of weekends ago...

And as you may know, Sydney was in a state of lockdown. Baracades going up, security was tight. Though not as tight as the world leaders would have liked (referring to "that" Chaser's War on Everything)

Fang and I joined the million-something Sydney-siders fleeing the madness and frenzy.

We headed up to Port Stephens.

Weather looked promising for water activities...but the further up we drove the darker the clouds. It did rain on and off the whole weekend, though for the most part of the day it was dry.

We got to explore the little township, fished abit, kayaked abit, ate heaps and photographed heaps.

On return, it was just as bad as driving down 2 days ago. The road back home was chocos. We inch by inched our way home. What a bad conclusion to a beautiful getaway.

Just Let Me Do My Job

Imagine someone coming into ur workplace, telling you how to do ur job...
Just imagine...
Doesn't it just make u piss beyond comprehension??

Until Dr.'s can fix their dyslexic problems, don't tell me how to freakin' do a OPG!
I'm truly offended.

And she's a young Dr. some more...with what? 2, 3 yrs of experience post intership?
What the hell do you know? If you'd have more patience, you'll see that i would have arrived at placing you in my desired position to take a GREAT x-ray of your crooked teeth!
How can you be a Dr. with no patiences? It just makes ur clients a unit in your production line...Not really health service in my book.

There's really no need to be snotty...we're all professionals.
I don't tell you how to diagnose me...
Don't tell me how to image patients...
Unless you're some specialised Dr. who knows exactly what they want, just shuddup and do as you're told!

Dr.'s really are difficult patients!

Random Night Out...

Initial plans saw us celebrating a colleague who was soon to become a first time mum...and that she was taking a few months off for maternity leave...she may also never come back to work. Well, turns out she got admitted into hospital with pains and cramps, to which the doc prescribed bed rest under obs. in hospital. So, in the last minute we made a few phone calls. Made reservations for dinner in town and a session of karaoke. We dined at Fujiya, a Korean/Japanese Fusion Restaurant and ordered a variety of side dishes and a huge hot pot with ramen. We had time to kill after dinner as the vocal exercising session was booked at 11pm, so we roamed the streets, topped up our caffine levels and ended up in a gaming arcade "Galaxy".

Gold Coast

Sick as a dawg all weekend (Sorry Spencer and Amanda for ruining initial plans)...thought i'd tough it out come Monday and braved work plus an extra half an hour...but i got punished for it didn't i?

All hell broke loose that evening when i started burning up, eyes were straining, muscular aches all over plus sensitive nerves, ouch! So i've contained myself today....at home.

This nasty cold and flu like sickness just won't go away...and it probably stemed from last weekend's trip away.

We were trying to pack all activities and then a conference into a frame of 3 days. We did and it became an unrelaxing trip - plus having to start work Monday morning. The suitcase didn't get unpacked till 7 days later! I didn't even wanna think about laundry...eek!

Having touched down in Coolangatta Airport (parallel to the coastline) ~40 mins from Surfer's Paradise, we headed straight to the Royal Woods Villa, checked in and unloaded.

Then made our way to Warner Brother's Movie World.

Reached there at about 11.30am, so we really only spent half a day there. However we did mangaed to get on alllll the rides, and then some. First up, The Lethal Weapon Ride (our big mistake to have made this the first ride...big mistake indeed). Our feet were just dangling in the air!

Hanging outside the Scooby-Doo Ride...i think the pictures speak for themselves...

We then trekked up to the Wild Wild West part of the park

YesSs, we were soaked...

Ok, the Superman ride we left till last. We'd gwak at it every time we stood infront of it...contemplating, working up the courage to ride that thing!

Imagine 0-100km/hr in a space of 2 seconds! (from A to B). It was something like 2G force, for all you rocket scientist out there.

Boy, was it thrilling...i woulda hopped back on it again, if i had the time.

We also got on the Batman Space Shot, and that was even more impressive - 4.5G force, vertically. Though it didn't last as long as the Superman ride. That night we roamed the streets, found food for dinner, and strolled into a night market by the beach.

- Sand sculpture : a fire-breathing dragon -

- some sculpted statue by the beach -

- Throne in the middle of the street -

- Surfboard in the middle of the street -

- Lifesaver's Surfboard -

It got too cold on the last day to do any water activities...

Play! A Video Game Symphony

Gosh...this takes me back to the good old days of lazying around, no fuss, no worries, play as i'm pleased....
ahhh the good old days...I can't say that i'm a gaming freak, but i've had my fair share of ass parking on the couch for hours on end eyes glued to the TV, thinking "i'll clear just one more stage" or "just....gotta...pass...this...stage............"

The Play! symphony was fantastic..
Hypnotising me through the harmonising sounds of music from various video games. The scores, written by many talented composers, were matched with visual candies of the games themselves.

It began with tunes from The Super Mario Bros/World, and ended appropriately with Final Fantasy - One Winged Angel. Others include Sonic the HedgeHog, Halo, Silent Hill, Kingdom of Hearts 1 & 2, Warcraft, Legend of Zelda and Chrono Cross and Trigger to name a few.
Fully enjoyed it even though i have never played some of the games...at those times i would sit and tentatively listen and try to pick out what instrument was making a particular sound.

Makes me wanna bring back the old gaming consoles and indulge till i get eye sores.

Cure For A Twitch?

Has anyone got a cure for twitching?

And i don't mean conscious twitching...i mean the sleeping kind, the unconscious or the sub-conscious type.

Seems i've been poked and proded and woken up from deep sleep by Fang's twitching every now and then. And it only happens when he's fallen asleep. When he twitches, that's when i know he's completely zonked out. (Sorry to bag on you, hun)

The previous night...i was elbow-jabed in the ribs....not once, not twice but three times...
He was in such a deep sleep that he didn't hear me complain the first time (i sort of pushed him to wake him up and told him that he was hitting me - though i didn't notice that he hadn't woken up). Same thing the second time. (i thought i was a little louder)
But the third time, that was it...i woke him up real good...ahaha
Think i shocked him into waking up. He did the usual head shake thing...looked left and looked right and then left again - muttering "what's going on? what's going on?"
He said the morning after, all he heard was "you're hitting me, stop it!" Didn't know what that was all about, so went straight back to sleep. Typical

Anyways, so how 'bout that cure eh? Anyone?

i Said...!

Preparation for a lumbar spine and pelvic x-rays are as follows...

Me: I'll get you to pop into this change room and get changed.

Patient: Yep, ok

Me: I need you to change out of your top and your bra as well as your pants, but leave your underpants on. Then put a blue gown on (refer to blog "..hospital gowns for dummies 101").

Patient: Er...i don't think so. (As if to say "i don't want to, make me" with a look of disgust). Aren't i only having my hips x-rayed?

Me: (Well you tell me...! You don't think so? What the hell do you know? Maybe you should find out what examination you're having done (or what YOUR Doctor has requested) before coming in, at least!)

Your Doctor has requested a lumbar spine and pelvis x-ray. I'm betting money on the fact that you are wearing an underwire bra (METAL) and that bra has a METAL clip on the back. The jacket that you are wearing clearly has a METAL zip in the front and the pants that you've got on has a METAL zip and a METALlic buckle. So, yes i do think that you need to change out of your clothes.

(Unless you want to be x-rayed in your clothes, thats fine by me. You'll only get sent back again for more diagnostic x-rays - and i don't mind...it's not my eggs getting cooked. Inhale and exhale i say to myself. I should shutup before i give her a reason to bitch about me.)

Patient: .......... She gets changed

Me: Yea! Zip it bitch.

The Ultimate Relaxation

This Spa day was originally intended for my birthday...but seeing as we couldnt get a spot on the first of May, the next available was the nineth of June...I can see why its so popular

Located inside the Oberservatory Hotel in Sydney, this stylish pad has an english feel to it. Very old school luxury. But the Spa treatment level has a slightly different feel. Basically like a modern day spa retreat/resort.

We were informed of where the sauna/steam room/showers/spa/pool was and got given fluffy towels and robes. We were instructed to be in the waiting lounge 5 minutes before our treatment appointments...which meant we had some time to kill as our appointments were at 12.30 and we arrived at 11am.

Without wasting any more time, we quickly got changed....

and was greeted with......

The indoor pool is heated with a little spa on the right hand side.

Ayurvdedic Shirodhara was the name of my body treatment. Its a traditional Indian treatment which starts off with a body massage (absolutely incredible) from feet up to shoulders and neck. Then a treatment with a steady stream of warm black sesame seed oil trickles on the forehead. Was a foreign feeling at first, as i've never had such treatment on the forehead but was so relaxing. This technique is meant to open the third eye and expand the consciousness... Don't know about being more conscious afterwards, but i definately fell asleep during it. For some reason, a day at the spa always seem to make you go really hungry, even though you'd do nothing but soak and soak and soak. Maybe its the running in and out of the spas...and now come to think of it, it could be from lounging in the steam and sauna room. We had a Japanese feast at the Tomodachi restaurant in Broadway to fix that problem - and it was fixed in no time. :)

Soft Shell Crab Sushi

Result: safe to say that we were pretty satisfied

Licence Hassles and Dramas

Gosh this was such a trying task to do. So, my Western Australian driver's licence was about to expire...i had only a wk left. In WA, we were all able to renew our drivers licence at any post office branch, ya? Here i was, a dumb fool, thinking that all states are the same - so i could just pop in to a branch and renew it... I rocked up at a post office near my work place one lunch time and found out otherwise. "No, no. You gotta renew it at RTA (NSW's motor registry). You can't do it here..." So that day i did some asking around to see if there's an RTA near where i work..surely enough there was and it was within walking distance. A colleague at work said he happens to know a guy working at RTA and he rang up to explain my situation, that is, i needed to renew my WA licence or to obtain a NSW licence - he didnt mention anything about proof of residency etc. So the next day i managed to find my way to RTA, ripped the ticket off the ticket machine and sat and waited and waited...and waited...(this lunch over time was coming off my work hours' pay) Finally my number was called. i walked up to the counter and was met with disappointment. "No, i can't do it for you. I need to sight this and that and this...and you need to fill out this..." Allllrrriiiggghhtttyy then... i asked "Are you guys open on the weekends?" "oh yes, on saturdays and only till 12 noon" "thats's fantastic..." So basically i wasted my lunch time and then some... i planned to fill out everything and provide all the necessary documents as proof and then return on saturday - but this time to the city branch as its closer to home. Come saturday, i was kicking and pushing Fang to roll him out of bed at 9.30am...he lurvess his sleep in's too...it had to be early as we had a meeting with the home loan lender at 11am. So we drove into town and found a parking right infront of RTA...yay! (paid for it too) only to discover that it was closed. "Open Monday to Friday 9am-4pm" it says. D'oh...ok, no sweat...fine, next saturday we will drive down to a suburban RTA branch... On Tuesday i called in sick...i was sick...i really was, but then i thought "hey i got this one day off...i've got to go renew that damn licence..." So i rugged up in my warmest clothes and strolled into town. I was there early in the morning...to beat the lunch time rush. Armed with my documents and watever else...i took a ticket and sat down. Not 5 mins into sitting down (the seat didnt even get a chance to warm up!) the fire alarm sounded! Just my luck Ok, nobody stood up...for about 10 mins..so i continued sitting thinking that it cant be that bad....no one has left yet... Then the thick smell of smoke started to fill the room....this was when the office workers started shooing everyone out! We were all ushered across the road to safety. That's when we could see smoke pouring out from the adjacent train station Wynyard. Hmm, this looks bad i thought to myself. i waited for a bit, hoping that it wasnt that big of a deal and that it would be safe to go back in...but smoke keep pouring out and more and more Big Reds pulled up..and ambulances. I must have waited around for an hour and a half before calling Fang to meet him for lunch. By this stage i was thinking...why is life making it so hard for me to get a damn license?? In the end, i did get my licence renewed...i am now officially a legal NSW driver (not that i am driving - but its the only photo ID i've got in my wallet)...and i've got the mugshot to prove it :p

How To Wear Hospital Gowns For Dummies 101

So, according to patients of many different races, shapes and sizes, there are many several ways to wear a hospital gown. That is, a gown (material or paper) roughly knee length (or floor length for shorties) that have two even holes on one end of the rectangular shaped material.

THE PROPER WAY:

Slip both arms through the only two holes on the gown (that way is up).
The opening of the gown is at the back, which is wide enough to overlap and cover the patient (most patients).
There is a waist tie at the front which goes around the waist and ties at the back to keep the gown ON.

VARIATIONS:

- Head in Hole Style
These are the type of people who feel like they need to feed their head through something in order to "put something on". So find the first hole they can find and try to squeeze their head through that arm hole. And whatever's left of the gown, just drapes down to cover the rest of them. The gown is held on by the lop-sided waist tie.
This method is actually not too bad as it somehow does it's job, that is to cover up the patient.

- Apron Style
This one's a classic. I rofl with this one ahaha...
Ok, it was a female patient who managed this one.
Basically, in the middle of the rectangular gown is the waist tie. And at the mid point, the patient folded the gown in half and tied it around her waist. This was only because she needed her pants off, so i guess she figured that only her bottom half needed covering up. Fair enough...

- Frontal Openings
This is when after you've instructed them to have the opening at the back, they always manage to skip that "opening at the back" part and just have the gown open at the front with the waist tie barely holding the gown closed at the front (showing their cleavage...nice - NOT!)

- Frontal Openings and Hanging
This is a blokey thing and an old grandma thing. They just dont care.
Gown opening at the front and hanging loose with the ties not tied.
So basically, they'd wear it like a coat/jacket - sometimes with no undergarments underneath...

- Boob-tube Style
Same folding pattern at the Apron Style but this time is applied above the boob level - worn like a boob-tube...

- Tarzan Drapes
This is where one slips the gown through one arm and not the other, with the opening posteriorly. This style is intentional for such procedures as a shoulder injection.

Some patients just don't have the creativity or the sense of how to put one on. So they just sit there and wait and tweedle their thumbs.

If anyone has any other suggestions on how to put on a hospital gown, pls feel free to add to the list. There are some really creative ppl out there.

Ain't Nothing Better...

...than a bitching day at work.
Can't live without it, but yet can't stand to hear it.

Bitch, bitch, bitch (not about me, thankgod - no...thank myself, sorry. i saved my own ass from being bitched about :p)
- took too long for lunch
- rocked up late to work, always!
- always leaving early (for hair appointments, massages etc)
- you're a lazy ass, do some work!

It's just another day at work...bloody work politics

I'm Craving ...

...A big sleep-in...

Oh how i wish i could sleep in this Saturday...actually, its every Saturday (and Sunday...and preferably every day of the week :D)

I dream of sleeping in the next day, everyday after work, when i get home and walk into my bedroom *sigh*

I dread it when my day has to start before 10am! (the ideal time would be to wake at 11am then roll around in bed for a bit)

Love to peacefully wake and hear the rain absolutely pouring outside.

Love the feeling of being warm and all snug in bed and not having to think "i should get up now, gotta do this, gotta do that...before the day ends"

So, tomorrow's agenda (the reason for not being able to snooze forever) is a stoopid CT Conference. A GE User group meeting to be precise at RPA.

Well, i could learn a thing or two from it. But why couldn't it be from, say 12pm til 5?

I guess morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea does make up for it.

Cruise-y At Work

I got up this morning and geared myself for a physically and mentally exhausting day. Made sure I ate a hearty and filling breakfast so that my stomach wouldnt start grumbling at 10.30am.

It is Thursday today and every (Tuesday and) Thursday is a "Rowden" day at Southern Radiology, Hurstville. Judging by Tuesday's damage...i prepared myself for round-two (for the week) of stressing and rushing and waiting and running in and out of rooms etc (u get the drift).
The Rowden in "Rowden Day" refers to a particular Doctor (named Dr. Rowden - obviously). Dr. Rowden specialises in knees (he consults, reports, diagnoses, and fixes - surgically - knees) and on Tuesdays and Thursdays he sends patients down like water running from a leaky tap.

Its always a pleasant surprise when those days are not so busy. He's either on holidays or has called in sick :p
We spent the whole day doing what gals do best...vege out and bitch! (and bludge) ahahaha, instead of doing a whole series of back-breaking knee x-rays comprising of 50 views! on patients who are near invalids.

She's Such A Baby!

Haven't been so close to a baby since...17 years or so?Got to meet my little niece a couple of weeks after her birth. She is just the cutest...her little fingers, little toes, tiny tiny ears and lips and her puny eyes.

Shes actually quite a good baby (in my opinion, though her mother might beg-to-differ). You won't hear a peep from her, apart from the occassional "i'm hungry, feed me right now!!!" wail, or the "clean me up!, i just pooped" cries. A quality that comes with all babies. Chloe's a little boring at this stage, but then again, i could just sit beside this always sleeping little baby and get hypnotised by her teeny-weensy features for hours on end. When she's all wrapped up in endless amount of blankets, she still manages to wriggle her arms out of the blankets and rest them above her head...without fail each time! How cute!

Only about a week after i left Perth, did i hear that she has started to smile and laugh...awwww And how she has grown...her eyes have definately opened up wider, her cheeks have gone chubbier, and shes able to prop herself up on her elbows - getting ready to crawl in a few months...

Can't wait till she starts to talk...

Leonardo Of Vinci

A physicist, an artist, an inventor, an anatomist...
To think, one man could accomplish soooo much in those days, is just amazing.

How can anyone fathom all that knowledge, and actually apply them all and succeed?
Entertainment Quater at Fox Studio, Moore Park showcased a range of machines and artwork by the legendary Leonardo Da Vinci.

He designed and created contraptions to aid in battles and wars. With his skills, he developed many different war ships with various arrangements of cannons - the sole purpose to defeat and/or defend at all angles.

He played with the laws of gravity and created props that allowed people to walk on water.
He put together a few ensembles to enable flight!
He studied the human anatomy extensively.
He mastered the art of painting and sketching.

Was a short but interesting exhibit and to think that such a person did exsist - wow

Mid (Twenties) Life Crisis

Gosh, i feel like im still twenty years old!! i wish..."dream on" says Fang.

Where have the past five years of my life gone? I think i must have been drifting in and out of deep sleep.

Started Uni, and i got too comfortable at home. Not a care in the world, lived life on a day to day basis. Only goal then was to finish uni...and i did that...

Somewhere in the back corner of my mind, i had this thought, a timeline - if you will, of when things were supposed to happen. It goes something like this...

• Finish uni
• Work
• Earn enough money to travel and travel and travel
• Married by 25
• Have all my babies by 30
• Couple of decades of hard hard mother-hood
• Go back to work on a part-time basis
• Do more travelling
• Start up a business and retire
• After this, its a blurr

Well, i think im lagging, just by a little bit.

Don't think ive taken on that much more responsibilities. Maybe a little more wrinkles here and there, but still very energetic. I'm sure it'll hit me hard, when i reach 30. Can't wait!!

An element of Surprise Indeed!

Some say that living together has taken the surprise element out of relationships. I agree to some degree. I thought i was the hardest person to surprise, apparenty not.

On a typical Sunday, he caught me off guard. On the afternoon of Sunday the 25 March 2007, my man busily transformed our apartment bathroom into a romantic haven and presented me with this...

I couldnt stop grinning (from ear to ear), i stood like a helpless baby. Later on i got to take my new precious pet out for the evening. We enjoyed a feast at the Meat and Wine Co. restaurant by Darling Harbour.

I wonder if being engaged is suppose to change things. It's this transition of having a gf-bf status to being referred as "fiance" before the "husband and wife" title. Am i suppose to now make really tasty, hearty home-cooked meals? (If they werent tasty before....) Really put some elbow grease in to it? Or really make an effort to clean and tidy the home? No more being lazy? skipping this or that to accumulate a towering-high laundry of clothes - for example... Since being together for so long, i think the emotional transition has already happened, long before our ring shopping expedition. This was just the next step in confirming (not so much for ourselves, but for everybody else around us) our partnership...Or just a little push and shove, to start the ball rolling, to set things into motion for more eventful things to come...

Stay tuned, until next time