Baby Bumps

3rd Week into the Obs and Gynae rotation. The 1st two was a graphic torture.If anything, I dont' ever want to get any disease that has to do with down below or my female internal parts.Too gruesome to describe.2 words abnormal smear/lichen sclerosis.

Pretty glad my timetable made a switch for obstetrics.Hanging around in the labour ward can be pretty idling at times but when the action comes it's non-stop.Like a vulture,I spent 12 hours waiting around for things to happen.By things,I mean childbirth.First two C-sections i saw went on uneventfully but I think my memories will be scarred by the amount of butchering,tearing and sheer art of tug of war to get the baby out of the wombs.3rd time lucky maybe?I latched on to a happily pregnant mum,all ready to brave a vaginal delivery.

Just by being in her presence makes me feel so grateful for what all the mums go through.Every choice she makes is in good faith that it does no harm or its for the baby's best interest.Even painkillers were left to a minimal.She let me feel her baby bump,my first ever real palpation.So surreal to feel something in there after practising so long on rubber models.2 hours down the road and after skipping out for 1 tutorial in between,baby makes a sign that she's not happy.So much intensity and emotions going on that the air in the room suddenly just changed.Within 4 minutes,pregnant mum was whisked away into theatre.At first everyone thought it was a false alarm but 15 minutes later,the baby showed then it meant business and few minutes later she was delivered via a C-section.Gorgeous little thing,I'll tell you.Not sure what happened later since I was scrubbed in but I do hope the baby is fine.

Today was a much lighter note hanging with the community midwives.Conveniently near my place as well.Highlight of the day was the ultrasound scans.I've never really liked babies for all their crying and all but 15 week fetuses are so cute.I saw one that was doing an exercise in the womb...stetching up and down and teasing the sonogrophers trying to take measurements.

A picture of a 15 week old fetus.Courtesy of google.Don't worry I didn't steal some lady's booking scan pictures.

Even had time to have lunch at the Elephant house.Birthplace of Harry Potter,where JK Rowling got her inspiration to write.Now i feel like watching the latest Harry Potter movie.

Places we go for FooD

Out of so many places which I venture for food, this must be one of the weirdest food experiences ever. The T-Bowl restaurant. Jo Leen and I thought it was time to give the restaurant a try since we’ve heard of it for years. And since our minds were too lazy to think of posh areas to eat, we ended up in Queensbay. The IDEA of eating from a toilet bowl surrounded by a bathroomish environment sounded cool. Not so much in reality. I won’t speak for others but the moment I sat on a toilet bowl and held up the menu, my appetite went away.Not helping that we had sinks for tables under a glass piece.


I knew there was a reason why we don’t eat in our bathrooms at home (seriously!).Well since we made it there, we weren’t going to leave hungry.We built up an appetite talking about absolute rubbish and I ordered cheese baked rice in a mini toiletbowl. Okie they don’t call the dish that but it came looking like that.Ee Laine’s choice for dessert was even more interesting, it came in a mini bathtub.
All in all I must say the food itself was good. I doubt I’ll ever return to enjoy the environment despite its quirkiness and all.

I'M Back

Due to some encouragement from friends, the blogger in me has decided to revive my hibernating cyberpage.Well it’s no secret that I’m back in Edinburgh after the shortest summer holiday a medical student can ever have.4 freaking short weeks which in actuality only accounts for 3 weeks in Malaysia including 2 weeks in Penang,1 week in Kl and one weekend getaway in sunny Phuket. Never one to be homesick, I actually felt sad when I left home this time. Couldn’t really understand why but at least I know I’m not a brickwall as I used to think.The only variable compared to when I left last September was the quality outings I spent with my friends. Thanks a bunch people in Penang (you know who you are)!!!! I so so love you guys .Still missing the outings eventhough the only thing we do is eat and talk and eat somemore.For those that I missed Shu and Sof. Promise to resechedule and place you guys on top of my priority to meet list.Ooo and Shien for the hiking trip.

Pan Mee

It's been a long time since I've taken time out to think.Ever since starting locomotor system,I've only been thinking about waking up early and being on time for sessions with my tutor and registrar.After going on sucessfully for one week,my body just backfired and told me i needed a break.And it happened in the worst way ever.I manage to miss pre-admission clinics where i was suppose to choose a portfolio patient and ward rounds.Ran...just in time to enter surgery,went unprepared for my SSC3 presentation and to make a unsterile error while scrubbing in for another surgery.To cap it all, lost my necklace of 6 years.Nevertheless,there were good times when my serious looking tutor joked about the mallet that flew towards me while the registrar was hammering the artificial joint.All that in one day.

Thank goodness I've had more success with my experimental dinners.For a change, we had salmon with garlic butter rice,reminds me of Manhattan Fishmarket.And my greatest acheivement so far....a proper spongy and springy Pan Mee.

This is actually the same bowl but just with a customised M for Mei..Theo was more adventurous and he tried to make a bear which looked liked like a human figure and a camel/donkey.Who says pan mee has to be the boring thorn or processed long noodles?
Despite the vague origin of the noodle,i came across something interesting while i was googling for the recipe.Pan Mee was originally known as a poor man's dish.It was thought that you could buy a handleful of ikan bilis for a cheap price while the sayur manis harvested form the backyard.No wonder,it's only known in malaysia.It's practically impossible to get ikan bilis or sayur manis here in Edinburgh.

The CNY Project

Tong tong chiang....the year of the OX is coming!!!

To kickstart the CNY mood and kill the longing for home baked cookies, I've decided to bake my very own.To make it even more homely,even the jam was made from scratch, thanks Khek Jian for all the muscle into shredding pineapples.

THE PREPARATION....

Z Pioneer batch
THE FRUITS OF LABOUR..4 hours and after 3 episodes of American Idol.

Ready,Set..Jatuh

The Lesson

Day 2 in Aviemore means we're off skiing in the morning.

We were so ready,Ben was shining throught the jacket.Hehe..mountain mountain here we come

Before we went, we had to get suited up in robocop boots and a bomber jacket.And of course the skis and poles.

So-P and I on the tram upLook at the excited facesEveryone is born to ski but what really matters is if you know how to brake.Putting on our skis itself it's the most trying task.The the angling to place one foot in while trying to lean and not slide makes me sweat.After i got one foot it,there is the problem of the other foot.Thanks to all the Wii experience,bending for a long period of time wasn't a very hard task.Next was learning how to snow plough.Meaning we're suppose to make a V with the skis.I made a V but it didn't stop me from sliding down...I fell pretty much too many times for my instructor to care anymore.He decided not to help me up on my skis after the second time and just watched me slide around in the snow.Meano instructor at first i tot but it proved to be the most useful lesson i had for the 2 hours.Now i dun have to take of the skis to get up yippie...happy to fall anytime.Even after 2 hours,most of us didn't even know how to snow plough and our instructor said bye bye.Darn...While the other left for lunch,my sifu Ivy thought me the theory of snow ploughing and just like magic,i can SKI....anyone up for more ski trips??

The Aviemore Jump

On our way back,we saw a frozen lake....just like from the moviesWent to test the ice...

Aviemore with DRAMA!!

Gonna skip Christmas post since pictures are still waiting to be located.

Well well,my first ever Winter break.What better way to start it off by going skiing?Or so we thought but we got more then we bargained for.

THE ROADTRIP

The plans were already slightly distorted even as Ben.Jackie,Ken and myself headed off to collect the first 2 rented cars in the morning,we were told that a few members of our entourage would be late,not to mention one of our key car renting person.Not everything was bad though,the people at Arnold Clark told me that since it was a busy morning and the smaller cars were going out very well,they decided to upgrade us to a medium size car and I got a new Peugeot 308.Yay..i probably gave Ken the scariest ride of his life,sharp new breaks are not really my thing.

Starting point : Kincaid's Court,Edinburgh

Destination : Aviemore, Cairghorn National Park

Mode of Transport : 3 cars and 1 GPS system

Estimated time : 2 hours and 39 minutes ( according to google map )

Starting time was 4.30pm and since it's Edinburgh,twilight was already settling in.The first 15 minutes was spent getting lost around Carlton Hill area according to the faulty GPS.Okie, to be honest it wasn't the gps,it was us noobs with the gps.Well finally when everyone came to their senses and regrouped in Kincaid's, I decided to whip out my Edinburgh map and with the help of google map directions,we were on out way.Poor Pwassy who was relegated behind due to his notorious driving speed finally had the chance to express himself since i was navigating.Hehe.Everything was going on smoothly and the mood was going up as well,we were finally going somewhere.Damn excited as i saw Fourth Bridge till Yew Wen called and said that we missed a turn.I was honestly shocked cos we were leading, how could it be that we missed a turn???Was my google map not working??After clarification, they had taken an earlier turning according to the instructions per the gps system.Note , the same one we didn't know how to use.Well since we're on the bridge,it was kinda impossible to make a U-turn.The consensus was to take our own routes and meet up in Aviemore.The first hour was pretty nerve wrecking, one car travelling with only the guide of a google map on my little pink Tocco.Every exit was checked to make sure we're still en route.Every correct exit at the roundabout was a sign of relief and finally when we were on the A9 motorway towards Aviemore,gone were the worries.However,travelling with terrible weather conditions was no easy task as well...sudden fogging up of our windowscreen leaving limited view was tricky to drive.Kudos to our wonderful driver Prasad who got us there safely....

Calling to check on the other's when we arrive gave us quite a shock.They told us they were in some kampung area off the motorway and didn't know where it was.The kan chiongness came back.Luckily they manage to find out the name..a town called Appin.With luck,the lady in the Youth Hostel was also from Appin and informed us that it's all the way in the west coast.For those who are confused on Scottish geography,Edinburgh is on the East coast,Aviemore is in the North.So going west means that they were lost.With many many lucky stars to thank that night and many Samaritans offering directions,they arrived in Aviemore slowly but eventually.I wasn't lost but i could definitely feel the despair from each update.That's what people would really call a roadtrip.

Moral of the story,always research before going on a road trip and download a google map on your phone.Trust me it's the best 1pound you'l ever spend on any day.