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| Tuesday, September 30, 2008 Back into the deep end. As my friends become happier that their ORD draws near, the nerves in LT29 are pulled tighter. The day started fairly well and ended fairly well too, though my initial enthusiasm died down just before dinner when I succumbed to Sudden Acute Sleeping Syndrome aka SASS, a condition which medic KEVIIans are predisposed to. The lectures on the morning were fairly stimulating, COFM too since I was arrowed to present stuff. Celebrated ThengWai's birthday too. Had lunch at Coffeegrounds for the first time. Nothing special, but did get a good meal. Had an absolutely hilarious exchange with Glen, the subject matter of which included F1, pit stops, refuelling and (rather incongruously), catheters. Am pretty gratified that suddenly almost everyone's an F1 fan =) Though of course, I'm very happy to have started earlier and witness great races like the Belgian GP in 2000 etc. This was followed by a rather more sobering conversation about... hmm... rival medical schools and... err... various financial blackholes, so to speak. After dinner at night the day suddenly degenerated when I accidentally walked into the latch of the door, which was pointing vertically out, stabbing my deltoid (axillary nerve, if i remember, affected by fractures of the surgical neck of the humerus), and depriving me of pain-free abduction of that arm. Which was kinda a pity cos floorball was later on. Discovered I could wield a floorball stick with just my right arm, but very unstably at that. I'm sure if it was a good move, it would have been invented long ago. But still, with the holiday and no handball training, it should recover by tomorrow. Speaking of which, I need to find time to run before Sunday. Life is busy. Sigh. ~JcZw~ at 1:06 am
Saturday, September 27, 2008 Time to do a sane one... Formula 1 has come to Singapore! I'm really excited over the whole weekend hahah and having a GP here just about gives me as much national pride as being in OCS did... I still remember watching my first grand prix (1999, Mangy Cours in France) and watching the red Ferraris and silver Maclarens duelling two against two. Though now, of course, almost anyone could win. Then I remember asking my father how come Singapore didn't have a GP if it was so hot after watching the Monaco street circuit for the first time and he said that its cos the roads would be jammed up while the circuit's prepared... Which it was haha but oh well... As a F1 fan, the sheer novelty of having a night race alone is fantastic already! Not to mention as a Singaporean heh. The crowd on the way home, though, was terrible. Absolutely Japan-esque if you ask me. A crowd of about 10 people with a rather strong collective body odour deigned to squeeze into a space designed for 2, amidst much yelling and laughter, which irritated me no end because it wasn't funny and because, weighed down by bag and laptop, I took the brunt of the assault. I mean, come on, common sense right... Even the centre was full and I had absolutely no where to go. So I just dug in my heels, stood my ground and let the wave of people break on either side of me. Unfortunately this meant that I was now in the MIDDLE of this crowd of people with a rather strong collective body odour who were STILL yelling and laughing (what was so funny???). I have a theory that there are many irritating people in the world and somehow a lot of them are always present in the MRT stations when I am there. I think everyone was headed for the city centre (including some europeans whom I overheard say "hey at least its not as bad as C hin@") so the usual 1 hour trip home took me 1 hour and 40 minutes. If I'd have known better I would have come back in the morning. Besides F1, however, has been the scare about melamine. Oreo wafer sticks were affected, which kinda scared me cos I have a pack of mini oreos in my room, but given that they ARE mini, and also that I'm not a baby, I shall continue eating them judiciously until proven otherwise. Besides which, I've been getting regular updates from my family what not to eat. My personal list, unfortunately, contains many of the KEVIIans staple food in hall, including bubble tea and cheap biscuits. At the moment I only truly trust the high-end american biscuits (expensive), potato chips (unhealthy) and guava (which I've been eating a lot of heh) The holidays have been a good opportunity to meet up with various groups of people, which have included my OG, my anat group, and later tonight, my JC class. So did manage to get the "break" component into the week heh. At the same time, most people seem to have used the hols to accelerate towards in CAs in about 5 weeks time, and so I've had to do obligatory work too =P I kinda like immuno and patho, but dislike the ambiguity which surrounds the statement "students will be tested on appropriate information from textbooks" or whatever it was. Which means anything I guess... Oh well... Right shall stop here for now and continue perusing prof abbas... ~JcZw~ at 2:18 pm
Thursday, September 25, 2008 Its 3.21 am, I have a date with my Japan trip group people at 1230 pm, and I'm still awake, not to mention totally incoherent. Tried summarizing the first few chapters of abbas into a nice set of notes and nearly paid for it with my sanity. But at least its forever burned into me that IL-4 promotes change of IgM to IgE, IL-12 activates NK-cells and IFN gamma has everything to do with macrophages. The break's whizzing by very fast. Deadlines are whipping past like bugs on an Australian expressway, and I desperately would like some time to do my own thing... You know, sit around, watch olympic fencing videos, actually GO AND FENCE, go for a cycle from my house to Changi Village, drink the fruit juice, come back... totally random. Instead, I sit in my room, tap on laptop, try to figure out what the bug on the cover of my immuno textbook is supposed to be, and think of witty things to say to people who are presently causing slight bits of irritation in my life... Thank God for the friends, next door, next block, next wing. For those online, and of course, the family members who are one phone call away. ~JcZw~ at 3:21 am
Wednesday, September 17, 2008 The Influenza Virus: Symptoms: Fever, myalgia, malaise Rhinorrhoea and sneezing Sore throat and dry cough Complications: Pneumonia (primary pneumonia giving high mortality) Infection by: streptococcus pneumoniae, haemophilus influenzae, staphylococcus aureus Well, that's nice. My symptoms fit influenza and the complications don't make me very happy. On the other hand, my symptoms also fit that of the preliminary phase of an acute HIV infection heh... Hopefully its clearing up soon. I want to use mid-sem break for something other than recovering. ~JcZw~ at 2:03 pm
Monday, September 15, 2008 The battle is on in full force. One of us is gonna crack and it ain't gonna be me. Yet here am I having just learnt that 1.2 kg of my weight is bacteria and there are 5 times more microbes in my body than human cells. The flu hits for the third time in 4 months. What's wrong with me? I'm sick of having to buy lozenges, of having to hop from tissue source to tissue source and making sure my bottle's always more than half full. Am gonna miss floorball training later probably. Running now will probably give me endocarditis. Or something. Sighhh... Talk about general malaise. And there's handball and all the rest tomorrow, not to mention a pile of pharmaco to catch up on. And I think I just cross-infected someone right in front of my eyes in the dining hall =( sighh I can just imagine the narrator in the immuno video going "But things are going to get much worst". Come on, T-cells and B-cells... do your stuff... This body has too many things piling up to afford to fall ill... ~JcZw~ at 6:45 pm
Saturday, September 13, 2008 Some game which Chen Kok Pun, Publications Committee Head, KEVII Hall has gotten me to do, so do it I must haha... 1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Favourite drinks: Water chestnut and sugar cane, but hey anything's nice when you're thirsty What's right beside you: Mama Robbins + phone/matric.card/key on lanyard on it The last thing you ate: Pizza at PGP Ever had chicken pox: Yup Sore throat: Wow who came up with this questionnaire Stitches: Hope I never need them Broken nose: Heh not yet. Maybe its a matter of time with handball Do you believe in love at first sight: Yes Like picnics: Same as KP Who was, were the last person you danced with: Julia, CIP @ Pelangi Village. Mas' fault!!!! Last made you smile: Matilda telling me about her ideas for being a Pubs Comm columnist You last yelled at: Probably Melvin Tan, about something or other hoho Today did you: Talk to someone you like: Of course. If it weren't for them I would already be insane Kissed anyone: Nope Get sick: No, but I bet I'm immunocompromised Talk to an ex: Don't have one Miss someone: That's why I'm booking out of hall soon. Eat: Yup Best feeling in the world: Knowing God's in control Do you sleep with stuffed animals: Nope. Probably trigger my asthma What's under your bed: Dust, a shoebag and shinpads for soccer Who do you really hate: I don't hate people. I pity their unintelligence What time is it now?: 1559 hrs 5 things I was doing 10 years ago 1. 4/4, Kong Hwa School 2. Assistant Sixer, Cadet Scouts 3. Learning @#%$% piano 4. Learning @#%$% art 5. Chinese tuition 5 things on my to-do list today: 1. Pharmaco 2. Catch up on sleep 3. Hallplay 4. Dig out fencing videos 5. More pharmaco 5 snacks I enjoy: 1. Pretzel pieces 2. Kokpun's raisins 3. Biscuits which haven't lau hong-ed 4. Chips, same as KP 5. Anything my sister bakes 5 things I would do if I were a billionaire: 1. Don't 2. Think 3. It'll 4. Happen 5. Really 5 of my bad habits: 1. Sleeping late 2. Sleeping all over the place 3. Banging into hard objects 4. Whistling loudly 5. Eating unhealthy stuff while studying 5 places I have lived in: 1. Jurong East 2. Bedok North 3. My House, Kembangan 4. KEVII Hall 5. Windy Heights, Kembangan 5 people I tag: 1. All 2. In 3. Good 4. Time 5. Lar ~JcZw~ at 3:45 pm
Thursday, September 11, 2008 My noticeboard in hall is bordered by pictures. One of my siblings and I in front of our house A line with everything Medical related: My OG celebrating Glen's birthday KEVIIan medics on our food trail Anat Group 1 on our cycling trip Bombini near the Changi jetty and another of them celebrating my birthday My JC Class: The collage I made of them Our "proper" class photo Post As at Billy Bombers, Marina Square Everything about fencing: One of the VJ team, another of the girls team which I helped to coach last year Me handing Candice her wire during Novices 2006 And of course, me fencing And finally, St. John: The three teams I served with: My own beloved AA team, now scattered to various offshore islands, camps and ships James' AC team Huiling's NC team And the picture of the division marching during NDP. But aside from the first two categories, everything seems so far away. Anglican High seems like a distant memory, though I'd have never dreamt that it would be this way. Even when I was taking Bio S late into the Friday evenings in VJ, I'd always manage to make it to see my juniors occasionally. But now with the camps scheduled in March, handover taking place outrageously early and all, I have precious little time to know them. Not to mention how the age gap is drawing further and further apart. To next year's sec 1s, I'll already, legally, be an adult. Sigh, sometimes when I'm in my room chionging stuff (especially immunology), I glance at the pics and for a couple of seconds, recall the sights and smells of the old parade square, how the dust would be churned up and cover our boots during division drill, the old corridor which used to run along its periphery, and how I walked into one while talking to Evelyn-the-squad-1-IC. I remember how we used to run down to the D&T block after CCAs and spend an hour or two changing, talking, and arguing about where to go and eat. The pumpings till our hands blistered. How once we were made to do knuckle pumpings on the razor sharp rocks cos we fidgeted. How I walked through the NDP contingent in Sec. 4, everyone decked out in their ceremonial attire with cummerband and marching gloves. A quiet word of encourgament to Clarice, WenBin and Wong Liting, an exchange of insults with Wei Lun, a sarcastic remark to XuanMing about the state of his boots, a wave to Soo Yee in the flag party, a thumbs up to Joanne, my contingent 2IC, and finally, the terse "Follow me" to Jonathan, Jack and Benjamin who were the lead members of the contingent. Then there is my JC and everything which came with it. Thank God for being able to meet up with individual classmates every now and again, and of course, for the two classmates (and one SJ friend, lest I forget) whom I see everyday! But for the most part, my JC friends are also in the army, or occupied with their own courses. Recall walking to the Esplanade with Enjie in our run up to prelims, and how we vowed that we would never eat a Macdonald's breakfast again in our life (which we broke soon after we went to NS). Braving the rain at Gelare which have rendered my deck of playing cards highly dog-eared. AND still eating the cold ice cream after that! Sharing a rosti with ChuaH and Dory at Marche one day when our senior class invited us out. Squeezing into the little holes in the IP classroom Getting water sprayed at me by Liling at Neptune Court. Laughing our heads off at each other's PW presentation, and playing Battlefield: Vietnam in my house while preparing the same. Making the video of so-and-so hahahahah (you know who you are!) to the tune of "She will be loved". Memories which once seemed near now seem distant, though I hold them all the more valuable for that. Now I barely have time for my own activities. Almost every day ends late and those that don't are occupied with still more stuff. I love the things that I'm studying, and surely appreciate immunology more than biochem, but I wish I just had the time to go back to my schools this Teacher's Day season to say hi again. A friday, if possible, for AHS since it is then that my juniors are present. See that distinctive black and white uniform again maybe hahah... Preferably with a bunch of friends with which I can hobnob to too... But oh well, given the time table for the next few days, it looks like wishful thinking. Meanwhile, shall attempt to thrive on COFM like HIV on a T-cell... ~JcZw~ at 12:55 am
Thursday, September 04, 2008 Quote of the day: Listening to Jay Chou songs is like the action of memory cells. You listen one time, then after a long time you listen again, you will feel like... [struggles for words with great emotion on his face]... HWAAAA! -Daniel Chan, PBL Group 1 heheh. What would I do without each unique character in my PBL / Anat group. I'm darn sad I'm separated from there during pharmaco tutorial =( even though they did sabo me all the time throughout last year heh Life has kinda shaken out and I'm achieving an equilibrium between recreation and studying. The new academic year comes with a new sense of responsibility, after having such a hard time with Biochem last year. Watching batchmates get retained also grounds one in a sense of mortality that "hey it can happen to anyone". What's worrying was that I felt ok about a subject my classmates feared like the plague (although its not like I did that well at that one), but wasn't good at one which many people were ok about. So this equilibrium comes skewed towards studying. Yes, I have a higher basal level of mugging this year, but I hope to goodness I'm studying in the correct way. 6 subjects seems so much, which makes the nonchalence displayed by our seniors highly disturbing. On the more cheerful side of the coin (or not), hall activities are picking up, which provide a welcome diversion. Work in hallplay is gathering speed, which I have incentive to do or my life in practicals next to my producer will become highly unconduscive for living heheh. Am picking up a new sport in floorball. Feels very awkward to me... Interception and blocking feel natural, but running and passing, not to mention shooting, feels highly unnatural. Probably cos I've spent most of my sporting life using the reflexes gained in fencing to be a keeper. Goalkeeping = 2 dimensions: In the field or in the net. As an outfield player, having opponents coming at you from any number of angles in the 360 deg sphere around you is highly disconcerting. But well, the people there are friendly, especially my experienced trio of classmates, my juniors, and seniors like Musa. So shall try to pick up a sport as a running player for once heh... Training's been pretty fun n makes me want to continue going back! Handball and pubs comm officially start tomorrow. Let's see how things go from there. Dear God help me balance, fulfil my duties, and enable me to turn assignments down when I have to. ~JcZw~ at 12:38 am
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