Deeply Fascinating...
What a wierd day. Just as I had gotten used to the uber-packed, leg-killing and neurone-wracking days that defined the first four days of this week, I suddenly get a day that's totally relaxing. Perhaps it was the intervention of the omnipresent hand of Fate, but I suspect that it was merely just a fluke arrangement of my timetable - all my Group Practicals (the Library Practical and the Back Care Awareness Practical) took place earlier this week so I have practically half the day off! My day began at 2pm and ended at half past 3pm! Hahaha! The temptation to skip breakfast and sleep in until it was time for lectures nearly got the better of me, but somehow the lure of breakfast was so much stronger - so I woke up dutifully at 7.30am and headed down to the cafeteria for breakfast at 8.30am.
After breakfast, I headed back to my room and tried reading a few of the lecture notes. You know, I've noticed that there are two types of information in the notes - those that are mind-numbingly boring, and those that are practically incomprehensible. I feel brilliant and absolutely proud of myself when I understand what the notes are saying, but when the incomprehensible parts hit me, what goes on in my mind is some primitive panic reflex born of the fear of the unknown. Believe me, it's in all of us humans. When we see something we don't understand, we either panic and run away - or we panic and destroy it. Additionally, in these modern times, we might even panic and make a reality TV show about it. Which could be a whole lot worse, trust me. I mean, what on Earth are people thinking when they make reality TV shows about something as incomprehensible as marriage? Panic to the maximum, I guess.
Anyway, what happened this morning was that I suddenly realised how much I didn't know. So thoughts of
ohmygodI'msostupid, whattheheckamIdoinginMedSchool and more
ohmygodI'msostupid began their vicious cycle in my mind. At that point, I decided that I needed to hit the books. Immediately. Now, when this happens to me I usually freak out, run to the nearest bookstore and buy every book I can lay my hands on. But with cash being a major constraint, I decided on a cheaper and better alternative - the library. And I dutifully headed there, browsed through the reading list and ended up borrowing three books - one on anatomy, one on physiology and one on haematology. After that, it was time for a lecture, so I brought the books with me to class. Upon entering the lecture theatre, a few people actually gawked at the sight of me carrying three books. They must be thinking
poor boy, he's already a nerd so early into Med School. Hahaha! Ah, well. It can't be helped. It just happens to me sometimes.
Today's lecture was incredibly interesting. Saw my first real patient, took my first real history and answered my first real Formative Assessment. Needless to say, my history sheet was rather blank and I did rather badly in the Formative Assessment (4/6....that just sucks). Learnt many things to do as a doctor when seeing a patient - the lecturer today was fantastic. Now I'm just waiting for dinnertime - blogging while waiting for my episode of Bleach to finish downloading (Fish, you got me addicted to this!). But while I'm at it, I think I should rearrange my books - the front page of "Anatomy - A Dissection Manual" just makes me kind of lose my appetite for meat.
The First YC Fruit Bank!
Newsflash! The First YC Fruit Bank is now officially open and in business! Bearing in mind the turmoil of the financial industry, the First YC Fruit Bank aims for a modest 20% growth by the end of the next fiscal year. All modes of investments are welcome, although the preferred methods of transaction are direct debit of bananas, red apples, green apples and the occasional orange. As bananas have a significantly lower investment period, all interest in banana accounts are significantly higher when compared to the other 'currencies'. Due to consumer discernings, green apples have the highest investment period and as such will be given the lowest interest of all. Additional accounts in the form of Skittles and gummy sweets are available and will be processed at the Manager's discretion.
WHAT THE HELL IS ALL THIS CRAP?!
Hahaha... I know that everything above sounds like pure rubbish - but there's an iota of truth to be found in the above paragraph! Since we're given an allowance per meal, I usually round up my spare credit by grabbing a fruit from the fruit-basket. These fruits are then either consumed by me (if I'm not particularly satisfied with the meal) or hoarded on the space above my shelf. I then either take a fruit from the hoard to campus to be consumed between lectures or just eat them for a late-night snack. My current favourite is the banana at the moment, because I just couldn't be bothered to wash an apple before eating it - and bananas somehow bring a 'tropical' feel to an otherwise cold and dry British weather. At the time of writing, I have a banana, four red apples and a green apple languishing on my shelf! The bananas have to be consumed quickly before they turn bad, whereas the apples can be kept for a bit longer - hence the low banana count.
Anyway, I've just returned from a MASSOC (Malaysian and Singaporean Society) social at the Octagon Centre - having signed up for
another social in a nightclub and paintballing as well. Tonnes of people were there, managed to meet quite a few other (alright, tonnes!) of Malaysian and Singaporeans but somehow I was too drained to do much socialising (trust me, you'll feel that way after having a full day of lectures and an ILA practical). Just introduced myself to a few people, chatted a bit and spent the rest of my time sitting with the friends from my Hall and eating chips and drinking Coke. Quite a waste of time, really. By the way, my current total spare cash is a big, fat zero after signing up for all those stuff. I might really have to start living on apples and bananas from now on.
Finally Settled In!
This new post marks a departure from my usual blogging style. Instead of typing an extremely long post, I'll just make my posts short (and hopefully sweet). This is partly due to the fact that I am operating under severe time constrains and cannot dedicate the better part of two hours to typing a blog entry that hardly anyone reads. So, instead of posting huge updates weekly, I'll be trying to make daily posts - but they'll be brief enough to cover what's important and lengthened if anything interesting happens. But I have to warn you that this is still an interim format and don't go commenting
hey, where the heck is your daily post that you promised? because, if you do, I'll probably ask you to read up the word "interim" in a dictionary.
So. Yes, I've arrived in Sheffield in one piece, much to the chagrin of my friends, I'm sure. Haha! The flight here was absolutely shitty. My seat was located at the emergency exit, and although I had plenty of leg room, my seat was also located near the lavatories. Try napping with people going in and out of a bathroom incessantly - and add the fact that the flushing noises are perfectly audible from where I am sitting, you'll find that it's pretty much impossible. I spent most of my time
trying to sleep, and the rest trying to figure out how to remove the TV screen from underneath my seat where it was stowed. And yes, I did finally manage to remove it - only to watch
Mr and Mrs Smith again. When the plane finally landed, I felt incredibly jet-lagged - a first for me!
After landing at the airport, I was brought to Sheffield via a chartered bus with the rest of the other students. The trip there was like going to Genting Highlands multiplied by 5. Very puke-inducing for those who are prone to motion-sickness, but it made me feel oh so drowsy...hahaha.. Being an adrenaline junkie, anything that tries to pass of as exciting but fails just puts me into a sleepy stupor. When I finally arrived at my hall, all I wanted to do was to throw myself onto my bed and surrender to blissful sleep. And that was exactly what I did - although my bed had no sheets, pillows, nor blankets. Bad choice. I froze throughout the night, and I finally resorted to using my winter clothing and jackets to cover myself. Not a very pleasant first night in Sheffield.
The next day, I went to register myself as a student of the University. I had to walk around half a kilometre to the campus - and I had never been there in my life before! I relied on just a map to get there, and surprisingly, I didn't get lost even once on my first day! Registered, collected my UCard, yadda yadda yadda, got my University Health Service thingy done, and I was all set to go! I spent the rest of the day going around with a new friend of mine - and she showed me around the city, the areas to shop, the Students' Union and other interesting places. Many thanks to her for being my 'tour guide' for my first day! Hahaha! After that, it was Fresher's Week stuff, which included plenty of pubbing/clubbing, but I wasn't really interested in all that, so I spent more time settling into my hall, buying my duvets and pillows and making new acquaintances! After that week, I was more or less settled into my new surroundings - thank goodness that I haven't felt any bouts of homesickness yet! Haha!
To My Friends!
It’s almost time for me to leave, and I thought I’d make this entry a tribute to my friends. I certainly hope to see each and everyone of them again, but in the off chance that I don’t, at least I’ll have no regrets not being able to say how much I appreciate them (yes, even when they’re sacrificing my ‘terroroise’, 3-4ing me, annoying the hell out of me, pawning my ass to high heaven in DotA, etc etc etc). So – you guys know who you are (it’s going to be mentioned below anyway…hahaha…) – this is for you!
C H A P T E R 1 - The Ex-ApartmentmatesYih Seong
What can I say? You were my ‘Etika buddy’ for the last two years of secondary school! If there’s one good thing that came out of the lameass “streaming” carried out by English College, this would be it. Without it, I’d have missed having a great friend! Remember our first day as Etika buddies? We were like,
shit…we’re in a seriously terrible class as all of our other friends were in Cendekia or Dinamik! And then we went to kill time by playing ‘paper chess’ (in which I won all 3 games we played…haha…) and trying to avoid the “smelly kadet darat fella”, who was a walking biohazard in his own right. Then there were plenty of funny memories like me trying to converse with Cheong in Mandarin and I’d use English words in lieu of Mandarin words that I didn’t know! You used to rag me about my piss-poor command of Mandarin, and all I can say is that it’s much better now! And remember the times we used to skip classes together by saying I had St. John Ambulance stuff and you had debate practice – but going to the “den” to talk cock with the others or chilling in the ICT room! Hahaha! I think we skipped nearly a quarter of classes in Secondary Four, and I think that’s why we both suck so much in Maths! Additionally, thanks to you, you got us out of Etika by using your persuasive powers (read – charming a female Malay teacher) in Secondary Five. I swear that if we got stuck there for another year I would have gone mad! Speaking of Secondary Five, I still remember the times you got 3-4ed at recess – we would both be tucking in into our hard-bought “
nasi lemak” and suddenly an angry mob would stampede into our class and beat you up! You didn’t do anything to deserve it, and I’m partly guilty for not defending you, but all I can say in defence of myself is that I very rarely took part in the barbaric beatings…haha!
Remember we used to comment how odd it was that two of the Presidents of two major societies in school sat next to each other in class? We really promoted bilateral ties between SJAM and LDDS by agreeing on our societies’ meeting times and stuff like that! Then again, most of those who were in SJAM were in LDDS anyway…hahaha… I still remember how you would try to piss me off by singing a song over and over again until it got stuck in my head! I would be trying to understand what the teacher was saying and “
It’s getting hot in here, so take off all your clothes” would be replaying over and over again in a vicious loop in my head! And I think I can never forget the time I wanted to give you a scare while you were coming up the stairs but frightened Cheong instead! After secondary school, we even went to the same college and stayed in the same high-rise dumpster we call 121D. I still shudder at the thought of a ‘sub-deployment’ till this day. Then, everytime we played DotA, your primary concern was not to get last in the points. Someone has come a long way in the field of DotA, eh? Remember, our tag team beat Patrick, Jeremy and Chye Hing! Always remember that, dude! Hahaha… So to Yih Seong, ex-Etika buddy, 3-4 mannequin, ex-St John Ambulance Quartermaster, incredible debater (as well as unparalleled cock-talker) and a great buddy to boot…good luck for your future and thanks for everything! My only gripe about you would be that our Den never once resembled anything other than a hurricane-hit pigsty when you were Quartermaster! Hahaha!
JeremyWell…you’re the person I’ve had the longest history with! Practically knew you since we were in primary school at SRK St. Joseph! We were in the same classes in primary school, then we went to the same secondary school and finally to the same college. Too bad the chain ends there…this stalking of each other has finally come to an end! Hahaha! I still remember how hard-assed disciplined you were in primary school – you once hauled me up for neglecting my prefect duties! Haha…it was my fault really, and I suppose you had no choice since you were Assistant Head Prefect then! Times have really changed, eh? Now you’re just completely different, so happy-go-lucky to the brink of childishness! Hahaha…but I won’t say that’s a bad thing – at least you made me realize that I’m too serious and hot-tempered at times when I should just take a deep breath and extinguish my anger! Remember after we got into the SJAM competition squad together? Patrick, Irwin, Leong and I used to tease you about your girth and your lack of physical fitness – but you were so damn determined to keep up with the rest of us even though you had back problems that after a while, you could keep up with us during physical training and even more besides! Looking back, I realized that it took an incredible amount of determination to do that – something I probably never had. We also used to call you “masam” then, but I guess you’re not “masam” anymore so I’ll probably have to find a new nickname for you! Hahaha… And remember the time when we ripped you shirt to shreds in a brutal 3-4 after training once? You had to wait by the road for you mum and it seemed like you were raped! Haha!
I also remember that you were a super-efficient Treasurer for SJAM…the most efficient I had ever seen! I think it was the first time in the Division’s history that everyone paid within a week of the order to pay fees – and some who weren’t in SJAM even paid to join! Hahaha! Your records were so damn organized…there wasn’t any need to cross-check them at all! Somehow that trait didn’t show itself when we went to college together...haha! Your table was always in a mess! I wonder where ex-super-Treasurer went! Well, I shouldn’t be speaking, really. You’d be lucky to see the surface of my desk too! Haha! And then, everytime you disappeared mysteriously, everyone would be speculating whether you were at church or “church” while rehearsing our “Aikkk!” for you when you returned. Your refusal to comment made us busybodies even more curious! Hahaha! Next time if there’s anything, just spit it out and we won’t trouble you no more (although it’s not very likely to happen – we’re like that!). You’re impossible to 3-4 nowadays, because you turn into something resembling a raging bull (albeit one with a healthy touch of mad cow disease) whenever we try! You also took the longest baths of all of us Middle Earthians, so much so that one fine day, Yih Seong and I decided to…ahem…make a super-low quality porn clip of you bathing – and got splashed with water for our trouble. Haha… Try not to let that happen in IMU, what with Chow staying next door to you! Anyway, all the best to you in all your endeavours! Don’t DotA too much or else I’ll be too embarrassed to play with you pros when I get back!
PatrickIf I had to use just one word to describe you, I’d choose “loud”. But not in a bad way. Since our first SJAM competition squad days, you were the person that could make everyone laugh in any situation at all. During the training, you were “tortured” the most by Calvin, and the end results of those “tortures” were usually hilarious – like the time your shoes ended up in the fountain after Calvin was done playing rugby with them. You never did once lose your temper during those sessions, and if it were me, I’d have snapped ages ago. I think you were essentially the life of the squad. No one else would have been able to make us laugh until our sides ached, do stupid things like marching with everyone facing outwards in a circle or led us through the cases. Without you, our squads (both the Cadet and Adult teams) wouldn’t have been able to achieve what they did. Even during the harshest trainings, like running laps under a time limit, doing knuckle push-ups on asphalt roads, doing push-ups in puddles and marching in a freaking thunderstorm, somehow you managed to keep everyone’s spirits up. I may have been the President of the Division, but you led the Division. I seriously can’t imagine what life in Division One would have been without you as our Cadet Leader or the No. 1 of the two competition squads.
Even in Middle Earth, you and Yih Seong kept the apartment lively with non-stop cock-talking, jokes and wisecracks. With you and Yih Seong there, everyone could talk about everything and yet nothing for hours at an end! The apartment would be a lifeless place without the both of you in it! When we first moved in, everyone was so bored that we resorted to doing CS “movies” using your phone! After that, you guys advanced to “Sacrifice of the Terroroise”, complete with chanting barbarians and a corny voice-over! Hahaha… I can still remember how much everyone laughed when you talked about the lecturers (in particular Ms Ho), your hatred of the “skippa”, the inception of “Paiktaur” and you being a “nigga” (together with Wen Hoi and Yih Seong). And remember the time when you developed a taste for “
wan tan mee”? I swear that it’s inhuman for anyone to eat “
wan tan mee” almost every single day! And when you finally got sick of it, everyone had to avoid bumping into the “
wan tan auntie” for fear of upsetting her with the news that her most loyal customer had deserted her for Success Team Restaurant’s “curry
wan tan”. After that, you ‘discovered’ Seng’s and it became another regular eating place that some of us groan with dismay whenever you want to have lunch or dinner there (for the millionth time)! Hahaha! And then there came a time when your phone suddenly became chock-full with applications and games that everyone wanted to grab hold of your phone (in particular myself, who was incredibly addicted to “Skyforce”) to play games with it. I remember your phone’s charge lasted less than a day at peak usage! Thanks for allowing me to use your phone and set high-scores in “Skyforce” in it! Haha! Here’s wishing you good luck for your future!
Jit SenThe apartment’s SM enthusiast! Hahaha! You were saddled with the nickname “SM freak” after the discovery of the “suspicious lines” across your back during our SJAM training and that nickname stuck after you suggested an alternative use for
kaya balls. Remember “
mmm, hot kaya!”?
Haha! These days, the usage of that nickname to describe you seems to have died down a little, except for the rare occasions where the SM-loving demon in you rears its head in public…and everyone seizes the chance to either 3-4 you or laugh at you. Used to remember the days when you were still nicknamed “one cent” or “lemon” in primary school…those were the days! Ever since I’ve known you, you always have had the knack of being unintentionally funny! Your mannerisms and speech could make even the mundane into an impromptu joke! No wonder you are a favourite target of Yih Seong and Patrick whenever someone else besides them needs to get 3-4ed for a change! Haha… You’re also a damn creative guy…being able to concoct a hundred uses out of things such as clips, pins, lighters and clothes-pegs! You would clip a paper-clip to your ear or use stationery to build some incomprehensible structure – and end up getting 3-4ed! I remember a time when nobody wanted to leave their stuff on the dining table because you would definitely play with it! Hahaha! I also remember that you’re rather prone to breaking stuff - remember my two key chains? Hahaha! I hope that habit of yours is under control, or else, if I decide to buy everyone souvenirs, yours would be made of military-grade Kevlar…haha. If there was someone who could be described as being “nice”, “happening”, “fun” and “weird” all at once, it would be you, man! You’re the kind of person nobody would ever get mad at! Haha! Good luck for your final exams!
AshokAll I can say is, thanks for the free
thosai you gave us over the last few years, man! Celebrating Deepavali at your house almost every year was a blast! Hahaha… Alright, I’m just joking. It isn’t all about the
thosai. Seriously. It’s really funny, we first became friends in primary school – and I remember I used to call you “Shock”. Everytime I walked past you, I would pretend to get an electricity shock, and you would laugh. Okay, everyone…I know everyone who’s reading this desperately wants to 3-4 me now! Haha! Well, wait in line – I think my stupid behaviour and silly actions all these years has made everyone wishing to 3-4 me to death! And then when we sat together in primary school, we raised so much havoc in class that the teacher had to separate us! No wonder teachers chose where we sat after that incident! Hahaha! In secondary school, you were the only Indian in our clique – the only Indian to be very close to the rest of us and the only Indian to be active in SJAM and LDDS! Remember the time when we were DJs at FOMAD and we cheated the audience of their money by not playing their dedications that they paid for? Haha… Furthermore, no one I know can forget the “chicken” incident! I nearly died laughing when you pointed at the pigeons chilling at the overpass near the Causeway Immigration checkpoint and said, “guys, is that chickens ar?”. Hahaha! And then you’d always be late for any appointment! When everyone gathered to go out to the cybercafe near my place at the set time of 9am, you’d arrive at 11pm! When we called you at 9am to ask you about your whereabouts, you’d reply that you just woke up! In the end, we got so fed up that if the future outings were to begin at 10am, we were to gather at 8am in order to facilitate your lateness! Haha! You’re a killer of shins in the futsal court, a phantom that scares the shit out of me and Patrick whenever you walk through the balcony door at 2am when we thought no one else was there, a translator when we go to a
mamak restaurant, a great host for all our Big Night Outs, but mostly, you’re a great friend to have and I wish you all the best in anything you do!
Chye HingI can still remember when we were in secondary school! Every attempt to get you involved in a conversation only yielded one-word responses. Yes, no, and the occasional grunt that meant
stop disturbing me and go away. Back then, you never seemed to talk to anybody – you were so incredibly quiet that even if you suddenly dropped dead during lessons, no one in class would even notice! You were the human equivalent of the Stealth Fighter, well below radar detection thresholds…hahaha! Thank goodness that after my persistent (and most likely annoying) efforts to get you to talking, you finally did after a while! One thing led to another and we ended up sharing the same apartment with the rest while studying in Taylor’s College. How best to describe you? You were quiet to the point of being painfully shy, but that’s changed now from what I heard from the rest! At least now you seem a lot more sociable from before, and that’s a welcome change – at least nobody will have to do what I did to get you to talk! Haha! You also had (and I think the word “have” is applicable) the most powerful brain among the people I’ve met. Heck, powerful to the point of being genius-like! We don’t call you God of Knowledge for nothing, eh? You never seem to not understand anything during lessons, and you seem knowledgeable from studies to games and even HTML, which is gibberish as far as I’m concerned! Besides that, you were one of the best DotA players in 121D, but that’s changed with the advent of free practice on Blueserver (*cough*YihSeong*cough*)! But I think you have other stuff you find more
interesting now, right? What with your animal-like attraction to girls…they just can’t get enough of you! Hahaha! You also love to sleep! Your favourite past-time in 121D used to be sleeping, and nearly every one out of three times I walk into the room, you’d be asleep Gandalf-like, with your eyes half-open! But, like I said, you probably found more interesting stuff to do! The only possible annoying thing about you is your circular logic whenever you discuss/argue/debate an issue. Your points never make any sense and the only way to end it is to either give up in exasperation or to slam the evidence right in your face! Haha… I can vomit blood whenever I argue with you! Learn how to debate from Yih Seong, will you? But all in all you’re a great friend who values friendships, holds true to his principles (unless threatened with a 3-4) and is extremely patient! It’s been my pleasure to know you! I wish you the best of luck in everything, past and present! Remember to tell me if anything, um,
interesting happens! Hahaha!
