Here we go ...

To quote HardGay (this silly Japanese variety show freak: search U-tube for Hard Gay) ...

YA ... HOOOOOOOO!!

Net's back again!!

And all of sudden, I realised .. net downstairs is better than NO NET at all! But then again .. net in room would be muuuch better. =)

And come, everyone do this with me .. LOL LOL LOL !!! I've been diligently doing offline blogging and backing them up on a flash drive, hoping against hope that one day (today) the net will be back up and I'll be able to post all 6 pages' (Microsoft Word) worth of ranting on the blog. But alas. I was just commenting to yx that "Oooh, thank goodness they have hard drives!". And guess what? Just guess!! YESSSS. (I say that with paradoxical and ironical relish - you'd do that once you're here long enough. It just seems like nothing surprises you anymore you know?) IT DOES NOT WORK! Let's all have a round of applause.

Thanks to the concerned souls who called me up, and one very surprising trans-atlantic call - thanks!! =)

OK, anyways .. just some things that have been happening.

Yesterday 14/05:

Took a walk past a soccer field, through a beautiful Enid Blyton wood, past the smelly Vet School (lots of horses) and down 2 miles to reach the hospital. It took 50 minutes by leisure-walking, so it ain't too bad. The bluebells, bunnies, daffodils and rhododendrons are all in full bloom, very nice. And there's this pond right next to hospital that has swams, coots (some blackish water bird that looks like a very very very very small duck), geese and tufted ducks. Introduced myself to some of the nurses there, and went home very happy. A few little pleasures in life .. on my way there, I passed by a plant shop and had a fine time there. On my way back, I passed by Morrison's (something like a much nicer Carrefour) and bought dinner, and ... SEEDS!!! Yay!!! Hahaahha. They were having a sale, 3 packets for £1. And to make my day even better, I found that they sold lovely spring bulbs. I'm going to get some of them lilies back in my luggage, like what I did in the Chicago Flower Show. =) OK, excited over packets of plant seeds - it just shows how sad life here is eh? Anyway, for dinner I had 2 chicken legs at £0.78 each, a packet of yogurt and instant soup (which was oily and gross. Never again.) I just wish the camera didn't break down, I really have so many things to post up. Oh wait. The USB port doesn't work. WTF. So I spent the evening re-reading The Da Vinci Code and more than half my ophthalmology textbook. You know, this reminds me of those seaside getaways like what Roald Dahl wrote in The Witches. SO DESOLATE THAT YOU CAN SWALLOW BOOKS WHOLE. IN A SINGLE SITTING.

Wei, if there's a manual, can see if there's a reason why the screen blacked out? *boo hoo* So miserable, everything that can go wrong has gone wrong.

Today 15/05:

OK, was almost late for school, hahaha .. cos was playing FlipWords. (I see yx running after me with a hammer.) Didn't dare to shower, it was just TOO creepy. So I just wiped down, put on some cologne (YX: I BOUGHT MY PRECIOUS VERSACE L'HOMME AT THE DUBAI DUTY FREE, I'M SO SO SO HAPPY!!!) and spent a hell long time trying to find my stuff. FYI, I didnt' fully unpack my luggage, cos I'm intending to call the Accommodation Office every single freaking day until they move me out of this shithole. By the time I walked to hospital, my legs were on the verge of breaking already.

Sister Gray, the nurse I'm supposed to report to, is on leave TOO (so is my supervisor). Met Dr. Mantry who was lovely. The slit lamp biomicroscope had a teaching scope attached to it, so I was able to join in all the fun. He even drew up a timetable for me!! Nice chap. In the afternoon, I joined the clinic of Dr. Hammer (I know, I know) who reminded me of a surgeon. He definitely had a surgeon's attittude. Threw me to his registrar (I'm sorry to report I didn't quite get his name; I was introduced to him on a first name basis and there are a million Johns, Watsons and Toms here). His registrar was EXCELLENT. I say EXCELLENT.

First, he tried to get me to use the slit lamp biomicroscope. Which, of course, was THE primary reason why I did this elective. When I displayed no such talent however, he threw me a set of indirect ophthalmoscopes. =) OK, so here's difference #1 - in Singapore, if you're a medical student, you're EXPECTED to own a $500 ophthalmoscope. HELLO. OK, granted that other than the 4-week posting in ophthalmology, the only times I've ever used mine are during test trials on yx and of course the occasional Sister With Eye Pain. *winks at XT* Yes, I know .. theoretically I could be asked to look at the retina and optic nerves in patients with hypertension and diabetes, but I've never been asked to do that.

So anyway, saw quite a few conditions today, and the registrar even took me to watch a laser treatment for a severe retinal tear - once again, the slit lamp had a teaching scope attached to it so I can see.

In any case, the docs there are nice. I was introduced as Dr. Tan or "my colleague". Not bad huh?

Oh yes, one other thing. They actually TAPE RECORD after the patients leave! Hahaha .. it's like writing case notes on audio tapes. And (why am I not surprised) they don't have a single - A SINGLE - computer in sight!! And no nurses in the clinic either.

In Singapore, it's MY NURSE, MY CLINIC, MY COMPUTER, MY M.C., MY PRESCRIPTION. Here, it's still MY CLINIC, but nurses are free to roam, there aren't any computers, nor M.C.s that I've seen so far, and they buy their prescriptions from private pharmacies. Oh and for the record, if you were in Scotland and you needed preservative-free prednisolone eyedrops, you'd have to fly down to a particular pharmacy in LONDON to get it. Yep ... the fallacies of every system eh?

My entire 3 weeks will be filled with clinics - just imagine walking uphill and downhill for 50 mins, then standing for 3 hrs, and a lunch of smoked salmon sandwiches and broccoli-and-leek-soup-in-a-styro-cup, then standing for 3 more hrs, then walking back again for 50 mins. I shall join Mr. Universe when I get back. I'm going to get such sexy legs. =D After clinics ended at 4.30pm, I took a bus into town again to buy another £20 worth of prepaid SIM card credit. Left with a mere 89pence, hah! Bad idea. City traffic is SHITE in the evenings.

I was all grumpy and sad and moody on the way back, as I know I'd have missed dinner (yx should know how grouchy I get without food). And then a lady saves the day! The auntie receptionist at the hall told me there's 1 minute left to get my food, so she shooed me into the dining room and told the serving women that they SHALL give me my food first, and I'll pay her for the food voucher later. I couldn't thank her enough. =) I think I shall eat in the hall from now on, dinner was simply Oooh La Lah. And all for £3.25? Tsk tsk. You couldn't get anything decent for that price out there - maybe a sandwich and a coffee? Well, I had mashed potatoes, help-yourself-to-carrots, an odd but savoury mix of ham and chicken chunks in cajun sauce, and unlimited yogurt and fruits. And of course the courtesy tea/coffee and sweetened syrup drinks. OK LAH. I know £3.25 is like S$9, but things are this expensive down here. £3.25 was a steal.

Anyway, bought another Dan Brown book (XT, I know you might have it, but heck. I'm bored to tears in my room). Also discovered a muslim/indian family that just moved in next to my room, so great! No more creepy nights. Well .. for 2 nights at least. =( This is so sad. Maybe I can coax them to stay a bit more.

Till then! (And please pray that the net works ah?)