A Healthy Breakfast

This morning I woke up feeling incredibly grouchy.

So I had potato crisps for breakfast and I felt much, much better.

(Don't tell MDH)

Have a great weekend and Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there!

Day off

Ugh, I am just NOT in the mood for anything today. 

Sometimes, I wish this job came with 28 days of annual leave. 

I could do with a day off.

Keep Calm and Carry On

I've been wanting to write about Crystal B. jewelry for a long time! I stumbled across her Etsy site some time ago and was intrigued by her handstamped necklaces and her use of colourful silk fabrics which she weaves into flowers.  I liked the way that she mixes materials and reinvents old junk into fancy jewelry, so her site was quickly added to my list of favourites.   

Ms B has a site where she posts up giveaways about once a month and I was fortunate enough to win a necklace from her!  Yay for me!  I could hardly wait to receive my prize.

Her timing was impeccable, for I received a little package from her on a day when I was feeling particularly tormented and it really pepped me up.

Here's the little tin that the necklace came in, wrapped up with a pretty suede ribbon.  Doesn't it look sweet?  Stardust claimed the tin as his own and he uses it to store his 'treasures' (more on this in another post!).

Inside, wrapped in pink tissue paper, was Crystal B's 'Collier, Mrs Churchill', with a medallion bearing a particularly insightful message.  Just looking at it put a big smile on my face and I put the necklace on immediately.  I could feel my upper lip stiffening with fortitude in the face of adversity!  Patriotic Music began to play in the background!  Even Stardust's toy soldiers stood to attention and saluted!

Now, when I am feeling particularly stressed and on the verge of a meltdown, I put on my necklace and it helps to remind me to just take a few deep breaths and just plough on. 

Don't step upon my purple suede shoes

I am in love with this pair of purple suede shoes that I invited home to live with me this weekend.  They are gorgeous and incredibly comfortable!  You will never guess where I got them from.  (Here's a clue: they are from the least fashionable shoe shop one could imagine.)

I think I might go and see if I can get some contrasting (green? orange?) suede or satin ribbon to pull through those holes to make a big, girly bow.

Turn and face the strange

More of my friends are getting married and having children now, and it's fascinating, watching the way that married life and motherhood changes people. 

The women I know who have become mothers have all undergone similar changes.  They have all become gentler people - more patient, more considerate, more careful in their actions and speech.

However, I have noticed that not all the changes are positive ones. 

One lady has become fiercely competitive to the point of insensitivity.

Another lady has become so protective of her little one that she no longer trusts her friends or family.

One dear friend has totally lost her sense of humour.

Another one has completely let herself go and appears to have developed an eating disorder.

I myself find that my moods have become more extreme.  I obsess over small things.  I smile less often.  I also have completely lost the ability to be punctual for my appointments.

I wonder if having a child magnifies pre-existing faults in the personality or if these are new problems that women develop post-partum as a reaction towards the great sense of responsibility.

My New Brother

For my birthday, after much wheedling and coercion, my parents finally agreed that they would give me a new brother.

Here he is:

Isn't he lovely and red?

I opted for the cheapest, most basic model available because - let's face it - I am no surgeon and I cannot sew to save my life (or anyone elses for that matter). I vaguely recall sewing a pair of electric blue boxer shorts during home economics class. I believe the result of my feeble attempts caused my stiff-lipped teacher to shudder outwardly.

Anyhow, I reckon that it's time I learned how to be more crafty! There are so many cool tutorials out there on the internet for needle-fools with sausage fingers like myself and I cannot wait to try them out.

Brown paper packages

So another parcel arrived in the post today - Happy Birthday to meeeeeeee!

It was another gift from MDH (with a little help from one of my mates), sent by local store Fleur Avenue. The gift was so beautifully wrapped that opening it was so much fun. It was like having an adventure! I am really impressed by the effort put into the packaging that I just have to share it.

My birthday gift came in a mysterious white envelope addressed to me (sent by my mate). Inside it was an equally mysterious brown envelope. It was addressed to my friend...I guess she left the envelope on because it was so pretty. The envelope was decorated with a spray of foxgloves on the front...

...and marked 'Fragile' on the back.

Inside it was another brown paper package with a precious and highly relevant (ahem) reminder from Fleur Avenue on the front stamped on the front...

...and the season's greetings on the back.

Inside the brown paper package was yet another little white paper packet (!) tied up with a candy-striped string with a beautifully designed namecard on the front.

Underneath the card was another - still very relevant (ahemahem) - message from Fleur Avenue.

One would think that two paper packages would be more than sufficient to wrap a present in, but not for Fleur Avenue, oh no.

Fleur Avenue goes that extra mile to make things super-special.

'Wait!' Fleur Avenue says to us, 'There's more to come!'

Inside the little white paper packet was a very, very tiny cardboard box tied with a green satin ribbon.And inside the tiny box was...

a wee strawberry chocolate cupcake!

Or, according to MDH, a 'petit gateau au chocolat de fraises'.

I love it!!!!!

Now, wasn't that just so much FUN?

Happy Birthday to me

MDH tells me that he raided my 'Nifty, pretty things' folder and got a mate of ours to help him make a few purchases from Etsy. Apparently, this lovely little gold tree and pink garnet from Feronia is the first part of a trifold birthday present which will be delivered at intervals over the next couple of days!

Wheeeeeeeee!

I'm really excited!

Update: Clarie from Feronia left a comment! Thank you for making this necklace for me! *waves*

Feeling disconnected

I finally get my Broadband switched on tomorrow. Hooray!

I can hardly wait. I feel so out-of-touch.

Internet is my one connection with the rest of the world. MDH and I own a TV but we only use it for Playstation 2 and DVDs - we're not home long enough to justify paying for satellite/terrestrial television.

Besides, there is never anything good on the telly nowadays - it's full of skanky talkshows and soft porn reality programmes. It's pointless for us to pay for the TV connection in order to watch the 10pm news and catch the odd decent movie or sitcom.

We don't do newspapers either - everything we want to read in the news can be read on the BBC websites. Or Channel News Asia website. Or Tomorrow.Sg.

A couple more hours and I can be back to surfing the net.

Sup-sup-suppertime

Shepherd's pie
Originally uploaded by Sunshine follows me.

Sometimes, after a hard day at work, I like to work off my frustrations in the kitchen.

Cooking is so satisfying. I get to wield sharp implements and hack things into tiny little pieces. I pound on slabs of meat with a minature sledgehammer, I slice and dice onions, I mash potatoes with maniacal glee. And at the end of all the hard work, I get to sit down and enjoy the results.

This method of kitchen therapy originated from my 'A' Level Biology Teacher. She used to listen to our pathetic attempts at describing the physiology of kidneys, glare at us and say, "I will think of you all when I'm carving tonight's chicken with a meat cleaver. Chop! Chop! Chop!"

Today, I made this lovely Shepherd's pie - juicy lamb mince slowly stewed in a tomato based gravy with carrots and onions, topped with mashed potatoes and melted cheese, green peas on the side. I decided to use red leicester cheese for the topping - thought it would give it a nicer colour and flavour.

It looked beautiful when I pulled it out of the oven, bubbling gently, filling the kitchen with a lovely meaty fragrance. As MDH and I sat down and ate it together, I felt warm and happy - and at home.

Hip-Hip-Hooray, It's our National Day

National Day has always been a big deal for me. Every year, we'd watch the National Day Parade, singing along with the songs and waving the little plastic flag. I never missed a single National Day Parade until I left Singapore for university. I'd watch the parade with my mates, laughing at the propaganda.

Even then, us overseas students tried to celebrate it in my own way.

The Singaporeans in my university would get together, throw a barbeque or steamboat party, and then huddle together in the autumnal cold, laughing and talking about the things we had in common - school assemblies and flag raising ceremonies, favourite hawker foods, moral education classes. The boys, of course, would tell army stories until the girls complained. And then maybe we would have a little sing-along of all the National Day songs that we could remember - all learnt by heart during our formative years in primary school.

When I moved out of the dormitories and into Real Rented Property, I'd throw a party on the 9th of August and use it as an excuse to introduce my British chums to Singaporean Culture. I'd wear red and white and insist that everyone else try to follow suit to 'get into the spirit of things'. I'd pin up a plastic flag onto the door of my room, walk around humming patriotic tunes. I even got hold of a CD of National Day songs ('Muneru Valiba', 'Chan Mali Chan', 'We are Singapore' and other old favourites) and played it in the background. I'd tell all my friends about National Day propaganda and laugh.

The afternoon would be spent happily making Hainanese chicken rice, 'proper' fried noodles, pork dumplings and then torturing all my guests by making them eat using chopsticks. I taught them all to sing 'Stand Up For Singapore'. And I'd invite some of the Singaporean boys over so they could tell army stories to their hearts content.

Today, I'm working the evening shift, so there will be no National Day dinner. I wear green scrubs to work, and my plastic flag is far too battered and faded to hang up.

But I have spent the entire week singing patriotic tunes to my heart's content (and much to MSH's amusement). I still make fun of our National Day propaganda, but I sing our songs with gusto, nevertheless.

Happy 40th Birthday, Singapore. I miss you.

Long days

Today, the M-OL and I did some unpacking and cleaning of the new apartment. The place looks a bit more homely at the moment, now that I've got some pictures put up and scattered cushions and stuffed penguins around the place.

I discovered that the shower leaks and the washing machine leaks and that one of the pipes draining from the kitchen sink is clogged. Jobs for the MDH!

In the afternoon, M-OL and I wandered around the neighbourhood, found the local Sainsbury's (yay!) and the post office, enjoying the sunshine.

Had a nice hour long nap before nipping off to work (boo...). I'll be here until 2am.

It's quiet in the department tonight with a steady trickle of patients with minor complaints. I've seen about 5 sprained knees and ankles already (Rest, Ice, Painkillers and Elevation, people! Of course it's not going to get better if you carry on doing gymnastics!). I'm glad it's not completely deserted, otherwise I would get bored and sleepy...there's enough going on to keep me occupied.

Someone is announcing the arrival of a 'Code Blue'.

Time to run.

Meme?

I have no idea what "meme" is supposed to mean, but I gather that it's similar to chain letters, except not as irritating.

So Thirty Pounces sends me this 'shoe meme'. No problem, I'm game for anything! What I really want to know is, will I win any prizes for answering?

Total number of shoes owned: 12
2 pairs of strappy day-wear sandals
1 pair of strappy party sandals
1 pair of wedding shoes
1 pair of black ballet pumps
1 pair of clogs
3 pairs of boots
1 pair of thong flipflops
1 pair of house slippers
1 pair of Nike trainers

Most expensive pair of shoes:
My beloved black leather Salvatore Ferragamo boots - they were on sale!

Cheapest pair of shoes:
House slippers - bought from the market for SGD$1.50. Bargain!

Last shoes bought:
Knee high boots from ASOS

Shoe under work desk:
I'm a doctor - I don't get a work desk, although I carry my black ballet pumps in my haversack so I can change into them at work.

People I pass this meme onto:
err...okay...
budak
stellou
ketsugi

Wow.
Suddenly I feel really like I'm part of an online community.
Also, I realise that I am obviously suffering from a severe lack of footwear. Look how many shoes these girls have got! I have to jump on the bandwagon, follow the crowd, keep up with the Jones's! I should show those blogs to MDH and tell him how deprived I am.

Comfort eating

Today it is cold and rainy outside, and I'm feeling too lazy to cook. So I'm going to defrost one of the many packets of frozen hawker food that I have squirrelled away in the freezer.

Yes. I smuggle Singapore hawker food into the UK. I freeze them on the day I buy them, then wrap it in plastic bags and put the packets in between my clothes just before heading to the airport. It stays frozen all the way, and when I defrost it and heat it up in the microwave, using it's original brown paper wrapping, it really does taste almost as good as the real thing.

Well, it's better than all my half baked attempts to make my own char kway teow. It just doesn't have the same taste that comes from being seared in the hawker's wok - which probably hasn't been scoured for several generations.

I have learned that quite a few of the really good hawkers are used to having their food exported. In fact, some of them even make an effort to pack their wares into neat little squares to make it easier to store, and they give me tips on exactly how to defrost and reheat it to preserve it's original form and taste. They really take pride in upholding the standards of their work.

Now, if you'll excuse me, there's some chai tow kway awaiting me in the microwave oven.

Mundane?

I love grocery shopping.

I love walking through the supermarket and looking at all the things on display. It's like looking at all manner of endless possibilities - things I need around the house, things I would love to have, ingredients for new and exotic dishes, tiny luxuries and necessities, activities I could be doing...

Grocery shopping with MDH is really fun as well. We pass by items on the shelf and discuss what we might be eating this week, what bargains we have found. We take turns choosing certain items that we buy weekly - cheese, milk, bread, ham.

This week, it is my turn to choose the cheeses - so I picked Red Leicester and Double Glouscester. I've been wanting to try these ever since I heard the Monty Python cheese sketch. They look as if they'd melt nicely when I make grilled sandwiches.

MDH has chose granary bread and white soft baps, and (to my utmost dismay) liver sausage slices.

In retaliation, I have been allowed to get semi-skimmed milk instead of the usual full fat.

We both spent alot of time in the fruit section picking out this season's summery produce - punnets of deep red strawberries, ripening nectarines, juicy-looking blackberries and raspberries. I can hardly wait to blend them into smoothies or eat them with vanilla icecream!

The best part about grocery shopping today is that it has put things in perspective, for me at least. In the grocery shop, no one is talking about the events of the past week. Children are begging their parents to buy sugar-laden snacks, staff members are stacking shelves, old ladies totter along with their shopping trolleys. There's a wonderful smell of roasting chicken coming from the rotisserie, there's some loud voice saying 'Harry Potter Books Are Now For Sale', and I'm pushing a squeaking trolley and trying avoid running over toddlers.

And I know that Tony Blair is right, and all of England continues moving swiftly on as usual.

It's beginning

I know that the police don't shoot for no reason. I know that if that suspect was a suicide bomber, many more lives would have been lost.

But I'm still shocked that the man is dead.

Edit (14 July 2005):

So it emerges that the man was a Brazilian electrician - explains why he might be carrying a heavy belt full of wires. It also explains why he might not have clearly understood (in his panic) what the policemen were shouting.

And the policemen were all in plain-clothes. So now I understand why he was trying to escape. He probably thought he was being attacked by a street gang. I would have done the same - 20 men running at me screaming and waving a gun, I'd try to run away.

It was a terrible mistake, and people make mistakes. People are bound to make mistakes in this state of heightened awareness.

This all makes me feel so unsafe.

I'm glad I'm going to be moving further away from London soon.

Gloatingly

Mine! All Mine!!
Originally uploaded by Sunshine follows me.

Today I went grocery shopping at Sainsbury's and I finally bought the latest Harry Potter novel.

You'd be surprised at how many of my patients are reading it in hospital - so many families brought the book for their ailing relatives the day it was released. All the porters, radiographers, cleaners and some of the nursing staff and doctors too. They huddle together in little groups whispering to each other.

Well, now I have a copy too!

First, I have to figure out how I'm going to read through this book without MDH stealing it from me...

Colours

When the sun shines brightly in the sky, when the waters of the lake are deep and clear and still, his eyes are glowing and transparently blue like the moonstones of Sri Lanka.

When the sand is soaked with foam, when the kestrels hover overhead, when the fieldmouse scuttles amongst the barley stalks, his eyes are golden like two sweet pools of soft caramel.

When the dew is on the grass, when light filters down through the woodland canopies, his eyes glitter pale silver and green like the scales of a dragon.

When thunder rolls through the sky, when snow whistles through the air, when the moon rises pale in the night, his eyes are grey like the sea after a storm.

And I look into those eyes and I see myself, myself, only myself, and I know that I fill your vision as I fill your heart.

And my heart is also filled.

Happy Wedding Anniversary, MDH.

P.S. There! Now don't complain I never write enough about you on my blog!

And it's not so bad

Just when things were getting really rough at work and I was starting to lose my grip on sanity, the drug reps (ie. people who give us freebies whilst marketing their products) show up and one of them gives me this little piece of work.

So cool! I could hardly believe my fortune. Doctors fight each other for little trinkets like this. They make great presents. I've been dying for months to get hold of Viagra goodies.

"It'll get you up in the mornings," said the rep, eyeing me with displeasure as I choked back a snort of laughter.

I gave it to MDH when I got home and he moaned about what people would think of him if we displayed this prominently in the house. He's insisted on placing it on the mantlepiece anyway.

Then, MDH whipped out this chocolate brownie cake that the Aged P had secreted away in the house as a present and had forgotten to tell us about it. He'd found it in a drawer in the kitchen, wrapped in paper. We had it for dessert. Yum.

And to round it all off, MDH decided that he would give me a relaxing back massage using my favourite 'Mande Lulur' body lotion.

"I want to thank you for giving me the best day of my life, Oh just to be with you is having the best day of my life" - Dido

Physician, heal thyself.

Today has been a particularly exhausting day.

One of my colleagues is on leave at the moment, so I'm covering for him and taking on all his patients and jobs. My Senior Registrar and Senior House Officer are on a surgical training courses this week, so there's just the Consultant and myself on the firm, so when the boss is away, I'm the most senior member of the team.

Grr-rreat.

Additionally, some bright spark down in the admissions department decided to book 11 patients onto my surgical pre-assessment clinic today (normal clinic size is about 4-5 patients). This means that I'm not only post-take (ie. all the new patients from overnight are in my charge), and post-list (all the elective surgical patients from yesterday are in my charge), but I also have to clerk in and workup an additional 11 patients and make sure all of them are in fit condition for surgery.

It has been a long day. I normally manage to take time out to have breakfast, but I didn't get a chance. Then, I forgot to have lunch because I was so busy sorting out a 'sickie' who had to be transferred to the high-dependancy unit, so by the time I got to the canteen it was closed.

I drank half a cup of tea before getting bleeped away to review a patient who had pulled out her urinary catheter (OUCH). I must have looked like the living dead because some nurse took pity on me and gave me a biscuit. It had chocolate on it.

I had to work a couple hours overtime, so by the time I finished I was so weak that it took me an hour to walk back home from the train station (usually takes me ten minutes). My legs were like reeds shivering in the wind. I haven't yet made dinner or washed the dishes or sorted out the laundry I was going to do today.

Right now, the computer screen swims in and out of focus and I'm getting that tight feeling in the muscles of my forehead which signal the beginnings of a headache.

I'm going to go and lie down, sod the housework.

I should take better care of myself.