my first time ever! ice-skating out in the open, thought its man-made and not a pond or a lake, that would have been so cool! but at least the temperature's real! it was freezing cold that night. i remember arriving sometime in the early afternoon but tickets for the rink were sold out, can you imagine! so we bought tickets for the evening slot and proceeded to the natural history museum right beside it first. that museum is so awesome, all the time while i was inside, i thought i was casting in night of the museum 3 along with throngs of other people haha. it was so super crowded and the queue moved so so slowly. luckily theres so much to see. the dinosaur section was probably the most popular, million of kids in the line, wailing their heads off. i would have gone mad if not for the fact that i was in a really really good mood. not to mention i was busy staring at this making out couple right next to us haha! the girl was quite hot mans.

ok, dinosaurs. the bones and what nots were pretty fascinating. and there were plenty of explanations and interesting facts that popped up along the way. and when we were reaching the t-rex exhibit, the queue slowed to a crawl. seriously man, everyone was so excited but frankly, i was a little disappointed. i was expecting some huge ass showcase of that magnificent creature's bones, lifesize and everything. but all that greeted me was some man-made t-rex model with sound effects to top it off. haha. what a pity.

the rest of the museum had interesting exhibits like life-sized models of alll the different mammals, and they were super real. the eyes specially. i wonder how they did it. stuffed animals? or just super zai workmanship. then there was the human biology section which explained all about the human body in simplified terms haha. i was expecting more chim stuff so i was a little bored. but we had fun with all the  interactive games that tested our memories and optic illusions.

the museum was really really huge and after a while, we just wandered about admiring its beautiful architecture. seriously, why are their buildings so nice? i once thought our national museum was pretty, until now. haha, totally no comparison man. even though i dont know all the art lingo and cant differentiate for nuts between the gothic or the victorian, but i was still taken away by the intricate details and all. this is what all museums should look like!

after what seemed like a very short time, the museum was closing and so it was time to proceed to get our skates! they had pretty girls advertising for canon so we got a free shot taken at the door. i'm sure most people will go awww, so romantic when they think of ice-skating out in the open. but not when you have to battle insane groups of people who hold each other's hand, and especially when they cant skate for nuts. they not only end up obstructing traffic but also falling down like dominos when one of them loses balance. i know the picture above didnt look like there was a lot of people but trust me, i think there were like 100 of us on the rink? it was quite surprising seeing so many people fall down but i guess they dont have the luxury of a jurong iceskating rink haha. so they can only do it once a year. also, try avoiding cute little kids in that mad crowd. wrapped in their parkas and their unsteady feet, they reminded H of little ducklings and trying to intercept them before they fall became his favourite activity that night. then, try having an annoying boyfriend holding ur hand while zooming along, zig-zaging between above mentioned obstacles. there were many close calls that night, just because he can squeeze through doesnt mean i can! i think i knocked down a few duckies that night, haha no lah, just one, and his dad scooped him up just in time! what a close call. and then, the boyfriend finally decides that chasing duckies were no longer fun because most of them were tired before the one hour was up, so he thought that having a race with me would me more entertaining. gosh, i was so afraid of falling. i dont know if its just me, but i always have this fear of my fingers getting sliced off by the blades whenever i skate. not sure if its a logical fear, i mean are the blades even sharp enough? haha i sound like some grumpy frumpy old lady who isnt very appreciative and didnt enjoy herself very much, quite the contrary! it was really nice ice-skating out in the open, with the wind in my hair, and H's hand in mine. quite an amazing feeling!

yeah, flying chillies with the netballers post hair-cut day 1. all that amazing thai food just made me want to fast forward to the june hols. where i will be in the land of thousand smiles. can u imagine? four days of phad thai, tom yum soup, pineapple rice and MANGOES!!!! i cant wait. thats the only thing i am looking forward to right now. even CNY lost its appeal this year. which is really really sad, cos i rmb saying back in 2009 that i was looking forward to cny2010. cny is like my favourite favourite favourite holiday out of the lot. why must this year be so sucky. why why why? well, hopefully some of that chinese new year luck translate into pure strokes of genius for cofm, no eph and pharmaco pros. zomg.

brekkie with the sis tmr. half looking fwd half dreading waking up early, the calorie-intake and the money spent.

did i mention i hate my new haircut?

i'm starting to get use to this. but just how many birthdays, valentine's day, anniversaries am i willing to spend without you?

 

sending my love all the way from sunny singapore <3

 

'Cause the spaces between my fingers,
Are right where yours fit perfectly.

so, suck it up

greenwich was a pretty fun place to be in. it was a super windy day when we took the red bus down to greenwich. i remember that we missed a stop and had to walk the extra distance in the cold before arriving at the park, not that it matters anyway, we took our own sweet time strolling in the park in the end. the rolling hills and green grass (the grass is greener on the other side, literally true!) were dotted with people with their dogs. children throwing sticks and shouting fetch to their golden retrievers, elderly couples strolling hand in hand, joggers in their tracksuits out for their morning runs. if there was one thing i that regretted about visiting london in the winter, it would be that i was unable to see the parks in their full glory. everywhere we went, with the exception of green grasses, everything else was grey and dreary. the trees were barren, stripped naked to their branches. imagine them with their crowns, can you just imagine that?? such a pity. but the botak trees are beautiful in their own melacholic ways as well. i heard from H's friends that they went sledging down the numerous hills in greenwich while there was snow. unfortunately for us, we had no such luck and the snow melted away before my bum had any chance to be abused and bruised. which is probably a good thing i guess cos we were leaving for paris soon and the eurostar had a tendency to breakdown when its snowing.

and when we got to the top of the hill, we were greeted by an amazing sight. the scenary seemed to stretch on for miles. we could even see the O2 stadium. the museums at the top of the hill were fascinating. the navigation challenges sailors faced in the past, the lack of a accurate way to tell time, and the numerous timepieces on display. we also visited the very room that Sir Issac Newton once visited, the home of another great guy whose name i have already forgotten, the place where great ideas were born. and we also saw what was probably the world's first telescope, the world's largest telescope and Pluto hurhur. we also took very tourisy shots with the greenwich meridien line, amusing ourselves with my right's 12 hours ahead of my left! 

 

harrods was amazing. all shopping centres should be like them. the food hall was so incredibly intoxicating. i felt like i was under a spell, in a fairytale, a foodie's dream come true. the hazelnut chocolate truffle danish, almond crossiant and strawberry shortcake that we bought tasted heavenly.

i cant stop drooling.

christmas day in regents park. 
of golden rays and chilly wind
of bald trees and green grass
of long walks and frozen lakes
of small dogs and large geese
of you and me
 

 

 spontaneity is always beautiful.
a last minute picnic plan with the cousins last sunday. surprisingly, everyone was up for it. and i had a great time. despite only having a 3 hour notice, we managed to get a pretty decent supply of food and entertainment. kudos to me and my sis of course. we had a great time playing uno (i seriously forgotten how to play it), old maid, asshole daidee, five stones and trying to fly our kite. back to the old school man. the last time i played with five stones were like in primary school?? our kite on the other hand was quite a failure. it took glynn ages to get it up but when it finally when up, it got tangled up with some heavyweight black-stringed hugeass kite. it finally succumbed and came tumbling down. i had loads of fun that day :) my family is seriously the BOMB and i love the girls to bits <3 
 

it was hard to say goodbye. to let go. to turn my head. to walk away. 
thank you for the lovely time spent together. its hard to find words to describe my feelings for this trip so i shall not even try. anyway, i'm sure you feel the same way too and thats all that matters.

london was beautiful. its impossible to talk about everything that happened so i shall break it down in parts. and i definitely hope that i will keep up with blogging about this holiday because i want to remember it!! so yeah, in no chronological order whatsoever, here is the first of the london series.

 

 

my birthday
came and went
a year older, but how much wiser
nonetheless, it was great meeting up with the loved ones
and i love all my presents! (i'm still waiting for V's though haha)
somehow this year, something's different. the presents seem to matter less, the celebrations need not be too huge. i was contended just to have these wonderful people by my side :)

( too good to be true, but it is!  )

i'm definitely at a point in life where i'm totally comfortable in my own skin. and i like where i am, who i am, what i am. it could be better, definitely and i'll make it better. many flaws to improve on, many shortcomings to change. but many people who love me for who i am too :) and i'm extremely grateful for that.

extremely long post, and H is going to scream when he reads this. but i did this after i was done with studying! haha. nites people

gorgeous flowers in the largest bouquet i ever seen/received.
i have a lily-scented room now.
love it but i would rather have you back with me.

thank you

i laughed too hard and too loud last night. its been a long while since i laughed like that. and i needed that. kumar was awesome, so are my friends. probably one of the last times we would meet up and laugh like that, shoot shag marry for 3 hours, truth or dare for another 3. what ever happened to our maturity and sensibility? i would definitely miss this group of friends. its gonna be weird going to sgh and not see them around. keep in touch we say, and i really hope we do.

21st in 10 days. why do i not feel excited at all?

because "hard lessons are always the best, even though they are often the worst mistakes", therefore "No longer will i drift through live feeling sorry for myself, because self pity is the seed of destruction."

its a timely wake up call

hopefully its not too late.

my mom bought egg tarts for tea break today. they sucked. ok to be fair, i judge every single egg tart i eat with those that i have tried in hongkong. and sadly, none in singapore really match up.

i love the food in hongkong. i still remember my last trip to hk. armed with the food guide in one hand, hk map in the other. and we went abt the whole of hk looking for those highly recomemded stalls with awesome food. the egg tarts were one of our many conquers! i still remember walking into dubious alleys, asking directions in our broken cantonese and climbing those never ending staircases that hk is famous for... and in the end, the food never disappoints.

yesterday, i drew blood from a patient during night call. discounting harvey the dummy and hendrick the boyfriend, it was the very first time i did it. andrew was surprised that my hands did not shake. i surprised myself too. 20 weeks into clinical postings, i know its a bit late for yesterday to be my first time. subconciously, i kept resisting the idea because i wasnt confident enough. i was afraid to hurt the patients, especially those old lady with paper thin skin and minute veins whose tendency to bruise is like sky high. but i'm glad i plucked up the courage yesterday. better late than never.

penang 2008

i cant wait to go on a holiday again. to step away from all the responsibilites, the assignments, the EOPTs. to finally take a break from the 730 - 5 lifestyle. to escape from the hospitals, the wards, the doctors, the never ending round list, the clerking, the case writeups and the home visits. and to throw myself into another culture, another way of life. i cant wait to get onto that plane bound for london. and to run towards that lone boy standing in the arrival hall a big bear hug. i cant wait.

london 2009 here i come.

i was transported to a lovely place today. there were cardboard rabbits in the grass.

thin crusted pizza with roasted duck and cucumber, and another with bacon, mushroom and garlic mascapone. crab linguine with creamy tomato sauce. apple crumble with pistachio and green almond gelato. very delightful.

semi heart to heart talks with the girls. semi because theres just too many stuff to talk about. we kept getting side-tracked. semi because we were relatively short of time. but its was still great catching up over lunch. medicine has stolen too much of our social life, it was fun to steal some back today in return. shiyun's 21st.

pressed for time, journey back was amazing race style. complete with shoutings and screams, getting lost in ulu land and a near road traffic accident. we reached ortho lecture safe and sound. the pedestrians were the idiotic ones, not us.

to party or not to party? would you come?