My Best Friend's Girl..

I'm glad i'm not on call today...so i could sleep late yesterday night..though i woke up early this morning to send my other housemate Hema to the airport..she's going to Manado...for a week..for diving.. lucky her...came back and slept again till 11am plus...it's good to be able to wake up late on a weekend....it's hard to come by...finally dragged myself out of bed and went downstairs to work on my elliptical trainer...

Jasmine came back from her call already...and she was watching 'My Best Friend's Girl'...so i watched while working out...by the time the show ended, i was still so engrossed in the movie..but as expected, Jasmine has already dozed off...the poor girl had a busy call the night before..hardly slept...

Anyway, something about the movie...it's about this guy called Tank...who's a great asshole...and ppl hire him to date their ex-gfs so that the girls will realized how 'good' their ex-bfs were compared to the 'asshole' Tank...but he's not really an asshole...though he can be very good at being one...then his best friend Dustin hired Tank to 'terrorize' Alexis (the object of Dustin's infatuation)..it happened that Alexis turned out to like Tank..despite him being an asshole...and this Alexis is not your regular slut or anything close ok? she's like this disciplined, high achiever, OCD, control freak, alpha dog, crazy cyborg kind of girl...so anyhow, as expected...Tank and Alexis ended up together..
strange though..i didn't cry...though i practically cried at every movie..

Makes me wonder, what is it about guys like Tank that makes girls like Alexis like them? i mean, anyone in her right mind would be so turned off by an asshole yea? and Alexis can get any guy she wants...i mean, anyone who looks like Kate Hudson can get any guy she wants...but i guess that's Hollywood for you...but then again, there may be some truth in it...maybe that's why sometimes we see nice girls falling for assholes...of course in this movie, we don't know how it would be like 10 years down the road...if there was a 10 years down the road for that couple...but in real life, i guess that translates to the high divorce rate we have these days...sigh...Lord, please do not let me fall for an asshole...please please please...amen...

Track 8 from Timeless 可啦思刻 - Remember 记得

I've been listening to Khalil's new album Timeless 可啦思刻 (Classical) for the past few days...unlike Orange Moon, i didn't like all the songs in this album...but i like most of them lah...but there's one song which is quite stuck in my head...and i wondered why it is this song...then i realized that perhaps this song made me think of Kheng Wee...about our relationship which ended after 5 long years...i never really knew what went wrong...and i don't remember when did it start going wrong...and this song kind of portray that feeling i had when we said our goodbyes...will once again attempt to translate this song....

我們都忘了　這條路走了多久 (We have already forgotten, how long we've walked this road)
心中是清楚的　有一天有一天都會停的 (It's clear in our hearts, that one day it will end)
讓時間說真話　雖然我也害怕 (Let time reveal the truth, although i'm afraid)
在天黑了以後　我們都不知道會不會有以後 (After the darkness, we don't know if there'll be a future)

＊誰還記得　是誰先說永遠的愛我 (Who still remembers, who first said "forever love")
　以前的一句話是我們以後的傷口 (Words said in the past wounds us in the future)
　過了太久　沒人記得　當初那些溫柔 (After too long, no one remembers the warmth we felt initially)
　我和你手牽手說要一起走到最後 (You and I, holding hands, said we'll walk till the end)

我們都累了　卻沒辦法往回走 (We're already tired, there's no way we can turn back)
兩顆心都迷惑　怎麼說怎麼說都沒有救 (Both our hearts are confused, nothing we say can save us)
親愛的為什麼　也許你也不懂 (Why my dear? Perhaps you too do not understand)
兩個相愛的人　等著對方先說想分開的理由 (Two persons who love each other, waiting for the other to first utter the reason for breaking up)

誰還記得　愛情開始變化的時候 (Who still remembers, when did love start to change?)
我和你的眼中看見了不同的天空 (Both our eyes see a different sky)
走得太遠　終於走到分岔路的路口 (We've walked too far, finally we're at a crossroad)
是不是你和我要有兩個相反的夢 (Is it that both of us need to have two contradicting dreams?)

It's a sad song...tragic even..but i guess this is life...things don't always turn out as we dreamed or hoped..but we're human...and we'll always dream and hope...that the next time will be better...

GC Day 7 & 8 - Surfer's Paradise and Goodbye

We woke up at 4.30am on Day 7...we were afraid we would miss the sunrise since it was already very bright when we woke up at 6am yesterday...but it was still dark...so we waited till 5am..then we changed and walked to the beach...reached the beach at 5.15am...still dark...and freaking cold.. about 5.20am...there was some light...but the horizon was cloudy/ misty..couldn't see the sun...so we sat on the sand...shivering...waited till 5.30am...it was brighter..but still no sight of the sun...by 5.45am it was very bright already..but the sun was a no show...so we decided we'd go back to our room and continue our beauty slumber...i guess i'm more of a sunset person after all...i think the sun sets faster...so we slept back till about 9am...
Got up and cleared our room..did some last minute packing...and checked out about 10am...took a bus to Tweed Heads...then checked into the New Dolphin Hotel about 12pm...the room wasn't too bad..at least it was clean...got a double bed and a single bed...and a nice view out the window...but we didn't spend much time in the room though...went to do some last minute shopping...bought 1kg of macadamia for Andrew, some pistachio for Mom...and sugar-free chocs for Mom and Aunty...we had a good lunch at one of the Italian restaurant at Coolangatta...i had fish and chip..and Flora had pizza..we even ordered gelato for dessert...

Then we bought a day-pass for the bus and took the bus to Burleigh Heads...walked around the beach..and visited the Exeloo again...then we hopped on the bus and stopped at Nobby Beach... think that's a popular place for surfers...so many surfer dudes and dudettes there...and we saw 3 fellas er...para-surfing (not sure if that's the right term for that sports)...it was so cool...cutting through the waves...and jumped up and sommersault...would have loved to try...if the weather wasn't that cold...next stop, Broadbeach Mall (Oasis)...bought another 2 books there...hehe...told you i'm a sucker for books...

Our last stop was Surfer's Paradise...reached there about 7pm...went into this shop called Valleygirl and we were shopping again..hehe..bought a knit dress there...then we walked along the night market...they sell arts and crafts stuffs there..mostly hand-made souvenirs...very interesting and artistic...but most stuffs are breakables...so couldn't bring back lah...too risky...i think Surfer's Paradise is the only place that's still teeming with life at night...it was Friday night..and all the young people were down here...clubbing and all...we ate dinner at Oporto...Flora had their famous Bondi Burger..and i had their Rappa...saw a nice yellow sports car and some really long limousines at that area..really happening...thank God we were staying in Tweed Heads that night..so we could go back late...the buses run from Surfer's Paradise to Tweed Heads 24 hours...we got back to our hotel about 9.30pm...bathed and then packed all our stuffs...i came with a half full luggage...i went home with a full to the brim (and definitely a lot heavier) luggage...watched half of 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' before i went to sleep...it was on TV...and i love Four Weddings....

Day 8 was the day of goodbye...we checked out from our hotel at 6.50pm...got on the 768 bus at 7am...dropped us right at the doorstep of the airport at 7.12am...still early for check-in...but the queue was long..so we only managed to check in by 7.40am...just in time...still had time to shop at the duty-free..bought 2 bottles of Sambuca (500ml each) for my bro Simon...cost me AUD31..which was cheap i supposed..also bought a bottle of red wine for Dad..and a small bottle of whiskey....then it was time to board our flight back to KL...sigh..good times really fly...it's time to get back to work and reality...until my next holidays...

GC Day 6 - Whale Watching

We woke up early on Day 6..6am..so that we could catch the 7.12am bus to Tweed Heads South to meet Carol from the Aquatic Blue Charter...we reached there about 7.50am and Carol was waiting for us across the street...she drove us up to the boat jetty...we got on the boat and parted with AUD85... but we told ourselves, it would be worth it...we were hoping to see the humpbacks do a 'free Willy' aka breaching...and we were expecting to see the whales up close coz Carol said the last 3 days, the whales have been very playful and friendly...since we were early, we hung out on the upper deck and front deck and took photos...i found a fake humpback and got trigger happy with my camera...

We departed at 9am...the waves were choppy today...but i loved the bumpy ride...lucky me, i don't get sea sick....i only get the floating sensation after i get off the boat onto solid ground..and it's especially bad when i'm lying on the bed...i think for the 1st half of the journey, we hardly saw any whales...there was a time when i was sitting on the front deck and the waves were getting a bit rough and splashed onto me...my pants were soaked...apparently, the humpbacks were shy or sleepy today...we were cruising for 3 hours and we only saw humpbacks about 5 times...sometimes alone..sometimes in pairs...and the males were definitely not trying to impress..no breaching...and the closest they came was probably about 10m to the boat...
But we saw dolphins in the wild!!! about 3 of them each time...probably the same school...following us...they were skipping on the surface..and swimming near or under our boat...it was so cool!!! they were even swimming with the whales..which apparently, is quite a rare thing...unfortunately, i couldn't get nice shots of the humpbacks..or the dolphins...i supposed i need a more 'canggih' camera with faster shutter to take moving objects...well, we got back on the land feeling satisfied...we saw the gentle giants..and the friendly dolphins too..

We asked Carol to drop us off at Coolangatta...Flora wanted to go to see kangaroos and koalas..so we took a bus to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary...however, the admission fee was AUD44...and i didn't really want to go in...coz i've visited 2 wildlife parks in Melbourne and Sydney and they didn't cost that much...i only paid AUD20 the last time...so in the end, we didn't go in...instead we crossed the road over to a bee farm...they had free bee show...and after, we tried out some honey...yummy!!! we were told that honey actually has no expiry date...very lasting..i bought a small bottle of macadamia honey and a honey lip balm...

We went back to Coolangatta and asked the info booth about the bus to airport...then we walked around to look for a hotel/motel to stay for a night..coz we were checking out from Tamarind Sands the next day...we found Coolangatta Sands Hotel which provide dorm-style room..AUD30 per person for an 8-bedded room...common toilet..no towel provided...you see, we didn't bring our own towels..so that was a problem..we found another motel that cost AUD90 per night for a double room...eventually, we ended up in Tweed Heads and found the New Dolphin Hotel...looked a little seedy...but it's only AUD66 per night...well, we were not about to complain since it was only for a night..and the bus stop is just right in front of the hotel...

We shopped around at Tweed Centro..bought 2 blouses for AUD16...Thursday is late shopping day (my bad...i thought it was the day before)....so the shops were open till 9.30pm...but we didn't shop that late...coz last bus is at 7.58pm..we went back early...ate microwaved macaroni and cheese and lasagna for dinner..ok, it was like the worst dinner ever...though it wasn't burnt...we slept early coz we planned to get up early to watch the sunrise the next day...

GC Day 5 - Shopping Day...

Day 5 was our shopping day...we woke up at 7.30am...didn't rush with breakfast...coz we were waiting for the resort's reception to open...at 9am...we needed Lizzy to help us book for whale watching the following day....so she booked for us a whale watching cruise that cost AUD85...quite expensive..but whale watching is something i've always wanted to do...Lizzy helped us to arrange the pick-up...we had to take a bus to Tweed Head South where the guide would pick us from the bus stop to the boat jetty...

We missed the 9.12am bus to Tweed Heads..so we went exploring Cabarita Beach...it was quiet and lovely...very windy that day..so the waves were quite high and roaring...saw some people walking their dogs...sat on the bench and enjoyed the lovely view and weather...i found my dream house among the beach front houses...though not exactly the architecture of my dreams..but it overlooks the sea...and one of the room had a telescope, beside a whole shelf of books...the outer wall is actually just glass panes...it's really my kind of home....

So we took the 10.12am bus to Tweed Heads..then another bus to Pacific Fair...and we shopped the whole day...hehe...bought a long-sleeve knit blouse for AUD8...then bought a book for AUD8... books in Australia is expensive...but when they have sales, the books only cost AUD7-10...and we're talking about books from well-known authors..like john grisham...jeffrey archer...and i'm a sucker for books...also bought a purple strapless dress for AUD10...i'm planning to wear it to the T Music Festival..hehe...Flora bought quite a lot of stuffs too..a sweater for AUD7, few dresses for AUD10..and books too...as you can see, we only go for discounted stuffs..we are bargain hunters after all..hehe..

We had lunch at Hungry Jacks...which is actually the Aussie version of Burger King...but they serve porky pork...Flora had a Bacon Deluxe...and i had a Cheesy Bacon Tender Deluxe...yummy!!! we saw a shop that goes by the name of "Sex Kitten"...interesting name..i'm sure they have interesting clothings and accessories in there...but we didn't enter the shop...though we saw a couple of arabs in the shop..;)

We came home early...though it was late shopping day that day...coz we didn't wanna miss the bus back to our apartment...so we got home before 7pm...had frozen pizza for dinner..with apricot passion yoghurt and strawberries as huge as plums...finished reading 'The Neverending Story' that night...it is truly an amazingly fantanstic book...very interesting and colourful characters....it is a fiction fantasy that teaches great virtues, albeit in a twisted way...would love to talk more about this book...but that is another story, and shall be told another time (it's a line that is repeated many times in the book, hehe)...

Got the tics to T Music Festival!!!

Ok, will interrupt the Gold Coast series again...too many things happening to distract me...first, i had the worst OT call i ever had yesterday....started from 8am yesterday...worked non-stop until 7am this morning...sent 2 patients to ICU...much to Hoe's dismay...couldn't help it...one was an intra-ab injury with 3L blood loss and queried haemothorax/ lung contusion (whole left lung white out)....another was early this morning...suspected perforated bowel...intra-op turned out to be perforated appendix...with lotsa pus contamination...dilated bowels..unable to close...ended up with Bogota bag...uncle had a right lung pleural effusion...so didn't wanna extubate and send back to ward at 3.30am...thought that was the end of it..but then got perforated gastric ulcer...so i 'bersahur' with the nurses...and then continued with the PGU...ended about 6.30pm...sent patient out...went to sleep about 7am...i couldn't wake up at 8am to pass over to the next person on call...i think i was just mumbling in my sleep when i was passing over..then i collapsed again and slept till 9am plus...felt a bit more awake...so should be able to drive myself home without ending up in my own ICU..thank God for his protection...so Sleepless in Theatre went home...and paid back her sleep debt till 5.30pm just now....

On a brighter note, my bro Simon finally went to Sungai Wang to buy the ticket to T Music Festival for me yesterday....he bought be the RM268 ticket..which i thought was the most expensive tic already...and then he told me there was the RM400 vvip ticket....floor seatings...i was like, hmmm, why didn't you call/msg to ask if i'd prefer that one? coz obviously i'd prefer to have the vvip ticket...anything just to be able to be as close to Khalil as possible yea? anyway, since he bought it already...better than nothing lah...now i really have to hope that myfm will have a contest to win some vvip passes to the T Music Festival...and that i'd be able to call in and win one...oh gosh!!! i can't believe i'll be meeting Khalil again...well, even from far also good enough for me...

Since i'm missing Khalil's Timeless concert in HK today, tomorrow and Saturday, so at least the T Music Festival is a consolation...i'd do prefer to find myself in HK now listening and watching Khalil live....for like 3 hours...just him only...oh well, i'll have to wait for some other crazy Khalil fans to upload onto youtube so i can watch how the concert went...by the way, Jasmine found out that Khalil is actually the artist of the month in Channel V (Squeal!!)...but unfortunately, we don't have astro at our house....if not, i'd have been able to watch Khalil a whole month long on Channel V...hahaha... i sound like some high-school girl high on her crush....

So, while Khalil is performing at the HK Convention Centre singing his songs from the Timeless album and i'm sure, many other of his songs...i'm stuck in my room in KK...listening to his Timeless album again and again...mourning about my being unable to be where he is now...sigh...

Day 4 - Movie World

After 2 days of bad luck, i was hoping today would be better...we woke up at 7am...after breakfast, we took a bus up to Tweed Heads..we reached about 9am...just missed the TX1 that brings us straight to Movie World..so we asked a bus driver if there was another way to Movie World..he told us to take the 760 to Pacific Fair and catch a TX2 to Movie World..well, might have taken longer, but we're still going to Movie World...the bus stopped at Wet 'n' Wild Water Park before reaching Movie World... people were actually going there in the winter...to get wet and wild...talk about crazy...well, we didn't bring our swimsuit anyway...DreamWorld is the stop after Movie World..we didn't go there either coz we thought it'd be a waste since we won't be going for the rides there..

We reached Movie World about 11am plus...i was so excited...i loved the place the minute i saw it...made me felt like a kid again...it's really like a dream come true...so many superheroes, cartoon and movie characters gathered in one place...the first thing i saw when we entered the Movie World was the Batwing Spaceshot...then there was the Superman Escape roller coaster...and the Lethal Weapon ride....all the big boys ride...none of which we dared to ride...coz Flora refused to ride with me, as expected..and i didn't dare to ride alone...sigh...i should have brought a guy along... we didn't even ride the kiddy rides...like the Road Runner roller coaster or the Scooby Doo coaster... we were too busy watching other stuffs...

We watched Shrek in 4D...the animation was cool...and the simulation ride was fun...then there was the live Batman show...oohh, i love Batman...he's my favourite superhero...there was also an impersonation of Marilyn Monroe...doing her singing and flirting with the guys....next, we went to watch the Hollywood Stunt Drivers in action...an incident happened here...in the beginning of the show, the cameraman was looking for a couple to act a scene where the couple saw 2 cars crashing into each other...suddenly i saw myself on the huge screen...apparently the cameraman has zoomed in on me and the guy next to me (whose gf was sitting on his left)...i was like, What the hell??!! must have been a case of mistaken identity...i definitely didn't look like i was 'with' the guy sitting next to me...it was pretty embarassing...but eventually the cameraman figured out that i wasn't 'with' the guy...so he shifted his camera..phew!!! otherwise, the stunts were extremely exhilirating....the ending was really cool...really ended with a boom...but i missed filming it...crap!

There was a Scooby Doo live performance...and then there was the grand parade where all the characters came out...Austin Powers, Shrek, Batman (squeal!), Scooby and gang, Bugs Bunny, Tweety, Daffy and Sylvester...i think i loved it as much as the other kids there..hehe...then i went to buy some Twilight memorabilia for my younger sis Pei...i also bought a Tweety t-shirt for my niece Sylvia...Pei was thrilled with the Twilight stuffs..but i definitely can't say the same about Sylvia's reaction...she still doesn't like me..:(....anyway, the last ride we went for was the Batman simulator ride...it was about as adventurous we got....

Took the TX2 back to Pacific Fair...we reached about 5pm...the shops closed at 5.30pm..so we walked around Pacific Fair and i managed to buy 2 blouses for my elder sis Yvonne...quite a bargain...they only cost AUD 10 each....after that, we took the bus back to Tweed Heads...and managed to catch the 6.58pm 603 bus back to Cabarita Beach...we asked the driver to call at our stop...so this time, we didn't miss our stop...YEA!!! and we ate dinner at a pretty decent hour...8.30pm...we had microwaved fetuccini carbonara with yoghurt, strawberries and oranges... i slept like a contented kid that night...

Timeless...

I'm interrupting my Gold Coast series with this post...coz i just had to share this one...i'm post call today...had 3 admissions during my call...bad but tolerable call...slept about 3 hours..which was quite good already....came home after pass over round...slept till 5.30pm...then worked out half hour on my elliptical trainer...after i bathed, i was thinking, what should i do tonight...since i'm working pm tomorrow...

So i thought i'd go to CP to check if Khalil's new album Timeless is out in the stores in KK...it was!!!! so i bought it...rm40.90...worth every cent...now i can get him to sign my album when i see him in KL next month...hopefully...i mean i'm definitely going for the T Music Festival on 12 Sept 2009...but not sure if i'll get to see him face to face again...hopefully can lah...

So i've been listening to it twice over so far as i'm typing this post...and i don't think i can ever get bored of his music...just a little info..Timeless is Khalil's latest (5th) album...consisting of 10 cover songs...namely:

1. You are the sunshine of my life - originally by Stevie Wonder
2. Nothing's gonna change my love for you - originally by George Benson, popularized by Glen Mederios...Khalil's got an MV for this song...love the MV...
3. Bad - originally by Michael Jackson
4. Kuang Chao - by some chinese singer
5. La Bamba - originally by Ritchie Valens
6. Red bean - originally by Faye Wong...there's also an MV for this song...
7. Georgia on my mind - originally by Ray Charles
8. Remember - originally by A-mei
9. Wonderful Tonight - originally by Eric Clapton
10. Moon river - originally by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tifanny's

Most of the songs were sung by singers who inspired his music...and he really added his own style and flavour into these 10 songs...it's a great album..but i think my favourite will still be his Orange Moon...i'm just so over the moon that i've got his new album...now i'm gonna listen to it a few more times before i drift off into blissful sleep...;)

GC Day 3 -Sea World..and long walk in the dark...

We got up a little late on Day 3...9am...then we took a bus from Cabarita Beach to Tweed Heads..which is in New South Wales..but is actually just next to Coolangatta..which is in Queensland..bus ride cost AUD 6.20...from Tweed Heads, we boarded a bus to Burleigh Heads where we changed another bus to Pacific Fair...at Burleigh Heads, we visited an automated public toilet called Exeloo...which was really quite excellent...press a button to open the door...self-flush when you wash your hands and open the door from inside...even has a loiter alarm...the door opens after 10 mins automatically...

We took a bus from Pacific Fair to Sea World...by the time we reached, it was almost 1pm...we bought an 'escape pass'... cost AUD120 which grants entry to 2 out of 3 parks and lasts for 3 days...saved us AUD 20...we had a quick lunch of pies...then took the Sea World monorail that goes around the park...then we went to watch the 'Imagine' dolphin show...it was amazing...i suddenly wished i studied marine biology instead...then i would have been able to be a dolphin handler...would love to spend a whole day swimming and playing with them...dolphins are such enchanting creatures...so smiley..so smart...so friendly...

Then we moved on to check out the penguins...and then the rays...patted a few rays...they're quite slimy and soft..and no, i didn't get stung...apparently not all rays are sting rays...there were also the sharks...some which were quite huge...then it was time for the sea lion show...which was titled 'Buddy and Claude, the fish detectives'...pretty entertaining...but i think dolphins are still my favourite..after that, we went to see the polar bears...i always imagine that they'll be really white..but i guess in the absence of snow, they get dirty easily..so they just looked kinda beige-y...

There was this 3D PLanet SOS show which we watched...Flora said it was similar to the one she saw in Bangkok...except that the one in Bangkok had more effects...we then took the Skyway cable car to get a bird's eye view of the whole place..next, we checked out the Jet Rescue, which is a Jetski roller coaster...Flora went first..coz we had to take turns to look after our bags...it was quite exhilirating...screamed my lungs out...but i kept my eyes open the whole time..and i didn't puke after that..hehe...there was the 'corkscrew' which we didn't dare to ride...there wasn't time anyway coz the rides close at 5pm...we hurried to make some pressed pennies..got myself one with a dolphin imprint..

So we took a bus back to Pacific Fair where we took the bus straight back to Tweed Heads..we reached there about 6.40pm...went to Woolworths to stock up on breakfast and frozen dinners...thought we'd manage to catch the 6.58pm bus back to Cabarita Beach..but apparently we missed it by 2 mins...bloody hell, it wasn't even 6.58pm yet..the bus left early...so since it was another hour before the next (and last) bus, we went back into Tweed Centro to use the bathroom..we went in via Woolworths..when we came out, the door back to Woolworths was locked..it closes at 7pm...dang! so we had to look for other exits..eventually found one which exited into the garbage collection area...crap!

So we waited for the last bus back to Cabarita Beach...it was cold..and we ate strawberries as we waited...finally we got onto the last bus back...by then we were quite tired..and we dozing off in the bus...we didn't realized we missed our stop...and apparently the bus driver didn't realize we didn't know where we were stopping..i guess the surroundings looked different at night...i only realized that we might have missed our stop when i saw the Cudgera Creek sign..i asked Flora and she said no, she didn't think we missed our stop..eventually the bus driver asked us again where we wanted to stop..and he said that Cabarita Beach was back there where he dropped a guy off..dang!! the bus driver let us down at Hastings Point..shit!! that's like about 5km walk back...but since there was no more bus that night, we had to grit our teeth against the cold and walk back to our apartment...took us about 1/2 hour of walking in the dark to get back...thought i saw a shooting star along the way...well, it was probably wishful thinking...just trying to make myself feel less miserable...anyway, thank God nothing bad happened...

When we finally made it back to our apartment, we were just so cold and hungry and miserable that we decided that we'd heat up the hawaiian pizza for dinner..which was more like a supper since it was over 10pm...dinner was good..although the base was as usual slightly burnt...after a nice warm shower...i curled into bed and read a little...till i dozed off due to exhaustion...what a day huh?

GC Day 2 - Byron Bay

Since we didn't manage to go to Byron Bay on our 1st day, we went on the 2nd day....when we got back to our apartment the day before, we asked Lizzy, the manager of the resort to help us book the tickets to Byron Bay...but she wasn't as helpful as Chris...coz she didn't want to help us call the bus company...and when she tried to book the tics online, my debit card was declined (i eventually found out the reason why...apparently, i had to go to Maybank2u website and activate my online shopping service, which i didn't know about)...so then we had to call the bus company from our room to book the tics...initially we couldn't seem to call out..then we discovered that we had to dial '0' before the numbers...hmm.. pretty embarassing...so the tics cost AUD37.10 return...

So we woke up at 6.45am on day 2...coz our bus picked us up at 7.45am...Flora boiled some eggs for breakfast...but for some miraculous reason, they were still raw after being boiled for more than 15 mins... so i thought we'd try cooking it in the microwave...i already broke the eggs into bowls...so i just put them in the microwave...and heat for 20 secs...voila!! instant sunny-side up...oil-free...very healthy...but i'm not too sure if it's salmonella-safe...

So we got onto our bus, which went all the way to Casino (some 1 hour plus journey)...where we changed another bus which took us to Byron Bay...total time of journey was probably 2 1/2 hours.. but i managed to sleep a little..and catch the lovely countryside view along the way...we reached Byron Bay about 11am...started walking around the shops...found a 2nd hand bookstore and we couldn't resist ourselves...browsed through the books..inhaling the scent of old books...and we stumbled upon a section dedicated for gay literature...interesting titles...

I brought Flora to Subway for lunch...shared a foot-long sandwich with her....after lunch, we hung out at the beach...saw a guy making sand-sculpture of a dragon...quite impressive...then we walked up to the lighthouse via the rainforest trail...took us about 20 minutes...about few hundred metres before we reached the lighthouse, we saw a take-off ramp for hang-gliders...it offered a really amazing view of the beach and ocean...definitely a cool pic spot...sat there for a while with a man who was with his 2 daughters and dog named Oscar...i think i can spend a whole day just sitting there...gazing at the ocean....Flora said it was a good spot for a date...and i replied, just make sure your date is not intent on pushing you off the ramp...

We walked up to the lighthouse...it was pretty cool...then we continued walking to the most easterly point in Australia...great view...i just love watching the waves crashing over the rocks...saw rainbow a few times when the mist of the waves dispersed...Byron Bay is definitely a great spot for wedding pics...after we've taken in enough of the view, we started walking back down to the town area...but we decided to take the road this time...except that apparently there's more than one road up to the lighthouse...and we took the wrong turning...got lost..but managed to find our way again....

We rushed to the 2nd hand bookstore coz we were afraid it would close by 5pm...just like everything else in Australia (in winter)...we made it there before 5pm...and the lady at the store said they weren't about to close yet..phew!!! so we bought 2 gay literature books...just to satisfy our curiosity...Flora finished hers within 4 days...i still haven't started chapter 3 of mine yet...i find fiction fantasy like "The Neverending Story" more intriguing...

We bought some souvenirs at the souvenir shop...then walked to the beach again and sat there...it was getting cold by then..but the place was quite happening...lotsa restaurants and pubs...teeming with people..i needed to pee so we went into a pub/casino to use the bathroom...after using the bathroom, we just sat in the jackpot machines room and read our gay books...while waiting for our bus which only leaves at 8pm...

1/2 hour before 8pm, i went to the toilet again....it was then that i realized my camera was missing...i put it in the pocket of my jacket..and it must have fallen off while i was sitting....but when i came back out to search for it, it was gone...i kinda panicked...coz i could have sworn i still had the camera with me when we came into the pub...so i asked the girl at the bar if anyone found a camera...left my no. with her...then went back to trace our steps..back to the beach where we sat...but i thought, even if somebody found it, i'd never get it back again....i mourned my bad luck... i thought we'd have no more camera to take pics for the rest of the trip...

As we were passing by the pub again on our way to the bus stop, a guy was standing outside the pub and he asked if i dropped a camera...i guess he was the one who found the camera when i dropped it at the place where we sat...i was so relieved i almost cried...miracles do happen after all...really thank God for honest Ausssies...so we boarded our bus which was a direct trip back to Cabarita Beach...took only 50 mins...from our stop, we practically ran all the way home coz it was freaking cold...had minced beef with potato mash for dinner (which wasn't burnt)..read a bit..and fell asleep...too exhausted from so much happenings...

GC Day 1- the arrival...

My long awaited and highly anticipated vacation to Gold Coast finally materialized on 8/8/09-15/8/09... Flora and I flew back to KL on 6/8/09 and stayed a night at my house...our flight to Gold Coast was on 7/8/09 9.15pm...we flew with Air Asia X....good thing Ee Zing told me that the plane has no recline seats...so i bought an inflatable pillow so that i could sleep on the plane...the flight lasted about 8 hours...1/4 of which i spent reading "The Neverending Story" (which i borrowed from Pei)...and 3/4 of which i slept uncomfortably...dang! i'm growing soft....these things shouldn't even bother me...i mean, i'm on my way to Gold Coast...for a week of fun and frolic...what does it matter if i lost some sleep for a night?

We eventually landed at the Coolangatta Airport (which is situated at the southern border of Queensland) at 8/8/09 7.45am...so we went to the info counter to ask if there's a shuttle bus that goes to Cabarita Beach which is actually in New South Wales...and we were told, no, there isn't...there's a shuttle bus that goes right down to Byron Bay (which is even further south from Cabarita Beach), but it doesn't pass by Cabarita Beach...great! and i actually booked the accomodation because i thought it was the closest to the airport...

So anyhow, we had to take a cab to Cabarita Beach...and the driver, Michael, had no idea where that was because he usually only drives around Queensland...but thank God for friendly and helpful Aussies...Michael actually bought a New South Wales map (and gave it to us) at the gas station to enable us to find our route...unfortunately, Cabarita Beach wasn't in the map (they had Bogangar in the map, which was actually where Cabarita Beach is)...so Michael drove along the Tweed Coast Highway and finally found our accommodation...it cost us AUD50 which was expensive even for Aussie standard...but oh well, we'd take bus from then onwards...

We checked-in at the Tamarind Sands Resort and checked out our apartment...it was fabulous...a one-room apartment which was spacious and fully equipped with automatic washing machine, dryer, microwave oven, stove, kitchen utensils and pots and pans...they even had a dishwasher...i've never seen a dishwasher in my entire life...back home...i was the dishwasher...we studied the maps and had some light breakfast...i actually brought Milo Fuze (about 14 packets) for our breakfast...unfortunately, they were confiscated at the airport because they contained dairy creamer which was made in Malaysia...apparently it had something to do with the mad-cow disease...whatever...i was only going to be there for the next 8 days...and i didn't plan on sharing my Milo with any Aussie...so if i were going to get mad-cow disease from the dairy creamer, which would only manifest itself some 20-30 years down the road (if i live that long), how is that going to affect the Aussies in the near future? but rules will be rules...
After we kinda orientated ourselves with the map, we decided to walk around Cabarita...and then to Pottsville...in the hope of finding a way down to Byron Bay...ok, i know it sounds stupid...but from the map, Cabarita to Byron Bay didn't look too far...hehe, i guess girls and maps just don't gel...so we walked and took lots of pics along the way...it was very windy...and there were many surfer dudes weaving through the waves as if it wasn't 15 degree celsius....after about 3 hours walk, we found ourselves in Pottsville..probably about 7km from where we stayed...

We met a lady named Chris who's the receptionist at the Pottsville Beach Motel...we asked if there was a bus that goes down to Byron Bay from Pottsville...again, from the map it looked quite nearby...we were told that there's no direct bus to Byron Bay...but she said the Country Link Bus goes to Casino and then to Byron Bay...she actually helped us checked online and called the bus company for the schedule and ticket price...and she was so kind as to draw us a map to guide us to find something to eat...coz it was already almost 2.30pm and we hadn't eaten our lunch...so we gratefully thanked Chris and went food-hunting...

We found the Eatz Cafe which sold sandwiches and i ta pau-ed a Chicken Supreme (avocado, Camembert cheese, chicken and sun-dried tomatoes on toasted foccacia)...we ate while we waited for the bus...best sandwich i've ever tasted if you asked me...yummy!!! so the bus back to Cabarita Beach cost AUD1.70 and it only took us 10 mins to reach...Chris was actually shock to hear that we walked all the way to Pottsville from Cabarita...hmmm, i thought kwai lohs like to walk...apparently not the Aussies...we bought some eggs, frozen dinners, cheese spread and bread from the nearby convenient store...coz we planned to have our dinners in the apartment..

I slept a bit when we got back..coz it was a pretty tiring day...woke up about 8pm plus and bathed..thank God for hot showers...Flora and i tried baking the frozen beef pie we bought in the microwave oven...the instructions were actually for conventional oven...but we followed it anyway...so we baked the pie in the microwave for almost 30 mins and ooops...the pie came out half burnt...we could only eat the other half coz half of the base was practically charred...even the edible half had too hard a crust...but it still tasted good..hehe..

They were showing "Meet the Robinsons" on tv...so i watched it...quite a cool cartoon..and as usual...i cried...at some parts lah...show me the funniest cartoon and i'll still find reasons to cry while watching it...softie!! After that i continued reading "The Neverending Story"...and dozed off at about 11.45pm...i guess it was a good start to the holidays...

UP!!

I just came back from watching 'Up' with Kean Khang, Haizar and Soo...it was quite a spontaneous decision...Kean Khang bumped into me in the MO room after he finished premed and asked if i wanted to watch 'Up'...of course i did...i watched the trailer the last time i was in the cinema and i thought it must be a really cute and funny cartoon...

So anyway, it was a really good cartoon...the beginning was really funny...though i don't think it had whatsoever relation to the actual movie...and the actual beginning of the movie is so sweet...it's kinda like a fast forward version of Carl and Ellie's love life...sigh..i love the notion of couples growing old together...but then Ellie died and Carl was left all alone...so he decided to go on the adventure to Paradise Falls that he had promised Ellie but didn't manage to do while she was still alive...then came along Russell...the fat Asian looking boy who stumbled onto Carl's porch...reluctantly, Carl had to include Russell into his adventure...and together, they sure did have a great adventure...

I actually cried and laughed so much..well, laughed more than cried lah...it's really a touching and funny story...if you have kids, they'd love it...i for one, am glad that i went to watch 'Up'...the movie was great...and so was the company...

Post Holiday Fiasco....

Ok, i'm back in KK...and i wish i'm like 1000 miles away from here...i guess today just isn't my day.... I had lunch with Mom, Dad, Pei, Simon and Sylvia...got home..Andrew came by to get his macadamia nuts...i bought him 1 kg of those...he offered to send me to KL Sentral to catch the Skybus to LCCT.. reached there like 2 mins before 3pm...unfortunately, the bus was full...dang! so had to call Andrew to come get me and send me to the LCCT...so pai seh...and then it was raining on the way there...and traffic was kinda slow...and Andrew said that maybe God is trying to tell me today isn't a good day for me to go back to KK...hmmm, how true it is..but then again, any day i came back would have been the same end anyway...

I checked in and got on the plane on time..but it landed 20 mins late...Pang was waiting to pick me up...so he waited for quite some time...and the immigration was packed with people..was wondering who were those people...when i got out, i realized we were being swarmed with a sudden influx of Filipinos....wonder where's the gold rush...

So Pang and i went for dinner..then he sent me home...only to find out that my car couldn't start...i kind of expected that...coz my car was running low on fuel before i went on hols...and Jasmine didn't manage to refill petrol for me coz i forgot to tell her how to unlock my car...my remote's battery died so had to unlock the car manually..but then it would activate the alarm which can be silenced by starting the car engine...but then it wouldn't have start anyway..coz turned out that the car battery's dead...coz Pang refilled some petrol in my car and still the car wouldn't start...then he jumpstart my car...we went to the petrol station to fill up petrol...and my car couldn't start again..so had to jumpstart my car again...so much hassle...

Tomorrow Pang will need to come jumpstart my car before we go to work...then i'll need to get my car to the workshop to get my battery changed...sigh...bad day, bad day...but really thank God that Pang was around...if not, dunno how la...i guess i need to count my blessings...it might have been a bad day...but at least i still have friends i could count on to help me when i'm in a rut...thank you, Lord...for dependable friends...and forgive me, Lord...for not being dependable at times...so help me, Lord..to be dependable...even though i'd rather not be...

Back from Down Under...

I'm back from down under...just flew back from Coolangatta airport today...had a good albeit short week in Queensland and New South Wales...will write a day-to-day travel detail about it when i get back to KK...still in KL now...


I'm actually tired...after the 8 hours plus flight back...should be sleeping now...but old habits die hard...after a week of being 'internetless', i just had to submerge myself into the web again...don't get me wrong, i love the quietness of the beach and all...but i need to stay connected as well...

I don't think i brought back H1N1...but then i'll have a week to find out....maybe i should just self-quarantine myself another week for precaution huh? hehe...anything to avoid work...gosh...i'm developing all the symptoms for 'government staff syndrome'...;P

Well, it's good to be back online...but i don't look forward to starting work on Monday...

Leaving on a jetplane (employee's version)

I'm back in KL now...just got off the plane about 3 hours ago...i should be tired to the max coz i'm post call and i hardly slept the whole day...and i couldn't really sleep during my call as well...probably all the excitement and anticipation is keeping me up...anyway, been having the "leaving on a jetplane" song on my mind the whole day...and i should thank my boss for the inspiration to revamp the lyrics ;)...

So here it is...Leaving on a jetplane (employee's version)...

All my bags are packed, i'm ready to go
I'm standing here outside your door
I just had to wake you up to say goodbye...

Cos i love to see the look on your face
When i tell you i'm going on leave
Already i'm so happy i could fly...

Bridge: Don't miss me, please smile for me
You don't have to wait for me
Don't hold me back oh boss please let me go...

c/o: Coz i'm leaving on a jetplane
Don't ask when i'll be back again
Oh boss, i love to go...

There's so many times i've let you down
So many times i've told you off
But i tell you, i don't really care....

Every place i go, i don't think of you
Every song i sing, i sing for me
When i come back, i'll bring back H1N1 (boss said Australia is the capital city of swine flu)

repeat bridge and c/o

Now the time has come to leave you
One more time, I'll say goodbye
Go back to work, and i'll be on my way...

Dream about the days to come
While i'm having fun in the sun
Don't envy me while you are at work...

repeat bridge and c/o....then fade off....;P

Oh well...Gold Coast...here i come!!! B, don't miss me too much ok? will send you pics when i'm back....

Good morning..Good omen...

I know i'm on call...and i shouldn't be typing a post...but i just had to share this..:)...i was early to work today...even earlier than my boss...which is a rare occurrence...yea yea, i know..shame on me...how dare i come to work later than my boss? no wonder my boss doesn't like me...oh well, too bad...

Anyway, i was just coming out of my car after i parked..dreading the fact that i'm on call today when a voice said, "coming to work with a sad face?" (or something to that effect)...and i looked up and smiled..:)...there're some people whose smile just makes you smile...and makes you kinda forget why you weren't smiling before that...gee, do i really look so miserable everyday when i go to work? perhaps that's how ppl who doesn't know me perceive me...i guess that's part of my 'wall'...the unapproachable, impenetrable wall...

But after a good albeit short chat, i was in a good mood...:)..and so far i haven't lost my temper on any houseman, yet...that's quite a miracle by far..hehe...oh well, let's hope the good omen lasts till tomorrow morning...gotta get back to my patients...would hate to have one of my patient self-extubate himself and look at my boss' face when he comes in tomorrow morning...;P

The escortist....

There's "The Illusionist"...then there's "The Machinist"..."The Pianist"..and the latest addition... "The Escortist"....yup, it's the real life story of a pathetic single female doctor whom her boss has conveniently made her escort patients until after office hours, probably just for the fact that he assumes that she's single and therefore probably has no social life...it's not in the cinema..nor the home videos...think the Truman show...except that no one's filming...and her pathetic life will continue unless she gets the hell out of this rut...

Forgive me, i'm ranting again....just feeling a bit melodramatic....it wasn't too bad really...i still managed to leave the hospital by 6pm...still managed to run some errands...and still managed to go to my favourite 'panmian' shop for dinner by 7pm...not that i fancy the noodles...they have astro there...and i've been following the 7pm Singaporean drama on AEC..."The Little Nyonya"....quite interesting...not an idol series...but won't get to watch from tomorrow onwards for another 2 weeks...oh well...i need a break..and preserving my sanity is more important than following a drama series....

Anyway, was out for a while to meet a friend who's back from Singapore...Sylvia's getting married in November...and she came back to KK for her pre-wedding photo session...i could see the glow when she was telling me about her photo sessions...which by the way, lasted 2 days...and from what she told me, i gather there were loads and loads of photos...saw her engagement ring...no wonder girls like diamond...hehe...i am so excited for her...can't wait to see her in her wedding dress...can't wait to see all her wedding photos...i love weddings!!!

Oh well, tomorrow's my last call before i go on my vacation...woohoo!!!! i'm praying for a good call... coz i haven't pack yet...planning to pack when i'm post call..which would also be the day i'm flying back to KL...a bit of a rush there..but i have the whole day to pack..and i travel light...one more day..one more day...

All in a day's work...

Weekend calls are my bane...i'm sure it is for any MO...and i can never have a good call when i'm in Queen...i took over from Kean Khang yesterday...his call was worse...2 patients died...and he brought in 2 more...one of which died this morning...the other one he brought in was a HIV positive patients who is probably in AIDS already...he has Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia of which the Consultant on call over the weekend wanted him to be ventilated for...patient never needed ventilation during Kean Khang's call..or my call..but what was classically hilarious about this whole thing was that the Consultant actually said this.."guarded prognosis, but patient can be saved"....you're kidding me right? who/ what exactly are we saving this guy from? God? an eternity in the lake of fires? oh..maybe we can just prolong his life for another 5 years until some genius finds a cure for HIV infection? i have nothing against patients with HIV/AIDS...but this guy has a cluster of opportunitistic infection...and if the PCP doesn't kill him...something else will...

One of the aunty we extubated 3 days ago took a turn for the worse yesterday...background history of decompensated liver cirrhosis...Child's C already...came with pneumonia which we thought had resolved...but i guess AIDS isn't the only immunocompromising disease around...liver cirrhosis is just as bad...by afternoon, i decided to re-intubate the aunty coz her oxygenation was worsening..and her conscious level was deteriorating...after induction, her blood pressure dropped to about 70/50...and i think she developed a myocardial infarction...had ventricular tachycardia..rate about 150bpm...shocked her twice...not reverted...blood pressure picked up a little after i ran in fluid..so gave her amiodarone...rate kinda slowed....ECG showed new onset left bundle branch block...wasn't there before...but surprisingly the cardiac enzymes weren't raised...only the LDH was high (due to the shock)...but even after intubating her, i couldn't maintain good oxygen saturation... high settings but couldn't ventilate...recruited her lungs twice...managed to get her saturation about 95% on FiO2 100%...then her blood pressure dropped again...started one..then 2..then 3 inoptropes..nothing helped...DILed her...called her family early in the morning...but she was still holding on until i left...boss DNRed her...sigh...i think the induction tipped her over...

The other aunty's lungs went into APO despite the fact she was undervolume...the problem with sepsis...i was giving fluid challenge after fluid challenge to maintain her blood pressure..and she was initially on single inotrope..severe metabolic acidosis...waited for dialysis...but she only got her dialysis at 10pm...had to start a second inotrope to get her through the 2 hours dialysis..but i think it was too late...didn't improve her acidosis...and couldn't ventilate her...saturation was 80% plus only...7.30am..the nurse called me, patient went into asystole...started CPR....came back after 10 mins...but blood pressure and saturation was still as low as ever...5 mins later...went into ventricular tachycardia...shocked her...then went asystole..CPR for 5 mins..came back...by then, we told the family that she's quite a goner already..boss DNRed her...she died at 8.15am...apparently the guy who died the morning before (on the same bed) had the same problem..low saturation..low blood pressure...i try not to magnify coincidences...but well...

Anyway, i guess this is all in a day's work...i think you need some amount of masochism and self-flagelation to survive as a doctor...boss said we've fulfilled our mortality quota for the month.. and it's only aug 3 today...more to come...that's all i can say...went to change AUD after my call this morning...dang! rm2.94 for 1AUD...it just keeps going up...oh well, need to use...so had to change... 2 more days...1 more call...and i'm outta here..for a while...can't wait..can't wait...

Just something that passed through my mind...

It's saturday evening and i was driving out to a nearby shop to ta pau dinner...i'm really leading a hermit lifestyle these days...though i was out with some friends earlier in the afternoon...anyway, as i was driving back, the radio was playing a 'radio series' about a group of young ppl and their lives, love and etc...i only caught the last part of today's episode...apparently, these 2 girls (who happened to be friends) were dating the same guy (who disguised himself as 2 different persons while dating both girls)...and girl A saw girl B dating the two-timing loser...and this is the part i like most...both girls gave the two-timing loser a tight slap on the face, then left him immediately...no love loss between the girls...guys are so not worth fighting over..

Suddenly i was reminded of my exes...and i thank God that none of them were two-timing bastards... or at least i thank God that i never caught them two-timing me...what i don't know can't hurt me...really, God has blessed me when it comes to surviving the BGRs...so, i've dated a loser or two...not proud of it..but what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger...but the long-term relationships have been filled with mostly good memories...i mean, i hear stories of people being dumped for younger and prettier women...or bastards who beat up their girlfriends...or boyfriends who get drunk/ high on a daily basis...i'm just glad i never went through such ordeals...i don't think i can survive such ordeals..and i think God knows that...

But then it brings me to some questions...if my exes were good people, but our relationship did not last, what does that say about me? am i the loser then? the one who doesn't know a good thing when she has it? or am i that self-destructive that i can't seem to accept that there is a good guy who'd accept me the way i am? so i have to throw away every decent or good thing that comes my way? hmmm...i think i'm having pre-call dysthymia again...