bonjour brightside

i lost my blogging mojo. well not really i guess, i just haven’t had the time to sit still and stew on things that i really want to write about. writing is special to me and something that i love very much, and (although i am guilty of posting random thoughts that i sometimes write for the sake of writing) i’ve decided that until i really sat down and thought about the things in my heart that i want to share, this blog will be a little quiet… for now at least.

and now for some updates! i’ve been back in The Land of Extreme Humidity for nearly 2ish weeks now, and have been busy spending time with family and friends. many of my peers are busy undertaking summer attachments and electives and whatnot, but ive decided that i am going to take a break from med this time. (in other news, i passed 4th year! on to my fifth and FINAL year of med school! hurrah!) ive been reading a lot about the fashion industry lately and it’s really really interesting! i mean i love clothes and bags and shoes, but seriously when i sat down to read about the workings of the industry, from luxury consumership to fashion history to haute couture to vintage shopping, i was enthralled. yes i was captivated, in awe, amazed at how this industry has evolved over the decades, or perhaps centuries. i wish i could take a course in fashion journo for a semester. i think i would seriously enjoy it and cherish every second of it. it is so, so, so very interesting! i’m half-glad i’m taking time to pursue my other interests in life, i know i should be reading Harrison’s instead of Vogue but i really didnt think i could stomach more med, especially when i’m meant to be on vacation! haha. okay i really didn’t mean to write a whole chunk but fashion just gets me so excited, and when i’m excited i talk a lot. yes A LOT. and oh yes i got a new macbook. it is gorgeous! this is the first post i’m typing on it!

anyway dear friends in singapore, I AM HOME! please ask me out for coffee or something, i would love to catch up with you! i will be here till the 14th of January, so there is still time for us to do fun/crazy things and feast on delicious local food. i’m up for anything most things! okay here’s wishing you all a very merry christmas and a happy new year! love to everyone from me xxx

my exams are over! hoorahhh! although i say that half-heartedly, because i don’t actually feel liberated, in fact i’m rather stressed because i don’t have a good feeling about how my papers went….. but in any case i’m just relieved.

it’s been 36 long and gruelling weeks of rotations and lectures, of which 18 weeks (paeds and women’s) were absolutely fantastic(!!!!) and the other 18 weeks were…for lack of a better word, uninspiring. psych was interesting, but i don’t see myself doing that in the long term (or i may be wrong.) but in general it’s been fantastic, i really am glad for the opportunity to see and do so much, but right now i’m feeling burnt out and absolutely spent.  so i’m very very happy that this long awaited break is FINALLY here and i’m flying home REAL SOON to spend the next 1.5 months with my family and friends!!

oh and just before i was about to leave the house for my last exam i saw this:

everything will be okay

in the end.

if it’s not okay,

it’s not the end.

i really like it! simple logic makes for good comfort!

and i watched Waitress today, i’d always wanted to watch it after seeing the poster in 2007:

YES pies! omg so many pies! i remembered that i wanted to watch it and so i stopped putting it on hold and finally got down to seeing it. it’s about Jenna, a waitress who makes lots of pies with strange names, like “I Don’t Want Earl’s Baby” Pie (quiche of egg and brie cheese with a smoked ham center), “Kick In The Pants” Pie (cinnamon spice custard), “Baby Screaming It’s Head Off In The Middle Of The Night And Ruining My Life” Pie (new york style cheesecake, brandy brushed, pecans and nutmeg) oooh speaking of pecans i had a very very tasty pecan maple pie the other day, it was so good, i can still remember exactly how it tasted

anyway the movie was relatively enjoyable, it was interesting and quirky and now i can’t stop thinking of banoffee pie

yesterday i came across the term gnirob while reading a novel (what is a gnirob? i’ll leave you guessing because i’m sure you’ll get it.) today i decided that i would not be a gnirob, so i took the day off from kingst0n (ive decided that old age psychiatry is really not my cup of tea). it was sunny so i thought i would go for a nice run to westall and back. the last time i got lost and ended up in an industrial park. this time i managed to lose my way again, with disastrous effect. i ended up having to run along the highway, just mere inches away from the huge cars and monstrous trucks speeding at 90kmh.

too fun.

i have once again overstepped my shopping budget for the month (already!) and i blame ninewest for it. i blame them for audaciously displaying the dreaded red lettered signs proclaiming ’sale!’ in every angle of my peripheral vision. okay actually i blame myself for lacking willpower to resist the lure of material haven… one pair of shoes and one (very nice) bag later, i was filled with immense guilt and satisfaction at the same time. although i did want to return the shoes at first, but i figured i would let them linger for a while more in my room before i decide if i should exchange them for a different pair. ahhh decisions decisions decisions. anyway i do feel extremely guilty for splurging, especially when the money i spent was my hard earned wages from my vacation job, which was meant to be saved for my elective trip/grad trip next year. i often toy with the idea of saving for something big, or perhaps for a rainy day… but i somehow never manage to put it into concrete action. every bit of money that i earn just goes to the retailers……. i’ve tried to be more strict with myself these days, only allowing myself to buy something if i really need/like it, but everything seems to qualify as a ‘i must have it’ item. anyway i was reading an article today about how much australians spend on clothing. apparently the average australian woman buys 56 pieces of garments each year, and if she’s under the age of 30 she tends to buy double that amount! geez. i reckon i could quadruple that, seeing as i just bought 14 pieces of garments and 4 bags over the last month (yes i counted). i’m guilty as charged- i did overspend, and i’m not proud of it. hence i am on a shopping ban until july is over…. i really need to be more responsible for my finances.

oh and today i attempted to pack my room. i say attempted, because the mess is epic and has to be carried out in stages. i think i finished stages 1 and 2 out of 5 today, and i am absolutely knackered! i spent most of my time folding clothes, stuffing them unceremoniously into my bursting wardrobe, and of course setting aside some for donation. i have way too many things in my tiny room and i’ve realized that i am absolutely hopeless at decluttering, because i want to keep everything and anything. when i was little my mother called me a junk-collector. i think she was quite right.

hello, what makes you happy?

kai wrote a post on happiness…. i was quite inspired after reading it and so i decided to come up with my own 3 steps to happyness:

1. do a good deed everyday. bonus points if you do something nice for someone you barely know! i know it seems cliche but being nice and gracious to others can really give you a spring in your step. at least it works for me

2. spend time doing one thing you love everyday. treat yourself to some sticky date pudding, curl up in bed with a book, talk to a loved one on the phone, or….retail therapy!!. or exercise on the wii fit! i have to say it really motivates me

3. get enough sleep! i cannot stress how important this is. no one manages to smile and mean it when they’re running on 4 hours of sleep. i am most grumpy when i don’t get my magical 7 hours of sleep… that’s why i looove sleeping in on the weekends

there’s more of course but i figured i should stop before it turns into one of those columns in a lifestyle magazine. BIGGG exams are a-coming, which makes me slightly less happy, but i know that i have much to be thankful for, so i choose to be positive. and maybe if i work hard enough, i could probably treat myself to a luxurious advanced birthday present ohh the motivation!

+ wii updates!: day 5, and the wii is making me ache from top to toe. i swear i haven’t been eating (too) much, but apparently i’ve been gaining weight! still, it’s only been a couple days…. i shall persevere and see how it goes!

+ p.s. aren’t these mighty cool? these are drawings on the pavement by a chalk artist called Julian Beever. i think his works are absolutely fab and there’s more to be had if you head here

amazing. some people are just so incredibly gifted

+ started mentor week today in mitcham with my mentor who’s a fab gynaecologist. i actually didn’t get lost (hurrah!) and it was a tiring but (kind of) exciting day, and i am absolutely drained from 9 whole hours of clinical work. oh and i managed to correctly diagnose a transverse fetal lie in antenatal clinic today. i feel semi-competent. perhaps i’m really getting better at this! and this is the kind of thing that really makes my day