bonjour brightside

oh my! i accessed my very very neglected and long forgotten friendster account on a whim, and found some old photos!

one of my best mates, sip, and i – circa 2004

us again, early this year at walawala’s before i returned to Melbourne

wow. i no longer look like a bobble-head doll and sip doesn’t look like a china doll! haha. some people call it ageing, i call it blossoming (and of course when you stop playing outdoor sports you get a lot fairer).

and then i was looking at my brother’s facebook profile (in true exam procrastination fashion) and found these!

i think he must have been 16 years old then! he is such a clown!!

and this was at a new year’s eve party this year, with a ten-fold increase in fashion sense (if i may say so)

i must say that he looks all grown up now, though he’s still my little brother at heart. i think he’ll kill me if he sees these pictures but it’s okay, london and australia are too far apart. hahaha looking at before/after photos are sooo fun! okay now back to the grinder, 9 more days and i still haven’t finished half of paeds

was doing my regular fashion-blog browsing when i came across this post from the lovely ms spinach, whose site i frequently love to visit. there was a picture of some very gorgeous lace-up shoes that caught my eye, but it transpired that the post was evidently not about the shoes but about a little girl with a brain tumour. i fully agree with ms spinach that we’re incredibly lucky (in some way or another), and i was inspired to make a donation to this little girl’s family, rather than splurge on something that my closet cannot accommodate.

please click on the link to read the post, and donate if you can! even if you can’t give financially, it would good to drop them some kind words of encouragement.

obviously there are many other people who have to go through the same things, if not worse, and you probably are thinking that stories like these are a dime a dozen and/or clichéd, BUT if everyone felt like that, there would be absolutely no hope for this little girl. i only say this because i’ve seen lots of suffering children in my paediatrics rotation, and often i have had no chance to help them (in a medical way at least), and all i could do was to listen and try to be extra nice. it’s easy to shrug it off as ‘yet another sob-story’ but remember that in every story like this there is a kid and her family involved, along with huge financial and emotional ramifications- and they can’t shrug it off like we can, because it’s their kid. you probably don’t know this girl and her family personally (neither do i), but you know their story now- so please help them, any donation/encouragement is certainly good enough!

on a related note, my paeds rotation ends tomorrow. cannot tell you all how much i love paediatrics, i have enjoyed every single moment of being with the little bubs and toddlers these nine weeks, and am very sad (!!) to move on to ob&gyn.

this morning i walked into tute and saw the most insanely good-looking guy sitting a few seats down from where i sat. he almost looked like wentworth miller, from the hairstyle to the build (only he was slightly taller). i’d never seen him before so i think he must have been from the year level above, and for whatever reason(s) unknown to me, he sort of ended up being in my class!!!!! my heart started palpitating and i realized that i hadn’t been this excited (over a guy) for a long time. i have this feeling that it will be a very good an amaaayzinggg 4 weeks ahead. also today i got free hot chocolate from the vending machine when i pressed the dispenser for hot water. and. becky stopped by the cafe to give me a present (a medical bloopers calendar! yay!). i feel like a charmed one.

it’s my last night here in singapore and i’m not ready to pack up and leave. i’ve been doing this coming and going thing for three years now, and i’m supposed to be immune, if not used to this sudden flood of departure blues. after all, i’ve done it without getting (too) upset all these years, so why should this time be any different?

perhaps it is different this time around, and perhaps i’m never going to be good at saying goodbye. i’ve had such a blast this summer- spending time with family and close friends, exploring nightspots and going on eating trails- all the catching up, reminiscing and pampering has been nothing short of lovely. it has been a time of renewing friendships and reaffirming what i love and treasure about the people close to my heart. here goes a big, big thank you to the friends who have gone out of their way to make time for me, for welcoming me with open arms, and for the great food and good fun! and of course to my amazing family for spoiling me rotten and loving me extraextra much- i cannot tell you all how much i have been blessed (heaps and heaps, surely!) during these two months, basking in all your love and care.

i’m sad to leave, but i know the memories (and photographs) will stay, for a longlonglong time to come. and with all your blessings, encouragement and prayers, i leave for melbourne tomorrow to begin yet another chapter of my life, back in the hospital in a new rotation doing what i love and enjoy deeply. thank you for all the fabulous memories, i know they’ll last me for the next ten months. till then, i shall miss you all greatly and look upon our pictures with much fondness.