Life's Journey: March 2007

I was sitting in the clinic today. This old lady came in with a history of weight loss. Her GP was worried for her because she was losing weight due to poor appetite. She came in looking quite frail with a walking stick but still managed to be rather independent. Her GP also stated that he was aware that she was still in bereavement for her husband who had just passed away late last year. The consultant asked her if she was coping well. She said she was still trying to cope, although better, she occassionally still dips into depression. When the consultant tried telling her that it is a normal process when you lose somebody you love. She told him that she had a happy 45 years of marriage and that she missed him a lot. She almost broke into tears and I was there feeling so touched but yet could not offer anything. I wanted to hold her hands to let her know that it was alright to feel that way, but how would I know. I have not loved someone that long. 45 years... That is a very long time and no matter how hard I try to imagine how hard it would be, I do not think I would come close unless I experience it myself. She regained herself after a while and tried to compose herself for the remainder of the consultation. I drifted off the second half of the consultation. I thought to myself. Was she unlucky that she lost her husband? Or should she be considered lucky to have been able to experience 45 good years with somebody she loves rather than not be able to find someone at all? What about those who are in search of that "someone" and never succeeded. Just a thought to ponder. Let me know what you all think :P Anyway, I wish her well...

Staying in a portable cabin, "The Scotia Court" in Inverness is one of the best things, if not the best, that happened to me since I came to Aberdeen. The previous entry is all the random pictures during my stay at the cabin. I am glad that I met such great people there. Thank you so much, Scotians....

There is so much to tell about my days in Scotia.. I will write it down in point form...

1. We played games almost every night. Started off with mini-mini table tennis , then we played card games ( wist, cho dai dee ( we made the Caucasians learn this game... ), heart attack, shit head, and speed )Settlers of Catan, foosball ( thanks to Toby) and a lot more

2. I learnt how to bake from Sarah ( thanks Sarah). Well, people who know me know well enough that I can't bake. The last time I tried baking a chocolate cake with my sis, we ended up with chocolate 'kuih'. Surprisingly, under strict supervision by my friend Sarah, I got to bake quite a nice choc cake. The evidence is in friendster...:P I also helped her bake a carrot cake and brownies. I know it's not much ler... but for me, it's a lot k?? I think I deserve a round of applause...hahahaha

3. 32 of us share 5 shower places. I stay in the East wing and the girls are suppose to shower in the West wing. Being the lazy me, I decided to shower in the guys bathroom. Obviously when the guys saw me walking into their bathroom, they started being doubtful as to whether I was a girl or a guy. Hence there was a song made for specially for me. It is really nice because there was a main vocalist, some of the guys were playing guitar and some were the back up singers. It went something like this.

Yi Wei is a man,
manly man, manly man (background singers)
It's all that she can be
manly man, manly man (background singers)
I say that SERIOUSLY
seriously (background singers)

Hahahahah....By the way, the SERIOUSLY part, is because I always use that word. I am sure everyone knows me and my limited vocabulary has forced me to be quite repetitive.

4. We played futsal and I was the defender. Apparently I did quite a good job. Well, the best part is that we had so much fun. Our team was called Black Panthers and we won the game. We had a great striker, Aisyah, who claimed that this was her second time playing. She is smaller than me and so agile that no one seems to be able to keep up with her. She was just so.... phenomenal!!! Hey, when I think about it, I miss playing futsal in IMU... you girls are the best ler... hihihi... the Malakings... and also the M203 team!!!

5. I played minimini table tennis and got kicked out quite early in the tournament. Managed to bring the semi- finalist to a deuce though. So let's blame it on the fact that I was put against a very good player rather than me being quite shitty in that game.

Studying in Inverness

1. The ophthalmologist told me some random things about macula and I was like ' Oh, I see'. I wanted to show that I know something, so I went on and ask him if that condition he mentioned was like ' macula hole'? ( I just saw that word on the book the other day). Then he said, ' No, that is totally different' . I showed a look of disappointment and the nice consultant told me this, ' Don't worry. Ophthalmology is very difficult. That's why it's only for smart people'. Hihihiih....Zha dou....

2. I made a presentation on ophthalmology. The title at the start of the presentation was Opthalmology Case Study. Then the consultant stopped me politely, ummm... well, just to let you know, the ophthalmology is spelt wrongly. Hihiihihi... However, during the feedback session, he said that the presentation was one of the best he had seen for a long time... hahaha... bangga bangga...

3. Did neurology and the neurologist said that I should become a neurologist... Interesting... Had thought about it before but I think it is too difficult a course for a simple minded person like me... hey wait... I am not simple minded ler... can be quite complicated also... hmmm... Come to think about it, I find this quite interesting. My friend, Yinni is convinced that I have multi-infarct dementia.. Hahahaha... I think it might be quite true too... I usually cannot seem to remember things that I did 2 days ago. I find it really hard to retrieve what was done or who I was with. Always mix things up, and I think I confabulate as well. Not that I am trying to make up stories. It is just that I thought it was true, but apprently I was told that it had never happened before. Weird... Another smart friend of mine, Sufian the Skiver told me that I must have got mixed up between reality and my dream.. Sounds quite profound... Esp. when you said it, Sufian... ahahaha...
Good stuff, Good stuff... Sorry, got side tracked....

4. During the endocrinology block, a specialist registrar gave us a tutorial on thyroid diseases. He asked questions and as usual, I am quiet in class. He prompted me to answer, I gave a him a blank look and then answered him in a lazy manner. Not because I was trying to be rude. It is just becasue I was really tired and it was in the evening. Anyway, I did ask him a couple of questions at the end of his class and he commented that I was finally awake. But only at the end of the class. No climax to the story right?? ahahha... haven't finished ler... anyway, the next day, Sam and Rama ( a very sweet girl) went for his clinic and sat in during his consultation. He asked them questions and they kept quiet. Then he went on.. ' Come on, say something. Don't tell me you all have Yee Wee syndrome also... Hahahaha... It was extremely hilarious... I remember my friend Collin, said I spread yiweitis around... Not realy sure what he meant... Or actually, I forgot.. But who knows,, maybe I'll come up with a constellation of signs and symptoms one day and I'll call them the YiWei Syndrome!!! That's just a thought!! hahaha... Oh, I forgot about the main point. I AM NOT QUIET!!!! AHaahahaha,,, It doesn't take a genius to find out...hahahahha
:P

I'll stop for now... more updates in the future

Also, do forgive me if I made any grammatical errors. Feel free to correct me..