Iced Tea Monster

Lemon

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:12:57 +0100

In case you’re wondering, I’ve moved. See on your dashboard, I’ve just followed...

Moving places again. I really am a sailor. Kind of. Bye.

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:53:48 +0100

Moving places again. I really am a sailor. Kind of. Bye.

Here

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:19:41 +0100

I am back in slightly cold West Ireland. Straight back to work and it was a bit of a shock finding...

hey. Just here to say

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:09:24 +0100

I AM OFF!! 2 whole weeks of holidays. I haven’t been reading blogs or replying messages or...

We made a pact to sample all things nice in all the restaurants,...

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 09:53:41 +0100

We made a pact to sample all things nice in all the restaurants, cafes, coffee shop, stalls etc in Gold Leaf.

Buon Appetit: We’re like regulars now. A small little cafe tucked in between small shops, just off Shop Street.

Milano: nice atmosphere. Posh a bit, but still nice just to have lunch, especially the seat next to the window where I can do my sky-and-people watching. Italian pizza and gelato… yums :) Not too bad for my pocket too.

Thai Garden: hmmm… this one’s ok. Nothing oooooh!! about it. I like the tom yam though :)

Asian Tea House: Still the best when it comes to Asian cuisine though nothing will ever beat home. Ever.

Butlers: Love, love, love the iced blended mocha.

Char coal grill: Where we make ourselves happy and fat. where you had that curry chips ages ago.

Gourmet Tart: divine Chocolate mousse and tarts of course

Am too lazy now to list down everything.

Plan will have to wait till after I come back here.

I’m flying home in 4 days! Happy, excited, can’t-wait feelings swirling around in me. I won’t even miss Gold Leaf a bit I bet :D So much to do, so much.

My reg is using my other laptop + mobile broadband in the...

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 23:16:23 +0100

My reg is using my other laptop + mobile broadband in the hospital right about now. Or maybe not, seeing as it’s the one with the glowing purple butterfly. He asked for it because he’s oncall and I think there’s a match on. England v Slovenia? Told you he’s mad about football.

Not giving him Lenovo, nope.

On the way to Gold Leaf, I sat beside a lady who woldn’t stop talking and now, I know that she has a niece in Castlebar named Fastina (which is an old Irish name she said) who works four times a week as a farmacist. Chatty Lady’s originally from Westport in Mayo but is now living in Birmingham. “You should go to Westport! It’s the most beautiful place!”

Outside, a rainbow could be seen “What do you think of rainbows? Good sign, right? it says that men will not drown…” She’s a delight, really (except that I was really tired after the day and nearly dozed off). :D “My sister wouldn’t send me off because she says I talk too much and she just couldn’t take a four-hour drive with me, so, here I am on the bus to Dublin, talking to you instead! Isn’t it nice. Time seems to pass by very quickly”

I had to refer a patient to psychiatry oncall.

“It’s Jon Grave”

“WHAT? CRAVE?”

“No, Grave. G”

“C?”

“No, G. As in Goat”

The reg looked at me and laughed. Goat? Why not ‘Good’. Why Goat?

“I don’t know. I was thinking of sheep and that little pig Babe just now.

(Not real name, obviously)

Really, I’ve nothing much here.

The Quest for the Lost Castle (and an acorn and some berries)

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:10:00 +0100

I don’t really have time to blog that much now. Who would have thought that being a medic is...

So. The weekend again was a Perfect day and I went out with my...

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:55:55 +0100

So. The weekend again was a Perfect day and I went out with my camera for the first time since I received my no-longer-a-student status and it feels amazing. Somehow, things look different when there’s a camera in my hands and I find myself looking at things differently. Small things, big things, trying to take in everything. Spiders are everywhere now.

I found a new shop, Lola Rose and after asking the owner if I can take pictures to put in my blog, I started crouching this way and that, snapping, clicking and pretending that I was a hired professional photographer for Lola Rose :D Make belief is fun when you’ve nothing better to do.

And here’s a bag with small snippets of recipes and a tiny rolling pin for tiny hands (not Toyol).

Her son eventually became one of my subjects. Finn is the name and he’s a cute 6-month ball of laughter :)

Gorgeous eyes

Two girls stopped me in Shop Street and asked if I could take their picture. They were so excited that they nearly dropped their icecreams.

Also went to that graphic novel place and I was the only girl there and had to refrain from laughing when I heard “Awesome! Wow! Great! Class!” by the guys browsing the place. Neil Gaiman’s stuff are way too expensive except for The Eternals which is hard cover and went at half price.

I sat on a bench and read and people watched :)

And people were eating everywhere I went.

Books! There was a sale down in Corbette Court and see, I do use the recipe books I buy

Suddenly started pouring and through the rain, I went to get baking powder and was met by a surprised “bacon powder? we don’t stock bacon powder”. Ah, no, no, bay-king powder, you know, to make cakes and stuff. Which Londis did not have, so, sub with

And we got this.

Verdict post-gobbling: just the right amount of moistness and chocolatiness (sp?) and to make it like those big, expensive chocolate muffins in college, just need to add chocolate chips. This weekend, if I go back to Gold Leaf, we might do a cheesecake. Yay!

~~~~

Work: the usual, you’d be bored with it.

I was told off by the nurse in MAU in front of a whole load of people, including Dr O’Hara, the other consultant. It was my fault, but it still sucks. Dr O’Hara backed me up a bit though and after that, when he saw me again, he told me not to worry about the big hoo-ha and that the nurse isn’t really that mean. waaaaa!! He’s so nice that I nearly cried! Told you that when nice things happen during sort-of-bad times, it just makes me tear ducts a tad overactive. Sheesh!

I was also nearly whacked on the head by a walking stick by a demented patient and had 5ml of Serenace spattered all over me when he smacked my hand away. Somehow, that made me laugh (which is not a good thing because it probably made him madder). It also made me form a bit of a kinship (wek je) with the nurses in Bgts because we were working together, trying to get him to drink the meds and avoiding the thrashing stick. Thank God no one got hurt.

Was oncall on Monday and it was busy as heck. Patient fell, patient couldn’t pee. patient won’t take meds, new patients, demented patients bent on whacking everyone within walking stick length, canullas. Fuuuh. Nice Psych Doc oncall asked me to share his chicken biryani for iftar which was awesome might I add (cooked by his wife, but he said he can make better biryani and that of all the things, he’s really better at making this).

Just meself, he reg and the consultant. We’re down by two docs and so far, I’m still afloat. Kieth is on nights and I saw him today, trying to study in the comp room. First time dad - his wife just gave birth to a baby boy! He’s been telling us how he’s going to teach his baby football ever since I met him, even if the baby’s a girl. Mad about football.

My housemate’s not around as she’s in Manchester doing a course for MRCP orh something and I’m left all alone to fend for myself (cook). So far, I haven’t starved.

Hope everything’s good back home and that Amah’s all right. I’m now only at juz 4 9or 3?) and managed to get in a few pages during oncall, in between the bleeps. hahah.. The nurses there were intrigued with my pink Qur’an and were asking to see it, wondering if it’s a new medical book or a diary. Glad to share :)

So, that’s life so far. I’m just cramming everything into one post and it’s a wonder if you even reach this far. Not sorry for the long post.

And thanks for the suggestions re photo retrieval. Haven’t had the time to look it up yet though (but somehow I have the time to blog).

I might or might not post again in a while. See how the blogging mood is and if I have the time. It’s mostly work and sleep now.

Send my salams to everyone :)

all the pictures in my computer = GONE! The ones with my family, my graduation pics, the travels,...

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:56:44 +0100

all the pictures in my computer = GONE! The ones with my family, my graduation pics, the travels,...

Yes, it was windy and early Sunday morning. We went in search...

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:53:03 +0100

Yes, it was windy and early Sunday morning. We went in search for the nearest empty field and after asking around (an old lady who looked a bit surprised at seeing two grown ups asking for a field to play kites in), we found the perfect place.

Then and now..

The best workout I’ve had since I started this year. Despite the wind changing it’s mind, wanting to blow this way and that, we still managed to get the kite up for a few seconds (10 seconds was probably the record). Had to run backwards to get the kite up and I nearly hit the goal post there if not for the warning from CQ and Far. How would it feel like to have a concussion after hitting my head and falling splat in the mud?

Few hours later…

off shopping for groceries. Pakmat gave us free lamb pieces :D yayness!

And today, I ache all over. Satisfying ache.

Today too, was very surprising.

1. Dr X couldn’t stop smiling even though I forgot a few things (something good happened at home…?).

2. Dr Xray (different doc) didn’t as much as snarl at me when I went in late to discuss about a patient. Usually he’d hurl things at me. OK, no, he doesn’t. But he would make it pretty tough for us to like him. Today, he just accepted everything and was not at all vocally displeasing.

3. Dr O’Hara (the other consultant) asked if I was settling in good. He said that my SHO told him good things about me XD Strange. Then he asked if I was able to handle weekend oncalls. Aha! So that’s why… And of course, I couldn’t say “no, I cannot handle weekends because I have a boyfriend waiting for me back in Galway”, now, can I? So, I accepted my fate. At least he thinks I’m good enough. Mwahahahahah

4. Dr X smiled a lot. Did I say that already?

The colourful timetable in the docs res states that I’m oncall again today, but I thought it’s supposed to be Sebastian since I was on last week Monday and Thursday. So, now I’m at home, waiting for shower time and wondering if I am supposed to be on… Hehe..

I like my new consultant :) He likes to have his patients list short and sweet and that’s how I like it as well. “Cut it down to 10, can we?” *gasp!* Really? 10? Unheard of if we’re with Dr McH. Unfortunately, no, we can’t cut it down that much. They’re all sick, sick, sick.

This was the ‘Heidi and I’ shoot. Hard enough using the multiple lens stacked on top of each other and what we got was just this. Oh, I’ve been poring over the photography mag and have been dreaming of geting another lens and… dum dum dum… nothing. No, I won’t get any because I need to save up. Ah life. But I really, really want a wide angle one and that Sony alpha 380. tamaknye I.. Hmmm.. if I were to be oncall for every single day for the rest of the month… maybe I can afford it. But no, sleep and a sane mind is preferred over permanent eyebags, madness and ka-ching!

ok have to go.

shhhh… it’s a dark, dark night and everyone’s...

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 01:48:42 +0100

shhhh… it’s a dark, dark night and everyone’s asleep except for me and CQ. Meaning that only Shark is asleep.

Taken at the Spanish Arch. This dog is what I imagine Sirius...

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 01:36:04 +0100

Taken at the Spanish Arch. This dog is what I imagine Sirius looks like in his animagus form. I like the red colour :)

~~~

Breakfast at Buon Appetit :)

Then a walk through the market and I bumped into Ms Mal0ne, the topgun in breast surgery, wheeling her little kid. Literally bumped into her and the pushchair because of the crowd around the fish stall. Also bumped into Prof L0ftus, the dean, in Anthony Ryans and again, in Charlie Byrnes. Oh, I found another fan of Mr Neil Gaiman in Charlie Byrnes and she works at the bookshop and promised to call me if any of his books come in. She’s been reading one of his works where he did a collaboration with Dave McKean. Happy, happy me :) Along with my absolutely glowing feeling at finding a Gaiman comrade, I came out with ‘M is for Magic’ by Mr Gaiman, ‘The Little Prince’ and ‘Beedle the Bard’. Very nearly bought Enid Blyton’s stuff too, but my bag’s heavy enough as it is.

I also met the ward clerk from Roscommon and it’s like ‘hey, you’re here too!’

For lunch, we spent hours sitting in Milano, ordering Fiorentina pizza without grana padano (whatever that is) and Nicoise salad (pretending that I’m some posh lady when in fact, I only ate the tuna, potatoes, tomatoes and one green thing). We talked, read my photography magazine (which is cool by the way), watched people pass by, had pistachio, lemon and coffee gelato (weird combination, but I like), enjoyed the sun and just had great time.

~~~

CQ’s partner at work said that she always sees me walking from the bus stop to this place and was wondering if I was visiting my boyfriend here XD Yes, I am, CQ told her XD To be so willing to travel the three-hour journey, on two buses every weekend… I must be totally in love XD

~~~

Grana padano is a cheese. Ah.

~~~

Please let it be windy and sunny tomorrow because I want to go kite flying again

Photo

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 07:30:20 +0100

Photo

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 00:44:07 +0100

Galway. Gold Leaf. I’m here, after getting wet throughout,...

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 00:31:23 +0100

~~Galway~~. Gold Leaf.

I’m here, after getting wet throughout, walking in the rain from the bus station to the apartment. Great workout with my backpack + laptop + change of clothes, a tote bag with blood spattered white coat and three boxes of ‘9 Spicy chicken wings’. That’s 27 chicken wings.

Watching ‘Raising Helen’ with the girls XD

So what shall I bring? Maybe reread The Graveyard Book. Yeah :)

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 22:19:03 +0100

So what shall I bring? Maybe reread The Graveyard Book. Yeah :)

Just had a BUSY day. Full OPD with just me and the consultant...

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 22:15:47 +0100

Just had a BUSY day. Full OPD with just me and the consultant and 100 patients. Well, nearly. Then came the numerous bleeps from the wards and I was told by the consultant not to go because we’re short handed as it is. So, I asked Sebastian to cover for me in the wards, but he was busy too. I don’t really mind seeing that many patients, but I tend to get a bit lost in the head afterwards. Can’t think properly and had to be jolted to reality by my reg a few times. heheh.

Later (after finally relieving my bladder and gobbling a free cupcake), I got a message saying that I have to cover the A&E again because there are not enough doctors. Sebastian had to accompany a bleeding patient to UCHG, Kieth has a broken leg or something, Louise is off, Amy is in Dublin for an urgent something. *me faint* But thank God for the cupcake.

And I feel guilty for being a bit brusque at a nurse who kept on at me just now. Sooooo guilty. I didn’t mean to, but I was under a tad bit of stress. I think she noticed and was very nice around me afterwards. This only made me feel worse.

One of my patients passed away and I had to certify that.

A spot by the calm Shannon on a bright day would be very welcoming. I think I’ll be lugging my camera back and a book and hope for nice weather so that I can sit by the river and just read. Nice :)

Okaaay...

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 22:26:20 +0100

I was busy looking up bloods when someone in a dark suit stood beside me and asked “Is this...

I can’t remember where this is…

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:12:00 +0100

I can’t remember where this is…

shrooooooooooooo~ That’s the sound of Dr X’s voice going in my...

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:11:21 +0100

shrooooooooooooo~

That’s the sound of Dr X’s voice going in my right ear and out the left. Or sometimes, it just gets blocked. I’m trying to get my cells to form a bit of immunity from him and his nonstop phonation and what can only be a milder form of echolalia (I should have taken psychiatry).

I will now post just happy thoughts posts because somehow, someone :D thinks I’m in trouble here. I’m not. I just happen to get good days and bad days and that’s normal. Especially when you’re around smelly unwashed armpits, yucky hospital food and disinfectants all the time. Not to forget swine flu. And I get all sorts of people going through my life here.

To date, some good things done/seen:

~ doing easy naso-gastric tube insertions (tube down nose to feed people)

~ Mantoux test (inject some stuff in skin - for TB)

~ this is Easy Cannula Week (yay! somehow, I managed all of them, even the tiny ones) - this one is strange. Sometimes, I get a streak of success. Other times, even with huge bulging veins which you can see from miles away, I won’t get a line through. Strange.

~ Group and crossmatch blood - the most tedious thing for an intern and they have really strict protocol for this. Miss a letter and they send it back to you. Slightly illegible and back it goes. Bleh. But mine went through smoothly :)

~ Having an awesome SHO who backed me up when Dr X snapped at me for something which wasn’t my fault.

~ Oncall wasn’t too bad :)

~ I saw two sumo wrestlers and a zebra in a marathon in Gold Leaf and a kid laughed like it was the funniest thing on earth. What I was feeling exactly.

~ Seeing beautiful pictures displayed somewhere in Gold Leaf. An inspiration for me to take up my camera and capture beautiful moments again. I’m doing this for myself, yeah.

US. heheh.

(above is of a kid waiting with her dad for the circus to start the next show. She must be thinking why in the world is this lady crouching down to take her picture)