Girls Day Out

As today was a beautiful sunny (albeit a little warm) day I went and accompanied my roomie to the nearby mall and market. She bought a pair of sandals, and some stuff for baking. I ended up buying a variety of vegetables from the market coz I was dyiiiiing for some. Now I can have rice and lauk-pauk after almost 2 weeks not eating it, been surviving on bread, eggs and instant noodles je, sigh...

Oh yes, guess what Ms.Snuze, the strawberry season is here again! YAY!!
Both my roomie and I could hardly contain our excitement to see those juicy red heavenly aphrodisiacs that each of us ended up buying 1kg of them succulent berries at RM7 per kg! Murah gila, kan?? For sure mine will be finished by this weekend, muahaha... :D

Later in the afternoon I went out again. After yesterday's mental purging (yeah right) for the Tropical Infectious Diseases exam and the cancellation of Neurosurgery class today (because the prof was in a major surgery rewiring a guy's brain), we (G, Mnl & moi) decided to go to the other mall and celebrate the start of the weekend with a l'il bit of window shopping and makan-makan.

We walked and walked and walked around the mall; me KIV-ing some stuff while they bought some nice tops; sat down at the foodcourt and talked and talked and talked, had a mini self make-up session at the make-up counter and without us realizing it the time was already 10pm!! Gila lama lepak kat sana, kul 4 ptg sampai 10 mlm tu! Isy, isy, isy anak dara 3 ekor ni, apa lah yg korang buat kat sana lama2 ah???

All in all, although it was tiring and my feet is aching, I really had a great time. Being in the company of like-minded people sure makes my day.

Me is content.

The Moroccan Dream

One of my classmates is from Tangier, Morocco, born & bred. She's actually a Berber, and can speak several languages (jeles nya!). Eversince I've known her for 5 years now we have talked about lots of things, especially about our cultures, our homes and our families.

You see, I am an explorer at heart. I love getting to know about all these different cultures and their way of life, especially one that is so foreign from my own. I told her that one of my dreams is to go there for a visit, so that I can see the culture with my very own eyes and experience it, sample their cuisines while breathing the Moroccan air.
Sigh, that would be so lovely, wouldn't it?

Btw, I already have a standing invitation to go there. Tempat tinggal makan minum tak payah nak pikir dah, cuma kena beli sendiri tiket kapalterbang nakgi sana je. Bestnya kalau leh pegi.....


Disclaimer: All the piccas above are not mine. Click at the images to go to the original sites. Thank you.

Ahoy! Crazy Week Ahead!

Day 1:
Paediatrics morning ward rounds, Paediatrics Surgery lecture, Ophthalmology lecture

Day 2:
Paediatrics morning ward rounds & lecture, Ophthalmology lab

Day 3:
Paediatrics morning ward rounds, Neurology lecture & lab

Day 4:
Paediatrics morning ward rounds & lecture, Tropical Medicine EXAM!

Day 5:
Neurosurgery lecture & lab, On-call session


Oh well, looks like there'll be no time for blogging this week I think. But then again, one can never halt the creative process once it has been set into motion, da?
One thing for sure though, I have a biiiig feeling that I'll be a walking zombie by the end of the week because we might also be joining the other groups for their on-call session on day 1 and 3. And there is also a case presentation to prepare, plus have to do some running around to settle some uni related matters.

HELLLLLLLLP!!!

*falls unconscious on the floor like a lump of log due to severe hypoxia from excessive hyperventilation induced by an acute panic attack*

"What do you mean you cannot drink milk??"

"It's because I have Lactose Intolerance (LI), ok? "

I got asked this a lot. And when I told them why, they automatically assume that I don't drink milk. Actually, it doesn't mean that I cannot take milk at all, in fact I love dairies, but consuming milk or any type of dairy products will eventually cause bloating, flatulence, abdominal cramps, and last but not least, acute diarrhea that could lead to dehydration if proper countermeasures are not taken.

Why me??
Well, thanks to the 1/8 chinese, and the remaining jawa part of me = Genetic predisposition, of course. And plus milk-drinking is never really a Malay culture, isn't it?

When will I have the symptoms??
Whenever I have appeased my cravings for something dairy i.e. milk, yoghurt, cheese, ice-cream.....YUMMM!!

How come??
Basically, we lack the enzyme lactase that breaks down lactose, a form of sugar found in milk & other dairy products. Lactose is a big-moleculed sugar and cannot be absorbed by the small intestinal (ileum) walls.
Therefore;
No lactase --> Lactose passes intact from ileum to colon --> Fermentation of lactose by the normal intestinal bacteria --> Production of a lot of gasses --------> Bloating, Flatulence, Cramps + Diarrhea (by lactose that attracts water into colon)

What to do??
Avoid dairy products (unless they are lactose-free), oral rehydration salt, water, water, water, water, water... + Oral enzyme substitution (never tried this before coz can't seem to get my hands on it yet)

Where??
Check out the prevalence of LI in the world population:

If you are still clueless and don't know what I'm talking about, go watch White Chicks the movie. Pay attention to what happens to one of the agents when he ate cheese. Oh yeah, I soooo know the feeling. Been there done that, sigh....

IMHO, being lactose intolerant really suck, big time. Especially for a person who loooooves dairy and can't live without them, like moi. And yeah, different individuals have different levels and degrees of intolerance. But 'lucky' me, I got stuck with the one-glass-of-milk-will-make-you-have-diarrhea-the-whole-night type of LI. And imagine what would happen if I'd have 1 glass milk+1 slice cheese+1 stick ice-cream, in 1 day. Berkampung kat dalam bilik air ler jawabnya...

A lactose intolerant gal who loves lactose-full dairies. What a bummer, ain't it?

You know you're already past your expiry date...

- when all your friends your age that you've recently met up in FB again after many years are married with at least 2 kids in school

- when the first question that they will ask you after 10 years is "Are you married?" instead of "How are you?"

- when you get together with your school friends and all they talk about is babies

- when you found yourself surrounded by guys way younger than you and see you only as an older sister, and most of them are already in a stable relationship

- when your friends try their level best to hook you up with their single guy friends (who are still way younger than you by the way)

- when your family tries to find for you a 'maplei'

- when married ladies start to give you the 'evil eye' even though all you did was having a decent conversation with their husbands (because you're a 'threat' it seems)

- when the once biological clock that had been ticking so loudly has now suddenly fall silent

- when concerned relatives stop asking you the "When is it gonna be your turn, my dear?" question at family gatherings (because they know that you're a hopeless case)

- when your most favourite sentence is either: "If it's meant to be then it's meant to be, if it's not, then what to do...", or, "I gave up already lah. Malas wanna think about it anymore..."


If you answer "Yes" to any of the questions above, then it is my utmost pleasure to inform you that you have definitely gone way past the expiration date and it is only time before you're being removed from the shelf permanently. Better be ready for the inevitable, folks.


**Pardon my cuckoo-ness. I think I'm just worn out. Better go lie down now. Tootles**

Unproductive

Woke up early, got ready, took the tram and arrived on time for morning class. Waited and waited for the others to come, but they were late. Therefore, teacher said, "Sorry but you guys were very late, and so I put you absent except for the two of you who came earlier. See you next week then ok..."

Since it was too frickin' early too go home and do nothing while waiting for the next afternoon class, decided to join the others and went to the mall (which is just 10 minutes away on foot) from the Paediatrics Hospital. Had brunch, walked around a bit until 1pm and then went straight to the Infectious Disease hospital for class.

Came in, she talked about Leprosy and TB for like 1 hour, and then class was over. Hisy, itu aje? Nothing else?? Sabar je lah...

Went back home, and took a nap coz got a major headache. And woke up with a massive headache instead. Hmmmmm...I think it's time for the migraine meds.....

Sigh, what an unproductive day.....

NB: Tomorrow we might have neurosurgery. Maybe yes maybe no, nobody is sure. But I'm still gonna go nonetheless, just in case you know. And I'll also be doing garda with our paeds surgery lecturer tomorrow. Went last time with him and it was fun (had the chance to enter the OT and watched 3 surgeries, cool eh). And so that's how I will spend my friday night, sometimes the weekends too. Sigh, no wonder I have no social life here...

(garda = on-call)

Just Another Rambling

I am a fairly patient person. But when my own integrity is being questioned, hell yeah I won't tolerate that. I have a quick temper yes, but over the years I've learned to tone it down and try to think first before reacting with either words or actions. Because, if and when I do lose my temper and let my tongue loose, the person at the receiving end would probably have singed ears and wishes that he/she is deaf instead. Therefore, my silence reflects the level of my wrath. You have been warned...

They say I'm a loner. Well, maybe I am in a way. I don't do well in large groups, I've lots of acquaintances but only a handful of friends that I trust and am comfortable with. No point 'collecting' friends just to be popular but ended up not trusting any of them. And I love the few close friends that I have, they gave me comfort and kept me sane all through these years. Better than any depression meds any day. Quality is definitely better than quantity, no?

Some say I'm weird in the sense that I enjoy my own company. Well, I truly do. Going out and hanging out in some noisy pub/eatery is nothing compared to a good book/movie with some soothing music on and chilling at home. Maybe it's the age thing. You see, I have gone through the phase of hanging out with a bunch of friends all day everyday when I was younger. Now as I get older, solace is what I crave. Silence IS golden. And no more wild parties, please. Once in a while I don't mind it, but not all the time. Old already, no more energy, huh...

They say that I am open minded. Yes I am. I don't bother other people and their choices, so why should they be bothered with mine? I don't like to preach and force my opinions on others because I don't like people to do that to me. Unless you're related to me and your actions will eventually affect me, please keep your nosy noses out of my life. But, my open-mindedness does have its limits of course. If you want to drink, smoke, copulate, do as you wish with your body, it's your choice, but don't expect me to follow suit. Yes, I do have an open mind, but that doesn't mean that I would open my legs for anyone too. HELL NO. I am not all that pious, but religion is important to me and I believe that there is only one powerful, knowing and forgiving GOD. The hijab kept me from doing things that I shouldn't be doing, and I'm thankful for that. Hence, I don't do things that I don't feel comfortable doing, and no one can force me to do anything that I don't want to. I am myself, rigid principles all. Deal with it.

Phew! Glad I got that out of my chest. Like I said, it's just another rambling... ^_^