Intermission #8

Aaand...we're back to having uncreative titles. *headdesk*

1. Dear mind, stop being irrational. For God's sake please stay relevant to our current task. Kthx.

2. Something is so wrong. It calls for reformation, but something is holding it back...
So much for "History being the best teacher"; In the end it depends on one's own discipline and memory.

3. At times even having options would prove to be puzzling. It's like the more alternatives we have at our disposal, the greater the stress in figuring out which of them would be the best choice to go for...
Or maybe that's just me.

4. Maybe I'm just so deprived from my anime kicks that I'm starting to _not_ make sense. And here I thought I'd finally be able to move on for good...


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Now playing: Savage Garden - The Animal Song
via FoxyTunes

With Eyes Wide Open and Closed Shut

"The eyes are not responsible when the mind does the seeing" ~ Publilius Syrus

1. Tomorrow will be the day for Ophthalmology's OSCE, whose end would effectively signal the beginning of revision week and hence the advent of end of block exam for us in the Specialised posting. Which means the time to leave Fourth Year would be around the corner. Inevitable, surely, but most definitely nigh.
Better start studying for real, then.

2. E-logbook is nearly complete. Fundus book is almost there. Now it just leaves studying, hmm...

3. Because it's exam season, here's a link to a collection of humorous answers students gave in several exam questions. They managed to give me a well-deserving LOL, even when I should be miserable with my own soon-to-come exams...

4. One weakness of mine is that I can't seem to let it go. It's already way back in the past, so why can't I just turn away as if it has never happened? Or, as if it's too insignificant to be brought along to the present much less the future?
I don't like it one bit.

5. ...I think I need a break. I may not deserve one, but at this point, necessity overrules qualification.

6. Some decisions don't have to be done on the spot. Sometimes it's best to wait and see before making the next move...


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Now playing: Savage Garden - I Want You
via FoxyTunes

P/s: In conjunction with Ophthalmology, here's a link listing some hadiths on lacrimation and some, err, secular quotes pertaining to eyes.
It just goes to show that I can look for religious sayings too.

Compilations #7

Uncreative title is uncreative. My mind's a cluttered library, that the best entry I could come up with is no more than numbered paragraphs on different matters.

1. One branch of knowledge that never fails to fascinate me has always been language and etymology. So I was trying to concoct a proper title for my e-logbook when I decided to see what possible words could replace "student"...and I found that the word "student" traces back to Latin's studere, which is related to studium, which means "painstaking application" (Source: Oxford American Dictionary).
What does this mean? That the road a student must tread upon is littered with pain (or sources of them).
Aye. Whoever said life would be easy?

2. The weather has been a bit kinder of late. Thank God. I'm still praying for rain, though...

3. It's true that people can change. But whether it's for the better or for the worse...well, I'd like to know the variables to do the formula.

4. Why do we lament over the things that we do not possess? Is it too difficult to churn out those that we already have the luxury of owning to their fullest potential, putting our utmost faith in God that He Knows when the time is right to bestow us with some of the things that we presently lack?

5. Oh dear. We're already in our tenth week!? So that means we'll just a few months away from fifth year!

6. Do not cross the line. The line is there - whether or not one can see it, it is still there. It may not be humongous in size or brightly fluorescent for one to see with the naked eye, but at least have enough sense - or common courtesy - to not go overboard.
We all have our limits. We try to stretch out the threshold, so for the love of God let's not make each others' tasks more difficult than they already are.

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Now playing: Savage Garden - To The Moon And Back
via FoxyTunes

P/s: Clinic again tomorrow. Oh my God. *headdesk* Still, it's worth noting that perhaps Ophthalmology won't descend to become my least favourite Specialised posting. Or my _least_ favourite posting, for that matter...

Compilations #6

1. With the first week of Ophthalmology in the past, things are heating up. Clinic day on Monday, and already I'm anticipating the worst. Best thing to prevent this would be to prepare myself with facts and knowledge...
Good thing that yesterday's presentations were over with. Now to get down to proper studying...

2. Call me unwise, but I've managed to procure yet another novel - David Hewson's Dante's Numbers - to satisfy my thirst for fiction. At the rate I'm going, I would be able to establish some sort of a library or something...
And The Alienist is beautiful. I'm not even halfway done, but God, it's so worth the money I put into!

3. I do read something else than mystery/murder novels, of course. Motivational books I like as well (Never mind that I was somewhat offended when a salesperson suggested that I checked out another rack of motivational books, but that is irrelevant), although quite few of them are well-written enough for me to appreciate - or for them to give an impact that it'd actually manage to change my life in some way. But I do like Dale Carnegie's works.
In summary of what I've read so far: We worry because we are confused. We are confused because we don't have enough facts. We don't have enough facts because those that we have collected are inadequate, influenced perhaps by emotions and our own biases.
As said by Thomas Edison, "There is no expedient to which a man will not resort to avoid the labour of thinking".
And, by Andre Maurois, "Everything that is in agreement with our personal desires seems true. Everything that is not puts us into a rage".

Beautiful, and true.

The lesson? If I want to survive in this challenging world of medicine, for God's sake be objective.

Current Music: So Beautiful - Darren Hayes

P/s: ...Perhaps being busy in Ophthalmology has one advantage. I quote: The worried person must lose himself in action, lest he wither in despair.
Anyhow, here's a link for anyone who's up for online Ophthalmology reading. Or even this, I guess.

P/p/s: If I'm not updating this blog regularly, it's because I'm busy with another pseudoblog, i.e. Ophthalmology's e-logbook.

P/p/p/s: What is this sudden infatuation with Savage Garden!? Not too long ago it was with OneRepublic...Tsk tsk.

Compilations #5

1. Coming down with an excruciating headache secondary to eye strain doesn't seem to bode well, considering that this is _Opthalmology_ that we're talking about, and today was just the first day! I foresee two weeks of hectic classes and rushing around and...2 days of RP-ing next week.
And is this e-logbook that they refer to something akin to blogging? Because I sure wouldn't want an academic journal-diary thing to be dripping with emo-angst, filled with pseudo-philosophy, marred by discontentment, and seasoned with Shakespearian or Victorian influence...

2. There are some things that do not matter in the long run, and as such, should carry little to no urgency. It won't really go anywhere, in spite of the fact that it's kind of far from one's reach for the time being.
...But maybe that's not the main issue. My priority list is not the same as others', and mine may be weak in all the wrong places.
...Getting it back on the right track will take some time and a whole lot of painstaking effort and a lifetime's worth of angst.
Good things come to those who wait. How far does it ring true?

3. It's extremely odd and tiresome. The campus's Wifi connection slows down to a turtle's sloth's tai-chi when it comes to my urgent, academic needs that is desperate to make full use of the university's database of journals and stuff. What form of evil, cheap conspiracy is this!? *facepalm*

4. Dear God. Please, please end this heat wave as soon as possible. Everyday I miss the rainy season like the desert miss the rain.

Current Music: Always Running Out of Time - Motion City Soundtrack

Twisted Out of Context

1. ENT Viva went relatively well although my instincts failed in their attempt in anticipation. Had a safe drive back to own hometown. I am home. The Internet connection is restored. It rained (OH YES GOD THANK YOU!). Went shopping for a few things. Managed to catch up with a few things that I had neglected (although not the rest).
In summary: Bliss. Thank God.

2. I admit that I am rather behind in my general knowledge as to what on Earth has besieged the country as we speak. The papers I barely read - merely flipping through the headlines and choosing only those that would not enrage me or challenge my principles - and the Net...the webpages I go to have not been updated much.
...Excuses. Frankly, I'm just so tired of all the drama.
It's rare that my father would invite me to a discussion - more like an educational commentary, really - when it comes to certain TV shows. Then again, he usually would watch forums and stuff, while I'd rather retire to my own corner in the house and sink into my thoughts or surf the Net for my own brand of viewing pleasure. But such a rare occurrence actually materialised today, thanks to a forum that seemed to discuss about the government's policy of making 30% of every sector to comprise of the fairer sex.
I may be a feminist to some point, being part of the species, but I am still in doubt whether the government can actually pull this off.
It's not unusual if they suddenly withdrew the idea some time in the future after the damage has been done *cough*PTS*cough*PPSMI*cough*...
Whatever it is, I'm watching from afar...

3. I'm sorry, but I couldn't care less if anybody managed to get him/herself photographed with Najib. I'm no rabid fan of his, so how about trying something else instead?

4. There are some things that continue to plague our thoughts no matter how hard we push them out.
...Looks like I've to try harder. Nonetheless, knowing what to defeat is barely half the battle.

5. I'm going to miss ENT. Even more than Dermato...Oh my. I wonder what awaits in Opthalmo...

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Now playing: Savage Garden - Crash And Burn
via FoxyTunes

Erraticism

One of the rare posts - if not the only one - which will not totally be in English.

1. An excerpt from one of the many irrelevant conversations us students committed ourselves to in the OT when our attention waned from the operation that was going on...

Boss-dude: Teruk tak? Dah nak last minute baru nak insaf (nak study)...
Me: Okay la tu. At least tak macam my case...
Boss-dude: Ibarat satu elektron dalam lautan luas?
Me: Oh, tidak...keinsafanku ibarat lampu kelip-kelip, yang akhirnya langsung tak memberikan cahaya yang secukupnya...

OMG Boss-dude, I know the above conversation is not too similar to our real life conversation, but I guess it'll do for the sake of clarity...

2. ENT. Awesomeness. Enough said. Although anatomy still hates me with passion...Sigh.

3. Clash of the Titans OST. I approve! It's totally worth it.

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Now playing: One Republic - Say (All I Need)
via FoxyTunes

Random, Useless Knowledge

Well, I must say I was generally pleased with Clash of the Titans. Not as ecstatic as the time I watched Sherlock Holmes, but still...

Although, the movie did not really correspond to some of the accepted details of Greek mythology.

I've always loved reading about Greek mythologies since my early childhood. It tells a lot about how people at the time believed in the Powers that Be, although admittedly, their beliefs would be insulting to the One True God in so many ways. In those mythologies, the so-called gods seem more like a clan of humanoid creatures that have a penchant for lewdness and cross-breeding *cough*especiallyZeus*cough* and patricide *cough*Zeus et al*cough*.

As for the discrepancies...Beware that these may contain spoilers...

1. Movie!Perseus was introduced as the son of King Acrisius's wife who was impregnated by Zeus. In the canon of Greek myths, Perseus's mother was actually the King's daughter, Danae.

2. Perseus actually killed Acrisius by accident, not because the latter was out for Perseus's blood in the first place.

3. Io was a favourite of Zeus, whom he protected against Hera's jealousy by changing her into a heifer. I can't recall who was the one cursed with eternal youth and immortality though...

4. Canon!Perseus ended up as the King of Tiryns after marrying Andromeda. The movie ended on a totally different note...

5. The monster Kraken was in no way associated with Greek myths, enough said.

6. Medusa's lair wasn't really in the Underworld, was it?

7. Medusa's head was supposed to be an offering for Athena, not to petrify Kraken. Athena later affixed the head on her shield.

8. Canon!Pegasus sprang from Medusa's body after her death.

9. Mentioned in passing, movie!Hydra was said to have five heads, whereas it actually had nine.

10. And lastly, to my knowledge, the Greek gods and goddesses certainly did not have shiny-sparkly-silver armours. Maybe one or two, but Zeus is commonly depicted as wearing robes, not polished-aluminum-body-plates...

There's more, of course, but the above are the glaring ones.

...Why is it that I can remember these details but I can't get medical knowledge to stay in my gray-cells with the same ease!?

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Now playing: Jason Derulo - In My Head
via FoxyTunes

In Retrospect

Once upon a time, we heard a tale, which I shall translate here for your reading pleasure.

A young man uses his motorbike to go to work and to return home. Such is his daily routine...and because material things in this life don't last forever, one unfortunate day, he finds his motorbike in disrepair.

The narrator of this tale later enjoined us listeners to imagine how the young man must have felt at the time. One audience answered "Depressed" - or something to that effect - and the narrator rebutted with "Half-dead" (in verbatim, "Separuh mati!").

At the time, shallow that I was - or maybe just dead bored - I agreed. But after what happened yesterday, when my feathers were ruffled more than twice in rapid succession and my sleep disturbed (crankiness ensued), I had to ponder back...

...because sometimes we minorities don't get enough voice that we deserve.

More beyond this field of vision »