now that i'm home, i hope that doesn't mean that you guys will stop reading my blog. i will still continue to post periodically.
i finally got home this morning at 6:22am. what a long flight. over 23 hours of flying and an additional 10 hours of stopovers. it was LONG! but really no complaints. no major delays, no lost baggage, and most importantly no spontaneous explosions upon landing!
i think china airlines gets a bad rap. the customer service was quite competent and friendly (not something you can say about all western airlines), food was more than edible, AND it had those COOL personal tv's!
the taipei to vancouver flight was deserted. it was great cause it meant that we could spread out to 3-4 seats/person and put our feet up.
when i flew into toronto from vancouver it was just after 6am and the sky was still dark. it was such an amazing view. the only way i could describe it is that it was like looking at a patch of black charcoal with little diamonds of yellow/orange/red and white colour within them.
all i know now is that i've survived and i am home. it sure is good to be home.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
in taipei!
i've arrived in taipei.
view above brisbane. or somewhere.
so far, so good. everything has been going to schedule and our plane didn't burst into flames on landing.
the first thing i've noticed about this airport is how ridiculously clean it is.
it's sparkling.
we've got a few hours still until our flight to vancouver. something like 6 hours to be exact.
fortunately, i've found some free internet.
here i am! what's that saying... when in rome, do as the romans do right? that's me being asian!
the first leg of this trip was on an airbus 300.
i've been on several airbuses before but this is the first time i've had my own personal tv!
i never knew such great things existed in economy class. during my 8+ hour flight, i played some poker, listen to some norah, some joss stone and some michael bubble (i know it's buble, but bubble is funnier). also watched harry potter V, license to wed and evan almighty. next up is some scrubs, top gear, 300, pirates III and whatever else i can get my hands on.
view above brisbane. or somewhere.
so far, so good. everything has been going to schedule and our plane didn't burst into flames on landing.
the first thing i've noticed about this airport is how ridiculously clean it is.
it's sparkling.
we've got a few hours still until our flight to vancouver. something like 6 hours to be exact.
fortunately, i've found some free internet.
here i am! what's that saying... when in rome, do as the romans do right? that's me being asian!
the first leg of this trip was on an airbus 300.
i've been on several airbuses before but this is the first time i've had my own personal tv!
i never knew such great things existed in economy class. during my 8+ hour flight, i played some poker, listen to some norah, some joss stone and some michael bubble (i know it's buble, but bubble is funnier). also watched harry potter V, license to wed and evan almighty. next up is some scrubs, top gear, 300, pirates III and whatever else i can get my hands on.
i'm coming home! seriously this time.
i'm just waiting for matt to swing by to pick me up and then we're off to the airport.
it's off to taipei for a short stopover and then to vancity and then finally home to toronto on monday morning.
see y'all in a few days.
it's off to taipei for a short stopover and then to vancity and then finally home to toronto on monday morning.
see y'all in a few days.
Friday, October 26, 2007
the aussie experience.
alright boys and girls. i've got one last list of aussie-english words. probably the last one for the year. so listen up!
TINNY - a small aluminium fishing boat. often used by rowing coaches to ride along the water to yell at the rowers. more importantly, used to scoop out rowers that have fallen into the river. i've seen that happen! that brings us to our second word: alumiNIUM. not aluminum. al-loo-min-eee-um.
SUSSED OUT - to figure out, or sort out.
james my roommate: d'you suss out what's happening tonight?
me: did you just call me a sissy?!?
CAPSICUM - what we call a pepper or a bell pepper, they call capsicum. then, what do they call pepper spray? capsicum spray???
WHINGE - to whine. "stop whinging!"
TOAD in the HOLE - now a "toad in the whole" is where you poke a whole the size of a toonie in your bread, place it on the frying pan and then crack an egg into it. well, that's what the poms call it anyway. what's a pom? it's a not-so-affectionate term that aussies and kiwis used to refer to the brits.
POPPER - juice box!
PINCH - when you borrow something without any real intentions of returning it. "oh shoot, i meant to pinch a couple of scrubs from the hospital but i forgot."
BUCK's/HEN's PARTY - refers to a bachelor or bachelorette party.
some other things that i've learned/noticed...
MASCOT - i don't think i know what UQ's mascot is. and now that i think about it, i have no idea what UQ's sport teams are called. any UQers know the answer?
COIN in your CUP - this is one that i learned just the other day. so if you drop a coin into someone else's drink. the drink owner has to scull (chug) down whatever is remaining in his glass. but the money is their's now - free to be deposited into other unsuspecting beer holders.
THANKING the BUS DRIVER - everyone thanks the bus driver as they get off. even those that are getting off through the back doors. i'm not sure why we don't do that in toronto. and i find this odd because for the most part i find aussie bus drivers to be grumpier than ttc bus drivers.
BAG CHECK - this happens basically wherever you go. when you walk out of a store, they'll ask to have a look in your bag. i don't know why? i guess petty crime is an issue. meh. so when you're in oz and the store clerk asks to see inside your bag, don't be offended. it's not because you look like a juvenile delinquent. they ask everyone. even little ol' ladies.
ps. if you want anything aussie, speak up now or forever hold your peace. i'm sorry but all the koalas and kangaroos have been spoken for already.
TINNY - a small aluminium fishing boat. often used by rowing coaches to ride along the water to yell at the rowers. more importantly, used to scoop out rowers that have fallen into the river. i've seen that happen! that brings us to our second word: alumiNIUM. not aluminum. al-loo-min-eee-um.
SUSSED OUT - to figure out, or sort out.
james my roommate: d'you suss out what's happening tonight?
me: did you just call me a sissy?!?
CAPSICUM - what we call a pepper or a bell pepper, they call capsicum. then, what do they call pepper spray? capsicum spray???
WHINGE - to whine. "stop whinging!"
TOAD in the HOLE - now a "toad in the whole" is where you poke a whole the size of a toonie in your bread, place it on the frying pan and then crack an egg into it. well, that's what the poms call it anyway. what's a pom? it's a not-so-affectionate term that aussies and kiwis used to refer to the brits.
POPPER - juice box!
PINCH - when you borrow something without any real intentions of returning it. "oh shoot, i meant to pinch a couple of scrubs from the hospital but i forgot."
BUCK's/HEN's PARTY - refers to a bachelor or bachelorette party.
some other things that i've learned/noticed...
MASCOT - i don't think i know what UQ's mascot is. and now that i think about it, i have no idea what UQ's sport teams are called. any UQers know the answer?
COIN in your CUP - this is one that i learned just the other day. so if you drop a coin into someone else's drink. the drink owner has to scull (chug) down whatever is remaining in his glass. but the money is their's now - free to be deposited into other unsuspecting beer holders.
THANKING the BUS DRIVER - everyone thanks the bus driver as they get off. even those that are getting off through the back doors. i'm not sure why we don't do that in toronto. and i find this odd because for the most part i find aussie bus drivers to be grumpier than ttc bus drivers.
BAG CHECK - this happens basically wherever you go. when you walk out of a store, they'll ask to have a look in your bag. i don't know why? i guess petty crime is an issue. meh. so when you're in oz and the store clerk asks to see inside your bag, don't be offended. it's not because you look like a juvenile delinquent. they ask everyone. even little ol' ladies.
ps. if you want anything aussie, speak up now or forever hold your peace. i'm sorry but all the koalas and kangaroos have been spoken for already.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
how many standard drinks in a pitcher?
cause i had a few of those yesterday.
how did the exam go? hm... seems like most people had mixed feeling about whether tuesday's exam or wednesday's exam was tougher.
tuesday's exam had a section that was practically impossible, but another section that was pretty easy. there was no particularly easy or hard sections in yesterday's exam. i haven't had as much time to pick apart the second exam in my head, so i don't have this huge list of stupid mistakes that i made.
i feel like there is so much more that i know that they could've asked about. they virtually asked nothing about cardio or cancer! we spent a lot of time on these topics and everyone thought we'd be tested on it. i guess that's the reason right there. the school probably figures that everyone studied hard for the cardio and cancer topics and we learned what we needed to know. there's no point testing it if 90% of the class is going to get the right answer.
so. i'm gonna spend the day recovering from my binge, will start packing some stuff up, and i think i might just go down by the river and read a book or something. just mellow out.
how did the exam go? hm... seems like most people had mixed feeling about whether tuesday's exam or wednesday's exam was tougher.
tuesday's exam had a section that was practically impossible, but another section that was pretty easy. there was no particularly easy or hard sections in yesterday's exam. i haven't had as much time to pick apart the second exam in my head, so i don't have this huge list of stupid mistakes that i made.
i feel like there is so much more that i know that they could've asked about. they virtually asked nothing about cardio or cancer! we spent a lot of time on these topics and everyone thought we'd be tested on it. i guess that's the reason right there. the school probably figures that everyone studied hard for the cardio and cancer topics and we learned what we needed to know. there's no point testing it if 90% of the class is going to get the right answer.
so. i'm gonna spend the day recovering from my binge, will start packing some stuff up, and i think i might just go down by the river and read a book or something. just mellow out.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
F*CK!
ok. breathe.
one down. one more to go.
i'm sitting here trying to "study" for my next exam. but my thoughts just kind of drift off to the exam that i just wrote a few hours ago. trying to analyze and breakdown every question that was asked and every answer that i wrote.
and the more i think about it, the more i feel like i made a bunch of stupid little mistakes. i think that's worse than not knowing the right answer at all. when you KNOW the RIGHT answer, but you've WRITTEN the WRONG one. that's when it just kills you.
AHHH!!! i've got to let it go.
one down. one more to go.
i'm sitting here trying to "study" for my next exam. but my thoughts just kind of drift off to the exam that i just wrote a few hours ago. trying to analyze and breakdown every question that was asked and every answer that i wrote.
and the more i think about it, the more i feel like i made a bunch of stupid little mistakes. i think that's worse than not knowing the right answer at all. when you KNOW the RIGHT answer, but you've WRITTEN the WRONG one. that's when it just kills you.
AHHH!!! i've got to let it go.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
ethics, shmethics!
just got home from the first of my final assessments for the year.
today i had my MSATs (multiple station assessement tests). how can i describe this... basically it's a big bell-ringer exam where you jump from station to station (without breaks inbetween) completing the required task. each station is only 9 minutes long. you get 9 minutes of perusal time at the beginning and 1 "rest station". but if you're unlucky - like me - then your rest station comes at the end and is basically useless. so you have to be on the ball.
so for example, station 1 & 2 were history taking stations. i had to take a full history from a patient who had abdominal pain and then from one that had breathlessness & tightness of chest upon exertion. these were pretty easy. went through my NILDOCARRFIA (nature of pain, intensity, location, duration... etc) then knocked through some past medical history, some family history, social history/lifestyle, etc. all the while trying to build rapport.
station 3 was a clinical physical exam. this too was not too difficult. i had to check for all the pulses in the upper and lower limbs, note rate/rhythm/character. then i had to take the patient's blood pressure. also a piece of cake. but the proctor was a huge grump! he rushed me through everything, and just generally seemed unhappy about something.
station 4 was an ethics station. probably the hardest one. it went something like this:
ok. so it wasn't actually THAT. it was more like... "you are a GP. leanne a 15 year old has recently been by for an appointment. during this consultation, she had mentioned binge eating and purging on one occassion. you were unable to elicit more information about this behavior. today leanne's father comes in to discuss leanne." basically you're not supposed to tell the father that she was here. you're supposed to respect her confidentiality and her right to autonomy as a mature minor.
i botched this one.
i did tell him that she was here. but let me tell you why. the father had mentioned that...
1. he smelled vomit in the house bathroom
2. leanne's friend marlene's mother called the father to say that marlene saw leanne throwing up at a party
3. the father found a brochure on anorexia nervosa and bulimia with MY contact details in leanne's room.
so basically he knew she was here and bingin' and purgin'.
PLUS, from the trigger i wasn't too sure if i could deem her to be "competent". you see, for a minor to be competent they need to have sufficient understanding and intelligence to understand fully what is being proposed. however, anorexia is now considered a mental illness. if you have a mental illness, then you're no longer deemed competent. and ZIP, there goes your right (as a minor) to confidentiality.
AHHHHH! oh well.
station 5 was probably the easiest.
basically, find an unconscious patient & perform CPR. run through using an AED and inserting an oropharyngeal. not being cocky. but after all those lifeguarding inservices, i probably could've done this one in my sleep.
today i had my MSATs (multiple station assessement tests). how can i describe this... basically it's a big bell-ringer exam where you jump from station to station (without breaks inbetween) completing the required task. each station is only 9 minutes long. you get 9 minutes of perusal time at the beginning and 1 "rest station". but if you're unlucky - like me - then your rest station comes at the end and is basically useless. so you have to be on the ball.
so for example, station 1 & 2 were history taking stations. i had to take a full history from a patient who had abdominal pain and then from one that had breathlessness & tightness of chest upon exertion. these were pretty easy. went through my NILDOCARRFIA (nature of pain, intensity, location, duration... etc) then knocked through some past medical history, some family history, social history/lifestyle, etc. all the while trying to build rapport.
station 3 was a clinical physical exam. this too was not too difficult. i had to check for all the pulses in the upper and lower limbs, note rate/rhythm/character. then i had to take the patient's blood pressure. also a piece of cake. but the proctor was a huge grump! he rushed me through everything, and just generally seemed unhappy about something.
station 4 was an ethics station. probably the hardest one. it went something like this:
ok. so it wasn't actually THAT. it was more like... "you are a GP. leanne a 15 year old has recently been by for an appointment. during this consultation, she had mentioned binge eating and purging on one occassion. you were unable to elicit more information about this behavior. today leanne's father comes in to discuss leanne." basically you're not supposed to tell the father that she was here. you're supposed to respect her confidentiality and her right to autonomy as a mature minor.
i botched this one.
i did tell him that she was here. but let me tell you why. the father had mentioned that...
1. he smelled vomit in the house bathroom
2. leanne's friend marlene's mother called the father to say that marlene saw leanne throwing up at a party
3. the father found a brochure on anorexia nervosa and bulimia with MY contact details in leanne's room.
so basically he knew she was here and bingin' and purgin'.
PLUS, from the trigger i wasn't too sure if i could deem her to be "competent". you see, for a minor to be competent they need to have sufficient understanding and intelligence to understand fully what is being proposed. however, anorexia is now considered a mental illness. if you have a mental illness, then you're no longer deemed competent. and ZIP, there goes your right (as a minor) to confidentiality.
AHHHHH! oh well.
station 5 was probably the easiest.
basically, find an unconscious patient & perform CPR. run through using an AED and inserting an oropharyngeal. not being cocky. but after all those lifeguarding inservices, i probably could've done this one in my sleep.
Friday, October 12, 2007
hard work and some luck.
all our classes are done for the year. i can't believe it's mid-october already. this day seemed so far away and january seems like it was just a few weeks ago.
i've now got 11 days to squeeze as much information into my brain. wouldn't it be great if there were tiny little "brain people" that squeezed info into your brain? kind of like the "subway pushers" of tokyo?
alas, until that day i will just have to rely on learning through osmosis! haha. no? well, how about a little bit of luck then?
school lore has it that if a flower of a jacaranda tree falls on you, you will fail your exams. however, if you catch this purple flower, you will pass!
view from under a jacaranda tree on campus waiting for one to fall so that i can CATCH it!
i've now got 11 days to squeeze as much information into my brain. wouldn't it be great if there were tiny little "brain people" that squeezed info into your brain? kind of like the "subway pushers" of tokyo?
alas, until that day i will just have to rely on learning through osmosis! haha. no? well, how about a little bit of luck then?
school lore has it that if a flower of a jacaranda tree falls on you, you will fail your exams. however, if you catch this purple flower, you will pass!
view from under a jacaranda tree on campus waiting for one to fall so that i can CATCH it!
Thursday, October 4, 2007
dryspell...
sorry for the lack of consistent posts lately guys.
i've been busy studying and have been leading a pretty dull life. i've been spending most of my days in my room, poking out for food and toilet breaks.
i haven't even been going to all the lectures. been attending the mandatory stuff, but have been pretty picky and choosy otherwise. i've always been a pretty keen lecture attender but lately i just find that my time's better spent at home than at a boring lecture where it's a constant struggle just to stay awake as i listen to some monotone lecturer drone on and on about something that's not even going to be examined.
***
my rooms looks like a bomb exploded in it. there are books and papers everywhere.
every day is a shuffle. before i go to bed, all the stuff on my bed gets put on my desk. and then when i wake up, everything goes back onto the bed.
***
it has been stinkin' hot in brisbane. i think we're technically still in the "spring" season but today was a high of 32. i think we're expecting similar weather for the rest of the week.
***
this morning, i was listening to the 2nd period leafs' broadcast on AM640 (thank goodness for the internet!). when i had left for school, leafs were up 3-2 at the end of the second. afterwards, matt (an avalanche fan and leaf-hater) was more than happy to let me know that the leafs had lost in overtime. :(
i hope this isn't indicative of the type of season they're gonna have this year.
***
i've been jotting down aussie-english words. i will have a monster lesson for you all after my exams.
***
i leave you with something most of you may already know.
ALCOHOL METABOLISM:
alcohol is converted to acetaldehyde by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). acetaldehyde is converted to acetic acid via acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). acetaldehyde is what causes the hangover symptoms and gives you a red face. many asians actually lack ALDH and have a variant form of ADH which converts alcohol into acetaldehyde more efficiently. this leads to increased levels of acetaldehyde and furthermore, stronger/faster hangover symptoms and a red face - also known as "asian flush".
a drug called disulfiram is used as aversion therapy for alcohol abusers. disulfiram inactivates ALDH. as per the mechanism above, it increases the negative effects of alcohol in hopes that through operant conditioning (remember Skinner? - the american psychologist. not the simpsons character!) the alcoholic will reduce or even better, stop drinking.
i've been busy studying and have been leading a pretty dull life. i've been spending most of my days in my room, poking out for food and toilet breaks.
i haven't even been going to all the lectures. been attending the mandatory stuff, but have been pretty picky and choosy otherwise. i've always been a pretty keen lecture attender but lately i just find that my time's better spent at home than at a boring lecture where it's a constant struggle just to stay awake as i listen to some monotone lecturer drone on and on about something that's not even going to be examined.
***
my rooms looks like a bomb exploded in it. there are books and papers everywhere.
every day is a shuffle. before i go to bed, all the stuff on my bed gets put on my desk. and then when i wake up, everything goes back onto the bed.
***
it has been stinkin' hot in brisbane. i think we're technically still in the "spring" season but today was a high of 32. i think we're expecting similar weather for the rest of the week.
***
this morning, i was listening to the 2nd period leafs' broadcast on AM640 (thank goodness for the internet!). when i had left for school, leafs were up 3-2 at the end of the second. afterwards, matt (an avalanche fan and leaf-hater) was more than happy to let me know that the leafs had lost in overtime. :(
i hope this isn't indicative of the type of season they're gonna have this year.
***
i've been jotting down aussie-english words. i will have a monster lesson for you all after my exams.
***
i leave you with something most of you may already know.
ALCOHOL METABOLISM:
alcohol is converted to acetaldehyde by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). acetaldehyde is converted to acetic acid via acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). acetaldehyde is what causes the hangover symptoms and gives you a red face. many asians actually lack ALDH and have a variant form of ADH which converts alcohol into acetaldehyde more efficiently. this leads to increased levels of acetaldehyde and furthermore, stronger/faster hangover symptoms and a red face - also known as "asian flush".
a drug called disulfiram is used as aversion therapy for alcohol abusers. disulfiram inactivates ALDH. as per the mechanism above, it increases the negative effects of alcohol in hopes that through operant conditioning (remember Skinner? - the american psychologist. not the simpsons character!) the alcoholic will reduce or even better, stop drinking.
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