Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Cold France!

France was really cold. Over my SSC(assingment/holiday) week went to Blois to visit my brother there, then we went for a daytrip to Paris. It's indeed a beautiful city (more beautiful than London I must say).


I must learn how to speak French. First, so that I can go to France anytime I want (without needing my brother's company to translate for me all the time). All the time I was by myself there (my brother, unlike, still had classes to attend), I was longing to be able to convey my ideas to the locals, and it's rather frustrating that you couldn't do so.

Plus, French gov is looking for more doctors. Expanding my options in my future career. Hehe

Plus, they say, the more languages you can master, the smarter you are!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Barts choir

Yeah, I did it again - singing in THE Royal Albert Hall with the Barts Choir. It's been 1.5 years since I last did it.

Other than 'Towards The Unknown Region' by Vaughan Williams, we also sang 'Carmina Burana' by Carl Orff. One of the movements (songs) in the latter, called "Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi", is very famous because this is used in a lot of epic battle scenes and adverts. There are a lot more movements within Carmina Burana that very enjoyable to listen to - interestingly not many people know that.

I had really wonderful time singing them, especially Carmina Burana. After we finished this very challenging piece, I was VERY elated at the cheers from the audience!

If you still have no idea which song I'm talking about, check this out:



And this is my favourite, the tongue-twister exercise 'In taberna Quando Sumus'. I've included the lyrics for this video (note: drag to 1:13), so have fun trying them out! Somehow this movement is almost like rapping - the classical music way!



In taberna quando sumus
In taberna quando sumus,
non curamus quid sit humus,
sed ad ludum properamus,
cui semper insudamus.

Quid agatur in taberna

ubi nummus est pincerna,
hoc est opus ut queratur, si quid loquar, audiatur (2x)

Quidam ludunt, quidam bibunt,
quidam indiscrete vivunt.
Sed in ludo qui morantur,
ex his quidam denudantur
quidam ibi vestiuntur,
quidam saccis induuntur.
Ibi nullus timet mortemsed, pro Baccho mittunt sortem (2x)

Primo pro nummata vini,
ex hac bibunt libertini;
semel bibunt pro captivis,
post hec bibunt ter pro vivis,
quater pro Christianis cunctis
quinquies pro fidelibus defunctis,
sexies pro sororibus vanis,
septies pro militibus silvanis.

Octies pro fratribus perversis,
nonies pro monachis dispersis,
decies pro navigantibus
undecies pro discordantibus,
duodecies pro penitentibus,
tredecies pro iter agentibus.
Tam pro papa quam
pro regebibunt omnes sine lege.

Bibit hera, bibit herus,
bibit miles, bibit clerus,
bibit ille, bibit illa,
bibit servis cum ancilla,
bibit velox, bibit piger,
bibit albus, bibit niger,
bibit constans, bibit vagus
bibit rudis, bibit magnus.
Bibit pauper et egrotus,
bibit exul et ignotus,
bibit puer, bibit canus,
bibit presul et decanus,bibit soror,
bibit frater,bibit anus, bibit mater,
bibit ista, bibit ille,
bibunt centum, bibunt mille.

Parum sexcente nummate durant,
cum immoderatebibunt omnes sine meta.
Quamvis bibant mente leta,
sic nos rodunt omnes genteset sic erimus egentes.
Qui nos rodunt confundanturet cum iustis non scribantur.
Io!

And finally some pictures:






o2



Oxygen-Spencer Pidgeon

keep me here for just five minutes now
everything I do, I'll show you how
though I'm sure that it's not possible
one thing I know is this love's unstoppable

come in closer, whisper in my ear
all the words you know I long to hear
I tried to trace your lines just like a map
but in your deep blue eyes I found a trap

show me a sign and I can guarantee
that all the love you bring is safe with me
lonely hearts, they need a helping hand
so be my air and I'll be your oxygen

be my air and I'll be your oxygen

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Split in between

Work hard and play hard?

Play hard but work harder?

Work hard but play harder?

Monday, November 03, 2008

Trypanophobia

(yay... I'm blogging again.)

Last week I did one all-night shift out of interest for seeing the situation in the Accidents and Emergency dept in Newham Hospital (because that's when usually the real actions of A&E kick in.) The scenario wasn't as close as I expected to be, like those in ER. It was rather quiet, chilled out night (good for the hospital staff, bad for a student like me). However, it still rather very rewarding night.

The night thought me that I'm no superman, especially in A&E. I couldn't solve everything (if I could, I would have been Dr Gregory House). I took a history from a Thai lady who had majority of the common neurological presenting complaints to a doctor, and it took one hour just to complete the task. Her anxious family members (in total 4 of them being the same small cubicle) were obviously very tired (of waiting for me to finish). Was rather frustrating that I still couldn't give a definite diagnosis at the end of it. I didn't know what she truly has. If I were the doctor, I would have gone all out to get to the bottom of this.... maybe because of my guilt of not knowing enough medicine. I need to learn to cope with insufficiency, being aware that we have our own human limits. That's why medicine would need to have many specialities so that some us would be more knowlegable in one field and less in another.

Just when you thought you are about to give up on yourself, sometimes in life there would be someone that still continues to hope on you. I learnt this, rather humbly, at 5.00am, when this 25 year-old gentleman, Mr NM, a long-standing asthma sufferer was brought in by ambulance for his worsening breathlessness. He was very afraid of needles. I initially told him that I would be able to cannulate him. But after inspecting his veins, which appeared rather small and hard to cannulate on, I said would not want too - never had positive experience with this issue. I told him that I'll one of the nurses to do it. I told him that if I were to do it, it potentially meant having several attempts at cannulating before success, and I didn't to particularly distressed a trypanophobiac like him. To my surprise, he insisted that I gave it a try nonetheless despite all my warnings. And guess what? I succeeded! I could feel that both of us were practically shaking from our own fears and embarrassements of the needle. When all done, we instantly exchanged chains of apologies. I was sorry that I caused him much discomfort; he, for being scared of needles. I must say he had been a very brave man.

Oh yes, and the Thai lady with neuro problems was afraid of cannulaes too. When she saw the cannulae put into her hand, after a doctor examined her, she immediately began to cry. The concerns I digged out of her was that she thought her condition was something very serious (although that was still a matter of debate), that was why she had this cannulae in. When in fact, and this was what I told her, 'cannulae is a common procedure that is given to everyone who comes into the A&E dept'. Being a student, who is already used to whole hospital thing, I sometimes forget that things that are very trivial to me may be something regarded as life-threatening to patients. I guess that's where all the communication skills taught at med school become useful in handling this situation.

(and in conjunction with the release of the new Bond movie sequal: The names' Wilson.... Aaron Wilson.)