It’s been a long time since I last blogged…

Let’s see..what have I been up to….

Actually time really flies its already week 6 into the internship and tho its really tiring but I try to make the most out of it....especially the weekends…

Internship can be quite a bore and interesting at the same time..i definitely learn things there but because of its long hours and the nature that it is compulsory for us to attend it in full, so it makes it slightly less fun.

Well there are many things that u can learn from working in the hospital, you see many different patients, with different illnesses, with different ways of expression, different upbringing, different language, different symptoms and so on and so forth. I think I will share about the many things I learned and witnessed at the hospital.

Hospital hours are supposedly, 730 to 5 pm and depends on the dept u are in, u might need to OT on the weekends or work late.I suppose I can say that I am lucky that I need not OT so far but that is partially because I haven’t been the very high demanding dept yet in the rotation of 23 dept in the hospital in a year.

Weekend before the onset of the internship a group of 10 of us went clubbing and I must say that it was quite a fun time out and it was a different kind of fun. Back in Singapore when I go clubbing w a couple of gal friends, it usually means drinking till there is a little feel and then dancing and it can be quite fun but this was a different fun. Yes we drink, but it was very little only. There was a portion on them who were not drinkers and were just there for the fun of it and some dancing and just hanging out with friends. Then I was like playing mother hen.

The first weekend, I went out with mei xiu and bf(zheng wen) to nan luo gu xiang and boy did we spend a lot of money…..on paper products mainly. Discovered that zheng wen was one who shares some what a common interest in paper produstc like nice looking notebooks etc. then we ate at an Indian restaurant that was supposedly highly recommended on the internet’s traveler’s guide kind of thing and the food was not bad but not that terrific la….It was a pity that all of us forgot to bring camera…sigh…then we finally ended the night at the raffles city shopping centre which has recently opened at the dong zhi men mrt. It had more slightly above average kind of shops and the toilets were also nice…well, being in the shopping centre makes u think of Singapore.

The second weekend, I went to Da Xing city (Liao Ning) / Qin Huang Dao (Hu Bei) for the weekend with some of my akido friends. We got there by a rented coach so the whole trip was quite fun except the fact that the long hours in the coach that we rented cause my butt to be flattened by the sit.

The third week was NDP at the Singapore embassy in Beijing on Sunday. So after church a few of us hanged out at Solana shopping centre near the church and was there till its time for ethe embassy and of course we bought clothes and other stuff. The NDP was fun. I think nearly al the Singaporeans in the class turned up except for a couple and the classed hyped it till a level that it was the highlight of the week and the must do event on the list. There was a wide spread selection of free food, buffet style, hainanese chicken rice, laksa, sushi, dessert, ba ku tei and a lot of other stuff and just taking a little of everything was beyond filling already. We weren’t really focused on the parade till the later half and were mostly busy taking photos, eating and mingling among ourselves mainly. We did make some acquaintances of important people who were all very nice to us, probably cause we are all Singaporeans and to them, we are just youngsters who can help add more life to the night and sure did we do just that. We took the pledge at 8.22 and were all high after the parade was over…high on oxygen?? As a whole big gang we were all singing the familiar national songs over and over again and in that moment, there seem as if there was no end to it. I do like singing some of the older national day songs but I think i never felt so happy and excited singing the national day songs and I think I might not be the only one. Well, it was really a night to remember, not knowing if we will ever be in an embassy for national day, much less to mention the Beijing embassy in particular. Another precious memory added to the the first year in Beijing.

The 4th week’s sat, mei xiu and I went to the pearl market as she hasn’t been there yet and I bought a fake phone that looked quite real. The real phone was 4000+. The fake one was either 800 or 700 but I bargain till 370 which included a screen protector and a hp cover. Then I got the sales person to help me stick the protector on for free (sometimes they charge a fee for sticking service) and as she was not very good at sticking it, she stick the first one wrongly and had to waste anther screen protector for me….hehehe.

The 5th weekend’s sat, Saturday was gone to helping a friend do a photo shoot which took up the whole day and left me exhausted and running on reserves. Then on Sunday, we went to a Singaporean’s house, a lady the class befriended at the Singapore embassy and we were at her place on sun afternoon to discuss how to shoot a Ch U programe which will feature how Singaporeans settle their food in Beijing and the shoot was for the following week. After the discussion the lady brought us to Lao Ba Sat ( Old Market) which was actually a restaurant that have a little reminder of Singapore old coffee shop settings and other Singapore photos hanging on the wall and was opened by a Singaporean selling singpaore food. So we order like a little of everything, mee siam, curry chicken, laksa, hokkien mee, small bowl noodle, curry puff, teh-c etc etc, passing the bowls around and every one taking a little of everything and we were still all very full. Then we walked slightly further down to the newly opened swensens for ice cream. The durian ice cream was terrific and it had real durian inside. I also ardered my favourite cloit-tower, I always have a thing for swensens and it reminds me of home and family so much. A week later, we found out that the food at swensens was less than satisfactory and was glad we only at ice cream there that night. The swensens also served other Singaporean local dishes.

The 6th weekend was distinguished by the shoot on Saturday morning . some of us got there by 8 to go to the market at san yuan bridge or other places near by to buy the ingredients and stuff and then everyone came back to the lady’s house to squeeze in the kitchen to cook. Well, the nice side which I think was on the top of the list for some of them was to be seen on TV but I wasn’t really there for that. Well, at least I have been on TV and radio stations before so it was more like, there will big quite a no. of classmates who will be engage in the activity that’s why I joined them and then just help here and there. I was suppose to do yu sheng but the TV crew brought it from Singapore already, so I just helped with the second main, which was bee hoon. It was reall a geast, there was bee hoon, kueh sala, hainanese chicken rice, sphagettie, sushi, thai curry, bbq chicken wings, mo-mo-cha-cha, cheng-teng, luo-ba, yam paste, 9 layer cake and other stuff. The shoot went pretty well and we took photos with the crew too and the whole experience was quite nice. We ate till we were bloated and could not stomach more. At night we went to “The place” and it was quite nice to be there again. The first time I was there was last winter with a friend and his friends at a wine cellar which had pretty nice settings. The autumn version of the shopping centre was full of life and joy, with families and kids playing “UFO” (a saucer balloon thrown into the air to play fetch), and the Large LCD over head that spans the whole central ground floor was showing sms wishes for the Chinese valentine. We hanged around there till the propaganda-like video which marks the 60yrs anniversary of PRC was played and though I am not Chinese and not pro their politics here, but watching the video which outlines the progress of China, it was a quite a well-done put up.

Then had another shoot on Sunday..my friend was late and I had to wait for her at the starbucks in village and should I maybe, based on my experience…is starbucks Beijing a place to get hit at or a place nice to hit people? Well, there was this afro American guy who came and took the sofa seat opposite mine and was introducing himself etc and I think he thought we were on a match-make session or a SDU session?? Partially because he is afro American and also because I think he English foundation wasn’t really well, I wasn’t too sure if he was telling me that he is goin back to the US for hole in December or asking me along with him. He was totally weird, telling me when he wants to get married, how many kids he wants to have, that he is sincere about being friends with me etc etc and it was weird caz when there was no conversation going on, he won’t leave the table. I was like sms-ing my friend calling her to come to my rescue asap but she was stranded in a not so far but not so near place and couldn’t get hold of a cab to come over. The guy left a few mins before she arrived. The shoot was pretty long and soon, in a blink of the eye and the weekend was over…..

So u see….everyweek actually pass quite fast and I am only sharing what I had on the wkends caz weekdays is mostly hospital work though I must say that there are a lot of other stuff here and there so everyday is filled

qing dao

Actually the thought of going to Qing dao was initiated when a few of my classmates went to Qing dao separately and that there is the Beach there. So when people think of qing dao they
usually think of the beach and of course the Qing dao beer.

Day 1: started out cool, then rain/drizzle, night heavy rain

Arrived at about 8 am. Checked into some random “hotel” opposite the train station and signed on for a one day 崂山 tour. The tour bus also brought us to some Qing dao Olympic hall, tea place, pearls/jewelry place, seafood produce factory etc. back to hotel at abt 5 then went to buy the train tix back to Beijing. Bought the earliest train tix I could to get back to Beijing but still cabbed to the Air China building to check out the air tix back. Asked the cab driver what’s there to do at night, he said night market(but it was raining) and probably clubs and he said a lot of youngsters went to this pub called Feeling. After checking out the expansive train tix, I had my first proper meal of the day(noodles) and then went to check out the pub. They had someone singing Chinese songs from 930-10 before they play mainly English music like in a club.
I must say that the view was fantastic. The tour had a shuttle bus to bring us to some midpoint og the mountain before we cable car up to 700m and then continue climbing to the Li gate and Kan gate of the mountain. on the way up, in the shuttle bus, there were a lot of stone carvings and sculptures of the various famous Taoist as the mountain was the birth place of one of the 3 major divisions of Taoism. The tour guide explained the story of each of them as we passed but I was just hearing and not listening. The whole story telling just made me feel that the whole China culture and history, its philosophy etc is really博大精深. For a while there will be parts of the mountain or your view that has been blocked but the fog and a few moments later, the drizzle might stop the the fog clear for a while and the view was beyond fantastic. I was thinking to myself, even if you weren’t a xian or “god”, at the view, you must have thought that you have entered the third dimension :P The climb up was really tiring and it was really steep, challenging but the view at the top was more than worth it. Amazed by the beauty of this world, of what nature has in its full natural beauty. Dvds and vcds of travel, showing nature and other natural landscapes are often popular for some of the scenic are not easily accessible by the average man and thus they are often popular, especially among the elderly who would wish to travel but are unable to due to various reasons. Here I am, in CHINA , one of the most popular selections to view nature and its wonders, people buy the vcds to see it but here I am being at the place itself, nature’s full glory right before my eyes and within my reach, breathing in the mountain fresh air, feeling the caress of the drizzle, refreshed but the cool wind that clears your head of everything. You really have to be there to feel it yourself, all other means, be it video, pictures, words all fail to express the feel and the view in the most apt way.

But I was seriously freaking tired the whole day. The previous night didn’t sleep well as I needed to burn the midnight oil and have poor quality sleep due to the exam. Then night before didn’t sleep well as the train tix I bought was “hard seat” for part of the journey and the “stand” the remaining half of the journey(tho the rightful owner of the sit let me have the seat after a few hours and he stood instead), but it was very noisy and pretty packed and definitely no proper rest. So I was like falling asleep In the coach when it fetched us from one place to another. Went to the club at night but I knowing that going to the dance floor was “dangerous” so I only enjoyed my 5 bottles of qing dao and pop corn at my seat. The music was not bad but I caught myself falling asleep twice for more than half a second then I decided to head back to the hotel. Based on the weather forecast for Sunday and that Saturday night was raining like crazy, I seriously thought that Sunday was going to be a goner and just rain the whole day.

Sunday: weather was terrific! Bright, sunny and not too hot.

Went to check out the beach no. 6(which is just behind my hotel) and beach no. 2 aka Shi Lao Ren which was recommended by a few websites. Went to the Qing dao beer museum based on word of recommendation by the tour guide. Went back to hotel to change and put down some stuff. Then went to check out the Zhan Bridge which was also walking distance from my hotel too and watched the sunset from there. Had dinner then went to the night market and went since it was the last night in qing dao, decided to check out the lights and sounds and find a place to have a drink and have some nice music. Went back to the road that I was at tht previous night since there was suppose to be more pubs there and randomly saw and went into a pub called Club New York, where there was Filipino band which has been there for 2-3 years and the Filipinos never fail to impress with their voices. I didn’t really wanted to dance but there was this local lady who chio me so we went to the dance floor and within my expectation there was “trouble”. Weird middle aged China men trying to befriend me and buy me drinks and really cant dance at all. But the table of Russians beside their table were more interesting :P

The beach was really interesting. Mention the beach to anyone in my class and we would all think of bikini, sun tan, lazing by the beach like, the idea of bali or phhuket would come to mind then its really 入乡随俗, you got to adapt to the ways of the local people. There was hardly any bikini in sight, guys will sometimes be in trunks or bermuders, girls in not-so-pretty swim suits or 2 piece or they will be dressed in shirts and shorts and be holding an umbrella. No one was sun taning but all just playing with water etc or in tents or just standing or walking about. So although I was wearing a bikini inside, I only removed my top to take photos and of course it attracted some attention and I wore my top back again.

Travelling in qing dao was ok, as you can always get cabs but or ask for direction from the locals but sometimes their accent was kind of heavy and I just have to pretend I knew what they were talking about and then walked a little further off before asking other people for confirmation on the directions I was previously given.

Watching the sun set at the Zhan Bridge was good. Then I the poem by 李商隐
向 晚 意 不 适
驱 车 登 古 原。
夕 阳 无 限 好，
只 是 近 黄 昏。
Again, the chilly wind from the sea-land direction, sitting at the bridge, watching the sun set, watching people busy themselves taking photos and listening in to some of thei conversation, I must say that the whole experience was totally relaxing, soothing and it felt good and free. There was a kind of unmatched peace in the heart too.

The night club was pretty fun. Like I was saying I think that Filipinos always sing well and I thought it was a good combination to have a Chinese club on the first night and a more “ang moh” club on the second night where about 30-40% of the patrons were Caucasians. They sang old school, 80s, 90s, and a few others, English, Spanish, Russian. I really did enjoy myself there. But the middle-aged Chinese man was kind of irritating. It was fine by me if he wanted to buy me drinks and of caz I was remotely nice enough to talk to him a little but he wet my jeans! The first was when I was talking to the Russian and he wanted to join in the conversation but was a bit high and knocked into the Russian instead and caused the Russian’s martini to spill onto my jeans. Later on, when he wanted to cheers the beer with me, he suddenly lost his grip on his mug of beer and it spilled onto the table and “kana” my jeans again. It was really annoying. Then because I don’t have extra jeans, I had to wear the dirty jeans the next day on my train back to Beijing. Damn!

Well, I learnt more about myself or maybe I should say some obvious facts about myself during the trip? Well, I know I am not the people kind of person and prefer to have own time, space and target, I guess that was the best part about travelling alone. what time to wake, what and when to eat, when to go where, to stay for how long, last minute changes, it’s really free and easy! I must say Freedom is the most important asset a person can have. I also learnt that I can be rash, like how this trip went about and the fact that many a times when I have already made my decision, I will be very tempted to go make a survey of opinions about the situation, hoping to get some reassurance from the survey results but really, actually, sometimes, it really doesn’t matter does it? Then I also learnt that I really do like a drink and nice music at night to chill. Although some people say that I have a chiongster face and I would say that I am capable of chionging if I want to and am able to hold quite an amount of alcohol, I would like to do so sometimes but would actually much more prefer drinks and nice music, usually from a live band.
I must say that I have been very blessed throughout the trip as there can be countless opportunities for danger to happen or to meet with not so nice people but I would say that all the random few individuals I met were all generally nice in a way and I am back in Beijing in one piece safe and sound. The whole free and impromptu or little planning involved kind of trip was really fun and thrilling but I am also aware of the dangers involved, that’s why I sometimes quoted I was from hai nan. But there was once this guy was saying that Hainan was nice and asked where was fun and I obviously didn’t know where. So I was like “actually being a local, the places would all seem normal to me cause I am a local. I won’t know where to start cause they will only seem special to tourist” It was really nice travelling alone, I am not a very people person so I don’t really to mingling and making friends everywhere but I still do a little every now and then. But the only irritating part was that you would always need to engage strangers help to take photos of u and the place, during which u would have to choose someone who might be able to take a good photo and not run away with your camera. And obviously, I learnt to live with and by myself better.

RAIN

Rain……

 

What does it mean and symbolize?

To farmers, traditional farming, it means there is hope for their crop…

The rain washes the dirt of the street….all is brand new to start again….symbolic in a way…

In soap operas, rain suggests the change of mood and atmosphere into one whereby the heavens are crying out for injustice or sometimes suggest more darkness is to follow that night….

Rain means bad news for those who are eager to wash their clothes and/or cars and sometimes it means their efforts have been wasted…..

To some it creates the chance and the settings to laze at home in bed and call it a off day at work..

To some it means there will be lesser customers today…

To some it reminds them of the last time they shared umbrellas with another or when another had come to their rescue with umbrellas or .when they have last walk in the rain with someone…

To some it means trouble in trying to get home….

To some it means they need to be on the lookout for floods whether major or minor….

To some it means the day's activities needs to be severely changed…

Yet again…was it the rain or was it us?.........

Just as you were feeling down and lonely
An angel came to me flying
Could not imagine someone like you
In Beijing all alone, tearful and crying

No one knows how hurt you’ve been
The brain can’t heal what the heart had seen
How the heart numbs the body and soul
Inside it makes you feel so old
Alone inside, the feeling’s cold

Just when you thought all you’ll feel is frost
In the chapel, you’ll find not all hope is lost
Night comes, you’ll start to pray
Hoping the Lord will wipe your tears away
Until the Lord shines you a road
I’ll be your friend, to lighten your load


A poem by my friend......thanks Jeffrey

“I think of you often and make no outward show, but what it means to lose you, no one will ever know. You wished no one farewell, not even said good-bye; you were gone before I knew it, and only God knows why. You are not forgotten nor will you ever be, as long as life and memories last, I will remember thee.”

“To some you may be forgotten, to others a part of the past, but to me who loved you dearly, your memories will always last. Nothing can be more beautiful than the memories I have of you. To me, you were someone special; God must have thought so too! If tears could build a staircase and memories a lane, I would walk all the way to heaven, and bring you back again.”

"I promised you my heart and soul forever. For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul. Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength; loving someone deeply gives you courage."

"Nunc scio quit sit amor."(Translated from Latin, means; "Now I know what love is.”)

“I love you my darling, always and forever. This is my promise to you!”

“Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation. Death ends a life, not a relationship. I love you my darling. With every last breath in my body and blood in my veins, I will love and protect you always. My promise to you is forever.”


from http://thestjohnlady.blogspot.com/2009/05/sad-farewell-to-true-legend_05.html?zx=78366087f8704379

nice right?

actually this is a cut n paste from my chinese blog entry a couple of months back.....

i think there are a lot of interesting stories i get to hear or experience in beijing but just havent got the time to blog n share abt it yet.....will write soon....i hope

比如说见习的时候，在医院跟医生查房的时候，或老师上课的时候提到自己的经验能学到或听到很多有趣的东西。有一个七十多岁的老人，抽了一辈子的烟（六十年的烟），两年前在公园的一个戒烟活动上决定戒烟，说“烟可以不抽，饭不可以不吃”。他是因为心动脉硬化而心绞痛半夜入院，做了搭桥手术。跟他提起该把他每天两杯低浓度的白酒戒掉，他说“酒可以不喝，饭不可以不吃”。

老师说很多时候劝那些年轻小伙子或中年人为了身体健康戒烟什么的，他们都不肯，像是看破红尘的说什么人谁无死，该抽的烟就抽，该喝的酒就喝，而往往等到他们心绞痛，感觉到心慌的时候（有一种要死的感觉），他们之后都变成小绵羊，非常听医生的话，有过于而无不及。

Being Still

 

Been feeling kinda vexed lately. Stress from school and from personal problems, and I guess a lot of people out there can relate to it as u were once a student or u don't exactly need to be of a specific role in order to know what stress feels like and what it can do to you. Different people react to stress differently. Sure there are different levels of stress and since it is an emotion generated by the psychological pressures from all over the place, it is really hard to measure and dangerous to label one's stress as more or less than the other person. Many people also take it out differently, maybe exercise, mediation, drinking, indulging in their hobby of gardening, singing etc. There really isn't a one package fits all, agree? So I am just going to discuss from the angle of releasing stress or finding release in religion. Well, I am a Christian by the way but probably I guess there might be some little things here and there that u may agree with me….

Well, lately I have been stressed, stress from personal problems and exams mainly and others and it can be kind of tiring, cause anxiety attacks and can really be driving me up the wall sometimes. Sometimes it feels like there is so much being piled on, and then u are struggling to stay afloat, and there maybe other pressures that make u doubt about the future or the immediate future, then as a Christian, sometimes we get the advice Psalms 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God"…so I was thinking what is the idea of being still? The story of Jesus calming the Storm Mark 4:35-40 comes to mind….how to be still when the boat is in a storm but the Christ calmed it and when I read it sometimes, I will think about the redundant struggle we so often put forth…..

Its like swimming. If you have a bad cramp while swimming or are a non-swimmer and are thrown into a pool or even open water, i guess everyone's first reaction is to panic and struggle in the water. Not many people know or at least can remember at that first instant, that the right thing to do first is to actually just try to stop struggling and lie still on the surface of water and wait for help to come. Well, if u keep struggle, u are wasting energy, moving the molecules of water away from you and "digging" more space for u to be part of the water body and then the worst part is when somebody comes and save you, there will be unnecessary struggle and will make the whole rescuing process even more tiring and difficult to carry out. You get where I am coming from?

I think many times we struggle on our own unnecessarily, hoping that whatever we do will make it better but a lot of times it doesn't. So we have to commit the issues into God's hands and then stop struggling and wait on him. It's not asking u to totally not do anything but to do to ur best and then leave the rest to God. Don't struggle in the water but be still…..I know its difficult caz I always fluctuate between the 2 too but we need to learn to lean on God…..

Eagles are different…they soar…relying on the under wind…not like normal birds which flap all the way……