Evil Bites

I've discovered the most evil creation of mankind.

It is called Hup Toh So.

These cute little almond cookies are small, aromatic, tasty and oh-so light and crumbly. One cannot get enough of them once one had started popping them into the mouth.

The crumbly sweet bits simply melt in your mouth. I think eating this is better than eating ambrosia.

Found in abundance during festive seasons, this container of pure delight was a gift from an acquaintance.

I started with one innocent-looking piece. It was gone in a few seconds. Unsatiated, I took another, to savour its rich taste of almond, and then another, and another. I have been addicted to it ever since I started on Monday. This is the new opium. For me, at least.

You might wonder what is so evil about a few pieces of cookies.

Here's a piece of nutritional fact which will make you cringe. 2 pieces of this mini biscuit the size of a 20cent coin contains 160kcal. That is equivalent to eating 2 slices of bread!

And I eat at least 10 pieces of this sinful cookie a day. I cannot imagine stomaching 10 slices of bread in a week!

These almond cookies apparently contains lard(lemak babi!!) which makes it yummy and crumbly.

Works well with my tastebuds, definitely not with my weight :(

But like all other Chinese, we would say, "Once a year only mah."

Feeds the metabolic syndrome, surely. What the heck, we only live once.

Happy Valentine's Day, by the way.

14.2.2008(4.33am) - I forgot yesterday was the 7th day of Chinese New Year, which is the common birthday of man. Darn... all these years I would celebrate at home with my family. Next year, perhaps.

Revision Blues

Today is the 5th day of Chinese New Year.
It is also pre-exams day.
This is our exams week for the Orthosurgery posting. I have Surgery clinicals tomorrow, Orthopaedics clinicals on Thursday and theory paper on Friday.
Feels horrible to have a holiday turn into study leave.
15 days of Chinese New Year might seem like an over-indulgent affair but like most Chinese, I celebrate any cause to makan :)
My brains are in a state of denial! I've been staring at my books for hours and yet there were no synapses at my amygdala. Don't even talk about my amygdala....I wonder if my Wernicke's is fully functioning at the moment.
What is this?

Where I am sitting, this looks so much more tempting.

*Sigh*

I am a month away from my finals. Haven't really had the time to reflect back on my 5 years of med school. Sometimes I wonder what is my most important lesson in med school.

As a med student, the doctors and lecturers keep telling us that most of what we learn in med schools will not be what we see in future as doctors. We are now at the textbook level, and we do not always find textbook patients. The practical aspects of being a doctor has to be experienced and learned that way.

For now, a med student has to sit for her exams in the midst of Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day (not that I have a date anyway).

"Medical practice is not knitting and weaving and the labour of the hands, but it must be inspired with soul and be filled with understanding and equipped with the gift of keen observation; these together with accurate scientific knowledge are the indispensable requisites for proficient medical practice."

~Mosos ben Maimon (1135-1204)

Date with Death

I have a date with Death, but the time is not confirmed. I think he will give me a surprise when the time comes. I know he is like that.

Though I have seen him many times in the hospital, he never once looked my way or greeted me. Maybe he was saving his thoughts for our date. Or perhaps he did not have the time, him being such a busy man.

He is an enigma. I could never tell when I would see him. Sometimes I could see him waiting at the corner for many days for the septic lady, or the man with terminal cancer. Sometimes he would come unannounced, kiss the lady in labour and leave as abruptly as he had arrived.

He seemed to like children as well. I had seen him cradle babies in his arms, and they stopped crying. He was the one who led May out of the hospital, holding her little hand in his own. That was the only time I saw May walk, but she was walking away from me.

When I was in Teluk Intan last week, he came for a young Hunter. I heard he was watching this boy for many years, staying in close proximity but never had direct contact, not until now.

I read in the papers that several days ago that he was on a bus which crashed on the highway. He was unharmed, and left the crash site with 3 youths. It was unexpected, even for these 3 young people. They were not prepared to leave. They had not left any goodbyes for their families, but his magnetism was too strong for them to resist.

I would be seeing him on a regular basis when I start working. There would come a time when I have to stand against him, telling him to leave. He must know that he is not welcomed all the time.

Still, I know he will not listen to what I say. He comes and goes as he wishes.

He might even steal a kiss from me before my time.