tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53471820399704570812024-02-19T07:01:43.293-04:00Symplicity MeAmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963028953437661696noreply@blogger.comBlogger253125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347182039970457081.post-38124147972669593652012-03-01T12:00:00.013-04:002012-03-01T12:00:01.302-04:00Bye Bye Blogger, Hello Wordpress<div style="text-align: center;">It's exactly what it sounds like.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I've decided to move my blog over to Wordpress. Why? Click the link below to find out!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">All my old posts have moved over with me so nothing's lost in the process. I surely do hope you'll keep up with me there.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I'll miss the Blogger experiences. I've been with it for over 3 years!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://symplicityme.wordpress.com/">http://symplicityme.wordpress.com</a> Bookmark me! :) </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">See you there!</div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963028953437661696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347182039970457081.post-86732212164281500092012-02-21T19:36:00.001-04:002012-02-21T19:36:52.275-04:00Reminiscing New Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://sky-wallpaper.com/uploads/2010-09/lovely-babies-wallpaper/1286104271-4HOF8FS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://sky-wallpaper.com/uploads/2010-09/lovely-babies-wallpaper/1286104271-4HOF8FS.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">"I changed a diaper today and fed a newborn. I love paediatrics." ~ Facebook status. Not mine.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm not a big fan of paediatrics. In fact, once upon a time, I wanted to do paediatrics. 40 hours of volunteering on the paediatric ward prior to applying to medical school and I knew it was not something I wanted to do...anymore. After spending a 4 week rotation on paediatrics...it's not...awful.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Regardless, that Facebook status made me recall my time on Obstetrics & Gynaecology delivering babies. On our paediatrics rotation, we spend some time on the neonate ward...examining babies and getting little activities signed off our little procedure cards, like changing a diaper and feeding. The thought of examining babies brought back memories of examining babies just as they had popped out of their mommas.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">And then, it hit me.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I brought lives into the world. Me!</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/HumanNewborn.JPG/250px-HumanNewborn.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/HumanNewborn.JPG/250px-HumanNewborn.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birth isn't pretty. This one actually looks pretty good though.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;">I know I'm about 2 months late on this realisation, but I've reached it nonetheless. I was just suddenly overwhelmed by the emotion of having aided a new life in its entry into the modern world of light, colour, temperature, sounds and food. This did register with me before, but I never really sat down to think about it. At the time, I was merely concerned with getting all my signatures for all my deliveries. I didn't stop to smell the roses, so to speak.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Now that I've found the time to reminisce on those experiences, I'm in as much awe in myself as everyone else. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">*Pats self on back*</div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963028953437661696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347182039970457081.post-58608977729357528122012-02-05T12:54:00.002-04:002012-02-05T13:01:34.897-04:00Picking a Specialty<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">"What do you want to specialise in?"</span></b> </div><br />
A question posed by many...from the stranger on the street to the supervising consultant. As a medical student, everyone wants to know where our interests lie. <br />
<br />
At this point in our lives as a medical student, the answer to that question is going to be either clear and stated or, as is the case of the majority, "I'm still not sure but I'm considering -X-, -Y- and -Z-." Many individuals in my class are well aware of my interest in pursuing 'alternative medicine'. But in an environment where alternative practices are considered phony, I choose not to tell most people what I really intend to do with my preferred practice and, so, my medical student answer to the big specialty question falls with the majority's.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ivteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/chest-xray.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.ivteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/chest-xray.jpg" /></a></div><br />
I just completed my elective at home in Anaesthesia & Intensive Care, chosen because of all the clerkships I've completed, it was the only one that could capture my attention the past year. It also had the advantage of exposing me to many things that I would encounter during my final year without imposing a great demand of my time during my elective period. Turns out that my choice in doing it was a good one! So good in fact, that if I were to continue in conventional medicine, it would be in this specialty. Interesting, too, because it's got a lot of focus on the use of drugs but I prefer the ICU setting where the drugs are really just emergency short-term drugs. If there's anything I can appreciate in allopathic medicine, it is the appropriate use of drugs and their short-term effects that help save lives in emergency situations. The long-term use of many drugs, I don't really like.<br />
<br />
So, my new reply has been formulated by the impression of my time in Anaesthesia & Intensive Care:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">"I'm really interested in Anaesthesia & Intensive Care."</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I wouldn't really be doing it but it's no lie that my interest is in it. </div><br />
What I want to study: Naturopathic Medicine.<br />
What I intend to do: Integrative Medicine...a practice binding 'conventional' with 'alternative'.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.constantclick.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Two-Unusual-Link-Building-Ideas-For-SEO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.constantclick.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Two-Unusual-Link-Building-Ideas-For-SEO.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
If I got a buck for every time I've been asked the specialty question, I'd probably be able to purchase a Music Factory, Spring Edition 2012 ticket...with a couple dollars to spare...for AnimeKon? =)<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b><i>Choose what grasps your heart and mind most. That way, you can enjoy it. </i></b></span></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963028953437661696noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347182039970457081.post-47548137940764204452012-01-28T22:56:00.003-04:002012-01-28T23:01:52.798-04:00Destructive Fun. Drink Responsibly.Whoever said that fun had to be a destructive past-time?<br />
<br />
What's worse than watching on as the people you love destroy their bodies slowly but surely being unable to stop them from what they deem to be fun? Well, I'm sure there are some things that are worse. I guarantee you though, when you try to warn them but they refuse to listen, all you can feel is heartbroken.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.careflorida.com/assets/images/site_images/functioningalcoholicbusinessman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://www.careflorida.com/assets/images/site_images/functioningalcoholicbusinessman.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The result of a long night of 'fun': feeling groggy and tired with headaches, nausea and vomiting. That's the definition of 'feel-good' isn't it? Wrong. That's the definition of your body's rejection to your night time activity. And if you're not listening to me, you sure aren't going to be listening to your body either.</div><br />
Now, I never once suggested stopping altogether. A little self-control would make me happy.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInwgqV0dehszs8aDgLDrC7XMPvVnkwz1r_KkuRikq7QvIaCjZeSi2bThUfdAdwb7FTNnAYovM6xwhFxJp8A0a0Uv21I61B7Zzb18Qm4WL_0Tc-4YS9zRuMk4QoQcf3TWwbT3G-EqmiYQ/s400/alcohol.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInwgqV0dehszs8aDgLDrC7XMPvVnkwz1r_KkuRikq7QvIaCjZeSi2bThUfdAdwb7FTNnAYovM6xwhFxJp8A0a0Uv21I61B7Zzb18Qm4WL_0Tc-4YS9zRuMk4QoQcf3TWwbT3G-EqmiYQ/s320/alcohol.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Alcohol abuse is a major problem within our society and yet it isn't viewed in such a way because it's considered the social 'norm'. People aren't often fazed by the effects of chronic alcohol consumption or even binge drinking because they have no idea just how badly it affects their body. Sure, it may <i>appear</i> as if some people escape the repercussions but you don't really know the <i>inner workings</i> of another's body, do you?<br />
<br />
The excuse of "I hardly drink so there's no harm in getting drunk" is no excuse at all. Because when people think alcohol abuse, they only ever seem to think 'cirrhosis' but did you know that cirrhosis is irreversible and is the last thing that happens before your liver eventually gives out? Did you know that you may not even get to the point of cirrhosis if you manage to die of alcohol poisoning first?<br />
<br />
Alcohol poisoning is a medical emergency. If you miss the symptoms, the result could be death. And binge drinking is the main cause of it.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.macalester.edu/mfa/index/assets/images/mfa%20alcohol%20poisoning2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="307" src="http://www.macalester.edu/mfa/index/assets/images/mfa%20alcohol%20poisoning2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A good pamphlet on Alcohol Poisoning. Click photo to enlarge.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
I'm not hiding my concern about this newfound lifestyle some of my dearest friends have developed. I may come off as the party-pooper, the boring one, the one who's trying to stop all their fun. I know many others share a similar concern with a friend or loved one...be it alcohol, drugs, tobacco or any other substance.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Never hesitate to voice your concerns.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">And if you find yourself to be guilty of a lack of control with your liquor, be considerate of your friends. They're concerned for your <b><i>life</i></b>. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><em><strong>Don't let your youth be an excuse for you to die young. Drink Responsibly.</strong></em></span></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963028953437661696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347182039970457081.post-52363895713573705232012-01-26T18:53:00.000-04:002012-01-26T18:53:42.669-04:00Doctors Make MistakesHere's an amazing speech made by Brian Goldman, a doctor, on the fact that doctors make mistakes and how it should not be a shameful thing to admit.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/iUbfRzxNy20?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></div><br />
We're all human. We're not robots, we'll all make mistakes at some point. Heck, even technology itself can make errors.<br />
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Doctors are always placed on this high pedestal, being regarded as the ones who know all there is to know about healing people. They don't. They'll never know all there is to know because there's just. too. much. There's a reason why there are specialties and subspecialties in medicine. No single person could know everything. Yet society throws expectations at doctors: <em>you've gotta be perfect at what you do</em>.<br />
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Knowing it all still won't make an imperfect being, perfect. Why toss out an unmeetable expectation towards people? By doing so, these individuals are then unable to deal with their mistakes in a healthy manner, accept them and move forward. It becomes near impossible to admit mistakes. <br />
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Unfortunately, the world has become such that a doctor's mistake, be it large or small, is rewarded with a lawsuit. Oh boy.<br />
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I understand the considerable value of human life. Doctors do all they can to help. They do what they can with the power they have. But <strong><em>doctors are not gods. Or demi-gods. </em></strong><br />
<br />
Doctors are humans. Just like you, and your brother/sister, and your best friend, and the waitress at your favourite food place, and the homeless man in the city. Doctors are imperfect beings striving for perfection. In the same way you work your hardest to do what you do as perfectly as possible, doctors are no different. So then, why treat them as if they're something they're not?<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">If I could just wiggle my nose and heal someone, I would. Alas! I am but a mere human working with just my hands, my mind and man-made inventions. </div><div style="text-align: center;">Forgive me if I am unable to be the perfect being you expect.</div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963028953437661696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347182039970457081.post-63131423613932316872012-01-22T12:00:00.015-04:002012-01-22T12:00:03.712-04:00Enter The Dragon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" height="308" src="http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/021/5/9/year_of_the_dragon_by_natsupi-d4n3uaj.png" style="vertical-align: middle;" width="320" /></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #990000;">新年快乐!</span></span><span style="color: red; font-family: "lucida grande", "tahoma", "verdana", "arial", sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: 700;"> </span><em>(Simplified Chinese) </em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #990000;">新年快樂!</span></span><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-family: "lucida grande", "tahoma", "verdana", "arial", sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span></b></span><em>(Traditional Chinese)</em></div><br />
Last January, the year of the Tiger shuffled out with a <a href="http://symplexportal.blogspot.com/2011/03/japan-in-my-prayers.html" target="_blank">bang</a> before giving the year of the Rabbit, the more peaceful of the zodiac signs, a fairly rough start. Today, the Rabbit peacefully allows the entrance of the respected Dragon. And now, we start a new year. What does the year of the Dragon have in store for us, I wonder? I'm looking forward to it!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w1KiM-k1VJQ/TwUGvnEuVPI/AAAAAAAACsQ/CS4KJnZPlqg/s1600/Dragon_red.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w1KiM-k1VJQ/TwUGvnEuVPI/AAAAAAAACsQ/CS4KJnZPlqg/s320/Dragon_red.jpg" style="vertical-align: middle;" width="286" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>On a side note, I get fairly nervous every time we Skype my family in Hong Kong for the usual lunar new year greetings. My Cantonese is beyond terrible!<br />
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Meanwhile, here's a super fun video I saw the other day...veering a little away from tradition but entertaining nonetheless. <i>Party Rock Anthem</i> has shaken up the cosmos.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/053S4B5J0is?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963028953437661696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347182039970457081.post-50087478876063269962012-01-21T11:39:00.004-04:002012-01-21T12:06:42.986-04:00New Eating HabitsI mentioned <a href="http://symplexportal.blogspot.com/2012/01/medical-school-was-not-meant-to-be-easy.html" target="_blank">before</a> that I started up a new eating habit a few months ago...last August, actually. So I've been at it for awhile now and it's doing me a lot of good in terms of surviving the midday without any breaks, should such a thing happen as it often does at the hospital. Once upon a time I used to be at the point of starvation sometimes because I wouldn't get the time to eat some food until later on in the afternoon. <br />
<br />
My diet used to consist of a protein shake in the morning and taking my daily supplements @ 7 AM...sometimes 6:15 AM. That would keep me full until about 10-11:30 AM and then I'd start to get hungry. That's a bit of a problem when you're on ward rounds or in clinic until, say 12:30-1:30 PM because the concentration starts to waver until it's gone entirely. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/298718_10150912510870291_580010290_21464875_1399142684_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/298718_10150912510870291_580010290_21464875_1399142684_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some yummy food an Aunt of mine cooked up a few months ago =)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Starting August, while I was on one of my lighter rotations, Family Medicine, I decided to try something a little different. There's a girl in my class who would eat food for breakfast (a full meal), followed by a large apple for lunch and then some cereal or something a bit breakfasty for dinner. Yeah, she had a very backwards way of eating but it worked for her. I got tired of getting so hungry in the middle of the day and recalled that whenever I went to New York, I would be stuffed full of dim sum and other such wonderful foods for breakfast and would make it through the day without getting hungry until dinner sometimes! Breakfast would be at about 10 AM though, so that contributed to the delayed need for food. <br />
<br />
Using this as my basis, I decided I'd start eating what was supposed to be my lunch for breakfast (along with my daily supplements as well). And it works like a charm! The starvation, virtually gone...hunger pangs occasionally strike me after 12 depending on how heavy the meal was but it's certainly an improvement on the 10 AM hunger pangs. Around midday, or a little after, or whenever I do get the chance, I have myself a nice healthy snack...be it fruit or a cereal bar. Of course, throughout the day, I drink water, replenishing my hydration and keeping the hunger away as well (it works!). This is usually followed up by dinner...another full meal, usually sometime within the range of 5:30-6:30 PM. And that's it! <br />
<br />
The whole new diet routine seems to be working out quite well for me over the past months and I have few complaints about it. Hopefully it'll carry me through my final year of medical school and my 12-month internship. The routine is often slightly altered on days off though. And recently, I've been thinking about how many calories I'm consuming during my days because I've noticed that I feel a little more tired for no particular reason. For that reason, I downloaded this wonderful app for my iPad 2 called MyFitnessPal. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ssl.gstatic.com/android/market/com.myfitnesspal.android/hi-256-1-5c1665bf0fd90b1faaa657165b80a121751c3346" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://ssl.gstatic.com/android/market/com.myfitnesspal.android/hi-256-1-5c1665bf0fd90b1faaa657165b80a121751c3346" width="200" /></a></div>MyFitnessPal is actually quite handy...it gave me an idea of how many calories is ideal for my consumption per day according to my age, sex, working lifestyle (super active, sedentary and everything in between), etc...mine is about 1700. I only just downloaded it the other night but I've been under the number so far. Hmm. Gotta fix that up. It's actually a pretty neat app. I like how it works...it gives you food searches, with a fairly large database, so you can have an estimated calorie intake according to your meals. And if you can't find the food or snack in the database, you can add it manually or just simply input the calories if you know the number already. It pretty much acts as a food journal as well. You never really notice just how much or how little you're eating until you make a note of it somewhere.<br />
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Here's my calorie count for the past two days (since downloading the app). When you complete your log for the day, it gives you an estimate of how much you would weight if you were to use x-amount of calories every day. Pretty cool.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioIT86j8iNLE7CeQpSfhYTh9B7c76uu3RgswQnXdLvB7Qzo2oZ6UXauFw4NVmGDxJ2jwYfZ3auYaN9P1EGlV6-I5vvNlHWXMfy2JEzeDeBapKsk48p7Bj08LWyGdfnexU4ZykrfoFTIIo/s1600/photo.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioIT86j8iNLE7CeQpSfhYTh9B7c76uu3RgswQnXdLvB7Qzo2oZ6UXauFw4NVmGDxJ2jwYfZ3auYaN9P1EGlV6-I5vvNlHWXMfy2JEzeDeBapKsk48p7Bj08LWyGdfnexU4ZykrfoFTIIo/s400/photo.PNG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLMR-yH2d3RgyGU-LuBpcH83MR9R-gDt6woXEYljrXdPQ0dsLGiqiM97yUJhQwrAjKaYvmmOKlVdk8k0GTRFe4EgtXmkASLVVVlv-BnCMqcn8rs4CVHzF8PV5-EWzCqnUTrJ_fhi9M1To/s1600/photo.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLMR-yH2d3RgyGU-LuBpcH83MR9R-gDt6woXEYljrXdPQ0dsLGiqiM97yUJhQwrAjKaYvmmOKlVdk8k0GTRFe4EgtXmkASLVVVlv-BnCMqcn8rs4CVHzF8PV5-EWzCqnUTrJ_fhi9M1To/s400/photo.PNG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>The app is available for iOS, Android, Windows Mobile and Blackberry devices. Or, you can check out their <a href="http://www.myfitnesspal.com/" target="_blank">website</a> if you've got none of them.<br />
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So I'll make use of it a little more and see where I can adjust so that I'm getting my daily requirements and not tiring myself out and slowing down my body functions...that would be a bit on the counterproductive side of things!Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963028953437661696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347182039970457081.post-83190264008920278992012-01-17T20:59:00.006-04:002012-01-17T21:31:44.290-04:00Medical School Was Not Meant To Be EasyHere I am...rapidly coming towards the end of my penultimate year of medical school and, you know what? I couldn't feel any less prepared for my final year. I'm sure I've said this before but being in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit this rotation has made me realise this even more. Don't get me wrong. I'm loving my time in SICU and I'm learning so much but I'm also learning just how much I can't remember! And what I do remember, I have much difficulty bringing across verbally. That information would flow ever so smoothly on any writing surface. Gosh.<br />
<br />
But graduating from medical school was never meant to be a simple feat to accomplish. Here are some reasons (in no particular order) why:<br />
<ul><li><div><b>Overcoming your own drawbacks.</b></div></li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5224/5564080702_cbfee00e9e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5224/5564080702_cbfee00e9e.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><i>I've had two major personality clashes with this career path: shyness and quietness. Over the past three years, I've been able to conquer the dominating shyness but, as I've never been much of a talker, putting my thoughts across verbally has always been a bit difficult and still poses a problem...a rather large one at that. I've got only one more year to get past that hurdle.</i><br />
<ul><li><div><b>The sheer volume of information.</b></div></li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://education-portal.com/cimages/multimages/16/medical_books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="http://education-portal.com/cimages/multimages/16/medical_books.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><i>There are so many aspects of medicine that need to be covered before graduation and these are found within each system of the body. Of course, there's a reason why there are so many clinical specialties in the field. Not a single person can know ALL there is to know in medicine, however, as students, we're expected to know about...90% of ALL there is to know. Actually, I've been told that in this career, you're peak knowledge is in the months before the final FINAL examination...you know, the one that either ends with you becoming Dr. _____ or not.</i><br />
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<ul><li><b>Learning a new language.</b></li>
</ul><i>Medicine is a language all by itself. Just the other day one of my closest friends who's studying law said to me, "Do you guys speak and write in code like they do on E.R.?" It sounds like the silliest question since, to me, it's normal everyday language but it's easy (at this point) to forget that it was a language I was trained into. My vocabulary has drastically been expanded, including all sorts of new and exotic words like ipsilateral, phaeochromocytoma and craniopharyngioma down to all sorts of abbreviations. There are words that make you stumble over your own tongue and then there are words like "bleb". Yes, that's actually a medical term. A bleb is exactly what it sounds like. A bleb. Learning medicine is a lot like learning Latin...after all, many terms are based off of Latin words.</i><br />
<ul><li><b>Developing an entirely new lifestyle.</b></li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://topnews.com.sg/images/imagecache/bigthumb/Sleep-Deprivation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://topnews.com.sg/images/imagecache/bigthumb/Sleep-Deprivation.jpg" /></a></div><i>Straight up: lots more studying than ever before (cramming is hardly helpful in the long run...and medicine is about having the knowledge for the long run), eating less, sleeping less. Once upon a time, I was a crammer. In a way, I still am. I've been trying to get rid of that terrible habit...but lifelong habits are difficult to just wean off of. But I don't really have a choice. The typical life of a medical student includes very little sleep...admittedly, I refuse to accept this unless I'm on call and so far sleeping 7 hours a night has done me absolutely no harm over the past 4 years. Eating habits don't really change a whole lot until clinical years when your eating times become wonky because ward rounds or clinic go from 9 AM to 2 PM without a lunch break, followed by many other activities which may leave you hungry until you get "lunch" at 5 PM. I've developed a new eating habit to prevent afternoon starvation and it's doing my stomach great justice.</i><br />
<ul><li><b>Taking responsibility for lives.</b></li>
</ul><i>As a student in clinical years, you begin to take responsibility for patients becoming integrated as part of the medical team (albeit the lowest life-form existing on the team, but you're on the team nevertheless). The team's patients are our patients and we're expected to bear responsibility for everything we do and say to our patients.</i><br />
<ul><li><b>The vicious circle of learning A.K.A. embarrassment.</b></li>
</ul><i>"Come to the hospital every day expecting to be embarrassment and embrace it." ~ Kind words from a consultant in Anaesthesiology. Embrace the embarrassment. The learning curve as a medical student is much like a loop, moreso than a curve. You learn something, spew it out confidently and get shot down like it's hunting season. Every now and then, you get a little positive encouragement. Confidence is something that's vital in medical school but not something you can feel on a continuous spectrum. Wouldn't want you getting over-confident and cocky before you even get the big degree, would we?</i><br />
<ul><li><b>Losing friends.</b></li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitWzUeHDTJf0XpRI_jhSRHArD8Qm5OloagJD-3lJXyNTaNQQJVHodI45dMDluf9-J12_14fTmYjJZa8BorQPjLQo14eC3E6ry5VulSwxkcJUfNAHjw5qfXeLtyQJrsC-BeU37mRq-mSPU/s1600/friends_cast_004a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitWzUeHDTJf0XpRI_jhSRHArD8Qm5OloagJD-3lJXyNTaNQQJVHodI45dMDluf9-J12_14fTmYjJZa8BorQPjLQo14eC3E6ry5VulSwxkcJUfNAHjw5qfXeLtyQJrsC-BeU37mRq-mSPU/s200/friends_cast_004a.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><i>If you're friends are true friends, you won't lose them...you'll just spend a lot less time with them and they'll understand and accept that. And if they can't, they just...drift away over time. Even if you can't hang out often, keeping in contact is usually enough to keep a good friendship intact. I feel blessed to still have my secondary school friends with me in my life (I've known some of them for 10 years!) and I've become even closer to one or two of them despite the distance/lack of time. Be sure to keep your true non-med friends! They help you retain your sanity through the stress and hectic lifestyle of the medical career. And of course, you're gonna make new friends throughout your medical career (which starts the moment you enter medical school).</i><br />
<ul><li><b>Having less "me" time.</b></li>
</ul><a href="http://www.healthylifestylesblog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Rules-of-Life-Make-Time-for-Yourself.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://www.healthylifestylesblog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Rules-of-Life-Make-Time-for-Yourself.jpg" width="320" /></a><i>A lot of things are sacrificed in the name of good grades and graduation. Many things you once liked to do eventually get pushed aside. Hobbies and interests are reduced to the bare minimum, if not discarded altogether. Gym time? It's there if you make the time but you won't want to be hanging out in there quite as often. Those TV shows you love watching? Don't expect to catch them on television. Admittedly, I've given myself quite a lot of 'me' time over the past 4 years but with this final year coming, those necessary sacrifices will have to be made. So far, I've already reduced my anime/manga intake drastically. In the very near future, I'm going to have to cut it out almost entirely. Once the ongoing manga series I'm reading are complete, that'll be the end of my manga-reading years. Anime...might still have a chance. Primetime TV? Gonna have to cut down on the number of shows and watch what I miss online when I get a chance (during a lunch break or something maybe?). Oh, and say bye bye to Facebook!</i><br />
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I'll admit that I'm a bit of a hypocrite...I crammed my way through most of medical school but after a certain point, cramming fails you and in the long-term, you look like an idiot because you don't remember anything. I managed to keep up a proper study routine for one semester and it turned out to be the best semester I've had in terms of grades: all A's. Unfortunately, that trend never continued. <br />
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I'm planning to make those sacrifices I mentioned by the time my 5th year rolls around, not suddenly of course, because that wouldn't end successfully. As for my new eating regimen...well, I can go through that another time.<i><br />
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If you're not in medicine, you may be thinking that the points I've made apply to you as well. Naturally, they aren't unique to medicine but the experiences themselves are what make medicine as difficult as it is...and they're also what make medicine as wonderful as it is.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963028953437661696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347182039970457081.post-37021890911403106552012-01-14T15:03:00.000-04:002012-01-14T15:03:54.986-04:00The Music Factory 2011 VideoRemember when I made a quick post about <a href="http://symplexportal.blogspot.com/2011/11/music-factory.html" target="_blank">The Music Factory</a> last year?<br />
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It truly was one of the best nights of the year. Now the guys at Introspect Recordings have added to the fond memories, making a video out of it and I thought I'd share it with you all.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/98CTYxWXdUc?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><br />
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Am I in there? See if you can spot me! ;)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/382671_280437742006888_244614838922512_836296_254042667_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/382671_280437742006888_244614838922512_836296_254042667_n.jpg" width="128" /></a><a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/379095_10150978730335291_580010290_21718905_622687122_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/379095_10150978730335291_580010290_21718905_622687122_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Save that date! Because it's when we'll be out having a blast at the next Music Factory event! "Spring Edition 2012"Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963028953437661696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347182039970457081.post-52709278562662276062012-01-12T19:50:00.000-04:002012-01-12T19:50:46.059-04:00Intensive CareRemember last year when I <a href="http://symplexportal.blogspot.com/2011/07/waiting-game.html" target="_blank">applied to Hong Kong </a>for my elective in Anaesthesia & Intensive Care? It wasn't long before I received an email from them asking me to change or extend my dates since they clash with the wonderful Lunar New Year holidays which I successfully managed to do. But then it wasn't until 2 months and 2 consecutive emails later did I finally get a response about my application processing. They decided that they were full and would not take me. I went through all kinds of trouble and got my Dean's permission and everything for...THAT?!<br />
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Needless to say, I was not amused.<br />
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Well, the time period for my elective has finally arrived. And, I'm certainly not in Hong Kong. In fact, I'm at home in Barbados doing the elective in the same said specialty. My first week in is nearly through but I must say I've had a fine time so far. Quite happy that I chose to do it again. I've actually spent a lot more time in intensive care (the past three days) with only one day in the operating theatre and I like it there.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sites3/gallery/736/CriticalCare_4c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sites3/gallery/736/CriticalCare_4c.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Looks nothing like this in Barbados :)</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table>I'm learning so much because I see more diverse cases that I can really read into and come back to apply my knowledge the next day. In anaesthesia, not so much...unless we're talking about the medications used in anaesthesia. Spending time in the surgical intensive care unit exposes me to much much more that I can actually apply later on. I've got good working times as well, ending my days at a timely 4 pm, mostly. It's true that more action happens at night, as everything typically worsens when night comes along, but I don't plan to do any calls this rotation so I'll make do with what I learn during the day. Yup.<br />
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It feels so strange to be the only student in a specialty rounding with the team but everyone's quite nice and approachable so I'm surviving. My colleagues in medical school all think I'm a complete weirdo to have chosen to do this as my specialty but some can appreciate the value of what can be learnt in the ICU. I'm enjoying it so far though! So, all in all, I haven't a complaint. :)<br />
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I would have loved to spend the Lunar New Year in Hong Kong since I've never done so before but hopefully later on...sometime.<br />
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I hope you're all doing well in 2012 so far.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963028953437661696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347182039970457081.post-89868256915230073032012-01-02T12:38:00.000-04:002012-01-02T12:38:02.596-04:00Welcome To 2012!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lx2s5uqVyC1qita16o1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="338" src="http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lx2s5uqVyC1qita16o1_500.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-size: large;">Bye-bye 2011, I had an amazing year with you. Hello 2012, I hope to have more amazing experiences with you.</span></span></strong></div><br />
Twenty-twelve has arrived and people are getting hyped up! The big end-of-the-world doom is supposedly pending to occur on December 21 of this year. But who knows really? I don't know about Armageddon but I do know that, like all the preceding years, many impactful things are going to happen in the world.<br />
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I have some hopes for the year ahead but since I'll be entering my fifth and final year of medical school, I know things are really going to bear down on me and life's going to get a little tough. That said, I'm hoping for some positive reinforcements to jam their way into my life throughout the year so that it'll be just a little more bearable, a couple of which include:<br />
<ol><li><div>Music Factory - May 27 - After last year's event, how could I not look forward to more? The date is wonderful too because I should be on one of my lighter rotations, allowing me to attend...all my clerkships following will be like working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. Phew.</div></li>
<li><div>Final year elective at Yale University - This is yet to be confirmed...I'm currently playing the waiting game with Yale University. Hopefully I'll be getting me a grand acceptance letter sometime this month! =) Since <a href="http://symplexportal.blogspot.com/2011/07/waiting-game.html" target="_blank">my 4th year elective</a> at the Chinese University of Hong Kong didn't work out, this one has to! I'm looking forward to looking forward to 4 weeks in New Haven, Connecticut.</div></li>
</ol><strong><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #d9d2e9;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">2011: A year in review - my personal experiences</span></span></span></span></strong><br />
Like I said, I had some amazing experiences in 2011 that made it one of the most eventful years of my 21 years of life. Since I'm an introvert who likes home and preferred to stay away from people, it doesn't take a whole lot of events to make a year eventful. Haha.<br />
<ol><li><a href="http://symplexportal.blogspot.com/2011/01/out-of-classrooms-and-into-clinics.html" target="_blank">The start of my clinical year</a> - January 2011 - Thrown into the abyss of clinical duties, I had a little rough, but meaningful start to my year. I've learnt many things and I've developed an even stronger resolve for my desire to study Naturopathic Medicine and enter an Integrative practice. In the span of a year, I've been exposed to so many experiences and, whether good or bad, I can certainly say that I treasure them all. One experience and one patient I believe I will forever remember was <a href="http://symplexportal.blogspot.com/2011/12/patients-make-this-profession.html" target="_blank">my last baby delivery</a> of my Obstetrics & Gynaecology clerkship last month. Clinical experiences certainly encompass the majority of my year.</li>
<li>I turned 21 - April 2011 - I'm an adult! I had a huge celebration for my 21st birthday. It was like a party that lasted an entire weekend. My friends and I rented a beach house for a weekend and we all had an amazingly amazing time. The beach, a pool, good food, video games and a little alcohol made for an excellent weekend. A great way to unwind the weekend before I started my penultimate year of medical school. A weekend full of memories that I never want to forget. Interestingly, I never once mentioned this on my blog all year. =o</li>
<li><a href="http://symplexportal.blogspot.com/2011/06/ak-2011-excitement.html" target="_blank">AnimeKon</a> - July 2011 - After the first ever pop culture convention was held in Barbados in <a href="http://symplexportal.blogspot.com/2010/06/animekon-2010.html" target="_blank">June 2010</a> with disappointment on my part, I have to say the second one held a lot of excitement for me. It could've gone either way but I had good faith in the organisers, Melissa & Omar who were both so kind to listen to the complaints and worked hard improve and impress...which, I must say, they did flawlessly. With, not only one, but <a href="http://symplexportal.blogspot.com/2011/07/kon-day-one.html" target="_blank">two days</a> of convention greatness they pulled off an epic unforgettable event! And, for the first time I cosplayed...Osaki Nana! A practical, but well put-together outfit that earned me some praise (humble much?) and introductions to tons of people those two days.</li>
<li>I travelled to New York on my own for the <a href="http://symplexportal.blogspot.com/2011/09/getting-to-know-ny-little.html" target="_blank">first time</a> - September 2011 - It wasn't much of a trip. Just a quick little thing to grab some stuff I ordered like my awesome new Canon Powershot S95 (which I'm absolutely in love with).</li>
<li>My blog celebrated its 3rd birthday - October 2011 - Not a huge event but, you know, I feel great pride in being able to maintain something for such a long time since I typically don't have the discipline to keep up with things for long periods of time. Take my <a href="http://healthace.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">health blog</a>, for example. Don't get me wrong, I haven't dropped it like a bomb yet but I just haven't been able to keep up with it the way I would have liked. My last post was in July but there was a 4 month lull between that and the preceding posts which were weekly. With 5th year coming up, I'm even less likely to get back into it, as much as I'd like to...it's already a little difficult trying to keep up-to-date on this one. Ha. I haven't forgotten my <a href="http://www.youtube.com/symplicityme" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a> either but, gee, video editing is time consuming...time has become such a precious resource for me...I think I'd like to just sit and talk to my webcam...but I never know what to talk about. Ideas anyone? =)</li>
<li><a href="http://symplexportal.blogspot.com/2011/11/music-factory.html" target="_blank">Music Factory</a> - November 2011 - I never thought I'd be so into an event like this. To be honest, I almost chose not to go and the only reason I chose to go was because I was extremely stressed out (leading to an <a href="http://symplexportal.blogspot.com/2011/11/breakdowns.html" target="_blank">almost breakdown</a>) from my Pathology clerkship and wanted to just get out and get some relief, plus all my friends were going. I definitely made the right decision to go. And now I'm looking forward to May 27!</li>
</ol>It's been a long year, quick in passing but one that has introduced me into 2012 as a more matured person. I'm still young so there's still some maturation to be developed but it'll come as the experiences come. I look forward to facing them head on and standing strong in the face of defiance, after all, character is built when we survive our hardest experiences. <br />
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And, while much of my year was enjoyable, I know there are tens of thousands of people in the world who have suffered many losses. Whether the disaster that struck was within your personal life or environmental (like the earthquake in Haiti as well as other major earthquakes around the world and the tsunami of Japan), I hope you were able to overcome those obstacles successfully. Hold fast in your faith and know that things will get better.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: #990000;">Here's hoping we survive 2012! </span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: #990000;">I give you my warmest wishes for a year of blessings, especially within tragedies.</span></strong></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963028953437661696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347182039970457081.post-15358893412715329642011-12-25T13:14:00.000-04:002011-12-25T13:14:53.798-04:00Happy Holidays!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwicl1Boep1qfrr02o1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwicl1Boep1qfrr02o1_500.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo taken at Limegrove Luxury Mall, Barbados.</td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Happy Holidays Everyone!</span></span></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">To those who celebrate Christmas...I wish you and your loved ones all the wonderful joys and blessings that come with the day. Always remember what this day is truly about!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>"He came as a little baby, but He represented all authority in heaven and earth..." ~ Joel & Victoria Osteen</em></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">I hope that whatever you're doing today, you have yourselves a super great day. Enjoy the season!</div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963028953437661696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347182039970457081.post-84856505453439468312011-12-11T02:09:00.000-04:002011-12-11T02:09:14.324-04:00Patients Make This Profession WorthwhileI'm exhausted beyond my mind, starving because I haven't eaten anything solid since 9:30 Saturday (yesterday) morning, aching everywhere from standing and running around the labour ward all day, cold from the air conditioning temperatures of labour ward and, at the moment, happier than words could imply. Why? Because I just got a reminder of why all the incredibly hard work and sacrifices make this profession absolutely worth it: the patients.<br />
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Patients are of all types: mean, upset, frustrating, aggravating, kind, funny, moody. On my current clerkship, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, I have a set quota of deliveries to perform. Tonight (technically yesterday night since it's about 1:30 AM Sunday) I delivered my final baby and it was, by far, the most memorable in more ways than one.<br />
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This morning I arrived on labour ward and saw this surprisingly sweet and cheerful young lady and I thought to myself, "I'd like to see her through to her delivery." And so, I did. She became an entirely different person, as most women do, with the progression of labour...more intense and frequent contractions. I have to say though, she was still exceptionally wonderful during labour (I've seen many women screaming down the place!) and her husband (quite a young couple) was so very kind and supportive.<br />
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As evening approached, she slowly progressed to full dilation and we wheeled her off to the delivery room. Here, I spent exactly 2 hours delivering a beautiful baby boy. Due to the baby's head position, it was difficult for the mummy to push, resulting in a two-hour wait before we saw anything more than the top of the baby's head. In case you weren't sure, any delivery should take no longer than an hour...and even then, an hour is quite a long time. Here's a little play by play of the experience:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><em>30 minutes in...mummy was exhausted from all the pushing...and we realised why it was so difficult to push...but daddy was there to give her much love and support.</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>45 minutes in...daddy had to leave as nursing shifts changed and would return later on. I was left alone with mummy who was told to push only when she felt the urge to do so...and not with every contraction as usual.</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>1 hour in...I started to feel this urge to cry. I felt discouraged and felt like I wanted to just give up and leave the delivery room and go home. My back ached. My stomach rumbled. I was beginning to grow impatient.</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>1 hour 45 minutes in...a midwife finally returns to aid me and the poor exhausted mummy who I was trying to keep encouraging so that she could keep going. Honestly, I was surprised she still had any energy to push.</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>2 hours in...a wonderful baby boy was born, gorgeous as can be. And me? I stayed with her to the end...not because it was my final delivery but because I knew she needed support.</em></div><br />
I came to realise that my urge to cry, discouragement, feeling to give up and impatience weren't my feelings...but hers. Quite often one person's strong feelings mingle with my own and, if I'm not careful, I would mistake them for my own. Whenever I felt those negative things, I would pray to God for guidance and continue to encourage young mummy and they would eventually pass.<br />
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Once the baby, named Amari, was all cleaned up and returned to his parents, mummy told me the most uplifting words a person in my position could've possibly heard. She thanked me and continued with "I could not have done this without you. Every time I felt like I was ready to give up, you were there telling me that I'm doing well and the baby is almost here and that I can do this. Every time I felt like I was too tired to press on, you were there reminding me to breathe deeply and regain my energy between pushes. You were so patient with me the whole time and I could not have asked for more. You were so amazing with me." And she ended her sentiments with "You are the sweetest person. I believe you're in the right profession because you have a perfect personality for it. You're so sweet and caring and patient. Thank you so much for everything!" Her sentiments touched me deeply and all of a sudden my exhaustion, aches and pains were gone, replaced by a renewed vigour...a reminder of why I chose to be a doctor: to help people through their greatest trials. I, personally, felt as if I was of little use to anyone in that room except for human company. Knowing that I was able to help her get through such an extraordinarily difficult time period, made me realise that even when I can't help very much physically (I'm not exactly an experienced midwife, after all), I can help in other ways...provide a strong support...and that's what I want to do for people...give them the support they need.<br />
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I could not have taken in all her praise without uttering my own praises for her. She was an amazing girl who pulled through the most painful experience of her life...an experience many women only know less than 30 minutes of. She endured 2 hours of pushing and contractions. If it were me, I would've been too tired to push after 10 minutes. She was strong...she handled herself well, handled the pain well and had a wonderful husband backing her up. I continue to marvel at her endurance and admire her strength because...labour? It's not exactly a walk in the park. I will remember her for many years to come.<br />
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<em>By the way, I believe that if you're concerned about a teenage girl getting pregnant, be sure to let her volunteer on the labour ward for a little while. I think it would serve decently as a relatively good contraception method. Jus' sayin'. :)</em>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963028953437661696noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347182039970457081.post-415282576375364772011-12-07T14:56:00.001-04:002011-12-07T14:57:05.530-04:00Welcome To DecemberAnother year is soon coming to a close...I can't believe how quickly 2011 has whizzed by me...how quickly 2012 approaches, bringing many things, wonderful and not, expected and unexpected, that lay just on the brink of the horizon.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://barbadosmusicfactory.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/bmf-launch-thumb.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="http://barbadosmusicfactory.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/bmf-launch-thumb.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">To this day, my mind relives the night of The Music Factory. It truly was too awesome for words.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>It's been only a week since I last posted...and I have to admit, my post about The Music Factory was quite brief...but many things have occurred and it has felt like at least 2 weeks have just passed me by. That previous post was hurriedly typed up whilst still under sleepy-mode from the awesomeness of The Music Factory. I like when I create well-written posts that show that even the slightest bit of thought was properly placed into it...which doesn't happen quite often. I'd like to keep it up and keep it thorough and super interesting but it really doesn't always happen. In fact, it's kind of a miracle that I'm finding the time to do this one now...I've been wanting to make a new blog post for the past 3 days.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mcnt.com/images/specialties/feature-obgyn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="http://www.mcnt.com/images/specialties/feature-obgyn.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
My 2-week Christmas break is coming up in just a week and half and it doesn't at all feel that way...not with all the stress and annoyances and work occurring on this rotation. I'm currently in my second week of Obstetrics & Gynaecology (commonly known as OBGYN). This rotation in the penultimate year of medical school has high focus on obstetrics, labour and deliveries. I'll be doing it again in my final year which has the broad focus on both obstetrics and gynaecology. As such, my time is often spent on the labour ward of the hospital...taking care of the pregnant ladies who come in labour and seeing them through to their deliveries. After observing a set quota, we, the students, must actually perform a set quota of deliveries in order to pass the clerkship.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://pictures.directnews.co.uk/liveimages/a+baby+s+birth+size+could+have+lasting+effects+on+their+brains_3638_800418727_0_0_8887_300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://pictures.directnews.co.uk/liveimages/a+baby+s+birth+size+could+have+lasting+effects+on+their+brains_3638_800418727_0_0_8887_300.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Just as travelling has it's peak seasons, so do births. December is within the "baby-boom" season which brought me to my first performed delivery merely 6 days after commencing the clerkship. Wow. It was crazy. Observing and performing a delivery, like many other actions, are two different things. My first was a baby girl...my second, the following day, was a beautiful baby boy. Here in Barbados (I'm not sure how it is overseas) the midwives and nurses run the labour ward so deliveries are performed by a midwife and not a doctor, except in the event of a private patient (since it is a public hospital). I have three more deliveries to see and once I've completed my quota, I don't intend to do these things again. Ever.<br />
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Many (not all) of the midwives are the most miserable and moody people one could ever meet in the same room. Too much oestrogen in one room is never a good thing, I've always believed that. The labour ward displays this well. As such, I've come very much to dislike this rotation...a lot...and cannot wait till it comes to an end...next January. Once I have all of my deliveries though, I won't even have to wait so long. :)<br />
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Irrespective of the menopausal midwives, I love seeing the joy and relief on a mother's (and father's) face when she sees her baby. If there's anything beautiful about a birth, that is it. Otherwise, it's pretty dirty and anything but gorgeous. Hahaha.<br />
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I've been hoping for awhile to make a new vlog...it's been quite a few months since my last but I didn't realise just how time consuming this clerkship would prove to be. I'm full of nothing but exhaustion and impatience, not to mention frustrations, thanks to this rotation.<br />
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So, in reality, the majority of the 'many things' that have happened in the past week have been related to Obstetrics & Gynaecology and how I feel my life being sucked away. Apart from that, <b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Christmas is soon here</span></b>! My little fibre-optic trees are back up for the occasion.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWk4xzZJLKDJ38qFXNcRZRxFMv5qzwkWUP5RVvWCvupAJ85Yg6nPWzM_H6blVu8iZyONBEzwWYtHoEELghISQkzsoXja68INoYkzwz4NFGB64ziBpiNBSLFInZxX7gJ3iPEceJ4V17vpI/s1600/IMG_0971.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWk4xzZJLKDJ38qFXNcRZRxFMv5qzwkWUP5RVvWCvupAJ85Yg6nPWzM_H6blVu8iZyONBEzwWYtHoEELghISQkzsoXja68INoYkzwz4NFGB64ziBpiNBSLFInZxX7gJ3iPEceJ4V17vpI/s320/IMG_0971.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
And for those bracing and enduring the examination period...I wish you all the best of luck! Study hard!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0HZfoJuB8-8?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963028953437661696noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347182039970457081.post-67054959043521662422011-11-30T14:32:00.001-04:002011-12-07T14:58:02.489-04:00Music FactoryOne of the best, if not the best, nights of my life!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/294852_246265768757419_244614838922512_734653_1487769539_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/294852_246265768757419_244614838922512_734653_1487769539_n.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>The Music Factory...Barbados' first pop, dance and house festival went down with absolute success last night.<br />
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I'm so glad I decided to go to this. So glad. I had such an AWEsome time. There are no words to describe just how epic an event it was. <br />
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I really wanted to stay till the very end but I had to be home by a certain time (I stayed out longer than I should've anyway though!) so I missed out on the last two hours. Things just got better and better as the night went on and I just found myself never wanting to leave until the music stopped playing! Even now, I can hear the music still playing in my head.<br />
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It rained...a lot...but that didn't dampen the mood at all! I went home sweaty and covered in rain water and muddy feet but it all made for an excellent night, regardless.<br />
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After an absolutely stress-filled rotation in Pathology which came to an end last Friday, I really really really was in need of some fun and I got what I needed and more last night.<br />
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I want another one! Again! Again! Again! *fist pumps*<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/379095_10150978730335291_580010290_21718905_622687122_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/379095_10150978730335291_580010290_21718905_622687122_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <em>moi </em>;)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">On another note, <b><i>Happy Independence Day Barbados</i></b>! :)</div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963028953437661696noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347182039970457081.post-3251864900279674272011-11-18T23:10:00.000-04:002011-11-18T23:10:55.612-04:00BreakdownsI'm not one to get stressed out very often...especially as someone in medical school. I've had very few meltdowns and, to this day, I've never considered any other career options (apparently, I'm the only one who hasn't thought about it this far into the degree!).<br />
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Meltdown = rant, rave and cry.<br />
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I've done this probably once over the past 3 years. I almost had another one this morning. I think, if I had been at home and not at the hospital, I would've actually had a full on meltdown but it didn't quite happen. I don't often show people that I'm suffering when I am, I guess.<br />
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Sometimes, the frustrations just build up. People and their negative energies don't help either. I'm surrounded by it and it feeds my own frustrations. Medical school was never meant to be easy. To this moment, I still have no regrets about my decision to do medicine. I like it and I don't see that ever changing...not if it hasn't changed now that I'm half way through my fourth year of medical school.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://nyn3.typepad.com/.a/6a0120a55d0827970b0134888fa999970c-800wi" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://nyn3.typepad.com/.a/6a0120a55d0827970b0134888fa999970c-800wi" /></a></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963028953437661696noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347182039970457081.post-78607899754724526392011-11-01T20:31:00.000-04:002011-11-01T20:31:57.422-04:00To be a pathologist...It takes a certain type of person to be a pathologist. Cutting organs, exploring dead bodies...it's all fun and exciting...to a pathologist.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nileguide.com/destination/blog/vancouver/files/2010/10/IMG_45801.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://www.nileguide.com/destination/blog/vancouver/files/2010/10/IMG_45801.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Autopsy Room</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Today, I witnessed my first autopsy. It was the first time I've ever been to the mortuary. When you think about a place like the morgue, people generally have an idea of a dark, cold, dingy room deep below the hospital with bad lighting and drawers filled with dead bodies. It's actually nothing like that...well, it was a bit dingy and smelt pretty bad but there was quite a bit of lighting and it wasn't very cold at all. Yes, there were those drawers but if you never knew what they held in them, it wasn't so bad.<br />
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The autopsy itself was pretty...I dunno. I've heard stories about how terrible it can be and then there's what you see on television but I thought it wasn't too bad...maybe because I built myself up to expect the worst of the worst.<br />
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Regardless, pathology is a career I could never ever ever possibly in life ever consider as an option. I'm not the kind of person who could live with body explorations in that sense. I like interacting in patients. <br />
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After seeing a spider in her office, one of the pathologists once said "I don't like the idea of anything being alive in my office...except me and guests to my office."<br />
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Upon asking another pathologist why she chose this specialty in medicine, she said "It's exciting, don't you think?"<br />
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Yeah, no, it's not exciting. Not one bit. Can't wait for this rotation to come to an end!Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963028953437661696noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347182039970457081.post-17560999263440251402011-10-25T19:51:00.001-04:002011-10-25T19:52:08.973-04:00ContradictionsI write about how time flies so quickly so often that people must get tired of reading it. "Okay! I get it already! You think time is just flying right on by!" is probably what you're thinking, right? Right. <br />
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Now that I've said that for the hundredth time, I'm quite happy to see the time passing me so quickly. The bad days of medical school just sail on without a glance back at me. And that's wonderful. But at the same time, that means that the harder study days are coming up. The days which will be tougher and more torturous are coming at me faster than I can prepare for and the prospect scares me. <br />
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I feel more than ready to graduate but I'm most certainly not equipped to handle my final and toughest year of medical school! I'm more than ready to complete my internship and go overseas to study what my heart feels truly connected to but I'm far from equipped to tackle those 12-months. It's a contradiction. I want the time to continue zooming forward but at the same time, I feel like I need more time to prepare myself for the difficult times I know I have coming up. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.leadingsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Vision.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="http://www.leadingsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Vision.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b>"The best way to predict the future is to invent it." ~ Alan Kay</b></i></div><br />
I'm the kind of person who plans their future in advance. I like to know what I should prepare myself for and the future I dream of, I can't wait to obtain. Allopathic medicine is by far the last thing I want to be practicing and I'm frequently frustrated by the thinking of many (but not all) conventional doctors. I think it contributes to my wanting to finish medical school quickly. I'm just so frustrated with it all. I chose to do allopathic medicine because I wanted insight into what these practitioners think like...I wanted to understand why they think the way they think...why so many of them can be so closed minded to alternative or complementary therapies. And I've slowly come to understand it in my time in medical school. Doctors teach students and pass on their beliefs and knowledge about their practices. The same goes for their beliefs about alternative practices. And it's something that can't be helped. But that stubborn sort of thinking cannot work for much longer, not when populations of people are becoming more aware of the advantages offered elsewhere. It is good to have knowledge of both sides of the table because you need to be able to advise a patient about interactions that could be fatal. And that's where integrative medicine comes in. An adequate mixture of allopathic and naturopathic medicine. <br />
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Today, one of my lecturers who is a general practitioner in one of our public polyclinics told us a number of stories of patients he has seen in practice recently. Patients who have had live microscopy where they're told that the practitioner says there's all sorts of bacteria and fungi. In allopathic medicine, this is a sign of serious blood infection. This is a story of concepts not understand by doctors. There was a story of a patient who went to an iridologist and was told she had fibroids after he looked at her iris so she went to this GP and he sent her for an ultrasound which showed a perfectly normal uterus. No matter the story, the opinion left on conventional doctors is that of disbelief. It's no wonder these negative opinions are made when patients present to them with problems and stories from alternative medicine practitioners. But, naturally, persons with successful stories don't normally end up in a GP's office. And so, such terrible reputations are built against alternative medicine, reinforcing the lack of belief. <br />
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All that to say, integrative medicine is what I truly want to do. I truly want to go into natural medicine. I want to study and understand it more. I want to practice integrative medicine. It's the ideal practice of medicine, in my opinion, as it offers the best options for patients. It's the middle ground between the two extremes with good understanding either way. Most certainly, not a contradiction.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963028953437661696noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347182039970457081.post-2207742664741339772011-10-23T16:19:00.002-04:002011-10-23T16:22:40.624-04:00Graduating Photography<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://blog.juvenilejusticefund.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/graduation-cap-and-diploma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://blog.juvenilejusticefund.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/graduation-cap-and-diploma.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Yesterday was a big day for all the U.W.I. Cave Hill graduates. They're all officially released from the confines of school work and assignments and have been thrown into the real world. Two of my closest friends graduated yesterday. I'm so proud and happy for them. One of them, I've known for 10 years now. It's like he's all grown up now.<br />
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My graduation is still a ways away. I'm only halfway through my fourth year with my fifth year yet to come. Time flies so quickly, I'll probably be graduating before I even realise. But until then, I'll be watching each of my friends obtain their bachelor degrees before I can grasp mine.<br />
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One of my graduating friends asked me to take some pics for his graduation. Me! I'm pretty surprised since I'm not actually a photographer or anything. I got to make use of his Nikon Coolpix L110...a very nice camera. I'm not a photographer but I certainly do have an interest in photography. So, place a good camera in my hands and I'll go crazy on the shutter button. Which, of course, is what happened.<br />
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I have to say, though, I was surprised to be asked of such a favour: to be entrusted with a camera to take good photos for memories of a graduation. And I was asked because, among my circle of friends, I'm always the one just snapping away with my little camera. Haha. I certainly felt quite honoured.<br />
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My friend is a difficult subject to work with when it comes to giving off a natural smile or general facial expression but I did the best I could with my extremely amateur skills. I think I got some nice photos though. I also captured a photo that I'm very much in love with at the moment. I'm not familiar with plant names and species but this little potted plant had beautiful flowers which certainly caught my attention. This was the result of my admiration:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.tumblr.com/photo/1280/11822053382/1/tumblr_ltj1qlTnq21qfrr02" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://www.tumblr.com/photo/1280/11822053382/1/tumblr_ltj1qlTnq21qfrr02" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>I like photography because it captures moments that can be shared with everyone. It can capture an object from a different perspective so that its beauty can be shared with others who would not otherwise see it. And I really like taking photos of nature. Something about it is just amazingly beautiful. <i>The world needs to be seen for the beauty it holds.</i><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #660000;">Congratulations to all the 2011 graduates around the world, regardless of when you graduated. I pray you all have the successes you deserve and that you thrive in the hardships of employment!</span></i></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963028953437661696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347182039970457081.post-88893184026037164842011-10-22T11:53:00.000-04:002011-10-22T11:53:16.732-04:00Parents are people, tooAs we grow older, we see our parents differently with each stage we pass through until we eventually reach a point where we realise that our parents...they're people too. It's something that I've been thinking about for awhile now. With every passing year, I learnt something more about my Mom and with every step closer to adulthood, I feel more and more like I'm coming onto more equal ground with her. <br />
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She tells me stories about her youth...what things were like in her day living in Hong Kong and even little bits of what my grandparents (her parents) were like. My grandfather died long before I was even born and my grandmother doesn't speak any English, and since I don't speak any Cantonese, I can't learn anything about her from her directly. It's kind of sad and it's one of my biggest reasons for wanting to learn the language, if only I had the time and resources. Over time I've come to realise that she, like any other person, has had dreams and goals which she once aspired to. I've learnt about the numerous hardships she's had to endure, particularly after her move to an English-speaking country when she knew no English at all. Today, she has become a very successful woman and, for a lesser educated Chinese person, she has extremely well-spoken English.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Trailing back to my childhood...</span></strong><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://di1-3.shoppingshadow.com/images/pi/ba/46/65/97311395-260x260-0-0_TY+Ty+Beanie+Baby+Plush+Toy+Hello+Kitty+Easter+Pin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="http://di1-3.shoppingshadow.com/images/pi/ba/46/65/97311395-260x260-0-0_TY+Ty+Beanie+Baby+Plush+Toy+Hello+Kitty+Easter+Pin.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>I don't remember very much but what I do recall from my childhood was all very memorable. My Mom was the scariest person alive to me. Her punishments were mean and cruel and I was afraid to do anything drastic for fear of possible repercussions. But she was also very nice sometimes. She may not have known the answers to everything but she'd help me with my homework and let me sleep with her when I was afraid of something. She'd let me play with my friends and gave me toys and dress me up to look pretty. She let me go away with her and let me see all sorts of wonderful sights and sounds. She took me to Disneyland and Universal Studios. She threw me birthday parties. At the end of the day she was a wonderful, albeit scary, Mom.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Re-thinking my teenage years...</span></strong><br />
I wasn't allowed to have a boyfriend. I wasn't allowed to go out at night. I wasn't allowed to do very much at all. She dictated my life and didn't let me have any fun at all! Or, at least, that's what I used to think. In retrospect, I can now say that I'm quite happy with the way I was raised as a teenager. Had I been allowed to party at night, I would be an entirely different person today. And I absolutely love the person I am now. I can understand her reasoning for not allowing the things she did not want me to have or do. But, as teenagers, we're so caught up with what we want and what's going on with our peers that we think, "My parents don't understand me at all! It's like they forgot what it was like to be young!". In reality, they understand the teenage years better than we did, after all, they lived through those years themselves. It's not that they forgot, they just have a habit of not wanting us to make the same mistakes as they did. They're trying to enforce what they believe to be the better way of growing up during those hormonally-driven years. It's not that they don't understand us, it's US who don't understand THEM. And many of us don't even try to understand them. I always used to say, "When I grow up, I'll never be like my mother!"<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Discovering the truth...</span></strong><br />
As the years flew by and life became less dramatic, I came out of my self-obsessed hormonally-driven state. I never knew how difficult a time she had, moving to Barbados, living in Barbados, learning English, raising a child. Many stories delivered to me over a number of years have opened my eyes as I finally took a good look at the amazing woman who raised me. She's a <em><strong>person</strong></em>. Just another person, like everyone else. Like everyone else who has had a dream career for which there was no opportunity to pursue...because life had different plans in store. Like everyone else who has had interests and love and true hardships.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Dreaming their dreams...</strong></span><br />
<a href="http://www.scottfried.com/images/little%20tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.scottfried.com/images/little%20tree.jpg" /></a>We live in a time that's laden with blessings and we don't even realise. We've grown up in what one could call a spoilt generation. Many of people know the pains of war and hardship but many of us don't. We haven't lived through terrors. We wake up each morning without a second thought about how grateful we should be to be alive. I've been told many stories about the wars of China and the things my Mom's family have had to live through. It's no wonder why Chinese people are as formidable as they are and it makes me proud to have family who survived those times. They are strong people. But they never got to live their dreams.<br />
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It wasn't easy surviving those days. It wasn't easy giving up on dreams which were out of reach. It wasn't easy raising us. The least we could do is dream for them as we dream our dreams. They want only for us to have what they could not: the joys of seeing our dreams come to fruition. They deserve that much, don't they?<br />
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I've come to realise recently, that I'm very much like my Mom. A decade ago, I didn't want to be anything like my Mom. Today, I love the person who I was raised into. And I look up to, respect and love the person who raised me like no other.<br />
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I recently saw a video that portrays what I've said really well, actually. Something nice that I thought I'd share.<em> "The Six Ways You'll See Your Dad" by </em><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/collegehumor"><em>CollegeHumor</em></a>.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IuLG6WqjOEo?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963028953437661696noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347182039970457081.post-32150454278382338002011-10-18T09:51:00.002-04:002011-10-18T09:57:49.314-04:00Three Years & Still PostingToday marks the three-year anniversary of Symplicity Me, the first blog I've managed to keep going.<br />
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Happy bloggerversary Symplicity Me!<br />
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I had completely forgotten about it last year...and the year before, I remembered the day after. To be honest, I nearly forgot this year too. It's only by an urge of feeling the need for change that I realised. So, to celebrate the big day, I decided that a slight makeover was in order. (Well, I was really going to do one anyway but realised it was the bloggerversary. So let's just say it's for that. Haha.)<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOfcY382h5ogfwHc4SjIWaFIGXJQpGp0Jh-W2kjHvG-3qIM7row1s4TdJAQDd8XWjvrjdZnX9zwY9uPt05c6L1JJjpTRzArfyRJqORHkCuZqI2IF8suJPHSkUdy8MC3MTM9OmMUpFxqYM/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-10-18+at+9.38.28+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOfcY382h5ogfwHc4SjIWaFIGXJQpGp0Jh-W2kjHvG-3qIM7row1s4TdJAQDd8XWjvrjdZnX9zwY9uPt05c6L1JJjpTRzArfyRJqORHkCuZqI2IF8suJPHSkUdy8MC3MTM9OmMUpFxqYM/s400/Screen+shot+2011-10-18+at+9.38.28+AM.png" width="397" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Old Look</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7MUkJSpBO0ShdlK88oByI7BgXuc3lKWuTFm58k1NzUKjSZmQGgmO6TQbSHKdj6GOkhoYb4jahR7QyGOvZ4nMPyyqHcU-XJwZyWsBvqcOXb6kEkL2rbrlRt5Fp9Eb5GGdb-fZJVRlnuHc/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-10-18+at+9.38.50+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7MUkJSpBO0ShdlK88oByI7BgXuc3lKWuTFm58k1NzUKjSZmQGgmO6TQbSHKdj6GOkhoYb4jahR7QyGOvZ4nMPyyqHcU-XJwZyWsBvqcOXb6kEkL2rbrlRt5Fp9Eb5GGdb-fZJVRlnuHc/s400/Screen+shot+2011-10-18+at+9.38.50+AM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The New Look</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I decided to a go for a simpler, lighter look this time around. Nothing fancy and colourful yet not something too plain. In the end, I came around to what you see now. There are still some similarities to what I had before but something about this one feels a little neater. I didn't bother to change the header photo because it's still as meaningful to me today as it was the day I made it and just as applicable to my life, if not more so. I think it blends in nicer with the new background anyway. :) <b> </b><br />
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<div align="center"><b>What do <i>you</i> think of the new look?</b></div><br />
This blog has become pretty special to me over the past three years. I've said in posts before that I have a problem with keeping up with things and, even though I don't post as often as I'd like (I'll blame that on medical school), I'm still going at it.<br />
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May we still have more years of posting to come, yeah? :)Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963028953437661696noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347182039970457081.post-80019609871064329922011-09-17T19:00:00.001-04:002011-10-18T10:25:11.838-04:00Getting To Know NY A LittleI often tell people that I'm not a big fan of New York. I know many people whoa re just in love with the city and all it has to offer but I can't say I stand on the same ground. Maybe it's that I've never really experience the city in its entirety. Usually my trips are very short and I never see much apart from the places I specifically go to, to do what needs to be done and I'm normally driven to these places.<br />
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This trip was slightly different. Actually, it was different in many ways. I had no car to move about in so I utilised the yellow cab, subway and my feet, discovering a part of New York that I never got a chance to learn about. For once, I got the chance to see and experience New York beyond the windows of the car. This time I travelled alone and, for the first time, flew on jetBlue Airways. This trip has had quite a few firsts for me, making it drastically different from all the rest.<br />
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I had the luxury of walking through the streets and properly experiencing the sights and scents of the city. I had the opportunity to walk through a little street fair on my way to the hairdresser. I walked among the large masses that crowd the sidewalks trying to remain aware of myself. It's not the first time that I've had to walk along the sidewalk with so many people but I was never particularly bothered by it in Hong Kong like I was here in New York. Somehow, crowds seem more organised in Hong Kong, or maybe it's just my imagination. I think, though, the crazy crowds along with all the strange scents and dirt of the city was what bothered me. In comparison, Hong Kong is a lot cleaner and not filled with so many different scents to tickle my nostrils so walking among the crowd never was much of a bother. Not to mention, that sense of belonging I have when I'm in Hong Kong, no matter how many people surround me, makes me comfortable.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnSpr203FmV9CrES8UIi1jZte5GzjiRd6M1-f4jojgXJWiySA8LMGsTw-Asj-yVGa8gPR3Zoz9nGFpINfH_ZvoMkNXJt35OYIaFc54JN3RW_ggC4-UyPgIiMjG3UEwB9YRKp5gOhd_SIw/s1600/IMG_0017.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnSpr203FmV9CrES8UIi1jZte5GzjiRd6M1-f4jojgXJWiySA8LMGsTw-Asj-yVGa8gPR3Zoz9nGFpINfH_ZvoMkNXJt35OYIaFc54JN3RW_ggC4-UyPgIiMjG3UEwB9YRKp5gOhd_SIw/s400/IMG_0017.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>If there's anything I like doing, it's people-watching. No matter where I am, it will always be remotely entertaining to watch people go about their business. I got a good chance for that while on the subway to and from the house. I saw a couple who were each on their phones while still remaining in a cuddled position; a man wearing a white T-shirt, bright yellow shorts, sneakers and a backpack (it was about 14<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial", sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16px;">°C</span> outside); a woman reading a magazine and her neighbour taking a peek at the pages; a man in a pink shirt holding only his phone and a notebook and pen...fiddling with the pages of his notebook; a guy listening to music while falling asleep; a man playing the accordion while his wife and young daughter walked about the train car for tips (it was the last thing I expected but at least it sounded nice). The list goes on and on.<br />
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I saw so many different people with so many distinct personalities and I thought to myself, I could neither stand out nor blend in with a city like this. This city filled with so many cultures and personalities somehow manages to give me this feeling of suppression. As such, all I've said before about how I don't really like New York still stands. I'm rather uncomfortable here and, honestly, without even a small sense of belonging (which this city is completely void of, even after years of visiting), I could never feel any satisfaction about living here if I had to. In fact, I'd be sure to avoid it at all costs.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963028953437661696noreply@blogger.com0Brooklyn, NY, USA40.65 -73.94999999999998940.555797999999996 -74.061632499999988 40.744202 -73.83836749999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347182039970457081.post-90779491488767426372011-08-31T22:57:00.001-04:002011-08-31T22:57:27.587-04:00My Greatest FlawBy law of nature, nobody is perfect. We all have flaws and there's nothing wrong with aiming for perfection as long as we remember that perfection can never be attained. It makes sense to have the desire to learn and improve your flaw, whatever they may be. I think that makes up part of the fun of life...learning about ourselves. I've been doing it for years now, focussing on myself and trying to be a better me in any way I can. But my greatest flaw is my biggest weakness. <br/> <br/> I completely lack self-discipline. Honestly, I can't keep up with something for more than a few weeks...a few months if I'm really determined. My determination to keep up a routine or regimen or anything that requires some amount of discipline is always short-lived and I don't understand why. Take this blog, for example. My posts are very irregular and I do wish to post more often than I do. In fact, oftentimes I have stuff to share but just, for some reason, never get to it. This post too! I've been meaning to type this since yesterday and I'm finally doing it because the thought came back to me again and again, "you didn't do it last time so at least make this post." Or something like that. <br/> <br/> There are many, more major, things that require self-discipline in my life. From maintaining an exercise routine to stay fit to maintaining the organisation of certain things to studying. All of those things are equally important in my life but, at the moment, I would say that my lack of studying is my most daunting problem, especially in my fourth year of medical school. Sometimes I wonder how I even made it this far. I feel unknowledgeable and that needs to change, desperately. <br/> <br/> One would think, start small and work your way up. But if I can't even take my daily supplements as I should twice a day and not once or even make regular blog posts as I want to, then how do I tackle the bigger fishies? For some reason, if I think I want to do something, I can never find the motivation or determination to actually get up and do it. Instead I let myself get caught up in a world where time just passes me and by the end of the unproductive day, I can't say that I know what I've done. It's ridiculous really. <br/> <br/> Regardless, I'll continue working on improving myself. I hope you do too!<div style='clear: both; text-align: center; font-size: xx-small;'>Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4</div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963028953437661696noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347182039970457081.post-91751169503986687512011-07-08T22:50:00.000-04:002011-07-08T22:50:27.022-04:00Transformers 3 in 3D!If you haven't come to realised that 3D is the new in-thing with the movie industry, you've clearly been living under the ocean. Just about a week ago, our more popular movie theatre finally invested in 3D. The first official movie to show in that theatre: Transformers 3.<br />
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Firstly, what happened to Megan Fox? Secondly, even if she's gone, what need does this boy, Sam, have with having a pretty face by his side running through the dangers with him? Thirdly, I get excited when I hear Leonard Nimoy's voiceover in a sci-fi film, I have no idea why...he's just...groovy. Ha.<br />
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The movie itself was pretty decent but it's not something that I'll turn around and watch again anytime soon. I guess I liked the first two better but it's difficult to say when I can't really recall them in much detail. At 155 minutes, it's a fairly long movie but enjoyable enough to not feel the length. I have to admit, I got a little emotional in one scene >.<<br />
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Oh yes, most importantly, this is the first time I've ever watched a full movie in 3D. My only other exposures were 4D at Disneyland and Universal Studios. It wasn't too bad really. All I hear from half the people I know is that 3D is overrated. And that's fine and dandy but I think the quality of the dimensions is dependent on a number of factors, particularly the directing and special effects editing for the movie. It hardly matters to me though.<br />
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It's highly upsetting how selfish Barbadians are with the startup of the 3D phenomena here. People are arriving at 10 AM (box office opens at 10:30) to purchase tickets for their friends at 10 PM that night. This morning, I went to see the 11 AM showing and, arriving there at 10:20, I had to join a lengthy queue. Not to mention, by the time I reached the counter, the 10 PM show had already been sold out. Crazy much? People don't have a chance at all! But the fact that people <strong><em>are </em></strong>actually allowed to buy 20 or more tickets is <em>unfathomable</em>. How is that something that's so easily looked over? Like, really? No, seriously? There should be a limit to how many tickets an individual can purchase. People need to have a chance! Geez.<br />
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I know this frenzy is going to be a couple notches worse when Harry Potter starts showing here on July 20th. All hell will break loose as people can't get tickets and I hear all sorts of madness like people purchasing 20 tickets for the movie the day before instead. If the Olympus Theatres continues to allow persons to purchase >5 tickets at once, I'll be sorely disappointed in the way they handle their service. <strong>SO</strong> many people have been complaining about this problem.<br />
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Well, regardless, since people work and sleep at 11 AM, I smartly chose to watch the movie at that time (despite having to wait in such a ridiculous line) and enjoyed myself.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963028953437661696noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5347182039970457081.post-64295067296240338702011-07-07T14:36:00.001-04:002011-07-07T15:03:15.042-04:00Watching My Own Videos...You know how actors may be asked in an interview what they thought of their movie? And then they respond with "Oh, I haven't seen it. I hate watching myself." Yeah, I'm like that too.<br />
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Sure, I may not have a big movie to be shown on the big screen, but I actually really really really really don't like watching my own videos on YouTube. I can record, edit and then watch it in full before I upload to YouTube and feel okay about it, yet, it irks me to watch the video on YouTube! I have no idea what it is that's so different...maybe because I know that other people are watching it and judging it and judging me and I don't want to add to that...somehow. I'm really not sure. It's just one of those mind-boggling things that no one will be able to give me an answer for.<br />
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I just don't like watching myself.<br />
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But on that note, I'll leave you with my latest upload...the first in 6 months! I got henna (for the first time) so I thought I'd share it with you guys. It was quite beautifully done by Faheema Patel at Junoon Designs.<br />
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<div align="center"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PGrIl5qI15M?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17963028953437661696noreply@blogger.com1