Life from a girl's POV

Saturday, December 17, 2011

morning prayer and a glass of water

One good way to combat early morning symptoms of anxiety is to sincerely read out words that make u feel better...or so i found out.........a few reassuring words, call it a prayer or maybe just a routine to be done everyday...filled with good wishes, words that proclaim good things will happen to start the day could work wonders in lifting mood and hopefully, for the rest of the day, it does stay.........

Then there is a glass of water, not to be drank but to be put on the altar..a glass of water that symbolizes plenty...while it is half full (not half empty) it is also a glass of clear fluid, symbolizing a clear and calm mind to last for the rest of the day. as i filled the glass with water, i realised that while the glass is being filled, water from the tap contains air bubbles, and that for several seconds after the tap is closed, these air bubbles remain. It is like our minds, the little bubbly things that go through our head...the wandering thoughts....but i realised, once u set the glass down, after a while, the bubbles settle, and the water is clear again. Is this probably similar to the mind?perhaps thats how people who meditate attain the sort of peace we could see written on their faces.

Well, its a beautiful day today, i do my part as a filial daughter to bring mother to hospital, and when i come back i hope that i will have the strength and concentration to finish my pending work so that i could at least have a break during the xmas and new year period...

Wish me luck
Posted by Penny at 10:55 AM No comments:

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Reminising uni life

Dearest blog,

i am having insomnia again and tonight, i opt not to take any benzo...i try to cure this terrible debilitating disorder by typing out all the worries and emotions i have on my mind....i hope this works...

while i was trying to sleep, i couldnt fall asleep because i kept thinking of stuff i shouldnt be thinking before going to bed...like planning the next day or feeling guilty over things i did not manage to accomplish the previous day.............or perhaps...feeling guilty of all the wrong things, mistakes or just pure evil things that i did in the past day..........

i know that i wouldnt be able to sleep...and i was sorely tempted to pick up my phone to make a call.........and then i realise, it would mean another mistake to pick up that phone........because..the person i want to call most likely do not want to hear from me....at least...not at this time of the night when we all have work the next morning............gosh..............i miss those days when i could just walk next door and talk to you guys.............yes.........lisuan, chelfi, chiet yien...........i am talking about u girls..........i don't know why...is it a failure on my part?or am i just a horrible person?that after 1 year from my graduation (eric reminded us on sat) i still havent found anyone that when i really need to talk....i can just pick up my phone and call them....except u guys...........which means...........u guys are still my BFFs............

unfortunately...i have to be considerate la.........i mean...its almost midnight d.......we all got work tomorrow, we are in the same line of work and u guys being in bigz  hospitals, i know have more stress and more work then me...........life has been good to me..........i was sent to a small district hospital that is close to home...i wouldnt have survived otherwise......

But the thing is..........right now...i really need u guys....remember my first year in UQ?right before our phrm1010 assignment was due i was like....gone totally mad?i remember u guys being there for me......ls and cy mostly cuz cfc was a stress case at the time....u guys held my hand through the terrible time....the second year...exam time...similar thing....and you guys were there for me............esp cy....i know....i make u sleep less a lot and stressed up a lot but my first two year in UQ.....i will not survive without u...suddenly i think back during first year we practice our anatomy essays in 72 warren st...at the living room....and i will forever remember that when i was in one of my depressive episodes, and i asked up stupid questions like...am i a horrible person...i will always remember ur classic answer "no la, i think you just have an overdeveloped lacrimal gland"

Then, come third and fourth year...hey...i look back and i see improvement in myself....i no longer need u guys to hold my hand so much anymore...those  u guys were still there for me..........

as i look back in my life...i have to accept that i have depression, and this took me a very long time to really accept this......and i took me a long time to accept that i have relapsed and i will continue to relapse although a lot of times i am in remission....friends...at times like this i cant do anything but reach out my hand to you and hope that you would at least give me a grip for support...because with this illness...i never know when i will relapse...it is tiring...everytime i have a major change in my life...it comes back to haunt me and i need to go back on SSRIs....i really wan to rid myself of this but i don't know how................

While i was lying in bed tonight..i think back a lot of things...and to stop myself from disturbing u guys...i decided to stay far far away from my phone and look back on random pictures we took but i never did publish on fb.......i look back and i remember so much ..............I MISS YOU GUYS!!!

Besides wanting to say that to you guys...i also want to apologize...from the bottom of my heart...for every wrong thing i did to u guys...for every single time i yelled or raised my voice at you guys ( i know it is countless of times) and for everytime i acted like a spoiled selfish brat and made things difficult for u guys either at personal or uni events............i am truly remorseful and i hope you guys will forgive me and we will always be BFFs

I applied leave from the 25th to 27th Jan 2011...i hope to see u guys in penang...i know...u all will be busy with CNY...but will u consider coming down for the weekend at least??i bought a groupon deal for an apartment so we'll have a place to put up............

finally i just want to say I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!see the pics i've just posted on fb


http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151041126160790.775605.503855789&type=1&l=3697d45278



To end my entry..goodnight dear blog...thank you for listening to my woes

Posted by Penny at 2:20 AM No comments:

Thursday, December 8, 2011

space occupying lesion

First of all, i am supposed to be on mc today but i woke up with epistaxis............annoying............took me half an hour to stop it...tried stupid traditional methods like sticking a spoon done my spine.............don even remember where that came from.......

anyway..i stopped it...so i decided..since i am up early..i might as well get some work done and go to the bank.....then i realise........gosh.....half of my cp1 is missing...oh no..........then i remember passing them over to boss...........haha...lucky its on her table..........

settled some things at the bank.......and then i realise................oopss.....spent too much money on credit card bills last month.........and i bet this month's bill going to be increased too........cuz..........its Christmas!!!xmas shopping time..........i love giving out gifts during xmas and pretending to be mrs claus.................in Aus, i always wanted to wear one of the mrs.claus bikini's..hehehe

well, got to hbm arnd lunch time.......then...........i had another episode of migraine attack.........gosh...........at first.........it only occured once a month.......now i seem to get them at least once a week............the worst part is the assoc nausea and vomitting............everyone thinks i have a positive UPT............its positively annoying......

guess i cant ignore my problem.............made an apptment with MOPD next year...hope to get some answers............and i hope its nothing to do with space occupying lesions as suggested by my pal.........Dr. Khor...hehehe..i like calling u that............

i wanted to go to record office to clerk some case but i thought better of it and went home for a nap.......viola........after nap...no more unilateral throbbing of the head..........woohoo............so i went out to pasar malam.....something i havent done for a very long time............

food is good...life is good...i end this blog entry hoping that what is happening to me isnt malignant....even if it is...all i hope for is another chance to find true love before i leave this world.........
Posted by Penny at 12:07 AM No comments:

Monday, December 5, 2011

Hospital life part 4: post clinical blues

I am finally home after a two day hospital stay. i feel quite emotionally drained...esp after not sleeping properly two nights in a row..........

Supposedly, this weekend i was supposed to finish up work that i did not manage to complete during my clinical attachment, but i was staying in hospital...so i didnt really manage to do anything (work-wise). But i guess i am glad that i was able to take care of mother, being the filial daughter i have always wanted to be.

However, i couldnt help to think over all the things that have happened for the past month. i've learned so much from my clinical attachment...thanks to great preceptors.....and also, great staff at the wards....of course...the most important ingredient in my learning..the patients......i have learnt to see from their eyes and to step in their shoes.......i am really grateful for all that.

On saturday for example, i was able to convince a non-compliant epileptic patient to be compliant. By chatting with him i found out that he has an 8 year old son, and i simply just used the fact in my counselling to reinforce the importance of compliance to medications, and that his son needs a healthy father and that having a seizure might scare his son. He subsequently promised to take his tablets and to follow the next TCA as given to him. We will be doing another TDM level in 2 weeks, and i hope that i would be able to see improvement in him.

The most happy part of my clinical attachement however, is getting to know staff at the wards...nurses, had to be the most patient people in the world.........not just in dealing with patients but also....ahem...dealing with.....urm...don't know if i should write this...maybe i shouldnt......anyway...i've learn to love nurses.....and appreciate them for the job they do.

The other happy part is getting to know great doctors, our specialists Dr Goh, Dr. Ku, Dr. Kong and the medical MOs...they really are nice people...i remember how ridiculous i was at the beginning of my PRP. i was actually AFRAID of doctors..........hmm..........now that i think back i really feel stupid....

There is one particular person i that truly appreciate, though we don't get along too well, i do appreciate everything you have taught me. if u happen to read this, thanks, you should know who you are. i hope you are not too mad at me....

I am feeling mixed emotions at the moment, i didnt achieve 100% of my targets but i am thankful that celine pronounced i have COMPLETED my clinical attachment..which means i do NOT need to extend. and i am also truly thankful to celine, my dear boss, for being so patient with me. a lot of things have happened with my family this few weeks and i know you have made allowances to the non-achievance of my targets. Thank you again. I wish i had time to buy u a little something but really tied up with mom issues...perhaps for christmas?

Now here i am, trying my best to do some work before sleeping and starting a new day tomorrow, back at OPD........wish me luck dearest blog...........
Posted by Penny at 9:29 PM No comments:

Friday, December 2, 2011

Hospital life part 3: horrible day at work

Dear blog,

right after i got home from work..i decided to pour my heart and soul out to you. today was a horrible day...to begin with...........i woke myself up early trying to get some work done but end up not really getting any work done despite punching in to work at 6.30am in the morning.

Then, when i tried my best to do counselling MDI to a patient....he uses it the way we girls spray perfume on ourselves despite me demonstrating to him how to do it 3 times...and then...when i try to discuss the medical officer in charge, i was ignored. it was expected. i am just a PRP. and he is busy..but he is missing the point that we are health professionals all working together for the health and well being of our patients. it is never a one-man or one-woman show in a healthcare. unfortunately, in this world, some people are easy to work with while others..................and btw pls, being busy is not a license to be rude to others and it is certainly not a license to hurt other people's feelings.

i always thought that despite being colleagues, deep down, we can all be friends...but apparently...not everyone thinks the same...oh well...thats life.......and in my part...for my patient...i did what i could and i sleep soundly tonight without guilt.

i remember being an intern in the PAH, one day, i was in a life and an elderly lady asked me a question i could not answer. i replied "i am sorry madam, i am just a student, i cant help you". She said to me "darling, you are never JUST a student". if only my colleagues could see me as an equal an not JUST a PRP.

the poor pak cik who came all the way to hospital........and the staff lost his D/C summary and prescription...........i can only...........wah...i really respect you guys who work in ward of a hospital.........this kind of thing aso can happen..............

so yea...it was a long day...but...in the end... i did the best i could........i will sleep tonight.........without any guilt.............
Posted by Penny at 10:09 PM No comments:

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Hospital life part 2: confessions of a workaholic

Dear Blog,

I feel the sudden urge to talk to you about my day. Today was really hectic...my preceptor suddenly had to take emergency leave because her husband is sick while my other preceptor is doing night call (meaning she comes in afternoon). All of the sudden, i am the only clinical pharmacist (although in training) around. Gosh, i felt the pressure at first...but after a while, i sudden feel the satisfaction of being a useful person. When my colleagues ask me questions and i was able to provide professional answers with confidence, i start to perhaps, begin to love my job

however, i think i'm developing workaholism , today i left work at 7.15pm. Yest, i left work at 9pm...hmm...i'm not actually paid for doing these extra hours, but yet i loved doing it and actually (surprisingly) felt energetic doing it. some might argue that i was only staying behind to watch handsome MO at work. hmmm...first of all....that adjective in the statement itself is debatable. second of all, i really am too busy trying to meet my clinical targets to worry about anything else atm.

but...on the drive back home, i did have a little time to think about the state of my urm...relationship status....well...i suppose i am looking for someone that is willing to perform CPR on my alr asystole heart........and the truth is....this person, can be anyone....i'm not picky....the only item i have on my checklist is that when i look at him, i know i am home, regardless of whether i am in the hospital, at a restaurant or even working in the field (an option which i am looking at in the future). i am looking for someone that no matter how long the day was, how tired i am, how sore my muscles are or even how smelly i am after a long day of work and no chance to shower, that one person that when i look into his eyes, i know i am home.

Sounds complicated but its simple really...i don't really care much about the amount of time we spend together, unanswered calls, ignored sms-es, missed movie dates/anniversaries, gifts of flowers and other fancy stuff...i dont need those...the amount of time is not important, it is the quality of time spent together. i am the kind of girl who goes out to buy herself a diamond ring just because i love that ring. i dont sit around and wait for someone to buy me the ring. if i like it and if i can afford it, i will buy it myself. its as simple as that.......at the end of the day, i suppose, i am just looking for emotional support, and perhaps, a bonus if there is a willing shoulder that i could lean on.

So here i am........waiting....wondering......how long a heart can stay asystole before it can no longer be revived..........
Posted by Penny at 10:33 PM No comments:

Hospital life part 1

Dear Blog,

its been a while since i have chatted with you. mainly because i've been busy. things happening to family members, mom relapsed TB, grandma CAP, dad sprained right hand....the list goes on............

life in clinical pharmacy has been good to me...its a hard station but i'm loving every minute of it. its the only station where i can see a multidisciplinary team work together for a patient's health and wellbeing. just today, i observed a femoral cath insertion in a man who is in need to urgent HD. sure i suffered from N&V and LOA after that, but watching the process is just an experience you can never forget. this reminded me of my attachment at the PA Hospital during my fourth year undergrad study. My preceptor Saira arranged for me to observe ECTs being performed. I still remember being in the operating theatre, cold and numb, watching a few houseman, MO and specialist induce seizures in depressed patients who undergo the procedure with hope that one day they can get better.

Experiences like this sometimes make me rethink my decision of not pursuing medicine years ago. it made me wonder if i have made the right decision. at the time, i was naive, i chose to have a happy family instead of being alone. But now, despite not choosing medicine, i am still alone and unwanted. The one person tht i thought i was going to spend the rest of my life with left me and took along a precious family member i never got to know and love. i made my decision when a doctor (specialist and CEO of a private hospital)said that female doctors have troubled private lives. i mean, look at adeline yen mah the author and main protagonist of falling leaves. But, there's always an exception to the rule isnt there?i'm sure many of you female docs out there who would disagree with this "specialist"'s statement, but naive little me 5 years ago believed him and choose to forsake medicine.

Speaking of things like this make me wan to do an ECT on myself....yes...i suffer from depression dear blog, and sometimes i feel that i can nvr rid of this terrible illness for my whole entire life. all i can do is keep practising what i have learned in CBT and continue to be compliant to my medication.

when i think of my attachment at PA hospital, i remember the best preceptor i had, Karl, he was a wonderful talented, knowledgable and most importantly kind and considerate boss. Karl was one person i had to take my hat off to. i remember our experience in BIRU, where we visited a patient with TBI. This poor 36 year old lady suffered TBI 2` to MVA. She has a short term memory of only 10 minutes and she also suffer from amnesia. every 10 minutes she asks the nurses these 3 questions 1.who am i? 2. where am i? 3. where is my husband. i remember this poor pt very well because in terms of medicine, we can do nothing for her except to sedate her with medications.i thought i'll nvr meet another pharmacist that make me want to take my hat off. but i did, my current preceptor Celine, is so good that i'll take my hat off and salute her if i could. i've learned so much from her and i hope that i will be granted the opportunity to learn more.

whoops...time to go...........havent had dinner and its 10.24pm malaysian time. Wish that i was back in Brisbane. I miss you so much Carole!!

thank you for being my listener dearest blog

Penny
Posted by Penny at 12:08 AM No comments:

Monday, November 21, 2011

Hospital "on-call" duty

Dear blog,

i just got home from a hospital "on-call" duty. so tired but still insomnia-ing. its a great experience though...to see the workplace after hours and get to know nurses well............and i start to understand what an on-call MO or houseman feel like

today is the first time i changed a diaper...unfortunately, it was an adult diaper and one with pretty bad nappy rash. at this point the pharmacist in me says...slap on some zinc cream...but then again, i couldnt find any after rumaging arnd OPD in dark on a sun night with creepy sounds looming in the distance so i grabbed a tube of cetomacrogol aq cream instead and slapped those on the affected ahem..area....hopefully it wasnt vaginal thrush or anything but i wasnt too keen to look to closely. anyway...i am not a doctor!!goodness when you work in ward you cannot imagine how many time i have to say that to patients and their families........getting a bit..............grrrrrrrrrr

speaking of firsts, today is aso the first time i observed a cpr...unfortunately, after 45 mins, the pt was still asystole. as i watched the dr and nurses perform the cpr until her rib cage snaps, until they got so tired, they took turns at the mechanical ventilation and compression....i suppose its what they have to do so so that when the family comes, they can say they did everything they could. and this particular procedure i witnessed, i truly believed that they really did everything they could. RIP poor pt, may you be happier and less painful where you are...........i do wonder though...thus it hurt when the rib cage snapped?makes me wonder if one shld sign a DNR if they know there is poor prognosis.....less suffering for both the pt and the health professional

that was in the afternoon, back to my night duty, i was sitting there...didnt have anything to do....so i start cp2-ing.......then, the on-call MO came by and said........"why are you hardworking?", i said....."i have to otherwise my boss will probably murder me"....dr said "really, cant believe she so garang one" i said..."you don't know her if u say like that" (sorry boss, no offense if u happen to read this)

after that, i decided to do sth unethical...i said "dr, can i involve u in sth unethical?i really wanna go home and sleep tonight and i cant sleep unless granny sleeps so can u pls endorse some valium prn?" lo behold, he directly gave verbal order to s/n in charge and viola......tab alpra 0.5mg given stat and it works like magic...agitated pt became peacefully sleeping pt and here i am...home sweet home...bed sweet bed..........

yawn, tml morn shift then afternoon taking mom to chest in pg. alr hafalled the national a/b guideline so that i can fire questions at the chest specialist........hope that works..............

wish me luck my dearest blog

P.s i realised that lately, many people have been reading u dear blog...mayb we shld make a rule that anyone who reads must comment otherwise i will never know who is actually sharing my thoughts and experiences.....and disclaimer...whatever i share here is fiction and is no references to anyone dead or alive, any similarites are just coincidence so pls, if u don't like it don't read it, if you read it, pls, even if u don't like it, don sue me for it.
Posted by Penny at 4:26 AM No comments:

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Crab in a steamer

Dear Blog,

after that emotional post yesterday, i thought i could get some rest and move one with my life, hit some cp2 targets, do my case report and power point presentation. gosh, was i ever this wrong?firstly, i went to this parlour for my weekly beauty tx, which consists of one procedure named "STEAM BATH". How did it feel?exactly like a crab in a steamer. i was left in this confined space (the size of your average public toilet cubicle) for almost 45 minutes and there is steam blowing from all directions. i found it so hard to breath that i started to feel SOB and palpitations. i couldnt see a thing except steam and i started sweating profusely. the worst was feeling the steam hit my body and condense into droplet of hot water that trickle down everywhere from your shoulder all the way down to you arms, abdomen, thighs and feet. after 15 minutes, i really began to understand how crabs feel when they are steamed alive. for those of you who love to eat crabs, i really recommend this "beauty treatment". The SOB was getting worse and i felt my heart beating really really fast and i thought to myself, why should i go through all this just to lose a few pounds?i mean, if you are going to find someone who loves you for how you look like, isnt that just a little too superficial?i was about to give up and open that door to walk out of hellbath when visions of people, especially my loved ones, laughing at me flashed through my head like a horror movie. I decided to sit through it. after 45 minutes, feeling totally cooked and ready to be plated up and eaten, i walked out of the steam bath (alive, surprisingly) and my beautician handed me a pack of detox drink which had these ingredients

prune powder, dextrose, sorbitol, guarana powder, maltodextrin, psyllium husk, oat powder, wheat dextrin, orange powder and aluminium silicate

i was jst diagnosed with AGE two days ago, it sounded too suicidal for me to drink that so i just kept it. I bit my tongue and stopped myself from saying "hello, i'm trying to lose weight, not die". after all that, i weighed myself, lost 300g. i suspect its 300g of sweat, no fat. sighs. will i ever be thin, pretty and atrractive?and even if i am, will anyone care?

mom still refused to talk to me. then the bombshell, 3 am a call from granny's carer. c/o Cough, SOB. i said "why you call me i am not a doctor..send to hospital!" okay, i admit i sound cruel...but hey...i have U/L insomnia it was really difficult for me to fall asleep. and to be waken up in the middle of the night for something you cant really help....is distressing....they took her to a clinic...doc say the same thing, bring to hospital

so this whole morning i spent in HBM. A/E helping with history, then chest xray, the go all the way to makmal pathologi to take the results, and finally, when admit to w10 i don't know if i should be relieved or worried. diagnosis, lethargy for investigation. i didnt even know got such diagnosis....anyway, i leave it up to her MO now, if no U/L condition hopefully can discharge as there is a high probability that there will be another hospital admission tomorrow afternoon of another family member...

there is only so much a girl can take before she suffers from a nervous breakdown. i'm not asking for much, just please, a little bit of moral support anyone?friends?colleagues?family?i need you now...pls, anything....just even say gambathe is enough to keep me going.....

today is supposed to be the penang bridge international marathon, which i am sure 20.11.11 is a memorable day for most...it is certainly memorable for me but not in a good way...while i was dressing granny up in the xray room or helping her in A/E i lost one side of my diamond earring. bad luck sign? need to ask the astrologers and "tukang tilik nasib".

i end this entry reaching out my hands with a cry for help, care and support. any volunteers?

Love,
Penny
Posted by Penny at 8:46 PM 2 comments:

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Life in hospital

Dear Blog

Its saturday morning and i am in hospital. Apart from sx such as severe abdominal pain, dark brown urine and black tarry stools..there's absolutely nothing wrong me. so why am i in hospital?obviously, i wasnt there for me, mother had a very bad chest infection that wouldnt resolve for months

its times like this when i realise, even as health professionals, how tied our hands are........especially when our loved ones are sick........sometimes, i think, even though my initial reason for a dream to become a pharmacist is so that i could help people, esp my loved ones when they are sick, its can be very hard to be a health care professional to watch your love ones in pain and not able to do a single thing about it besides sitting next to them and hold their hands. Thats exactly how i feel now, except, i couldnt even do that because she is blaming me for her illness, subsequently pushing me away.

sometimes i wonder if life is worth living when everyday you suffer from pain. and not just physical pain, it includes this emotional toture that no one in this world loves or cares for you, that one day, you are going to die alone. i'm sure many people feel this way in the world, i met a few every other day when i do my rounds, old ladies who are sick and no one even cares to visit or even take them home. people in old folks home who yearn everyday for their children or grandchildren to come visit.....children in orphranages that are abandoned by their parents, sick people who are left to die just because they couldnt afford to pay their medical bills.

when i became a health care professional, i imagined a perfect world where everyone is treated equally, where everyone receives equal treatment despite the colour of their skin or the amount of money they have in their wallets. such worlds don't exist. and if you think it does, you are just being naive and stupid. Naive and stupid....thats what i am now..............

life is so bad that sometimes i feel like giving up...........but then, there are the bright spots in life that you don't want to miss...like not going to work one day and when you do the next, a patient asks "where were you?i waited for you to come and watch me use my inhaler yesterday but you didnt come?" or when you realise that even if it is just a little bit, what you do does make a difference in people's lives. On friday, i really felt that when i did a counselling about the importance of using MDI Budesonide on a daily basis for long term management of asthma. My pregnant patient (previously non-compliant) looked at me and said...."i didnt know it is important to use the brown inhaler. but now i know so i will use it everyday"

so my dearest blog...i am really confused...do i continue to have hope in life or don't i?past memories are painful, especially if you suffer from insomnia, they haunt you and they remind you of the mistakes that you have made or they are sometimes premonition to the mistakes that you are about to make. I promised myself that after i am hurt so much by someone i will never fall in love or believe in love again but sometimes it is true that you cannot help who you fall for, and when love comes, it comes and nothing can stop it. am i not protecting myself enough?should i build a thicker wall around me?i think the answer is yes. and it is especially true that when you know that getting involved with someone could mean big trouble.

now comes the time when i stop writting this blog and go to the hospital for work.................thank you dear blog, for listening to my woes. i will be visiting u soon again.

love
Pei Jing
Posted by Penny at 6:09 PM No comments:

Thursday, November 17, 2011

when you are gone

"When You're Gone"
I always needed time on my own
I never thought I'd need you there when I cry
And the days feel like years when I'm alone
And the bed where you lie is made up on your side

When you walk away I count the steps that you take
Do you see how much I need you right now

[Chorus]
When you're gone
The pieces of my heart are missing you
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missing too
When you're gone
The words I need to hear to always get me through the day and make it ok
I miss you

I've never felt this way before
Everything that I do reminds me of you
And the clothes you left, they lie on the floor
And they smell just like you, I love the things that you do

When you walk away I count the steps that you take
Do you see how much I need you right now

[Chorus]

We were made for each other
Out here forever
I know we were, yeah
All I ever wanted was for you to know
Everything I'd do, I'd give my heart and soul
I can hardly breathe I need to feel you here with me, yeah

[Chorus]


PS. Lets sing this song again soon.
Posted by Penny at 7:57 PM No comments:

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

clinical blues

Dearest blog,

i havent visited a while because i've been so busy...i've had two exciting trips..one to sibu and another to kl which are fantastic which i meant to tell you all about but i've just been so so so busy and stressed out.

Today is the start of my second week in the block of clinical ward pharmacy attachment in HBM. Last week was really hectic and i am starting to feel the pressure because i could not achieve all of my targets. But somehow, deep down in me...i can see a truly excited budding clinical pharmacist in my future career. I love ward rounds, doing history taking, chatting to patients and counselling them on medications, finding mistakes that MO's made and correcting them *wink*(no offense pls everyone makes mistakes right?) and the best part of being a clinical pharmacist is being able to truly do an intervention that could possibly change a person's life.

tomorrow, i will try my best to help one old lady, a 66 year old currently on a high dose of insulin therapy. her total dose of insulatard and actrapid is 114 units per day and she weighs about 60kg...thats is a pretty big dose for a pretty small lady...the part that made me so enthusiatic to help her is the fact that she looked at me and winced when i told her that her morning dose of insulin, which is 30 units of actrapid and 38 units of insulatard dose not fit into one syringe, (max only 50 units a needle) means she need to poke herself twice AM and once PM

it makes me wanna cry when she winced, looked at me and said "sakit" and pouted. so i did what i could...i looked up CPG from AMM and hopefully i will be able to convince my MO to do something about her dosing. First point, she is on metformin 500mg bd.....why cant increase to 1g bd?she's not in renal failure or CCF, nor does she have any conditions that cause lactic acid accumulation. is there an indication to increase her insulin dose to so high when her oral agents are not maximised?second point, a 66 year old lady, has to mix up insulatard and actrapid and self inject with a very fine needle that due to her poor vision, couldnt see properly the units. isnt this an indication for perhaps a pre-mixed insulin such as humulin 30/70 and wouldnt it be better for her to use a humapen instead of drawing and mixing things in a fine needle syringe?

hopefully i have strong points...i need expert opinion on this....and God, pls let me be able to help this patient tomorrow.

my dearest blog...i shall write to you again when i can. thank you for listening to me.


Posted by Penny at 2:31 AM No comments:

Monday, November 14, 2011

为什么?

为什么这个世界上,要找到真爱有这么多的障碍?


为什么, 当你找到真正的爱情, 你将失去它?


为什么, 在阳光下,人,会抱怨热, 在雨中, 人, 怕淹死?


为什么, 人, 永远无法满足?


..........有没有人可以回答我的问题?
Posted by Penny at 11:02 PM No comments:

Monday, October 31, 2011

if i die young

If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a, bed of roses
Sink me in the river, at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song

Uh oh, uh oh

Lord make me a rainbow, I'll shine down on my mother
She'll know I'm safe with you when she stands under my colors, oh and
Life ain't always what you think it ought to be, no
Ain't even grey, but she buries her baby

The sharp knife of a short life, well
I've had just enough time

If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses
Sink me in the river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song

The sharp knife of a short life, well
I've had just enough time

And I'll be wearing white, when I come into your kingdom
I'm as green as the ring on my little cold finger,
I've never known the lovin' of a man
But it sure felt nice when he was holding my hand,
There's a boy here in town who says he'll love me forever,
Who would have thought forever could be severed by

The sharp knife of a short life, well,
I've had just enough time

So put on your best boys and I'll wear my pearls
What I never did is done

A penny for my thoughts, oh no, I'll sell them for a dollar
They're worth so much more after I'm a goner
And maybe then you'll hear the words I been singin'
Funny when you're dead how people start listenin'

If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses
Sink me in the river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song

Uh oh (uh, oh)
The ballad of a dove (uh, oh)
Go with peace and love
Gather up your tears, keep 'em in your pocket
Save them for a time when you're really gonna need them, oh

The sharp knife of a short life, well
I've had just enough time

So put on your best boys and I'll wear my pearls 
Posted by Penny at 11:02 PM No comments:

Saturday, October 8, 2011

weddings

Weddings are just so lovely.....especially when u took time off from work to prepare for it. its was very refreshing to go home for lunch and then sleep after it, wake up and then pamper yourself at a hair salon with treatment and setting ur hair nicely before going for the wedding....

Too bad i didnt have time to go for makeup which ended in a very bad makeup despite nice hair......a suitable caption for this photo: so bored that i took a pic of my ugly self in the toilet..


Also, weddings can get a bit....sien after sittting there for sometime esp if you have no one you know around to talk to...so...i went for a walk............i couldnt get close enuf to the lovely bride so i took a pic of her lovely pic....love that dress in the pic

and then, viola, i caught the BRIDE!!finally!!i stopped her and took this close up...love that dress Celine!!



Since i was late, i ended up sitting with ...........................

instead of sitting with ......................

or


But it was still fun.....we get the last dish to ourselves because all the doctors left early *wink*

At 10.30 pm i was driving myself home...then a thought struck me...its a friday night...i got all dressed up....i shouldnt be going home to sleep at 10.30pm...so i called my pal Edmund to check if he was interested to go out for a couple of drinks.......but he was in the CINEMA. so i thought to myself...ok...i'll go grab a starbuck at auto city...what a surprise i got when i got to auto city


There was a FUNFAIR going on.....fanstastic...its been years since i've been to one.....

Seeing this particular swing ride bought back memories............my first ride was in genting with my cousin Sheryl....she sat through it smiling while i screamed.........................those were the days...there were also bumper cars................which reminded me of the last time i played in one....and whom i played with............

Memories began to haunt me...i wish they would just stay as memories but often these things are really vivid when they feel like it....jumping out at you unexpectedly and hurting your feelings all over again....looking back....i never really stopped looking for someone like him...the person who gave me the most happiness i had in my miserable life and then left me, making my life even more miserable than it was............its like that song by adele.............

I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited
But I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it.
I had hoped you'd see my face and that you'd be reminded
That for me it isn't over.

Never mind, I'll find someone like you
I wish nothing but the best for you too
Don't forget me, I beg
I remember you said,
"Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead,

i also saw a friend that i have lost through my stupidity and outspokenness...at least i think i did........at first, i thought it was just 日有所思夜有所梦.................i thought it was a dream so i told myself...................you need to get that starbucks...................


I did...............and then i thought i saw a ghost or rather the dream again at starbucks!!gosh...twice in one night....it couldnt be a dream...though i did not pinch myself i did drink my fave green tea frappa with whipped cream, so it couldnt be a dream.....

then again....when i think about it.....its pretty sad really....i thought i had a good friendship  but friendship like most other things in this world...turns into dust once the tables are turned.................i went home singing this song...................................

愛得太真 太容易 讓自己犧牲 太容易讓自己沉淪
太容易 不顧一切 滿是傷痕
我太笨 明知道你是錯的人
明知道這不是緣分 但是我還奮不顧身

overall it was a great night and i am really happy for Celine...may happy days follow today my friend and i hope you like my gift. and sorry for not picking you up kamini..you look great by the way!


Posted by Penny at 3:45 AM No comments:

Friday, September 30, 2011

almost post TDM blues

Oh gosh...i have been at tdm for almost a month..i cant believe it..it seemed like just yesterday i wrote the pre tdm blues http://piginoz.blogspot.com/2011/09/pre-tdm-blues.html.

times does fly. Rereading my previous post brought tears to my eyes. last month, i thought i lost my friend Serena. Today, i lost another friend. i do seem to have the habit of losing friends. Serena says its due to my spontaneus innocent nature that brought me to act in a way that sometimes though my intentions are good, may hurt or harm others. well, if i do look back, perhaps it is true. perhaps i should tone down the "friendliness" in me that seems to bring me endless trouble whereever i go. Its a thought, thanks Serena my friend, for being there when i needed a friend the most.

After a week of sickness and nausea, it brings back memories of six years ago when the similar thing happened to me. It seems that i might have missed the fact that the waves of sickness i experience do seem to coincide with the same dates on the same year each year. is it my guilty conscious speaking due to grief of my loss? 6 years ago, i lost someone that could have meant a lot to me. I was only 18 but i understood the true meaning of losing someone you really loved. One would claim that what i am suffering from is a UTI or even more ridiculous, a positive UPT but i suppose no one, even the most professional in the field could tell me what is wrong, i suppose its all in the end just a guess

anyway, i feel better after a long long sleep the whole afternoon. and the fact that Zelia replied my sms-ses, reminding me that i still have a friend in HSJ. Thanks Zelia, you really made my day a lot better, i cant wait to go out with you and meet your friends tomorrow night.

Now, it is the time for me to battle with insomnia again, or perhaps, i should just swallow those tablets and sleep better with it, with hopes that my last day at HSJ would not be as horrible as my last few.

"Gone yet not forgetten,
although we are apart,
your spirit lives within me,
forever in my heart."
 



The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen, nor touched, but are felt in the heart. *Helen Keller*

"An angel in the book of life wrote down my baby's birth.
Then whispered as she closed the book "too beautiful for earth". 



"What we have once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes a part of us." Helen Keller


"To Remember Is Painful
To Forget Is Impossible."
~Maureen Connelly
Posted by Penny at 12:48 AM No comments:

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Contagion

wow...wat a great movie about infectious disease and how health care professionals fight against it. Was a great night...went swimming after work and then a movie with friends.

such a nostalgic night though...to be among friends and to feel like you are among strangers. when there are odd numbered people in a group and everyone walked in pairs but u are isolated...well...i suppose thats one opportunity to join another pair but a more passive person may just shrink away and feel a bit lonely.

sometimes, i wish i could do better things in life...like the girl in the movie who injects herself with a new vaccine or barry marshall who swallowed a culture of h.pylori. At least, i would have made a sacrifice that benefited mankind and not just living now wasting breaths of air and taking the space of others who are more worthy of living.

Life can be cruel to people..like the poor souls in NICU that i see every day. i'm sure they are in a lot of pain. yet, everyday as a tdm pharmacist, we need to squeeze blood out of these tiny things just to prove something that may not even be clinically significant.

Sometimes i wonder, is it more painful to suffer from a wound that never heals for years or die from an infection that kills you in hours?

With that i end my entry..and oh...happy birthday Chelfi
Posted by Penny at 1:10 AM No comments:

Friday, September 9, 2011

Long distance relationships

Dear Blog,

Today is a day of pretty free-ness ending with sudden busyness. not much tdm cases but at 5pm, HBM sent us a neonate genta level...grrrr....lunch was good but i was manipulated by reps of RHB, citibank and standard charted to apply for their credit cards...double grrrr...or rather.....triple grrrrr..well, at least i got some free gifts

Today finally met Dr Chelsia!!!wonderful...hopefully we can go watch movies together soon!hmmm...today my post tdm drive home was full of thoughts. Mainly is because the stupid TDM level for the neonate of approx 2kg was pre 1.05 and post 0.9. Lucky miss Teoh was around and immediately spotted the fact that this is a missed dose case. when we called w1, the SN insist that she did serve the dose. grrrrrrrrrrrrr

well, we just informed the results and told them to intepret themselves. because we realise if the SN indeed served the dose we would double dose the child with our recommendation. So it was a period of informing both clinical pharmacist at HBM, the ward, and the on-call pharmacist.

however, when i got home,i was contemplating long distance relationships and its joys and tears. i was in a long distance relationship once and it did not last. I can still remember the feeling of love fading as each day goes by, the angry phone calls, tears, and a pretty messy break-up in the end.

Exhibit A,

"love hurts whether its right or wrong"-avril lavigne

A and B were in love, or at least A thought she was. Just out of high school, they were good friends, they thought they were going to see the world together, hand in hand. but then the fates did not allow that. to explain, firstly i must mention that they were both academically prognostic and hoped to pursue higher education overseas. they both applied for scholarships and the heartbreak began the day the results was announced. A did not succeed but B did. he was to leave immediately the next week and will be bound for a 5 year programme in Korea. A had two loses that day, first she did not achieve my dream of going overseas and 2nd, her then other half is leaving. she remembered not feeling the taste of food, hunger, pain or heat. it presisted for a few weeks. then her scholarship appeal results came out and she got the scholarship. but that also meant the end of her relationship which she then found out. she was to go to Australia to study for 4 years. Yes, A was happy to achieve her dream but it also meant that she and him will be separated into two hemispheres of the globe. A tearful 2 months followed as they cherished their last months together studying a prep course for students who are going overseas. and the day came when A said goodbye at the airport.

A never realised that love could fade so easily, it started when what used to be enjoyable became a dread. IM-ing him because less and less frequently and she started to dread his calls or emails. love slipped away silently. The fact that she was not able to physically hold him or for him to be there for her when she needed him most was the biggest factor. one day she just couldnt take it anymore and broke up with him.

it wasnt a pretty break-up as a few months later, A met another mr. right. B thinks A left him for another and refuse to believe A when she denies, broke into her email and violated her privacy rights. that was the ugly part. The uglier part?mr. right became mr. wrong in less than 6 months. A was stressed and depressed and her own family was on the brink of being torn apart. mr.right/wrong left for all the reasons that A need him at her side the most for. her heart was crushed. she learned not to ever love again.

Exhibit B

X and Y met at university, and had a wonderful  2.5 years dating. endless movies, dinners, holidays, romantic walks............the whole package.......X even made promises to Y that they will eventually marry, making plans to buy a house etc etc. Y thought she was giong to spend the rest of her life with him. But one day he complained about her attitude and told her he did not love her anymore. He then broke up with her.

Exhibit C

W and V was lovers in high school and pre university but went to different states for university after graduation. Things progressed from frequent phone calls, IMs and email to one person dreading or taking for granted these are important. V no longer felt the need to rush to the phone when he calls, or feel that thump going in her heart when she receives his email. when he visits, she rather spend her time with someone else. They eventually parted amicably

Exhibit D

two persons who have been married for a long time, lives together physically but is apart mentally. 20 years of fights over trivial issues such as money, children, money, money....and are still fighting, cold wars, outright yelling, silent treatments. communication i believe is the key to all happy relationships and apparently this is not present in this couple. what is the point of remaining married when you are not happy nor in love?

based on exhibit A, B, C and D i suppose we could safely assume that long distance relationships do not work?i humbly ask your opinion. i for one learned my lesson and bore it well for one of these exhibits was my own story.

this is not saying that you shouldnt pursue long distance relationships. i strong suggest that you do, the only thing is to recognise when love no longer exists and knowing how to let go when that happens. to all my friends who are in long distance relationships, i wish you all the best and to all my single friends, all the best in finding mr/miss right.

每次到了夜深人靜的時候我總是睡不著
我懷疑是不是只有我的明天沒有變得更好
未來會怎樣究竟有誰會知道
幸福是否只是一種傳說 我永遠都找不到

*我是一隻小小小小鳥
想要飛呀飛 卻飛也飛不高
我尋尋覓覓尋尋覓覓一個溫暖的懷抱
這樣的要求算不算太高------------------------------------->exactly how i feel now T_T


dear blog, i feel so emotionally drained right now...i will chat with you again, thanks for being my most faithful listener

Love,
Penny
Posted by Penny at 10:52 PM No comments:

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Post swimming issues

Gosh, finally managed to go swimming after so so so long...great to have a bit of workout after being stagnant for so long

and speaking of stagnant...geez...i'm thinking of how horribly contaminated the water in the public swimming pool looked. could resist washing myself with KMnO4 after swimming in it...and urrrgghhh..the toilet is just horrible..i just had a quick shower and went home to bathe.

anyway...its been a pretty good day...did some case clerking, calculations, went to chai leng park for lunch.....got ta pao some chicken thigh mee sua soup..everything good except those naughty guys who teased me throughout lunch and drive back...grrrrr

and then...finally after so long i spotted my firiend Dr. Chelsia at W5 when i went case monitoring. and hah...i found Dr kerwin made a mistake in bed 27's ticket...the vanco level was 17.8 la..not 11.8....grrrr

yan-ying and the other fellows are planning to go sibu on 15th next month...wonder if i will be able to get leave...geesh..have to decide by this sunday because need to buy ticket alr....

all's well ends well...yawn..tired after a long day
Posted by Penny at 10:49 PM No comments:

TDM at HSJ week 1 D3

Life at HSJ for a month began this week. i am already over the pre-tdm blues of the previous post so i supposed i am moving on.

i've met some nice people at HSJ, oh, most importantly, i saw an old friend from pre-u at disted. Its nice to know someone when you are in a strange environment. and of course, there's serena's friend which i met earlier. i wonder if he remembers who i am...hmmmm

these days one of the little joys of my early morning is to visit SCN/NICU to collect blood samples. There i can see newborns, premies, neonates and infants during the first few days of their lifes!however, i daren't stay too long as seeing these poor things in pain with tubes coming out of the mouths and goodness knows which orifices these doctors/nurses could stick them in makes me feel a bit depressed. i wonder how the parents of these infants feel....esp the mother....after "bersusah-payah" deliver the baby, it ended up in intensive care with things poking out of it. Must be really sad for them...parents..i started imagining the pain i would feel if i am a mother..then again...i suppose i have a long way to go............

yawn..lately has been having a pretty not so good sleep at night so having low energy levels in the morning. really need to go swimming tomorrow..i wonder if it is alright to swim with my contact lens on. hope its alright

yawn again...
Posted by Penny at 2:10 AM No comments:

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Pre TDM blues

Monday will be my first day of doing TDM at HSJ. Suddenly, feel quite scared of the coming month. anyhow..its been a pretty uneventful night...

sadness envelopes me as i contemplate my action of past two weeks. out of kindness of my heart i told a friend the truth about another friend. i wanted to help, and i meant to help but instead i lost them both. sometimes i wonder whether it pays to be nice.

i thought i was never going to let another guy step between me and my good girlfriend. then again, it seems i am never learning from my mistakes arent i?

during nights like this i frequently thought of my ex-es, one which i left and another which left me. karma i suppose, i hurt someone so in the end i was hurt. ya, fair's fair i guess i dont have the right to complain. but Ryan, if you ever get the chance to read this, i just want to say, the wound you left in me never healed. Five years ago when you stopped loving me, u put a knife through me and that wound i doubt will ever heal. you are going to be a doctor but i doubt any medical knowledge you have gained or may gain would ever heal that wound you have caused. i hope you are happy now because although i'll never be i still wish you the world's happiness

whooosh...i've always wanted to say that but i don think i will ever be able to say it to his face..oh well...just as well he'll never read this

as for serena and jin hui..i'm sorry if i have hurt you both but i really hope that we can still be friends. if i repeat to myself a thousand times tonight "i shall not meddle", maybe it will stick.

i hope i will be able to fall asleep tonight.

P
Posted by Penny at 4:27 AM No comments:

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Sleepless night

I was once told to not write blogs or start a profile on social networks like fb because i tend to make myself vulnerable by revealing too much of what i think.

Then again...if i don't i would probably be keeping everything inside without an avenue to vent my gut out on nights like this.

It was a good night, no doubt after karaoke-ing with my colleuges but the tequila is keeping me from falling asleep. somehow i keep thinking about things that had happened to me and mulling over them. The feeling of loneliness engulfs me..then i remember that i do have a blog to keep me company...and since no one really cares enough to read what i write anyway, why should i fear revealing too much?anyway..its a good place to crap...

star light star bright the first star i see tonight
i wish i may i wish i might, have the wish i wish tonight

Broken promises taint my past with a hopeless outlook in a future relationship. If its true that behind every successful man there is a woman and behind every successful woman there is a sad story, would you choose to be the woman behind the man or a successful woman?i for one cannot decide

Penny
Posted by Penny at 5:03 AM No comments:
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