Writing Again...

Monday, 5 January 2015


Well,  I have waited for one whole year before "launching" this blog for real. 
This blog was first inspired by a couple of friends (read more about the story here). The truth is, I have not been writing much the past one year. This has led to (a shocking) 40ish half finished posts and 5000++ and growing photos backlogged waiting to be completed and filtered through. 

Usual excuses every time when I look at the blank screen were the usual ones... Tired, lots of work, maybe I should be studying, there are always more important things to do, wondering if there're any value in writing any of these, etc... In essence, just EXCUSES.

Excuses such as crazy big moves to Perth, starting medical school and work are not going to work anymore now that I have settled proper. I have decided to put life back into this blog. During the last day of 2014, I have decided to "launch" *or rather resurrect* my lovely blog. The idea is to update my friends back home of my life in Perth, as well as to log other moments and experiences on this blog.

So here I go, starting with the London trip from last year. 





"Blog like no one is reading. Blog for yourself. First and always. 
Blog because you feel compelled to share things you are passionate about 
and you will never run out of material."

Stay tuned.
xoxo

14 Happiness in 2014~

Wednesday, 31 December 2014


2015 is almost upon us. 

I kept saying "can't believe the year has gone by so quickly!", an unnerving reminder of another year gone by, once again faster than the year before. This year has zoomed by the fastest in my opinion. It has been a whirlwind year. New Year's Eve is often seen as the chance to start anew. A time for reflection. As I look back, this year has been quite a chapter. Big changes. Heaps of tears and laughter both at the same time. 

As I look back at 2014 (through my 5000++ photos in my camera and my camera roll *OMG I know*), there were so many special moments to be remembered and be thankful for. 
Here're my "14 Happiness in 2014".

                                                                                                                                                                         


#1 - HELLO FRIENDS (COLLEAGUES)

"Don't be say because you are saying goodbye, 
you should be happy because you have memories with them that you'll cherish forever."


2014 started fast and furious. Wrapping up the last bit of my work and saying goodbye to the awesome team of people at St Luke's Hospital (a separate post perhaps). Honestly, I have never worked in such a friendly environment before. The one year with SLH was a memorable one. I have learnt heaps from the really experienced team ranging from doctors to allied health to administrators. Many of whom have truly inspired me to be what I hope to be in future. Thanks. I am extremely happy and blessed to have many of you now as a friend that has become bricks of my life. 


# 2 - Chapter 3: 
THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

"Dream the impossible, believe the unbelievable, and never take no for an answer."

Finally, after so many years of pinning and hoping I began my journey as a medical student (well, still a long long road to go, but I'm just glad I'm here). Well, many didn't believe it was possible. Honestly I didn't either, after all I came from some shit neighbourhood school isn't it? But I'm here. 3 days after leaving SLH, I'm here. Uprooting myself from the comfort of my home, and familiar faces to a foreign land, starting afresh. No shit it was daunting, but I am thankful to be here. Recently having a conversation with Dad in the car, I told him I am happy where I am now knowing that I am doing something that I know I love. To many despondent people out there, have a dream, have a goal and just work towards it. You will get there. EVENTUALLY.


#3 - Getting Richer (Figuratively) - 
NEW CHAPTER NEW FRIENDS


" Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and other is gold."


This year has been a hell of a ride, only made better with the new friends that have walked into my life. These new friends definitely made the stay in Perth so much more fun and meaningful. Special mention goes out to:

Dave - The mentor turned buddy now. Thanks for your guidance, support and believe throughout the year! Listening to me whine about assessments and failing. All the coffee dates and dirty jokes lol. Life would definitely be a little dull without you.

The rest of you are equally important as well. But words really can't quite describe my gratitude and love for all of you. Let the beautiful pictures speak for themselves as a testament to all the good times we've shared this year. 

**P.s. Heaps of photos to come on Facebook. Look out for it. It's fun/not fun going through 5000+ photos for the year!*


#4 - New Experience - 
UNIVERSITY LIFE 


"Whatever success I've achieved in life, 
I credit number one to my experience here at the university."

Recently had a chat with the little brother regarding university life. Throughout all my academic life, sports (canoeing) have been the centre of my life apart from studying. There were no time for any other activities. Even hanging out with friends seemed a little too trying. No time for parties, or any other social activities. In essence, NO LIFE lol (in my brother's word). However, this year, I have decided to do things a little differently and opened up to the idea of joining student run societies and my favourite charity now (Fairgame). I had heaps of fun working with GPSN (GP student network), SHMRC (Student in health sciences and medical research conference), WIS (Women in surgery) and Fairgame. During this one year I have had the chance to work aside some incredible people (turn friends), organising some amazing event (especially the WIS high tea) and not to mention brush shoulders with some of the prominent people in the field. Although it does take up a bit of our already limited time, I have to say it was worth it.


#5 - TAKE  TIME FOR FOOD AND COFFEE

" Sex might satisfy, food might fuel, love might sustain,
but without coffee, what's the point."

Thanks for the food. Well, Australia did introduce to their rich coffee culture as well as amazing brunches and food. Being as Singaporean as I can be, there are of course loads of time taken out to try out new coffee and food which are definitely made better with awesome company. With all honesty, there are too pictures of food. So look at my Instagram for more pictures!


# 6 - GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD RUBBISH! 

"Life is too short for bad friends and rubbish."

Aptly put by one of my favourite girlfriends last year (J yes I am talking about you). GOOD. RIDDANCE. TO. BAD. RUBBISH. This applies to everything, friends, partners, housemates, experiences etc... In summary, this year has been amazing. But no surprise, there were those dark clouds looming around too. I am not going to go into a social media b**tch sesh on the crazy people that I did not hesitate to strike out from my life. Thanks for the lessons you guys (serious piece of shit) has taught me and the strength and sanity gained to go through the crazy drama!


# 7 - MAKING IT THROUGH FIRST YEAR


"Keep calm and carry on."

Lol. RIGHT! My a**. I can't quite count the number of time I actually secretly have panic attacks before assessments, before clinical skills or even before tutorial. I think I started this year with peaking confidence to shine brilliantly in medical school only to be torn apart, coming out at the end of the year battled and bruised. I am very. very. VERY. thankful to have come out the end of the year surviving though! 25% doctor now. I am just happy that all of us made it!


# 8 - DOING MORE CRAZY STUFF


Well, let's just say mum and dad are not very impressed.
Oh wells, I love it!


# 9 - PARTY MORE 



"I live for the nights that I can't remember, with the people that I won't forget."

First and foremost, to Andrew (Singapore), I am NOT a party animal. I just happen to not party at all in the past because of many other reasons. And no I have not party a lot. Only a couple. Which I have to admit are great experience and once again made even better with amazing company. (Separate posts for all of these). Well, here's a little sneak to one of the set (Calvin Harris *btw amazing live*) from Stereo.


# 10 - HEALTH


"Health is wealth."

No shit. After some attachments and having studied some medical conditions now, I am thankful for being healthy. I am thankful for being able to do what I can do everyday. And I am definitely more thankful that my family and everyone I love are all healthy.


# 11 - THE PARTNERS IN CRIME 


"All you need is one (two) safe anchor to keep you grounded 
when the rest of your life spins out of control."

Looking back, I have no idea how the three of us ended up this close. 3 strikingly different people, different shape and definitely different personality ending up together (like this ==> above). It has been an incredible year having these two beautiful girls in my life, keeping me sane and pulling me through the hardest time. They are definitely the anchor that keeps me grounded when i'm out of control lol (up to your interpretations). Words really can't describe the gratitude and love I have for you girls. I thought this picture really aptly reflect our love for each other. Thank you. May our friendship age like freaking fine wine! Exquisite, expensive and rare.


# 12 - MY FOREVER FRIENDS


"A friend is someone who knows your past, believes in your future and accepts you the way you are."

Thank you all for still being such a big part of my life despite being separated by one freaking ocean. From checking up on me on whatsapp to sending me silly cards and everything in between. Special thanks to

Rei - Thanks for listening to me rant about everything and anything. Not sure what to do without you.
K and J - Thanks for always keeping me in loop with your lives and never stopped being a part of mine
Brenda - Thanks for practicing clinical skills with me through Skype
HT - You pervert for entertaining me with all your dirty jokes when i'm stressed
Audrey and JX - Thanks for checking in on me time to time and keeping me super grounded and focus
Chris and Rubz - Thanks for always making time for me

Most importantly, thank you all (even those that I have missed out) for the friendship and love you guys have given me.


#13 - MY BIGGEST FANS


"Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city."

Enough said.


#14 - CHEERS TO EVERYTHING ELSE ~ 


"Cheers to the 2014. Cheers to the new year, and another chance to get it right."

Last but not least, thanks for everyone who has been a part of my new chapter that I have failed to mention. Trust me all of you are important. Thanks for all the memories.

                                                                                                                                                                         


2014 has been great. No it has been more than great, it has been amazing. 
As much as the New Year seem daunting, I like the sense of gravity of the turn of the year. The invitation to take stock of life, to be thankful to every experiences and challenges, and the opportunity to tell those I love that I've treasured the year with them and look forward to many more to come.


As usual, please be kind 2015. 
Happy New Year everyone wherever you are. Stay safe!



Cheers! 
XOXO


A Good Read: 11 Things You Should Remind Yourself Of When You Wake Up [Repost @ EliteDaily]

Friday, 6 June 2014


Came across another very good read, thought it's worth sharing. Original article from Elitedaily, can view it [here] or just here on my blog (exact copy from the website)].

Here it go...



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11 Things You Should Remind Yourself Of When You Wake Up


Everyone loves life. People may not love their lives in particular, but they do love the concept of life. We believe that everything and anything in life is possible. Unfortunately, we don’t always believe we hold those possibilities in our own hands.
The reality of it is that we do – we do live a life that has endless possibility. The only problem is that we choose to believe it otherwise. We choose to believe that we are incapable of living our lives the way that we want to live them.
We choose to accept our reality as it’s painted by those who took charge of their own. We don’t have to be complacent. We don’t have to fall into line. Why not stir things up a bit and live by your own rules?
1. Today can be a good day, but only if you make it so.
Why do we often feel so powerless? Because we convince ourselves that we are. We wait for things to be given to us – handouts. In life, there are no true handouts and the reality is that if you want something then you need to make it happen for yourself.
It all starts with today. Whether or not today is a good day doesn’t depend on the weather. It doesn’t depend on your “mood” (that’s also in your control).
It doesn’t depend on outside sources. If you want to have a pleasant and wonderful day then choose to have one. It’s all about your perception and what you allow yourself to believe.

2. Greatness is a lifestyle, not a race.
We all want to “achieve” greatness. But who ever said that greatness was an achievement? Greatness isn’t crossing over the finishing line – it’s the ability to fight the good fight day in and day out.
Greatness is strength, the strength to keep pushing and to keep living your life the way you want to live it. Greatness isn’t an end result. It’s a state of being. You don’t win great. You are great.

3. The fact that you haven’t yet given up is a success in itself.
It may give you little comfort to think about how you’re still waist deep in the struggle, but the truth is that you are one of the few people with the guts to keep at it. Most people give up before they even begin… but not you.
No, you wake up every day and get sh*t done. You crawl inch by inch against the current because you refuse to give up.
You refuse to accept failure. You refuse to listen to others when they tell you that you’re not good enough. You’re still in it. They’ve already dropped out. Who’s the loser?

4. The only things that you should do today are the things that you want to do today.
F*ck’em. F*ck’em all. People tell you that sometimes you have to do things that you don’t want to do – that’s bullsh*t. If you’re not doing what you want to be doing – every second of every day – then you’re living wrong.
Sure, not everything we do in life is extraordinarily pleasant, but if we are living right then we still want to be doing whatever it is that we’re doing. The trick is not to want to do things the easy way.

5. Your life is your design.
There are plenty of things in life that are out of our control, but don’t let this fool you into believing that your life as a whole is out of your control.
The reality is that the life you are living is almost entirely by your own design. You have made choices along the way that led you down the road you’re currently traveling.
Saying that your life is out of your control is lazy and cowardly – it’s what other people want you to believe so that they have an easier time getting what it is they want out of their lives.

6. The important people in your life deserve both respect and attention.
The fact is that most people just aren’t important. Nevertheless, we sometimes forget this, allowing the wrong people to take up too much space in our daily lives.
We meet assh*les, jerks and schmucks regularly – especially when you live in a highly populated area or work in a large company.
These individuals will try to get to you, will try to influence you and become a part of your life because they find theirs to be mundane and useless. They already poisoned their own lives and now they are looking to poison yours.

7. Most people are idiots – don’t let them frustrate you.
This one took me a long time to accept. You need to resist the urge to “help” others and show them that the way they are thinking is incorrect. The fact is that people never want to be wrong and never want to hear that they are wrong.
Moreover, idiots will argue their points regardless of how absurd their argument or how close-minded and ignorant they themselves are. You can’t help all the idiots in the world because there are too many of them.
The best thing that you can do, to minimize your own stress, is to learn to deal with their stupidity accordingly. Use it to your own benefit.

8. Happiness is more a decision than anything else.
It’s easy to fall under the illusion that our happiness is the result of our environment, a result of what happens to us in life.
This is the sort of thinking that you want to avoid at all costs. You can be happy, right this very moment, but it does take an effort.
It takes an effort to see the world in the way that you need to see it in order to appreciate the fact that you are living in it. To be happy is to be content and then being happy about the fact that you are content.

9. Either forgive and forget or forget and remove.
As mentioned before, most people are idiots, and even more people have no place in your life. You have to also keep in mind that people are egocentric and are always looking out for themselves first and foremost.
With that said, when one of these individuals does you wrong or offends you, which is bound to happen, be careful with how you respond. What you don’t want to do is dwell on the unpleasant.
What you ought to do is either forgive these individuals and forget the instance ever happened, or you forget how they crossed you and then you remove them from your life entirely.

10. True love is rare – don’t take it for granted.
This isn’t to say that understanding what you have when you still have it comes naturally – our minds like to always consider the possibility that the grass on the other side may be greener. Life isn’t about doing our best to constantly upgrade.
To live a happy and fulfilling life, we have to learn to appreciate what we have and love those that we have. If you fall in love then do your very best to stay that way; eventually it will, as all other things, end.
11. Never expect a tomorrow, but be thankful when tomorrow comes.
Look at how many people die every minute of every day and you’ll notice that waking up in the morning is a blessing. We don’t live in a peaceful world, but one laden with havoc and chaos. On top of all of this, accidents do happen and people die because of them.
Getting another day to breathe, to experience life, and to be happy is the greatest gift one can receive. We may not know what happens after we die, but we can’t forsake the possibility that death is truly the end. Live while you can.


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