Presentations

I can't believe that my summer placement is coming to an end. 7 weeks of work flew by so fast. I can't believe I'm 7 weeks older already T___T It won't be long till I reach 30 and start worrying about my wrinkles...

Tuesday was Celebrate & Review Day, where all the summer students within a region gather, share, and celebrate their success. In other words, it is the dreaded Presentation Day. The day you "show off" your project, you brilliant light bulb ideas, and how "successful" it went.

Unprepared, I sent off my poster via email to the printers on Sunday, collected it at 9am Tuesday, only to attend the presentation at 9.30 am, the same morning. I was mighty impressed by how clinically knowledgeable everyone was. Frankly, I avoided the clinical project simply because I knew I would be rubbish at it. However, it seemed that I somehow did not do too bad with my business project, because I won Best Project in the region. Weee~~ Thorntons chocolates as the prize!

2 days later (today) I had to prepare for another interview with Lloyds Pharmacy. Frankly speaking, I was just drained from Tuesday, and really had no time to prepare for it. But since I got it, I might as well give it my best shot. Lloyds people were very very nice! And even that is an understatement. I was interviewed by the Area Manager, who really put me at ease, and patiently listened to what I had to say for a whole hour. I must say, although this was the day that I had to sell myself to him, he sold Lloyds Pharmacy to me.

At the same hotel where I had my Lloyds Interview, I met Ramak, another Boots Summer Student whom I met. He told me how upset he was that I missed out on the FRPS challenge. In case you're wondering, I was beaten by another candidate in my region by just 1 freaking sign-up, so I came up 2nd. He believed that the dude who beat me cheated somehow, and I could not believe my ears when he said he told his tutor about it, and even emailed our Pharmacy Area Manager about it. For justice's sake, as he called it.

I think he did that because he didn't think that dude deserved the prize:
An invitation to a Celebrate & Review Day at Boots Head Office, with other regional winners.

But honestly, I was secretly relieved that I did not win, because the prize sounded scary. It is awesome alright, but still scary.

For someone I have just met 7 weeks ago, he's one plucky fella who has made a very deep impression on me. He didn't have to care, but he did, and I appreciate it loads =) I don't know what I did to deserve his kindness, but I know he's gonna make a fine pharmacist one day.

Swine Flu

I've had it! All the fuss and commotion about the Swine Flu has gotta stop! It is bringing out the worse in people to the surface, and it ain't pretty at all.

Boots the Chemist, Summertown branch have officially sold out of THERMOMETERS (digital, ear, forehead ones)! Just a few days ago, we were also sold out of PARACETAMOL tablets & caplets, and almost sold out of alcohol hand hygiene gels. And no, we don't sell FACE MASKS.

Today's society is mentally sick. Alcohol hand gels claim to kill 99.9% of bacteria, NOT VIRUSES. Innocent bacterias are dying by the gazillions, while the flu viruses are enjoying a killing spree.

The NHS has advised that face masks are not going to improve your chances of survival. Good hygiene, however, WILL! So can everyone please stop asking for it.

Paracetamol tablets will lower your fever, and help with aches and pains. But! It will hinder you from detecting the crucial temperature of 38'C that is needed for swine flu diagnosis. Also, can the regular paracetamol addicts please stop taking these pill as if they're sweets.

And no, having a second thermometer isn't going to give you a different reading for your body temperature. Stop buying them.

Everything you need to know about swine flu is in the papers, asking me or the pharmacists about it isn't going to give you a different answer.

Please give up on coming into pharmacies, if you think you have swine flu. Everyone in the pharmacy is not keen to catch your flu, thank you very much. No matter how many times you ask, we do not give out Tamiflu / Relenza, just because you want some. We don't have it! And I won't let you have it, even if I have some, unless I have orders from your doctor.

Unfortunately, panicking about the crisis isn't going to deter the virus from coming anywhere near you. Wake up!

Summer Sale Spree

There will not be a single female that can resist the seduction of the notorious Summer Sales. I tried hard, in fact, I tried very very hard. I am embarrassed to admit that I succumbed, hopelessly to the evil sale.

I went on another spree at Jamie's Italian, French Connection, Accessorize, and Zara. The results were painful...

Tops, Coats, Hats.... OUCH!

Someone hold me back please!
But it was a very lovely weekend. I haven't had anything like it for nearly a year now, and I just know that days like this are hard to come by.

The sales in UK have been nothing short of exciting, incomparable to that of Paris, or KL. I wonder if Shanghai's gonna be any good at all?

When customers are not right

Whoever that invented the phrase "The customer is always right" needs to be shot in the head a million times over.

It's a big fat lie, that makes no sense of all.

As you can already guess, I'm very dulan with customers now. This happened today. This girl came in with a list of drugs on her iPhone, written in a foreign language that I have no clue about. I could barely make out what they sound like and what they might be. She claimed that they were medication prescribed to her by her GP back in her home country. Fine. So I asked her what she was diagnose with, so as to help me get an idea of alternatives that I can get her in the UK instead.

She said Herpes. I reconfirmed it with her, and she nodded.

Of course I was shocked, she's very young. Among the drugs that I managed to work out with her previously, was one for Aciclovir, an antiviral. To me, Herpes = a nasty viral infection, and I know nothing more about it. At this rate it didn't seem impossible that she might have Herpes. So naturally, I would pass on this case to someone who might know it more than I do, the Pre-Reg Pharmacist, my pal Toyosi. And then I went on to serve other customers.

Minutes later, Toyosi asked me why I diagnosed her with Herpes. I was like "What the *beep* !!!" I DID NOT diagnose her with Herpes! Apparently that stupid girl told Toyosi that I diagnosed her with Herpes. That LIAR. How dare she accused me of such things!

Diagnosing someone with a viral infection as foul as Herpes would be the last thing on my mind! There's nothing available for sale that can be used for the treatment on Herpes anyway. I had no motive to diagnose her with something this horrible at all.

I believe I have not disclosed any details (physical description or nationality) that will lead to the identification of this customer. Hence, I have not breached any patient confidentiality here. I just need to vent out my annoyance at some customers.

That will go down as one of the worst ever customers that I have ever served!

To make matters worse on the same day, a customer picked up my pen, and put it in his bag, and left! He seemed very well-to-do, if not rich, well mannered and all that. It wasn't by accident, I'm 100% sure of that. I was missing a pen, and I stood there staring at his hand for minutes! But he ain't letting go of my poor pen. I turned my back for a second to serve a customer, and poof! He bloody stole my pen!!!

IT EVEN HAS "LING'S PEN" WRITTEN ON A STICKER, STUCK ON THE PEN!

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.... I am so frustrated I could throw pen darts at the customer if I wasn't paid a salary for this summer placement.

Cool down girl, cool...

Think:
Why are they our customers?
Because they're not smart enough to be the pharmacist.

My patience mantra, that will help me through this.

Guilty pleasures

Everytime I get frustrated in something I will be spending! Ish. I really shouldn't get all worked up with those PCS quotas.

The results were disastrous:

Dirt Cheap Items on Clearance Prices
Head & Shoulders Conditioner 43p
Trevor Sorbie Leave in Conditioner Spray £ 1.22
Boots Skin Clear Facial Gel £ 1.22

Impulse Shopping
Zara denim shorts £ 14.99
Jamie's Italian £ 18.00

Total damage: almost £ 36.00 (this week)

Bad girl, Bad!!!

PCS my ass

At the moment, I'm having a love-hate relationship with my work.

I love being put on the healthcare counter, catching people who takes the wrong medicines.
I enjoy being in dispensary, dispensing and going "AH, I know what this is!"
I like watching my pharmacist, and pre-reg's expression, when I manage to answer their questions,

(Oh, Nottingham, you are such a fine pharmacy school!)

The only thing I hate with a vengeance is...

having to fulfil my PCS quota, and doing FRPS.

PCS: Free Prescription Collection Service
FRPS: Free Repeat Prescription Collection Service.

These are some of Boot's evil strategies to retain and secure their customers, from the competitive clutches of Lloyds, Rowlands, Co-op and the like. These so called "Free" services, are meant to guarantee future businesses.

Don't get me wrong, these free services does come in handy to some people who really do need them. With these new initiatives, they can have a better life living with medication. However, there are also some which clearly do not need them, and also DO NOT WANT THEM.

Having a quota to fulfill, is sort of like forcing an employee to do something, for the sake of their job. I dislike having a quota to live up to everyday. What I hate even more, is having to shove these "services" to every single customer who is not on our program already.

You know, like a sales man, knocking on your door, trying to sell you some revolutionary product, because he has to fulfil his quota, else lose his job. The thought of it makes me feel constipated.

It is completely unethical, and unreasonable to me. The Pharmacist Code of Ethics No.1, clearly states, "make the care of your patients, your first concern", not your first business! I feel sorry for all the people that I met, for they had to listen to my lecture, and then figure out a way to decline my offer later on. It must've been more uncomfortable for them, than it is for me.

In my opinion, I would've been more supportive if it were left to my soon-to-be professional discretion, to promote the service to people who might need it. Instead of having to forcefeed everyone I meet, just so that I can fulfil my quota. Making my job or the business as my first concern is clearly in contradiction to the code of ethics.

If I stopped doing that, it would upset my tutor/ manager, as they are also under pressure from their superiors to push this service further. Eventually, it would also compromise my position as a candidate for employment upon graduation.

But then again, if this were kept on, I'm not sure if I wanted to work for an insufficiently ethical corporate organization who's more about making money out of the pharmacy, than running one for the people.

This is definitely pushing me to the brink of cutting off community pharmacy as a job prospect in my consideration. Tomorrow I will have to go out and face my quota again. My distaste for such practices, is making me struggle with my conscience, wondering if what I'm doing is the right thing to do...

Summer @ Summertown

Work is definitely taking its toll on me.

Wake up, work, eat, bathe, sleep. Wake up, work, eat, bathe sleep.

There ain't a lot of difference between me and the farm animal. Except of course, I get paid in cash, hahahahaha!

As a quick update, everyone at Boots Summertown are very lovely. Nathalie, my pharmacist is half French, and has all the qualities that I need and lack at the moment. There will be much to learn, hopefully I don't drive her up the wall too much. But then again, we are both vertically challenged, petite individuals, we do climb the dispensary walls everyday! Ahahaha... for the record, I'm the taller one. Ahem.

Manager Paul is appreciated for his sense of humour. Lively, and well loved by the customers, he dominates the WOW reports every single week. Even I like him. My healthcare counter partner-in-crime Alice of Africa is my only company, enduring the torturous looping of cheesy Kodak music from the Kodak photo machine. Dispensers Kate of Poland, and Marjan of Iran were victims of my blunders and questionings in the dispensary, its a wonder how they can put up with me every single day, with smiles, and much patience. Fellow shopfloor colleagues include funky Monica, and bubbly Sarah, together they're a ball of fun!

At the moment, working takes out all the energy in me, driving me constantly hungry, and tired. Other than eating and bathing, I cannot be bothered to do anything else. In fact, at one point, I was contemplating not to bathe even. Not to worry people, I'm way past that phase now.

Now I'm just trying to build on my experience, and also do all my projects/learning/tests while I'm on it. It drives me tired just thinking about it =( Week 3 is coming to haunt me now. Everyone wish me luck.

Family Visit 2009 Part 2

... Continuation

Sorry it had to be a long wait. Work was in the way. Work is in the way of everything, my sleep, my meals, my constipation. Like I said, everything. More about work later.

Wicked View @ Christ Church, Oxford.
Posing with daddy, sun getting in the eyes.

My butt is sitting on where they shot Harry Potter in the first movie, just before they were brought to the Sorting Hat!

The famous Dining Hall, where Hogwarts students have their first feast on arrival!
All going to be now taller than me =P

Suet Wah vs Suet Ling.
Lost kao kao to my sis in posing. I am short, and I can't pose, better suicide and die, rather than be a useless woman.

SuetWah, SuetMun, SuetLing.
Young, younger, OLDEST =.="
I freaking look PREGNANT here!!!

Where I got my smile, and my height from, MuMMy!

Sama-sama camwhores. It's the genes. *Nods*

Candid on Uncle Bear and myself @ Selfridges!
I really wasn't concentrating on the bald patch on his head. Honest!

Suet Ling, Mom, Suet Wah @ Borough Market with Turkish Delight!
Stupid eyebags, 1 week after exams, but it ain't going away =(

SuetWah, SuetLing, SuetMun + Chunky Clinique Hunk @ Selfridges!
For the record, he asked if we wanted to take a picture with him!

Other randoms that I like:

Uncle Bear the Proper, Ling the "Cho Loh"
For some reason, I'm enjoying my awful randoms. They're ugly shots of me, but I like looking at them. So I'm force feeding them to you! I look like an alien with 3 fingers here =P

"Yes! MORE fish'n'chips for me to eat!"

Mannequins @ Selfridges imported from Malaysia!

Sombong Ling, SuetMun, SuetWah, and MuMMy! =)

-------End of Family Reunion Photo Gallery------

Back to more news about work.
I am so tired everyday I cannot afford to online after work! Rants on that coming very soon. Believe me, VERY SOON. I need to rant before I go insane.

Family Visit 2009.

Apparently my parents couldn't let me go without nagging for over a year, they had to fly over just to nag me, conveniently lugging along 3 other rascals to turn my over upside down and more.

No, I'm lying. I enjoyed it. Nag me baby, nag me!

I finished my exams on the 28th, high-efficiency-summer-cleaned my room (The Mom is coming to inspect, so the room has gotta be SPECK-FREE) , and rushed down to London to meet the lot on the 30th! Conveniently, they have a free tour guide, or so they thought. In actual fact, I don't know London any more than they do. I'm no Londoner! Throw me in the streets of Nottingham, and maybe I can go around for abit. London? I faint at the sight of that horrible tube map that always seem to deceive you into taking lines that aren't actually working. Pfft!!!

Tube Station: Waterloo
The first attraction we tried, The London Eye, for a good view of the Big Ben on the historical day that it celebrated its 150th anniversary.

Lucky us had a clear blue, nearly cloudless sky that day.


The ones eating away at my dads bank account.

Mom, Myself, Dad, Sister.
No resemblance, na-daa.

Trying to act chio, so I don't look like I'm 5 years older than my sister.

Mom = Gorgeous
SuetWah = Radiant
Myself = Hopeless

Tube Station: Tower Hill
Next up, I visited The Tower of London, for the 3rd time. Believe me when I say I'm tired of the place. Nevertheless, the little ones still need to see it. So, oh well, how nice of me to beat with it again, hahaha.....

Everybody say Yeo!

Huge ass sundial with a larger story to tell.
I don't know why the English enjoys taking time to build this thing just to tell the time.

Next Stop: Baker Street for Madame Tussauds.

Daddy is more than happy to see J.Lo.
Who has the bigger bump?
My dad's lump on the front, or Lo's hump on the hind.

Real Productive Parents vs Unproductive Adoptive Parents

Ling, Margaret Thatcher, Sherene.

My sister works for The President of the United States.
Yeng mou.

Posing outside The Buckingham Palace for paparazzis.

Lunch at Wagamama.

Uncle Bear, whose home was infested by me and my family all week, telling us who Prince Michael really is, hehehehe...

We were also at Nottingham City Centre!
And I even wore my £24 Pink Uni Hoodie to boot!

Of course, we visited the famous Hooters of Nottingham.
A lil too happening for daddy, but he enjoyed it nonetheless =)

They also met my future housemate, professional "conman" Albert, my "half-brother" NgeeZheng, and my personal sweetheart Grace, all future successful pharmacists.

To be continued: Oxford.

3rd Bloggiversary

It is the 3rd year anniversary of Ling-O-Logy, my blog. I can't bring myself to believe that I am not such a hangat-hangat tahi ayam kind of person!

I thought I was.

The last thing I was over zealously committed about didn't even make it past the 2 year mark. Perhaps objects ARE more reliable than men.

It all started right at the end of A Levels. I started with a blog, and no men. The man came and left. My solace became my blog.

Therefore, the only logical conclusion would be to love my blog rather than men! Yay me!

*claps*

For the record, Post Tally: 252

Next up:

Family Reunion in LondonBro, Sis, Moi, Dad, Mum Sis, Sis

Post is coming AFTER I return from Sheffield. Too many things to do, too little time. And you'd think you have all the time in the world after exams. So much for post exam hibernation. It'll have to be postponed until further notice.

End of 3rd year

Relief and joy rushes through every single cell of my body, for I AM FREEEEEEE...

I'm done with studying day and night, insomnia, and diarrhoeas. I've been studying for TOO MANY YEARS. Am utterly sick and tired of it. YUCKS.

I must say, this exam season was beyond happening!
Professional Skills 3: Pharmacy Law & Dispensing was supposed to be on the 18th, my first paper. As I was about to step through my door, a friend told me that the EXAMINATION WAS CANCELLED, due to SYSTEM FAILURE. It's an online exam that requires the use of computers you see. To make things worse, it was postponed to most unbelievable date ever, 27th MAY, between 2 other papers of mine on 26th and 28th. GG liao.

Studying my lecture handouts and my ugly handwritten notes for DGT. People who are considering Pharmacy should take a good look at these babies. My bread and butter.

22th MAY, was my next paper, Diseases and Goals of Treatment, an Open 1 Book Test. You think it's easy? Think again. In some questions, you need to write 4 points, to earn 1 mark. We were given 3 hours to complete 100% worth of questions. And yet, somehow we ended up pretty shocked that 3 hours was just about enough time! Must be the book flipping...

26th MAY, Toxicology. Choose 2 questions from 5, each worth 50 marks. We had only 1 hour. I wrote and wrote and wrote for my dear life, from the first second till the last. Seriously how can you write 100 points within 60 minutes? This was a shocker paper as well. For the past 5 years, they ALWAYS had a "poisoning" question, until this year. Nice la, give everyone a heart attack.

27th MAY, the postponed Law paper. Did I mention mention it was a Open 2 books, and 4 handouts test? But get this, the passing mark is 60%. For every wrong answer you get -0.5%, yes a freaking NEGATIVE mark. So annoying. 1 and a half hours of True/False questions, 50% chances of getting it wrong, I was scared out of my wits.

Past Year Questions, 1 question = 100%.

28th MAY, Quality in Medicine Design and Usage. Now this is the most abandoned module in the entire year, as in, no one bothers to revise for it much. I guess I've underestimated it, it is a wicked one indeed. The format was, choose 1 question out of 3, the question is worth 100 marks. Tell me, how do you answer a 100% question? It is absolutely insane!

So that's a brief summary of my exams this semester. You thought Year 3 MPharm was easy aye? Think again.

Oh, now that I've officially finished my exams, I AM NOW A FINAL YEAR MPHARM STUDENT !!! I'm updating my template right there to show Year 4 =) -----> Go see!

Yes I am bragging. I've waited 3 years, lost so much hair, lost so much time to get there. It's the least that I deserve, bragging rights!

Special thanks to EeHow who helped me return my library books, and made me roast duck! Best meal I had in weeks!

To save time, I had resorted to salads, and smoked fish, or day old food. Salads are raw, and need no cooking haha! Smoked fishes are flavoured on its own, they only need heating up, or else I'll cook a few days worth of food in one go, and heat them in portions over the course of several days. Things I go through for my course. Sigh.

penis penis penis

So I've been told I have under 18s reading my blog, and that I had better control my writing. But the thing is, I don't think there's anything wrong with it!

Among the more recent entries labeled as "inappropriate content", they are "Tofu Penis" and "The One with the Humping Turtle Video". However I'd like to highlight that both entries were inspired with content from U rated channels, The Star Online, and YouTube, respectively. These are readily available to them kids anyway. Besides, I don't think there's anything inappropriate about them! Call them Sex Education. In my time, it was called Sains Tingkatan 3 Bab 1.

It is nothing to be ashamed about. If anything, in the course of my profession I will have to discuss more 'disgusting' things with my patients! Emergency contraception, impotency and usage of Viagra and others, if required. As long as it's part of a mature conversation, it's alright!

For example,
Penis is a noun. Every other person on earth has it. Your dad has it. Your brother, boyfriend, grandfather and cousins have it. It's like saying every one has EYES. It's not a word that you should be ashamed of.

If you're not mature enough to handle this, you really need to go away and grow up some more. Stop bugging my family about it. I'm legally an adult, and these are my decisions. Besides I don't think I'm setting an awful example here.

My parents have no problem with it.
I'm completing my Masters in a years time.
I haven't done anything illegal.
I'm working over summer, probably earning more than your parents.
I go to church
I am a qualified first aider
I am a registered organ/blood donor in M'sia and UK.
I am 21.

I may not be excellent but I definitely don't see anything too terrible with myself really. In fact, these are things that young kids could actually learn from me.

If a little bit of drinking helps me achieve more, why not?
It's not illegal. In fact, there's a hormesis relationship with alcohol, meaning alcohol within limits are actually BENEFICIAL for your health.

Would you have kept the alcohol from me, if you knew that I wouldn't cope with stress as well without it?

Try being away from home for a year, dealing with a stressful Masters degree, having test/exams throughout your semester, and still have a load of exams at the end of the semester. Not to mention, summer job applications, post-graduation job applications, house hunting and such. Let's see how stressed will you get, smarty pants.

Bottom line, vices in moderation works in MY favour. As long as there are maturity and sensibility in judgements, I don't see anything wrong in drinking alcohol and saying the word PENIS.

Lazy Post of YouTube videos

As most of you may have realised, my SPRING exams are here to haunt me again =( Expect less regular posting. As if I haven't been posting poorly already. BAH. Revision and stress started over 2 months ago, hence the poor postings.

Cue: Exam "Semangat" Song

Sent to me via Live Messenger by Big Bird, who received it from someone else.

Anyway, more YouTube to keep you all occupied while I'm gone.
(No new humping turtle video this time around, I think they've all gotten shy and went into hiding.)

1) Check out JUMBAFUND. *click*

In case you don't know who KevJumba is, it's time you do!
KevJumba is a prominent YouTube Comedian from the States. The amount of subscribers he has is legendary, he now endorses clothes, and also has his own website. His main channel can be found HERE.

Right now, KevJumba started a new channel to raise funds for charity. For every view, YouTube will contribute towards his account, and 100% of the profits will be going to charity. I feel strongly supportive of this, so I'm promoting it, especially to mean people who are in need of some good karma.

2) If you haven't caught the Britain's Got Talent 2009 bug, allow me to infect you. It's way cooler than Swine Flu.

It's extremely amusing, and they've got a whole variety of acts from miming to knitting to magic shows to stand up comedy, aside from the good old singing and dancing. You think you've seen all the crazy people on American Idol? Wait till you see this. *click*

3) My new favourite channel, COMMUNITY CHANNEL.

Natalie Tran is ethnic Vietnamese, born in Australia. You gotta love her humour, poking fun of stupid things we do everyday. Maturity is required to fully understand her videos. Small kids, go away. Come back when you've grown some armpit hair.

4) America's Next Top Model Cycle 12 (2009)

The name says it all. I have just watched the finale last night and I'm pretty disappointed with Tyra's choice of a winner. But hey, it still makes good TV. Young girls definitely have something to learn through this. It's not all glamour and beauty you see. CLICK.

This should be enough to keep you all occupied. I promise the next post is going to be something BIG. Don't say I didn't warn ya.

nasi lemak + arthritis index

I'm not motivated to study at all. So here I am wasting some time, hoping that the guilt will kick in and make me a better person. Thanks to my friends, I managed to get hold of Nasi Lemak!

Dang-Dang-Dang-Dang!!!
Mempersembahkan... Nasi Lemak Nottingham!
Lebih hebat dari mamak punye Nasi Goreng USA!
Sedap tu, harga £2 boleh dapat paha goreng, 1/8 telur, 1/50 timun, beberapa biji kacang, sedikit nasi santan, dengan 2 sudu kecil sambal bawang.
Kat Malaysia jual berapa? RM1.50 kut...
Tapi takpe, perut aku mau jugak.

Sekian, terima kasih kerana cuba membaca bahasa saya yang teramat teruk.

Another problem that I'm struggling with, is my closest friend fiend, back ache.
On some days, it just gets especially bad! And today was unfortunately one of those days. The moment I woke up, I didn't want to get out of my bed at all! It feels like my back couldn't support me. Until I saw the above!

Apparently, IngChang claims that this website gives a more accurate weather forecast than BBC, so I've been trying it out. The arthritic index for today is "EXTREME". And then I wonder, if my back pain is related to it at all. If anything I do have a family member current suffering from arthritis, only that he's 52, not 20 =.="

Weather does have an effect on arthritic pain, I've heard people say it, I've read reports talking about it. It sucks to think that I might be feeling it =(

I'll wait and see...

Free-Free-Expensive

This weekend was slightly more uplifting for the mood!

Having only 1 precious week left to my exams, I'm preparing myself for isolation and revision. I don't cope very well with distractions you see =P

I had a FREE fringe trim at Zullo and Holland, as promised with my haircut. Walk-in anytime + 15 minutes was all it took! No need for appointments, no need for amateur toilet attempts! I had Sue for my trim because my stylist was busy, but she was just ok. My preference still goes to Shireen, my stylist =P Next Gaga-inspired fringe trim after exams, heh heh heh. Free what?!

And then, I also enjoyed a FREE eye sight test at Dollond and Aitchison (D&A). All it took was an appointment made online at their website! They called me the very next day to confirm my appointment, and also called the day before to remind me of my appointment. With my NUS card, I get to enjoy the test for FREE! Wee...~! Goodness me, their tests were PRO-stuff! I had no idea what they were doing, but my Opthalmologist Charlotte was checking the back of my eye, the health of my eye, my eye sight, and even did a contact lens assessment! Definitely not your ordinary amateurish eye check in Malaysia.


The results? No myopic or astigmatism increment in both eyes for my glasses. However, my contact lens power has changed. I wondered how that happened, but I truly have been experiencing some trouble with my lenses. D&A offers contact lens by post, which is quite an awesome programme. Essentially, they will mail your contacts lens + fresh lens solution + fresh lens case to your door every month, being on the programme also includes free eye tests and big discounts off glasses/sunglasses. I might consider the programme, but it would cost me £20/ month, for the contact lenses that suits me. Gotta consider carefully. £20 is a lot of money!

That was just Saturday. On Sunday, I travelled to Oxford!


It was an essential trip to get my accommodation in Oxford settled, for I have not got time to worry about it after this. But it was unfortunate that it costs a whopping £48 for a return train ticket Nottingham-Oxford! Don't even get me started on the bus, it costs £50! Thank goodness I have got a 16-25 Railcard that took £16 off the £48 pricetag straightaway, leaving me just only £32.10 poorer =(

To make things worse, it was impossible to get a direct route to Oxford on that day. I ended up with the following route.

Nottingham -(train)- Birmingham -(train)- Banbury -(bus)- Oxford
10:23 13:55

and my return route was supposed to be,

Oxford -(bus)- Banbury -(train)- Birmingham -(train)- Leicester -(train)- Nottingham
16:53 19:51



BUT THEN!
There was a Birmingham-Nottingham direct train that was delayed for 15 minutes at Birmingham. I ran for my life, caught it, and managed to reach Nottingham at 19:05 instead! YAY ME! *claps*

It was expensive, but fruitful! I did manage to visit an accommodation, and we've both agreed to a tenancy agreement. I will now be staying with a family, at a price which is similar to what I'm paying in Nottingham. Awesome! I finished what I went there to do.

Butt is flat. Mood is stressed. Stomach is hungry. Body is tired. Exams are coming. Study now.

Kthx4readingbye.

Depression & Alcohol

It took me a couple of shots to realise how depressed I was.

Sometimes, we need a wake up call every now and then. For me it's become quite a routine, to put on a facade after every wash of my face in the morning. Looking in the mirror, hoping to see a face that is not troubled by the thoughts in my mind.

I get upset easily. I really really do. You think you've seen it, but you really haven't.

Just because, no one really gives a damn if you're upset, and they can only "be nice" for so long. They all want to be around happy people. Why do you think humans invented Antidepressants, and not Antieuphorias?

Unfortunately, this world requires you to have "it". Not got "it" ? Fake "it", or face medication as society forces you to conform with their ridiculously imaginative ideals.

All the itty bitty bits and pieces get bottled up, and the pressure builds. At the same time, the inhibitions get stronger. It only takes some alcohol to start deactivating my inhibitions, liberating my emotions.

And then, it's like the theory of the shaken champagne bottle. Once you release the pressure, it spills out uncontrollably even before you can think of closing it. When all the pressure has been released, everything slows down leaving you a sparkling volume of champagne that sits obediently in the bottle until you decide to pour it out.

I hope the analogy made sense.

Alcohol, as a known depressant, somewhat liberates me. Confusingly contradictory? Me too. For something that some strive to avoid, I now have a newfound respect for it. Of course, there is always the quote:

"Poison is in everything, and no thing is without poison. The dosage makes it either a poison or a remedy. " Paracelsus.

At the moment, I'm just trying to cope with life, one bit at a time.
And hopefully, drinking one sip at a time too.

Raspberries and Laughing Gas

Twas a rainy Saturday morning, I was out to run some personal errands, banking, posting, and all that are mundane. As I passed Fred Hallam, and they were selling raspberries at only £1 / box! Last summer, I remember them going for about £2-£3 for the same amount! Needless to say, the cheapo in me got the better of me. Joining the crowds, I was snatching a box for myself.

The raspberries that were selling like hot cakes.
Red, luscious, sweet and juicy raspberries <3
Can you see drops of raspberry juice around the box?

Look how fresh and succulent they look!!!
I was happy for the rest of the day =)

Another happy story, was my first experience with the infamous,
LAUGHING GAS aka Nitrous Oxide
(BNF 56 Page 680)

The Gas and Aidan's hand.
One of the gases which can be administered by a trained first aider.
As a St John Ambulance member, we basically had a Play Day on Tuesday.
Commercially called Entonox, it is indicated for mild analgesia for anyone who is in acute pain. For example, a pregnant lady in labor, or someone who's just broken a bone.

Aidan, a medic student, having a go at Entonox.
But of course, we're not interested in pain relief, but what it can do to a normal person, like Aidan. After 30 second of huffing and puffing Entonox, Aidan got high. Light headed and really high, laughing and giggling all to himself. When prompted, he likened the feeling to having smoked plenty of weed.

Thankfully curiousity didn't kill me, miao...
I had a go at Entonox too. I didn't really understand what "weed high" was, so I was just puffing away waiting for something to happen. And then, it just hit me out of nowhere and I knew it when it happened!!! I felt light, and I could feel my pupil dilate, and this sudden euphoria, WOW! Good stuff and good times indeed! I want to do this again!

We also had a play in a real ambulance, pushing all the buttons, turning on the sirens, flashing the blue lights, opening all the compartments, rummaging through their stuff, and taking rides in their stretchers, and trolley beds.

We had more pictures in the ambulance, but unfortunately they're in the camera of this adorable Hungarian fellow whose name I can't pronounce.

Rare light moments a couple of weeks prior to exams. Sigh. Back to serious reality.
Wish me luck.

Prescription for self:

Pharmacy Lectures
2 lectures bd
Quantity:4 modules

The most spectacular hangover

My definition of a hangover:
Any unusual symptoms that follow a night of drinking.
Something that would have never occurred if I had not been drinking, and which effect wears off after some time.

If you accept my definition, then please acknowledge that I have had the most amazing hangover that I can ever ask for.

No vomiting / headache / lethargy.
(Although I did have a slight headache just before I slept, I suspect it was due to the poor ventilation at the venue, and not due to the alcohol.)

It was 15 hours worth of pure study mood with top quality concentration! Surprisingly, I was wide awake by 9am, and had the willpower of a most kiasu nerd to study all the way till 12am.

Strangely, I didn't drink that much.It was only about 2 shots of vodka, and 1 shot of chivas. I went home walking in a straight line, dead sober I was. Having only a lobster red complexion and a racing pulse, that was all to my drinking.

How awesome is that?! I don't need to question how it happened, for I only cared that it happened! It's now Monday, and that effect has worn off. Back to being the lazy humbug that I am now.

I need to get "it" back! Drinking again anybody?

Karaoke Song Bird

With my toxicology assignment, and the first of my dispensing assessments over and done, I was in the mood to blow off some steam. The Bird who had a tough week with multiple presentations trapped in a suit, decided that he needed a break as well!

We were such geniuses to come up with an impromptu Karaoke session!!! For a small room at Terracotta, it's £8/room/hour. A medium room goes for £10/room/hour. But the manager was so sweet to offer me a medium room at the cost of a small room. AWESOME!

Yes, its was just the 2 of us. Because the rest of them were MALAS.
I guess that just goes to show how enthusiastic we were.
2 hormonally imbalanced psychos.

The Bird hiding his "square" face but not his new haircut.

The Spanish Songbird and myself.
Tackled all the English songs we could find on their karaoke system.
We left behind a huge echo of our attempt at ZOMBIE, woohoohoooo!

2 mics, 2 hours, 1 night of insanity goes a long way,
to keep 2 university student's depression at bay.
More karaoke anybody?

Meeting Emma

Thanks to Friends International, I was assigned to meet with a local family.

Tom, Baby Katie, Emma, and myself

On Good Friday,Emma invited me over to their cozy home for lunch. It was a great pleasure, meeting them, they're all such cool people. Especially young Katie. She's so adorable, and she looks like a doll!.... I just can't take my eyes off her. I bet Kimi Raikkonen must be so jealous now, hahahaa...

My taste buds met houmous, and goats cheese for the very first time. Goats cheese was so very strange, but it tastes better with every bite, how very peculiar! Gonna get me hands on somemore and see where it goes. This is really English hospitality, with REAL english diet =P

Emma is very lively and approachable, she enthusiastically showed me her recipes books, because I was obsessed with making bread and butter pudding at the time. It so happened that she was also a pharmacist, and I was able to share my thoughts about the course. Her husband Tom works with computers, and is a pretty cool guy, he somehow reminds me of Lilian, my ex-roommate. Miss Lilian so much :(

I did not know what to bring for our first meeting, so I brought some good o' Seri Kaya. Thank goodness they loved it! I don't have anything else that is Malaysian to offer them, other than my Manglish, teeheehee...

It was a short and sweet afternoon that I will not forget. Hopefully there will be more opportunities to get to know the family better soon.

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My assessments start this week so it'll be very very busy. You can tell, I'm not very inspired to write. That's because I had to take pain killers to sleep last night, but my period pain is still bugging me badly now =( Hate the agony! *throw tantrum*

I'm going back to bed. Good night, world.