Sunday, December 04, 2005
Because writing keeps me alive
It was rather strange to have experienced again yesterday - after its protracted (and thankfully so) absence - the feeling of tired relief after the end of a CA and the ability to go out with friends on a bright lovely Saturday. I'm almost in too much of a holiday mood now to get back to the more important task of the marvel that is Paediatrics.
In response to the several people who have responded to the previous post on Melvyn Tan, I must admit, in retrospect, very much hotheaded-ness on my part when I typed the post out, because it was infuriating to see Singaporeans threaten to do silly things, and generally doing the verbal equivalent of tossing rotten eggs, in attack of a person who only wanted to put up a performance, and ended up on the wrong side of a sentence. (And he's cancelled the concert, what a terrible shame) It's not that I think being angry about this matter is wrong, because there obviously are double standards in the matter, but I think the anger has just become a little too irrational and personal, and it's not a pretty sight. It saddens me to see Singaporeans attacking a person like this. And yes, I am very sympathetic, which probably also clouds my argument. At this point in time I just wish the thing would come to a close already. What a horrible little storm in a teacup it's becoming.
Not that I want to keep harping on the Pharmaco CA, but I felt particularly mentally delayed when I spent the first 2 minutes of the paper shading circles on the front of the answer sheet (i.e. the page meant for 5 choose 1 MCQs) rather than the back page. The dumb thing was that I was shading the circle when my answer was true, then sometime later I came to an answer that was false, and I then puzzled for a grandly blockheaded total of 5 seconds, If I shade the circle when it's true, what do I do when it's false? When it finally struck me that I was using the wrong page of the answer sheet I was dumbstruck at the sheer stupidity of what I had just done. One of the more stupid things I've ever done, seriously. This goes all the way up there to share the spot with "Putting the culture plate of Legionella to my nose and sniffing".
After the CA we went to Darryl's house to play Citadels, because Citadels is the most enjoyable game on earth (a gazillion times more so than Munchkins, seriously), and had a lot of fun in just one game. For lunch we ordered pizza from Canadian 2-for-1, and then went to Orchard to look in Borders. It's amazing that Borders is selling a lot of fantasy novels at very very discounted prices, like Diana Gabaldon's A Breath of Snow and Ashes at 27 from an original price of around 40 dollars. If I even had 27 dollars I would buy the book, sigh. I commented that I can't wait for the day when I can walk into a bookshop like Borders and Kino and buy a whole bagful of books to go home and read. Right now I just don't have that kind of money. Then I realised that when I start working and have enough money to buy lots of books, I probably won't have time to read them. Even now I don't have time to read, especially in postings like Paeds, except during the holidays. My mind really really needs a book right now, I'd even read Dune, OMG.
After the other guys left I stayed around to wait for my mom, who was going to meet me there, and I went to the library to read a David Foster Wallace short story. DFW is really one of the best writers I've ever read, not because the stories he writes are amazing in terms of plot, but because his writing makes the most plotless story compelling. He takes normal people and gives them so much individuality, and every little fragment of his story gets a little story of its own, incorporating the author's brilliant insights on life and spot-on observations, as well as the most appropriate similes and metaphors. Reading DFW really gets me in the mood to start writing again, but that will have to wait until the holidays, I guess.
One of those little problems that continue to plague me after I got my iPod shuffle: what those fuzzy black covers for the earphones are supposed to do, and should I put them on the earpieces? Seriously, I can't even begin to fathom what the function of those covers are. Are they supposed to be protective in function, like to prevent funny small particles from getting through the metal mesh and mess up the electronic components inside? Or are they supposed to enhance the acoustics of the earphones? I wish they had attached some form of instructional manual to the fuzzy things (see, I don't even know what they're called!) so that I'd know what their purpose is. And because the question keeps bugging me, I've tried observing people who have iPods to see if they use the black fuzzy thingeys, and what I've found is that there are as many people who use them as people who don't. I'm still not using them, but I'd like to know what they're for, heh.
Ending off, a little survey that's quite (super) accurate. Though how I can be humble and conceited at the same time kind of eludes me.
BUTTERFLY EYESYou have Butterfly Eyes!
Positive Traits: Thoughtful, Intelligent, Humble, Clever, Open-Minded
Negative Traits: Elitist, Conceited, Apathetic, Cold, Sarcastic
Your eyes are the windows to your soul. What type of eyes do you have? brought to you by Quizilla
Avaris / 12/04/2005 09:38:00 PM
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