DAY 1985-1997

Feb 8 - 20

1) After the brief but much needed reprieve from our CNY holidays, it's back to business as usual for us. The last two weeks in Penang General Hospital have been quite pleasant, with bedside teachings in the mornings, and online tutorials / presentations in the afternoons. Of course, that was until multiple wards in both PGH and SJH closed due to an influx of COVID-19 patients. Thankfully, they reopened a few days later, thus allowing us to continue examining patients in the wards rather than the clinics.

2) As we inch closer to our finals, it seems that surprises are lurking around every corner. Immediately after coming back from our CNY break, those in the medicine rotation (myself included) found out that our short case examinations (which were originally scheduled for May) had been brought forward to the the first week of March! If that wasn't enough, the entire format was changed as well, from short case to OSCE stations, and the time for examination was cut from 10 min to 7 min. As if our finals weren't already challenging enough without the constant change to our exam schedule and formats.

3) Nevertheless, I am very grateful that this really is the last semester. After finishing our OSCEs for medicine (in March), the medicine group would switch to surgery for another seven weeks. That will be followed by the surgery OSCEs, and finally the written papers and long cases for both medicine and surgery. All of that will happen in May, assuming no changes to our current schedule. If things go to plan, that will be the end of my time here in Penang, and then the next chapter of my life begins. But I'm getting too ahead of myself.

4) For the next two weeks, my sub-group (A7) will be based in Taiping. We have a week in sub-internship and another in the wards / clinics in Taiping Hospital. While I would have preferred to remain here in Penang, I do appreciate the opportunity to experience teaching at different clinical settings. Looking forward to starting tomorrow, and with that, I'll end my blog post here. Thanks very much for visiting as always, and have a great week ahead. Cheers!

If time + effort = results, I wouldn't be worrying so much about our finals

My third BLS course certificate. 

In my humble opinion, the advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) courses should be made a pre-requisite for medical students instead

Miss the good ol' Sepoy Cafe!
(it's now permanently closed)

L-R: Olly, Sagar, Mariss, Myself

Back at Kim's Korean Restaurant

Thank you so much Rach for the super-belated / super-early birthday dinner!

Ah Gu Pan Mee for lunch today

(starting to wonder why they call themselves pan mee if their specialty is clam noodles...)

DAY 1970-1984

Jan 24 - Feb 7

1) This blog post is extra special, in that I managed to return home for Chinese New Year - my first in three years. From a rational standpoint, there is little reason for me to come home as i) our med school finals are only three months away, and ii) we'll be returning home for good after that anyway. Yet the heart rules the head, for me at least. And in the end, I didn't regret my decision one bit.

2) Since coming back to Ipoh, I've been really busy spending as much time as possible with my family and relatives. Unlike the last time I returned for Chinese New Year, nothing much seems to have changed in Ipoh this time around. The only exception being the waves of people lining up in popular restaurants due to the ongoing celebrations. In our case, most restaurants and cafes in Old Town had people queuing up even before they were open! 

3) Traffic jams and crowds aside, I was really happy to be able to spend some quality time with my family. Of note, we visited the various Chinese temples on the first day of the new year, before visiting my uncles and aunts on my mother's side of the family. Of course, an added bonus to any CNY visit is the receiving of red packets or ang pow; these are filled with money and symbolise good wishes for the year ahead. 

4) As this edition of my blog gets published, I have returned to Penang, where clinical teachings will resume tomorrow. While I wish I had more time to spend catching up with everyone, the truth is I simply could not afford to take so many days off, given how close we are to finals. We may only have two modules left (medicine and surgery) but these are the two that contribute the highest weighting to our overall marks, so it is imperative that I don't lose focus so close to the finishing line.

5) Rather than drone on about what I've been up to during Chinese New Year, here are 82 pictures instead, featuring my mom's lovely cooking. Thanks for visiting my blog as always, take care and stay safe. Cheers!

As you can see my grandpa was all smiles with my return too :)

Home sweet home!

New year cookies and soft drinks are a staple

A nice mamak session with my primary school buddies, DC and Nick!

King's Man - an impromptu decision to watch the very last screening for the day

Decided to order Grab delivery for dinner tonight

Myself, Hon Wa, and DC at our favourite mamak joint

Noodles and gao zi (meat-filled dumplings) for breakfast today

Curry chee cheong fun and iced coffee for lunch

Our reunion dinner spread

My mom's specialty - salmon teriyaki

Vegetarian breakfast for the first day of CNY

Visiting one of the many Chinese temples in Ipoh to pray on New Year's Day

With "Caishen" - the God of Wealth

Visiting my aunt's house for a vegetarian lunch

The amount of Chinese New Year cookies we stocked up this year is incredible :)

Some really large abalones

Looks like someone got lucky in blackjack tonight XD

Behind me is the J.W.W. Birch Memorial Clock Tower -
commemorating the first British Resident of the State of Perak

Eggs on toast (R), Kaya and butter toast (L), and two glasses of teh tarik to wash it all down

Nian gao (or New Year cake) -
a sticky sweet snack usually eaten during Chinese New Year as it is believed to usher a more prosperous year ahead

My visit back home would not be complete without a visit to Ten-Good Restaurant in Greentown

Huge portion sizes, and all absolutely delicious

An interesting cafe located in the heart of Ipoh Riverfront Park

Too bad we weren't able to get seats and had to opt for takeaway instead

Cookies, pomelos, and longan juice

Really like the street art that can be found all around Old Town, Ipoh

The sign above reads "Second Concubine Lane"

- one of the three "Concubine Lanes" in Ipoh, and made famous after a fire destroyed the old town in 1892, causing it to be rebuilt with three lanes of shops. A rich mining tycoon, Yao Tet Shin, gave each of his three wives (i.e. concubines) a lane each to collect rent

The sign reads - Concubine Lane, 100-Year Old Shop

Han Chin Pet Soo - Malaysia's first Hakka tin mining museum

Hor Yan Hor herbal tea

For lunch today, we had some Peranakan cuisine in the form of nasi kerabu and fried chicken

A really obscure location for a coffee shop, but one that was highly recommended by my mom 

(and therefore was definitely worth a try!)

Glutinous rice with kaya, egg tarts, and iced coffee

All colour-matched in yellow today :)

Korean BBQ dinner tonight

With Hon Wa, Wei Yue, and Nick @ Seoul Maru

Pre-departure breakfast at McDonald's today