♡ Psychiatry

I really love and enjoy Psychiatry posting, not because of it's a relatively free, easy and leisure posting compared to others, but I really love every aspects of Psychiatry. It really fascinates me about how this mind works, how different personality developed in each individual. And every patients I clerked, they have their own life stories to tell, and I love to listen to their out-of-the-box and amazing experiences they've been facing. 

So, practically my life in these 4 weeks are like being my patients' best friend by listening to their stories and what led them to the psychiatric clinic. I was really amazed by the powerful of the mind. This mind, they can be really tricky and cheat you to the extent you can never imagine. Sometimes I do felt sad for them, but well, we can't really do much to help them, simply because this mind belongs to themselves. We can only prescribe medication to control their symptoms. Only they can help themselves. They have to work hard to make their mind healthy once again.

A message to myself:

If you're mentally healthy, be grateful, because this is your good Kamma. 

Cherish your healthy mind, take good care of your body and live fruitfully.

Do not live life in negligence.

Care more and be forgiving of others.

At least, do not harm anyone.

Once in a while, I nourish myself with some good food:)

Orange Jelly

The weather has been so freaking hot since February

best thing is that when you came back to your room after a long day in hospital

there's a mug of cold, refreshing jelly awaits and greets you

ready to cool down your body and emotion:)

Orange Jelly

1. According to instruction from "Konnyaku Jelly Powder", dissolve the powder in a bottle of 350mL "Minute Maid orange juice". (I just used half a packet of the jelly powder)
2. After dissolved, pour the liquid into the mould and chill in the fridge.
3. Enjoy!^^

Ps1: I did not add any sugar into the jelly liquid. The sweetness from the orange juice is good enough for me. Thus there would be no risk of getting diabetesx)

Ps2: This is a super low-cal snack to be enjoyed. The carrageenans(aka natural collagen) in the jelly is good for your health particularly to keep your skin young!:)

A message to myself: cherish

I was born as a human being
with a healthy body
and a healthy mind

I have a loving family
Daddy & mummy who love me unconditionally
and little mischievous brother and sister who always fight but also laugh with me

Because of my father's hardwork, sweat and tears
there's never a need to starve
and we are able to enjoy the food we like
we can afford to buy new clothes occasionally
and some electronic items that we need like my laptop and Samsung S2

Im studying Medicine in one of the best local university in Malaysia
Im able to pursue my dream to become a doctor
A profession that i wished to become since I was 15 years old

I have many friends
those who will be there to share my laughter, tears
and sometimes, anger;P

My family & I are happy Buddhists
We're practising the dhamma which is the Buddha's teaching
and we have some great spiritual teachers in life

With all these...
what more should I ask for?
nothing.

Im truly a lucky girl

with such good kamma

thus I should not let myself to live heedlessly

Vivian,

You should cherish everything that you're having right now.

Do not take anything for granted.

Because everything is impermanent,

do not wait till the day when you lost something then only you regret.

Cherish

Its indeed an easy word to forget.

Especially when we're not mindful enough.

From today onwards,

Lets train our heart to be able to see 

and cherish everything in our life:)

Ps, I love to have a walk in nature.They calm down and clear my mind of daily junks, eventually letting me to see so many things so clearly♥

Delayed CNY post

Delayed CNY touch-ups^^

For the past few years, our family tradition during the very first day of CNY had always been going for hill-hiking together. My dad would say:" This year we should climb higher than where we reached last year!才算是步步高升！" 

LOL~

2013 is a totally different year for my family as we've found the dhamma. According to Buddha's teaching, the only way that we can improve our life is through gaining good merits by cultivating Dana, Sila & Bhavana. So, on the very first day of CNY 2013, my whole family went to offer dana at Dhammapiti Monastery. We were kinda worried that the monks won't have enough food to eat that day because we thought that everybody will be busy celebrating CNY and won't have time to do dana. 

Turned out, SURPRISE!!! 

The monastery was full of kind-hearted people who are selfless and willing to sacrifice some of their time to do dana. So happy to see that:))) 

And below are the dishes specially prepared  by daddy & i...Ps, i cooked the garlic butter prawns with broccoli, it was so aromatic and nice^^

Most of the CNY holiday was spent at my Grandma's ancient house at Temoh. I still enjoy the atmosphere where most of the relatives will be back and we will have a HUGE family "discussion" around the dining table. Uncles and aunts will reminiscent their childhood stories, and everybody would laugh at the silly jokes at those old days. The children will enjoy playing cards, running around making noises while the adult will play the mahjong. But somehow, as years go by, children has grown up and the whole atmosphere just became not as CNY-ish as before anymore. Just for a change, this year my younger bro suggested to trot around the village of Temoh and took some nice pics.

Of course, the most enjoyble thing is just simply hanging aorund with my beloved daddy mummy bro and sis! Its really funny when i thought of how badly we fought with each other among siblings when 3 of us were still children. And now we have all grown up and become young adults. No more fighting! Surely mom & dad feel glad because of this, no more headache for them!LOL

We had a great dinner and went to Ipoh Kinta Riverfront to have a relaxing stroll, hoping to burn some of the heavy calories eaten. That was actually on Valentine's day, and my dad did the  sweetest thing-sending my mom valentine's roses! Look at this sweet couple^^

And there was my beloved mom's birthday too! I baked mini oreo cheesecakes for her. Nothing beats my love towards my family:) Ohya, besides i also managed to bake a choco-banana bread which was so soft and fragrant! Yum!^^ Thought of baking peanut cookies and oatmeal cookies but i just couldn't spare out any free time to do so. Will reserve that during my next hols!

medical end posting

Finally, and yet once again, another 6 weeks of major posting>>Medical posting has passed! Definitely no doubt that i was once intimidated by other's warnings about my supervisor, and was trying so hard not to let my perception being too affected by others. Because of the fear others was trying to instill in me, i turned that into some kinda energy that motivated me to keep on working hard, not because of im afraid of failing in my exam with my supervisor. But just wanna prove to myself: if i learn as much as i can, if i tried my best and acquired the knowledge that i should know as a future doctor, if i behave as a nice humble medical student, there's no way that he could penalize me. Looking back, im generally satisfied with what i did during these 6 weeks. This was by far the busiest posting i ever had, the most challenging and also the most knowledge gained!:) From the commonest cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, to kidney, endocrine and infectious diseases. The knowledge in medical field is like a bottomless hole, you can never finish learning.

And then, there were times that I was feeling really stressed. I took my bicycle and went outdoor for a ride. The sky was blue and stretching wide, sun was shining bright, pretty flowers died. A sudden thought came to my mind, that everything is impermanent. This stress that im facing is impermanent, any emotion is impermanent, this life is impermanent, this body is impermanent. Only then i realised how heedless i was. Most of the time we're just like that, we tend to see any problem with a magnifying glass, imagining them like they're the worst thing that ever happened in our life. If we're being mindful enough, we will not get cheated by this negative state of mind.

Well, enough of my long-winded story i guess...

Shall share my story with you by some nice pics=)

My cutie partner Grace. We shared the same supervisor in the medical posting. We worked hard, played hard and laughed hard together! LOL~ Really fun to have good posting groupmates^^

On the very last day of medical posting, at the very last short case session at Hospital Kota Bharu, we had an awesome and fruitful time learning from a great doctor! After that we decided to go for supper as celebration...tried this famous BURGER BAKAR!!! It tasted real nice, much nicer than Mc Donald's i think:)

And just now I just got back from buddy Mike's birthday celebration...Found another nice western food restaurant in KB! Wow, nowadays we can really find some nice food in Kelantan already:)))

I think that's about it for today! Need to rest earlier tonight because tomorrow gotta get up earlier in the morning to cook something for dana offering, so happy! Yay^^ Will touch up more with you guys soon! I haven't even share with you guys about my awesome CNY holiday! Anyway, please stay tuned! More coming up soon cz I'll be entering quite a relaxing posting>>Psychiatry! Can't wait!:D

9 daily habits for a cheerful YOU

Read across this in Yahoo website long time ago and have always thought of sharing it with my dear readers here!

Here you go: the 9 daily habits that will make you happier!^^

1. Start each day with expectation.

If there's any big truth about life, it's that it usually lives up to (or down to) your expectations. Therefore, when you rise from bed, make your first thought: "something wonderful is going to happen today." Guess what? You're probably right.

2. Take time to plan and prioritize.

The most common source of stress is the perception that you've got too much work to do.  Rather than obsess about it, pick one thing that, if you get it done today, will move you closer to your highest goal and purpose in life. Then do that first.

3. Give a gift to everyone you meet.

I'm not talking about a formal, wrapped-up present. Your gift can be your smile, a word of thanks or encouragement, a gesture of politeness, even a friendly nod. And never pass beggars without leaving them something. Peace of mind is worth the spare change.

4. Deflect partisan conversations.

Arguments about politics and religion never have a "right" answer but they definitely get people all riled up over things they can't control. When such topics surface, bow out by saying something like: "Thinking about that stuff makes my head hurt."

5. Assume people have good intentions.

Since you can't read minds, you don't really know the "why" behind the "what" that people do. Imputing evil motives to other people's weird behaviors adds extra misery to life, while assuming good intentions leaves you open to reconciliation.

6. Eat high quality food slowly.

Sometimes we can't avoid scarfing something quick to keep us up and running. Even so, at least once a day try to eat something really delicious, like a small chunk of fine cheese or an imported chocolate. Focus on it; taste it; savor it.

7. Let go of your results.

The big enemy of happiness is worry, which comes from focusing on events that are outside your control. Once you've taken action, there's usually nothing more you can do. Focus on the job at hand rather than some weird fantasy of what might happen.

8. Turn off "background" TV.

Many households leave their TVs on as "background noise" while they're doing other things. The entire point of broadcast TV is to make you dissatisfied with your life so that you'll buy more stuff. Why subliminally program yourself to be a mindless consumer?

9. End each day with gratitude.

Just before you go to bed, write down at least one wonderful thing that happened. It might be something as small as a making a child laugh or something as huge as a million dollar deal. Whatever it is, be grateful for that day because it will never come again.

I believe happiness comes deep inside from our heart, it's always there. But the hustle and bustle of life can sometimes be SO overwhelming that whatever good quality within us is masked. If everybody could just willing to take a deep breath and have some time for ourselves to settle down our ever racing mind and thought each day, and feel peaceful for just a second, life would be indeed much cheerful:)

Quick share

3/2/2013, 9.10pm

Been feeling dizzy and sleepy since afternoon after blood donation

I love to donate blood

Feeling good knowing that part of this impermanent body can help others

Being poked by such large bore needle is not fun

But at the same time it reminds me of how painful is it for the patients in ward who get poked several times a day...

Couldn't have a clear and focused mind to study now

Just go to sleep Vivian

And have a fresh and energy start in the next morning!

Bear it for 3 more days

then you'll get a short & refreshing break;)

A mind of gratitude is one that sees the good in things,

that values things,

and that relishes even the difficult parts of life.

Such a mind tends to grow in freedom, happiness and energy!

~Ajahn Brahm

Hello February=)

Been so busy for the past 1 month! Im currently stucked happily in Medical posting. I admit that before I enter this posting, I've always think that its a very dry and boring posting, but now Im having a totally different view. I enjoy talking with patients everyday, clerking and follow up with their progress and learn how they are being treated. Ward 7 is just like a live library, filled with live medical textbooks, just so much to learn from every different patients that I've clerked! And eventually seeing them getting better each day, I just can't help feeling happy for my patients:) 

Well, that was the happy part. Of course, the counterpart always follow, like a shadow. Been scold countless times by specialists, with or without any good reason. But its ok for me though, understand their workload. Moreover, medical students are the time when we should accept all the scoldings right? Better being scold now when no damage to patient is done, rather than when we start to work as HO when scolding cannot bring a patient back to life. No affordable mistake that can be made anymore once we start working as a doctor. This may sound scary, because who never make mistakes? But as far as Im concern, I wish I could just stay focus and keep strong mind in whatever thing that I do, and try my best to help my patient.

Oh did I tell you I've got one of the most famous Prof as my supervisor and examiner for this posting? Some gave me loads of advices out of concern, some looked at me with those sympathy expression, whilst some laughed at me for being so-called-unfortunate. No doubt I was once intimidated by the scary rumor, but c'mon! Who knows whether its a blessing in disguise? At least Im having such a good motivation to study and don't allow myself to sink into laziness everyday. And so far everything is good. Im just gonna work my butt off, try my best to improve myself everyday, stop worrying about the future that I couldn't control and accept any outcome that results.

Lastly, can't wait to go back for Chinese New Year! 
My home~my family~my pet~CNY delicacies~~~
:D

Happy 2013:)

This is my very first post in 2013:

Firstly, before writing this I've spent about half an hour reading back my posts in 2012 and only did I realized that there were not as many as I thought have written. To me its not a bad thing as revealing too much of myself through written words in this digital world is not a good way to know me. Yea, because words can cheat, words have no expressions. I have thought of abolishing this blog actually, but in the end I still decided to keep it. As long as Im not wasting too much time on it, its nevertheless a good portal of sharing of my thoughts and a gateway to channel out my emotion, be it positive or negative.

2012 was a really happening year to me. I experienced countless events that were least expected to happen. All the problems and feelings were SO mixed up and complicated till I couldn't even recall the events in sequence. Perhaps its because I decided to let go. The past is the past. Yes, I agree that the tiny thorns are not so easy to remove, but Im still hoping that things can turn better. Just let the nature takes its course.

But, no matter how, Im still standing on my own feet. I've learnt to listen to my heart, to choose and believe on my stand. 

I keep resolutions for every new year, non-exceptionally for 2013:

to work hard, learn as much as I can, and enjoy each and every posting>pass every posting exams making sure I have adequate knowledge in each field in order to become safe doctor in the future>graduate and leave Kelantan>become a House officer who practice medicine safely and be able to take care of the sick, preferably as close to my home as possible:)

Just as simple as that.

Happy new year everyone!

May all beings have peaceful mind, healthy body and practice good morality. 

Together, we can make this world a better place to live.

Quality weekend with my beloved!^^

Had an ever awesome weekend!

Although it only lasted 3 days but its the quality that counts:)

Simple morning hill-hiking with my parents, followed by a plate of Dried Curry Noodle as breakfast, spending time in the kitchen busy cooking with my mom, chatting with daddy in the living room while watching tv, gossiping with my bro & sis, going to the monastery to do dana and learning some dhamma...

What a beautiful weekend spent with my most beloved family!

Though the travelling part can be quite exhausting but its definitely worth it! 

Ps, just hope doctors can forgive me for "fishing" in their class today;)

Guess my homesickness has been cured

will concentrate on my study and looking forward the next trip home on CNY♥

Dearest daddy bought and saved these scrumptious durian for me to savour once I got back home...Ah~silky smooth sweet flesh with a tinge of bitter taste contrasted well with each other...

Who cares about the weight gain when its the King of the fruit's season???^^

And then, finally I got to make these traditional dessert for Winter Solstice Festival with my mummy and bro...Two flavours were made, red bean filling and another with chocolate filling specially for my sis...

Glutinous rice ball served with "Lai Kee" Soya milk, simply warm and divine

This time back home, sis and cousin are working as part time promoters, as a reward for their hardwork of standing whole day long, I prepared lunch boxes for them...

French Toast topped with honey, they said "yum!"

If you ask what's the most delicious food and what I missed the most when Im away from home, its definitely Mama's cooking!!!

I've always enjoyed staying in the kitchen and helping my mom to chop this and that, occasionally play with a few stirs in the wok. Call it miracle, I got some flu attack before I was home and mommy's Chicken Herbal Soup chased away the flu! I can even eat tonnes of durian without getting "heaty" and sick...hehe

Wow! Really, nothing beats my mommy's home-cook dishes...

Sweeeet surprise for my mommy & I, from GongCha!!! We were just planning to try out this newly opened Bubble Milk Tea stall, never thought that its actually free giveaway hours:D

Since I found some left-over sweet corns from Cameron Highland in the freezer...Decided to try out this Japanese inspired dish I learned from a cooking show:

~Sweet Corn Doughnut~

1. Prepare 150g of sweet corns, 150g of cake flour, 1 tablespoon of baking powder, 50g of sugar. Mix well and add in 1 egg and some milk until a smooth, runny dough is formed. 
2. Scoop a spoonful of the dough into a well-heated oil and deep fry till golden brown in colour.

ps1: Do not add too much milk at a time! Try out your dough by frying one doughnut, then adjust the consistency of your dough by adding milk as needed.