UNSW Medicine Integrated Clinical Examination (ICE)

So here's my return after a long hiatus from the blogosphere. To the Phase 2 coursework students who will soon be sitting for ICE, all the best! I have previously distributed my notes (consisting of my answers to popular past year questions) to some of you and hope that these notes will be of some help. If you have missed out on being on the receiving end (whether directly from me or from being forwarded the document by a friend) or only stumble on this blog post later in the future and want a copy, just drop me a comment here with your email address and I'll send a copy along... ^_^

Tasmania - Day 6

Here's the very last installation of the tassie trip. Oh, before I proceed further, on the night of Day 5, we drove up Mt Wellington and the view was magnificent! Seeing the entire city lit up and the perfect round moon reflected onto the waters of the lake - stunning! I borrowed Ash's cam as Pete's was left elsewhere and he has yet to pass me the photos, so, sorry can't share the wonderful view with you readers... Maybe someday when he does pass them to me, I may upload it here... But dare I say that despite it being summer, the temperature up the mountain (12km drive from base to peak, slightly more than 1km high) was below freezing point and silly me who left my Kathmandu jacket at our accommodation had to bear the chilly winds on the pinnacle with just 2 layers: a sleeveless tee inside and my thin-fabric Adidas Core Power hoodie top outside... Brr... My ears did hurt later, standing exposed for more than 10 minutes... You may wonder why I left my jacket - well, before we came out for dinner (which was Mures Seafood by the way), I checked my exam results online and the jubilant email from med fac telling me I've passed ICE and can now proceed onto Phase 3 kept me grinning and distracted that night, so there...

Anyway, back to Day 6. We went to Sorell Fruit Farm to pick fresh fruits. For $10, you get a medium-sized container: fruits in season at the time we went were strawberries, cherries, raspberries and tayberries. Of course we busied ourselves with tasting the delectable fruits as we picked them, so in other words, $10 = a container full of fruits + whatever you choose to put into your mouth before you leave. Mind you, I felt like I gobbled more than a container of fruits along the way...


Sara posing at the entrance of the cafe / gift shop




Look guys, Ash is gonna be our tour guide... Oh wait! There's a "directory" here!




Richard and I at the cherries section




Pete's container of mixed berries



Could have taken more photos but Pete's cam "crashed", which was surprising since it was only recently bought. Thank goodness he could get it to work again after a few tweaks here and there and need not pin the blame on yours truly who had been snapping away with it for the past week. Well, what can I say? After all, he did chuck his cam at me every morning as we hit the road and told me to "go nuts" - literally quoting him here! In case you're wondering, the cam is Olympus Mju Tough 6010 - it's supposedly waterproof, shockproof, snowproof, shakeproof and nightproof but I guess it's not "crashproof"? Not so tough, eh? I suppose that's why they went on to develop the 8000 model instead (claimed to be the strongest digicam in the world)... But I do admit that aside from this "crash" incident and the relatively long waiting time between taking photos (compared to other digicams), the 6010 is quite a good model, especially with the Panaroma mode...

Ok, let's not get carried away with the rantings on digicams; back to the trip. After fruit-picking, we went shopping at Hobart and before we knew it, it was time to return our hired car (still can't believe we got the massive Hyundai iMax!) and checked in at the airport for our flight back to Sydney.


Unloading the luggages



6 days around Tasmania, clockwise (south-west-north-east-south), from Hobart back to Hobart?
It was one amazing picturesque trip.

Sigh, can't believe it's more than a month since the trip and exactly a month since moving into my new place (15/12/2009-14/1/2010) - time flies! And while I'm all excited to start my Surgery term at Prince of Wales Hospital, I find it hard to bid adieu to summer break...

2010, what will you bring?

Tassie & ICE!!

Just returned from a fantastic 6-day roadtrip around Tasmania (will be uploading photos soon, I hope) and also a quick note that I've passed my ICE exam and am moving onto 5th year come January!! Praise be to Him and also thanks to everyone who's been supportive... To the Tassie gang, thanks for making the last 6 days a wonderful lifetime memory for me... ^_^

Countdown

And the countdown continues - one more week to ICE! Can't wait for it to be over and then it'll be summer break, which means "Tassie, here I come!"... Oh, not to mention all the room packing of 4 years' worth of stuff before I move out of college - aiks, don't wanna think about it but I guess it has to be done sooner or later... Anyway, time to hit the books again! ;)

Yesterday...

Yesterday, I was in the mood to cheer
Yesterday, coz I had my last class for the year
Yesterday, but I realized oh dear
Yesterday, that meant ICE was drawing near

Yesterday, farewells we did say
Yesterday, for them we did pray
Yesterday, to IBFers who're going away
Yesterday, memory lanes we did pave and lay

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away
Yesterday, yes I sang Beatles' "Yesterday"
Yesterday, I wish you're here to stay
Yesterday, is but what tomorrow speaks of today

Oh yesterday...

2 down, 1 more to go...

Woohoo! Can't believe this but I actually managed to finish a 3000-word assignment just over the 2-day weekend - and all from scratch! Thank God for the discipline... So now it's just ICE in a fortnight - 2 down, 1 more to go...

On another note, today's church sermon message (Titus 3) was a really impactful one. Indeed there's so much to give thanks for seeing how God has saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. By His grace and mercy, He has chosen us from the very beginning (and not that we first chose Him) to be born again that we may break free from the bondage of sin. It is the work of His Spirit that we can be moved and changed to follow His ways and come before Him as His children as we call Him "Abba, Father". Hence, it serves as a good reminder to not be comformed to the ways of this world but instead, to be more and more like His Son as we continue our walk in Christ...

^_^

I killed portfolio!!

That's right - I killed portfolio!!

I have finally managed to finish writing up my Phase 2 portfolio essay. Now I only have my BGD3 assignment to finish and Integrated Clinical Examination (ICE) to sit for before I can wave goodbye to 4th year and Phase 2 and say hello to 5th year and Phase 3! 1 down, 2 more to go!

Due dates as follows:
BGD3 assignment: Midnight of 15th November (Sunday)
Portfolio essay: 8AM of 16th November (Monday)

*Can you believe they actually allowed only a gap of 8 hours between those 2 due dates?! Thank goodness I'm done with portfolio!!*

And I've received more info on my ICE:
Date: 25th November (Wednesday)
Time: 9.00am briefing for 9.30am start
Venue: Sutherland Hospital *Gasp, the furthest hospital in the list of exam venues!*

Prayer points for those who would like to pray for me (thank you!):

1. Thanksgiving for finishing portfolio essay and for me getting through this far in med school
2. Better time management and discipline as I run this last leg of the Phase 2 race
3. A calm and peaceful mind as I sit for ICE (taking histories, examining patients, answering examiners' questions)
4. Above all, to not forget that God is still my first priority...

^_^

I was called a "MAN" today!!

Yes, you read the title correctly - I was called a "MAN" today!! Funny story really...

Was following this paediatrician to see a 2+ year old boy who came into hospital for his asthma. He was such an adorable little boy - cute, chatty (really good vocab for such a young age), active (was literally jumping all over the place, I kid you not!), yet clung endearingly to his friendly mum. It was a little difficult to get his cooperation to examine him at first but a tricky tip of making the physical examination into a little "game" soon got him cooperating with us. And before you know it, he started giving out high 1's, 2's, 3's (his fingers got a little stuck at this one, hehe), 4's, and 5's at us...



Sample photo of a high 3. Nope, this isn't the boy's hand but my chubby, ugly fingers looking chubbier and uglier because of the bent fingers - yup, just mimicking what the boy did - he didn't give out straight-fingered high 3's but bent-fingered high 3's! :p



When we were about to leave, he started sulking: "You don't leaveeeeee..." And to complete the picture, he hugged the paediatrician and laid his head on his lap...

Do I hear an *aww* from you readers? ;)

Then his mum told him, "Ok now, say thank you to the young doctors."

"Thank you, man!"

Try and picture our amused faces at this greeting...

"No no, there are some man doctors and some lady doctors too."

Somehow, the word "lady" has yet to be registered in his dictionary...

"Thank you, man! Bye bye, man!"

We began laughing and proceeded to leave the room...

"Bye bye, MAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!"

And that's the story of me being called a "MAN" today... :p

Not enough time?!

It's past 5.30 in the morning and I've yet to hit the sack... Got too engrossed in my revision for the upcoming ICE (Integrated Clinical Examination) - it's on 25th November, so less than a month to go. Not to mention, a week before that, assignment and portfolio essay are due. So much to do yet so little time!

But why should I even complain? Do I even have the right to complain?!

The ungrateful creature in me screams folly: "There's not enough time! I want more time! Heck, why can't it be 48 hours in a day instead of 24? It's not fair - I've got so much to do yet so little time!"

And the ramblings continue...

But perhaps it's time for me to reflect (even better now that the night, or should I say early morning, is filled with serene silence - most, if not all, collegians would have been sound asleep by now) - I could not define time till I had work that helped me quantify the passing moments in which I did the aforesaid work. And to think of it, what a blessing it is to have SOMETHING to do! Here I am, privileged enough to be acquiring medical knowledge at university yet I complain. Why, I'm quite sure there are many out there who would gladly accept the workload just to be studying medicine! Or to put it in a broader perspective, what about the disadvantaged population who are not as fortunate to receive proper education? Or those who are keen to learn but cannot afford tertiary education?

So Lord, I pray, help me to be thankful for the education You've provided me with, along with everything else that you have lavished upon me. For I came into this world, bringing nothing, and all that I have come from You. Even more than education, I thank You for Your amazing gift of salvation when You sent Your Son to die on the cross for my wretched sins. Mold me into the child You want me to be: a lamb that hears and follows the voice of its shepherd; a daughter of God who wants to serve You and be transformed in Your ways. I pray all these things in Your Son Jesus' precious name. Amen.

Ps. The night didn't turn out as "serene" as I expected as Eve spotted my room lights still on and decided to call me... :p

PPs. As previously mentioned, this blog is now revived and will be updated regularly - feedback and suggestions are most welcome! =)

Research Survey (5 minutes, simple, online, anonymous!)

Do you know that 1 in 5 adults suffer from a mental disorder just in the past 1 year? This means that at any one time, you are very likely to be related to someone who has a mental disorder (whether you know it or not!) - it could be a friend, a family member, or maybe even yourself! It doesn't have to be a case of psychosis to be classified as mental disorder; something as simple as anxiety or depression may also be a mental disorder! Help us improve online education and treatment for mental disorders by completing a simple 5-minute online survey (it's anonymous!). The web address is:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=ZoH4LFBKL4ruSU83ksmSsw_3d_3d

Your response is very much appreciated - thank you! =)

Friday the 13th

A new record has been made - this is the first time I have blogged 3 days in a row!!!

Ok, back to serious business, today is Friday the 13th. Many believe it to be an unlucky day but I'm not that superstitious - more so when my sports house (Rumah Unggul) won the overall champion title on Sports Day back in 2002 when it was held on Friday the 13th...

But Friday the 13th may spell bad news for some criminals... On my way to CRUfAD this morning, I saw both the Channel Seven and Nine vans parked outside the Darlinghurst Courthouse with several news crew and reporters outside the courthouse - wonder what's going on inside...

The Darlinghurst Courthouse

The 7 News van

Justice is served...

Curious to know what may be "the big deal", I decided to do a little online search to see what the national news have in store today. A very interesting result emerged and I suspect the juicy bit of news may be connected to the hype outside the courthouse today - but I may be wrong as it wasn't mentioned specifically which court the case was trialled - read below for the doped-up news... literally, haha...

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Top NSW cop refused bail on drug charges

11:37 AEST Fri Jun 13 2008

51 minutes ago

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A top NSW crimefighter facing charges over an alleged multi-million dollar drug conspiracy has been refused bail in a Sydney court.

Mark Standen, 51, an assistant director of the NSW Crime Commission and a former federal police officer, was arrested and charged last week over an alleged conspiracy to import 600kg of pseudoephedrine.

Standen's lawyer Paul King provided Magistrate Allan Moore with written submissions on Thursday.

Mr Moore on Friday ruled that Standen would remain in custody on the grounds he was too great a flight risk.

Standen appeared in court via audio visual link from special protective custody.

Standen was among a group of people arrested in Australia, The Netherlands and Bangkok over an alleged bid to import enough of the precursor chemical pseudoephedrine to manufacture 480kg of the illegal drug ice.

The chemicals were allegedly due to be shipped into Australia inside a container of rice from Pakistan and by several other methods.

Mr Moore said he had taken into consideration written statements from Standen's two eldest children as well as his current "undesirable" situation in protective custody.

However, he said given Standen's former position in the NSW Crime Commission, there was too great a risk of him leaving the country for him to post bail.

"I can't ignore his position within the Crime Commission," Mr Moore said.

"He has information about methodology which could assist his departure from the country."

Standen's family attended court on Friday but refused to answer media questions outside.

Good deals, research and great formal...

Hehe, I know I haven't updated my blog for quite a while - I'm surprised when some of my friends (whom I didn't expect will read my blog that often) told me I should update soon, lol... Anyway, here's a "photo-packed edition" to keep you readers "entertained" for the next few minutes...

GOOD DEALS

Bought this sand-gray Japan Winter '08 range jacket from Kathmandu, Bondi Junction at an incredible sales price of AUD54.95 when the original price was AUD159.95! Don't worry, it's not pirated or anything - it's the authentic stuff. Reason why it costs less than a third of the actual price? They had an incoming batch of "new" colours in the range! Lol, their loss is my gain, hehe! =D

Bought this silver top at TEMT, The Galleries Victoria for AUD9.95 (original price was AUD19.95) - again, my gain! =P

Yet another purchase from TEMT - this time, a dark purple dress. Ignore the jeans - was too lazy to take it off when I was trying the dress on. The price? AUD24.95. How could I possibly resist such a bargain, more so when the dress is purple?!

RESEARCH

This is where I'm currently undertaking my ILP research - at CRUfAD! You shouldn't have a problem working out what the acronym stands for... =)

The sign on the door entrance of my research lab to which I hold a master key to, muahaha... *evil cackle* Isn't it cool I'm working at an internationally-recognized (WHO) lab? Lots of work to do at research but it's really enjoyable and the research team's simply fabulous - everyone's so friendly, I feel so welcomed!

GREAT FORMAL

"Charlie" and his "angel" - Lai and I posing during the End of Session 1 formal dinner. ^_^

Me and the "guitar man": Tim's so talented in stringing the guitar; wish I knew how to play the guitar... >.<

Took too many photos at the formal but I thought I should end with this shot of me sitting at the Master's Chair - yes, that's the dress I bought at TEMT!

Ta for now, I should really go to sleep - I'm busy even on weekends, you know! =P

I passed! ^_^

Checked my unimail earlier and my EOP results were out - I passed! Whee! Thank you, Lord - God really is gracious! Thanks to everyone who supported me with encouraging words throughout this dreadful waiting period...

On another note, I just finished my ILP induction about an hour ago. I'm now officially in Phase 2 and a junior researcher in my own right. Can't wait to kickstart things off with my supervisor tomorrow...

Ecstatic, ecstatic, ecstatic! That's how I feel right now! Can't stop grinning from ear to ear...

*yells with a high-pitched scream and runs around with arms waving above like a "mad med" gal*

It's over!

As the title implies, it's pretty much self-explanatory... =P

Fingers crossed that I pass all my exams. Rumours have it that results will be out next week - Voice in head: So fast? That's like barely a week after we finished exams. Yikes! >.<

If all goes well, I'll be starting ILP next week. Also, except for extra-faculty courses, assignments, projects and portfolio essays, there will no longer be anymore written papers for the rest of my undergrad MBBS at uni. It'll only be OSCEs and VIVAs, which so totally makes sense since we'll be clinical-based eventually in real life. Can't waste time thinking too long (which happens in written exams) while your patient is literally dying right under your watch, can you? Anyway, below is my schedule for the rest of the week:

Monday - OSCEs' over so exams are over too! =)
Tuesday - Went to DIAC office to get my working visa label, headed to Kinokuniya for a one-hour training session for my one-day casual stock-take job later this month, Basser Under The Stars later tonight
Wednesday - Skipping MedSoc's End-of-Phase 1 Party to attend our very own (mostly the Malaysian/Singaporean gang) end-of-phase celebrations (as well as Leon's birthday) at Cheryl's place; I expect it'll be the wee hours of the morning by the time I head back home
Thursday - Participating in the Pearson's Language Test (did it before last year) to earn $100 for 3 hours of my time: extra spending money, lol... =D
Friday - IBF (International Bible Fellowship); coolness to be reading His Word with my fellow bros and sis-in-Christ!
Saturday - Outing with Dian which entails Coogee-Bondi walk followed by a seafood lunch with fried Mars bar then shopping at Bondi Junction and lastly dinner at Hurricane's Grill... whee...
Sunday - Church and fellowship over dinner after service

Haha, so yeah, even though exams are over, Jane Gun is still as busy as ever! =P Ta for now!

Ps. Thanks to everyone who gave me encouraging messages throughout the exam period - really appreciate it... ^_^

My last end-of-course exam...

That's right - I sat for my last end-of-course exam (Society & Health B) today, that's provided I don't flunk it, lol... That means no more end-of-course (i.e. no more exams after each 8-week block) for the rest of my MBBS; it'll only be end-of-phase.

Speaking of which, my end-of-phase 1 exams (covering everything I've learned from 1st year up to the 3rd year stuff) are creeping nearer and nearer. Just about another week to go.

Friday 9th May: Written paper (2-3 hours)

Saturday 10th May: Practical exams consisting of 4 labs i.e. anatomy (10 stations), histopathology (4 slides), microbiology+biochemistry, and physiology+pharmacology

Monday 12th May: OSCE (objective structured clinical exam) - 6 stations where at each station, I'll need to take a full medical history, examine the patient and summarize my findings to the examiner

Hopefully I won't burnout before that. But thanks heaps to everyone who's been really supportive. Just last night, Peypey drove all the way to deliver me a Krispy Kreme to boost my energy as I studied for today's paper - not to mention the touching message she wrote in the card that came with the doughnut. Just random acts of kindness like these really make my day. Then there's Mich who's so eager to help me out by volunteering herself as my patient so I can practice for my OSCE. And Esther's sms kept me going too even though she's sitting for today's paper herself. And all my friends in Basser or church or med - the list goes on and on...

I really thank God that He has blessed me in so many ways. They may not seem direct or obvious but I know His hand is at work with every encouragement that comes my way. It really marvels me that He knows when to give me that little push I need every time when I feel that I cannot go on anymore. Even more amazing is that He should look out for such an insignificant me - I'm after all 1 in 6.66 billion of the world's population...

Lord, I surrender my life to you in all humility...

An Eventful Week

So it seems that I still have time for events outside of studies and here's another update...

Wednesday
The Kensington Colleges Leaders' Recognition Dinner 2008 - cheers to us, the Assistant Tutors! L-R: Abe (Biotech PhD student, Goldstein), Lai (E&E Engineering Masters student, Basser), myself (MBBS student, Basser). Behind us is a beautiful ice sculpture of an eagle - a little blur in this photo though...

Thursday

Scenario Group party. The whole group's toasting with our champagne. There was heaps of food (potluck style) - 2 cakes, brownies, nachos and salsa dips, crackers and cheese, soybean chips (something like muruku), fruits, vege with hommus, all sorts of candies and chocs - I can't remember the list; it's too long! To give you an idea, we downed everything with 2 bottles of champagne and 4 bottles of soft drink - to think that we'll one day be advising our patients to keep off these sort of stuff, lol... =D

Thursday

Still on the SG party. As we third years are about to leave Phase 1 and move onto Phase 2, the second years gave us a touching thank you speech and lovely farewell gifts - here's what's inside my gift bag (coincidentally purple - my favourite colour!): mini doctor toy set (stethoscope, reflex hammer, timer, surgical knife and dish, oxygen mask and tank), mini highlighter, jumbo-sized crayon, marble bounce ball, Robert Timms' Mocha Kenya Style, Skittles Fruits, Zappo strawberry strips and a Mars bar. Merryn (the gal who came up with the gift idea) said the mini doctor toy set is to further motivate us as we work towards our goal of becoming doctors while the stationery assist us in our studies plus the coffee and candies help us keep awake while we study for End-of-Phase One exams. How thoughtful! =)

Friday

Home bible studies at Andy's place. A sumptuous dinner of bak kut teh (cooked by Chin Wei), vege and omelette (by Pey Pey) followed by hot mung bean soup (by Andy) for dessert. A wonderful session on why and who we pray to, followed by silly games like "Buddy Buddy", "Ping Pong Piang" and "Chinese Charades". I heart my group!

Saturday

This is what I saw as I head back to my room from the dining hall after lunch. Some of the Basser boys did their laundry and tried to make the best use of the incredible sunshine we had that day by setting up a super long clothes line from one alcove end to another. The line was overburdened with the weight of the laundry that it "sunk" in the middle, so the guys thought it would be better if they stretched a little by getting up on a bench placed on top of a table and hold the clothes line up. And stretch they did! =P

That's it folks! Gotta do a little studying before I head off to church in a couple of hours...

One more month...

Time is really passing by quickly... As my OSCE (one-third of my end-of-phase 1 exams) is scheduled on Day 1 out of the 3 days allocated, that means in exactly a month's time (on 12th May), I will come to savour some long-lost "freedom". It also means that for the next one month, I should try to be more productive and procrastinate less. I may or may not blog for the next 30 days, so please be patient if you're keen to be updated with my life here Down Under... Please pray for me that I may be diligent and that the exams will not be too hard on me. More importantly, please pray that I will still keep my priorities right by putting Him first, relying on Him for my strength and wisdom. Thanks to those who have been praying for me - may the good Lord bless you all! =)

Updates

My creativity is running dry at this point, hence, the simple and plain title "Updates"... Not much to say except severe procrastination which is exemplified by taking all sorts of photos like the ones below:

That's the design in front of this year's MedSoc T-shirt - rather cute, I think - see if you can get it... Bought it earlier this week at the MedSoc Council meeting - my first meeting this year as International Students' Representative! UNSW Medicine international students, if you wanna get involved, drop me a line at international@medsoc.org.au !



That's the first ever photo of Dian and I together (taken before TKC's commencement dinner). Dian's my "alcove daughter" this year at Basser - she's a first year med student (ah, a gal after my own heart, lol). She's Indonesian but has lived in Singapore almost all her life. We seem to connect really well and I heart this junior of mine... Dian, if you're reading this, don't forget the pact we made about shopping after exams! =)


Ok, I'm not going to bother posting anymore photos. Just a quick note to some of our SPM/STPM leavers: congrats to those who excelled, and to those who didn't (or think they didn't), don't get too upset - the world hasn't ended. All the best for your scholarship/university applications and may you strive to pursue that dream career of yours! Don't ever give up! ^_^

29th February 2008 in Sydney

29th February 2008
(Leap year is here!)

0930
Woke up after snoozing the alarm several times. Really reluctant to get out of the cozy bed - Sydney weather's erratic again and has been so since the day I touch downed... I had only slept a total of 5 hours over the past 2 days plus a full day of revision at Liverpool Hospital (plus 5 hours of traveling) was tiring me out. I tugged the thick warm doona closer but had to give it up for the idea of dining hall closing at 10 AM wasn't inviting at all - I don't wanna miss breakfast!

1000
Went to test out my new Student ID (the colour's gold this year - reminds me of a gold credit card, hehe) which I processed on Wednesday (the day I arrived in Sydney itself - still can't believe I finished unpacking that day, not to mention trips to banks and Medibank Private to renew my OSHC) - still no access to Wallace Wurth (the med building) via Biological Sciences building - the entrance has changed due to the construction of the Lowy Cancer Research Centre on the old Medlawn site... Talked to security over intercom and was let through. ID (which also served as a swipe card) worked fine on all the other rooms in Wallace Wurth. Went to FM Assist to get access to Wallace Wurth. Hopefully it'll work when I try accessing the building after writing this blog entry...

1030
Using the Internet in library to check mails and compose this post!

1130
It's time to go. Got other stuff to do and can't wait to meet my church friends again tonight at bible studies... Ah, 29th February - when will you next visit? Oh oh, I know - if all goes well, you'll next visit when I start my housemanship year, when I'm finally a Dr.

=)

Farewells & Uncertainties

Three months may seem a long time but three months can just pass you by in a blink. Summer break had come and is now going – time to start uni again and get myself busy, more so with End-of-Phase 1 exams looming round the corner. I know it’s in May but one can’t help but get the nagging feeling that two months is indeed shorter than three months and those two months is no honeymoon to fit in more than two years’ work into the human brain. It’s just another two more days to go before the airplane transports me back to Sydney (I'm heading back on Tuesday). While I say hello to the joy of meeting friends back in uni and the woes of becoming a worn-out study machine soon, I realise that this also means farewell to family and friends back here. I’ll miss you all but if all goes well, one year will fly by quickly too and I’ll see you again as we swap stories and laugh over a cup of coffee.

Thanks for the good times, "IMU Gang"... =)

On another note, more interesting events are coming our way that are worth keeping an eye on. First up is the Oscars / Academy Awards which will be telecasted live tomorrow – wonder if there’s going to be any record-breakers or setters? Next are the elections – both here in Malaysia and miles away in the US. Will Barisan Nasional (BN) garner a huge victory again or will the strategy of having one instead of two contestants within the same constituency by opposing Barisan Alternatif (BA) yield fruitful results? John McCain seems set to be the Republican rep but how will it fare for the Democrats? Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton? Either way, if the Democrats win, history will be made as it will either be jotted down as the first Black or female President in US history. A less significant event but intriguing nonetheless is the voting of cities to be included in the latest Monopoly version – Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition. With loyal citizens around the globe voting frantically to get their shortlisted cities listed as one of the twenty-odd spots on the board, why not go to http://www.monopolyworldvote.com/en_US/world and start voting daily too? Root on for Kuala Lumpur and Sydney! =P

So many events and so many uncertainties but oh well, time will tell.

Till then, adios amigos and I'll write again as soon as I can, this time from Sydney...