I wouldn't have to look for the JVP

I wouldn't have to examine from the right side of the patient

BUT

I would have to speak in Latin and German

I would have to study for six years



*sigh* No medical course has all the ups and none of the downs...

Unfortunately it was nowhere like this. Forgotten exactly how tiring a ward round can be...and CBT in the afternoon as well T_T

Time to sleep and pray that tomorrow is an easier day. ZZZZZ

牛: Hi, I would like to close off this travel card.
ANZ: Sure, could I please get some ID?
牛: Here you go.
*Few minutes pass*
ANZ: Alright, everything is done. I'll fax off the form and it should be processed within the next 3 to 5 hours. Since it's nearly five o'clock, you might not see the funds until tomorrow. Anything else I can help you with?
牛: No, that's fine thank you.

牛: Hi, I came last week and closed off a travel card. I was told that it should have processed by now but I still haven't received the funds. Is there anyway you could chase it up for me?
ANZ: Um...sure, could I have some ID?
牛: Here you go.
*Few minutes pass*
ANZ: Unfortunately, there isn't much I can do for you here because the processing is done by another department. I'll re-fax the form just in case they haven't received it.
牛: Um...OK. Then when should I expect the money to be in my account?
ANZ: Well, as standard it should take only 3 to 5 working days so maybe next Thursday or Friday?
牛: 3 to 5 working days? But last time the lady said only 5 hours and it should be ready the next day...
ANZ: I'm not sure what's the story with that but it should be 3 to 5 working days.
牛: OK, fine. I'll wait.

牛: Hi, I closed off a travel card two weeks back and it doesn't seem like it's been processed yet.
ANZ: Sorry sir, but closing off a travel card can take up to 3 weeks.
牛: ...3 weeks? But I was told only 3 to 5 working days...
ANZ: Really? Who was it last time that you saw?
牛: Well, the first time was a lady sitting over there and the second time last week was a gentlemen over on the far right...
ANZ: I see. Well, let me see if I can check on the progress for you. Could I have some ID?
牛: Here you go.
*Few minutes pass*
ANZ: OK, I've checked with the department and your application form has been received. There's nothing I can do to speed it up but it should be in your account within the next week.
牛: OK, thanks.

Q: How long does it take to close of an ANZ travel card?
A: Depends on who you ask it seems...for me, it started as 3 to 5 working hours then 3 to 5 working days and now 3 to 5 working weeks. I'm afraid next time the answer will be 3 to 5 working months then 3 to 5 working decades. Never going to see my money...T_T

Finally decided to bring my fridge to halls. It's in the shape of an egg and to be honest, it's more pretty than practical. We've also managed to find the perfect thing to put in it =D

People talk about IQ, intelligence quotient. Standard human IQ is from X to Y, calculated with standard deviations and bell curves. More than 2.5SD below and you have an intellectual disability. More than 2.5SD above and you are a genius. But no matter how much we put an emphasis on such a number, I just can't see the significance. 70 is such an arbitrary number...and yet it is the difference between normal and disabled. 難道71的IQ就代表你一定不是低能meh? There are plenty of people in Medicine I know that rub others the wrong way...without even knowing so. But anyway, I digress. There is a much more important label...EQ. People throw the term around a lot, especially those who try to find something wrong with book-smart people. "Oh, he/she may be smart but no EQ at all". They do have a point though. What's the use of knowing a textbook back to front if you offend everyone you meet? They say tomorrow's leaders are those with a high EQ and not IQ (although unfortunately, it seems lately they have neither). Knowledge is still knowledge, locked in your brain, unless you have the ability to utilise it.

Which brings the very important question: How does one gain EQ? It's not something you learn in class, definitely not something you can regurgitate from a book. Some say it is something your parents can teach you, or that you can learn from your past mistakes. Personally, I feel EQ is something that, no matter how hard you try, you can't gain. It's as intrinsic to your character as your childhood. Thus, to change your EQ is to have a total change in heart, a flip of your soul coin. It involves saying the right things, and not saying the wrong ones. It involves reading body language like a historian studying hieroglyphs. It involves putting out body language like Shakespeare writes plays. It involves many many other things in our daily lives, you use it multitudes more than you use IQ. Not an easy task then.

There was a short discussion about Generation Y2 tonight. Basically those who dress and act very "yeah" before they get out of school. They change their phones every 6 months. Their hair can be any colour of the rainbow and take an hour to style every morning. For guys, their pants will be low enough to see most of their underwear. For girls, their skirts will be short to the point of being useless. Spoilt brats. I honestly don't see how society will remain functioning in the future. My feeling is that kids nowadays have a higher tendency to be arrogant and socially inept, in other words they have a low EQ. Everything is about me, me, me. Parents put no effort into developing the child's personality. Result is they hold views such as "If I am angry, I should show it" and "Everyone should please me...so I should let them know when they are succeeding". And yet, the world stands by and does nothing. If anything, it seems to be encouraging it by putting school results on the top of parents' priorities. All they care is that their children get A's and thus are guaranteed a career in the future. They don't think that their child's career may not last very long if he/she offends the wrong person. It's interesting to see how growing up has changed over the years...and in my opinion, it's taken a turn for the worse in this last decade.

But enough! Time to sleep...another day tomorrow and another bunch of kids born. Good luck to mankind. If we don't raise the average EQ level of the population soon, we might lose out to the chimpanzees.

Anyone around us would be able to say that we've been using Olympus since a long time ago...Yeu Sheng has the one her sister gave her and my Mju 750 is the only digital camera I've ever used as well.

Quality was OK as long as there was sufficient lighting...which there never was if we were at gatherings indoors. So...photos would often turn out like this:
"Oh, that blurriness is easily fixed...just use a flash!"
And thus everyone turns into anaemics...pallor. Color balance just wasn't good enough and taking photos in dim lighting was shockingly difficult. You either need to be a tripod taking photos of statues or use the flash, which washed all the colors out.

First Target...
Olympus Mju 9000

This is the original replacement me and Yeu Sheng were looking at.
But, there were problems with the Mju 9000. What attracted us first was the 10x optical zoom...advertised as "The Mju 9000 is the world's smallest and slimmest digital camera with 10x optical wide zoom, so now you can take this pocket sized camera with you, anywhere, anytime, to capture those special holiday moments." Unfortuantely...still had similar problems with the Mju 750 we were using. Not too good in terms of photo quality and dim lighting still caused many problems. Painful decision to look at other brands...since we had so many XD cards already (only used by Olympus) but they left us no choice.

Second Target...
Sony Cybershot DSC-W290

Couple of good things about this camera. We spent a lot of time with 阿公 on our NZ trip and we loved his Cybershot...colors just looked so much better on his camera. Not to mention his battery seemed to last forever as well. So, when we decided to give up on Olympus, Sony came to mind. Price was a little cheaper than the Mju 9000 so we were more than happy to consider it. However, problems started cropping up once we asked more about the package. The Sony are notorious for using MS Pro Duo, a brand of their own and thus very very expensive, even more than the XD. Thus, after adding all the accessories, the price actually was about the same as the Mju 9000. But still...out of the two, we still liked the Sony better...looked more attractive at least =P We were sacrificing the 10x optical zoom (Sony only had 5x) but we thought it wasn't much use without a tripod anyway.

Went to city yesterday so that Yeu Sheng can have a look at the Sony Cybershot DSC-W290...came out of the shop with this:

The FinePix F200EXR (FujiFilm). Who would have guessed? When we were talking to the sales, we just casually asked "What other camera would you suggest?". "What do you want out of the camera? Good quality photos? Or a camera that can be brought out to show friends like a trophy?" came the reply. Well, of course, not wanting to sound like idiots, we gave answer number 1. Sales brought out the FinePix...we had a look at it...not a great first impression. To be honest, it's not the most trendy camera we have seen. Not to mention, the camera itself is a little more expensive than the other two we've been looking at. 心想：你有沒有老點我ga？ But then we turned it on...and the photos it took...my god, they were impressive. The sales even took us downstairs and gave us a dimly lit room to compare the two cameras and we couldn't believe that the FinePix was so much better. When we got home, we started messing about. The lighting at home never really agreed with the Mju 750...all the photos we ever took would be washed with yellow.

Never heard of FujiFilm as a good brand of cameras...never! In fact, when we asked my dad "Hey, guess which brand of camera we ended up buying", he answered, "Olympus, Sony, Canon, Ricoh, Nikon, Panasonic..." (basically every other brand except FujiFilm!!T_T) Then when we pulled out the actual camera, all he said was "Doesn't Fuji just make film?" And yet, it's given us photos like this:

And this:

And this!

Just to assure everyone, we have NOT gone crazy...just testing the camera la...