FINALLY!

Pete came in today. my denture patient in outreach clinic. i have a long long history with him.

he is a nice man. very polite and pleasant.

i tried to make him an upper denture. his gum wasnt the perfect one. i wasnt sure if the denture was goin to help him with his denture in any way when i was doin it.

then. many appointments passed. the day when i was supposed to get the denture back from the lab. it got lost.

i was really upset. partly because i was very sure i sent the work for the lab to process, i wondered where the denture had gone. besides, Pete is such a ncie patient. i really didnt want him to be let down n we had to tell him "your denture got lost somhow. we need to start all over again, and that means another 5 appointments at least".

so the nurses sent him bac the day when he was supposed to get his denture fitted. i said sorry to him but he was really nice n said he didnt mind at all.

then the next week. the nurses said denture was not found anywhere. we had to start from scratch again. oh god. i was really really not impressed.

so we did the whole thing again. n the second denture, after many appointments, was finished. i was so thrilled. but when it was fitted in, it wouldnt stay in. poor Pete. i was so sure he didnt wanna upset me. i was askin him question and he was tryin so hard to retain the denture. so i asked him"heyy what are u doin for easter?" Pete went"oh...noth..nothi...nothing... much..." oh god he was tryin so hard. then Dr Hopwood was tellin him hw to preservere with the denture in order to really get used to it. in my head i thought... the denture wasnt goin to ever stay in, let alone helpin him to eat.

then a review appointment was made to see if he got any progress the the denture function. well he did not attend twice. me n my partner thought, oh dear he must be still not usin the denture n the reason of him not turnin up is to not upset me about my work.

then today. somhow Pete was booked in with another dental student. i was nursin for my partner Kiran when Pete walked past and said Hi to me. OMG he looked 10 years younger. his teeth were stayin in. he could really talk to me this time. n he looked so great lol. i nicked a few minutes from my surgery to say Hi to him and just to see if he was doin ok. Pete just kept sayin thank you to me. i was soooooooooooooooooo happy.

this year i have made many, i mean MANY dentures to many patients. but i havnt felt so happy in a while. i thought i wouldnt be able to help him at all, i was probably just doin thing for the sake of doin it. but ta-daaaaaaaaa. people kept tellin me i should have taken pictures to show the before-after effect lol.

Pete said thank you on his way out again. i was so so so on top of the world.

i pulled Dr hopwood aside n told him how happy i was. i know he was happy too.

you may need to go through some shits before you come to this, the joy of dentistry. but at the end of the day, it all pays out.

winter trip (3) BraTisLaVa

Bratislava, the capital of slovakia. it was the third stop of our winter trip. it was planned in the journey mainly bcos the flight bac to the UK was much cheaper. it is such a tiny country. not sure if its any bigger than singapore or hongkong. bratislava has only 427000 residents. i wonder if taiping has got more.

well i have to say. bratislava trip is one of the most memorable trips.it started a bit freaky, a bit scary, then a bit beautiful, then gorgeous and snowy.


so the story starts:

from the magnificient vienna, we took a train to bratislava. it was not a very smooth process. thinking that the latter was pretty near to the former, we didnt book any ticket before we flew. well. one thing missed in the planning. we were supposed to travel on the new year eve, the day when everything will be closed. we walked to the bus station and found no ticket counter, no english-speaking souls. tried to call the ticket line, no one picked up the call. then we walked a long way to the train station. thank you god, we found a cheap tic to go to bratislava! thank god.

in the train, mr koay kept telling me about the movie hostel, which was filmed in slovakia, where tourists were kidnapped and slaughtered. i was like, well, wadever, its js a movie. BUT, reaching brastilava was such an experience. i wont ever forget. it was so freaky. the train station looked like an abondaned old shelter. so filthy walls and the broken glassess in tat soulless place made me kinda forget i was in europe. even when i went to luxemburg (another little country in europe, my british fren robin used to say it should be turned into a carpark for europe), it wasnt tat scary.

we had no idea how to take the bus or other public vehicles. there was no information counter or any approachable person we could ask for direction. the whole place was dark and desserted. it wasnt funny at all. while mr koay asked for direction i was standing there waiting and then all the thoughts of the HOSTEL film started rushing into my head (THANKS KOAY BEETEE!). then the next scary thing-- a really scary random man walked to me and started smiling and talking in his language. i was freaking outttttttttttttttttttttttttttt. if mr koay didnt come bac at tat point i would have screamed my throat out. the whole combination of everything just wasnt right. OMG i was really wondering wad was i doin there. i didnt want cheap tic anymo. i rather fly from somwhere else.

trust me. it was so scary i didnt even have the mood to take any pics. we were then tryin to get a bus to go to the hotel. but the ticket sellin machine was not working. and a girl was trying to help us but she realli realli struggled with her limited english. then we decided we should js jump onto the bus and if they caught us we would just act stupid.

and, on the bus. along the way to the hotel. i saw nothing pleasant from the window. it was like driving from bagan serai to kurau. I MEAN IT. its worse than KAMUNTING or POKOK ASAM. it was all dark and soulless. i was not very happy with the whole thing. i havnt been feelin so scared in a long while.

the bus stopped, we walked to the hotel in the DARK. i was speeding up. it was so silent everywhere like anyone could just jump out from the bush and rob us. the pic below shows a morning version. but trust me. at night it was so so horrifying. we then made a deal we would leave the hotel n took a bus to the airport next day at 3pm before it got dark, eventho our flight was at 9pm.

the so-called 3-star hotel. it looked like some abandoned industrial area to me. and let me tel you, the city map actually put this hotel up as one of the recommended sights. -_-


well enough complaints maybe. as i was expecting nothing from this lifeless land. the silver lining appeared behind the cloud. everywhere was white with snow. it was pretty. just the look of it made me happy. the place, even empty, was not so scary anymore.

WHITE.

the town, tho small, was nice to walk around and just chill. i was beginning to like the place.


sign of lives. i was so happy when i saw these people. the more the merrier. especially in that place, we need more souls around.


things like this are amazing. they never realli mean like wad u think. like the homo sapiens, never judge them before u hav a second thought about them and have realli come to know whats deep inside them. shallowness is ugly.
welcome to slovakia. c mon try some slovakian traditional dishes. i cook as well as this girl does, the chef says. (dream on)
wine is good. icy good wine even better. the europeans know it best. wine their blood.
almost all old towns in europe are just so beautiful, including this tiny one. its new year, i really wondered where was everyone in tat country. oh tel u somtin. this day was important because the slovakian started using euros!


novy most the road bridge. the view was wowwwwwwwww. i was getting happier and happier as i saw more of the city. i told u. the beauty of all shits coming together is--things can only get better.

well all in all, it was such an exciting trip. a bit freaky, but i am happy i actually had the so-called adventure lol. so people, if u ever wanna go there for a good weekend in summer. by all means!

winter trip (2) VieNna

the city of arts. ViEnNa. wei-ye-na in chinese. before anything. let me share something with you. there was a story i watched on a series during school time. there was this pretty young lady, Lydia who played piano all her life. her dad wanted nothing more than sending her to vienna to do music. she met him. he was a rebellious kid. she fell for him. dad tried to stop by forcing her to vienna. she ran away in the airport. she ran to him. she started a total new different life with the boy. she wasnt touching any piano keys anymore but always dealing with his wounds from his fights. stuffing herself everyday with worries that he might be slashed apart at any second. her right hand was injured bcos of him. she couldnt play piano again. Oh man, i would have js ran to the beautiful vienna.somtimes in life, you have to walk further n when u look back, those things that matter so much once to u, just dont anymore. well. youth is certainly full of stupidities at times.

ok. i have been procastinating my winter trip blog. it has been ages. i am basically sticking to the laptop screen watching nonsense and all. i just couldnt be very bothered to do this. so now im blogging using what is remained in my brain cells after so many ages passed.

well i finished the horryfying CAT. instead of sitting around doin nothing i might as well js do this. since my personal photographer koay beetee had been chasing me to upload his fav piece of work---> I SERIOUSLY don think the pic below is any exciting. the photographer mr koay is realli proud that he could capture how i was touching the tip of Rathaus (city council of vienna city). like really touching the tip. but why is the mr koay so insistent tat its the pic of the trip? I DON UNDERSTAND.


so vienna. it was realli cold. so cold the pond froze! it was a bit freaky to walk on it. i was worried the ice might just break at any point i didnt wanna go further. but this random european guy at the side was giving me encouragement. he couldnt really speak english but he was giving me this gesture like "heyy i am this big, i am much heavier n the ice didnt break, go on you!" well it was freezing cold i couldnt afford to get wet at that point. so tats as far as i would go. like a meter away from the edge lol. Neptune well looked prettier with ice than water.
welcome to the palace! i think i stil lov the sleepin beauty's palace in the disneyland. pink and happy.

walking up the hills to Gloriette. it was a bright happy day. upon request. jump!
up at the gorgeous Gloriette. the sun was shining somehow. it helped with the brutal coldnes. a bit. sunsine is always more appreciated here in the western land. and with 10layers of clothing(realli!!!), i think i don need the tonnes of sunblock i use during summer.

it was so freezy i had to walk into this parliament building just to steal a bit of warmth. well spent a bit of time playing with their high-tech computers which explained the history of the country n stuff. not very interested in tat. well quite nice in there.
new hafburg. residence of kings and emporors. u have the spanish riding school here as well. so, if you have to be careful with cars in the UK, u maybe hav to watch out the horses in vienna. they are just everywhere. i mean, everywhere. at one point we were crossing the road n mr koay was shouting "HEYYY WATCH OUT THE CAR!" omg we were almost knocked down by a few horses which were marching towards us. tat was hilarious. watch out the car? horses! i laughed till my tears were out. the horses were kinda scary when they were tat near. and they were marching on like they wouldnt have stopped for us. i wonder wad would have happened if we were like a bit slower in crossing the road.


state opera. not really expensive to go in. like 4euro for a tour. but a realli quick one tho. but to see a real opera costs a fortune. had a look at the back stage. u will be surprised to see how many people are qorking with the background changing and costumes. HUGE.state opera musuem. meet our board of honourable conductors!!!!!!
one the most class city halls. its being repainted so its kinda half white top and half balck bottom. looked more like a snow-covered building. i lov the view.

vienna is stereotypically beautiful and classic. its like a fairy tale land. so, lets js look at another part of the city. OMG a donkey!!!!!!!!!!! such a poor thing. the master brought it around so people can have a ride n he can make a living. i mean, who wil want to ride on that poor little thing?


wiener riesenrad (vienna giant wheel) at the entrance of prater amusement park. mmm. its on like every postcard. its really quite tiny. compared to the one in london, or even the one in manchester. this is really js the size for a theme park. beautiful tho.


come to vienna. if u wanna remind yourself life is worth more to see more to feel more to get to. there are so many magnificient things around waiting for you to explore. walk further. see further.

c mon ai ling!!!

i am so tired.

things have been goin a bit wrong.

i keep tellin myself. the beauty of all shit coming together is- things can only go better now.

i am hoping i have not collapsed myself before the silver lining comes looking for me.

expectations are heavy. i am trying to hold the weight.

somone tells me "only if u feel the shit now u can see how great u have been when things come true". maybe.

somone else tells me. "ai ling don u dare stop laughing and having fun. ur laughters are the best in u"

n somone who has cared so much about me told me he dreamt i had a realli bad time. tat i wasnt happy. and he was worried about me. how unbelievable dreams can b. wadever it is. ai ling wanna tel u, ai ling has grown up. ai ling is stronger now. don worry about me. you are always a great man. a great shelter. a great everything.

and i believe laughters maybe is the best thing in me.

i wil stil smile no matter wad shit comes.

u deserve to be happy. luck will come bac one day.

one of those days again.

tuesday. i dread tuesdays because of the paeds outreach. im not particularly good with children. and my very first patient was a bit of a pain. i was traumatised. n it takes like 45 mins on the bus to reach the place. n if i hav something in the morning in dental hospital i will have to have lunch on the speeding bus. anyway, after tuesday i always always feel such a relief.

n today started with radiology interpretation. it was like such a long long long session. my dear kiran was yawning on a minutely basis beside me. n it was infectious. very soon me n other people started doin the same thing. at one point i was carried away. the tutor was talking about trauma and kept showing us some posh radiographs (posterios anterior, occipitomental n wadever while my brain contains not very much more than simple periapical and bitewings). then a coffee break. i thought i might be ok after tat. the seminar went on with cysts. omg cysts AGAIN. she was showing thousands of slides and i was sure most of the people knew the answers but no one was bothered enough to answer anything. it was 12.15 when we finished and kiran n i woke up and rushed to wythenshawe for paeds. lunch on the bus again.

so, i kept on telling kiran that i wasnt in the mood for children. why were we so attached to the course. thats really no way we could skip the session cause the poor kids with toothache will be left alone. its not like u can sleep in and skip your lectures. u are the dentist and they are the patients. you just need to turn up no matter what.

then sure enough, things went a bit wrong. my 3 years old patient needed a fluoride prescription and i was quite sure it was 500micrograms for kids of tat age. then i started writing:

sodium fluoride 2.2mg (fluoride 1mg)tablets
500micrograms a daily
to be chewed or sucked.

thinking the pharmacist will divide the tablets into halves for the patient, i happily asked for signature from the tutor. then the tutor came in n i just got really really really screwed. "how could u just randomly write things?!" well i wasnt really randomly writing anything. i really thought the tablets only came with 1mg fluoride and nothing else. n doctors in malaysia always always split the pills and ask me to take half or one and a half. then i tried to explain but she was really really mad and started scribbling on the prescription sheet.

sodium fluoride 500 micrograms tablets
to be chewed or sucked.

well it still didnt make a difference to me. if u can split the pill n if it will come up the the same amount of fluoride whats the big deal then? u have to be flexible sometime in life dont u?

then she started saying "what were u doing when i was doin the induction? i told u all!". so i went like"mmmm on induction day, u were not around." i supposed i said the wrong thing again. she was like well shdnt u already know this thing anyway. ok ok. my fault.

n then. next patient. a small cavity was done on the E and she asked me what would i use to fill it. so i went like, since its small n shallow and its on primary tooth, i would use GIC. then she went like "NO, COMPOMER with GIC lining!". i didnt quite get it why. i was confused the whole day. then the patient was having a few cavities and the tutor was tellin the mom the gal had a good mouth n wont need to come back---->i was ultimately confused. i confirmed with her again if the patient didnt need to come back and she was like "no". then the patient was about to leave and she was suddenly saying, "heyy i was just thinking, your gal has got a few holes so i think u shd come bac." well, i was like zzZZzzzz.

then a mom came in with a very very cute little gal. they are from philipine. n my nurse was tryin to be very nice and friendly. and the conversation was, to me, just so hilarious.

nurse: heyyy so hows your Xmas and new year?
mom: oooo, i celebrate chinese new year n it is on 26th jan.
nurse: really? chinese new year?
mom: yea cause im chinese we have our calendar.
nurse: oooo...so when is your Xmas then???
mom: mmmm....well...25 dec...

hahahhahah tat was just funny. tat made my day. kinda wiped away the shitty things from the whole day.

i was laughing on the bus with liam, farah and kiran and they went on talking about carrot-and-stick stuff. i am hte carrot and kiran is the stick in this partnering business. it was a good laugh.

shitty day. but really, when i step out from the hospital, i don bring the shit home. life is more than just dentistry isnt it?

winter trip (1) BudaPeSt.

i m very very lazy to blog. but im know if i don do it still, it will never get done. i have so much to say and the trip was good fun. so i m squeezing my very last bit of energy here at the end of the week to blog. and omg. i m so tired right now.

if i can describe the trip with one word. tat will be COLD. it was so freezing cold in europe that when i stepped my foot in england i felt that i would never ever complain this place is cold again. no joke. i was arming myself with clothes layer after layer but once we stepped outside we were shivering crazily. it was COLD.

so budapest. i heard it was beautiful and cheap. mmm maybe pounds drop, it wasnt particularly cheap. it was cheaper in prague when i went there 2 years ago. but again, maybe because pound is dropping. and people like us who survive on the government donation really feel the impact of the rotting economy. n mmm...budapest wasnt ugly, it was just not really up to my expectation. i was expecting a fairy-tale city, a place so beautiful you would think u are in a dream. so well it was ok. just maybe not on top of the list.

the parliament was like a painting. the first sigh of budapest wasnt too bad =)

the fisherman's bastian. they said u never visit budapest without seeing this. mmm i wonder y?
the coldness was killing us. my ears were frozen at one point. and my gloves were useless. i felt so naked. as soon as we saw the market we rushed in to get something to arm ourselves. tat hat was amazing, otherwise i would now walk around earless, seriously.

chain bridge. my nose was leaking like a tap. the coldness was ultimate.

spent some time in the palace and got lost inside.

hero square. it was so cold that we decided to do some exercise. jump jump jump. it was a fun square. we generated some heat. for a while it was a little warmer.

we kept saying this is like the brandenburg gate in germany. look so alike. anyway, we couldnt stop playing with it.

follow me home. i will love u like my baby.

ok now ladies and gentlemen. let me introduce u to the wolrd largest hourglass!!! it will be turned over at the end of each year. noreen read about in on the internet and insisted we should give this impressive huge piece of thing a visit.
so tak-daaaaaaaa, world biggest hourglassss!!!! ok ok dont cheyyyyyy first. look at the next one.

it is this BIG.

budapest did make me feel at home at a point... because i found my car there! ok dream on.


tats one thing i must mention about our trip to budapest----->the food. they were all, i mean all SALTY. noreen the medical student kept on saying she was really curious about the fugure of hypertension in hungary. n beetee kept on saying "wei salt here no need to pay isit?!"
i saw this stall n rushed there to get something to munch. so happy. not till i bit on it. omg this thing was possibly the saltiest thing i have ever ever ever put into my mouth. so damn geli. yakkkkkkkkkkkkkk.


have faith. maybe dessert wont be tat bad. we went into this lovely shop and omg their cakes all looked soooooooooooooo yummy. n three of us got something to taste. n people, u really hav to believe that looks can be deceiving, for those cakes were really the worst cakes we have tasted. even those pandan cakes in pasar malam are way better.

then we found this chinese fast food shop. omg saviour. so far we see chinese food in every single european country we hav been to. they are our hope really. cheap n yummy.

the night was even colder. changed my useless gloves with beetee to go on.

statue of liberty.

the night budapest was a bit silent. high up in citadel it was a bit empty. i said couples there are blessed with a nice place to date.

after 2 days in budapest, noreen was heading back to liverpool. me n beetee continued our way to the next stop, vienna.