Mornington Peninsula

I notice I'm getting lazier to write. Not just writing the blog, but also writing in the hospital. My handwriting now sucks and ugly because I'm always pushed by time in the hospital. Each stroke is done so quickly, simply and I'm not pushing my pen deep enough onto the paper. We call this 'cincai' in Hokkien. Sad but true, time is running after me. My birthday passed not long ago and I'm getting older. After two years of working, I finally decided (sort of) that I want to do obstetric and gynaecology. I'll apply to do DipObs (Diploma of Obsetrics) for 2013 and if I'm not put off by it (i.e. stress and midwives) by the end of DipObs, I shall apply to get into the training for 2014/5. It's going to be a long way and some of my seniors have been trying for 3 or 4 years but still failed to be accepted into the training progam. Some people dropped out after being accepted into the program because it was too stressful. Once being accepted into the program, the training takes another 7 years. I don't know how far I would try, I may give up after 3 years of trying or I may even drop out if I find that I cannot stand the stress anymore.

Pictures from Mornington Peninsula:

My second visit to Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm (December 2011)

Strawberry picking ($8 per adult i.e. a box of 500grams strawberries). Lovely day.

Hey mister :D

Sunny Ridge Strawberry Temptation (strawberry ice cream and sorbet topped with whipped cream and strawberry syrup)

 Quick visit to Tuck's Ridge Cafe/Vineyard where we bought a bottle of good red wine.

The vineyard

A nice sunny day to spend at the beach. Can't remember the name of this place.

We went to another beach, which was nicer, more beautiful and less secluded. Sorrento Beach.

 Sunny weather but it was quite cold! :)

Happy Chinese New Year

I just took a nap and am still feeling tired and sleepy. Blame the number of hours I worked and the fact that I worked two man's job on Wednesday because of someone resigning. The new batch of residents are going to learn a lot because there will finally be a registrar next week, and he is a senior registrar who had passed the exam. Lucky people. 

This is going to be a photo entry because I have a lot of photos in my iPhone to be offloaded to somewhere. I don't know why I took some of these pictures, but anyway at least my family can see some of my recent pictures here.

After coming home from Queen Victoria night market.

CNY's eve dinner before leaving for night shift

Steamed fish (the fastest and simplest CNY dish - 5 minutes cooking time)

Love this dress from Lipsy London

Yummy glutinuous rice. This time I did soak the rice in water for overnight, and it's a successful dish.

This was a message Kevin sent to me on one of my busy days at work:

"Today's dinner will be parsley pesto tagliatelle with cherry tomatoes and pan fried kabana. Will start serving at 21:45. Love, Kev"

Prepared by Kevin, with lots of love :)

Dinner at Shira Nui

Kevin

Sushi and sashimi, my favourite

Congratulations to Pik Lay and Wee Liem

First of all, happy birthday to my newborn nephew. I wish I were there in Penang to accompany my sister when she gave birth. She did a great job!

Secondly, I want to post photos of my victorious baking history. My sisters in Malaysia bake very well, and my youngest sister in US also can bake! I decided I must bake something to keep up with their pace. Furthermore, Kevin got a food processor + mixer which he exchanged from his credit card points. That gives me a better reason to bake now!

Lamington berry roll

Not the best looking lamington roll. But it tastes great. I'm proud :D

Coriander roasted chicken

Some kind of Vietnamese/Laos dish. Very complex flavour (more than just coriander). Love this recipe and would cook it again!

So, I have a day off...

Having a day off like this sitting in front of the computer the whole morning, is AWESOME and BLISSFUL. It's sunny day looking outside the window next to me :) 

I've been busy. I didn't have the chance to celebrate Christmas or New Year. I worked on Christmas day (I wasn't paid the public holiday rate!), and I worked till late on the new year's eve. By the time I finished work, I was too tired to drag myself out for celebration. I counted down the new year with my soft toy, sitting on the couch watching fireworks on TV; and I received a warm message at midnight from Kevin who just started his night shift in the emergency department. He is so lovely.

Yesterday was a stormy shift for me in the obstetric ward. I had less than 10 minutes to review a pregnant woman presented with abdominal pain, in between two emergency caesarean cases. In the morning was antenatal clinic, and I met a pregnant girl who gave me so much headache. She is 17 years old, slim (yes, she is 33 weeks pregnant and she still looks slim), pretty, and has thick cosmetic put on her face like a doll. Before pregnancy, she used cannabis, 'ice', cigarettes and maybe more. Came along with her was the father of her baby. He is also a teenager, with the voice of Justin Bieber, and he is literally a boy. The whole scene reminded me of the film Juno. 

Out of nowhere, the girl pulled out a sandwich and ate in front of me, before I saw her fasting blood slip dated 8/12/2011. She said she didn't do the blood test because her boyfriend went to Adelaide and she wasn't given a blood slip during that time???!!! (don't ask me, I don't know what has her boyfriend got to do with that, and I don't know why she lied about the blood slip too). So I asked "why are you eating the sandwich now? Are you not going to have the blood test later?" She said she was told by 'a lady at the front desk' that she had missed the fasting blood test, and didn't need it anymore *_* (maybe she should have asked me before she started eating?). Then she told me everything has been good and she had some bleeding recently (seriously?!). She didn't think she had to see a doctor because she read on the internet that 'it was normal'. And she smiled (and I felt like punching her tummy). As I pulled the curtain to examine her, she said "I think my boyfriend has the right to see this too, he is the father of the baby". So, the whole scene was like a school boy watching his science teacher dissecting a frog. Before she left, she said she didn't like her previous doctor, because the doctor said that she was naive. I agree with the doctor.

My Job

It's been a while!

I AM EXHAUSTED from work...

I am rostered to work 13.5 hours most days of the week.

I face angry, screaming women everyday.

I work night shifts.

I deal with dumb women everyday.

I work under the territory of midwives.

I hate midwives.

I feel scare to assist in one of the bosses' surgeries because I can't seem to predict her next move.

I don't have a registrar.

Having said that, I learn the most from this rotation.

Tik Tok...

Scary thought that I'm ageing. When I smile, couple of wrinkles appear next to my eyes. I doubt my waist size is the same anymore. Also, I have a feeling that my boobs and my facial skin are drooping.

Couples I know are getting married. Lovely people tell me to get married. Time flies and soon, I'll be 30. But I don't want to be married. The fact is it has to be done one day. Just like having kids - I don't want to have any kid, but it has to happen eventually. Because it has to happen, it better happens before the ageing process speeds up and my ovum becomes defective. Worst thought of all is I wouldn't know what sort of kids they would end up becoming. Having kids is expensive and is a huge bet, just like getting married. Thinking all these is enough to cause me sleepless nights...

The reason I'm ruminating is not because someone pops the question. But because I notice I'm getting old and I feel sad seeing my body changes and therefore I have to start planning. It's unfair seeing Kevin becoming more attractive while I'm going downhill... I've given deep thoughts and came up with some ultimate beauty plans. There's no way I can go back to 18, but at least I can try to preserve 26 and slow down the ageing :)

I'll keep the beauty plans to myself. Maybe couple of years down the track I'll tell you if they work :) And whether I'll get married, who knows?

 I'm a wiser woman, more mature and confident!

Daylesford

This blog is long overdue. It's about my birthday spent with Kevin in Daylesford.

Lavender farm, Daylesford

I'm not a big fan of lavender but they smell good.

Butterflies attracted to them too

There are fruit trees in the farm too

And animals...

And lake

with Kevin

This place is ideal for wedding shoot

Love the colour

That's a souvenir shop, selling lavender products

Souvenir shop

La Trattoria Cafe - sells lavender ice cream, lavender drinks, and lavender scones

Loving the lavender aroma of the scones

Lavender scones with housemade jam and cream

My risotto

Kevin's bolognaise

La Trattoria Cafe

Special accomodation arranged by Kevin

Baby is never too far from me :)

Fireplace is next to the kitchen

Our champagne and complimentary stuffs

Clever concept. Can watch TV through the see-through glass while jacuzzing. The bathroom is also fixed with stereo loudspeaker from the TV.

Must have this in my dream home

We even brought the handheld massager to Daylesford. Great relaxation away from the hospital and patients!

Daylesford Lake - just an ordinary lake

Kevin and me

Big tree!

and many ducks!

Funny duck refused to leave Kevin's car... We waited for it to leave before entering and reversing our car...

Daylesford is a peaceful town. Famous for spa, dining and massage package. Really glad that Kevin organised the trip - to get away from my daily hateful hospital routine.

Love having a quiet breakfast next to a window

Random posters or magazines

My brekky

Kevin's breakfast of 'raw' meat. He actually finished the whole thing. Impressive.

Waterfall hunting

Found it

I was looking for my shadow in the water...

Dinner at Mercato

My entree - pork belly

My fish and caviar :D

Kevin's fish - cooked to perfection

The night before we had the famous degustation menu at Lake House - a restaurant with two Chefs Hat and regarded as one of Australia's best restaurant. I took a few pictures in the dark using my iPhone, however the picture quality is not good... Thanks to Kevin once again for making my birthday such a relaxing one! :)