The Red Robin Sings

The Red Robin Strikes !!

For Scolari,

I understand your frustration about the offside goal, but note that this kind of shit happened far too often for us in the past. Moreover, despite the error made by the linesman, your team only got 1 decent shot on target and needed us to score your goal too. So don't complain too much. Having said that, you being a sore loser means you're passionate about winning and I sure like you more than Mourinho.

For the Chelsea players,

Irony's lovely, isn't it? Ballack wanted to hit us when we're down, Cech said a loss for us will send us out of the race, Joe Cole and Essien crapped all over about our football being useless yet both of them didn't start, Anelka ignited the wrath of gunner fans when he revealed his rather childish reason for leaving us a decade ago. Thank you all for the pre-match pep talk, you guys did all the motivation work for Arsene. And thank you Anelka for Thierry Heny, although sometimes I still dream of seeing you playing alongside Titi for the Arsenal.

And am I the only one who doesn't care about Cashley anymore... there's not even a bit of hatred left for him.

Clichy is the man !!

For the Arsenal players,

Thank you all for the spirit and fight. You guys were outplayed and outmuscled by Chelsea, but your determination to win the match overwhelmed them towards the end. Now, if only you guys could do it week in week out we'll get our season back on track and possibly grab some bling this year.

For Gallas,

Without the armband your poor angsty soul seems to be more at peace. I salute you, ex-Capi... now you can truly lead the backline without all the media gunbarrels aimed at you. And with Djourou seemingly more comfortable along you than Kolo is, let your experience guide JD into the solid rock he's destined to be.

For le Capi Fabs,

Still not at your very best, but 2 in 2 is a great start... I'm still waiting for a match this season where you rule the midfield like a true king, like how Titi ruled our frontline and our hearts. You'll reach there one day, no doubt about that.

For Rockin' Robin,

What a wonderful time to shut everybody up. I'm a huge fan of you as I like shooting freekicks with my left foot; but even I was starting to question your lack of form at some stage. Ade's back now, so show us what both of you can do... The joga bognito between the two of you during the B'burn game was probably your best performance this season, I can't wait to see it again. And I want to see your rocket freekicks more... a goal or two from there please.

Absolutely Vanificent.

For the people who doubted us before the match,

I wanted to shout: "IN YOUR FACE !!" literally in your faces, but I understand where you guys were coming from so I won't. It's understandable that some of you may still have the apprehension towards the next match, all because of how we stuttered despite the victory over MU; but this is football and anything can happen on the pitch. Chelsea is still the better team but at the end of the day we got the better result. Let's not worry about the Wigan match until this coming weekend, we just gotta savour the moment.

The best thing I can give you doubters now is this quote from arsenalhollis of arsenalinsider.co.uk:

"If this doesn't reinvigorate your faith;
then ask if you ever had any."

For the love of the Football God,

What a wonderful weekend. Hull and Villa dropped points, Tottenham, AC Milan, RM all lost, and Edu (great man, miss you) made an assist as Valencia grabbed 3 points. Now if only West Ham could give us more euphoria tonight.

Oh yeah, the kids are playing Burnley soon...
Another audacious chip eh, Senor Vela?

GO GO ARSENAL KIDS !!

For those who love football,

Go get the highlights and watch it ten times.

The red robin sings the song of victory.

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Irony's lovely.

If irony was a girl I'd kiss and marry her.

A redhead preferably.

In a white, tight tee.

So that she's red, white, and sexy.

Like Arsenal.

The Nightingale Sings

I open my eyes, and I see light.
Moonlight, that shines ever so bright.
I hear the nightingale sing,
A song, a call, while the others dream.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

I open my eyes.

Darkness fills the room to its brim, with the faint glow of moonlight spilling onto the window pane. I turn towards it, hoping to steal a glimpse of the world outside.

The night sky winks at me with its diamond eyes.
Millions of them... twinkling, bedazzling, captivating.

I used to think that stars were nothing more than giant astronomical bodies located light years away, burning up reservoirs of gases and giving out heat and light.

But now I think that stars are port holes of heaven, where the angels gaze down on Earth during night time, keeping watch over the ones they are destined to protect.

I’ll tell you something,

I do have my very own night sky; complete with stars that rivals the vibrant lights of an aurora.

The faint green specks from the monitor screens, the red dot of the heart tracer, the orange glow of the contraption that helps me breathe; and together with the beeps and clicks that sing in perfect symphony, this is my heaven, or at least it’s supposed to be.

I should have left a long time ago.

It was a bloody battle.

The demon was seeded within me, deep down in the depths of my body. It arose, it invaded, and it conquered relentlessly. We poisoned it, we incinerated it, we chopped off its limbs; yet it kept on coming.

And yet I kept on fighting.
Even when my body succumbed, my mind was still valiant and lucid.

But I know there can only be one victor.

And that is unlikely to be me.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

I feel myself slipping away.

I cannot breathe, for every breath burns my throat more than ever.
I cannot move, for every muscle feels as heavy as a boulder.
I cannot scream, for no sound will come out of my mouth.

But I feel at peace.

I feel serene.

I see light.
Bright, shining light stinging my eyes.
Is He here to take me?

“Pupils dilated and non-responsive...”

I hear Samantha rambling.
I love her voice.
It’s lovely.

“… carotid pulses absent…”

Samantha leans over with her stethoscope.
I fix my gaze upon her bosoms.
They’re lovely.

“…can’t hear any breath sounds, no heart sounds either…”

She’s so young, so beautiful;
Just like when I met Janine.
Oh, she’s lovely.

“Time of death…2:55am.”

And again I see light.
And Mum and Dad,
And my lovely wife, Janine.

I close my eyes.

I am now complete.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

I close my eyes, and I see light.
The one that leads me to the other side.
I hear the nightingale sing,
Along with the shriek of the banshee.

* Inspired by the passing of Mr.G... may you rest in peace.
* And thanks to Sally for showing us how to certify death.

A Bloody Mess

Attended an Aged Care-HARP meeting few hours ago... and I thought I'd better jot this down before it gets flushed out from my brain by other stuff.

Elderly male patient with previous admission due to intraventricular bleed, past history of AF treated with warfarin (INR 1.6), multiple co-morbidities such as DM, HPT, bla bla etc... Wife reported increasing confusion and disorientation around the household, plus the most recent presentation of spontaneous conjunctival bleeding.

Guess what treatment he was given?

Clexane.

Seriously.
Don't ask me why and how.

I can see your jaw dropping to the ground.

Fucking crazy.

Furthermore, this poor dude had such crap post-discharge management that no one arranged a proper neurosurgical follow up for his intracranial bleed, and his GP changed his medications yet his Webster pack is still following the old prescriptions. No one admitted or referred him for investigation of cognitive decline either, plus the fucking crazy Clexane on top of an acute bleeding episode with the previously mentioned intracranial bleed.

Yeah, have fun mopping the blood off the floor...

S-C-R-A-B-B-L-E

Some scrabble fun for the lolz...


The next one is even better, but it probably won't mean anything unless you follow football.

"I was playing Scrabble and had enough letters to make 'HOTSPUR'. I was gutted when I found out it was only worth two points."

It's the time of year where exams are just around the corner, yet the motivation to study is still not there yet... :(

Bah.

Bye Bye Psychos... and Here Come the Oldies

Psychiatry posting has finally ended.

It's not as bad as expected, although at times it does seem quite boring as it involves a lot of talking. Nevertheless, this rotation is quite enjoyable as the psychiatric team seem to be more accepting of students. It's actually the first time that I don't feel like I'm getting in the way as a medical student.

To Jo, Rick, Conrad, Shalini, John K, Andy, Cathy, Jaco, David, Norelle, Lisa, and the cute nurse Stef;
Thanks a lot.
You guys made psych rotation interesting.

Tried out a personality test just for the lulz.

Disorder	Rating
Paranoid Personality Disorder:	Low
Schizoid Personality Disorder:	High
Schizotypal Personality Disorder:	Moderate
Antisocial Personality Disorder:	Low
Borderline Personality Disorder:	Low
Histrionic Personality Disorder:	Low
Narcissistic Personality Disorder:	Low
Avoidant Personality Disorder:	High
Dependent Personality Disorder:	Low
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder:	Moderate
-- Take the Personality Disorder Test -- -- Personality Disorder Info --

Pretty much what I expected...

Oh well. Rehab, Aged Care, and Palliative Care next... meh...

Welcome To The Show

Face it, life's a bitch.

Maybe not always, but there's bound to be periods where the rain comes crashing down.

And in times like this, we all need some sunshine.

With fluffy clouds.

With blooming blossoms.

And butterflies.

This is where Lenka comes in.

She's an Aussie musician who went all the way across the Pacific to the US, and recently released her self-titled album. It's a big difference from the usual moody, angsty emo rock that floods my music collection, but for some reason Lenka magically slid into my ears and now it's stuck in my brain. Yes, it's catchy... it's highly infectious.

The album basically spins around a girl's life into the big world - the opening track "The Show" starts off with a cheeky piano and Lenka's dreamy and breathy vocals. The lyrics of the song (and basically the entire album) seem simple and even at times juvenile; but listen closely and you'll appreciate the clever play of words and rhymes. It leads you along the way of how a little girl perceives the world in a naive, apprehensive, yet excited and cheerful manner.

"I'm just a little bit caught in the middle
Life is a maze and love is a riddle..."

Love is definitely a big part of a little girl's world, and of course there are sweet, sugary love songs in this album. The amazing thing is that Lenka manages to make them sound heartfelt and true, instead of the bubblegum pop shit we're so used to listening on mainstream radio nowadays. "Don't Let Me Fall" portrays the apprehension of being in a relationship - "You're just the one that I've been waiting for/I'll give you all that I have to give and more/But don't let me fall/Don't Let Me Fall". "Skipalong", a song about a long distance relationship, begins with a slow moody pace which flows into a wispy chorus singing "And you're like a sugar bomb..." that's bound to make you skip along with her. "Knock Knock" escalates the lovey-dovey feel even more - "When life has knocked me down/I turned to you/And you opened the door"

You can knock on my door anytime, girl. :P

The vocals are not always cute and sweet though. "Trouble Is A Friend" is eerie and eccentric, it emanates the feel of a classic macabre puppet show as Lenka's voice becomes haunting. The transformation is even more prominent in "Like A Song" as the vocals morphs into ghost-like cresendos and decresendos. "Live Like You're Dying" doesn't have spectres, but this song carries you gently along waves of emotions as it reminds us all about living life to the fullest despite whatever hardships in life.

Like the little girl who sees a mud puddle - instead of heading back, she hops over it.

With glee.

Instruments wise, it's a perfect fusion of various instruments which include pianos, keyboards and synthetisers, drum machines, strings, vibraphone, and a trumpet too. I've already experienced how the vibraphone gives an extra dreamy feel to songs in Brightwood's "Dreamer To A Dream"; but I've never realised that a trumpet can be mellow one moment and chirpy another.

Overall, it's a smart, sweet little record.

Sure, it's saccharine; it's coated with sugar and poured with honey all over, but it's not superficial candy pop does nothing but rot your teeth... like the 'good old boybands' of yesterdays.

It sounds childish, it's supposed to;
yet it doesn't sound fake or made up.

It's just sincere and real.

If pop punk albums were made for hot summer beaches, then Lenka's music is perfect for lively spring.

With sunshine.

With fluffy clouds.

With blooming blossoms.

And butterflies.

Check it out over here... and a cutesy one with kids too... :D

"When I Place My Stethoscope on Your Chest..."

Found this on LYN's Joke section...

At the beginning of my shift I placed a stethoscope on an elderly and slightly deaf female patient’s anterior chest wall. ‘Big breaths,’ I Instructed. ‘Yes, they used to be,’ replied the patient.

Submitted by Dr. Richard Byrnes, Seattle, WA

:D

Now I know what NOT to say when performing respiratory examinations...

Or maybe I should.

More LOL here.

Smile.