After the longest seeming journey of my life, I'm home! To cheer myself up from the horrid bus ride, I bought myself Famous Amos Butterscotch cookies (speaking of which, I want to eat more of them now). I also feel so much happier after packing more clothes to be brought back to Singapore. I know, so far, everyone's said I have a tremendous amount of clothes. Also, I know I won't use all of them. But I feel insecure without them!

Dr Chan managed to squeeze in a session with me, to fill my decayed molar. It was UBER interesting to see how differently she communicates to me, now that she knows I'm in Dentistry, and in NUS. She asked me, 'Where is the decay?' and I said, 'My upper right 1st molar.' '1,6?', she clarified. (Ooooh, I thought.) 'Yup,' I said.

'Need an LA?' she asked. 'Is it deep?' I questioned back. 'Nahhh,' she replied. 'Nahhh,' I decided.
(Used to be: Do you want an injection to numb it?)

And I conclude that she is truly as biased towards me as Shangkari has always claimed. Even after 2 cavities she's filled, she still says she isn't at all worried about my hygiene. That my cavity was only very shallow. Hmmm.

-----
When I came back for a visit, I wasn't planning on attending a service, I just wanted to watch Aggie perform. I was extremely pleasantly surprised to find I recognized the guy in pink stripes singing on stage. ADI. I was bursting out of my skin to just go say hi, although at first I thought it couldn't be him. Had a nice chat to him after service ended at 11.30 pm, he seemed a bit confused as to why I was there. It's his first time in KL! And I'm going to be his senior, muahaha. He's so nice. =)

I'm discovering that once again, I'm not much of a social butterfly. It's not very easy for me to go up to oldies and potential employers, and chat them up. It's a skill I have to learn, but I am afraid it'll be too late by the time I get to work on it.

The clinic visit at GPA was very very interesting. I'm still not used to the high end life these people seem to lead, and most likely I don't want to in future, anyway. It'll just be nice to be able to buy something without thinking twice, like clothes. All the same, I'm glad I have my hometown and my simple comfortable everyday things to go back to in Malaysia, whenever I want. Just like how I'm going back tomorrow morning.

I travel so much I cannot remember when and where I did certain things. So much that my mind is a blank most times, unable to search for a conversation starter. Woe is me.

The intraoral camera that I volunteered for revealed in stunning clarity (and in magnified digital image) the decay on my 1 6 (upper right 1st molar). Sigh. Hygiene going down the drain, and got to do another filling.

Is it just my contact lenses? Or is life passing me by in a hazy blur.

Partay!

I just love parties that let me act half my age. Yesterday was the most fun I'd had since the last time I had so much fun. Haha. I'm so glad Chriselle is exactly who she is, because we'd never have the insane memories to look back upon if she wasn't.

I'm totally in love with the Jumping Castle! On the bus to her house (coincidentally the same bus Coco and Tasya could take as well), I couldn't really recognize the roads. Tasya got off, while I continued sitting when she suddenly exclaimed, 'I see a Jumping Castle!' I sprang off my seat to get off the bus.

I'll never forget how I pummelled off the castle walls like a frenzied atom. You can really lose yourself in that thing. After awhile it feels like you were born to jump and bounce, like a human Flubber. I'm pretty sure I scratched Pravin's face during one of the many times we collided into each other. And once you fall, it's best to just curl up into the fetal position, or risk being crushed. I have no idea how many grass stains I have on my skirt, from when a bounce caused me to just slide off suddenly (cos' it was raining). Super fun!

From now on, I shall only attend THEMED birthdays.

Yooow! Jamie looks like a rocker.

I love my pinwheel! I wanted the sword too, but of course Chriselle should keep it.

People are money-minded. It is in the most 'noble' professions that you especially find the two extremes - money hungry and selfless. That doesn't mean it isn't interesting to witness.

I need to get used to the fact that the dental community is a mighty small one. Maybe 4000 dentists in Singapore, and everyone knowing each other. It was a nice surprise to see Prof Loh's photos from the Asia Pacific Dental Students Association (ASPDA) and be told that that familiar face was Prof Toh's from IMU! Funnier, Prof Loh kept trying to figure out IMU's full name - Islamic, Muslim... Until I spoke up and said, 'International Medical U.' I love coincidences. Have I mentioned I love coincidences?

My button popped off my pants today. I think they're too tight.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder on Flickr © Emile!

Contrary to popular belief, being anal about organization does not make life easier. Sometimes I feel stressed sitting at a bus stop, just thinking about how I do not have a ring file yet, to file all my notes. At times, I can hardly wait to get my hole puncher, or buy some coloured tabs, imagining how much better I'll feel once I've labelled and kept everything away.

It's not very healthy, but that's who I am.

It doesn't seem to register in my brain that I need points to remain in this lovely PGP room. I've spent forever putting everything in and although it's like a year away, I'm already dreading having to move out! It is so convenient now, I've no idea what I'll do if I had to travel back and forth, crushed in traffic. Now, I live each day as if it's the last, never knowing if I'll get my aircon room back. =(

I am seriously unfit. The RUN NUS Mass Run (where you run for fun) was only 5 km but I walked a lot of the way. The terrain was just too slope-y for me. We did meet a reporter for some NUS circulated paper, and maybe our bimbotic quotes will end up published. He asked us why we wanted to run. Jamie said, 'I like the shirt because it matches the bus' to up my 'I kinda like the shirt.'

It feels interesting to have a whole Sunday to myself at PGP. It makes me feel relaxed, like I've more time in the week. Maybe I should shift to Saturday church service permanently. It won't be too bad, seeing my family one day a week - something like JP did in army.

Apparently my hair is pretty memorable. One of Jamie's friends knew we'd overtaken her, because she recognized my hair. I thought that was funny. The only downside is I'm now a victim of stereotype. Dyed hair makes people think I'm either: a) Clubber b) Bitchy c) Vain

The last of which I don't deny, but I'm very sure it's just as much as any other person. Nothing excessive at all. Hmph.

Days Go By

Agapanthus Skeleton on Flickr © Ryan Plummer

In the span of a few days, I've turned from Miss Tight Pockets into Shopaholic of the Year. I keep whipping out my POSB NETS card like I'm a millionaire, so much that I dread checking my account balance right now.

It all started when I began feeling severely lacking in clothes, although any normal person out there would marvel at the size of my wardrobe (and I mean MY wardrobe, where everything in it now belongs to me). So yesterday and today, I went with the Dents (I love how that sounds like a cult) to VivoCity and have purchased a total of 1 top, 2 skirts and 2 pairs of shoes. Awesome. I'm very incredibly happy with the things I bought.

Lessons are okay. I haven't actually gotten around to touching any of my new books. The only eventful thing today was visiting the Anatomy Hall, and more precisely the mortuary. Dead bodies look alright when they've been preserved because they're shrivelled up. The soaking process is way more gross, with them floating all bloated up in tubs. Either way, I'll finally touch them in 2 weeks.

The only sad thing is that I forgot about the pineapple tarts Mom bought me from Bengawan Solo 2 weeks ago. Now they're on the verge of spoiling, and all I can do is eat them sadly one by one, on my own.

I can't decide if I'm already at the next stage or still drifting in between. Then again, I can't be the only one who's unsure about everything.

confusion on Flickr © lomokev

First day of class, and I was dozing off during both lecture and Operative Dentistry in the lab. Lotsa things to be done, though: reading manuals, memorizing tools, going for jog soon, and choreo-ing for QuadFac. Worried I can't get the last one done as well as I want to.

Emotions make everything that much happier, that much sadder, and that much more exciting. But I hate how emotions cloud my judgement. I don't like how trivial things can affect me so much, and how unimportant things can just make my day. But if small happenings don't create any impact on you, does that mean you're numb? Where's the middle ground?

Ahhh. Home sweet home (at YCK).

By the way, hello everybody. If you see someone who has a sunburnt face with the light imprint of a butterfly spanning her entire face, that would be me. Today was Rag Day, and it was pretty exciting. Dentistry totally pulled off what they came to do, and it's really awesome, what with making our float and rehearsing our item in only 2 weeks with 42 people. It's hard to imagine that it's only been a week and a half, because it feels like I've been seeing these people forever. But they're still new, so the next year should be pretty fun.

The halls floats are mind bogglingly beautiful. So beautiful they should be in a museum. Or in a Disneyland Parade. Where do these people get such talents and skills? Bing Wen was saying what a shame that Rag Day is only limited to NUS compounds, depriving the public of viewing such painstakingly created things. C'mon, the floats move, bounce around and shoot steam!

Finally, the crazy orientation period is over. Last night was pretty awful, because we slept at level 5 of SOC. The room, which initially seemed so warm, suddenly became cold as the tiled floor sucked the warmth out of me. Every angle hurts when you sleep without any soft layers, directly on the floor. I kept waking up, so I slept maybe 2 & 1/2 hours?

It will be very weird seeing everybody in a professional light from now, and out of our shorts and T shirts. So far, we've had our Dean's Welcome Talk and yesterday, the Welcome Tea where we were introduced to as much of the dental community who were interested in coming, as well as introduced ourselves in pairs to the audience. I think everyone had a good time, especially with all the silly 'interesting thing about me' statements we all made.

I've also gotten to know my lineage - Boon, Sarah, Marianne, Elizabeth, and that's as far as I got. Apparently the rest of our line seniors are not very active. But I did take a look at the yearbook and memorized a few more up our chain in the genealogy page. Pretty cool. AND ARGH, MY NUH PICTURE/YEAR BOOK PICTURE IS SO UGLY!

I'm nervous about lab partners. I hope we complement each other, as it is for the next four years. And I'm more and more nervous that my hands tremble. Ruth is such a whiz at wire bending, wth!

Copped out of staying all night at SOC. Instead got Darrell to drive Stella & I home, where I sneaked her up into my room. Waiting for her to finish bathing. I'm going to be selfish because I don't want to have 60 hours of no sleep, straight, and expect to do a grand jete.

My blister has been festering for more than a week, and it's not getting better!

So so sleepy.

Mission Impossible:
Stay up the next two nights (minimal sleep) to finish float. Followed by getting dressed and made up (with fancy butterfly face paint - zit alert!) on Friday morning, 5 a.m. and performing on pure exhaustion.

I wonder what Thursday's All Night's going to be like, what with the whole dental community of S'pore attending. I haven't thought of what unique thing about me I'm going to introduce, nor what Thomas and I will be displaying.

I find it fascinating, yet very scary that everyone in the dental community of S'pore knows each other (as well as M'sia and other peers, probably). It makes sense because it's such a small group of professionals but it also means you have to know people, and make friends to go places. And all this while I thought this would be the job with the least office politics.

Welcome to adulthood.

I like my room. I went to bed feeling snuggly and homey, like a satisfied housewife. I like when I enter the room and smell the Glade air freshener refill (which I bought wrongly but still works).

When I woke up, I was so anal about the spider I saw and so pissed when the Shieldtox was too difficult to press. Now I'm being further anal about when and how to wash my clothes that I need to rewear, and that I've to dress formal for the upcoming Dean's speech and photo session on Wed at Faculty of Dentistry, and the introduction to the entire dental family on Thursday.

Our float is looking pretty nice. Oscar Francis, the gay puppet we created has purple shoes with pink stripes, a black tux with a red shirt, and a rainbow coloured hat. Worse, his peach coloured face was repainted a cosmetic-y pink, like a sunburnt angmoh. But he's super cute.

Now that I've found several people staying at PGP or KE Hall, Mom doesn't have to go paranoid anymore about me getting attacked walking home late at night.

So I'm happy, but I wish there was somebody I could call and just gab away with. Like a bestie. Like once upon a time.

Last night, I went to bed at 3 a.m. and forgot that things are not the same as when I was last in Singapore. I rolled on to the bed, and onto Mom, who went 'Oof'. I went, 'Omg, sorry sorry!' Totally forgot that my old bed is occupied. I crawled onto my mattress and the next second I heard a loud snore. I sat up and listened very carefully, thinking it was Mama. Nope, it was Mom. I was actually laughing out loud to myself in the dark. And today she said she didn't even know I'd landed on her.

My new room is very nice. But I'll have no one to talk to. And my new laptop is so glaring, it hurts my eyes.

My whole body is aching. It feels like deja vu - flashback to JC days of dancing insanely. This time it's cos' my even older body has had to endure ballet moves that have not been executed in more than a year. Spirit is willing, but flesh is weak.

Everyone thinks I'm a whiner. Which I know I am, because my opening line of every sentence is usually a complaint of some sort. These 3 days, it's a complaint about an ache or tiredness. But rest assured, I do it good-spiritedly! No one is more enthu than me! =P

As much as rushing for Rag in 2 weeks is draining us, I'm sure I'd much rather this continue than lessons. I'm feeling nervous about practicals, and whether I can be fast enough to catch things. Because it's becoming closer and closer the reality of what the profession does. No more books and theory, it's a full-fledged career.

Orientation is getting to be mad tiring. It's like JC all over again. I just got home at 11:45 pm-ish and that was thanks to Jared's friend Sarah's friend Helena, our Year 3 senior who lives around Yio Chu Kang as well. So yeah, everyone's super nice and the whole fac is pretty tight knit.

While float building, we went to take a look at Pharmacy's full dress rehearsal. (Where I met Rebecca from dentistry interview whose contact I lost!) That was the funnest part because their theme has cyborg characters, with very cool metallic costumes, swimming cap and weird intricate concoction of eye glasses and wire forming a half goggle on their faces. Just before dancing, I looked at one of the cyborgs closely, and the cyborg stared back. He pointed. I pointed. ROMAN! Haha, that was just such a funny moment. They danced super coordinated and I just knew it was the Roman touch. Good old Roman.

I should be moving in to PGP on Saturday finally. Don't really want to be lonely, but without a car and not wanting to waste my life away on public transport, I've got to get my butt moving with the moving house. Everything's still a whirlwind but in the back of my mind, I'm still counting on old pals to catch up. Nostalgia, I guess.