Saint O'Clock

1st November 2010

274th Day in Melbourne

Cloudy

It's All Saint's Day today, right after Halloween...A day of obligation for Catholics...And one of my favorite group, 2am, published their latest and 1st mini album, Saint O'Clock...so appropriate for today...It's a nice album, listen to it if you can!

Year 1 Semester 2, GOODBYE!!

29th October 2010

271th Day in Melbourne

SUNNY!

Today marks the end of semester 2 of year 1...END OF HONEYMOON!!! It's a little sad that time has passed so fast and i'm now preparing to go on to 2nd year...Sobz.. Had an oral presentation exam today for Case Analysis, so everyone has 30mins to look through a different case and to come out with some differential diagnosis and assessments...RS, the lecturer, had our names written down and drew lots on who's to go 1st..Nobody likes to be the 1st presenter as you won't have enough time to plan and that you can't get some ideas from the previous presentation...Lucky me, i was the 6th to go..i was really nervous..When all of us were planning for our cases, you can hear "Huh", "Shit", "What?" in the room...those were really difficult cases and 30mins is not enough, though it's open-book...Gosh! I thought my case was difficult, but when my classmates presented theirs, i realized mine was pretty straight-forward. THANK GOD!! RS did pose several questions to the rest when they presented their case, but only asked me a question when i presented mine, so i take it that my presentation's okay...The exam went on for 3 hours and you can be sure why my program never take in more than 8 students every year...can you imagine if there are so many people waiting to present and it can possibly go on for days...Now 1 thing's off my mind...time to concentrate for my research (i really didn't sleep well last night)

Had a meeting with my supervisor and it turns out that there are so many things that she weren't aware that she has to set up for me, such as arranging a panel of judges for my confirmation, arranging when will be the best for me to do my confirmation..I sort of knew she's not aware cause most of my classmates have gotten their confirmation scheduled except me..and true indeed, when i asked her today, she said:"Oh, i didn't know that!" She's a senior lecturer and it's not the 1st time she took a Dpsych student, how could she not foresee that? Anyway, i must say i'm incredibly impressed by the energetic vibe she's been displaying throughout the meeting..She just looked up some names from the faculty, called them and asked them to be on the panel for my confirmation, and she said i'm more than ready for the confirmation and it'll only take me 2 hrs to write my 1000-word proposal and 2 days to get my presentation slides ready...I'm really freaking out when she said that...I'm not sure she's too much confidence in me, or she's overestimating my ability, so that she didn't think i need to put in that much effort for the oral presentation...Oh no! And she's treating me like a pri-school kid and ended the meeting saying :"Okay, this is your homework for this week,....." Well, i'm glad that she's giving me structure but she could have made it sound more professional...Guess i'm in serious trouble for the next few weeks preparing for the confirmation.

Was rainy last week and then these 2 days are hot like crazy..it's 25 Degrees Celsius today, not that i'm complaining..i like the sun! Finally some warmth coming into the house..having said that, Melbourne is really a windy place..though it's sunny, the winds can seriously make you feel cold...that's well no matter what, i never go out sleeveless cause you never know when the wind will blow...

It's Halloween again in 2 days time...Gosh! Halloween reminds me of the dateline for postgrad applications. The whole school is bustling with all the applications and for us, we'll have a chance to be at the interview on 2 week of Nov to talk to the interviewees...i didn't make it to Melbourne last year for the application so i won't know what's it like but i guess it should really be helpful to the applicants to talk to their seniors (oh! i'm a senior now) and learn more about the course!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYBODY!!

Was I Hallucinating??

20th Oct 2010

262th Day in Melbourne

Sunny!

Presented my case for case analysis module today...I was so tired today cause' the noise pollution at home was horrible! Thought my house-mate brought her friend back and knowing how flimsy the wall structure is, i can hear them chatting all night long..at 2am, i can't stand it anymore and decided to put on my headphones and blast music...then i started feeling itchy all over and apparently my rashes came back..wonder if it's psychologically induced...I really had a bad night..can't managed to sleep till maybe 4+ and i have to get up at 730am today to get to school early to prepare for my long school day and presentation..

In the morning, while i was wearing my shoes and getting ready to go out, i noticed that there are no additional/new shoes at the shoe rack or outside the house..that means that either my house-mate did not bring a friend back to sleep, or that "friend" is shoe-less or have hid the shoes so well that i can't find them or i'm having auditory hallucinations...or, my Indian neighbors are the ones talking and my flimsy wall picked it up! So what exactly is it???? I still do not understand why?

The presentation did not go on as well as i imagined (i wanted it to be better) but haiz! Perhaps i have too high expectations of myself, perhaps of the fun atmosphere during the class (Shit! My house-mate just slammed the front door, which startled me cause i'm right above the door)...anyway, i was saying that today's case analysis module was sort of fun as it's the last class for the semester, and also the last coursework module for the year 2s, so all of us brought food to share around (which is a really common thing here in Melb)...Gosh! I cannot imagine myself in their position..That means they will not have any more coursework (sort of graduated from classes) and all that are left are placements and research...Oh! I don't want my honeymoon period to end!! Though i would love to go home earlier, but still, i don't want to face the stress of graduating cause that means you'll no longer be a student where mistakes will be tolerated and you will have to make those major decisions that could affect the patients...i'm really freaking out on that, knowing that the diagnosis you make can potentially change a person's life..

Had a meeting with my supervisor and i'm glad that the discussion's going on well..at least that's what i thought..unlike my previous supervisor, GL gives me a structure for me to work with and i'm glad for that...know that i'm not yet qualified to lead a research but at least, i will learn from her..

Without HIM, will i still be here??

15th Oct 2010

257th day in Melbourne

RAINY.....

Strong winds and thunderstorms have hit Melbourne once again...For the past 3 days, it's been raining cats and dogs, and this will go on throughout the weekend..SAD! Well, i was fortunate that for the most part, i'll be at home, at least warmer and drier..Temperature has dropped further down to low tens, irritating..been feeling like i'm in winter again..

Didn't have a good sleep last night...been tossing and turning while the rain was splattering and wind was howling outside my house...don't know why, maybe i was nervous about meeting my sup to discuss my project..could be psychological..having gastric prob the whole night and suddenly in the middle of the night, i started feeling itchy and scratching.. for a while i thought my rash/allergy was back...ever since i got it back home for quite a period of time not long before i came here, but it didn't relapse since i came here..then suddenly i was scratching myself like crazy last night..

Heavy rain in the wee mornings and i know i can't walk 15mins in the open field to take my shuttle bus so decided to pay for public transport (1 train + 1 bus)..on my way to the bus-stop after alighting from the train station, the strong wind just blew my umbrella upside down..faint! I was braving the rain and running across the road without even noticing the traffic as i was only focused on getting to the shelter across the road..then a car honk at me and 2s later speeded past me..Thank God! That car almost hit me and it's my fault as i didn't look before crossing..i was reciting the Lord's prayer after that.. I was really in shock! Am still thinking about it now..if it's been 2s later, i might have been dead! Thank you Lord! I know you're watching down on me..Thank you for protecting me!

Didn't meet my sup in the end, she was sick..that alleviated my stress a little i must admit..but then, i was thinking she's always sick when she's suppose to meet me..last Friday, she had hay fever and was feeling unwell during our discussion and today, she didn't even show up in school...hope i'm not her stressor that made her sick..Lord, be with her too! Hopefully she can get well soon and we'll have a fruitful discussion!

10,000 Steps Challenge

13th October 2010

255th Day in Melbourne

Rainy

My class took part in this 10,000 steps challenge where all of us have to clock in 10,000 steps every day for 5 weeks...Gosh! I didn't know that it's that difficult to walk that many steps a day cause i thought i've been walking all the time...With the pedometer, i realised that i've actually been sitting all the time (surfing, writing assignments, reading etc) and the only time i walk is to the toilet, to kitchen etc..and those are signs that i've not been keeping an active lifestyle..

I've walked 30 mins (15mins back and forth) to take the shuttle bus + all that walking for the whole day in the school department for the whole day's class and i only managed to clock 7000+ steps..it's horrible! However, 1 thing i've learnt is that i'm more conscious of wearing the pedometer and in order to clock more steps, i even forgo the lift and have been taking the stairs all day long...guess i'm getting more health conscious, which is what this event is hoping to achieve...everywhere at the psych department, everyone's putting on their walking/running shoes and i'm just amazed at how many people are taking part in this event..hehe

It doesn't matter if my class wins (nobody cares!) but i suppose the feeling of unity, where all of us get together and complete a team event is really heart-warming to me..

Need to walk more tomorrow!

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock

6th October 2010

248 days in Melbourne

Rainy

The time-bomb has officially starting to tick...Assignments, exams, confirmation...all and all are starting to float in front of my eyes and i'm starting to feel nervous already..I don't even know where to start...let's see:

1. Agnosia and Executive ppts (x2) - 13th Oct
2. Conceptual Map (x1) - 20th Oct
3. Dementia Assignment (x1) - 13th Oct
4. Case presentation (x1) - 20th Oct
5. Neuropsych Exam (x1) - 20th Oct
6. Confirmation (x1) - 17th Nov
7. 1000 word proposal (x1) - 10th Nov
8. 10,000 word lit review (x1) - Mid Dec
9. .....
10. .....
11. .....
12. .....

I'm still counting down....just waiting for the lecturers to announce more assignments...OMG!! What to do???

Just received news that my external supervisor, CS, gave birth to another baby last week...That's it! I won't be able to get her attention to my research for the next 12 months...this is really freaking me out..

Georg, my new internal supervisor is also freaking me out with her strong and intimidating look...i believe that she's a nice person but i've not really worked with her before hence i'm getting a little nervous around her...People say women are the most difficult to work with, and i'm working with 3 women...is my life hell from now or what?