Cutler & Co

Culter and Co in Fitzroy served the best food we have had in Melbourne so far. Talk about " the combination of flavors exploding inside your mouth" - a phase so often heard on MasterChief. The entree, main, and dessert I had last night was simply divine. One thing for sure, it will be quite hard to replicate this at home. The photo, taken by my aging LX1 , doesn't really do justice to the dish. 

Graduation, Easter, Forgiveness

Do you remember the speech by the guest speaker at your graduation? I can't. As far as speech goes I think this one is pretty good and amazing really.

As we celebrate Easter, I'm reminded of the words Jesus said on the cross. Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.

Racism and Prejudice

Do you know about the Japanese Internment in America in the 1940s? I don't, until very recently.

Shame on the then US Administration for this racially motivated mass incarceration of their citizens of Japanese descent. Shame on the then Japanese Government for starting WW2 of course but that's another story.

"Yes we can" for Obama?

laws, morals, virtues, and ethics

So Boobs on Bikes will go ahead, Judge Mathers said the decision was made by considering the law not morals. Also she said "some councillors may deem the parade to be offensive" but she did not agree, even if it was tacky.

Yes, laws need not to be morals. The struggle for abolition of slavery comes to mind.

Primary school principal Mrs Armstrong is struggling too, she said "reports of increasingly violent and unacceptable behaviour in primary schools were indicative of a society losing its moral base and leaving schools to deal with the result."

Yup, we've heard that one before. Yes, Auckland Mayor John Banks said something similar a while ago as well. He said he is against the Boobs on Bikes. Yet the laws, or the system, is structured such that as a Mayor, he can't really do much about the parade either. What a shame.

Elsewhere, the headline reads "Doctor facing charges of sex with patient". The Health and Disability Commissioner found that under certain circumstance, even if sex was mostly consensual, a relationship can be deem unethical.

The current "go easy", generally "non-confrontational", libral, "it's-ok-as-long-as-it-suits-you" culture in the society is rampant.

Medical advances, as with most things, can be a two way sword. One example is the pill. FDA approved in the 50s and highly effective as a mean of contraception. In human history, never before had sexual activity been so divorced from reproduction. Morals aside, the social consequences of pre-martial sex and promiscuity is probably beyond the imagination of those who developed the pill in the first place. It's interesting to know Japan didn't approve the use of the pill till 1999.

"Life … is a search for the true, the good and the beautiful," ..

Everyday we are exposed to new information which challenges our own pre-exisiting ideas.

Today at ACH's Grand Round we were told that the majority of HIV patient in New Zealand these days have no risk factors for contracting HIV. I didn't know about that before.

On the otherhand, this piece in the Sydney Moring Herald echoed deeply with my thought process at the moment.

"Life … is a search for the true, the good and the beautiful," the Pope told the pilgrims at the Hungry Mile last week. "It is to this end that we make our choices; it is for this that we exercise our freedom."

Miranda also pointed out that "Living in an era when faith and reason, art and mathematics, were inextricably linked, Renaissance artists would regard modern relativistic notions of beauty as ludicrous."

Winter in Arrowtown

I feel happy, truely blessed, starting from the very next day after my birthday. Life was great before that, it just got even better.

Kerre Woodham said on the radio this morning that after every holiday she felt she wants to work harder and save up more. After our recent trip to Wellington-Christchurch-Tekapo-Wanaka-Queenstown, I share her feelings.

lottery

In less then a few weeks, hundreds of registrars will be sitting the written FRACP paper. Most would have spend hours and hours of study on this post grad exam. Relationships ruined, old friendships broken and new ones made. It is, for some, a life changing experience, for better or for worst. It is however, a highly dissatisfing exam. Why don't you get to know what you got wrong??? It is not an ideal learning experience, at all.

Medicine is full of this sort of nonsense. The selection process is biased enough. Ha, it's all about 'traditions' isn't it. For what evidence can you show me to suggest an interview process select better doctors?

To those who got in this year, congrats. You may not save lives when you finish medical school, but you certainly bought yourself a "life insurance", a guaranteed income for the years to come.

To those who didn't, well, join me on my 7th night shift in a row and you'll be enrolling in anything but medicine.


Andrew Norton

Entry test for medical program

The use of lottery system in school admission

spot the smallest turtle

Thanks Margaret and mum, the Superturtle family just keep on expanding.

Nissan Lucino

It's been busy lately. Home alone means:

1. Discovering all these bills, associated with running a small business
2. Washings that need to be done, otherwise no clean underpants
3. Pots of plants that needed watering..

the list goes on really. Yes, I might be a spoiled 20 something year old who still lives at home, and of course I have been by myself, away from home for weeks or even months. But this time is different, I'm manning the family home.

When the family returns, we're officially a 4 car household. How my parents can even imagine having 4 cars parked around the house when we first arrived here 16 years ago is beyond me. Somehow we can manage to secure them all behind the gate. We started with a crimson Renault 25, now we have a range of cars. The latest one, of course is the cheapest of them all, 7500 bucks, you get the drift by looking at the number plate holder - i need to change that really. Yet I've sort of evolved to the state that, I just need something to take me from A to B. It'll be different once I have a household of my own, of course.

my first car

Since I'll be giving away my much loved Swift to my sister soon, I've been hunting for a car for myself. This process of second-hand car shopping reminds me of my first car.

It can be considered as a "major life event", similar to marriage, moving house... etc. It got to drive it to school the next day, the first day of my Form 7 year. I remember angonising where I should park that lovely car of mine. Will it be stolen? Will it be scratched? I even got myself one of those old fashioned steering wheel-brake lock from K-mart, cars were expensive then.

It was a silver Galant, similar to the one above. New Zealand-new (at that time I was told don't get a cheap second hand Jap import, for they are just troublesome to repair.. blah blah blah) with around 50,000kms on the clock. Bought it for $20,000. My only criteria was I wanted a car with climate air, a luxury item at the time.

It lasted a few good years until it ended rather miserably; after I lost a corner in Whitford, the car had to be written off. I was speeding of course. It's my belief that it's only after having a "major" accident that any boy will learn to drive sensibly. In fact, we all learn from our own lessons, not others. Right?

Since then, I've driven..

A Jap import 4 door Mirage (looks like a Lancer). After I stuffed up the tiptronic gear box...

Mum's Renault 21. After 1 year of working full-time...

A new Honda Integra. Yes, it's the mid 20s crisis, wanted to drive a 2 door "sports" car. Just like in one's 40s, one would like a Porsche. After getting tired of pretending to be a boy racer (afterall, it wasn't even a Type-R!)...

Leased a current model Honda Civic. After figuring out paying monthly lease are actually quite expensive for a private individual, not to say I'm clocking up the mileage like mad...

A Jap-import Swift.

What I'm looking for now? A $7000 bucks Nissan pulsar wagon.

A few observation:

Throughout all these years, I love my climate-air.
I was quite influenced by "brand-loyalty"

So why such a cheap car? I don't know, can't be bothered spending any more money then I need to for a car anymore? True to the reputation that Kiwis love their cars, everyone in my household has a car now. Different kinds serving different needs. For me, I just want something that move!

A long road trip

Recent events remind me of a road trip I had few years ago.

He was in his early 30s in the time, me in my early 20s. He was a person with enormous insight. A friend of the family, he was visiting NZ, from HK.

We got along fine in the first day or two. I used every opportunity to showcase what a beautiful country we have. Being a knowledgeable and opinionated guy, he was also an excellent sounding board on a variety of stuff we cared to talk about. We even peed together beside State Highway One under the starry sky when a toilet was no where in sight.

Then somehow things turned sour. I didn't know why at the time, but all of a sudden I didn't really want to know his opinions anymore. I was content if he would just listen to what I have to say, without giving me his opinions which by this time, had became his way of conversing with me. I would say "The weather is alway sunny in the part of the country." Rather then appreciate the fact that gee, must be nice to live here with weather so good, he would say something like "shame if you live here and doesn't like the outdoors then, there are many things one can do indoors anyway i suppose".

The last two days of the trip was hell. I really didn't want to be alone with him anymore. Benign as his opinions were, I just didn't want to know. I longed to go back to Auckland, to my own little room, without knowing yes, there are in fact many angles to an issue.

A "sweet escape" turned out to be one of the worst trip I ever had. A shame really, as it didn't have to be that way.

I asked myself why.

I later realized he was trying to put a different perspective on things, often the exact opposite view to what I had. This antagonism was refreshing for a while, for it was cognitively stimulating and challenging. After all, things are often not what they seem anyway. We should explore different opinions.

What he did was similar to the famous and insightful HSBC ads. I liked them alot.

The difference, however, was whilst our conversations were intellectual, emotionally I felt like I was being put down and disagreed on all the time. Why can't he just appreciate, for example, that the weather is good in Gisborne?! Man, what's wrong with him?! It was a shame really, as he did not intent to criticize at all. He was, after all, expressing a view, offering another angle to see a fact.

The minute I got home, I told myself that, to be a commentator, in many people's eyes, is the same as being a snob; at least emotionally.

One should be appreciative always, and comment only when specifically asked to. This, I have to work on.

emotions

I've yet to doing some reading on this, but surely humans are emotional beings. The advertising industry largely relies on consumer's emotions to their ads for a living. Kevin Roberts wrote that famous "lovemarks" book, still sitting on my shelf untouched since it was first published over 3 years ago now. One of the reason why economist can't predict the markets with absolute certainty is because, we don't often act logically; that is, cognitively.

May "love" be the predominant emotion that rules us, rather then anger, paranoia and antagonism.

Photo credit

The way we live

It has been a busy and interesting start to 2008..a few interesting observations

My trusting mortgage broker friend told me we all have to work on our relationships. Working hard on our "day" job is not good enough - for before you know it, your "day" job will be all you have.

Rather then just listening to Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB and the occasional switch to The Edge, the BBC world service on 810AM is rather refreshing. Although it's not till I saw the flags at half mask on the harbor bridge that I learn Sir Ed passed away

Whilst we live in a "free world", we have access to internet.. can express different opinions.. etc. We have to try hard to keep a wider perspective. We do this whilst holding on to our beliefs hence doesn't make us "principle-less".

The anger of one angry person should stay with that person. For anger is like fire, it spreads in no time.

We see what we seek for, and often nothing further

The writers for Boston Legal are brilliant

Two interesting links:
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/
http://faithinsociety.blogspot.com/

One of the things that makes my life interesting is, the consult is never about "a case of heart failure", it is about one person touching on another person's life.

relaxing weekend

ended up having a very relaxing weekend. flower show, st pauls, east coast of auckland, catching up with mates, quality time with dani - very content.



It was also a weekend full of weddings, should have gone to Andrew's one. Yet, who knew I was gonna have such a bliss weekend?!

Happiness

My camera captures happy moments. Let's hope I'm good enough to carry my camera to the upper mountains soon.

Dani and Me

A friend asked me why she can't find me or my girlfriend's photo on my blog, I have no good answer at all, so here we go. After all, this blog is my blog, not an altered ego of me.

This is the best thing that has happen in the last 6 months, well, let's stretch the time period to a bit further, as far as you want.

Since we're on the topic of "best", for the month so far:

Best neighbourhood restaurant: Fish on Manukau Road
Best Japanese restaurant: Soto in Ponsonby
Best film: The Lives of Others