2013

It's 2013!! Our 3 years in Melbourne is coming to an end. Great things have happened during this time - too many to count. The coming 2 years are set to be even better. As for today, it was surely hot hot hot!

Christmas Lights – The Boulevard

I must declare my bias. I lived in and loved New Zealand and for Kiwis, Franklin Road in Ponsonby, Auckland, is the place to see the Christmas lights. Year after year the residents put on the most spectacular display of LEDs and all sort of models.

This is our 3rd Christmas in Melbourne and it was the first time we ventured out to The Boulevard to see the "Melbourne" version of Franklin Road. Judging by the number of houses that were decorated, the residents were probably less enthused compared to back home in Auckland.

Anyway, I'm all for a bit of festive atmosphere in this time of year. Yes, there won't be Christmas without Christ hence at the heart of it all, it is the Christian message that is important. Yet equally the message of love, joy and giving are so universal that everyone should be encouraged to reflect on.

Wedding... Gangnam style - Sunglass Hut Sydney

 Congrats to Dani's friend- a beautiful wedding on a fine Sydney day over the weekend. Walking onto the Sunglass Hut's floating platform in Darling Harbour was a bit random - not to say the DJ actually did put on Gangnam Style!! (photos removed for privacy reason!)

Coldplay, Sydney 2012





Thanks to Caroline and Sam, had a fantastic night out to see Coldplay in Sydney over the weekend. Simply spectactular. 



October

October is truly a "Family month" - mother-in-law visited, and hence the food photos about, followed by my mother's visit in the second half of the month. We are blessed indeed.

Graduation

Today my sister graduated with a conjoint LLB/BA. It's been a long hard road but she made it. What a joyful occasion. We felt proud, and we made our parents very proud indeed. Offspring of a long line of self made businessman, our academic achievements are something quite beyond our parents imagination.

We sang the NZ anthem before the end of the ceremony and I, as usual, got a bit emotional. This country has given me, and us, so much opportunities. It's a bit cliche but this is indeed a land where people will give you a fair go. You of course have to work bloody hard, but such egalitarian worldview is not a norm in most societies.

The anthem reminds me of the irony of the failed introduction of 'national education' to primary schools in HK. There has never been any form of national education here (unlike Singapore), but most of us are moved by the anthem and have strong feelings towards our flag - I strongly argue that a sense of national identity cannot be formally taught in school or even cultivated.

Pentax K30

This blog started in 2006 as I wanted a place to upload nice photos I took from my then new Panasonic LX1. Now, I finally got myself a dSLR. Yes, not a Canon and not a Nikon but a Pentax K30. Why Pentax? At the time when it was launched and available for sale (I got it on day 2 when it was released in Sydney in July), no offerings from Canon or Nikon or even Sony could really compare with it - value for money wise. It got the 18-135mm lens, not bad as a first lens I think.

Having just taken it to South Africa with me - I loved it and can't wait to take more photos with it - more photos to come. 

Satisfaction

I believe humans strive on being satisfied. The feeling of "a job well done". Once again, my 7 year old Ford Falcon's headlight died a few days ago. It is the second time it died. The last time it took me 1 hour to change the damn thing. I'm sure the guy down the road in the local garage can change it in no time, but probably will charge me 30 bucks labour and 20 for the bulb.

So, once again, I got the spanner from the neighbour, got a torch and ready to get my hands dirty. Bulb from Repco for 11 bucks - ticked. Thinking I could probably do in half the time this time round (30mins?), it took a whole 45 mins again (still an advance of 15...). It was so bloody hard. Pondered about not removing the battery (unfounded fear of getting electrocuted) for 10 mins and tried to squeeze my hands around it - didn't work. Took the battery off finally and discovered there was some liquid under it....  acid?! Anyway, boxed on and took me another 30 mins to take the bulb off the socket... 

Once the old bulb was out, the rest was easy, took me less than 3 mins to insert the new one. Battery back, lights on, there you go, it's working.

Like anything, you really only get the nice feeling of being satisfied after the job is done. I must say in general I don't procrastinate, but let's get on with the jobs.

Communication

It is a pleasure to watch/listen to a good doctor-patient communication happening in action and it is a shame that doctors do not often have the chance to witness their peers in action. 

Recently, there have been so many unsatisfied patient families in my ward.

What we often forget is, it is really not the content of the information that will be remembered, but how your interact with them.

A neurologist in town often uses the "mother's rule" in his talk, and yes, it is the impression that matters most of the time - not the content.

On Call 36小時 The Hippocratic Crush

http://oncall36hours.blogspot.com.au/p/download.html

I have never worked for more than a 8 + 6 hours day as a first year doctor in New Zealand 10 years ago. The interns in Hong Kong used to do "36 hour" call every 3rd day in their first year - work one full day + overnight + another full day. This is the background to this recent HK drama, for which I have no spare time to watch.

Whenever the "juniors" complain these days, the consultants alway have the "I've been there, done that; so, poor you but, tough buddy" attitude. 

The point however, is that healthcare has changed. Patient turnover used to be lower, patients stayed in hospital for much longer than they do now. Various forms of "computerized medical record" mean an admission of a 76 year old man with co-morbidities as long as your weekly shopping list can take the resident up to an hour - if you want to do a thorough job. We actually can do something for acute stroke, and the time window for that is getting longer and longer. Do you know, we used to treat heart failure with prolonged bed rest?

Granted, the life of an "oncall from home" neurology registrar is no where near as busy as the residents who are actually on site at the hospital. Yet, I'll leave with you this; try to be oncall for 7 days straight, with your sleep interrupted anytime at the mercy of some unforgiving and inexperienced junior staff in the emergency department.

It is of course common for consultants to still do 7 days call or even 1 month long call. As the public demand for health care increases, the frequency of calls are bound to increase, that's something (not) to look forward to!