the best friends for life

i wonder... can a caged bird truly be happy??

posted by the best friends for life.. @ 12:56 AM Comments: 0

have lots more to study, don't i always do, but clearly i'm not studying right now. don't quite feel like it, even tho' it's just the beginning of the week!!! sigh, i'm growing old, running out of stamina a little too quickly :P

hobbies and interests are an important aspect of life i realize. gives you something to look forward to, some variation and diversity in the day, something to break the monotony. friends are even more important, they help colour your life, they listen you out, get in touch with your feelings, they help you see beyond your own world and thoughts which you tend to dive deeper and deeper into when alone..

"There is a longing only You can fill
A raging tempest only You can still..."

posted by the best friends for life.. @ 10:38 PM Comments: 0

the ties that bind

current situations have got me thinking of what binds people together... some ideas and images came to mind

it could be... cement, nails and screws (fresh from ortho ot), sutures (surg!), the ~ (proportional sign) in mathematics, the associations in COFM, the similes in literature...

it could be... proximity, school, work, common upbringing, common interests, common experiences, shared experiences, values, faith, compassion, inexplicable affection, genetics, blood

or it could be... moments of trials, a common hope for something in the future, a belief in destiny (or a divine plan)

the intricacies of human relationships are perplexing

posted by the best friends for life.. @ 12:54 AM Comments: 0

the analytical mind

i'm surprised i'm back here so soon! guess i really don't feel like doing more studying after such a long day at hospital, even tho it doesn't really count cos it wasn't a very productive day. good enough i suppose...

it's curious how all the science subjects i've taken since pri sch has nurtured such an analytical mind in me. in science, we consider things in factors. many factors can contribute to something, many factors can affect the outcome of something. this is clearly illustrated in science experiements. we learn about all the factors that can affect something, aka the variables, and that we try to keep all of them constant except one, so that a fair comparison can be made. sadly, this almost intuitive science-oriented thinking is not so useful in life. people can be put in the same situation, yet by a stroke of luck or unluck, have very different outcomes. people can put in the same amount of effort, yet by a stroke of luck or unluck, one's efforts pay off more than anothers. pple can give up everything yet not succeed while others do. Lives shouldn't be compared, so the inevitably analytical mind only creates misery and discontent in doing so. yet i may say that this is human nature? one that others have a greater tendency towards despite knowing how incorrect and detrimental going down such a line of thought is. as what i learnt from watching 'don't worry be happy' on channel 8 almost a decade ago, 'ren2 bi3 ren2 hui4 qi4 si3 ren2' translated literally to 'comparing will just make you fed up'. Indeed, the bible has never promised that life would be fair and i'm the last person who should be complaining cos i've been so richly blessed and protected by God these 21 years of my life; scripture teaches us to be content in every situation, for God will meet our every need, He will provide for us abundantly, and His grace is sufficient for us to meet every challenge and task we may face in the days to come!

He Knows My Name

I have a Maker
He formed my heart
Before even time began
My life was in his hands

I have a Father
He calls me His own
He'll never leave me
No matter where I go

He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And He hears me when I call

posted by the best friends for life.. @ 11:40 PM Comments: 0

haven't blogged in ages, it's been more than a year since i've written something here, i've almost forgotten what to write or how to write in a blog. not even sure what prompted me to come back here, maybe it's cos i suddenly feel so free and liberated i'm trying to think of all sorts of things to do, random as they may be. such a delight to be able to do absolutely anything i feel like doing, no matter how unimportant, without feeling guilty that i ought to be studying, or that the things that i'm reading may displace whatever info is supposed to be in my head.

just done with year 3 exams, and just past midpoint of med school. i'm still clueless bout what i want to do after graduating. not a very good state to be in with the R programme that the authorities seem quite keen on implementing.

can't really think of anything very remarkable to mention about the year that has passed, between now and the previous post. or maybe life is beautiful just by appreciating and reflecting on the ordinary too!

i suppose in the ordinary day for me, life revolves around studies and friends, tho honestly (and with much sadness and regret), i think the former predominates. I'd like to spend more time with my ny friends, keep up with the card making or at least card buying. sometimes i wonder whether an upcoming exam is a good enough reason to delay or even not make a card. i don't think it is, friends shouldn't be friends out of convenience right? but yet, when i'm so tight for time with my inefficient studying and all that, priorities get blurred:( in any case, thanks deb, tyz, oeh and yingg for organizing meet ups and keeping in touch despite the little i have been able to give to you girls.. i'd like to be there for each of you if you ever need someone to turn to too! then there's the japan-group. really enjoy meeting up with you all during our japan trip outings. it's wonderful to have a meal or hang around somewhere with you all, and add more memories to the 14 days we created during the japan trip. between these meals, it's nice to catch up with each of you in person too, to share our studying woes or simply what's been happening in our lives. i'm so glad we went on the trip together and forged such strong friendships during the trip, it'll always be one of my fondest memories of med school:)

i've also been travelling a bit. between the last post and now, God had blessed me with holidays to phuket, sydney, macau, kl, and darwin. i guess travelling is one of my fav hobbies, albeit a rather expensive one:P but i think the sights that i see, the new places, the town, the people, the hotels, the whole experience is invaluable. it's like a memory that belongs to you, that no one will ever be able to snatch away from you, and that you can always look back on, as often as you want to, and relive the place all over again in your mind's eye.

don't know what else to ramble about, or rather, there are too many things... about my faith, love, family, friendships, working/school relationships, personal traits and perspectives, priorities... will write again in due time, hopefully it won't be another year!

For where your treasure is, there you heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21)

posted by the best friends for life.. @ 12:37 AM Comments: 0

at this point of time, i'm surprised at why i'm even blogging. i've got a never ending pile of work to revise, i think i've almost come to accept that i'd never finish it. maybe that's why i'm here.

my mind's been in such a blur these few days, it seems like i can barely concentrate, and i thought i was one with quite strong mental discipline. well, it comes to a point where not even the next word is going to go in that i decided to do my QT a little earlier than routine, and true and faithful as God has been the past week, He has indeed shown that he knows my every thought.

I don't have the habit of putting such blatant testimonies on this supposedly shared blog, but i guess this is just one of those times that i felt i just have to. something like how the hillsong lyrics

"so blessed, i cant contain it, so much i've got to give it away, your love has taught me to live now, you are more than enough for me".

bet i sound like i've got bipolar disorder already, first saying that my minds in a complete mumble jumble non-study mode. next saying that i'm blessed. well, i really don't have much time to tell long stories here, but in summary, yesterday, during cell group, we were sharing about our goals for 2009, and the past week's devotions. and i mentioned that so far, God has been very gracious to me, that in the approx 10min i leave for QT at the end of the day, He has always spokent to me, somehow alayed my fears and concerns for the events of that day, given me a amazingly relevant passage to always bring me back to Him in all that happens in life. Last week, there was a reading on self confidence, just on a day when i was wondering what i was actually capapble of, what i doing in med sch etc. there were other relevant ones too.

so today, when i simply cldn't study anymore, my mind abounding with worries (i'm typically worry-wart:() about finishing studying, abt health, abt so many other things, i deicded to just go do my QT first. and true enough, today's reading was the often-used 'do not worry' passage from matthew (check the online Upper Room if you're curious:) ). and upon reading, i suddenly seemed crystal clear why i was prompted to go do QT instead of trying to sit at my table and stuff in more info through blurry eyes.

indeed, as the Thought of the Day in today's reading wrote,

"When we trust God, there is less room in us for worry."

ok, i've no idea whether i'm coherent, probably not cos i left out so many parts of the story. but i've really got to get back to my notes, at least with my mind at peace. Indeed He walks with me, all the time:)

posted by the best friends for life.. @ 11:14 PM Comments: 0

a little break

just done with about slightly more than half of the first CAs.. somehow this bout of CAs seemed exceptionally trying, despite it being mostly MCQs, which does not necessarily equate to them being easier, just that the sense that everything's on the paper and it's just a matter of choosing is slightly comforting to me when i study :P studied in the lib quite a bit for this round of CAs, and it's def more fun studying with friends, trying to recall strange names of unfamiliar drugs over lunch, having them explain concepts that no matter how much i stare at the ppt slide i still don't get, and having them listen to all the whining about nothing going in. thanks to both of you, hope i didn't decrease your productivity too much :P in terms of the effectiveness of studying outside, i guess the results of this CA will tell, tho i know it won't be too accurate a gauge cos my carelessness came into play BIG TIME this CA :( sigh.. guess i shall just have to trust God with the results.

on the note of studying in the library, i'm extremely surprised at how many pple have told my sis that they see someone like her in the library everyday, but reading medicine textbooks! when my sis first told me, i found that particular friend's observation pretty freaky, cos i doubt we even look similar at all! then a couple of weeks later, another friend tells my sis the same thing.. looks like things look very different from an outsider's perspective!

got 2 weeks before the next test, so i decided to give myself the weekend off :) nice to have a breather, but also strange to have a break this short. can't really do everything i want to do, maybe i'll just go out a bit, can't believe i haven't been to town for so long i didn't know the christmas decoration and lights were up.. and then i can imagine how hard it'll be to try to sit down and study again just when i got into the swing of relaxing..lol

to the rest who's exams are coming, jiayou! deb and yingggg, i'm sure you both can do it, ultimately hardworking pple, i'm sure it'll pay off. to xiaogui, smarty pants :P don't need to worry at all! and ouou, see you in the lib everyday, even sunday! sure u've gone over your material for the 100th time you've got it all at the tip of your fingers. all the best dears!

posted by the best friends for life.. @ 9:13 AM Comments: 0