What a week it's been. New ward, new team, not helped by the inexplicable humidity, despite the floor above and below ours being really windy. Anyway, I'm starting to feel really old nowadays, but then it IS an internal medicine posting, which is famous for making even the perkiest people feel jaded. Only 2 more months to go before I return to the emergency department -- and shift hours. Can't wait to get the chance to drink iced mocha lattes at Takashimaya's Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf on a Tuesday morning once again. :)

Anyway, my apologies for dwelling on TV shows most of the time, but I have no life, so the tube is my sole sustenance.

Fear Factor this week was extremely extreme, and I'm not mincing words here. The first stunt was - get this - walking butt naked in front of a private studio audience. And better still, they ALL completed the task without even blinking! The second challenge was the worst I've ever witnessed in this series -- EATING LIVE MADAGASCAN COCKROACHES. I'm so averse to these insects I can't even be in the same room with them, let alone pop them into my mouth, AAAAARRRRRGH!
But yet again, out of the 6 contestants, 5 got through to the next round. Wow! The last stunt paled in comparison, of course, but all in all, it was an eye-popping episode. Next week features the ingestion of live worms, which probably grosses a lot of people out. But nothing beats munching on cockroaches, brrrrr.

The wild card edition of American Idol indeed lived up to the hype generated by the judges. It's definitely the best group of the lot, starting out with hot favourites Kimberly Caldwell and Clay Aiken. The former is certainly beautiful, but she couldn't match Clay in terms of vocals. I was initially rooting for Julia DeMato, but with Clay on board in the finals, he's my choice all the way. Good luck!

Last night's Survivor:Amazon was rather dull. I just don't understand where all the sparks went! No trash talking either -- but trailers for next week's show indicate otherwise ( ie. rocket scientist Dave will get up close and personal with swimsuit model Jenna ). This week, Joanna - aka the African-American whose constant hymn-singing and nagging got on everybody's nerves - got the boot, while hottie Shawna became irreversibly depressed ( but wasn't voted off, go figure ). The guys won 2 challenges in a row for a change, and Dave is starting to grow on me :) Does anyone think he sounds a lot like Russell Crowe?

If you haven't started watching Monk yet, please do so ASAP. I've already seen 3 episodes, and they're all superbly written and well-acted. Tony Shalhoub is 100 times better than Jack Nicholson at portraying symptoms of OCD ( ie obsessive-compulsive disorder ), and cable is showing a special 75-minute mini-movie version ( check your catalogue for the dates and times ). Picture a detective who climbs ladders by covering each rung with wet wipes, then freezes at the top because of vertigo, or who continues to religiously count off parking metres while being pursued by a killer. It's a riot!

Looking forward to Michael Jackson's rebuttal special tonight. Remember to tune in.

Till next time then. Thanks for reading!

P.S. Dave Barry's blog is getting funnier by the day. Don't miss any more of his priceless entries!