3:45am, and the worst is over. :) The worst meaning the period where I'm running consult all alone, that is. Now it's just a 2-hour watch in resus, followed by some rest, then consult with backup from 7-8. Seen 28 cases so far, which I guess is pretty decent by CGH standards. Though I do miss the less than 20 tally of SGH now and then. :P

Cheered myself up a bit by watching Peter Cincotti's "artist profile" on the Internet. The link is provided in recent blog entries, so check those out if you haven't already ( and WHY NOT!? ;)). My laptop couldn't seem to configure the video, but I finally got it to work on one of the consult room terminals, and wow, it's worth the wait! First of all, I learnt how to pronounce his name, heh heh -- it's "Sin-COT-ti". Then, I got to hear him talk -- mature, softspoken, nice voice. Best of all, I got to see and hear him perform -- these are mostly short snippets, some in pubs, some on a concert stage ( Peter looks terrific in a tuxedo ). The longest one is of him banging "Ain't Misbehavin'" in a small, nondescript bar, dressed casually in shirt and pants, with beer-drinking patrons seated nearby. If only I were one of them! :P Peter sounds phenomenal even on that old shaky piano with zero acoustics. Imagine him in the Esplanade concert hall!

It's interesting to hear about his great love for jazz, even as a child. Brings back memories of my growing up with oldies but goodies, thanks to my mom. Connie Francis, the Everly Brothers, Brothers Four, Beach Boys, the Carpenters, Cliff Richard, Barry Manilow, Engelbert Humperdink, Elvis Presley... I memorized so many of their songs just by listening to them in the car during our long drives to and from school. Then there was the classical genre -- I developed an early taste for Tchaikovsky and Johann Strauss as a primary school student. Really weird. :)
Well, it seems I'm a late bloomer where jazz is concerned. But hey, it's never too late to learn how to appreciate a good thing. Just hope Peter Cincotti will indeed drop by our little island someday, or I'll just have to fly to the US in order to watch him.

And speaking of concerts, Clay Aiken's tour with Kelly Clarkson will kick off come Feb 24 ( we're 12 hours ahead of America, so that makes it Feb 25 Singapore time ). First stop is Charlotte, North Carolina, where Diane Bubel resides. Diane has mentioned that she will get to meet him to say hi, and we're all eagerly awaiting news of the opening night. The tour will last till late April, so it's going to be pretty exhausting. Hope Clay will remain in good health and high spirits throughout this gruelling schedule.

Nothing much to report from the medical side. It was nice to see no letters of complaint in the Forum Page these past few days. But of course, they have a tendency to accumulate letters before splashing them all out on one full page for added dramatic effect, as mentioned by re-minisce, so don't get your hopes up. I, for one, wonder if I'll ever see a complaint lodged against Raffles Hospital, 'cos we all know a certain "someone" holds a position there. Enough said.

Going furniture-hunting at Ikea on Wednesday. You may be shocked to learn that I've NEVER been to the store to shop before -- walked through once in 3rd year med school, but that was on a whim after lunch with my clinical group, so I don't remember any of it. I've heard good things about their stuff -- reasonable prices, excellent quality. Heck, I even heard it mentioned multiple times on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" today, by renowned American decorators Nate Berkus and Vern Ho. They like to call it "Ai-Keeah" rather than "Ee-kea" like we do. I'm just toying with the idea of colour-coordinating the rooms ( my bedroom MUST be turqoise or navy blue ). Also suggested getting our cat declawed, 'cos he's developed this terrible habit of scratching everything in sight, including my pajamas. He's a sweet little feline, and it's another one of his kitty habits, but we can't have him demolishing our new furniture now, can we?

Right then, now I've got a drunk woman with an unexplained abdominal laceration, which looks suspiciously like a stab wound. No witnesses, just found lying on the kitchen floor in a small pool of blood. She's completely out of it, her family refused to come to the hospital with her, and her friend reeks of alcohol too. BP 95 systolic, but could be due to the vasodilatory effects of alcohol. Abdomen's really soft, though the wound has breached the subcutaneous layer and she's got adipose tissue bulging out of the laceration. Social issues plus-plus-plus-plus. Awaiting X-rays now. General surgical reg-on-call is a friend of mine. Looks like I'll be depriving him of some sleep tonight. Sorry. :)