AWOL

Hmm, looks like I've neglected the blog for a bit. Being promoted hasn't been a bed of roses. Nothing unexpected, of course. As always, "Your salary's higher now, and they expect to get their money's worth."

And how...

This is my 2nd day off in almost 3 weeks. Worked through the Chinese New Year, and even hung around the hospital for 12 hours earlier this week, thanks to a sedation lecture at 8am, a Mortality Round which ended at 10:15am, and my shift from 1-9pm.

Have been milling around in the MO pool this month -- and getting saddled with a few "experimental" shifts like 5pm-1am, 11am-7pm and the like. Things should improve a little in March, when I'll start actual Registrar hours ( and be expected to vet MO's cases, ack ).

This place is just so darn busy. Where do all the patients come from?! And they're so sick. I mean, really really on-the-brink-of-death sick. Resus is a continuous stream of AMIs, BGITs, APOs, cardiac arrests, bad COPDs, septic shocks, unexplained hypotensions, multiple traumas etc. Just yesterday, I became the resident resus doctor, with nurses and paramedics wheeling in an endless line of unstable cases, then asking me to help see them. Well, I actually enjoyed it, haha, so it's all good. :)

Lots of old folks too. Quite a few debilitated ones ( ie. bedbound, verbally uncommunicative, multiple contractures, NG tubes, indwelling urinary caths ), but even those with good functional status are extremely sweet. "Thank you, doctor. You look so young! You're so smart! So skilled! So capable!" ( I just sit there and smile. Hey, none of this is solicited, okay. :))

The nurses at this ER are just THE BEST. I worked with many of them in 2001, and although a few new faces have joined the pack, the overall efficiency is still top-notch. They come up to you before you can even ask for help. They constantly make the rounds to see if they can expedite something or other. They are whizzes at handling patients' relatives and friends, keeping them outside the Critical Care Area and thus effectively reducing the doctors' stress levels.

And... they love to feed us. Cherries, cakes, fried noodles, kuehs, Indian cuisine -- I'd better exercise more. :D

Have got 3 more off days in the next week, but one of them will be spent camping out at BCLS and ACLS recert courses ( I'm expected to turn Instructor sometime soon as well. Yikes. ) Another will be used to visit a special school ( more on that in the near future ), yet another will include a relaxing time at the Norah Jones concert. Then once March arrives, 3 days of intensive HAZMAT courses ( with experts from the US, woohoo! ), and another 2 for our local Annual Scientific Meeting. Cool. :)

Leisure Activities

Another highlight for my 30th year on Earth -- met Taufik Batisah, aka our very first Singapore Idol, at Junction 8 during a meet-the-fans session today. I only learnt about the event yesterday, and since the place is a mere 5 minutes' drive from my place ( and I eat dinner there almost weekly anyhow ), I gamely zoomed over with my mom, with 3 CDs in tow. ( Explanation for multiple copies: will be keeping one, and sending 2 to America to certain people with connections to the music industry. Oh well, it never hurts to try. :))

Interestingly, I happened to stand at 2 very strategic points, such that Taufik practically brushed past me on his way in and out of the venue. Very tall guy, and extremely good-looking. Bear in mind that my admiration isn't of the Clay-Aiken variety, but there's no denying that Taufik is one talented dude who would've done very well if he'd had the chance to perform on the World Idol stage.

He started off with a few greetings, a short interview with the host ( ??a Power 98 DJ ), then went straight on to the autograph-signing. Having hit double platinum ( 30,000 copies sold ) already, Blessings has certainly broken lots of records in the local music scene. Still, Taufik remained energetic and friendly, even taking the initiative to shake hands with each and every one of the fans at the autograph-signing table. Including me, ahem. :) Close up, he's even more handsome than the best photos I've seen. And the sincerity in the smile he flashed was genuine. Strong grip, direct and prolonged eye contact. Man, his PR skills are admirable. :)

A very enjoyable experience. I wish him the very best in his career.


CD Overload

Bought so many I've earned a lifetime membership discount from That CD Shop, heh heh. :)

Your Love, My Home -- Joshua Payne

His album cover was the main draw, I admit, but this guy has a beautiful voice that's just a total mismatch with his physical appearance. Amazing vocal control, with some wonderful tracks ( e.g. The Moon, Nature, Let It Be Me ).

When I Fall In Love -- Chris Botti

This blue-eyed blonde used to tour with Sting before embarking on a successful solo career. I wasn't that keen on his earlier fare, but this album -- which features quite a few jazz pieces -- sounds so fabulous in my car I played it to death and almost drove my mother crazy. :D

Check out his smooth, sexy grooves on the trumpet, accompanied by terrific arrangements of classics like Someone To Watch Over Me, When I Fall In Love, My Romance, One For My Baby And One More For The Road ( one of my all-time favourites ), Let's Fall In Love and Make Someone Happy.

Paula Cole's sultry voice adds to the sensual mood on What'll I Do? and How Love Should Be ( gorgeous! ), while Sting raises the temperature on his duet with Botti on La Belle Dame Sans Regrets.

But I absolutely LOVE Botti's interpretation of No Ordinary Love ( sung by Sade many years ago ). Very dark, which is exactly what makes it so fantastic. Perfect for my late-night drives home after a tough shift at work. Ahhh.

Josh Groban Live At The Greek

This package deal is so sweet you'd be a fool to pass it up. A full-length concert DVD with an accompanying CD recording of selected tracks, and it costs less than $20!

Josh does well "live", but the sound quality isn't as pristine as that on his first concert DVD, and he seems a little breathless on the tougher songs. Wardrobe needs some twiddling as well -- red and shiny jersey isn't, err, quite right for him.

However, great bits abound: a drum-pounding session ( I think it's after Canto Alla Vita ), his competent piano-playing ( on Remember When It Rained and a nice cover of Paul Simon's America ), and my fav -- his performance of Remember, that haunting theme from "Troy". Great stuff.

It's Time -- Michael Buble

I was supposed to get this in the hamper I won on Class 95, but ironically enough, we're all still waiting for it 'cos the recording company is sending over some exclusive Michael Buble merchandise which got held up somewhere.

So, I couldn't tahan anymore and decided to pick it up today ( after its official release in Singapore 2 weeks ago, yeesh ). A full review will follow ( naturally :)), but if you're interested in hearing some of the better tracks, try Home, Quando Quando Quando, Save The Last Dance For Me, I've Got You Under My Skin and Dream A Little Dream.

Don't believe a word of Tay Yek Keak's unflattering review in Life! today. I get a feeling he isn't that much of a jazz fan. And in my opinion, if you don't love this genre, you shouldn't be reviewing jazz albums because you just won't be able to appreciate them lah.

Other Goodies

The Very Best Of Sting & The Police

When I Look In Your Eyes -- Diana Krall

Genius Loves Company -- Ray Charles

At Last... The Duets Album -- Kenny G

The last one is a MUST-HAVE! More detailed reviews of each will be posted another time, but for the Kenny G CD, pleeeeaaase sample Don't Know Why ( feat. David Benoit ), Pick Up The Pieces ( feat. David Sanborn ), Careless Whisper ( very well done by Brian McKnight ), Baby Come To Me ( feat. the timeless vocals of the very talented Daryl Hall from Hall & Oates -- someone tell me where I can find their albums already, aargh ), and The Way You Move ( feat. Earth, Wind & Fire -- which was also covered by Outkast ). Hot, hot, hot. Can't wait to blast it on my hi-fi -- after I get sian of Michael Buble, that is. :)


Turn On Your TVs

Survivor: Palau

Just when I'd sworn off Survivor for good ( after the debacle on Vanuatu where all the guys and the young women got picked off leaving only the old fogies ), the 10th season grabs me by the throat and stuffs me in my seat yet again.

Lots of young 'uns this time round, with 3 eliminated on the first day. Interesting group dynamics are already beginning to show, and my favourite right now is Ian, the Marfanoid bespectacled dolphin trainer. Yeah, I have funny taste.

CSI Season 4

Absence does make the heart grow fonder. I've missed the Las Vegas original so much, and am ecstatic about its return to cable telvision ( Channel 18 Wednesdays 9-10pm ). The first episode had 4 simultaneous cases and a mysterious subplot involving Sara Sidle's alcoholism. Did I miss something somewhere?

Nick Stokes ( played by George Eads ) shaved his head, ick. But Gil Grissom ( William Petersen ) is just THE BEST. Welcome back. :)

Lost

Starting on AXN Channel 19 next month, and hailed by Newsweek as 2004's Best New Television Series. Matthew Fox from Party of Five leads a motley crew of plane crash survivors as they cope with life on a seemingly deserted island. Nice!

CSI: New York

Coming to AXN in March or April. Gary Sinise heads the team, which also has a couple of young good lookers. Always a pleasure. :)

Desperate Housewives

I think this show is totally overrated, but it's fun to watch, so what the heck.
The character I love most? That young Hispanic gardener having an affair with the hot Latino tai-tai. Seems to have more personality that the entire cast put together. Spin-off, hint hint!

Frasier

The final season airs Monday on Channel 18 at 9pm, and FINALLY has Niles propositioning Daphne. It's about time!

Aladdin

This was screened on the Disney channel over the New Year, but may be repeated in the future. One of the best Disney cartoons ever, it made me realize how much I love this film when I found myself singing all the lyrics as if the past decade didn't even exist. Wish they'd show The Little Mermaid. :D

I've got a long day ahead of me tomorrow. Have a nice week. And thanks for reading this far. :)