:)

Despite all the crazy shifts, the exhaustion, tension headaches, gastric pains and occasional doubts about whether my salary is worth all this pain and suffering, there're occasional moments when everything makes perfect sense.

Yesterday was one good example.

Conducted a 90-minute tutorial with a group of medical students currently rotating through our department, and surprise surprise, I actually had fun doing it. :)

Very animated bunch, enthusiastic and genuinely interested in emergency medicine. Attentive and knowledgeable, with quite a number of questions tossed my way ( even though I expected them to be half asleep since my session was preceded by a heavy ECG tutorial ).

When I asked how many are considering emergency medicine as a future career path, one guy answered, "Quite a lot actually". Some expressed disappointment that multiple appeals to the powers that be to extend the posting beyond its brief 3-week period have come to naught, but a few did appear interested in returning for electives. They even had queries about which Part I and II exams to take!

Following that fulfilling morning, I spent my night shift with 5 students who joined me from 9pm to 8am. Lots of energy, extremely helpful, keen to learn and very sensible. We even had a short tutorial at 3am on subarachnoid haemorrhage ( cold case from a few months back ). I tired out early -- major prawn parade, don't our elderly folk sleep anymore? -- but their high spirits never seemed to wane. Just wish we could've had a few major resuscitations for their benefit. But guess they should drop by on Mondays and weekends in order to experience ER madness in its purest form.

All I can say is: Thank you. I needed that little boost. :)


Another Thing

Shattered Glass, a film based on the true story about Stephen Glass ( a young reporter formerly at prominent political magazine The New Republic ) proved to be unexpectedly good. Produced by Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner, it stars Hayden Christensen ( Anakin Skywalker dude ), who does a decent job portraying an eager-to-please personality with a dark side ( pun fully intended :)).

However, I prefer to highlight his co-star Peter Sarsgaard, who plays Stephen's editor, Charles Lane.

Previously seen in The Man In The Iron Mask ( John Malkovich's son Raoul ) and Boys Don't Cry, he's much more prominent in this film, and turns in a compelling, memorable performance, for which I understand he received quite a few critical accolades as well.

It's been 3 years ( Shattered Glass was released back in 2003 ) and Sarsgaard hasn't hit A-list status yet, but like John Cusack ( my 2nd fave actor after Kevin Spacey, another non-A-lister ), he'll have no problems securing great roles and building up his fanbase. I'm definitely a new Sarsgaard groupie. What a terrific actor.


Last But Not Least

It's time to really get down to studying. 6 weeks. Arrgh!

But a fellow registrar's festive mood is proving contagious, so next weekend's drinking session with department colleagues is in the pipeline. Followed by a long-awaited dinner with JC classmates the next day.

Oh yeah, maybe I'll finally meet Mr 747 and pass him that World Cup jersey I promised, heh.


Tokyo Part 1: Food, Glorious Food

Man, I GORGED MY BRAINS OUT.

Photo #1: Our first lunch, at a restaurant in the Ginza district. Everything's in Japanese ( including the eatery's name ), but I can tell you that if you walk along Ginza Street from the train station past Mikimoto Pearl and spot Harry Winston on the opposite side, just walk a little further and you may stumble upon this place on your left. It's got a cardboard sign out front, and leads down a flight of stairs to the main area below. You must remove your shoes, but they've got these beautiful lockers with individual keys. That's about as much detail as I can give you.

Anyhow, this feast offered EXCELLENT Udon, tempura that melts in your mouth, and the best sushi I've ever tasted ( the seaweed wrap is just the right consistency ).

Price of meal per person: S$10-15 ( in the Ginza area! )


Photo #2: A traditional hotpot Nabe set, with the freshest ingredients ever. The portion was huge, and it took us an hour just to cook everything in a stage-wise manner. The broth is a super-tasty miso soup, rich in flavour yet low in salt content ( none of us developed any thirst post-meal ).

Location: Jap restaurant in the executive tower of the Shinagawa Prince Hotel. No English name available, but there's a Nabe set display at the entrance so look for that.

Price: S$60 thereabouts. But bloody worth every penny. :)


Photo #3: Mouth-watering hot stone Mongolian-style cooking at a posh eatery near ( not within ) the Four Seasons Hotel. Went there as part of a guided city tour. The tour wasn't great, but the lunch more than made up for it!

Darn, I can't remember the name of the place. But the food was FABULOUS. Again, superb meat, cooked in a special sauce which is so fragrant my mouth began to water before I tasted anything. Just wish we could've had seconds, but no such luck.

Price: no idea -- included in tour fee.

Had many other delicious meals on a daily basis, but these are the ones that I snapped pictures of. I just ADORE Japanese cuisine.

Next post: images from my strolls through Ginza, Shibuya and Shinjuku. I kinda like the Tokyo subways too. :)