Stumbled across another link to my site. Thanks for adding me to the list, guys! :)

Things are heating up on SGDR.com, so those of you with access, drop by the MaoMao Medly In Love threads for a big laugh. I'm telling you, some of my fellow doctor colleagues beat seasoned local journalists hands down in the writing department. And to think all this talent isn't being tapped to help improve the sad state of comedies and dramas in Singapore. :D

Clay fans, don't forget to set timers for The Oprah Winfrey Show at 1pm on cable's Channel 18 tomorrow. I'm not sure if this is the correct episode yet, but better to be safe than sorry.
Wasn't aware that our idol has hit No. 1 already on the local radio show! Are his CDs on sale yet? I've downloaded Bridge Over Troubled Water from the Rolling Stone website ( link available somewhere below ), and he sounds a lot better on the computer than he does on my car hi-fi. My mom loves the studio recording too. :)

And since it's Monday, let me recommend "Fear Factor" to you. It's on cable AXN Channel 19 at 8pm, and the reason I'm asking you to watch it is 'cos this season's eating-of-yucky-stuff segment is way over-the-top. If you think munching on buffalo scrotums and deer penises was bad enough, this time there're live giant earthworms and (blech!!!) slimy slugs. And watching the contestants chew on them is only half the torture. Just listen to them describe their experiences later and it's guaranteed to make you wince, if not feel like puking. But that's what makes the show fun, and sadistic voyeur that I am, I love it! :D

Has anyone started on Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix yet? Singhealth staff got a nice $10 discount, but my copy is currently being babysat by a friend who helped me collect it last Saturday, and he's only at Book 2 of the series. I'm not too worried about whether it'll be as good as its predecessors, and I get miffed when reviewers and other members of the media try to bring its author, J. K. Rowling, down with their predictions about her having writer's block, not being able to deliver the goods, and so on. I've been irreversibly hooked since the first installment, and was astonished to learn that Rowling wrote the novels during an extremely dark period of her life -- her husband had abandoned her and their infant daughter, she was on social welfare, and jobless most of the time. I can't imagine how she managed to create the Harry Potter series in the midst of all her pain and misery, but she did, and though she had no formal training as a writer, and though numerous publishers rejected her manuscripts, Bloomsbury finally picked it up and signed her on.

I admire Rowling as an excellent author, but her success story is also most inspiring, and she certainly deserves it. A recent article in Time magazine also illustrates how she still remains grounded and humble despite her fame and fortune. Estimated to be worth almost half a billion dollars, she candidly debunks this "myth", saying she's quite sure she doesn't have that much in her bank account. And whenever she's asked how she feels about being the top-selling writer of all time, she always tries to wave it aside, saying there was a predominating element of luck, and that she's just glad to be able to make ends meet doing what she loves most. She supports a number of charities, including one that helps single mothers with financial woes, and even rang a terminally ill Harry Potter fan to read to her over the phone. Instead of bathing in the glory of the paparazzi like some other high-profile writers, she treasures her privacy, and seldom gives interviews. She's my heroine!

Just saw another questionable NS man the other night. The computer screen indicated a complaint of back pain -- very common on Sundays, I notice -- and while I was waiting for him to enter the consultation room, I could hear his slippers as he approached. He was walking fast, and his gait sounded perfectly normal, but the minute he opened the door, he started limping really badly! Hello, if you want to pretend, at least do it with some level of competence so the doctor won't be so fed up. I mean, I try to be sympathetic to army guys -- my mother's friend's colleague's son tried to commit suicide because he couldn't handle the pressures of NS -- but this sort of thing just makes me less willing to help them out.