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joonwee
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Name: Joon Wee
Birthday: 4/7/1984
Gender: Male
Interests: 1. Photography - Hope to get the Canon EOS350D soon!
2. Jazz
3. Travelling - To see and experience as much of Europe as possible
4. Reading - Miss a good book and my National Geographics
5. Friends - Miss them all!
Occupation: Student
Industry: Medical
Message: message me
MSN: joonwee@hotmail.com
Member Since:
10/13/2004
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Last Saturday the Nottingham Malaysia Society (NMS
for short) had a lakeside barbecue for leavers. It was the first event
for us 2005/2006 committee, and understandably we wanted things to turn
out well. Us committee members had quite some fun preparing for it! On
Friday afternoon two raiding parties (one led by Azween with Chin Ngap
and me in tow, and another of Ain and Keat) went off buying food for
the event. The lists reads along the lines of:
16 chickens hacked into 8 = 128 pieces
80 chicken wings (courtesy of Antalya)
240 chicken sausages
48 burgers X 2 boxes = 96
5 lettuce heads
2 kilograms of margerine (all that fat!)
and tonnes of other sauces, onions, dressings, and the like. We spent
the night at Keat's, whose living room we converted (of sorts) into our
operations centre. Chicken pieces were cleaned, the salad prepared, and
the marinade made (along with some troubleshooting to it, thanks to
Keat and Manda. Quite amusing!). It was half past three (am) by the
time we were done preparing what could be prepared. We caught our short
nap and planned to rise by half six to prepare the venue.
Unfortunately, it rained that morning! The forecast
was of a gloomy morning, though the weather was expected to clear by
noon. We carried on anyhow (how else are we to deal with 200 odd pieces
of fresh marinated chicken?). We were rather behind schedule (self
planned), and the guests trickled in rather late, understandable due to
the weather. Even setting the fire was a challenge... the charcoals
simply refused to light! After several blocks of fire-starters (is that
what you call them?), huffing and puffing (thanks to Khoon Meng,
mostly) and fanning and prodding and coaxing (the rest of us guys of
the committee, especially Keat and Pojoe) AND experienced help some
ex-committee members, the fire was lit! Thankfully things went on
smoothly till then. Apologies for running late though. One could tell
that most were hungry by then!
The weather did clear in the afternoon, which
was fantastic! By then most had eaten, and were either lounging on the
grass, or playing frisbee, or "chor tai ti" on the lawn. Of course,
there was the Ex-Comm vs. New Comm tug-of-war. It was great fun, (some
Ex-Comm members are proficient in trash-talking, I discovered!) though
in our third tie-breaker tug, we were sent ignominiously tumbling down
the hill!
It was well into sunset by the time the last
had left, and most of the excess food, especially the marinaded
chicken, had been "ta-pao-ed" (packed). After the cleaning up, we head
back (to clean Keat's house!). Despite some hiccups, we were pleased
with a job well done (I hope!) To Ain, Keat, Ween, Manda, Pojoe, Chin
Ngap and Pravisha, well done! I certainly look forward to working in
this team for the coming year! And of course, thanks to all who came!
Note on picture : I was much too busy and greasy during the barbecue
proper to take pictures of the event. So here are some flowers, taken
on the same day, on the same lakeside!
For NMS events pictures, visit our Fotopage
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I'm back blogging after a five week hiatus! Well,
initially it was due to the Easter break, where I spent a fortnight or
so with friends, firstly here in, then later in Italy. After the trip I
was too drained to blog, and subsequently a little too busy catching up
with revisions. I planned to post an entry on the 15th of April (the
previous entry is on March the 15th) but again, was too lazy to do so.
So here's my entry on this pseudo-auspicious date. Why so? Because I'll
be flying home in exactly two months time!
I had fun during my Italian jaunt with Wee
Haan, Ravi, Yan Yee, Ai May and Sze Hway. Well, after the trip the
thought of the impending exams settled in (along with a personal
problem which sapped me for three good days), and since then I have
been working on my revisions. Or mostly, finding the motivation to
study for my exams. Time really flies. It felt like yesterday I was
fuelling myself with coffee, burning the midnight oil studying things I
should have known a long time before!
Well, I guess blogging does help in a way to
destress. I'm changing my blogging style now (topical rather than
diary) and I hope to be able to post decently acceptable pictures with
each entry!
Note : The picture is of the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) in Florence,
across the River Arno. I took it from the Galleria degli Uffizi
(usually simply the Uffizi), one of the finest art galleries in the
world.
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| I guess this is the first time I'm blogging before going to class.
Well, yesterday we had our intracardiac defects presentation. Basically, our professor asked for eight volunteers to make a short presentation on a cardiac defect. The best presentation will win a prize. I volunteered (I was number 3), not primarily for the prize but for the experience. I did my homework on aortic stenosis, the narrowing of the aortic valve. The work took me a few days as I practically revised most of the module (surely one will need to know how something functions correctly before understanding how it doesn't function correctly) before consulting several books on the topic. I consulted the professor via email to ensure that I have got everything correct, before committing them to acetate and practising before the unwary Gill and Hui Wen.
Yesterday morning the eight of us took turns presenting before the lecture theatre, the professor and a cardiologist. I was second. I felt very composed presenting mine, and managed to remember to speak what I wanted to speak about. When I finished, the cardiologist commented to the professor, something along the lines of "... not had a more comprehensive presentation on the physiology of aortic stenosis.." I was chuffed. Most of the other speakers came with one or two acetates (I had three) and the comment was usually consice. By academic merit alone, I had a good chance of winning the book. (It was written by the cardiologist and signed too, which "..doubles its value"). Once everyone was done though, the cardiologist asked all of us to step forth, and the person with the loudest cheer will win the book.
When I heard that, I knew outright I didn't have a chance. True enough. I suppose he meant to make things more "fun" but I don't suppose its "fun" anymore when you are not on a level field. I mean, compared to home students, how does an international student compare in terms of popularity? I don't drink, I don't club, I don't go on "booze cruises" (which is why I am not in MedSoc) and hardly anyone knows me save for my seminar group members. The book went to a girl with the loudest cheer (how the cardiologist decided is beyond me).
Frankly, I was disappointed. Not because I lost to a better presentation but rather the judging criteria put me at a disadvantage. Am I being too uptight here? Maybe I should go drinking and clubbing so more people will know me and cheer for me next time.
A few friends, fellow internationals and some home students alike, complimented my presentation and said that I should have got that book. A home student even said that it turned out to be a ".. popularity contest" which wasn't quite fair for me. Well. Anyway, it was good learning experience. | | |
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There's a week left till Easter holidays, and the month off is something I really look forward too. Time to revise and recover (from what you may ask. Good question).
The second last week of the Spring term went quite well. The dissection class was interesting and I managed to get all the questions posed by our demonstrator correct. Also, we had a practical on the ECG, and though I was muddled initially (still am now really) it did help my understanding somewhat.
On Saturday we went for a day trip to Manchester, to listen to a speech by our Deputy Prime Minister who was on a visit to the UK. The bus was scheduled to leave at 6am. I'm glad that I managed to wake up early enough (430am to be precise) to cook my lunch. I am rather notorious for oversleeping in these occasions. The bus took a good 3 hours to get there and soon enough we were in the university sports centre donned for the occasion. The DPM came, made his speech, handed some awards, and answered some questions. By noon we were free to leave. I'm glad to have met with Tiong and Rom (both University of Manchester students) for it has been some time since we did meet (Tiong during Notts Games, Rom back in Malaysia I guess. Also, sorry guys, I had to leave early! My friends were waiting) Chong Teik, another friend there, kindly brought the Notts bunch (an unwieldly 11 if I'm not mistaken) around town and to Old Trafford. Well, I'm no footie fan, but hey, we are already there. After all, that would give me bragging rights to my footie fans back home! We left Manchester at about 7, another 3 hours back (Thankfully we were sent to our residences this time)
Manchester is such a pleasant city, as far as I've seen (in other words, not much) For one, the city centre is much bigger and more "happening" than Notts. Also, they do have malls not unlike those back home. In fact,I'd think that one, the Trafford Centre, is somewhat a cross between Suria KLCC and Sunway Pyramid. I suppose I saw the more sobering side too. On the way to the said mall, we boarded a double decker and went for the top deck. Quite a mistake. The front was filled with boys, barely teens, in hoodies, smoking cigarettes and flashing some plastic device which somewhat resembles a toy gun. They were loud, puffing smoke, and bickering among themselves. At the rear of the bus were a bunch of older teens, probably their "friends", laughing at their juniors and crudely joking along the way. Aside from them, we (all international and international looking) were the only ones on that deck. It was not a very comfortable ride, sandwiched between those two groups. The first group was especially disconcerting considering their age. Or lack thereof. We were more than glad to get off the bus at the said shopping mall.
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It's been ages since I posted, and I suppose one is long overdue now, considering how much had happened since! I don't quite know why I am so lazy to post these few days. I suppose its because I haven't got a nice photograph to accompany the entry!
Well, Malaysian Night came and went. I shall post a separate entry for that. Quite a lot to rant about *sniggers*
My baby sis is in Auckland now. She and her cohort first flew to Sydney before hopping on a connecting flight there. Days before the departure she was rather worried about excess baggage. MAS will close an eye (since they are Government scholars and are travelling in a group) but the connecting flight operator might not. Thankfully everything went fine. I hope she's settling in fine there. She even got a mobile already (which surprised me since it took me two months, till November, before I got mine) Classes have started for them and she did email me about it not too long ago. All the best to you Joo Ann! The cherry blossom above is for you!
That said, my KDU juniors are in Sydney and Auckland as well. Well, I don't think I mentioned that my sister is of that batch too (UNSW Foundation Year in Commerce). Quite a number are reading Medicine and Engineering in UNSW, and they have met up with my KDU batch mates (their seniors). I also heard from two sources (both reliable) that they went for a gay parade there (Sydney). One wonders if they are not the float centrepieces! (I know someone was last year *evil snigger*) Anyway, all the best to you all!
Well, last Thursday was Hui Wen's birthday. We (Gill, Amy and I) planned it with glee. We considered presents to get her. Then, a supermarket was having a Cadbury promotion, five bars for a pound. We wanted to get her 50 of those! Gill said that she would "love us for life"! It was a really amusing thought, but we finally settled for a chocolate plaque from Thorntons, with a birthday message squirted on it. Celebrating her was another matter. As most of us were busy on Thursday (and the day after), we decided to celebrate her on Wednesday. So on that morning, the Pharmers trotted over to town to scout for lunch buffets. Gill, Hui Wen and I remained at our respective flats. When the scouts have confirmed the location and time with Gill and I,we asked Hui Wen to join us in town, on the pretext of wrapping up some Malaysian Night matters with some "sponsor" restaurant. Hui Wen joined us with no effort since she wanted to go to town initially anyway! So Gill and I gleefully lead an oblivious Birthday Girl to town (but not before being waylaid at Co-Op and Iceland first, thanks to the Birthday Girl), and into the restaurant ("... must find the manager"), only to be greeted by the rest of the gang armed with the present and the birthday cake! Gill, Amy and all, good job! And Hui Wen, Happy 21st Birthday! | | |
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