it was such a busy but totally rewarding day yesterday. well, the disadvantage of a non-office job is that you don't have a 5 day work week with fixed hours, and my working hours on saturday is 9 to 5, haha how interesting. so many walk-ins yesterday and i'm glad that i'm getting familiar with the basics and i love developing x-rays, so fun. and i got to watch an operation in action (and got sort of scolded for obstructing the light, haha) it was quite an experience to watch it the first time, needles, drills, knife, forceps, thread and other instruments which i have no idea how to spell. and lots of blood which i have to suck out. now it's my job to remember and prepare all the instruments needed for operation, there's so much to remember. and trust me, watching an operation on screen and seeing it before your own eyes is a totally different feeling. alright, better familiarise myself with everything first as i count down to the days when i have to perform my one-man show, and i will perform my best on monday since there will be 2 operations on monday and i predict that my xiaolaoban will be very exhausted.
although it only takes 10 minutes or less to get home, i was lazy to walk home for lunch and walk back to work again in the hot sun, so i had lunch there and walked around after that since there was lots of time left. then this old man called out to me and ask me to help him carry his bag of cans across the road to the busstop. at first i thought he wanted to sell me something so i said no. but he asked again and seeing that he had so much difficulty walking cos his legs were kind of deformed and since i had time, i helped him. felt so kind, haha. i'm already having trouble deciding what to wear when i can wear anything i like, not even office wear. i think i shall go shopping for more pants to prevent me from freezing and so that i don't have to wear jeans everyday.
yesterday was my third last day working at the restaurant, and guess who went there for dinner? the president of Singapore, Nathan. wow... he went there with his family at a big table and his guards were sitting at another table. i didn't serve them and dare not in case i do something wrong. haha. it was interesting how his guards came a few times before dinner to check the tables and chairs to make sure there's no bombs, and more interesting how we had to check and make sure everything on the table is arranged properly and there's no broken plates or bowls, haha.. at first i thought they were joking when they said the president was coming, but i don't think a lot of people noticed him cos he was sitting inconspicuously in a corner like any other family having dinner.
that sums up my fruitful day yesterday... tired tired, but it's a good way to end my restaurant job and i love my current job, i don't know how long this excitement will last. now i can more or less understand why working adults would rather go back to the times they were in school, because work is so repetitive, you do the same things everyday, and you still have to worry about what to wear.
and my dad just asked me not to apply to michigan because he doesn't want me to go there even if i'm admitted, so might as well not apply. and i'm kind of relieved i don't have to write another essay (which was what i'm suppose to do now). well, if i can't get into any university overseas, i don't mind staying in singapore for undergrad, and i still can work part time in the evenings, which is what i'm suppose to do initially. just see how everything goes and i truly believe there's something called a blessing in disguise.
i'm a happy girl now and looking forward to work and more importantly, to my long awaited holiday..... yay!!

it's interesting reading blogs now, especially when everyone's working and doing different jobs. speaking of work, i just spent a whole day at my new workplace yesterday and i'm feeling kind of stressed now. there's still so much to learn and remember. and for the forgetful me, the hardest thing to remember is where things are kept. haha. morning was quite busy, only had time for lunch at one plus and had to start work at two again, although time is not very fixed. but after lunch was more relaxed, cos my boss went home already. yesterday was my first attempt at developing x-rays, i was so nervous and scared that the image won't come out and my boss will kill me for that, but luckily it went relatively well. it felt like a battle against time, dipping in developer, then water, then fixer and everything is timed and i must wipe and switch off all the switched in the x-ray room within one minute. quite exciting, and i hope i won't be poisoned by all the x-rays and uv-rays. it's time to put my brains to use again and start reading and remembering stuff. i only have one more week of learning left before i must start my one man show, scary....
but i'm not complaining about my job, though i have to stand most of the times, unless i go to the front counter to slack and watch tv (shall do that when boss is not around). after one big round of job searching, travelling around singapore for interviews and writing resumes, gathering certs and stuff, i managed to get the job i always wanted without searching, interviewing, and the best thing is it's 10 minute walk from my house and i have nice old lady boss who cooks and buys lunch for us. and the working hours fits in so nicely with my training schedule that i can go for all but one training session per week (and i'm not rejoicing, haha). i think i washed my hands, or rather my gloves more times yesterday than i would in a week. better learn everything as soon as possible if not my boss might not want me, haha, feels like i'm on probation now.
went to the new school for cca feste a few days ago, and i totally agree that the new campus is damn big and beautiful, didn't manage to have a proper tour around the school, but the canteen food looks almost the same. the juniors were quite successful in getting people to sign up, well actually i think the seniors who were there did a pretty good job for them, haha. hope the clinic goes well and really hope we can finally have a full girls team for once. the whole issue of closing down canoeing has finally come to a happy ending, when it's actually a big misunderstanding. at least everything is fine now and i think it has united the whole canoeing family, from great grand seniors to present badge.

this is weird.. i've just received an application booklet or whatever you call it from U Penn with my name and address spelt wrongly and from the stamp it seemed like it was sent from france... i have no idea how they got my name and address when i didn't even consider applying there and isn't the deadline over??? puzzled...
i think my stomach is seriously punishing me for eating so much junk at home and now i can't eat and don't feel like eating anything, serves me right haha. must thank my mom for buying home so much christmas chocolates (cos they're half price).
i realised that every kind of work is so repetitive and boring, can't wait till end of this month for a one-week getaway before i seriously look for a proper job. i wonder if there's any job that is interesting and at the same time offers a good pay, and a friendly boss would make a lot of difference too.....
yesterday was quite a slack day at work and hence i had quite a bit of theory lessons. my mind now is so loaded with info and i think i should do some self study before i make any vital mistakes and get scolded...

i'm so deprived of sleep now, especially after one whole day out yesterday, from 6 to 11, only came home to bathe after training. the whole of bukit timah is filled with hwa chong and nj people, all the way from coro to bukit timah market, and i bet j8 will be packed with rj people. oh well, brings back memories of orientation, the days and nights we spent at ghim moh, holland v, ghim moh will be so different now, poor vendors.. oh ya, had lunch at the same place as sharon au, who was filming nearby, i was looking at her for a few seconds and she said "do i look like someone?" haha, but i'm not a crazy fan so i left her alone to enjoy her lunch.
had a crash course on dentistry after that, there's so much things to know, all the equipment that cause so much pain to gums, and i was so scared that i would drop or lose something. everything is so miniature. after taking such a long rest, my brain seems to be malfunctioning, so many similar looking instruments' names to remember, not forgetting the antibiotics and painkillers and i think i should go and dig my ears so that i can hear what the dentist is saying under his mask and amidst all the drilling sounds more clearly. but i had quite a lot of fun playing with needles, uv light, registering patients, watching the patients in pain while the dentist pulled out her tooth and trying my best to make myself helpful. my hands smelt so rubbery after that.
and as expected, i was already half asleep on my way to work. now i understand the principal-agent problem. the boss hopes to have more customers so that he can earn more profits but the workers are most happy when there's no customers at all so that we can slack... haha

happy 2005, i know it's kind of late, but i've been feeling lazy and slack these few days. training in the mornings, go home bathe, do applications, eat, sleep, stone go to work, eat and eat and eat, home, sleep and everything repeats. now that almost all my uni apps are done, it's time to do the scholarship apps and financial aid stuff. argh i wonder when will all these troublesome applications ever end. meanwhile, i'm trying to look for another job to keep me occupied during the day and to earn more money for uni fees. not really in a hurry though cos right now i'm still enjoying life slacking away and hope to start work only after i come back from australia, really looking forward to that.
dinner at fish and co with class. well, nothing special. met sonya and she looks the same. seems like everyone is working and all dressed so formally that we look like working adults. haha. stoned and sat around after that before going home.
the weather nowadays is annoying, and it must start raining at 6.30 today and we were forced to run in the rain. had it started raining earlier, i would not have gone for training. one hour plus of morning training everyday for power by doing weights (my most dreaded), stamina by running (quite boring and dangerous but i don't mind), lungs by blowing into a tank of water (my favourite but very unhygenic), and on top of all, immune system, which i must say i'm rather proud of my immune system for not falling sick after going home all drenched so many times during the past week.
plucked out my toenail on my fourth toe yesterday. didn't know that poor little nail was injured too and it came off painlessly with a little pull. now it's left with a soft new "nail". wonder when my big toe nail is coming off.
the guys are going tekong soon and the girls are working. it's really the start of a new stage in life.