2014 retrospective Part 1

A year away in Tasmania - what a year of being blessed in so many ways! The downer is of course being apart from Penny (quite a big downer too!) but overall the year has been a good one - which I hope to recap for posterity in the next few blog posts.

Melbourne skyline from the Spirit of Tasmania












Hobart - have nothing but good things to say about the town, the food, the church, the people at work, my housemates...could go on and on...

Royal Hobart Hospital - where I started my journey into Renal medicine, poking kidneys, tweaking dialysis machines and eating countless chicken parma sandwiches 


















Scallop pie in the small town of Ross...my first meal in Tasmania

Walking down from the hospital on Argyle Street, with the flyover on top of Pilgrim Coffee (best coffee in Hobart for my money!), I could get to Constitution Dock in ten minutes, with its array of fish-n-chip shops and countless places to eat, while fending off over-inquisitive seagulls.


My housemates and I spent most of the year in a huge townhouse bordering some community housing, which made our days (and nights) interesting - the time we each thought someone had left a cloak on our front porch, which turned out to be a really thin boy stoned out of his mind....or the times we called the police to break up fights that occurred outside on the street, or the night someone ran into my housemate's car and drove off in some hurry...

One of the great things about Hobart was how one could get to amazing scenery within an hour's drive or less! Mount Wellington, the beachside cliffs of the Tasman Peninsula, or the forests of the Central Highlands are all within reach...

The view from the top of Mount Wellington on a clear day - blustery winds are worth it!

 Walking around Salamanca Market on a Saturday morning..arts and crafts, secondhand books, plants in weirdly shaped pots and the smell of roasting sausages in the air..

 The chef himself, from Masaaki's in Geeveston at Farmgate Market (on Sundays in Hobart). The queue was crazily long, so it took an early start to be able to get (finally) the finished product!

Also, the best peanut butter I've had so far is found in this market! About the only thing I carted home in bulk from Tassie..

An early morning's fishing trip with Mr Flathead - where we ended up with way too much flathead and ended up cooking them three ways!

 The weird and wonderful came together at the MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) - we had fun playing table tennis underground, rolling around in the room of joy(Which sounds dubious but is really a pink plush-lined room with los of little bumps to sit on and roll around on) and smelling the poo from the poo machine seen above.











Next up: how we severely depleted the oyster population and enjoyed the moonlit nights at the East Coast!

Hello Ethiopia!

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.
Heb 11:1

I often employ faith unknowingly in life - whether it is believing a patient will get better with augmentin duo forte when in fact I have no more detailed understanding of the underlying mechanisms than the knowledge that it is an antibiotic that can get into the cell wall of bacteria and inactivate its' functions (by some in-itself-near-mythical unknowable biochemical process).

However I often have no idea if the patient is indeed, harbouring that particular bacteria, or if he is, whether the bacteria is in fact, the cause of the patient's chest infection. And even if the bacteria is present, whether it is harbouring resistance to that particular medication.

Why is it, then, that a stepdown to augmentin is often taken after a few days' worth of intravenous antibiotics in hospital?

I believe it is because:
- we've seen it work before in other patients.
- we believe the doctors who taught us to do it in medical school/ward rounds know what they are doing.
- we are so used to prescribing it that we feel we know what we're doing (the common side effects ie liver function derangement, interstitial nephritis, clostridium difficile associated diarrhoea, resistance etc)


Isn't faith in God much the same?

We believe in God and His Son's resurrection work and the Holy Spirit in us because:
- we've seen Him work before in other people, and in ourselves.
- we believe the Bible and its' authority as the Word of God (2 Tim)

And the more we trust God, the more it feels almost natural to run to him - more natural to praise Him for the good, and rely in His guidance during the trials.


And no, I didn't prescribe augmentin to anyone today! But I'm trusting in God and His provision and guidance for Ethiopia Part 2!

Aussie Open 2012

Finally made it for some tennis action at the Australian Open yesterday after watching Tomic vs Dolgopolov on the telly the night before.

At the gates

A late start due to a forgotten credit card meant that I arrived at Flinders Street only at 1pm. Unsure which direction to take, I ended up having a quiet walk down the riverbank to the entrance of Rod Laver Arena.

 Who knew Berdych would later be known as the man who refused to shake hands?

As usual, the place was packed, perhaps even more so than at Wimbledon with a great deal more foodstalls as well as long, long queues to get into each of the show courts.

 The grounds

The top two courts at the Aussie Open are the Rod Laver and the Hisense Arena - these get top billing and the top matches are usually played at night here. Tickets to each of these are exclusive to each, as in a Hisense ticket holder would not be able to access Rod Laver and vice versa. The next show court down is the Margaret Court Arena - access to this court as well as all the other ground courts is covered by a ground pass.

Watching the scores and envying the spectators while waiting to get in

Clutching my mobile ticket in hand, I made my way to the end of a queue waiting to get into Show Court 2 (the next one down from Margaret Court Arena) and began my waiting game. What happens is that new seats only became available when people already sitting get up to leave. And if you have a seat, you are allowed up to 3 exits to get food, use the toilet etc before your seat is given up to newcomers. All this meant that those arriving in the 2nd or 3rd wave of visitors had to wait ages to get into the seated courts.

 Wimbledon was green, down under it's blue!

Still having no idea whom I was going to be watching, I finally found myself in the middle of a match between David Ferrer and Juan Ignacio Chela - exciting until Ferrer took the second set and his opponent started giving up in the 3rd, even applauding some of David's shots at the end.

Above where we were sitting were a group of Aussies who cheered boisterously after almost every point and when the points were not so exciting, would break out into fragments of song, often using the player's names.

After the match, we were pleasantly surprised when we found we were about to watch a mixed doubles between Bernard Tomic, the Aussie thats getting all the news at the moment with Jelena Jankovic against a couple of young Aussie players. The cheering section above us were in their element now, and started cheering in between points, asking Tomic to wear his headband and enquiring as to the whereabouts of his girlfriend.

The match itself was pretty straightforward with Tomic and Jankovic winning pretty easily.

The final match we watched was a mixed doubles between Max Myrnic and Leander Paes, both of whose partner's names escape me. Compared to the first two matches, this was a pretty relaxed affair, with Leander showing why he was, and still is a doubles player ot repute - with a killer backhand volley/smash and masterful touches into open court areas.

So ended a sunburnt day at the Australian Open. 2 down, 2 more to go!

A belated happy Christmas!

In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. job 12:10

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. matt 16:25

Obsession with slf in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Rom 8:6

It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone. Eph 1:11

Malaysia 2010 - good times

On the ferry to Penang

Oyster omelette Penang style

The family photo that nearly never happened

Kampung Baru

Kompiang!

Vincent and Maureen and Brayden!

With Wima in Ayer Tawar

Claypot rice in Penang

With Wen Jen, Suet San and Hang Sheng @ Old Town Kopitiam

On Penang Ferry

Business Class @ Emirates

A number of really cool things happened over the course of the past week but today's really all about me flying one step up from cattle class with Emirates.

To begin with, checking in was a breeze - though the red carpet felt a bit contrived - perhaps they think while you're paying a few hundred quid more for your tickets you're entitled to possibly have slightly more cushioning for your feet?

The Emirates lounge at KLIA was something I'd almost forgotten I could access - just in time for a nice snooze away from the rush of the airport as it WAS midnight at the time. Also a good chance to grab a shave (see? taking your advice already squeaks!).

But of course the moment I'd been waiting for was when i presented my boarding pass (though the lady did ask me whether I was sure I wasn't in Economy - probably didn't dress the part enough). The usual bustle faded away as I entered the private section of the plane normally reserved for the suited and the booted.

Having secured an aisle seat, I briefly wished i'D actually put on a coat just so I could've asked the stewardess to take it away and hang it up for me. Turning my attention to the seats - my first worry was that the TV screen was way too far away for comfortable viewing however it was substantially larger than what I'd been used to. And my were the seats roomy.

Essentially you got two personal reading lights, a central console for controlling your chair's various positions which could be saved for future use (meals, sleep etc), tv controls and privacy controls. This last one meant raising up a screen that separated you from the guy/girl sitting right next to you. I spent quite a bit of time getting used to the chair's controls - not being very deft with the fingers and puzzling out techy stuff but before too long, paraphernalia started arriving to keep me busy elsewhere.

The first thing I was given was a sock and eyepatch combo - I suppose just in case peopl needed a change of socks? Stuffing them into the pouch underneath the screen with the complimentary blanket (which I never use), I contemplated the second item they gave me - a travel bag complete with everything a sophisticated traveler could need down to Bvlgari eau de cologne. Another stewardess then appeared with the menu and a wine list - by this time I'D Kicked my shoes off and was preparing to enjoy myself thoroughly - helped by a glass of juice and bottles of mineral water they offered even before we'd taken off.

After I was handed a noise-cancelling headset and was done watching a couple of episodes of Friends, the snacks arrived - none of your usual peanuts with a plastic cup - these were sandwiches of capsicum, feta, tandoori chicken and salmon with a slice of chocolate topped sponge to help it all go down. I'd been puzzling about where the table was - needn't have worried as she basically reached into the center console and pulled ou a huge foldable table overlaid with polished wood. Over this she placed a white cloth and then proceeded to set the cutlery and meal down. Huge salted nuts did get served later (still not sure why nuts are such a big deal on airlines in general) which were a bit much at that point.

THat led nicely on to a snooze (the most horizontal snooze I've ever had in the air) from which I was awoken by the stewardess tapping lightly on my knee to ask ever so quietly if I'd like some breakfast. This whole process started again with the folding table, upon which a tray with yoghurt and a plate of fruit was placed. The stewardess then brought out a hot tray of rolls, from which we made our selections - while we were making our way through these, the main bits of the meal (these came not in plastic packaging but in proper plates) were served separately. Though I think the quality of the main meal itself was pretty similar to what we'd normally have in Economy - which isn't bad at all.

On preparing to disembark - the stewardess noticed I'd left the eyepatch/sock combo and the travel bag behind and pointed out they were mine to take away which was nice - we left the plane on a separate exit and basically entered Dubai on a walkway above the main central floor away from the duty-free crowd where we proceeded to the business lounge to await our transits.

I'd definitely do it again!

Happy New Year all

Going to bed now. Wish I was home!

It's here.

Happy Christmas everyone!



Growing up Pa used to play this all the time (think he still has the cassette!) - to this day it isn't really Christmas until I hear this playing somewhere.



A MYF classic - we used to sing this to death every year - still remember the first time I heard it though.

Snow In Southport

The heaviest snowfall here so far.

It was fun for all of 15 seconds as I realised there was no way my car was getting out of the parking lot that day.

A Narnia moment. Anyone want to watch this before it closes?

Things I'm looking forward to 3

Something else I remember about Christmas back home was carolling around the homes and hotels in Sitiawan with the church youth group. The run up to Christmas would be filled with morning practices - normally preceded by a coffeeshop breakfast as school holidays had begun. Bass, tenor, alto and soprano singers would be magically discovered within each batch of secondary school students, many of us not having any musical knowledge haphazardly separated by a pianist trying out our individual pitches.

Once slotted into our groups, we'd break up and learn the parts from indivisual songsheets with either a pianist or guitarist showing each group the melody. It was an exercise in memory as we'd learn the bassline, for example, down by heart and try to exorcise all memory of the actual melody of the song. An exercise that invariably broke down when all the groups regathered to try out the 4-part harmony together as the soprano singers (who always seemed to be the most numerous) ended up dragging everyone into their melody.

There were the staples from the Methodist Hymnal: Joy To The World, Silent Night (both of whom had their distinctive guitar intros that were reused year after year), We Wish You A Merry Christmas, which would invariably be sung repeatedly in an ever-faster tempo, O Come All Ye Faithful, Hark The Herald Angels Sing and Angels We Have Heard On High. On occasion, someone would produce new songs and arrangements, which after a year or two, became staples of their own.

While the practices were going on, the youth group committee would be gathering invitations from homes (mainly church members) to which we would then go on the nights of the 24th and 25th. On the nights themselves, we'd start off at Pastor's manse - always as a dry run where mistakes would be giggled at. After a final prayer, we'd split into 2 groups to cover more ground. And as the night went on, the singing became more and more boisterous as people grew more tired. The climax would normally occur at a house where both groups planned to meet up at - the singing would then increase exponentially in volume as both the musicians and singers doubled in volume and soloists found themselves dueting instead.

The real challenge of course, was waking up for Christmas morning service in church after a late night carol session on the 24th!

Things I'm looking forward to 1

Happy pre-Christmas to anyone still reading this sorry collection of words and disjointed sentences!

My 4th Christmas in the UK and due to work am getting caught up in the swing of things a bit later than usual. The perpetual cold, tree branches sticking bare at all angles, moving shopfront displays (nope not actually IN southport!), christmas markets and carol songs blaring from every shop all add a festive mood to the air. The hospital wards with christmas trees are the good ones i think.

I do miss Christmas at home though, the staple of the season was the big Christmas dinner at the grandparents house where for one day of the year the big sitting-room tablecloth would be whisked away to reveal a dark polished wood surface. The kitchen would be occupied from early afternoon to dinnertime while the tabletop would be covered with large bouquets of flowers/fruits and the fancy dinner service would be placed next to wineglasses.

The family would gather at dinnertime and presents would be put on the sideboard. Uncles and aunts would bustle in and out of the kitchen bearing plates loaded with cuts of meat, pots of steaming gravy and bowls of peas and potatoes. The uncle in charge of the main bird for the night would be standingby the oven, forehead brimming with sweat, checking to see if the meat was cooked through.

And when everything was ready - the first course began - with everyone eating except the uncle in charge of the food who had to be continuously entreated to sit down and have a bite instead of running to and fro from the kitchen. Dessert usually consisted of christmas pudding set alight with all the lights off, after which the presents were exchanged - always the best part of the evening for us small fry.

And then followed a nice sit-down time with drinks where the cooks would be congratulated on their cooking, and various family members would put aside their differences and recall memories of childhood pranks and the doings of family members and friends long-gone.

And after that the food distribution which would last everyone at least till the new year..ahh Christmas at home.

Weekend in Southport

One of the most relaxing weekends in Southport since we started here 2 months ago. Got up at the fashionable hour of 930am after which headed into town to get errands sorted. Tried out the HTC Wildfire at a Vodafone store. And then spent a nice few hours at Waterstones picking out books from a gift card (thanks MeiFoong!).

Which way to the sea?

Persuaded Jack to come out for a drive (he's been poorly the past week) and so we traipsed off to Formby beach. A nice walk over the dunes led us to a wide open beach with pretty fine sand and packed just nicely for running/horse-riding/frisbee.

The dunes were 'under construction' whatever that means.

Emo Jack

Walking out to the ship.

Southport sunset

No beach trip complete without creamy ice!

Then decided as we were so close to Liverpool (Formby is about halfway btw Liverpool-Southport) might as well pop over for dinner, so met up with CherHan and Victor for dinner and a tong sui supper. Ah, good times.

All possible because of this baby.

And this is home for the year!

Southport Musical Fireworks Championship 2010

An enthusiastic Woei Lin with an even more enthusiastic Sasha

I had no idea this was on until Woei Lin my ex-housemate asked me if I was getting tickets. Apparently held annually, it's between a few ?fireworks companies who spend untold sums on getting fireworks timed to music.

Yes it rained

The whole thing kicked off at about 7pm with a demonstration of different types of firework(?s) eg what a Catherine wheel did as opposed to a Roman candle or a tourbillion. Being a fan of Paddington Bear, E.Nesbit's The Treasure Seekers etc, (all of whom described particularly memorable firework segments) it was actually pretty interesting.

No my camera doesn't do night shots well.

The main event turned out to be better than expected, particularly the first performance which was themed around Britain's Got Talent. Favourite bits below.