and a secret garden only few know where!!!! look familiar??? 

and so it is just like you said it would be...

have you guessed where we've been? 

mr cheeky. little miss naughty. mr mischief.
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well, we're in londin, innit?

but wait a minute, which one's cheeky and which one's mischief???

numbers

exam in 12 hours time... last 3 chapters of Moore and Dalley (pg 832-1109) in the last 13 hours... 4 brain lobes, 2 hemispheres, 6 extraocular muscles, 2 synovial cavities in the TMJ, 12 cranial nerves, 4 muscles of mastication, 53 facial muscles, 6 branches of the facial nerve, 2 heads of the SCM, 1st 3 branches of the subclavian, 7 cervical vertebrae, 3 sympathetic cervical ganglia, 1 brachial plexus, 10 branches of the opthalmic artery, 15 branches of the maxillary artery, 8 branches of the external carotid, 4 suprahyoid muscles, 4 infrahyoid muscles, 2 bellies of the digastric, 4 extrinsic tongue muscles...........

freshies.strawberry and banana smoothie.scotch broth.kenneth.lunch.

groupies. qmu. guitar fingers. autumn in glasgow.

the t-shirt.

the cranial fossae.....

i know i've studied too much and too long when i'm mixing up medial and lateral, coronal and sagittal, when i've left the heater on for the past hour, when i can hear my TMJ creak, when shifting my eyeball in its orbit hurts and when everything i've studied for the past 5 hours seems like a big fuzzy mess... test in 48+12 hours time... halp... think after these next 60 hours of non-stop mugging, sleeping and eating, i'm going to collapse into the arms of my boyfriend, who's going to have to resuscitate me with cpr... (yes, my boyfriend who thinks the brain is the size of a fist... ) meanwhile, elsewhere in the world, there's been a series of blasts in baghdad AGAIN. you know there's something wrong in mann when you read : "The insurgents are well aware that, with so many bombs every day, it takes something spectacular to gain the attention of the international media.... " - BBC.
my brain is totally saturated.. and it's only been the first 5 hours of mugging... (horror creeps in) great... on the bright side, i've finally got a new vodafone line! woo hoo! finally can do away with that brick of a lg8120, which sucks to the max, and not have to stand the lousy reception that is from three network.. arghs.. good riddance to that dreadful combination... also, i'll be getting to see my boyfriend in about.... 70 hours time! yipppeeee!!! and i'll get to eat krispy kremes approximately 2 seconds after that, right baby??? arghs.. tired-post-bedtime-carol is kicking in... *yawns* zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

something new PLEASE

HONESTLY THERE HAS TO BE MORE TO LIFE THAN F**ING SEX!!!!!! can't these people seriously GET A LIFE and some NEW PERSPECTIVES!!!!!!! bloody hell... seriously, everything they talk about leads back to sex... I'D RATHER HAVE MY LUNCH ALONE NOW IF YOU PLEASE...

honestly.... i've never been rubbed the wrong way in conversations the way they always seem to manage to do to me.. what a bloody waste of my time and my energy holding a conversation with these clowns... you guys are bloody 21 year olds, get a grip. GET A BLOODY GRIP OF YOURSELVES. if only humans could close their ears.

angst.

everything man touches he ruins... but Jesus heals. everything He touches is made abundant, made good...

need a breath of fresh air in terms of conversation... and lunch-mates.....

been having horrible nightmares as well these past few nights... it's so weird.. it's like the devil's trying to put insecurity and fear in everything good that's been happening to me... but no way am i giving into all his lies... Jesus is in MEEEEEeeeeEEEee!!!

anyhow, one of the nightmares was that i was back in singapore and i was meant to go meet my boyfriend and some girlfriends... so i got up out of bed and looked into the mirror and my hair was MEGA-PUFFY. like seriously big.. like 5 inches off the top of my head, and frizzy at the ends.. i freAked! i was mortified... like the worst bad-hair day ever.. so i couldn't go meet aaron cos i didn't want him to see me looking like that... it's dumb, but it was really scary in the dream.. which is why i'm now using SUPER SLEEK SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER!

been reminded of the privilege i have with Jesus these past few days as well.. the juxtaposition between the grotesque lunchmates and the beautiful people God has put around me... the abyss between sin and man, as far as the east is from the west... a single word that confirmed your status was the same as mine, a calm reassurance you gave me, unknowingly.

gave a call to a devil in front of a computer and had an awkward chat... too much left unsaid, too much that has happened since. i am glad and thankful in so many ways for the unfamiliarity... ... or am i just being proud?

there she goes

omg!!! i made five spice chicken(wu xiang ji) for the first time ever, without a recipe, without a teacher, from scratch! and it tastes soooooo goood! WOW! mmmmmm..... mom and dad, you'll be so proud..

so it's official, i'm now of marriageable material.. yes, chinese men looking for future wives and a singaporean passport, you may send in your marriage proposals now...

meanwhile, i've been having conversations of the silliest degree:

me: yeah.. and the brain is beautiful, yada yadda yadda...
aaron: so it's supposed to be as big as the fist right?
me ....(incredulous)
aaron: oh wait, that's the heart...

weiyao: so i'm going to put a bid for the flat this thursday. i don't know how i'm going to do it, but i'm somehow going to tell the lady that i like her...
me: right, so i shouldn't be there right?
weiyao: yeah, you'll just spoil my mood..

kenneth: eh carol, what have you been telling the juniors about me huh?
me: why? what did they say to you?
kenneth: they're coming over later and they think my flat is going to be really neat and clean and that i am going to prepare wonderful food for them to eat.
me: WHAT? i don't remember telling them any of that.. i would NEVER praise you, kenneth.. i had probably said, ' kenneth is such a neat-freak, it's mad and obsessive and he's forced his poor flatmates into having to clean the kitchen and toilets...'
kenneth: ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH......

wise words from weiyao:

when women grow older, they appreciate men with character more, but when men grow older, they're still the SAMEEEE!

quotable quote of the week:

dr marshall, (while dissecting the brain, was pushing away the optic chaisma to reveal the trigeminal nerve): this optic chiasma is getting on my nerves...

and the usuals:

(at the bottom of kenneth's flat, while i'm buzzing for him to let me in)
kenneth: who's this?
me: MEeeee... carol
kenneth: ARGHHHH....
me: let me in!
kenneth: nO!
me: let me IN!!!
kenneth: what's the password?
me: arghs... kenneth is the best...
buzzzzzzzzzzzzz

ahhh these men...

meanwhile, i'm getting cravings again... for theseeeeeeeeeeEEEEEE...

even though i've never tasted and never touched..... (despair) think it's a case of when the fantasy will always be so tantalising and perfect that everything else will seem to fall short of it...it's over-rated, some say... it's too sweet!.. others comment... but i, alas i, will never know... until my fantasy becomes reality (**hint hint)

so all yee chinese men out there, the way to carol's heart is through her krispykreme-shaped void...

meanwhile, glasgow is looking sooo very pwetty! autumn is here, and photos will follow shortly!

lodon (baby) and life after

bloomberg (the lifestyle).brazilian dinner.london underground.city.

london (baby) and life after II

just getting back into the swing of things with my studies.. dissected the brain this morning! it's beautiful... honestly.. i know it's sad i derive pleasure from a wet specimen of a brain... but seriously, it's gorgeous.

anyway, london was ammmmaaaaazzziiiiiiinnng as usual, but i think i should hold back on the photos cos i've noticed some of my photos aren't loading.. hmmm. maybe i'll shrink em down to size a little...

things i did in london!!

london underground.camden market.little venice. london zoo.

my poor baby wAS sick, so we couldn't make it to lots of other places, and had to have quite a few early evenings, but it doesn't matter cos everytime's a blast with my pancake anyways...

no idea why my photos aren't posting so i'll try to cut em down... anyone have any clues???

anyhow, been uber busy these few days... this blog was written over 3 days!!! been dissecting, going for MASSIVE dinners, getting my computer fixed (by 2 techno-savvy guys, on 2 seperate occasisons, one of which was over a phonecall from london), having dinners with my best pals in glasgow and getting guitar lessons from kenny over banana and strawberry smoothies!!! mmmmmm...

meanwhile, here's what else's coming up on my itinery for this week :

FRIDAY

11-1 class

515-630 glasgow uni malaysian society meeting - i'm signing up cos they're giving 10% off the chinese supermarket!

630 - flat-viewing with weiyao - i'm thinking of moving into a sweet new modern apartment with private carpark, elevator, desinger kitchen, mixer taps (a rarity) and CENTRAL HEATING!

730 - cell group dinner

SATURDAY

do my anatomy coursework in the afternoon

nora's coming over for a sleepover..

SUNDAY

9am jog with kammy++

12 mass with yujing

130 chinese church

330 worship meeting

yup yup.. i'll be a pretty busy girl and since my boyfriend is too busy for me too, i'll just have to keep him updated THRU THIS BLOG SINCE WE HARDLY GET THE TIME TO TALK NOWADAYS!!!!!!! (**hint hint)

anyhows, guitar lessons with kenneth today was uber fun as well! i love kenny boy.. he's my favourite guy friend just now, but don't tell him i told you that - we thrive on a mutual-take-the-piss-out-of-each-other-relationship. but i love him and he knows that... heee.. i so hope he doesn't somehow stumble on this blog or i will have nowhere to hide my face... readers, please don't tell him... please?... oh oh oh! and pui ee, my missing flatmate got a piano delivered yesterday!! so this means i have a guitar and a piano in my flat right now!!! aww, aren't i so blessed?? now i can make music alll day long! heee.. which explains why my left fingers are totally roughed and desensitised and my palmar veins are much more visible... heee..

and yes, i am being a medical student in the midst of this all... captain weetos is coming on to me....even my dissection group realises he loves to put his hands on me... u may think that sounds unacceptable.. but that's not all.. it's compounded by the fact that he's got HUMAN FLESH AND JUICES ON HIS HANDS cos he dissects people for a living!!!!!! @#$^%#$@#& but, juicy hands aside, he's ace and i love him and if i were to do an intercalated degree in anatomy, i'll want him to be my mentor!!!!

okok, enough of my silly ramblings.. i should get back to (drumroll)........ the cranial nerves and the blood supply of the brain...

is this really me???

it's all in the kiss.

You scored 33.3% Earth
You are incredibly sensual, you love beauty and luxury and you expect your lover to treat you like royalty, a compliment that you will gladly return. You need commitment and loyalty in a relationship; as long as your partner gives you no reason to be jealous, you're as sweet and happy as can be. You're not against short-and-sweet affairs, but you're really looking for something more long-term and durable.

You scored 25% Air
Someone has to match you on an intellectual level if they expect to stimulate your more carnal desires. You're not opposed to long-term relationships and commitment, but sometimes you lose interest in a relationship more quickly than you'd like to admit.

books books books

omg... i am so bored of studying..... someone help me!!! and my room is getting sooo sooo cold!!! hmmm... i wonder what the weather in london will be like when i go down.. oh yes! i'm going down to london on thursday for a LONG (but undeserved) weekend! oooh.. weather looks promising!!!

PLUS i'm going to be playing mahjong tonight (an unprecedented event in glasgow!!!!) so WHY CAN'T I CONCENTRATE on my books??? arghs..

maybe taking photos would help.... i daren't go onto msn, lest its clingy paws ensnare and entangle me... oh sigh... oh... here's something the non-medics would appreciate : acronym rhymey thinggy that we use to remember the branches of the external carotid artery:

As (ascending pharyngeal)
She (superior thyroid)
Lay (lingual)
Flat (facial)
Oscar's (occipital)
Penis (posterior auricular)
Spurted (superior temporal)
Madly (maxillary)

okok... enough of bad medical jokes and the like.... time to get down to serious memorising.... *shuddeR**

God was in the gentle whisper

Isaiah 35
Joy of the Redeemed

1 The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the LORD,
the splendor of our God.

3 Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
4 say to those with fearful hearts,
"Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you."

5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
6 Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.
7 The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

8 And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness.
The unclean will not journey on it;
it will be for those who walk in that Way;
wicked fools will not go about on it. [a]
9 No lion will be there,
nor will any ferocious beast get up on it;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
10 and the ransomed of the LORD will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.


Revelation 21
The New Jerusalem

1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

needs doing

look at all the lonely people, look at how they sigh. look at how they laugh, look at how they have pleasure, but no joy, how they have laughter, but no eternal comfort... how they have friends they don't trust, partners they don't love, jobs they don't belong to, lives they'd rather not lead... look at all these people... look at how they lead their lives aimlessly, half-heartedly, look at how they die more and more each day as their livelihood drains their life... look at how they look with envy, with jealousy, with malice, with contempt, with sadness, with defeat, with souls crushed, hearts broken, dreams shattered, relationships asunder... look at all these people.. God says, 'look all at my children, look at how lonely they are.. look at how they don't know Me... look at them... how can you let them carry on in that state... this is not the Life i want them to lead..'

Life, and Life more abundantly.... There is no true joy apart from God... the devil has not attacked lazy christians for ages... as long as they keep the good news to themselves... this is a matter of life and death.



"Come, come," He calls you, "O soul oppressed and weary,

Come to the shadows of My desert rest;

Come walk with Me far from life's noisy discords,

And peace will breathe like music in your breast."

-alone with God. from The Still Hour

as i walked along the path, i saw a man looking longingly at the streams of the river... what he wished for, i do not know.. but i saw his eyes, and there was no hope left in them..


"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." - Matt 9:37

"What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops." - Matt 10:27

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house....let your light shine amoung men." - Matt 5:14-16

i see dead people

i see dead people.... three days a week, from 10-12 in the mornings... yup yup... still trying to get used to being greeted by a cadaver every morning from tuesdays to thursdays...

been squirted with 'juice' twice already since tuesday... 'juice' is my euphemism for the fluid contained in the meat of the cadavers that very often splashes out upon dissection.. eeyucks. *shudders* we were just discussing this that day and this is the order of bodily fluids i'd prefer to get splashed on me:

first on the list!! - 1. urine! it's clean.. really. compared to what the rest are like..

2. vomitus - pre-gastric over post-gastric.

3. blood - come on, girls are used to this...

4. faecal material - normal stools over watery diarrhoeal sorts.

5. fats from live bodies

6. 'juices' from cadavers

7. fats from cadavers

the anatomists taking us are pretty darned cool as well.. one of them looks like captain weetos and the other one looks like the short prince from shrek.. heh... weetos (not his real name) is totally eccentric! asking us to watch 'pride and prejudice' so we can observe keira knightly's cervical region : "ohhh! what a gorgeous long neck - oh! her sternomastoids!"



school's been pretty alright. easy-going lectures, roughly 1-2 hours a day of reading - easy peasy..

weather in glasgow's getting from good to bad... honestly, it could be sooo much worse... my flatmate isn't back from malaysia yet.. so that means i'm on all on my own!!!! which means i'll have more time to actually finish reading the books that i've started on!! haha.. that count currently stands at 4... "zorro" by isabel allende, "daring to draw near" by john white, "extravagant worship" by darlene zschech and The Bible, by God...

God is good, all the time! *wide grin*

SIN in style -GLA in black, green and white

queensway kid

drinks in singapore!

out with the girls

at the esplanade

and then we went from this


to this ...

and the party continued on!!!!!

glasgow city

spot the celtic fans

glasgow, you dark horse

can't wait for tuesday, when i'll get wireless access in the uni and i can finally post all my photos from glasgow and singapore!

i've had soooo much fun in singapore with aaron and the fun just rolled over to glasgow when we got back... but my pancake started work in bloomberg london today!!! woo hoo!!

yeah, totally rekindled my love for glasgow as well...

things we got up to:

1. dinner with the pans.
2. watched a celtic match at celtic park! celtic beat inverness 2-1!!! wooo hoo! c'mon hoops!
3. dined at 78 st. vincent street. which served the best food i've ever tasted in glasgow!!
4. a city tour in black and white!

things heard from the audience at the celtic game:

c'mon hoops!
c'mon celtic!
the referee is a bloody wanker!!!
the coach who made that guy a professional player is a bloody.....
fucking wanker!
bloody fucking wanker!


yuppers.. so now i'm more in love with glasgow and more in love with pancake than ever before!!!!!!!! hahahahaha...

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school starts tomorrow with head and neck anatomy with kenneth and weiyao.. kenneth's getting funnier and funnier by the months... is gonna be a very interesting next 5 weeks... went jogging this morning with kenneth, alfred, khammy and sarah along a scenic route. was by a river with ducks and swans in it, and it was overlooking the rooftops of glasgow.. a picturesque grey sight... was gorgeous..

anyway, gonna head off now for some fun and games at a friend's place!

photos up soon!

glasgow

i love my babeee!

summer has come and gone... and i'm back to the dreaded city of the lassez-faire-styled monotony that is glasgow.. *pout*

well, it's not all that bad... at least aaron's still around.. but only till sunday when he starts his job down in london... but in the meantime, it's gonna be me getting used to life in glasgow again..

my new love...

The mahogony, back, sides and
neck provide rich, warm lows
and great resonance. A Fishman
Sonicore pickup and SST
preamp accurately amplify the
guitar's natural sound when
plugged in. A spruce top,
rosewood fretboard, pearl dot
inlays, on board tuners and
die-cast chrome tuners...

ooooooooooooo... don't you just wanna cry when you see check this work of art out??? wait til you play her...

aaron's coming soon!! woo hoo.. does carol have enough love for 2?!?!?!?!?!?!

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stay tuned... (haha.. geddit? tune? tune the guitar??)

photos as promised!!

hainan food.hainan vegetables.thebestpeachi'veevereaten.hainanese chicken.


a well.the beach my grandfather took off from.lunch.a window. village women.

see food?.the villagers checking out some old photos. the village. the village school.
haikou airport

eat before noon

hainanese chicken!

the cutest puppy, not for consumption.

yin and yang

dao

miss china

wo shi zhong guo ren

ahhh... the wonders of china... where could i start??? somehow english seems to fail me right now.. so let's switch languages!! wo3 zai4 hai3 nan2 dao3 xiang3 shou4 le4 shen1 huo2 zhong1 de4 xiao2 zhuan3 lie4 dian3. ping2 shi2 bu4 zhong4 shi4 zhong1 guo2 ren2 de4 wo3 zhe4 ci4 da4 kai1 le4 yan3 jie4.... zhe4 shi4 yi4 xie1 wo3 zai4 zhong1 guo2 zuo4 dao4 de4 guan1 jian1 dong1 xi1:

1. jiang3 hua2 yu3

2. he1 cha2

3. chi1 chai4

4. kan4 qing1 qi4

5. jie1 chu4 dao4 fo2 jiao4 he2 dao4 jiao4 de4 wen2 hua4

6. qu4 le4 mu3 qing1 de4 jia1 xiang1

7. shai4 hei1 pi2 fu1

8. chi1 ming2 fu4 qi2 shi2 de4 hai3 nan2 ji1

yup... was a real eye opener for me... drank lots of tea and realised the mysterious wonders of chinese medicine. caught a cold from over-working in singapore before flying off for hainan and it was worsened with the really little sleep that we got from the first few days of the group-touring cos we had 630am starts and our days ended around midnight... so yeah. was quite miserable and irritable for the first few days... then we went round to this cha2 guan3 and had some of this
苦丁茶 (Ku ding cha (Foliun Ilicis Latifoliae)) .. xian1 ku3 hou4 yan2.... our tour guide (who really liked me btw...) said that it'll really help my cold and asked them to brew it a little stronger. and it's miraculously cured my runny nose and i felt soo much better from just 2 cups of it!!! i was soo much better the next day! this is a trademark tea of hainan dao. it grows on trees that reach between 20-30m high, and can only be found in 2 places in china : the sichuan province and hainan dao. it used to be used as a medicine and everyone should find out more about it by clicking on it!!

so yes. other than finding out the holistic goodness of tcm, i also visited my mom's village in wen chang village. it was amaazing. the village people were all so nice and friendly and their skins were so dark and rough from farming and working. they prepared a marvellous lunch for us as well, together with the famous wenchang ji. yes.. famous hainanese chicken. yeah. also visited the place where my grandfather took off for singapore from. my great grandfather was the captain of a chinese junk that took people to singapore.. it was quite an experience.. to be standing on the spot where, almost a century ago, my ancestors made their epic journey to singapore... all the struggles our forefathers went through to bring us to where we are today.. i've never truly felt the weight of that famous chinese line till now.

i was also reading a commentary on the chinese communist party (ccp) during the trip and it's made me, unprecedentedly, understand the strife of the chinese under communist rule. also, i've just discovered that china has more than 5000 years of history!!! that's even before roman civilisation!!!!!!! (ok, you may make fun of me cos i'm slow...) and and and... i've become a zhen1 zhu1 expert!! i can now tell you all there is to know about pearls and how to distinguish a real from a fake! did you guys know that empress cixi was the woman who owned the most no. of pearls in the history of mankind??? she may even be the woman who ate the most no. of pearls as well!!! yesh. and i'm on my way there to beat her record cos i acquired 2 more pairs of pearl earrings, a pearl bracelet and a pearl pendant!!!!!! thankew daddy! heee...

oh OH... and i finally threw away my white slippers.. i'm sure all of you who know me well would be well-aqcquianted with my white slippers.. i wear them like 80% of the time... it was about time to say goodbye to flip-flop-dress-downingness-and-associated-laziness.. although they've been with me to beaches in australia, thailand as well as china... not to mention east coast park of course!! yesh. i left them behind and bought a pair of heels from china! they're very chinese and remind of me a chinese woman - fair, elegant, reticent and slim. i'm calling her china. (yes, i name my shoes) pictures will be up in due time!!!!

what else did i get up to? oh yes... gen1 qing1 qi4 men2 liao2 tian1. yups.. some of my mom's distant relatives in hainan work as pe teachers in the schools there. and their kids are absolutely brilliant. were shown round lots around hainan dao... buildings in china are... in 2 apt words : long2 zhong4. they've got so much space in hainan that they can build the biggest and most magnificient structures and roads. and the chinese do love their greenery and gardens and water.

so all in all, i'm a convert. wo men dou shi zhong guo ren. hahaha.. we have got so much to learn from chinese history, medicine, culture and their way of life... 3 pots of ku ding cha this morning and now i'm off to san4 san4 bu4. heh...