Boohoohoo

Jing departed for Melb last night! Boohoohoo! No one to watch musicals and have meals with!! But that would most probably be only for 8 months! :)

Makes me yearn to study overseas!! Yes yes, I MUST do it!

Spring Awakening by Pangdemonium

I think this is the best local musical I've watched. Ok lah, also because it wasn't an original local musical. But wow, Singapore can actually re-act Broadway musicals. So one day, I can eventually be in the cast of the ang mo musicals I love? :)

I like the content of the story. Just that the songs are kinda deep and hard to understand so I'm gonna get the CD and listen the songs well in my iPod :) I love the dude who played Georg! Aka the botak! His voice is the BEST in the cast! I love the music arrangement. Ahem, cos I kinda know the music director. But he's really awesome! Good at what he's doing...

Okay I don't know what to say... Photos!!!

Watched with these lovely people!

The ladies!!!!

Eileen and Elson!

Jing & I!!! SO sad she's leaving tomorrow!!! :((((

The beautiful set! I WAS SO FREAKING HAPPY with the seats! Best seats I've ever had watching a musical :)

Looking at the programme booklet! Admiring the cast by reading their profiles. Ideal life to live!!!

Alright I have worked 6 days straight. I deserve a good rest!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bad Mood

The ward was generally busy today. What made it worse was that I had to do people's crap. I'm glad it's over at least, and there was minimal "mistakes" when I handed my patients over to the afternoon shift. I was also happy that my patients were nice and not very demanding.

I made an observation and I ought to blog about it. I got very disgusted by a particular courier nurse from the OT department. She was going to fetch my patient to the OT. Okay. I know it's the ward nurse's responsibility to put on ted stockings for the patient. But excuse me, I was busy settling my other patient and there she could ask me to put on the ted stockings(which are freaking tight) for my patient. I would be totally cool if she was busy checking the documents, or doing other important stuff. But no, she was standing at the foot of the bed, happily chatting with my patient(while i wear the stockings like a maid) in Singapore's national language(she was a native singaporean btw) not helping me a bit at all(at least help to wear on the other leg)! So what does this mean? You draw a clear line between my job and your job? What kind of attitude is this?

I recall that recently she got some service award. Service my foot! At least, be nice to your internal customer. Okay lah, maybe your service to the patients are bloody good. But, through this simple action/attitude, you fail. Seriously fail.

Sometimes I hope that I can make my way "up there" to be of a high status so that I can knock some humanity and common sense into my nurses.

I'm not saying that I'm a total angel or what. But if I were to be in her position, I would be more than happy to just wear the patient's stockings myself! Just helping to do a simple task makes the hospital a better place to be in, isn't it?

Anyway, I had an awesome buffet dinner with Jing yesterday! Sigh, I should have a bad day at work, then a buffet dinner. That would then make my money paid for the buffet worth it!!

Tomorrow will be a better day :) I can't wait for Friday!!!! :DDD

NYPGA Fundraising Dinner

Yesterday we performed at Concorde Hotel's Ballroom where this NYPGA fundraising dinner was held. I'm glad for the opportunity to perform once again and meeting all my good old SoundCard buddies!!

Now I know why the sound guy could not recognised me and refused to hand the mic over to me after putting on make up. HAHAHA! Before.....

And after!! That's the power of fake eyelashes!!

Superstar Shikin!!! She performed a song for the dinner too :) She shared so much of her experience during our sound check! Looks like you really learn a lot in the "real world".

Uncle Terrence and Treasa!! :D

The awesome SoundCard gang!!!!

Hehehehe! Fadzly!! Miss him so much!

The performers :) We really had fun during the weekly practices! Finally, it was paid off!

I just love Clara's romper :) So prettyyyyyy!

Ooohh! Guess who I met there?! ShaoYu!!! :D

So one performance is down, I have my UFAME quater finals in March & BBSS choir concert in April!! And Sc production in June as well! And IF I get to the finals of UFAME(which I'm TOTALLY alright if I get eliminated), I will be busy in June as well :(

But then again, that is how my life is ALWAYS like. I'm Maria and I got to live like a Maria.

The current thing I'm looking forward to- SPRING AWAKENING!!!

Finding fulfillment in stagnant times

I guess everyone has to do it once in awhile, just to keep the flame alive. I just ended my night shift and I will be due for another one tonight!

In only one night shift, I got to share joy and sorrow with 2 of my patients.

One patient was told by the doctor that she could go home today and she was so happy that she almost broke down in tears! She looked at me and said, "Ma-li-ya!! Wo zhong yu ke yi hui jia le!". I held her hands and gave her the appropriate touch. I could feel so much joy from her!

Yet another patient somewhat nearby wasn't in a similiar situation. She was so uncomfortable and restless the whole darn night! She kept shouting in her room and it drove me nuts. She was totally insane. Well I can't blame her because partially the cancer has spread to her brain so I won't say that she is her usual self. I set some time for her and sat by her side. She would tell me, "Ma-li-ya. Zhe me ban?! Wo hen xin ku! Wo yao shang qu le. Ni men dou hen hao...." Etc etc etc. It's pretty scary when your patient knows your name and calls out to you in this kind of situation. You know erm, before, they, die.

I am glad that I was there for them :)

But my favourite group of patients will be the ones above 60. They are simply irresistably cute!! I have this ah ma who has totally no expression. When I asked her to smile, she would say she can't because she is very "kang kor". So I would sayang sayang her and she would sayang sayang back and sayang my face. And I can do the exact same thing 3 times a shift. Hehe.

Though I may not be extremely competent as according to my job description, I know the love to my patients are genuine. I hope that superceeds all the weaknesses I have.

Sigh, one more week :(

Jing is leaving Singapore in about a week! It's quite a pity that we didn't get to spend so much time together as compared to her previous trips back here... But at least we managed up to meet up on a not so ordinary day (Valentine's Day) for dinner! :)

Ate at this bak ku teh stall at clarke quay! Western & Japanese restaurants is a no-no on valentine's day!

After dinner, we chilled by the river with some ice cream- Our favourite activity. I like it when we both kinda said "Shit" when our ice cream started dripping all over! Lousy ice cream! Melt so fast!

See the 2 spoons? The guy attending to us thought we were gonna share the ice cream. NO WAY. Of course a cone of double scoop ice cream for each one of us!

The pretty night lights. Novotel was very involved in our conversation!

I guess I have been too busy with work and performances that I don't really have time to have random meet ups like this. Urgh! I gotta find more time!!

Titanic Exhibition!

Nope, they didn't showcase any Jack and Rose crap during the exhibition... Overall, I enjoyed it, but I thought it was quite short. Spent only about 2 hours in there. I kinda expected it to be more interactive as well.. Lina was such a great company! :)

I seriously love my Mom's camera! It's gonna be MINE! Beautiful helix bridge!

The structure of the ArtScience Museum is so cool!! I don't exactly know how to describe! You got to see it for yourself! The Titanic exhibition is at B2. And from inside, it looks like this!! The center of the "hand" has a water feature.

I'm such a law-abiding citizen that I didn't take any photos in there. I quite like the simulated scenes on the ship. Especially the one of the deck, facing the sea. Imagine being there all alone, just admiring at the stars and hearing the crashing sound of waves. The artifacts were so precious! I am so amazed by that they are preserved so well! This year marks 100 years since the Titanic set off and sank!! Us with all the interesting Titanic facts in our brains! :)

The outside view of the ArtScience museum!

This exhibition showed me class discrimination, courage, ship engineering stuff and mostly importantly, love. I teared abit when I saw a certain quote which went something like this....

"Women and children gets into the lifeboat." This saved my life but also made me loss the most important person in my life(husband). I went back into the ship. If we were to die, we would die together...

Aiyah! Something like that lah! You get the feel!

Uncle Terrence's Birthday!

 A few of us threw a little celebration to Uncle Terrence who we love a lot! :D Jessalynne and Treasa!!! We also took the opportunity to enjoy lok lok and cheap bubble tea! Hehehe.

Birthday boy!!! Ok, more like a man!

Us!! :) He's definitely appreciated by us! Or by me at least!~ Hehehe...

My Interpretation of Rainbow Connection

The first time I heard Rainbow Connection is when I was supposed to sing it for one of the scenes in NYP's 20th Anniversary musical. When I youtubed the song out, Kermit the frog was singing it. I loved the song immediately.

During my recent night shift, one of my patient who was really ill was admitted. I guess that would be her last admission. I don't know if she has passed away yet. It's so funny though. During her previous discharge which was earlier this week, I kinda regret that I didn't have the chance to have a proper goodbye because she was going home to die. And there, she appeared during my night shift, but at a poorer state. When I called out to her, her eyeballs would just move towards me and then she would close her eyes. She totally could not talk. But I know she's aware of me because when I held her hands, there would be slight movements on her fingers, as if trying to hold onto mine.

On my way home after my night shift, I suddenly thought of Rainbow Connection. Somehow I felt this song was so apt to the above scenario. Then, I googled out "meaning of rainbow connection". There were so many interpretations of the song. Some mentioned the song was about life, some mentioned it was simply portraying the characteristics of Kermit. There I found one which was in sync with what was in my mind...

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"I don't mean to sound morbid, but this song is about death and the afterlife. But in a positive way.

The rainbow connection- Death

Someday we'll find it... The lovers, the dreamers and me- Death is inevitable for all.

What's on the other side? - The afterlife

What's so amazing that keeps us star gazing?

And what do we think we might see? - God, heaven, or whatever is on "the other side", or at least, the questions we ask ourselves about such matters.

Star gazing- Gazing to the heavens, thinking about the afterlife.

Have you been half-asleep and have you heard voices?

I've heard them calling my name- Voices of angels. Unanswered questions about the unknown that has to do with humankind."

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Here's my conclusion of the song:

Why are there so many songs about rainbows? (why do people talk about death?)

And what's on the other side? (how is afterlife like?)

Rainbows are visions, but only illusions (death is sth real, yet we don't know how it's like)

Rainbows have nothing to hide (when we face it, we will face it)

So we've been told and some chose to believe it (we are aware of death)

I know they're wrong wait and see (but some don't believe. But they're wrong)

Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection

The lovers, the dreamers and me (all of us)

Who said that every wish would be heard and answered

When wished on a morning star (are all our prayers to God answered?)

Somebody thought of that, someone believed it (people do believe in God)

Look what it's done so far

What's so amazing that keeps us star gazing (we keep thinking abt afterlife)

And what do we think we might see? (we wonder what's in stored for us)

Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection

The lovers, the dreamers and me

All of us under it's spell (we all continue thinking about it)

We know that it's probably magic (when death happens, still dont know what to expect)

Have you been half asleep, or have you heard voices? (is it a dream or reality?)

I've heard them calling my name (the angels call out to me)

Is this the sweet sound, that calls the young sailors (helping us in navigation)

The voice might be one and the same (God calling out to us)

I've heard it too many times to ignore it (we still get on with life)

It's something that I'm supposed to be

Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection

The lovers, the dreamers and me

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Beautiful... This is so beautiful. Well, it's just another episode of my working life where I see patients off. Whether if she has passed away or not, I know it is a peaceful one.