Hello Kitty

Thaipusam 2009

2009-02-12T17:56:00.000-08:00

I ventured to Penang last weekend to partake in the Hindu Festival that is Thaipusam. If you are not familiar with Thaipusam, then you and I are at the same level, but wikipedia, the bearer of all knowledge, revealed this: "The festival commemorates both the birthday of Murugan (also Subramaniam), the youngest son of Shiva and Parvati, and the occasion when Parvati gave Murugan a vel (spear) so he could vanquish the evil demon Soorapadman."

my very first experience of thaipusam was not great. I didnt sleep for days after. My fondest memory is having the misfortune of the lady infront of me trancing out and speak in what sounded like tongues while seizing around me. this broke my very tenuous seven year old grip on composure and my eternal hero, daddykins had to carry me screaming and flailing from the crowd. but this time it would be different, for several reasons.. im older, wiser and i've witnessed the atrocity that is childbirth so now nothing can phase me ever again. but mostly daddy isnt around to hold my hand this time so im forced to be a big girl. its ok though, for med school has armed me with a new found sensitivity for all cultures. oh wait. no they havent.

Regardless, I figure its time to get down with my own culture. And there to help me were two of my home boys, referred to as cousins by the more mature members of our family. these dudes know everything there is to know about everything malaysia. From the local political climate to where to find the best chicken rice. Also significant is that cousin numero duo has carried kavadi which I find both insane and impressive.

what is Kavadi you ask? well i asked that too and here to tell you is wiki..
"Kavadi Attam is a dance performed by the devotees during the ceremonial worship of Murugan, the Tamil God of War. The Kavadi itself is a physical burden through which the devotees implore for help from the God Murugan.Generally, Hindus take a vow to offer a kavadi for purpose of tiding over or averting a great calamity. For instance, if the devotee's son is laid up with a fatal disease, he would pray to grant the boy a lease of life in return for which the devotee would take a vow to dedicate a kavadi to Him."
its also worth noting that one cant simply carry kavadi.. theres a whole lengthy preparation process that goes into it.. designed to purge themselves of all mental and physical impurities

Behold photos:

dude carrying Kavadi

More Kavadi.. all colours, shapes sizes

the little silverware containers are individually hooked into their skin and each are filled with milk or sacred ash.. so as one can imagine, it gets heavy.

Rambo

Speared, hooked and valiantly pulling a chariot from the skin on their backs.

So all in all my Thaipusam was a success. I discovered what it really means to be hot and sweaty, wading through a traffic jam of human and mountains of coconut; there was singing and dancing the streets; and I didnt run screaming from the crowd which makes me feel like i've redeemed seven year old me. She can once more hold her head high and wander the playground shame free.

Meanwhile in emergency and trauma, patients have been dying and its all very depressing so I dont want to write about it. All I can say is.. enjoy your now.

Peace people.

Exterminator

2009-02-03T23:47:00.000-08:00

saw a 30 something guy who ate half a box of rat poison today because he was lonely and people talk to him at the hospital. sad stuff. then he threw up and his vomit was a frothy bright pink as per colour of rat killer. was the prettiest chunder i've seen.

The Motherland

2009-02-02T23:55:00.000-08:00

Herrow, apologies and thank you for your emails. You re all beautiful, give your selves a cuddle from me..

Im alive but being in Malaysia made me loose my blog mojo. something about being in familiar territory and comfortable.. figured you didnt want to hear about how fast my cousins are growing or the addictive food my talented aunts can cook.. secret ingredient: cocaine. ..though they wont admit to it.

aaanyhow.

im in Kuala Lumpur, living with my gorgeous cousin. ive adopted her as my big sister.
the vibe here is much much different from japan. theres less raw fish, chopsticks and crazy vending machines for one thing.. i guess the main thing i miss is the beautiful Japanese culture of respect and politeness. also Japanese service is second to none. i cant explain the feeling of getting bowed out of a simple coffee house.. you just have to experience it.

but enough nostalgia.. im back in a hospital so i now have tales of interest to tell...

still early days as i happened to join in the time of public holidays - from chinese new year to fed territory day to thaipusam - but its shaping up to be sweet.. see alot of MVAs which is elitist speak for motor vehicle accidents.. until i know what im doing, have taken a back seat on them.. but im already gaining some decent trauma experience.. yay.

some of the students here are surprisingly stupid... (i feel a rant coming on.. must restrain, im sure they're watching for they are everywhere) ..... to illustrate said stupidity:
an elderly gentleman arrived this morning in a pulseless Ventricular Tachycardia.
myself and malay student #1 are on the receiving team .. ive been assigned the task of IV access.. she is excess and has been assigned the vague task of assisting when required.. we, the team of 6 plus axillary malay student #1, are fluidly (if i do say so myself) proceeding through the advanced cardiac life support protocol and defib dr is about to administer shock when MS#1 yells out that the monitor is still on!
..she rushes to switch it off.
..everyone rushes to stop her.
the monitor she refers to is that which displays the patients ECG rhythm and also happens to be a part of and connected to the charger for the defib machine.
why she thought it appropriate to turn off the monitor and therefore the defibrillator, is beyond me.. truly truly bizarre.

this is of course an extreme example of idiocy and many other students here are bright little buttons and shiny gold stars but she in particular makes me feel like im gonna be okay in this crazy world of medicine.

Curious Observations

2009-01-08T19:04:00.000-08:00

Japanese love dressing up their dogs

...then taking them for walks in custom made doggie prams.

i found this here medical cream which i can only assume holds the cure to every ailment known to man

the english language shouldnt be hindered by silly things like making sense. engrish will set your FREE!! YEAH!!

Japanese women have an unfaltering ability to wear the most ridiculous heels in any and every situation. We were hiking through the forest and saw heels on almost every female we passed. These i spied on the subway and tried to take a discrete photo ..hence terrible quality pic

chocolate for real men.
McPork. the Japanese answer to the McChicken. its the spoonful of rice within that makes it delicious.

Things that make me Happy

2009-01-06T07:09:00.000-08:00

Brother Dearest has left me for the fair shores of home..

Sathishy at the airport, Air NZ check in

I'm kickin it in Tokyo, alone once more, and though i've made some single serve hostel friends, having been away from home and the people i love for almost 2 months.. there are a few items i'm thankful for, often times on a daily basis:

my tool band shirt.

a gift from That Guy, an old and dear friend whom i get to see too rarely.
have taken to wearing it to bed because it means i can wear it on a nightly basis without getting weird looks regarding questionable laundry and hygiene habits.

my wallet

not only does it (too) willingly dispense money, it contains pictures of mummy and daddy and doggy
it also contains my expired Otago Uni Student ID which oddly enough, ive come to treasure here in Japan despite the mongol picture of me on it.
.. it is also no coincidence that my community services card sits in front of my credit card.. serving as a powerful reminder of why im never allowed to use it unless im screwed.. or see a particularly pretty pair of shoes.

a note from Celia

because it makes me smile.. all cutesy and stuck to a baby maltesers packet which has long been eaten for i love maltesers and shes awesome and thoughtful like that.. plus she praises my wingmaning skills within.

shiny jewellery from Ebony

from that time we went shopping together in Sylvia Park during her lunch break ..which just so happens to be the day i discovered i get to be a real life doctor just like House MD... she bought me a celebratory mega tall grande Truffle Mocha which was to mark the start of a pamper priya spending spree that Paris Hilton would be proud of.

Let all the souls here rest in peace...

2009-01-02T06:53:00.000-08:00

... for we shall not repeat the evil. [inscription on cenotaph]

A night bus saw us into Hiroshima several days ago...which was pretty much numero uno on my agenda of things to see/do in Japan. naturally the kick ass museum for which everyone said "ohmygawd Priya you simply must see it or life shant be worth living" was closed for the new years period. bollocks. i cried a river of bitter tears, ate some chocolate and got over it then wandered over to the A-dome for which words cant describe. thankfully someone tried and im going to plagiarise for it is the highest form of flattery

A-Dome

Excerpt from info tablet at A-Dome Site:
"..At 8:15am August 6th, 1945, an American B29 Bomber dropped an atomic bomb, the first atomic bomb in human history. The bomb exploded approximately 600 meters above and 160 meters to the southeast of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. The building was crushed and gutted by fire. Everyone in the building died immediately. It is known now that the bomb subsequently killed more than 200,000 people.
However, because the blast came from almost directly above, some of the walls of the building remained standing, leaving enough of the building and iron structure at the top to be recognisable as a dome.
After the war, the badly damaged skeletal remains of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotional Hall came to be known as the A-Bomb Dome.
For many years, opinions about the Dome were divided. Some felt it should be preserved as a memorial to the bombing, while others, calling it a dangerously dilapidated structure that evoked painful memories, advocated its destruction.
Gradually, as the city was rebuilt and other A-Bombed buildings vanished, the desire to preserve the Dome gathered strength. in 1966, the Hiroshima City Council passed a resolution declaring that the A-Bomb Dome would be preserved in perpetuity. This led to a campaign to raise the funds required to physically preserve the dome. Donations poured in from those who wished for peace in Japan and overseas. The first preservation project was implemented in 1967. Several preservation projects have been carried out to ensure the dome will always look as it did immediately after the bombing.
In December 1996, the A-Bomb Dome was formally registered on the World Heritage List as a historic witness to the tragedy of human history's first use of a nuclear weapon and as a universal peace monument appealing for the abolition of nuclear weapons and the realisation of lasting world peace. "

the lasting world peace bit may be a touch ambitious but aim high my mother always says.

a tree exposed to the radiation from the A-bomb about one and a half kilometres away from the hypocenter. the half of the trunk on the hypocenter side was burnt to a hollow from the explosion and heat rays. the tree is (miraculously) still growing, curling around the hollow.. some say its protecting the burn.

aww lookie.. St Paddys School from Kaiapoi, mighty NZ..
made an entire shrine of cranes which is now lovingly housed at hiroshima

Hope everyones new year went swimmingly. I know mine did.

Various Mature Conversations with Big Brother

2008-12-30T01:32:00.000-08:00

Walking around Osaka Castle

Bro: Spiderman versus Samurai.. who would win?
Me: Ooh..tricky.. i wanna say Samurai
Bro: Mmm.. maybe but spidey would scale the moat wall
Me: But the samurai would pour hot oil on him
Bro: Nah cause he'd creep up on them and use his spidey senses
[long and involved conversation ensues detailing strengths and weaknesses]
Bro: Ookay.. James Bond versus Ninja
Simultaneously: Bond. Defo.

As you can see.. Osaka Castle is intensely blinged out.
Thanks to Maiko for the recommendation.

Lost in Kyoto
Bro: Is this the street?
Me: Na, not this street..
Bro: You're a street.
Me: Your face is a street
Bro: Your momma is a street
[much school girl giggling, especially from Sathish]

more bling than you can handle

Osaka is kinda like the real life version of Tokyo Drift. Impressive cars and neon lights. both best experienced at night. This was compounded by the fact that we had the dubious honour of staying next to what appeared to be a somewhat shady Yakuza run joint that pimped out luxury super cars. Sathish salivated everytime we walked past.. lamborghinis, bentlys, ferrari, astons etc

one of the more rediculous cars we saw..
too scared to take photos of the yakuza joint.. this was in a mall.

Enlightenment

2008-12-26T02:45:00.000-08:00

Christmas was spent in Kyoto which is as close to perfect as it gets for Kyoto is the Japan of my imagination. Naturally my imagination is heavily influenced by Memoirs of a Geisha (the book, not the movie.. tsk).. so as we were strolling down a quaint cobblestone lane which followed a stream on one side and was lined by discrete japanese inns on the other, i spied a Geisha (whom are notorious for flitting on the peripheries of ones vision like a shimmery unicorn.. you know they exist, its just hard to prove) and quickened pace to catch up.. but amongst other things, Gieshas are trained in the art of evasion so i can only conclude that when she saw me she morphed into just another kimono clad person.

pagodas are at the end of every lane! not really.

fushimi inari.. hundreds upon hundreds of tori gates wind their way up the mountain

It truly is stunning and though i realise that my Japan exposure is still very limited, im gonna go ahead and say ..if there is anywhere in Japan where zen can be attained, its Kyoto. Interestingly, during the war, the decision was made to leave Kyoto untouched due to its cultural and historic significance.. so many of the temples and shrines remain not only standing but well groomed and packaged with a bow.

Tis the season...

2008-12-24T16:09:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas you beautiful shiny people you..

Hope santa is both kind and jolly.

Love and cuddles
Priya

Sayonara Kameda

2008-12-24T01:37:00.000-08:00

Elective Phase One is over.
This makes me terribly sad for it is much too soon! i want more! but Time is being viciously relentless and though i tell it to just chill man, not only will it not listen, but it speeds up then looks back only to point and laugh with glee.. ive warned it that its going to die alone and it has no one but itself to blame but it seems to think itself as an island.. so then of course i told it that even hugh grant isnt an island, but Time doesnt hold much regard for mr. grant and fair enough so i dropped it there.

left my cosy ocean side womb on monday to pick up sathish at Narita.. however before i left, my surgical crew threw me a farewell party.. the aim of which was to "feed priya escalating craziness but only describe to her in graphic detail what it was after she has finished"

some of the crew

with hindsight, this has worked particularly well for me as i now have no guilt over eating both whale and horse.. of which horse i can testify to be incredibly good, both raw and cooked.

horse sashimi

every dish exquisitely presented

Other less crazy foods i consumed include:

beef tongue
sea urchin
raw eel
fish eyes
fish liver
natto - fermented soy beans

feeding on flesh

oh yeah.. i totally scored McFlurry's digits. He was drunk and probably doesnt understand the subtle implications of "crazy about you ♥" but thats soo not the point.

Work Ethic

2008-12-21T02:46:00.002-08:00

I met a junior resident who hasnt left the hospital in two months. He has literally lived here for the last 60 days, working from 6 in the morning to 12 at night. Rinse. Repeat. He said next week, he switches rotation and gets half a day off on saturday. He was giddy with excitment. I could only stare.

He then introduced me to a senior resident who once returned home only to discover that his lights werent working.. or his stove ..or his heaters because the power had been cut.. as had his phone and internet. The man hadn't been home in so long that he forgot to pay his bills .. the several reminder notices they sent out remained unopened stuffed into his overflowing mailbox.

Many of the surgeons` wives and children live in Tokyo so they often only get to see their family once or twice a month, as explained by Sensei K, chief of surgery.. who sees his family less often because the man is an awesome genius of a Machine powered solely by surgical procedures.

These people put the rest of us mere humans to shame making eating and sleeping seem like a luxury.

9:00pm. Someone broke their spleen.
worth noting that the scrub bays and theatre doors are entirely hands free, motion activated swish.

More Surgery

2008-12-20T02:33:00.000-08:00

I think im all surgeried out.. reached surgical saturation if you will.

This is perfect timing on my part being that i leave soon.. 2 days in fact.. and those two days are the weekend.

Having been given the freedom to choose what surgeries i want in on, i might just lay low and get reacquainted with the magical land that is the residents den.. where coffee, the life blood of every doctor here, is both free and freely flowing. The big screen TV is in high def to enjoy the classic Japanese Samurai dramas.

I also discovered early on that the den is a subscriber to the New York Times. This is significant on two levels: it is english so no one 'cept moi seems to care for it and it is brilliant. assuming eating and paying bills wasnt an issue, it would totally be worth the grand and a bit subscription fee back home. Every surgery we finish, we have "recovery" time where i run off to get my coffee/NYT fix. Im up to date with Obama. So far so good on that front. The Mumbai bombings. Civil unrest in Bangkok. I`ve never been quite so worldly as i am here in Japan.

i love this photo. a nurse took it on her phone..

im pretty sure im just walking to the cafeteria but i look pretty damn important doing it.

yuckyness scooped out of a human.

you probably have this slurping around in you. youre disgusting.

My brother is better than your brother

2008-12-18T18:58:00.000-08:00

Sathish is coming to Japan!
He and i shall ride super fast trains together so we may get to where we want to go super quick then wait at the station until the bus comes in some 8 hours later so we can be all "beat you"
And we shall experience Christmas/New Years in yet another different country
..Its becoming a weird tradition to not spend Christmas in the same country as our parents.

Regardless, I`m so excited I could form a band, call it the Pointer Sisters and write a song about just how excited i am.
But I won`t.

More Fun with Engrish

2008-12-15T00:26:00.000-08:00

"we rejected his colon but now he has mets so we will reject his liver too"
...i think he meant resect but reject is colourful.

---

resident: "his chief complaint was screaming"
me: "screaming?.. like.. yelling?"
resident: "no no, X-ray Pliya San"
me: "ooh. screening."

---

sensei: "she is a 40 year old woman and she speaks english. you should take a history from her"

if i had known to swap every she with he, woman with man and her with him, i wouldnt have wasted half an hour searching for a nonexistent english speaking female.

---

listening to a japanese person say "irregularly irregular" never gets old

I Hate Dentists

2008-12-11T00:33:00.000-08:00

They are the devil`s spawn, sent from the flaming tarry pits of hell to torment the good, virtuous people of this world.

I have a friend who is a dentist.. the only possible explanation for which is that she was abused as a child and though i recognise this and endeavour to accept her in spite of her (abysmal) career choice.. it`s fair to say that right now, i hate her too. She and her kind suck. How do you live with your selves? Inflicting endless, debilitating, excruciating pain.. then pretending like you`re sorry.. like it hurts you more?!... LIES. Bastardos! All of you. Dont think we dont see through you..

You are the reason for all the pain and suffering in this world. If you all just went away, wars and pestilence would follow. Global warming would reverse.. the economic crisis would remit.. Michael Jackson would be normal.. peace and love would reign.. The world would just be a more tolerable place.

ARGH!!!asdf;klhjdf;lkasdf

Lazy Sunday

2008-12-07T05:15:00.000-08:00

Theres a lot to be said for living but a stones throw away from the sea.

I wandered for about 5 hours along the beach today.. In those five hours:

I was asked by a group of fishermen to join them. Something bit my line and I gave it to the experts to reel in.. tragically, it got away but I got caught up in their excitement.. was 100% prepared to fling the nearest person into the to sea to grab the beast.

look at how BIG it was gonna be

Joined an elderly man in his quest for polished stone.. at the end of which discovered why he sought pieces of rock when he presented me with a bracelet he had made and bowed so deeply his hat flew off so we had to chase after it.

Met one of the docs I work with who insisted on taking a bunch of photos of me. Thankfully digital means no wasted film.

Was invited to enjoy traditional green tea with a minuscule japanese woman and her proportionately minuscule husband

God I love this place. It has all the charm and peaceful cohesion that a small (on the japanese scale of things) sea side community ought to have.. the real japan. Fringed with tenbo rice paddies and farmers who often pay their land tax with bags of rice. Unadorned, unadulterated japan, minus the urban commercialisation of tokyo.

Have further concluded that when I grow mature enough to desire a mortgage, I want to live near a vast body of water.

Conversation with a Junior Resident

2008-12-04T17:47:00.000-08:00

JR: "So now we will go insert the Energy Tube into patient"
Me: "The what?"
JR: "The Energy Tube Priya"
Me: ...blank look...
JR: "You no have Energy Tubes in New Zealand?!"
Me: "Not to my knowledge but it sounds like we should definitely get in on that"
JR: ...polite laughter... "Yes, I think make very helpful"

So we rock along to insert what in my head has become a strobing rainbow tube mixed with elements of PowerThirst (made with real lightning!) only to discover that he meant a NasoGastric Tube, aka NG Tube.

Monumental anticlimax.

On the bright side.. I`ve succeeded in making the NZ medical system look like its from the dark ages. Unaware of the horror it would evoke, I accidentally admitted that we write patient notes.. with a pen, on paper no less.. how quiant and archaic. Here everything is computerised and a nurse accompanies us on rounds with a tablet pc. Now no NG tubes. Oopsies.

There`s one at every hospital..

2008-12-03T03:57:00.000-08:00

I spent the day attached with the McDreamy of this hospital.

He is worshipped and revered by the entire female species here and no doubt some male. Both staff and patients have fallen for his very genuine charm and very good looks.. it appears no one is immune, cept maybe me as i've yet to be afflicted by the yellow fever and much of the time im distracted by trying to decipher what hes saying as he valiantly searches his brain for english terms to communicate with me.
“this patient is a little bit quite a lot hypo fluid so we must stop his diaries” (this patient is

rather hypovolaemic, we must stop his diuretics)
“are you ready priya? okay! one, three, san!” (as we transferred a patient)
“This is Dr H, he is a cerebellist” (neurologist)

We were in surgery from 7am straight through to 4pm, no breaks.. at which point JapaneseMcDreamy or as i secretly call him, McFlurry..its less funny in type than it is in my head.. anyways, pretty doctor remembered that we hadnt had lunch yet (while I had been glancing longingly at the clock since half 12).. so he proposed we have lunch together.. he bought, I ate.. and watched as the little fires lit up in the nurses eyes at the prospect of having him sit with them, then extinguished we walked past their tables to sit by what would have appeared to be our intimate lonesome. It probably doesnt matter that hes married with a one year old, theyre never going to help me when I have a question now.

It is also during this lunch that an incident involving chopsticks and an unidentifiable meat substance has rendered my white coat.. not so white.

sweet view from one of the patient rooms

Lapse of Judgement?

2008-11-26T22:53:00.000-08:00

Ingy, my insider source and secret weapon, also informs me that im on the Urology team for surg when i get home.
Urology!?
As i recall, it was my second option so i clearly wanted it at some point but.. I`m having a hard time believing I not only put that down, but prioritised it.. although as i was alternating between weeping and gently rocking on my bed, i got to thinking about my reasons for doing so last night and convinced my self they made sense..

Kidneys are somewhat important
You get no real urology exposure in clinical years and penis`s and kidneys might just be your calling in life and you`d never know and how sad would that be? very sad priya, very very sad.
The jocks of medicine work there, with their rodney wayne hair and flash stripey suits.. which means your hair will be tamed by sheer embarrassment factor alone

How bad can it be? ...

Its Business Time

2008-11-25T21:43:00.000-08:00

This morning I got lost. Then I got found. Then I promptly got lost again. Luckily, having full insight into my pitiful sense of direction, I set out 30mins early for what should be a 6 min slow shuffle, and made it with 4 to spare. Yay me! You`ll all be happy to know, I've since gotten lost enough times to roughly know my way around. Myself and the reception staff at each wing are well acquainted.

Sensei K. is Chief of Surgery and i have the honour of having him as my Surg Supervisor. I met him yesterday at which time he announced that he has arranged for T, one of his residents, to wed me ..as he explains it "Everyone wins Pliya!". I am to facilitate T's aspirations of moving to NZ and T is to protect me for it has been a while since the surgical fraternity have seen a female surgeon and Sensei K worries for my safety. So then i had a moment of panic where i thought he thought i was an actual proper surgeon there to help with their outrageous work load. The panic must have shown because he quickly reassured me that everyone here was most gentlemanly and they were much too busy for consensual sex nevermind the hassels of nonconsensual.. while i was babbling about how i was only a baby intern and needed a parent/caregiver to hold my hand. Off to a good start.

NB: I later discovered that the person sitting beside me was in fact female.. but this was not immediately apparent until it spoke.

Ingy informs me that TI intro day was more fun than one can poke a stick at. I am most distraught to have missed this event. I think i shall comfort my poor self with a nice hot bath.

Konichiwa Kamogawa

2008-11-25T05:16:00.000-08:00

A 3 hour train ride sees me in Kamogawa City, which as it turns out, isn't at all near Chiba. My bad. Its better which i'm okay with. Apparently Chiba is a relative hole while Kamogawa is all “small” city charm sea-side view-tastic awesomeness. And it delivers. Sprawling mountains, glittering blue sea, amazing surf and lets not forget the random Sea World with killer whales that promises fun for the whole family, just down the road..

I was picked up by supervisor #1, Dr DG, an american Infectious Disease specialist who splits his time between Japan and the States. He kindly gave me a tour of the city, took me to the local super for supplies (where I also met my first Kiwi of this trip.. ahh lilting kiwi accent, how i've missed thee) then dropped me off at my very own apartment. It took the combined intelligence of an Infectious Diseases Consultant and a 5th Year Survivor to open The Door. two locks plus a bolt was more alarming than reassuring but having toured the town and met the neighbours, ive also deemed it to be excessive.

My place is sweet. So sweet that I must post pictures! Observe apartment sweetness and commence envy:

my pretty white coat of power.. how long will it remain that white? watch this space [ --- ]

yes children, that is a HOT TUB in the bathroom that you can see. complete with smelling salts.
'nuff said.

God I feel grown up.
It'll pass.

Farewell Tokyo

2008-11-23T02:24:00.000-08:00

riding the subway is negative fun when ones contacts have fallen out. the little station signs were not made for 6over7346 vision. squinting only made me look funny and eventually gave me a headache. i rode back and forth several times before making what i thought was the correct transfer. wasnt. very very difficult to explain to mr japanese metro man that i couldnt read the tiny metro map he kept referring me to. seriously.. try miming "my contacts fell out, i can not see". its tough. i also think he thought i just couldnt read in general because he slowed his japanese way the hell down. the kinda talk speed one reserves for children and retards. i have however made it back to the hostel and am applying for a seeing eye dog.

also just experienced my first earthquake of the trip.. we gently rolled around for about half a minute.. a little asian girl screamed and ran for the elevator of all places. this made me laugh which is impolite in the sheer panic! and mayhem! of a 2.3 richter scale quake and i received frowns of disapproval from her friends.

leave for Chiba tomorrow to start work on Tuesday.. am super excited.. in part because i wont have to share my room with 27 others. many of whom are australians and spend much of their time being loudly drunk and for reasons as yet unknown, yelling dingo. Bonus. and also because i've recovered enough from the ordeal that was fifth year to do some medicine and maybe even enjoy it.. woop.

to all those starting on monday... enjoy being big, bad TI's.
make me proud.

"Capsule" Hostel - Space Optimiser.
Behind those curtains is a box which houses your futon, a little shelf and a dim light.

a surprisingly comfortable coffin.

ReSpawn

2008-11-22T05:22:00.000-08:00

Blogging via facebook is giving me more grief than even I, possessor of the patience of a monk (ha!), can handle.

So ive moved it here.. dependable, reliable Google.
Havent been here in blogger world for a while and was taking a trip back into nostalgia lane, reading through some of our South America meterial. Ahh.. hilarity and good times. I miss the gang.

I'll continue to post most of my photos on facebook.. so if youre not a facebooker.. then ...like, you should be..
but in the rare event that you're not and I like you (Loren, you rare breed of 21st century human you), I will post a select few piccys here for your viewing edification. My thats a big word.

okay. lovely to see you all, do come again but its bed time for me..

RePost

2008-11-22T05:16:00.000-08:00

am tentatively trialling this whole blog thing out for the duration of my exile. dont know how well i'll do without scotty cracking the "someone needs to write a blog" whip .. i also cant promise it to be of a quality worth reading.. i can however guarantee an excessive use of ellipsis' and a complete lack of appropriate punctuation.. but its a-okay for i am in japan, the birth place of engirsh and i am but a lonely malaysian/indian/kiwi identity crisised kid, just trying to fit in.

have been exploring avidly since i arrived. was concious of the fact that i only had a week in Tokyo before i head off to Chiba for elective proper ..so many a long days on my poor wee footsies. tis paying off though, have seen most of what i wanted to see as dictated by various guidebooks. have got to the stage where i dont quite know what i want to do in exact minute detail. am considering riding the Yamanote train line loop endlessly tomorrow. apparently theres good "people watching" to be had by doing this. thank you lonely planet, you are both wise and compact.

Toshu-Go Shrine in the background accessorised with authentic face masked Japanese