New Years and the resolutions attached

Is it cynical of me to boycott New Year's eve since society puts pressure on us all to party?
Avoiding the drunken chaos and/or the overcrowded nature of the evening. The romantic side of me wants to go for a trek, camp near the top of some peak in NZ and watch the sunrise that welcomes the start of a new year. New opportunities, or second chances for missed opportunities of years gone by. The longer I've been on this earth, perhaps the more that it'll mean. Whereas the idea of a new year's party seems tedious, repetitive and mainstream.

I'm heading into this new year as an adult. big picture time? maybe.

my contemplations have left me lost for words. Time to ponder.

I passed!!!

I'm a Trainee Intern starting Monday, woo hoo!!
Just got back from Indonesia yesterday. I had such a great time. Was in Bali then Jakarta. Bali was definitely the highlight. Such a beautiful place with so many breathtaking views.

OSCE

So the day is now here. I'll start sitting my final exams in just a few hours. First, the practical exam. Temptation now is to revise some things but i know deep down, I need to just rest my mind so that I'm refreshed for the actual assessment.

History taking, examinning and eduating patients, in just over an hour, it'll be over. I'm ready, bring it on! I'm looking forward to the huge weight being lifted off my shoulders. I've had a few hiccups this year but all in all, I'm a good student. I certainly deserve to pass. All will be well.

It's just another huddle to get pass till i can be a good doctor. wow, to think that this is my 7th year of university. crazy.

The crunch

So... the time has come, finals are creeping closer. I think I might actually have my sh*t sorted. It has taken me this long to actually get into the frame of mind to actually to content with where i'm at in life and actually start the prep.

I know I can do it. I just need to have a goal and want it badly enough (to be a doctor that is). I haven't had the passion or the motivation for sometime now. I think that it's prefectly understandable since this is my 7th year of tertiary education!!

So what now? Now that I've pretty much got my head around life, I can re-focus and actually have a passion of medicine. wooo hoo.

Not a moment too soon either. 7 more days til I enter my second quarter of life. Time to grow up? maybe. Depends on what your definition of growing up is :)

old posts

There is a real beauty to blogging in that you can look back in time to find the exact dates of certain evidents (if you're diligent enough to write about them).

I wish now that I'd blogged in more detail about Cambodia. It was just really unfortunate that I was soooo busy. maybe I need to start carrying a laptop on the road :)

I had such a wonderful time in Cambodia, I'm sure i've said that a million times. I really can't wait to go back. At the mo, I'm sorting out my elective and I'm starting to ponder an elective in Cambodia and Germany instead of America and Germany. I think I'll just leave it for the next week or so and see where fate sways me.

I'm at the last leg of my race (Med School). Final exams in November and then I'll be an intern, woo hoo! I'm looking forward to it :) oh, look at the time! beauty sleep calls

Cambodia cont...

There goes my grand plans to blog lots while I was overseas. To be perfectly honest, I was just soooo busy that I really didn't have anytime to. For those that know me, you'll appreciate my busy shedule when I tell you that I spent less than 3 hours (total) shopping while I was in cambodia.

I went to Neak Luong (my birth place) at one point. And yes, I have dual Citizenship. Woo hoo! This makes me feel special :)

Went to Kep and stayed at my Uncle's resort. It's call Veranda Natural Resort. It's very flash, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. You can find it in the lonely planet guide (though this guide is very much due for revision since room quality and prices have gone up by about 10 fold!). We went around Kep for a bit and looked at some of his land (and islands). We went along many dirty roads and hilly country side. It's not surprising then to hear that he drives a Hummer. A vechicle like this is very sensible for the sorta places that he drives to. It's a very silly thing to drive if you're in a Western city where you pretty much only encounter well pathed roads.

One of my 2nd cousin owns an awesome karoke club in Pehnom Penh (XO is the name). Very flash and in a completely different league to the crappy places in NZ. Their sound system is fabulous. Makes you wanna sing and sing cos you actually sound good :) We were in the V.I.P. room in which is very clean and styly and the sorta drinks served are top self quality e.g. Blue Labelled Johny Walker.

We went to Preah Vear in one point to do some more charity stuff. It was so hot! There's no such thing as AirCon in the country - but I survived.

It's quite sad to see the extremes of wealth and poverty. Some times during my trip, I was associating with those that earn $60 a month if they're lucky. At other times I was with those that spoke of private helicopters, 7 star hotels, 1st class travel and buying islands. A very different world to simple New Zealand but in saying all of that, I had a wonderful time. Can't wait to go back!

Pursat… Battambang… Siem Reap and back

So much has happened in the last week it’s insane! I’m been in several temples in which my family has done what Buddhist’s call “merit”. It’s sorta like charty work but not quite. Hmmm… look it up if you must 
I’m meet Danny’s God father (who is now also my God father). He’s pretty cool, a little scary when you first meet him but you soon get over it. He is a monk and has set up the largest (and most well organised) temple in Pursat with the help of funding from many generous individuals that can trust his ability to do good. And he has while maintaining a relatively humble existence. After a few hours of meeting me, he managed to get me some very sound and necessary advice about my life at home – which I really needed to hear. A little concerning that he knew but the advice was very good.
Battambang was great. Meet and hang out with lots and lots of family and also managed some R&R by the hotel pool. Good food, great company; awesome times were had by all.
Siem Reap – “Siem” meaning Thai people and “reap” meaning flattened to the ground. In other words “The Thai’s defeated”. It’s ironic in that the thai’s defeated Angkor Wat and controlled it for about 150yrs from 1794.
I’m back in Phnom Penh again now. Went and bought some fabric and getting a dress made. Lived the city life today and hang out with family again.
I’ve eaten frog now. Tastes like chicken (surprise, surprise).
My mum’s side of the family looks VERY different from my Dad’s.
I’ve discovered that I’m part Laosian.