Thursday, May 06, 2010
Why my BP remains elevated...
As Tine would probably be aware, my recent job placement has meant that I have to deal with some really incompetent case managers on the job.

There are those that are ignorant of their deficiencies, and there are those that are just plain lazy and not willing to change their approach despite alerting them to it. I believe it is the latter that are most dangerous especially when dealing with patient care; vulnerable patients need increased and easy access to clinical monitoring and care, and just because you don't like your job, that is no excuse in my books.

Anyways, over some discussion with my consultant, I was made aware that this particular case manager was actually approaching him and making outrageous statements to him re: my reluctance to do certain clinical tasks at work. I have never been in any placements where staff have questioned my dedication to work, so this is certainly NEW for me.

I take it as a personal insult really, that I was accused of something when it was because the case manager did not want to follow through with her own work. This is a real disgrace as well, because I always see similar minded people in mental health in high regard.

I will not confront this person yet, because I know she'll blatantly deny that she communicated those things to my consultant. I will be keeping a close watch on all her clinical work from here on, because she's ticked off a real Chinaman...

 
Posted by Timodee at 9:49 PM | Permalink | 2 comments
Saturday, May 01, 2010
Time to make some changes to the blog...maybe???
Hi guys,
you know what? It's not because I've just been sitting on my behind these last few months (or years) that I've not updated my blog...I guess for me I tend to move on to other things very quickly...but I realised that writing is a good avenue to continue to express where I'm at now, and where I'm going (and to slap in some passions of my own, which will change very swiftly...hehe)

Things that have not changed since I've last blogged...

1. I'm still a patient, still taking tablets (more, in fact), but have changed my approach on health (eating well, exercising well, although the winter weather is really difficult to struggle with, needing alot of prompting to get up and run in the cold) I'm planning to consider taking up meditation or tai chi at some stage (been playing with these ideas for awhile, we'll see what happens:)

2. Still married :) Enough said...haha. Kidding, life is great when you're married. Tine has been a great source of strength and support, although she brings with her idiosyncracies as well (not telling, she'll kill me..:)

Things that have changed...

1. We're proud owners of a unit now :) For those who are aware of the housing situation in Australia, it has been a years' wait before we were able to get something within our budget and which we're contented with. Obviously couldn't have done it without the big Man up there...

2. Some tragic news I received recently...and my prayers and thoughts are with Kok Lian (sis-in-law) whose father has passed on very unexpectedly last week. Reminded me about how life is so transient, and we need to make the most of the time we have.

Hopefully I'll be disciplined enough to blog more regularly, but there's really no gaurantees...hehe (enjoy the new blog posts :)

 
Posted by Timodee at 6:08 PM | Permalink | 3 comments
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Update...
To those of you who read my blog (and am wondering where I've been for the past year :P), there's been a couple of things that have happened to me of late.

1. I am officially a patient (applicable to the medical healthcare system), which feels pretty strange (given that I'm usually on the providing end of the system); I'm still putting it down to bad genes but I figured that my lifestyle hasn't aided me either. (btw, being diagnosed with hypertension at 28 is pretty daunting for me) Anyways, I've come to accept that I shall be doomed to a life of taste-less food and popping medications. Nah, it's not that bad, I just have to do what healthy people are meant to do, ie exercise and eat well. It also gives me the experience being on the receiving end of the healthcare system (eg. waiting on GPs, regular blood tests)

2. Christine and I are planning a trip to the States next month. It's gonna be a honeymoon-shopping-visiting relatives trip, and I'm really looking forward to this. We've so far included Grand Canyon, Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas, SF in the itinerary. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is the cost of the trip (as the shameless person that I am, I'm still trying my hardest to coax my parents to 'sponsor' us partly for the trip :) On a different note, I shall post something about the trip to the US embassy (for visa application) abit later on.

3. Olympics is here!!! (I don't know what that's gotta do with anything, but hey I'm excited) The opening ceremony was just fantastic, with the sheer number of participants for the event just unimaginable. But as with any Olympics games, there's lots of controversy clouding it (drug cheats, ticket scams, protests, terror attacks) I certainly hope that amidst all this everyone could focus on the spirit of the games and the showcasing of various performances by the athletes.
 
Posted by Timodee at 12:49 AM | Permalink | 3 comments
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Dinner @ Gold Leaf


To compensate for a lame dinner (all alone by myself) on my actual bday, Lum (housemate) and I decided to plan a get together mainly to tempt our tastebuds on food we haven't had the chance to try yet.
So, the week prior (Lum, his workmates and I were at Gold leaf; our regular 'hang-out' spot) we asked for them to ship in a king crab for the get-together. Apart from the obvious cost implications, it is only really appropriate where there involves more than the usual crowd (2-4 ppl) to tackle this dish.
Weighing in at 10.5 lbs, with its formidable claws and toned 'armour/shell', it looked like a good treat; the restaurant 'captain' recommended it to be served with noodles (with garlic and ginger sauce) , with the crab roe used in hot and spicy soup. Apart from the relatively more significant amounts of crabmeat, I don't think it really justified the cost (would have preferred snow crab instead) It was abit of a disappointment but an experience nonetheless.
Food aside (other dishes include steamed barramundi, oysters, sauteed pigeon with mushrooms, pork ribs in 'wierd' sauce (literal cantonese translation), it was a great time to catch up with my friends, whom I've known from different phases of my life: from uni, dundee, working here at Northern hospital . The consensus was 'stick to mud-crab or snow crab next time'; which is really sound advice, seeing that the King Crab didn't do its charm on our palates. (and part of the claw was not partially raw, which Cicily had the unfortunate pleasure to find out; sorry) The wines that accompanied the dishes were pretty good though, so it wasn't all bad. (Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc and Crawford River Riesling)
 
Posted by Timodee at 10:08 PM | Permalink | 1 comments
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Birthdays
It's officially the twenty-seventh year of existence on this earth for me. That essentially means in accordance to average life expentancy, under fifty years to go (that's an optimistic outlook, I think)
I'm not intending on getting a cake, but strangely enough my parents have plans to buy a cake and then enjoy it themselves on my behalf (they've done it last year, and seemed to have enjoyed it, hence a repeat of this, hehe) But the sincerity of their intentions is what counts, and I'm really really blessed to have been brought up by my parents who have always been supportive.
As I'm still stuck in Shepparton until the end of the week, I've planned to meet up with some of my friends over the weekend for abit of a feast. (Emperor crab is on the menu; ie. a monstrous 4-5 kg crab, served in several styles of cooking; haven't personally had it before, so gonna give it a go)
Alot has happened for me over the past year; I have been very fortunate to have Tine in my life again; she has been always been there for me, supporting my decisions and journeying with me. There is lots more happening in the upcoming year; with the wedding and the start of a life with my soulmate (for real, hehe), change of accommodation, exams (gah!), and many surprises along the way I'm sure.
I'm very grateful to both my parents and the Big Daddy upstairs who's 'got my back' all through this life journey thus far...and also for my friends and associates along the way who've directly or indirectly shaped my life experience and my outlook on life.
 
Posted by Timodee at 11:12 PM | Permalink | 1 comments
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Great moments with my baby...



How time flies when you're having great fun; in my case, great moments etched into my memory for the rest of my natural life.

Christine came over to visit me this winter (for two weeks; she left for malaysia 10/6); and it was just a fantastic time for the both of us. I had to do abit of planning beforehand which is always exciting for me, but what mattered most to me was the personal time spent together. It was, as usual, a hectic schedule, given the situation that i still had to work several days in the two weeks Christine was there. This was not just in terms of travelling, but also because we had decided to go for pre-marital counselling, and that had to be factored into the schedule what with the few days we had in Melbourne.

Attached are some pictures we took during the trip (with friends aparna, cicily and lum at Gold leaf restaurant; aboard the paddlesteamer Emmylou with Christine at Echuca, with Christine at Japanese Garden in Brisbane Botanical Garden, Coot-tha). I'll post some highlights of the trip in the next few weeks. Stay tuned.

 
Posted by Timodee at 5:30 PM | Permalink | 0 comments
goin to the country...


I'll have to admit, I see myself as a 'town' boy, too accustomed to the urban lifestyle; to the extent that if I don't get to use my computer for 24 hours, I reckon I might suffer terrible withdrawal reactions. So doing this current placement for 3 months (beginning May) has been abit shaky for me to say the least.

Firstly, the travel; if there was a nice windy and scenic route to Shepparton, I wouldn't be complaining. The trouble is it's so uninteresting and uninspiring to have to haul my behind up early on a Monday morning (before 6am, when all is dark) and drive up a freeway on cruise control almost all of 180km to get there. And then comes the return trip on Thursday (shortly to be changed to Friday, even WORSE). Though it's a shorter trip (distance-wise) as I start from Seymour (about 100 km to get to Melbourne), the time taken is almost equivalent because of the traffic once I get into Melbourne. And I'll have to tip my hat off to those truckers who drive inter-state for a living; no wonder they need amphetamines to keep their drive interesting (more so than to drive whilst awake in my view :P)

Then comes the part of the accommodation; I have no qualms about the house that the hospital has provided (quite basic, but does the job), but when you talk about WINTER months, you'd expect some form of heating to stave off frostbites etc. (ok, abit of exaggeration) Let me paint you a picture, it is a 3 bedroom house, with NO central heating, only gas heating (from a standalone wall unit in the living room) Now if I was an Alaskan or Canadian (no insults intended) I would be pretty comfortable with that type of heating. So could you imagine when I have to sleep in the bedroom (with only a portable heater that I have to haul up there from Melbourne) ice-cold every night, half of the week? I have resorted to putting the mattress in the living area, just so that I wouldn't suffer hypothermia every night :P

And the other obvious sticking point: NO broadband or any form of internet access; that's really such a bummer. I don't get to see my baby online; and have to resort to good old phone call, which makes me sound like a zombie on the phone (that's what she says :P) I can't correspond as much; can't download and leech files (that's my part-time job)

Don't get me wrong, I like the team that I've been working with; both in-patient and out-patient settings. They adopt a slightly different model of practice from urban mental health practice; it is an integrative team, whereby the patients are followed through admission to case management, so there's more continuity of care and consistency for the patient to develop a better therapeutic relationship with their case managers. They also do alot more of primary mental health liaisons, dealing with depression and anxiety disorders quite frequently, giving some supports to the GP and psychologists. The staff are very experienced, and are very sensible in asking for advise or reviews where they have some uncertainties particularly with regards to medications.

I still have about a month to go with this attachment; in terms of the experience working with the team it's been great; obviously it would be more pleasant if the above problems of travel and logistics were just addressed abit better. I wouldn't really recommend Shepparton as a place to stay long-term; there really isn't much there to do, apart from fruit picking around regional parts of it. Though one of the restaurants that I tried when Christine was here was an excellent Italian restaurant - if you get the chance, go to cellar 47, which is on high street of Shepparton itself.

Above pics are taken in the accommodation when Christine came over early June (the twelve string guitar to take away the blues :P; used to also play for Christine during her birthday during this trip)
 
Posted by Timodee at 4:52 PM | Permalink | 0 comments
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Home of Haggis


Well, since Tine has tagged me, I guess I should respond (for the first time, hehe :P)
If I didn't get it wrong, the question was where do you want to go next?
For me, though I've been there before, Scotland actually holds alot of significance in my life; I was born there (in Glasgow), did my undergraduate and intern years there, and met my soul mate there.
To me, nothing beats the scenery that Scotland offers; from the vast ranges to Loch Ness; the four seasons offer contrasting yet breath-taking views all year round.
The places that I wish to visit in Scotland would be the Orkney island, Dundee (where I studied), Isle of Skye and Glasgow (my birthplace)
Not to forget that Scotland was the birthplace of golf (St Andrews); and who can resist the Haggis? an assortment of sheep innards....YUM :P

Original post:
Proposition: Where do you want to go next (OUTSIDE OF YOUR COUNTRY) for tourism, work , study, whatever…

Requirements: Find some info about the place, itinerary, etc ... pics if possible so you get MORE Traffic coming in, and maybe some people can find somewhere to go to. Excludes your NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOURS, ie. Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, a country that borders yours. You must register for MyBloglog so we can blogwalk ah ... get it?

Quantity: FIVE PEOPLE.

Tag Mode: Chain Link. 15 of them.

You leave 15 people and their DEEP LINK of their Blog Name and TAGGED POST and hit out for five more. So it will look like this ...

Azrin going Down Under
MaRLinda in Disneyland Paris
Athira Baby and her Balamory Antics
Msau to Japan
Doris to the Carribean Islands
Paris and Bella Italia!
Tine in Viva La France
 
Posted by Timodee at 4:02 AM | Permalink | 0 comments