London Part 2: Phantom of the Opera

Finally, it's the big night for me and Y3. I'd always wanted to watch the Phantom of the Opera in London and I certainly didn't regret it. The other half of the group went to Leona Lewis concert at O2 arena instead.

On the tube to Piccadilly Circus.

A London souvenir shop at Piccadilly Circus station. I bought my London fridge magnet here.

At the front of Her Majesty's Theatre.

The beautiful stage with the orchestra below.

Our seat on the first row of Grand Circle. I chosen this row as usually if I sit behind someone, that person will be really tall, huge and blocking most of my view.

The seating arrangements in Her Majesty's Theater is not bad. The difference in height between each row is quite big therefore, there shouldn't be any restriction of view from the person in front.

Half-time. I was really impressed and amazed at the props and special effects. The acting and singing were really good too. I was fearful that the actors and actresses couldn't hit the high notes but they did it flawlessly.

See this chandelier? It went crashing down at one point and reverted back to its original form the next. The special effect that I liked most was the boat scene heading towards the dungeon. I'm still trying to figure how they made the boat move like that on stage. Of course, not forgetting the enticing storyline which pulls everything together. I recommend to read the summary of the plot prior to watching the theater so that you can appreciate it more. Actually the play is very similar to the movie version.

The awesome cast.

I feel like watching Love Never Dies, which is the 'sequel' to The Phantom of the Opera. But I think I'll save it for next time. Hopefully the Asian production will be as close to home as possible so that there'll be a higher chance of me watching it.

Raoul or the Phantom? I still don't know who is the correct choice for Christine.

Supper at TPT in London Chinatown:

From Tau Fu Fah to Chicken and Mushroom Congee, the food was not bad.

London Part 3: Camden Market and more food.

London Part 1: Food

The long awaited trip is finally here! First stop is London. I came down a week earlier before the start of my Europe trip as I was supposed to sort out my Russian tourist visa, but there was a few hiccups on the way. I'm just hoping that I would be able to step into Russian soil later on. I'm just hoping for the best. Anyway, I'm in London! A lot of food related entries on the way.

Thursday: Dinner at Koba

Koba is one of the highly recommended Korean restaurant in Central London. After a hardcore shopping spree with YH and Y3, we met up with H for dinner here. The cup which they used to serve my jasmine tea was already enough to impress me.

Guess what this is. Initially I thought they were marshmallows. It came in really compact and the waiter added water to it and it expanded into this. They're towels for dinners to wipe their hands before the meal. I still remember the hesitation when I was reaching out for this. Imagine my dilemma of putting it into my mouth or fiddling to try to unwrap it. Hahahahaha.

Assorted BBQ set which consisted of sliced beef, sweet and sour chicken and pork.

The waiter helped to cook the sliced meat on the hot plate. Initially, half an onion and a few slices of melon were placed on the plate followed by the meat. I was tempted to cook it myself at first, but the feeling of watching others preparing your meal right in front of you was even better. I really enjoyed the grilled slices of meat. I liked how they were marinated. It tasted sweet but the sort of balanced sweetness that was not too empowering. Recommended!

Koba restaurant

Friday: Lunch at Palm Sushi

This Japanese restaurant is located in Whitecross market. One of the best affordable places for sushi that I've been.

We started with Cold Udon or Soba. It was my first time having it and I liked it a lot. My friends taught me the correct way of eating it as well. You have to dip the noodles into the sweet cold broth first before eating it. As I'm typing this, I feel like having some of it now. Oh no! Where to find Cold Udon now?

Our massive plate of sushi. From scallop, prawns, tuna to crunchy yellow fin. They disappeared too fast.

The hungry people

World Barista Campion 2009:

Gwilym Davies from the UK won this prestigious award in 2009 after competing with representatives from all over the world. We visited his coffee stall on Whitecross street and I was amazed by how delicious his cappuccino is! It's really creamy and after sprinkling a tiny bit of sugar, it almost neutralised all the bitterness. You should try it if you're in London. This year's World Barista Campionship is in Olympia, London from the 23rd till the 25th of June 2010. Is anyone interested?

Leaving Whitecross market

Cute little bunnies along the way home.

Relieved

Yay! I'm officially attending my graduation on the 20th of July 2010, 10.30am, Philharmonic Hall.

A reminder for myself

Dear Noreen,

I know that life is difficult for you at the moment. The long and frequent on-calls, the ever darkening and enlarging dark circles below your eyes, the fatigue and absolute absence of social life. You might have lost your motivation, you might have forgotten your aims and dreams, you might be in despair.

This is a reminder for you. A reminder which you sorely need now.

Remember the time when you talked to seniors while you were going through your rotations before the end of medical school? One of them encouraged you to go for the MRCP as early as you can and take it seriously. Even if you end up failing the first time, at least you will know what to prepare for the next opportunity. This is your ticket to escape the cycle, to specialise, to climb up the ladder. Remember that you'd wanted to do whatever you can to avoid ending up as a chronic MO in Malaysia?

Do you remember your childhood dream? You've only accomplished 15% of it. The whole world is still out there waiting for you to explore. Europe is such a small area. There's still the big continent of US waiting for you to set foot in it. One of your dreams was to do your sub-specialisation there so that you can explore even more!

Do you remember that you adopted most if not all the advises on becoming a millionaire? Not only that you were courageous enough to think that becoming a millionaire might be within easy reach of you due to the ever shrinking value of currencies, you thought that you should aim higher towards billions instead. One key point that you must remember is: Millionaires are willing to suffer first as they're fighting for freedom, not comfort or financial stability. Remember, all the effort that you've invested will eventually bring you nearer to your goals.

I wished that I hadn't gotten this foresight. This difficult and winding road that I've chosen at present. I can see myself turning into you. Turning into the you who's slowly losing your motivation, giving up your dreams, choosing the easy way out than staying on fighting.

I am repainting all your aims and dreams again. This is a reminder to you. A reminder which you can come back to read over and over again as it will not expire.

All the best to you. You can do it!

Love,

Noreen of the present

My life revolves around food, maybe too much

I've been so busy sorting out my things for shipping, transporting them to the loading point, packing and moving house that I didn't have time to update my blog. Sustained quite a number of injuries as well, bruises here, sprain there. At least I'm still in one piece.

E's Birthday:

A and I had to bake this cake withint the short 2 hours that E was away that afternoon attending her clinic session. When the cake came out of the oven, we went 'OMG!' cause there was a crack in the middle of it. Luckily A remembered that we had some cooking chocolate. It was something like putting a concealer on someone's face, concealing all the flaws. I don't know what will be E's reaction when she read this. Hahahahha.

Happy Birthday E! What matters most is the end product, right?

VIP in Liverpool, again:

Y3 came to visit me again. This time, I brought her to Bistro Jacques as she's never been there. Poor girl, she had brunch just before I called her to inform her of the plan. I managed to go off early that afternoon from hospital. I felt bad as I couldn't entertain her over the last few days that she was in Liverpool that's why I dragged her out to eat. Hahaha.

Lovely starters, as always. Y3 looks like she's paid to model for this restaurant.

Main course which was delicious and beautifully presented.

Desserts. Because M informed me as a good friend that creme brulee contained vanilla that I decided to go for apple crumble instead, but found out that it had cinnamon which I'm allergic to as well. I think I'll be forced to go on a diet whenever I eat here. I loved this restaurant so much that I even booked the place for right after the graduation ceremony and the drinks reception for lunch.

Dinner at Wagamama: 

Guests from Preston. They came for less than half a day to Liverpool, so I brought them to Wagamama for dinner.

I had Chicken Tama Rice which was really delivious and apparently it's really popular among customers. I wanted to tell the waiter the number of the dish but he said he knows it by heart as it's been ordered too many times that day.

Ikea:

Well, you must be wondering why is it just a picture of food and no furniture when I'm at Ikea. Hahaha, that's because my main purpose of going there was to try the Swedish meatballs. They were delicious. Ok, the furniture were well designed and appealed to me but I rather shop for them at the Ikea in Malaysia.

Homemade Satay:

It was so nice of E to offer us Satay. I can cry having it in Liverpool. She even made the peanut sauce. It was that long ago in Malaysia that I'd forgotten when. More opportunities in the near future.

Random:

Since there's too many pictures of food, I've decided to put a random photo of the colourful fly swatters sold at Clas Ohlson. Ok, it's indirectly related to food too. Well, I did try.

Finals Result Celebration at Etsu:

Dr C and Dr L who are officially dentists on that day. Congratulations. When will it be my turn?

Calpis, a Japanese soft drink which tasted a bit like Lychee.

The cute little soy sauce which only lacked a handle to differentiate it from other teapots.

Starters of sushi and sashimi.

Adding the soy sauce and wasabi.

Mains. They were all delicious. I loved the Japanese curry which was similar and unique at the same time as compared to Malaysian curry.

Final picture of Etsu. Try it and you'll know why it is ranked as the No.1 restaurant in Liverpool by Trip Advisor. Not only the food is taken into account but the atmosphere and service. Highly recommended.

That's all for now. I was so glad that I found a really nice black skirt for graduation today. I practically searched the whole of Liverpool for it.

Next plan on the list: Liverpool-London-Copenhagen-Cruise-London-Liverpool.

After all these years, I'm leaving with a bad experience

Warning! A lot of grumbling and complaining ahead

I've been staying at St Andrews Gardens for the last 2 years of my student life in Liverpool. The reason that I chose this place in the first place was because of the good location (my bus stop for my hospitals are just across the road) and good reviews from friends who have been staying there for more than 3 years.

I loved the place. Not only I had good memories of the times we had open house for Hari Raya, the bbqs on the patch of green in the middle of the semi-circular building. The friendly and helpful staff who makes the effort to know you added the finishing touches.

Then, the recession came in last year. St Andrews Gardens was bought over by Mansion Properties. That was shortly after we've moved in at the beginning of our new contract.

Here lies the problem. The new management is trying to squeeze as much profit or cut as much losses from the existing tenants who has already paid and signed the contract. They can't change the rental fees so they do that by cutting down on essential maintenance even though we've paid our rent, some of us in full.

The lifts which were used to be repaired within a week at most when they broke down stopped totally. We've been climbing the stairs for almost a year now. That wasn't too bad as we were just carrying our body weight up. The thing is, they are making everyone move out at the end of the contract, without even considering our constant pleas to repair the lifts for just a day so that we can move out!

I've just moved my boxes for shipping from the 4th floor down via stairs which is just ridiculous! I don't understand why do they want to delay replacing the lifts earlier on as they will have to repair the lifts at some point. It's not like they're going to disrupt current tenants by repairing lifts as we are not even using them! They're going to renovate the whole place in preparation for the new term so that they can increase the rent, but the builders will definitely need a mode of transportation of heavy items up 5 floors right? Isn't there a possibility of maybe using one of the lifts as a cargo lift? If the current management can treat existing tenants that poorly, I don't think they're any better when the new ones move in. In the process, they're already creating a bad name for themselves as the current tenant, including myself are already discouraging potential tenants from staying here. I'm even blogging about this.

J, one of the porter was kind enough to help me carrry up all the empty shipping boxes which I'd ordered. From that day on, I was already dreading the worse and yet, the worse was not the worst that I'd imagined.

Carrying down the last box, which was the smallest one and one of the lightest, I think I'd become too careless and the lighting at the top flight of stairs wasn't the brightest, I missed the last step and fell spraining my ankle and dropping my box in the process. Haih.....just right after my dad told me to be careful and not hurt myself. I don't know if this is some sort of premonition that he has or something, every time somebody advises you to be careful, something is bound to happen. Papa, sorry for not listening.

I should have retired for the night after carrying those 5 huge boxes to M's flat whose lift was still working so that I wouldn't have to suffer too much tomorrow, rather than stupidly persevering on with the last 2.

I seriously hope that my ankle doesn't swell up tomorrow as I'll need to transport them over to the loading place for shipping. Wish my luck. I still need my ankles for tomorrow.

Liverpool Dental Exhibition

Summer is finally here! What a great day to be out and about. I had a flatmates outing to the Dental Exhibition which was held at the Echo Arena this year.

Armed with a badge each, we went in empty handed and came out at least 2 big bags, each containing at least 5kg of freebies. Muahahaha.

Lunch at Wagamama:

All the restaurants at Liverpool One had opened all the doors and removed the front panel as the weather was so hot and sunny. We were just glad that there were seats indoors to rest after dragging all our things there. Need to refuel first before making the uphill journey back.

I loved the Chicken Tama Rice which I ordered. It was grilled chicken topped with gravy and served with sticky sushi rice. My flatmates had a variety of noodles which were not bad too.

Good luck to all preparing for the last dash to the finishing line. I myself need all the motivation that I can muster to finish off this essay before I can graduate. It's getting more difficult to find the passion and concentration that I used to have in the past. Haih....Somebody motivate me please!

P.s. if the CPR tutorial is too hot and distracting for you, I recommend that you revert back to the clinical skills handout to prepare for the BLS station at OSCEs. Hahahahaha.

Guys, this is the best way to learn CPR

Forget about all the mnemonics of DR SCAB PACED or worry about forgetting the steps to basic life support. Once you've watched this, you'll definitely pass the BLS station at OSCE and all set to go out and save lives.

Tutorial video was recommended by Dr Leo Khoo who is currently single, available and working at the A&E department of the Royal Liverpool Hospital as CT1. So, whoever is interested can pop into A&E which is open 24/7 and request for him. Hahahahaha.

First man made organism

For years, we have been dreaming of the day when we can synthesize life, sharing these extreme ideas in the form of fiction. This day has finally arrived, in the from of a bacteria which looked a bit like a pair of coloured contact lenses when placed side by side:

 Picture taken from BBC website

For a rough idea, the gene of this synthetic bacteria was coded on a computer before transferring it into a host cell. And yes, it is able to replicate. Sounds so much like writing a new software but in this case, we're writing the sequence to a new life.

No doubt, this will lead to the next thought of what if this technology falls into the wrong hands? Is it in the right hands in the first place? Imagine parents mix and matching features of their unborn child like how you customise a character in The Sims. 'I prefer a tone lighter for her skin colour and nose bridge a bit higher'. It'll be soon when everyone will start looking the same as most of us have been influenced by the same concept of beauty. Who wouldn't be affected from being bombarded with 'skinny is beautiful' every single time you switch on the television, flip open a magazine or even reading the newspapers?

What if I hate someone a lot? Can I just create a bacteria which infects only that person and give him/her tonsillitis as it is programmed to be attracted to his/her DNA and no one else? Maybe I'll give him/her the flu virus instead.

Scary but we're creating the impossible everyday. May the right people create it and remains in the hands of those who are willing to risk their lives to protect it. Remember Alfred Nobel? He invited the dynamite in order to make it easier for mining, but what happened in the end? It was all too powerful

Somehow, deep in my heart, I am still highly attracted to all these potentially dangerous possibilities since the first day I came across the concept of cloning.

Came across this singer while reading Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

I've finished The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, which I finally bought using the 5 pounds book voucher that our group won at the Palliative Care presentation last year. I almost forgot that I even had it. It's a really great book on how major change occur from just little interventions. His other books 'Outliers' and 'Blink' are really good too. Highly recommended. I'm halfway reading the both of them. Don't ask me why do I start on another book without finishing the one I'm on first cause that's how easily distracted I am.

As I was reading Blink, he mentioned this singer called Kenna whom had a difficult time debuting as music records did a quick feedback on his songs which resulted in a really low score. But his songs are not bad at all and finally, he's releasing his 3rd album sometime this year. I can't even place what genre his songs are, but if you like addictive beats, techno and meaningful lyrics, try playing the video here:



Ok....back to this essay.