Frogs in a Well

I am going to stop reading the comments on the ST Forum online page.

Many self-righteous narrow minded locals making silly self-righteous narrow-minded remarks makes for frustrating reading.

I have better things to do, thank you very much.

Sewing 101

I bought myself a sewing machine! A Brother ES2400, to be exact.

There was a time where the words "aliendoc" and "sewing machine" would never have been uttered in the same sentence. But I have recently discovered the art of quilting and am now frantically trying to put together two quilting projects before the summer holidays arrive, as they are meant as gifts for loved ones.

My first project is a simple throw made up of batik-type sarong material. A mish mash of loud flowery designs with bold colors. You would never imagine that such different & seemingly clashing designs could go together so well in the finished product. I guess it's a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts (Aristotle. Ha! Another first for aliendoc....quoting an ancient Greek philosopher...who woulda thunk).

I never thought it could be so much fun!

Recommendation

A friend sent me this link to a lovely photo journal blog that so beautifully captures a son's love for his father in pictures and in words.

Enjoy.

Xin Ba Ke (aka Starbucks)

Am bored. Whiling my time away in a Starbucks waiting for my significant other as he chats with one of many headhunters who have been "hunting" him. Apparently a sign of improving economy as many MNC's are looking to expand into Asia.

And with many laying off their expats last year, they are now starting to "restock their pond" so to speak. It's good to be wanted.

La dee da....am bored.

Impressions from China - Spring Awakening?

Confusion reigns on our coat rack. Here it is: a Levi's denim jacket hangs next to a Land's End fleece which hangs next to a hoodie, which hangs next to a North Face down. Jackets for all kinds of cool weather.

It's a sign of what has been happening with our weather here in Beijing. We had the heat turned off (yes, in China, they have this strange heating system that requires a maintenance guy to come turn it on or off, instead of a simple switch on the wall like we used to have when we lived in the good ol' US of A) when the weather hit the low 20's then suddenly the temperature dipped to less than 10.

But 'tis Spring (I think) outside.

Look at this...

...the white magnolia blossoms...


...and the apricot blooms...
...and it looks like it will be a bountiful fall with apricot jam galore again...

...the thorny rose bushes show sparks of life...

...and here come the rhododendrons (at least, I think that's what these are)...

But amidst of all this new life springing forth, the sad, still waters of our outdoor fish pond leaves a somber reminder of the harsh realities of the cycle of life. Our supposedly hardy outdoor carp have not survived the prolonged & frigid Winter.

We will restock our pond again. Once the weather feels more Spring-like.

In the meantime, back to woolly socks, down jackets & layered clothes.

Being a doctor is a tough business

ST Forum Wed April 7, 2010

"Being a doctor is a tough business

DR GARY Ang's reply ("More doctors may drive up costs", March 30) to Mr Choo Kay Wee's Forum Online letter ("More doctors, lower health bill?" March 25), suggesting that more practising doctors may drive up total medical costs, seems to fly in the face of conventional market wisdom.

Among other things, because we are now training three times as many doctors as in the 1970s and the doctor-to-patient ratio has dropped dramatically, doctors as a commodity have relatively depreciated in value and they command a lower asking price for their services. The increase in medical charges almost always is down to the escalating cost of medicine and other costs of doing business, with doctors' incomes stagnating.

That enterprising doctors create little niches for themselves to generate income is a sad but realistic reflection of how market forces have driven the practice of medicine to become a commercial trade.

Mr Choo delights in the prospect of having a trained doctor in every family, seeing this as a way of bringing down medical costs. A few years ago, the Government estimated the cost of training a doctor with a basic degree to be about $500,000. From a pecuniary point of view, Singapore would be far better off importing doctors of other nationalities; it would be far more cost effective and feasible than training a doctor in every family.

As it is, many patients have noticed that the medical staff in polyclinics and hospitals have turned into a veritable United Nations of sorts."


Let's see how long it will take before the snide comments come up in response to this letter to the ST Forum....

Impressions from China - Maybe Rashomon Was Actually A Story About China

Maybe Rashomon Was Actually A Story About China - International - The Atlantic

Another one bites the dust.

Score one for the iron hand of the Chinese Government.

Zero for Dylan fans.

:(

Life Cycles

I hear of the passing of an ex-classmate & the birth of a new baby to another within days of each other.

Life & Death. Things which doctors deal with as part of their work. But somehow, in the way jadedness sets in with experience, it doesn't really hit you until it is in your face & affects someone in your life. It's a wake up call for you to smell the roses & other cliches like that.

"In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."
- Abraham Lincoln

I think President Lincoln had it right. We need to make the most of what we have, live life to the fullest & be happy with our lot.

R.I.P. dear S.

And welcome to the world Baby E.

Maternal Brag

I'd be the first to admit that I live vicariously through my kids.

They are both in a rock band & have been playing guitar & bass guitar for a few years now. They have both shown musical talent which my husband & I sometimes wonder from whence it comes. A. doesn't play music & is just slightly tone deaf (*GRIN* sorry dear). And I can hold a tune & took the obligatory piano lessons growing up, but never was creative enough to write songs, which is what my guys do.

I remember trying to form a "rock band" with my sister & a friend. Very unsuccessfully - 'nuff said.

And now, here they are, my progeny, performing at gigs, occasionally earning money, writing music & lyrics, and tonight winning a recording deal at a music fest!

Whether or not they eventually make music their career, I don't know. But I know that if they have passion for it, I will not discourage them from following their dream, nor quash their aspirations.

I am a proud Mom.

Impressions from China - Google

A. worked for Google China till several months ago. In view of recent developments, we are thanking our lucky stars that he left the company to join another IT company, otherwise we would be in a rather uncomfortable situation right now, not knowing what will happen next, career-wise, for him, & in turn, leave our family situation in limbo.

Living in China, I now truly appreciate the freedom that many take for granted: clean air & water, safe (relatively, anyway) foodstuff, freedom of speech (relative, again, depending on whether one is talking about the USA or Singapore), accessibility to information on the Internet. I find it hard to understand much of China's policies with regards to (restricting) free speech & accessibility to information. I am not a politician (& probably will never be, in this lifetime). I don't understand the reasoning behind blocking social networking sites like Facebook, or Blogger. If China's government truly believes what it is doing is so right, why prevent its residents from seeing what the world is reporting about China? Why censor the facts?

I, for one, am glad that Google has decided to stand firm. For a large multinational company to stand its ground & stick true to its beliefs, despite the economic implications, is uncommon.

Much like how a doctor is supposed to Do No Harm, Google is staying away from the Dark Side. For now, anyway.

My New Hobby

Quilting and aliendoc = oxymoron. At least that was what I thought.

I have ambitiously decided to launch myself into a new hobby as soon as I get home to Beijing.
Inspired by a friend there, who has been doing this for years, it started as a charity project led by a group in my sons' school.

Then I figured that I should give my older son a memento from his loving mom when he goes off to college this fall. "A quilt!" I thought, "Using materials from different shades of his favorite color Blue!"

Then I visited my sis in Houston & stayed at her cozy new home in the 'burbs. And I thought, "How about a nice quilt throw with an Asian touch to keep her & her hubby warm during the cool winter nights?" And I got struck by the inspiration of using batik sarong material to make the quilt, & where better to buy this material than super mega-store Mustafa???

So off I went in search of quilting material, & ventured into hitherto unfamiliar territory in the "Sewing" section of a local craft store. What an eye-opener it was! All kinds of thread, sewing accessories, some of which I have no clue what they are for, yards & yards of fabric.

Then to Mustafa I went, & came back with a lovely loot of pretty batik material. Just take a look...

I can't wait to get started!

To iPad or not to iPad

I can't decide....

John Mayer in Concert

I saved the highlight of my trip to Houston for last to write about. It was a tough fight between the Houston Rodeo & John Mayer, but in the end, I think John Mayer had the edge that appealed to the groupie in me...:)
He performed at the Toyota Center in downtown Houston, home of the Houston Rockets (basketball team). It was an impressive venue & though we were not in the best seats of the house, we were at a good enough vantage view to appreciate his performance.


The opening act for John was Michael Franti & the Spearheads, most well known for their one & only top 20 hit Say Hey I Love You. Their songs were catchy, with a touch of reggae, & blues thrown in. I couldn't decide if they were a reggae group or more of a rocky bluesy kind of group. In any case, they got the crowd moving & revved up in preparation for John's show.
He started it with a bang, going straight into the song "Heartbreak Warfare". Most of the tunes he performed were from his latest album "Battle Studies". He had great rapport with the audience, and did not mention a word about his latest foot-in-mouth bruohaha from the Playboy interview, and I don't think anyone cared anyway!
He ended up the night on the floor (literally), playing the guitar with it lying on the floor at the end of his encore performance "Gravity".



Thank you, John, for a great night!

More Equine Pursuits

...actually in addition to horses, there were also cows/bulls (the appropriate cowboy term is "steer"), goats, sheep, pigs, chickens, rabbits & even a couple of deer & alpaca thrown into the mix - a veritable Animal Farm.This was the annual Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, a huge annual event in downtown Houston held at the impressive Reliant Stadium. It was bigger than I imagined; not only were there the typical events one might think of when you see the word "Rodeo", but there was also a large carnival area where one could play carnival games, go on rides like the Ferris wheel, and also a shopping area where vendors selling a large variety of products ranging from automobiles to western art to, of course, cowboy boots & hats (I was tempted to buy one but then I thought I would look kinda strange wearing a cowboy hat in Beijing).

A Texas Longhorn - this fella was HUGE

The deer that tried to eat my blouse (while I was wearing it!)

There were also events at which steer, goats, pigs, horses were "shown", much like how dogs & cats are shown i.e. paraded around by their handlers & inspected by judges & winning prizes. No clue how they are judged but I would guess things like the shape of its rump or how it stands & how it moves (but don't take my word for it).

Steer competition

One thing that struck me was how "odorless" the animal holding area was, seeing how the whole center was occupied by thousands of animals (steer, goats, pigs etc). One think I learnt is that horse poop is a lot more smelly than the other animals (they had a separate holding area in a different building & we could smell the ammonia-scent as soon as we walked in).

Highlight of the evening, of course, was the rodeo itself. The event started off with a touching rendition of the Star Spangled Banner sung by a representative from the Army, accompanied by fireworks set off in time to the tune (indoors!).The parade

I watched, in morbid fascination, at the bucking broncos trying to throw off the cowboys during the Bareback Riding & Bull Riding events. They (the humans) hanging on for dear life (literally) while being thrashed around like rag dolls on the backs of horses or bulls was almost painful to watch, especially when they were thrown off. One cowboy looked like he had a compound fracture of one of his limbs as it dangled uselessly while he was carried off the arena after being thrown. Another landed on the back of his neck but managed to walk off on his own. I wonder if he sustained any fractures to his cervical vertebrae.

The equestrian skill required to lasso a steer then jump off the horse, flip the steer over, and then tie two of its legs together is a wonder to watch. The horses are so well trained that they know exactly when to stop dead in their tracks when they need to. Horse & Man working together as one - what an accomplishment & a thrill to watch.

The sportsmanship between competitors as well as the spirit of support shown by the audience was palpable as they cheer their encouragement for those who did not do well in their events. One thing that stood out for me was the high level of patriotism shown by the Texans. Last night was "Support Our Troops" night & homage was paid to all the military ladies & gents repeatedly. Very touching.

The night was rounded off with a concert performance by Rascal Flatts. After watching John Mayer in concert a few days ago, this was rather an anti-climax as I am not a fan. I was impressed, though, by the mobile rotating stage that was rolled out to the middle of the arena for the concert.
All in all, an amazing experience!

Note: Please ignore the dates on the pictures - I forgot to reset the date on my camera!

Equine Pursuits

Yesterday, we went horseback riding. I didn't realize how much I missed being back on a horse! I have ridden since my skiier's thumb injury incurred over two years ago during a riding lesson.

It wasn't a challenging ride at all since most in the group were beginners. But still, the feeling of being on a horse again was amazing. I wish Beijing had more trail rides near where we live out in the 'burbs; I would need to travel about an hour out of the city to get to grasslands to ride. Or to Inner Mongolia.

In any case, I am going to look for more chances to ride!

And am looking forward to more horsey related activities at the Houston Rodeo today!

Yee Haw!

Houston - the first few days in pictures

Blue Blue Skies

Strawberry Shoots - Spring is coming

Jet Lag

Carousel in the mall

Shopping in Katy Mills

Traveling

I am amazed by the number of new buildings which have sprouted up in the last several months in Singapore. I visited last week & was astounded by the very new shopping malls along Orchard Road - ion, 313, Orchard Central, just to name a few. One wonders how much is too much?

Am now in Houston, Texas, visiting with my sister. Once again, one of the first things I do upon disembarking is to take a deep breathe of clean clear air, the likes of which I never see (or smell) in Beijing! The blueness of the skies here is hard to describe, & I will try to take pictures over the next 10 days & post them up when I can; as they say, pictures speak louder than words.

We just touched down several hours ago, & from the little I can see, Houston is flat & spread out! The Houston Rodeo, Rascal Flatts & John Mayer are some of the things I am looking forward to in the next 10 days that I am here! Will put pictures up, I promise!

Impressions from China - Pea Soup

I woke up this morning to the worst haze/fog/mist I have ever seen since arriving in Beijing.

Look at this...
That tree is less than 20 meters away, and just adjacent to it is this small street...

...and there is a grocery store just next to the street which is invisible.

And check this out. No, I didn't accidentally cover the lenses with something. It's the road leading in from the main gate of our compound.

Bugs, Bugs, and more Bugs

This has been a brutal Winter, health-wise. Our family has been attacked left, right & center by various viruses (in all likelihood including the swine variety) since October, with sniffling, sneezing, coughing, wheezing, fever, copious mucoid production, congestion (not necessarily in that order) affecting one or more of us almost consecutively.

My usually ample supply of meds ( I keep a good stock of pharmaceuticals at home as I find it a pain to go to the local clinic where they charge exorbitant rates for consultation & end up giving medication which I could very well have prescribed myself) has been almost depleted & I will need to replenish it on my next trip to Singapore next month.

We all had the flu shots (the regular one, not the H1N1) - whether or not it helped, who knows. For some reason, I seem to be the least affected one of the lot. Yes I still get the symptoms but to a milder degree than the rest of the family. Maybe it's because of my previous abundant exposure to all the URTI patients that I had had to see in the polyclinics/general practice that has fortified my immune system so that I have the immunological memory of literally, a thousand & one types of antibodies . I guess some good came out of that. :)

Now if only my brain memory was that great...

Ignoramus

Do more to lower GP charges (ST Forum, February 19, 2010)

Another example of how the average Singaporean perceives a GP's work & his worth.

I wonder if he knows that even with the guidelines in place, GP's were still charging lower than recommended rates for consultation?

I wonder what his definition of "reasonable" is?

I wonder if he knows that the GP needs to pay rent for the clinic space, & that more often than not, this rent is exorbitantly high?

I wonder if he knows that the GP also needs to pay the salary of his clinic assistants and/or nurses?

I wonder if he knows that most GP's have to work day & night & weekends in order to support himself & his family?

I wonder if he thinks that the GP should aspire for a good life & standard of living for his family?

I really wonder....