Tuesday, July 31, 2007


THANK YOU ALL!!!


First of all I would like to thank QY, Yang and Grace for coming up with all the elaborate schemes and planning so many stuff.. must be really hard doing all the coordination, logistics and money collection...I must say, it was really quite well executed.. Next, thank you Ivy, for putting so much effort into making those cards and thinking about the presents.. The Minesweeper Flags thing was really... Waaaaa... I merely made a passing remark, but you actually remembered... very gan dong.. Thank you Ning Qi and Ryan for subtle-ly finding out what I needed (the tie clip and Harry Potter)..I never noticed it....Thank you Joel for booking the restaurant today.. Thank you Xizzy for sending a card from Germany...thank you Pear for sending a sms from Australia....thank you Biomed jnrs, thank you 03s78, thank you Morning Talk Cock Gang, thank you Section 2 meddies, thank you CSFC AH dudes, thank you rest of the Medicine and Hwa Chong dudes....thank you all those who remembered, who sent me well wishes and who came down today for dinner... appreciate it very very much..

Actually what makes me most happy, is not how nice the presents were, or how well the events were planned and executed, but the simple fact that you all bothered to remember, and bothered to do all those things... Actually I feel abit undeserving of all this... but still...

THHHHHHHAAAAAAAANNNNKKKK YYYYOOOOUUUU AAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!!!

posted by nwxiang at 10:32 PM | 0 comments


Monday, July 30, 2007


Define myself.


How would you answer if you had an essay question that reads "Define yourself"? Damn hard question right? In the few hours that lead up to my 21st bday, allow me to attempt to answer that tough qn...

Hi, I am Wei Xiang. My surname is Ng. I like to spell my name "Weixiang" instead of "Wei Xiang" because somehow it looks nicer, and it saves me a space. My Chinese name is written as "威翔". Chosen by my mother, it is 21 strokes in total, calculated to suit my 生辰八字, and it has an obvious meaning: 威武地飞翔.

But of course, that's the definition of my name, not me.

I am Wei Xiang, born and raised in Singapore. I have spent most of my life living in a northern part of Singapore known as Yishun (or to some as Khatib), except one year in Bukit Batok and 6 months in army camps and wildernesses. My apartment is a HDB 5-room flat and my room is painted lime green, furnished with dark brown furniture that I have painstakingly hunted from all over S'pore.

Den again, that's where I live. Let me try harder.

I am Wei Xiang and I think I'm an agnostic that is getting more atheist by the day. I see God as a personification of natural forces that created (I'm sorry that I had to use this word) and shaped this world. It is mainly through science, logic and reason that I view the world. I am awed by the sheer elegance and beauty of it all - the very same science that explains how my computer works also explains how people fall sick, why the sky is blue, and how the stars and planets revolve around each other.

I am Wei Xiang and although I am no saint, I think I know the difference between right and wrong. I do not need a book or a religious leader to tell me what is good and evil, and certainly do not need the fear of hell or karmic retribution to keep me from committing wrongs. Conversely, I do not need the promise of heaven or nirvana to compel me to do good deeds. I believe the sense of morality is based on instincts selected by thousands of years of evolution and shaped by the current expectations of society. A purely destructive, or "evil" being would never be tolerated by the ecosystem.

I am Wei Xiang and I used to be disturbed by the question: "what is the purpose of all creation". Why do we exist? Why does the universe exist? What "made" the universe? What is the purpose of sentient life? Do we serve a purpose? Then I realised that we do not need a purpose to serve. Maybe there is a greater purpose! Who knows? But I am content with not knowing what this purpose is, or even whether it exists. Because we can all choose our purposes. Find our own meaning. And if it all makes sense, to yourself, that is enough. What greater purpose does a race or a marathon serve? None. But the athlete finds his own meaning in it. Maybe there is a God and there is a meaning determined by Him that we are supposed to strive towards. But why not the converse? Why not we, guided by our own knowledge and wisdom, choose our own destinies instead of believing in blind faith?

I am Wei Xiang and I used to fear the oblivion of death. I used to lie uneasily in bed at night, thinking about what happens after death. And I clung to the hope of an afterlife because I cannot grasp the meaning of life if it was so transient, so flitting. But I no longer fear. For I think I have found meaning. At least my meaning. Someone asked me b4: "My religion offers me eternity after death. What about you?" (mind you, the previous statement was made in a heart to heart discussion, not as a challenge or an evangelistic approach) I have found my own kind of eternity.

I am Wei Xiang and when I leave this world, I do not hope to remembered, for those who remember me will surely also one day pass from this world. Even if my name is immortalised upon some stone or some paper, it is only my name that is remembered, not me. Then what is my eternity? When I leave this world, I hope to leave an invisible but significant mark upon this world - the lives that I have touched in my life shall go on to touch others, generation unto generation. That is my meaning of life, my eternity. And because of that, I no longer fear the oblivion after death.

I am Wei Xiang and I am a medical student. Why do I want to do medicine? The reasons I wrote in my personal statement for the application seem so familiar, yet so...distant. Ask me to say one single reason for my wanting to do medicine and I will be at a loss for words. But one thing is for sure - there isn't any thing else in the world that I hope to be doing. Even it gets tiring and sometimes, downright shitty, medicine still feels right - still feels the one and only thing that is right. Even my 2nd choice in my application 2 and a half years ago (FYI its life science), seem absurd now.

I am Wei Xiang and I hope one day I can become a good doctor. I continue to be inspired by the doctors I meet everyday - persons of seemingly superhuman skill, wisdom, endurance and patience. I don't know how am I supposed to reach their level. Maybe I never will, but I hope I will be worthy enough to bear the title of Dr.

I am Wei Xiang and even if you do not know me, by this time, you should already know that I am hopelessly idealistic and perfectionist. Sometimes to the point of arrogance and stubbornness. Even though I do not believe in horoscopes, I think my character fits the profile of a Leo - proud, headstrong, insensitive. I don't think I'm completely tactless, but I do have problem figuring out what other people are feeling. A (quite thorough) personality test I did years ago said that I "can be so inwardly focused such that I neglect my surroundings and the people around me". However, some of my friends seem to read me like a book.

I am Wei Xiang and I am glad to be able to call some of you friends. Friends that I can talk to, go out with, share my thoughts with, inspire me, make me laugh, make me pissed off.. most importantly friends that whose mere presence, or existence, brings comfort.

I am Wei Xiang and by the time I finish this post, I shall already be 21. The coming of age. Of responsibility. I am who I am now because of my family, my friends, my teachers and all the people I have encountered in my life. And I shall become who I hope to be because of my family, my friends, my teachers and all the people I am going to meet.

There is so much more to write, yet my energy is limited. I dunno why I'm so pensive tonight, but I hope I have not put anybody off by this long, dull and serious post... and I hope I have not offended anyone with my worldview... Thanks to anyone who bothered to read, and perhaps more importantly, thanks to all those who bothered to remember my birthday..

And I know before 31st of July ends, there shall be more to thank...

But that shall come tmr.. for now..

Goodnight =)

posted by nwxiang at 10:53 PM | 1 comments


Friday, July 27, 2007


It sucks being a guy..


..when u are a medical student.

posted by nwxiang at 12:05 AM | 0 comments


Thursday, July 19, 2007


Kaoz.


I really din expect it... But come to think of it, there were so many signs and symptoms that I must be blind to miss them all... like why alot of people keep asking me whether I'm going for medicamp night.. why alot of people keep persuading me to go when I said I din feel like going.. and why alot of people keep calling me tonight to ask me where was I and whether I reach already.. and how dumb I was to be blindfolded..

But as the doctors say: "Hindsight is always 100% sensitive.."

Anyway really appreciate da jia for putting in the effort to come up with this surprise... thanks for the shirt and tie clip (I was going to get one myself).. Maybe u all shld have bought me a belt oso..cos my belt is really chui liao.. after all the chemical abuse... =PP

So a BIG THANKS!!! It was a (mostly) pleasant surprise.. =)

PS: I still stink. Those with birthdays after me watch out..

posted by nwxiang at 11:33 PM | 0 comments


Wednesday, July 18, 2007


Words of wisdom..


..from the tutorial we had today:

"The curriculum is designed to drive you up the wall, to deprive you of sleep. It's a job requirement."

"You've got to have something outside of medicine to keep you sane, keep you human."

"You've got to get used to the fact that you have no life. How much are you willing to sacrifice? Inspirational figures like Prof Low Cheng Hock are in their places today because they sacrificed everything."

"Start to learn how not to sleep."

"You've got to have something to keep you going, to give your work a meaning. And Bailey and Love isn't going to do that."

"You will see your non-medical friends getting married, and you will still be studying for your post-graduate exams. Eventually when you do get married, you will end up feeding your kid in the middle of the night -- and reading your Bailey and Love at the same time. Nothing will have changed."

"In the meantime, dun forget to look for a husband or a wife.."

posted by nwxiang at 11:02 PM | 2 comments


Tuesday, July 17, 2007


Calling all cheapskaters


Subway! This way please...

In NUH seminar room 4B. We have free breakfast every tuesday morning for GS journal club. So far we had Spinali, Macs and Subway. So join us and enjoy a free meal! Woohoo..

posted by nwxiang at 11:22 AM | 0 comments


Saturday, July 14, 2007


Stumped


Was walking along one of the underground tunnels in Orchard when I bumped into Donald. He asked me, "Hey, what you doing here?"

Stun. Dunno how to answer. My mind began to extrapolate an imaginary conversation: (imaginary stuff in italics)

Me: Oh, I'm just walking around after a dinner wif my fren to digest the food, so that we can go drink coffee later.

Don: You eat dinner wif who?

Me: Orh, Wenxiang lor. He's just walking in front.

Don: Huh? Just 2 of you?

Me: Yah. We do this kind of thing quite often.

Don: R u ghey?

Me: Not yet. Might consider becoming one.

NOTE: The above conversation is purely a figment of my imagination.

I finally settled on a simpler answer: "Just walking around lor." (shrug shoulders)

Kaoz. We ended up patrolling orchard 4 times up and down. Should sign up be security guard sia.

posted by nwxiang at 11:58 PM | 0 comments


Post call


Woohoo.. just got home from NUH... not a bad call.. saw and did quite a few stuff.. shall blog abt it after i repay my sleep debt..

posted by nwxiang at 1:41 AM | 0 comments


Thursday, July 12, 2007


Low morale


I need a morale boost.

posted by nwxiang at 10:46 PM | 0 comments


Tuesday, July 10, 2007


Wishful thinking?


Speaking of wishes... I am reminded of the last time I made a wish.. in a place where wishes are supposed to come true. I still remember that wish.. and even though I am becoming more skeptical, more logical and more clinical by the day, some childish part of me still hopes that that wish will come true..

Maybe it will, maybe it won't.. but its no crime to hope right?

posted by nwxiang at 12:03 AM | 0 comments


Monday, July 09, 2007


Birthday wish?


Since I'm not in a mood to study.. might as well blog about boh liao stuff..

Quite a few ppl have been asking me what I want for my birthday.. I just going to be bloody cliche, and say:

"The thing(s) that I want most, you all cannot give me..."

LOL.. And I shall elaborate no more on that.

Of cos, if you all want to buy me a car, I wouldn't mind at all..=PPP... or more realistically, a set of the newest edition of Harrison's Internal Medicine would be just in time for my medicine posting... =PpPPpp

As for whatever evil scheme u all are hatching.. I shall just say: I noe I will be 整-ed la.. I shall say nothing to prevent that.. but being my frens, you all should noe my limits la.. So lets just have something nice and simple... something that I can look forward to amidst all this hectic rush and madness, not something to dread...

Thank you all in advance.. have a good night =)

posted by nwxiang at 10:55 PM | 0 comments


Friday, July 06, 2007


One word to describe the week...


wadahellofaweekitwassofreakingshaggladitstheweekend

posted by nwxiang at 11:32 PM | 0 comments


Tuesday, July 03, 2007


Not a good day


Forgot to call the prof who is supposed to give us tutorial this morning. Prof called secretary. Secretary called student. Student called student. Prof called student. Prof sounded pissed. Students called students to warn them.

Rushed out of ward rds to attend tutorial at 9:30am. Tutor asked if we had any cases to present. Didn't clerk any this morning cos was following ward rounds. Cases clerked last wk either presented already or discharged. Prof din look too happy with us. After a long and uncomfortable silence, went to look for a patient whom I clerked last wk to present.

Found that patient was still there. Asked politely if the op has been done (cos no signs to elicit if op has been done)

Me: "Mr ___, 他们帮你开刀了吗?"

Patient: "你没有脑的是吗?! 没有开刀怎样把肠拿出来?! 你可以用脑想一下吗?! 你有没有脑的....."

Me (with tremendous self-restraint): "ok ok, 只是问一下而已.." (polite smile and walks away b4 losing self-restraint)

Tutor eventually found another patient for us to clerk and examine. Managed to go thru the rest of the tutorial relatively unscathed. Phew..

Anyway on a lighter note: Ivy is the 1st to beat me at minesweeper flags!!!! Congrats!!! hahaha

posted by nwxiang at 12:30 AM | 2 comments


Sunday, July 01, 2007


Stayers and quitters


Remember those old Hong Kong movies abt 飞虎队s (or other elite military/police units)? There will always be a scene where the recruits are briefed by their instructors. And the instructor will always say "我的任务就是要让你们退出!!!"

It irks me greatly whenever someone tells me, "Quit now. It's still not too late." Hey man, you've got to try harder than that. Stop giving me more reasons NOT to quit.

posted by nwxiang at 10:30 PM | 0 comments