2010 Favorites

Eats

• Yoghurt at Dapuqiao, Shanghai
• Bejing Palace Cheese
• Okinawa Brown Sugar Milk Tea

Movies

• Inception
• Shutter Island
• Alice In Wonderland
• Toy Story 3
• Ghost Writer
• Social Network
• Buried
• Harry Potter And the Deathly Hallows
• Tangled
• Eat, Pray, Love

Music

• Need You Now - Lady Antebellum
• If I Die Young - The Band Perry
• Hidden Away - Josh Groban
• Waka Waka - Shakira (World Cup 2010)
• In My Veins - Andrew Belle
• Just A Dream - Sam Tsui
• Empire State of Mind - Glee Cast

Sites

• Matador Network
• The Road Forks
• Ridiculously Extraordinary
• Emm Media
• Vegan Backpacker
• Shutter Sisters
• A Cartoon Guide To Becoming A Doctor
• Little Purple Cow iPhoneography
• Travel With A Mate
• We Heart It   

Memories

• Experiencing First Ever Snow Fall
• Hiking Great Wall of China
• Dancing at a School Event for a Chinese Song
• Having a CT scan
• World Cups & Exams Simultaneously
• Friend's Visit to Shanghai
• Visits back home (A Couple at that!)
• Battle with The Witch
• 6 hour stint at Karaoke!
• Owning Bette and Maria. 

Have a Great 2011!

Note: Images on this post do not belong to this site.

Cairo Time was the Best Time Ever

I haven't watched a romantic film in a long while.

And Cairo Time is has become my favorite. Of course there is Casablanca and Once. I'm a sucker for love stories that has bitter-sweet endings.

"What are you thinking about?"
"I was thinking what I'd do on my first day living in Cairo."
"And?"
"I'd open a coffee shop for women only."
"That's brilliant."

As I was browsing the dvd collections, I saw Cairo Time sitting there perfectly tucked away and unlike the multiple copies of popular movies, there was only one for this movie. The synopsis didn't say much except for an American lady played by Patricia Clarkson, visiting her husband in Cairo and the friendship she builds with this Egyptian played by Alexander Siddig. He is ohh soo good looking. 

"Why are they looking at me?"
"This place is for men only."
"Why don't they say anything?"
"That would be rude."

It was a decent love story with amazing landscapes of Cairo. One of the few make-you-wanna-go-aww kinda love story. I loved it. It was my kinda or at least my idea of a romance flick. Simple. No over the top outpouring of emotions. Exotic yet real locations. Short dialogues. Just simple.

Have I mentioned I am in love with Cairo? And perhaps the Siddig dude too? 

After the CT scan...

I am Anemic and I self-diagnosed myself.

OK, maybe that was not the right thing to do. But I am a Doctor-To-Be. And it seemed like the best option to analyse myself. If I can't diagnose myself, I probably can't diagnose anyone else.

A summary of how I came about to diagnosing myself was like this:

1. My CT scan is clear: Which eliminates any hemorrhage and what not
2. But my dizziness still persist!
3. I get cold feet and hands when temperature drops

Which can only be explained by the fact that I am either pernicious or Iron deficient. But most likely Iron deficient.

Ever since I moved to the dorm I became lazier and stopped cooking entirely. I eat at the canteen sometimes but mostly live on bread and random junk food. Being a vegetarian, most of the food I find I can't consume. So, with my sabbatical from cooking, brought in a significant distance between me and vegetables cooked without meat.

They add meat in vegetables too at times. Annoying! 

And because I have been experiencing excessive amounts of hair fall, increased heart rate after climbing 6 floors and loss of appetite. I can only say, I am anemic.

Its a mild case, which is why I can still walk and type this post. Otherwise, I'd be face down on my keyboard before this post ends.

However, now that my condition is somewhat deduced. I have to eat more stuff that is rich in Iron and Vitamin B12 to get back onto the fat, noisy Usha that I am. :)

Can't run for a while, for it takes a while for the body to be accustomed to strenuous exercises and especially ones that require massive amounts of Oxygen. The last thing I need now is to faint on the streets of Shanghai. 

My diet has been changed to include more citrus foods and a big fat reminder: DO NOT SKIP MEALS!

I used to skip meals so very frequently, it became a habit. A bad one as I have now learned. :s

Note: By the way, do not try skipping meals at home. Self diagnosis is also not recommended.

First CT Scan

CT scan in general is not that terrifying. Why am I saying this?

Cos I just had one. A Summary of why I ended up taking a CT scan was cos, I abruptly fainted and hurt my head real bad. Which by the way has left me with a battle 'bump' on my head. 

Initially, I self diagnosed myself to be safe and without any possible blot clots in my brain. Although the bump hasn't quite disappeared yet. 

After the fainting incident I had blurred visions, I wasn't walking straight no more. And I couldn't be on my feet for more than a minute. You would see me looking for something to hold onto to regain my balance.

Now that lead to me going to the hospital to have a consult. The doctor sent me for a CT scan just to make sure I haven't had any hemorrhage. 

And..That's how it all began.

The results were in under an hour and me and my brain are both perfect and fine.  

Gonna hang the scan on my wall. :)

My First Snowfall!

It may not be the best but its my first. So it is the best snowfall!

If Cheese is God, Yoghurt is Demi-God

Beijing Yoghurt

I had THE MOST AMAZING Yoghurt today. It was the best since I tried the Beijing Yoghurt. Infact it was as good as the Beijing Yoghurt if not better! I miss Beijing. :-(

Planning to visit that Yoghurt Store again and this time armed with Maria, I will be!

Virtual Junkie

Initially I thought perhaps assumed, okay maybe not.

Knew it deep down in my heart, in the depths of the muscles of my heart, among the ventricles and atrium, between the aorta and the vena cava, that the Internet was a F.A.C.I.L.I.T.Y. 

And that I do not rely on the medium out of my interest but because of the daily work I am involved in, which requires its expertise. 

Not only work, my interests lies among the World Wide Web too! OK I do have other interests. But even to pursue them I need WWW. 

I am officially an Internet Junkie. 

Something I probably was too afraid to admit for making myself look TOTALLY dependent on this new age invention. 

Compared to Edison's electricity, Internet is relatively new, so yeah.

I ran!

The title may sound simple to you but it means a lot to a couch potato who dream of running marathons without getting her ass of the couch.

When a friend of mine finally decided to keep up to a running routine, I figured this is the chance to actually get up and start training. And why not do it with a partner. Least there is this motivating factor.

Turns out, we both were procrastinating the whole idea. It is going to be a month since the idea took birth and perhaps died off as well. But of the course, I came to the rescue by going for a early run today. 

And my new running shoes were highly motivating. Maybe it was a placebo effect. 

Look at me Fly!

I hope will stick the routine I found online for newbie runners or specifically "Couch to 5K Runner". I ought to follow the regiment for three times a week for 9 weeks. 

Today marks the first day of the 1st week. 

3++ kilometres was all I could muster today with bits of walking thrown in. :-) 

No this will not be another of the many attempts I undertake in pursuing something long term!

Will it be?

If I Die Young...

If I die young, bury me in satin

Lay me down on a bed of roses

Sink me in the river, at dawn

Send me away with the words of a love song

Lord make me a rainbow, I'll shine down on my mother

She'll know I'm safe with you when she stands under my colors, oh and

Life ain't always what you think it ought to be, no

Ain't even grey, but she buries her baby

The sharp knife of a short life, well

I've had, just enough time

If I die young, bury me in satin

Lay me down on a bed of roses

Sink me in the river, at dawn

Send me away with the words of a love song

The sharp knife of a short life, well

I've had, just enough time

And I'll be wearing white, when I come into your kingdom

I'm as green as the ring on my little, cold finger, I've

Never known the lovin' of a man

But it sure felt nice when he was holding my hand, there's a 

Boy here in town says he'll love me forever

Who would've thought forever could be severed by

The sharp knife of a short life, well

I've had, just enough time

So put on your best boys and I'll wear my pearls

What I never did is done

A penny for my thoughts, oh no, I'll sell them for a dollar

They're worth so much more after I'm a goner

And maybe then you'll hear the words I been singin'

Funny when your dead how people start listenin'

If I die young, bury me in satin

Lay me down on a bed of roses

Sink me in the river at dawn

Send me away with the words of a love song

The ballad of a dove

Go with peace and love

Gather up your tears, keep 'em in your pocket

Save them for a time when your really gonna need them, oh

The sharp knife of a short life, well

I've had, just enough time

So put on your best, boys and I'll wear my pearls.

- If I Die Young - The Band Perry - 

Sighs.