uPd@tE

Halo, peeps!! It's me!! Okay okay... Before u start throwing rotten eggs at me for deserting my blog, let me explain myself first.

So as u all know, I was busy preparing for final year degree exam ma. Super stressed loh... Somemore after that kanasai CPP paper, I kinda like insaf already lah. Scared of failing ma... So I made sure I studied properly lah...

And then hor, so "happy" wei!! The day after PharmCare paper, I fell sick. Fever + body aching. So I thought it was probably caused by deprivation of sleep loh. So I rested and woke up the next morning feeling super refresh!! BUT, I noticed several blisters of unknown origin on my face and on my body. I accidentally broke a few of them tim!!

Then, I noticed one super big blister right under my breast. Housemates all kena chicken pox before and they suspected that I was infected by this stupiak Vericella Zoster virus lah. Since I had to sit for ADD exam in few days time, I got kinda worried. So we called up NHS24, hoping to get some antiviral injection like we have back in Malaysia to suppress the infection loh.

Because the infection was still in early stage, I had no fever nor numerous number of blisters. So Nurse Jie Jie asked me to observe for another day loh.

So I observed. But as the day goes by, I feel more weak, feverish and malaise. I couldn't concentrate on studies at all. The number of blister has increased a lot as well. It was 18th of May, which means I was left with 2 more days to study for ADD only. I couldn't afford to waste that 2 days away, too!! I needed to know what was happening to me.

So, I called up NHS24 again, and asked for an emergency appointment, threatening them that if I don't get proper treatment, I may spread the infection to everyone in the exam hall. But that uncle wasn't very friendly lah, and he told me even if they arranged for an emergency appointment, there was nothing they can do as well.

He let me talked to a nurse and that Nurse Aunty asked if I had taken any medication. Told her I didn't lah. Was thinking, it's viral infection what, what can I take? Then u know what? That Nurse Aunty said, "That's kinda silly!! U should have taken some pain killers!! That would have suppressed ur fever!!". And then I was like "Duh!!! Of course I know I can take Paracetamol, but as a pharmacist (cheh wah..) I know it provides symptomatic relief only!! No doubt it will make me feel much better, but the severity of my disease will be masked, too!! Not to mention I wasn't even sure if it was chicken pox or not..."

Of course I didn't argue with her lah. I just "yeah yeah yeah..." and so the only advice she gave me was, "Take Paracetamol". That's it. Kinda depressing lah... But I popped down 2 Paracetamol nonetheless.

But around 15 minutes later, someone called me on my handphone. Thinking back now, most probably it was my GP le. He asked me about my condition and I kinda begged for an appointment plus threatened him about spreading the disease again. So, finally he told me I could take a taxi to go to the Western Infirmary Out of Hour Centre if I want for Royal Infirmary was already closed for the day. He would transfer my information to Western Infirmary.

I was super duper uncomfortable already so I decided to go even though Western Infirmary was around Kelvongrove area. So housemates helped me to call a cab and Cheah Voon teman me there. I looked sooooooooo fugly wei... with hair tied up and fringe held back with a hairband. EeewWW!!!!!

But the healthcare system here really super efficient lah. I just "erm..." only the uncle at the reception already said "U called, right? U can wait for the doctor in the waiting room over there" and gave me a big smile. Wah... Warm dao~

So after much waiting, I was finally seen by a nurse who took my case note down, and then by this doctor called Dr. Rowland. She looks freaking knowledgeable wei!! Got a bit of PP3 AB feel, but of course she looked much kinder than AB lah. Super duper friendly. So so soOOOO nice wei. Fell in love immediately.. XD

So she touched touched the blisters and confirmed that it was chicken pox infection. One thing weird is that there was no medication that she could give to suppress the infection!! How come ah? I thought UK is supposingly more developed than Malaysia? The jab is like so common back in Malaysia, isn't it? Hmm... Anyway, she told me she would call up the University to discuss about my condition but when I asked her if she knew which university I was studying at, she said no. Errrmmm.... Well, maybe she has that in her record I suppose?? If not how's she gonna call lah???

Because the blisters weren't itchy at the time, so she only prescribed me with Calamine aqueous cream and told me I didn't even have to pick the prescription up if the blisters didn't give me any problem. No antihistamine whatsoever was given. My temperature was 38.1C after 2 Paracetamol tablets and so Dr. Rowland asked me to continue taking them loh...

So, I went back home and the taxi fare to and fro cost me 12 pounds!!!!! Wah lao eh!!! Chee sin one!! What to do? I really needed to find out what was wrong with me le. So that I could study in peace... I know it sounds nerd lah, but really super distress wei that time. Didn't even manage to study 1 single chapter!!

The next day there were a lot more blisters and the blisters got super duper itchy lah. So, Su Ann helped me to pick up the Calamine cream. Mak Dia!! Tipu orang punya!!! At night, the cream dried up and made the itch even worse!!! I tak boleh tahan dy. Since I have got some antihistamine myself, I popped one down even though I knew it would make me drowsy and unable to study. The itch was killing me!!! However, besides causing drowsiness, the antihistamine had no other effect on me. I had a very unpleasant night. Insomnia...

The next day was the last day to study before ADD exam. I tried very hard to concentrate but it was really difficult. I felt lethargic all the time. In the end, I couldn't finish studying. I was so worried that I was gonna fail....

I notified Carol and Prof. Sue regarding my condition the moment I got back from Western Infirmary. So they arranged for me to take the exam in quarantine. Hmm.. not really that stressful, but the examiner very de blur lah!! He started late and ended early!!! Somemore there was one page missing from my exam paper. Dots... He got it solved halfway through the exam.

I felt sooooooo relief after the exam even though I did kinda bad. Finally I could rest!!! I had to force myself to stay strong and study in spite of the extreme tiredness and itch I was suffering from. Felt so much like giving up. Kinda had the thoughts of "I would rather drop dead now than to continue living like this". Exhausted wei...

So after exam, I just stayed at home to recuperate loh. Lethargic wei. Slept till 12p.m. everyday. XD Quite sien lah sometimes but what to do? I was not supposed to go out le. Takkan spread the infection to the whole world meh? Moreover I looked like a freak with those blisters all over my face and body lah. Super disgusting wei... Somemore Chinese believes that when u have chicken pox, u are not supposed to get urself exposed to the wind... Haha...

But I am soooooooooo very lucky that I have a bunch of caring frens. They took care of me well, teman me to go see doctor, helped me to pick up prescription, came over to visit and accompany me, bought me all the necessities, cooked me lunch and dinner on daily basis eh!!!!! Those who haven't kena chicken pox before also called me up to send me regards. I am soooooooooooooooooooo touched!!!!! Wu wu wu...

THANK YOU SO MUCH, MY FRENS!!!!!

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!

I really think I don't deserve all the love that u all have shown me lah... I am such a sucky person and I know that!!! Feel so paisay. I was like so useless... Couldn't do anything... You all handled everything and cared so much for me... I am really speechless lah.. Really don't know how to express my gratitude besides saying "thank u!" to all of u lah... Really, thank u!! I truly truly appreciate what u all have done for me and I will remember all these in my heart forever and ever.

Thanks so much, my dear frens... =)

Hugz & Muacks... Oh no! Wait till my blisters clear off first then only I hug and muacks u all lah. Lol... Many many loves and thanks... =)

P/S. Am going around UK with Xin Yin and Hui Koon from tomolo onwards!! Tee hee hee... Will be going to Leeds, York, Birmingham (Cadbury chocolate factory!!), Stonehenge (!!!!!), Oxford, and Manchester (Dim Sum!!!). Happy happy~ Will only come back on the 3rd afternoon. Don't worry. The infection is more than 10 days old dy. According to Yahoo! Health, it's not contagious anymore. Hehe... so, till then, don't miss me too much, peeps!!!!! Will blog about KT's gig in SECC soon!! Just got the photos from Hanseloon yesterday. Kaka... Tata~~~~~ =D

dIS@stROuS

Wah lao eh... CPP was a mess of SH*T lah!!! Even worse than lao sai, okay?!!

Tell me how to read & interpret & rephrase & write & elaborate so many things in such a limited amount of time???!!! Pls enlighten me!!!

At first somemore thought it's not gonna be that hard since the paper was at least understand-able this time. BUT, that kinda freaking answers they expect from us (in order to pass only, not score!) is impossible to be comprehended within 2.5 hours lah!! And that is, if u only spent half an hour flying through the entire paper, like I did.

Kanasai eh.. If they allow us to write short short or copy straight from the text like secondary school English exam, then it might be possible lah. I left one 10 marks question totally blank wei!! Somemore the passing mark is 50%, not 40%!!!!!

spoon & FARK!! Oops, I mean, fork... FORK FORK FORK FORK FORK!!!!!

Gazala was my invigilator somemore.. Not even an extra second to put a word down, unless u wanna get u paper marked with a "special" note, signed personally by her lah!! Wah lao eh... False fire alarm ka ka cau cau somemore... Wah piang!! They tested the fire alarm & couldn't stop it after that!!! WTF??!!!

Saw quite a number of ppl crying after the exam. So kesian... TMD they really shouldn't have tortured us like that lah.. I wasn't really scared until I saw my dear frens crying. Then I started calculating the probability (statistics again!! FORK!!) of me passing. Judging from that the fact that I messed up both the 20 and 15 marks (this one did halfway only somemroe!!) questions as well, I find it very low. SHOOT!!

Oh my gosh... Scary lah... Should I withdraw all the money that I have left in RBS out to buy Alison Thompson a LV bag and beg for a pass? Should I?? SHOULD I?????

Praying hard that God will grant us, the entire P105 batch, a 100% passing rate...

Platypus Genome Decoded!!!

Mua haha.. This is soooo freaking relevant to Drug Delivery Systems (I know it's over already lah) and Advanced Drug Discovery (but this is yet to come mar)!!!!! Ooh, don't stress don't stress. It's actually quite interesting to read. Figure u peeps might be interested. So am gonna copy & paste everything shamelessly from Yahoo! News. The link is as below (in case I kena sued for plagiarism later.. XD) http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080507/sc_afp/sciencebiologygeneticsplatypus_080507184740

Nah... This is for u ignorant fella who doesn't know what a platypus is.. XD

"Neither fish nor fowl: Platypus genome decoded
by Marlowe Hood Wed May 7, 2:47 PM ET

Arguably the oddest beast in Nature's menagerie, the platypus looks as if were assembled from spare parts left over after the animal kingdom was otherwise complete.

Now scientists know why. According to a study released Wednesday, the egg-laying critter is a genetic potpourri -- part bird, part reptile and part lactating mammal.

The task of laying bare the platypus genome of 2.2 billion base pairs spread across 18,500 genes has taken several years, but will do far more than satisfy the curiosity of just biologists, say the researchers.

"The platypus genome is extremely important, because it is the missing link in our understanding of how we and other mammals first evolved," explained Oxford University's Chris Ponting, one of the study's architects.

"This is our ticket back in time to when all mammals laid eggs while suckling their young on milk."

Native to eastern Australia and Tasmania, the semi-aquatic platypus is thought to have split off from a common ancestor shared with humans approximately 170 million years ago.

The creature is so strange that when the first stuffed specimens arrived in Europe at the end of the 18th century, biologists believed they were looking at a taxidermist's hoax, a composite stitched together from the body of a beaver and the snout of a giant duck.

But the peculiar mix of body features are clearly reflected in the animal's DNA, the study found.
The platypus is classified as a mammal because it produces milk and is covered in coat of thick fur, once prized by hunters.

Lacking teats, the female nurses pups through the skin covering its abdomen.

But there are reptile-like attributes too: females lay eggs, and males can stab aggressors with a snake-like venom that flows from a spur tucked under its hind feet.

The bird-like qualities implied by its Latin name, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, include webbed feet, a flat bill similar to a duck's, and the gene sequences that determine sex. Whereas humans have two sex chromosomes, platypuses have 10, the study showed.

"It is much more of a melange than anyone expected," commented Ewan Birney, who led the genome analysis at the European Bioinformatics Institute in Cambridge.

The animal also possesses a feature unique to monotremes -- an order including a handful of egg-laying mammals -- called electroreception.

With their eyes, ears and nostrils closed, platypuses rely on sensitive electrosensory receptors tucked inside their bills to track prey underwater, detecting electrical fields generated by muscular contraction.

"By comparing the platypus genome to other mammalian genomes, we'll be able to study genes that have been conserved throughout evolution," said senior author Richard Wilson, a researcher at Washington University.

In captivity, platypuses have lived up to 17 years of age.

In the wild, they feed on worms, insect larvae, shrimps and crayfish, eating up to 20 percent of their body weight every day.

Males grow to a length of 50 centimetres (20 inches) and weigh about two kilos (4.5 pounds), with females about 20 percent shorter and lighter.

The genome sequenced for the study belongs to a female specimen from New South Wales nicknamed Glennie and can be accessed at www.ncbi.nih.gov/Genbank."

I'm Blessed for Having You All... =)

Thanks everyone for making it happened last night...

Truly appreciate everything u all have done for me... (although I'd be happier if u all have asked that 2 random angmoh guys to leave their phone numbers to me. kakaka... XD)

I know everyone is super duper freaking farking (oops!) stressed up at the moment. Thanks for willing to spare ur precious time out just for ME!!!!!

Seriously, I am very-very^(a billionth times) thankful and touched. Really didn't expect anything. Was jamming my iPod so loud while Gene-Therapy-ing when housies blind-folded me!! Didn't even hear them entering my room!!! Gosh... XD

So, yeah. It was indeed a pleasant surprise!! Happy Happy~~ =D

And u all even prepared the pressies already!! Oh my!! Feel very bad lah... to make u all shop around for my pressies during this supposed-to-be-studying time... Paisay paisay... I HEART them all so so so so so much!!!!! Of course not because of the brands lah!! I'll treasure them all as long as they are from u ppl, even if they are from the Pasar Malam brands, ok? Lol... =)

I'd have offered to give free tuition as compensation IF I have the brain of Suok Teng or have finished studying like her & housemates. But knowing me hor, u all should know what kinda progression I'm making now lar... HAHAHA... XP

Many thanks are especially dedicated to those who have to resit PP3. I understand how stressful it must have been for u all. I'm very sorry if the celebration had made u all even more stressful than before!!!!! Sincere apologies... I have wished for the entire P105 batch to graduate together. So, we shall all be holding our mortar and prestle together this coming June, alright? Don't worry! Am sure u all can definitely make it this time!! Jia you!!! =)

I'm truly blessed for having u all... I know I am a sucky person sometimes, well, MOST of the time. I really don't deserve all the kindness and loves that u all have given me. Thanks for tolerating and forgiving me over & over again... I am very sorry if I ever made u all felt "beh song" or "tulan" with me. Hahaha.. But really, thanks for sayang-ing me so much... =)

This is my one & only birthday celebration in Glasgow with my dearest P105 batchmates. I'm cherishing every moment of it. I promise that I will save them all into my memory bank and relive these moments (minus the studying & exam parts) over & over again in the future.

Thank YOU so much!!!!! *from the bottom of my heart*

Love YOU ALL so much!!!!! I hope we can stay as close and meet up every so frequent even after we graduated!! Let's work towards this together, shall we? =)

Many many MUACKS and TIGHT HUGZ (u know what I meant, ngek ngek... )!!!!! =)

P/S. Best of luck to everyone in P105 for the upcoming degree exams!! We can do it!! Hek!! =D

[edit] - Senior CheahCheah Voon aka Ah Voon Jie Jie, if u're reading this, thanks for ur "belated" + "on-time" birthday messages as well!! XD XD

[edit # 2] - Housies, thank u all so so much!! Su Ann, thanks for the delicious Spaghetti lunch!! Also, thanks for the fantastic dinner, Xin, Voon, & Su Ann!! Am really really touched. My gratitudes towards u three are beyond description!! Even more than the calories in the Cadbury chocs u gals ate just now, okay??? Sob sob.. Want another sexy kiss kiss from me??? XD XD XD And Hansel, although I know u don't read my blog, still, thank u for the pressie & for coming just now.. =D

A vEry uSEfuL abBRevi@tIOn

The other day me & housies got very mou liu studying. Plus, it was a Friday night. So we decided to give ourselves a break and chatted in the living room.

Then we came to this topic, i.e. having guy frens who like sending confusing SMSes like "I miss you!!", "Muacks" & etc and makes u go like "Errrmm.. Okay, sweat! So now what am I supposed to reply him with???"

Ya know what I'm saying? Am sure many of u peeps have similar experiences before as well, right? Like, u don't even know if he means his words or he's simply flirting around cause u are not even close to him!! It just sounds inappropriate whatever u reply him with!

So now me & Xin have come out with a puuurfect solution. Short and simple. And tell u what, I seriously couldn't stop laughing wei!! Imagine the situation below:-

Shitty Guy: "Wish everything is well for u. Blah blah blah... I miss u!! Muacks!!"

So what are u gonna reply him with? Scroll down for the best reply of all time.. (whoa!! suspense-nya~)

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

"WTF"

MUA HAHAHA!!!!! Classic wei!!! XD XD XD

aPPrecIAtE =)

Thanks everyone for the pleasant surprise last night...

Thank you all for taking time out for me even when the stress level is already high up into the sky...

Tze, the cake was L.O.V.E.L.Y!! Me heart!! Knowing u, I could picture u baking the cake under suppa stressful condition, i.e. hair tied & fringe pinned up. XD Thanks for sacrifising ur precious suppose-to-kiasu time for me... =)

And ppl, I really didn't expect anything. My brain has been rather slow lately. Plus, I was already perasan enough to post an entry asking everyone not to celebrate for me liao. Do u all really think I'd still be perasan enough to actually expect u guys to celebrate for me on erm... Yeaw's birthday????? Lol... If that's the case hor, my muka really tembok until can become tebing sungai liao la... XD XD

Anyway, really appreciate everything u guys have done for me. Thank u all very very very much... MUACKS!!!~~ (with love & saliva) XD