its finally the end of the LONGEST year ever, school-wise at least.

3 major postings - med, surg, ortho. all MUST pass postings.. finally over.
24 weeks of clinics.. looking back it didnt seem very long, ortho seemed to pass by in a flash, thanks to a couple of end year birthday parties, and soon it was the end of posting test, and that finally all ended today.

there are a couple of movies i wanted to catch, and games i want to buy for my wii, and how i should start clearing my table, throwing out some clothes and buying more! :)
i just noticed that i do have many bags, some of which i havent used in a while. WHY! they are so pretty! shall find more occasions to use them.

had a magnificent lunch at soprano, this italian pizza/pasta restaurant at portsdown road, a sister joint to the one our CG had dinner at on my birthday :) this rather interesting coincidence was noticed by jiayan who found the menu identical to caipirinha at greenwood avenue.

food was great, i still find the servings small though. but the food was fantastic. had this absolutely mushroomy creamy mushroomy creamy mushroomy creamy pasta which was filled with mushroomy creamy stuffing. very sinful but very very amazing. i actually really liked the food. i got home and i was hungrygowhere-ing and the reviews were strangely awful for soprano. strange, i thought the food compared well with caipirinha. in fact, i think the ambience for soprano is much much nicer :):)

sometimes, great food, awaits discovery. i will definitely go back there. but a much nearer choice is probably galbiati at railway mall. awesome italian food, reasonable price. :)

well to each his own i guess.

we were all stuck at the restaurant cos it started to pour buckets, after footing the bill, i decided to join jiayan for some carolling at this home for the intellectually disabled in bishan. its really been a while since i last gave something back to the community, i really do enjoy doing these things, but sometimes life gets all overwhelming, and i cant commit.

it isnt my first time dealing with the intellectually disabled. i used to teach drama and social skills fortnightly to intellectually disabled children at cairnhill cc. some of them had down's, some were autistic, but yet, all were wonderful. sometimes i love how innocent these people are, how pure, and unpolluted.

when i was teaching them social skills, i recall one of the lessons was to get all of them to hold hands in a circle. something so easily achieved, was such a challenge for some of them. there was this little 4 year old boy who only wanted to hold my hand, and refused to hold anybody else. he was autistic, but he was such a beautiful boy. he wouldnt talk, but he communicated thru a tug on my jeans, squeezing my hand and with his eyes. this boy has a form of autism, and his parents only discovered his condition when he didnt start talking at all and was exceedingly introverted compared to other children his age. he looked completely normal, but yet so different from other boys. his mom would always style his hair, making a centre spike (like beckham - this was when i was in secondary school) and he would always wear the nicest clothes. (just like a child model - you know like gap kids!?)

i must say, im just so intrigued with how the minds of these children work. the touch of a stranger could bring them into a fit of crying and screaming. the way they quietly watch from afar and observe their peers instead of joining in. how i've never heard some of their voices. and how you can never understand how they perceive things.

i once did a drama piece on this book "the curious incident of the dog in the night time - by mark haddon". a tale of an autistic boy and how he finds his neighbour's dog stabbed with a pitchfork, and how he goes on an adventure to find his mother (his parents divorced) in london, after finding out his dad did the horrible act. for one such as him to explore unchartered territory, to find his mother just from an address and going about doing things his way, and how he double 2's for comfort. is just compelling and amazing. that book is highly recommended.

ah all this pointless rambling.

this lady at the christmas party at the home gave me a hug and thanked me for coming to the home. and that was my highlight of the day. i didnt really feel the event was well-planned and i also felt that the organizers over-estimated the intellect of the clients of the home, but it all didnt matter. what mattered most, i believe was just our presence. it was the company, the singing, the joy they got from shaking a visitor's hand, and asking your name, and us wishing them merry christmas.

i do however find them a bit more challenging to handle than children with intellectual disabilities. the clients at the home have the strength of a grown man but the mind of a child, and sometimes they dont understand their own strength. my hand was almost crushed by one of the clients. thankfully it was almost. and he did it because he wanted me to pick up a score sheet left on the stage by another caroler. so helpful, but so painful for my hand. but nonetheless, the visit was much more of a blessing than anything i could have planned in the afternoon.

what a great way to end the academic year.

-cheryl~*  

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