Feeling so much responsibility, for the first time ~"~

from Pegi,

working where the sun don't shine - the colorectal surgeon's song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otcVrKomXbk

we praise the colorectal surgeon
misunderstood and much maligned
slaving away in the heart of darkness
working where the sun don't shine

repsect the colorectal surgeon
it's a calling few would crave
lift up your hands and join us
let's all do the finger wave

when it comes to spreading joy
there are many techniques
some spread joy to the world
and others just spread cheeks
some may think the cardiologist
is their best friend
but the colorectal surgeon knows ...
he'll get you in the end!

why be a colorectal surgeon?
it's one of those mysterious things
is it because in that profession
there are always openings?

when I first met a colorectal surgeon
he did not quite understand
i said "hey nice to meet you
but do you mind? we don't shake hands"

he sailed right through medical school
because he was a whiz
oh but he never thought of psychology
though he read passages.
a doctor he wanted to be
for golf he loved to play
but this is not quite what he meant ...
by eighteen holes a day!

Sad, though as expected

From Sam's xanga:

有一次，我們幾個分別了多年的同學相約去拜訪大學的老師。

老師很高興，問我們生活得怎麼樣 ?

不料，

一句話就勾出了大家的滿腹牢騷，

大家紛紛訴說著生活的不如意:

工作壓力大呀，

生活煩惱多呀，

做生意的商戰失利呀，

當官的仕途受阻呀?/SPAN>

彷彿大家都成了時代的棄兒。

老師笑而不語，

從廚房拿出一大堆杯子，

擺在茶儿上。

這些杯子各式各樣，形態各異，

有瓷器的，有玻璃的，有塑膠的，

有的杯子看起來豪華而高貴，

有的則顯得普通而簡陋 ?

老師說:

「大家都是我的學生，

我就不把你們當客人看了 。

你們要是渴了，

就自己倒水喝吧。」

七嘴八舌，大家說得口乾舌燥了，

便紛紛拿了自己看中的杯子倒水喝。

等我們手裏都端了一杯水時，

老師又發言了。

他指著茶儿上剩下的杯子說:

「你們有沒有發現，

你們手裏的杯子是

最好看最別緻的杯子，

而像這些塑膠杯沒有人選中它。」

當然，我們並不覺得奇怪，

誰都希望自己拿著的是

一隻好看的杯子。

老師說:「這就是你們煩惱的根源 」

大家需要的是水，而非杯子，

但我們有意無意地會去選擇

漂亮的杯子 。

這就如我們的生活----

如果生活是水的話，

那麼，工作、金錢、地位

這些東西就是杯子，

它們只是我們盛起生活之水的工具。

其實，杯子的好壞，

並不影響水的品質。

如果將心思花在杯子上，

大家還有心情去品嘗水的苦甜，

這不就是自尋煩惱嗎 ?

當我們放棄追尋外在的物慾與享樂，

轉而開始追尋內心世界裏的財富時，

快樂的腳步聲就離我們越來越近了!

Travel Diary - Australia

~ 23/5/06 - day 1 ~

Departure.  On the plane the whole night.  Sleepless.  Still not in good mood to start a long trip.

~ 24/5/06 - day 2 ~

Arrived at Cairns airport early in the morning.  Breakfast at Hilton hotel.

On the train, couldn't stop myself from falling asleep after such a long flight.  Then we went to the RainForest Station in which we took photos with pandas and kangaroos, saw the pamagiri dance show and rode on the Army duck.  Lunch at RainForest Station.  Rest at hotel in the afternoon.  Dinner at Casino hotel.  Did some shopping after dinner.

~ 25/5/2006 - day 3  ~

Woke up at 0400.  Went to have a ride on the hotair balloon, one of the activities that I longed most.  Sunrising in front of us.  Back to hotel to have breakfast and set off for the great barrier reef on the Great adventure cruise.  Lunch at the platform on the Great barrier reef.  I really loved there, so reluctant to leave.  Dinner at Chinese Restaurant.  Shopping at night.  Drinks by the side of the habour, fantastic.

~ 26/5/2006  - day 4 ~

Woke up at 0400, again.  A bit exhauting already.  Heading for Brisbane/ Gold coast.  It was cold here.  Went to the Tweed River - catching crabs, fishings...then to the paradise country.  Lunch there and saw some shows. Souvenir shop.  Dinner at a Chinese restaurant.  Glowing worms tour at night - little dots of bright blue lights all over the National Park, amazing.

~ 27/5/2006 - day 5 ~

Breakfast at Goldcoast international hotel.  Movie World, well, exactly like another DisneyLand, 99% similar.  Arthur gave me up in the roller coaster.  I played alone.  Dinner at German restaurant where Arthur and I were invited for a dance.  Drinks at the hostel lounge where I was drunk.

~ 28/5/2006 - day 6 ~

Flying to Sydney.  Fish Market where we ate dozens of oyster.  Highlight habour cruise - opera threatre, Darling harbour...Aquarium - I loved Platypus most, they were so cute.  Monorail.  Dinner at Chinese Restaurant.

~ 29/5/2006 - day 7 ~

Flown to Melbourne where my sister stayed for 7 years.  It was cold here.  Chinese food as lunch.  Dinner at the habour near the Phillip Island.  Fairy Penguins, cute.  Went to Casino.

~ 30/5/2006 - day 8 ~

The most horrible day that I would never forget in my life.

We didn't join the tour today.  Instead, we hired a car and headed for the twelve apostles.  We set off at ard 0800.  Arthur's driving the whole morning.  We had lunch by the beachside.  Nice scenery all along, like dreaming.

On our way back ard 1700, accident happened.  We were on the wrong side of the road.  A head on collision with a truck at speed of 100km/hr.  Our car was in a total lost.  The incident happened while I was napping.  By the time I was awaken, it was already too late.  My cervical and thoracic spine was injured and I couldn't move at all.  I couldn't breathe and felt like suffocating.  I tried hard to take a look at the condition of Arthur.  He's staring at me, shaking his head.  Fresh blood kept on running down from his scalp and he's in stridor.  I thought we would die in the car.  Yet I asked him not to move his head and took deep breaths slowly.  After about a minute, he managed to breathe and talk to me.  I yelled "help" inside the car with my weak voice.  John, a pedestrian came over and helped us.  He was also a paramedic.  He asked Arthur and I a few questions and started to exam us.  Police and Ambulance took nearly half an hour to come.  Arthur kept on complaining numbness in his legs while I had increasing difficulty in breathing.  I was in shock at the scene and was shivering all along.  After trapping for half an hour, I was taken out from the top of the car.  Arthur was sent to Royal Melbourne hospital by helicopter while I was sent to the Geelong hospital by ambulance.

At the hospital, I meant a doctor who could speak Cantonese,

- C3 quiry hairline fracture?

- Sternal Fracture with retrosternal haematoma compressing on the heart

- Pericardial contusion?

- Free gas and fluid in the abdomen, quiry ruptured bowels?

~ 31/5/2006 - day 9 ~

At the intensive care unit, feeling so desperate.  Tachycardia at a rate of 120/min for the whole night.  IV in bilateral cubital fossa - fluid, morphine.  Foley in situ.  Cervical Collar.  Tetanus injection.  Oxygen mask.

ICU nurses started to call my friend and my sister.  I thought they had called the night before.  Could stop weeping while I was hearing their voice.

Originally, we would fly to Sydney today.

~ 1/6/2006 - day 10 ~

After a repeated CT, fracture was excluded and   ruptured bowel sealed off.  Out of the ICU finally and stayed at High dependency unit.

~ 2/6/2006 - 6/6/2006 - day 11 to 15 ~

At hospital in Geelong, progressing.  Sister arrived at 6/6/06 and the salvation army took me over to Arthur's hospital, seeing Arthur for the first time after the accident.  They also took me to the seaside.  Sunsetting.

~ 7/6/2006 - day 16 ~

I was discharged on request and stayed with my sister in Melbourne where it's more convenient for my sister taking care of me and for me to visit Arthur.  Finally got cleared about what was going on for Arthur's leg.  A decision made by me - took Arthur back to HK ASAP.  Dinner at a Chinese restaurant where my sister had worked when she's a student here.  I was really tired.  Sterna and neck pain persisted.  I was still on opiates.

~ 8/6/2006 -day 17 ~

Lunch at seafood shop beside the Crown towers hotel.  Visited Arthur the whole afternoon.  Dinner at St Kilda - Italian food.  Perhaps this could give me a better memory here.

~ 9/6/2006 -day 18 ~

Left early in the morning.  At Baptist Hospital for some more checkups.  I was back, finally.