Culinary Adventures: When Food Abroad Bites Back!

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Prepare your taste buds and buckle up for a gastronomic rollercoaster ride as we explore the wild world of culinary adventures abroad. From mouth-watering delicacies to unexpected surprises, join me as we delve into the delightful and sometimes downright daring realm of international cuisine.

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1. The Spicy Spectacle

You pride yourself on your tolerance for heat, so when the friendly street vendor in Bangkok offers you a taste of their “mild” curry, you confidently accept with a smile. But as the first fiery bite hits your tongue like a flamethrower in a chili factory, you quickly realize that you may have underestimated the true meaning of “Thai spicy.” Cue the frantic gulps of water and the impromptu fire-breathing performance that leaves your fellow diners both impressed and slightly concerned for your well-being.

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2. The Mystery Meat Mishap

You’re feeling adventurous, so when the menu at that quaint little bistro in Paris lists “escargot” as the house specialty, you decide to throw caution to the wind and give it a try. But as you take your first tentative bite of the slimy delicacy, you can’t shake the sinking feeling that you may have just eaten something that was alive mere moments ago. Cue the existential crisis and the fervent vow to stick to more familiar fare for the remainder of your culinary adventures.

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3. The Cultural Conundrum

You’re determined to immerse yourself in the local culture, so when your gracious host in Tokyo presents you with a steaming bowl of what can only be described as “mystery soup,” you graciously accept with a smile and a bow. But as you tentatively take a sip and try to identify the various unidentifiable floating objects, you realize that sometimes, cultural immersion comes with a side of gastrointestinal distress. Cue the polite nods and the silent prayers for a speedy recovery as you struggle to maintain your composure in the face of culinary adversity.

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4. The Street Food Fiasco

You’ve heard rave reviews about the street food scene in Marrakech, so when you stumble upon a bustling market teeming with tantalizing smells and exotic flavors, you can’t resist the siren call of the street vendors. But as you dig into your first bite of falafel, you quickly realize that street food adventures come with their own set of risks – namely, the inevitable battle with food poisoning that leaves you regretting every culinary decision you’ve ever made.

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5. The Sweet Surprise

Amidst the chaos and confusion of culinary mishaps abroad, sometimes you stumble upon a hidden gem that restores your faith in the power of international cuisine. Whether it’s a piping hot plate of pad thai in Bangkok or a decadent slice of tiramisu in Rome, these unexpected delights serve as a delicious reminder that sometimes, the best culinary adventures are the ones that catch you by surprise.

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So there you have it, fellow foodies – a humorous glimpse into the world of culinary adventures abroad, where every bite is an adventure and every meal is a memory. Remember, no matter how many culinary mishaps you encounter along the way, it’s all part of the delicious journey. Until next time, happy eating and may your taste buds be forever adventurous!

This is the second last post about Travelling…..keep your eyes peeled for the next blogs all about????

Lazy Days As A Medical Officer

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Do lazy days make you feel rested or unproductive?

While I’m at work, I’d be looking forward to returning home or towards my off day. In contrary, while I’m at home or on my off day, I’d be thinking about returning to work.

Do you feel the same way?

Previously, as a House Officer, I’m used to the “one off day per week”. Whereas, as a Medical Officer, weekends and public holidays are granted off days, except if you’re well… oncall and that depends on your current department as well as some departments require you to put in a half day shift during weekends or public holidays.

I’d say for me, considering I live alone and I don’t even own a car here in Sarawak, I’m pretty much lazy and unproductive to the point I get restless sometimes.

That’s counter productive as rest days are meant to make you feel… rested, right?

Thus, on my off days, since I’m an early riser, I try not to disturb my circadian rhythm by getting up at the same time as usual every morning, partly because I forgot to off the alarm or somehow, my body clock just wakes me up every time.

To feel so-called “productive”, I’d do some studying with my morning coffee till I well, lose my focus, then I start wondering about lunch and start cooking, handwash my clothes because I’m too lazy to walk downstairs with a bag of clothes and finally doze off for my afternoon nap.

I’d then wake up in the evening to have dinner and pack my essentials and bag for work the following day before finally, retiring to bed early.

I really need to be more productive during my off days.

Even me writing this just sounds too depressing.

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My First Day Of Locum And As A Medical Officer

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A locum or locum tenens, is a person who temporarily fulfils the duties of another; the term is especially used for physicians or clergy.

– Wikipedia.

The first time I ever tasted or ventured into locum or a so-called “part-time doctor” was on the 3rd of August 2025.

At that time, I was back in my hometown and on a 3-weeks-break post housemanship / internship at a small private clinic, yet to officially begin as a Medical Officer.

While I was in medical school, I would occasionally hear this term “locum” from my fellow seniors or batch mates, lecturers, parents or even friends of my parents. However, in order to locum, one would need to be fully registered with the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) and possess a valid Annual Practicing Certificate (APC). In short, I had to graduate medical school, finish my internship or housemanship first, then only am I able to dive into this.

Thus, upon acquiring my full MMC and APC licence, I was looking forward to locum. Looking forward to it as well as nervous to dive into this. Thankfully, I had just completed my final rotation in the Emergency and Trauma Department.

In the Emergency and Trauma Department, there are various zones in which the patients would be triaged into in terms of presenting complaints, severity and their vital signs. The least critical in severity would be triaged into Green zone. The Green zone is similar to a clinic setting, thus, it gave me some idea on the type of cases I would be expecting.

My first locum was just 3 hours long, from 7pm till 10pm. I figured that since I am just starting at that time, it would be better to start with minimal hours in order to get used to it and also.. if I would enjoy it.

The clinic was quaint and small but equipped with basic necessities and a scan machine. The only thing that it did not have, was an x-ray facility. The moment I sat down, the patients kept coming back-to-back. As soon as I was done with one, another came.

For a first-timer, I felt it was equivalent to the Green Zone in General Hospital whereby the cases were always there but the patient load was manageable.

However, I was extremely scared.

Mainly afraid that I might accidentally jeopardise the patient’s safety in terms of mismanagement. Thankfully, by 9:30 pm, the clinic assistant stopped accepting new patients and prepared to close the clinic.

For a first experience, it was a good one despite it being rather terrifying for me.

But, we all have to start somewhere and build our confidence, don’t we?

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• 2026 – The Beginning
• My First Night Shift In Emergency & Trauma | Housemanship Diaries
• Life After Offtag In Emergency & Trauma | Housemanship Diaries
• Day 1 Of My Final Posting – Day 647 Of Housemanship
• Surviving 10 Days Of Tagging | Emergency & Trauma Department
• My Last Shift As A House Officer in Medical | Housemanship Diaries
• Preparing For My Exit From The Medical Posting As A House Officer | Housemanship Diaries
• Surviving The Night Shift In The Medical Posting In General | Housemanship Diaries
• My First Night Shift Covering Medical 4 / Medical 5 / Infectious Disease Ward In Sarawak General Hospital – Housemanship Diaries
• Part 1 – Life As A Peri Medical House Officer In Hospital Umum Sarawak | The Emergency Department
• Appreciation Towards The Medical Officers (MOs) – Housemanship Diaries
• 1 Year Of Housemanship Update – Housemanship Diaries
• Another Good Advice I Will Remember For The Longest Time – Housemanship Diaries
• Enjoying The Journey – Housemanship Diaries

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2026 – The Beginning

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First of all, Happy New Year! I hope you have had a great start to this year and if you have any New Year’s Resolutions planned, I hope that you will be able to stick throughout the year.

I did not have any New Year’s Resolutions planned as I usually did the previous years. Mainly because I have just moved to a new place, settling in with things still pending in Kuching, trying to adapt to my working environment as well as picking up on new skills.

Thus, New Year’s Resolution? It’ll come as the year progresses.

My New Year’s Eve was spent at work and mainly in the ambulance with a dear friend as well as work colleague, however, that is a separate post for another time.

As usual, since I’ve started working as a doctor in 2023, I’ve always made it a point to work on New Year’s Day, a habit which I’ve adapted from my dad ever since he has started working at the age of 18.

However, New Year’s Day is a public holiday here in Sarawak. Thus, I was allocated as the oncall medical officer on the 1st of January as well as on the 2nd of January. Per oncall shift is from 8am on that day till 8am the following day (which means, mine ended at 8am on the 3rd of January).

My first case began with a case of wound breakdown over the right wrist, which the patient chose not to seek hospital treatment followed by another case of upper gastrointestinal bleed which was sent to hospital. This was then followed by another case of possible acute appendicitis which the patient and family decided to “discharge against medical advice” because they wanted to seek treatment in their hometown considering they were travelling and happened to be in the same area.

Upon returning home, I was called back for a case of breakthrough seizure likely secondary to under-dosage of medications. The patient had three episodes of seizure that day followed by a regular 1-2 monthly episodes. Hence, referred and sent to hospital.

Finally, I can return home. Time to get some rest since I would be working the next day. Shortly after, I was called back, a patient sustained laceration wound over the medial aspect of his antecubital fossa. Mechanism of injury? Unknown and he was in an extremely drunken state.

Otherwise, he was stable. Sadly, my medical assistant at that time could not be contacted to escort the patient to hospital and the family members did not have their own transportation.

If only, he was fully awake, I would have triaged him to green zone. However, transportation issues… Thankfully, the patient’s family has an uncle who was willing to send. The only thing was he needed some time to arrive due to the heavy rain and slippery roads.

I didn’t feel good leaving the patient behind although he was stable. Thus, I stayed till 4am until his uncle came and the patient himself had woken up.

After that, I went back home and straight away gotten ready for work since it’s a working day and I am still oncall.

The following day on the 2nd of January, went by smoothly during office hours with referrals here and there but it was manageable.

In the afternoon, another patient came in for symptomatic anaemia secondary to abnormal uterine bleeding with newly diagnosed cervical carcinoma. Her haemoglobin level was 5, who again, refused hospital referral claiming she visited the clinic for fever and not for her anaemic symptoms. After much convincing and discussion with my specialist, the patient still opted to “discharge against medical advice”.

Which makes me wonder… Why in the world?…

This was followed by dinner with my friend. I remembered thinking to myself that evening that maybe… just maybe… I would have a cold night. Enough of referrals.

However, at 11:30pm on the 2nd of January 2026, I received a call from my medical assistant that a patient presented to the clinic breathless with an SpO2 of 50% under room air, started on high flow mask and at best, it is only 90%.

Sounds like an impending intubation and CPR case.

I called up my friend immediately as I rushed to the car as she lives closer to the clinic. I needed all the help I could get for this patient. The roads were slippery and it was a rainy night. Yet, I sped. Thankfully, my friend had already arrived before me.

The patient?

I remembered seeing this patient on the 23rd of December 2025. At that time, his lungs already had crepitations with reduced air entry over the right side and yet he chose to “discharge against medical advice”. I remembered telling him that he would collapse if he didn’t go and true enough, here he was… sitting up, gasping for air.

His vitals? Blood pressure was sky high, lungs filled with crepitations but no pedal oedema, lines were set, no ECG done but we didn’t have time to waste…

I called up the Emergency Physician in the nearest hospital (which is an hour away), presented shortly and informed that we had to proceed with intubation because he was too tachypnoeic.

We prepared for intubation, informed the family members as well as explained the risk of CPR and death. The family understood and agreed.

Intubation… This was a difficult intubation for the guy was a very large guy with hardly any neck visible.

But before we could start, his GCS dropped and so did his heart rate, I started CPR while my friend attempted to crash intubate. We attempted to crash intubate and both times, it failed… I called up the Emergency Physician again and told her that we were 30 minutes into the CPR, she told me to call off after the current cycle.

My first death at a new workplace and on the third day of the year at 0027H, 3rd of January 2026.

Then, I proceeded to complete my notes for the family members to bring to the police station to lodge a police report and broke the news to the family. I was calm and so were the patients’ family. After that, I called up the Emergency Physician to thank her and then, I broke down.

I broke down because had he gone on the 23rd itself, he wouldn’t have to gone through this.. He lives alone and his so-called family members aren’t even his biological family members but neighbours and friends… I broke down because I also felt defeated… We tried our best with such limited resources and manpower…

Yet, I couldn’t save him…

If you have YET to come up with a New Year’s Resolution… At least consider this, adhere to your regular check-ups if you have any… Stay compliant to your medications, diet restrictions or any fluid restrictions if you do have…

And if something is off or not right, please RUSH to the nearest clinic or better, the hospital… Because there is only so much that we can do with such limited resources in a community clinic.

Otherwise, I wish that you have a Blessed 2026 filled with love, beautiful memories and wonderful opportunities.

Remember to have fun and do enjoy it but please do so, responsibly.

Related Posts:

• My First Night Shift In Emergency & Trauma | Housemanship Diaries
• Life After Offtag In Emergency & Trauma | Housemanship Diaries
• Day 1 Of My Final Posting – Day 647 Of Housemanship
• Surviving 10 Days Of Tagging | Emergency & Trauma Department
• My Last Shift As A House Officer in Medical | Housemanship Diaries
• Preparing For My Exit From The Medical Posting As A House Officer | Housemanship Diaries
• Surviving The Night Shift In The Medical Posting In General | Housemanship Diaries
• My First Night Shift Covering Medical 4 / Medical 5 / Infectious Disease Ward In Sarawak General Hospital – Housemanship Diaries
• The Most Enjoyable and Tiring Day In Medical 3
• Part 1 – Life As A Peri Medical House Officer In Hospital Umum Sarawak | The Emergency Department
• Appreciation Towards The Medical Officers (MOs) – Housemanship Diaries
• 1 Year Of Housemanship Update – Housemanship Diaries
• Another Good Advice I Will Remember For The Longest Time – Housemanship Diaries
• Enjoying The Journey – Housemanship Diaries

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Life After Offtag In Emergency & Trauma | Housemanship Diaries

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The tagging hours in the Department of Emergency & Trauma is from 7am till 10pm, for a total of 10 days and one off day per week. There are no assessments required to off-tag, only hours required to cash in.

During our tagging season, we were not allocated for night shifts as well.

For me, tagging in this posting felt like an eternity. I remembered counting down my days before I would finally “offtag” and be switched to regular working hours. I also remembered being extremely exhausted at the end of my shift, wondering how did my fellow colleagues managed to pull through.

Tagging in this posting as compared to the other postings was considered less stressful as we were not required to arrive early for morning rounds. We merely had to arrive on time and upon the end of our shift, we leave, as compared to other postings where we would stay back almost every time, cash in “unpaid overtimes.”

Finally after 10 days of tagging, I officially “off-tagged“.

So how was life after that?

Much better. Thankfully.

Regular hours in the Emergency & Trauma Department meant working a 12-hours shift per day with an off day per week and a single night shift.

Basically, we had to ensure that in total, we had to meet the total 60-hours shift per week.

Thus are the timings for our respective shifts:

• AM Shift: 7am – 7pm
• PM Shift: 10am – 10pm
• Night Shift: 10pm – 10am

If you have read my articles on “The Joy Of Working The Night Shift As A House Officer” as well as “My Favourite Time Of The Day At Work“, I mentioned that I absolutely love the night shift. The disadvantage of working the night shift is that we are usually alone and the night shift can be rather unpredictable.

However, it is not the same for me in this posting. Out of the shifts listed above, my favourite is the AM shift, 7am till 7pm. Initially, getting up for work at 7am is tough especially after working the PM shifts back-to-back. But after the initial morning sleepiness wears off, the day proceeds as usual and we return home at 7pm which is nice.

Life after offtag in this department ensured that I had adequate rest prior to my shift starting. No doubt, it is a 12-hours shift every time, we usually arrive and leave work on time as compared to other postings.

Nonetheless, I was still exhausted after every shift. Perhaps it was due to the accumulated mental and physical stress throughout the previous five postings that when I am finally blessed with extra rest, I am still tired.

If you are still in the tagging phase, be it in this department or others, please stay strong. Remember that it doesn’t last forever, it is merely over a certain span of days or weeks.

Keep showing up, keep doing the good work to the best of your strength and abilities and keep moving forward.

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• Part 2 – Life As A Peri Medical House Officer In Hospital Umum Sarawak | Main Building, Side Building, Infectious Disease Ward
• Appreciation Towards The Medical Officers (MOs) – Housemanship Diaries
• 1 Year Of Housemanship Update – Housemanship Diaries
• Another Good Advice I Will Remember For The Longest Time – Housemanship Diaries
• Enjoying The Journey – Housemanship Diaries

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Overcoming My Fear To Refer A Case I DO NOT KNOW | Housemanship Diaries

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What fears have you overcome and how?

At the moment of writing this article, I am in my sixth and final rotation which is in the Department of Emergency Medicine, pushing into my third month.

One might think that as we become more senior in our current job, it gets easier or the fear fades.

Well, the anxiety certainly reduces but that does not mean that it disappears.

For me, the fear is still there as to who I would be working with or who I would be referring to and most of all, referring a case that I not know.

I’m sure we’ve all been there before. Especially upon arrival to work and to be absolutely clueless about the patient and their case and progress and to not have anyone handover the case to you.

Not that we won’t take the time to understand. It is just that, we will or at least I would take the time to digest the initial presentation, clinical examination and findings followed by the initial management of the patient and other teams as well as the current progress.

Once I have finally understood the issue of the patient from A to Z, then I can confidently refer the patient for a simple thing.

That’ll usually take me about 5-10 minutes, especially if there is just one too many writing. To others that may seem like an eternity.

The thing is they will somewhat give me a template of what to say in regards to the patient but I am still absolutely clueless and wishes to kindly absorb the pages and information about the patient before I walk into the battlefield.

This is because, one too many times, I will be asked about things totally irrelevant to the case of the patient which will take me some time and if I’m not so lucky, ended up being shouted at. I mean, that’s the worst that can happen right? Certainly reminds me of my early days of housemanship.

Maybe it’s a form of childhood trauma or maybe not, but I need to at least have a reason to defend myself and the patient.

It’s like a debate or a business deal which I find that I may need to fib or exaggerate myself in order to get a test approved or to refer, all for the sake of the patient or sometimes the superiors.

It’s alright but at times it can be rather annoying especially when they want it done in a minutes time.

The next that I have to actually open my mouth and communicate. Being an introvert, I can easily talk to people but I dislike being in groups, small talks or actually talking at times.

I find it exhausting and thus upon the end of my shift, I just need time to recuperate.

However, back to the question of this article, my fear, to refer to other departments, especially, if it is a case I do not know and to a tiger of a person who loves finding any fault just to reject the case is still present to this day and what have I done to overcome it? Nothing, really, just extreme patience.

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The Most Enjoyable and Tiring Day In Medical 3

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I can’t remember which day it was but it was probably during the weekend or a public holiday as I remembered that I was allocated on call who was in charge of this ward.

I was allocated to “General” on that day and was I was alone at that time. I remembered sitting at the other end of the ward at around 11am when one of my colleagues who was allocated to be covering the “Neuro” patients went to have lunch.

The medical officer on call at that time, a rather “happy-go-lucky” and rather jovial person struts into the respiratory cubicle and asked if there were any house officers available?

To which I responded, we’re right here and he came over. He asked for the person who was in charge of the front cubicles which happened to be my colleague who went for lunch. I asked what’s wrong, is there anything I can help with?

He casually replied, nothing much, just walked in and saw a patient’s pulse oximeter reading 70% under room air. Then he laughed.

Me and my friend who happened to be there at that time were shocked and rushed to the patient. True enough, the pulse oximeter reading was 70%, well, 68%. Oddly enough, the patient seemed rather comfortable and not tachypnoeic. In fact, he was surprised as we crowded around his bed, looking concerned.

I asked him if he was having any difficulty breathing which he was not. Thus, our first instinct was probably the machine was faulty and proceeded to check with another vital signs machine.

This time, it was 65%.

I proceeded to take full set of bloods while my medical officer was writing his review and my friend attempted to call my colleague.

I ran his arterial blood gas and it showed Type 1 Respiratory Failure. Considering he did not have a baseline during this admission, we do not know if this was near his baseline or a sudden deterioration.

We called the Peri ICU team and referred the patient for non-invasive ventilatory support (NIV). Imagine, not knowing why this long stay patient was ever here in the first place to summarising the reason for admission down to his current progress. It turns out, he was due to be stepped down to a district hospital for continuation of antibiotics.

Well now, he can’t.

We transferred hum to the acute cubicle for closer monitoring while awaiting the Peri ICU team.

While awaiting, my medical officer decided to check on a patient who was handover to him for afternoon reviews.

This lady was in her 60’s and was admitted for left pleural abscess, meaning there’s pus in her lungs and for this patient, the whole left lung was completely filled. Clinically, she seemed well, speaking in full sentences and laughing to her family members as well in the morning.

In fact. I was even taking her bloods that morning only to have it splashed all over me after attempting to fill the blood culture and sensitivity bottle.

I recalled walking past her as I made my way to the front of the ward and she seemed alright. However, the moment me and my medical officer oncall stood in front of her. She desaturated an started being tachypnoeic.

Well, here’s another one.

There goes the next referral to the Peri ICU team for intubation and also Urology for emergency suprapubic catheter insertion as we attempted to insert a urinary catheter multiple times but failed.

Now, all these events happened very fast but at the same time, time flew by fast. The second patient was intubated and we inserted a femoral venous catheter. My medical officer then wanted to excuse himself to settle the pending discharges in his other ward. However, the first patient wasn’t saturating well under NIV and needed to be intubated.

There goes another intubation as well as another femoral venous catheter insertion. Finally, after all the chaos, things began to finally settle down.

I proceeded to trace my coming mornings, considering that I was the only one in charge of “General” that day and nobody would be helping me. Finally, I proceeded to begin my oncall reviews. This was around 8pm by that time.

After completing my in all reviews with intermittent disturbance in between. I proceeded to aid my friend in preparation of her coming mornings.

It was close to 11pm, I was just clearing my stuffs and getting ready to go when a nurse informed me that a patient seemed rather tachypnoeic.

Annoyed and tired, I attended STAT to find a patient sitting at the side of the bed with his BiPAP machine unlatched and hanging at the side of the bed. The patient beside him then told me, he removed it himself an hour ago.

Boy… Why am I not surprised?

This is another impending intubation.

At this rate, I might as well not leave anymore.

The day was busy enough. I sometimes wonder why is it that we feel guilty to even desire to return home on time? To walk out with the family members watching us finally ecstatic to return home for the day while their family members are stuck in the hospital?

Back to that patient, I didn’t left him gasping on his own of course, I fixed back the BiPAP machine, took an arterial blood gas and alerted my night colleague and medical officer oncall to which they attended STAT.

Thankfully, the following day, I was allocated as night shift. Thus, despite returning home late, I was able to sleep in and recuperate a little before returning back to work that night.

It was a busy day but considerably a rather fun one considering that I happened to work with a rather jovial medical officer oncall and my colleague stayed back to accompany me despite her shift being till 6pm.

Working with certain people definitely helps alleviate some of the pressure of the day.

Related Posts:

• My Next 6 Months (Post Housemanship)
• Part 1 – Life As A Peri Medical House Officer In Hospital Umum Sarawak | The Emergency Department
• Part 2 – Life As A Peri Medical House Officer In Hospital Umum Sarawak | Main Building, Side Building, Infectious Disease Ward
• My Evening Routine In The Medical Posting | Housemanship Diaries
• My First Day In Medical Posting – Tagging Day 1 | Housemanship Diaries
• My Morning Routine Being A House Officer Leader In The Surgical Posting | Housemanship Diaries
• Reflection Of The Surgical Posting | Housemanship Diaries
• My First Night Shift In Surgery | Housemanship Diaries
• Appreciation Towards The Medical Officers (MOs) – Housemanship Diaries
• My Downfall In Surgery Which Led To My Extension – Housemanship Diaries
• 1 Year Of Housemanship Update – Housemanship Diaries
• Another Good Advice I Will Remember For The Longest Time – Housemanship Diaries
• Enjoying The Journey – Housemanship Diaries

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A Junior Doctor In Boots

Tell us about your favorite pair of shoes, and where they’ve taken you.

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Prior to having my first pair of boots in 2021 while I was in my third year of medical school, I have always dreamt of wearing boots. Be it short cut or the long ones till mid calf or up till the knee, I loved them all. 

I prefer them over heels or flats or slippers.

Partly because I have always imagined myself as a “country girl” in summer dress or jeans, always paired with boots. 

However, I’ve never had a pair of boots till I was in my third year of medical school, even that, was given by my aunt. I remembered using it to almost every occasion because it was so comfortable and versatile. The colour was dark green, an ankle length boots with zips on the side. I wore it till one of the shoe had a hole on the side and even then, I was still adamant to wear it till my mom got me a new pair of boots and threw my first pair away.

Since then, I’ve gone through another 2 pair of boots, one pair with heels and another flat. I occasionally wear the one with heels and often use the flat one. The flat one is my go-to everyday boots be it for outing or travelling or a simple trip to the market. However, I rarely use them to work. At work, I have specific types of shoes that I usually wear since I’m on my feet most of the time and these shoes gives me the sole support that I need (if you know what I mean).

But there are days when I’m feeling fancy that I would dress up a little and don a nice blouse over my black leggings to work. Those would be the days when I would wear my favourite regular pair of boots to work, which boosts my self-esteem for the day considering that it is my style, one that I feel brings out the inner-me, the junior doctor-in-boots.

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Poesía «Abrazos en tiempos de ira»

Vivimos en un mundo de voces enfrentadas

donde el miedo siembra muros invisibles

y derrama odio y amargura en la gente y en sus corazones

y envenena las almas y hace las vidas imposibles

Pero existe la luz, en una palabra compartida

en un gesto sencillo con la mano abierta

en la risa que nos une, en la herida

que enseguida sana, cuando la empatía gana.

Que no nos gane el grito ni la furia

ni los rumores ni mentiras que nos dividen y separan

Que el amor brille como el sol, que sea brujula y cura

de este mundo enfermo, esperanza que en el alma dura.

Somos más que bandos y fronteras.

Un país y un mundo sale adelante que está unido

hay que vencer a los juicios, prejuicios y condenas.

Debemos volver a sentir orgullo de ser humanos,

somos frágiles y vulnerables, pero podemos ser fuertes

capaces de dar abrazos y ser sinceros.

Que el odio y el mentira se marche de nuestra vida

que no tenga la última palabra,

la paz y la alegría florezca en nuestras vidas

que esta sociedad, cansada y desgarrada

renazca en la ternura de un mundo nuevo.

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Personal belongings I hold most dear

There is lot of personal belongings I hold dear to me

But here are few that really special to me. Tiger eye necklace that was given by someone really dear and special Iron Lady who was like grandmother to me. Swiss Army Knife I will never forget the evening someone did give it to me. There’s a story behind it but I’m not gonna tell it.

Then there is Felix’s ring. I have wore this ring last 11 years and still it is Felix’s ring to me. It is old family ring on family line that no longer exists. It’s almost 300 years old that has been wore by 5 men and I’m the only woman who has ever had the right for it. It is family ring that is passed down generations only certain family members are given the right to wear the ring. It has skipped over a lot of people. No one had been wearing it for 96 years after Felix was murdered while wearing it. Not until it was chosen from the all of the family rings I had right to wear. That I would be given Felix’s ring. Since I was born as a woman I would have needed to wait 10 years longer than men when given these type of rings. But I was able to get it 3 years earlier. It is such huge honor to be only woman ever given the right to wear this ring. And because it is Felix’s and Major’s and his father’s General’s ring. Who with this ring was 268 years ago in The Pomeranian War. That was fought between Sweden and Prussia from 1757 to 1762 in Swedish Pomerania, Prussian Pomerania, Northern Brandenburg and Eastern Mecklenburg-Schwerin. And with Felix this ring was 136 year ago in Paris opening of Eiffel Tower. The history that is part this ring is another reason why it is so dear to me. Not just the family history but real historical events it has been a part of and survived. I don’t know many rings that have survived not only war but seven year lasting war 268 years ago but been in three wars after it last being 1918. When Felix was murdered the country was in war but Felix was civilian. He wasn’t soldier but murdered by enemy. His murders were later caught and executed, they were not buried in church cemetery but outside unholy ground.

Apparently Felix and I were very similar multiple ways. Born to be leader of the family. Both artistic and wanted to just live life making art. Had the same fiery temperament that neither even tried to ever hide. Yes both gotten trouble because it too. Both product of our upbringing and our rebellion against it. Outspoken which has not been looked good way by others. Not caring nor following the expectations that were set for us both by others. Not letting others to decide how we live our lives. I do understand why I was given the Felix ring since we were so similar.

The one that is the most dear for me

That actually is just three photographs I have left of my adopted big brother who is dead. I don’t have anything else of him but those three old photographs and of course my memories. One where he and I are sitting together from that perfect summer. That photo I have placed where I can see it while writing. We had this saying we used to say each other when we were about to be apart or see each other again after being apart. Quick translation to English: I didn’t miss you at all. I just loved you. I still love him so much. He truly was best big brother. I wish I could have had him longer in my life.

With love C.F. Grönroos

Creator of the Mysteries by Rose

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