God has blessed me in so many ways in my life. For 5 years I have been blessed with great friends, my manchester family.. the family I have away from home.


A special thank you to Rach, Mingwei, Yipei, Jian Hui, Ai Ling, Abdullah, Farah, Kang Loon, Wani and Ida for the wonderful coffee maker turned speakers ( they are the coolest EVER speakers I have ever owned!)

Thank you, WengHong, Paran and Mo for the webcam! ( i was really pleased to know that you've remembered that I didnt have a webcam previously, and bought me one just so that I can speak to my parents more often and they can see me! )^^


Thank you, Cass for the lovely doodlebook ^^ now i can doodle more 'artistically' when I'm bored.. rather than scribbling all over my notes!

Thank you, Melissa for treating me lunch, and the lovely poem and hymn =) you help me keep my faith in God, my dear sister in Christ.

Thank you, Charles and KangLoon my new found kind friends! The gifts and cards was unexpected, but of course I am pleased! and grateful ^^

Thank you my dearest pa, and mummy, who sent me a text wishing me happiness every minute of my life.

Thank you, Adrian for your yearly effort to visit me on my birthday! =)

Thank you, my bffs Helen n PP, for coming all the way from London and Edin, just to spend a 'birthday weekend' with me!

It may be the last birthday I'll be celebrating in Manchester, but it was certainly another unforgettable one.

Thank you, everyone. Love you guys muchie! xoxo




On another note, today was my first day at Ashton Outreach centre.. and boyy was I impressed with the facilities we have there! Digital radiography, excellent sterilising facilities,state-of-the-art dental chairs, intercom facilities, qualified dental nurses.. a dynamic community oral health promotion team.. you name it they have it! And they're blardy damn good at what they do too, apparently!

It still feels abit surreal, coming back to the UK to do dentistry, when not long ago.. i was in Cambodia, doing basic dentistry with basic equipment! The VAST difference between countries in terms of facilities, manpower basically EVERYTHING dental related just hit me in the face quite hard.

Yes I've done 4years of Dentistry, why the surprise now??

I guess becoz when we had this talk about 'inequality' in the type of treatment provided to various community 'classes' in the UK this morning.. I had flashbacks of the children in Kampung Speu.

Manns speak about inequality.. and human rights to gold standard 'healthcare'??

After which I had this strong urge to contribute to my own country's oral healthcare system.. hahaha speak about ambition!

I think it was a spur at the moment thought bcoz the team was really impressive in terms of their oral health promotion strategies and efficiency. The team leader who spoke to us was so motivated, I could tell she really believed that we could make a difference as health care professionals.. it was contagious!

Anyways, pictures from my amazing experience in Cambodia is loooong overdue! Here are a few =)

these kids in the orphanage we visited was cutting coconuts from their tree for us to quench our thirst ^^

this orphanage was as basic as anything that I've ever seen in my life

the kids in Kampung Speu childcare centre was much more priviledged, this is where they live

uncle sunny's impressive effort to educate the youngsters in the centre to be young entrepreneurs by buying them veggie seeds to plant and look after, after which the harvest is sold to get some money.they have cows too! and rabbits as pets =)

a fraction of the loveable kids, on our last night there. Yes we dentists inflict pain occasionally, but children hold no grudge. They even thanked us profusely, they had so much love to give, and want so much love in return, its heart breaking

hahaha and of course the unforgettable nerve wrecking 'oral health promotion' talk in front of almost 100students from the college nearby.. which we didnt even prepare for! yes spontaneity is the best policy ( or not) haha

i will always remember 'coconut hair girl' and her daily tight hugs that she gives whenever she sees us walking pass

and of course, our lovely helpers/ dental nurses/ friends from the centre! we bonded, over patients screaming with tears, and 'stubborn teeth and roots' that refuse to come out.

No this is not a colgate advert!

and yes, I cannot begin to even describe what an AMAZING experience doing dentistry in Cambodia was.. something I will never forget for the rest of my life!

I am OLD-er today.

I hope that with age comes maturity and good sense this year!

thankyou everyone, for all the lovely wishes and gifts. ^^

Making decisions

today the fact that i am actually in my final year hit me hard in the face.
so many decisions that will determine the path in front of me this coming 9months, i have to make.

and it hit me harder to know that whatever decision i make, it is entirely my own. Yes, my tutors are there to give me advice when I need some, but at the end of the day, the consequences of the path I've chosen will be on me alone.


my 'potential final year case presentation' is so complicated, that four different tutors (including one consultant) are not encouraging me to take it on.

but today i met the consultant who first saw this patient, and he was positive about treating this case, regardless. I voiced my concerns about not being able to finish it in time for my final case sign-up, but he reassured me that ' well, it is a learning experience. it is very complicated, yes, but you'll learn loads out of this.'

' ..but what if i can't finish?'

'.. you can always write it up as your 2nd case.. i don't see why not..'

should I be realistic, or idealistic?

the realist in me, strongly feels that this is something beyond my capabilities. this lack-of-self confidence, and realising the dire shortage of time for such an extensive treatment... pushes me close to the path of 'giving it up' before starting, and not risk messing it up in the future ( which I probably will).


however the idealist in dr X (my consultant) feels that i should take it as a challenge, regardless of the time constraint. He was so encouraging about it, and it makes me feel like crap to not have the confidence to actually 'take the risk'.. and 'jump into it'.
When I saw him he even asked my colleagues in the room, 'is she always this timid?? I don't think so, right??' with a big and kind smile on his face, whilst patting my back as i left the surgery..looking worried about what's coming next in my uncertain future.

Sighhh. At the end of the day this decision is mine, and mine alone.

If i decide to undertake this now, there is no turning back. In dentistry, things can go wrong so easily, and I have a dateline to meet. Should I listen to the realist in me, and look for a more 'do-able' case instead? ( keeping in mind that time is running short and that 'case' might not come?)

Or should I just take a leap into this complicated scenario set up for me, mustering as much confidence as I can to help me along the way? Should I just push back all the doubts that are creeping and crawling into me every single time?


I don't want to make a decision I will regret.

Which path should i take? Oh help me God, my final year nightmare is here.