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October 06 那一声“谢谢”I don't speak a word of French. To be exact, I only know a few french words, like "merci" and "fleur"; also, some french words which have become part of English vocab too.
So, I may like Paris a lot and yearn to return. But I was really apprehensive before the trip. I was afraid I would turn mute and deaf for the whole trip.
But I was proven wrong.
Not only do most French I met able to speak English that I could understand, they took the initiative to speak in English. And most restaurants were able to offer us English menu, so we had not much problem ordering our meals.
Why the change in attitude? I guess the French are now pragmatic. If you want to make tourist dollars, you have to make them feel at ease and speak the same language is the easiest way.
I wont be surprised when I re-visit again they can say a few words in Mandarin. The bouncer at the door of Galeries Lafayette said “谢谢”when he opened the door for us.
Why I love Paris?
September 10 In September...... we remember the many lives lost in this tragedy
... the fall of an once-established institution and the fears it brought
... most important of all, our beloved pet dog, Piddy, who left us a year ago. But she is always part of us. We miss you...
July 14 Kidney StonesIn May 2008, i had a medical check up and took up the extra package of doing abdomen ultrasound scan to check on some growths discovered in 2004.
The 2008 ultrasound scan showed that the growths did not grow but found something new in my left kidney, 2 kidney stones. I was advised to see a specialist.
Through my fren, whose husband is a doctor, i hooked up with the ONLY female urologist in Singapore (well, in case you need to know, she is with SGH). Her diagnosis was that the stones could be left alone if I did not feel discomfort. I did not, so I left them alone.
Fast forward to June 2009. I decided to re-visit my kidney for insurance purpose. This time I did not go back to her, not that I did not like her, but to save my problems with company insurance claim [they left my claims aside for >6 months despite that I gave them the missing document right after they asked for it. I decided to get back my $$$$$ because I had all the rights to them]. So, I got the most beloved doctor in my neighbourhood to refer me to Raffles Hospital.
I did not know which doctor I was supposed to see. I only knew I would be seeing a professor when I walked into the clinic.
The doctor agreed with the radiologist's assessment and said: "anything bigger than 6mm should be removed." I had a 9mm and a 6mm. So, he suggested that I do a CT scan and be prepared to do a "wave" surgery to have them removed.
But CT scan? I thought only people like my mum who had unexplained brain problem needed to do one. Now I am doing it too?!
Anyway, I had the first CT scan in my life. It was not as scary as I thought, much better than a MRI, according to the horrible experience SQ described. The scan was over in just ten minutes or even less and the result was I only had one tiny 3mm stone.
So, case closed. I did not need to do any surgery but he still wanted me to go back for another scan in 6 months to check progress. I chose to believe that by then even the 3mm one would be gone.
Anyway, the doctor did give me some useful advice for kidney stones, or how not to have kidney stones. Let me share.
June 18 旧地重游
这个星期放假，有天中午到了River Valley 一带吃午餐。 午餐毕后，想起我和姐姐的小学就在附近，开车绕过去看看弃置多年的母校校舍。 校舍所在的土地现在已经归国有，铁门上锁，就只能隔着篱笆拍照，那几棵年纪比我大的大树成了照片的主角。 离开就要30年，校舍依然很宏伟般地矗立在原地。 以当年的标准来说，校舍是大的。姐姐和爸爸在车里告诉大妹妹右边是礼堂；中间几层楼都是课室，一楼左右都是食堂；左边是办公室。 还有校舍后头的那块空地。
那天去的匆忙，没有准备，只以手机相机拍照。 要趁早再去一趟，走入这块还不是禁地的空地，重拾我的记忆。 当然还有我儿时住过的Stirling Road 和Tanglin Halt。 May 17 金满地
这是澳门。
从香港坐水翼船到澳门，临靠岸就看到这个大招牌。
来自美国的Sands经营赌场，取个中文名“金沙”，好意头。
这是我家地铁站旁的最新商厦。
取名“金满地”，还大大的招牌面向地铁轨道，马上联想到澳门，两者似有异曲同工之处。
后来SQ点出是我那区的音译，好意头，有遍地黄金之意。
但是"city vibe" 同“金满地”有什么关联？ |
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