Phileosophie

You don't have to go very far to find something that makes it hard not to believe in a Creator. This is a picture of the base of the human brain. A group of nerves live here (the Cranial Nerves) and they innervate most motor and sensory functions of the head (and in the case of the Vagus 'Wandering' nerve - a lot of the rest of the body). There is nothing random about the brain. There is nothing that could have simply 'evolved' by chance and random mutation. It is easy, even for Christians, to sometimes doubt that a God exists because we cannot see Him, and cannot directly 'prove' He exists using the physical sciences. But as with most things in science, we can infer that He does because if a Creator did not, than we would not. The human body is the most beautiful, marvellous feat of machinery and engineering that I know of (granted, I'm a medical student not an engineer). But we were not put together by human effort, we were simply, born. I cannot

These days my life seems to be an endless cycle of sending and receiving e-mails, waiting for replies from important people, getting good news, or not getting news... a few weeks ago (or maybe a few days ago) I was praying about something and today I got an e-mail reply from God... just kidding! I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.  (NIV)  Ezekiel 36:26  Anyway how is everyone doing this week? My friends in North America are 61 days from graduating! I'm so jealous... I have a few months on that.

1) You have to sit on the table. 2) Make your partner a real partner. 3) Don't leave before you leave. "I want my daughter to have a choice to not just succeed, but to be liked for her accomplishments." Sheryl Sandberg

Lots of interesting cardiology coming from Japan... Japanese people generally work hard I think! Back when I was doing research at the VC, this Japanese post-doc was the only person who stayed back at the lab as long as I did (and he was wayyyy smarter so obviously gained much more of his time there than I did!). The latest article I've been reading is from Circulation and suggests that vagal nerve stimulation might have the potential to reverse heart failure! Fascinating indeed --> Click! I wonder if this might go on to be as successful as Dr Murray Esler's work on renal denervation has become.

It's a cold and rainy day in Sydney. In a way it reminds me of winter in New York. Not that it's winter.. but the skies are a little gloomy. Boy do I miss Manhattan. I want to be back there so bad. New York, New York. I think as far as cities go you're the Cardiology of cities to me.

When I think about the future, about settling down somewhere for good , I think about the type of community I want to live in. I want to be amongst people who are passionate about life. I want to be with people who are kind, and innovative, and creative, and exciting, but also persevering and driven, yet patient enough to see things to completion. I want to be with people who aren't wasting their lives. I want to be with people who are good to their families, but whose lives are not just about themselves or their families. People who think of the world, who will reach out to the world, who want to change the world, who want to care for the world. People of vision. People who value life enough to make everything they can of theirs. I want to be in a community that is ALIVE .

I have been trying a new strategy recently of offering people things I no longer have use for, in exchange for a donation to a charity of my choice. It has been disappointing really - with people saying things like "oh great, it is for charity so I'm willing to give 50 cents per item" for a bag of cutlery, or giving me $20 for two 21 inch televisions! Australia is not a country that looks after its poor unless this is mandated by law. it is a country that masquarades as one that believes in "fair dinkum" when in reality, it is each man for himself, unless the govenment intervenes. I have never lived in a country (and I have lived in a few) where each individual is so much for themselves - even North Americans are more communal. When I volunteered at the hospital cafe which raises funds for the hospital foundation, the other workers at the cafe (who were paid) told me I should have better things to do with my time. Being in Australia is eating away at my soul.

I don't know who reads this blog, but just to put it out there, I don't put emo things on the blog. I don't pour my heart out on the blog, and I'm not a person who places a lot of hidden messages in things I write. So for instance, me adding the lyrics of Lecrae's song, doesn't mean I'm going through what he's rapping about at this point. I just like the song, and I think it's relevant and something to think about. Similarly, when I put up the Glee rendition of 'L.O.V.E.' I wasn't.. you know, in love. Don't read too much into these things. There's really not a huge amount of drama in my life. PS. Who's the visitor from Russia on my site? Place a comment somewhere to let me know please? Thanks.

The LORD is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten. Jeremiah 20:11 Anyway, this is something I've been thinking about lately. I know a lot of people that are scared they gon' die, Couple of 'em thinkin' they'll be livin' in the sky While I'm here livin' man I gotta ask why, What am I here for I gotta figure out, Waste my life, no I gotta make it count, If Christ is real then what am I gon do about, Everything in Luke 12:15 down to 21 ya really gotta go and check it out, Paul said if Christ aint resurrected we wasted our lives, Well that implies that our lives built around Jesus being alive, Everyday I'm livin tryna to show the world why, Christ is more than anything you'll ever try, Better than pretty women and sinning and living to get a minute of any woman and men that you admire It aint no lie! We

Proverbs 13   1 A wise son heeds his father’s instruction,    but a mocker does not respond to rebukes.    2 From the fruit of their lips people enjoy good things,    but the unfaithful have an appetite for violence.    3 Those who guard their lips preserve their lives,    but those who speak rashly will come to ruin.    4 A sluggard’s appetite is never filled,    but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.    5 The righteous hate what is false,    but the wicked make themselves a stench    and bring shame on themselves.    6 Righteousness guards the person of integrity,    but wickedness overthrows the sinner.    7 One person pretends to be rich, yet has nothing;    another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.    8 A person’s riches may ransom their life,    but the poor cannot respond to threatening rebukes.    9 The light of the righteous shines brightly,    but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out.    10 Where there i

Ephesians 3:16-19 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 

I've been getting a little concerned about my transition between Sydney and New York and the technicalities and logistics and timing of all that. I had been praying for a while for guidance, for a door to be opened, for a sign, for anything, and while I still have none of those, these three verses/messages appeared to me today. I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace. Acts 20:24 Don't over complicate God's will. Just stay connected to Jesus. Love Him. Look into His eyes. He will lead. Follow. Repeat.  Louie Giglio Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  Phil 4:6 Okay. I can do this. Let's go.

They tell me that this exam will be the hardest I ever sit in my life, and I think I really must lock it in soon. I will probably do it by this weekend. Pray for me. I'll need it.

Apparently these are the top 100 foods that you should try. 1. Abalone 2. Absinthe 3. Alligator 4. Baba Ghanoush 5. Bagel and Lox 6. Baklava 7. Barbecue Ribs 8. Bellini 9. Bird's Nest Soup 10. Biscuits and Gravy 11. Black Pudding 12. Black Truffle 13. Borscht 14. Calamari 15. Carp 16. Caviar 17. Cheese Fondue 18. Chicken and Waffles 19. Chicken Tikka Masala 20. Chile Relleno 21. Chitlins 22. Churros 23. Clam Chowder 24. Cognac 25. Crab Cakes 26. Crickets 27. Currywurst 28. Dandelion Wine 29. Dulce De Leche 30. Durian 31. Eel 32. Eggs Benedict 33. Fish Tacos 34. Foie Gras 35. Fresh Spring Rolls 36. Fried Catfish 37. Fried Green Tomatoes 38. Fried Plantain 39. Frito Pie 40. Frogs’ Legs 4 1. Fugu 42. Funnel Cake 43. Gazpacho 44. Goat 45. Goat’s Milk 46. Goulash 47. Gumbo 48. Haggis 49. Head Cheese 50. Heirloom Tomatoes 51. Honeycomb 52. Hostess Fruit Pie 53. Huevos Rancheros 54. Jerk Chicken 55. Ka

 This is without a doubt the most beautiful phone I've owned. I love everything about it - the way it swivles, the discrete pattern on the shell, the faux leather/velvet pouch it comes with, the japanese-inspired wall paper and most of all, the deep brown-deep cyan color scheme. I love the color scheme. I don't think I've ever found any other color combination I've admired and loved so much as this. Every time I look at it, it makes my heart skip a bit - a mild version of how one might feel when they see a beautiful partner perhaps, a sense of gratitude that it's yours, a sense of well-being and satisfaction.It's a phone that says "all is well". Don't worry, I'm not going loopy. There are just some things in life that make me very happy and this Nokia 7373 is one of them. There were two other color options in the range I believe, one was pink and one was gold/cream. I didn't like the pink option because made the phone look plastic but t

(This is an excerpt from The Doctor's Life Support 2. If you have found this useful, I en courage you to obtain a copy for yourself from ICMDA at www.icmda.net. ) '... whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.' John 1:27 It was the feet that did it and to this day I still wonder why. As usual in the Emergency Room at the hospital in Nazareth, the day was busy, hot and long. I was tired and my meagre Arabic was straining me to the limit. There was a growing temptation to treat patients like lumps of meat. Perhaps that's why I only saw the feet. They were like thousands of others I'd seen: olive coloured skin inside leather sandals and caked all over with white dust. Vacantly I looked at the jeans covered in sawdust and cement; just another builder, or perhaps a carpenter. I was aware that he held up an injured hand, and as he awaited my full attention, one foot shifted; the leather strap mvoed slightly to reveal a paler skin that the sun had missed and sweat had wa

Of late I have been thinking seriously about how we were going to get my brother through college. In the long run I know I'll be fine but in the next few years there are still loans to pay and expenses that I will have to meet on a fairly limited salary. They say that when it rains, it pours . College is expensive and as much as I'd like to put my brother through college (which I would have been able to do had he come 5 or 10 years later) I'm just not completely sure how we'll figure this one out. I spent a few weeks thinking about it, worrying a little and sometime getting angry that things weren't simpler but tonight I remembered my second and third year of medicine, when I wasn't even sure how I would get through medical school myself. It was during those years, when I wasn't sure , that I learnt to rely on God's provision and His faithfulness to us. I believe that having a college education will be essential for my brother but I also believe that

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31(NIV)

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 (NIV)  

Here are a few things I would love to do at some point. 1) Be a NINJA 2) Complete my violin and piano training 3) Be an ace shooter 4) Speak 15 languages. Okay maybe just Mandarin, Spanish, French, German, Hebrew, Arabic and... Japanese or Korean. 5) Support a local radio station 6) Volunteer with medical missions

Of course I'm called to do medicine. bejeepurs!! Doing MCQs fills my heart with joy. lol. I can't believe my good fortune. Thank you Jesus!

This is a video/original song by some of my favourite YouTube stars ( KevJumba / NigaHiga / ChesterSee ). I think it's sort of an extension of the 'Nice Guys' movement started by WongfuProductions .

Really enjoying my USMLE preparation. I've started doing questions from an online question bank and it reminds me of math revision in high-school - all the TYSes (ten year series) and MCQ workbooks. I've always enjoyed MCQ studying and this is perhaps the most fun I've had in all my years of medicine!