Two-day Tour of Dongpu Hot Springs

     This weekend I visited Dongpu Hot Springs (東埔溫泉) scenic spot with my coworkers. We departed on Saturday afternoon from our hospital and arrived at the Sha Li Shian Villa (沙里仙溫泉渡假村) at three o'clock. It was cloudy while we began our tour to go to the Ts'ai-hung Suspension Bridge (彩虹吊橋). Ts'ai-hung means rainbow in Chinese. The view from the bridge was pretty impressive. However, it rained as we went through the bridge. Since Dongpu is in the mountain area, it rained cats and dogs. My sneakers were totally wet after the walk. Fortunately, I brought my sport sandals with me in advance, so it didn't bother me a lot.

Fever Week

     I caught a cold on Monday. Precisely speaking, it was acute purulent tonsillitis. I woke up that day with a strange dream, in which I returned to the military service and had to follow the rigid  and outmoded rules in the army. Now I realize that's the first sign of my unlucky week of illness. After arriving at the hospital to work, I felt like the air-conditioner cooled the space too much. Furthermore, I began to suffer from headache in the afternoon. I checked my body temperature: 38.8℃, bingo! I examined my throat in front of a mirror (I am a master of that), and I could see my tonsils swelling with some white plaques on them. Obviously, I got acute purulent tonsillitis again. The same situation happened last month the day before I took the TOEFL test. However, it became worse this time. From Monday to Friday, fever with chills, sore throat, and abdominal discomfort bothered me in turn. As a doctor, it's hard to ask a day off. I was merely able to took some medication including antibiotics to treat myself. The whole week was terrible because of the illness except the weekend, when I finally recovered. I went to a movie with my cousins, "Harry Potter: the Deathly Hallows Part 2." I'm no longer a fan of Harry Potter now, but the audiovisual effects of the movie are bewitched. What's even better, we went to the movie for free. Thus, there is nothing to complain.

Fly Me to Italy

    I booked "Italian Phrasebook" by Lonely Planet for the trip to Italy next summer. I also read some books about Italy, and I think Venice is quite fascinating. Nonetheless, the price of the hotels there is exorbitant and all the rooms seem small. Some of the rooms have canal views, and I hope they are worth the money.

The New Member in My Family

     Two months ago, my cousin's son drew his first breath. The newborn is healthy and so lovely, a marvelous bless to my cousin and his wife. As a matter of fact, this is their second child. However, their first child passed away due to congenital heart disease. It was a difficult time to come through, but my cousin and his wife made it. The love between them is tremendous and seamless, which is the principal reason why they could overcome the strait of life.

My Name is Cecil

   Yesterday in the English speaking tutor class, my teacher Tim and I discussed the topic of names. It was for the IELTS part 1 speaking test, in which the examiner will ask the examinee some general questions including introducing the examinee himself. One question on the past exam paper was, "What's your English name?" My English name is Cecil. Of course, you cannot expect me to get high score if I merely answer like that  to the question. So I added something extra to that. My answer was: My name is Cecil. I got this name at the tutor school of English when I was 10 years old. The teacher put several cards each had a name on it in a bag. Then I drew one card randomly which gave me the name "Cecil."

2011 Annual Conference of Taiwan Association of Family Medicine

    Another 1 day stay in Taipei.
    The 2011 Annual Conference of Taiwan Association of Family Medicine is held this Sunday. I completed a small study about the musculoskeletal discomforts of the staff in a wind turbine company in Taichung under my leader Dr. Chen's assistance. My study was chosen for presentation by poster thus I went to Taipei carrying the roll of my poster for a short visit.