Comprehension Deficit

There are times when I read journal articles, and truly begin to question whether I have a language comprehension deficit.

It's times like this when I feel like someone who has receptive aphasia (a deficit in understanding language), thus allowing me to empathize more when I see or hear of anyone with receptive aphasia and think to myself... "Ahh.... I feel like that sometimes, it's just that they feel like that ALL the time".

The two main language areas: Broca's and Wenicke's

I know sometimes people might not understand how someone can lose their ability to understand spoken or written language after a stroke? How can you possibly lose something which you have spent your entire life using? It's almost as baffling as amnesia right? (Well, at least the selective amnesias we always get to see in melodramas or movies like The Promise/Vow or whatever it was called)

But the next time you meet someone who has had a brain injury, or dementia, or stroke or whatever, think of it as something like this:

Imagine an instance when suddenly, all the people around you are speaking French/Swahili/German or whatever unknown tribal language. You may or may not have a rough idea of that language (e.g. German has similar syntaxt to English), and you might or might not be able to say all the sounds in the language (such as the clicks or trills in some tribal languages). Because more often than not, someone who has had a stroke with impacted language, might also have some difficulties in actually moving their mouths, tongues and teeth and coordinating them to form the word, despite having that word in their head.

What it feels like to have aphasia

Can you imagine the frustration?? Knowing that you were once able to talk and write and understand, and suddenly, it's all a foreign language to you.


I really do feel a bit like that when I read those scienc-ey journal articles on neurotransmitters, brain regions, substrates and what not (Ihavenoideawhatiamsaying)

Peace out

Quarter Life Crisis

I have/had been having a serious case of quarter-life-crises lately. Symptoms include:

- sudden urges to listen to music belonging to the wrong generation (e.g. the likes of one direction, steve mastin etc) in an attempt to make myself feel younger and more 'hipster' as opposed to the typically more 'mature' music I listen too (like, from the 1980s)

- the craving to splurge on a new instrument.. The bass guitar (also entertained the possibliity of a ukuelele, cajon drum, mandolin, but decided they might be a bit impractical)

- the urge to then take music more seriously and forget about my thesis and just spend the days belting out tuneless, wordless songs 

- questioning my abilities and the famous 'WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE??'

- and then following up with 'WHAT HAVE I ACTUALLY BEEN DOING??'

- actually saying 'I DON'T WANT TO BE A SPEECHIE ANYMOREEEE!!' on several occasions when I feel overwhelmed and later contemplating just progressing into trade as that offers more job security and renumeration (rubbish collectors apparently earn up to $100k/annum, and what's the whole hype about dishwashers at Sakae Sushi being offered $3000/mth? *scoffs*). So I might as well just apply for those jobs now

- the horrible urge to just splurge (on anything, moving, not moving, edible, wearable, put-on-able)

- the need to have a pet/something living to fill up my life with some life. Unfortunately my aqua pet that resembled the sea monkeys died after a short lived 4 days. And the wheatgrass I currently grow will soon end up in my tummy. Not too good if you eat your pets hey. Kinda defeats the purpose..

- Toying with the idea of being a free-spirited Hippie and taking on their tree hugging lifestyle and dressing all bohemian and getting dreadlocks in my hair.



I better get out of this chaotic state of mind soon. I don't actually have a lot of time to get it together.

It's been a long time since I ranted on this blog (I try not to, as I think online rants can be rather pointless and annoying to readers), but hey, not many readers, or, don't read if it sesms pointless. OR, if you are sharing my sentiments, YAY YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!!

(Tell me and we can go start a garage band together and sell satay and teh-tarik to get by).

Smile in a while...

Haven't watched a video of a cover that made me smile till my cheeks hurt and my vision gets blurry (as my eyes reduce to half it's normal size when I smile). Heeeee

Singapore vs Aussie: Parenting

This episode of a TV series doesn't say it all, but it definitely says a lot. I started watching the episode with a light heart, laughing and sniggering at all the seemingly absurd strict rules we have in Singapore, and at how Memphis (the girl) put her hand to her chest to say our pledge a pretty hilarious manner. The episode started to get a bit more heart warming near the end, as both teens began to appreciate their parents.

It's definitely not so that all Singaporean parents are that strict, or that all Aussie parents are that laxed. But I really enjoyed seeing the flaws and imperfections existing in both families (and cultures). We might seem extreme in our little asian, authoratitive country, but you have to admit, that you do see results. Yet again, a lot of what we do is 'learnt' behaviour, rather than us thinking for ourselves.

It's a touchy topic, and I would rather not elaborate as much, but just as a little digression, our group of four Singapore speechies were having our group discussion on ethics this evening, and spent a rather long time stuck in a rut over a seemingly simple ethical dilemma, which, at one point, I think all of us agreed that our "one-track-mindedness" that has been well honed through our education system was getting us no where, and that we very much needed the dynamic viewpoints many of our Aussie counterparts had. A lot of times we are quite rigid in our thinking, especially for those of us who have been in science streams. Whereas I've observed quite a number of the Australians having no difficulty thinking outside the box. I've loved every bit of my course and stay here, and I hope to continue to bring the best of both cultures together.

Mr Moon

Some of you might know that a blue moon occured on Friday night. A blue moon simply means that a second full moon occurs within one calender month, and occurs every 2.5 years or so. (And is not actually blue). IT was like any other full moon, bright and amazing, but the following night, was what surprised me more.

Here's a little poem I came up with (half when I was about to go to sleep, and the other half when I sat down to write this post). It's not a fancy, difficult poem, I would say it takes on a style more of that of a children's poem:


Last night as I lay in bed,
With eyelids heavy in my head,
I noticed an unusually bright glow,
Coming from behind my window.

I peeked through my curtains,
Thinking it was the neighbours
Only to be partially blinded,
By a bright rays that just seemed to burst.

I peek through my fingers, and what do I see?
Mr Moon sitting there, shining at me.
"How bright you are tonight," said I to he,
"Just light from the sun, I pass on to thee,"
I open my eyes bravely, no longer needing to peep,
But soon my eyes and mind and drift off, into a deep, soundless sleep.

Although my picture from my lousy Nokia N97 fails to capture the brightness and awesomeness of the moon, this is the best shot I could do. It was like someone had a searchlight shining directly at my room!

Heh heh if I have no job next time I shall go draw illustrations and try to write children's books.

Singapore vs Aussie: Small Talk

One of my main concerns whenever I went out on a clinical prac was always this:

Small Talk (aka Corridor talk)

The worrying idea that you might the awkward silence lasting throughout the entire endless corridor as you lead the client from the waiting room to the clinic room was something so small, yet daunting at the same time when I initially started clinical pracs. 

Over the years I managed to understand the Aussie culture a little bit better and no have no problems chit chatting away (so much so that I forget to start the actual therapy). But something I still have the habit of saying is somethign that has been so inherent and habituated in our Singaporean culture, that is, the classic grandma question of 

'Jiak Ba Bueh?' (which translates from Hokkien to 'Have you eaten already?')

Most of us Singaporeans/Malaysians know just how much we all love and adore our food./meals. I wake up in the morning thinking of what to eat, and my sister would start asking 'What's for dinner ah?' as she munches the remnants of her lunch. (I do that too sometimes!)

It's such a second nature to us, parents would ask their children studying overseas

'Have you been eating well anot?'

 'What did you eat for dinner/breakfast/lunch/tea?' 

'Got enough food anot?'

While my mum was here for a couple of weeks last month, the question or statement she would always say before I left the house for a meeting, work or class would be 'Har... like that then how you eat?? Sure won't get hungry anot? Like that how can? Aiyo how come never eat??' 

Even when our project group mates came over and went for a late evening rehearsal in school, she frowned upon how we would all not eat during the appropriate time (as our meeting lasted from 5pm-8pm, hence missing the official dinner times)

Seeing that my mum feels so strongly about appropriate meal times, I too am one who identifies with the importance of meals. I always end up asking the clients 'Have you had lunch/breakfast?' or 'What did you have for breakfast?' Only to get a fairly blank stare that says 'Huh? Why you ask so random question? Look at how bad the weather is!'

I often had to kick myself in teh foot for asking these food questions and not getting an answer which I hoped for or am used to, namely, an excited recount of whatever food they had eaten. (Most of them tell me they can't rememeber, I bet some of them think I'm testing them)

Here most of the small talk revolves around a few main topics (as I have observed)

1. Weather: there is ALWAYS something to say about the weather, sky, clouds, trees etc.

2. Traffic: who can't complain about bad traffic right? Unless it's such a norm such like in Singapore, where it no longer holds any importance anymore

3. Parking (or the lack thereof): yup, that's the bane of uni students' lives as everyone drives pretty much 

4. How's your day been going?: which is somewhat their version of our 'Jiak Ba Bueh?' as they often don't expect you to answer differently from 'fine, going great, oh yeah, going well' 

I just have to rememebr to stop asking people what they've had for lunch and dinner!!