This morning at 4.49a.m. was the 1st time I ever woke up with a scream (more of a pitiful cry really). And that was because it was the 1st time I had ever consciously experienced the phenomenon of sleep paralysis. I remember learning about it in sleep physiology, whereby in stage 4/REM sleep, we are in our deepest state of sleep and that it is in this deepest state of sleep where we experience the most vivid dreams which we are able to recall after we wake up. It is also in this stage of sleep where our bodies become flaccid and paralysed. Sometimes, not uncommonly, this state of paralysis lingers even after we have woken up and we find that we cannot move despite being awake. When the lecturer asked if anyone had experienced this phenomenon before, I was surprised to find that more than a few of my friends had. Still, I did not think much of it seeing as I had just been given a very logical explanation of why this happens. BUT. When you experience it yourself, it is bloody freaky.

Because of certain things I had watched and read, I had had a nightmare set in my old house, whereby I had walked into the living room to find all sorts of ghosts (animal, human, deformed...) swirling around the room and having a party. I was not supposed to see them, and apparently the house was usually "clean" and the ghosts had only come out (apparently there was a portal from the ghost world in my living room wall) because it was my uncle's birthday and they were there to celebrate just for 1 day. So this also meant that my uncle whom I always thought of as normal and alive was a.) 1 of them (i.e. dead) or b.) dibbled in the supernatural. It was all very real so I did what I would have normally done in real life and quietly left, hoping that I had not been noticed, and went to find a real living family member at home to interrogate. (That was how I found out that our house was normally "clean")

Later that night I was sleeping on my old pull-out bed and Yi Ling was sleeping on Evon's bed directly next to me. That was when I felt an invisible being restraining me and holding my mouth shut (clever). And that, I think, was me experiencing sleep paralysis because I could not move and could not shout to alert Yi Ling/the whole house. It was a pathetic struggle on my part, in all honesty, and I was very ashamed of not putting up a more decent fight. Anyway, my larynx struggled to get more than "hurk-" out and I finally managed to make an audible sound --> the pathetic cry.

So, that was the highlight of my day.

I did not get to present my case today. We were caught off guard and asked to examine a patient there and then instead. Wish I had gotten respi instead of cardio but oh well, all went well. The new junior doctors are nice. The old doctors are still nice. Nurses were nice. Cleaners were nice. Patients were nice.

Took blood from a deaf old lady with wispy veins and skin that was looser than a shar-pei's. Most of her accessible sites were very very bruised too and I suspect she is on some anticoagulant that made her bruise so easily. I am ashamed to say that the 1st time, because of her many many folds of skin, I had completely missed the precious vein I had finally located D: To my credit, I was very calm and got Sania to get me another butterfly while I acted as if this happened all the time and shouted conversationally to the patient while still looking like I was carrying out some procedure. I had another go, this time anchoring her skin, and obviously got the vein because a drop of blood blossomed healthily but not into my needle. Oh well. Got there in the end with a bit of tweaking and more conversational shouting. Sadly, I only got 1/3 of a U&E bottle before my butterfly tube hissed and started drawing up nothing instead. I suppose that was too much for that wispy vein to cope with. Neverthelss, I should take this positively because normally I would have just freaked out after the 1st try and passed on the job to the FYs but at least this time I refused to accept that I couldn't do this relatively simple task and got the bloods I wanted in the end. It was enough. I just feel more shiok with a full bottle.

Did a few more bits and bobs. Posted my letter to MOHH today. The stamp costs freaking 1.46. I used the Wallace and Grommit 1 because I did not want to lick the 1 1pound, 2 40p, 1 5p and 1 1p stamps in public.

Went to Msons (1 of my favourtie places in the world) and Lidl. Msons had lots of buy 1 get 2 free offers (XD) so we got the free chocolates for the nice nurses, doctors and cleaners on the ward. Also shared 3 boxes of cadbury fingers with Sania. Hm. I am actually not thaaat much of a chocolate person so I wonder how I am going to finish all of that.. I guess I will share with my housemates during Christmas as a generous contribution from me. Got my 25p 2L water from Lidl and some 19p decent-looking brand maggi mee. Spent 63p in total ;d