Recipe: 4 gods soup 四神汤

Recently while on my preceptorship, my preceptor mentioned that Chinese people knows how to eat to maintain their health and asked me what I usually eat. I told her that I grew up drinking soups since I am Cantonese. Thus, she asked me to share my recipes for nourishing soups.

On another occasion at dinner with my good friends in Canada, JX and PN were enthralled to hear my opinion that the duration of the menstrual cycle may be affected by the food we eat. I cited as an example that if I ate too much soy-products, I find my cycle shortened (even down to 3 weeks). Recently since I started drinking nourishing soups regularly, e.g. the "4 gods soup" ［四神汤］， my cycle returned to its usual 30 to 31 days duration. PN was especially interested in the recipe for the "4 gods soup" ［四神汤］ as it is known to have multiple benefits.

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"4 gods soup" ［四神汤］

This is my version of the "4 gods soup" ［四神汤］。 A chance discussion with a monk back in September reminded me of this nourishing soup. The recipe ingredients vary depending on who you ask, so my recipe is a combination of my mother's recipe and a common online recipe.

These are the actual amounts that I use in a pot of soup (serves 4-8). The ingredients clockwise, from top-left (clear rectangular container).

• Clear rectangular container [Top white rolls with brown edges]: 茯苓 (Wolfiporia cocos)
• Clear rectangular container [Bottom 2 white pieces]: 茯神 (Poria cocos, a.k.a. Indian Bread). Note: This ingredient is not in the usual "4 gods soup" ［四神汤］recipes, but my mother adds it regularly to hers. It is supposed counter insomnia, to calm mental anxiety ［宁心］ and soothes "one's nerves" ［安神］。
• Red bowl: 芡实 (Euryale ferox, a.k.a. Fox Nuts)
• Blue bowl: 枸杞 (Wolfberry Lycium). Note: This ingredient is not in the usual "4 gods soup" recipes, but I add it in because I like its taste and it is good for one's vision (eyes).
• Green bowl: 紅棗 (Red dates). Note: This ingredient is not in the usual "4 gods soup" ［四神汤］recipes, but I added it because it sweetens the soup naturally and it nourishes the blood.
• Black bowl (six white pieces): 淮山（山藥） (Dioscorea opposita, a.k.a. Chinese Yam)
• Clear round container: 蓮子 (Lotus seeds)
• Not displayed: Soya source added to taste

1. Rinse all the ingredients.

2. Optional step: De-seed the red dates.

3. Split open the lotus seeds. Remove and discard any green sapling growing at the core/centre.

4. Put all (except the 枸杞 Wolfberry Lycium) ingredients into the slow-cooker. Add water. Slow-cook for 2 to 3 hours.

5. At the final few minutes, add the 枸杞 Wolfberry Lycium. Also, add soya sauce to taste.

6. Serve warm.

"4 gods soup" ［四神汤］

Serve warm

Ups and Downs

In our final GNIE semester, we covered mental health. I want to share this excellent BBC documentary that explores the bipolar disorder.

Stephen Fry - The Secret Life Of The Manic Depressive - Part 1

Stephen Fry - The Secret Life Of The Manic Depressive - Part 2

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Early last month (November), after one of our team meetings, AP, PY and I were gossiping idly as usual. We had just covered our mental health topic at school recently. PY, who had several years of mental health nursing experience, started to "diagnose" some of the people we know mutually. She was spot-on, both AP and I agreed with her.

Somewhere along the way, I mentioned that I may have some symptoms of bipolar. PY went, "You? Bipolar? Impossible!"

I countered, "Why not? I know I had been depressed before*, although never clinically diagnosed -- simply because I wasn't even sound enough to go see the doctor. I don't get manic episodes, but I suspect that I may have hypomania sometimes." [*Note: Albeit the depressive episode was almost 15 years ago, and I have never hit that rock bottom since.]

PY went, "No, not possible. X is bipolar but not you. You're doing so well at school."

AP disagreed with her. AP had spent more time than PY with both X and me. 

IMHO, thanks to my intellect, I am able to harness the optimism and increased energy (symptoms of hypomania), while ring-fencing its undesirable effects. 

It helps that I am financially disciplined. Even when I splurge, I keep myself within my "splurge allowance". I guess it helps that I am excellent with numbers and I track my daily expenses with a spreadsheet. E.g. Unlike X who whips out his credit card and go on a shopping spree (whether at the malls or online) when mania strikes, I shop at places that would not bring me to financial ruin, limit myself to quantities that I can physically carry on public transport, and keep within my "splurge allowance". E.g. AP occasionally goes supermarket groceries shopping with me. Once she told me to "put back" items that I didn't need immediately, although I could well afford those additional items. E.g. Every now and then I would buy too much food and other items, and only give them away. [That said, I am happy to give the stuff away, especially to the food bank, charities and/or my refugee friends.] E.g. Whenever I feel the "shop-till-I-drop" mood, I would try to keep myself busy at home. If that fails, I avoid shopping at the malls and head towards places like Value Village (a thrift store), Dollarama (a penny store) and The Real Canadian Superstore (a mid-range supermarket). After all, at the thrift stores, one can still experience the highs of finding a good bargain (i.e. enjoy "retail therapy") without going into the red. Plus, it takes a lot more time to sort through the "second life" items to find a good buy at the thrift stores, and thus limiting the quantity of purchase. [That said, I ever found some good quality finds at thrift stores like Value Village. E.g. I have a grey cashmere turtleneck that both JX and EM touched admiringly, asking me where I bought it. They were surprised when I told them, with EM remarking that she must make a trip to Value Village someday.]  

I think that it also helps that I was trained in acting. Thus, even when I feel blue, I am able to do the minimal socializing necessary to function and to meet my roles and responsibilities. After all, "all the world's a stage". Of course, I would prefer to withdraw to my comfy room/bed and/or to the library. Why spread one's misery when the world already has enough problems? Indeed, sometimes I prevent myself from sharing my misery even when asked, because I know from life experience that my blues will and do turnaround.

IMHO, it also helps that unlike PY, when it comes to sexual needs, I find Doing-It-Yourself as good as intercourse. Frankly, I do enjoy my solitude, thus dating is not high on my priority list. In short, the risks associated with hypersexuality (in many people with hypomania) is not an issue for me.

In fact, the last time a couple of mood swings happened was in November. I stopped blogging for a couple of weeks -- the brain kept hurtling on, while the body became slow/impasse (because the body felt that the brain may change its mind again soon enough). Interestingly though, since I paid more attention to my moods, I even felt a "click-click" in my brain once while standing along a supermarket aisle -- one moment feeling an urge to buy all the available options of take-away containers, and the next moment (after the "click-click") rationalizing that I had more than enough to meet my current needs. I had another of those "click-click" moments again in late-November.

PY was still unconvinced of my self-diagnosis. She then suggested that I could consult a family doctor (GP) to ask for an assessment and, if needed, a psychiatric referral/treatment and social support while I am still considered "low-income". I replied, as PY knows, that since psychiatric drugs are only symptomatic treatment and tend to have a lot of undesirable side effects, I would prefer not to seek intervention, especially since I am (seen to be) functional. [Note: Psychiatric diagnosis is often an art rather than a science. "To a degree that interferes with the functions of ordinary life" often becomes a defining line upon which the decision to treat is based.]

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An interesting article from Yahoo!, "Does childhood stress stay with you for your whole life?"

GNIE: Completed program

Today marks for me the final milestone of the GNIE program. We took an examination today and reviewed through the results immediately. [I calculated that I passed this final unit.] 

Thereafter we had a "focus group" discussion to review the strengths and areas of improvement for the GNIE program. Finally, we had a pinning ceremony and a celebratory pot-luck. As the instructor puts it, today not only marks a milestone in the completion of our program, but also a milestone in our migration journey -- all the effort that we put in to get to where we are now.

"Kwantlen Polytechnic University

Graduate Nurse Re-Entry"

A token representing all the effort we put in 
to be where we currently are.

I am very glad that other than the 2 we lost on our journey, everyone else passed. I am especially happy to celebrate with AP, who despite facing much challenge early in the programme, pulled through all her challenges. After all, AP and I are now close friends having covered each other's back together in our studies, clinical experience, group projects and general socializing.

Beautiful double-rainbow in Surrey

It was a particularly rainy afternoon. AP and I caught sight of a beautiful rainbow when we stopped by to visit another GNIE classmate after school. [Note: Actually it was a double-rainbow. If you look carefully, the second rainbow was a faint one to the right of the first.] Let's hope that the rainbow is a sign of good things to come.

GNIE: Preceptorship close shave!

I almost got myself into trouble on my last shift (night duty) of preceptorship last Friday-night/Saturday-morning, and I could have failed as a result.

My preceptor decided to let the matter pass anyway. She knew from previous observations that I do assess my patients, and felt that I knew what I was doing, and thus there was no risk to the patient's safety. She decided that the problem was that I was too comfortable in the specific task such that I had forgotten that I am still playing the student role currently. [Personally I simply thought that I had forgotten, but when my preceptor analyzed the situation with me, I realized that her analysis was probably more accurate.]

Note: Whenever my classmates talked about the final preceptorship during previous semesters, we all agreed with the advice, "Never quarrel with your preceptor, try to get along." After all, we had heard rumours of students who did not get along with their preceptors and had problems during the preceptorship. Thus we were all worried about the luck of the draw on who we would get as a preceptor.

I am really grateful to have RN HH as my preceptor. I thank my lucky stars each time I think about it, especially when I compare to the horrors of my initiation into nursing in Singapore. RN HH is awesome! She not only taught me the finer techniques of nursing skills and time management, but also guided me on "negotiating" the workplace dynamics and understanding the stakeholders in the healthcare industry. I am really freaking lucky! I hope my lucky star continues to shine on me. Meanwhile, I keep thanking HH in my heart and hope that she will achieve her goals in nursing. [I also completed an "Evaluation of Learning Experience" feedback form to the health authority (where my preceptorship was done), expressing how RN HH is an awesome preceptor and also my appreciation of the supportive collegial environment.

p.s. AP passed her preceptorship too! This calls for a celebration!

Equal pay for equal work in Singapore?

Equal pay for equal work in Singapore? [Click here, here, here and here for online commentary arguing for it.] Here's the caveat: IMHO, this nationality-driven discrimination has become so widespread in Singapore that the bus drivers' situation is merely the tip of the iceberg. Are we ready to bite the bullet and do a throughout spring-cleaning?

Take a look at the healthcare sector in Singapore for example. Even nurses in Singapore are discriminated in their pay based on their passports. If you don't believe, just go check with the Human Resource departments of the various restructured and private hospitals. [I know about it personally from working at one such private hospital lodged upon a certain "mount", and heard about similar HR practices at another private hospital from an ex-colleague who transferred from there.]

Even monkeys know to reject unequal pay.

How do you expect nurses from various countries behave when they learn of the discriminatory pay in Singapore? Ever heard of "relational aggression" in nursing? [Click here for an example. In the example, SSN Y is a Malaysian who lived in Singapore for many years. SN J, SEN M and EN IV are non-Singaporeans. SSN R, SN SB, SN RB, SN M, PCA M and I are all Singapore citizens. I cannot recall if SSN L and SSN R are Malaysians or Singaporeans.]

Reading Vincent Wijeysingha's post on The Online Citizen, citing what he considered bad HR policies that risks passengers' and road-users' safety made me laugh -- cynically. My ex-colleagues and I have gone through similar (mis-)treatment as nurses at a certain private hospital in Singapore.

> "their six day work week did not mean working Days 1 to 6 and then resting on the seventh. It meant being allocated a rest day at any time during each seven day period: Thus they could be off on Monday, work twelve days straight and then be off next on the Sunday of the second week."

• Checked. I have been through that. Even pressurized to take up double-shifts, sometimes in the midst of 12 consecutive workdays, and in the midst of it, getting crap from my management. In addition, being pressurized to return to work even when I am sick with medical certificate from the doctor (click here and here) or on my "once-in-seven-days" day-off.

> "This did not include the already existing practice of not paying the drivers for the time it takes to prepare their vehicles prior to starting their first run of the day and servicing their vehicles after the end of each shift. Workers estimated that SMRT sucked at least one hour of unpaid work per shift from each driver"

• Checked. We were expected to arrive prior to the shift reporting time to complete various safety checks prior to the start of our shifts. Ditto to stay behind after the end of our shifts for various admin and add-on work. [Click here and here for examples.]

> "Constraints precisely designed to neutralise anyone who dares to ask for respect and dignity. ... Are told to go and join another company if they are unhappy with their pay and conditions?"

• Checked. I have personally witnessed a foreign-trained nurse secretly crying as she was forced to return to work at a ward where she was being abused by the "senior" (i.e. long-service) staff. The bullying is real. My nursing buddy who was sent to that same ward earlier became physically unwell after undergoing the stress from the collegial abuse. My buddy threatened to break her bond with the hospital if she was not re-deployed to another unit. Fortunately for my buddy, the management believed that she could afford to pay up the bond, and thus she was quickly re-shuffled to another unit to retain her services. When I asked the foreign nurse why she didn't she try to speak to the management like my buddy did, she told me that she did. The management told the foreign nurse that if she could not take the abuse, she could quit if she paid-up her bond. [Note: Being newly recruited from overseas, the management knew that the foreign nurse did not have the savings to pay up her bond.]

Consider how such labour abuses compromise not only the nurses' physical, mental and emotional health but also patients' safety. [Click here and here for examples.] How safe do you feel if the nurses caring for you and/or your loved ones are all-smiles in-your-face but actually breaking-down or burnt-out inside? How many nurses left the Singapore healthcare system in disgust? [Some of these left comments in my blog.] Unless you have personally suffered such systemic labour abuse and are happy to accept it over your entire career, please do not chide me for leaving Singapore. Do not chide me for breaking my bond in favour of my physical (click here and here), mental and emotional health. Do not chide me for choosing to work in a country where having real unions and enforcement of workplace safety laws meant that labour is treated with dignity and respect. [Click here, here and here.]

Other industries in Singapore that I came across with similar discriminatory practices and/or labour abuses include: construction, hospitality (hotels), information technology (including banking and financial services sectors), food and beverage / restaurants, etc. IMHO, anyone game enough to hunt for discriminatory practices and/or labour abuse just have to close his/her eyes and pick any industry, ANY industry in Singapore -- dig a little deeper and one will open a Pandora's box of filthy discriminatory HR practices and labour abuses.

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[Update Dec-25, 2014] Click here to read a blog post from "The Slim Rolly Polly Wannabe", another ex-Singapore nurse (now nursing in Aussie).