Not long ago, our hospital outpatient clinic has been equipped with electronic queue management system. That means we don’t have to use a microphone to call patients at the waiting hall; the automated audio system will do.

It didn’t take long for me to find out the perks of this tracking system. Patient tracking can become its own form of reward. And for good reason.

Let me explain. If you haven’t yet heard about the Canadian stockbroker named Trent Dyrsmid, go read James Clear’

There is more in a vigil around a deathbed than prayer. Tears are shed when cancer cells are scattered around a patient's abdominal cavity like pearls from a broken string. Conversations are intermingled with beeping alarm from the infusion pump for pain medication. Then there are muttered mumbles from neighboring beds.

I have been aware of how heart-wrenching it can be when I reserved a book written by a palliative care doctor Kathryn Mannix: With the End in Mind .

By the time I picked up the book about dying this

Smartphones are not allowed for candidates in our professional examination. The same rule applies for the examiners, who are supposed to switch off or silence the device, in case of being distracted like Pavlov's dog to that ping! in the middle of examination.

It was already three thirty in the afternoon; I had examined more than ten candidates sitting for the membership examination, and my energy - that of the sweaty candidates, too - was nearly burned out, when I took a sheepish glance at my smartphone. There

It is not the sort of thing most people would lose sleep over. But for the last few months, many Hong Kong people - including me - have been stunned by the city's chaos amid tear gas, bullets, pepper spray and batons.

Seeking a break with the violence, I've told myself stop reading news before bedtime. They're too disheartening, too harsh, too mean, too terrifying. Gazing at electronic devices in our bedrooms isn't recommended anyway; their blue-spectrum screen

We've been taught: a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language. Everyone. That means any bird, butterfly, or even fern.

I have over the years loved to name the birds I saw on the road. To get a feel for what I might chance upon during my recent New Zealand trip, I brought Andrew Crowe's bird guide to get acquainted with species like tūī, takahe, pūkeko, and fantail.

Now,

Would you believe me if I told you that the first thing I did on my birthday this year was running?

Perhaps one reason for my determination to run is birthday cake celebration the night before my birthday, and anticipation of more cakes to follow. I ran fast because my daughter texted me the minute past midnight, asking to be the very first one to say happy birthday to me.

Of course, there are many other reasons for me to run. I have a hunch that my genes and stress since childbirth call