Pink & Green

Out of Silence

2008-11-26T21:06:00.004+08:00

6 months on.
Life is still good.
Med school is a few chapters behind now.
Working life is nothing and everything like what people say.
You think hate your job, yet you are addicted to it.
You like what you do, but you complain about everything.
You count the hours to finish work and go home, but at the end of the day, you'll go, "Wow, time flies!"
Your boss is nice, yet you are blamed for others' mistakes.
Your patients will request to be transferred to a private centre for further treatment, yet thank you profusely before they leave.
You get pissed at silly things people do, but there is always a smile plastered on your face.
You work your ass off trying to get as much things done in a day, but there is never enough time for everything.
You try your best to be better than you were before, but there is always something new to learn everyday.

'Try harder.'
'You can be better than this.'
'This is not your full potential.'
'I believe that there's more in you.'
'I push you because I know you can do it.'

Words that your superior would repeatedly say. Words which make you wonder if you are cut out for the job. Words which make you doubt your capabilities. Words which inspire you to do your best, but you wonder if it is enough.

Then, one day, your boss would say,
'You're good.'

I love my job.

Time Stops

2008-04-28T23:29:00.002+08:00

My favourite song from my favourite pianist Suzanne Ciani is a beautiful piece called 'Time Stops'.

It is a peculiar name to a song and I have always wondered what it meant. How can time stop? We try very hard to preserve our experiences, capturing precious moments in pictures but the reality is that we can never stop time.

People are always running out of time. We grow old and someday we would die. People face deadlines all d time. To a cardiologist, time is myocardium saved. There is always a schedule to stick to because even if we freeze and stop dead in our tracks, the rest of the world moves on. And we always hear the phrase, 'time flies'.

But for me, time has somehow slowed down. I could hardly believe that it has only been 50 days since my last post. In less than 2 months, so much has happened to me and the people whom I am very close to.

I sat for my final professional exams last month. During my exams, it did occur to me that time had gone by very quickly and I was at the end of 5 years of med school. That 2-week period was very challenging. Studying for exams was taxing but I got through it with a lot of love and encouragement.

My best friend broke up with her boyfriend in the middle of exams. It was shocking, and distressing. I went through a myriad of emotions during this time even as an observer, I cannot begin to imagine how she coped with the breakup.

After that, everything happened so quickly I could hardly keep up with the events.

I passed my exams and had to move out of my hostel within a few days. Leaving the hostel was difficult. I packed 3 years of memories in 3 days. Moving home was equally challenging. I am still having difficulties unpacking.

It has only been a month since I came home.

I learned to bake.
I went on some crazy outing with my friends and had loads and loads of fun.
I had an operation and now a fading scar on my skin.
I went on a trip to Hatyai, had lots of sweet, sweet mangoes and came back with a few additional bags.
I found out that the man my best friend was dating is already seeing someone else.
I spent many days with someone dear to me and had some truly amazing time together.
I am very much closer to my sisters now that I am home.

Only a month, yet I feel different.

I do not know who said this, but I believe it is true that the only constant is change.

And echoing Suzanne Ciani, 'Have you ever felt time stop? Have you ever been in love?'

Having lived it, I think I know what she meant.

A Walk in the Park

2008-03-10T18:24:00.000+08:00

I have been taking a walk in the park the past 5 years.

5 years?!?!

Where exactly have I been?

Did I get lost in a labyrinth? Well, I don’t remember meeting Minotaur.

Did I prick my finger and fall into a deep slumber? I guess not, as I do not recall a prince who kissed me out of the grasp of the sandman.

Did I step into a crack in the fabric of time and was teleported into the future? I don’t think so. Most definitely did not jump off the Brooklyn Bridge.

I would like to think that I took an extremely long path. It was the path that was ahead of me 5 years ago, welcoming and bright, inviting, promising.

My walk for the past 5 years had been very interesting. There were times where I walked through the most beautiful paths, with lush greeneries and beautiful blossoms, bursting with life at every step that I took. Sometimes I had to climb endless flights of steps, every step an agonizing effort. I slipped many times, especially in the dark when there was no one around.

Oh yes, I had company. There were those who always remained acquaintances, hence our cordial relationship. There were some who called themselves friends, yet would abandon me when I had my knees deep in mud. Few stayed by me, pulled me out and kept me going.

I saw the exit sign some weeks ago, and knowing that I would reach the last mile by this time, I was gearing myself for this last league. The final mile is an uphill ascend. Sometimes I fear that I am not strong enough to make the climb. But I know it is silly thinking, knowing that I have wonderful support from people who are really true to me, and would be by my side at every step I take.

Evil Bites

2008-02-13T23:58:00.008+08:00

I've discovered the most evil creation of mankind.

It is called Hup Toh So.

These cute little almond cookies are small, aromatic, tasty and oh-so light and crumbly. One cannot get enough of them once one had started popping them into the mouth.

The crumbly sweet bits simply melt in your mouth. I think eating this is better than eating ambrosia.

Found in abundance during festive seasons, this container of pure delight was a gift from an acquaintance.

I started with one innocent-looking piece. It was gone in a few seconds. Unsatiated, I took another, to savour its rich taste of almond, and then another, and another. I have been addicted to it ever since I started on Monday. This is the new opium. For me, at least.

You might wonder what is so evil about a few pieces of cookies.

Here's a piece of nutritional fact which will make you cringe. 2 pieces of this mini biscuit the size of a 20cent coin contains 160kcal. That is equivalent to eating 2 slices of bread!

And I eat at least 10 pieces of this sinful cookie a day. I cannot imagine stomaching 10 slices of bread in a week!

These almond cookies apparently contains lard(lemak babi!!) which makes it yummy and crumbly.

Works well with my tastebuds, definitely not with my weight :(

But like all other Chinese, we would say, "Once a year only mah."

Feeds the metabolic syndrome, surely. What the heck, we only live once.

Happy Valentine's Day, by the way.

14.2.2008(4.33am) - I forgot yesterday was the 7th day of Chinese New Year, which is the common birthday of man. Darn... all these years I would celebrate at home with my family. Next year, perhaps.

Revision Blues

2008-02-11T12:54:00.000+08:00

Today is the 5th day of Chinese New Year.
It is also pre-exams day.
This is our exams week for the Orthosurgery posting. I have Surgery clinicals tomorrow, Orthopaedics clinicals on Thursday and theory paper on Friday.
Feels horrible to have a holiday turn into study leave.
15 days of Chinese New Year might seem like an over-indulgent affair but like most Chinese, I celebrate any cause to makan :)
My brains are in a state of denial! I've been staring at my books for hours and yet there were no synapses at my amygdala. Don't even talk about my amygdala....I wonder if my Wernicke's is fully functioning at the moment.
What is this?

Where I am sitting, this looks so much more tempting.

*Sigh*

I am a month away from my finals. Haven't really had the time to reflect back on my 5 years of med school. Sometimes I wonder what is my most important lesson in med school.

As a med student, the doctors and lecturers keep telling us that most of what we learn in med schools will not be what we see in future as doctors. We are now at the textbook level, and we do not always find textbook patients. The practical aspects of being a doctor has to be experienced and learned that way.

For now, a med student has to sit for her exams in the midst of Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day (not that I have a date anyway).

"Medical practice is not knitting and weaving and the labour of the hands, but it must be inspired with soul and be filled with understanding and equipped with the gift of keen observation; these together with accurate scientific knowledge are the indispensable requisites for proficient medical practice."

~Mosos ben Maimon (1135-1204)

Date with Death

2008-02-01T19:28:00.001+08:00

I have a date with Death, but the time is not confirmed. I think he will give me a surprise when the time comes. I know he is like that.

Though I have seen him many times in the hospital, he never once looked my way or greeted me. Maybe he was saving his thoughts for our date. Or perhaps he did not have the time, him being such a busy man.

He is an enigma. I could never tell when I would see him. Sometimes I could see him waiting at the corner for many days for the septic lady, or the man with terminal cancer. Sometimes he would come unannounced, kiss the lady in labour and leave as abruptly as he had arrived.

He seemed to like children as well. I had seen him cradle babies in his arms, and they stopped crying. He was the one who led May out of the hospital, holding her little hand in his own. That was the only time I saw May walk, but she was walking away from me.

When I was in Teluk Intan last week, he came for a young Hunter. I heard he was watching this boy for many years, staying in close proximity but never had direct contact, not until now.

I read in the papers that several days ago that he was on a bus which crashed on the highway. He was unharmed, and left the crash site with 3 youths. It was unexpected, even for these 3 young people. They were not prepared to leave. They had not left any goodbyes for their families, but his magnetism was too strong for them to resist.

I would be seeing him on a regular basis when I start working. There would come a time when I have to stand against him, telling him to leave. He must know that he is not welcomed all the time.

Still, I know he will not listen to what I say. He comes and goes as he wishes.

He might even steal a kiss from me before my time.

The Finer Points of Learning

2008-01-30T18:58:00.000+08:00

I attended my team's clinic yesterday. As our team specialise in colorectal surgery, a majority of our cases seen were bum cases.

I arrived early and managed to clerk a new case which had to be presented to my specialist later on. A colleague of mine was already tagging the specialist in his clinic when I arrived. They were seeing this patient with haemorrhoids, and was already examining the patient behind the screen. I joined them after obtaining permission, and the scene that greeted me was really quite hilarious.

The patient was on the examination couch, lying on his left, legs bent to allow optimum exposure of his rear end.
My specialist had already inserted the proctoscope, but very strangely, he was looking away from the patient and looked as if he just licked bile.
My colleague was standing at the foot of the couch, giggling silently.
There was a strange smell within the cubicle.

I think my specialist took a blow in his face. (LOLOLOL)

I took a peek into the proctoscope, and saw some faecal material within the proctoscope. Looked like the patient did not answer nature's call that morning.

To cut a long story short, the patient underwent a rubber banding for his haemorrhoids.

I learned that we cannot be too enthusiastic when doing a proctoscopy... Do not stand so close when removing the probe, and be careful of noxious gases.

To all those who will not be peeking into other's bums in future, remember to empty your bowels before seeing a bum doctor.

Learning the ropes

2008-01-16T09:17:00.000+08:00

Surgery is not my favourite division of medicine. In fact, it is probably my least liked subject. And it is not because I am haemophobic.

There is just something about surgery that gives me the chills. Personally I find surgery relatively messy, dealing with abscesses, intestines, infected wounds, hernias, cancers... The list goes on.

When I was in my 3rd year of studies, I did a 10-week rotation in surgery. Needless to say, I wasn't the most enthusiastic student and only spent enough time to learn the basics, whatever was necessary to pass the exams.

Now that I am in my final year, and in my final months of studies, I find myself going through this rotation again, this time for a much shorter period, only 4 weeks.

I am taking more interest in surgery now that I am almost completing my training, voluntarily doing or assisting in procedures.

After a whole morning in the clinic yesterday, I realized that there is more to examining a patient than what medical school can teach.

I've already been reminded of the importance of wearing gloves in a previous post.

Yesterday I remembered to wear the latex fingers before performing a rectal examination... But I only wore it on my right hand. I thought that since I was only going to use my right index finger, what's the point of wasting another glove for my left hand?

I only saw the point after applying KY jelly on my finger. I needed my left hand to part the err... you know what I mean. So there, bitten by my stupidity again.

That was for the rectal examination. I was observing the house officer inspect another case, this time a fistula in ano. I could never forget how bad the smell was... It reminded me of smelly salted-fish with belacan. Ughh....

So lessons from clinic :
Always wear gloves on both hands. You never know when you might need your hands or what you will touch.
Always wear a mask when examining a fistula in ano.

I am wiser now.

Kitty Meal

2008-01-16T00:24:00.000+08:00

Tuesday night and I'm bored out of my wits! I was going through some of the photos I took with my phone and found some pretty interesting pictures.

It was New Year’s Day 2008 and I was on my way to the ward (yeah, talk about no life!). As I was walking down the walkway, I came across some odd looking pieces (and a cat) lying on the floor.

On close-up...

(Tail)

(Jaw)

(Sleeping cat)

Feline post-prandial narcolepsy.

Was it a rat, squirrel or another cat? I'll leave the guessing to you.

How's that for a New Year meal? LOL.

Growing pains

2008-01-14T23:27:00.000+08:00

I went out for lunch with a coursemate of mine today. I haven’t seen him in almost a month, as he had been regularly missing our classes. By chance, we met in the library today and decided to go out makan.

He told me he was going to quit med school, and that was the reason he was back at the faculty.

I was not stunned by his statement, as he had been saying this throughout our academic year. Still, I was very surprised at his decision to quit now when we only have less than 3 more months to go.

I asked him why not complete this degree as an insurance. After all, we had gone through almost 5 grueling years of studies. Just 3 more months to make the whole 5 years worthwhile.

He told me that he could not bear to go through this kind of life anymore, and since he will never walk down this path again, what good will the degree do anyway.

His statement made me think of another friend of mine who quit college to run his own business, and after some hits and misses, he is doing well now. He told me that he was not gaining much from college, that the qualification was just a piece of paper anyway.

My encounter with the 2 of them made me question my personal objectives in life. I was raised with the mentality that academic qualification is the most important acquisition of our lives. I grew up believing that a degree is my passport to success. Almost all my friends are graduates, and my sister even obtained her Masters degree from Cambridge.

“Middle class mentality”

Those were the words of my lecturer 4 years ago. He once said that a majority of our society is stuck in the middle class mentality, where we were raised to study hard as children, get a degree, get a steady job, find a spouse, and raise a good family.

In other words, “Play it safe.”

I am a safe person. Maybe it is because I have been protected by my parents all my life. They had kept me safe, and I am very comfortably snuggled in my cozy cocoon.

At this juncture, just months before I attempt to spread my wings, I do not know how successful I will be as a doctor, a daughter, a wife, or a mother in future.

And qualification might not be the most important thing in life after all, but I still would not dare to venture out into the world without my MD.

I admire the courage and determination of my 2 friends, and my second friend is an example of making life work come what may.

After all that had been said, I have come to realize that the wisdom of growing up is something of ours forever.

And that is what I will hang on to.

My Hands

2008-01-11T17:26:00.000+08:00

I did something quite dumb today. I examined an inguinal hernia without wearing gloves!

No, it's not a deadly sin, but would have been better had I donned the gloves. The purpose of the gloves is mainly for hygiene sake, protection for my own good against body fluids of a patient.

I only thought of those darn latex after I started my palpation, when I felt that something was not quite right. Everything felt so....distinct! Only then was my mind flooded with the same message,

"Bare hands! Bare hands! Bare hands! Bare hands!"

The joke is on me, really. Moral lesson of the day : Don't forget your rubber.

I won't, hopefully :P
Thankfully there were no secretions or discharge. Phew!

My Way

2008-01-03T17:03:00.000+08:00

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

-Robert Frost-

At this point in time, I imagine that I am Robert Frost when he was standing in the woods where the road diverged into 2, and while deciding which road to take he wrote a poem.

The latest issue in my life is deciding on the hospitals to apply for my housemanship. Everybody asks the same question,
"Do you want to go to Sabah or Sarawak?"

I had decided some time ago to apply some place near home, but personally I have no objections going to Borneo. It will be a challenge, to start a new life away from home, away from my parents.

I do not know if there is a difference staying in KL. Work exposure and workload should be the same. I am still going to be a houseman for 2 years. I still want to be a paediatrician at the end of the day.

So now I am standing at the diverging road, wondering if I should stay or go. If I decide to go, all I have to do is to tell the authorities during my interview, and I'll be on my way.

Do I follow Frost in taking the road less traveled by? Knowing how way leads to way, if I go, will I ever come back?

Pieces of You

2007-12-19T00:00:00.000+08:00

Reading Kian Guan's blog made me think of 1 person I never want to forget...

I read a very sad blog of my friend today about the abandoned children of an orphanage just down the road of our hospital. This orphanage would send children to the hospital when they were ill. Some with chronic diseases would stay for a longer period of time. Some stayed on so long that they become a constant in the paediatrics ward.

The blog made me think of a little girl that I met while I was in my Paediatrics posting. This is an entry from my personal diary, which I wish to share with all who are reading this blog.

I'm now in my Xth week of Paediatric posting.
Tonight, I want to write about a little girl. Let's call her May. She was 3.
May was admitted 3 weeks ago for bronchopneumonia from the orphanage. My team was on call that night and I remember that she was fretful, and awfully quiet. She also had a headful of lice and fungal infection behind her ears. She refused to lie flat, just curling up on her side.
It was a Friday night and we had 5 admissions that night so I did not pay much attention to her for the rest of the weekend. My colleague was actually in charge of her, not I.
On Monday, the nurses informed us that they noted a rectal prolapse while showering her. She also had extremely foul-smelling faeces despite frequent change of diapers. They also had difficulties feeding her as she was refusing food.
That evening, I stayed on in the ward until dinnertime. I saw that May did not touch her spaghetti, hence I sat down next to her and decided to spend some time with her. I managed to coax her to take several bites of spaghetti. She ate 4 spoonfuls and smiled at me once.
According to the welfare personnel, she was found roaming the streets with her mother who was begging. Her mother was sent to another welfare home and the custody of May was taken away from her.
The next few days, May refused to eat or drink. She did not speak a word. We had to forcefeed her with a feeding tube. We were also working out the reason for her rectal prolapse.
One afternoon, I had just finished examining a patient when I saw a lady next to May, appearing very concerned about her. She was May's mother. Strangely, May did not express any emotions upon seeing her.
From that day onwards, May's condition deteriorated. She developed septic shock and was managed in the HDU and later the ICU. When she showed signs of improvement, she was then transferred back into the HDU.
This week, she was improving clinically and also responded to us. I would spend some time with her during lunch and she played with me. I even saw her smile several times. I did not hear her speak any words but she made some vocalizations, and was willing to drink her milk after some coaxing. She was still very weak, but she clung on to me when I carried her. My registrar allowed me to remove her femoral line 2 days ago.
Today, May collapsed, was asystolic and had to be intubated following resuscitation. She was transferred into the ICU again. When I saw her in the afternoon, she had to be on triple inotrope support and was already in shock. I couldn't stay on as there were rounds in the other wards. After rounds, I stayed back in the Paeds ward to see some other patients and did not leave until about 6pm. On my way out of the hospital block, I thought of dropping by the ICU to see how May was doing. When I arrived, she was just pronounced dead.
I was shocked, but I stayed on to see the nurses bathe and wrap her tiny body before sending her down to the morgue.
I am recording these events because I am afraid that these memories will get lost along the way in my busy life as a doctor. Perhaps I won't forget her at all. She was the first patient that I was actively involved in the management of her condition. She was the first patient that I fed. She was the first patient of mine that died.
I don't think May will fade away so easily. I will probably remember feeding her spaghetti, teaching her how to roll the noodles around the fork. How can I forget the satisfaction of seeing her smile? I will remember her beautiful long eyelashes that framed her round eyes. Maybe I will sometimes think of the way she clung on to me when I carried her. Perhaps it will be her little voice with the few jargons she muttered.
I remember thinking to myself when she was still with us that she would grow up to be very pretty. I was hoping she would succeed in life, after all that she had been through. Now I can only hope that her soul is at peace.
Tonight, I cried for May, for all that she ever was and all that she could have been. My one regret is that I could not make her laugh while she was here. Maybe happiness eluded her life from the start. Or maybe she never learned to be happy. But It does not matter anymore, for May will never smile again.

As a medical student I have learnt to be empathetic, detached, tough, professional. It is dangerous to be too emotional about our patients. But we learn from them, and sometimes we just carry little pieces of them with us wherever we go.

Christina Georgina Rossetti. 1830–1894

Remember

REMEMBER me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go, yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.

Drawing lines, drawing curves

2007-12-16T02:09:00.000+08:00

Geometry defines a line as the shortest connection between 2 points. Every line needs 2 points.

Mathematics defines it somewhat differently, that a line is a perfect straight curve with infinite number of points. To put it simply, a line is what you get when you go from point A to point B via the shortest route.

The curve is more difficult to define...I am no mathematician. But from what I learnt in school, a curve is a skewed line on a plane, and that it has a path.

Our lives resemble lines and curves in many ways. We as individuals are the many dots of the universe. When we meet people, a line is drawn. As we progress to become friends, or enemies, the line is skewed and our line takes on a path to become a curve.

The past week, someone close to me experienced some turbulent times in her love relationship, what many would describe as going through a rough patch. She was emotionally distressed, and I as a friend could only offer some opinions. I said what I believed was best for her, even though some of my words were frank and even hurtful.

I think she must have thought that this might be the end of her relationship with this person, yet today they managed to set aside some differences to reconcile. I am glad for her, as she knows what she wants out of this relationship and has found a solution to their problems.

I am not an expert in relationships. Neither am I an excellent judge on persons. I see things very simply, and don't know how to read people well.

But I know how to smell warning signs. I can identify bad behaviours, atrocious manners, stupid comments, irritable tempers, even body odours. I am not making these the reasons to dump a person, just giving examples of unpleasant traits.

It is amazing how some people can love their partner as they are... They can see through all their flaws even if it was right under their nose. Their ears are closed to hurtful remarks made by their significant other. And they can still love them unconditionally.

I think this happens because of the invisible red thread that make lines into curves. The love between 2 individuals creates an unbreakable bond between 2 souls. Love can make the world a beautiful place, and love can also blur everything surrounding one so that nothing else exist but his/her lover. Love can be divine, yet love can also be spiteful. The more one loves a person, the more vulnerable one becomes. Fragile, breakable... yes, it is very frightening.

While I remain a dot, many of my friends are drawing their lines and curves. I hope that in the end they will create a masterpiece that celebrates love and life.

________________________________________________________

This is a song by Jim Brickman called The Love I Found In You.

You are the air I need to breathe

the river of life inside of me

you are the half that made me whole

you are the anchor of my soul

and you are strong when I am weak

you are the words when I can't speak

you never fail to see me through

that's the love I found in you

you are my shelter from the storm

you are the road that leads me home

and baby with you here face to face

Oh I know I've found my place

and you are strong when I am weak

you are the words when I can't speak

you never fail to see me through

that's the love I found in you

and once in every life

you find the one that's right

and when you say forever it's true

That's the love I found in you

You are strong when I am weak

you are the words when I can't speak

you never fail to see me through

That's the love I found in you

That's the love, love I found in you

I think it pretty much sums up why people want to stay in love.

Is right Right or Left?

2007-12-14T15:26:00.000+08:00

I think I woke up in Topsy-turvy land this morning. But I don't remember climbing up the Magic Faraway Tree. I don't even know where the tree is.

It started in the morning when Julian and I sent Nay to the train station so that he can catch an ERL ride to KLIA. Had some problems calling him in the morning and we were really worried that he would miss his flight but we eventually managed to reach him.

At the station, I dropped my phone!!! My poor baby, just 2 weeks out of its neonatal period, and it is scratched all over! It's my fault really, I was careless, and this is the 2nd time I've dropped it this week :(

During ward round, Julian told me that his car had some problems. One of his mudguard came off and he went through some trouble taking it off. Why can't things go on smoothly?

The worst has yet to come. Also during ward rounds, Julian, Joanne and I were reprimanded by Prof. Hassan for not clerking a patient. Hey, it wasn't even our turn! The other group was on call that day hence they were responsible for that patient! And he had to catch us at that one bed which nobody covered for. The other group's members presented on all the other cases, just one miss. Timing...

In NICU, we reviewed a patient with suspected dislocatable hip. Later one of our friends showed us a case of Patau Syndrome and we were just LOOKING without touching as we were well aware that we need to wash our hands before touching anything... but along came a registrar and gave us a dressing down for walking into the NICU without informing any of them, treating the place as if we own it, touching the incubators with our unclean hands. Well HELLO... get this straight. We came in with our orthopaedics team. We were just observing the baby. We DID NOT TOUCH the incubators! And no, we don't own the NICU - can't afford it. We are just a bunch of enthusiastic students who wanted to see something rather rare. We're sorry for not asking your permission to look at someone else's baby, for occupying 4 square feet of space, but don't accuse us of things we did not do!

This morning, right did not feel right. What was going on?

Sometimes I really want an Enchanted Wishing Chair...so that I can rewind and avoid all these mishaps.

But it doesn't really matter anymore. I am wiser now. There is no such thing as Friday 13th being unlucky. Things happen all the time. Do we sit on our laurels and whine about it or do we get on with our lives?

I think the answer is clear.

At least clinics was fine and lunch was good (nice food and great company). Drove home in heavy rain, but thankfully the Lord guided me home safely. Keep Faith.

A Leap of Faith

2007-12-13T20:37:00.000+08:00

This year is a good year for marriage. It is the year of the Golden Pig, and year-end is always an auspicious time for Chinese marriages. In this last quarter of this year, many of my coursemates have also gotten married - registered but have yet to host the ceremony. Still, they are married in the eyes of law. Most of these couples are my coursemates, as in both husband and wife are medical students with me. They met in med school, fell in love and in our final year of marriage decided to make this commitment of a lifetime.

My good friend Julian said that if you want to be trendy, get registered to the one you love. It is the new fad of the faculty.

There are many reasons for these couples to get married. I think the main reason is the fear of separation. When we graduate and become housemen, we can be posted all over the country. Married couples have a better chance of getting the same hospital.

Being separated from the one you love for a couple of years is terrifying. Many things can happen when you are apart... Insecurity, doubt, change of heart? Coupled with the stress of work and a new way of life, many need the constant support from their significant other.

I respect these friends of mine for their confidence in their love, and their commitment. Marriage is a HUGE step in life. It is a bond that 2 people share for as long as they live. They have decided that they want to spend the rest of their lives with their partner, and I am happy for them.

At the same time, I as an outsider who am not in love cannot stop wondering if being married is the solution. I see many more couples who are also like the perfect matches from heaven continue as they are... These individuals did not see a need to get married to keep or save their relationship. They believe in giving their relationship a test of faith. Ming told me of a friend whose opinion was that relationships in campus developed under a protected environment and they need to be tested in the real world when we start working.

I really like that point of view. These couples are giving themselves a chance as an individual to experience life and yet grow together. I am not taking sides. There are pros and cons to marriage as well as the reverse.

Eventually, most of us will get married. Some to people whom they are going out with, some to friends who have yet to turned lovers, some to people whom they have yet to meet. Marriage is a big leap of faith because when we do, we are willingly commiting ourselves to a life of constant sharing. No more the freedom of being single. We are entrusting our happiness to our other half. There is no guarantee that we will be blissfully married. Just the faith in your love one.

We wouldn't know where life can bring us, or who it will lead us to. When we leap off a cliff, we might land hard at the bottom...

or perhaps we may grow wings.

Midweek Midnight

2007-12-13T03:33:00.000+08:00

Wee Soon commented this evening that it felt great to be 'wild'. My interpretation of his wild would be free from studying all day long. We were playing a lousy game of pool then... it took the 7 of us (me, Wee Soon, Julian, Nay, Neeta, Wei Mui and Aland) 30 minutes to finish the game.

We were at 1 Utama for a farewell dinner for Nay who's going back home on Friday. We went to Italiannies, had loads of Sotong (fried calamari rings), a Classic pizza (very good) and a Classic Carbonara pasta (I thought it was too cheesy and beefy...bbrrrr).

After dinner, we got tickets for Warlords which was at 11.50pm. That left us with more than 2 hours to kill and we spent it wandering aimlessly in MPH til they had to close, followed by an hour of cramming round a small table in Starbucks taking weird pictures of our fist til they also closed, 15 minutes of sitting on a bench on the 2nd floor til the guard shooed us upstairs, and the rest of our time round the pool table.

Pool was actually quite interesting. We found out that everyone was really crappy with the ball and stick, and Nay always bent forward before Wee Soon (erm...). But everyone had a great time :)

Warlords was a U rated movie which was surprisingly brutal, violent and sexual for Malaysian cinema. The effects were really good, cast performance was commendable but I didn't quite like the storyline. It was basically about the brotherhood of these 3 warriors (Jet Li, Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro) and how they endured the war together. There wasn't much of a plot actually, just loads of fightscenes(good!), some sentimental oneliners and of course, a lady who's the gulahati(Sweetheart) of 2 men(Andy Lau and Jet Li). The ending was quite predictable. When 3 men pledged to die together, they'll all die in the end. Overall it wasn't too bad, but not fantastic.

The journey home was super smooth-sailing. There were hardly any cars on the road at 2.30am. There was a minor glitch though (I almost nicked another car at one time) and gave Aland and Nay a scare, but we arrived back at the hostel safely.

My Venti Iced Latte is super powerful. I'm wide awake!

Drops from Heaven

2007-12-10T23:55:00.000+08:00

The rain always bring out a different side in people... It changes people's mood in a blink of an eye. Some become gloomy, some hysterical, manic, or even apathetic. And people do strange things during the rain. I know of many who would see it as the best time to sleep. I have heard of people who sit by the window to listen to the sound of raindrops falling on the roof. Some go crazy(disinhibited) and would run down a field while getting soaked. Or perhaps dance in the middle of the rain. My dog used to try and bite the raindrops.

It is a blessing and a curse. To dry areas, stricken with draught and famine, what a wonderful gift from God can rain be... welcomed by everyone, celebrated with thanksgiving and hopes of a better tomorrow. With rain comes life, growth and vegetation. And the precious fresh water which we all depend on, and are ever dependant on. Yet, rain can take away everything as well. It would rob a fisherman his daily catch, or even his life if he was caught in a storm. Rain that would not cease will give rise to a deluge, destroying everything in its path with a vengeance, swallowing lives without conscience.

It had rained the whole day today. How many slept through the rain?
How many lives were changed today?

Indulgence

2007-12-09T10:43:00.000+08:00

Weekends had always been a time to pig out. It's the time when I go home every week and my parents would stuff me with food thinking that I'll be deprived for the next 5 days. Force-feeding is not just for the anorexic.

I had my end-posting exams this week, which means that I'm done with this posting, and there's only orthosurgery left before my professional finals in March. Scary!! In the past 2 days, I've had quite a gastronomic adventure. Starting from friday lunch, we went to the Seed Cafe in Midvalley, and dinner was at Souled Out Cafe at Desa Sri Hartamas. Yesterday I had lunch at Tony Roma's in The Curve and a wedding dinner at Ritz Carlton. The food at all these places were super yummy. And ambience was +++.

I like the simplistic setup of Seed Cafe. The white and black contrasted really well, and it looked very clean. Very reassuring to eat at this joint =) This was the 2nd time I've eaten at the Seed Cafe. Perhaps I was really hungry, but I think the food is better than before. I had the Pita Sandwich which was served with wasabi mayonnaise, and it was really good! Ka Man's Vietnamese Beef Noodle was fragrant and very tasty. I love the soup. The pastas were good as well... They were very generous with the topping for bolognaise. The price for food is reasonable - my sandwich was RM12.90 and I think the pastas were below RM18.

Dinner at Souled Out was really late. By the time we got our table it was the final call for happy hour. I thought the food was very good, despite some poor reviews I read online. And very reasonable too! I'm so glad I took some pics at Souled Out. Now I can share with everyone!
Kon Voi had this Carbonara pasta (his 2nd creamy pasta of the day!). Personally I can't find much to say about pastas with cream. I think they all taste the same.
We also had a 11" Aloha pizza(RM22) to share. It was nice but I can't remember much about it, so just okay for me.
Mike and Aland decided to eat the same thing. Chicken Cordon Bleu(RM23). Loads of triglycerides on that plate... but of course, taste bud's buddies. Looking at that pic now, I have no idea why I made the bowl of brown sauce my centrepiece. Poor photography, sorry!
Ming had this Fish Burger (RM16). I taxed a bite of the fillet and it was really good!
Ka Man and I each had this yummy succulent Chili something Sea Bass(RM26) which was served with an extremely generous portion of mashed potatoes. I basically love fish, especially cod, sea bass and ice fish(something I had in London years ago). This dish was just great for me.

Everyone was happy with the time spent at Souled Out. It's kinda far for us, but I think we'll return sometime soon.

My lunch at Tony Roma's was good as well. I had a Blue Cheese Burger which was HUGE and had loads of chips. For RM22.90 I think it's a really good deal. There were so much blue cheese on my burger as well! Actually lunch was more of a get-together for Jacinth, Naomi and I, so it was more than just the food.

I was at the Ritz Carlton for Cheryl's wedding. The food was by the hotel's chinese restaurant Li Yen so it was super, and the event was wonderful! I'm so glad it wasn't like one of those typical boring Chinese wedding which was loud and bright. Wedding at Ritz Carlton is so classy... they even had a live band singing classic love songs... aww...

I think Malaysians have a food obsession. Me included. Cheers.

Fairy Tales... No more please!!

2007-12-08T03:51:00.000+08:00

Today had been an extremely long day. I had my theory paper for my Medicine posting and it was really rough. There were many tricky questions and some totally unheard-of thingamagics. Now I regret not studying super hard. And I was quite disappointed with my performance during clinicals yesterday. One would have thought that after spending so many hours in the ward, clinicals should be a breeze. And the findings were pretty obvious, yet somehow I made so many blunders!!! Oh well.... at least exams is over now.

I went shopping with the girls today, and we spent 5 straight hours on our feet on the ground floor of Midvalley! It was quite frightening, especially for Kon Voi, seeing us attack the racks and the changing rooms with such fervor.

Dinner at Souled Out cafe was great! I'll write more about it later. After dinner we decided to watch Enchanted at the Cineleisure. We went for the 12.10am show (what were we thinking!) and spent 25 minutes in the cinema listening to music and watching some ads. The show lasted about 150minutes, and it was actually painful! Sure, there were some funny parts here and there but it was totally lame and predictable and boring... Aland slept halfway through, and Mike was watching with one eye closed. In conclusion, Enchanted was like Snow White meets Kate and Leopold with a bit of King Kong twist.

I hope there won't be anymore dreamy fairy tales made in the future.

Somehow Ka Man and Ming enjoyed the show... Girls?

Birthday Love

2007-12-05T02:21:00.000+08:00

I feel so loved this birthday! By my family and friends, of course.

My friends brought me to One Station (Station One?) to celebrate my birthday midnight. It was really nice of them as we are in the midst of our exam week. We had some really cool drinks, ate some greasy comfort food and sang a quirky birthday song. Julian and Shui Wei even came up with a new drink... Mocha latte plus Honey Tea... Guan insisted that we have to give it a name, just like how cocktails have names such as Sex On the Beach, and Guang Hong came up with Don't Sleep Tonight! I thought it was ace.

On my birthday itself, Neeta and Nay took me out to Jusco for lunch. They bought me coffee and cake at Starbucks, and sang another birthday song for me! How sweet =)

I received messages from my friends abroad and Chitra called me all the way from Melbourne. I came home to find birthday cards from Sanju (who is in Prague) and Siew Ching (now in Brisbane).

Even after my birthday, many friends sent me lovely messages.

Thank you so much guys and girls...I love you all!

oh my goodness has it been 2 years?!?

2007-12-01T21:17:00.000+08:00

Wow, 2 years since I last posted! this is freaky. And I'm no longer 22, sadly.
Actually, I have kinda forgotten about this blog until my friend Paul commented that I'm turning my facebook into a blog =P
I don't know if I'm gonna do this on a regular basis, but will be keeping this active just in case I do!
I'm already at the tail-end of med school...4 months to the finishing line.
Today my friend made a bad comment on an issue, and some friends obviously disagreed strongly on it. I wonder why do Malaysians keep harping on the issue of racial divide when our society have shown signs of progress?
Many are blinded by the acts of the previous generation to acknowledge the progressive changes in this new generation. Yes, I agree that there are still many unsettled issues but we can't expect a sudden change.
Think of the concessions from the other side.
There is some truth to the line "Jangan pandang belakang!"
Cheers guys.

Unveiling

2005-10-15T23:32:00.000+08:00

I stumbled upon the rack one morning in the library. I was supposed to be looking for books about the middle-aged man for my group work but there wasn't any (not many people write about this age group. Don't they realise that many suffer from mid-life crisis?)

I bought Princess way back in 1997. I've only read in once, then I lent it to someone I can't remember who, and the book's lost forever. It's really annoying, I can't remember how many books had been borrowed and never returned. And they are my favourite books! Among them was my Jeffrey Archer's The Fourth Estate which I bought in England. (Yeah, I'm sentimental)

Back to my library rack - Both Princess and Daughters of Arabia by Jean Sasson were there! Now that I have ample time and not much things to do during my minor, reading books seem like the best pasttime. I've always wanted to read Daughters of Arabia but felt it's too pricey to buy. Now that I found it in the library, I borrowed it. (Duh!)

This book, a continuation of Princess, detailed much of the lives of Princess Sultana's teenage children and her uphill task fighting for women's liberation in Saudi Arabia. I take my hat off for her, really. Her courageous move to reveal the details of her life behind the veil and palace walls could land her without a head, yet she is not deterred.

One can only be appalled by the monstrosities committed to women as described in the book. I am truly thankful to be borned in this part of the world in this era. Still, the fact remains that my liberty was won with the sufferings endured by women of the past.

Reading a very old and boring book

2005-10-11T18:19:00.000+08:00

Cashelmara. It's an estate in Ireland, owned by the English de Salis family. After the potato famine, the landlord Edward poured in $ to develop the land and waived rents to allow the tenants to have enough food for themselves. He remarried at 60, to an American girl called Marguerite who was 17 at that time. They had 2 sons together but his heir was his son Patrick from his first marriage.

Patrick married Marguerite's niece Sarah (complicated huh?) and squandered his inheritance gambling in the clubs of London. When he was broke, he had to sell of the country estate, close the London house and live in Cashelmara to save $. Patrick found the Marriage Act (you know what I mean) repulsing and only did it to get an heir (now you know what I really mean). Patrick and Sarah had a son named Ned (there were 3 other younger children as well). Later in life, Patrick had an affair with their land agent Hugh, Sarah separated from him and ran off to America with another man, Maxwell (he's a tenant, and yes it is very complicated).

At the end of it all, Patrick turned an alcoholic, Maxwell murdered Hugh, Sarah murdered Patrick and Ned murdered Maxwell. Sarah was sent to an institution (mental).

I bought this book at a secondhand book stall in Giant. It was brown and the paper was brittle. I paid RM7 for it. What a waste of $ and time. It is really old. This book was a gift for someone named Ean back in 1976. Where was I?

Shopaholic effect - to my dad's pleasure

2005-10-11T18:07:00.000+08:00

After reading 2 Shopaholic books - Confessions of a Shopaholic and Shopaholic Ties the Knot - by Sophie Kinsella, I was horrified by the effect it had on me. I went out shopping twice after reading the books, and both times I came back home with nothing more than a Guardian bag. Okay, I forgot the time I went out with my sister and we bought a few items because they were on 70% discount.

Reading the book which was entertaining but there were many times I felt like strangling the protagonist coz she was a complete klutz and behaved like an ostrich everytime she faces a problem. The effect was scary. Everytime I visit a mall nowadays, I don't even have the urge to buy something. That of course pleases my dad very much.

I can't really say how long this unspending state will last since the Hong Kong trip is in 3 weeks and I am already thinking of the things I'm going to get there....

...and remember what peace there might be in silence.

2005-10-11T17:58:00.000+08:00

I had no access to the internet for a whole week.

Yes, it was peaceful.

It was also dreadful.

All was well until my last post a week ago. After a night-long rainstorm (a minute Katrina I suppose), to my horror, I could not establish an internet connection anymore. The phone was working fine but still, all my attempts were fruitless.

I still could not connect from home.

Campus is now an Elysian field. I never realised how dependent I was on the internet. I mean, everything works from here! I spent my week being bored out of my wits. Switching channels for hours and hardly anything worth watching.

More movies

2005-10-04T00:46:00.000+08:00

I watched A Lot Like Love starring Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet. Yeah, another cute guy and I'm a fan of good looking males. It was an ok movie but nothing spectacular. The movie is about two people who like each other but were never together beause they of their differences and timing. Of course, most stories end well, this included so they both ended up together.

The Forgotten is a crap show so don't even think of watching it. I thought it was cool about how she (Julienne Moore) remembers a son while everyone else could not but it turns out to be some alien experiment and abduction.... I mean, X-Files are so over... Taken as well.... so the alien concept absolutely ruins a rather brilliant start to the movie. Don't watch this one.

The Wedding Date

2005-10-04T00:21:00.000+08:00

This show is very enjoyable. Mainly because of Dermot Mulroney. I love that guy! He is gorgeous, and oozes sex appeal. Apparently, he's best friends with Brad Pitt (my definition of a sexy and gourgeous). Coming back to the movie, it's mainly about Kat(Debra Messing) who hired a male escort(Mulroney) to attend her sister's wedding in London because her ex-fiance is the best man. It was fun to see Mulroney and his very nice body(hehe!). The plot is light so if you're looking for a weekend movie, this sweet romance is just the thing.

Monty Python - kill me!

2005-10-03T23:55:00.000+08:00

Sometime ago, someone told me to watch Monty Python because it's hilarious and British (I'm pro-British). Until then, I've never heard of Monty Python (maybe because it's so old...I wasn't even born then!) but I found a dvd in my aunt's house recently, so I decided to watch it and see if it's really funny.
I watched Monty Python and The Holy Grail. This was made in 1975!
I really don't know what to say about it. It is both funny and lame, dry and witty, brilliant and stupid. It is so very British. But I like it very much! There are parts where you just feel like killing the actors but most of the time, I couldn't stop laughing. These guys are really cool.
Actually Monty Python are these 6 dudes (5 British, 1 American) who did a series with the BBC called Monty Python and the Flying Circus which ended before I was born.
Ancient as they are, I take my hat off to them.
Watch it!

Wear It Pink Walk For Life

2005-10-03T23:27:00.000+08:00

I followed my dad to a walk yesterday. The company he works for was involved in supporting the Wear It Pink campaign (it's for breast cancer awareness) and the Walk for Life event was the last to mark the end of a reportedly successful campaign. It was an 8km walk from Pantai Hospital all the way round Bangsar to end back at the hospital (duh!). Anyway, dad's company printed their own T-shirts for their staff participating in the walk and it was quite cool. I wore a pink sweatpants to match it (can't see in the pic though). That's dad, me and my dad's colleague from Japan, Yumeda-san.

The event was amazing. They had student nurses training in Pantai to hold poster boards, funky music, aerobics warm-up session with a pretty cool (albeit a little feminine) fitness instructor, the Minister of Health Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek all dressed up for a little sweat, and about 1000 participants (Dad's company had about 200 staff and family members). It was like a rally. Only thing missing was the chanting part. My sister suggested we should all chant "We love breast!" but perhaps that's a little over.

Dad wasn't thinking of walking all the 8km, he planned to either walk a kilometer or take a shortcut route about halfway (after living in Bangsar for more than 20 years, shortcuts can be found everywhere). So we broke off from the group after maybe 3 km and went for breakfast. So much for an early morning walk.

Midnight Thrill - ??

2005-10-01T18:14:00.000+08:00

Thursday was an eventful day. We had our university elections and I woke up in the morning specifically to cast my vote (don't ask me who I vote for). Afternoon was spent travelling to Seremban for a megarobik (it's senaman + aerobik = senamrobik, but lots of people = megarobik). Couldn't really say I enjoyed the experience; we had to wait for hours to perform in the rain. Back in KL, my friends and I decided to give go melepak somewhere, just to relax after a long day (some were involved in the elections).

We went to Leisure Mall for dinner - nice.

We bought tickets for Flightplan at 11.40 pm - nuts!

Yeah, we watched a midnight movie. I would have prefered Skeleton Key but some didn't want to watch horror, hence Flightplan it was.

I thought the show wasn't too bad. The plot (not much plot, really...but nevertheless...) was quite well-developed despite having 90% of in stuck in the plane. It had some suspense, and overall it wasn't a limp show.

I wonder why some of them fell asleep...

Fairy Tales are back in fashion!

2005-09-29T10:04:00.000+08:00

I watched the Cinderella Man starring Russell Crowe and Renee Zelwegger yesterday. Over the past 4 months, I’ve watched a series of lousy movies from trashy War of The Worlds to The Island (what was it about again?) to stupid Ring 2 (absolute waste of $) and loads of others including The Myth. I was starting to lose faith in the blockbuster industry when I decided to give it another try with the Cinderella Man (choice was this or Flightplan). I have no regrets watching it. Would have watched it again. It is brilliant.
For some boxing idiot like myself, the movie featured enough in-the-ring scenes to keep the suspense going and play up the emotions with the slow-motioned punches, but it wasn’t like a documentary of butchering (blunt style). Braddock’s struggle to keep food on the table and his young family together seemed very real.
The movie captured the essence of a family, how love and sacrifice are always a package; it was heartbreaking to see the children go hungry and fall sick, heartwarming to see their joy and gratefulness in staying together as a family. James Braddock’s story is indeed very inspiring. His endurance in the boxing ring despite his injuries and then proceeding to win the matches only reinforces the fact that with perseverance, we can achieve what we strive for.
Of course, as a medical student when I saw him take those blows at his chest, flanks, head, I was thinking to myself ‘Wow, splenic rupture, liver trauma, rib fracture, haemothorax, kidney trauma, concussion, contusion, extradural haemorrhage, etc…yada-yada-yada.’ I’m sure he suffered a great deal of injuries, but still lived until his seventies. Amazing!
Anyway, this movie is a must-watch, I recommend it to everyone planning on a movie in the near future.

The Myth – basic anatomy

2005-09-29T10:00:00.000+08:00

During the debates training camp held over the weekend, our coordinator cum trainer cum coolie aka Swee Kheng suggested we go out for a movie. Getting to Midvalley itself was a feat – 18 of us cramped into a Myvi, Kenari and Kancil (Thank God we’re slim! Well, not quite…) and braved the PJ-KL traffic on the Federal Highway to get to Midvalley. Deciding on which movie to watch wasn’t so difficult. Daddy Sweeks took the majority’s vote and we bought 18 tickets for The Myth. Jackie Chan was too difficult to resist, apparently.
Personally, I had high expectations of the show, since it has had lots of publicity, the trailer seemed very good (Terra-Cotta Warrior and picturesque scenes and sexy Mallika Sherawat dancing in very revealing tops), and well, I am a sucker for Jackie Chan stunts.

Sadly, the show was a disappointment. The acting was bad. Almost every actor put up a performance fit for the fireplace (wooden). Jackie Chan’s performance wasn’t too bad but it was rather irritating to hear him call Tony Leung ‘William’ before starting every sentence, and likewise, loads of ‘Jack’s were sprinkled like pepper throughout the show. The Korean actress (can’t remember her name)…well, gotta give her credit for the Mandarin but what a dull character. None of her parts actually brought life to the movie. Mallika Sherawat’s role, on the other hand, was very colourful. (We saw her change clothes ala Bollywood, from an orange saree by the riverside to a skimpy white tube for yoga, then a turquoise saree at the market to a firy red lenga/saree at the blink of an eye for dancing, later to be stripped off item by item at the rat glue factory where eventually, her top comes off as well, and finally, a yellow saree for her goodbye with Jackie) Give credit to the fashion designer for her display of spectacular sarees, but Mallika’s excessive fleshion show was definitely a turn-off.

Throughout the movie, I had no idea what his dreams were getting at. Bad enough I had to read the subtitles to follow the movie, I didn’t even know if he was Chinese, Korean or Japanese! Of course, my answers were answered later in the show when he brought the Concubine to the Great Wall of Chine and I thought to myself ‘Oh rite, he’s a Chinese general!’ The development of the story was rather slow, the way it skipped from past to present was confusing and pointless. I had no idea the dreams were leading to the burial place of Shih Huang Ti!

I felt that this show is an insult to the burial place of the emperor. After all these years, the fact that the emperor’s final resting place remains undiscovered only makes it more appealing and mystifying. To find the burial place in a huge cave where meteorite makes it suspended in thin air… (the scriptwriter has fantastic imagination) simply destroys the magnetism of Xi’an. Worst thing was that at the end of it all, the mausoleum crumbles into pieces, reducing glory into a heap of ruins.

And what happens to Jack? He writes a book about his adventure, and closes the chapter in his life. Huh?

All in all, it’s like what my senior/friend Ai Huey said,
‘The myth remains a myth.’

Youthful Flavours

2005-09-28T09:42:00.000+08:00

Older women with younger men, and I’m not talking about The Man From Elysian Fields. Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher got married recently. I think it’s a great match. He is gorgeous, and so is she. Surely they have great potential in making beautiful babies. So what if he is 27 and she is 42? We have seen numerous old men with young brides, and that has never been a problem.

On a personal note, majority of the cute guys I see are younger, and they are simply more interesting. I just realized that one of my younger friend looks like my old secondary school crush (now I know why I’m always looking at him). Another guy whom I know is so quiet I simply can’t stop teasing him. No, I’m not a pedophile. It so happens that these guys are interesting and fun to be with and of course, younger than me.

Just a note to all my younger friends, don’t run away from me the next time you see me. I’m not into virgins.

Freedom Fighter

2005-09-28T09:14:00.000+08:00

I watched the Iron Jawed Angels yesterday afternoon. This movie featured the plight of Alice Paul and the suffragette movement of America in early 20th century. It made me realize just how much these courageous women had sacrificed to be regarded as equals in a society dominated by men. Some died of exhaustion while campaigning for their cause, others arrested with false charges because the authority just wanted to pack them up in jail. Hunger strike in jail followed by gruesome force-feeding. It is very inspiring how these women’s perseverance earned them their liberty.

In debates, we talk about freedom and rights but we should all ask ourselves just how much we understand it. I think it’s very important that we understand such concepts because with understanding comes belief, and when we believe, we can be convincing.

So, going back to freedom and rights, most of us take our liberty for granted. We live in a democratic country (almost) and thus, have no problems in voting rights and a chance to education. Many of us are complacent because the fight was already fought, and won. Supposed if we still had to fight for democracy and equal rights, would we have been so passionate as our predecessors?

camping at PD

2005-09-28T01:06:00.000+08:00

About 2 months ago, I tagged along Aspirasi (uni's students' association) to Port Dickson for a camp. I expected lots of outdoor activities, kinda like those team-building exercises at Outward Bound School. We stayed at the Marina World Resort, a complex of apartments overlooking a bay. The view was fantastic from where I was staying (15th floor).
The weekend was spent doing nothing, quite frankly. We had a simulation session of a university elections and I quite lost with the process of registration, nomination, campaigning, etc. The great part about the camp was that I escaped the horrendous KL haze. We spent some time climbing a hill to a very old lighthouse, seeing monkeys on the way. Did some kayaking, got some tan, ate a lot of food, slept the rest of the time. Quite fun.
Marina World is a really nice place to stay. The apartment I was in had 2 rooms, a kitchen and a living area. I had a room to myself, the privacy was great and I loved the air-conditioning.

I thought I preferred the mountains, but I love the sea-breeze and the sight of iridescent water.

This place really isn't a bad place for a weekend vacation.