monkey see, monkey do

i usually don't imitate people blindly. most of us don't anyway. but yesterday, i bucked the trend.

we were at sunway pyramid & had just parked at the multistorey carpark. as i was trying to remember the section where we had parked, i saw someone else who had also just parked, take a photo of the marked pillar with a phone camera.

i immediately whipped out my phone & snapped at the pillar.

now, why didn't i think of that before?

best ribs?

tony roma's are well-known for their ribs. yesterday, we were at the sunway pyramid outlet for lunch & i have to say their trademark beef ribs looked & tasted great - so succulent, you can just bite the meat off the bone.

and it goes with 4 different sauces, barbeque & honey amongst others, to enhance its flavour.....

the portions were quite large & even though we had the standard order, we were left satiated...

we were here because we were given some vouchers & normally, the ribs would cost, at least to me, an arm & a leg. but where else can you feast on what's often regarded as the best ribs in town?

ps. this is NOT a paid post

pay rise.

so, the government has given the civil servants another pay rise.

they are all rejoicing now - praising the government for being sensitive to their needs during this difficult time. some even added it'll motivate them to be more productive.

you think?

and don't expect the private corporations or self-employed people not to do anything about it. expect your neighbourhood char kuay teow hawker to start raising his prices or reducing his portions. why should he sit still & watch while the millions on government payroll reap the benefits? then the public transport companies will raise their fares, car repairs will be more expensive, price of supermarket items will trend upwards & your salon will charge more for haircuts/perms/highlights.

it's a vicious cycle we are all caught in.

and yes, don't be surprised if your medical bills start to climb, too.

but then, this could all be just conjecture. after all, i have no training in economics.

breaking free

the SPM exams just concluded last week & my daughter got to hang out with her ex-classmates over the weekend. amidst the girl talk, they shared amongst themselves what their study plans were, or rather, what their parents have planned for them. most will move to KL/PJ to pursue A-levels/matriculation. one will go straight to UK for A-levels, another to AIMST in sg petani for science matric leading to dentistry & yet another will stay back for STPM.

so many options & they are spolit for choice. i was relieved to hear none will quit school.

although most will miss home when they further their studies, there is one particular girl who expressedly relishes the separation. she just can't wait to get away from her family. & who can blame her when her overbearing parents control every aspect of her life, even which friends to make or hang out with.

given the environment that we live in, with threats from perpetrators of crime in both the physical & virtual world, some restraint is necessary so that the kids do not wander too far from safe ground. & for parents like us, the wisdom rests in knowing where the limit lies, blur at times as it may be. too much restraint may instill a feeling of imprisonment & the child can't wait to break free; too much freedom results in not knowing where the limits are.

parenting is never easy, is it?

Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it. 
prov 22:6

stuff i didn't know about bali, but i'm ok with it anyway.

i think we were generally "ill-prepared" for this trip, in that we didn't do much detailed background reading. even though it wasn't planned with military precision, it really turned out quite nicely maybe because we took things as it came. perhaps that's how vacations are meant to be enjoyed.

(1) i had this bizarre idea of renting a car & driving, GPS-guided of course, around the island at leisure. that way, we can slowly explore most of the tourists' attractions unhurriedly. until someone told me the roads are narrow &

motorists obey traffic rules even less than those in m'sia. we therefore followed the recommendation of others to hire a guide & driver/car instead, & that turned out to be a sound idea. with a land area almost 6 times larger than penang, there is much to explore. here, the guide, Mr Dana, explains the sights as we travel in comfort in a MPV. he gave an excellent account of bali & i would strongly recommend him. incidentally, missyC gave me his contact some time back..

                               (again, notice the narrow road)

2) balinese women are no pushovers. they work hard, not only looking after the family but help out their spouses at work as well. if left without transport, they move around carrying loads on their heads.

3) the cottage industries are located at specific districts, eg. in celuk, there are numerous silverware shops along one particular road.

somewhere along a road in ubud, there too are clusters of shops displaying & selling wood/carving products.

4) besides the ubiquitous nasi goreng & satay, 2 dishes tourists scramble to savour are babi guling (suckling pig) & crispy duck. the babi guling, though a must-try dish, is certainly no match for our siew yoke (roast pork) in appearance & taste.

 the skin wasn't even crunchy. so that was a disappointment maybe because i expected more. the crispy duck is something else. it's deep-fired till you can actually chew on the bone.

oh yes, satay is served the traditional way, complete with a burning charcoal grill.

5) kintamani in north-east bali has been likened to cameron highlands in terms of altitude and climate. at 1200m above sea-level, it was a welcome reprieve from the heat of the lowlands. i even noticed some roadside stalls offering strawberries. it's here that the active volcano mt batur & it's adjacent lake is located. tourists actually trek up its peak to catch sunrise. the black-coloured earth by its sides are fertile lava spewed out during previous eruptions.

nearby is where the some of the rice terraces are located.

rice, being the staple food in the region, is grown also in the fields. here on the terraces, each farmer form part of a cooperative that shares the limited water supply & the complex irrigation system is jointly maintained so that a farmer does not block the water from flowing downward to rice terraces below his. communal living is a major issue in bali - families are closely-knit & wives are expected to look after the parents-in-law till they pass on.

6) also in kintamani, we visited a family-owned coffee plantation. the 2 varieties grown are the well-known arabica (more expensive because less caffeine content) and robusta beans. but what we really came for is the kopi luwak - coffee made from beans that had been ingested & passed out by the civet cat.

by some weird twist of fate, this product is now the most expensive coffee in the world. 

dare i try some?

 this shop assistant beckons with a cuppa & a smile......at Rp50k (about rm18) a pop. oh, what the heck, i've already had babi guling & crispy duck, one more won't hurt.

of course, to savour coffee, you have to take it as it is, unadulterated by sugar or milk. i confess that i'm no connoisseur, so to me, it didn't taste anything different from the brew from ipoh or muar. perhaps a tad sourish but it had the ooomph though. i was wide awake after that. should you be in a boutique cafe & the premium coffee you ordered tastes like s**t, you know, you could be right! anyway, i bought a box home..

so, if you're ever in the neighbourhood, give me a shout & i'd love to make you a cup of the most expensive coffee in the world. but do give me a few hours' headstart because i've got to 1st retrieve it from the safe deposit box.

**i thought i could squeeze bali in one post but looks like there'll be a sequel**

i'm a millionaire!

actually it's no big deal la!

most malaysians visiting indonesia carry with them millions of rupiahs - after all a million rupiahs exchange for about rm360.

we were on our family vacation in bali over the weekend. flying by air asia, we tried to save as much as possible by paying only for the services we needed. so, we did self check-in, ordered in-flight meals online, paid for a 20kg luggage & didn't select our seats. we thought it was a challenge to pack 4 person's clothes into one bag with a 20kg limit but we amazed ourselves that we were able to, by bringing only the necessary personal effects. (sorry, boy, you can't bring your scrabble set.) we could achieve this feat because each of us could carry a hand luggage of up to 7kg apiece.

we elected to stay at sanur (about 30min's drive from the airport) instead of the more famous kuta area, made infamous by the bomb attacks some years back. it's obvious from day 1 that balinese are deeply religious. they place burning incense in front of their businesses as offerings to the gods....

....and some have little statues of the deities as well.....

because of the deep religious beliefs, it's not surprising that major crimes in bali are few & far in between, except when committed by foreigners, like the bomb blasts of 2002 & 2005.

one item of news which you probably didn't know...last week, during the summit of east asian countries, the airport at denpasar had to be closed to prepare for the arrival of barak obama. a passenger plane that was supposed to land at 6pm had to be diverted to bandung, 860km away in java, & finally landed in bali only at 2am that nite.

talk about making a grand presidential entrance!

**next : the tour proper begins....**

L

the girl is happy as a Lark!

she just called to say she passed her undang-undang test. that sort of impressed me because she only had 2 days to read the book. so, she'll be getting her Learner's Licence soon.

she can expect to be derided as a Lembu when she holds up traffic on a single carriage way. but that's nothing new because we all went thru all that ourselves.

if she passes the driving test 1st time - now, that would reaLLy impress me. lets see if a bit of my driving skill rubs off on her.

doc's family annual vacation 2011

the year-end school vacation has started.

the girl is back home.

the family are together once again.

many years ago, we agreed we'll travel together just once a year, so that it's something to really look forward to.

you could say, it's our pot at the end of the rainbow.

we're headed to bali tomorrow.

the pot at the end of the rainbow.

the pot of gold - this was how i viewed the year-end vacation.

after a whole year's work, it's time to sit back & laze around a bit. that's how it was when i was in school.

but how time's they're a-changing.

now, there're various holiday enrichment courses to prepare students get a head start for the new year. language, sciences, maths, self-improvement, music, etc etc. so much tuition, so little time for being a child!

just last week, after the year-end exams, my son asked his schoolmate who lives in the same taman if he wants to play football on thursday. the classmate said, he can only play on sunday because his weekdays are packed with tuition, from afternoon to nite. BM group tuition, BM personal tuition, Chinese personal tuition under 2 different tutors, English personal tuition, Piano tuition under 2 different teachers. his mother is currently looking for maths & science tutors.

no wonder he seemed like a dull boy! but all that extra lessons must have had some effect as he moved up one class. the irony is that his father had, some years back, launched a tirade against all the kiasu mothers who enrolled their children in multiple tuition classes. he must have relented & decided that if you can't beat 'em, then join 'em.

in the mean time, i think that pot of gold remained elusive to the students today.

i lost it!

my temper, that is.

anticipating a long day in the OT today, i arrived on the dot & expected to start right away. i was horrified that the IV drip has not yet been set up for the patient & hence the pre-medication has also not been given. the nurse at the reception bay was nowhere to be found. i asked the other nurse at the counter where the reception nurse was & she said nurse M was in the pantry.

i marched straight to the pantry & there she was - nurse M having breakfast at 9am with a few others. i didn't hesitate to give her a mouthful & then went straight into the Sister's office to let her know my disgust - how can your staff have breakfast during working hours when the work has not been done??

naturally, Sister gave nurse M another earful. so there you are, a lousy start to a long day that got at least 3 people upset & left everyone else uneasy. i was surprised when nurse M confronted me later & accused me of humiliating her in public. although i didn't respond, it bothered me for a while & after much thought, i realised that i should have pulled nurse M to one side before reprimanding for her tidak apa attitude towards work.

in the end, i decided that although i was upset at nurse M for not doing her job, i should have handled the matter more professionally (& gentlemanly?). i managed to catch her before she completed her shift to apologise.

at least, i know that i will sleep easy tonite & tomorrow will be a new day with a new start.

BM paper 1

the SPM starts today with BM paper 1. the mention of that paper always sends chills down my spine. many years ago when i sat for that paper, i forgot to write my index number on a few answer sheets. which means, should they become detached from the front sheet, they could not be traced to me. i had nightmares of the examiner chucking them into the waste paper basket.

the fear of failure did play on my mind throughout the exams. i imagined repeating form 5, or forced to start work.

as it turned out, i got a P7 - a pass which allows passage to Form 6. those days, there weren't much choice for middle-income family like mine - studying at Taylor's (the only local private college those days) or overseas was beyond our means. and a credit in BM is required to enter Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, which would have fast-tracked to my dream career in engineering.

anyway, i sat for the supplementary BM paper in July the next year & got a C6. i jumped for  joy  & you'd think i score an A1!!

students nowadays are spoilt for choice for career paths after form 5. i wish them all the very best & hope they seize the day. 

but i wouldn't want to be in their shoes!!

it's only a numbers game la!

11.11.11

this date is over-hyped. my obstetric colleague has FIVE C-sections today to cater to some parental whims & fancies.

but one couple took it a little too far. the mother-to-be developed pregnancy-induced hypertension & had been treated for it. but as it neared 37-weeks, the blood pressure was getting out of control, hovering around 160/100, thus endangering the lives of both mother & child. my colleague recommended an early C-section on the 9th. but as you'd have guessed, both parents wanted the delivery on the 11th.

in order to satisfy the pandering & yet protect the pregnancy, the c-section was planned for 11.45pm on the 10th, so that by the time the baby is delivered, it would have been past midnite & well into the 11th.

it wasn't a moment too soon either. there was meconium staining in the amniotic fluid already, suggesting that the baby was in some degree of distress. fortunately, there wasn't any obvious damage.

however, when she (yes, it's a girl!) grows up, i wonder if she would appreciate that her parents played the numbers game & endangered her life, so she can be born on a supposed auspicious date & have a series of 1's on her myKad?

for whose benefit, i wonder?

chalk & cheese

when we have 2 of something, we just can't help but compare them; none more so than comparing our children.

one could be a fast learner, the other not so.

one more talkative & expressive, the other introverted.

one a leader, the other a follower.

the list goes on.

we've read before in nursery rhymes what little boys & girls are made of.

boys are snips & snails  & puppy dogs tails, while girls are sugar & spice & everything nice.

take the exams, for example. my son just takes things in his stride - he studies just enough to get us off his back, still wants to play & watch TV during exam week, & even if he drops to a lower class next year, life will still go on without a care. he doesn't know what stress is & if nothing else intervenes, he will definitely live to a ripe old age.

my daughter is the direct opposite. she has to complete her revision at all costs, sacrifice sleep to study, will eat when stressed, & will cry & wail if the exams don't go well.

as it is, the boy did just enough in the year-end exam to remain in the same class, while the girl is going thru a torrid time in the ongoing O-levels.

p/s. i actually wrote a similar post after the boy's midterm exams. read here.

there you are - 2 different peas from the same pod who will walk different life's paths. like chalk & cheese.

best coffee in the world

you're probably thinking arabica, vietnamese, starbucks, or even kopi luwak.

actually i care not for the expensive or exotic stuff.

a full sachet of nescafe 3-in-1 in a mug of boiling water with a measure of milk. it's the best coffee in my world because my son made it for me for breakfast this morning.

what a way to start off the day!

ps. he also made the best ice cream in the world.

angels & demons

overheard in a phone conversation:

Dr A : nurse, what time is my patient's operation scheduled for?

Nurse : 1pm

Dr A :  ok, make sure i get to operate before Dr B. after all, i booked my case before him.

Nurse :  ok

Dr A :  make sure you don't call for Dr B's patient until i've finished with mine. he can operate after office hours if he wants to. **evil laugh**

this, by the way, is not a scene from a dan brown's novel. maybe it should be retitled halloween in hospital. **more evil laugh**

dangerous sports

you'd think motorsports is dangerous. after all, 2 people were killed separately in Las Vegas & here in Sepang just last week.

you'd think competitive rugby & football are dangerous, these being contact sports.

you think bungee-jumping is dangerous, since it is invariably listed as an exclusion in accident/travel insurance policies.

what about high-jump in school?

you'd never expect this to happen but it did. this 10 year-old boy jumped & landed on his outstretched hands. being right-handed, the impact was felt on this hand & it broke 2 bones. just goes to show that you don't need to participate in dangerous sports to be injured.

i should know. my son broke the same 2 bones playing goalkeeper in a football game with his friends earlier this year.

it's time i took a break!

i suddenly woke up at 8.25am this morning. almost immediately, i jumped out of bed & called the hospital to inform i'd be late for the 8.30 start. as i was dialling the phone, i then realised it's sunday. feeling relieved, i went back to sleep again.

i reckon when it's your job you think about the 1st thing of the morning, it's time for a break. or, reappraise the priorities

as if to reinforce that notion, i inadvertently pumped RON 97 petrol at the gas station, which i've never done before.

i can't wait for the girl to return home next month for family vacation.

so, you think you're safe at 33?

you'd never expect someone who's 33 years old to have a stroke, right?

wrong.

this technician was at an office meeting when he suddenly keeled over & starting talking gibberish. he was brought to hospital & a CT scan of the brain revealed a blood clot in his brain.

while preparing for surgery, a repeat scan revealed that the clot has expanded.

the clot was successfully evacuated. he is recovering in ICU & he woke up this morning from the sedation. it was noted that his blood pressure was excessively high before surgery & this was most likely the reason for the stroke. apparently, hypertension runs in his family.

if he doesn't take care of himself, he can expect to have another stroke or even a heart attack before he reaches 40.

gives new meaning to the term life is short, doesn't it?

new breed of doctors?

my friend who lives in klang valley told me a branch of a well-known medical centre has just started in his neighbourhood. it specialises in neurosurgery, spine & cardiac surgery. so, all doctors of these disciplines have moved over from the main centre to the new site, leaving behind specialists who are brainless, spineless & heartless.

you have been forewarned.

end of the road?

this was taken from a FB page of The Alliance for an "Idiot-Free" America

i wonder if we, here in malaysia, will be in the same position when our oil wells run dry.

out of one's league

i'm a bit part player in the stock market. that means, i occasionally dabble in it & only with blue chip stocks because i don't know or haven't learned the twists & turns of a wily stock investor.

that also means i won't get extremely rich from a bull run. more importantly, i won't be impoverished with the downturn.

i'm cautious mainly because i'm using my own hard-earned money.

unlike the GLCs who are spending money as if it grows on trees. take Proton for example. remember they bought the italian motorcycle company MV Augusta in 2005 for 70m euros, then sold it off a year later, without producing a single bike, for a token sum of 1 euro? yes, FIVE ringgit! the irony is that the company that bought it for 1 euro reportedly sold part of it to BMW for a reported 93m euros, & the remainder to Harley-Davidson for 109m euros.

& it was reported today that proton may sell part of the loss-making Lotus. seems like nothing Proton touches turns to gold. other than benefitting the manufacturers & the downliners, i don't think Proton did justice to the motoring public by mass-producing affordable cars. it's only affordable because the other cars were slapped with high import/excise/sales taxes.

perhaps car manufacturing is out of our league. or, we should only let competent people manage & turn the company around, like how they did for Air Asia & SP Setia.

most eligible bachelor

bachelor may not be the appropriate description because my colleague is recently divorced. his was supposed to be the happy-ending genre - 2 doctors who married & went on to specialist training. he qualified & went into private practice while she qualified & was sent overseas for further training. they were supposed to start a family when she returned.

but she didn't.

she found life away from home to her liking, so much so that after the supposed 1-year training, she found herself another job & just continued working. it's been over 2 years since she left, so after many (failed) attempts at reconciliation, he gave up & filed for divorce. the papers just came through.

word spread fast, not so much the doomed marriage as a 40-something medical specialist with a flourishing private practice now available for suitors of the romantic kind. he has the temperament & character that would make any propective in-laws sit up & take notice.

already i can see 2 families making moves to catch his attention. he may want a break after the trauma of the divorce but he's just too nice a guy to remain single - he needs someone to share his affection &...er...wealth.

but here's the catch. he attends church & if he adheres to church beliefs, he can't marry without being branded as an adulterer, no less.

"I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”  matt 19:9

i don't know how this will pan out as we all watch with anticipation.

exam fever....& why you can't give up!

yes, it's that dreadful time of the year again...for anxious students & their super-over-anxious parents.

i'd be lying if i say i'm not concerned for my daughter whose exams start in 2 weeks. having gone thru my fair share of tests & assessments from age 7 till 36 (!!), i think i may have figured out the twists & turns of exams.

1st, you're not competing against one another but rather against the system. as long as you achieve certain marks, you'll pass or score an A. yes, the examiners plot a curve & then decide on the cut-off points, but these points don't change much from year to year. if the exam is exceptionally difficult, as what my friend said about the PMR BM paper yesterday, most people will find it difficult, so the points will be lowered accordingly. i overheard my teacher friend said the standard of SPM Add Maths is so bad, the passing mark is 20%!!

so, it's actually in the students' interest that they have group studies/discussions & share with each other what topics they think are more important. that's called spotting questions & i believe this term still apply these days. my friends & i used to spot, in the sense that we've covered most exam topics & then we decide, based on previous years' questions, which are likely to be ask that particular year, so we can emphasise on those topics & hope to score should it be asked. but you have to have covered MOST topics, if not all. of course, when you haven't & are desparate, you'd also spot questions but i call this gambling with your future!

2nd, most students would have diligently prepared months before the exams & no one will ever admit they've completely covered the whole syllabus. even so, i'm quite obssessive about making sure the other preparations are in place, eg. full complement of pens, pencils, rulers & erasers, identity card, hankerchief (to wipe the sweat from forehead & palms) & watch/clock. after all, the revision is already in the head & there's not much more you can do about that, but you don't want to be rattled because of a oversight, eg. don't forget fresh calculator batteries!

3rd, don't forget to pray. doesn't matter which religion you embrace, you still need the confidence that a Supreme Being is on your side. especially when all else fail, when you're staring at a question & don't know how & where to begin, or when you're facing an essay question with no points in your blanked-out mind. when you're in dire straits & the sinking feeling is overwhelming, your last hope will be to call out, pray, exhort, chant or just mumble. you don't know Who's listening & Who's going to give you enlightenment. besides, you have nothing to lose.

fast-forward a few months, & when the results are announced, if you scored, then congratulations are in order. otherwise, don't fret that you didn't achieve your target. yeah, i know, your parents are disappointed & you're frustrated & the whole world seems to be against you. your friends have moved forward but you're sort of stuck in a rut.

who's to know what the divine plan is for you? is it for you to take a detour from your desired career path？or, should you start back at square #1 & start your journey all over again, hopefully be better equipped the next time?

after 30 years of sitting for exams, i've been thru it all - success, disappointment AND outright failure. the battle scars tell of the detour & square #1 tales. & more.

that's why i dare tell you - don't give up because it ain't over till the fat lady sings!

love transcends all

now that the dreaded ghost month is over, expect a lot of happy occasions, like marriages, house-warming, etc to take place.

2 nurses are tying the knot soon. theirs & the grooms' families seemed happy.

a friend's daughter will also be getting hitched but the parents aren't too pleased because this one needs to transcend racial & religious boundaries. it's never happened in the family before so it came as a shock when we found out about it.

but the girl is a matured adult, trained in a top UK university & holding a decent corporate job, so presumably she's well aware of the implications of her decision.

circumstances like this often remind me of Samson who chose to marry a Philistine girl, even after his parents questioned his choice.

sometimes life just don't turn out the way we envisioned but that doesn't mean it's all bad. make lemonade, we're urged. make do with what we already have & build on that.

after all, we're also told, of faith, hope & love - the greatest is still love.

happy wedded bliss, everyone!

playing for God

being able to play music is a gift.

from God, no less.

if kids can be encouraged to play for God, then i think they may just appreciate this gift. so everytime care group is held at my place, we get the kids to play when we worship.

we look forward to their playing for the church when they are older.

holding hands

kids hold each other's hands in friendship。

kids hold their parents' hands for guidance。

couples hold each other's hands in love。

protesters hold each other's hands for solidarity.

so, can i say a patient would hold the doctor's hand for comfort?

bali

t hat's where we'll be spending our annual family vacation this year end.

but we have absolutely no idea where to stay & what to visit, so any tips/pointers would be very much appreciated.

TQ.

safety on the highway

Q: what do you do when you are involved in a minor accident on the highway?

A : once the car is "safely" parked on the hard shoulder, get everyone out & stay clear of the car!!

this guy had a minor accident on the NSE, & as he was trying to retrieve something from the boot of the car, a van hit him.

he's very fortunate to be still alive, except for a disfigured face & badly broken leg.

total duration of surgery =  5 hours

future procedure = at least one more surgery, on the foot

time before he can walk unaided =  3 months +

estimated hospital bill = currently RM20K+

good thing he has insurance cover!

PS. i personally don't think the hard shoulder is a safe place to park. if i had a puncture on the highway, my safest option is to get the PLUS guys to change tyres for me.

slip-shod puncture repair?

it was a nail with a large flat head embedded in the tyre. what's odd was that the tyre wasn't flat even though i hadn't driven the car for almost 24 hours & it was by chance that i noticed it, because of the large prominent head.

the neighbourhood tyre shop was closed today, so i drove to the next one that was open. i was rather surprised that the guy didn't even removed the tyre from the rim. he just pulled out the nail, pushed in a black tarry plug & inflated the tyre to check for leaks.

this is the 1st time i've seen it done this way. previously, at the other shops, the guy would remove the tyre from the rim, pull the nail out, insert the tarry plug thru the puncture, then paint the inner surface of the tyre with some glue. even at the last puncture, the guy offered me either the "standard" repair like what i just described, or a "superior" repair. in the superior repair, the repair plug is shaped like an umbrella, in contrast to being just tubular...

the flat part being positioned flush against the inner tyre wall, thereby improving the seal. this costs RM12, in contrast to the RM5 standard repair. i read somewhere that if the guy doesn't inspect the inner wall of the tyre, he has not ascertain the true extent of damage to the tyre. in a way like a doctor who prescribes cough medicine without at least listening to the chest with a stethoscope.

based on what i saw today, like an unsatisfied patient, i'll be going back to my regular tyre shop for a 2nd opinion.

a new world order

the miss universe pageants are more often than not won by fair maidens from the americas or europe. this year, miss angola (where?) won it.

the world no.1 in men's tennis has been traditionally an american, swede, german, spaniard or swiss. this year, it's a serbian. (where?)

the men's sprint king(s) are usually americans. this year, the jamaicans are the stars.

the F1 has been dominated previously by ferrari, mclaren or mercedes but not anymore. red bull is actually a drink.

the world, encompassing sports & politics, is evolving. people from lesser known countries are gaining prominence. is it in the genes, diet, upbringing, training methods, political systems or climate that determines winners?

the only malaysian sports personality that has consistently gain international attention (for the right reasons, mind you!) is nicole david, & to a certain extent, lee chong wei. after millions poured into sports by the govt plus mega-bucks private sponsors, what has our sportsmen/women achieved on the global arena?

doubles pair koo kien keat-tan boon heong says it all. after 5 years, they have chosen to part company with coach rexy manaiky. when you have an illustrious ex-world champion as coach, & you chose to train under an unknown to revive your flagging careers, you know you're done & toasted. (read here) better hang up your rackets and/or have your heads examined than embarass the country.

perhaps i wrote in haste. after all, who would have thought miss angola could be miss universe & a serb could be triple grand slam winner?

and, america never had a afro-american as president until recently. in the same vein, is it possible USA can win the rugby world cup currently playing in auckland? after all, how much different is american football?

well, let's see if koo-tan could be part of a new world order.

Awesome

that seems to be the buzz word amongst teens these days. don't know how it came about but it's definitely here to stay. it's suppose to imply something commendable, like clever, helpful, hardworking, witty, resolute or even compassionate. so, perhaps instead of conveying the actual virtue, youths just use "awesome" to cover all bases.

my daughter's class is no different. when they had to design their class t-shirt this year, they came up with this....

i just rolled up my eyes & shook my head.

she is in Sec 4I, hence the play on "Four I." her schoolmates in Sec 4S, though also lacking in originality, at least are slightly more creative. their T-shirt reads: " May the Four(S) be with you." force, get it?

anyway, she's just gone back to school after a week's break. she has expressed some regret leaving home to study in s'pore, when her ex-classmates back here are having a relatively easier time. i guess she missed the camaraderie of old.

occasionally, i do emphatise with her - living with room-mates, each with their whims & fancies, taking bus to school, eating boarding school food & restricted by hostel rules & regulations, for someone who has, before this, only known the comfort of home. 

but then, how else do we test our resolve & determination in facing life ahead?

These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. 1 Pet 1:7

& how else shall i describe her, having to go thru the trials & bearing up with them?

perhaps this is why the word "awesome" exists.

universal studios - how to cut costs

we are malaysians. when we travel to a country like s'pore, we behave like cheapskates become cost-conscious & try to reduce expenditure because of the unfavourable exchange rate. this was what we did when we visited universal studios during the raya break：

1) save on accomodation : be thick-skinned & stay with a friend/relative. no point having friends & relatives if you can't impose! however, soften the burden for them by buying them at least a meal during the stay.

2) save on tickets : go on non-peak days where each ticket is SGD4 cheaper for both adults & children. better still book online, so you don't need to queue to buy tickets. these tickets are valid for 180 days from the date of intended visit. get 20% off if you use your mastercard to purchase.

3) save on food/drinks : although you are allowed to bring in only drinking water, don't fret. there are plenty of drinking fountains within the park where you can replenish. since the ticket allows you multiple entry on the same day, check out the two 7-11 stores just outside the entry/exit gates. you can get a good variety of sandwiches/ puffs & drinks. really, you're not thinking of having a full meal, right? unless you want to throw up during one of those rollercoaster rides.

4) save on souvenirs : they're all the same wherever you go, right? made in china but you pay for the franchise name. choose well, because they're most likely to be chucked one side when you get home.

5) there's a VIP express ticket you can buy for an additional SGD30 (on top of your regular ticket price). this allows you to go to the front of the queue for any ride. so, if you're planning to buy a 2-day ticket on account of the long queues, this is a cheaper option if you can only spend one day at the park.

so, despite the crowd, despite having to queue for up to an hour for certain rides....

the boy thoroughly enjoyed himself. me? i'm just glad to give him this opportunity to relate to his friends who have been here before.

he even had the chance to participate in the intro of the waterworld show...

these people who helmed the show are obviously pros & the dangerous stunts were well-choreographed.....

finally, one last stand before departure - holding up his sole souvenir, a unique drinking bottle shaped like an elongated hour-glass..

PS. we went on a s'pore school day, the tickets were purchased with mastercard, we had a light lunch at 7-11 & we stayed at my brother's in yishun. check out their website when planning your trip.

travel smart

this 72-yr-old indonesian lady was on vacation when she tripped & fell, breaking her hip bone. surgery was carried out the same day she was admitted.

now, she needs to rest & rehabilitate. she can't bear weight on the affected leg for 6 weeks, which means she'll need either crutches or a wheel-chair. that probably means she can't fly home using low-cost terminals that don't utilise sky-bridges; getting into the plane on crutches or on a wheel-chair would not be possible.

and, before all that, there's still the hospital bill to contend with.

herein lies the problem. she doesn't have travel insurance. which means, she has to foot the hospital bill, buy a new (full fare) plane ticket & everything else in between, eg. hotel accomodation on discharge. as i explained the logistics of the transfer out of hospital after discharge, i could see the pained grimace on her face.

a lot of these hassles would have been taken care of had she bought travel insurance. for only a small fee (eg. rm50 for asia for up to 10 days coverage) the cost of any medical expenses, lost luggage, missed or cancelled flights would be compensated by the insurer. that's a small price to pay for peace of mind, considering if say, you've paid rm3k+ for a skiing vacation to korea.

this lady's additional expenses for the mishap would easily amount to rm10k.

so near, & yet.....

we went down to visit the girl who just finished her Prelims (aka trial exams). we were in vivo city where the boy usually ask to ride on the sentosa express. we've not been on the express for some time, so he was thrilled when there was a stop for universal studios. we got off this stop just to check out the theme park.

of course, he couldn't help posing. & i think he was salivating, too...

i would too, if i were a kid!

PS. universal studios wasn't in our plans for this trip, but it could be in a future trip.

transferring out

we do that quite often.

that is, transferring patients, invariably from the ICU, to a public hospital. sometimes, the patients are doing well except that the bill is getting to be a burden for the family. but more often than not, the patients aren't doing well; remaining in the ICU with no obvious light seen in the proverbial tunnel & with a big hole burning in the pocket, moving to a public hospital is the only way out.

also we have a situation here that is far from satisfactory. there are 4 neurosurgeons in the state & all of them are in private practice. so, if there are patients with serious head injury but who cannot afford the exorbitant private hospital bill, they get the initial immediate treatment at the local emergency department but will need to make the 100km+ journey to a neighbouring state for definitive neurosurgical management. all that delay will not improve functional or survival outcome for such patients.

so, it is with some sadness that we had to transfer out one such person yesterday. he had emergency brain surgery done & was not recovering well. staying in the ICU has been taxing on the family finances & after 10 days, they have no choice but to move to a public hospital in another state.

if only there were a neurosurgeon at the local hospital, the initial surgery & subsequent rehabilitation would have been done at an affordable cost. at least, the average man on the street would have been given a better chance at survival.

so, in this respect, it's easy for me to see why people harbour so much disdain for submarines, national service programs, overseas study trips & 100-storey towers. what good is all that when their right to proper medical care is eroded by the day.

fakes

i heard this on the radio on the way to work, that imitation iPhone 5s are readily available in China now, even as Apple has yet to officially sell the phones. not at all surprising since even fake Apple & Ikea stores have been reported to operate there as well. read here & here.

before we shake our heads & go tsk-tsk at the Chinese, we have our own claim to infamy as well, like fake DVDs of movies that aren't even officially released yet. don't forget we have fake people as well, like bogus taxi & bus drivers who attack female passengers, bogus doctors who are actually medical assistants or med school dropouts, & bogus engineers who build leaking roofs & cracked support beams, just to name a few.

but i think the biggest fakes are the bogus politicians who do not look after the rakyat's interest. they make policies that don't benefit anyone except select groups - they roll out unity programs that disunite the various communities, build aesthetic but non-functional megastructures instead of schools & hospitals, & train undergraduates who are largely unemployable.

& in these difficult times, they prod us into austerity drive while they splurge.

this is the usual fate of seized fake dvds.....

if only those uniformed fellas show equal conviction with fake politicians.

Déjà vu

i was in a "flash-back" situation today.

this young lady was due to have a caesarean section at a private maternity home yesterday in another state. unfortunately, the anaesthetic was unsucessfully administered & the surgery had to be cancelled. she was subsequently referred to this medical centre for further management.

as i spoke to her, the memories of those early days came flooding back - when, as a trainee specialist, i used to go around doing locums at various GP clinics & maternity homes. it was hard work but the tax-free income lucrative - one session done on a day-off would cover a whole month's room rental, & then some.

the obstetrician assistant at that maternity home must have been a junior trainee, like i was many years ago. the arrangement was a win-win situation - the obstetrician pays below-market rate for the assistant, who would be more than happy to supplement the income from the day job.

except when something unexpected like this happens.

anyway, for today, we are just glad to help in the safe delivery of a healthy bouncing boy!

panacea

he's only 48 years old. yet, he's had diabetes & hypertension for over 10 years! last year, he had chest pain & an angiogram showed he has 4-vessel heart disease. he subsequently had angioplasty with stenting to the diseased vessels. now, he's on a total of 7 different tablets - 2 each for diabetes, hypertension & blood-thinning & 1 for cholesterol.

but i don't think he's duly worried because since the angioplasty last year, he's put on another 20kg!! after minor surgery today, he was panting & gasping for breath - symptoms pointing to poor cardiorespiratory health.

i dread to think what might happen after MAJOR surgery. but if he's not careful, he might not live long enough for another surgery. i suspect part of his indiscretion is that his employer is footing his medical bills & he probably has the misconception that as long as he faithfully takes his pills, all will be well irrespective of his undisciplined lifestyle. like a panacea.

in the brief period of time that i spoke with him, i explained that his diabetes, hypertension & obesity all add to the risks to his life & outcomes include a heart attack, stroke or even sudden death. how he deals with this information is entirely up to him.

if i meet him again, i'll post an update.

haematemesis

that's the medical term for vomitting blood.

no, none of my patients is suffering from this, thank goodness! but that was how i felt today. the hokkiens call this feeling "thor huek."

if you've been warded in a hospital, you'd know when things don't go right. they dish out porridge when you ordered western, the medications are served hours late, or worse, omitted altogether, or they have to repeat a test because they didn't do it properly the 1st time. and, your doctor still doesn't know what's wrong with you.

these little glitches become magnified in critical areas like the ICU, operation theaters or emergency department, where a error of judgement, however slight, can make a difference between life & death.

i had the misfortune of being in that position today. the patient was seriously ill but the senior nurse attending to the patient with me was totally out of sync with the situation - not thinking, not pro-active & certainly not competent. i had to give explicit instruction every step of the way & this was a senior nurse who teaches other nurses the tricks of the trade.

i'm just glad i don't have to throw up do this too often. 

oh no! another turnaround?

we are really going nowhere!

after all the flip-flops, are we re-visiting the issue of the teaching of english again? DPM & minister for education just directed the DG to re-evaluate this issue, after discovering that students up to the level of tertiary education are not able to communicate comfortably in english.

no one's actually surprise - the rot started from 1970 & except for a brief reprieve from 2003 till 2009, english has been on a slippery slope.

or, could this be an election ploy? either way, a generation & a half of students have suffered the ignominy of inability to read, write & speak the international language of science & commerce.

nothing short of a strong political will can reverse this.

the 7 blunders

The seven blunders of the world was a list Mahatma Gandhi reportedly gave to his grandson Arun Gandhi, written on a piece of paper, on their final day together, not too long before his assassination. In his final years, the elder Gandhi kept his grandson close at hand and set aside an hour everyday to be alone with the boy.


1 WEALTH WITHOUT WORK


2. PLEASURE WITHOUT CONSCIENCE


3. KNOWLEDGE WITHOUT CHARACTER


4. COMMERCE WITHOUT MORALITY


5. SCIENCE WITHOUT HUMANITY


6 WORSHIP WITHOUT SACRIFICE


7. POLITICS WITHOUT PRINCIPLE


makes a lot of sense, don't they? how many of the above do you think apply to our country?