just a phone call.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

hell on earth

 

on some days, work feels like this....

advice from an anonymous doctor....

 

 

exotic restaurants

 

 

godfather

that's the guy who makes you an offer you can't refuse.

i met one today......at Popular.

the hardcover copy priced originally at rm87.90 is going for a song at rm20.00!!

isn't that one offer you too can't refuse??

(or, maybe the Big Bad Wolf can come up with a better offer?)

a little ME time

i was in the Big City over the weekend all by myself. ok, not exactly all alone because it was a medical conference & some of these meetings served more as a social event than for discovering advances in medicine.

usually the family accompanies me on trips like these because we hardly come to the Big City. this time, free of any constraint, i managed to explore a little more of the city.

one thing's for sure - it doesn't sleep on weekends. mamak shops/stalls thrive because people meet & eat round the clock. and the double & triple parking after office hours is legendary.

also, the high cost of living isn't a big issue for some people. i had dinner with an ex-classmate at a restaurant & he suggested a set dinner at rm58++ per pax. i baulked at the price but he didn't even bat an eyelid. back at the kampong where i live, people only pay price this for 8-course wedding dinners. i intentionally chewed on the meal slowly & swallowed cautiously to savour the moment!

ah yes, also managed to meet up & have coffee & cake with a FB friend.

it's so cliché but true - home is where the heart is. after 3 days, i missed the rm3 lunch, toll-free roads & ample free parking in the kampong.

ah....it's good to touch the green, green grass of home!

superstition is here to stay...

i ought to be more careful with my choice of words.....

me : ok, we've arranged for your surgery to be done asap. it's time to go now.

patient : doctor, don't say, "it's time to go."

that's when i realised my mistake. for the superstitious traditionalist, "time to go" means going to one's death & that's a no-no, even though the ghost month (when the spirits are released from hell) officially ended yesterday.

i promptly apologised & rephrased that the nurse will send her to the OT soon.

and the surgery went thru smoothly.

phew!!

just the wrong place......

it was a tragedy that the Air Asia exec was knocked down by a car driven by a Good Samaritan trying to help save her from robbers. if only she had been a little further from where she was, the robbers may have been seriously injured instaed.

same with this guy. he was eagerly awaiting the for fireworks as the countdown to Merdeka began. however, instead of shooting off skywards, the fireworks went straight towards his direction instead.
he suffered some minor burns & cuts on his face close to his right eye. his vision was fortunately not affected.

if only he had stood a few feet away in a different position, he may have avoided injury altogether.

sometimes, our own negligence causes accidents to ourselves or to others. at other times, we have no control over things that happen to us.

may God watch over & protect us always!

patients can make or destroy you.

if you have treated a patient well, he/she may tell his/her circle of friends & thereby improve your referral rate.

conversely, the patient may also speak badly about you & the reverse occurs.

this actually happened & could have been a back-fire....

patient (speaking aloud) : doctor, doctor! you remember you operated on my mother 3 years ago? she died la!

doctor : ????

(later, the said patient went on to clarify that the operation was successful but her mother eventually died of old age)

fortunately, the conversation did not take place in a crowded clinic room or else the doctor's reputation would have been tarnished, though of no fault of the doctor.

botox, anyone?

many, myself included, believed that the best milk are produced in new zealand. maybe it's true, maybe it's just persuasive advertising, but trusted names like fernleaf, anchor & danone have strong following worldwide.

suddenly, in the wake of the botulism scare, china, the largest importer of new zealand milk, has ordered a recall of the latter's milk products. in 2008, tragedy struck china's milk industry when tainted milk killed 6 infants & made many more sick.

botulinum toxin, produced by the bacteria Clostridium, poisons the nerves, causes paralysis & can be fatal. the irony is that doctors are injecting people with this toxin (even the label on the bottle said so)......

 ......though in small, controlled doses, so that the recipients may loose their wrinkles, frowns lines & crow feet.

 

medicine, like most things in life, dictates that too much of a thing can't be that good, eg. sugar, salt, cholesterol. the other classical example is vaccines. these are watered-down versions of the actual viruses, that in their original forms, causes diseases like polio, measles & tetanus.

 

so, if you're thinking of having botox, just imagine that you're getting a toxin injected into you & that's just to look good.

 

is it really worth it?

 

But the fruit of the Spirit is ............ temperance: against such there is no law. (gal 5:22, KJV)

was i just plain mean?

i enjoy talking to medical reps. they are generally nice people - they have to be if they want to sell stuff.

i tried selling things when i was in school to earn some pocket money but wasn't good at it. i realised it takes a certain personality & lots of dogged perseverance to make a success of of it, so i often give these med reps some time to promote their stuff. some are interesting to talk to, some are time-wasters while a small minority are just plain eye-candies.

so, i was a bit busy yesterday (manic monday??) when this rep came around. because i had things to settle, it was about 10 mins before i could see her. i imagine some have to wait for hours at the clinics. when i went out to the reception area, she was nowhere to be found. not a word nor an sms to tell me where she was.

yeah, i became the big bad wolf & huffed & puffed.

i then went back to doing things but not before sending an sms to her to express my displeasure at the disappearance. she replied asking if she could wait for me then, but i told her i'm not seeing her. period.

i did feel little bad after that. it's days like this one makes me mull & ruminate & reflect on myself.

yeah, i'd like to blame it on manic Monday but that excuse is as water-tied as the sinking titanic.

i was just plain mean, wasn't i?

big bad wolf perhaps?

1994

a non-descript year but a great one to be born in.

because if you follow the malaysian school system, you'd be sitting for the SPM in 2011. and because the govt was dragging its feet on GE13, it made a few promises to students who do well in the exams. it also introduced the "bursary" which i initially thought was just an allowance to help part-pay tuition fees at private colleges.

as it turned out, it was a windfall beyond anyone's wildest & optimistic imagination. this bursary covered all tuition fees & accommodation for students doing A-levels at private  colleges. for those who entered the matriculation programs & excelled, it also covered tuition fees when they entered varsity.

i know this because 3 of my daughter's sec school classmates are now eagerly waiting to do medicine at newcastle university medicine malaysia in sept, fully paid for by courtesy of the govt's election promise.

before anyone thinks this a freebie, let me also emphasise that there's a minimum 8A* requirement for SPM as well as acceptance into the chosen university for this bursary to be awarded.

looking forward, if GE14 is held around 2018, i would imagine those born in 1999/2000 may be  in line for some substantial academic rewards.

but only if there is any money left.

:P

not poker-faced

the worried father asked me if Dr S is a good doctor as his daughter was about to undergo surgery. as far as I know, there are no bad doctors, only irresponsible or unethical ones.

so, i told him that his daughter would be fine. (note: i didn't reply directly to his query) somehow, i could see that he wasn't convinced because he could sense that i myself didn't sound very convincing.

the words may mean one thing but the body language said otherwise.

i definitely can't play poker to save my life but in this case, the "gamble" paid off as the surgery was a success.

DIL

how else to explain this?

another sms from the daughter....

me : isn't the passport with you? (how did you leave the country without it...duhh!)

she : oh yeah, what was i thinking?

me : not about your studies, i would think!!!

DIL is the acronym for Dangerously Ill List & relatives of critically ill patients are asked to acknowledge this in writing.

it's also applied to young people caught up in throes of teenage emotions where it stands for....

Deeply In Love.

life as an electric current

i was amused when my daughter sent me this sms recently....

the exchange went like this....

me: why?

she : because i take the path of least resistance.

me : AC or DC?

she : AC

me : why?

she : because i'm so indecisive.

i just love it when she talks physics with me......except that it's not her favourite subject.

how mandela went against racial supremacy....

 

ala Gandhi's passive resistance??

**image source**

a million tear-drops....

I see it ever so often, esp in ICU......

patient dies.....

the family gathers around......

shedding tears.....

a million of them.....

it's like a grand send-off.....

but yet, they are imploring that the dear & beloved remains a tad longer....

but the ECG doesn't lie.....

people show emotions in different ways & in varying degrees.....

when my father passed away, i just shed a tear......

maybe two......

now, it makes me wonder how many drops of tears will flow for me.....

if any.

what goes around, comes around....

when you give love...........

you get a return a hundredfold more!

1978 - kathleen & helen

i actually kept this diary, amongst many others, all these years, recording everyday events in those formative years. as I flipped thru the pages, a flood of wonderful memories was relived in my mind - of teenage angst & emotions.

Kathleen was the quintessential girl-next-door. well actually, in the next taman but she might as well be next door because in the months after 6th form, we spent a lot to time together. she was a year younger & preparing for 6th form, so I helped her out a lot. her family more or less accepted that i'm a regular fixture in her life & I just went with the flow. we talked of everything except THAT.

I knew she was planning to go to Taylor's in KL & then to Canada thereafter for further studies. what I didn't anticipate was when she appeared unexpectedly at my place one day to tell me that she's off to Canada. I wasn't at home - those days, even a fixed-line phone was considered a luxury of sorts. so, she wrote me this brief note.....

 

we wrote to each other for a while but eventually lost contact. so, even as I read thru these events of 1978, I do wonder what became of her. is she still in Toronto? did she marry the tall, dark handsome guy of her dreams? many years later, i went to her old house but the whole family has moved. much as I missed her, someone else came into my life that year - & made an immediate impact - in the most unlikely of places.

 

I met Helen in church but that's another story for another post.

when "positive" is not positive news....

HIV positive...

HBsAg positive.....

TPHA positive......

RF positive....

ANA positive.......

CA 125 positive.....

AFP positive......

positively NOT positive news.....

what God gives, He takes.

the boy celebrated his 11th birthday on friday (actual date today). i know for sure he likes nothing better than to have his clique to share with. this group grew up together in the same neighbourhood, attends the same church & goes to the same school. presumably they'll be BFFs in due time.

coincidentally, the obstetricians listed 4 patients for C-section today. my thoughts went to the boy because these babies will share the same birthday with him. although all four were successfully delivered, one inexplicably suffered a respiratory problem soon after birth & eventually succumbed. imagine - one moment the kid was crying the lungs out & then suddenly, the breathing stopped. one moment, there was life & the next, there was none.

it did put a damper on my day but some things are just beyond human comprehension.

to the 3 lovely babies borned today, I wish you well & pray you'd grow up to be useful citizens & make your parents proud.

to the 4th, may your soul rest in peace for you are in a better place now. amen.

UBAH?

 

and i'm pleased he's looking forward to GE15 (in 2023?)......he too wants to make a change.

we agree!

for once, Mr PM, we agree.............

 

but will you graciously embrace it???

how to please the auntie....

i was talking to this 76-yr-old lady & her family before surgery & as I asked her to sign the consent form, she confessed that she can't write well because she's uneducated.

without thinking, i just replied that she's already has many children & grandchildren, & being surrounded by her loved ones is the happiest moment in one's life.

she thanked me profusely for saying that & that's when i learned that a little common courtesy can go a long way....

falling like flies.....

last week, Dr T, whom I remember fondly as a lecturer in med school & who had kindly excised a lump on my forearm when I was a student, passed on after a prolong illness that was refractory to even the strongest antibiotics.....

this week, Dr B ingested weed killer & succumbed to its effects.....

this morning, my colleague Dr K suddenly passed on from a longstanding tumour....

people say doctors play God with the lives of others but i'd like to reassure everyone that nobody, least of all medics, can ever defy the laws of nature. with medical advances, we can stave off severe infections, bouts of depression or cancers but for a brief moment, in a feeble attempt to prolong our stay on earth but it's a matter of time before we meet the Creator.

the Wise Man said:

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

 a time to be born and a time to die.

 

rest in peace, my brothers.

 

 

change of heart?

already in her 4th year of study in The Little Red Dot, the girl has always been lamenting about having to study extra hard - her own  perception as she compared with her ex-classmates who are doing A-levels or matriculation back home.

i do sympathise with her but that's the way it goes down south. it has always been cooker-pressure type of environment in school as the neighbour continues to strive to be the best there is. so, i've always reassured her that once she's finished this year, i'll let her choose the varsity where she intends to pursue higher studies.

her inclination so far has been either to australia or UK. so, it came as a surprise to me when i received this sms:

WHAT??

she wants to go thru all that perceived torture for undergrad studies? for a further FOUR years, at least?

this is my reply:

i have always suspected that there's a guy involved everytime she does something totally out of her own character, although so far, she has denied it each time.

ah, puppy love & crushes & all things nice.....

(sigh!)

the girl has much to learn.....!

note:
* a = grade A
* pw = project work, a requirement for entry into varsity.

getting away with murder.

i meant this figuratively.

you know, like how some drivers behave recklessly behind the wheel & yet are not involved in accidents, which is unlikely.....

like how people continue to loot but are never caught, which is happening.....

or, like how some people indiscriminately eat all & sundry, yet are not over-weight or have normal cholesterol level, & i know one such person......

like this 70-yr-old guy who has been smoking 6 packs of cigarettes (120 sticks!!) a day for over FORTY YEARS (!!)& looks fit as a fiddle!!

except for a small area of the lower left lung which was infected, he was none the worse for it. the surgical procedure went thru smoothly.

no one knows why there are people who don't smoke but get lung cancer, yet this fortunate man who smokes like a chimney is living past 7 decades.

to me, i thought that's LIKE getting away with murder ....but i suppose there are also people who actually commit murder & actually get away with it.....!!

the day after.....

knives were wielded & the face-off was tense. however, the arrogant but unprepared backed off in time. bloodshed has been avoided but still, there were heavy casualties on one side.

naturally, an expected outcome when one held 7 knives while his comrade, 12. the losing side came unarmed & therefore suffered ignominy.

is this a military uprising?

or, political manoeuvring?


nah.....it's only a doctors' annual general meeting.

note: knife = proxy

when it's not good to be a nurse....

the firemen have it.....

the postmen have it.....

so, it defies belief that nurses & staff employed at a private medical centre do not have medical insurance coverage.

the admin people go around begging requesting doctors to give generous discounts when the staff seek medical consultation & procedures, while the hospital impose their own charges with impunity. previously, all were covered under a group insurance plan.

& to think this is a public listed company......

what cheapskate employers!!

when kids grow up......

 

 

 

that's why kids are so endearing....they ask for permission first. but now it makes me wonder - at which stage of growing up did they lose the plot?????

hand of God

this term was made (in)famous when diego maradona was asked how he score the goal against england in a world cup semi-final match in 1986. he said : "......a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God".  argentina knocked out england & went on to win the world cup.

i have formed my own ideas about what the real hand of God would look like, eg. hands that pray, comfort or heal. and, it was rather timely that this patient reminded me, esp in the coming easter season, that God's hands were also nailed to the cross.

this workman had been careless while hammering but i still can't believe this could actually happened. the offending nail was promptly removed with local anaesthesia & he was discharged the next day.

however, this image will always be etched in my mind, & i will be reminded every time easter comes along.

a picture is worth a thousand words.

 

 

finally....peace in the Galaxy

Yoda and a stormtrooper settle their differences.......

 

 

 

.......well almost!

*thanks, AB, for the image*

sound advice

you know who they send to make the sales pitch?

i was just browsing around a property launch today & this lady attended to me. she has a chest like mariah carey's, legs up to her neck, a most disarming smile, the personality of a TV show host AND a law degree to match.

i'm extremely glad i took A's advice & left the cheque book at home.

God loves me

this was a 16-yr-old cyclist who was hit by a car. he knocked into a sign-post & complained of abdominal pain. he was seen at the district hospital, was told no serious injury was evident & was subsequently discharged.

as the abdominal pain persisted, he came today & i happened to be on-call. A CT scan of the abdomen (not done in the previous hospital) showed abnormal air collection. this is diagnostic of a rupture of a bowel.

during surgery, a part of the small bowel was found to be crushed & air was leaking from it. this portion was resected & the bowel rejoined.

he should have complete recovery from the injury.

i remember years ago when i attempted pole vaulting in the garden at home. i was about 11 or 12 then. i had used a bamboo stick, normally for drying clothes, as the pole. as i got off the ground, the bamboo broke & i fell face down from a height of about 3 feet. the pain on the chest & abdomen was excruciating. in the end, it went away without further consequences.

as i recalled that fall, now armed with knowledge of the possible injuries, eg. rib fractures, punctured lungs, ruptured internal organs, etc. i realised how close i was to a serious condition. both my parents weren't at home - only my kid brother.

it was divine protection - i can't think of anything else.

and i never attempted pole vaulting again.

the dentist is IN

fathers want their kids to look up to them, esp sons. it's a sure ego-booster.

and, i'm no different.

my son looks to me to solve his maths problem, heal his body aches & talk football.

apparently, i'm also his dentist.

each time he has a loose tooth, he'd ask me to pull it out for him. i learned this from pulling my own teeth (after they had become loose) when i was young but he's just too scared to do it himself.

maybe i should start charging him a fee, now that he's flushed with ang-pow money.

you reap what you sow....

 

 

 

enjoy your meal.....!!

some people think they rule the world....

all resident doctors in the hospital have their personal car park slots, as do the doctors of most other public & private hospitals. this helps when we need to see patients in a hurry, eg. for emergencies.

even if they don't have a named parking slot, they will at least be alloted a specific common space for this purpose.

for most of us who are used to this privilege, it irritates us no end when we find someone else parked in our slots. most times, the culprits are visitors or patients themselves, esp during peak hours.

so, you know how i felt when this happened to me today. the car was an A-class mercs with a 3 digit plate number & an insignia that proclaimed it's owner social importance. so instead of scratching it & puncturing the tyres  i informed the security guard of my predicament but before he could clamp the wheels, the owner had appeared. i was parking at the visiting doctors' space so i did not witness the argument that took place between the offender & the guard.

apparently, as the guard later related, the owner was a doctor from another private hospital. when informed that the slot was for the hospital doctors only, she retorted that she is a doctor as well & has every right to park. it must be her 1st time because, had she bothered to ask, the guard would have shown her the visiting doctors' slots.

i guess with some goodwill on her part & an apology to boot, none of that aggravation would have taken place. as it is, it just reinforces the perception that people in high position just like to push their weight around.

pro bono

it's an unspoken law  rule understanding amongst doctors that we do not charge fees on our colleagues who come under our care.

this includes colleagues we don't even know personally, eg. those from private clinics or govt hospitals. however, if they have insurance cover for their hospitalisation, then we charge as we would for anyone else.

today, the lunar new year has come early for me. a colleague from the govt hospital who had a procedure done last week, returned with a little gift.

believe me, when i say it touched me right to the core. no doubt, it's a small token but it just showed that this colleague, a houseman, has put himself in my shoes - no surgical procedure comes without risks.

i've mentioned to other colleagues that we all in private practice ought to have our own medical insurance. no doubt the hospital provide an allowance as benefit-in-kind & we don't charge fees on each other, but i don't think it's fair to carry major surgery & see out a stormy recovery in the ICU, & not be adequately remunerated for the hard labour.

and, it's not that the insurance premiums are beyond our means.

it's all about giving & taking.

the staunch Man U supporter

i was teaching my son some general knowledge stuff this evening when he asked how come i knew so much. so i told him i had to read a lot from young to accumulate all these knowledge.

i encouraged him to read, too, and in a moment of personal triumph, i asked him if he wished he had a brain like mine.

he replied: maybe so, but i wished you were a Man U supporter instead!

sure-fire weight loss program (for guys)

someone sent this to me & it's too good not to share.....

A guy calls the company and orders their 5 day - 5kg weight loss program. The next day, there's a knock on the door and standing before him a voluptuous, athletic, 21 year old babe dressed in nothing but a G-string and a pair of Nike running shoes and a sign around her neck. The sign reads, 'If you can catch me, you can have me.' Without a second thought, he takes off after her. A few miles later, huffing and puffing, he finally gives up. The same girl shows up the next four days and the same thing happens. On the fifth day, he weighs himself and is delighted to find he has lost 5kgs as promised.

He calls the company and orders their 5day - 10kg program. The next day there's a knock at the door and standing before him is the most stunning, beautiful, sexy woman he has ever seen in his life. She is wearing nothing but Reebok running shoes , a G-string and a sign around her neck that reads, 'If you catch me, you ca...n have me'. Well, he's out the door after her like a shot. This girl is in excellent shape and despite his best efforts, but with no such luck. So for the next four days, the same routine happens with him gradually getting in better shape. Much to his delight, on the fifth day when he weighs himself, he discovers that he has lost another 10kgs, as promised.

He decides to go for broke and calls the company to order their 7 day - 25kg program. 'Are you sure?' asks the representative on the phone.. 'This is our most rigorous program.' 'Absolutely,' he replies, 'I haven't felt this good in years.' The next day there's a knock at the door and when he opens it he finds a huge muscular guy standing there wearing nothing but pink running shoes, a G-String and a sign around his neck that reads, 'If I catch you, you're mine.' He lost 31kgs that week.

thanks, YO, but i'll settle for just the 5kg program.

the beginning of the end

no, this is not about the incumbent's political future nor berating the country's mounting debt .

on the contrary, this is about the 1st day of school.

for some, it's the beginning of a long journey at primary 1. for most, it's just the start of another school year.

for my daughter, it's the beginning of her final year of a brief sojourn in the Little Red Dot. although the early years were trying, i guess eventually, it's a matter of getting used to the military-like regimented training schooling. i still remember the tears & angst of a teenager. some have actually given up & returned to the homeland.

but i've always upheld perseverance & hoped some part of this belief in oneself has rubbed off unto her.

so, i lauded her in an sms & this was her response....

is it just me, or was she being cynical?

monday blues

i dread mondays......

because i'm a weekend sort of guy.....

you know, lounge around.....stagnate......stay off work.....

so, for me, even the day after a midweek public holiday feels like a full-blown monday.

like today.

:(

too much coffee

you know you've had too much coffee when............

you wake up......

jump out of bed......

& get ready for a new day........

then you look at the clock & it's only 3.30am.

yesterday, when i sent in the car for the regular service, i had a cup of white coffee from the dispenser. pretty good coffee, i'd say.

then when i collected the car in the evening, i had another cup of the same.

and in between, i've also had my usual 2 cups at work.

so, to recap, coffee is good because it:
reduces the risk of Parkinsonism, cardiovascular disease, colonic cancer & gallstones.

but coffee is bad because it is:
associated with osteoporosis, reduced fertility in women & poor sleep patterns.

unlike smoking which has no good outcomes, coffee has both good & not-so-good effects. in such a case, i would, and should, practise moderation.

so, here's good health to all in the new year & beyond!

**source**

the future

we have no fear for the future unless we forget how God had led us in the past!

so, 2013.....

bring it on!

“This is what the LORD says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”        Isaiah 43:16, 18-19 NIV

penang in december

it wouldn't be penang if long queues weren't seen at the 2 penang road cendol stalls....

or, the roads weren't constantly clogged with traffic.......

or, if the food courts weren't packed amidst live stage entertainment....

and, it also wouldn't be the north-south expressway if an error of judgment on the part of a single motorist didn't cause a 10km crawl...

talk about getting away from the crowd......!!

big brother

received this on my handphone today...

let's not get started on whether they have fulfilled their promises. i can imagine how they got my number (arm-twist the telco?) but it baffled me why i was chosen to receive this message while my colleagues or friends did not?

did they know our voting preferences?

is big brother watching?

end of the world?

folks, it's Dec 21, 2012.....


something is going to happen today...... 


the birds will stop SINGING......  
 

the skies will turn BLACK......
 

the sun will disappear DISAPPEAR ......... 




it is called NIGHT TIME.



gotcha!!

i thought i was scammed....

tried to pump petrol using credit card today. the 1st two attempts did not go through, so i thought that the card payment device at that pump was faulty. drove to another pump (same station) & this time the payment went through.

shortly after that, i received this sms.....

i was shocked since i only pumped rm30 worth of petrol. thoughts of how unscrupulous people were waiting around that pump that was rigged & preying on ignorant innocent victims like me filled my mind. i could almost hear their evil laughter as they filled petrol into their motorbikes with impunity.

i immediately called up the bank to report the misuse of the card.

however, i was relieved to be told that it's standard procedure to bill an arbitrary sum for transactions that did not go through. i'm not sure why it's done this way, but just glad that i was not penalised for being careless. i was told to call again in a few days to check the actual amount billed.

i think next time, i should press the "cancel" button at the pump when the transaction is unsuccessful, just in case.

phew!

hercule poirot & dr obnoxious

somewhere along the trail of doctor-hopping, you'd have met dr obnoxious - the one grumpty, arrogant & condescending i'm-the-wise-doctor-you're-the-lowly-patient type.

have no fear. i have colleagues like that, too. the other day, someone threw one of dr obnoxious's personal belongings into the rubbish bin. needless to say, he was all worked up & started pointing fingers & making accusations. of course, without evidence, no one took him seriously.

another colleague joked privately that we'll need someone like hercule poirot, the famed detective from agatha christie's imagination to find the culprit. i remember watching Murder on the Orient Express in my student's days, & i won't be surprised if there were (at least)12 sets of finger prints on the discarded item.

such is the "popularity" of dr obnoxious.

new zealand in 7 days

my friend B8's wife, E, is all fired up to vacation in new zealand after the other wives came back with stories of the paradise on earth.

since we've not been to the south island, she asked us if we'd like to go with them next year. i thought it was a good idea, considering that taking turns to drive is probably the way to go if one plans to traverse the wide expanse of land & mountains.

but B8 wants to take only 7 days off, E confessed. you see, B8 is a busy physician in  private practice plus he's also a workaholic. so, i told her if we spend 2 days for the return flight & another to recover from the jet-lag, we'd only have 4 full days for the vacation.

it was a laughable plan, i thought. i told her, as a matter-of-factly, that it's really no point going for less than 12 days.

well, what goes around, comes around & i had my comeuppance yesterday - i did my own NZ in 7 days.

that's the same as spending ONLY 45 mins at the Big Bad Wolf sale. maybe worse.

but let me defend myself. between shuttling between PJ, Puchong & Damansara to run errands, & i'm not exactly familiar with klang valley, i only had about an hour & a half for the book sale. after looking for a parking space (saturday afternoon, mind you!!) & looking for the place (the big banner at Mines 2 was most deceiving!!), that's all the time i had before the next errand.

and again, in my defence, i only targetted the books i had in mind. they didn't have jeffrey archer's 11th commandment & michael g gill's starbucks saved my life, so my only haul was this....

can you believe me? the biggest book sale is in town & i only want 3 books!!!

1-generation

the generation gap is often blamed for the many arguments that arose between parents & their grown-up children. not only is the age difference telling, sometimes it's also the constrast in educational background & life experiences.

my daughter & i have our fair share of angst & aggravation between us. recently, i realised that, in the right circumstances, this difference in age & everything else can just melt away....

she bought me a novel at a sale, 3 weeks before my birthday. unknowingly, i bought the same book , the hard-cover version, shortly after at the discount section of a book-store. 2 events revealed how truly she is after my own heart - she knows exactly the book i want & she knows i like purchasing during sales.

goes without saying that i'm keeping both copies.

we watched the Jersey Boys two weekends ago - it was her idea actually & i'm a bit surprised because i thought Frankie Valli was a bit before her time. as we sang along, clapped hands & tapped our feet, the generation gap disappeared for those fleeting moments.

we were 1-generation & i look forward to doing that again.

flesh & blood

the front cover of a recent copy of MMA News says it all....

i know there's a myth going around that doctors sometimes play god, making & taking life-changing decisions for their patients. as i ponder upon this, i realise it's often not of the doctors' own doing. they provide their patients with various treatment options & commonly, in a moment of duress & uncertainty about their own conditions, the patients ask their doctors to do what they think is best. when the outcome is not what they expected or desired, accusations that doctors are playing god abound.

doctors bleed & they hurt, too. 2 of my colleagues have been delibitated - one with parkinsonism & the other with a brain tumour.

the recent case of the health ministry DG who was found guilty in a syariah court is another case in point. doctors are not immune to the lure of the flesh, in as much as they are vulnerable to greed.

george bernard shaw drove the point home when he wrote:

Make it compulsory for a doctor using a brass plate to have inscribed on it; in addition to the letters indicating his qualifications, the words "Remember that I too am mortal."

shift work

factories use shift work if they have to operate for extended hours. it works well only if the jobs are repetitive from one shift to another.

hospitals operate 24 hours a day & nurses go on shifts as well. however, the work here is not repetitive, so this system will not be as successful as in factories.

so, if a nurse fails to do a task in the morning, the probability is high that the afternoon shift nurse will overlook the task, & even if she discovers the shortfall, she may choose to disregard it, esp. if the pervading attitude is lackadaisical.

that's why i just gave the afternoon shift nurse a mouthful, because the patient's condition is critical & any shortcoming can be lethal.

now, imagine, the 1st line doctors in public hospitals, the housemen, are working shifts. if you extrapolate what happens in nursing, you can imagine the consequences.

shift work for doctors is stupid a regressive step, back to the dark ages.

ok, i confess, i don't know what it's really like in the dark ages but you get my drift.

a day in december in s'pore

they know how to celebrate christmas in style...

yet remain civic-minded...

self-proclaimed best laksa.....

 

A-level students unequivocally declare freedom at conclusion of exams.......

Frankie Valli & 4 Seasons sing-alikes are performing on stage...

guess who else is in town?

what's important to me is that the daughter is coming home....