End Of Induction

Induction has come to an end. Tomorrow, we will be leaving Sintok for Ulu Kenas, Kuala Kangsar for a 5 days, 4 nights BTN camp.

How many of you have actually heard of Ulu Kenas?
This place is SO Ulu, that it is said that even Maxis doesn't have line there.
I think I can safely take a bet that there will be no internet there.

It's like being cut off from the world for 5 days.
No internet, no phone calls, no smses.
It's like life back in the 80s or 90s.
We didn't have a problem back then. Why is it such a big deal now? How spoilt have we become?

I am not going to crap for too long today. It's 3am now and I have to be up by 7am tomorrow.
I am following Mel to the BTN car in his car instead of the bus.
I am hoping that we will stop somewhere (preferably KFC) to buy lunch.

I am going to miss the internet.
I am going to miss receiving phonecalls and smses.
But, I will survive, 'cos I have no choice.
It's going to be a tiring 5 days, I think (from what I've heard).
Hopefully, I will be able to go online soon.
Till the next post....have fun people!

Ipoh Hospital, Here I Come!

It's been confirmed. I am going to work in Ipoh General Hospital (Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun) for the next two years. KKM said that they cannot offer me a place in Seremban Hospital because all the places have already been filled, but gave me a choice between the Melaka and Ipoh Hospital. Although Melaka Hospital is nearer to home, I somehow prefer Ipoh Hostpital. Maybe it is because my mind was kind of set between Ipoh and Seremban and wasn't prepared for another new place. Or maybe it's because at least 4 of my friends are in Ipoh Hospital already and if I were to go there, I know I will have some familiar faces around me. I think my parents are rather disappointed that I didn't choose Melaka, but they are OK with Ipoh; after all, it's going to be me working there, so they let me make my own choice.

Well, anyway, the decision has been made. I'll be reporting for duty at the Ipoh Hospital on the 5th of December. That's next Friday!! Can you believe it? By this time next week, I'll be officially an employee of the Ipoh Hospital. I am a little excited, but very afraid. Afraid of what is to come. My extremely rusty brain needs to be oiled. I am praying that I get a good MO who is nice to me and teaches me stuff and doesn't shout at me too often and who doesn't give up on me (if I am slow).

It is going to be a really, really new experience for me. Not just working life. But living out of home life. Yes, I wasn't living at home when I was studying, but then, back then I was living in a hostel full of friends who go to class at about the same time and come back at about the same time. Or maybe it is not that different after all. Maybe the only difference will be the fact that now I am in Malaysia and not Russia. Oh, I just thought of 2 other differences - I won't do my laundry here and I am not going to cook for myself here. They have shops (with reasonable prices) for that!

I heard that I will be given government quarters and I can choose my roomate, but then I don't really know anyone who would like to be roomates with me for now. It's not that I am not a nice person, I am, but then my university friends already have roomates (they started working earlier) and am not that close with friends from other universities. I am not going to force anyone to be my roomate. Maybe I'll just leave it to the management to decide. Most of my time will probably be spent in the hospital itself, so I guess it doesn't really matter.

I got to go now. Have a meeting to attend (sounds quite professional, huh!).

A Visit To Asia Cafe

A day before I left for my induction course, I went to Asia Cafe. I have been there once before, but that was a long time ago, and I went there quite late at night and just had some drinks. This time, I was there for dinner.

The main reason we went there was because KR wanted to have watermelon juice. Sharveen and I were OK with anywhere, so we decided on Asia Cafe. When we got there, we only managed to get parking at the lane beside the main road (not the one beside the cafe), so we had to walk to the cafe through a dark lane. My fear at that time was rats and cockroaches. Thankfully, I saw none (I don't care about the ones I can't see).

When we got to the cafe, as expected, there were lots and lots of people everywhere. We thought of sitting in the roofed portion for fear of rain, but then there wasn't a free table in sight and we settled on a table outside.

KR told me and Sharveen to go order our food 1st.

Call me whatever you want, but then I was really, really shocked at what I saw! SO MANY SHOPS! So many varieties of food! So many choices! I looked all around me and saw shops and more shops. And menus of varying nationality, colours and content. How do I choose? I walked past a few shops and tried to comprehend what I was seeing. I felt like there were so many informations that are being inputed at the same time- I was so lost!

(I am a newcomer and didn't know it, but apparently we were supposed to remember our table number when ordering the food, so that 'delivery' would be easy. Good system, I think. Unfortunately, Sharveen had to walk back to our table to check the table number before we managed to order.)

Sharveen made up his mind quickly and ordered and went back to the table so that KR could go make his order. I was practically standing and looking around and wondering what to order. I wish someone would just order for me, tell me what to eat. I was like a 'rusa masuk kampung'! I couldn't take the choices anymore. I decided to stop looking at the shops after a while. I think I just walked about a quarter of the place, and finally decided to order from the first shop. I liked the picture I saw - pineapple chicken.

We had to wait a while for the food to be served, but it was faster than I thought it would take. Sharveen had lasagna while KR had roasted honey chicken. Sharveen and I had medium-sized drinks but KR (who decided he was extremely thirsty) ordered a big glass of watermelon juice. I think it is more worth it to buy the bigger glass, the price difference is not that much. But I don't think I could finish that much drink with dinner.

The food was quite tasty. I liked it. I wouldn't say that the price is cheap, but then when you come to a place like this, you expect it to be a bit more expensive than other places. All in all, I found it quite reasonable 'cos the food tasted OK and I was full by the time I finished eating. All of us were.

I wish I took some photos to be uploaded here. Unfortunately it didn't cross my mind at that time to do that. I tried looking for photos online, but couldn't find any that would do the place justice. Right now, after almost 2 weeks of Malay food (which is tasty at times and not so tasty at others) I am craving for something different. Writing about Asia Cafe is just making it worse!

Anyway, the whole dinner experience was quite a good one..except for the way it ended. We were walking back to the car and once again had to pass through the dark 'lorong'. I saw a guy sleeping at the side and was wondering why he was sleeping there. I was just about to pity him when I saw him do something that should only be done in the privacy of his own room or bathroom. Damn, the man! What an idiot!

I think they should put some lights up in that 'lorong'; am quite sure quite many people use it regularly and would prefer a well lit street to a dark one. One street light is all it needs.

I Have The Right To Sleep When I Am Sleepy!

Since my last post, I have been having quite a lot of free time because of cancelled lectures due to technical errors regarding lecturers and lecture halls. Most of us took the chance to catch up on lost sleep while some went to the nearest towns (Changlung or Jitra). Each of us have to do an assignment, and I have started doing it as well, but then it is such a boring topic, that I can't sit down and do it for a long stretch of time.

We did have a few lectures for the past two days though. Most of it have been extremely boring. So boring that you could fall asleep even after a good night's sleep, what more with the lack of sleep that we experience here.

Come to think of it, I think lecturers shouldn't be angry with us if we are sleepy. It's not like we can control our sleepiness. If someone tells you that you shouldn't feel sleepy, it's like they are telling you you shouldn't feel hungry or you shouldn't cough or sneeze. It's not like you can tell your body to feel sleepy at times and not sleepy at others. You just don't have a choice!

It is a generally known thing that people feel sleepy when they are bored, so why can't the lecturer try to make the lecture more interesting? I always thought that if the topic is boring, then the lecture will be boring. NOT TRUE! I have seen potential boring lectures turn into really interesting ones that kept the whole hall of people awake. In fact, there was at least one lecturer that was so good, I was disappointed that her time was over.

Back in Russia, most of the lectures and classes I had were boring. My Psychiatry class was the worst - it was an afternoon class (after 4 hours of Paediatrics), and for each and every class, I would doze off for at least a few minutes. I have no idea why that particular class always had that effect on me. However, the sleepiest I have been would probably be one of my Endocrinology lecture. It was in Russian, and at that time, I couldn't understand Russian that well. I was straining to try to catch whatever the lecturer said and then trying to translate it from Russian into English and then writing it down. It is really quite a tiring process.

After some time, my brain got too tired to function and I gave up writing and decided to just listen and understand what I can. Then, I started to feel sleepy and began to doze off. Somehow, with a lot of willpower, I managed to be awake enough to remember that I have Skittels in my pencilcase. I reached out for my pencilcase and took my packet of Skittels out. (For those who don't know, Skittels is quite a sour sweet. I bought it specifically for instances like this, believing that the sourness can wake me up). Trying my best to be as silent as possible, I teared open the packet. The whole process took so long, I dozed off for a few seconds/minutes while tearing the packet open. (At that time, I was really in a very very sleepy state)After quite some time, I finally managed to tear open the packet. Then, I put my fingers into the packet (slowly to minimize sound, once again) and tried to get one Skittel. During this process, I dozed off a few times (no, I am NOT lying). I was THAT sleepy!!

Finally, I managed to get the Skittel. I put it in my mouth and the sourness hit me, but only for a short while. I dozed off again, with the Skittel still in my mouth. Thankfully, the lecture ended in a while. From then on, I stopped bringing Skittels to lecture. It doesn't help anyway, so why bother.

The moral of the story : Lecturers, try to make your lecture more interesting. If you aren't able to do that, don't get offended when your students sleep. To the students who are subjected to boring lectures, sour sweets don't help, and neither does coffee.

Amazing!

Here in EDC, we have lectures whole day long. And I mean, whole day long. There are 4 sessions : 0830-1030, 1100-1300, 1430-1630 and 2030-2230.
Lectures are BORING (I am sure that everyone will agree with me on that point). But then, some of the lecturers that we have are SO good, that even though we average about 5 hours of sleep a day, we do not feel sleepy during the lecture (I'm talking about lectures on the government policies and stuff like that). However, we also have lecturers who seem to be talking more to themselves than anyone else.

Anyway, yesterday, we had an OK-OK lecturer, who was boring at times and fun at others. He was a counselor and his topic was about leadership. At one point, he told 4 people from our group to come out front. Then, he took two sheets of mahjong paper and put it on top of one another (on the floor), put a full glass of water on top of it, and told the 4 guys to carry the paper without touching the glass in any way and moving it all the way to the other side of the hall and put it on a table.

Hearing the task ,the first thing I thought was that it is impossible. I thought that if the paper was first held tightly (at each corner) enough and then the glass is placed on top of it, then it might be possible to do it. But then, to carry the paper off the floor and not spill a drop? Impossible.

I was, however, proven wrong. Our 4 heroes, cheered on by everyone else, carried the mahjong paper and glass and without spilling a single drop (not even one) brought the whole 'complex' to the desired 'destination'.
AMAZING!!

Confusing Toll Tickets

Recently, I have had a new fascination - the colour of toll ticket.

Have you ever noticed that there is a line of colour on the toll tickets? So far, I have seen lines that are yellow, orange, red, blue and purple. At first, I thought that maybe different toll booths give out different colours. NOT TRUE! The same toll booth can give tickets of different colours. Then I thought that maybe the colour varies according to the time of the day. This hypothesis was also proven NOT TRUE.

What other criteria can there be? To this question, I still have not found the answer. If there is no meaning to the colour, then why do they even bother producing tickets with different colours? Won't it be easier to just produce just one standard colour?

Another matter that Rajiv and I were arguing about is whether the toll ticket is recycled or not. According to Rajiv, the East-West Highway reuse their toll tickets - proven by the condition of the tickets which is 'lusuh' (can't think of the word for now).

But then, the North-South Highway ticket is always in a perfect condition. And they always print the time and date ON THE TICKET. So, I guess they can't reuse it. However, if the don't reuse it, why don't they just give the ticket back to us? Why do they collect it at the exit? And why is it that they don't reuse the tickets? Won't it safe them money? Why not put electronic chips in the tickets so that they can be reused? KR said that maybe the cost of doing that is too expensive and that it's cheaper to use new, normal tickets. But then what is the function of the black line on the ticket then? In the end, we could not come up with any answers, but, a conclusion was made that maybe they do recycle the tickets, but then they don't reuse the ticket (hope you manage to understand what I mean).

Then, one day, (after watching Madagascar2), Rajiv and I took the highway back. have a look at the picture of the ticket that we received (it was late night and it was dark and I used the phone camera, so the picture is a bit blur).


Anyway, if you notice, this ticket is orange in colour.
It has the usual printed information about the time and date that the ticket was produced, but then, the printed date is 01.11.2008. And at the right side, you see a stamp with the actual date - 13.11.2008. So, I guess they do reuse the tickets. I don't know whether this is a normal occurence or not..and unfortunately, it didn't help answer any of my above questions.
p/s the ticket still looked new.

So many unanswered questions about toll tickets. If anyone knows the answers, PLEASE tell me, because I would really, really like to know.

Togo and Tagar

I spent last weekend in my cousin's house. Once again, I got a chance to meet my 'nephew' and 'niece' Togo and Tagar. Here are some photos I took with them - mainly to prove to all my friends and families that I do in fact get along with them pretty well and also because I don't know when I'll be seeing them next.

trying to get Togo to pose

cousin Nila giving me a hand

finally, sleepy little Tagar laid on me (but only for a little while)

for some reason, Togo seemed very interested in smelling my face that day

another failed shot with both Togo and Tagar

this was the best photo I could get with Togo

my favourite picture of the day!

Want to see more pictures and read more about Togo and Tagar? Visit their blog - www.togothedog.blogspot.com

Ipoh or Seremban Hospital

I got my posting letter today.

I have been posted to Ipoh Hospital - my 3rd choice.

At first I was kind of disappointed for not getting my 1st choice (Seremban Hospital), but after a few minutes, Ipoh Hospital didn't sound that bad after all. Many of my friends are there, I have an Aunty and Uncle there, it is not really THAT far away from Seremban, and I get to live by myself for the first time in my life!

On the other hand, I won't get to meet my family that often, I will have to clean up my room by myself, will have to do my own laundry and don't get to eat Mum's food as often as I like.

My parents said that I should try appealing for Seremban Hospital, so that is what I am going to do. I am going to appeal, and wait till next week Friday to know whether my appeal would be granted or not. I know many of my induction-mates here are also appealing for a change in posting.

Actually, right now, I don't mind either hospitals, so I will just leave it up to Fate (it's not like I can do anything about it anyway). I am not going to hope, I am not going to wish. I am just going to ignore it and see what happens.

The only not-so-nice thing about the posting is that I will have to start work on the 5th of December and my induction+BTN ends on the 4th. If I actually get Seremban Hospital, then it is not that big of a problem. But if I get Ipoh, I will have to decide whether to go back to Seremban and then travels back to Ipoh again or whether I should just go straight to Ipoh from Kuala Kangsar (where my BTN will be) and spend the night there before reporting for work the next morning. If I do the latter, then my parents would have to bring my stuff to Ipoh and I have no idea when I would get to go back to Seremban next. That is something I did not expect when I left my house last Saturday.

I don't want to think too much into it for now. I guess things will turn out the way they are meant to be. I'll just wait and see.
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As mentioned in my previous post, here are some photos of the place I am staying in for now - EDC, Sintok.

My room :


The hall where we had our introduction session.



I know, I know. It's not that many pictures, but honestly, there are not many pictures to take when listening to lectures. :P

Induction, Induction

Day 2 in EDC, Sintok.

I have made up my mind that EDC is indeed a hotel.
The proof :
1. They have room service
2. They provide the newspaper in the morning.
3. The room has a phone and has a kettle.
4. They have Astro (although the channels are limited).

Today was more of a get-to-know-each-other session. It is not easy to remember 89 other names in 1 day, but we more or less did it. OK, I don't remember everyone's name after they changed their clothes and seatings later in the afternoon, but here and there, I know a few names. For me, that is a BIG achievement because I ALWAYS have problems remembering names and faces.

Most of the future HOs (housemens) here studied either in Russia or Ukraine. There are just a handful who studied in PMC. Just imagine this..there are 90 of us in this induction, and there are induction courses going on in at least 3 other places in Malaysia right now. Which means, about 350 new HOs will be starting work next month. Most of my friends underwent induction last month, and some of them in August. Let's say they have induction for HOs only 6 times a year, that would still bring the number of new housemen per year to 2100!!!! 2100 new doctors each year? ( This number is NOT a true number. I do not know how many induction courses they have per year or how many people are there in one induction course or how many doctor's graduate each year). These assumed 2100 new HOs will be posted into about 30 hospitals all over Malaysia which comes to about 70 new HOs per GH (General Hospital) per year. Quite an OK number, don't you think (I do believe the actual number is bigger though)?

Anyway, we had a few LDK (latihan dalam kumpulan) sessions today. The first few were just to help us get to know one another's name. We played a couple of games too, one of which I found rather interesting..involving a few knotted strings which we (in groups of 10) have to attach to our fingers (each person gets one end of the strings). The objective of the game is to un-knot the string without removing the part that is attached to the finger (am I making sense here?). The game involves lots of moving and swapping places and I think is quite a nice game. (The lesson we are supposed to learn from the game is that 'all problems can be solved').

We have been divided into 8 groups (which will be our group for the rest of the induction course). Tonight, we are supposed to present our group - we have to come up with a name, a motto, group ethics, a logo and a song. I never like this kind of group works, but all the camps that I go to seem to have them. Why do we need a group song? ARGH!! Anyway, my group, we finished whatever task we were given fast and are now 'lepak-ing' in our rooms. I had a peep of what the other groups are doing - some of them were drawing borders and colouring flowers..our presentation seems to be kind of simple compared to theirs. But hey, art is NOT MY THING and I think what we have done is enough (plus I am a lazy girl).

There's approximately 12 more days of induction to go. We might be getting our posting letter tomorrow, telling us which hospital we will be posted to. I am nervous. I am very nervous. Why isn't it tomorrow yet?

*I have some photos to upload..will do it tomorrow!!

Hope In Sintok

I am now in Sintok, Kedah. I only knew the existence of such a place last week when I received my induction letter. It is waaaay north, near the border of Thailand. The place I am staying in is called the Excecutive Developement Centre (EDC) which somehow is connected to UUM (Universiti Utara Malaysia). It is NOT a hostel.

My day started early. I stayed in Subang yesterday (and also the day before) cos Mel said he was driving up to Kedah and I could follow him.

Everyone we asked said that the journey from Subang to Sintok would take about 7 hours. Since we only have to register at 2.30pm today, Mel decided that we would leave at 5.30am.

We left Subang at about 5.30am and made a small stop to get Milo and sweets. By about 6am, we officially started our journey. I am actually the kind of person who almost immediately falls asleep once the car starts moving. Today, however, I almost didn't sleep. I might have dozed off a couple of times, but that's all.

Mel and Fizal took turns driving while I just enjoyed the view (which was mostly just jungles and plantations).

It was about 10am. We were entering Kedah!! We were all confused. How could we have reached Kedah so fast? They were not even driving that fast. We were supposed to meet Natrah (who lives in Kedah) and go to Sintok together, but since we were too early, Natrah invited us to 'lepak' in her house and leave later.

We were in Natrah's house before 11am. We had (an extremely late) breakfast, and after a while, lunch and left her place at about 2pm. By about 3pm, we were in the EDC. It is in the middle of nowhere. I didn't see UUM anywhere..all I see are trees and more trees. But the rooms are nice (hope I will be able to post up pictures soon) and we get to choose our own roomates!!

Puspha arrived earlier and put my name down as her roomate. And to think that we thought that we would never be roomates again after Moscow. I am kind of relieved because I don't have to worry about getting used to a new roomate, or worrying about whether I irritate my roomate. Puspha is used to me and we don't mind when we irritate one another. :P

Since today is just our first day, we didn't have much activity. We had tea, then were given a break till dinner. After dinner, we had 'taklimat kursus' - just general rules and what to expect during the 2 weeks that we are here. And after, we came back to our rooms and are now thinking
what to do to pass time.

So far, the induction is going on fine. But then again, that may be because it hasn't even started yet. I am hoping that it won't be too bad; hoping that I would have some fun.

p/s There are 100 of us here of that, 12 of them from MMA. Can I actually get to know and remember the other 88 people? With my limited people skills, it will be a bit hard. Once again, I HOPE I can make some friends here.

Hope.

How Did He Do It?

Channel 502 (Bernama) : Federer meets fan in KLCC. Federer bertemu peminat di KLCC.

SIMULTANEOUSLY

Channel 813 (Star Sports) : Federer playing (Live) in the Tennis Masters Cup, Shanghai.

Madagascar 2

I've always enjoyed watching cartoon-movies. Among the movies I've enjoyed (even after watching a few times) are The Lion King, Shrek and The Emperor's New Groove. Guess what all this movies have in common? They are FUNNY!! Movies are meant to be fun; one should leave the cinema feeling happy, so, a happy ending movie is always a plus point. For my Mom, if a movie has a sad ending, then it is a horrible movie, no matter how good a storyline it has. I don't mind watching a nice, sad story, as long as I'm not paying to watch it.

Anyway, Madagascar 2 was a nice, feel good movie. It was funny and I really enjoyed myself. At first I couldn't really catch what was going on; but with some help from Rajiv, I managed to figure the story out. It starts with a flashback of 'Alex the Lion' (when he was young), then how he got to the zoo, then a brief summary of what happened in Madagascar (1) and then it got to the real storyline. I didn't watch Madagascar (1) so I don't really know what happened in that movie, but then it's not really a prerequirement to watch this movie.

There are some really funny scenes in the movie. I particularly enjoyed the scene of the plane taking off and the scenes with the old lady in them. The scenes with the penguins are really funny too. The dialogues are good too (although I prefer the dialogues in Shrek). One question Rajiv asked that has no answer - how come the lions don't eat the other animals? How do they survive?

I don't want to spoil the movie for those who haven't watched it yet. In short, it's a good movie. Go have fun!

Random Post

I came across this long bean today. I've never seen anything like it.


A close up of the long bean..wonder what happen to it?
(Mom said it is spoilt)

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A not-so-strange sight in my house.
Mom hates sewing.
I don't like sewing.
So, Dad sewed the buttons of my shirt today. :P

I Have My Own KWSP Account!

I finally received my letter for induction and BTN yesterday. My induction will be in EDC-UUM, Kedah from the 17th Nov-30th Nov and my BTN will be in Ulu Kenas, Kuala Kangsar from the 30th Nov-4th Dec. All my friends who registered on the same day as I did got the same places, so I am quite happy that I would be able to meet them and catch up after so long!

I have 2 worries for now :
1. Which hospital I would get posted to. My 3 choices (in order) were Seremban Hospital, Melaka Hospital and Ipoh Hospital. I really hope that I will get my first choice. *fingers crossed*
2. When will I start work? 4th of December is a Thursday and MAYBE I will have to start work on the 5th. That is SO FAST!! I hope they will give us a break till the next week, but somehow, I doubt it. *toes crossed*

Anyway, today I opened my KWSP account. JJ said that it would be easier to open the account before I start work, and since Rajiv was around, I decided to do it today. We went to the KWSP office quite late, almost at 12pm, and we were quite sure that we would have to wait for hours. When we got there, they gave me a form to fill up and told me that I would need a photocopy of my IC (front and back on 1 page; thankfully JJ told me to prepare it before I went there, so that wasn't a problem). After filling up the form, they gave me a number, and it was my turn immediately. That's right. I didn't have to wait at all. In fact, almost no one was waiting, although there were many waiting chairs. Maybe we were just lucky or maybe the officers there are really efficient. Either way, I got it done!

In about 20minutes, Rajiv and I were out and after tapau-ing KFC, we headed back home.

Now we are heading out again to do some pre-induction shopping. Till later!

Traditional Indian Costumes

Many people often get confused with the names of different Indian costumes. Even some of my friends can't match the garment and it's name sometimes. Here are some of the most commonly used traditional Indian garments (for girls/women) in Malaysia.

Pavadai - usually worn by prepubertal young girls (although teenage girls may also wear them).

Pavadai davani - seldom worn in Malaysia. It consist of a long skirt, a short blouse and a piece of cloth which goes around (the body) only once. Usually worn by teenage girls.


Lengha - it is basically a skirt and blouse, much like the pavadai, but then it is usually more beautiful and elegant. Usually worn by teenagers or those in their 20s. Sometimes, lenghas are also worn by a bride during her wedding.

a bridal lengha

Punjabi suit/Salwar kameez - it consist of a long (sometimes short) blouse, a pants (can be baggy or tight) and a shawl. These can be worn as casual wear (for work, visiting someone) or even for functions.


Kurta/kurti - is a modern attire. It is basically a top/blouse and is usually worn with slacks or jeans.

*click here to view pictures of kurta/kurti

Saree/sari - It is a piece of cloth ranging from 4-9 metres in length. There are many ways one can tie the saree; different parts of India and different enthics tie the saree differently. In Malaysia, it is usually worn for functions and parties, although some older people wear it on a daily basis. In India, many of the ladies wear sarees the whole day long, no matter what they are doing - be it riding a motorcycle, cleaning up the house, even while doing labour jobs.

Malayalee style

Gujerati style
Iyer style

For pictures of other styles of tying the saree, click here.

This post has been written using what basic things I know about the Indian costumes. Some of the information that I have given above might be wrong (although I hope it's not) and inadequate. If you are really interested in knowing more, surf the web. It's that easy. :P

The Most Beautiful Flower

I have never really been interested in poetry simply because I find it hard to really understand what they are trying to say. Most of the time, when I read, I don't understand the figurative meaning. I need things to be said the way they are, literally, not twisted and written in flowery language.

However, there is one poem that I really like. It doesn't require much thinking (which is probably why I like it) and is easy to understand. The first time I read it, I was in secondary school. I have no idea where I came across it, but a couple of years ago, I tried looking it up in the internet and I found it!!

I don't know why I like it so much, but I just do. Hope you like it too.

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THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FLOWER

Disillusioned by life
with good reason to frown,
For the world was intent
on dragging me down.

And if that weren't enough
to ruin my day,
A young boy out of breath
approached me,
all tired from play.

He stood right before me
with his head tilted down
And said with great
excitement,
"Look what I found!"

In his hand was a flower
what a pitiful sight,
With its petals all worn
- not enough rain,
or too little light.

Wanting him to take his dead
flower and go off to play,
I faked a small smile and
then shifted away.

But instead of retreating
he sat next to my side
And placed the flower
to his nose and declared
with surprise,

"It sure smells pretty
and it's beautiful, too.
That's why I picked it;
here, it's for you."

The weed before me was
dying......or dead.
Not vibrant of colors,
orange, yellow or red.

But I knew I must take it,
or he might never leave.
So I reached for the flower,
and replied,
"Just what I need."

But instead of him placing
the flower in my hand,
He held it mid-air
without reason or plan.

It was then that I noticed
for the very first time
That weed-toting boy could not see:
he was blind.

I heard my voice quiver,
tears shone like the sun
As I thanked him for
picking the very best one.

"You're welcome,"
he smiled,
and then ran
off to play,
Unaware of the impact
he'd had on my day.

I sat there and wondered
how he managed to see
A self-pitying woman
beneath an old willow tree.

How did he know of
my self-indulged plight?
Perhaps from his heart,
he'd been blessed with
true sight.

Through the eyes of a blind
child, at last I could see
The problem was not with the world
the problem was me.

And for all of those times
I myself had been blind,
I vowed to see the beauty in life,
and appreciate every second that's mine.

And then I held that wilted flower
up to my nose
And breathed in the fragrance
of a beautiful Rose

And smiled as I watched
that young boy,
another weed in his hand

About to change the life
of an unsuspecting old man.

Everything Happens For A Reason

Things that have happened recently and (what I think is) the reason it happened.

1. Dad getting appendicitis.
My parents have been paying for their medical insurance for two years now, and my Dad was contemplating to not continue the payments. The appendicitis made him realize that the insurance was indeed a useful thing. I myself am thinking of taking medical insurance once I start working.

2. Dad getting appendicitis.
I had to drive my Dad to the hospital when he had the pain. A few days later, since my Mother was working, I drove to the hospital by myself. This is the first time that I have been allowed to drive alone (since we moved to Seremban). Now, my parents are OK about me driving around Seremban (I think).

3. Dad getting appendicitis.
I will probably get my induction letter soon, and I know that I have to buy some clothes 'cos of their strict dresscode. I was wondering when I am going to go get the clothes since my parents work 6.5 days a week and I feel bad bothering them about going out after their work (they will be tired, of course). Now, I have my Dad's car at home, and can go get the clothes whenever I want to.

4. Dad having MC till next week
I am expecting to get my induction letter next week. I was worried about getting the letter though, what if the Poslaju comes when I am asleep? What if I am upstairs and don't hear the Poslaju? Now, at least I am quite certain that I won't miss it 'cos Dad wakes up early and is downstairs almost all the time. :P

5. Dad having MC till next week
I have to go for my eye check up this Saturday. Since the parking in town is horrible and I am horrible in parking, I can now ask my Dad to drive me to Optimax.

6. Me not getting the previous induction (28th of Oct)
Deepavali was on the 27th and I could fully enjoy and celebrate the day (and the next day).

7. Me not getting the previous induction (28th of Oct)
I could be with my Dad when he had appendicitis and can now 'teman' him at home.

8. Me not getting my car yet.
If I get my car, then I have to start paying for the car loan. Since it is a bit delayed, then I don't have to worry about the car loan payment, at least for now, when I am still jobless.

I think that about sums up the current happenings in my life..can't really think about anything else. The conclusion - Dad's appendicitis is not that bad a thing after all. :P

Reasons To Celebrate

The past week has given 'black' people all over the world a reason to celebrate.

First of all, I want to apologize if the word 'black people' is inappropriate, but then I have no idea how else to put it. African - refers to those in Africa. African American - black people in USA. Then how about black people in Britain? How do I refer to them? For the sake of simplicity and ignorance (of the proper term) I had to use the word 'black people'.

Last Sunday, Lewis Hamilton won the F1 championship. He is the first black F1 champion, and also the youngest ever. Many times, F1 champions have been decided in the last race; this time, the champion was decided during the last lap of the last race; in fact it was decided during the last few corners of the race! It was really quite a thing to watch. The Ferrari team were celebrating their victory, thinking that Massa had won the race and the championship, and didn't realize that Hamilton managed to get pass Glock (and thus gaining the extra point needed to be crowned the world champion). I think almost everyone who was watching was shocked with the final results. Although Glock has said that the reason Hamilton managed to pass him and the reason he(Glock) was 20 seconds slower during the last lap was because he was using dry tires and the rain was heavier during the last lap, many, including me, find it hard to believe. Maybe it's just because we all love a little controversy every now and then. :P
(click here to know more about the last lap)

Maybe not many people were aware about the F1 race, but there is another race that everyone all over the world are keeping their eyes on - the US presidential race. Today, just a couple of hours ago, the American people elected their first ever black president - Barack Obama.

I don't know what others think, but I think that it is a wonderful thing that his skin colour didn't really matter and he won the elections. I don't know what his campaign was all about and I don't know anything about him (not that interested in politics). However, I am glad he won, because in a way, for me, it showed that people really have been able to get over the colour-barrier.

Hooray for Hamilton and Obama. You guys made it.

A Loooooong Wait

Yesterday morning, my Dad had very bad abdominal pain and got himself checked up in a nearby clinic. The doctor who checked him suspected that it was appendicitis and told my Dad to go to the hospital.

My Dad and I were in the hospital A&E (accident and emergency) department by 11am. When my Dad showed the referral letter (from the doctor in the clinic) to the people incharge, they asked him about his symptoms. Upon hearing that he did not have any vomiting, they decided that it wasn't appendicitis and told him to wait in the green zone. My Dad was in obvious pain and couldn't even stand up straight, and yet we had to wait for other healthy looking people who, in my opinion should have gone to the outpatient department instead, to be checked up.

After some time, it was my Dad's turn. A medical assistant asked about the symptoms, then suspected that it was appendicitis (duh!) and told us to wait some more. We waited and waited for about an hour before my Dad was seen by a doctor. They said yes, it is appendicitis..took a blood sample and told that he has to be admitted. We waited once again, this time, to be admitted.

My Mum and brother arrived at the hospital at about 2.30pm. My brother and I then decided to find out about other private hospitals around Seremban. We first approached Columbia Hospital, but then they said that they didn't have any available beds. Then, we asked KPJ Hospital, and once again, the same reply - no beds. Since we couldn't think of any other choices, we waited and managed to get our Dad admitted at about 4pm.

We were told that there are many cases and that my Dad would be operated on by evening or night. Evening passed by and it was already night. My Dad was still in pain. They said that he should fast for the surgery and he cannot even have anything to drink. The last meal my Dad had was at 6am. The doctors suspected that it was perforated appendicitis, but then, since there were a few accident cases, we had to wait.

By 9pm, we decided that it was too much. There was still no news as to when the surgery would be. Dad was in pain. We finally called an Aunt who has lived in Seremban for a long, long time. She called Columbia Hospital and managed to get a bed for my Dad there. We immediately discharged my Dad and took him there.

The doctor who signed my Dad's discharge papers told that there was only 1 OT (operation theater) and they had many cases. If my Dad were to wait, his surgery would probably be at about 3am. MAYBE. Even the doctor said that it would be better to take him elsewhere. He even said 'KL is not that far away also'.

9.45pm - we arrived in Columbia Hospital.
11pm - Dad was taken into the OT.
1am - Dad was already in the ward, recovering.

My paternal grandma has been staying with us for a few days now.
Her words of advice, " if any of you are sick, don't waste your time in government hospitals."

I do get it. Government Hospitals are busy. They see thousands of patients each day and they are short staffed. However, I would have appreciated it if they had told us earlier that the surgery would only be in the early morning instead of telling us 'wait, you will have the surgery soon'.

I know that they see many emergency cases, but from what I studied, acute appendicitis is also and emergency. And if they suspected a perforated appendicitis, then it is even more urgent. Why wait so long?

I am sure many of you would have many stories about government hospitals.
Government hospitals are not horrible. I always admire the fact that they give out free medicines (I was initially shocked to know this 'cos medicines are expensive) and almost free treatment. Yes, private hospitals can offer fast (and expensive) treatment, but then once the situation worsens, they will handover the patient to the government hospital, and the government hospital never says no. This contributes to the higher mortality rate in government hospitals.

However, I think Malaysian hospitals need to be better equipped. 1 OT for almost the whole of Negeri Sembilan? A CT scan appoinment takes 1 month. An X-ray appoinment takes 2 weeks. Once, I had to do a CT scan in Russia - I could do it immediately. And yet, my friends and I complain that Russia is not equipped enough.

I go for my ENT check up and treatment in Seremban Hospital and am going to continue doing so because I think the doctors there are really good (and also because I get free medicine). However, I think that my grandma's advice should be taken into account when the illness is a little more serious.

For the record - I HATE waiting!