To Live Is To Suffer

Everyone has problems.

I think I mentioned this in one of my previous posts, but then it is so true, I can't help but say it again - if you want a life without problems, then you should not be alive at all, cos life is full of problems.

Indeed, one of Confucius's teaching is - to live is to suffer (at least that is what I remember).

So, happy suffering!

*end of post*








Nah, too depressing an ending, don't you think?

There are always 2 ways to look at things.
The bright side, and the not-so-bright side.

Unfortunately, we always tend to look at the darker side.

Why is it that we always compare ourselves to the more fortunate ones?
Human nature?
Competitiveness?
To improve ourselves?
Unsatisfaction?

I have my own set of problems.
-not enough intubations
-possibility of getting extended?
-putting on weight
-not enough pay
-not enough savings
-crazy laptop
-my eyes have been kind of blur the past few days. Am not sure whether or not it is related to the lack of sleep I have been having recently. :(
-lots of laundry to do
-have to adjust to new department if (hopefully) not extended
-crazy internet
-wrong job?
-will I ever be a good HO?
-how will I ever be an MO?
-unhealthy diet every day
-I think there are MOs out there who hate me
-I think I am incompetent as a doctor
-what am I going to do in the future?
-to specialize or not to specialize?
-no food for breakfast tomorrow

This list can go on and on.
Mostly are just minor stuff.
Some I constantly worry about.

But then, I know my problems are nothing compared to what other people face.

A mother who's child had just been diagnosed with cancer asked me the other day -how did her child get cancer?
How do I answer that question?

Do you know how many children are born ill everyday?
How many progress to be ill throughout their life?
It's not just the children who suffer, but their parents and siblings as well.

My problems are NOTHING compared to theirs.

I am not trying to preach.
But sometimes, I think that we should thank our lucky stars for what we have.
We can see, we can hear, we can speak.
That in itself is a miracle.

I am too lazy today (postcall), but someday, when I am more hardworking, I will give you statistics of children born with congenital problems, and you will be able to see for yourself how lucky you are to be born the way you are.

Here's another story you should read : Wonderful Life

Good night, everyone!!
Am turning in for the day.

The Value Of Time

Forwarded mails have a few intentions - to share some jokes, share pass on some message or other and sometimes, just for no reason. It is like sharing a good joke or article you read in the papers.

More often than not, I just read the mail/see the pictures and then delete the mail.
Some mails, I value more than others because they are really funny or carry really nice meanings or are interesting.

Here is one I am quite sure you have received before.
I've got it a few times.
But everytime I read it, the appreciation is still there, as in I can still get what the message is (although it doesn't mean I actually do anything about it).

Enjoy.

THE VALUE OF TIME

Tto know the value of a year,

Ask a person who has just failed the university entrance exam.

To know the value of a month,

Ask a mother who has just given birth to a premature infant.

To know the value of a week,

Ask a person who has been diagnosed with end-stage cancer.

To know the value of a day,

Ask the editor of a daily newspaper.

To know the value of an hour,

Ask a person who has just been stuck in an elevator.

To know the value of a minute,

Ask a person who has just missed the bus.

To know the value of a second,

Ask a person who has a relative that had died in a traffic accident.

To know the value of a tenth of a second,

Ask a person who has just won the second prize in a 100m race.

Nice, isn't it?

How Did She Do It?

I think I am not cut out for this job.

Yesterday, I was on call in PICU.
Overall, it was quite a busy day, more for my MO than for me.

There is a term used in Malaysian Hospitals - Jonah.
I have no idea where the term originated.
I have no idea how to even actually spell it.
But when one says 'X is Jonah', that means whenever X is on call, there are many admissions.
Conversely, the term anti Jonah refers to a person who doesn't have many admissions during their call.

My MO yesterday had a Jonah call.
She said that it is because it is not her call; she was taking over the call of another MO who has a long-standing reputation of being Jonah.

I don't know how many admissions 6A and 6C had.
PICU had 2 transfer in cases from 6A, 1 post-op observation patient, 1 new admission to HDU and 2 new admissions to the ICU.
The 2 ICU admissions - really ill patients.
Not only that, my MO also received a few phone calls, not just from the A&E but also from other hospitals all over Perak asking about management of patients or regarding transfer of critical patients over to Ipoh.

If I were her, I would most probably just break down and cry and give up.
What do you do first?
What to do, how to do?

My MO was SO COOL!
She didn't once panic or stress up.
Didn't once flinch.
She just did her job like it was second nature, like it was no big deal.
I know that that is what one is supposed to be like.
But then how do you not get worked up when so many things are happening at the same time?

I know that this situation is not something one sees everyday in Paeds Ipoh.
PICU can be quite quiet sometimes.
But yesterday was I would say a very busy day at the PICU (OK, maybe it can get worse, but I've never seen it busier).
Even I know that much.

The 2 ICU patients were transferred over from other small hospitals in Perak because they naturally lack the facilities there.
I was wondering, if it was me, in the district hospital, would I know what to do?
Would I know when to transfer patients over or when not to?

When do I learn when to manage an unstable patient?
I have been in Paeds for 4 months, and I still don't know what to do.
When to start inotropes? When to give boluses? When to get worried? Most importantly, when not to get worried?

Once I finish my Housemanship I will become an MO and have to do district posting.
Will I ever be prepared?
Will I ever be confident to manage anything without an MO watching over my back?

Will I ever be that cool? That chilled-out?
How will I ever be able to not get stressed up over an ill patient?
My MO could still smile, could still joke (of course after the patient was stabilized).

She was resuscitating a patient and at the same time monitoring the progress of the other patient.
I was just basically hanging around, passing her stuff or doing what she was telling me to do.

I want to be like my MO.
I want to be reliable, to be able to do my job.
Why have I not learnt that yet?
Am I nothing more than a clerk?

To my MO yesterday - I salute you!
I hope, someday, I can be like you, or at least partially like you.

Rainbow After Rain

My last post was about a week ago.
In fact, I think it was maybe more than a week ago.

In the beginning, it was just a lack of idea to write.
Life is so monotonous, there was nothing interesting that I had to say.
I was getting bored of my own posts, just imagine how people who actually read it feel..

Then, it was the weekend - and if you have read my blog before, then you know that my weekends are the least productive time of all, so there was no entries then.

Then, it was my internet that gave me problems.
I have no idea what went wrong.
I could go online.
I could surf the net.
I can google ANYTHING.

But, I can't sign in anywhere.
And I mean anywhere that requires a username and password -hotmail, facebook, friendster, blogger,multiply - you name it.

I tried everything.
I cleaned up all the drives in my laptop.
I defragmented all the drives.
I scan-disked.
I did whatever I thought might help.
(I even accidentally deleted a document that I wasn't supposed to delete)

In desperation, I called my tech-support - Cheng.
He told me to change all my internet settings to default and try again.
It didnt' work.

In the end, yesterday, I took my laptop to the shop.
The guy at the shop said that I can only collect my laptop today because they close at 6pm, and it was going to be 6pm in 2 minutes (he actually told me 2 minutes, no joke).

Today, after work, I rushed to the shop.
Of course it had to rain at exactly 5pm.
It was not just a normal drizzle, it was a really, heavy, pouring rain.
I had to get wet to get to the shop, I had to get wet coming back from the shop.
Just my luck.

Now, I can go online.
I can sign in.
But then there is a catch.
I can only sign in if my internet is in GPRS mode and not 3G mode.
I can surf the net with 3G, but then can't sign in with it.

Weird.
I just can't figure it out.
What the hell is going on?
Is something wrong with my laptop or is something wrong with my internet?
ARGH!!!!

Still, at least something is better than nothing.
I guess I will just have to be satisfied with what I have now.
And hope the problem resolves by itself soon.

p/s Did anyone else in Ipoh notice the beautiful rainbow after the evening rain earlier?

What A Day!

Today, I was posted to paediatric oncology. In general, there are usually very few oncology patients and I am supposed to be quite free today. This is how my day went.

I went to 6A to see whether there were any Oncology patients there. There was one.

I went to PICU to see whether there were any Onco patients there. There was none.

I went back to 6A and reviewed the patient there.

I went to ACC (Pusat Rawatan Harian) because that is where I'm supposed to go after I am done with my reviewing. The ACC building is across the road from the main building - there is a bridge connecting both the buildings on the 2nd floor.

My MO came and told me to review 2 patients in 5D and then finish up a referral letter for one of the patient. (had to cross the bridge again)

I was halfway doing the letter when I was called back to ACC. (had to cross the bridge)

I was at ACC, doing almost nothing until at 1pm, I was told to go back and finish up the letter.

I went back to PICU and got the letter done. (had to cross the bridge)

I went for lunch and then was supposed to be in the clinic in the afternoon.

I went to the clinic (ground floor) and gave the referral letter to my MO. However, my MO thought that I was still doing Onco and told me (after she signed the referral letter) to put it back in the BHT.

I went back to 5D. I noted that the patient had fever.

I went back to the clinic and just informed the MO that the patient had fever.

My MO told me to go and take an FBC (full blood count) for the patient.

I went back to 5D, took the blood, took it to the lab (ground floor) and then showed the results to the MO because the child had very low hemoglobin.

The MO told me to go back to 5D, take a GXM (needed before you transfuse blood), a blood culture and sensitivity, fill up an XRay form and request for blood for transfusion.

Once I settled that, I went back to the clinic and only then my MO realized that I was supposed to be in the clinic that evening. However, since it was already 4.30pm, she said that there are no more patients in the clinic and I should review 2 patients who were admitted earlier that day to PICU.

I went up to PICU (6th floor), reviewed the patient, then went to 6C to trace some blood investigation results, then went back to PICU to write the results down in their BHTs.

I met my MO in PICU and she told me to go to 5D to see whether or not the patient's XRay was ready.

By the time that was done, it was 5.30pm. I left the hospital and went out for drinks with a couple of friends. I didn't eat anything because I already had dinner plans.

I reached my hostel at 7pm and immediately went out with a different set of friends for dinner.

I came back at about 9pm, took my shower and then received a phone call from my friends (the same 2 people whom I went out with for drinks earlier) calling me to go to McD. I tried refusing but in the end was 'forced' to go.

(The cashier at McD was quite funny. First she packed up our food even though we said we were going to eat there. And my McFlurry, it was ice-cream with Oreo's dumped on top of it. Only when we asked why did she say that the machine was spoilt. My friend ended up doing the mixing manually. Weird!)

I just got back home a while ago.

I wonder why my legs ache and I am feeling tired.

I Miss You!

I miss my friends in Russia.
I miss the hostel life in Russia.
I miss the good times we had.
I have no idea when we will meet up next.
I miss you guys!!

Not A Good Vampire Yet

Here's another post I wrote quite some time ago:

Yesterday was my first on-call in 6C (neonatal ward). Being oncall in 6A and 6C is 2 different things.

In 6A, there will be a variety of cases – usually dengue, AGE (acute gastroenteritis – basically vomiting and diarrhoea), pneumonia, asthma and rarely something other than the one’s I mentioned. Being on-call basically means clerking the new cases and if there are dengue cases, then blood taking every 4 or 6 hours depending on how severe their disease is.

In 6C, 90% of the cases are NNJ (neonatal jaundice), 8% will be ‘risk of MAS (meconium aspiration syndrome), ‘premature baby for observation’, ‘macrosomic (big) baby for observation’ etc. NNJ is actually a simple case to clerk – all we have to do is fill up a form. Examination of the baby is also quite simple. The only thing is when the NNJ is a bit more severe – then there is 4 hourly blood taking (for very severe NNJ, we might have to resort to exchange transfusion – changing the baby’s blood). Besides that, every morning, we have to repeat the blood test for ALL NNJ babies (which can some up to more than 20). The person on-call must finish all blood taking before 7-7.30 am.

Just to clarify things – it is very hard to take blood from babies who are below 1 month old. It is even worse if they are premature. The vein is tiny and they bruise so easily! In babies, we use the smallest needle available and even that seems huge compared to their hands.

When I first started work, I really, really couldn’t manage to take blood from the babies. Out of 10 times, I would suceed maybe once or twice. Now, I have improved a little (A LITTLE) but then when I see a baby who’s hand is full of bruises and swollen, I usually just try once and then pass it on to another person to take the blood. I hope that in time I would be better and can take all the blood myself.

So, anyway, I was oncall in 6C yesterday. I had 10 admissions. According to a friend of mine, it is a very small number for a Saturday. When she was oncall on Saturday last time, she had 30 admissions! I wonder where all the patients were placed – the ward isn’t even that big! Anyway, all my admissions were before the night rounds, so it wasn’t too bad. I managed to sleep for about 2.5 hours.

Since my blood taking skills are next to none and there were about 20 bloods to take, I decided to start early – at about 4am. I set my alarm at 4, but then snoozed until about 4.15. I tried my best, but then only managed to finish the blood taking with the help of some of the nurses and another friend. But then we finished by about 7am which is not too bad.

Overall, not too bad a call, compared to my call in 6A the other day.

(Am I boring you with my writings about work? I can’t seem to think of anything else to say – after all, work is the only thing I do nowadays besides the occasional eating out with friends. Will try to blog about other topics next time – no promises though, :P)

25.01.09

The Internet And Us

Today's entry is dedicated to the internet.

It's amazing really, the things you can do online.

Can you imagine a world without internet? It would be SO BORING and it would be difficult to look for information.

Stuff people usually do online:

1. Send and receive e mails and e-cards. How many people write letters anymore? It is more convenient and faster to send e mails - no need to queue up for stamp, no need to go to the post office. Just sit in the comfort of your own home and send a mail and receive an instant reply (if you are lucky). However, when it comes to cards I prefer a proper, 3D one to an e-card.

2. Facebook, friendster, multiply, flicker, circles, hi5 etc. - just a way to keep in touch with friends and family if you are like me - the kind who is too lazy to type and send e mails. Besides, it is an easier way to share photos or videos.

3. Blogging and reading other people's blog - an online diary kind of thing for some, a way to share their opinion regarding certain matters for some, a source of income for some. I don't know why I blog. It started out as a past time, now I am kind of addicted to it- I feel the need to put up an entry as often as I can.

4. Surf the net - for information, for latest celebrity gossip, just to pass time.

5. Watch or download movies/dramas/porn

6. Banking work - I don't know about other banks, but I know Maybank2U is a very convenient way of keeping track of your account. You can transfer money, pay bills and watch out for when your pay has been deposited.

7. Paying bills (as mentioned in number 6)

8. Buy groceries - I don't know whether it is possible to do this in Malaysia, but I do know that my cousin and her friends used to do it in the UK. They order the stuff they want online, then the supermarket delivers it to them.

9. Do your taxes - I've never done it before, but I was told that it is possible.

10. Sell/buy stuff through E-bay (never done it before, don't have much information about it).

11. Play online games

12. Chat - how could I not think of that sooner!

13. Make a phone call (is it still considered a phone call if you do it through the net?). It is free or almost free, although it can be irritating at times when you can't get a proper connection.

14. Look for directions - never done it myself, but then my Dad's friend once looked for directions online, then printed it out, then followed the directions and arrived directly to the place he was going to without getting lost!

15. Book/buy flight tickets, train tickets, hotels, hostels etc. - very, very important if you are planning to travel or go for a holiday somewhere. Have done it many times - very easy and useful.

16. Read the newspapernews.

17. Work - I know at least 1 person who works from home, just using the internet.

18. Book movie/circus/teather tickets.

19. Download books - although it's not the same as reading a proper book.

I am sure there are many other uses of the internet, but I just can't think of it right now.

I think the internet should be considered to be one of the 'Wonder of the World'.

I can't imagine what the world would be like without the internet. We have integrated it into our lives so much!

Thank you, Mr. creator of the internet.

When There Is Lightning

One of the main topics that people generally talk about is the weather. Among family, friends or even strangers. My Dad, whenever he smses me give me a weather update of his place - 'it's very hot today' or 'it rained today'.

Recently, the weather in Malaysia has been rather chaotic - hot as hell at one minute, and raining at the next. As I've more or less quit reading the newspaper and don't watch the news, I got to know last weekend (when I went back home) that there have been quite a number of landslides at Kuala Pilah due to the extremely heavy rain and strong wind.

Ipoh too has had it's share of funny weather. We had very bad rain yesterday and the day before yesterday. Both times, the rain started and stopped abruptly, but when it rained, it rained like the Gods were angry. A few places even got flooded after that short period of rainfall!

Yesterday's rain was accompanied by thunder and lightning, which reminded me of something that happened a long time ago.

I was 6 years old. I was staying with my cousins in Seremban, going to a kindergarden nearby. My parents would come visit me during the weekends and I would go back home during the holidays. I was the youngest among my cousins and I don't remember much, but then I do remember getting teased every now and then - happens to everyone, doesn't it?.

One of the things that my cousins told me was this - when lightning strikes, it always strikes the eldest child of the family (if the person is outdoors). I believed them, and being the eldest in my family, I would avoid going out of the house whenever there was lightning.

I have another Aunt who lived 2 doors away from the house I was living in. I used to go there almost every day to practice the piano since there wasn't a piano in the Seremban house (which is how we refer to the house we lived in last time).

As luck would have it, one day, after practising the piano, before I went back to the Seremban house, it started to rain + thunder + lighting. I was TERRIFIED!! What if I got struck by lightning? I can't stay in my Aunt's house because I had to go to kindergarden the next day and it was already late at night. Of course I did not mention this fear to my Aunt or my cousins - I didn't want anyone to laugh at me.

In the end, my Aunt decided that it was too dark for me to go back alone and told one of my cousin brother's to accompany me back home. I felt such relief when I saw that the cousin who is going to send me back is the eldest one in his family; my reasoning was this - since he is the eldest in the family and since he is older than me, then he is bound to get struck by lightning first. Inconsiderate, I know, but I was 6 years old!

Anyway, both of us managed to get to our respective homes safely without being struck by lightning. I don't know when I managed to get that 'eldest child usually gets struck by lighting' idea out of my head, but then I don't think I will ever forget that particular day. It's not like I have a good memory (my friends can tell you how bad I am at remembering stuff), but somehow, this incident got stuck in my brain.

In case you were wondering - no, it didn't rain in Ipoh today.

Rape Cases

Many different people with many different problems come to the hospital.
In 6A, the most common cases we see are pneumonia, acute bronchiolitis, dengue, AGE (acute gastroenteritis), febrile fits, nephrotic/nephritic syndrome, UTI and sadly, NAI.

NAI - non-accidental injury.
It is basically abuse or rape cases.
Most of the time, we see rape victims; alsmost always, girls..
(Sometime, the child is not raped, but acted through mutual consent)

On average, I would say there is 1 NAI case a day.

Think about it.
We only see the person if the person is of paediatric age, which means there are probably many more ladies out there who have been affected.
We only see those children who's parent/teacher have reported the case - God knows how many go unreported.

What's worse is that most of the time, the perpetrator is someone from the child's own family or friends.
Isn't it sad that these children have been betrayed by the one they trust?
Isn't it sad that they have to go through so much at such a young age?
How can anyone be so inhumane, so irresponsible, so sick?

I stick by my principle that the best punishment for a rapist is to cut it off. Only then would they really be sorry for what they did. Maybe we would then have a decrease in the number of rape cases. The poor girl is scarred for life, so what if the guy has a stump? Serve's him right!!

Funny Picture

I have had this 'picture' for quite a long time, but then everytime I see it, I still find it amusing.

(click on the picture for a larger image)

Life's Like That

Today afternoon, on the way back to Ipoh, I was complaining to KR that after 4 days of holidays, now I have to go back to reality where I don't have enough intubations and might get extended. In his efforts to make me feel better, he brought to my attention a previous post of mine, where I wrote about all the uncertainties of starting a new life.

Here is a small part of what I wrote in that particular post :

I don't know where I'll be staying - I'll be in the quarters, but have no idea which room or what it looks like.
I don't know who my roomate will be.
I don't know which department I'll be in.
I don't know what time my work starts and what time it ends.
I don't know where I'll eat or where to do my laundry.
I don't know when I'll be back next.
I don't know when I'll be able to go online.
I don't know whether or not I'll be having weekends.

Right now, I have answers to all the above 'I don't knows'.
-I live in the hostel - there is one room and a hall.
-My roomate is Suguna, who was in the same induction with me.
-I am in Paeds, and will be going on to Ortho.
-For now, work starts at 7.30 and ends at 5pm (except when I am oncall).
-I have eaten in many different shops and have found 2 laundry shops.
-I went back in the end of January and last Thursday. Hopefully will be going back again in the beginning of April.
-Although it took some time, I can go online everyday now (once again, except when I am oncall).
-I have one weekend off in a month for now, think the next department will be the same.

I guess everyone has doubts in all stages of their life.
I guess that is what life is all about.

One of my brother's lecturer once told his class - if you want a life without problem, then the only way is to die, because in life, you would always face problems.
Can't argue to that statement, right?

Holiday!!

I am on leave! After such a long time, I am back home. The last trip home doesn't count - everyone was busy with my cousin brothers wedding.

I've taken leave till Monday.
It's really nice to have a holiday.
Just relax, do nothing.
One never truly appreciates leave until one works.
When studying, if you don't feel like going for classes, you can always ponteng.
But then, working is different - you have to take leave and leave is SO PRECIOUS!!

My brain is holiday as well, so I can't think of a post to write.
Got an interesting mail the other day..decided to just copy-paste it here.
Hope you enjoy it as well.
______________________________________________________________
Please take the test to check how stressed you are....

THE BANANA TEST



There is a very, very tall coconut tree and there are 4 animals.
King Kong, an Ape, an Orangutan and a Monkey pass by.
They decide to compete to see who is the fastest to get a banana off the tree.
Who do you guess will win?
Your answer will reflect your personality.
Think carefully . . . Try and answer within 30 seconds


Got your answer?

Now scroll down to see the analysis.
























If your answer is:

Orangutan = you're sick

Ape = you need a break

Monkey = worse, you suppose to be in the hospital right now..

King Kong = I think you better take 1 year leave..
.......

Why?! ????















.......




A Coconut tree doesn't have bananas!

Obviously you're stressed and overworked.
Take some time off and relax! ☺

My First Pay

Something else I wrote quite some time back..

I just got my first pay.
I guess everyone gets excited when they receive their first pay.
I am excited too!

I have lots of things I want to buy.
I have lots of things I want to do with that money.
Now I am wondering if it is enough.

I guess no one is ever satisfied with the amount of pay that they get.
We are humans after all.

We always want more.

More time.
More money.
More things.
More friends.
More food.
More sleep.

Another way to put it – we are greedy.

I am greedy.
I want everything that I mentioned in the list above.
But for now, I am quite satisfied with what I have.

My shopping list is running through my brain right now.
One of the things I want to buy – broadband!!
Hope to be able to go online regularly soon.

Right now, I am going to try and figure out how to spend my first pay. I am SOOO EXCITED!!

21.01.09

Sleep Is Important!

Yesterday, I came back (after a super-early dinner) at about 7pm. I checked my mail, read whatever comments I have on my blog and decided to sleep for about an hour then wake up and bathe.

I slept and next thing I knew, I woke up at 11.30pm.
Being the pig lazy person I am, I decided that I should just continue sleeping since I will be bathing in a few hours anyway.

I had 11 hours of sleep yesterday.
I must say, it is really quite refreshing.
It has been quite a long time since I've had such a long sleep.
I am sure most of my friends would agree with me that sleep is a much needed thing nowadays.

The thing is, many people don't realize how important sleep is.
Do you know, without sleep one can only survive for about 5-7 days?
Without water, you die in 3-4 days, without food you die in about 50 days or so.
So, sleeping is more important than eating.

Conclusion : Sleep more, eat less.

Finally I have been posted to NICU.
It has been quite slow the past 2 days in the NICU.
I met my HOD for assessment again the other day - basically he wanted to see how we were getting along with our intubation.
Unfortunately for us, fortunately for the mother, most of the babies being born nowadays are healthy and do not require intubation.
The chances of me getting extended is increasing day by day...*sigh*

I am oncall again tomorrow. So far, I only have 2 calls this month, but then the time table has only come out for the 1st 2 weeks of this month. I think I will have more calls on the 2nd half of this month 'cos nowadays we have a minimum number of calls that we have to do (not sure 6 or 8 calls per month).

Well, that's the update of what is going on in my life right now.
Oh....One more thing; I had flamin' burger from KFC today - I think it is quite yummy (no, they are not paying me any money to promote it)!

Till the next post...happy sleeping everyone!!

Slumdog Millionaire

Isn't it amazing? The more time I have on my hands, the lesser time I seem to have.

Doesn't make sense?

Let me clear things up.

When I am working up to 5pm, I have time to come back home, have dinner, surf the net, blog then sleep.

Yesterday, work finished at 1pm, I had my lunch, watched a movie, slept, woke up, had dinner, surfed the net then slept.

I totally missed out on the blogging part.

I had time. Lots of it in fact.
But then I was lazy.
(It's a good thing that I can identify my weakness, right?)

Anyway, I watched Slumdog Millionaire yesterday. I know I am a bit 'ketinggalan', but what can I do - the cinemas in Ipoh are not playing the movie!
I think it is a nice movie.
I don't know whether or not it is the best movie in the whole wide world, but then getting the Best Picture Award is certainly something they (whoever created the movie) should be proud of.
Even to be nominated for the award is something, but winning it - amazing!

One thing my friends and I came to conclusion a few years back about movies that win the best picture award - the movies are very philosophical, hard to understand, full of unknown meaning, not meant for shallow minded people like us.
But this movie is something I think everyone can grasp.
If you have not watched the movie, I think you should go watch it.

I am not going to tell the story and spoil it for you, but here is something I want to say - it is really sad to see that people in some parts of the world are actually living in such bad living conditions and suffering when we are so comfortable with our lives and can't stop complaining about how we don't have enough.

Isn't it sad that people are dying of hunger when we throw away our food because we are too full?
We complain of the heat when people die of cold.
In so many ways, we do not appreciate what we have.
We do not appreciate the people we have in our lives.
Sad, isn't it?
But then that is always the case - we never appreciate what we have until it is lost to us.

I read in Wikipedia that the movie is based on a book.
My mission now is to find the book.
In my opinion, reading a story is always nicer than watching it.
I know many people will not agree, so go on, watch the movie.
Hope you like it as much as I do.