Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Do We Need An F1 Team?

It wasn't until a couple of days ago that I heard that Malaysia is going to have it's own F1 team.

My first response...WHAT??!!
How I feel now...WHAT THE HELL ARE WE THINKING?!

1. What do we get by sponsoring an F1 team?
There is almost zero chance that we are going to win - unless of course if all the other cars crash or have some technical problems.

2. Look at the name we chose - 1Malaysia...
I know that it is supposed to show our togetherness and bla, bla, bla...but isn't it just a bit too much?
Imagine the commentator saying this -
'The 1Malaysia has crashed'.
'1Malaysia failed to finish yet again'.
Of course, it would be wonderful to hear 'As expected, 1Malaysia has won the race yet again!', but how often do you think we would get to hear that?

Another thing that caught me by shock - our driver.
Alex Yoong.
It's not that he is horrible, but I am not saying he is great.
In fact, I am not going to say anything at all.
I am sure everyone knows him..

Here is what Wikipedia has to say...
Justify Full"Backed by the Malaysian lottery company Magnum he was given the chance to drive three Formula One races in 2001 for the Minardi team, debuting at the Italian GP. He thus became the first Malaysian F1 driver. The deal was extended for the whole 2002 season, however after a good result of seventh in the Australian Grand Prix he struggled to be competitive. After failing to be remotely close to the 107% rule for many races, he was replaced by Anthony Davidson for two mid-season races. Although his form did improve afterwards, his Formula One career ended at the close of season. He competed in 18 Grands Prix with a best result of 7th in the 2002 Australian Grand Prix."


I really don't understand why we are getting into this F1 business.
Do we really have THAT much money?
Do we have nothing else to spend that money on?
Is there a purpose behind this plan?
I'm sure there is - we wouldn't do something just for the fun of it, right?
I just wish I knew why.

And I want to know why I am not getting my bonus this year - is it really because we have already spent a lot of money battling the H1N1?

Sunday, September 27, 2009

What Being A Houseman Is About

There are many different jobs in the hospital. Each job comes with certain duties.

Here is a list of what a houseman is supposed to do:
1. Clerk new cases
2. Inform the MOs about the new cases.
3. Do morning rounds. Sometimes have to do afternoon rounds as well.
4. Do rounds with the MO.
5. Do rounds with the specialist.
6. Do rounds with the consultant (if he/she comes for rounds).
7. Trace results.
8. Take blood.
9. Review all the investigation results and if abnormal, inform the MO or try to correct it.
10. Fill up xray/ultrasound/CT scan/MRI forms and other investigation forms.
11. Get ultrasound/CT scan/MRI appointments.
12. Go for xray/ CT scan/ MRI reporting.
13. Set line.
14. In O&G - interpret CTG.
15. In Ortho - put on backslab or POP.
16. Attend to patients who suddenly feel unwell/collapse.
17. Assist in OT.
18. Write OT notes.
19. Fill up COTDS form and also key in COTDS in the computer.
20. Get consent.
21. Check blood before transfusion.
22. Try your best so that patients don't collapse.
23. Collect blood from the blood bank (if need it urgently, or if need special orders like DIVC regime).
24. Send the blood to the lab if you want to get the results fast since most PPKs can be quite useless.
25. Do discharges.
26. Do OT list.
27. In medical and surgical - have to do other procedures like setting CVL, do PD, etc.
28. Refer cases to other departments if necessary.

This are the things I can think of for now.
Imagine doing this day in, day out, and getting scolding for not managing to do everything.
What's not to love, huh!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

A Raya With A Difference

This year Raya is my first one as a working person.

For obvious reasons, the non-Malays did not take leave for Raya. It's not that we were told that we cannot take leave, it's just an understanding, and so we didn't.

I was oncall on Raya day.

It was quite a good call since I was doing maternity call.
You see, people generally want to celebrate raya with their family, so psychologically, they want to be healthy, and so this helps in keeping them healthy.
Psychology really does play a part in keeping people well.

I didn't have any admissions (cos all admissions went to the labor room) and all the patients were stable.
The best part, I went to 3 different open-houses.
1 in First Mat, 1 in High Risk Ward and 1 in 2/3 Mat.
Each had their own kuihs and lemang and rendang.
I really had a nice time since I am a HUGE fan of rendang.

We had lemang and kuih for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
It was my first call that I did not feel hungry at all, since there was a constant supply of foodstuff.
I even had lemang and rendang for breakfast the next day!

Now that Raya is over, you can see the sudden influx of people.
Everyone seems to want to deliver, everyone seems to have some problem or the other.
A full labor room is not a good thing, especially since I am oncall there tomorrow.

Well, there is nothing left to say for now. I just hope I have a good call tomorrow.

Here's a mail that I received yesterday - I have received it before, but this is the first time that I am reading it and can actually connect it to my life.

When I Take a long time to finish,
I am slow,


When my boss takes a long time,
he is thorough

When I don't do it,
I am lazy,

When my boss does not do it,
he is busy,

When I do something without being told,
I am trying to be smart,

When my boss does the same,
he takes the initiative,

When I please my boss,
I am apple polishing,

When my boss pleases his boss,
he is cooperating,

When I make a mistake,
you're an idiot.

When my boss makes a mistake,
he's only human.

When I am out of the office,
I am wandering around.

When my boss is out of the office,
he's on business.

When I am on a day off sick,
I am always sick.

When my boss is a day off sick,
He must be very ill.

When I apply for leave,
I must be going for an interview

When my boss applies for leave,
it's because he's over worked

When I do good,
my boss never remembers,
When I do wrong,
he never forgets.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

A Movie With A Difference

I went for a Tamil movie yesterday - Unnai Pol Oruvan (A Common Man)

I am not really a big fan of Kamal Hassan, so I never had any plans to go for the movie.
However everyone who went for the movie came back with good reviews, so I HAD to check it out.

It was quite a good movie, really.

Something different.
Something you wouldn't expect from a Tamil movie.

There were no songs where people will be running around trees.
There were no fight scenes where 1 person can beat up 10 otherJustify Fulls.
There wasn't even a heroine!

The movie was basically about a guy who plants 5 bombs in 5 different places and demands the release of 4 terrorists. The bulk of the movie is about the negotiation between the guy and the police and how the police try to find out who this guy is.

A nice movie, one worth watching.

Unfortunately, there still are Indians out there who want to see a TAMIL movie when they go for a Tamil movie - which means they want to see songs, and sexy heroines, and unbelievable fight scenes and superheros who can fly.

So, I predict that this movie won't make as much money as it should.

Unfortunately.

p/s I would recommend anyone who can understand Tamil to go for the movie. For those who don't, make sure they have subtitle, because I don't think the one I watched had subtitles for the whole movie.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

As Days Pass By

At the beginning of the puasa month, my roommate and I made plans to go to the Pasar Ramadhan near the Ipoh Stadium.

The puasa month is almost ending.
We have still not been there, and I doubt that we will have a chance to go there.

It's just that something always comes up and we keep postponing the visit.
The fact that it rains quite often in the evenings does not help either.
Well, maybe we can go for it next year; we'll still be here then.

Today, on an impulse, a few of us decided to go for a movie - The Ugly Truth.
It is a girly kind of movie, and only us girls are going.
Hopefully, it will be a nice movie.

Well, nothing much has been going on.
It's going to be raya soon, so we will have a shortage of housemen for quite a few days.
Hopefully there won't be many admissions.
*fingers crossed*

Here are some jokes...hope you like them..

Marriage (Part I )
Typical macho man married typical good-looking lady, and after the wedding, he laid down the following rules:

'I'll be home when I want, if I want and at what time I want -- and I don't expect any hassle from you.
I expect a great dinner to be on the table unless I tell you that I won't be home for dinner.
I'll go hunting, fishing, boozing, and card-playing when I want with my old buddies, and don't you
give me a hard time about it!
Those are my rules. Any comments?'

His new bride said:
'No, that's fine with me. Just understand that there will be sex here at seven o'clock every night....whether you're here or not.'

(DARN SHE'S GOOD!)

************ ********* ********* ********* *********
Marriage (Part II)


Husband and wife had a bitter quarrel on the day of their 40th wedding anniversary!

The husband yells, 'When you die, I'm getting you a headstone that reads, 'Here Lies My Wife -- Cold As Ever'!'

'Yeah?' she replies. 'When you die, I'm getting you a headstone that reads, 'Here Lies My Husband -- Stiff At Last'!'

(HE ASKED FOR IT!)
************ ********* ********* ********* **
Marriage (Part III)


Husband (a doctor) and his wife are having a fight at the breakfast table.

Husband gets up in a rage and says, 'And you are no good in bed either,' and storms out of the house.

After some time he realizes he was nasty and decides to make amends and rings her up.

She comes to the phone after many rings, and the irritated husband says, 'What took you so long to answer to the phone?'

She says, 'I was in bed.'

'In bed this early, doing what?'

'Getting a second opinion!'

(YEP, HE HAD THAT COMING, TOO!)

************ ********* ********* ********* **
Marriage (Part IV)


A man has six children and is very proud of his achievement.

He is so proud of himself, that he starts calling his wife,' Mother of Six' in spite of her objections.

One night, they go to a party.
The man decides that it IS time to go home and wants to find out if his wife is ready to leave as well.
He shouts at the top of his voice, 'Shall we go home Mother of Six?'

His wife, irritated by her husband's lack of discretion, shout s right back, 'Any time you're ready, Father of Four.'

(RIGHT ON, LADY!)

************ ********* ********* ********* **
THE SILENT TREATMENT

A man and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving each other the silent treatment.

Suddenly the man realized that the next day he would need his wife to wake him at 5:00 AM for an early morning business flight.

Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote on a piece of paper,'Please wake me at 5:00 A M.' He left it where he knew she would find it.

The next morning the man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 AM and he had missed his flight.

Furious, he was about to go to see why his wife hadn't wakened him when he noticed a piece of paper by the bed. The paper said, 'It is 5:00 AM . Wake up.'

Men are not equipped for these kinds of contests.

************ ********* ********* ********* **
God may have created man before woman, but there
is always a rough draft before the masterpiece.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Good Movie, Bad Movie

There have been quite a number of new movies playing in the Malaysian cinemas recently.

I have not seen so many new movies, mainly because I have been quite busy adjusting to the new department plus I have had quite a number of calls. I don't usually go for movies when I am pre-call (except if it is a weekend), post-call and of course when I am oncall. That leaves very few days for me to have a chance to go for movies.

I had my weekend off last week, and took the chance to go for two movies, both of which I have wanted to watch for quite some time now.

The first is Final Destination.
I am a fan of Final Destination. I know it is a movie where everyone eventually dies and some of the 'scenes' might be quite disturbing to some.
But, I enjoyed the first 2 Final Destination, and when I learnt that a 3rd one is going to come out, I was just waiting for it to hit the cinemas.

I was really, really disappointed in the movie.
The way everyone died was just too bizzare.
Yes, people did die in weird ways in the previous movies too, but this was just too much.
And some of the 'mechanism of death' was just ridiculous up to the point of being funny!

I guess you can't blame the directors/writers or whoever it is that is responsible - I guess there is just so many ways one can die, but the if you can't come up with a good idea, better not produce the movie, right? Now, no matter how good the previous 2 movies were, people will always talk about how much of a failure the 3rd one is (if everyone else thinks the same way that I do).

The 2nd movie I watched is a Tamil movie, Kanthaswamy.
I am a fan of the hero - Vikram - not because he is handsome or macho or whatever, but because he has been known to act in some really good movies. His acting is good, his movies are worth watching.

But then, so many people who had been to the movie said that it is a bad movie, not worth watching, etc. Rajiv told me that it is a good movie - although he is not really a good person to get an opinion from since he has never said that a movie is not nice before. All the guys who have been to the movie like the movie because the heroine was wearing next to nothing half of the time.

I kept on contemplating to go or not to go, since the reviews have been quite bad, but in the end decided to just give it a shot - how bad can it be, right?

The movie, I think was really quite good.
The story line was something different for a Tamil movie.
The acting was good (not great, but not bad).
The effort taken in making the movie deserves a thumbs up too.
The only unsettling thing is the songs - it was like watching a porn flick - dressing was horrible, dancing was suggestive - quite unsuitable for kids I would say.

Conclusion : Go watch movies for yourself before you decide whether the movie is good or bad.

Well, it's back to work now.
Sigh..
Waiting for my next leave..

Monday, September 14, 2009

Jokes - 18SX

Q: Why are condoms transparent?
A: So that sperms can at least enjoy the scene even if their entry is Restricted!

Signboard outside a prostitute's house:
Married MEN not allowed. We serve the needy, not the greedy...

New AIDS awareness slogan:
Try different positions with the same woman instead of same position with different women.

Why is sex like shaving?
Well, because no matter how well you do it today... tomorrow you'll have to do it again...

Q: What will happen if earth rotates 30 times faster?
A: Men will get their salary everyday and women will bleed to death.

Q: Why do 90% gals have left boob bigger than right?
A: Bcoz 90% boys are right handed.

Q: What is the difference between an UNDERWEAR & a STAGE CURTAIN?
A: When you pull down the STAGE CURTAIN, the show is over, but when you pull down the UNDERWEAR..... it is SHOWTIME!

Q: What is the similarity between a wife and a chewing gum?
A: Both are sweet in the beginning but become tasteless and shapeless later

Advantages of having an affair with a married women.
They give like hell.
They do not yell.
They do not tell.
They do not swell and there is no wedding bell!

My dad told me that if Adam and Eve were Chinese, we would be still in Paradise . Why? Because they would have eaten the snake instead of the bloody apple!

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Dim Sum

Some years ago, YG promised me this - 'come to Ipoh, and I will take you to the best Dim Sum place'.

I have now been Ipoh for more than 9 months.

Finally, today, the promise has been kept.
(I don't blame her, though..all of us have been busy in our separate departments).

In fact, today, is the first time that us 4 girls from MMA in Ipoh Hospital went out for makan together!

It's my first time eating Dim Sum.
I really did enjoy it.
There were a variety of things to eat.
The food was tasty.
The pau was exceptionally delicious!
Service was good.
And it wasn't as expensive as I expected it to be.

Besides eating, we had a good time chatting and gossiping.
We stayed on even after everyone else had left.
We were the only ones sitting upstairs, with only 1 fan on.
At one point, they came and told us that the cashier was about to close and asked us to pay first (we could still sit and chat though)

I wish we have more days like this.

round 2..(forgot to take picture of round 1)
See the pau - really worth a try (if you are a pork-eater)

YG and I
People were already starting to leave, as you can see from the empty tables behind us.
Apparently, Dim Sum is eaten for breakfast (we only went there about 11.30am)

LY and CL
The decorations in the shop were really nice...if I ever go back there again (and I hope I will), I'll make sure that I take more picture of the shop to post up.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Love Is Blind, Or Is It Not?

Today, my room-mate and I had a short discussion - is love blind?

She says yes, I say no.

Why do I say so?

'Cos I think that people fall in love only when they want to.
If you don't want to fall in love with someone, then you won't.

Which is why I don't believe crap like - I can't help but fall in love with that person.

Why is it that the person that you can't seem to be able to resist is always someone who is good looking or is rich or is successful or is someone of influence?
Why is it so rare that someone falls for someone who is of so-called-lower social ranking?

I honestly think that you have a big part to play in deciding who you fall in love with.
If you want to love someone, then you will.
If you befriend someone without the intention of falling in love, then you won't.

If you equate love with being close to someone, then I guess you won't have that many close friends, just many ex-boyfriends/girlfriends.

I don't know if I am making sense.
Sounds like crap to me.
I know what I am thinking, but am having difficulty putting it in words for now.
Feel tired for some reason - precall syndrome?

For now, I will leave this topic by itself.
Maybe some other day when my brain decides that it can function a little bit better, I will tackle this topic again.

What do you think, by the way?
Is love blind?
Please participate in my poll - thank you!

Sunday, September 6, 2009

I'll Be Just 5 Minutes

Don't you just hate waiting for someone?

They make a 'date' with you at 8pm.
And yet, they only come at 9pm.
From 8-9pm, you just and wait and wait.

Or, they tell you, wait for me, I'll just be 5 minutes, and you end up waiting 15 minutes while the other person takes their own sweet time doing their stuff.

Or, they tell you...I'll be coming to your house for lunch. And you wait for them for lunch, and they end up coming at 5pm.

I don't get it.
How can people be so irresponsible?
My brother calls it people without discipline.
If you are running late, how hard is it to just pick up the phone and tell the other person that you will be late?

Imagine if you have already planned your time - you get ready, you wait..afraid to do anything else because the person might come at any time, and you end up waiting for an hour!
Won't you feel irritated?

I have been in the High Risk Ward for about a month now.
During weekends, the MO oncall in the labour room is supposed to do rounds in the HRW.

But just imagine this - the MO oncall has to cover the labour room - any emergency obstetric cases, all caesarean sections and the HRW rounds in the morning. Just how is one supposed to do all this by 11am?

They come for rounds, and then will receive a call about an emergency caesar and then will have to dash off for that.
In the end, we, HOs end up waiting and waiting for MO to come back and finish rounds.

Today, we waiting from about 1030am up to 2pm.
We had already done the discharges for whomever we thought would be fit for discharge.
We had already done all the blood taking and stuff.

In the end, we ended up sleeping on some sofa that they had in the ward.
When the MO came, rounds lasted about half an hour.
Since discharges were already done, we managed to leave immediately after the rounds.
But the wait was really irritating.
I can't wait to get out of HRW - at least my weekends won't be wasted on the sofa, sleeping.

Friday, September 4, 2009

2 Stories, 1 Lesson

A Successful Marriage

Once upon a time a married couple celebrated their 25th marriage anniversary.
They had become famous in the city for not having a single conflict in their period of 25 years.

Local newspaper editors had gathered at the occasion to find out the secret of their well known "happy going marriage".

Editor: "Sir. It's amazingly unbelievable. How did you make this possible? "

Husband recalling his old honeymoon days said:
"We had been to Shimla for honeymoon after marriage.

Having selected the horse riding finally, we both started the ride on different horses. My horse was pretty okay but the horse on which my wife was riding seemed to be a crazy one.

On the way ahead, that horse jumped suddenly, making my wife topple over. Recovering her position from the ground, she patted the horse's back and said "This is your first time". She again climbed the horse and continued with the ride.

After a while, it happened again.. This time she again kept calm and said "This is your second time" and continued.

When the horse dropped her third time, she silently took out the revolver from the purse and shot the horse dead!!

I shouted at my wife: "What did you do you psycho. You killed the poor animal. Are you crazy?".

She gave a silent look and said: "This is your first time!!!"."

Husband:"That's it. We are happy ever after ";-)
____________________________________________________________

Young King Arthur was ambushed and imprisoned by the monarch of a neighboring kingdom. The monarch could have killed him but was moved by Arthur's youth and ideals. So, the monarch offered him his freedom, as long as he could answer a very difficult question. Arthur would have a year to figure out the answer and, if after a year, he still had no answer, he would be put to death. The question was: What do women really want ?

Such a question would perplex even the most knowledgeable man, and to young Arthur, it seemed an impossible query. But, since it was better than death, he accepted the monarch's proposition to have an answer by year's end. He returned to his kingdom and began to poll everyone:

The princess, the priests, the wise men, and even the court jester.


He spoke with everyone, but no one could give him a satisfactory answer. Many people advised him to consult the old witch, for only she would have the answer. But the price would be high as the witch was famous through out the kingdom for the exorbitant prices she charged.

The last day of the year arrived and Arthur had no choice but to talk to the witch. She agreed to answer the question, but he would have to agree to her price first. The old witch wanted to marry Sir Lancelot, the most noble of the Knights of the Round Table, and Arthur's closest friend!

Young Arthur was horrified. She was hunch-backed and hideous, had only one tooth, amelled like sewage, made obscene noises, etc. He had never encountered such a repugnant creature in all his life. He refused to force his friend to marry her and endure such a terrible burden. But Lancelot, having learnt of the proposal, spoke with Arthur. He said nothing was too big of a sacrifice compared to Arthur's life, and the preservation of the Round Table.

Hence, a wedding was proclaimed and the witch answered Arthur's question thus:
"What a woman really wants ?

She said, " Is to be in charge of her own life ."

Everyone in the kingdom instantly knew that the witch had uttered a great truth, and that Arthur's life would be spared. And so it was. The neighboring monarch granted Arthur his freedom. And Lancelot and the witch had a wonderful wedding.

The honeymoon hour approached and, Lancelot, steeling himself for a horrific experience, entered the bedroom. But, what a sight awaited him.The most beautiful woman he had ever seen lay before him on the bed. The astounded Lancelot asked what had happened. The beauty replied that since he had been so kind to her when she appeared as a witch, she would henceforth be her horrible and deformed self only half the time, and the beautiful maiden the other half.

"Which would you prefer? She asked him. "Beautiful during the day ... or at night?"


Lancelot pondered the predicament. During the day he could have a beautiful woman to show off to his friends, But at night, in the privacy of his castle, an old witch!
Or,
Would he prefer having a hideous witch during the day? But by night a beautiful woman for him to enjoy wondrous, intimate moments with?

(If you are a man reading this...) What would YOUR choice be?
(If you are a woman reading this....) What would YOUR MAN'S choice be?

What Lancelot chose, is given below:

BUT... make YOUR choice before you scroll down below... OKAY? ;-)



























Noble Lancelot, knowing the answer the witch gave Arthur to his question, he said that he would allow HER to make the choice herself. Upon hearing this, she announced that she would be beautiful all the time. Because, he had respected her enough to let her be in charge of her own life.
Now... what is the moral to this story? :-*

The moral is...
1) There is a witch in every woman no matter how beautiful she is!
2) If you don't let a woman have her own way, things are going to get ugly.

So, always remember:
IT'S EITHER "HER WAY" OR IT'S "NO WAY" !!!
Justify Full

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

I NEED A Ventilator

Yesterday, a lady had severe pre-eclampsia, a condition, during pregnancy, which could lead to eclampsia (manifested mainly by seizures) and so had to be delivered as soon as possible.

Her baby was a premature, only 1kg, and so will require a ventilator after birth.
There are no available ventilators in Ipoh Hospital.
So we called outside, from the near hospitals to the further ones.
Finally, we managed to get one in Selayang, and so the baby went all the way to Selayang during the first few hours of life.

Today, another lady. She had bleeding placenta previa, a life threathening condition, and so, had to be delivered as soon as possible.
Estimated fetal weight - 1.8kg.
We tried as many hospitals as we could.
All the way from Perlis, right down to Johor.
Ventilators were either in use, or have already been booked.
There were none that we could book.

In the end, the caesar had to be done.
The paed's team were told to standby.
NICU Ipoh was informed.

The baby was born.
2.6kg!
The baby had to be admitted (for observation I guess), but did not require a ventilator.
Thank God for that!

But just imagine if that is not what happened.
What if the baby needed a ventilator?
Do we wean off another baby from his/her ventilator?
Or do we try all the hospitals again in hope that a ventilator has just become available?
Isn't it sad that we don't have enough ventilators?

Such a scenario is not an isolated one.
It happens many times in a week.
What would you do if that were your child?
Pray and hope that there is a ventilator available?
I guess that is the only way..