Enlighten me

I saw this sign on the toilet door in Coffee Island (a cool cafe), along Gurney Drive, Penang recently.

My friend and I were left wondering what the sign could mean.

I am still wondering…

Renewed interest

My first ever futsal shoes. Even my friends are making a fuss about it. It’s Hau Wei getting a pair of futsal shoes!

Ever since forever, I have been known to be a “kaki bangku” and I admit it. I cannot play football, and I have never been interested in playing the game, although I love watching it.

It’s not that I have never tried playing it. I did play the game when I was just a kid. I still remember during my primary days when we played football. My friend was going to take a free kick and I bravely stood in line to be the “benteng”. He kicked the ball hard, and unfortunately, hit directly against my face. I was left dizzy and believe me, it was painful. I continued playing occasionally. I faced similar incidents, hits to the chest, back and even my balls. Ouch.

It was until I knew my interests were basketball and volleyball that I stopped playing football. I played basketball and volleyball better than football. My friends know that I have good coordination with my hands and I have a horrible coordination with my legs.

Well, these few weeks, after several games of futsal, I found it pretty good and have increased interest. And there, my first ever pair of futsal shoes.

Hope I don’t get any hits anymore!

Let’s go to the…, zoo?

Well, I guess we were just too bored with the time we have and have decided to go somewhere educational, I would say.

Nah, we were too bored and had no idea where to go.

Zoo Negara suddenly came into our minds and Zoo Negara, we went.

Ya Chin, Kylye, Pauline and the first occupants to welcome us, the giraffes.

Pity Mama elephant.

Alex and I

I did learn a few things during the visit. There are actually two species of orang utans, if my memory serves me right.

Sumatran Orang Utan

Borneo Orang Utan

Surprised to see even a brown bear knows how to relax in his private pool.

With Girlfriend in the Aquarium.

A bird on my hand! If only I’ve paid attention to what the emcee said about the name of the bird.
That was my first ever contact with a bird of any kind.

One year down, many more to go

It felt like yesterday when I took the first step into Medical School in UKM. It was like a rush of experiences, ups and downs. Without realising, I have completed year 1 officially after a call to the Academic Office of KCKL.

My called was answered by the familiar voice of Kak Jah. A friendly, extremely helpful and responsible senior staff there.

Kak Jah: Nak check results ya?

Me: Ya. Kak Jah ke?

Kak Jah: Ya, Kak Jah ni. Siapa lagi? Apa nombor matric?

Me: AXXXXXX.

Kak Jah: AXXXXXX…. agak-agak dapat apa?

Me: Harap-harap pass semua.

Kak Jah: Oh…Khoo pass semua. Tahniah ya. Boleh masuk tahun 2. Kena belanja Kak Jah ya.

Me: Boleh. Terima kasih ya Kak.

It was a huge relief for me. Now, I can officially enjoy my 8 weeks of holidays.

Being in medical school is a like rush. There isn’t time for me to settle down and relax. I had to follow with the flow of it.

Highlights of Year 1

PPD Camp in Kem BTN, Ulu Kenas, Kuala Kangsar, Perak

My Sem 1 PBL group 8, with Prof Shahrir and Prof Goh as our facilitators.

Junior Welcoming Night

The night I became the emcee and also a model.

It was also the night when I was publicly stripped by my coursemates and seniors. Thankfully, only the shirt and someone, for some reasons, took off my shoes as well.

My room in KTSN

The condition of the room isn’t that good but well, I stayed there for 2 semesters and beared with the horrible toilet condition. I kinda miss hostel life though, and surprisingly, my room, D409 too.

First trip to PPUKM

Also the first time I got the chance to take history from a real patient and thankfully, he was very nice and cooperative. Dr. Sarina was my CSL doctor for Semester 1.

PBL Group 8

Taken after the last session of PBL in Semester 1.

AMSA Post-Conference Project in UMS, Sabah

My first ever conference experience, making me wanting for more.
My K618i went for a swim there too.

AMSA Night 2009

Great people, great place.

AMSA AIDS Exhibition

Makan Malam Fakulti

This is what happens when we got too bored waiting to go back.

Visit to Pusat Penjagaan Kanak-kanak Cacat Taman Megah

There are so much that we can do for them and many others who are unfortunate, but yet, we have other obligations which restrict us from doing so.

Khidmat Masyarakat in Kg. Baru, Muar

Together with my keluarga angkat. Love the people there.

Semester 2 PBL 16

PBL lunch after the final PBL session. Kok Joo and Shaffiq were missing in action that day.

And my biggest crime in Year 1

Baghero

Sometimes, by watching Discovery channel and National Geographic Channel, you will learn extra things which may surprise you.

Was watching History of Singapore today, and somehow learnt the word Baghero.

I have been hearing this word for a long time and have been wondering about the origin and meaning of the word.

Baghero – bloody idiot or bastard or something like that in Japanese.

Baghero.

When the load is getting heavier…

At times like this, when everyone is really stressed out, a little encouragement from others mean a lot.

From Ie Lane’s blog. Notice the white box at the bottom.

All the best people. We shall go through this and the remainder of the Medical School together.

Hell week

The most dreaded week of Uni life is coming.

Study week.

It’s really torturous and I really mean it.
This is my typical schedule for study week and it’s the same for the entire 9 days.

8.00 am – Wake up, bath and breakfast etc.
9.00 am – Study
12.30 pm – Lunch
1.00 pm – Study
6.00 pm – Rest, nap, jogging, tv etc.
7.00 pm – Dinner
8.00 pm – Study
1.00 am – Sleep

And what’s worse is the exam week.
For the entire exam week, I will only sleep for 3-5 hours a day. Thanks to the lack of preparation.

I do not know how would my study week and exam week this time will be but I hope it won’t be like Sem 1.

I’m going all out for these coming 3 weeks to trade for 8 weeks of holidays.

To all the Year 1 Medic Students of UKM, all the best!

My bag

This is my bag.

My Girlfriend gave me this bag.

I like this bag very much.

I use it to go to class.

In my bag, there are a few things, such as my pencil case, my file and my other junks.

I put a few things on my bag. They are :

1. Hard Rock Cafe badge
2. Smiley badge
3. Medical Student Batch 08/13 badge
4. Little Prince
5. Key chain from National Cancer Society of Malaysia
6. Double Ribbon badge from Malaysian AIDS Foundation
7. Couple key chain from Girlfriend.

I expect more things to be on my bag in the future.

*I’m so going back to Std 1 level of writing. Shows how much stress I’m going through till the point I’m doing this. Haha
Take care, peeps! I’m going to a kampung in FELDA Muar tomorrow for three days!

Fun side of Medical School

I know my previous post was a bit on the emo side, but don’t get me wrong. I’m still as determined as ever. It can’t be helped that I have feelings like that once in a while.

Well, let me show you the fun side of being a medical student. It may not be as happening as others but I am able to experience certain things which many can’t.

In January, I went to UMS for a Post-Conference Project on Health Promotion. We had something like a small health promotion/campaign in Penampang, Sabah. There, I was able to talk to a middle-aged fisherman. People in Sabah are so nice I tell you. He was willing to go through a nearly 45 minute questionaire. He couldn’t read so I have to explain every single question to him. Surprisingly, he answered every question in detail and he wasn’t irritated of me asking so many questions. Imagine trying to explain every bit of 100 questions to people from KL. They’ll ask you to buzz off when u ask the tenth question. He was talking to me like a friend, or like an equal, as in he talked humbly and is willing to share things. I miss people in Sabah.

Priscilla and Min Jie busy checking BP during the health promotion.

The conference in Sabah was really awesome, though short, it allowed me to have an experience of how a conference is like.

Also an AMSA activity, we had our inaugural inofficial AMSA dinner at TGIF, Jln Sultan Ismail. The environment was perfect for a party.

With Lai, from UCSI and Juin Yi, now known as Robert

With the girls.

Almost everyone seemed lost.

With almost everyone who attended the dinner.

The dinner was a success thanks to the dedicated committee who worked tireless.
Thank you so much, guys!

Then, there was this AIDS Exhibition held during Karnival Kesihatan, Kesenian dan Kebudayaan Kuala Lumpur (4KL), which is a mega project of our college.

Our booth

Banner – against stigmatisation of people with HIV/AIDS

Prevention of HIV/AIDS transmission. We taught people how to use condoms, well, this time, on a cucumber.

The crew

Because of the exhibition, few of us had to rush to attend a class after that. We went to McD drive-through and got our lunch. We had to eat in the lecture.

This way.

Yi Rong

Me, having my banana pie.

QUIZ!

Guess who this is?
Those who knew about it already, please do not spoil the fun.

I doubt myself

There are times when I happen to sit down all by myself in my room, I start to doubt myself. There are one million and one things running through my mind. And the main questions that I ask myself are:

Am I suited for Medicine?
Can I go through 5 years of hardship?
Will I be a safe and competent doctor?

Back then. especially during STPM days, people ask me what I would like to do after STPM, without even thinking twice, I would answer medicine and it came to a point when everyone knows that I aim for Medicine. I have all the confidence in the world that I will definitely go through the tough 5 years. I did not need to reconsider my options when I applied for universities.

Now, it’s a totally different story altogether. It was fine in Semester 1. Semester 2 was a bit crazy. Lecture notes were piling, PBLs got heavier and everything seem to be a mess for me. Worse, I get unwanted pressure.

The more I think about it, the more I realise that results do not matter. As long as we are able to score decent results and acquire the knowledge needed, we would graduate to be fine doctors. It does not matter who gets the best results. Honestly, I can’t be bothered who gets the most As or who gets the highest CGPA.

I doubt myself a lot recently. As in, A LOT.

And what kept me going? I have a promise to keep and I do not want to disappoint people who have supported me all along.