adeline here again,
Am on passive call today. Crossing fingers, toes n eyes in fervent hope that i will not be called. Managed to get nice n long leave for CNY. Yay!! That's for being the only chinese in my combined ortho surgical dept n for being the fella who covered raya puasa n haji n christmas, etc. At last, justice.... hmm but for how long? last two weekends calls are all mine. sob.... But 1st things 1st, must get through this call....

Likely to join anaest next month. Will start with daily tagging for at least 2 months, meaning stick around till 9pm each day n if there is any emergency op in the am hours will have to lug it back to hosp in dark a.m. hours. Anyway, hope it is nicer than ortho surg. I get real stressed up with polytrauma cases. On the plus side, once i'm really on call n if we're not too short, then anaest mo's can take day off after call. yay! note of interest, our scavenger system for gas in manjung OT is out of order, so everyone has been being gassed these past few days n been feeling real sleepy in OT. ha ha :p

Chiew leng, welcome back to the western strip of malaysian earth. Here's some information from one cranky person to another: Few days back, some (chinese) guy n his dad was admitted due to alleged assaulted with multiple incised wound n some # n one sucking chest wound. well, 3 out of 4 ortho MO's were there in OT for 9 hours repairing them n fixing # (from 3am to 12pm). yesterday, we wanted to discharge the fella(quite well already) n the gorilla-like wife said that he was still in pain (the man himself wasnt complaining, mind you) n how is his mother gonna take care of him, etc. "kalau u semua paksa dia keluar hari ini, kita mau transfer ke ipoh specialist centre. berapa banyak pun kita boleh bayar". No gratitude plus aggresively accusing us of being inhumane!(which we are, to a certain extent) N since we had done all the necessary, ISC would only need to give painkillers n nursing care (wash his butt, i suppose) n they would be loved to death by the patient's relatives. Sickening. Why not go straight there to ISC in first place? dumbos, cheapos. Loads of people rich in money but poor in manners around here. Makes me shy to be a chinese, u know? Hmmm... this job is bad for my soul. Compassion levels running real low.

hey, anyone can recommend which brand of mandarin oranges are nice n sweet? Havent had time to buy any of that yet till now. want to buy lots n eat like 5 a day to make up for 1 year of low fruit comsumption.

Well, got to go now. Happy CNY ppl. N drive carefully, n dont drive if ur post call, n dont speed ok? Be safe.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Dear friends,

Time to get together with our families and friends, and have a good break from work.


Best wishes from,

Yong and Seow Voon

last call today! yippee....!

chong tien: will heed warning

chiew leng: will take the risk.

coming back this saturday too. maybe can catch up an monday when yanwei comes back.
p/s pls inform if you have succeeded in reducing your luggage (mincing of gct). then i won't tah pau siew pau.

Carren...

true... Keningau got Chiew Leng, real life Bridget Jones. go figure. haha

miss seremban siew pao though.

Warning... cranky CL dangerous, will attempt to slap, choke or gouge your eyes out at little discontentment. Advice to keep distance, if u value life.

This is probably my last post before i am systematically chopped up in pieces or poisoned to death. good bye and take care... heed the warning.

hi all!

adeline, u r not de onli one getting crankier......your level of crankiness cant top mine ...
just to illustrate, since when medical dept takes care of any electrolytes problems, on top of that takes care of necrotising fascitiis because patient has 'lots' of medical problems namely hypertension diabetes and esrd, lemme see, bladder tumor with obtructive nephropathy causing ARF...(like duh), or let;s say....chronic tophaceous gout with monoarticular knee swelling diagnosed septic arthritis from arthrocentesis....list goes on and on.....septicaemia due to obvious foul smelling necrotic ulcer (no known medical illness)...

thank god i m taking long break from all the nonsense here....politickings among expat specialist are getting unbearable....

guys in pj....any meet up? this weekend maybe?......will be back on sat..oh come on, let's meet up so u can see de new cranky$#% me!

well... keningau got chiew leng.

seremban don't have bridget jones or chiew leng.

Grief is a quiet thing.
Deadly in repose.
A raging horror, a thunder of abuse.

Raucous-
Demanding-
Incomprehensible-
Tearing all that one has ever loved.

Hopeless,
Forlorn,
Fear-ridden and misunderstood;
Ceasing a moment, and through the years
Returning... to destroy.

To rage,
To curse all that is happy-
or contented,
or trusting.

To threaten every beauty that is true.

Grief?
It's a quiet thing.

Melba Colgrove

er... Keningau no cinema la. no VCD either, no need to even talk about DVD. cannot get TV3, NTV7 dun even say 8TV. thank god for ASTRO.

Chiew Leng watched it in KK

just came back from teck choon wedding. was rather a quiet weddin, but it was superb to meet up with everyone.

hi all,
adeline here.
oops.... anyone did their taxes yet? i think i'm late already, what with my penyata gaji sitting in teluk intan. they better not tax me more cos of that!!
no yan wei, i'm not enjoying the wonderful n potent mix of ortho-surg. nearly sent a pt to UH by helicopter last week(yup, we have a helipad in manjung woweee :O)

just to compare, anyone getting crankier this days? well, i'm crankier n fiercer now in this s@#$ posting. the other day this teacher (patient) asked me not to include the weekends in his MC (meaning if i meant the MC for 10 days then he would add sat n sun for free n wallop 14 days) I stared at him n he din dare ask anymore. incidently, he got banged up in MVA cos he was drunk n driving at 4am. stupid a#$.

well, as for manjung turning down MO's cos they're full, ????? i dunno. full of untrained fellas then yes. their quota is 4 mo's per posting. example, in GA which i probably be joining in march, 3 senior mo's r leaving at once, leaving new fellas non of which got even 1 yr experience.

hey, has bridget jones reached keningau already? it's nowhere near here in manjung yet. i guess that explains why motorbike racing is real popular here.

so, yee ling is sent to BP hosp. well i heard it's a nice place to work. just that HO needs to send lotsa cases by ambulance. better than getting KK i guess but sometimes the KK scenario is looking more n more inviting to me.

have not encountered pukka yet but was myself bitten by some insect called tonggek last year on my neck. causes cellulitic change with little pustules. very painful. sleep disturbed definintely. treatment (very effective) as suggested by staff nurses = CMC ointment... loads of it.

hey,
i got to go ppl. on call tomorrow (sigh...)
miss u guys
take care n happy CNY in advance!
bye

Spent RM 200 and didn't understand a word which Jay said.

Superb concert, tho'.

Very deep. Must be the erosion.

Excellent stuff.

My life has fallen down
around me before
-lots of times,
for lots of reasons-
usually other people.

And most of the time
I was fortunate enough
to have a large lump of
that life hit me on the
head and render me numb
to the pain and desolation
that followed.
And i survived.
And i live to love again.

But this,
this slow erosion from below
-or within-
it's me falling down around my life
because you're still in that life
-but not really.
And you're out of that life
-but not quite.

Peter McWilliams

A pukka is a special kind of germ, with glossy wings of checkered leaves, and eyes, beautiful eyes, like a frivolous sunset dipped in a silver sauce.

Oh skye, skye, art thou a delectable bumble bee, where words do not matter, and giant peaches roll in the moonlight. Your gaze smites them to the middle spleen, and they fall helpless at your toes.

None may help me.

What can they do, but toss the buttoned slipper up again into the shattered night sky? There are a thousand stars, like a thousand cats' eyes, and they look upon the shifting sand and curse my silent underwear.

Midnight is near. I stand before a yawning pit, and there are pineapples.

Everyday I inch nearer. What holds me back?

Almost nothing, almost nothing.

Did you read in the news about the tsunami-stranded boy who was wearing a Portugal football jersey when he was rescued? Luis Figo and Nuno Gomes is planning to donate money to the boy, and Cristiano Ronaldo is inviting the boy to visit him in England. And the Portugal FA is also planning some charity thing for the boy.

Well, I may be wrong, but the shirt was probably a cheap imitation bought from some pasar malam at his village. The boy probably could not name a single Portuguese national player (ok, maybe he heard Figo).

So Chong Tien, should you be kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf or if some tsunami strikes Sabah, be sure to be in your Man U jersey. You may just win a trip to Old Trafford, business class.

bridget jones 2 was funny - go watch
well, that was my first movie in so many months, so any form of entertainment would have been great.
did i tell u ppl that dvd can go at 3 for $10?

hey, yeeling is going to batu pahat hospital on 1/2/05
i am not sure whether i can get BP also or not.
aiyo, too late to get registered now. ha ha .!
anyway, it will be a short separation only. hopefully
i am trying to get into anaes department.
Here lots of 5 th poster been send to district hospital. everyone is scared to hell where about to go to. No escape !! unless you got your MRCP or equivalent or you got string to pull.

good luck to those taking MRCP! god bless

Lee Kien: yes i am in Sabah... and yes i have a dog, who is a constant joy and amusement coz he is funny looking, scaredy, and a bit dumb. just like the average keningau citizen.

I am spending the weekend in Seremban. Today is supposed to be the Kedah Sultan's birthday and should be public holiday in Kedah. (Sundays are normal working day in Northern states). But the Sultan decided to postpone his birthday with just one week notice to sympathise with the tsunami victims. Almost ruined my weekend plans to come back to Seremban.

Alan: Why Kuantan? For ventilator? Will the ambulance drive through Mentakab and all, or double back to Gemas then east coast? Poor houseman. What's a pukka?

Chong Tien: Are you back in Sabah where the procreation rate is high? You have a dog?

Carren: You're welcome. But still, the original Sarah Brightman can beat the movie-christine(Emma watz-her-name) anytime.

Fab: Where are you la?

A houseman from our department sent a case to Kuantan that day.

God save the pukka

found: phantom of the opera score,
Yong, thanks. will pass it back to you during CNY

You were once my one companion,
you were all that mattered.
You were once a friend and father,
then my world was shattered.

Wishing you were somehow here again,
wishing you were somehow near;
sometimes it seemed if I had just dreamed,
somehow you would be here.

Wishing I could hear your voice again,
knowing that I never would,
dreaming of you won't help me to do all that you dreamed I could.

Passing bells and sculpted angels,
cold and monumental;
seemed for you the wrong companions;
you were warm and gentle.

Too many years fighting back tears,
why can't the past just die?

Wishing you were somehow here again,
knowing we must say goodbye.
Try to forgive,
teach me to live,
give me the strength to try.

No more memories,
no more silent tears,
no more gazing across the wasted years.
Help me say goodbye!


Wishing you were somehow here again by Charles Hart

I'm not a perfect person
There's many things I wish I didn't do
But I continue learning
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know

I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
and the reason is you

I'm sorry that I hurt you
It's something I must live with everyday
And all the pain I put you through
I wish that I could take it all away
And be the one who catches all your tears
Thats why i need you to hear

I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
and the reason is you

I'm not a perfect person
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know

I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
and the reason is you

I've found a reason to show
A side of me you didn't know
A reason for all that I do
And the reason is you.

The Reason by Hoobastank

Carren... try here http://mrpiano.bestmusicpages.com/film.html

hope it helps

i am planning to go cut my hair soon tony, its getting too long that's its weighing on my head and causing headaches

ya, goin back tis end of the month to attend tc wedding. think yap is comin too.
just another excuse to take leave, another break from work...really began to hate general medicine oredi.

Wen Jih- are you attending teck choon and lee ding's wedding reception in ipoh?I'm on call...actually i'm on call every weekend this month so i can't change with anyone.

Adeline - Ortho + surgical...are you enjoying it? Thought you people have adequate MOs already, why are you still doing 10 calls a month?....being bullied like me?I have some friends who wanted to apply to Manjung but they say it's full.

another year down the drain. changin hair style? seems like hair is falling, gues it is the lack of family diet. ah well.
anyway, just wan to tell everyone tat teck choon n lee ding is getting married end of the month, 29th jan.
counting the days til end of tis stupid posting.

wanted: piano score to Phantom of the opera. if anyone has it, could i borrow it?

well, is it really that bad at penyu island (that is where you are posted right?)
well, my hair has grown a couple of inches since we last met, if you consider that a change.
i have changed shampoo too if you are interested. pantene hair loss prevention. wouldn't recommend it.

to the rest who just sat for their mrcpch (you all know who you all are) best of luck!

adeline: the penyata gaji should be out already, usually it is dated 31/12/04. so check it out.

and feel free to use my add, no prob.

Hi all,
sorry to dissapoint but i'm still here. saved by my frequent calls i guess. was on call on christmas and was in OT on boxing day drinking coffee before going to assist senior MO on a left over appendix case. tot i was swaying cos of water in the sink that i filled full of water (it was stuck) was sloshing n my senior MO tot he was hypoglycaemic cos he was post call too. of course we chucked out of the OT later when brought to our senses by more alert OT nurses, the anaesth MO went deeper into the OT, initially i thought to bring the patient (not under GA yet) out but seems he was trying to book one ventilator for himself first (so he said)

cant imagine my first tots were "heyyyy!!!! it's my day off, don let anything happen that may need me to evacuate etc instead of taking my break.

my colleague in the ward was educated in Indonesian med school so had experience of this kinda thing, she was asking nurses to evacuate patients. turns out some fella with BKA who complained day n night, looking very infirmed was the first one out, rushing in his wheelchair.

i'm in ortho now, doing combined ortho surgical calls (double yucks). cant wait to get out. not into bones n carpentry n definitely not into II suits (gives me muscle ache and resp distress). rate of MVA in manjung quite high, hmm must be the long straight roads, very conducive to racing. our unfortunate lack of HO (bout one per department n none in ortho) means i am still being sent to accompany patient to hosp Ipoh (some things never change)

if ur reading this yan wei, yup i'm still here but rather busy n tired cos i'm still tagging in surgical ortho (yup, 10 calls a month, again) sorry but it's true. chun wearn thinks i'm rather cursed when it comes to frequent calls. how's anaest? r u having fun gassing people up?

anyone received any income tax forms?
r we supposed to get some penyata gaji to fill those forms? i heard we need to pass up the income tax forms by feb but our penyata gaji wont be up till then?? what bad timing

i send n intraab case to taiping the other day (our surgeon on leave). din see anyone there (cheah, ling sze, etc) but wow, taiping is a real LOOOOONNNNNG hospital. i mean the AnE is long, the wards are long...... Hmm i'm not making any sense here. yeah this is my first free weekend in like a month n i'm stuck doing some stupid presentation due on tuesday. well go to go. on call tomorrow

see u guys n take care (ooops sorry, this is adeline abusing carren's address)

Alan... i have no bloody idea. doesn't ur ICU have one, according to our GA all units must have one before ventilators can be used... hmmm

i am careful, that's why i got a dog to protect me.

What is a respiratory technician? Can he come and teach our hyperventilation patients to breathe properly?

Chong Tien... I would be very careful if I were you

Hehe, that is a good one, Carren.

chiew leng... i would be very careful if i were you

errr... by Deningau i presume u mean Keningau.

Actually using Streamyx here, lousy place cannot get JARING, so have to use the faster broadband service. hai... the trouble with rural areas.

the only constants in each rural town of Sabah are KFC and BSN. whole Sabah 2 cinemas, both in KK. DVD in short supply, dark by 6pm, no night entertainment. No wonder procreation rate is so high here.

Craving for Pizza Hut... must go down KK cm for it.

Ciao

next time try calling Keningau

we have free ventilators perpetually sitting in ICU cos our GA refuses to ventilate patient without the presence of a respiratory technician

It has been really hot and dry up north here in Alor Star.

Actually someone up there needs a CBD.

On-call yesterday, spent 5 hours calling 9 hospitals in 4 states for ventilator.

On-call tmr.

Happy New Year wonder wat it'll bring.

it has been raining for the past few days.
it seems that the heaven is crying for those who died in the tsunami tragedy. mass grave all over with hundreds of thousand of body which consist of mainly children.
is this a punishment from above that it struck the poorest spirit on this earth?
is this a result of our own doing? pollution/greenhouse/ocean dumping?
is this truly a 'Natural disaster'?

god does not cry for no reason.....
for those who did not weap, please say a prayer for yourself at the last minute of your 2004, that we do not deserve to live than the victims, but we survive for no reason!

3...2...1...0 happy new year.

reinvited MC

actually he already part of membership

that joker probably forgot his username password.

tony...beaufort is flood prone area eh.....please dun pray too hard for de philli-typhoon...

Invite Ming Chern

Can someone invite Ming Chern to the blog? His email is mcleong@yahoo.com

Ei Fab, where are you la?

Phi Phi Island decimated. The Maldives a sprawling graveyard.

Sigh... time to look for some other holiday destinations, gang

heard you guys in the West could all feel the aftershocks of the quakes.

Penang quite badly hit, who was on call that day? must have been hell.

Amazing what one quake could do, so many lost of lives in India and Sri Lanka, poor things. good thing Singapore was protected by Indonesia, else would have been submerged.

Actually, good thing for Sumatera, in between, otherwise damage and loss of lives in Malaysia would have been much heavier.

No news yet of Adeline...

hi, everybody.. it's me fr Sg Petani....
been quite awhile since my last blog, glad to hear everybody up and running,esp after the tsunami.
i'm now officially MO in ENT, but still din know much bout the running of the dept though..hehe.. ENT here quite free, most of the time the afternoon will b quite free,waiting to punch card and go home, that is if there's no emergency.. Guan Fook relishing his job as MO in eye too..but now he's to busy sunbathing in Sentosa,Singapore....hope the tsunami din affect him though..
Good luck and all the best to u all taking exams in Jan...i know u all can make it..

too bad this year end with so many people losing their lifes and homes.....wishing for a better,safer,prettier year ahead.....may the GOD bless all...
HAPPY NEW YEAR...

Heard Manjung got hit by a few waves.

We know Chun Wearn was in PJ at that time.

But where wuz Adeline? Wuz she sitting on the beach with her bikini on? Please contact us as soon as you can. We hope you're safe.

Anyone with news of Adeline please update us ok :(

The damage is incredible. My skin is tingling.

The earthquake's after effects came without warning. Witnesses said sea waters at first retreated far out into the ocean, only to return at a vicious pace. Some regions reported a crashing wall of water 20 feet high.

"The water went back, back, back, so far away, and everyone wondered what it was. Then we saw the wave come, and we ran," said Katri Seppanen, who was in Thailand, on Phuket island's popular Patong beach.

Yahoo! News

Tsunami!

"She felt like the table rocking while sitting at her desk in A&E Alor Star. It was 9 am local time on Dec 27, 2004. Seow Voon quickly assume it must be the colleague sitting at the other end of the desk who was tapping her feet on the table. The colleague felt the rocking too. They stared at each other, their eyes saying 'hey, did you feel that?'. As soon as they began to realise that the whole floor is actually rocking, it ceased as abruptly as it commenced. She quickly dismissed the incident as she resumed her work."

That was Seow Voon's experience. I was in the OT which is on the first floor, busy with work, and did not notice anything. But the OT sister who was sitting at her desk (who has nothing much to do) felt some vibration, but nobody gave any attention to it.

How is it like in GH Penang/Ipoh? I read at the newspaper that Selayang hosp evacuated their wards.

Good thing we were protected by Sumatra.

The funny thing is that we can get more reports and visual footage from foreign news network like CNN and CNBC on thing happening in our own country compared to our own local news network.


P/S It must look like I am so free, can write on the blog so frequently.

Hi all!

Happy new year..year 2005...just 15 years away from our Vision 2020...cant you just remember those times where we have to 'study-and -pretend-to care' about Wawasan 2020 for SPM karangan and all....that was nearly 8 years ago guys!!!

Unable to watch Phantom of the Op...no CINEMA here!!!!
Time to visit my fav 3 for $10 dvd shop coming chinese new year...

To those taking mrcp/ch...yes...dun deny (there is a whole LOT of you out there)....GOOD LUCK!

As for de rest non-mrcp/ch- cluster /anomaly...join de club! time to make new year resolutions guys! mine is to quit making them (resolutions)

Ciao!

Merry Christmas everyone.

We went to Gurney Plaza, Penang (there is no decent cinema in ALor Star!) to watch Phantom of the Opera, and I find that it is a good adaptation of the original theater production. Musically, it stayed faithful to the original score, with some minor cut and paste which worked seamlessly.

Ok, spoilers ahead. You guys who haven't watch the movie, avert your gaze.

Here are some aspects which I liked most about this adaptation:
1. They were right to put the chandelier crash at the end as the climax. In the original production, the chandelier crashed just before intermission. (The chandelier crash is the mechanical hallmark of Phantom of the Opera musical). The chandelier 'rise' at the beginning of the show, giving color to the initially black and white screen, is also good.
2. The Phantom has a more foreboding, gothic and dark character. A movie obviously have more visual means to portray this compared to a theater. His masks look cool too. The aspect that the Phantom was born with facial deformities with history of being treated un-humanely during childhood is a new feature. In theater, the Phantom's origin is not explored, and it is left to the audience's imagination whether he is human or ghost, why is he deformed and why he came to haunt the opera house.
3. Christine's performance in "Think of Me"

Some aspects which I didn't like:
1. Christine's acting. Yeah, the young lady has amazing singing prowess, but her acting skills leave much to be desired. All she did throughout the movie was look dazed or confused.
2. The sword-fight part was another addition in the movie version. The illogical part is that, why did Raoul not capture the Phantom immediately after he defeated him, or at least tie him to a tree or something. Instead, they want to leave him there, and then the very next day, stage a complicated plan to capture the phantom in the opera house, his own domain. Sure, the director wants to make Raoul more macho by putting in a sordfight scene (in the original production, Raoul is a wimp), but at least make it look like Raoul defeated the Phantom, but somehow he manages to escape.
3. Phantom's performance in "Music of the Night". There were parts which he did not articulate well. Maybe I am biased, because I really think no one can beat Michael Crawford's (the original Phantom) rendition; and it is my favorite song of the show.

All in all, they did justice to Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber's musical ingenuity. In the movie, it is clearer who is singing in which context, especially in complex intertwined songs like Prima Donna and Masquerade. In the theater, it is hard to catch who is singing where, when all the performers are on stage. I watched the movie on THX; and yet in the musical theater where the orchestra plays live, the real music is more 'surround' than the THX surround system.

Happy New Year y'all.


Yong

Resist, Seok Hong, dear. You know how much fun evil hunchbacked hermits like me have.

Hi everyone. Just to update on what's been happening in Alor Star. We now have a new housemate since Guan Fook left for Sg Petani to do ophthalmology. Our new housemate also joined as Paeds MO. So all three of us in the house doing Paeds. Everyday come back at 7 pm but the good news is 5 calls a month and weekends off. Mong Tieng has also just started tagging as MO. My married colleagues encouraging me to play the social scene so that I can 'find somebody'. Anyway, just want to wish all those taking exam in January best of luck.

Great trip. No worries Lee Kien, you'll be back there before you know it.

Congratulations Aida. Come a long way since the time we sat in that smelly corner in Makmal Pelbagai Ilmu.
Sorry won't be able to attend your wedding. My parents got married on Christmas Day too. My family has this bundle of fun anniversary cum Christmas celebration each year. Presents and pies abound.

All I want to do this season is cut my wrist, and watch all the red stuff run down the sink.

Fairies and cupcakes to everyone.

welcome back Yong and SV, glad you all had a great time in US. maybe the next time you come back to seremban you can bring pictures, u did bring camera there right? anyway, i still owe you MT's remote control and a book.

call me when you get back.

this is becoming a messaging system! ha ha

We are back in Malaysia.

Hi everyone,

We just touched down at KLIA at 1pm today. We had a great time in California and Vegas.

We went to LA downtown, Chinatown LA and Hollywood on our first day. We went to the place with celebrity's hand print, and the 'Hollywood on the hill' sign. The Aviator was having it's premiere at a hall while we were there. We also watched Les Miserables at a theater in Hollywood. We got fantastic last minute front seats. It was my second watching this play. (Oh by the way, I can't wait to watch the movie version of Phantom.)

On day 2, we went to Santa Monica beach. There weren't any surfers because of winter, but there were skating, volleyball etc going on. Because Christmas is round the corner, there was a lot of sales going on. Levi's jeans are cheap in the States. A 501 costs about RM120. Other Levi's jeans costs RM80-150. Shoes like Nike, Converse, Skecher are cheaper too.

We spent day 3 studying and psyching up for the exam. We had our exam on day 4. The exam turned out to be less 'academic' than we thought. It actually focused more on communication skills, and all the PPD and DPHS stuff from med school. It will be about 2 months before the results will be out.

Day 5 was a fun-filled day at Universal Studios, where we had a go on all those rides e.g. Terminator 2, Back to the Future; and had a peek on movie production stuff.

We had a 3-day/2-night in Vegas. There were many hotel/casino with themes such as Paris, Aladdin, Excalibur, Luxor, Caesar's Palace, New York. Our Sunway pyramid may have been a ciplak of Luxor, a pyramid-styled hotel/casino.

Then we had two 'magical' days at Disneyland. That place really must be heaven for kids. It really kind of like lights up the child in you. That is amazing because after all the crap we get from work as HO/MO, I am surprised that I still have that little warm fuzzy innocent corner in my heart. We had a go on the rollercoaster stuffs, which were fun. We also watched stage musical version of Snow White and Aladdin there.

The expenses in the States is actually not expensive for their local people who earn US dollars. Well, for us, everything is 3.83 times more expensive. Their cars are really cheap. A brand new Honda Civic costs less than RM80,000. For the local people, that is less than US$30K. And the high school teachers in States earn about US$3000 a month.

The weather wasn't too bad when we were there, about 9-18 degrees Celcius. Most of the days were sunny with clear skies. But it gets dark at 5pm during winter. No snow in LA.

Now the fun is over, and it is time to go back to daily work.

A big thank you to all who came to our wedding in Alor Setar and Seremban. Glad to see you guys again. Will be preparing for our trip and exam to LA. Will tell you all about in the blog when we come back.

To Mr and Mrs Yong...
Thank you for invitingme to your lovely wedding ceremony today. It is one of the most relaxing and natural weddings I have been to. My best wishes to you both and hope you both continue to cherish the love we all witnessed today for as long as you live!

Hi everyone,

I am attaching the map to the restaurant here. Please refer to my earlier blog for written directions. Please note that the museum is actually after the first traffic light from the toll, not the second one as I wrote earlier. The restaurant is at the big arrow at the top left corner of the map, I forgot to label it before I upload the picture.

If you cant view the above map, please copy this address to your browser: http://www.pbase.com/image/36554580/medium

I have also attached one of our wedding photos here:

If you cant view the above photo, please go to http://www.pbase.com/image/36554624/medium

Thank you to all you guys for taking time off to come to our wedding. See you at Restoran Min Kok, Sunday November 21st, 1pm.

My number is 012-2525786 or 06-7624892.

Lee Kien and Seow Voon- Congratulations!I'm sorry I can't make it to the banquet.I am reporting to a new posting on 22/11 and have to be back in ipoh on 21/11.There are some arrangements to be made.All the very best to both of you.

Adeline- sorry to hear you have to cover for the long holidays.you are always gonna have to cover some other's ass which is actually not worth covering. fact of life. was actually in manjung two days ago...sorry didn't have time to meet up. catch u some other time.send my regards to seng kiat.

hi ppl,
it's me, adeline, pretending to be carren.
lee kian n seow voon, congrats but sorry cant make it. have to do weekend call to cover for some !@#$#$ person(most junior mo in paeds!) taking total 9 days off for raya (3 leave n 6 public holiday joined up, the NERVE!!!)

so how's everyone, bet all of you were on call during raya right? me too. so relieved it's over. anyone watched incredibles yet? i just bought the vcd today, watching tonight.

i'm still in paeds. yeah already 5 months + 2 days today, they held me over to become slave for raya. going to ortho next but here its a combined posting with surgical so u see both types of cases on call. no joke. think being too long in paeds have given me a phobia of seeing n examining n managing adult patients. they seem so big n relatively dirty n smelly cpd to babies.

ok, ppl bugging me to get off the comp.
so see u guys later!

Lee Kien,

Attaching pictures is a sticky issue...

First have to find a server where u can load your pic into then see if that server allows you to link and show the photo on the blog...

Probably easier if u upload the photo into some Yahoo! photos or similar services, and then link the URL address on the page so people can click and go to the page... er... understand? ask again if any doubt

Should be able to make it to your Seremban wedding, in the midst of twisting a few arms to get the short break over the weekend i need.

hmmm... i do need a ride from KL to Seremban... any offers?

Ciao, will keep in touch

Congrats Chun Wearn for passing Part 1

Hi everyone,

Please come to our wedding banquet on the November 21st, 2004 at 1pm. It will be at Restoran Min Kok, No 7645, Lot 5990, Jalan Labu Lama, Seremban. Please contact me at 012-2525786 to confirm. To you guys who have given me the RSVP via sms, thanks for making yourself available and we look forward to see you.

I will be scanning the map of the restaurant on to this blog.

Meanwhile, here are the directions to the restaurant.

From Seremban toll (first Seremban exit from KL/third Seremban exit from JB):
1. Pay the toll and turn left immediately
2. Pass two traffic lights. You should see the museum (some minangkabau building) on the right as you go up hill.
3. You will pass a Shell as you approach the third traffic light. Turn left at this third traffic light.
4. Soon, take the second turning to the right. (This second turning may look more like a fork than a turning proper). You should see the signboard at this turning.
5. The restaurant is on your left once you enter that second turning.

From Seremban Hospital:
1. Go as if you are going towards the highway, pass Terminal One and go up hill.
2. Turn right at the traffic light (the third traffic light from toll as described above). The Teratak Sirih thing is on your right.
3. Follow instructions 4 and 5 above.

My house number is 06-7624892.

This is going to be a hectic month for both of us. I am beginning to start solo Anesth calls during this festive season. There are only two non-Malay MOs in the dept. Our parents are organizing (and worrying about) our wedding more than us. We are flying to LA for our clinical exam on Dec 1st. Will be staying there for 12 days, looking forward to tour California and Vegas.

See you guys.

Dreamer,
did someone break your heart?
stealing undergarments is not a solution.

Dreamer,
did someone break your heart?
stealing undergarments is not a solution.

Chong Tien: How do I put photos on the blog again?

Kai Inn and Yee Ling: Delighted that both of you can come. Will post up the exact time and location with map on this website. It will be a lunch at 1pm.

All you guys, if you can make it please come to our wedding banquets on 18th Nov 7pm in Alor Setar; or 21st Nov 1pm in Seremban. Watch this site for exact location.

I am an abomination, not because of who I am, but because of what you have done to me. I am the sum of your prejudices, a monster of your making. Now I wield the very force which you set into motion, the hatred to which you yourself gave birth. I will cause the world to burn, but remember, it was you who lit the flame in the first place.

Apocalypse, The Seven Seas

li kien,
we are coming to your wedding in seremban. alor star is abit too far and difficult to get airasia's flight. how is your preparation? we need some information from you on where and how is the wedding dinner like. and hopefully we can give our blessing to you on your wedding's day. bye

hi,
most of us in JB now are doing Ortho and i can't wait to join them ( except yeeling an rosman)
since i refused to take up MO call and the medical dept still insist on keeping me, i was send to the first class ward which is up the hill and totally isolated. i only have 2-3 patients and i basically work for 8-9am~1 hour that's it! sleeping, chitchat with nurses and patients and most of the time hanging around in library with internet. there is no acutely ill patient. ha ha. heaven man! but only for 2 weeks then i will join ortho with the rest of them.

hi guys
updating from keningau
just visited Rachel in Sook - a remote place where she is incharge (big boss) of klinik kesihatan - chairing meetings etc. It's 30 minuts drive from keningau. We were celebrating her birthday - her staff so cool - bbq and cook most if not all the food. But - if i were in her position,i'd be bored to death. She's tough man - dun play play - staying in a banglo - which her staff openly says is haunted - all by herself. She has a cute playful dog though to keep herself company and a supercool mum who comes all the way from kk nearly every week.
here in keningau hospital - very tense setting between interdepartment specialist - not very good working atmosphere.
ok ciao for now.

Hi Adeline, long time haven't heard from you. Yeah, the IVD technique sometimes works. When I was in casualty and sometimes when I had patients who were not ill enough to be admitted but they look at me funny when I don't do anything for them, I give them an IV drip. Quite a number feel better after the drip and don't mind being discharged. Well, as long as it doesn't harm them.
I guess a lot of us are at the point where we have to make decisions and take actions concerning our future. Some of us are sure what we want to do while some of us have not made up our mind yet. For a few weeks I was quite confused as well. Anyway, I think whatever we do, whether it is against our will or not, there is always something to learn from the experience. Good luck to everyone.

oh, did i told u all tat chun hieng is getting married on 15/11/04.to congratulate him-0128843917

The real carren: please inform me if they are starting a ent dept.

Also, my friend recently went to jab hasil in seremban, and after much tapping of the calculator, it seems based on our EC form (which we must bring there before we buka file) we don qualify to pay taxes yet. we have to wait for the next EC form which comes in Jan 2005. Thus, more money for us this year!!! I think....

Also, does anyone know about the APC? I called KL to find out more but it seems that our TPC is still valid and we have to be confirmed first. Can anyone validate my info?

wonder if they psy unit there?

hi there, adeline here, not carren (ya, she forced me to admit this if i used her password ;P)

i'm now in manjung (hosp seri manjung). it's kinda near lumut and sitiawan. nearer ipoh than teluk intan was, so that's one plus point. apparently less patients but also disproportionately less doctors, sigh.....

i'm currently MO plus HO cos the whole hosp only got 2 HO. yup that's right n apparently ipoh has 20 HO in paeds alone (one to set line, one to hold the pt, one to fill the forms --- n doing 4 calls per month ---- this told by my specialist). on leave now, managed to trick my boss. dunno what to say regarding dr situation here. we look like we got 4 mo in paeds but one is extremely pregnant n not doing calls n will soon go for maternity n breast feeding and what have u leaves. one thing bout district hosp is that u end up doing hell lot of calls (weekends included) n u do it all alone---- yucks.

ok good things bout manjung. nurses help us a lot. i think we cant do solo call without them. all the blood taking n line setting they try to do for u, i mean for the kids. but babies u gotta do urself most of the time. paeds ward nurses here are nice. i like them. bosses n senior mo's also nice. n i start work at 8am. (yay! no more waking up at 6am to go to work!)

i'll be going to ortho next month. somehow, hospitals other than ipoh hosp in perak are all in confusion. we dunno how long is each rotation for each posting for us, n neither do our boss n pengarah know anything.

everyone surely thinks that one of the advantages of being in district are that the patients are less fussy n nicer right? ----Wrong! Manjung fellas are real smart a** n they love the IV drip. trust me, even the granma would demand IV drip for AGE patient taking orally well n not dehydrated. i think the people here are propagating some gossip regarding the healing powers of our lovely NS. sometimes we just start a slow iv to shut them up as we are too busy to argue. this results in a ward full of IVD kids who are well enuff to walk around cheerily pushing the drip stands along. luckily my boss more than knows this certain peculiarity among the people in this region n never questions the un needed IVD.

apparently chun wearn is coming to manjung too. khairul is already in ortho here. anyone else keen? it's a specialist hospital n we're short. welcome all he he he (evil laughter). till next faraway time. bye n take care guys.

Will become permanent M.O. in anesth.

Hi,

Being casualty MO is kind of fun. You just work the shifts, you see fresh presentations (which is good for sharpening diagnostic skills), and there is no chronic stuff to follow up. The boring things are URTIs at 2am, somatization disorder patients; and really tenat old people that you dont know what is wrong with and dont know which dept to refer to.

I have requested to be permanent in Anest and it is approved. I will go back to air-cond rooms on October 1st. The anesth dept here really takes care of it's MOs. There are only 4-5 calls a month, we get postcall day off, and Day 2 postcall pm shift. Nope, I dont plan to be an anesthetist, just want the extra time to study. Plus being a permanent MO in any dept will also mean that Seow Voon and I will not be transferred to the peripheries.

By the way, Mong Tieng will be transferred to Alor Setar in October to do Peds.

hey man, what about me being a MO morning and HO in the night. have to cover the whole cardiac ward and CCU all alone. there were a HO and MO last time but but now i have to do both the donkey jobs with my cardiologist wagging their tail at the clinic and rest room. still have to do HO's call like other HOs.
i enjoy working in CCU with the air-con and better nurse/patient ratio and good opportunity to keep staying in cardiology line, but like most of us still uncertain about our real liking. been thinking to join anaesthesiology... we are living in this place with little control of my future? so far to go and yet so little sured path to take. is this what we want when we applied for our medical school 6 yrs ago?

dun worry, totally understand the re-transition to HO. this had been the sweetest 4months, had my own room, own desk, own nurse, n even with air con.....drug reps treat u like king, patients tot look at u with awe, n for once, felt like a doctor...but all these gonna end soon.. wil b goin to medical too........
hell.

A soul of water,
A soul of stone.
A soul by name,
A soul unknown.

The hours unmake
Our flesh, our bone.
The soul is all;
And all alone.

Clive Barker, Abarat

See the truth all around;
Our faith can be broken
And our hands can be bound;
But open our hearts and fill up the emptiness
With nothing to stop us
Is it not worth the risk?

happy national day everybody!
going back home mid-september!
yippee-cant wait...away from work, frustations of explaining to patients over and over again y they need urgent OGDS while they stubbornly want to berubat kampung and fresh-melena-ing away...sigh...de practice of medicine is so frustating....forget about communication skills...

Am rotating to casualty.

Hi guys again,

Am finishing my paradise posting in Anesth and will go to Casualty next month. Being an MO is so much different from a HO. I seriously believe that HOs does 70% of all clinical work in the hospital.

I have been buying some books on-line, and it is a good alternative compared to going all the way to Kamal bookstore and having to bear with their 'arrogance'. (Don't you think that they can be quite 'action' sometimes, thinking that they have the largest selection of medical books in Malaysia). I suggest that you check out e-bay for medical books before buying from established sites like amazon.com. A lot of people worldwide who have passed their MRCP etc sell their books on-line, and may throw in some of their own past year questions/notes/shortcase vcd etc into the deal.

Anybody want to share PDA medical programs? I got Harrison, Nelson, Current Medical and Washington manual and BNF.

Hullo, everybody.

Ju Ann: Happy belated birthday to Ju Ann! Alan had rather we gotten you the "Honk if you are Horny" bear. I thought you would rather have a peaceful drive back home.

Wen Jih: You are not the only financially deprived MO. Cheer up, maybe someday we'll meet up for cheap chinese tea!

Others: Keep up the good work. To those who hate their posting - only 1 1/2 months left. To those who love their posting - Damn it. but there are ways to get extended. Be creative!

Ciao!

look at d bright side. all of us is earnin mo call claim. so not so bad....poor me is still claimin passive call, ,whichis poorer than ho calls...

wah, such a long time. how is everybody everywhere?
damn busy caught up myself as a daytime MO but doing HO's call in medical posting. great responbility but get to bury the new houseman. ha ha.
oh, Azam has joined us in JB. feel happy for Hani. life is still almost the same, thinking to join anaest soon but still need to complete 5 posting. yeeling is fine as well, thinking to take up O+G! great challange.
take care everybody. enjoy what ever you are doing.
tony: don't worry many still doing HO job lah
wen jie: show us your hairy beard! how is your saudi trip

any news from roddy!

pt has depression, or at least tat is wat we think. dun actually know wat is he tryon to say. speak arab most of d time.

Am sitting in air-conditioned rooms, listening sleepily to beeps and soft Mix.fm.

Hi guys,

Am in Anesth, and not having to do calls for the entire month. Tagging up to 11pm every two days. Glad that I am in the league of 'ppl in lepak postings'. Wonder who will become M.O. rehab Medicine.

We changed our hp numbers. Registered line is way too expensive, back to prepaid now. Yong: 0122525786, Seow Voon: 0124005799.

WenJih: That WAS the ultimate 'accompany patient' trip. Why did the patient need to go to Saudi so urgently? Any terrorist encounter?



Yong

i did kept a beard, n i dun look nice in tat. n i'm just thankful tat i come back in one piece. with my head intact. funny thing they r dunno malaysia got chinese. the immigration officer keep lookin at my passprt after reading my name. in disbelief.

Hello... Damn mycroft get to travel all the way to Saudi... should have taken longer leave la my friend, visit the middle eastern countries, learn the culture, savour the moment, grow a beard and join the al-Qaeda movement.

Anyway, we are now in Keningau Hospital, settling in quite nicely, lepak life. Tony still in KK coz he has to complete all 5 postings before going off to Kuala Penyu, where he will spend his by then idle days watching fish and eating prawns. Chee Chan going to the tip of Borneo, heard its a beautiful place but haven't been there myself. waiting for him to settle in before visiting.

Seok Hong, the next MRCPCH Part I is in January next year, should have one in Malaysia unless they cancel it again like last year due to the CNY holidays. No problems getting Internet connection here... actually got Streamyx la

......so, how am i enjoying psychiatry? jsut a word. enjoy. but not to stay on yet. really wan to complete everything before deciding.. well, tis is lifetime, for crying out loud...
anyway. i just came back from the ulitmate patient escort service...just came back from escorting a depressive pt to saudi arabia.. on a paid 3 days trip.....dun envy....

Sob! Sob! Ive said goodbye to my idle days in casualty. It's back to clerking cases, taking blood, setting lines, on calls with minimal sleep.
Is it possible that those who are now in district have difficulty with internet access and so that is why we haven't heard from them since they went?
Mycroft: How's psychiatry? Are you considering staying on?
Tony: How come you haven't left yet? And what has happened to our friend Chee Chan?
Penang people (I mean, those working in Penang GH): What's the latest news about you all? Do you all get to stay for 5 major postings or is anyone being sent out?

n if u r rading tis.. lee kien..
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!

hullo, this is my new number effective from today. 0166908278

been so long never heard from everyone, just guessing whether everyone is alive or not.any new updates from anyone else?

Am going to Anesth next week.

Hi guys.

I have finally finished my third posting in Medicine. I had to repeat the posting because of my transfer to Hosp ASetar. Looking forward to sitting in an air-cond room listening to beeping machines. Maybe I will have more time to read.

The head of department medicine in Alor setar is a FUCKING OBESE HORNY MIANG OLD COCK. The expletives are an understatement. He is a hypocrite, superficial, all-talk-and-no-skills, grandiose asshole. He uses his postition to take advantage to interact more with female housemen. He gives them extra teaching sessions to be closer to them. As for guys, he doesnt even take a second glance. Heard rumors that he used to sms love messages and buy gifts for cute housemen, was reported and a tribunal was set up to judge him. He is probably much toned down now. Since Seow Voon has joined medicine, he has been giving her these 'extra teaching sessions'. He better watch himself, otherwise he will see what I am capable of.

Seow Voon and I are getting married on Nov 21st. All you guys are invited. Will contact each of you some time soon for confirmation.

We are also going to the States end of the year for the clinical skills exam, probably L.A. It will cost us a large amount of money, hope it will be worth it.

Hi, everybody..
Greetings from Sg. Petani Hosp. It's really refreshing to hear that everybody is enjoying their life so much now. Too bad that i was not able to meet some of u during our one of HO-ship hols and VE's wedding dinner. Really miss all of u out there.
As SH had mentioned, i'v been posted to Sg Petani. The hospital ground here is really old and spreand out like the Banting one. But the NEW hosp is really impressive, complete wif quarters for specialists, MOs and HOs. But the problem is, dunno when can move in. Heard the Pengarah said that the earliest will be end of this year.
Am doing Ortho now. Ortho here is heaven compare to Alor Star. Basically, everyday after round (if not clinic day), just do discharges, fill forms (v dun hav to take blood or do dressing here), wait for new case to come (normally less then 5 per day) and wait for 4.15pm (to punch out). But the not so good part is that i hav 12 calls this month!! Well, since can claim RM75-113, dun care so much lah.
At least living here is not so boring, hav GSC...can watch cinema liau...
Actually now i'm oncall,passive (OT) call, but can stay at home..hehe..
Hav internet connection here, so can expect me to pop up quite often now...
C U guys and gals...

Greetings from Keningau, where the air is fresher and the grass greener. Settling in quite well, nice hospital and people. not as busy as KK. renting a house outside for Rm700, fully furnished so not bad. Awaiting Kalis to join the gang here. Then we're sure to see some fireworks

Glad to hear the Seremban people are having fun after one year in hell.

Most of us in KK here are just doing some attachments in major postings before being sent out to district.

Chiewleng and I just found out yesterday that we were suppose to report into Keningau TODAY! our office in KK screwed up and actually gave us attachment in Medicine here for 4 months when we were supposed to be attached in Keningau.

So with everything so last minute, we have to scramble, pack, settle stuff before leaving off and leaving Kalis all alone for a month.

Cheerio guys. will contact from keningau