Those going to work yesterday would have been cursing and swearing as the normally 'smooth' road jams were worsened by the multiple roadblocks covering most major roads heading into the city and especially the ones heading towards Parliament.
What's the point of these road blocks? For public safety? What would demonstrators do? Throw bombs? At least tighten security around the August House instead of blocking every single road.
The most annoying part of all was the policemen who were manning these blocks were just sitting at the side of the road while they turn a 3 lane road into a 2 lane one.
Clearly, they aren't interested in the security of the people since they just sit around while the morning rush, potentially having many cars with protestors in them, passing them by while they chit chat at the side.
A nuisance? Definitely.
Necessary? Definitely not.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
squeeze my finger please
It was a crazy past weekend for me. 5 of us went up to Raub (that's in Pahang for those who are geographically challenged) to kick off the Prostate Awareness Campaign which will be held until August.
Prostate Awareness Campaign schedule
Cramped in a Honda City, 3 surgeons and 2 medical officers were off for a weekend of asking men above the age of 50 about their urination speed and their sexual health. The hospital was a pretty nice place. Small, but very green... typical for a small district hospital. Manned by 6 medical officers, the hospital sees its fair share of motor vehicle accidents and the medical officers get to see civilization on their occasional trips to HKL and UMMC while sending patients there. Of course, that trip back to civilization is short lived.
(L-R): Mr. Amit, Mr. Kantha, Dr. Narmada, Mr. Warren, me.
The hotel we stayed was a el-cheapo budget hotel, which if you ever drive past it, you would never ever think of staying in it. The receptionist there, a mixed breed of male and female, greeted us and we got our keys to the rooms. The rooms weren't too shabby but still... could have been better.
dodgy... I know.
see how the 2 single beds are covered in kids' sheets?
Saturday was the first day of the campaign and the response was pretty good. A quiet town like Raub, and you would have been shocked with the amount of people lining up even before the 9am registration. We managed to hit close to 300 patients over the two days. By the end of the day, judging by the amount of per rectal exams we were doing, our index fingers were basically disintegrated!
Weapon of choice... fully loaded with KY Jelly
Most of the patients were there hoping to get free samples of Viagra. Unfortunately for them, we only had samples of Cardura and Xatral (meds for enlarged prostates) and they had to go out and buy them Viagra if they need them. I even had an 84 year old man who could barely walk asking me for Viagra!
that's just some of the boxes of Cardura that we had
Pfizer took us out for dinner on Saturday night at the famous fish head curry restaurant, Ratha, and it was really good. We even had packs of the famous groundnuts from Sempalit. On the way back from Raub to KL, we also stopped by to sample Raub's durians. Good stuff man...
the famous fish head curry in Raub... excellent stuff
definitely not looking forward to the next whole day of PRs
durians... 'nuff said
Having seen 60 plus patients over two days, giving them a nice jab up their butts, and going back to work the next day without going home (was on call) has been pretty exhausting so I think I'll get some shut eye now.
A very successful first leg of the campaign!
Prostate Awareness Campaign scheduleCramped in a Honda City, 3 surgeons and 2 medical officers were off for a weekend of asking men above the age of 50 about their urination speed and their sexual health. The hospital was a pretty nice place. Small, but very green... typical for a small district hospital. Manned by 6 medical officers, the hospital sees its fair share of motor vehicle accidents and the medical officers get to see civilization on their occasional trips to HKL and UMMC while sending patients there. Of course, that trip back to civilization is short lived.
(L-R): Mr. Amit, Mr. Kantha, Dr. Narmada, Mr. Warren, me.The hotel we stayed was a el-cheapo budget hotel, which if you ever drive past it, you would never ever think of staying in it. The receptionist there, a mixed breed of male and female, greeted us and we got our keys to the rooms. The rooms weren't too shabby but still... could have been better.
dodgy... I know.
see how the 2 single beds are covered in kids' sheets?Saturday was the first day of the campaign and the response was pretty good. A quiet town like Raub, and you would have been shocked with the amount of people lining up even before the 9am registration. We managed to hit close to 300 patients over the two days. By the end of the day, judging by the amount of per rectal exams we were doing, our index fingers were basically disintegrated!
Weapon of choice... fully loaded with KY JellyMost of the patients were there hoping to get free samples of Viagra. Unfortunately for them, we only had samples of Cardura and Xatral (meds for enlarged prostates) and they had to go out and buy them Viagra if they need them. I even had an 84 year old man who could barely walk asking me for Viagra!
that's just some of the boxes of Cardura that we hadPfizer took us out for dinner on Saturday night at the famous fish head curry restaurant, Ratha, and it was really good. We even had packs of the famous groundnuts from Sempalit. On the way back from Raub to KL, we also stopped by to sample Raub's durians. Good stuff man...
the famous fish head curry in Raub... excellent stuff
definitely not looking forward to the next whole day of PRs
durians... 'nuff saidHaving seen 60 plus patients over two days, giving them a nice jab up their butts, and going back to work the next day without going home (was on call) has been pretty exhausting so I think I'll get some shut eye now.
A very successful first leg of the campaign!Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Samsung SGH-i780 review and a few more things
The review is finally up. Longest review I've ever written for Mobileburn.com but that's expected since the phone packs a whole load of features except the kitchen sink. Interested parties, click here to check it out!
We finally got the keys to our house last weekend and now the headache begins... Grills, what to renovate, what colour to paint the walls with, which dining table to get, what colour would our kitchen be... and the list goes on.
the street in front of our new house
there it is...
Work wise, everything's pretty static at the moment. The same old calls, same old endless clinics, same old crap certain colleagues do to piss you off... but I did manage to learn how to stent and remove stents in patients. Females so far since I am not allowed to touch the flexible cystoscope (previous history of medical officers wrecking quite a number of them) which is used on males - managed to sneak around and use it twice though... shhh.
That's it for now. Post call and it's time to nap before hitting the gym. Oh, the Beauty and the Beast musical is on this week. Will be watching it this Thursday. Updates then.
We finally got the keys to our house last weekend and now the headache begins... Grills, what to renovate, what colour to paint the walls with, which dining table to get, what colour would our kitchen be... and the list goes on.
the street in front of our new house
there it is... Work wise, everything's pretty static at the moment. The same old calls, same old endless clinics, same old crap certain colleagues do to piss you off... but I did manage to learn how to stent and remove stents in patients. Females so far since I am not allowed to touch the flexible cystoscope (previous history of medical officers wrecking quite a number of them) which is used on males - managed to sneak around and use it twice though... shhh.
That's it for now. Post call and it's time to nap before hitting the gym. Oh, the Beauty and the Beast musical is on this week. Will be watching it this Thursday. Updates then.
Friday, June 06, 2008
I feel insulted...
because the Prime Minister has resorted to asking us, the Rakyat, to tighten our belts instead of cutting down on Government spending.
because the Government has earned so much money in excise duty and sales tax from all our ridiculously priced cars, and yet there's no idea where the money went.
because Petronas says it will go bankrupt after making RM570billion in profits.
because Petronas has given the Government RM335.7billion and yet again, no idea where the money went.
because the Government is now teaching us to drive with a lighter foot, and save fuel, instead of coming up with a real way to lighten the Rakyat's burden.
because the Government keeps reminding us our fuel prices are the lowest in the world without taking into consideration that our salaries are also one of the lowest in the world. Dollar for dollar, Mr. Sleepyhead.
because the Government thinks that Rm625 a year will make a difference when petrol prices have gone up, food prices are going up, transportation fees are going up, electricity tariffs are going up, daily necessities are going up in price, and the list goes on.
because the Government thinks that the 15% increase in civil servants' pay was a proud achievement although it fails to realise that the amount of time they took for the payrise, inflation rates have already gone up by at least triple that increase.
because there are just too many things to say about the state of affairs in this country today and there's just not enough time because I need to find extra jobs to survive.
Thank you, PM... Thank you, BN... Thank you for everything you've done.
because the Government has earned so much money in excise duty and sales tax from all our ridiculously priced cars, and yet there's no idea where the money went.
because Petronas says it will go bankrupt after making RM570billion in profits.
because Petronas has given the Government RM335.7billion and yet again, no idea where the money went.
because the Government is now teaching us to drive with a lighter foot, and save fuel, instead of coming up with a real way to lighten the Rakyat's burden.
because the Government keeps reminding us our fuel prices are the lowest in the world without taking into consideration that our salaries are also one of the lowest in the world. Dollar for dollar, Mr. Sleepyhead.
because the Government thinks that Rm625 a year will make a difference when petrol prices have gone up, food prices are going up, transportation fees are going up, electricity tariffs are going up, daily necessities are going up in price, and the list goes on.
because the Government thinks that the 15% increase in civil servants' pay was a proud achievement although it fails to realise that the amount of time they took for the payrise, inflation rates have already gone up by at least triple that increase.
because there are just too many things to say about the state of affairs in this country today and there's just not enough time because I need to find extra jobs to survive.
Thank you, PM... Thank you, BN... Thank you for everything you've done.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
busy holiday
I've been on leave since Labour day (that's 1st May for those who are that ignorant) and there hasn't been a single day where I've just sat down and relaxed.
Marriage registration was on 3rd May at the Maha Vihara buddhist temple at Brickfields. After that it was massive gymming at True Fitness in Pavilion. A very nice gym but they don't provide towels... not a good thing. Anyway, I only paid 30 bucks for a trial month which lets you try out every single class in the gym. Still considering joining on a long time basis but I prefer a gym which provides towel so will have to start hunting.
The gang minus Irene before the registration
We also went to PD and the old KL train station for our pre-wedding photoshoot. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great so we didn't have real clear blue skies with white clouds... sigh. Just too bad. Will update the post with some pictures once we choose our photos. Should be fun. We used Van Gogh studios for our wedding photos and our photographer was Adam, the Art Director of Touch Group. We kinda chose this studio based on his portfolio. You can check out his blog here to see some of his work. Pretty good stuff!
Khim going through the 1 hour plus make up session
It's gonna be back to work for me on Monday... hope I'll still have time to go gymming... kinda fun ;)
Marriage registration was on 3rd May at the Maha Vihara buddhist temple at Brickfields. After that it was massive gymming at True Fitness in Pavilion. A very nice gym but they don't provide towels... not a good thing. Anyway, I only paid 30 bucks for a trial month which lets you try out every single class in the gym. Still considering joining on a long time basis but I prefer a gym which provides towel so will have to start hunting.
The gang minus Irene before the registrationWe also went to PD and the old KL train station for our pre-wedding photoshoot. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great so we didn't have real clear blue skies with white clouds... sigh. Just too bad. Will update the post with some pictures once we choose our photos. Should be fun. We used Van Gogh studios for our wedding photos and our photographer was Adam, the Art Director of Touch Group. We kinda chose this studio based on his portfolio. You can check out his blog here to see some of his work. Pretty good stuff!
Khim going through the 1 hour plus make up sessionTuesday, April 15, 2008
there's light on the dark side
I've been using the Palm OS since my medical school days. Although not as hardcore as some who had the infamous Palm Vx, I started off my Palm experience since they came out with their first colour screen PDA, the Palm m505. The screen was nothing to shout about, pretty washed out when viewed under the sun, and the resolution was pretty crappy. A few months later (or was it a year later? Can't remember.), Palm came out with the updated version, the m515, with a much better screen. I upgraded instantly and the screen was just glorious.
I stuck with the m515 since then until they came out with the Tungsten line of PDAs. I didn't pay much attention to them since I was pretty happy with my m515. I have to admit, being a student, I didn't use much of the PIM (personal information management, i.e.: calendar, contacts, tasks... etc) applications much. Instead I used the PDA mainly for... Bejeweled! Can you believe that? It was the most freaking addicting game on a handheld since Tetris!! Everyone was borrowing the m515 to beat each other's scores. Others with handhelds also got their copy of the game and started playing. It was just nuts... Well of course I use it for ebooks and also medical applications as well since they provide a fast and intuitive way of looking up some quick facts. Pretty cool.
Years passed by... the year I got my first m505 was 2001. My next PDA was the Tungsten T3. Infamous for its slide out 320 x 480 screen and on-screen silk screen... that machine was simply amazing. After awhile though, I got tired of carrying 2 devices at one time and finally caved in to the Treo 650. I stuck with that till the 680 came about. The QWERTY keyboard of the Treos have always been the benchmark for all other QWERTY keyboards and nothing comes even close to the Treos. I just love a full keyboard... I can type much faster than using T9 on a normal keypad.
7 years after using the Palm OS, I have finally succumbed to the power of Windows Mobile (WM). Although still not a fan, I have to admit the OS is much more powerful in terms of multimedia functions. I wouldn't have bothered with the WM OS if it wasn't for this beauty...
Samsung SGH-i780 - looks similar to the smartphone version, the i600 but not at all the same
Slim, QWERTY keyboard, all the connection options in the world, built-in GPS... all in a 120gram package. When I first saw pictures of this phone going around the internet, I knew if I was gonna switch to WM, it was gonna be this phone. However, I put it off knowing very well Samsung will price the damn thing so high it would be crazy to get it. Imagine my surprise when I saw the price tag of RM1999 with a 4GB microSD card, an extra battery, screen protector and a nice battery casing cum charger thrown in. That's not all... the price is negotiable (Hint: I got it more than RM200 cheaper than the listed retail price)! To cut the long story short, I was sold.
Slimmer by almost half the Treo 680. Didn't compare with new Centro though...
Having been so used to the Palm OS's snappy interface, I'm still coming to grips with the WM system. It's more tedious getting things done but definitely, you can get more things done on WM. I even tried the GPS system on the Samsung... I never knew what the hell was so great about having a GPS system. The only GPS system I ever used were my eyes, and hands on the steering wheel, and the occasional studying of maps before I begin my journey... But after using it for a day... I now understand why people are just so nuts about GPS. It's just so god damn geeky! And I'm sure people with poor sense of direction would just love it since they can now just drive and drive and drive without planning ahead and just by listening to the somewhat robotic voice from the phone, get to their destination.
Drive 2.5km and turn left... - Trying it out this evening while heading towards Jusco Kepong
I won't spend so much time typing about this phone now. Will be working on a review about it for Mobileburn.com and will link to it from here.
Until then... Yes, the dark side is brighter in its own geeky way but if PIM is your primary concern, Palm OS is still the best. Make no bones about that.
I stuck with the m515 since then until they came out with the Tungsten line of PDAs. I didn't pay much attention to them since I was pretty happy with my m515. I have to admit, being a student, I didn't use much of the PIM (personal information management, i.e.: calendar, contacts, tasks... etc) applications much. Instead I used the PDA mainly for... Bejeweled! Can you believe that? It was the most freaking addicting game on a handheld since Tetris!! Everyone was borrowing the m515 to beat each other's scores. Others with handhelds also got their copy of the game and started playing. It was just nuts... Well of course I use it for ebooks and also medical applications as well since they provide a fast and intuitive way of looking up some quick facts. Pretty cool.
Years passed by... the year I got my first m505 was 2001. My next PDA was the Tungsten T3. Infamous for its slide out 320 x 480 screen and on-screen silk screen... that machine was simply amazing. After awhile though, I got tired of carrying 2 devices at one time and finally caved in to the Treo 650. I stuck with that till the 680 came about. The QWERTY keyboard of the Treos have always been the benchmark for all other QWERTY keyboards and nothing comes even close to the Treos. I just love a full keyboard... I can type much faster than using T9 on a normal keypad.
7 years after using the Palm OS, I have finally succumbed to the power of Windows Mobile (WM). Although still not a fan, I have to admit the OS is much more powerful in terms of multimedia functions. I wouldn't have bothered with the WM OS if it wasn't for this beauty...
Samsung SGH-i780 - looks similar to the smartphone version, the i600 but not at all the sameSlim, QWERTY keyboard, all the connection options in the world, built-in GPS... all in a 120gram package. When I first saw pictures of this phone going around the internet, I knew if I was gonna switch to WM, it was gonna be this phone. However, I put it off knowing very well Samsung will price the damn thing so high it would be crazy to get it. Imagine my surprise when I saw the price tag of RM1999 with a 4GB microSD card, an extra battery, screen protector and a nice battery casing cum charger thrown in. That's not all... the price is negotiable (Hint: I got it more than RM200 cheaper than the listed retail price)! To cut the long story short, I was sold.
Slimmer by almost half the Treo 680. Didn't compare with new Centro though...Having been so used to the Palm OS's snappy interface, I'm still coming to grips with the WM system. It's more tedious getting things done but definitely, you can get more things done on WM. I even tried the GPS system on the Samsung... I never knew what the hell was so great about having a GPS system. The only GPS system I ever used were my eyes, and hands on the steering wheel, and the occasional studying of maps before I begin my journey... But after using it for a day... I now understand why people are just so nuts about GPS. It's just so god damn geeky! And I'm sure people with poor sense of direction would just love it since they can now just drive and drive and drive without planning ahead and just by listening to the somewhat robotic voice from the phone, get to their destination.
Drive 2.5km and turn left... - Trying it out this evening while heading towards Jusco KepongI won't spend so much time typing about this phone now. Will be working on a review about it for Mobileburn.com and will link to it from here.
Until then... Yes, the dark side is brighter in its own geeky way but if PIM is your primary concern, Palm OS is still the best. Make no bones about that.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Nightwatch Optimus Prime
Stumbled across this repaint edition of the Transformers movie Optimus Prime. It comes in a dark turquoise/cyan blue with silver flames instead of the red/dark blue with red flames original. Pretty cool... I missed the first original Optimus Prime the last time around coz... I don't know... I just didn't buy it and when it went out of stock, I just couldn't get it anywhere (no, I won't pay extra just because it's out of stock... not that mad). So since it comes with a new colour, which I think is a cool colour combo(although, the original is still... well, the original)., I decided to get this instead.
From L-R: Deluxe Bumblebee, Leader class Nightwatch Optimus, Voyager class Optimus
Basically it's Optimus with the All Spark power running throughhis veins him. So he gains stealth abilities but why in the world he's blue, I have no idea... shouldn't it be black? Or at least some darker shade. *shrugs*
bugger... he's big!
Sorry about the background in the pics. Wasn't up to prepare a background... :P
details are extraordinary
details get lesser when class gets lower... obviously.
From L-R: Deluxe Bumblebee, Leader class Nightwatch Optimus, Voyager class OptimusBasically it's Optimus with the All Spark power running through
bugger... he's big!
details are extraordinary
details get lesser when class gets lower... obviously.No Budget
I'll be starting my calls soon, this Sunday to be exact. Was supposed to be a Saturday but luckily a colleague wanted my Saturday slot and I took her Sunday slot. Why lucky to be on call on a Sunday? Well, I get to go home after morning clinic on Monday! That's roughly about 11am?
Last week there was a 'meeting' with the Deputy Health Minister. Heard from colleagues who went that it was a load of bollocks and all the minister did was beat around the bush. Issues like our pay rise was discussed where the minister promptly replied by saying the Ministry has no budget and we as doctors should not talk about pay... Hey, exempt doctors from all loans, bills, petrol costs, food costs then! By the time we get our LONG overdue (as described by the MoH itself) raise, my friends who are working in the private sector would be earning 5-digit salaries and by the time we get our promotion, inflation would have taken its natural course and our RM6K a month salary would mean nuts.
Someone brought up the issue about Sg Buloh hospital being short of MOs. I know that for a fact as I have a friend there working in the A&E dept slogging to his death, working 2 shifts a day. It's crazy! And all the Deputy Minister (DM) could say was, "It takes 3 years to build a nice hospital, but it takes 6 years to train a doctor... so please be patient and all we can do is wait." What the hell?? Typical politician answer.
No wonder doctors are leaving for the private sector as soon as they can and many are leaving the country to seek greener pastures. And about the brain drain issue, all he could say was,"If people want to leave, what can we do? Let them leave... we'll just train new doctors." What an idiot.
Last week there was a 'meeting' with the Deputy Health Minister. Heard from colleagues who went that it was a load of bollocks and all the minister did was beat around the bush. Issues like our pay rise was discussed where the minister promptly replied by saying the Ministry has no budget and we as doctors should not talk about pay... Hey, exempt doctors from all loans, bills, petrol costs, food costs then! By the time we get our LONG overdue (as described by the MoH itself) raise, my friends who are working in the private sector would be earning 5-digit salaries and by the time we get our promotion, inflation would have taken its natural course and our RM6K a month salary would mean nuts.
Someone brought up the issue about Sg Buloh hospital being short of MOs. I know that for a fact as I have a friend there working in the A&E dept slogging to his death, working 2 shifts a day. It's crazy! And all the Deputy Minister (DM) could say was, "It takes 3 years to build a nice hospital, but it takes 6 years to train a doctor... so please be patient and all we can do is wait." What the hell?? Typical politician answer.
No wonder doctors are leaving for the private sector as soon as they can and many are leaving the country to seek greener pastures. And about the brain drain issue, all he could say was,"If people want to leave, what can we do? Let them leave... we'll just train new doctors." What an idiot.
Monday, March 17, 2008
The Huge Divide
It's Day 4 in HKL (not counting the weekend) and I must say that I'm pretty much enjoying the work there. I was chucked to the Urology department as the O&G dept was full to the brim. It was either Uro or Paediatrics. No way I'm gonna work with kids... I'm just bad with them! My interest is bringing babies to this world, not working with them while they grow up ;)
A typical day in the Uro dept starts at 7.30am where we have rounds. No more blood taking or branula setting for me unless it's a difficult one or there's culture and sensitivity involved. Otherwise, the nurses will get them done. The best thing is that I do not have to give any freaking IV medication for the rest of my life!
After the rounds and settling the ward work, it's down to the clinic where we see quite a number of patients everyday. If you've ever been to a clinic in a government hospital, you will know what I mean. The stream of patients coming into your room is endless!
After clinic, you're free to do whatever you want. Work ends at 4.30pm. It ends at 2pm (or earlier) if you're post call. This is what I call humane work... The jump from house officer to medical officer is such a huge difference, it's a huge and deep chasm!
Walking around HKL, I found this very interesting elevator system. It is constantly moving and it doesn't have doors! There are two entrances, the one on the left goes down, and the one on the right goes up. It never stops and it works like a cycle - if you reach the topmost or lowest floor and forgot to jump off, you will be in pitch black darkness as the lift switches over to the other side and goes up/down again. This is excellent since you don't have to wait for lifts and it's always constantly moving.
You really have to try this lift out if you're ever in HKLI'm currently still tagging since I'm very new to Urology. I'll start my calls next month. Can't be that bad since there are 8 of us and that would mean roughly 4 calls per person with 1 weekend day each.
Besides work, Kim and I have been going around shopping and such for our wedding registration day (coming soon!). It's never easy buying clothes when you are looking out for certain styles. However, when you're not looking for something... everything seems like a good deal and you end up buying some stuff that's not needed.
I got my wedding present from Kim during the weekend. It's a Meistersinger No. 1 single hand watch. It's a manual wind watch and it only has one hand. How do you tell the time on that thing? Easy... every marker is on the face is actually 5 minutes of time. So for example in the picture below, the time is slightly after 9.20pm. You can't tell if it's 9.23pm or 9.21pm but hell... no one really cares about that right? If you need such pinpoint accuracy, get another watch! It actually comes with a black leather strap but I got the brown one for free so I decided to swap it for the time being.
Watch for the year 2008 - a wedding gift actually from Kim - thanks baby :)
Besides work, Kim and I have been going around shopping and such for our wedding registration day (coming soon!). It's never easy buying clothes when you are looking out for certain styles. However, when you're not looking for something... everything seems like a good deal and you end up buying some stuff that's not needed.
I got my wedding present from Kim during the weekend. It's a Meistersinger No. 1 single hand watch. It's a manual wind watch and it only has one hand. How do you tell the time on that thing? Easy... every marker is on the face is actually 5 minutes of time. So for example in the picture below, the time is slightly after 9.20pm. You can't tell if it's 9.23pm or 9.21pm but hell... no one really cares about that right? If you need such pinpoint accuracy, get another watch! It actually comes with a black leather strap but I got the brown one for free so I decided to swap it for the time being.
Watch for the year 2008 - a wedding gift actually from Kim - thanks baby :)That's it for now. I need to shape up and lose some weight. Got myself a nice pair of Nike Frees yesterday at a discounted price so that should encourage me to burn some calories... hmmm... maybe tomorrow... nah, next week...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
