MI$ADVENTURE

2009-08-30T03:31:00.000-07:00

I've moved to a new site! Click here

That trip to the big durian, Jakarta (part 1)

2008-12-30T07:19:00.000-08:00

So I’m back in my hometown Kuching, and feeling reassured to have survived another year of medical school…and waiting for what’s in store next year. I am actually looking forward to it as we finally have the company of the juniors. More drama I’m guessing..heh heh heh

Going back to the main premise, the Jakarta trip was unplanned. Bangkok was the planned destination, until the whole yellow T-shirt fiasco that closed the airport for a week. My travel partner Brian was more worried about the riots and bombs going off in Bangkok’s streets. It actually made me keener on going as I could watch history in the making. I have that foolhardy suicidal journalistic streak in me (if it wasn’t for Medicine, I would have chosen a degree in journalism..but that’s another story)

But alas, Jakarta was the only other option. Big bustling city, street food, poverty, grime and dirt…it sounded like another Bangkok. Or was it?

So we hopped on a flight to Jakarta and touched down at Soekarno-Hatta International airport. The airport was pretty old and run down compared to Changi or KLIA. It resembled the old Kuching airport with its wood carvings and cultural décor. Most of the taxi drivers seemed dodgy and we could not find the recommended Blue Bird cab, so we opted for the slightly pricier Silver Bird cab. It cost us Rp 200,000 ( about 60 ringgit) for a Merc C-Class cab. Quite posh indeed.

Street artist, Jakarta

Among the first things you notice about Jakarta are its chaotic streets. No matter where you go, people are incessantly honking. And for no reason at all! Secondly, no one follows road markings. I was able to see three to four cars in a 2 lane road. In every street in Jakarta, you will also come across three-wheeled rickshaws similar to the tuk tuks of Bangkok. They are called Bajaj (pronounced as Bajay) over here and we had to agree on the fare with the driver before getting on one. The ride can only be described as bone rattling, but it grew on me as it felt more fun and “adventure-ish”.

We chose to splurge on a mid range hotel, Hotel Ibis Arcadia. It has a nice central location, and is just beside Jalan Sabang, a street full of street side hawkers selling everything from Sate Usus (Intestine Satay) to Nasi Goreng Gila (Crazy Fried Rice). I thought the fried rice was okay but Brian loved it and kept mentioning it throughout the trip. Other things to try are Bakso, Bakmi, Soto, Teh Botol and Soda Susu. I could not help but notice that the hawkers were washing plates in muddy brown water, but as they say, what doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger…

Teh botol, a very popular drink in Jakarta. Sort of like sweetened jasmine tea.

Soda susu, sweetened condensed milk topped off with ice cream soda.

Bakmi, which is very similar to Kuching's kolo mee, but pork is substituted with chicken

The exchange rate is about 1 ringgit to 3000 rupiah, so a calculator might come in handy as converting currency can get a bit tricky when shopping. We had a few million rupiah to spend, and felt like high rollers for a while.

Another thing you notice in Jakarta is the huge gap between the rich and the poor. Even more interesting than this is their proximity with each other. In the streets, you see luxury cars like Bentleys with black tinted windows. In the same street, a young child walks from car to car begging for money. It’s rather mind blowing to stare at such a scene. You can walk out from a glitzy Gucci boutique into the pungently smelly slums beside it. Surreal describes it rather aptly.

Salvatore Ferragamo, Jakarta

These extremes also apply to Jakarta’s shopping areas. They can range from the squalid Blok M mall to posh Plaza Indonesia. We had a chance to visit both. Blok M is an underground bus terminal converted into a shopping complex. This is supposedly where the local youth shop. I was nevertheless disappointed by what I saw. Everything was very “Mat Rok” and tacky looking while not being very cheap. The shoppers themselves looked the part as well.

Block M Plaza, Jakarta

Plaza Indonesia was a different world altogether. It was obviously classier and the people were a better dressed bunch. The “tai tais” wore designer and also wore rather heavy make up. Maybe the thick make up is an Indonesian thing…Armani, Brioni, Bang & Olufson, LV: all the big brands were there. A suit from Italian maker Brioni costs around 50 billion rupiah, even more that what most Indonesians make in a year.

Grand Indonesia, a premier mall in Jakarta

Next up, Jakarta’s night life…

On women, appearance, boobs, and all that jazz

2008-09-27T07:44:00.000-07:00

I have a feeling this could get interesting. I have been doing a little soul searching after some guy talk. Actually, yes, talking about women is what we do best. You can quote me on that one.

Sooner or later, a sticky question emerges. Why are you still single? Easy enough to answer huh?

The common answers come up; haven't found the right one...not confident enough la...not handsome...too busy...I'm gay and single, wanna drink *wink* *wink* (Just kidding, yet to find such a response...not that I'm waiting for it...sorry gay readers! Strictly platonic..)

Guys, let us be totally honest here. Too busy? Then what are we doing here talking about girls.

Not confident enough? Well you know what to do then. I know women enough to know that they really like confident guys. They have the ability smell fear and insecurity with the an acuity of a hunting beagle. Good girls love bad boys? Pah, it's all in their confidence. Learn to love yourself a bit more.

Haven't found the right one? Acceptable. But we have a host of things to figure out. Firstly, what do we guys (aka myself) look for in a girl...Told you this is going to get interesting.

What chris observes (and implies) when he sees a girl:

Physical appearance.

Well duh. What did you expect? Her personality? I heard they were selling personality lenses at the local optometrist. Oh wait, they're sold out.

Before you jump onto the "oh, he's so superficial" bandwagon, I would like to acknowledge that a good personality and a heart of gold matters as much or even more than a pretty face or a proportionate body.

But as we say, better SEE it to believe it.

I have to be brutally honest here. The first "filter" that a girl passes through when it comes to analyzing "potential" is physical beauty. I appreciate beauty. The beauty of classic victorian architecture, the beauty of hand crafted Italian shoes, the beauty of an azure sea contrasted with golden sand, the curves and patina of a well aged Stradivarius violin.

The beauty of a delicate nose, smooth healthy skin, sparkling eyes, full lips, legs, curves. A living visual testament to God's craftsmanship. (or evolution as some believe)

The complete package. Believe me, there is a whole book in the Bible praising a woman's beauty. Good ol' SOS. Women have been obsessed with looking good for a few millennia and it's all our fault. Not that I'll fault that :)

The problem is that I never settle for just passable. My standards will be the death of me.

Towards greyer matters. (Unmyelinated grey matter, geddit?) Med school is mother of all lame med puns, so bear with me.

The way she dresses: It does matter. And also gives clues about her personality. How much she loves herself. How confident is she. Her values. Her taste, or lack of it.

Pink? She's youthful...or young at heart. T-shirt and jeans? Girl next door, down to earth, not too high maintenance. Revealing? Obvious "branded" labels or a walking billboard? A desperate attention seeking personality. How cute.

Besides that, if a guy like me maintains(kinda) his appearance, is it not too much to ask for a girl to attempt to look half-decent? Oh right, sorry, I probably didn't notice you.

Her size: Touchy touchy. Touchy issue. Grab your pitchforks and torches!

My verdict. It does matter. On a subconscious level at least. Sure, more to love, as I want to believe. Blame it on my testosterone driven instincts. I am wrong, and it is okay to fault me on this, but extra flesh flips on a switch in my head that goes....poor self control, mood swings, low self esteem, inactivity, passiveness, stubbornness, osteoarthritis, artherosclerosis, diabetes, cushings syndrome, hypothyroidism, cholecystitis, ascites....

Not exactly picture perfect there ay? As you can see, health professionals do a lot more judging, or assessing as we call it.

Medically, it has been proven that some people can not lose weight despite their genuine attempts. So don't be too quick to blame yourself or anyone. Take it from a quack doctor like me.

BUT WHAT ABOUT PERSONALITY. I'm tired. Will cover it in another post.

What chris does NOT observe:

Chris is not a boob man. I repeat, chris is NOT a boob man. Personally, I don't really get many guys' fascination with these fine female features. Sure, it adds to a nice silhouette and complements the wider female hip. And I for one do appreciate a perfectly proportionate figure.

But what bothers me are men (some friends, names confidential) who seem enthralled and awed by what they not too creatively describe as melons and what not. I'm neither impressed nor disgusted by them. The breast size I mean. Here's something from 4 years ago:

Chris: And here's a pic of a friend and me

Guy: OMG. They. are. big. They must be double D's! *Continues to stare intently at the pic and wipes drool off*

Chris: Have some respect lah. Would you like a woman to comment on your (use your imaginnaaattiioon) size? Lay off the weird hentai dude.

Digressing, did you know, in med school we have a term to describe saggies:

Pendulous. I rather like the way it rolls off my tongue. I can say it all day. Pendulous, pendulous, pendulous, pendulous, pendulous....

I will be doomed to eternal singlehood for this post. And go the way of Nicola Tesla...

Random assortment of phone pics

2008-09-17T04:24:00.001-07:00

We just had a 'field trip' to a condom factory today. It was part of our occupational health and safety module. Mostly got to witness the process of making condoms from latex. It's mostly automated. The flavorings for some condoms (choc, caramel, tutti fruity etc.) were actually of a better grade than your run-of-the-mill cake flavoring.

Fun Fact: Casanova, the most well known playboy, never once left home without his "English riding coat". I guess the other guys who slept around without a rubber got STDs and died early. There was no such thing as AIDS then (It was discovered in the 1980s, most likely someone screwed a chimp and later screwed someone else)

Free samples! Male and female "genicare" cream, a condom and lube. No naughty ideas..*chuckles*

This hairstyle is called the shag. Named after the look you got after shagging! I applied hair wax to my hair just before bed, and got up with whatever mess that developed throughout the night. Simply perfect for lazy asses like yours truly. A comb? You p**sy!

Just bought a shoe rack from Giant supermarket. Never been happier seeing my shoes arranged neatly. Call me a rube, but I love simple things like that.

My place when the sun goes down. Time to cook up some dinner...

Thrift shop finds: Shoes

2008-09-07T21:10:00.000-07:00

There is an abundance of valuable treasures you can find, if you know where to look for it. You just have be patient and have some background knowledge about the genre you're looking for, eg. shoes, watches, jeans. And rid yourself of the Chinese phobia of having "old" things (I prefer to call them vintage). I found these shoes at junk shops in JB for a good bargain (yes, you need basic bargaining skills too!)

Shoemaker: Cheaney of Northampton (owned by Church's, which is in turn owned by Prada)

Origin: Made in Northampton, England

Shoe type: Plain black bluchers (derbys)

Construction: Goodyear welted, leather sole

Shoemaker: Cole Haan

Origin: Hand Made in Italy

Shoe type: Brown balmorals/oxfords with brogueing

Construction: Blake stitched, leather sole

Note to self: Fight Negligence

2008-08-29T10:02:00.000-07:00

Do you know what's worse than doing something wrong?

Failing to do something right. Or more appropriately,

NEGLIGENGE

It's downright more insidious.

I mean, you won't really feel that guilty NOT exercising, NOT taking care of yourself, NOT giving a damn about the needs of others.

Inaction can be more damaging than how we perceive it to be.

Take for instance, a relationship. A passive-aggressive person abuses their spouse psychologically by withholding love. And the damage is unseen, a mere specter in the eye of the public as compared to the physical scars and contusions of domestic abuse.

In medicine, there is a term called Medical Negligence, where medical practitioners do a half-arsed job or fail to observe precautions....and often get into trouble... all because they can't wait to finish the bloody long shift. Pardon me, I was just channelling some imaginary hapless interns. And it's all hidden to the unassuming public eye, the only traces of incompetence scribbled illegibly in the cryptic medical records.

If you ask me, I'd rather not have all these "learning experiences", if its gonna cost a life or two. A wise man learns from his mistakes, but a truly wise man can learn something from others' ****ups.

Since I might be heading that direction, bah...gotta buck up and quit being apathetic.

And that doesn't just apply to the field of medicine. Not good to medicalise everything. It applies to

my friends, whom I fail to appreciate to the fullest.

my blog, which I left for dead.

my health, which I may be ironically neglecting. Quack doctors make the worst patients.

my numerous intimate relationships with Venezuelan and Brazilian supermodels, which remain unconsummated.

Back online

2008-08-29T09:46:00.000-07:00

Firstly, my utmost apologies for my long absence from blogging. It has been many long months since I've uttered anything online.

Mostly due to a lack of motivation. And a schedule that rivals Russian gulag work camps.

But I've realised that all my ~~elaborate schemes~~ ~~eccentric obsessions~~ ~~ambitions~~ ideas would fade away if I don't stash it somewhere for future reference.

But all that's due to change.

The only important thing to take home is I'm back.

Hugs anyone?..........

........

......anyone?...

Snapshots: Not quite home

2008-03-21T19:34:00.000-07:00

I've been in JB for around 2 months now. Getting used to the new surroundings too: new people, church, places to eat..life's good!

Anyway, here are a few photos of my studio apartment, my new home for another 2 years!

Happy New Year

2008-01-02T00:37:00.000-08:00

We joyfully welcome thee, O Two Thousand and Eight,
Downed some wine and pasta I ate,
Finished it off with a real good cheesecake,
By then it was getting really late,
Was anticipating the change of date,
Have a blast my good ol' mate,
And pray we do not suffer this poor man's fate,
It's much more unfortunate than being named Nate,
To be caught under a big asses' weight.

This rhyming is a bit childish, I must state,
But hey, they say cool people dont hate...

Have an awesome 2008!

Hiatus. Haiya Tus

2007-12-20T04:35:00.000-08:00

I'm officially on a hiatus because ~~I'm too lazy to bitch and rant~~. Just because. Results just came out, meaning I officially survived 2nd year med. With my sanity intact. Sweet!

Quiz for you meddies: Which hiatus is this?

A) Aortic Hiatus
B) Esophageal Hiatus
C) What hiatus? Looks like bak kut teh *smacks lips*
D) Va-gyy-nuhhhh....giggle
E) Quit ruining my holiday, geek!

Get your priorities straight

2007-12-09T08:46:00.000-08:00

From the dusty hallowed hallways of Oxbridge to the chilly tute rooms of Monash, various personalities flavour the big cooking pot that is med school. We'll always have the med geek poobahs, criers, ghosts, clowns, ass-clenched acheivers and one trick wonders. As a meddie myself, I appreciate and even celebrate our differences....as medical school would not be as fun without all the drama.

But things usually take an ugly turn when each one of us places certain expectations on other students which turn out unfulfilled. When this happens, a guy usually takes out his AK-47 assault rifle and runs amok, pumping hot lead into every infidel in sight........my bad, the little voices in my head must be talking again! What I really mean is the formation of rivalry, enmity and distrust among the students themselves. I'm sure that at some point in med school, most of us may wonder how 'that someone' got through the med interviews in the first place.

Coming back to the point, it doesn't really matter if we have conflicting personalities. The last time I checked, it's not really our God-given mandate to shove our ideals down everyone's throat, or on the other extreme live to please everyone. Not everyone would be that eager to attend every lecture, buy the latest textbooks, examine each other or dress up neatly to tutes for that matter.

What really matters is our shared passion in the field of medicine, most importantly our compassion towards those entrusted in our care. I might not be experienced enough to make the best judgement, but I hold on dearly to some unshakable principles. We might not get along with each other as well as desired, but what keeps us together is our shared responsibility towards our patients.

Contrary to popular belief, the most important education we receive on the way to becoming medical practitioners does not come from med school itself. Don't get me wrong, I am by no means downplaying the necessity for top rate medical skills and knowledge. I would just like to reemphasize the fact that not even the best education from John Hopkins would hold a drop of value if we do not genuinely care for our patients. No amount of lectures, textbooks or tutes would teach us compassion. And such wordplay comes to mind:

Patients will not care how much you know, until they know how much you care.

Can I have an A-M-E-N to that brothas and sistas? :P

The question

2007-11-25T18:57:00.000-08:00

Firstly, what gave me the idea of writing this post? Its not so much the fact that I am single, which is pretty obvious. Trust me, I'm used to that. I've only just realised how many times this year I've been asked the same question, "Have you had a girlfriend before?"

And every girl who asks this question would somehow slip this into normal conversation so casually, almost too casually. It somehow goes like this:

AB: So you like Switchfoot, that's cool.
Me: Yeah!
AB: So, um, I'm curious lah...
Me: *is she asking THAT question?*
AB: have you ever had a y'know, a GF before?
Me: *mentally slaps forehead...D'OH!*

Me: *Fakes a surprised look, smiles, pauses a second, and tells the truth*

It irks me a little to guess what they were thinking after I answered them. It could be.."This guy is such a NOOB" or "There must be something really wrong with him...he's never even had one!" Or worse still, "this one good catch lerr, less emotional baggage!" *shudders* I just can't help but feel self conscious after the question.

I'm sorry to be so frank, but why don't you girls just go the whole way and incorporate it into your greeting. Instead of "Hi, how are you doin" you should just say "Hi, did you have any past girlfriends?"

"Hello sir, fine weather today..have you had any lovers lately?"

or in Chinese,

In place of the usual greeting "ni chi fan le ma?", say "ni you ni peng you le ma?"

"Ni you ni peng you le ma?"

A simple fact: I haven't found a suitable person yet. I'm quite a particular person, maybe to my disadvantage, and there are certain criteria considered which would be covered in another post. So stay tuned :)

Short talk: The world is falling apart. Hilary Duff, bubblegum teen popstar, is hot! Times have changed.

Video: Me Singing?

2007-11-23T02:14:00.000-08:00

I watched a "Music & Lyrics" a while ago, and I like it, despite it being kitschy and predictable. There was a song sang by Hugh Grant titled "Don't Write Me Off Just Yet". I really liked it, so I tried it too on my guitar. Enjoy:

MSN Conversations: Confessions

2007-11-22T09:38:00.000-08:00

I've been using MSN Messenger more often these days, as there's no better way to communicate with friends without the trouble of getting my ass out the door. Plus its free, as opposed to the phone!

But the longer I go on MSN-ing, the more I realise how lazy I have been with real life expressions. Blame it all in the emoticons and shorthand such as "LOL" and the like. It has gotten too easy to express feelings, and even fake them online.

Messenger: That's nice to hear :)

Real Life:

A smiley is a good substitute for actually smiling. Because smiling uses too many facial muscles. And creates unnecessary wrinkles. Oh, yeah...I see a lot of smilies in SMS messages too. Makes me wonder if the sender is smiling in real life each time I see it. Maybe I'm thinking too much...

Messenger: LOL. That's so funny!

Real Life:

No one really ever laughs out loud while typing LOL. Imagine how silly it would look laughing like a maniac in front of the screen. Especially when typing out "LOL"

Messenger: This is just too funny, my tummy's aching! ROFL (roll on floor laughing)

Real Life:

Well, even if I were very amused, the most I could manage is a slight chuckle or an ear-to-ear grin. Rolling on the floor laughing? Never actually tried it before. It would be quite cartoonish to see, I think. Who even invented the term in the first place?

Messenger: No, you're not boring me. That's so interesting :P

Real Life:

Messenger: I gtg. Very busy lor. Gotta do assignment/finish chores/do laundry/end world poverty/...

Real Life:

Excuses, excuses, excuses :P

Short talk: I met this cutie working at one of the shops in pyramid. She had this really awesome smile. Like when she beamed at me, I couldn't help but smile back. Didn't bother to go beyond small talk though. And ALMOST felt guilty for walking out not buying anything. Heh heh

Chinese T-shirt

2007-11-19T09:07:00.000-08:00

Calling all readers who can read chinese characters! Your assistance is kindly requested.

Okay, enough with the formalities. I just bought a T-shirt from sunway pyramid today. Cheap too, less than RM20. But that wasn't the reason for my purchase. The T-shirt was not so fancy, just some chinese text in front. The shop assistant said that the characters meant "Sarawak". Feeling super patriotic and proud of my home state (we have Starbucks you know), I bought it before you could say "Cehh, Stabakks only at airport nia le..."

Wait, I can almost read it...is that two "huos" on top of that thingamajid for the second character?

So, does it really say Sarawak? Or were they trying be funny and fooled this poor banana into wearing a shirt that said "lala leng zai studmeister" or "Me love u long time"(I'm getting paranoid here)

For all I know, it could mean "No.125-Roast Pork Belly"

The lesson here is, I must learn how to read Chinese. Past kindergarten level I mean. Hats off to you if you could confirm this with me!

My cover of My Chemical Romance: Cancer

2007-11-17T09:03:00.000-08:00

I just listened to a song today and I thought it was nice. Well, nice in a sad way. because it was about dying of cancer. Found the chords and tried it out on my guitar a bit...Here goes

Get this widget

Track details

eSnips Social DNA

On a brighter note, I had a great week following the final exam. Went out with Li Wen to check out The Gardens shopping mall in mid valley. Was nice to get to know her better as there wasn't much time for hanging around when I was in medical school. And I spent the whole of today with my relatives, many of whom I haven't met in years. I got to shop in the newly opened Pavillion mall..and it was huge and fascinating with its range of upscale brands. Had a wonderful meal at Parkroyal, and guess what? I got to choose the wine, more specifically french Sauvignon Blanc red wine. It was good :P

And I did not even fork out a single cent!

Old school: My Girl

2007-11-16T08:25:00.000-08:00

I like oldies, so here's my cover of My Girl originally sang by The Temptations. Not like I have a girl to sing about or anything, but oh well...

I'm Yours cover

2007-11-03T04:41:00.000-07:00

Su Wen introduced this song to me...and I kinda liked it, especially towards the end. As usual, I tried singing along, but Jason Mraz sings it really high. Man, I do envy his voice, but I tried one part anyway. Words kinda get jumbled up :P

IL EXAMINO...

2007-10-25T05:38:00.001-07:00

The exams are closing in, with only about 2 weeks to spare! And I'm pretty much still unmotivated to study, for a medical student at least...the others are all scrambling to finish their revision. Meanwhile, I'm still daydreaming about the year end hols, when I get to go back to Kuching and meet up with my old pals ~~and pretend to still have a social life~~ and chill at Damai beach again.

I haven't been getting much sleep lately, making me sluggish and lethargic in the daytime...which only adds to the un-motivation. And I've been getting huge eyebags, typical of some medical students.

say hello to my eyebags. I may look happy but I was really very tired when I took this pic...

I've got 2 full years of medical stuff to cram into my tiny head, so I'm resorting to devious methods to finish my revision. Behold, my textbooks:

Medical Immunology Made Memorable

Master Medicine: Microbiology & Infection

Anatomy & Physiology Made Incredibly Easy. Damn straight I wish they had more books like this! See, it even has cutesy cartoons and all:

Meet the pancreatic cells!

But, I was even tempted to buy this:

If I ever graduate and become your doctor, Be Afraid. Be VERY VERY AFRAID

I can imagine all my classmates shaking their heads in disapproval. Yeah, I'm one big a$$ lazy bum! And not worthy of the grand title of med geek :(

By the way, there's this one memorable way to remember the cranial nerve distribution. It's another dirty mnemonic, like most medical ones. Here goes:

Ooh-Olfactory
Ooh-Optic
Ooh-Opthalamic
To-Trochlear
Touch-Trigeminal
And-Abducens
Feel-Facial
Virgin-Vestibulocochlear
Girls-Glossopharyngeal
Vaginas,-Vagus
Such-Spinal accessory
Heaven!-Hypoglossal

Makes me wonder if the creator of this is some horny gynae? *shudders*

Anyway, it has served me well, and I'm sure it'll be useful to you if you're doin med. All the best to those having exams now, and to all meddies too!

I slaughtered Chris Daughtry

2007-10-20T11:05:00.000-07:00

Haha..my attempt at singing Over You by Chris Daughtry. Imagine a zombie singing and you're not that far off...Key is too low for me. But who cares, I still like the song

Get this widget

Track details

eSnips Social DNA

Jejak Langkah

2007-10-15T01:18:00.000-07:00

I'm so annoyed with the pile of assignments in front of me. Can't it just do itself? I'm so flustered to the extent that I'm singing in Malay to soothe my nerves. I recorded it. It's Jejak Langkah by Tohpati. What next, Mandarin or Cantonese songs?

Get this widget

Track details

eSnips Social DNA

How to Be Yourself

2007-10-14T00:18:00.001-07:00

Have you ever been told to just be yourself? Or told that you're not acting like yourself? Or told that you should be more Malaysian? I guess this has flustered and confused many people, myself included.

Ah, young grasshopper, how do you react to this?

My best guess: We would try to prove them otherwise, that we are not fake poseurs. But I would advice you to do nothing and ignore it. ANYTHING you do to prove that you're being yourself would make yourself seem more insecure and more importantly, FAKE.

On weekends, I work part-time as an ah long (loan shark). Honest!

To be frank, that is not even a valid question, as we are all ACTORS in life. Yes, you heard it. We act out our lives based on how we perceive we should be acting. The obviously fake people are just horrible actors, and stumble around awkwardly like drag queens. To be natural, you have to be talented and convincing. Think George Clooney in ER. Or the cast of Grey's Anatomy who make convincing, if overly dramatic, doctors. To paraphrase Shakespeare, life is a stage, and we are actors in a play. Confused already?

We behave and act based on our ideals of who we should be. We hem ourselves into different roles in society. We feel accomplishment as we selfishly seek and gain approval from around us. For example, a doctor should be respectable and authoritative. A teacher should be nurturing and stern. An emo guy should be, well, emo. A nerd should stay with his books. All feminists hate men. ALL BLONDES ARE DUMB. Thus society places expectations on us to stick to our stereotypes. So, we are not permitted to act contrary to these expectations. Any nail that sticks out will be hammered back in.

All blondes are good in...um.....making beds, right? Damn straight they are!

I beg to differ. I stand firm behind my conviction that everyone is entitled to act however they like, and not be criticized for it. We should be allowed to find our true selves, to experiment with roles, and not stick to the status quo. We should be striving to improve ourselves daily, to try new things, to think outside the box once in a while. Change is imminent for some of us, as we metamorphose into hopefully better people. We are given the power to choose who we want to be. That's why God gave us a will.

So, my sage advice to you would be to reinterpret "being yourself" as "being more confident". After all, confidence is sexy, no? We wouldn't be accused of being fake if we were comfortable in our own skin. Feel free to be different, but don't do it for anyone else's sake other than yourself. Insecurity and people-pleasing behaviour are as obvious as Micheal Jackson's nose.

Nerding

2007-10-09T23:44:00.000-07:00

I can't blog for now. Really too busy. Lots of stuff to cover within a month. Two years worth of med school. Here's something I found rather funny:

1 You have ever said “Netter is god”.
2 You can discuss autopsy/ anatomy over a meal [x]
3 You own a 4 color pen
4 It just isn’t enough colors for you
5 You use more than one color to take notes
6 You have use up more than 6 highlighters in the past 6 months
7 you have ever highlighted something YOU wrote
8 you retype handouts given in class
9 you haven’t had a date in 3 months [x]
10 you haven’t had a date since entering med school
11 you have not been able to remember the normal term for something because you were thinking of the medical term (ie reflux for heartburn)
12 You get more sleep in lecture than at home
13 You know the correct spelling for pruritus
[14 - you also know what it means [x]
15 You have ever asked a question in class [x]x]
16 - The prof. didn’t understand the question
17 - you didn’t believe the answer the prof. gave
18 - you went to look it up to see if they were right
19 You can’t hold a conversation on anything other than medschool
20 You skip class to study [x]
21 You’ve said you didn’t do well on a test on which you beat the mean [x]
22 You spend more than 15 hrs a week on e-mail
23 You have a callous on your finger from writing
24 More than one professor knows you by name [x]
25 When you ask a question, a new professor has said “Oh, I’ve heard of you”
26 You can name more amino acids than past presidents
27 You use more than 5 acronyms an hour when talking [x]
28 you actually know what PERRLA stands for
29 You know all the steps of the TCA cycle
30 You do not read PTA as parent teachers association
31 You can remember the muscles in the forearm [x]
32 You know the structures in the urea cycle
33 You know the dermatome distribution [x]
34 You can’t remember what you had for breakfast
35 You can’t spell world, much less backwards
36 You’ve ever been sexually aroused by the breast shadow on an X-ray
37 You equate “morning stiffness” with Rhematoid Arthritis
38 You actually know normal values for plasma Na
39 and for K
40 Missing class causes you extreme stress
41 You have seriously asked someone “So how does that make you feel?”
42 You have asked will this be on the exam [x]
43 -Just after the prof. said it wouldn’t
44 You identify with Deb on E.R.
45 You have made a medical joke [x]
46 -no one laughed [x]
47 -You figure they just weren’t that far in their studying [x]
48 You wear your stethescope around your neck on the bus
49 - you don’t even know which way the thing goes in your ears
50 “SOB” means shortness of breath to you [x]
51 You have gone to student health with suspicion of a disease you have studied [x]
52 -within 3 days of the lecture
53 You have answered a question in class
54 -asked by the professor
55 -it was a rhetorical question
56 You can quote lines from the movie “Malice”
57 -you believe them
58 You can flip your pen over your thumb
59 - with both hands
60 - you do so throughout class
61 You have corrected a professor in class
62 - the rest of the class didn’t understand the lecture to begin with
63 You know how to calculate specificity [x]
64 - positive predictive value [x]
65 - anion gap
66 - you can’t balance your checkbook [x]
67 You don’t know what the weather was like for the past week [x]
68 You don’t know what the weather is like right now
69 You actually talk in open ended questions
70 DIC isn’t a slang term for the penis in your book [x]
71 You think B- is a bad grade
72 you have stressed about a pass/fail class [x]
73 You study during most of your meals [x]
74 You saw nothing abnormal about the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
75 You draw all of the slides not already provided in the handouts
76 -including the cartoons (humourous type)
77 Anatomy makes you hungry [x]
78 You would even consider saying “Ease back on my finger at your own pace”
79 You know the size of a RBC
80 - you don’t know the size of a football field
81 Your eyesight has worsened by 10 pts or more in the last year
82 You have the library hours memorized
83 You have your own seat in the library
84 You score more than 95 on the Epidemiology final
85 You own more than one white coat
86 You have debated between giving up sleep or eating in order to find more time to study [x]
87 You started studying for boards more than 2 months in advance
88 You have never received a personal invitation to discuss your grades with the dean [x]
89 A tie is the only addition necessary to what you normally wear when you go to see patients
90 You wear scrubs to tests
91 You have made plans to study on a beach during vacation [x]92 - you actually did
93 You have a designated seat in lecture
94 - You have ever asked someone to move from “your seat”
95 You sleep less than 4 hrs a night
96 - you think that is plenty
97 - you have thought about cutting back
98 You study more than 35 hrs outsid of class
99 - you think you are a slackard [x]
100 You think everyone answers yes to most of these questions [x]

My total score: 32

Scale
<20 You’re not in Med school. Go back to your party and leave us alone. We have work to do.
20-35 Either Med school is a breeze or you like the sound of “Senor doctor”35-45 Gotta love that Primary Care
45-60 Well, I never really thought about MD/Phd, but now thatyou mention it…
60-75 Your social life is shot, might as well try to earn lots of money
75-90 Which surgery subspecialty did you say you liked?
>90 All hail, great Med School Nerd master.

Segamat sighting: DotA

2007-09-01T08:56:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the long hiatus..Not really in the blogging vibe at the moment. Here's a filler for you all.

I'm currently doing my rural placement in Segamat, Johor.

Segamat is your run-of-the-mill small town. A few shops here and there, plus a supermarket or two. Well, at least it still has McDonalds.

Everything here sort of screams LALA. Sorry Dar Ray.

Anyway, most Malaysians would know what DotA is. Well, the younger ones at least...you know who you are!

In the game, there is this thing called a Chicken:

Here is the same Chicken. PWNED. In Segamat:

....

Another silly tag

2007-08-12T06:20:00.000-07:00

Layer One : The Outside
Name : Chris
Birth Date : 5th Nov
Current Status : Single and loving it
Eye Colour : nicer than yours!
Hair Colour : nice :P
Righty or Lefty : Righty

Layer Two : On The Inside
Your Heritage : 50% Foochow, 50% Teochew...100% confused about why that matters so much anyway
Your Fear : Losing a loved one
Your Weakness : A nice smile
You perfect Pizza : Real italian ones, with paper thin crust drizzled with olive oil..

Layer Three : Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
Your Thoughts First Thing When You Wake Up : Can I have five more minutes?
Bedtime : Not yet..
Your Most Missed Memory : Chilling on a beach in Australia

Layer Four : Your Pick
Pepsi or Coke : Pepsi
McDonald's or Burger King : Maccas
Single or Group Dates : Single dates.
Adidas or Nike : All Day I Dream About S**
Tea or Nestea : Tea. Nestea sounds real "nasty"
Chocolate or Vanilla : Chocolate
Cappucino or Coffee : Cappuccino

Layer Five : Do You ...
Smoke : No
Curse : Try not to. Doesn't sound good to the ears.
Take a Shower : Hah! Smell me!
Have a Crush : Yeah.
Think You've Been In Love: Yeah. Note the word "think"
Go To School : Yep.
Want To Get Married : Yeah.
Believe In Yourself : Hell yeah!
Think You're a Health Freak : No medical student is one anyway :P

Layer Six : In The Past Month
Drank Alcohol : Just a can of shandy. Dead sober otherwise.
Gone To The Mall : Yep.
Been On Stage : Yep. Once a guitarist, always a guitarist.
Eaten Sushi : Yep.
Dyed Your Hair : Nope. I cut off my dyed hair though

Layer Seven : Have You Ever ...
Played A Stripping Game : No
Changed Who You Were To Fit In : Fit in? Ahahaha! I CREATE the rules

Layer Eight : Age You're Hoping
To Get Married : early to mid 20's

Layer Nine : In A Girl/Guy
Best Eye Colour : Sparkling Brown
Best Hair Colour : Dark Brown
Short Hair or Long Hair : Long

Layer Ten : What Were You Doing
1 Min Ago : wasting my time on this
1 Hour Ago : nap time
4.5 Hours Ago : hugged and bid a friend farewell
1 Month Ago : Breathing?
1 Year Ago : Still breathing?

Layer Eleven : Finish The Sentence
I Love : hugs...and smiles
I Feel : happy and contented with my life
I Hate : insecurity and neediness
I Hide : my billions in a swiss account
I Need : more direction from Him up there

Layer Twelve : Tag Five People
Anna
Ben
Gary
Ji Keon
Anyone else on my contact list