Selamat Hari Merdeka Malaysia!

In the spirit of Blog-Day and Malaysian Independence, this blog entry will be written in Bahasa Malaysia (idea courtesy of minishorts.net!)

Selamat Hari Merdeka Malaysia...sudah 48 tahun M'sia telah mencapai kemerdekaan daripada jajahan negara asing. Sudah 48 tahun, kita diberi kebebasan untuk menyambut kemajmukan rakyat Malaysia. Namun, setelah 48 tahun, adakah kita benar-benar bebas daripada cengkaman and legasi dari hari-hari terdahulu?

Setiap tahun, Syarikat Petroliam Nasional tidak gagal mengingatkan kita, sebagai rakyat Malaysia, untuk menghargai kemerdekaan yang diperjuangkan oleh tokoh-tokoh negara untuk setiap lapisan masyarakat Malaysia. Namun, setelah 48 tahun kita menyambut kemerdekaan, adakah kita benar-benar menghargai and memahami makna Merdeka and makna kerakyatan Malaysia?

Sememangnya, Malaysia telah membangun dengan pesat dalam aspek fizikal sejak kemerdekaan. Malaysia bagaikan seorang kanak-kanak yang telah melangkah dalam dunia keremajaan. Masih banyak lagi yang perlu diatasi untuk mencapai Wawasan 2020 yang telah menjadi matlamat rakyat Malaysia sejak dahulu lagi. Bukanlah sesuatu yang mudah, untuk menjadi negara yang maju, tetapi fikiran bahawa kemajuan sesebuah negara ditentukan oleh pembangunan 'fizikal' memang terlalu ringkas and cetek. Apabila semua lapisan rakyat Malaysia mula membina negara tanpa mengira kaum dan agama, itulah detik permulaan Malaysia yang maju. Sudahlah tibanya masa, setelah 48 merdeka, untuk rakyat Malaysia mengambil langkah pertama kearah membina negara yang benar-benar majmuk - benar-benar Malaysia yang sejati. Selamat Hari Merdeka Malaysia!

A day in the ED (1)

Clinicals in ED could be fun, as it could be boring. This morning in the ED, I felt like an idiot, totally, not knowing what to do, or asking who for help. Everyone looked so busy. I wasn't sure if I could interview the patients even then in the morning - some were still sleeping, others were being evaluated by other doctors (from other departments presumably?). Yet I was really happy I managed to talk to ONE (!) patient, even though I didn't really get much from him. He seemed a bit reluctant to talk to me. Presumably because he's a bit depressed, talked to one too many medical student and damn...it's early in the morning?

Andrew (ED director) asked me to observe him perform a minor trauma suturing in the afternoon, as I was about to leave the department too! It was a good experience watching him perform the procedure and it didn't seem that difficult though it's hard to say...since he has years and years of experience (and I know that tends to make things look easier than they really are). The patient though, was really screaming in pain, even though he had tonnes of local injected into his wound already. Funny thing was, Andrew was administering the BIP questions as he is suturing the poor guy...and that guy said he wasn't a heavy drinker when he drinks about 40 units of alcohol A DAY!!!

Housewarming at Mei-Ying's new place

What makes us Malaysian? - something to think about from Blogthings

You Know You're Malaysian When....

You complain about the quality of the pirated DVD you just purchased. "What, RM10 for DVD5?! Aiyah, boss ... sound no good, cheaperlah ..." You're willing to consume sambal petai and durian and gladly suffer the bloating and wind-breaking incidents. You're exceedingly polite to the Mat Sallehs but you slag your own kind. "Hello, sir. Why don't you sit here, it�s got the best view of the city skyline." But, "Aunty-ah, your table is over there next to the kitchen." You order Maggi goreng and fried chicken, complain about how oily the food is, and then proceed to finish it anyway. You love to talk about food. You're already thinking about what to have for dinner while eating lunch. "I'm stuffed. What shall we have for dinner?" You dive into a communal-style meal the moment the dish lands on the table only to hesitate at the last morsel of food on the serving dish. There are two possible explanations for this: the first is the pai seh (embarrassed) factor, while the other is the myth that the person who eats the last piece will be a spinster. You hit the accelerator the moment the first drop of rain hits your windshield. "Alamak, it's going to rain. Sure traffic jam one. I'd better drive faster." You seize the opportunity to make a U-turn anywhere ... especially where there is a sign telling you not to. Well, so long as the cops aren't in sight. You feel a burning desire to send text messages and even have the gall to give your friend a blow-by-blow account of the movie to your friend on the handphone � during the screening of the movie. "Okay, now that girl Lizzie is impersonating an Italian singer; she so doesn�t look Italian ..." You forsake your loved ones for the all-important four letter-word: S-A-L-E. "Sorry, mum, I can't take you to Aunt Mary�s because I have to go to MidValley before the crowd." You�re also more than happy to be part of the insane traffic jam that forms around malls during weekends and sale periods. 11. Reality shows Akademi Fantasia and Malaysian Idol dictate your social life. "What, no TV at the mamak? Count me out � I'm staying home. Rinie needs my support." You pepper every sentence with lah. "No-lah, I can't see you today-lah. I have to study-lah. You know-lah, the prison warden aka mak is watching me like a hawk" You fail to function normally without your daily dose of teh tarik and nasi lemak. You have owned at least one Proton in your lifetime. Cheap, cheap. That is until you start to make enough dough to buy that Honda you've been salivating over. You slow down at an accident site to take down the car number plate, but won't step out of your car to help � the victim could be a robber! You'd rather park your car along the main road outside the mall, where there's a yellow line, rather than pay RM1 to park inside where there are adequate bays. You plead, bat your eyelids and relate a sob story to the officer at the town council office to let you off the hook (or reduce the amount considerably) for the fine you incurred when you parked your car on the double line. You make an appointment for 10am and conveniently show up a half hour late � Malaysian time, what ... You pop open the wet tissue packet at the Chinese restaurant by squeezing the trapped air to the top of the packet before proceeding to smash your fist into it. The louder the pop the better. You greet your friend / neighbor / acquaintance on the street with "How are things?" or "Have you eaten?" or better yet, by stating the obvious: "Went to market ah?" Ramlee burger is the "piece de resistance" of your growing-up-years cuisine. You catch all major televised events at the mamak. You have roughly six meals a day (breakfast, mid-morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and supper). Then there's the snacking � keropok ikan, pisang goreng, muruku, jam tarts and the like. You get the whole family dressed to the nines, jump into the car and head for the minister's open house � and ask for styrofoam boxes and plastic bags to tar pau food. Your accent and language style vary according to the race of the person you are conversing with. You've got a friendly disposition. Smiles are abundant and your "Apa khabar?" is warm and sincere. You exclaim loudly how expensive everything is, even though the items may in fact be going for a steal. "Wah! So expensive, ah? Hak sei ngor (Scare me to death)!" You dig deep into your pockets to contribute to the latest appeal for donations in the newspapers. You "dis" our country all the time, but as soon as something good happens (like winning the Thomas Cup), you morph into a proud Malaysian. You never travel abroad without a bottle of chilli sauce, or sachets which you can sneak into restaurants. You're proud to be Malaysian - and you pass these jokes on to all your Malaysian friends!

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The month of aircraft problems??

It's been really weird keeping up with news lately. There has been so many different aircraft problems leading to things like unexpected landings to full on crashes. It was started from

MH124 in Perth, then
Air France crash which no one was hurt and then
at Italy when some people actually died and then
in Greece where everyone died
and now Venezuelan (Colombia) crash which 160ppl died

Why has there been so many crashes in this month?

Another month...

Wow it's already August! Today was a super loooong day, feeling a bit tired, but don't know, I'm feeling like I need to blog a bit ;p

9.30am Tram to Melbourne central
9.45am Train to Footscray
10.10am West Footscray station
10.30am Reached Western Hospital after a 15minute walk
11.30am Finished tutorial...walk back to station
12.10pm Reached Melbourne Central
12.20pm McDonald's ;p
1pm Workshop on thesis writing
2.15pm Tram to St. Vincent
3pm Reached St. Vincent
5pm Leave for uni
5.20pm Returned DVD to library
5.45pm SALP meeting + dinner
6.45pm Tram to Flinders St.
7.20pm Tram to Bridge road for St. John
9.30pm Finished St. John - tram back to city
10.10pm Reached Village Cinemas - watching "The Island"
12.10pm Walk back to apartment
1.21pm Finished writing this post

Today in a nutshell...not