Two-Bit Thoughts and A Video to Share

Tonight my people congregated at the stadium to make their voices heard. All we want, is a cleaner fairer election. All we want, is for them to not treat us like damn fools, not use that racist slur to divide the people. A little respect from them would be nice. Tonight my heart swells with pride, because their dirty tricks didn't work on many of us, and I still see hope for my country, despite everything. Democracy doesn't happen overnight, it's a long and hard fight, but at least we're not alone. 

Photos taken by my friend who was there tonight.

We used to joke that whenever/wherever there's free stuff, you can expect high turnout because we Malaysians love free stuff (who doesn't?!). But tonight there was no goodie bag, no free food nothing free whatsoever, only the People Power. Tonight we were one. 

On a completely different/random note, I stumbled upon this video that's just pure awesomeness- Lip Sync-Off between Jimmy Fallon and John Krasinski. Take a few minutes off and watch this. It'll put a smile on your face. :)  

Some Things Never Change

Vote for me, he says
If you don't, the country will go to the wrong people
There'll be hudud law
You won't have the freedom you enjoy now
Economy will decline
Everything will go wrong
If you don't vote for me
Vote wisely
Vote for Malaysia

And I sit here, wondering
When is he going to tell me
What will happen if I vote for him

Afternoon Rain and Thunder

Have you heard?

The horrifying roar

The patronizing drumrolls

The prelude to the symphony

Warning us of its arrival

Telling us to run

Telling us to hide

Run

Run away from the consequences

Of our actions we 

Commit daily
Unknowingly, or knowingly
Consuming, thrashing, forgetting
Repeat routine the next day

Yes, tell ourselves
It's not us, it's certainly not 'me'
Prolonged winter in New York
Floods in Midwest US and in Malaysia
Earthquakes, hurricanes, and what-have-you's
Surely you must be mistaken
To think it's related to civilization

But could it be
That it's really us
Should we give up some of our luxuries
Maybe we should
Carpool, take a train, recycle, buy less
But dear God it's so hard
Can I just do it tomorrow?

And so the morrow turns into
Weeks, months, years
Plastic consumption is still sky high
Oil and gas still fueling our economy
Yes, nothing seems to have changed
But outside the sky is in a fury
It's coming for us, you and I we both know it

Hello Monday Morning

Hello world! Another Monday, another start of the week. There's a small bakery behind VIVA on Jln Ipoh, a few doors down Chapati (not sure of the spelling), that serves really good coffee. Apparently they have good breads too but I didn't try. Check it out if you're around the area. A few points deducted because they serve in paper cups even if you're having it there, but coffee is still good. Good day everyone!

p.s. if you don't know where VIVA is, it's near KLPAC, but on the opposite side of the road.

No Man is an Island, But Me

No Man is an Island

No man is an island entire of itself; every man 

is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;

if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe 

is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as 

well as any manner of thy friends or of thine 

own were; any man's death diminishes me, 

because I am involved in mankind. 

And therefore never send to know for whom 

 the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. 

MEDITATION XVII 

Devotions upon Emergent Occasions 

John Donne 

somehow right now

to a part of any main, i do not feel i belong 

perchance mr. donne is wrong

no man is an island, but me

exams do crazy things to thee

guess what, it's time for maggi mee

#bored  #tryingtobefunny  #fiveminutesbreakawayfrombooks  #ineedmorecoffee

Untitled #1

Taking a moment to jot some thoughts.

What has the world come to these days? Bombing one day, shoot-out another, people dropped dead like flies, bad guys doing bad deeds then running away, but the good guys won't stop chasing, and they will keep at it until someone is down down down. Could be the real bad guys, could be scapegoats. Who knows, who cares. People needed to know that the monsters who did the heinous deed get what they deserved; whether the authority got the right targets is less important. At least that's what it seemed on the outset…

Meanwhile, no one has the slightest idea about their motives behind such acts. Why? What was the reason they did that? Surely there must be more than just me who wanted to know the reason. Does it matter? I'd like to think it does, because everything is connected.

Over here in this side of the world, People are coming together to fight for a chance for democracy- not masked in subtle threats or treats/money giveaways, but democracy as it should be. Too long has gone by for the People to just sit and accept the status quo in the name of peace. Enough is enough. No one is saying The Other Side is perfect, or so very much better, but at some point one has to realize that the saying of 'better to go for the known devil than to go for the unknown evil' does not make much sense in this context anymore. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, Einstein said. Had I tweak it a little and say 'insanity is voting for the same party over and over again and hoping they would do things differently', it would be just as apt.

Sometimes it escapes me why a certain party can't get it that what People want is not so much to overthrow the government, but to have a better and more efficient one. If they could just do the right thing instead of disappointing us time after time, all this wouldn't be happening. Then again, the world is a more cynical and brutal world than I'd like to believe.

53 Days to D-Day

So. I must've mentioned it a zillion times about this exam that I'm taking. It's always seemed so far away in the future and I just talk about it but don't do much to alleviate the anxiety; but now it's really just right around the corner. Nowwww the panic has reallyyyyy set in. And I mean REALLYYYY. Sh'damn.

Ordinarily I'd write more on this, but not today. Enough of talking/writing about feelings about it, (I swear, sometimes I feel I need a break from myself lol), so I channeled my energy instead to create this mix. A playlist to accompany myself while I study. Sharing it here, so if you're studying too you can have a listen. Or even if you're not studying, these are great selections. (Or so I say. :P)  Enjoy!

Earfood for Med/Mad Students from taleanski on 8tracks Radio.

A Quarter-Milestone

Day after day after day, we do the same thing, repeating the same routine, not realizing time has passed by so quickly. Can't believe one and a half year has gone by since we first stepped foot onto this interim campus, becoming the first students of this school. But now- look where we are! End of GTS courses! It's a bittersweet feeling that I have. Glad it's over, felt it's a tiny milestone we've accomplished; yet a little sad it's ended. No more sitting so closely with each other, no more passing snacks/cookies around during class to help wake us up, no more complaining about terrible cafe food, no more sneaking food into classroom to eat. I'm going to miss being in this class, with this group of people.

March 18 marked the end of our GTS days. In other words, we're done with classes in the school. Well... almost. 2 more weeks of USMLE intensive review aka 'boot camp' and then we'll be done. Then it's exam time, and then clinical rotations in the wards it is! It's scary how time flies; I'm not sure if I'm prepared for it. Just glad I'm not alone in this. :) 

On the last day of GTS, we had a post-GTS celebration with Patrick and Nicole. So nice of them to do this for us. Much love. Pics below-

Yoshi and I. Sorry couldn't see Yoshi's eyes.

Min Ying and I. 

Our little CFM group. *heart*

My favorite- chocolate indulgence. Yummmehh.

Mior and Owen. 

Hamper for Hanief's baby from the class. 

Glowing Lin Ling, YC and myself. ;)

Chin Ling and I. 

Meesha and I. 

Group photo. Two of my favorite people couldn't make it. 

Missing them in the pic, but they're in my heart always! ;)

Act of Eating

Conversation with a friend the other day:

Friend: ...I don't understand what it means to have postprandial fullness.
Me: What do you mean?
Friend: I mean, how does it feel and how is that different from normal fullness?
Me: Well have you ever eaten so much you just feel like your stomach is so uncomfortable? 
Friend: (looks at me quizzically) Uh no. Why would anyone do that??!
Me: ……. (speechless, look down guiltily)
Friend: No seriously... Why would anyone eat anymore when they already feel full?! 

Now every time I go into the kitchen to look for snacks, I think about her question. Sometimes it helps to keep me from bingeing. Other times, it still doesn't work. lol. I guess old habits die hard. Like right now… these pineapple tarts… they're just too good to resist…!! :P

Day 9 of Rheum GTS

Today is March 14. In other words, it's Pi Day. Happy Pi(e) Day everyone! Go get a pie and celebrate! ;)

Midweek. Everything is as usual, nothing much is out of the ordinary. Came across some beautiful words and thought I'd share (quoting it loosely, with some minor changes):

Be trustworthy, and trust others. Sometimes you will get hurt. That happens when you trust people. Still, you must trust. Not saying you shouldn't try to verify. But don't be so cynical that your first instinct is to question or to deny. Please realize that your patients are hurting and they need to trust in you. Only you can create that openness for that to happen, and to let them know you won't judge them. Never lose faith in people and in a power greater than your own. These things are crucial to being a good person, and you can't be a good doctor if you are not first a good person. 

Those are words from a mother to a son who is pursuing the career of a physician. Sharing it here as a reminder to self.

On a totally unrelated note, here are some not-so-recent (but are some of my favorite) pics to share-

one of my fav people in the world, doing some deep thinking- 

hmmm what flavor of ice-cream should i have? :P jk.

checking out the making of cotton candy.

visiting one of our classmates' newborn.

i love the distinct smell that every newborn has.

and this little one is just so adorable i just wanna hug tight and not let go.

 newborn the center of attention.

Big cat and little cat doing some intense watching

everyone had their turn to hold the baby.

baby must be thinking, omggggg when is this gonna end lol.  

in the arms of a future pediatrician, maybe?! 

I miss the little bundle of joy already. Need to pay another visit soon. :))) 

To Swab or Not to Swab: Ethics of DNA Sampling

Read this news article a couple of weeks ago about whether it's constitutional to sample for DNA on those who are arrested without a warrant. Sounds to me like one of those ethical controversy on the usage of technology vs. the notion of privacy.

The summary of the story is this: This guy was arrested for assault charges and his DNA was taken as per state law. The DNA sample was then submitted to federal DNA database to see if there were any matches. Turns out his DNA matched that of a rapist who committed the rape 6 years ago. He was then tried for the rape and sentenced to life in prison.

So. Here's the question- do you think people should have their DNA sampled during a warrantless arrest just to see if it matches anything in the crime database, or do you think that is violating their privacy? Put it another way, do you think that when someone is arrested for crime A, he/she should only be investigated for that crime only and nothing else, or do you think it's fair that he/she also be checked against national crime database to see if he/she committed other crimes?

I think it depends where you stand at any given time. Those who are arrested (or who have a high tendency to be arrested) will obviously want the opposite of those who want to be protected by the law and order. That's obvious enough. But here's the tricky part: who is to say that you or I will not be arrested one fine day? When that happens, will we still be so willing to provide our DNA in the name of security? You and I know that our DNA is like the ultimate pool of information about us; it can be dangerous if it's being misused. So then the question becomes privacy vs. security- where is the balance?

There's a mini-series produced by PBS, a 5-episode series called The Last Enemy (it's all on YouTube), that revolves precisely on this issue. Very relevant to the era we live in today, maybe even plausible in the near future. Watch it if you have the time. And tell me what you think! :)

Snuffed- Part 2

Image source: Google search on suicide. 

Looking back at the blogpost I wrote on suicide last year, maybe I was being too harsh on them. I sounded pissed off at those who committed suicide, and indeed I was. I still am, a little bit, when I think about it. But since then, I've learnt to see things from a different light. I tried to reason that maybe there were causes obscure to the judging eyes of the public (yes, I too am guilty of it), maybe they were mentally sick but undiagnosed and they didn't know how to get help, or that they need to get help. It could be a million other reasons for what happened to them, and it is only fair that I don't jump to conclusion about them so quickly, so unsparingly.  

And so I put the issue to rest and haven't really thought about it, until last month. Few weeks ago, there was a suicide case- a 17 or 18 year-old boy from my ex-high school jumped from his apartment building due to "depression and pressure from school", or so the media alleged. *deep sigh*  It just breaks my heart to see a budding young man who had so much to offer and yet chose to end his life just like that. I don't know why he did what he did, I don't think anyone will ever know, but I'd contend that ending one's life is not a way to solve any problem at all. Sigh. If I were to be philosophical about it, I'd question what the heck happened to the society we live in these days, that caused the seemingly increasing number of people who'd rather choose to end life than to face life's adversity. In this world of abundance, is there not a single ray of hope for them at all?! 

Alas, being philosophical and asking questions like these will not change a thing. Nor will my initial emotion of anger and contempt. Suicidal intent is a mental problem that should be taken more seriously and should be of concern to you, me and people around us. Perhaps if we all know a little more about it, maybe we could detect symptoms of those feeling depressed and are crying for help. And if we could get them help early enough, we might've spared a life, and many more heartaches of those around them. 

Though I realize it's stupid to presume a depressed person would stumble upon this blog, I still want to say this: to those who are feeling depressed or have thought about suicide, please pause for a moment to think about your family, and the people who love and care about you. Know that if and when you die, you're just dead and that's the end of it, but it is they who have to live with the pain and the loss of someone they once loved, for the rest of their lives. Nothing can be worse than that, particularly for your parents. 

That's all I have to rant about today lol. Peace. 

Psst… Happy Snake Year!

Greetings from Penang! As always, we had our reunion steamboat dinner with a bunch of relatives who come back from all over. This year fewer people came back, so it's a little quieter, but all good nonetheless. I love being surrounded by all these familiar faces whom I get to see at least once a year. This year there are 4 additions to the big family, ranging from 3-week old to almost a year old. Babies are so cute… until they start crying. :P

Did not go watch PSY perform, but I heard the response wasn't great, at least for the party who invited him. Still stand by the fact that the money would've been better spent elsewhere. Anyhow. Pics below. They say this year will be a great year for those born in year of Rat- 正所谓 "蛇鼠一窝"! :))  Let's hope it's true!

Steamboat dinner, plus all the must-have dishes- 

bang guang char, acar, lobak, stir-fry veggies, du-doh t'ng. :D

3 of us with mom, zzzzttt year of the snakeeeee lol. 

 Party like a rock star! 

We dared Dad to keep this hairstyle like that for the whole day, but he chickened out. lol.  

Halfway through grandaunt's birthday dinner party on CNY day 2, God of Fortune came to give luck. This is only part of the clan. Dad's nowhere to be seen, he's probably busy karaoke-ing! :P 

LOL. There he is! :)))

10 Virtues for the Modern Age

Just another something to share.

Movie Reflection: Something The Lord Made

Synopsis

The movie is about a white surgeon Alfred Blalock's partnership with his African American assistant, Vivien Thomas, in developing Blalock-Taussig shunt, a surgical procedure that saved the lives of babies who had blue baby syndrome. In essence, the shunt was made as an anastomosis of the subclavian and pulmonary artery, to provide oxygenated blood to cyanotic babies. (For those who are not medically inclined- it was a breakthrough surgical procedure done to provide oxygen to babies who couldn't survive long after their births due to the lack of oxygenated blood, and so it was kind of a big deal.) This movie tells an extraordinary story about an ordinary man whose role was pivotal to this invention. Vivien Thomas was an African American guy who had never gone to medical school and was previously a carpenter apprentice - and what's more, all this happened in a time when racial disparity was as deep as the Mariana Trench. The movie was a recount of the historical event, but took on more of Thomas' perspective, and it zoomed in on the complex relationship between the two men, how close they were when they were working together, yet how distant they were in social settings when they were out of the lab. 

Reflection

There are those movies that inspire you, and then there are those that inspire you. This is one such movie. Let me start by saying, if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend you to do so- it will be time well spent, I promise. It's a story worth telling mainly because it was a story about a man who worked hard and shone through even when the circumstances were not in his favor. A story about an underdog who won the day, except it's many times better- it was a significant milestone in the history of modern medicine; it saved millions of lives; and it marked the beginning of pediatric cardiosurgery. 

One of the things I loved about the movie was that I think it did a very good job depicting the era during which this relationship/partnership (between Blalock and Thomas) took place- the environment, the people, and the socio-cultural interactions between the races (and also amongst the people of the same race). There was a lot of subtleties, like how his own people who were working in the hospital were curious/suspicious/envious of Thomas when he got to wear the lab coat; like how Thomas saved up for his medical school only to find out it was all gone when Depression hit America. It must've been frustrating for him, no doubt. Yet in a way it was serendipity- if he had gone to medical school, he wouldn't have continued working for Blalock, and this great work of collaboration wouldn't have happened. Not saying that the invention wouldn't have happened, but it wouldn't have been the same. And then there was the conversation between Thomas and his brother, about the Brown vs. Board of Education - another significant event in the African American history in which it was deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court for public schools to separate the black and white students. It may be easy to dismiss it today, but it was really a huge feat back then, and it painted a clearer picture of the times that they were living in. Other things were like how there were separated washrooms for the blacks and whites, how they could only enter the hospital through a separate back door etc. People probably don't think about it now, but it was a great reminder of how things have changed so much since then, and for the better.

Thomas' diligence and creativity was inspiring; when he was in the lab you could tell that he was in his element. The lack of appreciation of his contribution did not sit well for him, and at some point he gave up and moved on to something else for a change, but then he went back to it after all. Was it because as frustrating as it was, he understood the circumstances, and made peace with it? Or was it more of a resilience to fight back in his own way, the way he knew how- by doing what he does best and show the world he will not be "defeated"? I don't know. Perhaps it's a little of both, and his passion for the work he was doing.

There is also another person I thought was worth mentioning- Dr. Helen Taussig, the other doctor who also worked on this shunt. In fact it was her who went to Blalock to ask for assistance. She was one of the first female doctors in a time when medicine was a male dominated field and females did not enjoy the socioeconomic status that we do today. It was tremendously tough for her to become a doctor; on top of that she was dyslexic to begin with, and became deaf in the later part of her life. But all these did not stop her from being an amazing physician who learned to lip-read to listen to her patients, and to listen to her patients' heartbeats with her fingers in lieu of a stethoscope. And even though her male colleagues sneered at her idea that something could be done for the blue babies, it did not discourage her to pursue it till the end. For all those reasons, I just think she's awesome. Hats off to her!

Anyway. Thought it was a great story told beautifully, and I probably didn't give it enough justice it deserves, so if you have the chance, do watch it. Peace. :) 

Dumb Ways To Die

Video is super cute, can't resist sharing!

 

Temples, Shopping and Bonding

Started the new year with a 5-day trip to Bangkok with Lil Bro. Couldn't have asked for more; the only part that I could've done without is my being sick. Can't believe I fell sick the day before the trip! And to make things worse I returned home even sicker wtf. But all in all a great trip. It's actually not that bad traveling with my Lil Brother! :P  Some pics to share-

Wanted to take the ferry towards the Memorial Bridge night market but ended up heading the opposite direction! Hilarious. In the end we walked further than we would have. lol. 

Very pretty door of some temple built by some noblemen for the King (can't remember which king though). 

Another temple with many Buddha statues in a row. 

A pavilion built for performances, I think. Nearby is the statue of King Rama III (not sure!). 

Best coffee ever. Could be less sweet though.

 Sitting at the roadside watching the world go by. Loved it. 

That guy in front of me was this buff looking man who just woke up (he told the shop lady) in the late afternoon, having his black coffee and beer at the same time. Next to him was a gruff looking young man in his 20s having his iced coffee reading The Girl Who Played with Fire. The couple on my right were chatting in Spanish and playing with the stray cat who was eyeing my brother's leftover chicken bone. I had the best time just watching people walk by, and not caring about exams or school for a while.  

Reflections. 

Sunset. Sky was so pretty! 

Wall graffiti is so colorful on this street!

Another Year Older

Hello hello! I'm back! So much has happened since I last wrote about what's going on in my inner world. Quotes and updates about stuff that's going on are really just cover-ups to pretend that all is well. Not that things aren't going on well, but there are events that were encountered that left a bilious taste in the mouth, and I'm reminded yet again that sometimes no matter how hard you try things just won't go the way you want it, and you have to learn to pick yourself up and move on. Towards the end of the year, few things happened to make me reconsider who I really am on one occasion, and who my true friends are on another. I tend to make the mistake of trusting people too easily, caring too much about certain "friends", and I guess it turns out that they don't feel the same way. And so I always end up being sad for reasons that didn't have to be. But that's fine. This year it's about letting go, and remember that I have a lot of people around me whom I should be thankful for. Because of them, my world is a brighter place, and it's okay to have a few heartaches too, for I know there are always those whom I can turn to for support. Happy new year to all! May this year be full of love, happiness and pleasant surprises!

coffee and dessert with two of my fav people.

 the family. 

this is how my big brother shows his love. XD

home is the safest place on earth.

birthday gift from my oldest and bestest friend. :)

classmates whom i grew to love so much over the year and a half.

birthday gift from closest friend and housemate.  

good food, awesome company.

surprise gift from my secret santa and my fav fruit cake and chocs from stefie :) 

with my high school gang :) 

my powderpuffs, as always :)

Jack's Lines

It's not that I can't fall in love. 

It's really that I can't help falling in love with too many things all at once. 

So, you must understand 

why I can't distinguish between what's platonic and what isn't, 

because it's all too much and not enough at the same time.

- Jack Kerouac

November, November

Time freakin' flies. 2012 swooshed past so quickly I didn't even realize it's the beginning of my favorite month tomorrow.

How many new year resolutions have you accomplished as of now?
How many times have you told yourself you're going to do certain things but never got to it until you eventually forgot about it?
How many times have you been touched by other people's kindness?
How many times have you touched others by a small act of kindness?
How have you lived your year (life) so far?

A little too early for year-end reflection, but November is a good time to think about it, because you still have time to make up for what you haven't done.

Pictures of some happenings in November worth remembering-

Hands Percussion's Performance- "The Next" @ KLPAC.

10 of us went on Nov 1st, it was great. A sad thing happened though- one of the performers/volunteers (I wasn't sure) died in a car crash that Friday or Saturday (can't remember), and the most tragic part was he was only 18. He was my cousin's classmate, just finished his UEC exam in high school, at the peak of his youth, ready to venture into the real world. Alas, life played the biggest prank on him... My heart goes out to his family. May he rest in peace. Life is short- appreciate every moment you have. 

Halloween Party that the PU-RCSI peeps threw. They did a great job organizing it, and awesome decor I must say. Everyone was so dressed up! Unlike us lol. That's Benny's real hand above my head, my fake hand I used to scare people around, Malini's fake fingers as the Snow White's witch, and 3 pretty zombies who cried blood lol. 

Fooling around in class

This was post-NBME exam. End of neuro block and the start of endocrinology. We decided to call that Tuesday a Punjab suit day and have everyone wear one, as a post-Deepavali celebration. Turned out we had to film the Gangnam style dance for some skit that same day, special request from the Dean and Patrick. What a day to be wearing Punjabi suits! The final product was hilarious though. The embarrassment we put ourselves through was kinda worth it, I guess. XD

November is also Malini's birthday (birth-month). Had this little surprise for her at our temporary campus of a week, specially arranged by her bf. Super sweet. :)