Saturday, May 31, 2008

Can you trust a politician ?

We were rocked by DSAI on his claims that 30 MPs will crossover from BN to Pakatan Rakyat and form the next government. He certainly knows how to destabilize a dodgy coalition which are now reexamining themselves on what their principles are.
Then TDM made the startling chess move by quitting UMNO as a protest against Pak Lah. He may not be very successful in getting people to follow him ; but certainly made himself a "blog" millionaire by reaching that number in just one month ! ( I'm FARRR behind.. baru 40K jer.. hahaha.. Contractor class F )

And recently Ezam , the REFORMASI man himself , returned to UMNO and foresee UMNO's struggle as relevant now. You wonder... hmm.. will he now reveal the 8-9 BOXES of corruption evidence? ( which was really popular and made him go to jail for DSAI )
I've always regarded Ezam highly because I do think he represents the next generation of leaders in Malaysia that we want.He was like a role model to me in a way ; but his turn around to UMNO all of a sudden made me wonder.. Sama je kot Politician ni semua... hmmmm...

Friday, May 30, 2008

The next step

I will officially begin my third year in the Anaesthesiology programme in June. To be exact starting Tuesday. ( I am on call on Sunday.. so Monday off ). Wow , how time flies. I am thankful to Allah that he is kind to allow me to proceed to this stage at the moment.
And to start off , I am posted to the sub speciality ; Neuro Aanesthesia. In June I will be dealing with Neuro cases in OT and July in Neuro ICU. I am a bit jittery about doing subspecialities because in the OT, it will only be you and the Consultant. Hmmm.. I better start reading yeah ? And i just realized that it had been quite sometime since I last wrote about my work. Well , the reason being its the same thing again and again ; of course there were incidents which should be interesting to blog then ,but i suppose I was too busy to sit down and blog about it after work. It was perhaps better to just play with your kids and then have a good night sleep !!
I still have Paediatrics and Medical after Neuro. And the two month stint in IJN should be "fun" ( depends on how you view Cardiac anaesthesia as !! ) hahahaha...

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Did I over did it ?


I was on call on Monday ; but since Sunday night , I was getting all uncomfortable. It progressed into a really bad cough and I had intermittent fever within these past few days. I guess my body is telling me.. hey.. don't over do it !! Something wifey is trying to tell me all this while.
I am still unwell but I have to go to work. I've been sleeping early every night and slowly I am recovering. Hahahaha.. lawak la.. I do hope this cough will go soon because I can't wait to do what i like to do... :)

Sunday, May 25, 2008

RMAF Half Marathon

Initially , we were not keen for this run as they only had 21K for the civilians. The attraction point for this run was the airplane runaway ; we get to run on the runaway early in the morning ! Then , Azad's colleague said that it was not a problem to fit us into the 10K run , just change the birth date !!hence ; Veterans 10k.. hahahaha
We arrived near the Sungai Besi base a bit late. The police have closed all the entry point to the base. We panicked a bit and had to park our car at a nearby BHP station along Jalan Tun Razak.Mind you , it was scary crossing the busy highway even at 7am in the morning !!! It was close to 7am and the 21k runners have started their run. We rushed to the base gate and luckily there was a shuttle bus ! But by the time we have arrived , our group started miles away about 10 minutes away ! By the time we reached the starting point , everybody there cheered for us ! LAMBAT !! LAMBAT !!!

As you can see , we were the "sweepers"
It was a cool run as we cruise along the runaway. It was wide open and i don't think you get the chance to run on the runaway like this anywhere else !

orang dah start jalan dah.. belum 2 KM lagi..
I was wearing my new Adidas shirt i bought in Langkawi. It was supposed to be dry-fit and suits a runner. The most important thing was not to get my nipples injured !! Hahahahaha he only thing about this shirt was it was a bit "tummy-hugging" thus the reason for why wifey laughed at me when i wore it last night. "Mid-life crisis" - Ada hati.... she said !
The track was fun and flat most of the time. It was interesting as we crossed Seputeh , we went across the Chinese cemetary.. heks , it would be interesting if it was organized at night ! Spooky huh... We managed to finish the race in respectable times. It was fun and a real happening run and i would surely want to try the 21K next year..

Friday, May 23, 2008

GILE ACTIVE : the series..

These were my activities during my one week break !!!

Gile Active Part 1 - NB 15K run
Gile Active Part 2 - Gunung Nuang expedition
Gile Active Part 3 - Langkawi Holiday

Gile Active : Part 3


Arriving home at 10pm was not taken well by wifey. hehehehe.. Well , at least i came back on time because the flight to Langkawi was the next day. My body was aching at this time and I just realized that.. gile ape buat sume benda ni ? Hahahah.. I was jeopardizing the long awaited family holiday... It was the first time for me , wifey , dzaeff and qaisya going for holiday together..
We arrived in Subang at 8.30am and it was during the car ride that the Firefly staff called to tell us that our flight was delayed. Hmmm... wifey was a bit pissed then. It was Ok to expect Air Asia to delay their flights , dah murah kan what do you expect.. I guess MAS has to ensure they are better at this aspect to convert the religious Air Asia followers..

The Fokker 50 flight was alright and I enjoyed the flight. It was small and I guess it was much easier for the pilots to handle. Dzaeff and Qaisya enjoyed the flight too and my worry of them shrieking and in fear was baseless. Dzaeff was in fact impatient to board the flight that he was the first person to queue ! He sat in front of the counter hoping to run straight to the plane when he gets his chance !!

We arrived in Langkawi ; rented a SENTRA and went straight to Holliday Villa. Its just the week before school holidays ; the bargains that we got waspretty cheap ! Spent the evening at the swimming pool and of course the beach ! Qaisya certainly surprised me with her antiques and surpassed my expectations ! She was very independent and really enjoyed her beach experience


We went Island hopping the next day ; Pulau Dayang Bunting , Pulau Singa Besar and Beras Basah. Dzaeff by this time was not feeling well , and it was obvious that he got easily upset .It was nice to visit this places and the tag GEOPARK for Langkawi is justifiable. I enjoyed the Eagle feeding session a lot.


We went up Bukit Mat Cincang via the cable car and the view was majestic !!! Subhanallah.. It was electrifying and a wonder to be able to enjoy this nikmat. It is certainly a must go attraction of Langkawi. I wonder with the current global warming and disasters all around the world , whether i would live to see all this beauty of nature again.
.

It was a worthwhile trip ; having holiday with the family unit is much much different ! Lots of expectations should be lowered and the fun of this trip was seeing their eyes glow whenever you expose them to something they've never thought about..
Waahh... manyak penat ooo...

Gile Active : PArt 2


I only had 6 hours rest after the 15K run , before we proceeded to our next activity. Tried to sleep , but I was just restless on the bed. I suppose it was the exciting proposition on climbing Nuang at night ! Few weeks back , we went to Lolo camp and had to return because of my locum at 5. Once an avid climber.. always a climber! Initially it was just me and Azad because nobody else responded to our call. Shakti was on call so he had to give it a miss. Then , Mal who had never been active for quite some time took the challenge and joined us ! Now we have a new "broke-back" mountain gang.. hahahah

starting at 1145pm
We started a bit late due to unforeseen circumstances which nearly pissed me off .. but sabar..sabar.. hek..hek.. the plan was to start climbing at 9pm but we only arrived in Base Camp Pangsun at 11 pm!! Mal was hoping that we'd cancel the expedition off but obviously both me and Azad were on high dose of adrenaline !!

We started the trek in the dark ; the moon was shining bright therefore it was not pitch black. Walking at night is kinda fun . The long never ending track was not obvious because we were unable to visualise what is ahead of us !! We arrived in Lolo camp at 2 am ; parked ourselves beside a team of campers who were still not asleep yet. We had our ceremonial bath .. hehehe damn sejuk man !! I really can;t describe how it felt ; putting yourself in the cold running river at 2 am in the morning !! It was nature at its best.. Ate Maggi and all of us slept soundly .. :)
We woke up early for Subuh and started cooking breakfast.It was roti prata and hot dogs !
breakfast at 6 am !

Haks..It was nice to camp out and I certainly enjoyed it . When everybody was ready ; we started our trek to the peak at 745am. My legs started feeling sore and I had to gulp my Celebrex to ensure my legs would survive what was to be a really really challenging vertical climb !!
Passed Kem Pacat ( but no pacat in sight ) and then up up and away to Puncak Pengasih. I t was really demotivating because we were hoping that the peak was within reach from there .Luckily i read and gathered some info before climbing that it was within my knowledge that we really HAD TO DESCENT BEFORE SUMITTING. It was agony and the vertical climb was a KILLER !!
grammar mcm mana ni ?
Reached the Summit at noon.. Alhamdulillah ! Allahu Akbar !!! Azad was sweeping Mal and arrived a bit later.. We did it !! EXCELLENT !!! It was cold up there !! I had to wear my windbreaker to keep myself warm. It was satisfying nonetheless.
We had our fair shair of rest on top of Nuang , the highest Peak in Selangor before descending. To climb up was a challenge , to go down was another ! It was so steep that we have to make sure our steps were solid ; and fatigue was setting in. Mal was really exhausted ; He started to not talk !! Hahahaha.. But i must applaud his effort because he was never active climbing mountains before . Able to summit Nuang is an achievement !! EXCELLENT Mal !!

We walked slowly and Mal was getting more disorientated ; he kept on tripping. I was walking behind him and of course , the option of stopping was never in mind. We have to be back down before it gets dark. Azad and I took turns carrying Mal's haversack. It was tiring but we had to go on because I have to be back home !!!


Mal pengsan..
We arrived in Pangsun at 745pm and it was such a feeling to complete the climb ! It was only then that our legs were beginning to become jelly-like ! We ate dinner at the Batu 8 stalls and it was the damn delicious one !!!
Thanks Azad and Mal. It was a satisfying trip. eventhough I kept telling Azad with a smile during the climb of how I was feeling. It was pure endorphine septicaemia !! Enough to overcome the Mal's methane fart intoxication !!! Hahahaha...

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Gile Active : Part 1


I woke up fairly early this morning . It had been almost a month since our last run. Azad and Edrin came to my place fairly early ; praying Subuh at my place. Kamal could not make it because he injured himself while playing FUTSAL on Friday ! Haiiyaaa bro.. all the training wasted ! Initially , we were a bit lazy after the long lay off but because of the RM40 entry fee ; we just had to run ! Rugi wooo... mahal !!

Arrived in Padang Merbok in time for the initial registration. There were lots of runners around and of course , everybody looked more professional than us ! Edrin and I decided to wear the official vest this time ; agak sexy sikit lar.. hahahaha.. Initially i was a bit reluctant considering my physique and the wrong bulges to show !!The nipple part was not flattering at all ..hahahahaha But then , bila lagi dak ?

The flag off was at 7am sharp and the start was steep. It was all around Bukit Tunku up and down. Mostly up up and away ! It was a punishing track , but my Bukit Kiara training helped me a lot in maintaining my stamina. It was quite alright !
The track was definitely created by a runner ; I sped up when I saw Padang Merbok ; thinking that Yes , I am about to end it ! But then , it was another whole round around Padang Merbok , there were uphills as well !!! hahahaha.. My legs were cramping then as I forced it prematurely.. I did not manage to see the map before the race and i guess the organizers wanted to catch us here !! Not funny... And for the first time in my running career , now i know how it feels to injure your nipples... damn , it must have been the vest ; My usual Selangor or Malaysia jersey never gave me this problem. Stupe has been talking about this everytime he goes for his run and i guess , i must get the new Nike Vest he reviewed in his blog !


Finished the race sub-2 ! very very close to 2 hours la.. hahaha.. My watch showed i ended the race in 1 hour and 58 minutes. i was no 913 i think. Not bad eih for my first New Balance 15K run! My legs were doing alright , no cramps or fatigue... well , i have to keep it that way for my Gile Active Part 2....

p/s i really really made sure my bladder and bowels were empty before the race this time.. :)

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Yet again..

In the beginning , I was as how any Malaysian hoping that we can break the Great Wall. When Chong Wei won his game against Lin Dan ; I was ecstatic ! Lin Dan was not his usual self ; maybe affected by things at home but WHO CARES ! We got the crucial singles point !
Keng Kiat and Boon Heong took the stage ; we hoped but they dissapointed us and the whole nation when frustrated. Choon Han staged a fight but he was no match for Bao Chun Lai. Fairuz and Zakry was next ; we were ceptical but they played their hearts out to level the score to 2 -2. It was something that maybe none of us or the coaches expected ; but they performed well and what was more important was they played all their might to win the game. That was simply Malaysia..
Hafiz became the decider... hmmmmm... We were hoping for a miracle and his current form was promising but it was pure dissapointment watching him throwing the game away. His effort was invisible and he was simply outplayed and trashed.. and all the hopes of Malaysia went down with him.. He was never expected to win but of course we still hoped. Unfortunately , he was as how his elder brother was ; crumbled under pressure.
And the Thomas Cup again.. was out of reach.. so close yet so far...

p/s I still remember 17th of May 1992.. It was sweet to win the honours and I witnessed it.. 17 May..

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Big break

I'm taking a week's break after Wesak. It has been a tiring month; having frequent on calls and working under strength in the department. Exams period has always been a bummer for those not taking the exams.
I've planned my holidays ; we'll be going to Langkawi !! Hahaha.. It should be an interesting trip for Dzaef and Qaisya on the plane ! I'll be running the 15K New Balance Challenge this Sunday with RMAF 10K next Sunday ! I'm planning something crazy with Azad on Sunday nite ; but only if it happens that I'll blog it !
Fuuuhh.. tak ingat punya active..

My hope for Malaysia on May 13

As how it was published in the Star today.

Tuesday May 13, 2008

Let’s start all over and prosper together

UMNO celebrated its 62 years of existence on May 11. The country was restructured after the May 13 tragedy.
As a nation, we are still confused about our status and direction where pertinent issues which have been taken for granted became obvious on March 8. The polemic of “Ketuanan Melayu” resurfaced when the whole idea of nation building was about helping each other to achieve a common goal.
Malaysia is very unique. It is the only country in the world where its Constitution is designed around a particular race, the Malays. The non-Malays completed the circle with a “social understanding” which can intrigue some but seems to work for the past 51 years.
The May 13 incident becomes a ghostly image from the past of how disarray can happen. We thought we had sorted the “racial issues” but unfortunately the whole nation went astray somehow along the way. The national unity objective was never really fulfilled although we projected to the world that we have it solid.
It is unfortunate that the Malays produced by NEP opportunities did not educate their offspring on its concept. The reason of elevating the then backward Malays backfired when the whole political structure depended upon the “special privilege” rather than striving on it.
The non-Malays too neglected their responsibility by enjoying the perks of collaboration which generated more wealth than they could imagine.
The current young generation never understood the reasons for the biasness of the system towards a particular race.We’ve always been told to achieve individual excellence and success; never a collaborative effort towards nation building.We’ve been confused with the Bangsa Malaysia concept that appeared good in paper but never in its implementation.
Let's start over ... educate, educate and educate. Let's build this nation together by really helping those who are in need.If it is the Malays who are the least fortunate as proven by statistics, it should not be just the Malays but the Chinese, Indian and other ethnicities should aim to build them up and vice versa.

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Tak lama lagi..


Wifey passed her part 2 M Radiology !! Waah.. congratulations !! Results were supposed to be out tomorrow but her Head of Department was so happy with the results that she just had to announce it today!It was nerve wrecking , but hey... never crossed my mind that she would fail by any means unless she did not take the exams !!
You deserve it after all your determination and hard work !! Macam tak percaya kan.. its almost over ! She\]ll be entering final year wtih no exams to worry ! Insya-Allah by next June she will graduate as a Radiologist.. fuiiyooo...
Again... Salam tahniah dari Abang , Dzaeff and Qaisya !!

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

My tongue twisted well

I was in McD in the evening - buying dinner of course ! ANd hmm.. I saw this very interesting advert about the improved Mega Mac and the Big Mac chant promotion !

" Abang.. abang.. cuba la..nanti dapat burger free.. "
As if i don't have enough food with me already !
" Ok.. ok.. camana ? "
"Baca ni.. and then cakap cepat2 dlaam 4 saat.."
I looked at the wordings.. hmmm.. boleh kot ni..
"Abang baca dulu..testing.. then kita try.. "
"Ah.. takpayah la.. terus.. family saya tengah tunggu dalam kereta ! "
All four of the workers surrounded me and the manager was holding a stopwatch.
"Dah ready ? " she asked... hmmm.. ok.. lets see... Fuuuhhh.. adrenaline rush there..

Two all beef patties , special sauce , lettuce , cheese , pickles , onions ,
on a sesame seed bun !! SIAP !!!!

"Waahh.... 2 s je bang ! Congrats !!! Burger satu free !!!"
Hahahahahahaha . Menang burger !!! Hahahahaha


P/S Post dedicated to RPK in Sungai Buloh. If i'm prisoned , I would surely think of Big Mac..

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

A lengthy discourse


A friend came over to UMMC yesterday during my call , he needed some advice regarding his life plans. I was on call yesterday but the hospital was fairly too cool that i was only paged twice in 24 hours.
This friend of mine is a long acquantaince ; back from our school days. We used to chat a lot , talking about life and our future after school. Topics ranged from politics , strategies , tackling girlfriends to the bees and honeys.. hahahaha Those long sessions under the cherry tree in front of the Water tank was how we learnt about life from each other. Decisions made that changed our lives were results of those intellectual discourse !
We spoke in length yesterday with few Delifrance coffee in between ; a session i did enjoy very much. It was good to have your mind stimulated with various ideas weaving which unfortunately made me restless on bed that i can't sleep because my mind was continuing processing information !!! Hahahahaha

p/s met Fraps as well.. cool ! Now i know how you look like. Definitely much better looking than me !! hahahaha Good Luck in your exams bro !

Saturday, May 03, 2008

David Blaine world record

Its the exam season now , and if i am the examiner ; David Blaine's world record breath holding is a very interesting physiology question !! A true application of basic science's concept to explain his feat.

David Blaine breaks world record for holding one's breath

By TARA BURGHART – 1 day ago
CHICAGO (AP) — David Blaine took on a Zen-like appearance in the water tank as the minutes ticked by during his attempt to set a new breath-holding record. Oprah Winfrey, however, was anything but calm.
She fidgeted in her chair, pursed her lips, placed her head in her hands, and kept seeking reassurance from the doctor at her side about the 35-year-old magician's persistently high heart rate.
"I'll be glad when it's over. I don't like suspense," she told the audience during a commercial break.
Soon enough, Winfrey — and Blaine — could breathe a lot easier.
Submerged in a water-filled sphere on the stage of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" during a live broadcast, Blaine held his breath for 17 minutes and 4 seconds. That bested the previous record of 16 minutes and 32 seconds, set Feb. 10 by Switzerland's Peter Colat, according to Guinness World Records.
Blaine had a smile on his face soon after his head rose above the water and he took several deep gulps of air. Within about a minute, he was able to hold a microphone and tell Winfrey, "I feel great," later adding that breaking the record was a fulfillment of "a lifelong dream."
Before his attempt, Blaine was allowed to inhale pure oxygen for up to 30 minutes, although he inhaled for only 23 minutes. A Guinness World Records judge was on hand to certify the feat.
In May 2006 as a finale to a week spent in an aquarium with an air mask at New York's Lincoln Center, Blaine tried to set another type of breath-holding record. Without breathing pure oxygen beforehand, he tried to break the existing record of 8 minutes, 58 seconds for an attempt of that type.
But he had to be rescued shortly after 7 minutes when he was unconscious and having convulsions.
Blaine was in much better shape after Wednesday's attempt. He walked unassisted down a set of stairs to join Winfrey for an interview. He told her he had doubted while in the water whether he'd be able to break the record because of his high heart rate.
The lower the heart rate, the less oxygen is consumed.
Blaine had expected his heart rate to drop perhaps as low as under 20 beats per minute while he was in the water. But for most of the attempt, it was over 100 beats per minute, then started dropping and fluctuating rapidly during the last 2 1/2 minutes.
While training, Blaine said he would meditate to lower his heart rate. But amid the hubbub of a live studio audience, and with a record at stake, Blaine admitted he had trouble forgetting his surroundings.
Earlier in the show, Winfrey noted that her boyfriend, Stedman Graham, was making a rare appearance in the audience because he's such a fan of Blaine's work.
For Winfrey, however, the endurance feat was "nerve-racking to witness," she told Blaine.
Blaine joked about coming back on her show again and again to get used to the surroundings, lower his heart rate and set new breath-holding records.
But first, Blaine said he plans to try to break the world record for staying awake. The current record is 11 1/2 days, he said. However, Guinness said it no longer acknowledges such attempts because of health concerns.

Thursday, May 01, 2008

Ma y Day

And when everybody is celebrating worker's day by having their day off , here i am in ICU doing my on call ; service to the people ! I was looking forward for a good day but the first case that came from resus to me was a real bummer. Spent almost 4 hours resuscitating the patient and having somebody with an impossible IV access was a killer. She did not collapse on me yet then but her inotropic support was more than usual !! At the same time , my makcik in Bed 17 who i was about to extubate today bled really bad from her rectum ! Almost 2 L spurted out and needed to resuscitated her as well ! She was however more stable than my poor auntie.
Auntie passed away in the evening after an hour of CPR which she did not even respond to ; well her acidosis was so bad that you should not expect a miracle from a geriatric patient. Jahan was really kind to buy me dinner that i really appreciate it and finished the humongous amount of rice !!! hahahaha

I'm in the middle of creating a special wiki site for Part 1 Masters candidate . Hopefully it will be a good resource page for future anaesthetists ! Nantilah , i'll reveal the site when i launch it .. hehehe macam real je..