Korbu Gayong expedition 30/1-1/2

What did I get from this expedition?
1) pure satisfaction
2) maximal adrenaline boost
3) pure over the limit push
4) career threatening knee injury..
Hahahaha..My kind of expedition! I never thought I would be going for another climb before May this year but I was wrong. The temptation was impossible to resist! I had to start my G7 towards G12 goal somewhere and thank god, the 3 day 3 nights trip was worth it.
Initially I had my doubts on whether we will be back by Tuesday; as I've looked into multiple logs which had the minimum of 4 days in each to conquer this 2 mountains. However as a loyal OGKL member i knew we would do it by hook or by crook!

29th January( Dup dap..dup dap..)
We were to assemble in front of KFC in KL Central. I brought my rucksack to work knowing that on a Friday evening, it is almost impossible to drive back home and forth to KL after office hours. Few eyebrows were raised as I walked into the OT with a big load on my back!! Hahaha My case overshoot and thanks to Usha who let me go or otherwise I would have to be in the OT till midnite!! I took a short bus trip and then the PUTRA LRT to KL Sentral.

When I arrived in KL Sentral I mistakenly took a group going the same direction as I am! Hahaha terperanjat budak tu.. rupa-rupanya gang KOMA going to Chamah-Ulu Sepat. I waited there for a while before the familiar faces arrive. THe group was big and half of them were alien to me. It was goodto know that Fuad will be the guide for this trip; I've always admired his physique and strength!! It was cool to get to know new people too..
We took the train to Ipoh and this was my first time! We arrived in Ipoh station at midnite and then with the bus off to the point where the 4WD was waiting for us nearby the dam. The journey with 4WD was as how it has always been..BUmpy with such an adventure feeling.. hahaha After about an hour, we arrived at our starting point and slept there for the night.

30th January Sg Senoi-Camp View( OK je jalan..mana yang mencabarnya?)

Starting point.. Sungai Senoi.. and the aim was to arrive in Camp View or further! After our morning exercise and get to know session... "Saya HAri... ITU HARI !! INi HARI?? " we were off to complete our mission. Here was when I decided to carry that extra load.. 4 men tent. Initially Haniza was suppose to follow this trip but we had some technical difficulties and thank god for that! I hope to bring her to trips such as this in the future therefore i need to gauge whether I am able to cope with her load on me. Little did I know that this decision was not exactly wise.

The trek was fair and considering it was our first day,it was comfortable. There was a story by Jay at one of the take 5 sessions that a friendly wild boar came across us! Apip was the hero shoing it away with jay's help in lighting up the firecracker! Somebody ran for their lives then in contrast with the shown personality.. truly loyal to the art of survival!!


The one thing which i thought was unique compared to my other trips is the fact that with the heavy load on your back, due to unforseen obstruction to the route; one has to literally on one's 2 hands.. or on all four limbs.. and even commando crawl across!! Mak aaii...
The group arrived in Camp View from 4pm to 6 and we camped there for the night.After a good dinner and night getting to know each other session, we were off to sleep. However cold it was, the agas attack at 3am woke everybody up when the tsunami of them decided to give us the roll call!! Huiiyoo..manyak gatal woo...

31st January Camp View-Korbu peak (Berkenalan dengan anak-anak korbu, anak tiri, anak harun, anak ikan, anak angkat,anak lain bapak..dll...)

Journey to the top of Korbu from Camp View was torturous. I was with Azad all the time, a certanly good companion for my climbs. I do miss his presence on my summit climbs without him hehehe Thank you for your nasihat Abang Haji!!
It was long.. and mencanak from the start. After the last water point, carrying an extra pure 3kg behind your back certainly slows you down. It was not pleasant but then..sapa suruh pergi kan? hahahaha We continued the climb and post Bongsai Tonggek ( which somebody mentioned 10 minutes which became 1.5 hours!! hahaha) we met Anak Korbu.. and yes.. we were introduced to the family clan of anak korbu again and again. Puncak tipu tak ingat!! Memory of Tambuyokon came as everytime we reached a peak.. oh no.. there was another peak to climb in front of us!!


Alhamdulillah..at about 5 pmish,We arrived on top of Mount Korbu.. the highest in Perak and 2nd in Peninsular Malaysia.. The feeling as unbelievable..takut kena tipu lagi!! Set our camp and my determination was to sleep in the camp i brought all the way up here! We had a good view o Gayong.. the next of our frontier.. The weather was excellent as we could see the Titiwangsa skyline; Masya Allah.. subhanallah..





30Jan-1st Feb(OGKL OT standard.. hehe)
We sumitted Gayong which was next door at midnite:) We started at 830pm after dinner and everybody was enthusiastic! Standard ah OGKL .. Guide and Porter unggul pun tak tahan.. hahahaha The weather was permitting and the moon was at its best. One can even switch off one's head lamp and the trek is clear. We could see Gayong clearly as we descend down and the other Titiwangsa peaks as well.
We were all delighted to reack the peak and Congrats to Uncle Appa and Amir for making into the "Elites" completing G12! Cayalah ..:)




1st February-the climb down to Ulu Kinta dam ( DEEENNNGGGG!!)

Coming back at 3am in the morning certainly wiped everybody off! I was tired all over and went totally to sleep when I had my head on my bag! Azad was snoring away with uncle Appa and despite being in the camp it was very cold! I dunno about those outside..mesti tak tahan babe!!
"HOOOOIIII!! GUIDE TAK GUNAAA!!" was the loud cry i heard when i opened my eyes.. Allah.. it was so bright and loking at my watch.. ee eeleehh.. 740 am! Deeno was furious as everybody went dead and nobody woke up early! We were supposed to move by 7am,waking up at 5 am.. hahaha tinggal kenangan la beb! We quickly got ourselves ready and after breakfast we were off.. destination.. Ulu Kinta dam by evening... hello??? mimpi apa? The worry was if we were to arrive late, then there was no way that we could get any ride back to KL after midnight!

The early descent was technical ! Gila wooo... 90o climb down and if one falls down, sorry ahh.. selamat tinggal dunia.. seriously! My bag was still heavy because of the camp.. load tak berkurang.. hahaha It was tricky using ropes and trying to grap the dge of stones down. Macam Tom Cruise Mission Impossible!!At times my heart went tachy arrythmic because it was so dangerous wooo.. And of course, it did not help when I had to answer nature's call in the middle of that! Must be the sambal I ate before descending from Korbu peak.. ahahah

It was a long punishing journey as the declination was steep. I guess ,this was the reason for my knees to suffer as the hump and bump down can be violent at times. I did not run but the load maynot be suitable for me especially being tired and all. The view was excellent though.. It was certainly refreshing to see the wonders of Allah!
We arrived at the ULu Kinta dam-Sungai Temin by 8pm and I was in the 2nd tier group. Fuad and the front runners were far away and of course, we got to know that the our transportation will only cater us 15 km ahead! hahaha Wakenabeb.. another 15k of walk to the finish line on tar:) Deeno and the sweepers were behind and from experience, somehow rescue will arrive but I told Azad, since we are here.. lets just walk as far as we can. ( thinking that it would be good training for my marathon attempt the next week..) We walked in the dark ( switching off our head lamps) and it was a fun walk.. tired? time ni takda dah penat2.. jalan je. hahaha We walked about 10km when we saw a bus coming in! escue was here... the bus passed us and we decided to stay put.. cook some maggie and coffee and change:) True enough the bus came back for us after picking everybody up:)
The good news was the bus continued its journey to KL Sentral.. huraaayyy!! Balik hari tu jugak! Mission accomplished :) the feat of completing Korbu Gayong in a such express manner.. COOL!!!

Overall, the trip was pure hardcore compressed.. but no regrets! I enjoyed it a lot not just about the trail but the company as well! Excellent job done by the organizers.. Thank you OGKL for a memorable time.. Alhamdulillah, for a safe and successful climb executed despite the earlier doubts.. and its part of the catch phrase.. Orang Gila Kuala Lumpur...TERBAIK!!!!!

Ini yang kita cari..

ALhamdulillah.. i survived the Korbu-GAyong expedition which was a tough one considering the compressed nature of it.. Walking in stress for long hours is certainly something you do not imagine to do given the comfort and luxury of home..
but the agony and pain rewarded with such satisfaction of achievement.. how do one explain this insanity?
Korbu-Gayong 30/1-1/2 2010.. Thank you OGKL..

Gunung yang tak lari tahun ni kena kejar..

After years of hoohaa.. tomorrow nite will be the start of my quest of G7-G12. Starting with Korbu Gayong is good enough as I may not have the luxury of spending a week in the woods to achieve this. I know exams is just around the corner but 3 days would not hurt would it? I mean..seriously, I need this climb to help push myself. The satisfaction is out of this world despite the pain and agony of being true to nature!!

Itu yang kita cari... bukan? Wish me luck eih... :)

Getting it on..

My finals will be starting on the 5th of May. Thats like less than 3 months from today.
Revision is ongoing but its not easy; being middle aged, family of 5 and of course lots of other excuses.. hahaha
Honestly, its so easy to deviate my attention to other things and activities which has always been my "core" of life. I've always been a part time student, full time activities type of guy which nearl brought me down to my knees in the past. I survived that and now I am back in it. I hope I don't fall into that trap but being older ( not sure about the wiser part still.. haha) makes one more mature in handling multi tasks.
I am still going for my aim this year.. to finish a marathon and of course mountain climbing activities which gives me the different type of satisfaction.
I guess.. all this to compensate Liverpool's woeful season.. hahaha

New Balance 30K

I decided to upgrade my running this year.. well, not full super running all the way though ( hahaha.. nak jadi superman la ni) I needed the extra challenge since I'm fairly comfortable with 21k. Not to say my timing is very superb but doing a 2h30min ish is fairly ok for me. How much faster can i go? Below 2 hrs perhaps but i won't be winning any prizes as the ultimate challenge would be to LAST the distance..and the final frontier: which is the marathon.
I registered for the full 30K in this year's edition.( It was known as GE's before now it is NB). Initally Kamal registered for the same category eventhough we've been begging him to just go for the shorter one after seeing him suffer in the last few runs.. but i guess, its the extra challenge to yourself.. to go on when you are totally knackered, to say that you can finish eventhough your physique is giving you signs about damage.. Azad was still on with his 20K ; training for the Korbu Gayong trip later this month!

(thanx Jewelz for the photo!!)
I arrived at the Bukit Aman parking area at about 5am..gosh.. dah ramai orang dah time ni..managed to find a parking for myself and there I was walking alone to the starting area. Azad was running the 20 so no way for me to see him as yet. I thought Kamal was already thee but he texted me atthe very last minute saying he is unwell.. There I was , starting line up.. many familiar faces; mostly triathletes and ironmans I've came across in other races with time. Saw Luvis too and it was his maiden 30K as well! Francis Yeng ( My paeds lecturer in IMU) was beside me before we start!
And off we went !!!! Of course, the Padang Merbuk course will start with the hill and then around to Bank Negara. This early double hill run has always been famous for its punishing course.. and I must say that I was punished!!! The route took us from Padang Merbuk, Bukit Tunku and towards Hartamas and back again. I managed to sneak Subuh prayers after passing Masjid KL along the way!
Honestly, up to 20K I was fairly comfortable and thought ehh..not bad! I was just passing 2 hr mark and hey..another 10K for under 3hrs.. not bad..not bad!!! The training run going up Bukit Cinta of UM certainly paid off as the inclinations were similar but multiple times more effort!!!
Then..after 22K .. my thighs began to twitch.. the pain started here..i thought ok.. slowly la kot.. then the other thigh twitched... Ok i said.. slow lagi..so i decided to brisk walk.. hmm... seems better.. and took my kurma to sort of boost me up. Then when i thought I was OK i ran again ..but it lasted 10 steps before both my thighs and calves hardened. Maakk aiii... painful!! The cramp was getting to me as I started walking and it did not stop there.. hahaha..I was practically limping... alamak..takkan sini je kot. I've not felt cramps like this for a very long time!!
The pain never went away! Wow... pain is pleasure!! hahahaha sakit giler!! but the mantra of:
Kesakitan hanya sementara.. Kejayaan buat selama-lamanya!! became my motivation factor.
It was painful though.. as I tried my best to run-walk-run. Of course, when you thought you are there.. the turning to Bukit Merbuk was for the 20k..for the 30K runners.. more torture!! Around to Bank Negara..up..up.. and then back to Padang Merbuk.. hahahahahaha That was not funny!!!

I told myself I will finish this run no matter what. The cramps were really pulling me down but I tried my best to push it off with the mantra..
Of course, coming down the short hill I had to do a bit of running. Mak aii.. it was not beautiful, but seeing the finishing line there i nfront of your eyes brushes away the pain for me to achieve my goal.. and Alhamdulillah..i crossed the finsih line safely!!!
I did a 3hr 45ish ( based on Kooky Kash's time as she passed me on the way to the finishing line.) I am happy with my time as this is my first 30K ever!! Waah.. ni baru 30K, lagi 12 camana ek?

the finisher's T-shirt( courtesy of runningandsome blog)
p/s Hari ni memang ROBOT sket.. hahahaha

Favourite picture of all time..

Certainly the picture i will see again and again... memang best tengok sendiri.. hahaha
Hikayat budak Hitam... sampai mana akhirnya?

When you thought you're done...

I was so groggy this morning!! Finished off the long plastic breast reconstruction at midnite; patient under GA for 16 hours at least. She was young and relatively ok ; we warmed her up throughout the operation well and theoperation went well with very minimal blood lost.
I managed to extubate the patient.. and she was fine. Her pain relief was adequate and everything looks good. The oncall team was supposed to take over me by 10pm but it was very chaotic. I thought it was fair for me to stay on was I reckon it would be more justified for me ( the owner of the patient to extubate rather than the oncall team).When I brought my patient out to the recovery area; there was already one patient ventilated and managed as per PASCA and Lai's patient( also plastic-uro) was already there. Meng Li was stil actively managing.. talking and moving around in that small area.. Waahh...
I settled my patient and then quickly to the changing room for me to get back home..It was already late 1 am. However when I arrived at my car ( which is parked like thousand miles away!!) I could not find my car keys !! DAAAMMMNNNNN... Mana pergi? I was frantically looking for them and i honestly could nto remember where or when was the last time I saw my keys!!! I was too tired to think... And since I was running the morning ENT list... I guess I had to find a place to sleep stat! it was already 2am!! Wifey ( being an excellent planner and executer) can manage the kids in the morning i am sure..
The oncall team was all-girls team and there was no way I can bunk in.. nak mampus?? hahaha Of course, the only possible place was.... DANAU!!!! my study area.. hahaha I went there, and luckily my small plastic mat was still there , and of course the moment I lied down.. i was so fast asleep... TOO TIRED!!
When I woke up just before Subuh... thefirst thing that came to mind was.. MY KEYS!! So after prayers.. slowly I tried to track back where it could have gone.. and Subhanallah... I found the keys 10 meters away from my car! Imust have dropped it earlier yesterday and Alhamdulillah... Kereta semua selamat.. :) Luckily the monkeys were not smart enough to go away with my car!!! And that ladies and gentleman.. what happened to me last night.. ;)

The show must go on..

Empty spaces... what are we looking for..
Abandon places.. I guess we knew the score..
On and on..
Does anybody know what we are looking for..

Another hero.. another mindless crime..
Behind the curtain - in the pantomine
Hold the line..
Does anybody want to take it anymore..

The show must go on..
The show must go on..
Inside my heart is breaking
My make-up maybe flaking
But my smile still stays on...

**all time favourite...

Postgraduate seminar UiTM 2010

The venue for our postgraduate workshop was impressive. The new state of the art medical school was really something. I had a crap time initially trying to find my way to the campus; with no maps and just the typical Malaysian way of giving directions..:

" Its just next to Selayang Hospital.."
" Buat u-turn bila nampak Hospital Selayang.. then pusing kiri.."
" Jalan straight.. then turn left yet.. and turn after that.."


Like whhhaatt??? hahaha I ended up exploring Selayang this morning and I'm sure I won't get lost the next time I am here!what a way to start the morning!
I've always looked forard for this event every year as this is the place where I'll meet and find out who mu juniors are ; with the big intake and setup that we have it is impossible to notice them in UM!! Besides that, mingling with old buddies and the feeling of being young again.. hahaha
THe intro slide by Norizal was cool as ever; seeing our ID card faces on the screen to introduce who we are.. of course, we all looked very different now!! We had the usual inspirational introduction by Prof KY and I must say, he has not lost is zest to upgrade the faculty. Listening to him can be inspiring and one has to follow his trail of thoughts well to appreciate his vision for our young university.
I was invited to be a panelist for the forum which was designed specially for us but unfortunately.. becuase Prof KY took a bit too much of our time slot.. we had to ultimately postpone the session..hahaha tak sempat nak cakap pun..hahahaha

VC came to solemnize the event and it was very refreshing to see the new VC so enthusiastic and full of spirit! I guess we need people like this to lift us up and be proud of our institution. Cool..:)
Overall, the time management by the organizing committee was poor ; perhaps being in the new place for the first time maybe a factor but it should not be something that we can be proud about.. First class fascilities must come with first class act and mentality :) In a way, I look forward to be part of the faculty and directly involve in the University's mission and vision soon..:)

Sub-standard operating theatres – wasting tax payer’s money and compromising patient safety?

**UPDATE***
letters to the editor the star 7/1/10.. Patient safety should not be compromised...

***************************

I am appalled by the revelation in the front page news of the Star (6/1/10) (Government surgical facilities in Terengganu out of action). Unfortunately, this is not the first time we have heard about it in Malaysia. It is a shame because the delay of healthcare service delivery lie at the basic infrastructure issues which should be non existence. Million ringgits of tax payer’s money had been wasted awarding contracts to unqualified and unaccredited contractors who knows nothing about building a healthcare facility. I am sure the specifications by the PWD and Ministry of Health is of international standard but unfortunately the lack of knowledge and awareness topped up by poor commissioning is such an embarrassment.

Surgery is one of the most complex health interventions to deliver. More than 100 million people in the world receive surgical treatment every year for various reasons. Problems associated with surgical and anaesthetic safety in developed countries account for half of the avoidable adverse events that result in morbidity and mortality.

Building a surgical facility is not about building an office like structure and crossing your fingers hoping that it will become an OT! There are a lot of factors that needs to be considered in tandem while designing an OT complex. These factors are inter-dependable namely the medical gas supply system, electrical safety, ventilation and air distribution, humidity and temperature control, scavenging and waste management, standard monitoring devices, optimum anaesthetic and surgical equipments. If one component is faulty then there is no way the OT facility can function optimally.

If the OTs in Terengganu services are halted because of basic infrastructure problems like leaks and shabby workmanship; what more will be the finite details? Patient safety is at stake here and I’m sure we don’t want to be famous worldwide by having an on OT table death caused by the roof which fell on him?

I urge the PWD, Ministry of Health and the involved bodies to seek local expertise for opinion and reference in rectifying this issue. Commissioning OTs for use should be aimed at ensuring patient safety in tandem with the modern infrastructure plans. Please learn from the past mistakes and move forward towards being recognized by specific international accreditation standards eg JCI. It will be ridiculous if after the physical repair was done the OTs will still cannot be commissioned for use because of patient safety compromise!!!

It’s family day out for the bloggers

Wednesday January 6, 2010

It’s family day out for the bloggers

By CHOONG MEK ZHIN
Photos by SAM THAM

THE number of bloggers has been increasing over the years and some of them got to meet one another at the Nuffnang Friso Gold Family Day Out event at Kizsports and Gym 1 Utama.

The theme of the event was “Curious Kids Need To Be Tough Inside”.

“Most of the parents here today are new bloggers. This event is a good opportunity for them to have a good time with their children as well as meet others in the blogging community,” said Mira Abu Bakar or better known as Red Mummy.

Her children aged between nine and six had enjoyed the activities organised during the first family day event held in November 2008.

Having a ball: Mafeitzeral with his wife, Haniza Abd Jalil, 33, a radiologist, and their three children (from left) Myftzal Dzaeffran Qayyum, 4, Myra Durratun Qaisya, 2, and Marissa Daania Qystiena, 10 months, enjoying some quality family time at Kizsports and Gym during the Nuffnang Friso Gold’s Family Day Out.

She said her five-year-old blog enjoyed more than 4,000 hits in a day and a lot of people visited her blog to find out more about her children who were enrolled in Chinese schools.

Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua who was also at the event with his wife and two children, aged five years and eight months, said this was the first time he heard about the event.

“It’s a great event for children to have fun. My eldest she enjoys the Playland,” Pua said.

Mafeitzeral Mamat, 33, an anaesthetist, had been looking forward to the event ever since he attended the first in November 2008.

“This is something we look forward to and I kept looking out for announcements since November last year.

“I’m also looking rward to finding out more updates on children’s health from the talks scheduled today,” Mafeitzeral said, adding that this time his wife was with him and it made it easier to take care of the children.

Energetic tots: In this game organised for them during the Family Day, the children were required to dance and stop with the music.

Parenting author and columnist Ruth Liew, who is also Friso Gold’s nutritionist, delivered a talk on children’s immunity at the event.

About 200 children, parents and parents-to-be attended the event.

Nuffnang Malaysia country manager Nicholas Chay said the first family day, attended by about 250 people, was a resounding success.

“This year’s theme is children’s immunity because we want to stress on the importance of keeping illnesses at bay with a healthy immune system,” Chay said.

The event was organised by Nuffnang Malaysia and Dutch Lady Milk Industries Berhad and was by invitation only.

Caring for the ill

1Malaysia+UN team..hahaha

Looking back, i just realized that I did not blog about my ICU posting for December. I'm not sure whether it was because I lost the enthusiasm to blog last month or ICU was just a turn off for me to blog. After the one month stint in IJN, I was certainly looking forward for last month's posting.
A lot of colleagues are not keen to be placed in ICU especially during this last 5 months before our finals. That somehow I do not understand. Its busy in ICU but it has its rewards too. I guess the thought of trying to think what is best for the patient may not suit anaesthetists who likes things to be done and no after thoughts.
Somehow if one cares enough there is a sense of attachment. I do call my colleagues at work during my off days enquiring updates of certain patients. I really don't know why we practiced this last month! Hahahaha Dedication you may call it but at times it is not healthy!
I must say, i had an enjoyable time with my team : Kit Yin, Yan Wei, Shakti and Sama as each of us bonded in a way.. hahahaha Thak you guys for making the posting something to be looked back. I guess when we were left like headless chicken( no lecturers posted in December!) we came together and somehow tried our best to help whoever came through us(transit back to ward or higher above).
Now.. I have 5 months before I take my finals.. and forthe last 2 months it was certainly an evaluation of my purpose in being an anaesthetist. IJN was abut getting me to be humble again with role models of who i wanna be..and ICU was the reinforcing moment for me to pick up my skills before I "neglect" them in these coming months..

Fun day out in Kidz Gym 2/1/10

We had a good time during the event today.. it was a hectic day for the kids as both Dzaeff and Qaisya were runing all around for the whole day!! Kudos Nuffnang for organizing the day out again successfully but this time around i did not win anything... hehehe baru nak berangan pergi Disneyland.. hahaha

HELLO 2010!!!

Yup.. end of the new millenium first decade! Time flies so fast eih? Lets see how my 2009 resolutions went.
1.To be fitter as an Ironman and more weight loss !! ( down to 70kg maybe ? )
Weight loss.. takde sangat la.. I'm still stuck at 78-80 but the physique is different compared to the old 80.. hehehe
2.Finish a marathon within the stipulated time and uninjured.(KLIM09 here i come ! )
Haven't done a marathon yet..only 21Ks and I'm happy with that.. KLIM tak pergi because I went to Riau.. but Putrajaya Marathon..here i come!
3.Settle my research project and make a my presence felt in the International Conference ( macam real je... )
presented in Sabah..and then went to Salzburg, Austria..woohoo...
4.Get the Big5 and G7. ( mountain climbing lingua )
Big5 in Murud... alhamdulillah...:)
5.Publish more articles on the mainstream media and getting my own paper column :)
I was on paper few times.. but had less time to write last year..:( no column laa...)
6.Get 1000 friends on my facebook ! ( add me eh.. )
HAHAHAHA i totally forgot about this... and now, >1200 aahh...tak sangka.. hehehe

Ad now for 2010:
1) Maintain my fitness.. complete my marathons this year! Putrajaya thefirst and KLIM 2010 definitely.. and maybe straight for Singapore!
2) Pass my Master exams in May .. need to press in the hard work!

honestly.. no 2 is my main priority this year and others can wait i guess. Thats why I can't really think of any other big resolution to write. It will be my biggest exam academically so far and I better do it well to redeem and justify everything I did till now. Come May; more things will be generated in my mind to do( a definite track record to prove it..hahaha)

For starters.. ok laa..

Whowould have thought, blogs can make some money? Well.. I guess I'm way behind from all the other enthusiasts ! It was my first time checking on my so called earnings.. and guess what..
I've earned RM99 so far!! hahaha 1.5 years after joining Nuffnang.. hahahaha sikit je but hey, at least there is some money in there!!!
Wow.. maybe a motivation for me to blog some more... especially, trying to get people logging into my page.. hahahaha mana tau bule buat duit lagi ke..
P/S will be waiting for the cheque then to see betul tak sampai.. hahaha

Update 1- 1Malaysia Road relay.. TAK JADI???

Happily, post call I went to FTAA to register my ICU team for the road relay on the 3rd of January. The thought of the team doing something together was cool and i guess everybody was looking forward for it. I was looking forward for it because:
1) It'll be cool to have One Team-Malaysia running..
2) I manage to coax my fellow ICU colleagues to have a go and enjoy ourselves.. 1 Malay,2 Chinese and 1 Indian, 2 male 2 female.. damn cool composition isn't it?

To my surprise in my chat with a fellow FTAA officer ; apparently, the response is currently poor and it is most likely to be canceled unless there is a MIRACLE before the 26th ( which is the closing date). What? I can't seem to believe that is the case. Apparently, people are having difficulty gathering all the different races in one team. I went again like..WHAT??? I mean.. every run i join week in week out,punyalah ramai Malaysians join the individual category . What is so difficult to get yourselves together and register for this run? Where's the "running-brotherhood" spirit ? It is just compounded to segregation of races where we race as race? ( hehehe.. mcm kelakar pulak bunyi?) They did not have a problem at all with the EKIDEN relay recently. Obviously when we try to do something idealistic, it does not augur well with the masses. It is still difficult to get together when it is not!!!
I like the concept of gathering the different races together running as a team and i strongly feel that everybody should make an effort to see it happen. I mean , whether we embrace BN's 1Malaysia or Pakatan Rakyat- Malaysia for all ; this is where we should take an active part in making the so called MALAYSIA dream into reality. Whats the polemic in condemning each other on disunity when simple things like this race cannot come into reality? Apa laaaa... Reality bites i guess...
I am still having my high hopes to see that this event comes into reality. Not for my sole enjoyment but for what the future holds. We spend a lot for ourselves joining race and events all over the country, and a simple cheap race like this road relay seemed to be SO UNPOPULAR amongst runners..
C'mon fellow Malaysians.. please do not dissapoint ourselves..

New year.. 1 Malaysia !

I've managed to get my ICU team this month to join this run!! hahaha it would be fun as Shakti would be post call... C'mon team ICU!!!

3rd Jan 2010
1 Malaysia DBKL/MILO/FTAAA Road Relay 2010
ELocation: Taman Tasik Perdana,Tapak A.
Format:4 per team
Time:8am onwards,Reporting 7.15am.
Entry fee:RM 80(A-F),RM 40(G-K)
Closing date:26 December 2009,FTAAA.

Bib Collection:1-2,January,2010.10am-5pm at FTAAA

Medal(Position1-3)
All categories.

Finisher medals:
Position 4-50(Mix team,Men Open,Men Senior)A,B,C
Position 4-30(Men Veteran,Women Open)D,E
Position 4-20(Women Senior)F
Position 4-15(Men Junior,Women Junior)G,H
Position 4-10(Boys ,girls)J,K

Main Rule:
The team shall consist of 4 runners,ie.a Malay,a Chinese,and an Indian and one from ethnic race.If a team is unable to find a runner from the ethnic race,anyone from the three main races can be included to make a tema of four .Each runner is to run 2.3km along the lake.

Gold at last!!!

Kudos to the boys! You made us proud! We have been waiting for this moment in a very long time.. I can still remember sitting in front of the tv that rainy night in 1989; watching the great strike by Lim Teong Kim during our 3-1 win over Singapore.. andbeing a loyal telly fan, I cheered to the max to the surprise of my children when we scored to lead 1-0 against Vietnam!
Disregard the sceptics and critics who reckons that SEA GAMES is nothing.. hello??? At least we're back to where we are suppose to be.. top in South East Asia !! Eat your hearts out Singapore.. Thailand.. Indonesia... Vietnam! HArimau Malaya makin lapar!!!

CURIOUS KIDS NEED TO BE TOUGH INSIDE

The arrival of Dzaeffran Qayyum 4 years ago was a blessing. Being new parents, wifey and I were fanatically concerned about their health and welfare! Durratun Qaisya came 2 years later but our anxiety remained the same! Even though both of us are doctors, having your own kid is a different issue. We were exactly like any other new urbanized parents wanting the best for their children.

When Dzaeffran caught a naughty bug when he was 4 months old, we never expected it was bad that he had to be admitted! Qaisya had a really bad fever requiring hospital stay when she was 6 months old. Both were harrowing experience and both wifey and I became obsessed with getting our children’s immune system optimal so that we can avoid hospital admission! Its not encouraging at all to see your children so weak and sick! Everyday we send them to daycare nursery and that did not help with the frequent recurrence of illness!

Immune system protects the body from diseases by antagonizing bad bugs such as virus, bacteria, fungal etc. Viral infections are more common than bacterial infection in children. The only way to fight against it would be the strength of one’s immune system! Therefore, boosting our childrens' immune system became our priority so that they can experience joy while growing up. Being sick all the time impairs their development if most of the time they are irritable.

Apart from being super compliant to the immunization regime, we made sure that both Qayyum and Qaisya were stimulated physically and mentally with various multiple activities. It was fun bringing them outdoors to experience nature. They simply love it when we spend time together as a family and would always look forward for weekend outings! Both Qayyum and Qaisya are very cheekily curious and kept asking … a disadvantage to a parent like me who can get irritated easily! How I wish they start speaking later than earlier!Hahaha

Making them sleep was another challenge for us handling these active kids.. but adequate amount of sleep is also important in boosting their growth and hence immune system!

Breast milk is definitely the initial choice to develop a young child’s immune system. The antibodies from the mother’s breast milk temporarily protect from unwanted infections. However, beyond 2 years old breast milk may not be suitable anymore therefore a perfect substitute is needed to ensure all the hardwork done bear fruitful outcome! It was not easy to know which was the best choice for Qayyum and Qaisya. It became obvious when I was introduced to Friso Gold last year during the Nuffnang Friso Gold Family Day Out.

Having one of a kind feature; Frisoshield with P2 Dual System certainly eanred my trust. The specially formulated milk is a combination of key nutrients together with probiotics and healthy beneficial bacteria. Prebiotics such as combination of GOS and FOS will help to increase intestinal bifidobacteria and maintain good intestinal function for my children. I've laways trusted the brand too. Since I started both of them on Friso GOld,, wallaahh.. I rarely see them sick !!

Daania Qystiena was delivered by the stork early this year and with the R&D we had with Qayyum and Qaisya, Qystiena is certainly getting the best management! We celebrated Qayyum's 4th birthday recently in the best of health.Of course, when Qystiena is old enough I will not hesitate to enroll her in the Friso Gold club like her siblings!

Nuffnang Friso Gold day out is back!

I've been waiting for this event and wondering when would it be held again. Another opportunity that I will not miss! Hahahaha.. Who knows, I might be lucky this year and be the winner .. Disneyland tuu.. Hong Kong pun jadi la.. hahahaha

Salomon 10k X-trail

This is the first ever Salomon X-trail off road race organized in Malaysia. With the competition held on our homeground ( Taman Tun) takkan tak masuk?? hahaha the only other off road race isthe Genting trailblazer and this year, I had the opportunity aain during Xterra. With my ever trusted Axel shoes ( buatan Malaysia) I'm off to lanyak it again to see whether i can throw it away!Manage tobrowse through few bloggers who went to test the trail a few weeks before , ummphh scary jugak!

Guess which is MADE in MALAYSIA?
We were all early for the race; Azad, Mafiz, Kamal and Edrin. The OGKL team of Nie Feng, Nina Spy, Fahmi, Amad, Sabri, Wak, Hay , Ajip were there too and it was fun to have them around. I arrived at 7am but of course, despite me letting it all go early in the morning, it had to come out again( pergi toilet aah..) so i went back to Taman TUn house to settle it once and for all..hahaha The race started 10 minutes late however, ontop of the 8o'clock timing. I guess it was necessary because they need to get their marshall ready as well as preparing the trail to be safe for participants.
We started off by running around the school circa few hundred meters before we were let off into the wild! The traffic jam started here with most of the participants clogging the small trail. It was enough maybe for 2 ot one go and with our normal routine of starting slow ( like when the traffic light turns green.. when do you actually move?) We were walking most of the time in the first hour because of the massive traffic flow!

By the time we reached the first drink station, the trek was clear and this was the time to try running! However running trail run of 10K is not the same as on road 10K.. never under estimate!! Never try to run up a hill becuase this may cause a lot of damage to your muscles .. cramp wwooo!!! And with this previous experience I manage to pace myself. because, it will be downhill where one can really run!! hahaha Its not easy though to run downhill.. one needs a lot of confidence to know where to step and run. Alhamdulillah, i guess that was my strength especially with my trusted shoe!!
The trail was fun , we had lots of downhill and flat route ( i guess becuase we are using the MTB trail) bu the uphills.. perrrgghh.. memang kalau tak biasa , sure pecah dada !! :)
I managed to finish the trail in one piece... happy, no cramps and of course, the whole gang was in Kandar replenishing the lost carbs !! :)
Thank you Salomon n Quickadventure for a good race :)

The usual suspects..

OGKL team..

the proof... ( lupa amik gambar ngan Salomon pouch!)

Natrah.. a history that should not be forgotten..

I saw the advert for this play many months ago when I was watching Jamal Abdillah's show in Istana Budaya. I was a keen follower of her story many years ago when it was being brought up by the now defunct Dewan Masyarakat.( whatever happen to it ah? I owe a lot of my Bahasa Malaysia writing languagestyle to them..) I have always thought the tragedy then was a difficult issue to answer and unfortunately, due to the lack of understanding from both the Malays and the English government many unfortunate lives were lost.. Its always easy to ignite a fight but looking back, you know that the issue will always be about poor communication skills..
Of course, with Maya Karin being the lead act hahahah ( wifey sure kata hmmm.. I love you dear!!) I cannot miss the show!
Overall, I enjoyed it a lot.. I love the monologues especially with the three of them on stage. Umi Aida, Samantha Schubert( i have pic with her too..) and Maya Karin expressing their feelings. Sofia Jane did her monologue scenes well; with wifey expressing exactly what she was trying to tell us.. CONFUSION!! None of them are wrong.. none of them were manipulating anybody else.. The mother's view, the carer's view and of course, Natrah herself. Of course, those who love Nur Kasih will love Mansor Adabi played by Remy Ali hehehe
The issues were well discussed and well potrayed by Eirma Fatima ( the spelling on the publicity brochure!!) and I thought it was a mature play. Of course, only those who knew the whole story would appreciate the play more than those who came to experience the tragedy for the first time.
I had to buy the book which was written by the same author who went to look for Natrah 10 years ago.. Its a history piece and tragedy such as this should be well remembered and reserached, for my information so that i can tell my grandchildren to retell the story to theirs..

A motivational boost..

I discovered this upon browsing the IJN website before i was done there.Iguess it was updated when I was there during the JCI accreditation exercise.. I'm sure it was suppose to be the new Specialist who joined together with me in November.. hahaha

1. open the ijn website.. www.ijn.com.my
2. on that page, click on the menu icon ABOUT US
3.On this page, you will see a list of icons on your right. Click on the MEDICAL TEAM TAG.
4. A list of specialties will appear. Click ANAESTHESIOLOGY
5.You'll see The Consultant's pictures. Scroll all the way down...

U see what I mean? hahahaha I'm still a trainee with my finals in May 2010 and they've plyed me to join the institution.. hahahaha
A motivation boost for my coming exams.. :)