My first crash

After the fun in the water, I cycled back home as this is my main transportation method to get around Perth. After so many times cycling in and out around Perth, I never thought that it was possible for me to be involved in an accident. I have always been a careful lad but i guess this time I should have been more alert and maintain my suspiciousness over every corner.
I was nearing home when I followed a detour route as the nornal bicycle route was closed due to construction. I;ve been through this way many times and had never encountered any car who would just ram you from nowhere.
I was not speeding as being in a shared pathway can be detrimental doing so. Suddenly a white car came from my right and hit me by my side. It was dejavu as i could not do anything - just like my car crash back in 1994. I felt something hit hard on my right thigh and i flew off to my left with my bicycle totally "supermanned" and somehow my cleats went off. The only thought in my mind then was i hope that it will not be too bad when i hit the ground. Fell on my right side and not on my head which was a good thing. I thought my bicycle would have been badly damaged considering the dent i saw on the car. Everybody around there rushed to me and i heard few people shouting OMG!
I stood up.. felt the pain on my lateral thigh but was still able to stand up. I moved my hips and legs and checked for any swelling or immediate pain but there was none. Ok cool.. no fractures. picked up my bike and by this time the lad who drove came to me and asked if i was OK. He was thinking of sending me to the hospital. Not that i am that macho but i felt alright and not too bad.
Looking back, I am glad I sort off got away from it unscratched. Maybe a few abrasions but that is all. I could have been injured bad and I;'m sure my thigh musles sort of took the blow and somehow cushioned my femur bone. If I was any thinner, I'm sure i would have broken the classic mid shaft femur. I guess the car was not too fast anyway and that helped. If it was a high impact accident, it would have been catastrophic. I remembered going back home, pushing the bike with tremors. It was total shock and evidenced when i was putting IV drips this morning at work.
Alhamdulillah, I am ok. thigh a bit sore but hey.. no real bruises or any fractures. Meriam? Well.. the rim is a bit belong but not too bad. I need to get it serviced and changed before the 70km RAC freeway bike ride on the 18th of March.
Thank you Allah for your protection and grace. Perhaps a reminder for me not to be too comfortable on the bike.

Splashing wet

It was great the other week on my first time, Yesterdays was better!The wind was definitely harder and I knew Syafiq was free. I will always need him to go on this fantastic catamaran adventures because he is the experienced one.
The wind was blowing hard that it created big waves.Being sailed away by the strong winds against the waves was exhilarating.We were all wet and had no choice to swallow the awfully salty taste of the water as it brushed through us! There were times we had to do extreme manouvers as the wind tilted the catamaran sideways and we literally had to pull against to avoid it being capsized. There was once when we were nearly out but somehow balancing with our body weights, we managed to stabilize it from disaster. And what a feeling that was !
Certainly more challenging this time and thats why i just had to blog this down to remember this day.

Campione! Bowling My PSWA 2012

 I replaced Farida at the very last minute because she did not feel like she can play today. I did not plan to join this earlier due to my earlier plans- tapi dah tak jadi.. and 26 February 2012 - another history in my illustrious career as an adventurer in Perth! My team members were Ema and Hanif, the usual accomplice from GEBA and only met Fared today.

 Together, we were simply awesome! hahaha I had the game of my life ; dahlah tak main bowling for god knows how long! The last one was maybe BJ open kot when Dzaeff had his first taste of bowling!
And sapa juara? Kumpulan kami laa.. hahaha and who was the overall best player? Yours truly.. hahaha Berbaloi-baloi! :)
Thanks guys.. it was memorable and indeed excellent!

Patut pun Ling minat fishing...

 I would have to dedicate this post to Ling- my RA Sifu with his ultimate passion of fishing. I was introduced by Along ( bukan yang mintak hutang ek.. haha) a new friend of mine who is working in Perth. They were bringing the freshies (new univ students) for the activity in Coogie Beach, Fremantle. I finished early that day and joined them.This post is supposed to be sometime back - but since its with the collection of pictures I just had.. to yang post ni!

 And of course, it was pure avalanche of fishes at the jetty! The feeling of getting the fishes when you put your rod down..priceless.. Hahaha introducing people to such pleasure is so dangerous! I understood fully why it can be a family wrecking hobby! gile taksub broo...

At least I've tried this and I must say , it can be really enjoyable and no wonder its a worldwide sport! Fish it boy.. fish it!

Mt Vincent & Mt Cuthbert trek

 25 February 2012 - GEBU's (Geng Bukit) 3rd activity which I call it the 2 mountain walk. It is originally the 3 mountain walk from walkgps website ; but as suggested for a shorter hike during the summer, 2 will do! I must thank the webmaster David Osborne for preparing an excellent guide with GPS coordinates for newbies like me.(Especially the confidence to continue amongst the bush despite the confusing trek - the bitter experience from my Kalamunda Bibbulmun Walk last year).
I managed to gather a bigger group; Syafiq my usual acquantaince and Farida who I've instilled the hiking "fever" in her. We had Reefqy - Syafiq's friend, Sariati ,Shima and Sherra.And from my own experience, those who agreed to offer themselves for this type of activity would be on the same wavelength! The group was great!
We started off early, by 6am we were at the meeting point and at 7am right on the Sullivan's Rock parking spot.After a short briefing, doa and taaruf by Budak Setan (haha) we started our journey through the Bibbulmun Track.

 We started by crossing Sullivan's Rock which geologically was interesting. After a bit, we crossed the Bibbulmun and this was the easy part - just follow the track! We arrived at Mt Vincent after some climbing at 830am! And next to Cuthbert at 930 which amazingly was on time! The view from Cuthbert was amazing and above my expectations. I wished we could have ate there instead of another point that we did earlier. Alhamdulillah, at least I've been on top of it before and I'm not sure whether I will repeat this again.. It is interesting to note how there were lots.. i mean LOTS of spiders webbing around the trek with multiple species and sizes which i have not seen before! Mt Cook was the lizard and this definitely had to be the spiders!

 The trek back was off track and I depended a lot on GPS. It was the old climber's track and having Syafiq around is handy to confirm our directions. I'm more comfy now and totally understand why GPS is damn important! ( berapa kali nak cakap daa..) We had to go through some thick bushes but takkan nak trekking senang2 kot..kenalah susah sket.. haha

We arrived back at our starting point at noon and glad that everybody was happy and enjoyed the trip. It is definitely a motivation for future GEBU activities !

Skipper to rudder.

 

It was 14/2 and my off day after working during the weekend. I had to go somewhere and with everybody else working, I thought it would be great to have my day out in Hillarys Boat Harbour. Its a nice place and certainly where you want to bring your family to. AQWA (WA Aquarium..big one!) was there but i reckon i would reserve this visit with whoever will be visiting me the next time around. 

The weather was good - temperature was not too hot and the sea breeze was just excellent. One thing i like about Perth is its beautiful beaches. The water is crystal clear and the beaches were just so clean and nice! How could one not take a dip and enjoy oneself as a beach bum? Hmm..something that I will surely miss when I am not here anymore.

 Syafiq contacted me as he was dead bored and immediately i suggested that we should go sailing. We discussed this during our climbs and I've always wanted to have a go.Syafiq is an experienced boatman and having him to lead this was just perfect! We met up in Mill Point at 5pm with a new colleague of his who was also new to this. Get set and there we went.. Ahoyy sailor on the catamaran!
Syafiq sort of explained the basic principles and what should one do to steer the boat. After a while, he encouraged us to have a go in being the skipper. And ooohh.. myy... Subhanallah! I really did enjoy it very much! GILE BEST! To get your vessel moving fast was exhilarating! The sweet cold breeze helped to neutralize the hot ray of the sun.I cannot stop smiling and as the boat went fast, I was screaming with joy.
Thanks bro.. it was a first and I am sure of many to come.

Old habit

Old habits never die.. how true can that be! I'm in for a very busy 6 months and it was purely me who chose to do all this! But I think my whole life, I'm ever so willing to subject myself to such a schedule. I may be a bit organized, sometimes too organized to slot things in between ; the idea for things to be efficient la kononnya.. haha

1) I'm the Simulation Fellow where my Wednesdays and Thursdays are dedicated to the sessions.
2) I'll be starting my Post Graduate Clinical Ultrasound Diploma end of this month. This means i have to schedule time to study every night!
3) In between they'll be ALS - need to get this internationally recognized qualification.
4) Advanced Wilderness First Aid Course - 4 days but need to study the materials pasal ada exam!
5) Registered for few cycling events in Perth
6) Weekly swimming class ! haha bila lagi nak belajar formally..
7) I'm starting my novel project and few of cerpens for publication since i'm full of creative ideas at the moment
 And I aim to do Kosciousko sometime...

Ini yang kita cari, ini yang kita mau bah... nda bole menyesal :)

100km ride Perth-Rockinham return

Me and Adly have been talking about this trip even before he bought his roadie.100 km to and fro may seem daunting but I mentioned to him that after my 52km Santos ride to Fremantle which I did without much preparation, a 100 km ride would not be impossible but of course light and easy riding la.. not trying really hard to go with the peleton groups!haha
So last Saturday, since the weather forecast itself was permitting (having a sudden drop of temp in the middle of heatwave season in Perth) we decided to have a go!
Its about 50km on the road from Perth to Rockingham.I did study the route and it looked not too bad as I remembered on my trip to the south, i did see a beautiful bicycle track by Kwinana highway up to Mandurah.I reckon the ride would not be too bad.
We started off early, me at 6 am to meet up with Adly at a promised meeting point (which I cant really remember the name at the moment of me blogging this) And along the way, I had a heavy fall! hahaha dah la pakai cleats so it was not an easy experience and made me a bit sandphobic while on the track.

 

The track was good overall with a number of elevations. Initially we were a bit lost because there were few detours due to some roadworks they were doing on the cycle track. After that it was straight forward, just follow the track! hahaha I must say it was a bit tiring in between but I did try to maintain a constant speed but not too hard on myself.Cramps would be something I don't want because habis laa.. And my cramps can be really bad!

 It was such a relief to arrive in Rockingham after 2.5 hours - the temperature was mid 25-26 and the wind was cooling. It was the best ever day to cycle such a distance. I've never been to Rockingham before and it was such a satisfaction to see its beauty upon my arrival.

 

We had our coffee and breakfast at a bistro by the sea and wow.. I was just absorbing the atmosphere.It was a typical morning in WA by a coffee joint for brekkie. Bak kata Adly," kat Malaysia, mana nak dapat camni?" :)

 

 The cycle back was not too bad - after the energy loading brekkie it was a breeze ride.It was also against the elevation thus making it comfortable with a respectable speed. And all in all, I may have just completed my first Century ride! Yeaahhh!!! Thank you Adly for the trip and I must say, I am glad i came to WA to enjoy all this.:)

RUBBISH ERGS!

I've just received an email from back home ; regarding the 2012 opening for ERGS - A Research Grant with such promising incentives for aspiring researches by MOHE.
BULLS**T!
Total crapness and a definite resource money for cronies of the MOHE Select committee.Yup, the Ministry of Higher Education with a Grant scheme kononnya MACAM BAGUS but total RUBBISH BY CONTENT!
I had a bitter experience last year when enthusiasticly I applies for it. It may be an ambitious study but it is doable with all the resources I had in Sungai Buloh Hospital. I had the support of the faculty, the hospital and everyone was looking forward for it to be granted.It was almost impossible to be rejected based on the idea.

Obviously, I was not successful. But the answer I received from the email was, nak baca tak email tu :

"We regret to inform that your proposal entitled: The Diagnostic and Prognostic Utilisation of S_1000B, Neuron Specific Enolase (NSE), Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP) and Interleukin-6 (IL-6) As Biomarkers for Neuroprotection Post Severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) has not been approved for ERGS 2011 application. Please find the attached comments for your reference.

Comments: So many studies already performed in this conversational area. The information will not be useful for the major of patient."

Maaakkk aaiii.. I cant believe reading the so UNPROFESSIONAL COMMENT! Dahlah broken English nak mampus and this was the reply from MOHE? I actually demanded on reasons why I was rejected but to no avail.. there was no answer. Kepala hotak dia?

MAybe I can't accept rejection or too grandiose with my own ideas and ability? Perhaps... 

but starting January 2012, There is a study currently conducted in Royal Perth Hospital called the MOBY study. And guess what? The methodology and outcome.. VERY SIMILAR TO  MY PROPOSAL...

Camana Malaysia? What can I say..

 

Simulation Centre - Fellow RPH

 Apart from Anaesthesia, I can be keen when it comes to medical education. I am a strong believer in Simulation training-esp high fidelity ones and that was evident in my contribution to UiTM with my SHOES programme during last years Shadow Housemanship programme. I reckon that simulation training is where when all the knowledge we have will be challenged and tested. Its definitely the way forward for medical education if not thoroughly but at least an exposure. The appauling training that current house officers have due to the sudden influx will definitely bring this type of training into the foreshore.
Hence when I was offered to take up the Simulation fellowship, i did not hesitate to have a go at it.I;ve been doing it back home but of course it was with my own idea of how it should be done.With my involvement here in the simulation centre of RPH,WA, it will definitely give me a bigger picture especially on how the country where MET (Medical Emergency Team) originated.I reckon the amount of knowledge and experience I gain will certainly help me and my institution to be the leader if not the trend setter of such training back home.It is about time for a national level of commitment and programme and perhaps I can be the forerunner to really establish it back home.Only a handful of centres(mainly the universities) have these type of equipment but unfortunately not used up to its potential.


It was my first day today and being keen I've been preparing since last week - Meeting up people and sorting out things so that I don't look out of it on my first day. Definitely my OCD for perfection.I have been having palpitations but it is something that I may have to just try and do! I reckon, I maybe the first ever Simulation Fellow who came from a non-English speaking country! Haha Doing this thing needs a lot of talking and somehow the ability to analyze and share it back with the participants.A really difficult task considering I am now the expert on communication and interpersonal relationship!

Doing this, there will be a lot of learning points for me in my self and professional development. I'm sure my public speaking and presentation skills will improve tremendously with the constant feedback I will get from my Consultants who are well versed and internationally recognized in this field.
It went not too bad today.Few good things, bad things but definitely a lot of room for improvement. And Insya-Allah, it can only get better!