Unearthed

My winter break is inching nearer towards its end. I had spent much of this holiday just relaxing my mind and spending time with family and friends. Well, after such a frazzling 4 months, I do think this break is well-deserved. Who said 6th year is cruisy? Mine so far definitely wasn't.

Anyhow, certain events in the past few days have gotten me thinking.

For one, the power of social media cannot be underestimated nowadays. What we have in front of us are evidence and statements from both parties. We are not fools - we can make our own judgements.

I think I will stop here now for fear of repercussions. But tell me, is this the sign of a real democracy if a citizen feels scared to give his/her own opinions? What ever happened to freedom of speech?

Last but not least, recent events have stirred up a sense of patriotism in me that I thought was long dead, buried by disappointment and incredulousness at blatant lies and a lack of common sense.

I can still hope, for a better Malaysia.

WTF

Tell me if the absurdity of all of this doesn't get your blood boiling.

Normally I don't swear, but this deserves a WTF response. Add it with this: o.O

Precious Life

My condolences to the people who are suffering as a result of the Manila hostage incident that happened yesterday.

Be it the families of the victims or the other innocent philiphine people working in other countries. All this happens because of an inept corrupt government with a lousy police force.

My home country, take heed. This might be where things are heading if the top guns don't buck up.

I am studying to be a doctor because I want to save lives, I want people to have better quality of lives. I want them to stay healthy and happy. But here is an instance where precious lives are just wasted for nothing.

I would like to serve the people in my home country but the situation there is just too hopeless and I don't see any chance it will be changing a lot soon. Sometimes, we have to be a little bit selfish too - because they are not looking out for our welfare at all. Because to them, we are just 'pendatang'. So tell me why should I stay and be discriminated against?

I was listening to this song in Glee, I wish the lyrics were true. Can I be an idealist?

Imagine

Imagine There's No Countries

It Isn't Hard To Do

Nothing To Kill Or Die For

And No Religion Too

Imagine All The People

Living Life In Peace (Youuuu)

You May Say I'm A Dreamer

But I'm Not The Only One

I Hope Someday You Will Join Us

And The World We'll Be As One

Imagine No Possessions

I Wonder If You Can

No Need For Greed Or Hunger

A Brotherhood Of Man

Imagine All The People

Sharing All The World (Youuuu)

You May Say I'm A Dreamer

But I'm Not The Only One

I Hope Someday You Will Join Us

And The World Will Live As One

Busy As A Bee

Boo-yah! Sorry for the sudden long absence! I have been really super duper crazy x 1000 BUSY! Was pressed for time to cook, sleep, pseudo-study and function like a normal human being.

Hence not being able to update. Which is a shame coz I have had many new experiences in this short period of time. And you know how my memory goes...

Guess what? I still have morning ED shift the next 2 days, which is a weekend. And I get no break till the next weekend (which is CNY! thank god!) I really can't wait for that.

Have been getting quite a bit of clinical exposure, which is excellent. The organization of this o&g rotation has been fabulous so far. Staff generally are very nice and willing to teach (except a select few which I shall not name) so that's a plus. Makes us feel that we are wanted and not in the way as we medical students sometimes tend to feel.

Oh and I'm very behind on my notes coz my skin condition gotten quite bad last week - became really very itchy and I was scratching myself all over. Finally gotten the steroid cream a few days ago and seems to be becoming better. phiew.

I can't study when I don't feel good. So it's a good thing the weather is better recently, turning slightly cooler. yay.

Okay, I really shld get off now. And try to study a bit. Lots of new things in o&g. And some that I had learnt and forgotten about. blek.

PS: Gathering tomorrow! Looking forward to it coz I really need to chill!

PPS: And I got to see quite a few cute babies! haha. they seemed so fragile that I don't really know how to hold them. :P

Lost Generation?

As a sidetrack to normal blogging and a distraction for my bmedsci frenz having exams soon, check out this video!

Really cool and strong message. :)

Had a pretty good day today for once. Hope tomorrow will proved to be a good one as well.

PS: Good luck to those having exams tomorrow! ^^

Ignorance Is Not Bliss

Here is the whole heartfelt article by a senior doctor about the attitude of the house-officers he has worked with in the past.

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How do you call yourself a doctor when you do not even know how to perform CPR? Most importantly, one must work with a conscience. Yes, they are allowed to make mistakes, but never at the expense of the patient’s life due to their lousy attitude or severe deficiency in knowledge.

To the parents of these young doctors, have you heard the other side of the story before defending your children? Did they tell you why they got scolded at work?

And if you find out that your child caused a patient’s death, simply due to his poor knowledge and lousy working attitude, will you be able to sleep well at night?

To the house officers who complain a lot, if you can’t even handle negative comments from your senior colleagues, how can you survive when you face demanding patients and family members?

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Being a medical student myself, I am a tad disappointed to hear this. I'm not saying that I am very good, far from it actually - but I plan to improve myself in the next few years, hopefully I will be able to meet all the expectations one would have of a houseman by then. Must gambate!

It saddens me when there are people who choose medicine purely just because their parents force them into it or they are just out hunting for the glory - and when they are deep in it, they realise they have no passion for it at all - and yes sometimes they managed to scrap through and pass out as a doctor. But after that what happens?

You get doctors who are not passionate about their line of work, are sloppy and do not care about patients' welfare. In one word, they are dangerous.

I remember what a doctor used to tell us students - his aim is to not to make us into smart Dr. House-like doctors. His aim is to train us into competent SAFE doctors. So simple yet so true.

I can't figure out how these housemen cope with it. Does the fact that they had indirectly cause the death of a patient due to their carelessness or incompetence pains them? Do they wake up in the middle of the night with a guilty conscience? Do they even care that people's lives are in their hands?

Of coz, this is just a generalization and the group in question is probably a minority. There are many good hardworking housemen/doctors out there who are doing their best for their patients - and for that, I applaud them. Keep up the good work! I hope I will be able to emulate in your footsteps...

I will never forget the doctors who scolded (or will be scolding) me harshly in medical school. Coz they are the ones who woke me up to the fact that my knowledge is not up to scratch and I need to buck up more. Coz they are the ones who sincerely want us to be good doctors like them, serving the masses with their best effort.

I hope I will remember these words the next time I'm reprimanded by a senior doctor. Cause when they do, it means they care about us. I hope I will not take their harsh words to heart but instead use them as a motivator for me to gain more knowledge.

I also hope that the next few years will serve me well so that I will be able to become a competent and safe doctor. It's not an easy journey but I will give it my very best!

Another Function For Your Cellphone?

A new MacGyver-esque cellphone hack could bring cheap, on-the-spot disease detection to even the most remote villages on the planet. Using only an LED, plastic light filter and some wires, scientists at UCLA have modded a cellphone into a portable blood tester capable of detecting HIV, malaria and other illnesses.

Click here to see original article.

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I am sure your reaction now would fall somewhere between the range of incredulous-ness and amazement. For me, I am not sure how accurate will the test results be or how feasible the plan is, but so far, it seems like a pretty cool invention.

Just imagine a possibility, in the future, doctors wouldn't need to send blood samples to labs for testing. Just need to wave their cellphones (erm how do they work by the way?) and voila instant results! haha.

Let's see how it will turn out, shall we?

In Times Like This

I have a lot of things I feel like writing about but it is hardly suitable for the scrutinating eyes of the public. If only Blogger has the function of password protecting certain posts!

Anyway, today, a tele-surveyor (is there such a word?) called and I picked up the phone. Since I was free, I decided to help her out by answering her Qs. Her survey was mainly about the economy. As in would I consider buying houses, cars, fridges etc. Or what do I predict would be the state of our economy in the next 6 months. And many more questions like that.

I normally have no interest in economy and stuff like that. But since I'm free nowadays, I have been keeping up with the news. Yes, I'm already an adult, time to do some adult-like stuff :P

And I have come to a conclusion that the present is certainly a depressing time to live in.

Everywhere, the economy is sliding. Prices of assets, investments are nose-diving while prices of the necessities are increasing like hell. Food prices especially have been nothing but inflation inflation.

When we open the newspapers, not only we are faced with this sort of grim news, we are also entertained with the theaterics of our our politicians. This year has been an "exceptional" year in terms of this. Almost everyday, there is something new to read about, something new to discuss. And they never cease to amaze me. in a bad way. -_-

This sort of political instability isn't exactly healthy for the country. Foreign investors are wary of investing while other countries have been taking an unhealthy interest in our politics lately.

I have been wondering, so what sort of picture should I paint for others when I go overseas next year? Should I paint a rosy picture of the imagined and hoped for Malaysia? Or should I go for the nitty gritty details of the real Malaysia? I am torn between the two sides.

And I am not done with how depressing is the hobby of reading newspapers. As always, there are sick crimes done by crazy crazy people out there. If you have been following the news lately, you would know abt the case of a 16 year old girl who was strangled then her body torched.

And what was the cause? The girl did nothing wrong except rejected the advances of another older guy (22 yrs old) as she already has a bf. Tell me, is that reason enough to kill a girl just because she rejected you? A girl who had sucha bright future, a life abruptly snuffed out due to the crazed hatred of a jealous man.

Or how about the man who was having an arguement with his maid, when the wife stepped in to advise them, and he killed both the maid AND the wife? Isn't that insane??

On a bigger scale, how abt the milk powder scare in China now? Just because they want financial gain, they are willing to add the plastic Melamine to the milk powder so that the taste of diluted milk can be disguised. Is that even ethical, wait no, isn't this against morality?? Now 3 babies has died due to kidney stones and thousands are severely ill. It pains and strickens me that humans are willing to do such immoral things for financial gains.

I am sure there are many examples of tragic cases like this. How are humans driven to such an extent that we will kill the people we loved just because of that moment of hot-headedness? Or even worse, we will intentionally do something that will harm others so that we can reap immense financial benefits. If so, we are no better than animals. Maybe even worse.

So nowadays, when I catch myself lapsing into a stupor of depression, I tell myself I am much luckier than most people and I have no reason to be whining at all. Okay maybe I do have some reasons but they are trivial and minute and of no consequence in the big picture at all.

The fastest way to wake myself up is to imagine how much my friend who passed away in a bus accident not too long ago would like to be in my shoes right now. Maybe I can identify with her because like me, she was a medical student. But it could very well have been me or you on that bus.

So every morning I wake up with breath in me, I tell myself I am lucky. And for that blessing, I should at the very least try to make someone's day a little better.

I can't remember the exact words but there is a saying that goes along the lines of this: "If I know my life has made someone's else breathed a little easier, then my life would not have been in vain." It was shared with me by my beloved tuition teacher who has passed on, but these wise words will always remain in my heart to remind me of the meaning of life.

This post started out sad, then angry then ended on a philosophical tone. It is indeed interesting to note how my mind had wandered so in the silence of night's cover.

To Be Amused

Sad to say, the political scene in our country can be likened to that of a circus scene, coz it provides us with no end of amusement.

Everyday when I open up to read the news, sometimes I really dunno whether to laugh to cry at the antics mentioned.

With the Permatang Pauh by-election being tmr, everything is cooked to a head in the past few days. It seems like every act is politically motivated nowadays.

So let's see who will win tmr. Another round of entertainment for the idle mind.

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Anyway, when moi is not being amused by local politics, guess what do I do to fill the time?

Recently, I have been playing a lot of these 2 new RPG games in Facebook.

Elven Blood - from the elf's perspective

Considered pretty fun for a game consisting of solely of clicking here and there. As you need to plan your strategy and tactics. How to use your life and stamina properly etc. And some luck of coz. =)

Wanna try it out? Here's the link.

The other game is also similar in concept but from a different angle.

Blood Lust - from the vampire's perspective

Slightly darker in nature, this game offers another world of fantasy to gamers. hehe. And here's the link for Blood Lust.

Do try them out. Enjoy!

PS: this review is done for fun coz I'm nice like that :P no $$ involved. I wish there was though cz I need $$!

Stretching The Limits

Hi guys! I'm back again. *mumbles* I foresee many of my future posts starting with this phrase lol. What to do, sem 5 has the worse timetable EVER, if you ask me.

PBL starts at an almost ungodly hour of 8.30 am. Can you believe it?? And nowadays every morning, we hvta wake up early for briefings/labs and what nots. And our daily lectures are from 4 to 6.30 pm. YES, we are forced to be in uni from morning till evening. My body and brain is seriously dying from overuse. >.<

But I think I'm coping slightly better this week. Suffering toughens up the mind and body, so they say. huhu.

So what's new this time around? (yes I foresee alot of my posts to be about updates also lar)

Let's see, elections have come and gone. And the results are nothing short of stunning!! I seriously cannot believe it that the opposition has managed to get 5 states (perak, kelantan, penang, selangor, kedah) and managed to deny BN from getting a two-thirds majority.

Penang is under DAP now!!

Nothing is impossible now, ain't it?

Btw, the tv news abt the elections really sucked. Their updates were so super slow. I could get more info from phone calls than it. bah.

Anyway, I guess this shows that malaysians have finally awaken from their shell and are finally ready to show their voice. This is really one of those times I can feel the unityness among malaysians. I feel glad that for once, is it not always about race. Can you feel the pride of being a malaysian? =)

BN is still the ruling party so they still have one more shot at proving to the ppl that they are able to give to the ppl what they really want. As I always say, with competition comes progress! Let's see if they can do a better job this time around.

I shall end it here coz I have a photoshoot for my convo mag profile pic soon and I don't want to get into trouble for causing pollitical dissent. lol.

Alrighty, toodles for now!

Democracy - A Myth?

If you didn't know, yesterday 10th november there was supposed to be a PEACEFUL protest (called the BERSIH rally) in KL about wanting a cleaner and fairer electorial system.

Protestors were asked to wear yellow to show their solidarity.

But look what the police did to the peaceful protestors just because the demonstration was considered "illegal". They sprayed tear gas, water cannons and chemicals into the faces of protestors!!

Watch this video to know more.

Democracy? Think again.

Even the local major newspapers aren't able to report the truth anymore. The rally was considered non-existent by them, if you care to flip the papers today. However, more info can be found at Malaysiakini and Screenshots. Click to check it out!

Anyhow, I'm glad that the rakyat is not afraid to voice out anymore.

*peace*

Wreaking Horror On My Mind

My mind is playing tricks on me.

As you know, I'll be taking an express bus to KL this coming tuesday. And seriously, it's scaring the hell out of me. :O

Taking into view the the sudden increase of express bus accidents recently, you can't blame me.

For those who do not read newspapers (I know many don't), here are the statistics of the recent crashes. I've even provided links so you can check it out to know more. Pls click okie!

• Kelantan to Uni Pendidikan Sultan Idris - 15 warded - students swear off field trips after horrific crash (Aug 10th)

• Kuantan to Kuala Lumpur - 32 hurt - express bus overturns as it tries to overtake another express bus (Aug 12th)

• Bukit Gantang Horror Crash - fatality 21, 8 critically injured - the worst road accident to date (Aug 14th)

• Crash at Tangkak - slight or no injuries - the accident occurred despite the crackdown on express bus companies (Aug 19th)

• South-bound express bus - 2 hurt - bus was allegedly hit from behind by a four-wheel-drive vehicle (Aug 20th)

• Accident at Gua Musang - fatality 1, 4 seriously injured - Kota Baru to Kuala Lumpur (Aug 21th)

• 2 more express bus accidents - all unscathed - Butterworth to Kota Baru / Setiawan to Kuala Lumpur (Aug 22th)

So far these are the accidents I cud find. I'm not sure whether I missed out on any of the accidents that happened recently. Anyhow, you get the picture.

The fact that our country ALWAYS waits till something disastrous happens then only they will sit up, take notice and make some stupid guidelines which will be forgotten soon after - irks me so. Why can't they really be efficient for once and put those guidelines to good use? If not, don't promise at all okay.

All this red tape and dilly-dallying costs people LIVES you know. The time when something real is done for prevention and not to appease the public after something bad happened is the day when I'd proudly say that we have grown as a country.

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*this part has been deleted becoz my frenz insisted that it was inauspicious - I guess it is*

All these road accidents seriously scares me. Becoz I cud have easily avoided this coz I HAD a choice. But I didn't take it. I was obstinate. And bored. yes do not underestimate the power of extreme boredom. It makes one unable to think clearly.

Please, let me be safe.

I haven't fulfilled my dream of being a doctor. I want to get married and have a family. I still want to save the world people that need me. I want to grow old with you and spoil my grandchildren (as all grandparents do, haha).

And there are more of those along the same lines. It takes guts for me to admit all this. but yeah, I realise that I still have a lot of things that I want to do.

Only the young think they will live forever. I think I'm growing old. -_-

Showing Love

I've always wanted to say this but never got the chance. till now.

If I hvta choose one thing I dislike about the typical Asian/chinese norms, it'd be the fact that the showing of affection to family members seemed to be a taboo of sorts.

Now, don't argue with me first. Your family might be the touchy-feely type, then good for you. But ask around, I'm sure many of your chinese frenz would be able to tell you that they don't feel comfortable doing physical bonding with their parents.

Meaning that "hugs, kisses (on the face of coz, duh) and I love you's" are big no-nos. There you have it, glaring evidence that a lot of chinese families can't or just do not know how to start showing affection to each other physically.

I know that the parents definitely love their children, but somehow chinese/Asian parents seemed to prefer to show their love thru everyday stuff or not at all. Not that this is wrong or anything but sometimes teenagers who are lost (figurately) just need someone to tell them they are loved, directly face-to-face. That is why a lot of teens get cheated when they seek for love outside the family. Those people who tell them they love them but harbour nothing but bad intentions. This is how the poor impressionable teens get caught in this tangled web, in their quest to be loved.

Don't you wonder why lovers can throw "I love you's" all around but saying that to your parent or child is taboo? Weird, isn't it? And sometimes, it's strange why we're more polite to our frenz/strangers than our own family members. We take the latter for granted sometimes, don't you think? Until the time comes we see them less and less, then we'll start to appreciate them more. Pardon me for this cliche phrase but Absence does make the heart fonder.

June was one of the worst months in my life. It was nothing but study study study. And lots of s.t.r.e.s.s. Thank god for my parents who gave me emotional support. Of coz, dear dear, you helped a lot too! =) If not, I think by now you'd see me waving happily behind bars with a crooked smile in some psychiatric ward. hahaha.

I used to wish that my parents would give me substantial evidence of their love thru words or direct actions. But they never did. [yeah yeah, I was a confused teenager then]

Until I decided "hey why don't I don't start the ball rolling first?" and it took me A LOT of courage for me to give them hugs before I set out for the big city. Dad was a bit awkward while Mum was natural. lol. Now, I'm definitely going to give them hugs everytime I set out from home! hehe. I also make it a point to show them my appreciation in little ways nowadays. Like praising mum's cooking [and tell you what, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - that beats home cooking!] or giving Dad an easy time by making sure the siblings are quiet etc etc.

Erm... yeah, I still haven't said those 3 words to them yet. Still working on it. :P

Anyway, you get my point, don't you? So why don't you try these tips out yourself! It's going to take a lot of courage (hey I've been there!) but the rewards you get is definitely worth-it. Trust me.

So pluck that courage out of you and give your parents a hug or say those 3 words today!

PS: How come I feel my last sentence is like some sort of commercial's slogan or smtg? lol.

A Tad Too Rowdy?

My dad pointed this out to me last night.

It was in the SMS Your Views section of The Star, 31th July 06. Link available here, in case you want evidence.

Here's what someone smsed and I quote:

Noisy bunch

The IMU students in Bkt Jalil noisy at nite by the swimming pool of the condo nearby as though it's their campus. Educated? I think not.

Hmm... Well, I guess some of the uni students can be quite rowdy at night. Not really sure though, erm, how extreme their decibles can be? Hehe. Coz I just moved to the more "happening" Block B just recently.

Anyway, it probably was just a singular matter of high spirits or the exuberance of youth? :P Since they had passed their exams? (I'm just guessing lah, I dunno for sure.)

Whatever. I guess we gotta be mindful of other ppl too. Don't be so engrossed in your partying till to the extent of forgetting about the other residents staying there too lo. :D

Simple matter of Physics, peeps, sound travels upwards at night.

Well, that just proves one thing. We medic students are NO nerds!! ^v^ Actually, we're just human. Hehe.

Resignation Ruckus

The new batch of SRC won't be out yet due to a 'miscommunication' among the current SRC members, causing P1/06 and another batch not having the chance to vote b4 going on their study break... And the results will only be out sometime late in june. Woah, that's a loong time~

Anyway, now we're missing 3 SRC members since they have already resigned b4 their tenure ends. That's a sad case since imho, 2 of them were one of the best + hardworking members of the SRC... *Salutes Chow and Evelyn for their good job* [Btw, I think a lot of ppl, especially those who don't keep a close eye on the forum wouldn't know about this...]

All this becoz of the ruckus coz by a certain turbochargedwoman in the forum (who incidentally happens to be a guy, go figure~) who started flaming ppl by writing in a offensive manner about the recently held polls for the new SRC..

And oil was added to fire when other ppl (who hide behind anonymosity) also started cooking up a fuss. Aikz. All talk but no action.

Sigh, life is like that, ppl often don't appreciate you for the many good things you have done, but do just one wrong thing, and you get a Go-To-Jail-and-No-Return Card.

I wonder, why is there so much unfairness in life anyway? Oh well...

Bawling About Being Bald

Ok, I posted something up at the Star Blog sometime back in the dim hope that my post would get chose as Blog of The Day, earning a cool RM50 on the way. But alas, being a newbie, I didn't know that they don't publish on Sundays, thus wasting my hard work on a post that I thought was good too!! :(

Anyway, instead of letting it go to waste, I've decided to publish it on my blog, a place where my word is law. :D

So here goes:-

Something is seriously wrong with the police force in our country. I thought that the Chinese New Year festivities will pass without (publicized) scandals this year. But what do I know? Guess I was just being naive. Oh well.

Various scandals are dug out almost every other week. Of course, gossip-hungry Malaysians are at most times happy with this, since it'll provide them with new topics to chat about when they go to the mamak.

After the brouhaha of the nude squat incident, the police have been under great pressure and scrutiny to perform their role as keepers of the law. Therefore, they've promised that they'll apply the letter of the law when dealing with lawbreakers. Little did we know how seriously they viewed this matter.

Just recently, 11 elderly men, with the oldest being 69 years old, were reprimanded for gambling in a public place and then detained for almost 24 hours. Probably a lash-out reaction, these unfortunate old men, after being forced to strip to their underwear, have had their heads shaved by the police during detention.

My initial reaction to this was: Shaving heads?! I have never heard of this lock-up procedure before! :O

My reaction was not alone.

There have been many instances of people being put into lock-ups the past year, but little few of them have lost any of their hair. Notwithstanding the fact that some of them were hardcore criminals too!

While it is evident that these 11 old men probably broke the law by illegal gambling, a rather minor offence (not exactly my idea of hardcore criminals), so why were they treated as such? Besides, in the lock-up rules, only those with a skin disease on the head like lice or kurap needs to be shaved of their hair.

I shall hereby name this law as the Discretionary Law where you'll be relieved of your hair in the lock-up unless you're some big-shot or someone notorious enough to claim oneself as a billionaire when you're practically broke.

What do you think, Malaysians? A gross insensitivity? Yes, in my opinion. A "teach you a lesson" element hidden in this incident? I wouldn't rule that out as a possibility. Bah!

However, I must make known my sentiments that I believe not all of police personnel are into such heavy-handed policing. I also sincerely believe that there are excellent police out there who are fair and well-principled, but receiving their fair share of flak. Therefore, I hope that these police officers will try to instill more confidence in the rakyat and make our country proud of its law keepers.

We won't be seeing the last of this yet, mark my words. Since it happened during the Chinese New Year festivities, it may make people angrier just by that very fact as it seems as the police force had lost their touch with the pulse of the public.

Sigh, I just can't wait for the next scandal. (Yes yes, moi is a typical gossip-hungry Malaysian.)

I wonder what's next.

Forcing people in detention to perform nude leap frogs and shaving of the hair in unseemingly areas? Eeeks!

So, the verdict? I tot this post is kinda out of place in my very unserious blog which is laced with humour everywhere. Nvm, don't wanna waste my efforts ma. Haha. :D

Come on, comment! Clickety-click!

Nicol David

Right, this is something I've been wanting to mention but I keep forgetting. Opps~ A sign of old age, perhaps? Hehe....

Anyway, Nicol David, the amazing squash player is..

World No.1!!

Ok ok, kind of old news if you read the dailies. Then, this is not something my peers do regularly anyway. Reading the news, I mean.

So here I am to give you guys a heads-up lo.

You don't wanna look silly when other ppl ask you about this and you go: "Oh, really ah? Omg, I didn't know leh! *Cue to look paiseh*" after a couple of weeks later... -_- So outdated.

Anyway, I tot it was pretty cool having a Malaysian as a World Champion, besides, she's so young too!

And notwithstanding the fact, she's also ... a Penangnite! Hehe. Yeah, Penang Boleh! Cool~

Since I'm too lazy to blog rant more about her achievements, I figured that links would do just as well. ^_^

So, click here and here and here for more info. Toodles!

The Young & The Reckless

Warning: Controversial content ahead. Proceed at own risk. I'll not be responsible for any jabs on whomever. The following passages are best read in a sarcastic tone to achieve maximum effect.

Who are the reckless? Oh, I was just talking about the youth of today who have an unnatural penchant for killing themselves on the road. Such a painful solution, ain't it?

Actually, I have never really understood some of my friends' need for speed or their apparent liking for racing down dangerous stretches of road. Coz this is being utterly irresponsible, putting others at risk besides your worthless self (worthless since you don’t even care bout your own safety, why should we?).

Sometimes, in an ironic twist, you're the one to survive while some other innocent pedestrian/motorcyclist/motorist is mowed down ruthlessly by you who do not think before acting. But on second thought, maybe you suffering for the rest of your meaningless life might be a fitting punishment. However, this only applies to those who still have a little conscience.

Some are unnaturally cold-blooded; mowing down one after another until they're nabbed by the police [serves them right!].

Of coz, I'm not referring to those who drive safely but injure/kill someone accidentally. Sometimes, accident cannot be avoided. But I'm not talking bout this. I’m talking about accidents that CAN be avoided.

In Malaysia, there are aplenty. -_-

Do you know what the grim truth is here? During festive seasons (where mowing people down become quite the trend), there is an actual increase in chances where one might get a organ for transplant! All this is nice (sarcastically). The death rate in Msia is extremely high too, and still it is skyrocketing. The recent festive season--collectively known as Deeparaya--has shown a dramatic increase in the body count.

So much for the good intentions of whoever-in-charge of Traffic Police, who this year planned a sensational program where the rakyat will be told where the speed traps will be so they won't be craning their tiny necks looking out for police. Of coz, there'll be other police in hiding waiting for those who quickly speed up after passing a main checkpoint.

But so much for his good intentions, the plan was entirely foiled by our lovely citizens, who can't wait to put their lives on the line so that they can get an extra measly 10 minutes with their relatives, which ironically some of them are not terribly fond to meet either. But what to do? They can't wait to go to the hospital or the morgue (in dire circumstances). Maybe they hope to meet Tru (as in 'Tru Calling' who helps dead people become undead again by saving their lives), but I don't think there's any hope of that.

Anyway, have you ever thought about your parents who will suffer for their rest of their lives if anything untoward happened to you? Do you want them to suffer like this? Is it worth it? For a few snatched moments of joy while the rest of your life is ruined in the cold clang of metal? To me, this is totally not worth it.

Drive safe and be safe.

If you really really need an adrenaline rush, I suggest you try out for extreme sports. At least it's safe and that's what that matters. And you're not putting other people in danger too. What a nice solution to an ever present problem. I seriously think that the government should totally encourage more extreme sports in favour of dangerous driving.

Yeah, that's a good solution. Coz it's my idea. Hehe... =)

Un-Casual Thoughts ~ Part 2

• I’ve a feeling that many more disasters are yet to come. The experts' ominous warnings about the H5N1 virus strain making a jump to humans, also say that it's only a matter of time. They're urging countries to stock up on anti-viral drugs but so far only a few heed the warning. I wonder if Msia is one of them? I do hope so. Do you know that the Spanish Flu that killed millions a long time ago was also from the avian type? We're so dead and I mean that in the literal sense.

• What bout the dengue danger around now? A bite from a mosquito and poof! You're dead after a few days. Life's so unpredictable nowadays. And experts say that another mosquito has joined in being a vector too. I do hope the other mosquitoes won’t take to heart the idiom "the more the merrier" or it'll certainly be the end of us. Notwithstanding the fact, the aedes mosquito apparently has undergone mutation to emerge stronger. Now, the eggs do not need to be in wet areas to turn into adults later. Fogging won't be able to eliminate it. How's that for a scary thought?

• What abt the road casualities rate in Msia? It's is HORRIBLE! On average, 18 ppl die daily!! 18!! OMG~ And do you know that most of the ahem, casualities are in their most productive age, around 18 to 25 years old. I saw this really funny comic bout the issue. As I can't find the comic, let me just write down the conversation inside the speech bubbles lo. Here goes:

Expert: Wow. Msia is not experiencing a population boom. You all must have very effective birth control measures.

Msian: Oh, yes! It's called Road Casualities. An average of 18 ppl die a day on the roads.

Expert: @_@ Oh My God.

• Okay, I've to admit I've changed the conversation a bit since I don't really remember it word for word. Only the gist of it. But it is funny, no? More ironic though.

• Oh, well. The Prime Minister's wife--Datin Endon passed away from breast cancer yesterday. That's so sad. And you know what her last words were? "Take care, everyone." Well, I did not know her in real life but I feel (from reading newspapers) that she would want her death to be useful ==> to create awareness, so women/ladies/girls of all ages, go and get yourself checked up!! Cancer is one of the menaces of the 21th century. Gosh.

• Anyway, I'm sure there are still many dangers/disasters still lurking unnoticed. That's why I want to be a doctor. I’m sure my services would be greatly needed in the bleak-looking future. I do hope I'll be in time though (5 years is a long time and anything can happen in that period). I might not be around long enough to render my services to humanity. What?! Now, that IS a morbid thought.

PS :: On a happier note, Nicol David won the prestigious British Open! OMG!! That is SO cool!! And if she wins another major tournament, she’s going to be World No.1!! She beat Rachael Grinham, World No.1 that day to clinch the title. Even the British were amazed that she had won.

Do you know that she is the first Asian to win the British Open? Oh My God. She's certainly flying the flag for Msia! I'm SO proud of her! Even more wondrous is that her coach says that "this is only the tip of the iceberg... Nicol has the talent, the body and the mental strength to back it up."

A world squash star is born! I'm sure she'll go to greater heights and bring back sports fame to Msia. Let the other nations know that we ARE a power to reckon with.

Wow. Now, I'm speechless.

Un-Casual Thoughts ~ Part 1

Have you notice something amiss recently? That our troubled world recently seems to be racked with natural disasters?

Let me give a recap if you haven't been reading newspapers recently. I know many teens don't. They should.

• Anyway, I tot it started wif the September 11 attacks. After that, it has been chaotic since. Then, it goes on with the US bend on cracking Iraq + Afghanistan to find MDW which were non-existent at all. Suffering. Plain Suffering. Yeah, those weren’t natural disasters. Ok, then there was the 1st Bali bombings. And a few other bombings in various places. Sorry for being abit vague as I can't remember since it's so long ago.

• Then, there was THE tsunami that caused massive destruction here in our backyard, South-East Asia. Malaysians were shaken since we've always tot that our country was safe from natural disasters but apparently it was not so. So much for that. Several villages were wiped out in Indonesia and it was a time that shows the human spirit as people of the world gather around to help. We dug deep into our pockets to help these ppl who did nothing wrong.

• I don't believe it was the wrath of God. If so, it certainly hit the wrong place. It shld be aiming for something White. [If you get my drift.] Anyway, I tot it was ironic that humanity have to wait for a colossal disaster only to band together to help each other. So sad, the state of apathy we're drifting in these days.

• After that, Christmas being a day which will evoke horror stories now *the tsunami happened on Boxing Day, 26th Dec 2004*, it was to led to the 2nd Bali Bombings recently.

• Then, Hurricane Katrina and Rita wreaked havoc at Southern America, New Orleans being one of the worst hit places. With it, it brought stories of how the rift between the white and black had widen in such places.

• Some even claimed that "Bush have left them!" It was also to reveal that poverty was still existent in such places. In rich America! Omg. Talk bout bad administration. And the slow + bad rescue effort was blatantly useless! Why so slow when you claim to be the world's leading superpower?? -_-

• Then, there was the India + Pakistani earthquake which caused so many casualties. The stories were enough to bring tears to people’s eyes. There was this village, Kashmir, I think, that had many casualties since rescue effort were unable to reach there in time becoz the transportation system was underdeveloped. And get this, they were like only 100 miles from the capital!!

• One of the horror stories was many teens that were trapped under the collapsed gov college in Kashmir. And the stories that villages, relatives dug with their bare hands to remove the debris while all the time hearing the cries of the students. Alas, only a few were able to be rescued. I mean, bare hands can only do so much.

• And the most ironic thing was that in that village, only the government built college collapsed while other private houses though badly damaged, were still standing.

• What did they do wrong? They were just people that wanted an education. They did NOTHING wrong. And I can't help thinking how lucky we are and still we're not satisfied. Is there no end to this irony? *Sigh*