The Musings of Wazit

What We Have Here.... is a Failure to Communicate

2010-02-04T07:09:00.005+08:00

Now that Mental Health attachment is already over, it's now on to Child Health attachment. Too bad that the whole of the first week is all lectures and such, but then again it's a good way to catch up on the developmental milestones of children. I remember it being shoved into our brains sometime in IMU.... and the only thing we have to remember is cooing, babbling and what not.... came out in exam somemore lol So, yeah not much comments about Child Health until sometime next week I think, when I will be officially in the wards (I hope). Today I will talk about something which has been highlighted to me quite a number of times recently, and I myself have felt it too.

Cultural differences.... it's once for me a negligible issue. Oh, but how wrong I was for it is actually a very big hurdle indeed if one is to study/move abroad for the first time. What me and a few friends around UK has noticed is that we don't really mix in well with the locals. Don't get me wrong, they are all a nice lot, helpful and friendly. But it doesn't help much in fostering a friendship if there's not much of a common ground in the first place. I remember back in Malaysia where me and my friends can bullcrap away for hours till the house come home, and we still won't be done! Whilst here, I can hardly maintain a conversation for more than 5 minutes. Such stark contrast, I would say...

Well, there are actually are few main reasons that I felt was hindering the conversation flow... Firstly, many a times, the topic of conversation among the locals are about drinking. Something like this...

'Oh you know yesterday... X actually drank a tad too much and was like sick all over the carpet'

'Urgh... had too much to drink last night... and I have a bad hangover at the moment'

'My level of drinking fluctuates a lot! Sometimes I can finish off a few bottles of wine and sometimes I can only drink a few mugs of beer!'

Well, the list goes on and on... so you get the drift. How could I, a person who rarely drinks at all, contribute anything into this conversation?

Secondly, they always have some activity planned for the night/evening. Either a rave party, a drinking session, house party, you name it.... So, every once in a while an awkward situation will pop up where one of the locals will be nice enough to initiate a conversation with me.

X: So did you do anything yesterday?

Me: Oh, nothing much. Basically stayed in my room surfing the Internet or studying. (I'm lying. Most of the time, I actually playing games or watching shows. Just not enough guts to admit it)

X: Oh.... *silence ensues*

Now... let's repeat the scenario with two locals instead.

X: So, did you do anything yesterday?

Y: Oh yeah, went to the rave party last night. Did you go?

X: Oh yes! It was a wonderful party last night. Drank a tad bit too much last night though. (Notice the topic of conversation shifted to alcohol)

Y: Yeah. Z was totally hilarious last night. Her face was all red and she was babbling like a baby.

See the difference? It's no wonder the Westerners know alcohol-related diseases like the back of their hand (Something I was made aware of recently). I still have some productive conversation from time to time, but the incidence is quite scarce. Well, that's all the complaining I'll do for now. Don't want to end up sounding emo. Till next time!

Improving Weather and a New House....

2010-01-27T07:38:00.005+08:00

Hoo hah. Hey there, people. Got busy over the weekend so didn't update again >.> Oh well, thinking of a topic to write about is half the work anyway. Well, well... more updates about the weather again. Some of you guys might be facepalming already, but too bad! Anyway, since that pleasant-turned-horrific snow week, the weather have been picking up lately. Whoopee, no more slipping on ice and consultants not turning up due to icy roads. (Seriously, it isn't that bad.... maybe the south isn't too used to this kind of frigid winter) Although occasionally the temperature still hits below freezing point, most of the day it's now hovering at about 5 degrees. However, not everything is bright and dandy. The sun still rarely shows its face from behind the gloomy clouds and it has been raining quite often. (Nooo... my leather jacket! D:) Well... at least the wind this time around isn't too bad like the last few months.

Anyway, on to the next topic. A few weeks ago, me and my mates went to search for a house out in the community to stay in together. Mind you, it isn't cheap but it's still definitely cheaper than what the university halls charge. Went looking around, picked out a few candidates and arranged with the landlord for a suitable time to meet up. Turns out the Sikh community in Southampton are into the housing business. So far, I have seen two Sikh landlords who owns various houses around Southampton and rents them out to others, including students.

Well, long story short, finally decided on a house and signed a 1 year contract for it! When moving in? 1st of July this year..... only problem is our exams is a few days away from moving date... hurr.... really hope can settle down nicely during that time period. Sorry, no pictures of the new house at the moment. Still got tenants living in there la... privacy issues. Anyway, the house has 4 double bedrooms and a lounge, 2 bathrooms and a kitchen. Oh yeah, and it's double storied. How much is the rent you ask? Well... about 72 pounds a week. Told you it isn't cheap. Ah well, the house is rather nice anyway, so it should be worth it.

Well, that's it for today. Got Child Mental Health assessment tomorrow... so need to get some sleep. That assessment is wayyy overdue... and because of that it's god damn annoying. Even dare to say that have to take summer elective if cannot make the assessment.... Like it's our fault la... *grumble grumble* (I know I'm not making much sense)

Adult People Mental Health

2010-01-21T06:09:00.005+08:00

Hi there mateys! Sorry for the late post, had been extremely lazy over the last few days :P I will try to be less lazy next time.... (no guarantees though XD) So this week is my 2nd week in my Adult Mental Health (AMH) attachment. One more week to go till I finish my mental health attachment :D Well, I had a week of Child and Adolescent Mental Health attachment but I didn't really get to see much.... due to the freak snowy weather which had most of my sessions cancelled. So now, what to say about AMH attachment? I have to say the patients I get to see are very interesting. The prevalence of diseases I got to see from AMH is a lot different than the diseases I got to see in Older People Mental Health. For example, dementia is very common among the elderly mental patients while schizophrenia and depression is more common among the adult mental patients. Oh... speaking of schizophrenia... isn't that scary?

Nah, I assure you... schizo patients are actually more pleasant than I imagine, of course... if you don't count their bizzare delusions or hallucinations. I have never seen so far a schizo patient actually attacking a staff... and certainly none running around with straitjackets. They are all pretty nice and friendly. What's more their delusions or hallucinations count for pretty interesting stories. Once, had a patient who thinks that someone embedded a microchip in his tooth and is controlling his every movement and bodily functions. Another time, I had another patient who thinks that young girls are constantly asking him for sex. Haha, should have seen how agitated my female friend was when she was sitting across the patient.

Concerning mental health attachment as a whole, I kinda enjoyed. A major gripe I have however is the amount of projects we have to do during this attachment e.g. present ways on how to challenge stigma among general population, creating questionnaires concerning mental diseases etc. Yeah, should have seen how it was during group discussions. Those Brits are so verbal that I practically feel shut out at times. Woo boy... never have that kind of problem back in Malaysia. People are so quiet that you have to say something to get the ball rolling, especially during PBLs.... >.>

Well, that should be all for now. Next up is paediatrics! :P Will try to update more in the next few days. (But like I said, no guarantees :D)

Back to the Frigid Weather

2010-01-08T06:02:00.003+08:00

Well, well... whaddaya know? Before I know it, I'm already back in Southampton. 2 weeks pass by so quickly.... >.> The whole 2 weeks was packed with so much activities... I forget when was the last time I was this busy back in Malaysia. Basically went out with friends, went to see my grandma in Penang and went for reunion dinner with relatives during the New Year. Meh, thinking about it makes me miss Malaysia already D: Ah well, 6 more months to go till my next trip back home.

In other news, UK this week has been unforgiving, weather-wise that is. I'm sure some of you have read about it in the newspaper or heard about it in television. And let me tell you firsthand... it's freaking cold! I thought I was cold-resistant but I find myself lots of times diving under my blanket and downing hot drinks like crazy just to keep myself warm. UK radio stations have been calling this the coldest winter for the last 20 years. Imagine that... but that also means if I survive this winter, I should be able to survive forthcoming winters :D

Well snow.... it has its' pros and cons. As for pros, this is the first time I built a snowman and had a snowball fight. It's pretty fun... if you can stand the cold that is. For the cons, it's a terrible thing to be trapped outside in a snowstorm. Take it from me, I experienced it firsthand. I was walking to the hospital one morning to find out lectures been cancelled due to the snow. As I was heading back home, the snowstorm started... and there were no buses back to the halls. So yeah... was hiding myself in a supermarket for some time. Funny thing is... everything comes to a standstill when there's snow. Banks and post offices are closed and there's no teaching sessions in the hospital. Yup... free day... for two days now. Normally it would be a good thing. But it sucks when they didn't notify you that whatever's scheduled for the day has been cancelled... especially when the hospital's not nearby. Ah well... more snow pictures for you guys then!

As you can see (or can't see) there's a lot more snow this time around compared to the time before I went back to Malaysia

A real life snowman.... dressed to the brim :D There are also some other snowmans around... some with authentic carrot noses XD

Lastly... snowball fight anyone?

Well, that's all I got to say on my end. Till the next time then :D

New Year Post

2010-01-02T03:08:00.002+08:00

Ahha, looks like I had completely forsaken my blog during my holidays.... shame on me. Really sorry about that, I felt really lazy during the holidays... that and I was pretty busy hooking up with friends and relatives. Too bad there's too many things to be done within 2 weeks, *sigh* wish it was longer.... Anyway, this is the first post of the new year, so I intend to make this one a nice one :D Looking back on 2009, this year has had a lot of happenings, some good and some bad. But each has made me what I am today. Haha, for some reason I feeling a bit poetic today. Not that what I said was a poem.... Anywho, let's make a quick review of 2009, shall we?

So, let's see now... 2010 was the final year of my pre-clinical phase. That time I couldn't believe it had been 2 years since I had entered IMU. Why, I just remember when I first entered IMU for registration as if it just happened yesterday. It also marks the time of the dreaded EOS 5 and I still remember the pressure cooker moments in the library and at home. Yeah, everyone was so tense and stressed up that it wasn't funny :/ Thankfully, all that is behind me now. Yeah, certainly an experience that I would pass up on in the future.

2009 was also the year when I first lived abroad on my own. Leaving the bird's nest wasn't an easy transition, but I still thought I handled it pretty well with handling all the household chores and stuff (although my mom would beg to differ) But, that also means leaving friends and family behind.... oh how I miss them so. Yeah, year 2009 sure was quite a big milestone in my life and I won't be forgetting it anytime soon

Now, for 2010.... I'm gonna celebrate Chinese New Year for the first time without family. Damn, my relatives would be enjoying their Chinese gourmet dinner and I would be stuck eating my own cruddy cooking. My parents even said that they would take pictures of the food they eat and send them to me.... how cruel of them D: 2010 would also be the year where I would sit for the Intermediate Exam. Basically from what I heard it's a bit like EOS 5.... I certainly hope it isn't as stressful as EOS 5 as well.... all the stress wouldn't be good for my health XD

Ah well, that's all for a quick roundup on 2009 and 2010. Will post more in a few days time... hopefully. Till then!

Homebound

2009-12-20T20:59:00.002+08:00

Hahaha! Finally able to go home! Gonna catch a plane in about 10 hours from now.... ah man, so excited! Things are already packed and now just passing off the time till I catch a bus to the airport. Freed of all chores, substandard food and the cold... and back to lazing around, great homecooked food and warm weather. Too bad it only lasts 2 weeks though... and I'm not looking forward to the inevitable jetlag. So now, I wondering how's things back in Malaysia? Guess I'll go find out for myself :D Home, here I come!

Remember the last post when I said it snowed but nothing stuck on the floor? Scratch that... the next day itself after I posted, there was snow on the ground.... and quite a lot too. I woke up that morning feeling a little bit more colder than usual. I was groggy and not really paying attention to my surroundings... even when I went to the toilet to take a bath. Only after I bathed and feeling slightly more awakened, my mouth gaped open when I saw what was outside. S-N-O-W blanketing the whole ground... was feeling so excited that I almost forgot I had a lecture that day. Quickly changed into my clothes and went out... just to snap a few pictures. Picture taking session almost made me late for lectures. And I wasn't the only one, my friends were also almost late for the same reason XD Didn't snap that much because it would look a little silly snapping random things

Pretty ain't it? That's what I call a winter wonderland :D Almost makes me forget about the cold..... Oh dear, I think I'm becoming more like my friend who called me unromantic >.> Ah well, will update more once I get back to Malaysia. Cheerio!

Winter Season

2009-12-18T03:08:00.004+08:00

Alright! It's now officially more than two weeks into winter! One can tell by the decrease in temperature with every passing day. In fact, these few days the highest temperature didn't go above 5 degrees and the lowest temperature is always in the negatives. Ever since I come to Southampton, I always have to check the temperature before stepping out in order to decide what to wear the protect myself from the frigid weather, especially so during the night where the chilly wind likes to nip at your ankles. Back in Malaysia, I never ever check the temperature even though it is blazing hot... D:

Oh well, since winter has started, it can only mean one thing. Christmas is near! The Christmas spirit is reflected by the decors put up in the city center as well as some of the individual houses. Especially so at night when the city is lit up beautifully! For the past month now, there has been a German-themed fair held at the high street of the city. (German sausages anyone?) Aside from the delicacies, one can't help but admire how the stalls are lit up in the night.

Looks like pasar malam.... except with pretty lights and no sound of working generators... and it isn't as messy

Even have a merry-go-round! Didn't ride it though

Look at all the beautiful confectioneries. I can hear the girls slurping their salivas again XD

All the salt crystal lamps makes the stall quite pretty :D

Also, what comes with winter? Snow! And I thought Southampton wouldn't snow, just rain a lot. But damn, since winter started... it's already snowed twice! Still not cold enough for it to stick to the ground though... it'll quickly melt away once it touched the ground. But there's no mistake about it, it's really falling snow! Once I came back to my room to see that my head was partially covered with snow. Didn't have any pictures because my camera couldn't capture the snowflakes.

Anyway, a friend of mine urged me to stand underneath the snow, look up in the sky, close my eyes and just let the snow hit my face.... and it was during the night. Deciding to humor her, I tried it for a few minutes... before the cold got the better of me. When I told her that, she said I was unromantic... *cue blank expression* You girls ah.... think it's Winter Sonata izzit? Well, that's all for now... more tales to follow soon!

Older People's Mental Health

2009-12-15T05:55:00.003+08:00

Hum, already one week after the end of my O&G. And now, I'm thrust into a whole new different area, one which we never did learn much in IMU. That's right... the Mental Health attachment. I admit, I was a bit apprehensive about this attachment at first...

How would talking to a mental patient be like?

How the hell I'm gonna take a proper history?

What if I get attacked by one or something?

Haha yeah.... all sorts of crazy thoughts were running through my head. Ironic too... since part of the attachment is that we have to do a project concerning stigma surrounding mental health patients. Haven't started and I'm already stigmatizing them.... should be ashamed >.> The fact that we're supplied with personal alarms and a workshop on how to defend ourselves doesn't help either.

Anyway, the attachment is divided into 3 parts: older people mental health (OPMH), children and adolescents mental health services (CAMSH) and adult mental health (AMH). OPMH is for two weeks, CAMSH for a week and AMH for 3 weeks. And right now, I'm in the 2nd week of OPMH. Like I was saying, I was worried earlier on how to take a history from a mental health patient... and I was partly right. 80% of the time I was having small chats with the patient, partly because old people like to talk I guess... and they tend to repeat what they say quite a number of times. Only 20% of the time I can get some insight into their problem.

But even so, talking to them is actually pretty nice. The patient I talked to last week was a nice old lady. Like I said earlier, she likes to talk but I guess that's because she must be pretty lonely staying in a residential home. She is moderately demented in the sense that she is not really clear on where she is and the current time, but other than that she seem like a normal person. Even after I left, she gave me a kiss on the cheek and waved goodbye at me through the window. Awww.... XD such a sweet old lady! And that's my first kiss since I came to the UK! XD

Well another thing I noticed about this attachment is that I get to interview far less patients than in the surgical block. So far only managed to take history from 2 patients... and everyone else also have the same amount. Current attachment is based more on theoretical and presentation style, where you have to research on a subject and come up with a presentation for your tutors to see, and then they will grade you according to your knowledge and presentation. That isn't too bad, I guess. That... and I don't need to wake up so early in the morning anymore. Can wake up at 8 am and still have plenty of time to spare! Haha... so much more chillax than the surgical block. Ah well... that's all for now... will update you guys more next time :D

London Ahoy!

2009-12-07T05:13:00.002+08:00

As promised, this blog post is gonna talk about my not-so-recent trip to London. So last Saturday me, Alex, Yee Xuen, Jacqueline and Asha went on to invade the streets of London! Yeah, we wanted to do some Christmas shopping there. :P It was just a day trip at that since we didn't want to squander money on accommodation. That is why we took an early morning bus ride to Victoria Coach Station. Even on the weekend, I had to drag myself out of bed at 6 in the morning.... huh... Oh well, if you want to travel, must sacrifice a bit. The bus ride took 2 hours to reach our stop anyway so we are able to catch up on our sleep in the bus :D First impression of London? Way much more busy than Southampton and way more crowded. Personally, I think London looks gloomier than Southampton although there are much more things to do there XD

At the train station above the underground train network

Ish, go toilet also have to pay. Quite expensive and it's the only toilet nearby D:

There's loads of taxis here. And all have them have the unique shape distinguishing them from other cars.... although I actually thought they would be red in color, but I guess that only apply to buses XD

Descending down towards the underground train network. Long, long flights of escalators...

Since I am tired of calling this the underground train network, I'm gonna call it the Tube. That's what every local call them anyway. It's kinda like LRT except underground... and there's loads of them. If you miss one, there's gonna be another one coming in 2-3 minutes time. We used this the whole day to get around London 8D

So first stop, Picadilly Circus! First thing that greeted us when we first came out of the underground station was a rather old but nice looking monument and busy streets packed with people. Ah, the hustle and bustle of London.... After that, we decided to take a visit to Carnaby Street before heading for Oxford street.

Large fountain monument sitting at a corner of Piccadilly Circus. The monument is supposed to be over 100 years old and is called the Shaftesbury Monument Memorial Fountain

See the busy streets of London filled with the signature red buses! For some reason there are lots of construction work going on in London and lots of fences are being put up. Maybe it's because of the upcoming Olympic games.

Man, these pastries are calling out for me to devour them. :3 The girls had a hard time restraining themselves from staring at the pastries for a long time. Haha... I don't blame them. It does look mouthwatering, doesn't it?

Carnaby Street... looking very pretty with all the various floats :D

Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street! And it does not disappoint, with loads of retail stalls, which some not even seen in Malaysia :D

And it has loads of souvenir stores as well. Most of them sell joke T-shirts such as the one in the picture. There are many more shirts though, but can't fit them all or otherwise the store owner might see us :/

Posing outside one of the stalls trying out the various sunglasses. I have to say, Asha looks pretty swanky here :D

After some time, our hunger pangs wouldn't leave us alone... so we took a snack at Papa Beard, the cream pastry shop.

After exploring Oxford St. for a while, we got quite hungry. So, we went on to Bayswater to try the famous Chinese cooking there, especially the roasted duck. I have to say, they have the most succulent and tender roasted duck I have EVER tasted. Damn, I wish I can go there everyday to eat. Even my mouth watering thinking about it now.

Gold Mine, the Chinese restaurant where we ate the best duck rice we ever had :D

Now, feast your eyes! I know it doesn't look thaaat impressive, but trust me, once you put them in your mouth, there's no turning back XD

Sweet sour fish... although it is nice, it is overshadowed by the roasted duck. Haha, too bad.... try again next time.

After that, he headed to the Westfield London shopping center. It is said to be the largest indoor shopping center in Europe. But from what I see, it can't hold a candle to what we have back home 8D Ah, talking about it makes me miss Mid Valley and Sunway Pyramid :/ But even so, there's quite a number of retail outlets in there.

What the shopping center looks like outside

Surprisingly, found a authentic Malaysian restaurant here... lol, as soon as we found it, each and every one of us immediately take picture and took a look at the menu. Super expensive prices though...

Christmas tree shape made out of chocolates! I can imagine you girls thinking about it now! XD

What the shopping center looks like inside. Lots of glass so get plenty of sunlight

Winding down after a few hours of exploring the shopping center. Sitting down and gossiping about IMU and Adam Lambert XD

What the shopping center looks like outside when it's dark... pretty :D

After finishing up at Westfield, we revisited Oxford St. again. According to Alex, it's much more prettier at night. And boy, was it much, much prettier at night. It was bloody packed as well though. It's like three times the number of people in the morning. I collided with so many people I simply lost count >.> But after enjoying the sights, we headed off to Chinatown... after all, what trip would be complete without a trip to the local Chinatown :D Maybe my expectations were too high, but it is much smaller than I thought it would be. But well, we ended up eating duck rice again at night.... couldn't help it, we loved it so much XD. But we felt that the one we had in the afternoon was nicer... doesn't mean that it isn't nice though :D

The lights made Oxford St. so much more prettier at night.... brought out so many more people as well

Christmas Carol movie was being advertised along the whole street. Must have cost a ton... and that's Jacqueline's handphone in the corner XD

One of the trademarks of London... the red telephone booth! Imagine Clark Kent running into one of these :D

The main entrance of Chinatown. You see it... and you definitely know you're at Chinatown. If you can't find it, just follow the Asians. If there's more of them, you're getting closer 8D

Had a nice dinner but after that luck wasn't with us. It started raining and it wasn't just the regular drizzle... so we ended up walking around. Couldn't take much pictures though because of the rain. But, we did stumble upon Leichester Square while wandering around. Apparently, they have a winter fair each year... and it wasn't like those fairs in Malaysia. It was like a mini Genting Highlands basically... they even have the ride with the chairs where they swing you around in a circle at high speed :D If only it was not raining.... D:

See... told you it's a proper fair... with all the bling bling rides and stalls. Saw a stall that offered a Sony PSP as a prize.... was pretty tempted to try XD

This ride looked even scarier than Solero Shot in Genting. Basically they swing you around in the air at high speed with you sitting in a small ride at the end of the arm. You can hear the people riding it screaming their lungs out.

A snapshot in the rain... posing with umbrellas

Finally, we made our way back to Victoria Coach station... with our bus scheduled to leave at 9.30 pm. The shops were about to close anyway, so no more reason for us to stay any longer. We were dead tired but had lots of fun and great food (duck rice... duck rice... duck rice!)

Last picture of the post... Victoria Coach Station at night. Merry Christmas indeed!

Well, that's all from me for now... till next time then!

30th Post! Winter Season is here!

2009-12-04T05:54:00.003+08:00

Ah, the 30th post in my blog and what a way to remember it by being the first post of the winter season. (Disregard the last post even though it showed 1st of December, even though I clearly remembered that it was still 30th of November when I posted it) Winter barged in like a madman, making it's presence known throughout of UK, even here in the coastal city of Southampton. On the early hours of the morning of that day, the temperature has, for the first time since I came here, dropped beyond the freezing point. Overnight and for the first few hours I was awake, the temperature plummeted to a mere -2 degrees. Yes, I literally dreaded getting up from under my underneath my blanket that day. Chilly winds and below freezing point temperature would make anyone just stay in bed and forget about work/studies.... ah well.

Upon walking outside, there's lots of frost on the ground... quite a lot of it too. Covering the grass, cars and pavement... it's everywhere! No, not snow... but frost. And yes, it's different. Frost forms on the ground and doesn't fall from the sky. Had to see some people scrape the frost of their cars... must be hard work. Even the car of my friend who drives me to Portsmouth everyday has frost covering the whole side window and top of the car >.<

Well, some part of me was pretty excited that I managed to see frost form overnight for the first time. But the other part is dreading the cold that I will have to endure for the next 3 months. And the first day itself was terrible, marked by chilly winds that seep through your sweater... lucky that I already bought a jacket. Ears were so cold that I thought they would just come off though XD

Anyway, in the clinic my consultant told me that pretty soon hoar frost would be coming. Never heard of that term before, I asked him what that is. Well according to him, hoar frost are like crystals of ice that forms on trees and grass. Kinda like this...

Pretty cool eh? Would make a nice picture for a scenery shot if it happens way over here. Who knows... it might actually snow over here :D Ah well, enough of me mulling over the winter season looming over me at the moment. Next up is gonna be a report on my London trip last Saturday. Till then... :)

Yet Again Another Fire Story!

2009-12-01T05:17:00.005+08:00

Hello there, dear readers. Yes once again, I am going to tell you of another of the misadventures in my flat involving fire alarms. Only this time, there was a real fire..... not just some burnt cooking. No no, the fire is small and controlled, not like those situation where the whole building catches on fire. So anyway, here I was doing... stuff... when once again the fire alarm rang, piercing the silence and shocking me to no end. And once again, I was annoyed at the number of fire alarms we have to go through recently. So, in my lack of foresight, I didn't change my shorts I usually wear in my room and just went out the building. Who knows that I would be standing outside for about half an hour, freezing my ass off at 5 degrees in the night and cold wind nipping at my bare feet. I was practically cursing my decision of not putting on some warmer pair of pants.

Before I stepped out of my room though, I did smell some smoke from the outside but like I said, I thought someone just left their food in the oven for too long or something. When I got out, I discovered they dragged out a smoldering and black pile of what I think was an electric blanket. From what I heard, the blanket caught on fire (probably due to some faulty wiring) and someone dragged it out of the room and threw it down the stairwell. There were ashes everywhere on the stairwell and there was quite a lot of smoke. I don't really see the wisdom of throwing a burning bedding down three flights of stairs but eh....

Anyway, soon after three fire trucks came along with their sirens blaring. All the firemen on board jumped out of the trucks, fully equipped from head to toe. Quite a sight to see.... so all the students immediately whipped out their handphones and took a picture XD Too bad I left my camera and phone in my room though :( It turned out that the occupant of the room wasn't even in when the fire started... so up till now, I still don't know who dragged it out of the room and threw burning items down the stairwell. Poor girl... she just wanted to keep warm and it almost cost her dear. Ah well, that convinced me not to buy an electric blanket... who knows that it might catch on fire when I'm sleeping *touch wood*

Well, that's it really. It was a bloody cold night and I almost lost all sensation in my legs after I finally got back to my room. But then again, I got a little hyped that there was a real fire this time... complete with fire trucks. (Oh, how bad of me to be happy at other people's misfortunes!) Tonight is going to be a cold night, heard it's going to reach -1 degrees. So, I better keep myself warm... Till, the next time then...

Wind & Rain... and Alarm Bells

2009-11-24T06:33:00.004+08:00

I suppose many of you have heard before of the weather in UK. How it's gloomy and depressing, and raining all the time. Most of the claims are true, because I experienced firsthand... and it's not pleasant D: For more than a week now, the southern coast of England has been plagued by ungodly strong winds. And when there's strong winds, rain will follow... whether I am in Southampton or Portsmouth. Some of you might have heard of the floods in London and certain other areas in the UK, luckily it didn't rain THAT much... yet. The temperature here is still bearable, hovering around 10 degrees or so. Gotta be thankful since two weeks ago it dropped to below five for the whole week... was afraid it was gonna stay like that for the rest of autumn.

Even if it's just 10 degrees, the strong winds here certainly makes it more colder than what it actually is. Damn you, wind chill factor! Because of this, start to wear gloves when go out liao, make my hand look like have acromegaly. And what makes things worse is when it's raining, the strong winds make you hesitate to open the umbrella. Who would want their umbrella turned inside out? Haven't happened to me yet, but has happened to a number of my friends several times already. Thankfully, the rain here is not really like back in Malaysia. So far, never seen it rain cats and dogs yet.

On the subject of alarms, it's back to one of my most hated topics: fire alarms. Yes, that alarm placed in everyone's room which is deafeningly loud. No, this time it's not because of fire drills or smoking/drunk students, but because of cooking mishaps. Sigh... here I though I live in one of the more quiet parts of the hall complex and end up my flat ends up with the most number of fire alarm triggers so far (I think...) Counting the latest one that happened just an hour ago, there's already about 5 'real' fire alarms so far. Damn, can't people learn not to burn their cooking so much? >.>

Now, on a more happier note.... I think lots of you have seen the results of my camwhoring session about a week ago on Facebook XD Yeah, due to the week long cold spell that I talked about earlier, I was compelled to buy a more thicker jacket that can last me through the winter. And tadaa, that's how I got my leather jacket. Mind you... it's not cheap for it set me back about 88 pounds. But since it's leather, it's quite a bargain actually :D When I first bought it, I loved it so much that I couldn't resist but force my poor hapless friends to snap pictures of me wearing it XD But now that the temperature had rose since then, I haven't really got the chance to use it :( Plus, the current rainy spell would spoil it anyway. Well, that's all for now... more updates next time.

O&G

2009-11-12T05:28:00.002+08:00

So what's there to say about O&G? Actually, quite a lot. But time is against me at the moment so I will just say out a few things. So firstly, my attachment's in Portsmouth, which is about 45 km to Southampton. Every day, have to hitch a ride with one of the locals to get there. Secondly, I have to wake up at 6.30 am every day to get to the hospital on time. Now I know some people in Seremban do this on a regular basis, but I tak biasa lah.... plus it's getting friggin cold here that I very lazy to get out of bed (almost reached freezing point at Monday morning) Also, every day, about 5 o' clock only can go back.... quite a packed schedule compared to surgery. Like one of the gynecologist told us on our first day, only crazy people do O&G XD. Now that is out of the way, I'm gonna list out the reasons on why I love my current attachment.

First and foremost, we get loads of teaching sessions over here. Much, much, much more than what we had in Surgery posting. Almost every day have like 3 hours of teaching sessions, and the consultants don't do it half-assedly. No siree they do it pretty well, teach us very clearly and patiently. I really appreciate them taking 3 hours of their time teaching students. :D Though some of the O&G consultants are a little weird, maybe perhaps working too much overtime? XD One keep making awkward statements and remarks, as well as weird questions. And another is so passionate about 'common sense' that if I get a pound for every time he says that phrase, I would be able to pay my medical school fees for a year! Ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea.

The hospital itself is very new, starting operations only from July (or was it June?) of this year. It looks very pretty from the outside, and you can gets lots of sunlight in the hospital due to the amount of glass they use XD (which is what we need when it gets too cold)

One of the newest picture I can find online

A complaint that I have though is that it is virtually impossible to get around the hospital without a security card. Every so often along a corridor, you get a door that can only be opened when you flash a security card to a nearby sensor. What makes things worse is that the temporary security cards that were promised to us has run out, available only from next week. We can't even access the damn teaching rooms and the storage lockers allocated to us without the damn security cards! D: Have to squat outside the doors till someone lets us in....

Another good thing is the interesting patients and the newborn babies you get to see here. Seeing all the newborn babies make you go 'Dawwww.... so cute!' One of the more interesting patients I had was a centenarian who came into the gynecological clinic yesterday. If you don't know what a centenarian is, it's someone who's a 100 years old. Yes... a century old! Other than a bit of a hearing difficulty, she's pretty healthy barring her gynecological problem. Wow, I can only wish I can be that healthy in my 70s. Anyway, another interesting thing is that in the UK, once someone reaches 100 years old, they receive a signed telegram straight from the Queen on their birthday. I was lucky enough to get to see one of those since she bought it to clinic to show the consultant. :D The consultant say she's undoubtedly her most senior patient. Also, this morning a patient just gave birth in the corridor. Too bad I wasn't there to see that happen as it was just a few corridors away from my location at that particular time. But, it does say that babies have no sense of time XD

So yeah, that's all for now. I gotta wake up super early tomorrow (about 5.30 am) to catch a train to a health center. It's quite some distance away from Portsmouth and that's the only way I can get there by 8.30 am. Man, I wish I have my car again :(. I'm supposed to shadow a community midwife around for the day... so yeah. Anyway, will update you folks on more issues next time. Cheerio!

Misadventures in Notts

2009-11-05T01:03:00.006+08:00

Greetings and salutations, dear visitors. Today I shall impart upon you the story of my misadventures in Nottingham. *ends fancy talk* Yeah, so I went to the Nottingham Games last weekend and it was a blast, though I didn't really see much of the sporting events per se. Anyway, for you guys back in Malaysia who doesn't know what the Nottingham Games are, it's an annual sporting event where Malaysian university students represent their UK university in their bid for glory! So basically, it's like UK SUKMA XD Anyway and it's dubbed the largest Malaysian student gathering overseas. It's pretty much recognized by the Malaysian government and sponsored by many companies. Funny thing is that there's lots of imports, just like what EPL has nowadays XD

So, enough advertising. But it does surprise me on the people you can meet here. I even managed to meet my long lost primary school friend :D That's a real surprise! So, me, Yee Xuen, Jacqueline, Alex and Delia are the IMU Nottingham representatives (not in the games, mind you!) To get to Nottingham, we had to take a bus from the Highfield Interchange at about 2 am. Yes, 2 freaking AM! That and the whole return trip costs 28 pounds. Ouch.... Well anyway, it took about 3 hours + to reach Nottingham and it's damn bloody cold there so early in the morning. My legs were practically freezing there =.= Unable to stand the cold, we contacted one of the IMU-ians in Nottingham who came in their ~~shining horse~~ car to come and save us. Boy, were we glad that he came!

So, for that morning, we camped out at one of the M206-ian's house and it ended up to be one big reunion for the M206 batch. Oh, Sook Yeen dropped a surprise visit too! Apparently, Leichester is only 40 minutes away from Nottingham. Wow... so near... So, anyway, tired as we are staying up till 2 am in the morning, we tried to sleep the morning away, but I guess we got overexcited XD

Being surrounded by girls is kinda fun :D

Teck Jian, one of the house tenants. I'm sure lots of you know him XD

About lunchtime, we started to feel real hungry since we were sustaining on only roughly 2 hours of sleep. And guess what? They have a Malaysian food fair as well. Yippee! Long time no eat Malaysian food :D The Nottingham campus grounds is HUGE! So many more times bigger than Southampton. And I thought Southampton is pretty big already D: Even the IMU-ians there sometimes don't know where some things are located XD They even have a large lake in the middle! Feel a bit jealous but ah well...

Nice park with autumn leaves in the background. You know it's autumn when a gentle breeze blows and tons of autumn leaves fall around you. lol Like scene of drama

Posing for pic with our ~~knight in shining armor~~ driver who saved us this morning

Another completely different area. The park is massive... I shit you not.

One of their halls of residences overlooking the park.

I don't know what this tall tower is... but it reminds me of a cigarette butt XD

A unique tree we found in the university grounds. Quite a nice bark there!

The university library... I think. I prefer our university library, it looks more stylish :D

Well the way the Malaysian food was sold was using the coupon system like those during primary or secondary school :D When we entered the lunch room, immediately those familiar Malaysian food smell invaded our nostrils... wah, really miss those man. Seeing all the Malaysians sitting in one area and all the familiar food XD Anyway the food itself is not that tasty, cold and expensive. But hey, I'm not complaining! It's still Malaysian food!

Buying the coupon from the counter. Each of us got coupons worth up to 5 pounds

Posing with our coupons. Guess we're happy to get to eat food XD

In case you can't see, it's from bottom left clockwise teh tarik, char kueh teow, nasi lemak, satay, cendol and roti canai. Not as impressive as the nasi kandar in somebody's blog *ahem*

The full range of people who eaten there that day

So, anyway after wandering around the campus spectating some of the sporting events that day, we decided to go to the city. After all, it would be a crime to come to Nottingham and not visit the Nottingham Castle with Robin Hood. :D The castle needed an entrance fee so we ended up not entering it, but we still had some fun outside the castle. After that, we went off to see the high streets around Nottingham city. (that means shoplots for you Malaysians)

Posing with Robin Hood statue. The thief who rob the rich and give the poor!

The Nottingham castle grounds. Home to Sheriff of Nottingham, Robin Hood's enemy

Supposedly the oldest pub in England. Not sure true or not... can't verify

Nottingham city high street. It has that nice old English architecture which I like :D

It looks even better during sunset XD

So after what seemed like a whole day of walking around, (my feet hurts like hell... how to accompany girl go shopping? D:) we went off to have dinner suggested by one of the Nottingham IMU-ians. It was a Chinese restaurant specializing in Scezhuan style, you know... the spicy, oily, sour taste. Anyway, that restaurant served real China Scezhuan style... not like the one you know back in Malaysia. It is spicy! Well, I don't really like Scezhuan food but eh, it's still food. Sorry, was too hungry eating forgot to take pictures during dinner XD

Anyway, after dinner it was almost time for the bus to pick us up from the campus. So we went back after wishing our friends good bye, hoping that we would see them again and inviting them to come to Southampton as well. It was a fun trip altogether, hope we get to visit other places in UK in the future :D Well, that's all for now. More stories next time!

P.S: This week is my last week in Surgery posting, next week onwards is O&G in Portsmouth. Well... wish me luck!

Random Things to Ramble About...

2009-10-30T06:47:00.004+08:00

Hello there, boys and girls. Today, I don't really have a specific topic in mind, or rather too many small things to talk about, so I lump them all together. Okay, so first topic in mind. This week has been a rather free a.k.a unproductive week. Only two out of the five days this week I was actually at the wards. Now you might be thinking that Kay Por's just a lazy ass who skipped his ward rounds or something. Well, I may be lazy but then it's mainly because my consultants whom I'm attached to are on leave for the whole week.

Reason for the leave? Something about their children's term time school stuff or something like that. Actually, more than half of the hospital's consultants are on leave if I'm not mistaken. That's why even the junior doctors would be too busy to teach us. Like one of the registrars told my friend, it's gonna be a hell of workload for them this week. I tell you, the doctors here are way more free than back in Malaysia. Mmm... I wouldn't mind the work conditions here :D

Second topic that comes to mind... the shortening daylight over in UK. Winter is approaching and the daylight times are becoming shorter and shorter. Boy, it can look like 9 pm in Malaysia when it's just 4.30 pm in Southampton. I think soon I'm gonna wake up in the dark, go to hospital, then come back also dark time. Haha, no sunlight in my life. Quite depressing if you think about it.

Interestingly enough, I felt the effect of the famous Daylight Saving Time (DST) in UK last Sunday. It's a time when the clock is turned forward one hour so that you can get more daylight. Yeah, so on last Sunday at after 1.59 am, it reverted back to 1 am. Then when one specific day in March comes along after 12.59 am, it will fast forward one hour to 2 am to balance back the time. Pretty cool, eh? Sunday I got one hour extra to sleep XD But then, imagine you wake up and you see your alarm clock and watch is different one hour compared to your handphone and laptop. (Handphone and laptop can self-adjust DST) Made me pretty muddled up about the time for half the day, constantly asking everyone what's the time.

Third topic for the day, I got myself a haircut. And this means my first haircut overseas (yeah!). All though it costs a bomb (boo!). The haircut set me back about 13.50 pounds, even with student discount D: Well it was a pretty decent haircut though and the hairstylist did a good job washing my hair. That and he took my coat off for me when I arrived and put them on for me when I was about to leave, just like a fancy restaurant service XD Interestingly enough, the hairstylist is from Malaysia as well. Too bad no fellow Malaysian discount though lol

Well have run out of things to say. Looks like I don't have that much things to say after all. Maybe next time then :D

BBQ Grill

2009-10-23T00:55:00.003+08:00

Last week, the Year 4 IMU students in Southampton decided to throw a BBQ party at their house. And they invited every IMU student there, meaning us + Year 5 as well, with a few other Malaysian medical students. Boy, I was looking forward to it. After all, it's been a while since I got to eat some nice BBQ food in the open. Altogether it was quite a big party, with about 30 or so people altogether, joining and going at different times. It was a nice way to get to know all the Malaysian students, and helps foster inter-batch relations :D

It might be me, but I felt the food was pretty damn good. Maybe I was just missing the food back home too much XD There were spaghetti, salad, grilled chicken and burger patties to name a few. Some of the students bought their own food along so it turned out to be quite a feast. Their neighbors were pretty nice as well coming along to meet and greet us, even though we are polluting the environment with the amount of smoke we're producing. Their house has a huge garden, so we were all able to fit in comfortably in their garden :D Some of their rooms are much bigger than mine as well, and their monthly rent price comes up cheaper than mine. Damn, next year must find a nice house. Anyway, there isn't much pictures of me since I forgotten to bring my camera. (How could I? D:) First to introduce some of our seniors:

First up, this is Alvin. I don't know what he posing as.

This is Kin Tong. Apparently, he is the technician/electrician of Year 4 students.

The one on the left is Emily and the one on the right.... is err... shit I forgot her name D: See the amount of smoke we're producing? Polluting the environment XD

The one in grey shirt is Diana Patrick. Well that's all the seniors that I have photos of. There's more, but like I said, didn't bring camera :(

During the BBQ, some of us were trying to light a fire and trying to keep ourselves warm.

Some of us were practicing photography skills and posing skills

While others were playing with a ball

And if you can't stand the cold, you can always go in and settle for a game of mini-Monopoly! Seriously, the bank notes were so small that it only as big as two finger size.

Well, that's it for now. Sorry for the lack of pictures. I will remember to bring my camera next time :D

Of Those Annoying Fire Drills

2009-10-15T06:24:00.006+08:00

So there I was last night, sleeping like a log in my comfy bed when I got woken up suddenly by the an annoyingly loud sound. Groggy and half-asleep as I was, my hands instinctively went for the alarm clock, thinking it was the source of the sound. When the sound continued and my pounding of the alarm clock failed to make the sound disappear, I began to wonder why the hell the volume of my alarm clock is amplified by a factor of 100. Only then, it dawned upon me, it was the damn fire alarm. Still not fully awake, I stared at blank space for about 10 seconds or so before reaching for my coat which was hanging near the room entrance.

Taking a peek at my alarm clock, it was only about 5 am. Cursing whoever triggered the fire alarm, I wore my coat and stepped outside. Off I went to the designated meeting point in the case of a fire, which was the carpark behind the flat where I live in. Other tenants were also trickling out of their rooms, all of them having a zombified look with a hairstyle you would expect from people who just got out of bed. Any sleepiness I had in my body immediately evaporated as I felt the cold early morning wind biting at my feet and hands. Do note that I was only wearing a single coat over my jammies. Most of the others were also wearing jammies, some with a coat and some with not. Some were also bathrobes while a select few were half-naked. Yes, you heard me.... HALF-NAKED. How the hell they managed to stand the chilling wind is beyond me.

As the crowd of people became bigger and bigger, I saw my fellow IMU-ians huddled together at one corner. And so, what else would I do other than join them and speculate with them over what would have triggered the alarm. After about 10 minutes, the warden in charge made an announcement:

'This is just a fire drill. Unfortunately, we are required to do this at least once a year.'

And already I hear people grumbling and muttering their annoyances. Hell, I feel the same as them. Why wouldn't I be? Here I was, shivering my ass off for 10 minutes in the cold wind with nothing on but my jammies and a relatively thin coat.

When I went back to my room, I found one of my flatmates hiding in the common toilet. Apparently, she was hiding from the noise of the alarm as well as the warden who was checking whether the building has been evacuated already or not. Damn, maybe I should have done the same. From that time I went back to my room, I couldn't sleep a wink. Classes were starting at 9.00am and it was only 5.40 am. As a result, that whole day I was feeling pretty tired with only 4 hours of sleep. =(

New Phone!

2009-10-12T05:57:00.006+08:00

Finally! After lounging around in Southampton in search of a nice yet reasonably priced mobile phone plan, I finally settled on one! Behold, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic that came absolutely free with my contract!

Okay, that's the glamorous picture.... now for the real life one :D

Front shot. The screen looks a bit reflective because I've already put on a screenguard

Back shot

Yes, as you can see in the back shot, the phone's from the mobile company '3'. Yes, that's the name company... 3. Went on an up and down journey before settling on this one =.= It all began when I first came to Southampton. The mobile phone operators didn't want to offer me a contract with me not having any bank account. And at that time, only O2 has a plan that didn't require any bank account or card. That is the Your Country plan that came with free international minutes depending on how much you top up. For a while, I was content with the plan since I can use the free minutes to call back home or something.

After a few weeks, I started to get the urge to register for a contract since my bank account was up and running and I wanted a new phone. And so off I went to compare prices between Vodafone, O2 and 3. At first, I wanted to go with O2 seeing as going with the same operator would be less of a hassle if I wanted to retain my number. But then, I noticed O2 had significantly higher contract prices than Vodafone or O2. Sure, they had quite a number of fills and add-ons but I didn't really need those.

The main hassle of switching operators is if you wanted to retain your number, which is the same in my case. To do that, you have to request some kind of code from them, called a PAC code. Then, you have to give this code to your new operator so that they can transfer your number from your old operator system to their own. All this will take a few working days as well. Well, I kinda pity the guy whom I ask the PAC code from. When he found out that I wanted to leave, he tried quite hard to make me stay and I refused since there's nothing much he can offer. But well yeah he tried hard, so hope this doesn't mean a cut in wages or something XD

Anyway, my next target was Vodafone since many people say their coverage is very good and their price plans are quite reasonable as well. Plus, they have an impressive range of phones. However, things did not go as planned. When I went to a Vodafone shop last week and said that I wanted to apply for a pay monthly contract, they ran a credit check on me. And then they said that since I just arrived in the UK and don't have enough of a credit history, they can't offer me a contract.

WHAT

THE

HELL?!

When I inquired further, they say they can call me back if my credit history is good enough to apply in the future. So I asked them how long would that take? They said at least a month. Well, I can't stand that long without a phone because my credit left with O2 was only less than a pound. And so, Vodafone was out of the question as well.

And so, I settled down with 3. With a contract of 25 pounds a month for 200 talk time minutes, unlimited text and unlimited internet, I would say it's quite a bargain. Another plus point is that 3 phones come equipped with Skype. And since I have an account with Skype that gives me free international calls back to Malaysia, that means I can call back home as well using my handphone for free! Normally I would need to pay for internet bills when using Skype, but since I get unlimited internet so eh... :D

Alright, almost reaching the end now. Let me finish up the post by posting a random picture of the day.

Guy in milk shake cup... convinced us to buy milk shake from his store XD

Dorm Life

2009-10-04T22:33:00.007+08:00

So, term time has been started for a week now, and it's quite an experience. I now have dorm mates, no longer have the whole corridor to myself :O Anyway, I have 2 Indians, one local African-American and a Caucasian. I did not have sleepless nights like which I have been taught to believe. Mostly, it's relatively quiet in the area where I live in. Maybe, it's because my flat is located at the farthest corner of the complex. It could be that or it could be that I sleep like a log XD. Either way, some of my friends wasn't as lucky as me. There was one whose kitchen is littered with beer bottles and another whose flat is next to a bar of some kind. And parties are a constant occasion there.

Anyway, that doesn't mean I don't have stories of my own. There was one night when I awoke to banging at my door. Not wanting to open the door, I just looked through the peephole. And there I saw a random guy whom I don't know knocking on my door. After a few minutes, the guy left and I returned to sleep later. Turns out one of my dorm mates was followed back to his room by a drunk friend of his. And that said drunk person had in his drunken state, thought that my room was his. Yeah, luckily there was no other incidences.

You see the difference of items in the kitchen between my last post and my current post? Yeah, it multiplied by a lot. And I haven't even opened the cupboards yet. Anyway, the Indians brought over quite a lot of spices to keep in the kitchen.

As you can see, the fridge is really packed to the very brim. I'm surprised it doesn't collapse under all that weight. Anyway, the freezer is not too bad, still has lots of space.

With regards to dorm life, no matter how bad you are at cooking, you will gain quite a few skills when you live by yourself. I very, very rarely cook when I was in Malaysia, but now I'm learning to cook quite a few number of dishes, even though if they're relatively simple dishes. And when you eat your own cooking, you always say they're tasty even if they aren't. XD But do learn a few cooking tips from your mom before you come over because it did prove valuable to me over here :D

Even concerning the subject of housekeeping, I find myself cleaning my room and ironing my laundry pretty regularly, even to my surprise. When I was back at home, I'm ashamed to say that I didn't even lift a finger for those matters. XD Yeah, I guess it's true that you suddenly become independent when you start living by yourself, outside the protection of your parents. I'm not saying I'm enjoying all these, but I gotta do what I gotta do. And here, I'm running out of things to mention at the moment. So, that's it for now!

New Room!

2009-09-25T04:09:00.003+08:00

Right, it's been a while since I last updated in this here blog. I didn't have that much of free time to really sit down and type out a blog post. The effort we have to put in our clinical years is many times more during preclinical years in IMU. I'm sure those in Seremban would agree, right? Anyway, here I am now finally putting aside some time for blog writing :D So, today's topic is about my new room! I just shifted from my old room to my current room last Saturday night. Reason I have to move? Because that room I lived in earlier was a pre-term accommodation and the contract ended. I have a new contract now for my current room and it's a term-time accommodation, which lasts for an academic year. Current room is 10-20 pounds per week cheaper than my old room. I will tell you the reason later. I would be lying if I say I had difficulty moving since my current room is just a few corridors away from my old room XD. It still took a few trips back and forth but I didn't have to pack my bags or anything.

Yeah, anyway let's just move on to see the new room:

Once again, start from the corridor. What I noticed was that the this corridor is slightly bigger than the old one. Don't know if it's just me... Anyway, I'm currently the only tenant here in this 6 roomed corridor :P

So, this is my room: Room 261. Old one was 274, so you see how such a short distance I shifted? XD Other friends weren't quite as lucky though.... one had to cross road to reach their new room.

Now, I have an L-shaped desk. I actually prefer this L-shaped desk because it gives me more room to maneuver when I use the corner.

And now the main improvement of my current room (at least for me)! It might not be easy to tell from the angle, but I've been upgraded to a queen sized bed! :D That's right, from a single bed to a queen size. I don't care if it takes up lots of space as it gives me room to roll around in my sleep XD

And also bigger closet! More space to store my clothes and various knick-knacks now :D As you can see also, I have a washbasin in my room. That's right... there's no toilet in my room. All the occupants in the corridor will have shared toilet facilities. That's why price is cheaper than room with toilet. Well, at least I don't have to clean toilet.

And here's the shared toilet. There's two in the corridor and both are pretty much mirror images of each other. Well, the shower space is bigger though. But now, I have to remember to lock the toilet door and my room whenever I go bath >.> Oh yeah, ignore the reflection at the shower door XD

Here's the kitchen, which is almost the same as my previous one. Anyway it's pretty amazing what you can salvage from what the previous tenants shift behind when they move out. Managed to grab a toaster, water filter and some food stuff XD

Here's the dining table, also located in the kitchen. For now, I sit alone eating here on the table.... and it can get pretty lonely... Anyway, the Things To Do poster pasted on the wall is pretty amusing. It's just too bad I couldn't get a decent shot of all the pictures.

And talking about salvaging, this rice cooker is evil. For some time, I was regretting not bringing a rice cooker here, since it's hard to get one over here. Anyway, imagine my joy when I found a rice cooker. A very useful thing that I can salvage, solving my rice shortage problem! And to my dismay..... the power cord is missing.... can't make it work.

Alright, that's all folks. Till next time... and do keep in touch.

About the City

2009-09-13T05:05:00.004+08:00

Once again, I will be here to give you a quick tour around Southampton! This time, it will feature more on the city center where most of the goodies are. Anyway, the City Center itself is a pretty small place. Even for a city, it's only about the same size as Bukit Jalil. The place also lacks cars which is pretty much found in large numbers in typical cities. So, what then does a small city center has to offer. Admittedly, nothing much... but it does have the essentials for students. First, we have....

Asda! Basically, Asda is like Carrefore or Giant of UK. It has all the necessary household items for a reduced price. Every one of us had to drag large amounts of plastic bags filled to the brim with items the first time we came to Asda XD Ah, how painful my arm was carrying all those heavy bags :(

Next on the list we have West Quay. West Quay is the only major shopping complex around town. No, the glass building is not the complex but just a bridge connecting the two buildings of the complex together.

Having said that, West Quay is still pretty much smaller in size when compared to the likes of Mid Valley or 1U. It has only three floors and the third floor is just a food court. But since it's the only one within travelling distance, I can't complain. Anyway, there are still lots of people in West Quay, comparable to the crowd back in Malaysia.

The building behind me is the Southampton Civic Centre, home of the Southampton City Council. This building is arguably the center of the city center itself. One neat feature of the building is that it has a bell that strikes every 15 minutes to tell the time. And the manner of which it strikes is similar to those old style bell ringing you used to hear in those old English schools in Malaysia.

And what trip of a port city would be complete without a visit to the port itself? The port itself has many car carriers, exporting or importing cars from or to other places in the world. It is also a stopping point for many cruise liners.

And here are 3 pictures out of 5 cruise liners that were docked at the port at the time of my visit. The liners were extremely huge up close since it is an international cruise liner. Anyway, when this picture was taken, I was on a short tour around the port on a tugboat (I think...)

And for today's weather forecast, cloudy with a chance of ~~meatballs~~ rain. That's all folks. See you again next time!

Slice of Life in Soton U

2009-09-07T06:05:00.004+08:00

For all who didn't know, Soton is just a pet name or short form of Southampton. Anyway yeah, enough talking about my room. I am about to shift room in 2 weeks time anyway. *sigh* No more ensuite facilities... oh well. Anyway yeah, about the university, it's big! The campuses are scattered across Southampton itself and the halls of residences in between are also under the university. There are three main campus: the Highfield campus, the Avenue campus and the Boldrewood campus. I guess Southampton General Hospital itself is a campus somewhat, but it's still mainly a hospital.

Anyway, Highfield campus is where all the main administrative offices and most of the courses take place while Avenue campus is where the School of Humanities is. Boldrewood is under the midst of deconstruction. However, there is sill some offices in the campus but they will soon be moving out. Anyway, this campus is where the School of Health Sciences is, including the School of Medicine for the pre-clinical years. The School of Medicine for the clinical years is located at the hospital itself.

Why hello there. Let me give you a guided tour of the university grounds. In this post, I'll be mainly talking about the halls of residences and the Highfield campus though.

First, let me introduce the Soton group :D Clockwise, there's Delia, Zalikha, Harveen, Jacqueline, Yee Xuan, me, Sal and Alex. The only one missing in the picture is Asha (no, not Asha Gill) who's taking the picture.

There's not much cars here in the university area. There's more in the city center but still much less than back in Malaysia. Another thing is the drivers here are all very patient, willing to wait to let you walk across the road and not cutting other people at the road.

Unlike London, Southampton has the traditional charm of nice brick houses with chimneys :D

Oh, and did I mention Southampton is full of greens?

Lots of them? With nice fresh green trees and grass :D

As well as pretty flowers to match XD

Now, a quick visit back to the halls. This is Roll Court, where I stay. Yeah, forgot to mention there's quite a lot of people who cycle here. Not as much as China but still more than Malaysia. Maybe I'll take up cycling when I have the time.

And this is the interior part of Roll Court. Oooh... shiny!

This is the Student Union's building located in the Highfield Campus area. It's like the SRC of IMU, except much bigger.

This is Highfield Interchange. Many of the buses in Southampton stop by here. Consider it KL Sentral located in the university grounds itself. The University even has their own bus service called Unilink, connecting the various halls together, the hospital, the city center as well as some of the supermarkets nearby. Not bad... except that at the moment many of the buses only come hourly since term time hasn't officially started.

And this is Burgress Road, or more widely known among us as the 'Bank Road' since all the university branches of banks are located along this road, just side-by-side. You can't really see the banks with this picture since it's blocked by the cars and trees.

This is Hartley Library... the main library of the university. Looks impressive eh? There's also another public library near the university, within walking distance from where I live. In the general hospital, there's also a Health Sciences library where most of the medical books and journals are kept.

These row of shoplots are restaurants owned and run by the Student Union. There are shops that sell hot food as well as coffee shops and bars. And since it's run by the Student Union, there's extra discount for students :D

And this is the scene in the lecture theatre for registration day of Year 3 medical students. So many Caucasians.... @.@ and there's only one other Malaysian who joined the programme from Year 1.

On another note, Occupational Health (that's the department that makes sure all health care professionals working in the hospital are fit to practice and don't spread diseases around) said that I had to get a Mantoux test because BCG might not protect me fully against TB. =.= It itches!

Alright, that's all for now. It's getting late again and I have classes tomorrow. Tune in next time!

Hello from Southampton!

2009-09-03T05:23:00.004+08:00

Hello there! A shoutout from my room in Southampton. Sorry I couldn't have got this blog updated sooner, but like many of you could tell from my occasional Facebook updates that I was busy with settling in the UK. But let's save the troubles I faced for another day, shall we? Let's take a look at my room in the halls of residence! :D But first let's go through a quick overview on the halls at Southampton. The halls in Southampton are mainly divided into two complexes, namely Glen Eyre Complex and Wessex Lane Complex. Besides these two complexes, there are other halls scattered throughout Southampton. Currently, I'm staying at Roll Court of Chancellors' Courts at Glen Eyre.

There are a few kind of different rooms available in the halls and I'm currently staying in an ensuite room, where my room has my own toilet. However, a group of people still have to share a kitchen :D On first impression, the hall I'm living in is modern, clean and pretty comfy to boot. They have an electronic locking system for each hall and sensors that turn the lights on whenever it detects someone coming in. After a certain amount of time that the sensor does not detect anyone, it turns off the lights. Same said sensor system is also in my toilet. God knows how long I fumbled around for the light switch in the toilet before I found out that it's sensor-activated. -.- Anyway, here are a few pictures to illustrate my point.

This is the hallway leading to my room. In this corridor itself, there are doors leading to 5 other rooms and also a kitchen. The door at the end is the emergency exit.

And... here's my room! Room 274! Let's open up and see....

So this is the main part of my room. It's kinda messy but what could you expect from a student room? Anyway the room has no fan so I keep my window open for so much needed air ventilation.

And this is my wardrobe! Much smaller than the one back home but it serves it's purpose

My bed, which is also smaller than the one back home. The reason it doesn't have a duvet is because I'm delaying buying one till nearer to the winter.

The bathroom which I have to clean everynow and then. Bad thing is the floor of the bathroom doesn't have a drain. Can't clean much without one. Good news is that the floor is not tiled, so less I don't need to clean so often.

The shower in the bathroom. Thank god they supply hot water! Can't imagine going through winter without it =.=

And finally the kitchen! It's pretty well equiped and clean, I have to say. The kitchen has a fridge as well as a freezer, a microwave and an oven. But still, I couldn't help but miss the good variety of food back home. And it's just one week since I arrived here! Been eating bread so much ever since I got here. =.=

And finally, the fridge with the variety of ingredients from me as well as the other residents

That's all for now! It's getting late and I gotta hit the sack. Anyway, will try to post more pictures and my experiences here so far ASAP.

Au Revoir Malaysia...

2009-08-26T17:46:00.004+08:00

So, it's finally almost time.... Going to leave Malaysia tomorrow morning to another country to start on a new chapter of my life. Now that I realise I'm leaving tomorrow, I'm feeling pretty melancholic. These few days, I kept thinking...

'This will be my last wan tan mee for a while...'

'Today's the last day I can lie down on my comfy bed...'

'This is going to be the last gathering with friends I can attend for a while...'

'Last time I can eat mom's delicious cooking...'

'Last time...'

These kind of thoughts kept racing in my head these few days. And now, I'm thinking I'm pretty much all alone there. Gone are the times when I can laze around in the house, not doing much. Soon, I'll have responsibilities thrust up my rear end, like it or not.

Don't get me wrong, the prospect of starting a new life overseas is pretty exciting, but the fact that I'm living another 20 years of life behind also saddens me. After all, I still grew up in Malaysia. Thankfully, I am still able to come back during the holidays. Well, I just came back from a nice ice-cream parlor with my family and my siblings presented me with a nice farewell card, which managed to make me smile. Well, words are failing me at the moment and if I continue, all I'm gonna do is rant. So, I'll just leave it here and say goodbye to all my relatives and friends! See you soon once I get back! Be sure to check my blog often for updates from Southampton :D

District 9

2009-08-21T21:21:00.006+08:00

Yeah... gasp! Updates daily for two consecutive days? This cannot be! But yes, I just did. Anyway, enought about that. Today it's about a new subject I never touched before in this blog. Movie review... and from the title of my post, you would have know what movie I'll be reviewing now, yeah? Well, let me start by saying District 9 is an awesome movie though some of my friends would beg to differ. But to each his own, eh? So, now that you know my general thoughts on the movie, it's time to go a little in depth.

Now, I'll try to make this as spoiler-free as possible but I can't guarantee it's going to be totally spoiler-free. So, if you hate spoilers, you better stop reading now and just take my advice to go watch it if you still haven't done so. You still with me? Ok, so District 9 is a reference to District 6, a former residential area in South Africa. It was declared a 'whites only' area by the apartheid government in the 60s and the population there was forcibly relocated. Similiarly in the movie, a group of malnourished and leaderless aliens were discovered in an alien ship which was floating on top of Johannesburg, South Africa. These aliens were referred to as 'prawns', a somewhat degratory term. These aliens were housed in a government camp called District 9 and in the beginning of the movie, they were being forcibly evicted from the area.

So, this is the main setting of the story. First, let me say that this movie is unlike Transformers 2 or G.I. Joe with flashy explosions and cool fight scenes. Although there are gunfight scenes later in the movie, the charm of the movie does not lie there. In fact, it lies in the story and character development. After all, when's the last time you seen an alien movie where aliens did not try to take over the earth or come to Earth for a friendly chat? Anyway, the character development of the movie is the best I've seen in a while. The main character, Wikus van der Merwe, is just a normal man trying to earn an honest living. In the beginning of the movie, he was seen with plenty of personality flaws. But after all, who on earth doesn't? Anyway, what's important was that the character eventually grows on you. You can see how Wikus changes throughout the movie and you can't help but feel pity due to the circumstances he's in.

So, bottom line is if you like a good original story in your movie, then it's highly recommended that you watch it. And if you like flashy action-filled scenes in your movie, well you can still give this movie a go. Oh yeah, warning though, the movie can get a little graphic at times.

IMU Convocation Day '09

2009-08-20T20:41:00.005+08:00

Well, Wednesday was convocation day for IMU. For many, it would be a day where graduates are officially called doctors and it would also signal a time for them to venture out into the world for their own jobs. It would be a day where graudates are dressed up in beautiful gowns, hoods and mortarboards, the hallmark attire of a full-fledged graduate. It's a day all graduates hope to reach some day... to go up to a stage and collect the scroll they worked so hard to get. And yesterday, we were given a taste of where we might end up 3-4 years from now.

Yesterday, we finally manage to reap the fruits of our labor for 2.5 years. And unfortunately, we still have 3-4 years of hard work ahead of us. Yes, lots of my friends have graduated or started working and I'm still stuck halfway through my course. However, now I know whenever I feel like giving up, I can always look back and remember how nice those gowns with colourful hoods and mortarboards look and how I might be able to wear them someday XD. For now, all we got is just a black gown. But eh, at least it is better than nothing eh?

Tuesday was practice for convocation day. And IMU wanted things to be extra prim and proper on convo day. Why? Because our very own 84-year old former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir was going to attend that day for he was bestowed an honorary Doctor of Medicine award. So, naturally IMU wanted everything to go on well that day. For most of us though, (for me anyway) it was a day just to meet up with old friends and catch up with them right before we go off on our seperate ways, not knowing when we will meet again.

Irony strikes on convocation day for it was not human error that caused a hiccup in the event, but it was techincal errors in the form of two blackouts that disrupted the event. From what I heard though, it was not long and lasted for only five minutes. Excluding that, it was a pretty successful event overall. I had to admit though, it was my first time seeing Tun in the flesh and it left me slightly star-struck XD. So, I got in the same picture as Mahathir during the group photo shoot but judging from the number of people in the photo, I guess my face would look just like a small grain :/

Anyway, the auditorium where the event was being held was not big enough to support the number of parents, graduates and faculties. So, some of the graduates have to wait in another hall. Since we were the least important among the graduates, we naturally had to wait in that hall. Well, at least we received a live telecast on what's happening in the auditorium from that hall. Oh, and it gave us the freedom to camwhore among ourselves XD. And no, I don't have pictures of Tun. Don't want to get pinned down by his bodyguards D:

Tjun Hoe - The half guy/half girl XD

Mr Yap - Always fidgeting around whenever I put my hand on his shoulder. DON'T TOUCH ME!

Ren Ping - The supplier of most of my notes since Sem 1 XD

May Quan - One whom I always call 'Cousin' =D

Chia Lee - The refugee from Southampton heading to Australia D:

Tissy - The one who likes to ask me for mp3 files

Ying Jo - The former president of Crusaiders

Qian Hui - The 'mummy' of the group XD

Ignore the awkwardly placed ribbon near the tummy. =.= Initially I had problems figuring out how to put the gown on.

Dr Srikumar - One of our first pathology lecturers we came to know in IMU

Dr Alexius - The one who said that Osim slimming machines are a sham XD

Live telecast of what was happening in the auditorium

A group picture of a big portion of M107 who were there that day

Finally, me and my parents. So glad they came :D

The event ended about 12 noon and by that time we were hungry as hell. I didn't really had any breakfast anyway. Luckily, there was a nice buffet down in the canteen, courtesy of Sheraton Hotel. Not bad, I have to say. Tons of times better than normal canteen food when I was still there. So after lunch, we went to Mid Valley to catch a movie. After all, it was high time for the after-convocation party XD Half of us went to see G.I. Joe and the other half, me included, went instead to see The Proposal. Overall, it was quite a fun but physically draining day. Lastly, a message from us:

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, smell no evil, touch no evil and errr.... I don't know what's Ren Ping doing.

So How Does It Feel?

2009-08-14T01:20:00.002+08:00

Many a person has asked me this particular question:

'So how does it feel now that you're about to leave home to study overseas. Maybe you won't be seeing your family for a long time.'

Personally, I am not really feeling much different at the moment. Maybe it hasn't really sunk into me yet XD. I've heard lots of sob stories from friends saying they initially had a bad case of homesickness, even crying over the phone when calling their parents. Well, I wouldn't like that to happen to me, but I can't guarantee it won't happen either :D. Anyway, I'm pretty close to my family. So, I would expect to be struck down by a case of homesickness. But right now, I'm leaning a little towards being excited by the prospect of going abroad and having the freedom to manage my own life.

For now, I'm bought almost everything that I think I will need over in UK and have begun packing my luggages. But, my mom is actually even more anxious than me XD. Ah well, I guess all moms are like that, getting even more anxious than their sons or daughters even when it doesn't directly affect them. Kudos to my mom though, for every now and then, she will go and remind me and buy things that I could not even think of without her. The list just keeps on growing and growing.... wonder how heavy my luggage will be in the end XD

My mom is always worried that I can't survive overseas, my father kept forcing me to do things by myself now and my siblings are pretty indifferent, for now. My mom's worries are not baseless though, since I never do much housework anyway. But anyway, when things have to be done, I will do it. I can't depend on my parents all the time right? Like my friend used to say:

'We all have two modes. Whenever the parents are not around, we can do things by overselves. But when our parents are around, we automatically switch modes, becoming lazy.'

Hah, I think this is a pretty amusing yet true statement. On the subject of my siblings, they said they won't miss me much :(. My little sister told me once:

'What's there to miss? Everyday you hole up in your room and we hardly see you.'

....It kinda stings... I hope she is just joking about it.

Age Counts?

2009-08-08T18:16:00.003+08:00

Hello, guys and girls. Almost been two weeks since I last updated. Just came back from Penang a few days ago. Yes, like some people pointed out, I just went to a Penang trip just a few weeks ago. But this time I went because my relative, especially my grandma, wanted to see me one last time before I fly off to Southampton. So, for the past one week, there were quite a couple of dinners I attended. Not to mention all the praying and temple visits I've been doing there on the insistence of my grandma. (My wallet is practically filled with talismans and prayer paper now). Best thing was I received a lot of ang paus over there, filled with cash and scribbled with pretty inspirational chinese quotes. (Oh yes, I love the amount of money I get when going back to Penang) Worst thing was the internet connection over there. Connection was active at my grandma's house only 1-2 hours in the morning and dead the rest of the day =.=

Anyway, a post in Siew Kim's blog reminded me of a potential problem my relatives and sometimes, my friends like to point out. The issue isn't completely the same as hers, but in essence it's the same. As many of you know, I'm just 20 years old and already into my 3rd year of medical school. So, barring any exam failures, (touch wood, touch wood) I would be graduating at a pretty young age. Now, relatives have said before something I was a little apprehensive about myself.

Would patients come to see a young doctor?

And it doesn't help matters when I have a rather baby-ish face. I myself confess that I rather be treated by a more older doctor than a younger one. So, when no patients come to see a young doctor, how to start earning $$$? Well, my relatives say they would come and see me, but what's in the mind can be different from what's spoken. What can I do now? People have suggested that I grow a beard or mustache, but I'm not really a fan of facial hair. Well, I can only hope that my face start maturing within the next few years otherwise I might just lose out to other competitors.

Visa Get!

2009-07-26T20:38:00.005+08:00

Wooo... finally got my UK visa! And the feeling of relief washes over as I collected my passport from the visa application centre. Meh, the process of applying for visa is enough to give anyone a heart attack, especially when they're unprepared. And what do I have to show for all the hard work? Just some kind of sticker with a few chops, my name and a few other details. Pretty amazing how a small thing like that can mean the difference between deportation or legal entry into UK.

For those who are going UK soon and haven't applied yet (why haven't you?), I suggest you do it ASAP. The longer you delay, the longer it might take to process later due to the fact that it's approaching peak period soon. August is the month where A level results are released and the visa application office is swarmed by applicants trying to get into UK. And for those who are going early next year, I suggest you start your research on how to apply for a UK visa early. Seriously, it can be a pretty taxing process.

To help along those who haven't applied, read up on these: How to apply, Quick guide for students and the website for the UK visa application centre in Malaysia. It also helps to read the immigration policy for students. It's a handful, right? But, better to read up than agonizing over it when your visa application gets rejected. So, all in all, you would generally need:-

1) Printed completed online application form. (All students must apply online for their visa application. Basically, you just fill the visa application form online and print it out. Remember you're applying under Point Based System (PBS) Tier 4 General Student category!)

2) PBS Appendix 8 General Student Self-Assessment Form. (Downloadable here)

3) Student survey form (Downloadable here under Tier 4)

4) Current passport and any old passports you may have kept (Also, make a copy of the passport page which contains your details.)

5) A passport size photo (Note that the requirements for their passport photo is different from our passport photo. Read up on it here)

6) Visa letter from your university (Very, very important. After all, it's worth 30 out of 40 points required for your visa application. Make sure to check all required details are there. The required details can be found in the immigration policy)

7) Supporting documents for visa letter (In order to qualify for the 30 points, this is a must. Basically what the visa letter states that the university has used to assess you, you must bring. Usually, it's just the result slips from EOS 2, 3 & 5 in addition to your IELTS/MUET results)

8) Financial evidence to cover your expenses in the UK (The amount needed to be shown is your tuition fees for one year + 7,200 GBP if you're living in the Inner London Boroughs or 5,400 GBP anyplace else in the UK. However, the more money you can show them, the better. The financial evidence shown can be in the form of bank statements, fixed deposit or savings account book. It also helps if you're able to get a letter from the bank giving an opinion that your parents are able to support you through your course of study in the UK.)

9) A photocopy of every document you're submitting with the exception of the first three which are forms. (It's advisable to keep a photocopy for yourself as well because the visa application centre will be taking your original documents and a copy of your documents for the duration of the application process right up to the time where your passport is ready for collection.)

10) A list of all the documents you're submitting. (Although it's not stated, this list is needed in order to apply. You will need two copies, one for the centre. It must state your name, date of application and also must have your signature.)

11) Visa application fees (Note that payment by cash is not allowed. God knows why. Only payment by bank draft is accepted. Online fund transfer and payment at any local Alliance Bank branches are also accepted. The application fees may fluctuate depending on the exchange rate.)

That's basically what you will need for your UK visa application. I might have missed a thing or two, so just to be sure, read up on the links I've given earlier. Actually, the letter of good conduct and a health screening is not necessary for the application. Anyway, the UK visa application centre is located at the 19th floor of Wisma MCA at Jalan Ampang. It's just within walking distance from Suria KLCC. So, I would suggest people to take the LRT to Suria KLCC and just walk there. Oh, and the centre is located next to the US visa application centre.

Anyway, security at the centre is very strict, moreso than any government buildings I've been to XD. It's open between 8 am to 3 pm and passport collection is between 10 am to 3 pm. It's highly advised you schedule an appointment online. Those who schedule an appoinment are given priority. Heck, in my case, I scheduled my appointment at 1 pm and arrived at the centre at 11 am due to unforseen circumstances. And even then I was given service in a matter of minutes! Oh, and don't leave immediately after you submitted your documents. You still need to have fingerprints of all your 10 digits taken and a photograph taken to consider your application complete. That's all for now. If there's any question, just contact me and I'll be happy to help XD

Of Misconceptions and Annoyances

2009-07-20T00:43:00.002+08:00

So, 8 days after my last post and I don't really have a good topic to blog about. Blame my reclusive life of holing up in my house and the fact that I've been busy preparing to spend the next phase of my life in the UK. So, there I was thinking what should I blog about next when my handphone rang. And who did it turn out to be other than one of my aunts. Apparently, one of her relatives had a health problem and asked me whether a certain herb is good for her. Now, myself not being qualified to answer, (a politically correct replacement for the phrase 'I don't know') I just told her I can't help her with that particular question. Then, she said that phrase that I've been hearing a lot recently:

'But you're already a 3rd year medical student. Sure know the answer one already right?'

Therein lies the whole problem. True, I'm a 3rd year medical student and true, I do know more than the average joe. But that doesn't mean I can answer every medical question thrown at me! Heck, if I know all those answers, I would be acing those tests a month ago. What more if it has something to do with Chinese complimentary medicine, something which we never learn. Look, I always try to help as the best I can. But if I don't know something, means that I really don't know, ok? After all, it's worse to harm people by feeding them false info, right?

Yes, I am particularly annoyed at those aunties and uncles calling me over their medical problems, just because they doubt their own doctor's advice. And when you can't answer the questions, they try to make you feel dumb. Sometimes, I feel they just want to try my patience =.=

Another problem is those same aunties and uncles thinks that all doctors are rich people. Sometimes, they kinda sound like this:

'Oh you know ah, that doctor operate one time charge me RM 10k! Wah, doctors can earn so much money!'

The thing is they don't realise a lot of the money also goes to paying for the medication and hospital equipment. Now, I don't say that all doctors are poor. Of course, there are rich doctors earning a few hundred thousand dollars a year. But those kind of doctors are not very common. What's worse is that those aunties and uncles ask me for money even before I graduate. They even planned out which restaurant they gonna go to when I start working!

'Eh, you earn a lot of money next time la. How much you gonna give me? You know ah, next time I would want to eat Japanese buffet.'

Can't they wait for my first paycheck to come? When my first paycheck comes, I think I'm gonna be left with like only 10% of my salary >.>

Penang Trip: Part 3

2009-07-12T18:01:00.008+08:00

Hey there, ladies and gentlemen. First let me apologise for the late cover-up of the Penang trip. I had some problems with my visa application (which is real tedious and annoying process) and was down with the flu for a few days. (Don't worry folks, it's not the dreaded swine flu.... thankfully) But that's another story altogether right? So here I am to deliver the closing entry on my Penang Trip. Day 3.... was not very productive for reasons that will be stated later. First order of the day was breakfast, or brunch since it was already the middle of the day when we started eating. And where did we have it? Well, we had it at the famous Sister's Fried Kuey Teow stall at Macalister Road. Boy, did we had trouble finding that particular place the day before. Of course, what else did we order other than their famous Char Kuey Teow?

Yes, we were freaking glad we found the place... and it has unusual business times too

No, that's not salt or sugar on my fried kuew teow, but crab meat floss! Or so I'm told...

Oh yeah, we had a bowl of Har Mee to share out too

After breakfast, we headed out to the Peranakan Mansion. We parked in the general vicinity of where it is and decided to walk our way there. As we were halfway walking there, it started raining. It started out as a small drizzle, but when we got to the mansion, it rained cats and dogs. The person at the entrance said it is RM 10 per person for entry. I thought it was a little pricey but we're stuck in the rain... so what else can we do other than just pay the entry fee and just enjoy walking through the mansion? It was pretty nice though... there was a guided tour around the mansion and since we were stuck in the rain, we had loads of time to fool around in there.

The Western guest's dining room. Yes, they had a seperate dining room for Western guests, Chinese guests and for family members.

Me and Yu Gin 'playing' some old card game. Apparently, Yu Gin says he sees her grandma playing it before.

The dining hall for family members

Tjun Hoe and Dorothy trying to copy those Baba Nyonya sitting styles they see in pictures scattered around the mansion

Me fooling around with an old radio. Does it work? No... no it doesn't

Some interesting photo I found. An umbrella ghost was caught on camera

This bed is the bed located in the bridal chamber *cough cough*

The open air courtyard located in the building housing the ancestor altars. As you can see, it is raining heavily when the picture was taken.

The family ancestor altar. The building housing this is the only building in the mansion not bought over by the current owner of the mansion.

The second floor of the mansion

After the rain has died down a little, we went out again this time heading for the Kuan Yin Teng, or the Kuan Yin Temple. It is the one of the oldest Chinese temple in Penang, being built in the early 1800s. It also houses a gold Kuan Yin statue. Surprisingly, it main patron deity is not Kuan Yin, but Mar Chor Po, a goddess dedicated to rescuing seafarers from the perils at sea. It was the original primary deity because the original Chinese community at that time, being newcomers in a strange land, needed divine protection for their journey through the South China Sea. One thing I noted there that the temple was extremely busy, certainly much more lively than Kek Lok Si. That and I couldn't find the gold Kuan Yin statue untill an old man pointed it out for me. Boy, I couldn't recognise that gold Kuan Yin at that time.

After the visit to the temple, it was already getting late so we headed back to the hotel for a quick rest. Our next destination was Gurney Plaza. What for, you may ask. After all, there are many shopping malls in KL. But we went there for only one reason. To watch the newly released Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen! Yeah, we went to Penang to watch Transformers 2 XD Anyway, I'm sure at least 99% of you all must have seen Transformers 2 at least once now, so I'll just skip the reviews.

After the movie, it was already 9 pm, and we were dreadfully hungry. We couldn't think of anywhere to eat, so in the end, we headed back to End of the World again, hoping that it's still open by the time we got there. We reached there about 10 pm and as luck would have it, it's still open! Turns out their final kitchen order is at 10.30 pm. Yeah!

Had some kangkong belacan, squids, asam fish, prawns and baked crabs. The squids were so good we ordered another plate XD. The baked crabs were pretty meh though, the crabs we ordered the day before was much better.

ZOMG, Yu Gin smiling widely! A rare occurance indeed! Maybe because he finally is able to eat.

On to day 4, our final day in Penang! Basically, we didn't visit anywhere that day. Just ate brunch and boarded the plane back home. In the basement of the hotel, we suddenly realised that we still haven't taken any pictures with the car. We can't let that happen now, can we? :D

Ah yes, our faithful rented Proton Waja. We will miss you...

Us (mainly me) trying to look cool posing with the car XD

So, for brunch we had our meal at the Kitchen Wok restaurant specializing in nyonya cuisine. The food was a little oily for my liking and the price was a little steep, but it was pretty good food nonetheless.

Before....

....and after our ravenous appetite has been satisfied

Otak-otak. Generally, I don't really like otak-otak but this one was pretty good. A bit on the moist side though

Our first ice kacang experience in Pulau Pinang.

Also ordered a bowl of cendol. Of course, it wasn't as good as the one in Jalan Penang, but it was pretty decent nonetheless

So after the meal, we finally made our way back to the airport. Yeah, sweet 4 days in Penang. Would remember it for a long time...

Once again, Yu Gin has his stoned expression on his face. Maybe he's just sad that we're about to leave Penang

Tjun Hoe with a cheeky expression on his face. He got a slap (albeit a soft, playful one) from Ren Ping for having this expression XD

And last but not least, the only picture that has all of us in one photo. We were afraid to ask people to take pictures for us while on the streets. (Well, it was MY camera, after all)

Penang Trip: Part 2

2009-07-04T00:48:00.009+08:00

So, continuing where I left off, day 2 of our trip was our most productive day. We only left the hotel about 11 to 12 in the afternoon due to us sleeping in. This stands true for all the days we have been there. Such lazy people we are, eh? Anyway, we first went to Kek Lok Si Temple due to Ren Ping's insistence of wanting to try the asam laksa there. And so off we went with Yu Gin driving and me being the navigator. Those three behind, namely Ren Ping, Dorothy and Tjun Hoe were busy camwhoring behind the whole trip XD Dorothy and I didn't like asam laksa, so we just had some spring rolls.

Tjun Hoe, Ren Ping and Yu Gin each had a bowl of asam laksa

The uncles and aunts manning the asam laksa stall

So since we are already in Kek Lok Si Temple area, it makes sense that we go visit the temple, right? So off we went! On the way to the temple we came across a small pool. It was gated and inside the pool there were tortoises. Not one or two.... dozens of them! Ironically, it was called the Freedom Pond.

On the way up to Kek Lok Si Temple

The dozens of turtles at Freedom Pond, having an overpopulation problem

Well, what to say about the Kek Lok Si Temple? The altars and temples were pretty picturesque, but one complaint I had is that we had to pay to see certain stuffs, such as the Bronze Kuan Yin statue. Another thing is there was quite a number of beggars there. Not surprising as people tend to donate money when in temple. Show that you're good in front of the deities and stuff like that. Being the Scrooge we are, we ended up not spending or donating any money there. We still got some nice pictures though and we managed to pray at the altars. Hopefully, can make me have good luck XD

The garden at the temple

Quite a pretty archway we found, similar to those you find in old China mansions

One of the altars in the temple

This super-sized cat was found in a shop in the temple itself. If it were orange, it would be Garfield.

After the temple, we went on to Jalan Penang to find for a famous cendol shop that was, according to my mother, was there for decades already. Quite a impressive history for a modest stall by the roadside :) We initially had trouble finding the stall but a nice shop lady directed us there. The cendol sold there was pretty cheap compared to KL prices, and damn was it good. Now I see how it lasted so long. We liked it so much that we came here again the next day!

Each of us had a bowl of cendol each. Such a nice thing to eat/drink in a hot day

You know the food is good when many locals frequent the stall

Satisfied with the cooling cendol we had, we headed next to Fort Cornwallis. The fort is an old star-shaped fort and is the largest standing fort in Malaysia. It was originally built by Francis Light at 1786. We had to pay an entry fee of RM 3-5, (forgot exact price) but the fee was worth the whole thing. There was quite a number of interesting places to visit in the fort. And we definitely had some fun taking pictures there. XD Wonder how Kota A Famosa got more famous than this place. I remember being disappointed the first time I saw that place :/

The Francis Light statue located near the main entrance

The old munitions room

There was a sign at the main entrance saying 'Beware of the wild horse!' Wild horse, my ass!

The Seri Rambai cannon located at one corner of the fort. Legend says that if a woman put a ring of flowers at the barrel of the cannon and chant a few verses, they would get pregnant. Who wants to try?

No! No! Don't leave me! I didn't do anything wrong!

For dinner, we decided to go to the End of the World area as per friends' recommendations. On the way there, we stopped by the roadside to witness the sunset at the beach. It's pretty romantic, I tell ya. Even got a couple doing a wedding shoot there XD Ah, poor gown.... messed up by the sand.

A postcard worthy sunset by the beach picture :D

We were staring at the couple doing the wedding photo shoot. And yes, I was wearing shoes to the beach. I didn't bring any other footwear for the trip.

After enjoying the view and taking a few pictures, we continued to the End of the World. There, we ate at the Fishing Village seafood shop. They serve pretty decent seafood dishes there at a reasonable price. I recommend this place to any seafood lovers out there :D

Fried Squid

Sweet and Sour Crab requested by Ren Ping

Cheese Prawns requested by Tjun Hoe

Kam Heong Lala

That's all for part 2, folks. Stay tuned for the rest of the trip in part 3!

Penang Trip: Part 1

2009-07-03T01:52:00.006+08:00

As some of you might have already known, last week I went on an eating trip to Penang with a bunch of friends, namely Yu Gin, Ren Ping, Dorothy and Tjun Hoe. It lasted from Monday to Thursday, that is the 22nd June to 25th June. It was great fun and the food was pretty great... a nice experience overall. First, on the matter of getting there. We (actually mostly Tjun Hoe) managed to book AirAsia tickets to Penang at only about RM 80 per person. To be truthful, this was actually my first time using AirAsia and I had my doubts. But surprisingly, it was rather pleasant except for the fact that the airplane food are freaking expensive. The plane was delayed for 20 minutes but that was acceptable considering the horror stories I've heard before of AirAsia flights being delayed for a pretty long period. So, like the bored people we are, we decided to take some photos.

Yes, we wore masks that day. Better be safe than sorry, y'know?

Yu Gin can't wait to become a surgeon. So he felt the need to pose like one.

When we reached the Penang airport, the first thing we did was to rent a car. After all, taxis are expensive and it would be much more convenient for us to drive around on our own. At first, we thought of driving up from Selangor all the way up to Penang by car. But unfortunately, none of our parents would hear of that. Initially had trouble renting a car due to age limitations, but finally got a Proton Waja for about RM 130 a day, which was about RM 80 divided among us. A little expensive, I thought... but it's not like we had much of a choice.

Our rented car plate number.

From the airport, made our way to Berjaya Hotel Georgetown. Again with Tjun Hoe's help, managed to get the hotel stay absolutely free! Thanks again, TJ! I was worried at first that we need to pay for hidden charges. XD We booked connecting two rooms, one with a king size bed and another with two single beds. Boys got king size bed, girls get single bed. Spent the whole afternoon playing Uno....

Us circling around the Uno table. It's quite a noisy thingamajig

A closer up look of the game that is Uno Madness

After a while, we got hungry and went to Gurney Drive to eat. Bad decision.... BAD! Note to travellers planning to go Penang, avoid that place. The food is substandard and they charge atrocious prizes. Though, we did have a man selling rojak there who kept singing 'Rojak, Rojak' in rhythm with some techno tracks blaring in the background. That was quite amusing, too bad we didn't have a video recorder with us. :/

At Gurney Drive... won't be going there anytime soon

Yes, Tjun Hoe... we know you didn't like the food

After the meal, we had a stroll down the road overlooking the sea. Also had a few pictures taken. According to Yu Gin, when night comes, this is a popular place for lovers to just sit there and stare out towards the sea. Don't know where he got that from... hmmm.. :D

At the walkway overlooking the sea

Someone feeling perverted... naughty Yu Gin!

Feeling unsatisfied with the food at Gurney Drive, we set off into the night searching for an alternative food court to eat. At last, we settled at some random food court which I forgot the name and where it was. Now, the oyster omelet there was ten times better than the one in Gurney but the noodles left much to be desired.

Some nice oyster omelet... yum yum...

After back, went back to hotel and play cards till the wee hours of the morning. Pssst... Dorothy can't lie with a straight face :P You can tell when she's lying XD

Yes.... we were playing Bluff.

That's it for now..... Expect part 2 or even part 3 soon. Till then, stay happy :D

R.I.P. Michael....

2009-06-28T17:22:00.004+08:00

You know something's wrong when all the radio stations suddenly started playing Michael Jackson music non-stop. It's not like I don't like them, in fact I like them very much. But it's just plain weird when all the songs being played were all MJ's. Like I recalled, that day was raining pretty heavily as if the heavens were mourning over something. But nothing could prepare me for the annoucement that came over the radio. Michael Jackson dead, due to cardiac arrest. There was no warning whatsover on his sudden death. Sure he had a few medical problems, but it wasn't like he's dying in a hospital bed and couldn't get up. What's more... he's just 50 years old. Pretty young age to get a cardiac arrest.

Born in August 29, 2009 and died at June 25, 2009... just 2 months shy from his 51st birthday. That and he's just a few months away from returning to live performances. Who in this age, haven't heard his trademark 'Ow!' shout or seen his crotch-grabbing, moonwalking dance sequences? Even my parents said if he had came to Malaysia to perform, they would have go to the concert.... even if it's RM 500 per person. That's a lot considering that my parents had never ever attended a concert before, claiming that they are a waste of money.

Forget about his suspected pedophile charges, his weird behaviour and his dubious cosmetic surgeries. He was known more for selling so many top hits, one of them including 'Thriller' which was untill recently, the top selling album of all time. Heck, he even had a patent on one of his moves, the 'anti-gravity' lean! If you don't know what that is... here's a picture...

And so, here's his famous Thriller video... just because I loved it so much when I first saw it as a kid, even if it did scare me a little. Rest in peace, Michael Jackson. Every time I order a soya cincau to drink, I shall always remember you.

Happy 21st, Chloe!

2009-06-27T16:44:00.007+08:00

It's a bit late, but I figured later is better than never. So happy 21st birthday Chloe! You can now officially enter Genting casinos. :D Last week Friday, exactly 19th June 2009, me and a bunch of others celebrated her birthday at Sushi Zanmai, Sunway Pyramid. Some of them went to Sunway Lagoon too for the whole day, but considering the fact that it was sweltering hot and I can't swim, I gave it a pass XD

So, on to Sushi Zanmai. The room where the party was held had lots of balloons. God knows how long I've been deprived of one. Also had a banner wishing her happy birthday. Haha, pretty cute, I would say XD About 20 or so people attended the party, most of which I knew with a few who I don't. Chloe a.k.a birthday girl had suspected that there was a party, but it didn't stop her from having fun and enjoying the gifts that she got, the most prominent of which is a big Hello Kitty doll. :D Had a bowl of Curry Udon there. It wasn't bad but I tasted better. Anyway, as in any birthday party after the dinner, camwhoring sessions are a must. Unfortunately I did not bring my camera, so I didn't get much pictures D:

First, the birthday girl with her big Hello Kitty doll and the two 'ghosts' behind.

Hello Kitty giving me a kiss XD

Some random pictures from the party...

And finally a group picture... featuring our very own Malaysian Statue of Liberty a.k.a. Tjun Hoe!

So once again, enjoy your 21st year Chloe!

On Facebook...

2009-06-20T15:30:00.005+08:00

I have finally succumbed to the pressure. Yes I got Facebook, more like forced to get it, after like over a year of pressure (and a few underhanded tactics) from friends. Seriously, I never found what's so big deal about Facebook. To me, it was like another Friendster and since I never touched my Friendster account for god knows how long now, I never bothered to get Facebook. That and I was lazy to set up one anyway. >.> I still remembered it took me quite some time to get settled on Friendster. That and maybe because I'm afraid I may get addicted to it at some point... which would make things worse for me. I'm sure most of you heard of someone who checks updates on their Facebook account every few minutes.... yeah, the Facebook addicts.

So what finally made me jump the gun? One day, Wazit wanted some pictures from friends taken by their camera. Those said friends said they will upload them on facebook. When Wazit said that he doesn't have Facebook and requested pictures to be sent through an alternative route instead, they said:

'Either get a Facebook account or no pictures!'

Yeah.... underhanded tactics.

What did I think of Facebook? Personally, it looked a little messy... but that's just me. And it's a little complicated for me to use at the moment. It'll be a while before I get used to the controls. I did like the nifty toolbar at the bottom though. And to my surprise, I found like 10+ people already added me as friends.... even before I registered! Great balls of fire! Anyway, it's still too early to say whether I'll like Facebook or not. But for now, I'll just go grab those elusive pictures and stop being so 'unsocialable'.

Piano Playing

2009-06-14T00:31:00.009+08:00

Recently I've started to play the piano. And first let me tell you that I have no prior experience whatsover in playing one. The last time I touched an instrument was during primary school where it was compulsory to learn how to play the flute. Even then, I sucked at it... real bad. So yeah I completely understand if windows start shattering or people who passed by my house while I'm playing the piano would have ruptured eardrums.

When I first told my mother about this, she gave me a strange look and said:

'Why did you suddenly want to play the piano when you're this old?'

Thanks mom, for making me feel old... at the age of 20. Although I personally feel that one is never too old to start learning to play the piano (or at least hoping that it's true), my mom does have a point. Why start now? For two reasons:

1) Because I'm inspired by some home made piano videos I've seen in Youtube lately.

2) Because I simply have too much time on my hands at the moment.

So, here I am... trying in vain to bang the piano keys in rhythm. Oh, and I currently am learning to play one by myself, which means no formal piano lessons or teachers. So, I do pity my siblings and parents who are in the house while I'm practicing. Anyway, right now the musical pieces I'm currently practicing are piano renditions of these three tracks:

P.S: I just noticed my blog just passed the 100 hits benchmark :D

Passport Renewal

2009-06-07T22:39:00.003+08:00

Preparing documents for study overseas can be such a hassle, especially when the damned offer letter from the university haven't arrived yet. Jesus, what's taking them so long? And I thought Westerners are generally more efficient than the government here =.= So anyway, documents... documents... have a lot to prepare namely:

1) Passport

2) Flight Booking

3) UK Student Visa

4) Letter of Good Conduct

And to apply for these documents you need even more documents! Well anyway, since one of the requirements of the letter of good conduct as well as the visa is the passport, it makes sense to renew my passport first. In fact, I just got mine renewed just a few days ago. Being the Internet-dependent person that I am, I decided to Google for information on renewing my passport before actually renewing it. And from there, I hopped on to the Malaysian Immigration Department website. It defintely need more work in appearance but after some digging, I found out some pretty useful information that gave me a sweet surprise.

First, I found out that students who intend to go overseas to study can get a 50% discount on their passport application/renewal fee. A normal Malaysian passport cost about RM 300, but students can get it for RM 150. That's right.... RM 300 to RM 150. A bargain, don'tcha think? Catch is that we need to procure the offer letter to be eligible for such a discount. And since I don't have the offer letter yet, I am not eligible for such a discount *grumble grumble*

Now my family usually renews their passport at the Immigration Department branch near the Subang Airport. And when I went there to collect the form required for the passport renewal on Monday, I was greeted with a big crowd. It took me one hour just to get the form. So I didn't get to renew my passport there.

Ok, the crowd was not as much as the picture showed. But, it was close enough. So, you can imagine the waiting line. Oh, and if it isn't obvious enough, the picture is borrowed from another blog, which link you can clearly see from the picture. Just treat this like a disclaimer or something.

So on the next surprise. Not wanting to repeat the experience of braving a huge crowd, I tried to find other branches in Selangor. Turns out the Subang branch is the smallest branch in Selangor as well as the most utilised. There are two more branches in Selangor, namely the Damansara branch and the Shah Alam branch. These branches are way bigger than the one in Subang. Plus, I found out that those branches are open on weekends. Yes, both Saturday and Sunday, from 8am to 1pm. Yeah, at this point, many of you might be thinking: OMG, can this be true?!!! Well, both these info can be found here.

So, like I said earlier, I went to the Shah Alam branch at about 8.30 am and there's the amount of people is only about 1/4 the crowd in Subang and they have way more counters. Got my passport renewed in only 30 minutes (not including waiting for it to be renewed), with a big grin on my face.

Post-Exam Syndrome

2009-06-02T21:35:00.004+08:00

First post here in my blog, guys and girls. Yes, I always said before to a few people that I wouldn't start a blog, but boredom can do many things to a person's willpower. That and because some people always accuse me of being a closed book, including my parents >.>

Anyway, now that the exams are over for some time now and the results are out too, (100% passes, thank goodness) I'm having what I would like to call the post-exam syndrome. It's a syndrome where the afflicted experience extreme boredom and finding himself or herself sleeping for hours on end just to pass the time. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who has this syndrome at the moment. Either that or I have an extremely short attention span.

Yes, nowadays I'm having a bit of trouble filling my time with activities. And it's just two weeks into our holidays! Most of the time, at the moment, I've either been hitting the computer or sleeping my time away. A few of the days I go out to the mall with friends, play badminton or just go out and scout for nice food to eat. I did consider the prospect of undertaking a job but then again, I have to get ready for my upcoming trip to the UK too. *sigh* Maybe I should start looking through the medical books again, even though the mere mention of it might draw weird stares from some at the moment =.=