September 30, 2004
Oops, the Aircon!
The air-conditioning system of our government hospitals must be cursed.
2 weeks ago, it was Tengku Ampuan Rahiman Hospital in Klang then it was the new Pandan Specialist Hospital in JB. You must be wondering, how can our national referral centre be missing out on all this? Have no fear, take a look at our newspaper today and what do you see but this:
"Kuala Lumpur Hospital latest casualty of faulty air-conditioning system"
So you thought finding fungus on the 2 months old Pandan Specialist Hospital walls was the ultimate? Nah... How about flies in GHKL's OT?
"The heat has become intolerable. There were even occasions when there were flies inside the operation theatre,” he claimed, adding that it had increased the risk of contamination, making surgeries riskier than they should be."
Oh ya, the aircon, well, they have been down for up to 6 months.
"Dr Kumararajah said the air-conditioning system at the theatres had been faulty for the past six months."
I'm hoping that these are merely Dr K's claims. The idea that the premier government hospital of our nation is in this state is absolutely unbelievable or rather, something I would rather not believe. Otherwise, it's another case of MALAYSIA BOLEH!!!
Posted by yeepei at 09:38 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
A Bloody Death
Want to know how the Haematology paper was? Please refer to topic. Argh. I'm pretty sure I died in MCQ. SAQ should be alright. MCQ ah MCQ... Now, who invented those stuff and who came out with the idea of negative marking? WHO??? HRMPH.
On a happier note, I did alright for Respi (just got our results today). Alright, because I thought I'll fail but I didn't. Same grade as CVS. But somehow, I didn't feel extra happy, hmm... could it have anything to do with getting the results after such a wonderful haemato paper? Hmm... *ponder*
Posted by yeepei at 03:56 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
September 29, 2004
Commenting System
I've lost count of the number of people who came up to me and asked me to tweak my settings such that the comment box will pop up instead of open in the same window. Hurray! It's done! =D
Posted by yeepei at 12:25 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
September 28, 2004
中秋节快乐 -- Happy Mid-Autumn Festival
Also known as Mooncake Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival (MAF) falls on the 15th day of the 8th month in the lunar calender.
Here's one of my favourite stories about MAF...
The earth once had ten suns circling over it, each took its turn to illuminate to the earth. But one day all ten suns appeared together, scorching the earth with their heat. The earth was saved by a strong and tyrannical archer Hou Yi. He succeeded in shooting down nine of the suns. One day, Hou Yi stole the elixir of life from a goddess. However his beautiful wife Chang Er drank the elixir of life in order to save the people from her husband's tyrannical rule. After drinking it, she found herself floating and flew to the moon. Hou Yi loved his divinely beautiful wife so much, he didn't shoot down the moon.
Source
What did I do to celebrate MAF?
A bought lanterns and candles but no one wanted to play with him when the time came. So, he and YW went down alone to the playground after the group that was orginally there have left. About 15min later, I got an sms from YW saying "come down, S and CK are here too" and made a trip downstairs... my oh my, the playground was IN A MESS but that belongs to another post. Anyway, 3 significant things happened:
1. S lit her first lantern. *applause* (She does live in a treetop after all... please forgive her.)
2. We got to know little Melissa and Kian Hong (couldn't really make out what he said his name was)
3. We took apart the interior antenna of our TV and used it carry the lanterns around. :P Well, we aren't using it and A promised to put it back together again anyway.
Posted by yeepei at 11:36 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 27, 2004
Starting A Brand New Day
Let's admit it, one of the toughest thing to do each day is to get out of bed and get on with the day. Now, how do you like to start your day? Here's how yours truly like to start her day:
1. Cold cold shower to shock me out of dreamland.
2. Hot cup of coffee to supply my body with its daily caffeine dose.
3. Check emails to make sure that I won't have a blur look when someone asks me "did you read my email blah blah blah" If I've got time, check sharpreader to prevent blur look when "did you read my blog blah blah blah"
4. Hotsync my T3 because I've most probably forgotten to do so the previous night.
5. Pack my stuff and start the day.
Hmm... how are YOU like to start your day?
Posted by yeepei at 10:21 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
Ultraman
After reading about the Ultraman latern in PapiMami, I started thinking about getting the lantern for myself. :) I wanted to get one for Teng Teng (my 4 yrs old nephew) too, but I won't see him until after midautumn festival. Anyway, I finally got to lay my hands on Ultraman when we went grocery shopping on Sunday evening.
I didn't want it as a lantern, so I got A, my housemate, to remove the bulb and handle for me, turning the lantern into an inflatable toy. This left a hole in Ultraman's head. Hey, all heros have wounds and scars of some kind right?
And here's the light-less Ultraman's front and side view. Cute right? Heh heh.
Sheena and CK came over just as we got back from Carrefour. Sheena found a new use for Ultraman... WHACKING it. Apparently, it's pretty good for de-stressing. ouch.
Posted by yeepei at 01:30 AM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
September 25, 2004
Man's Best Friend
I took these photos quite some time ago but didn't post them. Since I'm taking a break from all that haematology, I figured I might as well do this now...
I've got 4 dogs at home, 2 german shepherds, a rottweiler and a mongrel. Caesar, the rottweiler is terribly camera shy. Brownie, the mongrel spends most of her days hiding under the car 'cos the bigger dogs are always bullying her. I used to have their photos but cannot find them now. Anyway, here are the 2 GSDs...
Harry is male (duh, look at the name!) and he is the older of the 2. Handsome right? Heehee
Gaby is younger and is in a way, Harry's GF. Heh heh.
The 2 of them together. It's kinda blur... sorry. Hmm... I wonder when they will have kids. *grinz*
---
update: Just spoke to ma on the phone. She said that Gaby looks preggy. Heehee. I wonder it's for real. If it iz..hahahaha... talk 'bout C-O-I-N-C-I-D-E-N-C-E...
Posted by yeepei at 11:45 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
Fried Rice, Anyone?
If anyone knows who my housemates are, they will agree with me that I've got very nice housemates. :) Now... one of them, J, decided to show off her culinary skills and prepared dinner last night. We didn't know what to expect, and it didn't help when the previous afternoon...
YP: You sure you can cook not???
J: Can! The last time I cook for my whole family.
YP: And what happened?
J: Er... we all went out for dinner in the end.
YP: Oh no.
The long awaited moment arrives, presenting to you... *drum roll*... J's fried rice!!!
It's pretty nice, actually. A veg-less dish because the cook doesn't like veg but taste OK. :)
Posted by yeepei at 08:29 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
On The Contrary, Madam
A fellow blogger posted about the display debate we had last Tuesday and I felt that I should also blog about the same topic from another point of view...
The display was not professional, I concede that fact. It was not meant to be unprofessional though. Much thought and effort has been placed into the display. In fact, my team spent a large part of the night preparing for debate, hoping to put up a good show. I'm sure the intentions of the display was not to showcase our lack of professionalism... but what went wrong?
I blame this on what I call the busy IMU students syndrome. On top of the busy schedule all of us have, we have to understand that most IMU students are members or even office bearers of more than one ECA. To which do we owe our loyalty and commitment? All of them. However, if some people feel that certain activities should take priority over another, what can anyone else do? In this event, this resulted in the opposition team having one debater less until the very last minute.
Of course, somewhere along the way, we became less serious. In fact, the motion of the debate was chosen because we wanted a humour round. That is also why, if anyone could hear me in my speech when I opened the debate (gosh, the PA system!!!), you will notice my very vain attempt at a joke.
Now, on defense...
This was not truly a "last minute thing" because we did come to a decision a week ago and no one could predict or forsee what happened that day. As for insulting, it is sometimes, these friendly insults that make things very much more interesting.
I extend the invitation to all IMU students who would like to watch a more "professional" debate to come to NHSD which will be held in IMU at the end of November. For those who expressed their views with regards to the display session, thank you. I appreciate your comments and input. :)
I did not take offense to what I read in the other blog and this post is meant only to clarify the matter. My apologies if this sounds too defensive. I hope that if the person concerned should read this post, she will also not be offended
Posted by yeepei at 12:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 23, 2004
In the morning
In the early hours that herald the coming of dawn, the sound of the falling rain roused me from my sleep. It took a while before I climbed out of bed and pushed open the windows. The rain had stopped. Red streaks appear from beyond the horizon murdering the darkness of night.
:P I still remember how I used to love starting my essays this way when I was in primary school. LOL...That was a long long time ago!!!
Well, it's almost 5.00am but I'm still wide awake. Not because I was up throughout the night, but because I slept at 8.00pm and woke up at around 1.00am. Let's just say that it's not an advisable thing to do. I wonder how I'm going to last through the rest of the day, with PBL in the afternoon too! Sighz...
Looking out the window, something came to mind. How many people out there are awake now? Why are they awake? Why don't they go to bed? Hmm... *ponder*
Since I'm still awake, I might as well go pay my haematology notes a visit. :(
---
Added at 6.00am,
YIKES! Haven't done my PBL. Die die die. Oh no oh no oh no. Erythrocytes.. here I come!!! Please don't make my life difficult.
Posted by yeepei at 04:38 AM | Comments (11) | TrackBack
September 21, 2004
Extra CSU
This post is dedicated to Dr Timothy Song. I promised. (Heh heh. Whether he wants this dedication is besides the point though. :P)
Before I begin... Dr, thanks for having the session with us this morning.
I discovered 5 things during the session:
1. Sitting comfortably in your chair is distinctly different from standing in front, examining the SP.
2. If you think you know your stuff, you don't really know it until you can remember it when you're put in the situation as said in No. 1.
3. So you think your palms are sweaty while you're seated down and observing your peer at work? Your eccrine glands are more capable than you imagine them to be. Just be in situation No. 1 and you'll know what I mean.
4. Clinical skills come hand in hand with theory. If you don't know your theory really really well (like in No. 2), then well, you're pretty dead.
5. Don't believe Talleys, especially if you've been told time and again that Macleod is your standard text.
Anyone still curious about how my extra CSU session with Dr TS was this morning? Please re-read the above 5 points and come to your own conclusion. But... I must say he was pretty nice. :) (I'm not bootlicking, well, this post is dedicated to him, you know)
Now, a quote...
- Dr TS
Note to self: If you continue in this state, you'll die a horrible death during OSCE. Go study!
Posted by yeepei at 02:30 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 20, 2004
Bloodletting
\Ve`ne*sec"tion\, n. [NL. venaesectio; L. vena vein + sectio section.] The act or operation of opening a vein for letting blood; bloodletting; phlebotomy.
20th September 2004 0830hrs, a group of second year medical students were initiated into the world of venesection. The world of beautiful veins, syringes and veins. Here's what happened during the "blood initiation"...
Lesson no. 1: Universal precautions
Lesson no. 1 = Lesson repeated time and again = Lesson-we-better learn-and-remember-or-we'll-get-scolded-like-mad = Something-I-repeat-here-and-I-will-get-sick-of-reading-my-own-blog
But it does make me wonder... How often are these precautions practiced in real life? Come on, count the number of personnels who actually wear gloves while doing the dextrostix test.
Lesson no. 2: Needles and syringes are cheap
:P It was highly amusing to see Sr Teoh throwing needle after needle away because she was demonstrating how to attach the needle to the syringe. And again and again when she was demonstrating how to dispose of them into the sharps bin.
Richard: "There goes another!!!"
Lesson no. 3: Good vein = Palpable vein
"Veins you can see are superficial ones, you don't want that. You want a palpable vein. Come, feel this..." And this was followed by 5 or 6 students touching and feeling the poor victim's vein and then exclamations of "OH!!! So nice!!! You've got very nice veins leh... *poke poke*"
Adrian: "It's only in medical school that you find people are so interested in the state of their friends' veins."
Lesson no. 4: Don't leave your victim's tourniquet on while you're trying to muster confidence
So you found a victim... convinced him to sit and let you have your way with his cubital fossa. You put on the tourniquet, put on your gloves, swab swab swab, drenching your victim's arm with alcohol, find his oh-so-beautiful vein, now, the time has come... No. Wait. Scared. Breathe. Breathe somemore. Scared. Looks at CSU teacher for guidance. He shows you how exactly you're to poke the needle in. Suddenly you discover that your victim's telling you "Oi!!! My hand's numb lah!!! *takes off tourniquet*" Oops, looks like you gotta repeat the process again!!! *swab swab swab* *feel feel feel*
Me: "Aiyo... kesian lah. Poor guy (refering to the victim) already damn scared, this is just making him even more afraid!!!"
Lesson 5: And when you remove the needle, do it in one swift and smooth motion
By now, we would have done whatever is necessary (or have failed to get the vein) and want to remove the needle. For this, I've got 2 scenario. One with me as the victim, the other with me as the "torturer"
Scenario 1..."Oi! Don't bend the thing leh!!!"
Me: "Bending the needle while it's still inside hurts lah!"
Scenario 2..."Quick lah!"
Adrian: "Agonising"
That concludes the initiation process. I left with greater insight into the world of venesection. Oh btw, I've got little spots on my arm, they started appearing once Adrian put the tourniquet on. Petechiae! I wonder if something's wrong. *gulp* Nevermind that I've been told it's alright, there most probably isn't anything wrong. I'm hypochondriac. *gulp* *worried*
To Adrian (Ya, I know you don't read my blog), Thanks for being my victim :) I hope I didn't cause any serious damage.
To anyone else from M203, if you're looking for nice veins, go look for Adrian (heh heh). Beautiful veins.
Posted by yeepei at 12:59 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
September 19, 2004
Links!!!
I just redid the list of blog links. I noticed that I haven't linked some of the blogs I frequent and also some of those who link me. So, I added some new one and removed some dead ones. For some of the newly added links, I didn't ask the blog owners beforehand, I apologise for that. If you don't want to be linked, please leave a message and your link will be removed.If I know you and you have a blog that I have not linked, also leave me a message ok?
As usual, if you spot any broken links, please also let me know. Don't contact me by phone or MSN or ICQ. Just send me an email or leave a tag or a comment. It will be corrected ASAP.
If time permits, I'll also redo the med peepz section. But that'll have to wait. :)
Posted by yeepei at 11:39 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 18, 2004
Giving Equal Chances
I read an article on Dr Cheah's blog and after looking at the length of my original comment, I decided that I should blog about it instead.
The original article is on thestaronline. In this article, Datuk Dr Shafie Mohd Salleh and Prof Datuk Seri Dr Ibrahim Abu Shah explained why UiTM will not accept non-bumiputra students.
UTUSAN Malaysia and Berita Harian highlighted the strong objections to a suggestion that Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) be opened to non-bumiputra students.
In Utusan’s front-page report, Higher Education Minister Datuk Dr Shafie Mohd Salleh was quoted as saying that the Government would not allow non-bumiputra students to enrol at UiTM.
He said the aim of setting up UiTM was to increase the number of Malay professionals, an idea agreed upon by leaders of all races in the past.
“We can’t change; they have to remember the social contract. No compromises,” he said in an interview on Thursday.
He was responding to Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik’s suggestion that UiTM be opened to other races as a multi-racial university would benefit the nation.
Dr Shafie said UiTM was unlike other institutions.
“The reality is that UiTM is an institution relating to the rights and privileges of the Malays. This can’t be questioned.”
He also said that if the response of Chinese students to the Mara Junior Science College could be used as a yardstick, they might not be interested in enrolling in institutions like UiTM.
“The response to the 10% quota for non-bumiputra students in the Mara college has been poor,” he said.
In the Berita Harian report, UiTM Vice-Chancellor Prof Datuk Seri Dr Ibrahim Abu Shah said he disagreed with Dr Ling’s suggestion.
“But the final decision lies with the Prime Minister and the Higher Education Minister,” he said.
Dr Ibrahim said UiTM was set up to balance the racial profile of graduates in the country.
“Although UiTM is capable of producing up to 200,000 graduates to date, the numbers have yet to reach this target,” he said.
“Up to today, we are unable to match graduates from other races, and you can imagine the situation if the enrolment was open to other races.”
Dr Ibrahim also said that about 90% of all private institutions of higher learning in the country were owned by non-Malays.
“In public institutions, Malays make up a minority in critical fields and degrees offered,” he said.
He said if graduates produced in Malaysia were only made up of one race, it could lead to political instability.
In another article on the very same day, the government talks about harmony and unity among Malaysians. Is this hypocrisy? I don't know.
I acknowledge that nothing is fair in this world but to go to great length just to create unfairness seems hardly justifiable. Giving people of a particular race precedence over others in various aspects of life will not only create unhappiness among the people, it will also hinder the growth and improvement of that particular race.
In my opinion, if the government is interested in helping to create more professionals of a particular race, then helping these students achieve academic excellence and thereby earning entry into university based on their own merit is a better way to go about it. For example, giving them tuition classes will help them in their studies and allow more of them to meet the prerequisite for entry into various undergraduate courses.I think the key here is about having people earn seats in courses rather than creating an easy way out for certain people. Won't this result in less unhappiness among members of other races? Won't this rid of perceptions about substandard professionals produced from our local universities?
In the article, Dr Shafie Salleh talks about the social obligation towards the Malay community. Now, my question is, what about the country's obligation towards other tax paying Malaysians? Does the government only care about the growth fo the Malay community? Does that mean that the government acknowledges that Malaysians of other races are second class citizens?
Dr Ibrahim claims that if graduates are of one particular race, it will lead to political instability. Now, won't giving a particular race priority over others in university entry and in opportunities to further their studies later on mean that in the long run, there will be more graduates of that particular race also? Won't that contribute to political instability? On top of that, won't the unhappiness of other races create instability in the first place?
Lastly, the government talks about brain drain. If ALL Malaysians have the same rights and are accorded equal opportunities to advance in Malaysia, will some people be attracted to come back to Malaysia? Will those who plan to work overseas have second thoughts?
Go think about it... :)
Or maybe I should just be contented with the ways things are and stop ranting like a brat. Hmm...
Posted by yeepei at 09:16 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
SharpReader
Ahh, I've finally discovered the wonders of RSS feeds! Thanks, Palmdoc. :)
Just installed SharpReader a while ago and spent quite some time subscribing to RSS feeds of my favourite blogs. Some I can find on the page, some I just can't find. I'll work on that later... psst... all of you go enable your RSS feeds okiez? This is so much more efficient compared to browsing from page to page!
Now, back to the world of lecture notes. Sigh... the systems get tougher and tougher. WHY???
Posted by yeepei at 10:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 17, 2004
Crossroads in French
That's what Sheena said it meant. :)
Anyway... an innocent grocery shopping trip turns out to be quite an interesting one. Sheena, Caryn and I participated in our first eating competition! We had to eat 2 donuts with chopsticks and the fastest to finish wins.
We thought all the other participants will be guys, well, not just men, but BIG BIG Hunky men. But we were so wrong... here's what I remember of the other 7 participants
1. The winner... she (yes, a SHE) was a young woman with a 4 years old (I think) child. Initially, I thought that was her younger sister but the kid called her "mama". So well, never ever assume.
2. Mr Tech... was a Malay guy who spoke surprisingly good English and Sheena discovered that he was really into technical stuff.
3. The aunty... well, typical chinese aunty. She should be in her 50s. The poor aunty looked as if she was cheated into participating. The look of horror on her face when she discovered that she had to finish the donuts as fast as possible.
4. The big guy... ah, this was the only typical looking participant in the contest! But no, he wasn't the winner. See? Looks can be decieving.
Oops, that's all I can remember. Sheena, if you are reading this, can you help me with the other 3 please?
Oh ya, when everyone has collected their prizes, one of the cleaners came along and asked about the prizes. When Sheena asked him why he did not participate...
Cleaner: Tak boleh lah... pakai baju ni... *points to uniform*
Posted by yeepei at 07:40 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 16, 2004
Firefox
After hearing so much about Mozilla's Firefox, I decided to give it a try. Now, my first question is... What's the difference between IE and Firefox? *blur*
The only difference I found, less than 5 minutes after installing Firefox, is the tabs thingie which is not unlike good old Netscape Navigator (Ya, that's ancient, I know). Anyway, I have 2 different browsers now and if more is good then I guess I should be happy. :)
Oh ya, if anyone can tell me the difference between the 2 browsers, please do ok?
Posted by yeepei at 08:46 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
Birth Month
Take the quiz: "What does your birth month reveal about you?"
September
Suave and compromising. Careful, cautious and organized. Likes to point out people's mistakes. Likes to criticize. Stubborn. Quiet but able to talk well. Calm and cool. Kind and sympathetic. Concerned and detailed. Loyal but not always honest. Does work well. Very confident. Sensitive. Thinking generous. Good memory. Clever and knowledgeable. Loves to look for information. Must control oneself when criticizing. Able to motivate oneself. Understanding. Fun to be around. Secretive. Loves sports, leisureand traveling. Hardly shows emotions. Tends to bottle up feelings. Very choosy, especially in relationships. Systematic.
Elena and Sheena both have their results on their blogs so I must must MUST have also. HRMPH. :P Anyway, read it and tell me what you think. Quite true I think. Not only the bad ones k...
Posted by yeepei at 01:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 15, 2004
Worldwide Lymphoma Awareness Day
I just saw in MMR that today (15th September) is Worldwide Lymphoma Awareness Day.
Just in case anyone is wondering why I'm posting on this topic, or if I lack ideas of what to post and is copying something from another blog, my answer is no. As much as I enjoy reading the MMR, I'm not about a create a copycat post.
The main reason this post is up here is the coincidence! My batch had our Lymphoma lecture today too! We are certainly more aware of what lymphoma is now. I wonder if whoever arranged the timetable knew.
Since I should be revising for 1st October's haematology paper, here's something relevant from the Lymphoma Coalition website.
Lymphoma is a general term for cancer of the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is part of the body's immune system, made up of a complex network of lymph organs including: bone marrow, the thymus and the spleen. The lymphatic system is filled with a fluid called lymph, which carries nutrients, waste and white blood cells (lymphocytes) around the body. When lymphocytes develop abnormally or fail to die when instructed to, they can collect in the lymph nodes and form tumours...
Posted by yeepei at 09:59 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
This afternoon...
I realised (some, re-realised) a few things this afternoon, let's see...
1. Pathologists see things we cannot see.
Pathologist: Look, it's staring angrily at you.
Students: HUH???
2. Pathologists see food in strange places.
Eg. fish flesh, cheesy...
3. Lame jokes seem extra lame on a boring afternoon.
4. Some people can tell lame jokes and others laugh, some people can't.
5. Sitting nearer the front of the LT doesn't mean you won't fall asleep.
Yupz, that's all for now. Heehee. :)
Posted by yeepei at 09:30 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 13, 2004
CSU -- Haematology; History Taking
*Bangs head against wall*
4 short five minutes histories, managed to complete a grand total of ... *drum roll* ... ZERO of them. Wonderful eh? I'm so "proud" of myself!!! I also very intelligently managed to miss out on many of the common sense questions. Knowing that it was only five minutes and I had limited time, my brain decided that this was the best time to lose its trend of thought.
High time to do some repenting, I think. But that will have to wait while I go whack myself. HRMPH.
Posted by yeepei at 01:05 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Meaning of Success
This is in Star's Lifetyle.
I think I've blogged on this topic before, but hey, this is the new Rantings, so strictly speaking, this topic is new here. OK? Heh heh...
What is success?
From the article,
"How do you define success, son?"
"Success means you are rich enough to afford expensive stuff like bungalows, BMWs, overseas holidays and exclusive club memberships. You are a director or CEO of many companies, a Datuk or Tan Sri, a friend of ministers and a philanthropist. And of course you have a happy family," he replied.
IMHO, this is an example of what people today feel success is. Money and societal status rank high on the list. But what really stared out at me in this bit of the article was that "happy family" seems like it has been added as an after thought.
What happened to other things in life? Why is it always money money money? Is nothing else important? How about relationship with other people? Sigh. But, you know, to tell the truth, if you ask me what I think success is, wealth will be one of the things that comes to mind. *sheepish grin*
Then again, different things are important to different people and doing well in these aspects will, to them, be success. Right?
Now, what's important to me? Right now, friends and family is top on the list. Next up, studies (it's on a downhill slide, btw). Then... my level of maturity, I guess at 20, it's high time I start growing up and stop acting like a spoilt brat, with that comes my interpersonal relationships. My interaction with people around me. Money would be good too, come one, who will ever say money isn't good.
I read the article and felt an urge to blog, and as usual, went off topic. If you can't understand me, I'm sorry. :P I don't make sense sometimes, I'm sure many people know that already. Hee.
Posted by yeepei at 12:27 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
September 11, 2004
The Counter
Just reset the stats counter from the old rantings, changed the settings and now it's in the new rantings. It's on the left, all the way at the bottom. :) This time round, it's not in stealth mode so everyone will now know how sad my blog traffic is. *sobz*
Posted by yeepei at 04:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Strange Dream
Has any of you out there ever had dreams that are in a series? As in, everytime you sleep, the dream is continuous from the night before?
I'm having one of these strange dreams now. I don't remember what each episode is about, all I can remember is that I'm walking around with 5 cuts on my left palm, all vertical. The cuts are interesting too, the cuts make a nice diamond shape, those at the side are shortest and the one in the middle is the longest and deepest. Another weird bit is that they don't hurt much and don't bleed either.
Strange eh?
Psst.. This is post no. 10 in the New Rantings
Posted by yeepei at 03:56 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
September 10, 2004
The Trip Home...
I'm back in JB!!! Yes, my first trip home since Semester 3 started. Hurray!!!
Now now, what happened on the way back? Hmm... Everything started wonderfully well when the bus started off 15 minutes after boarding time. (The norm is anything from 30min to an hour) and woohoo! it's a real express!!! Meaning, it didn't stop for an hour along the way!!! (That's good, very good, k...)
Minus was that they were playing some old chinese movie during the trip, with a lady screaming on and on. I didn't watch the movie but was wondering why anyone had so much energy that she can continue screaming for such a long time. Ok, screaming's fine but screaming while I'm trying to get some sleep or while I'm on the phone is definitly not fine. I could barely sleep more than 10 minutes at a time and had a tough time trying to make out what the other party was trying to say on the phone. Sigh... (Somehow, I think anyone who spoke to me on the phone then must have wondered where in the world this crazy girl was, so noisy in the background)
Another good thing, I GOT HOME!!! YAY!!! :)
Posted by yeepei at 09:20 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 09, 2004
I Spent My 50bucks
Really fast right? right? Muahaha. I wanted to buy Sophie's World and another book but didn't get either, because Sheena has Sophie's world and Elena has at that other book I wanted. The Female Eunuch.. out of stock at MV MPH so that's out too.
After spending around 2 hours at the bookstore, I bought Q by Luther Blissett and The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl. Haven't heard of them? Don't ask me, neither have I.. at least until now. :) Sounds really good though, looks super evil. I'm a happy kid now.
Let's see, I've got 3 books with me that I haven't read (one was from the bookswap on Sunday). *Happy* Oh ya.. Haematology notes also waiting for me. Let's see, novels? notes? novels? notes? Ya, novels, at least for tonight.
On another note, Raj got himself a T3!!! (I went with him to LYP today). It should still be charging now, poor guy. I can remember how I waited and waited and waited last time. Poor Raj. *grinz*
Posted by yeepei at 11:55 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
September 08, 2004
A Pleasant Surprise
All the glorified fishes got a pleasant surprise today during the feedback session. :) The surprise came in the form of a colourful piece of paper in a brown envelope! A 50 bucks MPH voucher!!! YAY!
Quite a few of us are actually crazy about reading and are on clouds 9 because of this surprise gift. *grinz*
Thank you, Dr A, Dr J and everyone else...
Posted by yeepei at 02:24 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
September 07, 2004
Whose Business?
I was browsing Economist.com when I found this.
For ages, society has percieved prostitution to unright, wrong, sinful, but is it? What makes buying or selling sex different from buying or selling other goods? To quote the article,
"TWO adults enter a room, agree a price, and have sex. Has either committed a crime? Common sense suggests not: sex is not illegal in itself, and the fact that money has changed hands does not turn a private act into a social menace. If both parties consent, it is hard to see how either is a victim."
Now, isn't that something to think about? :)
Posted by yeepei at 10:14 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
September 06, 2004
Creating A Tradition
Long time ago, orientation used to be hell for juniors, it used to be ragging time, where seniors "take revenge". Why would anyone want to demean another individual? Why would anyone want to humilate another individual? The answer they give is hardly acceptable... "We kena this last time, so now it's our turn to rag the juniors" Some say it almost as if it's an acceptable fact. My question to these people is "Why do you want to continue with this vicious cycle???"
In my opinion, whether the seniors were ragged as freshies and whether the seniors were abused as children should not and must not affect the way they orientate the juniors. Orientation is FOR the juniors, it's about welcoming them to a new environment and helping them make friends and fit in. As seniors, we want to have our fun by teasing and kacau-ing the juniors, but it is important to remember to be moderate and to note that there are certain lines that must not be crossed.
Thank goodness, times have changed. My batch was the first to have what I'll call the "moderate orientation" and we did the same for our M204 juniors. In doing so, we have also created a distinct M2 orientation style. Some people may not like it... but as long as we believe in our stand in this matter, it's all that counts. When the M202s orientated us, they broke a vicious cycle, when we orientated the M204s, we created a tradition. I hope this tradition carries on...
All in all, I feel that demeaning another human being is wrong, and should not be allowed.
Posted by yeepei at 12:15 PM | Comments (11) | TrackBack
September 05, 2004
Orientation... Success or Not
Orientation M2/04 ended yesterday with BBQ night so I assume it's a good time to blog about it now. I'll try to be impartial here, so here goes...
Signature Hunt (SH)
12 groups running around, trying to get signatures from various groups of seniors. This time 'round, the SH people tried to make the list better by changing the signature sheet format. It may be a small thing but IMHO, it did make a lot of difference. It is, however, disappointing that there are complains against the seniors on the list. Most of these seniors hold leadership positions and one would have expected them to adhere by the rules. Severe humiliation and scary threats is just plain wrong.
Dresscode
I sincerely believe that guys should never ever ever be made to wear skirts because they look HORRIBLE! Imagine the horror that overcame me when I saw 2 guys in cheongsam having lunch when I got to uni one day. OMG. On the plus side, the juniors were really enthusiastic and put in a lot of effort. :) Some groups' bugs costumes were wonderful and I was really impressed!
Ice Breakers (IB)
This was the first main activity in orientation and there were problems with manpower because it was 2 days before Respi exam. The batch was not really enthusiastic about it since, well, it is 2 days before an exam and semester 3 isn't exactly what you'll call a honeymoon-sem and everyone's worried worried worried. Kudos to the IB people! If I'm in their position, I'll never be able to coordinate an activity in these circumstances.
Treasure Hunt
This may just be the most major event in the entire orientation since it's the one program that has people running all over the place outside campus. In the beginning, miscommunication made things a little messed up but I'm glad everything worked out fine in the end.
Variety Night
One thing this variety night proved was that things can be funny even without extensive sexual connotations! Even the IMCCs were less sick and perverted than I remembered from M2/03 and M1/04 orientations. Thank goodness. Some sketches were a little too lame and boring though but well, these things are always up to the groups' creativity and humour is subjective right? Thank goodness that the boring sketches were "made interesting" by seniors' jeering and flying newspapers. My birthday was also made special by this event and for that, please read my birthday post.
Telematch
Quite a huge turn out from the juniors, that's good. No large crowd from the seniors, that's bad. I guess most of the seniors wanted the morning to catch up on the past few weeks' sleep (We did just have an exam, you know), so that they can at least attend BBQ night later that day. One thing that made me really happy during Telematch was the integration of the different orientation groups. :) It's great to see some groups merge and cheer for each other. On another note, OOs were given instructions to lead the juniors to the field by a certain time and I guess one can't blame the committee for some OOs' irresponsibility right? And to anyone who is wondering, we did make a trip to IMU to ensure that all juniors have left before starting the activities.
BBQ Night
This semester, we had a dance floor. Initially, I thought it will be a dead floor rather than a dance floor but was pleasantly surprised to see that many enjoyed themselves dancing. I guess the main difference between this dance floor and the one you find in clubs is that here, you're among friends and the embarassment factor no longer matters. :) No dirty stink bombs this time around, just water bombs and I'm proud to say that we have more than 17 juniors left at the end of the night. *grinz*
Soon, I'll be blogging about ragging and about the 2 distinct styles of orientation we have here.
Posted by yeepei at 09:22 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Medic Students Have A Sense Of Humour Too
Here's the proof...
MEDICAL STUDENT'S WARNING:
This Book Is Hazardous To Those Who Only Want To Pass The Test. It Is A Comprehensive Overview Of Pulmonary Diseases And Disorders Which You Will Be Expected To Recognize And Treat As Physicians In The 3rd and 4th Years. If You Cannot Handle The Level Of The Material, Reconsider The Big Picture. You Will End Up Cramming This Info For The Boards, And As For Complaining...Save Your Energy For Nephrology.
-- Class of 2000
Grace came across this and sent to me some time ago.
Posted by yeepei at 08:45 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
As I Turn 20
*points at previous post* I turned 20 on Friday and boy, was it a memorable birthday.
First thing that happened in school on Friday morning was PBL and my dear housemate made sure that everyone who walked pass our PBL room know that it's my birthday. Did I feel like hiding under the table? You bet! Next up, the group decided to wait till Dr C was in the room before they sing me Happy Birthday. Another feel-like-hiding moment.
This must be the birthday where I heard the most birthday songs! With orientation groups coming up to me, not to get my signature but to say this "YP, this is from XXX" or "YP, this is for you" and then starts singing the birthday song. Soon, the entire M2/04 knew that it's my birthday and if that's not enough, some things had to happen during variety night.
I was hoping that nothing will happen to me during variety night and was happy when, by the end of the program, I was safe. But no way they are going to leave me be. One of the 5 finalists of Miss IMCC was told to identify 10 committee members but couldn't do it so when the judges went to tally the score... Sheena said "It's a pity Sailorvenus couldn't identify Yee Pei...now..." and I RAN out the door only to be stopped by darling batchmates and sent back to hear about the rest of my fate. "All of you are to feed her her birthday cake..."
OMG OMG OMG OMG These were GUYS in SKIRTS and heavy MAKE UP and fake BOOBs! *puke* And in the whole IMCC spirit, they did not just feed me, they acted IMCC-ish as they did. *puke* I don't know how I swallowed the cake from 5 of them. (No, pics won't be up) :P These people were really sporting people though, it was all impromptu!
Thanks M204 (I know you guys had no choice) and M203, especially the orientation committee, for such a memorable birthday. :) Sheena darling, let's all hope that your 22nd birthday next year will be just as memorable, ok? :P
Posted by yeepei at 08:18 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
September 03, 2004
A New Home
As you can see, YP's Rantings has a new home. :) The template isn't really done yet and I'm hoping to get everything ready before Monday. All was supposed to be nice and done by today but well, with Respi exam and Orientation ... I figured, why stress myself out?
With this new move to my own domain, it also signifies a new beginning for Rantings. Therefore, the old Rantings won't be moved to this site but will remain accessible.
Before I end off, Thanks, Auyong... :)
And oh.. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!
Posted by yeepei at 07:42 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack